. Picking up where we left off, this covers a couple of scenes I deemed
important to the plot of the actual story. Bear with me; I'm trying to make
this the best story I've done. It just involves me jumping from one year to
another sometimes, so I'm trying to compensate for that by only doing
important scenes and labeling 'em as such. Lord knows that I'm tired of
leaping across years as well.
Thanks for all the reviews! I know I'm irregular in my updating....Parents, and all.
koe760: Really? You think it's good enough? Well, then, here you go! Next chapter!
zeynel: I won't keep you waiting much longer, then. ^_^
Youkai-Onna: Yeah, yeah. Here's your lousy notification. ATTENTION ALL READERS! YOUKAI-ONNA HELPED ME DEVELOP THIS IDEA. Thanks bunches, luv!
Xavier: "Very well done" huh? I'm flattered! :D Hope you like it as it grows!
One final note: I'm making Sano older in this story.
^^Bakumatsu, Chousu Clan headquarters
A hitokiri of the Ishin Shishi, Himura Kenshin, sat in a room with the rest of the men, eating the mid-day meal quietly. Iizuka, the man in charge of the clean-ups and gathering information from the Shogunate, had yet to intrude, and the young man was grateful, wishing only to brood in solitude.
"Konichiwa, Himura!" said man greeted, sitting down next to him.
Kenshin fought the urge to groan and merely nodded, lifting the tasteless cup of sake to his lips. Patiently, he endured the babbling of his comrade, until it became too much, and he lifted his sword, using it to push himself to his feet before walking out.
Behind him, Iizuka smirked as he went over his plan once more...
Later that night, Kenshin found himself alone, as usual, in the room he slept in. Sitting against the books he had piled up, the young man sighed and removed a top from its hiding place. Carefully, he wound the string around it, and then pulled, causing the child's toy to whiz around. Oblivious to anything else around him, Kenshin thought about his time with Hiko. 'I wish I hadn't decided to do this. Shishou was right about them.'
So caught up in his thoughts was he that the young hitokiri never noticed a shadowed figure steal into the room towards him. There was no sound to alert the red-head until the intruder had clamped a hand over his mouth and wrapped an arm around his waist to prevent his getting away.
"Now, now, Himura. It's just me," came Iizuka's voice. The husky tone immediately put Kenshin on guard. "Stay quiet, or I'll snap your neck."
'What is he doing?!' Kenshin thought as he felt the arm remove itself to relieve him of his weapons. With rough movements, the older man jerked his arms up and he could feel a cord snake around his arms. Soon, his wrists were bound above him, tight enough to hold, but not painful. Suddenly, he was spun around and shoved flat on his back, Iizuka over him.
Grinning viciously, the black haired man yanked at Kenshin's gi so that it just hung on his arms. The hitokiri stiffened as he saw the fangs previously hidden. When Iizuka bent over and scraped his fangs over the skin on the young man's neck, his victim shivered at the sensation, unconsciously opening himself more. A dark chuckle erupted from the kyuuketsuki's throat at the reaction of the youth.
"My brother broke you well, didn't he?" A low moan answered him. "His name was Haku. He often spoke of you....It's amazing that you can still be controlled by this, ne?" Smirking, Iizuka decided not to deny himself any longer.
The next morning found Kenshin in his room, lying on the futon with bruises on his neck and wrists. There was also a pain lower down, but past experiences told him what it was and how to ignore it. Initially, he thought to go to Katsura and tell him, but pride wouldn't let him do that. No, he'd deal with it on his own...
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
A youth with long brown hair in a loose ponytail ran through the forest breathing heavily. Every so often, he'd glance back to where men were struggling to get through the dense brush. The white gi he wore stuck out like a sore thumb, but he didn't care. If he fell a few more times, it'd be brown....And he knew that if he used the sword in his belt, it'd leave a more obvious trail.
His name was Tokugawa Ieyasu, named after the one who started the dynasty of Shoguns. At the moment, he was just running to get away from said family so that he could join the fight to end the tyranny he saw every day. Gritting his teeth together, he pushed further into the forest, losing his pursuers.
Finally, he collapsed in a clearing by a stream, exhausted. After resting a moment, he pushed himself to his feet. "Kuso...Tousan won't leave off with just the guards. I gotta keep moving. Next will be the shinobi..." he cut off as he saw a young man across the stream talking to a large group of soldiers. Of course, he had heard of this group, if the red bandanas were any indication. It was the Sekihotai of the patriot side.
"Huh, seems like my luck just picked up," he said with a grin, carefully crossing the stream to go and wait patiently.
After a moment, the leader of the group noticed him and excused himself from the rest. Calmly, the youth waited for him and bowed when he was in front of him. "Gomen for interrupting you. My name's...Sanosuke."
The Sekihotai member bowed as well. "I am Sagara Souzou. Is there something you wanted, Sanosuke-san?"
"I wanted to join the Sekihotai," the newly-named Sanosuke blurted.
"Ah, so desu. Do you have a family name, Sanosuke-san?"
"No. But the Sekihotai is made of farmers, right?"
Souzou nodded and looked over Sano's shoulder. Swiftly, he moved closer, leaning in to whisper "You are the Shogun's son, are you not? There are ninja following you."
"Shimatta. He sent them quicker than I thought..."
"Come on," the captain replied, pulling Sano into the shadow of a nearby tree. Quickly, he drew his sword and slashed off the brunette's hair above the ponytail, then handed him a spare red bandana. "It's all I can do right now. I'll see about a uniform after a bit," he said in a hushed voice.
"Arigatou ..Sagara-taichou."
#^*#^*#^*
Ok, that's all the scenes I can think of that are important for the Bakumatsu... Vote for pairings, yes? And I'll agree with Clarus on something: Kenshin is a slut as far as I'm concerned. Here's the ballot:
Sano x Souzou
Sano x Megumi
Sano x Kenshin
Saitou x Kenshin
Aoshi x Kenshin
Soujiro x Kenshin
Kenshin x Megumi
Kenshin x Kaoru
Other x Other*
*Any other you can think of. Gomen, I just can't write Sano x Saitou or vice versa. It's about the only thing.
Thanks for all the reviews! I know I'm irregular in my updating....Parents, and all.
koe760: Really? You think it's good enough? Well, then, here you go! Next chapter!
zeynel: I won't keep you waiting much longer, then. ^_^
Youkai-Onna: Yeah, yeah. Here's your lousy notification. ATTENTION ALL READERS! YOUKAI-ONNA HELPED ME DEVELOP THIS IDEA. Thanks bunches, luv!
Xavier: "Very well done" huh? I'm flattered! :D Hope you like it as it grows!
One final note: I'm making Sano older in this story.
^^Bakumatsu, Chousu Clan headquarters
A hitokiri of the Ishin Shishi, Himura Kenshin, sat in a room with the rest of the men, eating the mid-day meal quietly. Iizuka, the man in charge of the clean-ups and gathering information from the Shogunate, had yet to intrude, and the young man was grateful, wishing only to brood in solitude.
"Konichiwa, Himura!" said man greeted, sitting down next to him.
Kenshin fought the urge to groan and merely nodded, lifting the tasteless cup of sake to his lips. Patiently, he endured the babbling of his comrade, until it became too much, and he lifted his sword, using it to push himself to his feet before walking out.
Behind him, Iizuka smirked as he went over his plan once more...
Later that night, Kenshin found himself alone, as usual, in the room he slept in. Sitting against the books he had piled up, the young man sighed and removed a top from its hiding place. Carefully, he wound the string around it, and then pulled, causing the child's toy to whiz around. Oblivious to anything else around him, Kenshin thought about his time with Hiko. 'I wish I hadn't decided to do this. Shishou was right about them.'
So caught up in his thoughts was he that the young hitokiri never noticed a shadowed figure steal into the room towards him. There was no sound to alert the red-head until the intruder had clamped a hand over his mouth and wrapped an arm around his waist to prevent his getting away.
"Now, now, Himura. It's just me," came Iizuka's voice. The husky tone immediately put Kenshin on guard. "Stay quiet, or I'll snap your neck."
'What is he doing?!' Kenshin thought as he felt the arm remove itself to relieve him of his weapons. With rough movements, the older man jerked his arms up and he could feel a cord snake around his arms. Soon, his wrists were bound above him, tight enough to hold, but not painful. Suddenly, he was spun around and shoved flat on his back, Iizuka over him.
Grinning viciously, the black haired man yanked at Kenshin's gi so that it just hung on his arms. The hitokiri stiffened as he saw the fangs previously hidden. When Iizuka bent over and scraped his fangs over the skin on the young man's neck, his victim shivered at the sensation, unconsciously opening himself more. A dark chuckle erupted from the kyuuketsuki's throat at the reaction of the youth.
"My brother broke you well, didn't he?" A low moan answered him. "His name was Haku. He often spoke of you....It's amazing that you can still be controlled by this, ne?" Smirking, Iizuka decided not to deny himself any longer.
The next morning found Kenshin in his room, lying on the futon with bruises on his neck and wrists. There was also a pain lower down, but past experiences told him what it was and how to ignore it. Initially, he thought to go to Katsura and tell him, but pride wouldn't let him do that. No, he'd deal with it on his own...
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
A youth with long brown hair in a loose ponytail ran through the forest breathing heavily. Every so often, he'd glance back to where men were struggling to get through the dense brush. The white gi he wore stuck out like a sore thumb, but he didn't care. If he fell a few more times, it'd be brown....And he knew that if he used the sword in his belt, it'd leave a more obvious trail.
His name was Tokugawa Ieyasu, named after the one who started the dynasty of Shoguns. At the moment, he was just running to get away from said family so that he could join the fight to end the tyranny he saw every day. Gritting his teeth together, he pushed further into the forest, losing his pursuers.
Finally, he collapsed in a clearing by a stream, exhausted. After resting a moment, he pushed himself to his feet. "Kuso...Tousan won't leave off with just the guards. I gotta keep moving. Next will be the shinobi..." he cut off as he saw a young man across the stream talking to a large group of soldiers. Of course, he had heard of this group, if the red bandanas were any indication. It was the Sekihotai of the patriot side.
"Huh, seems like my luck just picked up," he said with a grin, carefully crossing the stream to go and wait patiently.
After a moment, the leader of the group noticed him and excused himself from the rest. Calmly, the youth waited for him and bowed when he was in front of him. "Gomen for interrupting you. My name's...Sanosuke."
The Sekihotai member bowed as well. "I am Sagara Souzou. Is there something you wanted, Sanosuke-san?"
"I wanted to join the Sekihotai," the newly-named Sanosuke blurted.
"Ah, so desu. Do you have a family name, Sanosuke-san?"
"No. But the Sekihotai is made of farmers, right?"
Souzou nodded and looked over Sano's shoulder. Swiftly, he moved closer, leaning in to whisper "You are the Shogun's son, are you not? There are ninja following you."
"Shimatta. He sent them quicker than I thought..."
"Come on," the captain replied, pulling Sano into the shadow of a nearby tree. Quickly, he drew his sword and slashed off the brunette's hair above the ponytail, then handed him a spare red bandana. "It's all I can do right now. I'll see about a uniform after a bit," he said in a hushed voice.
"Arigatou ..Sagara-taichou."
#^*#^*#^*
Ok, that's all the scenes I can think of that are important for the Bakumatsu... Vote for pairings, yes? And I'll agree with Clarus on something: Kenshin is a slut as far as I'm concerned. Here's the ballot:
Sano x Souzou
Sano x Megumi
Sano x Kenshin
Saitou x Kenshin
Aoshi x Kenshin
Soujiro x Kenshin
Kenshin x Megumi
Kenshin x Kaoru
Other x Other*
*Any other you can think of. Gomen, I just can't write Sano x Saitou or vice versa. It's about the only thing.