Title - Skin Deep

Author - Rogue Shadow

Rating - PG-13

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Author's Note - Greetings Rurouni Kenshin Fans! This is my first RK fic so some things might not make sense, such as wearing old clothes in the modern world or the OOC that might tend to slip by my own notices. I'll be honest. Editing my fic for things like grammar and spelling is absolutely no problem. However when it comes to things that weave into the story, I tend to avoid those things. If there's something that you want changed, then give me a suggestion as to what to replace it with. Sorry if it sounds like laziness... (which it might even be) but I kinda have a one track mind so it's usually hard to come up with new ideas. See if I do try to change something then I loose my concentration and the dominos fall down. Heh. ^_^ So I want you *points at readers* to review and tell me what you *points again for some reason* think about it!! By the way, this has been reedited thanks to some reviews. Now then on with the fic!! Hope you enjoy it!

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"Soujiro-sama! Please forgive my intrusion, but Shishio-sama requests your presence right away!" The man shook in fear as the smiling teenager worked his way towards him. While small in size, the boy who always wore a smile was one of the most powerful men in all of Japan. Without warning or hesitation, he could kill anyone in cold blood for whatever reason. It was wise not to annoy the prodigy otherwise you could find yourself dead a split second later.

Soujiro merely smiled and replied in an amused tone. "Oh really? What makes it so urgent that you burst into my room without knocking, hm?" He took a few steps closer to the man who was now drenched in the sweat of fear. The Tenken couldn't help but wonder why people valued living so much. What was the worth in living a life of cruel fate and unbearable hardships? His smile got wider at the thought. Some people were just fools who believed they deserved to be alive even though they are weak. In reality, they were just food for the strong, as Shishio had put it.

The man stammered as he tried to find some excuse not to be killed right then and there. "Please forgive me Soujiro-sama! I... I... didn't mean to barge in but Shishio-sama said it was important!"

Soujiro seemed to pay no heed to what the man said. "Tell me if you will..." He slowly started to walk towards the man with his ever present smile on his face. "Why is it that you value your life so much? You are weak and yet for some reason you are content with living and even more so you want to keep living. If you can give me a good reason to let you keep living I will. However... if you can't give me one, then..." His eyes wandered to the wakizashi strapped to his waist.

The man gulped knowing that the Tenken never joked when it came to life and death. "I... only wish to serve Shishio-sama... I wish to be by his side when he achieves global domination." He looked on to find if Soujiro was moved by those words or anything to the extent. All he could see though was just a smiling face with an unreadable expression.

"Ah... that's a very good reason..." The sweating man became relieved and began to relax. "Too bad you were lying. Your kenki betrays you. Maybe you'll have better luck in the next life." The man's eyes went wide with fear after hearing what the boy said. He turned around as quickly as possible and started to run in hopes of escaping with his life. However, as soon as he took the first step, his head was severed thanks to the battoujitsu of Soujiro's wakizashi. He could have just as easily used his Shutensatsu, but the coward was nowhere near worthy of it. As Soujiro cleaned his wakizashi of the blood and sheathed it, he couldn't help but wonder what the true reason behind living was. He shrugged it off, knowing he would receive no answer anytime soon. "Might as well find out what it was that Shishio-sama wanted." He walked over the lifeless body and headed to the war room knowing full well that Shishio would be there.

Meanwhile, in the war room Shishio had been devising a plan to overthrow the Meji Government. "These fools will soon see the awesome wrath in store for them. Then the world as we know it will be dominated by fear." He smirked to himself knowing that his dreams were well on their way to becoming reality. He stopped when he noticed a certain boy in blue leaning on the doorway with the same old smile on his face. "Ah... come in Soujiro. I've been waiting for you. I have a new mission for you."

Soujiro rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Gomen ne, Shishio-sama, but you seemed to be enjoying yourself at the moment." He walked up to where Shishio was and bowed his head. "So what will I be doing this time? Hopefully this new mission will be more challenging than the past ones."

Shishio grinned at the boy's anticipation of the new mission. It was getting harder and harder to find tasks that required his level of skill. In fact, the only missions where Soujiro wouldn't come back bored from would be when he assassinated someone with skilled bodyguards. They were, of course, no match for the Tenken but he still seemed to enjoy the fight none the less. "You will be going undercover as a junior classmen in high school." Right then the Tenken's smile changed to a disappointed frown. "Don't worry Soujiro, there's still more." The boy looked up in hopes of a challenging fight. "You see under the guise of a kendo teacher is a man named Shinomori Aoshi. He is the current Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu, a spy organization that holds the location of the current Meiji Government headquarters. If we can obtain that information, then we will have no problem overthrowing them. Use whatever means possible to get the coordinates from him. Although knowing you, you'll fight and force the information out of him. Hope this one will be more of a challenge for you."

"The Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu?" Soujiro rubbed his chin while thinking. He then stopped and put on a grin. "I'm looking forward to it."

Shishio let out a chuckle. "I knew you would. Now get some sleep because tomorrow's going to be a big day for you. It'll be your first day of school."

"Hai!" Soujirou turned around and started walking. After a few steps, he stopped and turned back to Shishio. "By the way Shishio-sama, the servant you sent to get me met with a rather unfortunate accident on his way out."

Shishio looked at the boy and grinned. "Now Soujiro, what have I told you about wasting food?"

Soujiro grinned back. "I'll try not to waste anymore food, Shishio-sama." With that the Tenken headed back to his room for some sleep. 'First day of school, huh? Wonder what it's going to be like...' As soon as he stepped into his room, he saw Kamatari sitting on his bed. 'This can't be good...'

She looked up to see Soujiro, no doubt wondering what she was doing there. "Oh, Sou-chan... where were you? I wanted to ask what you thought about my new kimono I bought."

Soujiro sweatdropped when he heard the reason. "Uh... I was in a meeting with Shishio-sama."

This seemed to grab her attention. "Oh really? Tell me what my cuddly, liddle Shi-kun wanted from you."

For a second, Soujiro's smile slipped when he heard what Kamatari called Shishio. No one had ever called Shishio that. Not even Yumi, who was closest to him, called him such things. It just seemed so degrading for the strongest man in Japan to be nicknamed as if he were a plush toy or something. He quickly put his mask back on. "Ah... that's a secret for me to know and you not to find out..."

She made a fake pout and then put on a seductive look. "If you tell me, I'll make it worth your while." She started making her way towards him, while flaunting part of her that weren't quite authentic. "I know that even you have an itch that needs some scratching Soujiro... Why don't you let me help you with that..."

"Hehe... no thanks..." It was no secret that Kamatari used to be a guy, but then he had one of those operations so that he could be a she. Even if Kamatari had female parts now, she would always be a guy in Soujiro's eyes. With that fact in mind, it was very disturbing to the young Tenken what she was hinting at. "I think I'll be going now..." With that Soujiro used his shukuchi to go anywhere else but there. When he was rushing threw the hallways, he spotted Yumi's room and slipped behind the door in less than a second.

Yumi put down her romance novel and walked over to the Soujiro who wasn't even aware of her presence. "Care to tell me what's got the Tenken running in fear?"

Soujiro looked around to spot Yumi there with an amused expression on her face. "Gomen for bursting in here like this Yumi-san, but I needed some place to hide."

Her amused expression turned to a slightly annoyed one. "Still doesn't answer my question, Soujiro."

"Ano..." He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I'm kinda hiding from Kamatari." He looked back at Yumi to find that her amused expression returned once again.

"Ah... I see. Well in that case, I'll let you stay here for the night. God knows what she might try to do with you if she got you alone." She walked over to her closet and pulled out an extra futon. She tossed over to Soujiro, who was busy studying the room. Even though he was distracted, his reflexes were more than enough to catch it. "You can use that."

Soujiro smiled and began to roll out his borrowed futon on the floor. "Arigato, Yumi-san. Honestly, sometimes Kamatari can be really inconvenient."

Yumi let out a small chuckle and proceeded back down on her bed. "Get some sleep, boy. According to what Shishio-sama told me, you have a brand new mission tomorrow."

He looked up and gave a nod. "I guess there's nothing he keeps secret from you." He tucked himself in and snuggled into the softness.

She let out a contended sigh. "Nope. He trusts me with his secrets just like I trust him with my life. Together we can rely on each other and get through life no matter what comes." She then reached over to the nightstand and turns the light off with a click.

Soujiro just blinked and closed his eyes. Five minutes later, he opened them because that same question was preventing him from sleeping. "Yumi- san?" She let out a grunt to let him know she was listening. "What's it like?"

She groaned and rolled over to the side of the floor he was on. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean being in love. Having something worth living for. Is it really that great?" Soujiro listened intently for the hopes that this time his question would get answered.

She pulled herself up and looked at him through the dark. "You mean to say that you have nothing to live for?"

Soujiro paused and shrugged. "I guess not. I mean, I live to serve Shishio- sama since I owe my life to him. He's the one who gave me the wakizashi I used to slay my family with." Before that wouldn't have come out so casual, but since that incident the real Soujiro died and became Tenken no Soujiro. To him it was just another memory like what he had for breakfast this morning.

Yumi stood speechless for a while before she pulled her senses together. "Well if you want to know, I'll tell you. It's the greatest feeling in the world. It's so great that just being with the one you love can make you happier than any physical feeling ever can. You can't explain it that well, but once you find someone you truly love, you'll never want to be without that person."

"Ano... I don't know much about feelings, Yumi-san, so I don't have any idea what you mean." He gave out a chuckle and rubbed the back of his head.

She sighed, now giving up on explaining the wonders of love. "I hope one day you will know what I mean, boy. I hope that one day you will meet a girl who can show you what I mean. Just make sure to return the same feeling as well." She then plopped back down on her bed and rested her eyes.

The Tenken closed his eyes. 'Meet a girl, huh? Should be interesting to say the least. I wonder what it'll be like...' With that Soujiro drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

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Translations

Sama: This suffix is added to the name of someone who is high in rank, so think of it as adding the term 'Lord' before the name.

Tenken: Soujio's nickname. It means 'gifted with sword skills from the heavens'.

Wakizashi: It's a medium length sword. They're usually carried by samurai on the waist and are accompanied by a katana as well.

Kenki: A warrior's fighting spirit. Kinda like an aura.

Battoujutsu: A sword technique that uses the sheath of a sword to help pull of an attack quicker than most. It's the pulling of the sword out of the sheath in an arc to turn it into an attack.

Shutensatsu: The last move Soujiro used against Kenshin in their last fight. It's a combination of Shukuchi and Battoujitsu.

Shukuchi: The technique Soujiro uses to move faster than humanly possible.

Gomen ne: Said for apologizing, it would mean 'sorry'.

Okashira: The one who is in charge of a group and highest in rank, so it means 'leader'.

Oniwabanshuu: They are a spy group of ninjas, who are known for their unique fighting skills.

Hai: Used for agreeing with someone else, just like saying 'yes'.

Chan: Another suffix for the end of a name. It's supposed to imply cuteness.

Ano: Used in hesitation when speaking, like 'well' or 'um'.

Futon: Think of a sleeping bag, except used indoors for casual use.

Arigato: Used for thanking someone, it means... 'thank you'... ^_^

Ja ne: Simply put, it means 'see you later'.

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Please review this story of mine. If you do then I just might continue updating, unlike some other stories of mine... Seriously all I'm asking is for like more than a handful of reviews. I just want to know if updating will be appreciated by more than 3 people. ^_^ Well arigato to those who review. Next chapter will introduce the spunky Misao! ...As well as a few other unimportant people like ice boy Shinomori... Nah, he's alright... Ja ne!