Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Strongest Will Always Feed off the Weak ❯ Awakening An Ally ( Chapter 3 )

The Strongest Will Always Feed off the Weak

Chapter 3: Awakening An Ally

By: TMarauder

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Soujiro found himself wandering around outside, lost in a world he didn't recognize. He had nowhere to go, and now place to turn to having cut all ties when he joined Shishio. He had been wandering around in the woods ever since he had done it. After he had destroyed the seemingly invincible man. Buy he would have to find some shelter soon because the sky threatened rain. His feet led him through the trees at a swift pace, passing landmarks that sparked his memory. A few more feet and he found himself at a cabin that also looked familiar. Soujiro froze fixated at the cabin, grasping for the memories of the cabin but they eluded him.

Thick bushes and trees surrounded the cabin on all sides, except where the door was. A few feet on either side of the door had been cleared of all undergrowth recently. The roof of the cabin was covered in vines that wrapped every inch of it in green. The covering seemed intentional so that no one would stumble upon it, whoever hacked off the coverage of the door, must not find it important to cover it anymore. There was no ki emanating from inside the cabin to announce another's presence, but Soujiro was never good at that sort of thing. He walked around, inspecting the cabin.

The rain started with Soujiro still standing in front of the cabin. At first it came down in a light drizzle. Then it got heavier, blocking out anything else in the world. Soujiro was soaked through. He moved forward to the door, pausing with his hand hovering over the doorknob. The rain pelted down harder giving him no choice but to go inside to take shelter.

He closed his eyes and leaned back against the door. The cabin and all the contents inside, as it turned out, are not familiar. It was just his mind playing tricks on him. His shoulder collected water as rain leaked through the door. Walking further inside, Soujiro noticed that the cabin had been stripped of anything useful. He would soon have to leave it and continue on. After rummaging around he found a futon with a few too many holes to give much warmth for protection.

Digging through once more, Soujiro found a blanket with just as much holes if not more than the futon. He decided it was as good for one night and laid it out on the floor. Water dribbles off a shelf and onto his head; there was a leak in the roof above the shelf.

Soujiro smiled at the leak, "I can't do anything about you, all I can do is put a bucket under you and hope the water won't spread." Remembering that he saw a pot near the door he headed that way. It was a small pot that would have to be changed every couple of hours if the rain wouldn't let up. The hole in the ceiling wasn't directly over the shelf, for the pot to catch the water it had to be hanging off the shelf. He scanned above for more leaks but in the fading light he couldn't see a thing.

He groped his way through the mess back to the ragged futon. He sat down in the middle of it and hugged his legs to his chest, resting his head on top of his knees. The smile fading slowly off his face as his memories of Shishio drifted to the front. Tightening his chaw he threw himself backwards to lie on his back, forcing his smile to stay. Water splashed onto his forehead from the ceiling. It slid down to his nose, branching off into his eyes, and then slowly sliding down his cheeks. Then another drop feel, taking the same rout down his face as the other one.

The water slid down his cheek again and again, until Soujiro clasped his head in his hands, rubbing the water off. He pulled himself and the futon out from under the leak. He calmed down, evening out his breath. He soon fell asleep...

He slowly opened his eyes, he could see out of his right eye and the other was badly swelling, he could barely see the dirt beneath him. He tried lifting his arm, wincing at the pain. He pulled his tender limbs into himself, curling into a ball of pain. He rolled onto his side, off of his back because of the slashes on it from the whip. Elder Bother had been particularly unmerciful tonight after he had visited the gambling dens. He had yelled at him, telling him his problems as he beat him into the ground.

Footsteps neared him, stopping next to his head. A hand reached out, catching a handful of his hair in it and pulled him up. "Soujiro! You filthy brat, stand up!"

He threw Soujiro against the wall of the rice shed. Soujiro fell onto his knees, supported by his hands and coughed up some blood. He shook his head, clearing it of the sting and the tears that fell. Leaning back against the shed Soujiro looked up to his elder brother and smiled.

His brother slapped him with the back of his hand, his lip crack and bled. "You aren't even worth my time," he spit out, walking drunkenly back to the house.

Soujiro touched his swelling cheek, and winced as the light touch brought pain. Supporting himself with the side of the large rice shed, he painstakingly made his way to its door. He laid down inside, he wouldn't be able to go inside for a while, until Older Brother's anger died down. He had gone to gamble and lost most of his money, and then he had gotten drunk and lost the rest of it. Soujiro happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Soujiro cried out in pain as the wind cut through his tattered clothes, biting into his wounds. The wind howled as it beat against the sides of the rice shed, trying to get in. Soujiro found a space between a barrel and another where the wind didn't reach, it was surround on three sides by the barrels, and on the other was the wall. He huddled there, temporarily protected from the pain the wind caused.

Soujiro woke up startled. He lifted his hand to brush against his cheek. It wasn't bruised. His hand traced his bottom lip. No blood. It was a dream, nothing more. He couldn't see anything, it was still night and morning had a long way to come. He wouldn't be able to get to sleep after that, and leaving early before the morning sun was more favorable to him. He folded the futon and return it to the place he found it.

He looked up to the stars, finding one that would point him in the right direction. It would be useless to go on without any money for an inn or for food. He would have to go back to Mount Hiei and get the money that he has there. It will be easy to get in and out without being spotted, the only people that could notice him were long gone, and even if they did they could do nothing against him. And besides, Yumi most likely didn't tell any one about Shishio's condition yet.

Soujiro headed back to the Mount Hiei.

...

...

"What?! Are you serious? How could this be true? It's all lies!" Kamatari screamed at Yumi. He had lost his composure somewhere in the middle of Yumi's story but he had held his silence waiting for Yumi to laugh in his face and say that he was a gullible fool. Kamatari collapsed, falling to his knees on the cold tile floor.

The room was silent, Yumi taking in Kamatari's reaction, wondering if it was wise of her to tell Kamatari. Then she saw that his grief, his disbelief, turned into anger. A good sign that he would be weak and drag her down with him. His hands curled into white knuckled fists.

"What will you do Kamatari?" Yumi asked coolly. She was pleased with herself for not breaking down during the duration of her account. "Will you help me? It won't be easy, Lord Shishio always said that Soujiro was the strongest of the Joupongatana."

Kamatari's eyes shot up to Yumi's, his fierce eyes taking in her cold ones. He stood up, one hand holding up his chain-scythe the other hanging loosely by his side. His face was unreadable, the opposite of his usual passionate self. "I will do all that I can, for Lord Shishio's sake."