First Meetings — A Rurouni Kenshin Fanfic
Part One: Himura Shinta
Chapter Two: Seijuro Hiko
Hiko was too late by the time he got there. Blood had been shed. Guts had been spilled. Both the innocents and the guilty had paid with their lives. In these times of war and chaos, you almost get used to it.
Although his discipline prevented him from taking sides in a conflict, he wasn't above metting out justice to some pond scum of humanity. And so, when he encountered those bandits in the road, he had drawn his own sword to give them the eternal peace. Of course, by that time those murdering bastards had had their fun and was in the process of finishing off a little runt when the flash of his own sword put a stop to their antics. He looked around the pile of dead bodies and shook his head. He was too late and there was nothing else he could do about it.
He walked silently towards the little runt of a boy and stared at the child's bowed head.
"There's nothing you can do about this now," he said practically. It wasn't wise to dwell on things you can't change, after all. "You're lucky I got here when I did," he continued, "otherwise, you would have been lying here too."
The boy remained still as a statue. He must be in shock.
"There's nothing you can do for them now," he repeated, referring the the women the boy was staring at. He crouched down and tried to look at the kid's eyes. "Your sisters did not deserve this, but there's nothing that can be done. At least I avenged them for you."
Still, no word.
Hiko sighed. He had seen this before. Sometimes tragedy such as this could paralyze and incapacitate a man. It was really too bad that it had to happen to someone this young, but that's the way of the world sometimes.
"There's a village in that direction," he tried again. "Let them know what happened here and ask for help."
Still no response. The kid just sat there, staring. Ahh, what the hell? The kid will move when he wants to. Right now, he had to be somewhere. He gave an impatient grunt as he stood up. "Remember what I said about the village," he stated.
And with a careless shrug, he left. He hoped the boy followed his advice, but if he didn't there's nothing to be done about it now.
End