A new, edited version. I used too many commas, too many typos, too many ellipses (the "…"), and I changed my mind on the ending. Hope it's not too inconvenient.

Disclaimer: I own not Rurouni Kenshin.

Manslayer- Chapter 9

You're going to be going away soon, and no one will believe you…

The first man Shin'en had killed said that. Those same exact words. Shin'en froze in astonishment. Her mind was thrown back to that night, which seemed so long ago.

---Flash back---

"He got you too?" A young girl asked her friend.

The girl cried and managed to spit out, "Yes…"

"Ikari!! You need to get the police working on this!! He's raped ten girls!! Please, help before another of us is taken!!"

"I'll try my best…but…for some reason they're very reluctant to even acknowledge that this is happening…"

"They're corrupt, I tell you!"

"Maybe so…but…the police is the only group able to do anything…and I can't act without getting permission from the chief…" Ikari sighed. "I must be off though. Perhaps this is the day I finally wear him down…"

"Be careful. This bad-man is getting bolder every day. He may even go after you."

"Don't worry. I'll be careful." And Ikari turned and left the house for work, the psychologically tiring job of working for a corrupt police force.

---

It was late when Ikari got off her shift, always was, and she always walked home. It was pointless to use a carriage to get home; she knew the way by heart and nothing had ever happened on her way home. She was walking quietly, acutely aware of her own footsteps, and was deep in thought about how best to help the people of this town without her chief's consent. Suddenly, hands reached out from an alley and pulled her in. Her first reaction was to scream, but a hand was clamped firmly about her mouth.

She heard laughing, and turned her head to see a man in a mask pulling her closer to him.

"My next victim. The police woman who asks too many questions about me." He said in a quiet, muffled voice. Ikari began struggling then, but he easily tightened his grip and pulled her farther into the alley. As soon as he felt he was far enough, he pushed her against a wall and began to pull off her clothes.

Ikari struggled more, harder, and used all of her strength trying to get away. The man, who had let his ego get big after awhile, brought his masked face close to hers.

"There's no point in struggling, little girl. I have you now. And there's nothing you can do about it. You're going to be going away soon, and no one will believe you when you tell them of this, and the police will not help you. And who knows, perhaps I'll get you again!" Ikari's eyes widened, and she struggled more. Instead of pulling his head away from her, he went closer, until she could see into his eyes. He laughed as she struggled. Ikari suddenly got an arm free, and slashed at his neck with her fingernails. They connected, the man's eyes widened and he released her. He ran back, and fell down, where he bled to death from the open wound in his throat.

After he was still for five minutes, Ikari went closer and found he was dead. Her first reaction was to tell someone, but that voice was easily quelled. She decided to keep it quiet. There was nothing that could tie her to this crime; her clothes were not bloodied and she should already be home and in bed. There was nothing that pointed to her. She pulled on the clothes he had pulled off, not more than her shirt and jacket, and walked back to the body. She was about to leave when a thought struck her. She should take the credit for this. So, she dipped her hand in the spilt blood and wrote out her name. She instantly regretted writing her real name and erased it by pulling the body onto it so that blood ran over it, completely erasing it. She moved it back and started anew. She wrote the name 'Shin'en' and promptly left, taking an alternate route to her house. She fell asleep and rested easily, having already forgotten what had happened.