_________________________________________________


	
Rurouni Yahiko
A Rurouni Kenshin continuation fic
By Chester Casta�eda
gab_ab@edsamail.com.ph 
http://www.geocities.com/gabriel_abdiel/fanfiction.htm
http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1280855
http://rakhal.com/florestica/abdiel
http://www26.brinkster.com/callie/

Aside from the introduction of several new 
characters, there are also overzealous amounts 
of flashbacks... so I dub this chapter the 
'flashback episode.' :P Enjoy.

A few more notes before proceeding:

< > indicates character thoughts
" " indicates character speech


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Chapter 6: Enter the Tiger
_________________________________________________




     Yahiko opened his eyes, wincing at the approach of sunlight. "It's
morning already? What happened?"

     "It's good that you're awake," Kyoko quietly said as she lugged
Yahiko on her back. "You're starting to get heavy."

     Yahiko quickly stood up as soon as he realized the precarious
position he and the older girl were in. He winced in agony as he felt
the pain return. He plopped down the ground in anguish. <Dammit! This
time I really _am_ beaten up.> 

     "You shouldn't be moving so much. You're hurt badly. Come on, I'll
help you up," Kyoko said primly as she took Yahiko's arm over hers.

     "Thanks," Yahiko said, a faint blush on his cheeks. He could only
guess what Tsubame would have thought if she saw him now. 




***



     
     Kenshin Himura and family's jaws metaphorically dropped on the 
floor as Tsubame suddenly tore a page of Yahiko's letter apart with her
bare hands, the Akabeko waitress not even completely aware of it.

     Tsubame blinked as she saw the two torn halves of paper. "I-I'm 
so sorry!" 

     "Mou... I wanna know what happened to big bwotha!" Kenji said,
pouting as he crossed his arms. "Did he meet with the smiley-faced man 
again?"

     "I-I think it's still okay," Kaoru said as she put the two torn
pieces of paper together. "There we go... No harm done, Kenji! Now,
where were we... Oh yeah, the part where the girl Kyoko and Yahiko went
back to the village together."

     The sound of ceramics crashing on the floor was heard, followed by
profuse apologies.

     <That is... it's going to be okay as soon as Tsubame gets past that 
sentence,> Kaoru thought as she eyed the sixteen year old warily. 

     "What happened afterwards, Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin asked eagerly. 

     "Hmmm... So you really want to know what happened to the boy, Seta
Soujiro?"

     "I'll admit that I'm intrigued," Kenshin acquiesced.

     "I'm more worried about what happened to Yahiko," Kaoru said,
pouting. "That Soujiro boy gave him a hard time. Was he really that good 
a swordsman?"

     "He was able to slash me from behind when we fought in Shishio's
stronghold," Kenshin answered straightforwardly. "He also sliced cleanly 
through my original sakabatou. His skills and natural ability exceeded 
mine. I only defeated him because my soul was not as confused as his."
Kenshin then turned to Kaoru and smiled.

     As Kaoru gave Kenshin a cross and worried look, the former rurouni 
reassured, "Maa maa... I'm sure Yahiko's fine. After all, he _was_ able 
to write and send this letter to us. And though he openly admitted that 
he wasn't quite sure how he survived the fight, what's important is that
he _did_ survive." 

     "I guess." Kaoru relaxed a bit. She smiled contemplatively, pride 
apparent in her eyes. She afterwards huffed, stating, "Humph. And here I 
thought he was going to brag about his oh-so-great revisal techniques
again. But he's still so full of himself to write such a detailed
account of his experiences."

     "It was probably an important event to Yahiko for him to write 
about it word for word," Kenshin supposed, bemused.

     "Kenshin... you said that this Seta Soujiro is a good swordsman. 
We're fairly sure Yahiko survived this attack. Do you really believe
that he was actually able to beat Soujiro, knowing that he's
outmatched?" 

     "I have no doubt that he fought with all his strength," Kenshin 
said as he nodded affirmatively, adding, "and that he'll never break his 
promises... not one of them."




***




     "'I'm going... Chizuru, stay here,' you said... 'Later... I won't 
be long,' you said... Even though it took you the entire friggin' night 
to come back! A samurai's word is his bond... HA! Bullshit. Now look at 
you... You got the crap beaten out of you. This is _exactly_ what 
happens to li'l braggarts like yourself! Now that's what I call KARMA! 
Why I never--"

     <Kami-sama, oh Kami-sama... please make her stop,> Yahiko pleaded 
desperately as he silently suffered under Chizuru Raikouji's constant
badgering. Sure, he could retaliate... he did have a way with words...
but now was not the time. After all, the woman _was_ dressing his 
wounds. There was no point to bite the hand that gauzes you... or some
such tripe. <I thought I finally got away from the old hag when I left 
Tokyo. Only to find a replacement Kaoru here in Shinsu. Oh joy.>

     Yahiko suddenly felt a sharp pain on his ear as Chizuru callously 
pinched and twisted it. "And listen when somebody is talking to you!" 

     "...." Yahiko detailed, feeling as if he was replaying some sort
of familiar event.

     Chizuru blinked. "Eh, what's wrong? Is there something on my face?" 

     Yahiko just... stared at Chizuru, a combination of nostalgia, deja
vu and terror brimming inside of him. <Dammit, they must have been twins
separated at birth! There's no other explanation!>

     "Chizuru-san? Once you're done dressing Mr. Swordsman's wounds, 
would you come down here for a moment? We need your help here." It was
Nonoko Sakaguchi's voice.

     "Coming!" Chizuru called out as she began to pack up the extra 
bandages.

     "Busy day at the soba shop?" Yahiko inquired curiously. The whole
setup kind of reminded him of the ol' hustle and bustle he went through
in the Akabeko. He kind of longed for it, strangely enough. <Tsk. Barely 
a month away from Tokyo and I'm missing the place already.>

     "You could say that... There are lots of people from all sorts of
places coming to the shop. Even though Shinsu's now connected with the
rest of civilization, I doubt that it has anything to do with the sudden
flood of people today," the twenty-something woman observed ponderously.

     "It's the announced assassination attempt, isn't it?"

     Chizuru nodded in affirmation. "Word spreads fast. I heard some 
rumors that the politician whose neck was on the line has offered a
hefty reward to anyone who could protect him from this supposed
doppelganger Battousai."

     Yahiko snorted derisively. <Seems like politicians nowadays think
exactly like Tani,> he thought. To Chizuru, he said, "So that explains
why there are suddenly a lot of people in this out-of-the-way little
village in Shinsu."

     "Probably. Don't know for sure," Chizuru replied as she helplessly
shrugged. "All I know is that it's weird for Sakaguchi-san's shop to
_still_ be this busy. I mean, it's already way past lunchtime. Now's
supposed to be the slow hours."

     "CHIZURU-SAN! A LITTLE HELP, PLEASE!" Nonoko called out again in a
pleading yet insistent manner.  

     "Yes, yes... coming, Sakaguchi-san! Coming!" Chizuru avowed. "Oh
well. Duty calls. I'll just have to continue this little chitchat of 
ours later, boy."

     "Sure, whatever," Yahiko softly said as Chizuru went to her 
supposed destination. 

     The young lad was now alone with his thoughts. 




***




     The clattering of plates and the buzz of a large crowd drowned out
most of all the other sounds inside the restaurant.

     "WHAT?! But that's impossible! He's still here?!" Chizuru
exclaimed.

     Well... _most_ of the other sounds, anyway. 

     "Yes, it's possible, Chizuru-san," Nonoko beatifically
acknowledged.

     There was loud, bellowing laughter in the background followed by
the deafening groan of defeat from the crowd that had gathered.

     "Well, has he paid for it all?! All that food he ate... he's 
eating you out of house and home!" Chizuru demanded, incensed.

     A sheepish whine was heard amidst the ruckus. 

     "Well, he seems very confident that he could. So far, he has gained 
a lot of winnings from his little bets. As long as he keeps on eating,
I'm sure he could pay."

     "...."

     "Is something the matter, dear?"

     "You're too nice for your own good, Sakaguchi-san." <Like mother, 
like daughter, I guess.>

     "Kaasan! More soba! He wants more soba!" intoned a girlish, 
panicked voice.

     "Coming, Kyoko!" The Sakaguchi matriarch then turned to Chizuru,
stating, "Let's just keep on cooking, dear. I'm sure the strange, large
man's little stunts will pay-off big time in the long run."

     "Eh?! Why don't we just quit while we're still ahead, Sakaguchi-
san? My elbow's killing me from all this damn stirring!"
 
     The only response Chizuru got was a loud and long belch.




***




     Yahiko narrowed his eyes in remembrance as he struggled to piece 
together the information he had gathered so far.

     "What are they saying about Battousai?" the young lad had asked
during his first meeting with Chizuru.

     "Oh, horrible things! Unfounded rumors and lies!" Chizuru had
answered. "Like how he had finally turned up after years of anonymity... 
His plans to oust the Meiji government of its power because his theories 
of isolationism conflicted with their beliefs... That sort of stuff."

     <Hmmm... There are parts of the rumors that are true, but the other 
parts... Isolationism? What the hell?!> Yahiko reflected.

     Chizuru continued. "I've heard that Battousai is already here,
planning an _announced_ assassination attempt on one of the premiere
members of the diet." 

     <One of the premiere members of the diet... What Chizuru had said
backs up psycho-kid's own statements.>

     "I was assigned by my employer to monitor the activities of a 
person claiming to be the Hitokiri Battousai," Soujiro had avowed. 

     <I think it's pretty safe to assume that psycho-kid's 'employer'
is somehow connected to that politician. It's all starting to make sense
now... but what about guy, Keisuke and the stuff that he said?>

     "Red-hair... cross-shaped scar... Please, get him away from...
m-me... h-help me..." the near-dead Keisuke had said, visibly shaking in
mortal fright.

     <Weird. I'm not sure what to make out of that. Still, I'd hate it
if Kenshin were to be framed up by this new 'Battousai'... I have to
meet him for myself. It's going to be me and him... face to face.>

     A voluminous burp from outside ruined Yahiko's deep
contemplation.

     <Well, seems like Sakaguchi-san's patrons are really enjoying her
soba,> Yahiko thought as he licked his lips absently. <Damn, I've been
out like a light for so long that I've missed both breakfast and lunch.
Maybe if I ask Chizuru nicely enough, she'll lend me enough money to buy
a bowl or two. I'm starving.> 

     Soon hunger got the better of him as he began to move out of his
futon and into the restaurant.




***




     "I AM THE SOBA KING! GUWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" came the boisterous holler 
of a large, robust man wearing green pants and a red vest. His bulging
muscles and pectorals were made much more apparent by the fact that he 
wore no shirt underneath said vest. Unfortunately, girth replaced muscle
on his stomach area as he finished off the remnants of his latest
serving.

     <Truly, I have mastered the art of soba eating... but even these 
sumptuous noodles cannot compare to the delicacy that is the meat bun!>
the robust man thought, nodding sagely. He turned towards the crowd with
flourish, stating, "COME ON! I dare ANYONE to come and out-eat me in the
next round!"

     Silent, collective head shaking was the only response the brawny 
man got. He sighed in mock defeat. <Aaahh... Finally, they got it in 
their thick skulls that they're no match against me. Good... I was 
getting real sick and tired of eating all those soupy noodles. Also, my 
stomach's already grumbling funny. Damn, I wish I went to a meat bun 
place instead of a soba restaurant. Oh well, time to collect my earnings 
and-->

     Suddenly, everybody went silent as they all heard the shuffling of
footsteps and the clattering of ceramics.

     "H-here you go, Yahiko-san," Kyoko timidly said as she put down 
Yahiko's order on his table, a stark contrast to her moodier self
yesterday. "Enjoy."

     "Thanks a lot, Kyoko."

     Yahiko quietly sat on the table next to the 'Soba King', his bowl 
of steaming hot soba ready for his hearty consumption. He parted his
chopsticks and let out a loud, "Itadakimasu!" as he devoured his meal
with the zeal of a monk.

     The well-built man felt it again... the 'itch'. The barely
controllable itch he got on his hands whenever the prospect of 'easy 
money' was at his grasp. 

     Yahiko looked up as the sizeable man coughed for his attention. The
larger man dramatically gasped, saying, "What's that you've just
mumbled?! Did I hear you correctly? You wish to challenge the Great
Gan?"

     Chizuru could only roll her eyes in disgust as she heard Gan's
usual by-line. "Feh. Here he goes again... It looks like he found
another prospective--" She blinked. "Hey, wait a minute... Isn't 
that...?"
 
     The bandaged boy could only blink in confusion as he looked at
the strange, hoodlum-like man in askance. "Whuwuzzat?" he asked through
a mouthful of noodles.

     The man who had identified himself as 'The Great Gan' gasped again
as he pointed at Yahiko and 'whispered' to the crowd in a not-so-subtle 
manner, "He said, 'Bring it on, butthead!' What arrogance!"

     "HEY! I said no such thing!" Yahiko exclaimed, feeling like he was
getting swindled somehow.

     Gan gave Yahiko a livid look before exploding in barely controlled 
laughter. "You jest, punk. Go home."

     Whispers and jeers soon followed.

     "Yeah, go home, punk!"

     "You should go back to your futon and rest, instead of straining
yourself unnecessarily, young man!"

     "GO HOME!"

     Yahiko wasn't quite sure of what to make of what was happening. But
he still did look irately at the gathered crowd with half-lidded eyes.
<Great. Figures. Here they go again. The whole Battousai incident just
happened awhile back and already they forgot about it. Bunch of
ingrates.> To Gan, he said, "Look, Mister... Gang or whoever, I don't 
know what you're trying to do, but--"

     "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!? What did you mean by saying, 'Afraid 
you'll lose because you can't take another serving, lard butt?' WHO ARE 
YOU CALLING A LARD BUTT?! This means war! Waitress! Another serving for
me and this upstart!"

     The crowd groaned as they began to move away, unwilling to make any
more bets, but the Great Gan had it all covered. "Make your wagers now, 
folks! It's going to be all or nothing this afternoon!" The rowdy man 
pretended to groan as he rubbed and patted his abdomen. "I don't think I
can eat another bite... What do you think?" 
 
     Gan's stomach actually did groan in agony, much to the stout man's
surprise, but he chose to ignore it amidst the wild cheers of his 
audience. After all, the Great Gan was about to make himself more money.
Grumbling stomach be damned and sickening soba soup be damned... He had
another prospective sucker, after all. What was there to lose? <Just one
more meat bun and I'm through, I promise! No... soba. SO-BA. I meant
soba, not meat bun.>

     Yahiko dumbly sat on the table as Kyoko shyly replaced his half-
eaten food with a fresh and significantly larger bowl full of soba.
"What the hell's going on?" was all he managed to say.




***




     "You don't know what you're doing! He wiped out half of those
'patrons' of ours during the last hour! That guy's a monster!" Chizuru 
hissed as she put down Yahiko's own bowl of soba in front of him. "Your
arrogance knows no bounds. That's what you get for biting more than
you could chew."

     "I DIDN'T MAKE ANY BETS WITH HIM! He's lying! He started saying 
some crazy stuff and now I'm stuck with a stinking bet that I didn't
make in the first place! And nobody's--" 

     The cheers of the crowd drowned out most of Yahiko's pleas and
cries of objection. "...Even listening to a word I'm saying." The boy
sighed in resignation. <Feh. Figures. Damn it all to hell.>

     "LET THE CONTEST BEGIN!" Gan roared as he parted his chopsticks
with fanfare usually reserved for Kabuki. "And now... ITADAKIMASU!"

     Yahiko could only groan inwardly as he began wolfing down on the 
large bowl of noodles, hoping against hope that by some miracle, he 
could get out of this predicament without going into too much debt.




***




     An eye-patched man hummed a merry tune as he made his way in the
uncharacteristically busy streets of Shinsu, tray full of freshly
steamed meat buns in hand. "Hmmm... The smell of fresh meat buns in the
morning! This should be enough to soothe the troubled and terribly irate
souls of Raedo-sempai and his men!"

     "What the hell are you talking about, you dumb ass? It's already
three in the afternoon!" a passerby helpfully shouted.

     The eye-patched man blinked innocently. "Really?"

     A second passed, followed by a minute. 

     "Dear Kami-sama in heaven! I'm LATE!" the frail-looking man cried
in utter despair as he ran as fast as he could towards his destination, 
clumsily trying to balance his tray of goodies. "Feet, don't fail me now! 
Oh d-d-dear... I hope sempai and the guys won't beat me up... much."    

     And so, the eye-patched man was off.

     "Who was that weird guy?"

     "Why didn't he just wrap all those meat buns up instead of
putting them on a tray?"




***




     <I feel like puking,> Yahiko thought to himself as he struggled to
take another bite out of the wound-up noodles on his chopsticks. He 
glanced over the Great Gan's direction. Sure enough, his opponent was
nearly done with his bowl of soba. <I can't eat another bite. Dammit! 
Only the likes of Sano could finish off Sakaguchi-san's extra large
special! Come to think of it, it is kind of strange for Sano to be as 
thin as he is....>

     Yahiko took a look at his own bowl. To his surprise it was nearly 
empty. <Man, I _really_ was that hungry. Maybe I could win this after
all.> Another wave of nausea subsequently threatened to overwhelm him.
It took nearly all of the Tokyo Samurai descendant's kenjutsu training
on concentration techniques to quell his urge to gag and vomit. <Or
maybe not. Damn it, and only a few more bites to go!>

     <HA! My losing streak has finally ended!> Gan thought gleefully as
he gorged the remaining soba in his bowl. <After this, I can now collect
my winnings and finally prove myself to be the man! No more begging on
the streets or performing old folk songs for loose change! The Great Gan
is no loser like... What's that I see?!>

     A heavenly, eye-patched angel suddenly swooped down the soba shop 
entrance, carrying the tray of delights that the Great Gan so longed 
for... White, tender and steaming hot meat buns, just begging to be 
munched upon....

     "SEMPAI! I'msosorryI'mlateIdidn'trealizethetimebut...!  Wait,
what's with the large crowd? Where'd Raedo-sempai and the others go?
Uh... hello, mister...? Hey! Those aren't for you! What are you--!?
AHHHHH!!!" 




***




     The Great Gan savored the tasty, flavorsome treats, at times 
swallowing some of the meat buns whole before gorging on their
delectability as he munched on them all at the same time. Their meaty,
beefy goodness melted in his mouth, caressing his taste buds like
nothing else.

     "W-ahh! I can't believe you ate each and every last meat bun on the
tray! That wasn't very nice at all! Raedo-sempai isn't going to like
this one bit!" the eye-patched man whined and whimpered pathetically.

     <Hmmm... Somehow it feels like I'm forgetting something important,>
the meat bun fanatic thought amidst his gluttony. 

     "Aaaaahhh...." came the contented sigh of one very full Yahiko
Myoujin. "Wow! I never thought I'd actually finish off one of Sakaguchi-
san's extra large specials! I almost threw up on that last bite!"

     A thunderous roar of approval and congratulations surrounded the
young swordsman.

     The Great Gan could only stare and gape, dumbstruck and face ashen, 
at the scene before him.

     "What an upset! I won back all the money I lost before!"

     "Ha! I won _that_ and a little extra!"

     "Dammit, I thought the big guy was going to win."
     
     "Tough luck, Wataru-kun."
   
     "Heh. Hey, kid... you're all right. Here's your share of the
winnings."

     "Whoah. I won some money too? Gee, thanks! WOHOOO!" Yahiko cheered
as he pocketed the amount given to him. "To think, for a while there I
thought I was going to go into debt!" 

     "WAIT A MINUTE!" Gan shouted in between mouthfuls. "Best two out of
three! I can still lick this!"

     "HA! You don't have any money left on you, you big galoot! You're 
the one that betted 'all or nothing.' What will we bet on now? Your
pants!?"

     "You're on!" Gan said as he began undoing his slacks. 

     "You will do no such thing in front of my daughter!" Nonoko said, 
incensed, as she covered Kyoko's eyes.

     The gathered multitude laughed jocularly as they started to make 
their leave.

     "Hey, wait... you! Wataru, right? Don't you want to earn back all
that money you lost?"

     "No way! Uh-uh. I lost enough money as is."

     "You're the one who blew it, now face the consequences."

     "Aw, come on guys! Wait! Come back!"

     But by then most everyone in the crowd was already gone. 

     "...."

     Gan heaved a dejected and miserable sigh. <Not again. This _always_
happens... Just when I think I got it, _this_ happens.>

     "Well, no use crying over spilt milk," the over-muscled man said
to himself, immediately perking up from his brief moment of melancholy. 
"I'll just have to pick myself up and move on. Like I always do." He
grinned carelessly. "Besides, I did get a free meal or two out of the 
whole betting thing, so I'm happy. I should get going."

     Insistent coughing caught Gan's attention before he made his leave.
"Uh... yes? Miss...?"

     "It's 'Miss friend-of-the-restaurant-owner-you-mooched-from,' to 
you, bud. Now what's that I hear about a 'free meal or two'? Hmmm?"

     "Ahehehehehe. Oh yeah." Gan sheepishly rubbed the back of his head 
before altogether waving good-bye, stating, "Sayonara!" and making a run
for it. 

     "HEY! You can't just eat and run! YAHIKO!" Chizuru beckoned.

     "Eh? What now, old hag? OW!"

     "Don't you go calling me 'old hag', young man! Now shut up and go 
follow that big, dumb oaf! It's the least you could do for getting free 
lodging and treatment in this house! Now GO!" Chizuru stated as she 
relinquished her hold of Yahiko's ear and pushed him towards the
direction the Great Gan went.

     "EH? You've got to be kidding me!"

     Unnoticed by the rest, the eye-patched man piteously whimpered,
"Sempai's meat buns... all gone..." over and over.




***




Next: Uh... the rest of the fic? ^^;

So what do ya'll think so far? Is it filler? Is it not? :P
You decide! But don't let appearances deceive you. ;)

I sent this to the list on a whim. In any case, Shonen's my
priority now, FYI, since it's about to be finished and all...
because I believe my first ever fic finished is a good sign
that I can finish fics! Finish what you started, et al. As
for the rest of this chapter... stay tuned. Like I said, 
people should finish what they started, ne? ;)

A note of dedication goes to MadamHydra for inspiring me to make 
this fic... Her own "That Which Lingers" is somewhat an influence 
in this endeavor of mine. 

Disclaimer: All characters used in this fanfic (save some others) 
are the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki and Sony. 
Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.

Ja ne!
Abdiel

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