Rurouni

By: Lady Jaye

Chapter 4: A Saiyan on Gaea

"By all the stars, have never met such a lazy elf!"

"I'm a half-elf, you quack!"

Kenshin felt a snicker rise in his throat as he listened to his quarreling friends. Takani Megumi, the first speaker, was an elf doctor they had befriended. The green-haired female elf was currently berating Sanosuke, a freeloading half-elven fighter.

"Would it kill you to do a little bit of work around here?! Just look at Kenshin, at least he's earning his keep! It's a wonder Kaoru hasn't tossed you out yet!" The Saiyan felt a twinge of embarrassment as two pairs of eyes looked at him. He plunged his hands back into the soapy water and scrubbed at a yellow shirt.

"Yeah, you should work like Uncle Ken!" Three-year old Ayame Genzai yelled at Sanosuke. Her two-year old sister echoed her.

"Yeah, Spiky Hair Guy should help Uncle Kenny!" Kenshin smiled fondly at the little elf girls. They were the great-granddaughters of Dr. Genzai, another elf who was also an old family friend of Kamiya Kaoru. The two girls were currently helping "Uncle" Kenshin wash the laundry outside. Sanosuke glared at them.

"My name's Sanosuke, not Spiky Hair Guy! Besides, Kenshin has spikier hair than me anyway!" He yelled, indignant. The young girls giggled at him. Actually, his light brown hair was almost as spiky as Kenshin's, but it was cut short, so it was more obvious. Megumi started laughing as Sanosuke muttered under his breath. "You'd think they could at least call me Sano or even Uncle Sano." Kenshin's Saiyan ears caught the remark.

"Maybe if you did more with the girls Sano, they'd stop calling you Spiky hair guy," he said. Sano scowled at him before rolling over and attempting to continue his nap. Megumi gave an irritated sigh, but Kenshin caught her eye before she could yell at Sanosuke again. She caught the wink he gave her and smiled back at him. Apparently he had an idea.

They were all currently staying at the Kamiya dojo, courtesy of Kaoru. The dark blue-haired human female ran the dojo, which had been passed down to her from her father. The dojo itself was located in the town of Leilani.

Kenshin had met Kaoru quite by accident when he'd wandered into the town. The Saiyan had spent a little over ten years wandering after the Fanel Revolution until he'd ended up in Leilani and met the stubborn teacher of the Kamiya Kasshin style of swordsmanship. A few years after the war he had gone back to see his master. Seijuro hadn't seemed as angry as Kenshin had expected. His master and father figure had actually been supportive of the Saiyan, at least after he'd given his apprentice a piece of his mind. He'd stayed with Seijuro for about a year before setting off to wander again.

Megumi left Sanosuke alone while the Saiyan and the two young elven girls finished washing the clothes. An approaching Ki registered in the swordsman's mind and he listened for the inevitable remark.

"SANOSUKE YOU BUM!!!" Yahiko yelled. The girls started giggling as Sano covered his sensitive ears, but refused to budge. Kenshin himself winced as his Saiyan ears caught the yell. Myoujin Yahiko was the eleven-year old human apprentice of Kaoru, although the two seemed to have a more brother, sister relationship than that of master and apprentice. Yahiko looked down at the Saiyan.

"Kenshin! How can you let that rooster head sleep like that?"

"I heard that!" Sanosuke yelled.

"Shut up you freeloader!"

"Come over here and make me squirt!"

"What did you call me?!"

"I called you a squirt, kid!"

"I'M NOT A KID!!"

"KID, KID, KID!!"

Yahiko stood shaking in rage. Kenshin rolled his eyes. They both acted the same age, never mind the fact that Sanosuke was about ten years younger than him. The Saiyan shushed Yahiko and gave him a conspiratol grin as he pointed to the wash water. Yahiko grinned back.

After about five minutes, Kenshin picked up the large washtub. He and Yahiko walked over to the dozing Sanosuke.

"Oh Sano…" Kenshin said.

"Hnn?"

Kenshin emptied the water over his half-asleep friend. Sanosuke started to sputter angrily after he received the rude awakening. Yahiko was laughing so hard that he fell to the ground. Little Ayame exclaimed.

"Spiky Hair Guy has soapy hair!"

"KENSHIN!!! YAHIKO!!!" he roared. The infuriated half-elf took off after the other two. Sanosuke was in the middle of trying to dump them down the well when Kaoru's wooden bokken hit him on the head.

"What in the name of Gaea are you doing?! How can you three be fooling around at a time like this?!" She pointed up at the twin Earths in the sky.

"Oro?" Kenshin asked. Sanosuke rubbed the bump on his head and was about to yell at her, but the angry look on her face caused him to shrink back.

"We were…" Yahiko began, but Kaoru interrupted him.

"I don't care what you three were doing! You're setting a bad example for the girls!" They looked over at Ayume and Suzume, who were currently giggling at them.

"Don't be mad at Uncle Kenny, Auntie Kaoru!" Suzume exclaimed as she ran to her idol. Her older sister was right behind her.

"Yeah, he was trying to wake Spiky Hair Guy up!"

"STOP CALLING ME SPIKY HAIR GUY!"

"SHUT UP SANOSUKE!!" Kaoru yelled. Her blue eyes softened as she looked at the Saiyan. Kenshin smiled back at her. Damn that smile, it was hard to even pretend to be angry with him when he smiled like that. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"How can you three be playing at a time like this? There's a lot of strange things going on!" Everyone looked up at the two Earths.

"What do you want us to do about it Kaoru?" Yahiko asked. "It's not like we have control over anything." Kaoru sighed. As much as she didn't want to admit it, the boy was right.

"I guess you're right. Actually," she said, "I came out here to ask Kenshin to go pick up rice at the market for me." The Saiyan held out his hand to her.

"Of course, Miss Kaoru," he said. Kaoru handed him a small pouch of money. She didn't understand why he was so formal with her sometimes, but she knew that was just the way he talked. Kenshin tied the pouch to his belt before turning to the expectant little girls.

"Would you like to come to the market with me Ayame and Suzume?"

"Yeah!!" The tall Saiyan picked up the young girls and turned to go.

"We will be back later Miss Kaoru, that we will." Yahiko appeared at his side.

"Can I come too?"

"I think Sanosuke should be the one to go with him," Kaoru said.

"What?!" the half-elf cried. Kaoru turned on him.

"You haven't done anything all day, you slacker! I let you stay here for free! The least you can do is go with Kenshin!"

"It's not like he needs my help!"

"Sanosuke!"

A few minutes later a grumbling Sanosuke was walking with Kenshin, Yahiko, and the girls. It didn't help his mood that the boy was mocking him the whole way.

"Shut up Yahiko!" he finally yelled. The young human grinned as he fell into step with the Saiyan. Each of the girls were perched on his shoulders and were playing with his black hair. Yahiko had a sudden mental image of them braiding Kenshin's long hair. The Saiyan seemed to sense what he was thinking and shot the boy a glare. However, this only made him laugh out loud.

"What's so funny Yahiko?" Sano asked. The young boy told him, which caused the pair to erupt with laughter at the image. Kenshin retaliated by asking slyly.

"So Sano, how does that soap smell?" Sanosuke chased him all the way to the marketplace, with Yahiko close behind.

Kenshin was paying for the rice when Sanosuke nudged him in the ribs.

"Hey Kenshin," he whispered, "there's some strange guys watching you." The Saiyan peered out of the corner of his eyes.

"I know, I've sensed them there for several minutes now," he whispered back. Yahiko was openly watching the two strangers. Sanosuke told him to stop staring. The young swordsman gave his elder an irritated glare, but complied.

The girls were busy licking at the candy that Kenshin had bought them as he tied the rice bags to a staff and hoisted it over his shoulders. Yahiko and Sanosuke each also took two large bags of rice. The Saiyan eyed the two strangers as their little group started to walk back home.

There were two men. One was short, with blue skin, elven ears, and a white Mohawk. The other man was very tall with pink skin, elven ears, and long white hair. Both men were garbed in rich clothing. Kenshin had no idea what race they belonged to.

They continued walking home. Ayame and Suzume seemed oblivious to the sudden tension in their elders. For several long minutes, they lost sight of the strange pair until they were about eight minutes from home.

"Kenshin," Yahiko hissed, "It's those guys again." Kenshin turned his eyes to the strange duo, who now seemed to be admiring a nearby garden. He and Sanosuke had felt their Ki again as well. Sanosuke turned to his friend.

"What do you think they want?" he asked in a low voice. Yahiko rolled up his sleeves and began to march toward the pair.

"I'm gonna ask them what the heck their problem is!" The boy was stopped short by the hand on his shoulder.

"Nay, Yahiko. If they wish to speak with me, let them make the first move. So far they have caused no trouble to us, that they have not. Besides…" the Saiyan suddenly said with a smile, "…Miss Kaoru will be wanting her rice, that she will. Right girls?" The little girls nodded their heads.

It was then that Yahiko understood. As he looked up, he saw that Sanosuke was having the same thoughts. In case that the two strangers were hostile, Kenshin didn't want the little girls in danger. It was best to take them home first before they did anything else.

The two strangers watched the group leave.

"It's amazing, isn't it Kibito?" The short one asked. Kibito nodded his head in agreement.

"Yes, who knew that there was a Saiyan on Gaea?" The Supreme Kai smiled to himself before replying.

"It is a fortunate stroke of luck for us Kibito. Not only is he a full blooded Saiyan, but as the Guardian of Gaea told me, he is also Son Goku's older brother." Kibito looked down at the Kaio-shin with surprise.

"Goku's brother? Master Thain told you that?" The Supreme Kai nodded. He'd sent Goku and some of the others to the planet where the Namekian refugees had resettled. There was a breach in the Dei there. But as he'd later discovered, an even larger breach had formed here by Earth. Luckily for him, the Dei-sho of his universe was bringing in help from two other universes.

"When do you think that the Goku and the others from the Seiden and Imeidun universes will arrive?" Kibito asked.

"Soon, I should think," the Kaio-shin answered. They'd come to Gaea in hopes of accessing the breach, so that they could report to the travelers. Much to their surprise, they'd sensed a large Saiyan Ki on the planet. When they'd talked to Thain, the Guardian of Gaea, they had learned the truth. That Saiyan Ki belonged to Radditz, Goku's long-lost older brother. Master Thain seemed to have a surprising amount of information on the planet bound Saiyan, even though he claimed that he'd never met Radditz in person. One important thing that the Supreme Kai had learned was that Radditz went by the name of Hiko Kenshin.

The pair stared into the distance where they could still feel Radditz's energy.

"Should we go meet him?" Kibito asked. The Kaio-shin answered with a smile.

"Yes, I think we should Kibito."

Author's Note: I know in Rurouni Kenshin, Kenshin's full name is actually Himura Kenshin. But I thought it would be better in my story if Radditz took the surname name of his master. So, hence, Hiko Kenshin instead of Himura Kenshin. And for those of you that don't know, "Oro?" is a Japanese expression that more or less means "What?" or "Huh?"