Disclaimer: You know what? I DO own Kenshin! (Although I have to share
him Misanagi.) So screw you, Mr. Disclaimer!
Sinnatious adds, after seeing angry lawyers and FF.net reps waving scary- looking documents at her - 'It was a JOKE! That's right a JOKE! Ahahahah ha ha .... hn.' (Slinks away casually.)
WARNING: Rated R, even though it might be more PG-13 but I wanted to be safe for very slight yaoi content, implications of rape, and violence. And for my next word of wisdom, I warn you against falling asleep in lectures. It's immensely embarrassing when you go to sleep during Japanese History and wake up in International Business. You'd thing someone would wake you up, but nooooooo. Not even the lecturer chooses to take pity on you.
Author's Note: Read all the other author's notes in other chapters. They all say pretty much the same thing, so I won't waste your time by saying it again. Well, I will add something to this one, sorry about the wait on this chapter, I have a good excuse, but none of you would believe me if I told you, so we'll just leave it there. I just make the epilogue REALLY long, to compensate.
Now, for the final (sniff) response to reviewers!:
Vesca: I'm sorry, I'm sorry! (Grovels). But hey, you were warned that I wasn't going to be nice to Kenshin. After all, what kind of fic would it be if everyone was happy and pranced around and all was right with the world? For one, it wouldn't even be Kenshin! Maybe I should have classified it as angst. I'm glad you were satisfied with Hiko's rescue, though, that I am. Thanks for your reviews.
Misanagi: Thanks (again). I tried to make a longer chapter to make up for the shorter one - it's just so hard to find a good stopping place! Yes, sadly, this fic is ending - this is the epilogue of sorts, I wanted to make this fic longer but tragically external forces are at work and I figured I would be doing you all a favour by wrapping it up like so. The delay it took in getting out this chapter is a mere taste of the hiatus it would have taken at a later date. Your praise makes me blush! (blushes.) I'm glad my fic brought some joy into your life.
Crazy Girl Person: Yeah, it was a pretty whacked up time period, that it was. And here we are thinking the Dark Ages are bad. Come to think of it, if we want a social commentary, things in the past fifty years haven't been that great either.... That's fully right, what goes around comes around, and I hope everyone was happy with the fate of the vile scum! (I tell you, killing off bad characters in stories does wonders for anger control, and your mood. Try it some time.) Thanks for your great review.
Crystal: Well, I suppose Hiko is kind of mean.... but I'm struggling to keep these people more-or-less in character, it'd be a bit weird if Hiko got all soft all of a sudden. I mean, I made him smile! (albeit not much). I've already compromised his integrity! Ack! (Runs and hides.)
Yumi-no-baka: Yeah, it could have been better longer. But as I explained in response to Misanagi, external forces were at play and I preferred to keep in short and completed rather than long and forever unfinished. You'll have to give me the address of that site where you host your fics. Damn ff.net regulations......
Sailor Gotard: It never ceases to amaze me how many Sailor Moon fans are also Kenshin fans.. thanks for the review, imagine getting a new reviewer this late in the game! Glad you liked the angst, I guess in the end it wound up being more of an angst fic than anything else. I'm not really continuing, this is the final chapter, the epilogue if you will, though I am considering writing a sequel of sorts, or at least another Kenshin/Hiko fic in the same time period.
Well, I think that's everyone, thanks for the reviews. Big news! It's the last chapter! Thanks so much to all those who reviewed regularly (Misanagi, Crazy Girl Person, Crystal, Yumi-no-baka, Vesca, etc etc., I love you all!) and even those who didn't review so regularly, I thank you from the deepest corners of my heart for your imput and I hope you enjoyed the ride. I'll no doubt be back (one day....) with more fics (hopefully more Kenshin and Hiko ones) and with a little luck will run into you all then! Good luck everyone! (Waves a white hankie in feeble imitation of departing boat.... someone mistakes it for surrender and rushes in, takes prisoner, dragging Sinnatious away yelling 'give me liberty or give me death!') P.S. Did I mention thanks?
_______________________
Servitude
Epilogue
By Sinnatious
*************
Hiko carried Kenshin all the way back from Kyoto to their mountain. The boy woke up only once, looked around blearily, and once certain of his master's presence and consequent safety, fell directly back to sleep. He didn't wake again until Hiko forced him awake back at their hut to feed him. As hungry as his baka deshi obviously was, he seemed to have difficulty in stomaching the food, throwing up multiple times, the 13th successor of the Hiten Mitsuryugi Ryu showing uncharactertistic patience for his student, letting him sleep and waking him periodically to give him food and water. After a day, he cleaned the boy, laid him to bed once again, and waited for his physical wounds to heal. The kid deserved a break.
It took some time, but once his baka deshi had recuperated enough, Hiko sat him down and made him tell him everything that happened. Kenshin was clearly reluctant, but soon stuttered out his account of all that transpired since his master left him practicing the Ryu-Tsui-Sen right up until his Shishou broke into the brothel and found him in that room as he was. The small red-head's face burned with shame and his features were contorted with remembered agony, but to the elder's surprise he did not cry once. Once the account was finished, Hiko was satisfied once again at the boy's resilience - as many times as he questioned it, he knew he had chosen his successor well.
After that, by unposken agreement neither mentioned it in conversation again. It was two weeks after that conversation, the night after he had begun to teach Kenshin the Do-Ryu-Sen, that Hiko Seijuuro found himself waking up on the floor.
The swordsmaster opened his eyes grumpily, surprised to find himself sitting up against the wall, with blanket draped loosely over him - as Winter was approaching, even his white mantle wasn't enough for the night. Noting the empty jug of sake on the ground nearby, he remembered that he hadn't been sleeping too well for the last few nights for some reason, and had drunk more than usual in the hopes of stemming the problem. He must have overestimated, drunk too much, if that was at all possible, and passed out. In front of his baka deshi, no less. How embarrassing. Taking care of the kid had made him soft.
Groaning as he noticed the blanket, he realised that his pupil must have tried to put him to bed, but in their drastic comparison of weight couldn't handle his size so settled for propping him up against the wall and covering him with a blanket. Was he supposed to be grateful or not? This was a perplexing new problem for him to deal with.
Standing up, noticing the lightening of the sky on the horizon that indicated the sun would soon rise, Hiko habitually cast a glance to his student's futon, surprised to find it empty. Usually the kid protested mightily to getting up before the sunrise, then frequently until long after. Given what had resulted the last instance that had occurred, he stood and quickly scanned the nearby area for his pupil's sharp ki. Sure enough, it was just outside. What was his baka deshi doing out this time of night? He hadn't taken advantage of his drunken unconsciousness and snuck out, had he? He'd have to spend the entire week outside in the cold for something like that, had the kid learned nothing from his recent ordeals?
Growling to himself, he straightened his clothes and purposefully made his way outside. To his surprise - another sign that he was getting soft, if he was still getting surprised by anything - the boy was sitting outside in the cold, katana in lap, wide awake. It looked as though he had been there for some time.
"What do you think you're doing, baka?" Hiko barked out. Kenshin jumped in fright at the sound of his master's voice - the kid must have been really out of it not to notice his approach, even if he wasn't paying attention the boy had hearing like a hawk and his infuriating white mantle didn't exactly let him move quietly.
"Ah, Shishou, you're awake early," he said, rubbing the back of his head with his hand in an embarrassed gesture.
"You even more so, I see. Don't avoid the question," he retorted.
As expressionless as the kid had seemed lately, it didn't take a master of the Hiten Mitsuryugi style to notice his hedginess. Finally, knowing that there was no way to trick his wily old Shishou, Kenshin exhaled, and admitted in a small voice. "I have been having difficulty sleeping."
Kenshin waited for the derisive laugh. Great, now his Shishou would most likely make fun of the little kid that still woke up at night from nightmares. At least he didn't cry out like he used to. So strange, that the nightmares in which he was completely silent, he woke up screaming, and those in which he yelled himself hoarse he woke up in nothing more than a state of terror and a cold sweat.
No reprimand or taunting was to come, though. Hiko frowned, considering this new information. It was obviously implied that the kid was having nightmares, of what there was no question. They must have been bad, because he was logically concluding that his own recent restlessness was the result of his student's own terrified ki alerting him from his sleep. He wouldn't have noticed, though, since his baka deshi had been completely silent otherwise. Just as soon as he had the kid figured out, something else would be revealed. Lately, he felt as if he didn't know his apprentice anymore, who now never complained when he pushed him especially hard, and who had stopped being so consistently clumsy. Most disturbing off all were the flecks of angry yellow amber in his pupil's eyes whenever they were training. The boy had been changed from the ordeal. The question was, for the better, or for worse?
There wasn't anything he could do in the long run. Moving to return inside to fetch his own katana, Hiko said, "Well, since you're up, we'll just start training earlier. You wanted to get some more height on your jumps, didn't you? The only way is to practice."
Perplexed, but vaguely grateful at his Shishou's lack of comment, Kenshin stood and waited for the man to lead the way to whatever clearing they would be training in today.
****************
Kenshin was breathing heavily after being beaten back by Hiko for what had to be the hundreth time. Determination drove him on, though, as he attacked again, only to fall back into the stream. At least the water cushioned his blow somewhat.
"You're still trying to swing too much with your arms. Use the strength in your hips. Has nothing I taught you sunk in?" his Shishou arrogantly proclaimed.
Briefly the young red-head wondered if his Shishou's master had either put up with this arrogance or taught it to him. Casting the thought aside - distraction could be fatal even in training, though Hiko was too skilled to hurt him TOO terribly - Kenshin focused once again on his approach. However, he paused when the larger man lowered his sword; was he taunting him? An instant, later, though, he noticed the flicker of a nearby ki, and followed suite. The secretive old hermit had always made it quite clear that training was a private matter.
The two sheathed their katana simtaneously and made way towards the ki, Kenshin respectfully following behind his master. If nothing ese, he was grateful for the distraction and thus break - his fear in going to sleep had meant that over the past week or so he'd only really been getting enough sleep to be functional enough so that his master wouldn't notice.
As they neared, he noticed it was only a single ki, much to his surprise, though no doubt the old drunkard already knew that. Said old drunkard stopped abruptly in front of him, nearly casuing Kenshin to run into his white mantle. He couldn't read his thoughts, now, could he? He was beginning to suspect it.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Hiko's voice was cold as ice - Kenshin had never noticed the slight difference in tones that his master used with strangers and then with himself until recently.
"Ano, sumimasen.." a female voice said hesitantly.
Sensing a familiar pattern to the ki, he peered around his master's large mantle. Kenshin was beginning to question the Hiten Mitsuryugi's style of predicting things when he found himself surprised once again. "Chizu- dono!"
His Shishou turned to regard him. "You know this person?"
Kenshin nodded. "Aaa. She was another of the slaves I told you about." He turned his violet eyes on the older woman curiously, to see how she was fairing now. If it hadn't been for her ki, he might not have recognised her - there was a glow to her cheeks and a shine to her hair and dark eyes that hadn't been there before. Nothing dramatic had changed, other than a new kimono, but she still looked so different. This couldn't possibly be the sour-faced woman who had scorned him upon capture and then later brought him food.
Chizu seemed relieved to see him; as grateful as she was to the larger swordsman, his demeanour was less than friendly and even though Kenshin had been a little scary when he was escaping, he hadn't caused the sheer volume of destruction the other had. She bowed deeply. "I suppose I was wrong when I doubted you as a swordsman. I came only to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be free."
She eyed him thoughtfully, noticing the dark rings under his eyes and that though his words were happy, his forced smile had a pinched look different to that when he had first arrived. "You don't seem to be faring too well yourself."
"I am free now, that is enough," Kenshin was surprised by the sudden hardness of his voice, not unlike that of his Shishou's. The dark-haired woman nodded in understanding, knowing not to press the subject. It was to be expected.
She offered out her package, which Hiko took in his place, as expected of the older swordsman. The gleam in the older man's eyes assured his apprentice that it must have been expensive sake; he had a sense sixth for it that rivalled Hiten Mitsuryugi's teachings. Chizu continued, as if Kenshin had said nothing more, "I have managed to get a job at one of the local farms, the lifestyle is quite a bit more agreeable. I'll be living in the village if you ever want to visit. This is a small token of thanks."
Given that he couldn't trust his master to display any sort of manners, Kenshin bowed deeply. "Douitashimashite. No thanks was necessary."
Smiling briefly, the dark-haired woman turned and left their mountain the way she had come. Hiko watched her go, then noted the vaguely troubled expression on his baka deshi's face. If he knew his apprentice, he would have been pleased for her happiness, but that had been one too many concrete reminder of what he had endured. Hiko regarded the wrapped package - containing, he knew, good sake, and lots of it - thoughtfully.
Turning, and barking out a harsh, "Baka! Hurry up! We have training left today!", Hiko turned and led the way back to the stream, making certain to store the sake safely first.
******************
That evening, Kenshin completed his dinner, already dreading the night to come, hoping that his Shishou hadn't remembered their conversation earlier that morning and thus wouldn't make any comments. Carefully washing his and his Shishou's bowls, he felt his master enter the room and sit at the table again. He already knew what the old man was doing - he hadn't expected it would take him long to get into Chizu's sake.
"Oi, baka deshi!"
Surprised - Shishou usually didn't address him when he was drinking, unless he had drunk too much which was a rare occasion, given how much sake that required - Kenshin turned. "What is it?"
Hiko indicated the chair, which a perplexed Kenshin sat in. Taking a spare cup, Hiko filled it with the sake and placed it in front of them.
"I think you're old enough to understand what I meant, now."
It seemed like an odd time for the gesture, especially given how many months ago it had been that Hiko had lectured him on sake under the moon. Still, the boy was reluctant - he had learned a thing or two in a brothel, one thing of which was that he was probably too young to be drinking sake. Still, if his Shishou insisted..
"I insist," Hiko said flatly.
Startled, Kenshin picked up the cup hurriedly. Maybe his Shishou really COULD read his mind. Trying to be bold, he sipped it... and made a face. "It tastes disgusting. It's far too bitter."
Hiko frowned at that comment. It was worse than he thought. Waving a hand, he topped up the cup. "It gets better the more you drink. Consider this part of your training. Drink up."
Kenshin looked ill at the thought, but his master must have a good reason if he wanted him to drink sake. Perhaps it was an endurance of the taste buds. He didn't understand how his master could drink this stuff if it all tasted like this. His respect for his Shishou's drinking habits shot up several notches.
Once he was finished the first cup, Hiko poured him another, then another. He really didn't have any clue what was a regular amount of sake to drink. Hiko, however, guessed that the kid, with his size and first time drinking, wouldn't hold long enough to even get giddy. The boy's eyes were already becoming glazed and disorientated. Another couple of cups, and Kenshin was out cold, flaming red hair splayed across the table.
Hiko continued to finish his last cup of sake, not showing much difference in demeanour to his first. Standing, he picked up the light red-head in his arms and carried him to his bed, laying him down, removing his katana, and covering him with a blanket. His baka deshi certainly couldn't hold his drink. He'd have to work on that some time. But for now, the kid wouldn't be woken by anything, much less any dreams, after all that sake.
Hiko Seijuuro doused the last of the lights and made his own way to his own bed. The kid would have a hangover the next day. He'd probably have to hold off for a while on teaching him the Do-Ryu-Sen. Still, it should be an amusing morning.
__________________
That's the end of this fic. Thank you all for reading!
Sinnatious adds, after seeing angry lawyers and FF.net reps waving scary- looking documents at her - 'It was a JOKE! That's right a JOKE! Ahahahah ha ha .... hn.' (Slinks away casually.)
WARNING: Rated R, even though it might be more PG-13 but I wanted to be safe for very slight yaoi content, implications of rape, and violence. And for my next word of wisdom, I warn you against falling asleep in lectures. It's immensely embarrassing when you go to sleep during Japanese History and wake up in International Business. You'd thing someone would wake you up, but nooooooo. Not even the lecturer chooses to take pity on you.
Author's Note: Read all the other author's notes in other chapters. They all say pretty much the same thing, so I won't waste your time by saying it again. Well, I will add something to this one, sorry about the wait on this chapter, I have a good excuse, but none of you would believe me if I told you, so we'll just leave it there. I just make the epilogue REALLY long, to compensate.
Now, for the final (sniff) response to reviewers!:
Vesca: I'm sorry, I'm sorry! (Grovels). But hey, you were warned that I wasn't going to be nice to Kenshin. After all, what kind of fic would it be if everyone was happy and pranced around and all was right with the world? For one, it wouldn't even be Kenshin! Maybe I should have classified it as angst. I'm glad you were satisfied with Hiko's rescue, though, that I am. Thanks for your reviews.
Misanagi: Thanks (again). I tried to make a longer chapter to make up for the shorter one - it's just so hard to find a good stopping place! Yes, sadly, this fic is ending - this is the epilogue of sorts, I wanted to make this fic longer but tragically external forces are at work and I figured I would be doing you all a favour by wrapping it up like so. The delay it took in getting out this chapter is a mere taste of the hiatus it would have taken at a later date. Your praise makes me blush! (blushes.) I'm glad my fic brought some joy into your life.
Crazy Girl Person: Yeah, it was a pretty whacked up time period, that it was. And here we are thinking the Dark Ages are bad. Come to think of it, if we want a social commentary, things in the past fifty years haven't been that great either.... That's fully right, what goes around comes around, and I hope everyone was happy with the fate of the vile scum! (I tell you, killing off bad characters in stories does wonders for anger control, and your mood. Try it some time.) Thanks for your great review.
Crystal: Well, I suppose Hiko is kind of mean.... but I'm struggling to keep these people more-or-less in character, it'd be a bit weird if Hiko got all soft all of a sudden. I mean, I made him smile! (albeit not much). I've already compromised his integrity! Ack! (Runs and hides.)
Yumi-no-baka: Yeah, it could have been better longer. But as I explained in response to Misanagi, external forces were at play and I preferred to keep in short and completed rather than long and forever unfinished. You'll have to give me the address of that site where you host your fics. Damn ff.net regulations......
Sailor Gotard: It never ceases to amaze me how many Sailor Moon fans are also Kenshin fans.. thanks for the review, imagine getting a new reviewer this late in the game! Glad you liked the angst, I guess in the end it wound up being more of an angst fic than anything else. I'm not really continuing, this is the final chapter, the epilogue if you will, though I am considering writing a sequel of sorts, or at least another Kenshin/Hiko fic in the same time period.
Well, I think that's everyone, thanks for the reviews. Big news! It's the last chapter! Thanks so much to all those who reviewed regularly (Misanagi, Crazy Girl Person, Crystal, Yumi-no-baka, Vesca, etc etc., I love you all!) and even those who didn't review so regularly, I thank you from the deepest corners of my heart for your imput and I hope you enjoyed the ride. I'll no doubt be back (one day....) with more fics (hopefully more Kenshin and Hiko ones) and with a little luck will run into you all then! Good luck everyone! (Waves a white hankie in feeble imitation of departing boat.... someone mistakes it for surrender and rushes in, takes prisoner, dragging Sinnatious away yelling 'give me liberty or give me death!') P.S. Did I mention thanks?
_______________________
Servitude
Epilogue
By Sinnatious
*************
Hiko carried Kenshin all the way back from Kyoto to their mountain. The boy woke up only once, looked around blearily, and once certain of his master's presence and consequent safety, fell directly back to sleep. He didn't wake again until Hiko forced him awake back at their hut to feed him. As hungry as his baka deshi obviously was, he seemed to have difficulty in stomaching the food, throwing up multiple times, the 13th successor of the Hiten Mitsuryugi Ryu showing uncharactertistic patience for his student, letting him sleep and waking him periodically to give him food and water. After a day, he cleaned the boy, laid him to bed once again, and waited for his physical wounds to heal. The kid deserved a break.
It took some time, but once his baka deshi had recuperated enough, Hiko sat him down and made him tell him everything that happened. Kenshin was clearly reluctant, but soon stuttered out his account of all that transpired since his master left him practicing the Ryu-Tsui-Sen right up until his Shishou broke into the brothel and found him in that room as he was. The small red-head's face burned with shame and his features were contorted with remembered agony, but to the elder's surprise he did not cry once. Once the account was finished, Hiko was satisfied once again at the boy's resilience - as many times as he questioned it, he knew he had chosen his successor well.
After that, by unposken agreement neither mentioned it in conversation again. It was two weeks after that conversation, the night after he had begun to teach Kenshin the Do-Ryu-Sen, that Hiko Seijuuro found himself waking up on the floor.
The swordsmaster opened his eyes grumpily, surprised to find himself sitting up against the wall, with blanket draped loosely over him - as Winter was approaching, even his white mantle wasn't enough for the night. Noting the empty jug of sake on the ground nearby, he remembered that he hadn't been sleeping too well for the last few nights for some reason, and had drunk more than usual in the hopes of stemming the problem. He must have overestimated, drunk too much, if that was at all possible, and passed out. In front of his baka deshi, no less. How embarrassing. Taking care of the kid had made him soft.
Groaning as he noticed the blanket, he realised that his pupil must have tried to put him to bed, but in their drastic comparison of weight couldn't handle his size so settled for propping him up against the wall and covering him with a blanket. Was he supposed to be grateful or not? This was a perplexing new problem for him to deal with.
Standing up, noticing the lightening of the sky on the horizon that indicated the sun would soon rise, Hiko habitually cast a glance to his student's futon, surprised to find it empty. Usually the kid protested mightily to getting up before the sunrise, then frequently until long after. Given what had resulted the last instance that had occurred, he stood and quickly scanned the nearby area for his pupil's sharp ki. Sure enough, it was just outside. What was his baka deshi doing out this time of night? He hadn't taken advantage of his drunken unconsciousness and snuck out, had he? He'd have to spend the entire week outside in the cold for something like that, had the kid learned nothing from his recent ordeals?
Growling to himself, he straightened his clothes and purposefully made his way outside. To his surprise - another sign that he was getting soft, if he was still getting surprised by anything - the boy was sitting outside in the cold, katana in lap, wide awake. It looked as though he had been there for some time.
"What do you think you're doing, baka?" Hiko barked out. Kenshin jumped in fright at the sound of his master's voice - the kid must have been really out of it not to notice his approach, even if he wasn't paying attention the boy had hearing like a hawk and his infuriating white mantle didn't exactly let him move quietly.
"Ah, Shishou, you're awake early," he said, rubbing the back of his head with his hand in an embarrassed gesture.
"You even more so, I see. Don't avoid the question," he retorted.
As expressionless as the kid had seemed lately, it didn't take a master of the Hiten Mitsuryugi style to notice his hedginess. Finally, knowing that there was no way to trick his wily old Shishou, Kenshin exhaled, and admitted in a small voice. "I have been having difficulty sleeping."
Kenshin waited for the derisive laugh. Great, now his Shishou would most likely make fun of the little kid that still woke up at night from nightmares. At least he didn't cry out like he used to. So strange, that the nightmares in which he was completely silent, he woke up screaming, and those in which he yelled himself hoarse he woke up in nothing more than a state of terror and a cold sweat.
No reprimand or taunting was to come, though. Hiko frowned, considering this new information. It was obviously implied that the kid was having nightmares, of what there was no question. They must have been bad, because he was logically concluding that his own recent restlessness was the result of his student's own terrified ki alerting him from his sleep. He wouldn't have noticed, though, since his baka deshi had been completely silent otherwise. Just as soon as he had the kid figured out, something else would be revealed. Lately, he felt as if he didn't know his apprentice anymore, who now never complained when he pushed him especially hard, and who had stopped being so consistently clumsy. Most disturbing off all were the flecks of angry yellow amber in his pupil's eyes whenever they were training. The boy had been changed from the ordeal. The question was, for the better, or for worse?
There wasn't anything he could do in the long run. Moving to return inside to fetch his own katana, Hiko said, "Well, since you're up, we'll just start training earlier. You wanted to get some more height on your jumps, didn't you? The only way is to practice."
Perplexed, but vaguely grateful at his Shishou's lack of comment, Kenshin stood and waited for the man to lead the way to whatever clearing they would be training in today.
****************
Kenshin was breathing heavily after being beaten back by Hiko for what had to be the hundreth time. Determination drove him on, though, as he attacked again, only to fall back into the stream. At least the water cushioned his blow somewhat.
"You're still trying to swing too much with your arms. Use the strength in your hips. Has nothing I taught you sunk in?" his Shishou arrogantly proclaimed.
Briefly the young red-head wondered if his Shishou's master had either put up with this arrogance or taught it to him. Casting the thought aside - distraction could be fatal even in training, though Hiko was too skilled to hurt him TOO terribly - Kenshin focused once again on his approach. However, he paused when the larger man lowered his sword; was he taunting him? An instant, later, though, he noticed the flicker of a nearby ki, and followed suite. The secretive old hermit had always made it quite clear that training was a private matter.
The two sheathed their katana simtaneously and made way towards the ki, Kenshin respectfully following behind his master. If nothing ese, he was grateful for the distraction and thus break - his fear in going to sleep had meant that over the past week or so he'd only really been getting enough sleep to be functional enough so that his master wouldn't notice.
As they neared, he noticed it was only a single ki, much to his surprise, though no doubt the old drunkard already knew that. Said old drunkard stopped abruptly in front of him, nearly casuing Kenshin to run into his white mantle. He couldn't read his thoughts, now, could he? He was beginning to suspect it.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Hiko's voice was cold as ice - Kenshin had never noticed the slight difference in tones that his master used with strangers and then with himself until recently.
"Ano, sumimasen.." a female voice said hesitantly.
Sensing a familiar pattern to the ki, he peered around his master's large mantle. Kenshin was beginning to question the Hiten Mitsuryugi's style of predicting things when he found himself surprised once again. "Chizu- dono!"
His Shishou turned to regard him. "You know this person?"
Kenshin nodded. "Aaa. She was another of the slaves I told you about." He turned his violet eyes on the older woman curiously, to see how she was fairing now. If it hadn't been for her ki, he might not have recognised her - there was a glow to her cheeks and a shine to her hair and dark eyes that hadn't been there before. Nothing dramatic had changed, other than a new kimono, but she still looked so different. This couldn't possibly be the sour-faced woman who had scorned him upon capture and then later brought him food.
Chizu seemed relieved to see him; as grateful as she was to the larger swordsman, his demeanour was less than friendly and even though Kenshin had been a little scary when he was escaping, he hadn't caused the sheer volume of destruction the other had. She bowed deeply. "I suppose I was wrong when I doubted you as a swordsman. I came only to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be free."
She eyed him thoughtfully, noticing the dark rings under his eyes and that though his words were happy, his forced smile had a pinched look different to that when he had first arrived. "You don't seem to be faring too well yourself."
"I am free now, that is enough," Kenshin was surprised by the sudden hardness of his voice, not unlike that of his Shishou's. The dark-haired woman nodded in understanding, knowing not to press the subject. It was to be expected.
She offered out her package, which Hiko took in his place, as expected of the older swordsman. The gleam in the older man's eyes assured his apprentice that it must have been expensive sake; he had a sense sixth for it that rivalled Hiten Mitsuryugi's teachings. Chizu continued, as if Kenshin had said nothing more, "I have managed to get a job at one of the local farms, the lifestyle is quite a bit more agreeable. I'll be living in the village if you ever want to visit. This is a small token of thanks."
Given that he couldn't trust his master to display any sort of manners, Kenshin bowed deeply. "Douitashimashite. No thanks was necessary."
Smiling briefly, the dark-haired woman turned and left their mountain the way she had come. Hiko watched her go, then noted the vaguely troubled expression on his baka deshi's face. If he knew his apprentice, he would have been pleased for her happiness, but that had been one too many concrete reminder of what he had endured. Hiko regarded the wrapped package - containing, he knew, good sake, and lots of it - thoughtfully.
Turning, and barking out a harsh, "Baka! Hurry up! We have training left today!", Hiko turned and led the way back to the stream, making certain to store the sake safely first.
******************
That evening, Kenshin completed his dinner, already dreading the night to come, hoping that his Shishou hadn't remembered their conversation earlier that morning and thus wouldn't make any comments. Carefully washing his and his Shishou's bowls, he felt his master enter the room and sit at the table again. He already knew what the old man was doing - he hadn't expected it would take him long to get into Chizu's sake.
"Oi, baka deshi!"
Surprised - Shishou usually didn't address him when he was drinking, unless he had drunk too much which was a rare occasion, given how much sake that required - Kenshin turned. "What is it?"
Hiko indicated the chair, which a perplexed Kenshin sat in. Taking a spare cup, Hiko filled it with the sake and placed it in front of them.
"I think you're old enough to understand what I meant, now."
It seemed like an odd time for the gesture, especially given how many months ago it had been that Hiko had lectured him on sake under the moon. Still, the boy was reluctant - he had learned a thing or two in a brothel, one thing of which was that he was probably too young to be drinking sake. Still, if his Shishou insisted..
"I insist," Hiko said flatly.
Startled, Kenshin picked up the cup hurriedly. Maybe his Shishou really COULD read his mind. Trying to be bold, he sipped it... and made a face. "It tastes disgusting. It's far too bitter."
Hiko frowned at that comment. It was worse than he thought. Waving a hand, he topped up the cup. "It gets better the more you drink. Consider this part of your training. Drink up."
Kenshin looked ill at the thought, but his master must have a good reason if he wanted him to drink sake. Perhaps it was an endurance of the taste buds. He didn't understand how his master could drink this stuff if it all tasted like this. His respect for his Shishou's drinking habits shot up several notches.
Once he was finished the first cup, Hiko poured him another, then another. He really didn't have any clue what was a regular amount of sake to drink. Hiko, however, guessed that the kid, with his size and first time drinking, wouldn't hold long enough to even get giddy. The boy's eyes were already becoming glazed and disorientated. Another couple of cups, and Kenshin was out cold, flaming red hair splayed across the table.
Hiko continued to finish his last cup of sake, not showing much difference in demeanour to his first. Standing, he picked up the light red-head in his arms and carried him to his bed, laying him down, removing his katana, and covering him with a blanket. His baka deshi certainly couldn't hold his drink. He'd have to work on that some time. But for now, the kid wouldn't be woken by anything, much less any dreams, after all that sake.
Hiko Seijuuro doused the last of the lights and made his own way to his own bed. The kid would have a hangover the next day. He'd probably have to hold off for a while on teaching him the Do-Ryu-Sen. Still, it should be an amusing morning.
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That's the end of this fic. Thank you all for reading!