A/N: Another of my old stories, which I thought I'd repost.
"Kaoru-dono? This one bought the tofu, that he did."
Kenshin entered the dojo, a smile on his face, the bucket in his hand…and froze. Saito Hajime got slowly to his feet.
"Tofu, Battousai?"
Kenshin's eyes darted from side to side, and he reached out with his ki, but he couldn't sense Kaoru anywhere in the dojo. Yahiko, Sano, all were gone. He felt the rurouni slipping.
"Where is Kaoru-dono?"
Saito shrugged. "Not here." I don't care, his tone implied.
The rurouni slipped another notch. "What do you want?"
The wolf took a drag of his cigarette. "Drop this ridiculous mask of yours. Harmless rurouni you are not and will never be, Battousai."
"I don't know what you're talking about." He forgot the 'de gozaru.'
Saito smirked. "Oh, I think you do."
Kenshin tried to pull the shreds of his rurouni mask back into place, but he could see by Saito's eyes that it was no use.
No matter. Kenshin had another mask, and he used it now. "If it is a fight you want..." He crouched, the stance for battoujutsu. His voice was cold and harsh in his own ears; the light from the setting sun turned violet eyes to amber. He could see Saito's eyes gleam with anticipation; the wolf wanted to believe this mask.
And then, with an effort of will, Saito's hand drifted backward away from his sword.
"No."
Kenshin sank deeper behind the mask, this mask that was far too easy to adopt. "Are you afraid?" Contemptuous, disdainful, filled with a confidence he didn't feel. Inwardly, he was scrambling, trying to drag his defenses back into place, trying to escape that piercing gaze. This was beyond even Aoshi; the okashira only saw the man beneath the masks. But this man, this wolf, seemed determined to rip them down and fling the pieces in Kenshin's face.
"Are you?"
The question startled him. Yet Saito's expression had not changed. He awaited Kenshin's answer, the glow of the cigarette dull compared to the gleam in his eyes. There was dislike there and a grudging respect, and worst of all, understanding. Kenshin could no more fool this man than he could turn back time. But along with the anger and despair, there was the distinct feeling of relief.
Perhaps it is this that compelled him to answer with honesty. "Yes, but not of you."
The cigarette flared. "I see." Saito turned, slipping his police cap back onto his head.
"I don't fight with shadows," he said. "But if you ever give up this pathetic self-loathing and unnecessary angst, be sure to let me know."
He smiled, and it was all teeth.
"I would relish a fight with the true Battousai."
And then he was gone.
Kenshin stood there for a long time. It had been a long time since anyone saw beneath his masks. The Mibu Wolf had shredded them, and it took Kenshin a long time to pick them back up. When he did, he held them loosely in his mind, strangely reluctant to put them on. Then, he heard footsteps and felt a surge of ki.
"Kenshin!"
Kaoru. His mind stirred sluggishly. Kaoru-dono.
"Kenshin!"
Ignoring the flash of momentary regret, Kenshin turned, smiled, and hoisted his mask back into place.
