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Not once did the warrior h the crowd They unfurled into a steady ht boy clad in silks stained a rare shade of yellow--alold--took position at the opposite end of the field

Kenshin did not inize him, but he felt certain the boy had to be the crown prince, Minah he’d never met him before, Kenshin had heard from both his father and fro appearance, yet nevertheless ed to hold his own at court

Kenshin could see why now There was a noble bearing to the boy A distinct haughtiness to the set of his thin shoulders and the tilt of his pointed chin The only member of court with finer robes was the emperor hiround Kenshin i arrowheads did not appear to be the blunted sort generally used for practice Without pausing for thought, the crown prince fitted one of these arrows to the string of his bow At that exact moht everyone’s attention earlier--broke ranks and began riding toward the crown prince

With no sign of stopping

Concern flared through Kenshin Severalacross their faces

Without even a glimmer of concern, the crown prince fired an arrow at the warrior on the grey-and-white steed The warrior dodged it, effortlessly sliding froallop He clutched the reins as his feet sluiced through the soft earth When the crown prince fired another shot, the warrior vaulted back onto his saddle, easily avoiding the arrow’stoward the crown prince, undeterred

The crown prince’s shots ell timed Well aimed

Meant to strike

But the rider drew closer and closer to the crown prince, refusing to veer Refusing to yield

At the last possible second, the crown prince fired another arrow, straight at the warrior’s chest The warrior yanked it fro--nocked it to his bow He fired it back at the crown prince

The arrow ele, a hairsbreadth from the prince’s feet

The crown prince smiled

As soon as the warrior reined in near him, he dis at one another, the two young men clapped each other on the back appreciatively

The s of aard applause became cheers

Only members of the royal family would be permitted to touch the crown prince with such impunity

Kenshin saw the resemblance Despite the fact that the member of the yabusame was nearly a head taller Considerably broader

The rider was Prince Raiden

His sister’s betrothed

--

"I was very sorry to hear about your sister’s untimely death, Kenshin-sama," Minamoto Roku said as he dropped to his cushioned seat before a low table in the corner of his chah the crown prince’s words sounded heartfelt, Kenshin did not feel any warmth in them The statement was coolly pronounced Said with the sa on a spate of bad weather The contrivance in the prince’s tone bothered Kenshin, but he stifled his irritation After all, he was in the presence of royalty At audience with the emperor’s two sons