BMF: See! I be back! (smile) Enjoy! Surprise coming up!!!!
The next morning, Kenshin was the first to awake, just managing to get upstairs and into his room before Misao woke. She looked around, wondering where she was. A noise from the second floor caused her to turn he head, searching for the source of the sound.
"Ah, hey Kenshin. You sure get up early. What time is it anyway?" She yawned, and got to her feet, heading for the kitchen, not waiting for an answer. "Breakfast. Need breakfast. And coffee. God, it's too early." Misao disappeared through the kitchen door. Kenshin had a feeling that he shouldn't let her have coffee, but by the time he got to the kitchen it was already too late. Misao had a cup of the stuff in her hand and was downing it.
"Wonderful!" She exclaimed, practically slamming her cup on the counter. Kenshin waited for a moment, gauging to see how much caffeine she had, then gave up and started breakfast.
Deciding the rest of the teens needed to get up, Kenshin smirked. Taking the frying pan, bacon, and olive oil out, he set them on the counter. Then he set oil heating up on the stove, took a few pieces of bacon, waited until the oil was sizzling, then dropped the meat on. A loud noise spread threw the house, sizzling.
"WHAT THE HELL!!" Came a voice from the living room. A loud thump, cursing, and someone hitting someone else reached the kitchen. Kenshin smirked. He waited for the first of them to come stumbling into the kitchen, and finished up breakfast just as they arrived, puffy eyed and a few with red handprints on their faces. Those were the boys.
"What the hell just happened?" Sano mumbled, turning to the short teen standing at the stove. Said teen turned, and brandished the frying pan.
"My way of getting you four up. Worked quite well, don't you think?" Sano groaned. Kenshin could be positively evil sometimes, but the worst part was he looked like an innocent child. They all sat at the table, and were soon joined by a caffeine hyped Misao. She bounced in, around, under, and even on the table as she made her way around the kitchen. Automatically, all four heads turned in Kenshin's direction, and he could feel the heat form their glares. He quailed.
"Did you let her have coffee?" Megumi asked in a quiet voice. Kenshin gulped, then nodded hesitantly. He held up plate of food in his defense, making the four ready to attack him begrudgingly settle down. Kenshin set the food down on the table, and it was soon devoured by four hungry lions.
Later on in the day, as it wore slowly by, they were all sitting in the living room, entertained by a hyper-active Misao. The form of this entertainment was the fact that they had given her a pair of Chinese finger cuffs, and she had no idea of how to get them off, so this made for hours of fun. At the moment, Misao was on the back of a chair, desperately trying to break the thing by rubbing them against the back of the chair.
"Grr, these stupid things won't come off. Goddamnit, grrrr, someone help me!!" she complained. No one got up to assist, so she just continued on in her futile attempt at freeing herself. Kenshin was sitting against the wall, a book in hand, nose shoved into the pages. Sano and Kaoru were playing dice, while Megumi sat on the couch, also reading. Yahiko was no where to be found, having gone to a friends house.
They stayed like this for a while, until the phone rang, signaling for the three who were staying over to head home, for dinner. They all left, Misao still struggling with the finger cuffs, at around seven thirty. Soon only Kaoru and Kenshin were left.
"Hey, Kenshin, where did you learn your swordsmanship?" Kaoru asked. The question had been bugging her for a while. The teen was so wrapped up in his book he didn't look up, or even register the question.
"Master Hiko." He muttered. Kaoru frowned. She hadn't heard of that name before. Must be some obscure swordsman. She shrugged. At least she had gotten a truthful answer out of him, for once. They waited up for a while, sitting in the living room, silence enshrouding the space, waiting for Yahiko to come home.
At nine, he walked in the door, head high, eyes drooping. Kaoru looked him up and down.
"Where the hell have you been? The dump?" The young teen was filthy, covered head to toe in dirt, smelling to the high heavens. He shook his head.
"We went dirt biking, and, well, I fell off….hehe" Yahiko muttered, embarrassed. Kaoru chuckled, then sent him up to take a shower and go to bed.
"This one is going to bed as well. School tomorrow. How fun." He set the book he was reading down and headed upstairs, saying goodnight to Kaoru and Yahiko as he went. Kaoru, with no one to talk to and nothing to do, resigned herself to her room and went to bed as well. The end to a week with Kenshin finally closed.
School the next day started out the same. They went through the first few classes with little more then polite interest, taking notes and only paying attention when it was required. PE, however, became interesting.
As per par, they all dressed out and stood, waiting in the gym, talking quietly amongst themselves as the teacher called roll.
"Ok, since I'm not an adept at swordsmanship, we have two guests who will be helping us out. One is a teacher who has offered to help during his free period, and the other is a person who is an expert and was in a special army unit that fought overseas, one of the few who actually used swords over there. Say hello to Saito Hajime and Mr. Shiko." Kenshin froze.
'Did she just say Saito? He's teaching us! SHIT!' He thought, paling. Saito was a member of a self named group of swordsman, small but very effective. While still working for the USA, rivalries between the Shinsengumi, as they named themselves, and Kenshin were high. They even fought every so often, trying to best the other in strength. And now the leader was here, teaching them Kendo. Kenshin was screwed. Then the other named registered. His master was helping. He was doubly screwed. He hit his head forcefully. Why did these things always happen to him?
He looked up as the two of them stood in front of the class. He noticed that Hiko's eyes were darting around, and when they landed on him, he grinned, a wide, Cheshire smile. Kenshin hesitantly waved, then ducked down as the teacher began to call people forth to get a wooden practice sword and to register if they learned swords at all before.
Kenshin was called up soon enough, and, as he headed up to the front, Saito's eyes widened upon seeing him. So, the man recognized him. Wouldn't be a first. Kenshin grabbed one of the available swords, then turned to Saito, looking up into hard amber eyes. Saito looked back, surprised, no doubt, at the fact that Kenshin was here. He didn't even know Kenshin was still a teenager. They shook hands, searching each other for any changes in grip, nodding when none was found. Then he turned to his former master, glaring at him. He knew that Hiko only volunteered because Kenshin was in this class. They shook, Hiko smirking, Kenshin glaring. When he reached Mrs. Shurra, she was confused at the events going on between the three, but she put it aside for later.
"Have you ever taken any swordsmanship lessons before?" she asked. Kenshin hesitated, wondering if he should tell the truth or not. But before he could decide, Hiko answered for him.
"Yes, he has. He said so during my class." Kenshin turned, eyes flashing, to Hiko, who was standing smugly off to the side. Without another word, Kenshin headed back to his friends, seething silently. They backed away from the teen, whose eyes were changing between amber and violet once again. They stayed that way until the whole class had gone up to the front and had wooden swords in hand. By that time, he had finally calmed down.
"Ok class, settle down now. We need those who have had some training to move to the left side of the room, while those without move to the right. Saito, you take those on the left, please. See what they know. Mr. Shiko, you and I will help those who haven't learned anything yet. Okay, move people." Kenshin, Kaoru, and Yahiko moved to the left while Misao, Sano, and Megumi went right. They formed two clumps of people, the one on the right larger then the left. Kenshin looked around. Only eight people were in his group. The other five he recognized from Maekawa's dojo. He desperately wanted to ask how the sensei was faring, but didn't dare. He looked up at Saito, who stood with a piece of paper, a clipboard, and a pencil in hand.
"Ok, I need to know each person's name, and what kind of swordsmanship they learned. Line up in front of me please." Kenshin followed Kaoru and Yahiko, and ended up being fifth in line, behind his friends.
"Name."
"Matt Kander."
"Swordsmanship style?"
"Chuetsu-ryu" The tall bay moved to the side, and the girl in line next, Abby Whitmen, had the same answer. Kaoru was after her.
"Name?"
"Kaoru Kamiya."
"Style?"
"Kamiya Kashin-ryu." Kaoru moved next to Abby and Matt, then waited for Yahiko to join her. Saito lifted an eyebrow at his answer, but said nothing. Then, it was Kenshin's turn. Saito looked at him, face openly mocking.
"Name?" Kenshin glared at him. Such a useless question.
"Kenshin Himura."
"Swordsmanship style?" Kenshin hesitated. He had never told anyone his style. He glanced around at the kids watching him, waiting for his answer. Well, at least only those in Hiko's class would know what he was talking about. He was eternally grateful that his master hadn't gone into any detail on the style, just stating the name, and which category it fell into.
"Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu." Saito raised an eyebrow. The kid actually told the truth. Amazing. He finished writing the names down, noting that most were from the same dojo, with the same styles. Only three people out of eight had different ones. Saito set the clipboard down, then returned, holding a wooden sword in his hand.
"Ok, since I get to choose to see how well you all know your style, I decided that you would face me, in a duel. One round. Whoever falls first loses. Everyone okay with that?" His tone made it clear that they had better be. The eight of them nodded, and a part of Kenshin, a part he struggled to keep hidden, rose to the occasion, eager to finish a long fought battle against the man. This part brought out a buried memory.
The man in front of him held a katana, gleaming in the moonlight, A few men on the ground were already dead, having been killed by either a misfire from the fighting or by the boy holding the blood stained sword. He turned and faced the taller man, amber eyes glinting.
'Saito Hajime, Captain of the third squad of the Shinsengumi. What do you want from me?' The teen turned, eyes facing the wolf of Mibu, as his nickname had become. He smirked.
'I want to fight the greatest of them all. The Hitokiri Battosai. Come now, afraid? I know we're on the same side, but whose to tell if one dies during a war?' He brandished his sword. The battosai faced off with him, and the two stood and waited for an invisible sign to begin. Then, it started with the clash of silver ringing.
The fight wasn't resolved, instead left to fate as the war around them called them back to their duties. They left, both agreeing to finish this fight someday.
Kenshin shook his head, both to clear the memory and to get rid of that nagging sensation to kill Saito. He watched as Saito faced off with Kaoru. He was obviously the better of the two, but he held back, gauging to see her skill. Then, when he had seen enough, Saito stopped playing and ended the duel, wooden sword held to her throat. She receded, grudgingly, and let Matt take her place. All the rest of the students were the same. Skill not very high, compared to Saito's, but allowed to fight until the man had judged them at least slightly competent, but not very. Yahiko actually continued to fight, even after he was sorely beaten. Saito had to actually knock him almost unconscious to make him quit.
"That was uncalled for, Saito." Kenshin remarked, walking into the space used for the evaluation. Saito blinked for a moment, then grinned wickedly. Now this was a fight he would enjoy.
"Yeah, sure, but it was the only way to make the little brat stop. He has potential, but without proper training, he'll amount to almost nothing anyway. So, back on topic. Ready to finish this?" The last words were spoken quietly as the two circled each other, eyes locked on the others. Kenshin nodded, eyes narrowed. When Kaoru looked at them, she shuddered, chilled by the look that was held there. They assumed ready stances, both different.
"I will draw him back out if I kill myself." Saito said, looking like he meant it. Kenshin glared right back at him, hoping that what he said wasn't true. They stared at each other for a moment, struggling for control, then, on an invisible mark, set off.
The first few moves were a blur, until Kaoru's eyes adjusted to the speed at which the two were moving. By her point of view, Kenshin was faster, making Saito struggle to catch up to him. Then, Saito got in a lucky strike, sending Kenshin flying into the back wall. Everyone's gazes were immediately brought to the fight between them, and eyes widened when they saw the teenager get up, as if making a Kenshin-sized hole in the cement wall was nothing. He wiped blood off his face with a hand.
His eyes had flickered to an in-between shade, somewhere between indigo and amber. His eyes had narrowed even further, and had adopted a cold, blank stare. Hiko looked slightly surprised. His student had a very effective look about him, and almost seemed as if he was the battosai. He just needed a little more amber and not so much indigo in his eyes. And they needed to be colder.
"So, still that same old kid. Never giving up. You haven't fallen or surrendered yet, so the duel is still in session." And Saito charged at Kenshin, sword held over his head at an angle to the ground. Kenshin narrowed his eyes, waited until the time was right, then just vanished, no wavering or anything. Even Sano was surprised, despite the mantra 'Kenshin can do anything.' Nothing could just do that. Actually, he had moved so fast, an after-image had been left behind.
Saito blinked in surprise for a moment, then realized Kenshin was beneath him. He lashed out with a foot, catching the boy in the ribs. Kenshin flipped off the foot, landing a few feet away, hair tie popping out and eyes all amber, and colder then the arctic. He stood up slowly. Saito's eyes widened, then narrowed when he realized that the battosai had finally emerged.
"So, you finally gave in didn't you?" He sneered. He didn't give up Kenshin's cover, not yet. He wanted to beat the boy before he told everyone who it was. While, yes, he hadn't expected to see him here, of all places, when he signed for a teaching job at his old school, he would enjoy it while it lasted.
Kenshin just stood there, eyes narrowed, and everyone one shuddered as the temperature seemed to drop ten degrees. Off to the side, you could see Hiko, grinning wickedly as he turned the temperature down.
Saito charged, using the same attack as he had before. Kenshin just stood, rooted, until the man got within reach. Then he stepped to the side, dodging by a hairs breadth. Saito grinned. Kenshin had forgotten about the side slash that this attack could automatically be turned into. He whipped the sword around, but missed as the teenager spun, and slammed the sword against the back of Saito's neck. The man's eyes widened, while everyone looked away as he was propelled into the wall, also leaving a large hole.
They were all surprised to see him get up, wondering if, like Kenshin, he just wasn't human. He looked dangerously at the teen, wiping blood off his mouth. He got to his feet, and walked, menacingly, back to the designated fight zone. The moment they were about to begin, a large figure stepped in between the raised swords.
"Kill each other on your own time, but not in the middle of a school day. Now, lower your swords before I knock both of you unconscious for a week. And you know I can. Now." The two fighters reluctantly lowered the raised weapons and glared at each other, eyes saying that they would finish this another time. Hiko looked each in the eye, then took the swords forcefully away and beckoned them to follow. Having no choice, they went, and the moment they stepped out of the room, the whispers began, loud enough to reach the two's ears, yet soft enough to make in hard to discern words.
"Did you see them? They fought like maniacs? I wonder who would have won if Mr. Shiko hadn't stepped in. Would have been an interesting fight." They heard a boy say, before Hiko grabbed both of them by the arm and shoved them into seats in the boy's locker room.
"Ok, explanations. Now." He tapped a foot on a bench, sound reverberating in the empty room. Saito and Kenshin didn't look at each other, but the same thoughts were running through the others head. 'Shit. What do I say now?' Kenshin was the first one to speak up.
"It was an old fight. One that needed to be finished. Sorry master. This one knows that it was wrong to start it on the gym. Next time we will be more careful." Saito wheeled. This guy was battousai's MASTER? Well, if he couldn't beat Kenshin, he sure as hell didn't want to go up against the guy who could knock Kenshin out. That probably wouldn't be smart. He sat and listened as Hiko berated his apprentice and Saito for causing chaos in the gym.
"And just FYI, the two of you are going to have to repair the wall, since you managed to create two Saito- and Kenshin-sized holes in it. Here's the cement and the wheelbarrow." Hiko reached into a closet and pulled out the items. Kenshin didn't even bother to ask where they had come from. Knowing his master, it had been magic. "Ok, see ya!" He walked out, leaving the two rivals to sit and contemplate his words in silence, the cement and wheelbarrow sitting in front of them. .
"Well, we might as well get started now. Knowing Master Hiko, he'll stand over us with a katana, making sure we do it right. And there goes the whistle. See you for cleaning duty in a minute!" Kenshin ran off, changing quickly so he might actually get to lunch on time. He knew he would miss fourth anyway. Cement walls took forever to clean up.
He ran out as everyone else was coming in, bag in the wheelbarrow with the cement , and was pulling along behind him. He bumped into Sano and Yahiko as he ran out, and they walked in.
"Sorry, no time for questions! Cement walls to be repaired! BYE!! Tell the teacher this one is sorry!" Kenshin ran off, leaving the two with mouths hanging open, unanswered questions on the tip of their tongue. The sighed resignedly, knowing they would have to wait for answers until later.
Kenshin arrived in the gym only to see Saito holding a barrel, shovels, and one of the bags of quick dry cement with a frown on his face.
"Didn't know they actually expected us to repair the wall completely, just clean it up, and so forth." Saito commented. "I don't even know how to mix cement." Kenshin laughed.
"This one expected it, if Master Hiko was in charge of us. He used to make this one clean up everything, and fix it. Got tiring after a while. Well, this one knows how to mix cement. Had to repair a few busted walls in my time. Master sent one flying into them on a daily bases, when this one was a kid. Not much fun." Kenshin and Saito began to clear the debris, Kenshin from his hole, Saito working on the one he made. The dumped the debris into the wheelbarrow for transport later.
They had been working for thirty minutes when the principal came in, followed closely by not only a medical examiner, but a grinning Hiko. Kenshin, who knew his former master, could guess what was going on. He glared, eyes hardening. Saito stood, lost for a moment, then caught on. He too joined Kenshin, glaring over at the taller man. He didn't need an exam to make sure he was alright. Crashing into the wall wasn't much anymore, not to him. When the doctor stopped, getting a good look at the damage, he turned, wide eyed, to the principal.
"Are you sure that it was these two who made these holes? Not some sledgehammer?" He asked, voice harsh. The principal turned he head to Hiko for conformation. He nodded, smirking at the two men glaring at him. "The force that would take….not to mention the strain on the body….they shouldn't be alive, much less cleaning up the mess. I'm going to have to take a look at them, make sure they have no internal bleeding. Now, would it be alright if I used the nurse's office?" The principal nodded, hoping that her student and her new teacher were alright. It would be a shame, not to mention costly, if they were badly injured.
"Ok, come along you two. You heard the doctor." Hiko said, his voice sickly sweet. Kenshin and Saito put down their shovels, both wishing that they could just knock everyone unconscious and run away. But, unfortunately, Hiko couldn't be beaten that easily. So, resigned to their fate, they turned and followed the three up to the nurse's office.
The doctor soon began a thorough examination of the two, beginning with their heads. He had them turn around three times and walk in a straight line, then tilted their heads side to side, back and forth, and tapped the spine slightly, to make sure nothing was injured. The next command made both of them freeze up.
"Ok, take off your shirts. I need to check for wounds on the surface. Ah, come on now. You two aren't scared, are you?" He said, exasperated, when both of them refused to remove the shirts.
"Take them off, or I will." Hiko threatened. Saito and Kenshin both blinked, then, hesitantly, slowly, they removed their shirts. The doctor, principal, and the nurse, who was assisting, gasped.
Both Kenshin and Saito were well built, muscular, rock hard abs, solid chests. And they were both covered in scars, Kenshin's being the more numerous, or the most visible. Saito and Kenshin took in the others build, then looked around the room, waiting for anyone to say anything. Then, they looked at themselves. Besides the scars, they had bruises spreading from the front to the back of their bodies, purple, black, blue, all the pretty colors. Kenshin's wound on his arm hadn't yet healed, so that was still there.
"Well, this is certainly a surprise. While I might have expected a few scars from you, Saito Hajime, captain of the third unit in the Shinsengumi, but from you, Kenshin Himura, this is certainly a shock. Where the heck did you manage to get all these?" The doctor asked, all in one breath. Kenshin looked down at his feet, clearly unwilling to answer. The he heard Saito mutter,
"If only you people knew. Then, maybe, he wouldn't be such a big concern. And I'm still gonna kill him. One of these days, I will." Thankfully, no one else was listening hard enough, so it went unnoticed. Kenshin and Saito sat in silence as they were probed by the doctor and the nurse, until they were about to hurt both of them rather seriously.
"Ok, since you people have conformed that we are human, we did survive hitting the wall, and we aren't dying, CAN WE LEAVE?" Saito finally exploded, and the three who were inspecting them backed away, nodding. "THANK YOU!" Saito heaved on his shirt and walked out, leaving Kenshin and Hiko to follow.
Back in the gym, an hour later, Kenshin and Saito were still working, struggling against fatigue and pain to put the last of the cement in place. Hiko was sitting in a chair, drinking a soda as if to say 'You did this, now deal with it.' He looked up as they finished it off and slumped, back to back, on the floor.
"Ah, come on now, it can't be that tiring. Besides, you made the mess, you clean it up." He quoted a much used children's phrase. Kenshin heaved a sigh, then got to his feet, heading out the door without a word. Lunch was waiting. The blessedly hot food of the cafeteria drew him inexorably towards it.
"And where do you think you're going?" Hiko asked, turning his head fractionally.
"Lunch." The word floated back to the two still in the gym Hiko chuckled. It was hard to remember that Kenshin was still a teenager, but his appetite always brought that back. Kenshin nearly ran him broke while he was training, not only in medical expenses, which were hard to explain and even harder to wipe off the records, but in food.
Kenshin walked into the lunch room hoping for obscurity, and still managed to practically ooze 'inhuman super powered teen.' All heads turned, and the story of his and Saito's fight had been greatly expounded upon. Not only had he hovered ten feet above the ground, he also turned into Superman, flew through three walls and pounded Saito into dirt, literally. People just loved to gossip, and what was a better topic then a fight? He walked to his usual table, under the stares of over a hundred people, and joined his silent friends.
They didn't say a word, just sat and ate, in complete quiet. All in all, no one said anything until later that evening, when they had gone home and were sitting in the living room with the TV on. Kaoru was still contemplating about the fight at school, and almost nothing else was talked about all day long. Finally, she just couldn't keep her mouth shut.
"What the hell did you do in the gym today, Kenshin?" She burst, staring over at the red-head. He sighed, resigned to answering. He had waited for the question to be sprung.
"This one had a bit of unfinished business with Saito Hajime. Nothing else. That's all." Kaoru looked at him, mouth open to voice another question, but Sano beat her too it.
"How did you manage to survive being thrown into the wall like that and not break anything?" Sano had a look of incredulity on his face. Kenshin flushed slightly. He had no idea how to answer this one.
"Well, one has trained a lot. Crashing into the wall like that, well, it wasn't much, in all honesty. Yes, it hurt, and yes, it still hurts, but it isn't as bad as some things this one has experienced." This was as close as he could get to an explanation. When Megumi, who had joined them, luckily Misao free, got to her knees, ready to take a look at his wounds, Kenshin shook his head. He didn't want them to see his scars again. So they sat, doing homework, in silence, until Sano and Megumi left, heading home, at eight.
Kenshin got to his feet, ready to make dinner, when he felt someone cling to his shirt from behind.
"Why, Kenshin? Why all the secrets? I wish you wouldn't keep them to yourself. I can tell they hurt you. Why don't you tell me one of them? Please? I just want to know why you're always hurting inside. Please?" A feminine voice said, her face buried into his shirt. He could feel tears streaming from her eyes.
RK: I think I reply individually, but here are my reviewer thank-yous!!!!
Super Goat Girl Here's the chapter! If you have any ideas I would love them!!! (I'm nearing the end of the already-written-out chapters)
Flip-Flop108 Arigato Gozaimasu!! The only one who voted! You have my utter gratitude!
MadzCheesyfiedThanks! Any input on the voting?
starfruit-22I thank you from the bottom of my writing-obsessed heart. The reviews always brighten my day!!!! Sankyuu!!!!
RK: Ok, ok, I know, I be begging. But I need ideas! I have a few for later, but I need some from the people that like this story! You all have ideas of where you want this to go right? Well, now is when you get to be heard! And guess what? I will probably use them!! Mer! --'
RK15: THANK YOU TO ALL REVIEWERS!! YOU GET POCKY!!! Oh, and I'm looking for reader input. Again. This is where the polling stands right now
1. The government sends an old friend out to track Kenshin down and bring him back to the government.
2. Kenshin leaves of his own accord after his secret is revealed to all of his friends.
3. Voice manages to gain control and takes him back to headquarters. 1
And what the Kenshingumi do about it is……
1. Attempt a full scale rescue mission solo. 1
2. Gain the reluctant help of one Hiko Seijuro to get Kenshin back
Other. Give me ideas!!!!
Any other ideas are more than welcome. I have a rough idea where I want to go with this but I would love to see what you all want!!!! Review!!!!!