Chosha's Notes

Hey! Welcome back minna-san! Here is the chapter that I dedicated to a Reviewer who gave me the idea for the chapter: Shauntell! (round of applause). Hopefully, I pulled it off okay. Before we get into it though, I wanna thank all my reviewers: Kristy-chan, Shauntell, Sekamu, R.K.R., Dragonic Ban-Sidhe, Quiescent Vengeance, Crazy Hyper Lady and MysticSuperSaiyanGohan!

A small note – I won't have access to a computer for about a week, so the next update will be slower. However, this will give me the chance to write more on both this fic and my other ongoing Fading Futures! Just so you won't be disappointed.

Disclaimer: … (Nii-chan: Chosha's sulking. I think you should read the other disclaimers)

Last time on RKatPS

Trouble came during a Quidditch match and now both Kenshin and Sanosuke are sure both Snape and Quirrell are up to something…

Chapter Fourteen

Malfoy Meets His Match

(Dedication to Shauntell)

After the Quidditch match had finally realised Harry had indeed caught the snitch and come to a confused halt, Kenshin found himself sitting in the Library, his thought buzzing. He could hardly believe what had just taken place. Both Quirrell and Snape, supposedly Professors at the magic school, had just cursed Harry's broomstick and almost killed the boy in the process. Harry was now down at Hagrid's with Ron and Hermione, getting a strong cup of tea after his traumatic experience. Kenshin had not wanted to overcrowd the green-eyed boy, so he, Kaoru and Sanosuke were now gathered in the Library, all grim faced at what had just occurred.

"You mean to say that Snape and Quirrell were cursing the broom?" Kaoru gasped as Kenshin and Sanosuke finished explaining what had happened while she had gone to set fire to Snape's cloak. They were talking in Japanese to avoid alerting the few students drifting around the room, thus alerting the entire school – news seemed to travel dangerously fast.

Kenshin frowned out the window. "Aa. But I don't know if they're working together or not. Shishou warned me that there was something strange about Quirrell – something that makes him more dangerous than he seems." He frowned at the incredulous looks he was getting from the raven-headed girl. "I'm not crazy!"

"Sumimasen. I never said you were. It's just… It is a little hard to believe."

"What's hard to believe?" Sanosuke asked calmly. "I mean, think abou' it - it probably all an act. Just like in the movies – perhaps he's just doing an act until its too late."

"For once, Sano does have a point," Kenshin agreed. "Would you suspect a man who seemed to be scared of his own shadow? Besides, If he weren't trying to kill him, why would he have been chanting like that? I've read about curses – you have to keep eye contact – and neither Snape nor Quirrell were blinking."

"But why!" Kaoru yelled, almost sending Kenshin and Sanosuke into frenzy as Madam Price, the resident Librarian glared in their direction and 'Shushed' very loudly. Kaoru flushed in embarrassment and whispered a bashful 'sorry' while Kenshin Oroed before continuing in a lower voice. "Why? I mean, why would they even want to kill Harry?"

Kenshin hesitated. Should he tell them about what he had deciphered from the past several weeks? He glanced over at them, seeing their determined expressions, still waiting for an answer. Kami, if they didn't have ki sense, they must be able to read Kenshin like a book! Kenshin sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "…I think it may have something to do with whatever the three headed dog is guarding."

The other two stiffened at this. "Guarding…?" whispered Kaoru, her sapphire eyes wide. She exchanged a glance with Sanosuke. "You don't think…?"

Sanosuke just sore sulphurously.

Kenshin nodded grimly, already catching on to their train of thought. "I think that Snape has already attempted to get passed the dog if that wound is anything to go by. I think that perhaps Quirrell might have let the trolls in as a diversion at Halloween – so Snape would be able to go passed the dog himself. Thankfully, it looks as if they failed."

"But then…" Kaoru looked around at them fearfully, as if worried they would overhear. "What is it they're after?"

Kenshin met her eyes solemnly. "I don't know, Kaoru-dono. I just don't know. I only wish I did…"

o0o

It was a few hours before curfew and Kenshin quickly made his way down the grassy grounds towards the edge of the forbidden forest, moving like a ghost in shadows. His head was full of questions that refused to give him peace, haunting him with blood-chilling foreboding. He grasped the hilt of his sakabato tightly. If anything, practising kata would help to clear his mind enough to analyse the questions more thoroughly.

Kenshin stretched out his ki sense as far as it would go, checking there was no one near to see him in the darkened grounds, his eyes, hard and narrow scanning the undergrowth. Nothing. Kenshin slipped into the shadows.

Kenshin removed his black cloak and let it drop into soft folds at the base of one of the trees. He unsheathed the Sakabato; its blade glistening slightly in the setting sun and he slowed down his breathing, blocking out everything around him. No distractions now… Begin.

Falling into the beginning stance, Kenshin started his kata. He started out with slow, gentle motions, but they soon became quick and forceful. Kenshin went through all of his attacks, starting with the basics and moving on to the more powerful ones. He flung his body into every attack, just as he would in an actual fight, expending all of his energy. His breathing became heavier, and sweat was starting to run down his face, but he kept up the strenuous pace he had set for himself. At one point, if there had been anyone to watch, they would have lost sight of him entirely. One would just get glimpses of Kenshin as he paused for a split second to change stances before rushing into the next attack. Most of the time only the sound of the blade slicing through the air was all that could be heard. The blade of the sakabato flowed. It was another part of him, an extenuation of his arm, an extenuation of his will. Finishing his most powerful attack he knew so far, he began decreasing the strength and speed behind the swings for the last part of his kata. He went through the 'cool down' swings, and by the time he was finished his breathing had returned to normal. In one, flowing movement, He drew the blade across the mouth of the saya, sliding it home.

The entire practice session had taken about an hour to complete.

Kenshin froze as he felt the presence of someone behind him, hidden within the gloom of the trees. Tainted with an arrogance that chilled him, he felt it draw closer. At the last second Kenshin spun, drawing the blade in one, sift movement, pointing it directly at the heart of the shadowy figure. Kenshin's eyes widened slightly as he caught sight of his would-be assailant. It was Malfoy.

'You!' He gasped a little. Malfoy stared at the blade for a moment, something akin to fear sweeping over his face before raising his pale eyes to meet Kenshin's. He smirked.

Kenshin frowned and lowered his sword slightly, though he didn't loosen his grip on it one bit. Something in that smile set him on edge. 'What do you want, Malfoy' He said slowly.

'A sword?' Malfoy sneered, indicating the steel in his hands, a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. 'You're in big trouble now, Himura. You'll get shipped off on the first, one-way ticket back to whatever medieval dump you come from.'

Kenshin felt himself tense at the words. 'What do you mean?' His eyes narrowed dangerously. Unfortunately, the blonde-haired Slytherin didn't heed the unspoken warning.

'You think that they'll let you stay with a bloody sword? It's worse than if you cast a curse on someone. You're a danger to all of us. They'll expel you for sure!'

Kenshin stood to his full height and glared at the boy, his hard violet eyes flickering amber lights. 'They already know about my sword, Malfoy. I have permission to train with it. However, I wouldn't be so bold as to try to inform them, especially without your friends to back you up.'

Now it was Malfoy's turn for his eyes to blaze. 'Are you calling me a coward, Muggle-trash?'

Kenshin ignored the insult. Hiko's teasing hurt more than Malfoy's words and he was used to hearing far worse. Perhaps that is why his master had teased him so – to prevent him from loosing his cool against an opponent with such a dagger-sharp tongue. 'No. I'm merely suggesting that you keep your nose where it won't get hurt. You shouldn't be out here, Malfoy. You might get in trouble'

Malfoy's ki spiked in fury and his face became taunt. 'Is that a threat, Himura? You trying to say you can hurt me with a metal stick? A runt like you? Don't make me laugh – I could beat you with my little finger.'

Kenshin ignored him, merely sliding the blade back into his sheath, swinging his cloak back onto his shoulders and went to tuck the sakabato inside the dark folds. He felt Malfoy's ki arch again. Now what did I do?

Malfoy was becoming furious. Now, not only did the runty redhead mock and insult his abilities, but now he was completely ignoring him, too! Fine, I'll just attack him then. I'll show that foreign sword-freak for insulting me! Malfoy drew his wand from his robes.

Kenshin froze as he felt the arch in his ki that Kenshin recognised as an attack. The coward, trying to curse him while his back was turned!

'Petrificus!'

Kenshin ducked and twisted out the way as the red jet of light shot towards him with such speed it seemed he had never moved at all, but disappeared entirely. He spun round, unsheathing his sakabato as he shot towards the Slytherin; his other arm slammed into the boy's chest, pushing him up against a large tree and pinned him there, his dull side of his blade pressed hard against his throat. Malfoy stood petrified in the Japanese boy's grasp, his eyes wide as he looked, not into the soft violet eyes of the redheaded Gryffindor's, but a glowing amber, almost disembodied in the darkening light, blazing.

'It is not very honourable to strike at your opponent while his back is turned, Malfoy-san,' he hissed. The voice sent chills down the blond boy's spine, what little colour left in his face drained away at the cold steel lining his words and pushed at his jugular. He tried to push the other boy away, but Kenshin stood firm. Malfoy felt helpless in his iron strong grip.

'W-what are you?' he gasped, unable to look away from those demonic eyes that seemed to sear through his very soul, sending chills down his spine and promising a very slow and very painful death. 'You aren't…hu—'

'It doesn't matter what I am, Malfoy. I have listened to you insult me many times, but I don't care about that. Think what you will about me. But to attack me, or any of my friends, in such a way again, I will not stand idly by. I warned you not to put your nose where it may get hurt.'

Trembling, Malfoy went to use his wand again, but Kenshin pushed the sword closer to his neck, making the other boy gasp and drop his wand with a muffled clatter. 'I wouldn't do that.' Kenshin said, still in the same cool, calm voice. 'I have noticed that if you get inside a wizard's reach, there is not much he can do about it before you kill him.' He tilted the sakabato slightly for effect.

Malfoy almost whimpered his eyes bulging in fear. Kenshin's golden eyes seemed to suggest different ways to kill him, each one more brutal and horrifying than the last, being played out in his mind's eye.

'Listen to me, Malfoy,' Kenshin said, his voice barely above a whisper, yet radiated power at the same time. 'I'm only going to tell you once. Stay away from my friends and me. If you tell anyone – even your friends about what you saw tonight, I will make sure you live long enough to regret it. Stop wasting my time - I'm not someone who you can push around with your sharp tongue, as you're used to. This is your only warning.'

Kenshin glared at him for a moment before stepping back and letting the boy stumble upright again. They stood staring at each other for a long moment before Kenshin turned away. Finding himself released from the demon's eyes, Malfoy took off back to the castle, never looking back, screaming in a girlish manner that Kenshin wouldn't have expected from the Slytherin, almost making him laugh. The blond boy just kept running, not daring to look back for fear of those piercing amber eyes.

Kenshin's eyes returning to soft amethyst. He chuckled slightly and went to pick up his fallen sheath. It was only then that he felt the trickle of something wet on his face. Confused, Kenshin brushed his left cheek with his fingers and looked at them, blinking in surprise as he saw the dark stain of blood. But when he brushed off his face to find the source, he found no wound from where the blood had flowed.

o0o

Kenshin just managed to return back to the Gryffindor common room mere seconds before curfew. The room itself was almost empty except for the odd person. Everyone else had already made there way up to their dormitories, though it would be some time until they would settle down for the night. He could hear people talking faintly, though he couldn't make out what they were saying. From the odd words he did catch, however, it sounded as though they were talking about the Quidditch match earlier on.

Kenshin slipped into one of the comfy chairs by the fire, letting the warmth soak into his skin. It would be some time till Kenshin would try to smuggle his sakabato into the dormitories. However, it didn't bother him too much. Kenshin never needed much sleep. Instead, he dozed a little by the fire.

He jerked into full wakefulness only a little after the last person had vacated the room at the persistent tapping coming from the window. Sitting bolt upright, Kenshin blinked several times until he recognised the soft faun and white-coloured feathers of his own barn owl.

"Mika!" Kenshin opened the window to allow the bird inside. She immediately flew across the room and landed on the table nearest to the fire. Kenshin noticed the paper attached to her leg. Hiko had relied! And quickly too!

Kenshin thanked the owl as he took the note from her. Mika hooted sleepily, nibbling his finger affectionately before flying out the window again. Carefully, he unfolded the letter and read:

Baka Deshi,

It seems as though you might be correct about what you reported. It might be too dangerous to let them stay here without someone to keep a tab on their movements. It might be wise for us to keep our eyes open.

I hear that the Christmas holidays are coming up. One of the teachers should be coming round with a list of who is to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays. Sign the list – it will be best if we don't leave them up to there own devices for too long – at least not until we find out what it is they are looking for. Try to find out anything you can and keep me posted if anything else occurs. Keep your eyes open at all times.

On a lighter note, keep practising. I'll be testing you on a spar the moment you get back to Japan.

Happy Christmas,

Hiko Seijuro

Kenshin sighed as he rolled up the note and tucked it away inside his robes, a small frown on his face. If he were anyone other than Kenshin, he would have been protesting rather loudly at the thought of staying at school over the holidays. However, Kenshin wasn't anyone else. He rarely celebrated Christmas back at Hiko's hut anyway and the orphanage never used to have too much money, so Christmas was only a small affair. He didn't remember his family enough to know if he had ever felt a true Christmas before, so Hiko's order didn't faze him.

He sighed again and kneaded his forehead with a hand. Perhaps it was better if he stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas. Who knew what might happen if the two teachers were left alone. But still, this was going to be a loooong holiday…

To be continued…

I will probably be referring back to this episode a few times just to make fun of a certain ferret, but that is beside the point. Any questions or just constructive criticisms? Please review and I'll get back to you.

Next time on RKatPS

Christmas is coming and Hogwarts is already in the mood. How will Kenshin react to a Wizard's Christmas – especially when he hasn't had enough normal ones to compare it to! Next episode: Christmas at Hogwarts.

Ja ne for now minna-san! See you next time!

Chosha Kurenai xXx