Summary:
When Kaoru thinks the new guy in class to be just a shy outsider, she couldn't be more wrong. Little does she know that his ancestor is the legendary Battousai. And she is in for even more 'surprises'... [modern day, non-AU!]

Disclaimer:
I don't own Rurouni Kenshin (after all, I'm no guy and my name's not Watsuki Nobuhiro either).
I only created descendants of the original cast and let the past catch up with them... [insert evil grin here]

A/N:
I guess the opening scenario for this fic is overly used by now, so I added a little twist to it – in the hope that this was not done already (or too often), too...
And as an explanation to the summary: This story is set almost 120 years after the end of the manga and is also not a reincarnation fic. It'll become more clear in future chapters. More notes at the end of this one. For now I hope you enjoy the beginning of my first RK story.

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Cause And Effect: The Burden Of A Legacy

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Chapter 1 – Approaches and Surveillances

The new school year had started quite uneventful. Well, there had been an event in the form of a new student, but that guy didn't seem to be interesting at all. Apart from his exotic appearance – he had long, bright red hair with a few darker streaks that he wore in a ponytail – the only thing truly noticeable about him was his silence. Even when their teacher had introduced Kanzaki Juro as an exchange student from the States, he had stayed mute. He had just bowed as a greeting and then gone straight for the farthest desk available.

Kaoru shook her head in disbelief. His behavior was definitely odd. He had never looked at anybody during the introduction. Instead – it seemed – the floor had been much more interesting. After sitting down, he had taken out his books and never raised his head again until the end of classes.

Although some girls had been excited over the new and "sooo good looking!" student first, their interest had died before the first week was over. Nobody wanted to befriend somebody who was too shy to communicate.

After the second week nobody took notice of him anymore. It was, as if he wasn't even there. Everything was running smoothly until – during the third week – Takahara-sensei walked up to Kaoru to talk about the strange new student...

... and this was, how she found herself in the unfortunate position of having to 'take care of' Kanzaki Juro.

Damn. Having to deal with somebody like him would most likely end with her falling asleep at every single encounter, due to the lack of interaction. She just knew it! And she cursed the necessity of having to obey her teacher.

Now, two weeks after that, she had started several attempts to talk to him already. She had approached him in different locations. She had been friendly and acted the most winning way possible. To no avail. He stayed silent – didn't even acknowledge her presence most of the time. Was she invisible, or something?

Just then, she saw him walk past her with his head down as usual. For a moment she earnestly considered leaving him alone. Everything else simply wasn't worth the effort. But the mental image of her teacher made her quickly discard that option again. She would just have to give it another try...

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Kaoru was not a happy girl. Watching the back of the retreating redhead, she cursed under her breath. She had just been totally ignored by him – again. God, this guy was stubborn!

She had found out pretty soon that his supposed shyness was nothing more than a mask. He simply refused to interact with the people surrounding him. Was there anybody out there who had ever heard him talk before? She was beginning to doubt that.

He really was a mystery to her. And although she'd like to deny it, he had sparked her curiosity. What were the reasons for somebody to act so out of place? Had he trouble understanding or speaking their language? Improbable, since she'd seen him taking notes in class and that had definitely been in Japanese. If shyness wasn't the reason either, what else could make him behave that odd? Was he mute or just too arrogant for his own good? She didn't have a clue – and asking him was obviously out of question.

'Fine! Be that way. If you are trying to be a royal jackass here, just watch me do the same.' Thinking that, she began to follow him slowly.

Several steps ahead, her 'prey' was silently fuming about her latest advance. 'Hell, this girl is persistent. You'd think that by now she would have taken the hint and left me alone. But no, she tries again and again. Doesn't she ever grow tired? What is this? A competition for the title of "Being The Most Stubborn"?'

Juro had a hard time trying to suppress an annoyed growl. It figured that his initial idea of playing the shy guy had been the wrong strategy, since it had ended with him being stuck with that nosy girl. Somehow, he doubted he'd ever be able to shake her off again.

The few shocked seconds after he had left her standing there again had ended much too soon and now he noticed to his dismay that she was trailing him.

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At the other end of the city two men sat in a darkened circular room, watching the countless monitors that covered half of the wall. Those monitors were fed by the numerous – but unofficial – observation cameras all over Tokyo. It was unusual for one of the men to be there though, since his rank normally demanded him to handle the 'more delicate' matters of his organization, which left him very little time for such 'trivial' things. But he liked to be on observation duty with his advisor and friend occasionally.

It was rather quiet in the room, apart from the faint buzzing of the machines – that is, until the man caught sight of something interesting on one of the screens.

"Look at that, Arai. It seems that our little Shimoda girl tries to befriend that Kanzaki guy."

Arai answered with an amused chuckle. "It doesn't look as if she was volunteering for the job, though". A short pause, then he added thoughtfully: "What do you think? Is he a Himura?"

"I'm not sure. We have no proof yet, although he definitely has the looks." 'If nothing else...' he thought dryly.

"Will we have to step in?"

"Not yet – if at all. If he is a Himura, then they both have the same roots. It could be interesting to see how that turns out."

"But won't it be dangerous to have those two together? I mean, he's attracting attention even if he doesn't intend to. Isn't there the possibility of the Doumei noticing the Shimodas because of him?"

"At the moment they are pretty occupied with some business abroad, so the risk isn't very high. We should have an eye on all of them, though. Better safe than sorry."

The two men fell silent again and continued their observation of Kaoru's fruitless attempts of starting something like a conversation with Kanzaki Juro. But the silence was rudely interrupted when another man noisily entered the room.

Ignoring the death glares of his superiors, the newcomer held out some sheets of paper and stated: "I have the information you asked for, Okashira."

Nodding curtly, the addressed man only took a very quick glance at the papers and then asked: "What did you find out?"

It was well known that the Okashira preferred to talk about investigation results – keeping the papers only for backup. So the man had expected the inquiry and was able to answer immediately: "The boy in question is Kanzaki Juro. Seventeen years old. Transferred to this school about five weeks ago as an exchange student from the States. No available records on the parents. Seems to have a guardian who managed the transfer. No contact between the two, though. He currently lives in a small apartment in the neighborhood of the Shimodas."

"That's all you've got?" The Okashira eyed his subordinate doubtfully. At that, the man visibly straightened and continued: "That was only the official version. The boy's real name is Himura Kenshin. Son of Himura Kazuo and his American wife Julie. His assumed name is the combination of his own second name and the maiden name of his grandmother. He's actually eighteen already. And the true purpose of his transfer seems to be related to his father's death."

Two pairs of eyes narrowed at that statement. "His father died?"

"Yes. Cause of death was a sword wound to the chest. He was found by his then eleven-year-old son."

"Ah, that's not a nice discovery for a little boy..." Arai said and the Okashira asked: "What more can you tell me about the circumstances of Himura's murder?"

"Well, strange is that nobody seemed to have reason to kill him, since he was an ordinary employee with no debts and no apparent enemies. However, the murder weapon was a sword of his own collection..." The man paused, as if unsure about how to announce the next part. Much quieter than before and obviously uncomfortable he said: "He had been pinned to the wall of his study when the boy found him."

This was followed by shocked silence. Then Arai whispered: "That would make him the very first victim of that series."

With a slight nod the Okashira asked: "Is the boy the only one left or does he have family overseas?"

"His mother and nine-year-old sister are still living over there."

The Okashira cursed. "That needs to be taken care of. Send for Seta!"

The man blinked. "Which one?" The glare of his superior made him say a hasty "Right away!" and with a short bow he was gone.

The two remaining men sat in silence for a few moments and then the older one sighed. "This has just turned into a major disaster. I'll need to talk to the boy as soon as possible."

"How would you approach him? I doubt that our usual methods would succeed in gaining his trust."

"I'll let Arakawa and my daughter take care of that problem."

Arai looked at his boss in surprise and asked carefully: "You think this decision to be wise? They are still pretty young and lack the experience..." The look he received for his question made clear that he was lucky to be the Okashira's best friend.

"They both have been trained by me, so they'll be prepared," was the icy answer. "And their age will be their greatest advantage for this mission. It's more likely that Himura will warm up to people of his own age. And once they've gained his trust, it will be easy to bring him here."

"That may be so, but that plan seems to have two major flaws. First: It will take too much time until that boy will trust them. Just look how successful Kaoru is. And second: Don't you think, he'll feel betrayed as soon as they've brought him here and you start to ask your questions? How likely is it that he'll tell you anything?"

"True," the Okashira growled. "But they'll start on that mission anyway. We'll just have to come up with a faster method to make him want to talk to us. After all, it is in his own interest. And while the two are at it, they can also have an eye on him and make sure he and Kaoru stay out of trouble."

Arai still wasn't entirely comfortable with the plan, but since he couldn't think of a better strategy, he reluctantly agreed. Until they didn't know more about the details they couldn't do much more anyway. The only thing left on that matter now was to wait for Seta's arrival...

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A/N:
So, this was the first chapter. Hopefully not too confusing. And hopefully not too full of grammatical errors or language misuse. So far, I have no beta reader, so I can't guarantee for anything (so, if anyone wants that job...).

Something more about the background of the story: This is based on the manga only (so you might consider the story semi-AU, if you're more into the anime). And in future references to the characters' family histories only incidents and persons from the manga will be mentioned. The history I created for my characters is definitely different from the anime ending (and much more to my liking). Also, most of the characters in this story are descendants of the original cast and apart from the occasional flashback none of that cast will appear here.

For this story I have worked hard on the background. Before I started writing I came up with a lot of additional info that might be mentioned in later chapters, but not necessarily. I will collect that info on a separate website and tell the link as soon as there is something interesting to see (probably together with the next chapter).

And for all of you who are impatiently waiting for updates: This story will be updated, but at a slow pace. Although I know in which direction the plot will go, I'm no continuous writer – which means that I have a few chapters already finished that won't appear until much later, but the second chapter is still missing. I do hope, though, that after posting this first chapter I will be motivated enough to keep the story progressing at a reasonable pace. Reviews might help... ;-)