I accepted a challenge from beachstylecats, and this is what came out from it.

Note: This story is placed in volume 2, after Sanosuke and Kenshin battled, before the incident with Jin-E.

Visiting the Meiji

Ch. 1:

The thunderstorm raging over the dojo was one of the worst in years. Many whispered about the end of the world. A young man with long red hair stood by the door and watched as lightning cracked over the night sky. He didn't move, nor make a sound, but he could feel that something unexpected was going to happed in the near future.

(Centuries later)

The thunderstorm raged over them as they ran along the riverbank. The noise from the storm was quite enough to cover the soft sounds of mud sliding against mud as the ground broke from under them.

Four were far enough to be safe, one managed to jump to safety, but one found himself caught in the sliding mud.

Large eyes looked down at the wild river with fear… for what? The water..?...Or his own safety?

The arm closest reached out to grab the falling one, but the hero soon realized that he neither had ground to stand on anymore.

With the booming of the thunder mixed two startled shouts of protest moments before two small beings were lost under freezing water.

Up on the riverbank, their four companions stared in panicked shock.

- - -

The sun was shining the next day, and everyone continued with their lives. The thunderstorm was nothing but a bad dream or a half forgotten memory. The redheaded man from earlier walked among these people, but he could not forget the storm like the others did. The feeling that some greater power was mixed with it all never left his mind.

This man, known as Himura Kenshin by his friends, and Hitokiri Battôsai by his enemies, had always been right in matters like this.

Leaving the city chaos of Tokyo behind him, he headed towards the more silent parts near the river. Not long after, he was accompanied by a friend of his, Sagara Sanosuke, and while talking, a small part of him could finally forget his worries and concentrate on something else.

Soon the two of them fell into a comfortable silence and just walked, enjoying the company as well as the sun. Suddenly Sanosuke, a tall teen with brown hair, stopped. Kenshin stopped a few steps later in confusion. He noticed that Sanosuke wasn't looking at him, but something near the river.

"There's someone by the riverbank," he said, never changing his expression, which was unreadable, except for maybe a small look of surprise. Kenshin turned his lavender eyes towards where Sanosuke was looking and spotted the two small forms that lay there unmoving. Worried, the red-haired swordsman ran over to where the two lay, followed by his taller friend. Had they drowned? Were they injured? Upon reaching the two, Kenshin kneeled down next to one of them.

They both looked very young. The one next to Kenshin had black spiky hair, reminding the swordsman of Yahiko, a young orphan boy that he and the dojo owner, Kaoru, had taken in. There was, however, a starburst of white in the front, bringing the resemblance closer to Sanosuke, and his white bangs.

The other boy, the one Sanosuke was kneeling next to, had an odd light blue hair color, except for his bangs that consisted of four spikes in an odd bluish green color. Both of them wore clothes neither Kenshin nor Sanosuke had seen before.

Also, they were both soaked and covered in mud. Perhaps they had been caught in the storm and fallen into the river?

A small movement alerted Kenshin's gaze back to the black-haired. The moan that escaped the small lips turned into a few choughs, and large eyes fluttered open. Kenshin froze. He had never seen yes colored like that: ruby red. Was the boy blind?

- - -

His lungs burned, and the breathing rasped in his throat as he opened his eyes.

His eyesight was blurred, but he could still make out a human form above him. A human with red hair…

"…Kurama?" he asked in a weak voice before darkness consumed his mind once again.

TBC…

I'd like to note that I'm not sure if the color aqua (or rather its name) existed in the Meiji era… so I decided to explain the color instead of naming it. Reviews are nice… flames are accepted, reluctantly…