Disclaimer: I don't RK, neither do I own the characters in the anime or manga.

A/N: Soujirou and Kenji fic… For the benefit for those who don't know who Kenji is, he's Kenshin's and Kaoru's son. This fic is written under the pressure of my good friend, spas. Thanks to her, I was able to finish it.

~~

" Kenji, hurry up! Kenshin! I'm bringing Kenji along with me to the shops. This way you can get the laundry done. Kenji! Let's go NOW!"

Kaoru was hot and frustrated.

Kenji appeared around the corner, holding a bar of soap in his hands, running. Kenshin followed closely behind, trying to retrieve the soap.

Kaoru was exasperated.

"Kenshin, can't you even catch a nine-year old boy?"

"Oro....??"

Kenji grabbed the chance to run to his mother as his father looked up.

Kaoru gathered Kenji in her arms and returned the soap to her husband.

"Let's go Kenji." She sent him down, took his hand and walked out of the gate.

~~

Soujirou Seta walked down the familiar path, leading to Tokyo.

"Should I visit Himura-san? It's been ten years. But I shouldn't drop in uninvited. Besides, I might not be welcomed. I'll find something to eat first."

With that, he walked into the bustling city.

~~

Kaoru and Kenji walked along the river and headed for the city.

As they entered the crowded place, Kaoru made to carry Kenji to prevent him from getting lost. He resisted strongly, refusing to be treated like a baby. Kaoru gave up and let him be.

Suddenly, a man came out of nowhere and grabbed Kenji. Kaoru was too shocked to move. A shopkeeper who had been chasing the guy came forward but stopped when the "kidnapper" pulled out a knife and held it at Kenji's throat.

Tears welled up in Kaoru's eyes as she watched Kenji struggling to escape. Watching her own son being held hostage was too much for her. She looked around for help, but no one dared to move.

"Sorry ma'am. That drunkard ran out of my shop without paying for his food. I gave chase, naturally, but never expected this to happen... I'm terribly sorry." The shopkeeper explained helplessly.

Kaoru wasn't listening. She was afraid that if she did anything rash, Kenji would be harmed, but if she didn't do anything fast, Kenji might still be hurt.

~~

Soujirou heard a commotion at another lane nearby. He rushed to the scene but his view was blocked and couldn't see what was happening. Asking around, he found out that a young boy was held hostage and no one was doing anything.

He squeezed to the front of the crowd. Then,

"Himura-san?!"

Soujirou was stunned. This person looked exactly like Kenshin!

"No, wait. He's lacking some important things. There is no cross scar on his left cheek. This person is too short in stature. Himura-san's sword is missing also. This boy is too young to be Battousai. But he looks amazingly like Himura-san. Is he his son?"

Pushing the thought out of his mind, Soujirou was quick to realise that the drunkard did not have a strong grip on the boy. Acting quickly, he approached the man from his back, knocked the child out of his hands and hit him once more, rendering him unconscious.

~~

Kaoru was overwhelmed. She rushed forward and scooped the crying Kenji into her arms. Turning to the young stranger who had just rescued Kenji, she thanked him profusely.

~~

The police came shortly and captured the trouble maker and the crowd dispersed. Soujirou was still pondering over the resemblance the boy had with Kenshin. The only possible reason he could think of was the boy being Kenshin's son. If that was the case, then the lady thanking him must be Kenshin's wife, Kamiya Kaoru.

He explained to the lady that he was just a wanderer and happened to past by the area and see the commotion.

~~

Kaoru was reminded of Kenshin's past when the stranger mentioned being a wanderer. Feeling a rush of gratitude and familiarity towards the boy, she invited him back for lunch.

~~

Soujirou accepted the offer to go back to the lady's house for lunch. He was very curious to see whether the little boy was really Kenshin's son. As he followed them back, he took in the surroundings he had not seen for past ten years.

~~

Kaoru walked through the gates and shouted.

"Tadaima!"

Kaoru expected Kenshin to appear and welcome her back, but instead, Yahiko came in his place.

"Yahiko! When did you come back?"

"Just. Where's Kenshin?"

(Flashback to a few minutes ago: Sano drags a very reluctant Kenshin along to play dice, hoping the rurouni would give him some luck.)

"I have no idea. Looks like he left hurriedly without a note."

~~

Soujirou was quick to realise that he was standing in the Kamiya Dojo. So this lady was Kamiya Kaoru. Then that little boy had to be Kenshin's son.

He suddenly felt a surge of panic. These people might not like him to be in the house. After all, he had worked for Shishio Makoto and had a very fierce fight with Kenshin. They didn't know his identity now, if they did, would they welcome him?

Soujirou hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should leave. But then, Kaoru came over, grabbed him by his shoulders, and pushed him into the house forcefully.

~~

After settling the young boy in the hall, Kaoru noticed he looked very uneasy and uncomfortable. Assuming that he was uncomfortable being in a stranger's house, she sought to ease him by introducing herself.

"I am Kamiya Kaoru. I own this dojo. I am very thankful that you saved my son, Kenji, just now from that drunkard. My husband was also a wanderer, he has settled down now. I thought you would like to meet him, though I don't know where he is right now. I'm sure he'll be back soon. So stay for lunch. This is to thank you for the incident just now. Oh, this is my oldest disciple, Yahiko Myoujin."

She added the last line when Yahiko joined them in the room after making sure Kenji was having his afternoon nap.

~~

Soujirou digested all the information. So he had been correct.

To clear all doubts, he asked, "Is your husband, by any chance, Himura Kenshin?"

Soujirou feared the truth. When Kaoru nodded excitedly, his heart sank. Waves of panic started to engulf him. Truth would be the best option now. Kaoru would not let him leave without meeting Kenshin first.

"I... I... I'm... I'm Soujirou. Seta Soujirou."

He noted their first confused, then disbelieving expressions.

" Yes, I'm the Soujirou who worked for Shishio, the one in the Juppon Gutana. I'm sorry for my intrusion. I'll leave now."

He stood up, bowed respectably and walked away. When he was halfway across the courtyard, Yahiko shouted angrily at him.

"Nobody said you can go! You are a murderer. You killed Sir Okubo and helped Shishio kill even more!"

Soujirou was even more saddened by his past at this reminder. Though he had tried hard to make amends, just like Kenshin, guilt still haunted him.

Yahiko then unsheathed a seemingly familiar sword.

"Himura-san's?"

Yahiko nodded curtly and motioned Soujirou to draw his sword, indicating that he wanted to fight.

Soujirou shook his head and retreated. He did not want to fight anymore.

Yahiko's rage was building up and he soon let that accumulated anger fuel his attack, not caring whether Soujirou was ready. After years of training and practicing, he had improved a lot, in terms of agility, power and stamina.

Kaoru's disciples, who had been training in the dojo with Yutaro, heard Yahiko's shout and gathered around to watch. When Kaoru attempted to stop the fight, they stopped her, in fear of her getting injured.

The match was very much a one-sided one. Yahiko was doing all the attacking while Soujirou resorted to agile dodging. His skills and speed had not forsaken him, not even after ten years of wandering.

The range of the fight started to expand slowly as Yahiko, frustrated that he was not able to come in contact with Soujirou, began to attack with more vigor. Soujirou was then forced to use his sword to defend himself.

Yahiko was using Kaoru's skill to fight. Since he had been training and using the skill for so long, he had mastered the skill already. This made him too confident in his strikes, causing a lack in power. Besides, Kamiya Kasshin Ryu was not a set of skills designed to kill. Despite of this, Yahiko's strokes were powerful enough to injure badly. Seeing Soujirou draw his sword, Yahiko knew it meant that he was pushing Soujirou to his limit. If Soujirou was pressured too much, he just might start attacking. Then it would become a real fight.

Soujirou was fully aware that Yahiko was using Himura-san's sakabatou and that it could not slash anybody. But once turned over, the sword would transform into a lethal weapon. He was trying to decide whether to counter attack or not. Not attacking back might cause Yahiko to become more frustrated and use the sharp edge of the sword. If he just defended himself, he could still hold out for some time. Soujirou hoped Kenshin would get back soon. He was the only who would be able to stop this fight.

Kaoru was thinking the exact same thing.

"Where's Kenshin when I need him?"

She sent two of her students to make sure that Kenji was in his bedroom, hopefully still sleeping. Then she sent Yutaro to look for Kenshin. Watching upon the raging battle, she hoped no one got hurt.

~~

Yutaro ran aimlessly on the streets, without an idea where to find Kenshin. When he stopped to catch his breath, he thought about the serious situation.

Yahiko had always been rash, he knew that. But he was challenging a professional killer that even Kenshin had a problem dealing with. Not that he thought Yahiko was lousy but he believed the gap between their skills were much too big. He feared for Yahiko's safety. Suddenly, an idea struck his mind. He decided to enlist the help of Sanosuke Sagara.

As Yutaro was reaching Sano's house, he saw the ex-gangster walking away with Kenshin. He yelled for them to stop and explained the situation briefly. Kenshin immediately asked Sano to take care of Yutaro and rushed back to the house.

Kenshin rounded the last corner and stood at the gates just in time to see Yahiko slam Soujirou on the ground with a powerful swipe from his sakabatou. Then Yahiko turned the sword over and got ready to deliver the fatal, last blow. Kenshin ran and stood in front of a frozen Soujirou to protect him from the strike.

~~

A/N: Cliffhanger!!!

Glossary

Sakabatou – Kenshin's reversed edged sword. It was given to Yahiko in the end in the manga.