Subject: [RKFF] Tracy Lim's One More Ishin: The Early Days III Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 23:40:20 -0500 From: RobinKloster To: rkfanfics@makelist.com tracy514@hotmail.com DISCLAIMER: All Rurouni Kenshin characters are copyrighted Watsuki Nobuhiro/Shueisha/Fuji TV. No money is being made out of this, so please do not sue. I'm not worth the trouble anyway. One More Ishin: The Early Days by Tracy Lim PART III: SHISHIO AND SOUJIRO "Matte, Yumi-neesan!" Yumi looked back over her shoulder to see little Soujiro catching up with her. "What is it, Soujiro?" "Do you know where Shishio-san is now? He doesn't seem to be in the southern wing where he usually would be." "Oh! I just came from him, he's in the eastern wing. I want to get some wine for us... why don't you help me carry the pitchers, and we'll go see him together." "Sounds good to me!" Soujiro beamed up at Yumi. Now that she knew it's Soujiro's specialty to smile that sunny smile of his all day long, Yumi found herself quite liking the child. He was a sweet-tempered boy, and she enjoyed teasing him whenever she saw him, except that she didn't see a lot of Soujiro for the last few days. "Hmmm. Where were you the last two days, Soujiro? Haven't been practising all day long by yourself, have you? Don't try to overdo things, boy." Yumi asked as they walked down the corridor together. "Oh, that. Shishio-san sent me out of the fortress to run some errands. I just came back, actually." "YOU? Running some ERRANDS for Shishio-sama? ALONE?!" Yumi stared at him incredulously, while he simply nodded cheerfully as an answer. "Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to be rude, but... you...? What's Shishio-sama thinking of to let a boy of 12 go out by himself? This fortress is in the midst of a dense jungle, isn't it? What if a tiger, some beasts attacked you? And what if you're spotted by those Meiji bastards and questioned?" The thought of an innocent child going out to meet all those risks freaked Yumi out. "But Yumi-neesan, I'm really not *that* lousy as to let anyone spot me at all. Besides, I've a katana with me, see?" Soujiro patted the blade by his side to assure her. "I'm quite good with a katana, if I may say so..." Yumi eyed him curiously. (Well, OK, maybe he's from some samurai family and can do some mild damage with a blade, but... sending him out by himself...? Of all the soldiers available at the fortress, why Soujiro in particular? Does Shishio-sama have some special reason to pick him? After all, he DOES get trained by Shishio himself...) They had reached the wine cellar by now. Yumi absent-mindedly drew out a couple of vintage wine from Gaijin land, while she continued her own thoughts. (Maybe I've underestimated this kid all along...) She shuddered as the thought suddenly leapt at her. Concerned, Soujiro questioned her with his large, dark eyes. Instead of assuring him that there's nothing wrong with her, Yumi posed a question to him as she suddenly remembered something during their first meeting. "Soujiro, you remember the night when I first met Shishio-sama and you, right? That night, your accomplice killed some people at the other teahouse to create a dispersion. So why is it that you're the only one who came to meet Shishio-sama? Where did the other person go, since I don't remember anyone telling me he came back here after us?" "Ara? But there's no other person, Yumi-neesan." "Then who..." Yumi started. "It was I who killed those people, Yumi-neesan." Yumi thought she'd faint if Soujiro didn't grab at her wrist to steady her. It wasn't the revelation that the young boy himself was the cold-blooded assassin that shocked her; rather, it was the cheerful and nonchalant way in which he announced the fact, as if it killing people was something which happened everyday for him. She breathed deeply before speaking again. "Soujiro... please, tell me that you're only joking when you said that." The boy looked at her, not understanding. Why would she find it that hard to believe? "But, Yumi-neesan, I'm not joking. I wouldn't lie to you; I did kill those people. Shishio-san instructed me to, and after that, I was to meet him in the back alley behind the building where you lived. I'm not lying to you, Yumi-neesan, please believe me. I've killed people before, very quickly too, that's why Shishio-san entrusted me with the job." (Dear Lord,) Yumi thought as Soujiro looked at her anxiously, his gentle smile pleading with her to not think of him as a liar. (He looks so innocent... so untainted, so sweet, so young... and yet, and yet... he's killed, and is not even bothered by the fact... just like an angel of death, simply carrying out his job... No wonder Shishio-sama takes so much pride in him. He's just the sort of people we need to bring about a new dynasty.) Soujiro shook her hand gently. He was getting a bit alarmed at her glassy eyes. "Yumi-neesan?" Yumi snapped back to reality, and smiled down at Soujiro. "W-whah? No, it's nothing, I'm just a bit... surprised... that you're already a full-feathered soldier at such a young age. Come on, let's get these wine up, or Shishio-sama will really get impatient. Here, help me to carry one of these..." ******* "Tadaima, Shishio-san!" Soujiro greeted him cheerfully just as he slid open the door. He knelt down opposite Shishio, while Yumi poured out the wine for herself and her lord. "Okaeri, Soujiro..." Shishio put down some documents he was reading, and turned all his attention to the boy. "How goes all?" "Quite satisfactorily, Shishio-san. The police force still can't find their assassin who's responsible for the killings in the Yoshiwara a month ago. As for reports from the civilians claiming that a red-eyed, white-bodied Demon flanked by flames and a demon child had kidnapped a Tayu from the Green Lotus, who later left the Yoshiwara on a fire-breathing black stallion... well, with all those tales about flames and demons and monsters, they really have no other choice besides dismissing the claims as some mass dillusion brought about by too much sake and merry-making." Shishio smiled before replying. "Flanked by *flames*? Soujiro, am I right in thinking that you had some fun of your own in Yoshiwara that night?" Soujiro gave his master a big grin. "Sasuga Shishio-san. You told me to produce some dispersion to cover our departure, and to ensure that our getaway would get minimum attention. So I thought, what better cover than a supernatural one. I planted some timed-devices at a couple of spots which we'd pass by when we're getting to the Eastern gate. I estimated that the fires broke out either before of after our departure. Either way, we'd have some 'balls of fires from hell' preceding us, or left 'a trail of fires from hell' after us..." (Wow...) Yumi stared. (This kid never ceases to surprise me... no wonder Shishio-san pays so much attention to him... I hope no courtesans were hurt, though...) Shishio turned sideways to glance at Yumi. Guessing correctly what was going through her mind, he remarked, "See, Yumi? I told you that Soujiro here will make a remarkable warrior yet. He's an indispensable player in our very own Ishin." Yumi could only nod, dumbstruck. "Oh yeah, that reminds me..." Soujiro reached into his clothes to withdraw some scribbled notes to refer to, as he continued to fill Shishio in on his findings. "As for the Hitokiri Battousai who's been reported as missing ever since the end of the battles at Toba and Fushimi, who we've been trying to locate and to absorb into our own forces..." Shishio leaned forward. Yumi found herself holding her breath as well, sensing the anticipation in Shishio's eyes as Soujiro appraised his notes, as seriously as he could ever get with that sunny smile. "He's still missing." Yumi nearly fell over with frustration at the cheerful announcement. (That damned kid... why MUST he surprise me at every turn?!) She thought in exasperation. Shishio leaned back and sipped his wine thoughtfully. "Ah. My senpai's still missing, eh? Now that's very interesting indeed... where can he be if he's not dead yet?" "That, I have no idea, Shishio-san. However, I've received reports from our spies in Kyushu concerning..." "Nani? Soujiro, you *receiving* reports from spies in Kyushu?" Yumi asked bewilderedly. Soujiro smiled. "Of course, I don't show myself to them, Yumi-neesan. I guess no one would ever belive that Shishio-san sent a *boy* to receive those highly classified reports. We don't ever meet face to face, you see... Now as I was saying, our spies in Kyushu reported of a blind swordsman having a killing spree there. Though he's blind, our source says that he dabbles in black magic, because he fights with a deadly accuracy and cold-bloodedness. It seems that he's searching for a Shishio Makoto to have revenge, sir... do you think we should let a person who knows of your very existence continue to exist, Shishio-sama?" The bandaged man frowned slightly. "A blind swordsman, you say." "Hai. It's said that during Bakumatsu times, he was hired by the Bakufu government to take care of Hitokiris from the Ishin side. He was blinded, however, and dispensed of by the Bakufu. His name is... now where did I write the name..." "...Uonuma Usui." Shishio calmly continued Soujiro's unfinished sentence. The boy nodded vigorously. "Yep that's it." "Do you know this... Uonuma Usui, Shishio-sama?" His female companion asked curiously. "It's hardly surprising, Yumi. I was the person who blinded Usui. So he's bent on having revenge on me..." A sly smile crept onto his face. "Fine. If we can't find Battousai to join us, Usui may not be a bad alternative after all. Any other news that's of advantage to us, Soujiro?" "Yes, one more. A Meiji official who's totally lost all faith and hope in the government had resigned. From the reports, this Sadoshima Houji guy can really get things done, being a great strategist and stuffs I'm not sure I understand. You'd better have a look at the notes they've give me yourself, Shishio-san. All I know is that he thinks the current government's policies are too soft and weak, but they don't care one bit about his ideas." Yumi's heart gave a leap as she realised what Soujiro's mission had been. (Shishio-sama's looking at all those possibilities and talents which we can absorb. We have spies all over Japan, even inside the administration system itself! And Soujiro's been collecting those reports. The day when he takes over Japan is finally approaching...) The other two continued with their discussions. "Certainly this Sadoshima sounds like a good candidate. Anything else you care to add, Soujiro?" Soujiro put down his notes, and took his katana in hand to appreciate the beautiful workmanship of the engravings on the sheath. "Well, I think we do have a few more likely candidates for our future compatriots here and there, Shishio-san... but I'd hate to continue with some uninvited guests eavesdropping on us!!" With a lightning like motion, he unsheathed his katana and let it fly free from his hand, allowing the tremendous momentum in which the blade was unsheathed to take it sailing through the air, a blinding flash of silver to Yumi's eyes, and to crash through one wall of the room. An agonized scream rang out from where the katana hit the wall, while simultaneously the panel crashed into splinters, revealing a soldier rolling on the floor in pain, clutching his forehead where the katana pierced right through between his eyes. Three other soldiers were beside him, staring at their companion who's rapidly losing large amounts of blood and life. Yumi gasped and dropped her wineglass, when Shishio hugged her close to calm her down. "I'm in quite a good mood today. So I'm giving you a chance to explain yourselves, fools." He said coldly, the steeliness in his voice and eyes subjecting the soldiers to pathetic cowering mice. Smiling innocently at the soldiers, Soujiro stood up. "Ah! I thought right. I felt someone following us when Yumi-neesan and I left the cellar. I simply wanted Shishio-san to know of you as well. But you should know, shouldn't you, that Shishio-san does *not* like uninvited eavesdroppers?" "...p-please, Shishio-sama... we... we meant no harm... we just... we just want to find out... what the kid's brought back, what could the kid do that we couldn't!" One of the soldiers suddenly screamed at the top of his voice as his impatience and doubt won the better of him. "He's just a kid, Shishio-sama! We're your loyal soldiers, handpicked by you yourself! We can't understand why you picked the damned kid of all people to carry out the mission? You said it yourself, this is a world where the Strong survive and the Weak perish. It was for that that we decided to be your followers!" The young boy at whom the soldier was pointing at accusingly simply continued smiling at him, an amused look in his eyes. Yumi started shivering slightly. Shishio squeezed her shoulder to assure her that she had nothing to be afraid of, and spoke again. "Since when do you know that there's to be a mission?" Realising that he'd slipped, the soldier stopped his ravings abruptly. "I've long known that there's some mice listening on the other side of the wall... I simply wanted to get all of the mice in one catch." Reaching for a katana on a rack behind him, Shishio tossed it to Soujiro, who caught it neatly. "Take care of them, Soujiro. And do it outside this room - we don't want to distress Yumi here with all the blood, do we?" "Of course not, Shishio-san." Soujiro turned to smile apologetically at Yumi. "Do excuse me, Yumi-neesan, I've some business to attend to." With that, he unsheathed the blade, and walked towards the surprised soldiers. "...why you... you think you can do anything, kid?" One of them snarled, raising his spear to plunge it at the boy who's directly in front of him now. To his utmost shock, he missed! The boy just wasn't there anymore! "Over here, guys. You heard Shishio-san - don't want to upset a lady now, do you?" They jerked around to see Soujiro standing at the other end of the long corridor. "When - how did he *get* there?" The short one muttered. "Look, I really don't have all day waiting for you, and Shishio-san's waiting for the rest of my reports. Or are you simply afraid of me?" Soujiro taunted cheerfully. The cheerful voice pissed them off. Each raising his own spear, they snarled and charged at Soujiro, disappearing from Shishio and Yumi's view. Yumi gave a small cry and made a motion to jump up, but was restrained by Shishio who simply held her closer. "Don't worry about Soujiro, Yumi. Those thugs are really no match for him - they'll be dead in a flash. I simply set him on them to give him a chance for a workout as a little reward." Turning her terrified eyes to him, she spluttered out, "B-but Shishio-sama! I know Soujiro's a strong fighter for a kid, but there're still three of them against Soujiro alone!" "You say that only because you don't know Soujiro's true strength, Yumi. To say that he's a strong fighter for a kid is hardly doing him any justice. He can easily take down several first-class fighters already. The boy's a natural-born swordsman, and his lack of emotions add to his advantage in that aspect immensely. I recognised that when I met him four years ago. And since then, I've trained him personally so that he'll be a true Shura of the Sword..." Outside on the corridor, Soujiro looked steadfastly at the soldiers charging at him, smiling confidently. "Do you doubt my judgement, Yumi? No, right? Soujiro has in him exactly what would make an excellent executioner. His heart does not ripple even when he rips the threads of life from his victims..." As the first one of them reach him, Soujiro smilingly ducked under the spear plunging down at him, and slashed neatly across the man's abdomen, cutting him into two halves at the waist. "...In his eyes, there is neither love nor hate; his hands are so steady that not a tremor passes through them; his heart beats at its usual pace; his breathing not quickened for even one moment." The young swordsman smoothly drew back his sword in an arc while turning around to neatly dodge the sharp point which barely misses his hakama, only to whip out his blade upwards again, leaping up at the same instant. His second victim was down in a single second, the diagonal slash from his left shoulder down separating his body into two. "He looks not at a person neither at a thing, he merely aims at the target, the victim. Like an Angel of Death, he merely carries out his task at hand - to render his targets lifeless." Stepping on the corpse of the second soldier, Soujiro leapt up again, bringing his katana downwards with such force, this time cutting the third and last remaining soldier into two exactly symmetrical halves. "This is Seta Soujiro. This is, and will continue to be, my strongest Shura." (Sheesh. I thought I'd at least have some fun with all three of them coming at me simultaneously, but it was all so easy. Booooring.) Soujiro made a face, then stripped a piece of material from the dead soldier's clothings to wipe the blood off his sword. "You know, actually you're very right about this world being a place where only the Strong survive," Soujiro mused aloud to the corpses. "You were wrong about one point of utmost importance, though. You see, *I'm* the Strong. *You're* the Weak. So you *had* to die..." Sheathing his katana, Soujiro walked back towards the room where Shishio and Yumi was. Then he suddenly remembered that Yumi wouldn't exactly enjoy seeing him just yet, since he was splattered all over liberally with fresh blood. Instead of entering the room, he knelt down by the door. "Well done, Soujiro." Shishio acknowledged. There was an obvious ring of approval in his voice. "Thank you, Shishio-san. But I'm afraid I'm still not quite quick enough to achieve the speed of 'Shukuchi'." The boy's voice held a trace of ruefulness in it. Shishio merely laughed. "Don't worry about it, Soujiro. You've already progressed much faster than I first expected. I reckon that you'll have ample time to improve your speed. After all, our crusade has just started: we still have a lot to build... armies, weapons, fortresses, compatriots..." "But our time *is* coming, isn't it, Shishio-san?" "Definitely, Soujiro. Definitely." Dazed, Yumi lay in Shishio's strong, bandaged arms. The scent of blood pricked at her nostrils. She stared straight ahead into the air, excited thoughts rushing through her head. *This is no dream...* she thought, *...no illusion, no fantasy. This is *reality*. With Shishio-sama and Soujiro, and the future armies and empire that they're going to build, the demolition of the Meiji government is unevitable. This land will see one more Ishin... and I will be a part of it...* She began to tremble in her ecstasy. "Er, Shishio-san... is Yumi-neesan all right? She seems to be very quiet." The young boy enquired worriedly. Yumi answered him before Shishio could, a bit unsteadily. "I'm... I'm all right, Soujiro. Perfectly all right. I'm just overwhelmed by your skills..." As Shishio released his hold on her, she reached out for the wine to pour herself a fresh glass, and topped Shishio's glass up. Joy bubbled up inside her as she raised her glass. "Shishio-sama... to your new Empire, and to Soujiro!" Shishio slowly smiled and clinked his glass against hers. "To *our* new Empire, to Soujiro... and to *you*." Soujiro waited patiently by the door while the couple finished their toast. "Soujiro, you may go change into clean clothes now. We'll continue with those reports when you're done." Uttering his thanks, the young boy got up and turned to go to his room, treading over the bodies and wet puddles of blood in the corridor, the flickering flames of the torches throwing eerie shadows on the bodies and puddles as the boy with his angelic smile walked past under the torches. THE END. ____________________________________________________________ List Site: http://www.findmail.com/list/rkfanfics/ To unsubscribe, send to rkfanfics-unsubscribe@makelist.com FREE group e-mail lists at http://www.findmail.com