Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. I never did.

Revised: 06/25/04

"There is time for everything."
- Thomas A. Edison

Project Battoussai

Chapter One: Thirteen Years Ago

[Thirteen Years Ago…]

A twelve-year-old girl sat on a log looking up at the clear azure sky. The sound of a stream rushing gently down filled her ears. She smiled lightly and sighed at the peaceful moment.

"Kaoru!" A familiar young male's voice called out. The girl—Kaoru instantly recognized the voice and smiled brightly as the sunshine brighter. She stood up, turned around, her dark raven hair swinging in the air. A figure about her size was running toward her waving his hand. "Kenshin! Over here!" She exclaimed.

The boy called Kenshin did and was soon beside this girl. He had fiery red hair that was tied into a high ponytail behind him and gentle violet eyes.

Kaoru and Kenshin are best friends. They met on this exact setting near the stream when Kaoru was six and Kenshin at eight. Ever since then, they became friends and they met here at least a few times a week to talk or play. As they grew older, Kaoru began to grow this affection toward her friend that was above friendship. She developed a crush on the boy.

They laid on the grass and watched the few clouds gone by. They talked and their laughter rung throughout the area.

"Kenshin…how uh do you…um fe—feel…" Kaoru began to stutter at her sentence and tint of red appeared over her cheek. Her sapphire eyes looked down to ground, to shy to look at him when she asked this certain question. In every life, a girl finds herself in a situation in telling her feelings for enough. It would be difficult if the feelings were truly felt.

But being the clueless idiot he was, Kenshin was confused by her behavior at this moment. "What is it, Kaoru? How do I feel about what?"

Okay. This was her chance. She took a deep breath and said it, "Kenshin, how do you feel abou—"

"Kenshin! Its time for dinner!" A female voice called out. His mother.

The young youth stood up dusting some of the filth off his jeans and shirt. "Oh…sorry Kaoru. I got to go. Maybe you could ask me tomorrow. Okay?" He suggested and then waved at the girl. "Bye Kaoru!"

Kaoru then stood off slowly and watched Kenshin run off into the distance. She whispered, "Bye…" She sighed at her loss at the moment, "…idiot…"

"Houji-sama, are you working on another project?" A man in dark black clothes asked as he pointed toward some papers.

The scientist nodded, "Its for the gift I'm going to create for Shishio-sama. I planned this for a long time and I shall be getting started with it. This won't compare to anything I've ever done." The scientist explained as he gathered the paper and placed it on another area of the table, "Nothing would be able to stop it."

The man in black asked, "Another cyborg? Or one like—"

"Yes. He will be like him, but more powerful," Houji shook his head, "In this case, it would take many years to complete. I would not be sure of it though…I have been planning this for a long while. And still, I am not sure the years it would take for this project."

Houji went to his computer where the other man follower. His fingers typing quickly and he moved his mouth to the file.

"I look through the boys who would fit the requirements I would need for the project. And I found one…" He said with a slight smirk, "…that would fit perfect."

The screen soon showed a profile of a boy that could be likely in his young teens as well as the information about him.

Houji, being prepared, handed the man a printed copy which was in a vanilla folder, "Make sure you get him."

Then man nodded, "Yes my lord. As you wish…" And then he disappeared into the darkness.

Everything would change beyond this point.

"Remember you keep your eyes on the opponent at all times! At stop slouching, you stupid boy!" A man's voice boomed at his apprentice. The man was muscular, broad and tall and around his older twenties as of a matter a fact. And in his hand was a wooden sword.

"Yes, shishou." Kenshin replied sternly, following what his teacher and uncle was saying. In his hand, he also had a wooden weapon. Then they charged at one another. You could hear the loud sound of both swords making contact with one another.

Kenshin and Hiko stared into each other's eye. They soon released and continued their staring contest, their swords in their grip by their sides. Kenshin's purple eyes tensed and focused, trying to predict what his master's next move was. Then soon the tall broad man disappeared as well as Kenshin too. The moves in the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu needed this god-like speed to use in their attack and usually it was stronger than the enemy. But in this case, it the same style and it was teacher versus student, the one who lack more experience, lost.

Kenshin swiped his bokken down at his master, but Hiko was able to dodge it and knocked the boy down to the ground easily.

Kenshin slammed into the ground, breathing hard, laying there. He dropped his bokken. Sweat poured down his face and his face was red.

Hiko went over and looked down at his apprentice. Then a slight smirk shown on his facial features. "You did better on this spar. I see you have improved while I was gone for three weeks. Very good, baka-deshi."

The red head smiled back and tried to get up. Luckily he succeeded and stood up before the tall man. He bowed in respect. "Arigatou, shishou. I am honored with such compliment."

Hiko placed on of his large and rough hand on the boy's head. "Go. You better get some rest for the night. It's late and your mother must be worried about you, Kenshin."

Kenshin nodded at his teacher.

"You think you could get there by yourself, boy?" Hiko asked a bit concerned. He had roughened the boy, maybe a bit too much tonight.

Kenshin smiled. Oh though he may tired, he could still get home easily, oh yes he can, "No, that's all right Uncle Hiko. I could make it there all right. It isn't that far anyway"

"If you say so, baka-deshi" He replied and then the two went in opposite direction toward their home.

Hiding in the tree in the depths of the night, a man that was camouflaged with the darkness spied, his dark eyes still staring at the red-headed fourteen year old. "Himura Kenshin…" And then he disappeared.

Kenshin walked toward his house, looking at the stars above that shown dimly. He wiped the sweat on his forehead with the back of his head. The cool wind blew lightly and he welcomed it.

"Huh?" He sensed something and turned around.

Soon a pair of strong hands covered his mouth pulling him in, "Who the hell—" he started, but was soon cut off. He was knocked out unconscious.

[The Next Day, 5:32 PM]

Hiko was sitting on his chair watching the large amount of wet red clay spin on the tray, his hands molding the material into a certain form. Just because the man is a swordsman, doesn't mean he could have a hobby and interest in ceramics.

The phoned rang and he cursed under his breath. He took a towel and covered it with his hand. And before the phone could stop ringing, he picked it up. "Hello. This is the Seijiro resident. Who may this be?" His voice was a bit irritated by the disturbance when he was making a clay pot.

"Hiko-oniichan!"

He blinked. It was his elder sister in other words, Kenshin's mother. "Reiko? Why are you calling?"

"Is Kenshin over your house because he never came home last night. I was wondering if he stayed over your house for the night." She replied, there was a brief pause. "So is he?"

Hiko's eyes widened. He thought the boy went home. He had a sense of direction, unless he lost it. "I'm sorry, but he isn't with me…did you ask that Kamiya girl he hangs out with?"

"Well I asked her parents, and they say she was with them the whole night. They didn't see Kenshin at all! Hiko-oniichan, I'm so worried! He couldn't have gotten lost! I can't imagine if he was missing and kidnapped! What am I going to do?" The woman asked on the other line. He could hear her starting to sob.

"Contact the police. I'll be over there in twenty minutes, Reiko." The man answered to his sister and hung up.

Kaoru walked on the sidewalks of her neighbor hood heading toward Kenshin's house. She saw a few policemen walked out and wave and then they ride off in their cars. She blinked in bewilderment. Why were the police at Kenshin's house?

She walked up to Reiko who had her head down as tear started to form again.

"Himura-san, why are you crying? And why were the police here?" She asked. She was a nosy girl so she really couldn't help but ask.

"Ken—kenshin has been…" Reiko started, but couldn't finished. She leaned on her younger brother's shoulders and cried.

"Kenshin…has gone missing…"

"What!?"

[Present Time: November 2nd 10:30 AM]

It had been nearly 13 years since that situation happened. She had thought he would come back after a couple of days, but there was no sign of him doing so. He never came. That means she wouldn't see his smiling face again nor hear his voice…or stare at his soft amethyst eyes ever again…or so it seemed.

She smiled lightly as flashbacks of her childhood came to play in her mind. She sighed as a visible amount of cold air came.

She walked down the busy street of the city, as the rain poured down. The people here were scurrying all over the place, trying to get to their destination. The sound of cars and buses honked. The traffic was tight at this time.

Kamiya Kaoru was now around the age of twenty-five now. Her mother had died with breast cancer that got to their late stages. Her father was a detective, but got shot by a man in one of his cases since she was eighteen. Ever since then she has lived alone.

Just like her father before her, she became a detective as well, at Meiji Detective Agency in Tokyo.

Kaoru's blue eyes looked at the tall agency building before her. The pounding of the rain hitting her black umbrella could be heard loudly as well as the rain splashing all around her.

"Welcome to Tokyo," she whispered.

With one last look, Kaoru Kamiya, entered the building.