Truth, Lies, Betrayal and Love

Chapter 2

Everyone stared in shock at the man on the floor, they knew exactly who it was and they were now very angry at him. Misao was the first to overcome her shock and yelled, "Himura! What the heck are you doing dressed like that and why are you pretending to be such a weakling!"

Kenshin raised an eyebrow, "E… excuse me?"

"Don't play dumb, Kenshin, we know it's you, you're the only guy in Japan with red hair!" Yahiko stated

"Yeah man, why were you letting those guys beat you up, usually you don't even have to blink before you beat them." Sanosuke said, glaring at his red haired friend.

Kenshin looked back and forth between them and mixture of shock and fear came across his face, "I'm… sorry, I don't know what you are talking about, I've never met any of you before, this is the first time I've come across you."

"Don't give us that crap, Himura, and… why do you have that funny accent?"

"I've always had this accent, I'm afraid I was born with it, miss, that's something I cannot help."

Misao became even angrier at his act, "Why are you acting like this! What the heck is wrong with you Himura!"

"What did I do now, Miss Misao?"

Everyone turned around and there in the doorway stood a very confused looking Kenshin. Misao looked back to the floor and there was Kenshin as well, she looked back and forth for a moment before letting out a shrill scream, "AH! There's two Himuras!"

"What're you talking about Miss…"

Kenshin paused when he saw the man on the floor, he got up and Kenshin moved to stand in front of him, both men circling one another as if to see if the other was real or not. The stranger was an exact double for Kenshin, the long red hair, the feminine yet handsome face, even his unusual violet eyes. The only thing he was missing was the cross-shaped scar, but other than that you couldn't tell them apart. Kenshin reached out and poked the man and he blinked before smiling, "You and I look just alike, it appears that your friends have mistaken me for you, good sir."

"It… appears that way…"

"Sir, if I may be so forward, may I see your left hand?"

"Why?"

"I am searching for someone and I need to see if you're the one, so may I see your hand?"

"Um… sure…"
Kenshin held out his left hand and the man pushed back his sleeve, seeing the small scar there on his wrist before smiling brightly, "It is you, I've finally found you!"

"What do you mean?"

Before anyone could say anything else the man dropped to one knee and bowed his head to Kenshin in a very polite fashion, as if he were kneeling before a king, "After all this time I've found you, I am so thankful that you are alive and well, Milord."

Kenshin's eyes widened at the honorific and he began to stutter, "Umm… Milord? Sir… what're…"

"You don't know how long I've been looking for you, rumors spread that you were dead but deep down I knew that you were alive, it's an honor to finally meet you face to face, sir."

"Hold on!" Yahiko shouted, "Why are you being so polite to Kenshin? And… why did you call him 'milord'?"

"Because he deserves every sign of respect."

"Sir… do you care to explain what's going on here?" Kenshin asked

"I'm sorry, I suppose I should explain myself, may we sit down to talk?"

"Of course."

Everyone headed outside and sat on the porch, then the man sat down next to Kenshin before he began to explain, "You probably don't remember me but my name is Naoto Kichimachi, I am here to serve and protect you, Milord."

Kenshin raised an eyebrow but smiled, "Protect me… but I can take care of myself…"

"I'm certain you can sir, but please allow me explain further. I come from the Iishikawa castle…"

"You mean that big castle on the outskirts of town?" Misao asked

"The very one, but, nearly thirty years ago a young prince by the name of Kiyoshi was born there and was stolen from the Iishikawa family when he was only two years old. Since then I have filled in for the prince until they could find him."

"So you pretend to be the prince in his absence basically?" Kaoru asked

"That's correct, Milady, that is why I sound strange to all of you, I am a prince myself, so I am expected to act and sound accordingly. Prince Kiyoshi and I were cousins and since I looked just like him I had to take his place…"

"Hold on, what about your parents?" Misao asked

"My… father was killed and my mother died giving birth to me so the Iishikawa family took me in and raised me as one of their own so it wasn't very surprising that they made me fill in for the prince."

"So you've been looking for this prince all this time?"

"Yes and I have finally found him."

"So… who is this prince of yours?" Sanosuke asked with slight irritation in his voice.

Naoto smiled, "He sits right here before you, the man next to me, your… Kenshin… is the missing Iishikawa prince."

"WHAT!" everyone asked in complete and total shock.