~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The rain pounded down on the two wanderers
mercilessly, drenching Shishio's healing skin, making
the older man irritable. Still, they moved onward
without seeking shelter, knowing that they had to
leave the scene of the crime. Seta Soujiro had just
killed his only family, cruel to him though they might
have been. Shishio was already a wanted murderer,

or you could say 'unwanted' since his own masters tried to kill him. :)

 and

now they would both be hunted by the police, if what
happened on that rainy night ever became known.

Shishio Makoto stole a glance at the boy who walked
beside him, wondering how broken the child really was.
He hadn't really been thinking too far ahead when he'd
invited Soujiro to come along; it had been one of his
spur of the moment decisions.

Mako could tell the kid had skill. It was just a question of heart, which
Kenshen made him lose, the weenie. :P

 Still, Soujiro had

automatically accepted, not knowing if there were any
other options. Still,

'Still' is redundent. Ditch one of them.

They were quite a ways away from the Seta warehouses
before Shishio finally decided that it was time to
call a halt to their march. He stopped abruptly,
holding up a hand. "We should rest," he said in a
gruff voice. "Running hard for too long has proven to
be the downfall of many."

Heh. How ironic.

"Really?" the boy asked curiously. He held out his
hands, still dotted with the blood of his relatives
and studied them curiously. "Does killing people
always give you extra adrenaline?" he asked with an
inquisitive smile.

Only if you enjoy it.

That smile fascinated Shishio. Shishio wasn't a kind
man, but something about this boy who had just killed
his own family - a crime that most people would
instantly condemn him to hell for - drew the former
Ishin hitokiri to him. There was an innocence in it, a
naivety in which Shishio was beginning to see the
possibilities. The fact that the boy had brought down
three swordsman with only a wakizaki spoke of
potential with a sword, and having a servant around to
do errands wouldn't be a bad idea. The boy could go
into towns and get supplies and news if taught for

something missing there.

Shishio's own appearance was now so marred by his
burns and bandages that he couldn't blend into a crowd
and who would suspect a child of being the agent of
the infamous Hitokiri?

Well, the other infamous hitokiri

"Yes," he said. "When you kill someone, there's a
thrill of knowing that you have lived another day. You
have proven yourself stronger than the one you have
defeated, and you have fed upon his flesh. You become
stronger with each kill you make."

The boy's sweet smile was incongruous with his nex

next

question. "Then Shishio-san has killed a lot of
people?"

Shishio: Yes, but not enough. Not yet.

END

Just a drabble, may become something if I ever get to
it. I was curious about Shishio and Soujiro's
relationship.

Yep, it worked. They worked well together, while making sure it wasn't
overdone. Nice work

DB Sommer

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