Chapter 12 Part II: Conditional Fredom

Kenshin POV (still in flashback)

I still remember the past. It felt like I was dreaming. There was no way life could be as hellish as it was in these dreams of my past. I was in a large tank full of water, a mask tightened about my face and nose, needles sticking all about my half naked body, and the sounds of something electronic beeping all around me. Distorted faces by the curvd glass tank I was in peered at me from all angles, a pair of them my parents. But they all looked at me in the same way: with interest, with the prospect of a big payoff, and most of all with not even an ounce of love. My own parents…they were the ones who forced me into this…making me this weapon of destruction for stupid rich companies out to rule the economic world. I was angry at them, like always, but I never said anything about that emotion to them, like always.

I remember running tests, being forced to kill poor soldiers who were mere pawns in the eyes of those damned doctors, my parents being one of many. But I forced myself to slaughter every single one of them, my body moving on its own accord, my limbs moving about me like some sort of dancer of death. I felt like a gladiator at times. If I won, I'd live for another day, but if I'd die, then it was back into the torture chamber again. I even killed animals.

But they didn't stop there. They obviously wanted me to have some kind of intelligence or else they wouldn't have had me wired up to some machine that played all these videos in my head. I learned all the martial arts skills I would ever need from these videos as well as many languages. But what interested me the most was mythology. Though ancient history wasn't that important according to the scientists, it felt important to me. I loved hearing stories of heroes who fought dragons and saved fair maidens in order to rule their respective countries into a golden age. Or I loved hearing tragic stories with gods who suffered great pains or died great deaths for a better cause like Prometheus who brought fire and warmth to the people.

I felt like I was "Nataku", the god who had no soul and who was made from a lump of skin. And when I was fighting, I felt like Shiva, the Lord of Destruction, who danced merrily around while brining about death and sending people to their next lives.

I once tried to tell my parents that I wanted to be a god, but they laughed and said that's what they were hoping for. The next thing I knew, I had powers.

I don't remember how I got them but I remember sleeping one night and waking up three days later in the tank. I had heightened senses. I could now keep my eyes closed and smell who was which ugly jack-ass doctor while submerged in a tank of icy cold water. And I could also move at a speed I couldn't accomplish before. My powers were incredible. I felt like a god.

Then that one day came. I was I think about 12. They told me to go and kill some girl who was jeopardizing their company. I had no qualms about it. Not until I saw the little blue eyed girl gaze at me from her little playpen in that other lab. I don't remember the laboratory well or how I got there, but I do remember that happy serene look about her face. Her long dark elf-locks framing her face like a little doll. She asked me to play with her even I couldn't finish my mission. And I went back empty handed.

They said I was to be placed back in the tank to be "rebooted". So I ran away, and severly injured my parents on the way. I jumped off a cliff. And he saved me. And here I am, 6 years later, at my master Hiko's little hut. He's teaching me how to fight without losing my senses, to be aware of what my limbs were doing while my mind was focusing on how prettily my arms and legs danced about. I got stronger and my past was finally leaving me.

Finally. I felt like there was purpose in my life now. And that was to repent for all the killings I had done. I had to.

Master asked me once about my past. Just once. And I told him everything. He digested it and after that immediately set me to work cleaning up his damn hut. I was pissed. Here I was, a mere little kid with a bad past, and he makes me his personal slave. I had super powers for crying out loud! But I was so grateful to him for all he had given me: a home and someone who made me feel real.

Don't get me wrong. My master is definately a mean bastard with no heart.

It was cool night when a gentle chilled breeze forced into huddling closer to the fire in front of us while we were sitting about his hut, eating dinner when I heard off in the distance the familiar crunch of army boots against loose rock. It sounded like they were about a mile away. And they were running by the sound of it.

Suddenly, I felt my body go slick with sweat, anxiety biting at my very core. Master must had realized because he commanded me to sit and be still while he was gone.

Ten minutes had gone by. Then I heard a voice, about 20 yards away, ask, "Where is the boy?"

"Don't know who you're talking about," master said gruffly.

"Okay sir. Then please cooperate while we search your hut."

Silence.

Then I heard the sickening crunch of someone's jaw being snapped. I leapt up and ran towards the sound. I heard gunshots then and louder shouts. I ran faster.

When I reached the location which ironically was on the banks of the river I had been found on, I saw numerous guards moaning about on the ground in pain. My master was standing there, dusting his hands off on his long pants and glaring up at me with that bastardly look in his eyes that said "I-told-you-to-stay-back-idiot".

I frowned at him. "I was worried."

"Idiot. You shouldn't worry about me."

"I didn't want to lose you. You're my father," I said rather pathetically. But I meant every word of it.

Master Hiko opened his mouth and then closed it as if struggling to find words. Then his eyes went up, shocked, looking behind me.

Then I heard it. It was the sound of a gun locking being deactivated.

Another man was still conscious and he had a gun pointed at me.

He muttered into a walkie-talkie that was strapped to his helmet. Then he lowered his gaze to the aiming slit on top of the gun, the tip pointed right at my chest.

I felt myself go numb while my mind was yelling "move it idiot!"

A gunshot.

Then I saw a great swirl of cream-whit material fly in front of me.

Master had taken the shot.

He knelt down, the river lapping about his knees as he knelt down, his hands over where the bullet had hit him

"Run…Ken…shin..."

And he slumped into the waters, his body half-submerged in the gray, frothing waters..

I stood there, stupefied. Then those innate skills I had fought with before kicked in and I felt my adrenaline rise. I again was the bystander, watching my dancing body pummel the living daylights out of the soldier who had shot my master.

When I stopped fighting, all my opponents lay in tatters on the ground (I had beaten up even the dead ones out of rage), I looked for my master. I couldn't find him! Then I saw it. In the midst of the cold-gray waters of the river, a line of red blood flowed right through it and the disappeared into its stormy depths.

"NNOOOOOOOO!"

I jerked up, feeling my insides tear at the sight of his blood. I had killed him. I couldn't find him. My master…

"Well…you're awake," said a rather cheerful voice beside me that felt very out of place.

Sitting in a armchair beside the table I lay on was Soujiro Seta, a cat-like smile playing softly about his face, like one that was amused and excited by the thought of a new prey.

I don't know if this chapter is all that great but we need to know some of Kenshin's storyline no? i'll explain how he got to HARM later. Bit by bit i hope to pull you readers into my world and the story line to unfold. I was going for the poor unfortunate but tough-assed kid thing in this chatper. But I realized Kenshin's not that tough-assed. So I played with the characters a bit, not delving to deep so not to bore my readers. So keep reading and more mysteries will be solved in late chapters! Plus, I planned a nice chapter after this one! Storyline will move in the next chapter I promise! Thanks for reading and PLEASE review! I love reviews, the good the bad or even the really nasty!

-Kish