Himura Battousai
Copyright© 2007 by Trojan_85
Chapter 94: The Beginning of the Instruction
(A scene of carnage, nineteen years ago)
Fighter: Who--who the hell are you?!
Hiko: It would be pointless to give my name to one who is about to die.
(The fighters are quickly slaughtered. The only one left alive is a small boy, kneeling among the dead.)
Hiko: You're pretty unlucky, boy. Since the coming of the Black Ships two years ago the Bakufu's system of keeping the public peace has broken down. Around here there's a lot of degenerate ronin turned bandits. I just happened to be here to take your revenge for you.
(The boy is silent, not even glancing at Hiko.)
Hiko: No matter how much you hate or how much you suffer, you can't bring the dead back to life. The same thing is happening all over Japan these days. You should be glad to be alive. If you go to the village and tell them what happened, they'll find some way for you to make a living.
(The boy refuses to react; Hiko walks away.)
(Back to the present)
Hiko: That was a long time ago. Hey, how long you gonna sleep? That's it, wake up.
(Kenshin, sprawled in front of him, struggles to catch his breath.)
Hiko: Well, if you're not going to wake up, I'll just sit back and keep remembering old times. Like the last time you wet the bed, the autumn you were eleven.
(Kenshin sits bold upright.)
Hiko: Or the time you were so hungry you ate those toadstools and almost died.
Kenshin: Master!! To remember these shameful things even I'd forgotten you have to be truly evil.
Hiko: What are you talking about? I've been training a whole week with my stupid pupil who left me after a fight. You couldn't ask for a better master. But I'm getting kind of sick of this. If you can't get an attack in this next round, I'm not teaching you the techniques.
(They square off, staring each other down.)
The thirteenth master of the Hiten Mitsurugi school, Hiko Seijuurou. Kenshin: He's sneaky, tactless and he hates people. As someone who knows my past, he's a million times nastier than Saitou.
Hiko: Even if you think things like that you shouldn't say them out loud.
Kenshin (thinking): But his skills... he is without a doubt the strongest. Cheap tricks won't work at all... if this is my last chance... I'll attack with my whole body and soul! (aloud) Let's go...
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