Replayed Reminnisions, a rurouni kenshin fanfic

The boy walked slowly, his pace almost deliberate. His wine red hair shone in the late afternoon sun and the katana that he carried at his side clinked in an almost irritable way. Kenji Himura walked down the path, which he had traveled along so long ago to go and train in the mountains so that he could make his own legend, greater than that of his father. Himura Kenshin...he didn't even know why he referred to the man as father, because as far as he was concerned, the man had never been there for him or his mother. But, he tried to shake off such thoughts, because he was returning home and that was supposed to be a joyous thing. He forced a smile onto his smooth features and took a deep breath of the cherry scented air. He was looking forward to walking passed the orchard that was situated next to his mother's dojo, the blossoms were one of his favorite things in life. He would pick some for his mother, he decided, he like to make her smile above all else. He had left without saying goodbye, because he knew she would have stopped him. He knew that he had probably made her cry, and so he felt guilt about it. But, five years of training ruthlessly had paid off and now he was going home. His light blue eyes drew sharply around when he heard someone talking loudly.

"Hey! You!" He stopped and turned. There were several boys about his age standing behind him, all wearing smirks and others grins. His eyes narrowed and his senses heightened at once, the ki surrounding the group emanating bad intentions.

"Nice hair." One commented with a sneer.

His brows drew down and he turned on his heel to leave.

"Hey we're talking to you twerp!" One called. He sighed in patience that he did not have, turning once more to face them. One of them stepped forward. Kenji assumed that he was their leader. If they wanted to fight they would have one, he did not need a sword for them, and he would use pure speed and wits.

"Give us yer change and we'll be on our way thanks." He said, his smile broadening.

"No." He answered and started on his way once more. The next moment he felt a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back, and he turned with a single fluid step, taking sheath and sword from his belt and using the hilt to knock the boy upside the face. He winced and went flying, unconscious before he hit the ground. The other six came as one and he knocked them around a little, his arms and feet remembering stances and forms that would normally be used with a sword, but which he used with his bare hands and sheathed weapon. One of the remaining got in a punch, sending white starbursts of pain through his left eye, and his breath hissed out in anger. How could he have gotten hit? He did away with that opponent without hesitation and turned to the remaining two. They both were sweating in terror and ran away before he could get at them too. He scoffed in anger and disgust and turned on his heel once more, heading at a quicker pace to his home.

Kaoru stood at the wash basin humming to herself as she washed the day's dishes. She could hear the soft clink of porcelain, as it was set gently on the table after having been drunken from. She smiled at the sound that she found so very comforting in her older age. It was a good sound, meaning that Kenshin was at home and all was as it should be for the moment. Though she wished dearly for her son, but knew better than to expect him home for a very long time. She was content with just having the company of one of her men.

"We have a visitor." Kenshin's voice came calmly from behind her. She looked out the window and her sapphire eyes widened in surprise and joy. The familiar, and yet not so, form of Kenji was coming up the walkway. She almost cried out in joy and ran out of the kitchen and to the front of the dojo, forgetting her sandals in her haste and going outside in just her tabi.

"Kenji!" She said in joy, her eyes brimming with tears. She came to her son and embraced him hard enough to shatter bones. The boy stumbled back with the sudden weight, but held fast and supported his mother's weight, hugging her back weakly. She pulled back so that she could get a better look at her, now, much older and more grown up son. She brushed back the hair that was obscuring his face and he grimaced, and she gasped. Just then she heard the shuffle of feet behind her and she turned slightly to see Kenshin standing behind her. He was frowning a little as he looked at his son.

"This one does not approve of mindless brawling, that I do not." He said. She looked back at Kenji in time to see him give the other man a dirty look. Kenshin continued none the less.

"Violence is not a way to solve one's problems, that it is not." He told him. Kaoru couldn't agree more, but that was not how Kenji felt.

"Why should I listen to you? It's not like you were a father to me up 'til now anyway! Why start now?" Kenshin's face fell and so did Kaoru's. He hadn't changed much since he went away five years before. Kenshin turned and left, going back toward the dojo, his head hung in what, Kaoru knew, was shame. She took in a heavy breath and then force done of those many smiles onto her face.

"Let's go inside Kenji, we should put some raw meat on that." She said. He nodded and they headed inside.

Kenji sat on the porch watching his father doing chores as he ate his rice. It was early morning, and the sun was warm on his face, telling of the coming of the summer months, but he didn't pay any mind to it as he was glaring at his father over the bowl instead. He watched unblinkingly as his father took damp clothes from the basket, snapped them out and then hung them on the clothesline to dry in the breeze. Suddenly, his shoulders tensed and he looked over at him. He hardened the glare and the man uttered a:

"Oro?" Kenji shook his head in disgust. How could he be related to such a man? His eyes flicked to the gate as it opened with a clatter and a tall man with brown hair walked through. The white clothes, which were so familiar, made him smile momentarily. But it didn't last and he returned to scowling at his father.

"Oi! Kenshin, I heard Kenji was back in town and I-" He turned and made a face of tense unease, his shoulders going up just like his father's had.

"Who spit in his bean curd?" He asked. Just then his mother came out onto the porch, a smile on her face.

"Kenshin, could you..." Her words died on her lips as she followed the other men's eyes to her son who was still busy scowling.

"Kenji!" She said sharply, smacking him on the head.

"Ow!" He cried. He started to glare at her, but then his expression softened. He couldn't be mad at his mother. He loved her too much. He sighed and moved inside, taking his rice with him.

"This one does not think he is very happy, that I do not." Kenshin commented. Kaoru nodded and sighed, going over to Kenshin and Sanosuke.

"Oi, jou-chan, you got any food?" She shook her head in exasperation.

"That's what I was coming out to ask Kenshin." She told him ruefully, "Kenji already cleaned us out."

Sano shook his head in surprise.

"Well, he is young." He said.

"Hiko-san must've half starved him." She said, looking up at Kenshin.

"That was his way, that it was." He said, smiling slightly.

"You only have to go if you're feeling well today Kenshin." She said, "Sano can if you won't." She added, smiling evilly. The big man looked around, trying to look like he hadn't heard what she said.

"That is alright Kaoru, this one can go." He told her, giving her a reassuring look. She handed him the list.

"Hurry back." She said, kissing his cheek. He nodded and headed off. He had gone no further than a few steps before he began coughing, his whole body convulsing, causing him to stumble. Sanosuke was at his side, and caught him just before he fell to the ground. His breathing was pained and labored and his hand clutched over his heart. Kaoru ran forward to her husband and put her cool hands over his head as he finished his spell. He looked up at her and smiled tiredly, his age apparent on his face now that his mortality had once more been exposed to those around him.

"Kenshin, you shouldn't be going to the market, let Sanosuke or Kenji go." She told him softly. He shook his head stubbornly and fought to straighten himself once more, using Sano's weight as a leverage for his own, which had become even less since he had fallen ill. Sano grabbed his wrist gently, shaking his head at his friend.

"Jou-chan is right Kenshin...I'll go, you stay here and rest." He told him. The little man shook his head once more and went to pull away, but he could not. He looked up at his big friend in annoyance, giving him a fierce look. Sano was unaffected, by now he was actually stronger than Kenshin was, and he knew it.

"Kenshin, I don't wanna carry you...but I will if you won't go on your own." He told him. Kenshin matched him stare for stare for a very long while, but then, his violet gaze softened once more and his face fell in weary defeat. He nodded and Sanosuke let go of him. He straightened his gi and brushed passed Kaoru his face shadowed by his bangs. She put a gentle hand on his arm and he stopped, looking at her and smiling. She could tell it was forced, and that was what hurt her the most. Her own gaze fell and she let him go, watching him trudge up to the dojo.

"I won't be long Jou-chan, maybe get Kenji to keep tabs on him?" He suggested. She nodded and smiled at him gratefully.

"I don't want to keep you from Megumi Sanosuke, I can send Kenji and look after Kenshin if you want to go home." She told him. Sano shook his head.

"I came to visit, Megumi won't be expecting me back for a while so it won't be much trouble. And besides, I'm sure that once I get the food Kenshin will cook it. I know he can't stand to be un-useful for a very long time. And I'd rather his cooking than yours any day." He said, his infuriating smile widening an inch or two. Her temper over rode all her lady like discretion and she ran after him with her bokken, swinging at his head as he ran on ahead of her. She stopped at the gate and watched him run off, shaking her head at him as he went. Smiling to herself she head for indoors as well, she could smell rain coming, and the clouds were growing darker and more ominous by the minute.

It had taken Sanosuke two hours to get back with their food and Kenshin had indeed cooked their meal. He had been fidgety all day, and the more he sat still, the more strained he seemed. He ate little, as usual. His appetite had been declining steadily, and it made Kaoru worry, he knew, and so he forced himself to eat at least most of what she had dished him. He found that he was shaking uncontrollably, and holding his tea cup made it seem worse, so he put it down and clasped his hands in his lap. Kenji was sitting beside his mother, and Kenshin beside Sano. He was grateful that the younger man hadn't noticed because he knew that he would tell Kaoru, and then Kaoru would worry. She too was sick with his illness, and though she wasn't as far along if she was upset enough, she too would go into the fits that he periodically experienced. He sighed in exhaustion and his shoulders slumped slightly. He felt the power of his son's gaze on his bowed his head and he looked up. At first he saw what he thought to be sympathy on the boy's face, but he quickly looked into his bowl of rice once he saw that the other man had seen. Kenshin's heart was lightened and he smiled slightly hope raising his spirits. Perhaps there was a chance to bond with his son before he passed away. Finally he could sit no longer and he stood up, his bones creaking with the effort. All motion stopped and everyone looked at him.

"This one will go for a walk, that I will." He said calmly. Kaoru was about to protest and so was Sano, but he silenced them both with a look.

"This one will be fine, a walk will do this one good, that it will." He told them. Kenji had already returned to eating his food, deciding that the conversation did not concern him directly enough for it to matter whether he gave full attention. The other two seemed to accept this fact and they both nodded. He smiled and left, his feet shuffling across the floor as he went. 'Like an old man.' He thought rhyly.

He stepped out onto the porch and took a deep breath of the evening air. The sun was starting to set and the sky was a little darker, but it held none of the colour of full sunset. He set off, his feet ready to take him anywhere he needed to go.

He walked for a while, his feet never tiring on theses familiar paths, but his body was. He knew he was becoming weary, but he refused to return to the dojo just yet, he still had to walk, he needed to expend energy that hadn't been earlier in the day. He knew he was in trouble when pain shot up through his body and his vision became fuzzy, the last thing he saw before he was gone was cherry petals falling about him in a flurry of light pink and he thought:

"Is this...heaven?"

Kenji walked around the dojo halls absently. It had been so long since had been there and everything looked so very much bigger than he remembered it. He wondered vaguely where his mother was, she had disappeared shortly after his father had gone for his walk. He went up a flight of stairs to the top floor and resumed his slow and deliberate pace. There was his room, just as he had left it five years before when he had stolen away in the night when he was sure that everyone was asleep. He had gone the night before Yahiko's wedding, and he wondered whether or not the man would be angry with him. It mattered not, but it was a thought that was etched in the back of his mind, in recesses that could hardly be reached by any anymore. He was so much more aware of everything now that he had trained, his senses sharper than before and he noticed more things about his home now then he had. He knew, without looking, where every door was and where everyone could possibly enter a room, trying to sneak passed him. It made him a little paranoid really, and he wondered vaguely whether or not that was how his father had always felt for most of his life. He could not deny that he had been a little concerned when he had heard the commotion in the yard, and it had made him gasp when he saw his father struggling for control of any kind. But just a little. He would never admit to the fact that maybe he did like his father. He was determined not to care. Still, he had seen that look on his father's face when he, who had once been the most feared of all men, could not do anything to stop his large friend from keeping him in one place, that look of hurt pride when his mother had told him that he should stay home and rest instead of going to the market. His father was sick, that was for certain, a disease. His mother had explained it to him when he had asked her earlier that evening. He couldn't help but feel a little remorse at the fact that his father was dying that way. He moved on through the halls without making a sound, his feet light like that of a cat as he strolled along. He heard a faint sobbing and stopped to listen. He knew that voice, it was his mother. He moved quickly to locate the sound and he stopped to look through a half opened shoji screen, and his breath lodged itself in his throat. She was leaning against a wall post for support, half doubled over and then the coughing fits began. She sank to the floor and he threw opened the screen coming to her side and holding her.

"Okaa-san...you're-" She stopped him short with a hand and looked at him tiredly.

"I'm fine." She rasped.

"No, you're not! I'll go and get Megumi-san and she'll come and help you." He told her.

"I have already consulted her, there is no cure for his disease." He drew back in horror. He had done this to her! That stupid man who dared call himself his father had done this to his mother, the only person he had ever loved dearly. His rage boiled over in his spirit, and he felt his ki raising itself as his anger raised. Rage drove him to one conclusion...he would kill him for this. He would destroy that man. He heard Yahiko's voice downstairs and he got up, turning briskly on his heel and heading down the halls, his mother's distressed call going after him. But she would be too weak to move. He came down and met Yahiko at the foot of the staircase.

"Take care of my mother," He stated monotonously. "She is ill." With that he brushed passed the other man and headed out of the dojo at a brisk pace.

Yahiko ran up the stairs and found Kaoru desperately trying to stand. He caught her as she fell.

"Kaoru what's wrong?" He asked in worried concern, his voice harsher than he had meant it to be.

"I'm fine just...Yahiko, you have to go after him, I'm afraid of what he'll do to Kenshin." She told him.

"What? Why?" He asked in confusion.

"Didn't you see his eyes? Those were Battosai's eyes. He's going to kill him! I know it!" She cried, fighting him weakly. Yahiko understood, and suddenly, he was afraid. He was afraid for his father figure like he never had been before. He was up against his own flesh and blood, and Kenshin, even had he been strong enough, would not kill his own flesh and blood...not ever in a million years.

"There's nothing we can do for him now." He told her, his voice cracking, and tears brimming in his warm brown eyes.

"I love that man, because he was the only father I ever knew...but I cannot help him." Kaoru buried her face in his gi and wept, as his own tears fell from his eyes and onto her raven hair.

Kenshin was brought out of a fussy and peaceful place by a very rude boot toe in his side. He groaned weakly and opened his violet eyes, night had fallen. He looked over at his prodder and found a tall man with chiseled features and black hair, three pieces falling over his face, looking down at him cynically. His eyebrow was lifted and he wore a mocking smirk, a cigarette sticking out between his teeth. He knew this man...but couldn't remember who it was. Something told him to be wary of him, but not a large part of him did so he ignored it.

"Oro?" He uttered out of nearly completely parched lips and throat.

"My, my Battosai, the Mrs. finally kicked you out did she?" He asked, his voice full of amused sarcasm. He flinched at the given name and scowled. He knew what that meant and he didn't like it, never had, he remembered. Finally his memory began to serve him once more and he recognized the man that was still standing over his form. He scowled more deeply.

"Go away Saitou." He told the man in anger.

"My, my...we do have a temper don't we?" He asked. Kenshin attempted to get up, but found he could not. What was wrong with him? Why was he so tired? Despite the earlier comments, the man seemed a little concerned for him, and helped him to stand, supporting his wavering form as he attempted to regain focus to his eye site. The world was wheeling round and round...but then it stopped, and he was grateful.

"Let's get you home Battosai...before you get any worse and I have to carry you." He told him. Trying to appear tough once more.

"Where...is home?" He asked, ashamed he didn't know, and even more so because he had to ask Saitou. He heard the man draw breath to answer, but he stopped short and a younger voice answered him.

"You will not be going home father." His mind finally cleared and he remembered everything that he could ever possibly need to. His senses were piqued and he knew that there was something dangerous to the young man that stood behind him. But what could he possibly have to fear from his own son? He was finally able to support him self and he turned to face the boy.

"Kenji?" He said, looking at the slender figure before him. The boy's looks, so much like his, reminded him, ironically, of the Bakumatsu and suddenly he was afraid. He looked his son in the eyes and realized the source of danger to both he and Saitou...or maybe just him. He couldn't tell. His eyes were the amber of Battosai, and he realized his family's true demon. His father had been dangerous like that, as had he, and now Kenji. The killing lust in his son's eyes made him want to weep in agony and despair. So many years spent trying to get rid of Battosai...and now his son was effected by his legacy.

"Saitou...this one thinks, that it would be wise for you to leave and get Kaoru-dono and the others." He told him warily. The man nodded discreetly and then took off without so much as an after thought. Kenshin's hand moved unconsciously to his Sakabatou and he watched Kenji carefully.

"You infected my mother...now you will pay." He hissed. Kenshin flinched. Yes, he had indeed been the one to infect Kaoru and he felt guilt for it everyday, but she had asked him to give it to her so that they could share his heavy burden and sorrow. He took a deep breath and dropped his hand. He would not fight his son. He was not strong enough anymore, and he was tired of using his sword. He had had a good life, and now he would embrace death by the hands of his own son. He doubted that the boy would go through with it anyway, certainly there was enough of a Rurouni in his child's blood to keep him from doing it, and so he waited. They boy launched, and he saw every movement, but to his utter astonishment, he felt the bite of a blade into his flesh, and he watched in surprise as he life's blood poured forth through a wound that he knew could not be bandaged or healed. He fell, his body feeling as though it were floating and he landed without noticing, but before he had fallen he uttered a simple:

"Why?" And then he lay there, his eyes staring up into the sky, his body shaking with pain and nausea hit from the loss of an excessive amount of his blood and he emptied what little food he had consumed that evening on the ground under him.

Kenji watched in horror as his father fell to the ground, his blood spraying itself all over him as he stood there. What had he done? He watched numbly as his father lay there, and then he fled. He ran as though the very hounds of hell were on his heels and he finally came to a stop, throwing himself to the ground and sobbing hysterically. What had he done? What had he done?

Sano had found his broken and bloody body laying the ground, he was still alive, but barely and now they knew he was going to die. Kenji had come home later that evening after they had found Kenshin, and when he saw his body, and the people around him, he began sobbing and Kenshin wondered at it. He hadn't meant to...the Battosai had shown himself for the last time, only to kill the Rurouni and now he was gone forever. For that, Kenshin was certain. Kaoru had become increasingly ill from the time he had left until now, and she, too, lay now on her deathbed. She looked over at him and he smiled for the first time genuinely from behind his veil of sadness and despair.

"Sayonara...Kaoru. Aishiteru." He told her quietly. It was finally his time. She smiled at him for her last time and kissed him.

"Sayonara...Kenshin." She said, watching him pass into the spirit realm. "We will meet...in the next life." She told his still form. His eyes had glazed over, and she closed them now with her hand, her voice had cracked with tears. She looked over at Tsubame, Megumi, Sanosuke, and Yahiko and smiled through her tears.

"I will remember you all, forever and beyond that." She told them quietly, as she herself slipped into the realms of the dead.

They all watched on in sad silence as she fells limply onto her husband's still chest and then, Yahiko cried. They all looked at him. But he was not ashamed.

Saitou watched the family from the doorway and he himself felt all the remorse in the world.

"And so....on passes a legend, and a man." With that he tipped his hat onto his head and exited Kamiya dojo, what would be for the last time.