Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin
Chapter Two:
Battousai slowly made his way towards the ishinshishi's headquarters, so as to report his success to the one, and only Katsura. As he approached the main entrance, a voice boomed across the château.
"There you are my boy!"
Battousai walked through the vast entrance of his headquarters to find Katsura sitting on the grand stone seat awaiting his return. He blew smoke as he inhaled from his antique pipe.
"I presume that the job has already been taken cared of?"
"Hai." Battousai merely replied, molten amber eyes refusing to meet with Katsura's.
"Good, good! Well done! I knew I could trust you with the job. My efforts in training have not gone to waste. Nevertheless, you will receive credit for the work you've done, Battousai! Come, I have prepared a banquet in your honour, to celebrate your well-return!" Katsura said, patting him with pride.
"I need not such luxury, sir." Battousai said humbly.
"Nonsense! You're not just any other assassin we have here. You are Ishinshishi's top-notch assassin! And I will not hear another word of protest from you. Understood?"
Battousai merely nodded his head as he followed Katsura towards the banquet hall.
The banquet hall was luxuriously grand with lavish seats and a long table. Katsura's lowly servants placed silver platters of grilled eel, caviar, colourful sushi and other exquisite delicacies. There was a wine bucker filled with ice and the top label bottles of sake.
Despite all the grandeur, Battousai remained nonchalant.
Young women sat daintily in the corners strumming their authentic string instruments. They produced a soft, gentle music of old tradition's past. The ambience was cool and relaxing.
Katsura snapped his fingers and the servants politely took their leave.
"For many years, we assassins have thrived to make a mark for ourselves and our ancestors. Today, Ishinshishi has spun many great warriors." Katsura said, gesturing around the table to Battousai and other seated assassins.
"I am proud to say that, the great Katsura has not chosen the wrong men for Ishinshishi. And today, we have sturdy combatants among us. For those I have nurtured under my own hands. Take the likes of Hiro" Katsura said, pointing towards a muscular, bronzed man.
"And Maramoto and Takegie! Just to mention a few." Katsura added, pointing to more lean assassins around the table.
(A/N: the three names mentioned are just made-up characters)
"But lastly, I have cultivated a very superb swordsman that stands out among everyone. He has yet to fail me in any of his missions, and has brought back glory to our group. He is none other than Hitokiri Battousai!" He beamed at Battousai with pride.
Battousai made no response. He stared ahead, unspoken. His blazing eyes glowed with mystery.
"And for this great achievement, may we all celebrate tonight! Let the festivities began!" He bellowed. Everyone in the banquet yelled with agreement. Katsura snapped his fingers again and the servants re-entered the room to serve the fare.
Katsura sat back down and glanced at the somber Battousai.
"From the time I've picked you up, you've been a silent little thing till now. I am very proud of you and let me warn you. I can give power yet I can take it away. You had better do me proud or else I shall show no mercy. Understand? Katsura told him silently but firmly.
Battousai slowly nodded.
"Good, now enjoy this dinner. You will have to prepare for your next assignment."
After the banquet, Battousai retired back to his apartment. Its location had proved to respect Battousai's every form of privacy: Faraway from the lively city, thus making it quite a secluded and calm environment to live in. It was also a walking distance to the ishinshishi's headquarters, so it made it easier for Battousai to receive his missions without any suspicions.
He opened the door to a sea of blackness. He flipped on the lights and threw his trench coat on his black velvet sofa. His apartment was furnished with great art pieces that reflected one's inner soul when understood. He chose dark and metallic furniture to match his somber, deadly character. He walked across marbled flooring to his antique bar counter and poured himself another whisky. He then settled himself on the porch.
He scanned his surroundings before he allowed his tensed muscles to relax. An assassin must constantly be on the lookout, for if he was to let his guard down even once, he might risk losing his own life.
Battousai placed his hand on his left cheek, tracing the deep lines of his cross-shaped scar.
'Hitokiri Battousai…' he mumbled under his breath, remising back to the past on how he actually received that name, which has now stroked fear in the hearts of many who know him.
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Flashback:
In the middle of the forest, stands a rather calm and collective young redhead. He was blindfolded, and in his hands, he held a Katana. All he could hear was the soft whistling of the wind, and the rustling of leaves.
Tall trees surrounded him, but behind them, lurks the shadows of masked men, preparing for the right moment in which they will attack.
The atmosphere was tense, and just at that moment, a cry from an eagle broke the silence, and the masked men made their move.
Every attack that was flung towards the young redhead was easily avoided and countered. Yet, things did not go the same for his attackers. They could not evade any of his moves; for he was swift in attacking; yet at the same time, each blow delivered was far more compelling.
Finally, after a short period of time, all his assailants, were defeated; the grass was moist with blood, not his but theirs, for so far, he was still unscathed.
Clap, clap, clap
"Well done! You have definitely proved to be worthy of becoming one of my top assassins, Kenshin!"
The young redhead removed his blindfold, revealing a pair of golden amber eyes. He did not feel a least bit sorry for what he had done. To him, they were just people who needed to be sacrificed in order to make him stronger.
"I could not have done it without your fine teaching sir." He replied in a monotone.
"Yes, I can indeed see that teaching one to become emotionless, is the key in nurturing a fine assassin like yourself."
Kenshin remained silent, cold eyes kept hidden behind his red bangs, listening quietly to Katsura's praises and comments about the events that had taken place. His heart had hardened even more during those years of training, he has understood the deeper meaning of the 'weak' and the 'strong'.
He was trained to listen to the vibrations of sounds that were carried in the air with every movement. With this remarkable skill, he could kill without sight. His ears became highly sensitive and he could track anyone with any movement within a limited radius.
"Well then Kenshin…oh wait! I can't be calling you that for much longer; after all, you ought to have a name that will go down in history, a name that people will never forget."
Katsura thought for a while, and then a broad smile appeared on his face.
"Hear, Hear!" Katsura said aloud to his fellow training comrades.
"From this day forth, Himura Kenshin, shall now be known as Hitokiri Battousai, the man who will bear a name so fearful, that it would send men running away with fear that will linger at the thought of his existence." At the words that were spoken, all the men cheered and soon began chanting the name "Hitokiri Battousai."
End of Flashback
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'That was 5 years ago…' Battousai said under his breath. He slowly sipped his whisky, as he stared out into the starry night. Then, a sight caught his gaze, fireflies. (A/N: that's sounds familiar…)
Battousai watched them, with inquisitive eyes, allowing his thoughts to loiter once more.
"Father, lookie, firebugs!"
"They're not called firebugs, son, they're known as fireflies."
"Ooo…. They're pretty." Said the wide-eyed boy.
"Indeed they are. You know, Shinta, these fireflies teach us an important lesson in life."
"What's that father?"
"Well, these little guys are not as weak as you thought they were. In fact, they are tough little creatures, and though they have a great disadvantage to other bigger insects, they still do not give up the fight, instead they use their 'light-bulbs' to scare away their enemies."
"Wow!"
"Indeed so, my son. Thus they teach us that no matter how big the odds may be, and even if you know you're not going to win, never give up, for there is always a glimmer of hope shining somewhere upon you; remember you control your own destiny, not fate."
"I'll always remember that otousan, I will always do,"
For a moment there, a tinge of violet swirled in Battousai's eyes. He started to feel something strange stirring inside of him. It was somewhat hurtful; he could not identify the pain he felt, as it was nothing he had ever felt before.
"otousan…okasan…" he whispered unknowingly.
Upon hearing the chimes of the clock, Battousai was jolted back into reality. Eyes immediately turning back into their bitter, deep colour, his fists clenched and his knuckles turned white with the force. He felt the same sense of hollowness once more. A feeling that he had grown to despise over the years, loneliness and pain that he could not control or explain.
Feeling enraged by his unexplainable emotions, Battousai flung his glass violently across the room.
(Meanwhile, at the different place, at the same time, a similar being was feeling the exact same emptiness and loneliness in her heart. She was lost in her thoughts when suddenly…)
CRASH!
"Oh GREAT! Look what you just did, busu! You broke one of the restaurant's china! Thanks a lot! You jolly well know we're hard-up on cash…"
The young brunette was obviously not listening to what her brother had to complain about. She was far too busy frantically trying to join the broken pieces of china together, as well as think of a way to get out of this predicament.
"…and finally when I thought for ONCE, we could settle down peacefully for a nice meal without having to worry about the money problems, YOU HAD TO BREAK SOMETHING!"
"HEY! I didn't mean for this to happen! It was an accident! Why don't you just make yourself useful for once, by helping us think of a way to get out of this mess!"
"What do you mean by 'we'? There's no 'we' in this! Unless you forgot, busu, you were the one who broke it!"
"Stop calling me BUSU!"
"Busu! Busu! Busu!"
"Why, I oughta…" before she could complete her sentence, a man with spiky brown hair happily entered the room.
"Ok, I took care of the bill, we better hurry or we'll miss… our… train…" he stopped when he saw the broken china on the floor.
"What happened here?" he asked, praying that it would not be what he had expected.
After explaining what had just occurred, his face fell.
"We're in big shit. This china would cost us a bomb! We would be ancient by the time we pay this off."
"That's what I told busu!"
"So what are we going to do now?"
"Wait! I've got an idea, its going to be risky, but its our only chance, so huddle round." She said as she whispered her plan to the two males.
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A while later…
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"STOP THEM!" shouted the manager, as he and his other 5 security guards chased the threesome towards the train stop.
"Great idea indeed, busu." The young boy panted.
"Just shut up and keep running, we only have 5 minutes until the train leaves."
Finally after much of pushing through the crowds, and fighting off security guards, the threesome managed to catch their train heading towards Kyoto; they watch gleefully with relief as the manager was screaming his lungs out at them. The two males began to make their way inside the passenger carts, whereas the young brunette gazed out into the night.
'It was funny though, one minute I was eating to my hearts content, and the next moment my mind seemed to have completely blanked out and there seems to be this wave of confusion that swept over my mind. It feels…cold..yet there was at one point of time warm…'she thought.
She massaged her temples to ease the strain. She was too exhausted to entertain this bizarre emotional encounter and decided to shake it off, not bothering to crack the missing pieces of this puzzle.
It was unbeknownst to her that she would soon find the answers to her questions. And that her future was about to unfold in the most peculiar way.