Chapter 1: A Chance Meeting; Enishi and Otomi

This story takes place after Kenshin has defeated Enishi, before Sano and Megumi leave and before Kenshin and Kaoru are married. This was written in two different parts; The first before I knew the ending and the second well after Rurouni Kenshin had ended. Since this is only the first draft, most of the problems will be fixed the second time around.

NOTE: Just so everybody knows, this is not an alternate-pairing romance featuring Misao and Enishi!! I swear! I know it may seem that way sometimes, but it really isn’t. I stick religiously by the original couplings in RK. Please don’t flame me for artistic license.

Enishi stormed around in a foul mood. Nothing was going right. Not only did he let Battousai slip through his fingers, but he also lost to him in battle and he let his insurance, that meddlesome Kamiya girl, escape. He had recovered, then nearly gone completely mad trying to get off the island, only reopening his wounds and making himself worse. Heishin and all the other servants had disappeared from sight, trying to avoid the wrath of their master.He stalked out onto the porch and glared at the ocean rolling tirelessly up onto the sand. That ocean, that had been his tool and helper, now turned against him. He was stranded on this island, being bored to death. He sighed irritably and turned his back on it.Suddenly a thought occurred to him. If Battousai could do it, if the supply ships could do it, why couldn’t he? He would just sail off the island and come back when he felt like it. There was no reason he couldn’t.

He began to plan in his mind, the time it would take for his to make it to land, the supplies he would need, the kind of boat… There he stopped. The boat. The only boats were the supply boats, and the next one wasn’t due for several more weeks, and a small boat that was by no means suitable for a long overseas trip. There was only one option. He would have to wait for the next supply ship. He could occupy himself by planning. That way he wouldn’t get too impatient.His heart beginning to pound like a little boy’s, he went quickly back into the house and began to throw together the things he would need.

The hold was dark and cool in comparison to the hot and humid weather outside. He leaned his head back and rested it on a door. He would just wait here until they were a good distance away from the island before exposing himself. Then they would drop him off at the nearest port in Japan and he would have a little vacation. He lay his sword across his lap and grinned to himself. Perfect. Maybe I could take a small nap, he thought with a yawn. His eyes closed and his head drooped against his chest.

The next thing he knew, somebody was shouting and he was on his feet with his sword drawn. A frightened cabin boy was pressed against the far wall, his eyes bugging out of his head. "Ca- Castaway!" He shouted again. Enishi shook his head in diguist. Him? A castaway? Several men pounded down the stairs into in hold, six-shooters pointed at Enishi’s chest."I’m not a castaway, boy," Enishi said, sheathing his sword.

"Of course he isn’t a castaway, you moron!" The captain barked, following down the stairs. "He’s Yukishiro Enishi." The boy gasped. "What do I owe this pleasure to, Yukishiro-sama?""I was getting a case of island fever and decided to join your lovely crew." He grinned at him. "At least until you get somewhere interesting, like say, Oosaka?"The captain pondered this for a long minute, tipping his head up out the hole in the deck to watch the sea birds wheeling around the mast. "Well, we could make straight for Oosaka, then go to our next destination," he said finally.

"But But sir! If we do that then we’ll be late! What about our money?!" One man cried, turning his back to Enishi to shout at his captain."You want money?" The captain growled. "That man behind you pays your wages! I’m a businessman! I can loose all of my money so I can be on time, or I can make a slight detour for my biggest customer!"I dislike bribes, but I do have a little bit of extra money," Enishi drawled, casually pulling a small pouch full of money out of his pocket and handing it to the captain. The hold was silent while the captain quickly weighed the bag in his hand, then passed out the contents to his crew.