Author's notes: Hello all! I've been a huge fan of the series and Kenshin fics for a long time, and I finally decided to try and write one of my own. This is my first story that I am posting : It's a little funny because I started it a long time ago and didn't pick it up until like a year later. You could say I had a huge writer's block - The story is just coming to me as I write it. Although I enjoy reading stories with alternate pairings, as my first story, I don't think I can resist a KnK fic. But who knows where the story may lead me. The chapters may be a little long… I hope that's ok. Characters will pop up here and there so keep an eye out! I really hope you guys like it!
Unexpected Occurrences –Chapter One: The Surprise Encounter
"Himura!" a young man with tousled brown hair dashed up to the red-head, skidding to a halt right before the two collided. Kenshin nodded his head toward the young agent in recognition.
"What's up, Sano. Why the rush?"
"News from the wolf. Seems as though Seijirou Hiko has been assassinated," reported the taller yet more inexperienced of the two.
"When?"
"Approximately 10:30 tonight."
Kenshin Himura glanced down at his digital wristwatch. It read 12:07 am. It had forgotten to sound off the alarm to remind him to take his sleeping pills. Damn thing. He gently rubbed his right temple with two fingers in a circular motion.
"Where?"
"In his own study, while he was having a late drink," Sanosuke quickly said. His eyes roamed over the grim features of his superior. Usually bright violet eyes were now closed tightly in deep concentration. It had been obvious the man had been in bed only moments before. His messed up ponytail, wrinkled t-shirt and sweats, as well as the fact that his left sock was missing happened to be a dead giveaway. Knowing Kenshin often took sleeping pills to get to sleep around 11:30, Sano knew he was lucky Kenshin had forgotten.
He was aware of bits and pieces pertaining to the past of Kenshin Himura, however not everything was quite in the clear. All he was sure of was that this certain man's past was a very dark and painful one, which was probably the source of his insomnia and all around inability to sleep peacefully without the aid of medications. Nevertheless, Himura was and always would be one of the very best agents; there was no doubt about it.
Sano shook his head slightly. There were more urgent matters at hand, and noticing that neither of them hand spoken in the past few minutes, decided to prompt the agent before him with a question.
"Oi. You alright? I mean Hiko… he was your mentor and all, wasn't he?" Sano scratched his head full of hair. "I heard… no. I know that Seijirou Hiko was quite an impressive and amazing man, intelligent and an awesome fighter. He wouldn't be an easy man to take down, don't you think? And to be caught off guard in his own home…seems awfully uncharacteristic of Hiko … just too easy, doesn't it?"
Ok- maybe he'd asked a few questions.
"Yeah... Let me get dressed and ready. I'll meet you downstairs in your car, and we'll go to the scene of the crime for an investigation. I'll be down in a few," and with that, Kenshin turned away from Sano.
"Hai!"
Once Kenshin heard the door shut and lock behind Sano, Kenshin let out a deep breath. He realized that the lights in his small studio had been off the entire time, and now he felt around for a switch to turn them on. He came across a lamp instead, and settled. Once he had clicked the lamp on, he took a steady look around as if looking for something. Violet eyes washed over a tiny kitchen that connected directly to the living room in which he was standing. He glanced at his couch then out the window that lead to a tiny balcony of some sort, and finally to his unmade bed. He made his way to his bed and hesitantly reached below it. His hand searched in the darkness until it grasped something hard and dusty. He pulled out his companion, the only object given to him by his master, the sakobatou.
Kenshin leaned against his bed. It was time for work again. He hadn't even had the time to grieve the loss of his shishou. He never had the time to grieve for the loss of those he loved. But the reality of their deaths always hit him. It always did. He knew he was in for more nights filled with tossing and turning. Life sucked big time.
- - - - -
A light drizzle dawned along with the rising sun upon the exhausted group of men and women, waking them all slightly for a long day. Most of these people had only received about an hour or so of sleep before they all had been roused for this investigation, and now they were thoroughly exhausted. Yet, they all knew, tired or not, they had a murder on their hands, which meant they would be deprived of sleep for quite some time.
Kenshin combed his fingers in frustration through his now deep orange hair, damp from the rain. He couldn't comprehend who could have committed a murder so well thought out and planned so that it seemed as if there wasn't a trace of evidence they could find, at least nothing solid. As he turned this thought over in his head once more, he changed his mind. No. It was quite believable, especially now when so many technological advances were being made. The fact that the human mind was developing quickly into a more advanced state was amazing, but that didn't necessarily mean that this progress would be used to help humanity. Kenshin grimaced. More intelligence meant more power and an advantage to others, and humans were by nature selfish. Weapons were becoming more deadly and destructive every year. The fact that a murder was so well conceived and staged out so finely didn't surprise him now. Many other homicides had taken place before with only a small lead which had been triggered by the tiniest of mistakes made by the murderer, and people had solved the crime eventually. No. What boggled his mind was that this killing was of Hiko Seijuro, a man of awesome abilities in the area of self-defense as well as in the justice department. He had been his mentor. Yet someone had been able kill him without giving the victim a chance to fight back. If his superior hadn't been able to beat this monster, how could he? How could he? The question rang through Kenshin's head over and over again.
Sano surveyed the bloody scene. He watched as the men draw a chalk outline of Hiko's crumpled body, and turned away when the men began to stuff the body in a black body bag. He heard them zip it close, heave the bag in a truck, and drive the truck away. Sano sighed and rearranged his coat, trying to prevent anymore of the cold from coming in. He felt like crap. He was wet, tired, and very, very hungry which lead to a nasty mood. If he felt like this, then Kenshin must feel even worse. Worse than crap? Sano was sure of it. He definitely had felt worse when his older brother, leader of a gang called the Seki Houtai had been killed in a drive by shooting. Sano had decided soon after to be a part of the law enforcement in order to avoid a fate similar to his brother's.
Sano glanced at Kenshin, who now wore a glazed expression on his face. As Sano approached him, he saw how miserable Kenshin appeared to be. His grey slacks were drenched and looked as if they were weighing him down. The coat he was wearing didn't look as if it were doing any good as well, seeing as Kenshin hadn't even bothered to zip it up in his rush to get down to the scene of the crime and find out what had happened. Kenshin's hair didn't look so great either. It had been beaten down by the rain to look like a tangled, messy mop—a sad excuse for hair. Luckily, Sano's head of hair had managed to remain astoundingly resilient to the stubborn drops of water and had maintained it's usual spiky form. Sano suddenly noticed that Kenshin was whispering a phrase to himself over and over again. Although Sano couldn't catch the entire thing, he did catch a 'How' in the beginning. Kenshin was his superior, but he was also his best pal first and foremost, off and on hours. Though Sano worked under the red-head, he wasn't treated like a subordinate for most of the time. Only during times of dire emergency and seriousness, such as in the studio, did Sano treat him as a boss. They were more like partners and best friends, even though Kenshin's personal life story was still a mystery to him.
"Oi! Kenshin! You alright there?" Sano asked in concern for the shorter man. Kenshin shook his head to bring himself out of his daze and noticed the man standing next to him.
"Yeah, yeah," Kenshin said waving his hand as if to signal there was nothing bothering him. "We should head out to our office. There's nothing else we can do here, at least nothing that other people probably can't do better. We'll wait for anything we can use as a lead to come in. In the meantime, I suggest we both rest for a while and try and dig up some information about people who might have a grudge against Hiko Seijuro."
Sano nodded in silent agreement, noting his partner's cool mannerism. "I'll go ahead and bring the car around…you wait here," and with that Sano turned around first and jogged away searching for his car in all the chaos which had just started to break up.
Kenshin closed his eyes and heaved another sigh as he turned around as well for a few moments, only to crash into a stranger.
"Hey! Watch it buddy! Why don't you try opening your eyes and walking for a change?" came a curt reply. Apparently, thought Kenshin, this stranger was a female, and an outspoken one at that. Kenshin silently cursed and rolled his eyes under his still shut eyelids in irritation. He wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone right now.
"Hello? Are you listening to me or what? I knew you were blind but I didn't know you were deaf too. Or are you just rude and refuse to ever learn any manners?"
Kenshin could feel the air rush by his face as the woman flapped her hand in front of his face. His eyes continued to remain shut and his eyebrows furrowed together in an attempt to maintain his patience.
"I'm talking to you! The least you could do is respond!" came the exasperated voice again. "Geez…." continued the voice, and continued muttering. Finally, frustrated with this person who would not go away, Kenshin decided to say something.
"I'm sorry, but could you stop the excessive chattering for just a minute. It's giving me a migraine."
Kenshin, of course, hadn't meant to sound so cold, but the words had come tumbling out. He was relieved to hear nothing more was coming out of the woman's mouth. Pleased, Kenshin slightly relaxed and slowly opened his eyes, only to look straight into a pair of incredibly sharp blue eyes of the most intense shade. Kenshin tensed up right away. Those eyes were furious, and not surprisingly, its glare was directed right towards him.
Author notes: OK! There it is! I hope you all enjoyed it. I apologize for any mistakes there may be and thanks so much to my sister for all her help in a quick edit! I promise it will get better: 'till next time waves