Love and Trust

"Battousai, why are you leaving tonight? You can go first thing in the morning." Aoshi watched Kenshin pack some rice balls and a jug of water.

"Well…Master Hiko told me that he'll try to keep her there till tomorrow. Knowing Kiriko, she'll probably leave first thing in the morning. I want to be there just as she's leaving. And once I see her I'll telling her everything about me." He picked up his sakabatou and headed for the door.

Kenshin stopped by the door and turned around. "Mrs. Misao will you do me a favor."

"Any thing, Himura."

"Please write my wife and tell her that Kiriko and I should be home soon."

Misao smiled, "I'll do it right away. Goodbye Himura and good luck."

Kenshin smiled, "Thank you Aoshi, Misao for everything. I promise to come back and I'll bring my whole family next time. Goodbye" He walked out the door.

Little did Aoshi and Misao know that Kenshin would be back sooner then they thought.

"So the place where my father fought the Battousai is not far from here?" Shio asked.

"Yes. It burned down after they had the fight and its been condemned ever since. But if you're still going there, it's in those mountains." The old man pointed to the mountains in the west. He looked at Shio again. "You know… I would have never thought he had a son. Where have you been?"

"China….Thanks for your help. I want to get over tonight. Take care old man." Shio picked up his sword and headed towards the mountains.

It didn't take Shio very long to get to the site where his mother and father's ashes lay. He walked up the rocky stairs that lead to the entrance of the cave. There was a full moon in the sky but with the trees blocked most of the light, Shio thought he better make a torch. After he made it, he stepped in front of the forbidding cave entrance and took a deep breath.

"I've come too far to stop now." Shio said out loud to himself.

He stepped in.

Meanwhile, the sound of two swords clashing rang throughout the night sky.

"Aaaawwww!" Kiriko went sliding across the ground. She stopped just before she hit a tree.

Hiko watched her lying there breathing hard. This style of swordsmanship is unusual. Her technique is not Hiten…. however it's very similar… He wiped the sweat from his brow…. she seems to be faster and more agile than Kenshin….this is very interesting. "You know I must admit it. You're good considering you're a ronin …..actually you're very good but you haven't hit me yet. So GET UP! You have one last chance to find out about your father's secret….or you can forfeit and start heading home tonight."

Kiriko stayed on the ground for a minute. She was desperately trying to catch her breath. "never." She whispered as she shakily tried to lift herself off the ground. After a couple of tries, she finally managed to get onto her feet.

Hiko tilted his head toward her. "What was that? Did you say you're giving up?"

Kiriko took in a deep breath, "NEVER!" She screamed and looked at Hiko. Her eyes were blazing with fire. The wind around her blew intensely as she glared at him.

"Those eyes…" Hiko was talking to himself, "….humph…..she's Kenshin's daughter all right." Hiko smiled. "Well if you're not giving up then COME ON! Stop standing there like an idiot and attack me!"

Kiriko wait! He's trying to make you waste your last attack. She lowered Laplatina and took a good look at Hiko. Little tricks won't work on him. I tried hitting his hands, feet, arms, and legs. He blocked it every time. I think he was expecting me to go for those places. What place won't he expect me to attac-…….she smiled inwardly. Oh okay.

"Are you quitting? I'm beginning to get quite impatient." Hiko lowered his sword.

Kiriko didn't answer. She sheathed her sword and pulled it out from her tie. Hiko looked into those flaming gold eyes. What is she doing? I'm having a trouble reading her. Even though she looks furious, her aura shows no signs of any emotion.

"Here I come." Kiriko jumped straight into the air. I know what she's going to do, Hiko thought as he jumped in the air after her. As she started to fall, she tilted her body downward towards the approaching Hiko. She unsheathed her sword. Kiriko swung down to hit him on the top of his head but he blocked it. Hiko figured she would try for his arm again however he didn't realize that the criss-crossed swords formed a sort of titter totter. Kiriko placed her hand at the other end of the sword and shifted her weight to flip over his head using him as the balance. With her sheath, she spun and swung at the right side of his stomach he blocked with his sword. But she moved so fast that he forgot about her sword in her left hand. In that split second, Hiko realized that the sheath was just a diversion. So he pulled his sheath out just as her sword was about to hit his left cheek. He blocked her just in a nick of time. When they landed, Hiko pushed her and she back flipped but lost her footing and went sprawling on her back.

Hiko sheathed his sword and walked over to where she lay. She was breathing hard. Hiko knelt down beside her to get a better look. She was crying. Her tears were silent and beautiful under the moon's iridescent glow. Hiko didn't say anything because he knew this was a painful loss for her. He sheathed Laplatina and picked her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and quietly sobbed into his shoulder while he took her back to his house.

Meanwhile in the depths of the cave, Shio was just coming to an opening after his long walk through the darkness. When he walked through the cave he had to go through three rooms. The first room wasn't directly in his path but the door was open. He had looked inside. It appeared to have been a library but the shelves and books were in disarray. He inspected it for a moment and saw that swords had sliced a lot of the books. The second room he came to appear to be covered with painted eyes. They were all over the place. On the floor, walls and even the ceiling, this room kind of freaked him out so he left quickly. There wasn't much to the third room. It just looked like a smaller version of a dojo however there were track marks all over the place plus there were a couple of old blood strains in the wood.

This must be the place, Shio thought as he looked out into the rubble filled pit. There were two smokestacks still standing in the middle of the pit. Shio pulled out two prayer candles and placed them on edge of the cliff. He kneeled in front of the candles, clapped his hands twice and lowered his head.

"Father…Mother... I have finally made it here to pay my respects to you. I'm sorry it has taken me so long…..Father I have heard many story about you. Even though we have never met, I know you were a good man who wanted Japan to have a better future. Grandmother disagreed with a lot of things you did but I don't think the same way. I've travelled from China to Kyoto over the past eleven years. I've become strong and learned your fighting technique. I have done all this to avenge you and mother. I have finally found the last information I needed to find the Battousai and when I do I will KILL him for what he did to you. As proof, I will bring you his sakabatou and by doing this I hope I will earn your love and respect."

Shio lifted his head. Tears were running down his handsome face. "I love you Mother. Father. I must go. Goodbye."

He picked up his torch and went back through the cave.

When they got back to the house, Hiko placed Kiriko on the futon to let her rest. As he was about to leave the room, he heard Kiriko say something. He turned back around and knelt beside her.

"What did you say?"

She sat up and looked into his eyes. "I'm such a failure." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Kiriko, stop it. Don't ever call yourself that……Get up. Come sit with me outside. I have something to tell you."

Kiriko managed to get to her feet even though her body was aching all over. When she got outside, Hiko was sitting on the log sipping his sake as usual. She sat beside him.

"Kiriko….you can't fail in finding something you already had."

She gave him a puzzled look.

Hiko sipped his sake, "Don't look at me like that."

Kiriko turned her gaze, "What do you-"

"Kiriko, do you love your father?"

She gasped, "Yes! Of course I do."

"Are you sure?" Hiko gave her a side ways glance.

"I love him more then anyth-"

"Then why don't you trust him!"

Kiriko opened her mouth to speak but no words would come out. Hiko put his sake down and turned to face her.

"Kiriko…you have travelled from Tokyo to Kyoto, asking strangers for answers to a question that only one person can answer. The one person that you say you love so much. If you truly loved him then you would trust him as well. You would have waited for him to tell you what you wanted to hear. If he's over protective, then you should trust that he's doing it for a reason and the main reason is because he loves you……Kiriko. Understand that my apprentice has been a swordsman for forty-one years and he knows that like the knots on his head…"

Kiriko smiled a little at that comment.

"…..but he has been a father for nineteen years, even though that should be enough time, he's still learning. He didn't put enough trust in his own children and look at you now. You've run away. Do you understand? If you don't love and trust one another then you have truly failed."

A tear rolled down her face. Then I have failed, she thought, because I didn't trust him. She looked at her hands and didn't say anything to Hiko.

"Answer me this……if I told you, right now, why your father acts the way he does, would you love him any less?"

"No," She answered without hesitation. "I will always love my daddy." She looked into Hiko's eyes and smiled, "When you put it that way I guess his past isn't really that important to me anymore."

"Then go home Kiriko, your journey is over. You have found the answer you've been looking for."