Those who Return, those who Meet
A/N: Hi there everyone! I originally planned to have this as a one-shot, but even the story itself didn't want to become a one-shot. Thus, I decided to make it a (mini) multi-chapter fic. Not too sure how many more chapters will come in, but I assure you, it won't pass the 20 mark. Perhaps not even 10. Oh well, let's just see what happens, shall we?
Timeline: After the 28th volume of the manga Ruroken. NOT a tinge of the Reflections OAV here (I do not have anything against the OAV. In fact, I think it's very beautiful and I actually cried when I first saw it. The OAV's story won't just flow with what I'm going to write).
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is not mine. Standard disclaimer apply.
Chapter 1
Meiji Year 24
"I, n-eed, fou-r, of, of...uhh, pi-e-ces, please", a man struggled with his words followed by a deep and relieved sigh. It wasn't because he was impaired or something--he was, simply put, a foreigner. Amusingly enough, he was wearing a gi with a dark shade of green and a hakama of a lighter tone accented by small patterns here and there. He was standing in front of a fruit stall. The seller was quite old although he looked very pleasant and seemed to be very patient with his customer.
Navy blue eyes surveyed the area--it was the outer part of the market but it was still utterly busy and crowded. Carts, boxes. barrels, tea, garments, chinaware--the varieties were endless! Add that to the throng of people that were going here and there doing their own errands. The same pair of eyes caught sight of the foreigner who already started walking, a bag of fruits in hand. He stopped abruptly, waiving his hand to another man who was wearing a suit. They chatted for a while, and it turned out that they were both foreigners. Probably from the same country.
"There seems to be more foreigners now than before." The neutral thought rang in his mind. Sighing, he continued to walk in slow and sure steps, being careful not to bump into anybody as people seemed to come from all directions.
"Tokyo", his mind supplied again. It has been a long time since he set foot into the city. And he couldn't deny the changes. In the more remote places, the feel of the "old Japan" still seemed to linger. He somehow missed the quietness and solitude he had grown accustomed to for many years as he wandered through many places. But here in Tokyo, things felt...different. Power lines towered above low and usually older buildings. Streets, formerly dirt roads were now covered in cobblestone.
The crowd of people slowly began to dissipate, but maybe that was because he was already out of the market. Most of the buildings he now saw were either restaurants or specialty shops. He continued to walk, hoping that he would find what he had been hesitating to look for ever since he realized he was going to pass by Tokyo.
He continued to walk, eyes vigilant for any tell-tale signs that might lead him to his goal. A few minutes passed. Still none. A quiet sigh escaped him and was about to give up when he thought of an idea. He hurriedly walked back, almost running with high hopes.
"Irrashiamase!", a young and cheerful woman wearing a striped kimono greeted him. "How may I help you?", she asked as she got up from her sitting position on the tatami mats.
Shelves of kendo garments, weapons, materials, and accessories were neatly arranged inside the small store.
"Ah, anou, gomen nasai. But I won't be buying anything. I just wanted to ask some information", came his almost feminine voice though he didn't bother to step inside.
"Oh, of course", the woman sat again but was now much nearer to where he stood. "Please go on", she supplied with a half nod.
"You see, I am looking for a dojo. But it has been a long time since I came here and I kind of have forgotten where the place is", he looked down at her politely.
The woman placed a finger to her chin. "Hmm, may I know the dojo's name or founder? Or perhaps the school's technique?"
He mentally cursed himself--that's why he was trying to look for a flyer or any sign board which, hopefully, might bear the name of the dojo. He couldn't remember at this point, but he was sure he'll know when he sees it. Aside from that, he wasn't entirely sure if what, or rather, the people he was looking for were still in Tokyo.
"I'm afraid not...but...I remember the school was inherited by a woman. And...a man with a red-colored hair stays there as well", he scratched the back of his head absent-mindedly while smiling.
The woman's face lightened up. "Oh! I see. Then it can be no other than the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu dojo!"
"Ah yes! That's it! Kamiya Kasshin", He exclaimed inwardly.
"I see you aren't from here? The Kamiya dojo is one of the most popular nowadays. They even have other sub-dojos in some parts of town and neighbouring ones because of the number of students", the woman happily spoke.
His mouth was half open, quite amused with the news. "No, I'm afraid not. I've been traveling for some time now."
"So do you want to go to the main dojo?", she asked soberly but without losing her cheerful attitude.
"Yes, please if you can help me with the directions", he smiled feeling relieved and somewhat glad.
She then proceeded to give him directions and he was more than pleased and thankful. The dojo was located on the outer part of town and he had to walk some 2 or 3 kilometers from where he was at the moment.
"You can always ask people, especially the young ones if you're unsure later on."
"Ah, arigatou gozaimasu. You have helped me greatly", he gave a bow and the woman also gave him a bow in return.
And so he started to walk, it must have been past noon, but the sun was a bit friendly today--considering it was summer. Another smile crept upon his lips as he met a man carrying a child in his shoulders. He smiled briefly at them and the child's giggles went faint as they parted ways each step of the way.
o0O0o
He was now crossing the wooden bridge and the stone walls on the other side that the woman told him earlier. He went on, following the path and realized that cherry blossoms lined the river bank endlessly. He imagined how the pathway would look like during spring.
"Must be beautiful..."
He took a turn and then started to look for any signage in the gates he passed which was on his left side. A quick glance ahead of him registered the figure of somebody a few meters away. He queered his eyes and recognized the unusual red-brown color of the person's hair which was tied high in a ponytail. He wondered why it was set as so, it wasn't like that the last time.
"Doesn't matter anyway", he thought as his steps became quicker, almost running.
"Himura-san! Himura-san!", his voice filled the empty street.
The person turned his head just before he was supposed to unlock the gate. His forehead was crumpled as he tried to decipher who was it that was calling him. He wished he wasn't one of those new students again that kept bugging him to give extra lessons outside of the dojo's schedule. He caught sight of some small and dried leaves that were stuck in the knee area of his grey hakama and he hastily brushed them away. The hems of his hakama were folded up and tied a few inches above his ankles. He checked his white gi if there were any leaves--none.
The sound of foot steps made him focus his attention on the man who was now just a few feet away from where he stood. He had grayish brown hair and he was wearing a dark blue gi matched with a white hakama, although the garment looked a bit dusty and soiled.
"Himura...san...?", he asked, with a puzzled face. Surely, this could not be the Kenshin Himura he has known! He looked so young--he was but a young boy! Even though they had a lot of similarities, their differences started to appear when he studied his face closely. His hair had a darker shade than what he remember Kenshin had. The boy's eyes had a mix of purple and cyan--something like the sky's color at dusk while Kenshin's eyes were of light violet.
...And of course, the prominent x-scar wasn't there. This boy definitely was not Kenshin Himura.
Unless...
"Sumanu, but I am sure my memory isn't failing me. You are...?" He raised a brow, his face stiff and unyielding, mirroring his voice.
"I'm sorry, I mistook you for somebody else", he returned politely while giving a small smile.
"For a young boy, he sure looks intimidating", he observed inwardly.
The boy shrugged and then proceeded his earlier task of opening the gate.
He caught sight of the sign board next to the gate. 'Kamiya Kasshin Ryu', read a portion of it. That's all he needed to confirm his musings. "I was wondering if you happen to be related to Himura Kenshin?"
The sound of the lock being opened came right after the question was asked. A couple of eyelids hid indigo eyes for a moment. "He's my father," he faced him and added, "...do you have any business with him?"
"Aa. Well, you see I never informed him that I'll be visiting. I was just sort of in the neighborhood and thought of dropping by." He produced a smile.
"I see. He and mother went to meet somebody. They should be back before late afternoon though." A hand made its way to push the door on the main gate. "You can come in and wait for him if you wish." He tilted his head on one side.
"As long as it won't be a bother to you, um--"
"Kenji. Himura Kenji", he supplied his name.
"Aa. Kenji-san. My name is Seta Soujiro. But please address me as Soujiro ."
They gave each other a quick bow and then Kenji pushed the door wide open gesturing for the unexpected visitor to go in.
o0O0o
"So Himura-san has a son...", Soujiro thought a bit amused. He smiled, taking another bite of the watermelon that Kenji insisted on him. The boy excused himself for a while, telling Soujiro to make himself at home and sit anywhere he liked. "He seems to be a fine young man."
He looked at the watermelon he was eating--he already finished it. He looked at his side and then he scratched the back oh his absent mindedly again. "Ara! I ate all three Kenji-san gave me!"
A short and silly laugh and then he blinked. "Oh well." He stood up, putting the thick skin of the watermelon to join with the other two on a wooden tray. He decided to look for Kenji, he wanted to talk to him and at least be updated about Kenshin. No, maybe he was intrigued by Kenji himself that he just wants to know him better. Did he also practice Kenshin's Hiten Mitsurugi? Not that he has a grudge against Kenshin and Hiten Mitsurugi. Not any bit. He has changed. Fighting wasn't his life anymore.
At this moment, he was just curious. His instincts told him Kenji had the blood of someone who could wield the sword without even going through formal training. But Kenji did mention that he assists instructors in the dojo and sometimes, even takes the role of the main instructor in the smaller dojos when an extra hand is needed.
Soujiro found himself in the kitchen looking for a proper place to put his discards away. He saw a covered bin made of wood near the kitchen's back door. As he guessed, it was for trash, and so he threw away the watermelon skins onto it and then placed the cover back afterwards. He then placed the wooden tray on top of the counter carved out of stone. He dipped his hands on the basin feeling the cool water slowly wash away the stickiness that was from the watermelon's juice.
After drying it with a towel that he found hanging on the wall, he went out, using the kitchen's back door to find Kenji. He walked along the backyard, making himself familiar with the compound. The gate he and Kenji went in a while ago led straight into the dojo, but the younger boy took him straight into the house. He decided to go back and take a closer look at it. Somehow, he felt Kenji or anybody won't mind anyway.
"Perhaps, Kenji-san might be in the dojo." He told himself as he made his way trough the yard.
Before he knew it, he was already sliding the doors of the dojo open. He removed his straw sandals and neatly put them on the shoe rack just beside the door. He bowed to the direction of the signage hung high up on the wall where the kanji characters 'Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu' were proudly displayed. Numerous name plates of all the other students were hung below it.
He then set foot into the dojo's polished wooden floors. The dojo had a feeling as if it has just been cleaned. He eyes the tatami mats that lined the perimeter of the dojo. He could still see the moisture on some of them, probably the last ones cleaned. He could even smell the fresh scent of some soap that was mixed with the water.
"Kenji-san", his mind supplied. There could be no other person who did it. His footsteps were light and quiet against the wooden flooring. It has been quite some time since he was inside a dojo--it felt good. He made his way to a wall where various weapons were neatly hung vertically. The topmost part were mostly of bukotos, the middle part had four bokkens of differing length, while the bottom consisted of shinais.
He took one bokken with both palms and then faced the dojo's front. He raised up the bokken briefly parallel to his body and towards the direction of the signage as a sign of respect to the dojo's founder.
Soujiro swung the bokken two or three times around with his wrist before finally getting a good grip. Both of his thumbs lined almost automatically and perfectly with the bokken's smooth length. There was a smile in his face--not a sinister one, but of complete joy. True, he gave up on fighting, but that didn't mean his amazing skill as a swordsman has deteriorated. Right now, he feels much better that 'practicing swordsmanship' meant being secluded in the dojo he was in.
"Soujiro-san..."
It was more than a whisper. A taunting one, at that--full of confidence and shrewdness.
The riveting sound of wood against wood reverberated throughout the empty dojo.
And everything else went completely blur. He just found himself dodging a surprise attack from Kenji whose presence he did not even sense.
They jumped back, collecting their personal space.
Kenji was smiling mischievously, bokken aligned with his body. He was standing near the dojo's door, the light from outside seemed to make the outline of his body glow.
A confused smile was painted on Soujiro's young looking face that completely hid his age. "Kenji-san, don't scare me like that, please." He was also holding his bokken in the same position as Kenji. "This kid is good! I didn't even notice him come in at me!", Soujiro confessed to himself. It was true. He did not sense his ki, his movement, his breathing--to put it bluntly, Kenji's movements when he launched at him was lightning fast and very precise.
"I knew it! I knew you'd be able to take that!" Kenji exclaimed happily as he steadily drew in air and made eye contact with Soujiro.
"Ah", Soujiro thought inwardly as he studied Kenji's falling and rising shoulders which the young boy tried to hide. "So he's still getting used to the technique and his body easily got tired from executing that one. It's just normal for him."
They circled each other for quite a while, keeping a distance of about ten feet away from each other. They stopped at one point, bokkens still raised.
"You seem to be tired? Are you alright?", Soujiro asked politely not wanting his questions to sound like insults.
Kenji grinned. "So you know? Well...", Kenji tilted his head on one side and then straightened it up again. "I'm still learning as you might have observed. But what do you think?"
Soujiro gave him a half nod followed by a smile. "It was very well executed, I must say. I did not even sense you, that I must admit."
Kenji smiled in return while queering his eyes. Without any prompting, he lunged at Soujiro again, bokken at his left side thrusting outward.
Soujiro could see hazy images of Kenji's feet as they briefly made contact with the ground and then they leapt again. Indeed, this boy was fast...
"But not fast enough this time!" Soujiro exclaimed as he blocked Kenji's hit, their bokkens forming a cross--Kenji's vertical while Soujiro's horizontal--while the clash of their weapons smeared the silence of the dojo once again.
Kenji leapt away quickly to avoid any second attack from Soujiro. "Amazing!", Kenji praised with sincerity.
Soujiro smiled back at him. "Thank you very much, Kenji-san." He then saw Kenji's left hand take the bokken at his left side. "Battou-jutsu?", he asked inwardly as Kenji took the very familiar stance.
Kenji's right hand was about to go over the hilt when a voice filled the room.
"Kenji?"
Kenji and Soujiro broke their eye contact and then looked at the two people at the dojo's door.
"Father, mother, you're back", Kenji acknowledged as he got out of his stance. Both men lowered their weapons.
Kenshin's eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't believe who he was seeing at the moment. "Soujiro? Seta Soujiro?"
A/N: Yep, that's it for now. As for Soujiro's "still smiling" character, I based this on Watsuki-sensei's words: "he'll go on smiling and looking innocent as always." According to our beloved manga-ka, "No matter how harsh the external influence of family or society, no matter how bitter your life, I believe that the one thing you can't do is give up thinking for yourself." The fics title is adopted from the title of Chapter 135, Volume 16 of the Ruroken manga (Kenshin and Soujiro's battle) "Those who Gather, Those who Leave."
As for Kenji, Watsuki-sensei described him to grow up as a "genius that he is able to learn some of the Hiten Mitsurugi techniques just by listening to stories about them. However, his personality isn't flawless, and as a genius, he becomes a bit warped,growing up to be a young man more twisted than Saitou and more egocentric than Shishio." I don't know if I will fully follow this, although I have already portrayed Kenji as very skilled with the sword although there's still more room for improvement.
All these quotes are from Serizawa Kamo's RK Translation Index. "Google, and you will find."
Oh yeah, I want to say that in all kinds of martial arts, one has to bow down towards the signage or picture of the founder before entering the dojo/training area. Same is true when it comes to handling weapons. You can't just snatch it from some place and then use it right away. So yeah, that's why Soujiro did what he did. I'm imagining that Kenji did so too before attacking Soujiro, it was just that he's too fast and very stealthy. Haha! Yep, so, see you next chapter!
ForgottenDiary