Part 5 : Kyoto II

As he stepped out onto the street, Kenshin was gone.

Angry, Hiko looked around, but he could not spot him anywhere.

"Baka deshi!"

Frowning, Hiko made his way through the crowd, something that was not too difficult at all, given the fact that everyone made way for him, once they saw him. Looking out for his student, Hiko was sure that the little boy could not have gone far. After all, he had not been alone for a long time. He thought about reasons the boy could have had to disregard his order to stay put. Had he seen something, became interested and simply followed that wherever it went? Could someone have forced him to follow? But, then again, some slavers kidnaping a boy would raise suspicion even in Kyoto.

A few minutes down the road there was a shop with toy windmills that had fascinated Kenshin when they passed by. But the boy was not there as well. The man behind the counter had not seen him, either.

Shinta stood, surrounded by a crowd at the edge of the main street, staring at the things happening in front of him. A good ten kids, as well as women, were standing there, showcased by the merchants. The smallest girl was only about 6 or 7 years old, but had the saddest eyes he had ever seen.

Shinta was shaking, while his head was working overtime. Time seemed to be standing still, the noises around mixed to a distant background chatter, as the girl was looking directly into his eyes. Shinta did not know why she looked at him, but he could not break away from those eyes. Suddenly, he realised what had been on the back of his mind. That girl stood where he would be standing had the previous days been any different. That would have been his fate.

Disappointed, Hiko went back the way he came, looking around the street a second time. The crowd had dissipated, the street was nearly empty now. He went back to the shop he had sold his pottery, but the man had not seen Kenshin in the meantime. As he stepped back on the street, he realised a crowd was gathering further down the road. He had not noticed them earlier because of the people, but now they were in plain sight. Following a dark suspicion, he went there.

Kenshin eyes were full of horror when he found him. He stood like stone right in the first row of the crowd, seemingly not noticing the people standing behind him, but staring at the merchant and his wares. Hiko was just about to touch Kenshin's arm, as he followed his gaze. That was when he saw the slaves standing there, under the crowd's curious stare. He saw the small girl, not much older than Kenshin. Disgusted, he thought about the new "home" they would find in Kyoto's darker side as early as this evening.

The merchant was praising his wares –– some of the bystanders were actually interested in buying someone, the others were only watching the slaves.

Suddenly, someone touched Shinta's arm and he barely suppressed the urge to cry out loud. As he saw the white cape and looked in Hiko's face, a terrible thought struck him. They were not here to buy a futon, they could have done that much earlier. Instead, it was turning evening already –– no, Hiko did not plan to take him back to the hut. He would leave him here, sell him to the slaver. Why else could they be here where the slavers were, the only one he had seen in Kyoto?

But Hiko kept dragging him away from the scene, finally to come to rest in a small side-street.

Did he not want to sell him? Or would someone appear to take him away now?

"Well, Kenshin, why did you run away?" Hiko asked, bowing down to the boy.

Shinta did not know what to say, so he remained quiet. Did anything he could say have any meaning any more? Hiko had found him again and now he could sell him at will. There was a mean looking man approaching them already.

Shinta watched the man tensely, but he simply passed by without a second look.

Hiko felt his temper rising. He could feel how Kenshin was confused and afraid, feel how the boy was angry and sad, as well. But none of this explained why the boy would not answer him.

"Very well." Hiko stood back up "Next time, I'm not going to look for you, you understand?"

He took a few steps towards the road, but Kenshin did not follow him.

Frowning, he turned around.

"Baka, you are trying my patience!"

He slowly walked up to Kenshin, took his arm and dragged him towards the road.

As they were again passing the slaver without anything happening, Shinta started to doubt his suspicions. If Hiko was willing to sell him, he would have done it already. Shinta did not know what to think of that man. His heart told him he was a good person. Nevertheless, Shinta had already had too many experiences with man's dark sides for his mind not to warn him about trusting someone too easily. Silently, he went through the points that were in favor of his heart's feelings. Hiko had saved his live twice. He had poured sake onto the graves that were important to him. He had treated his wounds and bruises with that good paste. He had not scolded him for losing the bucket or falling into the river. But he seemed less friendly this morning than the previous. He had to make sure.

"Where are we going, Shishou?"

Hiko watched him, disapprovingly.

"So, you can still talk, if you want to. Very well, but now you'll also talk, if I want you to, is that alright?"

Shinta nodded. "But, where are we going now?"

Hiko sighed. "Well, baka, we came here to buy you a futon, didn't we? And, but for your little excursion, we would have already done so and would be on our way home by now."

No matter Hiko's bad mood, Shinta relaxed. His fears had been entirely without reason.

"Well, here we are," Hiko explained. "It will be best, if you come inside with me."

"No, Shishou, I can wait here. And I will not run away, I promise."

Hiko watched him, frowning.

"Very well. If you are not here any more, I will consider it your fault."

As Hiko went inside, Shinta sat down next to the door, determined not to move at all. He was relieved and tired, but now that he felt secure again, he was ashamed for believing Hiko would sell him into slavery.

There were less people at the waystation now. They had to wait only for a short time until they faced the official. Shinta used this time to say he was sorry to Hiko. He had wanted to do that before, when Hiko came out of the shop with Shinta's new futon, but his mood had seemed even darker than before. Shinta suspected the futon to be much more expensive than Shishou had expected it to be. For Shinta, that was all the more reason to be ashamed of his earlier thoughts.

"Shishou?" he started carefully, "I am sorry for causing so much trouble this day."

"Baka, that's the worst understatement I have heard for a very long time. First, I had to save your life twice and then you simply run away as you like and I have to search half of Kyoto for you. And then, you don't even speak a word."

Shinta sighed. That was exactly what he meant with "trouble."

"I am really sorry. I promise that I won't disappoint you again."

Hiko chuckled. "So? Well, I'll remember that, baka deshi."

Shinta nodded with satisfaction.

The sun was setting as they left the big road and followed the small path up into the woods. Shinta was exhausted and had trouble keeping up with Hiko. His feet were sore from his new sandals and he couldn't think about anything else but sleep. Hiko forced himself to walk more slowly, so Kenshin could keep his pace. A single day had not been enough for the small boy's body to recover. He decided to keep the training very low tomorrow.

When they finally arrived at the small hut, the first stars were already out in the sky. Hiko spread Kenshin's new futon on the floor just in time for the boy to drop down on it and immediately close his eyes.

He slept through a long and dreamless night.

End part 5

Hello to you! This chapter was a hard piece of work for me and also for Angel, my beloved boyfriend and translator ;-) Well, anyway, I hope you liked it. It ´s strange for me to read my story in English, it sounds so different from German. And I ´m always afraid that the story is too boring–

Thank you for all your reviews and greetings to the new reviewers: PraiseDivineMercy, AnimeFan33392, and meaganu-chan!

A special thank goes to Lucrecia LeVrai : thanks for your always constructive criticism !

Hope to see you all next chapter!

Bye,

Ayumi