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X Marks the Spot	By : HauntedReality Category: Rurouni Kenshin > General Views: 2138 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Strange Acquaintance
- 2-Shards of Memory
- 1
- 2
X Marks the Spot: Shards of memory

DISCLAIMER: Rurouni Kenshin is the property of someone who
is far faster writer than I, because I can�t even get my fanfics to come out
regularly, let alone create an entire manga.

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The �village� Kenshin found himself in was little more than a collection of ragged
structures with a few people milling about. It was a far cry from Tokyo and
Kyoto, but there was something almost reassuring about being so far away from
the throngs of people. It made being recognized as the former Battousai less of a possibility at least. However, if what Soujiro claimed was true about the place being a refuge for
those who weren�t meant to be forgiven then that might not be the case with
these particular inhabitants.

He continued to scan the area with genuine interest. There
were several scattered homes, but only a handful of businesses and even fewer
that looked even moderately respectable.

Many of the buildings appeared to be in disrepair and the
locals seemed more than a little rough around the edges. One man looked up from
knocking a rock out of his sandal. At first Kenshin
thought he was going to wave, but instead he only offered an obscene hand
gesture before turning away briskly.

But what really struck him was the location. Just behind the
village was a sharp drop off. At the bottom of the solid wall of jagged rock
was a stunning coastline of pristine sand stretching into the sparkling ocean.
The brilliant cerulean waves glistened in the afternoon sun so brightly Kenshin
had to look away.

�I am not sure what I was expecting from a place alleged to
offer redemption to even the most heinous sinner, but I was hoping it might
have been a little cleaner,� Soujiro bantered as he assessed their
surroundings.

The red head had to laugh in response. Then it occurred to
him the irreverent but applicable words sounded less like something his fellow
former assassin and current rurouni companion would say and more like a certain
former fighter-for-higher he left back in Tokyo. His laughter died in his
throat as feelings of loss swelled within his small frame.

Every time his thoughts drifted back to either Sano or Kaoru
the memory cut him like a shard of glass. He wished he could concentrate on all
the positive aspects of his time with them: the laughter, the sweetness, the
companionship. But it was still too soon even though it had been a long time
already. How long had it taken him to get over Tomoe�s death?

Unknowingly, he brushed the X-shaped scar on his cheek with
calloused fingertips. He never did get over her death. He couldn�t, because he
was the reason for it. He was also the reason Kaoru finally gave up on waiting
for him and turned to Sano. He couldn�t blame them, so he blamed himself. It
was convenient enough since he already had a lengthy list of reasons to hate
himself--what was a couple more?

To his credit, the smiling man did not comment on Kenshin�s
sudden shift in attitude. It had been obvious from their reunion that the
skeletons in the older man�s closet had become more numerous in the time since they
parted ways in Kyoto.

�Well, we came this far. Shall we have a look around?� the
raven haired Soujiro offered.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A young man, no more than a boy really, was hurrying back to
his place of employment when an outstretched foot sent him tumbling down face
first in the dirt. The contents of the basket he was carrying spilled out into
the street, damaging some of the vegetables he had spent the majority of the morning
harvesting from his small garden.

�Hey, mute gimp! Are you scurrying off to your Mom? Only she
isn�t your Mom is she? You are just another worthless bastard child, aren�t
you?�

Sarujiro�s angry, dark eyes glared
daggers at the teenage boy who had tripped him. It was not the first time this
particular group had harassed him. He wanted to spit poison darts at them as he
used to do when he aided in the looting of merchant ships. But
those days were long past, and he didn�t want to disappoint the woman who had
taken him in when he had no where to go by brawling like a street thug.

�What, no come backs?� the older boy taunted while his
companions laughed mechanically as if on cue. �Did you hear me, boy? It�s funny
because you can�t talk!�

Sarujiro continued glaring without
emitting a sound. It was true he could not speak, but he took some comfort in
the knowledge that at least he wasn�t a complete moron like some people he knew.

He quickly pulled himself to his feet before the other boy
could land a kick to his side. On his feet, his dark eyes flashed with pride
beneath his unruly mane of coal black hair. He stared intensely at the gang of
three. He was small, but he was wiry and good in a fight. He knew he could take
out at least one of them before the other two took him down. An amused smirk
appeared on his lips as he easily decided which one it should be.

But before anything could happen, the hazel haired boy
hanging toward the back bleached to a ghostly shade of white.

�I...It�s Soujiro
the Tenken!� Without further words two boys sped away
from the scene as if their very lives depended on it.

The leader seemed reluctant, but once his backup had fled
facing off against the �mute gimp� didn�t seem quite so appealing.

Sarujiro was almost disappointed
he missed his chance to send a flying kick to a certain vulnerable area of a
very irritating boy, but he also had no interest in learning more about whoever
just scared off the other three, so he grabbed his basket and took off toward
the restaurant in which he worked.

Kenshin and Soujiro
approached the spot that had recently been occupied by four young men. They had
not heard much of the conflict other than the boy�s scream of terror at the
recognition of the youthful looking, smiling man.

�I certainly have a way of clearing a path,� he joked
softly.

�They are young and don�t understand,� Kenshin
said weakly in an effort to comfort him and perhaps to comfort himself.

�I was a ruthless killer who believed only the strong lived
and the weak should die. I think they caught on pretty well,� he replied
unabashedly.

�Soujiro...�

�I can�t change the past, Himura-san.
But I do have to find a way to keep living, right? Speaking of living, we
haven�t had lunch yet.�

Just as he was about to respond, a loud growl sounded from
the pit of his empty stomach. In another place, he would have issued an
embarrassed, �Oro!� But he was not in another place. The man beside him may not
know exactly what his past contained, but it didn�t matter. He had an even
darker history, and Kenshin was not concerned he
would discover the truth and abandon him.

The younger man was just someone he fought once, and who was
accompanying him only temporarily. He was not a fiery, dark haired girl
carrying a wooden sword and launching into beautiful sounding promises of
acceptance that warmed and frightened his fragile heart. He had no reason to
shield the other man from his dark past with a pretence of na�vet�.

So, instead, he said nothing and scanned the various buildings
in search of something that looked like a restaurant.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Kairyu was small and dark, but through the meticulous
efforts of its proprietor it managed to stay clean and intact which was
something that could not be said of many other places in town. She had been one
of the first people to settle in Shoukyaku, and she
was determined to see it live up to its potential.

The bar was actually built out of pieces of an old ship�s
hull, and the few decorations that did adorn the walls were stripped from the
same boat. It had a rustic, cozy feel that was a credit to the ambitious young
woman who had taken it upon herself to open a restaurant in the middle of such
a desolate setting in the midst of an unlikely and not altogether trustworthy
group of individuals.

A particularly rowdy crowd had settled into a corner section
where they surrounded a former galley table and proceeded to consume vast
amounts of sake. Normally, she would have cut their supply off before they
became drunk and worked up, but money had been tight. It was not an inexpensive
effort to import supplies from other towns when they were located so far from
the main roads.

Besides, she could take care of a few drunken men; after all
she had only lost in battle to one man. And she would walk a plank before she
let a few simpletons intimidate the former leader of the pirate group, Kairyu.
At least it was a pirate group before the mutiny that led her to abandon her thieving
ways and seek a path in life her father would have been proud of.

She named the bar after the pirates in tribute to the past
she had laid to rest. Despite whatever else may have happened, there were fond
memories of days rolling over the waves of the sea in a worthy craft, the scent
of saltwater wafting on a cool breeze and the companionship of those who were
loyal to her father�s beliefs at her side.

With a careful eye she studied the loud men for signs of
their innocent carousing turning dangerous. She had learned the hard way long
ago not to be too trusting when it came to others.

Absently, she wiped down the already immaculate bar top. Her
long dark hair was tied back, but unruly sprigs framed her attractive face. She
was clad in a long crimson wrap, cinched at the waist with a flowing violet
scarf over a pair of tan pants, ending in a set of leather boots worthy of sea
travel. It was not the garb of a common restaurant owner, but she was far from
common.

There was a sharp crash when a heavy glass mug collided with
the dark, unyielding wooden floor, shattering it and sending glass shards
flying.

�Hey sweetheart, think you can bend over and pick that up
for me?� asked a very large, very dirty looking man who was missing one of his
front teeth and appeared to have quite the overbite. His friends exploded in
riotous laughter at his request, and they all ogled her closely as her dark
cinnamon tinted eyes narrowed dangerously.

�You�ve had one too many if you think I�ll be giving you a
show anytime soon,� she replied in a smooth tone while holding her head high.
Beneath the table she reflexively gripped a set of nunchucks she had in reserve
for such occasions, but seldom needed.

The lecherous smile the ringleader had been wearing dropped
into an equally unattractive scowl as his companions� laughter grew all the
louder at her insult. With his honor on the line he pulled himself to his feet,
wavering slightly as the alcohol attacked his senses at the sudden movement.

�BITCH!� he screamed unimaginatively at the composed woman
behind the protective sheath of the bar.

Before she had time to fire back a retort a small blur flew
out of the store room and laid siege to the stocky man�s vulnerable legs. The
impact caused both the loud mouth and the impetus boy who torpedoed into him to
smash against the back wall.

�Saru!� she called out in concern before launching herself
over the bar instead of wasting the additional seconds it would have taken to
run around it.

She crossed the small room in seconds, but she wasn�t fast
enough to prevent the angry man from backhanding the mute Sarujiro into a
nearby table. It only took registering a streak of blood on his tanned face to enrage
her protective instincts.

�How dare you come into my establishment and handle yourself
like a barbarian?!� One hand was planted firmly against her hip while the other
clutched her nunchucks threateningly. �Prepare yourself!�

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

�Kairyu...� Kenshin read the familiar word that had been
painstakingly painted on a board hanging from rusty chains outside the
sturdiest building on the street.

�Something wrong, Himura-san?� Soujiro asked with a lift in
his brow.

�Oh, it�s nothing. That restaurant just has the same name as
a group I encountered once,� he explained with a false smile similar to his
companion�s.

�Good encounter or bad?�

Kenshin�s violet eyes continued to watch the sign as it
swung ideally in the cool breeze wafting from the nearby water. �A little of
both actually,� he replied slowly before turning to look at the younger man. �I
was taken hostage by pirates.�

Soujiro�s eyes both opened wider in surprise. �Sounds like
it was a great time,� he quipped sarcastically.

Kenshin�s eyes narrowed suspiciously, �You are more flippant
than I remember.�

�I guess talking to people instead of killing them has
changed my attitude somewhat, but back to this kidnapping story...�

�I wasn�t �kidnapped.� I offered myself in trade for Kaoru
when she was taken as a prisoner. The leader agreed to the exchange and took me
to their island.�

�Why didn�t he kill you?� asked Soujiro with great interest
in the fantastic-sounding story.

�She.�

�Excuse me?�

Kenshin sighed inwardly before continuing. �The pirate
leader was a woman named Shura. And she didn�t kill me because...� His voice
drifted off as he tried to come up with the answer.

His eyes took on a vacant expression as he remembered the
feel of cold steel placed against his vulnerable throat. He had offered his
life to her in payment, and she seemed ready to collect, but she hesitated. In
the end the only thing cut was a lock of his hair that fell to the sandy beach
at their feet.

He remembered the confused look in her eyes, but he wasn�t
sure exactly why she had spared him. He just knew she was a good person.

�Himura-san?�

Once again Kenshin snapped out of his reverie and made eye
contact with the curious former Juppongatana. He laughed awkwardly in the style
he had perfected from years of proving just how harmless he could be as a
rurouni. �I guess I am not sure, that I am not.�

Soujiro seemed ready to press the issue further, but was interrupted
as a very large man was sent sailing through a very
closed door. Wood splintered and bones cracked as a man who was now missing two
front teeth found himself firmly implanted in the
dusty street.

Several other men stumblingly rushed out of the dining
establishment with expressions of fear clearly etched on their faces.

�And stay out!� called a booming voice from the abused
doorway.

There was something achingly familiar about the voice that
tore Kenshin�s eyes away from the fleeing men and toward that which had them
spooked. Standing only meters away, was the very pirate he had just been
discussing.

�Shura?�

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR�S NOTE: Sorry it has taken me so long to update this fic. Still, I hope you enjoyed. Please review!

Special thanks to BelleDayNight
for her help with this chapter!
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X Marks the Spot