Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Shards of Me ❯ First Interlude: Glimmerings of Honor ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki. The main plotline of this story is completely fictional. Situations should in no way be considered truthful or based on real events. Political opinions expressed in the story are mine. If you do not agree with said opinions, do not flame me for them. Do not stoop so low as to berate me for what I hold to be truthful. Some smaller side stories may be based on factual events. I will alert you if they are.

 

Shards of Me

 

First Interlude: Glimmerings of Honor

 

Kaoru was thrilled, ecstatic, jubilant, elated, and every other adjective for excited she could think of. Her body fairly vibrated with her joyous energy. After years of needling and arguing and crying, she'd finally convinced her father to allow her to continue her kendo training at a professional dojo. He'd been so reluctant to let her go beyond what he'd been willing to teach her, but her desire and passion were evident and he wouldn't deny her anything she truly loved.

 

Stopping the car outside of the dojo he'd chosen, he let her out and waited for her to come around to the driver's side. “Listen well to your sensei. He's a good friend of mine from way back. Don't pick any fights, but don't let anyone bring you down either. If someone tries to hurt you, defend yourself. Have pride and work hard. Make me proud to have taught you.”

 

Kaoru nodded sagely, her eyes suddenly very old in her ten-year old face. “Thank you, papa. For everything.”

 

He smiled gently and ruffled her hair before sending her off to her first class. He watched until she disappeared inside before slowly driving away and resolutely ignoring the wetness at the corner of his eye.

 

Inside, Kaoru stared with open wonder at the dojo. She'd never been in a place with traditional Japanese architecture before and everything fascinated her. Quietly, she made her way down the hallway, dropping her shoes off in the large set of compartments already filled with several other pairs of sneakers. Far away, she could hear the sound of people shouting with effort. She followed their voices and came to the main dojo, its polished wooden floors gleaming brightly under florescent lights.

 

The room was filled with boys of varying heights and ages, all of them wielding shinai with several levels of expertise represented throughout the room. In the front of the classroom, a giant of a man presided over the boys. His obsidian eyes were sharp and caught every movement, every mistake. He barked orders left and right, correcting footing and grip with ease. Those dark eyes alighted on her and instantly he called a halt.

 

“Are you Kaoru Kamiya?” he asked, stepping through the ranks of boys to reach her. Suddenly shy under the gaze of every person in the room, she could only nod. All of these boys looked so much older than her.

 

“Boys, continue with warm-ups. Okita, you lead.”

 

The big man turned to her and put a massive hand against her back, gently guiding her through the dojo. “My name is Seijiro Hiko. I'm glad to have you, Kaoru. First girl brave enough to come her for lessons. This will be where you come first thing every day you're here.” He pointed into a small room with a tiny pallet and chest. You'll keep your shinai in here as well as your practice gi and hakama. Both are already in there for you, in the chest. I'll wait for you out here while you change. You know how to wear gi and hakama?”

 

She nodded again, shocked that this big seemingly rough man was being so nice. She had a feeling that would change once she got out on the practice floor, but for now, it was nice. Her father had warned her before coming her that Hiko-sensei was a hard man and would challenge her, but he knew she could take it.

 

Kaoru quickly changed into the practice clothing and grabbed the shinai, testing its weight and balance in her palm. She decided it was well suited to her small, slender frame and though the balance was just a touch off, it would be fine for now. Quietly, she emerged into the hallway and bowed to Hiko-sensei. He gave her a little half smile before turning and leading her back down the hallway to the practice room.

 

“Kaoru, if it's alright with you, I'd like to see what level you're at. Once we get in the practice room, I'd like you to do a kata you're comfortable with for me. From there, I'll have you spar with someone I think will be on your level and see how you do. She nodded, gulping a little.

 

The boys were still warming up and none turned their heads to see Hiko-sensei reenter the room with the tiny girl trailing behind him. Quietly he sat against the wall and nodded to her. Kaoru took a deep breath, choosing a kata her father had taught her a month ago. Carefully, she stepped into stance, wiping her mind of all distractions. The room faded into the background until it was only the shinai and her. She stepped forward.

 

Hiko watched with appraising eyes as the girl took the first step of her exercise. He raised an eyebrow as she ducked into a series of whirls befitting of someone who'd been studying for at least five years. He'd have to talk to her father later. Koshijirou Kamiya had led him to believe his daughter was but a beginner. This girl was anything but. As her sword arced low in a sweep he admired her controlled form. Her swings were a little wider than he would have preferred, but her small frame almost made them necessary. She was also too tense, but that could be amended with time as she became more comfortable in the dojo. Briefly he wondered if she'd ever really sparred with someone. He supposed he would see soon enough. She finished the kata with a sword pass behind her back that transferred her weight to her right side for a finishing thrust that reminded him of the famed gatotsu. She held perfectly still for a moment, one tiny hand locked on the hilt of her shinai and the other poised over it in a kempo position as she panted. Then she slowly drew herself up and bowed.

 

Hiko nodded once and noted that the boys had finished warm-ups and were now watching the girl, some warily, some amusedly, and some with downright disdain. Briefly he wondered how much strife her coming here would bring, but decided that it was for the best. Some of his students had ego problems and he thought the girl would be just what the doctor ordered to humble them a bit.

 

Considering for a moment, he crooked a finger at one of his older students, a fifteen-year old if he remembered correctly. “Gohei, if you would be so kind.” The older boy stared incredulously for a moment before stepping forward. “You will be sparring with Kaoru. Three point match. All swords styles permitted. Absolutely no kempo and no below the belt. Do you understand Kaoru?”

 

The girl nodded, staring up at the teenager who was nearly three feet taller than her own slight frame. He gave her a wicked grin that revealed a disturbing amount of teeth. “Take up positions,” Hiko commanded as his other students stepped back to give the pair room. “Hajime,” he stated, watching sharply as Gohei immediately charged the girl.

 

Kaoru fell into the mindset of battle all too easily. She'd sparred before. Another boy in her neighborhood practiced kendo and was always up to a match. He did not have this boy's height or weight though. Strength was clearly not here ally her so she would have to use speed instead.

 

She sidestepped Gohei's charge and let him pass her like a great bull at a bullfight. He turned as he passed to strike her but was far too slow as his momentum carried him further away. She parried his sloppy blow and fell into a counter, rapping him smartly on one shoulder as she leapt away.

 

“Point Kaoru,” Hiko stated, unable to keep a tiny smirk from his lips. Gohei was one of the arrogant pupils he'd had in mind when he first saw this girl move. Gohei was strong, but lacked any discipline in his form. He beat his opponents only because the blows he did land were often too painful for the competitor to continue.

 

Gohei turned and faced Kaoru again, rage gleaming in his beady eyes. “Hajime.” Again Gohei was the first to attack, the fool. He'd learned from his earlier charge though. Rather than rushing the girl, he approached slowly, feinting once she was in range. She fell for only one feint but it was one too many. Gohei went for her opening and she immediately tucked into a roll, slipping right between Gohei's legs. The teen turned with a roar, shinai descending to where the girl would be vulnerable as she unrolled, but she was not there. Halfway through her roll, as her back came in contact with the floor, she pushed off with one arm to spring to the side. As Gohei attacked the spot he thought she would be, his side was left completely open. She scrambled to her feet and landed another hit on Gohei's arm just as his shinai struck the floor.

 

“Point Kaoru,” Hiko said, laughter evident under his voice. Gohei did not even wait for his next command to begin, instead rushing Kaoru as she moved back to her fighting position. She heard his heavy footfalls on the floor behind her and turned to raise her shinai just in time to block his vicious thrust. He came up beneath her counter and went for her ribs. Kaoru's counter carried her away from his blow but just barely. She spun away from him, shinai raised and eyes wary.

 

Gohei roared and rushed her, intent on striking her either with the shinai or his massive body. Kaoru saw that she would not be able to block or dodge. He was too close, moving too quickly. All that was left was to attack. With a small cry of her own, Kaoru stepped into a quick samurai run, her shinai held out to her side and free arm in front of her. She had not mastered this particular move yet and knew it was a risk, but it took her low enough to come up under his attack. `Almost, almost…almost,' she thought to herself as they approached each other on a collision course. With a final cry, Gohei brought his shinai down, but she was so low to the ground it took up an extra second to reach her. The extra second was all she needed. Leaping under his defense she struck twice and rapidly: one to his knuckles to stop the shinai and one to his collarbone to bring him down. Her small body didn't have much force behind it, but her shots went to two sensitive points. Gohei cried out and fell to his knees as Kaoru rolled out of the way.

 

She popped up, prepared to defend herself from another unexpected attack, but there was no need. Hiko already stood in front of her, a bokken outstretched to Gohei's neck. “How dare you be so dishonorable in this dojo?” he asked in a tightly controlled voice. “You will haul the water today and every day for the next two weeks. In addition, all cleaning duties are exclusively yours. You are lucky I do not expel you. Leave this lesson and return only when you've brought enough water for everyone and enough to scrub the floors.”

 

Gohei glared up with hateful eyes, but finally bowed his head under Hiko's implacable will. He rose and left the room, only shooting a deadly glare at Kaoru as he slid the door shut behind him. Hiko watched him go before turning to Kaoru. “Very well done, Kaoru. I'm quite impressed. Your father did not do justice to your skills. You will be joining the sixth year students. Okita is one of them.” The boy who had run the warm-ups smiled at her, waving jovially. Quietly, she walked to the boy and looked up at him. His smile remained genuine as he guided her to a spot.

 

Hiko returned to the front of the room and began the lesson, splitting the students up by year and explaining exactly what he wanted from each group of them. As the sixth year students waited their turn, Kaoru studied her year mates. There was Okita of course, as well as a glowering boy with long black hair. The boy was handsome in a cold way and he looked to be about thirteen or fourteen. Sitting next to the boy was another kid with bright blonde hair that stood up so straight she wondered if he'd stuck his finger in a light socket as a child. A ways away from the blonde boy was a kid just a little older than her with shock white hair. He looked at her with strange red eyes that were slightly guarded. After a moment of looking her over, he smiled and gave her a peace sign before walking over.

 

“Hey. Name's Enishi Yukishiro. Way to beat the shit out of Gohei. I don't think I've ever seen him so pissed off.”

 

Kaoru's eyes widened at the boy's foul language, but she brushed it off and murmured, "Thank you.”

 

“Not a problem. It's about time someone put that ass in his place.”

 

She nodded and studied the ground before looking up to search the group again. There was only one other boy in the group and he was studying her unabashedly. His hair was luxuriously red and hung in a high ponytail down his back. His eyes were the most unusual shade of amethyst and they were sharp and appraising, though they seemed warm. He looked like he might be around her age. When he caught her gaze, he smiled slightly, just the barest tilt of the corners of his mouth. She almost went over to talk to him, but was stopped when Hiko came to their group to explain the lesson for the day.

 

The two-hour practice passed in a blur and by the end Kaoru was exhausted but happy. Practice had never been like this with her father. He was always cautious and gentle with her. Hiko was the exact opposite. She learned that his tongue was as sharp as any sword and he was not afraid to turn it on any of his students. Grinning, she went to the small room where she'd first changed, loving the feel of sweat trickling between her shoulder blades.

 

Just as she reached the room, she heard the shuffle of feet behind her. Before she could even turn, she was slammed against the wall hard enough to make her vision flash for a moment. Hands roughly turned her and slammed her back again. Unthinking, she raised her shinai to try and knock her enemy back, but the bamboo weapon was knocked from her hand as though it was no more than a matchstick.

 

“Stupid little bitch,” a voiced hissed at her. She vaguely recognized it as Gohei's before a fist struck her squarely across the cheekbone. “How dare you make me look like an idiot in front of Sensei? How did a little pipsqueak like you even get into such an exclusive dojo? You don't belong here.” Another punch landed in her gut, knocking her wind from her. The hand pinning her to the wall released her and she fell to the floor in a heap.

 

Slowly, she looked up to see Gohei looming overhead with a shinai against his shoulder. A few other boys were with him, each of them holding a shinai and wearing a similar version of Gohei's twisted grin. “Let's teach you what a mistake it was for you to come here,” he told her, raising the shinai to strike her collarbone.

 

“That will be enough,” said a cool voice from the end of the hallway. Gohei turned his attention to the newcomer as he pressed his foot onto Kaoru's shoulder, keeping her from escaping. She managed to raise her head to see who had attempted to rescue her.

 

At the end of the hall, the redheaded boy stood. His eyes were cold and narrow as he gazed at Gohei, his hand resting on the hilt of the shinai thrust through his hakama tie.

 

“And what's it to you Himura?”

 

“She beat you quite fairly, even though you cheated. I'd say that's enough to make it something to me.”

 

Gohei grinned and ground his foot into Kaoru's chest, making her gasp out in pain before biting her lip. “And what do you plan to do about it?”

 

“You know it's not wise to challenge me, Gohei. Let her go and I won't hurt you.”

 

“Don't make me laugh, Himura. You're good, but it's five against one. You don't have a chance.”

 

“This is your last warning,” the redhead said calmly, crouching into a stance Kaoru had never seen before as he tightened his grip on his shinai.

 

In answer, Gohei pulled back and aimed a kick at Kaoru's ribs. He never got to kick her. Kenshin moved in a blur, disappearing from her sight before she even knew what was happening. Gohei was sent flying against a wall as two of the other boys fell to their knees moaning. The last two boys tried to raise their shinai to fight but their attempt was pathetic. In a mere three seconds they lay on the ground, moaning. Gohei was climbing back to his feet, eyes narrowed in rage. At long last, the redhead boy appeared again, untouched and not even winded from his efforts. “Don't do it, Gohei,” he warned, shinai ready to attack. The other boy did not pay heed.

 

With a roar, he charged. Kaoru couldn't help but think, Idiot, as he bore down on an opponent who was quite obviously too fast for him. Kenshin disappeared in the blink of an eye. She looked for him but could not see where he'd gone. Unexpectedly, he dropped from the ceiling, his shinai bearing down with all his weight behind it. Gohei never saw the attack coming. The older boy dropped to the floor completely unconscious as the redheaded boy neatly flipped to the side and landed on his feet.

 

Kaoru stared at him with mouth wide open, disbelieving. Was this kid even human? He turned to her, smiling gently as the last vestiges of battle left his eyes. He crossed to her as she remained where she was, sprawled on the floor and slack jawed. Offering a hand, he said, “My name is Kenshin Himura. Are you alright?”

 

Unable to speak, she took his hand and allowed him to haul her to her feet. He lifted her as though she weighed nothing. “Miss…Kaoru was it? Are you alright?”

 

She moved her mouth to say something, anything, but no sound came out. “Maybe I'd better take you to go see Hiko-shishou.”

 

She allowed him to lead her by the hand through the dojo as she tried to make her vocal chords work again. Finally, words came. “How did you do that?”

 

He turned back to look at her, crimson brushing across his cheeks and nose. “It was nothing,” he murmured. She yanked out of his grip and said, “Nothing? If you call that nothing, I'd like to see what you call something.”

 

He grinned sheepishly as his blush spread further. Abruptly, Kaoru shut her mouth. It occurred to her that she was being rather rude.

 

“You said your name was Kenshin, right?” He nodded, glancing down the hall to where some of the boys who'd ganged up on her were starting to rise.

 

“You were right. My name is Kaoru. Kaoru Kamiya. Thank you very much for helping me. I owe you.”

 

“Not at all,” he murmured, taking her hand again and dragging her away before she could notice the stirring boys. They continued on down the hallway silently and he led her to a door, which he slid open and motioned for her to enter. Inside, she found they were in a kitchen. Not only that, but Hiko-sensei was moving swiftly around the kitchen as he fixed a meal.

 

“There you are, Kenshin. What took you…” He paused, still facing the stove and said, “Who have you brought with you?”

 

“The new student, Kaoru Kamiya, Shishou. I found Gohei and a few others about to beat her up, so I helped her.”

 

Hiko nodded and turned to face the two children. He eyed Kaoru for a moment and said, “You're going to have quite a shiner, young lady. Let's get some ice on it.”

 

Kenshin led her to the table and urged her to sit as Hiko fished out an ice pack and wrapped it in a towel. She took it with a murmured thank you and held it over her throbbing cheek. “Report,” Hiko ordered sharply at Kenshin.

 

The redhead immediately stood up straighter and said, “Gohei and four others had cornered her against a wall. He was about to strike her with a shinai when I arrived. I asked them to back down and they did not, so I defended her.”

 

“How are they?”

 

“Gohei was unconscious, and the others will have bruises, but that should be it.”

 

“Very good, Kenshin. Keep our young guest company while I go speak with young Gohei. You,” he said addressing Kaoru, “may feel free to eat supper with us. I'll call your father and let him know.”

 

“Thank you, sensei,” she said, dipping her head slightly. Hiko set down a pan of noodles and stir-fry on the table and then stormed out into the dojo proper. Kenshin retrieved three plates and silverware and presented her with one set.

 

“Are you sensei's son?” she asked quietly as he dished some food onto her plate. He looked up, startled, and then smiled.

 

“Not by blood, no. My parents died in the Peace Corps when I was still younger. They were caught in an epidemic. Hiko-shishou is my uncle, and he took me in.”

 

She nodded and chose not to ask another question for a while. When she felt an adequate amount of time had passed she asked her next question. “How old are you?”

 

He glanced up. “Thirteen.”

 

“What?”

 

Her exclamation was enough to make him pause in taking his next bite.

 

“You are so not thirteen. You're almost as short as I am.”

 

“I can't help my height,” he told her, shrugging helplessly.

 

“Hmph,” she grunted, contemplating her stir-fry as she took sneaking glances at him.

 

“That guy in our year group,” she said after a moment, “the one with the broom hair…”

 

She didn't get to finish her sentence as Kenshin laughed and a slight spray of partially chewed food traveled across the table. “Ewww,” she said, backing away slightly.

 

“Sorry,” he gasped after a moment, trying to recover both from laughter and some food going down the wrong pipe. “I've just never thought about him that way. It does look like a broom doesn't it?” He smiled at her then, a smile she hadn't seen on his face yet. It was small, but showed the white glint of his teeth and lit up his whole face. It made his eyes sparkle like the gemstones they were colored after. She immediately decided that she loved his smile.

 

A/N: Expect these interludes every three chapters or so. I've decided to include them so that everyone can know the back story I have in my head of how the Kenshin-gumi came together to be the group they are in the main plotline. I know that yet again the chapter is shorter than my usual standards and I really am trying, but seemingly to no avail. I'm trying to make them flow naturally and the natural flow is to end them at the points I've been ending them at. As a heads-up note, as I'm not sure when I'll start creeping to adult content lines, this story will be posted both on fanfiction.net and mediaminer.org. A big thanks to everyone who's been reviewing. I'm truly stunned with the depth and thought people are putting into them. Thank you so much everyone, and continuation of such wonderful reviews would be greatly appreciated.

 

“Hate War, Love the…Warrior.” -Lt. Gen. Harold Moore