Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ —¤: Boy meets dad :¤— ❯ Kenji's First Assignment ( Chapter 6 )

If I owned Kenshin, I would have made him catch that fish Sano tossed at him.

 

 

 

CHAPTER 6 -

 

 

Kenji tried to remain alert as the meeting between three clans progressed. He didn't particularly care for politics so he wasn't even listening to the current discussion. His mind kept wandering off somewhere, thinking about how his life was turning out.

 

It's only been three days since he first came here. Ever since then, his young father had stuck like glue to his side, hovering near him everywhere he went inside the inn. They never really got to sit down, spend some time together, talk and get to know each other better, but the only times when he didn't feel his father's watchful eyes on him were when, he guessed, the young hitokiri had business to attend to.

 

Other than that, the boy shadowed Kenji as if he was waiting for the right time to attack or something. He could tell that Kenshin was still very suspicious of him for some reason.

 

He dared not venture out of his sanctuary at the inn just yet, lest he be tempted to go to the Aoiya to check it out and disrupt history more than he already had.

 

Kenji shuddered, still freaked out about everything that's happened. Each time he woke up in the morning, he expected to be at home back in the Kamiya Dojo, with someone like Miss Tsubame telling him that he had a raging fever for days and that he had just imagined traveling back in time.

 

Three days and he was still here. He was starting to accept his fate.

 

Things didn't seem that bad, actually. In this era, both of his parents were still technically alive, even if he was older than the both of them. His rough calculation was that his mother was about 4 or 5 years old right now. He wondered if he could go visit Tokyo and maybe even catch a glimpse of his young mom someday, if he really was stuck here.

 

Also, he knew that somehow, he needed to find some way to have his parents meet or he'll never be born. That scared the daylights out of him, the first time he thought about that. His brain was trying to justify, explain and solve the mystery that was Kenji Himura stuck in the Bakamatsu and the ramifications of it. It was too much for his poor brain to comprehend so he gave up trying to explain it and just decided to go with the flow. Come what may…

 

So here he was tonight, with his first assignment as a bodyguard. He was seated at one corner of the room with his left leg raised, chin resting on his chest and his sword propped up on his right shoulder. He looked like he was asleep. If anyone thought that he was copying the Battoussai's favorite position, nobody commented on it.

 

As the representatives of the clans continued arguing, Kenji's well-trained senses picked up a familiar ki. He raised his head and tightened his grip on his sword. Oh ho! This is not happening. Tell me this isn't happening! No matter how much he may have wanted to deny it or will it to go away, the familiar ki signature didn't go away. In fact it came nearer. Great!

 

He hissed. “Turn of the lights! Put out the candles. Right now!”

 

He got annoyed looks from the occupants of the room, particularly from the representatives of the other clans, but one of the men he was guarding got the hint and started putting the lights out.

 

“The Shinsengumi are approaching.”

 

That single statement caused near-hysteria as men scrambled to get up, raising their swords to defend their lives.

 

“Sir Yusuke,” Kenji addressed one of the men he was guarding, “please stay at my sight at all times.”

 

The man nodded gratefully and Kenji opened the shoji door. Upon making sure nobody was there, he motioned for the people inside the room to make their escape. He wanted to save as many lives as possible, but his first priority was his own people.

 

They stayed right behind him together with the other bodyguards as he made his way down the stairs.

 

They were met by several Shinsengumi warriors and he quickly disposed of them, not showing any of his fancy moves. Within what seemed like a blink of the eye, he cleared the way and they were almost free.

 

He was praying for good luck and that he wouldn't have to come face to face with the old coot, but luck wasn't on his side.

 

“Going somewhere?” Came that familiar sarcastic voice.

 

What were the chances of meeting the old wolf on my first assignment? Kenji couldn't decide if he was cursed with bad luck or gifted with good luck.

 

“We were just going for a stroll, that we were.” Kenji replied. “Would you please step aside so we can pass?” He asked politely.

 

“I don't think I can grant that request boy. Aku. Soku. Zan. That is the essence of the Shinsengumi. Any and all who oppose the Shogun must die.” Saitoh said as he drew his sword.

 

Kenji sighed. He really didn't want to engage the guy in a sword fight. “I don't have any quarrels with you. If you let my comrades go I promise that no one will get hurt.”

 

Saitou chuckled sarcastically at the boy's insolence. “You just disposed of my entire squad and you dare say no one will get hurt?”

 

“But they're not dead!”

 

“Enough talk!” He shouted and attacked.

 

Kenji parried the blow with his sword, then jumped away from Saitoh. “Sir Yusuke go! I'll catch up with you later! I'll keep him busy.” He called out to his companions and they nodded gratefully to him, running off into the night.

 

“Don't want anyone to witness your death, eh? That's fine with me, I can catch up to them when I finish disposing of you.”

 

Wow, I didn't know Saitoh was always this conceited.

 

The young bodyguard really didn't want to fight with the wolf. He had an enormous amount of respect for the man back at his own time and fighting the guy was on the top of his “not-to-do” list.

 

Despite that however, he found himself trading blows with the Shinsengumi warrior. So far, none of them managed to land a single blow at each other. Kenji used his speed that would rival or even surpass that of his father's, to avoid attacks while not even retaliating in return.

 

This irked the leader of the Third Squad of the Shinsengumi. He felt like the kid was toying with him for some reason, but the odd thing was that the kid wasn't taunting him at all. It was almost as if the kid really didn't want to `hurt' him. His narrow eyes narrowed some more at the thought of an enemy showing him mercy. His pride will never allow it!

 

“Your stupidity shall cost you your life tonight.” Saitoh raised his left arm with his sword pointing forward, while his right hand touched the front of the blade, stabilizing it.

 

Kenji's eyes were the size of saucers at the meaning of this. Gatotsu! His mind screamed and calculated on how to protect himself. Silently cursing because he had no more options left at such short notice, short of running away, he began his attack just as Saitou did.

 

Just as Saitoh was charging with immense speed, Kenji jumped high into the air. “Hiten Mitsurugi Style Ryu Tsui Sen!”

 

Saitoh's eyes widened. How could he have dodged my Gatotsu! Terribly irritated, his mind worked quickly and switched to Gatotsu stance three, lunging his sword upward to protect himself and injure the boy who was above him at the same time.

 

Perfect! Kenji anticipated Saitoh using the third stance against his Ryu Tsui Sen, counted heavily on it in fact, and gave himself a pat on the back as he lunged toward the wolf, twisting his body just in time to dodge the attack, and did a sideways slash. “Ryu Kan Sen!”

 

He met Saitoh's extremely surprised look with an apologetic one and finished the fight with a really quick blow to the head which would have done his mother proud, knocking the man unconscious.

 

Breathing heavily as he landed, young Kenji placed his sword back in its scabbard and ran to the wolf's side. Boy is he going to have one major headache when he wakes up or what! Sorry Saitoh, but it was for your own good. Content that he didn't do any permanent damage to the wolf, he turned around, exiting the house and headed towards headquarters.

 

……

 

Okita took a sharp intake of breath as he surveyed the scene in front of him. He saw a familiar crumpled form several feet away and rushed towards it.

 

“Saitoh!” Tears threatened to fall from his eyes, he couldn't believe the man he respected so much, his mentor, was dead! He blamed himself, and this useless body of his. He was sicker than normal tonight, so Saitoh insisted on going on this assignment alone. Okita should have known better. Now he was going to have to live with the guilt that he could have helped but didn't.

 

The whole third squad… was gone!

 

Saitoh groaned as someone poked at him.

 

Okita almost jumped ten feet into the air when he heard Saitoh groan. “Saitoh?” His voice was unsure. The Shinsengumi men laying on the ground were starting to stir as well. Okita blinked. So they weren't dead? But… how?

 

“What happened?” Saitoh said as he opened his eyes and groaned some more. He felt like someone bashed him with a steel-plated mallet on the head.

 

“You're alive!” Okita exclaimed, a bit baffled. “What happened? Why are all of you unconscious?”

 

“The red-haired guy! Did you see him!?” Exclaimed one of the men.

 

“That guy wasn't human! He was so fast, I was knocked unconscious before I could draw my sword!”

 

Grunts of agreement were heard across the room, everyone wondering how in the fires of Hades they were still alive.

 

We're not dead, Saitoh mused. None of them were. Sure he had a headache the size of China and a bump on the head the size of a miso soup bowl, but he wasn't dead. He didn't even have a single life-threatening scratch either. The kid managed to take them out without killing any of them. And he was the first person to ever dodge Gatotsu! It was unreal and very disturbing.

 

If the Ishin Shishi had a samurai like that in their ranks, I would've thought they would make him a man-slayer, not a mere bodyguard.

 

He stood up and filled Okita in on what happened. The mystery swordsman plaguing his mind all the way back to the Shinsengumi headquarters and more. He could have killed me easily if he was as skilled as he was but he didn't. Why?

 

……

 

Upon reaching the inn, Kenji checked in to make sure his comrades made it there safely. Satisfied that he managed to prevent bloodshed tonight, he crept to his room to avoid the countless questions that they were bombarding him with. I think I was just raised to hero status overnight, he thought to himself. The awed looks the men were throwing his way made him feel uncomfortable.

 

Shutting the door to his room, he was startled by a voice.

 

“So I heard you took out an entire squad of the Shinsengumi all by yourself and even their leader.”

 

Kenji looked at the face that looked so much like his own and smiled. “I got lucky I guess.”

 

Father and son engaged in another staring contest they seemed to have developed a liking for.

 

This is getting old, Kenji sighed. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

 

Kenshin regarded him for a minute and shook his head. “I'll be watching you, Kamiya. I have a feeling you're not telling me something. And I will find out about it.” He paused as Kenji sucked in his breath. “Make one wrong move and you'll regret it.”

 

With that threat hanging in the air, the Battoussai opened the door and showed himself out, quietly closing it behind him.

 

Kenji was left alone, contemplating on his outrage.