Scroll II: The Six-Gated Shrine
Kaoru sat in the ruins of Shishio Makoto's mountain fortress, surrounded by death.
The interior of the mountain had once housed a great complex; now it was little more than a huge, half-collapsed cavern, strewn with debris. She could see bones protruding from the rubble where Shishio's remaining men had not fled quickly enough. That was a less immediate kind of death, however, than the three men who stood watch over her, making sure she couldn't flee.
They were dressed all in black, but they wore no masks. One of them, who was armed with a katana and wakizashi, was quite handsome, but the way the light glinted off his eyes suggested cruelty. Another, who stood a full head taller than the rest, had an imposing face with a prominent brow; he gripped a large guandao, a heavy bladed polearm from the Continent. The last man was plain, even nondescript, and had no visible armament – but Kaoru could sense that he was dangerous, too. All of them reeked of death.
From the moment the one called Tetsuo had woken her in the Aoi-ya, they'd been unfailingly polite, instructing her to dress quickly and come with them. They had been quite apologetic while explaining that if she refused to accompany them or made a scene while doing so, they would kill her and anyone who might be witnesses. The Oniwabanshū had been drawn off with a fake message. She was alone.
So she'd gone with them, and this was the result. It was just like with Kurogasa; Kenshin was the fish, and she the bait. The words exchanged by these three had told her as much.
This time, however, would be different, Kaoru resolved. She would not sit idly by and watch while Kenshin fought and suffered for her. She would do something.
Kamiya Kasshin-ryū was meant to be performed with a bokken, but she would fight barehanded if she had to. Her father had believed in katsujin-ken, swords which gave life, and she would uphold his legacy. She would protect Kenshin. She hadn't come this far, through trials and hardship and suffering, to lose him now. She would fight, and she would make these men regret using her.
But for now, she sat motionless, not speaking. Let them think they'd won.
They would soon learn otherwise.
Tetsuo leaned forward in the carriage. "You seem upset, Saitou-san," he said. "Afraid Ukiyo, Zhang Cai or Kuroda will finish Battousai before you do?"
Saitou scowled at him. "None of your assassins are a match for Battousai," he said. "That's not my worry. What is my worry is that instead of simply sending me to kill him, or doing it yourself, you are arranging this elaborate duel and stooping so low as to kidnap his woman. These are not the tactics of the police or the Shinsengumi, Tetsuo."
That elicited a sneer. "I told the superintendent general that I would deliver him Battousai," Tetsuo said. "This will make my career, Saitou-san. Breaking the shell of 'Himura Kenshin' to reveal 'Hitokiri Battousai' will be victory enough; then, when I break him and deliver him as promised, the opportunities will be boundless."
Saitou's hand drifted toward his sword. "You know my philosophy," he said. "I have sworn to rid the Meiji government of any bloodsucking ticks who do nothing but feed on the people and advance their own interests. If you think of nothing but your own advancement…"
Tetsuo smirked. "Don't preach Aku Soku Zan to me, Saitou-san. I know the code of the Shinsengumi. And the first rule of that code is 'to act in a manner befitting a samurai.' A samurai would never disobey the command of his lord, and though you are my superior in experience with Battousai, your boss has made me your superior for this operation. You were directly ordered to help subdue or kill this man, remember?"
His scowl deepening, Saitou let his hand fall back to his side. "I was. And so you will remain my superior for now – Tetsuo-kun." The emphasis he placed on the honorific left little about his true feelings to the imagination.
Satisfied, Tetsuo settled back in his seat. "Good. Now, let's enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts."
Saitou watched him for another moment before letting his gaze move to the window. Maeda Tetsuo was dangerous, all right. That much was clear.
What still remained to be determined was how Battousai would deal with this situation.
Lighting a cigarette, Saitou inhaled, the back of his throat feeling like a bed of coals. The smoke lingered in his nostrils, the smell reminding him of the smell of the Ikeda-ya as it had burned, years ago. That had been a good night. He remembered moving through the streets in the aftermath, how he'd met the gaze of a short, red-haired man in the crowd and known instantly they were destined to fight.
What will you do, Battousai?
The moan of the wind was the only sound outside Mt. Hiei.
The sun was blotted out by thick clouds. Kenshin did not feel the cold of the snow or the chill in the air. He moved through the drifts toward the six-gated shrine, making no attempt to hide his approach. The sakabatō was a dead weight at his waist. If Tetsuo had other men apart from Saitou, they would doubtless attack soon.
Kenshin wanted it that way. He would not let them hold Kaoru for one minute longer than necessary.
It was surprising, therefore, that when he arrived at the shrine, nobody had yet attacked. The woods around Mt. Hiei would have made for any number of prime ambushes. He found himself remembering his battle with the Yaminobu in the binding forest, how they'd slowly whittled away at his strength to keep him from Tomoe.
He remembered how he'd slaughtered them, one by one.
Kenshin snapped out of his reverie when he saw the figure standing in front of the six gates. The man was dressed in black and wore a katana and wakizashi at his waist.
"This one gives you fair warning," Kenshin called. "No conflict is sought. This one's only wish is to retrieve Kaoru-dono from the mountain."
"That's fine by me," the man replied. "Go ahead and enter."
Wary, Kenshin started to walk past him.
He whirled, drawing his sakabatō as he moved. The man's attack clashed against Kenshin's blade, his katana's edge stopped an inch from Kenshin's throat.
He's fast.
Then Kenshin saw his other hand, gripping the wakizashi, whirling around to stab him in the stomach. Kenshin disengaged with a shove, hurling himself backward out of reach.
"You're as good as they say," the man said, spinning his blades in a flourish. "That would have taken any ordinary man by surprise."
"Any ordinary man," Kenshin replied, "would not have sensed your killing intent. You hide it well."
"You're too kind." He saluted Kenshin with his wakizashi, then leveled his katana at him. "But I'm afraid we're out of time for chitchat, Battousai. Ukiyo Jiro will prove to the world his mastery of Miyamoto Musashi's Niten Ichi-ryū –" he crouched low to the ground – "with your life!"
Kenshin read Ukiyo's movement as he attacked, leading with the katana. As far as he knew, there was only one Niten Ichi inheritor, and it was not this man. There was something wrong here. He brought his sakabatō up to take Ukiyo's strike, deflecting the blow to the side, then twisted around the follow-up thrust from the wakizashi. He swung his sword as he twisted, blending into a Ryukansen.
Ukiyo was already moving. He recovered from his deflected charge, swinging his katana around to bash Kenshin's Ryukansen off-course. The sakabatō passed an inch over his head as he crouched low to the ground. Kenshin's eyes widened as he tracked the movement of Ukiyo's wakizashi; the man seamlessly shifted the weapon into a reverse grip even as he deflected the Ryukansen, then stabbed it sideways at Kenshin's gut.
Kenshin curled his body away from the attack. The wakizashi sliced him clean across his flank, doing little real damage, but a wound was still a wound. He leapt backward, trying to get breathing room. This man's speed was not inferior to his own –
Ukiyo was on him, not giving him time to recover. Focus, Kenshin thought. Read the wakizashi. Ukiyo's tactics seemed to be focused on making openings in Kenshin's defense with his katana so he could slip the wakizashi through, so he would have to watch for that. Sure enough, Ukiyo launched into a whirling slash with his katana, one which Kenshin deflected easily. The snow crunched beneath his feet as the man rotated, exposing his back to Kenshin.
He expects me to try to take his back, but the attack will come from the left side, with a reverse grip on the wakizashi.
Kenshin saw Ukiyo's arm move, lashing out backward in what would be a clean blow to his abdomen. He sidestepped just far enough of the way, bringing his sakabatō down toward Ukiyo's head in the same movement.
He stared, dumbstruck, as his sword collided with Ukiyo's wakizashi, now in the man's right hand. In that same instant, he felt a piercing pain in his gut as Ukiyo's katana, now in his left hand, stabbed into his abdomen.
Ukiyo whirled away, Kenshin's blood flying from his sword. "How do you like it, Battousai?" he asked. He whirled his weapons again. This was no simple flourish; not only was he ambidextrous, he could also hold either of his weapons in a fore or reverse grip as the situation demanded. "This is the ultimate two-weapon style, Niten Ichi-ryū, combined with the 'flowing-water' technique of the Kokuryuha school! A battle between master swordsmen will come down to whoever demonstrates superior mastery of his range – something you cannot hope to achieve here, since your range is static and mine impossible to predict!"
"It is a marvel to see the Niten Ichi style wielded so proficiently," Kenshin replied, taking the moment afforded by Ukiyo's boasting to probe his wounds. The slash he'd sustained was shallow, as he'd thought, but the stab wound was deeper, enough to give him trouble if the battle dragged out too long. "But this one has no time to admire your technique, Ukiyo-san. This one has come for Kaoru-dono –" he sheathed his sword, went into battoujutsu stance – "and you are in the way."
Ukiyo grinned. "The legendary sword-drawing technique of Himura Battousai. But you don't seriously think it will work here, do you? I've already demonstrated my speed is on par with yours. You are now wounded, slowing you further. You have but one weapon; I have two. If you surrender now, I will spare you. You will live to see your woman, and the world will recognize my mastery of Niten Ichi-ryū. Not a bad offer, no?"
"Your offer is kind," Kenshin said, "but this one cannot accept it. The path to Kaoru-dono lies through you, Ukiyo-san, and paths are made only by going forward. This one has not lost yet."
"Trying to taunt me into coming within range? Please. You've read my style and grasped its techniques, so my best chance is now to use my mutable range against you in a reactive fashion. To throw myself into your range in an attack is, at this point, folly."
Kenshin shook his head. "You don't understand, Ukiyo-san. This one was not inviting you to challenge him. This one has already won."
He went into shinsoku, closing the distance between himself and Ukiyo far faster than his opponent expected. The man's eyes widened in fear as Kenshin struck at him, whipping the sakabatō toward his head. He watched Ukiyo maneuver his katana into the way of the attack; the man expected to block Kenshin's strike, then slice into him with his wakizashi while Kenshin was vulnerable.
His eyes widened even more when Kenshin's sword, still sheathed, crushed into his katana. Kenshin drew the sakabatō, batting the wakizashi strike away as he did so, and transitioned from the Soryusen Ikazuchi into another Ryukansen.
This time, he bashed Ukiyo right across the back of his head. The man went down without a sound, hitting the snow with a dull crunch. His swords fell to either side of him.
"Your mastery of range is indeed impressive," Kenshin said. "But wielding two swords splits one's attention. Had you been using only the katana, you would have seen this one had not drawn his sword, but you were distracted and could only follow this one's motions, not their details." He sheathed the sakabatō. "In the future, please find a way to prove your mastery of Niten Ichi-ryū that is constructive."
He turned to enter the mountain. Standing in his way was a large, imposing man with a guandao.
"So you've defeated Ukiyo," he said in a voice which was like stones grinding together. "Your sword has not dulled as much as Tetsuo-san thought."
"What was said to him," Kenshin replied, "will be said again to you. This one does not seek conflict, only Kaoru-dono's safe return."
The sound of the guandao's shaft slamming against the stone ground rang out.
"Try it."
The Secret Lives of Characters: Ukiyo Jiro
My initial idea for "A Sweet, Naïve Lie" was a longer piece, with the government targeting not only Kenshin but also Aoshi, Sanosuke, and Soujirou; I ultimately pared that down to just Kenshin. As Watsuki observed in his "Secret Lives" entry on Enishi, it would have been far more attractive, character-wise, for Enishi to have fought through all of Kenshin's friends before getting to him. So I adopted that approach here. I'm somewhat disappointed that I didn't get to develop my original characters as much as I would have been able to in a longer piece, but I feel the trade-off was ultimately worth it and they didn't suffer too badly.
That being said, Jiro was originally going to fight Aoshi. I was excited about the prospect of dual kodachi going up against the traditional daisho. His technique, combining the dual-weapon style with complete mastery of range, is basically unchanged from his original incarnation. Since Kenshin obviously only fights with one sword, I ultimately decided on having him exploit a very real weakness of two-weapon styles and get in one good blow because Ukiyo's attention was split too much.
Personality-wise, there is a reason he's named Jiro (second son) - the Niten Ichi style has one proper inheritor (even to this day, I believe). Where he learned the style himself is unclear; it could be a situation similar to that of Amakusa Shougo from the anime. But his obsessive need to prove himself the better man, to be the best at something, is what drives him here, something to which I feel we can all relate. His confidence is actually a front to cover his own fears about his weakness or inadequacy, unlike with characters who are actually overconfident. In that sense he's closest to Raijuta, but I don't think I'm being immodest when I say I think Ukiyo is a less pathetic character.
Bonus - The Secret Lives of Characters: Kamiya Kaoru
Kaoru, Kaoru, Kaoru. I know people who absolutely hate her and people who love her. Personally, I'm a fan of her character. The fact of the matter is that the reason Rurouni Kenshin works so well and has such broad appeal is because of Kaoru's upbeat, positive presence. Watsuki repeatedly says that Kaoru is a strong character, as evidenced when she fights Kamatari and manages to win with a little help from Misao. The largest strikes against her are her breakdown in Volume 8 after Kenshin leaves, which I blame on Watsuki as a writer rather than Kaoru as a character, and her tendency to have her legs go out from under her and cry when things get rough - there, I place blame about fifty-fifty.
But despite these failings she is a strong character, and I wanted to reflect that here. "Save-the-girl" plots are common enough; I wanted Kaoru to do a little saving of her own. Granted, I may have already undermined myself by having her go along with her abductors so easily, but it is stressed again and again in the series that a great swordsman can tell the difference in strength between himself and his enemies, so it seems logical to me that Kaoru would recognize the vast gulf in strength between her and the enemies she faced. Ultimately, it is up to the reader to decide whether they agree with me or not.
The next update will be Thursday, March 3rd. Please look forward to it!