D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

Hello! Sorry for the long wait, but I really wanted to finish at least one story before I start working on the others and…now that story is finished! Oh, God! That feels so good! Well, anyway, before I leave you to read the chapter, I want to thank you all for the nice reviews! And…okay, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 8:

'…according to our information, the man is going to pass by the 3rd avenue, there's an alleyway there were you're going to be hiding…Battousai, are you listening?'

Battousai looked up at Rodriguez. Yes, it was true that he was thinking about something, but he still managed to hear every single word which left his mouth. '3rd avenue…alleyway…yeah? What else?' he muttered.

The man scowled. 'Alright…the man's gonna be with three companions, so I'm going to send you, Battousai and two others…' he said.

'I can handle this myself,' Battousai interrupted him. 'I don't need anyone to come with me.'

'You are going with two others, and you've no saying in that,' Rodriguez said sharply. 'You've got big money on this operation, and I'm not planning to lose a single penny just because you think you can handle three people alone…I don't give a damn about how good you think you are…you're just no good enough to do four people in at the same time!'

Battousai scowled but said nothing. As he lapsed back into his thoughts, he kept an ear open for whatever Rodriguez was saying. He was actually thinking about Kaoru…about how she had completely shut him out of her life after she'd found out who he was. Today he had blocked her path while she left the bathroom, she had tried to get past him, but he wouldn't budge. In the end she had finally shoved him away from her, and hissed, "Get away from me, you murderer."

Murderer. That was something new. He assumed that she was reflecting on Battousai's history when he was still alive…but Kaoru had said it with such spite and venom, it really stung him. He had been called a murderer many times, but it never had the slightest effect on him…so why was he hurt when Kaoru called him that? What was so special about her?

'This man, what did he do?' Battousai asked suddenly, interrupting Rodriguez while he was talking.

Rodriguez was starting to look irritated. He scowled. 'It's not our business to know what the man did,' he said. 'We just do the killing, get the money…end of story. We aren't concerned with details about our clients or our targets.'

Battousai narrowed his eyes at him. 'So…let me get this straight,' he said. 'You actually do not investigate your clients?' Rodriguez nodded. 'Alright, here's an idea…what if the police are trying to frame you, and so they come to you asking you to kill someone…but what's really happening is that the whole thing is a set up to catch you red-handed…and so you go to kill this guy and…bam! You get caught…what do you think?'

Silence. Battousai smirked as he saw that some of the guys sitting in the room were looking a bit discomfited. Rodriquez was looking more irritated by the second, and a nerve twitched in his temple. Battousai was finding the situation really amusing…after all, he knew that no one would dare touch him; they were all completely aware of how ruthless he was.

'You worry too much,' Rodriguez said with a dismissive tone. 'We'd know if the police are trying to frame us…we're not dumb, you know.'

Battousai put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair, propping his legs up on the table, so that his shoes were directly in Rodriguez's face, who was now looking positively beside himself with anger.

'If you say so,' Battousai said.

Rodriguez closed his eyes for a moment, before continuing to discuss the details of the plan. Battousai wasn't listening anymore; he already knew what he needed to know. Plans weren't for him. But he was feeling a bit disorientated…he wanted to know why that man had to be killed. He wanted to know whether there was a sensible reason for killing that man. Normally, that wouldn't bother him. Normally, if someone told him to finish someone off for them, he'd do it in an eye blink. But now…

Get away from me, you murderer!

Battousai started. Murderer…murderer…why the hell is the word affecting me so much? So what if I'm a murderer? I've always been a murderer! And I love being one! The bloodlust…the swish of the sword as it slices through my opponents…so why? Why did it irritate me now? Why did it make me feel so…offended?

'Damn you, Kaoru,' he muttered.

Rodriguez frowned at him. 'What did you say?' he asked.

'Nothing,' he replied. He swung his feet off the table and got up to his feet. 'Let's get this job done.'

I'll show you, Kaoru. I'll show you that I'm not ashamed to hold the title of a murderer.

-

'Chikusho…I'm bored.'

They had been waiting in a dark corner in the alleyway in 3rd avenue for their target for a while now, and there was still no sign of him or his companions, and he was getting really irritated. He took a look around. He noticed that all the buildings around them were apartment buildings, so they'd have to do the job quickly, before they'd attract too much attention. He wondered what the man was doing in such a place anyway…heading home, perhaps?

At that thought of home, Kaoru and Kenji flashed inside his head. That was his home…or at least, what used to be his home, because it really didn't feel like home now that Kaoru and Kenji were avoiding him completely. He let out a disgruntled sigh. He really wished things would go back to normal…but that was impossible.

'They're here,' one of the men who had come along with him, Lorenz, whispered.

Battousai looked up. He drew in a sharp breath. Yes, there was the man indeed, but what had caught his attention were the companions. There were three others, just as Rodriguez had told them…what he hadn't told them was that they were the man's family. There was the wife, walking arm in arm with him…and there were two guys in their late teens walking at either side of them. They were all laughing happily, and as Battousai watched them, something stirred within him.

'Alright…let's do it,' Lorenz said.

'W-what?' Battousai said, startled. He wasn't sure he had heard Lorenz right; did he actually say, "Let's do it"? Did he actually want to go on with the mission?

Lorenz and the other guy stared at him. 'What's wrong with you, Battousai? Cold feet?' he sneered. 'Don't tell me you want to back out of this mission now?'

Battousai stared at him. 'I am…and so are you,' he said sharply. 'I wasn't told that the companions are the man's family…and if I had known, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to carry out this mission.'

'You must be crazy! We're not quitting!' the other guy, Edwards, hissed. 'This is such an easy mission, and we'd be damned if we let it slip by! This is money we're talking about here!'

Battousai wasn't really sure why he was insisting they quit the whole thing. When was the last time he ever stopped a mission just because a family was involved? He could easily just knock out the other three and kill the man, but he really didn't feel like doing that. He didn't want to put them in a situation where the man of the family is dead. That would ruin the entire family.

Family.

That was the one thing he had always wanted. If Tomoe hadn't died, they would've sure build a family together. It was his dream. He had lived this dream for a short while with Kaoru and Kenji, and he had loved it. It was his fault his family had corrupted…he didn't want to be the reason for the corruption of a second family. Family…it was really important to him.

'Do I have to repeat myself?' Battousai said angrily. 'I'm calling this mission off, whether you like it or not…now, let's go.'

Lorenz was scowling at him now. 'You go by yourself, Battousai,' he muttered. 'Edwards and I are staying here to finish the job…and be sure that we'll be reporting this to Rodriguez…wuss.'

'Oh, no you're not, you won't be finishing the job,' Battousai said softly. He unsheathed his sword. 'And don't worry…I'll be reporting to Rodriguez myself.'

He couldn't help but smile at their stricken faces. With one swift movement, he had slashed both the men before they could even open their mouths to scream. Blood gushed out of their open wounds and Battousai was splattered with crimson. Their eyes agog, both of them crumpled to the ground in a lifeless heap. Satisfied with his handy work, he took out a handkerchief and started wiping the blood off his blade.

He slid back the sword into its sheath. 'Ja mata ne' he said softly, before turning around and walking away from the bloody mess.

-

'Why the sudden change of heart?'

'It's really none of your business.'

'Don't give me that…not only did you kill those two guys, but you also went back to the hide-out and killed everyone there too! Would you mind telling me what all that's about?' Kenshin demanded. 'When were morals your priority?'

'What I do doesn't concern you,' Battousai muttered. 'My actions are mine alone, and I'm the only one responsible for them. Forget what happened today…I'm not going to tell you anything about it, anyway.'

Kenshin was silent for a moment. 'Kaoru does that to everyone,' he said softly.

'Excuse me?' Battousai said.

'Don't lie to yourself, Battousai…Kaoru changed you,' Kenshin said. 'She changes everyone…me, included. I was such a bad person before I met her; always drunk, always angry…but she changed me. She turned me into a much better person…and I think she's been having the same effect on you, hasn't she?'

'Don't be ridiculous, Kaoru has no effect on me whatsoever!' Battousai snapped. 'She just happens to be the wife of the man I possess, that's it! I don't give a damn about her! I'm still who I used to be, and nothing has changed about that!'

'Well, then…Kenji,' Kenshin persisted. 'You can't tell me you don't care about Kenji…I know how you feel about him. You used to hate kids, but you like Kenji…don't you?'

'So what if I do?' Battousai snapped. 'Do you have a problem with that?'

'No, no, I don't,' Kenshin replied, and Battousai could make out a hint of a smile in his tone.

'Stop making fun of me, dammit!' he said angrily. 'So what if I decided to spare that guy and his family and kill my partners instead, eh? I've always been like that; I always do what people least expect me to do…betrayal…that's something of a specialty when it comes to me.'

'Like Tomoe, for example?' Kenshin asked quietly.

'Shut up! Shut the hell up!' Battousai exploded, boiling with rage. 'Don't call her Tomoe so casually! And don't talk about her like you know her, because you don't! Tomoe was my wife, and I loved her! I never betrayed her! I never would have even thought of betraying her! What happened was just a…'

'Yeah?' Kenshin prompted him.

'A mistake…' he murmured.

-

'Tomoe…'

Tomoe, who had been jotting down an entry in her diary, lifted up her head at the mention of her name. She looked around and smiled warmly at him. 'Yes?' she said.

Battousai smiled. 'Nothing,' he murmured. 'I just wanted to say your name.'

'Oh, you!' she said, chuckling.

'Hey, Tomoe?' he said…rather seriously this time.

'Will you make up your mind?' she said, faking a sigh.

'I love you,' he said softly.

-

'Tomoe…'

Battousai slowly opened his eyes. He found himself looking up at a white ceiling, and it took him a few seconds to register that he was at home. He straightened up on the couch on which he had seemed to have taken a bit of a nap. For a moment, he just sat there, blinking the sleep out of his eyes, then he jumped up to his feet, a feeling of alarm rising in his chest.

Kaoru!

If his legs had been long enough, Battousai would've kicked himself. He was angry that he allowed himself to drop his guard. Kaoru could've easily escaped while he had been asleep, and if that had happened…stupid, stupid, stupid!

He hurried to the bedroom. He reached for the doorknob and was about to flung the door open when he heard Kenji's voice from inside the room. He paused at the door to hear what he was going to say.

'Mommy…mommy, stop crying…please,' he whined.

'I'm sorry, Kenji…but okay, I won't cry anymore…' she promised.

'But…mommy, why are you crying?' he asked.

'It's just that…I miss daddy so much…' she choked.

Battousai froze.

'I miss him so much, Kenji…' she whispered. 'I want him back…I want Kenshin back…'

'Me…too,' Kenji said softly. 'I miss daddy, too.'

Battousai was now gripping the doorknob so tightly his knuckles were becoming white. I want Kenshin back. I miss daddy, too. No matter how I try to rephrase it, it won't ever be me. They want Kenshin, not me; not Battousai. I will never be a part of this family…there will always be something missing…

I'm such a hypocrite. I said I valued the term family, and I refused to destroy one today. But here I am, ruining my own family with my own hands. I'm filthy.

He released the doorknob and went back to the living room. He picked up his sword, which had been lying on the table next to him. He unsheathed it and stared at it for a moment, running his hand over its cool blade while he did.

No matter how hard he tried…he would never be part of the Himura family.

-

Chikusho: Damn it.

Ja mata ne: Good bye. (casual)

A/N: So? What do you think? Was the Battousai-and-family thing a tad too overdone? I mean, I always thought that Battousai would've loved to have a family of his own, so…I hope you liked it! Anyway, I'm definitely gonna be finishing this one soon. After all, only a few more chapters left to go! Please review! (I know it'll make me update faster!)

- S. N. B.