Bishounen Samurai Rurouni Kenshin an Improfanfic started by Lawrence Chu inspired by ChrisG and Sakurambo based on characters by Nobuhiro Watsuki *** Daitsurugi High School is your typical high school. It's got teachers with the government's curriculum ready to be taught, students who are ready if not always willing to learn, and so on, so forth. There are the typical archetypes of students, as well--those ambitious to achieve, ready to betray their friends if neccessary (known as the 'snots'); the sporty, rowdy types (the 'jocks'); the studious, introverted (the 'geeks'); and the angsty types who don't do anything other than brood (the 'bishounen'). It's a typical high school. Listen to that typical bell ring. *dong* Watch as the typical crowds in the yard start their typical pile into the classrooms. Observe the typical blond-haired, reasonably attractive, and most importantly absent-minded student who runs to school screaming about being late. "aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAI'MGONNABELAAAAAAAAAATEEEEEeeeeeee..." Now pause for a moment and consider the fact that that was a guy running by. A guy with glasses, a pageboy cut, and very light freckles. Not quite as typical, is it? For first-year student Shinta Jindoh, it is, unfortunately. He was halfway to school when he realized that he forgot to bring along his duffel bag, which he needed for today's trip to the Edo Museum. This, of course, forced him to run back to get his stuff and...well, the rest is history. Right? *** Episode 1: The Heart of the Sword by Lawrence Chu *** "And this is a painting of Yahiko Myojin, one of Tokyo's most highly regarded swordsmen. This work depicts him wielding his trademark Sakabato. Even today, the rumors are abound that the Sakabato he wields here was once held by the legendary Bakumatsu Hitokiri, Himura Battousai..." % Shinta's eyes glanced from the painting to his notepad, where he was taking copious notes on all this. He was so focused in jotting down everything that he almost missed seeing *her* brush by. Rich, flowing black hair on liquid brown eyes, a smile you just can't forget and a body that didn't quit. Yes, Koharu Tanaka was a sight for sore eyes (and even not-sore-at-all eyes). With a reputation for getting top marks in all her classes and being a fairly good track runner, she was in Daitsurugi-cho's Top 5 List (teachers AND students). She might have had a reputation for being friendly without dating anyone, but you didn't really need to do more than talk to her to feel good. Shinta's eyes traveled from her face, mildly knotted in concentration while closely observing the portrait, down to the notepad she had started sketching the picture into. Those notes... Looking back to his own notes, he discovered that he had started doodling all over everything he had written, so he flipped the page over, idly scratched the birthmark on his cheek and continued writing notes after a fair amount of blushing. *** Shinta stretched as he stood up and readied himself for the bus back, then started out the door when he felt a tug at his shirt. Looking around, he saw nothing. Then he looked down. The kid couldn't have been older than six or seven. He had a kind of wide-eyed innocence that Shinta immediately recognized as being lost, which is why he bent down and asked, "Can I help you?" "Hey, mifta, could you fowow me fow a second? I needs to tahlk to ya." The boy had another look on his face that promised major bawling if Shinta didn't follow. "Uh, sure," Shinta said uncertainly as the boy took his hand and took him around the corner. "Do I know you?" The expression on the boy's face and his tone of voice changed completely as soon as they were out of sight from everyone else. "Thank God, I was gonna go crazy if I kept that up. I was wondering where the hell you've been, apprentice," the...boy?...muttered as he poured himself a cup of sake. The sudden change in circumstances caused Shinta to blink. And freeze. And made him wonder what the hell was going on. And... "Aren't you a bit young to be drinking that?" he questioned as he reached for the bottle. That's "reached" because he never actually grabbed it. Before he knew % it, the kid jerked the bottle away, leapt up, and whacked him over the head with the hand holding the cup. "Don't touch that, apprentice," he warned as Shinta shook from his brand new concussion. Shinta blinked. And blinked. And blinked some more. "Why do you keep calling me 'apprentice?' And what's going on? I'd really appreciate an answer, you know--" The kid sighed. "Listen up, because I really don't feel like telling you twice. That and the fact that you were presumptuous to think you could run off without taking the name of the school with you." Shinta looked down at his notebook in one hand, his pencil in the other, and decided to put the two together. "Uh...shoot," he said, ready to jot things down at a moment's notice. The kid gave Shinta a funny look, but continued. "All right. About a hundred and twenty years ago, the Hitokiri Battousai resurfaced for a short while before disappearing back into obscurity. He stayed at the dojo of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu--" "--Yahiko Myojin's school? But I tho--" "Don't interrupt!" The kid paused for a moment to pour himself another glass. "Like I was saying, he stayed at the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu for the rest of his life. After living out a long and peaceful life, he died a pure soul." % "Uh-huh..." Shinta continued writing all this down. "And, because of this, he was given the option of being reincarnated and fighting injustice even beyond his death." Shinta got a really uneasy feeling in his stomach, but continued jotting everything down. It might be best to note that he was using a mechanical pencil. "And, if you haven't figured it out by now, you're his reincarnation." Shinta's pencil pierced straight through his notebook, stabbing himself in the hand. "WHAT?! B-B-B-B--" The kid took another sip from his cup. "That's my idiot apprentice. Can't figure it out on your own." He took a larger swig, then mumbled something about a doomed world. Meanwhile, Shinta was so confused that he still hadn't realized that his hand was bleeding. "B-B-B-B--" "Yeah, I'm finding it hard to believe, too." The kid tossed away the cup and just started drinking straight from the bottle, pausing to wipe his mouth and talk some more. "I'm your intelligent, talented, and charming master, Kiichiro Kakunoshin. But since you never bothered to inherit the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu from me, YOU call me Hiko. Sejuro Hiko." Shinta was still in brainlock. "B-B-B-B-B-B--" *WHACK* "You may not look like him," Hiko commented as Shinta sank to the floor, "but you can act like him sometimes. Anyway, I'm supposed to be your advisor, because some of the people you defeated are coming back from the depths of Hell to get their revenge." "..." commented Shinta from his nice, comfy spot on the ground. After kicking him up and reiterating everything he had just mentioned, Hiko pulled something out of a garbage can, carefully placed underneath the rotting food and liquor bottles so that nobody would see it unless they knew it was there. "So I'm supposed to give this to you. I don't know why they didn't give you a REAL sword but I'm sure the guys up above have their reasons." He handed it over to Shinta, who gave it a good once-over. Then a twice-over. It looked like...a sword, the type of katana you'd find hanging over a family dojo or shrine. The sheath was made out of cast iron, which should've made the thing feel heavier than he thought it was. But... no...it felt incredibly light, and he could swear that there was electricity running through the thing. Then he drew it out slightly. Hiko pulled a sake-in-a-can out of his pocket and took a sip, carefully observing the boy's reaction. "I...the...the blade's on the wrong side?" Shinta's eyes were drawn to the blunt end where the blade once was. It glimmered lightly, faintly pulsing in the dim alleyway. "It's a Sa...a..." "Yeah, yeah, a Sakabato," Hiko affirmed. "In order to use it, you must draw it, point it upward, and shout 'SWORD'S HEART PRISM POWER!' as loud as possible." Shinta's eyes expanded to approximately 30.63 times the size of his eye sockets. "'Sword's heart prism power?' Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?!" "Yeah," Hiko replied. "I just wanted to see the look on your face when I said that." Shinta facefaulted. "All you really have to do is unsheathe it with the intent of helping out someone, and you'll transform. And now that you have it and know what to do with it, I'm done with my job here. I gotta go before Mom finds me gone for too long." Shinta picked himself up from the ground and dusted himself. "Mom?" "Yeah, I'm..." Hiko shuddered and took a long swig from his cup. "I'm...supposed to be at play date." "..." Shinta replied. "You think you're going through hell? Look at me. I'm a hundred- fifty-year-old guy in a goddamn six-year-old's body." Hiko emptied the cup and tossed it, hitting a stray white cat with dirt or something on its forehead and knocking it off a nearby fence. "Now MOVE--" to emphasize, he shoved Shinta halfway out of the alley-- "before I beat you myself." Shinta stumbled onto the sidewalk, brushed his hands off, shoved the sword into his duffel and walked back to the bus. Or...where the bus WAS. "DAMMIT, THEY LEFT WITHOUT MEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeee...." a screaming trail of dust shouted, heading towards a particular Daitsurugi High School. Hiko looked out of the alleyway and smirked. "Idiot apprentice," he muttered lightly to himself. Then he skipped all the way to his play date. *** Deep in the bowels of Hell, a lone figure sat upon a rock and smoked a cigarette. Time in the underworld usually made one weak, he observed, if the person was already weak and cowardly at heart. But he, % unlike the insects withering away in the Eternal Flame, did not crack or crumble. He knew full well what his sins were, and he knew what it was to suffer for them. An older man greeted the figure with a hungry, viper-like smile. "Good morning," he greeted. "I would like to talk to you about a deal..." The one on the rock motioned towards his sword. "Go away." The older man merely grinned and continued talking, undaunted. "I think you might want to reconsider, especially since..." He dropped into a low whisper into the other's ear. The latter's eyes widened and his mouth broke into a horrifying smile--rotten and stained teeth, decaying gum, the strong smell of tobacco riding on his breath. "Very well," he said, his eyes gleaming unnaturally. "I accept your offer." *** Something was wrong, thought Shinta on the way back from school. Not in the whole 'I was just told that I am the Battousai incarnate by a six-year-old drunkard' sense, but more in the 'something around here doesn't feel right' sense. "You okay?" Shinta's best friend, Shoichi Aida, waved his hand in front of the blond boy's face. Taller than Shinta by a good three inches or so, with clean brown-black hair in a crew-cut and a grin on his face at just about any given time of day, Shoichi Aida was rated as one of the 'cuter boys' in an informal poll of the girls by the school newspaper. "Uh...yeah! Everything's fine! Fine..." Shoichi scoffed. "Riiiiiight. That's why you're looking all nervous, eh? Come on, you can tell me what's up." His eyes arched and his grin took on a mischievous tint. "What is it, girl problems?" "What?! It isn't anything like that!" Shoichi's grin widened. "Suuuuuure..." Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. "I saw you eyeing Koharu again today..." "Doesn't everybody?" Shinta replied. Shoichi paused at that one. "Well...uh...damn it, you got me there." Shinta smirked and walked on. "Heyheyheyholdonasecond!" Waving his arms up and down like wings, the taller boy ran to catch up with the shorter. "Jeez! Were you gonna leave me there?" Shinta shrugged. "If you weren't going to lay off the smooth talk." "Yeah, whatever," Shoichi smirked. "Excuse me," someone who was neither Shoichi nor Shinta requested. The boys turned to look at the man talking to them. He was a tall man--about six foot four--who looked sort of foreign, with a black baseball cap pulled over his face and a cigarette in his mouth. All that and the leather bomber jacket he was wearing made him look like an unsavory ticket scalper, or maybe Hugh Grant cheating on Elizabeth Hurley, or something. The man gave Shinta the shivers, and a weird, tingly sensation caused him to scratch his cheek again. Shoichi, on the other hand, had nothing of the sort. "How can I help you?" he cheerfully asked, holding out his hand to the stranger. "I was wondering if...you could help me find something." You could almost smell the slime on this man's voice. Shinta grew increasingly worried, and the tingly sensation got stronger. A quick glance around showed nobody else in the area. "Sure thing, pops! What's that?" Shoichi felt none of the danger that Shinta seemed to be feeling. Which is why he was totally unprepared as the man took off his cap and, with a flash of his eyes, knocked him unconscious. -your souls.- Shinta's mind was busy screaming its head off, panicking and shouting and asking itself what to do, almost obscuring that small voice inside trying to tell him something. Almost. But he heard its message loud and clear... Without breathing without panicking without thinking Shinta quickly dove out of the man's way, opened his duffel bag and took the sword out, --will watch from the edge of Hell to see how long-- grabbed the handle, as his hair grew longer --once a Hitokiri, always a Hito-- and drew and red and the --ly fifteen insects? You in sult me-- the sword to its birthmark became --HATE ME! LOATHE ME AS YOU'VE NEVER LOATHED BEFORE!-- full length. a cross. --Welcome to the Bakumatsu, Battousai.-- "Jin-ei Udoh," Kenshin Himura hissed, as he faced his opponent. ****************************** ********** Eyecatch ********** ****************************** "Jin-ei..." Kenshin Himura growled, as he faced his opponent. -himura battousai, i have watched you from the bowels of Hell for long enough,- hissed Jin-ei. -if you do not slay me, i shall damn and kill insect upon insect until you do.- "No..." -oh, yes i will. starting with...your friend over there, shall we?- "NO! SHOICHI!" Shinta's voice echoed through Kenshin's body, sending the warrior into a frenzied series of wild strikes, all of which were proving ineffective against the demon, who countered with a backhand slap. Shinta was sent flying backward, sprawling onto a road. -you are nothing like the battousai i fought, not even like the poor vagabond who took his place,- Jin-ei lamented. -your age is showing, battousai.- "The Battousai is no longer," Kenshin said. "I will not kill, not a human..." He brought his Sakabato forward. "...and not even a hideous parody of a human such as yourself, I say." "If anything happens to Shoichi, you are a DEAD MAN! Or specter, or whatever you are!" Shinta screamed. "You'll wish you were back in Hell!" He lunged forward. Kenshin brought his sword up to parry, knowing how open the lunge left him. The Nikaido Heiho school would call for a one-form here--block! *CHING* The sound of clashing metal was nothing new to Shinta. However, that his body (such as it was) was holding one of the pieces of clashing metal was. He almost fumbled the Sakabato but found himself-- Kenshin predicted the ten-form next. Block! Block! *CHING* *CHING* What the hell was going on? Shinta asked himself. Why couldn't he bring himself (or his old self) to kill this obviously evil monstrosity? Kenshin leapt out of the way before the eight-form could behead him, bringing his Sakabato down on the demon's blade. Unfortunately, the demon shoved him off, flinging Kenshin away again. -perhaps you could make it through two cigarettes now,- Jin-ei taunted. -but not good enough...your friend's soul looks especially tasty. he will make pleasurable company in Hell.- Shinta picked himself up. "You...will...NEVER...TOUCH...SHOICHI! Not so long as I live!" He started dashing forward-- Kenshin halted in his tracks before the one-form could slash his head open, and spotted an opening. He quickly took his sword and caught the demon in the leg-- Shinta tried his best to flip the sword over and use the blade. Kenshin tried his best to resist, and the test of wills ended in his favor. The follow-through sent the demon toppling over with a scream that echoed throughout the city. For a few moments, there was nothing but the sound of stray gravel and dust settling about the prone forms of Jin-ei and Shoichi. Kenshin inspected the former, unsure of-- -you are pressing your luck, battousai. slay me now, before i damn not just you but all tokyo.- "Much obliged," Shinta hissed as he finally flipped the blade around. He raised the sword, ready to taste the first blood of its prey... "DIE, BASTARD!" The sword came crashing down, leaving a flash of light where it was moments before, ready to hit its mark-- --was that a smile? --ALLOW me to taste the blade of the-- --rder to save Lady Kaoru, I shall become Hitokiri ONCE MO-- Kenshin flipped the blade back at the last possible moment, knowing that something was awry. Taking a backwards leap, he saw a sword lash through where his hips were moments before... What the hell? Shinta thought to himself, astonished at-- Kenshin ducked and leapt forward, sending another volley of inevitably parried swordflashes in Jin-ei's direction and receiving a number of them himself. -impressive,- Jin-ei chuckled. -you appear to be letting your better self get ahold of you.- "I have no better self, I say," Kenshin replied. "Shinta and I are the same. His memories and mine shall soon be one." "I don't know what the Battousai's talking about," Shinta rasped, "but I'm not letting you touch Shoichi!" -shoichi? ah, yes...your friend. i'm afraid it's too late...- He's bluffing, I say! shouted Kenshin to Shinta. Listen not, I say, as he is toying with your mind! Shinta grit his teeth. -his soul has been damned to the depths of Hell, and know that you did nothing to help him.- Jin-ei's skullish face became a mock frown of disappointment. -how sad. but there is one way to free him from his Eternal Fate...- Your friend fares well, I say! Jin-ei BEGS to die! I ask, does this not alarm you at all? -...slay me.- Shinta charged, readying his sword for one last slash-- --Kenshin leapt into the air, sword still held out to the side... "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. Ryu Tsui Sen." The blunt end of the inverse sword crashed into the back of the demon, ending the battle between former Hitokiri. Shinta readied himself to deal the final blow, but Kenshin held him back. Observe, I say, Kenshin suggested. His ki is low; we need not destroy him, I say. -i...am lost...to this world. but mark my words, battousai...i shall return, and many of those who you defeated...shall be with me...- Jin-ei then drew himself to a kneeling position, and ethereal flame engulfed his form until not a trace of his presence remained. Kenshin closed his eyes, drawing breath deeply, and resheathed his sword. There was a short pause as... "Oro? Was I not to transform back?" Kenshin blinked several times in surprise and bewilderment. A deep, gutteral laugh echoed off the buildings and through Kenshin's ears. "Very good. I hadn't expected such a performance from you..." "Who's there, I ask?" Kenshin's eyes narrowed as they followed a shadow moving towards them. He tilted his sheath in battou-jutsu position... "...but I can't believe my idiot apprentice doesn't know how to transform back," Hiko commented as he walked into the light. "Ororo!" Kenshin exclaimed as his face met the ground. "Use your brain, apprentice. If you merely had to sheathe the sword, what would happen to all your battou-jutsu? Must I spell everything out for you?" Hiko took a sake bottle out of his Piyo-Piyo backpack and took a sip. "You draw the _sword_ from the _sheath_ to become the vagabond, and to revert--" "--you must place the _sheath_ upon the _sword_, I say," Kenshin finished. "You got it," Hiko said as he took another sip. "Of course, without MY help, you'd have been stuck as you are now. And, probably, in deep--" "Now, now, say it not, I ask," Kenshin said as he chuckled and flapped his hand in a 'stop' motion. "It is not appropriate for one of your age to speak such foul words, I say." Hiko scowled. But he scowled cutely. "Master, I thank you for your help, I say," Kenshin intoned as he bowed to the six-year-old. Then he pointed his sword upward, and dropped the sheath on... ...Shinta brought the package down, sword and sheath, and placed it back in his duffel. Hiko eyed him warily. "Thought you might want to know...my idiot apprentice doesn't remember all those moves he learned from me," Hiko calmly noted. "Something to do with the energy it took for the reincarnation. You'll get them back in time, though." Shinta blinked, straightening out some of the other things that happened to him earlier. "Was that why I suddenly got a memory rush while pulling out the sword?" Hiko nodded. "It'll probably happen a few more times. Think of the sword as an amnesia trigger--depending on when and how you use it, you'll get some of your memory back." Shinta nodded a little bit, then recalled something else. "One other thing...Battousai mentioned that Jin-ei WANTED me to kill him--" "It's a trick he played. As you and Kenshin share a pure soul, tainting it with blood of the slain, even that of demons, will condemn % you to the lowest ranks of Hell." He paused to take another sip from his bottle. "And if that happens, the Hitokiri Battousai will probably take over, and it's good-bye to my idiot apprentice as he is replaced by a madman who helps wreak havoc on the world." "...so if I kill, I'm bound to die and become a psychopath in Hell?" Hiko shrugged. "You could say that. Of course, if the Battousai tried anything funny on this world, I'd kick his ass so badly he'd have to unbutton his shirt to fart." Shinta sweatdropped, when a moaning sound came to his attention. "Shoichi!" he exclaimed, running over to pick him up. He then turned to Hiko. "Maybe you should get going back to play date or wherever you're supposed to be. I've gotta help my friend get back home." Hiko blinked, then screamed. "OhnoI'msupposedtobetakingabathMom's gonnaKILLmeeeeeeeeeeeee..." Shinta watched Hiko run off in the distance, his arms flapping so quickly they blurred. Then he picked Shoichi up and held him in a fireman's position as he continued his walk home. *** "Kiichi-chaaaaaaaaan! Where aaaaaaaaaaare yoooooooou?" Mrs. Kakunoshin looked up and down throughout the house, looking for her dear little boy. It was bathtime, and she knew better than anyone else how much little boys LOVED games before bathtime! After all, her little Kiichi-chan always seemed to be playing hide and seek...He was probably hiding under his bed at this very moment. Time to go to his room... "Kiiiiiiiichi-chan!" Hiko darted around the end of the house, trying to figure out the best way of getting to his bedroom window. He could tell his Mom was about to enter quick what to do-- He spotted a tree across the yard and leapt toward it, using it as a springboard to get through his bedroom window. As he flew toward his room, he gaped in horror as he saw his Mom through the window--the CLOSED window-- Mrs. Kakunoshin walked in and almost choked on the smell of food and playthings and potpourri as she walked in, so she opened up the window and let in some fresh air. She was surprised by the strong gust of wind that passed her by and she could have sworn she heard something that sounded like the mattress being bounced on. After looking around, she shrugged it off and continued looking. " o/~ Oh, Kiiiiiiichi-chan! Time for a bath! o/~ " She quickly glanced at the bedspread, then grinned as she saw the closet door being shut. " o/~ Foooooooooooooound you! o/~ " she cried as she opened the door, and watching as her little boy squealed in delight. "You FOUND me, Mahm!" he giggled. "I FOUND you, Kiichi-chan! Now, it's time for a bath!" She scooped her little boy up and carried him to the furo as he held his arms around her neck. "I wove you, Mahm..." "I wove you too, my widdle Kiichi-chan..." she said as she nuzzled his nose. I swear I'm gonna throw up, bemoaned Hiko. *** Back in Hell, an older man entered the throne room of a grand palace and knelt down before the man on the throne. "Kurogasa has failed and has been recalled, Milord," he said, with a light frown on his face. "His summoning energy will take a while to replenish. However, I do have another alternative laid out. I hope it is to your liking, I spent so much time perfecting it..." He walked up to the man on the throne and whispered something in his ear. The man nodded in approval and dismissed him. As soon as he was alone, he started to speak: "Yes. Soon, he will learn of the true Hell that awaits all Hitokiri. And when that happens, we shall bring about a new era on Earth itself, where the weak shall be punished and the strong rewarded. But we need you first..." He leaned forward, and the bandages on his face caught the light. "...Himura Battousai." *** Author's notes: Many thanks to Chris and Sak for letting me run with this idea. I owe them this fic. More thanks go to all me prereaders, including RDM, Mandoric, Dragon-kun, and Sak among others. I was told that this is like Kenshin meets Sailor Moon meets Jubei- chan; having only seen one of those three series (and not even all of it quite yet ^_^;) and only decent knowledge of one other (Hey, what self-respecting anime fan HASN'T heard of Sailor Moon or know any of the character's names?) means that I have no idea what he's talking about when he mentions the third. ^_^; If this bears any resemblance to Jubei-chan I apologize for the assuredly complete coincidence. Notes on Nikaido Heiho: Jin-ei's swordfighting style consists of three different forms: the 'one-form' (because it looks like the kanji for one, a horizontal slash [ - ]), the 'eight-form' (two slashes, diagonally pointing upward [ / \ ]), and the 'ten-form' (one slash with two swords, one horizontal, one vertical [ + ]). In addition to this, he has the Shin no Ippou, but he used it to knock Shoichi out and not paralyze him this time. *shrug* Easier to cop out like this. ^_^; And while I'm at it, I may as well also plug my Ruroken manga fanscan page. ^_^ http://pomi.sandwich.net/ruroken/ Thanks for reading. Meanwhile, I'm outta here. ^_^ Lawrence http://pomi.sandwich.net/ What's on Lawrence's WinAmp list: Garbage - Subhuman Judy & Mary - Sobakasu Moby - Bodyrock In this statement, I do not admit or deny the existence of Disco Star Wars on my playlist. Excel Saga - Ai Chuusei Shin *** Notes to authors: Kenshin's speech: If you were wondering about the 'I say' and 'I ask' while Kenshin's speaking, it's my current favored translation of 'de gozaru.' ^_^; Reincarnations: So far, I've only used Shinta for reincarnation. It's your job to reincarnate the other people as you will. ^_^; Koharu--I hadn't intended on using her as reincarnate material, but I suppose she could easily be Kaoru, Megumi, or even Tomoe. I'd rather not, as it could make things interesting later when LUVLUV polygons appear (should he go out with the girl that was once his wife, or will he pick the pretty, popular girl that might be interested in him, who isn't a reincarnated soul?) but if you feel you must, well...it's out of my hands as soon as the next author signs up, so... Shoichi--He'll probably end up as Sanosuke. Their attitudes are kinda similar, and so are their appearances. "AKUICHIMONJI PRISM POWER, MAKE UP!", anyone? Hiko--'Kiichiro' means 'Energetic First Son.' 'Kakunoshin' is apparently his real name, since Sejuro Hiko is actually a name passed down to those who learn the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. It's the name he takes up when he becomes a potter, before Kenshin shows up in his life again. Other characters: Don't forget, not everyone needs to show up, nor do they neccessarily fit in. In particular, Sozo Sagara and (I know there'll be people groaning at this one) Hajime Saitoh are actual, historical figures. I don't know if they should be reincarnated or if we should leave them be and not write Impro about them. ^_^; Once again, your choice. The older man talking to both Jin-ei and Shishio is "Hundred-sense" Hoji, Shishio's loyal right-hand fanatic. Since I haven't quite finished the Kyoto arc yet (three more volumes to go) I didn't write too much of him; instead, I went with the first "big" enemy from the series: Kurogasa (Black Hat). Those of you who have actually finished the Kyoto Arc (or the Jinchu Arc, even) don't have to feel obliged to not put in some of the other people from later on. However, I'd think Yumi would be around, and maybe even Usui after his battle with Saitoh...and let's not forget some of the earlier fighters, like Rajuta or...I dunno, one of those guys from the anime filler eps. Storylines: As Sakurambo pointed out, the series could easily dissolve into 'Shishio sends A to get Kenshin, Kenshin defeats A, Shishio sends B to get Kenshin...' Don't forget that even though Shishio is the main villain, there's nothing saying he's the ONLY villain. There's injustice in the modern world, too, which could easily be smaller/ larger arcs in themselves. Not just that, but we also have other reincarnations on the way as well. Sano and Kaoru at the very least, and we have the extended cast including Gensai-sensei (if we're going the anime route), Megumi, the Oniwabanshu (even the early ones), and so on. These could make for great character development plots... Note: Revision 1.1. Some minor prose tinkering, as well as a bit of clarification to some things added--in particular, "tainting with blood" has "of the slain" appended, so that Kenshin/Shinta doesn't get damned if he accidentally cuts himself with the sword. ^_^; Altered lines have % marks after them, a la Twoflower.