Mirai

Disclaimer: Sessha does not own the anime rurouni kenshin or any of it's character.
'Although it would be nice too....* sniff sniff *'
They all belong to the great Watsuki Nobuhiro.


Unexpected Visitor


It was a nice and bright day. Really. Until rain starting pouring from the heavens at the
most unexpected time.

Soujirou was just enjoying walking by a river when it started raining.

'You have to be kidding me.' He hastened his pace to find shelter. Luckily, he managed to
find a cave like structure, beneath a tree.

Soujirou could not help but feel cornered by his thought. It was times like this that
Soujirou hated. Waiting, alone. It leaves you with nothing to do but to think. Which was
the one thing Soujirou had a lot of trouble doing.

It has been eight years, eight very long years. Soujirou was now twenty six. Yet, he still
has his ever boyish face.

'Two more years, then, what will I find? What did I hope to find in the first place. How
can I be sure that I would find my truth at the end of the ten years? What if the answer I
find is not the one I want?' Soujirou could not help but to keep his emotions from over
running his mind sometimes. Even after so many years, Soujirou still had the habit of
locking up his emotions and thoughts once in a while.

'Even after all this traveling, I don't think I have changed much, have I? Maa. If
Shishio-san was here, I'd probably get punished for me getting myself into this mess.' He
laughed at his current state. His clothes were all torn, not to mention a little wet from
the rain, his skills probably rusty from the lack of practice, and if all that was not
enough, Soujirou was broke. He could not help but feel sorry for himself sometimes.

Soujirou watched as the rain slowly became a drizzle, all the time staring at the rays of
sunlight which managed to get past the dense leaves.

By the time the rain had stopped, the sun had already set. Soujirou decided to build a
fire, but discovered that the rain had dampened all the wood around the area.

'This is not my day.' Soujirou went back to his little cave. He gathered some dried up
leaves from his shelter and started a small fire.

'I hope this is enough to last the night.' Not wanting to sit there and do nothing the
whole night, the boy got up and went to the river which was not far away.

'I wonder what Shishio-san would do to me if he finds out what I have been doing with my
sword skills.' Soujirou laughed, and then went to catch himself some dinner.

As soon as he got back and had eaten his food, Soujirou went through his usual practice.
Amazingly, Soujirou found the patience to start from the beginning. Since he had no one to
spar with, he just does katas and other exercises to build up his speed and stamina more.
Even though the only time he uses his speed and swiftness nowadays is when he is catching
his meals.

Soon after his practice, Soujirou set aside a small place by the fire, and soon fell
asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Faster, and use your arm more!" Shishio shouted at the poor boy who was getting drenched
in the rain while he himself sat beneath a shelter with Yumi by his side.

"Hai Shishio-san!" The ten year old boy took a deep breath once again before continuing
his practice.

"Don't you think you are being a little hard on him?" Yumi whispered.

"No, I have high hopes for him. This boy does not know his limits. Right now, all he wants
to accomplish is to be stronger. That's why I'm pushing him to his limits, even if he does
not know it." Shishio said.

"I see."

They both watched as the boy continued to practice in the rain.


Soujirou laid in his futon that night, he was burning up. Yet, he did not want to let
anyone know of his situation. He wanted to be strong, so no one would be able to take
advantage of him ever again.

The little boy curled up in his futon, trying to get some warmth from it. Soujirou lay in
bed that night shivering, crying himself to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are?!" The former tenken woke with a start. Surprised at what he had just experienced.

'Is this what people call a dream? If it is, I don't want to know what they call a
nightmare.' Soujirou, having lost his appetite, packed up his belongings and went on his
way.

Soujirou walked towards the entrance of the forest. He followed the road, walking till he
reached the next town.


At first, Soujirou could not believe his eyes.

'How did I get here?' Before him, was Tokyo. The busy town was bustling of people, its
streets looked like a river of colors, people were haggling with the street vendors,
smiling as they got a discount. Soujirou weaved his way through the crowd, unsure of where
he may end up later.

'Since I'm here, maybe I should pay a visit to Himura-san. Or would I disrupt his life that
way?' Soujirou thought about it for a while, and decided to visit his old 'friend'.

Soujirou walked into a restaurant, hoping to find out from someone if anyone around here
knew of a man known as Himura Kenshin.

"Irrashimase!" A waitress made her way towards Soujirou as soon as she spotted Soujirou
by the entrance. She was a little shorter then Soujirou was, and had shoulder length hair.

"You would have to wait if you want to eat here; it's packed today and..." She stopped as
she noticed Soujirou waving his hand.

"Aa. Gomen, I just want to know if you know where Himura Kenshin lives."

"Himura-san? Why sure, he lives in the Kamiya Dojo, it isn't far from here, but I'm busy
right now, so I can't bring you there." Tsubame answered.

"Oi, Tsubame, I need you help here, mind coming back to help." A boy emerged from behind
her. He was a little taller then Soujirou, and had very spiky brown hair.

"Aa, Yahiko-kun, good, you're here. Do you mind bringing this boy to the Kamiya Dojo?"
Tsubame asked.

'Boy?' Soujirou's face paled.

"I don't mind, but do you think you can handle the work here? There is still a lot of work
to be done." Yahiko asked as he handed Tsubame his tray, and removed his apron.

"It's alright, I'll manage." Yahiko blushed as Tsubame smiled at him.

"Aa. Will you wait here for a while, I need to get my things at the back first." Yahiko
said.

"Hai. Sorry for the trouble." Soujirou stood there and waited for the boy to return.

Yahiko came back out with his shinai tied to his back.

"Let's go. I need to get back here soon to help Tsubame with the dishes." Yahiko said, half
dragging Soujirou by his collar as he ran.

"Matte kudasai." Soujirou straightened himself as Yahiko stopped and had let go of Soujirou.

"Hurry, I don't have all day." The boy said tapping his foot.

"Aa." The blue clad boy held back his laughter as he followed the boy.

Both walked side by side till they reached the bridge.

"So, what do you want with Kenshin?" Yahiko said, not turning to face Soujirou.

"I was just traveling and found myself here. So, since I am here, I think it will be rude
of me not to come by and visit Himura-san." Soujirou smiled at the boy, who finally turned
to look at his companion.

The continued walking until they were almost at the dojo.

"You seem kind of familiar, do I know you?" Yahiko asked.

"I don't believe we have met, but I don't think Himura-san would have told you much about me."
Soujirou, kept his pace with the boy's, half wondering why he was slowing down.

"Aa, so, what's you name?" Yahiko asked.

"Seta, Seta Soujirou." The former assassin turned to smile at the boy, only to feel the
boy's shinai connect with his head.

"Tenken. What do you want with Kenshin. Haven't you already caused enough trouble in the
past?" Yahiko jumped back as soon as he attacked the poor, confused, and now hurting boy.

"Maa maa, I didn't come to find trouble, I just came to visit Himura-san like I said."
Soujirou stood up and placed his hand on his head. 'He must be the one who had defeated
Hennya. Now I know why he won. With a stroke like that, I don't think any normal human
being can survive it.'

"Why should I trust you?" Yahiko yelled, drawing attention to both of them.

"I'm not drawing my katana am I? If you want, you can keep it with you. I don't plan on
drawing it any time soon." Soujirou proceeded to untie his katana which has been hanging
at his side up until now. He stretched out his hand and gave his katana to Yahiko.

Yahiko, not letting his guard down, took the katana from the boy's hand and held it in his
hand.

"Fine, but if you try anything,..." Yahiko said in a threatening tone.

"I can't and I won't. Trust me."

"I find it very hard to do." Yahiko continued walking.

"It's alright, I understand." Soujirou caught up with the other boy in no time.


It wasn't very long before the both of them reached the dojo.

* Crash! *

"Tadaima!" Yahiko shouted, before bending down to catch a miniature Kenshin in his arms.

"Huh? Himura-san, what happened to you?" Soujirou said to the red-headed boy in Yahiko's
arms.

The boy only giggled before he began pulling at the former tenken's hair.

The blue clad boy could only laugh.

"Oi, busu, come and get your son!" Yahiko yelled into the dojo.

'Son?' Soujirou shifted his eyes to find a girl, running out of the dojo. She had long
black hair, and was wearing a yellow kimono.

"Aa, Kenji, let go of the boy's hair this instant!" Kamiya, or should I say, Himura Kaoru
came running out of the dojo with a broom in hand.

By the time Kaoru managed to dislodge Kenji from Soujirou's hair, the boy's head was
already hurting.

'Second time today. I wonder if a third is going to happen again?' Soujirou could only
laugh as he rubbed his head again.

With her son safe in her arms, Kaoru bowed and apologized to Soujirou.

"Daijoubu, I'm alright. Ano, I was wondering if I could speak to Himura-san?" His smile
widened as he choked back a laugh.

"Aa, please, come in. He's out buying some groceries at the moment." Kaoru guided Soujirou
into the dojo.

"Oi, tanuki, I have to go back to the restaurant now, it's very busy with the festival and
all. Ja ne!" With that, the boy dashed out of the dojo and ran back to the Akebeko. 'I hope
chicken head gets back early, if not, who knows what will happen if that guy loses his mind
again.'

"Aa, forgive the boy, he's always been like that." Kaoru then brought Soujirou into the
dojo and asked him to make himself at home. She then left Soujirou alone as soon as she
had gotten a cup of tea for him.She then dragged Kenji into his bath.

'Home...' Soujirou sighed as he sat down. 'I wish I could, but I don't know how it feels
like.'

He slowly sipped his tea.

"Tadaima."

Soujirou straightened himself as he heard a familiar voice.

"Aa. Kenshin, you have a visitor. Put the things in the kitchen first." Kaoru shouted as
she popped her head out of the toilet, half drenched.

"Hai." Kenshin did just that and walked through the hall before turning to enter the room
in which Soujirou had been sitting in while waiting for him. 'I wonder if it's Saitoh again.'

Kenshin opened the shoji, and stood there, a little surprised at who his guest was.

~*~*~*~*~

Aa...done. ne, minna-san, pls r&r and tell me what you think about the story so far.
Arigatou!