Chapter 3: Showdown at the Akabeko!
"Hey guy's! Tsubame tells me that Tae is throwing a party at the Akabeko. I don't know 'bout you guys but I think that this would...Um, guys?"
As Yahiko walked into the room he saw Ryuichi on the floor asleep, Kenshin and Kaoru were back to back on a futon asleep and the rooster was nowhere to be found.
"Hey guys, wake up! I'm trying to talk to you!" screamed Yahiko.
Kenshin and Kaoru woke up but it looked like the she-assassin was down for the count.
"What happened to her?
"She told us she had a bad 'feeling' and couldn't get to sleep."
"And what about you guys?"
"I bet I know what they were doing last night. He he!"
"Shut up, Sano! Hold on, where'd you come from?"
"Megumi's house."
"Ooooo...Are ya gonna ask her to go with you to the party at the Akabeko?"
"No."
"Why?"
"She's leaving in an hour for America to study modern medicine. She probably won't be back for five or six years."
"Aren't you gonna see her off? She is your lover after all."
"Not anymore, she asked me if I thought it was a good idea for her to leave and I told her no. She got mad and told me she never wanted to see me again. It's that simple."
"Well, Ryuichi-dono doesn't have anyone to take her to the party so..."
"Don't even go there Kenshin! I wouldn't be caught dead with Little Scar Face!"
"She's not all that bad anymore, the girls have just about made her polite, besides the swearing and you do that."
As Sano was leaving the room, he thought about what was going to happen if he didn't take Ryuichi to the party. Too bad Sano couldn't think and walk at the same time or he might have missed the closed door, but he can't and ran right into it, causing a broken nose and door. And who, to his surprise, would be standing there when he regained consciousness? The person he had been thinking about. Ryuichi.
"You alright bird-head?" she said half laughing and half serious. "Looks like you need to take walking lessons."
Now was the perfect time. He had to do it now. Although he didn't want to take her, he was obligated to.
"Yeah, I'm alright, but I was wondering if you had an escort for the party tonight at the Akabeko. So do you?"
"No, but I know what you're asking. Sure, I'll let you take me, but don't even think of gettin' physical. Got that?"
"O.K, just try to look nice and not like a...never mind."
.............
At the Akabeko
"Where the heck is Ryuichi?! Oh well, maybe she decided not to come. More sake for me then."
A few minutes later, Ryuichi comes in, but with a tall, blonde man with dark eyes. He looked like a pretty boy, but the question was, could he fight?
"Sorry Sanosuke, but I would rather go to this party with someone I'm not ashamed to be seen with. Anyway, everybody this is Toba Yukimoto. He's been a long time friend, but has also been my rival. I met him when I was 9 with Tatsumi. Ever since I became an assassin he has been competing with me for certain 'jobs'."
"Yeah, and she's quite the fighter too. She got most of those 'jobs' she was talking about 'cause she was faster and smaller and less likely to get caught. Hey, how about we see who's better now? I've been training just to beat you and prove once and for all who's better."
His deep voice cut through the noise in the room like a knife, causing complete silence.
"We'll see." said the cocky swordswoman
..............
Outside
Many people gathered around because of the excitement and because they didn't have anything better to do. The tension was rising and the happy, joy-filled eyes that the young girl once possessed had returned to that of a killer.
"Well Toba, are you going to stand there like an idiot or are you gonna fight?"
"Oh, I'll fight alright, you just wait!"
"Stupid! What do you think I have been doing here for the last 5 minutes? This is crazy. I'm gonna start this, whether or not you join in is up to you."
And with that the fight started. Both drew their sword and got into the same position. Toba made the first move with a low slash that might have hit her in the side but when the dust settled she was even lower than his blade. She was so low that her ponytail was now brushing the ground but she dodged the attack and that's all that matters. To recover from the odd position she was in, she made an upward slash that cut the strap that held his sheath to his pants and without knowing it she had damaged the already short handle of his blade.
"Toba, you're way too predictable."
"Maybe so, but I still have one attack left."
"*sigh* Oh well."
Without saying a word, the tall man disappeared, but quickly reappeared about 6 inches from Ryuichi's back and stabbed her in the shoulder. Again Toba disappeared, but this time instead of using the attack offensively, he was using it defensively. He was disappearing but also reappearing just as fast. Looking a little bit confused, she stared at all the places he was going and had been and put her sword away.
"A sword isn't needed for such an attack."
Then she took out her sheath and stuck it out in thin air. Not a split second later, Toba was laying on the ground with a broken nose from having run into Ryuichi's sheath.
"Damn, I thought I finally had you beat with that attack." Toba groaned
..............
"Hey, how's your shoulder? That was a pretty good fight for a girl, good enough that I think I'll stop calling you a prostitute, but Little Scar Face still suits you fine."
"That's probably good for your health, bird-head. That could have just as easily been you out there."
After everybody left the scene and Toba was scraped of the ground, Kenshin felt that there would not be a better time to do something that may or may not have been anticipated.
"Kaoru-dono, I noticed today that tonight Miss Ryuichi was reunited with someone that she might have thought she would never see again, but I was thinking, what if we got separated and I couldn't find you. I'd go crazy. That's why I want you to be my wife Kaoru Kamiya."
"Oh Kenshin, of course I will!!!!!!"
Then he casually slipped a ring on her finger to prove that she was his.
"Hey guy's! Tsubame tells me that Tae is throwing a party at the Akabeko. I don't know 'bout you guys but I think that this would...Um, guys?"
As Yahiko walked into the room he saw Ryuichi on the floor asleep, Kenshin and Kaoru were back to back on a futon asleep and the rooster was nowhere to be found.
"Hey guys, wake up! I'm trying to talk to you!" screamed Yahiko.
Kenshin and Kaoru woke up but it looked like the she-assassin was down for the count.
"What happened to her?
"She told us she had a bad 'feeling' and couldn't get to sleep."
"And what about you guys?"
"I bet I know what they were doing last night. He he!"
"Shut up, Sano! Hold on, where'd you come from?"
"Megumi's house."
"Ooooo...Are ya gonna ask her to go with you to the party at the Akabeko?"
"No."
"Why?"
"She's leaving in an hour for America to study modern medicine. She probably won't be back for five or six years."
"Aren't you gonna see her off? She is your lover after all."
"Not anymore, she asked me if I thought it was a good idea for her to leave and I told her no. She got mad and told me she never wanted to see me again. It's that simple."
"Well, Ryuichi-dono doesn't have anyone to take her to the party so..."
"Don't even go there Kenshin! I wouldn't be caught dead with Little Scar Face!"
"She's not all that bad anymore, the girls have just about made her polite, besides the swearing and you do that."
As Sano was leaving the room, he thought about what was going to happen if he didn't take Ryuichi to the party. Too bad Sano couldn't think and walk at the same time or he might have missed the closed door, but he can't and ran right into it, causing a broken nose and door. And who, to his surprise, would be standing there when he regained consciousness? The person he had been thinking about. Ryuichi.
"You alright bird-head?" she said half laughing and half serious. "Looks like you need to take walking lessons."
Now was the perfect time. He had to do it now. Although he didn't want to take her, he was obligated to.
"Yeah, I'm alright, but I was wondering if you had an escort for the party tonight at the Akabeko. So do you?"
"No, but I know what you're asking. Sure, I'll let you take me, but don't even think of gettin' physical. Got that?"
"O.K, just try to look nice and not like a...never mind."
.............
At the Akabeko
"Where the heck is Ryuichi?! Oh well, maybe she decided not to come. More sake for me then."
A few minutes later, Ryuichi comes in, but with a tall, blonde man with dark eyes. He looked like a pretty boy, but the question was, could he fight?
"Sorry Sanosuke, but I would rather go to this party with someone I'm not ashamed to be seen with. Anyway, everybody this is Toba Yukimoto. He's been a long time friend, but has also been my rival. I met him when I was 9 with Tatsumi. Ever since I became an assassin he has been competing with me for certain 'jobs'."
"Yeah, and she's quite the fighter too. She got most of those 'jobs' she was talking about 'cause she was faster and smaller and less likely to get caught. Hey, how about we see who's better now? I've been training just to beat you and prove once and for all who's better."
His deep voice cut through the noise in the room like a knife, causing complete silence.
"We'll see." said the cocky swordswoman
..............
Outside
Many people gathered around because of the excitement and because they didn't have anything better to do. The tension was rising and the happy, joy-filled eyes that the young girl once possessed had returned to that of a killer.
"Well Toba, are you going to stand there like an idiot or are you gonna fight?"
"Oh, I'll fight alright, you just wait!"
"Stupid! What do you think I have been doing here for the last 5 minutes? This is crazy. I'm gonna start this, whether or not you join in is up to you."
And with that the fight started. Both drew their sword and got into the same position. Toba made the first move with a low slash that might have hit her in the side but when the dust settled she was even lower than his blade. She was so low that her ponytail was now brushing the ground but she dodged the attack and that's all that matters. To recover from the odd position she was in, she made an upward slash that cut the strap that held his sheath to his pants and without knowing it she had damaged the already short handle of his blade.
"Toba, you're way too predictable."
"Maybe so, but I still have one attack left."
"*sigh* Oh well."
Without saying a word, the tall man disappeared, but quickly reappeared about 6 inches from Ryuichi's back and stabbed her in the shoulder. Again Toba disappeared, but this time instead of using the attack offensively, he was using it defensively. He was disappearing but also reappearing just as fast. Looking a little bit confused, she stared at all the places he was going and had been and put her sword away.
"A sword isn't needed for such an attack."
Then she took out her sheath and stuck it out in thin air. Not a split second later, Toba was laying on the ground with a broken nose from having run into Ryuichi's sheath.
"Damn, I thought I finally had you beat with that attack." Toba groaned
..............
"Hey, how's your shoulder? That was a pretty good fight for a girl, good enough that I think I'll stop calling you a prostitute, but Little Scar Face still suits you fine."
"That's probably good for your health, bird-head. That could have just as easily been you out there."
After everybody left the scene and Toba was scraped of the ground, Kenshin felt that there would not be a better time to do something that may or may not have been anticipated.
"Kaoru-dono, I noticed today that tonight Miss Ryuichi was reunited with someone that she might have thought she would never see again, but I was thinking, what if we got separated and I couldn't find you. I'd go crazy. That's why I want you to be my wife Kaoru Kamiya."
"Oh Kenshin, of course I will!!!!!!"
Then he casually slipped a ring on her finger to prove that she was his.