Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Wolves of Revolution ❯ The Clash of Fangs ( Chapter 1 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Part I:

The swords clashed again in the streets of Kyoto followed by the cries of samurai as they fought. The third squad of the Shinsengumi spread out in a coordinated pattern engaging the ronin who descended from the alleyways around them. Sidestepping a rushed attack Hajime Saitou skewered him calmly and ripped his blade free shoving the dying man into the mud. Snapping his amber gaze across the makeshift battlefield he spotted the shadow he was looking for leaping from roof to roof ahead of them.

"Okita!" he shouted darting right of another attack slashing the mans throat open. Wiping the spray of blood from his face he looked to the young captain of the first squad who had come to their aid. The boy swirled to avoid an attack and stabbed through his assailant before looking in Saitou's direction. Saitou lifted his bloodied katana and jabbed it in the direction the shadow was vanishing. Okita nodded and shouted back "Alright!"

Sprinting to the left he slashed his way through four more ronin before he leapt onto a stack of crates and onto the roof in pursuit of the shadow. This night is getting to be full of surprises he thought running low across the roof looking very much like his namesake, the wolf. His eyes were focused on his goal who was rapidly approaching the river on the northern side of Kyoto. Beyond the river was the forest and at night he'd be hard to track. The boy was quick and agile. He'd received word a month earlier that the assassin known as Lupus was heading his way.

'The Battousai has no competition in Kyoto,' the letter had read, 'We send him to act as a stabilizer in this time of crises. Do not interfere in his mission to eradicate the greatest threat to our Shogun's continuing reign.' Saitou had acknowledged the orders with a grim sense of unease. His intuition had been correct when the night after the arrival of the frail looking white haired ghost the Shogunate's chief representative in Kyoto was slaughtered in the street with his men. Lupus had done his work well but had left his calling card behind. His name scrawled in the blood of his victims on a nearby wall. In Edo the sight of the crimson name dripping down the sides of walls had struck terror into the heart of the populace who feared the Pale Death as he was also known. To Saitou it was a mere annoyance. This boy would answer to the Shinsengumi for his crimes, the Shogunates orders be damned. It was the Shinsengumi's duty to protect Kyoto and avenge Her murders. He lived and breathed by the Shinsengumi code of Aku Soku Zan. Kill Evil Instantly. Well this boy certainly fit the mold of pure evil.

Fast as the boy was Saitou was gaining on him, putting on a burst of speed he landed on the next roof at the same time that Lupus reached it's end. The boy was only two buildings and a warehouse roof from the wall and freedom. Saitou's eyes narrowed as his feet hit the next roof and darted up the sloping tiles after the retreating figure. 'Your not getting away from me.' he thought sliding down the other side nearly snatching the boys ankle as he leapt to the next roof. Up and down the last house they went before they both landed on the warehouse roof facing each other. The boy seemed to be completely unafraid. He simply stood and looked at Saitou as if Saitou were being a pest. 'This night is most certainly full of surprises.' Saitou thought as he drew his katana from it's sheathe.

Lupus looked up at the sounds of men's shouts to see a whole squad of Shinsengumi racing towards him. His job that night had been a simple one. Go to the Hiyja Inn and kill the two men on the third floor meeting room and return to the headquarters. He had done his job quickly and silently and left his trademark name in blood to let the city of Kyoto know the Pale Death had arrived. On his way back shouting had drawn his attention and he had stupidly stopped his rooftop traveling to investigate. Peering down from the roof now above him Lupus had observed a man in black ninja clothing slaughtering one of elite advisors of the Imperial court. Leaping from his perch he had attempted to slice the man in half and had been surprised when his attack was dodged easily. The black ninja had vanished into darkness leaving Lupus standing there. Turning his head he had been surprised and then angered to see his name in the advisors blood dripping down the wall. Then the shouts had sounded and the blue-coated bastards had descended on him like blood-crazed wolves. He had lost all but this one man in the confusion of the ronin attack in the streets. Ronin continued getting braver but never smarter in their tactics. Still it had provided a welcome distraction for his escape. And it had almost worked except that this yellow eyed wolf before him had spotted him and given chase over half of Kyoto. Lupus never took his eyes off the man.

"Your persistent." he said his voice soft and cold edged with unbridled loathing towards the Shinsengumi.

"And you're irritating. Surrender." The man ordered.

Lupus's eye twitched before he darted sideways drawing his katana and twisting with just enough time to deflect the attack meant to slice him in two at the waist. Strength was his not his best asset, surprise was. In a battle of strength he was going to lose. Moving back swiftly Lupus perched on the very top of the slanted roof looking down at the man coming towards him.

"I did not kill the advisor." Lupus said.

Saitou didn't miss a step. "I don't believe you.," he said approaching the smaller man cautiously well aware of his reputation for the quick and deadly wolf like attacks.

"I can prove it." Lupus said.

Saitou paused keeping his katana up ready for an attack. "And how can you do that?" he asked.

Lupus shifted his katana around so Saitou could see the length of the blade and the dried blood on it.

"This blood came from the men of the Hijya Inn over an hour ago. If I had made a kill thirty minutes ago this blood would be fresh, not dry." he said.

"The man you seek is taller than I am and dressed in black ninja garments. I observed him from the roof and attempted to intervene but my attack as deflected and he escaped." Lupus said still on his guard.

Saitou examined the blade thinking to himself. The boy was right. If he had made a kill within the last forty minutes the blood on his sword would still be fresh but there was no sign of that. Only the dried blood of the Imperialists he'd been sent to murder.

"I believe you. But you must still return with me." he said straightening.

Lupus lunged at the precise instant Saitou lowered his guard and slammed the hilt of his katana into the older mans midsection tossing him backwards down the roof. Saitou rolled crashing along the tiles and off the edge of the roof catching himself by one hand preventing a forty-foot fall to the earth. Looking at the boy standing above him Saitou could barely control his rage his yellow eyes burning with fury. Lupus sheathed his katana looking down at the Shinsengumi.

"I am innocent but I know you and your comrades. Being innocent will not stop your making a symbol of warning out of me to all other assassins in your employ."

Saitou snarled at him his fingers bone white. "You're not going to get far, boy. I will hunt you to the ends of the Earth."

Lupus watched him with his cold gaze for a moment before nodding brusquely. "Then we will no doubt meet again. It was a pleasure seeing you again, Saitou Hajime. I just wish it had been on better terms."

Saitou watched the boy disappear over the rooftop before looking down at the ground and cursing. Letting go of his grip he braced for impact and fell as soon as his feet touched the ground rolling to lessen the impact and managed to avoid a broken bone. Standing he dusted himself off and looked across the river to where a pale shape was vanishing into the woods.

'No boy.' he thought. 'This is far from over.' Turning the wolf made his way back towards the rest of his squadron, the city of Kyoto bathed in the soft light of a full moon.

The rain drummed on the tiled roof of the small house as it had for the last three days. Adding more chips of wood to the small fire before him Lupus settled back against the wall with one leg tucked under him. It had been two weeks since his encounter with the Wolf of Mibu and since that time Lupus had remained in the shadows waiting for the Wolf to fulfill his promise. All had been quiet, but he had not let down his guard. Resting his head on the wall Lupus listened to the rainfall outside thinking to himself. If he stayed here much longer someone might grow suspicious. This farmhouse had been abandoned since the occupants had died last year of pneumonia. Using a stick to poke up the fire he stood and stretched listening to the wind rattle the house around like a sheet of rice paper. Tomorrow he would leave here and go north to seek shelter among the Ainu people.

The Ainu were Japanese only hairy and considered barbarians by their Southern cousins. He would go there for a few months until they grew tired of looking for him or gave him up for dead. Government types could always be counted on to loose interest quickly. Lupus smiled as straightened the sleeve of his dark blue gi.

"He's probably given up already." he said.

Outside a pair of narrow golden eyes watched the farmhouse quietly. Saitou had been there for the last two hours and was now soaked, his haori jacket and hair plastered to him. His source had been correct, the boy was here. Lifting a hand he wiped the water from his face and considered his options. If he left and returned tomorrow with more men the boy might be gone. It was irresponsible of him to go in alone however. Saitou growled under his breath and decided to move while his prey was stationary. Responsibility be damned. Resting a hand on his katana he crouched low to the Earth and moved forward covering the distance to the house in seconds, his approach masked by the storm roaring around them. Crouched under the eaves he listened intently trying to discern movement inside the house from the chaos of nature around him. Impossible to tell. Saitou considered his options. If he went storming in through the front door and the boy was upstairs then his surprise was ruined and the boy might escape him. However, if he were to come in through the upstairs window quietly he could surprise the boy no matter where he was in the house. Wiping rain water off his face again he moved from the eaves around the side of the house and looked up at the narrow structure to the small window on the second floor.

Moving around the house to the porch again he noticed that the roof of the porch sloped up to the rest of the house and was much lower then the main portion. Reaching up he gripped the edge of the roof and hoisted himself up with a grunt. The porch wobbled unsteadily under his weight and Saitou moved across it swiftly to the main roof where the footing was sounder. Moving along the sloped roof tiles he paused at the tip looking over the side at the window two feet below him. Crouching onto his knees he grasped the edge of the roof and turned slowly lowering himself down towards the window. Pressing a foot to the closed wooden shutters he pushed gritting his teeth his arms straining to support his weight. Pressing again he used both feet this time pushing until with a pop the window sprang open. Swinging inside he landed on the floor with an unpleasantly loud thump to his ears.

Straightening swiftly he glanced at the futon that was laid out and unmade. No sign of his prey. So the boy was awake, but not necessarily alert. Unsheathing his katana as quietly as possible he slipped off his zori and crossed the room moving silently. Edging open the shoji he peered into the darkened hallway. The only sounds were the roars of thunder from the storm outside. Cautiously the Wolf made his way down the hallway. On either side of the hallway were two doors, using his katana he opened the shoji's to each and checked the rooms. Two bedrooms, a storage room, and what looked like an office, all empty and all having a year's layer of dust. A light at the end of the hall made the staircase going down visible.

Moving towards it Saitou paused at the top looking down and listening. The glow flickered against the aged walls of the house but all was silent below. For one brief second Saitou Hajime felt as if he were the one being hunted. His eyes darted along the hallway again and then back downstairs unable to stop the hair rising on the back of his neck.

'How good is this kid?' he asked himself. Good enough to hear me coming despite the storm? Good enough to detect the smallest changes in the atmosphere? His only warning was the sudden rush of air from above. Twisting his frame he brought his katana up barely deflecting the blow that would have sliced his skull in two. For a brief second he felt triumph at having deflected the boys attack and then he was toppling backwards down the stairs and all he felt was pain.

Then blackness.