Act 4: Chaos in Kyoto- Part Two
Disclaimer: If you think I own Rurouni Kenshin, yer crazier than I am!
Notes: Arigatou for all the reviews, minna-san! J.Liha-san, I'm imagining this in my head as the anime art style, myself ^o^ (I imagine the entire thing animated, and write it down! Mwa ha!) Dementedchris-sensei- I'm thinking Tomoe should be glad that Kenshin didn't know the ougi when they were together. >=D (Kenshin may be so sweet and mild-mannered, but he IS still a male =p) Kori Suketchi-san- thanks for all your reviews =) JML- I know I'm scary at times! *evil laughter* I wanted to do something different! Very different! I'm dedicating this chapter to all the Hiko lovers out there! =p
Hiko Seijuro sat on a log before his kiln, carefully
applying the finishing touches to a vase. It'd been so much more peaceful
since Yahiko had retrieved his baka deshi's son.
Though the big man would never admit it, he was
wondering how his redheaded student was faring. The rurouni's son Kenji
had only contempt for his father, for leaving his mother so often, for
having been a great swordsman, though his son had never seen any of it-
he had only been a tiny child the last time Kenshin had used his sakabatou.
Hiko smirked, recalling Kenji's arrival and desire
to learn Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu. He'd never actually agreed to teach the
boy, and only gave him the basics of swordsmanship. He'd already chosen
not to pass the style on to anyone else shortly after Kenshin had learned
the succession technique. Years after that choice, he still didn't regret
it.
A chill wind suddenly blasted through the clearing,
thoroughly getting dust and grit in the glaze of the vase. With a muted
curse, Hiko got up to wash the vase off and reapply the glaze. He stopped,
his back turned to the overgrown trail leading to the cabin.
"...So you're back, baka deshi?" Hiko inquired,
not turning around, trusting his senses which told him that his baka deshi
was standing in the overgrowth on the trail behind him. "Now what are you
here to bother me with?"
Shinta blinked, surprised that the thirteenth master
of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu was so easily aware of him. He opted to keep himself
hidden, wondering with a slight grin how his shishou would react.
"Well? You ought to know you can't sneak up on me,
baka deshi." Hiko turned to face the redhead... only to find the redhead
not there. He quickly scanned the trees and other likely hiding places.
Something was extremely not right with the situation. He felt his baka
deshi's ki coming from the edge of the clearing, and approaching, but there
was not a single sign of the rurouni.
Shinta strolled right up in front of Hiko, starting
to enjoy the confused look on the big man's face. It wasn't often someone
was able to the better of the guy, and Shinta still owed his shishou for
all the insults and jokes at his expense. Unseen, the rurouni grinned and
waved a hand in front of Hiko, making sure that he didn't somehow have
a way to see the ghost. When Hiko gave no indication of the motion, Shinta
grinned and stole around behind him.
Hiko briefly considered the possibility of having
had too much sake, but decided to himself that was impossible. He also
considered the possibility of having gone insane, but laughed that one
off.
"I must be imagining things. Hmph." Hiko was about
to take a step forward to resume cleaning off the vase, when something
held his big white cloak fast and he was yanked backwards.
Shinta couldn't help but grin as he focused himself
on yanking his shishou's cape back. He always thought it looked goofy,
and just the sight of Hiko windmilling his arms to try and regain his balance
and falling over anyway was worth dying for. The vase went flying, but
Shinta cushioned its fall, so that when Hiko, red in the face, stood back
up, he found the ceramic project amazingly in one piece, set upright on
the log, as if mocking him.
Hiko was Not Happy. True, it's perfectly human to
stumble over something every now and then. But someone had GRABBED his
cloak and yanked him down. And he could still sense his baka deshi.
"Baka deshi! I know you're here!" The big guy scowled.
It wasn't like Kenshin to be so sneaky. Had his baka deshi somehow found
a way to move so fast that not even his shishou could see him? He thought
he heard some muted snickering, and tried to locate the source. "Come out
of hiding!"
Shinta retreated toward the river, almost in hysterics.
Who would have thought picking on the almighty Hiko Seijuro would be so
fun? He almost wished Kaoru was there to enjoy it, and remembered that
Kaoru was talking with Tomoe...
"Oro..."
Hiko grumbled and poured himself some sake,
trying to figure out was the heck was going on. To say he was annoyed would
be like saying Hiten Misturugi Ryuu is powerful. It's the truth, but completely
misses the scale of the thing. There weren't that many ways the strange
occurrence could be explained. His cape hadn't snagged on anything- there
was nothing to snag it on. He hadn't stepped on it and tripped himself-
the last time he had done that was well before he'd taken Kenshin in. And
there was nothing short of going insane or drinking entirely too much to
explain why it felt like his baka deshi was present, when he was nowhere
to be found.
Hiko continued to mull over the bizarre events of
the day while he went to the river for some water and to check his fish
traps. He looked at his reflection in the water, and spun around to deck
his baka deshi when he saw the redhead reflected in the water with both
hands placed behind Hiko's head, lending the appearance of bunny ears.
Shinta fell over laughing at the look on his shishou's
face when the big guy spun around, intending to nail him, and found nothing
but thin air. Hiko, really confused now, looked back at the water, seeing
only his own face reflected back at him. It might have been the wind, but
he almost thought he heard his baka deshi's voice raised in hysterical
laughter. Hiko Seijuro did not like being laughed at. It was his job to
laugh at his baka desshi, not the other way around.
Hiko returned to his cabin and put the fish to cook.
A twig snapped and Hiko glanced in that direction, sensing another person's
approach.
Shinomori Aoshi stepped into the clearing, ice blue
eyes quickly spotting the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu master.
"What do you want?" Hiko raised an eyebrow at the
former Oniwabanshu okashira. "I'm not in the mood for company."
"I have a letter from the Kamiya dojo. It arrived
at the Aoiya with instructions to deliver it to you." Aoshi withdrew an
envelope from his trenchcoat and handed it to Hiko. Shinta studied Aoshi,
confused. He'd delivered the letter, why hadn't he left yet?
"You can go now." Hiko waved Aoshi off and opened
the letter.
"... I was also instructed to retrieve a vase for
Misao." Shinta couldn't be certain, but he thought he caught a trace of
a blush on Aoshi's face at mention of the girl.
"Why didn't she come get it herself?" Hiko raised
an eyebrow. The spunky young woman was certainly capable of scaling the
mountain trail herself- she'd done it before to commission and retrieve
vases and such from him.
"... The climb is too rough for her in her current
condition." Aoshi stated simply after a long, awkward silence.
Current condition? Shinta thought to himself.
Is
Misao-dono ill?
"'Current condition'?" Hiko set the letter
down and retrieved the vase Misao had commissioned.
"Hai." Aoshi nodded slightly, not elaborating. Shinta
was certain now that the Oniwabanshu member was blushing.
"... You knocked her up again, didn't you?" Hiko
stated bluntly, handing over a white vase with a sakura design painted
on it.
Shinta fell over. 'AGAIN'?!
"....... Hai." Aoshi admitted after a much
longer awkward silence. "Kumiko-chan is looking forward to having a baby
brother or sister."
Hiko nodded slightly as Aoshi took the vase and
left. Shinta tried and failed to picture Aoshi and Misao with a child...
a daughter, no less.
"So let's see what my baka deshi's wife has to say..."
Hiko murmured and unfolded the letter. Shinta peered over Hiko's shoulder
and read it as well.
"Dear Hiko-san..." Hiko frowned. It felt like someone
was reading over his shoulder. Rather, it felt like his baka desshi was
reading over his shoulder. "Kenshin returned to Japan recently, and was
reunited with Kaoru, who was at the time extremely ill.
Kenshin passed away, as did Kaoru. The rest of us
are holding up relatively well, given the loss of the pair-" Hiko dropped
the letter. His baka deshi, whom he'd just been accusing of yanking his
cape and bothering him... dead? Before him?
Shinta smiled slightly. Hiko was obviously upset
or unnerved by the news, and the redhead couldn't blame the arrogant man.
After his parents had died, Hiko had become almost a surrogate father to
him, and despite the insults and jokes, Hiko had treated him like a son.
"... He can't do anything right." Hiko grumbled
in a low voice, an obvious mask for a much more serious emotion. "The thirteenth
master is supposed to die before the fourteenth. Baka deshi."
Hiko retrieved his jug of sake, and took a swig
right from the bottle, rather than pour it. Tentatively, he picked the
letter back up and skimmed the rest of the short note. Kenji hadn't taken
the death of both his parents very well and had slipped into a severe depression,
and Yahiko had taken over running the dojo and teaching the Kamiya Kasshin
style.
After taking another swig from the sake jug, Hiko
glanced around again, still sensing the redhead's presence.
"Baka deshi! I know you're here now, in spirit if
not in body." He declared, working to keep his voice level. "Get out of
here and go bother your family!"
Shinta grinned and decided the gig was up. Hiko
did have a very good point. Kenji would need time to grieve, but he did
also need his family.
"I am." Shinta replied. "I wanted to visit the man
who raised me one last time."
Hiko visibly jumped at the sound of his baka deshi's
voice, and nearly turned as white as his cape (but not quite) when the
redhead appeared.
"Kenshin-??" Hiko was surprised he could still use
his voice. (Not that he would admit it to anyone.)
"Hai, shishou." Shinta smiled and gestured to his
left side. "Demo, you said that was a name for a swordsman, and I'm not
anymore."
Hiko watched the redhead for a moment, trying to
figure out what the hell to say. "... Alright then, Shinta-" He started,
emphasizing the name. "-go back to your wife and kid, then." He turned
his back on the phantom and felt the presence fading.
"Arigatou, shishou." Shinta smiled at the gruff
man as he left. "Sayonara."
After the redhead had disappeared, Hiko sat heavily
down on his log, contemplated his sake jug, and downed what was left.
"I didn't honestly think his spirit was hanging
around.... I thought I was losing it."
Author's Notes: *snicker* This chapter is much saner than the last one,
I think. ^o^ Hiko's a hard character to write, actually o.o; Would you
people believe that I banged out the first two chapters in about an hour,
the third chapter in about 20 minutes, and this one took me upwards of
5 hours? Next time- Chaos in Kyoto is put on hold as our ghosts make a
trip back to Tokyo to help Kenji and the others cope with their loss, if
they can. Or maybe I'll go see what else Kaoru and Tomoe are talking about.
Not sure yet.
Also, I think, for a comedy piece, there's actually
some seriousness buried in it. Y'notice? (Except maybe for chapter 3. I
don't think there was any seriousness in there. Can you guys picture Kenshin
trying to apply Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu to COOKING?)
Until next time, minna-san! Comments are appreciated!