Author's Note: I'm sorry... I was afraid this chapter would be confusing, and it seems I was right... so quick recap on what this story is first... it's a non-canonical (aka alternate universe) fic about what could have happened if Kenshin had never met Tomoe or her fiancee... This means the timeline has changed starting with the moment he SHOULD have received the first slash on his face from Kiyosota Akira. And this means you have to figure out what's changed and what's not so changed... sometimes a more daunting task than one would think, as looks can be quite deceiving, and truth is not always what it appears when it first meets the eye...
Secondly, this is a flashback chapter (thus the date and location)... I'll move back to the present soon, but whenever I put full chapters or hugs portions in italics like this, and separate them from the rest of the story, it's probably a dream or flashback sequence... And of course with me, it's always a good idea to check for a date and or location as backup...
That said, please enjoy the following chapter...
Chapter 2: A Burning Memory
1868-Kyoto
They had won.
It should have been a glorious thing. It meant the war was over. That this bloody revolution was finally at an end.They should be celebrating, the end of the war heralded by cheering and rejoicing of the common people. Those who never had a choice in the matter, yet who had paid the highest price.
For him, the end had been marked by a gunshot, screams and the crackling of flames.
He hadn't been the one to discover their betrayal. No. He had been prepared to disappear. He was grateful that the fighting was over, but he was no fool. His shishou had warned him what would happen to him if he were used as a soulless weapon. And as usual, Hiko had been right. It had taken him years to realize it. And it had nearly cost him something more valuable that his lost time.
A second hitokiri had been brought in when Katsura had begun to worry that Battousai was growing unbalanced, and his soul being ripped apart. When the redhead had gone from uncaring calm after assignments to an almost maddening guilt that had weighed down his ki, swaying him between a frustrating parody of the innocent he had once been and the unbridled killer he was struggling not to become. This other hitokiri, Shishio Makoto, had helped bring Battousai back into balance. He had watched Shishio's reactions to killing. How the man had relished in the act, not from joy of death, but as an active step closer to achieving his goals. And the redhead had realized that this was acceptable. That in some ways, this followed the teachings of Hiten Mitsurugi. His goal was to protect the weak.He would kill to do so.
And so he'd trusted Shishio. Trusted him as he'd trusted no onesince his shishou. So in the black of their final night, when Shishio had warned him of the treachery, although Himura hadn't wanted to believe it of Katsura, he'd had no reason to doubt his comrade.
They had run that night, taking nothing with them but their weapons and some food. They'd made it out of Kyoto, Battousai leading the way through the woods and up the mountain. Hoping he could somehow convince his shishou to help them, even if they didn't deserve help.
They'd never made it to the shack in the woods. Shishio suspected they'd been followed. Had gone back to check, and cover their tracks.
There had been a gunshot. Himura ran back to the sound of screams to find several soldiers, many Satsuma, but some Choshu around a writhing bonfire.
Himura did not have to ask what had happened to Shishio.
Himura had killed them all that night. Every last one of them before the blackened body had fallen still, the flames rolled out too late. There was nothing the redhead could do, except offer a prayer, and move on before more soldiers came.
He'd left both saddened and horrified that while his comrade had given his life that night, he, Himura Battousai, had gotten out with nothing more than a vertical slash across his left cheek.
And the eternal memory of the terrible deed he'd been unable to prevent.
Author's Note 2: It's short. I know... but the chapter felt done, so there you have it...
Big thanks to sueb262 and lolo popoki and FrostPhoenix for their thoughtful and eternally helpful beta work!
And thanks to the rest of you for reading. Please review.
Dewa mata!
Sirius
Author's Note 2: It's short. I know... but the chapter felt done, so there you have it...