From: "floribelle maximo" ARASHI by flori-dono Disclaimer: This is a Rurouni Kenshin-inspired fan fiction. The author is not making any money out of this. The characters of Rurouni Kenshin belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro, Shounen Jump, and Sony and others that should be mentioned but were not. Yep, i am reposting this because when i re-read it I saw some minor inconsistencies and grammatical errors. They wouldn't let me be. So to finally put my perfectionist side to rest. Here it is. Gomen nasai for the bother! PART 9 I stayed in the forest until nightfall. It was better for me to travel in the dark and besides it was also an opportunity for me to rest. I concealed myself near a clump of bushes. With a strip of cloth, I bound my hair again and washed my face with water from a nearby stream. The water was cold and it numbed my fingers. I slowly stripped the bandages on my chest. I took out the medicine which Shinta's wife gave me and put the brown powder on the wound. I bit my lip. It was really painful. I suffered in silence and sat there, waiting for the sun to set before I continued with my journey back home. Our base in Kyoto was a very innocent looking tavern near the outskirts of the city. It was almost midnight when I got there. It was Yuri-obaasan who saw me. She was also a servant. She had been Kotake-sama's nurse when he was kid and up to now; she was still in his service. She was always kind to me and I've always treated her as my own grandmother. "Arashi-chan! What happened to you?" she asked worriedly, taking in my appearance. "Kotake-sama's been expecting you since yesterday!" I smiled weakly at her. "The mission wasn't exactly easy." "Here, give me your cloak," she said. I eased the cloak gently off my shoulders, taking into consideration the slash on my chest. I heard Obaasan's gasp. "You have a wound!" "This is nothing," I said. "Well, well, well... if it isn't the formidable Cloaked Assassin!" It was Hiro. "Admit it, Arashi!" he added. "You're only human." I looked at him coldly and said, "I never said that I wasn't." His brow creased in anger. "It's not because you're Kotake-sama's favorite it doesn't mean that you have the right to answer me back! I'm still your leader, slave-girl." I took that one in calmly. I'd always regarded anger as a useless emotion. It would only bring trouble. "I maybe a slave," I said. "But you are not my master." "What's going on here?" It was Kotake-sama. "Nothing sensei," Hiro mumbled. "I was just reprimanding Arashi for not coming back as scheduled. "Arashi, you were expected to return two days ago. What happened?" he asked, with a small trace of concern in his voice. I was not surprised though, to him I was indispensable. If anything would happen to me, it would be a big loss to the Shadows. I couldn't tell them about Shinta, so I lied. "I was wounded sensei," I explained. "I had to stay put in the woods." "But that is not reason enough why you didn't come back as scheduled," he said. "I won't tolerate this next time!" "Hai," I answered. I could feel Hiro smirking beside me. "Rest for now," Kotake-sama ordered. "You have another mission. I'll call for you and Hiro tomorrow." "Sensei," Hiro interjected. "Can't I just do this job alone?" "Don't be stupid!" Kotake-sama replied. We need Arashi's sword skills on this one. You wouldn't be enough!" And with that he walked back again to his room. I stood up as soon as he was gone and started towards my room. "This is not over yet slave girl," Hiro threatened. I simply ignored his remark and walked away. Back inside my room, I washed the dirt and grime I had accumulated in my journey, with the water Obaasan had brought me. I re-bandaged my wound and quickly changed into a yukata. As I was lying down on the soft comfort of my futon, my mind wandered to the recent happenings. I had decided to go through the next mission, but it was going to be my last one. Whatever the outcome may be , I would tell Kotake-sama that I wanted out. Whatever debt I may have had to pay him, I had paid it already. I promised that this time I would be in control of my own fate, of my own destiny. And I would see to it that I would. The next morning, I woke up early, ready to do my chores. "What are you doing?" Yuri-obaasan cried as she saw me walking towards the kitchen with two large pails of water. "Doing my chores," I answered with a faint smile. "But your wound..." she said. I gently shook my head. "This is nothing Yuri-obaasan," I said. "Remember, I've been in worse conditions." "Sou desu, demo..." "Let her if she wants to," Hiro said. "She is, after all, still a servant" I looked at him squarely in the eyes. Did he expect me to get angry with that? "Hai," I said, still looking at him. "I am still a servant and I hadn't forgotten that." Something about the answer irritated him the more. "Then servant-girl, get your ass off of there," he said. "Sensei wants to talk to us." I placed the pails in the kitchen first before complying to his order. I knelt down before Kotake-sama. Hiro was there already, a few feet beside me on my right. "Good, you are both here," Kotake-sama began. "I have decided to accept our last mission as Shadows." "Sensei, what do you mean?" Hiro asked. "The Tokugawa era is going to end. The Shadows won't be needed anymore." "How are you so sure?" Hiro prodded. "And if it is, as long as there are corrupt bastards sitting there in office, the Shadows will still live." "The times are changing," Kotake-sama said. "The Shadows will be endangered, the bakufu will reveal us. I'm just thinking about the future. And you have no right to question my decision." "And what would happen to us then?" "I'm letting go of the Shadows," he answered calmly. "Dammit!" Hiro said at the top of his voice, standing up. "Just like that?" Kotake-sama seemed unperturbed with his outburst, but when he spoke there was an angry edge to his voice. "Yes, just like that. And I wonder why you are so angry over the matter. Perhaps, you wouldn't be able to steal money from our earnings again, would you?" I could see Hiro paled as he heard Kotake-sama's words. "So you think I don't know your extra curricular activities Hiro?" he continued. "Don't take me as blind." "How... how did you know?" Hiro faltered. "You forget. I trained you," he simply answered. "Now, sit down and hear what I have to say." Hiro sat down right back on the floor. But I could still feel anger seeping from him. I glanced at Kotake-sama. He knew what was going on Hiro's mind. He needn't be warned of the younger man's revengeful tendencies. "Arashi," he said. "This will be your last mission." I nodded. "I want you to kill the Hitokiri Battousai!" ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Get what you deserve with NextCard Visa! ZERO! Rates as low as 0.0% Intro or 9.9% Fixed APR, online balance transfers, Rewards Points, no hidden fees, and much more! Get NextCard today and get the credit you deserve! Apply now! Get your NextCard Visa at: http://click.egroups.com/1/914/4/_/455156/_/951618803/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------