Chapter 23: Death and Questions

School was not a pleasant thing to hear about, much less go to, but Kenshin stood in the kitchen, waiting for Hiko in his everyday uniform, a most solemn look on his face.

"Let's go," Hiko said, walking in as he pulled a bag over his shoulder.

"I don't… want to…" He muttered, pouting.

"Me neither, but you've missed enough school as it is."

"oro…"

"Get goin'!"

"Yes, sir!" He scurried out to the car.

Kenshin stared out the window of the car, watching the world speed by. He watched as people looked at each other and talked to each other, feeling strangely in tune with the world around him. His eyes passed through the crowd until they came upon a face which knocked him from his daze.

"Ah-" He said, his eyes blinking, then widening. Just as quickly as she came, the brown-haired woman was gone. "Who… was that?"

"Who was who?" Hiko asked.

"N-nothing," Kenshin said quickly, giving a nervous glance over his shoulder.

Hiko stared at him for a moment, then put his eyes back on the road.

"Um… Shishou… you seem extremely out of it today, de gozaru yo."

Hiko pulled over.

"O-oro?"

"Listen, boy… stop calling me shishou. I'm not your master, so stop saying I am. We don't know each other that well, and I didn't teach you swordsmanship no matter how many lies are placed into your head that I did, understand?"

"H...Hiko-san…" Kenshin muttered, wide-eyed. "I never..." A flash came before his eyes of he and Hiko facing off, and Hiko was wearing that ridiculous cloak, gi and hakama again. He shook his head to destroy the image from his mind.

"Don't listen to Saitou…" Hiko said suddenly.

"oro? Saitou..."

"He's cold blooded, and you can't trust him. Just do what I say. I know what's best for you."

"Hiko-san… Does this mean that you… actually care what happens to me?" Kenshin blushed in surprise and slight awkwardness.

"N-no!" Hiko yelled, making Kenshin slip back in his seat slightly. "I just know he's not reliable."

He pulled back onto the road, and Kenshin looked out his window again. He turned to look at Hiko from the corner of his eyes, and a smile cracked from his lips. He's actually starting to like me…

()

Hiko and Kenshin had arrived early. They both went and sat in his class, for Kenshin still had about fifteen minutes before first period started.

Hiko was busy writing his lesson plan on the board as Kenshin twiddled with the pencil in his hand.

"Ai suru hito wo mamoru tame ni kitto," Kenshin muttered to himself. "Otoko wa umarete kita yo ai ga nakerya tsuyoku nakerya yasashiku wa narenai…"

"Uh…" Hiko turned to face him. "Mind telling me what you just said there, baka?"

"Surely a man was born to defend the one he loves, if there is no love, if one is not strong, one cannot be kind…" Kenshin stated. "I just made it up," He rubbed the back of his head, beaming.

"A poet, I see," Hiko raised an eyebrow at him. "I never was one for poetry. Then again, I never needed it. The girls loved me already," He grinned. Kenshin merely smiled back, used to Hiko's infatuation with the female race and sake.

"Of course, Shishou," Kenshin said kindly.

"Hey, I thought I told you...ah..." Hiko paused when he saw the sad look within the smiling boy's eyes.

"You know… this will probably seem really stupid of me, but… I just thought I'd tell you… Thank you…. For helping me out so much. I do not deserve such kindness, de gozaru yo… Not many people would help out a boy like me," He said, standing up and slipping on his backpack.

"What kind of boy would people not want to help?" Hiko rose an eyebrow. Kenshin was a good kid. Anybody would want help from him.

"Why… hitokiri, of course," He said.

"Hito...Kenshin! I thought I told you-"

"I'm not as stupid as you think, de gozaru yo," Kenshin said, looking over his shoulder at him.

"Ken…"

"I have to get to class now. Sayonara!" He waved a two-fingered goodbye and walked off down the hall.

Hiko sat down on the edge of his desk and sighed. "Kenshin no baka…. What am I supposed to do with you? You're too smart for your own good… wise beyond your years… wise beyond mine, and everyone's. That ain't fair!" He pouted, then grinned. "-but… you still don't have any common sense… baka."

()

"Ahhh…." Sano growled in frustration. "A D-! Damn…"

"I got an A on that test, de gozaru yo," Kenshin said innocently.

"That's not fair…" He pouted. "The English teacher likes you."

"Oro," Kenshin rubbed the back of his head, smiling. "I studied really hard."

"Hm…" Sano rubbed his chin in thought. "Maybe that's my problem…"

"Probab-"

"NAH!" Sano chuckled, throwing his hands behind his head. Kenshin face faulted.

"I'm beginning to wonder about you, Sano..."

"KEN-SAN!"

"Oro?" Two arms wrapped around his neck. "OH!… er… Megumi-san…" Kenshin muttered.

"Yo', Megitsune, hands off 'a my friend, eh? He's got his eyes set on another woman, and your making it harder for him," Sano said, sticking his finger in his ear and rotating it slightly.

Megumi scowled at him.

"Don't be sad, foxy! You can hang on me all ya' want!" Sano chuckled.

"You wish," Megumi said, letting go. "Besides, I was just greeting Ken-san in a friendly manner."

"You couldn't have been more 'friendly' if you grabbed his ass," Sano said, then broke into laughter.

SMACK!

"Hmph," Megumi said, throwing her hair back behind her shoulder and stomping off, leaving a severely embarrassed Kenshin and a disgruntled Sano with a hand-print on his face to watch her go.

"I shouldn't 'a said that, huh," Sano said, rubbing his face.

"Y-y' think?" Kenshin squeaked. "Hey… What do you mean 'I've got my eyes set on another woman'?"

"Jou-chan, duh," Sano shrugged.

"STOP SAYING THAT!" Kenshin yelled, going red in the face. Sano burst into laughter and walked off, throwing his hands behind his head. "C-COME BACK HERE! Y-YOU SHOULD GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT, DE GOZARU YO!" He gave chase after Sano.

"You ca-an't get me!" Sano sang as he picked up into a run. "Ahahahahahahaha- WOAH!"

BAM!

Sano collided with another person.

"Sano!" Kenshin ran over.

"Oh, jeez, I'm sorry," Sano said raising up.

"It's okay," A high-tenor voice said, making Kenshin and Sano freeze. Soujirou rose up, beaming. "I wasn't paying attention, Sagara-san!"

"Sou..." Sano began, blue running over his nose.

"You of all people, preoccupied?" Kenshin glared at him, feeling no sympathy for the boy who had kidnapped him.

Soujirou giggled, standing up. "Yes, yes. I get inattentive too, Himura-san." He opened his eyes, and, for the first time, it looked as though there was a small, microscopic hint of emotion within them.

Kenshin stared at him for a second or two. Suddenly, a thought struck him from when he had been taken under siege by the Juppon Katana. "Soujirou…" He took hold of the front of Soujirou's jacket. "Tell me the truth…"

"Yes, Himura-san?" Soujirou asked innocently.

"Did you… kill my parents?" He said deeply, his eyes narrowing from under his bangs.

"…" Soujirou's smile faded for the first time in a long time. Then, after a moment, it returned, bright as ever. "Of course not, Himura-san!"

"You're lying!" Kenshin yelled, his eyes flashing gold for a moment.

"No!" Soujirou cried, his eyes flying open. His pupils became small, making him much creepier looking. "The only parents I killed is my own."

Kenshin paled, dropping him and stepping back. "Wh-wh-what?"

"You wouldn't understand," Soujirou beamed. "Although they weren't my immediate family, they were still my guardians, and I hated them, so I took care of it!"

"-but...why?" Sano asked.

"Well, it was perfectly fair because several times they beat the hell out of me too! Ahahahahahahaha!" He strolled off.

"That… has nothing to do with it…" Kenshin muttered.

"You're wrong," Sano said, making Kenshin turn to him. "Yahiko told me… that abuse can drive you to think and do things you'd never want to do."

"Yahiko?"

"Jou-chan saved him from a gang that kept picking on him, forcing him to do things that he didn't want to do."

"I didn't know…" Kenshin muttered.

"She kicked their butts with that boken. They transferred to another school now though."

"-but...it's still…. It's still MURDER, SANO!" Kenshin cried, grabbing hold of his shoulders. "SANO! No one deserves to die. No one deserves to be slaughtered!" He blinked several times to stop himself from crying, but all that he succeeded in doing was seeing his parents forms on his kitchen floor and seeing that woman in his arms with the dagger against his cheek.

"Kenshin, c-calm down," Sano said quietly, touching his shoulder.

"He shouldn't be walking as a free man… He isn't even… atoning… for his sins…" He slid down to his knees, choking up as his tears began slapping against the school's tile. "I… I've done all I can to repent for my transgressions… and I still feel like I haven't done enough… and yet… He walks around with a smile on his face… He's proud of his achievements… Dammit… He needs to be put in his place, de gozaru yo…."

"Hey…" Sano kneeled down next to him and touched his shoulder again. "Ken-" A flash of the samurai Kenshin flashed into his mind again. "Kenshin… It's okay. Let Soujirou do whatever the hell he wants. It's not your responsibility."

"Sano…" Kenshin rose up, smiling slightly. "You're… a real friend… thank you…"

Sano smiled slightly. "Let's go get him!"

"Sa...NOOOO!" Sano took tight hold of Kenshin's wrist and began dragging him along behind him. "STOOOOOPPPP! YOU NEED TO STOP THIS INSTANT, DE GOZARU YOOOO!" Kenshin cried, his eyes resembling that of the design on a lollipop (swirly-eyes!).

"C'mon, KENSHIN! Let's moooove it!"

"OORRROOOOO!"

"Ke-eh?" Sano screeched to a halt. "What happened in the library?"

"SANO!" Katsu suddenly burst from the library door, black marks on his face, his hair flying aimlessly out of place. "The computers just blew up!"

"EH!" The two boys cried.