Couldn't sleep, wrote a one-shot Kenshin, feel better now, pillows good
This is set ten years prior the series (i.e. Kenshin is still the Battousai)
Actually, I wrote this about two years ago. I came across it, decided I liked the idea and revamped it a little. I still think it could be better, but I'm going to leave it as it is for now. If any of you are interested in reading the original, there is a link to it on my author's page. Oh…and most unfortunately, the most wondrous Kenshin is not mine and never will be mine. sigh Stupid copyrights.
Hanako had been a maid in Lord Ishida's house for two years when the fateful night came. She would've left long before that night, if Ishida would have had a secret exit made known to the servants. Or even a rope to climb the perimeter walls with. Working for him was a most repugnant job.
On this particular night, Lord Ishida was dining alone. She was the maid serving him. Laden as he was already with sake, she expected it to be a rough night. His roaming glances and long speeches on the loneliness of being a noble were indicative of the fact that he planned to have her bed with him tonight, whether she was willing or not.
She was not a particularly pretty girl. Simple black hair that had never been cut fell down her back in a neat horsetail. Her face was plain, though her eyes were glittering and defiant, not the eyes of a servant. But the defiance was easily hidden in the ash and dirt that always seemed to work its way onto her body during the day.
Hanako had just left the lord to his dining and gone back to the kitchen. She noticed the window was open…she had not left it that way. Wind whistled through the empty, dark room; it had extinguished the oil lamp's flame. Then she felt cold steel pressed against her throat.
She went still, knowing perfectly well that a single movement might be her last.
"I will cut the scream in your throat before your tongue can utter it, so I highly recommend you not make a sound. If you have a last request, however, I am willing to hear you out. I don't like to kill the servants if I can help it."
"If you've come to kill Lord Ishida, then I regret to inform you that someone has already beaten you to it," Hanako said softly.
"What?" The ice in the assassin's voice broke at this announcement.
"I poisoned his sake before I served him dinner. He should pass out in about an hour. He won't wake up again."
"Then are you one of the agents I was told was working here and gathering information?"
"I am."
He released his grip on her, expertly arcing his sword away from her throat. It was sheathed before she'd even turned around to face him. Seeing the red hair, a cross-shaped scar, and amber eyes, she knew in a second that she was staring at the most infamous assassin alive. Battousai the Manslayer stood in front of her.
She was surprised. She'd expected someone with many years under his belt, but this assassin looked to be about sixteen. He was also short, probably a few inches over five feet. But his quiet countenance belied a soul inside that was deeper and wiser than many adults she'd come across. There was also unspeakable sadness in his eyes, burning so brightly it made her heart ache. This was a man who was no longer happy
"If what you say is true," he stated quietly, "then I need only choose whether to kill him quickly now or let him live a few hours more."
"Then choose and be on your merry way. I want no witnesses. I intend to wake the maids, feed them a story about finding him dead, and flee the house in the confusion. If you wish to remain uninvolved, then I suggest you choose the second option."
The Battousai smiled slightly. It caught Hanako off guard. She had never pictured a man whose hands were stained with blood to smile like he did.
"I would leave right now, but I must verify that Lord Ishida is dead. Once I have proof I will go. I'm not a witness because I did not see you poison the sake, and I will not see Ishida die because I'll be sitting in this room, with you."
Hanako huffed her breath and her bangs flew away from her face for a moment. They settled back down like feathers alighting on water. The Battousai found himself wanting to push them away from her face. He quelled the urge and slid down into a sitting position against the wall. His sword rested lightly, leaning against his knee, and his hand remained on the hilt.
He frowned at himself. Normally, he did not work like this. A quick a painless slash in the night to anyone in his way. Why had he spared this girl? Perhaps because she looked a little like…no. To think of her now, when the wounds on his heart had barely begun to heal, would only bring a fresh wash of pain. Of course, he had promised her…senseless killing was something he was no longer capable of.
His mindset was uneasy tonight. He'd just been told that he was being given a small break as another assassin rose in the ranks to take on his assignments for a while. Perhaps that's why he had hesitated; though, if she was a spy, he was glad he'd stayed his blade. Good spies were hard to find.
Hanako was entranced. She'd only seen him take three steps and slide down against a wall. Yet his grace was so evident that it seemed as though he'd floated from where he'd started to where he was now. But the thought of why he was graceful brought her to her senses. He was a trained murderer. She shook her head and went to the fire pit.
The coals were still hot, and she was pleased to find that the water in the kettle was, too. She removed the kettle and poured hot water into two cups. Replacing the kettle, she snatched a block of green tea and, facing the Battousai so he would know she was not poisoning him, she added the tea and whipped each cup until it had a green froth. She set one cup in front of him and knelt across from him. They toasted and drank, something oddly formal for a simple kitchen.
"I'm curious. How did you know the assassination was to be tonight?" said the Battousai, after a few sips of tea.
"I didn't." She saw his amber eyes widen slightly, but it was the only register of shock she saw. She decided to explain. "Lord Ishida lost his wife some years ago, but it is fairly safe to say that he only kept her around for one reason. Now the household maids serve that purpose instead. I'd managed to evade it until now. He requested me specifically tonight.
"I will not give myself over to a man who neither cares for me nor for the child I might bear him should one be conceived. I would die first. I knew the assassination would be coming soon anyway, so I poisoned him. He should be unconscious by now."
"Best not to risk it by checking. We'll wait until it is about midnight and then we'll check on him."
She noticed that he was using "we". He intended to stick this through. Of course, one doesn't become legendary for nothing.
Silence reigned for quite some time as they each sat quietly and drank their tea. Then Hanako's curiosity got the best of her. It was one reason the Ishin-shishi used her to spy.
"How did you ever get into this line of work? I mean, assassination is not generally something someone decides they want to do with their life."
He smiled again. This time it was rueful. "It is a long story."
"We have ample time," she said.
He was no longer smiling, but his brilliant eyes seemed softer. "Very well."
Part of his mind stared openly in shock as he began. Talkative as well as merciful? Truly, he was off balance tonight. He had absolutely no reason to tell this girl how he'd come to be the most infamous assassin of the revolution. And yet he was doing so. At least someone would know his story, if he ever died. The Ishin patriots certainly weren't about to let his name come to light.
So he told her the story of how exactly he'd come to be Battousai. When he finished, she, in turn, told him her story. Her parents had been killed when the initial fighting broke out. She needed a way to survive. A young lord who had known of her loss and her insatiable curiosity had recommended she talk to a traveling man who was staying at the lord's estate. She talked to the traveling man, who had sent her to another man who had sent her to another man. Eventually, somehow, she'd ended up working as a spy. Before she'd entered into the espionage business, she had planned on being a teacher and a part-time artist. Unlike most other females, she could read and write proficiently.
When she finished, the Battousai looked almost sad at her tale. She frowned, wondering what had bothered him, and he answered her unspoken question. "It's a waste of talent. You could be doing something so much more beneficial to the world, and yet you end up here.
Before she could speak, the little clock in the kitchen struck midnight. The Battousai rose without a word and she followed him into the dining room. Lord Ishida was slumped over and half his face rested in his rice. The Battousai pressed two fingers to the man's neck for a moment and then pulled away.
He drew his sword and Hanako barely managed to turn away before she heard the sound of Lord Ishida's head thumping to the floor. She heard the Battousai rise and clean his sword, but she could not look back. She may've killed him, but a headless body was something entirely different from a body that appeared only to be sleeping.
He motioned for her to follow him back to the kitchen. He slid the door closed behind her once she was through.
"He was dead before my sword met his flesh. Your poison was as quick and effective as you said it would be. But, this way, they will not suspect you. Go through with the rest of your plan. I will report to my advisors that he is dead. They will not really care about how he died. Only that breath is no longer in his body."
He turned to leave through the window that he'd entered by.
"Wait!" she said impulsively, only barely remembering to keep her voice quiet. "What's your name? Your real name?"
He turned from the window and look back at her. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but he almost looked as though her were smiling. She wondered how long it had been since he had truly smiled. "It's Himura. Himura Kenshin. And you?" He took a few steps closer.
"My name is Takanaka Hanako. I wish you a better life than the one you've had so far."
Kenshin leaned forward and kissed Hanako, yet another thing he shouldn't have done tonight. But he did it anyway. It was a gentle kiss, and seemingly meaningless, only the brush of lips. But it held so much more: pain and regret that had to be hidden, a lifetime's anguish in a single action. Slowly he pulled away. "I wish the same for you." And then he was gone as though he'd never been there to begin with.
Hanako touched her lips with a gentle finger. And then she went to the window and latched it tight. She had other things to do.
She never saw Kenshin again, save for one time. The war had finished six months ago, and she'd been traveling, mostly because she had nothing else to do except leave Kyoto. It was in a small fishing village that was rather crowded for market day that she caught a glimpse of brilliant red hair.
She did a double take and saw that he was looking her way. He'd aged in the way someone does when they've seen and done terrible things. Sadness hung in his eyes, though they glimmered with some happiness as he saw her. He was changed from all his years of murdering. When their eyes met, he nodded and the shadow of a smile played across his face. Hanako looked away and didn't look back towards him again.
But she smiled to herself. She liked to think that by saving him the bloody deed of taking one more life, she'd made all the difference between how he might have been and how he was. Of course, it had been another woman who had done that, but Hanako would never know this. Instead, she was left with lingering thoughts both sad and comforting. There was hope for Himura Kenshin yet. And if there was hope for him, there might be hope for her as well.
With determined resolve, she turned towards the local schoolhouse. Maybe they were looking for a new teacher.