Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ A Simple Twist of Fate ❯ Chapter 1

 

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“There.” Kaoru let the last blackberry fall from her fingers into the basket at her feet. She stretched her arms above her head, her back popping in strange places and releasing the tension she carried. She glanced at her companion and offered a shy smile. The other woman merely rolled her dark eyes and continued to pick amongst the ripe fruit for the leaves she sought. “My back hurts.” She whined and threw herself onto the ground.

 

“That isn't my fault.” The woman stated snidely, plucking the small blossom from the bush. “Perhaps if you disciplined yourself in a different manner, it would not be so.”

 

Kaoru wrinkled her nose and lay back on the soft green grass. “I see no reason for discipline here. I get enough of it at home.”

 

The woman snorted and tossed her long dark hair over her shoulder. Primly she sat down and pulled out a slim book. From her pocket she pulled out a small inkwell and pen and began writing. Curiosity stole over her and she narrowed her dark blue eyes. “What are you doing, Meg?”

 

The woman ignored her and Kaoru sat up, a frown puckering her brow. “Megumi? What are you doing?”

 

The woman glared at her, her brown eyes fierce in the afternoon light. “I'm writing a novel, what do you think I'm doing?” She demanded crossly before returning her attention to the pages in her lap.

 

She shrugged and swiftly rose to her feet. She twirled idly around the small clearing they stood in, peering up through the branches to see a speck of blue sky above. “We should be heading back.” She stated flatly after a moment.

 

“I suppose.” Megumi answered absently, her focus still on the slim volume in her hands.

 

“We don't want Tae to worry.”

 

“Nope.”

 

Another frown wrinkled her brow. She had no desire to return to the cottage. She was enjoying the fresh air and the ability to move about as she pleased. “Why do you think she worries so?” She asked, slowly spinning so the skirt of her dress billowed out around her.

 

The woman on the grass paused and nibbled on the end of her pen. “I don't really know.”

 

“You mean there's something you don't know?” Kaoru asked with a gasp. She smiled brightly and squatted down next to the other woman. “Would you say that again, just so I can recall the words actually rolling off your tongue?”

 

The cinnamon colored eyes narrowed. “Maybe because she lost her sister and is afraid of losing us as well.”

 

“Lose us to what? We hardly ever do anything.”

 

“You're eighteen. I'm……a bit older than that and neither of us is married. We're of the age when a strange man would come and sweep us off our feet. Perhaps Tae is afraid we'd forget all about her.”

 

Kaoru's azure eyes sparkled at the thought. “She's the only person I've ever known as mother. I would never abandon her lightly. But do you really think it's possible to have a man come and sweep us off our feet?”

 

Megumi shrugged and sighed. She rose elegantly to her feet and Kaoru watched her wistfully as she tucked her long dark hair back into place and smoothed out her skirt. “Well, perhaps someone would come sweep me off my feet.” She teased, though there was no malice in her voice.

 

Kaoru stuck her tongue out at the woman and stood. She had met Megumi four years ago. Tae had rescued her from the streets, the woman running from an extremely bad situation. Kaoru didn't know the full details of it, but understood the man might come looking for Megumi some day, hopefully never. Kaoru had someone else to look up to and was eternally grateful fro the woman's presence in her life.

 

She loved Tae like the mother she had never known. Really, she did. However, sometimes the woman was so overbearing. Only allowing her to go to town with someone else to accompany her; the old woman was strange with her idiosyncrasies. She often wondered what the woman was afraid of and to have Kaoru or Megumi meet a man seemed likely. But Kaoru believed it stemmed from the fear that her two surrogate daughters would suffer the same fate as she and be forever nursing a broken heart.

 

Choosing to ignore Megumi's comment, she picked up a long branch and began to swing it about as she had been shown. She brought it down with an arc and shifted her wrist slightly when it felt strange. Megumi picked up her basket and watched her for a moment. “Misao teaching you tricks again?” She asked nonchalantly.

 

Kaoru hid her smile and moved around in a circle, bringing the stick upwards. “No.” She answered lightly. She brought it down swiftly and turned again, aiming for an invisible opponent.

 

The older woman paused and narrowed her chocolate brown eyes. “I know that guard hasn't been showing you moves.”

 

“Wrong again!” She chimed, whirling once more, the stick a flash of brown.

 

A hand descended on her wrist and she blinked at her friend. “Kaoru, it is highly dangerous for you to interact with people I don't know.”

 

Startled by her words, Kaoru jerked her arm away. “You are starting to sound like Tae.” Stubbornly she dropped the stick and picked up the basket of berries. “Forgive me for having a bit of fun.” She sneered haughtily before moving away.

 

“Kaoru.” The hand was on her arm again. “I just want you to be careful when you go to town. If Tae knew I let you wonder off, she'd never let you go there again. You know what they say about the king.”

 

She waved a hand dismissively and brushed the black bangs from her face. “That was years ago. When was the last time the country went to war?”

 

“Despite that, they say Battousai worked for him.”

 

The name made her shiver in the warm afternoon. Kaoru had often wondered what the man of legend would look like if she ever laid eyes on him. Of course based on her own observations, she believed she already had seen him, though it was only once and from afar. Then there were other rumors about the man who had once slain an entire army during the course of a single evening. “I heard there were several men who worked under the guise of that. Do you honestly believe the stories?” She asked incredulously.

 

Megumi pressed her full lips together. “That's what they say happened.”

 

“Come on!” Kaoru snorted. “Do you really think one man was capable of all those terrible things, plus murdering his own family because they betrayed him?”

 

“Why don't you believe it?”

 

“I don't want to think someone could be so evil. Those deeds have to be the work of several people used to instill fear in the enemy.”

 

“You're right.” Megumi rolled her eyes and turned away.

 

Kaoru was left fuming though the older woman had agreed with her. For some reason it didn't feel like a victory. “What does it matter anyway? The urban legend states he only works at night and I'm always at home. Besides I haven't done anything to instill anyone's wrath……”

 

“Just mine.” The woman muttered.

 

“Why would the king have reason to seek me out?” Kaoru continued ignoring the barb again. “You act as though he could pop out of no where some day. It's not like Battousai's lurking behind a tree or anything.”

 

“Neither is prince charming, so you had best get over the idea.” Megumi turned away from her heading towards the small cottage they shared.

 

“What are you talking about?” She demanded shrilly, her early thoughts flying from her mind so she could defend against this new attack.

 

Megumi spun around. “I know why you really sneak off when we go to town. You've met a fellow.”

 

Kaoru cringed and then a blush crept up her cheeks. “Not really.” She stammered and studied the dirt at her feet.

 

“Admit it! That's whom you've been getting these lessons from. They aren't sewing lessons. You've met some guy and he's teaching you to fight.”

 

Kaoru kicked a pebble, not wanting to disclose her secret. She had met someone and he had been teaching her to fight with a sword. However, it wasn't as Megumi made it out to be. She had no hopes of romance, at least not from this particular male.

 

“Is it that Aoshi character?”

 

The name made her lift her face in surprise. “What?”

 

Megumi blinked, her own brown eyes startled. “It is, isn't it?”

 

“No!”

 

“Don't lie to me.” The brown eyes gleamed and she grinned. “And here I thought the man had no feeling.”

 

“It isn't Aoshi. You know that Misao has a crush on him.”

 

“All the more reason to keep it a secret.”

 

“It isn't Aoshi, alright!” She cried, rolling her blue eyes.

 

“Then who is he?”

 

“He's old, okay. I was waiting for you on the outskirts of the village and was practicing with the small blade Misao had given me. He was watching me and gave me some pointers. Asked if I was interested in learning more and I told him I was.”

 

“How old is he?”

 

Kaoru shrugged and glanced at the sky. The shadows were beginning to lengthen. “I don't know. Older than you.”

 

Her eyes narrowed. “How old?” She insisted crossly.

 

“I don't know. He doesn't look old, but he acts it. He isn't decrepit looking if that's what you're asking.”

 

“Have you kissed him?”

 

Anger seized her. “No.” She asked. She had never thought of the man in such a light. He was older, sure, but to seek a romance, the idea was ludicrous. He instilled other emotions in her, feelings she couldn't pinpoint. She paused for a second and then continued on. He was good looking in his age. But she had not felt any romantic inclinations towards him. Granted she wasn't sure she'd recognize them if she did. She had read a few romance novels and she had felt nothing she had envisioned between the pages of the tardy novels.

 

In fact the idea of lust with the man almost made her stomach turn. “He has never shown anything more than a platonic interest in me with my fighting. When I meet the man I want to marry, there will be a spark of passion and I'll know it's him whom I'm destined to be with.”

 

Megumi snorted and turned away, tossing her long dark hair over her shoulder. “Don't hold your breath tanuki. You're living in a fairytale if that's how you'll think it will be.”

 

Kaoru grimaced at the nickname. She smiled slyly and ran up to the woman. “Isn't that how it was for you, Kitsune?” She asked tartly.

 

The woman flushed and Kaoru's grin deepened to know she had struck a cord. The older woman stopped and took a deep breath. “To honestly think that the lug-nutted rooster could spark anything is absurd.”

 

“Misao claims he's quite a ladies man.” She replied nonchalantly.

 

“What else does the weasel say?” She demanded. Kaoru continued away from her, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet, wanting to cherish the moment she had managed to make Megumi squirm. “Kaoru!” A hand descended on her shoulder and spun her around.

 

“What?”

 

The brown eyes were intense, an edge of anxiety hidden beneath the mock fury. She sighed and the apprehension disappeared before Kaoru had a chance to fully fathom what she had seen.

 

“It isn't always like that. Love is a complicated messy thing. Not at all what you've read in the trash Misao sneaks you. It isn't as though lightening strikes you and you know you're in love. “

 

“You're saying you're not in love?”

 

Megumi rolled her eyes. “Absolutely not. He drives me to distraction and he irritates the hell out of me. I have better things to do with my time as he does with his.”

 

“Then why does he always come around to see you?”

 

The woman opened her mouth and closed it again. She studied her for a minute, a sly glint creeping into the dark depths. “Tell me what you really feel for this stranger and maybe I'll give you some insight into my relationship with the rooster.”

 

Kaoru wrinkled her nose. “I already told you all there is to tell.”

 

Megumi leaned in closely. “Is that still your story?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Megumi shrugged and began walking away. “Then you've heard all I have to say.”

 

Left fuming Kaoru could only follow after the older woman. She was left in her thoughts. She wondered what falling in love would be like. How would she know? She had assumed she would lie on eyes on the man and that would be it. But according to Megumi it didn't seem as though it would happen that way. With a sigh she wondered of her own parents.

 

Had they fallen in love? Tae never spoke of the time before she had take Kaoru in. She didn't even know if the old woman knew her parents. She assumed the war had taken their life, though that was a romantic notion in her own mind.

 

Her father had been called into the service and her mother had pleaded with him to come back. Then in the dark years, when Battousai supposedly ransacked the countryside, her father had appeared one night in the doorway. Her mother had rushed to him and wept bitterly at his return. Only a moment later bandits had attacked them. The enemy had wanted her father and they had followed him home. They murdered him and her mother, never knowing she was upstairs. Or they had taken her and the king had rescued her. He had given her to Tae to raise. Or perhaps Tae had just happened upon the abandoned house, hearing her cries as a child. Seeing the carnage within, she had vowed to take in the young girl and raise her as her own.

 

Kaoru sighed. She would probably never know what became of her parents. Even now she had vague recollections of being loved, but they were faint and only existed in illusory dreams. Some day she would have her own family. It was the one dream she held onto. And it would be with a man she loved. She knew deep down that she was destined for something more than the simple cottage in the woods. She just needed to seize her fate and run with it.

 

“Tanuki! Are you coming?”

 

Kaoru looked up and saw the shadows had gathered and she rushed to catch up to Megumi. The sun would be setting and who knew what monsters lurked in the shadows. But someday, she would have her prince charming. There was nothing Megumi could say to deter her from that thought.

 

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Carefully he made his way down the hall, trying to be as silent as possible. The door was within sight. He had had his share of the courts, the ball the night before wearing on his nerves. If he hadn't lost the bet with Aoshi, he never would have returned for it in the first place. He much preferred the open land, the dusty roads and the dark forests having been his haven for the last ten years. While he still retained his titles given to him in prior years, Kenshin really no longer belonged at court.

 

That never stopped Hiko from demanding his presence. How the insufferable man always seemed to find him, he never knew. It was another reason why he crept down the hall, utilizing tactics from his assassination days. The king might have consumed massive amounts of his beloved sake at dinner, but the man had a tolerance no one could match. If he suspected Kenshin might try and leave without notice, nothing would keep the tall man from preventing his escape.

 

Kenshin heard something creak deep within the castle and he paused. It had always been a game to Hiko, for as long as he could recall. Something that might have stemmed from his relationship with the true king, the one very few people even knew still lived. Kenshin had not seen Koshijirou in years, locked away in his own private quarters, refusing entry to anyone save Hiko. He had turned into a cold and bitter man, mourning the loss of his young family from years past.

 

Around him the castle slept on and Kenshin stealthily began making his way towards the door. It always ended this way. After a week or two at court, he would try to leave, only to be thwarted at the last second. His mentor found it amusing, Kenshin found it tedious. And if discovered he would be forced to endure at least another week in the courts before Hiko would dismiss him.

 

The door edged closer and he allowed himself to breathe a bit easier, his freedom within his sight. He had never made it so far before. Surely to come so close, Hiko had not realized his plan.

 

“Did you really think you would make it?”

 

The voice echoed across the hall and his shoulders slumped. “Usually you stop me at the bottom of the stairs, that you do.” He answered quietly.

 

The shadow at the end of the hall moved and Kenshin cursed himself for having not noticed the man sooner. His master was the only man who had ever beaten him in any game, life threatening or playful. Of course he had to remember he had learned everything from the tall man standing in front of him.

 

Now Hiko stepped into the dim light. “I thought I'd give you a small sense of success.”

 

“How long have you been watching me?”

 

The man smiled and said nothing. “Where are you going?”

 

“I'm leaving.”

 

“You just got here.”

 

“I've had enough of court intrigue. I never understood why you stay here.”

 

“You know why, my stupid apprentice.” The voice was sharp and Kenshin felt the flush of shame that usually accompanied the tone. Even after twenty years, the man made him feel like a child. “Where do you plan to go this time?”

 

The question was a strange one. Hiko never seemed to notice when Kenshin would disappear for months at a time. Only laugh at him when he would try and sneak away early. “I thought I'd visit the countryside, that I did.”

 

The tall man moved to a window where the pale starlight filtered in through the glass. “Perhaps you might stay closer this time.”

 

Kenshin blinked his violet eyes. “Oro?”

 

“Is it the court you despise so much, my pupil, or are you still running from what you once were?”

 

That question deepened his confusion. He had never given much thought to it before. It was the first time in long years he had made himself truly think of what had occurred nearly a decade ago. He took a deep breath, thinking there was great significance to what his answer might possibly be. “Tomoe is dead as is the man who killed her. I am merely trying to find some solace until the fates decide it is my time.”

 

“So it is the life of court you hate.”

 

Kenshin wrinkled his nose. “I have no need for some silly chit fawning all over my exotic looks.”

 

The man chuckled. “You remind me so much of someone I once knew. He would often flee to avoid those who are even stupider than you.”

 

“Tales of your childhood really don't interest me, that they do not.”

 

“I am merely suggesting that maybe you have yet to fully explore the local forests. You might find something that interests you.”

 

“If there's something you want me to do, why don't you just come out and say it.”

 

The humor left the man's face and Kenshin saw the jaw tighten. He was facing the king now or at least the man who acted in his stead. “There is trouble coming and I have needs for your services.”

 

“I'm not going back to that-“

 

“I'm not asking you to. But I require the services of your idiotic friends here. Since you have no ties to court, I have use for you elsewhere.”

 

“But as you just stated, I have no ties to court. You can not order me to do anything, that you can not.”

 

“I'm not ordering you to do anything. I just know of a place you might find some refuge. There is a woman, a powerful and strong healer, residing within the confines of the woods. You might find some solace there for a short time. You might even find something to distract you until, as you said, the fates decide it's your time.”

 

Kenshin smiled to himself, finally realizing the man's true intention. Hiko wanted him to protect this doctor. If trouble indeed was brewing from wherever, her services would be needed. “Why not order her presence here?”

 

“For the time she would be more comfortable and safer where she is.”

 

“I'll just have to see where my feet take me.”

 

“And there's the door.” Hiko stepped out of the way. “I imagine I won't be seeing you before the weather turns?”

 

Kenshin paused, his hand on the large handle. “I'll be back when trouble appears.” He stated before pushing out the door. So elated to be free, he never once gave a second thought to why Hiko was allowing him to walk out the door so easily.

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Thanks for reading! Thoughts and comments are always welcome! Until next time.