#Hiruma Kihei

[gladyscontrerasart]

I still think Aoshi looks too much like a nerd.

But I also like Misao's redraw.

Watsuki Nobuhiro Redesigns Part 2

The Oniwabanshū! Look at Aoshi trying to look all smart! LOL

I’m not quite sure who that old man on the left of Okina is supposed to be… or the dude under the messy haired one (who I assume is Tsukioka Katsuhiro).

[tact-and-impulse]

At Arm’s Length, Behind the Scenes

rahmakapala: Oh, this is just delightful! I like how Koshijirous presence spin things into parallel and how he is being all protective daddy! Thank you for writing!

@rahmakapala, I did enjoy how things could go parallel. Probably the hardest scene to adapt was this one.

“Don’t faint, you should experience this.”

I mean, this is right after Kihei points his gun at Kaoru and Yahiko, so Kenshin getting pissed is understandable. But if Koshijiro was in this scene...I still imagined him with a very stoic expression. I think that while he’s a righteous person, he had to be idealistic (this is the man who taught his daughter to use the sword for good). Especially since as a former police officer who didn’t abuse his authority, he would prefer to make arrests and let the courts deal with punishment.

I interpreted this scene as a kind of fan-service, to show off another technique of Hiten Mitsurugi and demonstrate that the bad guys get punished. But...it came off as reckless in this AU. Yeah, Kihei isn’t dead, but it’s still unnecessarily violent. The Hiruma bros disappear in between frames, but given how weaselly they are, this could have backfired on Kenshin. So instead, I changed it. Kihei’s injury is mostly from his own fall, Kenshin’s actions are toned down, and the plot’s relatively unchanged. :D

Meanwhile, this was more fun, with the arm’s length rule in place.

[ditalova]

A Woman's Heart

Two She Who Never Wavers In Her Belief

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Disclaimer: I don’t, under any circumstances, own Rurouni Kenshin and its characters.

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Tokyo, Spring 1878

She sat in a perfect seiza, body relaxing in a meditative state as she breathed slowly, letting the air filling her lungs and settling the chaos in her mind down. A gust of wind breezed through the open shoji of the dojo, brushing away the bangs covering her forehead. Kaoru sighed deeply, then slowly blinked her eyes open, revealing a pair of brilliant cerulean orbs.

Everyone has left.

Since the murder began in their little town, Kamiya dojo had been affected the most. The remaining students her father had gained left one by one, either by their own accord or because of their parents’... concern. Kaoru bit back a sneer at that thought. Concern, yeah, right. Concern doesn’t include an insult in pretty words for this mere shihandai who happens to be a woman.

If she could cry, she would have cried herself to sleep for the harsh words that thrown towards her way; instead, she hardened her heart, and renewed her determination to a new height. She had had enough of the scorn looks from both men and women, the calculating looks she’d gotten whenever she met a member of a samurai family, or worst, the leering she got from her opponents in a fight.

Kamiya Kaoru was no longer a child. She’d lost her naivety a long time ago.

A soft pitter-patter against the wooden floor alerted her of someone’s approach. Tensing, she readied herself for another argument with Kihei. It always left her frustrated and weary every time. It also made Kaoru think again of why did she invite the old man to stay at the dojo. Perhaps because she pitied him? Or because she was too depressed of her loneliness— did she hope Kihei could, somehow, become another parent figure for the lost child in her?

Or, because her mouth always betrayed her?

Whatever, Kaoru sighed to herself, rising to her feet. The sound of foot steps were louder now, and then stopping right before entering the dojo.

“Kaoru—“

Kaoru turned around, blue eyes hard. She had enough of people stomping down her only pride as a swordsman. No, she was not going to take another petty argument from Kihei. If he deemed her disrespectful towards an elder like him, so. be. it.

“Kihei, I am going.” When he opened his mouth to protest, Kaoru shook her head, fingers circling the hilt of her bokken idly. “I am not going to stop to search for this man—I will not let anyone, even a murderer, to stain my family’s honor.

“I am Kamiya Kaoru, and I have given my vow to protect,” she declared in a firm tone. “Kamiya Kasshin-ryū has protected both the wielder and the one it protects, and this time—this time, it is my turn to protect it.”

The man frowned, but kept his mouth shut. Kaoru would have thanked him for that, but the pounding in her heart had released the adrenaline to her veins. She needed to leave her home for a while, to go for another search for the murderer. She would not give him the satisfaction of killing innocents and marring her family’s name—she would show him that no one messed with Kamiya Kaoru.

Stepping out of her dojo, Kaoru slipped her feet to her zori. She lifted her head up, glancing at the starlit sky. The crescent moon shone brightly, its silvery light lighting the darkness around. Sakura blossoms scattered about, dancing in the wind as they fell gracefully from the auburn branch. Kaoru smiled a little, appreciating the beauty of nature around her. She felt refreshed, and ready to face anything... spesifically, the Battousai.

Father, Mother, Kaoru whispered to the wind, I will not fail—I promise you.

-:::-

On another side of Tokyo, a red headed man with a sword tied to his hip smiled up at the sky, oblivious of the fate awaiting for him... and a certain shihandai.

-:::-

Prompt: Childhood or Past, for the Women of Ruroken Week on Tumblr. Originally Posted on: March 9th, 2015. Characters: Kamiya Kaoru, Hiruma Kihei, and a bits of a soon-to-be-beaten Himura Kenshin. Words: 658

I’ll post this as soon as the week ends on my FFN account.