Kendo Club

Ch 9

Hey everyone! Wassup! Did anyone see Pirates? OMG was that awesome! Okay, sorry this took so long but I didnt get very much time to write in Japan, but it did turn out well. Hope you Enjoy! And Review!

The next day after school Kaoru met Kenshin at his locker and only gave him enough time to throw his books inside it before dragging him by the arm straight to Kendo practice.

Once inside the gym, Kaoru and Kenshin walked over to the bleachers and sat down to wait for other people to arrive. Not even Hiko was there yet. Once they sat down, Kaoru turned to Kenshin smiling. "Thanks for coming Kenshin. And being visible this time," she hastily added when Kenshin opened his mouth to protest.

Kenshin answered, "No problem, Kaoru," he sensed someone entering the dojo and smiled mischievously. "Here, let me show you something."

Kaoru looked confusedly at him, but Kenshin turned to point over at Sano who had just walked in the double doors, his hair as pointy as ever. "Look at Sano, watch how he moves."

They did this for at least a minute before Kaoru turned to Kenshin, still confused as before. "I don't notice anything special about it Kenshin."

He leaned forward to look beyond her and they watched Sano join the group. "Well, first look at how he's aware of most of his surroundings, Sano walks easily but his eyes are moving around, taking everything in." When Kaoru didn't comment Kenshin continued. "Then look at the way he walks, Sano's relaxed but he's ready to fight if he needs to." Kenshin smiled at her. "He's obviously a fist fighter."

Kaoru shook her head in disbelief. "I can't understand how you notice those things, I see him walking everyday and I don't see that."

The redhead smiled. "Yes, but I've been trained to notice these things," he noticed Misao walking in, chattering loudly and speedily to Aoshi who was walking silently next to her. "Try again, watch Misao this time."

Kaoru did so but the only thing she noticed was Misao's talking and Aoshi's usual vacant expression that usually meant he was trying to listen and failing miserably. Finally she gave up and shook her head.

"You don't see it?" Kenshin asked. Kaoru shook her head, shamefaced. "It's okay, it takes a while to get how to do it," he reassured her, smiling. "The thing about Misao is that while she has the cheery, hyper exterior, Misao still recognizes danger and is able to respond at the drop of a hat, to protect herself." Kenshin tilted his head thoughtfully and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. "I suppose Aoshi's been teaching her recently."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kaoru asked surprised.

Kenshin turned towards her, eyebrow raised. "Well, he is a ninja isn't he?"

Kaoru stuttered, "W-well yes, but," she paused, "how did you know?"

"Aoshi plainly acts like one, plus-" Kenshin began to explain, but there was an interruption.

"Kamiya! Get over here!"

Kaoru rolled her eyes, which made Kenshin laugh, then stood up and walked over to the group where everyone else was gathered. Kenshin propped his feet against the wooden edge of the bleacher, sighed and repositioned his chin. 'Why did I decide to come to practice?' He asked himself, bored. "Because Hiko wouldn't stop teasing me about it and Kaoru asked me to." Kenshin found himself answering his own question.

"Hello."

Kenshin was disturbed from his thoughts when a familiar calm voice spoke from beside him. The redhead turned to find Aoshi sitting beside him, to his own slight surprise.

"Hi." There was an awkward silence between them as they both found themselves with nothing to say.

"What were you talking about with Kaoru?" Aoshi asked monotonously, watching the practicing members.

Kenshin turned slightly to look at him. "How you can tell a lot about a person by just watching them."

"Really."

"Mm-hmm, take Misao for instance, she's carefree and energetic, but can recognize danger while protecting herself and others." Kenshin looked away from Aoshi, "I suppose that's your doing," he mused.

For once Aoshi looked surprised, his ice blue eyes carefully studying his companion. "What do you mean by that?"

The redhead smirked slightly, "Well you're part of the Oniwaban right?" When Aoshi didn't answer except to glare icily, Kenshin continued, "And only that, but you're the Okashira of the Oniwaban."

Aoshi hissed and instantaneously drew a kodachi that he held at Kenshin's throat. "You're a spy, aren't you? Tell me who you're spying for."

Kenshin smiled and waved his hands. "Calm down Aoshi. I'm not a spy, for anyone."

"Liar." Aoshi hissed and pressed harder. "I will not allow the Oniwaban to be endangered by someone like you."

In a quick movement Kenshin had tilted his head back and drew his own sword to hold Aoshi's in place. "I'm not lying, Aoshi. I work for no one."

Aoshi merely looked back at him behind the crossed swords, not answering but waiting for Kenshin to.

The redhead broke the block and sheathed his sword. "I just know from my past dealings with the Oniwaban." Kenshin explained, hiding behind his bangs.

"No outsiders deal with the Oniwaban." Aoshi denied, sheathing his kodachi.

Kenshin let his eyes become amber and looked up at his tall companion, smirking. "You sure about that?"

Aoshi stared at him, eyebrows raised. "You're the-!"

"Please don't say it." Kenshin held out a hand to stop him, letting his eyes revert to their usual color. "I don't want anyone else to know."

Aoshi muttered angrily. "Why didn't I recognize you?" He looked piercingly at the redhead, who smiled innocently back. "You look different," he accused.

Kenshin tilted his head. "What do you mean Aoshi?"

"Your eyes, face, hair and expressions aren't the same." Aoshi observed, and then sighed when Kenshin blinked. "Your eyes are a different color, your scar is gone and you're wearing your hair differently."

"Aren't you the observant one?" Kenshin commented smiling. "Sure that's all true, but it doesn't matter."

"And why does the Battousai," Kenshin glared at him, "carry a sakabato instead of a proper katana?" Aoshi asked flatly.

Kenshin's eyes narrowed, "That's none of your business Aoshi," he snapped. Aoshi began to repeat his question but Hike's voice carried across the room to them.

"Hey, baka!"

They both looked up and Kenshin sighed.

"Get over here!" Hiko shouted again, and this time the redhead nodded to Aoshi, stood and walked over to stand next to his Uncle. "Yes Shishou?"

Hiko glared down at him. "Don't you mock me boy." Kenshin only smiled back. "I want you to walk around the group and make sure that everyone is doing the moves right, correct them if they're wrong," he smirked. "I trust you can do such an easy task?"

Kenshin rolled his eyes. "Yes Uncle," he answered, quietly enough so no one else could hear and moved away to the left side of the group before Hiko could comment further.

"Alright everyone, begin on my command." Hiko shouted to the group of second years, then looked at Kenshin who nodded. "Begin!" He yelled, and watched as the students began going through each move of the kata they were working on, most of them avoiding or watching Hiko's eyes.

Kenshin walked down the first column of students, observing them and correcting if it was needed. It was slightly awkward since these people were his classmates, whom he didn't know very well, yet here he was correcting their mistakes in a sport they hadn't known he knew about.

As he walked up the second column Misao waved and grinned at him which distracted her and caused her to drop her shinai. Hiko turned and glared at her. Misao mouthed 'sorry!' then picked the shinai up again and reassumed the position. Kenshin stopped next to her and gently adjusted Misao's grip while murmuring in her ear. "Don't worry about Uncle, he just gets annoyed easily. You're doing great."

Then he moved away from her with an easy smile, catching Hiko's attention and smirking mockingly at him.

As he made his way up the second row to last row, after getting an icy glare from Hiko and a silent threat to mind himself along with it, Kenshin saw Kaoru wink at him while easily keeping up with the others. He made a close examination of the girl's fighting behind her back, and realized that he thought of her as a friend, something he had never had before, and perhaps even something more.

When he drew level with her, Kenshin smiled at the girl, as close to a real smile as he could get, and waved. Since she was doing the moves correctly he had no excuse to stop and talk with her, so he whispered 'good job' in her ear and continued walking.

Finally he had finished making his round around the advanced group. After waving back to a grinning Sano he had, instead of resuming his spot next standing next to his Uncle, walked over to the group of first years who were chaotically practicing basic kendo moves against their classmates.

As he paused in front of them to watch, many stopped practicing and turned towards him as they realized he was there. When he had all of their attention Kenshin smiled and stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Himura Kenshin, Hiko's 'unofficial' assistant," he introduced himself and the students gave a chorus of 'hi''s.

"Now I want you to form two lines facing each other, then wait for my instruction." There was a minor cacophony as the students separated into two groups while talking amongst themselves and many shinai clacking together. Finally they were organized and Kenshin spoke again.

"Good, now we're going to practice a few basic moves. The line with their backs to the bleachers will start. We'll begin with shinai-head hits." Kenshin announced then moved so he was standing next to the starting line. "Shinai ready," everyone raised theirs, "bows," Kenshin paused to cast an eye over them, "begin!"

He watched as they began hitting, and ranked them by skill in his head while noticing how well they attacked or reacted. Near the middle of the attacking line, Kenshin noticed a boy was gripping his shinai wrong.

"Your grip is wrong, move your right hand up a little," he instructed as he stepped up beside the boy and gently adjusted the boy's hand. To Kenshin's relief his hand stayed where it was after the redhead let go. "Good, now lower your left, the pinky should be right at the end of the handle." The boy moved his hand to where it was supposed to be and Kenshin nodded agreeably. "That's it. You want to keep your hands apart so the shinai absorbs more of the impact than your hands. Now keep practicing but don't forget your hand positions."

The pair began practicing again and Kenshin continued walking down the line. Near the end, he noticed a pair of students were having a hard time because they weren't moving correctly. The redhead rushed up to them and immediately asked for them to stop after they stepped back to stare at him confusedly.

Kenshin sighed and walked up next to the attacker. "Alright, now the reason your hits aren't working is because you're not performing them correctly. First of all, your grip isn't right and because of that, your shinai isn't balanced." He helped the student shift his hands to the right places. "See? Isn't that better?" Kenshin smiled when the boy nodded eagerly.

"Good, now the second thing is that you're hitting your opponents weapon badly, and because it doesn't feel right to you, you're hitting harder then you should," he put his hands on top of the boys, "Alright, now put your shinai up against his," Kenshin instructed the other boy who meekly obeyed. "See how this position feels uncomfortable?" He asked both of them who nodded again, "but if you merely switch sides," Kenshin moved his shinai to the opposite side of the other boy's."Isn't this better?"

The boy facing him nodded. "Yeah, but what does that have to do with how we fight?" He asked impatiently.

"Not everything's about fighting," Kenshin muttered under his breath, "Well we're getting to that. Now try the moves again, but try the things I told you," he instructed, then watched as they stepped up to the line, bowed and raised their shinai. The student in front of Kenshin attacked, hitting his opponent's shinai, then the top of his head. Kenshin quickly noticed how slowly the other boy had reacted to the harsh blow and worried.

The redhead realized they were waiting for him to respond. "Sorry. That was better. Just remember that now you don't have to hit so hard because you're using more of your strength." Kenshin turned to the other boy. "And don't hesitate so much before you block, otherwise you will be injured by his attack," he instructed, and watched as they tried again, taking everything he had told them into account. They stopped, breathing heavily but smiling at their improved swordsmanship.

"Good job, that was much better. Now practice until you can do it correctly five times in a row, then switch and do it again." They nodded and began again while Kenshin walked back up the line so he stood in front and addressed all the students. "Alright, everyone stop for a moment."

The students did so, lowering their shinai and turning to look at him. He smiled. "You're doing really well. Now just do ten more per each person and rest." They nodded and Kenshin walked back over to the second years, stopping next to Hiko. "What's the matter Uncle? You seem upset about something," he observed, smiling innocently at the man who glared down at him.

"I heard you call yourself my 'assistant,' and let me remind you that I never said you were and I nearly had to drag you here today." Hiko growled, glancing over at the students in front of him who were still practicing.

"I said 'unofficial' assistant Hiko, there's a difference. Oh, and you didn't bring or drag me here, I walked with Kaoru." Kenshin said, smirking up at his Uncle.

"Alright." Hiko commented smirking, and then turned to address the group in front of him. "Stop and listen to me!" He shouted, causing Kenshin to cover his sensitive ears and the students to lower their shinai and look at their instructor. "I can't believe anyone actually listens to you." Kenshin commented quietly, but Hiko heard and moved to hit him, except the redhead easily dodged away.

The older man smirked as he waved a hand at his nephew and announced, "Kenshin here is going to demonstrate the kata you've been working on, so you can see what it's supposed to look like." Hiko turned towards Kenshin who was looking dazed. "If it's done correctly of course."

Kenshin stared up at his Uncle with wide violet eyes. "Uncle, I won't do this! You're putting me on the spot again," he whispered angrily.

Hiko glanced down at his deshi, his expression stern. "You can and will do this baka," he smirked then leaned down and whispered, "Or should I tell Kaoru about how you used to wet the bed, or how you got lost in the mall, or how about-"

"Fine!" Kenshin huffed angrily, "But you owe me one Uncle." The redhead informed Hiko before taking the katana that was offered to him.

He stepped away from his Uncle, and took a deep breath before closing his eyes and settling in the initial stance. Just as he was about to start Kenshin felt the pressure of a touch on the hand that was gripping the hilt of the sword, which was slid into a loophole in his belt and he opened his eyes to find Hiko's hand on top of his. "What, Shishou?" Kenshin asked surprised.

"Remember baka, slow and steady. I want them to observe you, not lose you." Hiko instructed, grinning.

Kenshin rolled his eyes. "Yes Shishou, I know," he settled into the shudan stance again, "but remember that you owe me." Without letting his Uncle respond, the redhead closed his eyes and steadied his breathing, gripping the hilt of his sword reassuringly.

Then, in one fluid motion he drew the sword and began going through each move in the kata, easily flowing from one stance into another. For five to ten minutes he had the students enthralled as he flawlessly performed the kata in front of them.

When he sheathed the sword, stopped moving and opened his eyes, Kenshin saw his classmates staring at him and Hiko smirking. Feeling slightly uncomfortable the redhead blushed as he turned to hear his Uncle's reaction.

The older man leaned down and whispered mockingly, "I see all that extensive training has paid off," he paused before saying, "It was good deshi, well done."

Kenshin nodded, accepting the rare compliment. "Thanks Shishou."

Noticing that many of the students were still staring, Hiko turned to them. "What you just saw is what the kata is supposed to look like when you put all the movements you've been learning together," he continued talking for a few more minutes until Kenshin, who had exchanged several rolled-eyes with Sano and Kaoru, looked up at Hiko while tapping obviously on his watch.

Finally Hiko noticed Kenshin and lightly cuffed the boy on the back of his head. "We've gone overtime today; all of you put your shinai back on the shelf then leave me alone," he turned away from the group to glare down at the redhead.

The students moved towards the wall shelves in a rush, with a lot of roughhousing and talking. Finally all of the students had gathered their things and left the gym, leaving Hiko, Kenshin, Kaoru and Sano alone inside.

Sano walked up to Kenshin who was talking to Kaoru. "Hey man, that was so cool!" He slapped Kenshin on the back, nearly making the much-shorter redhead fall forward. "I wish I could move like that."

"Thanks Sano." Kenshin commented, smiling. He glanced over at Kaoru, then back to Sano again. "By the way Sano, you should rebind the wound on your shoulder from your fight from last night."

After Sano stared at him, with his mouth hanging wide open, Kaoru smiled at her friend and mocked, "You better hurry rooster or you'll miss your wake-up call."

Sano opened his mouth to say something smart-aleck-ish back when his cell phone went off. He pulled it out of his pocket, flipped it open to read the message, cursed, and ran out of the gym yelling his goodbyes.

"He's late for dinner again," Kaoru laughed, "his mother will kill him," she turned to smile at Kenshin, "literally."

Kenshin opened his mouth to respond when he saw a familiar person standing at the door. "Saito," he hissed, eyes narrowing. Kaoru, surprised by his tone, turned to look as Saito strode across the floor reeking of self-importance to stop next to Hiko, who glared at the wolf and engaged him in a heated conversation.

After glaring at Saito, Kenshin turned back to Kaoru, his eyes pure violet and smiling mischievously. "Kaoru, what would you say to a little spar?"

She stared at him. "Here?"

"Where better than a dojo?"

"Now?"

Kenshin nodded. "Mm-hmm. Come on, get a shinai or katana and lets start." Kaoru looked worriedly at him then walked over and grabbed a shinai off the wall. Afterwards, she came back to stand a few yards away from the redhead who smiled and placed a hand on the hilt of his sakabato.

Kaoru stood in a ready stance and waited for Kenshin to strike. But the redhead only smirked at her and called, "Don't worry Kaoru, I'll go easy on you. I'm aware that you're not up to my level."

She stared wide-eyed, then narrowed her eyes into an ice-cold glare. "I'm not at all worried Kenshin, I'll easily beat you down." Kaoru declared, and then broke into a run, rushing Kenshin who smiled and disappeared from her view.

"Behind you."

Kaoru turned quickly to block and attack the redhead. "Better." Kenshin commented, easily dodging her shinai. She smiled at him, appreciating the compliment, and then quickly moved to block the multiple attacks she was receiving from the redhead. Kaoru managed to block several of them, some barely stopping the blade, until one snuck by her shinai and Kenshin lightly tapped her shoulder with the flat of his blade.

"One," he said smiling playfully, but Kaoru knew she was holding up well against him. "Try again." Kenshin advised as they resumed their starting positions.

Again, Kaoru was the first to break her stance and rush at Kenshin, but this time the redhead also moved and their weapons met in the middle. Over their locked blades Kenshin winked at her and broke the stalemate, stepping back.

Kaoru didn't even get to catch her breath before the redhead was attacking again. With more difficulty this time she blocked them, only receiving a light hit on her left side. She attacked him several times with more determination each time but Kenshin still managed to block all of them.

They separated again to stand opposite each other, watching, when by some unspoken command they started running at the other, preparing for an attack.

"What the hell do you baka think you're doing?" Hiko's voice boomed angrily at them.

Kenshin slid to a stop, sheathing his sword, but Kaoru's momentum was carrying her forward, slipping on the polished wood floor, and he barely had time to grab her by the back of her shirt and pull Kaoru backwards before she fell face-first onto the nice, shiny floor.

Kaoru wiped her forehead on her sleeve, breathing heavily. "Thanks Kenshin," she smiled.

"No problem." The redhead replied and Kaoru noticed, to her annoyance, that he wasn't breathing hard at all. "Oh dear." Kenshin murmured as Hiko stomped angrily towards them.

"What were you two doing?" The taller man asked icily, his face set in a grim frown.

Kenshin smiled innocently at him. "Just sparring a little Shishou." Hiko glared coldly at him. "I could see that baka, but why were you endangering Kaoru?" He asked, his eyes flicking over to the girl.

"Now listen here!" Kaoru protested, "I am the assistant master of-"

"I wasn't endangering her Uncle, I knew perfectly well what I was doing. Plus I was fighting more easily than I usually would." Kenshin protested, his eyes now slightly flecked with amber.

"Sure, but what if you had lost yourself? If you had, you would have hurt her and endangered everyone else." Hiko argued, pointing a finger at his baka deshi.

Kenshin lowered his eyes and looked away. "I wouldn't have gone that far Uncle. I would catch myself before that happened."

"Kenshin, I-" Kaoru tried to interrupt.

"You would try to, but what if you couldn't? Would you make everyone else deal with a hitokiri again?"

Kenshin's eyes flashed, fully amber. "That's in the past Uncle, and that's where it's going to stay."

"Hiko, we-" Kaoru tried again, but they both ignored her.

"Lets hope it does." Hiko smirked, disguising his worry of what would happen if Kenshin snapped again.

"He-llo!" Kaoru shouted desperately and this time the relatives heard her. "Yes Kaoru?" Kenshin asked politely. Kaoru glared at him, fingering her shinai. "My brother has now been waiting to be picked up for nearly an hour. I suggest we go get him before I, and he, get angry."

Kenshin and Hiko exchanged looks, both wanting to be spared from Kaoru's wrath.

"Alright, let's go then." The redhead agreed and quickly grabbed the car keys from his Uncle. He held them up, jingling them together, "I'll drive."

Hiko groaned and rubbed his forehead. "We're doomed."

Soooo... ya like it? Hope so and if anyone thought the spar between Kenshin and Kaoru was iffy... yea, I know.

Kay, one more point I'm still getting my Japan photos uploaded onto my website, so they should be ready soon. Sorry I'm taking so long on about, oh lets see, everything.

Thanks to my reviewers for last chapter:

Last Wish, ELLIE, Yanikei, ruruken, enchanted, Kristy andruruken

One more point... I was thinking about doing a profile thingy in my profile... please tell me what you think about it!

dewa mata

mijichan