Preparation before it Rains Hell
The boat went across the water, quickly and efficiently. The woman standing outside the plank, dressed in a black cloak, looked over the ocean, anxious to arrive at the appointed destination.
Her mentor walked up to her, and stopped. There was a moment of silence.
"You didn't have to come, you know." She said, "I know you're good, but you're getting older… I don't want to see you in danger."
"It's alright. I feel that it is also my responsibility."
"Do you think she'll return to the Aoya?" Misao asked, behind her cloak, "You don't think she'll stop by, do you?"
"No, I don't believe so. She is training now with Himura's master."
"Gramps…" Misao paused, "You don't intend to fight the assassin, do you?"
"I told her…" Okina said, "We will all do what we can. It's about time we return the favor that Himura gave to us."
"Don't worry." Another man stepped out into the plank, "I will challenge him first." Aoshi blinked in anticipation, "Otherwise, I would be a fool to pass up a chance like this."
Shura stepped onto the deck as well, "I may not be the strongest fighter, but I do owe Himura one. He saved my life, and what's more, he changed it."
"If we all attack at once, it'll be better. You can lead the other members of the Aoya when you attack. An all out attack will be effective, no doubt." Okina said.
"Do you really think Himura will need all of our help?" Misao asked trivially, "He could probably take down this assassin by himself."
"Perhaps." Okina said, "But right now, his body may not be in good condition. We need to be there in order to buy him some time if we can."
"I will definitely fight this assassin." Aoshi said, "Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki or not, I've strategized all counters for the assassin's attacks."
"The assassin will be strong." Okina said, "We all must be ready."
------
It was dawn. Sano panted, sweat drenched all over his body.
"Good, you can dodge all my strikes now." Saitou said, "Get some rest. We'll do this again the following night… if you're up to it."
"You bet I am!" Sano said, limping away, "I'll be even stronger than before!" he started walking back to the inn to rest.
At that time, Yuki opened the entrance of the inn's door and looked at Sano as he approached, shielding her eyes from the sun.
"What have you been doing?" she asked the two men.
"He had a score to settle." Saitou informed her, "But he's learned his lesson."
"You got that right!" Sano said, passing through Yuki and into the Inn, "Wait until tonight!" he called out. Saitou began to laugh.
Yuki stared at them. As soon as Sano closed the door behind him, she was still outside. She faced Saitou.
"Is it true?" she asked, "He can dodge all your strikes now?"
"No." Saitou said, "But he can avoid them."
"Can I have this special training?" Yuki asked, "I always wanted to be in the martial arts."
"No. You are merely a sheep. You'll be watched over, don't worry." Saitou paused, "And as for me, I'll have to be resting as well. I have a fight, tonight… that I must attend to."
Yuki made a face, "Ok, come in."
------
"346! Have I taught you nothing?!" Kaoru took a breather out of the water once again.
"I…"
"Pick up the buckets. 20 repetitions. Than I want you to do hand-stand push ups, 20, then 20 buckets, then 20 hand-stand push-ups again, for 20 times. Go!"
She began, but after the first round, her entire body had gone numb, and she fell down. While her head was submerged in the water, she breathed deeply, releasing her pain, trying to gain energy just like last time. Then her face emerged to face him.
"Again! Once more! Don't give up, do you give up on my apprentice that easily?!"
"No!" She stood up, and began her next set. Her arms were burning, her legs were on the verge of bursting… 10 more… she said to herself, 5 more… just 19 more times, I can do it…
Next was the peg… which she fell off about 200 times… she needed to stand upon it for an hour, but on the first tries she couldn't pull more over 5 minutes. But as she continued her daily training, her maximum limit went up to 30 minutes. Then in the afternoon… seven days later after she had begun… she had succeeded.
Smack Smack Smack! Getting hit again and again, Sir Hiko's movements, they had been continuing for so long that even now all his strikes seemed to be repetitious and easy to detect. But yet, although she detected it, they kept hitting her over and over again, and she felt like such a fool.
She lunged at him, thirty times, the best she had ever done in her life, each time, falling down. Then he laughed at her, after her last attempt. And he said he was laughing, because he never expected to use the battoujitsu in order to stop her.
--- sweat dripped down her neck and slowly, she opened her eyes---
"I'm… I'm awake." She finally said.
She realized she had been dreaming the entire time. Dreaming about the training prior. Miss Kaoru took in a breath and sighed.
"I'm… awake…" she said again.
"Yes, you are." Sir Hiko said, approaching toward the window, looking at her, "It's time. Are you ready?"
"May I rest for one more hour, sir?" She asked politely.
"Then two more hours extra training." Hiko said.
"Thank you… so much…" she closed her eyes again, and then she started to think about Kenshin.
------
Yuki was walking across the street, to the daily Izure Midori, when she noticed someone waiting for her, plopped upon the seat placed near the entrance of the bar.
"Hello." Kenshin said, nicely, but with a serious face.
"Hello." She said, coldly, with no emotion inscribed on her, "Is there something wrong?"
"I still have to recover a bit more before I can fight again."
"I see."
"Since it seems like you've got some free time, I was implored to ask you something."
"Which is?"
"Are you aware of Yukishiro?"
"Yukishiro?"
"Your name is Yuki. But truly, that can't be your real name. It was adopted, wasn't it?"
"How would you know?"
"It's more of an impulse," Kenshin said, standing up from his chair, patting his samurai kimono, "That it was either adopted, or you had chosen it."
"What do you mean?" she snickered at him wickedly, "Does it matter? It carries no significance whatsoever. It was given to me by a stupid man who found me after my parents died."
"I see." Kenshin blinked, but did not change his expression, "He was a good man."
"Yes… I guess so." Yuki stared up at the sky, "I owe him… I will probably find him some time before I die and thank him."
Kenshin looked ahead, saying nothing.
"Now you know." She said, breaking the silence "Don't think it snuck out secretly. You may go."
"No, I do not feel like I've learned what I came here to learn." Kenshin said, "You still haven't answered my question. Are you aware of Yukishiro?"
"You came here to learn my status, you're aware of it now."
"No, it wasn't that. I wanted to know if you knew about Tomoe."
"Yukishiro, Tomoe." She said, finally, sighing, "That has nothing to deal with me."
"You are not her relative. She had a brother that referred to her as a mother."
Yuki laughed at him, "Are you saying I'm a man? Why, do I need to perform…" she paused, "Would you like to stay with me one more time in that hotel for me to detest you again?"
"Her brother's whereabouts are unknown, I have yet to find him." Kenshin ignored her last statement, "I wanted to emphasize that Tomoe was the only woman that I killed. After her, I vowed never to kill again after the revolution."
"You will have to break that promise… eventually." Yuki told him, "Because you may not have realized it from your flurry of attacks, but my father was long ago part of the shogunate. One night, during the revolution, he was departing home when an assassin struck. My mother defended him, but they both died at the end. I was at the entrance when it happened."
Kenshin blinked, "I was merciless towards the shogunate… it is possible." He stopped, "But I never just killed random people. I always killed in hopes to support the revolution. If that is the way things turned out, I apologize, but the Tokugawa Era was corrupt, and in order to fix it, it had to be brought down. Everyone involved with the shogunate was not spared. I'm sorry."
"No one could forget your cross-shaped scar." Yuki said, "No one could forget the way you sliced through my parents." She bit her lip, hard, "In a split second, my life was turned upside down. And there was nothing I could do about it."
"The Shogunate's ideals were not pure." Kenshin said, "Anyone affiliated with a wicked crime deserves to be punished. No matter how nice your parents were to you, they were advocates to a much greater crime that needed to be wiped out… THAT it did."
"Although you try to repent for those you murdered, you believed in your ideals and thought that what you were doing was pure. But it wasn't, you were also an advocate of evil."
"Perhaps." Kenshin said, "I was a child, and I was led into something that I thought would have no alternative. Either kill, or be killed. That was what they said."
"It's true."
"No." Kenshin paused, "Either stop them, or be killed. That is the truth."
"And if they can't be stopped." Yuki said, turning her back on him, "Kill them."
"I will," Kenshin said, "over my dead body."
Yuki laughed at him, "You are too noble that it's easy."
"Your heart is not set." Kenshin said, "You still hold a grudge upon a person that who is not your enemy anymore."
"There is nothing else that will repair my heart." She said, "You see, because if I don't destroy you, my pain will never go away."
"That's not true."
"You're a hypocrite." She said, "The only reason why you're saying your words is because of her. You vowed to her never to kill again. But deep inside, you know that there is no way you can make up to her soul, no matter how many lives you spare. Relate that to me. There is a pain in my heart, but there IS a way I can make up for it, so I will in order to recover fully. I'm unlike you, I've got a chance. Your wound will never go away. Face it, you're trapped. You know that there is no way you can make up to her death, no matter how many lives you spare."
"It is a burden that I've accepted over the years." Kenshin said, "I know I will never ease the pain in my heart. There are some scars that will never heal. But… you learn to live with them, and you continue to live."
"Nothing is stronger than the will to survive." Yuki said, "My will to survive, however, is fueled from your existence. As long as you're alive, my will to survive, in order to destroy you, is my strongest asset."
"I'm sorry that I caused you so much pain." Kenshin said, "It was unintentional."
"Look." She turned around to face him, "This is the last time we get to talk together in this fashion. I hope you know this."
"Then let's go out somewhere and make it a lasting event." Kenshin said, "Besides, this is the last time that you will be able to talk with the assassin that you've been waiting to kill for so long."
"I only desire to hurt you." She said, "Not give you the pleasure of my company."
"The truth is… I want to help you." Kenshin said, "That's how sorry I am."
"You aren't." she said, coldly, "You're lying."
"I'm not." Kenshin said.
"It doesn't matter. My answer is the same regardless. No."
A tear rolled down Kenshin's cheek, "I understand. Good-bye"
She smiled, "Thanks." She said, content that she had hurt him somewhere.
------
As soon as the blows started coming, Kaoru was prepared for every single one of them. She had them recognized, every single detail, that she was able to block every single strike, regardless that it was all being executed in a random order. She could read the impulse of Sir Hiko, as well as she could identify and execute her own movements. At the end of the 500 strikes, she was so shocked that she had blocked everything that she began to laugh, and ended up getting hit by the last two strikes of the 500 hit combo of Hiko.
She fell into the water, giggling.
"That wasn't even a real battle." Hiko said, "In real life, you must attack in order to win the battle. If not, you will eventually be struck, and you will lose."
Kaoru smiled, "The way I block… I've improvised so many cool ways in order to defend myself, I'm so proud!"
"Yes, it's natural movement for someone who practices with a sword for so long." Hiko said, "You must remember however, that it only takes one single strike in order to win a battle."
"I know."
"You cannot defend against the Amakakeru, Ryuu no Hirameki."
"I can if you tell me what it is."
"Do you want to put 'sake' on it?"
"Yeah, expensive sake-"
"The amakakeru ryuu no hirameki, is executed like that of the battojitsu, except that the leg stance is reversed, giving an extra speed to the blade as it goes out of it's sheath. It takes precise timing in order for it to work, otherwise, one could cut his/her foot. It requires the power given forth when one has the desire to live… in order for that extra step to be taken and the blade unsheathed perfectly."
"That's not too hard."
"It is when it is executed by one who is trained in the Hiten Mitsurugi style." He went into stance, "I will use my sheath, but if you fail to block it, you will end up like Yuki."
Kaoru suddenly tensed up.
"Do not be afraid. Yuki's mistake was that she thought I was using the battoujitsu, which is a fraction slower than the Amakakeru--. Since you know the strategy, that cuts the effect of the attack by one half."
Miss Kaoru felt even more nervous, "Uh… sir…?"
"Yes?"
"May I use the bathroom?" she blushed, "Really fast?"
"Nonsense." Hiko made face, "… fine. Hurry up."
Kaoru disappeared from his sight.
"She's stronger than Yuki ever was, and she's still afraid she's going to pee in her pants." Hiko muttered grinning, "Why didn't I train them all like this?"
An afterthought crossed his mind, "It was because the life of my apprentice wasn't at stake." He answered himself, "And I didn't have any responsibility than I do now." He nodded his head.
When Miss Kaoru came back, Sir Hiko was posed in stance.
"Now calm down." He said.
"I will." She said.
He stood in stance.
Two hours passed…
"I told you to calm down!" He shouted.
"I am!" Kaoru yelled back. The hundredth sweat drop spilled from under her chin.
Suddenly, he rushed at her. She wasn't as calm as she should've been, but she was suddenly relieved when she realized he was only doing his 500 strikes on her again. This time, she blocked every single one, and as a bonus, made a quick attack that countered his last blow, sending their weapons bouncing back away from each other.
"Now are you satisfied?!" Hiko said, "If you can only parry this attack, you will be ready."
Kaoru suddenly felt very happy again, "All right!"
"In three!"
"Alright!"
"Three!"
"Ok…"
"Two!"
"Focus…"
"ONE!"
"Kaoru…"
He disappeared. As soon as he did, Kaoru felt her arm already moving up, and she felt the impact. Suddenly, her body was blown back, and she hit her back upon a rough tree. The force was so hard, that she coughed out blood as soon as she hit the surface. Then as she fell, she used her sword as a buttress in order to steady herself so she would regain her position.
When she looked up, she saw Sir Hiko standing above her, smiling.
"You blocked it."
"But…" Kaoru swallowed the blood gathering in her throat, "I was still…"
"My Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki is ten times stronger than Kenshin's." He told her, "My body weight makes it so that no matter what, I will have the greater attack."
Kaoru blinked, "Then…"
"With… especially someone like Yukishiro," Hiko exclaimed, "All that will happen will be a constriction of movement after the attack is executed. Nothing else"
Everything started to go black for her, "You mean… I've surpassed all the others?" she asked him, "Aoshi… Soujiro… Saitou… Yuki…?" her head was spinning, "This has… got to be… a… dream." She fell down, and collapsed.
"I'm proud of you." He said, "Too bad you aren't as good as you think you are." He said, "When I used the attack on Yukishiro, she did the exact same thing as you. I thought she was dead. Anyways, at least you think you're good. That will be enough to keep you calm during your encounter with your adversary."
He raised Kaoru, "Good thing you showed up in my hut… otherwise I'd hate to leave you lying down near the waterfall." He went to his hut and laid her on the mattress that she was lying on before, "The next lessons." He said, "Is when you wake up. It's time to learn the Hiten Mitsurugi basics."
------
"The assassin's double Amakakeru Ryuu No Hirameki is twice as strong as if it were being executed with one sword." Kenshin told Saitou, as Saitou began to strike at Sano, who had fun dodging his attacks.
"I'm only using ½ of my speed." Saitou reminded him, "And plus, my zero Gattoutsu can break the intersecting swords with no problem."
"How will you be able to follow up after the constriction of movement?" Kenshin asked him.
"Unlike Shishio's parry, which was directed at only one sword, he used an original slash, moving the exact opposite direction from your sword, in order to stop your ultimate attack. But it didn't work." Saitou exclaimed, easily, "This case is quite different. Although she's using two katana's, one slash perpendicular to her attack, focusing on the intersection of the blades, would work to my advantage."
"However, that would take extreme accuracy that I don't even think…"
"It's alright Kenshin." Sano said, "I was able to do the same thing when the assassin launched his Battoujitsu on me the week before, so Saitou could totally…"
"Not only is the strike you intend to do very difficult to perform, but one split instant would change the circumstance. The battoujitsu and the amakakeru are two completely different attacks. There is no way to compare them."
"I've been in more life and death situations than all of you." Saitou repeated, "I was pathetic when I fought against Shishio, but if you look at it, I was the only one who came close enough to kill him."
"Ok, stop boasting and let's continue!" Sano said, "I'm ready. Go all out!"
Saitou shook his head, "I'd never go all out."
"HUH?! WHY?!"
"I'm only helping you in this instance." Saitou said, "Afterwards, I plan to have a rematch with the battousai, to settle an old score. I don't want to use my full potential in front of you. It's pathetic."
"It's alright, that it is." Kenshin said, "You can use your full strength without giving away your moves to any of us." Kenshin stepped up and drew his sword, "It will be alright… if we attack together."
Saitou grinned, "That." He said, "Is a compromise."
"Wh-WHAT?!?!" Sano was about to scream, "Wait! This is—!!!"
"Sano…" Kenshin replied, calmly, "The Assassin has two katana's. So in order to stand a chance, you have to learn how to deal with two katanas, that you do."
"Idiot." Saitou threw in.
"But wait… you two are like… both ten times better than me… and I'm going up against both of you at once?!"
"Didn't you say you wanted to get better?" Saitou grinned.
"Keep your sheath on your sword." Kenshin said to Saitou, "I'll use my real sword, however." He drew his sword.
"This is going to be like hell…" Sano said to himself.
"Don't worry, this will help you survive." Kenshin told him.
"You're lucky that I deem you worthy enough to do this." Saitou added.
"Ha!" Sano said, "Worthy?! Yeah right! I'll be better than the both of you after this! Just watch!"
Kenshin and Saitou stood still for a moment, and then, they both lunged at the same time.
------
Kaoru began to block the 500 strikes again no later than 5 minutes after she woke up. She found her arms and legs moving automatically as she adjusted her body in order to block all his attacks.
"Impressive." He said aloud, as she side-stepped and blocked one handedly with her sword, then right after she spun 360 degrees, and while reversing, switched the sword to her other hand in order to block his next strike.
"Unconsciously, you're finding a method to block my attacks." Hiko said, "Hmph… I'm speeding up."
He found to his amazement that Kaoru was as well, and keeping her pace flowing like a river, calm, and concentrated.
She finally blocked his last move, and she found her two hands gripping her handle, her sword parallel to the ground, blocking his overhead strike.
"Your stance is perfect." Hiko commented, as well, "Good."
Kaoru grinned and backed away and bowed.
"Now." Hiko said, "For some steel."
Kaoru's mouth dropped.
"Here." He said, picking up one of the long katanas that he brought along with him that was placed besides the rocks in the background, "There is a real sword in there. But it's only a slab of metal."
"A slab… of metal?" Kaoru said, wincing.
"It is made out of a very thin material, and it is lightweight. I'd estimate maybe only a few grams heavier than your wooden training sword."
"It's thin…?" He handed it over to her and she was surprised that the weight of the sword didn't even weigh half of what she thought I would. Actually, when she thought about it, the weight of the sword might've even been lighter than her wooden sword. But then she shook her head. That wasn't possible, was it?
"Don't worry." Hiko said, "It's thin, but it is able to block any other type of sword. The metal that made that sword is light, but durable. It's almost impossible to break it, because the metal is flexible. Like bamboo."
"Oh… I see." Kaoru smiled, "That's very convenient."
"Yes… it is."
"How were you able to…?"
"I made it myself."
Kaoru widened her eyes, "But sir…! Just for me…?"
"I wanted to master many things over the past years. One of the most recent skills I'm perfecting is pottery. I tend to stick to more abstract skills, otherwise." He grinned, "I'd master everything else much or less in a second."
"So this… is one of the things that you've created…"
"Yes… a few years back when I started to master the art of the black smith." He smiled, "That only took a week. It was boring. But this is my first attempt." He looked at it, "I designed it as a sword that was like a training sword, except it was real."
"That's… very thoughtful…"
"I disregarded it after I tried it out first." He said, "It was too light. It felt like I was slashing with my own fists. It threw off my true fighting potential, as I am more accustomed to use something with weight, so I can apply my weight on it in order to maneuver it much more accurately."
"For me…" Kaoru said, "It's just… perfect."
"I thought so." His eyes narrowed, "However, that sword is not designed for attacking. Since there is no blade, it is slightly a fraction slower, due to air resistance, because your blade won't be cutting into the air."
"That's even better." Kaoru said, "I don't intend to attack."
Hiko shook his head, "I'm afraid you will." His eyes dug deep into hers, "You MUST." Kaoru blinked.
"But…"
"If you don't, you will die." Hiko said, "I will only teach you the basics. No fancy style techniques that you call out before attacking them."
"Oh… ok." Kaoru said, "Like… the Ryuu suitzsen?"
"Like the Amakakeru or the Battoujitsu." Hiko said, "Although… you could probably perform them because you've seen them once already." He looked sideways, "The battoujitsu would just be really slow, and the Amakakeru… well, you'll probably hit your toe when you do the attack, so it'll be unwise." He grinned, "Well, if you're slow enough, maybe you wouldn't but still… that'd be pretty slow."
"Do you mock me?" Kaoru asked suddenly, "Oh… oh… I'm sorry…"
Hiko rose one of his eyebrows, "Do you mock my apprentice?"
Kaoru winked at him and smiled, "We'll see after I come back to Yamasaki."
"These are your last lessons." Hiko said, "It will take up the entire three days. No time to sleep. Rest all you want while you travel back, but now, you can't."
"I understand." Kaoru said, "I can handle it. I've been through worse last week."
Hiko laughed, "No… you haven't seen anything yet." He picked up his sword, "We'll be training with real swords now."
Kaoru only grinned, "I accept your adjustment in training." She said.
"Very well." Hiko said, "Let the final training… begin."
------
Kenshin Ending Theme Song…