Disclaimer: The word disclaimer should state it all.
The Secret Kept From Yahiko
Chapter Eleven
From last time:
"Yes that's me! They did leave something then? May I see?" Okina handed Kaoru a letter and she took it and undid the seal. It read:
So, you managed to find the correct inn if you are reading this. Congratulations. As for what you are to do now, you will want to kill me for saying it, but we are not in Kyoto. That previous note was just to get you out of our way. By the time you read this and try to locate us, Myojin Yahiko will be dead to the world.
Kaoru gave a gasp of surprise and shock, falling into a dead faint with the letter slipping from her fingers to land on the floor where she would have also landed if Kenshin had not been quick enough to catch her before she hit the floor. Misao ran into the inn's back room and came back with powerful smelling salts that she put under Kaoru's nose. The young woman woke immediately coughing over the strong scent.
After Kaoru was standing on her own two feet, Kenshin leaned down and picked up the note that Kaoru had dropped. He quickly scanned it and from what Misao and Okina saw from his face, the news he had received was not the news he had been looking for.
"What do we do Kenshin?" wailed Kaoru, "he's only ten! Why him?" The blue eyed woman was sobbing, her tears falling freely onto the hardwood floors.
Okina spoke up. "Maybe Miss, if you explained what the letter said we could try to figure out what to do. Or," he said as an afterthought, "why don't you just start from the beginning? I myself am a bit confused."
Kenshin looked over at his traveling companion who was now crying onto Misao's shoulder before answering. "A young boy that we rescued from a Yakuza gang was kidnapped again. They sent us a note back in Tokyo that said that if we didn't reach a specific inn in Kyoto by 24 hours they would kill him. Now I see that it was all a ruse to get us out of Tokyo as quickly as possible."
Misao looked up from comforting Kaoru. "That's horrible Himura. What are you going to do?"
Kenshin shook his head sadly. "Seesha does not know Misao-Dono. This note says that he will already be dead. But Seesha and Kaoru-Dono must not give up on him, that we must not!" he finished his statement with a braver voice than with what he had started with.
Kaoru looked up. "Kenshin's right," she sniffed, "if Yahiko can live through all that he has gone through already, he should be able to hang on until Kenshin and I get back. But how do we get back? There are no trains this late!"
Misao smiled happily. "I have an idea," she said excitedly, "we can take the horses! They might not go as fast as the train would, but it's our best bet right now!"
Okina raised his eyebrows. "We Misao? Were you planning on going as well?"
Misao rubbed her sandaled foot into a floorboard. "Well Jiya, I was thinking of going. Someone is going to have to bring the horses back."
"And just when were you going to tell me about this Misao? Hmmm?"
"Would now work Jiya? Can I please go? Pretty please? There isn't anything to do here except chores since Aoshi-Sama went to the temple."
"Chores are a very important part of life Misao. Besides-"
"But Jiya this is much more important! Besides it is always good to have a ninja with you," she said flashing her kunais in her grandfather's face.
"All right Misao, you can go," he chuckled, "but please be careful and stay safe," he added his voice growing sober. "I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Don't worry Gramps! I'll be fine! I mean, after all, I am in company of a manslayer!" She threw her arms around Okina's neck in a hug! Then she grabbed Kaoru by her kimono sleeve and ran out back, Kenshin following after thanking Okina for loaning them horses.
When the rurouni entered into the back of the inn, Misao was in the process of saddling three horses. Two were mares, a brown one with a white moon on her forehead, the other a dappled gray. The third horse was a black stallion, whom Kaoru was standing far away from as Misao attempted to put a bit in the stallion's mouth.
"Himura you get Dusty," she called nodding her head at the dappled gray. "Kaoru you can take Smokey. I get to take Storm." she finished smiling up at the now fully saddled stallion. "Do you both know how to get onto a horse?"
Kenshin nodded in confirmation, but from the way Kaoru was eyeing her mount, it showed that she knew nothing about getting on one let alone riding. Kenshin walked over to Kaoru, picked her up gently and sat her down on top of Smokey. Then he climbed onto Dusty.
Misao sighed. "Kaoru all you are going to do is steer Smokey in the direction that you want her to go. Better yet," she said walking over to Smokey with a rope, "we'll just have her follow." She tied one half of the rope to Smokey's bridle and then tied the other half to the back of Storm's saddle.
The ninja girl walked back over to Storm and jumped onto his back. Making a clicking noise and gently prodding the horse in his sides, Storm started trotting out of the yard onto the main road. Smokey picked up the same pace and Kenshin followed in the rear to make sure Kaoru didn't fall off.
As soon as they were out of the main town of Kyoto, Misao kicked her horse into a gallop and sped off in the direction of Kyoto. Kaoru let out a small yell and gripped Smokey's mane and hung on for dear life.
When the sun was quite low in the sky, casting everything in shadow, they were still a few hours away from Tokyo. Misao reined in her horse and looked behind her to see how the couple as she considered them was holding out. Kenshin seemed to fine, but Kaoru was another story. The rough and intense riding had taken their toll on the girl who had never ridden before.
"Himura, I think we should stop for the night. Kaoru looks dead on the saddle. Should we go find an inn or something? I believe there is a town a little ways up this road. Of course, I umm... forgot to bring some money... could you pay?"
"Hai Misao-Dono. To both questions." Misao nodded and they continued up the road, this time in a slow trot. About ten minutes later the trio came upon a small quiet little town. They led the horses down the main street and stopped in front of an inn.
"You go get us a room Himura, I'll put the horses in back. Hope they have oats," she muttered under her breath as Kenshin walked into the inn and Misao led the horses with Kaoru around back. After she had tied the horses up on a fence that was surrounded by growing green grass, she helped Kaoru off the horse.
"Oh my butt!
Well that's what you get for sitting on a horse for a couple of hours straight," the aqua eyed girl responded cheerfully. "Of course it helps if you've ridden a horse before, and I get the impression that you never did."
"You got that right," replied Kaoru rubbing her very sore backside. "Come on, let's go back to see what Kenshin got."
"I do hope he got us some dinner, I'm starving!" The two girls walked to the front of the inn and entered into a cozy looking lobby. Kenshin was standing near a staircase holding a key.
"The owner is even going to make us a late supper," said Kenshin as the girls walked towards him, "how are you feeling Kaoru-Dono?"
"I'll be okay, just never let a horse near me again," the tanooki girl said. "How many stairs do we have to climb?" Misao was already dancing up the staircase and seemed to be full of energy which seemed amazing to Kaoru, she was so tired and so very sore. All she wanted was to eat some dinner and fall into bed.
Reaching the top of the stairs, Kenshin turned left and went a ways down the hall before stopping in front of a door. Then he unlocked the door that he was standing in front of and the small group entered to see three futons stacked against the wall along with sleeping yukatas. There was also a sheet hung up so that people could change behind it.
Misao clapped her hands together in happiness! "Oh yay! I was hoping they would have yukatas, the Aoiya does and they are much more comfortable than this uniform," she said tugging on her extremely short skirt. "I get to change first!" The youngest in the group grabbed what looked like the smallest yukata and disappeared behind the sheet. Minutes later she emerged and then Kaoru changed.
After everyone had changed they washed up in a basin sitting on a small table and as Kenshin was drying his face there was a knock on the door. Misao got up to answer it and admitted a woman of about twenty carrying a tray that was holding three cups of tea, a teapot, a plate of rice balls, three bowls along with a large pot of something that smelled much like miso soup.
The three late arrivals thanked their hostess and as soon as she had left they all dug into the delicious food. "They make gwood rice bwalls," said Misao as she chewed one of the rice balls.
"Misao, don't you have any manners?" scolded Kaoru as she neatly set her soup bowl down and then wiped her face with a napkin.
"Of course I have manners Kaoru, I just choose not to use them when I don't have to." The weasel girl gave a weasel smile and yawned. "I'm going to bed and both of you should to. We have a big day ahead of us." Misao crawled over to the wall and removed a futon, unrolled it, climbed in with the blankets pulled to her chin, and was fast asleep in no time.
Kaoru also yawned and unrolled a futon as Kenshin set the dirty dishes outside the door for someone to collect. Within two minutes all three occupants of the room were sound asleep lost in their own dreams.
The bokken came soaring at Yahiko's head faster than he had expected. Actually he had expected it, but he had never been on the receiving end of the weapon before, he was normally a spectator or just wasn't around. Yahiko did the first thing that came to min, he raised the shinai in a blocking position and as the bokken hit the shinai, he felt the tremor all the way through his body.
Gasuke seemed genuinely surprised that Yahiko had just saved his head from being bashed in. Yahiko himself looked a bit shocked and Gasuke could see that the brat's arm was shaking with the force of his attack. Yahiko raised his shinai in front of him in proper defense hold, even with the correct grip on the base of the weapon. And then it began.
Yahiko POV
I didn't quite understand it. Okay so I blocked, that was just out of instinct. But how come the shinai feels so comfortable, so right, so natural in my hands? I've never held a shinai in my life, let alone any weapon. The closest I ever got was picking up a dagger someone dropped. But Gasuke took that away just in case I decided to be rebellious.
Gasuke looked just as surprised as I felt when I blocked his first attack, but he seems to be regaining his composure and getting ready to lunge again. Might as well try my best, let's see how well I can hold my own. I ready myself and as Gasuke again lunges I bring my shinai up again in a defensive position.
As Gasuke's bokken collides with my shinai driving another jolt through my arm with the impact, I bring mine around and smash him in the stomach with it, hearing a slight oof as Gasuke stumbles backwards from the force of my swing.
The room has gone dead quiet, guess no was expecting me to be able even lay a finger on him, let alone actually injure him a bit. I was feeling quite proud of myself. But when Gasuke stood up and leered at me a sick feeling started to grow in the pit of my stomach. This was nothing to him, Kami he was known as Gasuke the Manslayer!
He slowly starts to advance on me and I start to back up towards the wall knowing that he was trying to get me into a corner so that I would have nowhere to go. Fat chance I was going to let that happen. I jumped nimbly to the side as my instinct took over as Gasuke swung at me again. This jumping out of the way of the bokken lasted for a few minutes before I think both of us got fed up of the game of cat and mouse.
This time I gave a loud battle cry and charged him, trying to strike him in the head, but he easily blocked and with a flick of the bokken, sent my shinai sailing across to the opposite side of the room. I was left standing without anything to protect me except my hands, feet and teeth. And I intended to use those to my full advantage.
With a snarl I jumped onto Gasuke punching him squarely in the face sending him falling over with me with him seeing as I had climbed onto him. I then preceded to kick punch, and bite whatever I could sink my teeth into. Quite literally. From the looks of it, Gasuke had not expected me to do that. I hadn't really expected it either. But I had to do what I could seeing as this was my first and probably last chance to hurt the man who had hurt me.
Gasuke used a well place foot from underneath me and kicked, sending me flying across the room until I crashed into a wall and slumped to the floor. I groggily looked up as Gasuke approached me. Blood was coming from his nose where I had punched him, his left eye was starting to swell shut, and he had a number of small claw marks all over his face from my nails. He was furious.
He stomped over and picked me up by my spiky hair and shook me up and down. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT YAHIKO!" he yelled, although it didn't sound quite as threatening as it was supposed to be due to his bloody nose.
I just gave an impish grin "You asked for it, next time don't let me try out a weapon. You won't get hurt that way." I knew I was making him even madder and I wasn't in the best position to be doing that, but right now I didn't really care. I had held my own if only for a short time in my very first sword fight.
"You will regret saying that to me," he hissed in my ear, "this time your punishment will be one that you will be reminded of forever."
Author's Notes:
I apologize for the wait, but I did update sooner than last time! But I am going to say this now, I started school on September 1st, and being a sophomore and all in honors classes, I'm going to be getting a lot of homework! So updates might take even longer so I apologize in advance.
On a brighter note, I have decided to start rewriting the beginning chapters seeing as they weren't exactly the best. So far I have the prologue done. If you could go back to that chapter and leave a comment of what you think of its rewrite it'd be great!
Please Please Please Please review! This story is dropping very badly in popularity, my other ficcy, Not Where I Belong is doing much better! (Don't see why people seemed to have stopped reviewing for Yahiko fics, but not my place to say) The reviews in my inbox give me inspiration to continue writing and I love hearing if you guys have any ideas for further chapters! Your input means a lot to me!
Reviewer's Comments:
StarofFoam: Hehe you are good. Good guesses that turn out correctly. Hope you don't crash and break anything! Catch you next chapter!
IcyPanther:Your fave chappie? Real cliffies? Glad you think I'm getting better! I like to think I am. I hope I didn't have any of those annoying grammar mistakes again!
Tocole: Glad you love the chapter and Yahiko was smart that chapter and this chapter ne? Catch ya next one! Please update your story soon too!