Disclaimer: I do not own RK

Chapter 4: Echoes of the Past

"Haji...me, help..." Okita Soshi. His friend was reaching out desperately towards him with bloodied hands, his eyes pleading. "Please..." He was bleeding so much, blood pooled around him. "F...find..."

Saitou awoke in cold sweat and found himself in the crude slum house he had rented for a pittance. It was a dream. He hadn't had that nightmare for a very long time. Reaching out for his cigarettes, he found he had run out.

There is a survivor! Kenshin could not believe it when he heard of it from Misao. He had been hoping to get some information by visiting Aoiya. The Oniwabanshu's intelligence network was unsurpassed even now. Of course, its heyday was during the strife of the Restoration.

Aoshi had returned to his meditation at the temple. Misao took Kenshin to Megumi's clinic where he met the sole survivor of the Miyagi mansion massacre. Megumi brought him to the patient's room. He was too badly injured to be moved. The redhead's violet eyes widened with surprise as he recognized the patient.

"Soujirou?"

"Try not to tire him," Megumi warned as she ushered Misao out. The ninja girl was way too genki to be allowed in the room of such a patient. Kenshin took a look at his injuries. They spoke of a swift, viscous attack as did the wounds on the dead guards. He was looking at one of the Juppon Gatana's best! What happened?

Soujirou's known for his speed. Yet he had almost been killed. He was barely conscious as he lay swathed in bandages. "Himura-san?" The boy opened his eyes and tried to sit up. Kenshin stopped him.

"Lie down, try not to open your wounds. Tell me what happened..."

"I dunno. He wasn't a man, he's a demon. So fast... He broke my sword..." The boy smiled. "Guess I'll be giving it up for real now." Kenshin then noticed the boy's right sleeve was empty below the elbow. Megumi failed to save that arm despite her best efforts. Poor kid!

"Was there one or many?"

"One. Medium height, slim in built..." Soujirou's voice caught as he continued. "His eyes... are a demon's..." The boy drifted off into unconsciousness. Kenshin called for Megumi.

Aoshi was meditating in the temple when he smelt the smell of tobacco. "Saitou-san, this is a private room." He did not turn as Saitou stepped into the room behind him. "Shinomori, I want answers... about the Miyagi massacre," Saitou took a drag on his cigarette.

Aoshi refused to answer. Saitou waited. "Well, I suppose I have to ask the weasel at Aoiya then," Saitou said as he started to leave. Leave Misao-chan and the others alone! Aoshi turned and called out. "Wait! What do you want to know?"

Saitou gave a feral smirk as he faced Shinomori. That ploy works all the time...

"Arigato," he left Aoshi staring after him as he left the temple grounds. A few minutes later, Misao came running...

Both Himura and Saitou are interested in the massacre at the Miyagi's mansion. Miyagi, the name rang a bell. Aoshi decided he should leave and gather some information.

"Saitou, I will not allow you to harass my patient!" Megumi was closing the clinic when Saitou barged in without so much as an excuse me. He demanded to speak to Soujirou. She was adamant.

Bloody kitsune! Saitou landed a hard punch in her stomach. The doctor fell to the floor unconscious. Saitou went into the room where Soujirou was. Damn! The memory came back, fresh as if it were yesterday. Saitou hated clinics and hospitals for this reason. A badly wounded boy lay on the cot, he reminded Saitou painfully of Okita.

He tried to rouse the boy but found he was burning with a fever. Soujirou's wounds must have got infected. And he just knocked out the doctor! Saitou found himself sponging the boy's brow with a cool towel to bring down his fever instead. If only he had stayed then...

"Saitou?" He turned to see Aoshi standing in the doorway with his swords drawn. Aoshi had figured Saitou would try to question Soujirou as Himura had done. He sheathed his swords when he saw Saitou posed the boy no threat. "It's about Okita, right?" Saitou nodded. He can't run any more.

In a wood shack on the outskirts of Kyoto, the man responsible for the killings at both Miyagi and Fujita households drank a cup of tea. A silvery-grey wolf curled at his side. He tossed the beast a bone from his dinner before addressing his companion.

"Aku Soku Zan. Know what that means?" The girl nodded without looking up from her work. Her rifle must be in tip-top condition at all times. "Eliminate evil immediately." She checked the gun for any signs of dirt.

"It's been more than ten years..." He got up and went to the window. He was young and very handsome. His eyes were those of a demon's as he thought of what happened then. Alarmed, the girl went over to him and rested her hand on his arm. He patted it fondly and smiled, changing from demon to man.

They betrayed your niichan, like they did mine... Our work is not yet done... He slipped his fingertips under the girl's chin and lifted her face up to his. They kissed in the moonlight. Their animal companion yawned and stretched its limbs. It sniffed the air and let out an unearthly howl as if it were summoning the spirits of the dead.

Author's notes:

Bad ass cop Saitou being nice? Aoshi didn't skewer Saitou? What what's up with some dead guy from Saitou's past? Stay tuned.