Chapter 10:
The Plot Thickens
A dark figure stood in front of a fire, watching the flames dance in the cool air the rains had brought. With his fingertips resting at his temples, he closes his eyes, trying to concentrate and clear is mind. He knew his target was near. He could almost smell him, taste him, feel him. His spirt has not diminished over the years, he thought. He doesn't even hide it at this moment. How it will be to face him again. To fight him again. To have his blood dripping off his sword. The man smiled devilishly at his thoughts.
In the background, a young woman with midnight hair neatly pulled back into a single braid fought an invisible foe not too far away. She kicks and sweeps the shadow, knocking it off its imaginary feet. On the ground, she goes in for the kill, bringing her knee to its neck, snapping its windpipe. She smirked devilishly, then stood up. The young woman brushed the mud off her shoes as she noticed a cloaked man coming towards the camp. A softer smile runs across her face as she opens her arms to greet him.
"Yahiko," she yelled happily, taking his hood off of his head and kissing him on the cheek. He flashed a brief smile and took her hand into his.
"Misao," he said, addressing her almost formally. Her smile faded as Yahiko walked over to the tall, dark man. His hair was also the color of burned velvet. His eyes were nothing more then narrow slits. Parts of his hair framed his ominous face, falling into his eye. He looked of evil, smelled of evil. He turned to face Yahiko, whose expression was deadly serious. His hair was now much longer than he had it in his younger years. It was in a traditional ponytail sitting high on his head. The ends were spikey, just as his old mop used to be. His features were chiseled, more mature, even though you could still see the youth in his eyes. He had also grown to an impressive height. He towered the older, more experienced, man by at least four inches.
And Saitou was no shrimp.
"I see you have found the Battousai," his dark voice proclaimed. Yahiko nodded and sat down on the ground near the flame.
"Hai. Obviously, he sought shelter in a cave from the rain. He left his inn to go looking for a woman he had boarded for a week, according to the townspeople," he explained, pulling a piece of bread from his side bag. He nibbled on the hard meal, waiting for his sensei to respond.
"Just what woman could he have been boarding? Most of the people speculated he was gay since he never pursued a woman while in town and almost violently turned down any woman who tried to get near him," Misao blurted out, trying to make since off the matter.
"I assure you, he is not gay. He has a child out there somewhere to prove it," Yahiko spat, the disgust more than obvious in his tone.
"Enough with the small talk, it is meaningless. We will wait no longer to move out. I'm sure he will be back at his inn by morning. We will meet him there," Saitou smiled, his only show of emotion.
The Battousai.
He had been tracking him for nearly seven years. He had watched him as he converted from rurouni to a domestic servant at the Kamiya Dojo. He had seen his battles, seen how he had softened to a mere weakling. It disgusted him to no end. He had been hired to kill him, but that meant nothing if he was trying to kill a nobody. Then, before he had the chance to exact his plan as he desired, Himura had disappeared again. It was too late for the government the Battousai fought for. He had left the Kamiya girl in a shameful predicament. Before, he had only wanted to kill him to settle the matter they had started in Kyoto. He ended up hating him with every fiber of his being. He had never been the emotional or caring type, but he knew not to knock a young virgin up and leave her to fend for herself. He thought of his wife, whom he rarely saw but loved dearly. He would never to anything of the sort to her, or any other woman. Life was cruel, but you don't have to be a bitch about it and run.
During his sweep of the city looking for Himura, he stumbled across the young and impressionable Yahiko. He had run away from the dojo after Kaoru discovered she was pregnant with the Battousai's child. At first, he searched for Kenshin to bring him back. Then, he searched to kill him, even when he knew he was no match for him. That is how Saitou became his sensei. He was surprised by how well Kaoru had actually taught him, but it was all the wrong material. A sword art that was not meant to kill was useless if you wanted to exact an assassination. The young boy was eager to learn the way of the Shinsengumi, the only art that could defeat the Battousai
Yahiko was still very eager to find Kenshin and kill him with every new skill he learned, so they left Tokyo to prevent any distractions rumors would cause. Along the way, they had met the troublesome Misao. She had attempted to steal from Yahiko, after she had lured him into the woods with the promise of some illicit action. She managed to wound him and if Saitou hadn't heard the commotion, she might have killed him. She announced to Saitou that she was the only female member of the Oniwaban group and would kill him.
Of course, Saitou beat her within an inch of her life, but as he was about to deal the final blow, she stabbed him with a dagger and managed to get away. Saitou was shocked, but also pleasantly surprised. She had a good background in Kempo, though the years she spent on her own had dampened her skill. She was quick on her feet and in wit. She was not as injured as she let on, and that allowed her to get away, momentarily anyways. It took him only a few minutes to track her down. That is when he offered that she joined him, granted she be disciplined.
She promised she would...but if that wasn't a lie, he didn't know what was.
She ran off, continued her life of crime and managed to kill a few people...but she kept up with her lessons. For that, Saitou had no objections, though he felt like a babysitter at times. The problems really started when Yahiko came of age. Though Misao was older than Yahiko, she had grown a liking to him. Hell, if it were the other way around, not an eyelash would have fluttered. Seeing how the now 22 year old woman still looked as a child and Yahiko looked like a man, he saw no problem in letting the pair dally with each other. He understood how the young needed affection.
"Saitou-sensei, are you alright," Misao question, her innocent green eyes peering at him.
"Hai, I was just thinking. Let us go," he said, walked into the woods. The young couple followed him as they made their way to the little town of Fujiki.
OK, ok, I know...this is a filler chapter. I couldn't think of anything to write after this point, so I'll just end the chapter here. So, I know some of you were wondering what happened to Saitou. Yes, people still wanna kill Kenshin. Maybe someone will want to kill Kaoru later, LOL