He jumped high up and saw it was Iidzuka, the inspector he used to work with when he was an assassin. Iidzuka was the inspector, to see if the ones the assassins killed were really dead. Kenshin stabbed at Iidzuka and blood spilled. Kenshin landed back on the ground softly and lay him down.
"You traitor bastard. You dare show your face to me again?" he hissed.
"K-Kenshin! Let me live! I-I had to do this for Katsura-sama!" he whimpered.
"STOP LYING! I know that he died right after I left. I finished my task of assassinating all those jerks and I am through with that! I fought in the war and I killed all those men in the front line. THAT IS ENOUGH FOR ME! When will you Ishin Shishi stop following me around!" Kenshin yelled.
"S-sorry! It was my order from the new leader! Y-Yamata-sama!" he stuttered. He coughed up a bit of blood. That's when Kaoru intervened.
"Kenshin! Stop! Don't kill him! You aren't an assassin anymore!" she said.
"Kaoru, get out of the way. Please. He is a traitor and I have some interrogating to do. I am the general of all things run in this palace including trespassers." He pleaded.
"T-thank you young girl for saving me!" Iidzuka stood up painfully and ran out a window. Kenshin's bangs covered his eyes.
His eyes turned amber and he gripped his sword tightly. "He got away…" he mumbled. He walked out of the room leaving Kaoru scared and Kamiya-sama dumbfounded. The royal man stood up and shook dirt off of his big robe. He went back to the discussion with Kamiya-sama and Kaoru ran after Kenshin.
"Kenshin! I'm sorry!" she yelled as he walked through the hallways.
"Kaoru…please do NOT interfere when I am dealing with someone from my past. That was Iidzuka. He is a BASTARD." He looked up. "Let's talk in my room." He suggested. Kaoru nodded and followed him up the stairs and into his room. She sat on a chair while he sat on the bed.
"Here's how it goes…"
-------FLASHBACK------
"Master! All those people down there need help! We should help them! We are strong enough to stop this war!" Kenshin yelled.
"No. The wise swordsman stays put and does not get involved with these stupid senseless wars."
"But master! You always told me that our swords style was to help the people! Why don't we go and help them now?"
"Because. Just keep going on with your usual training.
"No. I'm going down there with my sword to fight! I want to fight! I want to help all those innocent people that are getting treated unfairly because of this war!" Kenshin yelled to his master as he jumped down and out of sight, taking his katana with him. Hiko looked towards where he student went.
"Baka deshi. You are no longer a student of mine." He muttered. And with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.
Kenshin finally reached the house where all the men wanting to be hired were. When he arrived, the man in the front didn't believe him when he said he wanted to go to war. Instead, he gave Kenshin a little money and shooed him out the door. Kenshin came back and this time, threatened him that he would kill him if he didn't take him seriously. The man, frightened out of his wits, allowed Kenshin to go to the back.
"Haha! Look at that lil' kid!" a big gruff man laughed. He nudged his friend in the ribs to get his attention. The man woke up and laughed at what he saw. A young boy maybe 12 was there with a katana and a wakizashi. One ugly man approached the young boy.
"Hey young kid. If you can slice this bundle of firewood, I'll give you some money." The man offered.
"Fine. How much?"
"1000 yen."
"Deal." At that, Kenshin stepped up the bundle which was standing there. Kenshin unsheathed his sword and with great speed, cut the bundle in three pieces. The men were astounded. They hadn't seen the boy move a bit, yet there was the bundle of firewood, in three separate pieces, lying on the ground.
"I think you owe me 3000 yen, sir." Kenshin said. The big man gulped, gave Kenshin the money and walked away to talk to his friend. Another big and buff man came up to Kenshin.
"Heh. If you can win me in a sparring match, take the money out of my gi pocket and keep it." The man said.
"All right. Let's go then." Kenshin replied.
Kenshin stood there in a battojutsu stance as the big man charged at him.
"Uraaaahh!"
"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu…Ryu Tsui Sen!" Kenshin murmured to himself. He jumped up into the air and came down with great force for a Dragon Hammer Strike. The hit landed and the man's head was severed in one clean cut. Everyone was scared now, at the boy. He must be a demon was what they all thought. Blood spilled all over the place and the boy had the money in his hand.
"Anyone else who wishes to challenge me will get the same fate." Kenshin said so that everyone could hear him. "Don't underestimate me. I learned a great style far greater than yours. I came to save the innocent people from the world. If you hear about me in the future, maybe by an assassin surname of the greatest killer in Japan, be honored you actually saw my work.
"Who is he?" the man named Katsura Kogoro asked.
"I don't know. He just came and threatened me that if I didn't let him in, he'll kill me. He said that he wanted to save the innocent people by the world."
"I'll take him."
"Boy! You with the red hair! Get over here!" he yelled.
Kenshin looked in the direction of the man calling him and walked over. Well, it seemed like he walked over except he was there in only one step. Kenshin used his godspeed to show off to the men.
"Eh, this here is Katsura-san and he'll be your master from now on."
Kenshin bowed to show respect and looked at the man. He looked like a prince of some sort.
"Well, I am very surprised by your skills at your young age." Katsura remarked. "You'll do well."
Katsura walked away after paying the man and Kenshin followed. They walked until they reached an inn. It was run by an old lady and by what Katsura was saying, it was the Ishin Shishi headquarters.
"Anyway, you'll be an assassin. Not some grubby soldier in our army, but an assassin that kills the important people of the enemy side."
Kenshin was surprised. Assassin? Well, he was certainly going to kill many. Kenshin was shown his room by the old woman, the innkeeper. Kenshin walked up the stairs and set his katana and wakizashi down. As soon as he sat down, he sensed someone spying on him from behind the shoji. He used his godspeed and unsheathed his katana quickly. He aimed his sword towards the man's throat.
"D-don't kill me. I'm an ally!" he said, frightened out of his wits.
"Why were you watching me?"
"Katsura-sama sent me. He said to check up on you."
"Could you not have done it with opening the shoji? You did not need to hide."
"W-well…you do have a p-point there." He stuttered. "Well, my name's Iidzuka. I'm an inspector to see if the man you assassinate is really dead. I'm also the one who passes the black envelopes to the men who have an assignment. Of course, I get the envelope from Katsura-sama." The man named Iidzuka explained.
"Grand." Kenshin replied as he walked past him and out the door. He walked to where the sakura tree blossoms were blooming.
"Well, here. I got this from Katsura-sama as soon as you got here. It's your first assignment and is a test to see how swift and smart you are." Iidzuka said, handing him the black envelope. Kenshin took it and read it quickly. In a blink of an eye, he was gone.
Kenshin arrived at the place indicated on the letter. He was to assassinate an important man involved in many politics. His name was Tano, and was supposed to come this way any moment.
"Hoho! So you have a fiancé! Wonderful! You should, however, leave this war front and go straight home to her. Or else, you might leave her a widow!" the pig, Tano laughed. The young man smiled respectfully and looked around. Kenshin quickly killed Tano with his katana and threw his wakizashi at the young boy. The young boy, however, dodged. Kenshin killed him easily but received a cut on his cheek. Iidzuka had been lurking nearby and checked to see if they were both dead.
"Good job. You finished your first assignment greatly." He said. Kenshin walked away from the scene which was bloody.
Kaoru looked at Kenshin. That was how he got one of his scars. How did he get the other to make it an X?
Kenshin looked lifeless as he glanced up to see Kaoru staring at his scar. He slowly lifted up a finger.
"This is the one I received in that first fight. I thought it to be no big deal, that it'd heal quickly. But instead, it left a scar and will never ever disappear." Kenshin murmured. Kaoru felt sorry for Kenshin.
"Go on." She whispered into the stillness of the night. It was already around 9:00 pm and she was listening to his life story which appeared that it would take a long time.
"But it is your bedtime."
"I do NOT have a bedtime. I am not a little girl anymore!" Kaoru stated angrily. Kenshin chuckled at this and continued with his story.
During the night, he could not fall asleep well. He kept getting this strange urge to kill and his scar wouldn't stop bleeding.
Months later, Kenshin had been known as the battousai, and was greatly known by the enemy for the many people he'd assassinated. Later on, there was a big chance for the Ishin Shishi to win and end the whole war. They took it and Kenshin fought in the front lines to eliminate soldiers quickly. When Kenshin had enough of this stupid war, he left the Ishin Shishi but still protected his men on the streets. One day, he met the two unit leaders. One was squinty eyed and the other was always smiling. Kenshin had fought with them before and they were very skilled with their own styles with their swords. Kenshin fought with the squinty eyed one, named Hajime Saitou. Kenshin quickly brought him down, but also received some wounds in return. The other, Okita, was sort of sick so his unit attacked Kenshin, giving Okita the chance to run away. He did and some soldiers gathered around Saitou and carried him away to their headquarters. Kenshin had crossed swords often with the Shinsengumi, who were known as the wolves of Mibu. After Kenshin finished slaying the rest, he left for his master's mountain to get the last secret of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. He trained with his master for the remaining months and went back into town for some sake for his master. But when he got there, Saitou wanted a duel. They fought and Saitou gave him another scar, over his first one to make his scar an X.
"Well, that's it." Kenshin said. "To make a long story short, anyway."
"Would that 'squinty eyed man' be the Saitou we have in our castle today?" Kaoru questioned curiously. Kenshin nodded and she gasped. "So your rival is here! How awkward…"
"Well, it doesn't matter. I don't care. As long as he doesn't bother me, that is."
"I think it's time to turn in for the night!" Kaoru squealed. "I don't want to go to my room…"
"Y-you're not suggesting that…you sleep in my room?" he stuttered.
"Well, we are already here…"
"But your room is only a door away!" Kenshin blushed red.
"I'm tired. I don't wanna walk all the way there," Kaoru replied lazily. She stretched and lay down on his big bed. "This is as comfortable as my own bed." Kenshin sighed and sat on a chair. He put his katana down against his left shoulder.
"Isn't that uncomfortable?" Kaoru asked.
"Well, I can't sleep on the bed because you are and if your father caught us, I'd have my head cut off." Kenshin said. Kaoru giggled.
"No he wouldn't. Father isn't like that." She said with a wave of her hand.
"Well, I'll just sleep like this. You use the bed and I'll use this chair. I'm fine, don't worry about me," Kenshin assured.
"It isn't good to sleep in a chair you know." Kaoru pointed out. Kenshin grunted.
"I've always slept like this during the war. I never slept on the futon that was offered to me and kept in my room."
"That's bad for you. Why don't you sleep normally?"
"Well, I would sleep on the bed…if you weren't on it that is." Kenshin replied.
"Just sleep in the bed! It's big and I know you aren't a pervert!" she said. She thought a while about something.
"Hey…didn't you say something about Iidzuka being a traitor?" she asked.
"Sigh…nothing gets past you. Well, after I had that fight with Saitou, I found out that Iidzuka was telling the enemy our secrets and plans. However, Makoto Shishio was sent to kill him. Obviously, he gave mercy and didn't kill him. Makoto Shishio was my successor. I don't know if he's alive or not, but I heard that he had oil poured onto him and they set him on fire because of his great greed and ambitions."
"Oh. Your life is very interesting, unlike mine, which has no adventure." Kaoru said boringly.
"Well, I'm sure I'd rather want your life instead of mine. There were many times where I was hanging on the brink of life. I don't know why I didn't just let myself die then. For some reason, I just always stayed alive because of the will to live. But I don't know why I wanted to live. Maybe it was because I was so young and still wanted to do things. I don't know." Kaoru perched herself on one elbow and stared at the shady outline of Kenshin's body. She stood up and walked towards him. She touched his scar gently, seeing how it played a great role in his life. She felt him recoil at her touch.
"K-Kaoru…you really should go to s-sleep." He murmured. She hugged him.
"Sorry about how bad your past was."
"It isn't your fault.
"I know…but I made you repeat it and remember it again after all the years…"
"I've gotten over it."
"…"
"…"
They both stayed in the same position and didn't move an inch. Then, Kaoru walked over to the bed and lay down again. This time, Kenshin followed but stayed on the opposite side of the bed.
"Sleep well, Kenshin." Kaoru whispered into the silence.
"Yeah…you too Kaoru."