Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Alchemy of Gold and Silver ❯ Departed ( Chapter 4 )

A/N: This is the last time I will say this, for surely you all know it by now: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of the characters therein. This fiction is just that, and it is certainly not for profit. If by some bizarre circumstance, you are being charged to read this, you have been duped, scammed, robbed, and had the wool pulled over your eyes.

 

 

Chapter 4: Departed

 

And the battle's just begun,

There's many lost, but tell me who has won?

The trench is dug within our hearts,

And mothers, children, brothers, sisters,

Torn apart

-U2, Sunday, Bloody Sunday

 

**********

 

Hiko towered over his uninvited visitors, but the children did not cower in fear or flinch away from him. The older one, the boy, stared back at him warily like some kind of caged animal, and Hiko caught his eyes flicking around the area, probably looking for escape routes. The world has trained this boy, not a dojo, he thought.

 

The girl was a study in contradictions. She looked at him with the largest, bluest eyes he had ever seen, and yet that was where the world “childish” ceased to describe her. She carried a sword at her back, and a well-made one, too, unless he missed his guess. It was juxtaposed almost comically with her worn though nearly sickeningly feminine kimono, and though she stood straight and with the easy grace of a trained fighter, there was poorly-masked hesitation about her ki.

 

Hiko had seen a lot of strange things in his life, but this pair was definitely competing for top act.

 

“What are you doing here?” he repeated with no small amount of force. The last thing he needed right now was to deal with people. He disliked strangers generally, and he wasn't feeling particularly generous given that his last human interaction had been with that idiot.

 

“Are you Hiko Seijiro-sama?” the girl asked evenly for the second time.

 

Hiko sighed. It appeared he wasn't going to get his answer before she got hers. “Yes. Now, what do you want?” he snapped impatiently.

 

The brusque answer seemed to produce some relief in the two, which was strange enough. Even more oddly, though, the girl seemed put-off by his rather simple question, and fumbled for her answer as though she hadn't really thought about it.

 

“My… my father told me to come here.”

 

At this, Hiko took a closer look. She did not flinch at his scrutiny, but rather gathered herself up to her full height (which wasn't terribly impressive) and refused to look away. Hn… the eyes are different, but… there's no mistaking it.

 

“Let me see your sword,” he said after a pause.

 

She hesitated briefly, then took the sheath from her back and drew the blade. Rather than handing it to him, though, she held it sideways so that he might examine it.

 

Hiko fought back the smile that was threatening. She's canny, this one. Nevertheless, he was troubled. The sword confirmed what he had initially thought, and a frown creased his face. If she was here, Koshijiro no longer walked this earth.

 

Hiko felt a weight settle over his shoulders, and he gestured at the girl to sheath the weapon. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and had to stop himself from sighing heavily. So, the bastards got him after all.

 

Neither of the children interrupted his thoughts, perhaps realizing that their arrival had given him unpleasant things to think about. The boy wandered off a short distance, but he was careful to keep a watch on the girl even as he surveyed what had initially looked like little more than a clearing in the forest, but was actually quite the expansive area, large enough to accommodate Hiko's two-bedroom house and a practice field.

 

Koshijiro's daughter, for her part, stood still and appeared to be waiting expectantly for confirmation that he knew what to do. The trouble, Hiko thought, is that I have no idea. While he intended to keep his word to Koshijiro and act as the girl's godfather, he wasn't sure he was fully prepared for what that meant. A student was one thing, but a godchild… does it really have to be that different? Perhaps… I need to make sure of some things first.

 

He straightened abruptly, causing the girl to startle and look at him with a slight furrow to her brows and confusion written on her soft, youthful face. The same motion brought the boy back to her side, instantly alert should the situation turn hostile. Hiko almost laughed, but decided that such a thing would not do given the image he was projecting here.

 

“Did your father give you that, or did you steal it?” he inquired pointedly, trying to get a rise out of her.

 

It seemed to have worked, as her eyes narrowed and her mouth pursed before she answered. “Of course he gave it to me,” she stated primly, clearly taking offense at the implication that she was a thief.

 

“And do you know how to use it?” Hiko had a feeling he knew the answer, but something was bothering him. Koshijiro probably wouldn't have taught his child how to fight using a sword as fine as this one.

 

The girl seemed to hesitate, “A little,” she hedged, “we practiced only with bokken. This… he told me where to find it when he…”

 

Hiko nodded, cutting her off. The last thing he needed was a teary twelve-year-old. To his surprise, though, she merely stopped talking and blinked a few times. When she looked back at him, her eyes were clear.

 

Hiko knew what he had to do at this point. The problem was, the rational side of him continued to protest. He had no idea if the girl was skilled at all, or if she was a coward or bent on revenge or something likewise unsavory.

 

“Hey mister,” the boy put in, “she's serious about it. You'll see.” The disheveled youth appeared to be staring through him, and Hiko recognized that the kid was reading his ki, if amateurishly. These two are just full of surprises, aren't they? He asked the question to himself sarcastically, but it was quite true. He decided to take the boy's word for it, at least for now.

 

“Fine, you can stay the night. I'll decide what to do with you in the morning.” The two exchanged relieved smiles, and some of the tension in the air seemed to dissolve as they headed towards his home. “You, girl,” he called after her.

 

She stopped, and turned to face him. “Kaoru,” she said.

 

“What?”

 

“My name is Kamiya Kaoru, and he's Sagara Sanosuke,” her tone held no note of apology; apparently, she was bolder than he had initially estimated. Good. I have no desire to teach a mouse.

 

“Fine, Kaoru-kun, whatever. Tell me something: what is a sword for?” Hiko phrased the question carefully; it was of the utmost importance. Never again would he teach someone who would take his lessons and slaughter with them.

 

Her expression softened, and he was surprised to see a small smile bloom on her face even as her eyes took on a slightly faraway cast.

 

“A sword is to protect people,” she replied softly, but firmly. “To help those who can't help themselves.”

 

“Your father teach you that, too?” he asked, perhaps more sharply than he had intended. He wasn't without sympathy, and she was probably still grieving.

 

She seemed to return to the present, and her mouth took on a stubborn set when she spoke. “Yes, he did, and he was right. I promised him that I would never forget it.”

 

Hiko allowed himself a smirk then. Inwardly, the answer pleased him. He personally could never believe such a thing, but had come to understand that those who could were important, more important that people with nothing but a strong sword arm like himself.

 

“If you ever stop believing that, I'll stop teaching you,” he said simply, and swept past her to the doors of his house, not without catching the spark that lit in her eyes as she understood the implications of the statement. “I'm short an apprentice anyway,” he muttered darkly.

 

In the few moments before she entered the building behind him, he caught the boy's attention, “Am I teaching you, too, then?” Truthfully, he had a feeling that it wasn't a good idea. The youth -Sanosuke- didn't seem like the type who had enough patience or discipline to do well with his style, though he might one day have the build for it.

 

“Nah,” Sanosuke responded simply, “I'm just here to make sure the little missy gets where she's goin'. After that, I'm off to Kyoto.”

 

“Sano?” It seemed that Kaoru had heard the last bit, and her expression was somewhat downcast.

 

“Hey, hey, little missy. Don't worry too much. I'll be back to visit before ya know it.” The look on his face was enough to convince Hiko that he spoke the truth. It certainly put Kaoru at ease.

 

Still, the sword master was suspicious. “What business do you have in Kyoto?”

 

“I'm lookin' for somethin' to do with my life, and the old man suggested some people called the Oniwaban,” Sano shrugged carelessly.

 

Hiko frowned slightly. Not just anyone knew about the Oniwaban, which meant that this boy had probably received his information from one of their contacts in Edo. The only one he knew of was Gensai, but he supposed that made as much sense as anything else. They'd keep the kid out of trouble until he could handle himself. Hiko wasn't much for any involvement in politics or war, but he understood that as far as that sort of thing went you couldn't do any better than the Oniwabanshu, who seemed disinclined to violence and professed to be anti-war.

 

“Hn. If you see Okina, pass on my regards.” Hiko knew that such a message would be enough to get the kid in the door, even if Gensai's name wasn't.

 

Sano nodded with a careless ease. “Sure.”

 

“I don't care when you kids go to bed, but you-” he turned his gaze to Kaoru- “are going to be up early tomorrow. I'm not your father, so I don't care if I run you to the ground. You'd better be prepared. And you-” Sano fell under his stare- “need to be gone by lunch.”

 

He didn't bother to wait for their replies, trusting that they'd find some food in his kitchen and take care of themselves. For his part, Hiko withdrew to his room, closing the sliding door behind him with an air of finality. Once there, he swiftly crossed the woven tatami floor and crouched next to a worn chest, lifting the heavy lid as though it weighed almost nothing. He knew exactly what was inside, of course, he had just never felt the need to think about it. Before him lay a finely-made sword, so similar to the one Koshijiro's daughter carried, and three scrolls, slightly yellowed with age, but otherwise holding up well.

 

He grasped at the hilt of the sword, then set it back down gently. This wasn't the time. Not yet. Hiko rocked back on his heels and narrowed his eyes unconsciously as he thought. I doubt she's ready for the succession techniques yet, and I don't know Koshijiro's style. Still, most of the mid-level stuff is pretty similar… I guess I have no choice. I'll teach her what her father learned, and see what she does with it.

 

With that thought firmly in mind, Hiko closed the lid to the chest and rose from his crouch, sighing heavily. No kids to put the façade on for at the moment, and that was the way he needed it. He grabbed the bottle of sake laying on the table next to his futon and began downing it even as he sat.

 

That damn kohai of mine. He knew this was going to happen, didn't he? Idiot was always one step ahead. Problem was, he'd stop and help ya, so it never did him a lot of good. Another swig. And now he's gone and abandoned his damn responsibilities and stuck me with `em, just like when he left the dojo. Hiko's slowly-fuzzing mind ignored the part where only one student could learn the Hiten-Mitsurugi's final technique, and Koshijiro had only left when Hiko had been chosen.

 

Fuck it, Koshijiro, why'd you have to go and die? His internal rant continued along these lines for some time, until the alcohol took enough of a grip on his brain that his anger mellowed out somewhat, replaced by a comforting numbness. He was vaguely aware that if he was starting to use sake for this purpose, he probably ought to stop drinking it, but the rather contented part of him- becoming larger by the moment- argued that it would only be this once, and that was good enough for now. If he had a killer headache tomorrow morning, well, consequences were there to remind you for a reason.

 

He raised the bottle into the empty air, “I know you don't like it, so I'm drinking yours for you, you damn idealist.”

 

***

 

Kaoru was awake before the first rays of dawn sunlight had the chance to stream in through her window. If her first years training under her father had made her an early riser, four with Hiko-sensei had made her a true morning person. There was just no other way to survive waking up at five every day but to learn to enjoy it.

 

And so enjoy it she did. The predawn hours were still, and Kaoru learned to listen for the sounds of the world waking up around her, the nocturnal guardians of the forest turning over their watch to the newly-rested daylight animals even as the sun began the process of illuminating the sky once more. Most days, she would watch for a time, hand unconsciously moving to the ribbon tucked safely inside her gi, and reflect. At first, the peace of the world around her was almost enough to drive her mad; it gave her far too much time to think. Now, though, she was able to remember her father and the dojo students with a smile rather than tears, and it was this small moment every day that made her able to endure sensei's training with her characteristic spirit.

 

It was when the first tinge of pinkness reached the horizon that she began her morning katas. She would flow smoothly through endless repetitions of forms and movements for about another hour before Hiko-sensei would join her, performing his own morning techniques a few yards away. At first, the quiet of these early moments had been frequently shattered when he had yelled at her to change this or that, to correct her form. Nowadays, though, both were mostly silent, and Kaoru often smiled at the odd sense of peace that overcame her at times like this.

 

After that, she and sensei would progress to meditation and ki reading, something that challenged Kaoru. She had no natural talent for it, and so was doubly happy when she found that she was making progress. It still wasn't as easy for her as it was for battle-hardened people like Sano, but she could feel the subtle shifting that allowed her to predict attacks. Beyond the first strike, a fight was mostly instinct anyway.

 

Ki training was followed by lunch, which Hiko-sensei cooked, since Kaoru was hopeless with anything that involved cooking with heat, though her sushi was marvelous, provided someone else made the rice for it. Of course, this was a subject of endless complaining on Hiko-sensei's part. He had tried to teach her to cook, to simply no avail. After she'd nearly caught his house on fire two years ago, he'd given up and set her to work slicing things, and cleaning the kitchen when their meals concluded. When she had first arrived, she had been somewhat intimidated by her teacher, and neither had spoken much. After a while, though, she had started to talk more, and he had mostly just listened. These days, the two were equal partners in the conversation, though they chose to avoid certain topics (mostly martial philosophy) because of mutual stubbornness. He still brought it up occasionally though, probably to make sure she was keeping up her end of the bargain they had made when they met.

 

Sparring followed lunch and a study session; Hiko-sensei insisted Kaoru learn as much about history (among other subjects) as she could. As much as she loved everything else, her bouts with her master were by far her favorite part of the day. Hiko was a harsh teacher, and any mistake was punished by a new bruise, but she could feel her strength and speed increasing by the day even now, this many years later. When Hiko-sensei had discovered her father's analysis training, he had put her to work on that, too, both after and outside of battles. The result was a great deal of information about the forest, which Kaoru was sure was mostly useless.

 

She paused thoughtfully mid-kata. Speaking of forests, the clearing was still quiet, which was a bit odd. Usually, at least a few birds had started up by this time.

 

Sheathing her sakabatou, she felt around for any ki, and detected two, both very familiar, but only one in the forest.

 

“Sano,” she spoke just loudly enough for him to hear, “I know you're there.”

 

“Hehe, you got me missy.” Kaoru could not remember when he had dropped the “little” from his favorite nickname for her, but it seemed that she was just “missy” these days.

 

She sighed in mock frustration at the name she pretended to hate and turned to face him. “And just where do you think you've been for the past six months, you lousy, good-for-nothing chicken-head?”

 

“Watch it, missy! I'll have you know, I've been doing some pretty important stuff.”

 

Kaoru smirked, “Oh really? Those Oniwaban guys actually get things done, do they?” she teased lightly.

 

“Hey, don't judge it till you've tried it,” Sano's tone was serious, and Kaoru sobered as well, the smile fading from her face. She looked at him carefully. Though he still acted like a kid sometimes, he really had matured over the last few years, progressing from gangly, flighty boy to a self-assured young man. He had retained his temper and his general careless attitude, though there were times when Kaoru caught him staring off into space and frowning, as though remembering something he'd rather not talk about. She never pressed the point.

 

Her eyebrows furrowed, and Sano took notice. “Missy? You okay there?”

 

Kaoru decided it was useless to worry too much. Sano could handle himself, after all, and it wasn't like she was his mother or anything. So she smiled, settling back into the role of younger sister. “Of course. I was just trying to figure out how any respectable organization would hire a thug like you, Sano.”

 

His angry retort was interrupted by the emergence of Hiko, who nodded briefly to Sano before focusing his attention on his student. Sano seemed slightly surprised, moving away and sitting on the ground just beside the practice field with a slightly put-off expression. Odd, Kaoru remarked inwardly. Usually, Sano's infrequent visits were cause for conversation and updates on the war, and they were certainly never ignored.

 

“Do you know what today is?” Hiko asked her in his usual brisk manner.

 

Kaoru put her other thoughts aside and considered it. It was nobody's birthday, of that she was certain.

 

“It's been exactly four years since you came here,” he provided, choosing to answer his own question.

 

“Has it?” Kaoru was slightly confused. He had never mentioned this day in any previous year, so why now?

 

She was abruptly shaken from her thoughts as Hiko drew his blade. It wasn't his usual one, though, but something more ornate, encased in black with gold chasings on the hilt in a design that her own sword mirrored in silver. She was going to inquire of it, but instead found herself struggling to dodge a strike that seemed to come out of nowhere.

 

Rapidly recovering, she jumped back far enough to get clear and place her hand on the hilt of her own sword. Battojutsu wasn't her strongest suit, being an aggressive discipline used only sparingly in the Kamiya Kasshin style, but Hiko-sensei had taught her a great many forms of it, and it never hurt to be able to make the act of drawing offensive in itself.

 

Kaoru didn't understand why Hiko-sensei had chosen this moment to come at her, but she decided not to question it. Applying her speed, she rushed forward, drawing from her hip in one of the more advanced battojutsu she knew, slashing at her opponent's chest.

 

Hiko evaded easily, and moved to strike her left side. Kaoru's style wasn't defensive for nothing, though, and she was easily prepared to meet it. His strength was far superior to hers, so she wasted no time in struggling with swords locked, since it would only deplete her stamina faster. Instead, she angled her sword and let his own momentum carry the blades apart, kicking at his abdomen while her arms were thus engaged.

 

It was an unconventional hit, and risky, since it could throw her off-balance, but she used her speed to adjust to it, flowing naturally from the blow meant to surprise into ones meant to do real damage. Hiko recovered quickly enough to block them, but there was a small smile on his face, one that she knew he got when she had done something right. All right then, time to show him what I've got!

 

***

 

Hiko watched his godchild fall into the rhythm of the fight with ease and smiled. That last set of moves had been nearly flawless. He was increasingly reminded of Koshijiro every time he fought her, and the thought filled him with pride. This feeling was what he had struggled for with Kenshin, but… if only I'd had a little more time… Hiko knew that Kenshin was the Hiko to Kaoru's Koshijiro as surely as he knew anything, and yet, it seemed that circumstance had made the realization of that vision impossible. Unless he returns to learn the succession techniques, the Hiten Mitsurugi will die with me. Hiko knew that even if he were to personally seek out his baka deshi, nothing would change. Either he would fail entirely to convince the boy to return, or the fool would challenge him to a fight. As master of the style they both practiced, he'd be obligated to accept, and Kenshin would die.

 

Hiko had no doubt that Kenshin would outdo him eventually given the right circumstances, but without the succession techniques, that wasn't going to happen. No, approaching him isn't the solution, but what…?

 

He was rewarded for his distraction from the fight by a blow to the knees, which promptly brought him back to reality. How'd she…?

 

And then the answer hit him full in the face. It was just strange enough to be possible. But there was something that needed to be confirmed first. He switched his focus to the battle entirely.

 

He'd discovered early on that Kaoru, like Kenshin, himself, and a few other examples of the more powerful samurai out there, possessed an altered ki state. Such states can be triggered by many different things, dependant entirely upon the person, but all had the same result: giving the person in question the ability to reach supernatural speeds and strength. Degrees of mastery varied, however. Hiko himself was in this state all the time, and as such, it failed to even change the color of his eyes anymore. Such a thing required extensive discipline, something that people like his baka deshi did not possess. Of course, it was made all the more difficult by the fact that Kenshin's trigger, the easiest way for him to access this power, was anger. Koshijiro's daughter, though, her trigger was something entirely different, and her control seemed to remain intact on the few occasions he had seen it happen. But he had to be sure.

 

“Is this all you have?” he taunted, dodging her blows using his superior speed. Her response was merely to increase her own pace to match his, and his taunt did not seem to reach her. Figures… ah, I know.

 

“How will you ever protect anyone if you're so slow?” the barb hit home, and they both knew it. He saw her eyes flash, but then they settled. Just a bit more…

 

“I guess your old man really was wrong. I knew it. I always told him that a sword is nothing more than a tool for killing. Kenjutsu is the art of-” Finally.

 

She leaped forward at him, and he observed with satisfaction that her once-blue irises were now an unnaturally bright silver. Now we see if she can control herself.

 

The clash of blades became more rapid, and Hiko found that he could not spare too much time for excess thinking. His instincts and strength were still a cut above hers (the latter always would be, given their relative sizes) but her speed was a close match already, which surprised him somewhat, and she still seemed to be in control.

 

It was when he dodged a blade only to narrowly miss being hit in the side of the head with the sheath that he decided to end it. Where does she come up with this stuff? It wasn't as though the move was completely unorthodox, it just didn't fit too smoothly into any sequence he could think of. Usually, only the inexperienced thought of battles as move-by-move; veterans knew that any choice was going to have consequences down the line and so chose patterns that fit well with each other. Kaoru seemed to capitalize on the assumption and find ways to integrate the unusual with the expected.

 

Still, impressive as it was, there was a reason Hiko was the master, and she the student. He flowed into a more advanced set of moves and watched as she slowly succumbed to the fatigue that built up from blocking blows that descended upon her like hail. Her style was at its core defensive, though, so she lasted quite some time before she couldn't continue.

 

Hiko carefully turned his last blow as she made the sign for surrender, and sheathed the blade smoothly. Kaoru did the same, and bent at the waist with hands on her knees, trying to regain her breath. He allowed himself to smile, and her answering one was radiant; she knew he had held back less than usual, and was grateful for it.

 

Reaching into his gi, Hiko pulled out one of the scrolls he kept in his trunk. I think it might just work.

 

“You're ready to have this now.” As Kaoru accepted the thing with a look of confusion, he elaborated, “Your father left it in my care long ago. It is the first of his three succession techniques. You'll get the others when you come back. Oh, and-” he held out the sakabatou he had used- “keep an eye on this for me, too, would you?”

 

Kaoru shook her head. “Wait, what-”

 

“If you see my baka deshi, tell him I'm still waiting.” Hiko walked straight past her to where Sano was sitting, and looked the young man in the eye until his meaning was clear. She's under your care again now. If there's even one scratch on her when she comes back… A raised eyebrow covered the rest. He knew, of course, that the kid couldn't hear his thoughts, but had a feeling that his meaning was clear enough.

 

Sano's answering glare was sullen. As if I'd let anything happen to the missy.

 

Hiko nodded, sure that he was understood, and passed the remaining couple yards to his home in silence, ignoring Kaoru as she called something after him. It was a bit more difficult than he had anticipated not to offer some explanation, but he knew it would only complicate things. His goddaughter needed to find her own path, and if his idea was to come to any sort of fruition, she couldn't know of it. Still, as he entered the house and listened to her ensuing fit, he could not help but smile ruefully.

 

Damn, I'm getting soft. There was a bottle of sake in the kitchen, and he was going to need it today.

 

***

 

Kaoru was thoroughly perplexed. “Wait!” she called, but Hiko ignored her. “You want to explain what's going on, you dumb jerk?!”

 

Sano's laughter caught her attention. “Oh yeah? What's so funny, Sano?” Kaoru carefully slid the second sakabatou into her obi and the scroll into her gi before pivoting, hands on hips, to face her friend.

 

His face immediately straightened. “Nothing's wrong, you're just funny when you're mad.”

 

“I suppose you know what's going on then?”

 

“Well, yeah. Guy's decided he's done teaching you. You've been kicked out.”

 

“What?!” Kaoru glared at the house, hoping Hiko would feel it and go bald or something.

 

“Well, think about it. He just gave you the succession scroll or whatever, he must want you to go out into the world or somethin'. You know, leave the nest like a good baby bird,” he snickered, but when she glared at him, he pretended he hadn't.

 

“Well, if that's what he wanted, he should've said so!” she continued to shout, hoping her words would carry inside the house.

 

“I think he did, in a way,” Sano remarked thoughtfully.

 

Kaoru sighed. This was too much. Sano was being contemplative, and Hiko had just kicked her to the curb with nary a good-bye. What in the world is going on?!

 

“He should have at least let me collect my things,” she sulked.

 

“What things? You mean to say you got some kimonos or pretty girly stuff in there?” Sano teased.

 

Well, that's more normal at least. “Of course not! But I could use, I don't know, some soap or a comb or something.” True to her childhood imaginings, Kaoru had allowed her hair to grow, and the thought of trying to manage the waist-length mass without some kind of implement was frightening. She was a tomboy, to be sure, but not without some basic concern for good hygiene and neatness.

 

“Don't worry. They can sort all that out for ya,” Sano replied nonchalantly.

 

“They who?” Kaoru was suspicious. This all seemed a little too easy.

 

“The Oniwaban of course. Or don't you want to come with me?” Sano feigned a hurt expression, and Kaoru let another sigh escape her.

 

“I'd like to decide for myself what I'm doing… and when!” She yelled to the house as an afterthought.

 

Sano grinned, “Okay, decide then. Nobody's forcing you. You can come join the anti-war Oniwabanshu and show everyone your old man was right, or you can… well… uh…”

 

“Oh shut up,” Kaoru snapped, but the grin never left his face. “The two of you planned this, didn't you?”

 

Her friend held his hands out in front of him in a gesture of innocence. “No way, missy, I had no idea the old guy was gonna pull that kinda stunt, but I have been meaning to ask you to join, okay?” Sano tried to look sheepish, but only ended up seeming a little too proud of himself.

 

Still, she knew he was telling the truth. Probably Hiko had just decided to take advantage of his visit. She rolled her eyes at him anyway, resigning herself to her course. Sometimes, she swore someone was puppeteering her life, pulling at her strings just to watch her dance.

 

“Fine, let's go,” she muttered, refusing to answer his goofy smile and admit she was somewhat excited. Before they left, though, she had one more thing to do.

 

“All right, you!” she shouted at the front door again. “I know you like to hit the sake when you're alone, but don't you dare become a worthless drunk while I'm gone, because I will be coming back, and when I do, I expect you to be at your best so I can beat the tar out of you for this, you hear me?!” Then, more quietly, but still hopefully loud enough for him to hear:

 

“Thank you.”

 

**********

Kiku's Corner!

 

Hello again, everyone, and thanks for reading! The story is about ready to ratchet up a few gears, I should say, so thank you for your patience during the setup process. Next chapter, we will meet Misao, Aoshi, and probably Megumi as well. If all goes according to plan, there will also be more Kenshin, so yay for that.

 

Many thanks to all the readers, reviewers, and Beth, beta extraordinaire for her readthrough of this chapter.