A/N: This is a rough novelization of the 'Remembrance' section of the manga, where Kenshin reveals his past as a Hitokiri and such. WARNING: The dialogue is taken from an unofficial translation, so if there are any huge differences from the version you are familiar with, that would be why. I don't own this section of the manga, so I had to use a fan-translated version. I apologize, but it's all I had available to me. Also, I modified some of the dialogue at times (such as if the translation made little sense), though not too often.

If I got any names wrong, I apologize, I'm not as familiar with the characters in this section. I added a couple of flashback-like scenes of my own design, so I hope those aren't too out of character for those involved. Also, I'm not terribly familiar with terminology, such as the names of articles of clothing, or items, or even weapons. So, if I have left out a name where there should be one, or used the wrong name, please let me know and I'll change it in later chapters.

Each chapter of this story is based on the corresponding chapter in the manga, so my estimate is that there will be around fourteen chapters, unless I add one at the end. I don't know how quickly the chapters will be written/uploaded, because I'm busy with the end of school year rush, and I don't have a lot of time for FanFiction. But I'll do my best.

By the way, anything that's "centered and in quotes and italics" is Kenshin actually speaking. Like, when he's talking to everyone, that's what he's saying. They're separate from the flashback sequence that makes up the majority of these pieces. I just thought I'd let you all know, in case it wasn't clear.

Sorry this author's note is so long, there were just a few things I wanted to clarify. Like the fact that Kenshin won't be referred to as 'Kenshin' until his name is revealed in the flashback, if then, simply because I view 'Kenshin' and 'Battosai' as very different people. I get caught up in the little things, and sometimes, like with this piece, it makes it harder to write. But anyway. I think I'm done now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, the characters, the plot, etc, etc.

Please enjoy!

"There's something I want to tell you all…about this battle, from the beginning.

This morning, on my way home, I received a declaration of war

from the mastermind behind all this…

Then days from now, he will attack the dojo with all his forces…

This man's name is Yukishio Enishi.

My brother.

More accurately, my brother-in-law.

The brother of…

…Himura Tomoe…

the wife I killed with my own hands..."

Hitokiri

First year of the Genji Era
(1864)
Kyoto

A round, paper lantern bobbed slowly up and down as its carrier walked down the darkened street. The young, dark haired man was accompanied by two others; one was much taller than the other two, and his blocky face seemed to be permanently turned down in a grimacing frown. The other, the shortest of the three, was older, his graying hair receding, his chubby face smiling peacefully.

"It's getting late," grunted the tall man. "We should hurry a little." He glanced behind him, peering into the darkness and adjusting the daisho he carried in his obi. "Lately there have been more of those hitokiri—"

"Like that so called 'Hitokiri Battosai'?" interrupted the older man, also resting his hand on his katana. The tall man growled softly.

"Whether he exists or not, we'll crush the rebellion soon." The older man laughed in response to the tall man's grim words.

"Now, now, let's not talk shop when we've got reason to celebrate." He looked up at the young man and smiled warmly. "Kiyosato, you're going to be married next month, aren't you?" The young man, Kiyosato, glanced behind him and a bright smile lit his face, his eyes shining even in the dim, hazy light.

"That's right…" He drummed his fingers on the hilt of his own katana, his eyes growing a little distant with happiness. The older man chuckled.

"Marrying your childhood sweetheart…you lucky dog."

None of them heard the soft footstep in the shadows behind them.

"Thank you…" Kiyosato laughed softly, then his face fell a little. "But…I can't help worrying." He frowned, his forehead creasing. "In these troubled times, why should I—"

"What are you talking about?" exclaimed the old man, interrupting Kiyosato's confused explanation.

None of them saw the narrowed, violet, emotionless eyes watching them from the shadows behind them, slightly obscured by strands of red hair.

"In this world, everyone's trying to find a little happiness," continued the older man. "If anything, if we make a new age in this work of ours, that's the form it should take." He nodded wisely, still smiling.

"You must be Shigekura Jubei." All three of them turned at the sound of the flat, cold voice behind them. Stepping out of the shadows into the pale moonlight was a young man. He wore grey hakama and a blue gi, and his long, oddly red hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. His violet eyes were narrowed, though not in anger, as far as the men could tell. No, it was more like he was focusing all his attention on them with an intensity so strong that, for a moment, their breath hitched in their chests. Then the mysterious young man spoke and the spell was broken, all the air wooshing into their lungs with a soft gasping noise. "Though I bear you no grudge, for the sake of the new era, I must have your lives." Kiyosato's eyes widened as the two men with him stepped forward, forming a kind of living shield between the red-haired man and himself.

"Who are you?" growled the taller man. The young attacker didn't even blink; he didn't seem at all intimidated, even as the two others reached for their katanas.

"Choushuu Ishin Shishi…Himura Battosai…" His voice was expressionless, but it lit a fire of fear in the chests of the three men. Though the young man was certainly small, almost like a woman, and appeared to be light of build, something about his cold confidence was terrifying. Kiyosato dropped his lantern and reached for his own weapon as the tall man lunged forward, snarling viciously.

But before he could even finish drawing his sword, his whole head split open in a spray of blood and he toppled forward to reveal the Battosai standing in a crouch, his blade drawn, the crimson liquid oozing down its silver length. The older man's eyes widened and he nudged Kiyosato back a pace, his heart pounding. He'd never even seen the assassin's blade move.

Then, suddenly, the Battosai was gone, and the older man looked around frantically.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu…" He looked up at the softly uttered, unfamiliar words, and saw the assassin high in the air above him and dropping fast, his sword raised. "Ryu Tsui Sen!" Then the sword was plunged down through the top of the older man's head with a sickening crack and a gush of blood.

"Shigekura-san!" howled Kiyosato, panic making his voice crack. He drew his sword and held it protectively in front of him. "Ishiji-san!" The red-haired assassin spun around to slice at Kiyosato's chest, but the dark-haired man's sword blocked it was a clanging screech. Sweat ran down his face and his eyes were wide as he eyed the bloody blade just inches away from his neck.

"Give up." Kiysato swallowed at the Battosai's cold words, then, with a yell, he pushed his attacker's sword back and jumped away from the wall he'd been backed up against, dropping into a ready crouch.

I won't die. He repeated the phrase to himself, trying to steady his breathing. I don't want to die. Why should I have to die? The Battosai's expression remained the same. Then, with a shout, the Battosai swung his sword down almost faster than Kiyosato could follow. But he brought his own sword up in time to block the attack. They exchanged rapid blows, their katanas flashing the moonlight, clanging against each other with defiant voices that echoed down the empty street.

"In the fifteen years between the coming of the black ships and the Meji Era,
"Honor the Emperor"
"Destroy the Shogunate"
"Expel the barbarian"
"Open the country"

Amidst all these ambitions and ideals, those who carried swords were split in two:

Tokagawa Shogunate
and
Ishin Shishi.

That was…
the Bakumatsu…"

The Battosai lunged forward at the same moment Kiyosato did, and they flew past each other with a flash of their swords. The Battosai's eyes widened as a semi-deep cut split open across his left cheek, blood running freely down his face from the throbbing wound and dripping onto his dark gi. But the strangled cry behind him told him that his sword had found a better mark on his target. Kiyosato collapsed forward onto the cold ground, blood quickly pooling around him. But the Battosai didn't turn to look at his fallen adversary; instead, he touched two fingers to the cut on his face, ignoring the resulting burn of pain, and examined them, shock mirrored in his still-wide eyes at the sight of his own blood on his skin. A gasping grunt caught his attention and he half turned, examining his fallen target out of the corner of his eye.

"Don't…want to…die…" gasped Kiyosato, stretching one bloody hand out to where his sword had fallen. He coughed, a little cloud of blood spraying from between his lips. "I was…finally going…to marry her…" His hand dropped to the ground, but he forced it forward, inching towards his blade. "I would have…loved her…forever…" Tears pooled in his glazed eyes and ran down his cheeks, forming dirty swirls with the blood that had splashed up onto his face from the puddle he was lying in. "Tomo—" The Battosai plunged his sword into Kiyosato's head until it clicked against the road beneath it, then pulled it back out slowly and flicked it to the side, sending a ribbon of blood flying from the blade and onto the ground. He turned at the sound of footsteps and saw two men walking out around the corner.

"We've come to check," said the broader one quickly, as if worried the cold-eyed assassin would turn on him next, but the Battosai just nodded.

"Thank you for examining them…" His voice was soft, but still cold. The two men's eyes widened at the blood on the Battosai's face.

"You're cheek!" the sallow faced man exclaimed, and the Battosai just blinked.

"It's nothing…"

"But he reached your face with a sword…He must have been very good."

"No…" The Battosai slid his sword across the top of its sheath, ignoring the surprised glances from the two men. "His skill itself was nothing. But his will to live…" He slid the sword into its sheath with a soft, metallic click. "…was incredible." He turned his back to the men. "I'll leave the rest to you." When he was a few paces away, he looked back over his shoulder at the fallen young man as the two checkers stepped carefully through his pooled blood, and remembered his victim's last words of love and marriage. "May you find happiness…in your next life…" His voice was a soft murmur, and the sallow faced man looked up curiously from the body of Kiyosato. He raised an eyebrow.

"Did you say something?"

"No." The Battosai looked forward again and kept walking. "It was nothing."

"Will to live, huh…" mused the broad man, scratching the scraggly stubble on his chin, the note with 'Tenchuu' painted on it held loosely in one hand. "I guess a first-class swordsman can tell that just by crossing swords with someone…" He looked up to where the Battosai had been just a moment before, but the young assassin had vanished into the shadows without a trace.

"Yeah," agreed his companion, standing up from his crouch and looking around at the three bloody bodies. "Maybe he could tell that…but he killed them without even blinking. He really is a 'Hitokiri'…"

End

A/N: Well, that was it for chapter one. And yes, at the beginning, I intentionally had Kenshin say 'I', as opposed to 'this one.' Because it seemed to me that, in the moment he starts to tell his story, he's letting himself go back a little bit to who he was before. Plus, 'this one' didn't sound right in that moment. I do normally prefer for him to say 'this one', but it didn't really work for that moment, so I apologize if there was any confusion.

Please tell me what you think! (bow) Thank you very much!