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Chapter 4 - Battle and Blood
The gate to the Kamiya dojo slid shut with a loud snick in the silence of twilight. Tasuki grinned up at Sanosuke, showing his fangs prominently. "Don't mind Chichiri. I think sometimes he thinks he's our mother." Sano answered his grin with one of his own. "At least you can beat up your group's mother." The two laughed as they turned and headed in the direction of the alley where they were supposed to meet up with Nuriko and Hotohori. After a few minutes of companionable silence, Sano spoke. "Oi, Hotohori is an emperor, right?" "Hai," Tasuki replied, a confused frown on his face. "What's he like?" Tasuki laughed, understanding immediately. This guy was as much outlaw trash as himself. The bandit wasn't surprised that he was a little intimidated by the idea of working with an emperor. Even if it was just Hotohori. "Ah, if it weren't for the fact that he's the most arrogant sonofabitch you've ever met, you'd never know he was an emperor. Don't worry about it." "I wasn't worried about anything," Sano replied, affronted. "I just wondered, that's all. I've never met an emperor before." "Look, I understand," said Tasuki. "You're like me, and I can tell you I had a hell of a time getting used to living with all those refined people at court. It's not like being a bandit at all." Sano grunted his agreement, looking down at the red-haired bandit. The energy that wound this man's slight frame was totally different from Kenshin's, it was of a higher pitch, less directed. Sanosuke found himself liking the young man very much. He could lose the earrings, though he thought. After a brief period of silence, the two men were back to talking and laughing again. Presently, Tasuki interrupted a funny story Sano was telling about him and his friends to point out the alley. Sano nodded and finished up the story just as they got to the alley. It was empty, except for a group of three men who looked like they were from a Yakuza who were kneeling on the ground at the end of the alley, throwing dice. They looked up at Sano and Tasuki's arrival, but went back to their game as they were pointedly ignored. "They're not here yet," Tasuki commented irrelevantly. "No kidding." The two men waited as the sun sank lower and lower in the sky. When the owner of the shop across the street had finished the laborious task of lighting all of her outside lights and gone back inside, Tasuki finally exploded in frustration. "What the hell is going on? Where the fuck are they?" "Could they have gotten lost?" Tasuki shrugged. "It's possible, I guess. I don't know how good Nuriko is at that kind of thing, but I know the Boy Emperor didn't get out much." Sano turned and walked over to the three men at the end of the alley. "Oi, hey you," he called. The three men looked up to see Sano three feet away and approaching, towering over them. One of them let out a gasp. "H-Hai, what is it, Sanza?" "Have you seen two men dressed in strange clothing, kinda like what that guy over there is wearing," he jabbed his thumb in Tasuki's direction, "hanging around here?" "Or a man and a woman, maybe," offered Tasuki from the other end of the alley. Sano shot him a confused look but didn't argue. "Iie, Sanza. There wasn't anyone like that here," the man stammered. Sano smiled and cracked his knuckles, but though the man was nearly sent into convulsions of stuttering terror, he didn't elicit any more information. "Arigatou, enjoy the rest of your game," he said, walking away. Tasuki looked back at the men, nervously starting up their game again. "What's with them?" "I beat that guy up once. They never forget." "Oh," said Tasuki, selfconsciously touching the bruise that was slowly purpling his jaw. "Ah, that's nothing. I beat that guy up before I met Kenshin. I used to do that all the time, challenge people and beat the snot out of them, for lack of anything better to do. That was back when I still went by the name of Sanza." "But he still called you Sanza." Sano shrugged, his hands slipping as if of their own accord into his pockets. "You think I would bother telling a guy like that that I'm not Sanza anymore?" Tasuki laughed, nodding his understanding. There was a pause, then. "What about Nuriko and Hotohori. How are we going to find them? It doesn't look like they're coming." "We'd better wait a little longer, then I guess we'll go back to the dojo. Maybe your monk friend can find them." Tasuki shrugged. "Maybe." Though they waited until stars came out and the moon rose above the tallest buildings, there was no sign of Nuriko or Hotohori. Finally, Sanosuke sighed. "We'd better get back. They'll be wondering where we are." Tasuki nodded miserably. Sano walked back over to the three men, who had abandoned their game and were deep in discussion. Sano caught something about "get past" and "Sanza" and smiled. "You mind doing me a favour? If those guys come back, you tell them that Tasuki waited for them and that everyone's safe. Tell them to wait here and don't move, we'll be back at dawn to collect them. Can you remember that?" The man who had spoken earlier nodded eagerly. "Sure, Sanza. Whatever you say." Sano turned and began walking away. Tasuki flashed a toothy grin at the three men and stepped out of the alley to give Sano room to exit himself. Suddenly, the man from the Yakuza cried out. "Matte, Sanza. How long should we wait for them?" Sano looked back. "Let me put it this way. If they're not here when we get here at dawn, you'd better be." The man swallowed hard. "Uh, ok, Sanza." Tasuki and Sanosuke walked away from the alley. Sano expected the red-haired bandit to crack a joke, but he was staring down at the dusty street, brooding. Sano slapped him on the back, sending the smaller man stumbling forward. "Don't worry, Tasuki. I'm sure they're fine. How much trouble can they get into, anyway?" "Yeah, maybe," replied Tasuki. "But you didn't have to hit me that hard." "Oh, come on, that was nothing," Sano said, laughing. "Yeah, but I wasn't fucking expecting it!" Tasuki yelled, his hand straying to his tessen. "Wimp." "Shut up you fucking brute!" "Make me." Tasuki drew his tessen as Sanosuke settled back into his battle stance, one foot forward, his fists up. "LEKKA SHI-" The bandit stopped in mid-sentence. His attention suddenly diverted by something behind Sanosuke. Sanosuke watched as his friend seemed to transform. His amber eyes narrowed and his mouth twisted into a snarl. The man launched himself forward, running past Sanosuke, who turned around, to see both where Tasuki was going and what had gotten him so angry all of a sudden. Tasuki was running towards one of the strangest-looking men Sano had ever seen. His skin was grey, the colour of a wolf's fur, and he was covered in hair. One of his eyes had been torn out and there was nothing but a twist of scar tissue where the orb had been. The creature looked up to see the bandit barreling towards him, brandishing his tessen and yelling. "You killed Nuriko you goddamn fucking sonofa LEKKA SHINEN!" fire erupted from the fan, enveloping the wolf-man, who howled, more in rage than in pain, it seemed. Sanosuke broke into a run as the creature leapt upon the smaller man, his claws raking Tasuki across the face. He arrived just barely in time to prevent the bandit's throat from being torn out by the creature's second swipe. "Tasuki no baka!" Sano yelled as his fist connected solidly with the side of the creature's face. "What the fuck is wrong with you, letting him get that close?" he continued as he ducked a clawed swipe and went in with an upper cut that floored the beast. Amazingly, as Sano was about to turn to see if Tasuki was all right, the creature was already getting to his feet, growling. Tasuki would have to wait. Sano and the beast circled each other warily, then, with a yell, Sano attacked. He rushed forward, aiming his fist to connect first with the creature's midsection, and then reversing with another uppercut to the jaw. It grunted and stumbled back, shaking his head to clear it, but Sano didn't let it get away, he followed up with a flurry of punches and one last punch that connected square between the eyes. The wolf-man went down. "Tasuki, daijoubu?" Sano said, kneeling down beside the bandit and shaking him slightly. Tasuki stirred and opened his eyes. "Itai," he yelped, bringing his hand to his face. He stared at the blood on his fingertips for a moment, then looked around for the wolf-man wildly. "Where is that fucking bastard, I'll kill him!" "I knocked him out. Don't worry. What the hell is that thing?" Tasuki calmed down slightly, but he stared at the thing with narrowed eyes. "Ashitare, one of the Seiryuu Seishi. He's the one who killed Nuriko." "I gathered that. I guess we can't let him get away, then. We'd better take him back to the dojo." Tasuki got to his feet, brushing himself and wiping blood off that threatened to drip into his eyes. He had four slashmarks running diagonally across his face and had narrowly avoided losing an eye. "Do we have anything to tie him up with or anything? I don't want him waking up while we're all asleep or something." "I'm sure Jo-chan will have something, and if he stirs before we get back I'll beat on him a little more." "Sounds good." Sanosuke slung Ashitare over his shoulder and they continued walking back to the dojo. The creature did not stir, though Sano was exhausted by the time they got back. The thing was heavy. Their arrival back at the dojo elicited a flurry of reaction. Saitou, the four youngest, and Megumi were nowhere in sight, but Mitsukake, Chichiri, Kaoru, and Kenshin were still sitting outside, chatting. When Tasuki opened the gate, all four leapt to their feet and ran over to them. "Tasuki-kun, your face! Are you all right na no da?" exclaimed Chichiri. "Yeah, I'm fine. Kaoru, do you have anywhere we can put this thing?" Sanosuke put the wolf-man down on the ground as Kaoru nodded and raced towards the storage building. "Is this Ashitare?" asked Kenshin. "Hai, it fucking well is," answered Tasuki, glaring down at the unconscious man. "Tasuki-kun," ventured Chichiri. "Where are Nuriko and Hotohori?" "I don't fucking know! They never showed up. Sanosuke left some people waiting for them, with a message to tell them to wait for us. We said we'd go back and look for them tomorrow at dawn" "Where's Saitou? Maybe he can get his police friends to look for them." Sano suggested, looking around for him. "Saitou went home, I would imagine," replied Kenshin. "If we don't find Nuriko and Hotohori tomorrow morning, we'll go find Saitou and get him to look for them in addition to the Seiryuu Shichiseishi." Just as Mitsukake was finishing healing the cuts on Tasuki's face, Kaoru returned with a long length of stout rope. Kenshin's eyes bugged out at the sight. "Kaoru-dono, why do you have that?" "Just be glad I didn't use it on you that time you walked in on me in the bath." "Oro!" Sanosuke took the rope and bound the wolf-man tightly, then moved him into the practice room. When he got back, he shrugged. "Well, now I guess we just wait for him to wake up." "I'll watch him," volunteered Kenshin. The rest of you had better go to bed, it's late." "Why don't you stay here too, Sanosuke. You look exhausted, and I have room," said Kaoru as Sano turned to leave. "Besides, if anyone saw you fighting with Ashitare, the Seiryuu may be looking for you." "Arigatou, Jo-chan. That's great of you." There wasn't much room in the little dojo, but Sanosuke fit easily on the floor of Yahiko's room, and the Suzaku Seishi were used to sleeping in close quarters, so they fit. Despite everything, their exhaustion, both physical and mental, was such that sleep was not long in coming. Kenshin was the only one awake in the little dojo, as he sat against the wall, his Sakabatou leaning against his shoulder, regarding the unconscious creature with compassion. In sleep, even with his scarred face and monstrous body, the wolf-man didn't seem so fierce, just... pitiable. | |
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|Chapter 1| |Chapter 2| |Chapter 3| |Chapter 4| |Chapter 5| |Chapter 6| |Chapter 7| |