A/N – a look into Kenshin's revolutionary past. I would say terrorist, but the 't' word is anathema these days; let us say, rather, revolutionary, patriot, or freedom fighter.

Disclaimer – I don't own anything. I'd like Katsura or Takasugi for my own, but given they're more than a century dead I'll have to be realistic. Don't sue.

Chapter Three

"Rather than the wild-eyed fanatics or crazed killers that we have been conditioned to accept, many are in fact highly articulate and extremely thoughtful individuals for whom terrorism is (or was) an entirely rational choice…"

Bruce Hoffman, 'Inside Terrorism'.

1963

Katsura Kogoro was a rational, civilised man. He considered himself a gentleman, a man of taste and refinement, but he was also a man with a purpose. He had a mission, a goal, and he was prepared to do anything, to use anyone, to stop at absolutely nothing to see sonno joi succeed.

As Yoshida-sensei had said, (before they crushed him to death during the worst of the proscriptions in '59), sometimes there was a need for madness and destruction, if justice and right were to prevail. To that end, he had joined with Takasugi Shinsaku – a zealot, an audacious, charismatic fanatic, but most importantly one of Yoshida-sensei's protégés – and together they laid the foundations for the Choshu Ishin Shishi.

Katsura played political games, garnering support and influence, while Takasugi created and armed his phantom guerilla forces with foreign aid and foreign arms. Eventually the Choshu revolutionaries gained influence in Hagi, the Choshu capital; but more importantly, they grew in standing at the Imperial Court in Kyoto. Their championing of the Emperor's cause gained them favour, and their ruthless elimination of any who stood against them gained them both publicity and fear.

The stark, visceral message of tenchuu left behind at every assassination and act of violence was a nationally recognised symbol now; even stringent media censorship could not prevent it from becoming almost a household name. The whole of Japan and a good deal of the world knew of the Ishin Shishi and their crusade – freedom fighters, revolutionaries or terrorists, at least they were getting their message across.

Any publicity was good publicity. And Katsura was a master spin-doctor…

The continued success and effectiveness of Takasugi's guerilla Kihetai relied on their ability to move swiftly and freely throughout the countryside, and on their ability to blend in and merge with the greater population – like, as Mao said, fish swimming in the sea. They relied on the common people of the land for support and recruitment; the poor peasants of Japan, denied their basic rights for so long, were ripe for rebellion. Especially after a few victories showed them that their modern weapons and new tactics far outstripped the tired, old-fashioned bakufu army.

Soon men and boys were streaming in from all corners of the province, hoping to join the revolution. Takasugi took all comers, forging raw recruits into seasoned guerillas, sending the more promising candidates on to Katsura in Kyoto – but every now and then he uncovered a gem…

Like this boy.

A young, almost painfully callow and naïve boy, fresh out of the backwoods; a boy who had come to them with a sword, of all things. A boy whose dream was to 'help the people', and who wanted it badly enough to set the whole world on fire…

"Well, old friend," Katsura said, sleek and cool in his tailored suit and polished dress shoes. "What was it you wanted to show me?"

His partner looked ridiculously out of place in his urban style out here in the mud and dirt of the field, but it would not do to underestimate him. Takasugi, unshaven and dressed in camouflage army surplus, his long hair held back with a grubby bandana, made up the other side of the Choshu revolutionaries.

"Not what," he said. "Who. Look there – the boy, the redhead. Watch him." He pointed out the young swordsman, surrounded by a group of fascinated spectators, all of them half-drunk on the samurai fables of the past. While they watched enthralled, he crouched, his hand going to the sword sheathed at his waist, and then in a move too blindingly fast to be seen he drew in a shining arc of light –

Sand spilt in a trickle, and then a river, and then a flood from the canvas covered punching bag lowered specifically to be the boy's target. And then, before their very eyes, it slumped inwards and the top half separated from the lower, toppling majestically and revealing the line of the boy's cut – perfect, razor-sharp, it had severed the thick, heavy bag into complete halves.

The boy held his pose for a while, his follow-through classic Kurosawa, and then he bowed slightly and sheathed his sword. Driven by some instinct, he turned towards the hill to face the two revolutionary leaders watching in fascinated awe –

Katsura knew the power of the samurai myth.

"Who is he?" he breathed, his pulse pounding and eyes widened despite his famous cool. "Tell me that he's not a ghost, Takasugi."

"Himura Kenshin," Takasugi said in some satisfaction. "He wants to make the world a better place, and is willing to use his sword to further the cause of the Ishin Shishi…"

Himura Kenshin was barely fourteen years old.

Once, Katsura might have hesitated to involve such a young boy in his fight, but he'd been fighting the Tokugawa for years now; so many had died and so much loss and destruction had occurred that he could not afford to indulge in useless regrets. To let an incredible opportunity slip through his fingers because the boy was barely old enough to understand what his idealism would cost him…

He would not let all those sacrifices be in vain.

"Takasugi-san said you wanted to see me," the boy said, his eyes wide and painfully eager.

"Yes," he said quietly. "Will you sit?" He knelt down on the tatami, noting the boy's incredible grace and balance. He handled that sword as if it were part of him. "My name," he began, "is Katsura Kogoro. I lead the Choshu Ishin Shishi in Kyoto, at the Imperial Court."

The boy nodded.

"There are many facets to the revolution, Himura; military, political, and psychological. The Kihetai are our military wing, striking at the bakufu's army like stinging gnats. I, and others like me, am the political force, trying to win the Emperor's favour while advancing his cause over the Prime Minister's in the government. And the third element, the psychological…"

He paused, trying to gauge how much of it the boy understood.

"Tokugawa has stayed in power for so long because he rules with an iron fist. Powerful administrators fear to cross him, and so they fear to rise up against him. We must take that terror away from him, and use it for our own purposes – we must make the administrators and our opponents fear us. Do you see? We must take the momentum upon ourselves. And for that," he said, leaning closer, turning on the charisma that served him so well as a leader, "we need you, Himura."

The boy's eyes widened and he pressed on, sensing capitulation. "There are those who oppose us who will not be intimidated. We must eliminate them, kill them, to send a message to those who waver, or to anyone who thinks of standing against us. And we must kill them in a way that will strike terror into the hearts of our opponents."

"Kill them?" the boy asked, shivering.

"Yes. You have heard of tenchuu?" Himura nodded. "In invoking divine justice, we must show that it comes from a great and terrible source…"

"Me," the boy said, solemn now, understanding what Katsura asked of him.

"Yes," he said gently. "You. Use your sword to spread justice, to bring about a newer, better world – Himura, I'm asking you to spearhead the revolution in Kyoto, to bring down the old government and build a better one in its place."

The boy – Himura – lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, his hand resting on his sheathed sword. Katsura watched him, aware of a gripping tension, a need to secure this boy and his sword, his incredible, myth-making sword. Then Himura raised his head and met Katsura's eyes, his own innocent ones firm with faith and determination and a burning need to prove himself.

"If, by my sword, I can bring about a new era, then yes, Katsura-san, I will kill for you."

Staring into those incredibly young and idealistic eyes, Katsura almost hesitated. Unlike other, more experienced men who understood the consequences of volunteering to be used, Himura's faith in truth and justice was unsullied. But then Katsura remembered his purpose, remembered the madness of true justice, and hardened his heart. He would use this boy as he used everything he could, even himself.

However, he suspected that he would always be haunted by the weight of the expectations in those innocent, terrifying eyes…

A/N – Takasugi as flamboyant guerilla leader a la Che, and Katsura as the political wizard, rather like Gerry Adams. Poor naïve Kenshin didn't have a chance.

Yoshida Shoin was a radical left-wing teacher executed (pressed to death) in the Ansei Purge for plotting against the shogun in 1859. Among his students were Okubo Toshimichi and Takasugi Shinsaku.