Swords of Heaven Ch.2
To MSN-chan: Thanks for your help. From this point on, consider Soujiro eighteen years old.
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"Shimabara," Soujiro mumbled to himself. It would be interesting to wander there. Neither Shishio nor the Seta family had been the least bit inclined towards any religion, and it would be a good chance to sample the culture of the West. And if that swordsman was there, well, that would just make things more interesting.
Soujiro believed in going into battle prepared. After leaving Chou, he did something he'd never done in his life; he went to a library. He had found but one book on the history of the Secret Christians of Japan. Laws of persecution had existed ever since before the Tokugawa days, which were repealed during the Meiji era. However, deep mistrust still ran between the Christians and the Shinto majority. This was likely the so-called Son of God's motivation.
But what had really interested Soujiro in the swordsman were the stories he read about people undergoing life-changing experiences when exposed to this God. God would send them some sign and give them some revelation. Perhaps this was his sign, and when he found the Christian swordsman, he would find his truth, like Mr. Himura had hoped. It was worth a shot.
If I don't use Shuku-chi, I won't make it to Osaka harbor by night. This certainly wasn't true; he could get to Osaka well before sunset at the pace he was going now. His excitement had made him energetic, and he had not used his Shuku-chi for a long time. He missed the feelings of strength, speed, and freedom that Shuku-chi gave him and now was as good a time as any to feel them again. Tapping his toe against the dirt road, he sprang forth along the path. He watched trees, fields of flowers, and oblivious people zoom past. Then he approached a carriage.
Soujiro's smile turned slightly bitter as he remembered his assassination of Tochimichi Okubo. On an impulse, he slowed down slightly to see who was inside. At the last second, the carriage door was flung open and a hand seized Soujiro's wrist. Soujiro broke away and landed a short distance behind the carriage, which pulled to a stop.
A man stepped out of the carriage. He had long brown hair and wore a strange green robe and a high collared mantle and cape. But what Soujiro noticed was his medallion. He recognized the symbol, a horizontal line with a vertical curving line at each end. The symbol of the Secret Christians. This was the Christian swordsman!
"You're no ordinary person, are you," the swordsman said. It was a statement, not a question. "Soujiro Seta."
He knows my name! Soujiro thought. If this guy does study Hiten Mitsurugi, then he must know about Mr. Himura. That means he probably knows about Mr. Shishio and the others. Soujiro kept his confident smile as he removed his sword from its bag and tucked the sheath into his belt, shifting into a Battou-jutsu stance.
The swordsman used Battou-jutsu too. They stood watching each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, the swordsman decided to attack. He sprung at Soujiro with blinding speed. Right foot, Soujiro thought, relieved. With a snap of the Shuku-chi, Soujiro disappeared and landed ten feet behind the swordsman's back.
"Shuku-chi," the swordsman said. "Devil's work."
"Who are you?"
"The Child of God." The swordsman turned and did an overhand slash, which Soujiro parried, one hand supporting his sword's blade. Using his Shuku-chi again, he kicked the swordsman in the chest, propelling himself into the air and landing on the roof of the carriage.
Soujiro hopped down from the carriage as the Child of God stood, recovering from the kick to his chest.
"Tenken no Soujiro," said the Child of God. "Heavenly Sword. You do not deserve that name."
The swordsman took a stance that Soujiro recognized very well. "Kuzu Ryu Sen!" A succession of sword thrusts shot towards the nine sections of Soujiro's body. Soujiro dodged it easily. The attack went on to reduce a nearby tree to splinters.
"You have dodged the Kuzu Ryu Sen before," said the Child of God.
"Yeah. There's only one attack that could defeat me."
"I see." The Child of God prepared another Battou-jutsu stance. Soujiro knew what was coming. He tightened the grip on his own sword. It wouldn't be a sakabattou this time.
"The wrath of the righteous Lord is upon you, Soujiro Seta." The swordsman leapt forward. Soujiro tensed.
"Left!" he shouted and he lifted his sword to where he knew the attack would land. His parry appeared a few seconds early, but a moment later and the swordsman's Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki would have sliced him in two. His opponent's sword slammed into his. Their blades ground together, silvery sparks flying, before Soujiro finally managed to break away. The ultimate attack had been broken!
Then, a strong wind picked up, pulling Soujiro closer to his enemy. I get it! The sword swing was so strong it caused a vacuum! The Child of God raised his sword, preparing to finish the trapped boy. Soujiro did the last thing he could think of. He used Shuku-chi, propelling him towards the swordsman, the wind only making his approach faster. This damaged the Child of God's otherwise perfect timing. At the last moment, Soujiro saw his last chance and slammed the butt end of his katana into the swordsman's throat. He was propelled backwards, droplets of blood spraying from his mouth, as he landed on his back, his sword flying from his grasp.
"Brother!" A young woman came running out of the carriage and knelt by the swordsman's side. The man ignored his sister and pulled himself into a kneeling position.
"Heaven's Sword," he whispered to himself, gasping from the unwitting recreation of Himura's fight with Shishio. "I see now. Your name is not from the arrogance of a human. It is a sign from God." He stood, still gasping for breath. "You will join us."
Soujiro was confused, but he did not want to fight this man again any time soon. "All right!" He climbed into their carriage and sat on the bench opposite them.
The young woman was the first to speak. "My name is Magadalia. This is my elder brother Shougo Amakusa." Shougo eyed Soujiro impassively and made a barely perceptible nod.
"I expect you were deprived of the Gospel during your work with Makoto Shishio," she said. Soujiro nodded. "Of course," she continued. "Most people of this country are."
"No matter how you got the name Tenken," said Magadalia, "it was intended to you by the Lord. You are probably the only person to ever break the Hiten Mitsurugi ultimate attack."
"My name is a sign?"
"Yes," said Shougo. "Tenken, God has a plan for this country. He demands that we make Japan into His nation. You are the Sword of Heaven, Tenken. Your purpose is to aid us."
"Think, Tenken," said Magadalia. "Why were you using your, what is it called, Shuku-chi?"
"I don't know. I just felt like it."
"You were using it for no reason, yet we would not have met if you didn't use it. The Lord made you use it to bring you to us. Do you understand?"
"I- think so."
"What do you know about our God, Tenken?"
"Only what I learned in two hours at a library."
"Which certainly is not much," said Magadalia. "It was probably heavily censored by the government. Tell me, what have you been doing during the time after you left Makoto Shishio?"
"Wandering."
"Why? What were you planning to accomplish from wandering?"
"I while ago I heard of two men with the same backgrounds but after ten years of wandering Japan, they developed almost opposite beliefs. So I decided that if I wandered Japan for ten years, I'd find my own truth."
"Why did you leave Shishio in the first place?" asked Shougo.
"When I met Kenshin Himura, he taught me something."
"Yes, tell me about your encounters with Himura," said Shougo. "How did he convince you to leave Shishio?"
Soujiro gulped and stared at Amakusa, his smile developing a fixed appearance. Those eyes of his had a way of looking straight into his mind and he felt the urge to tell him everything. "I think that I always wanted to leave Mr. Shishio, but I didn't know it because I was so focused on serving him and his cause. I thought he was the one ultimate truth, that he was infallible. But when I fought Mr. Himura, I felt irritated and I didn't know why. But now I know that I was irritated because he defied what Mr. Shishio taught me. Mr. Himura told me to leave and find my own answers, decide on my own beliefs."
"Yes," said Shougo. "It can be hard to join with God after a lifetime of following Satan."
The carriage seemed to have taken a longer path than necessary, so it was night by the time they reached Osaka harbor. Their ship was a large, luxurious Western-style ship. Soujiro was given a stateroom where he fell right to sleep. Meanwhile, Shougo and Magadalia were having a conversation in Shougo's cabin.
"The Battousai brought Tenken on his path towards holiness?" asked Magadalia.
"Yes. Himura was sent to give God's revelation to Tenken, which eventually led Tenken to us."
"But why would God use the Devil for a messenger?"
"The Lord works in mysterious ways," said Shougo. "And not even the Devil is completely out of His power."
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Soujiro, Shishio, Shougo, Souzo, Sayo, Saito, Santo. Whoever named all these characters like this should be thrown into a meat grinder.
That's all for now! Review!!!