Disclaimer: I do not, or ever hope to own Rurouni Kenshin.
Finally, the time has come! Sorry it took so long to write. Thanks again to omasuoniwabanshi for her research. However, I found out that I screwed up somewhat in the previous chapters on what you're supposed to do with the corpse, and I really couldn't find much info at all on the actual cremation, so I had to improvise a bit. Therefore, the funeral at the end of the chapter is probably not really accurate. I did my best though. It does get slightly graphic, so I hope I don't disturb anyone...
A huge "Thank-you!" for everyone who also enjoyed my little one-shot side-story! I really appreciated your wonderful reviews. If you reviewed both stories and had any questions or anything from "Frigid Waters," I'll add it to the reviewer responses at the end.
Since QuickEdit is being a pain, I'm going to be using the "xxxx" marks as my line breaks from now on (unless they get rid of that option eventually as well...)
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Only the Beginning
Written by lolo popoki
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Chapter 10: Consolation
Katsura sighed. "So what have you been doing while you had to wait for me?"
Hiko shook his head slightly, his expression pensive. "Nothing really...just reminiscing."
The commander nodded in thoughtful understanding, his eyes losing their focus for a moment. "Aa...I've been doing a lot of that myself..." he murmured. He shook his head sharply, and turned his attention back to the swordsman.
"So..." he drawled, raising an eyebrow. "Have you looked at any more of those portraits?"
"Just two..." Hiko suddenly blinked. "That reminds me..." He stood up and left the room, coming back a few minutes later with one of the scrolls in his hand. He handed the painting over to the Choshu leader. "Have you seen this one before?"
Katsura unrolled it, and then amusedly shook his head at the picture of the two swordsmen playing janken. "No...I don't believe I've ever seen this one." He smiled, almost sadly. "How I wish, all our conflicts could be settled in such a manner..."
"I was wondering...who's that other boy?"
Katsura stared at him for a moment, and then chuckled. "Boy? That's definitely no boy. That's 25 year old Okita Souji, captain of the first Shinsengumi unit, and one of the only men that was able to fight Himura to a draw!"
"Really?" Hiko was startled. "He's that good?"
"Oh, most definitely!" the other man confirmed. "He's probably one of the most skilled swordsmen in Japan." He hesitated briefly. "Although, he hasn't been seen too much lately; there are rumors that he's become ill in the lungs...coughing up blood and such."
The swords-master grimaced. "What a shame...tuberculosis, you think?
"Probably," Katsura sighed, starting to roll up the painting. "It has been going around. My friend Takasugi..." He was interrupted by a polite tap on the shoji frame.
He turned to face the door. "Enter."
The wounded guard that Hiko had seen from the window, entered the room and knelt respectfully in front of Katsura.
"Yuasa-san," Katsura spoke quietly. "How is your shoulder?"
Yuasa smiled reassuringly at his superior. "Just fine sir! It wasn't really too serious, and the doctor said I could be back to my normal duties in about a week!"
"I'm glad," Katsura said with some relief. "It's a good thing that ninja tripped when he did, or you wouldn't be sitting here right now!"
The guard nodded fervently. "I was extremely fortunate..." He hesitated, looking puzzled. "He was awfully clumsy for such a skilled ninja, though...what with falling off the roof, and then stumbling over his own feet..."
Hiko was watching the young guard, when he noticed him glance over at the scroll that Katsura was still holding, and suddenly freeze, his eyes widening slightly. The painting was only slightly unrolled, so that very little of the scene actually showed, but Hiko was positive that he sensed an impression of recognition from the other man.
Katsura was concerned by the reaction. "What's wrong, Yuasa-san? Are you sure you're all right?"
"Ah...I..I'm...fine Katsura-san," the young guard stammered, his face somewhat pale. He forced the smile back on his face. "It was just a slight twinge! Uh...I think I should go down and help the others with the preparations!" Yuasa stood hastily, and with a polite bow, he rushed out the door.
The Ishin Shishi commander stared after the guard. "That was odd," he muttered uncertainly. "I hope he's okay..."
That man...
"He's one of your guards, right?" Hiko murmured, his eyes narrowing contemplatively.
"Yuasa Hiroshi." Katsura nodded. "He's been with me for almost six years now."
Hiko raised an eyebrow.
Really? Now that's very interesting...
"So he was here when you first recruited Kenshin?"
"Aa. Tsuji was here as well...two of the very few who are left from that time. Why?"
The swords-master shrugged casually. "Just curious. What did they think of him?"
Katsura smiled slightly. "Actually, the two of them were Himura's staunchest supporters. They were there from the beginning, so they knew what he was like before he started killing. They always tried to make him feel welcome in their group: inviting him to go drinking and gambling with them, including him in their conversations...that sort of thing."
Hiko gazed at the door, a speculative gleam in his eye. "I believe I would like to have a talk with that man..."
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Feeling almost light-hearted, Kenshin entered the inn's courtyard and then hesitated as he caught sight of the odd activity going on. Two soldiers with shovels were digging what appeared to be a rather large hole in the ground, and several other men were dragging in bundles of firewood...
What the...? Are they building a bonfire? How strange...
Walking past the digging soldiers, he overheard a few words from their conversation and froze in shock as he realized what they were doing. It wasn't a bonfire...they were building a funeral pyre...his funeral pyre! The ghost's optimistic mood suddenly came crashing down as he stared numbly at the hardworking men.
Oh gods...this is definitely disturbing. I should try to find Shishou... I wonder if he's still in my room?
Kenshin hurried past them, slipping through the inn's wall into an empty hallway, and headed for the stairs. He started up, only to stop again as he caught sight of his master coming down. The swords-master had an alarmingly devilish smirk on his face. Kenshin sweat-dropped.
What's Shishou smiling about? He has that same look on his face he used to get when he was getting ready to torture me...
Curious now, the red-head decided to tag along to find out what his master was up to.
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Hiko had taken his leave from Katsura, and was now wandering downstairs, searching for the injured guard. He turned a corner, and saw Okami heading in his direction. He passed her with a polite nod, and then paused.
Maybe she knows where he went...
"Wait, Okami-san!" he called, turning back to face her.
She looked up at him inquiringly. "Hiko-san, was there something you needed?"
"I was just wondering...have you seen Yuasa recently?"
"Hai. He was just down here a few minutes ago, looking for Tsuji-san." She shook her head slightly, looking concerned. "He seemed most urgent..."
Hiko smirked knowingly. "Did he, now?"
"They should both be outside, if you want to talk to them."
"I do indeed...arigatou, Okami-san!" he said, heading quickly for the exit.
He found them on the engawa. Yuasa was speaking excitedly, while Tsuji was making calming gestures with his hands. Catching sight of the master swordsman advancing on their position, they lapsed into silence, both looking distinctly uneasy.
"Oh good," Hiko grinned wickedly. "I was hoping to meet up with you two..."
Heh...now for a little game of cat-and-mouse...
Drawing his sword, he leaned nonchalantly against a post and began inspecting the blade, much to the guards' discomfort.
"You know," the large man began conversationally. "Katsura was just telling me an interesting story last night about some fanatical admirer my deshi apparently had. I understand you two have been around him for a while, so...you wouldn't happen to know anything about it, would you?" he asked meaningfully, raising an eyebrow at the embarrassed looking pair.
"Anou..."
In a casual move, Hiko flipped the blade over to examine the sharp edge, observing the men shrewdly out of the corner of his eye. "Any idea at all...?"
The two bodyguards exchanged a nervous glance. Tsuji cleared his throat, and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Well...uh...I guess we might know something about it..."
"I'm glad to hear you say that..." Deciding to abandon the game, Hiko turned his attention to Yuasa. "All right," he stated, his face expressionless. "I know you recognized that scroll. Which one of you was responsible?"
The young man stared apprehensively at the swordsman. "I painted it." he admitted finally.
"I see..." Hiko unexpectedly smiled. "Well, I must admit, you're very talented!"
The two guards abruptly face-faulted, while Hiko watched on in smug amusement.
"Uh...arigatou?" Yuasa said uncertainly.
The sword-master nodded decisively, sheathing his sword. "Yes indeed, your paintings are very beautifully done." He leaned a bit closer to the guard, an evil glint in his eye. "However, I would like to talk about those rather 'erotic' portraits..."
Yuasa blanched. "Himura actually kept them?" he yelped in shock. His eyes suddenly widened in panic. "Oh gods...Hiko-san...it's not what you're thinking, I swear!"
"Is that so?" Hiko gave him a feral grin. "Care to enlighten me...?"
"I wasn't trying to seduce him or anything like that, Hiko-san, really!" he insisted adamantly. "The presents, the paintings...it was all in fun! We were just trying to cheer him up!"
Hiko was slightly taken aback.
Cheer him up? Certainly not what I was expecting...
His eyes narrowed slightly, perplexed. "You were trying to cheer Kenshin up?"
Both guards nodded feverishly. "That's right," Tsuji agreed. "We liked the little guy...he was such a sweet kid at first. But after a while..." He shrugged unhappily. "Well, I'm sure Katsura-san told you about what he was like afterwards."
Hiko nodded. "He did...but, there must have been something specific that set you two off," he said musingly. "You said you were trying to cheer him up, but why did you wait until after he was sixteen?"
The two men exchanged another glance. They both looked depressed.
"Ever since he came back from wherever Katsura-san had sent him, he seemed worse than he ever was...It was like all the life had gone out of his eyes." Tsuji murmured quietly. "We were never told about what happened to make him like that, but it must have been pretty bad."
"Aa," Yuasa sighed. "And trying to cheer up Himura wasn't exactly an easy thing to do. He always kept pushing us away...but when his sixteenth birthday came around, we managed to drag him off to one of the sake bars to celebrate. He wasn't happy about it – he said he hated his birthday – but for some reason, he decided to humor us anyway." He fell silent, a troubled look on his face.
"Himura was normally pretty good at holding his sake," Tsuji continued where his friend left off. "But that night he ended up drinking considerably more than usual, and he finally just broke down. Started sobbing about how he was nothing but a filthy murderer, and then proceeded to tell us why he hated his birthday…he said that he didn't want to celebrate the day of his birth, because he didn't even deserve to have been born in the first place."
"After hearing Himura's confession, we were afraid he'd do something exactly like this," Yuasa whispered regretfully. "So, Tsuji and I came up with this plan…something of a whim, you know. We wanted to see if we could get him to feel something…amusement, anger, embarrassment...anything other than that horrible self-hatred…" He stared down at the ground, dejectedly. "I guess it didn't really work, did it."
Hiko shook his head, feeling sick. "You tried," he muttered bitterly. "That's much more than what most people did, apparently."
Yuasa brushed the reassurance aside. "We should have done more!" he snarled, his face twisting in sorrow. "We gave up after a while; nothing we did seemed to work…but if we had just kept trying…maybe…" The guard broke off, trying to compose himself.
"It's not your fault," the swords-master said sharply. "You did what you could, and I'm certain he appreciated it on some level."
The painter looked up at him doubtfully. "What do you mean?"
Hiko shrugged. "Well, he did keep the paintings after all, didn't he?"
The two guards gave each other a startled look, and then Yuasa smiled thoughtfully. "Aa...I guess he did. Arigatou, Hiko-san."
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Kenshin listened to the exchange with some measure of anger and embarrassment.
Nani! Those two! I spent a whole year needlessly worrying that there was someone in the company that was trying to get me into bed with him! Why...why didn't I see it before?
Calming down, the ghost smiled faintly. He had to admit that he did feel somewhat touched by their concerned efforts. It was also something of a relief to finally know who it was that had made his sixteenth year so interesting! They had in fact, done a better job at reaching him than they realized; the overtures had actually succeeded in distracting him from his miserable state of mind. It wasn't their fault that he had eventually made such a rash decision...
Kenshin sighed. Well, now he was being punished for that rash decision... he had to just try to make the best of his rather unusual situation.
Now, if I can just get Shishou to help me out...
He gazed uncertainly at his master. First, he would have to actually talk to the man...and he had absolutely no idea how the unpredictable swordsman would react to being confronted face-to-face with a walking, talking dead man...
I definitely can't risk talking to him here. If he handles it badly, everyone might think he's gone crazy...and with his sense of pride, he would never forgive me for wounding his dignity... Back at the cabin maybe? We'll be alone, and no one will see if he decides to throw a Do Ryu Sen at me...
The red-haired spirit suddenly noticed that Hiko was walking away, back towards the entrance. He started to hurry after him, but paused as he started to pass the two guards. A mischievous feeling swept over him and he grinned slyly.
I think I owe them a little reimbursement for all the worry they put me through...
Waiting until they were both facing away from each other, Kenshin stepped up between them and slapped them both over the head.
"Oi, Kisama! What the hell did you hit me for!"
"What are you talking about, Tsuji? You're the one who hit me!
"I did not!"
Kenshin disappeared into the inn, snickering lightly as the friends' dispute escalated into a wrestling match.
"Itai! Watch out for the shoulder, you bastard!"
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Hiko paused as he overheard the shouted argument from outside.
What the hell are they fighting over...?
"Hiko-san!" His speculation was interrupted by Katsura's sudden appearance in the hall. "Did you ever find Yuasa-san?"
"Hai..." The swords-master raised an eyebrow and nodded his head in the direction of the door. "I found him with Tsuji...but they seem to be having a fight now..."
Katsura sweat-dropped. "Those two... Always arguing about something." He heaved an exasperated sigh. "They've known each other for years, even before they joined up. I believe they both tried for the assistant-master position in their old dojo, so competition can get rather fierce between the two of them."
Hiko smirked. "Which one got the position?"
"Neither," the commander chuckled. "Someone else beat both of them out. They were not pleased..." He shook his head slightly, and then regarded the larger man with a more serious expression. "Anyway...I just wanted to let you know that I'll be rather busy for the next few hours, but I'll come get you when the services are ready to begin. Will you be able to occupy yourself until then?"
There was a sudden sharp pain in the swordsman's chest, as he was reminded of the approaching funeral. His encounter with the two body-guards had been a welcome distraction; he had almost forgotten about it...
"Aa..." he said quietly. "I'll manage by myself for a while."
Katsura started to walk away, and then turned back for a moment. "If you like, you're welcome to use my room if you want to get some rest."
Startled by the unexpected offer, Hiko stared after the receding man. He shook his head and smiled faintly.
Arigatou, Katsura-san... I think I just might do that. But first...
He turned and headed for the kitchen.
...maybe I can find some sake around here somewhere
After a bit of work, Hiko had managed to coax a jug out of one of the serving girls. She had not really approved of drinking alcohol before even eating lunch, so she had fixed him a simple tray to take up with him along with the sake.
He finished the meal quickly, and then brought the tray back to the kitchen, before at last settling down to enjoy his drink. Deciding to dispense with the saucer, he took a swig straight from the jug, and in less than an hour, the swords-master had finished it all.
Hiko leaned back against the wall and let his eyes drift shut, feeling much more relaxed than he had been. His earlier exhaustion returned, and he found himself nodding off...
Hiko promptly awoke several hours later, as he recognized the Choshu leader's ki approaching down the hallway. Rising to his feet, he slid open the door and went out to meet the other man.
"Hiko-san, it's time..." Katsura murmured solemnly. "Would you like to say good-bye, before we go down?"
The swordsman merely nodded, not quite trusting himself to speak; his chest felt uncomfortably tight. A few minutes later he found himself back in his deshi's room.
"We will begin as soon as you are finished here." Katsura said quietly. "I will wait for you downstairs." He turned and left the room, sliding the shoji closed behind him.
Alone once again with Kenshin's body, Hiko suddenly become conscious that this would be the last time he would ever see his student's face. Kneeling down next to the futon, he stared down at the pale visage, trying to memorize every detail...the subtle arch of his eyebrows, the refined slope of his nose, the gentle curve of his mouth, the vicious scar marring the softness of his cheek, the way the glistening red hair elegantly framed the overall portrait that was Himura Kenshin... Hiko suddenly choked and turned his head away, his hand coming up to cover his mouth.
Oh gods...I can't...
He struggled with his emotions for a moment, his eyes tightly closed. Taking a deep breath, the swordsman managed to regain control of himself and opened his eyes. Hiko reached out his hand and brushed his fingers gently through his deshi's hair.
"Sayonara, Kenshin..." he whispered softly. "I hope your next life turns out better than this one did."
Rising to his feet, the swords-master paused only long enough to grab the wrapped urn he had left next to the futon, before swiftly leaving the room.
He met Katsura waiting at the foot of the staircase, and together, they made their way outside. It was only late afternoon, but the winter sun was already beginning to set, casting an orange glow through the converted yard and bathing everything in soft golden light. A shallow pit had been dug and filled with wood, in the center of the courtyard, while the surrounding area was tastefully decorated with white paper lanterns to ward off the encroaching darkness. A small table draped in white cloth, had been set up near the pyre as a makeshift altar, behind which stood a kind looking man dressed in priest's robes.
They spoke briefly to the priest before joining the rest of the gathered mourners, the urn that Hiko had carried with him now resting on the altar to await its occupant. A few minutes later, everyone turned to face the inn's entrance, as two litter-bearers came out bearing the body of Himura Kenshin, now carefully wrapped in a shroud.
The two young men placed the litter on the pyre, stepping back respectfully as the priest approached, chanting sutras. Fragrant smoke wafted out from the incense burner he carried in his hand. The next half-hour passed in a blurred haze, as Hiko tuned it all out...his awareness focused only on the covered figure laid out over the pit, and the bittersweet memories of a life now gone forever...
Finally, the time had come to light the funeral pyre.
His face set determinedly in an expressionless mask, Hiko silently watched as a soldier stepped forward with a torch to set fire to the dry kindling beneath the shrouded remains. For a moment nothing happened, then the wood began to smoke before suddenly flaring up with a rush of intense heat. The swords-master flinched, his heart crying out in anguish, as the flames engulfed his deshi's body.
Kenshin...
The shroud quickly burned away, revealing the body for a brief moment, before the skin began to blacken and wither... The flames then rose higher, mercifully concealing the gruesome sight. Hiko felt a sudden rush of vertigo, as his grief combined with the sickening smell of burning hair and flesh. Closing his eyes against the dizziness, he forced himself to breathe deeply through his mouth, desperately fighting to keep his composure. Losing control in front of Katsura was bad enough; there was no way in hell, he was going to break down in front of all these other people.
His eyes still closed, he unexpectedly felt a comforting hand rest briefly on his arm. The gentle touch had a soothing effect on the tormented man, and he was finally able to pull himself together.
Breathing out a soft sigh, Hiko opened his eyes and stood calmly, his mask now firmly back in place. He watched as the flames danced and soared, sending up sparks into the night sky.
Sayonara, Kenshin...
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In case you're wondering, Kenshin was the one that touched Hiko's arm, and Hiko's not freaked out by it, because he thinks it was just Katsura offering his reassurances. I'll make that a bit clearer in the next chapter. The pyre scene started out a bit more descriptive...but after re-reading it, I cut it down to avoid grossing everybody out. :P So...did I manage to surprise anybody with Tsuji and Yuasa? Heh...that part was fun to write. And now we get to see Kenshin beginning to rediscover that "mischievous streak" that Hiko had missed so much in the first chapter... Hope you enjoyed it!
Whew! Lot of reviewer responses! I did a word count and all together ended up almost as long as my first chapter!
Sailor-Earth13: I'm glad you didn't mind the funeral delay! Stupid thing was causing me all sorts of trouble...(grrr)
Ayumi Ikari: So you liked the scene with Tomoe? I'm so glad! Yeah, it is nice when Kenshin gets to laugh; he didn't really have much reason to before... As you can see, the funeral is finally here!
RidicullyL: Glad you're still enjoying this! Thank you! And I'm not really a pro in first-aid...I just remembered what I was taught in basic training and in high school. Congratulations on getting your certificate!
crimsonsun-rk: Ha! The artist is finally revealed! And Hiko and Kenshin's reunion should be in the next chapter. As for your question for "Frigid Waters", Kenshin was 14 when he joined up with the Ishin Shishi... so he trained with Hiko for somewhere around 5 years.
JaneDrew: I am really glad you like this story...especially knowing what an excellent writer you are. Thank you so much! And I don't really see how proper grenade throwing could ever come in handy, unless I get faced with a homicidal demon or something ;)
Terry-McElrath: Thank you! I'm sorry this chapter took a bit longer to get out than my other ones. Still quick in comparison to some people who take months or even years to update...but for me, a quick update is within a week. And again, thank you so much for giving me your opinion on this chapter! I'm glad you liked it!
Night-Owl123: Their reunion should be in the next chapter, so don't worry! Saitou will probably make an appearance at some point; I'm still working on that...
skenshingumi: I'm really happy that you're enjoying my fic! I know what you mean about happy endings... That's why I had Kenshin come back as a ghost to try and make up for the mistakes he made. I just couldn't leave him dead; I like him too much! You're right though, what happened in this story does make the one-shot a bit tragic...
xZig-zagx: Thank you! I'm so glad they're letting you re-post your story again!
omasuoniwabanshi: Yeah, your info helped out a lot actually! I'm glad you enjoyed my side-story view into what Hiko was thinking. I'll see if I can maybe add more to it, as a collection of one-shot memories...if I can think of any more :)
a.k.a. Arashi: Thank you! Yeah, my action sequence was rather short. But it didn't really need a whole lot of length to it to get my point across. And thank you once again for your tips on my other story!
SiriusFan13: I wouldn't worry too much about having Kenshin come back; even if I do (which I'm not sure how exactly), it would be quite a ways in the future. I'm still thinking of ways the Kenshin-gumi could be incorporated into the story, but again, I'm not really sure yet how... Your suggestions are pretty interesting though. I like to finish stories in my head too...they usually end up very different than the real outcome though... I'll try to add more little one-shots if I can think of any; and I'll say it again: I love your stories! They are not crap!
Peacebunnie: I'm glad you liked it! Katsura and the guards didn't miss the ninja's clumsiness, they just had too much on their minds at the time to say anything. Heh...I hope you managed to get some sleep after the disturbing image of 'Hiko the potter!'
A lilmatchgirl: I think they fixed the number problem with the names, but I guess it's a little too late now... Heh...I briefly considered writing out that pottery scene as a humorous omake, but luckily I decided not to...
Rubber Shuriken: I guess I'm just going to have to die then...but...but then I'll never finish the story! He'll stay dead for a while, but I might bring him back at some point.
Kkwy: Thank you! Yeah, Kenshin is awesome, isn't he?
moeru himura: Thanks for saying you'll review every chapter! I don't expect people to do that, but it is very nice to get so many reviews... Well, I'm not going to have Kenshin reunited with his body, so rigor mortis won't be a real problem :) I might bring him back some other way, but that won't be for a long time yet.
Shaolin 10: I'm glad you liked the first chapter! Did you ever finish the others? I have to admit this story was partially inspired by your depiction of Hiko... I really loved the way you portrayed him.
kenni's fanatic: Glad you like it!
Blaze Coyotlhart: I got a real kick out of your review... you really had me laughing over the "would've gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for that meddling Kenshin ghost!" remark! That poor clumsy ninja! Thank you for the sympathy over my father...I really appreciated it.
Streetwise Girl: Sorry for making you cry! I add the humor in so people won't get too depressed.
Marlingrl: Thank you for reviewing both my stories! Hmm...maybe I should buy stock in Kleenex... ;)
Freda Potter: (smiles sheepishly) the suspense isn't really intentional...it just ends up that way... That would have been pretty amusing if the ninja had ended up being the artist!
Lucrecia LeVrai: Oh! I'm glad you're still enjoying the story, and that you don't mind the ghost issue. I really cracked up over your speculation on the artist...Shishio? That would have been a real hoot! Yes, I do collect fan arts, and doujinshi scans too. I've seen some really drool-worthy ones... Anyway, I don't really have plans to continue this fic forever, but I guess it does give me the option, if I change my mind. I'm working on keeping my fan-girl Japanese to a minimum...as you see, not a whole lot in this chapter. Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm glad you appreciated my efforts in the research department...I really wanted to try to make things at least somewhat authentic...
BakaBokken: Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm really happy you liked my story! You know, when I first started thinking about the painter, I had actually intended him to have been killed in some battle...and that would be why he stopped after a year. I prefer how it ended up though.
Mip the Demon Fox: Yeah, I wish they had gotten more screen time too. Hiko especially. I'm not counting his appearance in the Shimabara arc after Kyoto. That was just awful...although slightly amusing at some points. Thank you for reviewing! I'm really glad you like this so far! Definitely not the usual death fic...
Nekotsuki: I'm glad you liked the one-shot! Yeah, I was enlisted four years in the Army. I got out in 2001 and spent the last four years scared to death they were going to try and recall me to go to Iraq... Thankfully, it never happened. I guess they didn't need my particular job.
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Glossary of terms:
sweat-drop – a tear shaped drop on or around a characters head denoting surprise, shock, stress, worry, or exasperation
Anou – "Well", "um", "er..."
Do Ryu Sen – "Earth Dragon Flash"a Hiten Mitsurugi attack
Itai - an exclamation of pain