To Be Free

Part Seven

Kendo and Dice

By Maria Cline

(Chapters 1-4 by ami-dono)

The moon was blood red as Kaoru gazed around her.  "Hello?"  The buildings were dark and unfamiliar. 

She walked through the mists through the unfamiliar city.    Fires erupted from the ground and surrounded her.  She coughed as smoke blew in her face.  The smoke cleared away to reveal a samurai in darkness covered in blood surrounded by dead bodies.  He glared at her with strange amber eyes.

Kaoru gasped as she held up her bokken.  "What are you?"

*****

Kaoru opened her eyes to find herself in her futon in her room.  "Just a dream." She sighed in relief and then a loud cry came from Kenshin's room.  "Kenshin!"

She ran out to see Kenshin sitting against the wall sweating and crying out before.  "Kenshin!  Wake up!" She pleaded hoping she would not have to douse him in cold water again.

Kenshin's eyes snapped opened at her voice.  "Kaoru-dono?  Gomen, I did not mean to wake you again."

"That's okay.  I was awake anyway.  At least I didn't have to give you a cold bath." Kaoru sat down beside him and winced at the hard wall.  "Kenshin, why do you sleep like this?  It's so uncomfortable.  Won't you sleep better if you lie down?"

Kenshin looked at the unused futon on the floor.  "I just cannot.  I had slept like this for many years so I do not mind."

"I see." Kaoru was perplexed.  'Do slaves sleep like that?  It must be uncomfortable but I can't tell if he was awake or not like that.  Mou, why is he so strange?'

"Kaoru-dono, why are you awake?"

"I just had a crazy dream.  Don't worry about me." She gazed at him again.  "Look, in the morning, I will have to go and teach some classes at the Maekawa Dojo.  Do you want to come with me?  We fight with armor so there's less of a chance of anyone getting hurt."

Kenshin shivered at the idea of being in the same room with a group of swordsmen.  However, he had to face his fears.  "I... would like that very much, Kaoru-dono."

"Good.  Maekawa-sensei is a very nice man." Kaoru smiled as she got up. 

"Kaoru-dono…" Kenshin paused as he lowered his head, "Arigato for freeing me."

Kaoru smiled warmly.  "Your welcome, Kenshin.  Just remember that if you need to talk about anything at all, you can talk to me or Sanosuke.  Okay?"

"Hai."

*****

Maekawa Miyauchi was preparing his class as usual.  He sighed as he looked at the small class of twenty.  There were days when he had to struggle with over fifty students at a time.  Times were changing and they were not for the better.

"She's here!"

"All right and there's another cute girl with her!"

"I think it's a guy!"

"No way!"

"Look at his chest!  It's flat!"

"... I knew that."

Maekawa smiled.  Only one dojo master would cause such a stir.  "Kamiya-sensei." He greeted as he came up to the door to see Kaoru standing among his students with another young man.  The young man was much smaller than his students and yet felt stronger.  "Who is this?" The man fidgeted as he bowed his head down so his eyes were not seen.

"This is Kenshin, he's a traveler who is staying at my dojo." Kaoru introduced, "I hope you don't mind him watching us."

"Not at all." Maekawa said as he bowed, "Hello, Kenshin.  I'm Maekawa Miyauchi, the Dojo Master of the Maekawa Dojo.  How do you do?"

"I am well, thank you." Kenshin said as he bowed back. 

The two stared at each other.  The older man could not help but notice his strange colored eyes.  It wasn't just the eyes but the way that they seem to hold a vast array of emotions.  There was one thing he can be sure of, Kenshin didn't want to fight.  "Have some tea and make yourself comfortable."

"Arigato, Maekawa-sensei."

"What is he doing here?" A student whispered.

"You don't think that he's a student of Kamiya-sensei, do you?" Another whispered back.

"Oh come on, he can't be an actual kendo student.  Do you think that he's Kamiya-sensei's lover?"

The students blushed and then Kaoru screamed, "Class, when you're done gossiping, get into attack stance!"

Kenshin gasped as he watched the woman took control of the students.  "Impressive isn't she?" Maekawa said as he sat beside him.  "The only time when my students seem most interested was when she teaches.  She has a charm about her that I don't have.   The irony of it all, I had to rely on my old rival's daughter to keep my dojo going.  Oh well."

"But she rely on you too so it's mutual." Kenshin pointed out as he smiled slightly. 

"True.  The destiny of a swordsman is unknown in this era.  I can remember a time when people can wear swords with pride and that everyone was eager to learn at a dojo.  Those days are long past now.  Many samurais had fallen on hard times, especially those who had fought for the Shogunate." Maekawa laughed and said, "You probably are bored stiff listening to an old man rant about things that he cannot control."

"I understand your views, Maekawa-sensei." Kenshin said and then sipped on the tea.  The two watched Kaoru go through the drills.   The woman was in her element as she guided every person with care and precision.  He could not help but wonder what would have happened if she was born a few years earlier.

"Hey, Kid." One of the older students said as he came up.  He was tall and had black hair.  He was dressed in armor like the other students.  "Wanna spar with me?  If you were staying with Kamiya-sensei, then you have to be good."

"I was only bou- I mean brought to the dojo only two days ago." Kenshin sweatdropped.  "I'm not that good.  Really."

"Relax, we'll be easy on you." The man said, "I'm Yuromesh Yuske, one of the top dojo students here."

Kenshin looked down.  /I shouldn't fight him.  What if something goes wrong?/  His right hand shook slightly.  Then, he clenched it.  He must not be afraid.  There are others who want to hurt him and others around him.  "I will try." He said firmly as he got up.

"Kenshin?  What are you doing?" Kaoru asked as one of the other students were getting the armor.

"I… want to try." Kenshin said as he looked down. 

The woman sighed in relief as she handed Kenshin a shinai.  "Okay, now don't worry about being hurt.  These shinais are made to hit without causing much pain.  You and the opponent will also be wearing armor so neither one will get hurt.  Remember that."

"Hai." Kenshin slipped on the armor and looked around.  /It's so dark./  His heart pounded as he held up the bamboo sword.  He looked at his opponent dressed in armor.  /This is just practice./ He thought as he took a deep breath.  /I will kill him./ /No you won't!/

"Okay, just stand like that with your shinai like this." Kaoru instructed as she posed for him.

Kenshin nodded and mimicked the move.  Despite the years it had been since he had held anything resembling a sword, it was comforting for him to be in position.  His opponent struck at him and Kenshin dodged the blow.  He rose his shinai and sway on his feet.  He took deep breaths and his hands shook.  /What's happening to me?/ He closed his eyes and held up his hand.  "Wait!" He pleaded as he ran outside to the back and flung off his helmet.

"Are you okay?" Kaoru asked as she watched Kenshin lose his breakfast on the lawn.

"Gomen, Kaoru-dono." Kenshin whispered as he wiped his mouth.  "I just couldn't contain it."

The woman took off her gloves and rubbed his back.  "It's okay, you were sick and I was pushing you too hard again."

"No, it's not physical." Kenshin's hands shook again.  "I never held anything like a sword in ten years.  I just…" He bowed his head down and covered his face.  "Forgive me, I am weak."

Kaoru gently placed her hand on his back.  "No, you're not.  You had endured so much in your life.  I want to make it go away but I can't.  We will work on that fear of kendo of yours but at a pace you can handle.  Do you want to talk about it?"

Kenshin bowed his head down and let his bangs covered his eyes.  "I cannot.  You will hate me."

"Oh come on, I would not hate you." Kaoru laughed, "It's not like you were the Hitokiri Battousai or anything like that." Kenshin paled as he looked away.  Fortunately for him, she did not see it.  "Your past is your business and right now only the present and future matters.  I just thought that if you were to get over your past then you can have a better future."

Kenshin smiled slightly.  "Maybe." /I don't want you to hate me./ /She will, once she knows the truth./

"Why don't we go back inside until I'm done with the class and then we can go home?  Okay?" She smiled sweetly at him. 'I don't want to let Kenshin walk home alone.  He is so helpless.'

*****

Sanosuke sighed as he sat in front of the dojo's gates.  He had a hangover so he didn't get to make it until after Kaoru and Kenshin left.  He had to eat at the Akabeko for breakfast and now he's waiting for them to come back so he can have lunch.

"It's okay, Kenshin." Kaoru comforted, "You don't have to come with me to practice for a while."

"Se- I mean, I am just sorry that you were embarrassed by my actions.  I am your guest and it is my duty to maintain your honor." Kenshin bowed his head down.

"You don't have to worry about my honor.  Just worry about yourself for a while.  Okay?"

"What happened over there, Jou-chan, Ken-chan?" Sanosuke asked.

"Ken-chan?" Kenshin repeated as his eyebrow twitched.  /Chan?  I am 28 years old!/ "I… threw up while at practice."

"Whoa… I know that Jou-chan's cooking is bad but I had no idea-"

WHAM!

Sanosuke founded himself plowed into a nearby wall. 

"It has nothing to do with my cooking!" Kaoru growled as storm clouds appeared over her head.

"It's true.  It was my fault.  I got nervous due to the sparring and I just threw up."

Sanosuke shrugged.  "That's okay, some people were not meant to fight.  Let's eat, I'm starving."

*****

After eating, Sanosuke and Kenshin walked out of the dojo.  "Are you sure you don't mind me coming along, Sano-san?" Kenshin asked hesitantly.

"I'm sure and call me 'Sano'.  You can call Jou-chan 'Kaoru-dono' all you like but I feel funny being called 'Sano-san'."

"I'm sorry, Sano- Sano." Kenshin bowed, "I was just used to giving everyone a proper suffix."

"Don't apologize, Ken-chan, I'll teach you everything you need to know about being a real man." Sanosuke announced.

"A real man?"

"Yeah!  Jou-chan can teach you all the self-defense and basic sword skills you need but I will teach you how to really live!"

"Okay." Kenshin looked around to see people staring at them.  "Ummm... where are we going?"

Sanosuke winked and replied, "To have some fun of course."

*****

It was dark as Kenshin nervously sat next to the much taller man.  All around him were gamblers, strange men, and possible criminals.

"Make your call!  Odds or evens!" The head man yelled out as he held up a pair of dice.

"Sano..." Kenshin whispered as he tugged Sano's sleeve.  "Isn't this illegal?"

"Do you see any police officers around here?  It's nothing big.  Just a group of friends getting together, there's no big wins or big loses." Sano whispered back.  "Three and two!  Odds!" He cried out.

The man rolled the dice and Kenshin stared at them.  "Four and two!  Evens!" The man cried out.

"Aw man!" Sanosuke pouted, "Oh well." He gave a coin to the man.  He looked down at Kenshin who was staring at the dice intensely.  "Wanna give it a roll?" He handed a coin to the smaller man. 

"Hey, who's the new guy?" One of the men asked as he came up.

"This is Kenshin, he's new in town." Sanosuke introduced, "Ken-chan, this is Riko, one of the regulars here."

"Ah… he's so cute." Riko gushed.

Kenshin shook slightly as he looked down.  "Well, he's better looking than you chumps." Sanosuke laughed and then whispered to the man.  "Take it easy on the kid.  He's been through a lot."

"I understand.  There's no way I'd hurt a good friend of Zanza." Riko waved his hands. 

"Zanza?" Kenshin repeated.

"That's my old nickname back when I was a professional street fighter.  I had a zambatou but I sold it." Sanosuke shrugged.

"Oh." Kenshin blinked.

"So, you wanna place a bet, Ken-chan?" Riko asked as he leaned down.  "We'll be easy on you."

/Ken-chan again?  Should I try to roll the dice?  It had been many years since I had done this./ /You can't!  Don't you remember the last time you played dice?/  Kenshin stared at the dice and closed his eyes.  "One and two, odd." Kenshin said softly.

The man rolled the dice and he announced, "One and two, odd!"

"You won on the first roll!" Sanosuke exclaimed in shock and glee as Kenshin accepted the money. 

"Maybe I should stop." Kenshin said stunned. /I can still do it?/

"No way!  Keep it up!" Sanosuke gushed as he rose his fist.

Kenshin handed the coins to Riko and said, "Three and three, even."

The dice rolled and revealed two threes.  "Three and three, even."

"Wow!  That's great beginner's luck!" Sanosuke's jaw dropped.  "Do it again!  Go with the streak!"

Kenshin's hand shook as he looked at the dice.  /Stop it!  Don't use it!  You are alone and surrounded by strong men!/ "Snake eyes, even."

Ten dice rolls later…

Everyone watched as Kenshin got his winnings again.  "This man has one hell of a lucky streak." A man muttered.

"Is he using any charms?"

"Maybe he can predict the future."

Kenshin lowered his head as his eyes tear up.  "I can't do this any more, Sanosuke-san!" He pleaded. /They're looking at me again!  Like the others had./ /They will beat you up and use you since you are so 'cute'./

Sanosuke was taken back by the look of sorrow on his face.  /Oh man, Kenshin's depressed for a guy on a lucky streak./ "It's okay, Ken-chan.  I'm pushing you and I'm sorry."

Everyone gasped and gawked at Sanosuke.  "Zanza is apologizing to him?  Wow… the gods are acting strange today." One of them whispered.

"Hey, we didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.  Do you have supernatural powers?" Riko asked as he tried to smile.

"I just calculated the angles, times the dice bounced on a corner, and the speed of rotation." Kenshin replied.

There was silence as everyone stared at the small man.  "What did he say?" Riko asked looking at Sanosuke.

Sanosuke gawked at his friend.  "I have no idea." 

Kenshin bowed his head down and shook.   /No… not again.  Please, not again./  /They will hate you./

"Ken-chan, let's go." Sanosuke offered as he got up. 

Kenshin stiffly stood up and walked out.  The two walked down the street.  "I'm sorry for what I did.  I didn't think that you could do something like that." Sanosuke said, "I do have to admit, I never heard of such a cool trick."  Kenshin remained silent and so Sanosuke sighed.  "We can try to do something else.  There's a bunch of fun things to do in Tokyo."

"I'm sorry that I made you leave." Kenshin said finally, "I didn't want people to think that I am... inhuman."

"Nah… my legs were getting stiff anyway.  Do you wanna see my old zambatou?  It's being displayed at a store.  I don't think it's sold yet." Sanosuke said as he tried to sound cheerful again.

The small man nodded.

"Good!  This way!" Sanosuke pointed forward and led Kenshin to a small store.  He opened the door to reveal a store full of knives, antiques, and other oddities.  Chained to a wall and in a huge glass case was a huge zambatou that was longer than Sano was tall.  "Here it is, my old partner." Sanosuke sighed as he put his hand onto the case. 

Kenshin's eyes bulged.  "It's huge.  I didn't know that anyone could expertly wield a zambatou because it's so big and heavy." 

"I'm a strong man." Sanosuke bragged.  "I'm saving up to buy it back so I can whack the Battousai with it when I see him." He grinned as he punched his hand. 

Kenshin cringed and smiled awkwardly.  "How do you earn money?  What is your job?"

"Job?" Sanosuke repeated, "I don't really work.  I just get what I can."

The small man shook his head.  /Teenagers./  He looked around at the odd items in the cases.

"Hey, Sanosuke." An old man said as he stepped forward.

"Hey, Arima-san!" Sanosuke waved, "How's business?"

"Slow." The man sighed and then looked at Kenshin.  "Who's this?"

"He's a friend of mine, Kenshin.  Ken-chan, this is Arima, the shop owner." Sanosuke introduced.  "Ken-chan is new in town so I'm giving him a tour of sorts."

"Ah… good." Arima nodded and looked down at Kenshin.  "Nice to meet you, Ken-chan."

Kenshin nodded shyly as he looked at the walls.  Then, he saw a black katana being displayed on the wall.  /That sword looks familiar.  Can it be?  Is it really the sword?/ /Impossible!  It was lost!  He told you that it was lost forever!/  He came up to it and asked, "Arima-san, is that a real katana on display?"

"Well… it's not a normal katana." Arima said as he came up to it.  "I've had that sword on display ever since I set up this store.  I called it the 'Sword of the Sea' because some fishermen found this blade." Slowly he opened the case and took out the katana.  "This sword was nothing like any other I had seen before and so I bought it.  However, no one wanted this.  I guess that no swordsman wanted to be seen with a backwards sword." He unsheathed the sword slightly to reveal the blade was on the top rather than on the bottom. 

Kenshin's jaw dropped and he whispered, "Re-reverse blade sword."

"Yes." Arima put away the sword.  "I keep it for decoration mostly." He glanced at Kenshin who was staring at the sword.  "Do you want it?"

/It was here.  It was okay./ Kenshin thought as he smiled slightly and then looked at the storekeeper.  "No thank you.  I don't like swords."

He put his hand on the case and gazed at it again.  /At least, it is here where it can't do any harm./

*****

Sanosuke and Kenshin were walking up the street to the dojo.  It was starting to get dark and they were starting to get hungry.  "Sano, can you not tell Kaoru-dono about what happened at the gambling hall?  I don't want her to think that I'm… strange."

"Jou-chan won't think of any less of you.  She is the only female kendo teacher in Japan.  But, I won't tell anyone.  Besides, she might be mad that I brought you to a gambling hall."

"What?" Kaoru appeared out of nowhere and glared at Sanosuke.  "YOU BROUGHT KENSHIN TO A GAMBLING HALL?!" She slammed him into the ground.

"Hey!  I wanted him to have some fun." Sanosuke said as he sat up rubbing his head. 

"Do you know what kind of sick people hang around there?!  I know they're your friends but don't take him there any more!  I'm going to make dinner.  You two get cleaned up." Kaoru huffed as her face became red and she stormed off.

"Are you okay, Sano?"

"Just a bokken.  I've had worse." Sanosuke waved his hand and grinned.  "Hey, we can try to do something else tomorrow.  Maybe we can do some fishing.  The fish around here is easy to catch."

"Fishing?  Maybe.  I want to see if I can fight my fear of swords tomorrow."

"Okay." Sanosuke was bewildered.  It was obvious to him that Kenshin hated swords so why does he want to conquer his fear so badly?

*****

Night fell as Kaoru lay on her futon.  She could not help but wonder about the man she was trying to help.  From the moment she met him, everything was just different than what she expected.  Kenshin must have had some experience fighting but from when?  Why is it so hard for him to even hold a bokken? 

All of a sudden, there were footsteps in the hallway.  'Who is that?  Kenshin?' Slowly, she picked up her bokken and opened the door. 

"AAAHHH!"

Kaoru gasped as she ran toward the sound.  It was not Kenshin but someone else.  Who was it?  Was it a real robber?  What if he is fighting Kenshin right now?  She rushed into the dojo training room and see in the dim moonlight Kenshin holding a smaller figure in a headlock with his hands behind held behind his back.  Quickly, she grabbed a lantern and held it up.  In Kenshin's grasp was a small boy of ten with brown spiky hair struggling.

"It's a… kid?"

To Be Continued…