D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin…damn!

Hello, people! I'm finally back with a new story! Yes, I know I wanted to take a break before returning to my keyboard and my stories, but they just kept calling to me and I couldn't resist! Ehm…anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this one!

Chapter 1: THE SWORD

The night was still and quiet, and wasn't the least bit interrupted by the small figure who crept along the yard which wasn't his. A yard which belonged to a man named Battousai.

Most people would stay out of the man's way, and they wouldn't even have first thoughts about trespassing his yard. Battousai was known for what he did to people he hated, to people who angered him…and to all people in general. He and the sword he carried along with him wherever he went were an element of fear; everybody was afraid of them. But the small figure of Enishi Yukishiro didn't bother about all of this and continued up the yard.

He reached to one of the paper doors and pulled open soundlessly. Inside, on a futon mattress, laid the man called Battousai. The boy glared at him, and a knot tightened in his chest. It wasn't a knot of fear; it was a knot of anger…of hatred…

And propped up against the wall next to Battousai, next to a few bottles of Sake, was his sword; the sword Enishi hated just as much as he hated its owner, the sword which took his sister's life. Tomoe…

Enishi gritted his teeth and made his way towards the sword. He gripped its hilt tightly with one hand and gripped the sheath with the other. He pulled the sheath off, and the sword gleamed brightly in the moonlight. The sword which had taken so many lives before…it was going to take one more life…just one…and then its killing spree was going to end.

He took a look around at Battousai, who was still sleeping soundly, unaware of what was happening or what was going to happen. He stood over him, sword held tightly in his hands.

Then he started chanting under his breath.

'Oh, great spirits of Japan, I pray you to heed my call…' he murmured. Battousai stirred in his sleep, and Enishi winced. '…cast your powers upon this vile mortal being, and house his soul within his own weapon.'

Eyes flashing with anger and thirst for revenge, Enishi raised the sword high above Battousai, and he plunged the sword into his chest.

With a horrible scream, Battousai woke up. Enishi struggled to keep Battousai down against his futon mattress, as the later tried to sit up against the sword which was stuck firmly in his chest. Crimson blood flowed from the wound and stained his white gi.

Enishi's voice rose. 'With the blood of this mortal, his spirit shall be torn from his body and trapped within his sword!' he shouted.

'Enishi, you little bastard!' Battousai screamed, trying to push the kid off of him. But with each move, the sword's blade sank deeper into his chest. Grunting in pain, he grabbed the blade with both of his hands. Ignoring the cuts the blade was causing his hands, he started to pull it outwards.

'No!' Enishi yelled. 'You'll pay! I'll make you pay for killing Tomoe!'

With an increased amount of strength, Enishi pushed the sword deeper into Battousai's chest. Battousai let out a strangled yell of pain, as the sword sliced against his hands and in through his chest.

'Oh, great spirits of Japan! I beg you to regard my plea, and encase the soul of this man within his sword!' Enishi screamed. 'Accept the blood which was given to you and trap him!'

Then, there was a blinding flash of light, and the sword particularly shook in Enishi's hands. Enishi gasped as he struggled to keep hold on it. Below him, Battousai screamed as his soul was torn from his body.

And then, as quickly as it had started, it ended. The sword stopped shaking and Battousai stopped screaming and the bright light faded. Gasping for breath, Enishi stared down at the limp form of Battousai, his wide, horrified eyes, his mouth which hung open in a kind of silent scream, the big gash in the center of his chest which had stopped bleeding all of a sudden; Enishi was quite sure that not a single drop of blood was left in his body.

With some effort, he pulled out the sword. Feverish with excitement, he held the sword in his two hands, staring at it with an expression of triumph mixed with hatred.

The legend of Battousai had finally ended; Enishi had made sure of that. He knew that somewhere in this bloody sword he was holding, Battousai was situated, and was doomed to live in the torment of seeing himself murdered over and over again, by every person he had gone and murdered before. It was the curse Enishi had worked so hard to find in order to avenge his sister's death, and now he had done it. He was sure that Tomoe was feeling quite proud of him at the moment.

Battousai would never escape from his sword, unless…well, Enishi preferred to stay on the bright side.

He threw the sword aside and slumped down on the floor next to Battousai's corpse. His mission was finally over.

-

'Wow! Look at that sword! It's huge!'

Kaoru Himura felt her son's hand slipping from between her fingers as the toddler rushed forward towards a huge sword which was hung on a wall across the room from them.

'No! Kenji! Come back!' she groaned.

Her husband, Kenshin Himura, squeezed her shoulder gently. 'Don't worry about him, Kaoru, there's nowhere he can go out of our site,' he soothed her.

'That's not what I'm worried about,' Kaoru said impatiently. 'I mean, look at this place! It's filled with weapons!'

Kaoru glanced around the spacious room as she spoke to Kenshin. He had gone and taken them to the museum today, in order to have a look at the Japanese exhibition it was holding. "A chance to introduce our son to his country's history," he had told her. Kaoru didn't think it was such a bad idea back then; in fact, she thought it was quite good until Kenshin had dragged them into the weapons' room. Now, she had to keep a close watch on Kenji for fear of him running and grabbing one of those weapons.

'Relax, Kaoru,' Kenshin said, smiling at her. 'I mean…you don't think Kenji will actually take down one of these swords and start killing people with them, do you? I don't even think he'll be able to carry one!'

'Okay, Kenshin, point taken,' she muttered, scowling a bit. 'But let's just keep an eye on him just the same, okay?'

Kenshin nodded, and Kaoru grabbed his hand and hurried him towards Kenji, who was standing, gazing open-mouthed, at the huge sword which was hung on the wall before him. Kaoru thought the sword looked odd; Japanese swords were usually thin and long, but this one was large and crudely shaped.

Kenji turned around and looked eagerly at his father. 'Dad, what's this sword called?' he asked, sounding excited.

'Glad you asked, Kenji,' Kenshin said, grinning. 'Because this sword is called a Ken.'

Kenji's eyes were as wide as tea-saucers. 'Ken?' he repeated, sounding awed. 'That's…that's the shortcut to our names! If we add a ji or a shin to it, we'll form our names!'

'Yes, that's right, Kenji,' his father said, ruffling his hair.

Kenji looked at his mother, a slight frown clouding his features. 'Mom doesn't have a Ken in her name,' he said, matter-of-factly.

'No, she doesn't, does she?' Kenshin said, smiling. Kaoru just sighed and shook her head. 'But mommy has a very pretty name of her own, that she does.' Kaoru smiled fondly at him. Kenshin, then, grabbed Kenji's hand and led him over to the next sword, which was thin and long; traditional Japanese. 'How do you like this one, Kenji?'

Kenji frowned. 'It doesn't look strong,' he murmured.

'Ah, but it is strong, Kenji,' Kenshin replied. 'In fact, it's so strong; you see, it used to belong to one of the greatest swordsmen in Japan.'

'Swordsmen?' Kenji repeated blankly.

'He means the people who fight with swords, honey,' Kaoru offered, smiling at him.

'Oh,' Kenji said, comprehension dawning upon his face. 'What was the name of this swordsmen, daddy?'

Kenshin smiled again. 'His name was Battousai, Kenji,' he answered.

'Battu…what?' he said, confused.

Kaoru, on the other hand, recognized the name, having lived in Japan half her life. Her father, a practiced kendo-master, knew all about the samurais and swordsmen and fighters of old. He always used to tell her about them while she and he practiced in their small dojo. And he used to tell her about Battousai a lot…when she was a kid, he used to threaten him with her; telling her that if she didn't finish her kendo practice, Battousai would come and punish her. She used to believe him then…in fact, she had believed him until she was eleven. In the end, her father thought it was kind enough to tell her that Battousai had been dead a long time ago.

'Battousai,' Kenshin told him. 'This man was so strong…everybody used to be afraid of him, no one ever tried to make him angry because he was so powerful.'

'Kenshin,' Kaoru said, frowning at her husband. The name of Battousai on its own unnerved her, so how about a little boy, her son? She put her hands protectively on Kenji's shoulders. 'Do you really think you should be telling Kenji such stuff?'

'What? Oh, no,' he said, sounding sheepish. 'I'm sorry, Kaoru, I got carried off a bit…it's just that I've always been fascinated with Battousai…ever since I was a kid, I was younger than Kenji too.'

'Well, Kenji doesn't have to share that same fascination,' Kaoru said firmly.

'Yes, yes, of course not,' Kenshin agreed. He turned around to look at the sword. 'I didn't mean any harm.'

Kaoru sighed, exasperated. 'I know you didn't, Kenshin, so, can we go now?' she demanded. She knew she was being rude, but she was feeling really edgy around all these weapons; she simply wanted to go home.

'Yes, we can,' Kenshin said, absent-mindedly.

Kaoru watched him silently as he reached out to touch the cool metal of the blade with the tips of his fingers. Kaoru sighed again; if she didn't know her husband better, she would've said he was obsessed with this Battousai guy. 'Kenshin!' she said sharply.

Kenshin touched the blade. His fingers found its edge and he immediately drew his hand back with a sudden cry of, 'Ouch!'. A small blob of blood shined on his index finger.

Kaoru let go of Kenji's shoulders and hurried forward towards him. 'Oh, Kenshin, did you cut yourself?' she said, anxiously. 'You just had to touch the sword, didn't you? Honestly! You should keep your curiosity under a leash!'

She reached out to touch his arm, but he whirled around so suddenly and took an immediate step away from her. 'Don't touch me!' he snapped.

Kaoru's eyes widened and she recoiled from him. 'Kenshin, what…?' she whispered, shocked. Behind her, Kenji was starting to cry, mumbling something which sounded like, "Daddy shouted at Mommy!"

Kenshin gazed at her for a brief second. To Kaoru, it seemed as if he was trying to register who she was. Then, before she could react, he pulled her into his arms. He kissed her and then he buried his face in her shoulder.

'Oh, Kaoru, I'm so sorry,' he murmured, breathing into her hair. 'I didn't mean to shout at you like that, I swear…you just took me by surprise, that's all…I'm really sorry.'

Kaoru pulled her head back and gazed, dumbfounded, at him. Kenshin had never before snapped at her in his life, whether or not she had taken him by surprise. So why did he snap at her when she was only trying to help?

'I'm really sorry,' he repeated softly, and she, mouth too dry to speak, only nodded. Kenshin looked behind her and held his arm out for Kenji. 'Kenji, come here, son, don't cry…everything's fine now.' Kenji dried his eyes on the sleeve of his shirt, and ran forward to his father. Kenshin wrapped his arm around him. 'I'm really sorry, you guys,' he said earnestly. 'This won't happen again, I promise.'

-

I'm free!

A hundred and twenty years I've spent locked in that sword, and now, I'm finally free!

It took me a moment to register what had happened. First thing, I was being killed by that bastard, Akira Kiyosato, the one who gave me my first scar, and the next moment, I was being touched by this beautiful, sapphire-eyed woman, who was ever so obscenely dressed. And then, I understood everything.

The curse, which was only to be broken if some one were to cut himself on the edge of my blade and draw blood, was finally broken. The little bastard, Enishi made sure the curse wasn't broken before by burying my sword. He buried me along with my sword, and ever since then, I've had to stand defenseless and helpless as I was killed over and over again by all the people I've once killed. I hated every single moment of it. Enishi made sure I suffer for killing his sister.

I committed lots of murders on purpose before, and I wasn't punished for any of them. And the only murder I never even intended to commit, I was given a punishment for it, so horrible it can't be put into words.

But now, I'm finally free. None of the government's men were able to stop me when I was alive, and Enishi's curse certainly won't stop me while I'm dead.

Raking through my host's memory, I found his name was Kenshin Himura. He was a husband and a father. The woman who had touched me, Kaoru, was his wife…and the brat who was crying, Kenji, was his son. I can feel Kenshin struggling in the back of my mind, trying to figure out what's going on, trying to break free of whatever was holding him, but he won't. Not when I'm finally free, he won't.

I think I'll live in his character for the time being. I'll be normal. This way I'll get introduced to the world before me now, and then, after that, I'll walk away. I think I'll keep the woman for now; it'll be a fun experience, and she's so damn beautiful. But the little brat will eventually have to go. I hate children.

And Kenshin? I'm afraid he'll have to remain trapped in his own body…same way I was trapped in my own sword…

-

Kenshin felt trapped.

He was still in his own body, but he was also trapped inside it. He was talking to Kaoru, but those weren't his words. He was looking at her, but those weren't his eyes. He was holding her, but those weren't his arms. He was kissing her, but those weren't his lips. He couldn't feel any of the things he was doing.

He felt as if he were in a dark and empty vortex. He was suspended in nowhere. He was alone. But yet, he could feel the presence of someone around him. Someone powerful. And it felt as if that powerful someone was controlling him.

'Who are you?' he shouted at no one in particular. Nobody answered him. Kenshin felt agitated. 'Who's there? Answer me!'

There was a soft laugh. Something like a cackle. It surrounded him, passed through him and below him and above him. Kenshin shuddered. The laugh was so cold it chilled him to the bones…literally.

'Who are you?' Kenshin demanded again.

'Does the name Battousai sound familiar to you?' a cold voice asked.

'Battousai…?' Kenshin whispered.

'You're going to get the honor of having me living in your body, how does that appeal to you?' the voice sneered.

Kenshin felt confused. Battousai? Living in his body? What the hell? Was he having some mass hallucination or something? Battousai was dead. And even if he were alive, how would he live in his own body? The thought of it was ridiculous.

'You don't believe me, do you?' the voice sneered. 'Fine. Live in denial. But I must tell you this, denial won't help you, because from now on, your body belongs to me…and so does your wife and your son…'

Kenshin didn't register any of the other words the voice was saying, but he did recognize the terms wife and son. 'You stay away from Kaoru and Kenji! You hear me?' he shouted angrily.

'That's not for you to decide,' the voice sneered. 'Anyway, why would I want to stay away from a pretty woman such as Kaoru? You surely jest!'

'Why, you…' Kenshin hissed.

'You can call me whatever names you like, the truth will remain that you are to stay trapped in your own body, because nothing you ever do will free you,' he said. 'I have come to stay.'

-

A/N: There! I'm done with my first chapter! I think it was pretty neat, even though it was kinda short, but I promise longer chapters later on. Anyway, what do you think of my new story? Was it good? What do you think will happen now that Battousai has Kenshin's body? Will Kaoru find out? Ah…so many questions. Well, you'll have to keep reading to find out! Oh, and don't forget to review!

Oh, and when Battousai said, "Obscenely dressed", he was talking about Kaoru's skirt and sleeveless shirt. Just wanted to clear that out.

-ZEN.