I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or Inuyasha.
6/28/03: further proof that I am a moron, I fixed some glaring tense mistakes at the end of the chapter. You'd almost think that I never took an English class, jeez...
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A/N: Oh and just a note. Kenshin is still completely oblivious to the fact that he is the reincarnation of Kagome. Yep. Oh, and this gets just a little shounen-ai-ish. I know I said I wasn't going to go anywhere with that, and I'm not. It's just Inuyasha wondering how's he's supposed to react to Kenshin being the reincarnation of Kagome, very mild; though if you were in his situation, wouldn't you wonder? So, if you can't hack any shounen-ai at all, you probably shouldn't read this. Kay! On with the drivel!
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Rurouni Inuyasha
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Chapter 7: And the World Goes Round Again
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What did it mean to be human? Was being human a matter of the heart as Kagome had always told him? Or was it just a state of being, the body you inhabited? Because for the first time Inuyasha realized that he had thought of himself as human for some time now. Once it had been the other way around, he had called himself a demon, disregarding his other heritage. But now, as he stared into the moonless sky, wondering how he was going to explain his current condition to the human sleeping on the futon behind him, he realized that for once, the change didn't seem so alien to him. It seemed...natural. Like this was something that was supposed to happen every month, which it was, but that had never been something he had ever accepted. Until now, that is.
"Why?" he wondered. "Why am I so different now?" The answer was simple enough. In fact it only consisted of one word. Or a name. Kagome. Kikyou. Technically, since they shared the same soul, they were the same person. Just, it hadn't seemed that way since they inhabited two different bodies at the same moment in time. Reincarnation could be tricky that way. Either way, Kikyou and Kagome had both come into his life, forever changing it. He finally got to see this so-called humanity he had always heard about. It had been a bewildering sight, since at that time Inuyasha had hardly ever seen any kindness, and when he had it had never been directed at him. Kikyou had been the first person he could clearly remember ever treating him like he was a real person, except for one other woman, and she had been his mother. Then...Kikyou had betrayed him...and oh god, how that hurt. Even now, after all this time, after he learned that she had been tricked into it by Naraku, it still hurt like hell. Then Kagome had come, and he got his second chance. At least, that was what he had thought until Kikyou came back. That was when everything started to get confusing.
Speaking of confusing.... Inuyasha glanced over at the young red-head still caught in the web of sleep. What was the meaning of their meeting? How was he supposed to react to all of this? The soul of the one person he had ever loved was now in the body of someone who was...well...a man. This was very perplexing to say the least. If Kenshin was a woman it wouldn't be an issue, Inuyasha would just sweep him off his feet with his incredible charm...or just run off with him and not let him go until he realized they were perfect for each other. But regardless of how he could appear at first glance, Kenshin wasn't a woman, he was male, and...aggh! fate could be such a jackass sometimes! What was he supposed to do? Love Kenshin in...that way? The soul was the same, and yes, Inuyasha could admit to himself that he did love Kenshin, but not really in a romantic way. Not like how he felt about Kagome or Kikyou. It was completely different, purely platonic. The way he felt towards Kenshin was more the way a father feels for a son, or the way a brother feels toward a brother. But then...he would see a glimpse of Kagome in the kid and Inuyasha's insides would go all topsy turvy. What was wrong with him?
"Uggh."
Inuyasha turned around slowly to see a bed-groggled Kenshin. It was strange; the kid looked positively...cute; his hair sticking out in all directions, sleep drooping his eyes. Then suddenly Kenshin's eyes cleared as he focused on Inuyasha. He didn't even know the kid had moved until he felt a katana blade at his throat.
"Tell me who you are before I slit your throat."
Inuyasha sighed. Oh, great, he hadn't even considered that Kenshin wouldn't recognize him. But it made sense of course; his hair was a completely different color, he didn't have his doggy ears, or his claws, or fangs, and his ki probably felt completely different. How was he going to convince Kenshin that he wasn't some intruder, but actually Inuyasha?
Kenshin's sword pressed further into his flesh, drawing blood. "Well?"
Inuyasha raised his clawless hands in surrender. "I'll tell you if you get that sword away from my neck."
Kenshin paused a moment before removing his blade, as if considering whether or not to take the risk. Inuyasha turned around and faced Kenshin who had an odd look on his face. He sighed again.
"I know you're not going to believe this, but I figure I might as well give it a try anyway," Inuyasha paused, trying to predict how Kenshin would react. Everything was always so much harder when you couldn't smell people's emotions. Why did this have to happen now? Just when Kenshin was starting to trust him?! Inuyasha looked out the window again, attempting to see the street below, but couldn't clearly because of his feeble, human eyes.
"I'm your friend, Inuyasha."
Silence. Kenshin wasn't saying anything. This could be a good sign. He wasn't telling Inuyasha that there could be no way he could be who he said he was, but then again, Kenshin wasn't exactly agreeing with him either. Maybe he was just debating on where to skewer his sword through Inuyasha's body. Oh, well, Inuyasha had lived a pretty long time anyway; now would be just as good a time as any to go. After waiting a few moments for Kenshin to either say something, or to feel cold steel slice through his body; Inuyasha couldn't take it anymore and decided that the suspense was killing him so he cautiously turned around. To his surprise Kenshin wasn't pointing a sword at him anymore. In fact, Kenshin wasn't even standing behind him. In fact, Kenshin wasn't even in the room. Sometime in the last couple of moments the kid had decided to just up and leave, without even so much as a good-bye. The nerve.
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His actions were just as perplexing to Kenshin as they had been for Inuyasha. It hadn't taken him very long to realize that the human intruder in Inuyasha's room was no intruder at all. As soon as he had begun speaking, though it was less gruff, Kenshin had recognized the voice, and even though as a human, Inuyasha didn't move as smoothly or gracefully as the regular Inuyasha did, he still used the same gestures and other odd quirks that only Inuyasha used. As a shadow assassin, trained to notice any near imperceptible weaknesses in his enemy, he couldn't help but notice this. The clincher came when the man admitted he was Inuyasha, and then Kenshin hadn't even waited around for an explanation, but left the room as silently and quickly as he was prone to, considering his former occupation. Now, thinking back, Kenshin wasn't sure why he had done that, but at that moment it had just made sense. He had just had to get out of there.
It was time for him to be moving on anyway, he couldn't afford for Inuyasha to get involved in Ishinshishi affairs. What if Katsura san decided that Inuyasha would just make the perfect shadow assassin? Which undoubtedly he would once he found out Inuyasha was a demon; Inuyasha wouldn't have been able to keep it a secret for very long. Eventually someone would have pulled off his hat, or seen his teeth, or rumors would have circulated, kami knows how they circulated about the Battousai himself, and he wasn't even a demon! And Kenshin was fairly sure that Inuyasha would have decided to tag along with him; for some reason the demon seemed to be quite attached to him and would probably want to protect him or something. As if the Hitokiri Battousai needed protection! Or deserved it for that matter.
Kenshin chuckled ironically to himself as he turned a corner, purposely taking a roundabout and intricate way to one of the Ishinshishi safe houses that Inuyasha wouldn't know about. It was strange; a lot of the people he meet seemed to want to protect him, that is, until they got to know him. Then they'd shy away from him, or try to betray him, or whisper about him....
"Himura san!"
Or latch onto him for strange and mystifying personal reasons.
Kenshin grimaced imperceptibility as he watched the excitable Ishinshishi soldier run at him, a mixture of anger and relief warring for domination on his face.
Karamaki Kazuo had always been a bit of a puzzle for Kenshin. Why did he even bother when so many before him had already given up hope? Didn't he realize that Kenshin was just not a sociable sort of guy? Not the kind of guy you made friends with? The same thing with Inuyasha, though at least he was a demon...half demon.
That had been so strange, seeing Inuyasha as a human. He had looked...normal, well, relatively normal at least, the violet eyes were a bit unusual for a human, though not unheard of. Kenshin himself had violetish eyes, or at least he once had. But then again he had flaming red hair as well, which was certainly unusual in of itself, and in most cases had overshadowed the fact that his eyes were also a strange color.
For some reason the new development in Inuyasha's appearance had made Kenshin angry. Maybe it was the fact that even though Inuyasha was a demon of all things, there were still times when he would be able to fit in with no problem at all. And that was something Kenshin could never do. Everything about him seemed to scream, Look at Me! Everything; from his hair to his eyes, to his height, to his ability with a sword....
"Himura san!" Karamaki's irritated voice interrupted his thoughts. Kenshin lifted his head to look Kazuo in the eyes, very aware of the anger within his own. Surprisingly, though not very, this didn't seem to deter Karamaki in the slightest.
"Where have you been? The men have been in an uproar over your disappearance! The only news we got was from that strange friend of yours, who in my opinion is nothing other than an untrustworthy street punk."
Hmmm...Kenshin raised an eyebrow. Did Karamaki's voice contain a note of jealousy? Imagine! People clamoring to be the Hitokiri Battousai's best friend. What was the world coming to?
Kazuo continued, "Who would have been able to tell if he was telling the truth or not!" He lowered his voice, "Frankly, Himura san, everybody was convinced you were dead."
Kenshin shrugged, what did he care? If you thought about it, what did anyone care? The Hitokiri Battousai is dead. Perhaps people would wonder whether they should be sad that there wasn't someone to clean up after them, or glad that they wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. However, it seemed that Karamaki cared, for who knew what reason, because he became angry at Kenshin's shrug.
"Aarrgghh!!" Kazuo screamed, pulling out his sword and flying towards Kenshin. Kenshin easily dodged the attack and continued on his way towards the front door of the safe house. He hoped that Karamaki would not attack him again, it was pure stupidity to draw attention to one of the safe houses that the Bafuku had not discovered yet.
"How...!" Kazuo exhaled furiously.
Kenshin listened to Kazuo's harsh breathing a few moments before stopping. He listened as the other man regained his composure, sheathed his sword and caught up to him. They entered the safe house in silence, nodding acknowledgements to the people who were letting them stay within their home; a risky venture considering how unpopular Kenshin in particular was at the moment with Japan's shaky government.
Only once they were in the privacy of their own compartments did Kazuo convey the information he had waited two days to deliver.
"Katsura san wants to meet with you tonight to discuss an assignment."
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That damned brat! How dare he! How DARE he!
Inuyasha threw furniture around his room for the better part of an hour. He wasn't exactly sure why he was so angry, but at the moment he felt a very strong urge to go out and kill something. Preferably young little hitokiri who went around calling themselves "Battousai."
Damn his current human frailty! If it wasn't for that, the stupid kid would never have been able to get away...not that Inuyasha was keeping him there or anything. No really, the kid could have left at any time...Inuyasha just wanted to know about it first...and wanted to make sure that the kid was all the way recovered...and maybe just a extra few months after that just to be safe.... Oh who was he kidding? It was just like that thing Kagome had said to him once. What was it again? Something about him being half DOG demon and having an overdeveloped sense of territory. Inuyasha winced as he remembered her pointing to every single person in their group and saying, "You think this is yours, and this is yours, and this is yours..." Sango and Miroku had tried not to laugh at him; Shippou didn't even bother, the inconsiderate runt. His dog demon heritage was just a big joke to them. And Kagome had just smiled at him in this infuriating superior way. Kagome and her dumb knowledge from the future. What a bunch of quacks, those future people. But even then, he had realized she was right. That was why when he had felt the need to go kill something, he had just brought it back for dinner. Like a good, faithful, puppy dog, tamed by the wonders of man. Keh. But even so, even with all the torment he had put up with from them, it had all been good-natured torment, and they had all still been his family. HIS family. His.
When you sat back and thought about it, it was sort of strange that he had this territorial instinct even when he was in his human form. Maybe it was just a personality thing after all.
Either way, within a half hour of that Inuyasha had hit the streets; not necessarily looking for Kenshin, but he was definitely looking for something. And sure enough, he found it.
A couple of minutes past four in the morning was when Inuyasha found trouble, or to put it more accurately, when trouble found him.
Inuyasha had been stalking angrily through the alleys of Kyoto, mumbling incoherently about dumb brats and dumb women, and about how no! even though he was a dog demon he wasn't necessarily a dog. This can be explained more comprehensibly by noting that Inuyasha had tried the "sake experiment" again just a few hours earlier. Needless to say it had taken much less sake to get him drunk than it had the previous time, a given considering he was now human.
"Oi! You there!"
Inuyasha slumped against the alley wall and quietly regarded the disembodied voice speaking to him. Was it God? Had Kami finally noticed him? Well, it was about fucking time! Then his eyes focused and he noticed a superior looking, snotty Wolf of Mibu looking down at him.
"Oh, I thought you might be the Battousai, but I can see now that you're just a good for nothing, drunk, small fry. But since you're carrying a sword, and judging from your farmer's garb, you cannot belong to any samurai sect, I suppose I will have to take care of you."
Keh, what was it with all these people who thought they were better than him, huh?
He didn't even bother pushing himself off the wall. "Ah, fuck you."
For some reason the Shinsengumi smiled at this. "You have no respect for authority, I see." He unsheathed his sword.
With a growl, Inuyasha pushed himself off the wall, unsheathing his own, to all appearances useless, sword.
At this the Wolf of Mibu full-out laughed. Inuyasha simply smirked, because he was beginning to feel the effects of the sake draining away.
"So you're a Wolf of Mibu, huh?" He spit on the ground. "It fits. Wolves have always been wimpy in my opinion."
Behind Inuyasha, the sun had begun to rise.
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A few hours earlier, on the other side of Kyoto....
"Katsura san?" Kenshin had entered the backroom of a sake house just down the street from the inn where he had once stayed as a shadow hitokiri. In his opinion, this was not a very good location to have a meeting, but then again, bodyguards and assassins were meant to only follow orders, not give them, so Kenshin kept his mouth shut about it.
"Himura san," Katsura acknowledged him. "How is your health?"
"I am fine, sir."
Katsura nodded. "Good, because I will need you to attend a meeting with me as my bodyguard in Suzu-Ya in a couple of days."
Kenshin considered this thoughtfully. "Sir, Suzu-Ya is--"
"I know," Katsura cut him off. "Suzu-Ya has very few escape routes." He sighed. "It was not my decision, but Saigo-san's to hold the meeting there." He looked at Kenshin. "This meeting is very important to the future of the Revolution. With an alliance with Saigo we may actually have a chance in toppling the Tokugawa regime." He paused, a troubled look in his eyes.
"Perhaps it will be all right, it's a move that would be unexpected by the Shogunate. But that is why I need you there, as an extra insurance, just in case the Shogunate do find out where the meeting is being held."
Kenshin nodded. "Hai. I will come with you as your bodyguard."
Katsura nodded back. "Good. We will meet back here in two days."
With those words Kenshin bowed to Katsura, stood up and left the room, emerging moments later out into the night.
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Two years before, in Otsu...
Kenshin sat in the middle of a room in the house that he had shared with Tomoe, staring at the flickering of the fire.
"I think and I think and I can't understand. Why...why would she...Tomoe..."
The wind ruffled the pages of Tomoe's diary, which was sitting open on a table. It caught Kenshin's attention.
Tomoe's...diary...
He reached for it and began reading a random entry.
~April 4th
Today we received word that Kiyosato Akira had been killed. Though I can hardly believe it, I am filled with regret that I did not stop him from leaving. Now...~
Kenshin sets the book down for a moment. So her fiancé's name was Kiyosato. It sounded strangely familiar...
~A man lies on the ground reaching for something only he can see. He opens his mouth to say his last words.
"To..mo..e..."~
At this memory Kenshin completely dropped the diary. It was he who killed him, he was the one who killed her fiancé, the one who had stolen her happiness from her! Tomoe...
"Your misfortune in killing her fiancé. Her misfortune in falling in love with you. It was just two pieces of very bad luck. It's not your fault. I heard all about it. I've already sent someone for the traitor."
Kenshin turned to see a travel weary Katsura standing in the doorway.
"So I'm being fired."
Katsura paused before speaking. "No...you must continue to wield your word for us. The patriot-hunting in the capital has grown worse. If no one stands up to them, total destruction is inevitable. Himura, you must protect the patriots as a mobile attacker. It's cruel of me to ask you, but there is no one else I can ask this of. I want you to make your heart bloodthirsty and wield the sword that soars the heavens."
Kenshin was silent, even when some of the village kids suddenly burst in through the door, startling Katsura.
"Can you come play with us?" they asked Kenshin who only shook his head with a ghost of a smile on his face.
The faces of the children fell. "Not today either?" one said, then brightened. "We're going to fly kites! Even though it's snowing." With that, they rushed back out the door to go play.
Katsura turned to leave as well. "I see I'm interrupting. I'll come again tomorrow."
Kenshin got up, tucking Tomoe's diary into his sleeve. "I understand. If I abandon the sword now, all the lives I've taken will be for nothing. Tomoe taught me the many small happinesses people live for. Until there can be an age lit up by these small happinesses, I will wield he sword." He paused. "But when the new age comes..."
He noticed Katsura is staring at him intently.
"...You'll throw away the sword?" he asked.
Kenshin shook his head. "I don't know. But I'll never kill again. Never again."
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So that's it for now. I'm sorry I took so long in getting this out, but it's probably something you should expect for the rest of the summer. For some reason it's harder for me to write at home than it was at school. Probably because there's more distractions here, like tv, and the internet. Oh, and the job eats up a lot of my time. So yeah.
6/28/03: further proof that I am a moron, I fixed some glaring tense mistakes at the end of the chapter. You'd almost think that I never took an English class, jeez...
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A/N: Oh and just a note. Kenshin is still completely oblivious to the fact that he is the reincarnation of Kagome. Yep. Oh, and this gets just a little shounen-ai-ish. I know I said I wasn't going to go anywhere with that, and I'm not. It's just Inuyasha wondering how's he's supposed to react to Kenshin being the reincarnation of Kagome, very mild; though if you were in his situation, wouldn't you wonder? So, if you can't hack any shounen-ai at all, you probably shouldn't read this. Kay! On with the drivel!
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Rurouni Inuyasha
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Chapter 7: And the World Goes Round Again
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What did it mean to be human? Was being human a matter of the heart as Kagome had always told him? Or was it just a state of being, the body you inhabited? Because for the first time Inuyasha realized that he had thought of himself as human for some time now. Once it had been the other way around, he had called himself a demon, disregarding his other heritage. But now, as he stared into the moonless sky, wondering how he was going to explain his current condition to the human sleeping on the futon behind him, he realized that for once, the change didn't seem so alien to him. It seemed...natural. Like this was something that was supposed to happen every month, which it was, but that had never been something he had ever accepted. Until now, that is.
"Why?" he wondered. "Why am I so different now?" The answer was simple enough. In fact it only consisted of one word. Or a name. Kagome. Kikyou. Technically, since they shared the same soul, they were the same person. Just, it hadn't seemed that way since they inhabited two different bodies at the same moment in time. Reincarnation could be tricky that way. Either way, Kikyou and Kagome had both come into his life, forever changing it. He finally got to see this so-called humanity he had always heard about. It had been a bewildering sight, since at that time Inuyasha had hardly ever seen any kindness, and when he had it had never been directed at him. Kikyou had been the first person he could clearly remember ever treating him like he was a real person, except for one other woman, and she had been his mother. Then...Kikyou had betrayed him...and oh god, how that hurt. Even now, after all this time, after he learned that she had been tricked into it by Naraku, it still hurt like hell. Then Kagome had come, and he got his second chance. At least, that was what he had thought until Kikyou came back. That was when everything started to get confusing.
Speaking of confusing.... Inuyasha glanced over at the young red-head still caught in the web of sleep. What was the meaning of their meeting? How was he supposed to react to all of this? The soul of the one person he had ever loved was now in the body of someone who was...well...a man. This was very perplexing to say the least. If Kenshin was a woman it wouldn't be an issue, Inuyasha would just sweep him off his feet with his incredible charm...or just run off with him and not let him go until he realized they were perfect for each other. But regardless of how he could appear at first glance, Kenshin wasn't a woman, he was male, and...aggh! fate could be such a jackass sometimes! What was he supposed to do? Love Kenshin in...that way? The soul was the same, and yes, Inuyasha could admit to himself that he did love Kenshin, but not really in a romantic way. Not like how he felt about Kagome or Kikyou. It was completely different, purely platonic. The way he felt towards Kenshin was more the way a father feels for a son, or the way a brother feels toward a brother. But then...he would see a glimpse of Kagome in the kid and Inuyasha's insides would go all topsy turvy. What was wrong with him?
"Uggh."
Inuyasha turned around slowly to see a bed-groggled Kenshin. It was strange; the kid looked positively...cute; his hair sticking out in all directions, sleep drooping his eyes. Then suddenly Kenshin's eyes cleared as he focused on Inuyasha. He didn't even know the kid had moved until he felt a katana blade at his throat.
"Tell me who you are before I slit your throat."
Inuyasha sighed. Oh, great, he hadn't even considered that Kenshin wouldn't recognize him. But it made sense of course; his hair was a completely different color, he didn't have his doggy ears, or his claws, or fangs, and his ki probably felt completely different. How was he going to convince Kenshin that he wasn't some intruder, but actually Inuyasha?
Kenshin's sword pressed further into his flesh, drawing blood. "Well?"
Inuyasha raised his clawless hands in surrender. "I'll tell you if you get that sword away from my neck."
Kenshin paused a moment before removing his blade, as if considering whether or not to take the risk. Inuyasha turned around and faced Kenshin who had an odd look on his face. He sighed again.
"I know you're not going to believe this, but I figure I might as well give it a try anyway," Inuyasha paused, trying to predict how Kenshin would react. Everything was always so much harder when you couldn't smell people's emotions. Why did this have to happen now? Just when Kenshin was starting to trust him?! Inuyasha looked out the window again, attempting to see the street below, but couldn't clearly because of his feeble, human eyes.
"I'm your friend, Inuyasha."
Silence. Kenshin wasn't saying anything. This could be a good sign. He wasn't telling Inuyasha that there could be no way he could be who he said he was, but then again, Kenshin wasn't exactly agreeing with him either. Maybe he was just debating on where to skewer his sword through Inuyasha's body. Oh, well, Inuyasha had lived a pretty long time anyway; now would be just as good a time as any to go. After waiting a few moments for Kenshin to either say something, or to feel cold steel slice through his body; Inuyasha couldn't take it anymore and decided that the suspense was killing him so he cautiously turned around. To his surprise Kenshin wasn't pointing a sword at him anymore. In fact, Kenshin wasn't even standing behind him. In fact, Kenshin wasn't even in the room. Sometime in the last couple of moments the kid had decided to just up and leave, without even so much as a good-bye. The nerve.
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His actions were just as perplexing to Kenshin as they had been for Inuyasha. It hadn't taken him very long to realize that the human intruder in Inuyasha's room was no intruder at all. As soon as he had begun speaking, though it was less gruff, Kenshin had recognized the voice, and even though as a human, Inuyasha didn't move as smoothly or gracefully as the regular Inuyasha did, he still used the same gestures and other odd quirks that only Inuyasha used. As a shadow assassin, trained to notice any near imperceptible weaknesses in his enemy, he couldn't help but notice this. The clincher came when the man admitted he was Inuyasha, and then Kenshin hadn't even waited around for an explanation, but left the room as silently and quickly as he was prone to, considering his former occupation. Now, thinking back, Kenshin wasn't sure why he had done that, but at that moment it had just made sense. He had just had to get out of there.
It was time for him to be moving on anyway, he couldn't afford for Inuyasha to get involved in Ishinshishi affairs. What if Katsura san decided that Inuyasha would just make the perfect shadow assassin? Which undoubtedly he would once he found out Inuyasha was a demon; Inuyasha wouldn't have been able to keep it a secret for very long. Eventually someone would have pulled off his hat, or seen his teeth, or rumors would have circulated, kami knows how they circulated about the Battousai himself, and he wasn't even a demon! And Kenshin was fairly sure that Inuyasha would have decided to tag along with him; for some reason the demon seemed to be quite attached to him and would probably want to protect him or something. As if the Hitokiri Battousai needed protection! Or deserved it for that matter.
Kenshin chuckled ironically to himself as he turned a corner, purposely taking a roundabout and intricate way to one of the Ishinshishi safe houses that Inuyasha wouldn't know about. It was strange; a lot of the people he meet seemed to want to protect him, that is, until they got to know him. Then they'd shy away from him, or try to betray him, or whisper about him....
"Himura san!"
Or latch onto him for strange and mystifying personal reasons.
Kenshin grimaced imperceptibility as he watched the excitable Ishinshishi soldier run at him, a mixture of anger and relief warring for domination on his face.
Karamaki Kazuo had always been a bit of a puzzle for Kenshin. Why did he even bother when so many before him had already given up hope? Didn't he realize that Kenshin was just not a sociable sort of guy? Not the kind of guy you made friends with? The same thing with Inuyasha, though at least he was a demon...half demon.
That had been so strange, seeing Inuyasha as a human. He had looked...normal, well, relatively normal at least, the violet eyes were a bit unusual for a human, though not unheard of. Kenshin himself had violetish eyes, or at least he once had. But then again he had flaming red hair as well, which was certainly unusual in of itself, and in most cases had overshadowed the fact that his eyes were also a strange color.
For some reason the new development in Inuyasha's appearance had made Kenshin angry. Maybe it was the fact that even though Inuyasha was a demon of all things, there were still times when he would be able to fit in with no problem at all. And that was something Kenshin could never do. Everything about him seemed to scream, Look at Me! Everything; from his hair to his eyes, to his height, to his ability with a sword....
"Himura san!" Karamaki's irritated voice interrupted his thoughts. Kenshin lifted his head to look Kazuo in the eyes, very aware of the anger within his own. Surprisingly, though not very, this didn't seem to deter Karamaki in the slightest.
"Where have you been? The men have been in an uproar over your disappearance! The only news we got was from that strange friend of yours, who in my opinion is nothing other than an untrustworthy street punk."
Hmmm...Kenshin raised an eyebrow. Did Karamaki's voice contain a note of jealousy? Imagine! People clamoring to be the Hitokiri Battousai's best friend. What was the world coming to?
Kazuo continued, "Who would have been able to tell if he was telling the truth or not!" He lowered his voice, "Frankly, Himura san, everybody was convinced you were dead."
Kenshin shrugged, what did he care? If you thought about it, what did anyone care? The Hitokiri Battousai is dead. Perhaps people would wonder whether they should be sad that there wasn't someone to clean up after them, or glad that they wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. However, it seemed that Karamaki cared, for who knew what reason, because he became angry at Kenshin's shrug.
"Aarrgghh!!" Kazuo screamed, pulling out his sword and flying towards Kenshin. Kenshin easily dodged the attack and continued on his way towards the front door of the safe house. He hoped that Karamaki would not attack him again, it was pure stupidity to draw attention to one of the safe houses that the Bafuku had not discovered yet.
"How...!" Kazuo exhaled furiously.
Kenshin listened to Kazuo's harsh breathing a few moments before stopping. He listened as the other man regained his composure, sheathed his sword and caught up to him. They entered the safe house in silence, nodding acknowledgements to the people who were letting them stay within their home; a risky venture considering how unpopular Kenshin in particular was at the moment with Japan's shaky government.
Only once they were in the privacy of their own compartments did Kazuo convey the information he had waited two days to deliver.
"Katsura san wants to meet with you tonight to discuss an assignment."
-----------
That damned brat! How dare he! How DARE he!
Inuyasha threw furniture around his room for the better part of an hour. He wasn't exactly sure why he was so angry, but at the moment he felt a very strong urge to go out and kill something. Preferably young little hitokiri who went around calling themselves "Battousai."
Damn his current human frailty! If it wasn't for that, the stupid kid would never have been able to get away...not that Inuyasha was keeping him there or anything. No really, the kid could have left at any time...Inuyasha just wanted to know about it first...and wanted to make sure that the kid was all the way recovered...and maybe just a extra few months after that just to be safe.... Oh who was he kidding? It was just like that thing Kagome had said to him once. What was it again? Something about him being half DOG demon and having an overdeveloped sense of territory. Inuyasha winced as he remembered her pointing to every single person in their group and saying, "You think this is yours, and this is yours, and this is yours..." Sango and Miroku had tried not to laugh at him; Shippou didn't even bother, the inconsiderate runt. His dog demon heritage was just a big joke to them. And Kagome had just smiled at him in this infuriating superior way. Kagome and her dumb knowledge from the future. What a bunch of quacks, those future people. But even then, he had realized she was right. That was why when he had felt the need to go kill something, he had just brought it back for dinner. Like a good, faithful, puppy dog, tamed by the wonders of man. Keh. But even so, even with all the torment he had put up with from them, it had all been good-natured torment, and they had all still been his family. HIS family. His.
When you sat back and thought about it, it was sort of strange that he had this territorial instinct even when he was in his human form. Maybe it was just a personality thing after all.
Either way, within a half hour of that Inuyasha had hit the streets; not necessarily looking for Kenshin, but he was definitely looking for something. And sure enough, he found it.
A couple of minutes past four in the morning was when Inuyasha found trouble, or to put it more accurately, when trouble found him.
Inuyasha had been stalking angrily through the alleys of Kyoto, mumbling incoherently about dumb brats and dumb women, and about how no! even though he was a dog demon he wasn't necessarily a dog. This can be explained more comprehensibly by noting that Inuyasha had tried the "sake experiment" again just a few hours earlier. Needless to say it had taken much less sake to get him drunk than it had the previous time, a given considering he was now human.
"Oi! You there!"
Inuyasha slumped against the alley wall and quietly regarded the disembodied voice speaking to him. Was it God? Had Kami finally noticed him? Well, it was about fucking time! Then his eyes focused and he noticed a superior looking, snotty Wolf of Mibu looking down at him.
"Oh, I thought you might be the Battousai, but I can see now that you're just a good for nothing, drunk, small fry. But since you're carrying a sword, and judging from your farmer's garb, you cannot belong to any samurai sect, I suppose I will have to take care of you."
Keh, what was it with all these people who thought they were better than him, huh?
He didn't even bother pushing himself off the wall. "Ah, fuck you."
For some reason the Shinsengumi smiled at this. "You have no respect for authority, I see." He unsheathed his sword.
With a growl, Inuyasha pushed himself off the wall, unsheathing his own, to all appearances useless, sword.
At this the Wolf of Mibu full-out laughed. Inuyasha simply smirked, because he was beginning to feel the effects of the sake draining away.
"So you're a Wolf of Mibu, huh?" He spit on the ground. "It fits. Wolves have always been wimpy in my opinion."
Behind Inuyasha, the sun had begun to rise.
---------
A few hours earlier, on the other side of Kyoto....
"Katsura san?" Kenshin had entered the backroom of a sake house just down the street from the inn where he had once stayed as a shadow hitokiri. In his opinion, this was not a very good location to have a meeting, but then again, bodyguards and assassins were meant to only follow orders, not give them, so Kenshin kept his mouth shut about it.
"Himura san," Katsura acknowledged him. "How is your health?"
"I am fine, sir."
Katsura nodded. "Good, because I will need you to attend a meeting with me as my bodyguard in Suzu-Ya in a couple of days."
Kenshin considered this thoughtfully. "Sir, Suzu-Ya is--"
"I know," Katsura cut him off. "Suzu-Ya has very few escape routes." He sighed. "It was not my decision, but Saigo-san's to hold the meeting there." He looked at Kenshin. "This meeting is very important to the future of the Revolution. With an alliance with Saigo we may actually have a chance in toppling the Tokugawa regime." He paused, a troubled look in his eyes.
"Perhaps it will be all right, it's a move that would be unexpected by the Shogunate. But that is why I need you there, as an extra insurance, just in case the Shogunate do find out where the meeting is being held."
Kenshin nodded. "Hai. I will come with you as your bodyguard."
Katsura nodded back. "Good. We will meet back here in two days."
With those words Kenshin bowed to Katsura, stood up and left the room, emerging moments later out into the night.
---------
Two years before, in Otsu...
Kenshin sat in the middle of a room in the house that he had shared with Tomoe, staring at the flickering of the fire.
"I think and I think and I can't understand. Why...why would she...Tomoe..."
The wind ruffled the pages of Tomoe's diary, which was sitting open on a table. It caught Kenshin's attention.
Tomoe's...diary...
He reached for it and began reading a random entry.
~April 4th
Today we received word that Kiyosato Akira had been killed. Though I can hardly believe it, I am filled with regret that I did not stop him from leaving. Now...~
Kenshin sets the book down for a moment. So her fiancé's name was Kiyosato. It sounded strangely familiar...
~A man lies on the ground reaching for something only he can see. He opens his mouth to say his last words.
"To..mo..e..."~
At this memory Kenshin completely dropped the diary. It was he who killed him, he was the one who killed her fiancé, the one who had stolen her happiness from her! Tomoe...
"Your misfortune in killing her fiancé. Her misfortune in falling in love with you. It was just two pieces of very bad luck. It's not your fault. I heard all about it. I've already sent someone for the traitor."
Kenshin turned to see a travel weary Katsura standing in the doorway.
"So I'm being fired."
Katsura paused before speaking. "No...you must continue to wield your word for us. The patriot-hunting in the capital has grown worse. If no one stands up to them, total destruction is inevitable. Himura, you must protect the patriots as a mobile attacker. It's cruel of me to ask you, but there is no one else I can ask this of. I want you to make your heart bloodthirsty and wield the sword that soars the heavens."
Kenshin was silent, even when some of the village kids suddenly burst in through the door, startling Katsura.
"Can you come play with us?" they asked Kenshin who only shook his head with a ghost of a smile on his face.
The faces of the children fell. "Not today either?" one said, then brightened. "We're going to fly kites! Even though it's snowing." With that, they rushed back out the door to go play.
Katsura turned to leave as well. "I see I'm interrupting. I'll come again tomorrow."
Kenshin got up, tucking Tomoe's diary into his sleeve. "I understand. If I abandon the sword now, all the lives I've taken will be for nothing. Tomoe taught me the many small happinesses people live for. Until there can be an age lit up by these small happinesses, I will wield he sword." He paused. "But when the new age comes..."
He noticed Katsura is staring at him intently.
"...You'll throw away the sword?" he asked.
Kenshin shook his head. "I don't know. But I'll never kill again. Never again."
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So that's it for now. I'm sorry I took so long in getting this out, but it's probably something you should expect for the rest of the summer. For some reason it's harder for me to write at home than it was at school. Probably because there's more distractions here, like tv, and the internet. Oh, and the job eats up a lot of my time. So yeah.
