Through Time

(A Rurouni Kenshin fic)

PROLOGUE

Death and Reincarnation

The world today as the human race knows it is not a forgiving or patient world, people live and people die. Yet the plants seem to live longer more eventful and meaningful life.

Humanity is as cruel as children, and death is happening everyday, a word like this one, is not where one would like to live and so many forcefully remove themselves from the scene of it, hurting those who made it meaningful to them.

But what about the ones who were removed and just wanted to continue to live and felt they had a purpose?

~*~*~*~

She showed no fear as she lay on her stomach her hands bound behind her back, looking over her shoulder at the men in the room standing guard over her, she closed her eyes searching for the power and the strength within.

The sound of the rain over church bells in the distance disorientated her, she hadn't heard bells in a long time, and her skin was becoming colder than the concrete floor she lay on.

Her coughing drew the attention of the men as they looked at her. "Is this revenge enough to kill his oldest child?" One asked. "A ransom would be better."

"He hasn't paid us back, so let him suffer like we have, the loss of his daughter should and would strike a cord in him and he'll pay up before we go after his son."

She pushed herself up on to her knees and turned her head as she coughed again and slowly stood to her feet.

The men smiled at her determination.

"My dear where are you going?" The leader smirked at her.

"I'm stretching my limbs if you don't mind." She growled.

Music slowly drifting down the hall, bells, rain and a concrete floor she looked round taking in the location.

"Sanguine." She spoke and they looked at her.

"She knows this place?" the third of the three men asked.

She smirked at them. "I don't look like the type to club here do I? But you'll be surprised." She sniffed trying not to let the cold get to her.

"We should send him her finger or an ear."

She raised a brow. "Seriously that is so Quentin Tarantino it's not funny. It won't work besides my father doesn't care for me. I wish he were dead," she tilted her head back to look upwards at the ceiling. But you can't even do that right."

The leader walked up to her and she looked in to his blue eyes under glasses, his blonde hair slightly spiky if he wasn't holding her hostage he was the type she would probably play with while out clubbing. She had no morals anymore, she didn't care, but she did care about those she would leave behind if they killed her.

The leader grabbed her by the front of the shirt hefting her up to him, "We should have grabbed the son."

"You wouldn't be able to handle him, trust me you're better off with me." She smirked before kneeing him in the groin making him drop her and she landed on her feet spinning round her leg catching his neck in a hook kick sending him falling to the side.

"You little bitch!" The other two charged and she ducked a punch dropping low sweep kicking his feet out from under him before spinning round again bringing her knee up to block the third's punch and he grabbed her leg, she jumped out her other leg spinning round in a round house knocking him over and she landed in a crouch before running up the stairs quickly.

Then she felt it before she heard the echo of gun fire and the burning sensation in the middle of her back and she stumbled forward and grunted out in pain but pulled herself up the stairs hurriedly and outside looking down the street and she raced down the street and she heard them chasing her.

"Get her!"

"Why did I have to stay out past 4:45am?" She asked as she felt the next gunshot hit her leg and she fell to the ground and let out a ragged breath, her body stinging and she looked over her shoulder at not the leader but the other one who she had sweep the feet out under from, his black hair hung in to his eyes as he glared at her.

"We were going to wait three more hours before we killed you but here and now will do."

"Oh yeah smart move only half a block away from the clubs that are closing up. I'm sure they won't hear a thing." She drooled.

The third walked up to her his long brown hair was tied back by a bandanna and he held the gun up. "Damn straight." A silencer.

She looked at the gun as it was placed directly between her eyes. "Another artist that comes to a tragic end."

Then there was complete blackness…

~*~*~*~

She could see a faint light of a candle as she opened her eyes and sat up slowly looking round the room, she looked down at her hands and moved them, the handcuffs were gone that had bound her almost useless to defend herself.

She placed a hand over her eyes and let out a breath.

"Was it a dream?" She asked.

"It was no dream child." She looked over at the figure, it was blurred from her normal view and she rubbed her eyes.

"What?"

"You can only see my blurred form because you are not yet to know me." The figure spoke.

"Oooooh I see like you know Cuba Gooding Jnr's character in that Robin Williams movie?"

The figure although she could make out no facial features knew the figure frowned at her. "I suppose if you put it like that."

"So I'm dead… what happens now?" She asked.

"You're reborn my child."

"Reborn… I knew reincarnation existed ha eat that anti reincarnation freaks!" She cheered.

"But you must know that your life was taken too soon, so this next life will be a bit unstable for you to grasp."

"Um… alright… So where do I go then?"

"You go in to the past."

"Eh? The past? Isn't it supposed to be move forward not backwards?"

"My dear Juri… reincarnation out of order is not an unusual thing."

"Oh." She looked down then up again. "Wait… my name's not Juri."

"No… but it will be." The figure placed a hand to her forehead. "Sleep."

"Uhhhh…" She fell backwards and the falling motion seemed to continue on for ever until she felt herself hit the ground, and she could feel the first breath of rebirth come from her lungs.

~*~*~*~

1857

A three year old it was like she was that young again as she stood on the docks holding her mother's hand watching her father loading his trade work on to the ship. He stopped with one bag and walked up to her mother smiling she looked up at her, her mother wore such a lovely yellow dress that stuck out at the waist like a golden bell, the puffy sleeves, it was the sign of a gaijin. Her mother only wore her gaijin clothes when there was a special occasion. Her father hugged her and placed a kiss on her lips and her mother smiled, they truly loved each other.

Her father then knelt down to his daughter's height and he ruffled up her hair, it hung just below her shoulders and the top part stuck up when he removed his hand she found herself giggling and hugged him.

"My little Juri, when I get home you'll be starting school, I can't wait to see how you do." He gave her another hug. All she knew at that age was her father was a merchant, but his past came back to claim his life though only months after that moment.

Juri had never seen him after the ship sailed out of the dock two months later instead of a letter Juri and her mother got word that his ship had been attacked and sunk to the bottom of the ocean only two survivors were on that ship and they were told neither was the beloved father and husband.

~*~*~*~

Two days after Juri's father had left she had begun a new type of training with her mother, a different style of martial arts a Chinese style of martial arts to help Juri defend herself, her father had taught her mother.

It was a style he had learned while he had been a merchant wandering from dock to dock selling a little part of Japan to the foreigners, while in China. The next stop had been Scotland where he'd met Juri's mother the daughter of a Scottish merchant. The two got married a few months later and Juri's mother Elizabeth moved back to Japan with him. Juri had been born only two years later.

"This is called the sword and hammer technique." Juri looked up at her mother sitting there watching the technique as her mother performed it, her entire body moving and flowing with the motion.

"Yay!" Juri clapped when her mother finished. "She pretty!"

Juri smiled as her mother smiled and knelt down ruffling up her hair, much like her father had done on the day he left.

"It's from a style of martial arts called Okinawa-te. Ironically enough learned in China by your father from a shoulin monk."

Juri just blinked. "I don't get it."

"Don't worry you will eventually."

For one year after the news of Juri's father's death her mother had been teaching a couple of enthusiastic children how to red and write in English and Latin in return they were teaching her about Kanji writing as an art form used on the wall scrolls. It was pretty peaceful but yet hard for a widowed gaijin in a country she hardly knew anything about and raising a bratty child like Juri… you could only imagine the stress.

~*~*~*~

To Be Continued…

R & R… My first Rurouni Kenshin fic… please be nice…

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters you recognise… but I own the ones you don't… just so you know… and can't say I didn't add one… but its the only one I'm adding cause we all know the drill.

~J'dee