Rurouni Kenshin: The Phoenix Saga
Episode 5 - Woodland Encounter: Eyes Throughout the Country
"Yahiko," Kaoru scolded, "You're making a habit out of your mistake."
"Nuh uh," he retorted, swinging again. "See? The angle's fine, my wrists are fine, off my enemy's sword flies!"
"Alright then," she said, taking stance before her student, her own bokken at ready, "Try that against me."
Yahiko's eyes narrowed and he swung, expecting to easily knock the weapon from his opponent's hands. But Kaoru blocked the blow with little effort, and in the same motion jerked Yahiko's weapon to the side. He tottered as his balance was shaken, and found the tip of Kaoru's bokken at his throat.
His eyes widened as he stood straight again. "How'dja do that? You told me this swing was powerful enough so it was hard to block."
"Let me give you a hint," she said, annoyed, "It has to do with what you get tired of me saying over and over."
"Uh... Oh..." He looked down at his feet. Then he looked back up with his own annoyance apparent in face and voice. "Aw, but why should the feet matter so much?! The sword goes in the hands!"
"Hey, I'm not the one who makes up the laws of physics," Kaoru retorted, "Feet just play more part in swordplay than most realize. That's where you get your power and flexibility, from feet, knees, and hips. The arms do few things, but the feet make them seem to do more."
"Yeah yeah," the boy sighed, "Alright, what do I do with my feet again for this move?"
She took stance to demonstrate, as she explained each part and had him try it until he was practicing the pattern correctly. She found it strange that he would forget such a basic principle. Then again, the absence of the quietly happy Kenshin and the outgoing Sanosuke already felt distracting, so she did not feel too angry at the boy. It was now evening, anyway, so they were nearing quitting time. At least they had kept busy enough not to notice how empty the premises seemed.
Oh well, she thought, at least when they DO come back, it'll just be that much more wonderful.
***
Sanosuke had plenty of endurance, and he had plenty of strength. But he sure was tired of walking through the woods. Sure, there were some nice challenging hills here and climbs there, but Kenshin picked a pretty level way for the most part. And it was getting frustrating.
"How many days do we gotta do this, anyway?" he asked.
"That would be half a day less than the first time I told you, that it would," Kenshin replied levelly. He still wasn't annoyed. Dammit, wasn't there any way to annoy him into changing their traveling methods?
"Five more days if we hurry, to a week if we don't," Sano grumbled, "And that's just to Kyoto. How do we keep from goin' crazy, I'd like to know?"
"Where is that determination you had earlier, I ask?" Kenshin asked, himself, "Surely your eagerness to deal justice is enough to keep you fueled, I would think?"
"I'll never starve if you keep feedin' me my words," Sanosuke sighed with tired exasperation. "Fine, I admit it, I'm frellin' bored with just walkin' an' I'm such a baby that I can't stay focused. Are ya happy?"
"I did not wish to hear admittance of mistakes, that I did not," Kenshin answered gently, "I merely wished to remind you of why you are doing this. Besides, it will be night in a few hours, and so you may either sleep or stand guard, that you may."
"Heh, I'll take sleep first thank you," the younger man answered, knowing guard duty could be even more dull than walking.
Time passed...
Then more time...
Finally, long after it had grown dark, Kenshin was still walking with sure steps as Sanosuke fumbled about, breath in thick clouds before his face, nose feeling numb. It was only then that the rurouni asked Sanosuke if he was tired enough to sleep yet.
"The hell do you think my answer is?" he said with a smirk.
They soon found a spot, "they" more denoting Kenshin than Sanosuke since his night-vision was better, and a small campfire was started. Sanosuke eagerly wrapped himself in his blanket and bedded down, as Kenshin sat against a nearby tree for first watch, sword propped on his shoulder.
Even though it was cold, he felt no need to wrap up in his own blanket yet; He had quite a high tolerance for temperature, although he knew that within a few days it would be cold enough so he would have to start using the insulator. Through his quiet breath, he kept his amethyst eyes on all around him. Though alert, he did allow himself to drift into thought.
He thought about Kaoru, how pleasant it had been to be considered an equal in her company, a part of her. It was very difficult, however, for him to consider himself worthy of such an honor. And yet, it was an honor that was now his, whether he deserved it or not. Resisting it would be useless, so he would have to get himself to accept all of this. That was difficult, with the impressions his past had left upon him. But, like his Battousai half, he could find a way to put his past out of his conscious mind. He would have to; he wanted to be happy so Kaoru could be happy. Oh, if they got married, he would never ever treat her as property as most men believed they should. No, she would still be in charge, if anything, and independent as she loved to be. That was what made her so unique, so amazing. He sighed with a light smile.
He existed for her now. He would belong to her someday, body as well as soul, and only her. Dear Tomoe's soul now rested with whom she was meant to be with, and he felt no bitterness from her memory directed toward him. He knew things were going as they were meant to. That he and Kaoru were meant to be together, and would be so forever.
Sanosuke stirred and mumbled a bit, and Kenshin looked at him.
"Pass that over here, wouldja?" the young man murmured in a slurred tone, arm moving from under the blanket, eyes still closed in sleep, "They're not what.... what... yeeaaahhh.... Sake." He rolled partly over so he now faced away from the fire, curling up into a ball and snoring once before going quiet again. Kenshin couldn't help but smile. Even in his sleep, Sanosuke was outgoing.
Suddenly, Kenshin sprung silently to his feet, gripping his sword and sheathe in his hand, looking around with now narrowed eyes. He felt the ki of someone out there, and soon afterward heard some vegetation move. He waited to see if they asked who was there, as any casual visitor would. Hearing no questions, he lowered himself and crept silently toward the unknown person, pausing when he was still quite a ways off. It was then that he heard a male voice, lightly accented, ask "Hello? Who ees zere?"
Kenshin stood up straight and answered, just loudly enough to be heard, "Two men, I have come closer so as not to awaken my friend, that I have."
The stranger approached, occasionally asking "Where?" and getting a reply so he could follow the voice. Kenshin led him closer to the campfire so enough light could be shed upon his face, setting his sword down discreetly behind him. The man had a medium yet loose head of dark brown hair, some draping a bit down his neck and bangs over the right side of his forehead, and he was dressed in a uniform just like the one worn by the man who had attacked Kenshin the previous day. His stubbled face looked tired and a bit shy, green eyes lowering quite often along with his head. He looked to be a several years younger than Kenshin, possibly Sanosuke's age. He was clearly tired, but feeling too lost to sleep anytime soon.
"I am sorry to walk to you like zees," he whispered, "I have been traveling much and do not know my way around."
"That is not your fault," Kenshin answered. He felt sorry for this man. His uniform was quite worn, and his cheekbones seemed too prominent for those of a healthy man. How long had he been out here in the forest? Was he stationed here for the sole purpose of searching for the offender he was after? "What place are you looking for, if I may ask?"
The man looked up for a moment, with surprised confusion in his eyes. "I... I look for..." He glanced at Sanosuke, then back up at Kenshin. "Please, sir, I must look at your friend's face."
"Well... Alright, as long as you do not awaken him, I ask of you." He approached along with the man to make sure he had nothing harmful in mind for his sleeping companion. The guard knelt and examined Sanosuke's visible cheek, the right. It was clear, however, that he really wanted to see the left one, as he craned his neck down near the ground. Kenshin went to Sano's other side and carefully placed one finger on a certain part of the young man's chin, and another at a point in front of his temple, and slowly turned his head enough so the other cheek could be seen. Sano's eyebrows twitched but he otherwise had no reaction to the careful movement as his head was relaxed back onto the blanket once more.
Kenshin and the visitor both moved back to their previous spot. "He is not who you are looking for, I ask?" the rurouni queried quietly, knowing the answer and knowing what would soon come.
"No," the Frenchman answered, "He ees not..." His eyes roved tentatively to the band-aid on Kenshin's cheek, but always lowered when he realized Kenshin was noticing.
To abate the tension, Kenshin cocked his head slightly and said, "You appear to have been out here for quite some time. I know you are looking for a specific person, but is there a place you seek as well, I ask of you?"
The guard looked toward the fire, as if trying to warm his soul through his sad-looking eyes. "Eet... eet had ze syllable 'kyo'. I know I am near, and near zat place ees where I should find who I look for."
Kenshin kept that in mind as he nodded. "Well, I do not know your name, but still I am willing to allow you to stay here for the night, if you wish. I can give you some food and water, and a blanket, that I can."
The green eyes rose to Kenshin's with a moment of wistful temptation, unknowingly licking his lips with the very tip of his tongue. It was ever so clear he was hungry and cold. But suspicion drove his eyes to the band-aid yet again, then nervousness brought them back down to the ground before him.
There was silence for a while. Finally, Kenshin asked, "Are you one of those searching for a man with a cross-shaped scar on his cheek? The one who does horrible things to people, I ask of you?" The Frenchman's eyes had widened and locked on Kenshin's, his body going tense. He did not answer, and Kenshin continued, "My friend and I, we are searching for him as well, that we are. We wish to bring his foul deeds to justice."
Back to the bandage the round, emerald eyes leapt. The polite man Kenshin was, he spoke with a resigned sigh, "You wish for me to remove my bandage, I ask of you?"
Ashamed of such a rude wish, nervous of what he suspected, the Frenchman nodded, shaking from a combination of cold and tension, eyes locked on that spot now.
"I may as well not do so," Kenshin answered, "I will tell you, however, that I do bear a similar scar there. But I am not who you seek, that I am not."
Silence.
Tense silence on a hair-trigger, whether the stakes were high or not.
"...How can I believe you?" the long-suffering guard asked, almost too quietly to be heard, eyes warring between reluctant trust and the will to attack. Oddly, his accent seemed to change a bit.
"Had I wished to cause you harm," Kenshin answered gently, "I would have done so by now. I still offer you our fire, that I do."
The man slowly stood, eyes locked on Kenshin. He was shaking quite fiercely now, unsure of himself, convinced that the one before him was lying, and yet feeling awful for wishing to attack the first person he had seen in a long time. It was clear he was not fully into what he was about to do, yet his inner resistance would not be enough to stop him.
It was inevitable that he would attack. But Kenshin remained seated. "If you wish to kill me," he calmly said, "I shall possibly fight back if it goes on for too long. May we engage in such elsewhere so as not to awaken my companion, I ask of you?"
Figuring it better to fight one than two, the guard began to nod. But then, the consideration shown by Kenshin in that comment touched him. Then, there was the fact that he could not see too well; the starlight was far too pale and the trees obscured it. He had to act now... Now... Before he had too much time to think about how kind the enemy was acting. It was only acting.
It had to be.
He sprung at the still-sitting rurouni, twin crescents flashing through the dark night air so quickly their draw points could not be determined. Kenshin rolled out of the way, eyes widening so he could better catch his opponent's movement, his direction taking him away from the fire. He came up in a crouch and picked up his sword, still sheathed, and brought it up just in time to catch another brutal slash. He jerked backwards, hoping to pull the knife from the attacker's hand as it stuck in the sheathe, and he was successful in both that, and dodging a stab from the second weapon.
The dislodged blade flew off behind his back as he flung his covered weapon upward, followed by downward as he blocked a new blade from striking at his belly. He let go of the sheathe, then, drawing his blade from it with a swift swinging motion, letting the former fall to the ground. He let the motion carry him to the right to avoid another slash, and blocked another with his blade, barely. This made a scraping sound, as the metal met metal, but it was still rather quiet. The silence made the battle feel slow, although it was blindingly fast by now. That silence was annoying to the guard somehow, infuriating in that it felt like little power was being used.
As he struck repeatedly at the small red-head, Kenshin continued leading him away from the fire, only using his sword defensively. He knew he could end this conflict in an instant with one non-fatal blow, once he found the right opening. However, he chose to allow the Frenchman to continue releasing his anger and pain, letting the danger go on for the sake of the stranger. Slash after stab flew at the swordsman, many far too close for his liking. The attacker was, indeed, skilled, and it was clear that all of his hatred was now being poured into his blades.
An overhead slash, too fast to be dodged. Kenshin raised his sword to block it at the attacker's arm. Could have been quicker, but then the sharp side would have caught the knifer's wrist; he had taken the extra instant to turn it and avoid cutting him. The knifer held no such compunction, however, and let go of the knife as his hand was jolted to a halt. Kenshin made a small cry of surprise in his throat as he twisted his neck and upper body to the side. The knife managed to leave a shallow cut on his neck, not enough to rupture the jugular, but enough to start bleeding moments later. A second slash from the other hand was coming at his mid-section. Kenshin brought his blade down to block it. It was almost too close to the hilt, deflecting just a hairsbreadth from Kenshin's hand.
At least ten minutes went by of this one-sided battle, the attacker occasionally emitting growls and snarls, but finding the silence of his opponent far to easy to imitate otherwise. Kenshin used trees as shields in several instances, his sword a difficult tool to use against knives, depending mostly on his excellent night-vision and cat-like reflexes.
"Do you see," the rurouni quietly asked, the only sound now aside from their moving feet and clashing blades, "Do you see I have not yet fought back, I ask?"
"Because I have not let you," the other hissed. His next few swings were half-hearted, though, and easily dodged; he was tiring, and there was less light where they now were. More and more, his swings went wild, and the air in front of him was clouded by his own rapid breath, while Kenshin still appeared to be in fairly fresh condition.
Finally, the adrenaline that had been fueling him onward was depleted. The long period of starving and cold had taken its toll on the guard. He stood bent halfway over, panting heavily, shaking arms weakly holding the knives though unable to swing effectively anymore. He had a resigned look in his eyes, as if he was ready to accept death, but would continue fighting in spirit even though his shaking body would go no further.
Kenshin looked at him for a while, expression unreadable. He felt the warm blood trickling down his neck, familiar with the stinging scent that came with it. It was only his blood, nothing that warranted anger. He dropped the Sakabatou, and stood in silence.
The Frenchman looked a bit surprised, and remained that way as Kenshin spoke.
"I would suggest you share our fire for tonight," he said in a still calm voice, "Then go straight east for one day. There you shall find Tokyo, where you can get a good rest and some food, that you can."
The man's jaw became unlocked and dropped slightly open, his eyes conveying shock at his supposed enemy's behavior. How could he still make kind offers? How was he not angry when he was quite likely injured? Had he truly made a mistake in attacking him? His knees trembled as his own weight became difficult to bear, and an unintelligible sound came from his throat.
Kenshin looked concerned and approached slowly. "You have been through a difficult time, that you have," he observed. "Allow me to help you, I ask."
Another sound of weariness and shock, and the knives dropped from his hands and he began to fall forward. Kenshin neared more quickly and caught him before he could fully collapse, hands under his arms. The Frenchman was still shivering, and his breathing was as well as could be expected considering he was exhausted and may have had a chill, but he was now unconscious.
Kenshin looked toward the campfire. Quite a ways now, with this much weight; he was not accustomed to carrying heavy things like Sanosuke was, but he knew he could make it.
***
"Sanosuke..."
"...ungh..."
"My pardons, but I must sleep..."
"...No, I gotta sleep..."
"I am quite tired, that I am."
"Go 'way... Need more sleep..... Stop pokin' me."
Kenshin was squatting next to him, repeatedly poking the same spot on the back of Sanosuke's shoulder; the young man had rolled over to face away from him. Kenshin just sat there, all innocent looking, poking and poking and poking and poking and poking and poking and poking and poking...
"Alright alright alright already. I'm up, I'm up." Sanosuke sat up, not looking happy, hair more of a mess than it usually was. He yawned and stretched, then rubbed his eyes.
Kenshin spoke again, still whispering... Hey, they'd been whispering? Yeah. How come? "I did not wish to awaken you at all, that I did not. However, I am very tired and would not guard effectively if I should fall asleep."
"Yeah yeah, I know, I ain't mad. But why we whisperin'?"
Kenshin moved aside a bit and pointed with his open hand to a third man lying beside the fire, still in deep sleep. Sanosuke looked at Kenshin with a questioning expression, then noticed his neck. "Uh... What happened? Why's he here? Is that a cut on your neck?"
"I shall explain later so as not to awaken our guest, that I shall," Kenshin answered. He wanted to ask if he could use Sanosuke's blanket, as the night had gotten colder than he had anticipated, but he dared not ask for something since he had to wake him up as it was.
"Eh, lemme guess, I missed a fight again."
"I am afraid so."
"Blah, Kenshin, wake me up next time."
Kenshin smiled. That would get him springing right out of bed, that it would. He stood as Sanosuke did, speaking as the younger stretched again. "I just knew you needed your sleep, which was why I did not awaken you. You really wish for me to do so next time, I ask of you?"
"Well, yeah," he answered, "I said it, didn't I?" He opened his canteen, had a sip of water, then splashed some onto his face, blinking hard with pursed lips. Then he smiled. "A'right, I'm awake. I'll guard you an' our new buddy, you get your shut-eye." He plopped down, sitting against the nearest tree, arms and legs crossed jauntily. Then, he cocked his head, expression showing slight concern. "Hey," he said, stopping Kenshin as he was heading to his own tree near the visitor, "You really are tired, ain'cha?"
Kenshin turned his worn, heavy-looking face toward his friend and nodded once. He was thankful his friend was being so patient; it was not like him to wait when it came to being told about a missed fight. Kenshin truly would not have awakened anyone unless it was an emergency, had he not been so desperately tired.
"When d'you want me wakin' you up?"
Kenshin thought for a bit, half-closed eyes looking at the fire. They really needed to be up at daybreak and on their way; he wanted as little time wasted as possible. And yet, combining the fact that he had only napped briefly the previous night, and the skirmish he had had a couple hours ago, he knew that he needed his rest or he would not be at all effective against their distant target. "I do not wish for this," he answered quietly, "but I suppose I shall wake up when I have slept long enough, that I shall."
Sanosuke nodded understandingly, and watched Kenshin sit against the tree, immediately closing his bloodshot, violet eyes, sword propped against his shoulder as usual. After a while, Sano realized how cold it was, and reached for his blanket to wrap up in. Then, he also realized that Kenshin had given his own to the guest, and had probably not used it all night.
Grumbling to himself, he wadded the cloth up and carried it toward Kenshin, whose eyes opened once more and looked up at his friend curiously. Sano dumped the blanket on his white-clad lap. "Take my cover," he muttered, turning to head back.
"But, Sano--" Kenshin began.
Sanosuke turned his head back to face Kenshin, the rest of his body unmoving. His eyes were now narrowed and glowing red, fangs glistening in the firelight. "Take. My. Cover." he snarled.
"Ishalltakeit,thatIshall" Kenshin squeaked with an exaggerated, frightened smile, hugging the bunched-up cloth to emphasize that point. Sanosuke became normal again, smirk and all, and nodded, turning back once more and heading for his own tree, as Kenshin covered himself up and closed his eyes again.