DISCLAIMER: All characters, places and situations in this piece of fiction would not be in existence without the genius of Watsuki Nobuhiro. There is no money being made of this piece of imagination
SPOILERS: Remembrance Arc
SYNOPSIS: AU - When Himura Tomoe wakes up, the world is no longer as she left it. Alone, but for her younger brother Enishi, and released from her sordid duty to destroy the legendary hitokiri she struggles to find her place in a world that is falling apart.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: See end of Chapter 1
Weakness
Prologue
'Rather than hoping for a weakness that may not exist, it is much more reliable to create one...'
Rurouni Kenshin – Remembrance 10: The Binding Forest
There wasn't enough time.
By the time he had sensed her it was too late. He had swung. His arm, numb and unresponsive, could no longer cease the momentum of the blade and cut flesh.
Her flesh
His wrist twisted in an effort to prevent the blade from cutting further into her.
But she was already falling, already painting the snow crimson.
He could not remember how he came to be holding her in his arms, but he was there by her side, the sound of her laboured breathing blending with the strong gusts of the winter chill.
A declaration and a plea broke through the cacophony.
This is the way it should be...please don't cry...
He spoke only her name, over and over again as he watched her eyes close and her breathing...
Her breathing...
The thought spurred him into action and he tore his already blood soaked haori and wrapped up her wound. The amount of blood on her let him know he had damaged a major artery, but the bleeding was subsiding faster than usual, thanks to the cold.
With a strength born of desperation he tucked her body securely within his arms and ran. The cold bit at his skin, and his lungs burned with effort but he refused to relent. He couldn't stop, not now. He didn't remember where or how far he had run, only that he had finally found another hut in the forest.
'Please, help her' He said to the frightened couple whose front door he had burst through.
The man took her from him and Kenshin was able to steady himself on the doorframe. He watched as the man laid Tomoe gently on the floor while the woman rushed to her side with bandages.
Kenshin felt the world turn upside down. A wave of nausea overtook him before he promptly collapsed.