31 days: August 7, "Twiggy vs. James Bond"

[tarigwaemir]

DeWolfe Apts., on the Feast of St. Sixtus II

Whoa, sliding in under the deadline! My, er, interpretation of this theme is a bit far-fetched, but during that whole "Twiggy, Twiggy, Twiggy, Twiggy" chorus, I kept imagining Okita dancing to it. O_O

Ippon
Dedicated to tryogeru, fellow kendoka and Souji fan

Hijikata looked down at the small, slight boy standing straight before him and frowned.

"Don't go easy on him, Toshi," Kondou had said that morning.

"Since when have I gone easy on anyone?" he had replied with a snort.

"I'm telling you this for your sake, not his," said Kondou with one of those jovial smiles that belied his devious mind.

Honestly what was the man thinking? Hijikata glared at the boy, who simply smiled back at him from behind his /men/.

"Oi, stop grinning like a fool," Hijikata snapped.

The boy continued smiling. "I can't help it, Hijikata-san. I'm too delighted that you've agreed to face me in /keiko/ at last."

"It's only to see how much you've learned," Hijikata grumbled and gave a little sharp rap to Souji's /shinai/ to test his center.

The boy didn't flinch, and they began slowly circling around each other, waiting for an opening. At a certain point, Hijikata became aware of something unusual about his opponent's movements. He narrowed his eyes. The boy was shifting his feet in a characteristic rhythm, as if he were dancing to a beat, and...was he actually /humming/?

"Oi, are you taking this seriously or--" Hijikata jerked backwards as the point of the /shinai/ was rammed into his neck guard. A perfect /katate-tsuki/. He sputtered, tried to cough, and ended up croaking out hoarsely, "What...the hell...was that?!"

"If you go for the voice box, they won't even scream as they die," Souji said brightly, as if reciting a lesson. Hijikata waved him off resentfully, as he took off his /men/, and massaged his neck gingerly, as the boy, still smiling, bowed and backed away.

Later, in his study, he found himself humming the same tune that had distracted him before. He narrowed his eyes and tore up the half-written /haiku/ before him. "/Damn/ that boy."

END

Notes: /Katate-tsuki/ is a one-handed strike to the throat. /Men/ is both the strike to the head and the name for the mask/helmet that one wears as protective armor. /Shinai/ is a practice sword made from bamboo slats. /Ippon/ means literally "one point" but it also signifies the perfect hit that "kills" your opponent in one strike. /Keiko/ is a term for practice.

Yours &c.

Post-script: In my rush, I forgot to look up whether Souji learned kenjutsu before or after he joined the Shinsengumi. I assumed after, since I was under the impression he was taken in by Kondou and Hijikata when he was very young, but if I'm wrong, please correct me. Also, I'd like to attest that if you're not expecting a tsuki and it hits accurately with sufficient force, your neck will hurt. -_-

Comments

[issen4.livejournal.com]

Fantastic. Makes me laugh just to imagine it.

[troisroyaumes]

Wow, thanks for the rec! And yes, Hijikata bemused and confused by Souji is so much fun. ^_^

[lavenderherring.livejournal.com]

Enh, technically speaking, it can be argued two ways--that Souji, being adopted by the Kondou family (Shushuke--Isami's adopted father, and Fude, his wife) years before Hijikata quit medicine-selling and joined the dojo would be able to school Toshi. Another way it's argued is that being the best friend of the boy destined to inherit the dojo, Toshi probably had been learning kenjutsu from Kondou/with Kondou's dad before Souji was born, even.

It's really rather confusing. I think the general consensus is that either way, Okita was better/had more kills than Hijikata.

And... strange, pseudo-educated babbling gleaned from soap operas and (likely) faulty internet sources aside, I really enjoyed the ah, sublimated sexual innuendo. Or maybe I just imagined it. Souji attacking Toshi's throat while Kondou watches. Kinky. Hee. ^_^;

Also, v. intimidated by your expansive kendo knowledge. Go, go, you. :)

[troisroyaumes]

Wow, thanks for the information. I did know that Okita was supposed to be better than Hijikata, but I didn't realize that he actually may have been more experienced. ^_^;; And oh, my kendo knowledge isn't very expansive at all; I constantly forget waza names as it is. >_>;;

Kendo is full of sublimated sexual tension! People hitting each other with rather phallic-looking objects after all. XD So it's not just you. ^_~

[tryogeru.livejournal.com]

whee~

I enjoyed that. It is nice to see (read?) Hijikata/Okita practices that are not angsty. Seems like the manga I end up finding are all quite angsty.

Anyway, it was nice how Souji was happy, but still remained kinda disturbing...

squee!

[(Anonymous)]

Hah, that's awesome. I really liked how you had Hijikata crumple up the haiku. Nice touch there. I think you do a good job of writing the contrast between Soji's seeming innocence and Toshizo's...well, rather sardonic nature. I'm glad Tryogeru suggested I take a look.

-Kazuki

[fable.livejournal.com]

A bit late with this comment, sorry. Just wanted to say I really loved this. Your characterization of Souji - how he couldn't stop smiling or humming, what he said to Hijikata, as if life and death were just a game - is so, so great. Thanks for sharing this. ^^