The Frog Swordsman

Part 10

By Maria Cline

Kaoru wandered alone through the vast flower fields. "Hello?" She called out.

"Your heart is your greatest power." A lone figure whispered as she appeared out of nowhere. Kaoru gasped at the sight. A tall beautiful woman dressed in white and covered in heavy chains. The chains rattled as she took each step. On her feet was a pair of heavy iron boots.

"Are those heavy?"

"Extremely so." The mysterious figure said as she held out her hands. "I had been watching you and I am here to aid you in your quest. Listen carefully for I have only enough strength to say this once. Leave Rapunzel, Megumi, Yahiko, and Sanosuke behind and go forth to find the golden thread at once. Have them go to find more allies to help you. Do not meet with them before the next full moon or have them talk about you and the frog before the full moon or death will come to the Frog Battousai."

"Kenshin would die?"

"RISE AND SHINE EVERYONE!!!"

Kaoru sat up and grabbed her bokken. "Who yelled that?" She growled as she held her bokken to see Sanosuke perched on top of a tree. The sun was just starting to climb into the new day.

"Heh… curse." Sanosuke chuckled as he rubbed his head.

"Who ever heard of waking up at dawn?" Rapunzel moaned as she brushed her hair.

"Better than Hiko's cold baths." Yahiko muttered as he rubbed his eyes.

"Oh yes."

"Perhaps we can find a way to shut you up at dawn." Megumi said as she got out a pan.

"Hey, I didn't like any better than you. But, when the sun rises I have to crow."

Kaoru gazed at the sky in deep thought. The group watched her and Yahiko came up to her.

"Hey! Kaoru!"

"I heard you." Kaoru said as she shook her head. "I know this will sound crazy but I Kenshin and I must go and find golden thread spun from straw so we can get Hiko back to normal. You guys must go and find people to help us. Just don't tell anyone about me and Kenshin."

"Why?" Yahiko asked skeptically.

Kaoru bit her lip. What could she say, that an angel in chains told her to go. "I can't say. Just please, do as I say." Kaoru explained frantically.

"Well, I've heard weirder fairy tales. Still, we better follow Tomboy's advice. We don't have much else to do." Megumi mused as she rubbed her chin.

"Right. We better go." Kaoru hugged her siblings again and said, "Please, remember what I said. All of you." At once everyone looked at Rapunzel.

"What?" She asked confused as she looked around.

"You don't say a word about Kenshin and me to anyone." Kaoru warned.

Rapunzel nodded as she smiled. "Oh don't worry. I won't do anything to hurt Kenshin and you. I won't even say your names!"

"Don't worry; I'll keep an eye on them." Sanosuke said as he gave a thumbs up.

Kaoru smiled as she and Kenshin bowed. "Thank you. We better go." Kaoru got out a flute and blew on it. Hiko flew down from the heavens scaring Sanosuke and Megumi.

"Hmmm… chicken. Idiot Apprentice, you are so kind to give me breakfast." Hiko said as he licked his lips at Sanosuke who was feeling low on the food chain.

"Shishou!!!" Kenshin wailed as he held his head.

"You want a fight?" Sanosuke asked as he went into fighting position.

"I'm joking." Hiko chuckled as he raised his head up. "So, I see you have your sister back. Now, what?"

"Well… you see, Kenshin and I to go and find the gold spun from straw to get you back to normal while the others go and find more allies. Do you know where to go?" Kaoru explained.

"I'm a dragon swordsman not a spinster! I don't know a thing about gold spun from straw!"

"Ummm…" Rapunzel meekly raised her hand. "I know this will sound crazy but why don't you go and find a bunch of experts on spinning? Someone might know something because the power to spin straw into gold must be popular." The group stared at her. "Or not."

"That's a great idea!" Kaoru proclaimed. "Why didn't I think of that? Maybe I can find a good enough spinster with my golden ball." She held up the necklace and said, "Golden ball, lead me to a spinster who can spin straw into gold."

The ball glowed brightly and it said, "Signal lost. Please hang up and try again."

"Damn it! Okay, how about a group of spinsters who know about the spinster who can spin straw into gold."

The ball glowed and revealed a map with a group of spinning wheel icons on it. "Yes! There's a spinsters' convention in the Kingdom of Spinstera."

"I will take you two there. Spinstera is a long ways away." Hiko said as he lowered his wings.

"Good." Kaoru picked up Kenshin and went onto Hiko's back. "Remember what I said. Don't tell anyone about us while we're gone. Good luck!"

"You too!" Yahiko waved as the dragon flew up into the air and vanished. "Now what do we do?" He asked Megumi who was the oldest and wisest.

"Find some good fighters." Megumi replied as the group started towards the woods.

"I know of some places to try out." Sanosuke offered as he came up. "I don't know any really good fighters though."

"We can ask those suitors." Yahiko pointed to the ground.

"Lightweights. If we need to get some people to save your kingdom, we need to get a few good men."

"Or chickens."

Sanosuke frowned. "Ha ha."

After a brief chat and confirmation that Megumi would be the one in charge, they went out into the forest so they can get into the closest inn when a loud scream echoed throughout the woods.

"What was that?" Rapunzel asked as she held herself.

In front of them, a young woman with long red hair fell. Her clothes were torn and she was tired. She gazed at Rapunzel and said, "Hello, Rapunzel I presume?" At that she collapsed onto the ground and Sanosuke came and held her.

"Who is she?" Rapunzel asked.

"Rose. My precious Rose. Why do you hurt so much?" A lone figure whispered as Rose stood in a room filled with mirrors.

Rose gazed at the figure in chains. "Snow White?"

A cool towel fell over her forehead and she woke up. Staring back at her was a lovely woman with long black hair and almond shaped eyes. "Sn-snow White, have I finally died?"

"I don't know this 'Snow White' but you're not dead." The woman replied.

Rose shook her head as she sat up to see the woman was not who she thought she was. "Oh! You're not her. Forgive me. You look like my dead departed sister, Snow White."

"That's okay. You were out for a while but no serious injuries." The woman smiled at her and said, "My name is Megumi, what's yours?"

"Rose Red." Rose said as she felt her wounds only to find none. "My wounds."

"Were healed." The woman said as she held up a sewing needle and thread.

"Ah, a magical healing needle with special thread." Rose said a she studied the items. "Impressive."

"Thanks."

"So, what's a cute girl like you doing in a place like this?" Sanosuke asked as he put his giant wing around the girl's shoulders.

"Sister! Sister!" Enishi screamed as he ran into the clearing and saw a giant chicken holding his stepsister. "GET YOUR WINGS OFF OF MY SISTER!" The man ran up and attacked the fowl.

Sanosuke pushed Rose to the side and held up his hands. "Relax, I'm not hurting her."

Enishi's blood boiled as his body tensed up. "ENISHI-CHAN, STOP!" The man paused to see Rose coming towards him glaring.

"I thought they were hurting you."

"They saved my life! Honestly, Enishi-chan, I can handle myself."

"Like you handle that mob of rioting villagers?"

"Guys? What happened to you? Who are you? What are you?" Yahiko asked as he came in between.

Rose took a deep breath. "I am Rose Red, an enchantress and this is my brother Enishi, he protects me."

"I'm Megumi, the boy is Yahiko, the blond is Rapunzel, and the giant chicken-"

"Fowl!"

"Whatever, is Sanosuke."

"It is an honor to meet you. We were out looking for the rampion child when we were attack by a mob of rioting villagers. They knew I was a witch but I don't know how. Enishi-chan drew them away but I was still hurt."

"Why don't you use your magic?" Megumi asked.

"Well… I can't. At least, I can't right now." Rose blushed brightly as she looked down.

"Huh?"

"I get it. It's that time of the month." Rapunzel said as she looked at her.

"HUH?!" The group exclaimed in surprise. While they don't know Rapunzel well, they knew how naïve she was. They were amazed at the fact that the blond knew a secret about a witch.

"My mother does magic tricks for me except for a few days every month. I asked her why and she said that every month for a few days a witch's ability to control her powers decreased so they can't do spells. I never knew why but that's what happens." Rapunzel said as she twirled her blond hair.

The red head blushed as bright as her hair. "Anyway, for the next two days, I can't perform magic so I'm vulnerable. We can't afford to have anyone involved to get hurt in our quests. One of them is to find the rampion child which is you, Rapunzel-chan."
"Me?" Rapunzel said confused.

Enishi nodded as he took her hand. "Yes, you see, your natural parents were worried sick about you and missed you dearly. My sister and I will take you back there."

The girl smiled at the idea of no more traveling and getting to stay at a nice home then she shook her head. "I'm sorry but I promised them that I would help them regain their kingdom. I can't return until my new friends are happy again."

The two looked at Megumi and the others and Rose asked, "Is that true?"

Megumi nodded. "Hai. While we were away from our kingdom, a monster took over and now we're looking for allies to help us get our home back."

"I see." Enishi nodded. "We are on another quest, something far more dangerous. We are searching for the Hitokiri Battousai."

Before anyone can say anything, footsteps echoed throughout the woods with angry shouts of 'Get the Witch!'.

"Damn it." Rose muttered as Enishi got out his sword.

"Wait a second." Yahiko reached into his pocket and got out a pair of glasses. "Put these on, they're magic." He handed them to Rose.

Rose put on the glasses as Megumi covered Enishi's head with a huge hat and wrapped his body with a cloth. Then, she had him lie down onto the ground with her at his side. A mob of angry villagers came into the clearing and looked around. The mob leader came up to Rose and asked, "Excuse me, have you seen a red headed witch and a white haired psycho?"

The woman's jaw nearly dropped and she said, "No. No, I have not. Who are you?"

"We're a mob of angry villagers and I'm the mob leader. We are looking for the witch because there's a big reward out for her head. Do you want to join? We have extra torches and pitchforks. We even have a benefits plan." The mob leader said as he got out a stack of papers.

"Maybe later." Rose Red said as she bowed politely.

"Who's this?" An angry villager asked as he pointed to Enishi.

Megumi smirked as she put the man's covered head into her lap and asked, "What do you think?"

The mob of angry villagers blushed as one as they looked away. "Well, we better go and find the witch and the psycho." The mob leader said as he bowed. The mob ran off leaving the group alone.

"What kind of magic is this?" Rose asked as she took off the glasses.

"Magic glasses, anyone who wears them cannot be recognized, not even by their own families. You can borrow it until your powers come back." Yahiko said as he smiled slightly.

"I am in your debt." Rose said as she bowed deeply. She gazed at the group and despite their appearance she could sense great strength. "Perhaps you can help us in killing the Battousai. We are on a quest of defeating the Battousai and ensuring the death of Shishio the Fire Demon."

"Hey! We're on a quest to defeat this fire demon too! Perhaps, we can join forces. We help you kill the Battousai and you can help us in regaining our kingdom!" Megumi exclaimed as she glanced at the two. They were wanted but they were strong and a witch and a psycho could help out.

"Sounds fair." Rose said as she nodded. "We cannot stand to see families apart like ours had been. Besides, we couldn't leave Rapunzel-chan here before we can take her back to her natural parents. With the Battousai running around loose with the curse that binds him slowly unraveling no woman is safe."

"Wait, this Battousai is real?" Yahiko asked amazed.

"As real as you and I." Enishi said as he sat down onto the log. "The Battousai had killed my future-brother-in-law, then stole my sister, Tomoe, away, and killed her after they got married."

"He is as fast as the wind and can see things before they happen. The fools in the law refused to punish him because he was so strong. Enishi and I got together and punished him together with his left arm and a good part of my magic to seal him. Unfortunately, the curse that bound him and the curse that bound the fire demon had been weakening. I managed to regain my health but it takes all of my power just to make sure it doesn't slip any more." Rose lamented.

"So, you cursed the fire demon so he won't do any more damage? You did a crappy job of that." Yahiko scoffed.

"Yahiko-chan!" Sanosuke slapped him over the head.

"No, the boy is right. I did a bad job in sealing the demons. I cursed the fire demon so he can burn to death but he willed himself through it and got stronger because of that. I cursed the Battousai because I cannot kill him. Don't worry; the curses are still in effect until I die."

"So, if you die, two deadly demons will come back into the world?" Megumi asked.

The witch nodded.

"Are they really demons?" Rapunzel shivered at the thought of two demons coming out.

"Well, they were once men but they had killed so much they turned into demons. Anyway, we can't say any more about this, especially about the Battousai." Enishi explained and then looked at the group.

"Wow, the Battousai was real." Megumi smiled slightly. "What does he really look like? Was he tall and scary?"

"No, he was small, he has red hair like me but he has golden eyes that lit up in the darkness. You can recognize him by the cross shaped scar on his face. He may act all polite but it's an act." Rose described.

Rapunzel's eyes widened. "Ummm… are you sure he's a monster? Maybe he's really nice and you didn't know about it."

Enishi growled as he grabbed her shoulder. "He is an assassin! Assassins are never nice!"

"You're hurting me." The blond winced at the pain.

"Cut that out! She's naïve! She's been stuck in a tower for ten years!" Yahiko yelled as he pulled Enishi away.

The man stared at the blond and said, "Forgive me. I get tense when I even think about that bastard."

"That's okay but Kaoru-san taught me not to listen to what others say unless it was confirmed by my own eyes and ears. I want to do that with the Battousai."

Rose nodded. "Wise words but I can guarantee you that the moment you set eyes on the Battousai, he is the last thing you will see in this world."

The blond stared at the redhead. "Was he that ugly?"

The redhead blinked and frowned. "No, not at all. In fact, he was kinda cute for a cold blooded murderer."

"Rosalyn Red!" Enishi wailed.

Rose winced slightly. The only time when her brother called her by her full name was when he's furious at her. "It's an observation. Nothing more."

"I hope so. I will not have another sister go ga-ga over that Battousai!"

"I am not going ga-ga over the Battousai! You're being paranoid as usual."

"I'm protective, there's a difference."

The group watched the brother and sister banter back and forth. Finally, Megumi stepped forward and said, "Say, why don't we go off and try to get ourselves away from the mob of angry villagers before they get smart and figure everything out?"

"All right." The siblings said in perfect unison.

The moon was shining as Sanosuke sat down ready to go to sleep. Ever since he had been cursed with a rooster body, he had been chased and laughed at. Of course, he had it easy compared to Kenshin. He could fight, run, and even jump higher than the average street fighter. Poor Kenshin shrunk down to a tiny helpless form that had to be carried around in a bag. After meeting Kenshin, he vowed never to eat frogs again.

The giant fowl glanced at Enishi who was lying in his cot and then at Yahiko. The kid was okay; he was not snobby like other princes and acted like any other boy. However, Enishi was different. He just felt strange around this one armed man. Enishi was tense all the time and focused on revenge. He couldn't help but feel sorry for him. After all, this Battousai did ruin the guy's life. He still felt uneasy being in the same area as he.

"Hey, Enishi, what do you do when you're not chasing the Battousai?" Sanosuke asked trying to get to know him better.

"Protect my sister."
"I mean what do you do for fun? You know what they say; all work and no play make Jack a dull boy."

"That kind of thinking cursed you in the first place." Enishi glared at the giant fowl. "My life is my sister and the death to those demons. Nothing else matters."

"That's dull. I mean, those are noble goals but you are just plain obsessive."

"I'm focused." The white haired man said as he lay back.

"You're crazy."

Enishi smirked. "So I am. Blame it on the Battousai. I saw the Battousai kill when I was a boy. I will not let that happen again."

"Well, that's cool. This Battousai must be a monster to kill his own wife like that." Yahiko agreed as he grinned.

"He was a demon. I pray that you or your sister won't meet him in your lifetime."

"I want to fight the Battousai." Sanosuke said as he smirked. "He would be a great man to fight to get a bloody reputation like that."

"Then, you would die. The Battousai is a dangerous man. He may look at you as a good dinner. Besides, he is in no condition to fight. And he won't be as long as Rose and I have anything to do about it."

"What did you do to him?" Yahiko asked finally. "What kind of curse is it?"

Enishi frowned and then waved his index finger. "That… is a secret."

The giant chicken and the boy facefaulted.

Rose closed her eyes as she sat in a meditative position. "What are you doing?" Rapunzel asked as she walked over to her.

"Meditating. Mages must have a certain control over their minds and hearts to learn magic." Rose replied as she opened her eyes.

"Oh." The blond looked down. "Ummm… how well do you know my natural parents?"

"I only knew them briefly but they were very nice and worried about you."

"I see." Rapunzel sat down. "I never had two parents, I only had my mother. I wonder what it will be like having two parents."

"It will be different for you." Megumi said as she smiled. "I remember my parents, they had different roles and they were busy but they do care. What about you, Rose?"

Rose shrugged. "I don't remember my natural father; he died when I was born. My natural mother raised me alone until she married my stepfather. He was a good man and tried his best to raise me and Snow equally. Unfortunately, he ignored Enishi-chan."

"So, this 'Snow White' was your sister? Sounds good together, Snow White and Rose Red." Megumi said.

"No, her real name was Tomoe. Snow White was her nickname because her skin was as white as freshly fallen snow. She was beautiful like a porcelain doll. Mother was jealous of her looks." Rose laughed slightly.

"Can we meet your mother? If she's a witch like you, she can help." Megumi suggested.

"Unfortunately, she passed on into the next world and is living with Snow right now." Rose said as she gazed at the stars.

"I'm sorry." Rapunzel said.

"Did the Battousai kill her too?" Megumi asked.

"No, vanity killed her. Heaven forgive her soul."

"Vanity? What is vanity?" Rapunzel asked.

"It means she cared too much about looking better than everyone else. She could have been a wonderful woman if she had just stopped talking to her mirror so much. But, that is behind me. Please, I don't want to talk about it."

Silence overcame the three and then Rapunzel asked, "Ummm… I just realize something. Why do most kids have two natural parents? If most people can raise a child by themselves, why have another? Does it take two people to get a child?"

"Get a child?" Megumi repeated.

"Yes, I noticed that families have small children so they must get them from somewhere." Rapunzel said as she twirled her blond hair.

Rose sweatdropped. "Did your adoptive mother ever explain to you where babies come from?"

"Oh no. I thought they get them from stores like everything else."

Megumi pulled Rose to the side and whispered, "Which one of us should tell Rapunzel about the facts of life?"

The redhead frowned. "I can't believe this. Paper rock scissors?" She held out her fist.

"Fine by me." Megumi nodded as she held out her fist.

The moon rose as a lone dragon flew through the air. Kenshin gazed at the moon and shivered.

"Are you cold, Kenshin?" Kaoru asked concerned.

"No… I just had a strange feeling that… that something bad is going to happen." Kenshin confessed.

To Be Continued...