Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin, and most of the characters related to and featuring in the following fictional stories are property of creator and master manga artist Watsuki Nobuhiro, and no copyright infringement was intended in any way in the creation of these projects. Used without permission.


Light of the Snow-Red Village
Part V - Flickering Shadows: Oak in the Breeze - Chapter 1

by Akai Kitsune

~*~

    "Give me five hundred strikes before breakfast!"

    "Busu..."

    "How dare you!"

Kenshin let out a soft groan, as a loud, violent argument rang out from the dojo. An instant later, Hikari came flying into the kitchen, eyes wide in surprise and amazement. "Those two... I've never seen people fight so much! I'll never learn Kamiya Kasshin at this rate."

Her father merely shrugged and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure they'll calm down in a little while. When they get hungry, they'll stop."

    "You mean they'll take a break," she muttered, and Kenshin couldn't help but laugh. Finally, she sighed and approached him, leaning her shinai against the wall, beside his sword. "So... what's on the menu today?"

~*~

    "You're too obnoxious," Kaoru huffed, gazing at her newest student in weary annoyance. "Why Kenshin thought this was a good idea, I can't understand..."

    "Why wouldn't he? I'm a prime example of the perfect student," Yahiko snorted in response. "A teacher always needs a good challenge. You just can't admit that I've got skills you've never even-"

    "Since when are you perfect, Yahiko?" she growled, giving his head another smack for good measure. "You'd be a better example of what nightmares are made of. Why can't you even try to listen to me?"

Yahiko pulled away from her bokken, rubbing his sore head. "Because your budo is so boring! I want to learn how to pound the bad guys into the floor! What's so fun about protecting people? I'd rather learn from Kenshin!"

Kaoru huffed and turned away. "He wouldn't want to deal with a brat like you. It seems like I'm your only choice - unless you want to go back to the yakuza, that is."

The boy was silent for a long moment, and she almost regretted her words. She turned back to him, to apologize, and found him gone. "Wha-? Yahiko!"

~*~

    "Stupid ugly woman..." Yahiko scowled, swinging his shinai down with such force that it nearly threw him off balance. "Thinks she can order me around, insult me all she likes, beat me up... whatever happened to protecting people? Doesn't that include her students?"

However, his fury seemed to fade, recalling her initial acceptance of him.

  "Well, if I have to, I may as well. Yahiko, I'll take you as my student, even if you do have a rotten attitude. I'll teach you that the sword is for more than just fighting."

Idiot. What else was it for?

He rubbed a hand through his short-cropped hair, frustrated. He hated the thought of being protected, being weak enough to need that protection. As he was, he couldn't even protect Hikari.

  'Not that I care about her... thinks she knows everything...'

  "You owe him your life; the least you can do is respect his wishes..."

    "I know that," he muttered, kicking the dirt half-heartedly. "But still..."

  'I can't help it if busu's school is so dull...'

  'Sword meant to protect others... so what...'

  "Is it your own weakness that bothers you, child?"

  "I want to be strong. Strong so I don't need anyone's help... so I can defend the honour of my parents myself..."

His frown faded slightly, and, suppressing a sigh, he headed back towards the dojo to return to his lesson.

  'I can't become strong if I don't make the effort... so if I can't learn from him... I'll depend on her for a while.'

  '... So... so wait for me, Kenshin. Someday I'll be strong enough... and I'll show you that I can defend myself...'

~*~

    After lunch, Kaoru invited them all to join her on a visit to a local restaurant, the Akabeko, run by one of her good friends. While she had vehemently refused to purchase a full meal - with the whole group, it was rather expensive, and they had already eaten - she had hinted that they may be able to earn some dessert if they proved themselves to be helpful. Kenshin quickly learned that "earning" implied his involvement in the kitchen dishes, but the cheerful, imploring expressions of his companions coaxed him into the chore.

As he stood at the sink, scrubbing the dirty china while the servers and cooks bustled around him, he listened intently to the patrons through the walls. Hikari's laughter, as Kaoru and Yahiko fought over what to order; Tae, Kaoru's friend, chatting amiably between spouts of arguing, about the local gossip. He heard her introduce Hikari - and Yahiko, he noticed with a slight, knowing smile - to the young waitress, Tsubame, who shyly murmured a response that sent Yahiko into a rage. The two girls managed to ignore him after Tsubame's initial flinch, and quickly became as sociable as Tae and Kaoru. His smile broadened at that; Hikari had rarely met anyone her age to become friends with, due to their lifestyle. Perhaps Tsubame wouldn't mind that so much.

Content to hear Hikari enjoying herself, he fazed out of the conversations and concentrated on the job at hand, only vaguely listening to the drone of those eating beyond. There was an argument somewhere nearby; it puzzled him, but he was not too concerned.

That is, until Hikari's abrupt, startled shriek caught his ear.

The sakabatou was in his hands immediately, soapy water still dripping from his wrists as he slid open the door. His eyes flashed, dangerous, as he scanned the room of startled patrons, seeking the one who dared to scare - or hurt - his daughter.

They would not be so pleased in a moment.

There was a tremendous crash, as two men stumbled to the floor, beaten down by a taller, white-garbed street fighter, his brown eyes twinkling playfully, fists outstretched. The men, shaking with outrage and pain, struggled to sit up, eyes glazed with alcohol. The thin, scruffy-looking man standing above them smirked, looking almost disappointed. "Man, not even close to a challenge. This oughta teach you to be more careful in a public restaurant. I'm sick of your argument; if you're going to talk about freedom and equality, then don't get violent when you're punished for hurting those smaller than you."

Kenshin sent a quick glance to the side, where Kaoru, Yahiko, and Tsubame stood, still in their small eating area, with Hikari, who watched her supposed rescuer with wide eyes. There were chunks of shattered glass at her feet, and his eyes narrowed sharply.

The offenders were soon tossed out of the restaurant by the street fighter, who brushed his hands together and turned back to the small girl nearby. "Oi, you all right? They didn't hit you, did they?"

    "Iie," Hikari flushed, almost embarrassed that she had allowed herself to be so startled. "It missed me, so I'm okay."

Kenshin approached, brushing a hand through her hair, subtly checking for stray shards of the sake jug the men had thrown across the restaurant. After earning a shrug and a quick, reassuring smile from her, he looked back to the man who had beaten off the drunks. "I thank you for your help. You are unhurt as well, I trust?"

The man waved him off, grinning easily. "Naw, they didn't even touch me. You ought to know that, eh? A samurai like you would be able to recognize a wound, just like you did-" He jerked a thumb towards Hikari, "With her."

Kenshin smiled slightly in return. "You're quick. That's a little surprising, nowadays."

The streetfighter just chuckled in response, his grin fading into a smirk as he turned away. "Just looking for a challenge. You happen to know anyone who might-?" He glanced curiously at the rurouni, who waved his hands against the silent offer.

    "I don't wish to fight, actually," he smiled disarmingly.

The streetfighter shrugged, heading back towards the door. "Your choice. Just letting you know that my offer stands. Later."

Watching the man's back as he disappeared into the streets, they were all surprised to see an odd black kanji sewn onto his shirt.

    "Aku?" Hikari murmured, puzzled.

Yahiko merely raised an eyebrow. "Didn't look so evil to me. Though why he'd go out of his way to help such a spoiled brat- itai!"

The younger girl glared back at him, removing her fist from his head. "Who's the brat? I see someone who gets an awful lot of things for free."

Kenshin smiled gently at their antics, but he couldn't help but glance back towards the door, where the street fighter had gone. There had been a bandanna trailing behind him, red in colour, well-worn and faded from its long use.

  'No way to be certain... but it's not a very common sight. That bandanna... it was part of the uniform that the Sekihoutai were known for, isn't it?'

  'So who then, is he? An old supporter, or a survivor? He doesn't look old enough to have really been part of it... most likely why he survived...'

  'Freedom and equality... something we can agree on, at least... however, I doubt he would-'

A sudden pull on his hair caught his attention, and he found himself staring back into Kaoru's narrowed eyes. "Ano... Kaoru-dono?"

    "Kenshin," she scolded, "As exciting as that was, Tae-san still has dishes for you, you know."

    "Aa..." Almost reluctantly, he left the group to return to the kitchen, and was finished his chore in time to return to the dojo with them before it grew too late.

~*~

    The grimy, musk-scented cell held a large man, slumped against the bench as if in defeat. His fingers, bandaged tightly, if a bit roughly, twitched in his lap, twisted and mangled beyond repair. Head limp, mind lost in thought, he failed to notice the discussion outside his cell until a familiar voice shouted his name through the bars on his right.

    "Gohei, get up this instant!"

Hiruma Gohei snapped back, his head swiveling to meet the dark, angry eyes on the other side of the bars. "A... aniki?"

The older man, in his mid sixties perhaps, scowled and folded his hands behind him. "Who do you think it is, you fool? Now tell me, how did you manage to get your sorry ass arrested? Weren't you supposed to be the great Battousai, undefeated and immortally free to kill as you please?"

Gohei lowered his head again, doting on his misery. "Not anymore. Battousai isn't a myth, aniki... he defeated me so easily, and look at my hands now! I'm disgusted."

His brother chuckled bitterly. "Well I certainly am, but you don't hear me whining, do you? You realize that if you had faced Battousai of the Revolution, you would be sitting on a pile of bones in hell, rather than whimpering about broken fingernails in a jail cell."

    "Kihei-" Gohei jumped up, glaring back, "I know it was him, it had to be!"

    "What," Kihei sneered, "You think that it takes a legendary assassin to defeat you? The only reason you went so long without being taken out before was because of that name alone. Don't think so highly of yourself. The Kamiya girl could probably have beaten you if she hadn't been so focused on her school's reputation."

    "What?!"

    "Don't sound so surprised, either," Kihei chided. He sent a surreptitious glance down the hall, then, with a snap of his wrist, tossed a thin shard of metal to his brother, who caught it with his uninjured hand, puzzled. "Tonight," he whispered, leaning in close, "When the moon appears in your window. Be ready."

    "Aniki-"

    "I'm tired of your excuses, you idiot!" Kihei suddenly snapped, eyes furious and his voice extremely loud. He turned away, chin jutted in a stubborn refusal of acknowledgment. "I will no longer tolerate your foolish actions. You're on your own this time, and I hope they execute you, for all the trouble you've caused! I'm not coming back here again!" With his final words echoing through the hallway, no doubt reaching the ears of the policemen waiting to escort him out, Kihei spun and left his brother behind.

Gohei watched him vanish from his sight, and couldn't hold back his sudden smirk as he tucked the needle-thin knife within his clothes. It would be enough.

~*~

    "Kenshin!"

Kenshin glanced back from preparing dinner, curious and concerned at the faint worry in Kaoru's voice. "What is it, Kaoru-dono?"

Kaoru's brow furrowed slightly, a deep frown on her face. "Well, I don't want you to worry too much - I'm not, really, I just thought you should know - but I just received word from Tae-san that some men came into the Akabeko yesterday... talking about a jailbreak. Apparently Hiruma Gohei escaped about a week ago."

Kenshin's fingers tightened around the carving knife he held over the food he had been chopping, a gesture that he kept carefully hidden from Kaoru's eyes. After thinking intently for a moment, he smiled vaguely, and turned back with a shrug. "I doubt you have anything to fear... he wouldn't return here, and he will not be able to tarnish your school's name now that the police are aware that he is a fake. I'm certain they will catch him quickly."

Kaoru was silent for a long moment, and finally, she sounded almost disappointed when she replied. "Well... all right... just keep in mind that he's out there, ne? And out for revenge, I'll bet."

Kenshin didn't respond, and listened for the shoji to slide behind her before resuming his chores, the knife making a deep, resounding -thwack- against the wood and unresisting vegetable. His eyes were constricted, a thoughtful frown on his face.

  'What did she expect me to do, start a city-wide hunt for the man? He's harmless now - I made sure of that, didn't I? - and I can't just leave here while the threat is still fresh in my mind. He wouldn't seek me out openly, he'd surely wait until I left to find him... he could return here, and there would be nothing to stop him from hurting them...'

  'No, it's better for us to stay close to the dojo... safer, that way...'

  'Safer, for her... isn't it...'

~*~

Author's Notes:

    These next few chapters, involving the battles in which Kenshin fights during his stay in Tokyo, have changed my candle imagery/symbolism to one more focused on stuff that burns, ^_^ Mainly, wood, trees, and characters represented by these trees. I have NO idea where this came from, but after it was all planned out, it looked so neatly done that I had to keep it that way.

    I chose an oak for Sanosuke, just because it's so tough. It can be beaten, cut down, stripped bare of all protection... but it'll still be there. Although sometimes a chunk of something useless, when used by a good leader, someone who knows what they're doing, it can be changed into something much more attractive. Still strong, though!

    As for Kaoru probably being able to defeat Gohei... it has to be true, just has to be. Someone who managed to defeat one of the Juppongatana wouldn't be so easily beaten. Although she most likely improved during Kenshin's stay at the dojo, it couldn't have been an extreme amount, because she never fought any one of Kenshin's enemies, and having two new students (or one, in the case of the series) wouldn't make her skill level skyrocket. You can't forget that she did have students before the false Battousai problem. Just as Kihei said, she most likely was distracted by the situation (Kaoru tends to get easily distracted... face it, it's true!) and despite the fact that she is skilled, she doesn't have the same focus and intensity as someone at Kenshin or Saitou's level. She's still improving though, and that shows... but it's nice to visualize her kicking Gohei's butt when she knows what he's really up to, ^_^

    The arrival of Kihei: This was another change I made in Part 4 that I wasn't sure of... I wanted Dr. Genzai to appear early in the story, along with Ayame and Suzume who never appeared in the manga, but I also wanted Kihei. Kaoru couldn't have two nice old men hanging around her dojo, so I decided to add Kihei in later, as a method of getting Gohei back into the picture. I'd love to know how anime-Gohei got out of jail to become a merchant, since this is never explained, but I'll settle for what was given in the manga.

    Omake Time! ^_^

    Random Omake: Hey Lady!

Tae *at the Akabeko; looking at Hikari*: Oh my, you're... um... why are you wearing that shinai?
Hikari *proudly*: I'm gonna be a swordsman - just like my tousan!
Tae *looking disapprovingly at Kenshin, eyeing his ragtag appearance*: Hm. I'm not certain if that's such a good idea.
Kenshin: Oro?
Tae *kneeling next to Hikari, fiddling with her hair*: I'm telling you, if you just fix yourself up... stand up straight, tiptoe a little... you could be a lovely lady someday.
Hikari *slow blink; a wide grin suddenly appears on her face*: Ooh, you really shouldn't have said that.
Tae: What?
Hikari *pulling out her shinai*: See, I've made a pact with my father... anybody who says something like that is supposed to be beaten senseless.
Tae *wide eyes*: What?!
Kenshin *nodding*: Aa, I'm afraid it's true.
Hikari: Yep! Just ask that priestess-lady. Tousan made her cry.
Tae *running away at a mad dash*: EEP! Psychos in my store!
*silence*
Kenshin: I suppose that lowers our chance at getting a free meal...
Hikari *snapping her fingers*: Nuts! I wanted some bubble tea!

 

Thanks for reading!
 ~ Akai Kitsune

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