"SANO!" Kenshin ran into the dust cloud. Coughing, he tried to find his friend. The dust was threatening his eyesight, making his eyes stream uncontrollably and impossible to see out of. "Sano!"
"What's wrong, Kenshin?" Kaoru came running down the street. "I heard you were in a battle--Are you hurt? OH!" She saw the stream of blood running his arm. "YOU'RE HURT!" She ran over to him and put pressure on his wound.
"Leave me be, Miss Kaoru." Kenshin's head was bowed. "I let Sanosuke be taken by Taisuke."
Kaoru laughed nervously. "Come on, Kenshin, you guys are pulling my leg. Sano's gonna jump out from behind a tree any second now and yell at me-"
"NO MISS KAORU! I'M SERIOUS!" Kaoru looked at Kenshin, eyes wide. "Now listen!" She nodded. "Sanosuke was taken by Taisuke, and I couldn't stop it. He's gone now, and I have to go find him."
"Then let me come with you!"
"No. This is for me alone." Kenshin licked the blood off his arm. "I will find Sanosuke Sagara by myself."
Kaoru tried to talk a couple times, but couldn't. "Kenshin, you look so dangerous right now. Are you sure you haven't become the Battousai again?"
Kenshin turned and smiled gently at her. "Of course not, Miss Kaoru. The only one I'm still Battousai to are my enemies. And that, that might not be a bad thing."
"Kenshin..." Kaoru ran up and threw her arms around his neck. She kissed him softly. "Be careful."
Kenshin lightly pushed her away. "Don't get too attached to me, Miss Kaoru. After I find Sanosuke, I'm going to be on my way." Then he turned and ran down the street, away from the startled girl left standing by the pond.

***

Kenshin was sitting in his room packing a few things for his trip. I knew it was too good to last... He pulled out a picture taken by the photographer a few weeks before after the train ride. They were all sitting in the park having a picnic together. He picked it up and set it in his bag.
"Where do you think you're going, Battousai?"
Kenshin whirled around, just waiting to see Taisuke leering at him through the doorway. But who he saw standing there was the last person he would have expected.
"SANOSUKE!" He got up and gave Sanosuke a hug. "I thought you were captured!"
Sanosuke pushed him roughly away. "You betrayed me. NOW YOU DIE!" He brandished a brand new Zanbatou. He brought it down where Kenshin's head had been a second earlier. A cut opened on the cheek opposite of his scar.
"Sano! What are you doing?!" He dodged again as Sanosuke whirled and flung the gigantic sword at him. It crashed into the wall, sending the flimsy wood scattering over the backyard. "Why?!"
"You know very well why. You are the Battousai! You work for the government! You kill people for no reason, just because they tell you to! DIE!" He pulled the Zanbatou up into the killing stance.
Kenshin was stunned. "But Sano, I don't kill people meaninglessly...Those politicians have all done something wrong...and I haven't killed for years..."
"Yeah? THEN WHAT ABOUT MISS TOMOE?!"
Kenshin's eyes went wide. He shut them as he tried to keep tears from running down his face. He had been able to keep himself happy by saying that he had given up all that, but to hear it from his best friend...
Sanosuke took the moment of awkwardness to his advantage and attacked Kenshin. But right as he got close enough to land a killing blow, he stopped. A tear running down Kenshin's face had thrown him off guard. But when Kenshin looked up at him, his eyes were clear and ruthless.
"Go ahead. Land a cheap blow. Be a coward, just like Taisuke."
"Feh! TAISUKE IS NO COWARD!" Sanosuke pulled his sword up to power strike. But, too quick to be seen, Kenshin brought up his new japanese sword and cut Sanosuke's chest.
"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!" Sano dropped the Zanbatou, blood streaming out of the cut. He looked at Kenshin, pure hatred in his eyes. "We'll meet again, Battousai." Then he disappeared into the night.
Kenshin got shakily to his feet. Blood dripped from the end of his sword. When he saw it, he threw the blade down onto the floor. "Never again..." He said to himself, "NEVER again." He walked out of the room, stepping on the sword as he went.
Kaoru stepped out of her room. "Kenshin, are you leaving?" Her voice was cold and unforgiving.
"Yes, Miss Kaoru. I'll see you arou---I mean, goodbye." He ran out of the house, taking only one thing; the picture of the happiness that had once been.

That night, as he started a fire, Kenshin tried to remember what had happened that day by the fish pond. Sanosuke was mortally wounded,he thought, and then...and then hit with a powder! "OF COURSE!" He said out loud. "But what was that powder...?"
"Good evening, Battousai."
Great, who is it this time? Kenshin turned around slowly, just to find Aoshi Shinomori and Hajime Saito standing there behind him.
"Long time no see," Aoshi said, idly shining one of his katanas.
"Uh, yeah. What brings you two here?"
"We heard about your little brawl with Taisuke and we're here to help." Saito smirked.
"Yeah, but we wouldn't be doing this except for the fact that we both owe you for something or another."
Saito rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Whatever. I don't owe him anything."
Aoshi shrugged.
Kenshin smiled weakly. This was the break he needed. "Th...thank you. You don't have to..."
Aoshi turned. "Ok I'm outta here." He took a few steps, then turned back. "Well, I have nothing better to do..."
Saito coughed. "Shut up," muttered Aoshi.
"I appreciate it." Kenshin stood up. "But what are we gonna do? I can't fight him with Sano on his side..."
"What? Sanosuke Sagara is siding with Taisuke?" Aoshi sniggered. "Oh this is getting good..."
"He's not doing it on purpose!" Kenshin screamed in Aoshi's face. "I think it has something to do with the powder Taisuke put in Sano's wound."
Saito showed the first sign of being alive since they met. "Powder? What kind of powder?"
"How should I know?" Kenshin put his head in his hands.
"Well, what color was it?"
"It was white, why?"
Saito smirked triumphantly. "I knew it. It was deidu powder."
Aoshi sat down next to Kenshin and put his hands toward the fire. "What the hell is that?"
Saito sat next to Aoshi. "It's a powder that gives the administrator total and complete power of the taker. They do whatever the controller wants. And obviously Taisuke wants to kill you, and needs all the help he can get."
Kenshin rubbed his head. "All I want is to get Sano back. Then I'll continue on my way as a wanderer."
"Interesting," Saito said. "I thought you had finally found your place with those people."
The wanderer smiled ruefully. "I thought I had too."
The three talked for a while afterwards, but towards midnight Kenshin was the only one up. He sat gazing into the fire for quite some time, just thinking about all that had happened in the last few days. Just 3 days ago things were going great... Kenshin looked at his new comrades. They could both be a lot of help, with Aoshi's skills and Saito's mind. I just wonder if Taisuke will take them too. Maybe I should just go... Kenshin put another log on the fire to keep his friends warm, then got up to leave. But just as he was about to leave the circle of light, Aoshi grabbed his ankle, sending him sprawling.
"Why do you insist on doing this alone, Himura?" He asked in a low voice. "When will you realize that you don't always have to carry the world on your shoulders alone?"
Kenshin spit a twig out of his mouth and turned to Aoshi. "I just don't want anyone else to get hurt that's all." He situated himself so he was facing his friend. "You know, Sano said the exact same thing to me, and look where he is now."
Aoshi rolled his eyes. "He got that way protecting you, didn't he? So don't you think you should get him back and be there for him? Or are you going to take the cowardly way out and run from him? And what about Miss Kaoru?"
"She doesn't love me anymore. Heck, I don't know if she even LIKES me."
"Did you push her away as well?"
Kenshin started and looked at Aoshi.
"I hit the nail on the head, didn't I." Aoshi grabbed Kenshin's collar. "Listen up! You don't need to push everyone dear to you away! That's why you're a wanderer. You don't HAVE to be! I did the same thing, when I wanted to defeat YOU! Misao...everyone...I pushed them all away. Then you came and showed me that I COULD have a place. And now that I do, you're telling me YOU'RE gonna give up YOUR place? Yours is much better than mine will ever be, and I'd gladly take it FOR you! But since that's not gonna happen, you'd better take it back!" He pushed Kenshin away, letting go of his collar. "You were always everything I wanted to be...I was always so jealous...But what is there to be jealous of now? You've given up everything for selfish reasons..."
Kenshin looked strangely at him. "You were jealous of me?"
Aoshi glared up at him. "Of course I was, fool! You had absolutely EVERYTHING!" Aoshi drew his katana and thrust it at Kenshin's throat.
Kenshin dodged and struck the blade with his own, sending it careening out of Aoshi's hand. It thunked into the heart of the nearest tree.
"You see?!" Aoshi screamed. "You can do anything!" He tried to punch him.
Saito's hand shot up and grabbed his fist. "Are you trying to wake up the whole damn world?!" He bent Aoshi's wrist back.
"Ergh..."
"Let him go," Kenshin said quietly. "He was trying to make me see something..."
Saito snorted. "Well, did you see it?" He let go of Aoshi's hand and snickered at his own joke.
But Kenshin took the jest seriously. "Sometimes you're blinded, even when something is right in front of your nose." He laughed slightly. "And right now, I don't see because it's not true."
Aoshi looked up at him, then gazed off into the forest. "Your friends love you, Kenshin Himura. You're not helping them, you're just hurting them more."
The group said nothing more the rest of the night.

***

The next day the group set out in silence. Kenshin was lost in thought. So much has happened in the last few days...
"Hey."
Kenshin looked over at Aoshi. Aoshi's hands were stuffed in his pockets, and he looked off into the woods. He spoke in a low mutter, apparently embarrassed about what he was about to say. "Sorry about last night," he said hastily. "Sometimes I just get so worked up about how I almost lost everything...and it was you who brought me back." He shrugged. "I was out of line."
The wanderer smiled. "Don't worry about it. I understand."
Silence fell again and lasted the next few hours. Kenshin spent a lot of that time staring up at the sky, lost in thought. Saito walked ahead with Aoshi behind. "There's only one problem with you, Kenshin." Sano's voice echoed through Kenshin's head. "You try to take the whole world on your shoulders; but you forget, I'm here to help." The ruby-haired samurai turned to the man walking behind me. "Aoshi, do you think I'm arrogant?"
Aoshi was startled by the sudden question. "What are you getting at?" He asked suspiciously.
"I'm wondering...Sanosuke always said I always did everything for myself and that I never accepted help from others..."
Saito looked back at him. "There's no one you can depend on except yourself, so there's no problem there."
"But that estranges you from people," Aoshi cut in. "Unlike you, Cricket Man, some of us have a group to look out for."
Saito snickered. "Oh yes, the great Oni Waban group. I'm SURE they couldn't live without YOU."
"I'M A GREAT LEADER!"
"Suuuuuuuure."
"Wanna say that to my fist?!"
Kenshin stepped in between the two men. "Saito, Aoshi! This is no time to fight. Do you remember why we're here?"
"Not really. Why ARE we here?" Aoshi asked Saito.
"We both owe the Battousai a favor, you moron."
The Oni Waban leader looked at Kenshin. "Saito," he said slowly. "I'm beginning to think of the Battousai as less of a nemesis...and more of a friend, of sorts."
"You're a fool." Saito said simply, then turned around and kept walking.
Kenshin fondled the sword at his side. IS it foolish to have friends...?
"YES BATTOUSAI IT IS!" A branch broke above them, and Sano deflty jumped to the ground in front of them. He grinned maniacally, then raised a finger to point at the manslayer. "Do you know WHY? Do you know WHY it is foolish to count on someone other than yourself?!"
Kenshin tensed, ready to spring if his former best friend tried anything. "You tell me, you traitor!" He could barely make the words pass his lips, for they reminded him of the first time he had been attacked by Sanosuke Sagara, and all the times the fighter for hire had come to his aid. Sano had truly been someone he could depend on.
Sanosuke laughed his crazed laugh again. "Me? A traitor? Seems to me that you're the one always walking away, always being off on your own. Maybe I just got tired of your wanderer ways."
"WAIT!" Aoshi jumped in front of Kenshin. "Wasn't Taisuke there when Sanosuke was taken? What if he used some kind of mind controlling acupuncture? You can't attack him knowing this, can you?"
Saito looked at Aoshi incredoulously. "Don't tell me you're going soft too?! God, the world already has enough weaklings. If the strong become weak, the whole nation of JAPAN will fall!"
"Not necessarily, Saito," Kenshin said quietly. "Sometimes, all it takes to save a nation is a friend's determination to protect a comrade."
Sanosuke snickered. "Stop spouting nonsense, you fool!" He raised his newly repaired Zanbatou and charged at the manslayer and company. Aoshi jumped to the left and drew his katanas, while Saito sprung straight forward, sword already drawn and ready.
Kenshin couldn't move as the ensuing battle roared into progress. How could he attack his best friend?
"BATTOUSAI!"
Saito's yell brought him back to the real world.
"ARE YOU JUST GOING TO STAND THERE, OR ARE YOU GOING TO HELP US?! YOUR FRIEND AIN'T NO PUSHOVER!!!"
Kenshin nodded numbly. He slowly drew his sword, the reverse blade shining in the morning sunlight. Sano smirked. "So, the Battousai has finally won out over the gentle manslayer? Good. I need some entertainment." He easily knocked Aoshi and Saito to the ground, leaving them both unconscious.
He seems even stronger than before! Kenshin thought, as he circled around Sanosuke. Even his movements have become seemless! KLANG! Their swords met again and again. Every time Sanosuke swung, Kenshin parried. But the great weight of the Zanbatou was crushing his sleek reverse blade. The Battousai could already see a large crack in the blunt side of the blade.
"What's wrong, Battousai? You didn't seem to have nearly this much trouble fighting against Taisuke the great! Are you afriad of hurting wittle ol' me?!" He brought the Zanbatou down with bone crunching strength. Kenshin brought his sword up to parry the blow, but the fracture gave way, and his sword cracked in half as if it were a twig in a strong wind.
The fighter for hire leered at the now powerless samurai. "You have no weapon. What is the all mighty Battousai going to do now?" He looked over at the unconscious Saito. He picked up the man's sword, flipped it so the hilt was toward Kenshin. "Will you act like a real man and stop playing with toys?" Sanosuke spat where the broken reverse blade sword lay.
Kenshin looked at the sword that was just inches from his grasp. He started to reach for it, but then Tomoe's face flashed before his eyes. "I CAN'T DO IT!" Kenshin kicked Saito's sword from Sanosuke's hand. "When I swore never to kill again, I meant it, Sanosuke Sagara. I won't stoop to killing again, that I won't. NEVER again." He sank to his knees. "Do with me what you will, but I will not kill again."
"Thank you for sealing your death warrant. GOODBYE, BATTOUSAI!" He raised the sword high above his head.
Kenshin braced himself.
Sanosuke wavered. He fell to the ground clasping his head. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!" Kenshin looked up, eyes wide. "SANOSUKE! WHAT'S GOING ON?!"