: Disclaimer :
Sessha does not own Rurouni Kenshin, that he does most certainly not. :)
Hiko - *looking scary and stuf while walking to Kyoto in the storm*
*lightning strikes Hiko*
Hiko - @_@ Owie! *crumples on grass*
Kenshin - Shishou!!!
Saitou - Moron...
Sano - Blowhard...
Aoshi - ...
RK Women - SIR HIKO!!! *tend to Hiko*
Justice - CUT! Okay, who messed with the storm machine?!
AUTHOR'S NOTE - Alright, then, how shall we go from here...
Hiko heads toward Kyoto to settle Kenshin down... I'll try a little combat in this chappy,
and get to the serious stuff next update. How's that? _ _ Everyone content? Good! ^_^
Note - Thoughts are in italics, and quotations indicate spoken words. indicates scene change. THIS indicates time-slowdown stuff, so more happens in the moment than I actually have room for. ^^ Lame, I know.
:REVIEW THANKS:
^_^ ^_^ ^_^ FIVE REVIEWS!!! Kewl kewl kewl kewl!
My heartfelt thanks to…
Maeve Riannon - O_O So Katsura is his last name? Thank you, I knew this not.
Thanks for your thoughts about the 'baka deshi' bit, I really was unsure about that…
As for people being a match for Hiko… ^_^ We all know it's impossible,
and maybe I should forget it... but it is action/adventure. I'll give something a go,
and depend on my reviewers to tell me how it flies... I have no beta reader, after all.
And as for what'll save Kenshin... no giveaways, but you're very perceptive, miss! o_O
kenshin-admirer - I'm glad you like it! And although I like to think I fear nothing,
I must admit, facing down a miffed Hiko would send me running... :)
Lucrecia LeVrai - It's true Kenshin was a shadow assassin, but I thought he was eventually
discovered... I'm being iffy about the date for that reason. Gohei knew him by his hair and stuff,
so I'm just ad-libbing here.... Hmmm...
I'll check it out some more, let me know if I go wrong again! o_O
^_^ Thanks everyone!
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The Sword of Seijuro Hiko
Chapter Two - On the Road
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ORO
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His rage had not abated at all. If anything, it had only increased in scope and magnitude.
Seijuro Hiko was always intimidating, no matter his mood, and many people
would stand up and start a conversation with him as stand out in a typhoon
and not expect to be blown away; however, comparing the two sides of him, that is,
the Seijuro Hiko at rest to the battle-ready Seijuro Hiko was like comparing a June breeze
to a Fujita-5 tornado. That being, there was no comparison.
He strode purposefully down the wooded road towards Kyoto, his mind thinking only
of the Battousai and the madness he had brought to Japan; of the supreme devastation
that the Quarry could unleash upon an already-ravaged, war-weary nation while under the influence
of some backstabbing, silk-tongued politician. The thought provoked a feral growl from Hiko's
throat, and the small caravan of refugees that had been passing him, already having quickened
their pace to get past him, broke into a full-fledged dash for the bend in the road about three hundred
yards from Hiko's position. Mothers grabbed their children and fairly yanked them in the direction
of presumed safety, although they had nothing to fear from Hiko. His was the sword that protected the
people, that served the people.
Unlike Battousai.
The very name made Hiko want to spit. Master of instant sword draw? Feh, he was nothing more
than an apprentice - while he did have talent with the Battou Jutsu - he made a habit of coming
back to that move when in a bind during training, and Hiko had tried to teach him to be a little less
predictable...(at the time, he had been pleased with the boy's knack for the skill,
practice in the form and mastery of it were neccessary before the teaching of the succession technique...)
but he was most certainly no master. And without the succession technique, he never would be,
not as long as he lived.
Not that he has long to live...
Again, a wave of despair washed over Hiko. Memories of camping out in the forest,
training, the boy's naivete and childlike logic to life's mysteries; Hiko's soul had been very much
healed from it's despairing state back then, coming upon a seven-year-old boy who had picked up
a sword to defend the women and had then buried them, as well as the attackers, after his failure.
His penchant for introspection was sometimes disturbing, and his sense of justice was beyond question...
At least, it used to be.
Hiko again released a growl, more menacing and more violent this time, thinking of all
the lives that were being torn apart by his unwitting baka deshi. He failed to grasp, even now,
that some government officials were merely people doing their jobs, not wanton rapists and murderers,
and because his deshi failed to realize this, he would assume that the entire government was evil
and needed to be destroyed. Which wasn't really untrue - Hiko trusted no government,
not one, whether it be monarchial, aristocratic, or democratic. Hiko scoffed at the notion
of democracy - mob rule, nothing more, he thought; but even Hiko would not think
to kill everyone in the government to achieve change...
His thoughts became progressively darker and more hopeless as he marched along towards
Kyoto, unhindered and unopposed by anyone along the road...
Until he came to the bridge.
Hik dispassionately observed the blue-and-green clad samurai that watched him approach-
obviously they guarded the bridge he was closing in on, and judging by the way they placed
themselves between the bridge and himself, he wagered they weren't going to let him cross
peacefully.
Feh. Ignorant fools.
One of the guards, apparently the leader, came forward about ten paces and stopped,
holding a hand up and ordering him to stop.
Hiko, in turn, continued walking, not even ackowledging the man's calls.
The leader's voice became louder and more insistent, and Hiko again ignored him.
At this point, the leader (obviously inept at reading ki, else he would have known Hiko
had no intentions of stopping) called to his men to prepare themselves, and drew his
own katana.
Hiko's eyes narrowed, considering the men before him. He was not in the habit of taking
orders, and thusly did not think to stop and answer any questions. Hiko knew there were two
options...
(A. Fight them.
(B. Jump over them and run.
Option B seemed ridiculous, and it would not educate the men before him at all,
so he chose option one.
Hiko withdrew his Shirasaya Nihontou and drew the glittering blade out.
The leader's eyes grew narrow and determined, and his men quickly unsheathed their
katanas and assumed a rather ungainly stance that Hiko found quite interesting.
Hiratsuki. So they intend to impale me, do they? Feh.
Loosening his grip on the smooth handle of the nihontou, Hiko flipped it over so that
the blunt edge was facing forward.
They are merely following orders to guard the bridge. They have done nothing to merit death.
This is what you fail to understand, deshi.
Hiko's eyes glittered dangerously as he came within the fifteen feet of the guard commander,
who recoild involuntarily at the sight of Hiko's burning amber eyes. His men, too, backed up
a step, and Hiko entertained hopes that the men would simply continue backing away until
he passed over the bridge, free of incident.
...no such luck.
Having apparently found his grit, Hiko mused, the leader charged him with a howl,
his katana aimed for Hiko's throat.
Quick enough for a common soldier, Hiko noted, but his form is too loose,
and he's not focused enough.
Hiko sighed.
Yet another amateur.
The unit leader was charging quick, the katana was only an inch from the tall man's jugular...
And then he was gone.
The leader's Hiratsuki impaled a tree to the immediate right of Hiko's former position,
much to his chagrin and confusion. His men, meanwhile, were completely dumbfounded.
It was then that they lost conciousness.
Moving with the incredible speed characteristic of the Hiten school, Hiko performed a Ryuu
Kan Sen, striking the leftmost guard's neck at exactly the point where his skull ended.
rather efficiently rendering him unconcious, then followed up with two more,
disabling the other two men in nearly the same instant.
Hearing three simulatneous grunts behind him, the commander whirled around to face
the sounds, and gaped in awe as the man he had just tried to slay had knocked out three
of his men in an instant. Hiko maintained the stance of the executed Ryuu Kan Sen for
a second before straightening and glancing over his shoulder at the astonished commander.
"If you'd like to remain concious, leave me be." Hiko said curtly.
The unit leader, to his credit, didn't run away screaming 'Demon!'.
He did, however, scream.
Which was not what Hiko expected.
"ATTACK!!!"
Hiko raised an eyebrow in suprise, rather impressed that this man had the wherewithal
to call for the twenty-four troops stationed beneath the bridge for aid. Hiko had figured
that this one would just freeze, and so he supressed a sigh, and waited impatiently
for the arrival of the reinforcements.
It wasn't a long wait.
Screaming various battle cries, the troops rushed Hiko from various directions,
all of them assuming Hiratsuki stances and thrusting their katanas in his direction.
Hiko, for his part, snorted.
Attack one man from all sides with a stabbing manuver? Such idiocy fairly begs for death.
Hiko leapt towards one group of charging soldiers, raising his nihontou for a downwards slash.
The troops halted their rush and began to slash at him from various directions, and so
Hiko, sighing at their inexperience, jumped back three feet, deftly moved to the side of
one unfortunate soldier, and performed a powerful Dou Ryuu Sen, lifting all six men into
the air and effectively disarming them. Hiko struck their katanas away from them and
struck each of them twice, in turn, before they even hit the apex of their ride into the sky.
Touching down, Hiko crouched low, waiting for the next group behind himself to
come and attack while he was apparently vulnerable. This was a grade-A mistake.
Whirling faster than any of them could see, Hiko struck one across the top of the head,
throwing the victim into one of his comrades, who lost balance and fell into another,
who in turn...
Utterly shocked, the leader of the Shinsengumi platoon could only stare at the attacker
(when he could see him) and sit, dumbfounded.
He's making a mockery of us! Look at the way he sighs before he attacks!
That patronizing...
Grunting angrily, the man yanked his katana out of the tree it had been embedded in,
having been working quite hard to remove it since the combat had begun.
Yelling his own battle cry, he rushed the arrogant fool as his men did.
Hiko, sensing the leader's approach, leapt up into the sky and came down thirty feet
begind the unwitting man.
The Shinsengumi captain, frustrated with his inability to strike the attacker,
furiously called for his men to flank him, and the remaining troops gathered together
behind him.
All told, there were ten left, including the captain.
Hiko stared at them with pale golden amber eyes, feeling them flinch under his gaze,
and found himself wishing again that these weaklings would remove themselves from his
path. Instead, the leader called to his men to prepare for a group Hiratsuki.
The angry Shinsengumi seemed intent on taking down the lone swordsman by sheer
force of numbers. Considering that this had failed already, one would imagine that they
would come up with a different plan, but they did not.
Hiko supressed another sigh.
Two miles past the bridge, Seijuro Hiko continued on his way to Kyoto, passing various
soldiers, civilians, merchants, and other individuals, none of whom loitered in his presence.
He had dealt with the remaining troops rather quickly and had continued down the road without so
much as a word to his fallen (and unconcious) opponents, not caring to waste any more time than
neccessary. He had maintained a steady pace all the while, wishing to distance himself
as quickly as possible from the defeated soldiers, lest they wake up and come after him...
They were too battered to so much as twitch their nose. How could they follow me?
...or before the soldiers he had passed came after him upon seeing the defeat of the guard...
A distinct possibility, unless they side with the other faction.
...or some baka came up and asked him to join their side, upon seeing the bridge
and remembering the furious-looking swordsman they had passed along the road.
Feh. The last thing I want is for some fool to come try and recruit me.
Hiko scowled even more deeply, having not stopped scowling since he left his mountain
the night before. He was damp and a little hungry, so he decided to pull of the road,
eat, and let his cloak dry out.
Leaning against a fallen tree, Hiko looked up towards the sky and mourned the immenent loss
of his deshi, Kenshin.
This sword has brought me nothing but trouble all my life.
Eight years ago, he had taken in a tiny boy who had showed potential to be something
great in the world, and it had been Hiko's personal dream to mold the boy into a noble swordsman
who used his skills to defend the people of Japan. Which was what the boy thought he was doing.
Idiot apprentice...
They had been good times for Hiko; the kid seemed to be a walking source of amusement for Hiko,
whether it be girl trouble or some mischief in the forest, like that time Hiko had taught the kid how
to make a hammock...
Hiko's eyes softened a bit, and regained a bit of their former color. He chuckled softly.
Kenshin had done exactly as Hiko had said, but as the two of them sprawled in their respective
hammocks, Kenshin rather forgot what Hiko had told him about moving around in a hammock,
and had ended up falling out of it, into the damp grass below. The kid had said something
Hiko had found quite funny...
"...oro!"
...truth be told, Hiko had burst out laughing like he hadn't in ages, desperately holding his sides
so that they wouldn't split open, but ultimately ended up falling out of his own hammock, though he didn't care. Kenshin had merely blushed and protested that he did it on purpose, making Hiko laugh all the harder. They had both climbed back into their hammocks, and for an hour or so there was peace...
...until the kid awoke with a start and got up so fast the hammock had spun around three times,
trapping the kid inside.
Hiko, already sore from his last bout of laughter, had tried to stifle himself, and had succeded for
about five seconds when the kid 'oro'ed again.
And after all, even Seijuro Hiko had his limits.
Hiko sighed at the memories, wistfully staring up at the clouds in the sky,
wishing with all his considerable might that this duty might pass from him.
To have hunt down my own deshi...is without a doubt, the cruelest and most difficult thing
I have ever had to do as a master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu. Not even the teaching of
the Ama Kakeru Ryuu no Hirameki was so painful as this...And yet I must.
Must I?
He will continue to kill and kill as long as those political leaders command him.
He will lose himself in the conflict as he realizes the truth in my words and realizes
his own mortal sins. He will lose a piece of his own soul with every life he takes...
Will he?
...until he is nothing more than a shadow of a man, a hitokiri, a man-slayer of such power
and speed and skill that none in this dying nation will be able to confront him.
He will come back when he sees his error.
*disgust* No, he won't. He will continue to kill because he always finishes what he starts.
He will feel he has no option other than to end the conflict as quickly as possible, not realizing
that it will only make matters worse for himself and for Japan.
He did not finish learning the Hiten Mitsurugi. Perhaps he will not finish this either.
*despair* And leave the people around him to face death and destruction? He could not.
He will fight until there is nothing left of his soul and he becomes a mindless man-slayer
who knows nothing save the smell of blood. Whatever he eats, whatever he drinks,
it will taste of the blood of the men he has slain as a hitokiri. He will see everything
in the color of blood, and his clothes will become as red as his hair.
He will kill and kill and kill until he dies or until he kills himself.
This is the truth.
You don't know that.
*fiercely* I do!
You can't predict the future!
*furious* I can predict my own student!
Yet you could not see his becoming a hitokiri!
Hiko bared his teeth, gritting them so hard that they would have cracked had they been
those of another man. Leaping to his feet, he gathered up his belongings and
made his way back to the road, his eyes returning to their amber state,
the stress and toll of his task evident in them.
He must die. Better that I do it now, than to let him die in such a way.
His thoughts brought him no consolation as he continued to walk towards the place where his
life would, for the most part, end. To kill his student would be tantamount to killing himself,
and Hiko could foresee no future for Japan if the best and brightest and most noble
of her new generation had to die in such a way...
Without realizing it, Hiko's own vision was becoming red, stained not with the blood of past victims,
but with that of the victim yet to come...
Walking slowly, wallowing in utter misery, Hiko suddenly became aware of the scent of smoke.
His eyes darted from left to right, searching for the source.
There!
A plume of smoke rising from over a hill to his left.
The source is about two miles distant. Undoubtedly pointless, mad, bloody battle
being fought by children and women against soldiers... I hate this damnable war...
Turning his attention from his immediate mission, the mighty master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu
suddenly turned to his left and dashed away, much to the shock of spectators around him,
who were trying to move away from the battle.
Hiko could only pray that he would not be too late to save some life.
END CHAPTER 2
Justice's Corner - Something tells me that the poor idiots attacking that village are
in for some serious 'Kuzu Ryuu Sen' trouble.... ^_^
Wowie-zowie, another chapter in a single night. It's only about three thousand words, I know,
but this might actually turn out to be a 100,000+ if I can slow down enough to write an actual
story outline. Yes, that's right, ladies and gents, this is ENTIRELY AD-LIBBED!!!
Probably not the first time you've heard that, but for me, it's scary. o_o'
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Please read and review, and mega-thanks to those who already have! ^_^
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Justice - Inpuuuuut... *digs in beef stew*
Sano + Yahiko + Megumi + Tae - O_O
Kenshin - @_@x Demented de gozaru yo...
Kaoru - *nods*
Justice - *digs in rice looking for inspiration* Need...more...INPUT!!!
Hiko - *sips sake* Lunatic.
Kenshin - By the way, shishou, thank you for not actually coming to kill me...
Kaoru - Yes, thank you very much! *bows low* I need my pookie!
Kenshin - *blush* Orooorororoooooo...
Hiko - *sips again* Who says I didn't?
Kenshin + Kaoru - O_O
Justice - *finds fortune cookie in fried rice* INPUT!!! ^_^
Kenshingumi - ~_~ Hopeless...
^_^ Thanks for reading!