The next day was Kitsui's first kendo lesson with Kaoru. Kenshin took the job of scrubbing the floor so that he could keep an eye on the two women. Everything seemed to be going well, and Kaoru's new pupil was catching on well. From outside came the usual sounds of the dojo's residents.
"Hey! Chicken-head!" Yahiko hollered. "Megumi-san says to come in and get your bandages changed!"
"Tell that fox I said thanks, but noooooo thanks!" Sanosuke replied. "I'm not like you that needs to be bandaged up everytime I get a scratch!"
"Sano!" yelled Megumi from somewhere in the house. "Get in here!"
Kitsui could only laugh at the familiar squabbling of the household.
"Are any of you related?" she asked Kaoru. "It seems like one big family here!"
"Tell me about it!" Kaoru wiped the sweat off her forehead. "But no, we're all just close friends, and we have Kenshin to thank for bringing us all together."
"Kenshin?"
"Yes. Without him, none of us would probably be alive right now."
"Oh! How's that?"
"I met Kenshin when an ex-student from this dojo tried to destroy it and kill me. He saved my life twice in the first two days I knew him."
"Fascinating! What about the others?"
"Arrogant little Yahiko was under the control of the yakuza until Kenshin and I saved him."
"What about that tall guy with 'bad' on his jacket?"
"Sanosuke is a survivor of the Sekihoutai, who hated the Imperialists Kenshin once worked for. Kenshin has a way with words and people, and eventually, Sano joined our growing little group."
"I can see why the boy calls him Chicken-head!" Kitsui laughed. "Please, go on."
"Finally, there's Megumi. She wanted to become a doctor, but a sleazy businessman forced her to make opium instead. She would've killed herself if Kenshin hadn't stopped her."
"I see how Kenshin keeps you all glued together. Where did he come from?"
At this, Kaoru could only respond with silence. She was uneasy about revealing Kenshin's true identity for fear that it would bring more trouble to the dojo. Kenshin had already told her to be weary of Kitsui, and so she was extra reluctant to say anything.
"Kenshin…" she paused to find her words. "Kenshin… doesn't talk much about his past… so I'm not really sure where he's from."
"You know," Kitsui put her hand to her chin and stared at the ceiling. "Kenshin's appearance is like a description I once heard, but I don't know about whom. Ah, well, he's probably not the same person anyway. Shall we continue?"
"Later." Kaoru picked up her towel and wiped her sweat away. "For now, let's just clean up and relax for awhile. You can use the ofuro first."
"Oh no! I couldn't think of it!" Kitsui stared at her. "You're the teacher, so I must insist you go first."
"All right, if you insist." Kaoru put away her bokken and headed for the ofuro.
Kitsui lingered a while longer in the training hall. She took a few more practice swipes with her bokken before storing it away with Kaoru's. Without turning around, she smirked.
"Come on out, Battosai." she said calmly. "I know you're there."
Kenshin leapt down from his hiding spot on the rooftop. His sakabatou was in its sheathe at his waist. He glared at Kitsui, knowing something was up.
"Who are you?" he said in a low voice.
"I'm here to pay a debt owed to you by my family." she turned around to face him.
"What sort of debt?"
"You saved my ancestor's life during your Battosai days." She approached Kenshin slowly, careful not to trigger his defenses into effect. "I'm here to give you what my family owes you?"
"And what would that be?" Kenshin didn't move a muscle, trying to pick out what this girl was up to. As she came closer, he eyed her shadow and understood who she was. "You're a shape-shifter, aren't you?"
"Very clever, Kenshin." she stopped. "Would you like to see what I really am?"
Kenshin remained silent, his muscles tensed and ready to grab the reverse-blade sword at a second's notice. Kitsui grinned and crossed her arms across her face and chest. A wind filled the room, and when it came to a stop, Kitsui stood as what her shadow betrayed. Two black, pointed ears twitched atop her head and a fiery-orange tail, tipped in white, fell to the floor as gracefully as a feather. Her feet were small, black, and canid. Kitsui was actually a fox.
"That would explain your change in height when you walk." Kenshin uttered nonchalantly. "What did I do to earn your respect?"
"My family lived in Kyoto around the time that you were Battosai the Mankiller." Kitsui explained. "A farmer was going to kill all of us for trespassing on his property. On the day he was going to exterminate us, he died by your hand."
"I had no idea I had helped in that manner." the swordsman continued. "In fact, you owe me nothing. It was pure coincidence."
"Perhaps so," the fox twitched her tail. "But if it had not been for you, I would not be alive now. There must be something you desire. Power, perhaps? Political? Physical? There is nothing sessha kitsune cannot grant you."
"I have no need of such things." Kenshin shook his head. "A life of peace to make up for my Battosai years is my only wish."
"Surely you have earned many enemies during mankiller days." the fox stepped forward. "Adversaries who seek to tear you from the peace and the friends you hold so dear. A word, and they will be dead."
Kenshin again declined the offer.
"I have shed too much blood in my lifetime," he said. "I'll have no more on my hands."
"Mayhap your lady friend has caught your attention." Kitsui grinned warmly. "Yes, I have seen how you gaze at her, as a creature eyes its mate."
"Kaoru-dono and myself are close friends." Kenshin spoke up. "I would do nothing to mar that relationship."
Just then, Sanosuke and Yahiko crashed into the room, fighting over a piece of fish. When they looked up to apologize, they stared in shocked silence.
"Oi! Is that-" Sanosuke uttered.
"-a fox??" Yahiko finished Sano's sentence.
Having been spotted, Kitsui realized she would have to get out of there. She raced at the two on the floor and leapt over them to freedom. She paused, looking back straight at Kenshin, a foxy, smug grin flowing over her face.
"I will pay my debt to you, Battosai!" she said. "That you can be sure of!"
With that, she leapt into the woods and completely out of sight.
Sano and Yahiko got themselves up off the floor and brushed the dirt off of their clothes. They stared out into the bushes, then at Kenshin.
"Was that what I think it was?" Sanosuke glared at the swordsman. "And if so, what kind of debt do YOU owe it?"
"Oro?" poor Kenshin sweatdropped.
"Since when do you make deals with foxes?" Yahiko feigned anger, but excitement was apparent in his expressions.
"No, no, let me explain!" Kenshin tried to calm them down, but it was obvious it wasn't working.
Eventually, Kenshin explained the whole scenario with Kitsui to them. They listened, with storms of emotions brewing in their faces.
"BAKA!" Sanosuke slammed his fist into the floor. "You didn't ask for money? What's wrong with you?!"
"You should've asked her to turn Kaoru into the raccoon she is!" the young boy laughed. "That would've been funny!"
"But I don't need anything." Kenshin explained. "I have everything I want right here in this dojo."
"Think of US, Kenshin!!!" Sanosuke continued to bug out. "If not for yourself, then how about for the rest of us?"
"No." Kenshin shook his head. "As I've said before, I have no connection to the name Battosai. Those days are over."
"So you asked for nothing???!" Yahiko twitched an eyelid.
"Nothing but peace for myself and the rest of you." Kenshin smiled. "I just want to be happy here in the dojo with all of you."
The thug and the samurai boy looked at Kenshin as if he had grown another head, then looked at one another and shook their heads in disbelief.
"Does Kaoru-chan know about this?" Sano asked.
"She knows that I have been suspicious of Kitsui," the swordsman replied. "but she doesn't know what Kitsui really is."
"Well, who's gonna tell her?"
"I will, though she probably won't believe me."
"Trust us," said Yahiko. "We'll help you convince her. After all, we saw her too! Hey! Speaking of raccoon-girl, where is she?"
"She just went to the ofuro. We'll tell her and Megumi later at supper."
"Well, at least we've still got one fox in the house!" Sano laughed.
"Yeah! Yours!" the samurai boy chipped in, and received several unpleasant bumps to the head. Kenshin shook his head with a tired 'Oro.'
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This is Chapter 2. Where would you like to go next?
