Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, the characters, or anything related to it. The anime is owned by Watsuki Nobuhiro.

Fanfic Title: Epic of a Rurouni

By: Et-chan

Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance

Rating: PG-13 for violence and mild language

Summary: What happens when a rurouni meets a kunoichi on a fateful day in Kyoto, Japan?

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Chapter 1: Haphazard


Seta Soujiro brushed tresses of dark brown out of his bluish eyes, so they would not obscure his pleasant visage. He walked through the thick afternoon air like a turtle deliberately swimming through water. Today was a hot and dry day in the busy city of Kyoto, Japan. Soujiro did not mind the weather but the perspiration running down his pale face was somewhat of a nuisance. He fingered the collar of the long-sleeve shirt inside his light blue kimono uneasily as he continued to trudge on. The noise of shouting rose above the crowds which caused Soujiro to walk briskly to the scene.


He gently shoved through the throng of people that were enclosing a scene.


"Simasen," he mumbled for the fifth time as he pushed past one last person before finally getting a glimpse of the action. Soujiro gasped when he saw what the people hid. The men and women that were jeering completely ignored the gasp that escaped from Soujiro's mouth.


Thugs were threatening a girl, according to the old man that stood near Soujiro. He told the Tenken what happened when he asked what was going on. It seemed that a young woman had stolen from a group of men. The young woman had cowered to a corner with her back against a building, clutching a small bag in her shaking hands. Soujiro also noticed that the men were very muscular and looked as if they broke a lot of faces with their fists.


While the men continued to approach the woman menacingly, Soujiro glanced about himself quickly. What should I do? Isn't there an officer around here? brooded Soujiro as his eyes searched through the crowds. He stopped his vain scrutiny when a scream exploded into his ears. One of the men grabbed the woman's arm, threatening to break it.


Suddenly, Soujiro felt his feet stepping forward towards the scene. He couldn't stop himself from shouting indignantly at the men. "Hey! You leave her alone!"


The man dropped the girl like trash and swiveled around to face Soujiro. The other men in the group snickered as they eyed Soujiro.


"We're only teaching this little thief a lesson, boy. Now run along and pester someone else," said the man who dropped the girl. His friends grinned and snorted when he called Soujiro, "boy."


"Hmph, you think you can just push anyone around?" said Soujiro, his visage turned into a fiery dark blue. He gripped his wakizashi, the Kikuichimonji Norimune, which hung on his cloth belt with a slender hand. His hand shook furiously as he gripped the white hilt of the sword, thoughts swam in his head. Is this the way...is this the path that I should follow? Is what I am doing right? wondered Soujiro while glaring malevolently at the men.


"I don't wanna hurt you kid, but you really are getting on my nerves. You should be runnin' along now, or else I'll have to hurt ya," warned the man as his friends advanced on Soujiro who now stood in the middle of the scene that the crowd surrounded.


"I'm not going anywhere. And you should be the one who's worried about getting hurt," retorted Soujiro in a calm but angry voice.


It seemed obvious that the men were tired of Soujiro because one of them swung at him with a large left fist. His reflexes caused him to duck and evade the attack. With his left foot leading his right, Soujiro ran out of the circle of thugs. He quickly unsheathed the wakizashi that clanged at his side, the blade reflected the light of the fiery star that was the source of the heat in Kyoto. While the light danced drunkenly on the silver blade of the sword, he sprinted for the man who dropped the girl. Soujiro's body seemed to disappear because of the speed of his stride; he was moving too fast for the naked eye to register. A yell erupted from the man's mouth as the base of the sword hilt hit the man's sternum.


The man sunk down to his knees, blood sputtered out of his mouth accompanied with fits of coughing. Soujiro then pointed the sword at the men behind him. The men seemed as baffled as the crowd.


"You little bastard, I'll--" one of the men was interrupted by the voice of approaching Meiji Government officers.


"Outta the way!" one of the officers shouted at by-standers, "What the hell is going on here?!"


Soujiro quickly sheathed the Kikuichimonji Norimune and grabbed the thin arm of the thief girl. "C'mon, let's go before they see us."


The girl slowly rose from the ground with Soujiro's hand still clasping her arm. They ran into the crowd and disappeared among the people, leaving the officers to interrogate the group of thugs.


Soujiro led the girl to an alley between two restaurant buildings. He flattened his back on the wall of the left building and sighed. While in the cool shade, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his right hand that was clad in pale green tekko. He was relieved that he and the girl escaped from the Meiji Government officers and the relentless heat of the sun. He looked at the girl who stood across from him.


"Are you all right?"


"Hai, but why didn't you kill the man? Why did you just hit him with the hilt of your wakizashi?" she asked, curiosity filled every corner of her chocolate visage.


Soujiro smiled. "A man once told me that killing people would not solve anything. He said that people should be given a chance to live so they could change their ways."


The girl nodded slowly but in a puzzled way. "You could never teach that to a ninja like me."


"You're a ninja?" inquired Soujiro, brows furrowed. He couldn't tell that the girl was a kunoichi or female ninja by her attire. He was used to the navy blue of the Oniwabanshuu, the ninja clan that resided in a restaurant called the Aoiya in a part of Kyoto. But this girl wore red and black. She was clad in kimono-like clothes that had sleeves and stopped at her thighs, revealing a dark rose tattoo. Black and red tekko, tabi, and plain slippers completed her outfit.


"Hai. But unfortunately, I'm clan-less," she responded.


"A clan-less ninja? How could you be clan-less?" he asked.


The girl smiled ruefully. "I was abandoned by my clan. They left me with a doctor but I have no memory of them."


"Didn't the doctor tell you about them?"


"No, he said they didn't leave any names or anything."


"Well, what do you remember?"


"Nothing...nothing at all."


Soujiro looked away, sensing that he might have asked the wrong thing. The sound of approaching foot steps and loud conversations could be heard. His head shot back at the girl.


"I think the officers are coming," he said to her.


"But if we stay here, they won't find us," she said while gazing out into the streets.


"I don't want to take any chances," whispered Soujiro as the foot steps seemed to get louder.


He grabbed her hand and quickly sprinted down the alley to the other side of the street. The heat and the bright sun overhead greeted them as they stepped out of the alley. Soujiro glanced around and saw an officer point at him. It wasn't the officer that stopped the fight but a different one. The officer probably noticed the wakizashi that Soujiro wielded. In Meiji Era Japan, it was illegal to carry swords; proving that the Era of the Samurai had ended back at the Bakumatsu ten years ago.


Soujiro pulled the girl along with him as he raced down the street, accidentally bumping into people because he was not paying attention to where he was going. As he repeated "simasen" when he bumped into people, thoughts pounded his brain. What now?! Soujiro screamed silently at himself. He suddenly felt the kunoichi jerk at his light blue kimono.


"This way!" shouted the kunoichi. With a handful of kimono, she pulled Soujiro into a restaurant. The shoji screen door of the restaurant was open because of some women leaving which caused them to bump into the people. He felt sick as his attention was now averted to the ground that he lay on.


Soujiro looked up at the glaring people. "Gomen nasai! We didn't mean to bump into you."


"Do watch where you are going," one of the women said to them in a stern tone.


Soujiro laughed uneasily and scratched the back of his head while they left. One of the waitresses approached Soujiro and the kunoichi while they still sat on the ground.


"Welcome! Allow me to lead you to your seats," the waitress said pleasantly.

"Arigatou," Soujiro said politely to thank the waitress. He got to his feet quickly. To his surprise, the kunoichi gripped his hand firmly and rose off of the ground too. He saw her grin at him, he couldn't help but grin back. So they followed the waitress hand-in-hand to their table.


They sat down on the comfortable mats that accompanied the low table that was used in all Japanese restaurants. Soujiro ordered a bowl of rice with green tea while the kunoichi ordered soba noodles. The waitress came back soon with their food and left to accommodate other people that entered the restaurant.


After eating most of their food, Soujiro remembered one last thing he forgot to ask the girl.


"I don't think I told you my name yet. I'm Seta Soujiro, what's your name?" he said with a smile.


The girl shifted nervously in her seat. "I can't remember but I must be going. Sayonara Soujiro, I hope to see you again someday."


"Ja ne, I'll take care of the bill," he said as he watched her leave the restaurant. The waitress came to Soujiro and told him the price he had to pay. He reached inside his kimono, using his fingers to search for his small sack of money. But he did not find it. He frowned, the kunoichi had pick-pocketed him.


"Gomen nasai, but I seem to have lost my money," he said in a low voice to the waitress.


She did not look pleased at all.

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I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Plenty more to come..soon, I think ^^; Also, if you're having trouble with some Japanese phrases or words then just say so in your review, I'll e-mail you the glossary of the story since I'm not intending to actually add the glossary as a chapter. Thanks for reading!