Disclaimer: I don't own RK

Beta: kokoronagomu

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Chapter 1:

Gifted

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Tokyo was buried under the heavy rain. The weather had changed drastically. She had been living in this place for five years now and she had known the town to get very little rain through the year. Strangely, this week had been all rain. She hadn't been able to take a glimpse at the sun… even if she had wanted to.

This week marked the first month since her father's death. Since Sir Kamiya, who was about to finish the Kamiya Kasshin style, perished in an accident with a few thugs who wanted to make a living the easy way. Everyone knew the thugs; the reason the police said he had died in an accident was a mystery to her and to everyone else involved.

Well, maybe not a mystery to her anymore. She could smell bribery around. Someone had wanted to take her father out of the picture and she knew why.

She was being removed from her home. Apparently her father still had a debt-which would have been completely paid in the next six months… but inconveniently, or maybe conveniently-he had died. The cause was lost. It was impossible for a woman of barely fifteen to work in the Meiji Era in Tokyo. Unlike her father, who was a man of an open mind, most men didn't think women were capable of much. It didn't matter that she was able to defeat half of them with a wooden stick… she was still not good enough.

She needed to leave before next week. They didn't say what would happen to her if she were to stay, oh no, but she dared not risk it. Her father had been here a short time and most people didn't agree with his sword style or the freedom he always granted her. No, they didn't really like her, much less, when she exchanged words with other girls. They accused her of being a witch, a degenerate, and something inhuman. Sometimes she couldn't believe the stupidity of some. She didn't possess inhuman strength, she was merely trained. Any girl could do as well, or even better. Furthermore, her eyes were not demonic, they were blue. Many people had blue eyes… maybe not around her, but in other places. Huh, sometimes it was a great thing how Japanese culture held on fervently to their culture but it also hindered advance and tolerance.

She was very unlucky.

This was an Era that didn't allow for second chances: you lived or you died. That was the main rule, why one needed to learn to defend oneself. After that, came the second rule. Once you are trained, you could also decide to use that knowledge to fight and kill or to protect.

She chose to protect, as her father had done. Sadly, with her father gone, she had no one to protect her and she had no one to protect. She wouldn't put her hands over the fire for anyone in this town. They didn't deserve it.

So, for the tenth time she sighed. The small puff of air which escaped her lips, condensed by the coldness the rain brought, distracted her. She could see patterns and others nonesense…and she smiled. She really was just a child.

"Somebody there?" a rough, definitely male voice yelled nearby.

Kaoru Kamiya jumped out of her distracted state and clutched her chest nervously. She could swear the man was very near the house, if not in front of the gates.

Her mind raced wildly. Was it the police? Were they going to throw her away before the appointed time?

"Kamiya-san! Are you there?" the voice once again shouted. She debated her options. She could open the gates: after all, that man must be soaking wet, but what if he had ill intentions coming here? After all, everyone knew she was all alone and unprotected now.

"Koshihiro-sama!" this time the voice was a weak roar. Tiredness was clear in the man's voice.

Kaoru couldn't stop her legs. They awoke and made her run to the gate, uncaring of the rain and her health, and she opened the locks of the massive gate in half a second. A strike of lightning exploded in the night making the man in front of her nothing more than a shadow. The little she could see about this guest was his tall silhouette and a huge hat.

"Miss Kamiya?" asked the man, his voice rough and respectful, considering his circumstances.

"Yes, please, come in. This night is anything but welcoming to any being," she said with a soft and sad smile. He had called for her father… apparently the man didn't know about her father's departure to the other world.

"Thank you, young miss," the man breathed in relief before walking past her and into the comfort the spacious wooden house promised.

Kaoru watched the man for only a second and then proceeded to close the gate. She hurried back inside and fussed about the house in search for towels. She handed the man a towel and then excused herself to change her yukata. She went to her father's room and found a dark gi and hakama and doubled them. The guest needed them more than what her father would now…Still, it hurt to give them away. She took a deep breath and returned to the man sitting by the low table. "Here, these are my father's," said Kaoru while she handed the man the clothes.

"Thank you, miss," the older man said with a kind smile. He had dark brown eyes and his hair was tied in a low ponytail. "However, I will need to ask something of you…do you have something we can use for him?"

"Him?"

The man turned slightly and raised a soaking wet cloth from the bundle in his arms. A startled gasp left Kaoru's lips as she was met with wide purple eyes. He continued to remove the cloths until a baby, no more than a month old, with bright red hair appeared.

"It's a baby! Is it all right? Is it sick?" asked Kaoru as she knelt in front of the man and the baby. Her worry was evident in her blue gaze. She was mesmerized by the baby's sharp gaze. He seemed to be memorizing her and she was stunned to see his eyes fade for a second into gold. Tension clutched at her heart when the gossip about her supernatural heritage returned to her full force. Did her eyes do that too?

"No, miss, the baby is fine. He's a strong…odd boy. He never cries," explained the man and handed the baby over when Kaoru asked him to, "please tend to the boy…then we will talk."

"Of course," hurriedly replied Kaoru as she disappeared down the hall. She placed the baby in her futon, which she never really stored, and began to strip him. The boy stared at her with curious eyes and thankfully he allowed her to work on him easier. "Hello boy…my name is Kaoru."

The boy moved his big purple gaze from her eyes to her lips. It opened and closed its mouth but no sound came. After the failed attempt he dug his thumb in his mouth.

"The silent type, huh?" asked Kaoru playfully as she dried the baby. A minute later she was dressing him again, this time in huge, dry clothes. "Sorry, but this will have to be enough for now."

Kaoru took the baby and walked back to the main room, all the while making faces and holding out her finger for the baby to grab.

"I need to speak to your father," the man voiced as soon as Kaoru's shape was visible from the hallways, "I have an urgent matter I need to discuss with him."

"Then you will have to discuss it with me. My father passed away but a short time ago," said Kaoru, and strangely instead of feeling sadness a soft penetrating anger replaced it.

"He passed away?" the man asked with disbelief, "Then…what should I do with the child?"

"What about the child?" asked Kaoru and fear exploded in her. Was this her brother? Had her father had a lover?

The man sighed and ruffled his beard. "This is Kenshin. He's the only other being roaming the earth with the last name Kamiya besides you. Your mother's side of the family, The Kamiyas were massacred three weeks ago, may they rest in peace. This child's father and mother were killed in the event." As the older man allowed her some moments to digest the news, his eyes held a nervous tightness." I am merely delivering the child to its remaining family. I thought your father was alive, and the child would have had a stable family to live with…but you are so young…" he finally voiced his concern in a hushed tone.

"Why wasn't the child killed?" asked Kaoru with furrowed eyebrows as she eyed the first family member from her mother's side she had ever met. Her mother never liked to speak about her relatives. She had thought it was because she had none...apparently she had been wrong in her assumption. The resemblance between Kenshin and her was practically none. They only had eyes of 'unnatural' color...but he definitely had extravagant hair, unlike her.

"We think the assassin felt merciful," the man said with a shrug of his shoulders. They didn't really know.

"How could they all be killed so quickly?" asked Kaoru, unconsciously hugging the baby closer to her chest protectively. She only realized what she was doing when the baby nuzzled his head against her collarbone and sighed contentedly.

The man smiled at the exchange between the last two Kamiya descendants. "They had some sort of a village… where everyone lived or near. Your mother disagreed with some family rules…or perhaps she didn't want to marry her betrothed for she had fallen in love with the wandering martial artist who frequented the area…did you know they were only permitted to marry between themselves, right? Everyone in town was a Kamiya. They would marry distant cousins all the time. People from adjacent villages said it was because they professed to have some sort of divinity in their blood…and they wanted to keep it strong."

"My father was the martial artist," added Kaoru to be certain, and the man confirmed her suspicions with a nod.

"Yes, so she was exiled… I don't think she wanted to tell you about these things. She wanted to be as far away from them as she could," explained the man with a shrug of his shoulders. "She was a very beautiful and hard-headed woman."

Kaoru nodded her head in acceptance of the explanation and a soft smile adorned her face, like mother like daughter. Once again she looked down but could only see the baby's red mane. "Poor baby, so he's all alone? I sure if mother was alive…she would take care of him. I don't think she held any grudge. My father always spoke highly of her. I believe she had already forgiven them by the time she passed away."

The man nodded his head slowly, "I am certain of that. Your mother had a pure and kind heart. However, miss, we have to be logical. A young woman such as you would have to face hundreds of trials if you keep the child. This time of war is difficult… I just pray this era of bloodshed and killings ends soon."

Kaoru pursed her lips, "What would happen to him if I don't keep him?"

The man sighed again, "He will be sent to an orphanage."

"No!" refused Kaoru adamantly and turned as to hide the baby from him, "He will not be sent there. Besides, orphanages have an overload of children lately… he will definitely suffer there."

"He will suffer with you too, miss," pointed out the man evenly, but directly.

"Well, at least I will love him as family…isn't that enough?"

The man shook his head and shrugged, he was too tired to argue about the big questions of life, "I am no god to say otherwise. I don't know that answer myself."

"Then I'll keep him," repeated Kaoru with determined blue eyes.

"Whatever you say, miss," the man said and stood. He inserted his hand in his pocket and a second later he handed Kaoru a crumpled paper, "I don't know if this is much… but I found an inn in Kyoto…it needed workers."

Kaoru reached out nervously and grabbed the paper. She looked at the piece with pain and determination. She was being thrown from her own house…maybe this was what destiny had in store for her.

"I should get going, miss Kamiya" the man said with a tired smile and bowed his head.

"Please, stay the night. There is some food…you can make yourself something," she offered with a kind smile.

The man fidgeted momentarily, but nodded his head, "Miss, may I ask you a question?"

"Yes," replied Kaoru, unsure.

"Why won't you make me something? Don't you know how to cook?"

Kaoru blushed profusely and her stress was such that the baby boy in her arms stirred in alarm.

"Scary! My my, you two will surely have an exciting life," mocked the man as he walked towards the kitchen, "I'll make something for you too, missy!"

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Tbc

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