First Meetings — A Rurouni Kenshin Fanfic

Part Two: Himura Kenshin

Chapter One: Seijuro Hiko

"Are you sure no one stopped by this village?" he asked, days later, silently hoping that the boy had snapped out of it.

"Yeah," the old man had replied cantankerously. "The only visitor we've had here this past week was a stray dog."

Hiko cursed under his breath and hid his disappointment as he continued to walk his way home, a slight feeling of frustration building. Maybe he should have tried a little harder to help the kid. That would have been the least he could do given what had happened. He shook his head.

Ah damn. That kid probably just up and died on the spot. He grunted. What a damn waste. He sighed. Perhaps it was just as well. If the kid's constitution was that weak, who knew what would have become of him in this world?

Again, he shook his head. That was the problem. He had not thought of the child as some weakling. At first glance, maybe. With his small size and slight frame, the kid's stance practically screamed frailness. Yet, there was something...something he couldn't quite point his finger to.

Which was why, days later, he went asking around the village just to see how the kid fared. He was just curious, is all. And now that he found out that the kid never even went to the village...well...that just put him in a slightly worse mood than he was already when he started.

There was something about that kid.

But hey, if the kid was so stupid as to not take his advice, then there was nothing else for him to do but bury all the bodies. He didn't have the time before, but now, he might as well do it. Dead is dead, after all.

He headed over to the site of the massacre and prepared himself for a long night. Digging up mass graves wasn't something he looked forward to, especially when the dead had been lying on the ground with only the hot sun and the scavengers for company for several days. He braced himself from the expected stench and the inevitable signs of animals scavenging the dead. It wouldn't be pretty, but then, death rarely was. And violent death...that was a bitch.

He walked in silence for awhile before he almost stumbled at the sight of the massacre. And, instead of the overwhelming sight of decay he expected, what he saw were

Graves...Individual graves with markers on them...

"What the—" he stopped and noticed that same boy, just there, almost in the middle of this makeshift cemetery. His head was bowed down, his russet hair covering his face.

Hiko walked towards him, incredulous. Of all the things he expected to see in this desolate place, this certainly wasn't it. He approached the kneeling child purposely. "You buried them," he stated, his brain still not quite able to take it all in. "Even the bandits," he said in a more muted tone.

Hiko saw the kid take a deep breath. "It's all the same," his child's voice whispered. "They're all just dead," he said, his tone very matter-of fact. But underneath the tone, Hiko sensed...a sadness. Almost a muted desperation.

He nodded absently at the child's answer. "Yes," he replied, his voice solemn. "Dead is dead." He looked at the three marked stones in front of the kid. The boy took extra special care with these. "Who are these that you held them with more honor?" he asked, curious.

"Akane-san, Kasumi-san, and Sakura-san," he answered. "They're not my sisters, but...I made friends with them." He paused. "I tried to put more things, like flowers and such; but even the flowers don't grow here."

Still. The boy was so still.

He wouldn't say it, but deep down, Hiko was...touched. He opened his canteen and poured his remaining sake over the grave stones. "Dying without having tasted good sake would be a pity," he said. "This will be my gift to them."

He saw a hidden look of gratitude from the boy at his words while the boy stared at the clear liquid as it bathed the stones. The boy was too quiet really. He looked up again and stared at the countless number of graves before him as the silence stretched between the two of them.

It's all the same. They're all just dead.

"What's your name?" he finally asked abruptly.

The kid looked up at him, almost startled out of his own reverie, his lavender eyes too girly for such a boy. "Shinta," he replied quietly. "Himura Shinta."

Hiko shook his head. "That name is too sweet for a master swordsman," he stated. "From now on, you shall be called Kenshin." He crouched down and offered his hand. "Come with me, Kenshin." He saw those purple eyes widen. "I'm going to teach you something very special."

End