Chapter One:

The Secret of Hoshiko and The Old Woman

Sixteen years later…

"Bye Grandma! I'll be back in a few hours!" said Shintai as he ran through the door.

"You better be careful Shintai. Don't forget that there are still those that still want to eliminate the old ways." said an old woman as she watched Shintai run through the door.

"I will Baa-Chan." Shintai as he got his sword and went down a path to a lake.

"Hey Shintai!" said Hoshiko as she caught up with her friend, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going fishing. Do you want to come Hoshiko?" asked Shintai as he turned around to face the girl.

"Yes I would Shintai." said Hoshiko.

"Ok let's hurry up so we can try to have a lot of time to catch a huge fish!" said Shintai as he hurried down the path with Hoshiko at his heels.

I feel bad for you Shintai. You don't even know what you really are. thought Hoshiko as she tried to keep up with the over excited boy Maybe you'll find out someday about who you really are my friend.

"Here we are." said Shintai as he moves some vines out of his way and lets Hoshiko enter the room-like place.

"Shintai, this is amazing." said Hoshiko as she entered, "When did you find this place?"

"I found it a little while ago. I was exploring to find a place with more fish." said Shintai as he picked up two fishing poles.

"Wow." said Hoshiko as she grabbed a fishing pole from Shintai and started fishing.

Some men were walking along a road as they came to Shintai's village.

"Here we are brother." said a tall muscular man.

"Shut it Aoto!" said a smaller man.

"Come on Asato, you know how I get when there's a village to destroy." said Aoto.

"So what. I want some fun too." said Asato as he unsheathed his katana.

"Ok. I'll try to save you some people." said Aoto as he unsheathed his katana as well.

After a few hours, Shintai and Hoshiko arrived at what used to be there village.

"Oh no." said Hoshiko as she looked at the village that used to be their home.

"What the hell happened here?" asked Shintai as he started to walk through the ruins of his old home.

"I don't know but maybe Kenshin does." said Hoshiko as she started to go near Shintai.

"Whose Kenshin?" asked Shintai as he turned around.

"Um…he…um…he's some guy I met. Yeah. A guy that I met a while ago." said Hoshiko very nervously.

"Then why do you seem so damn nervous?" asked Shintai as he stepped closer to Hoshiko.

"I am not nervous!" Hoshiko yelled as she stepped back, getting even more nervous.

"Tell me NOW!" yelled Shintai as he put a hand on the handle of his sword.

"Ok, ok, he's your half brother." said Hoshiko as she jumped back and hid.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" asked Shintai as he dropped his hand to his side.

"Katana and I thought it was the best." said Hoshiko when she saw Shintai's sad look.

"What do you mean by my half brother?" asked Shintai.

"Well, you and Kenshin had the same father but your mothers were different. Kenshin's mother was a human while yours was a… well…your mother was a demon" explained Hoshiko as she put an arm around Shintai.

"So is that why people were mean to me?" asked Shintai as he moved away from Hoshiko.

"Yes. I'm sorry I never told you. Katana told me not to tell you until you were a few years older." said Hoshiko, "and if you want to meet him, we should start for Kyoto now because that's where he is."

"Then we better go." said Shintai.

"Ok." Hoshiko said as they started towards Kyoto's direction.

"I hope he can help explain my past." said Shintai as he kept walking.

"I'm sure he will." said Hoshiko as she thought Unless he kills you first.