Author's Note: Here's another chapter to my "saga." I'm trying to get these posted as fast as I can so that I can work on the other fics I have planned.

Disclaimers: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, but I do own all the donuts in the world.

Chapter 7: The Past Revealed 

I don't remember when I woke up, thought I do remember how. It was the stench. It was the smell of rain – not the nice kind in the spring, but the rotting, decaying kind that makes you want to wish that you never experienced rain. . .

            Sano rolled over to his side, trying to hide himself from the smell. It was then that he realized that he had not drowned – and he was alive. Sano quickly tried to sit up, but his stuffy head weighed him back down again. He tried to sit up again, except this time more slowly. As soon as his eyes could focus in the dim light, he started to look around. He was in a small ancient hut it looked like – the walls seemed to be made out of clay since he could see many leaks coming in because of the rain. For a hut made of clay, it was very warm since there was a fire opposite him.

            Sano continued looking around him. The hut was sparsely furnished, probably a maximum of one person lived here. He and Katsu were both lying in a bed of straw and rags with some blankets covering them. Katsu started to stir awake.

"Hey, Katsu. Did you have a nice sleep?" Sano asked as he looked over at his sleep-deprived friend. Katsu groaned a little as he tried to get up and found that he couldn't. He, like Sano, learnt the hard way of sitting up with a clogged head.

"I . . . think so – wait? Weren't we in water? I mean I was drowning  and then . . .and then . . ."

"And then I dove in after, tried to save you, but ended up drowning myself. . . " Sano said before he even rethought his words. Katsu looked at Sano for a minute.

"You . . .dove in after me?" Katsu asked, a tad bit surprised. Before Sano could answer, they were interrupted.

"Ahh I see you boys have awaken? How does it feel to be among the living? Pretty good, eh?" a figure emerged from another room, from a door made of another blanket. He was an old man, complete with a black hair that had all turned gray. He walked with a slight shuffle, showing that all his agility was lost in his youth. Sano and Katsu just stared at him for a while.

"Who . . . who are you?" Katsu asked inquisitively.

"Me? I am old retired fisherman by the name of Genki Shikuze." The old man replied happily. (A/N: "Genki" in Japanese means "happy, healthy, and energetic," yet again another pun.)

"What happened? Why are we here?" Sano prodded the old man for answers.

"I rescued yer when I say you fall off the ship and into the water." He answered as if it were the simplest thing in the world. Katsu gasped.

"Then, you were the person that snuck off the ship during the hurrican and took the lifeboat weren't you!" Katsu asked.

"Hai, I was."

"And you also threw the axe at the ropes to set us free!" Katsu asked, finally putting all the pieces together."

"Hai, again."

"Who are you? Why did you help us?" the old man nodded.

"I will answer all your questions – including the ones you didn't know you have. But first, you must eat. I'm sure you're very hungry." As if on queue, both Sano and Katsu's stomachs rumbled.

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//Blast this rain . . .all because of those - // Takei's thought were instantly cut of by the enormous streak of thunder that raced across the sky. As if it, too, was running away from something.

"Takei, I suggest you come back inside the Aoiya, there's no point in staying out here and getting sick. The train leaves tomorrow morning." Said a very young member of the Sekihoutai.

"Thanks Shiro, I'll keep that in mind. I'll be in there in a minute – would you mind asking the hosts if they can have my tea ready? Thanks."

"No problem." with that, Shiro disappeared inside again. As he walked back inside, he noticed that the Captain was gone as well. Shiro sighed.

//You just can't keep 'em down can you? They just need to do something – none of them ever relax like the rest of us.// Shiro though as he looked toward the temple; he noticed a figure clad in a trench coat. Shiro sighed again.

//I suppose I'm going to have to take tea to him too. This is going to be a long night, going back and forth.//

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~*~ Flashback ~*~

            A young boy ran through Kyoto as fast as he could, having a presentiment that something bad was going to happen. He bumped into strangers on the way. He was carrying some groceries on his way back home. He would have been home faster if it not had been for the rain. He quickly entered his living complex – which was huge, of course, with his father being a head honcho of most of the samurai squads. As he entered he quickly hid behind a corner of the building, overhearing the conversation between his father and another officer.

". . .Unfortunately,  Lieutenant-Captain Sagara, the Japanese government is very strict. Since you have indeed killed a man of a higher rank than yours and did not allow a higher ranking samurai to kill him instead, you must face the consequences."

"Does it really matter who killed what rank of the enemy? We defeated the enemy, right? If I had waited before a higher ranking samurai got to where I was then I and my whole squad would have been wiped out by the sheer power of their higher ranks. What does it matter who killed the general?" Lieutenant-Captain Sagara said with fury. The officer sighed his contempt for the stubborn man.

"Understand that these are not my orders – they're the orders of the government. And as a citizen I carry them out and you must bend to them." The soldiers said with stone.

"I will do not such thing! If you wish to kill me then you will have to take me by force!" shouted Lieutenant-Captain Sagara as he drew out his double-edged katana.

"Very well," the officer said as he blew a whistle. As soon as he did, numerous other soldiers emerged from the walls of the complex and in a circle around Lieutenant-Captain Sagara.

"Finish him." The officer said calmly.

"FATHER! NO!!!"  yelled Kumikawa Sagara as he ran from his hiding place, only to witness the death of his father as he was riddled with bullets and fell to the ground, a bloody mess. It was then that the soldiers finally noticed him.

"Kill him as well, he is the last one living." The main soldiers shouted orders to he rest of them. Kumikawa dropped everything he was holding and started to run for his life. It was only as he was running did he notice the dead bodies of his mother, and both his elder brother and younger sister. . .

~*~ End Flashback ~*~

            Captain Sagara stared at the rain and did another rare emotion – he scowled. He watched as the hated raindrops fell and splattered on the floor and the temple walls.

//I never liked the rain. I feared it as a child and now I loathe of because of that day. It's just my luck that the train was canceled and Sanosuke and Katsuhiro are stuck in this rotten weather in the middle of nowhere - // Captain Sagara's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Captain, sir? I brought your dinner for you." Shiro acknowledged his captain as he stood there with the tray of food. Captain Sagara's scowl was instantly gone and replaced by a smile as he heard a known voice of one of his comrades. He turned around to face Shiro.

"Thank you, Shiro. I appreciate it very much" Captain Sagara said with his usual kind smile as he took the tray from Shiro's hands.

"Of course! Call me if you need anything else!" and with that Shiro ran off towards the Aoiya again. Captain Sagara put his food tray in front of the statue of Buddha before continuing to look out the stone windows of the temple.

//. . . I wonder . . .will I ever find Sanosuke and Katsuhiro or will it turn out the same way it did with my father . . . ?//

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"OOOWWWW!!" Sano said as he held his arm protectively and started blowing on it. "What is that stuff –acid?!" Genki sighed.

"For the last time it's 'peroxide' and it's for your minor wounds!!! Now hold still while I apply the rest of it to your other cuts and scrapes!"

"Nu-uh! You're not getting anywhere near me with that stuff!"

"Katsu obliged!"

"Yeah, well . . .fine!" Sano said as he inched his way back towards the old man. Katsu DID oblige – when the old man tied to him to a chair and THEN put the peroxide on him. For the next half hour of screaming, the old man finally finished treating both the boy's wounds.

"Well, now! Now that we're finished with that mess – you can eat dessert!" The old man replied happily. Katsu stared at his dessert and thought if the pain was worth it. Apparently, Sano though it was, he dove right in and gobbled up his.

"Hey, Katsu – you gonna eat that?" Sano said with a mouthful of cake. Katsu moved his plate from Sano.

"Of course, you idiot!" Then, with new found speed, Katsu ate all of his dessert as well.

"Are you boys finished? Good. Now come sit by the fire and let me tell you a story."

"Umm Aren't we a little old for stories?" Sano asked.

"Not that kind of story! Now come over here!" the old man said impatiently as he sat down on a chair near the fireplace. Katsu and Sano shrugged at each other before going over there and sitting on the skin rug in front of the old man.

"You're probably wondering who I am. Well about seven years ago, I was one of the senpai, the upperclassmen and I served a lord by the name of Taihito and a lady by the name of Sakura – "

"Who were they?" Sano interrupted.

"Who were they? Why, they were one of the most rich and quite powerful of the shoguns! Well, back when there was no Imperial government and the sorts . . . Anyway, where was I? Oh yes.. They had two sons – Seth, the elder, and Taihito Jr, the younger.

Unlike the Europeans, we did not automatically give all the inheritance to the oldest son. Back then, families would go consult an astrologer that would tell them which one of the sons would be the best to receive everything that father would give them. Now, Seth was seventeen years old and plenty enough to settle down and have a family like his father. The youngest was only born then – "

"I'm cold," Sano stated.

"Here, you can put this blanket on, "Katsu said as he shared some of his blanket with Sano.

"Thanks, Katsu!" Sano said as he took half of Katsu's blanket.

"AHEM!" the old man coughed. "Anyway, their father was very old and he was dying so he needed to know which son he would write in his will. He and the lady went to consult the astrologer. The results were not what Seth wanted to hear – his younger brother was the chosen one. That night, Seth snuck out of the house with the family's sword and disappeared.

That very same night, the Imperialists chose to attack the complex. Everyone was killed. Fortunately for me, the lord had sent me on vacation so I didn't hear of the news until I returned. Afterwards, I went and built this place here."

"What happened to Seth and the little boy?" Sano asked inquisitively.

"I'm not quite sure, but I have heard that the older brother, Seth, eventually got most of the family inheritance since after the Imperial government took over, his father's will wasn't valid anymore. There was also talk of some uncle that shared in Seth's earnings as well. As for the younger . . ."

"Well?!" Sano asked, all patience lost.

"The younger one is still alive."

"Where is he?" asked Katsu.

"He's in this room." The old man answered as Sano and Katsu looked at each other.

"Taihito Jr., is you . . .Sano."

*Big wide grin* Don't you just love cliffhangers? ^_^ (Dun, dun, DUN!!) Oh yeah, and all the Japanese words like Genki, Senpai, and Jigoku are all real and valid Japanese words.  Ja ne!

Thankfulness to the following reviewers:

Unique-Starfish: I know I AM evil, aren't I? Oh, well, thatz a plus for being an author! And yes I did eat MOST for the turkey for Thanksgiving, thank you.

Lily: Happy late thanksgiving to you!! Yay, I'm really glad I have a fan!! I AM and evil author and can be the most evilest person you'll ever know. ^_^ After all, I AM Shinigami, am I not?

MissBehavin: Muwahaha Now you know who's behind Katsu and Sano's kidnapping? Weren't you surprised? Isn't it getting very interesting? I hope so. Captain Sagara shall avenge the boys' kidnapping, don't you were. But maybe not in a way you think . . . (dun, dun, DUN, dun, dun.)

Natie Eny: YAYAYAAY!! Another fan!! This is my happy day indeed!! ^_^_^_^_^ I hope you liked this chappie, too.