Tora no Kokoro:
A Tiger's Heart
Part 1: "Kokoro no Hono'o no Gekido The Heart's Flames of Rage"
or "Tora no Ki The Tiger's Return"
By Valse de la Lupe (SesshysSheWolf/Jessica Morris)
CHAPTER TWO
Not a Normal Woman
I'm just trying to
find my way,
In a world where nobody gives a damn
Whether a young girl's hopes and dreams are destroyed
All I really want is for someone to care.
Sanosuke' Sagara' sat lazily on the front steps of the small inn where he was staying, a straw reed sticking out to one side of his mouth. At least, to the average person's eye he was lazy. In truth, he was a spring, ready to leap into action in an instant. He did not need a weapon - his own two fists would do.
Casually glancing across the street, he sat up quickly at what he saw. The red-haired young woman had not been there an instant before, and there was not another person to be seen in the streets besides the occasional merchant or villager. It was not just her sudden appearance that caught his eye; she wore not a kimono or yukata' but a hakama and white haori', and was carrying a katana - no, two katanas, for the one on her back - in broad daylight! The ban on katanas had been so for years - not that he or Kenshin' followed it, of course - but it was exceptionally surprising to see a woman with a katana, much less two, and disobeying so openly.
Sano opened his mouth to hail her, but at that moment six men approached her, not looking friendly in the slightest bit, and all of them had katanas. That was never a good sign.
"You, girl," said one who appeared to be the leader. "The boss wants to see you now."
She's probably an escaped prostitute, Sano thought.
The woman looked not the slightest bit perturbed by the men. She simply glanced at them with a cool, knowing gaze.
"I shall see him later. I have things to do," she said calmly. "And do not call me 'girl'."
The woman tickled the back of Sano's mind. There was something very familiar about her, but he couldn't say what...
The leader laughed.
"Oh ho ho," he said, "so the little girly is busy, is she? When the boss says now, he means now."
He started to draw his katana, but the woman darted her hand forward and twisted it, holding its hilt down and to the side so that he could not draw it. He snarled at her, and the others drew their katanas and advanced. Sano rose to help her, but stopped and stared as she twisted around and kicked one man's katana out of his hand. Her katana - which Sano noticed, incredibly, was actually a sakabatou - was suddenly in her hands, and she dodged the attacks aimed at her easily. The leader had finally managed to draw his katana, the other man had picked his up again, and the six of them formed a half-circle around her, trying to back her against a building. The woman suddenly stood still and raised her sakabatou high, in a stance that Sano had never seen before. She bent her knees slightly and slashed thrice with her sakabatou as she rushed forward, past the men. She stopped, her back to them, and sheathed her sakabatou without even glancing back to make sure her opponents were defeated. All six men fell in unison behind her.
"I said not to call me 'girl'," she said. She threw a look over her shoulder and clicked her tongue in disgust. "Common thieves and muggers not even worthy of my Fang', much less Toramune'."
She walked on calmly without so much as glancing back again. Sano stared. Where had she learned something like that? Was she of samurai' blood? He suddenly realized why he had thought she was familiar. The hair, the sakabatou - Sano was taken aback once again. She was like a female version of Kenshin!
"Hey, wait a second there, missy!" Sano said, running after her.
The woman paused. When Sano came within an arm's length of her, however, she unsheathed her sakabatou and, without turning or even looking, had it pointed directly at his heart, before he could react at all. Sano had to stop, lest he ran into it. The woman glanced over her shoulder at him.
"I do not appreciate being called that, or any other name that indicates weakness based on gender. Say it again and you will find yourself like those six men," she said. "Or would you like to test my skill?"
"Whoa there, miss...ah...my good lady," Sano said, raising his hands. "I didn't mean anything by it."
"Lucky for you," the woman said, with a hint of amusement. "Though you look the type not easily defeated. I might actually have to try. It would be interesting to fight you some time. With a katana, or bare hands, since you don't seem to have a katana; either is good for me."
"Eh, no thanks," Sano said. She might even have to try? This woman must be crazy! "I would feel kind of guilty fighting against a wom-"
He cut off as the woman flipped her sakabatou around and poked him, hard, in the chest with its hilt.
"Let's get one thing straight," she said, looking him in the eye and continuing to jab him with the hilt. "Never think that just because I am a woman, I am weak. It is one of the worst mistakes you can make, and quite possibly the last. Got it?"
"Uh...sure," Sano said uncertainly, raising his eyebrows. The woman was even quicker to offence than Kaoru' was, and that was saying a lot.
"Good," she said, sheathing her sakabatou faster than the eye could see. "Farewell."
She walked on again.
"Hey, wait! At least tell me your name or something...!"
The woman stopped, suddenly cold.
"I left my name behind long ago. You may call me Mii'."
Sano stared after her. That was just like something Kenshin had said, when they had first met. Very odd. The woman...Mii...disappeared around a corner, but when Sano looked, she was nowhere in sight. Maybe he could ask Kenshin about her. He put his hands in his pockets and started walking back to the Kamiya' dojo'.
Mii was not a normal woman.
Author's Note: Yes! The second chapter is edited and in place! The third chapter should be updated soon (possibly within the day), followed by the fourth, fifth, and sixth ones. Then I'll finally be able to submit the newest chapter. I've also updated the glossary, so if you're unsure of some of the terms or want to know what the characters' names mean, then you can look it up.
As always, comments, reviews, and suggestions are welcome.
