Rebirth

(Disclaimed)

There was a man who sold his soul

For powers of the dead…

After that his bloodlust hunger

Never could be fed

He blackened heart was longing

For revenge he yearned to pay

But until then he hides in darkness…

Or so the legends say…

Chapter 1: Distracting Memories

The morning had brought a freezing chill within the air, one that told of winter approaching, and approaching fast. Breakfast was warm, if not a little burnt, but acceptable nonetheless.

After the two youngest of the household -the ten-year-old pickpocket and the nineteen-year-old freeloader- were sent out for firewood (if they wanted to live under the roof, that is), the rurouni had nothing to do but laze around.

Laundry had been completed yesterday, and all the dishes had been washed. Kaoru was off somewhere, where he did not know, but he sat on the porch, his back propped against one of the support beams of the house, staring out into the gloomy gray sky. The small wind chime jingled and jangled above him, somehow making the world around him seem just all the more lonely.

Suddenly, a small white speck caught his attention as it drifted towards the ground under a light breeze. It was followed by another, and then another, and then there were more.

"It's snowing…" He exclaimed, somewhat surprised that the first snow was already upon them. His mind wandered back to a certain time in the snow… a place… a person… a blade… and now a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. Snow… He whispered in his head, the fringe of his hair hiding his amethyst eyes.

They were not happy memories, but he almost didn't even consider them so anymore. They were now more like reminders, just like the accursed thing on his face. No… He would never forget. If only, if ONLY, they had had more time together. He wondered what it would have been like to spend the rest of his days with his lover, healing her heart as she healed his soul, never being overburdened by anything, never having a single task except to protect and adore that woman… but what-ifs and if-onlys were pointless and depressing. He'd rather not dwell on what could have been.

"Kenshin!"

A voice snapped him out of his stupor, and he glanced up at the adoring face of the young swords-mistress who had so kindly taken him into her home. She was smiling in a way that made him feel cared about, but it took a moment for it to register that she had indeed addressed him.

"Oro?" He asked, rather unintelligently.

"Kenshin, it's freezing out here! Come on and get inside before you catch your death of cold!" She told him.

That wasn't likely, even considering his bared chest and lack of scarf. His immune system against the cold had always been fairly high, considering he'd trained shirtless in it once as a child. Of course, he was not about to complain to her, for she was only looking out for him, and that was one of the best feelings in the world.

"Kenshin, are you listening?"

"O-oro? Oh, y-yes… Let us get inside, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin replied, blushing a bit in embarrassment.

-

Her voice startled him out of his dreams when in his visions she turned and spoke to him, her dark eyes cast into his. He could not hear her words, but he could see her mouth moving, and then, "Kenshin." His eyes flew open to find himself against the wall near the door of Kamiya Kaoru's house. He had apparently fallen asleep while waiting for Sanosuke and Yahiko to return and snoozed until her voice… and now he realized, the door opening, had snapped him awake.

"Morning sunshine," Yahiko said blandly from behind the pile of wood in his hands. Sano was only carrying a few under each arm, which probably was the reason Yahiko seemed so irritable.

"Ah… Ah… AH-CHOO!" Sano sneezed onto the back of Yahiko's head. He sniffed.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Yahiko yelled, dropping his pile and beating Sano with one of the pieces of wood.

"Oro…" Kenshin mumbled, feeling suddenly nervous.

Kaoru entered from deeper into the house and frowned at the scene. "CUT IT OUT!"

They froze. Yahiko casually let go of the wood and let it nail Sano in the face.

"Ow," Sano mumbled.

"Mou! Can't you do something without screwing up or killing each other?"

"Well, maybe Kenshin should have gone with us!" Yahiko retorted.

"Maybe Kenshin had better things to do!" Kaoru yelled back.

"Yeah, like snoozing in the doorway," Sano said flatly.

"Oro…" Kenshin muttered. "Well, sessha was-"

"MOU! I can't count on any of you!" Kaoru shouted. "Come on, help me get this firewood into a pile."

Afraid of what she might do if they didn't, they made sure of it.

-

The snow was quickly piling up on the ground, already a few inches deep. Far out into the woods outside of Tokyo, there was a small cave with smoke erupting from its mouth. Someone inhabited this place.

A fire burned within this cave, but it wasn't a normal fire. This wasn't used for heat. This fire came out from a crack on the inside, and it burned blue.

A looming shadow flickered along the wall. A chanting in a language, that of which only demons and gods of death dare speak filled the cave. "Accept this item of revival?" The voice said in Japanese, then chanted again, tossing dirt into the fire. "Accept this item of the revived?" He held up a violet scarf, stained with blood and chanted more, tossing it in.

The fire grew and turned green. Two emotionless, red eyes watched it in half-interest as it grew to an outstanding height and dwindled back down again until it was no more. The crack in the earth had closed, and the fire disappeared. The smell of haku baikou began to fill the air.

-

Darkness had fallen upon Tokyo and all had gone to bed. Everyone slept peacefully except for one.

That wafting scent… those piercing, dark, solemn eyes… soft, pale skin… long, raven hair cascading downward… and the sickening, crimson color… of blood…

Kenshin's eyes snapped open, and he gasped, "Tomoe!" Perspiration dotted his forehead and face, and his fingers gripped his blankets with such a ferocity that his knuckles were white.

It had been so long… He hadn't dreamt about Tomoe's death in a very long time… It only used to come to remind him that she was gone, back when he would drop into denial. Never since then had it happened, and never since the actual event been so incredibly vivid. His heart still pounded in his chest, and he couldn't force his breath to calm down with his greatest might.

After a few minutes, he returned to normal, shutting his eyes and running his fingers through his bangs. He sighed. "Tomoe…Will I ever be able to move on?" He got up and padded barefoot across the floor in his night-robe. Slipping almost silently out of his room, he roamed down the halls, listening to the soft, muffled breathings of his housemates. Entering the main room, he slid open the door and looked out at the white snow, so bright against the night.

Memories flashed behind his deep, longing eyes, those he did not wish to see, and he hung his head in sorrow, running his right hand up and down his left cheek, the one forever marked with these nightmares that were lived.

"Sessha could almost smell the perfume again," He said, smiling sadly. "My darling, Tomoe… were you trying to tell me something?…"

He breathed in the scent of cold and snow, yet he could almost feel the warmth again… it faded as quickly as it came, and he had to shut the door to keep from freezing his thin body. Leaning against it, he stared downward at his feet. "This scent… will not leave me… why does sessha feel so cold…?" He slid down and hugged his knees, leaning his head into them. "It's like you're here, but you're not…"

-

Kaoru entered the room that morning and was frozen in her steps. That small, curled up thing near the door… that was her rurouni… He looked almost like a dead person would, but his skin still held color, and she could see his back heaving up and down slightly with his breath.

"Kenshin?" She whispered, taking a step towards him. What was he doing out here?

His eyes fluttered open, and he rose his head to stare sleepily at her. "K-Kaoru-dono…?"

"Kenshin, what are you… doing out here?" She asked, looking around the room for a sign of some mindless project he might have been working on.

"Sessha was just sitting and reminiscing," Kenshin responded rather forlornly. "I suppose sessha just fell asleep." He got up and placed his smile on his face. "I apologize. Allow me to get dressed, and I'll cook breakfast."

"No, that's not necessary-"

Kenshin chuckled slightly, passing her. "I suppose I'd better go to the market first. There's shopping to be done if we're going to have a good breakfast."

Something wasn't right about the way he spoke. It was as if he was trying to distract himself by talking and smiling. The words felt so empty and meaningless.

He disappeared down the hall, and she clutched her chest. What was wrong with her? She felt like her heart had been ripped out, seeing him so down like that… What could possibly be troubling him so? This man she adored… how could she fix his pain?

-

Kenshin had left to the market without much more than a goodbye to Kaoru. He still seemed deeply lost in his own thoughts, and she knew something was definitely going on in that mind of his.

"Sano! Yahiko! GET UP!" She yelled.

"What?" Yahiko moaned, dragging himself into the doorway. Sano himself looked rather angry.

"I need you guys to trail Kenshin for me!" She explained. "Something's wrong with him, and I think he'd notice me if I trailed him."

"Why don't you just ask him what's wrong?" Sano asked. "He trusts you, Jou-chan."

"I can't! I--- I'm afraid… please… if you do this for me, I'll do your chores for a week without complaint."

"DEAL!" They both cried with glee, rushing back into their rooms to dress.

Kaoru sighed. Why did she always have to bribe them to do something for her?

"Of course, if you don't find anything and end up not looking at all, the deal is off," Kaoru added as they headed out the door.

Yahiko and Sano pouted, but they threw their scarves on and left anyways. Sano was heard sniffling as the door was shut behind them.

"Please… find something…"

The faintest scent of Haku Baikou wafted through the streets of Tokyo.

-

The snow had stopped falling, but by now it was past their ankles. The day was bright, if not extremely chilly, and the lanes were filled with the laughter of playing children. It was the kind of thing that people couldn't help but smile about, even someone as sarcastic as Yahiko and tough as Sano.

Ayame and Suzume greeted them as they passed the doctor's office, showing them their snow angels. Megumi scolded Sanosuke for walking around in the snow bare-chested and gave him another white shirt to wear. Yahiko waved goodbye, and the two were on their way. It was a peaceful morning, the kind that led to the illusion that everything would be perfect, that nothing would go wrong…

Of course, illusions are what they are.

-

Movement stirred from the body before this man of fire. A toothy smirk came across his lips, those emotionless red eyes shining with malice.

Two black eyes fluttered open through the fringe of raven hair. Her bear chest heaved in its first breath. The man's eyes widened with glee. This was perfection. Everything about her was perfectly done. The only thing about her that was strange was the long blackness that traveled down her right shoulder on both sides. It was almost like rotted skin, and beneath it was nothing but an empty shell.

She raised her body, her long, dark strands of hair tumbling down her back. She looked around blankly for a few moments before meeting eyes with the man that was so happy to see her.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," He told her, tossing her the purple scarf, "Yukishirou Tomoe."

She stared at the man in shock for a moment as her hand dipped down onto the ground and scooped up a handful of dirt.

"Now, you can help me-" He began, but she tossed the dirt into his eyes, and he screamed out, rubbing them furiously.

Taking this as her cue, she got to her feet and stumbled along slightly, hardly able to walk. Only managing to snatch up a white yukata on her way out the mouth of the cave, she pulled around herself and held to it for dear life.

"WENCH!" The man's voice howled as he exited the cave, seeing her disappearing into the forest. "I'LL FIND YOU!"

She looked back around behind her as she ran, then continued on her way.