WARNING: Spoilers! If you don't know who Kenji is, please read at your own risk!
WITH DUE CREDIT: This fic was loosely spun off from two fics - "Over the Sting" by sasori and "Chronicles of a Rurouni", one of my earlier fics.
------------------------------------------
Yesterday's Shadow is Tomorrow's Twilight
------------------------------------------
Chapter 17: Versus
To say that Kenji was not overawed would be a big fat lie. The young boy took
his time to assess the massive man before him with large, inquisitive eyes.
When he finally caught the eyes of the taller and bulkier person, he thought
he could see murder in its depths, together with a rather large bout of intoxication.
He blinked, and wondered about the 'murder' part. Wasn't this supposed to be
a friendly tournament?
"Hey kid," the large man opened his mouth and said, sending a jet of foul-liquor into the environment. Kenji leaned backwards slightly in absolute disgust. "You don't know what you're doin'!" The man continued, making it a point to guffaw like a feeding pig. Kenji could almost /see/ the tendrils of ghouly odour crawling out of the man's drooling chops. He edged slowly backwards with a scrunched up face. "Better run home to momma before you get seriously hurt! HAHAHAHAA!!"
There was a naggy feeling at the back of Kenji's head which told him that if he /did/ 'run home to momma' at this point of time, 'momma' would bestow a capital punishment worst than anything this large man could do to him in this competition. He shuddered inwardly at the mere thought. Calmly, he strolled further into the ring under the watchful eyes of both his opponent and the cheering crowd surrounding them. He withdrew the metal rod he had kept by his side since the smithy event in Tokyo, holding the long, thin equipment out in his usual dojo training style. At his stance, the hordes began to cheer even louder, throwing more things around and moving about in their own inebriated trances. Not to be deterred, the larger man moved to face him and held his own bokken out menacingly.
The stalemate continued until the umpire heartily shouted: "BEGIN!"
In a whirlwind of dust and flying grass the bulky man moved at a speed which his large build and astounding drunkenness did not suggest was possible. He covered the distance between himself and Kenji within seconds and lashed out ferociously with his bokken. The sheer force caused a ripple of wind to surge through the air, knocking a few unsteady bystanders off their feet. The ring was generally obscured by a thick cloud of dust soon after the attack, which did not dissipate until a breeze caught it in its wake.
The burly man had an evil smile on his face. All cheering had ceased to nothing when the attack happened, surprise evident in the faces of even the most drunk ones. Soujirou peered intensely at the slowly clearing enclosure, face set in a smile.
Kenji was not where he originally stood.
"Pretty good for someone of that size," an overly happy voice called out to the man from behind him, as he turned his head slightly with grim displeasure. "But sometimes," Kenji stooped into stance again, "those who strike first don't always win the match."
He vanished from sight, before the man could even find time to whirl around to face him completely. An impressed hum reverberated through the audience when they eventually found the boy again, soaring through the skies like gravity did not hinder him in any way. The large man glanced upwards, almost blinded by the slowly setting afternoon sun. He was not quick enough to block against Kenji's next move.
"Ryuu Tsui Sen..." The boy was descending like an unstoppable dragon, "... Zan!" He drove the tip of the rod into the man's right shoulder, the same hand in which he held his weapon with. Letting out a cry of pain, the man immediately dropped his bokken. The infuriated look in his eyes, however, revealed that he was far from letting the match be over.
With an almost inhuman deftness, the man grabbed the dropping bokken with his left hand and spun back on his feet. Letting his temporarily disabled right hand hang limp, he snarled, "Nice going, kid. Now let's see how you fair against this!" He drove his point home with a forward lance which immediately brought him to Kenji's immediate vicinity.
Lashing out fluidly, the man began to execute yet another series of complicated movements, drawing amazement and hoots of cheers alike from the audience, who were beginning to warm up to this strange pair of duellers. Soujirou gasped at the speed - very impressive for someone of that size with an arm out of commission - and found it in himself to clap happily at how the match was currently progressing. If anyone got hit by a man of that strength at that speed, it would probably make the victim's life torturous for the next few weeks. "Don't lose, Himura-san!" He raised a fist and cheered. "We're betting our socks on you!!"
Enishi shot him a glare of disbelief. "Our socks /WHAT/?"
The younger wanderer just grinned like a cheshire cat at him. Attention grabbed by the ring again quickly, Soujirou stated in a surprised tone, "That's the Shinken no Kamae!"
Enishi was watching as well. "Didn't think a show-off like him would bother taking such a boring stance."
Feet apart, and hand poised with the rod parallel to the ground in front of him with both hands, Kenji was indeed pulling the Shinken no Kamae off. True, he had only heard Yahiko talk about it once, about how his father had used it against some masked ninja guy or another. Yet by that narration alone he was able to judge that this stance, though seemingly obtuse, had it's benefits both in defense and offense. First of all, it allowed him to anticipate all his opponent's moves while in a posture of readiness. Secondly it gave him enough room to move his weapon about easily to protect any part of his body under attack. And finally, once the enemy was tired with delivering the same pattern of attacks with the same, unwavering speed, it gave him the right momentum to deflect the single blow that would leave an opening on the opponent so he could go in for the kill.
Which was what he did at that very moment. With a practiced eye he saw that the next bokken attack by the man was decidedly slower than his usual swing, and, quickly retrieving his rod from defence, positioned the tip so that it intercepted the wooden sword before it ever came close to touching him.
Both weapons came to a sudden standstill.
The man was decidedly shocked at this turn of event. But before he could do anything about it, Kenji twisted his weapon free and used the resulting force he obtained to swing the rod in a rising tackle. With a loud snap, the burly man's wooden sword flew into the masses, out of any further reach.
Kenji stooped into position, ever cautious - even when victory was in sight. That was one thing Yahiko had drilled into his head from since he started his training. "Still fighting?" He mockingly asked.
Although it seemed absurd that a tall, strong man like Kenji's opponent should even think to give in to the small, frail looking boy, at that very moment in time, nobody in the crowd would have blamed him for throwing in the towel. Compared to the boy, the man was already showing signs of fatigue and weariness, whereas Kenji wasn't even breathing hard. It would have been unbelievable to anybody if they had been told about Kenji's absolute inexperience with serious combat. Yet in truth, it only enhanced the fact that the boy had, besides flair, a raw talent lurking beneath his tender form.
The larger man retreated a good three steps backwards in view of the situation he now faced. His expression, however, showed that he was far from done. Glancing towards his side from the corner of his eyes, he made a motioning movement, and not two seconds later, a new weapon was thrown to him from what must have been some of his companions in the crowd. It was not a wooden sword this time. Rather, it was a long rod of sorts with a gradually bulging tip, ending with a hexagon shape right at the end, which he then pointed towards Kenji. "You'll pay, brat," was his simple but amazingly powerful threat.
Giving a slight nod, the redhead got into his standard position once more. They stood where they were, facing off for what seemed like a long time.
Soujirou was the first to notice that the larger man had been inconspicuously digging the tip of his foot into the loosened sand before him while everybody else had concentrated on the fighters' eyes. Instantly he knew what trick he had up his sleeve. Quickly turning to Kenji, he cried, "Himura-san, close your eyes!"
"Too late!" The man laughed and sent a lethal spray of sand and soil into the young boy's face. Kenji gave a exclamation of surprise and instinctively lifted his hands up in defense. Just as the man had said, however, it was indeed too late, and several irritants had found their way into the redhead's eyes, rendering them useless for until he could get them out. He did manage to pry one watery eye open, however, just in time to see the large man lunge at him with renewed vigour, and an absolutely disgusting smirk on his face.
The muscular person swung his weapon and hit the boy dead-on.
The resulting force was so big, most of the men who were standing close enough could feel the sheer tremor in the ground. Needless to say, large amounts of soil and sand were tossed about in the air, veiling the scene from general view. Soujirou and Enishi stood perfectly still from where they were, unaffected, while the others behind and around them were attempting to clear the dusty air before them. There was no need to clear the air, however, to see that Soujirou was not smiling anymore. Even Enishi had the aura of a man stuck between disbelief and trepidation.
Two shadowy figures on the arena gradually became visible.
As if on cue, a strong breeze swept through the plaza and took most of the fogginess in the ring away. It was then obvious that the older man who had supposedly delivered the final strike was far from being pleased. He was, instead, bathing in cold sweat. And it was really no wonder.
Under normal circumstances, the mere sight of a short, small boy easily withstanding a blow from a weapon two times his size, handled by a man two times his height, would have been rather comical.
"That's all?" Kenji had a strange smile on his face, single eye opened, the other wrenched tightly shut. He had both hands raised over his head, his wrists locked in a cross. The back of his palms were clenching onto the large weapon of his opponent tightly, and no matter how hard the man struggled, he could not pull his large weapon back from the tiny boy's grasp. Kenji's smile dissolved the moment he opened his other eye, narrowing both into an ominous glare. "My mother," he began, as he traversed the distance between him and the man by sliding his crossed wrists across the bulky bludgeon, "packs a punch," he stopped just one step before the man and with great agility deflected the weapon he had trapped, away, "ten times more powerful than you!"
He readied the hilt of his metal rod.
"Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu Ougi," nobody had time to even blink while the boy executed the second part of the deciding move, "Hawatari!"
The tip of the rod connected squarely with the large man's chest. He made a sound akin to that of a strangled cry - but that was the last they would hear of him for that day. The final cloud of dust rose, when the man fell backwards onto the floor, all movements ceased. Kenji loomed over him with a look of disdain on his face. Slowly, he blinked at the floor, and started to rub at his eyes.
A slow cheer was building. The crowds were doubtlessly excited beyond compare. How often, after all, did a never-before-seen young boy defeat a champion of a city with such ease? Kenji alone was impervious. He tucked the metal rod under his arm and started rubbing his eyes with more fervour, a scowl on his face. It was definitely uncomfortable to have stubborn dirt particles trapped in your eyes.
"We have a new winner!" It was the umpire's shout who brought the masses into their highest level of cheering that day.
And as for Kenji, he just blinked.
"Wahah!" Soujirou was laughing, like he had expected it all along. "Himura-san really reminds me of that age-old proverb: still waters run deep!"
"Hmph," although not as obvious, Enishi was clearly glad as well. His smile was more natural, and there was a shine of approval in his eyes, "about time he proved his usefulness."
"Any takers?" The umpire was saying, waving his hands around. "Any takers against this promising young fighter?" Even as he spoke, his attendants were rushing in to drag the fallen contender off the ring. "Well?" The man urged the crowds, who were too busy cheering to really notice him.
"I doubt anybody would dare step in after what Himura-san's showed them he can do!" Soujirou said jovially. "Ooh, does that mean we get to keep the reward Kamatari-san was talking about?" There were sparkles in his eyes at the mere thought of widening their budget.
Enishi sighed. "Do you /really/ think they will allow us to? Wake. Up!" He pushed the younger person's head forward in a friendly strike.
"Well, one can always hope," Soujirou rubbed the back of his head and smiled at his partner. At this point of time the cheering subsided into a loud murmur, which indicated that some change must have taken in the arena. Both wanderers turned to look at the ring, where someone had disassociated himself from the crowd and was making his way towards the center of the battleground.
Kenji stopped rubbing his eyes to peered blearily at the newcomer to the ring. The tall man stood with an aura of experience Kenji found was oddly disturbing. His blurred vision now, however, was not helping him in trying to pinpoint why the vibe this person gave off seemed so familiar.
"I would love a match," the quiet, unassuming voice of the stranger could be heard above all the chaos. Face hidden by his dark hood, and voice muffled slightly by the long cloth loosely obscuring the bottom half of his face, he was the epitome of inscrutability.
Kenji gave his eyes one final rub, and got into position. "Charmed," he nodded, face unsmiling. Perhaps he could find out more about his gut feeling by taking the person head-on.
Off at the sidelines, Soujirou breathed. He could tell that this was the same mysterious person he had seen just prior to Kenji taking on the large, over-confident brute, and wondered briefly about the man's calm, unreadable aura. Turning around, he noted that Enishi probably had his mind on the same thing.
When the umpire shouted for the contenders to begin, things took on a terrifying turn.
The man walked, slowly, towards the poised Kenji with a single, sheathed kodachi in his hand. He came within seven steps of the readied boy, before he vanished. Already handicapped in sight, Kenji could feel the whistle of energy from his right and barely had enough time to bring his weapon to block against the other person's. Metal met metal, and a shrill 'clang!' resonated throughout the wide plains. But the attack did not stop there. After the weapons separated, Kenji faced a rain of punches executed in quick succession. In his state of mental disarray it was commendable enough that he managed to fend off the first two strikes. The final blow landed, however, and sent him flying across the arena until he fell in a heap just before the edge of the makeshift ring.
In an instant, the stranger was by Kenji's side, his weapon raised menacingly. Although unable to get to his feet, Kenji still held his own weapon raised, calculating his strength to greet the impact.
He hadn't needed to worry, however, for the assault never made it to him.
Holding his shinai over his head, Soujirou held the stranger's attack back, his intensive eyes trying to search the blank facade behind the hooded guise. Kenji had somehow been thrown to where Soujirou and Enishi had been standing, and the blue-clad wanderer had instinctively brandished his bamboo sword to block the stranger's sheathed weapon from reaching the boy.
The stranger and the wanderer continued staring at each other in silence - until Soujirou made a movement to deflect the other's weapon, causing its wielder to leap backwards to reposition his stance.
Releasing his shinai from an overhead grasp, Soujirou let it hang limp by his side, along with the arm which held it. He slowly walked into the arena, an almost brilliant smile on his face.
"It would be an honour," he stated, still smiling, "to go up against a skilled opponent like yourself."
... to be continued
--------------
1/9/03
xd@tougenkyou.net
A/N
Gaaaaaaaaaar I think half my brain cells are dead by now. Okay, so I said I
preferred writing action. I guess I failed to calculate how many brain cells
it would kill. O.Ox More action coming up! Who exactly is Mysterious Man??!
What?! The kodachi didn't give him away?? Don't worry, we will find out a lot
more things come next part... Stay tuned!! MUAHAHAHA!! (i think i'd make a rather
lousy tv host... *nodnod*)
Oh and... *hands out winning stakes to all who had bet their money on Kenji*. Dang, I lost a bit of money. Wanna wager on Soujirou and Mystery Man this time? *eyes sparkle* XD
CurlsofSerenity
Awwww, you see, Soujirou bet his socks that Kenji would win, so he couldn't
jump in to help Kenji unless he wanted to lose his so- *is promptly beaten up
by Sou-fangirls*
Zeromaru: Chaos Mode
Yes, I know the bit about the fangirl part. *.*x I worked really hard to push
this chapter out by the day! Hope you liked the action!
Silver Nightingale
Nahahaha... only this particular fic do I update so quickly. Take a look at
my Houshin Engi one, which has been dangling for half a year already. XD That's
what can happen when inspiration dries up BUAHAHAH!!
Tanuki-dono
So glad you liked the scythe-man... err, woman! o.Ox *small voice* Last I checked
I typed at 117wpm. *cough* I love trying to write nice stories fast, so I hope
this streak can last!
jbramx2
Nee nee, I have't forgotten that you said you wanted to draw something for the
fic, MUAHAHAHA!! XD XD XD Anyway, Kenji should /not/ be getting drunk! O.Ox
What would Kaoru say??! Kenshin would be rolling in his grave too... I understand
Mystery Man *ahem*'s motive may seem rather obscure, but I will explain myself
in the following chapters. I hope they are satisfactory! *_*x
April-san
If you say so... *_*x *dons armour and joins April-san in imprisonment* Hm.
You know, I can't continue writing the fic from here... XD XD XD
EEevee
Yeah *_*x I'm always impressed Soujirou can still remain so optimistic despite
his childhood. He's such a good guy! And yes, Kenji got what he wanted... only
not in the way he wanted it to be. XD
Shahredzad1
*glomp!* Eeh? Don't worry about it! :D As long as the story still interests
you, I will be happy! *giggle* I'm not sure if I would describe Sanosuke as
a person with 'rippling muscles', however, but he /is/ a rather strong guy!
:D Uhm, have fun wherever you're going! *.*x
C.M Aeries Queen of Insanity
O.Ox Glad you think so! We need comic relief! XD