Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Steps Of Courage ❯ The First Domino ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: All standard disclaimers apply. Always.

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Chapter 1

The Kamiya dojo had seen better days. Come to that, it had been through worse as well.

As much as the assistant master wished and hoped, it would never be restored quite like it had been when her father had been master. She sighed. "It's been almost two years now. Don't you think I should be getting some students back?"

A spiky-haired pre-teen walked past and replied, "Hey, you have me, right?"

She only sighed deeper. He muttered a customary "whatever" and walked off again.

The truth was, kendo was loosing its meaning in this new age. People were too caught up in the material western discoveries to try and preserve an ancient cultural tradition such as the sword arts. It was simply unimportant.

The raven-haired kenjutsu instructor was instantly pulled out of her slight depression when an idea struck. She clapped her hand in glee. "I know! Why don't we go into town to eat lunch at the Akabeko? It's been a while since we've seen Tsubame and Tae."

Across the yard the red-haired dojo occupant was hanging laundry. "Begging your pardon Kaoru-dono, but you said that just three days ago."

She turned to glare at him. "So what? So what if I'm so depressed all I can think about is food? Do you care if I get fat? Well!? Do you?"

He smiled uneasily and felt a bead of sweat slide down the side of his face. "Kaoru-dono, you aren't fat—"

"Hey! Did you say Akabeko?" The shinai-wielding boy had joined their number again. "Let's go!"

"Yare, yare. Fine then, we'll go."

They cheered.

"But only for kinpira," The redheaded man cut in quickly.

"Aw, man," The younger two moaned dolefully. She had been hoping for onigiri while the boy favored a good beef hot pot.

"Hey! Why not invite Sanosuke?" A familiar spark twinkled in her blue eyes as Kaoru was struck with another brilliant idea.

"Are you kidding? That freeloading jerk? Come on. Let's just go!" The boy replied stubbornly. Soon he was dragging his two companions out the gate and down the road.

"I gotta say," Yahiko began, rubbing his stomach lazily. "When they say 'best hot-pot in town' there's no lie."

Kaoru smacked her lips. "That onigiri isn't beat either."

Kenshin sighed with resignation. He was practically dragging his feminine form on the ground. He was stuck with the job of carrying the bountiful leftover bags back to the dojo. Luckily the afternoon sun wasn't too hot on his back and bathed it him warm light. A soft breeze ruffled his bright hair, and his violet eyes gazed off into the distance. He was constantly being called 'little boy' or even being mistaken for a woman by strangers. The fact was, aside from the prominent cross-shaped scar that distorted his girlish features and the sakabatou that forever swung loyally at his side, it wasn't a lie that Kenshin had the looks and disposition of a woman.

Beside him, Kaoru rapped the young boy, Yahiko, on the back of his head. "Hurry up now or else the food will be all cold before Megumi has a chance to eat it," She reprimanded her part-time student, full-time tenant.

"Ouch, you didn't have to hit me!" He complained, rubbing the now-tender spot on his head. He glared up at her, but she only laughed.

Kenshin himself smiled as he watched his friends bicker. They were constantly at it, bantering back-and-forth, just like siblings. Kenshin was only glad everything was back to normal after what had happened in Kyoto. Though it had been over a year since then, and many other mishaps and adventures had gone on since then, Kenshin often found himself recalling his encounter with Shishio and the Juppongatana.

The events leading up to it had consequently showed him just how loyal and optimistic his friends were. He almost caught himself thinking of those days wistfully, though most of the experience haunted him to that day.

He almost walked in to Yahiko who had stopped to wait—however impatiently—for Kaoru, who was admiring a street vendor selling hair ribbons. Kenshin knew all to well that Kaoru was in no need for another one. He supposed the whimsical hair accessories made her feel more feminine, something he knew she was a bit insecure about.

She needn't have worried. Kaoru was lovely as it was, whether she was in her finest kimono or sweating and training in the dojo dressed in men's hakama. That was all part of her charm. Beauty-products were useless to her.

"May I suggest that one?" The old vendor wheezed, pointing to a ghost-white one with intricate lilac-colored decorations.

"I'm afraid I'm only looking," Kaoru said sheepishly, though letting her hand run over the soft fabric.

"Well I hear there's quite a sight just up the road," The old man whispered.

"Oh?" Kaoru looked slightly surprised.

"Yes, yes. I heard that some big men over there are causing a great ruckus. Trying to hijack a carriage it seems," He answered in a raspy voice.

"Really?" Kaoru glanced at Kenshin and Yahiko who shrugged. Sounded like the works of the yakuza.

The old man nodded at Kaoru. "The carriage got away unscathed, but seems the men are terrorizing the civilians. It'll only be so long before the police show up. Just glad I won't be caught in the mess. My wife would throw a fit if I didn't come home for supper."

Kaoru stepped back and was about to bow in farewell when something whizzed right past her, almost knocking her off her feet.

It seemed the very same thing had knocked Kenshin and Yahiko down, for they were now standing up and brushing dust off themselves. And three feet behind them sat their assaulter.

She was sprawled on the ground, but quickly jumped to her feet and unsheathed her sword. It pointed right at Kenshin, barely six centimeters away from him chest.

From the way she looked, and the way she handled her sword, she didn't seem particularly skilled and thus came off as less than threatening. Especially as she wavered in her stance, knees quivering.

Kaoru sighed and her kendo instructing skills kicked in.

"Your stance is all off," Kaoru tutted, circling around the girl. "Now look, if you were to take a swing at Kenshin right now, you'd loose your balance and fall right over."

The girl stared at Kaoru for a moment, unable to believe that this was really happening.

"Now, mind you, I wouldn't suggest taking a swing at Kenshin anyway, seeing as he's probably the most skilled swordsman of this era. But never mind that, he won't hurt you," Kaoru chattered and fixed the girl's grip on the sword.

The green-eyed girl was stunned for a moment, but then decided to take action and swung around menacingly at Kaoru. The latter caught the blade easily, her hands flat against the metal surface.

The girl widened her eyes and jumped back from Kaoru.

"Now come on, we don't mean any harm," Kaoru assured gently, returning to a normal erect stance. "It just seems to me that since you have a sword, you should know how to use it."

"Kaoru-dono…" Kenshin began. But he was unable to break through to the erratic blue-eyed girl.

"Really Kaoru, don't tell me you're that desperate for students. Come on now, who needs a scrawny girl like her training in their dojo," Yahiko cut in.

"You stay out of this, shrimp," Kaoru shot back. The girl opposite her merely blinked at Yahiko with solemn eyes.

"What kind of sword is that, anyway?" Kaoru questioned the girl. "It doesn't seem to have a blade on either side! What are you going to do with a blunt sword?"

"It isn't blunt," She replied at last. "It was made that way." She hugged the sword close to her.

Indeed the sword didn't seem dull from wear-and-tear. In fact, it hardly looked touched at all. Obviously some eccentric swordsmith had deliberately made it with rounded edges.

Kaoru's gaze flicked over the girl's shoulder where six burly figures pushed through the crowd toward them. The girl, too, turned to look, and an expression of fear daunted her features.

Kaoru ran in front of her, shielding the girl from the group of men. Yahiko, too, had joined her. The six men stopped warily. Never had a mere girl and little boy dared oppose them.

Kenshin calmly set down the leftovers at the girl's feet and walked out in front of Kaoru and Yahiko.

"I don't know what it is that you want from this young girl, but I suggest you leave now, before someone is hurt," He said evenly. Behind him he could feel Yahiko and Kaoru tense with the feeling of an impending fight, and their opponents seemed cranked up as well.

Only silence followed Kenshin's proclamation. The girl behind them tried to slip through Yahiko and Kaoru, with an exclamation of "No! Don't hurt them!"

Just as she said this, all hell broke loose. The three men in front lunged forward, but Kaoru and Yahiko were faster.

In less than ten seconds, Kaoru had pinned one facedown on the ground, her foot digging into the small of his back. She pulled both of his arms by the wrist behind him and up before jumped off and dusting herself off.

Yahiko had jabbed one in the gut with his shinai and finished him further by swiftly swinging the shinai down onto his assailant's head, a satisfying crack sound rewarding his strike.

Kenshin stood next to the girl, giving her that familiar slightly uneasy smile, as though he were apologizing for his friend's headstrong actions. She only blinked at him.

His smile was gone in an instant and was replaced with an intent look two seconds before a tall man in league with the others came raining down on them. In a flash Kenshin had tossed the girl over and unsheathed his sword, catching the decoy in the gut. The ambusher promptly fell to the floor.

The girl sat up and stared wide-eyed at Kenshin, who was now engaged with fighting off the new thugs, who had just arrived as reinforcements to the six men who had already been beaten easily by Kaoru and Yahiko.

"Kaoru, Yahiko!" Kenshin raised his voice over the commotion. "Please inform Megumi-san of the current predicament. It's important that she know."

They paused in their respective fights and slipped away. Kaoru grabbed the leftover food and she and Yahiko sprinted off. Now it was only Kenshin fighting them off, but it only made it all the easier for him.

Of course, the girl to his left didn't know this and stood up to stop him from getting slaughtered. Distress crossed her gaunt features and she stumbled to the ground again. Her leg was weak and could not support her.

She crouched on the ground, trying to regain strength, and tried again to stand up. She had success, and only wobbled a little. Now her pained eyes focused themselves on Kenshin.

"Stop it!" She cried desperately. To her surprise, the fighting ceased at her command. She dragged herself over to Kenshin and stood defiantly in front of him.

"We'll just be taking the wench…" One man said in a low voice. "No need for you to get involved." He scooted closer, coming near the aforementioned 'wench.'

She decided if he got any nearer, she'd spit on him. Fortunately, before that could happen, Kenshin had his sword out and blocked the man from her.

"You can leave," He said evenly. "But you will not be taking the girl with you."

Kenshin's opponent froze. His eyes slid all the way to the side, trying to see what his comrades wanted to do. It seemed they did not want to back off.

Thus Kenshin was forced to do what he did next, which was attack again, this time striking down each one with lightning legerity. It seemed for a second that his attack had done nothing. The men simply stood there, stock-still. Kenshin landed on the other side of them and sheathed his sword, resonating a small 'click.' Then the group of assailants collapsed, none of them dead, all of them knocked-out.

The girl watched all this with wide-eyes. Never had she seen anyone fight like that. Even his friends, just a plain girl like her and a little boy, were unbelievably strong.

Kenshin turned his soft violet eyes on her. He nodded apologetically. "Gomen nasai."

She didn't answer, but continued to stare at this red-haired benefactor. In one motion she stood up and unsheathed her sword, pointing it again at him in defense.

"Who are you!?" She demanded roughly. "No mere man can fight like that!"

Kenshin held his hands up and gave her a polite smile. "I thought we were over our differences that I did…"

"Who sent you? Who are you working for? If you think you can just gain my trust just by fighting off a bunch of men, you're wrong! What are you trying to do here?" These questions came out in mad sputtering.

"Ano…What I'm trying to do is get a particularly stubborn girl to the doctor's clinic," He answered feebly.

"Oh he thinks he's so smart," She muttered to herself, expression going sour. She then sheathed her sword, and Kenshin was glad for the absence of the blade. It would make things a lot easier. "Doctor's clinic, you say? I need no doctor." She said this in a cool, icy voice, but a second later she keeled over in pain.

"Jou-san!" Kenshin rushed toward her and kneeled down. She waved him away, still clutching her ribs with one arm.

"Nevermind, be on your way then," She said to him, trying to brush him off.

Kenshin stood up and looked down at her with concern. He wondered if her loss of blood (for she had many cuts and gashes) had affected her mind as well.

"Do you have a fever?" He pressed a hand to her forehead to check, but she slapped his hand away.

"You stupid red-haired baka!" She squawked. "Can't you just leave people alone?"

"Only if they need isolation," He answered seriously. "You on the other hand…" He stooped to her level once again. "Come on now, we're going to the doctor's."

This time she complied, however grudgingly.

Kenshin helped her up and slung on of her arms around his neck, half-supporting her weight so she could walk without stumbling.

Awkwardly, they set off.

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