"Two paths crossing: A new neighbor" Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or ANY of the characters therein. Those characters are copyrights of Watsuki Nobuhiro and/or Sony, etc… In short, They aren't mine.
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A Girl in the morning


Sanosuke stepped out of the doorway of one of Tokyo's most notorious gamblers, into the cool morning air. His pockets were considerably less heavy than they had been when he entered. He drew in the crisp morning air, and sighed.

"Eh Sano, maybe next time you should bring some more money, Ha, ha, ha." One of Sanosuke's friends said, walking by.

"Mah, next time I'll bring less, so you won't go home so rich!" Sano laughingly retorted, hiding a little anger. He adjusted his shirt, and proceeded down the street toward his small residence. He had been up all night gambling and had lost almost everything he had. Now, mostly broke, Sano walked casually down the street toward the Intersection that would soon be the busiest street in the whole of Tokyo. "Man I gotta stop doing this, all my money is gone……. I can't ask Tae or Jo-Chan for anymore money." As he approached the corner, he stopped and looked up at the dimming stars in the morning sky. Those stars always reminded him of Sekihou Tai, and of Sagara. Absently, Sano grinned a bit.

His thoughts were broken by a few men down the street. Sano looked down toward them. Four guys had surrounding a young woman in a kimono. He couldn't hear what they were saying. "I suppose this ain't my business…" He thought, starting to turn the other direction. As he turned, he noticed a small glimmer. "A sword!" He thought. "The biggest one is pulling a sword."

"Heh" Sano breathed out a small hiss of air, as if to say, 'this is gonna be trouble'. He bolted down the street, the girl and her attackers some thirty meters away. As he ran, the situation worsened, the one with the sword was attacking her now and two more had drawn their swords. Sano let out a fearsome, awe inspiring roar. Two of the guys looked back toward him. The girl was dodging the big guy's sword attacks. Sano long jumped toward the two other men with swords. Doing a split in mid air, he kicked both of them directly in the face, landing with a slide. "What an entrance." He thought to himself. He stood up and made ready to go after the big guy, when the smallest man stepped in his way.

"Are you trying to rescue the girl, what a sentimental cliché." The little guy said arrogantly.

"Heh, are you planning on fighting me with that little sword?" Sano said with even more arrogance.

"Were you planning on fighting me without one?" the little guy said, smirking.

"Mhmm, that was the plan." Sano said, punching his fists together. He poised himself to charge, when he was distracted by the young woman. The big guy swung down his sword toward her left leg. She straightened it. The sound of a finely crafted sword, hitting a solid metal object sounded crisply in the quiet of the morning. Almost instantly she countered with an elbow to his throat. The big guy went down with a deep thud. Both Sano and the little swordsman looked on in astonishment. The young woman brushed some dirt from her pale blue and gold Kimono. She looked up at the little swordsman.

"Well?" She said to him. He looked around at his friends, the big guy lying on the ground coughing and holding his throat, and the other two, lying on their backs, out cold.

"Looks like you got more trouble than you wanted." Sano said, enticing a sneer from the little swordsman. "Why don't you go on home, baby?" Sano said matching the swordsman's sneer. The swordsman launched himself at Sano, putting his sword in front of him. Sano made a perfect dodge to the left. But the young man's sword followed, forcing Sano to jump.

"Hah, don't you know you're defenseless in the air, chicken head!!" The swordsman yelled swinging his sword upward at Sano.

The sword was deflected by the handle of a garden tool. The young man stood staring at the girl holding the tool. She immediately turned it, hitting him business end first, in the face, and knocking him for a loop. Sano landed a second later. The swordsman slid backward crashing into a pile of old wood scraps. He looked over at the young woman in the kimono. She was quite lovely; her light brown hair was drawn up into a high ponytail. What little wasn't pulled back was cut straight across her forehead. Her kimono's main color was navy blue, with golden trim, and golden flowers down one side. She walked lightly over, and replaced the garden tool from where she found it.

"You're not so bad." Sano said, walking up to her.

"Thank you, and thank you for your help." She said, bowing. Sano got a fleeting glance of a small scar on her forehead. She never looked him directly in the face. "Good day." She ended, turning her back to him. He noticed two more on either side of her neck.

"Oi, wait up a minute." Sano said, running after her. He caught up and started walking backward, facing her as she walked forward.

"Why where those guys attacking you?" Sano asked.

"It would probably have something to do with taking my money." She replied

"Mm, so, where did you learn to fight so well?" Sano said, as smooth and suave as he could.

"My father taught me self defense." She said, again in a conclusive tone. Sano smiled widely.

"That seemed a bit too offensive to be self defense." Sano said, smirking.

"It doesn't really matter whether you believe me or not, it's true." She responded, getting a little annoyed.

"So…I haven't seen you in Tokyo before, do you live here or are you just passing through?" Sano asked, turning around to face the same direction as she was.

"I'll be living in Tokyo for a while, but I never stay anywhere for very long." She replied, even more annoyed.

"Where were you from?" Sano said. The woman stopped, letting Sano take a few steps ahead. He stopped and looked back at her.

"Is this an interrogation, or are you just that nosy?" The woman said.

"Heh, I was just wondering where in Japan a girl could get so beautiful." Sano said, winking at her. She was unimpressed.

"Look, I thank you for your help, but I must go, I have someplace to be. She said, bowing again. With that she turned and walked off into the morning mist.

A new neighbor


"She was really that good?" Kaoru asked, looking somewhat shocked.

"Yeah, She took out two of em'." Sanosuke replied, leaning back and crossing his arms behind his head. Kaoru was still sitting with the look of semi-shock on her face.

"And you didn't even get her name? What a loser, Yah ha ha ha" Yahiko said boldly.

"SHUT UP!!! She didn't give me time." Sano barked back, grabbing Yahiko by the collar.

Kenshin was washing laundry but as usual, nothing gets by Kenshin. He scrubbed and listened to the three talk.

"What I can't figure out is why she didn't get injured by the sword hitting her leg?" Sano said leaning forward. "It was a solid hit, it should've cut her leg." He said dipping his head in thought.

"That must've been some self defense she learned." Kaoru said.

"Ohh!" Sano looked up in surprise. "One other thing, She had a few scars." Kenshin's attention was momentarily drawn from his dirty clothes. "One on her forehead running into her hairline, and one on either side of her neck." Sano finished. A cold chill ran over Kenshin. "Scars… One on the forehead running into the hairline,…and one on either side of the neck…it couldn't be…" Kenshin thought, quickly dismissing the idea. "I'm getting too paranoid…it's probably a coincidence."

"Ken-nitan," "Oro!?"

"you stopped?" Suzume said, tilting her head a bit to the left. Kenshin looked over at the tilt headed young girl, then down at the laundry.

"Ahh, so I did," he said with a smile on his face. Kaoru had lived with Kenshin too long to miss that clue. Kenshin's mind doesn't wander so far that he zones out, unless it's about something important. So now Kenshin was a bit worried, and Kaoru was also worried for Kenshin. As for Sano, Yahiko Ayame and Suzume, they remained happily clueless.

"Kenshin, do you think there's something to this?" Kaoru asked him. Kenshin looked up with his usual squinted eye smile.

"I was just wondering how she could've gotten those scars." He said. Kaoru was not fully convinced that Kenshin was telling her the whole truth. Since they had first met, Kenshin often omitted certain important pieces of information because he didn't want Kaoru to be mad, sad, worried, or involved. Kaoru knew Kenshin's Ki could read the emotional state of an opponent, and it could be used on almost anyone. She decided, since she would never be able to develop such an ability, She would hone her Ki to being able to read one man's emotional state, Kenshin's. On this occasion she knew Kenshin was hiding something.

"That isn't all, is it Kenshin." She said, climbing to her feet and walking deliberately over to him. "What else do you know?" She said putting her hands on her hips and looking down on the frightened Rurouni.

"Oro?" He replied innocently. Kaoru didn't buy it.

"Kenshin!!!" She said sternly. "You're hiding something aren't you Kenshin. C'mon, lets hear it." She finished.

"Kaoru Dono, it's nothing really." Kenshin smiled as he rose to his feet. "I just think it's terrible for anyone to have scars, especially a young woman." He said, laying his hand on Kaoru's shoulder. Since he'd met her Kenshin had always had a hard time getting Kaoru to listen to reason sometimes. In these moments, Kenshin often thought of how much easier it would be if he had charm rather than Ken Ki.

"Kaoru, give it up, even if he did know something else, he'll never tell you." Yahiko said boldly. "He knows you worry too much."

A vein popped from Kaoru's head. "He won't tell you either!!" She said childishly.

"Mah, mah, I don't know anything about her." Kenshin said trying to preserve the peace.

"Know anything about who?" Megumi asked walking through the gate to the rear of the Kamiya home.

"Megumi Dono, it's nothing really, Sano just…" Kenshin started only to be interrupted by Yahiko.

"Sanosuke ran into a girl this morning, she was in a fight with these guys with swords. She was able to defend against a sword." He said excitedly.

"He said she had some scars, and I think Kenshin knows something." Kaoru added.

"Hmm," Megumi said after a brief pause, "I guess that would be Yui San." The others stared with a look of confusion.

"You know her, Megumi?" Sano asked.

"Yes," She replied, "She came in to have me look at her hand, she had fallen and was afraid she had broken a bone. I noticed the scars and asked about them, but she didn't seem to want to talk about it, so I didn't pry." Megumi finished. Sano picked up on the hand injury.

"What had she done to her hand?" He asked her.

"It was just a bruise, not too bad, why do you ask." Megumi answered. Sano grinned.

"She didn't fall, she hurt her hand hitting someone in the face with a garden tool." He said.

"Just how would you know that?" Megumi snapped back at him. Sano stood up and grinned.

"I saw her fight." Sano said. "Four guys with swords jumped her, she nailed one of 'em with a garden hoe." Megumi looked at him not knowing whether to believe him or laugh at him. "One guy took a swing at her leg, but, somehow, she blocked it." Sano finished.

"Hmm, She didn't say anything about a wound on her leg." Megumi thought aloud. Ayame and Suzume, as usual, had gotten bored with the adult's conversation.

"Ken-nitan," Ayame started. "When will you fix our meal? I'm hungry."

"Hungry!" Suzume repeated. Kenshin knelt down beside Ayame.

"Ayame Dono, I'll start right away, but I need to go buy some tofu." He said. The frown, added to the protruding lower lip, made it clear Ayame didn't want to wait.

"Ayame Chan, how about we go to the Akabeko?" Sano said.

"And were you planning on paying?" Megumi asked, knowing full-well, the answer she'd get.

"Of course!" Sano barked back.

"Oh so you have money?" Megumi asked, again knowing the answer.

"Sure…I can pay it back to Jou-Chan when I get it."

"But, I only have enough money to take Me, Kenshin, Ayame Chan , and Suzume Chan." Kaoru said. Sano sat down cross-legged on the dirt.

"Oh, well, in that case…" He looked up to Megumi.

"Ha, don't expect me to pay for your meals, go and get a job, chicken boy." Megumi said, laughing.

"At least I ain't cheap! If I had it I'd…"

"You'd blow it all rolling dice, and losing." Megumi interrupted.

"Well, I don't…"

"Mah, mah, I think I can cover Sano." Kenshin intervened, looking through his wallet. Megumi and Sano turned and faced away from each other.

"Yay, we're going to the Akabeko!!" Ayame and Suzume shouted together

A new face at the Akabeko


"The lines here are getting terrible!" Yahiko complained, crossing his arms.

"I guess Akabeko is getting popular." Kaoru said, fanning herself. It was spring in Tokyo. The weather was always strange this time of year, cool mornings, and hot days. Sano had given up on the line moving anytime soon, and was sitting on the ground. Megumi was leaning against the building, Yahiko and Kenshin were leaning back to back against each other. A meek voice poked its way through the crowd at the door.

"Yahiko…Yahiko Kun." Tsubame squeezed out from a few people. She trotted over to Yahiko. Yahiko stepped toward her, and away from Kenshin.

"Tsubame?" Yahiko said. "Oro!" Kenshin fell backward.

"I'm very sorry Yahiko Kun, we're so busy." She said, bowing to the party.

"Yeah, what's going on Tsubame?" Yahiko asked.

"We're running specials all day, because of our new chef."

"New chef?" Kenshin asked crawling to his feet.

"Yes, she's very good. Oh, I'm sorry, I have to get back to work." Tsubame bowed and squirmed back through the entrance.


The line steadily grew shorter, until they were at least in the shade. This was the busiest the Akabeko had been for quite some time.

"We're next!" Sano and Yahiko said, practically drooling. The line outside had grow since they came. Half the people in Tokyo had to be eating there. While standing they had heard everyone who had eaten that the new chef was excellent, and Sano and Yahiko were ready to see for themselves.

Tsubame turned the corner, a huge smile on her small face.

"Yahiko Kun, I can seat you now." She said, knowing the joy it would bring him and Sano. The group made their way to their table and seated themselves.

"I will be back in a moment to take your order." The smiling Tsubame said, turning and hurrying away toward the kitchen. They all sat down and started to settle in.

"Girl!" A man said, angrily, grabbing Tsubame by the hand.

"What's this? I didn't order chicken, I ordered beef!" The man yelled at her, squeezing her hand.

"I'm sorry, p…please let go of my hand." Tsubame pleaded.

"Is this the kind of service I get here!" The man yelled, squeezing her hand even harder.

Ahh, Please… s…stop, that hurts." Tsubame said, almost in tears.

"I think you need to concentrate on your job more, brat!" The man said starting to swing his hand up to smack her. Kenshin, Yahiko, Sano, Kaoru, and Megumi all bolted for the man. But before they could get up, someone else stopped him.

The man looked up in surprise at the hand holding his arm, and keeping him from slapping the 'brat'.

"If you would let her go, she could fix the problem." A woman with an apron on said. Sano instantly recognized her, the girl he met that morning. She squeezed his arm hard, he let go of Tsubame, who fell back holding her aching hand. The apron woman dropped the man's arm.

"I'm very sorry, but I…" Her statement was cut off by a slap attempt. She caught his hand before he even got half way through his swing.

"I think you need to calm down." She said, again dropping the man's hand. The man gritted his teeth.

"I want to see the owner!" He said loudly.

"Tsubame Chan, go and bring Tae San." The woman in the apron ordered. Tsubame got up and minced to the kitchen. Tae was already on her way. She took off her apron, and made her way to the table.

"I own the Akabeko sir, what is the problem." She asked, trying to keep a smile on her face.

"This brat brought me the wrong order!" He said pointing at his plate.

"What did you order?"

"Beef teriyaki, not chicken!" He said as if it were a capitol offense.

"Beef?" The woman in the apron said. "Then that was my mistake, not hers."

"I don't care, I wanted beef, I got chicken. I should get my next meal free." He said. The apron woman looked at his with disbelief.

"You don't deserve it!" She said loudly. "I was…" Tae raised her hand in front of the woman's face. Her semi smile was gone.

"I would give you a meal free except that you may have seriously injured my best waitress, for no good reason. I'm afraid if you want to eat here, you'll have to pay." She said turning away from him.

"What! This is…you can't…YOU BITCH!" He screamed. Tae turned back toward him. "On second thought, You can't eat here anymore, please leave." She said bluntly. Kenshin read the man's next move, to draw a hidden kodachi and slash Tae. He put his hand on his Sakabatou, But he read something else, the woman with the apron. She was planning to draw the butcher knife she had by her side and make an attack. The attack was very cloudy, Kenshin couldn't tell if the woman wanted to kill him or just scare him. The woman drew her knife from her left hip, and swung it up at the man's throat, stopping right as the blade touched his skin. He stopped. Kenshin stood in shock. Kaoru noticed too, but She didn't have the same well developed Ki as Kenshin. She was able to brush it off as a coincidence. But Kenshin didn't have that luxury. Her attack was the same…as his Battou Jutsu. Her kenjutsu was the same as his, Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.

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