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 2

by Akai Kitsune

~*~

    Late that night, during tea, many of his questions were answered by a shadowed presence standing outside the dojo gate. He knew exactly who it was, and at least in part why he was there.

  'Safer... I was a bit of a fool, wasn't I?'

  'I should have looked further into it...'

After Kaoru's warning of the escape of Hiruma Gohei, Kenshin had taken the afternoon - during an innocent excursion for tofu and fresh daikon - to seek out information on the convict. Eventually he managed to determine that the vengeful murderer had been searching the underworld for skilled fighters, in order to continue his quest of ridding Japan of the Kamiya dojo. As far as he could find out, no one with the proper level of fighting ability had been able to answer Gohei's call.

And then the name came up.

Zanza.

  'Fighter for hire, wielder of the strange blade of a similar name. A cool-headed warrior who bears the kanji for evil on his back.'

  'Rumoured survivor of the Sekihoutai.'

  '... and I should have known, shouldn't I?'

  'Why does it always end up like this?'

    "Kenshin, what's the matter?" Kaoru's voice called after him, tagging along at his heels. Hikari and Yahiko peered out at them from the kitchen, where they had been finishing up with the supper dishes. "Where are you going?"

    "There's someone here," he answered calmly, sliding the sakabatou through his hakama ties, as he opened the shoji to meet the man who waited for him.

    "Ah! Aren't you the one from the Akabeko, last week?" Kaoru blurted, astonished. Her eyes were drawn to the long, wrapped bundle that rested across the man's slim shoulders.

The street fighter's eyes flickered to her for a moment, then turned back to Kenshin. "I'm here for a fight... but by the looks of things, you already knew that."

    "Aa," Kenshin answered, ignoring the alarmed expressions of his friends and daughter. "Hired by Hiruma Gohei, were you not?"

The man chuckled, shrugging indifferently. "You're half right, anyway. Yeah, I was hired to fight you... Hitokiri Battousai."

Kenshin tensed, fists clenching tightly against his will. He closed his eyes for a long moment, then reopened them, refusing to turn back and meet his newest companion's face.

  'Damn. I was hoping...'

  '... but I should have known.'

  'Yahiko... what do you think of me now?'

~*~

    "... Hitokiri Battousai."

  'Never, ever in my wildest imagination.'

  'Is he really...?'

Following his initial shock of the street fighter's announcement, Yahiko's eyes traveled to Hikari, observing the girl's reaction. Her face had paled a little, a spark of angry defiance in her expression... but no denial. After a moment, she turned to him, a desperate plea for understanding in the depths of her violet eyes.

  '... holy shit.'

He looked back at the man standing before him, his back turned, body tense and alert. Yahiko watched Kenshin's posture with the eye of a kendo student-in-training, and slowly discovered that - despite what he knew - there was no fear in his mind.

  'Nothing's changed. He's still Kenshin...'

  '... not that I know him all that much already, but...'

  'He still saved me. He's the same person as before. What can a name change?'

He caught sight of Kaoru studying him carefully, trying to grasp his reaction. His eyes narrowed.

  'So, she knew as well? Everyone except for me... what were they afraid of?'

  '... is this why he wants me to learn the Kamiya Kasshin? Rather than the sword style of Battousai?'

  'Idiot. Stop worrying about that and concentrate on the fight.'

Calming himself, he pushed all thoughts from his mind and focused on the battle before him.

~*~

    "Kenshin!"

Kenshin didn't react as Yahiko called out his name, but he prepared himself for dozens of questions the boy might ask him.

  'Yes, it's true.'

  'Yes, I regret it.'

  'No, I wasn't going to tell you.'

  'Yes, you have a right to be angry.'

    "Are you planning on fighting him here, at the dojo? Because whatever he's got under that cloth there, it'd make a mess of the place."

Kenshin's eyes widened, and he turned to look back at the boy. "Yahiko?"

Yahiko met his gaze evenly, no fear or hesitation in his eyes. "Well?" he said after a long moment.

Kaoru nodded agreeably, frowning at the massive weapon that Kenshin's opponent held. "If you two destroy my dojo with that thing, I'll never forgive you."

Finding a smile suddenly appearing on his face, Kenshin faced the man before him, a single eyebrow raised. "Aa. It seems we've been instructed to go elsewhere. If I must fight, I will, but not here, and not until you've introduced yourself, and your purpose behind this battle."

The man grinned, shifting his position slightly to adjust the weight across his shoulders. "All right, I'll tell you, even though you probably know already. The name is Zanza, and I was hired by the Hiruma freak's ugly brother."

    "Who is standing behind the dojo fence," Kenshin finished, eyes narrowed as he tracked the set of ki, one familiar, and one not. "I think it would be best if the two of them either showed themselves or disappeared. I do not want them anywhere near this place."

Zanza chuckled, turning towards the fence. "You knew they were there? You are good, I'll give you that. But no matter what, I won't have them interrupting my fight. So you don't have to worry about your girl, there."

    "I'm not worried," Kenshin lied thickly, his eyes unchanging. He raised his voice. "I'll only say it once more. Get out."

The Hiruma brothers evidently did not wish to be told a third time. Kenshin waited until their ki had faded in the distance, then turned his attention back to the man before him. "The riverside would perhaps be a more suitable place to fight, if we must."

Zanza shrugged uncaringly. "Whatever you choose; I really don't care either way."

  'He's confident,' Kenshin observed, as the taller man led them down the streets of Tokyo towards the river. 'And his weapon... I've never seen one of that size. It seems as if it would be awkward to wield, yet he's showing no sign of weakness from either weight or size...'

  'I'm going to have to be careful with this man.'

His eyes were drawn to Yahiko, as the boy trudged along beside him. Sending a quick, nervous glance to Kaoru and his daughter, he called out to the newest dojo tenant. "Yahiko."

    "Yeah?" Yahiko's reply was short and abrupt, and Kenshin hesitated again.

  '... yes, you have a right to be angry... but...' "Are you angry with me... for not telling you?"

Yahiko frowned tightly, his fingers curving around the shinai at his back. "Sort of," he finally admitted. "I guess I understand why. It's still disappointing... that I was the only one who didn't know."

    "There was no reason to tell you," Kenshin murmured, wishing he knew the boy better, so that the confusion and unease would disappear, or at least be abated a little.

    "I think something like that would be kind of important," Yahiko grumbled, arms crossed.

Kenshin stopped suddenly, and Yahiko kept walking for a moment before turning and looking up at the former hitokiri questioningly.

    "Do you think," Kenshin asked softly, his eyes cool and calm, "That your past experience as a yakuza pickpocket has any merit or effect on how I view you, as a person?"

Yahiko squirmed under his gaze, avoiding his eyes uncomfortably. "Guess not," he finally grunted, raising his face to meet Kenshin's. His eyes were filled with a new understanding, and Kenshin, seeing something he suddenly approved of, gave him a brief nod, and continued down the path. Yahiko stared after him in confusion, then followed closely behind.

Kaoru touched Hikari's arm lightly, catching her attention. "What was that?" she whispered.

Hikari shrugged, and small smile on her face. "I'm not sure... but I think that Yahiko-kun just got his most important lesson so far."

Her sensei could think of nothing to say in response, and merely shared the small triumph, hoping that it would not be tarnished by the results of the coming battle.

~*~

    Part way through the fight between Zanza and the former Hitokiri Battousai, all observers of the fight were aware of how it would result. The difference in skill was clear - should have been clear even beforehand, had they seen his prowess during the Bakumatsu - but the street fighter was exceptionally strong, and every bit as tenacious as his opponent.

It certainly did not help that his sword was at least eight feet long - not counting the pole that served as the hilt - and he wielded it as easily as a shinai.

As they fought, Zanza swinging the monstrous zanbatou, as he called it, madly through the air, the wind hissing in its wake, and Kenshin dodged each strike carefully but easily, Hikari couldn't help but feel the small, growing knot of fear in her throat. She had seen her father face dozens of warriors on the road, had seen him strike down men with ease and with great effort, but she had never watched him try to combat such a large weapon.

'It's bigger than he is... how can he fight back, if...'

Kenshin sprang effortlessly through the air, avoiding the zanbatou as it came crashing to the ground again. The sakaba remained sheathed at his side, his left hand against the tsuba, prepared to flick it open when it was required of him. His eyes were narrowed, calculating each strike as it came towards him, observing the flex of Zanza's muscles, the slow heave of his breath, the mass amounts of strength still left in his reserve.

  'Too much. He has too much strength. I can't defeat him like this.'

  'Speed, and vital points. It worked with Hiko...'

  '... well, sometimes.'

  'Focus. Find a weak point. Watch for an opening. Horizontal strike, vertical... shouldn't be difficult...'

He waited, as the sword came down again, and the sakabatou was released from its sheath, slamming into Zanza's wide-open back, pushing him forward several steps. Kenshin jogged away, wary and prepared, when his adversary twisted his body around, swinging the massive sword towards him. He ignored the surprise of his friends as the fighter in front of him brushed aside the blows he had taken with a shrug and a smirk, instead concentrating on keeping the battle away from them, and, of course, keeping that sword away from him.

  'I can't imagine what a blow like that would-'

His brief thought was cut off suddenly, as a single, surprising act from Zanza managed to catch him off guard.

In the middle of his swing, Zanza released the hilt of the zanbatou and let it fly free towards Kenshin's head.

    "Kuso!" Kenshin hissed through his teeth, pivoting his heel and just barely avoiding the sword as it rocketed past him. He watched, eyes narrowing as he watched it sail through the air and crash against the river bank, spinning once before its movement was halted.

  'What in the-?'

    "Tousan!"

Hikari's warning shout brought his full attention back to the battle, but it was a moment too late. Zanza charged towards him, slamming quick, powerful punches into his stomach and chest. Kenshin coughed roughly, trying to recover his lost air, and ducked down, kicking out his foot and knocking Zanza to the ground. He then stepped back, brushing one hand against his lower lip, tasting the sharp, metallic tang of blood on his tongue.

    "That was clever," he murmured, as Zanza picked himself up off the ground and grinned back at him.

    "You're too fast," he shrugged without care. "I needed to surprise you. Did you find it unfair?"

Kenshin shook his head, the pain receding to a more tolerable level. He straightened, as Zanza recovered his sword and moved back to the battlefield. "I should have been more careful. It was reckless of me."

Zanza raised the zanbatou to his shoulder again, preparing for another charge. "And it won't happen again, right?" Kenshin nodded again. "Good."

The fight continued, much as it had before, with neither side truly gaining an upper hand. Zanza attacked, while Kenshin bided his time, evading each of the powerful swings the other man sent towards him, far more attentive to the street fighter's tactics. He wasn't about to repeat his earlier blunder, especially when it could result in a very easy death.

Between thrusts, he took time to consider Zanza's motives. Certainly the money was incentive, but he had never had a price on his head before, unless it was the private endeavour or some vengeful businessman...

  'Enough. That's not something I should be thinking of - and certainly not now.'

He dodged another of Zanza's attacks, twisting his left foot to get around the younger man as he swung his sword again, striking his side and sending him flying.

  'This man is uncanny,' he couldn't help but admire Zanza's determination, as the hired fighter stood up once again, leaning for a moment on the hilt of his sword and favouring his injured side. 'I've never seen anyone take so many blows and still fight with such skill...'

The reasons for fighting still eluded him, and he clenched the reverse-blade tightly, resolved.

  'We're wasting time. If he's from the Sekihoutai, then he has a reason to want vengeance - but why wait to be hired? From what I've heard, he'll fight just for the sake of fighting alone...'

  '... Zanza, you are not my enemy, here...'

  'Battoujutsu. Would he be able to withstand it? I can't keep this up. Both of us are tired, and it's obvious. I haven't fought like this in years.'

  '... I sound old.'

He turned and moved away, sheathing his sword and ignoring any protests of the onlookers. 'Concentrate. The battle is before you. Anything else is secondary.'

He sent a quick, apologetic glance to Hikari with that thought, earning him a puzzled glance. When he reached a sufficient distance, he whirled around to face his opponent.

Zanza waited. "You were starting to make me wonder," he called, a weary smirk flitting across his expression. "Are you taking a break?"

Kenshin shook his head. "I have one question to ask, before we end this."

    "Shoot. The air's free."

    "I know that you were hired by the Hiruma brothers, and that you are paid according to how interesting you find the battles," Kenshin answered, his eyes narrowed. "But I want to know... are you fighting because of your past connection to the Sekihoutai?"

Zanza's face paled, and he froze on the spot.

Kenshin continued, ignoring the man's reaction. "Is this battle simply a form of revenge against the acts of the Ishin Shishi?"

    "Tousan," Hikari called, "What are you talking about?"

He held up his free hand, a brief request for silence, and turned his attention back to his opponent.

Quickly breaking out of his astonished trance, Zanza gave his answer, as his face suddenly began to burn with anger.

    "You..." he hissed through his teeth, his eyes blazing with rage. "... You have no right to call anything for the Sekihoutai simple!"

    "I see," Kenshin murmured, too quietly to be heard by Zanza as he charged forward, sword cutting through the air towards him. The rurouni's head raised, slowly, to meet the attack.

A flash of crimson hair and a glimmer of remorse in dark, violet eyes were the last things he saw before Zanza was sent, quite uncomfortably, from the conscious world.

~*~

Author's Notes:

    Sanosuke is... hard to write. It took forever to write this part! Normally it is NOT supposed to take someone a month to write five pages (especially at the rate I've been going at so far...), but there were so many things I did and didn't want to do in this section of the story. Due to that, I had trouble figuring out how to write any of it without having to go back and redo it just for one tiny little change in plot line. Terribly frustrating...

    Was the fight scene bad? I really have a hard time with these... and I was trying to make it original, while keeping the same sort of theme... well, there's not much I can do now, I suppose... ^_^;;

    The zanbatou escaping the fight unscathed was the idea of my beta-reader, Lee-san. I thought it was a great suggestion, and I'm curious to see what changes to the story that will bring... and yes, not even I know. I sure hope it won't be something I'll regret...

    The disappearance of the Hiruma brothers: I changed this because, frankly, I didn't want them to interrupt the fight. That really annoyed me, in both the manga and the anime, so I changed it here. I'm sure nobody missed their presence, ^_^

    Omake Time!

    Random Omake: For The Trigun Fans...

Kenshin *miserable, huddled over a half-empty sake bottle*: Everybody thinks they can just use my name whenever they want.
Vash *dragging himself into the scene, only slightly drunk*: Don't I know it. Anywhere I go, it's always "Vash the Stampede did this!" "Vash the Stampede did that!" Even if I'd never even been there before!
Kenshin *nodding sympathetically*: And no one ever believes that I could possibly be who I am...
Vash *grinning half-heartedly*: Oh yeah. They visualize me as a huge...
Kenshin: ... burly...
Vash: ... violent...
Kenshin: ... bloodthirsty...
Together *suddenly vehement*: ... cold-blooded heartless bastard! *breathing hard*
*long pause*
Vash *taking a swig of the sake*: Yeah, life sucks, doesn't it.
Kenshin *snatching the bottle back*: Aa, that it does... you spend half your life trying to make the world happy, and when you finally figure out HOW, everybody hates you and wants you dead...
Vash: And you've got a huge price on your head...
Kenshin *swirling the sake around*: Yeah... I never should have been the Battousai. Life as a slave was SO much more simple...
Vash *wide eyes*: Waitaminute, YOU'RE Battousai? As in Hitokiri Battousai?! AAH! Save me, save me! *runs away*
*Kenshin is silent for a long moment, still swirling the sake. Finally...*
Kenshin: Yep, a whoooooole lot simpler. Of course, *dreamy eyes* I DID meet Tomoe... mm, that was the good life...

 

Thanks for reading!
 ~ Akai Kitsune

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