The Footnotes:
Though I imagine not many would be interested in reading this, I had earlier promised that I'd include a more detailed account of the creative process that went into the characters, story and setting used for Hiko's backstory. It was such an extensive process that i had to publish it. But they were too long to be included in the Author's notes, so I added a separate chapter for them. I'll list them point-wise for each of the principal characters. Note that I tend to get carried away with my explanations.
I: Hiko Seijuro XII:
1)The first thing I had decided for Hiko's backstory is that his master should contrast him in a similar manner to how he contrasted Kenshin. That meant, first of all, that he would have a physique that was diminutive compared to his pupil.
I personally never liked the subplot Watsuki tacked on at the end of the manga that said Kenshin's body was deteriorating thanks to the Hiten Mitsurugi and that he would no longer be able to use it by the age of 33. I get the feeling he wrote that largely to symbolise that Kenshin had left his violent past behind and was living in times of peace. Nevertheless it's hard for me to accept the explanation that the Hiten Mitsurugi was meant to be used only by men like Hiko XIII; it just seems too much of a coincidence to think that all 13 Hikos were hulking giants with bodies resembling pro wrestlers or bodybuilders.
That's why I decided that at least a few of the Hikos were normal sized men. They could slow down the deterioration(as Hiko XII has done) by exercising and packing on as much muscle as possible on their smaller frames(If you've noticed, not only is Kenshin small, but he also has practically no muscle mass. Kaoru looks more muscular than him. Maybe this is the part of his training that he skipped out on when he left to join the Ishin Shishi, seeing how he already knew all the techniques apart from the succession technique.). And they wouldn't have to worry about not being able to use the Hiten Mitsurugi in their later years, because by then they'd already have passed on the techniques and died. I decided to have him at the same age was Hiko XIII was when he passed on the succession technique(43).
2)Hiko XII also contrasts his pupil in terms of personality. His nature is closer to Kenshin than Hiko XIII. He's polite, humble and soft-spoken(but still strict when it comes to training). He's stoic in nature, though those who are close to him will see a softer side of him. While Kyouta has more rough tastes like sake, pottery and sculpting, his master appreciates finer things in life like poetry, philosophy and calligraphy(it's intended that Hiko XIII got his philosophical side from his master). He is also somewhat religious, as shown.
By the way, the part where one of the thugs asks Hiko who he is has a special status for the Hikos. Hiko XIII replied "No point introducing myself to one who is about to die." The Hiko Seijuro from the oneshot manga Crescent Moon in the Warring States(set in the same continuity but in an earlier era) replied "One who has become your enemy." Naturally, I decided that this scene had to be there for Hiko XII as well, with his own unique reply. Seeing as how he's supposed to be more polite, he actually does reveal his name, though it doesn't do his opponents any good.
3)As for his backstory; originally I had intended him to be a young Shinto priest-in-training who was saved from a massacre by the previous Hiko and raised as a swordsman, hence accounting for his religious side. Afterwards I decided that at some point he served as a samurai. Ultimately, I discarded his priestly origin for the samurai one.
In the current incarnation, he is the eldest son of a respectable samurai family who quit his feudal lord's service at the age of 18 because he could not bring himself to be part of the oppression the samurai class inflicted on the peasantry. He became a Ronin and wandered the land seeking a purpose. Soon after beginning his wandering, he encountered a group of samurai abusing their authority on some peasants. He tried to intervene, but was branded a traitor, attacked and seriously injured. He was saved by a passing old monk who took him to his shrine. When he regained consciousness and told the monk his story the latter asked him whether he was seeking forgiveness (for the deeds he committed as a samurai). He replied that he wanted a way to redeem himself, but as a lone man he lacked the power to protect the weak. Then the monk reveals himself as Hiko Seijuro XI(who retired from life as a swordsman and pledged to spend his remaining says in the service of god after his previous pupil failed the final test and died) and offers to give him the power he needs. So the reason he later chooses to settle down at a shrine with Kyouta is because it reminds him of his own training days.
In hindsight, Hiko XII's backstory came out as more interesting than Hiko XIII's. Maybe I'll write a fic about him someday.
II: Hiko Seijuro XIII/Kyouta:
1)The only things we know about Kenshin's master from the manga are that he's rude, arrogant and dislikes human contact. And that he tends to get philosophical about matters related to life and death, as if he's seen a lot in relation those things. The first thing I decided on was his name. I wanted a name that meant either 'great strength' or 'strong heart'. I received a few helpful suggestions from raberbagirl, ScarredSwordHeart and someone else, but ultimately decided on 'Kyouta', which I derived from Kenshin's original name 'Shinta'. When written right it means 'great strength'. It doesn't sound authentic, but it's the only name that sounded appealing to me.
2)I decided that Kyouta's backstory should have parallels with Shinta's and at the same time be different in the details. I puzzled out the various details through careful consideration. Firstly, he was only 24 years old when he met Kenshin, I concluded that like Kenshin/Shinta he was likely still a child when he met his master. Taking up a sword at such a young age meant that he was likely an orphan like Shinta. By extension I decided to make him the sole survivor of a massacre. Since Shinta's party was massacred by bandits, I decided to have Kyouta's camp massacred by their opposites; namely the Shogunate samurai. I also wanted him to have some past history as a fighter before he met Hiko XII, so I copied from Sanosuke's history and made him a child soldier in a rebel group.
3)Finally, the scene where he muses on the taste of sake in front of Kenshin was my initial inspiration for this fic, and I decided to make the whole fic a flashback for Hiko rather than just writing it in a normal structure.
4)One last thing; in many fics Hiko XIII's sword is assumed to be the Fuyutsuki('Winter Moon') nodachi that was wielded by the character Hiko from Crescent Moon in the Warring States. While the precursor Hiko did claim that Fuyutsuki was an heirloom of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū, and its appearance was identical to Hiko XIII's sword, there's no indication in the manga that this is true, and moreover I can't believe that such a sword would survive centuries of non-stop battle and still be in a useable condition by the time it came into Hiko XIII's hands. So here I've made no mention of the Fuyutsuki; Hiko XIII uses an ordinary, nameless nodachi.
Final notes: The main reason I wrote this fic was because apart from The Path to the Sword by Kat I had never read a satisfactory origin story for Hiko. I had hoped to write a high calibre fic, but this has ultimately failed to meet my expectations. My mental ideas of Hiko, his master and their story have changed considerably from the time I finished this fic. I intend to write a second origin story sometime in the future. Thank you for reading this.
I would very much like to know what your opinions of this fic are and whether you have any suggestions for how it could have been done better. So please review.