Ugh, I am so going against my only two fanfics at a time thing, but this story has been eating at me and I know that if I don't type it now it will end up like one other story I'm working on. I have like at least 7 chapters of that hand written but I'm to lazy to type it. I'm glad that I've been able to restrain myself from doing a lot of hand writing this story. If updates take a while just know I am trying to work on three, possibly soon to be four, stories at a time.

Note: In this story, one line means change of scene and two lines mean change in the change of P.O.V. can also have a change of location depending where the person whose point of view is being featured is located.

Chapter 1: A New Guest

Kenshin Himura P.O.V.

It was a lovely summer afternoon. The wind blew softly and a few loose leaves lazily danced in it. The sun gave warm rays of light that cats loved to sunbathe in. The perfect weather is exactly why everyone at the Kamiya Kassien Dojo were sitting outside on the front porch enjoying tea and cake on the front porch. Well, at least Miss Kaoru and I were enjoying it. Yahiko and Sanosuke were just stuffing cakes in their mouths and snapping at each other. They kept on telling each other to save some for them.

"It's a lovely day, isn't it?" Kaoru commented with contentment in her voice.

"It is indeed a lovely day, that it is." I agreed. Then I smiled at her with my eyes closed and my head slightly titled her way. I then returned to sipping my tea.

"Hey Kenshin, what are you planning for dinner?" Sanosuke questioned with half of a cake hanging out of his mouth. It just happened to be the last cake.

I could practically see the steam pouring out of Miss Kaoru's ears.

"You just ate all my cakes, had dinner here for the past week, and you're planning to have dinner here again?! You're not getting any dinner, you useless bum!" She shouted as she punched Sanosuke multiple times.

"Easy, Missy! I just wanted to know!" Sanosuke claimed as he tried to defend himself against Kaoru's enraged attacks.

"Yeah, so you could come over here and get another free meal that won't add more to your gigantic tab!"

I decided to clear my throat and interrupt then. "Besides Sano, I don't think that you would like tonight's dinner. We are going to have leek soup."

I remembered one time we had leek soup and Sanosuke left the moment he found out.

"Oh, but Kenshin, we don't have any leeks." Kaoru commented in the sweet and soft tone that I realized she only used with me.

"Who said that I didn't like leek soup?" He scratched his head, thinking about anytime he could have possibly denied any form of food. His face brightened up as he remembered. "Oh, you're thinking of that one time I turned down leek soup. I only refused it because Missy was cooking it and I knew it would taste terrible." Sanosuke explained.

That brought on another angry attack from Kaoru.

"Oh, well then I better go buy some leeks from the market. I'll get enough so you can join us Sano." I say as I get up. "I should be back shortly."

When I got to the market it was strangely empty. Only a few people were on the streets and by the looks of things most of them were finishing their shopping. I would've thought that more people would be roaming the streets looking for a bargain on a day like today.

I turned a corner and accidentally ran into a young man. He was about my height and he had short messy blond hair. He wore an oversized blue kimono that hid everything from the neck down and he carried a large sack of what sounds like money. He facial features were narrow but beautiful, almost like a woman's face. At first I would've thought him to be a thief, especially since it appeared that a group of men with drawn swords were headed our way, but that was instantly dismissed when I looked at his most startling feature, his dull blue eyes. Well, perhaps not instantly, but what he did shortly after are collision pretty much proved my thought, that and add in the walking stick strapped to his back.

"I am so sorry! I didn't hear you there!" He exclaimed as his hands fluttered briefly over my face, his hand lightly brushing my crossed shaped scar. His hands had the calluses of an expert swordsmen, though how long it had been since he held a sword was a mystery to me.

His apology made it obvious, the boy was blind. He relied on his hearing and sense of tough to be able to detect his surroundings, or in this case identify a stranger.

"What is wrong? Are you a thief?" I asked quickly.

"No! I'm not a thief. Those men are chasing me because they want the money that they were supposed to give my master back. I even have evidence that my master completed the bounty in my bag. They wouldn't believe me and I was hurt in a fight to get this money and so I can't fight them. Please help me! I'll provide you with the evidence as soon we can get safely away from them." He begged.

His legs were shaking underneath him and I could see blood staining the cloth near his left quad, though I could not see a tear in the fabric. The young man could not remain standing for much longer.

I put a hand on his right shoulder and said, "I will help you, but you will have to wait for me to fight these men. I couldn't carry you away from them fast enough to get you to safety, but I'll come back to get you to a place I know is safe and we can treat your wound there."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, mister." He said as he gripped the corner of the building and he slid down to a sitting position, anting heavily as if he had been running from these men for some time, which would not have been possible for him in his condition plus being blind.

I quickly ran to meet the men. I could not wait for them to come to me. For all I know the boy could've been cut at a major artery or vein and is dying as I fight.

"Get out of the way you scarecrow!" The lead man yelled. "That boy stole our money."

"A blind boy stole from you? I have high doubts. The boy has offered me evidence of his innocence and unless that proves him wrong I will protect him and I will not return the money that is rightfully his. You can stand down now and if he is proven wrong I will return the money to you. The same goes for fighting me and him being proven wrong, however, you will have sacrificed the health of your men." I tried to reason.

"That boy stole from us period! We want our money back now, not later." The man exclaimed as refused to listen to my reason. "And besides, one man can't stand against twenty men of the Bounty Akumas."

I quickly proved him wrong, because the moment he finished his sentence, I attacked and they all soon lay twitching at my feet. Many had broken bones, a few were lucky enough to escape unconscious with a few bruises.

I then quickly ran to the boy and picked him. He was lighter than he appeared, even with the bag. There probably was enough money in that sack to sustain a person for their lifetime, as long as they stuck to the bare necessities.

For a second I feared that I had been to late, but then the boy opened his eyes weakly. "That was quick." He murmured. "What is your name?"

"My name his Kenshin, Kenshin Himura." I explained as I ran to Doctor Gensai's home. "What is yours?"

He knew it was bad to pass out and he was trying to create a conversation, I was happy to oblige him. I didn't want him to pass out while I was carrying him because I feared I might mistaken him for dead.

"My name is... Akimoto, Akimoto Takumi."

"Are you a foreigner?"

"No, I am Japanese through and through."

"So, your master is a bounty hunter?"

"Yes, his most recent successful bounty he really wants. He wants it because he's giving it to me so I can live on my own, and so that I don't have to be around when he kills people for money. He wants me to use this money so I can leave him, so that I no longer need his support. I was once useful to him, long ago, when I could see, but now I am just burden."

"It's nice of him to give you that money."

I didn't exactly like bounty hunters, but at least this one was giving his apprentice a chance to live happily without his sight.

"I know. Anyone else might've thrown me out on the street."

"Okay, we're here. Doctor Gensai! I have someone who needs your assistance!" I exclaimed.

"Gensai is not here right now," A feminine voice called out. "But I'm here if it's an emergency. Bring whoever needs help into the operating room. No doubt that if it's one of your friends they're going to need stitches or some kind of emergency operation."

I quickly ran to the instructed room and set the young man down on the mat.

"Thank you Miss Megumi." I said as she entered the room.

"At least it's someone new. I don't suppose that the others know you're here."

"No, I was supposed to be out getting leeks for dinner when I ran into him."

"I'll send Ayame to get everyone. I don't want to have to listen to the story more than once." She explained. She quickly called in Ayame and had her run over to the dojo to get everyone, then she set to work on Akimoto's leg. She ripped off the cloth around the wound to reveal that the leg was already bandaged, albeit, very sloppily.

Akimoto blushed, embarrassed. "I tried to patch myself up, but I couldn't trust myself to stitch myself up and so I did the best I could being blind and all."

"Well, you did very good job for someone who is blind. In fact, you did better than some people who can see." Megumi commented as she started to unwrap his leg. Some blood had already began to crust and so when she removed certain parts of the bandage certain parts of Akimoto's wound began to bleed anew. He winced, but not once during the entire process of removing the bandage, stitching the wound, and rewrapping it, did he whimper or let out a cry of pain. And by the time that was all done Sanosuke, Yahiko, and Kaoru arrived.

Kaoru P.O.V.

Almost the moment we got there Yahiko went and said something very rude, as usual.

"He's weird lookin'. Is he a foreigner?"

"Yahiko!" I scolded as I elbowed him. "Learn some manners."

The stranger on the mat smiled at us with his eyes closed. "It's okay, Miss...uh..."

"I'm Koaru. The loud mouth is Yahiko, and the bottomless pit behind me is Sanosuke." I explained.

"I'm sorry, but could you each speak your names in turn. I can't see so I can only recognize you by sound or by touch. And since we barely know each other, it's probably best to go by sound." He said as he gave an embarrassed laugh while scratching the back of his head. He finally opened his eyes to us for the first time and I saw that they were a dull blue. They seemed to only look at me, but I had been the most recent one to speak, so he probably was just focusing on me.

"I'm Kaoru."

"I'm Yahiko."

"I'm Sanosuke."

"I am Megumi."

"And I am Kenshin."

"Well, hello everyone. My name is Akimoto and to answer your question Yahiko, I am not a foreigner. I really don't know why I have blond hair or blue eyes." He explained. His voice almost had a feminine sound to it. He probably was still going through the stages to manhood.

"I only know one other person in Japan who is native here and is blond and has blue eyes. I have not see her in quite some time." Kenshin commented, almost fondly. I quickly ended my jealousy before I could react. He only used that tone when he spoke of the few very good friends he had from the Revolution.

Akimoto winced. "And I fear you will not see her again."

"Why?"

"There is only one person in all of Japan who had a bounty on her head as large as the sum I collected, and I fear it is the same person you speak of." He started. "The person my master, or ex-master I should say, killed was Ishimaru Miharu." I saw Kenshin straighten up and his eyes widen at the name. "He sent me with her hair covered in her own blood as evidence. Anyone who knows her name knows that she would never cut it. She knew how to use the incredible length of her hair as a weapon, even though in most cases it is should've been a liability. She certainly gave my master a ran for his money, but in the end he defeated her. In most cases my master would send me with the entire head of his victim, but he believed that he was shaming such an honorable opponent enough by taking her hair. He also gave her a proper burial." Akimoto explain.

Kenshin moved over to the bag that sat next to the young man and pulled out long golden locks that were stained with massive amounts of blood.

"So, she really is gone then?" He whispered, almost sounding afraid for it to be confirmed.

"Yes, and you wouldn't believe how much of a struggle she put up for someone who was blind. She was blind and she nearly beat my master, she must've been really good when she could see." Akimotot commented.

Kenshin's head snapped towards Akimoto. "She was blind?"

"Yeah, no one knows when, but sometime after the Revolution something caused her to go blind. Some rumors say that she saw something that she wasn't supposed to and the Imperialist had her blinded, another says that she was so distraught at the sight of the lives that she took that she blinded herself. The rumors go on and on, but no one knows which is true or if any of them are."

"So, Ishimaru was a friend of yours Kenshin?" Sanosuke asked.

"If the rumors are true, than he should be." Akimoto commented.

"What do you mean?" Yahiko asked. "What rumors?"

"The rumors that the Battousai and Ishimaru were great friends."

"How did you-"

"-know?" Akimoto finished for Kenshin. "Their was once a bounty on your head too, Himura. I remember when they told me you had a cross shaped scar on your left cheek. When I bumped into you I felt that scar."

"How old are you?" I asked.

"Eighteen." I replied.

"How long have you been blind?" Kenshin asked, for some reason he was suddenly getting interested in the boy more than he was the death of his old friend.

"Six years."

"So, you learned to become a master swordsman in less than twelve years, did you not?"

The young man burst out laughing. "Looks like I gave you a peace of information as well when I touched your face, Himura. Indeed I did master a sword in less than twelve years."

I gaped at the young man and his now tightly bandaged leg. This young man who was nearly helpless today against some dishonest men became a master swordsman in less than twelve years.

Akimoto's head turned towards me and his eyes were on me, like he could actually see. "Don't stand there with your mouth gaping, Kaoru. Ishimaru has a more impossible feat than that. Tell 'em Kenshin."

"How did you know that my mouth was open?"

"I think everyone heard it drop, Kaoru. I actually just guessed." He replied. "Now, tell 'em Kenshin. You might be the only person alive, besides me and my master, who knows her story."

"I met her when she first joined the Revolution. She was six years old and already knew how to wield a sword better than most grown men. At the age of seven she had mastered her style, Himitsu da Honou no Tsurugi, and many other styles. By the the age of eight she could easily match me in battle and I never saw her after my final battle in the Revolution. She once told me that she worked so hard to master multiple styles because she never wanted to caught off guard if she were to lose her sword that was specially made for her style. I was hoping to see her again, but it looks like she caught too much attention. It didn't help that one of her best weapons was her long golden hair. She would braid it into a whip and hit men or blind them with it. No one would expect so much raw power to come from such a young girl." Kenshin explained.

I finally see what Akimoto meant by that Ishimaru had accomplished a whole lot more than him.

I was sad that I never got to meet her, but I'm not sure that I would want to. I mean seriously, it's scary that a six year old could kill without crying for momma.

Okay, I made up Ishimaru's sword style. It literally translates into "the secret sword of fire". I Promise this gets interesting. Akimoto has a few secrets that are going to be spilled and he's not as helpless as he sounds. Please someone for Heaven's sake review! I promise some interesting twists and turns and a little bit of mystery. Just in case you don't know what to put on a review I'll give you a quick chance to try and make a prediction.

a) Akimoto is actually a girl.

b) Akimoto isn't blind.

c) Akimoto is Kenshin's brother.

d) Ishimaru is going to rise from the dead and kill Akimoto and his master, and then have a quick tea party with Kenshin before returning to the underworld.

Your personal predictions are welcomed.