Himura Battousai
Copyright© 2007 by Trojan_85
Chapter 130: Soujirou's Past--A Chance Meeting on a Moonlit Night
(After taking a massive slash to the back, Kenshin is breathing hard but still keeps his feet.)
Sanosuke (thinking): Kenshin's... it's the first time someone's gotten him on the back. Not good--this is definitely not good!
Yumi (thinking): He can do it! The boy--no, Soujirou the Prodigy--he really is better than Himura Battousai! Just one more attack! The next one will bring him down for sure!
Soujirou (still looking puzzled): It really is strange.
Sanosuke & Yumi: Huh?
Soujirou: I was meaning to go for the opening after your attack all along, but it didn't bring you down. (musing) Strange...
(Sanosuke and Yumi look disgusted.)
Yumi: Look, boy, you can think about it later, just hurry up and kill him!
Sanosuke: Now, Kenshin! He's distracted! Get him!
Soujirou (looking down): Oh. Mr. Himura, I'm sorry, can you wait for a minute. After all that running, look at my sandals.
(The straw-soled sandals are tattered, their laces broken.)
Soujirou: Rest yourself while I change them. (walking off) Let's see, spare sandals...
Yumi (storming after him): Come back here boy--!!
Sanosuke: Why didn't you attack, Kenshin? There would've been nothing cowardly about it. It'd be his fault for stopping in the middle of a fight.
Kenshin: That sounds like something Saitou would say. I just couldn't attack someone so unashamedly off-guard. More importantly, I want to dress these wounds. Let me borrow some bandages.
Sanosuke:... So he's really tough?
Kenshin: Yes... He has the speed of a trueborn swordsman. And I can't read his moves... But I do know one thing. At first glance, he looks like he's lost all emotion, but when he didn't destroy me as he intended, while it was subtle, there was a flicker of unease. If he were truly without emotion, there would be none. Something has happened to him to seal his emotions away at the bottom of his heart... though he may not realize it himself.
(In the other room)
Yumi: Hey! Why didn't you give him the final blow! Just one more step, and you would have--
Soujirou (sweetly): Miss Yumi, why are you so angry?
(Yumi almost chokes with rage)
Yumi: No matter how good you are, this is just leaving too much to chance! Himura's got that precious succession technique of his, so if you think you can just knock him off whenever you want, you're making a big mistake!
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