Chapter 1: Slight Recognition

A/N: Hey Everybody, this is our first fanfic, and we really want to know what you guys think about it. If we get a lot of reviews, we JUST MIGHT post new chapters more quickly! ^_~ Anyhow, this takes place in several different times, hopefully you don't get TOO confused. Have fun reading!

Disclaimer: We don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Darn. And we were so close too!

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Tiffany lies in bed staring at the ceiling. It's pretty dark, but her eyes have adjusted by now and she can make out the little patterns, blinking she tries to see what she can make of them. Finally, after seeing a skull and bones, she shudders and rolls over to look at the clock. 12:30.

"Why was mom in such a pissy mood? I didn't do anything," she thinks. And she had something important to tell Danielle and Chris, but by now, she's pretty much forgotten. "Geez, I'm not used to going to bed this early..." She does her best to doze off. No Internet, no TV. "What's she thinkin???"

Tiff tosses and turns, trying to find a comfortable position. Gir is whimpering on the porch. Groaning, Tiff pulls herself out of bed and walk to the window, opening it a bit. "GIIIIIIIIIIIIR! SHUSH!" she whispers loudly.

Hm.....it worked. Odd. After closing her window, she shuffles back to bed. Then she thinks, "Ya know, I have to pee." Quietly she sneaks out of her room and creeps towards the bathroom. No use in making mom any madder, she skillfully avoids the creaky places. After she's done, she once again creeps down the hall.

"I feel so.....illegal....." She thinks stifling a giggle. "What the.....that wasn't funny....." Tiff pushes open her door and stops, staring at the open window. "I could have sworn I closed that...maybe I'm just so tired, yet not tired, I just thought I did." She sighs as she closes it and goes to crawl in bed. "What the...did something just moved in my closet....a mouse? No, too big." She stares at the dark void for a while.

"Duh, it was just my shadow....what else was it? The boogieman?" she mutters under her breath. Giggling nervously she crawls back in bed, careful not to get to close to the closet. As she tries to fall asleep she keeps her eyes cracked and on the closet. Something moves; Tiff sees it and squeals, jumping out of bed and grabbing....a book?

Out of the shadowy closet, a small man with flaming red hair and amber eyes emerges. She hurls the book at him. It startles him and he stops long enough for her to throw open the window and leap out, rolling. She gets up and takes off at a run, knowing he is close at her heels. She makes it to the woods and even though she knows she shouldn't, she glances over her shoulder.

He isn't there....Tiffany slows down to a walk and listens. No sounds.....Stopping she turns in a circle, looking for any trace of the killer. "I'm missing my anime for this??" she thinks. She hears a snapped twig from behind and spins around. Nothing...surely Mom and Harvey heard the commotion......or were they already dead??

"Damn it, Tiff! No......they aren't dead! And neither are you! And....I wont be either. I can make it..." She thinks, but knows it probably isn't true. She stops thinking and just feels. Somehow it seems right. Feeling the woods around her, taking it all in.

~He's above you,~ something whispers in her head. She looks up in time to see a small figure diving straight towards her. She shrieks and bolts out of his reach, but not quick enough to not feel his putrid breath on her neck. He's gone again. He's toying with her. She feels like one of those wretched vermin she detests so much. He is the cat having fun with his dinner.

How did he get into the tree without her seeing him? And why not just attack? What kind of sicko is he? She realizes she's thinking too much so she does what she did before and just feels. How this is happening she isn't really sure, but it is. Something whispers, ~Go right~ and she obeys, dodging the amazingly fast form jetting past her. ~Left!~ it screams. Once again she obeys, but not quite in time, for his fingernails dig into her side.

Curiously, there is no blood, but there is a heck of a lot of pain. The cut was so quick that ~Jump!!!~ She jumps and grabs onto the low branch, flipping herself up and over. She sees her chance and flips all the way over, kicking him from behind, knocking him flat on his face. He rolls over and grabs her ankle before she can flee. Tiff falls flat on her face and takes in a mouthful of leaves and dirt. Her side flares in pain.

He jumps on top of her back, holding her down, making the gouge in her side scream. Now the blood is starting to flow. 'Such incredible strength for such a small person!' She thinks as she spits out the ground. "GET OFF!!!" she tries to scream. Her voice isn't working. He laughs maliciously and wraps his long, slim fingered hands around her neck. They scald the skin. Before he starts squeezing, he leans down to whisper in her ear.

"You thought you could get away from me then too, didn't you? I will follow your souls through time until I quench both of thee!" Recognition floats into her mind, but she can't grab onto the thought. Tiffany gasps for air and tries to swat him off. Just as she thinks she's a goner, a faint but bright light starts to flood the small clearing she is in. She begins praying, stricken that she didn't think to pray in the first place.

She asks for forgiveness of her sins. She knows she isn't going to survive. The light steadily but speedily brightens. The man on her back cries out and jumps off. She drinks deeply of the fresh air flooding her lungs. What just happened?? She hears the fiend hissing behind her and turns her head to the other side just as something goes whizzing above her head.

"Are you ok!!!" a familiar voice asks from above her. A person crouches next to her and feels her pulse. "You are just fine....now get up and help me chase him!" Finally she realizes who is trying to stuff the sword in her hands. "Dan......Danielle?"

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A/N: You guys still with us? YAY! You made it through the first chapter! Hm. So you've figured out that this isn't exactly the nice rurouni we've all came to know and love. Darn. If you watch you just might figure something out though. ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER! (If it's here.....if not, go pine in your sadness. OR you COULD review!?!)