I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. If I did, I would have money. But I don't so don't ask.

Meriko's story

Four years ago a girl was walking down a muddy road during a rainstorm. She wasn't in any hurry because she had nowhere to go. Her parents were caught in some sort of smuggling thing. She didn't know much about it because when she first heard of it, they were being killed. She managed to escape, but it was years ago. She was used to living on the streets. Her hair was in a very messy ponytail that almost went down to her waist. She was wandering down the road when she saw a young girl coming toward her. She looked lost, scared and confused. Meriko went over to help her. "Are you lost? I can help you find your parents." Meriko offered.

"I don't have any parents. They are dead. I don't have anywhere to go." the little girl said. She looked close to tears.

"Here, you can stay with me. I don't have anything, but I'll find a way to support us both. My name is Meriko. What's yours?" Meriko offered her hand.

"Kotara." said the little girl. They walked down the street hand in hand looking for a place to stay.

Meriko woke up the next morning. She found in her arms the young girl from before. She looked comfortable, but Meriko had to wake her up. The root of the tree they slept under was digging into her back. Slowly, Meriko shifted as to not wake the child. It was not yet 7:00 a.m. she guessed by the sun. 'Kotara won't be up for a few more hours if I just let her rest.' Meriko tucked the girl under the blanket and set off. She had seen a dojo earlier. She had always wanted to learn martial arts; the problem was that there was a sign out front that said it didn't accept girls. She pulled out her small knife she carried with her and cut her hair. Messy, but at least she now looked the part. She was already wearing boy's clothes because they were more practical than a kimono. Now she just needed to hide her blossoming chest. She found some scrap cloth in the trash and wrapped it tight around herself. She looked at herself in a window on the way by. She stared at herself for a while and silently wished herself luck.

As Meriko went up to the dojo, she saw a young boy about her age doing chores. It looked like he was doing some hard work, and it was so early in the morning. 'You can do this Meriko.' She walked up to the boy and, in a disguised voice, said, "Can I speak to the man in charge?"

The boy rushed inside and came out with another man. He was tall, slender, with long black hair in a ponytail. Meriko hoped he didn't see her blush. "You called for me?" he said in a smoothing tone.

"I-I would like to train at this dojo. I also have a little sis to take care of. I was wondering if I could bring her too." she said this too fast, but it wasn't unusual for even guys in her position to be nervous.

He gave her a warm smile, "Of course you may stay here. And your sister too. May I ask your name?"

'Aw crap! I need a guys name! Think! Think! THINK!'. "Um, my n-name is…Kuroda Taiki." She thanked the author for getting her out of that situation. She then forgot what she was thinking about.

"Taiki, huh? Well then Taiki, welcome to the Akimoto Dojo. I'm Takumi Akimoto. It is a pleasure to meet you. You will begin training tomorrow. In the mean time, get your sister and anything else you want and I will show you around." He said in a commanding voice. 'Taiki' ran off to get her 'sister'. She couldn't believe her luck. It wouldn't, however, last for long.

Meriko was a hard worker and never caused any trouble while she was there. She learned basic moves quickly and moved on to the advanced class. Everything was looking up until one day…

'I can't wait to see what we do today.' Meriko thought happily, as she dressed. 'These bandages around the chest a tight though… I'll just take them off for a second…' Just then, the door opened and Takumi came in.

"Morning! Ready for anoth-…" he stopped mid sentence when he looked at her. There was an awkward silence while Meriko was covering up. "Come with me." he said after a short while.

She felt numb. How could she have been so stupid! She walked down the hallway to the front gate. Her sister was there. "I can't take you. I'm sorry." the instructor said solemly.

"B-but why not? You're such a nice guy, I can't belive you're sexist! I've proven myself more than some of the guys in there!" the teen shouted at him.

"Yes, you are very good. However, you do lack something. You lack honesty. You didn't even try to talk to me to work something out. I do want to train girls as well as boys, but the towns folk made me put that sign up. We could have worked something out if you had been honest. I'm sorry, but I have to let you go."

Meriko left and tried to work odd jobs until the only way for Kotara and her to eat was to pick pocket.

A breeze blew past as Sanosuke and Meriko waited outside the hospital. "It seems you've had it pretty rough kid." The former thug said after a long silence. "You are really strong too. In fact, that Takumi guy made a mistake in letting you go."

"That maybe, but that doesn't change my current situation. Kotara will probably be here for a while longer, but I need a place to stay. And after Kotara gets out, the place we were before isn't suitable for a kid who's recovering from an illness. I'm sorry but I've got to go find somewhere…" the young girl got up to leave.

"Where are you goin' Jou-chan?" Sano asked calmly.

"I told you. Are you deaf?" Meriko retorted back.

"Come on. After what you've been through, you don't need those responsibilities on your shoulders. I'm sure Kaoru won't mind if you and your sis stay with us." He said coolly.

"I-i-i… I usually don't accept help. But I don't have much of a choice do I?" She said uncertainly.

"It'll be fine. I'll tell the doc. what's up and we can head for your new home." Sano said as he got up.

'A new home', Meriko thought, 'I like the sound of that.'

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So, how'd you like it? It's not that good I know, but it's my first! R&R PLEASE! The only one's who have R&R'd are people I know… TT So R&R!

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