A/N Welcome to my new story:) Now, I know it's time I updated Complete but this thing just popped into my head and I couldn't resist:D I promise to update my other story soon.

Now, just for the record, this story follows the anime only (with obvious hints from Tsuiokuhen of course) and starts where the last episode ends (basically) that is on the day when Kenshin and Kaoru get back from their little 'trip' to Kyoto (which by the way is after the Enishi Arc in manga, but it doesn't matter really:P). The drill is simple- three girls from our world are cast back in the past to the Meji Era. I had to give them some backup, so they weren't totally lost. I do plan to upgrade their skills though, so if you don't like to read, I won't make you:P However, if you do and notice i pump them up too much/too fast, please let me know. What can I say, I like my OC's ... equipped accordingly:D

And after such a long introduction, I hope you'll enjoy my story II- -

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or anything related. I do, however, own my three OC's.

XxX

Chapter 1: Acquaintances.

'So, Kenshin, how was it in Kyoto with Jou-chan? I can see you decided to stay overnight, so I s'pose it wasn't that bad?' Sano laughed.

'Sano, please…' Trust his friend to say something like that. He soon wasn't laughing anymore since Kaoru smacked him upside the head.

'Baka! You'd better get a job and stop emptying my kitchen of food! Freeloader!' Kaoru was fuming. How dare he!

'But Jou-chan, gomen, don't take it personally, I'm SORRY!' he whined under her fist. Kimono or not, she still had a hard hand.

'I hope you both enjoyed your weekend in Kyoto.' Dr. Gensai smiled warmly. 'I guess we'll be off then. Megumi-san please relax a little, I'll take care of the clinic. Plus, I'll have such adorable nurses with me.' He smiled towards his granddaughters.

'Hai, hai, we will help you with the patients!' Ayame exclaimed happily.

'We will, we will.' Suzume followed.

'But senssei…' Megumi was trying to protest.

'No need to worry, take your time, all of you.' He bowed to them still smiling. 'I'll see you in a couple of days!'

'Bye, Ken-nii, Kaoru-neechan!' The girls waved them goodbye. Kenshin waved back.

'I have an idea, why don't you come to Akabeko for lunch? On me.' Tea suggested.

'Oh, you're a goddess Tae-chan!' Sano was bouncing in happiness.

'Not for you, you'll have to pay your tab first!' Tae put him down.

'Evil woman.' He murmured. Everyone laughed.

'You change your mind quite fast.' Yahiko teased.

'Oh, shut up.'

They were nearing the marketplace already. Suddenly a man stepped out of the shadows.

'I see you're enjoying yourself, Battosai.' Saito stated, a cigarette in his mouth.

'I recall asking you not to call me this name anymore, Saito.' Kenshin replied. It was a nice weekend in Kyoto. He didn't want anyone to spoil his mood.

'Whatever. There's a problem.' Kenshin raised an eyebrow. 'Not here. I'll fill you in at the dojo.'

'But, officer-san, we're just heading to the Akabeko for lunch.' Tsubame said quietly, yet stubbornly. Saito looked at her for a while, before lifting his eyes to Kenshin again.

'Fine, I'll join you then.' He simply stated. Kenshin and Sano frowned slightly. It must have been something important since Saito didn't want to wait till they finished their meal.

Suddenly Kenshin spotted a group of girls about 30 meters before them. By Saito's and Sano's reaction he knew they saw them too.

They were foreigners obviously. The tallest one wore an exasperated look on her face. She had a small round face complimented by long, almost black hair put up in a high ponytail and braided. She was wearing a black hakama with plain white kosode and zori without tabi. There was a red package on her back. To her left stood a small blonde girl with the fairest complexion he's ever seen piercing turquoise eyes. She, on the other hand was clothed western style. She wore very short beige trousers that exposed her toned legs up to the mid-tight, something inconceivable in Japan, and a black shirt without sleeves and back, bound on her neck. She could have as well gone out naked. She also had zori on her bare feet and looked like she was lost in thoughts. On the other side of the girl with a braid stood the last one of this peculiar group. She was quite tanned with dark brown wavy hair cascading almost to her waist, and if the blonde's bottom was short cut, in case of this very girl it was an understatement. She wore a puffy valanced white skirt that barely concealed her butt and a low cut bright blue sleeveless shirt. With her full bust she left nothing to imagination.

They stood dumbfounded for a while, especially Sanosuke who was almost drooling at the last girl. That is until Megumi didn't step firmly on his foot.

'Hey, what was that for!'

'Get a grip on yourself, will you!' Megumi hissed. Men were such animals.

'Well, that is interesting.' Saito let out a puff of smoke.

As if on cue the small blonde girl looked at their direction. There was a strong hint of recognition in her eyes, though they weren't sure, who was is directed at. She stood still while the other two kept walking a few steps until they stopped and turned to her.

"Let's get moving.' Saito ordered.

They were getting closer. The black-haired girl started to shout something, after the small one's statement and now the third girl was trying to calm her, but obviously managed only to enrage her more. When they were only meters away they heard the blonde say : 'Well, I guess it doesn't matter anymore, since we're on collision course' and the fuming girl turned around just to be met with Saito's chest.

A few hours earlier

'Hi, beautiful!' The blonde was jogging towards her. 'How was it today?' She glared at the bouncing girl.

'Can't you tell just by looking at me? I'm so spent I could lie down and don't get up for the next week. Plus, I teach idiots.' It was dark already and she spent the whole day in the dojo, training and teaching the beginners.

'But you managed to skip school' The blonde mused. 'You can always say you have some kind of tournament, show etc. and no one's gonna complain' She sighed. 'And you're especially lucky today since our English teacher was obviously PMS-ing'.

'Figures' The young kendoka decided to let slip the 'show' talk. It's not like the other girl meant harm. In fact, she hated the performances they were made to give on almost every festival/holiday. She felt like an idiot. Kendo and katas were a form of art, an emanation of a person's soul, not to be displayed to uninterested brats and their mothers. But that was one of the town council's conditions to keep co-funding the dojo, so she really had nothing to say on that matter.

'By the way, I was always curious, what dan are you?' The other girl continued.

'Why do you want to know?' Of course she knew, why her friend was asking. She wanted to learn kenjutsu since she started walking, but when she finally convinced her parents that she won't 'stray from the one and only proper way' she …well she get to a disagreement with senssei Hao, and since it was the only dojo in the town, she was left with nothing. Being a good friend, she herself tried to teach her, but with their personalities it just wasn't working. Plus, she partially agrees with her senssei. The bouncy girl was physically not fit to wield a shinai, not to mention any form of 'real' sword.

'I don't know, I was just asking, god' The blonde backed away. They walked a while in silence.

'And what were you doing here? Gym again?'

'Nah, swimming. My back is hurting again I need some stretching.'

'You shouldn't slouch so much. You do have a desk to sit at.' Seriously, most of this girl's mishaps were self-inflicted.

'But I can't concentrate that way. I need a soft and fluffy armchair to study. My brain fancies it.' She giggled.

'But your spine doesn't.' She couldn't believe how stubborn her friend was.

They both turned hearing a car coming towards them.

'Oi, ladies, wait up!' Their brown-haired friend was yelling from her old blue car. She stopped with a high screech and hopped out of her aged vehicle. 'Gosh, I thought you two would be somewhere near' She smiled. 'Look what I got' She said, showing them a long package wrapped in a burgundy material. 'I stopped by the antique shop on my way back home' she blabbed while unwrapping the object 'and just couldn't help it. I'm not very familiar with sword, but this one looked well made and granps didn't charge much, so I took it' She finished, finally untangling the sword.

The sword looked impressive. It was over 30 inches long, sheathed in a black scabbard with leather wraps around the hilt. The two girls were speechless for a good moment.

'May I?' The older girl reached for the sword. She held it for a while, weighing it in her arms then pulled it a few inches out of it's sheath. Then she gaped.

'This is no ordinary sword! It's a traditional katana, a Japanese one probably, hell, it's the finest thing I've ever seen in my life! Look at the saya- it's made of lacquered wood, there's not even a scratch on it! The decorative leather motive on tsuka is called katate maki, and the oval tsuba is cut sublimely!'

She unsheated the katana completely.

'Take a look at the blade, it looks brand new! Not a single chip!' She took a few steps back and made a few swings.

'And it is balanced perfectly. This thing is worth a good couple thousand, if not more! Where did you get that?'

'I told you already, at the antique shop. It's a beauty, isn't it?'

'How much did you pay?' The still astounded girl asked, coming closer and resheating the sword. It clicked characteristically, fitting in the sheath and everything went blindingly white. The three girls closed their eyes in pain. When they opened them again a second later, they simultaneously took sharp intakes of breath.

'Oh shit' That was all the blonde was able to say at the moment.

They were taking in a totally different landscape than a minute before. They were standing at the bottom of a wooden bridge, on they right there were meadows and one could see fields in the distance. A few steps behind them was a bamboo forest, while on the other side of the bridge stood a couple of cottages. It was around noon.

'What in the name of everything sweet and fluffy just happened?' The brown-haired girl asked carefully.

'If I didn't know better I'd say the sword transported us…somewhere.' The blonde responded.

'How creative' The third friend murmured. 'I feel like in some kind of poor sci-fi movie. There're three girls, the mysterious artifact and the time/place transportation. Terrific.' She added. 'Well, no point in standing here, let's get moving to this village or whatever it is.' She started walking. The two girls behind her looked at each other and followed.

The first thing they noticed after entering the village was strange looks they've been given. Though it looked like a simple village the farther they went, the more it reminded of a town. An old, mostly wooden built town. With people wearing kimonos and hakamas. Speaking Japanese.

'Do you think, what I think?' The brown-haired girl stated.

'That we're in Japan and definitely not in XXI century? Yes.' The kendoka girl was getting more and more gloomy. 'I guess it's only natural- we got a Japanese sword, we wound up in ancient Japan.'

'Oh, c'mon, don't be such a killjoy, let's enjoy ourselves while we're here.' The blonde was already bouncing.

'First, we don't even know exactly know where and when we are. It can be war or famine as far as we know. And second- how do you even know we can come back?!' God, why was the girl so insanely optimistic?!

'Seriously does it look like a war or famine to you? Look around, this place is nothing but peaceful. Plus, it isn't that bad here, is it.'

'But they do give us strange looks.' The third girl confirmed.

'Of course they do! We appear from thin air, don't speak their language, not to mention our looks.' The dark haired girl was fuming. Suddenly they stopped.

'I think we should switch to Japanese.' The blonde suggested. 'We may then be able to get closer and maybe find out where we are.'

'Finally you said something that actually makes sense.'

'We should probably change our names too.' The brunette said. 'We could use our names from class.' The advantage of the situation was, all of them were taking Japanese class at school, so at least they would be able to communicate. On their first class few years ago, their teacher told them to pick Japanese names for themselves and it worked out so well that most of the group was using them on a daily basis among friends. So they wouldn't make any slip ups. Hopefully.

'Ok, so from now on we use only our Japanese names. Yuki' She inclined toward the brunette. 'Arashi' the look at the blonde girl 'and Meiyo, Mei in short. We switch to Japanese and stay that way. Try not to swear in English' Another look towards the bouncy girl 'or say anything about another time/space.' Yuki and Arashi both nodded. 'All right.' She exhaled. 'Let's do this.'

They walked into a marketplace, full of stalls, most of them with food of different sort, but they were a few with fabrics, ribbons and even perfume.

'Kami, I'm so hungry.' Arashi cried. Her stomach was rumbling with all the delicious food around.

'It's really a pity we don't have any money. I could use some food too.' Yuki agreed.

'We need to get ourselves some jobs. Let's ask around the inns.' Mei suggested. They were a few signboards of inns and restaurants. 'Maybe someone needs an extra pair of hands.'

'They have dango!' Arashi was almost drooling all over. Her friends laughed. That was the blonde for you.

The shopkeeper regarded the trio as they came closer.

'I believe you don't have a ryu at yourselves, am I wrong?' Arashi grinned sheepishly.

'I guess we don't. We just got here and we're looking for a job. Don't you need help, good sir?' Yuki smiled playfully.

'I'm afraid I don't. You should check the restaurants. I heard they need some help at the Akabeko.'

'Akabeko?'

'It a restaurant at the end of the market, it's impossible to miss.' He indicated the direction.

'Thank you for your kindness, we will check that for sure.' Yuki thanked.

'Uhm, miss?' The seller was looking at Mei, indirectly though.

'Yes?'

'I believe you wouldn't know since you just came to Japan, but there's a ban on swords since almost ten years now.' He pointed faintly.

'A ban on swords?' Mei frowned trying to remember when the swordban was introduced.

' Well yes, you see, about two years after the Revolution the government declared a ban on wielding swords in public. It's for safety you know. Plus, nobody really want to remember the bloody times of Revolution. Now, in Meji Era, we want to live peacefully.' His voice was getting more quiet as he looked at the frowning girl. True, she was just a woman, but she carried a sword with her and it was not a good sign.

'I understand. I will proceed accordingly. Thank you for your information.' Mei was trying to convert the common dates into Japanese ones. If her calculations were correct, they were around 10th or 11th year of Meji. Which was about 130 years in the past.

'Sumimasen, but can you tell us, what town exactly we are in?' Trust on Shi to blurt something like that.

'Tokyo, of course.' The shopkeeper finally steadied his breath and was now eying the small girl in confusion.

'Arigatou! See ya later!' She waved and pulled her two friends along. She stopped around the corner when the old man couldn't see them anymore.

'Well?' She turned to Mei.

'Well what?'

'As far as this old man was saying, we're about 11th year of Meji. How does it calculate into normal?'

'About 1878 I guess.' Yuki breathed in sharply.

'That's over 130 years. We went back into the past for almost one and a half century!' She exclaimed.

'Shhh, quiet down, will you.' Mei reprimanded.

'Gomen, it's just so strange. I still can't believe it.'

'Well there's nothing we can do about it right now. More importantly, what do we do with this forsaken katana? I obviously can't drag it along.'

'I still have the material it was wrapped in.' Yuki offered untangling the burgundy fabric. 'Look, it has a strap to it!'

'A baldic, how convenient.' Mei murmured. They wrapped the sword and she put the package on her back. 'That's settled. Now, let's look for this Akabeko. The man said It was that way.' They started walking.

'Oh…my…God.' Arashi's eyes were the width of saucers.

'What's going on?'

'I can't believed, oh my God, oh my God…' She was soon to start hyperventilating.

'Spit it out already.' Mei hissed. She hated when the small girl was acting like that.

'It's Kenshin.' She whispered.

'Who?'

'And Sano, and Yahiko, and Kaoru, even Megumi and Saito.. And those are Tae and Tsubame.' Too many 'ands'.

'What are you talking about girl?' Mei was getting angry. Again. What a day.

'Remember Bakumatsu? Hitokiri Battosai? He then vowed not to kill again and now is wielding sakabatto. And he's here with his friends.' It was Yuki's tale to talk.

'Are you insane! There was no such person, it's a myth, a story invented and spread back there for fear! You both definitely watch too many anime! You can't believe everything that's on tv for heaven's sake!' What, were they 10 or something?!Hitokiri Battosai never existed to begin with!

'Mei…' Yuki was trying to calm the enraged girl. With no result whatsoever.

'I will repeat it as many times as you want! IT IS FICTION!!! An you are sick in the head!' She exclaimed.

'Well, I guess it doesn't matter anymore, since we're on collision course.' Shi snorted.

'We're…what?!' Mei spun on the heel only to be faced with a blue uniform jacket.

XxX

So, how did you like the first chapter? Please let me know, reviews are loved:D

You can see I don't use the girls' 'real' names and it can come out a little awkwardly sometimes, but seriously, I saw no point in Introducing their names for only half of the chapter. I don't plan to explain every Japanese word since most of them you'll probably know and also the technical stuff as parts of sword's construction, which are better explained with pictures (). If you however wish for me to include such glossary at the end of each chapter, I may reconsider:) And finally, the title of the story, as well as my OC's names do have a meaning. You can easily google it (and boast about it in rewievs:)), but if you're not sure or want a further explanation, feel free to ask.

Reviewers will get a cookie:D