Well, here's Chapter 1...on the same day I post the prologue. Hm. Well, now you'll have no excuse not to read and review when you're done reading it! Muahahahaha!
A large sweatdrop appeared on the side of Kenshin's head as he looked at the list in his hand. "Are you really sure you need all this Kaoru-dono?" he asked, his eyes wide. "It is already evening. Are you sure you need these things now?"
That had been a half hour before, and Kenshin now found himself walking along the streets of Tokyo. The crowd was quickly thinning, spilling into houses and separate streets, making travel much easier. He sighed as he looked over the list again, and then tucked it inside his gi. He hoped that at least one market was still open. Kaoru-dono would be displeased if he returned empty handed.
The rurouni stepped onto the large wooden bridge overlooking the river, the boards below his feet creaking with the strain. He looked back and forth across the bridge, watching as people passed by, some laughing and joking as they went. The sight made the rurouni smile before continuing on his way. However, as he passed one pair of women, her heard something that wiped the smile cleanly from his face.
"Did you hear about the body the police found in the river a few days ago?" asked the taller of the two women, who wore an aqua blue kimono and carried a basket of vegetables.
The smaller woman, who carried a jug of soy sauce on her hip, nodded in response. "Quite disturbing really, all broken up like it was. Didn't they say it was a woman?"
"From what I recall, yes."
"And those wounds of hers were fresh. She must have been killed that morning!"
"It makes you a bit nervous to be out at night..."
On queue, the two women turned their heads to the left and right, then slide closer together before they continued walking.
Kenshin watched them out of the corner of his eye as he walked on, remembering what he had heard about this same incident. Only a few days earlier, a woman's body had been found washed ashore by the current. The parts of the body that weren't broken or bloody were severely bruised, indicating that it hadn't been an accidental death. She had to have been thirty-five or so at most, but it was hard to tell which her body mangled as badly as it was. Kenshin sped up his walk some, intent on getting back to the dojo as fast as possible.
Then, as he reached the center of the bridge, he noticed something. A girl was standing by the railing of the bridge, standing rigidly, staring off into the landscape of the city beyond. She wore a simple gi and hakama, much like the one Kaoru used while training. She appeared to be around twelve, for her figure wasn't all that shapely. She looked foreign, for her hair was an uncommon shade of brown, and her eyes were wider than the traditional Asian. It was these eyes that attracted Kenshin's attention. They were fogged and cloudy, as if she were in deep thought. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks, staining her collar. However, the rest of her body was completely stationary.
Kenshin kept an eye on her as he passed by, his curiosity momentarily sparked by the young woman. However, all thoughts about her quickly ceased as he pulled the list from his gi once more and headed into the market, which was just beginning to close down for the night.
When Kenshin left the market laden down with Kaoru's groceries, the heavens had completely blackened. Stars dotted the sky, which was unmarred by clouds. The moon, though only half its full size, shone brightly. The beams cast long, eerie shadows across the packed dirt roads, making the once busy street seem almost unearthly in the wake of night. The fact that very little light came through the dimmed windows added to the effect.
As he walked across the bridge, Kenshin's eyes widened in surprise to see the girl from earlier still standing exactly where she had been before. She still stood directly upright, starring off into the darkness. She made no sound, and, as before, did not move. However, there was one difference to her: her tears were gone and the fog had almost entirely lifted from her eyes.
"Miss?" asked Kenshin, taking a step toward the girl. "Are you all right?"
If the girl heard him speak, she did not acknowledge it. Instead, she tilted her head downward to stare at the railing. Her hair shifted and swished, blocking her face from Kenshin's view. She placed her hand on the wood, brushing her palm across it momentarily. Then, she slowly pulled herself up onto the railing and stood. Kenshin took another step forward, worried that the aged wood might snap under the girl's weight. However, much to his relief, it held steady.
The girl remained there for a few moments, a warm breeze lifting up her brunette hair and tugging at her clothes. Then, to the watching rurouni's horror, she spread her arms out to the side, closed her eyes, and fell.
"Iie!" Kenshin yelled, dropping the groceries onto the bridge's wooden planks. With the godlike speed that came to define the rurouni, he bolted for the edge of the bridge. Barely a moment after the girl had fallen, Kenshin was leaning over the railing, her wrist clamped tightly in his hand.
"Nani???" yelled the girl in surprise, starring up at Kenshin. The surprise however, quickly turned into rage. "What are you doing???" she shouted, she voice sounding slightly raspy. "LET GO OF ME!!!" She clamped her hand over his, attempting to pry his fingers from her wrist. However, her strength was nothing compared the swordsman's, and he easily held on.
"This one can't do that." Said Kenshin as the girl struggled to free herself. "That would be fatal to you Miss, that it would." Kenshin then pulled the girl up over the railing, back onto the bridge. It wasn't an easy task, for she was quite a bit heavier than he. Her struggling didn't help much either. Despite both of these however, she was back on the bridge in a few moments' time.
As the girl got to her feet, she spun backwards, intent on delivering a back fist to the rurouni's head. However, Kenshin pulled back just enough for the girl to miss. She over shot and lost her balance, but easily caught herself on the railing.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT??" she screamed, tears streaming down her face again. "WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME BE AND LET ME DIE???" Again, the girl came at him, still intent on marring him, but Kenshin easily caught her fist and held onto it tightly.
"It would not do for this one to just stand back and watch..." Using his other hand, Kenshin caught her other fist, which had been on a direct path for his face. "The days of the samurai are over. Suicide is hardly justified."
The girl shouted in frustration, ripping her fists from his grasp. Kenshin expected her to attempt to strike him again, but, much to his surprise, she did not. Instead, she fell against him, crying into his shoulder, her body shaking with every raking sob.
"Oro?" he said, starring at the girl as a large sweatdrop formed on his head. She attempted to speak, but he couldn't very well decipher what she was trying to say. He patted her on the head awkwardly, trying his best to comfort her.
"I don't know what to do," she choked out between sobs (though Kenshin had to strain to hear it correctly). "I have nowhere to go!"
Kenshin waited a few more minutes, saying nothing, listening to the girl's jumbled speech. Throughout the ordeal, he noticed that she switched between languages. Half the time he could understand bits and pieces of words, only for her to switch to a language that he couldn't even begin to understand. By the time she finally calmed down, his gi was completely soaked through with her tears.
"Here," said Kenshin, talking the girl's hand from his shoulder and grasping it. He led her back to the spot where he left the groceries and calmly gathered them as the girl watched. Then, he stood, smiling warmly at her. "Come with me."
"Where?" the girl asked cautiously, sniffing and wiping her nose with her sleeve.
"You said you had no place to go." Said Kenshin, taking her hand and leading her across the bridge. "Have you ever heard of the Kamiya Dojo?"
A/N: Well, that's chapter one. Nothing important to say right now, except of course, for the second time this chapter, R&R! You can even flame if you want to. That way, I will have a nice fire to keep me warm as I write more chapters!