Kenshin and Ranma were sitting near a river, sharing a meal. The former assassin had dispatched the bandits harrassing the young boy easily. They were badly hurt but still alive, a testament to his vow to never kill again. Later, Ranma had asked him why he used a sakabatou and not a katana if he was a samurai. Kenshin had told him that he was a protector, not a killer, and was pleasantly surprised at his reaction.
"Well, that's good cause killing is wrong, ya know ? With that sakabatou, ya might rough'em up but not kill'em outright"
Kenshin had smiled at the crude speech filled with the conviction of youth. From the mouth of babes... Except this was no ordinary child, he could see that young Ranma had been thoroughly trained in unarmed combat. Ranma was an enigma, very different of the other children he had met.
It was also odd how the boy reacted to him, almost as if samurais were unheard of where he came from. The fact that he was completely ignorant of recent events was puzzling as well. No matter how backwater his village was, surely he would have heard about the troubles of the Bakumatsu and the ongoing Meiji Restoration.
"I am Himura Kenshin, a wanderer. What is your name, boy ?"
"I'm Ranma..." Ranma paused, deep in thought, as if he tried to remember something "Just Ranma, I guess..."
"If I may ask, who trained you in martial arts ? It looked like kempo but a different style from the forms I know..."
Ranma furrowed his brow in concentration "I dunno... I... can't remember" He put a hand on the bandage wrapped around his head. One of the bandits had gotten lucky at the end of the fight "Why can't I remember that ?"
"It will come back to you one day" I hope was Kenshin's unspoken thought. He decided to change the subject "You are a pretty good fighter for someone your age, Ranma"
Ranma beamed with pride "Yup ! Gonna be the best martial artist there is !" He didn't know why but it was really important to him.
"I see..." Kenshin's face turned serious "What is a martial artist's duty ?"
"I know that! To protect the weak!" cheerfully answered Ranma. That was one of the few snippets of memory he had left.
Kenshin's smile returned. The wanderer stood up and held out his hand "If you come with me, I will teach you all I know... I sense great potential in you and I would hate to see it unfulfilled. But you will have to swear to protect the weak with the skills I will teach you and never, EVER, use them to kill another human being, understood ?"
Ranma stood up as well and grabbed Kenshin's hand "I swear it on my honor as a martial artist... What are you going to teach me... Himura-sensei?"
"Just call me Kenshin, Ranma. My school of kenjutsu is called the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu and dates back to the warring states period. It is one of the few remaining ancestral sword techniques and has always been used by its masters to protect the innocents..."
*****
And so it came to pass that Kenshin Himura, the infamous Hitokiri Battousai, took Ranma as his student, teaching him the Hiten Mitsurugi swordstyle and transmitting his noble ideals. The pair wandered across Japan, trying to right wrongs whenever they encountered injustice.
One day, Kenshin was looking for Ranma and was caught him practice his unarmed techniques. He didn't mind since it was a mostly non-lethal way of fighting. Ranma used a bokutou to train in the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu but he had said that sometimes, you don't have your weapon handy or its use is not practical. He could certainly agree with this logic.
Ranma was concentrating in front of a man-sized tree trunk. Suddenly he jumped and launched a flying uppercut at the tree, striking where the chin of an opponent would be "TORA SHO SEN !!!" The top of the trunk exploded into splinters from the force of the blow "Yes ! I did it !"
Kenshin was surprised to say the least. Ranma had taken the Ryu Sho Sen and devised an unarmed version. He smiled, young Ranma was definitely a fighting genius to be able to do this at such a young age "A Tensai..."
Ranma's ears picked up his words. The boy jumped back in a defensive stance then gasped at the sight of his master "Ack ! Kenshin, you were there ?"
"Indeed, I was, Ranma. Care to explain?"
"Er... Kenshin, it's not that I don't respect Hiten Mitsurugi and the art of the sword, really... But..."
"I know... The sword is a weapon. Kenjutsu is the art of killing. No matter the words used to explain it, it is its truth" Nodded Kenshin "My master told me this long ago and I agree with him. I am not angry at you, Ranma" His student sighed in relief "I am rather impressed by your ingeniosity and talent" Ranma chuckled in a mix of embarassment and pride.
"But that does not mean you should neglect your sword skills! SHOBU !!!" Kenshin unsheated his sakabatou. Ranma picked up his wooden sword. Time to spar.
*****
More years passed. Ranma mastered all the Hiten Mitsurugi ryu techniques Kenshin knew at the time. He had created an unarmed version for each, effectively devising a sister school. While the Dragon represented the sword techniques, the Tiger embodied the weaponless equivalents. Ranma considered Kenshin to be his father as well as his sensei and was happy to be Himura Ranma now. He promised himself to make Kenshin proud and wear his family name with pride!
Tokyo, in the year 1878...
"BATTOSAI, MANSLAYER !"
Kenshin turned to stare at the one who had shouted. A young woman, garbed in a kendo outfit and armed with a bokuto, was approaching.
"At last, I found you... I will finally put an end to all the murders in our streets! PREPARE YOURSELF!"
Cue a boggle-eyed Kenshin who could only say one thing "Oro!"
"WHAT!? Know that I am called the kendoka beauty around here, boyo!"
"Oro?"
See other episodes by Jamil Nate
(Posted Thu, 19 Jun 2003 23:35)
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