Epilogue

Hiko flinched when Megumi cut away the last of the stitches, and he impulsively looked down at his currently shirtless chest to get a good look at the healed over wounds.

"I look like someone had used the Kuzu Ryu Sen on me…….." Hiko mused, taking a mental note on the fact that he could no longer tell which scars were which anymore.

"How do you feel, Hiko-san?" Megumi asked, after a few moments.

"Aside from sore and a bit stiff? Better than before." Hiko admitted, wincing slightly as he pulled on his gi, and stood up. Out of habit, he reached down to grab his mantle; but was stopped in mid-action by Megumi as she placed one of her own hands over it.

"Not yet. As it is, the flesh has closed and shouldn't break open again, but the muscles need time to heal as well. Too much too soon will only injure you further." Megumi explained, patiently, as the man before her gave her a look that was a cross between chagrined and vaguely annoyed. Then the expression vanished and he instead picked up his sword and walked out.

"He really didn't like hearing that, y'know." Sanosuke muttered, as he watched the Thirteenth master moodily make his way down the hall.

"I know. But I have his and Ken-san best interests at heart. I really don't want anything to happen to either of them, seeing how close they are to one another…….They may not be connected by blood, but they are as much a father and son as any I have seen." Megumi whispered, as soon as Hiko was out of earshot.

"Yeah. I see what you mean." Sanosuke murmured, as thoughts of his own relationship with Captain Sagara reemerged. He could see what Megumi had meant when she'd said 'father and son'; even though they seemed to annoy the heck out of one another, Hiko and Kenshin shared a bond that no other master and apprentice could possibly claim.

"Of course, Hiko would be the last man on earth to admit that…….." Sanosuke silently mused, smirking when Hiko greeted Misao and Kaoru by calling them their hated nicknames, and getting an outburst from the two that would have sent any lesser man scurrying.

"He certainly is incorrigible, though. When he does that, he seems to be asking for a death wish." Megumi muttered, her expression deadpanning as she said that.

"Yet you can tell he wants to live. Even though he does that to those two, he isn't physically fighting anyone….He is following your advice, Takani, even if it doesn't sound like it." Aoshi murmured, wincing when some of Misao's shouting reached his ears, and at some of the words she was using.

"Yeah…..But if he's lookin' for some good verbal sparring, he isn't gonna find it here." Sanosuke added, noting the almost bored expression on Hiko's face and pointing it out to the other two.

"True enough. If he's going to stay around here long enough for his wounds to heal completely, he's going to need someone intelligent to talk to during that time." Aoshi mused.

"What are you implying, Shinomori?" Megumi growled, vaguely insulted by Aoshi's reasoning, for some reason. Aoshi shrugged; an action almost completely alien to him, and gave her a bemused look.

"I guess you will have to find out, Takani." Aoshi replied, coolly, before walking silently off in the opposite direction.

"I think he's been hanging around Hiko-san too long." Megumi grumbled, irritably. Sanosuke only shook his head and snickered; he now knew who to count on in order to properly ruffle Megumi's feathers.

………………….

Kenshin sighed as he reclined on some pillows two girls from the Shirobeko had thoughtfully brought for him (much to Kaoru's chagrin), and looked up when he sensed his master enter the room.

"Enjoying yourself, Baka Deshi?" Hiko asked, nonchalantly.

"Not really. Sessha rather be outside enjoying the sunshine, than lying around in here, de gozaru." Kenshin muttered, looking now as bored as he sounded. Hiko reluctantly, yet silently, agreed with his apprentice; it was too nice of a day to be stuck inside. As Hiko slowly lowered himself to the floor, he became aware of the worry in Kenshin's gaze, and answered it with a look of true annoyance.

"Would you stop looking at me like that? I am past the point where everyone should worry about whether I am going to live or die, you know." Hiko muttered, irritably.

"Hai, Shishou." Kenshin replied, yet didn't sound too convinced. Hiko suppressed the urge to sigh in frustration; he knew that the memories of the past few weeks were too fresh in everyone's minds at this point, including that of his own brush with death. Nothing he knew of could stop that worrying now. For a few moments, silence reigned in the room, then Kenshin spoke up.

"Shishou?" Kenshin asked, as he looked up at his master.

"Hn?" Hiko responded, tiredly.

"Gomenasai, de gozaru." Kenshin said, guiltily. Hiko gave him what could only be described as a confused look.

"For what, Kenshin?" Hiko asked, forgetting for once to call his deshi by the nickname.

"For dragging you into this. And for putting you into so much danger. If sessha had known that this would happen, sessha would never have sought you out to complete his training. Please, accept sessha's most humble apology, Shishou." Kenshin murmured, his voice soft and sad. He jumped somewhat when he heard Hiko get up and cross the room, and looked up in startled shock when the swordmaster placed a callused hand on his head and ruffled the fiery hair almost affectionately.

"Baka. I would have gone into the fray, even if you hadn't asked me to. One only gets friends as good as the ones you have once in a lifetime…..And I couldn't let Shishio Makoto rob you of them." Hiko stated, then quietly added, "My ribs were a small price to pay, in order to see you become whole again."

"Shishou……" Kenshin murmured, not believing what he was hearing or seeing. For once, he was actually seeing the true form of his master; a man who had worn the mask of arrogance for even longer than he had been alive. The dark eyes were warmer, almost aglow with a warmth he'd certainly never seen before, and the tension on his face was gone. It was almost as though the swordmaster was looking at him with a father's love and pride……. Then the mask slipped back into place again, all too quickly, and Hiko withdrew to sit alongside him against the wall.

"Shishou." Kenshin said, after a few moments of silence.

"What is it now, Baka Deshi?" Hiko asked, his irritation now genuine.

"Arigato." Kenshin softly answered. Hiko arched an eyebrow, smirked, then leaned back against the wall.

"Feh. Anytime." Hiko muttered, as he reluctantly dozed off, and as Kenshin did the same a few minutes later.

……………………..

A little over a week later found Hiko back within his hut on the mountain. Even though he still moved slowly because of the pain in his chest and legs (and all his other wounds, in general), his pride prevented him from staying with the Oniwabanshu any longer. Still, even though he now had the solitude he'd wanted since he'd first been injured, he found himself almost missing the constant hustle and bustle of the Shirobeko and those within its' walls.

"Hmph. Not as though I can't go for a visit every now and again…..I'll just have to pick a day when the Itachi and those other two are out of town." Hiko mused, rolling his eyes when he remembered how the other two female onmitsu had hung all over him after the battle against Fuji. Something told him that avoiding them would be next to impossible; but that wouldn't stop him from trying. With an exasperated sigh, he sat down in front of the fire pit, poured himself some sake, and settled in for the evening.

"Shishou." Kenshin's mental voice murmured, in the back of Hiko's mind. Hiko only smiled slightly and took a sip of his sake.

"Baka Deshi." Hiko replied, out loud. No good-byes were needed.

Owari