117 5.6 Hiko Seijuro, A Sword Master Returns

As Hiko-sama walked out of the local treasury, his first trip would be the marketplace. It had been a long time he had become a common man and it has not been an hour since he had removed his armour and helmet off his body as a Samurai.

Even though the title of a samurai was being coveted by others, to Hiko it was just a career switch. One can never hold on to a career while chasing his desires and dreams. Right now he intends to turn his desires and dreams as a reality. To be a Master Swordsman, open a dojo and have a handful of students to train.

Even though in Kitakata Village had 1 such similar dojo while the other was meant for pugilists and skills in weaponry, he wanted to have his own students as well as them to serve the Imperial Army as a Samurai on the future. Although this was peacetime one could never be caught unprepared for domestic disputes and civil war.

"Its almost midday and I was wondering what that kiddo was doing all alone at my place. I hope he didn't enter my sanctuary place where I kept my two personal katanas and other weapons and armour plus those invaluable books and manuals on the art of war."

Hiko-sama thought as he crosses the trading districts and was walking towards the marketplace at this moment.

"I don't think it's a good idea to start cooking on my first day being a common man. Maybe I should drop by and get some cooked food home. Its better than cooking at this moment. Put the cooking aside for some other days and let me once enjoy myself as a free man."

Hiko-sama thought again to himself as he walked towards an Inn that serves ready to eat meals to pack or eat on the spot. He entered the Inn and was greeted by a guard inside the Inn." Dine in or take out? Please take a seat while waiting for your orders here for your takeout."

The guard pointed to a long bench just near the entrance where a serving girl wearing a Sakura flowered theme long kimono took the orders for taking outs. For dine-in customers, they may sit anywhere within the compounds of the Inn and also being served by a female order taker.

It had been some time since Hiko-sama had entered any Inn or entertainment area and was surprised at the efficiency of the inn's management. It was so structured that people had no trouble fitting in.

Hiko-sama ordered the following for takeout:

2 bento boxes with 2 onigiris each, a roasted fish, some stir-fried vegetables with pieces of meat and some miso soup. He paid a total of 1 silver, 5 coppers and 6 bronze coins. The 6 bronze coins were for the deposit of the chawan what was used for the miso soup and the deposit was refundable only to this Inn.

The Inn also had a service to those who were busy to cook at home and had a set of menus written on a piece of parchment. For those who wished to have food regularly delivered to them, they could arrange for delivery on days and times the customers needed.

It was like an offline ordering system and its a hit for those food and beverage industries in Kakikata Village. Hiko will decide on the days on which he preferred to have food delivered instead of cooking them.

"Not bad... Not bad... Not bad... This little village had extra hidden perks as well and I am sure it is going to be a hit among those under confinement." Hiko thought to himself and was pleased with the convenience of such food delivery.

He picked up his orders a while later and walked back to the residential district passing those novels houses with guards manning their gates, and passed through houses belonging to the families of Imperial Army and lastly he reached his own district.

He walked to his path and reached the front sliding door and he greeted "Tadaima" and I heard it crisp and clear from the back of the kitchenette and I exclaimed back "Okaeri" to Hiko-sama.

I went to the front and greeted his return and saw that he had a bundle of bento sets in his hand and it was marked "Han's Inn". He smiled at me and handed me the bento sets and I set it aside in the living room. Hiko-sama rested on the terrace of his house and looked about at me and the interior of the house.

"What had you done so far after I left you back here in the morning? You didn't enter the room I told you about, did you?"

He looked at me and found that I had some dirt in my face and was soaked through from my perspiration as well as washing of his clothes earlier.

"I cleaned the house the moment you left me here and opened up the sliding windows to let the air in. Your clothes had been washed and awaiting you to be back so I could hang it to dry outside."

Hiko-sama sama nodded in acknowledgement of what I had explained to me.

"I brought back to lunch, we eat later together after you hang the laundry. I'm going to take a short shower first and then you can clear the ashes from the furnace that you had placed in the bucket."

"Thank you Hiko-sama. I appreciate it very much. I better light the furnace since you wanted to take a shower. Then I'd hang the laundry and once you're done showering, we can have lunch together. Hmm... Could I ask a favour from you?"

I asked as I looked down on my own kimono which had been covered with soot, dirt and was wet from washing the floors and the clothes.

"Ah, don't worry about it. We go out to the trading district when we're done eating. It seems that my clothes won't fit you and you may need one or two more sets of kimono, right? Don't worry, consider it as a payment for what you had done for this home."

I bowed low and suddenly felt something tugging at my emotions which were originally belonged to the previous owner. I felt a sense of appreciation as I muttered my heartfelt thanks to Hiko-sama.

"Ah, don't worry so much. Now I got a lot of free time in my hands since I won't be called up for expeditions so soon. We can help each other in daily chores. Ok, go ahead and fire up that furnace. I want to get rid of the grime that had been on me for the past 6 days already."

"Yes, Hiko-sama... I prepare the furnace to heat up your bath now." I replied as I took the bento box and places it in the dining area. I then took some wood to start the fire and soon it started to be ablaze and the smoke streamed upwards through the chimney that had been cleared earlier by me.

I cleared away the laundry after washing my hands and took placed them in a wicker laundry basket and carried it to the front of the house. The tap water in the bathroom had been turned on a trickle so that when the water fills the tub, it won't be too cold nor too hot for showering.

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The tub would be good for a person to jump in and enjoy a kind of spa feelings with sea salts from the Dead Sea or on my case, I could inject the water with Psi Energy Spheres to rejuvenate and refreshes the body without using any herbs et cetera.

"Yes, I would do that for Hiko-sama," I thought to myself as I carried the laundry and hung the wrung clothes outside on the clothesline.

Since its near midday, the sun and breeze would help to dry the laundry by the evening before I picked them again and fold accordingly. It was tedious work for the first day, but I learnt that from the previous owner of this body, once you do something right in the first place, the rest will follow.

That's right, I don't need to remove the soot and ashes from the furnace daily. I could remove the soot and ashes once every 3 days. I don't need to scrub the floor daily and uses a rag to clean it once every 2 days. I just ensure that I sweep the floors daily.

Also if I were to cook, then I'd be clearing and wiping the kitchenette clean daily after each use to reduce the oil, stains and what not from accumulating. I haven't gone through the condiments yet but once I had settled I'd take a look around.

I went to the bathroom and saw the water as half full. I rubbed my two hands together and I generated two Psi energy marbles and I dropped them into the water which immediately disintegrated in it. I repeated a total of 5 times which means 10 small Psi energy marbles had been absorbed in the tub.

"Hiko-sama, your bath is ready. Hope you feel refresh and rejuvenated after this."

"Thank you Himura-kun. I go bathe now and its time for you to take a short break. We take lunch together after I shower, ok? It won't take long."

The way Hiko-sama interacted with me was like an elder brother that this previous owner does not experience. I went to the front of the terrace and took with me a pail of water and a rag as I started to clean the floor. After I had cleaned it, the remaining water I used it to water the plants surrounding it.

I sat back and supported my back against a pillar and let myself soak in the glory of the sunlight. This body feels good to be alive after being comatose and half buried in the snow for more than a day. After I had transmigrated, all the body parts that seem to be frostbitten had healed and movement had not been restricted at all.

I closed my eyes and soon I fell asleep with my stomach which had been non stop growling since I had worked up a storm cleaning the house alone.

I dreamt that I was near the beach. The sun was setting in the horizon and I can feel the stickiness of my body due to the sea breeze. The sand underneath my feet was warm due to the long exposure of the sun.

I dug my bare feet deep in the sand as I stood and watched the beachgoers dispersing from their spots as they head down to the tiki bar for refreshments and dinner that was served by hunky scantily clad kuks.

They were grinding their hips to the beat of wild Thai techno music that was blaring through the loudspeakers from the open air seafood restobar.

"Aroon... Do you still remember this place when we first met from the office?" a female voice asked me as she came nearer to where I was standing.

"Pornsak, how can I forget. This is the first date after meeting you and discussing the places you are going to narrate in your documentary shows." I replied as I closed my eyes, and drew in a long breathe that was mixed with the scent of suntan lotion and the sea.

"Yes, Aroon... This is the first time our Third Eye seems to communicate with each other and we fell head over heels with one another." I felt a smooth hand wrapped across my around and I removed my hands from deep in my pockets. I held the hand in mine and it entwined around it immediately.

"I missed you Pornsak, I hope you will be doing fine even though owners of a Third Eye doesn't live a full and enjoyable life." I turned around and opened my eyes and saw Pornsak in front of me. I reached out a hand and touched her face as a tear seemed to cascade from her left eye.

"Don't cry Pornsak, we are close but yet we are so far away. I am now in someone's body somewhere in Japan right now. And the era I am in was way back in the 19th century."

I used my hand to slowly wipe away her tears as I reminiscence the women that had made an impact in my previous leaps, Kagome and Akiara and now Pornsak. My eye twitched and a tear responded to Pornsak as she too took her hand to wipe it away from my cheeks.

We held each other like that, our hands on each other faces and our eyes looking deep into each other eyes like torrents of teardrops started to cascade down our faces. We won't know when would fate and destiny will bring us together.

"I know you are an extraordinary man the first time I set my eyes in you. So what are you known as in Japan? Are you someone important?" Pornsak asked and was trying hard to choke on her emotions.

"Right now I am in the body of an 11-year-old boy in 1860 Kakikata, a small village set in Fukushima and my name was Himura Kenshin," I replied as I tried to smile so hard that tears were the one that streamed down my face.

Pornsak drew me close and placed her head in my chest as I felt the growing wetness where her face was. I too had cascading tears that fell all the way from my face down my chin and I could feel her shoulders shuddering as I held her tight in my arms.

"I will miss you Pornsak..."

"So do I, Aroon... So do I."

Suddenly a hard tap and a firm grip fell on my right shoulder and I awoke from my dream. It seemed only minutes I had fallen asleep and when I opened up my eyes, I felt that my face was wet and I sat there huddling my knees.

"It's alright Himura-kun, everything is over and it's good to start anew. Don't despair, I have friends around if you can't talk to me, you can talk to them."

Hiko-sama sama looked at me with a sort of understanding of what I had gone through. If only he knew what ACTUALLY had gone through, he might think he had met a demon.

I smiled back at Hiko-sama and wiped my face with the loose end of my kimono.

"Come, let's have lunch now. After my bath, I really feel so energetic that I feel I could run around this village 10 times and don't feel so tired. But right now I can't stop the rumblings of the mountain in my stomach already. Come!"

Hiko-sama sama half dragged me to stand and we went to the dining area and I brought the bento boxes and set one for each other.

"Itadakimasu" as soon as the greeting was pronounced with our hands clasped together we, began to dig into our bento box as if we have not seen food for more than a week!