Author-chan's notes: Hey everyone! A-chan yawns Gomen, but I'm feeling a bit lethargic today. I've been a bit sick lately, and the medicine I've been dosed with is the kind that makes you feel tired. Luckily, since I'm doing stuff, hopefully I won't fall asleep at the keyboard. Erg, I hate cough syrup…
Anyway, on with the fic!
Key:
"talking"
'thoughts that can only be heard by thinker, a.k.a. private thoughts'
/thoughts that can be heard by thinker and spirits, a.k.a. telepathy/
### indicates scene/time change
Like Father Like Son
(Chapter Nine: Meetings)
#
Back in the Spirit World
Himura Kaoru was bored and lonely. At the moment, Shinigami was taking care of business in the world of the living. She guessed that the tiny kami was collecting some dead soul or something, since it was his job to do so. After all his assistants could only do so much.
Ordinarily, if Shin-chan were gone, Kaoru would go and visit her husband by herself so they could have some quality husband and wife moments. However, this time, Shinigami asked her (more like ordered her) to say in the Spirit World and not visit her Shinta until later on. Kaoru, being the free-spirited ghost that she was, was very tempted to disobey the god of death, and visit the former rurouni anyway. But, she was also very reasonable, and knew that there had to be a good reason behind Shinigami's request/order. So Kaoru stayed where she was. But that didn't mean she had to like it.
Kaoru sighed to herself. She couldn't help but feel a bit of longing for her red-haired husband, even in his current state. She would love him no matter what, even if he was chibi-fied. Also, she couldn't help but feel a bit worried.
"Stop it," the blue-eyed ghost chided herself, "Shinta will be fine. Don't be such a worry-worm."
"Excuse me, miss, are you talking to yourself or to me?" a voice behind Kaoru asked. Kaoru's eyes widened in surprise and whirled around to face the visitor, words of apology for not noticing him in the first place forming on her lips. Her words died as soon as she saw the other spirit behind her.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Kaoru shrieked.
###
Back at the Kamiya dojo
Kenshin heard the shoji slide open. He felt four ki signatures enter the room, one less than he expected. He quickly realized the last thief was somewhere else in the dojo, closer to where Sanosuke was. Lucky for him the laundry basket where he was resting in was in a corner on the other side of the room from where the thieves where. Kenshin hoped if his luck held out the thieves would over look the basket full of dirty clothes and leave him alone. For the meantime, the ex-rurouni tried listening the their conversation.
"Damn," one of the robbers murmured as he glanced around the dojo, "Look at all these wood swords! If they were real, we could make a fortune!"
"This dojo really is prosperous," a second thief murmured, plucking an ink painting from one the wall, "Hmm. This one looks like it dates back before the Bakumastu. It can get us a nice piece of cash, Genji."
'They must be talking about one of Kaoru's grandfather's paintings, de gozaru yo!' Kenshin realized as he listened to the men from his place in the basket, 'They shouldn't steal that! That is the last painting Kaoru has left from her grandfather! It's very precious to her! And they probably already have taken other things!'
"What do you think you are, Sai? Some sort of art dealer?" Genji snickered after hearing his companion's assessment of the painting.
"My old man knew a merchant once," Sai, the second thief, shrugged, "I picked up a couple of things from him."
"Who, the merchant, or your old man?" a third thief, whose name was Shingo, snickered.
"Both," Sai smirked before rolling the painting up and tucking it away. The others didn't ask Sai to elaborate. They already knew Sai's father was a crook, just like Sai was.
"Oi, where's Haru?" Genji asked.
"I think he went to check the rest of the place out," Sai answered, "You know, to make sure that no one's here."
"We already know no one is here," Genji grumbled, "Shou made sure of it. He saw all the inhabitants leave, and there wouldn't be any students since all the instructors are out. Isn't that right, Shou?"
"Aa," the first robber, Shou, nodded, "I'm positive no one is here."
'Sessha wouldn't be so sure of that,' Kenshin thought to himself, 'Sano is still in the dojo and if he found out you were here, he would not take it easy on you, de gozaru.'
"Don't be so sure, Shou," a quiet voice declared, as the shoji slid open to reveal the last member of the group, Haru.
"Find anything of value, Haru?" Shingo asked.
"Never mind that," Haru said, keeping his voice low, "There's someone in the dojo!"
"Nani?" Shou hissed, "But I was positive the owners were away!"
"Yeah, well it seems they have a house-sitter," Haru said sarcastically. Kenshin smiled mentally from the laundry basket. They wouldn't try anything as long as Sano was there.
"Do you think we can take him?" Sai asked.
"We won't have to," Haru answered, "The guy's asleep. As long as you morons keep it quiet, we won't have to deal with him."
Kenshin felt his spirits plummet at that comment. Sano was a sound sleeper; there was no doubt about that.
"Got it," Genji nodded, "So did you see anything worth stealing while you were wandering about?"
"Yeah, this," Haru answered smugly, as he presented his prize, which he had been hiding behind his back. The others' eyes widened in shock. Meanwhile, Kenshin was confused. Because of his position in the basket, all he could see was the ceiling. But there was an unpleasant feeling in his stomach about what the trespassers has stolen this time.
Then he heard the gasps of awe.
'They wouldn't have!' Kenshin thought in horror as realization hit him like a brick.
###
Back in the Spirit World
"I-I," Kaoru stammered, staring wide-eyed at the other ghost next to her, "I'm so sorry!" She had turned pale (paler than a ghost normally was) with fear. But that was no surprise, considering the ghost before her.
"Don't worry about it, miss," the dead man in front of Kaoru said soothingly, "Nearly everyone reacts that way when they first see me." He flashed her a smile that was supposed to reassure her, but it only made Kaoru feel worse. The man was mincemeat.
Literally.
Apparently, this man's death had been much more violent than Kaoru's had been. The poor man was more wounds and gore than anything else. Where his stomach once had been, there were several bleeding slashes that wept so much blood, Kaoru couldn't tell exactly how many lacerations there actually were. Then there was that terrible gash that started at his right shoulder then traveled down to his hip. Kaoru could tell that the injury has been created by a single downward slash of a sword. But the wound was so cleanly cut! What sort of sword could cut so easily through so much bone and flesh? It was almost as if the man was made of butter and then was cut with a hot knife. But the worse wound the man sported was the one on his neck. A gaping hole was rent into his neck, as if someone had stabbed a sword through it viciously. And Kaoru could tell by the wound's look that whoever created it twisted their sword. Whoever had killed this man was a skilled swordsman.
An extremely skilled brutal swordsman.
It was easy to tell that any one of the wounds that the man received was fatal. But since there were several fatal wounds on his person Kaoru could only speculate on what kind of demon would do this to a human being.
"I'm sorry," Kaoru said again, "To what happened to you, I mean. It must have been painful, your death."
"Hai," the man answered quietly, smiling sadly, "Though he didn't want it that way."
"Huh?" Kaoru blinked. The man laughed and waved her worries off.
"It's nothing, miss," the man said with a gentle smile, "I should be the one apologizing. I disturbed you, frightened you, and didn't even introduce myself!"
"Oh," Kaoru blushed, bowing formally to the man, "My name is Himura Kaoru. And you are?"
"Kyosato Akira," the man answered, giving her a bow in return, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Himura-san."
'Kyosato Akira,' Kaoru murmured in her head, a feeling of unease coming to rest in the pit of her stomach, 'Where have I heard that name before?'
Before she had much time to dwell on that thought another one drifted into her mind to take its place. Ghosts had the ability to change their appearance so that they could look like they had at any point of their lives. They weren't restricted to looking like they had at the moment of their death. For example, Kaoru preferred to appear as she had when she had married Kenshin at eighteen. All ghosts, when they appeared as they did at their moment of death, felt a slight echo of pain they felt at their deaths. It was little wonder so many ghosts preferred to choose other moments of their lives to appear as.
Then why did Kyosato choose to appear as he did when he died when he died so violently? The pain he was feeling must be intense, even if it was dampened a bit.
Kaoru frowned. Something wasn't right…And where did she hear his name before?
###
Back with Shinigami
Shinigami smiled quietly to himself. His plan was working perfectly. Safety nets were being cast before danger arose and precautions were being taken to make sure the horrors that were to come would be dealt with easily. The pieces of the puzzle were coming together and Shinigami couldn't help but feel pleased with himself. He was carefully bringing together the players, and it was working out nicely.
Yes, nothing in hell could destroy what he worked so hard for.
Somewhere deep in the tiny kami he felt a bit of regret. He was using Kenshin (and to some degree Kaoru) without their consent. The god of death had already used Kenshin before when the redhead had been forced to take on the role of Kyoto's most feared hitokiri. The last time Kenshin had been used by Shinigami, the man had barely survived, and even then he had not come out unscathed.
But still, it was all for a good cause! Shinigami may be using the couple, but he had a reason. Disaster all over the world would arise if he didn't use Kenshin and Kaoru's abilities. Besides, if things worked out as he planed, the pair wouldn't know they were being used until that last moment, and when that moment came, they wouldn't be able to back out. And on the plus side, if his plan worked, they wouldn't get hurt at all. They might even get something they wanted.
Even so, he couldn't help but feel guilty.
Hopefully, the two would forgive him…someday.
###
Back in the dojo
"Is that what I think it is?" Shou asked in awe, looking at object Haru held casually in his hand.
"Yep!" Haru answered with a grin, "This here is a bona fide katana."
'N-Nani?!' Kenshin thought in horror, 'T-They have the sakabatou! Sessha cannot believe they have the sakabatou! Kenji must have left it behind when he went shopping with Chizuru-dono!'
"Can I see it?" Sai asked, "I want to know how much it's worth."
"Sure," Haru shrugged, holding out the sheathed sword to his comrade. Sai turned the sword over in his hands, his face set in concentration.
"Well, since it's a sword, it had to be made at least in the first couple of years of the Meiji era, or it was made illegally," Sai announced, "And judging by the wear on the sheath and the hilt, it's well used, but still in good shape. Swords get enough money on the black market or in foreign markets as it is, but swords with a history behind them or made by some sort of famous sword-smith are even more expensive on the black market. And since this sword has been used, it probably has plenty of stories to tell."
"To bad we don't know what they are though," Haru murmured.
"Don't be a baka," Sai growled, "We can make up stuff and no one will know the difference. We can say this is the sword of Hitokiri Battousai for all I care."
'Little do they know,' Kenshin thought, finding it ironic that the thieves' first guess had been the right one.
"Who's Hitokiri Battousai?" Shou asked. Sai whapped Shou over the head with the sheathed katana.
'Baka,' a dark thought scoffed in Kenshin's mind.
"Baka," Sai scoffed, echoing Kenshin's thought, "Didn't your parents ever tell you stories of Kyoto's demon? Hitokiri Battousai was the most famous killer of the Bakumastu! They said he killed everyone in his path, and that his bloodlust turned his hair a deep red. A single look from the demon's flaming eyes was enough to kill a man, and even if you survived his gaze, there was still his lightning-fast sword to deal with! According to legend, Battousai disappeared after the Bakumastu, but that his ghost still haunts the streets of Kyoto, waiting for a victim to feed his craving for blood." Kenshin felt himself sweat dropping at Sai's description. It seemed the legend of Hitokiri Battousai had changed a bit over time. Idly, Kenshin wondered how the robbers would feel if they found out the real Battousai was standing (er, lying) just a few feet away from them.
"I doubt anyone would believe us if we said we found the sword that belonged to Battousai in a dojo," Shingo said, "I mean this is Tokyo, not Kyoto!"
"Some idiots will believe anything," Genji scoffed, "Well Sai? Aren't you going to draw that sword out?"
"Of course," Sai snorted, then grabbed the hilt and prepared to draw the sword out.
Kenshin felt his breath get caught in his throat. And when did his heartbeat become so loud?
The tiny rurouni felt a knot of worry settle in his stomach, but he couldn't understand why. Then it came. A familiar and most hated feeling.
'Not now!' Kenshin thought in panic, 'Sessha can't cry now!'
#
Glossary
Shinigami: "God of Death"; It's more of a title than an actual name, but here I'm using it as a name, but whether or not it is a name rather than a title is debatable. I might answer that question in later chapters though, so keep reading…
chibi: a little person (particularly referring to the tiny squashed up form anime characters sometimes take on)
shoji: the rice paper walls in many traditional Japanese homes and dojo; shoji can also form sliding doors.
dojo: martial arts school/training grounds
Bakumastu: chaotic last days of the rule of the Tokugawa shoguns that heralded in the Meiji era (it was followed closely by the Boshin Wars).
Oi: "Yo"
de gozaru (yo/ka): an old fashioned polite "tag" that Kenshin adds to the end of his sentences; this phrase simply makes a sentence more polite; there isn't a proper translation in English, but in the anime dubbing it is translated as "that it is/that I am"
sessha: an old fashioned term for "I"; more literally means "this unworthy one"; extremely polite
nani: "what"
sakabatou: Kenshin's reversed-blade sword; the sharp edge and blunt edge of the sword are reversed making it very hard to kill someone with it
-dono: an antique name-suffix; more polite than "-san"; means something along the lines of "Mr./Ms./Mrs." but a bit more polite
Meiji era: Era when Emperor Mutsuhito (more commonly known as Meiji) ruled Japan; a time of Westernization and an opening of trade to the outside world
baka: "idiot" "fool"
katana: "sword"; particularly referring to the long curved samurai sword that is most commonly seen
rurouni: "wander"; actually it's a made up word and a play on words with "ronin"
Hitokiri Battousai: Kenshin's nickname during the Bakumastu when he was an assassin; the name refers to his skill in the battoujutsu (sword-drawing) techniques
#
Author-chan's notes: FINISHED!!!! passes out in exhaustion. Suddenly the Director appears
Director: Heheh. Sorry about that. pokes at A-chan's prone form She's out cold. Don't worry though. The next chapter will be forthcoming. And if anyone is wondering where Chou is, he'll appear more in the next couple of chapters. Meanwhile, everyone say "hi" to Kyosato-san! Does everyone remember who Kyosato san is?
Author-chan: still out cold Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Please R & R!!!