Here comes the usual announcement, folks: Rurouni Kenshin was created by Watsuki-san. I admire this guy - he constantly makes me blow all my money. Recently, I bought half of the manga in Italian. And do I even know Italian? No. Now I'll have to sign up for a language course. …And Kenshin isn't exactly your regular souvenir from Venice, either.

Author's Notes: Oh, well. I can't write. Unfortunately, I'm one of these people who simply don't know when to give up… *sigh* Anyway… just give this story a try, please.

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"Rurouni Years"

One look at the angry sky was enough to send shivers down Kenshin's spine. The rain hadn't started yet, but the first droplets of water were threatening to fall in a couple of minutes. And, judging from the swollen clouds, it was going to be one hell of a downpour.

The soon-to-be-wet rurouni sighed, his bad mood increasing with every passing second. Almost tripping over a root, he quickly lowered his gaze, once again cursing his earlier lack of forethought. It would have been best if he had stayed in the village for the night, but instead, for some reason he could no longer recall, he had decided to travel farther, until he would feel too tired to walk. Fatigue was already taking its toll and now, it seemed, he would have to walk in the rain for hours, because lying down in the middle of an open field was definitely out of question, and he didn't really want to try his chances with trees and thunders.

Frustrated, he glanced at the sky once more, cringing inwardly.

Just my luck, he thought morbidly, wondering briefly whether it wouldn't be reasonable to turn round and run back to the village as fast as his feet could carry him. The problem was, he hated turning back, wherever he went. At the beginning of his journey, not so long time ago, he vowed not to visit the same place twice, partially because he really felt a strong urge to travel, but mostly due to safety reasons. He knew that if anybody was searching for him, be it his former, revenge-thirsty enemies, or government officials, it would make him much harder to find.

No use standing here, staring at the ground, he mentally scolded himself, resuming his walk. He was currently climbing a small, gentle hill. I need to move on, go a bit farther. I really shouldn't go back and-

A thunder flashed in the distance.

……Ah, but it won't hurt this single time, right?

However, just as Kenshin made up his mind, he reached the top of the hill, noticing a couple of lights in the distance. They all belonged to a single house, bordering on a small bamboo forest. It looked extremely inviting.

The rurouni knew that, in reality, his chances were slim - not many people would invite a traveler after dark - but, after all, there was no harm in trying.

* * *

The door slid aside, revealing a woman in a green kimono. Frowning, she opened her mouth to speak, but Kenshin was faster.

"Good evening," he said quickly, bowing even lower than necessary. "I am a rurouni, looking for shelter from the coming rain, so, please…" the message was clear, he didn't even have to finish his sentence.

Instead of a simple reply, the landlady raised an eyebrow at him. "It's well after nightfall," she said wryly. Kenshin blinked, tensing reflexively, unsure of what he could feel in her ki. Was she mocking him? "Why would anybody travel in the dark, I wonder? Where did you come from? North? South?"

"Um…" he hesitated; these questions surprised him a bit, but he knew he would have to answer, if he counted on gaining the woman's trust. He suddenly started to feel very small under her penetrating gaze. Her height, he suspected, had probably something to do with it. She was almost two inches taller. "South-" I suppose, he wanted to add truthfully… but, fortunately, a flash of common sense made him bite his tongue.

"Didn't you pass a village on your way?"

"Yes, I did-"

"And you didn't stay there for the night?"

"Obviously, I-"

"Even in this weather?"

"Well, I-"

"How stupid of you."

Kenshin cringed. This woman was certainly quite… straightforward, way too much for his taste. She kind of reminded him of his master… only that his master would probably never address a polite stranger in such a rude manner… or maybe he would… wait, what the hell was he thinking about…? He had more important things on his mind, especially at the moment.

"I'm sorry I have bothered you, then," he said coldly, bowing low once more, only this time it was to hide his anger at the prospect of a cold, wet night. "Goodbye."

"Wait," her voice stopped him before he could even turn around. "I would've been heartless if I didn't let you in… stupid or not," she finished, chuckling under her breath. The former assassin involuntarily clenched his teeth, but said nothing - after all, he had been allowed to stay and it wouldn't do him any good to offend his hostess. He couldn't stop himself from casting a dirty look in her direction, though. The woman noticed it, of course, but, much to Kenshin's surprise, she simply gave him a small, humorless smile in return. "Just don't mind the things I say sometimes," she shrugged. "That's just the way I am. And besides, you see, lately I'm a bit tired… it's because of the children. They can be unbearable at times." She paused to close the door, then turned around, waiting for the man to take off his sandals. "By the way… I'm Yanagisawa Reiko."

The ex-hitokiri had been through similar scenarios many times before, but it didn't make this one any easier. He suppressed a sigh, tactfully dropping his gaze to the floor. He knew he was supposed to answer with his own name; keeping your identity secret was generally considered rude, not to mention very suspicious… but for him staying anonymous was a matter of survival. It was even more important than not visiting the same place twice.

"I'm just a rurouni," he said softly, summoning a charming, boyish smile and praying that his hostess would take the hint. She did, although she didn't seem pleased. "Yanagisawa-san, I thank you for your understanding. As a wanderer I can promise you I won't stay long."

"Thinking about leaving, already?" She was moving around the semi-dark room, lighting tallow candles. "Stay as long as you want."

Kenshin swallowed. Here comes the hardest part… "Well… I'm afraid I don't have much-"

"Money?" she interrupted with a dismissive wave of her hand. "We'll think about this later. Don't worry, you'll pay me… one way or another." Her eyes flashed for a second. Kenshin mentally shook his head… this woman was scary.

"That's very kind of you, Yanagisawa-san," he replied, bowing.

"You're welcome," she nodded. "Now that my husband's gone, the house seems a bit empty, even with all these kids…" her voice, which was playful and ironic before, now held an unmistakable sadness. Kenshin felt his chest tighten, everything was obvious now. No wonder she acts like this; a poor, lonely widow- "What!?" she suddenly snapped at him, visibly irritated. "Don't give me that --oh-I'm-soooo-sorry!-- look! He isn't dead or anything! He left on business!"

Kenshin almost face-faulted. He quickly added 'evil' and 'has mood swings' to his 'why should I leave as soon as possible' list.

"He's a merchant," Reiko explained, "…but no, he doesn't have a normal shop just like everybody else does!" she glared at the rurouni as if this was entirely his fault. "Instead, he travels all over Japan, risking his life for a handful of extra coins."

"What does he sell?" Kenshin asked blankly, trying to be polite, even though he wasn't really interested in Yanagisawa's answer.

"Fabrics," she shrugged. "Anyway, he left about a month ago, and I'm stuck here with the children, waiting for his safe return… if he returns safely," she added morbidly. "The revolution's over, but Japan's still dangerous. Horrible things happen every day, murders and such… Ah, but there's no point in telling you this; you're a wanderer. You've probably seen quite a lot, haven't you?"

How does a hitokiri, who can't lie at all, answer such a question?

"Yes," Kenshin nodded and turned his head to the window, smiling. "Look, Yanagisawa-san, the rain's started. I'm glad I've found your house in time."

Reiko lighted the last candle. "Yes, you're lucky," she agreed, turning around to face her guest. Kenshin breathed a small, unnoticeable sigh of relief. "Anyway, rurouni-san… you look terrible," she finished with her usual tact, or rather the lack of thereof. "I guess you're just hungry, but…" she frowned at him, deadly serious, "I believe that you still haven't introduced yourself properly. And I'm not used to inviting armed, nameless strangers to my kitchen… Well, I'm waiting."

Kenshin sighed. He couldn't honestly say he hadn't expected such a turn of events, but what did it change? He felt at a loss, knowing well that there was no easy way out of this. He needed shelter very badly and Yanagisawa, he was certain of it, would sooner throw him out than allow this silliness to continue…

"What?" she smirked at him and he looked away, suddenly feeling quite irritated. "Are you a criminal or something? Or have you simply never heard of good manners? Which is it?"

His patience with her was wearing out; it took lots of his self-control just to stay silent. He could tolerate her rudeness, because, in reality, she seemed quite kind. Her ki had already told him that she wasn't a truly malevolent person, so he had decided to play along with her offhand behavior. Everything she said was fine with him, as long as he was allowed to stay.

He just didn't like being forced into anything…

"Himura," he said softly, locking his anger behind a gentle smile. "Himura Kenshin." A small part of him instantly began to regret this decision, but there was already no way to take these two words back… which also made him feel strangely relieved. Everything appeared so… normal. Just as it should be.

"See?" Yanagisawa snapped at him. "It didn't hurt, did it? Nice to meet you, Himura-san."

He nodded, pretending that he didn't hear the mockery. After all, he partially deserved it. Not for the first time, he started to wonder - Why did I make a fuss about it? Not giving my name to anybody… why do I even bother? Red hair and a cross-shaped scar… when people recognize me, it's usually -if not always- not because of my name.

* * *

As soon as Kenshin put his sword away - much to his reluctance; his instincts were screaming loud in protest as he was laying the weapon down - Reiko led him to the kitchen and promptly started to prepare a light meal. It was already too late for a normal supper.

The bright kitchen fire chased the remaining shadows away. It was actually the first time that Kenshin could take a good look at Yanagisawa's face. He was a bit surprised to discover she looked about thirty-five, maybe even forty - her voice definitely sounded younger. She wasn't exactly the type of woman to make men's hearts and bodies ache with desire, or even make them turn round in the street (Kenshin hated it when men turned round after him and it happened way too often…), but she was still quite pretty, even though her age was already showing through a couple of small wrinkles, mostly around her eyes.

"Don't just stand there," Reiko suddenly snapped at him, shoving a small bowl of tofu into his hands. "Make yourself useful."

"Um…" he stared at the curd, as if seeing it for the first time in his life. "…What exactly do you want me to do?"

She rolled her eyes. "Just slice it up, would you…" it sounded more like an order than a request. "Make the pieces this thick. Men…" she mumbled under her breath, yet loudly enough to be heard. "All good for nothing."

Whatever Kenshin felt like saying, he didn't actually dare to say. He obediently did as he had been told, dividing the tofu in into neat, even slices.

* * *

The meal passed in silence, which neither of the two seemed to mind. Yamagata was calmly seeping her tea, occasionally looking up to watch her strange guest eat. Kenshin kept his head low, ignoring the long bangs that were constantly falling into his eyes. He didn't exactly know why, but every time he could sense Reiko's gaze resting upon him, he felt nervous, as if he were in serious trouble. Just like a small kid caught red-handed with a package of fireworks. …Now that he thought about it, he did manage to get some fireworks once. He was eight back then and when his shishou found out about them, he…

Kenshin blinked, snapping out of his memories. Daydreaming in front of anybody wasn't something a hitokiri would do very often.

Ah, but the similarity between this woman and his master was simply disturbing.

When the supper was over, Yanagisawa quickly washed up the dishes. Wiping her hands on a clean rug, she turned to her guest. "All right, it's already a bit late and you're probably quite tired…" She wouldn't have been herself if she didn't add afterwards: "And even if you are not, I most certainly am, so let's just put everything else off until tomorrow." Kenshin nodded, feeling relieved. He had been afraid that he would be forced to listen in to some mindless chatter, or, worse still, talk about himself. "Himura-san?" he heard her surprisingly nice voice. "I'll show you your room," she said, grabbing the nearest candle. "Please, try to be quiet. The children are asleep, I don't want you to wake them."

Kenshin didn't have to try to be quiet; to the former shadow assassin being quiet was as natural as breathing. Reiko led him down the hallway and finally, after taking two more turns, they stopped before a closed shoji. In a sudden display of proper manners, she knelt beside the door and pulled it aside. Kenshin blinked, wondering what on earth he had done to deserve such a change in the treatment he received. All she did before was to insult him… and now she was suddenly treating him like a man. Slightly confused - but very reluctant to ask - he stepped inside.

The room was quite big and flawlessly clean, yet almost completely barren, except for a small table and a couple of decorative scrolls that hung on the walls. Somewhere behind Kenshin's back Reiko spoke- "I'm sorry it looks like this, but I wasn't expecting any guests, you know," she explained quietly, sounding genuinely concerned for the first time. "Anyway, make yourself at home. I'll be right back, I have to bring a spare futon for you. Just stay quiet." With these words she slid the shoji back into place, leaving her guest alone.

Kenshin's eyes adjusted to the darkness in a couple of seconds. He swept his gaze over the scrolls, but he didn't find them very interesting. Not that it really mattered; the room was still one of the best - if not the very best - he had seen in a year. Listening to the sound of rain pounding mercilessly against the wooden roof, the wanderer suddenly felt extremely glad that he had found this place.

Kenshin attempted a small smile - a real smile - but it vanished quickly as soon as he heard Yanagisawa's footsteps in the hallway. She had five children; he knew, even though she hadn't told him yet. He didn't have to concentrate very deep to feel their ki - some warm and flickering, like small candles in a gentle breeze; the others hot and steady, obviously belonging to the older ones. Kenshin suspected that two of the children were twins, but he wasn't so sure about it; the difference in their ki was noticeable.

There was also one unfamiliar adult in the house, a man. This puzzled the ex-hitokiri a bit, since his hostess insisted that her husband was absent. Was this man Reiko's lover, then? Her friend? Or maybe another guest or a servant? Ever since Kenshin's arrival, he had been asleep - old habits die hard and the former assassin had found himself checking up on him every five minutes - and he didn't seemed much of a threat. He didn't even posses a warrior's ki. Not that it made Kenshin feel any better, he still felt that he would need to keep an eye on this man. It was ridiculous, yes, he knew… but he couldn't help it.

Side effect of the Bakumatsu, of course. Kenshin had grown up during the revolution; the war had shaped him into the man he was now. And there was definitely something wrong with him, with the way his thoughts run, with the way he acted.

Maybe he wasn't running around with foam on his mouth and a sword in his hand, chopping off random heads and slaughtering innocent people, like it was customary for some other hitokiri. Maybe he wasn't slicing his wrists open, every night, just to feel the pain and watch the blood flow - he had heard of such cases, too. Maybe he didn't talk to himself. Maybe he didn't starve and pray for days. Maybe…

He wasn't foolish enough to believe that just because he didn't do any of these things, he was perfectly normal. He was far from normal. Normal people, for instance, don't spend their lives frantically searching for any traces of hostility. Normal people aren't shocked when they find none.

Kenshin seriously doubted if he would ever be able to feel at ease in other person's company.

Reiko returned, slightly bent under the weight of the futon. Kenshin helped her with the door, took the candle out of her hand.

"I'm sorry, Yanagisawa-san. I shouldn't have let you carry it around by yourself, it's heavy."

"Too late," she replied, carefully putting everything down. "Besides, it's no problem, really." Again, this politeness, which contrasted so sharply with her previous behavior, nearly stunned him. Before he could react, the woman made her way towards to door. "You can take a bath early in the morning, if you wish; the children are usually asleep till seven, so they shouldn't bother you."

"Thank you very much, Yanagisawa-san." he bowed very deeply. "Good night."

"You're welcome. Sleep well, Himura-san."

He smiled at her.

…Normal people, he was sure of it, weren't afraid of falling asleep.

End of Chapter 1

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Next time on Rurouni Years:

"Yanagisawa-san said these kids weren't up before seven! And was trying to take a bath in here! Argh! What are you doing with my towel, you little- W-wait………!!!"

Author's Notes: Okay, I realize that this chapter was boring… I can't promise the next one will be better, but I will certainly try my best (not that 'my best' means anything…) (What's up with this pessimistic mood!? …Ah, it's probably because school starts on Thursday… …Nooooo!!! I don't want to! Who said I needed higher education!?)

Ekhem, back to the fic… There may be some OOCness and inconsistency in Kenshin's behavior, but remember that he's an incredibly complex character, composed of many different elements: gentleness, honor, humbleness… but also anger, fear or guilt. He's full of contradictions - silly in one moment, terrifying in the next. And do we really know anything about Kenshin the wanderer? The one who has yet to change from a paranoid, antisocial assassin into a gentle, patient man? I would definitely expect him to have at least some mood swings…

Last but not least: I've been learning English for a couple of years, but I'm still nowhere as good as a native speaker… (Well, I own a Cambridge certificate that says I am, but that's just rubbish.) Anyway, sometimes it's quite hard to remember the correct tense or phrase, and not everything can be found in a dictionary. Please, if you see any mistakes, no matter how small and insignificant, e-mail me. It may take you a couple of minutes, but you'll have my undying gratitude… ^__^ Thanks!