Meh. I feel like several of the sentences are clumsy and/or wordy but I'm tired of hashing them out. So if you find any you think would sound better a different way, feel free to offer input!! I love advice.
"Are you done already?" Hiko asked as his deshi sat staring at his supper, a half-full bowl of rice. Kenshin jumped noticeably.
"I guess so." Hiko regarded him shrewdly. The boy always ate everything in front of him and unfailingly asked for more. Either he had slacked off in his training today−and Hiko would've known if that was the case−or something was weighing on his mind.
"You brought money back from buying food today." Hiko said, watching Kenshin's reactions closely.
"Hai."
"I would've thought you'd buy a treat with it."
"You didn't tell me I could."
"I don't know why that would stop you." Kenshin twitched and Hiko smiled to himself triumphantly. Guilty. "So what was it that made you forget all about stuffing your face with sugar at my expense?"
"I just forgot." Kenshin offered lamely. "I wanted to get back and practice." He had thrown himself into his training but Hiko didn't think for a second that was the reason Kenshin had failed to spend even one mon extra. It was time to take a stab in the dark.
"You didn't happen to meet anyone, did you?" Kenshin quelled the alarmed look in his eyes almost as soon as it appeared but Hiko caught it. "Who?" He demanded. He hadn't actually expected his guess to be correct, but now that he saw it was, a feeling of foreboding washed over him. Kenshin was staring at him with wide eyes. "Answer me, Kenshin."
The words spilled out of him then, as if he'd already bottled a speech and was dumping it out now as fast as possible. "It wasn't my fault, I was almost done but one of those men who came to visit last summer saw me and he started talking. He asked me about the assassination, he said I was really good, the kind of swordsman they need. He asked if I wanted to live with them but I told him I didn't, I was still training." Kenshin sucked in a breath. "He got really angry, I thought he was going to−do something but then he just smiled."
"And I suppose you bought all the drivel he told you about how you were good enough for a murder mission." Hiko said. He ignored the hurt look in Kenshin's eyes. No doubt the moron had gobbled up every last flattering word the man had thrown him.
"No! I mean−I thought−I am good enough, aren't I?" Kenshin's words hung in the air. Hiko could've slapped the boy for asking him such a question at a time like this. There was no way Kenshin had considered anything other than physical prowess when talking about being "good enough." No matter what Hiko answered, it gave his pupil a reason for taking Yoshinobu up on his offer. A heavy silence settled over the two swordsmen while Hiko weighed his options. Kenshin stared at him with undisguised optimism, and Hiko realized there was only one answer he could give.
"No."
"No?" Emotions flitted across Kenshin's face, too fast to follow. Then his face darkened. "Yoshinobu-san was right! You just want to be able to tell everyone that someone as dumb as me can learn if you teach them!" He shoved himself to his feet, body quivering. "Well you can't! Because I quit!" Kenshin made as if to leave but Hiko slammed his fists on the table.
"Baka! You don't understand anything! Can't you see what that man's trying to do?"
"He's trying to help! He's trying to help Hiten Mitsurugi, shishou, but you never want help! Now you're not even going to have a student!" Insolent whelp. It took all of Hiko's self-restraint not to send Kenshin flying into a wall.
"I still have a student, Kenshin!" He roared. "Just a failed one who bought some candied words for the price of giving up!"
"I didn't want to give up!" Kenshin shouted back. "But all you do is say I'm not good enough so why should I waste my time!" He stormed towards the door then.
"Kenshin!" Hiko buried the twinge he felt as Kenshin's shoulders lifted hopefully. "You're using my sword. I'll need it back for my next student." It was the last straw for his deshi. Kenshin's composure crumbled, and tears coursed down his face as he ripped the sword from his hakama, throwing it at Hiko's feet.
"Here! I hope your n-next student isn't as−as bad as me!" The door slammed, and Hiko stared down at the master-less sword. He'd thought the moron would rethink his actions if told to give up his sword. Apparently he'd thought wrong. Something almost like regret pooled inside him. He wasn't really sure; it had been a while since he'd felt anything like that. He wondered fleetingly if he'd done the right thing, then brushed his worries aside. Of course he had. He knew he'd deeply hurt Kenshin, and the boy probably hated him, but hopefully he would come to understand Hiko's reasoning. If not−well, Hiko would think about that if the time came.
Hiko probably could have worded his answer about Kenshin's skill a little better, huh? He needs to learn some more communication skills before he takes on another student. :) Guess where Kenshin's headed now!