Disclaimer: If I owned Rurouni Kenshin, then I wouldn't write fanfiction, now would I?

Note:

Thoughts

"speech"

~~~~~~~~~~ scene change ~~~~~~~~~~

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It was a bright and sunny day that day. Very warm, also. So warm that some places closed down for the day. But then, again, what can you expect. It was summer, after all. Many people took to lounging around in the shade. It seemed near impossible to work in such heat. But, some people were still working. Namely, a small boy living on a rice farm in Japan.

Soujirou trudged along the path, carrying a barrel of rice on his back. Though this eight year old was weary, he couldn't stop for a break. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but rather that his family wouldn't let him. Soujirou was worked like a dog, and received very little, if anything, in return. He couldn't do anything about it, though. He was only a child, and he was stuck there, working like a slave.

On this particular day, Soujirou had to move 100 barrels of rice into the barn. It was already noon, and he wasn't even halfway done. It didn't look like he was going to finish before dark. But, he kept working. Maybe, just maybe, if he was almost done, his family would let him sleep inside and finish his work tomorrow. So, Soujirou trudged on. Due to the heat, he had to focus all his effort on simply keeping one foot in front of the other. Because of this, he almost missed seeing the person sitting in the shade beside the barn. Soujirou stopped and looked at the man. He had flaming red hair in a ponytail, and carried a sword with him. It looked like the man was asleep, and Soujirou didn't want to disturb him, so he started to walk on again. He walked into the barn and set the rice barrel down. He then went to go get the next one, glancing at the man as he walked past. But, the man didn't move. He didn't move either when Soujirou walked past with another barrel of rice.

Soujirou did this five times before his curiosity got the better of him. After he took the barrel of rice into the barn, he walked out and towards the man. He walked carefully, as if he expected the man to lash out at him. When he was three feet away, and the man still didn't move, Soujirou said, "Um, sir?"

The man said, "Yes?"

Soujirou jumped. Apparently, the man wasn't asleep. Soujirou said, "Um…Why are you here?"

"I was resting," the man said, still keeping his eyes closed, "I can leave if you would like me to."

"That's alright," Soujirou said, a smile suddenly appearing on his face, "But be careful. Father doesn't like strangers being around his house. He says, 'They all are freeloaders. They should get a job and buy their own house.'"

The man smiled slightly when Soujirou had impersonated his father's voice. He said, "I will be cautious."

Soujirou then went back to work. Whenever he passed the man, he would look at him and think, he's nice. But why is he here?

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Night settled quickly that night. Soujirou had hurried to finish his work, but he was still 10 barrels short when his father called for him. His father was drinking from a jug of sake when Soujirou arrived. He said, "Boy, did you finish your work?"

"Nn.not quite," Soujirou shakily said, "But I almost did."

"Not quite," His father roared, "Not quite is not good enough!"

He smacked Soujirou across the face, which sent him flying to the ground. Though he was bleeding, Soujirou smiled at his father. His father, who now looked annoyed, said, "You won't be allowed inside this house until you finish! Now get to work!"

Soujirou ran off, knowing that he was lucky for not getting a beating. He didn't stop running until he was at the barn. Once there, he stopped to catch his breath. After a few moments, he then looked around. The man was still sitting in the same spot from earlier. But now, he definitely seemed to be awake. Soujirou could now see that his eyes were purple. And right now, they were full of concern. The man said, "Is everything alright?"

Soujirou nodded. He said, "I just didn't finish my work, so my father got mad."

"Did he…hit you," the man asked. Soujirou nodded and quickly said, "But it didn't really hurt! Usually, if I don't finish my work, he beats me. Today he just slapped me once."

The man still looked concerned. But, Soujirou still had work to do, so he said, "I still have to finish my work. If you want to stay here tonight, you can stay in the barn. That's where I stay when I get kicked out of the house."

Soujirou then went to go work. Then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Soujirou looked up, and saw that it was the man. The man said, "I'll help you. Then it will get done faster."

Soujirou smiled and said, "Thanks!"

As they both walked off, Soujirou said, "My name is Seta Soujirou. What's yours?"

The man smiled and said, "Himura Kenshin."

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For the next couple of days, Kenshin stayed on the farm and helped Soujirou do his work. He was always very careful not to bee seen. In exchange, Soujirou stole food for him. It was risky, but Soujirou was willing to do it for Kenshin.

One day, while they were working, Kenshin said, "Soujirou, why do you always smile, even when your family beats you?"

Soujirou answered, "Because, if I cry or get angry, they beat me more. So, I just smile, and they get tired of beating me. I can't even remember the last time I cried…"

Kenshin suddenly felt sad for this boy. He said, "If your family treats you badly, why do you stay here?"

Soujirou smiled (he does that a lot, doesn't he?) and said, "Well, I can't do anything else. I'm too little to leave, and if I don't work, they will beat me more."

Kenshin nodded. He said, "But what if I could take you someplace safe, where they couldn't hurt you again?"

Soujirou shook his head and said, "That is nice of you, Himura-san, but I can't go. I would just be a burden. And my family isn't really that bad. It's my fault anyways."

Kenshin looked confused. He said, "You fault? How is it your fault?"

"It's because I'm not their real brother," Soujirou said, as if he was stating a fact, "My mommy was a pros..prosti..well, she isn't the same mommy that my brothers and sister have. And because of that, I am not really their brother, even though they take care of me."

Kenshin shook his head and said, "That shouldn't matter. A child should be loved, no matter who their parents are."

Soujirou shrugged. He said, "Oh well. That's how my family is. I like things the way they are."

Just then, one of Soujirou's brothers called for him. Kenshin hid somewhere, and Soujirou went to go see what was the matter. When he reached his brother, he saw that a police officer was there. Soujirou's older brother said, "Soujirou, this police officer just told us that an assassin from the war is hiding in these parts."

The police man showed Soujirou a picture of the Assassin. It was Kenshin! The officer said, "have you seen this man?"

For a moment, Soujirou was torn. Finding out that Kenshin was an assassin was a big blow, but he didn't want to turn his new friend, no, his only friend, over to the police. Soujirou shook his head and said, "No sir."

"You will tell us if you see anything suspicious, right," His brother said in a tone that meant if-you-don't-we-will-kick-your-ass. Soujirou nodded and said, "Yes, I will."

Then Soujirou's brother told him to go "play." what that really meant was "get back to work, but we aren't calling it work because the police are here." Soujirou ran off to the fields where Kenshin was. When he got there, Kenshin came out of hiding. Soujirou said, "The police were just here, and they said you were an assassin! Is it true?"

Kenshin hesitated for a moment, then said, "Yes, Soujirou, I was an assassin. But now, I am a rurouni. I don't kill anymore."

This eased Soujirou's mind a little, but he still felt a little nervous. His family had told him about assassins. They had told him that assassins were bad people who killed other people for no reason, and that they deserved to rot in hell for all eternity. They also told him that an assassin would kill him if he ever saw one and didn't tell anyone. This scared Soujirou. But Soujirou couldn't see Kenshin as being a bad person, especially after he helped him do all his work. Soujirou said, "Alright. It's ok, since you are not a bad person anymore."

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That night, Soujirou and Kenshin were putting the final barrel of rice in place, when Kenshin said, "I am going to leave tomorrow morning, just before the sun rises. That way I won't be a danger for you or your family."

Soujirou said, "Alright….if you have to…"

Kenshin said, "Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

Soujirou nodded. He said, "I'm sure."

Then, Soujirou thought of something. He asked, "Why do you keep asking me that?"

Kenshin sighed. He said, "It's my duty. I have taken a vow to protect those who cannot protect themselves. It's the duty of the strong to protect the weak."

Soujirou pondered these words. During that time, he lost his grip on the barrel. Suddenly, the barrels they had been stacking gave out. They crashed down, heading towards Kenshin and Soujirou. Kenshin pushed Soujirou out of the way, but couldn't avoid the barrels himself. They crashed down on him. Soujirou prayed for two things: That Kenshin was alright, and that his family hadn't heard. His prayers were answered when Kenshin sat up, looking mostly unharmed. His left arm had a gash on it, but that could be fixed easily. Soujirou said, "Himura-san! Are you alright?"

Kenshin nodded and said, "Lucky me it was a small stack. If it had been a big one, I would have been in trouble."

He then flinched as the pain in his arm became apparent. Soujirou said, "Wait here, I'll go get some bandages."

Soujirou snuck to the house, hoping that he wouldn't get caught. He managed to get the bandages alright, but he encountered trouble on his way out. As he rounded the final corner before the front door, one of the other doors opened up. Soujirou ducked back around the corner and waited for whoever it was to go back inside. But, the person didn't just go back in the room. Instead, they came in the direction of Soujirou's hiding spot! Soujirou closed his eyes, hoping that the person would go back the other way. The person came closer and closer still. Then, when he or she was about two feet away from discovering Soujirou, a voice called out, "hey sis! What's wrong?"

That was the younger of Soujirou's two brothers. His sister said, "I thought I heard something."

"It's probably nothing," his brother said, "Then again, it might be Soujirou stealing some more food. Who knows?"

"Well whatever it was, it's gone now," his sister said as she walked back to the room. When he heard the door close again, he breathed a sigh of relief and hurried out and to the barn. Kenshin was waiting there, holding his left arm. Soujirou helped him patch it up, then went to clean up the rice.

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The younger brother, the older brother, and the sister were lounging around in a room. Other then when the sister went to go see what she heard, they just sat there. A while after the sister returned, the father entered the room. He said, "Did any of you hear anything a while ago?"

"I thought I heard something," the sister said, "but I could have been wrong."

"No," the younger brother said, "I thought I heard something too. It sounded like a crash."

"I know," the father said, "I checked the whole house, and nothing seems out of order."

"Did you check outside," the younger brother asked, "It might have been Soujirou or something."

"I'll go check right now," the father said, "I've been meaning to have a talk with that boy about the disappearing rice."

As the father left, the younger brother called out, "He's probably in the rice shed! That's where he sleeps when we make him sleep outside."

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Kenshin watched as Soujirou cleaned up the rice. He said, "Are you sure you don't want any help?"

"I'm sure," Soujirou said, "It's not that much, and it's my fault that it's all over anyways. If I had been more careful, it wouldn't have fallen."

Kenshin sighed. stubborn, he thought. Then he said, "I'll go get you a broom. That will make things faster."

Soujirou said, "Thank you," as Kenshin left. About a minute later, the door to the rice shed opened. Soujirou turned, expecting to see Kenshin. But, he became very scared as he saw that it was his father. Soujirou's father said, "Soujirou! What happened in here?!"

Soujirou said, "I…I…the bbbarrels…they f..fell."

Soujirou's father smacked him. He said, "You know better than to stack them carelessly! Why I should…."

No doubt Soujirou's father would have given Soujirou a beating right then and there, but he saw something among the wreaked barrels. He walked over to them and picked it up. It was a small piece of fabric, probably from Kenshin's kimono. On it were several strand of hair.

Red hair.

Soujirou's outraged father picked Soujirou up by the collar and said, "What is this?!"

Before Soujirou could respond, his father threw him out of the barn. He skidded to a halt, then tried to stand up. But, he was beaten down by a punch from his father. His father said, "You were hiding the assassin all along, weren't you?! You Bastard!"

He kicked Soujirou, and Soujirou cried out in pain. By now, the entire family had been drawn outside by the commotion. The older brother, sword in hand, said, "What's going on Dad?"

"This brat was hiding the assassin that the police were looking for," the father said, then kicked Soujirou again, "Where is he?!"

It began to rain. And not just a light rain. It was pouring. Soujirou was in a lot of pain, but he managed to say, "Himura-san isn't a bad guy!"

This got another punch. The father said, "Don't give me that crap! Anyone who goes against the government is a bad guy!"

"This makes me mad," the older brother said as he drew his sword, "If the police find out that he hid the Assassin here, we could be shut down! Let me kill him, Dad!"

The father nodded, and the older brother took aim. Soujirou, who had shifted into a sitting position with his hands supporting him, was too scared to move. Instead, he shut his eyes tightly and screamed. He heard the swish of the sword as it swung down, but he never felt it connect. Instead, he heard it hit something metal. Soujirou opened his eyes and saw that Kenshin had blocked the blow with his own sword! The family was startled by Kenshin's sudden appearance.

Kenshin shot a glance back to Soujirou and said, "are you alright, Soujirou?"

Soujirou nodded, but couldn't say anything. The look in Kenshin's eyes had scared him. The once gentle purple eyes were now amber, and they looked very menacing. Soujirou knew that this glare was not directed at him, but it still scared him. It was like Kenshin was a completely different person. Kenshin turned his attention back to Soujirou's family and said, "You would dare hurt one of your own family? That is pathetic."

"I don't care what you think," the older brother called out as he moved to strike Kenshin. But, Kenshin was much faster. He hit the brother in the gut with his sword, which knocked the wind out of him and probably broke his ribs. Soujirou thought that Kenshin had killed his brother, but Kenshin said, "He was not killed, because I carry a sakabatou. Anyone else care to try?"

Nobody moved. "Good," Kenshin said as he sheathed his sword, "Now we can leave peacefully."

Kenshin walked over to Soujirou and picked him up. Malnourishment had caused the boy to be light. Soujirou, unsure of what to do, just wrapped his arms around Kenshin's neck. As Kenshin walked away, the father yelled out, "What do you think you are doing?!"

"Taking Soujirou somewhere where you can't hurt him," Kenshin responded. The father retorted, "You can't do that!"

Kenshin stopped. He turned to face Soujirou's father and said, "You beat this boy, underfed him, and worked him endlessly. When you found out that he bestowed some kindness upon me, you tried to kill him. I refuse to leave him here under those conditions."

Then, as an afterthought, he added, "if you think you can beat me, then try to fight me."

The father backed down, and nobody else made a move to stop him. Kenshin walked off, heading in the direction of the forest. He was sure that Soujirou's family would contact the police, so he wanted to get as far away from that place as possible.

Kenshin traveled far away, trying to leave an unfollowable trail. Then, about two hours later, Kenshin decided that he was far enough away, and left unclear enough a trail so that they could stop for the night. So, he set out to find shelter.

After a while, he found a giant tree that could serve as shelter for the night. He set Soujirou down in front of him and knelt down at his level. It was then that Soujirou began to feel the tears swell up. strange, Soujirou thought as the tears began to slightly overflow, I don't feel sad. Why am I crying?

But Kenshin seemed to understand. His eyes, which were now purple again, gazed sadly at Soujirou. He hugged Soujirou and said, "It's alright. You can cry."

Soujirou let the tears flow. He sobbed into Kenshin's chest. He chocked out, "Hi..Himura-san! I …don't know why I am crying!"

"Shh," Kenshin said, "Don't talk. Sometimes, a person just has to cry. You haven't cried in a long time, and the events of the day have probably caught up with you."

Soujirou cried for some time. When he finally stopped crying enough to talk, he looked up at Kenshin and said, "Himura-san, I…I……I don't want to go back home! They'll hurt me again!"

Kenshin held Soujirou close and said, "Don't worry. I won't let them hurt you ever again. You are safe with me."

Soujirou smiled. But, this wasn't his normal smile which was meant to mask pain. This was a genuine smile, a smile that Soujirou hadn't used in a long time. He truly was happy, because he felt safe. He trusted Kenshin to keep him safe. And now, he was starting to get tired. Kenshin seemed to notice this, and he sat down and leaned against the side of the tree, Soujirou in his arms. Soujirou had wrapped his arms around Kenshin's neck again, and he rested his head against Kenshin's chest. They both began to drift off. Right before he fell asleep, Soujirou said, "Himura-san?"

"hmmm?"

"you said you protect the weak, right?"

"Mhmm."

"I want to protect the weak too."

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Author: Everyone say it now: AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! You all know that's what you wanted to really happen. Don't deny it now!

Arramon: *sniffling* that was….beautiful….

Yami Mimi: Agreed.

Author: be sure to review! Every author and authoress loves reviews! Review, and you get a Soujirou plushie! *Note: no, you don't get a plushie. Authoress has no money. If ya want, she can make you a pretty wallpaper, but that's it. Hey! You can get a wallpaper with a Soujirou plushie on it!*