From: Jan-Yun Lou Hello! Here's part one of Chapter One of Hate and Honour. I was going to write the whole chapter in one go but I sort of got sucked into Baldur's Gate (Hey it was either finish that mine stage or go crazy - I think that I might be claustrophobic...) HATE AND HONOUR **************** CHAPTER ONE - PART ONE *********************** Kenshin would never forget the moment he first saw Kyoto. The Sun was shining with a fierce cheerfulness that seemed to clear the sky of the dark rain clouds and the heavy spring rain that had plagued the countryside for more than a week. Having only just turned 14 and being small for his age, the tiny red-head could've been easily mistaken for a young peasant boy - if it wasn't for the leather guards tied firmly around his wrists and the swords which he kept firmly by his side. He was contemplating his rather threadbare shoes when he reached the crest of the large hill he had been climbing for the last ten minutes. As he glanced upwards from the ground he saw the City of a Thousand Years for the first time. Dropping his small bag of possessions, he just stared. Houses stretched out as far as the eye could see and beyond. There were people *everywhere*. For a 14 year old peasant boy who had never seen a city before and who had spent the last six years on the top of a mountain alone with a grumpy sword master the sight of one of the largest masses of humanity in Japan was breathtaking. This was Kyoto, this was where he would find the Ishin Shishi, where he would help destroy the Shogunate and in the process build a better Japan where what happened to him could never happen to anyone again. Unfamiliar feelings of anticipation, happiness and hope stirred in a heart and mind only used to pain, hatred and loneliness. He may be penniless, he may be carrying all his world possessions in a small cloth bag, he may have broken off all relations with the only friend he had in the world but at this particular moment Kenshin was unbelievably, deliriously happy. Picking up his fallen bag, he started towards Kyoto, towards the future with a spring to his step and a smile on his face. For Kenshin, spring had finally arrived. ********************************************************************* The first thing to hit him was the noise. Kenshin was used to the quiet of the mountain where he and his master had trained and before that the small village where he was born. But now he was in one of the largest cities in Japan and there were people making noises everywhere - shouting, yelling, laughing. The second thing he noticed was the smell, that pungent smell which came from having tens of thousands of sweaty dirty human and animal bodies confined in a small area. It wasn't just his inexperience with large crowds, his senses were heightened to the utmost human limit by his years of training with his master. He was beginning to understand why Hiko Seijuro kept away from large cities as much as possible (and insisted that he kept quiet as much as possible and had regular baths). There had been only one other time where he had been exposed to that much noise and similar smells - when he had been a slave. As usual when thoughts of the past came up Kenshin's subconscious quickly and ruthlessly put them down again. He liked to think that his life began when he first met Hiko. Everything else before that was a blur, like a nightmare so horrible that your subconscious suppresses all memories of it the moment you wake up. However even if you couldn't remember it you still feel that horrible sense of uneasiness and fear which tells you that something happened that was horribly horribly wrong. For a moment he wanted to flee, to get away from the city with its noise and smell and go back to his Master. "Baka" he told himself fiercely. "How are you supposed to change anything if you can't even cope with one small city." With his goals set firmly in his mind, Kenshin moved forward into the marketplace. ********************************************************************* He found that you got used to the smell and the noise after a while. To someone with Kenshin's heightened senses you could never ever really ignore it completely but it *did* fade into the background of his mind. At first Kenshin just walked dazedly through the marketplace literally gaping at the magnificent buildings lining it (well for a boy who had only ever seen huts before the rather decrypt old buildings *were* impressive). However, after bumping into half a dozen people who had all given him rather dirty looks, Kenshin decided that he should really pay attention to where he was going. At that precise moment, his stomach started growling. Having lived with Hiko Seijuro for six long years, a man who for all his greatness tended to be rather scatter-brained when it came to life's little necessities, such as food (which really didn't matter to Hiko himself, since he seemed to be able to survive on sake alone, leaving Kenshin to wonder if his Master wasn't really a God after all) Kenshin was rather used to fending for himself - and going hungry when he couldn't catch dinner (whenever he complained, his Master always said it was part of his "training" leaving Kenshin to invariably retort that he couldn't see how learning to fish and set traps was part of the Hiten Mitsurigi technique). However he hadn't eaten for two days now, and his stomach was letting him know its displeasure. He stared yearningly at the hot buns cooking at a nearby stand. He could almost taste the sweet tender meat melting in his mouth... With an instinct born of years of selling buns, the stall-owner could almost *sense* potential customers. With an unerring nose for a sale he turned his gape-toothed smile to the young lad standing next to his stand, almost drooling over his merchandise. "So m'boy, would ye like a bun. Straight from the oven I tells you. Pipin' hot and ready to just melt in ye mouth. And just 'cause ye look like an honest lad I'll only charge ye half price. How 'bout that?" Kenshin stared yearningly at the food, his better instincts fighting with his need for sustenance. With his god-like speed he could grab a bun, heck he could grab ten buns and be out of sight before the stall keeper could feel the wind from his movements. After a glorious and protracted inner battle Kenshin sighed and smiled sadly at the stall-keeper. The smile fell off the stall-keepers wrinkled face faster than a battou-jutsu. "Yar," he snarled. "Gets away from me stand ye good for nothin' penniless ronin." Kenshin rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Sorry sir. Actually I was wondering if you could tell me where I could find the Ishin Shishi -" With almost god-like speed the old man had trundled off with his cart, leaving only dust trails and a rather confused red head in his wake. "Oro? Was it something I said?" ********************************************* NOTES: 1. The beginning of this chapter is supposed to be similar to the scene where Kenshin and Misao first reach Kyoto. I like irony. Forgive me if I'm really wrong. I lent all my Kenshin to someone and I haven't watched it in two months. When I get them back I'll probably go and change this scene slightly. 2. I plan to basically ignore the OAVs and just go for what's in the manga as the OAVs sometimes add stuff that's not in the manga and changes some things as well which is getting me really confused. 3. Coming up in Part Two - Shinsengumi fans unite! Also the introduction of a new character that I made up. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- Don’t buy your Valentine a Gift by clicking here. Click Here ------------------------------------------------------------------------