Twins
(A Side Story for "500 Years and Waiting")
By swirly87
Author's Notes: I'm well aware that I should finish "500 Years and Waiting" before I write anything else, but this story happens to be a side story for it. It will help explain how Kenshin came to be the Kenshin we know without the help of Tomoe.
Disclaimer: Kenshin, Shinta, and all other characters of Rurouni Kenshin are the property of its original creator, Nobuhiro Watsuki. All characters that are mentioned in this story, but are not part of Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin are either my creations or are characters that have been changed a bit from their respected anime. This includes the characters of any other anime that is recognized.
Prologue:
The land of the North was a mountainous place. Its occupants hidden within the forests and valleys shrouded by the intimidating mountains. Its Youkai lord was feared for his intelligence and his ability to kill many. No one, demon or human, had dared challenge him for hundreds of years because of his deadly sword technique. His power was only matched by his arrogance. For all his power, this demon had only one weakness. Although Lord Hiko would never admit it, he had a fondness for children. It was because of this fondness that he decreed hundreds of years ago that any child, demon or human, had to be well taken care of. Any children found abandoned on his lands were to be assigned to a pair of mated demons or humans. It was due to this proposition that lead to many children being abandoned in the land of the North. Their parents hoping that their child would be the one that would catch the eye of the youkai lord, that Lord Hiko himself would adopt the child and would name the child as his heir…for everyone knew that the royal couple had yet to have conceived an heir to the land of the North. It was because of this hope that a pair of kitsune twins was found one day on the doorsteps of Lord Hiko. No one knew what was so special about these two, what stood them apart from the hundreds and thousands of children abandoned in the past. A few say it was because of the fact that they were kitsunes, like the Youkai Lord. Some others say it was because of their unusual hair and eye colors that made them stand out. Others say it was because they did something unusual to catch Lord Hiko's attention. No one knows the exact reason why, for they were the only ones that were able to stay and were able to be hand raised by the Youkai Lord himself…
And so the tale begins of the most famous pair of kitsunes known in the Land of the North, aside from the Youkai Lord himself of course…