Out of Time

Chapter 11: Aftermath

1878

Battousai's ki had been off since Saito had first spotted the redhead. Enough to be intriguing. Worth watching. But this… this had added a new complication. Battousai had moved fast against that fool, but those who could match him could also see him move. And Saito had seen Battousai change his attack halfway. Had seen him reverse his blade, forcing the smooth attack into a weak mockery of what it should have been. Which meant Himura Battousai was fighting with a true katana. And that was, of course, impossible.

Had Battousai finally snapped, or, as the flipped blade suggested, was this something entirely different? Saito's amber eyes narrowed as he lit a cigarette and observed the scene. The Kyoto police were trying to break up the crowd, uncertain what had caused it. They really weren't prepared to deal with Battousai, even if they were to figure things out.

Saito shifted his gaze to the retreating figures of the flame-haired man and that rooster, Sanosuke. No, the Kyoto police force would have no idea how to deal with him. Confronting him would leave them in a condition similar to Hiroshi's… if they were lucky. Saito snorted. No… for their own sakes, he would leave the naïve puppies chasing their tails.

He turned away and began walking between the buildings. There were more important things for him to deal with at the moment. Lifting the cigarette to his lips with one white-gloved hand, he inhaled deeply before casually blowing the smoke out.

Battousai with a katana again. And with a killer's instinct. Even if he had been hesitant enough to be merciful, he smelled of blood. Where was his rurouni oath now? It didn't make sense. And for men like Saito Hajime, there had to be a logic to everything.

He flung the cigarette into the shadows. Let the weak dogs of Kyoto chase their tails as useless government pets. If his suspicions were correct, then this wolf had far more important prey.

As much as Sano would have liked to just chase Battousai down, and shake some sense into him, he managed to refrain. The kid probably wanted to be alone for awhile. And Fox Lady really needed to know about this in case he'd reopened any wounds again. Sano's steps slowed. Not that he really wanted to be in the room to see Megumi's reaction to this. He sighed. The stuff he did for that kid.

Sano walked through the inn, dodging people as he tried to get to the fox's room.

"Hey!" a voice from behind him suddenly shouted, stopping him in his tracks. "What's wrong with Himura?"

The fighter turned to see Misao standing in one of the doorways.

He sent her a puzzled look.

She came up to him, and said quietly, "He came in not long before you did, and he looked real upset. I've never seen him like that except when he's fighting."

Sano winced. "Where is he now?"

"In his room." Misao cocked her head to the side and sent Sano an assessing look. "He looked a lot like Aoshi-sama does when he's upset about something." She paused thoughtfully. "Too bad Aoshi-sama isn't here now. I'm sure he'd have talked to Himura about whatever's troubling him!"

"When does Aoshi come back, anyway?" Sano cut in, worried. He had forgotten about the ex-leader of the Oniwaban-shu. Great thing to slip his mind. Especially now of all times.

"Either tonight or tomorrow," Misao replied, happily hugging herself. "He's going to send message by carrier pigeon, so I know and can meet him on his way back!"

Sano groaned, not nearly as enthusiastic. Terrible mental images of Aoshi and Battousai fighting again flashed through Sanosuke's head. Except this time it involved a lot more bloodshed, and probably at least one dead body. "Great," he muttered. Something else to worry about. And speaking of reasons to worry… He forced himself to focus on the original problem. "Where's Megumi?"

"In the kitchen," Misao replied. She began tagging behind him as he walked away. "Wait a minute! You didn't tell me what happened to Himura!"

He didn't answer.

It was nearly suppertime, and the kitchen was bustling with activity, making it hard to find anyone in there. Sano was tempted to forget about it and just treat Battousai himself when he spotted Megumi making soup with the few supplies they had left. Sighing, Sano trudged over to her, Misao trailing behind, whining, "Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

Megumi looked up, raising an eyebrow at his dark expression. "Well, if it isn't the rooster. What's wrong now?"

Sano bit back a retort, instead jumping right in. "You might want to check on Kenshin," he muttered.

Her smirk faded. "What? Why? Is Ken-san alright?"

He sighed. "He looks fine, but…" He paused. "Listen, it isn't my fault! I don't know what he was doing in the marketplace. Maybe Kaoru talked him into it. She's the one he was fighting over."

"He left the Aoi-ya?" Megumi exclaimed, her voice raising.

The kitchen went silent.

"Where were you when this happened? You said you'd watch him." She hit him with her spoon.

"I was trying to get Yahiko off his back! The little brat was bothering him," Sano snapped. "Come on. Give me a break. You know Kenshin. If he doesn't want you around, then it doesn't take much for him to lose you." He glared at her. "And anyway… you're the one who's been saying all morning that he needed fresh air—"

"Sitting on the steps is fine," Megumi said. "I didn't mean for him to walk around Kyoto getting into street brawls with you."

"I wasn't there!" he growled. "Why doesn't anyone ever believe me?"

"Because you're the idiot who dumped him into the river in the first place. Am I supposed to believe that Kaoru lured him into a fight?"

The air was so tense that sparks were practically shooting from their angry eyes.

Yahiko burst into the kitchen then, hauling rice, salt and soy sauce, oblivious to the tension in the air. "Do you have to buy everything at once, Kaoru? How does Kenshin carry all this stuff?" He walked between Sano and Megumi, ignoring their anger, and dumped everything down without waiting for Kaoru's answer. "I'll tell Okina we got everything," he muttered and left.

Kaoru was only a few steps behind him, quietly setting down the tofu and the slightly dented pot she'd purchased.

Sano motioned to their load. "See? Look. They were at the market, just like I said!"

Megumi smacked the fighter with her spoon again to shut him up. "Kaoru," she said, turning to the girl and drawing her attention, "please tell me you had the common sense not to take Ken-san to the market with you earlier."

The younger girl sent Megumi a startled look. "Of course I took him. Sano and Yahiko weren't around, and I promised to buy rice and tofu for Okina. Anyway, you're the one who's been saying that Kenshin needs fresh air."

Megumi threw her hands in the air. "Is this that the only thing I said that you people listened to?"

Kaoru gritted her teeth, pulling out of her quiet worry for the first time that day and finally acting more like herself. "Well, you were all over him at the time. Maybe if you'd leave Kenshin alone, I'd listen to you more!"

"I'm his doctor!"

"Then treat him, and stop flirting with him!"

"I can't help it if Ken-san knows a real woman when he sees one!"

"A real woman—?"

Misao was watching the two women with a mixed expression of confusion and intrigue on her face.

Sano took this as a good time to slip out and find Battousai. His job was done here, anyway. Especially now that the girls were bickering again. He slunk away, and as soon as he was out of hitting range, made a dash for the door. They didn't even notice.

Now for the harder task. Sano made his way down the halls, stopping in front of Battousai's door and knocking.

There was a long pause before Battousai finally said, "Come in."

Sano entered and slid the door shut behind him. Battousai was changing his bandages again, for the first time revealing the full extent of his wounds. The tall man stared, taken by surprise. He'd seen a number of his injuries in the past day, but hadn't thought much of them. Sure, Battousai had been bandaged, and the wounds across his chest and back had been bad. But now Sano could see the slices in his arms, and the gash in his shoulder as well. This wasn't the usual wear and tear of a fighter. The strangest part was that the boy had very little old scar tissue anywhere except on his face. These were wounds that he seemed to have acquired all at once. It looked like he'd been ambushed somewhere. But how had anyone been able to ambush him?

"Was there something you wanted, Sagara?"

Sanosuke looked up to see intense blue eyes staring at him. Sano looked away. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he muttered. "I know I upset you back there."

"I'm fine." From the corner of his eye, Sano could see the youth go back to his bandages.

"You don't look fine," Sano said. "You look like someone tried to kill you. And it looks like they almost did it, too."

"I am a hitokiri. Since when are wounds on a hitokiri unusual?"

"When they're on you," Sano snapped. He finally walked in the rest of the way, and sat in front of his friend. "Listen, Himura. I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't mean to make it sound like you're only some killer. I was just taken by surprise. You weren't willing to give up the katana earlier, and you wouldn't promise to keep it in its sheath. What did you expect me to think except that you'd use it to kill if necessary?"

Battousai didn't answer him, wrapping the wound on his shoulder. Sano watched closely. It looked almost like claws had bit into his skin. And he had another wound near his neck that seemed to have come from some sort of dart. "You were attacked by ninjas, weren't you?" he asked, understanding now. It suddenly occurred to Sano that perhaps taking Battousai to the old Oniwaban-shu base might not have been one his better ideas after all.

"It isn't your concern, Sagara." There was a warning tone to the youth's voice that Sano completely ignored.

"Yes, it is. Friends help—"

Battousai looked up with such coldness, that Sano's words froze in the air. "Listen, Sagara," he said softly. "Thank you for helping me. But you do not want to be my friend. People who are close to me…" he hesitated, looking for the right words. "They don't last long. Do you understand?"

Sano scowled. "No. I don't."

"They're used, or kidnapped, or killed. And those are the people I can't ever protect. No one's safe in the end. It's better if you don't make yourself a target. Now, please leave, Sagara. I am fine."

It was the last straw for Sano. That boy was punishing himself for something he would only hint at, and the fighter couldn't take it anymore. Someone had to knock some sense into him. Sano's fist hit the redhead in the jaw before it even occurred to him that the boy still had his katana. It wasn't a very hard punch, but he caught the youth by surprise and dropped him.

The boy sat up, holding his face, too surprised to even be angry. His wide blue eyes staring at Sano in quiet shock.

"You idiot," Sanosuke growled softly. "Snap out of it! I don't know what's happened to you, but do you really think you're the only person who's lost someone? Kaoru, Yahiko and Misao have all lost their parents. No one has been able to locate Megumi's family. And there are others here, who've lost friends and family as well."

"And I'm the one who takes them away, Sagara. Don't you get that? I am Hitokiri Battousai, just as you said." The boy's voice softened. "I've killed hundreds, and for every life I've taken, I've destroyed a dozen others. I can't atone for that."

"The hell you can't," Sano snapped, drawing the youth's attention again. "You want to know my story? I was only seven when I joined the Sekihotai. Captain Sagara was like an older brother to me. He practically raised me for the next year as we did the dirty work of the Ishin-shishi. In the end, they lied, betrayed and slaughtered us. Then, as if that wasn't enough, they displayed the captain's head for everyone to see as a message. I hated them for it. Every last one of them. And since I couldn't do anything about it, I directed my hatred where I could, at myself, and at a name…"

"Battousai." The boy's voice was barely audible.

"Yeah," Sano said. "Battousai. Strongest of the patriots. I thought if I could kill him, then I'd have paid the Ishin-shishi back for what they did to us." He laughed darkly. "I was stupid. And it took a good man to snap me out of it. And you know, the funny thing is that it wasn't his sword that saved me in the end. It was his words. He told me that the revolution isn't over. That there are still people to fight for. To protect. And suddenly I realized that this man was just like Captain Sagara. And I made the decision then that he was someone to fight for."

Battousai was silent for a moment before quietly responding, "He sounds like quite a man, but what does this have to do with—?"

Sano leaned back and smirked. "That was right around the time he told me to call him Himura Kenshin, not Battousai."

The boy's eyes widened a fraction.

"Yeah. It was you. So don't you dare give me any of this bullshit about how you're just a hitokiri and how it's better if we aren't your friends. Saving us wasn't easy. You had to earn our trust, and our respect. Then you still had to save some of us from ourselves… our pasts. You save people, Himura. And you don't need a sword to do it. There's your atonement." Sanosuke smiled a little. "And to tell you the truth, I've never known anyone who can talk someone out of death like you can, kid."

Battousai wasn't looking at him anymore. He was staring down at his hands. "The sakabatou," he murmured, trying to take it all in. "That's why…"

"Himura?"

The redhead didn't look up. "Nothing. I was just thinking out loud." He paused, changing the subject. "I'm sorry about your loss, Sanosuke. About the captain. He was… displayed not far from Kyoto. I saw it a few nights ago. I'm sorry."

Sano shook his head. "Forget it. It was a long time ago. I've already thought about it too much." He stood up. "Anyway, I just thought you should know all that. I'll leave you alone now. Just think about what I said." He walked to the door and slid it open.

"So, I really saved someone?" the boy asked suddenly, looking up.

Sano glanced back at him. "Yeah."

The boy looked tired, but he managed that gentle smile of his. "I'm glad," he murmured. "That night you found me... I tried to talk someone off of a bridge. But he didn't make it."

"Himura..."

Battousai wasn't listening, caught up in the memory. "He kept talking about how he'd lost everything. How he had no reason to live anymore." The youth smiled faintly. "He was only a boy. I wish I could have given him a reason."

Sano's eyes widened, and he grabbed the doorframe. "What? You mean—"

He was cut off by Misao yelling down the hall. "Hey, rooster! Megumi wants you. I'd get over here before she kills Kaoru!"

"In a minute!" he yelled back. "Himura, listen—"

"Sanosuke!" Misao hollered again, closer this time.

He gritted his teeth. "I said in a minute!"

"You should go," Battousai said softly. "I need to finish up here, anyway." He picked up the bandages again.

Sano hesitated. "Right. But we'll talk later, Himura." At the youth's short nod, Sano stepped out of the room, and slid the door shut behind him, meeting up with the chattering weasel in the hall. As she led the way back to the kitchen, Sano was oblivious to everything, except for one thought running through his mind… that his swordsman, the man who had saved his life years ago … had been Battousai.

1865

Kenshin was already awake at sunrise. That dream had chased any chance of sleep away. Instead, he'd sat awake trying to keep his mind off of Kaoru. But every time he closed his eyes, he'd see her body slumped in the snow. It hadn't been worth dragging himself back to the futon. He'd just stayed with his back against the wall, clutching his sakabatou, and trying to ignore the fact that with each passing hour in this place he felt more and more like hitokiri Battousai. When dawn had finally arrived, Kenshin was not the same man he'd been when he'd entered this room. And he was afraid.

Golden rays of sun crept into his room, banishing the shadows from everywhere but his mind. Kenshin focused his dark eyes on the softly glowing sky outside. It was morning. He had to get up. Katsura would expect to see him soon. He stretched and started to stand, instantly regretting it. All of his muscles were protesting the movement after several hours of stillness. The wound at his side felt as though it were on fire. Not to mention that he felt almost too weak and dizzy to stand. Kenshin glanced down at the scarlet soaked bandages on his shoulder. He'd allowed himself to lose too much blood. Okami was going to kill him if he didn't change his bandages soon. Once every hour, she'd said. Even in his state, Kenshin managed a weak smile. He certainly didn't want to risk her wrath, and he hadn't thought to change them once since he'd finished his talk with Katsura.

Thoughts of his commander, and his promise to try to send Kenshin home were enough for him to attempt standing again. This time he let the wall support his back, and made the sakabatou take some of his weight. It wasn't so bad. The room wasn't spinning as much, and as long as he moved slowly, he felt steadier. He just had to ignore the stiffness and the pain. Of course, pain he was used to. But the stiffness… Kenshin managed another weak smile. That just made him feel old.

Near the door were fresh bandages along with his clothes. Kenshin changed his wrappings with the speed and skill of someone who was experienced in such things. The blood-soaked bandages were placed in a pile on the torn gi that Hiko had given him. Kenshin then reached for the fresh clothing Okami had left for him. A Choshu Ishin-shishi uniform. Hesitantly, he brushed his fingers against the dark blue gi and sighed. What had he expected? Okami to let him walk around in his torn and bloodstained clothes from last night?

Slowly, the ex-hitokiri dressed himself, careful of his wounds. The clothes felt heavy, as though the weight of a hundred deaths clung to the material as well. The gi was clean and carefully mended, but Kenshin could almost smell the blood on it. How many people had he killed wearing this? He swiped a comb through his hair a few times, enough to pull out the tangles and make it presentable, then tied it back in a high topknot. With each action, his movements became more automatic, until he put on his sakabatou and suddenly caught himself reaching to where his wakizashi normally would have been.

He shuddered a little as he realized what he'd been doing, and stood up, gently clasping his hand around the sakabatou for comfort. His eyes roamed the too familiar room only to focus on a sake bottle sitting beside his ruined clothes. Carefully, Kenshin bent and picked it up. Hiko's parting gift to him. For the first time since he'd awakened, Kenshin's hard blue eyes softened a bit, thoughts of his friends finally managing to creep into his mind. He was no assassin. No matter how easy it was to fall back into the old patterns. He was stronger than that. He just had to focus on them… on his friends.

Tying the bottle to his waist, Kenshin smiled to himself. Perhaps Hiko was right. This sake might help him focus after all…

Author's note: Ah! I'm sooo sorry that it has taken me an extra week to review! I was unable to update last week, because, being the fool I can sometimes be, I had no backup of what I'd already written on this chapter... only what was saved to my laptop... and my power supply died. I had to wait for the new one to come in. (My laptop is old, so I had to order one!) So, sorry again. I feel terrible about those of you I've kept in suspense. Hopefully this chapter will make up for the wait.

Onto a few reviewers:

Crimsonsun-rk37:A tatami is a mat that is used as a type of rug in Japan. Sorry. I guess I should have put a glossary in that chapter, but I'm horrid at explaining these definitions!

Lolo popoki: Don't worry. You'll learn more about that scar…

Dragonspirit4215: (Squeals!) Yay! Kenshin plushies. Even earning imaginary ones is fun! I'm glad you like the story and appreciate the research.

DStar504: Do you really want him to kill something? I guess that would all depend on his true personality. Remember, Katsura's dead in Meiji. So, who does Battousai serve now?

Esthered: I'm flattered. Heh… Thank you so much!

Skenshingumi: Thanks for all the great reviews. I hope you're feeling better soon!

Lady Battousai654: Well, here's your update! And never apologize for long reviews. I love long reviews when they are so thoughtful!

Otaku12: (blushes) Oh, what a compliment. I'm immensely flattered to have my story compared to anything that Watsuki-san himself would have written. Thank you so much! I hope you continue to enjoy!

I'm sorry I couldn't respond to you all (I have to go and pick up a friend… and I'm sure you'd like this update posted now rather than later… heh…) But thanks again to all of the wonderful reviewers! Thanks for reading! Thanks for reviewing! And please keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter (should be back on schedule and up in a week if all goes well!) Sayonara!