Disclaimer: My fingers are too numb to try and grab hold of even a Kenshin plushie, never mind penning faked rights to the series.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I will now update every Sunday, instead of every five days. Exams and whatnot are upon me, hence the lateness of this chapter, and I'm really busy, so I hope you understand. I should be able to go back to updating every five days once my exams are over.
Thanks!
Author's note: *bows profusely to all* I'm sorry- I'm sorry! I left the note saying I'd update on Sunday, and I know it's Monday, but the chapter just look way longer than I'd expected, plus I had a slight writer's block with this chapter.
I tweaked a few things from the PB as well as RK to get this coherent and natural, so don't flame me- you've been warned, you see? ^_^ Oh, and this meant sacrificing the 'I'm not left handed' thing: it wouldn't have worked, considering katanas are two-handed swords. I tried to replace that idea with something else, after a fashion, though… It wasn't something I worried too much about though, for the reason already stated. Sorry to anyone who's disappointed.
Well, it's a huge chapter- biggest so far, and I doubt any future ones will rival it. This is the outcome of the duel begun in the last chapter, and we get some character development along the way: enjoy!
(btw, 'ki' is the energy force that a person radiates when battling fiercely)
The Princess Bride: Kenshin StyleSixteen
The darkness around them lay thick and undisturbed as the moon's light was once again shrouded in mist.
The blood that fell silently to the earth lost its brightness in the falling shadows.
A slow, cool breeze drifted through the air between the two swordsmen.
"Ungh…"
Soujiro's hair fell over his forehead as he settled his weight gracefully once more, letting his body pause in the finishing half-crouched position. His eyes had closed as his blade swept through its move, and he let them remain closed for a moment, savouring the moment of sweetly balanced stillness.
He could sense the man in black behind him, his back to his opponent as Soujiro's back was to him. The man in black seemed to be holding himself perfectly still, but after another grunt of pain, Soujiro heard his enemy take a heavy, staggering step.
Black cloth rustled dully as the man in black's blood dripped to the ground.
Soujiro's smile never wavered.
He stood, and turned to the man in black, lifting his blade to rest the blunt edge lightly on his shoulder, his stance relaxed and his smile genial.
"You are strong. Stronger than I expected," he said, in his smiling, soothing voice.
The man in black lifted himself to a standing position, and turned to face Soujiro. His eyes flashed in the gloom.
"As are you," he said, his strong, compelling voice reaching to Soujiro through the darkness.
Soujiro still smiled. "You are hurt. Not dead, though: I must have made a mistake," he said wonderingly, his eyes lifting to the moon-silvered clouds overhead.
The man in black looked almost incredulous at Soujiro's words and reaction. He winced as he felt the still-new slice in his left arm seep more blood. The bleeding seemed to have already slowed though, thankfully.
"I cannot help but wonder… Why do you pursue us?" asked Soujiro politely, his eyes falling to the man in black's face again.
"There is something you have which is of value to me. Something which is not strong enough to protect itself," the man in black replied, after a wary pause.
"I see. Do you make it your practice to protect weak things?" asked Soujiro, even as he wondered why he was persisting with the inquiry.
"I do."
Soujiro almost balked inside at the man in black's response, at the foreign ideas behind his words.
"You're blade is reversed," he said suddenly, picking up on an earlier observation. "Why?"
"I don't like shedding blood. Death is not necessary for the protection of life."
Something uncoiled strangely within Soujiro as he listened to the words of the man in black. He didn't like the unfamiliar sensation. His calm eyes flickered with brief discontent. "I can't understand that…" he said quietly.
The man in black's brows lowered as he watched the young man in front of him with intense amber eyes.
"I can't understand people who think that way…"
Suddenly, Soujiro blinked, shaking his head a little. His smile returned, his face calm. "Ah, I am sorry. I am wasting time, and I can't really do that. Hoji is waiting for me. I must kill you now."
The man in black nodded, slowly. He was sure he had sensed some kind of emotion in Soujiro just then… But it had vanished again as Soujiro's smile had returned. The man in black frowned. He could not read his opponent. Soujiro seemed to have no emotions at all, only that strange, placid smile. If the man in black could not read his opponent's emotions, he could not predict his moves. Without that advantage, against an enemy as fast as Soujiro, he was in trouble. But he would not go all-out yet. He would hold back for the time being. There was something not right about this boy he was fighting… There was something going on in this boy's head…
Soujiro swung his sword lightly from his shoulder to stand ready again.
The man in black concentrated on the fight once more, his eyes turning cold and bright.
His eyes widened slightly as he settled his gaze on Soujiro. The young man was tapping his foot- his left foot rose and fell to the ground with a slow, rhythmic thudding. As the man in black prepared himself for the attack, Soujiro's foot tapped a little harder, a little faster.
His right foot rose as his left gave one more tap, and the boy vanished.
The man in black nearly gasped, but his concentration was too intense. Instead, he waited for the attack, all his senses afire and ready, alert for the slightest sign of where the attack would come from.
Dirt and pebbles flew up from the ground with each pummelling hit it took from Soujiro's onslaught. The man in black's eyes darted across the earth, following the trail of the crashing thuds of Soujiro's stride.
The man in black caught a soft thud to his left, and raised his sword in less than the blink of an eye. In the same instant, Soujiro's sword clashed against the man in black's defending blade, and though the attack was blocked, the man in black's feet slid back nearly a foot under the force of the strike.
Soujiro ended in his half-crouch, off behind and to the side of the man in black. His smile never wavered.
"I missed again," he said.
The man in black took a heavy breath, ignoring the stinging of the cut in his left arm. This boy was different to anyone he had fought before… Why was he so emotionless? Why did he always smile like that?
At least he had been able to block his attack that time. Perhaps he could win this with no further bloodshed.
As if in reply to the man in black's thoughts, Soujiro spoke again. "I underestimated you. I thought it would be enough to go three steps short…"
The man in black turned to face his enemy, who was smiling with a slightly thoughtful expression.
He glanced up. "Ah, I'm sorry."
The man in black's eyes narrowed as he recalled something. "The technique you are using… It's called shukuchi, isn't it?"
Soujiro smiled on. "You are right. My, you must know a lot: I didn't know the name myself until recently. But yes, the technique is called shukuchi. However…"
The man in black watched Soujiro's polite smile broaden with an icy gaze.
"…That was not shukuchi."
The man in black took a quick breath. His eyes narrowed.
"To be precise, that was three steps short of shukuchi. I thought that would enough to kill you, but it seems I underestimated you. Again, I apologise. I will not make the same mistake again," he said graciously.
The man in black tried to find the mockery or arrogance behind the boy's words, but there was none. All he had was that politeness and that genial smile. It was baffling, completely incomprehensible and entirely unreadable. It was a powerful weapon in a duel like this one.
Soujiro was standing with his sword resting on his shoulder again. He shook his head, watching his adversary. "I still can't understand you. You wish to protect weak people… I don't get you.
"That way of thinking is wrong."
The man in black stood straight, rising to the serene challenge in his enemy's words. "Protecting the weak is the duty of the strong. Otherwise, the weak would suffer and die," he said quietly.
Soujiro's eyes hardened for an instant, smiled again. His left foot rose to begin tapping ominously against the earth again. "That is a strange way of thinking. Don't you see?" His beaming face never faltered, but there was a growing darkness in his placid grey-blue eyes. "The weak are supposed to suffer and die."
The man in black started. What was going on in this boy's head? Why did he have these ideas? And how could he smile when stating them? They were such harsh words, to come from such a young and cheerful face. Still, there were no answers to the man in black's questions.
"I will go two steps short of shukuchi now," said the boy suddenly.
The man in black prepared himself.
Soujiro shook his head once again, but his opponent could not figure out if he shook his head to concentrate, or if he was still shaking his head at the ideas they each fought with.
Soujiro's tapping had already quickened as he spoke.
Tap.
Sure enough, the feet lifted, the right leading, and the boy seemed to pause, suspended, in midair, feet moving with poised grace, his eyes gazing straight into the man in black's gaze, before he vanished into the shadowy space between them.
The amber-eyed swordsman couldn't help but feel angry. This whole thing was pointless: he didn't want to kill this boy, and he certainly didn't want to die. The wound in his arm wrenched painfully as he clenched his muscles to grip his sword firmly. He hated bloodshed of any kind. He would put a stop to this now.
The man in black already knew what to do. He had one move that couldn't be blocked, or evaded. He would use it now.
"The killing ends here!" he shouted, his frustration and anger brimming in his voice.
His legs pushed him powerfully from the earth as his blade rose eagerly to the attack.
"Kuzu Ryu Sen!"
Nine flashing darts of his sword. Nine powerful shocks of impact. All within the blinking of an eye.
The man in black dropped to the floor again, shoulders bent over, breathing heavily. The all-or-nothing attack cost him, but it was worth the price: it could not fail.
He let out another gasping breath as he reaffirmed his grip on his weapon, eyes dark with anger at the steps he had been forced to take against this smiling adversary.
Suddenly he felt air sweep against his back. Time slowed to a ponderous, all-encompassing pace.
"No- the killing has just begun."
The man in black turned his head just enough to catch the darkly smiling face of the boy as he appeared behind him, sword in hand and ready to strike. His brown hair moved slowly against his forehead, moving across his cheerful, now almost cunning eyes, as time's crawl ground so slowly by.
The moon's pale beams filtered through the clouds in the moment that Soujiro's sword swept, glittering, through the vulnerable space between himself and the man in black.
"Argh!" Another, greater, wave of blood flew through the moonlit air as Soujiro landed in a crouch a few feet from the man in black, who staggered, his eyes wide with pain, his lips parted with a shocked cry. He staggered and fell to one knee as his back screamed with the raw pain of the long, deep slash that was now traced across it.
"Do you see? You cannot beat me unless you are stronger than me. And if you cannot beat me, you will die."
The man in black barely caught the words of the boy behind him. He pulled himself up, leaning slightly on his sword, endeavouring to keep his stinging pain firmly at the back of his mind.
"Do you see now? The strong live. The weak die. I am stronger, so you will die."
The man in black turned and faced the crouching back of his enemy, who rose slowly and turned to him. There was nothing but calm patience in his grey-blue eyes. The man in black winced, pushing a second tide of pain away.
"You're… wrong," he said, driving out the words with quiet force.
Soujiro's eyes widened.
"It isn't about being strong, or weak… It's about fighting to protect those in need," he continued, his strength returning to him with his growing determination. Damn this boy and his ruthless beliefs! Humans couldn't live like that, thinking that way!
"You only say that because you aren't strong enough to beat me. Your attacks can't hurt me, not even that ougi," replied the boy.
"Really? You may have been holding back with your attack, as you said. What you don't know is: so was I.
"That was not my ougi." The man in black had no smile on his face as he spoke. His eyes were glassy and deadly serious.
The smile had vanished from Soujiro's face, and there was a foreboding glitter to his eyes. "Then let's go again." The tapping began once more. The man in black readied himself.
"Understand this, man in black: I will win. And as you die, you will know that you were wrong, and I will know that I was right."
The ground was punished with Soujiro's attack as he flickered through the air towards his target.
The man in black caught the sweep of his enemy's sword just in time, and blocked it. He turned with the speed of a god to block another attack from behind. His sword has slowed…
The pounding steps arced in a wide circle, before heading back towards the man in black. He could just catch the boy's growing anger, and blocked another attack.
Soujiro stopped, barely pausing this time. His foot was already tapping against the ground again.
"One step short now. I have had enough of you and your strange way of thinking. You will die this time."
He vanished, and the man in black waited for the attack. Whatever slowness Soujiro may have had the last time, it had gone. Despite the growing anger in the boy, and the fact that the man in black could sense it, giving him a chance to block, the boy's speed took any advantage away. The man in black couldn't follow him at all. It was as if a bolt of lightning were heading for him: there was no way to predict how it would hit.
The man in black waited helplessly, senses desperately alert.
Suddenly, the sweep of air that announced the attack died and Soujiro dropped to the ground near the man in black.
"It seems my sandal is broken. I must ask a moment to fix it."
He walked off to kneel next to a rock nearby.
The man in black watched incredulously, random thoughts flitting through his mind.
He could have killed me that time, and we both know it. I have never witnessed speed like his…
His mind is not as calm as it was when we began. Something makes me wonder if his sandal really broke by accident.
The man in black's golden eyes flashed in the darkness as he pondered the question he had no answer to.
Back then…
A boy stood in the midst of the pouring rain, dark shapes surrounding him upon the ground. His shoulders were hunched over, his hair dripping with water, his eyes hidden beneath his wet fringe. A sword lay quietly in his small hand, lowered and restful. Persistent raindrops washed the last of the blood from the shining blade.
Back then…
Screams rang through the darkness, flooding the rain-soaked air and hammering into the boy's ears. Footsteps ran through splattering mud and eyes widened with wild, helpless fear.
Back then, no one helped me…
"Boy! Get that rice into that warehouse now! If it's not done by nightfall, don't expect to get fed tomorrow!"
The door to the house slammed shut, and Soujiro was left outside in the heat of the cloudy, clammy afternoon. Insects chirred all around, and the boy's torn and dirty clothes scratched against his legs and arms.
The rice bags were huge, and Soujiro could only just lift them. His back was still hurting from all the scrubbing he'd done the day before, bending over to clean the timeworn and immovable stains on the floors in the kitchens. He'd been beaten for not getting rid of the stains.
The bruises ached in the hot, heavily charged air.
Soujiro toiled his way towards the warehouse. The rice bag's handles dug into his shoulders, chafing and leaving sores that wept within an hour of work. He'd only moved a quarter of the rice by then, and he resolutely ignored the rubbing of the straps into his burning, sticky shoulder wounds. He had to get the work done by nightfall, or they'd beat him again.
The sun was already low in the sky, but Soujiro ignored that as well as he laboured on, his young legs feeling increasingly weak and shaky beneath his frail, half-starved form, shuddering under the weight of the rice. His blistered fingers clenched into fists as he staggered on.
He hated this life, but he couldn't do anything about it. After his parents' murders, he had been left to the care of distant relatives, who hated him for no reason he could ever understand, and treated him as less than a slave. There was no love in Soujiro's life, or in his heart. The passing of his parents had left him completely alone, and completely defenceless against the brutality of his keepers.
He smiled, nevertheless. He knew from experience that his smile was the only defence he had. He had used to cry or whimper when they beat him, and that had amused them, making them beat him more and harder. Since then, he'd learned that when he smiled, they got bored and left him alone, wanting only to hear him cry.
His tears had dried up long ago, dying away as his last memories of love faded away from his empty soul.
Time crept on, and the sun crept towards the horizon. The day's light grew red and orange as it slowly died, and evening crawled towards night. The shadows lengthened, slipping over the ground and creeping and rising to the lone figure of the struggling boy.
A rock hit the boy's head from behind. He winced at the impact, and wearily set down the rice bag, turning to his attacker. The straps of the bag sent scorching pain through his raw sores as they slid from his shoulders, but Soujiro was more concerned about who was behind him.
It was one of the young men of his new home. He towered over Soujiro, a sneer across his face, throwing another rock up into the air and catching it, throwing and catching, a rhythmic, threatening motion.
Soujiro's smile came out on instinct as he watched for the next blow.
"You shouldn't put down that rice, brat. The sun's nearly down, and you know what my father said. I came to make sure you weren't slacking off." The sneer widened. Soujiro's smile stretched in response.
He didn't say anything: merely took up the huge bag of rice onto his back again, and trudged on.
Another rock caught him in a glancing blow to the side of his head. The first strike was still throbbing, and the new wound's sting joined it in a repeating pounding, pounding, pounding in Soujiro's head. He blinked a few times, and took another step forward. Pound, pound, pound. Take another step. Smile a little broader. Keep going.
"Hey, brat! Don't walk away from me! If you're rude to me, I'll have to teach you manners," cried the young man, his voice lowering to a smirking growl on his last words.
Soujiro winced, smiling all the while, knowing already what was to come, knowing that he could not avoid it, knowing that it had been coming from the moment the first rock had hit him: no, since the moment his parents had fallen to the ground in pools of their own blood.
Sure enough, the rice was ripped from his shoulders, making his weeping sores scream with hot pain, and the bag split as it was thrown to the ground, grains of pale rice scattering all around.
The young man loomed over the young, wretchedly thin, ever-smiling boy. "Now look what you've done! My father will be very angry about this, brat!"
Here it came.
Soujiro let his mind concentrate on keeping the smile in place as the blows began to rain down on him.
He didn't even try to shield his face as a fist impacted with his left cheekbone, and white pain shot to his eye and spread in a wave through his skull. He merely closed his eyes and smiled, as another punch smacked heavily against his ribcage, winding the boy, sending him staggering. Hurt, anger, grief and vengeance were distant, surreal things that Soujiro dared not reach to: to feel was to feel pain. Just keep smiling. Aches, stings and darting, hurting heat prickled and stabbed over his frail body, but all he did was smile.
Before he could fall, still reeling from the punch, a kick caught him in the backs of his legs, bruising and hurting. Soujiro sank to the heat-cracked earth in a crumpled heap.
The red light of the dying sun clouded over with menacing darkness.
Shadow fell on the small, bleeding heap of human flesh. The small heap that smiled on as blood dripped over a closed and blackened eye.
"Get up!"
A kick in the ribs. Soujiro curled in on himself.
"Why are you smiling, brat? I said, get up, you little freak! Stop smiling!"
A kick in the legs.
"That's it. The sun's down- my father will have something to say to you, you lazy little brat. You won't have anything to smile about soon."
Footsteps retreated into the dimming dusk.
Soujiro reached out a clawed hand, and dragged himself across the ground. The dry earth scratched at his torn clothes, grazing his young and vulnerable skin. He crawled his way to the warehouse, using the wall to pull himself up.
He was already feeling a little easier- he was used to pain. Somehow, bruises on top of bruises hurt less than a single wound. As if skin got used to the hurt, and just absorbed it, piling hurt upon hurt in a nonchalant manner until it hardly noticed there was any pain anymore.
At least the stiffness hadn't set in yet.
He staggered his way round to the steps, shrinking against the wall as the gathering clouds began to release the first wave of rain. It was cool, soothing at first to Soujiro's stinging wounds, but it soon made his bruises ache, his arms and legs shooting dull pain as he moved.
There… He eased himself to the ground, and crawled underneath the wooden steps, down underneath the building.
His hiding place.
This was where he had hidden his father's sword, the place he went to when the people at the main house had forgotten about him for the day, when Soujiro needed to comfort of his father's presence, the only remnants of which lay in the blade forged by his hands.
Soujiro crawled through the darkness, listening to the showering rain outside, his small hands reaching and searching, and finally stumbling over the familiar smooth texture of the Tsuki Katana's sheath. He grasped the weapon, and hugged it to his tiny, battered frame, cradling it like a child that needed to be protected.
Father always said a sword was made for use…
Lightning flooded to fringes of Soujiro's sanctuary, and he caught the sounds of many footsteps running towards the warehouse, slapping over the wet, muddied ground.
Cries rang out in the dusk.
"Where is he?"
"He was right here when I left. He can't have gone far."
More footsteps.
"Wait- I see where he went…"
Soujiro froze, his blood running suddenly cold through his body. As another flash of lightning cracked through the dark sky, his head turned slowly in horror to see a creeping figure, crawling across the ground towards him in the low space under the warehouse.
His fingers clutched at the sword, his eyes wide and staring with fear, the smile gone from his face for a moment.
"There you are, you little brat… Think you can hide, huh? Think again…"
It was the young man who had beaten him just before. His sneer was not visible in the darkness, but Soujiro knew it was there. Soujiro knew that sneer would watch over him as he was beaten to death.
Beaten to death…
Will they kill me?
"We've all had enough of you, brat. Think we need you, you and your dirty, scraggy little stinking self? We don't need you." The young man was crawling closer. Soujiro's breath tightened in his fear-frozen lungs.
Beaten to death…
"You know, we just realised something… It would be cheaper if we didn't have you around to feed, for the little work you actually do…"
Beaten to death…
They're going to kill me this time…
The young man was upon him. His sly gaze landed on the sword in Soujiro's hands.
"What's that you've got there? Oh, a sword, is it? Looks expensive. Maybe it'll pay for all the trouble you've caused us over the years…" His grasping hands reached out for the sword, grabbing at the sheath, which slid off easily in the gloom.
The rain still poured outside. Thunder rumbled ominously overhead.
The blade was left naked, glimmering faintly in the shadows. Soujiro's eyes landed on the metal, transfixed by its beauty. A timeworn memory flashed vividly through his mind.
The strong live…His father's body crumpled on the ground.
The weak die…Soujiro's scream ripped through the empty air.
Father always said a sword was made for use…Soujiro scrambled away, nearly falling backwards as he clawed wildly for freedom. The young man was taken by surprise, and belatedly followed the boy, crawling after him in the small space, shuffling and crawling through the darkness towards him like a spider that has seen its prey caught in its web, scuttling and sidling and dragging with inhuman speed in its thirst for death.
Soujiro's slighter body made it easier for him: he was soon out, on the other side of the building.
The young man called the warning. "He's out! He's over on the other side!"
Soujiro sent one terrified look over his shoulder before instinct took over, and he ran, frail legs pumping with the sudden, urgent energy of one who knows death is on his heels.
Footsteps slapped after him, sending mud splattering to greet the falling raindrops.
Soujiro ran on, as fast as he could, bared sword still in hand, his face pale with fear, his body shivering with the weakness of a starved child. His free hand clawed the rain-filled darkness ahead as he ran, fingers hooked and searching for something to latch onto, reaching for a saviour that did not exist.
"Help me!" The words ripped unbidden from his lips.
"Someone, help me!"
The rain fell unpityingly, and his attackers gained. His feet slapped against the wet dirt.
"HELP ME!"
His childish scream was beaten back by the falling rain, his plea dragged under by the deadening roar of thunder overhead.
A hand clutched at his ragged clothes, and he fell, landing in the mud.
He rolled over, dragging himself to his feet to face his assailants. The sword suddenly seemed a protective weight in his hands.
A brief moment in time stretched long as Soujiro's hollow smile claimed his face. The smile of a ghost who has forgotten the emotions of its human life, lost in its own transparency, helpless in its own emptiness.
The strong live…
The sword flashed in the darkness.
The weak die…
The first body fell the rain-soaked earth.
The strong live…
The blade swooped again.
The weak die…
Rain trickled down the boy's face, glittering in the cold glare of the brief lightning.
The strong live…
Falling blood mixed with falling rain as the boy's smile stretched beyond innocence across his pale and childish face.
Smile, and they will go away. Smile, and they won't hurt you. Smile, and you will live.
The Tsuki Katana moved in clumsy young hands with an uneasy grace, claiming lives with each cut, each slice. More bodies hit the earth.
The weak die.
Eerie silence fell within the sound of the pouring rain. The boy stood alone in the lazy sheets of water, his eyes on some unseen, distant vision. His hair clung to his face, his clothes stuck to his body. His smile never faltered.
Lightning flashed and the rain shone briefly on the boy's clean, young face. Raindrops washed the blood from the sword in his little hand.
"I am ready," said Soujiro, rising from his crouch, flexing his foot a little in his newly secured sandal. Why does this man make me feel so strange? Why does he make me remember these things? He says he protects people, helps weak ones in need… I don't get him at all.
They stood ready again, facing each other with deadly serious gazes locked together.
The man in black could feel his opponent's rising anger. It would help him predict and block Soujiro's attacks if it got much stronger, despite the boy's unbelievable speed.
"One step short. You will die now, man in black."
As Soujiro's invisible form sped like lightning towards the man in black, his anger rose inside him with irrepressible force, memories of rain and darkness, of blood and screaming, filling his mind. His eyes clenched shut as his sword ascended to the attack, and a cry rose in his throat.
"Back then…"
The man in black's eyes widened as he heard the boy's words over the pounding of his attack.
"Back then… Why didn't you save me?"
The man in black stared in shock at the words he heard, and his eyes darted around. Soujiro's anger was rising, and the force of his assault would rise with it. What direction would the attack come from?
The thudding arced round, and Soujiro seemed to run up into the very air. The man in black stood firm, as he realised the truth: it was an omni directional attack, using both vertical and horizontal space. Could he block it?
Soujiro's furious, desperate, accusing voice reached his ears again.
"Back then… You didn't protect me."
A thud to the right. The man in black spun round, but it was gone again.
"Back then… No one helped me."
A thud behind. The man in black barely had time to turn before the boy's attack had shifted again.
"Back then… no one protected me!"
Anger blazed in the darkness above the man in black, above and to his left, and he raised his sword just in time to block the attack, the force of his defensive sweep sending Soujiro springing back from him, landing heavily nearby in a crouch, facing his enemy. He swept his gaze up at the man in black with a wild, animalistic gleam in his eyes, a near-snarl tugging at his lips. His anger streamed from him, battering the man in black from all directions with a burning, heavy force.
He rose with almost inhuman grace and control, backing off to create the required distance between himself and the man in black. The snarling look never left his face. Anger seethed from his very skin as he stared down the man in black's amber gaze. Angry gashes marked the ground around them, recording the path of Soujiro's fury.
He took off again, his rage spinning rapidly out of control, guiding the man in black's deflecting blade, shielding him from a wrath that burned the very air as Soujiro's ki rose in waves in the darkness.
As a scream of strangled fury ripped from Soujiro's throat, he appeared above the man in black, bearing down on him with his sword poised and ready to deal death.
The man in black lifted his own blade with astonishing speed, a strange look in his flashing golden eyes, and a violent swoop sent Soujiro flying to the ground. In the same instant, the man in black's sword flickered to point threateningly at Soujiro's bared throat. Soujiro merely glared up at his attacker with feral animosity, his ki beating savagely against the man in black, waiting for death.
"As you attacked me, you said that I didn't protect you. I don't know what you were referring to, try as I might to imagine what it was. I can only conclude that something happened in your past that led you to the path you now walk.
"However, I do not think you wanted to live the life of a killer."
The man in black's quiet resonance rang in Soujiro's ears as he eyes widened in shock.
Memories and conflicting thoughts rose unbidden to claim his emptied soul.
I killed them all that night. I saved myself by claiming their weak lives with my own strength.
The rain washed it all away, and I smiled as always, but the truth is…
The truth is…
A boy stood in the pouring rain as his lowered blade dripped watery blood. Raindrops tracked sparkling lines down his cheeks, and as he lifted his face to the weeping heavens, and a flash of lightning broke the sky, a smile could be seen on the young face.
In the same light, the boy's eyes shimmered with more than rainwater, and his face glittered with tears that ran over his cheeks and smiling lips.
The truth is…
I was crying.
Lightning was followed by crashing, rolling thunder, rippling around the clouds with a foreboding roar.
The strong live, the weak die…
Death lay scattered on the wet ground around the boy as he smiled at the unforgiving sky.
Is it really so wrong to be weak?
The man in black sensed the rising tide of confusion and conflict in the mind of his opponent. Short moments passed as an entire spectrum of emotions flickered across the boy's face, from contorted rage to unspeakable grief.
"AAAAARRGH! NO, NO NO! GAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGH!"
The man in black stepped back in shock as the young man before him lost all control, crumpling over as if in agony, then dropping to the ground and beating his fists on the cold earth, hitting his forehead repeatedly on the ground, still screaming and screaming and screaming…
Suddenly he rose, the wild look in his eyes again.
"You," he snarled, his gaze fixing on the man in black's masked face. "You are doing these things to me! You and your strange sword and strange ideas! It's your fault!"
He snapped into position, sheathing his sword abruptly, readied in a battou-jutsu stance. It meant one simple thing: this would decide the battle. Who would live, and who would die. The battou-jutsu was a direct, unyielding attack that placed strength, but most of all, speed, at the forefront. Here was where it would end. This was the boy's way of demanding a final answer to the barrage of questions in his mind, once and for all.
The man in black settled into the battou-jutsu, sheathing his own sword carefully. His hand hovered above his weapon, eyes clearing from their shock, becoming determined and single-minded with their flashing amber gaze. He waited.
"I will kill you, and prove you wrong.
"I am coming. Prepare yourself." Soujiro's words washed over the man in black like water over stone. He was ready.
A wave crashed in the distance, a faint sound against the foot of the Cliffs.
"AAAARGH!" Two forceful male cries of determination and anger rang out in the darkness, as one, then the other, vanished into the air with their speed beyond Godspeed.
Feet pushed body weight from earth, thuds of angry strides punishing the ground that lay between them.
At the last moment before impact, swords were pulled fluidly from sheaths, and the man in black's foot gave an extra, light tap, before they both launched into the air towards each other, matching intense expressions on their faces.
Time froze as blades swooped.
"Ama kakeru ryu no hirameki!"
A sword was knocked brutally aside, and a sword made contact with human flesh. A scream ripped through the dark air, and a shadowy figure fell to a crouch on the ground, sword still raised in the follow-through of the final technique of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.
Soujiro's body hit the ground with a dull thud.
Back then, I cried.
He said he didn't think I wanted to live the life of a killer…
Did I ever want this path that lies now beneath my feet?
Did I ever want to be strong?
Darkness claimed the boy's suddenly calmed mind as the shock of the attack he had taken gripped his body. His thoughts sank into oblivion.
"Don't worry. I won't kill you. This wound is enough."
The man in black knelt over his unconscious victim, watching his chest rise and fall with tentative but regular breaths.
He brushed the hair back from the boy's brow gently, his gaze troubled at what he had had to do to the boy. The deep mark ran angrily across his chest, a guarantee of a future scar.
The man in black sighed, and stood slowly.
"We shall meet again, I hope," he murmured.
His eyes turned to the horizon as the clouds parted to reveal the moon, which had begun its slow descent. There lay the trail of his quarry, and his own destination.
"Time to move on."
Author's note: Well, that took me hours. Understandable, considering its HUGE length! Now you see why I split this battle into two chapters? *sigh of weariness* This chapter was really long anyway. But I'm really proud of it- I worked so unbelievably hard on this. Soujiro is my favourite RK character, so I felt I owed it to him, you know?
Apologies again for the late update. I hope the length goes some way to making up for it. *bows*
I'm sorry, very short notes to reviewers again: I'm really short on time. My thanks to you all, though. *glomp*
Thanks to Corran Nackatori (*suitably freaked out* ^_^), MegumiFuu (Ah no, that was the guy who made Kenshin's sword in the series- I just handily made up the idea that Sou-chan's daddy was the best swordmaker, cos it fitted the plot. Most other details I kept the same, though.), insert catchy name here (*puts a pillow on the desk*), silver-garcia, Vash-chan AKA Makoto Almasy, incoherence (I haven't seen the Musketeer… But that kind of death is pretty well-used in films and books… Heck, it worked for me! ^_^), Kenshin-Kaoru-Forever, genocide ex-sync*in (It wasn't that lame.. *wink*), TenkunoMeiou, Mewberries, js (Er, in the book there is indeed a 't' in Westley. Otherwise it'd be pronounced Wezley, which isn't half so good. ^_^), noir-tori, imaninz, Tevrah, Lady E (*looks guilty in light of Lady E's lovely comments and Akari's own late update* Sorry…), EvilPrincessMelphis, Demon Neko-Chan, Faybirdy, NightRain (Thanks for the note of support, hun!), pretty Luthien, Volleygurly, Awc (*still giggling at the oro-ing heap crumpled on the floor* Thanks for your er… violent enthusiasm! Much appreciated! *glomp*), Staci/Nadia, bittersweetKandy, Misao-chan, Mary, Lady Kino (*downs beverages gratefully and proceeds to bounce of the walls with wide eyes and many oro's*), TwinBakaNekos, DarkElf, Shattered Reflection (Yes, I love tea! But I fake an English accent better… *laughs* Especially since I'm English! Tee hee ^_^ Thanks for the tea! *downs it in one* I like PG Tips best… ^_^), Midnight Star (*looks at sake with a raised eyebrow, then blinks to see it's gone* What the- Hey! *glares and hops angrily about as Sano downs the drink in one greedy gulp* Why you!!!), KittyKatt, WIERDkittyw/wingz (Thanks for the offer! I shall surely mail you and say hi when I actually get a moment's break from the neverending turmoil known as my life… *sweatdrop* Feel free to mail me, too, if you wanna chat!), angelicyokai, Zeh Wulf (*laughs at image of Kenshin overbalancing as a result of enormous knot of hair* Oh, and thanks for the note about Kenshin's eyes- that was very deliberate for the reasons you suggested, glad to know someone else thought it was weird Buttercup didn't recognise Westley's eyes… *grin*), Celeste Rose (mmmmmm ^_^), Ela, Momentum, Rachel (oh, I love cliffies myself! Which is fun when you're the author rather than the reader! Ooh, the power!! *evil laugh* MWAHAHAHA!), Mistress of time, Papaya! (Yeh, I took my time with this one… *sheepish* I'll do my best always, though. And I'm guessing I upset you more with Sou-chan's past this chapter, huh? *guilty* It always makes me cry when I watch those episodes of the series.. I just hope I did him justice. And it's oddly suited that you bear the name of a fruit… *feels she is losing sanity with lack of sleep* But it is cool! *weird giggle* ^_^), MP, Jellybob 15, dunkmoonX, monkeysme, lime, Sakuya Tsuki- Neko Neko Miau, Little Yahiko (*laughs profusely at the eel-consuming antics of the Japanese and Chinese people*), Queen of Shadows (I put it in for dramatic effect- also because the section of the series I'm taking pieces of this part from had some bloodshed. Hope that's okay!), Sailor Cosmos, Redhead Samurai, Elf Fanatic Lark and Alec Ikiiki (*falls over* All the action I can do is in this chapter.. I need time to rejuvenate.. Oh, I save my documents as htm or webpage, and though the italics have not worked on occasion, I noticed that the way to get the bold to work is to click it on just before writing the bit you want in bold, then clicking off right after the last word (rather than highlighting it and making it bold) I hope that helps! *falls over again*)!
Okay, that's enough for now! I'm gonna collapse after all that writing! *falls over* Oof, too late..
Seeya next Sunday!