Battousai
Gohei was on his knees, cradling his left arm and staring through his crushed thumb as though he were trapped in a waking dream. She didn't blame him. No sooner had her unknown protector set her down than he disappeared in a blur of motion, reappearing only after the fight had been settled. Not even the ground beneath his feet could keep up with him: he left no footprints in his wake, not even a single crushed blade of grass as evidence of his passing. However, in the brief moments when he changed directions, she caught glimpses of the scarlet hair that trailed behind him, swirling around him like a wreath of flames.
"You will never raise a sword against Kaoru-dono, or anyone, again." He slid his own blade neatly back into its sheath with calm certainty. "Although you may yet make something of yourself by living a peaceful life in the village."
Gohei scoffed. "A ruthless demon like you dares to tell me to live peacefully?!" For one who had been dispatched so effortlessly, he walked a dangerous line. Whether it was foolishness or outrage that moved his lips, she was not sure. "I know you. Red hair and a cross-shaped scar—you're the one they call Battousai."
"I am."
A/N: When trying to describe Kenshin sheathing his sword, I somehow ended up tumbling down this rabbit hole, ultimately watching a series of youtube videos of people arguing about the sound swords make (or don't make, as the case may be). Good Lord. In the end, I just left out the sound.
Another fun thing was trying to decide how to treat the Kenshin/Battousai duality: is it a true dissociative identity disorder, or simply an identity others impose on him? Dr. Ciole, graduate of Wikipedia School of Medicine, got lazy and ended up shying away from too much of a discussion.