Recap: With Rock's discovery of Blues in the Ganymeade badlands, his attention shifts to Earth. But he doesn't even know what's waiting for him on the small, uninteresting planet....
Chapter Nine: Call Me 'Dad'
He realized he had nowhere else to go. Whether or not he was to continue his search, it looked like Earth was the next stop for young Rock. And so, with a sigh he had made his way back to the Bebop, told them the story, and they had decided to go ahead and leave him on Earth. They couldn't have picked a worse spot, as little Rock had been left in the middle of a field without the slightest clue where he was. After about three days of living off the land- nothing the boy was unaccustomed to- he had come across what looked to be a swordfight between two samurais. The two stood staring at each other with narrowed eyes. One of the men had a bushy red ponytail, Himura Kenshin; the other had a much longer ponytail that was black, a few grouped strands coming off in spikes as the wind gently tossed it to either side, Haohmaru. There were a few patches of dirt in the grassy meadow, and the two men gripped their long katanas. Like snakes preparing to strike, they stood silent, eyes stern and concentrated. Rock shuffled his way to a nearby tree and peered at the scene from there.
"I SAID I won't let you pass." The man with the black ponytail growled. "I don't care if your name IS Kenshin, no one goes by here to my dojo." "It doesn't matter if you'll let me pass or not. I'll go through either way," was Kenshin's threatening response, still standing unmoving and poised with his katana. Rock blinked his red eyes at the scene from where he hid, about ten feet away and just barely tilting his head from behind his tree 'What kind of fighting is this?' he thought, 'They're just standing there...'
As soon as this thought had formed itself in his mind, Haohmaru struck.
Haohmaru sprinted in close, shaving off the few feet that separated him from Kenshin. With a powerful and rapid swing, he brought his blade down upon Kenshin. Kenshin's reaction to this was to vault into the air with an impressive leap, Haohmaru's blade swinging diagonally through the air at nothing. He looked up and back just long enough to spot Kenshin. He knew Kenshin would attempt to strike him, but Haohmaru wasn't fast enough. Just as his body had turned and he was raising his blade defensively, Kenshin's sword took a single swift slice at his midsection, blood spraying outwards against Kenshin's blade and upon the grass. Haohmaru saw that his attempt to defend failed, and he quickly hopped back before he could be attacked again. He lurched forward with his katana raised and brought it down on Kenshin, the unmistakable clangs of steel on steel rapidly resonating through the valley. Rock stared with wide eyes as he stared at the scene before him. Their strikes were quick and fierce, and the flashes from their impacts were impressive to behold as they continued to trade blow after blow.
After a fierce stare-down with blades crossed, the two fighters hopped back a fair distance and glared at each other. Silence. The wind tossed the long hair of the two samurais about their shoulders, until finally they both took one last decisive charge at each other. A battlecry from the two, followed by their bodies leaping into the air to meet each other, two sword swings, a single sickening sound of a deep successful slice, and then they both landed, each on one knee, facing away from each other.. The center of the area between them, where they had collided, was trailed with blood, a large quantity of it running perpendicular to the two fighters. A low grunt, and a curse, "Damn you.." and Kenshin fell off his knee and into the dust.
Dead.
Seeing that his business with Kenshin was done, Haohmaru turned his eyes to the tree where Rock hid. "You in there, Rock?" Rock gasped and his eyes widened a bit, stepping out from his hiding place "How do you know my name..?" Haohmaru's katana slipped into it's sheath, grinning a bit. "Heh.. that's an easy one. I was waiting for you. Don't ask why unless you can carry your head in your arms." Rock blinked.. but complied, and didn't ask, stepping to the samurai clad in his loose white garb. It had a single clean slit on the lower-left hand side of the stomach, and blood still dripped down his abdominal muscles. "You'll be staying with me, boy. Come, I'll show you your new home." "But.." Rock objected. "Quiet, you. Unless you want a slap from my katana flat you'll do as I say." Rock blinked and nodded as Haohmaru turned and started to walk away, the young Rock clambering to catch up with him. "Did... you know my dad?" "Yeah, I did. Now come on, before it gets dark."
As they walked to the still-unknown destination, Rock made numerous attempts to get more information out of Haohmaru. All of them were met with intimidating threats, including an attempted counter-threat from Rock to run away. Once he saw that he'd get nowhere, Rock let out a little sigh and just walked along with Haohmaru.
The two made their long walk through the grassy valley, Rock taking a moment to look around the area. A forest off in the distance on either side, some mountains visible beyond them. But what sparked his curiosity the most was the samurai that accompanied him in his walk. "Where are we going?" The young Rock asked, to which Haohmaru replied. "Don't ask stupid questions, you'll find out soon enough." He muttered under his breath as he continued to lead Rock towards his destination. "That hippie better hurry his ass up, I'm not staying stuck with this kid." His incoherent muttering continued as he came to a large black wall in the shape of a square; it was clearly built around something that seemed to be a moderately large one-floor building. He pulled the latch on the red steel double-doors and revealed that it housed a traditional-looking dojo.
"Wow.." Rock mused quietly to himself, staring at the plain white and brown dojo. "Am I going to live here?" He asked anxiously. "Hell no!" Haohmaru shot back, "You're just staying here until what's-his-face shows up." Rock blinked. "Who..?" "You'll see." And with that, he led him into the building. He barely caught a glimpse of the realistic-looking gargoyle statue on the peak of the roof. The statue looked so realistic, in fact; that it actually seemed to have skin and clothing. It was feminine, and it's wings almost looked like steel, but he didn't get to see much more before he was led inside and the door closed.
"Shoes off." Haohmaru stated bluntly. "Rolana!" He called to nowhere, "Get over here!" And with that, a tiny eight-year-old girl eagerly ran into the room, glancing up at Haohmaru, but with much more interest, at Rock. "Yes?" She asked politely, tilting her head to the left a bit, her small brown pigtails swinging gently. "What would you like, Haohmaru-sensei?" "Nothing for me," he replied, "but keep an eye on our guest until who I told you about earlier shows up." With that, he left the room. Rolana stared at Rock with her large green eyes, her mouth slightly open. "Hello! I'm Roll!" She shouted, practically out of nowhere and causing Rock to jump. "Err... hi." He muttered back nervously. "I'm-." Before he got another word out, the door behind him slid open and he heard an unfamiliar but at the same time well-known voice. "Hey! Wolf cub!" He gasped at those two words. There was only one man that called him that, and even before he turned around and looked up, he knew who it was. In a red jacket with the sleeves torn off, along with a plain white tank top and tight blue jeans, there stood the legendary Lone Wolf himself. With his trademark red cap, there was no mistake at all about who it was. Standing before the young Rock Howard was none other than legendary fighter, Terry Bogard. His blond ponytail was almost as instantly recognizable as his red cap, but at 35 years old, his well-known face was starting to lose its appeal.
Rock smiled widely and threw himself at his old friend, his arms flying around the man's waist as he exclaimed happily, "Terry!" Terry smirked a bit as he ruffled the boy's hair, looking down at him with his blue eyes. "Hey Rock, ol' Haoh said you'd be needing someone to look out for you, so I guess that's me. There's something I gotta do back in town, but I'll come back for ya tomorrow, deal?" Rock nodded enthusiastically, seemingly forgetting everything in the presence of his oldest friend. "Sure thing, Terry!" "Hey... call me Dad." Terry grinned a little. "Sure thing..... Dad." Rock replied. Terry smirked again, and with that, he turned and headed to the door. With his back turned to Rock, the patch on his jacket was visible. A white five-point star. No wings. As the door closed, Rock was already anxiously waiting Terry's return. "Maybe it won't be so bad here after all. The best fighter ever, my new dad, what could possibly go wrong?" It seemed like things were finally starting to turn around for little Rock, because tomorrow he'd finally be happy again.
It was just the waiting that'd be the hard part.
Chapter Nine: Call Me 'Dad'
He realized he had nowhere else to go. Whether or not he was to continue his search, it looked like Earth was the next stop for young Rock. And so, with a sigh he had made his way back to the Bebop, told them the story, and they had decided to go ahead and leave him on Earth. They couldn't have picked a worse spot, as little Rock had been left in the middle of a field without the slightest clue where he was. After about three days of living off the land- nothing the boy was unaccustomed to- he had come across what looked to be a swordfight between two samurais. The two stood staring at each other with narrowed eyes. One of the men had a bushy red ponytail, Himura Kenshin; the other had a much longer ponytail that was black, a few grouped strands coming off in spikes as the wind gently tossed it to either side, Haohmaru. There were a few patches of dirt in the grassy meadow, and the two men gripped their long katanas. Like snakes preparing to strike, they stood silent, eyes stern and concentrated. Rock shuffled his way to a nearby tree and peered at the scene from there.
"I SAID I won't let you pass." The man with the black ponytail growled. "I don't care if your name IS Kenshin, no one goes by here to my dojo." "It doesn't matter if you'll let me pass or not. I'll go through either way," was Kenshin's threatening response, still standing unmoving and poised with his katana. Rock blinked his red eyes at the scene from where he hid, about ten feet away and just barely tilting his head from behind his tree 'What kind of fighting is this?' he thought, 'They're just standing there...'
As soon as this thought had formed itself in his mind, Haohmaru struck.
Haohmaru sprinted in close, shaving off the few feet that separated him from Kenshin. With a powerful and rapid swing, he brought his blade down upon Kenshin. Kenshin's reaction to this was to vault into the air with an impressive leap, Haohmaru's blade swinging diagonally through the air at nothing. He looked up and back just long enough to spot Kenshin. He knew Kenshin would attempt to strike him, but Haohmaru wasn't fast enough. Just as his body had turned and he was raising his blade defensively, Kenshin's sword took a single swift slice at his midsection, blood spraying outwards against Kenshin's blade and upon the grass. Haohmaru saw that his attempt to defend failed, and he quickly hopped back before he could be attacked again. He lurched forward with his katana raised and brought it down on Kenshin, the unmistakable clangs of steel on steel rapidly resonating through the valley. Rock stared with wide eyes as he stared at the scene before him. Their strikes were quick and fierce, and the flashes from their impacts were impressive to behold as they continued to trade blow after blow.
After a fierce stare-down with blades crossed, the two fighters hopped back a fair distance and glared at each other. Silence. The wind tossed the long hair of the two samurais about their shoulders, until finally they both took one last decisive charge at each other. A battlecry from the two, followed by their bodies leaping into the air to meet each other, two sword swings, a single sickening sound of a deep successful slice, and then they both landed, each on one knee, facing away from each other.. The center of the area between them, where they had collided, was trailed with blood, a large quantity of it running perpendicular to the two fighters. A low grunt, and a curse, "Damn you.." and Kenshin fell off his knee and into the dust.
Dead.
Seeing that his business with Kenshin was done, Haohmaru turned his eyes to the tree where Rock hid. "You in there, Rock?" Rock gasped and his eyes widened a bit, stepping out from his hiding place "How do you know my name..?" Haohmaru's katana slipped into it's sheath, grinning a bit. "Heh.. that's an easy one. I was waiting for you. Don't ask why unless you can carry your head in your arms." Rock blinked.. but complied, and didn't ask, stepping to the samurai clad in his loose white garb. It had a single clean slit on the lower-left hand side of the stomach, and blood still dripped down his abdominal muscles. "You'll be staying with me, boy. Come, I'll show you your new home." "But.." Rock objected. "Quiet, you. Unless you want a slap from my katana flat you'll do as I say." Rock blinked and nodded as Haohmaru turned and started to walk away, the young Rock clambering to catch up with him. "Did... you know my dad?" "Yeah, I did. Now come on, before it gets dark."
As they walked to the still-unknown destination, Rock made numerous attempts to get more information out of Haohmaru. All of them were met with intimidating threats, including an attempted counter-threat from Rock to run away. Once he saw that he'd get nowhere, Rock let out a little sigh and just walked along with Haohmaru.
The two made their long walk through the grassy valley, Rock taking a moment to look around the area. A forest off in the distance on either side, some mountains visible beyond them. But what sparked his curiosity the most was the samurai that accompanied him in his walk. "Where are we going?" The young Rock asked, to which Haohmaru replied. "Don't ask stupid questions, you'll find out soon enough." He muttered under his breath as he continued to lead Rock towards his destination. "That hippie better hurry his ass up, I'm not staying stuck with this kid." His incoherent muttering continued as he came to a large black wall in the shape of a square; it was clearly built around something that seemed to be a moderately large one-floor building. He pulled the latch on the red steel double-doors and revealed that it housed a traditional-looking dojo.
"Wow.." Rock mused quietly to himself, staring at the plain white and brown dojo. "Am I going to live here?" He asked anxiously. "Hell no!" Haohmaru shot back, "You're just staying here until what's-his-face shows up." Rock blinked. "Who..?" "You'll see." And with that, he led him into the building. He barely caught a glimpse of the realistic-looking gargoyle statue on the peak of the roof. The statue looked so realistic, in fact; that it actually seemed to have skin and clothing. It was feminine, and it's wings almost looked like steel, but he didn't get to see much more before he was led inside and the door closed.
"Shoes off." Haohmaru stated bluntly. "Rolana!" He called to nowhere, "Get over here!" And with that, a tiny eight-year-old girl eagerly ran into the room, glancing up at Haohmaru, but with much more interest, at Rock. "Yes?" She asked politely, tilting her head to the left a bit, her small brown pigtails swinging gently. "What would you like, Haohmaru-sensei?" "Nothing for me," he replied, "but keep an eye on our guest until who I told you about earlier shows up." With that, he left the room. Rolana stared at Rock with her large green eyes, her mouth slightly open. "Hello! I'm Roll!" She shouted, practically out of nowhere and causing Rock to jump. "Err... hi." He muttered back nervously. "I'm-." Before he got another word out, the door behind him slid open and he heard an unfamiliar but at the same time well-known voice. "Hey! Wolf cub!" He gasped at those two words. There was only one man that called him that, and even before he turned around and looked up, he knew who it was. In a red jacket with the sleeves torn off, along with a plain white tank top and tight blue jeans, there stood the legendary Lone Wolf himself. With his trademark red cap, there was no mistake at all about who it was. Standing before the young Rock Howard was none other than legendary fighter, Terry Bogard. His blond ponytail was almost as instantly recognizable as his red cap, but at 35 years old, his well-known face was starting to lose its appeal.
Rock smiled widely and threw himself at his old friend, his arms flying around the man's waist as he exclaimed happily, "Terry!" Terry smirked a bit as he ruffled the boy's hair, looking down at him with his blue eyes. "Hey Rock, ol' Haoh said you'd be needing someone to look out for you, so I guess that's me. There's something I gotta do back in town, but I'll come back for ya tomorrow, deal?" Rock nodded enthusiastically, seemingly forgetting everything in the presence of his oldest friend. "Sure thing, Terry!" "Hey... call me Dad." Terry grinned a little. "Sure thing..... Dad." Rock replied. Terry smirked again, and with that, he turned and headed to the door. With his back turned to Rock, the patch on his jacket was visible. A white five-point star. No wings. As the door closed, Rock was already anxiously waiting Terry's return. "Maybe it won't be so bad here after all. The best fighter ever, my new dad, what could possibly go wrong?" It seemed like things were finally starting to turn around for little Rock, because tomorrow he'd finally be happy again.
It was just the waiting that'd be the hard part.