The New Battousai - Chapter 1

[Sakura G.]

Okay let me all warn you now. Only chapter one has been edited. PLEASE do NOT tell me if I spell their names wrong or something. I know. Believe me, the peeps @ fanfiction told me off enough. ^_^;;; This story can also be found @ fanfiction.net. Just look for the user name: Sakura-Maylo-G. This story is rated... um... *thinks to self: what should I rate it...* well... it'll just be PG for now. If I see anything thats not PG material, I'll let ya know. Anyway, here's chapter 1 of The New Battousai! ^_^V


Chapter 1 - Missed Apointment

A cool breeze blew through Kaoru Kamiya’s beautiful black hair as she sat on the steps to her dojo, watching little Ayame and Suzame, two wonderful little girls, play with the rurouni Kenshin. Ayame and Suzame were always hanging around Kaoru’s dojo, always hoping that ‘Uncle Ken’ would be there.
Kenshin had come to Tokyo about three years ago as a wandering swordsman. At the time, Kaoru had been facing the most feared swordsmen ever, the Hitokiri Batt?sai.
Long ago, in the turbulent Bakumatsu era, a swordsman nicknamed the Hitokiri Batt?sai killed hundreds of people and was matched by no other. Creating the age known as the Meiji, so far fourteen years of peace between the government and samurai, he disappeared and was never heard of again. Until someone using Kaoru’s father’s sword fighting style, Kamiya Kasshin-Ry?, and started killing innocent people in her name. Ruining her dojo’s good name, many of her students left. Soon, just Kaoru and her caretaker Kihei were left. Kaoru swore to find the Batt?sai and make him pay for what her father had worked so hard to achieve: a style based on Katsujin-ken, swords that give life. Instead of Satsujin-ken, swords that give death.
After saving Kaoru from the Batt?sai, Kenshin exposed him to be Kihei’s brother Gohei, who were going to kill Kaoru for the land her dojo sat on. Kenshin stopped them and had been staying at the dojo ever since.
“Uncle Ken! Over here Uncle Ken!” young Ayame cried happily, bringing Kaoru from her thoughts on the past. She smiled as she watched Kenshin, a blindfold covering his handsome lavender eyes, try and find the two little girls as they squealed when he was close enough. Kaoru chuckled as Kenshin grabbed Suzame’s feet from beneath her and threw her into the air. She squealed as Kenshin caught her in his strong arms. She pulled off the blindfold to see him making a funny face at her and she squeaked in delight.
As Kaoru watched the scene, she didn’t hear the soft footsteps that had crept up behind her. Suddenly realizing she was in someone’s shadow, she spun around and screamed.
“Be quite Kaoru! Honestly, I can’t stand your voice and I don’t want to hear your screams child,” said the tall woman.
Kaoru let out a soft sigh before retorting, “Well Megumi, if you don’t want to her my screams then don’t scare me like that! You nearly killed me!”
“That would have been a miracle,” came Yahiko’s voice from above. Kenshin had also saved the young boy’s life as well when he was going to be killed by a gang who said he owed them money.
Yahiko had been the son of a samurai and was very stubborn. His father had died in the revolution and Yahiko’s mother had become very sick. He barrowed some money from the gangsters to pay for the bill but his mother died. Ever since then he had been a pick-pocket, trying to get enough money to pay them back. Of course, they were gangsters so even after he had paid the debt plus much more they kept him working. In the end, Kenshin had taken Yahiko, who wanted to grow as strong as Kenshin, to Kaoru’s dojo were he has been a student ever since.
Megumi had been another person Kenshin had saved. She had been working for an evil man who was forcing her to make opium. After a friend of Sano’s, who was a friend of Kenshin, died of opium, he hated Megumi and would never forgive her. IN the end however, Kenshin, Kaoru, Yahiko, and Sano had stormed the place where they were keeping Megumi and brought her back to the dojo. She was now working with a good friend of Kaoru’s, Doctor Genzi’s clinic, so she could become a good doctor.
“You’re late for your appointment at the clinic Kaoru!” Megumi cried as she flipped back some of her long black hair over her shoulder, “Dr. Genzi sent me to find you and here you are staring goo-goo eyes at my man, Kenshin!”
At this, Kaoru was outraged, “You’re man? Since when did Kenshin belong to you?” Kenshin brought Suzame over and set her down on the porch.
“Hello Ms. Megumi,” he said smiling as he sat down, “What brings you here on such a fine day?”
“Oh hello Sir Ken! How are you today?” Megumi replied in a voice so sweet it could have brought fruit flies, “I was just telling this child that she was late for her afternoon appointment. Dr. Genzi sent me to fetch her but I see she was busy with you.”
“Oro?” said Kenshin with his catchphrase. No one knew what it really meant but usually he was confused, “I was playing with Suzame and Ayame, not with Kaoru.”
Megumi put a hand to her forehead. How na?ve is this guy? she thought as she sighed.
“But I f Kaoru has an appointment, I believe she better go that I do,” Kenshin quickly said, hoping they Megumi would get that scary look off her face.
“Yes, well… come along Kaoru. Dr. Genzi is waiting.”
“You better go Kaoru-dono. I’m sure Yahiko would hate it if you became ill,” Kenshin said as she pushed Kaoru towards Megumi. Suddenly, a head popped down from the roof, eyes wide and its spiky black hair sticking out everywhere.
“I would not! No lessons from ugly here would be a blessing! Just her getting sick would be a miracle!” Yahiko cried as he jumped off the roof and onto the wooden porch.
“What did you say Yahiko?” Kaoru shrieked as she grabbed her wooden sword and began to chase Yahiko around the large yard, “Get back her Yahiko!”
Yahiko ducked behind Kenshin who, wide eyed, tried to duck Kaoru’s blow. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. Yahiko dashed from behind Kenshin (who now had a large bump that stuck out of his long fiery red hair) and darted into the woods that were settled all the way around the dojo. Kaoru charged after him, followed by Megumi who was crying out at Kaoru to come back with her to the clinic for her checkup. Kenshin regained conscience and followed the group into the woods; unaware that someone was watching them with an evil grin.

Meanwhile in a castle far away, a young man sat in a dark room, waiting for the Professor. A sudden screech of the wooden chairs scarping against the rock floor told him he wasn’t alone and to begin.
“Are you sure this will work Doctor? You said you have never tried it out on anyone else before,” the man asked.
“Of course it will work you moron! I am a genius! Nothing can go wrong!” a raspy voice cried back.
“But sir, what will happen to the girl afterwards?”
“She’ll stay that way forever,” the Professor said simply.
“And she’ll work only for us right? I mean… she won’t go off and start killing everyone right?”
“Why should you care? All master wants is the Batt?sai dead. My job is to make the potion that will kill him, and your job is to inject it into the girl. That is all that matters to us.”
“But-” but he was cut off.
“No more buts. Now shut up. We’re done here.” and the Professor got up from his chair and left the man in the darkness. Not just the darkness of the room, but the darkness of his assignment.

Back in the dojo’s woods, Kaoru was searching vigorously for Yahiko who had disappeared a short time earlier. Clutching her wooden sword, she kept searching.
Yahiko, you’re going to pay for calling me ugly! she thought as she stumbled over a rock and fell to her knees. Golden rays from the sun shone down on her and she realized that the sun was setting. The sky had turned a deep violet and it had grown considerably darker. Kaoru stood up and brushed herself off and glanced around.
“Kenshin? Yahiko? Megumi?” she cried into the woods and straining for answers. But she only received silence.
“Yahiko come out! This isn’t funny anymore! I promise I won’t hurt you if you come out!” she shouted into the darkness, but her voice showed her fear. The thing she was afraid of the most was being alone and being alone in the middle of the dark forest filled with who knows what didn’t appeal to Kaoru. Stumbling, she looked around, trying to see if she recognized anything. The silence was then broken by the rustle of leaves. Kaoru froze.
It’s just an animal, Kaoru thought, Ya, that‘s it. It‘s just an animal. Probably a raccoon or a fox or… or a weasel.
A twig snapped and Kaoru spun around, only to feel a searing pain in her arm and as she screamed out in pain, she collapsed into merciful darkness. The last thing she heard before loosing conscience was footsteps, and someone laughing menacingly.