Disclaimer: RK isn't mine.

A.N. Okay, here's the thing. THIS CHAPTER IS RATED "R". There's a rape scene at the end so I caution my readers as they read this chapter.

R&R.

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Secrets of the Revolution

Chapter 7

Hideki had successfully entered into her position at the inn with no problems at all. She transformed completely into a different person when she entered her place of work. She became the perfect woman; soft, demure, quiet, and refined. Everyone who worked at the inn loved her, and the Shinsengumi squad trusted her.

Himura was feeling better about her involvement. They met at the appointed time and place every night and she gave her daily report to him. He would then relay it to Katsura. It was redundant, him being the contact liaison between Katsura and Hideki, but he felt better seeing her everyday and knowing she was alright.

During the time Hideki was working at the inn, Katsura employed Himura as his personal guard. Every day Himura would shadow Katsura and protect him, and in the evenings he was assigned to protect different imperialists. Sometimes he had to protect amateur manslayers from the Shinsengumi, and sometimes he would be the escort for other officials. Himura also did whatever jobs were assigned to Hideki even though they were few and far between. He told Katsura that he saw his fellow manslayer every night. Hideki was a protective older brother to his little sister so he felt the need to see her too. Katsura never questioned Hideki's whereabouts. He assumed that the Hitokiri was watching his sister's every movement, making sure she was safe from the Shinsengumi. Katsura was still totally unaware that Hideki the manslayer and the demure young woman, Sakura, was one in the same.

Hideki made her way down the hall of the inn, carrying a tray of green tea and cakes for the Shinsengumi. She hated being the glorified waitress that she had become. She especially hated having to act so soft and quiet. She longed to put on her gi and hakama and train. She hadn't done that in weeks! Unfortunately, she was stuck in her current dead end position. The repetitiveness was grating on her nerves, the façade she wore daily was wearing thin, and she was stuck spying on squad 7, possibly the most boring squad of Shinsengumi samurai she's ever faced. They didn't do anything! They sat around laughing, drinking, eating and copping cheap feels on the women who worked at the inn. There have been several occasions where Hideki had to grip the fabric of her apron to prevent herself from cutting some man's wandering hand off. Her rear was sore from the amount of times it's been slapped and her patience was trickling away.

All the women who worked at the inn were terrified of the squad. They hated the swords they constantly carried and the rare times they would return covered in blood, only to discover that they would be forced to clean the men's clothes. Hideki wasn't sure if she was more pissed with the women or the samurai. But if there was one person she would love to throttle it was the innkeeper.

That man was the worst of the whole bunch. He was terrified of the Shinsengumi, actually he was terrified of everyone, except women. He felt that he owned the women who worked for him, so he could treat them whatever way he wanted. On several occasions he threatened to kill Hideki, and even hit her a few times. She mustered every ounce of self control not to hit back whenever he did. Her patience was also tested on a daily basis because of him. How she had managed to stay with the job for 3 weeks without killing someone was a mystery. Silently, she attributed it to the women. Hideki knew the women were terrified to move around the inn, so she took on most of the work herself. And it was usually herself who had the courage to serve the Shinsengumi, which was why she was bringing them tea.

She knelt next to the door and knocked softly on the wood before sliding the door open. She worked quietly and with her eyes down as she distributed the tea and cakes to the men. The entire squad, consisting of 14 men, was in the room. Their conversation was about samurai's in the revolution that had made a name for themselves.

"That Battousai, he's terrifying. I never knew someone so strong could exist."

"Have you ever seen him?"

"No, but if the rumours are even partially true he's got to be some kind of giant."

The conversation on Himura was shared between two boys. They couldn't be any more that 14 or 15. Roughly the same age as Himura and Hideki were when they were chosen to be Imperialist manslayers.

"Aho, no one who has ever laid eyes on the Battousai has lived to tell about it! That man is a monster! He took on 50 Shinsengumi, by himself and managed to kill them all in a matter of minutes!" another young man said. The leader of the group, no more than 22 or 23 listened to the exchange between the boys. He watched the girl as she handed out the tea. Unholy thoughts entered his mind about what he'd like to do to her.

Hideki kept her eyes lowered, listening to the conversation about Himura. The boys in the room were terrified of him that was obvious. There were only 3 young men out of the 14 in the room. The rest were older, ranging from 18 to probably 22. Hideki placed tea in front of one man, the oldest and a sudden chill ran up her spine. She felt the slight change in his ki when she drew nearer to him, and knew he had been watching her. Hell, he had been watching her since she arrived at the inn. She was always attentive to where he was each and every minute of the day. She was about to back away and place a serving of cake in front of him when he reached down and grasped her wrist firmly. She stamped down her rage and kept her eyes lowered. None of the other Shinsengumi paid any attention to their leader. He did whatever he wanted.

"You. what's your name?" he asked quietly

"Sakura, sir." She replied quietly, the rage inside boiling almost out of control.

"Sakura. A very pretty name for a very pretty girl."

"Thank you." His hand felt slimy all of the sudden and Hideki wanted nothing more than to pull out of his grasp and run away. It was a horrible feeling, one she never felt before.

"I've been watching you Sakura. I think you're a very good woman." He said softly, his grip never increasing or decreasing. "Innocent, and beautiful. A worthy woman for a man such as myself." Hideki couldn't take it. She wrenched her wrist free, displaying more strength than he had expected from her slight form. She turned, gathered the tray she had brought and left the room.

"She's got a lot of fire in her, doesn't she Shiro?" said someone to Shiro's right.

"Yes, she certainly does. I think she needs a man to put out that fire." Shiro said, still staring at the door where Sakura had exited.

"I think she needs men to put out that fire." the man to Shiro's right said. All three glanced at each other and smiled, then turned their attention to the tea before them.

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Himura stood in the middle of the forest, the usual spot where he and Hideki met. It was dusk and the little amount of sunlight that peaked through the canopy of leaves above him only managed to case slight shadows about. The muscle in his jaw flexed as he ground his teeth. He hated the wait. It was always the worst part of the meetings. With every second that ticked by, Himura saw images of her lying dead in a pool of blood back at the inn. He knew she could take care of herself if a man ever tried to kill her. But if they found out she was an imperialist spy, she wouldn't be able to handle 14 samurai while confined in a kimono and not armed with her katana. He gripped the small package he had in his sleeve tightly and allowed a smile to cross his face.

'She's going to pound me when she sees this,' he thought.

He saw her form moving through the woods. Her movements were a tad awkward because of the restrictive kimono and his jaw muscle relaxed upon seeing her. During the window of time between his first sighting of her, and when she was standing in front of him, he enjoyed watching and listening to her. She always cursed the kimono and sandals as she picked her way delicately thought the foliage, trying all in her power not to dirty her kimono. The last three weeks worth of meetings had always provided him some enjoyment. Each time she arrived to stand before him she said the exact same thing.

"I hate this kimono, I hate these sandals, I want my gi, I want my hakama and I want my sword!" Hideki grumbled, and Kenshin chuckled at her. She glared at him. He flashed his carefree, innocent grin at her.

"You're very predictable." He said simply.

"And you're very annoying." She grumbled in reply. His grin broadened at that.

"Anything new today?"

"No. Same boring events, day in and day out. However I'd really like to sink my teeth into the leader. The slime has been watching me all this time and finally voiced his intentions." Hideki grumbled. Kenshin sobered at that, his amethyst eyes immediately turning amber.

'If he touches her, he's dead.'

"What sort of intentions?"

"I don't know, he said I would be a 'worthy woman for him'. But don't worry, Himura. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. And I can certainly take care of that rat bastard if the time ever called for it." Kenshin relaxed at her words, he knew she was right anyways. She could defiantly take care of herself as long as she had a sword. He smiled at her again and pulled out the package, handing it to a bewildered Hideki. "What's this for?" she asked as she took it in her hands.

"Open it."

Hideki unfolded the cloth to reveal a hair piece. It was silver and about six inches long. It had a decorative end in the shape of a sakura blossom with a blue coloured tassel hanging from it. She smiled at the jewel in her hand. It was very pretty.

"Himura, it's beautiful. Who's the lucky girl?"

"You are."

Hideki blinked.

"What for?"

"An anniversary present."

"Anniversary? What anniversary?"

"One month of you being a woman every day." He grinned and took two giant steps backwards. Hideki blinked and then scowled at the man backing away from her.

"You are such a bastard! I should skin you alive for this! You know how much I hate this!" she raged. Kenshin burst into laughter as she tried to chase him; he easily dodged her and her frustration increased tenfold. He continued to run away from the angry girl before him until she stopped and buried her face in her hands.

'She's crying!?' he thought and rushed to her side. Before he could utter one word, in a single fluid motion Hideki had unsheathed his short sword and was pointing it at his throat.

"Now who's helpless?"

"Point taken." Kenshin said, smiling. Hideki slid his short sword back into its saya and stepped away.

"Thank you Kenshin. It's very sweet of you." Sakura said as she slipped the jewel into her hair. He smiled at her and then looked to the sky which had darkened considerably.

"I have to go, and so do you. Be careful and I'll see you tomorrow." Kenshin said. Sakura nodded, bid farewell and made her way out of the forest. Kenshin turned and headed back to downtown Kyoto where he was assigned to act as a guard while a group of imperialists completed a job they were assigned to. He didn't know what the job was; all he knew was that there were 5 imperialists who needed to be protected that night. That was enough for him.

Himura slipped unnoticed through the darkening city. He had to meet with Master Katsura and tell him about Sakura before he could take up his post. Stealthily, he crept through the alleys of Kyoto and followed the maze of back roads to Katsura's private residence. Only a hand full of people knew where Katsura lived, Himura had only recently found out when he took up the job of bodyguard to the imperialist. He easily jumped onto the outer wall and crept through the shadows to the tea room where Katsura was waiting for him.

Himura entered the room quietly and slid the door shut.

"How is she today?" Katsura asked as Himura sat down before him.

"She's fine. She's getting restless since the squad hasn't done anything yet. There have also been some advances made by some of the men in the squad towards her. Nothing more than words though." Katsura nodded.

"I want to go with you tomorrow." Katsura said. Himura looked up at Katsura, inside he was shocked, but outside he remained passive, and nodded. Katsura noted that Himura didn't ask for an explanation, but he was going to supply it to the Hitokiri anyways. "I have an important job for you and Hideki, and since the only time you see him is during those meetings I want to come along."

Himura nodded again and swallowed. Katsura needed Hideki for a job. Hideki was currently... indisposed, and would not show up tomorrow as Katsura expected him to.

"May I ask what this important job is?" Himura inquired.

"Okubo Toshimichi."

Himura's eyes widened. He had heard of Okubo, an Imperialist from Satsuma. He was the political liaison for the Imperialists during this time of war. He was, for all intents and purposes, the leader of the Imperialists. He never ventured to Kyoto just because of all the danger here.

"Okubo Toshimichi?"

"Aa. He is coming to Kyoto for some negotiations. He tried to change the location due to the danger here, but he couldn't. I need my best to protect him. That's you and Hideki." Katsura said. Himura nodded. He knew Hideki would jump at the chance to get out of the kimono she hated so much and go back to her old self. But the problem was that she would be missed at the inn. "Himura, shouldn't you be going? You are going to be needed tonight."

Himura bowed respectfully to Katsura and left the room and the grounds the exact same way he came in, sneaking though the garden and jumping the wall.

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It was late at night, and very dark. Himura the Battousai crouched low in an alley, waiting for the Imperialists who he was supposed to protect to pass by. It didn't take long before he heard the tell tale sounds of a swordfight. The clash of blades wasn't an unfamiliar sound to him, or to anyone who lived in Kyoto for that matter. He felt like a shadow assassin, crouched in the alley, ready for his attack, waiting.

Five men ran past him, they were the men he was supposed to protect. He stepped out of the alley and faced the squad of Shinsengumi samurai, his back to the retreating men.

"You will go no further. Your opponent is me." He said flatly.

"Battousai, it's been a while since I had the pleasure of crossing swords with you." One young man said. Himura locked eyes with Okita, leader of the first squad of Shinsengumi. The young man smiled and pulled his sword out, prepping for attack.

Okita charged, Himura dodged the attack and brought his sword around to slash his opponent across the chest. Okita blocked. He was one of the few men who were skilled enough to take on Battousai and live to tell the story. Most of the time their fights would end because Okita would get a sudden coughing fit and then spit out blood. It took a few questions on Himura's part to discover that he had consumption. He was slowly dying from the inside out.

Himura and Okita fought with stalwart intensity. Their swords clashed loudly as they attacked each other. Himura would attack, Okita would block. Both men were very strong manslayers, and they respected each others strength.

"Where's your partner tonight Battousai? Did we kill him a month ago or not?" Okita asked, grinning as he blocked another attack and jumped away. Himura glared at him but didn't move. He was going to wait for Okita to attack first.

"No, you didn't. He's still very much alive." Himura said. "What was that death toll afterwards? How many of your men were killed by us that night? 30? 40?"

Okita scowled and lunged at Himura in an attack. Himura stopped the blade with his katana and used his short sword to easily slice the white bandana that Okita wore across his brow off. Himura jumped away, holding the bandana in his hand. He had stalled the squad long enough now. Those men had gotten away, his job was done.

"Until next time, Okita-san." Himura said and dropped the bandana. He quickly faded into the shadows and escaped. As he ran he heard Okita coughing violently and knew the attacks were getting worse. Silently he wondered how long the man had left to live, and deep within his soul he felt a pang of guilt for fighting against him. Human emotions weren't lost on Battousai. He had respect for Okita. The man was very strong. Any samurai holds his worthy opponent in high regard, even if he hated the man with his entire being. Himura didn't have that same amount of distain for Okita as he did for another Shinsengumi squad leader. Saitou Hajime, leader of the 3rd division. That man was impressively strong, and he knew it.

Himura continued to run silently though the street of Kyoto, and returned to his post outside Katsura's home before midnight.

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"Did you hear? Okubo's coming to Kyoto tonight!"

"Really? Leader of the Imperialists? Coming to this hell hole?"

"Yes. And Shiro-sama is planning an attack on his carriage tonight, just outside the city limits! Imagine if that man dies, then this whole revolution will be over!"

"Shiro-sama wants everyone to be ready in 1 hour."

Hideki had paused at the door where some of Shinsengumi squad members were in. She was filling in the duty of bringing tea to them because one of the other women was too frightened to. She had angrily snatched the tea tray out of the terrified girl's hand and stalked off to find the room they were in. She would be late meeting Himura because of that girl.

As she listened at the door she was thankful to the girl for being so scared. She was hearing a plan to assassinate Okubo Toshimichi, exactly what Katsura wanted her to find out. She rapped gently on the door and opened it. The three youngest members of squad 7 were in the room, they stopped conversing about the upcoming assassination when the girl entered. She silently distributed the tea and cake then silently left the room. She was too preoccupied with thoughts of getting out of the inn and getting to Himura to notice anything.

She felt the presence behind her and before she could react, Shiro grabbed her wrist and forced her into a room. "Well my pretty little thing, I believe you've been eaves dropping." He sneered.

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Himura was impatient. He and Katsura were to meet Hideki very soon. Dusk was rapidly approaching. But because of the old man before him, they were going to be late.

Himura and Katsura were presently at a doctor's clinic. The older man had sent a notice to Katsura requesting his presence, and Katsura complied easily. The doctor was the Imperialists doctor. If Himura had allowed it, Katsura would have called upon the old man to look at Hideki's wound. He was trusted by all Imperialists.

"Sorry to call you here Katsura-san, but there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about." The doctor said, gesturing for Katsura and his bodyguard to sit down.

"Not a problem Tomino-sensai, what is it you wanted to see me about?"

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Another pair of hands grabbed Hideki as soon as the door to the room was closed. These hands forced her against a wall and quickly tied her hands together completely immobilizing her hands before she had a chance to protect herself. Shiro stood grinning at the helpless girl as she struggled against them. They pulled her away from the wall and forced her to the floor. Another pair of hands stilled her kicking feet. Shiro stood up and looked down at Hideki as she lay pinned by her ankles and wrists. She turned menacing blue eyes up at him.

"I think we need to teach this little girl a lesson." He said.

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"Katsura-san, I wanted to notify you about some of your enemies." Tomino said as he seated himself opposite Katsura. Himura leaned against the wall in the corner, away from the direct conversation, but not out of ear shot. He rested his sword against his shoulder and bowed his head, staring at the floor.

"My enemies? What about them?"

"Well, I understand that the Shinsengumi have been placing female spies in your midst. It occurred to me that you may try and use the same tactics against them." Tomino stated simply. His words caused Himura to listen intently and Katsura had an uneasy feeling wash over him.

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Shiro unsheathed a short sword and cleanly sliced Hideki's obi off. Hideki's eyes widened and actual fear took root in her person as she watched him throw the sword to the side and start to strip off his hakama.

'They're going to rape me!'

Even a seasoned samurai such as herself wasn't invincible. She had her own weaknesses. She was a woman, and women never had as much strength in them as men. If she had use of her hands, and if any of the three men had their swords at their waists, she would have easily gotten free. Unfortunately, she didn't have use of her hands, and each man had removed their weapons, discarding them at the corner of the room.

And since there were three of them, the situation was not in her favour. No matter how hard she could try, she wouldn't be able to escape them.

She opened her mouth to scream, but the man holding her shoulders quickly shut her up by stuffing her mouth with fabric from who knows where. She started struggling even more.

'NO! I won't allow this!' her mind screamed.

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"The thought did occur to me, Tomino-sensai" Katsura said. His voice remained calm, but his heart was beating rapidly.

"I thought as much. You always were one to use tactics of your enemies against them. You have always been a very smart man, Katsura-san. I'm very glad you're working towards peace." The old doctor said, smiling. Katsura returned his smile. Himura clenched his hand in a fist and bit his tongue to keep from yelling at the man to tell them what he knew.

His thoughts were on Hideki and he was praying she was safe.

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The man at her head grinned down at the incapacitated woman. She struggled more and let out muffled screams as Shiro ripped open her kimono revealing her body to him.

"Holy shit, what's with the scars and cuts?" the man holding her feet asked as Shiro lowered himself onto the girl, forcing his leg between her thighs.

Shiro only passively looked at the girl. Her entire upper body was covered with scars, small faint white lines. They looked almost like they were sword scars. There was one wound that was still healing, but it looked as if it had been bad, in her lower chest.

"Who cares?" he grunted as he pried her legs apart. Tears formed into her eyes and slid down her face as she continued to struggle against the weight of the man on top of her. It was useless, she knew it. There was no way she would be able to get free. It didn't matter if she was an Imperialist manslayer. Their combined strength overpowered her and her lack of sword made her weak.

'Kenshin... help me....'

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"What news do you have, Tomino-sensai?" Katsura asked, not bothering to hide the edge in his voice.

"Yes, my news. If you do plan to put a girl in as a spy, I recommend that you keep her away from one of the squads. I've dealt with several of the girls who worked at inns where this particular squad had stayed." Tomino said sadly, shaking his head at some memory. "Poor young things lost all their spirit when those men raped them."

Himura froze, feeling fear slowly creep up his spine.

'Men? As in more than one?' his head screamed. Even he knew Hideki wasn't prepared to take on several men at once without a sword.

"What squad?" Katsura heard himself ask, already knowing the answer.

"Squad seven."

Himura felt like a sumo ozeki had grabbed his heart and squeezed. He felt short of breath and only one thought entered his mind. Sakura. He had to get to that inn! He and Katsura were on their feet at the same time and running out of the room.

They had sent Sakura into the pits of hell.

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Hideki's scream of pain was muffled by the cloth in her mouth when Shiro entered her forcefully.

"Ohh, a virgin were we?" Shiro rasped in her ear. "What a pleasant surprise, it's been a while since I tasted a virgin."

She went totally still as he raped her, bruising her hips where he gripped her while her ankles, and wrists were already sporting nasty purplish bruises from where she had been held down.

She escaped into her mind, leaving all sense of touch behind her. She blocked out her whole world as natural defences took control. She could vaguely feel the man on top of her entering and withdrawing, and the pain that went with it but she paid no attention.

Each man took their turn abusing her.

In her mind, she could feel a familiar sensation start to take over. She saw herself standing at the edge of a precipice. In front of her was a sea blood, behind her, her humanity. She felt herself being drawn towards the blood. A whisper in her mind was telling her to smell it, touch it, taste it, and spill it.

The demon of bloodlust that she had been warring with for most of her life finally got his firm hold on her soul as she shut herself down to block out the rape.

The humanity within her slipped away, and Hideki felt herself tumble into oblivion.

The desire to see blood coursed through her, engulfing her entire being.

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A.N. End of chapter 7. It was kinda hard to write this chapter for very obvious reasons. Not exactly a pleasant read, but it was all part of the story. What happens when a samurai, who can use a sword well enough to fight Battousai to a draw, losses their mind?

The battle between Kenshin and Okita had no real bearing on the story, it's just that Kenshin had to do SOMETHING while Hideki was off being a spy and hell; his job was to protect other imperialists so I figured why not. I really like Okita too, so I just wanted to put him in the story somewhere. For any of you Saitou fans, I'm not planning to put him in this story anywhere, but I am thinking about writing a sequel and including everyone's favourite cop in it.

Anyways, reviews always welcome.