Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I'm just using them.
Blood Red Snow
Chapter 1
This story is set back in the Revolution when Kenshin and Saito are fighting in Kyoto. When Kenshin is beginning to regret being the Battousai.
Saito's POV
I watched Okita disappear and turned to face the Battousai. We had fought hours before in an empty field. My ribs ached from a kick that the Battousai had landed and I saw a bandage on the Battousai's right leg from where my sword had sliced open the skin but had done no other damage. The fight had lasted only a few minutes before the soldiers had arrived and forced us to stop the battle.
"You ready to die Battousai?" I asked drawing my sword. Across from me, the Battousai said nothing, just drew his sword. I moved first, feinting to the right before throwing a punch. The Battousai dodged the attack and jumped above me. He pushed himself off the wall of the nearest building and met my second attack head on.
I was forced back down the street as the attacks became more aggressive and we were soon on an old bridge overlooking the partially frozen river. Each attack made the bridge shake and groan; bits of wood fell into the water. I felt the Battousai's sword slide into my right side and I was pushed back against the side of the bridge. The rotted wood began to snap and I grabbed hold of the Battousai. The Battousai swung his sword sheath at my head; I caught the blow behind my left ear and when my body went slack, the wood gave way. We hit the icy water and were carried by the current downstream. When I hit the water the cold snapped me back into action. I saw the water around me turning red with my blood and tried to get out of the water by grabbing the ice. A large piece broke off and forced me into the center of the river.
The Battousai was behind me and he grabbed hold of the ice piece near my arm. The river ran straight for nearly a mile before curving and the current forced us against the shore. I dragged myself as far onto the bank as possible before collapsing. My side and head were throbbing with pain. The Battousai was already on his feet and staring at me. I saw my vision darkening and knew I couldn't stay awake much longer, so I stopped fighting it and gave into unconsciousness.
Kenshin's POV
My body ached from the cold and I knew that if I didn't find shelter that I was going to freeze to death. Looking around I saw a stand of trees that hadn't been destroyed by fire and started to walk towards them. I only made it a few feet before stopping to look back at the Wolf of Mibu. He was injured and would die out in the winter weather. I went back to him and looked at his face. He had a bruise starting where I had hit him and blood was staining the snow around his chest. I sighed and put one of his arms around my shoulder. He was heavy, but it wasn't very far to the trees.
As I dragged him in, I instantly felt a difference in the temperature. The trees made excellent cover and there was enough dry branches to start a large fire. I laid Saito down and saw that he had lost his sword in the river. His body was shaking and then I realized that mine was also. I began to get the wood ready and I see a movement out of the corner of my eye. Saito's eyes are open and staring at me. He growls when I step towards him but he makes no moves at all. Then I realized that he was still asleep and I continued my work.
After a few minutes the fire is burning nicely and I pulled off my wet clothes, leaving on my under clothes. The fire feels wonderful against my cold skin and I look over at Saito again. He was still bleeding and his breathing was becoming ragged. I stepped closer to him and put two of my fingers against his throat. The pulse was slow, but strong. I began to pull off his clothes as well and laid all of the clothes beside the fire to dry. I used part of his shirt to bandage the wound on his side and sat close to the fire. The heat seeped into my body and I fell asleep.
TBC….