Disclaimer: RK doesn't belong to me. I borrow some characters for my tale.

A.N. Well folks. I had a blast writing this fic for you. This is the final chapter and I hope you enjoy it. Thank you all for reading! Till next time!!!

R&R!

Enjoy!

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Secrets of the Revolution

Chapter 11

Himura and Hideki followed Takasugi into Kyoto. He wouldn't utter a word as they made their way through the darkening streets. No one paid them any attention. Most people were fleeing back to their homes because night was falling, and soon the Hitokiri's would be out. It was better to be locked within your home than out roaming the street. If you accidentally saw a murder, then the manslayer would kill you. No hesitation.

Takasugi lead the two manslayers to an inn that was located in the centre of Kyoto. He opened the door and gave entrance to the manslayers first.

"This is where I leave you, I have my own troops to meet with. The girl will bring you to Katsura. Good luck." He said, and left them standing in the entrance.

"A-ano. Welcome, Katsura-san is waiting for you." The young girl said. She wasn't any older than 10 or 11. It wasn't unusual for a girl her age to be working at an inn or a restaurant. But she was terrified of the manslayers before her. Especially the red head with the cross scar and yellow eyes. He scared her a lot.

She turned, grateful to pull her eyes away from the amber glare of the man behind her and she lead them down the hall to a room. She knelt beside the door and opened it. Katsura sat in the middle of the room. Himura and Hideki entered and knelt before their leader. The young girl closed the door and returned to her other duties.

"Thank you for coming so suddenly, but I needed to speak with you both." Katsura said.

"What's happened?" Hideki asked.

"We're going into battle. Probably the largest one yet. The Ishin are going up against the Bakufu Shougnate army."

"What?!" Himura exclaimed, beating Hideki to it. The Shougnate army was one of their strongest oppositions. To be pitted against them and calling it a 'battle' was an understatement.

"The Bakufu Army." Hideki breathed, unable to fully comprehend the implication.

'If we were to win this battle.....' Hideki thought

"Yes, we will be against the Bakufu army. I'll spare you the details, but I will tell you this. If we win this one, the new era's peace is assured and this revolution will be over." Katsura sighed. The dream for a better Japan was getting closer. He could feel it.

"Master Katsura, I don't mean any disrespect, but do you think that battle will be against the Ishin and the Shougnate army only? If this battle does go ahead, the Shinsengumi will certainly involve themselves." Hideki said quietly. As much as she liked the idea of the war being over, she had her silent reservations about it.

Without a war, there would be no more killing. Being a killer was all Hideki had known. She would have to find a new life.

That thought both excited and terrified her.

Himura had his reservations as well. He wanted the war over more than anything. He had a promise to fulfill. But now that the opportunity was finally upon him, he was thinking it was too good to be true.

A chance to put down his sword, and stop killing.

A chance to become the rurouni Hideki had called him earlier.

Himura smiled slightly to himself.

"I know the Shinsengumi will involve themselves. There's nothing we can do about that fact. But we do know this. They live by the same ideals all samurai's live by. Aku Soku Zan. Slay evil immediately. Their forces will be split between the Ishin and the army." Katsura replied.

"But," Hideki was still uncertain, "so will our forces, as well as the forces of the army. It will be a three way battle."

"I know. But it's a necessary battle. One that has to be fought. And I want you two in the first unit of Ishin. I need your strength to win this war."

"Then you shall have it." Himura answered for them both.

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It was a cold night. The chill was seeping through Himura and Hideki's clothes quickly. They were standing in the midst of hundreds of Ishin warriors. Men, boys, soldiers, and samurai, all united under the sky in this area of Kyoto. Several weeks had passed since the meeting with Katsura and the battle of Toba-Fushimi was about to begin.

"Himura, how do you feel about this?" Hideki asked.

"I don't know." He answered truthfully.

Silence fell between them again.

At the front of the large group of men stood several officials, they were the leaders of the first unit. They were barking orders to the soldiers before them. Both Himura and Hideki had been given direct orders from Katsura, so they were ignoring the shouts. Their thoughts were occupied with the hope of ending the revolution.

The future of Japan was about to be determined. Would the imperialists succeed and bring about the new era? The answer was only hours away. By dawns light the battle would be over.

"How do you feel about this, Hideki?"

"I don't know." She replied.

Silence.

The first unit was prepared for battle.

"Soldiers! You have you're orders. MOVE OUT!" came a shout from the front of the crowd. The large group separated in two and started moving to their respective positions. Himura turned and began to walk away from Hideki.

Someone grabbed hold of his hand.

He turned and met a pair of blue eyes he hadn't seen in weeks. The soft, sweet eyes of his sister.

"Be careful, Kenshin." she whispered, squeezing his hand gently. Himura's amber eyes disappeared for a heartbeat. He smiled slightly and squeezed her hand in return.

"Take care, Sakura."

They released each others hands. Soft blue eyes turned piercing. Kind amethyst eyes turned amber. The two manslayers turned their backs on each other and walked away. Both unsure if they would see the other again.

Only dawn's light would tell.

Himura followed his group silently. They were all well aware that Battousai was in their midst. They felt both confident and frightened. He may be an imperialist, a comrade of theirs, but he was the most frightening person to walk to earth. The emotionless manslayer.

Himura had always been aware of the discomfort he instilled in people surrounding him. He didn't care all that much either. It was better actually. The fear they all felt for him had been advantageous at times. He knew that he would forever cause fear in people's hearts, but he hoped that after the battle he would be released from the shackles that was Battousai and begin his journey of atonement.

The group met their enemies at the battlefield of Toba-Fushimi and the battle began.

Himura watched the first line attack, then the second. The fighting was methodical and well planned on all sides. Gunmen, cannons, samurai, and explosives were used as tools of destruction.

Himura stormed the scene, several men from the Shougnate army ran in fear at the first sighting of the approaching assassin.

A samurai charged Himura, he blocked the attack with his short sword and cut the man's stomach open. Blood spurted everywhere as Himura drove his katana through the man's neck, slicing his head off.

Another samurai charged Himura from behind. He ducked, and swung his sword around only to have it blocked. He blinked for a moment, and kept his attack going. He was fighting a Shinsengumi, and he had vowed to never fall to a Shinsengumi. Their swords clashed loudly, his opponent was strong, but not strong enough. Putting all his force behind his blade, Himura drove it straight to the hilt through the man's chest and heart.

The man fell to the ground dead.

A huge explosion sent Himura flying through the air, momentarily stunned. He regained his equilibrium quickly, flipped in the air and landed on his feet. The dirt and debris from the explosion faded only to reveal a cannon and a gatling gun pointing at him. The cannon had just been fired, and the gatling gun was about to begin it's rain of bullets.

Himura sprung into action. He ran directly at the gun as its gunman began firing at him. He dodged the bullets that flew past his ears and then leapt into the air. He brought his sword down and easily sliced the gatling gun in half. He then turned his blade on the shougnate soldier, slicing the man from hip to shoulder. Blood sprayed everywhere, and was still soaring through the air when Himura pivoted and threw his short sword at one of the cannon men. The sword found its target as it embedded itself in the head of one man. Himura then turned and easily killed the other soldier by neatly cleaving his torso in half.

The battle was a bloody one. Soon, Himura found himself surrounded by bodies of fallen men. Soldiers of the Shougnate army, Shinsengumi samurai, members of the Ishinshishi, all dead. Himura continued his battle. He couldn't help notice the advantage that was becoming more and more apparent as the bodies fell.

The Imperialists were winning.

Hours passed, the fighting continued. Images of fallen comrade and enemies were embedding themselves into Himura's mind, his soul. He would never forget the events of the battle. He would never forget the smell of blood that hung in the air, or even the slight red haze that seemed to coat the battlefield.

There had been brief moments where Himura's thoughts turned to Hideki. Whether or not she was still alive, or if she was feeling shaken by the bloody battle before her like he was.

The thoughts were only in passing because he would always be fighting someone every turn he took.

The number of lives Himura Battousai took that night was unimaginable.

The sky began to lighten and Himura found himself standing alone in a sea of blood and bodies. There were shouts of victory.

"The Bafuku Shougnate army is retreating! We've won!" someone cried. Cheers echoed through the crowd of imperialists still left standing.

"Himura! Shinsengumi Squad four is still moving forward towards Fushimi!" a commander called out. Himura followed the man to help as best he could.

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Dawn broke. Himura was standing alone after having helped defeat the fourth squad. He was surrounded by blood, destroyed homes, and burning piles of Kami-sama only knew what. His short sword and its saya had long since been lost. He was holding his katana in one hand, and its saya in another. He surveyed the damage, engraving the sight of 'victory' in his heart forever.

"So many people died tonight." He murmured quietly.

He looked down at his sword. It was coated in blood. The red sticky substance that was once inside a living breathing human being was dripping off his sword.

'So many people...'

With a flick of his wrist, Himura rid his blade of all the blood and watched as the droplets seemed to fall to the earth in slow motion.

'Victory has been claimed by the Imperialists tonight,' Himura thought. 'The revolution is over... my time here is over... and yet, I feel as if there's something left unfinished. Maybe my time here isn't up.'

The image of Tomoe's body in his arms, her blood leaving her, the smile that she gave as her eyes closed and death claimed her entered his mind. He promised her that day. He would leave the imperialists when his task was done. He would find the path that he had always been searching for. And he would do it without killing. He had promised the woman he loved that. And Himura Kenshin was a man who never broke his promises.

Himura slowly sheathed his sword. Then holding the katana by the sheath just below the hilt in his left hand and covering the end of the hilt with his right, he drove the tip into the ground at his feet. His left hand dropped to his side, and his right remained on the hilt.

It was time for him to put down his sword, and fulfill his promise.

He stared at his hand on the hilt for a minute, remembering all the lives he had taken with it. Remembering the many murders he had committed as a Hitokiri in the revolution.

"No more lives shall be taken by this sword, or by these hands." He said to no one, still staring at his hand on the sword.

Another hand came to rest on top of the one on his sword. He didn't hear or feel the person approach. He followed the hand up to its owner.

Hideki stood at his side, covered in blood. Her katana and short sword were both missing. She met his eyes evenly.

"You're time here is up." She said softly. Himura merely nodded and looked down at the hands covering the sword.

Hideki allowed her hand to drop to her side, and watched as Himura's did too. His sword remained stuck in the ground.

Hideki looked at Himura closely. Aside from the fact that he was covered in blood and there were several places on his clothes that had been sliced open, he looked like he was uninjured. She breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Himura looked at the girl next to him. She didn't look that well. She was covered in blood, just like him, her high ponytail had come loose during the fight and it looked like some of her hair had been cut off, probably from near misses. And her clothes had a few chunks taken out of them. He could see an open gash in her upper arm and a long stain of blood soaking her bandages around her stomach. The bandages were also sliced open.

"You're hurt." Himura stated flatly. Hideki looked at her stomach and her arm.

"I am. I guess I'm not as good with the sword as you are." She replied smiling. "Don't worry, they're only flesh wounds. They'll heal."

Himura reached up and grabbed a lock of her hair that reached the tip of her ear. There were several uneven clumps of hair like that one.

"I'm glad you're alive." He whispered. She smiled at him.

"I'm glad you are too." She replied.

Himura's hand dropped to his side, his gaze left Hideki and travelled back to his sword. Hideki turned and looked around at the battlefield.

"You have to go." She said simply.

"Aa."

Hideki turned fully around herself, checking her surroundings. Then faced Himura, put her hands on his shoulders and kissed him softly on his scarred cheek. Her arms slid around his neck and she pulled him close in a hug.

"Goodbye Kenshin."

Kenshin's arms wrapped themselves around her and hugged her in return.

"Goodbye Sakura."

No one was around to see the exchange. Hideki had made sure of that. And no one would witness as Himura Kenshin released the person in his arms and turned his back to the battlefield.

Hitokiri Battousai, the most feared assassin to ever exist in Japan, disappeared into the smoke and haze... leaving behind a legend.

Hideki stood rooted and watched the retreating form of the Battousai disappear. She looked down at the sword embedded in the ground at her feet. She had heard the soft words spoken by Himura as his hand rested on the hilt of the sword.

"No more lives shall be taken by this sword."

"And I'll make sure of that." Hideki whispered. She grabbed the sword and pulled it from the earth. She slid the sword into her belt at her waist and turned, walking away from the battlefield in the opposite direction of Himura.

'I vow on the blood of those who fell tonight, that I will never take another life. Not with this sword, and not with any other. This is my atonement. I will protect people's lives with Battousai the manslayer's killing sword.'

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Hideki made two stops before departing Kyoto. The first was to Shakku, informing him that Himura had left the imperialists and if he still wanted Battousai to have the reverse blade sword, then he should give it to him.

The second stop was Katsura Kogoro's home. For two reasons.

"Himura and I are leaving the Imperialists. In fact, he's already gone." Hideki said simply as she sat across from Katsura.

"I know, Himura has already been here and I gave him my blessings. I extend the same well wishes to you. However, why do you have his sword?" Katsura replied, pointing at the sword resting on the floor at Hideki's side. She reached out her hand and brushed her fingertips against the hilt lightly.

"This is my atonement. I'm going to use this sword to protect those suffering around me." She said softly. Katsura nodded. Hideki watched the hard, serious face of Katsura Kogoro soften slightly as he smiled at the young samurai before him.

"I'm going to miss you two. You've been like sons to me these last four years." Katsura said softly. He bowed his head. "I am truly sorry for what I've done to you and Himura these last years. I've destroyed you both." His apology was choked, his words filled with remorse.

"Son and daughter." Hideki said softly. Katsura looked up, confused.

He watched in fascination as Hideki reached up and released her hair from the ponytail it was in, and then opened her gi, and using the edge of the sword, slicing some bandages off.

Katsura's eyes widened.

Sakura sat before him.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. You never would have allowed me to join the imperialists if you knew. No one knew, not until I was injured during that ambush. Himura found out then. He lied for me. I'm truly sorry I betrayed you Master Katsura." Sakura said softly as she bowed before the stunned man.

Katsura was shocked. Then everything fell into place, making so much sense he was kicking himself for never realizing the truth. He looked at the young girl before him. His guilt increased tenfold. She was a Hitokiri for 4 years because he asked her to. He felt bad enough for destroying a young man, but the fact that a young girl had been reduced to being a killer made him feel even worse. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice told him he should be angry. But he knew he couldn't be. Not after living the last four years under her protection.

She was very skilled. Enough to beat Battousai to a draw.

She had been a silent assassin for almost two years, then a protector for 3 more.

She had taken many lives, at the cost of her humanity, and she never once complained.

She had been raped.

She sacrificed herself for an ideal. For peace.

Katsura couldn't be angry. The actions of the girl bowing before him wouldn't allow him to be angry. She was a samurai, and a very good one. That simple fact demanded respect and honour.

"You don't need to apologise. You were meant to carry a sword. You're right however, had I known you were a woman I would never have allowed you to join the Imperialists. But I'm grateful you did. My thanks are not enough to make up for your years of service to me, nor are my apologies. Follow your path, Hideki... no... Sakura. Farewell." Katsura said. Hideki smiled at him, rose to her feet, and left the room.

The fact that one of the Imperialists best manslayers was a woman would never be known. It was a secret that Katsura and Himura would never tell a soul.

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Himura was departing the city of Kyoto in the fading light of dusk. He had finally passed all the houses and people to find himself on the open road.

"Himura, I heard you were leaving the Imperialists." A voice said behind him. Himura turned to find himself staring at Arai Shakku. He stood several feet away from Battousai, and had a sword propped against his shoulder.

"Aa, Master Katsura said it was alright."

"Don't leave now, the battle at Toba-Fushimi just ended and now you're running away? You can't escape from the many lives you've taken, so you shouldn't try to run away from it."

"I want to find a path where I can protect those living in the new era without killing."

"Sounds like a joke. If there was such a path, I would like to see it as well. But you have no sword, how do you plan to exist? You live by the sword, you die by the sword, that is how you should exist."

Shakku threw the sword he held in his hand at Himura. He easily caught it, marvelling at its weight and looked at the sword maker as Shakku turned his back and started towards Kyoto.

"My parting gift to you, Himura. It's a piece of scrap. Try being a swordsman with that thing at your side. You'll see how much you truly believe those words you just spoke." Shakku said. Himura grabbed the hilt and slowly unsheathed the sword to reveal the blade. "It's probably too much for you. But if you still believe that joke you just told when that things snaps, come see me in Kyoto."

Himura's eyes surveyed the bit of exposed blade.

A reverse blade sword.

Himura's eyes widened slightly as he watched the retreating back of Shakku. He placed the sword in his belt at his side, and turned around to begin his journey.

Rurouni Kenshin was born that day.

A man who fights for peace with his sakabatou.

~OWARI~

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A.N. Well, that's it for that story! I hope you guys liked it. When I get back in three months I'm gonna start on the sequel.

Thanks to all who enjoyed my story!!!

Sakura-san.