GCN: Hello all! I'm here with the next chappie. I figure I'd better
update...before I get grounded from the computer. It sucks I know, but it
happens to me often. :::Sigh::: I just don't know.
A new development that you may be interested in is the recent production of the Anime Clan Online's new website. It was created by me and the rest of the Clan, Sano99, XearoJDH, Deraigon, Kenshin'sChick, Inuyasha'sDaily and the VolleyPickle16.... If you have time, you could check out their stories, others of mine, or the website, which is listed in my bio as a link and as the homepage. (h t t p : a n i m e f r e a k 2 0 0 7 . t r i p o d . c o m ) (There aren't any spaces in the whole thing...but kept deleting it when I had it the normal way. Why, I don't know...) Our site contains anime pics, downloads, news, links and an FFVII/Advent Children section. Arigato for your support!
So nobody gets upset with me, I'm telling all my readers not to get too upset if it takes a while to update. I have alto going on right now, and I'm trying my damnedest to get everything typed up as much as possible. Now with the website and the fact that my parents are limiting my computer hours...heh heh...not good.
Now, onward with the story....
WARPED REALITY – CHAPTER 7
Soujirou eased his foot back into a ready position. His right hand drifted down closer to his katana. He was personally unfamiliar with the person that Himura Kenshin had become. Sure as hell he had heard about the legendary, merciless, cold Hitokiri, but had never thought of meeting him since that day way back when Shishio had set the two against each other.
Back then, the Tenken had never thought that he would see the Battousai. But now, it was all too obvious that the only way to draw out the demon was to threaten not Kenshin's life, but the life of someone he was closest to.
It had been along time since Soujirou had been afraid for his life. This was the first time since that fateful day when his adoptive family had threatened to slaughter him. And now, he was felling again that slow sinking feeling.
He didn't want to be here, in the cold, damp prison-like cave. He had been forced to....
:::::Enter Flashback:::::
Soujirou had been walking for a few days now. His feet were hurting, and the front of his gi and hakama was covered with dust. But he was absolutely thrilled with the entire planet, and showed it trough the real, genuine smile that was around his face. He was free!
It had been a few months since Shishio Makoto had been killed. So far no one had discovered his secret; that he was the Tenken, one who had caused the country so much trouble not too long ago.
At least he didn't think anyone knew. Yet, as he was very aware of the fact that someone was following him as he pulled into a roadside restaurant.
'What'll it be sonny?' an elderly waitress asked, wearing a light pink robe and greasy apron, her thin white hair pulled into a bun.
'Oh...nothing much. Bring me a couple of strawberry rice cakes, if you please,' Soujirou had answered, making sure that his sword stayed hidden under the dark brown cloak he was wearing.
As the lady moved off, a tall, shadowy figure moved into Soujirou's field of vision. Whoever it was didn't concern Soujirou in the least, he was the Tenken with the powers of Shukuchi after all; he had nothing to fear. And he assumed that nobody in their right mind would pick a fight in such a crowded diner such as this in the Meiij Era.
But he was wrong.
The figure sat in front of him, on the other side of the table. Soujirou looked up from the table to view the person out.
'Konnichiwa, young sir,' the figure said in a deep man's voice, not bothering to introduce himself or remove the hood that shielded his eyes.
'Nani?' Soujirou wasn't sure what was going on now.
'I know who you are, Seta Soujirou the Tenken. You were second in command to the Shishio Makoto-sama. You are also a mass murderer, a Hitokiri turned rurouni, correct?'
Soujirou had stiffened up, grasping the katana at his side. Who was this stranger? He threatened Soujirou's newfound peace and carefree way of life!
'You know I am correct. What would all these people do if they discovered one of the most wanted criminal in Japan was seated right next to them?' the stranger cackled, blowing a smoke ring around his hood.
'Who the hell are you?' Soujirou looked frantically around, looking for a hasty, yet inconspicuous exit.
'If you agree, your new employer,' the stranger pulled off his hood, revealing a shaggy mushroom haircut and squinty eyes behind square glasses.
It was Kanryu.
'I'll make this simple,' the former drug dealer and thug began, 'if you agree to work for me, I'll do all that is in my power to keep your identity a secret. If you don't,' he laughed, 'well, how long do you think the news of your face will take to spread throughout the entire country?'
Soujirou's eyes widened immensely, and his hand automatically clutched the hilt of his weapon.
'Go ahead, kill me. Either way, you're trapped; the only way out is to work for me. Or your life on this world is over.'
Soujirou had stared for what seemed like an hour. Every other person in the building was milling around normally, not knowing that an outrageous fight could break out among them at any second. The Tenken decided that he didn't deserve the right to do that to them.
'What do you want me to do?'
Kanryu smiled.
:::::End of Flashback:::::
That's how it had come to this. That bastard Kanryu had gotten him trapped in a 'damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't' situation. Now Soujirou had to follow every order he was given, no matter if it meant loosing his conscious again or loosing the dwindling remainder of his sanity.
Soujirou clamped his hand around the hilt of the katana, drawing it out half an inch with his other thumb. He could not afford to loose to Kenshin this time.
"Are you going to attack?" Kenshin asked in low detached voice; not his own. "Or are you perhaps, giving up?"
"I cannot give up this time Himura-san," Soujirou said calmly, not wanting to betray the fact that he was scared to the death of the malevolent glow Kenshin's eyes held.
"Then you will die."
Kenshin's outline shifted for a moment, then he disappeared. A strange tingling at the back of Soujirou's neck alerted him to the fact that Kenshin was right behind him, ready to bring the Sakabatou down on his head. Soujirou ducked just in time, allowing the sword to crash into the ground of rock, thus creating gravel.
Not ten feet away, the rest of the Kenshin-gumi stood transfixed. It wasn't the first time any of them had seen Kenshin loose it, but it was certainly the fiercest.
"Is it just me, or did he have fangs?" Yahiko asked stupidly.
"He was mighty pissed," Sanosuke whispered worriedly back.
"Do you suppose we should stop him?" Kaoru/Megumi asked, kneading her hands together, making sure to stay safe behind Aoshi/Misao.
"Iae," Misao/Aoshi shook her head, crossing her arms. "I don't believe the Battousai would ever forgive us if we interrupted him while he was saving his wife. Her being in danger brings out another side to the Hitokiri all together. I doubt that there is an 100 percent chance that he would not turn on us as well."
"NANI? You mean, 'he'd never forgive us if we didn't stop him from killing someone again,' ne? Don't you know what that would do to him?" Kaoru/Megumi stated.
"It's a price all warriors have to pay: Taking the chance that they will have to murder their opponent. All of us must deal with the burden as we seem fit," Misao/Aoshi muttered.
"Oooo, deep," Sanosuke looked for a joke at this time.
"Aoshi-sama, you know better than that. Not every one has the time to sit on their ass all day and meditate," Aoshi/Misao patted the shorter Misao/Aoshi on the head, earning him a glare from her. "Himura has a life. A home. A wife..." he grated.
Misao/Aoshi snorted. "For how long?"
Back over to the battle, Soujirou tried a desperate horizontal slash that ended up with him falling on his butt. Kenshin took advantage of the moment to make a slash of his own. Soujirou blocked the blow aimed at his leg, but the force of the attack caused his sword to waver, and the Sakabatou cut a jagged mark across the back of his leg.
"Aaaaghhh!" Soujirou complained. The cut wasn't deep, but hell did it hurt. And even a wound of such slight measure, when on the leg, could totally destroy his ability to use the Shukuchi.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------
'Beep...bep...beep...bep...beep...'
Kaoru felt sick. She wasn't going to let this deranged creep force some drug down her throat. So as he grabbed her by the hair and poured it into her mouth, she threw up all over him; and at the same time, kicked him low in the gut. The ex-crime lord flew back into the wall, making an 'Ack!' sound.
She lost her balance and fell hard on her backside. Kanryu seemed to bounce; as he was quickly back on his feet. And he looked none too happy.
"You insubordinate bitch..." he hissed, righting himself, wiping away some of the crap that stained his expensive dress suit.
Kaoru started to struggle away, but he grabbed her by her hair once again, dragging her back into his capture. She attempted to turn around and claw his eyes out, but had forgotten that she was too badly wounded from before.
'No...I have to survive to get out of this...I must see Kenshin...' Megumi/Kaoru ran the same thoughts over and over again in her head as Kanryu lifted her up off the floor.
"You may have lived a bit longer, bitch, if you had simply played along. But this time, you will die. I'll make sure of that!"
Megumi/Kaoru turned her eyes to face him. She didn't fear this man—this totally evil, sinister man. She was aware that he was dangerous...that he COULD very well destroy her in the blink of an eye. But she wasn't afraid of him.
With one last snarl of contempt, Kanryu flung Kaoru at the ground. She felt a rushing wind, then nothing more as her head his the rock with a sharp 'crack!'...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
Soujirou fell backwards, tripping over a clump of fallen ice. He watched as the Battousai suddenly shivered. He averted his amber gaze to further down the tunnel, his expression softening into one of pain for only a moment.
It was as if he sensed something that Soujirou had no connection to...
GCN: (got tired of righting A.N.)
Don't fret. Kaoru is a tough chick. Do you really think the voices of evil will win over her?? Do you?? Well...maybe...
The next chapter should be up soon, at least after I get a few reviews from the frequent comers that need a chance to catch up...
Till then, ja ne!
Now, check out my other stories and website!!!!
---GCNanimedragon
A new development that you may be interested in is the recent production of the Anime Clan Online's new website. It was created by me and the rest of the Clan, Sano99, XearoJDH, Deraigon, Kenshin'sChick, Inuyasha'sDaily and the VolleyPickle16.... If you have time, you could check out their stories, others of mine, or the website, which is listed in my bio as a link and as the homepage. (h t t p : a n i m e f r e a k 2 0 0 7 . t r i p o d . c o m ) (There aren't any spaces in the whole thing...but kept deleting it when I had it the normal way. Why, I don't know...) Our site contains anime pics, downloads, news, links and an FFVII/Advent Children section. Arigato for your support!
So nobody gets upset with me, I'm telling all my readers not to get too upset if it takes a while to update. I have alto going on right now, and I'm trying my damnedest to get everything typed up as much as possible. Now with the website and the fact that my parents are limiting my computer hours...heh heh...not good.
Now, onward with the story....
WARPED REALITY – CHAPTER 7
Soujirou eased his foot back into a ready position. His right hand drifted down closer to his katana. He was personally unfamiliar with the person that Himura Kenshin had become. Sure as hell he had heard about the legendary, merciless, cold Hitokiri, but had never thought of meeting him since that day way back when Shishio had set the two against each other.
Back then, the Tenken had never thought that he would see the Battousai. But now, it was all too obvious that the only way to draw out the demon was to threaten not Kenshin's life, but the life of someone he was closest to.
It had been along time since Soujirou had been afraid for his life. This was the first time since that fateful day when his adoptive family had threatened to slaughter him. And now, he was felling again that slow sinking feeling.
He didn't want to be here, in the cold, damp prison-like cave. He had been forced to....
:::::Enter Flashback:::::
Soujirou had been walking for a few days now. His feet were hurting, and the front of his gi and hakama was covered with dust. But he was absolutely thrilled with the entire planet, and showed it trough the real, genuine smile that was around his face. He was free!
It had been a few months since Shishio Makoto had been killed. So far no one had discovered his secret; that he was the Tenken, one who had caused the country so much trouble not too long ago.
At least he didn't think anyone knew. Yet, as he was very aware of the fact that someone was following him as he pulled into a roadside restaurant.
'What'll it be sonny?' an elderly waitress asked, wearing a light pink robe and greasy apron, her thin white hair pulled into a bun.
'Oh...nothing much. Bring me a couple of strawberry rice cakes, if you please,' Soujirou had answered, making sure that his sword stayed hidden under the dark brown cloak he was wearing.
As the lady moved off, a tall, shadowy figure moved into Soujirou's field of vision. Whoever it was didn't concern Soujirou in the least, he was the Tenken with the powers of Shukuchi after all; he had nothing to fear. And he assumed that nobody in their right mind would pick a fight in such a crowded diner such as this in the Meiij Era.
But he was wrong.
The figure sat in front of him, on the other side of the table. Soujirou looked up from the table to view the person out.
'Konnichiwa, young sir,' the figure said in a deep man's voice, not bothering to introduce himself or remove the hood that shielded his eyes.
'Nani?' Soujirou wasn't sure what was going on now.
'I know who you are, Seta Soujirou the Tenken. You were second in command to the Shishio Makoto-sama. You are also a mass murderer, a Hitokiri turned rurouni, correct?'
Soujirou had stiffened up, grasping the katana at his side. Who was this stranger? He threatened Soujirou's newfound peace and carefree way of life!
'You know I am correct. What would all these people do if they discovered one of the most wanted criminal in Japan was seated right next to them?' the stranger cackled, blowing a smoke ring around his hood.
'Who the hell are you?' Soujirou looked frantically around, looking for a hasty, yet inconspicuous exit.
'If you agree, your new employer,' the stranger pulled off his hood, revealing a shaggy mushroom haircut and squinty eyes behind square glasses.
It was Kanryu.
'I'll make this simple,' the former drug dealer and thug began, 'if you agree to work for me, I'll do all that is in my power to keep your identity a secret. If you don't,' he laughed, 'well, how long do you think the news of your face will take to spread throughout the entire country?'
Soujirou's eyes widened immensely, and his hand automatically clutched the hilt of his weapon.
'Go ahead, kill me. Either way, you're trapped; the only way out is to work for me. Or your life on this world is over.'
Soujirou had stared for what seemed like an hour. Every other person in the building was milling around normally, not knowing that an outrageous fight could break out among them at any second. The Tenken decided that he didn't deserve the right to do that to them.
'What do you want me to do?'
Kanryu smiled.
:::::End of Flashback:::::
That's how it had come to this. That bastard Kanryu had gotten him trapped in a 'damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't' situation. Now Soujirou had to follow every order he was given, no matter if it meant loosing his conscious again or loosing the dwindling remainder of his sanity.
Soujirou clamped his hand around the hilt of the katana, drawing it out half an inch with his other thumb. He could not afford to loose to Kenshin this time.
"Are you going to attack?" Kenshin asked in low detached voice; not his own. "Or are you perhaps, giving up?"
"I cannot give up this time Himura-san," Soujirou said calmly, not wanting to betray the fact that he was scared to the death of the malevolent glow Kenshin's eyes held.
"Then you will die."
Kenshin's outline shifted for a moment, then he disappeared. A strange tingling at the back of Soujirou's neck alerted him to the fact that Kenshin was right behind him, ready to bring the Sakabatou down on his head. Soujirou ducked just in time, allowing the sword to crash into the ground of rock, thus creating gravel.
Not ten feet away, the rest of the Kenshin-gumi stood transfixed. It wasn't the first time any of them had seen Kenshin loose it, but it was certainly the fiercest.
"Is it just me, or did he have fangs?" Yahiko asked stupidly.
"He was mighty pissed," Sanosuke whispered worriedly back.
"Do you suppose we should stop him?" Kaoru/Megumi asked, kneading her hands together, making sure to stay safe behind Aoshi/Misao.
"Iae," Misao/Aoshi shook her head, crossing her arms. "I don't believe the Battousai would ever forgive us if we interrupted him while he was saving his wife. Her being in danger brings out another side to the Hitokiri all together. I doubt that there is an 100 percent chance that he would not turn on us as well."
"NANI? You mean, 'he'd never forgive us if we didn't stop him from killing someone again,' ne? Don't you know what that would do to him?" Kaoru/Megumi stated.
"It's a price all warriors have to pay: Taking the chance that they will have to murder their opponent. All of us must deal with the burden as we seem fit," Misao/Aoshi muttered.
"Oooo, deep," Sanosuke looked for a joke at this time.
"Aoshi-sama, you know better than that. Not every one has the time to sit on their ass all day and meditate," Aoshi/Misao patted the shorter Misao/Aoshi on the head, earning him a glare from her. "Himura has a life. A home. A wife..." he grated.
Misao/Aoshi snorted. "For how long?"
Back over to the battle, Soujirou tried a desperate horizontal slash that ended up with him falling on his butt. Kenshin took advantage of the moment to make a slash of his own. Soujirou blocked the blow aimed at his leg, but the force of the attack caused his sword to waver, and the Sakabatou cut a jagged mark across the back of his leg.
"Aaaaghhh!" Soujirou complained. The cut wasn't deep, but hell did it hurt. And even a wound of such slight measure, when on the leg, could totally destroy his ability to use the Shukuchi.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------
'Beep...bep...beep...bep...beep...'
Kaoru felt sick. She wasn't going to let this deranged creep force some drug down her throat. So as he grabbed her by the hair and poured it into her mouth, she threw up all over him; and at the same time, kicked him low in the gut. The ex-crime lord flew back into the wall, making an 'Ack!' sound.
She lost her balance and fell hard on her backside. Kanryu seemed to bounce; as he was quickly back on his feet. And he looked none too happy.
"You insubordinate bitch..." he hissed, righting himself, wiping away some of the crap that stained his expensive dress suit.
Kaoru started to struggle away, but he grabbed her by her hair once again, dragging her back into his capture. She attempted to turn around and claw his eyes out, but had forgotten that she was too badly wounded from before.
'No...I have to survive to get out of this...I must see Kenshin...' Megumi/Kaoru ran the same thoughts over and over again in her head as Kanryu lifted her up off the floor.
"You may have lived a bit longer, bitch, if you had simply played along. But this time, you will die. I'll make sure of that!"
Megumi/Kaoru turned her eyes to face him. She didn't fear this man—this totally evil, sinister man. She was aware that he was dangerous...that he COULD very well destroy her in the blink of an eye. But she wasn't afraid of him.
With one last snarl of contempt, Kanryu flung Kaoru at the ground. She felt a rushing wind, then nothing more as her head his the rock with a sharp 'crack!'...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
Soujirou fell backwards, tripping over a clump of fallen ice. He watched as the Battousai suddenly shivered. He averted his amber gaze to further down the tunnel, his expression softening into one of pain for only a moment.
It was as if he sensed something that Soujirou had no connection to...
GCN: (got tired of righting A.N.)
Don't fret. Kaoru is a tough chick. Do you really think the voices of evil will win over her?? Do you?? Well...maybe...
The next chapter should be up soon, at least after I get a few reviews from the frequent comers that need a chance to catch up...
Till then, ja ne!
Now, check out my other stories and website!!!!
---GCNanimedragon