Summary: Hiko knows Hiten Mitsurugi's rules forward and back, and nowhere does it say his apprentice has to be human.

Disclaimer: Ghingahn does not own MLP, RuroKen, or any real historical figures or places that might show up in this story.

-0-

It was with a heavy heart that Hiko Seijuro XIII wiped the blood off his sword and sheathed it. All the bandits lay unmoving on the ground, but so did their victims. Not even the horses had survived the attack.

Well, he amended, except one of them. But that horse was smaller than the average six-year old child, and to be honest, he didn't have the slightest idea why anybody would bother raising such a runty specimen, even if it did give off the impression of a kitten. Unless they were collectors or something, which this group clearly had not been.

Shaking the thought off, he left. He had been on his way to the local town for more sake, and there was no reason not to finish the trip.

He decided to pass by the site of the slaughter on his way back the next evening. He did feel a little bit guilty about getting there too late to save anyone, and he could at least give them a proper burial. And maybe he could throw the bandits into a mass grave too, and burn the wagon. Just leaving the bodies lying in the middle of the road didn't feel right. It was like littering.

When he reached it, he stopped short.

Somebody had gotten there before him.

-0-