So I've estimated 4 chapters left, maybe 5 depending on how nostalgic I feel as the story draws to a close. *heh* I'm getting kind of sad that I'm reaching the end here. As always (I always think it at least, even if I don't always type it), thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!
The amount of light that flooded the room when Hiko woke the next morning suggested it was close to midday. Hiko wondered irritably how he'd managed to sleep so late−he was always up with the sun−before remembering that he had hardly slept at all for the past week. And his sleep the night before had been rudely interrupted. He'd ended up taking precious sleeping time throwing together something that resembled miso soup for Kenshin. That kid had some serious training ahead of him to make up for all the allowances Hiko was giving him.
As he lay there thinking absently about how Kenshin was going to pay him back Hiko found his mind drifting to the weather. He hadn't noticed yesterday−perhaps his mind had been dwelling on other things−but Edo felt unusually warm for only mid-spring. It wasn't even April, and yet it felt close to summer.
Hiko happened to glance down then and discovered the reason for such unseasonal warmth. His deshi must have continued to have a rought night after Hiko had fallen back asleep because he was currently burrowed into Hiko's side, the fingers of one hand curled loosely around the Hiten Mitsurugi mantle.
Hiko's first thought was to leap across the room in scandalized horror. His second was to wake his deshi and rebuke him for his contemptible childishness. He ended up doing neither, wondering instead how long he was going to have to put up with this type of behavior. It was unseemly enough for a seven-year-old, let alone a boy who was going on eleven. But what ten-year old has gone through what he has? Hiko shoved the question away as soon as it entered his head. Pity was not the course to take here. Sadly, in this day and age there were many boys Kenshin's age that had been through similar situations or worse. They probably didn't cling to their guardian with abandon. And there's probably no-one alive for them to cling to, either. The thought came unbidden.
Hiko scowled and rose, disentangling Kenshin's hand from his mantle. The boy's fingers tightened around air but he continued to sleep. Hiko watched him for a moment, observing the slight rise and fall of Kenshin's gauze-wrapped back, noting with satisfaction that his pupil's ki was already stronger.
Baka deshi.
Hell would freeze over before he let Kenshin know, but Hiko had missed the little idiot. It had been several years now since he'd lived alone and Kenshin's absence had made him painfully aware of how accustomed he'd become to his deshi's presence, that kindhearted but lively ki always at the edge of his senses. The new-found solitude had almost been oppressive. Even though Hiko hadn't minded before−he hadn't particularly enjoyed it, it was simply agreeable to him−without Kenshin's presence he had found his mind wandering, thinking of what his deshi would have been doing at various hours of the day. It was annoying, actually, trying to accomplish something only to start musing on how Kenshin would have inevitably distracted him or messed something up.
His deshi was stirring now−no doubt he'd noticed his human blanket had left−and Hiko turned swiftly and exited the room. Enough of that. Dwelling on sentiments wasn't like him. His student was safe, Jisaemon would be dead within a matter of days and Kenshin would be receiving his daily dose of ass-kicking−er, training −soon enough.
Hiko wandered into the front room and saw that the shoji door was open, letting warm sunlight splash the walls and floor. Naosuke sat on the porch outside, elbows resting on his knees as one hand framed his chin and the other gripped a cup that Hiko knew would contain tea. Naosuke must have sensed his presence, because he turned.
"Ohayou gozaimasu, Hiko-san." He seemed cheerful enough, which might seem a strange emotion to find in a man whose life was in danger, but Hiko found it perfectly natural. Who wouldn't be cheerful knowing they had someone of his caliber for protection?
"Ohayou." He responded, stopping in the doorway. The sun was indeed high in the sky, keeping shadows at bay.
Naosuke took a sip of his drink and nodded in the general direction of the kitchen. "My serving girl is back today, she'll have lunch for us soon. Would you like some tea?"
Either the man had failed to notice Hiko hadn't had more than a sip the night before, or he was feigning stupidity and playing the gracious host. In which case Hiko wished he would be more gracious and appropriate some sake. "Thank you, no."
"How is Kenshin-kun?" Naosuke sat his cup down and turned towards him, and Hiko saw there was real concern in the man's eyes.
"He'll be fine." He said dismissively. Naosuke was probably waiting for something more but when Hiko didn't elaborate he picked his cup up again.
"I spoke with my entourage earlier this morning and told them what you said about Arimura-san. They're taking precautions of their own and assigning more men than usual for the walk to the castle."
"I thought I told you that Jisaemon's skill was far beyond that of any guards you could find?" Hiko commented.
Naosuke looked uncomfortable. "Yes but even Arimura-san must have his limits and the more men that are there the harder it should be for him."
"You make it harder for me as well."
Naosuke looked at him, uncomprehending.
"I will protect you, Naosuke-san, but as to the safety of your men, I make no guarantees. The more you have with you, the likelier it is that they will be hurt or killed. It seems extravagent of you to put so many of your men's lives in danger when my skill is more than enough to handle Jisaemon."
"I understand but it's standard procedure. They won't be ordered away now, not after I've already told them of the threat."
Hiko shrugged. "So be it." A thought occurred to him then. "How trustworthy are these guards of yours?"
"I trust them with my life." Naosuke answered swiftly, indignation tinting his voice. "I have known many since childhood."
"If even one of Jisaemon's men were to be among them-"
"I know how to do my job, Hiko-san." Naosuke said sharply. "Please just worry about your own."
Hiko shrugged again and let it drop, choosing not to take offense at Naosuke's passive command. If the tairou was confident his men weren't compromised, Hiko wasn't going to try and suggest otherwise. It wasn't really his business, after all. Still, he would be sure to keep an eye out. Something told him that this matter of protecting Naosuke wasn't going to go as smoothly as it should.
The soft slide of feet behind him alerted him to the fact that Kenshin was awake, reminding Hiko of another concern he had about the following day. Jisaemon's ultimate goal was to kill the tairou, but he wasn't the type of person to take defeat without retaliating. Jisaemon would have taken Hiko's actions to rescue his student as a serious affront to his intellect, and since said action ultimately ruined his scheme, as defeat. Kenshin needed to be on the alert as much as Naosuke, and Hiko sincerely doubted his deshi's awareness level was anywhere close to where it needed to be. Come to think of it, Hiko was hard pressed to find more than a handful of times when Kenshin's awareness level was up to par−how many times had he knocked that idiot into the waterfall unawares? Hiko cringed to imagine how debilitated his dehsi's senses must be now. Maybe he could work on that throughout the day . . .
"Shishou, why're you smiling like that?" Kenshin had come to stand next to him, and he regarded Hiko with a somewhat worried expression now.
Hiko waved a hand at him. "No reason." He glanced sideways as if to acknowledge Kenshin's presence but his eyes moved purposefully across his deshi's body in that time. Some color back in the face, good. But most of the color looks to be from fever, not good. And his face is so concentrated he must be having a hard time with pain. It could have been better, but then it could have been worse too.
"Ohayou, Kenshin-kun!" Naosuke greeted the boy. "How are you feeling?"
Kenshin shrugged lopsidedly. "I'm okay." Hiko heard the tightness in his voice.
"Would you like some tea?" Naosuke picked up one of the mugs beside him and offered it to Kenshin, who held his left hand up in refusal.
"No-"
That was as far as he got because Hiko snatched the mug from Naosuke and pressed it firmly into Kenshin's hand. "Yes, you do, and you're going to take some of this with it." He pulled the packets Hattori had given him from his sleeve and poured a liberal dose of each into Kenshin's mug. "Drink up."
Kenshin stared at the powder as it swirled to the bottom of the mug and his mouth turned down. "What's that?"
"Antidotes for stupidity. I gave you more than recommended."
"Shishou-" Kenshin said through clenched teeth, glaring at his teacher.
"I know, I was surprised it existed as well." Hiko couldn't hide his trademark smirk. His deshi was so easy to rile sometimes.
Kenshin stood staring at the drink suspiciously for several long seconds and Hiko finally swiped at the back of his head, shoving Kenshin's face towards the concoction. "Just drink it, baka."
Kenshin's scowl disappeared behind the cup as he slurped the contents in one large gulp. His face scrunched comedically as he swallowed. "It's bitter!"
Hiko snorted. "What did you expect, candy?"
"I didn't think it would taste good, I was just saying what it tasted like!" Kenshin retorted.
"Well get used to it because you've got the rest of this to finish." Hiko held up the packets that were still heavy with medicine.
While Kenshin's eyes bulged, Naosuke continued to sip his tea, acting for all the world as if a jocular swordsman and his indignant pupil weren't bantering loudly right next to him. He couldn't have been more relieved though when he heard the shuffle of feet behind him.
"Naosuke-sama, the food is ready." A soft voice addressed him.
Naosuke turned his head to smile at the messenger who had knelt just inside the shoji. "Haruko-kun, you couldn't have come at a better time. We'll be there shortly." Haruko bowed then stood smoothly and backed away. Naosuke rose, clearing his throat loudly. "Lunch is ready. Shall we eat?" He led the way inside and Kenshin and Hiko followed.
Lunch ended up being a mostly silent affair. Naosuke was lost in thought about how the next day would progress; Kenshin was concentrating on trying to eat with his left hand; Hiko was busy ironing out the jumble of ideas he'd come up with since the night before. He'd finally hit on something that, although overused to the point of being cliché, Jisaemon likely wouldn't be expecting. And it would also be greatly satisfying for Hiko.
"Naosuke-san, I have a suggestion for you," Hiko said as he pushed his empty plate away. Naosuke had already leaned back, allowing Haruko to remove his dishes.
"Regarding tomorrow?" The tairou asked with interest.
"Yes," Hiko answered.
"What's tomorrow?" Kenshin broke in, clumsily chasing after one last piece of fish that kept managing to evade his chopsticks.
Hiko ignored him, trying to pretend as if he couldn't see the horrible table manners his deshi was displaying. "It's a simple idea, really. Assuming you'll be going in a kago, I take your place there and you stay back as an escort. Jisaemon will be attacking where he thinks you are, and the rest of your escort should be competent enough to hold off an attack from anyone else until I've taken care of Jisaemon."
Naosuke looked thoughtful. "That might work. You'll be unseen, I'll be disguised, and there won't be any way Arimura-san can touch me if you're right there."
"My reasoning as well." Hiko said wryly. "And it will also put me in the perfect position to fight Jisaemon whenever he chooses to make his move."
"What'f tororrow?" Kenshin asked again, mouth full after having triumphed over the fish.
Naosuke started to answer him. "Hiko-san offered to protect me if-"
"Jisaemon isn't going to stop bothering me until he or Naosuke-san is dead." Hiko interrupted. "It seemed hanging around here was the easiest way to get rid of him."
Kenshin swallowed his fish. "Then why didn't you just do that back home?" He asked, oblivious to Hiko's obvious reticence to discuss the subject.
"He wasn't bothering me back home."
"Then how is he bothering you now? You didn't care that he was going to kill Naosuke-sama before."
Hiko let out a frustrated growl, and Naosuke got the feeling the swordsmaster was not in the habit of explaining his personal reasons behind his decisions to his student. "For once, just accept that you don't understand everything." Hiko snapped. "I will be accompanying Naosuke-san to the castle tomorrow, and you," He stabbed a finger at Kenshin, "will be staying here."
Hiko thought he saw panic flare in Kenshin's eyes for a brief second but he nodded resolutely.
Naosuke looked back and forth between the two. "You're telling him to stay here?" He asked timidly, thinking he must have heard wrong.
"He's not coming with us." Hiko said flatly. "Unless you have a better idea?" He challenged as Naosuke's mouth opened, then closed.
"No. I just hadn't thought Hiko-san would . . ." Naosuke's words petered out. Apparently he didn't understand the swordsman as well as he had imagined.
"Cheh, I can guess what you thought. Kenshin's perfectly capable of defending himself if he needs to. I don't just teach him to hold a sword and look pretty, although he's learned that well enough." Kenshin glowered at that.
"Ah. Of course not." Naosuke was finding it hard to imagine Kenshin doing much of anything the way he looked right now, much less defend himself. Still, if his own teacher had such faith in him it must be well placed.
Hiko for his part had been debating since the night before what to do about his deshi. He wasn't pleased with the options available to him; unfortunately spiriting Kenshin out of Edo overnight wasn't one of them. To have him tag along to the castle was suicide though. It would completely exhaust his battered body and if Jisaemon saw him things would only get dirtier than they already were. Hiko had cut that idea down in less than a heartbeat. The only other avenue he saw left to him was to leave Kenshin here. But not at Naosuke's own house.
"Naosuke-san, what would one of your retainers say if Kenshin were to stay with them tomorrow?"
Understanding lit Naosuke's eyes. "They would be glad for the company, I think. Honmaru-kun will be here tomorrow, he's several houses over."
"That will have to work then." It would certainly work better than having Kenshin collapse outside Edo castle in the middle of a battle. Hiko would be distracted then and he did not need a distraction while he was slowly dismembering Jisaemon (he'd also spent a good amount of time deciding Jisaemon's fate).
It was a hard decision to come to but Hiko was sure he'd chosen the lesser of two evils. If for some unforseen reason Jisaemon felt it necessary to send someone to check in on Naosuke's retainers, Hiko would have to trust that Kenshin could handle it. He should be able to handle it; he was the pupil of Hiko Seijuurou the 13th, and that was a feat unto itself. There was something to be said for debilitating injuries though, and Kenshin had more than his fair share of them. So although his deshi was undoubtedly more skilled than any guards Naosuke had, Hiko made a mental note to make sure that the tairou left a couple of his men nearby. At the very least they could serve as a warning.
Kenshin wouldn't be without a weapon at least. Hiko fingered the extra sword hidden beneath his mantle, feeling the smooth, shallow grooves Kenshin's hands had worn into the hilt. He had thought long and hard about whether or not to bring it, and was pleased now that he had.
Hiko gripped the sword in its saiya and looked across the table at his student. "Kenshin," He waited for the boy to look up, waited for the curious eyes to notice his hand hidden under the cloak, then pulled the sword out with a dramatic flourish of his cape. Kenshin's gaze was uncomprehending for a second, but then his eyes sparked with surprise and joy.
"Shishou! You brought my sword!"
"My sword." Hiko corrected, holding the weapon above his head as Kenshin leaned eagerly forward, arm outstretched. Kenshin stopped mid-reach, confused. "You haven't earned the right to have it back yet," Hiko explained, "but you can borrow it for now." He lowered his arm and handed the sword to his pupil. After the briefest hesitation Kenshin took it.
Face glowing, he let his eyes rove over the weapon for a long moment, as if in disbelief that he was indeed holding his−shishou's, he corrected himself−sword. When he looked up at Hiko again his eyes were wide with sincerity. "Doumo arigatou gozaimashita, shishou."
"I'll consider it thanks enough if you keep any visitors away tomorrow." Hiko grunted, making light of the heartfelt gratitude. His deshi could be so melodramatic sometimes.
"So that's settled." Naosuke murmured. He checked to see that Kenshin's attention was fully on his sword before turning to speak to Hiko in undertones. "Hiko-san," he began carefully, keeping in mind the unusually large ego Hiko appeared to possess, "I hope it won't be too much of an inconvenience but besides Honmaru-kun several of my men are going to be here tomorrow, as I normally have a special escort for meetings such as this."
Hiko studied the man. Although Naosuke's head was lowered in deference his shoulders were tense. It was amusing how he was trying to let Kenshin save face and also not outwardly insult Hiko. "Coincidentally, it's more a convenience than an inconvenience." Hiko answered.
The tension left Naosuke. "Good. I'll tell them to keep an eye out for trouble."
Hiko nodded, glad that Naosuke's initiative had saved him from asking about help for Kenshin.
Naosuke heaved a sigh and stood, stretching. "Nothing left to do until tomorrow morning then." He paused, as if reflecting on something. "Hiko-san," Naosuke grinned widely, and Hiko wondered what on earth had gotten into him. "I think I could go for some saké. Would you care to join me?"
Hiko threw Naosuke a wolfish grin of his own. "I think you already know the answer to that."
While Hiko and Naosuke shared saké together, Jisaemon sat alone with a saucer of his own. He was nearly pulling his hair out at its roots. He hadn't imagined it could possibly be this hard to find a score of men with enough temerity to attack the tairou. But it was. He couldn't even find one of his own men who would commit to his plan.
"Rash," some said, "Impossible," others rejoined. Some men cited family as their reason for declining, some their job. "Honorless," was by far the most annoying rejection he'd received.
Honorless, Jisaemon though scornfully. That was the exact word to describe the current form of government: lying, backstabbing, honorless bastards. It was going to take someone without honor to destroy them. And as Jisaemon's samurai status had been taken from him, he had no code of honor he felt obligated to follow anymore.
The night before Jisaemon had sent several messages to Mito via carrier pigeon, requesting any help the province could lend, but he had yet to hear from them. Jisaemon was fairly certain he could count on Mito for support. Although he hadn't expected a response at the late hour he'd sent the message, it was the middle of the following day and still no messenger had come running from the dove cotes with a reply from Mito. Maybe they had sent a reply and the message had been intercepted by a hawk but there was no way to know. Jisaemon's hands clenched, and the saké saucer trembled in his grip.
Kuso.
There was nothing else he could do. If he could have traveled to Mito and back in a day he would have. But that was impossible. The pigeon had been his only recourse, and it looked as if he might have to see his mission through alone now. Jisaemon was certain his skill with the sword was enough to defeat Naosuke, probably enough to defeat however many guards he would have with him.
Seijuurou was a wild card though. Wrapped up in disbelief and anger, Jisaemon had unwisely lost track of the man after Kenshin had been released from Edo castle. He didn't know if Seijuurou was still in Edo or if he'd headed back towards Kyoto. Jisaemon suspected he was still in Edo but knowing whether to expect him or not was a problem. A very big problem that he had no way of dealing with if it came down to that. Or rather, he had lost his way of dealing with it. If Seijuurou was indeed watching over Naosuke, it wouldn't matter how many men Jisaemon brought with him, the battle was as good as lost.
Jisaemon swirled the saké once, then tossed it back and sat the saucer on the table in front of him with a heavy clunk. "Kaga!" He shouted, wiping his mouth. There was scuffling from outside, and then the shoji slid open and Kaga stepped in quickly.
"Hai, Arimura-san."
"I have one last mission for you." Kaga waited, listening. "I need to know where Hiko Seijuurou is, and I need to know by nightfall. I'm fairly certain he's still in Edo. Can I trust you with this?"
Kaga nodded sharply. "Leave it to me."
"Do not underestimate his ability to sense you." Jisaemon said sharply. "We can't afford mistakes now, so take all precautions. All I want to know is where he is. And if you can do so without alerting him to your presence, find out how seriously his student is wounded. Am I clear?"
A nod from Kaga.
"Good. Then get to it. And bring Izuichi with you, he needs something to do." Kaga turned to leave but Jisaemon held up a finger to stop him. "One more thing. I'd like to remind you of the fateful end that Kunimori suffered." Jisaemon watched Kaga's face, saw it whiten. "It wasn't pleasant. Don't make me go through it again."
"I won't." Kaga's voice had turned fervent. "We'll leave immediately and report back to you as soon as possible." Jisaemon stared fixedly at him. "Before nightfall," Kaga added quickly.
"Go then. I'm counting on you." Jisaemon steepled his fingers beneath his chin as Kaga left. At least he would have an answer to his question in due time, if not a resolution to the problem. That just left the matter of Mito. There was still time; he wouldn't write them off just yet.
The sun had dropped from its zenith when Jisaemon finally gave in to restlessness and walked outside for the umpteenth time that day. He'd been consuming saké at a steady rate for the past few hours and he blinked now to clear his head of the lingering effects. He'd have to put his saucer aside for the night; he'd reached his quota.
Outside, the afternoon sky was beginning to cloud over and a cool breeze was blowing intermittently, heralding rain. The day was still bright though and there were several groups of people ambling by in the street. A street vendor was loudly promoting his product, and the aroma of freshly grilled yakitori drifted towards Jisaemon. He hardly noticed. His eye had caught one person that stood out from the slow-moving populace, a teenage boy who looked to be in a rush. As he hove closer−yes, he was definitely trotting in Jisaemon's direction−Jisaemon saw a piece of paper clenched in his hand. He felt his heart quicken and he went to meet the boy.
"A message for you," The boy panted, handing the rolled piece of paper in his hand to Jisaemon.
Jisaemon snatched it eagerly, ripping the fragile binding that kept it rolled. His eyes scanned the message quickly. There was a rambling opening about supporting Jisaemon's cause wholeheartedly and expelling the foreigners. The last several sentences were the ones that caught Jisaemon's attention.
Mito will not sit back and do nothing. We have sent seventeen rounin, the most we could gather at such short notice. They will reach Edo by nightfall.
"Seventeen," Jisaemon breathed. It was more than he could have hoped for.
"Sir?" He glanced down. The messenger had caught his breath and was looking hopefully at Jisaemon.
"Ah, you want payment." Jisaemon reached into his yukata sleeve and pulled out his wallet, taking a few copper coins out. "Here." The boy accepted the money with a bow and dashed off.
Jisaemon began to walk back to his house, eyes on the paper in front of him as he reread the message again. Seventeen samurai. It gave him options and already he had a more concrete idea of what he would do.
As Jisaemon glanced up at the sun he saw two figures walking his way. What luck! Kaga and Izuichi were already back, and from what Jisaemon could see of their expressions as they got nearer, they had good news. Jisaemon held up the piece of paper containing Mito's reply and his men quickened their pace.
"Mito replied?" Izuichi asked breathlessly as soon as he was within talking distance.
"Seventeen samurai will be here in less than three hours." Jisaemon told them, unable to hide his delight. "Now, what of Seijuurou?" Kaga and Izuichi exchanged glances. They must have agreed to some routine before they'd returned.
"We didn't go to see Naosuke-sama," Izuichi began.
"We first asked around town to find someone who had seen them recently." Kaga continued. "There is a doctor who treated Hiko-san's student, and with some persuasion, he told us that he believed Hiko-san was still in Edo."
Jisaemon frowned. It seemed as if Seijuurou was going to protect Naosuke after all.
"But his student is badly injured," Izuichi took over. "The doctor said he should have died. So perhaps that's the reason Hiko-san is still here."
"Perhaps," Jisaemon said slowly. That would certainly be one reason. That still didn't rule out whether or not he was choosing to protect Naosuke. But now that Jisaemon knew the condition of Seijuurou's pupil he had an advantage. And with that knowledge he realized what the solution to his problem was.
Jisaemon's lips curled into an evil smile. Let Seijuurou try to protect Ii Naosuke. Jisaemon might have to fight the Hiten Mitsurugi master temporarily, but he wouldn't need to physically kill him in order to get to Naosuke. He only needed the tairou unprotected for a brief second and Jisaemon knew exactly how he was going to accomplish that. The great western-supporting tairou, Ii Naosuke, was going to die the next day, regardless of who was with him. And as for the Hiten swordsmaster . . .
Prepare to have your soul torn, Seijuurou.
Wuh oh, Jisaemon's hatched another plan. Let's see if Hiko can outsmart him again. :) Yes, I do think Hiko taking Naosuke's place in the kago is incredibly cliche, but honestly I was kind of at a loss (I'm blaming Hiko partially, he didn't yell an idea at me), so I just went with it. Just a forewarning, the next chapter is going to be a little shorter. Sort of a mini-interlude calm-before-the-storm thing.
Vocab word! A kago is simply a Japanese palanquin/litter/what-have-you. I found it sounded better and was easier to type as "kago" though. And I thought a Japanese "thank you" conveyed more effectively how Kenshin felt when Hiko gave him his sword. I guess I could have written something like "thanks a million," huh? ;)
Thank you reviewers, hugs and kisses!
one-who-loves-Sesshy: Alright, got an Inu Yasha fan on board! I am finishing this story, don't worry.
Hittocere: It's not so much that Jisaemon is thinking more of Naosuke than Hiko: it's more that he knows unless something happens to change the current government the samurai class is getting the shaft. He's well aware that Hiko is on the warpath, but as his life is already pretty much destroyed it's secondary to toppling the bakufu. Ass-on-the-chopping-block coming soon. ;)
Szahara again: Lol, you called it! Hiko-decoy, in place. And curse computers! That's happened to me when I was typing up essay answers for a class. *rage-tears* Thanks for rewriting though! I'm glad you liked the chapter so much. Yeah, Jisaemon's kind of an ass for wanting to pin his dirty work on someone else. He probably went a little too far taking Kenshin. A long life is not in store for him! I have read the Adoption drabbles actually. *love!* And you feel free to ramble as much as you want. It makes me feel special. Heh.
Althea M: Ah, good, I'm glad the Hiko/Kenshin interplay was successful! I agree, Hiko would have made a great guardian for Shinta. But it turned out so much better this way!
ZukoFlame: Haha, don't worry about forgetting to review. I'm notoriously horrible at that. Jisaemon is definitely in for a beating. Perhaps a little more than a beating. Oh, and by the way, I read your teaser for the next chapter in RHS and it is making my anticipation meter go crazy.
t42n24t: You know, I don't know why Jisaemon thought Hiko would help him either. Just the fact that they knew each other in the past? I guess he just decided he may as well ask and see where it got him. Glad you liked Hiko's response to Kenshin's confession! I had fun writing this scene.