Forgotten Future

By: Illustrious Sorrow

Chapter 4: Memory in Blood

Kenshin woke with a start. There was another in the dojo. A fighting ki, not angry more.hungry. This puzzled Kenshin, what would a fighter be doing here if not to fight? He grabbed his sakabatou and crept towards the ki he felt.

When he reached the room the ki was in, Kenshin was not surprised to find it was the kitchen. He silently walked behind the man and placed his sword on his neck. "Why are you here?" The man stiffened and began to turn around.

"Kenshin? What are you doing?" "How do you know me?" "This is a joke right? I don't get it. Come on Kenshin, what're you trying to pull?" "Answer my questions." "Okay.I'm your friend Sanosuke, I've helped you fight many battles, I'm hungry and don't have anything to eat so I thought I'd see what Kaoru had."

Just then, said woman walked into the kitchen. "Oh, Kenshin, you shouldn't be up yet. Go back to sleep." "Kaoru-dono, do I know this man?" "Oh, that's Sano, you can let him go." Kaoru's voice was careless, "He's just a big moocher. You've known him for two years."

"Kaoru, what's going on?" "Kenshin lost his memory when he was in that fight. He should be laying down, but he didn't recognize you and thought you were a danger."

(A/n no need to sound so worried or anything.) Kenshin brought his sword down and stuck it in his obi.

"I apologize Sanosuke-san." (A/n is that suffix right?) Said Kenshin stiffly. "Is there anything you need Kaoru-dono?" "No Kenshin, go back to bed." Kenshin complied, knowing that he had to rest for his body to heal.

He sank into an uneasy sleep, troubled by dreams of what was undoubtedly his life.

***Kenshin's Dream***

He was walking away from a battlefield, bodies were strewn everywhere. Behind him, a sword was stuck in the ground, a wakizashi lying on the ground next to it. It was the end of killing for him. He would never kill again.

**

A large home loomed above him, wreathed in flames. It seemed another warrior had found the Hitokiri Battosai. People stood around the building, coughing from the smoke. It seemed that everyone had gotten out.

He began to turn away, but then a cry caught his ears. A child was trapped in the building. The mother heard her child's yells and tried to re-enter the building, only to be stopped by a man who must have been her husband. She was sobbing, crying that her baby would die, somebody had to save him.

He walked up to the building, and entered, despite attempts to stop him. Using his god-like speed, he located the boy and picked him up. The child appeared to be around five years old and he was losing consciousness quickly.

Just as he was about to leave the room, a piece of the roof caved in. In a desperate gesture, he took his sakabatou and slashed the wall. It broke apart from the force of the blow. In a graceful move, he jumped out of the building, carrying the boy.

Quietly, he handed the boy to the mother, and then seemed to disappear, using his speed to get away as fast as possible. The young mother never was able to thank him, but would include him in her prayers for years to come.

** A little girl was standing in his vision. "Are you alright onii-san?" "No. I'll never be alright again." He laughed a little and the girl just stared. "Are you hungry?" "Yes, I am." "Here." She handed him a loaf of bread."

He stared at the bread like he couldn't believe it was being given to him. He slowly took it and stowed it away in his small bag. "Are you all alone onii-san?" "Yes, I am." "Well, I'm not. I have an okasan and an otosan and an onesan. And I have Akane. See?" The girl held out a doll.

"She's very pretty." "Yes." She laid the doll down by his feet. "I think you need her." "She is your doll, please do not waste her on me." "You need her. She will help you be happy." And with that the girl walked away, fading with the dreary rain on the streets.

**

He wandered the streets. He was cold, hungry, and he knew that he deserved it all. From the shadows, he watched at mother's hurried their children in and young men ran to their homes to escape the rain. Ladies stepped daintily into their carriages and two soggy policemen patrolled the street.

He noticed that swords were becoming increasingly rare to see on the streets. They had been banned for five years now. For five years he had carried the sakabatou and had tried to protect without killing. Less and less did things have the taint of blood, but less and less was he living.

Mud was his bed and the open sky his only friend. He never stayed with families, he had learned quickly that these people paid for their generosity by being killed or hurt, and he only rarely had enough money for inns.

Sighing, he sank down against the wall that would shelter him for the night. If you could call one wall a shelter. The small bundle he carried was under his gi for safekeeping. It had the bit of food he managed to work for, and the few items he had keep throughout his career as a hitokiri and had gathered as a wanderer. A spinning top from when he was a child, a straw doll given to him by a little girl, and a ribbon, which had belonged to his wife.

**

He was walking along an empty street. It was foggy and there were no people to be seen. Suddenly, there was the sound of running footsteps and a girl appeared out of the fog. "You are weaker then I thought, Battosai." He was surprised that this girl knew who he was, but decided to play the innocent fool he had pretended to be for years.

"Oro?" "Prepare yourself! Haaa!" She charged him, swinging her bakutou. He neatly dodged, but he landed on an unstable barrel and fell. "That was easy. Are you really Battosai the Manslayer? I heard you killed three people last night!"

"I am only a wanderer, that is all I am." She gave him a puzzled look before grabbing his sword. "You are breaking the edict; you aren't allowed to wear swords anymore, it's the Meiji era!"

** He was in a white fog, suddenly a thought crept itself into his head, 'That scent.That's.' Enishi then appeared out of the fog "White Plum. For me, my sister's perfume. For you, now-." "Enishi! What have you done with Kaoru- dono!" "The scent is your guide. Go and see. The answer you're looking for is there."

He began to sprint into the fog, searching for the woman he loved. 'Kaoru- dono!' 'Look well, with those eyes!' 'Kaoru-dono!' 'Mourn! Wail! Repent! And then weep yourself to death!' 'Kaoru-dono!'

He ran into the dojo and stopped. Behind him, the man, Sanosuke, and a woman he didn't recognize caught up with him. "Kenshin!" "Ken-san! Ken." He dropped his sword. "What was the Hiten Mitsurugi School?" He fell to his knees, "What was Himura Kenshin.Once again, I couldn't protect the one I truly loved." Tears formed in his eyes. "Kaoru-dono.Kaoru."

Kaoru was sitting, slumped against the dojo wall, Enishi's sword through her heart and a cross scar scratched into her check.

**End Dream

Kenshin sat up with a scream. His body shook with sobs at what could only be a memory returning to him. He felt the anguish he had felt before, and knew that this woman, this Kaoru, was as precious to him now as Tomoe had been twelve years ago. If not more.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Author's Note: Hope you liked the chapter. Another short one. I'm sorry, I really am, but this just seemed to be a good place to stop.

|maliks-dragon - Thanks for reviewing! Hope | | | |you liked the | | | |chapter! | | | |Chiruken- ok, sorry for not being clear on | | | |this, In the last chapter, Kenshin doesn't | | | |really remember his feelings, he realizes | | | |that he could love her though. It is an | | | |entirely new set of feelings. Now in this | | | |chapter, he is beginning to remember some | | | |things that happened to him, including his | | | |love of Kaoru. | | | |Shipo- Uh, sorry? I haven't posted more | | | |because I haven't written more. Glad to know| | | |you like the story. | | |

Sakura02- I got your e-mail and sent you a reply, please e-mail me back. I'm glad you like the fic, *smiles widely*