Dragon Emblem
Chapter 2: You're Who?
Seto Kaiba shivered. These strangers looked strong... and he was without a weapon. Perhaps his Duel Disk (although his deck was not inserted) would be scary-looking enough to ward them off.
Kaiba cried, "Behold the horror of my Duel Disk!"
Yahiko looked at him confused.
"What do you mean, Duel Disk?"
Kaiba looked at his wrist.
"Gah! My beautiful Duel Disk! Gone! And I'm wearing some sort of funky cotton outfit!"
Kaoru replied, "You need not worry. Your clothes were awfully worn, we even noticed the belts hanging off your shirt sleeves to keep them tied together and that your jacket sleeves were ripped off! So we changed you into some of Kenshin's clothes and burned your old stuff."
Seto Kaiba frowned. "Kenshin? Who are you people?"
Kenshin smiled. "Oro? Oh yes, we weren't introduced. I am Kenshin Himora."
"I'm Sanosuke Sagara."
"Yahiko Myojin"
"Kaoru Kamiya."
"Megumi Takani. I'm the one who took care of you and bandaged you up and tucked you in snugly! Kaoru, you can have Kenshin. Do you have a girlfriend?"
Seto Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "No. I have not found a girl for me. I don't plan to find one, either."
Megumi replied, "Oh..." and sighed, looking down on the floor.
Kaoru spoke up, "So then... who are you?"
"I am Seto Kaiba."
Kenshin said, "Well then, Seto,"
"I prefer Kaiba."
"Well then, Kaiba,"
"Yes.... Kenshin is it? Yeah, Kenshin. What?"
"Just curious, but what brings you here? You must have an interesting story to accompany that interesting sphere, that you must... your transport method, I suppose?"
"Well, I gotta save this girl. She picked up some medicine and was gonna deliver it to some African tribe... but she was kidnapped."
Megumi was startled by this and looked up.
"By any chance, was her name Serenity?"
"Yes! That's her!"
"I gave her the medicine! I even witnessed her capture! Her captor was hidden in the shadows of the forest, but she was here!"
"If any harm comes to her, then-"
"You seem awful worried about her if she's not your girlfriend," Yahiko commented.
Kaiba glared at him. "Be still, would you! I've gotta save her so we can deliver the medicine to Africans and I can earn some well-deserved Duel Points! That's our currency."
Kenshin nodded. "Well, this enemy must be pretty mysterious, most likely meaning he's got great power. He almost reminds me of Shishio."
Kaiba figured that Shishio was an enemy of this man. "So then... what am I gonna do about this?"
Yahiko obviously had to butt in once more. "DUH! Ya gotta fight and find a way to defeat that crap-headed enemy!"
Kaiba was about to object, but Sanosuke added in, "Yeah! Kenshin's one of the best swordsmen ever! He could teach you the Hiten Mitsurugi style!"
Kenshin practically stood up for Kaiba by saying, "Wait Sanosuke. We don't have any reverse-blade swords. He would have to kill his enemies!"
"Well, sometimes we gotta make a sacrifice or two."
"Sanosuke is right!" Megumi said. "Even though he may need to kill his enemies, if he doesn't find a way to free Miss Serenity, she can't deliver the medicine! And if she is unable to deliver the medicine... then it's only so clear what will happen to those ill African children!"
Kenshin sighed. "Very well then. Kaiba and I will go out and we shall purchase a sword at a shop-"
"No way! They just sell swords here at little pawn shops?!"
"Hey Kaiba, it's not real nice to interrupt Kenshin!"
"Yahiko, calm down. Yes, we shall purchase one for you, then I will teach you the art of swordplay."
Yes, right here Yahiko barged in. Kaiba watched the kid wave his arms in excitement as he spoke.
"Aw, yeah! Kaiba you are SOOO lucky! Kenshin is like, the best swordsman in all Japan!"
Kenshin smiled at the young one, and said to Kaoru, "I will be gone for only a little while. I'll be back in an hour max."
Kaoru placed her hands on Yahiko's shoulders as the tall swordsman walked over to Kaiba.
Kaiba breathed deeply, somehow feeling overwhelmed about learning swordplay.
Placing a hand on the shoulder of the IDA recruit, Kenshin said, "Then shall we go, Mr. Kaiba?"
Seto nodded in agreement.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Many small little homes were placed along the roads of Japan. Men sat by small curio stands, with fish hooks and knives for sale. Women sat upon blankets with different pots and beautiful kimonos to sell. Little girls drew pictures in the sand with sticks. Littler ones played with dolls. Boys only a few years younger than Yahiko laughed and chased each other. A kid flew a kite.
Kenshin suddenly faced left. Kaiba, paying attention to the scenery, was caught off guard and bumped into the Batosai.
"Watch yourself so you do not stumble," Kenshin said. Kaiba was getting annoyed with Batosai Babble 101.
Kaiba looked up at the building they stood by. The roof and walls were painted a jade green color, and the frame was obviously wooden. Kenshin walked up to the gate.
"Come on," he said with a warm and gentle smile, as if they were buying flowers instead of a sword.
Despite the fact that it was nowhere near as tall as KaibaCorp or the headquarters of the IDA, Kaiba was rather uneasy about the fact that killing weapons were inside. After all, no futuristic devices like pepper spray were around. Fighting mainly depended on the fighter, and Seto Kaiba was no Kenshin Himora.
Natural nervous instincts kicked in, and Kaiba rubbed at the sleeve of his maroon kimono uneasily.
"Nervous?" Kenshin asked with a friendly smile.
"N-no," Kaiba replied, almost unable to catch himself from stammering. "your clothes are just kinda uncomfortable. That's all."
Kenshin rolled his eyes in a happy manner, and walked over and put his arm around Kaiba's shoulders.
"It's alright, my friend; we will get you a sword, then come back out, that we will. No fighting is necessary."
"Uh... thanks." Kaiba grinned uneasily as he moved his left hand to escape Kenshin's one-arm hug, and moved his right to open the gate. Kaiba breathed deeply as they walked inside.
No sooner had they come in than they had come out. Kaiba had a small smile as he held up his sword, the tip of its blade gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. He sheathed it as Kenshin tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hm? What is it, Kenshin?"
"I must tell you something, Seto-"
"Hey, I said don't call me-"
"I said your first name because this is very serious."
"O....kay......"
"Listen Seto. When you use a sword, remember one thing. A sword is often long and thin like a line. And any sword is a line. A line between life and death. I feel this way about swordfights and you should too. Your sword is not the reverse blade type, so therefore it is a killer. I don't necessarily like to say this, but kill if it is only necessary if it is to defend yourself or others."
"Very well then, I will remember that."
"You don't want to end up like I did, as the Batosai."
"Huh?"
"I used to kill people, but now I fight with a reverse-blade sword. When I was a killer, I was the Batosai; now I am Kenshin Himora the wanderer."
"I see."
All this talk had taken their mind off the walk, and in only minutes they stood before the Kamiya Dojo. As they walked in, Sanosuke said, "There's no need to worry. Megumi will bandage you up should anything go wrong."
Kaiba looked at him confused. "Huh?"
Sanosuke gave him a 'duh!' face, "You ARE training with Kenshin!"
"Oh yeah... I forgot."
Megumi and Sanosuke were the only ones witnessing this, as Yahiko and Kaoru had decided to join some of their friends for dinner.
Kenshin said, "Hmmm.... where to begin.... say, I know! This is basic."
Kaiba looked up at his teacher, standing six feet away from him.
"To begin, I will teach you something that swordsmen often know. I am going to teach you the art of Bato Jitsu."
Kaiba smirked grimly, "Okay, I'm ready for Bato Jinzo. Wait- what the hell is Bato Jinzo?"
"Bato Jitsu, Kaiba. The art of drawing your sword. Bato Jitsu is about drawing your sword before your opponent. Now, let's begin."
Kaiba scratched at his kimono.
"My clothes still giving you trouble?" Kenshin asked with a tease. Kaiba nodded grimly.
The CEO fixed his eyes on his teacher, his icy blue eyes staring down Kenshin's bright purple ones.
He merely blinked and Kenshin disappeared. Kaiba fell to his knees, shutting his eyes tightly, hands clasped against his head.
"Don't kill meeeee!" he pleaded.
Megumi clapped a hand to her forehead, and Sanosuke chortled, "Heh... that's so pathetic of Kaiba..."
Kenshin said, "I know it now, you are nervous."
He knelt down and placed his hands on the trembling shoulders of Seto Kaiba. Kaiba shifted his gaze to meet Kenshin's eyes.
Kenshin smiled and put his finger under Kaiba's chin so they were face-to-face. Kaiba's lip quivered a bit, but he managed to stop when he saw Kenshin smile.
"As you say, 'chill out'. I cannot hurt you. My sword is the reverse-blade type, so you will not be KILLED. I highly doubt I could really harm you, and that would have to be by clumsiness, but I can assure you I will not be clumsy, that I will not. Even if I were to some how accidentally harm you, the most you could really suffer would be a treatable wound (pausing to point at Megumi who winked in a flirty way at Kaiba. Seto: -_-U)."
Kaiba replied, "It's not that... it's just.... I have a regular, KILLING sword. What if I were to harm you somehow?"
Kenshin chuckled. "I do not wish to brag, but I am quite the skilled swordsman. There is a 99% chance that I'll block your attack, but I don't think you are even that skilled. Currently you are a novice, but I promise I'll help you be a true swordsman. Now stand up, and let's try again."
Kaiba stood up and placed his hand on the handle of his sword. He watched Kenshin carefully, and when Kenshin drew his sword, Kaiba, although unprepared, drew his sword out so that Kenshin's was a mere six inches from his chest.
Kenshin smiled. "Fairly good for the first try. Now, try it again, only this time, try to draw your blade quicker to match mine."
Kaiba sheathed his sword, then faced Kenshin.
They continued this practice for many times, for each one, Seto drew his blade quicker and quicker. The first one, the blade was a foot away. Then two. Then he started to feel tired, so the next one was six inches, but he managed to keep his strength up and keep the blade two feet away again. On the final draw, Kaiba and Kenshin's blades practically crashed into each other dead center.
"Excellent work, Kaiba! You have performed satisfactory in Bato Jitsu. I do believe you are ready to fight, that I do."
"Uh... great! But now, can I ask for a small reward?"
"I suppose so, Seto..."
Kaiba placed a hand on his stomach.
"All this training has made me hungry!"
"All right then, I shall prepare you a nice dinner. Do you like sushi and crab & rice stir-fry?"
"Well, I like sushi... and crab.... and rice..... yes!"
Sanosuke spoke up, "Then you are very lucky, because that is Kenshin's specialty! I'd bet he makes the best sushi and crab & rice stir-fry in all Japan! Maybe even in the whole world!"
Kenshin smiled sheepishly. "Then sushi and stir-fry it is!"
Kaiba enjoyed dinner that night, and although the floor mat he had in Kenshin's room was a real back-breaker, he was warm and toasty, and fell asleep immediately.
The next morning, he was kicked in the side by Yahiko.
"Hey Kaiba! Wake up! Or you'll be late! Or have you forgotten?"
"Forgotten what?"
Ta-Da! Part 2 complete! Forgive me for the YAOI between Kaiba and Kenshin! I don't know what happened to me!