Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Only A Moment ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Thank you for visiting my story! I had this story up then took it down because I just couldn't get the next chapter out. The story wasn't flowing, characters seemed shallow . . . the set was just overall poorly done. I realized that if I took out some things and shuffled some bits of the story around, the end result would be better. Thus, the major revision. For those of you who have read the previous version, tell me if you think this revision is better or not. For those who haven't, enjoy the story! Remember, nothing profound, just good ol' fluff and stuff!

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin

 

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Tokyo 1878, Early Spring

 

Kenshin walked through the busy streets, enjoying the noisy chatter and the rush of bodies back and forth. There were times when he preferred quiet and solitude, but since he became a rurouni, he found that there were many things to enjoy when the time was right. (The smell of beef hot-pot wafted by his nose.) Such as meat.

 

He walked into a small but cozy restaurant called `Akabeko.' A young woman with a welcoming smile greeted him at the door.

 

“Irasshai! Table for one?”

 

“Yes, please,” the redhead smiled back warmly. The woman took him to a small table towards the back of the restaurant. After he sat down, she pulled out a pencil and notepad from her apron.

 

“My name is Tae and I will be serving you today. Now, what would you like to order?”

 

“What you normally serve will be fine, that it will.”

 

“One beef hot-pot coming right up!” The woman quickly disappeared to the back.

 

Kenshin scanned the room, a habit he had since he began learning Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. The room was crowded. Families, couples, groups, and single diners such as himself filled the restaurant. He was somewhat grateful Tae put him in a hidden corner where he could peacefully eat his meal without having to strike up conversation with other lone diners. He was aimlessly looking around when he saw someone familiar. An older gentleman with a kind face. Could it be?

 

Kamiya Tetsuo!

 

He was sitting alone and appeared to be waiting for his meal. He had become thinner and paler since Kenshin had last seen him. The wrinkles on his face were deeper. He was obviously thinking about something troubling because his brows were furrowed and his hands were tightly clenched. Kenshin was hesitant to greet his old friend, but he couldn't let this moment pass up, not when he had so much to thank him for. Kenshin got up from his table and approached Tetsuo.

 

“Konnichiwa,” Kenshin said softly. Tetsuo looked at Kenshin questioningly for a moment. Then his eyes widened and his expression changed to happiness and surprise.

 

“Himura Kenshin? I don't believe it,” he stood up to greet his friend. Kenshin noticed that his movements were shaky. “When I told you to disappear ten years ago, I didn't think you would be gone for so long. It's good to see you again, old friend.”

 

Kenshin smiled. “Yes, it's very good to see you, Kamiya-san, that it is.” He motioned for the both of them to sit down. Tetsuo leaned back in his chair and looked at Kenshin for a long time. “Forgive me for staring, Himura. It's just that I didn't expect see an honest man's face for a while.”

 

The waitress came then and brought the men their food. “I saw that you moved,” Tae said cheerily to Kenshin, “So I brought your food here too.”

 

“Ah, thank you.”

 

“Enjoy your meal!” She walked away to another table.

 

The men picked up their chopsticks and commenced eating. Tetsuo wiped his mouth and asked, “What brings you to Tokyo?”

 

Kenshin chuckled. “I was about to ask you the same question, that I was. I am a rurouni.”

 

“Rurouni?” Tetsuo scratched his chin. “How do you provide for yourself? Surely it must be challenging with that lifestyle.”

 

“Yes, there are times when I have to hunt for my food in the river, or nights when I sleep under the stars. But this life is peaceful and I like it very much, that I do.”

 

“I see,” the older man said understandingly. “And have you learned much on your journey?”

 

“More for what I needed, less for what I wanted.”

 

Tetsuo nodded. “How long will you be a rurouni?”

 

“However long it takes.” Kenshin sipped his tea. “What do you do in Tokyo, Kamiya-san?”

 

“I opened a dojo,” the older man said proudly.

 

“Ah. Kamiya Kasshin Ryu?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“And how is your family?”

 

The older man sighed. “I should be telling you that everything is fine, that we are all happy.” He looked in Kenshin's eyes. “But I would like to be selfish this moment and share my burden with my friend.”

 

Kenshin nodded for him to continue.

 

“I'm not doing well. My wife passed away just after you left Kyoto. She was sick. Very sick. I was with her when she died. As I held her in my arms, she told me her last wishes. One was to take care of our daughter with twice the love I have to make up for my wife's absence. The other was to live a life that was right and honorable, no matter how hard that path seemed to be. To this day I do my best to honor my wife's wishes. But it is difficult. Especially now.”

 

He paused to take a drink. Putting his cup down, he looked at Kenshin. Dark chestnut eyes bore into violet eyes. “I am dying. I deny it to my daughter, I even try to deny it to myself, but we both know that my time here will not be long.”

 

While Tetsuo was talking, Kenshin noticed every detail: the wrinkling of his brow, the wavering inflections in his voice, the clenching and unclenching of his fists; but Kenshin showed no reaction of sadness or pity. To do so would only hurt the older man's pride. Thus, Kenshin remained silent and listened attentively to each word that was spoken.

 

“I can no longer teach Kamiya Kasshin Ryu because of my illness. There is nothing I can do to provide for my family,” Tetsuo continued sadly. “It's not just my daughter that I must look after but my brothers, sisters, and their children as well. Recently my youngest brother borrowed money from an underground loaner, thinking that he could pay them back, but he can't, and they are going to take our property if we don't pay them soon.”

 

“But none of this is your fault, that it isn't.”

 

“Perhaps it is not my fault. Yet it is my responsibility as the eldest son. I swore to my wife that I would be honorable. Keeping my family safe and together is honorable.”

 

Kenshin waited for Tetsuo to continue.

 

“Everything was hopeless until my daughter met a man named Miroshi Kato. He's the son of a lumber company owner, Miroshi Ryu. A wealthy man. He was in Tokyo for business when he met my daughter. Miroshi fell in love with her and begged to marry her. He said he didn't care about her class or her reason for marriage.”

 

“Reason for marriage?”

 

“My daughter refused him three times. It wasn't until he offered to help our family financially that she agreed.” He held his head in his hands and muttered, “I should have said no. A daughter should not have to pay for what her father could not.”

 

Kenshin's heart clenched at his friend's inner torment. He never really cared for money, but he suddenly wished he was rich so that he could give this man before him everything he had.

 

“Miroshi Kato is a suitable husband. Perhaps he is not yet matured as I hoped her husband to be, but he will treat her kindly.” Tetsuo composed himself but his face remained grim. “We leave tomorrow for her wedding. He lives in Nagasaki. For safety purposes, we are supposed to be traveling in two separate groups. A bodyguard Miroshi sent us, a maid posing as my daughter, and I are to travel by sea. My daughter and her bodyguard are to travel by land, but her bodyguard became terribly sick last night.”

 

“Would you and your daughter be in so much danger if you traveled together?”

 

“There are rumors going around that Miroshi Ryu's enemies want to stop his son's marriage for reasons unknown to me. Ryu and Kato don't want to take any chances. Neither do I.”

 

“Perhaps you could hire another bodyguard,” Kenshin suggested.

 

Tetsuo sighed with dejection. “I've been looking around Tokyo these last couple of days, but there is no one I trust.”

 

“There is no one capable of protecting your daughter?”

 

“Not in the way you are thinking. You see, my daughter is the most beautiful girl in Japan, and every man can't help but fall in love with her.”

 

Kenshin tried not to smile at the father's prideful exaggeration.

 

“I am worried that the bodyguard may try to take advantage of her.”

 

“What about the bodyguard Miroshi sent? He wouldn't send a man who gave into temptation so easily, would he?”

 

“It is true. The bodyguard Miroshi sent is capable. But . . .” He thought for a moment, looked at Kenshin, hesitated, then said, “Himura.”

 

Kenshin knew what he was asking. “I'm sorry, Kamiya-san. I must decline what you are about to ask me, that I must.”

 

“Himura, I am a man of great pride. I would not ask this of you if there was another solution. I am not asking you for my sake, but for my daughter's. You are honorable, more than any other man I know, and I can trust you to any extreme. I know you don't want to do this because of what happened long time ago, but I am asking you from the bottom of my heart. Please, Himura. I beg of you.”

 

Memories flooded Kenshin's mind. His jaw clenched. Repeating mistakes was not a part of his lifestyle. He looked at Tetsuo and only saw unending depths of sorrow and desperation. He tried to steel himself against any emotion, tried to convince himself that it would be okay if he let this one occasion pass; but he couldn't. “A friend does not need to beg to a friend. One only needs to ask. Forgive me for denying you the first time, that I ask.”

 

So much relief flooded over the older man, Kenshin was sure he felt it touch him. “Arigatou, Himura,” Tetsuo friend said gratefully, “I can never repay you for this debt.”

 

“On the contrary,” the redhead replied with his signature smile, “it is I that is in your debt, that I am.”

 

Tetsuo smiled with every fiber of his being. Words of thanks were beyond him at this point. The two friends paid for their meal and stood up to leave.

 

“Come,” Tetsuo said, “Stay at my home tonight.”

 

“Ah. Arigatou, Kamiya-san.”

 

The two friends walked down the dirt road that led to the older friend's dojo.

 

“I see you are carrying the sakabatou,” Tetsuo remarked.

 

Kenshin nodded. “Yes. It has been a great help to me throughout the years, that it has. I made a promise to protect those around me, even if it is only one person at a time, and I intend to keep it. The Meiji era may be a time of peace, but even the calmest river has its torrents of chaos.”

 

Tetsuo grunted in agreement.

 

When they reached the gate entrance to the dojo, Tetsuo stopped and turned to Kenshin. “I must warn you, Himura, before you meet my daughter. Her grace and beauty captivates every man's heart. Her compassion and kindness beckons men to her feet. You must guard yourself and try not to fall in love with her. It will make the trip easier for you.”

 

Kenshin decided to let his smirk show. “You underestimate me, Kamiya-san, that you do.”

 

Tetsuo wasn't amused. “No, Himura, you underestimate my daughter.”

 

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Rurouni - wanderer

 

Konnichiwa - hello

 

Irasshai - welcome