Chapter 15: Juppon Katana
"I lost him!" Sano yelled. "Do you see them?"
"NO!" Kaoru cried. "What was he doing with them?" She walked around hopelessly. "KENSHIN!"
"How could I have lost him!? I'm such an idiot! Man… You can't leave that guy alone for a second!"
"What are they going to do to him?"
"Last time, Kenshin said he thought that they were going to kill him."
"WHAT?!"
"N-no! Th-that's not what I meant!" Sano tried reassuring her, but Kaoru was running through the mall in desperate search for him.
Aoshi exited the goth store with a bag in his hand when Kaoru passed him. He caught her shoulder, stopping her. "…"
"Kenshin's been kidnapped by the Juppon Katana!" She cried.
Aoshi's eyes widened. "I know where they are taking him."
"Please, we have to help him! No one is safe with those people!"
"…"
Sano caught up to them. "I'm coming with you."
"It is dangerous."
"I can take it!" Kaoru and Sano yelled.
"I will fetch Misao. Go and enter the car."
"Right," They said.
"Sano," Kaoru said. "What about Megumi-san?"
"Aw, she'll be fine. She's got her own car."
"O…kay…" She said hesitantly and ran off, Sano at her heels.
Damn. Aoshi turned and headed towards Misao's favorite store.
-
Shinta… That name is too soft for a warrior. From now on your name is… Kenshin.
Kenshin opened his eyes slightly, staring up at a ceiling that was far, far above him with many balconies incasing the sides.
"Welcome back, Himura-san!" Soujirou said, leaning over him.
Kenshin screamed and rose up, panting greatly. His eyes traveled the room at all of the strange people. Soujirou laughed at him, squatting down so that he was at eye level with him.
"Where am I?" He asked seriously, a glare on his face.
"I told you earlier, didn't I?" Soujirou laughed, pulling a cloth from his school uniform jacket. "Here you are, Himura-san!"
Kenshin took it. "What is it for?"
"For your face. You're bleeding, you know."
Kenshin unconsciously seemed to know exactly where to place his hand. He set his fingers against his left cheek, and when he brought his hand out, it was indeed bloody. "What did you do to me…?" He stated more than questioned.
"You just started doing that after you passed out," Soujirou stood up and put his hands behind his head. "You were mumbling crazy stuff too. It was funny."
Kenshin stood up, fists clenched. "You think I would do this to myself?"
"We were afraid you would…" Soujirou looked over his shoulder at him, his blue eyes looking sly. "-after your parents were killed."
It hit Kenshin hard. He almost fell over. "How did you know that?!" He yelled, his anger flaring up inside of him.
"We knew all about it, Himura-san."
"Did you do it?! Did you, Soujirou?!"
"Hm? I only do what Shishio-sama tells me to."
"Shishio… Who is Shishio?!"
"He is our leader," A deep voice said from behind him. Kenshin turned around to face a large man with a bandana around his head and large brown circles around his eyes. "I am Anji."
Kenshin stepped back and tripped over something in the floor. He looked down as he fell to see a sword laying on the ground and was caught before he managed to hit the floor.
"You're so much cuter this way," Kamatari said, his arms around Kenshin. Kenshin gave a severely freaked out and disgusted look at him.
"O-oro?"
Resting on the top of Kamatari's head were none other than his glasses. "What is it?" He asked.
Kenshin felt along his face for a different pair of glasses, but he didn't find them. "I… I can see…"
"Well, you could always see before, Himura-san," Soujirou said, picking up the sword on the ground. "You put a scuff on the sheath of my wakizashi, but that's okay. Shishio-sama will get it fixed."
"You have a leader?" Kenshin asked, prying himself free of Kamatari, losing his white over shirt. Kamatari slipped it on immediately so he couldn't turn back to nab it.
"Mm-hm, and he's very looking forward to seeing you again, Himura-san," Soujirou said, beaming as usual.
"Seeing me… again?" Kenshin questioned.
"Yes," Soujirou nodded. "He wants you to become one of us. He's even got your name ready since Kenshin is so dull of a name."
"Name…?"
"Of course. We all have one, don't we? Ha hah!" Soujirou pointed over to the group before him. "You, of course, already know Kamatari and Chou. You met Usui earlier too. There's Henya over there," He pointed to the bat-like person in the trench coat. "-and over there is Iwanbo," His hand shifted to a fat, dumb-looking human being. "Then, there's Fuji and Saizuchi!" Soujirou pointed upwards.
Kenshin hadn't noticed him before. He was too curious with what was going on. "He's a… GIANT!" Kenshin cried.
"Only Fuji," Soujirou replied, beaming.
"This is all of you?" Kenshin asked, mortified still.
"Oh, no! You've forgotten Shishio-sama, his second-in-command, Houji, and then there's Yumi, of course, but they aren't here right now. Shishio-san is at home enjoying the peace and quiet. We'll head over there soon."
"I don't want to be a part of your group," Kenshin glared at him.
"Why? Don't you like us?" Kamatari asked, winking at him.
"What do you want me for…? Why have you yet to answer my question?!"
Silence.
"Well, of course, Himura-san. You're Hitokiri Battousai."
-
Everyone had piled into Misao's car, a blue vehicle with white, leather seats. She started the car and drove it from the parking lot out onto the street.
"To that old warehouse, right, Aoshi-sama?" Misao smiled at him, who had gotten the passenger seat.
"…" Aoshi nodded.
"Why'd they take him to a warehouse?" Sano asked, leaning forward.
"That's where they always hangout."
"How do you know that?" Kaoru asked.
"-because ninjas are good hid--mmph--" Misao's mouth was covered by Aoshi's hand.
"Ninjas? What do ninjas have to do with anything?" Sano asked.
"…"
"Oookay," He sank down in his seat slightly. "Still not much of a talker."
-
"Saitou, why'd you call me out here for?" Hiko moaned, walking onto the dirty street surrounded by fences in front of warehouses.
Saitou stood in the middle of the abandoned street smoking a cigarette. "You need to save your student."
"student--"
"Your… 'stupid apprentice'," Saitou smirked.
"I told you, I don't believe that stupid story!" Hiko yelled.
"That Hiko Seijirou from the past sounded an awful lot like you," Saitou said.
"The Juppon Katana created that site. It's all just a bunch of bull shit that they wrote up."
"Really…" Saitou raised his eyebrows in interest. "You love being ignorant to reality. You've seen that boy at work."
"It's just a coincidence."
"Really? Prove it."
"How?"
"We'll discuss it tomorrow before you teach your little gym class. Now, let's rescue him."
"Rescue him from what?"
"The Juppon Katana."