Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Steps Of Courage ❯ New Footsteps ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: All standard disclaimers apply. Always.

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Chapter 10

Naruku stood stock-still her heart beating furiously, rattling against her rib cage. Her head pounded with anticipation as she inched forward to look behind the wall she was currently hiding behind. The gravel crunched beneath her feet. Her back straightened against the wall as she turned her head for a better look at her target.

There. Bent over in front of the wash-bucket, sunlight glinting off his red hair, and a silly tune on his lips. She listened to the wordless melody for a second longer before stepping into view and striding confidently toward him. She stopped as she reached him and her shadow, enhanced by the afternoon sun, loomed over him.

He wiped his hands and stood up, that easy smile still in place. "Hello Naruku!" he greeted cheerfully.

"Kenshin," she acknowledged, quite a few levels colder than his tone had been.

His smiling eyes blinked open and he considered her. "Is there something you want?"

"In fact, Kenshin," she began, her icy tone intact. "There is."

"And what would that be?" he decided to humor her antics.

In one fluid motion, Naruku's sword was unsheathed and the tip held to Kenshin's collarbone. "Oro?"

Despite her attempts at a fierce scowl, Naruku wasn't the least bit frightening. And it didn't help that her blade was completely blunt, and Kenshin knew that all too well. Naruku, realizing her lack of threatening prowess, sighed and let her hand and the sword it held, drop to her side.

"I know I haven't brought this up in a while, but could you train me?" Even then she was reluctant to bring it up again, reminding her of that evening when she had fled the dojo blindly. And wound up back there the next morning, like some needy little girl who couldn't make it on her own.

Trying to keep the red shading out of her cheeks, Naruku blinked up at Kenshin, awaiting his long sought-after answer.

He sighed and glanced up at her. "Your intentions are…like nothing I have ever heard of."

Naruku visibly flinched at this. Was he truly going to bring that up again?

"And, to be honest, I have thought about your prompt for quite a while now."

Naruku brightened. The tone of his voice seemed positive…

"And now that I truly think about it, my vow to protect people can be further honored if those people know how to protect themselves," Kenshin continued.

Naruku was reminded of a saying she was told as a young girl. "If you give a man a fish he will eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish he will eat for a lifetime…or just have another excuse to sit around drinking sake instead of doing the important stuff like doing the laundry." Of course, that last part probably wasn't part of it.

Kenshin blinked at her. "Anyway, it is now my full intention to train you in the Hiten Mitsurugi you have been so wanting to learn. Only, it is my wish to teach you instead the version this one uses as a wanderer, and not the one used by a hitokiri."

Naruku clapped and danced on the spot. "Oh thank you, thank you!" She threw her arms around him in a gleeful hug.

"Ohohoho…" a sultry voice chuckled from out of view. "Getting cozy with my Ken-san now?" Megumi stepped into view, and after her Enizu, who wore a slightly alarmed look on his face.

Naruku quickly released Kenshin and beamed at the two new arrivals, quickly covering up any lingering awkwardness.

"Konbanwa Megumi-san, are you staying for dinner?" she asked placidly. "I see you've already met Enizu."

Megumi laughed at this. "Oh no, I wouldn't want to be poisoned by Kaoru-chan's awful cooking."

"Megumi-san!" Kaoru broke in, outraged.

Megumi continued, ignoring the interruption. "…I'm only here to see Ken-san. And Enizu-san and I are fully acquainted." Her words were accompanied by another coy giggle.

Naruku gave a hesitant smile, unsure about Megumi's forwardness. "That's good. Where's Sano?"

Kaoru shrugged. "I wasn't really expecting him to show up when there's no food to be eaten."

"Oh come on, Kaoru-chan, you are way too hard on him. He comes by sometimes to do things other than…eating…like, um…depositing me here!" Naruku chirped, conveniently leaving out the fact that it had been lunch time when he had brought her back to the dojo.

Yahiko strode toward them from the drill hall. "We having some kind of party here?" he questioned.

Naruku shook her head. "No, Megumi-san just came by to see Kenshin, and Enizu, I guess, is here to…see me?"

Enizu gave a gentle smile. "Mostly. I also wanted to see if young Yahiko would like to spar with me."

Naruku raised her eyebrows. "Hnuh."

"Me?" Yahiko asked, taken aback. He disregarded the reference to him being little since Enizu had also flattered him thoroughly by asking to fight him…one on one, like a real match. Like he was equal. "Sounds good."

The two of them headed back to the drill hall, Kaoru bounding along behind them, offering to play moderator to their match. Naruku trailed along uncertainly, interested in their proclaimed sparring match.

"You coming?" she turned to Kenshin.

"I need to finish up the laundry that I do," he responded reasonably.

She absently bit her lower lip and said in a quiet voice, "If you say so..."

Inside the drill hall, Enizu and Yahiko stood on either side of the room, looking intently at the other.

"Match start!" Kaoru cried in an authoritative tone. "And you had better not loose for sake of the Kamiya Kasshin, Yahiko," she hissed in a more childish manner.

"Don't sweat over it, Kaoru," he retorted.

Only, in five minutes flat, Yahiko was on the floor panting for breath.

Kaoru sighed, downcast, and tossed him a towel to wait for him to sort out his minor injuries.

"You're very good Yahiko," Enizu spoke, a slight catch in his breath. "Don't doubt that."

"I thought…" Yahiko paused to gather breath. "That you didn't carry a sword. How are you so good, then?"

Enizu gave a wry smile. "It's true I don't carry a sword…but that doesn't mean I don't know how to use one." He walked to the door and set the wooden bokken on one of the racks.

"Naruku?" Kaoru said softly, turning around to face the girl, who seemed frozen to the spot.

"What? Oh…yeah?" Naruku shook her head to clear it. "Where's Megumi-san?"

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Latching onto Kenshin, I'd presume."

Naruku laughed at that. But, as it turned out, Megumi wasn't anywhere near Kenshin. In fact, she was outside chatting amiably with Enizu.

A better description of what Megumi was doing might have included the word 'flirting,' since it was quite apparent that she was. Toying with her silky locks and chortling in that flirtatious way that only Megumi seemed capable of.

Kaoru shook her head disapprovingly at the older woman, sending her raven hair sprawling out in the wind. She cast an uncertain look in Naruku's direction who was humming absently and rocking on her heels, her green eyes slowly sweeping the yard from one side to the other, but still carefully keeping her sight away from Enizu and Megumi. She caught Kaoru staring at her with a slight frown and shifted her weight uncomfortably.

"You should do something," Kaoru urged, and then winced at her own words. She gestured over the yard to where Megumi was 'being friendly' with Enizu.

"What?" Naruku asked. "Oh. Well, I mean, it's not a big deal…" she looked away. "And anyway, part of me is sort of glad that Enizu is getting along with everyone. However small it is, the feeling is still there."

"Well, not everyone gets along with him," Kaoru reminded her, a bit uncomfortable to stomp on Naruku's already tiny bubble. "Not Sano."

Naruku raised her eyebrows as just that person entered the courtyard.

"Hey," Sano grunted. "What are you doing here?" He jerked a thumb at Enizu.

"Enizu-san and I are having a conversation, baka," Megumi cut in smoothly. "If you are looking for food, Ken-san is in the kitchen preparing dinner as we speak."

"Oh, dear," Enizu spoke. "I have overstayed my welcome. I'm off, then."

"Wait!" Naruku let her voice carry across the yard. "You can stay. Can't he, Kaoru-chan?"

"No he can't…" she heard Sano grumble, but she ignored him.

Kaoru looked a little uneasy. "Well, sure, I guess…"

"Come on, Enizu, stay for dinner!" Naruku pleaded, bounding up to him.

"I thank you for the offer," Enizu responded with a tight smile. "But I really must get going."

"Oh. Well, all right. I will see you soon," Naruku replied, a tad downcast.

"Yes, I'll see you very soon koishii." He turned away and walked through the dojo gate to the outside world.

Megumi seemed a little surprised with the way Enizu addressed Naruku, but the younger girl hadn't even taken notice, and was now shuffling inside, another, different tune on her lips.

"I fear I cannot stay for dinner either," Megumi told them. "I have patients to attend to. I'll see you all very soon, perhaps tomorrow depending on how much work there is."

"Good-bye, Megumi-san," Kaoru told her sincerely, and she and Sano turned to go inside.

The next morning, after breakfast and as Naruku was finishing up the dishes, she heard yells coming from the drill hall. The battle-cries piqued her curiosity, as they carried different volume and tone than the ones that usually drifted in from Yahiko. A dishtowel still in hand, Naruku crept from the kitchen out toward the drill hall, and pressed her whole body up against the door.

"Hiten Mitsurugi—Ryu Tsui Sen!" Though muffled through the walls, Naruku could still hear the words clear as day. Her eyes widened as she realized it was Kenshin practicing in there. She had never seen Kenshin use a serious attack before.

Inside the drill hall was silent, but Naruku reached for the door anyway, beginning her attempt to slide it open and slip in to watch. What she hadn't counted on, however, was that Kenshin was virtually done practicing and was headed for the door himself. The result was the two of them crashing headlong into each other, with a soapy dishtowel shoved into Kenshin's face. Not to mention two sets of throbbing heads, respectively.

"Itai…" Naruku groaned, taking a moment to disentangle her limbs from Kenshin's. "S-sumimasen, Kenshin," she managed. "I just heard you in here and wanted to see some of your sword style…"

"It's all right, Naruku-dono," Kenshin replied cheerfully as he stood up and brushed himself off, determining that there were no inflicted injuries. "If you'd like, we could start training right now, that we could."

Naruku's eyes grew wide at this prospect. "Oh, that would be just fantastic Kenshin, I really, really couldn't—" she stopped and looked down at herself, a rose color appearing in addition to the skin tones of her cheeks. She was still dressed in her light sleeping yukata, having forgotten that she had decided to go to breakfast as such, enduring much mockery from Yahiko. She pushed herself up to her feet. "I think I'll change first," she decided, as if this was something that needed real contemplation.

Kenshin laughed. "I'll wait here for you, that I will."

He didn't have to wait long. Naruku was back in the drill hall and decked out in her newer set of training hakama. She grinned as she approached.

"Shall we, then?" she prompted.

Kenshin felt himself growing ever more nervous as Naruku confidently sashayed to the center of the drill hall and turned back to him for instruction. He had never taught anyone swordsmanship, and until Naruku had stated her reasons for asking, he had never intended to.

"Kenshin?" came a shocked gasp from the doorway. Kaoru stood there, her bokken in hands, blue eyes widened.

"G-good morning Kaoru-dono," Kenshin smiled appreciatively, though his anxiety showed through as well.

Kaoru blinked and her eyes grew further when she spotted Naruku, who gave a small wave. "Mornin' Kaoru-chan."

"Should I ask what you two are doing in here?" Kaoru asked uneasily.

Naruku's gaze flickered to Kenshin. "No. Kenshin's just training me, is all, but I should have figured we'd need to find a better spot, ne?"

Kaoru looked back and fourth between the two of them. By Naruku's flat-out tone it was hard to tell if she were just kidding and giving the dead-pan. She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I can't say what it would be that would make Kenshin want to train you in his sword style…you aren't blackmailing him, are you?"

Naruku only laughed at the accusation. "Most definitely," she tittered. "Not, Kaoru-chan. You should know me better than that."

"In any case," Kenshin cut in, recovering his ability to speak. "We should get going, Naruku-dono. I've just thought of the perfect place for you to train."

"Is that so?" Naruku inquired, coming over to him. "Well then, lead the way."

It was fifteen minutes later when Kenshin and Naruku arrived in a secluded clearing by the side of the river.

When she set eyes on the spot, Naruku's eyes fluttered closed and she breathed in deeply. "This is definitely the place," she said aloud.

Kenshin shrugged off her odd comment—everyone at the dojo did a lot of that—and watched as Naruku drew her sword and admired the sharp, clear glare of the sun off its metal surface.

"Did I ever tell you it was my father who made this sword?" she questioned.

"Hai, Naruku-dono, you did. The day we met, if I recall." He stopped there and waited for her to go on, but she didn't.

Instead put down her sword and informed him quietly, "I saw you through a crack in the door this morning. You know…it's a little strange, but when I saw you focused like that I really thought you just…knew everything. You looked so calm, but focused. And so wise, too…" She cut her musings short and craned her neck to look at the sky.

Kenshin didn't quite know what to say to that, so he didn't respond. "Should we start?"

Naruku turned to him, her eyes lingering a little longer than usual, and nodded.

"I could not live with myself if I taught some one of this era a killing form of kenjutsu. That's why you will be learning the subdued form of Hiten Mitsurugi. Because the satsujin-ken…I believe they call it the killing sword truly because it kills those that wield it, slowly," he shuddered. "I would never teach you that."

Naruku nodded, suddenly overtaken by the solemnity of it. She closed her eyes and soaked up all of that information, delving between the lines for the things Kenshin had not quite said, but meant. The kind of kenjutsu she was to learn…it took strenuous amounts of concentration and focus. Not only that, but understanding, too.

As Kenshin went on to review the basics of kenjutsu, she felt her mind open up in a way it never had before. It was like a heavy wood door, which had stood so resolutely, blocking her mind, but now slowly swung open with each movement, each word that Kenshin spoke. She mimicked his fluid motions, trying to get that one swing just right.

Kenshin smiled as she finally did a flawless swing, and Naruku suddenly felt a rush of power through her body. She had never known what it felt like, that one stream of power, flowing through her body into the sword she held. With every motion, every step, every swish of her sword through the air, she felt a new surge of understanding.

"Fantastic!" Kenshin cried out, inwardly proud that he was able to teach swordsmanship and have her pick it up so readily.

His praise cut through Naruku's mind, which had gone blank yet oddly bright with her newfound revelations.

She smiled at Kenshin as he proceeded to show her some simple footwork. She copied him—stumbled, tried again. Each time she lifted herself up, each time she took a precious step she was opening her mind a little more. And it felt good, to fall and fail, to get up and try again time after time.

She felt bits of dirt and grass finding their way to her, clumping together as she progressed. Step. Step. Swish. They were building up there, just like she felt her movements were. That made her glow with an odd sense of independence. Swish. And yet, it scared her, too. She had never known more than she was told, when it came down to it. Step. This pure, delicate knowledge she was slowly absorbing was new to her. Swish! Step. It was knowing something from inside herself. As if she had simply snatched the knowledge strait from the clear blue skies.

She didn't have to be told. Step. She didn't have to be shown. Swish! Swish!

She fell down trying a new series of steps, but simply jumped to her feet again, not bothering to brush herself off.

"That's good for now," Kenshin said, holding a hand out. "Rest for a little."

Naruku sheathed her sword and leaned against a tree, regulating her heart to normal pace.

"I'm going to teach you the simple blocking techniques," Kenshin announced. "If someone's coming to your left side, your instinct would be to swing left and try to reach there first. However, to block without fail, swing your sword to the right in a half circle to intercept the attempted strike. You'll have to twist your grip on the sword without slipping on it, but other than that this tactic is flawless. Even if you don't get there fast enough, you can use to momentum of our swing to force their sword away from your body. Use the footwork I just taught you, depending on how high or low the aim of your opponent is."

Naruku blinked, forming a mental image.

"Now this is in self-defense, so striking back isn't an option. I'll teach you a few offensive moves at another time. Try blocking, for now."

Naruku unsheathed her sword, and as she did so she felt as though she were unsheathing a million possibilities, a million cryptic revelations. She stared at Kenshin with hard eyes, concentrating.

Without warning, Kenshin had his sword out and was aiming to strike her left side as hard as he could. She jolted in surprise at how serious he was about it, but managed to block flawlessly in the way Kenshin had described. He came at her again, on the right, and she did what her new instincts told her—swung to the left. She forced his sword away from her hip. Only, then Kenshin attacked again, going straight for her.

He hadn't taught her this block, but Naruku's mind was blank of critical thinking when she trained, only her movements and reflexes guided her. And now they drove her to hold her sword diagonally from her chest. With a quick reanalysis, Naruku realized that Kenshinhad momentum on his side, so she held her sword firmly in her right hand and pushed her left forearm against her sword for last-minute reinforcement.

Kenshin seemed surprised, and Naruku gave a shove with her left arm to throw him off. He jumped back and sheathed his sword.

"I wanted to see if you could think on your feet. In order to protect yourself, and those around you proficiently, you can't only know what you are taught. You must be able to think on your feet and be ready to make last minute adjustments, like you just did. I'm very proud of you, that's a tactic not many would have thought of," Kenshin smiled warmly. "It seems to derive from kempo."

Naruku nodded. "I suppose." She cracked a smile. "My heart was beating so fast. Jeez, you know, you didn't have to scare me like that."

Kenshin repeated that he had wanted to test her ability to think on her feet.

They practiced blocking for a little while longer until Kenshin let up and told her to practice her swings and footwork again and then they would go back.

Ichi.

Naruku cleared her mind as she felt the sound of her sword cutting swiftly through the air lull her into rhythm with her steps.

Ni.

Each swing was another step down a winding path to her soul. She didn't know what she would find along the way, but she knew that the important part was the journey—not the destination. Endless. Echoing.

San.

Her steps beat softly on the brown Earth below her feet. She loved the sound of it; the sound of herself making progress, growing closer to the ideas and goals that Kenshin had carried for so long.

Shi.

"Let's go back now, Naruku. It's getting late," Kenshin said serenely.

Naruku closed her eyes briefly and stilled. She sheathed her sword, wrapping and packaging all that she had learned today.

"Kaoru will have started on dinner already," Kenshin said as they walked back.

"Ecch…I don't fancy that too much," Naruku revealed, but she could not portray any of the disgust in her voice. She felt herself getting rather weary on the way up the hill. "D'you think we could have a longer lesson tomorrow?"

"Sure, Naruku-dono," Kenshin replied, putting a hand on her back to steady her. "I'll make a bath for you so you can clean up before dinner."

Naruku let a grateful smile spread across her features. "Thank you, Kenshin," she muttered as they entered the gate.

Fifteen minutes later, Naruku stood nude in the bath house, testing the water for temperature. It was perfect and warm, so she slid all the way in, snatching her hair tie from her hair. She smiled in satisfaction and slouched down so the water rose higher on her. She sighed and relaxed, contemplating Kenshin and how he related to the Hiten Mitsurugi as a hitokiri, and now as a wandering swordsman.

She was still thinking along these lines an hour and a half later as she yawned and settled down to bed. She snuggled against her covers and was overtaken by sleep.

Only to be woken again by a hoarse chuckle and a metal blade held three centimeters away from her face.