Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Steps Of Courage ❯ Into Motion ( Chapter 11 )

Disclaimer: All standard disclaimers apply. Always.

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Chapter 11

A grizzled, rough-looking man grinned and tossed his cigarette to the ground, watching it smolder. He got to his feet and walked over to his comrade, a fierce, sharp man who has his sword held up and pressed right beneath Naruku's jaw line.

Naruku stared up at him, feeling the cold hand of fear grasp for her. She hardened her expression and pushed the icy terror away. It soon returned as she realized she was without her sword, and not to mention in her sleeping yukata. Though, she supposed it was better than being dressed in some foreign garment.

The man holding the sword increased the distance from the tip of his blade to her skin, and Naruku breathed.

The swordsman drew his sword completely away and turned to his seven-odd comrades. He said something, but Naruku could only hear her own pulse inside her head. She trembled, thinking the worst, and realizing the worst when she noticed the thick rope that snaked around her ankles, binding them together, and the identical lash around her wrists.

Slowly, Naruku felt each of her senses return to her. First, where the hell am I? Second, how did I get here? And third, now that I'm out of mind-freezing danger, how am I to escape? She mentally kicked herself for being so trouble-prone, and stifled a desire to beat something up for her inability to ever save herself.

It will be different this time, Naruku decided. She would save herself this time, with or without a sword, and without Kenshin, too. What good is my training, little though I've had, if I can't even get myself out of a situation like this?

The swordsman and those he was conversing with turned back to Naruku, but by that time at least the first half of her last-minute plan had been formed. Before their eyes had fallen on her completely, Naruku twisted over onto her back. Her captors came forward, so she used all her strength to kick up—and she landed the blow. Her opponent stumbled back, but was more surprised than hurt. That was just fine. Naruku was best at surprising people.

Her first opponent, the swordsman, drew his sword and swung swiftly down, attempting to cut her face in half. But Naruku was quicker and she had her bound hands up, blocking her face from the lethal blow.

The man felt no familiar spatter of blood on his face and neck, so he looked down into Naruku's triumphant eyes.

This was one thing Naruku knew she was doing on her own. It may be Kenshin's training, his guidance that it helping me along, she thought. But this is all me!

The sword pressed into the thick rope and Naruku struggled to keep it a safe distance from her face. The sharp blade cut through the rope at a quick rate, and if it cut all the way through its momentum would carry it down through Naruku's face to the ground.

Wasting no time, Naruku crossed her hands over the sword, trapping it with her bindings. The swordsman looked in confusion, but as soon as understanding dawned on him it was too late. With a quick but well-executed yank, Naruku sent the weapon flying over her sprawled body and heard it clatter to the ground behind her somewhere. The quick jerking motion had split the rest of the rope. Just like that, her hands were free.

Without a second's hesitation, Naruku rolled unceremoniously to her feet and looked in satisfaction at her other opponent's faces. One in front put on his fiercest scowl and charged at her, his own sword held high in the air. It was too easy, really, even if her feet were currently bound. Effortlessly, Naruku flipped over so she was standing on her hands, and as her opponent swung his sword down with such force it cut clear through the rope that had previously rendered her immobile. She caught the blade between her ankles, and flipped back to her feet, both relieving the ache in her wrists and bringing the man and his sword straight into the hard ground.

Now completely free to fight, Naruku did not feel she was at a disadvantage. These tough-looking guys had already proved they were but small fries. One of the aforementioned thugs charged wildly toward her, with no weapon. Naruku tensed and when he was near enough, kneed him in the gut. He gave a groan that made Naruku's estimate of knocking the wind out of him right on target.

Two more men rushed at her, one in front of the other, both furious at the disgrace at being beaten so easily by a mere girl. Naruku was used to that. The first charged at her, growling, and she sidestepped him when it became too late for him to change directions. Before he could even think about revamping his path, she grabbed his wrist, spun around from his momentum and jammed her elbow between two joints of his spinal cord. He grunted and couldn't help but fall to the ground.

The other guy Naruku dealt with by smashing the butt of her palm into his nose as he ran past and seizing his arm which she them proceeded to twist behind his back in a startlingly painful way. He roared in pain and fury, and was about to attempt to break free and lash at her, but Naruku was quick and shoved her foot into his back and extended her leg, sending him toppling over forward.

She spun back around, hair whipping at her face distractingly, to face any more oncoming attackers. A few of her previous opponents gritted their teeth and got up again to fight, but Naruku took them down again, and soon she was all alone in the alleyway again.

A night breeze blew past and Naruku folded her arms and shivered. Suddenly she felt very insecure and paranoid. She had, after all, just been kidnapped, and had no way of knowing where she was. She set her face in grim determination and knelt next to one of the fallen men. She spotted his sword a few feet off and bit her lip, trying to sort out her internal struggle. Should she take it? She had never wielded a death-inducing weapon before. It went against all her beliefs, and her father's. If this was to be the first time she held a sword in real combat using the Hiten Mitsurugi, did she want to dishonor it with a true blade? A blade that could kill…

But it was cold, she was vulnerable and if she was careful…very careful…she wouldn't kill anyone with it. Just for self-defense. But true swords are never used in self-defense.

She was still teetering between both sides of the fence when Naruku felt a pair of clammy hands grab her. The hands dragged her to her feet and pushed her roughly, back against the wall. She bit her tongue to keep from screaming in fear and frustration.

A cold metal blade was pressed against her throat for the second time that night. She coughed; she couldn't help it. Her coughing turned to choking and soon she was gasping for air.

"Stay silent!" her assaulter barked, moving the sword so there was space, however little, between it's blade and her neck.

Her choking ceased at once, but her breathing was very hard, weighted with anger and terror. She could only hear her own breath, ragged to her ears, and a very soft blowing of the wind. She was scared. She was scared to death.

But something made her want to do something, anything but just stand there and wait to die. She started to speak, but her voice was high and all that came out was a dry gasp. She tried again, and she could speak, but her voice was quivering. "W-what do you want?" she shivered, and wished she was wearing something aside from her sleeping yukata.

"You truly don't know?" he mocked her.

"I…" she closed her eyes. "I do." And she did. She just hadn't wanted to admit it, because for two months she had been convinced she was safe. That they weren't out to get her anymore. She was so unwilling to let go of this security, even when it had been wrenched so obviously out of her hands. "Are you going to kill me?"

He chuckled at that. "Now, why would I do that? What a waste of a perfectly good hostage."

Naruku was barely surprised at the bleak truth. She took a shaking breath.

"Oh yes, I know of at least two people that would come running to save you," he sneered. "Both of them I'm very, let's say… interested in."

Naruku felt like some strange spirit had seized control of her voice, because she couldn't believe what she was saying next. Perhaps somewhere in her mind she realized it was worth the risk, though it seemed like a cheap retort. "You wouldn't stand a chance against either of them. You're weak."

And then he was mad, only proving further that what she said was true. "Bitch!" he seized her hair in fury and tugged on it. She screamed; she had not been expecting such a cheap attack. But then again, this man had once worked in one of the biggest underground syndicates in Japan. What could she expect from guys like him, if not low blows?

He let go of her hair and shoved her roughly against the wall, this time pressing against her and trapping her there. She knew he was about to start yelling—but it never came. Instead he drew away, focused intently on something else.

Kenshin raced along the main street, glancing down each alleyway as they flashed by. He had woken up in cold sweat earlier that night, and when he had checked Naruku's room, she hadn't been there, or anywhere else in the dojo. That's when he had known for sure something was wrong. So on his way out, he had snatched Naruku's hanashitou. He knew she would thank him for that later. He neared an alleyway that seemed to inexplicably make his senses scream. There had been a fight there, recently. He veered over and turned into the alleyway. Someone had been the clear victor. Who?

Scrapes of ropes with the ends frazzled and a discarded white cloth that reeked the putrid smell of chemicals. So she had been drugged. While Kenshin had figured as much (Naruku was hardly that heavy of a sleeper) it still made him boil with fury. He heard a slight sound, so small, but it was there.

"Naruku-dono!" He raced blindly down the alleyway, the darkness growing as he went deeper. He could hardly see two meters in front of him. His feet hit the ground rhythmically and he supposed he would just have to trust where they headed.

He managed to spot two shaded figures, both of them looking at him. One seemed to have been interrupted as he advanced on the other figure. The other was backed against the wall and looked very familiar. It was Naruku.

"You will not lay a hand on her, that you won't," Kenshin said in a steady voice.

Naruku didn't dare speak.

"So you have come at last, Battousai. I had been wondering who would claim her first. But this is just fine." Her attacker stepped away from her and approached Kenshin, his back facing wholly and completely to her. She blinked, and could not believe it. She motioned excitedly at Kenshin from behind his opponent. Kenshin narrowed his eyes, trying to make sense of her quick movements.

At last she got frustrated and mimed whacking their enemy on the head. Kenshin nearly laughed, and would have if his opponent hadn't barked at him just then.

"Pay attention Battousai! These could be the last words you hear."

Kenshin knew Naruku was rolling her eyes at that, but he was focusing on getting her sword to her. In the meantime he said politely, "I have no wish to fight you, that I don't."

"That's unfortunate. A fight between the two of us is inevitable," He grinned wickedly and stepped into an offensive stance. He looked smugly at Kenshin and barely felt the wind rustle unevenly above his head. But he did head the chink of metal impacting.

"Since you held a sword against my throat, I've been holding kind of a grudge," Naruku said coolly from behind him. He slowly turned around to mock her.

"Your fight," Naruku continued evenly. "Is with me!"

She flew at him, unsheathing her sword. She swung it hard at him, not counting on making contact but just to prove she wasn't kidding and she was worth his focus.

Still composed despite this twist of events, Naruku's opponent blocked her attack easily. She put more force on her sword, acutely aware of their strength difference and the fact that her opponent had gravity on his side. Seconds before she would be overpowered, Naruku jumped away, landing on the other side of him. Before she could congratulate herself on her tactics, her opponent whirled, attacking from the left and then the right in two swift motions.

If he was hoping to catch her off guard, he was not going to do it that easily. She blocked both attacks with precision, though it took effort.

"Battousai!" Naruku's opponent cried out. "She is weak. She's nothing. Why am I being dismissed and degraded to fighting the likes of her!"

Not even good enough to talk to directly, am I? Naruku grumbled inwardly. This man is truly a fool. "If I'm so weak," she retorted, "Then why haven't you beaten me yet? You can have your fight with Kenshin—right after you win against me!"

She hoped Kenshin would get that she was humoring her opponent. There was no way she was going to loose, and she'd be damned if Kenshin tried to come in and help her. He would stay out of her fight.

Her opponent charged again, giving two consecutive strikes again, still trying to catch Naruku off guard. But when he struck a third time she disappeared, only to reappear on his other side.

"If this is a race you won't get off so easy!" her opponent warned, whirling around to lunge at her.

"Or maybe I will!" she returned, deflecting his blow. He jumped back but Naruku, who had predicted as such, was already charging. As she entered her striking range, she jumped in the air, and bunched herself into a ball with her feet flat and parallel to the ground. She came down hard, her sword clashing perpendicular to her opponent's, which he held horizontally above his head.

Naruku continued falling to the earth, extending her legs at last minute so that she pushed off immediately on impact. With that momentum she was launched in the air again, the force of her sword pressing down on his catapulting her. She had just soared over his head as force of gravity reached her again. But now she was right above his sword and literally stepped on it to hurl herself into the air again. Sheathing her sword in descent, she flipped and landed in a crouching position behind him, facing away. Without missing a beat, she unsheathed her sword yet again and struck him accurately in the back, as if doing battojutsu from a kneeling stance.

Her opponent keeled over instantaneously and Naruku knew her aim was unflawed when he turned out to be unconscious. By then she was breathing pretty hard herself.

Kenshin looked a little stunned as he helped her to her feet. "I certainly didn't teach you all that in the short lesson we had," he told her at last.

"I, um…guess you didn't really teach me," Naruku replied uncertainly. "But I know I wouldn't have been able to do anything like that if it weren't for my training."

Kenshin had to smile at that.

"So um…" Naruku began as they headed back to the dojo, Kenshin leading since Naruku had no clue where they were. "What made you decide to let me fight in the first place, if you didn't really think I could do it?"

Kenshin frowned. "I didn't doubt you Naruku-dono. I knew you would beat him. And even if you didn't, I had every intention of jumping in there to finish him off if he even tried to hurt you."

Naruku sported a sour look at that comment. "Oh, you didn't doubt me, did you?" she asked sarcastically.

"I didn't," Kenshin repeated stubbornly. "I know now that you have all the basic skills required for learning the Hiten Mitsurugi."

"Such as?"

He laughed. "Speed, for one. A knack for read oncoming attacks and the uncanny ability to defy gravity." He let out a small sheepish grin as Naruku laughed out loud.

"So I'm doing pretty good then?" Naruku asked, a twinkling in her eye.

Kenshin smiled in reply and patted her back to get her to speed up. She was moving at a lethargic pace. She didn't respond to his urging, being only barely awake.

"Well," Naruku yawned and stretched. "Nnnow…at least you know…I can beat…" but she dropped off before she could continue, her arms slung around Kenshin's neck.

Kenshin sighed and scooped her up, carrying her the rest of the way up the hill to the dojo. Light was just peaking over the horizon when he sat down on the porch, his eyes drooping.

"Poor Naruku-dono," he said sympathetically. "That fight took a lot out of her…"

He looked down at her, stretched out beside him, her head resting against the side of his waist and her arms still around his middle. Her chest rose and fell with each deep breath, and Kenshin was struck with how young she looked as she slept. He felt himself growing drowsier and finally allowed himself to drop off to sleep, though as usually it wasn't a true sleep. Kenshin was always alert, his one hand resting on his sword even as his breathing steadied and he slept.

Though the sleep pattern was irregular for Naruku, she took to it and was in the deepest part of sleep, comforted by Kenshin's warmth. She breathed rhythmically, the sound that had finally lulled Kenshin to sleep. She snored softly, her hanashitou near her hand, though she could never wake up quickly enough to use it, unable to remain alert as she slept.

Hours later Kenshin awoke to the quiet sound of footsteps up the path to the dojo. How simple a thing could wake him. The footsteps were jaunty, and had no threatening quality to them, so he relaxed and listened again to Naruku's cadent breaths.

"Lucky child," Kenshin mumbled. "She sleeps on with no fear of danger. She is safe in her dreams." He envied her for that, if he were to be honest with himself. But it made him happy as well, that she could be free of worry.

He decided to remain where he was until Naruku awoke, because she was a fairly light sleeper and her sleep would surely be disturbed were he to move. He looked around and breathed in the crisp morning air, thinking of all the cooking and cleaning he could get done that day.

His whimsical thoughts were soon interrupted when a familiar figure stepped into the dojo gate. Kenshin immediately felt the change in Enizu's ki when his eyes fell across the sleeping Naruku and Kenshin beside her. Enizu became alarmed and then erupted in anger.