Short chapter guys, sorry. The next several should be significantly longer though. Also, I forgot to mention this in chapter 1, but I can't stand the title and will be changing it when I can think of something that isn't incredibly corny. I hate titles. Such a pain.
"Black ships?" Kenshin wondered briefly why his teacher had to use such unfathomable words instead of speaking like a normal person. It gave him a headache sometimes, trying to decipher what Hiko meant.
Hiko must have been feeling abnormally magnanimous because he elaborated. "Just two disillusioned samurai who think they can do Japan a great favor by murdering their own countrymen."
"They want you to kill for them?"
"I didn't say that."
"What else would you mean?"
Hiko scratched his chin. "Exactly how much did you hear?"
"Only that they want you to do something for Japan. And since you mentioned murder, I figured it must be that." Kenshin wasn't expecting the tight smile Hiko gave him.
"Hm. My training hasn't been a complete failure I see. You can at least piece together information, even if you die as soon as you hear it."
"Shishou . . ."
"Yes. They want me to assassinate someone in the government and provoke the Shougunate."
"Wow." Kenshin breathed, images of noble, black-cloaked warriors who looked like Hiko traipsing across his mind. It struck him how fragile a government really was, to know that one swing of a sword made such a difference. He shivered involuntarily. "Why don't you-"
"You know nothing of politics." Hiko cut him off. "It's foolish for a number of reasons, not least that I would never be able to live peacefully again."
"Someone would try to assassinate you then." Kenshin nodded and accepted the answer. "Shishou," Hiko's eyebrows arched at the tone Kenshin's voice took on. His baka deshi hadn't sounded that timid since Hiko had first found him.
"Nani?" The word came out harsher than he'd intended. He still found it difficult to adjust his manner of speech when dealing with children.
"Why are you letting me stay here and train if I'm such an inconvenience? I can go, you know. I know how to take care of myself." The last was said with a trace of belligerence.
Hiko almost smirked. Good. His deshi's pride wouldn't let him fall apart completely. "Whoever said you were an inconvenience?" This could be rich.
"Wha-you did!" Kenshin stabbed a finger at Hiko's chest. He was getting furious just recalling his shishou's words from earlier. "And you said you didn't care what happened to me! Well, if you think that, I'll just leave now!" Kenshin spun on his heel, prepared to stomp down the mountain and right out of Edo, but he was stopped short.
"You have a way of twisting people's words, baka." Hiko 's hand clamped on Kenshin's shoulder and twisted the boy to face him again. "First, I said you were a liability, not an inconvenience."
"It's the same thing." Kenshin fumed, glaring at the ground and refusing to meet Hiko's eyes.
"Completely the opposite, actually. Shall I explain?"
Kenshin grunted.
"Those men that came earlier didn't know I had a student. And now that they do, they won't hesitate to use this information to their advantage. Therefore, you're a liability." Hiko shook his head. "Idiot. Just remembering how you blatantly disobeyed me-"
"I'm sorry," Kenshin muttered, somewhat mollified at Hiko's explanation. It still sounded bad, being a liability, but not as bad as being an inconvenience. He opened his mouth to speak but Hiko raised a finger.
"Ah! As for caring what happened to youâyou're the successor to the Hiten Mitsurugi Style. Do you know how much time it would take to find another student worthy of learning my secrets? I've already wasted three years on you. Does that satisfy you? You're not going to run away tonight? Because if you did you'd have to make up for missed practice time."
Kenshin blinked. He had the distinct feeling Hiko had wormed his way out of actually saying anything positive about him. The sad thing was, Kenshin actually felt better. "Hai."
"Good. Now go get some water for the pot, I'm starving."