King of the World

Chapter One

By Seabreeze

A/N: Thanks to everyone who supported my first two chapters. Now we get to present time for the story! Hurray!

Also, please forgive me for taking so long with this chapter – I'd had it written years ago, but with a re-reading I realized it wasn't quite up to par with the first two chapters (read: I sucked at writing when I wrote it), so I had to do some heavy editing, which for some reason takes more time than actually re-writing it. So. There're my excuses.

Disclaimer: Seriously, come on. Like I think I own Watsuki Nobuhiro's wonderful creations. I am borrowing them, however. . . but I do that all the time.

- - - -

11 years later

- - - -

"Where the hell is she?" Prince Kenshin demanded moodily to one of his numerous servants and friend, Sanosuke, as they headed down to breakfast. Sano shrugged.

"I dunno, Your Highness. Maybe she's started actin' like a girl?" he proposed, knowing this would make his friend and employer laugh. It worked.

"I doubt that, Sano. She probably slept in. Again." Kenshin chuckled.

"Does that mean I get her chair at breakfast?" Sano asked hopefully. If Kenshin let him take her seat, that would mean he got to eat – literally – like a King, while Kaoru had to serve the food to him with the rest of the servants. Companions like Kaoru were usually the only servants who actually got to sit with the royals in the giant, luxurious dining room.

"No," Kenshin replied right away, without thought. Sano scowled and cursed silently. Kaoru-chan was so spoiled, and he probably should have known that Kenshin would never give him her seat.

When the two young men reached the dining room, Sano joined the other servants against the wall, and Kenshin went to sit across from his mother, next to his father. King Hiroshi sat at the head of the table, silent and regal as always. The queen smiled warmly at Kenshin.

"Good morning, love. Did you sleep well? Where's Kaoru-chan?" before Kenshin could answer, King Hiroshi cut in.

"How do you expect the boy to get a word in, Hana?" he was teasing her with his deep, emotionless voice, but his eyes were gentle. As stoic as the great King was, it was not difficult to see the love he had for his wife – for his son, either, for that matter, and for his country.

"I slept fine, Mother." Kenshin replied as his mother unfolded her napkin and placed it in her lap. "And Kaoru's yet to grace us with her presence." He said this last bit in the greatest of annoyance, but Queen Hana only laughed softly.

"You went through that stage, remember, Kenshin? We had to splash water on you to get you out of bed every morning for a year." Now she was teasing him, and Hiroshi chuckled. Kenshin scowled, but he wasn't really bothered. It was hard to deny that his nickname had been "Prince Log" for a small amount of time for that very reason.

Kaoru chose just that moment to hurry in through the giant oak doors, looking slightly disheveled and stressed.. She stopped between Kenshin and Hiroshi's chairs, bowing and out of breath.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Your Highnesses," she said, panting. Queen Hana smiled.

"Don't worry about it, Kaoru-chan." She said, motioning for Kaoru to take a seat. Kaoru smiled gratefully at her best friend's mother, then turned hesitantly towards Hiroshi. He nodded slowly.

"We're not angry, Kaoru-chan. Either way, I'm sure my son will give you enough trouble for all three of us," He flashed her a rare smile and picked up his fork to begin eating, indicating to all at the table – Kenshin, Kaoru, his wife, her Companion, his advisors, and his own Companion – that it was time to start eating.. Kenshin glared at Kaoru.

"What about me? You are MY Companion," he said brattily. Kaoru rolled her eyes as she sat down.

"I'll start apologizing to you when you start acting your age." She retorted. At her words, the King and Queen exchanged looks and suppressed smiles as Kenshin gaped at her in appall.

"You're going to let a servant treat me like that!" he demanded of his mother, though he did not wait for or expect a reply. No one was surprised by Kaoru's treatment of the spoiled prince; things had always been this way, and they always would be. Besides, Kaoru knew him better than anyone in the whole country, save probably his own mother. She had as much license to tease him as he had to tease her. "Sano and I were discussing possibilities for your lateness earlier this morning," Kenshin said nonchalantly, taking a bite of his sweet bread. "He thought you might've decided to start acting like a girl." Kaoru slammed down her silverware and glared at Kenshin.

"Ooh, I'll get you two for that!" even Kenshin couldn't resist laughing at her response this time.

"Attacking Sano and Kenshin will have to wait, Kaoru-chan. Kenshin's got swordsmanship after breakfast." He said. Kenshin groaned, and Kaoru silently agreed with him. She could be relaxed as she wanted with Kenshin, but the King and Queen were still the King and Queen, so her disapproval would have to wait until later.

"Yes, Your Highness," she said obediently. However, the prospect of holding Kenshin's spare swords, polishing them, and running back and forth to do his bidding in the steamy practice room was not a happy one.

- - - -

After breakfast, Kaoru accompanied Kenshin to his bed chamber (divided from hers by a mere curtain where a door should've been) so he could change. She, too, decided to put on something she wouldn't get hot too quickly in. A simple blouse with puffed sleeves that ended before her elbows, corset, and skirt set would do it. The blouse was a worn off-white, and corset a dark blue and the full length skirt a lighter blue. She gathered her hip-length hair in a high ponytail and called to make sure Kenshin was decent before entering his side of the room. When she came in, his hair, too, was in a high ponytail, his red strands flowing past his shoulders. He wore a dark maroon shirt with tan breeches and his custom-made, soft-as-anything black boots.

Kaoru felt a swell of pride and something else well in her chest at how handsome he looked, but kept this to herself.

"Ready to train?" she asked him, trying to sound happier than she actually was. He put his hands on his hips and glared at her.

"Why do you say it like you'll be doing just as much work as I will?" he demanded, turning to walk with her out of his room and down the several flights of stairs to the right wing of the main floor, where the practice room was. She elbowed him.

"Because I will be," she said. "Remember, I'm your servant, Spoiled Prince."

"I'll never forget it, Kaoru-"chan"." He assured her. As an afterthought, he added, "And don't call me a spoiled prince."

"It's what you are, isn't it?" Kaoru teased with a wicked grin. Kenshin glared at her and then sighed, changing the subject.

"I hope Saitoh's not there today," he said. Saitoh was 10 years Kenshin's senior, and his half-brother. When Saitoh's mother had died, King Hiroshi had married Hana, and they'd had Kenshin. Saitoh hated Kenshin with a passion. Kenshin hated him in return, and thus so did Kaoru. She didn't understand why the strange-looking older brother of her best friend was such a jerk towards him.

"Me, too," Kaoru agreed. She loved when Kenshin told her things like this- she knew no one else knew how much Kenshin disliked and, more importantly, feared his older brother. She glanced at Kenshin and saw that he was thinking of Saitoh with a frown. ". . .but," she added, hoping to lighten his mood, "you're nearly as good as him with a sword. You would've had him last time, if your father hadn't stopped you two." Kenshin couldn't help but smile at the enthusiasm in his Kaoru's voice, though he couldn't agree.

"You know Saitoh would've gotten me. And it took me three weeks to recover from the wounds he gave me." Kenshin scowled, wondering why he was so weak when it came to Saitoh. Kaoru, too, frowned, but for a different reason.

"Its only because you're too noble to try to kill him every time he walks by," she said darkly, unknowingly inching towards Kenshin. To her surprise, he laughed and threw an arm over her shoulders.

- - - -

Both Kenshin and Kaoru were displeased to find Saitoh warming up in the practice room when they arrived. Saitoh smiled wickedly when he saw his younger brother and his wench, and Kenshin ignored him. Kaoru, however, glared at Saitoh fiercely before hurrying over to Kenshin's side to help him suit up.

Saitoh and Kenshin continued ignoring each other, and after half an hour, Kaoru was as sweaty as Kenshin with all the tasks he gave her.

"Can you set up the dummy, Kaoru?" he asked her, red hair plastered to his face. Kaoru groaned. "The dummy" was a heavy wooden figured dressed in cloth to resemble an opponent. It was stored in the storage room for the practice arena, far on the other side of the room. And it weighed about 400 pounds, which was only helped slightly by the wheels it was permanently on.

"Kaoruuu," he wheedled, giving her the giant chibi eyes he knew she couldn't resist. Kaoru turned abruptly and stomped across the room, causing all those practicing to stare at her as she went.

By the time Kaoru had pushed the 400 pound "dummy" across the arena to Kenshin, She saw that Saitoh had made his way over to his little brother and was talking with him. Kaoru felt something hot swoop in her stomach as she heard Saitoh begin to talk.

"Well, Little Brother, are you going to fight the dummy or are you feeling up to having a real spar today?" Saitoh taunted, wolfish yellow eyes squinting and mean. Kaoru let go of the dummy and stormed over between Kenshin and Saitoh. Royalty or not, she wasn't about to let anyone threaten her prince.

"Over my dead body you're fighting him," Kaoru seethed, fists clenched at her sides. Kenshin was surprised but shouldn't have been; Kaoru tended to get overprotective of him. He couldn't blame her- she was born to look after him. Saitoh smirked as Kaoru continued. "The last time you suggested an innocent 'spar', Kenshin had to go see the healers and get three bones set and everything all stitched up! Admit it, you're just jealous of him!"

The smirk never left Saitoh's face as he drew his sword, curved in an arc over his head and pointed straight at Kaoru.

"Perhaps I'll spar with you, then," he said, a nasty grin spreading across his face. Kaoru's eyes widened. Saitoh used a real katana that could seriously injure or maim any opponent of his- Kenshin was proof of that. Before either of them could do anything, however, Kenshin had grabbed Kaoru's wrist and stepped protectively in front of her.

"Touch her and I swear it's the last thing you'll ever do." Kenshin's voice was frigid and, to Kaoru, he seemed a million times more frightening that Saitoh had ever been. Saitoh sheathed his sword and turned his back to the best friends, breaking some of the tension.

"In three months, we will meet here on this day for a spar," he said almost without care. His voice lowered threateningly. "Be ready for me." He walked away.

"And don't be stupid enough to underestimate me," Kenshin replied coldly, before turning his back as well. He grabbed Kaoru's elbow and pulled her to a remote, empty corner of the room. "What the hell was that!" he demanded in an angry whisper, shaking her shoulders. "He could've killed you! How stupid can you get?" he was snarling and ferocious, and Kaoru could match him. She shoved him off her.

"What was I supposed to do, Kenshin? I'm not about to let that loony fight you! Your father would kill me if I let him near you again before you're ready!"

"You were not born to protect me, Kaoru, I was born to protect you! YOU were born to be my best friend and never leave my side! That might be a little hard if you get yourself killed by Saitoh!"

Perhaps the high emotion of the moment had gotten to Kaoru, because she burst into tears, hiding her face from his view.

"I'm sorry, Kenshin, but…you just don't understand. . ." Kenshin immediately felt all his anger melt at the sight of her tears, and gathered her into his arms for a comforting hug.

"Hey," he said, gently. "Don't cry. Look, I'm fine and you're fine. Everything's all right." Kaoru sniffed, head buried in his chest.

Sano took the opportunity to walk by, shaking his head.

"Women," he muttered. "What'd you do to piss her off this time, Your Highness?" Kenshin glared at him as he passed, mentally promising that Sano wouldn't eat breakfast for a week for that comment.

After a minute, Kaoru composed herself and pulled away from him.

"Sorry, my lord," she said, keeping her eyes down. She did this whenever she felt stupid around him – called him things like "your highness" and "my lord", and averted her eyes. Kenshin ignored it, knowing she'd be back to calling him by his name and teasing him within ten minutes.

"Forget about it," Kenshin said, leaving her to practice on the dummy. Kaoru stayed in the corner, wiping her eyes and trying to make it look like she hadn't just completely lost it before the Prince.

- - - -

A/N:

Originally when I wrote this, Kenshin's dad was Hiko, but I got to thinking recently that I really wonder what Kenshin's parents were like. He's such a very unique individual, so I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone else address this issue either. Hiroshi and Hana Himura (totally didn't mean to do the H thing) are very minor characters in this particular story, but I have developed full character profiles for them just because I'm so curious.

Anyways. Thanks so much for reading, and I would love your reviews!