Summary/Author's Notes: This fic is a "What if..." scenario (AU). Basically, what if Kenshin never wandered anywhere near Tokyo? He never met Kaoru, never met the rest of the Kenshingumi, and never became involved in any of the events that occurred in the series. How would this affect the lives of the other characters and change the events? Who would have been the hero of the story?

The way I see it, without Kenshin's intervention some of the characters will get... well, sacrificed. I'm sorry if I kill a character you like! Other characters will still become good guys while others will become villians instead. I plan on writing this at least through the Kyoto Arc, although I'm not quite sure how this will end up.

Kenshin may or may not appear somewhere in the story, although the characters will mention the legendary Hitokiri Battousai. He's still a wanderer somewhere in Japan, feeling sorry for himself.

The pairings I eventually see for this fic are: AoshixMisao, and SaitouxSano. That means beware of shounen-ai, possibly yaoi in later chapters. If you don't like the idea of Saitou and Sano in a relationship, don't read this story. I personally think they make an adorable couple. ^_^

Disclaimer: The characters actually belong to N. Watsuki/Shueisha, etc. I am just borrowing them to amuse myself.

Italics indicate thoughts or emphasized words.

Alternate Tale of the Meiji Era, Chapter 1

by Fujimiya Maru

Tokyo, 11th year of Meiji

The dense fog that had lingered earlier had burned away, revealing the gruesome crime scene. It was the last in the string of murders committed by the "Battousai", the legendary assassin. A vertical gash in the outer wall of a dojo gradually led one's eyes down to the body of a young woman, dressed in a decidedly non-feminine gi and hakama, her head and upper torso nearly cleaved in half.

He had been called in from Kobe to handle the investigation. The officers that had been tracking the murderer had turned out to be incompetent, and quite a few of them were killed in pursuit. When he had heard the rumors that the suspect was his former rival and enemy, the Hitokiri Battousai, he took the job immediately. Now he wished he hadn't.

This buffoon was most definitely not the Battousai. His sword style was completely different, the physical description completely wrong, and as much of a vicious murderer the Battousai was back in the days of the Revolution, he wouldn't have killed random people like this. Especially not a harmless little girl who fancied herself a swordsman.

What was she thinking? It's reckless to fight a real sword with a wooden one... he wondered, taking a drag on his cigarette as the other officers covered the body. She practically wrote her own death certificate. Still, one must admire her courage for trying...

"Officer Fujita, sir!" A young rookie officer, out of breath, ran up to him. "We have word of where this man may be hiding with his gang. It's an abandoned temple at the edge of town!" He handed the tall man a piece of paper with the information on it.

Glancing at the paper, he took one last inhale of his cigarette before dropping it and casually grinding it out with the toe of his shoe.

"Good. Stay here and help the others clean this mess up; I'm going to go take care of this moron."

The rookie gaped as his superior began to walk away. "But sir, don't you think some of us should go with you? I mean..."

He was silenced with a piercing golden glare. "I said I'll take care of it."

The young officer didn't try to argue with him.

Continuing on his way, he lit another cigarette and pondered. He had come all this way, hoping for a match with his former rival. The Meiji Era had proven to be sort of boring, and a fight with the Battousai would have been amusing... Not that he actually held much of a grudge against the scrawny redhead, but Himura was one of the few swordsmen who ever fought on his level. But now he had been denied his fight, and he wasn't very happy.

I normally would have left this for the regular police, he thought with a smirk, but since you ruined my fun, I think you qualify to be on the receiving end of my Gatotsu.

Mibu's wolf, former captain of the third squad of the Shinsengumi, Saitou Hajime... was on the hunt.

*************

CRASH!

"Amazing... With just his left arm!"

"Nothing less from our master Gohei... Uh, I mean Battousai-sensei!"

The surly, bearded man turned back to the splintered piece of wood he had just destroyed.

"Is our teacher, Battousai, going to kill some more tonight?" asked one of the greasier men sitting on the steps of the moldy, run-down temple.

"It's almost time to quit." replied Gohei. "I got rid of that annoying Kamiya girl, but to get complete revenge for my paralyzed thumb, I want to destroy that dojo! I would have done so this morning, if it hadn't been for those bastard cops..." A tall shadow waiting in the woods nearby rolled his eyes. Just a simple, petty moron... Hardly worth my time.

A man standing with his back to Saitou spoke up. "So we'll destroy the dojo... but if we run into more cops, can we kill-"

He couldn't finish his sentence, as his head was suddenly separated from the rest of his body. Saitou flicked the blood off his sword and charged the next minion. Gohei stood, mouth open in shock, as more of his men met a similar fate. "Who the hell are you???" one of the men near the temple yelled. Some of the more cowardly guys near the back started to run away into the woods.

"Does that really matter? You're all going to die." replied Saitou in an almost bored tone of voice. Slice to the left. Another man down. Gohei started to grind his teeth in anger. Another thrust forward of the policeman's sword, and yet another man falls.

"Bastard," sneered Gohei, getting into a defensive stance, "You seem to be enjoying this. Some policeman you are!" Saitou cut through the last of Gohei's men that hadn't run away. He turned to Gohei and glared.

"Do you know who you're dealing with? I am the manslayer, Battousai! My sword will bathe in your blood!" he spat, trying to hide his nervousness under the scrutiny of those amber eyes.

"Don't make me laugh. A weakling like you could never be the legendary Battousai. Besides, I met him before in Kyoto during the Revolution. You can fool the rest of the people here, but not me."

Gohei's eyes got wide. "K-Kyoto? Revolution..."

With a smirk, Saitou dropped into his attack stance. Sword in his left hand, his right near the tip of the blade as if to guide it to its target. Gohei took a step back in fear.

"Shinsengumi..." he hissed, but Saitou suddenly sprung forward with explosive speed before Gohei could raise his sword to defend himself.

It was over all too quickly.

Sighing, he cleaned off his blade and sheathed it. Well, I guess that's adequate enough to serve the justice of Aku Soku Zan. I really should have stayed in Kobe... He headed back to town, feeling completely unsatisfied.

More Author's Notes: Well, does that really suck so far? I've got a lot of this planned out, but I'd certainly like to hear some feedback. Yes, Saitou becomes the hero of this story! That's because he's so friggin' cool.

Next chapter: Both Yahiko and Sanosuke!