Through Time

(A Rurouni Kenshin fic)

CHAPTER ONE

Join the Revolution

1858

Elizabeth had walked her students to the gate after their lessons and had just stopped inside after seeing them off she shut the door looking at Juri on the floor drawing my childish pictures.

"Juri what are you drawing?"

"Daddy." Juri had beamed up at her. "He's in heaven right with the angels?" Juri held up the picture. "See daddy with angel wings."

Elizabeth took the picture and she smiled. "This is lovely Juri. You could be a fine artist one day. Just like my father was, he drew many wonderful pictures of the places he'd travelled to."

"Can women be artists?" Juri had asked.

"Yes women can do anything with the gifts God has given them, but the men do not like that here, but your father was different. There is a new era in Japan coming where we can change it, it may take some time but hopefully at the end of it women can do whatever the men can do."

"Yea!" Juri pumped her chibi fist in the air.

Elizabeth smiled and ruffled her daughter's hair before pulling her in to an embrace. "God was wonderful that he gave me such a wonderful child."

Juri blinked and looked up at her mother. "What does he look like?"

Elizabeth smiled. "He appears differently to different people."

Elizabeth suddenly stopped in her tracks her expression serious picking something up. "Juri go hide quickly."

Juri looked at her. "Mama?"

"Go." She raced to the corner and Juri watched as she lifted a mat up and then a secret panel before pulling out a samurai sword and she closed the panel down and placed the mat down.

She stood there looking at the door while Juri hid in the bedroom peeking through the slit in the door watching her in the hallway. She was so contrasting to her husband Hiro and his people, but she loved the country so much they had great traditional values but they were going to change and welcome a new era…

The door had opened while Juri watched as a group of men entered surrounding her mother.

"A female revolutionary, what else only a gaijin could come up with that."

Juri watched more as they had started beating up on her mother but not before she had killed some of them at least, she was a fine swordswoman, and Juri remembered the stories about the swordsmanship of her mother's people back in her home country, where her father had taught her since she was a little girl.

When Juri's mother spotted her daughter's eyes she raced in to the room scooping her up and shoving the young girl under the Victorian bed and she grabbed Juri's hand. "This is your father's past catching up with us. Please Juri think long an hard before you pick up the sword it is a tool of death." She then stood in front of the bed hiding her daughter from view of the men.

"Mama…" Juri had whispered.

"Gaijin you should have kept running." The last man standing grinned at her, he looked no older than Elizabeth as he drew his sword and then he charged and Juri watched as her mother sliced his arm and she jumped up skyward flipping over her like she was flying and then she saw it and felt the tears as the sword pierced her from behind.

The man withdrew his sword. He looked down at the body and wiped his sword. "If you were Japanese and a man you would have made an excellent samurai gaijin." He stood there for a moment and Juri wanted to race to her mother's side. He stood there and finally placed his sword back in to the scabbard. "When your husband returns and finds you dead he will get the message that we mean business. There will be no revolution for you two." He had walked out and Juri memorised his face his clothes the moves she'd seen him use on her mother, Elizabeth had killed six of his men, but she had died and he had killed her, Juri felt suddenly tainted.

When the scared chibi moved from out under the western style bed she sat by her mother's side cross-legged and Elizabeth's eyes had locked on to her daughter's but they were so glazed over Juri knew it she felt it.

"Your gunna leave just like papa aren't you?"

"I'm sorry Juri, he would have killed you to. You are half Japanese half Gaijin, they would not have liked that." Juri just nodded.

"I'll add you to my picture of daddy I'll give you wings and a halo too." Juri took her hand, "I'm sure God would give you wings if you asked nicely."

Elizabeth squeezed her daughter's hand then looked at the sword. "Place that sword where no one will find it. It is my sword the one your grandfather made for me when I was pregnant with you."

Juri knew she was referring to her father's father and she smiled. "Grandpa Takumi made that?"

Elizabeth smiled. "Yes he's a fine sword maker and merchant, go to grandpas, he'll take care of you now." Juri watched as her mother's eyes closed.

"But I don't know where grandpas is…" Juri pouted and stood up and grabbed the sword placing it backing to its sheath and dragging the heavy thing across the floor and towards the secret panel. She moved the matt and opened the panel before dropping the sword in and closed the panel and placed the mat back. She saw her picture on the floor and raced up to it and picked it up.

Juri went back over to the colored paints and began to add her mother in to the picture, when she finished it she sat it out in the sun looking at the gate, she was only four she had no idea how she would get to her grandfather's.

When the picture dried Juri picked it up and placed it in to the secret panel and closed it up again and walked in to the hallway she looked down it there were bodies and blood lining the floor Juri rubbed her eyes then sat down looking a the blood and bodies. She was far too young to even comprehend death properly.

The next morning…

Juri made out at first light walking in to town and stopped by the store where her mother bought the fish from for her cooking.

"Oh hello Juri where's your mother today?" Yuie spoke he was a good friend of Juri's father's one of the few he had left when he joined the merchant business.

"Mama said I had to go stay with grandpa. But I don't know where grandpa is."

"Okay Juri you see that road there, there is a nice man under the tenth tree in called Keisuke just tell him your grandfather's name he can walk you there."

"Thanks!" Juri waved.

"Juri if you wait just twenty minutes I could walk you." Juri heard Yuie shout out after her. But she jogged off it was the largest mistake she made in the lifetime of this world. Juri never reached her grandfather's place until seven years later.

~*~*~*~

She stood at the base of the path sure enough there was an elderly man about the age of her grandfather sitting under the tree and she raced up the path stopping in front of him.

"Hello Mr. Keisuke!" Juri smiled.

"Why good morning young lady. How may I help you?"

"Mr. Yuie said that you could take me to my grandpas." Juri beamed at him.

"What is your grandpa's name young lady?"

"Dan, Takumi Dan. I'm Juri."

"Well then miss Juri I do know your grandfather, we go back a long way together, we fought together I was a samurai and your grandfather made my sword, but age has claimed these old bones." He stood up and took her hand. "This way young Juri."

The walk was long but familiar for her, her parents had taken her down the same paths and everything, she'd even ridden on her father's shoulder's when her little legs had gotten tired… but something happened on this trip that was different from the other trips to her grandfather's.

Men came down the path and spotted them, they had only been walking for half an hour and Juri's grandfather's house only around the next corner.

"Juri be alert…" Keisuke spoke to his young travel companion.

"They're slave traders aren't they Mr, Keisuke?" Juri asked.

He just nodded. "How does someone your age know that?" Keisuke asked.

"My father pointed them out to me once and said that they sold people like he sold relics, but he'd always told me selling people was wrong, they had families, lives and all that made them different, from what he sold." Juri replied.

Keisuke smiled. "A wise man your father has become."

Juri grinned and nodded while Keisuke continued to hold her hand; they were too far away from the town of Tokyo now to alert help, so they would just have to be careful.

"Well what do we have here?" One man had drawn his sword and Juri had looked at it.

"Juri stand back." She raced to the nearest tree and hid behind it, she watched as Keisuke held up his walking stick and from it he drew his sword.

"An old samurai… now this should be interesting." A second had remarked.

Juri hid behind the tree but she watched in fascination as the men with swords battled it out, steel flashing reflecting the light of sun about the area, the little balls of light streaking across the bark of the trees and Juri held the tree watching unable to take her eyes away, would Keisuke be able to defeat them?

Yet in the back of her mind she watched every move memorizing it in the back of her mind like her mother's murderer.

She watched as the leader brought his sword down and it sliced open Keisuke's shoulder and he fell to the ground. Then he was struck again and his body spun round before landing weakened at the base of the tree where Juri hid behind.

"Keisuke! Keisuke!" Juri had shook his body. "No Keisuke where's grandpa's house?"

"R.R.Round that corner run Juri get to him." Keisuke spoke.

"Thank you Keisuke." Juri replied as he died.

So much death in two days Juri closed her eyes, her chibi fists suddenly balled up at her sides.

"He could have been a good slave too." The second remarked.

"No too old he would of retaliated sooner or later. Now this little one…" The leader replied.

"I am gaijin you do not want gaijin coming for me!" Juri shouted at them dropping in to a defence stance.

"Gaijin that knows martial arts. Hmph what's the world coming to?" A third had scoffed at the child.

They charged and Juri grabbed the base of the leader's legs and slipped between them yanking them out from under him making him fall flat on his face before running leaping and getting in a good stomach shot with a jumping side kick, to the second when the third tried to grab her despite being four times her size, he was thrown over her shoulder.

Juri managed to run a few trees away towards her grandfather's place when the leader grabbed her by the back of the shirt she wore.

She gasped as his blade cut in to the side of her stomach and she fell over in shock.

"Really a child and you let yourself be made fun of." He scoffed at his men.

"I am gaijin!" Juri had shouted at him angrily. "You're kind would not dare kidnap me!"

"Kidnap? So you have a family?" The second smirked.

"My mother was murdered by you people." She was angered.

"So no family. Still we'll see. Perhaps you could be of use." The leader smirked.

~*~*~*~

Against her will she was taken with the men, they took Juri to where the slaves were gathered it was a long trip a few months travelling with them and others, slave traders, she hadn't known it at the time what they really did, she was really to young to know or understand what slave trader meant, she just knew their kind and what they looked like thanks to her father. But she had heard the arguments each night the others working in the slavery trade were against selling a gaijin due to their fear of the gaijin interfering in to matters of Japan that did not concern them.

"Ship her back to her country of birth." It was a suggestion made over and over.

When the group arrived at their base the leader and his men took the half Gaijin half Japanese girl to see the head their big bad boss man.

"Where were you born girl?" The head of them demanded, their intentions were clear they were going to ship her off somewhere.

"Here." Juri replied. Ahhhh the chibi inability to lie.

"Now they're populating our country to?" Another complained.

"My papa was Japanese. He's a merchant." Juri beamed up at them and they didn't look impressed.

"She's half gaijin?" The head of them looked shocked, and then stared at her long and hard. "She does have Japanese eyes. Cut her hair off we'll try to sell her as a boy she could pull it off."

"NO!" Juri screamed when they dragged her out of the room then all had gone black.

~*~*~*~

When Juri had regained consciousness she was in a yard chained up next to other slaves, young boys and some fully-grown men. The leader was standing by and he looked at her and grinned. "Jun'dai you're awake."

"Jun'dai." Juri repeated and the leader had knelt down in front of her. "That is your name boy." She looked at his hand as he pulled a hidden dagger out of it and the blade tip touched her neck.

"Boy…" Juri sniffed.

"You are a boy." The leader remarked as he grinned at her.

"I'm a-!" Juri began to shout when a voice spoke up.

"Excuse me I'm looking for a new servant a boy." A voice interrupted them. "I'm willing to pay more than enough."

The men who had captured her all looked at her and she blinked and looked at them. Then at the man he was old but about ten years younger than her grandfather and Keisuke.

They used western men's clothing and had cut off hair off disguising her as a boy and making her swear not to tell him or they would come for her. She moved in with this man to become his servant, but on the walk back to where he lived she found out the truth behind his need for a "servant".

It turned out the man who told her his name was Sento Kitchi he was looking or a pupil, he was happy to know Juri knew basic martial arts and he told her he would continue to train her, in martial arts and in the art of weaponry, namely in a swordsman style… Nito Kenjutsu, the ability to fight multiple attackers, using two swords.

~*~*~*~

Years passed as Jun'dai trained under Sento Kitchi, he was a good master, and he treated his pupil respectfully when he found out that those whom had sold Jun to him came up to check on him.

He frowned when he saw them hovering over him in the yard. Jun looking down both swords placed on him, the young boy could kill them with his skill but Sento was not training a manslayer, but a pupil to pass on the style before he died.

Sento watched the three men picking on his pupil who just stood there and looked over to the forest not like he wanted to run there and escape, but using the form of meditation Sento had taught him.

"When we find out what country your mother's from we're going to have you deported gaijin."

"Yeah… how do you feel about that girl?"

Sento's eye twitched and he raised a brow. 'A girl?' They'd sold him a girl covering her up as a boy. His eyes narrowed. Granted Jun was an excellent pupil with a good memory of sword techniques used in the past. The pupil had demonstrated the styles that had killed her mother and a man she called Keisuke, but a girl… He had nothing against female samurais they were rare though.

'It's late to find another pupil…' he thought and looked at Jun and the men.

"I dare you to deport me." She spoke her voice steady and calm as she looked up at them and smiled. "You don't know my real name, and even if you did access to the files of my parents you'd have to have a good reason and knowledge on which files to look up, after all I was born in Japan. I am there fore Japanese, and that you'll have to live with."

"A Japanese merchant marrying a Gaijin woman, those files shouldn't be to hard to fine." The leader smirked.

She spun round and before he could blink he was on the floor and her sword was out pointing at his neck. "Go on I dare you deport me, but know this before I go I'll slit your throat."

"Jun'dai!" Sento picked that moment to interrupt before his friends could interrupt.

She looked at him, and now he knew the truth of her sex, her female features became more clearer, she'd be an attractive woman when she grew up that was for sure.

"Master." She pulled her sword away and sheathed it.

"Go start the fire for me." He ordered.

She nodded and walked back to the cottage.

"You sold me a girl lying about her sex. For that I would have made you pay… but I'll be content to never draw my sword to kill you, if you go away and don't bother us again." Sento looked at them his eyes narrowed dangerously low as he glared at them.

The men helped their leader up. "Fine." The leader brushed himself down and the group walked off. Sento smiled and he looked over to the cottage as Juri had started the fire.

~*~*~*~

The window was down as she sat in the seat and watched as the scenery flashed by and looked over to her younger brother driving a cigarette between his lips.

"He buggared off to Australia again?" She asked.

"Yeah." Her brother sighed. "I don't mind we don't have to see him."

"The best time of the year." She smiled then looked down at her cellphone began to warble and she pulled it out answering it. "Allo?… Oooooh hi Chhaya." She smiled as she spoke to her friend.

"Jera that thing's either got your thumb attached to the buttons for you txt messages or your ear to the ear piece for your jabbering." Her brother complained.

"That? Eh it's just Trey dun worry about him… a movie yeah sure… Ooooh Nicky's brining a friend is he? Alright I'm up for it."

Trey just rolled his eyes as he continued to drive the car.

~*~*~*~

She sat up slowly finding herself lying on the grass and she looked up at the sun and she sighed. "That dream again… the future… Why do I dream such things? No wonder I'm looked down upon by everyone."

"Juri…" She heard the familiar voice of this life and she looked over at her master as he walked out of the cottage. "Juri can you go down to the stream to fetch her some water."

"Hai sensei." She jumped up and grabbed the two buckets and jogged off heading down to the stream.

The elderly man looked to where she'd jogged off. He coughed and covered his mouth quickly before the coughing fit got worse and he cleared his throat. He looked down at his hand and at the little speck of blood on his hand and he wiped them on his navy blue hakama pants.

"I hope I can teach you the final techniques of Nito Kenjutsu before I die, my dear girl. I don't have much time left." He sighed and sat on steps waiting for her to return. He looked down at the letter in his other hand he'd only just opened it. It was the fifth request for him to meet up with those in the Bakufu Alliance to help Japan and prevent the changed the imperialists wanted for the country.

"I'm to ill to get involved in such childish matters." He screwed up the piece of paper tossing it to the side.

~*~*~*~

Juri lay next to her Sensei's body, it had been five days since he'd taught her the final techniques of the Nito Kenjutsu style, and three days since he'd died. She looked at him lying there. She would have to do something about finding what little family he had left and contact them, but she admitted although they talked and he was like a father to her, she knew nothing about his life before he saved her from the slave traders by buying her and taking her under his wing and training her to become the first female heir to his style.

Sento Kitchi, an elderly man when he found her he'd seemed stronger than she thought, but obviously not strong enough to fight the strange disease that took his life on those few days ago.

"Sento Sensei, What do I do now?" She asked lying next to him.

She looked at him, it only looked like he was sleeping and she pulled a blanket over him, knowing he didn't feel the coldness of his body, but it was the gesture that counted.

"I'll give you a good burial Sento sensei I promise." She spoke to him, "Just people close to you I promise."

~*~*~*~

In 1863 the Japanese civil war had started Juri had still been training with her master Sento Kitchi, he had mentioned they had sent him a summons to help in the war, but he had refused. Staying with her to train her, Eventually he'd discovered the truth about her sex and confronted her about it, but he kept it a secret also up until the day he died he died of Syphilis in 1865. Juri had buried his body in his own place and stayed on living there training herself to become better, faster, stronger. It had been winter when men had emerged one night wanting to see her master. They felt that the Nito Kenjutsu style would be of a great use to them in the war, but even her master had said in the words of Musashi Miyamoto the creator of the Nito Kenjutsu style that it would have been better to fight one opponent and only use the Nito Kenjutsu when outnumbered.

Juri sat there her hair she cut regularly to keep it short to give herself a boyish youthfulness if it grew she feared that her true sex would be discovered.

"You come from a traditional Japanese family do you not?" The head of the group had asked.

"My family is long dead and I was being transported to my grandfather's place when my grandfather's friend was slaughtered in front of her, I only have my grandfather left. My Japanese family is not normal." Juri had replied. "I was master Kitchi's heir to Nito Kenjutsu, he taught me well and I know the technique like the back of my hand. But like he said war is not the answer."

"Please just let us talk to Sento boy."

"You can talk to him, but he will not help you nor will he even answer you back." Juri had stood up and led them in to the yard and stopped by a makeshift wooden cross. "Talk." She had stated leaving the group of them there before walking back inside.

"Wait boy!" A voice had shouted and Juri watched as the leader looked at her as he approached. She caught a look in his eyes it was so passionate determined almost. "Your name?"

"Jun'dai it was what I called when I taken in to slavery."

"Well then Jun will you help us out?"

Juri looked down. "I guess but I must return to my birth place, return home and then visit my grandfather, I will use my own weapons to help you."

"We can continue to train you in other techniques for the war Jun. You are fighting for a good cause." The leader had looked at her.

"You believe you are fighting for a cause worth fighting for then I trust you, you eyes are not corrupt unlike your colleagues. I accept."

"Welcome to the Bakufu alliance Jun." He smiled at her.

~*~*~*~

The color red everywhere thick droplets running down her hand from her arm, she could see the figure hoovering in front of her impaled on the wall his blood running down her sword and hilt and over her hand, it was so much thicker than how Juri had thought and she could feel it's thickness making her want to scratch her arm to stop the itch. She pulled her hand back and looked at it before staring up at the figure as it's form moulded and changed from human to a grey skinned humanoid beast with clawed feet and horns on it's head.

"Oni…" Juri could hear the shock in her voice a voice that was still so young, eleven years old probably no older.

"Jun'dai your first kill and it was a demon." She looked at the leader as he stood there. "You will do perfectly. Train him the Jun'dai shall become our manslayer to protect Japan from those Imperialists that want change."

~*~*~*~

Juri twirled the swords round in her hands like they were cheerleading batons as she walked through the streets of Kyoto humming a tune to herself.

"What a careless young man." Juri heard a female voice remark.

"Word has it that the Bakufu alliance had hired a duel sword samurai boy as their top assassin."

"Red hair?" The female voice asked.

"Yes."

"Merchant clothing?"

"Yes."

"Red bandanna?"

"Uh-huh."

"Half gaijin, half Japanese?"

"Yeah…"

"Look at that young boy, he has to be it."

"Why so careless that even we know who he is?"

Juri looked over at the two women and they cringed and slipped away from her. She just smiled and waved in their direction.

No one would have been foolish enough to attack her during the day.

She stopped for a meal and hung round the local brothel with the other Bakufu alliance group, it was a meeting to make new allies.

"Jun'dai… boy are you paying attention?"

"Iie…" Juri replied. "I'm eating."

She heard a laugh and looked up her eyes catching that of a boy looking at her. She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"I hear you've killed fifty of those imperialist army men already." She looked over at the owner of the voice.

"I am Haijime Saitou, you'll be following my lead tonight."

"So long as I get paid I don't mind listening to some old man for a few hours."

He smirked at her. "You lack of respect is unaccepted Jun'dai." The one leading the meeting snapped at her.

Juri just sipped the green tea and looked over at the man leading the meeting.

"No you appal me, I'm half gaijin you do not care for me, just use me as I am nothing, when I am dead you will not remember me nor will you care or have the respect to bury me, so in like I do not care for you, get in my way you die. I do this for Japan not for you."

"Why you arrogant br-" The leader had begun when a voice interrupted him.

"He'll do fine." Saitou just smiled. "For Japan."

~*~*~*~

Juri left the brothel and looked up at the night sky and her eyes narrowed, the meeting was unacceptable for her to head back to her place of residence at night where she could be trailed.

Still she walked on it had been five minutes when Juri heard the footstep and she stopped in her tracks and turned round. There the image of a long haired boy only four years older than herself greeted her sight a scar on his cheek and red hair.

"Jun'dai." His voice was low.

"Ah Battousai nice to meet you." Juri just smiled at him. "Nice night for an ambush don't you think?"

Then he charged and she held her hand up and he drew his sword spinning round before the blade stopped and he looked at Juri's sheath that she used to block his attack.

Her brown eyes locking in to his violet ones, this was unlike any battle she'd had before like he was testing her.

Their swords clashed again and again, the reflected moonlight flashing streaks across the walls of the alleyway where they fought, neither blow hitting any limbs or anything else, though Juri almost got a really lopsided haircut.

Juri smiled at him and he blinked for a moment, he caught on to her love of the battle, that it was the only emotion coming off her, unlike any he'd read obviously before.

"Jun'dai!" Juri heard the voice in the distance and she spun round evading a brutal blow but her forearm got the mark and she looked at her arm then at the battousai her eyes blinked for a moment before she ran my finger along the trail of blood.

Saitou and his shinsemgumi unit raced up to the scene just as Juri held up her finger looking at the blood and looked over as Saitou stepped forward.

She licked the blood off her finger and smiled. "Seems we'll have to continue this some other time battousai."

"I'll be waiting." His eyes narrowed at her and Juri smiled again.

"Great then it's a date." Juri waved to him as she walked off.

~*~*~*~

To Be Continued…

R & R