Chapter 23: Spy and Kempoist, Hanya

Hanya: A spy of Edo Castle's Oniwabanshuu, Hanya. As ordered by the Okashira, I will guard this place to the death!

Kenshin: I would avoid an unnecessary fight if possible. Will you stand aside?

Hanya (striking his fists together): The commands of the Okashira are absolute.

Sanosuke: A metallic sound... the bastard's wearing metal guards under his gloves. So that's why Kenshin didn't hurt him last night...

Kenshin: The guards will certainly take the shock of the blow, but the act of stopping it is due to the skill of the kempoist. (to Hanya) Then all we can do is fight. I know how strong you are. I'm sorry, but I can show you no mercy.

Hanya: The same goes for you. Let's go.

(he leaps forward. Kenshin dodges slightly, but the punch still hits him in the face.)

Yahiko: A direct hit?!

Kenshin (thinking): Back punch!

(He dodges the first but takes the second punch. Hanya jumps to smash him into the ground, but Kenshin slips out of the way. He gets to his feet.)

Yahiko (hitting him with a "Rocket Kick!"): You idiot!

Kenshin: Oro!?

Yahiko: You're just getting beat up! That's not like you! Use the Hiten Mitsurugi reading technique you're so good at!

Kenshin: I already am. I saw the punch and the back punch and just barely dodged. But his arms seemed to grow longer.

Hanya: What's wrong, Battousai? You're supposed to be better than that. If you can't even defeat my arts, you wouldn't last a minute with the Okashira.

Yahiko: Arts!?

Hanya: I am Hanya of the Edo Castle Oniwabanshuu. While I am a kempoist, I am also a spy. The instant I decided to keep an eye on you, a week ago, you had already fallen prey to my arts. Without even noticing.

(in the ballroom.)

Aoshi: They must have begun. Hanya is tough. Besides his skill at kempo, he uses the killer technique of Shinwan-jutsu. Unless he realizes what the technique really is, Battousai cannot win...

Kenshin: I see. An art... (he assumes a new stance) It may be tedious, but you must defeat this first.

Sanosuke: Hey, kid swordsman. What stance is that?

Yahiko: I don't know. I've never seen it before. Of the five stances it's closest to the "Seigan," but it's still pretty different.

Hanya: The Shinken stance!

From the seigan, both arms are raised high and extended. The sword is held straight and horizontal, the point level with the opponent's forehead. One can adapt to change in the opponent's movement. One of the solid defensive stances of old-style kenjutsu! Hanya: However! On the other hand, it's difficult to turn around and attack. It's a stance totally committed to protection. Is that all you have to scare me with, Battousai?

(Kenshin says nothing.)

Hanya: Answer me!

(He doesn't move.)

Hanya: Is this... nothing more than this... what the legendary Hitokiri really is... ! I am a fool for overestimating you! Someone like you and the Okashira... you could never face Lord Aoshi! I'll kill you here! No matter what kind of defenses you've got, you can't defeat the Shinwan if you don't even know what it is!!

(He charges, punching to the right of the outstretched sword. This time Kenshin pulls himself out of the way.)

Yahiko: He dodged!

Sanosuke: He figured it out?

(Kenshin strikes Hanya across the forehead. He falls back, clutching his mask.)

Yahiko: He did it!

Sanosuke: Did you figure it out?

Kenshin: Yes. The truth behind his art is the horizontal stripes tattooed on both arms.

Sanosuke: Stripes... I get it, they fool the eye... !! The horizontal stripe pattern makes things appear shorter and fatter than they are. So you misjudge the distance.

Kenshin: Yes. His arms were a little longer than they appeared. So it felt like his arms were growing longer. That's why when I intended to just barely dodge, I took the full force of the blow.

Hanya: So... you... the defensive Shinken stance wasn't useless at all! You used the horizontal sword to correct your error!

Sanosuke: Of course. A swordsman would know the length of his beloved blade like the back of his hand! (demonstrating with Yahiko's bokutou)

Yahiko: So he could use it like a ruler! (Gimme back my sword!)

Kenshin: When I first saw you I had doubts about that strange costume. Stripes on both arms would be too striking, a disadvantage to a spy. But, they might be an advantage to a kempoist... On top of that, the mask hides your eyes and expression, making your moves more difficult to read. At first glance it looks strange, but this is carefully calculated battle dress!

Hanya: You're correct... but this mask does more than hide my expression.

(He takes his hands away from the cracking mask.)