Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Fourteenth Master ❯ Titles and Nothing More ( Chapter 5 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The Fourteenth Master
Ch. 5- Titles and Nothing More
Hitokiri Saizen Tamoru
[ronin setora]



_ _ _ _
"It seems I've been outcasted by all. Maybe even by myself."
His silver hair blows in the wind as a cold dusk falls upon central Japan.
_ _ _ _

a/n: This author note is rather long to clear up some historical things. For one,
Yoshinobu Tokugawa WAS indeed the fifteenth and last Tokugawa Shogun. As far as I
know, he did NOT have an heir to the Tokugawa name before the end of his reign. As
you should know, Himura Kenshin (Shinta) was not a real person. There was also no
"battousai" of the Bakufu forces, all they had were simple assassins. The last
battle in the Bakumatsu was executed in Kyoto, won by the Shi-shi (Ishinshishi) in
1867. I know there was only one or two days between the battle that gained Kenshin his
first scar and his encounter with Tomoe and the Niwaban-shu ninja, but for the
story's sake I extended this time greatly. Now, on with the "Fourteenth Master"--


Saizen wanders the streets of Kyoto, the dusk falling upon Japan, casting crimson-
gold upon his silver hair. His bangs hang low, too long unmanaged, across his face,
covering the top of the scar that went from above his left eye-brow to the side of
his lips. As he moves down a large street, his pre-occupied mind does not notice
the already small crowd flee to the sides of the street. The Tamoru/Tokugawa child
also does not see the light blue and white clad group moving down the center of the
dirty road. His eyes are never brought up as he walks completely through their
ranks, causing each of them to turn and face him, one-by-one, a murderous glare on
their faces. One man, of about middle to tall height, with a bit of a long face and
a black ponytail pulled high, stares at Saizen with his thin eyes, more than murder
behind his pupils. A contempt for the look of this boy playing at his mind. He
places his right hand on the hilt of his sword and catches the boy's shoulder.
"Do you know what you just did?"
The boy moves his shoulder slightly and slips from the man's grasp, walking on as
if nothing had slowed him. A small person, of a child's stature pulls from the
group and stands in the way of Saizen. He looks up at him, a small hand on a full
sized katana's hilt. A form of confidence and offense is in his eyes opposed to the
painful thoughts in those of his comrades. He speaks in a small voice that fits
well his size, then grows louder slowly to make sure he was heard.
"You stupid fool. Never disrespect Master Saitoh. We should have you killed here
and now."
Saizen places his right hand in the center of Okita's chest and shoves him aside,
moving yet again as if there had been no obstacle. His downcast gaze catches the
angry stare of the smaller warrior.
"Don't bother me child."
Okita draws his katana and readies to attack this arrogant warrior. Saitoh steps
forward and grabs the blunt side of the brandished sword, holding Okita back. His
steady black eyes watch those of the young boy, taking in the offense, the anger,
the hatred, and the preparedness to kill right in the middle of the street. Saizen
moves far from the range of any of the Shinsen-gumi swordsmen and proceeds to the
inn, hoping to speak only to Ami before anyone else for fear of saying something
wrong or starting a battle. Okita looks up to Saitoh, almost pulling away to fight
his leader.
"Master Saitoh!! Why did you stop me?!"
Hajime Saitoh, with his stone cold stare and fearless mind looks at the faint form
of Saizen in the semi-darkness.
"The smell of blood. I wonder if that is the swordsman that has killed so many
without being caught. The Battousai?"
"Master?"
"You would have lost the battle."
The Shinsen-gumi begins moving again down the street, Saitoh plotting a way to
payback the cocky warrior that had earned such fame. Okita walks in silence, hoping
that he would become strong enough to earn the respect of his master.
--|-------
"Well Amiko, we can't keep him here."
"Mother... please."
The landlady and innkeeper looks down at her daughter, dissapointment in her eyes
at the foolishness of her.
"He is no longer one of the Choshu men, I have already heard."
"Oh... oh no... no mother no... let him stay. Please."
Amiko starts crying, falling to her knees and shielding her face with her hands. "Please
Mother, let him stay, for me."
The innkeeper doesn't even try to comfort her daughter. She just stares down at her
in contempt for this petty attempt at groveling.
"Love has blinded you. Forget Tamoru and keep working or I'll have you sold."
"Mother!!!!"
She walks away back to the entrance of the inn to wait for new business, leaving
her to cry rivers along the wooden floor. As her tears flow, Kenshin walks into the
inn. He says a few words to the innkeeper at the front then proceeds to the end of
the hall to his room. As he slides closed the shoji he can partly hear sobbing
coming through the thin walls. From the direction of the sound, he sees a hitokiris
face flash in his mind. But the crying is that of a woman coming from Saizen's room
so he steps back out and knocks on the shoji. From inside, Amiko stops crying and
sucks in her breath.
"Oh no... I shouldn't be in here."
She looks around and sees no way of leaving the room but from the main door so
breathes in and out several times very slowly and walks to the door. She drops to
her knees and slides the shoji open from the side and gasps at her "guest".
"Konbonwa," as she dries tears with her sleeve, "Ken-san. How are you?"
Kenshin looks around the room in search of Saizen, seeing nothing in his violet
irises. He looks back to Amiko and her tears flow slowly down her face again. His
look of surprise fades back to his drab, unfeeling, soft-spokenness, finally
regaining composure in his mind and stance.
"What's the matter? Where is Tamoru-san?"
Amiko tries to stop crying and her breaths come quick, cutting her words into
pieces,
"Saizen... l-left... gone... damn that man... d-damn h-him. That... damned T-
takamori..."
Kenshin's eyes grow bright then become dull again, his famous lack of emotion
overcoming him, making him seem himself again. But in that moment of brightness a
form of sorriness, of pity for this saddened little girl, plays at his mind. He
feels a sudden urge to comfort her but holds it back until the shine dissappears.
But even still, this wanting to comfort comes as a brotherly kind of feeling, one
he would have expected to have died with the rest of his family related emotions.
Through all this he holds his breath, organizing his words to not depress her
further, to even try and make her feel better,
"Try and forgive Takamori-sama. He has... done only what he must... but," Kenshin
breaths for a few moments, questioning the next thing he planned on saying, "I'll
bring Tamoru-san back... if you'll just stop crying."
Kenshin then thinks to himself, What the hell are you saying?! Be quiet!! Don't say
anything else!
Amiko looks up, her tears in a steady stream down her cheeks, her eyes shining
bright with happiness. She pulls back her dark brown hair from her face and smiles
up at Kenshin,
"R-really? Oh THANK YOU!!"
Kenshin stares down at her, wondering about how he would accomplish his recent
promise. Why in the Hell! did I just do that?! Kami-sama!!
He walks out the shoji and goes back to his own room. He drops to the floor nearby
the window, leaning against the stacks of books he would never have the chance to
read. He closes his violet eyes as blood begins to run down the left side of his
face. He recalls Iizuka's words,
He's getting revenge even from the afterlife.
"I haven't even done anything this time..."
He suddenly remembers something and reaches into his sleeve, pulling out a deep
black envelope, grimacing as he slides it open.
"No time for this... I'll worry about Tamoru later."
--|-------
At the Imperial Courtroom of Edo Castle, still occupied by the cowardly, now one-
handed, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, a messenger comes in at the side of the Shogun's
retainer. The retainer stands stock-still and the messenger drops to his knees, his
head to the floor. When finally Yoshinbou acknowledges him, the messenger pulls a
small folded piece of paper from an inside pocket. Without lifting his head and not
standing full-up, he does a kneel-crawl toward the Shogun with the letter at the
greatest extent of his arms. When within range, the Shogun takes the letter and
unfolds it with haste. As he reads he nods and shakes his head, sighing when it was
done. The entire court looks to him, straining their ears for any whispered
comments he might make. Finally he looks up.
"It seems... the Tamoru boy is indeed of Tokugawa blood... and is my heir."
There is a simeltaneous gasp from the men of the court.
"And now that he has been exiled from here..."
Everyone leans forward to the Shogun,
"...the Tokugawa family is done. So, a new mission to all of my men,"
The few soldiers, leaders of their respective groups, in the room look forward to
Yoshinobu with a new interest,
"Is to find Saizen Tamoru and bring him here- ALIVE." Several of the men groan
though they knew that alive was the only one that made sense of the two.
"To the man that gets him here, there will be the greatest of rewards and you will
be promoted to a Daimyo and given as much land as I can afford one man."
All of the samurai that fought in battle smiled at this new promise and were very
ready to leave the courtroom and begin searching.
"Also, in honor of my now deceased but faithful guard, Kai, all the land in his
name will go to the family of the samurai to bring me my son. That is all."
Many men rush out to rally their men and prepare for a search and perhaps battle.
Yoshinobu sighs again, speaking to his retainer,
"How could I have not known about this child for sixteen years now?"
The retainer breaths in deeply, hoping he'd keep his head for his next comment,
"Did you ever visit a brothel before your reign?"
Yoshinobu's eyes grow wide and he sucks in his breath quickly.
--|-------
Kenshin pounds on the door of the inn, blood and mud on the bottom of his leggings,
a woman in light clothing smelling of white plum draped over his shoulder. He holds
a purple, blood-soaked umbrella in his other hand as the landlady finally opens up
to him.
"You Choshu men are amazing. Kill all night and still manage to find a woman."
Himura Kenshin, the Battousai of Choshu Forces, formerly of the Kihei-tai, glares
at the innkeeper,
"Please prepare a room for her."
The innkeeper looks up indignantly then begins walking toward the hallway entrance
door,
"There are no vacancies. None at all. This isn't a whorehouse anyway. Why don't you
take her to your room like a gentlemen? I'll get some dry clothes and warm towels."
Kenshin just stands over the woman, thoroughly surprised at this outburst from the
normally generous innkeeper.
--|-------
Saizen walks past a nasty scene, blood both forward and backward down the small
alleyway, a large-framed man cut down the middle, a chained katana to his arm lying
bloodied near him. He glances at the man once more and notices his unusual clothing
and the face-mask.
"An assassin. Hmm..."
As the rain continues to fall, he hears whistles in the distance, the signal that
some kind of authorities were near. He, still known as a Hitokiri to some, and a
man with a sword no less, would have seemed suspicious there so he flees quickly,
climbing to the rooftops and hurrying toward the inn. The smell of white plums
lingers in the area and he notes it before hopping away.
--|-------
Early in the morning Kenshin is walking down the stairs searching for the woman
that had dominated his dreams. As he is going down he sees her carrying a tray but
hears a guided footstep behind him. He turns quickly and sees Saizen on the
balcony, dripping wet, his bangs glued to his forehead. He watches him slip into
the back entrance of his room, then ignores it and rushes down the stairs in hopes
to catch the lady he had rescued the night before.
"Wait! Are you alright?"
She nods.
"Thank you. I was very drunk last night."
Kenshin is startled.
"What is your name?"
"Yukishiro Tomoe."
As she hurries away to the main guest room, he stares in shock at her retreating
form,
"Drunk?"
--|-------
Right as Kenshin is walking out the shoji, disgusted at Iizuka's perversion, Saizen
comes down the stairs. They walk in opposite directions, almost crossing each
other's paths. When they come shoulder-to-shoulder, Kenshin stops. Saizen does the
same and they each stare at the walls far in front of them. The Battousai speaks
first,
"Amiko is worried about you. She may do something foolish."
Without looking away from the wall, Saizen replies,
"Amiko will be fine as long as I'm here. But I can't stay."
"Take her with you."
"I have no place to go to shelter even myself alone, much less two of us."
"If you can promise me something, I may be able to get you back on the Choshu
side."
Saizen blinks and opens his eyes to be staring at the floor before him,
"I have no desire to rejoin the Choshu men, but what do you need?"
"Yoshinobu is coming for you. I can feel it. You know why."
"I won't go back to my father. I've got another reason, though, besides his
disowning me."
Kenshin blinks and looks at Saizen out the corner of his eye. Saizen catches this
movement and continues speaking without bothering to look at the other warrior,
"The men of the field. Do you know what they call you?"
Kenshin is silent.
"That title is rightfully mine."
Saizen walks away then, into the room where Iizuka had begun laughing with the men
again and all of them staring hopelessly at Tomoe. Kenshin stands still, taking in
his conversation with the ex-hitokiri just then and that odd night many days
before. Blood runs down his face again as he goes to the sinks to clean.
--|-------
Several groups of soldiers move through the streets of Kyoto, searching places
Saizen had been known to frequent. It seemed that, though all the other groups had
missions, there was one group with a different kind of mission. This group
consisted of two men and one boy. They wore colors that created fear in the very
hearts of the city people. The light-blue and jagged white forced respect from
peasants without assistance from it's wearer. Okita and Saitoh are accompanied by a
lesser member of the Shinsen-gumi as they search for the one they believed to be
Battousai and knew to be an arrogant fool.
That particular night, they chose to go into an inn. And this was the inn that the
Battousai and his rival stayed at, along with Tomoe and Amiko. The two women were
the very ones doing reception that night and Tomoe was the first they hassled.
"Do you know a silver haired swordsman?"
The lesser member had Tomoe by the shoulders and was shaking her, he also being the
man asking the questions. The Yukishiro girl shook her head solemnly and quickly,
being released with such force she was tossed to the side of the room. The man then
grabbed Amiko the same way and asked her the question. She averted her eyes, hoping
that, if she didn't look this monstrous man in the face she wouldn't have to
answer. He violently shakes her, causing her hair to come loose from it's bun.
Tears begin to roll down her face and Saitoh steps forward.
"Enough."
The man stops shaking her and she cries audibly.
"Quiet."
When she doesn't, the man slaps her and she falls to the ground. The innkeeper,
though in another room, hears the cries and the slap and rushes into the welcoming
area of the inn.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?! Don't ever touch one of my employees!
Especially not that one!!"
The man stares at the landlady, his hand moving to the hilt of his katana. When she
sees that, she says in a rock steady voice,
"If you draw that sword, you will be killed here and now."
He grips the katana and pulls lightly, causing the lamplight to shine on the inch
of blade exposed. The lady screams,
"HIMURA!!!"
In the time it takes the Battousai to hear the call, Saizen is down the stairs and
watching the scene. He dashes forward and past the innkeeper and slashes through
the Shinsen-gumi warrior as he draws his sword. Okita steps back and draws his
katana.
"That's him!"
The innkeeper yells mostly unintelligibly until Saizen hears,
"OUT!! NOT IN HERE YOU'LL RUIN MY INN!!!"
Saitoh steps out and drags Okita with him Saizen follows and they stand in the
street, the young boy and the former Hitokiri staring at each other, the taller
warrior in complete silence. Okita takes a ready position and rushes at Saizen to
find that he is gone completely. By the time he notices the falling swordsman in
the air, Saitoh has knocked him out of the way and has backed up. Saizen pulls his
katana back and flips onto a roof, landing with perfection. He sheaths his katana
and stares down at Okita. Saitoh watches them glare at one another, then speaks
quietly to the boy,
"I told you before. Now come, this is not the one. He would have killed you had he
been."
Okita wonders why Saitoh would walk away and not finish this warrior, wonders why
he had been knocked away, wonders why the silver haired fighter had not killed him
indeed. He rises to one knee and yells at Saizen before following after Saitoh,
"I'll get you! Just wait!"
Saizen watches them leave, then thinks to himself,
The world is just out to get me lately. That's just fine.
Kenshin viewed all this from the top of the stairs and the doorway of the inn, then
thinks to himself,
This man could be considered a Battousai. But is it that important? It's just a
title... and nothing more. Why would it matter so much?
He turns and walks back up the stairs to his room. He leans again by the books and
shuts his eyes, thoughts of Tomoe and Saizen plaguing his mind.

~To Be Continued~
a/n: As should be obvious, I've been using this and the preivous chapter to clear up
things about his past. I figure it's about time to get a bit of a confrontation
goin don't ya think? So here it is, next chapter- Leader of Men, or Killer of Men?
How do Hitokiris regain their names?