Threatened
He had gone down to the training field to work off his exhaustion and to placate the furious thoughts in his head. The pouring rain was perfect for it, his soaked clothes adhering to his small frame made it difficult to move, it challenged him. The cold was good for thinking.
Her eyes had been burnt into his mind, scarred with familiar beauty. He closed his eyes and felt the individual raindrops upon his skin, visualizing her face as the straw post in front of him. The sinister smile bloomed upon his lips as he drew his katana, and re sheathed in almost the same moment. He opened his eyes, molten with the pleasure of his shinsoku (god-speed). This was the power of the Battousai, no one could be better than he.
The Ryu kan sen had obliterated the straw post, with the last remnants fluttering to the mud below.
Katsura watched the crimson haired boy's progress atop the hillside, under the shelter of an umbrella. His face remained motionless but his eyes betrayed his emotions. He was honoured to be in the presence of one with such great potential, a child nevertheless. He was impressed, just like every other man on the field who'd stopped his own training to watch Kenshin's merciless attack. Grown men, in awe of a boy; men, afraid of him, the extraordinary Himura Kenshin.
"He's worthy of being called the pride of the Choshu, eh, Katsura? Think he'll be good enough for her?" Iizuka grinned at their leader.
The rain ceased, and without reply Katsura closed his umbrella. Weighted hazel eyes gaze upon the field, laying bare every silent worry and secrets. The child manslayer turned, almost knowingly, and caught the sight of his leader, his own ochre eyes tainted with blood and curiousity, and the silent summons passed understood between them.
Kenshin gazed up at the pregnant rain clouds, as if they were somehow foretelling doom. Katsura stood next to him, eyes searching the training field for nothing in particular. "Himura. You know the new manslayer's interception cannot occur again. She is jeopardizing our secrecy and the Shinsen-gumi are looming closer than ever. You know what you must do, for the good of our clan."
Kenshin's eyes drifted to a young boy on the training field, and wondered if this is what he seemed like to others, a child amidst grown men practicing death. Katsura looked down at the boy, sensing that his words were not sufficient. He made one last attempt to capture Kenshin's interest.
"My sources say she is Kamiya Kaoru. It is said that her abilities rival those of yours, Himura."
"Never."
"Maybe. They say she's a mixture of swordsman and ninja, trained in all defenses. So far she's given credit to her name."
"No woman is better than I. She's as good as dead, Katsura, I assure you," Kenshin commented coldly, striding off into the direction of his room. His eyes burned with an insatiable fire, and with unadulterated hatred for the woman whose skills and beauty cost him his name and pride.
Katsura smiled as the boy strolled off.