DisclaimerI don't own Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu-Yu Hakusho, Hikaru no Go.
To be the Strongest
Chapter 9: Let the games begin!
Aoshi took them back into the past to the day they arrived in Atlanta and their new guide was just as pleasing to the eyes as Tokio but not as interesting…
Slowly they filed out of the bus that had conducted them from the airport to the Olympic villa where the Japanese team was staying in Atlanta for the games.
"Your rooms have already been assigned to you so as you enter an assistant will provide you with the keys and you should already have the two names of your assigned room partners!" Sayaka – their Victoria's Secret guide in Atlanta – cheerfully explained as she led them to the building.
To their dismay all three boys had been assigned separate rooms. It made sense to Aoshi after all it would be better to remain close to people with the same schedules as you. Aoshi was joined by two other swimmers, Kenshin went with a couple of track & field athletes and Sano was further down the hall with a couple of judo athletes.
The next morning they went to their drug screenings first then headed out to the track after breakfast. Kenshin would be the first of the three to compete and a few preliminary races were scheduled before the opening ceremony that night. Kenshin won easily enough and the easy victories provided some support from their team. Kenshin would race in the 400m relay, the 800m and the 1500m races.
Aoshi went to his preliminaries later that afternoon and won easily as well. He was a bit shocked to find himself almost a complete pool length ahead of the rest of the swimmers he was competing against when he finished the race. So Aoshi was set by the swim team's coach to compete in the 1500m freestyle; the 100m and 200m butterfly which was Aoshi's strongest style and the 400m individual medley. Sano's schedule had been moved around a little and his first preliminary bout was two days from then in the welterweight category.
They all dressed up later that evening for the opening ceremonies and off they all went to the stadium. They watched on a TV in the locker rooms as the torch was brought in. An American runner was bringing it in to the stadium carrying it high up in the air. He had a very proud demeanor and didn't seem to sag in the least despite having run at least 3 miles already with it. The camera did a close up of him and showed his name on the screen:
Lt Hajime S. Davila of the US Marine Corp – gold medal winner of the 10k in Barcelona 1992.
"The "S" stands for Saito!" Kenshin remarked cheerfully "I'm running against him in the 1600m relay! He's the American team's anchor!" unable to contain his excitement as he chattered happily about the man's record. Aoshi watched the man on the screen. He looked like a worthy opponent for Kenshin and Aoshi hoped he would find a similar opponent for himself here…
Kenshin returned snickering all the while saying Shuura was being bombarded with questions about her failed attempt to loot the Kaiba corp. prince's ship. He said he just had to rush over and ask if it was all true. Very solemnly Seto assured him the story was true. Sano arrived right behind Kenshin and put Seto in a playful headlock ruffling his hair viciously and laughing all the while then released him. Yusuke pounded him on the back affectionately. Everyone loves seeing the pirate a hairsbreadth away from the gallows!
"You lucky little bugger! You know you're only the second person to be able to repel the pirate right? Though I like you better than the other one!" Sano announced cheerfully laughing loudly.
"Technically Sano Saito-san defeated the pirate while Seto-kun only repelled her! At least that's what Sensei seems to think," Kenshin corrected cheerfully. Sano growled angrily at him as the sat with Aoshi and Seto.
"Don't you start singing that damn wolf's praises too or I'll kick your butt Kenshin!" Sano growled. Aoshi chuckled for a moment.
"Sano I'm sorry to inform you but I just arrived at the section of my story where I tell Seto about the Olympics," Aoshi announced and Seto was surprised to hear the slight note of mischief in Aoshi's voice. Sano gave Aoshi a withering look then shook his head and threw his hands up in the air. Yusuke plopped himself down on a chair looking equally despondent.
"Ugh! I guess we'll have to suffer the wolf one way or another!" Yusuke sighed in annoyance. Aoshi smirked knowing Sano and Yusuke didn't really have a big issue with his Nii-sama it was mostly for show. For that matter Hajime didn't really disliked them either he just loved rattling their chains and riling them up!
"Did you tell him about Tokio-dono?" Kenshin asked a little more seriously.
"A little…I haven't gotten past the opening ceremonies yet," he explained "which reminds me…" he picked up the white envelope with the pictures he and Seto had just been looking at. Yusuke and Sano huddled around Kenshin and they all smiled as they looked at the pictures.
"Well you gotta hand it to the old wolf…he makes a good dad…" Yusuke pointed out softly as he took the picture with Hajime and his two sons in his arms. He smiled wistfully.
"You just complimented him…" Seto remarked surprised. Yusuke smiled.
"Look it's not that we hate the wolf…he just likes to push our buttons and make us mad! But we think he's alright…" he admitted. Sano leaned forward then.
"When he's not being an ass that is! But don't tell him we said that! We will deny with much vigor!" Sano immediately put in to enthusiastic agreement from Yusuke.
"And then we'll kick your ass kid! Nothing is worse then having to deal with the wolf when he's right! Nothing!" Yusuke added gravely. Seto frowned but agreed. If he was brutally honest with himself he would admit he felt the same way about Jou. He didn't hate the guy he actually that he was ok after all anyone who can make Mokuba smile and laugh was a good person in his book but it was just too much fun pushing his buttons. He wondered if this "Wolf" felt the same way about them.
"Well since I have to suffer the wolf one way or the other… I'll go show these to the others!" Yusuke volunteered cheerfully and took the rest of the pictures. Seto stared at the board but was thinking of Aoshi's big brother. He was fast becoming interested in learning more about "The Wolf". He sounded like a very interesting guy! So he urged Aoshi to continue with his story which Kenshin took up since he was the first of his friends to compete for medals.
The runners were warming up on the track. Kenshin looked up at the stands and could instantly pick out his friends. Sano was jumping up and down and Aoshi was standing so still that he stood out like a sore thumb among all the cheerful waving sports fans. His first race would be the 100m dash then the coach after seeing Kenshin's impressive times decided he should run in both the 400m relay (4x100m) and the 1600m (4x400m) relays as the anchor. After his stretching exercises he removed his sweat pants and jacket then moved over to the track and his coach pinned his number securely to his back.
He took a deep breath trying to calm his nerves. His sensei he knew was in a special sponsor's box high up in the stadium along with other American sponsors. None of them had been able to see her since they arrived. According to Aoshi's dad she had already been catching some flak from the American press for sponsoring foreign athletes. He and his friends weren't the only non-Americans that she apparently favored.
She sponsored a lot of African and Middle East athletes and it caused quite a stir. Human Rights activists and peace advocates of all kinds rallied in support of her equalitarian views other more militant and/or conservative groups accused her of being a traitor. She had also been known to have befriended Russian dancers and athletes today as well as back in the cold war days. It was all par for the course as far as Victoria was concerned and it never stopped her from trying to encourage and protect those she deemed worthy regardless of where they came from.
'Sensei doesn't care where you're from as long you're a good person,' Kenshin thought sagely as he moved to his spot in the starting line. Feeling fully confident of his ability to win he banished all thoughts and concentrated on the race. He took his starting position and when the shot went off so did Kenshin! Speeding like a bullet down the track he blasted through both Olympic and World records with ease. As he crossed the tape he slowed and looked up to his friends. Sano was waving a Japanese flag and jumping like crazy. Aoshi was very still with the exception of the clapping he was doing. Kenshin smiled and waved back.
Not long afterwards the relay races were set up and Kenshin got to meet some of his competition. The Americans were very friendly and highly interested in him due to his impressive run earlier. All except for Lt. Davila! He didn't seem to like Kenshin at all! He sat apart from the rest of the competitors doing his own stretching glaring at Kenshin with a deep suspicion that made Kenshin a little nervous. He smiled and waved at him once and Saito-san – which is what in his head he'd decided to call him – just rolled his eyes and looked away.
"You know he's one of Victoria Stillwater's favorites," a fellow track competitor from the American team said to Kenshin in a conspiratorial whisper. Sensei had told him that he would encounter a powerful opponent in Saito-san during the Olympic Games! He just couldn't wait to run against him!
"That's very exciting! I can't wait!" Kenshin exclaimed unable to contain his sheer joy. They were given the signal for the start of the race and all the runners took their places for the first race. Again despite dominance from the American team in the first three stages of the 400m relay when it came Kenshin's turn he blasted the Japanese team from fourth place to an impressive and undisputable victory. The crowd was going wild! It didn't seem to matter where Kenshin was from he was a sports hero today and a credit to the human race!
Kenshin beamed up at the crowd and his face suddenly appeared on the monitors above the crowds. The words: "Fastest man on Earth" flashed under his face. He smiled bashfully and waved up at the crowd…
Victoria returned as Kenshin was talking about his first races. She settled in to listen commenting on how mad Hajime had been when the first relay team lost.
"His mother was sitting with me and she just shook her head and laughed. She knows how much Hajime hates to lose!" Victoria laughed then encouraged Kenshin to continue though her own mind went back to those events as related to her by Hajime's mother a few days later.
Hajime growled angrily as he watched Himura blast away his teammates in the 400m relay. He hated losing and he hated watching his teammates lose just as much!
'Punk needs to be taken down!' he raged promising to beat the little bugger when his turn came around. He couldn't understand though why he disliked the kid so much after all they'd never met before. He clapped vigorously as his teammate dominated in the 200m and 400m races but was not completely satisfied with their victory because Himura had not participated in those races. The referee called for the runners to take their places after that.
'This time you're going down!' he growled to himself taking his place on the track as the anchor for his team. To prove that fate was a mischievous and cruel little creature he ended up standing right next to Himura. The boy smiled cheerfully at him.
"Good Luck Saito-san!" he cheerfully said to him. Hajime glared at him wondering why the boy was calling him by his middle name. He dismissed it as unimportant.
"Luck is for amateurs," he growled back and turned his head to watch for the shot. The teams started off and Hajime ground his teeth angrily as his team dropped to second right off the bat. They recovered towards the middle and pushed to first. Even worst was that the Japanese team seemed to have stepped up their game and were maintaining a solid third place.
'I have to really push it,' he grumbled to himself as he took the baton and shot off like a rocket trying to open their very narrow lead. Himura however caught up to him in mere seconds and passed him without effort it seemed. The little red-headed brat even turned to smile at him as he passed by! Pissed off, Hajime pushed beyond his limits but despite his heroic effort only managed a very close second place. His teammates celebrated their silver medal but Hajime was seething!
'Second is just the first loser!' he wanted to shout at them but there was no point to it they would not understand. He paced the track angrily. His mother came down to the track to say hi but infuriatingly enough she brought Victoria along with her.
She was gloating! Of course he should've known the little red-headed punk was one of the kids Victoria favored. She had warned him not to get too cocky because excessive cocky-ness sometimes led to a crushing defeat. Hajime should've learned by now that contradicting her always ended with him eating his words. He said nothing this time.
'I'm gonna beat this little…' he cursed angrily to himself as he returned to the track after a short break. He was set to race only in the 5000m and 10000m but subbed in the 800m for an injured teammate and again felt like the Coyote chasing after the damn Roadrunner but left to choke in the Roadrunner's dust! Of course that's what it felt like to Hajime but really Kenshin's victory had been very narrow and Kenshin was very satisfied with his wins against Hajime since he considered them hard fought.
"Damn it!" he cursed softly as he walked away. Taking a break and stretching out tired muscles he watched Kenshin race once more in the 1500m almost right away. He frowned as he watched Kenshin once more beat all the other racers but this time his victory seemed much more difficult.
'That coach is killing his goose of the golden eggs,' Hajime thought concerned. Kenshin seemed to have reached his limit. The hurdle racers were up and Hajime watched concerned as Kenshin was made to run in one of those two races. He struggled but managed to maintain his first place and win. Victoria had come down from her box and had a screaming match with the coach and she left obviously still rather upset.
'For his sake that coach had better not gone against her…' Hajime thought with a trace of sympathy. Hajime was up for his 5000m race but he was worried about his competition. As they stretched he walked over to the boy and pulled him aside.
"Have you trained for endurance runs or are you strictly a sprinter?" he asked gruffly. The boy's smile was strained. He was tired.
"No I'm a sprinter but the coach thinks I can win," Kenshin replied sounding rather doubtful and nervous. Hajime frowned now that he stopped to really look at the boy he had scars on his face and the back of his head that looked no more than a month old. He didn't feel quite so angry with the kid anymore.
"Listen to me quickly then. This race is about endurance don't spend all your energy at once…" Hajime began explaining the fundamentals of endurance running. Other runners gathered around them apparently also worried that Kenshin had no experience with this type of racing and they could all see Kenshin was being pushed beyond what was safe for him. An Ethiopian runner advised him that if he felt like he couldn't keep a position to not be afraid to fall back a little and allow his body to recover some energy.
"Since you're a sprinter you can make up for it at the end save your strength for then," Hajime advised solemnly. The boy looked up at Hajime awe and gratitude shining in his face.
"Saito-san…thank you! I thought you didn't like me though," Kenshin said softly staring up Hajime in a bewildered and awe-struck way. Hajime rolled his eyes and shook his head as if annoyed but he was finding it difficult to stay angry with the kid.
"Just be careful! If you want to come back in 4 years you'd better make sure you don't blow your knee out or break an ankle!" Hajime responded sternly.
"Yes! I will find my comfortable pace and conserve my energy!" Kenshin replied eagerly smiling up at the men around him in gratitude for their assistance. Everyone gathered around Kenshin and patted his back encouraging him to do his best but not to get hurt.
"Mind your footing and by the way you should double check your shoes! The smallest discomfort or the tiniest detail left unchecked could become a major disadvantage in a long race!" Hajime further advised. Kenshin nodded vigorously and sat right where he was standing to follow Hajime's instructions. Hajime smirked amused by Kenshin's childlike eagerness as he bent down.
"You'll be alright kid," he said softly patting him on the shoulder and walked away. He smiled just a little as the boy called out his thank you. The runners finally took their places after shaking hands with a few of the men Hajime had raced against before in 1992. The shot went off and perhaps because he was nervous Kenshin shot like a bullet from the starting line. Hajime shook his head it took the kid about 400m to finally remember he was in for a much longer haul.
'You're gonna hurt your chances!' Hajime thought as he watched Kenshin struggle to stay ahead of him. Hajime a veteran long distance runner had quickly settled into his perfect pace and caught up to Kenshin when they reached the 1500m mark. By the time they reached the 2000m Kenshin seemed to have reached his peak and could not accelerate any more. Hajime however still had plenty of steam left.
'This kid shouldn't be in this race!' thought Hajime fully intending to curse out the boy's coach as soon as the race was over. He grimaced in sympathetic pain as he observed the scar on the back of the boy's head. Perhaps because of the accelerated heart rate it stood out more vividly. Hajime pulled around Kenshin and passed him just as easily as Kenshin had passed him in the shorter races. Hajime however took no pleasure in it seeing how much Kenshin was struggling to keep his position. He was easily able to put about five almost six feet between them.
'Victoria's gonna have a field day with that coach!' Hajime thought viciously looking forward to watching Victoria rip the man a new one! After the 4000m mark he heard a short scream and a hard thud. A quick glance behind him let Hajime know Kenshin was on the ground groaning in pain. He stopped and hurried back. He quickly picked up Kenshin and pulled him away from the other runners shouting for the medics.
"Saito-san…you've been disqualified," Kenshin whined looking confused and sad. Hajime chuckled as he carried the kid towards the medics. Photographers snapped away at the pair ignoring the runners who were reaching the finish line as Hajime set Kenshin down on the stretcher. Neither noticed the hush that had fallen over the crowd.
"Moron! Would you have rather I left you laying there in pain?" Hajime teased lightly. The medics set to work on him quickly. Kenshin had pulled a hamstring and in the fall had sprained his ankle. He would no longer be able to race for the duration of the Olympics. They would take him away for x-rays and Hajime sincerely hoped the kid would not lose his ability to race.
"I cannot thank you enough Saito-san for not leaving me there," Kenshin said looking up at Hajime in absolute wonder.
"It was nothing! Just make sure you get better. You owe me a rematch!" Hajime teased lightly ruffling the boy's hair and Kenshin half groaned and half laughed as the medics bandaged his leg. They looked up then when they realized the crowd in the stadium was singing waving American flags. The large screen showed his and Kenshin's image and words scrolled on the screen.
"What are they singing Saito-san?" Kenshin asked. Hajime smiled back at him.
"The Marine Corp. anthem!" he replied rather proudly "now wave for the camera!" he added in a mock-serious tone. Kenshin laughed and weakly raised his hand to wave with Hajime…
"I don't understand…why would Hajime throw away his victory? It was your own fault for going on that race!" Seto said to Kenshin confused and with a touch of the arrogance that was his trademark. Kenshin just smiled.
"Because for my Nii-sama a victory without honor is worse than defeat," Aoshi replied solemnly. This did nothing but confuse Seto even more so Victoria explained.
"Seto for Hajime his honor is his life. In his mind set to leave a broken child lying on the ground while he walks away towards his self indulgent victory would've been a crime of unforgivable proportions that would've stripped him completely of his honor. For him no amount of money or medals is worth losing his honor!" Victoria lectured solemnly. Seto frowned trying to take in this new concept.
"Besides the old wolf is a soldier he can't help but be hero all the time!" Sano pointed out "but would it kill him to be a little bit nicer to people or a little more modest!" he added grumbling about how arrogant the wolf in question was. Seto laughed a little but this whole "honor is life" concept was starting to sound not so corny.
"But you learned this lesson already right Seto?" Victoria began mysteriously. Seto frowned.
"What do you mean?" he asked confused. Victoria reminded him then about the duel against Yugi in duelist kingdom.
"You refused to back away…to lose without trying absolutely everything you could to save Mokuba even sacrificing your own life…honor, love, friendship, family sometimes they mean the same. So for you that day your duties… your honor demanded you defeat Yugi no matter the cost. After all you could've walked away…called the authorities you're just kid you could've given up and no one would've faulted you for it…"
"I would've never done that!" Seto cut her off angrily. Victoria just smiled knowingly.
"Exactly…Yugi had much support and protection but you were alone. Who would come to your rescue? As far as you knew no one…so only your honor was what you had that day and it was your honor that gave you victory,"
"Honor…" he said softly still looking confused but rolling things over in his mind. It sounds much better than the ridiculous friendship speeches Anzu was constantly ranting.
"But technically I didn't win…" Seto insisted. Victoria rolled her eyes. Broodies were stubborn and annoyingly technical about everything! But to her delight Aoshi provided the correct answer.
"Wrong…from a warrior's point of view you won completely and decisively. In a battle you defeat your opponent when he or she can no longer wield a weapon against you," Aoshi countered solemnly.
"Very good Aoshi! Yes Seto you have to understand Yugi was dueling. Up until that point Yugi and his friends were just playing a game where no one had really gotten hurt yet. You on the other hand were waging war and thus every duel was a real battle with your life and your honor at stake," Victoria explained solemnly.
"So when Yugi dueled against me that day he got his first taste of a real battle…" Seto concluded seemingly unconvinced.
"Exactly but for those who have never faced the decision of sacrificing one person to save another – a situation common in a battlefield – the prospect is paralyzing. Yugi froze and you pushed through simply because you know that winning in a war means you make sacrifices," Aoshi explained calmly.
"But beware it is a difficult path to follow…" Aoshi began and he seemed reluctant to continue so Victoria continued for him.
"To be the best or the strongest means that others will seek leadership from you but it also means that others will seek to take your power putting you constantly at war with foes that become stronger as you become stronger," Victoria lectured very solemnly and for a moment this wisdom excited Seto but there was more to it. Making sacrifices was never a problem for power hungry Seto but power always had a price…
"And as you continue to battle your way to the top you will sacrifice many things: your youth, your family and the lives of those who follow you. Beware Seto it is a hard road to travel and you can never turn back," Aoshi cautioned in a hard tone. His eyes reflected for a moment the horrors he had seen and Seto thought for a moment that he might've glimpsed in Aoshi's green eyes the horrors the man might've inflicted on others. This gave Seto pause…
"Of course that's only if you choose the quick and more seductive path of the demon…" Victoria added again with a glint of mischief back in her eyes "there are other ways of course slower but ultimately more satisfying because after all as quickly as demons rise just as quickly they fall! You now that of course," Victoria lectured calmly letting her words hang for a moment.
"Like Gozaburo and Pegasus…" Seto concluded pensively.
"And like yourself…" Victoria added ominously and with these words she reminded Seto of the trials of the Death-T and how he'd been so completely taken down by what he considered was a "nobody". Seto frowned examining the board.
"I don't like losing…" Seto said softly frowning in confusion. How could you gain power without being a ruthless hard-ass? That didn't seem possible yet somehow Aoshi and his friends had acquired it…
"How do you get power without falling to the demon?" he asked obviously confused. Victoria smiled.
"Well that is not a question I can answer in a few words Seto…and you cannot learn it overnight but once you have it no one can take it away from you," Victoria replied her eyes glittering with excitement. Aoshi smiled nostalgically. He'd gotten that look a long time ago when he had accepted Sensei's training after the kidnapping.
'Yes the new class is about to begin,' Aoshi thought feeling as though a weight had finally been removed from him.
"I want to learn…I want power that can't be taken from me!" Seto declared still looking at the board. He looked up and there was an eager look in his eyes that Aoshi knew only too well. Sensei smiled in much the same way she had back then but he noticed something in her eyes that he hadn't seen before. A moment of sadness touched her eyes before she smiled at him.
"Very well…we will start by finishing Aoshi's tale. I have a feeling it will speed you along the way," Victoria said sitting back in her chair to listen quietly as her broodies talked…
Oi! This story is more complicated than I originally intended! I am getting to the part where it merges with Tokio's story as well as Hajime's story so I better be careful. All the AUs are coming to merging points so keeping them in sync is very tricky. Misao's part is also going to merge soon. So far Misao's part was a prequel but soon it will be the opposite side of this story. Ack! My head is spinning its so exciting walking this fine line! Just hope I don't fall whimper Wish me luck!
Thanks for reading and reviewing!