Disclaimer: Watsuki-sama owns our beloved rurouni, not me. ...And I don't know whether to hate or worship him for that.
Chapter Fourteen
Himura looked at the situation before him.
…Yup, still surrounded.
Seeing that nothing had changed, and didn't look like it was going to change until the lord or commander gave the signal, he merely held his ground and watched the pleasantries pass between Futashi and the man known as Aroji.
"What are you doing here, Beef-head?!" Trust the boy to start out the formalities.
"Now, now Futashi-kun, is that anyway to greet me after finally meeting after all this time?"
Futashi agreed that it wasn't. So he apologized and rephrased his welcome. …It was certainly more colorful the second time around.
Aroji merely laughed in a way that seemed a few beats off from good-natured. "You always did have a temperament, brat. So did your sister if I recall… A feisty filly of a girl. Where is she, by the way? Since you're here she can't be too far behind…"
"YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!!!" The sudden force of his words made everyone briefly jump. It was shocking hearing such volume come from such a small body. Himura wondered if Aroji would just laugh again, but watching the man's face darken, humor was the last thing on his mind.
"Watch your tongue, boy." Amusement had been replaced with a forbidding displeasure, his deep voice rumbling dangerously. "No one tells me to keep away from what's mine. My property is my own, and no one else will keep me from it, or keep it from me." As he spoke he slowly drew out his katana, catching a stray light which illuminated the blade maliciously. "I should kill you both for running away, you know. Or at the very least, teach you a lesson using your own blood for a visual aid. Think the scars I leave you with will serve as a helpful reminder?"
In his mind, Kenshin had drawn an imaginary line. …This man had just crossed it.
"I won't even allow you to scratch that boy."
If Doom had a voice, Himura was doing one heck of an impression.
Aroji paused in his forward strut to turn his head to the side, looking upon the redhead as though just noticing him there. The two locked eye contact, dark brown orbs glaring back at… What was that color? It looked like violet with something golden flickering behind it…
Suddenly the broader man grinned, his smug amusement returning. "You have red hair," he pointed out.
"Aa."
"And a cross-shaped scar."
"…Aa."
"Interesting."
Most of the other men blinked, uncomprehending. Then one of the dumber ones actually spoke.
"I've got a birthmark that some people say look like a five-yen coin. Is that interesting too? Um, probably shouldn't tell you where it is though…"
The men gave him a wide berth.
"Kunhori," Aroji barked, and the commander weakly stepped up to his side. "Who hired that man?"
"Er, well, nobody really." He grew pale under the dark glare he received. "W-we're radicals, Lord!" he hastily explain. "We work on more of a volunteer system."
Aroji sighed irritably. "I knew I should've organized a union… Is he any good?" he inquired of his second-in-command.
"Yes, Lord. Very. Our best in combat skills. If you can manage to ignore anything he says, he's quite handy."
"Humph, we'll see." He whipped his head over to the man of their topic. "You there!"
"Koeji, Lord," Kunhori supplied.
"Koeji! Take out the men."
Himura didn't know what to expect of this opponent, but if he was their best soldier, it was probably wise not to take him too lightly. Beside him, Obaga subtly popped the blade from his sheath. Apparently any reluctance he had before was gone now. That was good. Now Himura felt better about getting down to business. Focusing back on their opponent, the two men found Koeji still standing where he was before. …Scratching his head and looking about him in confusion.
Himura may not have known what to expect from him, but the gestures weren't helping his attempt to take the man seriously. Neither is what he said next.
"But I thought we were all fighting together," the guard observed. "Why should I take out all the men?"
There was a collective, "…" and their leaders looked like they didn't know who they wanted to put out of their misery more; Koeji or themselves.
"Those two men over there!" Kunhori bellowed, saving his lord the trouble and pointing accusingly at their intruders. "Just those two! Go! Kill! Now!"
"Well why didn't you just say so in the first place?" The commander's frustrated scream was lost in the battle cry that then pierced the air.
He's good, the former hitokri had to admit after dodging a well-executed series of attacks that left little opening and kept him on the defensive.
He noted that Obaga was standing back, keeping an eye out for any interference from the outside and letting him take care of the thug. In the back of his mind, Himura supposed this was additional training to his sword technique. He'd re-learned where to strike his foes down due to his weapon now being a sakabatou, but the force behind his swing had yet to be fully perfected. It was one of the reasons he kept the blade sheathed now.
The other reason being because his favorite defensive strike required it.
Hey, one never found out unless they tried after all.
Himura jumped back a considerable distance for the sake of insuring time. Gauging his opponent one last time, he silently slid back into position, sakabatou propped, and his right hand hovering motionlessly above the hilt. He would've had to guess that his eyes even momentarily flashed amber as this poor sap's last warning to back off, but Koeji charged firmly on.
Oh well. It's his own funeral, after all, Himura thought before immediately reprimanding himself, reminding his inner-soldier that they didn't do funerals anymore.
The guard leapt forward, brandished sword gleaming down upon him.
Traction on the other hand…
There was a shout. A click. A clang. A sneeze. …But that one wasn't really important.
In the end, Koeji stood as much chance against Hiten Mitsurugi as a cockroach did against the bottom side of somebody's sandal.
A tense silence ran throughout the group after Koeji hit the ground. Some in anger of the challenge, some in slight fear of the young man's power, and some were just coining the phrase, "Duh…." Futashi belonged to the group of the latter sort himself.
Then two sounds broke through the air. The first was the finishing click as Himura placed his blade back in its scabbard, topping the intimidation off with a piercing glare that welcomed any other opposition.
The second was a steady clap.
"Excellent," Aroji remarked through a grin that was full of anything but good intentions.
"I should have known to expect nothing less from you."
His remaining men didn't know whether to join in their lord's arrogance or stand in awe that he wasn't the least bit phased that their top man had been taken down so easily. Caught in indecision, they at last chose to go with the safe state of stupor.Himura watched as Aroji stepped a bit closer to Futashi, and his hand immediately tightened its grip on his sakabatou. However, upon looking at the boy's face and seeing the absolute shock there, he suddenly felt a bit sheepish. …And a bit afraid. This man obviously knew who he was, and it seemed that in a few moments… Futashi would as well.
Remembering his manners upon sight of the young boy, Himura addressed the man in charge once more. "Sessha does not wish to fight you or your men de gozaru. Let him go and there won't be any trouble."
Aroji didn't answer. Instead, he leaned down to talk to the boy.
"Futashi-kun, do you know what kind of technique that was?"
Up to this point, the kid had been slack-jawed and bug-eyed over witnessing Himura going from Captain Clumsy to King Booya. The sound of Aroji's scratchy voice however was enough to snap him back to reality.
"W-what?" he asked, startled to suddenly find the despised man so close to him.
"Battoujutsu." The lord of these radicals carried on, speaking to Futashi but never losing eye-contact with the young swordsman in subject.
"Battoujutsu?" Futashi echoed absently, too concerned with keeping Aroji at a distance than to notice Himura's expression darken and tense.
"I admit it's my first time seeing it, and I'm quite impressed. His speed is as legendary as they say it seems. What a delightful challenge."
"What're you talking about?" the kid asked, his arrogance returning to him in the form of irritation. "Start making some--"
"And do you know who is famous for their speed and form of battoujutsu?"
"Enough!" Himura half shouted, half pleaded, vainly trying to stop his secret from being unveiled. But just like bread always landing butter-side down, this too was inevitable.
"The Battousai."
And with that, things would never be the same again.
…
"…The who?" Futashi asked, sounding as though he'd just heard a joke and didn't quite get the punch line.
"…The Battousai!" Aroji explained, extremely annoyed that his dramatic build-up had been for nothing. "He's the legendary hitokiri for the Ishin Shishi! Their secret assassin. Hello? Is anything clicking here?!"
"Secret… assassin?" Futashi repeated, this time with a much quieter voice and the look of realization dawning in his eyes.
…Okay, so it was with that, that things would never be the same again.
In a hushed, disbelieving tone, Futashi murmured, "You mean… he… he's the who…?""You remember Seitaro, don't you?" Aroji stepped up behind the boy and motioned out to the sorrow-stricken redhead. "Well Futashi-kun, I'd like you to meet his killer. The Hitokiri Battousai himself."
Somehow the pleasantries failed to be exchanged.
"Well Battousai," the broad man continued, obviously over-pleased with himself in causing what was clearly a misfortune to them. "What have you to say for yourself, hm?"
Himura found there was only one thing to say.
"…Are you going to let him go or not?"
Aroji blinked. "Eh?"
Taking a step forward and keeping his stance ready, the former assassin resumed his initial resolve.
"I asked if you were going to let him go or not. If you think that your revelation has changed my resolve to protect this child, then you are sadly mistaken. So then, are you going to settle this the easy way or…" The sentence was left to the imagination as Himura's blade was once again popped from its scabbard.
Apparently many of the men had good imagination, seeing as to how several stepped back a few feet. Most there were left in slight awe again as their lord once again didn't appear very phased by this fearsome threat. By the Legendary Hitokiri himself! A devil of flaming hair, seering yellow eyes, and the speed that was rumored to match the gods! The Battousai didn't need any dramatic build-up. His name alone was Fear.
…This isn't to say the mood couldn't be broken however.
"…Did… anybody get… the… name of that… vending cart…?"
The sound of a blink is an odd and perplexing sound that is often much too soft to be heard by anyone. But when a dozen people blink at once, just as the collected did while turning over to look at a recovering Koeji, it lingers as an interesting experience before being forgotten in the face of other matters.
"He's still alive?!" someone squawked.
"No way! I saw him get sliced in half!"
"Aw man, there goes the increase on our paychecks."
Himura looked as surprised as the rest of them, resisting the urge to rub the back of his neck and mutter, "Oops," for apparently not finishing the job. It was quite embarrassing really. Kind of like claiming to the best potter in town only to realize you forgot to put the bottom in a vase; a boast that won't hold any substance.
"Anou… I think you're still holding back too much, Himura-dono," Obaga remarked.
"No way! I made sure to not hold back that much!"
"Well either that or he has an impressively thick skin!"
"…"
"…"
"Sessha's sen is on the thickness de gozaru."
"Wait, let me rephrase that…"
"It seems I've over-estimated you a bit, Battousai," Aroji cut in. "I'll still have to get rid of you however." A merciless sneer as he laid a hand on Futashi's shoulder. "Can't have any witnesses now, can we?" The boy tried to move away but was held firmly in place by the broad man's firm grip. "You should be able to understand that… right?"
Several of the men stepped forward with their brandished swords. Apparently, a person wasn't found very intimidating anymore after one of their "victims" manages to stand back up.
"Duh, which way did he go, guys? Which way did he go?!"
…If a bit incoherently.
Ignoring Koeji and listening to the orders of their lord, the group prepared to close in. Kenshin found his vision was more focused on the boy in Aroji's hands rather than the tightening circle of soldiers.
"This is your last chance to let him go peacefully de gozaru!" he warned. "Leave him out of this! He's only a boy!"
"Correction. He's the boy who will help me find what is mine again." He gave another devious grin to the child. "Isn't that wonderful, Futashi-kun? We'll go see your sister and be just as happy as before."
"NO! You stay away from her!" Nikko's younger brother cried, vainly trying to pry the thick fingers pinching into his arm and shoulder. They squeezed painfully, causing him to yelp in protest. "HIMURA!"
Nobody kept track of what happened after that.
Later, most of the guards would wake up wondering how long they'd been napping. Then after trying to sit up, they'd wonder if they'd been drinking. Afterwards still, when the pain became recognized as something worse than a hangover, they'd begin to wonder what hit them. One thing was for sure however.
The intruders were gone.
…And their lord was smiling.
End of chapter fourteen.
Author's Notes:
Well, this chapter was originally supposed to be longer, with a bit more insight into Obaga's past along with news reaching the brothel. ...But I guess that'll be getting pushed to the next chapter, ne? I felt like I owed you something and didn't want to draw this out for more than a month.
Okay minna, here's the jist. The story may be getting a bit serious from time to time from here on out. This chapter was a good example of that. Due to this, I can't always fit humor into every situation because that'll ruin the seriousness of a topic.
This is not to say I'm giving up the humor and bad jokes! Not by a long shot! However, don't be surprised if I go several paragraphs long without anything light-hearted or witty to say. It's just the way the story is turning. Hmm, I might have to add another genre to the fic, but I'm not sure which one. ...Or if I really even want to. ^^; We'll see.
Sorry about these long delays between chaptes, but school is in and I'm taking classes that demand quite a bit of my time. On the plus side, I'm studying Shinkendo, so that's sweet! Got myself a bokken and all.
Man, Aroji is turning out more sadistic than I first planned him to be. Oh well. I actually like the creepy villians. They're just cool.
Well, some of you were waiting for Himura's secret to be out and here it is! ...Okay, only to Futashi so far, but we'll see what the boy does with it, okay? Again, I leave you hanging. ^^; GOMEN!!!
Thanks for sticking around this long!
P.S. Has anyone else noticed that this story has had several summeries so far? We'll see what it ends on, ne?