Last updated...8/27.
Huh? Where have I been?
Heh heh, Sorry for the tiny chappy and the long update wait. It couldn't be helped. I swear! It's just...
After seeing the most recent RK ep on TV, I needed some time to recuperate.
Did anyone else freak out when Shishio did..._that_ thing...to Kenshin? That was just _icky_... *shudders*
Anyway, here's the new chappy for you. Enjoy!
(PS: OOC warning.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was angry.
He was seriously angry.
/He laughs about slaughtering people. I'll kill him! I'll kill him!/
"Let the battle continue then," the man said. His voice was a little less sure now.
"If you wish to die then I suggest you attack me now," he threatened in reply.
/I'll KILL him for what he was going to do!/
The man charged, holding the twin-bladed Katana high.
'Feint left, quick slash down and right, stab in right arm.'
He pretended to fall for the feint, then leaped right and back while twisting his body out of the Katana's shining reach.
'Pathetic.'
This insignificant piece of trash was barely worth his time. Even if the man did use the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu, he knew the style perfectly well. He watched in amusement as the man readied his stance. When before it had been like wading in a black fog, now his eyesight was sharp and focused again.
"Hiten Mitsurugi, Do-Ryu-Sen!"
It was child's play to leap and avoid the exploding ground. And to counter in the very same instant.
"Hiten Mitsurugi, Ryu-Tsui-Sen Zan!"
The man ducked away from the downwardly-pointed blade, nearly losing the top of his hooded cloak. Now he was angry too. They ended up shouting at the same time.
"Hiten Mitsurugi, RYU-SOU-SEN!"
Sparks flew as the Sakabatou and the Katana blades met with every lighting thrust.
'So, he's not as bad as I thought. No matter.'
"Kenshin! You have to stop!"
What was that noise? Oh, the woman was yelling something. Although outwardly not changing expression in the least, inside his head he was trying to think through all the killing haze.
/I know this woman./
Other voices yelled as well, the man and the boy.
/Why do they want me to stop?/
"I'll get you yet, Battousai!"
"We'll see!"
"Kenshin, you can't go back to being a man-slayer! That's the reason you said you started wandering ten years ago!"
/Not quite./
'Outsiders are becoming distracting. Perhaps they'll die after this filth!'
/But…I don't want to kill _them_…/
'What's the difference?'
His fighting went on automatic as he began to argue inside his own head. Part of him wanted to kill this person and anyone else that stood in his way, but the other was loath to kill anything. Ever.
/They're…/
"Kenshin! Stop fighting before you kill him!"
/They're my…friends…/
'So? Man-slayers lead short lives, with no room for friendship.'
/That doesn't matter. I'm not a man-slayer anymore. I do not KILL!/
Kenshin froze. The man before him hesitated, confused over his enemy's sudden stillness.
'I must stop him before I lose control altogether. But how?'
Kenshin remembered something, a brief snippet of something from just yesterday…
"Hee-yah! Hah!"
"What are you doing Kaoru-dono?"
"Oh, Kenshin! I'm just trying to get this blasted finishing move to work. Over and under and - grrr, why can't I remember how it goes!"
Something occurred to him, and Kenshin drew his Sakabatou. Kaoru watched in startled amusement as Kenshin hesitantly tried to mimic the move himself.
"No," she scolded him, snapping back to 'sensei' mode in an instant, "You're swinging it wrong! 'Straight up and around'!"
Kenshin gritted his teeth in concentration and swung it straight up, made a quick circle, and then brought the blade straight down.
"Like this, Kaoru-dono?"
"That's it! That's exactly how my dad did it! But why can't I do it? Stupid finishing move, you work for Kenshin but not for me… Tell you what, from now on Kenshin, you use that technique. I give up on it!"
'Of course!'
"So, are you not going to continue the fight, Battousai?"
The man seemed grumpy, but the others looked thrilled when they saw Kenshin's eyes were no longer full of the Hitokiri rage.
"It seems you have mistaken me for someone else. I am no longer the Battousai. My name is Kenshin Himura, and this is the end of it."
Kenshin charged forward, making the other man raise his Katana in defensive against what he thought was a hard horizontal swing.
Instead, at the last possible second, Kenshin stopped dead in his tracks. Then he brought the Sakabatou straight up, jarring the Katana out the man's hands and into the air. Then he moved the blade in a small and swift circle, which sent the Katana flying off to the side, before bringing the Sakabatou straight down and stopping with it pointed at the man's chest.
"So _that's_ how our stupid move goes! Owww…"
Cracking her knuckles after the punch, Kaoru looked over the scene. The stranger seemed angry at Kenshin for stopping.
"Well? Aren't you going to kill me?"
Kenshin did something that surprised everyone watching. He sheathed his sword, then spoke.
"No, for two reasons. One, this is a reversed blade sword incapable of killing people."
"And two?"
Kenshin smiled.
"It's not polite to kill your own Shishou during a practice bout, that it isn't."
"WHAT!"
The three of them were shocked beyond belief, and it only got worse when the stranger started laughing. It wasn't as menacing as it had been all those other times before.
"Once again, you've proven to the entire world that you really are nothing more than a complete and total idiot."
He ripped off the heavy black cloak and hood. Without it, the stranger was revealed to be tall, with long black hair and grayish-greenish eyes. He was wearing a full set of robes, topped off with a gigantic white cloak lined with red.
"Well? Aren't you going to introduce me? Baka deshi!"
"Everyone, please meet my Shishou, Hiko Seijuro," Kenshin said while sweat-dropping at the name his Shishou always called him.
Being called a 'Stupid Pupil' in front of other people made it seem more embarrassing then usual. At least Kenshin remembered to introduce his friends to his Shishou without being called it again.
"This is Sanosuke Sagara -"
"Hi," Sanosuke said with a shrug.
"This is Miss Kaoru Kamiya, Assistant Master of the Kamiya Dojo -"
"Hello," Kaoru said slowly, a bit uncertain with how things were going now.
"And her student, Yahiko -"
"Oh yes, I remember you, you're the brat that figured out the second clue," Hiko interrupted.
"He's certainly smarter then _you_, too bad he wasn't around twenty years ago."
Yahiko wasn't sure if he'd just been insulted or praised. Kenshin looked embarrassed. Avoiding his old master had been one of the benefits/reasons of becoming a Rurouni.
Huh? Where have I been?
Heh heh, Sorry for the tiny chappy and the long update wait. It couldn't be helped. I swear! It's just...
After seeing the most recent RK ep on TV, I needed some time to recuperate.
Did anyone else freak out when Shishio did..._that_ thing...to Kenshin? That was just _icky_... *shudders*
Anyway, here's the new chappy for you. Enjoy!
(PS: OOC warning.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was angry.
He was seriously angry.
/He laughs about slaughtering people. I'll kill him! I'll kill him!/
"Let the battle continue then," the man said. His voice was a little less sure now.
"If you wish to die then I suggest you attack me now," he threatened in reply.
/I'll KILL him for what he was going to do!/
The man charged, holding the twin-bladed Katana high.
'Feint left, quick slash down and right, stab in right arm.'
He pretended to fall for the feint, then leaped right and back while twisting his body out of the Katana's shining reach.
'Pathetic.'
This insignificant piece of trash was barely worth his time. Even if the man did use the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu, he knew the style perfectly well. He watched in amusement as the man readied his stance. When before it had been like wading in a black fog, now his eyesight was sharp and focused again.
"Hiten Mitsurugi, Do-Ryu-Sen!"
It was child's play to leap and avoid the exploding ground. And to counter in the very same instant.
"Hiten Mitsurugi, Ryu-Tsui-Sen Zan!"
The man ducked away from the downwardly-pointed blade, nearly losing the top of his hooded cloak. Now he was angry too. They ended up shouting at the same time.
"Hiten Mitsurugi, RYU-SOU-SEN!"
Sparks flew as the Sakabatou and the Katana blades met with every lighting thrust.
'So, he's not as bad as I thought. No matter.'
"Kenshin! You have to stop!"
What was that noise? Oh, the woman was yelling something. Although outwardly not changing expression in the least, inside his head he was trying to think through all the killing haze.
/I know this woman./
Other voices yelled as well, the man and the boy.
/Why do they want me to stop?/
"I'll get you yet, Battousai!"
"We'll see!"
"Kenshin, you can't go back to being a man-slayer! That's the reason you said you started wandering ten years ago!"
/Not quite./
'Outsiders are becoming distracting. Perhaps they'll die after this filth!'
/But…I don't want to kill _them_…/
'What's the difference?'
His fighting went on automatic as he began to argue inside his own head. Part of him wanted to kill this person and anyone else that stood in his way, but the other was loath to kill anything. Ever.
/They're…/
"Kenshin! Stop fighting before you kill him!"
/They're my…friends…/
'So? Man-slayers lead short lives, with no room for friendship.'
/That doesn't matter. I'm not a man-slayer anymore. I do not KILL!/
Kenshin froze. The man before him hesitated, confused over his enemy's sudden stillness.
'I must stop him before I lose control altogether. But how?'
Kenshin remembered something, a brief snippet of something from just yesterday…
"Hee-yah! Hah!"
"What are you doing Kaoru-dono?"
"Oh, Kenshin! I'm just trying to get this blasted finishing move to work. Over and under and - grrr, why can't I remember how it goes!"
Something occurred to him, and Kenshin drew his Sakabatou. Kaoru watched in startled amusement as Kenshin hesitantly tried to mimic the move himself.
"No," she scolded him, snapping back to 'sensei' mode in an instant, "You're swinging it wrong! 'Straight up and around'!"
Kenshin gritted his teeth in concentration and swung it straight up, made a quick circle, and then brought the blade straight down.
"Like this, Kaoru-dono?"
"That's it! That's exactly how my dad did it! But why can't I do it? Stupid finishing move, you work for Kenshin but not for me… Tell you what, from now on Kenshin, you use that technique. I give up on it!"
'Of course!'
"So, are you not going to continue the fight, Battousai?"
The man seemed grumpy, but the others looked thrilled when they saw Kenshin's eyes were no longer full of the Hitokiri rage.
"It seems you have mistaken me for someone else. I am no longer the Battousai. My name is Kenshin Himura, and this is the end of it."
Kenshin charged forward, making the other man raise his Katana in defensive against what he thought was a hard horizontal swing.
Instead, at the last possible second, Kenshin stopped dead in his tracks. Then he brought the Sakabatou straight up, jarring the Katana out the man's hands and into the air. Then he moved the blade in a small and swift circle, which sent the Katana flying off to the side, before bringing the Sakabatou straight down and stopping with it pointed at the man's chest.
"So _that's_ how our stupid move goes! Owww…"
Cracking her knuckles after the punch, Kaoru looked over the scene. The stranger seemed angry at Kenshin for stopping.
"Well? Aren't you going to kill me?"
Kenshin did something that surprised everyone watching. He sheathed his sword, then spoke.
"No, for two reasons. One, this is a reversed blade sword incapable of killing people."
"And two?"
Kenshin smiled.
"It's not polite to kill your own Shishou during a practice bout, that it isn't."
"WHAT!"
The three of them were shocked beyond belief, and it only got worse when the stranger started laughing. It wasn't as menacing as it had been all those other times before.
"Once again, you've proven to the entire world that you really are nothing more than a complete and total idiot."
He ripped off the heavy black cloak and hood. Without it, the stranger was revealed to be tall, with long black hair and grayish-greenish eyes. He was wearing a full set of robes, topped off with a gigantic white cloak lined with red.
"Well? Aren't you going to introduce me? Baka deshi!"
"Everyone, please meet my Shishou, Hiko Seijuro," Kenshin said while sweat-dropping at the name his Shishou always called him.
Being called a 'Stupid Pupil' in front of other people made it seem more embarrassing then usual. At least Kenshin remembered to introduce his friends to his Shishou without being called it again.
"This is Sanosuke Sagara -"
"Hi," Sanosuke said with a shrug.
"This is Miss Kaoru Kamiya, Assistant Master of the Kamiya Dojo -"
"Hello," Kaoru said slowly, a bit uncertain with how things were going now.
"And her student, Yahiko -"
"Oh yes, I remember you, you're the brat that figured out the second clue," Hiko interrupted.
"He's certainly smarter then _you_, too bad he wasn't around twenty years ago."
Yahiko wasn't sure if he'd just been insulted or praised. Kenshin looked embarrassed. Avoiding his old master had been one of the benefits/reasons of becoming a Rurouni.