A/N: So, the last chapter seems to have thrown you guys for a ringer, so I'll tell you now, even though Renji isn't finished there.
This is from Rurouni Kenshin, a manga/anime from the 1990's. The manga is incredible, but the anime is pretty old-school and weird. The characters are Kenshin (the hero) and a couple of little girls that are anime-only. More Kenshin characters to follow in this chapter, then I'll be done and heading somewhere else.
Hooray for my second reviewer, EspeonSilverfire2! And as always, thanks to StrictlySomething! You guys are the reason I keep going. That and my demented excuse for a brain.
Aaannd...back to the story now. I still don't own anything.
After walking away with his new friend Kenshin, Renji began to take the time to wonder where he was. After looking, but seeing no recognizable landmarks, he decided to swallow his manly pride, and just ask.
"So... Where is this?"
"Hmm?" his companion replied, looking slightly confused. "We are in Tokyo, so we are."
"Tokyo? Weird. It looks nothing like itself... wait. What year is it?"
"It is the twelfth year of the Meiji era, so it is. 1880 by western calendars."
"18...80? How the fuck?" Renji spluttered in confusion. "URAHARA! DAMN YOU!" As this was the second time the new man had started screaming nonsense to the heavens, Kenshin decided to just take it in stride, and hope he would stop eventually. So, as Renji coughed, screamed and railed, Kenshin just kept walking along, enjoying the nice day and ignoring the strange looks of passers-by. Eventually, as they approached the Kamiya dojo, Renji's screams had turned into mutters, and he began to once more take an interest in his surroundings.
"So, where is this?"
"This is the Kamiya dojo, so it is. My home, and that of my wife and son."
"Wait, you're married? How old are you, sixteen?"
"I'm thirty." Kenshin seemed used to these questions, since he did indeed look much younger than he actually was. It hadn't been as bad during the Bakumatsu, since he actually had been a teenager, but it was starting to get old. "I age slowly."
"Oh, okay. I get it, I'm older than I look, too." Renji was quite a bit older than he looked, considering he was about 150. But he wouldn't tell Kenshin that. So he dropped the question of age, and looked around with interest as they entered the dojo.
"Kaoru, I'm home!" At Kenshin's call, a pretty girl of about twenty came out of the back, holding a miniature clone of Kenshin in her arms. "Hello, Kenji! How are you?" As he tried to tickle his son, baby 'Kenji' reached out his hand, grabbed his father's hair, and yanked. Hard. "Ororoo! That hurts, so it does!"
"Kenji! Stop that!" Suddenly, Kaoru looked up and saw that her husband had brought a friend home. "And who is this?"
"Strangely, I got attacked by a group of sword-police while playing with Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan in the market today. Renji here helped me out, so he did." Renji noticed that in private, the polite but strange endings were more of an afterthought, probably just for his benefit.
"I thought they all knew not to bother you! Where have they been, in a box for the past few years? That's ridiculous! I'm going to talk to Saito about this..." Kaoru went off in a rant, setting Kenji down and going to the back, to return minutes later in fighting clothes, with a bokken in her hands.
"Kaoru-san, you don't have to do that. The police weren't much trouble, and I would hate to get you and your husband in trouble," protested Renji. 'Ha, take that, Rukia! I can be tactful!' he thought smugly.
But Renji's tact wouldn't matter in the long run, for suddenly he felt a wave of killing intent, as a large hole appeared in the dojo wall.
"Oh, hello Saito. We were just talking about you." Kenshin and Kaoru looked surprisingly nonchalant about the chunk taken out of their dojo, as a tall, slightly evil looking man climbed through it, followed by a rather ridiculous looking broom-headed man with about six katanas on his person.
"You attacked the police? I thought Battousai was gone, but now I want a rematch!" The tall one said, looking through his odd, antennae-like bangs at Kenshin with a death glare.
"Umm... actually, that was me," said Renji. He didn't want to bother Kenshin more than he already had, and besides, this guy looked like he might put up a good fight. (Renji was, after all, still an 11th division member at heart, and he really was bored at this point.)
"Huh. You don't look like much. Let me talk to Battousai." Renji didn't appreciate getting brushed off like this, so he drew his katana and dared the man to say that again. 'Saito' looked over with renewed interest, when he was interrupted by Kenshin's rather pissed-off wife.
"NOT IN MY HOUSE! If you are going to fight, take it outside. You have already stabbed another chunk out of my wall, and I'm tired of rebuilding every time you come over. So fight, fine. But NOT HERE!" This unexpected outburst led to yet another unexpected thing, as Saito turned to her, looking a bit sheepish.
"Yeah, sorry about that. It has been a while since I felt Kenshin's fighting spirit, so I was kind of excited. Plus, he knocked out all those policemen, so he must be feeling better." Saito wasn't really sorry, but Kaoru could be a scary woman when she wanted to.
'She reminds me of Rukia,' Renji shuddered as the thought crossed his mind. Then he spoke up again. "Actually, knocking out the police was me, too. And I don't think Kenshin wants to fight, but I'm game! Wanna go?"
Saito looked over at him. "You probably aren't worth my time, but I am bored. Tell you what, I'll fight you if you beat Chou first. I don't want to waste my effort with weaklings."
Now, Renji was reminded of Zaraki-Taichou, and he grinned. "Fine, whatever. You warm up while I beat your lackey, be with you in a few." If there was anything Renji liked after all his time in Soul Society, it was a good pre-fight banter. Plus, the broom-headed lackey was starting to get pissed. 'This'll be fun!'
"You impudent pineapple!" Yep, he had definitely pissed off the lackey. "I, Chou the katana collector, will beat the living shit out of you! I am NOT a lackey!" Renji's response was to unsheathe Zabimaru. He couldn't release him here, but Renji was a good enough swordsman that he wouldn't need shikai against a human.
(insert, short, rather pathetic battle here)
After about five minutes, 'Chou the katana collector' was laying in the corner, bruised and unconscious. Renji gave a feral grin and turned to Saito, who gave a slight smirk and put out his cigarette. He then drew his own katana, and held it in a unique pose. "Gatotsu!" Saito yelled, and charged with an impressive stabbing attack. He was still nothing to an arrancar, though, and Renji blocked the sword's tip with his own. "What the-?" Saito muttered. "This guy's as fast as Battousai when he's pissed. This might be more fun than I expected."
"Stop talking and fight," Renji grinned as he taunted the taller man. "I'm not gonna go easy!"
After a rather longer battle, the two swordsmen were breathing heavily. Both were bleeding from small wounds, and they finally decided to call a draw. Renji was impressed. It seemed that all the man could do was stab, but he was VERY good at stabbing. Renji could have beat him easily, of course, but not in a gigai. As it was, it had been fun. He looked over at their spectators. Kaoru was openly gaping, having never seen anyone who could take Saito except for Kenshin. Kenshin was more subtle, but also impressed. His eyes had changed from those of a happy, silly civilian to those of a professional swordsman, and he had one eyebrow raised.
"I see how you could knock out the police that easily now, so I do." Kenshin said, coming over two the two combatants with glassed of cold tea. "That was impressive, it was."
Saito merely looked at Renji steadily. "Impressive though you may be, the fact remains that swords are illegal in this Meiji era. Battousai has an exception, but you do not. Leave the katana at home."
"Don't worry. I won't be staying long." This revelation surprised Kenshin.
"Where will you go? You are far from home, you say."
"Yeah, but it's about time to head back. I probably won't see you again, though maybe I'll look you up later." 120 years later, that is. If this Kenshin didn't end up as a Shinigami, Renji would be surprised. "Bye now." And, deciding he didn't care what they thought anymore, Renji shucked his gigai.
That led to more problems, however. Kaoru did the expected, running over and exclaiming at the apparently dead body. Kenshin and Saito, however, were looking straight at Renji.
"What the hell?" Kenshin did not curse very often, but even he had to admit that this was surprising. "Why are you not in your body?"
"Umm... I'm a shinigami. Yeah. Bye!" And, not being very good at explanations, Renji drew Zabimaru, stuck him into the thin air, and opened the gate to Soul Society. He wasn't running away. Of course he wasn't. He did need to get home, though.
A/N: okay, that's it for Kenshin world. For now. Being in the past creates paradoxes, though, so there may be a return. And now, he's off to past-Soul Society! Until next time. I'm still in finals, but I'll try to keep updating. I'll be done with school on Friday, anyway.
By the way, as for battle scenes, I don't intend to spend much time on them. They aren't that important, and I don't really want to write them with detail.
(PS if you need a manga to read, Rurouni Kenshin is one of my favorites, and it's finished as of, like, 1999. It's on OneManga.)
