Chapter 2

Himura sat on top of the wall surrounding the camp. His eyes peered out cautiously searching every shadow. His senses reached and sensed for chi, but he felt nothing. It was a week after he had been assigned this new mission, but he was still waiting for the man to come he was supposed to watch. The man he had spoken too had told him to wait for their coming, but so far no one had come.

He had been taking care of the man with the twisted lips. The man had started a fever and hadn't woken up since Kenshin had sliced his side. Kenshin had been pouring food and water down his throat, and the fever had slowly been abating. Kenshin felt the man would soon wake up.

The Battousai's head flipped up, and he gazed in the direction of the sun. He felt a body of men coming toward him, and cautiously, he dropped to the ground and hid himself in the forest surrounding the camp.

He watched a small heavily armed party approach the camp. In the center there was a carriage, and it was driven by a man with a large sword in his hands. All the soldiers seemed nervous and very, very alert. The nervously shifted their gazes, and some seemed on the edge of panic. The Battousai narrowed his eyes. They were obviously amateurs. Real professionals wouldn't show their nervousness. He wondered if they knew they would be working with "Battousai the manslayer" and if that was the reason they were scared. He sensed a couple of stronger chis, but nothing to rival his own. Then he paused and focused on a nondescript soldier. He walked casually, his face impassive, and his chi level was very strong. The Battousai smiled and realized they hadn't left the defendant with as many amateurs as he had first thought. As the men approached the wall, Battousai stepped out into their path. The men yelled reaching for their weapons, and a couple of horses reared, sensing the fright of their owners. Kenshin stood calmly in their path, and waited for someone to approach him.

Finally, after several moments of chaos, the nondescript soldier stepped forward, obviously realizing that someone needed to do something before they were all completely humiliated.

"State your name and rank, boy," the man said quietly, looking down his nose at the young man in front of him.

Kenshin smiled, his amber eyes glinting, and responded, just as quietly, "Name Himura, rank Hitokiri Battousai."

At the name, the soldier stepped back slightly, his eyes widening in surprise, "You..!" he choked, and then his eyes flew to Kenshin's red hair and then darted back to the scar on the boy's cheek.

"Yes?" Kenshin asked politely.

Quickly, the man drew his composure back together and said, "I have orders for you from Yamagata," he drew out a letter from his pocket and presented it to Kenshin. Kenshin took it quickly, and smiled as the man looked at his empty hand.

Quickly, he opened the letter, watching the soldier from the corner of his eye. He scanned the letter and then smiled. "Commander," he said, offering his hand to the man in front of him. The man smiled tightly, and shook the offered hand.

Then the man turned to the group of soldiers. "Well, troops, welcome to your new home. This man is Himura, the hitokiri Battousai. He will be spending the next few weeks with us."

At the name, the men drew back, but finally some seemed to get over their fear. They were looking at a boy for crying out loud. How bad could he really be? Now they were sure most of the rumors about his prowess were just rumors. This was the man they had been so scared to meet? It was laughable really. However, some stopped laughing as when they crossed in front of him and looked into his eyes. The cold glint of amber sent a shudder of fear into those who looked to deeply. Then they entered and the gate was shut behind them.

Once they were all safely inside, the carriage was opened, and Katsui Yasuke stepped out. Kenshin looked at the man he was to spend the next little while protecting and sighed. He could already tell this was going to be a long while.

The man was short, with a pudgy face and longer, greasy hair. His nose was pudgy and he walked with a waddle. When he opened his mouth, blackened teeth peeked out at Kenshin, and when he spoke a high-squeaky voice attacked the Battousai's keen ears.

"So, you must be the Battousai. I've heard so much about you. It is a pleasure to meet you. Yamagata said you were the best of the best. I had heard so much about you I specifically requested that you be my body guard! Isn't that wonderful? I want you to make sure I stay protected no matter what. You hear me? Good, now I'll have my men set up my space, and you go make sure the area is secure, or whatever it is you do."

Kenshin face was once more an impassive mask, and he simply nodded his head. He started off, only to have the Commander follow him.

"Don't mind him, Battousai," the man said, keeping his distance, but smiling a friendly smile, "he gets on your nerves, but if he can help end this war it is worth it to keep him safe, right?"

"Of course."

The Commander stuck out his hand and said, "I'm sorry we haven't been formally introduced. My name is Daisuke. Commander Daisuke. I really am pleased to meet you. I've heard a lot about you. Are you really as good as they say you are?"

Kenshin smiled slightly, and said, "I don't know. I haven't heard any rumors. I couldn't tell you."

Daisuke smiled and said, "They say you can take down hundreds of men at once and you have deity-like speed."

"Hmm," was all Himura said.

They walked in silence for few moments, and then Kenshin said, "I will return in an hour. I am going to patrol the forest. Set up your men at all likely points of entry and put sentries on top of the wall. If trouble comes do something noisy and I will come as quickly as possible." With that, Kenshin leaped from the ground to the top of the wall, and dropped over.

Daisuke stared after him with an open mouth and then shook his head and called the men.

Himura raced through the trees toward the cave, at all times keeping his senses open. He reached the cave and was surprised to hear noise coming from inside. He cautiously entered and moved to the back of the cave with the shadows. He had a hand on his hilt and carefully, he stuck his head around the corner to see the man with the twisted lips drinking out of the basin Kenshin had built.

Kenshin softly stepped out, and the man whirled around, water dripping from his chin. The sudden movement caused him to cry out in pain and clutch his side.

"I'm glad to see you're feeling better," Kenshin said, a smile playing with his lips.

The man searched his waist frantically for his sword, and Kenshin finally gave in to his smile. "Even if you had it," the young assassin said, "you're too weak to do anything with it. Why don't you sit down before you fall over?"

"Why?" the man grated, "Why are you doing this?" his twisted lips were stretched in a feral snarl. Kenshin just smiled. Finally, the man collapsed onto the ground and Kenshin approached.

"You should eat something. You've been out for a week."

"No wonder I was so thirsty," the man said softly. Then he exploded, "Why didn't you just kill me?"

"Sometimes I just get tired of death," Kenshin said softly, but the man heard. His features became stunned, and he sat in silence for a moment. He looked at Kenshin and he seemed to see him in a new light.

"You're just a boy, aren't you?" the man said surprised.

Kenshin looked up, and the man caught sight of the amber flecks in his eyes as Kenshin stated in a cold voice, "Not anymore."

"Well, I suppose I owe you some thanks for not killing me," the man said. He didn't seem as angry anymore. Maybe it was the fact he was too tired to care. He gently touched his twisted lips, and seemed to come to a decision. "My name is Taitsu Omniboshi."

"Himura Kenshin. Now, you'd better get some sleep. You're body has still not recovered."

"Oro," the man said softly with a smile, "the Battousai as my nursemaid. Who would've thought?"

"What does that mean?" asked Kenshin.

"What does what mean?"

"Oro."

The man waved a hand disdainfully. "It doesn't mean anything. It's just an expression."

Kenshin smile grew a little, then a mask fell over his face again. "I will be gone most of the day. I'm on assignment. When I have time I'll bring you food and water and come and see how you're doing. If you have any trouble there is a camp about a mile north of here. Go there and ask for the Battousai. I should be there if I'm not here."

Omniboshi smiled slightly, his lips twisting hideously, but Kenshin showed no reaction. His mask was in place as firmly as if it had been glued there.

"I'll return soon. Take care," Kenshin said and left, leaving Omniboshi with his new thoughts.

Omniboshi sat in the dark cave and thought about what had just happened. When he had first woken up, he had been amazed to find himself still alive, but to have the Battousai healing him! It was incredible. He found all the hatred he had held for the man over the years fading away. His lips didn't seem that drastic anymore. The look on the boy's face when he had mentioned being tired of killing wouldn't leave Omniboshi's head. He suddenly realized that the boy had probably been through more than Omniboshi could possible imagine. He realized that maybe the boy's twisted lips were on the inside, and twisted to a much more hideous scale. Omniboshi found himself admiring the young boy, and with that admiration all the anger he felt toward the boy finished melting away and for the first time in years, Omniboshi felt peaceful inside. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be around the boy for a while.