Rurouni

By: Lady Jaye

Chapter 5: A Day of Trial

The aged Dwarf sat on the ancient step on top of his mountain home. The steep set of stone steps had been carved from the very rock of the mountain long before even he had been born. A brisk breeze of thin mountain air rustled the graying beard on his chin as his ancient brown eyes stared out from the mountain. He felt his old friend Nerushi approaching.

"Today will not be an easy day for Hiko Kenshin," the dwarf rumbled. Nerushi sat down next to the dwarf, who was in fact Thain, the Guardian of Gaea. The old forest creature eased back his aging muscles.

"No Master Thain, I suppose not," he said in his own language. The two friends together looked out from the view on top of Thain's Mountain.

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"They're coming this way Kenshin," Sanosuke said. The Saiyan cast his narrowed eyes to the distance, where they could see the approaching pair. Kaoru had immediately sensed that something wasn't right when she saw the group return. Yahiko had explained to her and Megumi what had happened as he took the rice into the house for Kenshin. Megumi had immediately volunteered to take the girls back to their great-grandfather's house.

Kenshin and Sanosuke stood at the entrance to the Kamiya dojo as they watched the pair walk up the path.

"What do you think they want?" the half-elf asked. His friend only shook his head in reply. He didn't know either.

"Their Ki is very strong, that it is," the Saiyan said quietly. The half-elf nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," he replied. The strange pair had now reached the entrance and had stopped in front of the two men. The smaller stranger smiled up at them.

"We mean you no harm Hiko Kenshin and Sagara Sanosuke," the Supreme Kai said. He watched as the other two relaxed slightly, but he could still feel that they were on their guard.

"How do you know who we are?" Sanosuke asked, so far not liking the situation. "Why were you watching Kenshin?" His Saiyan friend, who had been silent so far, finally spoke up.

"Sanosuke is right, that he is. Ye obviously know our names, but we do not have the courtesy of knowing yours, that we do not." Kibito and the Supreme Kai blinked in surprise at the Saiyan.

"He uses the Gozaru speech," Kibito said in surprise. Gozaru? Sanosuke thought, so Kenshin's peculiar way of speaking actually had a name?

"Yes he does," the Kaio-shin said. "We have not introduced ourselves yet, please forgive us for our rudeness. My name is Shin and this is Kibito." Kibito and the Kaio-shin stood silently as Kenshin and Sano exchanged looks.

"Who are you?" Kenshin finally asked, "And why were you following me?" He saw the shorter man, who had identified himself as Shin, smile in reply.

"We may need your assistance. May we come inside?" The two friends exchanged looks again, then looked behind them to see Kaoru and Yahiko watching near the house. Kaoru seemed to know what they were wondering, because she nodded her head. Kenshin turned back to Kibito and the Supreme Kai.

"Miss Kaoru has agreed, that she has. Welcome to the Kamiya dojo, please follow us," he said. He and Sanosuke turned and began walking toward Kaoru and Yahiko. The other two exchanged thoughts telepathically.

"What do you think Kibito?" the Kaio-shin asked.

"He uses the Gozaru speech. Very few people speak that way anymore. The fact that he uses it interests me."

"Radditz is certainly more well mannered than Goku, isn't he?" This caused a brief chuckle from his tall companion.

"I imagine that when the brothers finally meet, Son Goku may be a bit confused by his brother's formal way of speaking…that he will," he added as a joke. This brought a twinkle to the Kaio-shin's eyes as he agreed.

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"Welcome to Gaea, my friends," Kando deep voice said. The others stared wide-eyed around them.

"Wow, look at that!" Gohan exclaimed. Everyone looked up at the sky. The moon and both Earths loomed brightly in the crystal blue sky.

"Yeah, it's awesome!" His father added. The view was as he said, awesome. The group was floating in the air above a mountain range in the northern part of the planet.

"There's a lot of high Ki's on this planet," Tien said. Vegeta's eyebrows were furrowed in deep thought. One of those Ki's felt disturbingly familiar, he could swear that it was a Saiyan Ki. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it yet. Piccolo's mind was also wondering at the same Ki, but couldn't quite place it yet either.

"Where are we going first Kando?" Risha asked.

"First we need to speak with Master Thain, the Guardian of this planet."

"Where's he at?" Kururin asked. Kando pointed to the tallest mountain in the distance, which seemed to stretch up into the heavens.

"That is Thain's Mountain. That's were we will find the Guardian of Gaea." He began to fly towards the lone mountaintop, followed closely by the others. Something seemed to be edging at the back of Goku's mind. He finally realized that it was the largest Ki on the planet that was bothering him, but he didn't know why. For some reason it seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't place it.

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The visitors were now sitting at a low table with the residents of the Kamiya dojo. Megumi poured everyone a cup of tea while they waited to see what the strangers wanted. She saw them take a wondering breath of the aroma surrounding the tea and hid a satisfied smile. The tea leaves were a gift she'd gotten from another elf healer. They were Silver Moon tea leaves, a rare tea that was only grown deep in the Shino Forest by elf mages.

"What is this?" Kibito asked.

"Silver Moon tea, it's only grown by elf mages." She smiled at the look of amazement on their faces.

"This truly is an amazing planet," the Kaio-shin said. "All the more amazing to find that a Saiyan is living on it." Kenshin froze. Everyone else gave a gasp of surprise. The Kaio-shin smiled at him.

"Yes, we know what you are. I also know that you were born Radditz, son of Bardock." Kenshin set down his cup, lest his fingers betray him and drop it.

"How do you know that? I have told few people that, that I have." The Saiyan stared at the Kaios.

"We know a great deal about you actually," the Kaio-shin continued. "Sent to Earth as a child, but crashed on Gaea instead. You were a slave until you were nine-years old, when you were rescued by Hiko Seijuro. He took you in, raised you, and taught you everything you know. We also know that you joined the Gaean Civil War against his wishes and became known as Battousai the Manslayer. You first transformed into a Super Saiyan after the accidental death of your wife, Tomoe. After the war, you swore of killing and became a wanderer until you met these friends of yours. You then transformed to the second stage of a Super Saiyan after you believed that Miss Kaoru here had been killed by Enishi, your dead wife's younger brother. Am I correct?" he asked.

Kenshin stared at him in alarm. He had no idea what a Super Saiyan was, but he had grown stronger after each time the woman he loved had been killed, or supposedly killed in Kaoru's case. His hair had turned blonde and he had been told that his eyes also turned green. Who in the name of Gaea were these men?!

The Saiyan slowly stood up. "Who are you?" he asked flatly. "No one but these people here know that much of my past, that they do not. Who are ye to know so much of me?" The Kaio-shin realized then that he should have come about this a different way. Radditz had been cut off from the outside universe since he was seven years old. To have a couple of strangers suddenly appear who knew not only about the Saiyans, but his past must be a large shock to the swordsman.

"I am the Supreme Kai of the universe. Kibito is what you might say, my second-in-command. I watch over the entire universe and protect it." Everyone felt a wave of shock at his statement. Kenshin stared silently at him before asking.

"Ye are Gods then?"

"Yes."

"And what do ye want with me?" he asked carefully, pushing down a growing sense of trepidation.

"We require your aid."

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"Greetings, Master Thain." Kando and the other two Dei-sho bowed to the aged Dwarf. The others looked in curiosity at the Guardian. Kururin was secretly pleased that he was taller than the old man, even if only slightly.

Master Thain bowed back to them. Nerushi, who was standing next to him, bowed as well. The forest creature's soft, brown fur, claws, and snout were also a source of curiosity for the group. The dwarf turned to the others.

"Welcome to Gaea, my friends. May your stay be pleasant."

"Thank you Master Thain," Goku said politely. Vegeta and Piccolo were staring off into the distance. Goku allowed his gaze to drift into the same direction. Kururin was also staring as well.

"What is it Father?" Trunks asked. Vegeta started to shrug his shoulder, then froze.

"By the Gods!" he yelled. "That Ki belongs to Radditz!"

"WHAT?!" Goku yelled. It was true; he recognized it now. But it was too strong to be Radditz's, wasn't it?

"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING HERE?!" Piccolo yelled. The ancient dwarf suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Please, calm down!" he pleaded. Gohan trembled with anger as Kururin and Tien stared wide-eyed into the distance. Trunks only looked around with confusion and alarm.

"Who's Radditz?" he asked. He saw his father take to the air. "Father?" Vegeta growled to himself. Goku immediately appeared at his side.

"Let's go see what your brother is up to Kakarott." The two Saiyans and Piccolo took off in Radditz's direction, followed by the others. Master Thain shook his head sadly.

"This day will be a day of trial for Hiko Kenshin. I hope that the Supreme Kai and Kibito will be able to calm our travelers down."

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Kenshin, Sanosuke, Kaoru, Megumi, and Yahiko jerked their heads back in surprise. A group of very large Ki was quickly heading in their direction.

"What the hell is that?!" Sano yelled. The Kaio-shin and Kibito stood up.

"It is Son Goku and the others," the Supreme Kai said.

"Who's Son Goku?" Kaoru asked. Kenshin stared off into space and Yahiko looked worriedly up at his hero. What else was going to happen today?