Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters. They all rightfully belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki-sensei so don't sue or condemn me. I'm poor and I write this kind of stuff for entertainment purposes only.

Author's greetings: Hello. I'm glad some more people reviewed my previous chapters. I hope you like this chapter. Please read on and enjoy.

Rating: PG (though ratings may vary as story unfolds)

Second Chance

Chapter VI: Ten Years Ago

"Come on, Sano." Kaoru tapped her right foot impatiently. "Are you coming to Kamakura with us or not?"

Kaoru, Megumi and Yahiko were now inside the train. They boarded the train five minutes ago but they got stuck at the train's entrance because they were waiting for Sano to come in, too. But Sano had his feet glued to the ground outside the dreaded machine and won't budge.

"Rooster-head, get inside the train now, will ya?!!!" Yahiko practically yelled at him. Everybody seated inside the train turned around and stared at the four of them. Yahiko stared right back and shrugged.

"Shut up, brat!" Sano snapped at him, still not moving from his spot. He had sweat drops all over his head and was turning purple with embarrassment. He just can't help it; what if the train sucks up his spirit when he even sets one foot inside of it?

Megumi crossed her arms across her chest impatiently. She stepped out of the train and looked at Sano edgily. "Sanosuke, look at me." Sano forced himself to turn his head to the side and look at her shakily.

Megumi smirked at him. "Look at you. You're no coward, are you?" She boarded the train once again and turned around to face him. "See? I just boarded this dreaded machine that you thought would suck up your spirit." She looked around. "I see no one whose spirit got sucked up here. And we're still alive, aren't we?"

Sano still won't budge from his spot. "Get inside the train, rooster- head."

Sano began mustering up all the courage he possessed and climbed into the train, dreading what would happen the next moment. When both of his feet were inside the train, he followed Megumi to their seat. Kaoru and Yahiko were close behind them, suppressing their laughter quite unsuccessfully.

Finally, everybody was seated. The train engine began to start. The sound began growing louder and louder. Though Sano and Megumi were arguing over who's the rooster-head and who's the Megitsune quite tensely, Megumi was still nice enough to hold his hand, actually, throughout the trip.

Suddenly, Kaoru stood up. "Guys, I think I'm going over to the railing to get some fresh air." She tried balancing herself on her feet.

Yahiko stood up himself. 'Hey, I'm going with you. I can't stand these two. Especially rooster-head."

"You brat!" Sano's curses were swallowed by the loud roaring of the train's engine as Kaoru and Yahiko ran out to the railing.

Yahiko took a deep breath. "Men! I think I'm gonna suffocate in there!" He remarked.

"Yeah," Kaoru replied.

"I'm glad you thought of this vacation." Yahiko told her with a grateful look on his face.

Kaoru looked out into the rice fields they passed by. "It would be better if Kenshin could have come with us." She said softly, thinking Yahiko didn't hear. But Yahiko heard all right. She sighed then rested her hands on the railings.

Yahiko stared at her in awe. Now he understood why Kenshin loved her, well… sort of. Except that Kenshin just had no courage to tell her yet. There she was, looking into the rice fields they passed by. Yahiko had to admit she looked kind of, well… beautiful.

Instead of complementing her, Yahiko insulted her instead. "Oi, busu! Don't stare too hard at the rice! They might wither!"

Kaoru punched him on the head with a very annoyed expression on her face.

@@@

Kenshin rubbed his belly, trying to take away the remaining bit of pain. He sat down Indian-style on the floor.

He recalled what happened for the last three days. The morning after the Takamigumi took him away from the dojo, he had woke up tied to a tree. He saw that guy in black again talking to Himitsu in a low voice, then Himitsu got into his horse and rode away from the small band. He turned around and saw Kenshin watching him.

He glared at Kenshin, then snapped his fingers twice. Somebody covered his nose and mouth with a handkerchief once again. Kenshin felt the same dizziness he felt the night before. Then he fell unconscious.

When he woke up once again, it was already the next morning. His mouth was swollen. It was difficult to move his jaw. Somebody must have hit him in the head. He was chained to a wall… in a diminutive prison cell. No light can enter the cell at all. There were no other exits except the huge metal door at his right. The shackle at his wrists and ankles were heavy; he can't move.

A drop of water fell to his face. He looked up. There was a crack in the ceiling. He suddenly heard the sound of keys hitting each other. The metal door opened, and the guy in black entered the cell and looked at him heatedly. Kenshin glared back at him. *What is this guy's problem? *

"Dare? What do you want?" Kenshin had asked.

The guy had not answered; he just punched Kenshin continuously in the stomach, each punch more painful than the one that preceded it. Dark red blood came out of Kenshin's mouth.

When the guy in black saw Kenshin had enough, he stopped punching him. Kenshin glared up at him, then spat dark red blood at the guy's face. The guy wiped the blood slowly from his face in anger. Then he gave Kenshin one last punch in the face, then left him all alone, locking the door behind him as he exited the cell. Kenshin had slept when he began to get dizzy. When he woke up that morning, he was in this room with Takami Imizuki.

Kenshin stood up from where he was seated. He lifted the futon and found his gi underneath it. He put it on then folded the futon and placed it inside the closet. He looked around the room disdainfully. He walked towards the door and slid it open.

Kenshin blinked several times before getting accustomed to the light that greeted him. When he began getting used to the bright light, he looked around. *Looks like an inn. *

He was in some kind of inn with a very wide backyard with a small pond in the middle of the yard.

"Good, you're awake." A familiar voice said.

Kenshin turned around, annoyed. "You…" His eyes narrowed to tiny slits in anger. "Dare?"

"You've been asking me that since three days ago! Won't you stop? Nonetheless, I'm Shinru. Anyway…" He tossed a wrapped bundle at Kenshin and Kenshin caught it easily. "Imizuki-sama wants to see you. There are clothes inside that thing you're holding. Change into those. Imizuki-sama doesn't want to see some smelly shit like you are now."

Kenshin scowled at Shinru and spat before entering his room once again. He slid his door closed behind him and kneeled down on the floor. He tore away the wrappings of the bundle and saw two dark-colored garments in it. One was a black gi, the same replica as the fuchsia one he was wearing right now. Kenshin held it up and frowned. *Black… my least favorite color… *

He put it down and held the gray hakama up. *Don't they know any other color? * Kenshin looked down to the wrappings once again and saw that there were arm pads available too. *Nice… I've got free clothing. *

Kenshin stripped off his own clothing and put on the new ones to cover his nudity. He strapped on the arm pads on the correct places. Then he tied his hair up into a tight ponytail.

He stood up and went out of his room. He found Shinru waiting outside, leaning on a post. "I was beginning to think it'd take you forever to change."

Kenshin didn't even flinch. He followed Shinru as the younger man led him through the inn. The inn they were staying at was a natural maze. First, they turned to the left then to the right, then right, then left. Shinru abruptly stopped outside a room. He slid the door open and motioned Kenshin to go in.

Kenshin entered a VERY huge room. It was full of samurais; some of them were those that accompanied Shinru and Himitsu to the dojo. Each one would smirk at him every time he gives them a bird's eye view.

Kenshin shifted his attention to the man sitting at the center of the room. He looked… familiar. *Did I meet him before? * The man sitting in there had on a green gi which seemed bigger than his size with a forest green hakama. He signaled all the samurais to leave the room.

Once all the others had left and the only ones left in the room were the two of them, the guy motioned Kenshin to sit before the low table. Kenshin kneeled down slowly on the tatami mat. The guy must have sensed Kenshin watching him differently, because he had looked and sneered at Kenshin.

"What's the matter, Battousai? Can't you read my chi?" She asked him mockingly.

Kenshin's eyes widened in surprise. "Oro! Imizuki-dono?"

"How polite you are… for Battousai." Imizuki said to him, bringing her teacup up to her lips and sipping the tea. "Forgive me for my irrational behavior earlier this morning. I was just… let's say, irritated." She placed her teacup on the low table and pushed the teapot aside.

"What is it that you really want, Imizuki-dono?" Kenshin asked seriously. "I had come with Shinru only because he had threatened to put Kaoru-dono's life in danger."

"And she will continue to have a dangerous life if you don't agree to work with us." Imizuki filled him in, seriously now.

"Why are you doing this?" Kenshin asked, looking her squarely in the eye.

"Because your pathetically predictable." She answered coldly, staring right back at him. "Not exactly predictable like I can read your mind, because I can't. But one thing is that, people can see easily what your weakness is, and it's your Kaoru-dono."

Kenshin remained silent. He felt his patience and politeness beginning to melt.

"Does the name Takami Yoshiko sound familiar?" She asked him, anger creeping into her face.

Kenshin didn't answer.

"He was ambushed during the last year of the Bakumatsu with my brother and FIANCEE. Himitsu, the student Shinru's training as of present, had gone with them too, but survived the attacked. And when he came back here, he told me that the hitokiris who killed my father, brother and fiancée were sent from the…" She paused, taking a deep breath. "Ishinshishi."

Kenshin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "But nobody from the Ishinshishi was sent out to ambush a man named Takami Yoshiko ten years ago. I'm sure of that."

"If you were me, and I were you, who would you probably believe? Himitsu… or a man who was also one of the Ishinshishi?" She asked him logically. She didn't wait for his answer. "You would trust someone who you had known for years, ne?"

"Are you asking me to bring down a government I had worked so hard to build up?" Kenshin inquired, not flinching. "I will not allow anymore bloodshed."

She nodded. "That's where your Kaoru-dono comes in. Let me tell you one thing. Himitsu, you know him, right? Yes, of course you do. Himitsu had gone back to the Kamiya Dojo the day after Shinru fetched you. He heard them planning a vacation." She stood up and began pacing slowly. "Tell you what. What I'm really delighted about is this: they're having a vacation here at Kamakura."

Kenshin bat his right eyelid in alarm. *Oh no… *

"And they left for Kamakura earlier this morning. They might be here right now. Why don't you go see them?" She said, trying to sound generous.

Kenshin didn't stand up. "I know what you're trying to do."

"Of course you do." Imizuki agreed. "I have you tied right at the neck. Go on; go back to Tokyo if you want to. I have seen your weakness." She stopped pacing and faced Kenshin, eyes burning. "As long as I live, I will make Kamiya Kaoru's and your life a living hell if you refuse the Takamigumi. The Ishinshishi and you took three of the most important men away from me; now is the time for revenge. I will avenge my father." She was now panting angrily, fists clenched in anger.

Kenshin remained silent for several seconds. "Your father… wouldn't want you to do that."

Imizuki unclenched her fists and looked at him, startled. "Wha—what do you mean!?" She asked him.

"Your father wouldn't want you to waste your youth on avenging his death, their deaths. He would want you to be happy, live a life in peace. He would want you to be safe and unharmed."

Imizuki stared at him. "STOP IT! You're just turning my head around!" She overturned the low table in rage, spilling the tea on the floor and breaking the teapot and cups.

She turned her back on him and sat down on the floor. "Your friends must have reached Kamakura by now. Go see your Kaoru, talk to her, I don't care. But one thing you should remember. Pretend you don't know them. Make them forget you." She suggested uncaringly.

"What if I want them to know that I'm still the same Kenshin they knew?" Kenshin questioned her.

"Would they be glad to see someone who would soon be the cause of the downfall of their present government?" She asked with her back on him.

"You are using my loved ones' lives as bait to make me do whatever you want." Kenshin clenched his fists.

Imizuki tittered uncontrollably. "Sorry… but that's the way life is. We don't control what Fate would want to do with us. We are the captains of our lives but Fate is the master of our destinies." She turned around and sat facing him. "Would you want to hurt your Kaoru- dono's feelings, Battousai? One wrong move, she dies."

Kenshin stood up and walked towards the door. He slid it open and was about to exit when he heard her call him. "Battousai." Kenshin paused. "Don't make a wrong move, that is, if you still want her to live a long life."

He shrugged and stepped outside the room. He slid the door close behind him. He began walking without knowing where he was going. Whatever he does, the past he wanted to escape from just keeps coming back to him. The farther he runs away from it, the nearer it approaches. *Whatever I do, I'll try my best to prevent anymore bloodshed… but at the same time, protect my friends and… Kaoru-dono. In the meantime, I'll just make them think I've got short-term amnesia and just let them know what's happening when I clear everything. That Himitsu smells like rotten fish. I have to clear this out. Nobody was sent out to kill a man named Takami Yoshiko… so what was Himitsu talking about? What is his purpose? Anyway, I will not go back to being a heartless hitokiri. *

"Oi!" Shinru called out to Kenshin.

Kenshin stopped on his tracks. He turned around and faced the younger man. "Nani?"

Shinru tossed a katana (samurai sword) in front of Kenshin. Kenshinn picked it up and looked at the blade. It had its blade at the right side. His own sakabatou can cut into everything except people but this katana… it can slash EVERYTHING… including people. "Imizuki-sama wanted me to give this to you since you left that useless sakabatou of yours back in Tokyo." He threw his hands up and heaved a sigh. "You better stay out of trouble or else I'm gonna have to run and get you out of it. You're exhausting me, you know that?"

Kenshin turned around and began walking; figuring out where in the world was the exit.

"Uh, the gate's that way, man." Shinru said. He faced Shinru. Shinru jerked his thumb to the opposite direction.

"I know." Kenshin began walking to the direction Shinru pointed at.

TBC



Author's notes: Hi. Please review. Thanks for those guys who reviewed my previous chapters. And I added two new fanfics too: "LOVE ME AS WHO I REALLY AM" and "TADAIMA". Please check them out.

Once again, I'm grateful to those guys who reviewed. Aishiteru.

REMINDER: PLEASE REVIEW, I'D BE LOOKIN' FORWARD TO IT.

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