I don't own Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin. Yep...
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Rurouni Inuyasha

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"Pleased to meet you Himura Kenshin." Inuyasha didn't bother to stifle his grin. This kid was funny, all serious and huffy one minute, saying, "I'm going to kill you," and then giving out his real name the next. And despite himself, Inuyasha found himself liking the kid. He sorta reminded him of himself at that age; all angsty, and misunderstood, and well, talented.

Kenshin allowed himself an itsy bitsy hint of smile and Inuyasha briefly wondered to himself what the kid would look like with a real smile on his face.

"Well, I probably should be leaving now," Kenshin said, turning around.

"All right, kid. I'll see you later." Inuyasha smiled a little before walking off. Behind him he heard a voice say in faint disbelief, "Kid?"

Inuyasha shook his head as he leapt up into a nearby tree. What would Kagome think of all this? He had just gone and made friends with an assassin, a person who was just as much a murderer as any demon. Hitokiri Battousai, a killer who got his nickname from his mastery over the battou jutsu, the art of unsheathing the sword at god-like speeds. Himura Kenshin. The kid couldn't be over 17, and already a legend of the Bakumatsu. Quite an accomplishment, that. It was more than enough to give anyone else an ego problem, but not Himura. No, instead the kid almost seemed too modest. Like it was something he was ashamed of....

"Forgive me."

Behind the coldness in Himura's eyes Inuyasha sensed a person who wanted out, a person who had seen too much death and tragedy.... Familiar. The kid's eyes were so familiar. Where had he seen those eyes before?

And there was another thing that had been bothering him. Himura's scent. Over the last day, Inuyasha hadn't really had time to think about it. He had been too consumed with his own memories, triggered by the familiar scent, he realized now. Why on Earth did Himura smell like Kagome? Or Kikyou for that matter? A distant relative of Kikyou's, perhaps? A distant cousin? One of Kagome's ancestors? But, he smelled exactly like them, so much so, that Inuyasha had believed in the back of his mind that he was going to meet another resurrected Kikyou. Or worse, a resurrected Kagome.

It was like when he had just awoken from his 50-year enchantment that Kikyou had placed on him.... He had thought that Kagome was Kikyou because of the way she smelled. Of course he had just woken up from a 50 year nap, so maybe his brain was a little addled, not to mention he had been furious and not really in his right mind back then....

Wait....

Kagome and Kikyou smelled the same...like they were the same person.... Himura smells like Kagome and Kikyou did...does that mean...?

Oh, fuck.

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Life was strange. It seemed that as soon as you had finally settled on something to believe, something that made sense, something that could not be altered, an absolute truth; that belief of yours could be so easily shattered. All the man had had to do was remove his hat, and Kenshin's philosophy on life was broken. Monsters, ghosts, demons...they did not exist. At least that was what he had always thought. Just superstition, fairy tales to pass the time with. But then again, every fairy tale has a grain of truth to it. Still, it was odd that there had never been any indication that there were demons in the world, up until now, that is. It was strange. It seemed like there should have been some indication, regardless how small, of their existence. Unless they were so good at passing themselves off as human that there would never be anyway of telling. Even so....

Kenshin shook his head. How many demons had he met, never even knowing what they were? How many people out on the streets of Kyoto were demons? Or fellow Ishinshishi? How many of them were out there?

The man...demon...hanyou...was different from what he would have expected. Kenshin had always expected demons to be bloodthirsty monsters, bent on destroying humanity. But the demon was half human. Was that why he had seemed fairly normal in spite of his strange features and that strange ki that came off of him in waves? Why hadn't Kenshin seen him for what he was right away? Now it seemed so obvious.

"Ah, but now you believe in demons, before you didn't," the voice of logic intercepted. True, that was true.

It was somewhat ironic, that he had met a demon. The infamous Hitokiri Battousai, rumored to be a demon because of his god-like speed and his blood-red hair, had actually met a demon.

Life was a strange and mischievous thing. When he thought about it, Kenshin's entire life was somewhat ironic. First he was spared death, all the while destined to mete out so much of it. He fought and killed to achieve peace and equality; he had met a demon and found that he himself was more of one....

That was what had really been bothering him. The demon, Inuyasha, was actually a nice person. Or at least a decent person, the vote was still out on whether or not he was nice. It was disconcerting to find that fabled monsters of legend could be more forgiving and merciful than most men were in this time of war.

But then again, it wasn't really the hanyou's war, was it…. The hanyou, Inuyasha, could afford to be forgiving and merciful. He wasn't fighting for justice or a cause. And he also wasn't bone weary, and tired of it.

The demon's soul wasn't dead like his was.

Kenshin picked up his sword, not even bothering to acknowledge the frightened glances he got as he did so. He was the Hitokiri Battousai, he could go crazy at any moment and kill them all. Even his allies believed he was a monster without mercy.

"When this is all over, I will be able to afford being forgiving and merciful...." Kenshin thought as he stood up and shoved the sheathed sword into his belt.

But at the door of the room he paused and asked himself, "But can I ever be forgiven?" before he followed Katsura Kogoro, a major player in the political game of war, out of the meeting as a trusted and quite capable bodyguard.

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It was late afternoon by the time Inuyasha finally emerged from his room at one of the many cheap inns in Kyoto. Since he never really hung out with humans anymore, he had started becoming more nocturnal; sleeping during the day, wandering around at night. It was easier to move around at night anyway; less people to bug him or comment on his appearance, and it was easier to slip into the shadows. If it hadn't been for his odd sleeping habits, Inuyasha probably would not have ever met the kid Himura…Battousai. He wouldn't have been wandering down dark alleys in the middle of the night, or visiting Kagome's grave at the crack of dawn.

That kid…. Could he really be the reincarnation of Kikyou? It was hard to believe…although in some ways it wasn't so hard to see. The sadness in Himura's eyes was exactly like the sadness in Kikyou's eyes. It was that sadness that had brought him close to Kikyou, and maybe it was that same sadness that he saw in the kid's eyes that made him feel pity for him.

Both of them, Kikyou and Himura, were extremely talented with their chosen weapons, Kikyou herself had been able to take down formidable demons with only her bow and arrow. And from he had seen of Himura's victims, the kid probably would be able to do the same if he could harness his spiritual ki. But, in this day and age there was no need for magical abilities, only the need for the ability to kill other humans.

Even after all this time, they still fought to death over trivial things. Was it so wrong that the peasants wanted more rights? Family names? Reasons to wake up in the morning? Was it really worth all this bloodshed? Inuyasha shook his head disdainfully. He would never understand humans and their power struggles. Hell, he hadn't even understood most of the demon ones.

"Maybe it's just politics I don't understand," he thought to himself, as he passed a local tavern. (bar?, sake house? Eh??) Inuyasha studied the shop's sign for a moment. He had never really drunk much sake, never really saw the point in it, but for some reason it sounded pretty good right now. Besides, it was dark inside, he'd be able to move his hat off his forehead a little.

After about three cups of sake, Inuyasha was still trying to figure out why he had come in there. The sake tasted bad and it wasn't doing anything for him.

Vaguely, Inuyasha wondered what it was like to be drunk. For some reason it sounded like a fun thing to be right now. He glanced down at the bottle of sake in front of him and abruptly chugged the entire thing down. Maybe if he drank a whole lot he would get at least a little tipsy.

Around the tavern, people began turning to watch as this strange man who ordered bottle after bottle of sake. It was amazing; he didn't even seem to be drunk. Whispers and speculations began to circulate around the room. Who was this guy?

Inuyasha quietly mused to himself in the corner, oblivious to the stares he was getting. Besides the heavy consumption of liquor, he was shaking his head and muttering to himself.

The Hitokiri Battousai…. Kikyou…. Nah, it was too weird. Yep, weird, weird, weird. He didn't like it, it was too strange. Better just to disregard it. Nope, Kikyou is not a goofy looking assassin. Nope, not pretty, mysterious Kikyou. Of course the kid was pretty too. Wait, what was he thinking? He looked down at all the sake bottles that had accumulated on his table. Must be the sake. Yeah, maybe he was actually getting drunk. Surprise, surprise. Heh…

Wait. Inuyasha's head cleared as he caught hold of a familiar scent. It was faint, but it was definitely there. And it was mixed with the scent of blood.

He left some coins to pay for his considerable tab, and didn't even notice when people began applauding as he left.
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"Himura san?"

Kenshin jerked out of the reverie that he had fallen into and turned to Katsura.

"Yes, Katsura san?"

"Nothing." Katsura smirked a little, Kenshin figured it was because he was pleased that he had caught Kenshin off guard.

Kenshin didn't know what was wrong with him. He kept on finding himself staring off into space, it seemed for no reason at all. Something about the sun setting, and the way the clouds clustered overhead just seemed to put him into a trance.

Katsura seemed amused by it though. Even so, it was not good for a bodyguard to be daydreaming while on duty. Even though nothing was happening...and he hadn't gotten much sleep lately...and for some reason he could see Tomoe's face in the clouds....

Kenshin smacked himself in the face, startling Kazuo.

"Himura san? Are you all right?" Kazuo asked Kenshin worriedly. Kenshin just waved him off.

"Fine, fine."

Kenshin tensed as he felt a powerful ki nearby. An assassin? During the day? He whirled to watch as a figure came out of the shadows. Apparently the Shogunate also had shadow assassins in their employ.

"Katsura Kogoro, I have come to take your life." All the bodyguards besides Kenshin quickly surrounded the assassin.

Those words, so familiar. It wasn't so long ago that Kenshin had said them on a regular basis.

Kenshin stepped forward, in front of Katsura.

"I cannot let you do that," he said in a quiet menacing voice. Upon seeing him, the assassin gasped.

"Battousai!?"

Kenshin descended upon the shadow assassin without mercy, cleanly slicing through his body. Kenshin glanced around surveying those around him. All seemed to be well and intact. He had just finished cleaning his blade when he became aware of more killing ki around them. Ninjas? It had to be, no one but they could hide their ki well enough to escape Battousai's notice. Well, not usually anyway. Kenshin tensed when he felt a hand on his shoulder, only to relax when he realized it was Katsura.

"Himura...we have to get out of here."

Kenshin nodded. "I know." He turned to Kazuo.

"Karamaki san, take Katsura san to the safe house. I'll try to hold them off."

"Them?" Kazuo looked confused.

Kenshin gritted his teeth with frustration. The moron couldn't sense ki! "Just go!" he hissed.

Kazuo was about to argue when Katsura spoke. "He's right, Karamaki san. Others are coming. We must go." He looked at Kenshin before turning to go. "The effort is appreciated, Himura san."

Kenshin stepped into the shadows, watching the others go. The ninjas were coming closer. Kenshin suppressed his ki down as far as it would go. It would go faster if he could take them by surprise.

He barely even breathed as they entered the alley. There were many of them, more than he had expected....

Without warning, Kenshin sped out of his hiding place and slashed through three of the ninjas in one go, turning to slash through three more. The others had retreated out of his range, but no matter, these were not seasoned fighters, some were still stumbling in confusion.

"Battousai."

Kenshin whirled and attacked the voice that had addressed him, driving one of his swords through the ninja's stomach. The ninja fell, but managed to stab Kenshin in the right shoulder with a hidden dagger. Kenshin growled, not out of pain, but out of the fact that this would slow down the speed and strength with which he used his sword. He moved to make the killing blow, nonchalantly brushing a few more of the ninjas away with his katana. The one in front of him was obviously the leader. Without him, the entire group would disperse, and maybe Kenshin wouldn't have to take anymore lives this night.

"That's just an excuse and you know it," a voice inside Kenshin whispered. "You love it, don't you? Murderer."

He paused before striking the leading ninja down. The wounds Kenshin had inflicted were bad, but not fatal. If the ninja found his way to a doctor in time, he could be saved.

"If you agree to retreat, I will spare your lives."

The ninja growled, struggling to rise to his feet. "Don't want to kill a woman?" The ninja asked as her mask fell, revealing a face twisted with fury. She was a young woman, with long black hair and features that would be considered beautiful under normal circumstances. But what hit Kenshin the most was her remarkable resemblance to....

"Tomoe," Kenshin whispered, his sword falling from his hand. The ninja didn't waste a moment, rushing forward to drive a dagger into his chest.

Without thinking, Kenshin pulled out his shorter sword and sliced through her body, watching as she fell in a bloody heap at his feet.

It was the same thing all over again.

Kenshin dropped to his knees, cradling the dying woman in his arms.

"Tomoe!" he whispered. "I'm so sorry, Tomoe..."

The woman tried to claw at his face, Kenshin made no move to stop her.

"You murderer," she whispered with helpless fury. "You killed my brother, I will never forgive you." Her breath hitched and she struggled to breathe. She would be dead soon. It was surprising she wasn't already.

Kenshin didn't even flinch as a poisoned dart flew into uninjured shoulder. The tears falling from his face mingled with the blood of his wounds, and he was dimly aware of the other ninjas starting to surround them, about to attack him.

He looked down at the woman cradled in his arms. She wasn't Tomoe, he knew that, but the heaviness of what he had been doing for the last three years came all down on him at once. It didn't matter anymore.

"I made the bloody rain come," he said to no one in particular. The woman in his lap glared at him before drawing her final breath, hating him to the last. His vision started blurring, going black, and he sat quietly, waiting for his death. The death of the Hitokiri Battousai. A momentous occasion, maybe there would be a festival, with so many people celebrating.

Then there was a distant voice. A strong voice.

"Leave him alone." Sounds of fighting seemed to echo around him and the last thing Kenshin was aware of was of someone carrying him before he blacked out.Author's Notes:

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~well, that was depressing wasn't it? sorry.
~I created a FAQ page. I will be putting the answers to the questions you ask in reviews on this page. Yep.
~Thank you so much for reviewing me, everybody! Evidently it worked, I wrote another chapter! Yay!