Disclaimer: Samurai X isn't mine to own. I don't remember the artist's name…

To AuburnMoonlight- about your chocolates, I have no comment at all……

Chapter 1 – The Red Headed Stranger

Before the rising of the sun, young Kamiya Kaoru was already up from her sleep, ready to take on the challenges of the day (A.N. yea I know it sounds kinda lame but I'm having difficulties starting a chapter). She folded her futon and went to the kitchen to make breakfast for her father, who was still sleeping peacefully in his bedroom. She took a basket and went out from the house. Before stepping out from the house, she stopped by the small shrine near the dojo to pay respect to her late-mother.

Kaoru's mother passed away when she was at the age of three. Kaoru could barely remember her mother. She only knew how pretty her mother was through a picture that she kept hidden inside her closet. It was a picture of her mother carrying her when she was very young, not more than two years-old, and the father standing at the back of the two. When she wakes up and before she goes to sleep everyday, Kaoru will take a good look at the picture, praying for her mother's blessing from heaven.

It is now the Meiji Era, and it is safer to go outside without worrying about assassins and murderers roaming about in the streets compared to the Tokugawa Era (A.N. whether this is true or not, I'm not sure P I just hope it is). The air was still a little bit chilly in the early morning. Kaoru took a deep breath and headed to the market nearby.

There were not many people in market at that time of the morning. That helped Kaoru a lot because she does not need to fight with other people to stock up food from the market. After five long minutes of bargaining with the butcher for her meat, she went to the other stall to stock up on vegetables and to buy some tofu. Feeling satisfied on what she had bought from the market, she headed back home.

On the way back home, she heard a distant shouting from her back, but she did not really care much if the caller is not calling for her. All of a sudden, she got knocked down from behind, but managed to balance herself without dropping her basket of goods, but she lost grip of the small pail where she had put her tofu, and it fell.

Although it was fast, it was like slow motion to Kaoru. A hand suddenly stretched out and grabbed the tofu pail before it fell to the ground. She looked up to take look at the person who saved her tofu. She saw an amazingly handsome guy with a striking red hair and a plaster on the left side of his cheek. He hurriedly apologised to Kaoru for banging into her, gave back her tofu and ran off. She couldn't take her eyes off his striking red hair as the stranger who almost knocked her down disappeared from her sight.

"Stop him," said a tired voice from behind.

"Eh?" said Kaoru as she turned around. To her surprise, she saw two policemen jogging up to her, panting.

"Damn, that guy could run fast," said one of them, clutching his chest as he rested on the other policeman's back.

"What were you officers chasing him for?" asked Kaoru.

"Didn't you see? He was having a sword. The law states that nobody can hold a sword other than the police force," explain the other policeman, wiping off perspire from his face.

"C'mon, let's head back to the station. I wanna write a report about this," said the first policeman, and they walked away, leaving a confused Kaoru behind.

When Kaoru reached back home, she saw that her main door was wide open. As she stepped in into her compound, she could hear voices shouting in the dojo. One of the voices was her father's. She went to peek inside the dojo through a small gap from the door.

"I've given you more than enough time for you to find the money to pay back what you have owed me and I've come for it. Now hand it over, old man," said a deep and harsh voice.

"I know you had given me time to find for the money to pay back your debt. But-" said Kaoru's father.

"Isn't three and a half fucking months not enough for you to find the amount of money to pay me back?"

"Time has changed. No one wants to learn kendo anymore."

"In that case, I shall keep one of your possessions until you pay back your debt. And I shall be taking…"

The dojo door opened suddenly, and Kaoru stumbled in as someone got hold of her.

"…her."

"No!" said Kaoru's father, standing up and grabbed his bamboo sword beside him.

Five men surrounded Kaoru's father with their wooden sticks drawn out as he took a defensive position. One of them charged, but Kaoru's father evaded the attack and smacked him on the head. Without warning, the other four charged in and took Kaoru's father down, slamming him onto the floor.

"We'll be leaving now, with your daughter along with us," said the guy with the deep and harsh voice, grabbing Kaoru.

"You damned Yakuzas," growled Kaoru's father. "Unhand my daughter at once." But the head of the Yakuza laughed and left the house. As they headed to the main door, they saw a small figure stopping by the doorway. Kaoru looked up.

"You," she said faintly.

It was the read headed guy with the plaster on the left cheek.

A.N. I'm reeeeeally sorry bout the slow update. i'm facing a major exam this year and I cant really spend much time on the fic, but I'll try my best to keep it updated frequently. Sorry once again….