Well, here's chapter 5. I hope to get 6 out in the next few days because I know you're all dying for it! Oh, and because I'm picking up from two chapters ago, I'll give a brief recap so you don't click back. Soujiro went into battle at Ryu's manor and got his butt whipped--sorry, but it had to be done! Anyway, he was captured and on orders, the two ninja now employed by Mr. Mori through him into the dungeon. This is where we find him. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Soujiro--but the bad guys are mine, hehe!
Chapter 5: A Terrible Thing To Waste
His senses swam as light filter into his dim mind once more. Dank air assaulted his nostrils causing him to momentarily gag and gulp air into his lungs. When he opened his eyes, only shadows shifted before unfocused orbs. His skull throbbed, his entire body ached. Too many things were happening at once, too many thoughts and images flashing. He groaned and slumped forward. It was only then that he realized that he was chained upright against a wall. He let his head sag; the pain was too great to keep it upright.
"It seems that he has regained consciousness," a voice said from somewhere nearby.
"That's a good sign," agreed another voice.
"It means that he is strong."
"To have woken so quickly from a blow like yours."
"We were right to save him."
"The Master will find a use for him."
"Stop...talking," Soujiro growled, annoyed. "You're giving...me a headache."
"So it speaks," the first voice said, drawing near.
"So it lives," the second said, taking a position on his other side.
"Where am I?" Soujiro said, lifting his head to met the gaze of two individuals. A quick flash of recognition was before his eyes, but gone in an instant. "Who are you?"
The two men near him were of slight build, dressed all in black, including a mask that covered the lower part of their faces. Both had brown eyes, piercing brown eyes that met with an intense gray-blue. Soujiro snarled, warning them not to get too close. He was like a wounded animal backed into a corner. He may be at the disadvantage, but a cornered dog can still bite. And Soujiro could bite if they made a move on him. Both his opposition tilted their heads at the same angle at the same time, a mirrored image of one another. They looked at him with an air of amusement.
"It asks where it is," the first one said.
"It asks who we are," the second one responded.
"Stop that!" Soujiro growled out, pulling forcefully on his shackles. "Answer my question. Where am I?"
"You're in the Master's dungeon," the first one said, taking a step closer and assuming a more commanding stance. "He bid us to let you live until he could speak with you at length."
"You needn't worry," the second said, copying the first. "The Master will be here shortly, now that you are awake once more."
"Who are you?" Soujiro asked, eyeing them warily.
"We are ninja employed by Master Mori. I am Tamasine, and this is my brother, Toshi." (For those who want to know, the name Tamasine means 'twin' and Toshi means 'mirror image'. I thought it would be cool to name the creepy ninja brothers something that reflected their behavior.) The ninja took a step closer to Soujiro's suspended form. "Do you know who you are?"
Soujiro opened his mouth to retort, but his mind drew up a blank. He felt a thought in the back of his mind, a name that he was trying to remember. But every time he got close to finding it, the thought slipped away. Like trying to bait a hook with a fresh worm, it was too slippery to grasp. He couldn't remember his own name. In fact, the more Soujiro thought, the more he realized that he knew nothing at all, about himself, or anything else. His mouth opened and closed, trying to summon words, but finding himself unable to speak.
"I thought not," Toshi said, moving to stand beside his brother. "We were successful. We just need to wait for the Master, to see if we should keep him or not."
The ninjas turned and left the cell where Soujiro was left hanging against the wall. He didn't tell them to stop. He was too shocked now to form any kind of thought. He couldn't remember his own name. He had no past, no present. And without those, how could one hope for a future? Was he in purgatory? Was he in hell? A feirce anger burned in the pit of his stomach, and overwhelming hatred that was pointed at no one. Anger, fear, and frustration pooled in his stomach. Desperation made him edgy, jerking at every sound.
The cell he was in was dimly lit by a single lantern, and the heavy wooden door was closed when the ninjas departed. It left him alone to his madness. And madness it was, because when he finally felt overloaded and broken by the dark emotions gnawing at his gut, Soujiro snapped. He thrashed, he pulled, he tugged, and he screamed. He howled from the depths of his dark and unknown soul. The shackles on his wrists cut into his skin, the blood slowly leaking down his arms. The same occurred on his ankles, and the blood soaked through his shoes to pool on the floor. In his frenzy, he bit down on his lower lip and his teeth went through the skin. Salty blood filled his mouth and his spat on the ground, but was unable to wipe the dripping crimson liquid from his face. His eyes were stark blue, like a clouding sky. But they were wild eyes, the eyes of an untamed creature ready to tear the closest thing to shreds.
Visions danced before an unblinking eye. Flashes that were as quick as the sun glinting off of a polished blade. Visions of a beaten and starved child. He saw a man, tall and covered in bandages who gave him a sword. He saw countless men laying dead at his feet. He saw the blood on his hands, but remembered feeling nothing. He saw an empty smile on a face in a mirror. He saw death and chaos and destruction. Then there was the image of a man with red hair and a cross-shaped scar, a man who set him on a different path. And then he saw a girl. A beautiful girl with dark hair and emerald eyes who smiled with some foreign emotion. Then all the images were gone into one chaotic blur once more.
"Who am I?" he asked the darkness in a hoarse whisper. Then he through back his head, shaggy hair flung from his eyes, and he cried from deep within himself. "WHERE AM I?"
"You're in my dungeon," came an answering voice. Soujiro swung around to come eye-to-eye with a man who had just entered the cell. He was not a ninja. He was dressed in expensive, lavish clothing and his eyes held a look of contempt. This act of coming to the cell was beneath him, but he wanted to see for himself what his faithful ninja had reported. "I am Mori Ryu. Does that mean anything to you?"
Soujiro looked at his man as if he was out of his mind. Then he laughed. It was a nervous laugh, a hysterical laugh that came from a person who could either laugh or curse and cry. Being a man of some discipline, Soujiro laughed. "I-I don't even know who I am! Do you think I know who you are?" he asked when he could speak again.
Ryu smiled and took a few steps closer. Both Tamasine and Toshi waited in the doorway like phantoms in case they were needed. "I must admit, when my ninja told me that you had lost all memory of your past, I was skeptical."
"You came to investigate?" Soujiro asked, becoming suddenly nervous. Something in his gut told him to be wary of this man.
"Yes. You see, at one time, you were a nuisance to me. A thorn in my side, if you will. But now, now you hang from a wall, bleeding like a beaten dog, and laugh in my face. Obviously you are delusional." Soujiro only smiled.
"I probably am." The smile only broadened. "What does it matter to you then, if I was such a burden?"
"Well, it was not really you that I wanted," Ryu commented, shrugging his shoulders elegantly. "Let me tell you a story, and stop me if you've heard this one." He paused to chuckle at Soujiro's expense. "I grew up in a place far from here. Where I lived, there was a woman who was equal parts beauty and oddity. She grew learning the sword, and thought herself a man in ways. But still, for all her will, she was easily swayed and easily broken. Then, a man came to the village that changed things. This woman would have married a rich man, a man who would have taken care of her, but instead she gave up all she could have had in order to screw some...some wanderer!" The name was like a curse on his lips, but Ryu quickly recovered himself. "And she even had the audacity to try and kill me."
With that, Ryu moved swiftly up to Soujiro and grabbed his neck, cutting off the windpipe. "Look at me now, a shell of what I was." Ryu's eyes were as wild as Soujiro's had been, but this was true madness. "She ran me through and I would have died, had it not been for a slimy character I worked with named Gama. He saved my life, then scurried away like the filth he is. I have worked for over a year to just hold a sword again. I have to depend on others to fight my battles for me now. Because of a whore." Soujiro coughed, trying to twist away from the iron grasp on his throat. Ryu released him with distain, wiping his hand on Soujiro's shirt. "Disgusting." Soujiro coughed, sucking air into his starving lungs.
"Wh-what has this t-to do with m-me?" he asked between breaths. Ryu looked at him then turned.
"You were her wanderer." Soujiro looked at the man whose back was to him. Could what he said be true? Could he have once known this woman who had almost killed a man that strong? Could it have been the girl in his mind, the one with green eyes and the bright smile? It didn't seem possible, so he dismissed it. "But now you are here, and you don't even know your own name."
"Do you know?" Soujiro asked. Ryu turned his head so that he saw Soujiro out of the corner of his eye.
"Tenken," he said evenly. "Seta the Tenken." And then Ryu left Soujiro in his cell once more, signaling his ninja to lock the door behind him.
Ryu climbed the stairs from the dungeon toward his home once more. He sniffed his sleeve as he walked and winced. "Disgusting, I shall have ot bathe now." He sighed dejectedly and turned to Tamasine. "What do you think I should do with him?"
"He is very skilled with a blade, Master," Tamasine replied.
"Toshi?" Ryu inquired.
"He has no memories of what he had become. All he knows is instinct, Master. We could retrain him, make him into a fine assassin once again."
"I don't know. The Tenken is very brilliant, he might only be pretending. It might be a farce for him and his whore to come at me again."
"With all due respect my lord," Toshi interrupted. "We have had reports of our scouts. Akio has not traveled with Seta. A scout spotted them in a train town before losing them. It is plausible that she was sent to another location."
"Damn!" Ryu swore. "I wanted the pleasure of seeing her die...." Ryu stopped his accent of the stairs to wring his hands together. "I wanted to wrap my hands around her innocent throat and hear it crack." He closed his eyes, fantasizing the moment. Then his eyes snapped open and a dark smile lit his face. "Boys, I have come to a decision."
"Master?" they responded in unison.
"I give the Tenken to you. Train him as you please, I'll give you one week. Then I will send him on a little mission. If he impresses me in one week, then we'll keep him." Both ninjas smiled behind their masks and bowed to Ryu before disappearing into the shadows. "A mind is a terrible thing to waste," Ryu sighed, returning to his climb. There was now a song in his heart. "If I can't be the one to kill Akio, then I'm sure I can get lover-boy to do it for me." Oh, revenge is sweet!
Alright then, I'll end it here. Short chapter, yes, but I promise chapter 7 to be longer when we pick back up with Soujiro. Next chapter picks up with Akio. Now she's at the dojo, with all the rest of the cast. *gasp* whatever will they do? Read chapter 6 and find out! Muhahah! Shout-out corner, here we go!
pruning shears: Aw, we meet again! It's like I'm James Bond, and you're the evil villain! (Or the other way around, I've always thought bad guys kick a lot of ass) Anyway, I totally plan of doing just that. It's gonna be a fun thing to write, that I can say. In answer to your inquiries, Yahiko is in my fic, just not in the last chapter. Don't worry, he'll be in chapter 6. How can I leave him out?!? And as to Akio's swordsmanship, she had improved a great deal under Soujiro's tutelage. He has taught her a great deal more discipline and control, given that she was already experienced and partially trained. She is even developing her own style, which I will talk more about later. It has to do with the usage of both a wooden sword and a real sword. Oh, I am honored that you read my Kenshin fic. Yes, normally I stick with Inuyasha too, but I just couldn't resist this idea. *sigh* I'm too much of a romantic. This is actually my first truly romantic idea. I mean, SAC was romantic, but this is more so…yeah…*cough*
Dragons Maiden: Well, if I don't leave off at a good point in the story, how do I know you'll come back and read more? Huh-huh, answer me that? No thanks on the candy, I've got enough. *grumbles about missing dimes* But hey, as long as you read, I don't need a pay-off.
Ken: Should I be insulted or complimented by that? Well, Soujiro isn't evil….yet. Thanks for the review!
Someone: Clever name, hehe. I always cut off at a good part. It keeps the readers guessing, muhaha! I'm so happy that you like my story. Keep on reading and I'll be in your everlasting debt. *bows* Thanks for the review, keep reading.
Remember everyone--spread the love. Tell a friend and force them to read my stuff with electro-shock therapy! *evil grin* Later! ~~Jesse the Wolf Demon~~
Disclaimer: I don't own Soujiro--but the bad guys are mine, hehe!
Chapter 5: A Terrible Thing To Waste
His senses swam as light filter into his dim mind once more. Dank air assaulted his nostrils causing him to momentarily gag and gulp air into his lungs. When he opened his eyes, only shadows shifted before unfocused orbs. His skull throbbed, his entire body ached. Too many things were happening at once, too many thoughts and images flashing. He groaned and slumped forward. It was only then that he realized that he was chained upright against a wall. He let his head sag; the pain was too great to keep it upright.
"It seems that he has regained consciousness," a voice said from somewhere nearby.
"That's a good sign," agreed another voice.
"It means that he is strong."
"To have woken so quickly from a blow like yours."
"We were right to save him."
"The Master will find a use for him."
"Stop...talking," Soujiro growled, annoyed. "You're giving...me a headache."
"So it speaks," the first voice said, drawing near.
"So it lives," the second said, taking a position on his other side.
"Where am I?" Soujiro said, lifting his head to met the gaze of two individuals. A quick flash of recognition was before his eyes, but gone in an instant. "Who are you?"
The two men near him were of slight build, dressed all in black, including a mask that covered the lower part of their faces. Both had brown eyes, piercing brown eyes that met with an intense gray-blue. Soujiro snarled, warning them not to get too close. He was like a wounded animal backed into a corner. He may be at the disadvantage, but a cornered dog can still bite. And Soujiro could bite if they made a move on him. Both his opposition tilted their heads at the same angle at the same time, a mirrored image of one another. They looked at him with an air of amusement.
"It asks where it is," the first one said.
"It asks who we are," the second one responded.
"Stop that!" Soujiro growled out, pulling forcefully on his shackles. "Answer my question. Where am I?"
"You're in the Master's dungeon," the first one said, taking a step closer and assuming a more commanding stance. "He bid us to let you live until he could speak with you at length."
"You needn't worry," the second said, copying the first. "The Master will be here shortly, now that you are awake once more."
"Who are you?" Soujiro asked, eyeing them warily.
"We are ninja employed by Master Mori. I am Tamasine, and this is my brother, Toshi." (For those who want to know, the name Tamasine means 'twin' and Toshi means 'mirror image'. I thought it would be cool to name the creepy ninja brothers something that reflected their behavior.) The ninja took a step closer to Soujiro's suspended form. "Do you know who you are?"
Soujiro opened his mouth to retort, but his mind drew up a blank. He felt a thought in the back of his mind, a name that he was trying to remember. But every time he got close to finding it, the thought slipped away. Like trying to bait a hook with a fresh worm, it was too slippery to grasp. He couldn't remember his own name. In fact, the more Soujiro thought, the more he realized that he knew nothing at all, about himself, or anything else. His mouth opened and closed, trying to summon words, but finding himself unable to speak.
"I thought not," Toshi said, moving to stand beside his brother. "We were successful. We just need to wait for the Master, to see if we should keep him or not."
The ninjas turned and left the cell where Soujiro was left hanging against the wall. He didn't tell them to stop. He was too shocked now to form any kind of thought. He couldn't remember his own name. He had no past, no present. And without those, how could one hope for a future? Was he in purgatory? Was he in hell? A feirce anger burned in the pit of his stomach, and overwhelming hatred that was pointed at no one. Anger, fear, and frustration pooled in his stomach. Desperation made him edgy, jerking at every sound.
The cell he was in was dimly lit by a single lantern, and the heavy wooden door was closed when the ninjas departed. It left him alone to his madness. And madness it was, because when he finally felt overloaded and broken by the dark emotions gnawing at his gut, Soujiro snapped. He thrashed, he pulled, he tugged, and he screamed. He howled from the depths of his dark and unknown soul. The shackles on his wrists cut into his skin, the blood slowly leaking down his arms. The same occurred on his ankles, and the blood soaked through his shoes to pool on the floor. In his frenzy, he bit down on his lower lip and his teeth went through the skin. Salty blood filled his mouth and his spat on the ground, but was unable to wipe the dripping crimson liquid from his face. His eyes were stark blue, like a clouding sky. But they were wild eyes, the eyes of an untamed creature ready to tear the closest thing to shreds.
Visions danced before an unblinking eye. Flashes that were as quick as the sun glinting off of a polished blade. Visions of a beaten and starved child. He saw a man, tall and covered in bandages who gave him a sword. He saw countless men laying dead at his feet. He saw the blood on his hands, but remembered feeling nothing. He saw an empty smile on a face in a mirror. He saw death and chaos and destruction. Then there was the image of a man with red hair and a cross-shaped scar, a man who set him on a different path. And then he saw a girl. A beautiful girl with dark hair and emerald eyes who smiled with some foreign emotion. Then all the images were gone into one chaotic blur once more.
"Who am I?" he asked the darkness in a hoarse whisper. Then he through back his head, shaggy hair flung from his eyes, and he cried from deep within himself. "WHERE AM I?"
"You're in my dungeon," came an answering voice. Soujiro swung around to come eye-to-eye with a man who had just entered the cell. He was not a ninja. He was dressed in expensive, lavish clothing and his eyes held a look of contempt. This act of coming to the cell was beneath him, but he wanted to see for himself what his faithful ninja had reported. "I am Mori Ryu. Does that mean anything to you?"
Soujiro looked at his man as if he was out of his mind. Then he laughed. It was a nervous laugh, a hysterical laugh that came from a person who could either laugh or curse and cry. Being a man of some discipline, Soujiro laughed. "I-I don't even know who I am! Do you think I know who you are?" he asked when he could speak again.
Ryu smiled and took a few steps closer. Both Tamasine and Toshi waited in the doorway like phantoms in case they were needed. "I must admit, when my ninja told me that you had lost all memory of your past, I was skeptical."
"You came to investigate?" Soujiro asked, becoming suddenly nervous. Something in his gut told him to be wary of this man.
"Yes. You see, at one time, you were a nuisance to me. A thorn in my side, if you will. But now, now you hang from a wall, bleeding like a beaten dog, and laugh in my face. Obviously you are delusional." Soujiro only smiled.
"I probably am." The smile only broadened. "What does it matter to you then, if I was such a burden?"
"Well, it was not really you that I wanted," Ryu commented, shrugging his shoulders elegantly. "Let me tell you a story, and stop me if you've heard this one." He paused to chuckle at Soujiro's expense. "I grew up in a place far from here. Where I lived, there was a woman who was equal parts beauty and oddity. She grew learning the sword, and thought herself a man in ways. But still, for all her will, she was easily swayed and easily broken. Then, a man came to the village that changed things. This woman would have married a rich man, a man who would have taken care of her, but instead she gave up all she could have had in order to screw some...some wanderer!" The name was like a curse on his lips, but Ryu quickly recovered himself. "And she even had the audacity to try and kill me."
With that, Ryu moved swiftly up to Soujiro and grabbed his neck, cutting off the windpipe. "Look at me now, a shell of what I was." Ryu's eyes were as wild as Soujiro's had been, but this was true madness. "She ran me through and I would have died, had it not been for a slimy character I worked with named Gama. He saved my life, then scurried away like the filth he is. I have worked for over a year to just hold a sword again. I have to depend on others to fight my battles for me now. Because of a whore." Soujiro coughed, trying to twist away from the iron grasp on his throat. Ryu released him with distain, wiping his hand on Soujiro's shirt. "Disgusting." Soujiro coughed, sucking air into his starving lungs.
"Wh-what has this t-to do with m-me?" he asked between breaths. Ryu looked at him then turned.
"You were her wanderer." Soujiro looked at the man whose back was to him. Could what he said be true? Could he have once known this woman who had almost killed a man that strong? Could it have been the girl in his mind, the one with green eyes and the bright smile? It didn't seem possible, so he dismissed it. "But now you are here, and you don't even know your own name."
"Do you know?" Soujiro asked. Ryu turned his head so that he saw Soujiro out of the corner of his eye.
"Tenken," he said evenly. "Seta the Tenken." And then Ryu left Soujiro in his cell once more, signaling his ninja to lock the door behind him.
Ryu climbed the stairs from the dungeon toward his home once more. He sniffed his sleeve as he walked and winced. "Disgusting, I shall have ot bathe now." He sighed dejectedly and turned to Tamasine. "What do you think I should do with him?"
"He is very skilled with a blade, Master," Tamasine replied.
"Toshi?" Ryu inquired.
"He has no memories of what he had become. All he knows is instinct, Master. We could retrain him, make him into a fine assassin once again."
"I don't know. The Tenken is very brilliant, he might only be pretending. It might be a farce for him and his whore to come at me again."
"With all due respect my lord," Toshi interrupted. "We have had reports of our scouts. Akio has not traveled with Seta. A scout spotted them in a train town before losing them. It is plausible that she was sent to another location."
"Damn!" Ryu swore. "I wanted the pleasure of seeing her die...." Ryu stopped his accent of the stairs to wring his hands together. "I wanted to wrap my hands around her innocent throat and hear it crack." He closed his eyes, fantasizing the moment. Then his eyes snapped open and a dark smile lit his face. "Boys, I have come to a decision."
"Master?" they responded in unison.
"I give the Tenken to you. Train him as you please, I'll give you one week. Then I will send him on a little mission. If he impresses me in one week, then we'll keep him." Both ninjas smiled behind their masks and bowed to Ryu before disappearing into the shadows. "A mind is a terrible thing to waste," Ryu sighed, returning to his climb. There was now a song in his heart. "If I can't be the one to kill Akio, then I'm sure I can get lover-boy to do it for me." Oh, revenge is sweet!
Alright then, I'll end it here. Short chapter, yes, but I promise chapter 7 to be longer when we pick back up with Soujiro. Next chapter picks up with Akio. Now she's at the dojo, with all the rest of the cast. *gasp* whatever will they do? Read chapter 6 and find out! Muhahah! Shout-out corner, here we go!
pruning shears: Aw, we meet again! It's like I'm James Bond, and you're the evil villain! (Or the other way around, I've always thought bad guys kick a lot of ass) Anyway, I totally plan of doing just that. It's gonna be a fun thing to write, that I can say. In answer to your inquiries, Yahiko is in my fic, just not in the last chapter. Don't worry, he'll be in chapter 6. How can I leave him out?!? And as to Akio's swordsmanship, she had improved a great deal under Soujiro's tutelage. He has taught her a great deal more discipline and control, given that she was already experienced and partially trained. She is even developing her own style, which I will talk more about later. It has to do with the usage of both a wooden sword and a real sword. Oh, I am honored that you read my Kenshin fic. Yes, normally I stick with Inuyasha too, but I just couldn't resist this idea. *sigh* I'm too much of a romantic. This is actually my first truly romantic idea. I mean, SAC was romantic, but this is more so…yeah…*cough*
Dragons Maiden: Well, if I don't leave off at a good point in the story, how do I know you'll come back and read more? Huh-huh, answer me that? No thanks on the candy, I've got enough. *grumbles about missing dimes* But hey, as long as you read, I don't need a pay-off.
Ken: Should I be insulted or complimented by that? Well, Soujiro isn't evil….yet. Thanks for the review!
Someone: Clever name, hehe. I always cut off at a good part. It keeps the readers guessing, muhaha! I'm so happy that you like my story. Keep on reading and I'll be in your everlasting debt. *bows* Thanks for the review, keep reading.
Remember everyone--spread the love. Tell a friend and force them to read my stuff with electro-shock therapy! *evil grin* Later! ~~Jesse the Wolf Demon~~