Hello, well this is my new story, now this might seem a little confusing, but this already happened, Kenshin's thinking about this so its sorta one huge flashback. **** means flashback and end of flashback, thats funny, a flashback in a flashback, lol, um anyway here it is.

Disclaimer: I don't any of the RK characters, the idea of the hole in the ground came from a book called Son of the Shadows, part of a series, Daughter of the Forest, but i changed it around. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~

She was holding me close and humming my favorite song as we rode in the carriage across the bumpy rode. The rhythmic moving of the carriage was slowly putting me to sleep when I felt it come to a jerking stop. It was silent but I could hear someone taking. It turned into shouting and then I heard the sound of clashing metal. I could feel my mother get very tense and she slowly moved out the back of the our tiny cart. She started running towards a cottage not very far away. I peered over her shoulder and saw my father and another man fight. I could tell my father was struggling as he tried to overcome the enemy's weapon and powerful force. Finally I could tell it was over but I was young and didn't know what happened next. What I saw is always in my dreams haunting me even now.

The man my father was fighting drew back his sword and plunged it deep into my father's chest. I heard his scream and watched him drop his sword and fall to his knees. The man who killed my father took out his sword and paid no attention that it was covered in blood. Even as we got closer to the cottage I couldn't take my eyes of my father's lifeless body. I yearned to cry, to let it out like my mother, but I couldn't.

Finally my mother reached the cottage and I was able to tear my eyes away from the gruesome scene and I looked around the cottage. My mother spotted something and ran to the middle of the room. She lifted up what seemed like a trap door. There was a small hole in the ground which she put me in and said, "Don't worry, stay here and don't make a sound. I'll come back for you." She gave me a hug and a kiss and closed the door shrouding me in darkness.

I pulled my knees up to my chin and listened to her footsteps walk farther and farther away until they disintegrated. As I lie there in the dark cramped space, I did the only thing I knew, I started to count to 10. One...two...three...four...I started to cry...five...six...I tried to hold in my sobs...seven...eight...nine...ten. As I started again I closed my eyes to imagine the first time I did this.
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I watched as she put down 10 little wooden animals on the floor in front of me. She pointed to each one with her finger while saying the first 10 numbers, "...seven...eight...nine...ten. There, now can you repeat that?"
I thought for a second before repeating what she did. She clapped and smiled while saying "Good Job!"
I liked the praising so I did it again and again, each time being rewarded by my mother clapped her hands and smiling. I did this until I grew tired and she carried me off to my bed singing my favorite song.
****
I started to cry more after the memory, it didn't help. What made things worse is that I couldn't get it out of my head no matter how loud I counted. It was then that I heard something, a squeak. It was the door. I then heard footsteps walk slowly across the room towards me. I tried to quiet my sobs, and then I realized that it was my mother returning for me. I was so happy, I could picture her soft gentle hands and her smiling voice calm me down and tell me everything was okay. I could hear her coming closer and closer and then stop.

I waited and a little sob escaped my mouth. The door above me was ripped open, and instead of gentle hands, rough large ones grabbed my hair and threw me across the room. I then heard his voice bellow across the room at me, "Ah ha I got you now you rodent!" I was in shock and couldn't even cry. Then he really looked at me and exclaimed, "Oh, it's only a child." He walked over and brushed my reed hair out of my face and stared into my purple eyes. "What's your name?" he asked, his voice was like shouting comareed to my mother's. "Sh-Shinta." It was barley a whisper. "Oh Shinta how nice." he laughed showing yellow teeth. "Well boy how old are you? 4, 5, maybe even 6?" "I'm 5." "Ah, now the big question, WHY THE HELL ARE YOU IN MY HOUSE?" his voice even louder now. I winced and said, "My m-mother left me here." Thats the only way I knew how to explain. "Oh, so you're stuck here eh? Oh well, you can be some help. You know how to do anything? No? Oh well you can be taught. Here."

He grabbed a bucket of grimy water and an equally grimy cloth. I stared at it not knowing what to do, he realized that I had no clue and said, "You don't even know how to clean a floor? You must've been from a little rich family. Hmph, like i said you can be taught. Now pick up hte cloth, put it in the water, and... SCRUB MY DAMN FLOORS!"

I shuttered as he yelled. I looked about the cabin. It was small, but to a 5 year old, it was as big the world. I walked over to the bucket, picked up the cloth, and started to scrub the floor. He watched for a few minutes as I struggled to wash well enough. As he walked away I rested and looked around. There wasn't much but a small cooking area and a bed. I was a little worried where I would sleeping, but it was quickly dismissed as other thoughts entered my head. I was scrubbing slowly as I dissolved into my thoughts. I though about the scene I saw earlier. I could clearly see the blood glimmering on the sword as the man withdrew it from my father's withering corpse.

It made me sad, but it made me even more angry. Without even realizing it I started pounding the floor. The scene replayed in my head over and over again, I couldn't stop it. I struck my hand hard on the wood floor which made me snap out of my reverie and rub my hurt fingers. I could feel myself about to cry, but I heard footsteps outside so I started scrubbing again. The footsteps walked away and one tear escaped my eye.

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AN-Ok, did you like it? This is my first Kenshin fic, i don't know that much about him, im more for Inuyasha, but hopefully it was ok, i know it's short but it's just the first chappie so the next ones will be much longer the only reason there are like millions of paragraphs is so u guys can read this with out squinting your eyes. R+R please no flames, but suggestions welcomed