Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Rurouni Kenshin Characters. Though I wish I did.

(A/N: This is my first Kenshin story so be easy on me. The first Chapter is to Introduction of one my main characters. Hope you enjoy.)

"Dialogs"

'Thoughts'

Chapter 1: Journey to the Future

By InuShemeeko

Nori trudged on through the dark night. She hung her head low as single tear slid down her cheeks, she then looked down at the five year-old girl was asleep in her arms. Her small hands were wrapped around Nori's neck. The girl's head rested on her left shoulder, Nori then looked down at the eight year-old boy who walked slowly beside her.

Nori cursed herself as the events of the day before played through her mind. Her friend Hana and her husband had taken her in for a week. Nori had tried to change Hana's mind but she would have none of it. Nori's swords clanged together slightly as she moved the little girl named Kyoko to her other shoulder. Nori' mind drifted once more. Only to be brought back when the boy, Akira stumbled and fell in the dirt. Nori looked down at the boy.

"Akira, are you all right?"

Akira tried not to cry as he picked himself off of the ground. With his eyes cast downward he answered.

"I'm fine Ms. Nori."

Nori smiled down at him. She then lifted his chin so his brown eyes and her green eyes met.

"You know Akira, it's okay to cry. Even the best swordsman or woman can cry. It doesn't make you less a swordsman or less of a man. It makes you into a man, as well as a better person."

Akira smiled up at her then he frowned.

"Ms. Nori?"

Nori kept her eyes on Akira as his sister Kyoko shifted in her sleep.

"Yes, Akira?"

"Do you think my dad would be alright with me crying a little or do you think he would be mad?"

Nori smiled slightly at him while she tousled his black hair.

"I think that your father would be very proud of you. Yes indeed he would I promise you that, so don't ever doubt that."

She then took a minute to glance down at Kyoko; she was the mirror image of her mother. The same soft black hair and the same chocolate eyes, hence her name Kyoko which means mirror. Nori remembered the letter she had gotten from Hana the day Kyoko was born. To this day she never understood how Hana had found her; for she was a wander as were so many other swordsmen who work for the imperialist of Japan. In the letter Hana had told Nori of how her husband had wanted to name the baby and so he did. "Kyoko."

Nori blinked her eyes when she heard Akira yawn. She then scanned her eyes down on him.

"Akira, how about I bend down and I'll carry you on my back."

The boy started to smile then he frowned.

"I'm too heavy plus you're already carrying Kyoko."

Nori placed firm eyes on Akira.

"And who says that I can't carry two passengers?"

Akira looked up at her, "But won't I be two heavy?"

Nori just shook her head.

"Nonsense so come on. You, young man need some rest."

Akira climbed on as Nori knelt down for him to get on. Akira then ran his fingers through her hair.

"Hey, Aunt Nori you know if you didn't have all that brown hair mixed in with your red streaks, you would look like the Battousai."

Nori took a minute and laughed, "Oh really?"

Akira's little head bounced up and down as he shook his head.

"Yeah you even have a scar on your left cheek, just like the Battousai."

Akira placed his small finger on Nori's left cheek and traced the smooth scar, from the start of her cheek all the way to the end of her cheek. Nori sighed as she felt Akira's hand slowly slipped away from her face. It was then that she knew that he had fallen asleep.

Nori sped up her walking toward the small shelter she had seen. Which she knew was only a small cave, once inside the cave she walked away from the entrance and farther into the cave. She laid both children down as she piled leaves up to make beds for them. Nori laid Kyoko down first covering her with a small blanket. Nori then turned to Akira and laid him down beside his sister. Both children slept soundly as Nori build a small fire she didn't want to draw attention to them, but she didn't wish for the children to become ill either. She had never really ever thought about becoming a mother.

However, as the years of wandering had caught up with her, she had started to grow lonely. That's when Hana and her husband had offered to take her in. Nori had tired to decline many times but Hana had always told her to "stay right there." and that she "wasn't going any where."

As a child growing up she had been taught to follow the imperialist rule. Her father had taught her the art of swordsmanship. The imperil soldiers had been after her for the last ten years. Nori had did the most unforgiving thing imaginable she had turned against imperil soldiers. She had disliked the treatment that they gave the women, of the towns they passed through. However, it was the beating of two small children and the raping of a young woman that had made her turn against the imperil army.

Nori sat by the fire and watched as the flames licked over the logs. As she gazed into the flames her past came back to her. Nori had been known by many names the silence killer, the shadowed swordsman. She had also been called the Tiger by those who did not know who she was, however, the Tigress was the name that was spoken the most it also brought more fear into the hearts of men. Back when she had slain men and soldiers alike, she had always hunted them and then took their life quickly. She had been taken from her family at the age of sixteen by the imperial government. Nori had watched her father lose his life trying to protect her. From that day onward her heart and eyes had grown cold.

Nori gazed once more at the children has they lay sleeping. She then felt her eyes start to slowly drifted closed; troubled dreams awaited her as she slept. Nori's eyes snapped open at the sound of a twig snapping. She glanced at the fire, which had burned down to nothing but slow burning embers. Nori then hurried over to Akira and gently shook him. Akira's eyes opened quickly and he stared up at Nori.

"Akira someone is here take your sister and go hide. Go quickly now and do not look back. Go!"

Akira hurriedly picked his sister into his arms and started to run for cover. His breath caught in his throat as he reached a large boulder and ducked behind it. Fear shone in his brown eyes he watched and waited for Ms. Nori to say that it was safe to come out.

Nori scanned the darkness that surrounded her from all sides. Her right hand tensed beside the sword on her left, while her other hand tensed toward the one on the right.

"I know that you are there who ever who are. So you might as well show your self."

Out of the shadows a man came his brown hair was cut short even around is eyes. The man's eyes were narrow and a steel blue. Nori was taken aback by his sudden presents.

Nori gasped as the man's name slipped through her lips.

"Tomi Samuru!"

"Very good Hiromasa. For a moment I thought that you have forgotten all about me."

Nori kept her stance as she glared at Samuru.

"What do you want here Samuru?"

Samuru let the look of surprise creep across his face.

"Why Hiromasa, I had no idea we were on a first name bases."

"Enough talking Tomi tell me what you want here."

Tomi Samuru started to laugh it was deep with hardly any heart. It made the hair on Nori's neck stand on end.

"Why do you think? I have been tracking you for the last two months. But you already knew that didn't you?"

Tomi Samuru's eyes then glazed over Nori's appearance. If one did not truly know her one would mistake her for a man. For she was dressed in the entire of a man, part of her dress was a blue gi, followed by a tan hakama.

"Hiromasa, I see you still where clothes of a man. I will have to say that the look suits you well. Then again I have never seen you dressed in anything else."

Nori never took her eyes from Tomi, she didn't trust him and his reason for being here was not good. She could only hope that Tomi didn't realize that Akira and Kyoko were close by. Nori slowly pulled her reversed blade sword from it sheath. She then noticed Tomi Samuru's glance at her other sheath and then at the sword in her left hand.

"Hiromasa, you have to be joking a reversed blade sword? Do you really think you can beat me with that? Why not pull your other sword we both know that it is a sword of the samurai."

That's when Tomi pulled his sword from his sheath. Akira watch in disbelief as he watched sword meet sword they were perfectly matched with their movements. He then glance over at Kyoko her brown eyes were wide with fright. That's when Akira decided to run for it, there was a dojo not far from here if he could just make it to there.

Out of the corner on her eye Nori watched as Akira took off with his sister. She knew where his was heading and knew that they would be safe there. However Tomi Samuru had also seen them.

"Ah, so you still have those to little brats with you?"

"Look at me Tomi I'm your target not them. Tora Jihi Sen!"

Tomi's eyes widened as Nori's reversed blade sword came down on him forcing him backward.

'How can that be she has changed her attacks to fit this sword. If it had been her other sword I would be dead.'

Nori glanced over her shoulder to see Akira disappearing in the distance. Samuru took advantage of this and tried to strike her. Nori felt Tomi move and jumped backward. The blade of his Japanese sword caught her shoulder, tearing the blue material of her gi.

"This ends here Tomi!"

Kenshin watched as Kaoru and Yahiko trained. His amethyst eyes looked toward the west as a huge gust of wind whipped through the Kamiya dojo. Kaoru noticed that Kenshin was distracted.

"Kenshin what is it, what wrong?"

Kenshin however did not hear her at first.

'This wind is not nature that it is not. Something bad is happening out there that it is.'

Kenshin then heard Kaoru speak his name again. He turned to her and smiled at her the best he could.

"Everything is fine Ms. Kaoru that it is. I was just noticing that there is a storm brewing to the west of us. That it is."

Kaoru then noticed a purple lightening streak across the sky. She gasped as she watched it streak across the sky again.

"Kenshin that can't be natural can it?"

"No, Ms. Kaoru I do not believe that it is."

Just then Sagara Sanosuke made his presents know in the dojo."

"Hey there Kenshin you guys see that weird storm out there?"

Just as Sanosuke was getting ready to speak again Kenshin placed his hand to his side near his sakabatou. Then ran to the dojo doors and swung them open as they opened Kenshin watched as a young boy fell to the ground. He then noticed a little girl in his arms. Kaoru came up to Kenshin and gasped. They both watched as the boy of about eight pulled him self to his feet. Kenshin's hand shot out to braced him as his legs wobbled underneath him.

(A/N: That's all for now. Tell me what you think good –bad etc.

Tora Jihi Sen- Tiger Mercy Sword

Ja ne!

Tainted InuShemeeko)