Author's Note: It's been awhile since I wrote the first chapter. It was originally written as a one-shot. Since then I've learned that Kenshin actually wasn't a samurai, but an assassin for the Ishin Shishi. However, I've decided to keep the title the same. My reason for this is that the term "Samurai of Tomorrow" comes from Kaede in regards to her vision. To her, Kenshin appeared to be a samurai in her visions.
Chapter 2: Sanosuke's Mouth and Jaken's Oath
The human stared thoughtfully down at the dice. After a moment of deliberation, he finally answered.
"Ten."
"You're sure?"
"No."
"Kenshin!"
"Eleven."
"Are you sure this time?"
"No."
"Dammit Kenshin!" Sagara Sanosuke fumed at the red-haired swordsman before finally throwing the dice down and yelling 'eleven.' The former fighter for hire anxiously watched as the twin dice slowly came to a stop with the number seven.
"No!!"
"I guess that's more you owe us, Sano," said the man seated across from the tall brunette and his red-haired companion. Sanosuke glared at him and his other two buddies in front of him. He muttered a few choice words before grabbing his red-haired friend, Himura Kenshin, and began shaking him furiously.
"Kenshin!! How can you be so good with swords and so bad with dice?!"
"Umm…"
"I mean, how hard can it be to at least get one number right?!"
"Uhh…"
"Hey Sano, you gonna pay us or what?"
"Hold on! I'm busy!" Sano glared down at the swirly-eyed swordsman. What am I doing? I know Kenshin's not a good gambler. I've tried this before and it didn't work. So much for wishful thinking.
"Hey Kenshin, do you think Kaoru would lend me money?"
Kenshin's eyes regained their focus as he gave his friend a doubtful look.
"This one doubts it," Kenshin answered.
"Damn."
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"How can they just go off and gamble like that?! Don't they know it's illegal?!" Kamiya Kaoru yelled. Her young apprentice managed to duck the angry swing of her wooden sword. They were currently training up at the shrine.
"I just can't figure out why the heck Sanosuke keeps dragging Kenshin along," Myoujin Yahiko said. "He's pretty pathetic when it comes to gambling, it's not like Kenshin helps that bum win or anything."
"That's not the point!" Kaoru furiously brought her sword down again and again.
"Geez, get a grip already."
"Shut up!"
They heard the front gate swing shut as Kenshin and Sanosuke entered the Kamiya dojo.
"Kenshin!" Kaoru ran down the stone steps to the red-haired swordsman, her earlier anger forgotten. Yahiko sighed and muttered something about women before following after his master. The boy walked over and poked the taller man with his bokken.
"Hey Rooster Head, did you actually win anything this time?" He jumped as Sanosuke growled at him before innocently turning to Kaoru.
"Hey Kaoru…"
"No," she answered.
"I didn't even finish!"
"You didn't have to! You were going to ask for money and the answer is no!"
Sanosuke gave a sigh. I knew it was too much to hope for. He tried to ignore the I-told-you-so look on Kenshin's face before giving up and pointing an accusing finger at him.
"You made me lose!"
"I would think by now that you would have realized that I'm not good at gambling, that I'm not."
"Sanosuke, why don't you actually try working for a change?" Kaoru asked.
"Sanosuke? Work?" Yahiko laughed. "Yeah, right. I'd like to see that!" Sanosuke glared at the two of them before replying icily.
"I used to have a job."
"What? You mean as Zanza, the fighter for hire?"
"……….."
"That wasn't a job!"
"Yeah, maybe not, but it made money."
"Hmm, you're right…" The three males didn't like the look on Kaoru's face as she thought about that. She suddenly brightened and pumped a fist into the air.
"That's it! That's the answer!" The other three sweat dropped as they stared at her.
"Oro?" A very wary Kenshin asked.
"I know I'm going to regret this, but that's the answer to what?" Sano added.
"You and Kenshin can be fighters for hire! It's the perfect answer to our money problems! You just catch some bad guys, turn them in to the police, and get money!"
"Umm, Miss Kaoru…" Kenshin said.
"You can be like bounty hunters!"
"Umm, Miss Kaoru…"
"So much for the sword that protects people," Yahiko said.
"Hey! It's only for a little while! Besides, they're still protecting people; they'd just be getting paid while they did it!"
"Uhh, Kaoru…" Sano said.
"Come on Sanosuke, it's perfect! You can actually be useful for once!"
"Hey!"
"Miss Kaoru…"
"Useful for once?! What the hell does that mean?!"
"Exactly like it sounds, you freeloader!"
"Miss Kaoru…"
"What Kenshin?" Kaoru finally answered him. Kenshin gave her an innocent look before continuing.
"This one does not wish to be a fighter for hire." The glare from Kaoru told him all he needed to know for her answer. An hour later, he and Sanosuke were looking at the wanted posters hanging around town.
"Sano?"
"Yeah, what?"
"You have a very big mouth, that you do."
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"What?! My Lord is dead?!"
Inuyasha clutched his sensitive ears as he glared down at the small, toad youkai.
"Isn't that what I just said?" he growled. Jaken stared wide-eyed up at the hanyou before blinking away a tear. This surprised Inuyasha. He actually cared that much for Seshoumaru? He turned his golden eyes to give a sympathetic look at the little human girl curled up in Kagome's arms. Shippo, who was perched on her shoulders, was also trying to calm the distressed mortal.
Rin sniffed as Kagome gently rubbed her back. Her Lord was gone….what was going to happen to her now? Kagome felt her heart break as the little girl sobbed into her shirt. She brought a hand up and brushed it through the young human's black hair. Poor girl. Seshoumaru couldn't have been all that bad if she mourns him this much.
Miroku watched as Inuyasha gave a face that was a mix of disgust and sympathy as Jaken grabbed his right leg and began bawling into it. The monk flexed his hand, which was now free of the curse that had plagued him from birth. The wind tunnel was gone. Despite his injuries, it was a wonderful feeling.
He walked over to the distraught Jaken, who was still clinging to Inuyasha's leg.
"I understand your pain Jaken, but perhaps it would comfort you to know that Seshoumaru will be reincarnated some day."
The shocked little youkai pulled away from a grateful Inuyasha, who began to brush at his now soaking wet pant leg.
"R..really? My Lord's coming back?! When?!" Miroku waved a hand at Jaken.
"Calm down, it won't be anytime soon. According to Lady Kaede, his reincarnation will occur in two or three centuries from now, roughly a century and a half before Kagome's time."
"Two or three centuries?!" Jaken yelled, dismayed.
"Yes, and there is something else I feel I must tell you."
"Something else?"
"Yes. Seshoumaru will be reincarnated not as a youkai, but as a human." Miroku heard a hrumph from Inuyasha as Jaken gave a gasp. It was understandable. They were having a hard time visualizing Seshoumaru being reborn as a human. Inuyasha had actually given a bitter laugh, saying that it served him right. However, Miroku thought, if Kagome was any indication, then his reincarnation could very well be as different as Kagome was from Kikyo.
Jaken stared wide-eyed up at the human before turning his gaze over to the Tenseiga and the Toukijin. His master's swords were lying next to a seated Sango and Kirara, both badly injured from the battle with Naraku. My Lord… The small youkai shook his head and wiped his tears away. His lord was going to be reincarnated as a mortal? The mere thought of it was ghastly. But still…
I'll wait for you, my Lord. Even if you will be a human, I'll wait for you. I, Jaken, pledge to care for your great swords until you return. Then I'll proudly serve you again!
A small smile graced the lips of the ugly little youkai.
I will wait for you, Lord Seshoumaru.
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Author's Note: For those of you that don't know, "Oro?" basically means "What?" or "Huh?" Kenshin says it quite a bit in the manga and in the Japanese dialogue of the series I believe as well.