DISCLAIMER: Rurouni Kenshin and Rurouni Kenshin characters are exclusively owned by Watsuki Nobuhiro, Shueisha, Sony Entertainment, Jump Comics and associated parties. Please note, this is purely fiction and for entertainment purposes only. This story is not meant for sale or profit.
Author's Notes: This is my first Alternate Universe Fanfic about Kenshin and Kaoru falling in love during modern times. It's not your typical love story and it is OOC. (Drama/Angst/Romance) Fatal Love Fanfiction by Gypsy-chan Enjoy!
[Please Note: This story was not written to offend those in the medical profession or in the law enforcement field. It was written from my over-active imagination. The characters, the characters in various professional capacities and the events in this story should not be taken literal in anyway. OOCness and unethical practices will prevail throughout this story. Thank you and Enjoy! ^_^]
Part Ten
"...It's been a long time since I have laughed like that. My past has always been filled with so much pain and death. Prison life hasn't been easy either. It feels so good to laugh like this again. Thank you Dr. Kamiya."
Kaoru's face softened as she replied, "You're welcome Mr. Himura."
Shall we get started with our session Mr. Himura?"
"Yes Dr. Kamiya. I'm ready."
********************************"Today we will discuss your childhood. Please tell me what your childhood was like?"
Kenshin closed his eyes momentarily and sighed.
"I wished I didn't have to talk about my childhood right now. I would rather sit and enjoy the moment we just shared together. That brief moment with Dr. Kamiya made me feel like a free man again and not like a prisoner."
Kaoru became concerned by his sudden silence.
"Is there anything wrong Mr. Himura? Are you alright?"
"Yes, I am fine," he replied. "I was just gathering my thoughts together about my childhood."
Kenshin exhaled and then began his story.
"I grew up in a small village outside of Kyoto. My family was very poor. Father did the best he could to find work, but times were hard back then. My parents used what little resources they had to make sure that I was fed and clothed. Unfortunately, they didn't have enough money to pay for their own medical bills. My parents kept their sickness hidden from me until it became more obvious. They died of Cholera when I was eight years old.
I can still remember the way my mother looked as she was slipping into death. Her eyes expressed sorrow for leaving me all alone in this world. I held her hand until she finally passed away. I continued sitting in the same spot for hours, just holding on to my mother's hand. I knew that she was dead, but I still sat praying and hoping that she would somehow come back to me.
One of the neighbors had called the authorities. Upon their arrival, I watched as they took my parent's bodies and put them in the back of an ambulance. A police officer put me in his car. As I sat in the police car, I pressed my face against the window, watching as the ambulance drove off with my parents. Deep down inside, I felt as though someone had ripped the safety net from under my feet and I was now falling into a black hole with no one to catch me.
I was driven to the police station and then escorted into a small room. The police officer told me to sit and wait. I sat for hours waiting and wondering what was going to happen to me. Finally, an older man came and took me out of the police station and put me into his van. As I got into the van, I saw several older girls already sitting inside. They smiled and moved over allowing me to sit next to them.
The girls seemed very nice. They were sisters coming from a large family. Their names were Akane, Kasumi and Sakura. Akane told me that their parents were deep in debt and couldn't afford to take care of them anymore. So their parents signed papers for them to go into different foster homes.
As we rode along, I noticed Kasumi staring at me. Apparently, she could sense the sadness I held deep inside. Without a word, she put her arm around me and told me that everything would be alright. She reached in her purse and pulled out a small piece of candy and gave it to me. Akane and Sakura smiled and did the same. With all the bad things that had happened earlier, their kindness made me feel a little better, at least for that brief moment.
Suddenly, we heard a loud noise and then the van began to swerve all over the road. The driver stopped and got out of the van. He muttered a view curse words about getting a flat tire. Unfortunately, we were in a bad part of town. The driver and his assistant managed to get the van off of the main road and onto a side street near a dark alley.
As the driver and his assistant worked on fixing the flat tire, a street gang suddenly appeared from out of the darkness. The driver and his assistant were killed instantly. Two of the gang members forced us out of the car while the others searched the car for money and other valuables.
We overheard the gang members discussing various ways to get rid of us. They didn't want any witnesses to their crime. The three girls were afraid. After having lost my parents, I wasn't afraid of death. I wanted to protect the girls who had befriended me. I quickly picked up the tire iron that was lying next to the flat tire and jumped in front of the girls.
The gang members looked at me and then began laughing hysterically. I guess the sight of a scrawny red-headed boy, who looked like a little six year old holding a tire iron, was funny to them. One of the street thugs pulled out a switchblade and began brandishing it in front of me.
Akane quickly jumped in front of me and begged for my life. She turned to the leader of the gang and tried reasoning with him saying that I was just a boy. He coldly pulled out a gun and fired at her. Akane died instantly from the gun shot. The gang leader laughed and said, "Who wants to die next?"
I became angry with the leader. I couldn't believe how he could do such a thing to Akane. As I turned and headed for the leader, I was snatched back by Kasumi. She grabbed the tire iron from out of my hand and whispered, "Shinta, you are too young to die. Live on Shinta, live on."
I saw Kasumi give her sister Sakura some kind of eye signal. Suddenly, Kasumi distracted the gang by screaming and wildly swinging the tire iron. Sakura quickly shoved me into the van and told me to stay down. She grabbed a medal object from out of the car and rushed over to fight alongside her sister. Despite their valiant efforts, they were both killed by the gang members.
I was now the only one remaining. I knew that my death was eminent. The leader of the gang yelled out for me. He told me to come out and fight like a man. I was not afraid. I wanted to be brave and fight just like Kasumi and Sakura. As I stepped out of the van, a tall man wearing a long dark cape, came from out of the shadows of the alley. His appearance was fearsome.
The leader of the street gang glared at the man and asked for his name. The tall man just replied, "I don't give my name to dead men." He pulled out his weapon from under his cape and killed all of the gang members instantly.
The tall man told me not to be afraid. He instructed me to go find the police and tell them what happened. He said that the police would help me. After that, the man slipped away into the darkness of the night. I stood frozen for a moment looking down at all the dead bodies surrounding me. I also looked down at the bodies of the three brave girls who had befriended me. I carefully studied there faces, wanting to always remember them for giving their lives up to protect me.
Upon hearing the police siren coming, I quickly hid. I didn't want to go back with the police again. Several hours later, after the police and ambulance had left, I came out of hiding. I went back to the spot where Akane, Kasumi and Sakura were killed. I looked around the area and found some discarded flowers. I placed it in the spot where the girls had died. I knelt down and said a prayer for them. I didn't want Akane, Kasumi and Sakura to leave this world without some kind of remembrance.
Suddenly, I felt someone towering behind me. I turned and looked up into the face of Hiko Seijuro. I recognized him as being the same man who had saved me from the gang members. Hiko asked why I had returned to the area and not gone to the police as he had instructed. I told him I wanted to come back and put flowers in the spot where we were standing for the girls who died while protecting me. He could tell from my appearance that I had nowhere to go. So he took me to his house for the night.
The next morning when I had awakened, I thought that everything I had been through was a bad dream. I was hoping to find my mother making breakfast and my father searching the newspaper for a job. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Upon entering the next room, I saw Hiko making breakfast. He gestured for me to sit next to him.
He wanted to know my name. I told him Shinta Himura. He narrowed his eyes at me saying Shinta was a name for a weakling. He asked if I had any family, I said no. He told me that he was going to return me to the police. He didn't want to be charged with kidnapping. I begged him not to take me to the police. I went on to explain everything that had happened to me.
After hearing my story, he decided to let me stay with him until he found my relatives. As I looked around his house, I found many trophies and then saw a long shiny sword hanging on the wall. It was awesome. Hiko Seijuro was the former master of the Hiten Mitsurugi School. He had won many trophies from teaching the sword techniques of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu and was well respected in the community.
Some time later, I was adopted by Hiko Seijuro. He changed my name from Shinta to Kenshin. I didn't complain. I was grateful for him saving my life and giving me a home. So from that day forward, I never thought of myself as Shinta. I became Kenshin Himura.
He tried to give me what he considered would be a normal life for a kid. First, he enrolled me in public school. Next, he assigned various chores for me to do. I was responsible for getting the groceries, cooking, cleaning and washing the laundry. I also had to buy his sake. Which he seemed to enjoy very much.
Hiko had told me never to touch his prized sword. But seeing that shiny sword hanging over his mantle everyday always fascinated me. One day, while cleaning off the mantle, I decided to take a closer look at his sword. So I reached up to the mantle and carefully took it down. I couldn't believe how heavy it was. I used all my strength just to hold it. After getting adjusted to holding it, I started to swing it around. I loved the way it made me feel. I began swinging it as if I were a true swordsman.
Unfortunately, Hiko caught me swinging his sword around. He was furious. After enduring several excruciating hours of lectures, Hiko finally told me that I had potenial. He could see it in the way I swung his sword around. So he decided to train me in Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. He became my master and I was his student. From that point on, I always called him Shishou.
