Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Color of Blood ❯ Intro ( Prologue )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter 1 Intro

When young Shinta Himura was 8 years old his village was visited by a horrible plague. Many people were dieing. His mother especially was very ill. His father wasn’t much better.

Shinta’s father wasn’t sure if he would make it. Shinta who was very young and vulnerable to the disease he feared would end up alone or worse, dead if he stayed. So for Shinta’s safety he gave the boy to three women who were passing through the village.

The women promised to take good care of Shinta. Himura told his son to be strong and hugged him good bye. Himura san watched as his son disappeared down the road, never to return. He was sad to let him go, but it was for the best.

Weeks later by some miracle they both got better. Himura and his wife made full recoveries. They missed Shinta very much and they searched all the surrounding villages for him, but he was gone.

With heavy hearts life continued for the Himuras after that. For 2 years they farmed diligently trying to scrape out a living. At the end of those 2 years they were blessed with another child; a beautiful baby girl whom they named Takara. She was their precious treasure, after loosing Shinta she was a ray of sunshine in their dreary lives.

By the age of six Takara was showing an interest in martial arts. The village had a Kempo school run by a benevolent old man known as Masuyo Sensei. Everyday Takara would manage to sneak away from the farm to watch the students practice. She was enchanted by the movements and Masuyo Sensei noticed. He asked the Himuras if he could teach her. He had no female students, but Takara showed much potential. They agreed as a dojo was the best kind of schooling she could ever have at their time and with their budget.

Takara was very dedicated to martial arts. Everyday she would wake early and do all her chores. She would spend the mornings farming with her mother and father, then after lunch she would go to the dojo all afternoon until her father came for her as the sun went down.

So was life for the Himuras. When Takara was nine years old the revolution reached its peak. The Tokugawa regime was on its last legs. Luckily the Himuras lived far into the wilderness of Japan, away from the fighting. There was only one road going from North to South through their village and a thick forest between them and any of the big eastern cities. They were relatively unaffected by the battles. They never knew of the Battosai or any of the other samurai and assassins in the revolution.

With little interference Takara was able to live a peaceful happy life and grow into a beautiful young girl. She had strange coloring like her brother. Dark green hair that took a lot to keep under control and the lavender eyes that, were genetic for almost everyone in her family. She was abnormally strong for a female, reason being her training in Martial Arts. She was also becoming skilled with the bow and arrow thanks to the teachings of her father. Her mother taught her what little she knew about reading, writing, and arithmetic. Most poor Japanese farmers were uneducated, but Mrs. Himura’s mother had been a foreigner who had the advantage of an education.

By age thirteen Takara had everything going for her. She was, strong, healthy, beautiful, smart, and very talented. Of course she had her flaws, she was more stubborn then any bull and short tempered as a fire cracker with a short fuse. Other than that things were good, until one faithful day.

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