Broken
Chapter 14: Beaten
"So every time anybody screws up you end up paying for it?"
Kenshin simply nodded while sipping from his tea.
"And that doesn't bother you at all?"
He shook his head this time.
"Man, you're weird."
Kenshin put his cup down and began to speak.
"Not really."
Guy looked at him with a confused look.
"It makes me feel like I belong there. That there's people in which I can trust and vice-versa."
Guy started laughing for no apparent reason. Not a mocking laugh, more like a satisfied laugh.
"You pay to much attention to the little things."
Now it was Kenshin who was confused.
"I'll explain later." He let out a big yawn.
It had been many hours since they last spoke to each other. Darkness had already enveloped the environment, but Kenshin could not help but keep watch during the night, after all Guy's safety was his responsibility now.
From behind some trees, a pair of brothers stood silently, keeping a close eye on those two strangers. The crippled one had fallen fast asleep, but the one with the sword still sat there like a freaking zombie. How many hours had it been? One? Five? No way to tell, but his persistence to stay awake was admirable.
"Dammit bro, how long have we been watching this guy just sitting there?"
The one in the right side of the tree turned his head to look at his brother and whispered back at him.
"Not sure."
"I say we ambush him right now."
The one on the left took a step forward, but his brother's grip on his arm advised him otherwise.
"Dammit you'll blow our cover! I say we wait until he falls asleep."
"Why? There's two of us and only one of them."
"Yeah, but he's got a sword, which means that he might now how to use it and who knows how good is he."
"Could he really be that good?" He asked taking a quick glance at Kenshin.
"No clue, but better safe than sorry."
The one on the left let out a deep sigh.
"Fine."
They both shuffled in their positions until they were standing the same way they were before. However when they looked things were slightly different.
"Um, bro?"
"Yes?"
"Do you see what I see?"
He nodded.
"Where IS the guy with the sword?"
They looked at each other for roughly two seconds in absolute silence.
"DAMMIT!"
The one on the right leaped back and fell, hurting his left elbow. A sudden gust of wind whooshed above him, barely missing him and hit his brother on his head, smashing him against the tree and causing him to fall unconscious.
He rushed to his feet and drew his sword. But there was no one around except for his unconscious brother.
"Where are you? Why don't you show your face you coward!?"
He yelled into the darkness, but no reply came to his ears.
"I wasn't the one crawled up behind a tree."
He turned around by pivoting in his left foot, never lowering his guard, and there he was, that strange man they were looking at. He had the cold stare of a warrior, probably a killer, but he couldn't be sure due to the lack of light.
"Who are you?" He asked with a surprisingly calm voice.
Maybe this man wasn't as vicious as he first thought.
"Why do you care?"
"I don't want any trouble; I just want to know why were you spying on us."
"Then why'd you do that for!?" he said pointing with his chin to his still passed out brother.
"It was either you or me."
A heavy silence roamed the field temporarily, yet the standing brother never let his sword down.
"Just tell me." Said that man who seemed less aggressive with every word that he spoke.
At last, he lowered his sword, but not his guard. Nothing changed around him. He sheathed his sword and let out a sigh.
The sun hit his face hard, he had no choice but to wake up. After a good stretch he felt a sharp sting on his leg. That's when everything came back to him.
He had been on the verge of death after his entire squad had been killed. Then he met the legendary Hitokiri Battosai and somehow ended up traveling to Tokyo with him. There was also Masamune 100. but there was something wrong with the picture in front of him. There were two other men in front of his. They were identical except for the bloodied bandage wrapped around the head of one of them.
"Morning." Said Kenshin as his usual cheerful self.
Sometimes it was hard to believe that this man was the most feared assassin in all of Japan during the Bakumatsu.
Guy sat down beside Kenshin and grabbed a small loaf of bread, still looking at the brothers. One of them ate, the one with the bandage, while the other one just sat there returning the look. He stretched his hand toward Guy.
"Hi, I'm Ikazuchi no Kogoro and he's my brother, Denkou no Kimaro."
"Miyamoto Guy." He said shaking Kogoro's hand.
Then Kogoro turned toward Kenshin and it was as if Guy didn't exist.
"As I was saying, Due to that incident a few days ago we received orders to tighten our security and attack any strangers that do not have any official business with the village."
"Isn't that a little paranoid?" Kenshin asked with obvious interest.
"At first I thought so, but we encountered a strange fellow about two days ago that we believe might be the one responsible for that massacre."
That seemed o peak Guy's interest, after all he was the only survivor of a recent massacre and they weren't too far away from where it happened.
"Well." Kenshin said with a 'lucky you' kind of tone. "My friend here happens to be the only survivor of the incident."
They WERE talking about Masamune.
Kogoro gave Guy a strange look, doubtful even.
"You remember how he looked like?" Kogoro asked with the same dubious look on his face.
Guy could barely remember, but he nodded anyway. Kogoro shifted in his seat so he could face Guy completely.
"How was the guy you encountered?" Guy asked feeling useful for the first time in a while.
"Well, he was tall, long black air, slightly pale skin, clear eyes and a built physique. He wore a long, belted white coat, black pants with a yellow sash and wooden sandals."
Guy stroked his chin and immersed himself in thought for a few seconds. He could feel the gaze of those around him burning into his skull, even Kimaro's, who had at some point stopped eating but he couldn't really tell when.
"Well?" Kimaro said growing impatient.
Even their voices were exactly alike. Although Kimaro's was a bit more emotional.
"Did he wear a mask?"
The brothers shook their heads in unison.
"Did he have a double-bladed sword?"
"Can't say, he fought us with a pair of twin blades, but he DID have an abnormally large sheath on his back, plus a duffel bag filled with a bunch of swords."
He thought again for a few more seconds.
"It could be him but I can't say for sure."
"Why is that?"
"Well, for starters you two fought him and yet you are unscathed. Masamune killed a whole clan of ninjas with only one attack AND the only survivor came out heavily injured."
"He didn't really seem to want to kill us, but even so we never stood a chance against him."
"How so?"
Author's Note: Just like before, the next chapter is a flashback. Enjoy.
Peace and Love people!!! Peace and love…