Author's note: I developed a major case of writer's block, so I hied myself off to Shinkendo (Japanese sword fighting) and traded blows with my sensei. I also succeeded in breaking a bokken which thrilled me to no end and helped smash through the writer's block. Note to fellow writers: beating someone over the head with a stick is an excellent way to encourage the writing muse to visit. Next chapter's theme is "Have Fun Storming the Castle".
"Good work, Sojiro," said the strange man wrapped in a multitude of bandages that made him look startlingly like a mummy. Taking a slow drag from the slim pipe in his hands, he eyed the furious Kaoru at his feet who was shaking her head and trying to regain her senses.
"As a fairly new apprentice, I don't suppose you've been taught any Stunning spells yet, Kaoru Himura," said the mummy. Kaoru glared at him, "Oh yes, we know quite a bit about you. The Battousai has kept you fairly secluded, but my spies are well-trained and my network of information is strong." He took another puff.
"Who are you? Where am I?" Kaoru demanded trying to take in her surroundings without letting her eyes leave the speaker. The mummy wasn't the only other person in the elegant room. Draped over him was a woman whose gravity-defying neckline was giving every indication that it was close to abandoning attempts to stay up and fleeing to her ankles. A pale man wearing a jacket with a hideous green collar stood next to the mummy. The small, strangely-smiling boy who was apparently responsible for Kaoru's new captivity stood a little apart from the group. In the corner was a tall, thin man with one eye squinting shut and a shock of blond hair that stood up exactly like a troll doll.
Seriously, what's up with this picture? Does gravity just not work in this room or something? Kaoru thought for both the woman's dress and the blond man's hair flew gaily in the face of Newton's law. However, the swords present in the room quickly demanded far more attention than exposed decolletage and sticking-up hair. Both the mummy and the boy were armed with a single sword apiece, but the troll doll had two strapped to his back, one at his waist, and one in his hand. An undine perched on the woman's shoulder while a gnome hovered in front of the smiling boy and another next to the troll doll.
Okay, officially I think I am in really deep shit right now, Kaoru thought frantically and found herself profoundly wishing that she had simply gotten into a bad car accident and wrecked Hiko's Lexus on the way back from the store. Getting bawled out by Hiko was sounding very, very good right now. It sure beat having to face the mummy-wrapped guy sitting on the couch. In fact, Kaoru could think of many, many things that were infinitely preferable to doing so.
"I see, you don't know who I am," the man said and there was an amused tone in his voice. "The Battousai obviously didn't think highly enough of you to tell you, even though you're his Soul Bond. Interesting," He took another deep puff on the pipe, "Then again, I probably should thank him for doing so. If he had, you would have known not to leave your master's house without an escort and capturing you would have been more challenging. But you made it so easy. You didn't even take a weapon with you," he sneered.
"If by 'Battousai' you mean Kenshin, then no, he didn't tell me about you, whoever you are," Kaoru snapped back. "And my master took away my sword so..." Suddenly Kaoru's eyes flew open and her hands automatically went to her belly. The baby! she thought frantically. In the tension of the moment, she had completely forgotten she was pregnant.
The mummy's mouth twitched into what seemed like a smile, but it was hard to tell. The bandages exposed little of his mouth but from what Kaoru could see, his lips were practically non-existent and the skin around them was badly burned. "Oh yes, we know about that," he said cruelly as the woman at his side gave a derisive snicker. "Battousai the manslayer, a husband and an expectant father. I can't think of a more ideal situation than this."
"What do you mean?" Kaoru demanded. Rising to her feet, she felt her body automatically fall into a fighting stance. "And who are you? Tell me your name!"
"Shishio Makoto," the man replied and took a leisurely drag at his pipe. "In the war of the elements, the Battousai and I crossed paths before. In our battle of swords and fire, he overcame me and his salamanders burned my body with fire. He thought he had killed me, but he was wrong. I was severely wounded, but I didn't die."
Shishio's eyes met Kaoru's and he seemed to realize the question she was forming in her head, "Oh, no, this isn't about revenge. Far from it, in fact. The fact of the matter is that I really have the Battousai to thank. In the burning of my body, I learned the ultimate truth: trial by fire is the only way for a Fire Master to gain supreme power. No other Fire Master had done this but I, Shishio Makoto. I endured the the flames of hell but lived. In the searing of my body through the flames, my salamanders became part of me, lending their strength to me. Instead of being separate entities, they are part of my body. The flames I endured from the Battousai allowed me to unite my sword skill and my elemental magic into one; they are no longer two separate powers but one unified whole. With this unified power, I will carve a reign of chaos through this world until all Masters, Elemental and Weapons fall under my sword and I alone rule."
Sucking more smoke into his lungs, Shishio continued, "However, I have not faced the Battousai since he left me for dead. With my new, unified strength, I wished to challenge him and prove for once and for all that I, Shishio Makoto, am the ultimate power. With his death, I alone will stand supreme."
"Yet, the Battousai disappointed me," Shishio rumbled, "The man in question had abandoned the manslayer and had become weak, clinging to a ridiculous vow to never kill again and consumed with an absurd notion of defending the helpless. Such a man disgusts me."
"But then, you entered the picture," Shishio said, pointing the pipe at Kaoru. "I had no interest in Kenshin Himura, so the question was how to convince him to abandon this farce and return to the man he once was. Oh, I knew that he would face me eventually, he's too foolishly concerned with the sufferings of others to let my reign of chaos go unchallenged. I also knew that he would still be resolved to stay true to his vow not to kill even though he did not have a prayer of defeating me if he did. My plan was that he would finally see the truth and realize that to save the world from destruction and chaos, he would have to abandon his vow and become the manslayer again."
He continued, "I was betting on this. I knew that the mask of Kenshin Himura was only that, a mask, and the Battousai was there under the surface, just waiting to be let loose again. But my plan had a weakness. You see, I knew that Kenshin Himura would never willingly become a manslayer again. He would only do so out of great reluctance and only after exhausting all other options. Because of that, even if he did return to being the Battousai, there would be a part of him still holding back. The return to the manslayer wouldn't be completely wholehearted, and I was prepared to accept this."
"But then," the smile that was not a smile returned, "My spy network learned of you. This was the best news I had heard in a long time. Finally I had ultimate leverage over the Battousai. I knew that to save his wife and unborn child, he would gladly, even eagerly return to the manslayer he once was. In fact, I have no doubt that the Battousai who will soon face me will be even greater than the Battousai I once knew." He blew a casual smoke ring, "After all, what wouldn't a man do to save his wife and child? I wanted the man that passed through the Forest of Barriers to rescue his wife so many years ago. That is the manslayer I want to fight."
Noticing Kaoru's confused expression, Shishio said, "Oh, the Battousai didn't tell that he was married before? Rather careless of him, don't you think?"
Suddenly Kaoru couldn't breathe anymore as a huge wave of shock smashed into her. Nausea rolled in her stomach as her knees trembled, barely keeping her upright. Dimly, she hear Shishio continue, "Odd that he never mentioned it. I suppose you never asked him about that cross-shaped scar on his face, then. She did one of them, slicing his face as he killed her. The other one was left by her former fiance as the Battousai killed him." Blowing a leisurely trail of smoke into the air, Shishio pulled the woman closer to himself and exchanged a dually evil smile with her.
No, no, no, no, no! Kaoru thought as her knees finally gave way and she fell to the ground. Coldness shivered up and down her spine as the world spun around her. Through her confusion and grief, she felt alarmed chi tremble in her belly but she could only clutch her stomach weakly. No, no, it can't be! she thought weakly. Kenshin wouldn't, he couldn't, he...would he? The image of their first meal together floated up in her mind.
"I killed. Many magic wielders." A redhead with eyes that spoke of deep sorrow and agony.
Another memory...
"So off he went, raised a big stink, caused a tremendous amount of death and chaos, and then finally comes to his senses and comes crawling back here." A master's voice filled with frustration and regret.
And still another...
'Who is this man?' a young woman thought to herself as she sat as far away from the other side of the car as she could, wondering how she could know so little about the man that had fathered her child and taken her as his wife.
Thought after thought, emotion after emotion rolled through Kaoru, tossing her into a sea of chaos, fear, and agony. All the fight died in her; her arms barely had the strength to keep her upper body propped up in a seated position. Her lips trembled with shock, and tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.
Shishio leaned backwards, completely at ease, looking down his bandaged nose at the stunned young woman on the floor. Seeming to read her thoughts, he sneered, "Yes, that is the man you married: a killer. One who slaughtered his wife with his own two hands. And he'll be coming for you, Battousai the manslayer as he truly is. I look forward to facing him in battle." Jerking his head to the tall man, Shishio said, "Chou, put her somewhere out of the way. I don't think we'll have much problem with her, but keep her locked up until I need her again."
Strong hands pulled Kaoru to a standing position, "Come on, missy, nothing personal now, but Lord Shishio gave orders," the man said, his voice twanging with a southern accent. Firmly maneuvering her out into the hallway, he said, "Oh, come on now, don't let that pretty face fall. Girl like you will find someone else, once Lord Shishio takes care of the Battousai, don't you worry. That is, if he lets you live." Finding a room, he propelled her into it, "You sit real tight now and make yourself comfortable." He pulled the door shut and turned the key.
Kaoru woodenly gazed around her and found that she was in a small sitting room with no windows. Overwhelmed with emotion, she slid to the floor, back against the wall, blinking as a blazing vortex of emotion sucked her into its hellish depths.