A/N: Before we get started, the double quotes ("…") are speeches and single quotes ('…') are characters' thoughts. With no further ado, here's the first chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own any parts of Rurouni Kenshin. I am just borrowing the characters!

Chapter 1

A man was standing in the shadows on a street in the outskirts of Tokyo. At the first glimpse, you can see that he was just an ordinary man; you might even say that he was good looking. He was tall, broad shouldered, and by the way he held his katana at his waist, you can tell that he was an experienced and skilled swordsman.

But this man was no ordinary man as you will realize once you look into his eyes. His eyes were those of a person who has been to hell and back again. They were the color of deepest ocean blue and like the violent sea, the depth of his eyes swirled with waves and waves of hatred and anger. However, the torment of emotions those eyes also told the story of endless suffering and unfathomable pain.

This man had forsaken everything to be where he is now, and because of this, none knew his name save a few who were either his comrades or enemies.

His name was Hiroshi Yamada.

Hiroshi stepped out of the shadows and the moonlighted illuminated his midnight blue hair, which contrasted starkly against his ghostly pale skin. He looked towards the sleeping city of Tokyo and a bitter smile appeared on his face.

'At last, I can avenge my parents' deaths. I will come for you Kenshin Himura, soon. Very soon.' With that thought in mind, he turned away from the city and walked towards the eerie shadows of the forest, with the same bitter smile gracing his lips.

A few miles away, Kenshin Himura woke up with a start in his room.

Kenshin sat up on his futon, panting heavily. He dreamt of the past again, just like that time before Okubo came to the Kamiya dojo and told him about the impending doom of Japan at the hand of Mokoto Shishio, his successor as the shadow assassin. Just like the time before Saito came and injured Sanosuke. Only this time…this time, it was different.

He knew that he has accepted his past, and now he was beginning to move on with the help of his friends. But, he also knew that there were parts of his past that scarred him too deep, memories that hurt him too much to even reconcile with. Those memories, he pushed them far in the back of his mind, shoved them into a corner and refused to let anyone, especially himself, near it.

This time, he dreamt of those memories, the memories he thought he had forgotten.

The images from his dream assaulted his mind. There was blood everywhere and the scream of a woman still rang in his ears.

'No! Please, not my child! Spare him. Please!'

He squeezed his eyes shut, almost as though he was trying to convince himself that if he closed his eyes, he can close his ears to the screams, too. After breathing deeply a few times and gathering his wits about him, he reopened his eyes. It was then he realized that the first of the sunlight was streaming into his room. He got up and opened his shoji doors and looked out towards the horizon where the sun was rising. He smiled in spite of himself.

"It's going to be another beautiful day," he whispered to himself. For some reason, the sunrise always reminded him to Miss Kaoru: Refreshing, bright, and beautiful. Kenshin blushed lightly, and shook his head to rid himself of that particular train of thought. He has been living with Miss Kaoru and Yahiko for almost four years now and as years passed by he came to love them like his own family. After all, they were the people for whom he fought dangerous battles – battles that could have easily killed him. He held on the belief that as long as he wielded the reverse blade sword, he could protect those he loves. However, without him realizing it, his feelings for Kaoru changed from mere fondness to deep and unconditional love. Slowly but surely, with each passing day, Kenshin fell a little more in love.

Shaking his head again he said, "I had better get started on breakfast. Miss Kaoru should be up soon and Yahiko will be starving as usual."

Kenshin entered the kitchen and prepared for the day, his dreams of the past forgotten.

By midmorning, Kaoru wandered into the kitchen to find Kenshin putting final touches to the breakfast he has prepared.

"Morning", said Kaoru with a smile.

"Oh, you are awake. Good morning. The breakfast is almost done. Could you go wake Yahiko please, Miss Kaoru?" replied Kenshin over his shoulder, giving her a brief smile.

"That baka is still asleep? I thought he would have been awake by now. It's midmorning already. Just because he became the assistant master of Kamiya Kasshin Style doesn't mean that he can slack off. I'll have to teach him a lesson" said Kaoru with a scowl.

"Now, now Miss Kaoru. He had a rough night last night. Sanosuke went too hard on him with the sake, that he did" said Kenshin with amused grin on his face.

As the events of previous night floated into her mind, Kaoru replied with a sigh, "Yes, I suppose you are right." A wistful yet content smile lit her face, as she thought about the events of last year leading up to last night. Sanosuke has returned to Japan a few months ago with the full pardon of what happened in Shinsuu, as the government officials heard the circumstances of Sanosuke's actions. It took them awhile to find Sanosuke but they did find him in the end in Manchuria and brought him back to Japan. Misao and Aoshi Shinamori visited a couple times since then, and everyone at the Aoi sent their best wishes. And finally just a couple days ago, Miss Megumi returned from Aizu to open her own clinic in Tokyo close to the Kamiya dojo. So last night, they had a celebration at the Akabeko to celebrate their reunion. Apparently, Sanosuke thought that Yahiko was old enough to handle so much sake and by the end of the night, Kenshin had to literally carry him home.

With another sigh, Kaoru said, "I suppose he can sleep in today."

"Well, if that's the case, breakfast is ready." Just as Kenshin finished uttering those words, Sanosuke called from the yard, "Hey! Is anybody home?"

"We are in the kitchen!" called Kaoru.

"Morning, Jou-chan. Hey Kenshin. What's for breakfast?" said Sanosuke with a smile.

"You! You made Yahiko all drunk last night and now you have the nerve to ask for breakfast? How dare you?" said Kaoru, her temper firing up at once.

"Hey, it's not my fault that he's such a light weight. I thought he could handle it. Honestly, what are you guys doing to him, if he can't even hold that much liquor?"

"He's only fourteen! He shouldn't have to hold any amount of alcohol yet!" yelled Kaoru, frustrated at him.

"You are treating him like a baby. He's going to be of age soon by samurai standards. You should think about that!" fired back Sanosuke at Kaoru.

"Yes, well, that's a year from now and…"

"Now, now. You shouldn't fight even before we start breakfast, that you shouldn't," said Kenshin trying to make peace between Kaoru and Sanosuke.

"Fine" said Kaoru, and resigned herself to shooting death glares in Sanosuke's direction.

"Fine by me. I just want some breakfast. I'm starving," said Sanosuke, ignoring Kaoru's glares.

'I guess some things never change,' thought Kenshin with bemused smile on his face. He cleared his throat and said, "Well, then. Shall we?" said Kenshin, indicating to the breakfast laid out in the dining room.

As they all entered into the dining room, Kenshin thought to himself, 'So the day begins…'

Yahiko thought someone was pounding on his skull from the inside; he thought his head was going to explode. He thought wryly, 'So…This must be what a hangover feels like.' He sat up with a groan and cracked open an eye and found that the sunlight streaming into his room was too bright for his liking. He let out a low moan and found that his throat was parched and his stomach felt queasy.

'That damned Sanosuke. I swear I'm never drinking with him again. I hope I didn't do anything stupid. Oh wait, I was carried home. That's pretty stupid.'

He let out another moan, this time from shame of being carried home. He was almost a man and he couldn't believe that he got too drunk to even walk home.

'What must Tsubame think of me?' He sighed at the thought. 'Ah. Damn it all to hell.'

He got up and wandered into the kitchen, still in his yukata and still trying to blink away the sleep in his eyes. He needed water desperately. He splashed the whole bucket of water on himself and felt himself waking up a little, and it was then that he realized that people were watching him. He turned around and found that Kenshin, Kaoru, and Sanosuke were watching him while trying to contain their laughter. He glared at them half heartedly. He would deal with them later. Right now, the pressing matter was to get rid of this hangover. He wandered back into his room and as he left the kitchen, he could hear the loud laughter resonating from the dining room.

'Those bastards. I can't believe they are laughing at my pain.' He sighed and lied back down on his futon.

Back in the dining room, Kaoru was biting back a giggle and said, "I guess we should try to help him."

"Help who with what?" questioned Megumi as she entered the room. Looking around, she directed a brief smile at the group before her. "Good morning, everyone. Fine morning we are having. But never mind the weather. Is anyone sick? Who needs help?"

"Yahiko has a hangover," said Sanosuke, too nonchalantly for Kaoru's taste.

"Yes, thanks to you," said Kaoru, shooting Sanosuke a glare.

Kenshin sighed and hung his head. 'Here we go again…'

"Well, if that's the case, just take him a lot of water and he'll be fine by the afternoon, although he should probably forego his practice for today," said Megumi, contemplatively.

"Thanks, Miss Megumi. I'll do that," Kaoru replied with a smile. "And you," growled Kaoru in Sanosuke's direction, "You will not make Yahiko like this again. You hear? I don't want him getting sick over something like this and he has students. What kind of model master would he be if he skipped out on practice because he has a hangover? You got that?"

"Alright, alright. I won't do it again," said Sanosuke with a smirk and without remorse. He shot a wink in Kenshin's direction.

Looking at and listening to the scene unfold before him, Kenshin could not help but feel happiness and gratitude. He was happy. He was happy that his problems did not consist of who he was going to kill next, or if he was going to die tomorrow in battle, or if people he loved was going to die because he failed to protect them. He was happy that his demons were not plaguing him anymore. He was grateful for this peaceful morning. (Granted his friends were fighting over how to take care of Yahiko over the breakfast table, this was relatively peaceful) He was happy to be alive, which was a strange feeling for a man like him. Kenshin Himura, the Battousai, who has seen more death than he could ever care to remember; a man who has never truly understood the beauty of life. All thanks to those who are before him now, this man – once broken and dead inside – was truly glad to be alive. He had not had this feeling since Tomoe, his first love.

Speaking of love, his gaze wandered to Miss Kaoru's face. She was a little flushed from her argument with Sanosuke, but the flush brought a lovely rosy hue to her cheeks. Her big blue eyes flashed in anger and she bit her lip to stop hurtful words from lashing out at Sanosuke and her hair was falling out of the usual ponytail from shaking her head viciously at him. It was strangely endearing. It was all Kaoru. The Kaoru that he began to fall in love with long ago.

The love that Kenshin felt for Kaoru was different from the love that he had once felt for Tomoe. It wasn't that he loved one of them more than the other; it was just different. Whoever said that you can only find true love once in your life was wrong. There is more than one love in a lifetime. He found his second one in Kaoru.

He felt a great contentment wash over him as he thought these things in his mind. How he wished that this peace could last and he could go on loving his family. Yes, they were his family: Miss Kaoru, the love that he found when he thought he wasn't capable of loving any other; Yahiko, a boy growing up to be a man that he was so proud of; Sanosuke, a strong warrior and a stronger friendship they share is sacred to him; and Miss Megumi, a wonderful doctor who could save more people than he ever could with his sword. Yes, they were his precious family and he would protect them with his life. And because he loves them and just as he would die for them, he would live for them too. He vowed to himself everyday that he would do so.

Kenshin will soon have to find out the strength of his oath.

AN: Hey, my readers! I hope you liked this chapter. Please review and keep in mind that I am a little sensitive. But I would appreciate honesty but be gentle please. Keep the flames to a spark. wink I will try to update as soon as I can.