A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first Kenshin fic, and my first fic in general in five years. Please let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Kenshin and co. are not mine, this is just a fan fiction, please don't get your undies in a bunch.

Chapter One: Vacation

Are drunken brawlers really this common, or do we just attract them somehow?

Kenshin and Sanosuke had been strolling down a mostly empty street, taking the time to explore the quaint town in which they were staying. A crash and some shouts disturbed their leisure, and it didn't take long to find the source of the disturbance. A few shops ahead of them, a group of six men was advancing on a smaller, very thin man, a broken door from the restaurant they had just left lying in splinters in their wake. Their victim was shaking and waving his arms around in a pleading manner, clearly begging for mercy from the bigger, much stronger men. Several of the antagonists had mostly-empty bottles in their hands, and though they wouldn't take more than half a minute for Kenshin and Sanosuke to dispose of, they could certainly do a lot of damage to their chosen object of sport if nobody stopped them.

Kenshin glanced over to Sanosuke, who was already watching him with a grin and a look that said, "We might as well get on with it." Just as they were about to approach the drunks, however, the smaller man broke away from the group and took off down the street. He was faster than he looked, and had made it halfway to the end of the street before the other men even began to give chase. The man reached a building with dark painted wooden doors at the end of the road and vanished inside, his pursuers hot on his trail. As Kenshin and Sanosuke chased after them, the sounds of fighting reached their ears from inside the two picked up their pace, hoping to break things up before the idiots did any real damage.

And here we'd just been talking about how nice it was to have a vacation, Kenshin thought.

Less than a week earlier, Kenshin, Kaoru, Yahiko, and Sanosuke had left for this small coastal town to visit some childhood acquaintances of Kaoru's, Oshima Yasuo and his wife Fumiko. Yasuo was once a student at the Kamiya dojo when Kaoru was a young girl, and remembered Kaoru and her parents fondly. Kaoru had received a letter inviting her and any guests to come stay at his inn, in a small town about a day's journey from Tokyo. It was late summer, and the group eagerly looked forward to relaxing by the ocean and taking some time away from the busy city life of Tokyo. Megumi, Dr. Gensai, and the little girls stayed behind, being overrun with clients at the clinic.

Yasuo and Fumiko were wonderful hosts, and the group relished the chance to relax, interact with the friendly people at the inn, and have a break from Kaoru's cooking. Kaoru and Yahiko had found a small dojo upon their arrival, and the two of them spent most of their time learning and sharing techniques with the students there. Kenshin and Sanosuke passed the time wandering the town and accompanying one of the local fishermen out on his small fishing boat, listening to the old man yammer about his family and helping him haul in the day's catch.

The fifth day of their trip began just as any of the others had, with Kaoru and Yahiko leaving to train with their new friends, calling out as they left that they would be back in time for dinner. After a late breakfast, Kenshin and Sano ambled outside and down the tiny street, heading for the area of town they had yet to explore. The inhabitants of the town had become accustomed to seeing the strange duo- the tall, gangly yet muscular youth with spiky black hair, and the short, almost feminine man with long red hair, a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek, and a sword at his belt. Several shopkeepers called out greetings as they passed. It was a lovely warm day with a slight ocean breeze and a perfect blue sky. It was really a shame that such a peaceful day had to be disturbed by the need to break up a fight.

Sano wrenched open the doors of the building they had seen the drunken men and their victim disappear into, and he and Kenshin rushed inside to a very different scene from what they had been expecting. Instead of a small group of inebriated men picking on some unfortunate weakling, they found themselves in a large storeroom surrounded by at least twenty men, grinning menacingly at them and cracking their knuckles. At least half of them brandished swords or knives of some kind. The man they had intended to rescue was perched on top of some crates in the back of the room, smiling maliciously, completely at ease.

"Welcome, Hitokiri Battousai," he called to them, spreading his arms wide. "Getting you here was easier than I anticipated. You really fancy yourself quite the hero now, don't you?"

Of course, thought Kenshin.

"Oh, here we go," said Sano from his right. "So, Skinny, is this a misguided revenge plot or another seriously underdeveloped plan to boost your ego by defeating the legendary Battousai?"

Kenshin couldn't help but smile a little. The whole thing did have a distinct feel of routine to it by now.

The slender man looked disdainful. "I don't owe you any explanations, kid. You're just a weak nuisance to be disposed of by my men, along with your friend the Battousai, there."

"Who you callin' 'kid,' you little toothpick?" shouted Sano, raising his fists. "Why don't you come down from those boxes, and we'll see who's the weak nuisance!"

"Ah… I think not. I've got a score to settle with your companion, but I'd also rather not get too messy- I have a business meeting to attend in an hour. Gentlemen… kill them both."