The Wanderers' Pillow

Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. If they did, I would at least get Kenshin a new outfit once in a while.

This takes place long before the Anime, so how do you know it's OOC ?

Chapter 1: A Miserable Night: Early Fall of 1869

Kenshin Himura dropped his bag down on the roadside and slumped beside it. He had been traveling almost nineteen months since he left the Revolution behind, trying to help people who had been hurt as a result of war. Village after village, farm after farm, of starving ,suspicious people who now viewed every stranger with fear. The last little place had been particularly sad. He had been able to rid them of the bandits who were a plague, but not in time to save some of the littlest ones, who had died of malnutrition. It seemed that he could make no difference with the reverse blade sword he carried; that he didn't matter whether he was alive or dead, he couldn't save anyone ,nor stop their pain.

A distant rumble in the dark sky promised a bad storm. He should have gotten off the road before sunset to make camp; but somehow he just couldn't face it. Without shelter, he would be soaked and chilled to the bone, perhaps even die of exposure; he wasn't sure he cared. He dropped his head onto his knees, just a little bundle of misery by the road.

Shuffling and grunting sounds of several men came towards him up the road from Chibimizu three or four miles distant. Kenshin also heard muffled swearing and struggling. Invisable,he stood up in time for a flash of distant lighting to show him four men carrying a wriggling cocoon between them.

"Kami, this bitch is heavy!"

" We're far enough away now. Let's drop the foreign bitch and show her what will happen if she doesn't shut up and co- operate !"

Before Kenshin could move, the men dropped the bundle with a thud. There was a ripping sound, a flash of steel, and one of the men sprang back, clutching his right arm.

"Shit! The bitch has a knife! She cut right through the futon!"

"That's it! The foreigners' can ransom a corpse, this bitch is dead!"

Another lighting flash showed Kenshin a tall figure in a white robe standing at bay among the men. A knife was in the shape's right hand, glittering in the more frequent lightning flashes that announced the approaching storm. One of the bandits began to pull his sword and the others yelled obscene threats. Kenshin was upon them before the blade had cleared the sheath. Three were face down in seconds. The wounded man gave a cry and ran back the way he had come, and Kenshin let him run. He turned towards the figure in white as the lightning cracked overhead. It was a foreign woman, taller than any woman he had ever dreamed of seeing, barefoot and panting for breath.

"Are you all right, Honorable Foreign Lady?"

"I've had better nights. Thanks for the help." She looked down the road," We'd better get out of here . Those bastards kidnapped me from the inn at Chibimizu and I couldn't get my blade out till they dropped me."

"I will escort you back to the inn, that I will. Please come with me."

Rain and lightning came together as the tall woman shook her head," They were just the group sent on ahead with me while the rest dealt with my escort. I don't know how many are behind us, but I won't go running back into their arms. We've got to get off the road until broad day when it will be safe to head back." She bent down to pick up the dark futon cover she had been carried in. Kenshin heard a rip, and the white robe was mostly covered by the improvised poncho.

"Come on little man, let's run!"

"ORO!!"

My first ever chapter! I made up the name of the spring, and probably won't use too many Japanese terms as I would rather not insult a language by messing it up.