Summary: Beliefs can consume a man; drive him to commit acts of such horror that it would chill him on another day. Kenshin finds his own beliefs tested to the limits as he's thrown back into the body of his 15 yr old self and back into the Bakumatsu. Can Kenshin find a way back to his own time before he becomes lost in the violent era, or will he be doomed to become the Hitokiri Battousai again and relive his darkest nightmare?
******************
Beliefs
by Sera
Disclaimer: If I owned the series do you really think I'd be writing this as a fanfic??
Warning: Not much in this chapter. Violence, Language, and all the warnings that went with the OVAs.
******************
There was a calm, but complete, silence to the air as the rurouni with a home slowly stirred from his rest. Perhaps it was his time content with the finally achieved peace that his mind was slow to wake. Fate seemed to have decided that she was finally done with him, and no danger, in any form, had crossed his path for some time. It had allowed him the luxury of waking up slowly, and not on high alert.
His mind slightly fogged by sleep, he opened soft violet eyes to the rest of the world. It was dark still out, but even without a light burning in the next room over, he would he been able to see. However, no amount of time in a peaceful era could dull his senses enough that he would not react to finding himself in a strange room he had no knowledge of ever coming into.
He sat up quickly, eyes darting around the room, before he paused, his mind momentarily turning inward. His body... It felt different somehow. As he had told Megumi before she left, back to Aizu, those few years ago, he was rather in tune with his body. He could sense that it was indeed his body he was in, there was no doubt, but it felt different ; like it had both gained and lost something. Cautiously, he stood, and glanced at his hands. He was forced to pause again, this time in shock. His hands... They were smaller, less calloused, and younger.
Another thing registered: when he moved his head, his hair tickled the back of his bare neck. Eyes wide, he reached up and touched the high pony-tail. With horrified realization, it dawned on him what his body had gained and lost. He had gained his full strength back, and had lost whatever it was that the final technique of his style had triggered. But, how was that possible...?
He might have worked himself into a frenzy if not for the knock on the door. The sudden break in the silence was as effective as a slap to the face. Someone was outside the door, and his ki felt like... If he didn't know better he'd say it felt like... but that wasn't possible... Slowly, and more calmly than he felt, he called out, "Enter."
The door flew open. "I see you're up, Himura. I'd like to speak with on about something." It was Katsura Kogoro, and he looked exactly as he had during the Bakumatsu.
The world went black.
***
A/N: Just a teaser. Just to see what everyone thinks. If you want more review, and I'll see if I can scrounge up the rest of the story.
