Here is the next part. As always, all characters resembling fairy tales are coincidental and do not belong to me. That goes for the Rurouni Kenshin characters too.

The Frog Swordsman

Part Five

By Maria Cline

Kaoru and the other mercenaries had gathered around the Security Chief who was standing in front of a black board. Oolock studied the group. Most of them were fighters looking for a quick coin but there were a few that stood out. He cleared his throat and said, "I'm glad that there are a few competent fighters here. Now, as you know, there had been murders committed by a man claiming to be the Hitokiri Battousai. Our sources could not confirm it but I believe that we are dealing with the real Battousai."

All of the men began hooting and hollering at the excitement of being able to fight the Battousai. Kaoru raised her hand up. "Excuse me, Oolock-san, I heard that this man was a fake."

"Did you hear it from a one-armed man with white hair?" Oolock asked.

"Hai."

The man laughed as he shook his head. "That was some lunatic that had been stalking the area. He and his nutty stepsister insisted that they enchanted the Battousai. I wouldn't listen to them if I were you. They're insane." He glanced around and mentally sighed in relief as the men laughed at Kaoru's statement.

"Shut up." Kaoru glared as she crossed her arms.

"Any way, you will all be paid 5 pieces of gold for your hard work if there are no deaths. 20 pieces to those who had fought the Battousai. 100 pieces to the person who managed to kill the Battousai or at least capture him." Oolock said as he pointed to the blackboard.

A mercenary raised his hand and asked, "What if that fighter got killed by the Battousai?"

"Then, your money will go to your family." Oolock replied sending shivers down everyone's spines. "Okay, there are the rules. No stealing, no kidnapping, and no flirting. That is all." At that there were a few moans of protest.

Kaoru took a deep breath as she walked up to see a vast ball room decorated with gold and silver. There were numerous maidens dressed in their finest flirting with the prince and servants. "Just like all the others." The former princess said as she studied the room carefully. Then, she noticed the prince was not acting goofy or egotistical as always. In fact, he was calm, reserved, and actually acted like he had some intelligence. As the music played on, Kaoru contented herself with patrolling the building.

Then, a young girl bolted through the door. She was young and beautiful with long black hair and big eyes. She was smaller than the other women and not as prim and proper. Kaoru could tell since the girl was wearing simple sandals while everyone else were wearing fancy silk shoes. The girl came up to Kaoru and asked, "Aoshi-sama?"

"Eh?" The former princess shook her head.

"Awww… I'm looking for this ninja who was supposed to protect the palace. I'm Misao." Misao said as she grinned.

"Kaoru." Kaoru bowed back and looked at Misao's outfit and shoes. "Why are you wearing sandals?"

"Oh… I sewed up this dress and snuck out but… I couldn't afford shoes so I went with these." Misao explained as she grinned.

"Well… you need some real shoes if you want to impress the Prince Rudolf." Kaoru said as she crossed her arms.

The smaller woman laughed as she blushed. "I'm not here to get the prince. My stepsisters can have him. I'm looking for my ninja prince! His name is Aoshi and I heard that he's back to normal and that he's protecting the other prince."

Kaoru's jaw dropped at the sight of another girl who was not interested in Prince Rudolf. "You do know that Prince Aoshi is a master of disguise right? How will you find him?"

Misao smirked slightly. "Well, I'm a ninja in training. I want to find Aoshi-sama and have him as my mentor (and something a little more). I can use my ninja senses to find Aoshi-sama and make him my mentor!"

"Well… you would stand out like that. I have something that can help." Kaoru opened her pouch and Misao saw a dark brown toad sitting to the side.

"Hey! Is that a toad?"

"Yes." Kaoru put her finger to her lips. "I don't want anyone else to know. He's my friend and companion, Kenshin. Kenshin this is Misao. She wants to meet Aoshi."

"I heard." The toad nodded as he looked up at the ninja wannabe. "I had met Aoshi-san and he is a strong fighter. If you find him, you will benefit from his experience."

"Whoa… a talking toad." Misao picked up the toad and studied him. "Are you an enchanted prince?"

"No." Kenshin smiled politely.

Misao stared at him and then flipped him over. "Princess?"

"ORO?!"

"No! Kenshin's just a normal frog who can talk and turn into a toad when he wants to." Kaoru said as she took the toad back.

"Weird." Misao wiped her hands on her dress.

"Anyway, I have something you can borrow." Kaoru reached into her pouch and got out a pair of what looked like glass slippers.

"Glass slippers?"

"No. They may look like glass but they are really special. Wear them and you will be faster, you will feel energized, and it gets rid of athlete's foot too."

"Wow." Misao said as she took off her sandals and put on the slippers. "They fit."

"Good. Now, bring them back at midnight. That's when my shift ends. Remember, I'm loaning them to you, don't keep them."

"Hai." The girl bowed and ran off with her borrowed shoes.

Oolock was walking around the building watching for any signs of trouble. "Any signs?"

The security chief jumped and saw Enishi and Rose Red standing there.

"Enishi-san, Rose-san, no not yet."

"I see." Rose said as she came up and held up a mirror. "I haven't seen anything but I was 'nutty'."

"Hey! I had to let them think that this guy was the real thing. You know how these mercenaries are, they love a challenge and who is more challenging than the Infamous Hitokiri Battousai?"

"True." Enishi said and then held his sword at the man's throat. "You can call me all the names you wish but don't you dare insult my sister."

"Hey! I didn't mean any insult to you or your sister. Please forgive me. I had to do it." Oolock pleaded as he felt the blade on his skin.

"Enough, Enishi!" Rose Red said as she stepped forward.

The man relaxed and stepped away. Oolock let out a huge sigh of relief and then stiffened as the redhead stared at her with glowing green eyes. Now, he had to deal with a witch that could turn him into a frog.

The woman stared at him and said, "Relax, I won't hurt you. Go back and protect the Prince and be by his side at midnight. That was when the attack will be correct?"

"Hai." Oolock nodded and started to walk back to the building.

"Oh! One more thing to remember, beware of frogs with cross shaped scars." The man paused and looked at the woman. Rose Red wasn't joking.

"Yes, of course." Oolock ran off.

The man shook his head as he went back inside. "I swear, if it weren't for the fact I was in it for the fights, I would've asked for a raise." He muttered as he sat down. He looked up to see Kaoru with a lovely young maiden. "I told them no flirting." The man came up to the small warrior and gave him his best glare.

"What?" Kaoru asked.

"I told you no flirting."

Kaoru glared back and Oolock stared at her. After a long moment, Oolock flinched and the fighter said as she put her hand onto her shirt and pulled enough for the much taller man to see a pair of lumps being tied down by bandages. "I am a woman."

The man gasped as his eyes bulged, "A… A GIRL?! YOU'RE A GIRL?!"

"Yes and I am not interested in any other girls." Kaoru said as she put her shirt back on.

Oolock shook his head and muttered, "Okay… just don't… don't do that again. Keep a close eye out for the Battousai and frogs with cross shaped scars."

"Eh?"

"Nothing. What happened to the good old days when men were men and women were damsels in distress?" The man stumbled off muttering something about asking for a raise.

Kaoru shook her head as she opened the pouch again. "I swear, I can never understand men." She said to Kenshin who poked his head out.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Humans are like that. Anyway, we have to keep an eye out for a sword wielding psycho." She paused when she saw a group of mercenaries walking by licking their swords. "Which is every other mercenary here."

"Oro…"

"If only we have a magic mirror or something to find the Battousai with." Kaoru's eyes lit up as she got out her magic gold ball necklace. "Baka Kaoru! I got it! All I have to is use this. I can find anyone or anything with this including the Battousai so I can make sure he's not here."

The frog stiffened and said, "Go ahead."

Kaoru nodded, held her necklace up and said, "Golden ball show me where the Hitokiri Battousai is." The ball glowed and revealed a map showing a frog icon where she was. She stared at the icon and then at Kenshin who was staring at it calmly, almost sadly. Her body stiffened as she put down the necklace and picked up Kenshin with her other hand. It didn't make any sense and yet it does. Ever since the day she met him, she couldn't help but wonder why Kenshin can do what he could. She thought he was a normal magical frog who could talk. He even denied being a prince but he never denied being an assassin. Every time she talked about the Battousai, Kenshin acted strange. He even talked about the imposter when she didn't know herself.

Forcing her conflicting emotions down to the pit of her stomach, Kaoru lifted the frog to where she can see his face clearly. She can see a faint cross shaped scar on his cheek, she never noticed it before. "Kenshin, tell me the truth. Are you the Battousai?"

He could lie to her and deny everything. He could just say no but he couldn't. Kaoru was the first real friend he had in a long time and he couldn't lie to her. "Hai, I was the Battousai."

Kaoru blinked and then screamed. "YAAAAA!!!" Then, she flung the frog away with all of her strength. The woman took a deep breath and then she realized what she had done. "Oh no…" She darted off into the woods after the flying frog.

Misao smiled happily as she sat next to Prince Rudolf. At first, she thought he was dull but he was interesting. "So, you are perfecting your ninja skills?" The prince asked as he sipped some tea.

"Oh yeah! I even have an animal morph but… it's not perfect." Misao blushed as she looked down.

"How so?"

"Oh… I can't tell it to a prince like you. It's embarrassing." The girl laughed as she blushed even brighter.

The man smiled slightly and shook his head. "You are… cheerful for someone who is training to be a ninja."

"I know. That's what everyone says. But, I like being cheerful, it makes the world seem brighter but I'm serious about being a ninja and helping others. I just wish that I can get the training I need so I can be a real ninja." Misao said firmly.

Prince Rudolf looked to the side. "You know, being a ninja is not all fun and games. Ninjas live in the shadows and rarely get seen by anyone. They also don't have graves because ninjas don't die, they just disappear."

"I know but I don't care." The girl clenched her fists. "I will be a great ninja. I know I can."

"Perhaps." The prince saw a figure in the darkness and the figure did some hand signals. "I'll be right back." The man got up and bowed politely. He walked out of the ball room and Misao frowned.

"What's that about?"

Her heart pounded in her chest as Kaoru dashed through the woods. She couldn't believe she had just thrown her best friend away like that. True, she had hit others when she shouldn't but they were human and she had held back. She had just struck her own friend, a helpless frog who had done nothing wrong to her. The exiled princess held her ball necklace in her hand. Kenshin had saved her ball the first day they met. Ever since that day, he had been polite and gentle, nothing like what the rumors say about the Battousai. How much was really true?

"Kenshin!" She called out as she looked around hoping that the frog wasn't hurt. She didn't know how much a frog could handle but from what she heard, frogs are pretty frail. But, most frogs weren't demonic swordsmen in their past lives. She shook her head, now was not the time to think about it. Frantically, she called out again, "KENSHIN!"

"What do we have here?" A deep voice came from behind her.

Grabbing her bokken, Kaoru spun to see a tall man with a beard and a huge sword in his hands. "Who are you?" She growled.

"I am the Hitokiri Battousai and you will die." The 'Battousai' said as he smirked.

The woman shook her head. She knew the real Battousai, he was kind and gentle. He was nothing like this imposter.

"No, I won't die." Kaoru dashed toward the man with bokken in hand. The much taller man slashed through the wooden bokken and went into her shoulder. Kaoru jumped backwards and winced at her arm. This man was good for a fake. Her sword arm was hurt and she was lucky she wasn't sliced in half. At that moment, she was afraid she will die. The woman bowed her head down to prepare for the next strike. "Kenshin, I'm sorry."

To Be Continued...