Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. In a perfect world I would, but I live in the real world…and sadly I ain't got no money…so, it's utterly useless to sue me…but for good measure: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, but Nobuhiro Watsuki and a bunch of other people do…
Let the strangeness continue…
"I think we should do this outside, don't you?" she asked Hiko.
She didn't wait for Hiko to give an answer. She took the few steps towards the door.
When she reached it, she stopped and looked over her shoulders.
Looking straight at Hiko, she said, "Hiko Seijurou… I have found a pupil. Consider yourself fortunate."
Kenshin watched Hiko in stunned silence, as his master followed Sayuri outside.
Of all the crazy, probable answers to the mystery of Sayuri's visit to his master, her giving him some sort of lesson was the one he hadn't thought of.
And for that reason, he felt like he'd gotten sucker-punched.
Sayuri was here to teach his shishou!
It boggled the mind, confused the senses, reorganized the cosmic order…
A piece of white paper was thrust in front of his face.
"Here," Sano said, whom Kenshin had completely forgotten, "it might hold some answers."
Kenshin's eyes focused on the paper, recognizing it as the letter from Sayuri's grandfather.
In a daze, he took it from Sano's hand and began to read it.
The dog had settled himself beside Aoshi, who was softly chanting a soothing "ohmmmm".
Occasionally, the dog would whine, which sounded like he was chanting with Aoshi.
A man who saw them in that peculiar tableau, scratched his head and said to nobody in particular, "Peace is making these people crazy."
Unfortunately, Aoshi heard him, and he interrupted his chanting to say to the dog, "He obviously doesn't understand the merits of meditation."
The dog looked up at him, letting out a short bark as if he agreed with Aoshi.
Maybe he really was going nuts, Aoshi thought to himself.
He was about to get back to his meditating, but the big wooden gate suddenly opened and a stream of young chattering women walked out.
Apparently startled, the dog stood up from his position and barked at the women.
They turned to look at the barking dog.
"Aoshi-sama? Is that you?" a woman said.
For a second there, Aoshi didn't recognize the woman in that bright silk kimono, but her voice had been unmistakable.
It was Misao, looking at him in astonishment.
And just then, he realized how foolish he must look, sitting there on the street, in his meditation pose.
Hastily he stood up, dusted off his clothes and looked down at Misao, who was looking up at him with that look of astonishment still on her face.
And perhaps for the very first time in his life, he blushed.
Misao had been so astonished to see Aoshi sitting on the ground beside the wooden gate, that she first thought her eyes had been deceiving her.
But it was Aoshi, and for the life of her she couldn't come up with a reason for him being here.
But the most incredible thing was that Aoshi was blushing.
She'd never seen him blush!
"What are you doing here?" she asked him.
After all that chanting and meditating and that "Nothing to it, you can do it", words failed Aoshi and he stood there, stammering, "I…uh…I"
This day held more surprises than Misao could handle. First a blushing Aoshi, and now a stammering one? What had gotten into that man?
And then, like some afterthought, something occurred to Misao.
Narrowing her eyes at him, she asked, "Where you following me?"
Aoshi saw that narrowing of the eyes, and felt more confused. Why was she suddenly angry?
"Yes," he managed to stammer.
Now her hands were on her hips, "You were spying on me?"
"Uhhh…" What had he been doing, he asked himself.
"You were spying on me!" she stated, when he wasn't answering.
And just then, it occurred to him how idiotic his plan had been.
What had he thought he could accomplish by sitting outside waiting for Misao to come out?
Maybe all that meditating wasn't really that good for him…or maybe he really should lay-off that tea Hiroko-chan gave him…
He looked down at Misao, noticing her accusatory glare.
Boy, how as he going to explain this to her?
"You know, you're acting really strange lately," she said to him.
"Well, so are you!" he huffed.
Her eyes narrowed even more. He couldn't believe he just said that! Actually, he was acting strange lately…what was in that damn tea?
She couldn't believe he just said that! She was furious at Aoshi for following her here! Why that was so, she really didn't want to explore right now. She only knew that she felt really mad at Aoshi for spying on her. And that he had the gall to tell her she was acting strange.
She was just about to tell him that, when something wet and warm, nudged her hand. She looked down and she saw a big, brown dog, rubbing his nose on her hand.
Distracted for a moment, she reached out to pat the dog on the head, "Nice doggie…nice doggie."
The dog looked at her with earnest brown eyes, tongue lolling out.
"His name is Arff," Aoshi said.
She looked back up at Aoshi as if he lost his mind. He probably had. Or maybe she had. Nothing made much sense anymore.
"Misao-chan, maybe we should talk at home," Aoshi said suddenly.
Misao-chan?
"Yes, we probably should," she said faintly.
Hiko was following Sayuri, wondering why he had agreed to such madness. Her words earlier at the cottage, had eerily reminded him of himself when he'd been the teacher to Kenshin.
He studied her, the way she walked with that quiet dignity that spoke of pride and confidence. She really was her mother's daughter in many ways. But there was calmness, a sense of totality about her that hadn't been in Ran.
Ran had been a proud princess, vulnerable and prickly on one side, gentle and caring on the other. But the wildness that he'd always sensed inside her was what had drawn him to her the most.
He sensed that wildness in Sayuri too…but while Ran's had been a raging bushfire, Sayuri's was tamed fire. Yet just as dangerous.
There was grace in her movements…fluid and flowing...like that of a dancer's or a swordsman of the highest skills.
Yet her stature was slight, small and delicate. She looked breakable…like Kenshin…but he knew how deceptive Kenshin's stature was.
Although he always mocked Kenshin about his slightness, he knew that it was that illusion of vulnerability and insubstantiality that gave him an advantage most of the time….that and the incredible ability of his body to withstand deathly blows.
"You must think that my grandfather has gone senile in his dotage," she suddenly said, without turning to look at Hiko.
Hiko smiled, remembering the man, "He's too stubborn to go senile."
He sensed she was smiling too as she replied, "True."
He thought about Sayuri's grandfather, the man who'd been a pain in his neck when he was younger. He could be frustratingly pigheaded about things, and that stubbornness had driven Hiko insane. Plus he had never called Hiko by his real name, which had annoyed him to no ends. But he had been an excellent teacher…although Hiko would have never admitted it then.
Matsuo Takashi had been a hard taskmaster and he pushed his students hard. But he'd done that so they would never ever settle for mediocre or just so. Perfection was never the goal, although by his words one might have thought that it was. But the goal was to become the best that one could be.
He was so engrossed in his reminiscence of his former master that he almost missed the fact that Sayuri had stopped.
She neatly side-stepped him right before he'd been about to bump into her. He tried to hide his embarrassment by crossing his arms in front of him, knowing that it made him look more dashing in his cape.
Sayuri had a suspicious sparkle in her eyes, but she kept silent about it.
She looked at him, studying his features with a serious assessing look in her eyes. Hiko actually felt like fidgeting.
"You're really tall," she suddenly said.
"Thank you," he replied.
A few seconds of silence and then, "Do you really want to do this?" she asked.
"Do you?" he countered.
And with absolute conviction, she replied, "Yes."
Hiko nodded, in some ways understanding, but promising to himself to go easy on her.
Aloud he said, "Then I also want to go through with it."
She looked at him hard, "Do not think to go easy on me."
Startled that she'd somehow guessed his intent, he looked at her seeing she was completely serious.
"No holding back," she said.
"No holding back," he said, meaning it.
"Good," she turned to continue walking.
Hiko stood there for a second watching her, wondering about the outcome of this lesson.
Just when he was about to start walking, Sayuri stopped and turned to look at him.
"Umm…do you know a good place where we could do this?"
To My Baka Deishi
It has been a long time since you walked out on me…or as I recall, stormed out on me after the most childish fit I have ever seen.
And that from a grown man!
Just when I had thought you did have it in you to learn the technique, you had proven yourself to be that idiotic student I thought you were the first time you came to me, demanding I teach you my sword skill.
Arrogant, brash, and so full of yourself you were. Looking back on those days, you remind of myself when I had been that age.
Of course, minus the stupid!
For a man who claimed to be the 12th Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi you sure couldn't keep up with my most prized student. Then again, she'd been longer at it than you.
You also lacked a certain quietness that the shadow technique required…the sense of calm. But most of all you never understood the most fundamental principle of it all. It is not about showing that you are strong. It is about knowing that you are.
But you just had to prove yourself every time, did you? And what did it get you? Nothing. You never understood that it wasn't about putting you up against a woman, but that it was about humility and equality. The technique isn't about bodily strength but about inner power.
And besides, all you wanted to learn was the one technique that could defeat that prized Ryu Ku Zu Ryu Sen of yours!
Like the Ama Kakeru Ryu No Hirameki wasn't enough!
But that is all water under the bridge now. It's been several years since then…and time has made me an old man.
And with age, you find yourself regretting things about your past. Since my daughter's passing…she always thought fondly of you…I have come to look at my life differently and found myself wanting to rectify some mistakes in my past.
And this has led me to you. I regret that I had driven you away…Ran said I had done that…and that is why I wish for you to complete the training.
Call it the sentimentality of an old fool, if you wish, but no one who had ever been schooled in the art of our sword technique had not completed the training. As my master would have said: One must be master of the whole, to be master of oneself.
And so, I have sent my granddaughter to teach you the succession technique…do not make the mistake of thinking that because she is a female, she won't be a good teacher. In many ways, she is more centered than her mother…and more determined.
As my former student, and as your former shishou, I tell you heed my granddaughter words.
This isn't some silly little request or errand from a senile old man. As your former shishou, I expect you to agree to be instructed by my granddaughter.
Listen carefully and learn wisely…Life has a strange way to bring us all together…
Ps. I hope you've enjoyed that sake you stole from me when you ran away. May you have learned to hold your drink by now.
Kenshin folded the letter he just read.
He looked down the path where Hiko and Sayuri had gone.
Then he looked up at Sano and said, "Sessha thinks we should follow them."
Frowning, Sano asked, "Why?"
"Somebody might get hurt."
To be continued…
It's incredible isn't it? It took me four long months to write this chapter! But what can I say…life just got in the way. So, I am really sorry for making you wait, but thank you for waiting. I don't really know if this chapter is leading the story anywhere, but I hope you send in a review to let me know what you think. Thank you to my loyal reviewers. I will from now on send you e-mails to thank you personally.
I just hope I can finish this story soon…I actually make myself sit in front of the computer to write.
I can't promise an early update, but I promise to finish the story.
Your humble scribe,
Lillienne