A/N: This is my first( technically third...but hey who's counting..) Rurouni Kenshin fanfic. I really hope you like. Although writing something for Kenshin and Kaoru would be cuter I wanted to make it something different. This is a story of maybe 12-14 chapters. It depends on where I stop and where it goes and if you like it. Thank-you for your time. Please review if you read. I would appreciate it. THANK-YOU! FullMetalChic.
Chapter One: Memories
Anasim stood on the veranda looking at the sunset before her. She could remember many of these. Her younger brother, Shinta, would be 28. She had just turned 32. How could I have let them take him? How could I have let him down? How could I? She asked herself.
"Why?" She whispered the words aloud. Then she remembered the words of a very wise young man that she hadn't seen in awhile. "Everything happens for a reason that it does. You were to young to care for your brother that you were. You must face up to the fact his life might have been better." A few tears escaped from her eyes. No need to dwell on the past. Just find him. She ordered herself. "Evidence, clues, some hint...please where could he be?" She sighed sitting on the swing and swinging with the breeze that blew through.
/Flashback/
Anasim stood on the side of the street following up on yet another lead. They had all turned into dead ends. She sighed and scanned the street looking for a red haired stranger. THERE! Just like her Shinta. She followed him until he came to a dojo for Kamiya Kashin. It was a style of swordsmanship. She smiled. She would come back in the morning. She went back to the inn where she was staying for her time here and fell asleep immediately. As was her custom she slept against the wall with her sword clutched in her hand. She had been this way for quiet a long time and could not change for the life of her. The next morning dawned bright and clear. Anasim went to the Kamiya Dojo and went inside. Two cute adorable girls were running around the yard with the man she'd seen last night.
"Can I help you?" A young woman asked. Anasim looked taken aback.
"Uncle Kenny!" The little girls squealed and laughed.
"That's enough girls you'll wear the poor man out!" An older man said. Anasim bowed low to him.
"Konnichiwa."She murmured. He patted her on the head and went out the Dojo door. Anasim smiled. Just like a grandfather. Everyone he meets is patted on the head unless they are a much older man or woman.
"Ayame! Suzume!" The woman in front of her called.
"Morning Miss Kaoru!" The young man called. The one named Kaoru blushed and suddenly remembered the woman in front of her.
"I need to speak to him." Anasim said nodding in the direction of the man and voicing what Kaoru was about to ask her again.
"Kenshin-San!" Kaoru called. Kenshin came up with Ayame and Suzume in tow. He nodded at the girl whom none of them knew.
"Ken...shin?" Anasim tested the name.
"Yes miss?"He asked.
"My...my name is Anasim. I come from Kyoto. I knew someone a long time ago who...well...I would like to talk to you if that would be alright." Kenshin nodded at her.
"You girls play with Miss Kaoru alright." Kenshin smiled at Kaoru and went on to the pond in back. There the two sat. "What would you like to talk about?" He asked.
"It's the night for memories,
And the world stands tall,
It's the night for memories,
And blood not to fall,
It's the night for memories,
Everywhere the crows caw,
It's the night for memories,
To remember from long ago,
It's the night for memories,
And the night to let them go,
It's the night for memories,
To creep and crawl around,
It's the night for memories,
And the bodies of your victims to fall,
Lifeless to the ground,
It's the night for memories,
To talk to the ones you left behind,
It's the night for memories,
And the time to remind." Anasim draped her now sandalless feet over the rock she was sitting on.
"Miss Anasim are you ok?" Kenshin asked.
"I only wanted to find my brother and instead I find nothing. Only look alikes who say ORO! And That I am. I'm sorry. It was a mistake to come here when you cannot possibly help me with my problems. Nothing will help me find him. He's just a shadow now...a shadow of a revolution."
"Who?"
"My brother."
"You know of the revolution? What do you know of it?" He asked.
"I know there was a man in it that caused a bloody rain to fall. I know who the talk about. He's the Hitokiri Battousai. I am not envious of him. I would never be."
"What do you know of the Battousai?"
"He lost a lot when he fought in the Revolution. Not just the actual war, but in the time before it. He killed a lot of people and wounded others. It's a wonder he's still here."
"Battousai is me." What made me say that? What possessed me to tell her of the old days?
"Battousai is not only you, but me as well. I killed a lot. Just as you did. Though I did it all in search of my brother. I wanted to make them pay for taking him away from me. I wanted them all to die. Even though I knew they were not the ones at fault for what happened to him."
"You are not Battousai. You still have your soul. I...well yes I still have mine that I do, but it took her dying for me to stop. I promised her I would no longer kill."
"Tomoe." Anasim said the name softly and without hatred.
"How?"
"Some of your story I know well Kenshin Himura. I know what forced you to be Battousai. Would you like me to tell you what I thought or rather think of him?" Kenshin nodded. "Battousai was created from your actions. You killed in what you thought was Japan's best interest, causing the Meji Era. Causing your heartbreak. Battousai was not a bad man Kenshin and neither were you. Your story I'm not all that sure about, because I don't know everything, but I'm sure that what you did you thought was right. I'm sure in a sense that it was, but then to some it was wrong. People lost loved ones. It's something natural to come from 'war' civil or not. People will always get hurt."
"You are mostly right Miss Anasim that you are. I will tell you my story that I will. All of it. From beginning to end." He paused and she nodded.
"Please. Tell me. Help me understand." She said. Without any more prodding it spilled forth. Every detail. An hour later they were still sitting there.
"That's when I came here that I did. I found Kaoru." He finished. Anasim dried her eyes and looked at him. "You see why I cannot forgive myself that I can't? Do you understand?" She nodded.
"Please. You need to forgive yourself. For Kaoru. For Tomoe." He sighed and looked into the water. Anasim had moved closer to him. He looked up as she reached to touch his cheek. The scared one. He watched her pull her hand back in alarm so suddenly it seemed as if she were remembering. He hadn't told her of the scar. He'd almost forgotten it. He saw tears come to her eyes as he was about to tell her about it, but then her face contorted. Pain registered on her face and she cried out in frustration. "Stop!" she screamed before falling into the pond. Blood pooled out in the ripples as Kenshin dove in after her. She was unconscious by the time her lifted her body from the water and carried her to the dojo.
Anasim awoke sometime later with a bandaged hand. She sat up groggily and looked across the room. She gasped as she saw a figure standing there, but she couldn't focus well enough to tell who it was before it disappeared. She reached up to her face and felt the bandage there. She coughed twice before anyone came in. It was Kaoru and she was carrying a tray of soup. Anasim couldn't for the life of her figure out how she gotten these wounds. All she could remember were the scenes of death before her. How it had affected Kenshin and how it had affected the rest of the world.
"Are you ok Anasim?"
"Yes..yes I'm fine. Just a little sore."
"We were a little worried there for a moment. Kenshin was pacing outside your door for hours before we made him sit down outside. He's been the most worried and no wonder. He hasn't smelled blood from a fresh wound in sometime." Anasim nodded and took the steaming hot soup in trembling hands. Kaoru helped her eat it. After Anasim drank the soup Kaoru took the bowl and stood to walk out.
"May I see Kenshin?" She asked. Kaoru stopped at the door and turned around smiling brightly.
"Are you sure you are up to it?"
"Oro?"
"Never mind." Kaoru left the room laughing to herself. Kenshin came in a little while later.
"Miss Anasim." Kenshin said coming to the room.
"She came to me." Anasim said softly standing. He went over to her.
"What do you mean?"
"She showed me what it was and how it felt. I know now why you can't forgive and forget." Anasim went over to the door leading to the outside. She opened the screen and stepped into the breeze. Little memories popped up in her mind here and there and she smiled. A single cherry blossom petal fell on her kimono and she picked it up. "She asked me to tell you that 'One cannot forget, nor dwell on something that has passed. One cannot beat oneself up over the parting of a loved one. Don't fight it Kenshin. Do what you must.'"
"I cannot forgive myself that I cannot. For what I did was wrong, in a sense it was right that it was, but in another it really was wrong. Those people I killed should be alive right now especially her."
"She would have died anyway Kenshin-san and you know it. What about Kaoru though? Do you not love her?"
"I can't. I don't want to hurt her."
"Why?"
"Because of Tomoe!" He cried. "Because she died and I loved her. Everyone around me dies Miss Anasim. Everyone I've ever loved. They've all died! My parents. Tomoe. Those three girls. Everyone I've loved!" He screamed anger boiling.
"Ok so everyone around you has died. Big deal Kenshin-san. Guess what. Everyone in this world has lost someone they have loved not just you. I've lost more people than you could ever think of losing. Not to mention all the scars I have. You don't know how many they number." Anasim cried at him.
"So I have issues what's new?" He asked his voice dripping venom hatred.
"I've lived the same as you. How can you say that? We all have issues Kenshin-san, but some of us have scars that run so deep nothing can stop them."she spat at him.
"Huh?" He asked calming down a little bit.
"Yeah. I know how you feel. Because I lived it too. I lost.. So much because of that revolution it hurt. I've done everything you have done. I lost my brother and my parents. How would that make you feel? I became a killer for the same cause as you. I probably fought beside you and you wouldn't have noticed. As a mater of fact I remember you. I remember how you would wipe your blade clean after every kill. How you'd sit lonely all the time. I was around you a lot Kenshin-san. I can remember exactly how it sounded. The sound of blade cutting through bone and flesh. The sound of blood hitting the ground in rain fall. I can remember how everything could come together. I was with you the night you killed your last victim and you walked away from it all." She paused in her ranting and turned to him. She saw the fire and hatred burning there. "Now. I am leaving. You may not see me again." She said walking from the room and slamming the paper screen door.
/End Flashback/
Why did I slam that door? I could have broken something! Not to mention... Anasim was suddenly pulled from her thoughts as she slipped and fell down a hill. She no longer stood up right, but was tumbling down the hill at a rapid speed. She finally landed in a heap on the ground frozen and wet. She stood and shivered. She had to find Hiko and would. She looked around her at the ground and the trees. The path to village lay around here somewhere she just had to find it.
"What's the matter with me?" Anasim said aloud to herself as she searched between the snow laden trees for the path. "AHA!" She cried stepping onto the path. She found her way into town, but was not early enough to go to eat anything. Damn! She thought to herself. Things were going real great for her.
"Don't move." A voice behind her said. She stiffened not knowing if it really was Hiko or not. "You trying to get yourself into trouble or what?" He asked. Anasim smiled it was her Hiko. She drew her sword and fought with him for sometime. Finally they stopped and he hugged her.
"How are we?" She asked when he hugged her.
"We are good." He replied smiling at her and kissing her on the nose. She looked taken aback for a second, but shook it off as just another one of his hopeless gestures. They walked onto his place in silence. Her warm now under his cloak. They went through their usual ritual of lighting a fire and her cooking. She brought in the tray of fish, rice, and saki and he pulled her down next to him. "Tell me of your travels." He ordered. The food would wait a little while.
/Flashback/
"Miss Anasim stop!" Kenshin hollered. Anasim had her sword on her side and continued walking. "I said STOP!" He yelled loudly. He caught her arm in a vise like grip and turned her around to face him. Blood pooled down her face when seh ripped the bandage from it. It was bleeding again.
"Let. Go." She said trying to yank her arm free, but he wouldn't let her. "Let GO!" She spat.
"I said to stop and I meant it." He replied.
"You do not own me Battousai. You see what you've done to me?" The statement made him let go of her arm. Everyone else stood on the porch.
"No I don't, but when you yell at me I react and not in a very good way. I told you to stop and meant it." Anasim's vision began to swim.
"Kenshin let go. . . please." She pleaded her stomach swirling. She felt light headed. Suddenly she was thrown to the ground. Though not by him. Her scar felt like it had gone a little deeper. She cried out from the pain. Kenshin quickly went to her and helped her to the porch. There he put on the bandage Kaoru was offering him. "I'm sorry. The things I said I didn't mean. I'm sorry Kenshin-san." She whispered. He looked down at her and smiled. Around him he could feel arms. Anasim looked at him knowing what was going on. She knew that Tomoe was holding him. Clouds were rolling in blocking out the sunlight and making them all shiver.
"Everything happens for a reason Miss Anasim. You were to young to care for your brother that you were. You have to accept the fact that his life may have turned out much better." He said to her. Kenshin stood as the feel of the arms left him. He walked out into the sprinkle of rain fall and waited for it to begin to poor. Anasim watched his lips move, but couldn't understand what he was saying, Then the wind began to blow and she could.
"I made it rain blood that I did. I know what you wish to say Tomoe. I know it seems to be raining blood sometimes. There is nothing you didn't try. That you didn't. I loved you Tomoe. In the end you died for me. You died. You didn't see it from my perspective though. You didn't know how I felt." He stopped and turned to go back onto the porch. Tomoe was watching him from where ever she was and he would never forget. Kaoru went to him and held him in her arms and surprisingly he let her. They fell to the veranda deck and she rocked him back and forth. He held her and wouldn't let her go.
/End Flashback/
"Anasim is there something you wish to tell me?" Katsugura asked. She looked up at the man, about 40, who'd used Kenshin.
"Why do you need to know?" She asked.
"Because you keep reaching up and rubbing the right side of your face, You cover it with your hair and you've come to me because something's troubling you." He said. Anasim shook her head and turned to look outside. It was raining. It'd been a year since she'd seen Kenshin and four months since she'd last seen Hiko and gone out in search. Katsugura gasped. Anasim turned back to face him startled. Lightning struck illuminating her face.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"Your face is scared."
"Oh." She reached up and traced the scar.
"How?"
"Tomoe."
"Tomoe? How can she be the one to give you that scar when Kenshin is the only one with it? Tomoe is dead girl. You must be out of your mind." Anasim chuckled.
"You think on that a moment buddy. Tomoe is dead yes, but I was talking to Kenshin when I got this scar. I'm not sure exactly why, but ut could be because of my past and the people I killed." He nodded.
"It just shocked me is all."
"Yes. It will shock a very good friend of mine as well."
"Now why are you upset?"
"I can't find my little brother. I fear he has left his world already."
"Why look if you feel he has left this world already?"
"I want him to know that just because I let them take him when we were children it didn't mean I wanted them to. I had to. They held a sword to his fragile throat. I let them take him and I want him to know that I love him. Have you not lost someone that special to you?" He sighed.
"It's like this Anasim. A long time ago I lost a really good friend of mine to a lung disease. He told me so much that was wise. I miss him so much. He would have loved this new world." He answered.
"This friend. What kind of advice did he give you?" Anasim asked.
"How about I tell you about him?"
"You do that." Anasim smiled at Katsura and settled in for the long haul.
"His name was Shinsaku Takasugi. He ran the Kihei-tai. Do you know what that is?" By then Anasim's smile had faded and a scared look replaced it. Two key things had drawn her into her memories. Takasugi and Kihei-tai. She sniffled and wiped her tears away.
"We all grew strong under his command. Especially me. My master was weak by the time he died, because I'd mastered my sword technique, I knew he had more to teach me. There was always something for him to teach me. Anything from my first period ti the things between men and women. His wife helped me with my female problems mostly. He knew quiet a lot of being a good swordsman." She paused taking a sip of her tea.
"Then you know?"
"Of course. Take a look." with that she set her tea cup down and stood. Standing by the window she braided her hair and let him see her.
"You were Criteto!" He cried. She chuckled.
"Yes and I wish you could have chosen me instead of Kenshin. As Takasugi told you his soul was war torn and about beyond repair, but Tomoe became the arms of an Angel. She showed him as well as she could the path to redemption."
"I could have done it myself, but wanted to stay clean. How is he?"
"He has his days. I think he is finally falling in love again."
"Ah! A new sheath then."
"In a way yes, but this woman would be the end of him if she too died."
"Hmm..." The storm was letting up as they talked. "Maybe you better be getting back before it gets any worse outside." Anasim nodded and stood.
"Thank-you. Katsura you did what you thought was right. I know you would rather Kenshin not lost Tomoe, but that is what had to happen. Find yourself a sheath of your own. Let a woman take care of you as Takasugi's sheath did for him. It's rather unlikely that I ever return to talk to you. I hope the rest of your life turns out in peace." She walked out the door without another word.
A/N: What do you think?I hope that it turns out GREAT! And by now I'm sure you know who Anasim's brother is. Thehehehe. They find each other in chappie two. I know spoilers! LOL. Chappie there is more romance. I've had this started for awhile I just never had the chance to type it up to post it. So please review!