Author's Note: I do not own anything Rurouni Kenshin.

2nd Author's Note: This is a sequel to my other story "Scrimmage", and the sequel to the sequel of "Beneath the Lantern Lights". Wait, that doesn't sound right… Okay, the correct reading order for this mini-Arc is: "Beneath the Lantern Lights", "Scrimmage", and then "Demon of Kyoto". There, that's better, that it is!

1878 Tokyo (11th Year of Meiji)-

The chains rattled as the door creaked open. Kenshin looked up from his shackles as a man entered the damp cell. "So, this is the infamous Demon of Kyoto."

Kenshin closed his eyes, the title stinging some part within him. "You are Matsumura Masao," he breathed.

The man tapped his cane on the floor and chuckled. "So, you know me? Should I be flattered?"

The red head said nothing to that. He merely watched the figure solemnly. Matsumura was a deceptive man. At first glance, he appeared to be a harmless old man. Kenshin could see otherwise, though. The calluses on his hands and the scars on his face were fresh.

"Relax, Battosai," the man coaxed. "I'm not here to badger you. I thought I'd offer you a drink." He snapped his finger and a servant appeared out of the shadows.

The lad shook horribly as he lifted the skeleton key and unlocked Kenshin's bindings. He looked about ready to faint as the small man stood straight and hurried back through the door, returning with a rattling tea set.

Kenshin ignored the cup offered to him. "Were you the one that sent Tenma and the ninjas?"

"You cut right to business, don't you?" Matsumura chuckled and sipped his tea.

The small man rubbed his sore wrists, missing the weight of the Sakabato at his side. "And you killed them when they failed you." It wasn't a question.

"I'll admit I sent lesser men to test you. I had to be sure you were really him, after all." He smiled, refusing to answer the second bit. "Relax a little. We both fought for the same cause."

This took the red head aback. "You were Ishin Shishi!"

Matsumura nodded and finished his cup in one swig. "I was promoted after the revolution. Rather boring job. But every few years one of your kind shows up."

"Hitokiri."

Again, the man nodded. "Yes, that. I've passed judgment over every hitokiri brought before the Meiji Government."

"That should be the government's ruling, that it should."

Matsumura cocked his head to the side, curious about Kenshin's phrasing. "When it comes to murderers, I am the government." He stuck the dark wood cane under Kenshin's chin and lifted it to see him better. "And I shall judge you, too."

Kenshin waited as the man smiled and removed the walking stick. The trembling man hurried back and re-chained the prisoner.

"I heard a curious rumor. It seems some of the lower ranking officers are saying Battosai the Manslayer no longer murders. They say he's vowed to never kill again." He turned, tapping his cane against the floor and strode toward the door. "I hope, for your sake, they're right."

The iron door swung closed behind him, leaving Kenshin alone in the dark.