Disclaimer: I own nothing but the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling and Nobuhiro Watsuki.
Author's Note: I never, ever expected this story to get so much response. You people really brighten up my day! :sniff: Thanks for all the reviews! Um, just so you know, this is more of a filler chapter than anything else. The real story will start next chapter, I just needed to get some history out of the way which is probably it seems a little rushed in places. However, there's plenty little information about everyone before and during the revolution, so there really isn't much to say. Please enjoy nevertheless!
Thanks to my good friend and beta, Paladin Steelbreaker.
Chapter One:
After checking in a few villages if someone knew the child (not that he searched as thoroughly as he should have), Okina just decided to give up and keep the little tyke as his own. This, of course, meant that little Haruo would grow up to be one of the best shinobi out there, and so Okina started on the child's training at once.
"First things first, Haruo-chan," the man said to the child in his arms. "We clearly need to teach you to speak and walk and all that, but there are some skills a ninja needs that do not involve talking."
The child looked at him with wide, curious eyes clearly not understanding a word Okina said.
Okina didn't let that bother him. "Charisma and charm play quite the role in a shinobi's life. Let me demonstrate." The man looked around at the market they were currently travelling through. They were very close to Kyoto, and the town – Kuwana – was bustling with people.
Finally Okina spotted the perfect victims for this demonstration. "Look over there, Haruo-chan," he pointed to five young women standing at a booth which displayed various cloths. "Those are our test-subjects. Now, watch and learn from the Master of Charm." Okina started walking towards the booth, and stood close to the girls whilst he pretended to be looking at some smaller pieces of cloth. Theatrically he held a few of them up against the baby boy in his arms as if measuring.
The girls, once they noticed him, squealed. "Is he your child, ojii-san (mister)?" one girl asked as the other four surrounded Okina and started cooing and making faces at Haruo.
"My nephew," Okina replied with a smile and a nod.
"Oh, he's so cute!"
"Ne, he's got green eyes!"
"That is so sweet!"
"Not often one sees that colour around here. But it just makes him all the more kawaii (cute)!" the girls fussed.
"You are so kind to take care of him, ojii-san!" the first girl gushed.
Years later Haruo would look back on this experience, and swear to all the deities that he was traumatized for life. It would become even worse when he finally found out why the hell Okina had started to nosebleed in the middle of his conversation with the young women.
…----…
The first couple of years Okina left Haruo with other Oniwabanshu members when he was on missions. Once done with his mission, he picked the boy up again and they moved on to the next town Okina had a mission in. Or they simply relaxed until the Okashira contacted them. This went on until the Okashira decided to actually start an Oniwabanshu headquarter in Kyoto, and put Okina in charge of it. Thusly Haruo and Okina arrived in Kyoto in 1854 for a lengthy stay.
After establishing the headquarters under the pretence of running an inn called the Aoiya, some other Oniwabanshu members were stationed there as well to help run the inn. These people also took the time to teach Haruo when they weren't busy with missions or errands. Surprisingly enough, the Aoiya became rather popular amongst the population, and Haruo had his hands full sometimes running to and fro trying to help.
It was also at this time that Okina seriously started to teach Haruo in the ninja arts first starting with the theory parts. Haruo not only studied how to kick or punch a man, but also studied the human body. For as Okina explained it once when he complained: to punch a man in the face was painful and it would piss off the other man. But punching him in the throat was much more devastating. Okina also stressed that it wasn't enough to know lots of techniques with which he could defeat the enemy, the most important thing was where your heart and spirit was as a person. Ninpo dealt with the defence of the entire human being, and taught that a life-threatening situation was dealt with both the spirit and the physical techniques.
Then again, not all the advices that Okina gave Haruo were useful. Some were downright stupid and Haruo had taken to writing them down just so that when he was angry at Okina, he could read the 'advices' and laugh himself silly. It pissed Okina off too, which was always a plus. Amongst the most stupid ones were 'never scream just before attacking another ninja from behind, this will only alarm the ninja that you are about to do something', and 'it's easy to be friendly with a weapon in your hands'. Haruo had long since given up on Okina, and just classified the man as totally insane.
It was four years after the establishment of the Aoiya that the inn got another permanent inhabitant. A boy the same age as Haruo called Shinomori Aoshi arrived.
… – The Aoiya, Kyoto, 1858 – …
Eight year old Haruo was currently in the garden behind the Aoiya practicing his shuriken-throwing skills. He was never much of a hand-to-hand fighter, and preferred long-distance fighting like shuriken and other things one could throw. He also loved to mix explosive powders and in the beginning Okina was afraid he would blow up the entire Aoiya. But Doppo-sensei just laughed at the other's fear and continued teaching Haruo everything he knew not only in kajutsu (explosives and firearms), but also in poisons.
Either way, Haruo was out happily practicing when Yukiko-san opened the sliding door and stuck her head out. "Haruo-chan, hurry up inside. Okina-san wants to talk to you, and apparently it's important."
Haruo stopped his practicing and hurriedly picked up the discarded shuriken. "Do you know why he wanted to talk to me, Yukiko-san?" he asked curiously.
She shook her head. "No, but Akaki-san accidentally overheard Okina-san mentioning the Okashira." Upon hearing that Haruo took off down the corridor and to the rooms that the permanent inhabitants of the Oniwabanshu members. If it was something concerning the Okashira, then it was definitely important. He reached Okina's office and meeting-room quickly and took a deep breath before he knocked on the wooden framework of the sliding door.
"Come in Haruo," Okina's voice called, and Haruo entered. Besides Okina, there were two other men in the room, dressed in the normal shinobi uniforms from the ninja-villages Iga and Koga. And with them sat a young black haired boy with ice-blue eyes.
Haruo and the unknown boy stared at each other for a moment.
"Ah, Chuichi-san, Gennosuke-san, I want you to meet my nephew Haruo." Okina introduced them and Haruo bowed politely to the two men who bowed back. "Haruo, these are Chuichi-san and Gennosuke-san from Iga. Now Haruo, myself and these two gentlemen have some business to discuss, so I would appreciate it if you could keep young Aoshi-san here occupied for a while?"
"Hai, Okina-san," Haruo turned towards the other boy. "If you would follow me, Aoshi-san…" the other boy got up and followed Haruo who led them outside in the backyard where he had been practicing. "So, do come from Iga or Koga?" the green-eyed boy asked trying to make conversation.
No answer came.
"Do you have any training in ninjutsu (ninja art)?"
Still no answer.
Haruo frowned. What was it with this guy? He tried again. "Do you want to spar?"
Aoshi-san was silent as the grave and was staring at the beautiful garden clearly not paying attention. This annoyed Haruo, and he promptly poked the other boy, which brought no reaction. This didn't deter Haruo the slightest and he continued poking Aoshi until the boy angrily whirled around and poked him right back. It didn't take much for the poking match to turn into a full-out ninja brawl. There was kicking and punching and throwing of both shuriken and kunai, although both Haruo and Aoshi were good enough not to be hit by the projectiles. Haruo had time to notice that the other boy used kenpo as opposed to his ninpo, but that was all as a well placed kick sent him skidding across the gravel path in the garden and into the small duck pond.
The fight continued as soon as a sputtering and cursing Haruo had managed to get himself on dry ground again. By this time the fight had drawn the attention of Akaki, Yukiko and Doppo, and all three stood in the door opening staring with wide eyes at the fighting duo who were going all out on each other.
"Someone has to stop them!" Yukiko exclaimed and Akaki moved forwards, but was stopped by Doppo. "Doppo-san, wha-?"
Doppo just grinned. "No need to stop them, they'll be fine on their own. They're testing each other like all boys that age do, nothing to worry about." All three winced as they heard Haruo yell 'kecho geri!' (bird-kick of rage), followed by a quieter voice exclaiming 'kansatsu tobikunai' (piercing/killing flying daggers).
It was at this point that Okina stepped out along with the other two ninjas, and the three newcomers stared at the two fighting boys for a moment before Okina said, "Would you look at that! They are getting along splendidly already!"
The others didn't comment, but from that day on Haruo and Aoshi were friends, one might even have classified them as best friends, although both would deny it if asked.
…----…
It was at this time that the revolution went up another notch, from occasional uprisings to more organised fighting. The daimyo and statesman Ii Naosuke was assassinated outside Edo Castle by 17 ronin in march 1860. The Shinsengumi and the Ishin Shishi started to take form, and Edo Castle was calling to all loyal to the shogunate to protect the shogun. Everything started a quickening descent into chaos.
Both Haruo and Aoshi started to receive missions from the Okashira. Whether they worked alone or together one thing was certain, they were both deadly and to be feared. It was on one of these missions that they stumbled across a baby girl named Makimachi Misao. She was the only survivor of an ex-Oniwabanshu peasant family which had still been a part of the Oniwabanshu network, and the two of them brought her back to the Aoiya. This happened in 1862.
A year later Aoshi returned from a mission half-dragging half-carrying a man named Shikijo. Shikijo was black and blue and had received some impressive scars obviously from Aoshi's deadly double-kodachi.
"Let me guess, he followed you home, right?" Haruo asked, then shook his head. "That's the second one Aoshi." Aoshi had previously brought the enormous, fire-breathing Hyottoko.
The other teenager just stared silently.
Haruo sighed and gave up. "Alright, lets get him cleaned up. Hannya!" he called into the Aoiya.
The masked shinobi appeared silently. "Yes?"
"Could you please get a room ready and get some supplies?"
"Of course." Hannya disappeared down the corridor and Haruo and Aoshi followed.
"How is Misao-chan?" Aoshi asked after a moment.
The green-eyed teenager grinned. "Kami-sama (god), he speaks! Now if he could only laugh as well!" he exclaimed, but then chuckled good-naturally. "She's fine, Aoshi. Not much difference from when you left, though she has learned a new word."
"Which is?"
"Hentai (pervert). Okina has been teaching her."
"That explains it then."
…----…
At the age of 15 Aoshi was chosen as the new Oniwabanshu Okashira when the old one died in a fight. By this time the revolution was at its worst, both Hitokiri Battousai of the Ishin Shishi and Saito Hajime of the Shinsengumi had made a name for themselves amongst others, and the Oniwabanshu was hired to protect Edo Castle. At this time yet another person joined the Oniwabanshu. Beshimi was his name, and he was an expert at spiral darts. Haruo and Beshimi often held competitions to see who was the best, and Aoshi didn't even bother to try to stop them. Even being Aoshi's second in command, Haruo could sometimes act like a kid. Aoshi assumed it came from growing up with Okina.
The revolution came to a surprisingly peaceful end in approximately 1868 – at least for the Oniwabanshu.
As said they had been hired to guard Edo Castle, yet, in the end, the Castle gave in peacefully to the demands of the enemy, and there was no fighting done. Tokugawa Yoshinobu stepped down as shogun and was placed under house arrest, his men were disbanded or arrested, and absolutely with no violence to subdue people. Even the most opposed person surrendered without a fight.
Aoshi, as soon as he heard the Imperialist army moving through the castle, sent Hannya, Hyottoko, Shikijo and Beshimi away with orders to return to the Aoiya and wait for himself and Haruo there. He would have sent Haruo with them, but after seeing the stubborn look in the other man's eyes, gave up that idea. Haruo hadn't left his side before, and there was no chance in hell that the green-eyed man would do that now.
Anyways, the Imperialists came, arrested the two men, and threw them in jail. Two months later Aoshi and Haruo were set free as the Imperialists couldn't find anything to fault them for, and also because Okina had stormed to the police headquarters demanding for two of his best 'chefs-for-hire' to be set free lest his inn went bankrupt!
"And if you two decide to do something like this again, Okashira and second in command or not, I am going to spank you both!" the old spy hissed as soon as they had arrived back at the Aoiya again. "You two are really aiming to give us a heart attack! Do you know just how much Misao-chan cried after Hannya told her that you had stayed back!" Okina glared at them for another minute, but then suddenly his disposition changed completely and he smiled widely at the two silent men. "But you're back and safe and that's what counts!" he shouted gleefully and would have caught both Haruo and Aoshi in one of his bone-breaking hugs if the two hadn't gracefully avoided his attempts and hurriedly left the room both muttering something about having to greet Misao.
Okina just smiled and watched the two retreating backs. Perhaps now his two favourite 'chefs-for-hire' – he snickered upon remembering the difficulty Haruo had had to hide his disgust at that down at the police headquarters – would finally get some peace from the fighting. The old spy worried about those two sometimes, all the friends they had lost to the war and all the people they had killed… what those two needed now was peace and time to work through all the repressed emotions. One didn't have time for emotions on missions, nor in the revolution, but now when the peace finally came they could relax.
'Yes, that is exactly what we'll do,' Okina thought to himself. 'The Oniwabanshu will keep to the shadows and lie as low as possible, we will disappear from peoples memories until we're needed again.' Smiling he followed the happy shrieks of a little girl outside to the back garden, and sat down on the wooden veranda beside Aoshi. "Four Oniwabanshu are to arrive at the Aoiya in a week's time," he said.
Aoshi nodded. "I know." Of course he knew, he was the Okashira.
They watched as a six-year-old Misao stood in the middle of a circle consisting of Haruo, Hannya and Beshimi, whilst she demonstrated her mastery of the bird-kick of rage that Haruo had been teaching her.
Yep, Okina thought, peace was what they all needed.
…----…
There, finished. Please tell me what you think.
Once again I apologise if this chapter seems rushed, but – as said – it's only a filler that explains the basic history of the characters, at least how I see it. I have up to volume # 14 in the comic book series, but I do have the entire anime, so I'll follow the manga up until after Shisho and all that, and after that we'll have to see.
There will be more information about Haruo, Aoshi, Misao and the others in the next couple of chapters, either as flashbacks or as a retelling of situations involving them, so don't worry. Everything will be explained, and if it isn't, don't hesitate to beat me over the head and point me in the correct direction.
Also, please remember that I really am not sure about the timeline in 'Rurouni Kenshin', so I am working with what I could deduce from the novels. If someone knows a site – or if they know themselves – the correct timeline, please do not hesitate to tell me and I'll correct it as soon as I can. Otherwise lets all assume that this is slightly AU or something when it comes to the 'Rurouni Kenshin'-world, ne?
On a sadder note, these upcoming three weeks are going to be taken up with written and oral exams, so please don't be disappointed if I don't update for a while. I'll see what can be done, but don't keep your breath.
Anyways, thanks to:
TsknRaider, D-sama, Kaaera, bellashade, Kitta-Baby, Allyanna, Sweet-single, Jagare, SlytheinWicca, applebottoms, Angel the Devil's Daughter, kathy stgqvk, thelordofelves, Unclear Destiny, scott, StolenDreamer, Thanos Farek Seid, CrystalBlue, Valkyrie Nienna Helyanwe, zimagesto, Kaze Sabishii, Nyoko, A-Brighter-Dawn, Chara13, Regal Baring, cronenus, simpleinsanity, Yami no Kaze, pink-fogg, Serpent of Light, Trisana Kara, Iridescent Twilight, poka, Wren Truesong, Aurelia, howling wolf1, MatalinoLukaret, Sarah R Potter, Leia125, merdragon, maleficus-lupus and Moongypsy04
