Jyuuyon-dai no Keishousha

Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai X: Rurouni Kenshin. Samurai X: Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, and are not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.

Credit for the now correct title, "Jyuuyon-dai no Keishousha," goes the user animaniacal.

Prologue

Himura Kenshin woke sitting on an old, ratty blanket with his ever-present Sakabatou resting against his shoulder in the surrounding forests of Kyoto. It was December of 1868, and Japan had officially been in the Meiji era for a month. The Bakumatsu era had ended and along with it the seemingly endless slaughter that had possessed the Shogunate and Ishin Shishi factions.

Scarred forever with the oceans of blood of those he had killed in the revolution he had up and disappeared as soon as it had ended. Since then he vowed to never kill again and used his sword to protect, taking up the ideals of Katsujin-ken, the sword of conquering without killing, in hopes of atonement.

It was a few months later that Kenshin decided to find a new life. Turning away from Kyoto, the hellish city where he had spent the last five years, he began walking east.

…

Tokyo, 1869

The shallow snow underfoot gave way with a loud crunch. Though it was rare for there to be any snow on the ground, the winter had been unusually harsh, especially in Kyoto, and as a result the ground was covered in a thin layer of frost.

Kenshin was wandering through Edo- now Tokyo. He was no stranger to the odd looks he was receiving and faint murmurs of "Who does he think he is to carry a sword in broad daylight?" And "That foreigner has hair the colour of blood; he's a demon!"

'In a way,' Kenshin thought, 'They are right. After all the people this one has assassinated in the war…'

The other consciousness in his mind, Battousai, as it preferred to be called, simply cackled amusedly.

Realizing that angsting over the past was not going to get him anywhere, he shook his head as if to banish those thoughts; unfortunately, the swish of burning crimson hair against his neck only fueled the fire.

A terrible shriek broke the quiet bustle of the city.

Kenshin flinched, then without hesitation rushed in its direction, hands already poised to draw his sword.

What he found was sadly a common sight. A large, imposing beast of a man held a blade above his head, about to bring it down on a teenage girl huddled against a wall.

Kenshin's blood boiled. This was what he'd- they'd- always fought to prevent. Gritting his teeth, Kenshin moved.

Not a second later Kenshin flickered into existence a few meters away, girl in his arms. He had used a simple energy manipulating, or ki technique to boost his speed.

Gently placing the girl on the ground, Kenshin turned to face the man; however, he was interrupted by the unmistakable cry of police whistles.

The beastly man gritted his teeth. Then he ran. It seemed he wasn't done showboating though. "I am the Battousai, and I use the Kamiya Kasshin style of swordfighting!"

The girl in Kenshin's arms grasped the air desperately, "Stop him, please, he's tarnishing the style that my school teaches!"

She fainted, going limp. Neither the Rurouni nor the Battousai part of his mind missed the hideous sword wound on her shoulder.

Kenshin decided he should disappear before the police chewed him out for carrying a sword when it was illegal in the Meiji era.

...

Having found the Kamiya Kasshin dojo, the school of the sword style the girl had mentioned, he ran into a man named Gensai-dono, and according to him, the girl, Kamiya Kaoru, was the assistant master. After making sure she'd be alright, Kenshin had decided to leave, but it seemed fate had other ideas.

"Jii-san, who's that man with the pretty red hair?"

"Yeah! He looks lonely!"

Gensai-dono smiled sweetly. "This man, Ayame-chan, Susume-chan, is Kenshin. He saved Kaoru from a very mean man."

The two little girls looked at Kenshin for a moment. They both looked at each other and smiles broke out on their faces. "Uncle Kenny! Play with us!"

"Oro…" Kenshin was hit by two child-sized missiles.

(Meanwhile, Battousai inwardly cursed the Rurouni's unconscious ability to attract small children.)

"Uncle Kenny, let's play tag!"

"Yeah! Tag, you're it!"

It appeared Kenshin would be staying a while.

…

It was half an hour later when Kaoru woke. As Doctor Gensai changed the bandages on her shoulder, she observed Kenshin playing with Ayame-chan and Susume-chan.

"Ah, Kamiya-dono, you're awake, de gozaru yo." They began to walk inside the building.

Kaoru blushed. "Just Kaoru's fine."

"Aa, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin compromised, not willing to drop the suffix. "So you're the assistant master of this school?"

"Yes, but since my father died, I have been running the dojo." Kaoru answered.

"I see, de gozaru yo." Kenshin thought for a moment.

"Do you remember if any of the students were left handed, Kaoru-dono?" He was referring to the man who had attacked Kaoru earlier as he had held his weapon in his left hand.

Kaoru fumed, "That man was no practitioner of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryuu! It is a sword style of protection, not slaughter!"

Kenshin turned, ready to leave, but he was stopped by Kaoru. "Where do you think you're going? I have a few questions myself!"

Not waiting for a reply, she continued, "I didn't notice it before, but you're carrying a sword!"

Kenshin had just turned around as she continued, reinforcing her speech by poking his chest: "And you should know that carrying a sword has been illegal since the beginning of the Meiji era!" She poked him harder. By now her face was an inch away, cheeks red from shouting.

Kenshin backed up slightly to give himself room. Grabbing his saya, the sheath for his sword, he gestured for her to draw the curved blade. She did, hesitantly at first, but as the last few inches whipped out with a graceful note her previously angry expression turned to surprise. The only words she could muster were: "The edge... it's on the wrong side."

"That's because it's a Sakabatou, a reverse-edge sword, de gozaru yo." He explained.

Kaoru growled, her anger only fueled. "If you're going to walk around with a sword, do it with one that you can actually defend yourself with! Your arrogance is going to get you killed! Unless you're some master swordsman-"

"Actually, this one-"

(Battousai couldn't resist laughing as the Rurouni's rebuttal of "Actually this one is technically the fourteenth master of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryuu, de gozaru yo," was interrupted.)

The shrill screech of police whistles could not be any louder.

"We'll finish this later!" Thrusting the sword into the air, Kaoru went to grab her bokken, before racing off.

In her rush, she missed Kenshin easily catch the airborne sword with the saya.

Japanese Meanings (Prologue)

Bakumatsu era: Lit. "revolution." Era in which a civil war took place in Japan. It ended in October of 1868 when the Shogunate surrendered.

Battousai: Lit. "one who has mastered every aspect of lethal sword-drawing." The title given to Kenshin during Bakumatsu.

De gozaru yo: Verb Kenshin uses. It roughly translates to "That it is," "that I am," or "that I do."

Hiten Mitsurugi-ryuu: Lit. "Flying Heaven Govern Sword." The sword style that was taught to Kenshin by Hiko Seijūrō, the thirteenth master.

Hitokiri: Lit. "assassin."

Ishin Shishi: Lit. "Imperialist, patriot." One of the two main factions in Bakumatsu; their goal was to rebuild the Japanese government. Kenshin supported this faction.

Jii: Grandpa.

Jyuuyon-dai no Keishousha: Lit. "The Fourteenth Successor."

Kamiya Kasshin-ryuu: Lit. "God's Valley Alive Sword." The sword style taught by Kamiya Kaoru, the assistant master.

Katsujin-ken: Lit. "Sword of conquering without killing." Opposite of Satsujin-ken or "the Sword of killing."

Meiji era: Era directly after Bakumatsu. It was a peaceful era as Japan adjusted to its new government.

Oro: A mispronunciation of "ara," an exclamation of surprise.

Rurouni: A combination of the Kanji for "wanderer" and "ronin" (an unemployed samurai).

Sakabatou: Lit. "reverse-edge sword." The name of Kenshin's unique sword.

Saya: A sheath that is usually for a sword.

Shogunate: One of the two main factions during Bakumatsu. Their goal was to defend the already existing government.

-chan: A suffix that shows endearment. It can also be used as a diminutive.

-dono: A suffix more polite than -san.

I accidently deleted the old author's note...