Disclaimer: I don't own Kenshin. I borrow him. It just takes a long time to return him. I mean, with all the postage and stuff to send him ALL THE WAY BACK TO JAPAN………

Author's Notes: ALL HAIL THE SAMURAI X MOVIES TRUST AND BETRAYL!! I finally got to see them and now I'm bursting with more reason to write this story. And I'm starting to think about maybe putting Tomoe in here. I know I'm a full fledge Kenshin/Kaoru person, but I don't think Tomoe is all that bad. And the girl in chapter two wasn't meant to be Kaoru. The girl was six and Kenshin's 10. Kaoru is 11 years younger than Kenshin, meaning she isn't even BORN yet. I guess the characteristics were too similar. :: sighs :: She could be Kaoru I guess.Oh well, you all need to tell me your opinions. Most of that is far away, because I'm going to try hard with the training part. I don't' know if it will get boring or not so I'm gonna skip some time but yeah. The interlude to this chapter is from a poem I wrote today (Nov. 26th, 2003). I was having a bad day.

Building the Hitokiri

Chapter 4- A New Friend

'Haunting thoughts and memories,

Dying flowers and bleeding trees'

Kenshin stirred as the sunlight hit his face, his red hair not offering enough of a haven from the blinding light. He moaned and rolled over, trying to escape the brightness and bring in more sleep. A couple of hours didn't sit well with his tired, aching body. In the weeks that had transpired since he had found Hiko and began his training in the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, everything had been hard on him. He wasn't allowed to sleep very long, and he was constantly stressing his already aching muscles. His sensei didn't appear to have much sympathy for him when it came to his training, and he was strict and tough with everything he learned.

Finally succombing to the fact that it was dawn, he sat up. He'd have to fix breakfast and pray that Hiko-sensei had not drank too much the night before. Everytime he had a hangover, Kenshin's training was made rougher. The basics were now instilled in perfect form and timing in his body, his bokken was officially a part of him. He had been warned that he wouldn't be holding the wooden weapon long, and he'd have to get used to a heavier katana. Shaking his head and finally standing, Kenshin walked out of the small hut he was living in and began to make a fire to cook left over fish.

Sighing, he thought over what was better. Was he better off before, or how he was living now? Now, of course, he decided. Hiko-sensei may be rough on him, and he may be strict, but underneath all that there was a slight tinge of compassion. When Kenshin had fallen off the stones by the waterfall and cut a wide gash into his leg, Hiko had been sure to take care of him for the few days it would take before he could use it again. Kenshin knew he was as he was for a reason, and that was to toughen him up and teach him never to rely on anyone but himself.

He fisted his hands together at the memory of his sisters and mother. That was the only reason he kept training as he was. He had to avenge them; he had to become stronger for them. Kenshin watched the flames from his fire grow and then he reached for the fish, placing them on sticks and roasting them. The first one caught on fire and burned to a crisp. Angered with his failure, he stomped the remnants of the dead fish into the ground around him. Then he lifted another one, and prayed for better results. This one's skin melted off and the weight all fell to the end, causing the fish to fall off.

His reaction was to reach in and grab the fish, but a hand pulled him back.

"You idiot, you can't stick your hands in a fire. You'll end up like that fish, burnt and dead." Hiko muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose in aggravation. "Do I have to show you how to do everything?"

Kenshin sat up and kneeled next to the fire as he watched Hiko prepare to cook the remaining three fish. He had to learn; he knew this, because he wouldn't always be in Hiko's care. He planned on leaving as soon as he learned what he needed to know from his master. He was learning this to get revenge.

"You hold a corrupt heart, Kenshin." Hiko stated suddenly. "You cannot master the Hiten Mitsurugi with a heart such as yours. I already told you the ideals of this technique, and you have succeeded, even if sloppily, thus far. I cannot let you run free if you fail me. There is only one heir to the Hiten Mitsurugi, and that is the way it will always be. If you fail me, I will have to kill you."

Turning his head, Kenshin stared at Hiko. "But Hiko-sensei… you are giving me this technique for the soul reason of helping me…"

"I said I was going to help you, and that doesn't mean I was going to help you destroy your father. This training, for you, is meant to show you a means of defense you didn't have before, to help clear your mind of the atrocious things you've gone through and make you stronger. I'm not training you kill the man who destroyed your life, I'm training you to teach you how to prevent it from happening to others." Hiko told him. "To protect the innocent people, not to send the evil ones to hell. If you do that, you will only be killing these ideals and becoming one of them yourself, a demon possessed by the lust for blood."

"Never." Kenshin stated, watching as Hiko handed him a fish. "I'd never do that. I promised Sakura that I would never harm another human being without reason."

'I fear you won't be able to keep those ideals with the single goal you have set for yourself. Your morals will be twisted and you'll become a tool someday. I just hope you realize it before it happens.' Hiko thought to himself before staring away.

"I'm not teaching you anything until you can prioritize your life. When I see that you are not only doing this training to get revenge and have vengeance, I will continue with the training. For now, I'm giving you free food and something to drink, and I want you to sit alone and think this through on your own. This is something you have to discover on your own." Hiko told him. "And by the way, stop hiding my sake."

Kenshin glared at him. "I don't like it when you get drunk."

Hiko turned and grinned. "Then you'll definently not like it when I'm sober." He took a swig of his sake and left Kenshin there alone to think.

Defiantly taking a large chunk out of the cooked fish, Kenshin glared at his masters back. Sometimes he couldn't stand the man, but he knew this was just how he was. Drunk and always conceited. He sighed. If he had a clear heart and was able to learn the Hiten Mitsurugi, then why couldn't he, too? There wasn't much difference in their personalities, Kenshin realized. They were both stubborn, and willing to argue. They had great strength, Hiko's physically and Kenshin's mentally. So what was the difference that made it so his master refused to teach him?

Staring down at the dead fish, Kenshin voiced his thoughts.

"If we are the same, then why can't I learn?" he muttered to the other dead fish that he was holding. "What's the difference? Why would I need to learn this other than to get back at my father? Hiko-sensei is very strict, and I hate it sometimes."

The fish just stared up at him.

"What help you are." Kenshin stated sarcastically before taking a bite out of his fish.

Hiko turned from where he had been standing and shook his head. Out of all the boys in Japan, he had chosen a weird redhead with violet eyes that talked to dead fish and tried to burn himself in fires. Despite the insanity that surrounded his pupil, he saw through him. There was an inner strength, but it was driven for the wrong reasons. If he could get Kenshin to realize what the wrong was, then he could successfully teach him all the skills he would need, and pass the Hiten Mitsurugi on to him. He stared at his bottle of sake.

'Maybe I should give him sake… it helps me think,' Hiko thought. 'But if he acts like this sober, then I'd hate to see him drunk.'

Kenshin threw the stick his fish had been on previously to the ground, and used the other one to draw into the sand as he thought. It didn't make any sense to him. Wasn't avenging his family's death a just reason for learning the Hiten Mitsurugi? Wasn't becoming stronger a way to cope with the deaths?

His head shot up as he realized something. Ever since he had began learning the Hiten Mitsurugi, the deaths of his sisters and mother had become much easier to bear, and he didn't ponder on them as much. They were his driving force, but when he practiced, his thoughts weren't on that. They were poised directly to the weapon in his hands and the crispness of his swings, one after another. He found that he wasn't truly feeling sorrow for their deaths anymore, the only feeling he had for it was anger.

Anger. That was the difference. His master was driven by anger. He was driven by the ideals of the technique. Kenshin fisted his hands together. How could he not be angry over what happened? It was impossible! His nails drew blood from his palms so he opened them again, watching the blood flow. The cuts were small, but after he was to be holding his bokken all day, they would begin to sting. Regretting his anger, he walked to the nearby creek and dipped his hands in to wash the blood away. He watched the water pick up the cherry colored liquid, turn it pink, and then wash away.

A rustling caught Kenshin's attention. He was surprised at how the strange training his master was putting him trough had taught him how to use his senses to a more superior level. What he had heard was far away, but it was coming closer. His ki sensing wasn't too good yet, since he hadn't realized why he needed it. Now he wished he had tried harder when he was learning it. Whipping his head around, he looked for something to protect himself.

Where had he put his bokken? Sighing and angered at himself for being so forgetful, he lifted up one of the sticks that was adorned with the ever-attractive bones of his earlier meal. It would have to do for now. His hands ached when he picked it up and he stared down at the dying fire, waiting for whatever it was to come closer. Part of him told himself to run, but the stubborn part told him to stay and actually use what little he had learned to his advantage, to prove to his master that he could do this.

"Hey, nice stick. Never seen one like that before." Came a voice.

Kenshin jumped back and glared at the new comer. "You're hair is funny." He told him.

The boy touched his hair. "Hey! Be nice! I can't help it if it does this! Don't tell me you're going to start calling me rooster head, too, are you?"

There was nothing hostile about the young boy, Kenshin decided, and let his stick fall and he warmed up to him slightly. Something was just inviting about the kid. His brown hair stuck up in all directions and a red bandana was tied around his forehead. He wore white and black, but carried nothing with him at the time.

"Can I call you chicken head?" Kenshin suggested.

The kid grinned. "Can I call you samurai boy?"

"But I'm not a samurai!" Kenshin said.

"And I'm not a chicken or a rooster!" the kid told him back, reaching for the fishbone on Kenshin's stick and sticking it in his mouth. "I like to chew on these things. Some weird habit I came up with."

Kenshin grinned. He felt at ease around this kid and he was pretty funny. He hadn't felt this lighthearted in a while. It was a welcoming feeling.

"Why are you all the way out here?" Kenshin finally asked. "And what's your name?"

Sitting down, the kid sat next to Kenshin and stared off into the forest for a moment.

"Do you know who the Seikhouti are?" he asked.

Kenshin shook his head. "No, I don't."

"Well, they're an army that's trying to help with overthrowing the government. We're mostly farmers and such. We're hoping to bring a new, peaceful government here in the end. There's not a war yet, but Captain Sagara thinks there will be in a few years if things don't go well. He says that then we will all be able to have last names. Then I will Sanosuke Sagara. You can call me Sano." Sano stated, extending a hand. "And who might you be, pink boy?"

Kenshin glared. He had forgotten he was wearing his magenta gi. "It's a fuchsia gi and my name Kenshin Himura."

"Kenshin, huh? Well, why are you out here all alone?"

"I'm not. I'm with my sensei, Hiko. He's supposed to be training me. But for some reason he thinks my heart is too corrupt." Kenshin told him. "You're talkative, you know that?"

"You're shy."

"So?"

They stared at each other before Sano stood up. "Well, I'll see you around maybe. After the new era comes I'll be looking for you, okay? You and the missy."

"Who's the missy?" Kenshin asked, a little confused.

"She's a girl I met a few towns back. Really nice but really aggressive, she gave me a few bumps on my head." Sano said, rubbing his skull. "Well, Captain Sagara will go looking for me if I don't get back. Don't know why I stopped anyway."

Kenshin nodded. He watched Sanosuke leave and then turned back to his fire, which was completely out. He covered it with some sand, a few more confusing thoughts flying in his head. But he didn't feel angry now. If there was a war, he thought, then maybe he could fight for the peaceful era. And then when that came, the government could righteously punish his father. Feeling a little better and like he had figured out what his master had wanted, he left the area to train again.

"This your sword." Hiko said, handing the katana to Kenshin.

Kenshin buckled under the weight of his new weapon. "Master… why is it so heavy?"

Hiko shook his head. "It's metal, you idiot! What did you expect, a feather?"

"I'm sorry."

"I'm surprised you found your answer so quickly. Did you run into the rooster that was stupidly walking around the forest, like someone else I took in?" Hiko said, making sure Kenshin knew he was talking about him.

"You mean the boy? Yeah. I talked to him." Kenshin responded, putting the oversized sword into the belt that held up his hakama. "Um… I think it's too big for me."

Hiko looked at Kenshin. Taking in the sight before him, heshook his head. The sword was almost as big as Kenshin was, his clothes were to big on him and he was scrawny. His idiot apprentice looked like a girl.

"You look like a girl, stupid pupil. You really need to gain some height and muscle."

"I'm not a girl!" Kenshin shot back at him. "And I'm gaining muscle! Just because I'm not some over muscled beast doesn't make me a girl!"

Hiko glared at him. "You will regret that. We'll start out with something hard today, just because of that. The Ryu-Kan-Sen."

After handing Kenshin a wakizashi instead, which would be more fitting to his small stature, they stepped outside into an open area on a rock ledge by a waterfall. Hiko stared at his student and began.

"The Ryu-Kan-Sen, or the Dragon Wind Up Flash, is used once you get beside an opponent like this." Hiko stood next to Kenshin. "From there, with a powerful twist of your entire body, you place a blow directly under the skull. With a sword as you have, it would send the head flying about fifty feet away if you gain the correct speed."

Hiko demonstrated every move in a slow speed for Kenshin, forcing the movements so that his eyes could register them. His pupil couldn't be so stupid as to think this was how slow the attack was supposed to be, could he?

"Then should we be practicing with a real sword?" Kenshin asked. "I mean…"

"You won't kill me, trust me. I can block the attack easily coming from you, and besides, you're not unsheathing that sword until we practice an actual spar." Hiko told him. "You're not quite fast enough yet, which can be seen from your shortness, stupid apprentice, so you'd better watch because I'm only showing you this once."

Kenshin held onto the sheathed wakizashi and eyed Hiko as he took off the large cape and went into a stance before shooting off toward him. His eyes widened when he lost all sight of his master and the next thing he knew, an excruciating pain hit his neck and he was down, face first, on the stone ledge.

Groaning Kenshin stood up again and turned. How did he do that? He had only felt the pain, and seen none of the movement. He placed a hand on his neck and rubbed the throbbing, swelling area. He had memorized the slow movements he had been shown before, but how was he supposed to match that speed?

"I'm not going easy on you, even though I didn't hit you as hard as I could have." Hiko told him. "What's the use of teaching my idiot student if I end up killing him or giving him a concussion? Now, repeat the same attack on me."

Kenshin moved into the stance that Hiko had taken previously, and stared at his master. He didn't seem the least bit worried about the attack. Kenshin knew he wouldn't get it on the first try, but he was going to attempt to do the best that he could. He sprinted off at an inhuman speed, but one that wasn't fast enough to match the speed he was supposed to have. He sped and performed the spin of his body and directed his attack toward the base of Hiko's skull.

CLANK.

Kenshin looked up, only to see Hiko's sword blocking his own wakizashi from hitting his neck. Hiko turned his head to face Kenshin, a small grin gracing his face. Kenshin gulped. He knew that grin meant.

"Idiot apprentice, that was actually good." Hiko told him. "But you aren't fast enough or accurate enough yet. So you're going to practice that the rest of the day, and we'll focus on this technique for a couple of weeks until I believe you have perfected it. Until then I will be back at the hut and you will stay here and practice until sunset."

Kenshin's mouth dropped just as Hiko walked away.

Author's Notes: Yes. Sano is older. I didn't know when the Seikhouti began (did I spell that right?) so I just guessed. I needed a reason for why Kenshin came up with the reason behind why his heart was corrupt. I guess the little girl could have been Kaoru, we'll decide on that. And I seriously am thinking of putting Tomoe in here. It won't be for a while and she'll die the same way, but there may be a few changes in everything. We'll see, okay?

And since I still don't have the review responses up, I want to thank those of you who have reviewed every chapter (That's you, Human Chew Toy!) and those who have just reviewed. 12 reviews and I'm happy. That's what I've got so far, but you're reviews are very inspirational. I have 2 poems up called 'Battousai's Ballad' and 'Curse in Death'. If you like this you might wanna check them out if you haven't. Love you guys.

Love and hugs,

Crystal Renee