Author-chan's notes: Hey, all! Got chapter 18 for ya! I just realized that this Arc is taking place in the 37th year of the Meiji, in other words 1904. Whistles That's not that long ago.
Congratulations to Sailor-Earth13, skenshingumi, Queeney, Ryguy5387, and Katreal who figured out that this Arc is the Kyoto Arc! (If you too have guessed that this is the Kyoto Arc and I didn't list your name, please forgive me!)
Well, Enjoy!
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/
writing in a letter
qpqpqpqp indicates scene/time change
Like Father Like Son
(Chapter Eighteen: Travel Plans)
At the Aoihana
"He's dying, Himura."
Misao's words seemed to echo in Kenji's head, becoming louder then softer in turns.
"He's dying…He's dying…He's dying, Himura."
"Kami-sama!" Kenji gasped, resting his head in his hands.
"Gomen, Himura," Misao murmured, her normally bright eyes downcast, "I know this is a bit of a shock. I though Hiko would live forever too."
"How could he be dying?" Kenji whispered, "He's the strongest person I know!"
"No one is immortal, Himura," Misao reminded him, "Hiko is no exception. He's getting old; he's already seventy. And it doesn't help that he's been drinking all that sake all his life. The doctor is guessing that his liver is failing on him. That, coupled with his age, is killing him where no sword could."
"When he was training me, I don't know how many times I told him he should cut back on the drinking," Kenji laughed hollowly, tears in his eyes, "I told him it would kill him. I guess I was right."
Kenji ran a pale hand through his hair, shaking his head sorrowfully. Hiko was practically his grandfather…It felt so strange for him to die. Misao was right: he had been expecting the thirteenth master to live forever.
"H-How long does he have?" Kenji asked, swallowing thickly.
"A month, maybe less," Misao answered, "We would have contacted you earlier, but we just found out recently ourselves. You know how Hiko is. He hates it when people see him weak."
"I better prepare to leave," Kenji muttered, standing up to leave, "I need to get tickets, pack…"
"Don't worry about the tickets, Himura," Misao said, "I already purchased enough for you and your family. I even bought some for Yahiko and his family. I thought you might want your sons to meet Hiko before he died."
"Thank you, Shinomori-san," Kenji sighed, giving her a weary smile, "I'll meet you at the station?"
"Tomorrow, three 'o clock sharp!" Misao replied, "I already had Aoshi-sama prepare your rooms at the Aoiya, so don't worry about looking for a hotel."
"See you, there then."
"Hai!"
qpqpqpqp
Back at the dojo
When Kenji entered the dojo grounds, he was surprised to hear loud bickering greet him. After being lost in the gloom at the news of Hiko's upcoming death, the boisterous sounds of the dojo did nothing but startle him. Silently, Kenji slid open the shoji and headed towards the noise.
"DAMN YOU, TOU-SAN!"
"SHINYA, YOU BRAT! WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN TO REASON?"
"Oro," Kenji sighed as he opened the fusuma that led to the dinning area. The sight that greeted him made Kenji blink twice. Shinya and Yahiko were standing up glaring and yelling at each other, their faces red. Tsubame, Chizuru, and Kenichi were trying to calm the two down, and Sasuke was gnawing away at Shinya's ankle, obviously angry at the older boy. None of them noticed Kenji walk in.
"Damn brat!" Shinya yelled trying to shake off Sasuke.
"Shinya, you baka!" Sasuke shot right back, "Yahiko-sensei is right; you are stubborn! Why don't you listen to reason?"
"At least I don't eat people!" Shinya snarled.
"Maa, maa!" Kenichi cried trying to calm everyone down, "Please stop fighting, Shinya-kun, Sasuke-kun!"
"Keep out of this, you red-haired whelp!" Shinya snarled.
"Hey, don't talk to Ken-nii like that, you baka!" Sasuke growled.
"Baka?" Shinya hissed back, "This coming from a kid who doesn't even know that he's the older brother!"
"Shinya, that's enough!" Yahiko snapped.
"Damn it, Tou-san –" Shinya ground out.
"Oi!" Kenji yelled over the din, "What is going on?"
"Kenji!" Chizuru cried out, spotting him, "There you are!"
"Himura-sensei!" Shinya called, "I need to speak with you!"
"Oh no, you don't!" Sasuke and Yahiko yelled at the exact same time.
"We don't have time, Shinya," Kenji sighed. Immediately everyone became quiet, surprised at Kenji's seriousness.
"Something wrong, O-Otou-san?" Kenichi asked, stumbling over saying "Otou" as was his wont.
"Yeah," Kenji answered, his eyes a bit sad, "Yahiko, I suggest you sit down. Everyone sit down. I have some bad news…"
"Come on, Kenji, it can't be that bad," Yahiko consoled, trying to lighten the mood around Kenji.
"We're going to Kyoto tomorrow," Kenji murmured.
"WHAT?" everyone cried out, gaping at the redhead.
"That's too soon!" Chizuru protested, "We need to make preparations!"
"And what about me?" Shinya added. The others ignored him.
"Why are we going to Kyoto, O-Otou-san?" Kenichi asked, blinking slightly. Kenshin hadn't been in Kyoto for years, but he knew from experience that any visit to Kyoto would never be a simple vacation. Kyoto was still saturated in blood from the Bakumatsu, and even though the streets had been cleaned and the souls of the fallen prayed over, shades and ghosts haunted Kyoto, bemoaning their fates and frightening the living…literally.
"We're going to visit a few people," Kenji replied, still downcast, "M-my sensei, Hiko Seijiro, is sick."
"Hiko?" Yahiko raised an eyebrow, "That sake swilling jerk has never been sick in his life!"
"He's dying, Yahiko," Kenji said softly. Silence pervaded the room, leaving Kenji's words hanging in the suddenly tension filled room.
"I-I don't believe it," Yahiko whispered when Kenji's words finally sunk in, "Hiko dying…I thought he would live forever."
"Who is this Hiko?" Chizuru asked, slightly confused, "I understand that he is important to you Kenji, but who is he?"
"Hiko Seijiro the Thirteenth is the last surviving practitioner of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu," Kenji began slowly, "He was also my father's and my sensei. In some ways, he's the closest thing I have to a grandfather."
"Kenji," Chizuru whispered, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't know…"
"It's alright," Kenji sighed, "Anyway we're going to Kyoto tomorrow so you should all pack. Gomen, Shinya, but whatever you want from me is going to have to wait."
And with that, the red-haired swordsman left the room.
qpqpqpqp
Later that nightThe Himura family was left alone in the dojo, seeing as that Yahiko and his family had left the dojo several hours ago to pack their bags for Kyoto. They had already finished dinner a while ago, along with any packing they need to do, and were now getting ready for bed.
"Tou-san," Sasuke implored his father as he was being put to bed (Chizuru was in the other room tucking in his brother), "What was Hiko-san like?"
"What was he like?" Kenji blinked, "It's kind of hard to explain, Sasuke. He was tough…not an easy person to live with. He was very arrogant and drank too much sake. He also loved humiliating other people, especially me and my father. But he was strong, very strong. He's someone that deserves respect."
"Do you think he'll like me?" Sasuke asked innocently, "Or Ken-nii? Everyone thinks we're weird. Will he think we're weird?"
"You two are not weird," Kenji said, surprise in his face, "Who told you that?"
"Lots of people," Sasuke replied ambiguously, "They're right, I think. You and Ken-nii have weird hair. But don't worry, Tou-san, I like it. I wish I had red hair."
"Thank you, Sasuke," Kenji smiled, "But our hair isn't weird. It's just special."
"Well, I'm still weird," Sasuke said confidently, "I see people that aren't there."
"What do you mean?" Kenji asked, getting confused and worried again.
"Well, there's this woman that always follows Ken-nii around," Sasuke began, "I can't really see her face really well or hear what she says. It's like she's blurry, like she's underwater. But I know she must be very pretty and that her voice is pretty too. I just can't see and hear her properly. It's weird. I tried pointing her out to Shinya-kun once, but he couldn't see a thing. Same thing with Kaa-san and Yahiko-sensei. Have you seen the lady following Ken-nii around, Tou-san?"
"No," Kenji replied honestly, "Are you sure you're not making her up?"
"Hai," Sasuke replied, biting his lip slightly, "I think Ken-nii can see her too. Sometimes I catch him looking straight at her, and he gets this really goofy smile on his face. And I think he can talk to her too, because at night I can hear them talking, but I don't understand what they say. It's weird. Aren't I weird, Tou-san?"
"Don't be silly, Sasuke," Kenji scoffed, "Just because you can see stuff others can't doesn't make you weird. Is this woman the only one you see?"
Sasuke shook his head, "Sometimes Ken-nii gets other visitors. I can't see or hear them properly either, but they're louder than the lady. They look like samurai, 'cause they carry swords. Sometimes I even see a few ninja come and visit along with guys carrying guns. There's even another lady dressed all in white. But they're different from the lady that's always with Ken-nii. They're covered in blood." There was a pause as Kenji took a deep breath.
"Mononoke," Kenji whispered, his eyes wide and face pale. Dear Kami-sama! Ghosts were visiting his youngest son, and his eldest could see them.
"They seem really friendly though," Sasuke continued, as if he didn't hear his father, "Ken-nii seems to like them, and they seem to like Ken-nii. It's kind of like I'm seeing Ken-nii's imaginary friends, but I don't think they're imaginary."
"They aren't doing any harm?" Kenji asked, worried. Sasuke shook his head.
"If they do become dangerous, I want you to tell me right away, alright, Sasuke?" Kenji ordered.
"Hai, Tou-san!" Sasuke nodded, "But you don't have to worry, I don't think."
"Have you ever asked Kenichi about them?" Kenji asked, still worried, "About the spirits?"
"No," Sasuke shook his head, "I always get interrupted when I try. And I don't think Ken-nii would want to talk about them anyway. They seem like a very personal subject to him. So please don't tell him I told you. Ken-nii might not like it."
"Alright, Sasuke," Kenji sighed, "But once those mononoke start acting up…"
"I know, Tou-san," Sasuke agreed, "Nobody hurts Ken-nii or anyone else in this family and gets away with it."
"That's my boy," Kenji grinned, ruffling Sasuke's messy hair, "Go to sleep, 'kay?"
"You don't believe me, do you?" Sasuke said accusingly, pouting slightly.
"I believe you," Kenji murmured, smiling softly, "Let's just say that I've had run-ins with ghosts too, and as long as they don't harm anyone, they're alright."
"Oh, okay," Sasuke said, yawning, "Oyasumi."
"Oyasumi nasai, Sasuke."
As Kenji exited his eldest son's room, his hand reached into his gi sleeve, his fingers brushing against the red petals of the red flower hidden away there.
He had kept it, the flower that mononoke gave him all those years ago when Kenichi had been kidnapped. Kenji still didn't know what it did, but he never was far from it. He didn't like it…Ghosts visiting his family. They might not seem dangerous, but still…
"Kami-sama, protect us all," Kenji murmured before heading off to his and Chizuru's room.
qpqpqpqp
Kenshin's room
Kenshin sat in his futon staring aimlessly at the ceiling. Shishou was dying. The very idea was impossible, and chilled him to the bone.
"Shishou," Kenshin sighed quietly.
"Worried, anata?" Kaoru asked as her misty form appeared next to him.
"Aa," Kenshin admitted, looking towards his wife,"It seems strange, de gozaru."
"That Hiko is dying?" Kaoru asked. Kenshin nodded.
"It's not that bad, anata," Kaoru soothed, "You and I died, and we're alright."
"Yeah, listen to Kaoru-kun, Battousai-san," a voice said cheerfully, "We all know, dying isn't as bad as it's cracked up to be." Kenshin and Kaoru jumped in surprise.
"Kaito!" Kaoru shrieked, whirling to face the ghost that had appeared in Kenshin's room, "Don't surprise us like that!"
Nakamura Kaito, the beheaded Shinsengumi, and proud member of the PBKB, simply grinned at them. Behind him, Sakurazawa Takumi, the disemboweled Mimiwarigumi member, sighed in aspiration. It went without saying that the level-headed Takumi was more or less the wild Kaito's keeper/conscience, despite the fact that in life the two probably had little to do with each other. So whenever Kaito came to visit, Takumi was likely to be right behind him to make sure he was kept out of trouble.
"Terribly sorry, Kaoru-san, Himura-kun," Takumi apologized as he pulled Kaito away, "The brat got away from me again before I could stop him from annoying you."
"Hey, I'm older than you by a month!" Kaito protested.
"But I died first," Takumi retorted.
"By only a year!"
"Keep your head on, Kaito," Takumi sighed.
"Um, hello?" the dead Shinsengumi scoffed, waving his detached head around.
Kenshin and Kaoru sighed, used to the bickering. The entire PBKB Club often dropped by to visit, not just Takumi and Kaito. And most of PBKB were very rowdy. But after their experiences in the Kenshin-gumi, they were used to it.
"Is there any reason why you two are here, de gozaru?" Kenshin asked politely, trying to laugh as Kaito and Takumi fought/played tug of war with Kaito's head.
"Damn it, Takumi!" Kaito growled as the other samurai yanked his head away. Kenshin and Kaoru tried not to become distracted with the fact that Kaito's head (being held by Takumi) was talking while his body was trying to fight Takumi for the head.
"The baka over here wanted to mess around," Takumi said as he dogged an attack by Kaito's flailing body.
"That's not true!" The disembodied head in Takumi's arms argued, "We heard about your master's upcoming death, Battousai-san. You're going to Kyoto, right?"
"Yes," Kenshin nodded, his eyebrows furled in confusion, "What does that have to do with anything, de gozaru ka?"
"Do you think you'll be able to get away from your family for a night while you're there?" Kaito asked, "I've been planning this big get together…"
"Kuso, Kaito!" Takumi snarled, as he threw the Shinsengumi member's head back to his body, "What is it with you and parties? It's very unlikely Himura-kun will be able to get away; he's staying with the Oniwabanshu, remember? They'll be watching him like a hawk, especially their Okashira."
"What about Shinomori Aoshi?" Kaoru asked, "Why would he be watching Shinta?"
"Kyoto is still a dangerous city, Kaoru-san," Takumi explained, "No doubt the Okashira will be watching the little ones. Not to mention he will be able to sense something off about Himura-kun. Unlike everyone here in Tokyo, the Okashira of the Oniwabanshu can sense ki, and you, Himura-kun, will feel suspicious."
"That's right!" Kaoru gasped, "Since Shinta is a forced reincarnation he has no ki, like a ghost!"
"This could be bad," Kenshin murmured, "Knowing Aoshi, he would want to investigate, de gozaru."
"Don't worry, Battousai-san!" Kaito said cheerfully, "I'm sure everything will work out. Just leave it to me!"
"Why am I not comforted by that?" Takumi sighed.
"Oi!" Kaito glared, "I promised Harada-san that we would have a party, so we're gonna have a party!
"Harada?" Kenshin questioned, his violet eyes growing wide, "Harada Sanosuke, tenth captain of the Shinsengumi?"
"And my former commander!" Kaito added cheerfully, "He and the rest of the Shinsengumi ghosts back in Kyoto have been dying to see you again, Battousai-san! I've been overhearing that Okita-san wants to duel with you."
"Oro!" Kenshin squeaked, his eyes becoming swirls, "L-like this, de gozaru ka? Sessha is still stuck in the body of a child, de gozaru yo!"
"Details, details!" Kaito laughed, waving aside Kenshin's worries, "I'll be making my arrangements. See you in Kyoto!" Kaito then promptly disappeared into the Spirit World.
"Wait one second, you idiot Mibu wolf!" Takumi yelled, also fading away to enter the Spirit World.
"Oro," Kenshin murmured, his eyes still swirled.
The trip to Kyoto was going to be one wild ride…
qpqpqpqp
The Outskirts of KyotoHiko Seijiro the Thirteenth sat in his hut, staring into the flames of his fire. Even though the Oniwabanshu had offered to give him a room in the Aoiya, the old swordsman refused to leave the solitude of his home. He had been a hermit too long to suddenly go live in the city.
Various pots littered his home, a testament to his life as a potter. His katana was propped up against a chest, alone. The usual sake jugs were mysteriously absent, no doubt stolen away by those pesky ninja at the Aoiya to help him live a little bit longer.
Faugh! He was already dying. Taking away his sake would never change that.
Hiko had to admit, silently, that it was a shame that he who had survived countless battles, was now fated to die of old age and a failing liver.
"So, baka deshi," Hiko murmured to the flames, "Is this how you felt as you died? Wasting away little by little and being unable to do anything about it? Heh, baka. If you had killed me properly when learning the ougi, I wouldn't be in this mess. But you were stubborn, as always. I would take a sword in the gut to death by disease any day."
"Is that so, Hiko Seijiro-san?" a mischievous voice grinned in the darkness. Hiko merely raised an eyebrow at the intruder, not bothering to go for his sword. Slowly, Shinigami's form materialized out of the shadows and the tiny kami sat himself down next to Hiko.
"So it's you," Hiko shrugged uncaringly, "Are you here to take me, god of death? Are you here to take me to my end as you did to my deshi?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Shinigami scoffed, "You're not ready to die yet. And if you die now, you'll be breaking tradition."
"What tradition?" Hiko asked, looking skeptically at the kami.
"That all Hiten Mitsurugi masters die by the hand of their deshi," Shinigami answered cheerfully, "All of you Hiten Mitsurugi masters have been my assistants, my followers. When you kill your master, it is a rite of passage to become a harbinger of death since in most cases it is the student's first kill. The exception of course is Kenshin-san, but then he has been the exception for many things. Kenshin-san had his rite of passage through the chaos of the Bakumatsu."
"What's your point?" Hiko growled, not in the mood for beating around the bush.
"I am here tonight to give you a prophecy so to speak," the kami said, grinning his usual happy smile, "You are to writhe in agony, and nothing, not even old age or your damaged organs, can kill you. And this will continue until your deshi comes to complete the tradition of the Hiten Mitsurugi masters and sends you to the After Life with his sword."
"So in other words, I'm doomed to eternal pain," Hiko deadpanned, sarcasm dripping from his words, "Damn it, baka deshi, why did you die first?"
-
Glossary- (I omitted some of the words I've already glossed several times)
Gomen- "Sorry"
Sake- "rice wine"
-sensei- can be used to refer to a teacher, a doctor, or any other learned/professional person; normally seen as "teacher"
-kun- a name suffix usually used for boys, however, it can be used by a superior referring to an inferior (Why Kaito uses this for Kaoru, probably has something to do with the fact that Kaoru is much younger than any of the PBKB)
mononoke- "ghost"; "vengeful spirit"
Oyasumi (nasai)- "Good night"
Shishou- "master", particularly a master of a martial art
Mimiwarigumi- a police force on the side of the shogun during the Bakumatsu, similar to the Shinsengumi; they patrolled a different part of Kyoto than the Shinsengumi
Okashira- "boss", "leader", "head"
Harada (Sanosuke)- 10th captain of the Shinsengumi and a spear wielder (also Sagara Sanosuke's model); It's accepted that he died during the Ueno War during the Boshin Wars, but popular legend states that he lived on and escaped to Manchuria to start his own bandit army; In this fic, he died in the Ueno War
Ougi- the final technique, or secret, of a martial arts style
-
Author-chan's notes: And the PBKB return! Or at least some of them…
And the situation with Hiko becomes even worse…
Sasuke's powers are awakening…
And Shinya is very, very bratty…
Next chapter: Arrival in Kyoto
Please look forward to it!