Chapter 22. Flames of war

They came across Katsura-san and Katagai at the inn, and Kenshin wasn't sure if he had ever felt so relieved. No matter what he had overheard from the Shinsengumi at the Ikeda-ya, there had been a persistent fear in his heart, spurring his mind towards the worst case scenarios.

However, to his surprise, Katsura-san had never made it to the meeting in the first place.

The leader of the Choshuu Ishin Shishi and Katagai-san had been running late on another errand. It was only by chance that they had spotted the Shinsengumi gathering for the raid and made their escape without being noticed.

"Kenshin, if the Shinsengumi are hunting for you and me specifically, it's extremely important that we lay low," Katsura-san said, a strained frown on his brow. "Stay here at the inn and don't attract any attention. If the safety of this inn becomes compromised, I will see about moving you to another location. You are too important to lose."

The words felt like a strike across his face, and Kenshin scowled. Confined to the inn, he would be useless to the rebels! He was a fighter, not someone who cowered in fear. He could do something, help out in some way!

However, the protest died on his lips as Katsura-san gave him a look. "It's total chaos out there. The notorious Wolves of Mibu outright attacking a meeting of high-ranking provincial officials? This will raise hell, and not just in the Capital. The provinces will be screaming for blood. There are already messages going back and forth. I'll have to leave now and try to salvage what I can from this mess."

Without a further word, Katsura-san motioned to his bodyguard, Katagai-san, and slipped down a backstreet, disappearing into the shadows of night.

Kenshin watched them go.

If Katsura-san was that worried, so on edge… things were very bad, weren't they?


As it turned out, the Ikeda-ya incident was a disaster for the Ishin Shishi.

The very next day, they learned that the Shinsengumi had killed 8 and arrested 23 of the men who had been at the meeting. Worse, most of the rebel leaders and trusted councilmen had been among them. Miyabe's death, especially, was creating problems. He had been the unifying force for those willing to use extreme measures, and with him gone, there seemed to be a growing consensus supporting his ideas.

Kenshin even heard a rumor that the reason the Shinsengumi had chosen to risk attacking a prominent meeting was because they had heard of a plan to burn down Kyoto.

It seemed too outlandish, too unbelievable to be true. Who would plan to burn down the capital? The very thought was horrifying. Yet, Iizuka-san had seemed grim and hadn't denied the rumor when asked about it.

Kenshin didn't know what to think. Of course such a plan should be stopped, but at the same time… What would it mean going forward, that the Shinsengumi could attack a meeting between high ranking samurai and politicians, slaughtering those who resisted and capturing the rest?

One thing was sure: everyone who favored the rebel movement was enraged by the raid. Yet, that rage was tainted by fear. In one decisive strike, the Shinsengumi had proven they were a force to be reckoned with and a true threat to the rebels.

Unfortunately, the situation had driven most of the rebels into hiding, which meant that there was nothing for Kenshin to do. No jobs, no guarding... nothing at all.

It wasn't easy to be so alert, but unable to make a difference.

Perhaps it was unavoidable that Kenshin found himself rebelling against Katsura-san's wisdom. He acquired a hat to cover his eye-catching hair, and took to wandering through town, listening to the rumors.

It had been some time since he had bothered to keep up with the talk in the town. After all, since Hitokiri Battousai's terrifying deeds had become the constant topic on people's lips, there had been little joy in listening. Yet the Shinsengumi's success had changed everything in one night, from the topics to the tone of people's rumor mongering.

Who cared to focus on one measly assassin?

No matter how mysterious or fearsome, even Hitokiri Battousai had become old news by this point. No, the Wolves of Mibu were a far better subject. However, unlike before, when people had always had something ill to say about the Shinsengumi, now those sneers were accompanied with real respect and fear.

The same could be seen at the inn. The threat the Shinsengumi poised had absolutely everyone on edge. The Choshuu men were tense and Iizuka-san was constantly running between safe-houses and meeting spots, trying to calm everyone down. Even Okami-san and her employees were stressed.

Something was going to happen, and soon.

Everybody knew it.

The stress and worry made it impossible for Kenshin to relax. Yet, for all the visits to town he risked and the hours he spent in the backyard repeating his kata, his restlessness was growing, becoming harder to contain.

The feeling was getting worse by the day.

It was getting to the point that Kenshin wished for a job. Or something, anything useful for him to do. This waiting, listening to whispers and tales that grew wilder by the day… His restlessness was feeling less and less like an itch, an annoying but necessary evil. No, it was like the walls were closing in, trapping them from all sides.

Kenshin had absolutely no idea how to relieve the stress.

He tried all his usual tricks. He had even ignored his embarrassment and had taken to spinning Kasumi's top in Tomoe's presence – to no avail.

Nothing worked.

Through it all, Tomoe was a quiet shadow by his side. Whenever she was not working, she was with him, and her calming presence was the only reason why he hadn't done anything stupid, like get into a fight. A few men residing in the inn had managed to do that just last night; they had gotten back late, drunk and covered in darkening bruises.

Now, Kenshin was again playing with his top, sitting in his corner, leaning his back against the book stack. It was just an evening like all the others. The restlessness was crawling just under his skin and the sweltering, humid heat of the summer evening was making it impossible to even think of training till exhaustion. Tomoe sat with him in silence, embroidering delicate patterns into her shawl in the candlelight.

It was getting late.

"Why the top?"

Her soft voice pulled him out of his thoughts and Kenshin blinked, completely surprised by her interest.

Tomoe had set down her shawl and was looking at him strangely, her head tilted in curiosity.

"Uh…" Kenshin started. What should he say to her? "Well, it was a gift. A woman named Kasumi gave it to me when I was a child."

"So it's a memento?"

"Err… yes," he stammered, looking aside awkwardly. When the top toppled over, he took it in his hands again and tied the yarn around the knob methodically, setting it to spin.

Shyly, he stole a glance at her between his lashes. What is she thinking?

He wasn't sure why, but her eyes looked almost soft, not quite as unreadable as before. Her ki was the same, though the feel of her coldness had melted, the biting edge tempered down to a quiet warmth.

"What does it remind you of?"

Kenshin frowned in thought, not quite sure how to answer.

The top was a real, tangible connection to the past from before the sword and the duties of Hiten Mitsurugi. It reminded him of a time when he had been loved and was taken in by a kind woman, how she had sacrificed her life just so that he could live... when he, too, had been a slave, just like Kasumi, and how the Bakufu's laws and government hadn't been there to protect them.

What can I tell her?

The top meant so much to him. It was just an old toy and yet, it had become a reminder of…

"Why I need to fight." Kenshin finally resolved. "The top reminds me why I need to protect people."

Tomoe nodded gravely, "I see."

And right then, he couldn't help noticing she looked sad, like she had remembered something better left unsaid as well.

Silence fell between them.

He didn't know what to say to her, so after a moment, Kenshin continued to spin his top and she returned to her embroidery. Every now and then, he would glance at her from the corner of his eye and wonder what was left unsaid between them.

Was she thinking of what she had lost? How little she had now? Or was her morose mood because of how small their world had dwindled in these past few weeks of living in seclusion, trying not to be noticed while the city shimmered with rage and fear and rumors.

Kenshin was beginning to understand that they really were alike. Both of them were alone, sad… trying to get by. But unlike him, she didn't have a sense of purpose, conviction to fight for a cause. She just was. She lived day by day, trying to survive.

And yet, she had asked to stay by his side.

What did she mean earlier, saying that she wanted to be a sheath for my madness? Kenshin frowned. True, he had been feeling better with her by his side. The blood still haunted him, but lately he hadn't had so many nightmares and sake had even tasted good.

Maybe he had been going mad: all those sad thoughts, anger, desperation… restlessness.

But what does it mean that I can't relax now?

Tomoe was right there. Her familiar ki felt just as nice as always. Listening to her steady breathing and to the soft repetitive noise of her needle and thread sliding through the fabric as she embroidered her shawl was just as calming as it had been since the first night they had shared this room.

It felt like a failure to not be able to calm down, to not be able to let go of this restlessness.

I really should try to get some sleep. It's getting rather late anyway and it can't be pleasant for her when I'm keyed up like this… Kenshin's eyes widened in alarm at the thought. Was he disturbing her right now? Maybe the only reason why she hadn't already gone to sleep was because she couldn't, not when he was tense like this…

It made him feel like he was even more of a failure. The last thing on earth he wanted was to cause her distress! She already had so many difficulties, she was so sad and lonely. And now she had to put up with this, his madness?

Kenshin stared at his hands. They weren't shaking, but his fingers tingled with the need to hold something solid. A sword?

There are no threats in here! Even I know that!

The top was on the floor, not spinning anymore.

When did I let go of it?

The nervous energy was pooling inside him, like a coiled beast wanting to move. Kenshin swallowed in shame, looking down at his hands, and he admitted in a low voice, "I can't calm down. I try and try… but I can't."

A cloth rustled as she put aside her embroidery. She was looking right at him, before she nodded decisively and said, "Please, allow me."

What? Kenshin gulped.

She gracefully rose to her feet and walked over to him. Quietly, she knelt at his side, closer than ever before and reached into her sleeve pocket, taking something out. A comb?

Oh...

"When I was a child, my mother used to do this. It felt comforting," she said softly, reaching for his hair and untying the leather cord around his ponytail.

Kenshin froze and the tiny hairs at the back of his neck stood up. It was electrifying. The nerves in his neck and scalp tingled, shivers dancing on his skin at her touch. He was almost jumping out of his skin, the need to run, to shy away from her touch was so strong… and yet, this was Tomoe and he trusted her.

And if she wanted to do this, if she thought it would help? Kenshin squeezed his eyes shut and decided that he wouldn't move. No matter what she decided to do, he wouldn't move. If she wanted, he would allow her to do anything.

Her fingers combed slowly through his hair. Then she took the length of his long hair into her hand and began untangling the ends with her comb.

Kenshin had never been particularly meticulous about his hair. It grew freely and every now and then he worked through the worst of the tangles with his fingers. When it became too matted with grime he washed it with water, wrung it out, and let it dry. The approach had worked perfectly fine for him thus far.

Yet, when he finally dared to glance at her, she didn't seem pleased. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration as she combed through the tangles, trying not to pull too hard.

"You should take better care of your hair. It's a mess," she said, letting go of the length of his hair and running her comb through it freely. Untied and untangled like that, he could feel the weight of his hair all the way to his lower back.

Huh… Kenshin blinked. He hadn't even noticed it getting that long.

When he was young, he had kept his hair shorter because it had been a pain during training. Not only had it tangled easily, catching things like leaves, twigs, and nettles during spars in the forests, but Master hadn't been shy about grabbing it. After all, long hair was a weakness to exploit for those without honor, and for a student of Hiten Mitsurugi, it would be unimaginable to fall to such an easy tactic.

Master had kept his hair long with pride. For a swordsman of his caliber, long hair wasn't a weakness – after all, no one could get close enough to use it against him.

Now, in Kyoto, the same could be said for Kenshin. He hadn't thought of his hair, because it hadn't been a problem. It was a strange thing to realize. Not one of his targets had given him any more trouble that the bandits had given Master.

Tomoe kept working through his hair with steady motions, all the way from his scalp to the ends. The comb didn't get stuck anymore. Instead, it was just a gentle pulling.

It felt almost relaxing.

And Tomoe's ki was becoming warmer?

"I have always wanted to do this, to brush someone's hair," she remarked softly behind him.

"Why didn't you?" Kenshin found himself asking. Not out of need to know, but mere curiosity.

"My mother died when I was young and after that… there was no one. I had a few acquaintances, but no real female friends."

"Oh…" No wonder she often seemed sad and lonely. Attempting to distract her a bit from her memories, Kenshin volunteered, "I didn't have any friends either. I spend most of my childhood training in swordsmanship."

"Ah," she said, her ki turning a shade frostier.

Well, that was smooth of him. Kenshin cringed. A good distraction, truly. How was she supposed to forget her past and worries when he shoved the fact that he was a killer in her face?

Kenshin sighed, shame churning in his gut. Why was he such a failure? He was always pushing the situation from bad to worse with his ineptitude. He liked Tomoe. A lot. She was kind and calm, beautiful… and she could stand him.

She was even brushing his hair to help him calm down!

But all he could do for her was remind her of the horrors she had suffered and make situations awkward. He wasn't good at talking to people. He truly, truly wasn't. But…

"You are so young." She interrupted his fretting thoughts. "I can't see how you can stand to fight in this horrible shadow war."

"I'm not that young!" Kenshin denied immediately. He wasn't, not like that. He hated when people kept saying he was a kid. Just because he happened to be somewhat short...

"Oh?"

"Errr..." Kenshin hesitated, glancing over his shoulder at her. "Uh, well... I think I'm fifteen."

"You think?" she asked, disbelief in her tone.

Well, put like that… I guess it sounded pretty stupid. Kenshin straightened, feeling the heat on his cheeks. "I think I was born in summer, but I can't remember for sure." Then he frowned, struck by an idle thought. Because he, too, had been wondering, "How old are you?"

She paused her motions, her ki shifting warmer again. "I'm eighteen."

For some reason that tidbit felt really good. She wasn't that much older than him. In the eyes of society, neither of them were kids… They were old enough to do what they wanted.

"There, all done," she said, running her comb through his hair a final time and then gathering it into her grip, tying up his topknot like it had been.

Kenshin was a bit disappointed that it was over. It had really felt quite nice. The restlessness had abated like it had never even been there, leaving behind calmness. Feeling like this, sleep would come easily. He turned around and smiled. "Thank you."

A faint pink blush rose to her cheeks in return.


At the beginning of August all the men residing in the inn were called to attend a meeting in the common dining room. Standing in front of them were Iizuka-san… and Katsura-san with his bodyguard Katagai-san? All three of them looked grim, but the worst looking of them was Katsura-san. The leader of Choshuu Ishin Shishi had dark lines under his eyes and he was tense, every inch of him screaming of bone-deep exhaustion.

Everyone present seemed to notice it with alarm.

Kenshin found his place next to the wall, on the sidelines. As usual, an empty space was created around him as no one seemed to be willing to stay in his vicinity.

"There has been call to arms," Katsura-san began gravely. "Choshuu is marching to the capital. As of now, just over two thousand men are gathering outside of Kyoto, to the south and southwest. If the Choshuu clan's demands aren't heard and the Ikeda-ya slaughter isn't investigated, they have decided to attempt to move the Emperor to Hagi and reinstate the government there."

A stunned silence landed on the room. It was so thick, heavy with tension, that one could have cut through it with a knife.

Kenshin didn't know how to react to the news, either. It was staggering. A war? Now?

Already?

The Bakufu was strong. There were more samurai in the city than ever before. Thanks to the Shinsengumi's gambit at the Ikeda-ya, there was talk among the townsfolk that the Bakufu was finally getting its act together, that the rebels' daring acts were just cruel murders without purpose…

And taking the Emperor to Hagi?

What on earth?

"The Bakufu outnumber us heavily." Katsura-san's strict voice cut through the silence. "As of now, there are over fifty thousand samurai in the city, both provincial troops and policing forces. However, it's impossible to know for sure how many provinces will lend their strength to the Bakufu. We have managed to diminish their base of support with our strikes. Yet, make no mistake: this will be a bloodbath."

Katsura-san paused and turned to look at them, like he was talking to each of them separately. "I am not going to support this madness. I hope that you won't either. However, you have the right to decide for yourselves. The Bakufu has given Choshuu until the 19th to withdraw… The attack will come before that."

Silence.

Kenshin swallowed. A war. It sounded like madness, but could it work? If it was done right, could two thousand men attack the Imperial palace and take the Emperor? Maybe, if the Bakufu was disorganized, if there was no coordination between their forces…

The Bakufu had lot of men, true.

But they weren't a single unified army, not in the least. Worse, unlike the Shinsengumi and Mimawarigumi who had fighting experience from their clashes with the rebels, most of the countryside troops were fighters in name only. The long peace of the Tokugawa reign had robbed them of their will and means to make war. Most of them were men who had gotten used to their comfortable duties and stable stipends.

Only the largest provinces had the need to keep a meaningful number of their samurai fit and trained.

So the real question was, which of the large provinces would support the Bakufu? Aizu for sure; the province had over five thousand samurai and they had been supporting the Bakufu for ages. Another sure bet was Satsuma. They had always done some manner of trade with foreigners, officially sanctioned or not, which put them at odds with Choshuu's call to expel the barbarians. Not to mention Satsuma had an old grudge – to put it mildly – with Choshuu.

With those two provinces alone, the Bakufu would have nearly ten thousand men near Kyoto, Kenshin realized with a frown.

Three to one odds, even in the very best case scenario.

The distance from Kyoto to Choshuu was over 340 miles.

At worst, Choshuu wouldn't raise any support and they would have to fight all of those fifty thousand men while retreating south through several provinces.

Who could say if any of those provinces would grant them safe passage? If those provinces saw an opportunity, what would keep them from turning against Choshuu? Mito, Owari, Kii, Kuwaga, Hikone… oh god, the list was endless.

Kenshin drew a tense breath, his stomach dropping. It was hopeless. It would never work, not like this. There were simply too many against them, too many who would benefit from Choshuu's misfortune.

There was a murmur going through the crowd as people conversed. Katsura-san sat silently before them, available for their questions, but allowing the men to decide where they stood on their own.

Then one of the samurai stood up proudly. "If Choshuu calls… I'll answer. It might be a tough battle, but I am not a coward."

That single opinion was all it took to break the dam and people rose to their feet, some shouting their agreement and others their displeasure. Accusations of madness rang out, followed by claims that anyone who would abandon Choshuu was a coward. That Katsura-san, too, had shamed them all with his words.

It was a pure chaos all around him.

Then, Katsura-san rose up and raised his hand… and people fell silent. The leader of the Choshuu Ishin Shishi nodded at them and turned his back, walking out the door.

The shouting started again.

Kenshin didn't know what to do. Yet, while he was as torn by the situation as everyone else, he definitely didn't want to stay in this chaos. Silent as a cat, he slipped out of the room.

Concentrating slightly, he searched for Katsura-san's steady ki and rushed to follow it. He just needed to ask for advice. Even if it was a hopeless fight, he wouldn't abandon the cause, not without a damn good reason.

He reached them just as Katsura-san and Katagai-san were heading out. Katagai-san nodded at him. However, Katsura-san didn't even turn around as he said, "Kenshin, if you decide to join the war – I understand."

Is Katsura-san doubting me, my loyalty? Kenshin frowned, "It's a hopeless fight… and I follow you."

Katsura-san exhaled slowly, and turned to look at him, his eyes hard and serious. "Then stay here and protect the people. The Imperial palace is just few miles from here. The fighting might spread out and the city is filled with people because of the festival season."

Kenshin's eyes widened in shock and he didn't even recognize his own voice as he whispered, "Can it be stopped?"

"No. Not anymore," Katsura-san said quietly, and left.

Kenshin was left standing there, for the first time realizing the sheer magnitude of the approaching horror.

War was coming.


It felt like he was sitting on a powder keg, knowing there was a war coming… and not being able to do anything about it.

If people knew about the attack, the Bakufu would gain even more supporters and then the rebel army would face impossible odds. No, they couldn't even warn anyone, not without destroying the slight chance the rebels had of winning.

For Choshuu to have any chance of capturing the Emperor, they would need to mount a fast, surprise attack, so the Bakufu wouldn't have the chance to gather their divided troops to respond.

However, knowing the truth didn't make waiting any easier.

The Imperial palace was well within the city proper. There were literally thousands of people living nearby it, thousands of homes threatened by the attack. What would happen to them? Was the Bakufu doing anything for them? Did they even know enough to have a plan for evacuating the people? Surely they had heard of Choshuu's threats, but was it enough?

It was killing Kenshin to not know, to have no chance of stopping it.

When the 19th came, Kenshin left the inn to wander the streets before sunrise. Only a few miles from the Imperial Palace, the early risers and merchants were trying to conduct their business normally. Yet, there was a tense anticipation in the air, spurred forth by the groups of many different provincial troops patrolling the streets on high alert.

Kenshin tried to avoid being seen. His hair covered with a hat, he stuck close to walls and shadows whenever patrols passed him. It was what everyone did, truth be told. The townsfolk might not have known what was going on, but no one wanted to risk annoying tense samurai with hair-trigger tempers.

After all, samurai had the right to kill if they felt insulted, so seeing all these armed men on the street would have made anyone wary.

Kenshin was heading back to the inn when cannon fire rang out in the distance, their roars descending like the wrath of gods. People turned to stare in shock, some screaming from fright… only to see their worst nightmare come to life.

There were flames and dark pillars of smoke rising on the horizon.

Someone had set the city on fire.

Panicked screams echoed all around him as people dashed southward down the street, away from the fire like a herd of lambs, and even Kenshin could feel panic stirring as reality struck. The city was filled with people. The wooden houses had dried in the summer heat like tinder and the wind was blowing south. It would spread the flames like wildfire… all the way to the old town, to the merchant's quarters and narrowly built residential districts.

There was no stopping it, not fast enough.

…Tomoe.

Kensin gasped raggedly.

He needed to get back, to get to Tomoe… to alert every remaining Choshuu man at the inn. They needed to get the people to safety right now.

He ran like he had never run before.


"Tomoe! You need to get away!" Kenshin screamed as he burst into the inn, seeing her sweeping the hallway.

She froze, her eyes widening in alarm. "What is it?"

"The city is on fire! Hurry!" Kenshin shouted, before dashing up the stairs, three steps at a time, darting into the men's rooms, kicking and pulling them awake. Out of about twenty men who resided in the inn, half had left in the last week to join to the Choshuu men gathering outside the town. The few that were left were all lower-ranked men, ronin, or those who weren't shy about their distaste for war.

When he had awoken everyone, Kenshin found himself surrounded by all the people in the inn: the men, Okami-san, and her two serving girls. A desperate need pushing him, he didn't even stop to hesitate speaking aloud, to explain them what he had seen: the Bakufu's patrols heading to the Palace, the cannon shots, and the fire on the horizon.

"If we don't do something, people will be trampled in the chaos. The wind is blowing south, spreading the fire fast. We need to help the people, direct them out of the harm's way," Kenshin was explaining hurriedly, when a samurai stormed into the inn.

It was Tanaka, one of the men who had left earlier to join the fight, and he was bloody, his eyes wild as he shouted, "They are going to make it! Choshuu is going to succeed! The fire is covering our retreat! Everybody, come! We need to help them out! The rebels will win this war!"

"Fuck the war!" Kenshin shouted, his ki lashing out with his emotions. Never before had he felt such anger at someone's stupidity. Kenta joined his side, as he raised his voice, "Listen to me! Whether Choshuu wins or loses, it's out of our hands. You have made your decision already. It's the people, the ordinary townsfolk who need our help. We need to get them out of here and moving in the right direction!"

And somehow, everyone – even Tanaka – froze at his words, staring at him like they had never seen him before.

"Now focus! Kuwaba, run to Kawaramachi and alert the other Ishin Shishi who are abstaining from this war. Yoshiwaru, go and gather the firefighters! And the rest of you, get people moving to the east, to the mountains – not south where the fire is spreading! Okami-san, gather what you need and get out of here. The fire will be here soon!"

Everyone stared, their mouth gaping…

Kenshin shouted, "Move!"

And just like that, they did.

Only Tomoe stood there in the hallway, alone like a white ghost, her eyes open wide in shock. Then, she struggled to gather her resolve, clenched her fists tight and said evenly, "I will help Okami-san and the people here. Please, go help the others."

It was then that Kenshin saw the core of her strength, her willingness to fight for what was right.

He didn't argue, just nodded at her and left.

There were people who needed his help.


The smoke was heavy in the air as the streets teemed with a panicky herd of people heading south. Most had tried to grab whatever possessions they could, and some were trying to push through the crowd as fast as possible. The shouts and screams echoed all around them, the smallest voices lost in the noise. The crowd didn't care who got left behind or trampled in the chaos; children, the infirm or the elderly.

Kenshin had never seen anything so terrifying.

The panic around him was a thousand time worse than the festival had been. The fear was suffocating. The shouts and screams and horrible crackle of fire getting closer melded together into almost indistinguishable wall of noise.

It was almost impossible to think.

What was worse was how people kept choosing the main roads, heading south… not realizing that they could never outrun the fire, not when the streets were packed full, becoming a bottleneck for the crowd.

Hopefully his warning had been enough. Hopefully the men of the Ishin Shishi could come together and make a difference, direct them to the east further down the road… because alone, Kenshin was too small, too weak to do it by himself.

The fire was getting closer.

Kenshin swallowed, and headed towards it, rushing to help the stragglers. Trying to focus on flickers of ki, he ran through the buildings and small streets, zeroing in on presences that were stuck or trapped, and doing his best to get them moving.

The closer he got to the fire, the more desperate the fight against time became.

But with Kenta at his side, directing his ki to his blade, he could cut through rubble and walls, break down doors and barricades for anyone left behind.

He lost track of time, he was so focused on finding people and getting them moving. His voice was hoarse from shouting, his eyes were dry from the heat, and it was difficult to breathe from the smoke. It hurt to channel his ki, to try to focus on the presences around him.

He cut and cut, pulled people from the collapsing houses, pushed them to run…

When the fire reached Okami's inn, Kenshin was on the verge of collapsing from sheer exhaustion. Yet, the streets were empty, the crowd having fled, and he couldn't feel a single flicker moving behind him, only the heat and smoke of the fire spreading from one house to the next.

Kenshin gasped in relief, and ran.

He found Tomoe a couple miles to the east, where a group of children were gathered around her, holding her hands. People moved past her, but every now and then someone would shout a name and a child would perk up and rush to them.

She had been helping children lost in the crowd?

The few boys and girls with her weren't screaming or crying anymore. They huddled next to her for comfort, listening to her words. It was like her natural calm and fearlessness had eased their panic, allowing them to trust her to find their families. Amidst all the chaos, those children saw what he did, that she was a calm spot in the sea.

She was... awe-inspiring.

An aching warmth spread in his chest at the sight, and at that moment, Kenshin realized that he loved her.

Not in the quiet, unspoken manner he had witnessed between Master and Osumi-san, from Master looking at Osumi-san or how Osumi-san had smiled back, inviting his glances. Not in the manner he had heard the serving girls whispering about the samurai in the inn, evaluating everything from their looks to their wealth.

No… Tomoe meant more to him than that.

Her quiet grace, her strength, her kindness... she was everything he had ever wanted. The warmth in his chest took on an almost painful edge, a yearning for more. How wonderful would it be to curl closer to her and wrap himself in her calmness?

Kenshin gasped, and looked aside.

How dare he think such thoughts now?

Disaster was just around the corner and the endless stream of evacuating people had just lost everything they had. And while he was worn to the bone, filled with numbness and hurt, there was still work to be done, people that needed help, and he still had two healthy hands. It was as simple as that.

Kenshin raised his gaze and searched for Tomoe's eyes over the morose crowd. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. He nodded at her. Just once, but it was enough.

Then he turned around and headed back to the town.


The wind blew south, spreading the fire all the way to the residential districts, the merchant's quarters and where the lower castes lived. It kept burning throughout the day and evening, covering the city in a veil of smoke. The little they had managed to do, Kenshin, Tomoe, and the few Ishin Shishi men who had stayed back at the inn… it seemed insignificant in the scope of all that horror.

However, by the night's end, the flames were finally burning out. Whole districts lay in ruin, along with most of the southeastern side of Kyoto.

Even amidst the disaster, Kenshin had seen Choshuu men escaping from the Imperial palace and Bakufu men chasing them through the crowd, careless of the chaos all around them.

It was like the war had driven men on both sides out of their minds.

Tomoe agreed with him. "They can't see anything but war and revenge. The Bakufu and Rebels, both sides are lost in their madness and in the middle are the ordinary people, just trying to survive."


All this ruin… for nothing.

Katsura sighed sadly, staring at the smoldering city before him.

A few hot tempered idiots, some misinformation, exaggeration and a prisoner who knew too much: it didn't really take all that much for a disaster like this to happen. Just those simple things and the Shinsengumi had raided Ikeda-ya, and had sent the volatile Choshuu leadership up in arms. All they had was an army of little less than three thousand men and a daring plan… but waiting for them at the Imperial palace was an enemy over twenty thousand strong and Satsuma's four western field guns.

An inevitable outcome: over two hundred Choshuu dead and just few dozen casualties for the Bakufu.

Just those losses would have been an inexcusable tragedy, but then the fools had set the city on fire.

Katsura sighed.

On this bleak morning, even he felt ashamed to call himself a Choshuu rebel.

By conservative estimates, over twenty-five thousand houses had been destroyed by the fire, a large proportion of the city. The wind had blown the fire throughout the city, spreading the flames until it had been impossible to stop them. There had been countless civilian casualties – no one could even venture a guess of how many.

Adjusting the reed coat over his shoulders, Katsura shivered, the weight of shame and defeat hanging heavily on his shoulders. In spite of all he had tried to accomplish, it had come down to this.

"Look at us now… Kyoto's Choshuu faction is destroyed. We are being pursued as enemies of the Emperor. In Hagi, the conservatives are gaining power. There's been a reversal in the provincial government." Katsura sighed again. "I'll stay in hiding for a while. I can't go back to Hagi, but if I stay here, I'll be caught."

Above him, leaning against the bridge, the boy asked softly, "What should I do? The inn was burnt to the ground…"

Katsura frowned in thought.

With Choshuu's position in Kyoto in ruin, and both the Bakufu and his own clan's government hunting him, his means had grown limited. Yet he had made some preparations for worst case scenarios early in the summer, back when the secret of Kenshin's identity had started to fray.

If nothing else, those options were still there.

"I have arranged for a house in a village outside the city, in Otsu. You can hide there until you decide what to do. I'll contact you through Iizuka."

That would take care of Kenshin, but… there was still the girl. She had worked her magic and Kenshin had been getting better in her presence, enough that even he had noticed it.

"Tomoe-kun."

"Yes?"

"If you have nowhere to go, could you live there with Himura? A young couple will avoid suspicion more easily than a young man alone. Of course it would be just be for show."

Look after him, please, Katsura thought and climbed to his feet tiredly.

Today, on this terrible morning, he might as well be the beggar under bridge he was dressed as, the reed coat and hat hiding his well-known face.

Hunted by both the Bakufu and Choshuu traditionalists as a scapegoat for this disaster, the man named Katsura Kogoro was crushed, his life's work scattered to ashes and his reputation in ruins. But his teacher's, Yoshida Shoin's, creed was still with him, and in spite of this disaster… he would rise again.

For the future of the country, the Ishin Shishi would rise again.


Kenshin leaned against the bridge railing and watched Katsura-san walk away. Never before had he seen his leader look so… defeated.

If he was perfectly honest, he felt the same. Every inch of him was hurting, the numbness of exhaustion pressing heavily on him. If he allowed himself to, he could sit down right there and sleep for a day.

Sighing, he glanced at the woman beside him.

Tomoe looked just as bad as he probably did. She was covered in soot, dirt, and sweat. Yet, she had been a huge help, standing by his side through thick and thin. Even now, she had followed him to meet Katsura-san.

With the inn burnt down, the rebels hunted as enemies of the state… they had nowhere to go.

Kenshin had trusted that Katsura-san would at least have a suggestion for what they should do, but in his wildest dreams he hadn't expected this. A safe house in the country, just for him and Tomoe?

It sounded too good to be true.

A break from the fighting, staying hidden somewhere with just her…

But what if she didn't want to go with him? She had stayed with him at the inn because Okami-san had offered her work. They had shared a room out of necessity. But now, there was no work for her, no chance to earn money for a new start.

Simply put, she didn't need to stay with him.

He was stained and almost broken. There was nothing he could give her, nothing that would make her want to stay. She had survived hard times before, there was no doubt she could do so again. So given the chance to choose, why would she choose him?

Kenshin sighed. He truly didn't want to be alone, not again. The very thought of living alone felt terrible. But she deserved to make her own choices.

"What should we do?" Tomoe asked quietly, looking at him seriously. "I don't really have a place to go, but…"

Kenshin squeezed his eyes shut, his stomach lurching with disappointment at her words. Didn't she realize that she could do anything she wanted? She shouldn't make this decision out of need! Not this. The last thing he wanted was for her to stay with him because there were no better options.

"It's not as though you have nowhere to go. If you need money for travelling, that can be arranged," Kenshin bit out harshly, looking aside.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he cringed, feeling ashamed of his temper.

It was just that... he loved her.

He knew she couldn't ever feel the same for him, but even if she felt just a fraction of what he did, it would be… no. She liked him, too. A little. She had said we. She had asked to stay with him, to be a sheath for his madness.

Actually, hadn't it been her who had asked to stay with him in the first place?

Humbled by the realization, Kenshin turned to meet her gaze, and a bit hesitantly, said, "I guess… it's wrong of me to leave it all up to you. Let's live together. I don't know how long it will last, but it doesn't have to be for show."

Her eyes widened at his words, a faint blush rising to color her cheeks under the soot and dirt… and then the tiniest sliver of a smile rose to her lips.

Her dark eyes were soft and her ki felt warm and welcoming and Kenshin realized finally that it wasn't just him. She wanted it too, to live by his side in the little house in Otsu.

"Together…'till death do us part."


Betaed by Animaniacal-laughter in 18.03.2016.