Yay, another fic. This is my second Kenshin fic and 4th fic total. Weee.. well my first Kenshin fic did sooo well that I thought perhaps I would write another. It's a good way to vent eh? Ok enough of my talking. On to the new fic.

Summery: Kenshin keeps to himself in a popular Dojo. His presence there is almost a myth, but there are a few who know he's real.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kenshin, or the Phantom of the Opera plot.

Prologue

Summer 1859

Dull purple eyes gazed though the haze of the summer twilight. The small child was getting tired of these late night travels. He was starting to feel like a bit of a gypsy. Yet he knew rest would come soon. There in front of the long line of walking travelers was a city, and soon he could rest. He didn't know what city it was, nor did he care. All he wanted at the moment was sleep, and perhaps some food. He was old enough and strong enough that he had to pull one of the many carts of supplies. It was heavy, and hard work for his young body to pull and he often slowed. When a harsh word was shot at him, or a sound of a whip slicing the air near his ear, he didn't jump. He had become so use to such things that he was numb to them. But he sped up nonetheless.

His name was Himura Kenshin, and he was ten years old. His parents had died and he had been left to the clutches of this traveling band of vagabonds. His mass of crimson hair had been sheered off, leaving ugly fuzzy patches of his red hair sticking in all directions from his scalp. They had held him down and used a razor sharp kuni knife to mutilate his face. It was only a large X shape that marred the delicate features of his face but it worked to break his spirit and marked him a slave. The wound was still bad. It was raw in some parts and infected in others. He was sure he was going to have a nasty scar for the rest of his life.

But he suffered in silence. No need to voice rights he didn't have. He was a slave to these people now. He was beat for fun and entertainment, and used as a pack mule at other times. But for now, he was safe; safe in front of the heavy cart that he pulled. The older men of the troop; the ugly, toothless, matted hair, and dirty beards that they were, had approached the Dojo that everyone was drawing near to. It was set in the center of a rather nice open garden that was surrounded by other gardens and small businesses. Kenshin didn't see anything of the grand Dojo that lay just behind the stone walls behind the garden. He didn't care, it was just another place to him.

The strong wooden doors swung open to the elder men and they quickly slipped in. Kenshin knew they would take advantage of the zen like state and ask the favor to rest there, at least in the protection of the garden. What better way to stay safe then to board with a dojo full of sword fighters. It didn't take long for the fast talking men to convince the well minded people of the Dojo to let them stay. The troop dispersed and Kenshin knew this was the only few moments of free time he would have before he would drop off to the few precious hours of sleep he could have. He ditched the cart as the woman unloaded it and quickly searched for a spot to hide himself lest he become the amusement of the older men.

Kenshin perched on a small bridge that spanned over a thin area of a pond. He crouched down, further making himself unnoticeable. He looked up only when he heard the large doors open again. A swamp of men of all ages, ranging from white bearded ancients to boys younger than he, poured from the Dojo. He was surprised to see girls amongst the uniforms. So this Dojo taught girls as well. He quickly dropped his eyes again to the gold and white fish gazing up at him from the clear water. He didn't know how much time had past or what the Dojo students where doing as they milled about them. He was suddenly approached and Kenshin tensed, ready for a hand to lash out at him, but instead it was a soft voice that greeted him.

"Would you like me to take care of that for you young man?" said the soft but firm female voice. Kenshin lifted his guarded purple eyes to the woman. She was tall, young, no more than fifteen years old. She had long ebony hair and dark piercing eyes. She was not in the same kind of uniform as the others in the dojo, but a strange variation of it. It was more like a woman's kimono that a training Gi. Kenshin had no idea what she was talking about, so he just stared up at her silently.

"The wound on your cheek, I've some medical training and I want to help you." She tried again. When Kenshin just shrugged his thin shoulders the teen sighed. "Oh for heaven sakes… here." she yanked Kenshin off the bridged and kneeled down on the grass in front of him and fished out a jar of some sort of salve from the folds of her kimono. She examined the X shaped wound before smearing the salve on it. The boy winced when the woman removed as much infection from the wound as she could. "It's not pretty. I'm not going to lie to you young man. You're going to have an awful scar for a very long time." She tisked as she closed the jar of salve and it vanished back under her robes and stood. "Take care of that and it should heal without many problems. The salve will help it to heal quickly and keep anymore infection from developing."

With that the teen tossed her hair over her shoulder, turned, and began walking away. Kenshin stood wide eyed and carefully touched the sticky stuff on his wound. It was the first time he had ever been treated with such kindness. As little as it was, it was still kindness to him. Course, the feeling didn't last long. A member of his traveling group stumbled from the growing shadows of the garden and took hold of the female. A large hand silenced any call she might have given.

Anger flared in Kenshin, an anger he had never felt before; not even during his beatings and mutilations. He filthy man ignored Kenshin as he struggled with the teen who was putting up quite a fight indeed. She had been well trained in whatever the style was that they taught here. But she was not prepared for a fight. She came out here to heal, not harm. She had no weapons but her graceful hands, and they were pinned to her sides at the moment. She still struggled with amazing power, but she would not win, she would soon be too tired. Dull purple eyes glittered coldly and then flared with amber that drowned the purple out.

Silently, without much thought or show of emotion save the glowing of his eyes, Kenshin stood and approached them. He didn't care if these where his people now. No one was going to harm the one person who showed him any type of kindness after his own mother. Methodically, Kenshin pulled a kuni knife from the belt of the man. The swine was too preoccupied with his catch to notice.

Kenshin lept onto his back and wrapped on hand around his sweaty head. With a silent and deadly grace, Kenshin ran the kuni across his neck. The man let the young woman go as he grabbed for his throat, falling to the ground with a terrible gurgling noise. Kenshin hoped off him and set a hand on the teens' arm. The woman composed herself quickly and her gaze fell on him as he stood there, with the very same emotionless look on his face. His eyes glued to hers even as his hand tossed the kuni away.

Not wasting any time, the teen grabbed Kenshin by the arm and ran. They just had enough time to clear from the scene before the others rushed to the sight of one of their own dead on the ground. "You must hide." The woman hissed into his ear as she picked him up and slipped into the dojo. He was small and thin and the folds of her uniform hid him well." If they find you, even my own people can't save you."

The boy said nothing, but allowed himself to be covered and carried about. He knew that he had little choice. He had no where to go in this strange new city, and he couldn't return to the slave line. They would kill him for sure for killing one of their own. Kenshin heard shouts coming from all directions and footsteps lightly thudding in the dojo. Screams of women and children could be heard. The slave overseers where rounding them up. Kenshin knew it would only take a few minutes before they realized who was missing and then they would know it was him who committed the crime.

Suddenly the running stopped and the sound of the woman's' heavy breathing filled his ears. He stole a peek from the folds of silk and saw that he was in a rather small room, it was dark and crowded with objects. Dust was thick on everything and spiders had run of the place with their webs.

"No one uses this room." She panted and set the boy down. She quickly scrambled through the mess and silently as she could and surprised the boy when she pulled back part of the wall as if it where a screen door. "The Dojo is full of these hidden doors and secret passage ways, I'm sure many of them have gone unused and forgotten. You'll be safe here." The both of them jumped as a crash sounded not far from the room. "Hurry, inside." She didn't wait for him to ask any questions. Kenshin found himself placed in the narrow passage and then darkness as the screen was slid shut.

A/n yeah it went kind fast. This is only the prologue though. I already have the first chapter ready to go. But it all depends on the reviews I get for this first part I don't want to keep a story going that won't do well. Anyways. If you read this far. Please review and tell me what you think and any ideas you may have for the story. I'm always open. To suggestions