Chapter 1: Making Friends

Kenshin watched people entering and leaving the small town, hidden among the branches of a tree over-looking the border. He came here sometimes when boredom got the better of him, to see what the people did in their daily lives. He could see women in the markets, the men hard at work, children playing in the streets—simple things that were, for him, part of an ancient and forgotten way of life. Presently his attention was fixed on a group of boys his age, who were sneaking around the side of a house. They had an air about them like those that were involved in some mischief.

A sudden curiosity gripped him. He wanted to know what hey were doing, who they were and how long they’d been friends. He wanted to know their names. He wanted to sneak around the sides of houses, and spy on the village girls, or buy rice from the market. He wanted to have friends.

Guided only by impulse Kenshin jumped down from the tree and suck into the town.

The group of trouble-makers consisted of four boys dressed in normal clothes, whispering among themselves as they approached the corner of the house. As Kenshin approached his senses quickly analyzed them. The boy in the lead had dark brown hair tied in a short ponytail, and wore a sword at his hip. Next was a pair of twins, both with jet black hair, and a slightly older boy who had most of his hair cut off. Carefully, he crept up behind them. "Hey."

The older boy jumped, and was about to yelp in surprise when the twins covered his mouth. This drew the leader over, who regarded Kenshin with a critical eye. "Who the hell are you?" he asked in a harsh whisper.

"Kenshin," he replied just as quietly, guessing that stealth was part of whatever plan they had in mind. Then, remembering his manners, he added, "Himura Kenshin. What are you doing?"

"The name’s Aono Shou," the boy replied, still suspicious. "What do you what?"

"Just to see what you’re doing."

"Are you training to be a samurai?" the oldest boy questioned, his voice non-threatening, unlike the other’s.

Kenshin nodded. "Yeah."

"I’m Sasaki Masahiro."

"Good to meet ‘ya."

"Cut it out," Shou interrupted, clearly annoyed. "You’re gonna get us in trouble."

"Why? What’s going on?"

"This is Idaira Kimiko’s house," he explained, as if the name were enough. "Her brother’s tending a bath for her. We’re trying to sneak a peek, if you know what I mean."

"Come on," one of the twins whined. "She’ll be finished before we get started."

Shou nodded deftly. "You’re right." Suddenly an idea flashed into his mind. "Hey, Himura-kun—go distract her brother."

Kenshin blinked, puzzled. "What? How?"

"I don’t know—sell him your sword. Something. Just go." Before Kenshin could reply he was shoved around the corner, and fell on his back in the dirt.

"Hey." A boy several years older than Kenshin was glaring at him suddenly. "What’re you dong here?"

Instantly Kenshin was on his feet. "I…uh…" He swallowed hard—the girl’s brother was huge! But he could see the other boys watching him hopefully, and a plan formed in his mind. He shuffled just enough to put the brother between him and the bathhouse’s side window. "You see, sir," he started, "I was hoping you’d like to buy a sword."

"Oh really?" The boys began to creep out of hiding. "What kind of sword?"

"Well, it’s a great sword." If Master finds out about this… "It’s a little short, but that only makes it faster. The blade’s strong, too. Made by Arai Shakku’s brother."

Shou crept along the side of the house, grinning as Kenshin continued to rattle off all sorts of details concerning sword care. Not bad. He really does know his stuff. "Tetsuya, Tetsuo, lift me up." He positioned himself under the window, from which a faint trail of steam could be seen.

"So, how much are you charging?"

"Well…I don’t know…it’s a good sword… new… famous maker…"

The twins helped to lift their friend, trying to reach the window while Masa kept them steady. After some struggling Shou was able to pull himself higher, peeking through the window.

From within the house came a scream. Then Shou screamed. Startled, the three accomplices tumbled to the ground in a heap. "God, nasty!" Shou cried, scrubbing at his eyes as if some terrible damage had been done to his sight. "It was her grandfather!"

"Hey!" Instantly the brother was upon them. "You little bastards—"

"Run for it!" Kenshin yelled, knocking into the brother from behind. While the boy was distracted all five scampered away, making a clean escape while their adversaries cursed helplessly.

The sprinted non-stop until they reached a small barn on the outskirts of town, in which Shou collapsed and started shouting, "Ah, my eyes! I’m blinded! Augghh! Ew ew ew nasty nasty nasty!"

The rest dropped down beside him, caught between laughing hysterically and gasping for breath. For several minutes they made a slow recovery, saving their strength to make fun of Shou’s bad luck. Eventually they were able to calm themselves.

"Hey, Himura," Shou said, grinning, "that was a cool thing you did back there. Thanks."

Kenshin laughed. "Yeah, well, sorry it didn’t work out for you."

The others laughed with him. "Shou’s been after her for weeks," Masa explained.

"Hey! Have not!"

"Yeah, sure."

"Anyway," one of the twins broke in, taking control of the group, "we should introduce ourselves properly." He pointed to each in turn. "That’s Aono Shou, Sasaki Masahiro, and my brother Ikeda Tetsuo. I’m Tetsuya."

"I’m Himura Kenshin, like I said," he replied. "Good to see someone other than Master for a change."

"Master?" Shou regarded him quizzically. "You really are studying to be a samurai, aren’t you?"

He nodded, enjoying his position as the center of attention. "That’s the plan. Been training two years."

"Two years?" the twins exclaimed at once. "How come we haven’t seen you in town?"

Kenshin then went on to explain a few things—not everything, but the things that were important: how his parents died, and then his apprenticeship, but nothing of the circumstances that allowed him and his Master to meet. "I’m learning a really old style," he told them in a conspiratorial tone, capturing their curiosity. "Can’t tell you what, but Master says it can kill three or more men in one second."

"Now way," Shou argued. "I’m learning from my father’s school, and it only takes out one or two."

Tetsuya laughed. "I guess that means he’s three times faster than you, Shou."

"That’s not possible," he shot back. "My Father’s school is used by al the Shogun’s men—it’s gotta be the best. My father uses it."

Kenshin considered a reply, then decided against it; he didn’t want to antagonize these new friends so quickly. It occurred to him then that his master wasn’t there, so he could say anything he wanted and not get caught. On an impulse he said, "Well, you’re probably right. My master’s a drunk—he doesn’t know what he’s talking about."

His comment brought a round of laughter from the boys, and he couldn’t help but join in. It was strange saying that to them, because it wasn’t something he was proud of. Now he was mocking the man.

"Yeah, same here," Shou was saying. "My old man’s the same way. Adults and their alcohol—man, I’m gonna get some of that someday."

"Aono Shou!"

The boy cringed, as did his friends as the thundering proclamation. Slowly, they turned to face the door.

Standing in the doorway was a girl, framed by the dim light from outside. Her long black hair fell messily over her shoulders as if she’d been running: the redness in her face also proved as evidence. Her amber brown eyes narrowed. "I finally found you, you little hound."

"K-Kimiko-san," Shou stuttered, climbing to his feet. "Wh-What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" she repeated with exasperation. "Me? Me, Aono?" She put her hands on her hips. "You were the one spying on my grandfather!"

His friends broke out laughing, then quickly silenced themselves with great effort. "Hey, Kimiko-san," Shou said, gaining his confidence back, "you know that was a mistake."

"Of course," the girl scoffed, crossing her arms. "You were looking for me, you twerp."

As if expecting her every word, he walked slowly up to her. "Kimiko-san, Kimiko-san." He rested a hand on her shoulder, which she wasted no time in brushing off. "Please, let’s not fight. You know I’d never do something like that."

Kimiko rolled her eyes. "Naturally. I don’t know what came over me," she muttered, dripping with sarcasm.

"Here, let me introduce you to someone." Shou waved the newcomer forward. "This is Himura Kenshin."

She was obviously not impressed until she laid eyes on him. There was something strange about the boy, something she couldn’t place. It wasn’t unpleasant—just different, and disarming. After a moment of pause she managed to say, "So, I see you roped in another minion."

"He’s not a minion," Tetsuo objected.

"Yeah," added his brother. "He’s our friend."

Kenshin was speechless. He hadn’t been around many people in the last three years, let alone a girl. And this one was beautiful. He choked on a greeting. "Uh, pleased to meet you."

Kimiko nodded, smiling faintly. "Pleased to meet you."

"You two can get acquainted later," Shou interjected, snatching Kenshin’s arm. "We’re going to get some food."

"Yeah."

"See you, Kimiko-san."

"Later!"

"Stay away from my house," she told them firmly as they filed out of the barn. "Next time I’ll tell my brother where you’re hiding."

"You do that." Shou winked, then quickly started down the street with his friends following.

Kimiko almost seemed like she would have wanted to come with them, but stopped herself. After a moment of indecision she called out, "Good luck with them, Himura-kun!"

Kenshin glanced back and grinned. "Take care of your grandfather!" he replied in kind.

Snickering, the boys ran off.

Kenshin spent the next three hours with his new friends, sharing stories and eating the rice balls they’d "borrowed" from one of the town shops. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun. Shou and the others told him all sorts of things about the town and its people: the bakers, the merchants, the samurai, Kimiko’s family—everything they could think of. Finally, though, it was getting late. "I’d better go," Kenshin said. "My master will be mad that I missed our lessons today."

"So tell him you were practicing alone," Shou suggested. "Always works on my master. Tell him you were practicing, and lost track of time."

The idea struck as being very strange. "You mean…lie to him?"

"Why not?"

"It won’t hurt anything," Testuya added. "He’ll never know."

"Well…I…"

"Whatever." Shou tossed him the last chunk of bread. "We’ll be back here tomorrow, same time as wen you met us today. We’ll wait a while, but not for long, okay? Got things to do."

Kenshin nodded. "Sure thing. See ya’ then."

When Kenshin returned home, Hiko was waiting for him. The thirteenth master of Hiten Mitsurugi School was a huge man in his twenties, with long dark hair and a billowing white mantle that gave him the appearance of an all-mighty god. He didn’t look happy. With arms crossed he blocked the boy’s way into the hut they shared, regarding him critically. "You missed our lessons today."

"Well…"

"I was looking for you."

"I was practicing," Kenshin blurted out, lifting his chin. He kept his voice calm and face solid. "Out in the woods. I wanted some time to work on Ryuu Sou Sen. Alone."

"Where were you?"

"In the forest. A ways south."

Hiko scrutinized him some more, as if pulling all the truths forward. Kenshin felt as if his teacher could see everything that had happened that day with the boys, Kimiko, the food—

"Alright," Hiko said, at last satisfied. "But next time you’re going off alone, tell me so I don’t have to waste my time." He turned and went back inside.

Kenshin sighed with relief. He was surprised by how simple it had been to trick his master with the lies, and he was feeling proud of himself, even though he knew it was wrong. Lately the man had become increasingly harder to live with, now that his training was stepping up. There were times when he just wanted to get away from it all.

I won’t let myself feel guilty, he decided in his mind, if I have to lie to him again.

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