Author's Note: Thank you for your reviews so far. There was a request to draw Radditz/Kenshin in some fan art. I say go for it! Actually, I'm currently working on a web site at to put my fanfics and fanart on. I'd be happy to post anyone else's stuff once I get it going. So if you feel inspired to draw from my fic, I'd be more than happy to post that too! And one other thing, I don't own Thain. I'd intended from the start to have a dwarf as the Guardian, but I couldn't think of a good dwarf name on my own. So I stole the name Thain from Lord of the Rings. Hopefully J.R.R. Tolkien won't come back from his grave and shoot me for that. Anyway, once the web site is up, I'll post the address in an author's note.
Rurouni
By: Lady Jaye
Chapter 6: Hiko Kenshin
Kenshin stared up into the sky. Everyone was now standing in the training yard outside of the house. Sanosuke muttered to the Saiyan.
"I don't like this Kenshin."
"I agree," he replied. Kenshin turned toward the Kaios. "Tell me, Lord Kai, are these people friend or foe?" This caused a blink from the Kaio. Goku had never addressed him that formally before.
"They are friends Master Hiko," the Supreme Kai replied. However, he was a bit worried. He sensed an unusual amount of anger coming from Son Goku and his friends. Why would that be?
The Saiyan stared up at the sky again. The Kaio-shin had said they were friends, but he felt the worry from the small God. He looked over at Kaoru, who was standing to his left next to Yahiko. He sincerely hoped that there would be no fighting to come. Megumi hovered to his right, which normally would have been a source of irritation for Kaoru, but she only pursed her lips. Now wasn't the time for a petty squabble.
Kibito moved toward the Saiyan, who was still eyeing the sky.
"Master Hiko," he said, "There's something you should know…" Kibito didn't get a chance to finish, the others had arrived.
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Goku was the first to land, followed by his son, Vegeta, and Piccolo. The others were soon behind him. They had felt the Supreme Kai and Kibito's Ki from a distance, and had wondered about it. His brother had better not have been causing trouble. The Saiyan glared in the direction of Radditz's Ki…and stared at him in shock.
The Saiyan that stood opposite of him was not dressed in Saiyan armor. The Saiyan opposite of him did not look hostile or angry. He looked perplexed. Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, and Kururin stared at Radditz. The tall Saiyan had his long hair tied back behind his head and had an odd cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. He was also dressed in strange clothes. His wide sleeved shirt was a deep, dark blue, that was folded into strange, white pants. The pants were flowing, with deep creases running up the wide legs. He also had a sword hanging at his side. Goku suddenly realized with a start that Radditz didn't have a tail.
Still, the strangeness of his brother's looks did not dull his anger, only confuse it. Radditz, for his part, gave him a strange look before speaking.
"Who are ye? The Lord Kai tells me that ye are friends, yet I sense a great deal of anger from you, that I do." What? Lord Kai? Ye? That I do? Why is he talking so weird? Goku thought. Wait…he doesn't know who we are?
"My name is Son Goku."
"Son Goku? The Lord Kai and Lord Kibito mentioned your name, but did not yet explain who you are, that they did not."
"Kibito," the tall Kaio suddenly said. His brother turned toward him.
"Oro?" He heard Radditz asked.
"Call me Kibito, not Lord Kibito." Goku watched in shock as a small, warm smile graced his brother's lips.
"Then I must insist that ye call me Kenshin instead of Master Hiko, that I do." Kenshin? Master Hiko? What are they talking about? Goku thought. The others who had met Radditz before also wondered the same thing. His brother turned back to them.
"My name is Hiko Kenshin. What is it that brings you to Miss Kaoru's dojo?" Everyone's mouth gaped open.
"Hiko Kenshin!" Vegeta sputtered. "Your name's Radditz!" Kenshin's eyes widened in shock. But before he could say anything, Sanosuke butted in.
"How the heck do you people know that?! You're the third person today to call him that, and no one knows that except for us and Kenshin's master!"
"Yeah!" Yahiko added, wanting to get his input out as well. Goku and the others turned their attention from Radditz to the people surrounding him. Besides the Kaios, there were two women, a man, and a boy. One of the women and the man both had pointy ears like Piccolo and the Kaios. Who were these people with his brother?
"Kenshin…" Kaoru said, "That guy looks like you." Kenshin blinked as he looked at Goku. Something about the man had been tickling the back of his mind and he finally realized what it was.
"Father?" He asked. Everyone blinked at him surprise.
"What did you say Sir Ken?" Megumi asked.
"This man, he has the very image of my father, that he does."
"I've had enough of this!" Vegeta finally exploded. "Don't you recognize other Saiyans when you see them?!"
"WHAT?!" Yahiko and Sanosuke yelled. Kaoru and Megumi stared at the other men. These men were Saiyans too? Kenshin stared wide-eyed at them.
"I admit, I do not remember my father well, that I do not. But ye are the very image of him, as is that young man next to you. Not all of ye are Saiyans though, I can see. Who are ye?" Ye? Goku thought again. Why is he talking like this? It's kind of hard to understand him.
Goku stared at him in shock. He hadn't been expecting this. The younger Saiyan had to puzzle out his brother's peculiar way of speaking, but he understood. Radditz had no idea who he was. Trunks, for his part, had been surprised to see that the mysterious Radditz was a Saiyan. He was trying to figure out why Radditz called himself Hiko Kenshin and why he looked like Goku. Tienshinhan himself could only wonder at how much Radditz looked like Goku.
"It isn't polite not to answer someone's question," Kaoru said. Goku now puzzled over the human, who was standing very close to his brother's side. The other woman stood close on Radditz's right side.
"Are you guys just going to stand there like a bunch of morons?!" An irritated Yahiko yelled.
"Yahiko!" Kaoru yelled at him.
"Well, they're not being very polite! Kenshin has asked them a few times already who they are, and they haven't answered him!"
"Yeah, they aren't very polite then, are they?" Sanosuke stepped in front of Kenshin and smacked his fists together. "The kid's right, answer Kenshin's question!" Piccolo felt surprise at this strange, pointy-eared man for defending Radditz. He narrowed his eyes as he felt the half-elf's Ki start to rise.
"I…" Goku said. But Yahiko's voice interrupted him.
"I'M NOT A KID!"
"SHUT UP YAHIKO! THIS ISN'T THE TIME!" Sano yelled back.
"I DON'T CARE! I'M NOT A KID, ROOSTER HEAD!!"
"WHAT'D YOU CALL ME?!"
"ROOSTER HEAD! ROOSTER HEAD!"
Goku and the others watched in bewildered amazement as the human woman whipped out a wooden sword and smacked the arguing duo across the heads. The man and boy yelled at her, with the boy calling her an "ugly woman."
"I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I'M THE PRETTIEST TRAINING INSTRUCTOR THAT YOU'LL EVER SEE!!!" Kaoru began chasing the two of them around Kenshin, who stood there and smacked his head. What a time for petty arguments, he thought with a groan. He sighed as Megumi called her a violent little girl, which caused Kaoru to turn her rage on the elf.
"SHUT UP!! AND GET AWAY FROM KENSHIN!!" Kenshin blanched as Kaoru's wooden bokken crashed down toward Megumi, but hit him instead after the elf doctor ducked her head. He saw stars appear in his eyes as he stumbled back and was grateful when Kibito caught him..
"KENSHIN! I'M SO SORRY!!" Kaoru was immediately at his side and tried to help the Kaio steady the swirly-eyed Saiyan.
"Uh…" Kururin said as everyone sweat dropped. "Is this really Radditz?" Goku stared wide-eyed at his brother. They watched in amazement as Radditz suddenly regained his balance and looked intently at them.
"Ye still did not answer my question, who are ye? Why do ye look like my father?" Everyone except for Trunks and the Dei-sho fell down in surprise.
"Well, I…" Goku had no idea what to say. This was confusing! This wasn't turning out like he had expected at all. Luckily for him, the Supreme Kai answered for him.
"Son Goku's Saiyan name is Kakarott, Master Hiko. Like you, he was sent to Earth when he was a young. Unlike you, he actually made it there, but lost his memory. Goku is your younger brother." Kenshin felt his heart skip a beat as the others gave a gasp.
"Kenshin has a brother?" Kaoru asked.
"No wonder they look alike!" Yahiko exclaimed. Kenshin just stood there, staring wide-eyed at Goku.
"But…I have no brother…" he said.
"Kenshin…" Kaoru placed a hand on the Saiyan's shoulder. Her presence provided an anchor to the suddenly unsure Kenshin. "Kenshin, you came to Gaea when you were seven, didn't you? Your parents could have had another child without you knowing about it." She looked up into his ebony eyes, which suddenly had become slightly sad. Kenshin knew that what she said was true, but it was still hard to believe.
"Kenshin?" Goku asked. His brother turned from the woman to look at him.
"I told you before, my name is Hiko Kenshin, that it is. I have not gone by the name of Radditz since I was seven years of age. I am surprised that our people have let ye live on Earth, that I am."
"We don't have a people left," Vegeta said. He watched as Radditz whirled to him in shock.
"What do you mean by this?"
"A creature named Frieza destroyed our planet, only a few of us survived. Kakarott and I are the only full-blooded Saiyans left. That brat there is your brother's half-human son and this one is my mine. He's half-human as well." The Saiyan prince watched as Radditz's face paled in dismay.
"Everyone….is dead?" Kenshin asked quietly. Vegeta nodded. "Oh gods…" The swordsman said as he sank to his knees. Everyone was dead? He stared numbly into space as he felt Kaoru slip an arm around him.
"I'm so sorry Kenshin," she said quietly.
"Kenshin…" Yahiko and Megumi knelt down next to him as Sanosuke crouched down on his heels slightly behind the distraught Saiyan. Sano laid a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry buddy," the half-elf said. Kenshin struggled to control his emotions, but several tears slipped down his face.
"I did not want to return, that I did not. But….everyone is dead…father…mother…"
Goku felt the rest of his built up anger slowly disappear like smoke. This was an alternate world, he remembered. This Radditz had never been to Earth. He had never threatened him, his family, or his planet in this universe. This Radditz was as much a part of Gaea as he was of Earth. He looked in dismay at the anguish in his brother's face. Unlike him, his brother actually had memories of their parents. Goku didn't know what to do. He had come here expecting to find an enemy.
Kenshin took a deep breath and slowly stood up. After a pause, he took to the air and flew high up above the gathering before he stopped.
"Kenshin!" Kaoru yelled and was ready to go after him before Sanosuke stopped her.
"Leave him be Kaoru. He needs to blow off some steam." The half-elf had an idea of what was going to happen. He watched as Kenshin's brother took to the air after him. Before he could yell at him to stop, he felt his friend explode with Ki.
Goku stared in shock as his brother's hair turned blonde and his eyes turned green. What… The sudden explosion of Ki from Radditz pushed him back as he cried out in grief. A wide-eyed Goku watched in disbelief as his brother quickly transformed into a Super Saiyan 2, and then just as suddenly, Radditz powered down. His younger brother blinked in surprise. Radditz had powered up and back down faster than flipping a light switch. Even he didn't power up that fast and then suddenly turn it off.
He watched as his brother's shoulders slumped. The other Saiyan floated in the air for a long moment before returning to the ground. Goku could only float there and stare at him. How had he done that so quickly? He flew back down to the others.
The others stared at Radditz too, especially Vegeta. Radditz had been such a weakling in his universe, but this one was stronger than he was! How did he and Kakarott, two low-class Saiyans, manage it? This quietly infuriated the Saiyan Prince.
Kibito and the Supreme Kai walked over to the silent Saiyan.
"Master Hiko?" the Supreme Kai asked. Kenshin slowly turned his eyes to the small Kaio. The Kaio-shin continued. "I'm afraid that there is much to discuss. These people aren't from this universe, but theirs is very similar to ours."
"What do you mean by this Lord Kai?" the Saiyan asked quietly. Before the Kaio-shin could answer, Sanosuke spoke up.
"Can't this wait? Give Kenshin some time before you throw more stuff at him!" Sanosuke trembled in anger. Couldn't they stop piling things on Kenshin? The half-elf felt Kenshin's hand on his shoulder.
"Nay, Sano. I do thank you for your concern."
"But Kenshin…"
"Everyone is here for a purpose, we should at least find out why." Sanosuke stared at his friend before he understood. Kenshin would grieve later, in private. The Saiyan wasn't one to open up his emotions to strangers, no matter who they said they were. His friend turned toward Kaoru.
"Miss Kaoru, may our guests come inside? I think we should make ourselves comfortable, that we should. I have the feeling that this may take some time." Kaoru nodded her head before turning to the others.
"I am Kamiya Kaoru, the Assistant Master of the Kamiya Kasshin style of swordsmanship. This is my dojo, so please be respectful. Now if you all would follow me please." She turned and started walking toward the house, with Kenshin walking next to her. Everyone else exchanged looks before following Radditz and Kamiya Kaoru.
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Hiko Seijuro looked up from the book in his lap. He'd just felt Kenshin's Ki skyrocket before disappearing. Despite the great distance, he had felt the anguish in his adoptive son's heart.
The master swordsman stood up and closed the book. There were several large Ki near Kenshin, all of which had suddenly appeared this morning. Seijuro reached for his sword and walked into the back room to find a pack.
He knew that his apprentice now lived in Leilani, a small village in the province of Illadori. The human threw several garments, some food, and some water into the pack before slipping it around his shoulder. He then quickly checked his home before walking out the front door and into the forest.
The swordsman had often wondered about the twin Earths. The sudden appearance of so many powerful Ki only peaked his interest. Seijuro was going to find out what was going on.