Chapter 3: Renji's story and Tenma's brief peace.

Renji's p.o.v:

Hanging dog that is where me, Rukia and at one point Kisa ended up and live. We were kids street kids and this place was where the lowest of the low belonged. The adults never gave you any slack just because your a kid. All the adults were either thieves, bandits murders or some other type of criminals. And us kids was nothing more then delinquents. The first time I saw Tenma was when everything changed. She was different. At first I thought she was a boy dressed the way she was. And how she acted and even had a sword and knew how to use it. She was tougher then any man I knew just like Rukia but unlike her she had a skill with the blade. Kisa seemed to know her and soon Tenma became apart of our family.

Our family started out with about 10 or 11 kids. We would steal to live mostly food, although Tenma was great at fishing and gathering food from the nearby woods we still stole food in order to live. We also stole clothes for ourselves. Any of our old clothes we gave to the younger kids like Kisa and Hiro they was the same age and seemed to get along. Life was hard in Hanging Dog and we hated every minute of it. It was on these mean streets that I first met Tenma chan dressed as a boy. She had tripped over one of the adults that was chasing us her voice told me and my friends to follow her. When we got back to the hideout that me and my friends or make shift family lived at we divided up all the stuff we got.

I gave Tenma her portion and found out that she never had candy before. One of the younger boy's was being picked on by an older boy and the little boy's candy bag ripped. Tenma walked over and dealt with the older boy without killing or harming him but talking to him. She then gave the younger boy her portion of the candy, I knew she wanted the candy for herself but she gave it away just like that. Kisa had noticed her and smiled a big warm smile. It was the first time I had seen the young girl smile at someone and then I found out why. She knew Tenma from before it turned out that Tenma was the one who gave Kisa her last name and had befriended her back when the demon war was around. Back when Naraku was alive but now that monster was dead.

I had not really heard much about the demon war only that a demon called Naraku would control others and make them do his dirty work and by dirty work I mean he would force them to kill for him. I later found out from Kisa that Tenma had been one of the people who had been controlled and forced to kill but she told me that for some reason she couldn't seem to kill her. For a little kid Kisa was both smart and brave as well as able to understand things a child of her age should not have to understand. Kisa had told me how she had kept her safe and how it seemed like she was able to fight some of the mind control but unlike a boy called Kohaku, Tenma never had a jewel shard in her back she was just being controlled by demon magic. And now she was free from being controlled, free to do as she pleased.

I could see she was a kind and nice person. She had nightmares but she always said she was fine. She even found a way to not make any noise when she had her nightmares to keep us from worrying. But I knew she still had them. She was also a good cook we loved her food and her smile. Later on I found out that she didn't have any memories about her past only of the time she met Kisa other then that time onwards anything further back she couldn't seem to remember. Not even who taught her how to use a sword. After all women were not really taught to fight with a sword or any kind of fighting style really. Men was the ones who did all the fighting and kept the women and children safe. So she should not have been taught but someone must have taught her as her skill was something out of this world.

When I look back I wonder just who taught Tenma to use a sword to cook and to be strong. I admired Tenma and had even began to see her as a sister to keep safe. Not that she needed it, she was more then capable of keeping herself safe. Rukia also felt the same way. We stayed together in that place looking out for each other. And before we knew it we had become a family. But like any make shift family we suffered our share of lost of family members. It had been 10 years since we had came to that place and lived as a family. But even that place proved to be to much for any make shift family of kids and when we looked around most of our friends had died leaving only me, Rukia, Kisa, Hiro and Tenma.

It was at this time a new war was breaking out near us. One that would last 11 years before it came to an end. And one that would change us forever. For better or for worse who knew it would leave deep scars on all of our hearts, more so the person I found out I couldn't even protect. This war would be later known as the revolution of fire. And would be one of the most painful memories I would have. All of us for three years went to a school to learn before this war. Tenma, myself, Rukia and the young ones all learned how to read write and became better educated this means we could get better jobs for ourselves. However Rukia got the better deal she got into a noble family and would lead a much better life then the rest of us would. I became a lieutenant of the 6th division where I found Rukia's adopted brother had taken me into the army for the up coming war. Tenma had joined the 13th sub Division as a captain as her skills was that of a master level or so it seemed.

This group we had joined was known as the light group and we would be fighting the dark group. At this time the war would have been happing in Osaka but never really entering the main part of Kyoto which was good at the time. A year before the war ended I had heard that Himura kun had left the war to become a wanderer she didn't even say goodbye which hurt me deeply, another took her place and he was evil as hell in the end he was burned alive and thrown over the side of a cliff I hoped he was dead. I knew that Tenma was just trying to spare my feelings when she left knowing that I would tell her not to leave until the war was over. I knew she was trying in her way to keep me safe by not being any sort of burden but what she didn't know was that I needed to know she was safe. And so I kept my ear out to see if I could hear any stories of her. Within the 5 years of her being gone the only thing I heard was that she had taken in a child about a year ago, nothing else floated up I was not sure if that was true or not as her whereabouts was still unknown. It was as if she had became a ghost and had vanished from this world. In that war we had lost Hiro kun who fell in battle. I briefly wondered if maybe that was why Tenma had left the war. Was it to painful for her to lose the people she cares about? Would I see her again? Would she come back to us or was she lost to us forever.

Tenma's p.o.v:

After everything that has happened I had left for hanging dog. I felt like a bad person and had heard stories that this is where bad people end up. Oh how wrong I was as this would be the place where I met Kisa again and ended up with people who cared about me and became my family even if we was just a bunch of kids. The first time I saw the people who would become dear to me I had tripped up one of the adults who was chasing them. I looked at them and said in a clear and loud voice, "follow me if you want live" then dash off down the streets with them right behind me. We had lost the adult man who was chasing them. A boy a year older then me said I was welcome to come back to their home. I agreed and followed him back where I was given a bag of candy, but never did get to eat any of it. I gave mine away to a little kid who was crying because one of the older kids picked him.

Life in this sad cruel place was peaceful for me. I would often be seen fishing, getting firewood and gathering food from the woods nearby. Even playing with Kisa and a boy called Hiro. Oh how I would miss Hiro when I got older. Life was carefree here I felt like I could put the past behind me. I still couldn't remember most of my past but I remembered Kisa and that was all that mattered to me at this point. I got close to a girl called Rukia and a boy called Renji. They are really awesome who have allowed me to be their friend. Even though I feel like as the time goes on we kept getting closer to the point that I could call them my big brother or big sister. Renji at one point found out I was a girl. He even told me that women must always take baths with other women as that was seen as normal. They could only bathe with a man if they was married to that man. I nodded in understanding but he also told me that I should still dress like a boy/man and act like one so I could get a better paying job and not get bothered by men who wanted something more from me. When I had asked he blushed and didn't say. I later learned that he meant there was men out there that would only see me as a sex object and not as a person. I know Renji saw me as a person but he was always trying to keep everyone safe. It was what made him a great leader.

Time passed and before I knew it our family we had made was small down to just a small handful of people. Rukia said we should go to school so we could get some better jobs for later on. We all agreed and went off to school. Renji seemed to be more smarter as he went into an advance class. Rukia got taken in by a noble family this was the last time I would ever see her again. But at least I knew she would be well protected. Me and Renji joined the Light group after school. The group was an army that would keep the dark group from destroying Kyoto even though the war began and was contained in Osaka. For 10 years I fought in that blood thirsty war, most of the time I went up against a man called Kaito. He was one of the best swordsman I would ever meet for a while. I felt myself lose a bit of myself each day in that war. Word reach me that Hiro had fallen he was so young just a kid to me. The night he fell I cried myself to sleep. In the morning I went back to killing every dark group I could. I even killed the man who killed Hiro. With only a year left of the war not that I knew that at the time I had enough and told my main captain so. He sighed and agreed to let me go from the war. But he threw me a reserve blade sword and told me that if I really don't want to kill anymore then try living with that sword. If I can make it with that sword then I am a better man then he is.

My hands have slain and taken so many lives even though I can now keep the nightmares to myself. I can not forget that I am a monster, I had gotten myself a name in that war and that name was Battosai the manslayer. I had heard that Kisa is now living in Edo, she was not married but I knew that with time she would find someone. I started to wander and became a wanderer for 5 year but 4 years of wandering I found a little girl no older then 4. She was very thin and pale. Her clothes was dirty and she had bruises that covered her body. I sighed as I picked her up gently and started to care for the girl. I found out that her name was Towa and like Kisa she also didn't have a family name. And like I did with Kisa I gave Towa my family name of Himura. From that day on I became Towa's big brother. Even though the child knew I was a girl she never let on to anyone else that I was a girl. She also saw just how bad my body looked. It was littered with scars all over some seemed to be more life threating. If anyone looked they would be thinking how is it that girl is alive. I couldn't say how I was still alive with all of those nasty scars that littered my body. I only knew I was and that was good enough for me.

In the first year with Towa I had taught her how to hide and how to play tag. Also how to cook outside. Even though I was always there to make sure that she never got hurt when we cooked. The girl was something and looking at her I had noticed something she had claw like fingernails. Something that only demons and half demons would have. I blinked at that but stored the info away as I didn't care if Towa was a demon or half demon she was just a child and a kind sweet little girl at that. I had learned that some of the members from both the light group and the dark group had joined up and became part of the government. Kaito was one of the men who had joined as a type of policemen. And so was Renji but he was more army base and was placed somewhere in Edo. I myself was not really all that far from Kyoto I had gone back to that hut in Mt. Kurama with little Towa chan in toe.

But even I had noticed that Towa would need to learn things that I could not teach. Things that I could not give her. She needed friends her own age at one point. And so with a heavy heart I set out to Kyoto to find a place for us to live so I could give her a head start and a fresh life for the both of us. In a year we had lived in Mt. Kurama just the two of us near a hot spring where the hut was. It was nice and peaceful but I missed the noise. I was now a full grown adult a woman but still I dressed as a man and even acted like one. I was 31 but I looked no more then 22 at most. I always did look young. We walked until we reached Kyoto, once there I found an inn and rent a room for both me and Towa. I had planned to find work in this place. Little did I know that I was being watched by two people. One of them I would later on meet and the other was someone who would change me into something demonic with just a bite.