My attempt at filling in a few spots as revealed in manga 12, or eps 41-43...

Childhood: By Monica Shin

        I smile up at father as he lifts me up above his head. "Father!
More! More!" He smiles back and puts me on his shoulders, then starts to run
down the dusty road. I shriek and hold onto his hair, making him wince. He
slows down as we get closer to our house, and asks me in a strangled voice,
"Shi-shinta... son, let go a bit." I giggle and do so as he puts me back
onto the road.

        I hear mother's voice as she makes my favorite dinner- fish. "Dear,
would you make sure that Shinta is somewhat clean before you bring him
inside? And make sure both of you wash up!" Father and I look at each other
for a moment, and say simultaneously, "Haaai..."

        We go to the back of the house, where there is a small stream
running to feed our pond. I wash my hands, and then splash father when he
isn't looking. He blinks at me for a moment, and then reaches over and
catches me in his arms. He hold me to his face, and then starts to tickle
me. I wriggle and kick, trying to get away, but father has no mercy. 

        We get even muddier and wetter as we struggle and laugh, but it's
just too much fun for us to stop. That is, until mother comes out of the
house and gives us a look full of exasperation. "Anata! I don't expect
Shinta to know any better, but a grown man... honestly!" She comes over to
us, and then starts to wash my face with the cloth that has kept her long
hair back. 

        "Shinta, I told you again not to do this..." Then, she spins and
splashes my father with some water she had gathered in her hand. Mother and
I both look at each other, before we burst out into giggles at the
expression on father's face. My father moves toward the pond threateningly,
before my mother holds up her hand. "Dear, it really is time for dinner.
Shall we go in?" He nods and picks me up, and we all go in. 

        A few days later, mother and father are both dead. No explanation.
No answers. Only my aunt coming and taking me from my house, from the place
where my parents and I had always lived. She looks at our little house
sadly, and then tells me that it wasn't my fault. That it had been cholera,
and that I am lucky not to have gotten it. That during this time, in this
world, things like this happened.

        As she looks away from me, I realize that she knows how much I had
seen of my parents' last days, before the messenger had managed to reach our
relatives. I had been the one who had tried to bring them enough water from
the stream, the one who had tried to clean up after them, the one who had to
live with the smell of death and vomit as I tried not to see, hear what I
knew... I had almost been happy, in the end, because at least they were
resting, and together, even if they had left me behind...

        My aunt is a very good woman. Although she had only seen me the few
times we had made the trek to her house, she is willing to take care of me,
to give me food during a time when there was little security, and even less
food. So I try to be happy at her home, with her family, my cousins and
uncle, but... I want my parents. Still, I stay, and start to get used to
living with all of them. It's not so bad.

        My three cousins don't like me invading their house, their family-
but there's not much they can do about it, is there? So, they ignore me
instead. They pretend I'm not there, going around me as if I am invisible
for a little while. But even they start to relax, get used to me. I'm
younger than the three of them, and I think Reiko and Makoto feels bad for
me, even while Ryo still keeps his distance.

        Ryo comes up to me, a few weeks after I arrived at his home, and
gives me a neutral look. After a small pause, he asks me diffidently, "Do
you wanna go and do something?" I nod, and in a few minutes, we're wrestling
with each other, just having fun. Reiko and Makoto come running up to us,
afraid that Ryo or I'd done something, only to find us lying on the grass,
laughing. The two girls shake their head, whisper something about 'boys' and
leave us in the sun. 

         Soon, it's as if I've gotten a new family, even though it's not the
same. But I'm happy, and even though Ryo is kinda annoying, Reiko and Makoto
are nice... I've never had siblings before. Soon, it's already the start of
the new year, and all of us are resting after having come back from the
temple, when we hear something. Men are screaming and shouting- it's loud
and harsh and makes me want to hide and- "Children! Go inside, now! Wife, go
with him!" My aunt gazes at my uncle, who has picked up his hoe with a
determined expression, and then nods once.

        All four of us are herded into the house by our aunt, and she hides
each of us in a different place. She picks me up, and hides me inside a
small chest they use to keep winter blankets. "Shinta, stay in here and
don't make any sounds. None at all- do you understand?" I gulp, trying to
hold back tears. "Yes, aunt. But, what about uncle?" She gives me a sad
look, and tells me, "He's doing what a man should do... that's all you need
to know." Then she closes the top of the chest, and leaves me alone.

        I try to look through the reeds, but they only let in a little
light, nothing more. Keeping quiet and still just like my aunt had told me
to, I can't help but hear the sounds of horses stopping, and men cursing and
shouting. I hear one thud and the especially loud curse of one man. It's
quiet for a moment, before I hear the meaty thonk of something hard hitting
something soft, and the hoarse gasps of someone.

        "No!!" I hear my aunt's shrieks as men start to laugh. I don't know
what's happening there's nothing I can do so I stay in the chest hugging my
legs trying to keep quiet like my aunt had told me to... Where... Where is
everyone? I keep still like aunt had told me to because no one's here, I'm
not here, please don't find me-

        "Well, well... what do we have here?" A huge hand comes inside my
place and lifts me out by my hair. I wince as his grip tears out some of my
hairs, and try to fight back against the monster. My kicks and punches make
him laugh, as I try to get away, because aunt and uncle and Reiko and Makoto
and stupid Ryo couldn't be-

        "Oi! Everyone, come here! At least there's one that Chouji didn't
get to. Don't you think this kid would fetch a good price?" Three other men
join him, one of them with a bloody sword in his grasp. The one with the
sword smiles, and then places the tip of the sword at my throat. He moves it
up my neck to the side of my face, making the blood smear all over my right
cheek. "Chouji, stop it! It's bad enough that you messed up the other three
kids. We might as well have one we can sell." 

        The one that had taken me out of the chest was glaring at Chouji,
who pushes the edge of the sword so that I feel a small cut on my cheek. The
silence that follows is only broken when the one with the sword suddenly
takes the sword away and starts to clean it with a piece of cloth... with a
piece of my aunt's... I start to cry, even though I don't want to, as the
man drags me away. Before I go, I see the broken bodies of the ones who had
taken care of me, who had fed me and kept me. I couldn't even bury them...

        I'm with the bandits as they plunder the countryside, killing and
taking all that they can before they retreat to a safe place for a bit. I'm
their cook, and whatever else they want me to be. As they come back from
another raid, they expect me to have something good for them to eat from the
things that they had grabbed from another house like my aunt's... My hand
clenches as I try to hold back the tears that are sure to get me in trouble.

        Chouji comes up to me, still excited from the last attack. He's the
one I've learned to avoid the most in the weeks I've been with them. He's
the only one who really likes to hurt and kill, and he's always watching
me... I keep quiet and look up at him, half-expecting the blow that he lands
on my face. As I blink back tears, I see that everyone else has become too
drunk to care what he does to me.

        He leans over to me, and hisses in my ear, "Where's my food?" I
start to move away quickly, and try to get something cooking, but I'm too
slow. He catches me in his grasp, and pulls me toward him. I shudder at the
hot, wild look he has in his eyes as he licks me on the healed place where
he had cut me before. I struggle to get away, but it's useless as his grip
tightens around me. He smiles down at me, drawing a knife and putting it at
my throat.

        "What about it, little boy? Wanna fight some more?" I stare up at
him, quiet now. I can't do anything, so I do what I can. I won't cry. I
won't let him see me cry. Only that. He moves the point of the blade down
from my throat, slicing expertly through the tattered shirt. It's cold... it
hurts. No crying. 

        In a few weeks, they meet up with a group of slave traders who buys
me off of them. The slavers keep me around as they pick up other slaves to
trade and sell, and I'm the one who brings the girls their food. I've only
been with them for a few weeks, when three girls are bought by them.
Akane-san, Kasumi-san, and Sakura-san, who had been sold to pay off their
family's debts. All three of them are nice to me, and I wish that we hadn't
met, because then they wouldn't be here...

        As we stop for the night, the slavers take care of the few men they
have, while I bring food to the three girls. Sakura-san gives me a sad smile
as I hand her something to eat. "Shinta, I'm sorry." The two other girls
join her, and Kasumi-san hugs me gently. I look at them with amazement.
"Why? You're the ones who should be sorry..." Akane-san quietly answers,
"Because you're too young for this. Because it's even more unfair for you to
be here."

        Kasumi-san's arms tighten around me, as she starts to cry softly.
The other two huddle with us, each trying to find some sort of strength in
their collective misery. While I... I don't cry. I won't. I can't. I
promised that I wouldn't... no crying. So I try to give them what support I
can, because they're alone, and I'm the only boy they have to protect them.

        The next day, the slavers seem to be nervous about something. The
wagons are being sped along faster now, as they urge the horses on. The
whispers being passed around by the guards say that there are bandits
hunting us. Not much they can do about it, except do what they're being paid
to do, and defend their cargo. The three girls hold me to them, as they're
jostled in their small place on the wagon.

        Suddenly, everyone stops, and the screams begin from the back of the
line. I stand up to look around, and see the bloody swords. Stifling my
panic, I start to back away, trying to see how I could get the girls out of
here without being seen, except it's too late. The bandits have started on
the wagons, slaughtering without any conscience... all of them are like
Chouji. I have to get Sakura-san, Akane-san and Kasumi-san out of here...

        Too many of them are coming, their cruel smiles alighting their eyes
as they watch the blood, hear the screams. I try to throw myself in front of
the three girls... it doesn't matter if I die. I have to protect- Sakura-san
throws herself in front of me, directly into the sword that had been
swinging down on me.

        Akane-san pulls me into her grasp, protecting me with her body. I
hear the sounds, the screams, as Sakura-san and Kasumi-san die, trying to
protect me... why me? Akane-san... She is crying a little as she whispers
for me to live, before she's cut down too. I look down at the three bodies,
leaving my back open for the bandit. Why should I care?

        I brace for the blow that never lands... I hear more screams, this
time, from the bandits. I don't look up as someone kills even more, brings
more death to this place. I hear the voice as he tells me that I'm lucky to
be alive. That this was war... what war? All I know is that everyone's the
same when they're dead. Cold and limp, they all leave me.

        I feel the man leave, but I don't care. What can I do, but what I
should have, if I could have? I dig around the remains, and find a shovel, a
pick. There's plenty of wood from the wagons, from the deadwood around here.
What else can I do but at least bury the dead? After all, they're all equal,
all the same. No matter what, at least I can bury them instead of leaving
them to be picked at by the birds already gathering.

        So I dig. Through the night, only stopping when I'm too tired to go
on. Then I sleep, not caring who's going to find me. When I'm hungry, I go
through the bags left behind by the bandits and the slavers. There's too
much food for one person- one less thing to worry about. I just keep
digging, marking each grave with a marker of wood. 

        After a week, I'm done, except for one thing. Akane-san, Kasumi-san,
and Sakura-san. They were buried first, but I want to find nicer markers for
them... but all I can find are three lumpy, graceless rocks. I wish... I
wish I could at least find some flowers for them. But there aren't any of
those, either. Nothing's here except for the dead. 

        I kneel in front of the stones, not sure what to do next. Then,
behind me, I hear soft steps. The man again, the one who had killed all the
bandits. He sounds surprised as he notes that I had buried both my parents
and the bandits. I tell him that they weren't my parents, but slave traders.
When he asks me about the stone markers, I tell him about the three girls,
and how they'd saved me...

        The splash of liquid on rock. I look up to see he's pouring sake on
the rocks. A sacrifice and a wish that they had lived longer... I really
take a look at him, at the man who had also saved my life. He's big and
strong, with a sword that looks well cared for and used. I should be scared
of him, but I'm not. Somehow, I know that he's not going to hurt me.

        He asks me my name, and I whisper, "Shinta..." He tells me that it's
too soft a name, and renames me. Takes me away from the graveyard, from
being a victim, and remakes me into something, someone else. Shinta is gone,
dead with his parents, or with his cousins, or with the too-young girls
under the stones. As my new master takes me away, he promises to teach me
something. Leaving my childhood behind, I become the protector. 

        Kenshin.

---Finis---
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