-----
Tsuzuki Asato frowned towards his friend Watari. The blond scientist failed once again in his attempts to create a gender changing potion. This time he managed to create a rip through the thin cloth of time and space and got some guy with red hair and a cross shaped scar across his cheek. Tsuzuki reached over and grabbed a harresen (paper fans that make a lot of noise but don’t hurt) and smacked his friend over the head.
“WATARI!!” Tsuzuki shouted, “What did I tell you?”
“Hey! It wasn’t my fault that the electrical impulses of the inclut cells caused this!” Watari whined as he held onto his pet owl 003.
The red head only sat on the hard surface of the office desk that he had landed on. He had no idea what was going on. One moment he was doing laundry with Miss Kaoru shouting at Yahiko and the other he was there as if he was always sitting on that desk.
“Uh, excuse me. I would appreciate it if someone told me what was going on, that I would?” he tried to get the two men’s attention.
“Watari-san failed again at his experiment,” a young blond stepped up beside him.
Kenshin looked to the boy, “Experiment?”
The boy sighed frustrated and looked at Kenshin with the greenest eyes he had ever seen in his life. Those eyes narrowed slightly before he introduced himself, “Forgive me for being rude. I’m Kurosaki Hisoka, the blond is Watari Yutaka, and the other one is my partner Tsuzuki Asato.”
Kenshin’s back stiffened as the two men turned at the sound their names. The one, Asato, his eyes were a deep purple. His deep brown, almost black hair lined his soft face. Kenshin then smiled as he bowed his head a little, “Pleased to meet you that I am. My name is Himura Kenshin.”
“Himura?” Tsuzuki’s eye twitched a little with out him thinking.
His two blond friends looked at him and noticed a strange look coming over those usually happy eyes of his. They looked over at Kenshin who only lowered his head to hide his eyes behind a thick curtain of red.
Tsuzuki took a deep breath before smiling, “Himura huh? As in Himura the Battousai?”
Kenshin slowly nodded.
“I see, well then… I’m glad that I could finally see your face… Dad.”
Watari and Hisoka gasped before shouting, “WHAT?!”
-----
Soujirou woke up to the sweet smell of roses and cheery blossoms. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. The warm spring sun was peering through a window and the soft breeze of the day played with the edges of his bangs. Sitting up he realized that there was a bandage around his head. Set to his side was a tray with steamed rice, fish, and miso soup. Still confused he continued to take a look around. Everything was so different, but there were things that he did recognize. Like the structure of the place he was in, it had to be an inn of some sort. One of the things that was completely out of place was the young woman dressed in a kimono curled up against the dresser not to far from him. Her hair was neatly put up in a bun and she wore a light pink kimono. He came to his feet slowly realizing that he had some stiff muscles. But seeing her silently asleep like that was breath taking. Creeping up to see her pale face better he unknowingly began to hold his breath. He silently settled himself down on the tatami mat to look at her. She looked so tired, “The day’s trials must have been hard on her,” he thought. He slowly released his breath. She gasped awake and shot up her hands as if shielding herself from being beaten. Soujirou was slightly startled by this but only smiled.
“Are you all right?” he asked lowering her arms to see her face.
She didn’t have any bruises on that delicate face but that still didn’t hide the fact that she looked a little scared.
“I’m sorry,” she smiled with a small chuckle. “I usually don’t wake like that. Please forgive me, I don’t mean to be rude.”
“That’s alright,” he smiled back.
“Are you feeling alright, Sir?” she looked at his bandaged head, “I mean you did hurt yourself pretty badly falling down like that.”
“Oh yes I’m fine,” he reassured. “But could you tell me where I am at?”
“In the Takekura inn on the edge of Nagasaki,” she got to her feet. “When I found you I took you here. I have no money so now I’m working off the debut of them letting us stay here. You’re really lucky actually,” she smiled. “A very skillful doctor is staying here so he tended to your wounds.”
“Oh?”
Soujirou stood up. The only skillful doctors around Japan were the ones that were known by family names. No one with a foreign name or someone who just popped up out of nowhere with out any references was never trusted.
“Yes, his name is Muraki Kazutaka.”
The Muraki family was well known for their medical expertise. To be treated by one was a great honor but Soujirou didn’t know of any Kazutaka. The youngest member of the Muraki household was Yukitaka and he had just graduated from the medical academy in Europe. All the newspapers said that he wasn’t suppose to come back until latter that month. So he had to wonder really how long he had been unconscious.
“I see, so Muraki Yukitaka is finally back from Europe,” he mumbled thoughtfully.
“Yukitaka? No, it’s Kazutaka.”
“Yukitaka,” Soujirou tired to correct her.
“No I’m positive that it’s Kazutaka.”
“Yukitaka.”
“Kazutaka.”
“Yukitaka!” he got to his feet to look her in the eye.
“KAZUtaka!”
“YUUUKIIIIITAAAKAA!!”
“KAAAZUUUTAAAKAAA!”
Soujirou had no idea why he was getting into an argument with this girl. He didn’t even know her and he was sure that he was correct. So now the two of them are shouting out names for who knows what reason. The door suddenly slid open to reveal a silver haired man. Upon his nose were perched a pair of spectacles. He slowly opened his eyes to reveal silver irises.
“What is this racket all about?” he asked in his deep voice.
“Muraki-sensei!” the girl’s attention suddenly switched to him. “He won’t believe me that you’re full name is Muraki Kazutaka.”
“And I’m saying that it’s Yukitaka,” he smiled.
Muraki walked into the room and pulled a pair of silver rimmed glasses from his jacket’s breast pocket. He handed the glasses to the girl as he faced the boy.
“Muraki Yukitaka was the name of my grandfather,” he said looking at the boy with interest.
Soujirou’s head suddenly spun. How could that be?
-----
Kenshin sat upon the bed that was raised off of the floor. It was odd but kind of comfy. Set to his side was a folded up blanket as well as a change of clothes that he decided to change into after he cleaned himself up. He tried to keep a smiling face but now that he was by himself a frown creased his lips. The Tsuzuki family, he only had two encounters with them and that was when he was the Battousai and when he was just a regular wandered. With each encounter he had actually indulged himself with the physical pleasure of making love to this woman that he cared for. Surely he did not love her as much as Tomoe or Miss Koaru, but still... he did love her and he was very grieved to hear about her death. He did hear a rumor though, that she had given birth to a girl and then years later a boy. Kenshin did have the pleasure of seeing his baby girl, her name was Ruka but he had never seen his son.
“Tsuzuki-san,” some man named Tatsumi was speaking from outside the room. “If he is your father then why don’t you talk to him?”
“What would you know, Tatsumi?!” Tsuzuki’s voice snapped.
Kenshin slightly winced at the harshness of that tender voice.
“Tsuzuki-san?!” Obviously this Tatsumi man was shocked as well.
“You had your family with you, through out your life! You had it good living with the Shoganate!! Try living in the Meiji era with Himura the Battousai as your father!!”
“Tsuzuki-san...”
“No! I don’t want pity, I don’t want anything, just leave me alone!”
There were the sounds of Tsuzuki storming off before Tatsumi knocked on the door and came into the room. The blue eyed man could see by the way Kenshin moved that the redhead had heard all of the conversion.
“I’m sorry that you had to hear that,” he said adjusting his glasses.
Kenshin shook his head solemnly, “No... It’s alright. I did abandon him and my name would cause a lot of trouble, that it would.”
-----
Tsuzuki stormed down the hallway with an angry mask forming his features. Hisoka came out of the Enma-Chou offices and looked at Tsuzuki. He didn’t know what to do, the anger from his partner was like a huge barrier. Sure he wanted to help but how could he help when the stubborn man wouldn’t talk about anything. He was glad that his friend stopped when he took one step pasted the youth.
“Anything new?” he asked in a serious tone.
“Well...” Hisoka was rather hesitant to answer. It felt very strange talking to a stern, angry, very uncharacteristic Tsuzuki, “There seems to be another person that had traveled through time.”
“Who’s that?”
“We don’t know, all we know is that he or she is somewhere near Nagasaki.... And from what I’ve found out Muraki is in close vicinity... So...”
“Let’s get going,” Tsuzuki began to walk away.
Hisoka reached out and took a hold of Tsuzuki’s jacket. He didn’t know what to say, he knew that his friend was suffering. The youth wanted to help him so much, it hurt to see his only true friend, the only person that he could call family in such pain. A few tears began to well up as he rested his forehead against the man’s back.
“You know I’m here for you,” he said softly. “I’m your partner after all.” He so wanted to say, little brother, son, nephew, some kind of male blood relation but he knew that was a lie.
“Thanks,” Tsuzuki took a deep breath. “Sorry to have worried you, I just need to get used to the idea that he’s... you know, who he is.”
To becontinued