Reliving the Teens
Ch 7
mijichan: Now here's the person all of you have been waiting for! (long pause) ME!
Hiko: (growls and draws sword slightly) Do you want to change that?
mijichan: (gulps)(shakes head bravely) Nope!
Hiko: Fine, then... Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu... Doryusen! (sry if thats spelled wrong!)
mijichan: (crumpled face down on ground) Oro...
Hiko: Now say it again (puts sword to mijichans throat)
mijichan: Help! Help! (looks around, no one's nearby) (sigh) Alright, alright! Move your sword!
Hiko: (sheathes sword)
mijichan: (coughs) And now here's the person you've all been waiting for: HIKO SEIJIRO! (sry if spelled wrong!)
Hiko: Thank you (walks away)
mijichan: Don't forget to review! Please?
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The next morning Kenshin woke up early and quietly began making breakfast alone in the kitchen. When Kaoru came in, he greeted her enthusiastically but afterwards acted distantly towards her to Kaoru's dislike and confusion. She clearly remembered the events of the last night, and kept glancing worriedly at Kenshin, as if afraid that he would crack.
Soon Sano and Yahiko had woken up and half an hour later the four were seated outside in the yard, devouring the meal that Kenshin, with limited help from Kaoru, had made. The usual chaos soon took place, Kaoru and Yahiko fell to arguing while Sano ate most of the remaining food and Kenshin silently observed them.
This was broken by a loud, insistent knock from across the courtyard on the gate. They all stopped and turned to stare, except for Kenshin who continued calmly sipping his tea. After a silent pause there was another knock, this one even more insistent.
Finally Kaoru sighed and stood up, "I suppose I should answer that." She smoothed her kimono and walked to the gate with the other two cautiously watching her back.
At the gate Kaoru slowly pushed back the lock and swung the door open to reveal…
"Not you again. When I said come back tomorrow I didn't mean this early in the morning." Kaoru scolded Saito who smirked and drew on his cigarette. "That's just it tanuki, you never specified a time." He flapped a white gloved hand at her. "Go fetch Battousai and don't lie to me and say he's sleeping, I know he's not."
Kaoru opened her mouth to reply smartly when she heard someone stop behind her. She let out the breath she hadn't known she had been holding when Kenshin quietly spoke behind her.
"Miss Kaoru? Are you alright, I thought-" His voice grew icy when the redhead saw who she was talking to. "Saito."
The wolf smirked, "Hello to you to Battousai." He bobbed his head slightly and lightly fingered the hilt of his sword. "I need to talk to you. Follow me."
"No." Kenshin responded firmly, staying where he was. Saito turned to glare at the redhead when his orders weren't followed.
Kaoru gently wrapped her arms around Kenshins left arm. "He's not one of your police lackeys Saito, you can't order Kenshin around." Kenshin bristled slightly as the touch but didn't pull away as he normally would.
The wolf noticed this and smirked slightly. "How old are you Battousai? Not older then fifteen I expect, you still act like a hitokiri." Kenshin stiffened but continued to watch Saito emotionlessly.
"Don't try and trick me Battousai," he smirked, "I'm not leaving until I get what I want." Kaoru glared at him, gripping the redheads arm tighter.
"And what would that be?" Kenshin asked icily, ignoring the pain in his arm from Kaoru as he carefully observed the wolf before him.
The sight that met his eyes could only be described as eerie. This 'future version' of the wolf had shorter hair, his clothing… Kenshin wrinkled his nose, the Shishengumi were considered somewhat of a police force of Kyoto. But that didn't really bother him, what did was that now he had seen how much Saito had changed, he was worried how, and if, his shishou had changed. Then again, it was odd talking to an older wolf, for time had clearly changed him, most obvious by the slightly hoarser quality in his voice, although that might be more from the cigarettes like the one he was smoking now.
"Off daydreaming Battousai?" Saitou's voice had a slight teasing note in it. "You should be careful, you never know when someone will attack you." One the last two words Saito suddenly drew his sword and lunged at Kenshin who barely had enough time to draw the sakabato and block.
Kaoru stood off to the side, biting her nail in worry for Kenshin. She sincerely hoped this wouldn't have the same result as Kenshin and Saito's last fight. "Be careful Kenshin," she warned. The redhead nodded before having to dodge, block and counter another attack from the wolf.
"I swear you have an obsession with fighting police officers baka deshi."
The two fighters stopped and looked up, and Kaoru did as well, to see a towering figure standing in the gate. Kenshin lowered his sword, staring at the man who was his shishou. With the exception of a few new lines on his face the man was the same as Kenshin remembered, with the annoyed scowl and all. "Shishou." He whispered.
Hiko glanced at him before turning to Saito with an angry frown. "And just what do you think you're doing to my baka deshi?"
The wolf sheathed his sword to take a cigarette out of his pocket, light it and put it to his mouth. "Nothing that concerns you, sir." He responded curtly, causing Hiko to scowl.
"Are you sure about that, because I saw you attacking my deshi, for what seemed to me no reason." Hiko said coldly, eyes flicking to Saito's sword and then to Kenshin.
Saito managed to look slightly surprised. "Your deshi?" He asked, turning to study the redhead with a smirk. "Well, well Battousai, you never mentioned this."
"Don't call him that!" Kaoru shouted angrily, stepping closer to Kenshin. "That's not his name."
The wolf smirked at her and ran a hand through his hair, "Think whatever you want, tanuki." Saito turned and began walking towards the gate. "Don't think this will be the last of me Battousai, I'll be back." He silently went past Hiko and turned down the lane.
There was awkward silence between the three until Hiko said impatiently, "Alright baka deshi out with it. What was that about?" But Kenshin didn't respond, even under his shishou's stern gaze he stayed silent. Kaoru sighed and lightly patted the redhead on his shoulder, vaguely noticing when he flinched slightly. "I'm going to go clean up Kenshin, come in when you're ready." She told him quietly then took her hand away and walked back into the dojo.
"Well boy?" Hiko asked, leaning down to glare at the top of Kenshins head. He tried to place the boys emotion by reading his ki but there was no hint of anything in it. The despairing adult shook his head, "I came all the way Tokyo to see you but when I arrive this is the reception I get."
Kenshins head came up at the mention of Tokyo, his eyes wide with confusion. "Tokyo?" Hiko snorted, "Yes, here. Tokyo, the capital, where you live."
The red head shook his head, "Tokyo? But the capital," he broke off, looking confused at the area around him. Hiko sighed impatiently, "Yes, what about the capital baka?"
"Kyoto's the capital, isn't it shishou?" kenshin asked overwhelmed, quickly returning to his ground gazing after he heard the man choke.
After Hiko was able to breathe normally again he squatted down and scrutinized the redhead. A few minutes later he asked calmly, "How old are you baka deshi?" Kenshin winced and looked up at him, mask in place.
"Fourteen." He mumbled, bangs shadowing his eyes. Hiko leaned in closer and said, "don't mumble boy, speak up. No one will pay attention to you if they can't hear."
Kenshin glared directly at the man, "I'm fourteen shishou. You heard me."
Hiko took the moment to smirk mischievously as he closely studied his baka deshi. Outwardly he had the same blazing red hair and slight feminine form, along with a quick temper and emotional blue eyes, except now there was a blank mask shielding them. Hiko sighed, the boy had only left year and a half ago but there was already damage visible to him. Of course if someone didn't look beyond the mask and slight differences in appearance the fourteen year old could be easily mistaken for his older counterpart.
When Kenshin coughed quietly Hiko realized he had been staring at the boy. "Are you going to invite me in baka, or will I have to stand here all day?" The swordsman covered the silence with a question, sounding more annoyed then the worried he really was.
The redhead jumped slightly and looked around, then after a few seconds shyly stepped aside to make room for Hiko to walk inside. After they were both standing in the yard, Kenshin closed and locked the gate, then stood in place looking everywhere except at his shishou.
"So, what have you told them?" Hiko asked impatiently, breaking the silence between them. Kenshin's head rose to stare at him. "Huh?"
Hiko rolled his eyes and lightly cuffed the boy, "Don't play dumb with me boy. What do they know so far?" Kenshin looked at him surprised then answered, "About me? That I'm fourteen."
"Nothing else?" Hiko asked surprised, studying the boy. Kenshin shook his head. "What else would I tell them?" He asked tartly. "About your past." Hiko added, then when the redhead opened his mouth to argue he amended, "Everything about your past."
Kenshin scoffed, "Why would they want to know about that?" Hiko glared at him. "Why? Because they're your friends, and, believe it or not, they care about you."
The redhead shook his head. "I don't have any friends. Instead everyone's afraid of me." He laughed grimly, "I'm a hitokiri, who wouldn't be?"
Hiko frowned annoyed, "Kaoru's not scared of you, neither are Sano or Yahiko." When the boy didn't respond he asked impulsively, "What about those three girls who gave their lives for you?"
Kenshin tore his eyes away from his shishou's, but Hiko had seen the boy's eyes darken and the man frowned as he faced the empty mask again. "You should have let me die back then, I've done no good in my life." The redhead muttered to himself.
His shishou bit his tongue to hold back a retort and studied the boy. "How long have you been a hitokiri?" He asked softly, trying to ignore the boys last comment.
"A little more then a year." Kenshin whispered, looking at the ground and scuffing his shoe in the dirt. "So you're closer fifteen then fourteen," Hiko reasoned, and quietly acknowledged the boys slight nod.
The awkward silence resumed between them until Hiko remarked, "they do care about you, you know." Kenshin glared at him, "not for me."
Hiko laughed. "Then why, when you go missing do they go crazy trying to find you? Last time I couldn't get rid of them for a week." The man frowned. "They're very persistent."
"I told you, not about me." Kenshin argued, then looked annoyed. "It's for him."
"What are you talking about baka?"
Kenshin sighed nosily, "They don't care about me. They care about him, some person I might become if I live through the war." He grimaced. "Why would they care, they don't know anything about me."
Hiko snorted. "That's because you haven't given them a chance to get to know you. You need to tell them about yourself."
The redhead tilted his head and smirked. "Since when have you become a counsellor, shishou?" Hiko glared at him. "Quiet boy, you've never had any people skills either." Kenshin scoffed and turned away.
"So when will you tell them?"
Kenshin sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. "The whole point is to not tell them anything." The man shook his head, "Now that's just being lazy baka."
"It is not!" He snarled angrily, glaring up at his foster father. "They don't want to hear it from me, they want it from him!"
Hiko studied the boy in front of him, and through the anger blazing in the cold blue eyes he saw a broken kid, who was quickly losing hope.
"You're the same person kid. You are him." The man emphasized, snapping at the boy. But Kenshin shook his head, staring at the ground. "Kenshin look at me."
To his surprise instead of looking up, his deshi hissed angrily between his teeth. "Don't call me that!" He snapped. Hiko raised his eyebrows and leaned in. "What's wrong with the name I gave you? What happened to the boy I took in and trained?"
"I've killed him." Kenshin's voice was hardly a whisper and Hiko actually looked surprised. Before his shishou could respond, the redhead turned on his heel and silently walked back into the dojo and Hiko felt him continue to his room, the anger and sadness in his ki evident.
"Darn it," he cursed angrily. Hiko had known that the boy was losing himself to the war, but he hadn't known his deshi had fallen so far already. He sighed and gave into his stubborn side, he walked into the dojo, ignored Kaoru's greeting and went straight to Kenshin's room, pushing the door open with more force then necessary.
The apprentice didn't look up as he came in, or when the door closed with another bang. It took for Hiko to stand next to him and glare before Kenshin tore his gaze away from the window and then he only said, "Go away shishou."
Hiko sighed and leaned against the wall facing the boy, "And why would I do that?" He snickered. "You're smaller than I remember."
The redhead turned to glare at him but his master saw the small smile hidden beneath the glare. "I'm not small." Kenshin commented scornfully. Hiko snorted, "Sure you're not."
Kenshin, being wise, kind of, in the ways of his shishou decided to ignore Hiko's last comment.
"Will you at least tell them about your parents?" When Kenshin looked up surprised, he added. "I know you haven't gotten around to that, don't deny it." The man silently sighed with relief when he noticed that the boy had come partly out from behind his mask.
"Maybe."
He looked down at his apprentice when he spoke and saw that the boy was actually contemplating telling his friends. Maybe he was coming around to his senses. "Well at least you may still have a brain in that head of yours."
Kenshin rolled his eyes. "Thanks shishou. Believe it or not I've always had a brain, you've just never realized it."
"Right." Hiko commented, partially in denial; sometimes he wasn't so sure.
"Kenshin! Hiko-san!" Kaoru's voice came from somewhere inside the dojo. "Breakfast!"
The redhead leapt off the ledge and stood next to his shishou. "Have you been warned about Kaoru's cooking?" He asked, making a face.
"Yes, thank goodness, I have." He followed the boy out of the room and into the hall. "I don't know how anyone can cook so horribly."
Kenshin smirked back at the man as they walked. "I know someone shishou," he announced suggestively. Hiko raised an eyebrow and the redhead continued his thoughts, "You. I'm sure you couldn't cook a meal to save a person's life shishou." Kenshin snickered loudly.
Hiko growled at him and took off after his mischievous and annoying deshi, admitting only to himself that he was glad to see that Kenshin was slowly returning to the boy he remembered. The one who wasn't comepletly scarred by the turmoil of war.
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So... how was it? I apologize for the randomness at the begining... I have no idea what came over me!
Hiko: I do... It was... ICE CREAM!
mijichan: Ice cream? Where? Where!
Hiko: (shakes head and walks away... again)
Alright... more randomness! And no I havent had any ice cream... its 11 in the morning who do you think I am... Misao?
Thanks so much for reading! I really hope you enjoyed it, I love writing dialogue between Hiko and Kenshin... its sooooo fun! I hope I did a good enough job to make everyone happy! (bows) Thanks to Yanikei as well for beta-ing all my stories... and putting up with me! ;p
Thanks to all my reviewers:
Sesshoumaru Minion, Yanikei, book-manga-freak, Kristy-chan, hypermikogirl, amber-chick, bluekitsune251, AuburnMoonlight, Draconic Ban-Sidhe and TeZukAb0ch0u
THANK YOU! 10 REVIEWS! YOU ROCK!
Thanks again! Don't forget to review... or I'll send Hiko after you! And if he's too busy getting drunk I'll send Kenshin!
sya,
mijichan