Aurora Whisperwind: Thank you for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 2: Shelter

The sky looked dark and ominous as flashes of lightning erupted across the sky bringing with them the low growl of thunder. Rain in the dying breath of autumn. Always a bad combination. He hated rain as well. The child was able to tell him the name of the village they had stayed last, so they were headed there now. Maybe someone there would know if she had any relatives, or would be willing to take care of her. He really couldn't be saddled with a five-year-old child. He had no idea what to do with her.

Strange though, why would a young woman roam around meaninglessly, with a child to support as well? The girl mentioned that her mother and she 'moved' whenever it became too dangerous. 'Dangerous?' it sounded like they were running from someone but he couldn't think of any reason. He just had to make some enquiries at this village.

A tugging at his sleeve abruptly interrupted this train of thought. He looked down- he really had to clean her up a bit, he noted. "Can we stop for a while? Amaya's feet hurt" she complained; a pleading look in her eyes. He looked at the sky. There was still light, it probably wouldn't rain for another hour or so and he wanted to continue walking and cover as much distance as possible. Amaya was a slow walker and she was distracted by so many things on the way that it was difficult already to make progress. "Um… look, we'll stop after a half an hour, ok? Then we can find a place to stay for the night," he said. She nodded, albeit a bit sulkily. "Good" he reached for her tiny hand and started walking faster. 'A place to stay…I'd forgotten about that…' if it was just him he could've camped out. Too many people knew him and with the flaming red hair he didn't exactly blend in with the crowd.

The woods cleared a little and on the hill up ahead, he could make out what looked like a solitary farmhouse. 'Maybe that place would do' As if on cue, an enormous clap of thunder struck making the girl squeal in fright and grab his leg. Big drops of rain started falling and within minutes, they were soaking wet. There was nothing else to do. They had to run to that farmhouse. It looked like the only shelter in miles. He picked her up and ran.

They were a foot away from the place when he hesitated. If anyone recognized him… he really didn't want to scare anyone. Putting her down, he instructed "Amaya-chan, go in there and ask them to let you stay the night. In the morning, I'll be waiting for you near that big tree, ok?" she nodded slowly. "But what about you, Rurouni-san? Won't you get wet?" He smiled at her. "I'll be all right, now hurry up before you catch a cold" She hesitated and slowly made her way to the house. He watched until the door was opened and someone ushered her in.

He was just making his way back to the trees when a high-pitched voice yelled "Rurouni-san, wait!" he whirled around and she was back, this time with an elderly woman with an ancient umbrella. She ran to him and exclaimed excitedly "She said you can stay too, Rurouni-san! Isn't that great?" he nodded weakly, his heart sinking. To his relief, the old lady took a good look at him and smiled. She motioned him to come inside. He obeyed and they all went inside. The inside was nice and warm with a little fire burning merrily.

"Wanderer…eh? Poor thing. Must have had a rough past. Well, I'm not one to pry. So many victims war takes… robbing children of their innocence… my son too…" the old woman stopped here, her eyes filling with tears. Kenshin felt horrible. His past was rough all right, but nothing excused all the atrocities he committed. He couldn't even bring himself to look at her. "Died, my son. In the war. I miss him so. He was only sixteen…" she broke off. After a minute of silence, she looked up again with a forced smile. "So dears, would you care for dinner?"

The dinner was nice and hot but Kenshin couldn't eat much. He spent his time watching Amaya gorge greedily on some Onigiri and talk nonsense, smearing the filling on her face and spraying rice on the ground as she laughed. The lady clucked around indulgently, persuading him to eat some more and listening to the child's chatter. He watched and listened, but could not concentrate; it was like witnessing all the events from underwater, everything was oddly muted.

The sun rose quietly, bringing with it a forbidden cheer. The night had gone badly, the old nightmares repeating with alarming detail. The old lady was kind enough to pack up some lunch for both of them and after breakfast they were about to leave. She had even given the girl a bath and tried to brush her hair into a neat ponytail, but it was as frizzy as ever. He thanked her again. "Oh, it's a pleasure really. It's been long since… anyway you remind me of him, my son. He was a good boy, he was. He was good with the sword but he was always kind to other people, always, and considerate of his poor old mother. Why did they kill him? He didn't-he wasn't-" she paused "Killed by some assassin, he was. The man who brought the news told me he didn't even have a chance to react… my poor little boy, how he used to cry over a scratch! He was a good son" the old lady started crying unwillingly "Stupid of me, really. You must think I'm mad, crying all the time. Well you should probably leave now. Goodbye" she waved, still sobbing and shut the door. Amaya was still sleepy, and tottered after him, tripping occasionally and not noticing much. The possibility that he may have been responsible for this poor woman's grief was unbearable. Allowing himself a small sad sigh, he started walking again, noting that lunch was out of his agenda for today.

Author's notes: Just a vignette sort of thing, nothing much.

'Onigiri' –rice balls, with or without filling.