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Promise
by Elizabeth
*a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic written for entertainment
purposes only. Rurouni Kenshin characters are the property of Nobohiro
Watsuki.
The boy had only been with
him for a day, and already Hiko was questioning his choice. The graves
of those who died in the massacre attested to the child's strength, but
Hiko knew a great fighter needed spirit as well. He found himself doubting
his pupil's potential as he watched him practice in the slanting light
of afternoon. The boy executed the stances precisely, but without enthusiasm.
Maybe I picked a dreamer, not a warrior. He regarded the child through
narrowed eyes.
"Kenshin!"
The boy stopped in mid-movement,
but did not turn around. "Do a hundred more!"
A slight nod of the head,
and the child completed the interrupted movement, continued on tirelessly.
Hiko sighed. Rebellion, protest, complaints- these would be the reactions
of a normal boy. They would irritate him, but also be reassuring. Hiten
Mitsurugi Ryuu allowed him to read his opponents perfectly. Why could he
not read this child at all, this strange boy whose thoughts were closed
to him? He wondered what would happen if he ordered the boy to do 500 repetitions,
or 1000.
"Kenshin!"
Another quick cessation of
movement. The boy stood poised, waiting but not answering. Hiko looked
up at the sun lowering in the sky. "Nothing. Finish your exercises, then
bring me water from the river." Another nod, sudden motion. Hiko wondered
at the boy's stamina and total control of movement, the only promising
sign in an otherwise discouraging day of training. "Strange child," he
muttered.
Hiko sipped his sake thoughtfully,
watching the silent boy on the other side of the fire. The child sat as
far from him as possible while still staying near the light and warmth
of the flames. Having finished his own dinner some minutes before, Hiko
tried to draw him out by explaining Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu's most exciting
techniques, but the boy only stared into his bowl, picking at his rice.
One grain, two grains...the hashi raised...lowered again before they reached
his lips. One grain, two grains...
"Do you eat?" Hiko exploded.
Kenshin looked up, startled.
"I asked you a question:
Do you eat? To which you answer, 'Yes, Master, I do eat.' or perhaps, in
your case, 'No, Master, I do not eat. I am not a real boy. I am a ghost
you have invited into your house!"
"Yes, Master," the boy whispered.
"Yes, what?"
"I do eat. Just...not now."
Hiko flung the sake from
his bowl and pointed across the flames at Kenshin. "Fine. See how long
you can keep up with my training with such an uncooperative attitude. But
I promise you this: I'm going to turn you into a worthwhile student even
if I have to kill you in the process!"
At the word "kill," Kenshin
was instantly on his feet. His wide-eyed expression was at once so genuine
and ludicrous that Hiko felt his anger evaporating. "Oh, sit down, you
idiot." Kenshin remained standing at the fire's edge. "Sit!"
The boy sat, eyeing him warily.
"What am I going to do with you, Kenshin?"
He was not surprised that
he received no reply.
The boy was watching him
in the darkness. Hiko kept his breathing regular, maintaining the semblance
of sleep while he observed Kenshin through slitted eyelids. The child sat
against the wall with his knees drawn up, his chin resting on them. In
the moonlight that softly illuminated the interior of Hiko's hut his eyes
were enormous. I wonder if he slept at all last night, after I first brought
him here? He knew that the boy's gaze had not wavered in the last hour,
and Hiko found himself becoming angry again, an impotent anger directed
at the boy, at himself, at the whole absurd situation. He sat up abruptly,
and Kenshin blinked.
"You can still react?" Hiko
asked sarcastically. "Good. Good for you. I thought you had turned to stone."
He looked appraisingly at Kenshin. "What's the matter with you, boy? I
thought you were intelligent, but now I wonder. Or maybe you're sick. Is
that it?"
Kenshin shook his head, a
pleading expression in his eyes.
"This silence is going to
end," Hiko said grimly, crossing the room to where Kenshin sat. "One way
or another, this is going to stop right now." He reached out toward the
boy, and the child shuddered, closing his eyes. "I'm not going to strike
you, you fool." As Hiko laid his large hand against the boy's forehead,
Kenshin looked up at him questioningly, fear and hope passing in quick
succession across his suddenly expressive face.
"If you won't answer me,"
Hiko said, "you'll have to get used to being frightened." His hand slid
down, pressed against Kenshin's cheek. "Your face feels hot. There. You
could have spared me the trouble." He drew his arm back and sat down beside
the boy. For a moment neither of them spoke, then Hiko said, "Do you know
why you are sick, you stupid thing? No answer? Of course not. Very well,
then, I'll tell you. You are sick, boy, because you don't eat, and you
don't speak, and you don't sleep. You don't make any effort to be well,
so you deserve to be unwell. Don't you agree?"
Kenshin nodded, dropping
his forehead onto his knees.
"You know," Hiko continued
more gently, "you spoke to me when I found you. In fact, you said some
very intelligent things, things I wouldn't expect a child your age to say.
But your behavior since that time has been a disappointment. I didn't become
a master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu in order to waste my knowledge on a worthless
student. So you had better decide, boy. Tomorrow morning I want to find
you gone, or else ready to learn with all your heart how to be strong.
And if you do choose to leave, then you had better go far away and never
show me your face again, or I really will strike it. Do you understand?"
Kenshin nodded, his head
still lowered.
Hiko raised the boy's chin,
forcing their eyes to meet. "I said, 'Do you understand?'"
"Hai," Kenshin whispered.
"Now go to sleep for a little
while. You have a big decision to make before dawn."
"I... I can't sleep!" The
words were blurted out, surprising Hiko with their vehemence. "I can't
close my eyes without seeing everything, everything again and again!" Tears
coursed down Kenshin's cheeks. "I want to sleep, but I can't. I want to
eat, but I can't, I can't..." His small fists beat against his knees, punctuating
the words.
Hiko sighed. He knew there
was a reason he had not wanted to marry and have children of his own. "Well,"
he said aloud, "I guess this is better than your silence." The weeping
grew louder, filling the room. "Oh, come here, you idiot." He drew Kenshin
close and awkwardly put his arm around the boy's shoulders. "Be quiet,
brat," he said gently. "Haven't you learned yet that the world cares nothing
for your tears?" But still he held Kenshin until he felt the small, tense
body relaxing. When the boy finally fell into an exhausted sleep, Hiko
carefully moved him to his futon. For a moment he stood looking down, contemplating
the child's tear-stained face. "You are a real pain in the neck," he said
softly, "but maybe I didn't choose so badly." He crossed the room to his
own futon and stretched out, closing his eyes. You might do, after all.
Hiko woke to a room full
of sunlight. For a moment he could not understand why it was so bright
inside the hut, then he saw the door standing open. As his eyes flashed
to the boy's empty futon a dangerous expression darkened his face. Hiko
jumped up, swearing. "Damn him! I'll kill the little coward!" He rushed
outside, nearly tripping over the small figure kneeling by the fire.
"Oro?"
"You!" Hiko roared, pointing
down at him. "Just what do you think you're doing?" He knew he looked foolish,
standing disheveled and barefoot in front of his pupil, but hoped his stern
tone of voice would intimidate the child.
Kenshin only regarded him
curiously, as if he could read Hiko's thoughts. "I didn't go very far away.
Just to gather some wood so I could make our breakfast."
"Good. Good idea." Hiko relaxed,
slightly mollified, and unclenched his fists. The boy noticed this and
smiled. The gaze that met Hiko's was clear and direct, with no hint of
the diffidence of the previous day. "So, I guess my stupid student is recovering?"
"Yes, Master. I mean, I feel
better and the world doesn't seem quite so strange today. But I still...
I still don't think I can talk much. Not yet." Kenshin cocked his head,
looked shyly at Hiko. "I'm not used to it," he explained. "Nobody ever
wanted to hear my voice before."
"You have an irritating voice,
so I can understand such sentiments entirely," Hiko said dryly. "Speak
or not, as it suits you- so long as you answer me when I speak to you.
Now stop sitting there like an idiot and fix my breakfast! We have a lot
of training to do today."
He turned to enter the hut,
but the boy remained by the fire, watching him. "Master?" he said softly.
"What is it?"
"I'm sorry I'm a disappointment
to you." Kenshin swallowed and looked away. "I didn't mean to be. You saved
my life, and were kind to me...."
"I've never been kind to
you, stupid."
"Oro? Well, anyway, I want
you to know," Kenshin raised his bright eyes to Hiko's face, "I want you
to know that I'm going to work very hard. I promise I will never, ever
disappoint you again!"
Hiko laughed. "A big promise
for such a little boy. Don't be a fool." But he saw that the boy looked
genuinely crestfallen, so he smiled a bit to soften his words. " 'Never'
is a long time, Kenshin. Just try not to disappoint me today. That will
be sufficient."
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