The Hitokiri's Ikigai

by SunMooku

What if Kenshin had stayed with the Ishin-shishi and remain the Battōsai? As the Bakumatsu era ends, he remains by Katsura's side and assists in building a new era. Katsura decides to begin the new era by proposing a peace treaty with the Shinsengumi. Kenshin, despite his wariness, goes along with their trip to feast with them and unexpectedly spends time with the Wolf of Mibu.

1. Act 1

"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting."

—Sun Tzu

xXx

When he first began using his sword for the people, he was but a boy. Now, at the age of nineteen, he had deprived himself from many things, all in the name of the future children.

He was an idealistic fool to believe that after the war, he could sheathe his sword and his past away. It was during these troubling times when he would recount Hiko's warning before everything fell around him. Before the war, before his contribution and before earning the title of a high-skilled murderer. The falls did not discourage him, but rather, they stained him each time he stood up again.

"Himura-san,"

A soft whisper of his name made Kenshin's thoughts halt in their tracks. His gaze refocused around the carriage, the freezing temperatures outside forgotten momentarily due to the body heat radiating from his fellow members. His gaze flickered to look at the owner of the voice, his blank expression may have been misinterpreted judging by the immediate fear in his comrade's face.

"Forgive me for interrupting your sleep," He was neither interrupting or sleep depriving him, but instead Kenshin simply remained silent as he regarded him. The young man hastily rummaged through the sleeve of his haori and handed him a small envelope. "Katsura-dono informed me that once we neared the Shinsengumi's headquarters, to entrust this with you,"

The hitokiri stared at the envelope before gently taking it from his hands. "Thank you," he murmured as he unwrapped its seal, his violet hues scanning through the letter. Katsura had written a polite greeting, the usual kind that often followed an order he was expected to obey. However, instead of an order, it was a bizarre suggestion.

[ Sheathe your sword, wrap its hilt with the attached string and never draw it out. If we are to rebuild a new era, we will begin by expressing ourselves with an earnest desire for peace. ]

His open confusion may have been a little too open if his comrade's gawking was anything to go by. It took him a moment to compose himself. The strange sensation of concern, relief, and tension mixing in a way that he hadn't allowed himself to feel in years. Kenshin lifted his head, only for his fellow members to immediately lower or turn their heads away from his direction.

It took a long moment for his scrambled thoughts to grasp the word that had resonated with him. It had been far too long since he had felt this way, to look forward to being around people that he had clashed with mere months ago. To stand before them not as enemies, but as people with the common goal of rebuilding a new era. For the first time, they would join them in a momentary peace treaty.

Peace.

Kenshin's concealed excitement momentarily blinded him from the fact that yes, there may be peace for those around him, but he still carried the weight of the lives he took. His swords took lives and confronted lives, he knew he had left a trail in his wake that would surely reunite with those who happened to live from it by sheer luck or swordsmanship.