It pained Kenshin to witness her sorrow, to see her childlike innocence tarnished in her earnest attempt to help her struggled brother. He could only imagine what had become of the boy, a testament to the parents and traditions that had no doubt led to the harmful marriage she had been forced into. He felt for her, her vision a response to that which had revealed his earliest memories.
You could not have known. The thought broadcast to her as the scenery of his own shifted and melted. He was a teenager now, scarcely sixteen and standing defiant to face Hiko as a winter snow fell around them.
"You knew of the war, Shishou. You knew. Why did you not tell me?" a youthful Kenshin demanded, pain twisting his features. His ageless, vampire master remained stoic, like the stone of the mountain that served as their back drop.
"I did."
"And when did you think to tell me? My people are fighting for their freedom!"
"And what would you do? It is not the way of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu to take sides in a war. It has never been our way." Hiko's voice was stern and flat, implying there was no argument to be had. Kenshin, however was not deterred.
"I am human, Shishou. They are dying for their freedom. I cannot stand back and watch that happen. I am bound to fight with them by my honor! What use is your style if we do nothing to help those who suffer?" he argued, his voice passionate and young and strained. His master's eyes narrowed slightly at it, the silence in the air hanging heavier than any further words could have before he spoke.
"Fine. Go if you will, but you will no longer be my student." The ancient vampire turned his back to the young human who looked startled by his allowance. "But remember these words when they come to be true to you. You shoulder the world on your shoulders, my stupid apprentice. You have since you were a child. To do so know will be no less foolish than your attempts that day."
The scene flashed to one of Kenshin, still a young boy, being trained by his strict vampire teacher. Tossed to the ground again and again when he was but six years of age, learning through trial and error a sword style much more ancient than he was.
When it shifted again, it revealed Kenshin, a sixteen year old boy kneeling before an elder human carrying a katana similar to his own. In his eyes lay a steely determination, the desire to change the world palpable in his gaze.
"What I ask of you is a lot, Kenshin. You are young, and yet you are by far our most skilled warrior. I will not lie to you. I am asking you to kill, to kill vampires, werewolves. witches and much more. It is not a beautiful task, and it is not always an honorable one." The older human smiled a bit sadly. "But it for the good of a new world, one where we will be able to live freely alongside them." Kenshin listened to the man, his expression uncertain as he mulled over the words the human uttered. His eyes were conflicted, the words Hiko had uttered echoing in both his mind and the vision. Clenching his hands in his lap, the boy nodded.
"For a new world, Katsura-san, I will be your assassin."