Tales of a Wandering Warrior [Part three/Two Men, Two Blades and Six Bullets...] By: Kazeki Ryo It was definitely a very hot day, Ryo thought to himself as he shielded his eyes from the sun that was beating down upon him as he neared the Akabeko. Nothing else had been on his mind other than the same thing he had been thinking about for the past week. Days may have passed since the incident but he could not get that man's face away from his mind. Those light crystal blue eyes came back and haunted him as the words he spoke rang throughout his mind in an endless polyphony of misunderstanding. "If people die, it's not going to be me who's at fault. These people's lives are held by those same hands that are blocking the doorway." The same words repeated themselves in an infinite cycle over and over again... What did he mean by 'People's lives are held'? I was the one who stopped another foreigner from helping himself to our people and I'M the one at fault? He couldn't understand what he meant by that, all he knew was that it was a very disturbing set of words... The shade from the Akabeko awning was refreshing but what was even more refreshing was the smell of the food that wafted from the kitchen of the fine restaurant. Tsubame was the first one to see him and her light delicate smile welcomed him immediately. A weak smile crossed his face and he walked over to Tae, in search of some odd jobs to do around the place. "So, any new jobs?" He asked as he leaned against the counter. Tae looked at him while taking down some orders and was unable to answer at the time. Ryo realized that this may not be the right time to ask since the entire restaurant was bustling with customers. It may be good business for them but he can't make any money if Tae won't give him a job. He turned his back and headed out of the restaurant... Only to catch a glimpse of the same face that he saw before... It was the same man that the Gaijin was after... He didn't bother but the man definitely had his eye on Ryo... Ryo was definitely disturbed as the man had this strange 'Thank you' kind of look... Well, it's just an expression... "God, it's getting harder to find a job nowadays... Business is good so that's why all of them're busy..." A small thought crossed the boy's mind, a very amusing thought, and he laughed loud enough for everyone to hear. "Me? Become a waiter? That'll be the day..." He suddenly got this idea of him in one of Tsubame's dresses and he couldn't help but laugh, which he didn't do very often. But he had more important things in his mind, like finding some food. Why is it that all his problems have something to do with food? He thought to himself. Why specifically food? He really wasn't paying attention to his surroundings and just heard a high pitched scream come from the Akabeko. His eyes went wide and he ran quickly back there. "What the hell...!?" He ran as fast as he could to the place of the scream. He knew that if someone screamed, there would definitley be trouble, and that's what he least wanted. He watched them from outside, a large stocky man was holding Tae while another, much thinner man was holding Tsubame. They didn't have any swords, they just pointed small metal objects at the temples of the two girls. "Guns..." Ryo thought, and he knew he was right. He's had some run-ins with these objects that the foreigners brought with them and he knew that they were a very destructive tool for war. "I'm sure that there are more of them... Those two alone? They must either be very good, or very stupid... No, there are more..." He looked quickly at the scene through a small hole that he saw near the side. The stocky man blocked his view but he saw that some men were not cowering. Definitely accomplices... A man's voice was heard above Tae's and Tsubame's screams, a man's voice... A very familiar man's voice... "The man that ran past me!" Ryo cursed weakly under his breath. Now he understood what the Gaijin was trying to tell him, and he knew that this was his fault... He'd never forgive himself if the goons hurt the two girls... And he'd never stop until he's killed the men who did this... Ryo picked up a rock that he saw on the ground and flung it precisely against the wall opposite the window. The window broke and the men shot the rock that he had previously threw, and he dashed inside the restaurant, picking up a mop that he saw leaning against the wall. He swung the mop against several of his enemies in a full circle, his own self still high in the air to avoid any bullets that might have been shot, sending them flying against the walls. He turned away and realized that nearly half a dozen of them were too far away to hit. A bullet flew from the gun that the thinner man held and it hit the wall behind him, just barely missing his neck. "Get the damn f*cker!" The man shouted, and the others were quick to respond with a spray of gunfire. Ryo quickly jumped onto the celing to avoid any shots and dove at them from his vantage point, down onto the ground and onto an unconscious thug. "That's one, 5 more to go..." Ryo mumbled as he jumped again towards the wall and knocked another man unconscious. It was pretty easy to get rid of these idiots, they had absolutely horrid aim and were far too slow. He counted them one by one as he knocked them down as he flew from wall to wall like a pinball. Four... three... two... Just two more.. He flew against the other man, the taller stockier man that held Tae. Tsubame was already freed but this man might prove to be harder... He was about to collide when he fell to the ground, a strong, hellish pain in his side. He didn't realize it but the other man was taking aim at him all this time! The bullet had embedded itself in his rib muscle's and he did not know how to remove the pain... He looked up at the man that held Tae, and he felt his hair being pulled as he was brought upwards. Both his feet were no longer touching the ground and the man sneered at him, smiling like a madman. "Little punk, let's see how much you'd like a shit load of pain!" The man spat at Ryo's face and Ryo turned away in disgust. He felt the man lift him up higher and he felt his face collide with the floor. "Unghh..." Was all Ryo could say as he felt the man step on the back of his head, grinding his face into the ground. It was like this... It was like this before... It was... It was... * * * "A scream?" The man thought as he ran faster along the street. Many turned their heads as the man ran as fast as the wind down the road, nearly dropping his hat while he leaped past several carts. "Could I be too late?" He asked himself as he jumped over another of the carts that the vendors pushed along the street. He better not be late... And Hatsune better be right about this one... He skidded to a stop as he reached the door of the restaurant. Shocked? Because he was late? Because of the amount of destroyed furniture? "Not him again..." The large man that had casually placed his foot on the boy's head looked in his direction, the boy just grunting under the weight. The blonde man quickly reached for his huge six-shooter, hitting both men's guns, sending the armaments far from their reach. The boy quickly twisted his body and tripped the man with a quick movement of his leg, sending the man sprawling on the ground. The man moaned in pain, only to suddenly feel a thud against the back of his head. "Well, that means there's only one more." The kid said as he swung the rod against his shoulder. The man pointed his gun at Ryo, but his hands were obviously trembling at a very amusing speed. He would need more than lady luck to shoot Ryo down now... But it was different just a moment before... He dropped to his knees, his right rib bleeding like a small fountain of blood. The Gaijin lifted up the man and threw away the gun that he held with those quivering hands. "I think I'm going to need an explanation for what you did to my buddy here. Spit it out before I have to wring your throat for it!" Zan said as he held the man's face closer to his. The man sputtered incoherent ramblings, maybe because he talked way too fast for the average man to understand. "Tell me now!" Zan screamed as the man gulped. "I-I don't need to tell you anything! You can kill me for all I care, as long as I d-don't go back there with these kind of results. It's either you or the boss who'll k-kill me anyway!" "Who is 'The Boss'? Tell me now, Dammit!" Zan shook the man violently in anger. Wasn't his reputation bad enough to make this guy tell him everything he knew? Or maybe the man he knew as 'the boss' had other plans for this man? What could Rand possibly...? "It looks like I'm not going to get anything out of you. I'll leave that up to the police." Zan then hit the man behind his head with the butt of his gun, knocking him unconscious. "Ryo! Your wound, the bleeding won't stop! Tsubame, call a doctor!" Tae cried as she held Ryo in her arms, his clothing turning a dark red all over. "Tae-san..." Ryo coughed blood in the process of speaking, covering a part of her dress with the crimson fluid. Tae didn't mind the blood, all she wanted was for Tsubame to hurry... * * * "It doesn't look too good for Ryo... I've done all I can for him but he has a ruptured lung, and I don't think that our current knowledge of medicine is enough to help him..." Megumi told the gathered people in her clinic. No one there had a face that anyone would smile at... "What are the chances of him living?" Himura asked her, his eyes focused in a mencaing manner. "If his body can repair the wound on it's own, which is unlikely, about 5 percent... The odds are stacked against him, and the odds are too high..." "So all we can do is wait and see..." Said a man that had just walked in on them. The Kenshingumi, along with Tae and Tsubame, turned their heads to see a man, about in his 20's, with shimmering violet hair walk in. "Who're you?" Kaoru asked the man, her hands still clutching the top of her Kimono in fear, knowing that Ryo might just die. "His name is Shiro and he's a very rich guy living right here in Tokyo, not far from your dojo actually." Zan said as his hands remained crossed and his body still leaning against the wall. He turned his eyes towards Shiro, who just responded by rubbing the back of his head. "You've got a lot of dirt on me, don'tcha? The name's Wataru Shiro and Ryo's been living in with me for the past few days. I'll take a stab at it and I guess you're Kaoru?" He pointed at Tae. "You're a very pretty lady, y'know that?" Tae blushed. "Actually, I'm not Kaoru! My name's Sekihara Tae and I run the Akabeko." Shiro sweatdroped and blushed in embarassment. "The one beside the red haired man is the one you're looking for." "My, he's such a charming devil!" Tae thought to herself as Shiro looked in Kaoru's direction. "Okay... Well, anyway, how's Ryo doing?" Shiro asks Megumi as Kaoru starts on her rampage, being held back by only Sano and Kenshin. "LET GO OF ME KENSHIN! JUST LET ME BEAT UP THAT RUDE JERK!" Kaoru bellows as Shiro and Megumi continue their conversation, not minding Kaoru. [Author's note- Well, it seems like Kaoru's angry coz' Shiro paid attention to Tae but not to her. I mean, who wouldn't be angry!] [Editor's note- Shutani wouldn't =P and the guys wouldn't =P. And you enjoyed all that swearing rampage, didn'tcha, heh.] "Could you please keep down your voice? I'm trying to find out more about Ryo's condition." Kaoru then stops in her tracks, blinks once and returns to normal composure. "I'm sorry Shiro, but that's all I can tell you right now. I'll keep Ryo here and watch over him until his condition gets better." Megumi said as Shiro took a brief look at Ryo. Ryo lay down on a bed, his bandages fresh but the other bandages were thoroughly soaked with blood. Shiro's former smile turned into a bleak frown. Ryo was unconscious and his breathing was irregular as he lay down there, practically lifeless. "If he ever gets better..." Megumi thought to herself, trying her best to keep a calm face. This was one of the worst cases she's ever seen in all of her years of being a doctor. None of her patients before had gunshot wounds and she didn't know how to treat this kind of wound... All she knew was that it was never going to be easy fixing up an internal wound... "I'm leaving Ryo up to you. I just wish that it doesn't sound as bad as it seems." Shiro said as he began to walk out of the clinic, only to be stopped by Kaoru's voice. "Aren't you even concerned? What about Ryo's life? Are you just going to leave him there?" Shiro stopped in mid-step and turned his head just slightly so that his profile was visible to the girl who had just called his attention. "It's not that I'm not concerned, why wouldn't I be? Ryo is like my little brother, why shouldn't I be concerned? But is there anything for me to see here? I'm just going to have bad case of depression if I see that poor boy." And then he continued on his way, a delicate wind moving the door after his exit... [End of Part three/Two Men, Two Blades and Six Bullets...]