WARNING: Rated R, for just about everything! See the first chapter for full details on warning blah blah blah. (I wonder how many people actually read the warnings and notice that I tend to trail off mid-sentence. I write assignments made out of trash and am now convinced that people only read the first and last sentence of each paragraph and mark accordingly. The world is full of loopholes.) This chapter is slightly more tame than the last, I could probably get away with a PG-13 in this one, but there are some chapters in the fic that push the boundaries of the R rating so you were warned don't flame me and even more importantly don't get me kicked off FF.net! I thoroughly appreciate your consideration, and I'm not just saying that either (smiles engagingly).
Author's note: Gee, less people hated this than I thought. I thank everyone for their thoughtfulness in not flaming me, and all of your comments were greatly appreciated. Everybody bow to reviewers! (Bows). Speaking of which, I will maintain my efforts in responding individually to all of the reviewers at the start of each chapter, since I so love communicating with you all. However, it does make for a lengthy intro as I do tend to get carried away sometimes, so if you don't want to read the long-winded intro every chapter, feel free to skip on ahead to the pretty line.
Now for Response to Reviewers! (I wish I had a special celebratory font for that.)
Sailor Gotland: Thank you for not hating it, and for reviewing, too! And BTW, I also thank you for your review on Servitude, sorry about the assumption about Sailor Moon fandom, your pen name stands to be confusing. I too, think sake is sweet - I recently went to Japan and tried some, and loved it! Loved it so much I'm writing a fic about its less admirable side- effects, in fact. (Now everyone thinks I'm going to become a hard-core alcoholic. I suppose it's a good thing it's so expensive). I'm glad you like Kenshin angst, because this fic will be full of it, in many, many forms.... (I wonder if I have a psychological disorder....)
Crazy Girl Person: Konnichiwaaaaa! Nice to see you again too. Thanks for the review, and I must say I agree, I had difficulty with the concept of Hiko doing the things he has done and will do in this fic to Kenshin, but then, that's the point of fanfiction, isn't it? Ack, you 'violated the guidelines'? There are GUIDELINES, at FF.net? Oh yeah... those bits and pieces of legislation that haunt my nightmares..... my sympathies, hope you're back online soon. As to why Hiko's drinking so much.... I haven't decided yet. All will be revealed.... eventually.
Ayumi Ikari: A reviewer I don't recognise! Eeeek! Hello! Thank you for your review! Yeah, it's hard to picture Hiko doing these things. But y'know, I try to be different.. and usually fail. Hope you enjoy the fic.
There's the long intro out of the way, thanks again to reviewers. Now on with the chapter! _________________
Routine
Chapter 2 - The Morning After
By Sinnatious
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Hiko awoke the next morning sometime around sunrise. Sleep didn't usually hang around the older man, and nor did it today. In the comfort of routine, he removed his covers, stepped out of bed, put on his large white mantle and armed himself with his katana. After a drink of water to fully refresh himself, he made his way to the room where his baka deshi slept. The kid was always still asleep when he awoke, and it was up to swordmaster to get the lazy boy out of bed. He was certainly glad that he never married and had children of his own, because if they all slept as much as Kenshin did....
Sure enough, his pupil was still fast asleep, curled up in his futon, head facing away from him but loose red hair splayed out around his head almost artistically. Try as he might to suppress it, a brief smile tugged imperceptibly at the edges of Hiko's mouth. The small boy - though now, he corrected himself, he was a growing teenager - was truly a pleasant sight. The boy was almost beautiful, his youthful innocence and perfection enough to almost irritate the older man. Such beauty shouldn't exist in such an ugly world, yet at the same time, he was glad it did.
Trying to discourage himself from such thoughts, Hiko simply turned his back and shouted out, "Baka deshi! Are you going to sleep all day?! Get out of bed already!"
The shift in his pupil's ki and intake of breath assured him the boy was awake, so Hiko wasted no time into moving into the kitchen and preparing himself some breakfast. Kenshin may have been the better cook, but he was hungry and didn't feel like waiting around all day whilst his student prepared himself.
Several moments later, he sensed his baka deshi stumble half-asleep into the kitchen. Really, the kid's melodramatics were getting ridiculous, he always seemed to be so tired in the morning. 'Probably just a teenager thing' Hiko consoled himself quietly, completing his albeit simple breakfast preparations and moving to place the food on the table.
He stopped short, though, he when he caught sight of his pupil's face. "What happened to your eye?"
Kenshin was rubbing the back of his head, attempting a smile - he was embarrassed then. "I hit it harder than I thought in training yesterday, that I did."
Hiko recalled the incident with clarity, of course. He'd enjoyed reaming out his baka deshi for such clumsiness, as the boy's insistent denials and retorts were a great source of entertainment. Still, he too hadn't thought that the impact had been enough to blacken his eye that much, if bruise at all. Maybe his baka deshi had tripped and hit it on a doorknob or something, and refused to admit it. Amusing as the thought was, and disappointing that he may have missed another great chance to torture his pupil, overall it didn't matter, as the kid could still train well enough with a black eye.
Without any more conversation than that, they completed breakfast in silence, though Kenshin didn't seem quite to be himself. Then again, the boy had been much more subdued lately, it wasn't a drastic change, likely just another 'teenager' thing. Hiko's complete lack of experience in the area meant he had to assume a lot of things.
However, one cannot completely fool a swordmaster of Hiko's skill in any matter. The teacher grew further suspicious of his pupil's slightly odd behaviour later in training. It wasn't a big deal, but when they sparred Kenshin seemed to be inordinately careful, and several times when Hiko had parried particularly hard and the younger swordsman had been sent flying on to his back, he had stood again clutching an arm across his abdomen as if he were in pain. Perhaps the child was sick.
Perhaps he was just weak, too, he thought to himself. As of late he'd begun to question whether he had made the right choice in taking on that little urchin, even if it were a wise urchin, as a pupil. The past few weeks the teenager had begun to show signs of constant sleepiness, extraordinary clumsiness always resulting in injury, classical signs of lying not to mention his recent strange and annoying habit of sitting up while he drank sake. The boy was becoming an enigma, and Hiko Seijuuro did not like things he did not understand. It was getting to the point of frustration.
Yet despite all this, he still improved in his training. Even Hiko had to admit to himself that the potential he showed was amazing; the aptly named Kenshin had already reached an impressive level of skill before he had barely begun tapping into his full resources.
So the day passed, as usual, Hiko instructing his student in the many flaws of his kata, making him meditate, spar, and practice on his own. All those thoughts long swept aside, Hiko at last sheathed his sword, indicating that the day's training was over. The young red-head immediately followed suite, lavendar eyes trained on the great swordmaster to see what his next task was to be.
"That's enough training for today," Hiko announced needlessly. Realistically, living together on the mountain with very little other human contact for so long, the two really had no need to talk, able to read the other's intent almost perfectly on some days. But even the reclusive Hiko found some comfort in the teen's company and someone other than himself and the wildlife to converse with. People who didn't talk for long periods of time all know that you forget how to converse properly with other people eventually. "You need more power in your swing, but your technique has improved. Keep it up and you'll be able to move on to the next kata soon."
The kid's features lightened briefly at the unexpected compliment, even as backhanded as it was. The boy was either getting good at control or becoming more level-headed; a couple of years ago anything resembling a compliment from the older man would have him skippping and grinning like an idiot for days.
"Don't stand there looking pleased with yourself baka, go chop the firewood, then you can start cooking dinner. I'm going to go get some supplies from the village," Hiko ordered. The young red-head simply nodded and began moving around to the back of the hut where the firewood was stored. The swordmaster watched him for a moment; as slight as it had been, not even he could completely hide his own emotions, and when he had said he was going to get supplies Kenshin's shoulders had definitely drooped. In what emotion, though, not even he could guess. Dejection? Disappointment? Jealousy? Resignation, even?
Hiko was beginning to get more than annoyed with his recent lack of ability to fully his read his pupil's actions; though he would never let on to the boy about that. As far as the kid was concerned, he was still omnipresent, a feeling that the swordmaster, and likely nearly anybody would have, enjoyed. Never the matter. He'd simply stock up good on his sake - it seemed to be running out much quicker more recently - and get drunk after the kid went to sleep tonight. Since he didn't ever seem to suffer hangovers, sake was the best escape from the frustrations of teaching. He set out towards the village, leaving Kenshin working on the mountain behind him.
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Well, that was pretty un-eventful chapter I suppose - but you'll love the next one!.... I think I hope I pray..... please don't forget to review. I need to know people are reading to keep writing.