Disclaimer: Dadadada!! FUZZY-SAMA!!! Do I own thee?

Battousai: If you owned me I'd kill myself.

Me: THAT WAS MEAN!! :: attacks fuzzy-sama :: TAKE THAT!

Battousai: :: writhes on ground in utter pain :: Ouch………

Author's Notes: Okay!!! So for CHAPTER 3. Whoa. I really hate this. I mean, I love this story to death :: huggles story :: BUT! I just got a new idea for a story today!! Which, in turn, not only gave me writers block for Silhouettes of Shadows, but ALSO on Breaking Through. Argh!! :: pulls hair :: Okay. I have NO clue how Hiko and Kenshin trained so I came up with my own……… strange way that probably would actually work. I dunno, I'm pshyco so I hope it's not bad. This is a hard but fun chapter to write. OH!!! And……… the interlude to this chapter is from a song by Evanescence called 'Hello'

Building The Hitokiri

Chapter 3- Goodbye Shinta, Hello Kenshin

'Hello I'm the lie living for you

So you can hide, don't cry'

Shinta held his bokken akwardly. He had never held a sword before, even a practice bokken. He tried to swing it with no luck, only stumbling forward gracelessly in his futile attempt. But Shinta wouldn't give up. He had just been handed the bokken and not much was expected of him, he knew that, but he had to prove himself to Hiko-sensei.

Hiko himself was sitting off to the side, trying to figure out how he was going to teach is new pupil. He wasn't sure yet. The boy was lean with aboslutely no muscle to him, Hiko had noticed, so he had to build some strength first. The boy had determination, that was for sure, and that was what would get him through the intense, and utterly painful, training it would take to master the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.

"What is your name?" Hiko asked suddenly. "I sense it could be a problem."

Shinta dropped the bokken, almost happy to have it's weight out of his hands. He tilted his head in a way of confusion as he blinked back at his master.

"Shinta Himura." He responded.

Hiko shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. "I knew that was going to be a problem. From now on your name is not Shinta, that is too weak for a swordsman, especially one who will be weilding the technique of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. You're new name will be Kenshin."

"Kenshin?" Shinta questioned. "Why?"

"Because Kenshin is a better name for a swordsman, stupid pupil!" Hiko roared. "Your name will be Kenshin Himura, and I don't want to hear anymore about it. You will do as I tell you to, you will train when I say and you will not stop until I say it is time."

Newly named Kenshin nodded vigorously, his violet eyes wide as he watched his sensei stand.

"Pick up the bokken and go stand in the river."

Confused but not about to lose his only chance and learning this technique, Kenshin ran out to the river and held his bokken out before him.

Hiko was sure not to show any shock. "Have you fought with a sword before?"

Kenshin shook his head. "No, Hiko-sensei."

"You have a perfect defensive form." Hiko nodded. "But that doesn't help you when you'll be attacking me, you idiot!"

His eyes grew wide. "But I don't know any attacks, sensei!"

"Then you'd best learn. This is called resistance training. You have to get faster somehow. And face so that the current pushes agaisnt you. Don't you know anything?" Hiko growled.

Kenshin turned and exhaled loudly, taking time to weigh his options. Hiko was much taller, much more muscular, and much more experienced than him. And if this was true, then he was also a lot faster. He decided the best shot he had was between the legs and under the stomach. He had to land a hit, he knew it.

Closing his eyes he jumped forward and pushed roughly agaisnt the current, swinging the bokken up. Hiko went to block and nearly grinned until he felt pain as Kenshin changed his reign of attack.

Hiko fell back, screeching in pain. Kenshin stood above him.

"Was that good, sensei?" Kenshin questioned innocently.

Crawling out of the river, Hiko lay agaisnt a tree before lifting his eyes to his new pupil. Anger was seeded into his pupils.

"You're going to be," he squeaked, his voice high from his low blow, "in that river the rest of the day, running against the current and giving me as many practice swings as you can before sundown!"

"But it's dawn!"

"Don't you question me, you idiot student!"

"But sensei…" Kenshin persisted.

"You heard me!" and Hiko stood and hobbled off.

Kenshin let his bokken fall to his side. "I don't know how…"

Sweat beaded of his skin. Five thousand strokes before sun down while running against the current, Kenshin had counted. Five thousand painful, tiring strokes that didn't measure up to the number of muscles Kenshin felt piercing pains in, but yet it all left him wanting more. He had enjoyed himself, despite the pain and tiresomeness that now lingered in his body from the workout. He no longer held the bokken awkwardly in his hands, it just fit there like it was always supposed to be in his hands.

"Stupid pupil!" came the cry. "Are you done yet? How many did you do? I expect at least two thousand!"

Kenshin turned to Hiko, wiping the sweat away from his brow and lowering the point of the bokken into the water. He had gone quite a ways upstream once he was able to run against the current, and it seemed that his master was just now coming to find him.

"I did five thousand, sensei." He responded.

Hiko stopped and stared. "Five thousand? Are you sure?"

Kenshin nodded. "Five thousand complete strokes, all excuted like this." Kenshin lifted up the bokken and swung it how he had been instructed.

"I'm surprised. Five thousand is a lot."

"You gave me from dawn until dusk." Kenshin reminded him. "Sensei, how long will I be doing this? How long before I learn some techniques?"

Hiko shook his head. "Stupid! You have to learn the basics first! You'll be traning under me for years, so don't get so hyped up yet. Now, I want you to run all the way back to camp. I want to see if your any faster yet."

"But sensei!" Kenshin whined. "My muscles hurt!"

Hiko walked up to Kenshin, annoyance clearly written out across his features as he grabbed his arm and yanked him from the river. He held onto Kenshin's arm and squeezed.

"You call these muscles? This is muscle." He said, pulling his cape off of his shoulders. "When your arms look like this, then you can tell me that your muscles hurt, idiot apprentince."

Kenshin's head shot down. This was going to be harder than he had orignally anticipated. But he promised himself that he would learn this to get revenge for the deaths of his sisters and mother. He clenched his fists tightly.

"How far do I need to run?"

"Seems you traveled at least three and a half miles running agaisnt the current." Hiko responded, sliding his cape back onto his shoulders. "But don't leave just yet."

Kenshin halted in mid step, he had just prepared to run. Why was he making him wait longer?

Hiko grabbed four meduim sized stones and with a rope, he tied them around Kenshin's ankles, two on each. Then he handed him two rather large logs to hold under his arms. Kenshin just stared up at his sensei, his expression asking if he was truly expecting what he thought he was. Hiko just gave him a grin.

"Now run back, you stupid pupil. We're using those logs for the dinner that you're going to cook." He told him.

Part of him wanted to complain, but he knew better. He would probably be dragging back more weight than he already was if he did. So turning and telling himself that he could do thise, Kenshin began to jog.

"Run!" Hiko howled.

Scared, Kenshin burst off quickly, jumping over roots that protuded from the ground around the godly trees. His sandals were wet and he slipped on the clean foliage around him, but he struggled to keep his balance. It was hard with the logs and stones, but he supposed there was a good reason behind this all. There had to be some reason that his sensei was forcing to do this. Kenshin knew he didn't have much muscle, but how would this help him gain muscle? All it was going to do would be to make him more sore the next day.

Sighing as he ran, Kenshin pushed the confusing thoughts from his head and continued on, focusing soley on the goal that had him here in the first place. To avenge the deaths that ruined his life. With this in mind he let the pain in his weak limps numb and forced himself on. Then with a renewed vigor, he continued on with the thought that three and a half miles wasn't that far. He could do this.

Author's Notes: Well…….. I was gonna get this to be longer but it just didn't work out. I hope this chapter was good. Again, no personal review responses, BUT I have to tell you that updates will be less and less. I joined cheerleading (oh my god, I never thought I would.) so my time is really sparse. But thanks for reviewing!!! I'll try to respond to reviews in the next chapter!!!

Love and hugs,

Crystal Renee