My eyes opened to darkness illuminated by the television.

My senses stretched automatically.

Something was off.

I smell jasmine.

I looked to my right and on my coffee table there was a sprig of jasmine.

It wasn't there before.

My eyes narrowed. Someone was toying with me.

They would not like the results.

I got up and breezed through my apartment checking to see if anything else was amiss. There was nothing out of place but the jasmine.

My Kaoru please wait for me, be strong I'm coming to free you.

I grabbed my sakabattou and unsheathed it.

I looked to the sky. It was dark but I still had time.

So I took this time to clean my sword. My mind went blank at the familiar sensations and monotonous movements of rituals practiced so diligently by my experienced hands, hands that could be covered in more blood tonight.

I wondered at that for a minute. I was not fooling myself I have killed before. I have felt the burden and guilt of being a murderer.

Tonight was different.

My mind and body were one with my thoughts of death.

For her, for my wife, my Kaoru, the thought of killing again was justified.

Granted I didn't want to kill anyone. I have all the hope in the world we can all come to an agreement peacefully, but really I'm not so naive to believe it would be true. To fight Aoshi and Sojiro, there will be blood spilled this night.

I looked at the sky again. It was time to leave.

I changed into my old training gear. It would be easier to move around in. I opted for my dark blue gi and gray hakama. I put my hair high in a ponytail and tucked my sakabattou in through the ties of my hakama.

I opened the door and stepped out to the aroma of jasmine filling the hallway. I went to the stairwell and left the building.

En route I tried to think of ways to negotiate an agreement. Each solution ended up in a bloody battle. I did not give up and continued to rack my brain.

I parked at the end of the street to my Kaoru's house.

I crept through the neighbor's yard to peer over the fence.

To my great awe she stood there. My goddess.

Dressed in her night yukata she glowed in the moonlight and my heart ached at the sight of my wife.

Tears stung my eyes. I couldn't hold back any longer and I jumped the fence. She didn't hear me and I went behind her and encircled her within my arms. She gave a start but I pulled tighter. I buried my face in her hair I did not want her to see my tears.

"Kenshin" she whispered. So much love and sorrow in her voice.

"My Kaoru. Mine." I spoke into her hair.

She fidgeted and tried to turn but I would not let go. I was afraid I would lose her again.

"Please Kenshin let me look at you." I let her turn but did not ease my hold on her.

"I've come for you Kaoru. Let me take you away from here."

"Oh Kenshin, you have no idea what you are doing. What you have already done. You must leave!" She choked back a sob.

"No! I know what I'm doing. You will come with me. We will get married and live at the house by the beach. We will have two children and we will all be happy. I'll make sure of it. Please my Kaoru, let us go."

My wife just stood there still as a statue while I tried to tug at her arm.

"I can't Kenshin." Her soft little hands came up to hold my face. She had a forlorn look her features and my eyes widened in fear.

"Kenshin, you do not understand. I can not have those things with you. I have to stay. I made things very clear in the letter that you were not to come looking for me."

My eyes narrowed and burned bright gold.

"I understand perfectly well." I growled out.

"SHINOMORI! SETA! COME OUT RIGHT NOW! WE WILL SETTLE THIS! KAORU IS MINE!"

"Shhhhh…Kenshin please!" She pleaded.

"They are not here. They had to go out on assignment tonight. Please you must go!"

"KAORU! KAORU! Who are you talking to? Is there someone there?" We heard a gruff male voice call out.

"Please Kenshin go now!" The urgency in her voice made me scowl.

"This is not over." I bit out annoyed.

I jumped back over the fence and watched as a man presumable her father, since it wasn't Shinomori-sama, slap my wife across the face. She fell to the ground where he roughly grabbed her by the arms and hauled her forcefully up and threw her into the house.

My eyes must be shining this night. He has harmed my wife and for that he will pay. All I could see at this point was red.

I walked around to the front and knocked on the door. Said asshole father answered.

"Hello, how can I help you young man?" His voice was sickeningly sweat. Nothing that you would imagine from the display I had just witnessed.

"Koshijiro Kamiya?" I spoke in low angry tones and kept my head low so my hair covered my eyes.

"Yes, is there something I can do for you?"

"Actually there is. You can cancel my Kaoru's engagement to Shinomori and allow me to marry her instead."

We stood in silence for a minute before he burst out in laughter.

I let him have at it for a while. Then he abruptly stopped and stared at me with anger in his eyes.

"I knew she was talking to someone a minute ago. It was you wasn't it? You will not have My Kaoru. Be gone with you little bug before I squash you." He had a cruel smile on his face.

I tilted my head up slightly at and angle and smirked.

"I was hoping you would say that."

I had an evil smile on my face now as I pushed him back into the house and followed behind him.

I lifted my head so he could see me fully and realize the extent of his folly.

My golden orbs burned through his frightened chestnut eyes.

He stumbled and fell to the ground. I took this as my cue to unsheathe my blade.

I twisted it so the moonlight reflected off the blade and gave my face an eerie shimmer. His eyes widened.

"Yyyou…tthhats…yooou'rre…" He stuttered but I understood.

I had to relish this moment.

"Yes, it is, and yes I am."

With that I flipped my sakabattou and brought it down upon Kamiya. He screeched like a girl and I felt the need to tell him.

"You pathetic piece of shit. You yell like a little girl! It was only your toes. You still have the ones on your other foot."

He kept backing away when a flash of silver gleamed in the room.

"Oops, I do believe I spoke too soon. The last of your toes seem to be over there somewhere."

He got up started runni…well walking fast on his heels. I followed slowly.

Faintly I could hear a pounding on a door upstairs but I was too focused on the task at hand. This filth needed to pay for hurting my wife, for trying to keep us apart.

My sword flashed again and his left hand fell as he ran.

I picked it up and threw it at him making him trip yet again.

He picked up the item of his demise, gasped in horror and threw it across the room. He lifted his left arm to see there was no longer a hand attached.

"Big mistake." I growled as I took the rest of his left arm too.

His eyes were becoming glassy but there was still a spark in him. He did not want to accept his fate just yet.

You had to admire that a bit. At least my Kaoru got something good from him.

I hesitated a moment with that thought and I felt her ki. It was frantic.

I heard the banging then and realized that she was upstairs locked in a room.

Good.

She will be safe and she won't witness the atrocity I'm about to commit. Although, I am feeling pretty good about it right now.

The scum had taken my momentary lapse to rise from the ground and turn running again. I sighed.

"Kamiya." I drawled.

"You are trailing blood all through your house. Why won't you stay put and take your punishment like a good piece of shit?"

I heard a small crash and followed the sound. Kamiya was leaning on a counter. I brought my sword up and swung. He barely escaped with his right arm in tact. I was only able to catch some fingers. I watched in amusement as they rolled off the counter and onto the floor. I slowly followed him out the back door and into the dojo.

I shut the shoji with a loud clack and a feral grin.

"Now Kamiya you will suffer."

I yelled out as my sword came down on him again. I cut his left foot off followed by his right.

"You didn't really think I'd end it so quickly do you?"

He was becoming pale and would die soon of blood loss.

I should stop toying with him...after I take his right arm.

My blade was hungry for it and greedily took it with ease.

In my state I failed to hear the shoji open behind me.

I didn't hear the second scream because Kamiya's scream drowned out all other sounds. I didn't register the other person in the room just yet.

"Now Kamiya I will deliver tenchu upon you. You will pay for your lies and her unhappiness."

As I spoke these words my sword swung to claim his head and I heard a horrible scream. It pierced my heart.

"NOOOOOO! KENNNNNSHINNNN!"

"FATHER!"

I turned to look into the eyes of my beloved.

They were filled with horror at the gruesome scene before her and the trail from the house.

They were filled with betrayal for I had gone against her wishes and I had killed the last of her family.

Her eyes bore into mine haunting me, and my soul cried out.

My love had seen the monster that I am. I have doomed myself.

We continued staring at each other.

I was covered in blood, I could feel it dripping down my face but our eyes stayed locked and then I saw it.

It was a brief flicker but it was there haunting me, taunting me and I felt the air grow heavy around me.

I felt like I was struggling for breath.

Breathe, I reminded myself keeping eye contact.

I could not look away.

Breathe…breathe…breath…then darkness…breathe…breathe…breathe…

I had review this a bunch of times to keep track of all the body parts. Yeah, I know that's kinda sick but hey, if I didn't then Kaoru's father would have ended up with 3 left arms.