The imagination is firing! Hopefully it'll stay lit until I finish this. Tried to publish last night but the site was down. Oh well! This is a lull-before-the-storm chapter. Things'll start to pick up from here.
The two anti-Shougunates didn't return, and in the days that followed Hiko said nothing more about the unexpected visitors, and Kenshin didn't ask. Summer turned into fall and Kenshin almost forget anyone had propositioned his shishou. He already had too much on his mind anyway, trying to keep one step ahead of Hiko's strict training regime.
Kenshin didn't mind, really−he could feel himself becoming faster, stronger−he just wished Hiko might throw him a little more encouragement. A caustic "at least you didn't fall this time" wasn't quite what he had in mind. He sincerely assumed his teacher knew best though; besides which, Kenshin's own streak of arrogance refused to let him ask Hiko for praise. He wanted to convey the message he was strong enough for anything.
He must have conveyed the message a little too well because the middle of January found Kenshin braving a freezing rain as part of a training exercise. Kenshin walked into the trap with blissful ignorance. He should have known something was up when he glanced towards his master and saw the glint in his eyes. Any sane person would have said the wise thing to do was avoid his shishou's gaze. Instead, Kenshin squarely met Hiko's scrutinizing mien. First mistake.
"What is it, shishou?" Second mistake.
"Do you think you've become strong, Kenshin?"
He didn't hesitate. "Yes! My dou ryuu sen knocked the dummy over today." Fatal mistake−engaging in conversation that was carefully premeditated on his master's part.
"Strong enough to rely on yourself in a dangerous situation?"
Kenshin thought he might not like the outcome of this line of questioning so he hastily applied caution to his responses. "I−I think so." He thought to add a disqualifier. "Most any."
"I agree with you," Hiko said and Kenshin was so surprised all he could do was blink. "If you're talking about human forces." That threw him for a loop. What other kind of forces would he possibly be fighting? "Nature, though, is a different story." Right.
"In order to use his abilities to their full extent, a swordsman must understand nature." Hiko continued. "If you aren't aware of your surroundings, can't use them to your advantage, then your opponent will use that against you." He nodded towards the door. Outside, icy sleet bumped softly against the tiny cabin's walls. "You need to be able to fight in any condition, not just the perfect ones."
"Shishou, are you saying−I have to go out in that?" An involuntary shiver chased up his spine.
His master shrugged with indifference. "I thought when you said you'd become strong you really meant it. Obviously if you feel you're too weak to withstand a little cold and rain this will have to wait." Hiko knew just how to egg him on, and that infuriated Kenshin. Still, he couldn't very well say no at this point. Not after he'd just bragged about his strength and blossoming skill.
"I don't care about the rain."
"Good." Hiko pulled a mino and straw hat from somewhere behind him and tossed them at Kenshin. "Get your sword." He was out the door before Kenshin could stand and the boy hurried to tie his sword at his side, running after Hiko even as he tied the mino around his neck.
"Shishou, not so fast, I can't see!" Kenshin protested as Hiko swiftly disappeared from view. The steady sleet forced him to keep his head down. Damn. Why had he let his master talk him into this? "Shishou?" Kenshin had the uneasy feeling he was about to learn firsthand about fighting in inclement weather. He moved slowly, straining his senses. The frigid breeze made his eyes blur with tears though, and the only thing he could hear was the sound of ice falling to the ground. Despite that Kenshin forced himself to scan the premises for any sign of his master, rubbing his eyes frequently. Even a second of warning would make a critical difference.
It took him a minute to realize he could follow Hiko's footprints. Kenshin trudged in their direction, moving closer to the dark blur that he assumed was the treeline. Sleet? And trees? His shishou must be feeling particularly sadistic today.
Hiko's footprints stopped just at the treeline and Kenshin groaned inwardly. As if it wasn't bad enough his eyes were continuously tearing, now he had to look upwards and subject his face to the elements. He would do it though. He wasn't going to give Hiko the satisfaction of giving up.
The attack came while he was staring blindly up at the trees, trying to shade his eyes with one hand, his sword still hanging docilely at his side. He heard the crack of booted feet on ice and whirled frantically, pulling his sword from its sheath and up to guard. He knew it was sloppy, and sure enough pain blossomed just under his ribcage, causing him to stumble backwards.
Kenshin still hadn't seen anything, and he spun in a circle now, sword clenched in white fingers. He thought he saw a flash of red and struck out, carelessly leaving his side unprotected. The second attack landed there. It didn't sting as much as the first, but the sheer force of it knocked the wind from him and sent him crashing sideways into a tree. Kenshin's sword fell from his grasp as his hand opened involuntarily. Not good. Gasping for air, he scrabbled drunkenly on the icy ground for two panic-filled seconds and stood quickly with sword in guard position. This time he kept his elbows in.
"It's never a good idea to rely on everything you see. Appearances are always deceiving." His master's disembodied voice was definitely not coming from the trees. He'd tricked him. Kenshin stared hard into the closely spaced trees. A thrill shot through him when he felt his master's ki. Ha! It was faint but he had a direction now.
"Baka deshi," Kenshin couldn't stop a yelp of surprise as he was yanked off the ground by his mino. "No warrior worth their salt is going to broadcast their ki that easily without a plan." Hiko let him fall back into the snow and Kenshin righted himself, facing his master who now stood directly in front of him. "You breathe much too loud. If I didn't know better I would've thought there was a forge here."
"I couldn't breathe!"
"Sounded as if you were doing a fine job of it to me. Never mind that though. Let's see if your fighting skills in these conditions are as horrendous as your tracking." Hiko charged towards him. Kenshin ducked under the first swing and aimed a blow at Hiko's kneecap. To his dismay Hiko's knee shot out and sent him reeling backwards with a bloody nose.
"Slow." Came the laconic judgment. Rather than wait for another attack, Kenshin grabbed a tree branch and pulled it back, letting it fly towards Hiko's face. He expected his master to slice it in half, leaving Kenshin with an opening. Instead he simply raised his saiya and gave a mighty swing downwards. The branch and Kenshin's hopes cracked. "At least it was creative." Hiko said, sword already swinging into action again.
Kenshin was proud of himself for blocking the following blow. He wanted to say see, I'm getting good, but he was finding it hard enough as it was to just fight in the miserable weather. He kept spraying sleet into his face every time he swung his sword.
"Don't let your defenses down just because you're uncomfortable." Hiko seemed to read his mind. "Someone trying to kill you isn't going to let you clear your eyes."
Kenshin responded by jumping up to land on a sleet-sodden tree branch, a wild plan forming in his mind. He heard Hiko chuckle. "So you want to have a fight in the trees, do you? I'll oblige." And with the ease of a leopard Hiko sprang into the tree opposite Kenshin. "Now what?" Hiko challenged.
Although the sleet was still falling it had changed from a steady downpour to a soft mist. Good. Kenshin sheathed his sword, body shaking more from nervous excitement than cold. He thought he saw a smile ghost over his teacher's face. "A battoujutsu, eh?"
Kenshin didn't respond, concentrating on putting all his energy into the draw. His battoujutsu was perfect−he just didn't hit Hiko.
"Baka deshi, what was that? You aren't even close enough to hit me-" There was a sharp crack and suddenly Hiko plummeted towards the ground. It was Kenshin's chance. His master could easily gain his footing, but he was distracted.
Kenshin jumped out of the tree with a shout and hoped to kami his chest was protected enough. A midair attack was the hardest to defend against, but also the riskiest to perform. Kenshin struck, bringing his sword down for ryuutsuisen. He thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye, but he was already committed. The last thing he remembered was the feeling of frustration as his attack was countered.
Kenshin woke lying flat on his back, the slate-colored sky staring him in the face. The sleet had stopped. It took a second for him to be aware of the cold seeping into his clothes, and the fact that his jaw felt as if it'd been hit with a hammer. The acrid tang of blood coated his tongue. Had shishou punched him? A white-cloaked figure loomed over him then.
"Sometimes I'm surprised at your ingenuity." Hiko said, although his tone suggested ingenuity was something to be expected. "Using the pressure wave created by your battoujutsu to drive the ice into the branch was thoughtful." Kenshin wasn't sure if he should say thank you or not. Wasn't sure he could talk, even if he did want to say it.
"Sh'shou," he slurred, sitting up slowly and holding a hand to his jaw, "did you hit me?"
"Of course not!" Hiko said it as if he would never entertain the idea of laying a finger on his deshi. "You were too close for me to bring my sword around. I used the handle to knock you away." He crouched on one knee by his pupil. "I think that's enough for now. You have an idea of what I'm talking about." Kenshin staggered to his feet, hiding a wince as the numerous bruises he'd acquired protested. He'd probably have to endure more of the same tomorrow. His master liked to get on training tangents for weeks a time. Strangely, Kenshin was satisfied. His shishou had called him ingenious. He could last weeks on that.
Thanks for the reviews and comments so far, everyone!
Mistress Ayesha: Boooo, biology assignments! I'm so glad I'm passed all that. Good luck!
ZukoFlame: *sheepish grin* Yeah . . . sorry for the confusion, it's not just you, I stupidly switched perspective several times in that chapter. I need to fix that. Thanks for noticing!
sueb262:*blush* thanks!