Chapter 9: Personal Saviour Seta Soujiro woke up to falling drops of water on his face, tears to be exact. His eyelids fluttered open to an upset Miko kneeling over him, but he just stared, not because he was heartless to do anything, but because he just couldn’t make himself do anything. “Miko...” She awoke from her crying state, and hurriedly lifted her sleeve to wipe the tears away. “Sor...sorry! I...I didn’t mean to wake you up! I was...I...” “Miko...” his mind was a blank, not knowing what to do. Soujiro sat up from his sleeping position, looked straight ahead and stood to walk out of the room, leaving his crying wife inside. He knew he’ll face this situation sooner or later. “Gomen nasai, Miko.” He walked out of the house, feeling the body’s urge for fresh air. It’s been a month of pure obedience under his parents: do this, go that. Soujiro never complained, he was thankful for the kind treatment he was getting better than the ones under Shishio. But as a close follower of one of the deadliest man in Japan, he life was filled with adventures, something new to look forward to each time. Whether it was Yumi’s amusing temper that never cease to make him laugh, or the Juppongatana’s internal fights of who’s stronger and wiser. (For Kamatari, it was who’s prettier ^_^) He sighed, he missed the whole lot of them. “How’s everyone doing?” Absent-mindedly walking on out of home, he didn’t even notice the heavy downpour and people scurrying about for shelter. Memories start to flood in without restrain, uncontrollably to the mind yearning for it... “The strongest will survive, the weakest die.” “You little bastard, how dare you go against the government!!” “Is this how you show your gratitude for our kindness bring you up?!” “Kill him, onichan.” “Yes, kill him.” “NOOO!! Someone save me!!! Shishio-san!! Save me!!” “Are you crying?” “I will personally kill anyone who has failed me.” “No one can defeat me, I’m the strongest.” “Soujiro, how long more will you take?! Hurry up and just kill him!!” “I will help anyone under my ability, I will not let anyone die before me.” Under the rain, he felt a tear trickle down his cheeks. He continued walking, gradually into the forest. “You don’t have enough money? It’s okay, I’ll settle the bill for you.” “You don’t look fine, come and rest in our home for awhile.” “How are you feeling? Are you comfortable enough?” “Would you like to be our son?” “AAARRRRGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!” The piercing scream broke him from his train of thoughts, he dashed towards where it came from. ** Softly, she peered her head through the paper door, Kenshin was not in his room, or around the dojo. She figured he must have went out to run some errands and buy ingredients for dinner. “Sano? Yahiko? Are you guys there?” Silence, but not assuring enough to Kaoru. “I just got something hot from the Akabeko...” She waited, and there was still silence. NOW, that was a confirmation no one was around in the house. Tip-toed, she went to her room, trying her best not to make a sound although no one was apparent to hear it. What she wanted to do seemed like a sin, something she’ll feel uncomfortable and guilty about. But, there was a slight desire to do it... Kaoru hugged the sword tightly as she went to the dojo, afraid it may fall any moment and create a din. Upon reaching there, she closed the large wooden doors, her heart anxious and impatient, her hands grouped around the sword’s sheath and handle tighter. She walked to the centre of the dojo and went to a crouching position with one knee on the floor. Since morning, she had gotten dressed in training attire and stayed in her room, debating in her mind whether to attempt to use the sword Enishi gave her. It’s just to satisfy my curiosity, nothing else. She assured herself but still felt that tinge of guilt. Now at the dojo, she could not and didn’t want to back out. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just a sword. The long blade shined brilliantly in the afternoon sun that seeped in though the cracks and shafts of the dojo. Timidly, she ran her fingers on it, accidentally cutting herself. Kaoru winced, but continue to unsheath the sword, dazzled by it’s sheer strength and shapness. She had to admit, it was a genuine beauty of gold and silver. It may not fit the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu moves, but...I’ll just give it a try. Standing up to an attack position, Kaoru gathered herself and tried to stay calm despite her excitement inside. She lifted the Japanese sword with both hands to the side of her face, preparing to stab forward. “Yaa!” she shouted and took a leap forward, followed by swinging the sword forcefully in an arc to the left, then down towards the right...She practiced the feel of battling with a sword, from the basic steps to more profound ones she now found the courage to do. “Hyaa!!” At the end of minutes, she was already sweating profusely, but didn’t want to stop. “Lift it up higher.” The voice startled her and made her weapon drop with a loud ‘clang’ on the wooden floor. Kaoru daren’t even turn her head. “When you prepare to stab, lift the sword higher more to the back of your head. Gather more energy so your attack will be more forceful.” “I...I” she stuttered. She forgot that Enishi may still be in the house. “I was just trying out, I...I wasn’t training.” She bent down to pick it again, her face flushed with embarrassment. “It’s okay, I gave it to you for a reason, right?” he walked forward from leaning on the walls of the dojo. Enishi had been in for quite some time, but she was too engrossed in her ‘fighting’ she didn’t notice. “Want to try it again?” he smiled. He was not quite sure why he came in, boredom perhaps. But her fighting had intrigued him out of reading quietly in his room. He himself was surprised she not notice his presence, but as he watched from a distance, he knew he made a right choice in giving his sword to her. Such grace and skill was a talent, not something easily learnt through time. “Urm...” she looked away, not sure which route she would take. One of desire? Or one of traditional ideas she had created for herself and her image. She could guess she was comfortable with the sword, well...maybe she’d like it shorter. But though she wanted to excel in it, she was not ready to affect what she had believed in for years. her liking to the sword may just be a mere fulfilment of her curiosity for now, but she feared it may grow to something more... “I...” “Here, I’ll demostrate.” Enishi took the sword from her, placed it’s tips on the floor, pausing for a while to concentrate. Kami-san, what am I doing? From the last battle on the island with Kenshin, he had never been in another battle, never lifted the sword to someone, he kept it sheathed and unused. Even without practice, Enishi could not forget his skills he took his life to learn. In a slow motion lifting up the blade, his eyes shot open in a glare and charged forward, doing stance after stance of the ancient skill, getting better and more vigorous as he went. It was marvelling to even himself besides Kaoru, he thought it had all been wasted. But the attack proved otherwise, it shook the walls of the dojo and moved the still air harshly. He ended with a powerful blow more stunning than Saitoh’s gotutsu, slicing the wind into half through the doors of the dojo and breaking a tree branch outside. If there was one thing about him that changed, it was that he was completely exhausted, huffing and puffing, breathing in short gasps. The body had became weary in the year he was at Rakuninmura. Rakuninmura... “Shit!!” Enishi cursed aloud and dropped the sword, flying out of the dojo, of the house. It’s been almost a week since he brought food there. Enishi could not help but worry for them, especially the children he had become an oniisan to. “They cannot live on the rubbish the others are feeding on.” he reminded himself, and cursed out loud again. “Shit!” Kamiya Kaoru just sat down, trying to recover form the spectacle she’d seen. He’s improved, he’s improved so much. Suddenly, she felt foolish and afraid at the same time. I should have known better, he’s too strong now, at Kenshin’s state, he may become a threat. A huge threat. But at the end of repeated echoes around the room, something hit her hard from staring at the sword. Enishi just dashed out without warning, as he went out previous times occasionally. Could he be...be...? She didn’t want to think about it, she dashed out after him.