[A/N] Yes, I finally managed to finish this story!

The Battousai, Narrowly Escaped

"Kenshin?" Kaoru said hesitantly.

"What is it, Miss Kaoru?"

"Well, I just wanted to say...weren't you...a seasoned killer? Wouldn't anyone else have, um, solved the problem by just killing them?" Her gaze dropped, as if she was ashamed of bringing up the topic.

"Just because I was good at killing didn't mean I had to kill everybody," Kenshin smiled. "Besides, these policemen were just doing their job. They weren't evil, corrupt power-hungry demons - at least, I hope they weren't. They were just normal people, and not part of an assignment."

Kaoru nodded. "Oh. That's good."

"Besides," Kenshin added, "I don't think Naomi would ever have forgiven me had I gotten blood all over her tasteful interior decorating."

Having little hope for Cho's scheme, the Battousai caught Naomi's eye and made a slight nod at the sword, clearly asking a question with his eyes: kill them?

Naomi immediately shot him a fierce look that said, don't you dare.

Guessing that her reaction had something to do with the difficulty of getting bloodstains out of the carpet, the Battousai shrugged and turned his attention back to Cho. Besides, he was somewhat interested to see how she would talk her way out of this.

"I'm really sorry-" Cho said hesitantly, "but, well, the thing is that Haru stopped by tonight. Well, more like staggered by. He was in terrible shape - almost mortally wounded - and since he's such a good client we had to help him. He told us that it turned out that he'd been mistaken for the Battousai and gotten almost killed before the guard that had attacked him realized-" she took a deep breath "-that he didn't exactly match the description."

"Right," Reika chirped, instantly picking up on Cho's plan. "It was absolutely terrible to see him like that."

"Anyway," Cho continued, "he didn't want to attract attention when he was walking home. You know, he might even have been attacked again-"

"So a guard attacked him, mistaking him for the killer?"

"Yes. I'm afraid that particular guard was rather stupid to do so-"

"How closely does he match the description of the Battousai?"

"You said he had red hair, right? Haru's definitely not red-haired," Cho shrugged apologetically, "but my guess is that Haru was running, in a hurry to get back to his home, and he was carrying a sword, too. It was dusk, and perhaps the guard must have thought that the mysterious figure running in the shadows resembled the Battousai."

"I see. When was this?"

"About half an hour before you arrived," Naomi cut in. "I'm quite sorry to say that we thought it would be quite suspicious for us to be found with a bloodied sword and clothes, but now that we have no choice but to tell the full truth, I assure you that we were merely trying to help a client of ours who desperately needed it."

A contemplative silence among the officers weighed in the air as they considered Cho's story. It was unnervingly close to the truth, the Battousai decided, and that was why it might work.

"You know, I really admire what the police have been doing, looking for that merciless killer," Sayuri said, her eyes cast at the floor shyly. "Someone needs to catch him before he kills us all."

Her words seemed to bring a sense of urgency to the room, subtly prompting the four policemen to leave and continue their search. One of them shifted his weight towards the door, evidently questioning the lengthy amount of time they were spending here. The leader of the officers seemed to remember that the assassin himself was likely escaping even as they spoke.

"I agree wholeheartedly," Cho nodded, a firm determination glinting in her eyes. "We have to catch him before he gets away. If he kills all the men, our business will be ruined!"

The leading officer cleared his throat, but Naomi didn't let him speak. "Thank you for your kindness and understanding," Naomi said politely, stepping towards the door. "And now, we apologize, but we really must get to celebrating Sayuri's birthday. The poor dear has been waiting much too long for a girls' night with her friends."

"We understand," an officer said gruffly, seeming disappointed that this conversation hadn't yielded any useful information. "We need to continue looking for the assassin, then."

Naomi didn't wait any longer to usher them out the door. With smiles and nods, she continued repeating stock phrases such as 'thank you ever so much' and 'perhaps you should continue your search elsewhere.' Once she had safely said goodbye and watched the four disappear down the street, presumably to meet with the rest and discuss how to corner the Battousai, Naomi closed the door and turned around, clearly having something to say.

Her hands were planted firmly on her hips as she demanded, "Okay. So, whose brilliant idea was it to hide the sword in a closet?"

As giggles rose among the oiran, the Battousai grudgingly raised a hand.

"You might be a lethal assassin," Naomi commented, an eyebrow raised, "but you have almost no common sense."

"That's the last place you'd ever hide anything," Reika added. "First place people look is in the closet! They didn't even really suspect us, you know, and they were just routinely checking the place. Anyone who's pretending to be searching for something will at least open a closet if they don't do anything else. What were you even thinking?"

"It's all right, maybe he just didn't have time," Sayuri shrugged meekly, but a slight hint of sarcasm laced her speech. "But I suppose it's only slightly better than laying all the incriminating evidence on a floor in the open, right?"

"Thank you for your help!" The Battousai barked suddenly. "All right, maybe I shouldn't have hidden the katana in the closet. Thank you all. I will be on my way now."

"You don't want to stay for the dumplings?" Cho teased with a cheerful wink. "And besides, you should wait for at least couple of hours before you go. You might as well help us celebrate Sayuri's birthday, now that you've so rudely interrupted it."

"So you stayed?" Kaoru smiled. "I can just imagine it. I'm glad you got to have fun."

"I was definitely hungry." Kenshin chuckled lightly. "And those were pretty good dumplings."

"Did they tease you at all?"

"Well, Cho couldn't stop saying things about how lovely I looked in a feminine kimono and bragging about her superior story-telling skills had saved the day. Naomi thought I was one of the stupidest people she'd ever had the fortune to meet because I hid the sword in the closet. But most of the girls treated me like one of their own - which I'm not sure was a good thing."

The dumplings, despite the Battousai's initial objections to staying for a little longer, were almost worth the fiasco he'd endured. A couple of minutes of silence followed in which everyone forgot about talking and enjoyed the food.

The silence didn't last long, however.

"You sure eat a lot," Cho remarked, with a pointed glance at the Battousai's plate.

"He's a deadly assassin, as much as we might joke around," Naomi said, with a slight incline of her head. "He must maintain his strength, so consuming large amounts of food is necessary for him. But I'm wondering less about his eating habits and more about how long he has been in this business. How old are you, Battousai?"

The Battousai fidgeted uncomfortably. "Fifteen."

Immediately, a flurry of giggles and joking comments commenced. "Aw, he's younger than I am!" - "No wonder he still looks like a girl!" - "Only fifteen and he's an assassin already?"

The Battousai looked around, puzzled. Shouldn't they be impressed? Didn't that faze them at all, that he'd reached such a high level of mastery at only fifteen? Then again, these girls seemed to treat him like an adorable pet no matter what he did.

"And how long have you been an assassin?" Naomi asked, her gaze steady and clear.

"Ever since I was twelve. It's been three years," the Battousai shook his head, thinking. "It's been a while."

"I hope you'll get a break from killing people," Cho added, between mouthfuls of dumplings. "I'm sure it gets very depressing to see hundreds of people die."

"It's not depressing at all," the Battousai said quietly, but with conviction. "I'm working towards a better future. These people are the necessary sacrifices."

"What if you're the necessary sacrifice?" Sayuri said, with uncharacteristic boldness, "to save the lives of hundreds you might end up killing?"

"Someone must take on the name of an assassin, to do what I do," the Battousai said, suddenly feeling not hungry anymore. "I must take on this burden for the greater good. These people must be killed to save countless other innocents. And, to be honest, I've killed for so long that I don't know what I'd do if I stopped."

"But don't you think it's evil, to take the lives of others?" Reika asked.

The Battousai hesitated. "It's not evil if it must be done," he said finally. "I don't like killing people. But someone has to do it, and I'm the only one who can."

"Okay!" Cho said abruptly, disliking the direction of the conversation. "Let's talk about something else, shall we? So, who thinks that this assassin would look amazing with some flowers in his hair?"

"Luckily, no one seemed to think that Cho's idea was a good one," Kenshin remembered. "But that conversation made me start thinking. I eventually would realize the truth about myself; I was a murderer, and the countless people who I had killed...well, some of them deserved to die. But most of them didn't."

Kaoru watched him silently as he spoke, her brow creased. For once, she didn't interrupt.

"And when it came time to leave, that question - was it right, what I was doing? - grew in the back of my mind."

Kaoru was silent for a moment before she spoke again. "So, did you leave right after eating?"

"Yes."

"Dressed...um, like that?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"If you're ever in need of some skillful flower-arranging, or even just a group of friends to eat dumplings with, you are welcome to stop by," Naomi said, a light joking evident in her tone.

"But be sure to come dressed like one of us! And put in a hair ribbon this time too!" Cho laughed, patting the Battousai on the head as if he were a puppy. He flinched, stepping away, but Cho wrapped her arms around him for a quick hug. The Battousai thought that was an uncalled-for invasion of personal space.

"I'm glad you brought him here, Cho," Sayuri said quietly, nodding at the other girl.

"Of course," Cho winked. "Definitely added a little excitement to our lives."

"Good luck, Battousai!" Reika smiled. "I'm sure you can find a better place to hide your katana should you ever need to!"

"Right," the Battousai muttered.

"Here's a box you can hide the sword in," Naomi said, handing him a box large enough to hold his sword. The Battousai opened it, and his eyes widened with surprise. "I put some normal groceries inside," Naomi's eyes lit up with amusement, "so you shouldn't attract any attention when you're walking through the streets. Besides, it also has extra dumplings if you get hungry."

"Thank you," the Battousai said, suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude as he hefted the box in his hands, standing on the doorstep. He paused, trying to accustom himself to the restriction of movement in this new outfit. He had become used to darting through the shadows, but walking in plain sight might prove even more effective.

"Goodbye," Naomi said quietly, as he began walking away at a pace much slower than his usual sprint. "Good luck with your journey."

"Bye!" Cho called with an energetic wave. "You know, we loved having you! Stop by sometime, okay?"

"Bye," Sayuri added, her voice barely audible above the clamoring of the rest of the girls.

The Battousai turned around, a genuine smile lighting his face even though he knew he would never see them again. "Farewell."

Naomi smiled, and the door latched shut. The Battousai, wearing a magenta kimono and carrying a large box, slowly strode through the now-darkened streets on his way home.

Fin