((It has been a short bit, but I was able to finish this up though. After wrting it for some time, I decided that the Yahiko segment could not be sumed up in one go...so this is only part one.

Note: Fanfic based off of anime, not Manga

Disclaimer: NO I do not own nor claim to own nothing that is Rurouni Kenshin...))

What if: Yahiko: Part 1

The skies over Tokyo were blue and dotted only slightly with white clouds. In the bustling of town an elderly man and his grandchild were shopping. While stopping at one booth to take a look at the vender's merchandise, a young boy wearing a yellow gi spotted with black stripes walked by and ever so slightly slipped his hand into the elderly man's gi, pulling out his wallet. It would have appeared the boy would have easily gotten away with the crime if it hadn't been for one factor. The small boy that was with the elderly man called out with glee over something that he wanted from the vender. He jumped up and down while shouting, "Oh that one!"

The elderly man smiled gently and nodded, "You want that one?"

The boy smiled big as he looked to his grandfather, "Yes that one! You'll buy it for me?"

The elderly man nodded and began to search his gi for his wallet. The thieving boy gripped tightly on the wallet as guilt gripped tightly around his heart. He made a quick turn and walked back by the young boy and his grandfather. The thief dropped the wallet into the open hands of the cheering child and continued on his way. When the elderly man noticed the child holding his wallet question entered his mind. "When did I drop that?" A few more words could be heard muttered from the two, the thief had turned to see the two right before he turned the corner and was out of sight.

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Sitting down by the river side the thieving boy tossed a stone into the river and lowered his eyes to the water right at his feet. The water flowed just low enough not to get his sandals wet. The boy gave a soft sigh as three shadows over loomed him. The left his head lowered and ignored them.

Three men stood behind the boy, one was wielding a staff. One of the men bent over and spoke though his laughs, "Here he is."

The taller one wielding the staff then spoke up, "We were looking for you, Yahiko."

By this point then man who was laughing had stopped and bent over further, "Out with your earnings for the day." He continued with a hurried tone, "Hurry up and put out."

Yahiko turned and with an irritated tone replied, "I've got none."

The men took on a look of shock. Then the taller man with the staff gritted his teeth and shown anger in his eyes. The two unarmed men then went on to grab both Yahiko's arms and spread them out. Yahiko's body formed what appeared to be a human cross. Punch after punch was given to Yahiko. After many moments had passed, one last swift kick was sent to Yahiko's gut and then dropped to the ground.

Yahiko coughed and spat out a few drops of blood that dripped from his busted lip. He pushed his body upward while grunting out, "How much more do I have to pay back to you?"

The man with the staff knelt down and whispered into Yahiko's ear, "Well, how much do you think?" He grabbed hold of Yahiko's arm and jerked him back. "Ten years…twenty years…You're going to return it with these fingers of yours." He then let go of Yahiko and tossed him to the ground. "Come on boys, let's leave him be…for now." As the three of them started to leave the man with the staff shot a glare back at Yahiko, "Make sure you find your way back 'home.' You wouldn't want us to have to hunt you down now would you?" All three men laughed and disappeared over the embankment of the river.

Yahiko gritted his teeth and sat himself him. He grabbed a near by stone and tossed it into the river. "Damn it, Damn it, Damn it…" Yahiko continually cursed himself over the event that had just occurred. "I'm not strong, why am I not strong? My father died with honor in battle. My family line goes back as far as I know of with brave samurais. Then why…why can't I be brave?" Yahiko lowered his head as tear drops spotted the ground. "Shit…I can't go on like this." Yahiko raised his head up letting her tears shimmer in the setting sun. "No more crying…I refuse to…even if I am to become an emotionless lump, I will carry on the brave line of my family!" Yahiko wiped his eyes and shot his hand to the side. The tears wiped from his face floated momentarily in the air and then faded to the ground where they disappeared from sight. Yahiko stood up; eyes now dry, and turned and headed "home."

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Yahiko slung open the door to the Kanto Shuei, what he had called "home" ever since his mother had died. The gang had taken care of the medical bills for Yahiko's mother, but after she had passed away, Yahiko was left alone to pay off the dept.

Some of the gang members were in the middle of the room talking about gambling and things of that sort. Across the room sat the staff wielding man. His staff placed between his legs and probed up on his shoulder. He looked up, seeing Yahiko come in. "Ah, so good of you to join us. It had just gotten dark, and was about to have to come get you myself."

Yahiko shot the man an evil glare. "I could care less, because as of today, I quit."

The noise and calamity in the room came to a halt after Yahiko yelled this. The staff wielding man stood up and set his staff over his shoulder. "Yahiko, what is the meaning of this?" He then walked all the way up to Yahiko and hit him across the face with a closed fist multiple times.

Yahiko closed his eyes. He pictured a brave man dying on the battle field. His daydream came to a quick halt as yet another blow came across his face. Yahiko stepped back slightly and glared up at the man. "Hit me…Hit me all you want Gasuke. I'm cutting all ties with you kind." He paused and took a deep breath. He kept his eyes locked on Gasuke. "As of today, I'm quitting all shameful stuff like pick pocketing. I'll return all the money I owe by earning it with real work."

Gasuke snickered as Yahiko finished off his speech. His snickers turned to burst of laughter. Yahiko looked at him dumb founded. Though his laughed Gasuke began to speak, "Dept, huh?" His laugher stopped and his eyes stared down at Yahiko, "You idiot! There never was any dept to begin with!" Yahiko gave a shocked look. His eyes grew larger as if he had just had a solid punch in the stomach. Gasuke continued, "That was a lie to keep you as our pet. With or without it, you are our little dog until you die."

Yahiko's anger grew within him. All he had been told by these men. The ones who took him in after his mother died, all they did was lie to him and make him live in a lie. It was a trick, a trick used to keep him loyal. "Damn it!" Yahiko lunged at Gasuke, only to meet a knee in the gut and get sent back to the ground.

The other men who stood by looked down at Yahiko's fallen body. One of them kicked him hard in the side while yelling, "Stop kidding with us, you hear?"

Yahiko stood up slowly and looked at Gasuke. His eyes showed no fear. "Like I told you already, I'm done with this. Kill me if you wish, but I'm going to die like a brave man and low life rat like you."

Gasuke rushed towards Yahiko and hit him in the gut with this staff. The blow sent Yahiko crashing through a door that lead into the back room. Gasuke walked up to Yahiko and pulled on his staff, reveling a blade. "If you wish death Yahiko, then allow me to express your wishes!" Gasuke raised his blade up only to be stopped by a voice.

"Wait, Gasuke." An older looking man was enjoying his meal. "I do not wish to see a boy's blood during my meal."

Gasuke narrowed his eyes. "Boss…"

The man looked down at Yahiko's body then looked to one of the other men standing by Gasuke. "Bring Yahiko here."

The man complied and grabbed Yahiko up by the arm and dragged him to the feet of the man and tossed him onto the ground. Yahiko raised his head up, only to have it stomped back down into the ground by the man who dragged him in, and another who decided to join in the pain giving. One of the men spoke up, "Apologize…to the boss! Get with it!" He then grinded his foot on top of Yahiko's head.

The boss looked down at Yahiko, "Yahiko, how are you going to live if you quit picking pockets? Even for descendents of samurai, the Meiji era is very materialistic. No matter how much pride you have, it is not worth anything. You have to learn to live dirty. If you do, then I can take care of you for a long time as my servant.

Yahiko, with his face still crushed into the ground, spoke up, "Don't make me say it so many times. I don't want to anymore!"

The men stepping on his head, stomp down and one of them yell, "How dare you talk to the boss like that!" The applied more pressure then went on to mock him, "Descendents of a samurai? Your dad was killed fighting the Imperialist during the Meiji Revolution. He was a fool!" The man paused for a second. He got a sly smile on his face, "As for your mother, the worthless…"

Yahiko had heard enough, his rage built up once more, "Shut up!" His foot rode up into the man's crouch. The man feel over, cradling himself, in extreme pain. Yahiko stood up, his body now shaking with anger, "Father joined the Shougitai and died an honorable death. Mother sacrificed her own life to work and raise me." Yahiko turned around and faced everyone in the room. "They both were full of pride and led dignified lives! I won't let anyone insult them!" Tears welled up in Yahiko's eyes. He swore to never cry again, yet now, defending his parents honor, the tears flowed like rivers.

Gasuke stepped foreword. "Boss may I?

The boss nodded looked at Gasuke, "Someone needs to let him know who really owns his life…Gasuke."

Gasuke raised his blade and glared over at Yahiko. His voice whispered, almost hissing, "Gladly…"

((cliff hanger! hehe...what joy...yeah...I'm going to make your minds wander for the time being. I must say that this chapter was much hard to do then the last one. So much more could happen...so I had to vote in my mind what would suit it best...this is what I got...I must admit...the quailty may have dropped slightly from the last chapter...but I'll let you, the reader, be the final judge of that. Don't forget to review!))