"Hey look boys! Dinner!" the lead vampire said with humor in his voice and his kind's thirst for blood.
Their target however says nothing, he doesn't need to, because in a few moments the targets of his words would be ash in the wind. He watches as they begin to encircle him, like a pack of wild dogs that have found their prey and wish to eliminate any possibility of escape, and he does not show the slightest sign of fear. This puzzles some of the vampires as they usually see their prey frantically looking for a way out by now or at least begging for their lives. Most of them however disregard this anomaly figuring the young man must be either mentally challenged or not realize the kind of danger he was in. It didn't really matter either way since as far as they were concerned this scene would end the same way it always did. Their leader would get first bite of course since it was his right as the oldest and most powerful among them. A few hoped that he would leave at least a few mouthfuls for them rather than drain the entire body like he sometimes did. It might be a smart move to belong to his gang but it was a pain when you were trying to quench your thirst first thing in the evening.
"A tough guy huh? Not afraid at all are ya?" the lead vampire stated as he walked around the redhead teen that was looking at them as if they weren't there, "You got stones boy! No brains but you definitely got stones."
The teenage boy with the red hair and a scar down his left cheek didn't say or do anything in response to this comment. This irritated the lead vamp because if there was one thing he hated it was being ignored by anyone no matter if they were a vampire or a human.
"Well guess what I'm gonna crush 'em both then drink ya dry!" the lead vamp said with anger clearly being allowed to act at its own discretion, "So make your peace with whatever got you worship 'cause you're going to be seeing him real soon!"
With that the lead vamp charged his prey intent on breaking the punk's jaw with the first punch and then move on to snap some ribs one at a time. However that was when things took a turn for the weird because just when everyone in the gang expected to see the kid's head snap back with the force of the punch something entirely different happened. The kid dodged to the side with ease allowed the blow to fly right past his head missing the ear by an inch. A fluke most thought but then it happened again and again with no more difficulty for the boy than dodging the first one. This contradicted the one thing that every member of the vampire gang believed with all their dead hearts: humans were weak. That idea was shatter at the same moment their leader's jaw was when out of nowhere the kid with the red hair reached for something inside his dark blue duster jacket and slammed it hard into the vamp's jaw. To the shock of the other vampires the blow was strong enough to knock their leader clear off his feet and almost four feet into the air before coming back to the ground. Looking to see what enchanted weapon or talisman had enabled the weak human to pull off an almost Slayer level of strength they were shocked to see a simple ordinary look katana. There were no sparkly jewels embedded into it nor were their magic looking inscriptions engraved into the sheath or what they could see of the sword's handle. With this information the majority of them decided that it must have been a fluke of some kind and that there was no way that the kid could pull something like that again.
"Why you asshole! No one does that to our boss especially not some weak human!" cried one of the vampires, that had obviously been turned during the mid-eighties due to his clothes, before he charged the redheaded guy head on with the intent of taking the teenager apart.
However in the time it took the other vampires time to blink twice the red haired teen was suddenly behind Mr. 1980s and then one second later the vamp's head tumbled off his shoulders before turning to ashes along with the rest of the body. Now the rest of the vamps were officially either spooked or pissed since in less than five minutes not only had their leader been knocked on his ass but also one of their own had been slain. Fortunately things didn't remain divided for very long because with the first kill to whet the swordsman's appetite he became hungry for more and laid into the vampires with a vengeance. With speed thought to only be found in the Slayer or other demons the teen with the hair the color of blood began decapitating the nosfuratu around him with skilled precision usually only requiring one swing to end the demonic lives. Some of the vamps tried to put up a fight but sadly not one of them was over thirty years old (from the time they were turned) and while that might make them above newbie fledglings it mattered little here. One lucky vamp managed to actually dodge one slash but then the swordsman's katana became a blur of blue light as dozens of slashes were executed in a matter of seconds tearing the formerly lucky vampire apart. Eventually there were only two vampires left and both looked at one another with only one thought in mind and that was to get the hell away from this new enemy as fast as their feet could carry them.
Unfortunately their fate was decided the moment they had laid eyes on the killer of their fellow vamp gang members. In a blur of speed beyond what a top athlete is capable of the swordsman shot between and in a flash of steel his katana and recently drawn wakizashi severed both their heads from their bodies ending their undead lives. Skidding to a stop eight feet in front of where the two vamps had once been with a blade in either hand with his arms held out parallel to each other at his sides. For several moments he held this pose, not moving an inch anywhere on his body, but when the sound of vigorous clapping reached his ears he straightened up and smiled in the direction the clapping was coming from.
"So what'd you guys think?" Xander asked as he put his blades back in their individual sheathes which were located in specially shaped pockets in his jacket.
"I'd say that the vamps and the demons now have two things to be afraid of now." Replied Buffy as she and Willow stepped out from their hiding places where they'd seen the entire fight.
"Yep! Demons and baddies beware because Hitokiri Battousai is back and looking to kill every last one of them." Xander said with pride as he and his friends began to walk towards the exit of the cemetery.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Sunnydale High School Student Lounge, Noon"'Are you a people person, or do you prefer keeping your own company?' Well, what if I'm a people person who keeps his own company by default?" Xander read as he looked over the newest question on his career aptitude test.
"So, mark 'none of the above'." Buffy said from her own seat near him.
They had gotten back home just a little before two in the morning and thanks to their respective skills he and Buffy had managed to sneak into the Summers home without waking Joyce up. True the elder Summers woman hadn't been aware that they'd been out in the first place but they both decided that it would be in their best interests to keep it that way. Neither of them wanted to have to explain to the parental figure why they were sneaking out of the house and not getting back until the early morning. After all it wasn't like Mrs. Summers would believe them if they explained they had been out patrolling the town for vamps. The manager of the local art studio was still in the dark about the more unusual parts of Sunnydale and neither of them wanted her to find out sooner than was absolutely necessary. He figured Buffy had a part of her mind like he had a part of his that was scolding him for not sitting Joyce down and explaining everything to her. Those parts believed that the elder Summers woman would be safer if she knew the truth about what went on at night on the Hellmouth. However those parts were overridden by those that want a slice of normalness to come home to after a night of slayage. They wanted to be able to come home and pretend, if only partly, that demons and vampires existed only in the movies or on TV. Their more practical side of course came up with the reason that if they told Joyce it would only worry the mother figure in their lives too much so it was better to keep her in the dark.
Hours later they had gotten up like normal and been off to school to endure another day of boring classes and Snyder treating every teenager like they were active agents of evil. Personally he thought that Snyder had missed his calling as a prison warden but considering how the former member of the Harris family thought school was like a prison maybe the troll was in the right place after all.
"Well, there are no boxes for 'none of the above'. That would introduce too many variables into their mushroom head, number-crunching little world." He said with no little bitterness as he glared at the test that supposedly was meant to tell him what job he'd do the best at after high school.
"I'm sensing bitterness." Willow said as she sat down next to them with a test of her own.
"No, it's just these people can't tell from one multiple-choice test what we're gonna be doing for the rest of our lives. It's ridiculous!" he said defensively as he moved onto the next question on his aptitude test.
In all honesty he didn't think these tests could prove anything since they were standardized and all the high school students that took them were unique individuals. Each person had their own special future and their own one-of-a-kind path to follow so there was no way it could be predicted or even really guessed at accurately. If he could figure this out logically then why didn't the grown-ups and other adults clue in and stop making their kids take the damn things.
It's probably some form of payback for having to spend so much money raising us in the first place! He thought snarkily as he continued to go through the test.
"I'm kinda curious to find out what sort of career I could have." Willow said with a smile clearly enjoying the idea of writing a test and finding out where'd she'd be working in a few years.
"What, and suck all the spontaneity out of being young and stupid? I'd rather live in the dark." Xander said trying to turn his mood around by being his usual jester self.
"You're not gonna be young forever." Willow said in an effort to remind her childhood friend that high school was going to end sometime and he needed to start planning for the future.
"Actually if what I remember of the Battousai's life is accurate being a master of Hiten Mitsurugi will actually keep me young looking longer than everybody else." He said remembering the memories of Kenshin's training days with Master Hiko.
"Look young longer? Can you teach me this hitting misterhooey style?" Buffy asked excitedly as she was no doubt interested in learning a form of sword fighting that could help her during patrol and keep her looking young longer.
"Well… gee Buff'… you know I'd teach you in a heartbeat if I could but" Xander replied as he tried to think of a way to answer her without getting her angry, "the thing is I don't really remember Master Hiko's training methods all that well. Sorry."
Fortunately this response pretty much killed the anger even though there was still some lingering on her face but for the most part the Slayer was just disappointed. It was about that time that another person's voice reached his ears and instantly made him want to be somewhere else.
"'I aspire to help my fellow man.'" Said one Cordelia Chaise as she walked into the lounge with two of her groupies, "Check. As long as he's not smelly, dirty or something gross."
"Cordelia Chase, always ready to give a helping hand to the rich and the pretty." Xander said with mock admiration which had the desired effect of getting a reaction out of Queen C.
"Which means you come up half short of qualifying." Cordy said snottily as she resumed walking to unofficial table of Queen C and the Cordettes.
"Is murder always a crime?" he asked rhetorically as he perfectly understood why Himura took a certain satisfaction in assassinating the Shogun elite.
"Do I like shrubs?" Buffy asked in a way that could either be taken as a real question or one she didn't desire to have answered by someone else.
"That's between you and your god." Xander replied deciding to go with the funny since he couldn't decide if Buffy was being rhetorical or not.
"What'd you put?" Buffy asked Willow once she concluded she wasn't going to be getting any help from Xander.
"I came down on the side of shrubs." Willow replied briefly looking up from her own test to give her friend a reassuring nod.
"Go with shrubs! Okay!" Buffy said as she jotted down her answer but then a groan of frustration was released that hinted at a bothered Buffy, "Uhhh! I shouldn't even be bothering with this. It's all mootville for me. No matter what my aptitude test says, we already know my deal.
"Yup, high risk, sub-minimum wage..." Xander said knowing where his newly law appointed sister was going with the rant and very much wanting to head her off with a little humor.
"Pointy wooden things..." Buffy continued with a single-minded determination to sink into her funk of a short Slayer lifespan.
"Then why are you even taking the test?" Willow asked genuinely curious as to why her friend would take the test if she didn't think she needed to.
"It's Principal Snyder's hoop of the week. He's not happy unless I'm jumping. Believe me, I would not be here otherwise." Buffy replied not thrilled with Herr Snyder's latest abuse of his academic authority.
"You're not even a teensy weensy bit curious about what kinda career you could've had? I mean, if you weren't already the Slayer and all." Willow asked as she tried to get her friend to think past the doom of previous Slayers.
"Do the words 'sealed in fate' ring any bells for you, Will? Why go there?" Buffy asked trying to make her friend see just how dire her situation was.
"You know Buff' you should try to think more positively." He said as he decided to play his trump card, "After all according to that prophesy last spring you were destined to die at the hands of the Master but hey here you are anyways."
"I'm sorry, it's just... unless Hell freezes over and every vamp in Sunnydale puts in for early retirement, I'd say my future is pretty much a non-issue." Buffy said finally recognizing her friends' attempts to cheer her up.
"That or you could get a cool new partner in slayage that could take on half the workload and make it easier to live your own life." He said making it obvious that he was talking about himself, "Someone like… say… me."
This actually seemed to brighten the Slayer up a little bit as it was true that with the skills and abilities the Xan-man had picked up from Battousai and Halloween he could probably take out all but the high level demons in Sunnydale. He could take care of the small fry and the middle weights which meant that the only ones that Buffy would have to take care of would be the real serious threats that required a Slayer's touch to put down. All in all he had to say that aside from the nightmares he occasionally had and the new look the mess Ethan Rayne had made during Halloween was the best thing that could have happened to him.
Things were finally starting to look up.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
An Estate on the Outskirts of Sunnydale, That Night
"It would seem my lord that Alexander has taken to his new memories and past life quite well." Hiroshi said as his master switched off the TV screen that had been displaying Xander Harris-Summers' most recent patrol in the cemetery.
"Yes, indeed he has. Ever since Rupert Giles revealed to him that the memories he has were not magically induced he quickly came to accept them as his own." The Lord said in agreement of his aide's appraisal of the situation, "With this acceptance the skills of the Battousai come to him more easily and allow him to easily best as many as ten opponents at a time. A promising start."
"A start sir?" Hiroshi asked not quite sure what his lord meant.
"While the reincarnated Kenshin Himura has indeed progressed well it is obvious that there is little on the Hellmouth currently capable of challenging him." The Lord stated as got up from the chair he had been sitting in and walked over to his desk, "That could be a problem if it causes his skills to stagnate. After all the only way a warrior grows stronger is by fighting superior opponents. Regardless of the outcome of the battle the warrior will learn something from the experience and improve."
"Indeed sir. Shall I inform some of our upper echelon members to expect an assignment in the near future?" Hiroshi asked already compiling a list of candidates that were sufficiently above the Battousai's current skill level to present a serious challenge.
"No. Even at his current state of emergence there is still a chance he may be able to identify one of the reincarnate Juppongatana or others with similar traits which could reveal me to him prematurely." The Lord replied as he sat down in his plush leather high backed chair behind his desk, "I think we will need to hire out for this one Hiroshi. Bring me the files of the assassins belonging to the Order of Teraka that we have on retainer. One of them should meet my needs quite nicely."
"At once my Lord." Hiroshi declared as he turned to leave and do as he was commanded.
Two steps away from the door his Master knocked on the desk and so he turned to see what his Lord wished to add.
"Make sure the assassins are swordsmen of some kind. I don't particularly care what country they're from but they must be swordsmen." The Lord stated firmly making it clear what he wanted.
"Of course my Lord." Hiroshi said as he added that criteria to the things to look for in the files of the Terakan assassins.
With that he left the room and began to walk down the hallway towards his own office. As he walked though his mind drifted towards the question of why his Lord was so interested in making sure that the Battousai returned and did so in top form. It did not make sense considering how the former Hitokiri had ruined their plans over a century earlier. True that loss had been a bit more to do with his Master's own body betraying him than the Battousai's strength but still the threat was there. True his master's current body was more than up to the challenge now and was vastly superior to his human one so even if Himura did return to full strength he would be easy to squash. As an efficient planner and the one that ran the day-to-day operations of his Lord's vast empire he personally believed that they never should have looked for Kenshin Himura in the first place. Without their intervention it was entirely conceivable that the boy would have lived, grown old and died without ever catching an inkling of who he had once been. By bringing the Battousai back they were awakening a potential threat to their operations where one need never have existed in the first place. The young man's threat to the Master or even the higher level Juppongatana was slim at best but it was conceivable that he could take quite a bite out of their expendable and middle class forces. It would be better to eliminate him now that they knew who Kenshin Himura had been reincarnated as rather than purposefully try and bring him all the way back.
Still I am sure my Lord has his reasons for bringing the Battousai back. Perhaps bringing him back is just the first stage of a much larger plan. Hiroshi thought as he reached his office door and opened it, Maybe he wishes to use the boy as a lure to find the other reincarnated members of Himura's group. They all did seem to gravitate towards him back then so it is feasible that the same thing could happen again.
In any case it was not his position to question or even impede his Lord's orders. All he was to do was do his duty to the best of his ability in order to help his Master fulfill his ambitions. Anything else was a distant second and only worth considering if it would not cause his Lord any problems. With that thought he went over to a large filing cabinet and began to look through the second drawer from the bottom for the appropriate files. His Lord would expect the files to be on his desk within two hours at the very most so he had no time to waste on idle thoughts.
His duty came first.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The Next Day, Sunnydale High School, Student Lounge, Noon Hour
"Oh, here I am. 'Personal shopper or motivational speaker.' Neato!" Cordelia said as she found her name on the list of test results for the career aptitude tests.
"Motivational speaker? On what? Ten ways to a more annoying you?" he asked sarcastically as he figured she was more a de-motivational speaker than the other kind.
Cordy gave him a frosty look and looked back to the list no doubt in an effort to find his name in order to fire back a insult of her own on what career he had been selected for. Unfortunately it didn't take her long and when she did a smile spread across her face that he knew he didn't like and the giggling that came right after didn't improve matters at all. She looked for a moment like she'd gloat over what job he'd been assigned but instead decided to just walk away laughing and leave him completely dumbfounded. Growling a bit with frustration he walked over to the posted list and immediately began scanning down the list of names for his own. When he found the name he panned across to where the corresponding job would be to find one that was a mix between his old self and his current one. It still came as something of a shock though so he decided to go and find the gang to hear what they thought about his job assignment. It took a few minutes but eventually he found them walking across the quad and moved quickly to hook up with them. They noticed him almost immediately so he figured there wasn't much hope of him being able to eavesdrop on what they were saying so he decided to jump right into his question.
"Wouldn't you two say you know me about as well as anyone else? Maybe even better than I know myself?" he asked as he tried to think up the best way to tell them his potential job future.
"What's this about?" Willow asked a little puzzled about this odd and unexpected question from her friend.
"When you look at me, do you think 'special forces soldier'?" he asked tentatively looking back and forth between the two people whose opinions mattered the most to him.
Unfortunately they chose to do the one thing he had hoped they wouldn't and started giggling at him with great amusement. He knew what they were likely thinking, that a class clown like him and a punching bag of the jocks couldn't possibly be a soldier much less a special forces one, but it still bothered him that his recent change in circumstances hadn't changed their opinion of him.
"Maybe a private attached to the laundry division but 'special forces'? Not likely." Buffy said shaking her head at the very idea of Xander pulling off a Steven Segal or Jean Claude Van Damme in a black soldier outfit.
"They just put up the assignments for the career fair, and according to my test results I can look forward to being gainfully employed in the exciting field of Black Ops or counter terrorism." He said trying to sound both pleased by the job he'd been assigned and that it was actually well suited to him.
"Well, at least you'll learn something about stealth and agility." Buffy said with a giggle pointing out his inability to do anything sneaky until Halloween.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha! Laugh now, missy, they assigned you to the booth for law enforcement professionals." He said having it confirmed that despite his recent enhancements and improvements she still thought of him as the pre-Halloween Xander.
"As in police?" Buffy asked in complete stunned astonishment.
"As in polyester, doughnuts and brutality." Xander said as he pointed out several of the aspects of law enforcement she could look forward to, "Though you may want to take some anger management classes before applying to the academy. The last thing Sunnydale needs is for half the force to be put out of commission because they made a crack about your height."
"Hey!" Buffy exclaimed both surprised and angry about the comment her friend had just made.
"But, doughnuts!" Willow pointed out trying to keep her best girl type friend from getting violent with her best-guy-type-friend-since-pre-school.
"Well, I'll just jump off that bridge when I come to it." The Blonde Slayer said as she took the hint from Willow and reigned in her anger.
They walked for a bit before they all spotted Giles walking down the hall, with an armload of books of course, and almost immediately Buffy started getting ready to follow the elder Watcher.
"First though I have to deal with Giles. He's on this Tony Robbins hyper-efficiency kick. Expects me to check in every day after homeroom." She said before stalking off after her Watcher while muttering, "Police?"
For a moment Xander thought to maybe go after his own personal hero but Willow placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"You didn't check to see which seminar I was assigned to, did you?" she asked clearly interested in finding out what job she had landed as a result of the aptitude test.
"I did, and you weren't." he replied knowing that his friend wouldn't like the news given how excited she'd been the day before.
"I wasn't what?" she asked not quite understanding his answer.
"On the list." He replied not wanting to say anything more just in case he put his foot in his mouth.
"But I handed in my test! I used a number two pencil!" Willow said on the verge of slipping into serious anxiety.
"Then I guess you musta passed." He said not really sure what to do to calm his friend down.
"It's not the kinda test you pass or fail." Willow said making it clear that things were serious.
"Your name wasn't up there, Will." He said not knowing what else to say other than the truth.
This did not sit well with the young genius redhead and it certainly didn't take a genius to figure out that Willow was definitely going to do something about it.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Summers Home, That Evening, Living Room"Not going out tonight Xander?" Joyce asked as she stopped in the doorframe leading to the living room.
"Naw, I think I'm just going to stay in tonight and watch some TV before heading to bed." He replied from his position on the couch.
The truth of the matter was that lately patrol had lost its appeal to him. In the beginning fighting vampires and helping Buffy was quite the adventure so it was exciting like few things were for him. Not that excitement had been the primary reason for him fighting the demons and keeping the town just a little bit safer but it did help him get through an otherwise boring patrol. After all contrary to what some might think they didn't always run into a vampire or a demon every time they went out to check out the cemeteries or warehouses. There were some nights when they could patrol for the entire night and come up with nothing but sore feet and a severe case of boredom. Lately though there just hadn't been any real challenge for him since he'd accepted the memories of his past life as well as the skills that went along with them. Thanks to the Halloween fiasco he now felt he was on par with Buffy physically and maybe better than her with a sword. That fact unfortunately made slaying the average vampire boring because they either were too slow, too weak or just plain too dumb to provide any challenge for him. Even taking on those seven vamps at once as the sort-of test that Willow and Buffy had made up for him hadn't really pushed him very hard. Sure he'd had to pay attention and keep tabs on where every vampire was from time to time but it wasn't really that hard.
Looks like the only time I'll get any kind of workout fighting demons is if a new big bad comes to town like the Master or maybe Moloch. He thought as he tried to figure out the plot twist on the show he was watching, Ah the curse of being this good is that there's never a real opponent around when you need one.
"Maybe you need a hobby or something." Joyce said as she sat down on the sofa next to him, "I know you go to the Bronze with Buffy and Willow and that you guys spend a lot of time doing other things but maybe you should try to find something unique that you alone could work at."
Where'd this come from, he thought before asking, "Yeah but what is there really that I could do that I could fit in between my schoolwork and Bronzing?"
"Well you could maybe take a more serious interest in painting or art." Mrs. Summers suggested optimistically, "I know you take a few odd classes here and there but maybe you should really put an effort into it. Who knows maybe you're a Leonardo Da Vinci and don't know it? I know a few painters around town that I could convince to give you some lessons."
"I don't know." He said as he seriously considered the elder Summers woman's proposal given he was by law his mother now and that he definitely considered her more of a mother than Jessica Harris could ever hope to be.
It was true that he had done a little painting and drawing since Giles had come up with the whole 'pretend you're taking art lessons' cover to explain why he carried the cardboard tube around with him all the time but he'd never really put any serious thought into it. It was just a cover, a means by which he could carry his swords around without drawing too much attention to himself, so he hadn't really tried or paid more attention to it than absolutely necessary. Would he like it if he gave it some serious effort and tried to become better? It would set him apart from the others since neither Buffy or Willow were interested in that sort of thing and if he ever got good enough that he wanted to show off his work he could always ask Joyce if she'd be willing to have an amateur night at her gallery. Nah! He might be a good swordsman and he might be a pretty funny guy if he did say so himself but the only painting he'd ever be good at would be when he had a large brush and was standing in front of a fence.
"You know there are plenty of young girls who are really attracted to artists out there. I think just about every woman likes to talk about beauty especially if it's about their beauty." Joyce said looking a little bit sneaky before she leaned in and whispered, "Plus you know some of the art classes up at Sunnydale University do occasionally have nude female models in their classes."
"Oro?" Xander exclaimed completely on instinct and completely without his knowledge as he almost swallowed his tongue at the older Summers woman's last comment.
"Oro? What does that mean?" Joyce asked with some confusion as she couldn't place a meaning to the word.
Xander paused to think about the question and it was enough to distract him from the comment Joyce had made about the university. The truth of the matter though was that he knew it wasn't a Xander Harris word and when he looked through what memories he had of the Battousai he got a complete blank. From what he could recall during the Meiji Revolution Himura had pretty much been the strong silent type, the ideal professional assassin, and so he hadn't really talked all that much. In fact Kenshin and Oz probably would have gotten along great since they both managed to get the maximum amount of meaning out of the minimum amount of words. So there was only one real answer he could give Mrs. Summers.
"I don't know what it means. You just said… what you said… and that was the first thing that came out." Xander replied with his brain beginning to overheat along with his face as he was no longer distracted by Joyce's question and was reminded of her comment.
"Well you might want to think about rearranging your vocabulary if you want to take an art class at U.C Sunnydale." Joyce said as she got up from the sofa and headed towards the stairs, "Girls don't just want a man who is an artist with his hands. They appreciate someone who's an artist with his words as well. Goodnight Xander."
Naturally the Xan-man was completely tongue tied and couldn't even get a goodnight out of his mouth after his brain processed the Summers matron's bit of advice. Progressing swordsman. Yes. Smooth with the ladies and skilled with words. HELL NO! It was one of the reasons why he was a member of the freak group at school rather than with the V.P.P (Very Popular People). It wasn't that he was ugly per se, especially now with his Kenshin Himura makeover, but he skills with the ladies were right about where Willow's were with guys especially the handsome ones. He saw a pretty girl and he immediately turned into a complete klutz both in how he acted and what he said which usually resulted in being laughed at while trying to escape with some of his dignity. The fact that he had this on-again off-again relationship with Cordy was a pure fluke and more to do with her discovery of the truth about Sunnydale than any real effort on his part. Plus he could see out of the corner of his eyes various members of Queen C's group giving him dirty looks when he talked with Cordelia and giving Cordy disappointed looks at the same time. It was only a matter of time before they gave her the ultimatum of either ditching him or losing her elite status at Sunnydale High School. In short unless Cordelia turned out to have more integrity than he thought and actually cared about him in a more than just friends way then he'd soon be a bachelor again.
Still at least I'll have the Praying Mantis ladies to keep me company. He thought with mock optimism as he tried to submerge himself in the story of the show he was watching.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The Next Day, Sunnydale High School, Student Lounge, Mid-MorningAh dear Willow. He thought as he spied his best friend coming down the hall towards the student lounge where all the job representatives had set up shop, I must be seriously losing my touch in teaching her the fine art of slacking off if she's passing up a chance to goof off.
Like a convict walking his last mile on death row he'd come to the student lounge to meet with the military representative to talk about his future there and eventual rise to the level of Special Forces. It was still a couple of minutes before he was due to sit down for the recruitment spiel so he had been looking around for Buffy hoping to have a little fun at her expense by watching her approach the Sunnydale P.D rep. After all given the amusing way she had reacted to being slated as a potential police officer he knew she'd be even funnier walking up to the booth to listen to the speech about the fun world of cops. He had not expected though to see Willow walking towards the booths because to his knowledge the scarlet haired genius still wasn't on the list of students with assigned jobs. He'd personally hoped she'd either sit down in the cafeteria and read the morning funnies or at least be in the library subbing for him in the sport called 'annoy the Brit'. A part of him knew that the former was far more likely than the latter but then another part of him knew neither possibility was likely given the smart girl's academic mind.
"Willow!" he yelled to get her attention before falling into step next to her, "What are you doing here? Fly! Be free, little bird, you defy category!"
"I'm looking for Buffy." Willow explained as the proceeded towards the student lounge.
"Oh, she went with Giles about an hour ago. Some kind of field trip deal." He said a bit concerned that the blonde Slayer wasn't back yet.
"If she doesn't get back soon, Snyder's really..." Willow said before something caused her eyes to get as big as dinner plates and change the path of her thoughts in mid-sentence, "...done a great job with the fair this year, hasn't he, Xander?"
"Principal Snyder! Great career fair, sir! Really! In fact, I'm so inspired by your leadership, I'm thinking principal school. I wanna walk in your shoes. Not your actual shoes, of course, because you're a tiny person. Not tiny in the small sense, of course. Okay, I'm done now." Xander babbled as he tried to distract the troll from the topic of Buffy.
"Where is she?" Snyder said implying great misery for the person he was looking for at the moment.
"Who?" Willow asked trying to play dumb which was kind of stupid of her considering her reputation around the school as a certified genius and all around nerd.
"You know who." Snyder growled making it clear he didn't buy Rosenburg's sudden drop in I.Q one bit.
"You mean Buffy?" Willow asked before making a somewhat obvious show of looking around the immediate area, "I just saw her..."
"And don't feed me that 'I just saw her a minute ago, she's around here somewhere' story." Snyder snapped as he began to lose some patience with the redhead.
"But I did... just see her a minute ago, and she is... around here somewhere!" Willow claimed as sincerely as she could without outright lying since she was a terrible liar and everything.
"For what it's worth..." Xander began saying in an attempt to divert the midget's attention to someone more capable in the art of bullshitting someone.
"It's worth nothing, Harris. Whatever comes out of your mouth is a meaningless waste of breath. An airborne toxic event." Snyder said interrupting the swordsman's attempt at a distraction.
"Well, I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to be so honest with me. And I can only hope that one day I'm in the position to be that honest with you." Xander said restraining the urge he had to deliver a Ryūtsuisen to the Nazi's cranium with the mop a nearby janitor was using to clean up a mess.
Sure it'd make me the hero of the school and might erase my geek rep but Mr. Talbot strikes me as the serial killer type. He thought sparing the janitor a glance, Working in this place and having to answer Snyder would be enough to give just about anyone violent tendencies and anger management issues.
"Fascinating." Snyder said with a tone denoting his interest as being around the level of watching dry paint before walking off to torment some other student.
Wondering if it would truly be considered a crime in this town to kill Snyder he looked at a nearby clock on the wall to find he was due for his meeting with the military rep in two minutes.
"Well, love to stay and chat, but I got an appointment with the Colonel on standard operating procedure for taking out a terrorist cell. Ciao." He said before beginning his laid back trot towards the student lounge.
I wonder if I can get the guy to take out Snyder for me. He thought as he pondered the various images of a team in black ambushing his 'favorite' principal.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Sunnydale High School, Library, 4:30p.m"So Giles is sure that the vampire who stole his book is connected to the one you slayed last night? Or is it slew?" Willow asked with the entire gang sitting around the main library table.
"Both are correct, and, yes, I'm sure. Du Lac was both a, a... a theologian and a mathematician." Giles replied as he came down the steps from the stacks carrying a copy of National Geographic, "This article describes an invention of his, which he called 'The Du Lac Cross'."
"So, why go to all the trouble of inventing something, and then giving it a weak name like that? I mean, I'da gone with 'The Cross-o-matic', or, uh, 'The Amazing Mr. Cross'." Xander stated deciding to go with the joking since he wasn't entirely sure he understood what the Watcher was talking about.
Unfortunately this got him stared at by just about everyone in the room, not doubt wondering where he came up with those names as well as his statement, with Giles looking most unhappy at the unwanted levity.
"The cross was more than a mere symbol…" Giles said before handing the magazine to Willow for her to look at, "it was used to understand certain mystical texts, to, uh, decipher hidden meanings and so forth."
"So you're saying these vampires went to all this hassle for your basic decoder ring?" Buffy asked managing to break down Giles' explanation into the simplest terms possible.
"Uh, actually, yes, I, I suppose I am." Giles said a little surprised at his Slayer's rather accurate metaphor.
"According to this, Du Lac destroyed every cross except the one buried with him." Willow said still reading through the article Giles had mentioned.
"Why destroy your own work?" Buffy asked not understanding why someone would create something so valuable only to destroy it.
"Perhaps he feared what might happen if it fell into the wrong hands." Giles said as he began to pace about the library.
"Definitely something we should be go about fixing sooner rather than later." Xander said as a mix of Battousai and the Xan-man formed an opinion, "Vampires aren't exactly known for their patience and since Spike's gang is the biggest crew in town now, even after he's been dusted, they're our most likely suspects."
"But they could be anywhere right now." Willow said pointing out the biggest problem right away, "I mean Sunnydale isn't exactly lacking when it comes to places for vamps to set up shop."
"Uh, by learning what's in the book before they do. Which means we can expect to be here later tonight." Giles stated as he sat down at the table with the rest of them.
"Goody! Research party!" Willow exclaimed in the same way Buffy probably would if someone told her there was a shoe sale going on with everything seventy-five percent off.
"Will, you need a life in the worst way." He said in the gentlest but sincerest way he could.
"Speaking of, I really have to bail, but I promise I'll be back bright and early tomorrow and ready to slay." Buffy said as she got up from her chair and began to walk towards the door.
"This is a matter of some urgency, Buffy." Giles said seriously as he was likely wondering for the umpteenth time why his Slayer couldn't be more dedicated to her calling.
"I realize that. Well, you have to admit, I kinda lack in the book area. I mean, you guys are the brains, I'd only be here for moral support anyway." Buffy said explaining with impressive logic why it'd be a waste to have her spend time researching with them.
"That's untrue, Buffy, you totally contribute. You go for snacks!" he said knowing exactly why she was bailing on the research session and not liking it one bit.
Unfortunately one glance from the blonde Slayer is the only thing it takes to get the redheaded girl genius Willow to side with her best girl friend and come to her defense.
"She should go. Y-y'know, gather her strength." Willow said with a slight stutter that he would have thought Giles would have picked up on as being the first sign that the smart girl was hiding something.
"Perhaps you're right. There may be fierce battles ahead." Giles said being completely oblivious to the fact that the two girls were being less than honest with him.
Not needing any further permission the blonde Slayer known as Buffy Summers made tracks out the door as quickly as she could without arousing the suspicions of her Watcher. The Xan-man though just shakes his head wondering how a man so knowledgeable of demons, ghosts and other mystical stuff could be so stupid so as to miss what was glaringly obvious to someone a quarter of his age.
I guess being older doesn't necessarily mean smarter. He thought listening to Giles as he began outlining the texts and volumes they'd be looking in.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Walking Down the Street Towards the High School, 6:30p.mBuffy'd better appreciate what I just went through! He thought as he walked to the school to join in the research party.
He'd gone home soon after the G-Man finished outlining the schedule for tonights old book meeting and unfortunately had to endure a random Q&A session from Joyce about both school and what the plans were for tonight. Naturally he'd started out with some half-truths about doing research and finding out some info on the jobs the aptitude test had assigned him and Buffy. She'd kind of bought that but then had wanted details about what kind of research and where they all planned on going with the knowledge they gained. The answers to that had been a little harder to come by but he'd managed to say that he was researching the different areas of the military to pick the one he wanted and Buffy was trying to decide what area of law enforcement she wanted to go into. That was true insofar as he was wondering where in the armed forces he'd hang his hat if he went in that direction and he hoped that Buffy might be giving at least some thought to her career future.
Then again she has been on a 'I am doomed to die young' kick recently so she probably hasn't thought much farther in advance than next month or maybe the end of the school year. He thought as he turned to the right and headed down the last leg of his trip to the school, I wish it would just sink in with her that as long as me, Willow and Giles are around Death might as well take a vacation where she's concerned.
He had hoped throughout the entire interrogation that Buffy would come waltzing in the door and divert Mrs. Summers' scrutiny from him but apparently whatever the blonde Slayer needed for her date with Deadboy could be found elsewhere. Fortunately though he was able to beg off any more answering by claiming that he had to meet with Willow to do some research for a school project. For a moment the eldest Summers woman gave him the 'I do not believe that excuse for a moment' look but then did an about face and wish him well with the boring book browsing. It was kind of weird though and for a moment he wondered if she somehow read his mind and found out that he was lying to her but immediately disregarded that idea. Joyce was the normal one, the den mother of them all, the idea that she was anything other than an average was about as realistic as expecting Larry to have an insightful thought. In any case he'd have to warn Buffy next time he saw her that their mom was going to be extra inquisitive for a couple of days.
He was about to take another step forward when the part of him that was Kenshin Himura screamed at him to retreat immediately. With a trust that had been steadily building since he had learned of his past life he leapt backwards and just narrowly managed to evade an attack by a guy dressed in brown leather that looked like a cross between a Spartan warrior and an extra from Xena. He wielded two short swords and while they didn't look like anything he'd seen in those old Roman gladiator movies he could tell they were made to do the same thing. Kill. Dropping his schoolbag but keeping the tube that held his weapons within arms reach he decided he'd try to talk his way out of his current situation first.
"Nice moves there Sparticus but you missed. Now howsabout you tell me why your so interested in making me half the man I am right now 'kay?" he asked while keeping an eye on the man's movements in case he went on the offensive, "I'm sure we can work something out that doesn't involve pain, blood or death right?"
"I'm afraid to say that pain and death are the only things in your future boy." The man replied in a deep and gravelly voice that sounded like it lived for the carnage of the battlefield, "How long the former lasts before the latter comes along depends entirely on you. Personally I hope that you put up a bit of a fight before I kill you otherwise this trip will have been a complete waste of my time and talents."
Xander could tell that this guy wasn't about to entertain any ideas of resolving the situation peacefully and in fact wanted to fight more than anything. The man's ki virtually screamed warrior and battle and that meant that there was only one way the reincarnation of Hitokiri Battousai was going to get out of his current situation alive. Popping the top on the tube at his side he pulled out his katana and wakizashi and slipped them in beneath his belt since he had left his customized duster jacket at home.
"Looks like there's nothing more to be said between us." He said as he unsheathed his katana and assumed a position centered on defense.
"Indeed." Was all the man said before he charged with his swords held in front of his torso to provide cover for the more crucial spots on himself.
Waiting until his attacker was just outside the range of his sword he slipped to the side intending to disarm his opponent, literally, in one slash. However his Spartan looking adversary was apparently no amateur as he quickly dove into a roll to evade the attack before getting back to his feet. Closing the gap quickly his leather clad sparring partner lashed out with the sword in his right hand before turning around and using the one in his left to impale the crimson haired Harris-Summers boy as he moved to evade the first attack. Fortunately the Hiten Mitsurugi master of Sunnydale High School was able to block the attack before using a quick slash of his own to clear the space around him. This had the desired effect of forcing the wielder of the twin blades in front of him to jump backwards but it only bought him a few moments of breathing space before short swords and katana began scraping against one another. What was even more surprising was that he was having to put quite a bit of effort into keeping his enemy's swords from getting any closer. Rather surprising considering that ever since the Halloween incident and his own recollection of the Hiten style of swordsmanship he was rarely pressured at all in the area of strength. Even during the brief sparring session with Buffy during the early days of exploring his new abilities in the library he never really had reason to be concerned. Oh sure he knew that his blonde 'sister' wasn't going all out on him and that there was no real way to find out who was stronger without things getting dangerous but he had felt he knew enough to know where he stood amongst the warriors of Sunnyhell.
Which means either I need to seriously re-evaluate things or this guy isn't a local. Xander thought as he managed to push the guy away from him so he could launch an attack of his own.
Hiten Mitsurugi style: Ryūtsuisen! He thought as he shot upwards into the air with a burst of speed before altering his trajectory mid-air and coming down on his enemy with a two handed vertical slash aimed at splitting the Spartan down the middle.
The ting of the swords colliding echoed through the air but rather than end the fight the only effect the Dragon Hammer Strike had on the leather clad warrior was force him halfway to his knees before he pushed the Xan-man away with a roar of defiance.
"Impressive boy. You've certainly managed to last longer than my previous prey and that last attack almost succeeded in breaking my defense." The Spartan said with genuine respect in his voice, "Perhaps it will be worth traveling to the Hellmouth to fulfill this contract after all."
"Contract?" Xander asked knowing all to well what the words warrior and contract tended to mean when put together, "What do you mean by contract?"
"Nothing that need concern a dead man!" the Spartan yelled as he rushed forward looking determined to finish the fight immediately with Xander's death.
Deciding to do the unexpected he charged forward as well and at the last second performed a Ryūkansen Kogarashi and as predicted the man blocked but this allowed for the second technique of the combo, Ryūkansen Arashi, to be employed and this did score a hit if only a glancing one. Vertical slash marks appeared on the back of the leather clad Spartan but he quickly moved away after the first cut making the second less severe than the first and making sure another wouldn't be made. Blood slid down his blade just as it dripped down the back of the Spartan who while still standing was definitely in some pain. A normal person would have been down on the ground after receiving such wounds to their back or at the very least down to one knee. This spoke volumes as to how good a warrior the guy was and hinted quite a bit about what it would take to put him down for the count.
"You continue to impress me boy. You're the first person to draw my blood in over a hundred years and considering I average about fifteen contracts a year that's saying something." Said the man wielding the two makhairas as he turned around, "It also makes it clear that I have to start taking you seriously or I'll wind up getting gutted like some pathetic newbie. So prepare yourself boy because the real fight starts NOW!"
In the blink of an eye the muscular Spartan-like warrior was on him and striking at him with blows twice as strong as before. After only three blocked attacks Xander knew that he had to follow the other man's lead and get serious or the man's swords would be cleaving him in two pretty soon. With that in mind he drew upon what he could remember of the Battousai's career during the Meiji Revolution, both his mindset and his focus, and tried to imprint those things into his own mind. With an almost audible snap he was once more as he had been during the final minutes of the battle with the ten thugs after the exchange student dance many weeks before. All emotion was gone from his face and his eyes were colder than the most ancient glacier looking at his enemy as nothing more than a target to be terminated. The one change he didn't know about though was that his eyes now shone with a golden light that would have looked more at him in a flashlight than a living being.
To those in the know this could mean only one thing.
The Hitokiri Battousai was back at the forefront of the young man's mind and this time he had been allowed dominance on purpose.
With nothing more to be said or done the hitokiri darted forward, his speed increasing rapidly as he went, but just as he reached his target he seemed to vanish only to reappear in a kneeling position at the leather clad warrior's feet. The older man sought to take advantage of this strategically unfavorable position but as he brought down his swords but this proved to be a mistake.
Less than a second after appearing solid and in a knelt position the hitokiri vanished again before reappearing behind the man and with a swift slash of his katana decapitated the assassin come to fill a contract on his life. For a moment the hitokiri waited, almost as if expecting his adversary to somehow recover from the fatal blow, but when nothing happened for several minutes he whipped the blood from his sword and used a portion of the dead man's own clothes to wipe the remainder off before sheathing it. It was then he spotted something on a finger of the assassin's right hand that caught his interest and without hesitation he slipped off the cooling body in order to examine it. It was a ring of serious quality and craftsmanship and he could somehow tell that it was made by hand rather than produced in a factory or by a machine. Embedded in a crimson background was a golden symbol of some kind but it was somewhat hard to describe since it didn't match anything he had seen before. However one thing he was sure of was that he had to show it to the G-man as soon as possible because if there was a contract out on him or the Scoobies they needed information and they needed it now.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&