A Meeting of Warriors: Past and Present
A Rurouni Kenshin / Blade of the Immortal crossover
By Oni
Blade of the Immortal characters and situations copyright of Hiroaki Samura, Kodansha and Dark Horse Comics.
Rurouni Kenshin characters and situations copyright of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Sony and SPE Visual Works Inc.
May contain spoilers for the Rurouni Kenshin OAVs and Blade of the Immortal.
Part 1: Past...
-----
[May 1864, Kyoto]
"We are the Protectors of Kyoto, Shinsen-gumi!"
"Now what?" Manji looked up at the shout. He heard screams and the clash of metal on metal from up ahead. He quickly hurried and saw a single man fighting on the steps leading down the hill.
"Damn, that guy's good." He thought as the Shinsen-gumi were systematically butchered. After it was over, the figure flicked his sword through the air once and then sheathed it. He suddenly looked up towards the top of the steps and saw Manji watching him from above.
"Fucking hell, he's ain't much more than a kid." Manji's eye widened slightly in surprise.
The boy continued to stare at Manji, who stared back.
Manji then shrugged and lazily walked off. The boy quickly turned round and ran down the steps.
"Ain't none of my damn business..." Manji muttered to himself.
"Are you all right?" Iizuka asked.
"Hey!" He called out as Kenshin ran past him.
That man... he smells of more blood than me... Kenshin thought as he ran.
---
"Damn, Kyoto's getting messy." Manji muttered to himself as he gathered his belongings. "Thought I could hide out here for a while, but if this carries on, there won't be any city left to hide in."
Manji's hands paused as he picked up a hollow metal ring. "Rin..." His hands clenched involuntarily, then he put the ring inside his clothes.
He gave a snort of amusement. "Fuck. Looks like I'm turning into a cry baby like you, Rin."
He looked around the room once more, then he walked out into the cool night air.
Manji walked down the street; even at this time of night, it was still busy, people hurrying to and fro. The smell of spring was still in the air - sweet cherry blossom - but Manji could smell the hint of blood underneath. A smell he knew far too well. A different scent met his nose. Warm sake.
He stopped and looked speculatively at the restaurant. Hell, it's going to be a long walk tonight. Might as well have something to keep the chill out.
The restaurant immediately silenced as Manji walked in, people looking at his clothes and weapons. Manji looked round and quickly cleared a table by glaring at the occupants with his good eye.
As he sat down, conversation restarted, but slightly more subdued than before.
"Aoi-chan, could you serve that new customer?"
"But he looks so nasty!" Aoi pleaded.
"Aoi, you can't pick which customers you serve! Go!"
"It's all right, Aoi-chan, I'll go." Rika replied.
"Thank you Rika-san!" Aoi looked gratefully at Rika.
Rika stepped up to the man, trying to hide her nervousness. Now that she was close up, she was beginning to regret standing in for Aoi - his clothes were dirty and the scars over his face didn't improve his looks at all. The pair of katana resting against the table only made matters worse.
"Can I help you?" She asked, trying to keep her voice calm.
"Yeah, I'll have some sake and..." He looked up. Manji's eye widened in shock.
Rin.
"Sake and...?" Rika waited, "Ummm, is there something wrong?" She stuttered as the man continued to stare at her.
"Huh? Oh, you look like my... sister..." Manji's mind was a whirlwind of confusion. 'Machi? Why'd I think of her? This girl looks more like Rin...'
"I'll just go get your sake..." Rika quickly hurried off.
"Dammit, wake up!" Manji muttered to himself. "She ain't Rin or Machi! They're long dead... so why are you still fucking hung up on them..." Manji shook his head in self disgust.
"Here's your sake, sir..." The woman left a bottle and saucer, then quickly fled.
"Hey, thanks..." Manji started, then stared after her as she ran away.
---
"Good night, Rika-chan!"
"Good night, Aoi-chan! Walk carefully, all right?" Rika smiled as she walked home. Aoi was clumsy, barely a competent waitress, but her enthusiasm and popularity with the customers more than made up for that.
Rika rounded the corner and saw the man from earlier that evening leaning against the wall. Rika's heart jumped as he started to walk towards her.
"Hey... I wanna say sorry for scarin' ya earlier."
"Oh... don't worry about it, it was nothing." Rika quickly hurried past.
"Hang on a minute!" the man followed her.
"It's all right! Please stop following me!" Rika called over her shoulder.
"I wanna make it up to you!"
"I said it's all right!" Rika's feelings were screaming at her to run.
"Come on, it's dangerous at night! I'll take you home."
"I'll be fine by myself!" Rika hurried on, the man following her.
---
"Fine, if that dumb bitch thinks she'll be okay by herself..." Manji muttered as he saw down on the river bank. A group of people had spotted their argument and Manji was forced to run off before a Shinsen-gumi or police patrol heard their shouts.
"Let her burn with the damn town!" Manji looked out across the river, watching the moonlight dance over the ripping water.
"Who needs the damn trouble anyway? I sure as hell don't.
"In any case, I still got a price on my head, so I couldn't baby sit her anyway.
"I mean, if I stick around, people might recognise me.
"And that'd be bad, right? With the cops and the damn Shinsen-gumi running round, it's getting too dangerous for someone like me to stick around.
"Yeah, that's it, it's getting too dangerous for me..."
Manji stretched out and felt something fall from his belt. He looked down and saw Rin's hair ring.
"Aw, fuck it." Manji picked it up as he got to his feet.
"Why do so many damn girls have to look like you, Machi..." Manji muttered as he walked home.
---
[A few days later]
"Rika-chan, that man's back again..."
"Oh no..." Rika looked at her boss. "Can somebody else take care of it?"
"He asked for you personally."
Rika dropped her head in resignation, then walked over to the table.
"Can I help you?"
"Yeah, sake and something to eat."
"Anything in particular?"
"Whatever goes with sake." The man smiled lazily.
"Right away, sir..." Rika hurried away.
---
"Please don't let him be waiting, please don't let him be waiting..." Rika whispered to herself as she left the restaurant to go home. She turned the corner. He was waiting.
"Oh no..." she breathed as he started walking towards her.
"What do you want from me!" She looked desperately at him.
"Hey, easy there." The man held up his hands peacefully. "I just wanna take you home - it's dangerous at night."
"All right... just this once." Rika reluctantly carried on walking, the man following behind.
---
[A week later]
"Look, why are you doing this?" Rika turned to look at the man as they walked home.
"Doing what?"
"Coming to the restaurant every night, walking me home afterwards, why?"
"Kyoto's dangerous for a woman at night."
"That can't be the only reason!"
The man half smiled. "All right, all right, I know I've kinda been a bit weird-"
"A BIT?" Rika said incredulously.
"-but you look a helluva lot like my sister."
"So you've said before."
"My sister got killed 'cause I couldn't protect her."
"Oh... I'm sorry... I didn't realise..." Rika looked shamefacedly at the ground.
"Yeah, well, don't sweat it, it's been a while..." the man looked up at the night sky. How long has it been? He thought to himself. Ninety years, a hundred? I've forgotten...
"Well, see ya tomorrow night." Manji turned as she opened the door to her house.
"Wait..."
Manji turned round and saw her walk to another house further down the street.
"This one is mine." She smiled as he reached her.
Manji grinned in reply. "Smart move."
"I still haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Takamura Rika."
"Manji."
"Pleased to meet you, Manji-san." Rika smiled as she bowed.
---
[10th July 1864, Kyoto]
"Look I'm telling ya to get to get out of Kyoto! It ain't safe anymore."
"And I'm telling you I'm staying! Kyoto is my home and I'm not leaving."
"Damn it, Rika..." Manji ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Some serious shit's kicking off soon, maybe in the next coupla days. The rebels are planning something big and the Shinsen-gumi know about it. It ain't safe to be in Kyoto."
"Rika-san! Your break's over!"
"All right!" Rika called out to the kitchen. "Look Manji-san, I really appreciate you walking me home every night and looking out for me, but I'm a grown woman! I can look after myself!
"I've got to go work now." Rika turned and walked back inside.
"Fucking hell... she's got the same temper as you do, Rin..." Manji shook his head in frustration, then turned and walked down the alley.
---
On the 18th July, there was an outbreak at Kinmon. Rebels of the Choshu faction and government security forces battle throughout the city.
Kyoto burns.
---
"Where're you going? That way's an inferno!"
"Thanks for the advice, buddy!" Manji snarled as he tried to get through the crowd of people running away.
"Damn it, Rika, I told you to leave!" He muttered as he tried to get to Rika's house.
He saw people trying to save their homes, but he saw no sign of Rika. As he reached her street, he saw that people here had given up trying to save their homes and were abandoning them. Manji pushed past through the thin crowd and held his sleeve to his face. The smoke was getting worse and Manji's eye was starting to water badly.
He saw figures stumbling and coughing through the smoke and as he got closer, he recognized Rika among them.
"Rika!"
"Manji-san!" Rika broke into a fit of coughing.
"You stupid...! I told you to leave... I gotta get you out of here."
"I'm not *Cough* leaving!" Rika tried to look defiant, but her body betrayed her with another coughing fit.
"C'mon..." Manji grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the street; Rika didn't resist too much.
They reached a deserted street which hadn't been touched by fire or smoke. Rika was still coughing badly and Manji was starting to get worried.
"You all right?" Manji looked over at the coughing Rika.
"Yes..."
"Good." Manji sat her down on an upturned bucket. "I told you to leave Kyoto, you stupid broad..."
"I know... but Kyoto's my home." Rika looked back up at him. Manji dropped his head in frustration and shook his head.
"You silly girl..." he said resignedly. "I'm leaving Kyoto and you're coming with me."
"What?!" Rika stared in shock at Manji.
"You got anything left there for you?" Manji jerked his head back the way they had come.
"I can rebuild! I love Kyoto and I have no intention of leaving!" Rika looked defiant.
"Rika, you pain in the ass, you've got to-"
"Where did they go!?"
"This way!"
Manji looked up at the approaching voices.
"I'd better get out of here." Manji glanced at Rika.
"I'll be all right..." Rika broke off into another fit of coughing.
"No, you're not. I'll-" Manji quickly dodged several men who ran past them and down an alley way.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" He yelled after them.
A lantern appeared from around the corner. "You there! You're under arrest!"
"What?!" Manji looked round to see several Shinsen-gumi charging towards them with drawn swords.
"You're under arrest for anti-government activities!"
"Hey, those guys you want just went down that alley! I ain't got nothing to do with this!"
"With all those weapons? Don't make me laugh!" The leading Shinsen-gumi stopped and pointed his sword at Manji. "Defend yourself!"
"Get a fucking brain dipshit! They went down there!" Manji stepped backwards - it had been too long since he had last fought and he didn't want to risk Rika getting hurt.
"You refuse to defend yourself? Then die!" The man charged forwards with a vertical slash.
Manji reacted instinctively, his hands reaching for his knives. 'Damn it, I'm too slow!'
As Manji's hands swung out, the sword went through his left wrist, sending his hand and knife flying through the air. Manji gasped in pain and slashed the man through the neck with the knife in his right hand.
"Get him!" "Don't let him escape!" "Surround him!"
Manji saw the men circling around him, trying to find an opening in his defence. He stepped back into a ready stance, carefully eyeing his opponents. He breathed heavily, old and familiar pain rushing through his system, turning on all the old instincts and reflexes. He grinned in anticipation then froze.
Rika.
"Rika, get out of here!" He called out. He glanced over and saw her looking at him, wide eyed in shock.
"Come on Rika, don't just sit there!" Suddenly the entire world seemed to freeze. He saw his knife imbedded in her neck, his hand lying nearby. As she fell forwards, his mind's eye saw Rin falling.
"Rin!" He shouted.
"Look ahead, fool!" One of the men charged was promptly gutted as Manji ducked his sword and stabbed him in the stomach.
"Get the fuck away from me!" Manji screamed as the other Shinsen-gumi charged him.
--
"Come on, Rin, don't die on me..." Manji cradled Rika gently in his arms. "Don't die..."
He looked at his knife - it had severed her carotid artery and she had bled to death several minutes ago, during the middle of his fight with the Shinsen-gumi.
"No! I can't lose you again, Rin... not again..."
Manji's vision blurred and he held her close, silent tears running down his face. "Not again..."
"I'm sorry, Ri-... Rika..."
Manji picked up his limbs, re-attached them then picked up his weapons and Rika's body.
"Damn the Shinsen-gumi... damn the Ishin Shishi... damn this whole fucking war... I'm gonna finish this. My way."
---
Summer 1865, Kyoto
"Hey, you heard yet about that killer?"
"What killer?"
Kenshin stared into space from his seat near the window. The other members of his group were talking and resting from the raid earlier that night, but Kenshin paid them little attention. Every breath he took in, he inhaled the scent of plum blossoms from the ribbon around his neck.
"Some bloke is wandering around killing Shinsen-gumi and us."
"You're joking! How come?"
He could still remember her fragrance, how she looked, her touch, the grace of her movements, the sound of her voice. He closed his eyes and remembered the sensations, imagining the ribbon was her arms wrapped around his shoulders, the warmth of the breeze from the window, her body next to his.
"Dunno, but he's good, damn good. I heard last night he took on a full squad of Shinsen-gumi, killed them all, then walked away."
"You're joking! A full squad at once?! Nobody could do that, not even Himura-san!"
"Himura-san could! I've seen him do it!"
"Shut up both of you! What if he hears you!" The men glanced nervously at Kenshin, but he didn't move.
"Tomoe..." he whispered, unheard by any in the room.
"So, what's this guy supposed to look like?" asked Kensuke.
"He wears a black and white kimono with a manji on his back and he's only got one eye." replied Saito.
"Ha! Why not make him blind while you're at it!" Another man laughed.
"I'm telling you, it's the truth! Would a face like this lie?" Saito looked innocently at them.
"If it'd get you something, yeah!"
"Screw you!"
"Sounds like you've been listening to too many ghost stories." Kensuke commented.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, back in Tokyo, a long time ago when it was called Edo, there was this samurai, called the 'One Hundred Man Murderer' and he looked exactly like you described.
"He hated swordsmen and he killed lots of them after he killed his own lord. After he killed some big swordsman who was trying to reform the swords schools, he disappeared.
"My mother used to tell me to be good or he'd come to get you." Kensuke chuckled and the other men joined in.
"You and your fairy tales, Saito-kun..."
"Come on, you guys..." Saito protested.
"Ummm, excuse me?" One of them men looked up and saw a woman nervously waiting at the door to the room.
"Something I can do for you?" He grinned as the woman blushed.
"I was wondering if Kensuke-san was here?" She delicately fidgeted with a package wrapped in cloth.
"I think he's here somewhere..." The man turned round and shouted into the room. "Hey Kensuke! Your girl's here!"
Kensuke hurried rushed up, his face almost as red as the woman's. "Machiko-san, what are you doing here?!"
"I... I wanted to give you this." Machiko presented the package to him. Kensuke began to say something, then noticed all the other men grinning from ear to ear as they watched.
"Let's not talk here..." He quickly led her out into the garden, ignoring the cries of disappointment from the other men.
Kenshin watched Kensuke talk to Machiko from his seat in the window. He was too far away to hear what they were saying, but he could easily read their body language - she seemed to be thanking him for something and he seemed to be extremely embarrassed about it.
Their emotions were easy to read; Kenshin could see it in their movements, in the shy smiles they had for each other and the look in their eyes... Kenshin looked away sharply.
He had seen that look before. They cared deeply for each other, maybe even loved each other. He closed his eyes, trying to block out the last time he had seen eyes with that look for him, trying desperately not to remember the heat of her blood so horribly warm against the coldness of the snow.
His hands grasped the weapon that had killed her tighter and he felt the coldness of the snow again in the steel of the katana.
And he remembered. He would protect her happiness. He would protect those who could not protect themselves. He would protect.
CLICK.
The entire room suddenly fell silent as Kenshin stood up, the sound having come from his swords.
Kenshin walked over to the door and quietly stepped outside. The men gave a collective sigh of relief as the door slid shut.
"GodDAMMit! I wish he wouldn't do that!"
"I think I just lost five years of my life!"
"*Cough**Cough* I just *Cough*swallowed the wrong way*Cough*!"
"All right, Machiko-san?"
"Yes, Kensuke-san." Machiko bowed as she reluctantly turned and walked slowly to the entrance. Kensuke sighed then nearly jumped out of his skin as Kenshin appeared next to his side.
"Himura-san! I'm sorry, you startled me!"
"Does she know that you are Ishin Shishi?" Kenshin asked quietly as he watched her leave.
"Yes... yes she does, but she's not a spy for the Bakufu, if that's what you mean. We've known each other since we were children."
"She does not seem happy."
"I asked her not to come round here anymore. It's not safe for her to be seeing me while the war is still going on." Kensuke sighed.
"Do not delay."
"What?"
"If you wait until the end of the war, it may be too late."
"Too late?"
"In war, death takes who it wishes, when it wishes. She may be here one day and gone the next, unless you are strong enough to protect her. Are you?"
"I... I don't know." Kensuke looked down at the ground.
"Then go to her. Spend time with her and realise why you are fighting this war. Take strength from that and become strong enough to protect her." Kenshin looked at Kensuke.
"I... I ..." Kensuke stuttered, torn in indecision.
"Go!"
"Yes, Himura-san! Thank you!" Kensuke quickly bowed to Kenshin then ran after Machiko.
"I see that you have matured somewhat, Himura." A man stepped out from the shadows in the porch.
"Katsura-san." Kenshin turned to face him and bowed.
"Knowing the way of the sword and knowing the hearts of men are two very different things." Katsura stood next to Kenshin and watched Kensuke hurry away.
"Yes, Katsura-san."
Katsura Kogoro sighed. "We are nearly at the end of this war. We are so very close, but I fear that there will much more blood spilt before we are done, most of it from your generation, the very people who we are fighting it for."
"We must all do our part."
"Some do more than others, Himura. Sometimes they do more than what is good for them."
Kenshin stayed silent.
"Have you heard about the samurai in a white and black kimono?" Katsura asked quietly.
"Some rumours, but that is all."
"The rumours are true. Last night, we lost a safe house two wards over. He just walked straight in and killed all our men. For some reason, he left the landlady and her maids alone."
"You wish me to stop him?"
Katsura nodded. "We've been trying to locate him ever since we heard of him, as he was killing Bakufu at first, but now he seems to be attacking anybody he can find.
"We haven't been able to find him, so I've leaked information about a raid on a government warehouse district. It may be risky because of the increased government forces, but we're only trying to stop this samurai, so there shouldn't be much trouble.
"I wouldn't ask, but your replacement is busy elsewhere..."
"I understand." Kenshin looked at Katsura.
"When is the raid supposed to take place?"
"In two nights."
"He will be stopped." Kenshin bowed slightly.
"Thank you Himura."
---
[Two days later]
Kenshin looked down the street. Sure enough, there was a number of guards patrolling around. He looked back at his own men. Two men had been chosen to go with him, but Kenshin had told them to leave the one eyed samurai to him. It was pointless to waste their lives on such a powerful opponent and they had agreed: if the Battousai himself said that you had no chance against a man, then there was no shame in leaving him for the Battousai.
Kenshin mused - the man had to be at least the level of a Shinsen-gumi lieutenant, possibly a captain. He thought back to his last clash with a Shinsen-gumi lieutenant - they had been equally matched but Kenshin had won out in the end. However, if he was under the pressure of time...
"Himura-san?" Kenshin looked up from his reverie.
"I just wanted to say thank you for convincing me to talk to Machiko-san." Kensuke smiled as he bowed in respect. Kenshin nodded back in silent reply.
"I know now what I want and what I have to do."
"No, you don't." Kensuke looked up, slightly confused.
"The only thing you have to do is stay alive. Stay alive for the future after this war." Kenshin spoke quietly. "Stay alive for Machiko-san."
Kensuke stood there, stunned for a second before realisation hit him.
"Yes sir!" Kensuke bowed rapidly. "Thank you very much!"
Kenshin nodded back in reply, then turned to look back out of the window, a sad smile on his face. Would he have been like that, if she had survived? What would HE do after this war?
"I am a hitokiri, I have no other skills..." he echoed quietly back to himself.
Live. That was what she had said to him. But how? She had taught everything he had not learnt about life; drinking sake in the warm evening air; cuddling up next to someone during the cold winter nights; the simple joy of just living, without the prospect of killing that night; how to love... how could he do these things without her? What RIGHT did he have to do these things without her? Perhaps he HAD no right? Perhaps after the war he should-
"Himura-san?" Asked Saito. Kenshin turned and looked at him, suddenly glad to be broken out his melancholy thoughts.
"Are the rumours true? About the one-eyed samurai?" He looked nervously around him.
"I have only heard what you have." Kenshin turned back towards the square again.
"Then we're here to stop him?"
"I am. You're here to help me find him." Kenshin looked back at Saito. The man was a bundle of nerves... a possible problem.
"Just find him, right?" Kenshin nodded. Saito visibly relaxed and calmed down.
Kensuke nudged Saito and grinned. "Getting scared of the bogeyman?"
"Shut up! I ain't scared of anything like that!"
"Unless it's wearing a black and white kimono and only has one eye, right?"
"Shut up!"
"Woooh, it's coming to get you..." Kensuke raised his hands like a ghost reaching towards Saito.
"Get lost!"
"Be quiet!" Kenshin glared at the men and they stopped immediately. "Stay silent until it is time to move."
The two men looked shamefacedly at Kenshin, then turned their attention to their equipment, checking it again.
"You there! What are you doing?" Kenshin looked up - a man was climbing down from a wall and the guards had spotted him.
"Halt!"
The man drew two swords and Kenshin narrowed his eyes as he evaluated the man. A samurai who followed the teachings of Miyamoto Musashi, using one sword in each hand. They were rare these days - while all samurai carried the dai-sho, they only ever used the longer katana in a fight, reserving the shorter wakizashi for emergencies.
"Halt, I said!" The guards drew their swords and started approaching the man. The man replied by charging. Kenshin motioned his men and they quickly hurried downstairs.
By the time Kenshin stepped out of the house, the man had already finished off three of the seven guards. Kenshin concentrated as he walked up the street, watching and analyzing the man's movements, his speed, his techniques, trying to determine his style and hence find a weak spot.
The man's movements matched no style he knew of, modern or old and Kenshin scowled inwardly. Self-styled samurai usually had a weakness of some sort in their attack and defence, but the problem was trying to find it before they killed you. They were unpredictable and that made them dangerous.
Manji smiled in contempt. The guards were of the Kyoto-gumi and third rate at best - he only had to really worry about the Shinsen-gumi and as for any of the Ishin Shishi, well, none he'd seen so far was his match. Except maybe for the one they called the Battousai, but Manji had never met him.
He glanced round - the remaining few shivering guards stood between him and the warehouse. He smiled lazily.
"Hey. You really wanna die for a bunch of boxes? Get the fuck outta here and I'll let you live."
"Never!" Two of them circled around Manji while the last one ran off down the street, shouting.
"Dammit..." Manji muttered, then parried a sword strike from one man, pushed it down and trapped it with his other sword, then sliced the man through the neck. He turned, span as he ducked a slash from the man's partner, then sliced upwards through the man's ribcage.
He flicked his swords clean, sheathed them, then hurried down the street, grabbing one of the dead guard's torches on the way. He had hoped to surprise the Ishin Shishi when they attacked, but failing that, a large fire with the Ishin Shishi and the Shinsen-gumi fighting would do nicely instead.
Better work on my sneaking for next time... Manji thought as he shifted his grip on the torch. That was a fucking stupid mistake to make...
Kenshin saw the man disappear inside the warehouse then turned to Saito and Kensuke. "He is my responsibility. You two keep any guards away, but if there are too many, leave." They nodded in reply and drew their swords. Kenshin walked towards the warehouse, his slow measured steps matching his heartbeat.
Manji glanced around. He quickly spotted what he was looking for - some old scrap wood, bone dry. Perfect for starting a fire. He quickly tossed them into the corner, then stopped as he felt someone enter the warehouse behind him.
"Back already?" Manji turned round, then stopped - it wasn't the guard from earlier, but a young man. He raised the torch and his eye narrowed. It was that boy he saw years ago, the night he met Rika. He was killing Shinsen-gumi that night... which meant he was Ishin Shishi. The 'raid' was a trap for him after all.
"Well, well. Didn't think I'd see you again."
'Again?' Kenshin frowned inwardly.
"So you're here to kill me, eh, kid?" Manji smiled lazily.
"I am here to deliver Tenchu."
"Don't beat around the bush, do ya?" Manji shrugged and then tossed the torch into the corner with the wood. He drew two double-pronged knives.
"I like that. So let's get this over with."
Kenshin drew his sword and waited. He wasn't using his dai-sho? No, now that he was closer, he could see it was a pair of katana... and how many other blades did he have hidden? He studied the man carefully, trying to predict his next move. The man rested a knife on his shoulder and looked nonchalantly at Kenshin.
"Waiting game, eh? Well we ain't got much time for that..." He nodded his head back towards the growing fire.
Kenshin glanced for a split second. The man attacked.
--
Kenshin caught his breath as he waited behind a wooden support beam. Now he saw why the man wasn't using his katana - it was too crowded in here to fight with them and those knives were just about the right length in these crowded conditions to both provide reach and not get caught up in the boxes. Kenshin used a single blade and were it not for his speed, even he would probably be dead by now. The man's style was indecipherable - when Kenshin thought he knew what the next attack was, the man would suddenly do something new, throwing Kenshin off guard.
The man knew how to fight, that was clear, but he stood in the way of the Ishin Shishi. He must die for the sake of the new era. Kenshin calmed his breathing, then silently stepped out from behind the beam, ready to continue.
--
"Damn, this guy's good..." Manji muttered as he shifted to two hooked knives. He leant against the crate and glanced around the corner. Nothing. The kid was fast, maybe even faster than that broad who pasted him all those years ago - Rin had saved him that time, but now she was gone. Only he could save himself this time.
He glanced at the fire in the corner - it was spreading rapidly. Manji suddenly rolled on instinct and a sword passed through the air where his head had been. He flipped to his feet and threw a knife behind him. The boy jumped backwards and deflected it, giving Manji enough time to turn round and face him.
Kenshin glanced briefly at the rent in his clothes where the last knife had passed through - throwing knives like that... that was a trick used by ninja, but the man had the style and strength of a samurai, not a shadowy assassin. Who did he work for? Where did he learn how to fight? And why did he use those strangely shaped blades?
Kenshin's mind itched, but he ignored it - something to report to Katsura-san later. Right now he had to kill him. The man was good, possibly equal to the Shinsen-gumi lieutenant who had nearly fought him to a standstill. But not good enough.
"Hey kid, what's your name?"
"Some call me the Hitokiri Battousai." Kenshin slowly replied.
"Well shit me. I get to meet the famous Battousai at last." The man grinned and drew out another blade. "Plus I get to kill him."
"Boast all you want, but when I say I will kill you, you can do nothing but die."
"Whoa, confident ain'tcha?" The man's eye widened in excitement. "Well, ya gotta do better than that to put me down..."
"Then I will." Kenshin slowly advanced towards the man.
Kensuke glanced inside the warehouse. "God damn, he's holding his own against the Battousai..." he muttered.
Saito looked down the street nervously, then grabbed hold of Kensuke's arm. "Guards are coming!"
"How many and who are they?"
"About fifteen of them..." Saito peered through the night at them. "Oh shit, they've got rifles - Kyoto-gumi." He drew several small spheres from a pocket.
"We'd better get the hell out of here." Kensuke turned and shouted into the warehouse. "Battousai! The Kyoto-gumi are here! They've got rifles!"
Kenshin glanced briefly at Kensuke, then parried an attack from the man. He drew on his anger, his hatred, trying to find the coldness inside.
"Come on!" Manji pinned Kenshin against the wall, his lips wide apart in a manic grin, his eye glittering with adrenalin.
He twisted both his blades, trapping Kenshin's own and pressed closer and closer to Kenshin's face. Fast attacks but weak arms, just like last time...
Kenshin snarled and ducked, sliding out from under Manji's arms and to one side, then span and struck out behind him. Manji desperately brought a knife down, but the parry was too weak to stop the blow and it bit deeply into his side.
Kenshin yelled out a kiai and pulled his blade out, then down into a diagonal slash across Manji's back. Manji hit the wall hard, then dropped to the floor, avoiding Kenshin's killing stroke to where his neck would have been.
Manji rolled to his feet then leapt over a crate to buy himself time while Kenshin pulled his sword from the wall. He glanced desperately about then ran towards the exit.
Kensuke's eyes widened as he saw the black and white samurai charging towards him and raised his sword.
"No!" Kenshin yelled out, but it was too late.
Kensuke drew his sword back to strike, but the samurai leapt at him, his arms already moving. As he landed outside the warehouse, Kensuke began to fall apart, his face still wearing an astonished expression.
Kenshin screamed in anger as he leapt towards the exit.
"NOOOOOOO!!!! GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!!" Saito screamed as he saw the nightmare stand up and walk towards him. His best friend, one he had known for years, was still falling to the ground in pieces, killed by the thing walking towards him. The small part of his mind that was still rational knew that he would be next, unless he could stop it somehow.
The bombs.
Manji hobbled along as quickly as he could. He had minced the guy who had tried to stop him and was about to go back after the Battousai, but he had seen the guards with rifles. While they couldn't technically kill him, those damn things were getting more powerful - he doubted that he could get close to an entire squad armed with them without getting into a whole world of hurt.
He decided to go the other way, but saw a man almost gibbering in fear. His friend, Manji thought back to the pile of meat that was very recently a man.
Manji watched, half amused, as the man soiled himself as Manji got closer, but the smile stopped as the man threw several small spheres at the ground.
Kenshin landed outside the warehouse and ducked instinctively as a rifle shot passed close to his head. He glanced towards the guards, then turned and ran the other way, but saw the black and white samurai shield his face as Saito threw several spheres, which then exploded. Kenshin hit the ground to avoid the flying debris, then scrambled to his feet and ran through the dust and smoke. As he cleared the cloud, he saw a figure flailing about within - the samurai, but before he could turn back to finish him off, he saw Saito on the ground, shaking violently and making rapid choking sounds.
He paused for a split second, torn between his duty to Katsura and his duty to his men, but a volley of rifle fire decided it for him. He saw the samurai fall out of the cloud, bullet holes riddling his body and head; he still seemed alive, but Kenshin knew that couldn't be true. He quickly grabbed Saito, but saw that he was incapable of moving - a knife was imbedded in his stomach. Kenshin swore mentally, then ran for his life.
He looked back once. He saw the guards surrounding the samurai and Saito with drawn swords, before he looked forward again and tears blurred his vision.
---
[Several days later]
"Is it done?"
"Yes. He did not die at my hand though."
"Explain, Himura."
"We fought briefly, but the guards arrived too soon. The samurai was shot several times - he landed at my feet. I did not think he would have seen another five minutes if he had survived."
"I see. It is regretful that we lost Mori and Saito."
"Yes." Kenshin bit his inner lip.
"I shall inform their relatives." Katsuara Kogoro stood up to leave.
"No, Katsura-san. They were my men. I will go."
"Are you sure, Himura?"
Kenshin nodded in silent reply.
"Very well." Katsura bowed, which Kenshin returned, then turned and left the room.
---
"Goddammit, that hurt..." Manji panted in pain as he pulled the last of the shot out of his skull. He threw the metal ball against the wall, then collapsed, narrowly avoiding the mirror rig he had set up so he could perform the surgery.
"Bastard things were... too far away... to go... through..." Manji whispered as he saw the large pile of blood soaked balls lying on the tatami mat. He shifted his eyes up and saw a metal ring lying on the table.
"Guess I really fucked up this time, eh Rin?" Manji gave a painful snort, then relaxed. His eyes focused on something else. Rika's grave marker.
"Aw shit... don' wanna see that..."
"But you must, foolish Manji."
"Wha?" Manji tried to look up, but couldn't lift his head.
"What did you think you were doing, you silly boy?" A pair of feet strolled into his line of sight, but he couldn't see who they belonged to. "Killing people left, right and centre... what good do you think this will do towards your vow?"
"Who the fuc- oh shit..." Manji muttered as he saw whom it was.
"My, my! What impolite language to use in front of an old lady like me!"
"Old lady... my ass..."
"What's left of it, you mean?" The old woman made a 'tutting' sound. "Even the Kessen-chu will take some time to heal what those samurai did to that immortal body of yours. And it'll be none too painless, this time...
"Anyway, back to what I came for...you think this will help you towards redemption?"
"Dunno... don' care..."
"And what would Rin think? Or your sister Machi? Or how about this new girl, Rika?" She picked up the grave marker. "You think that she would be happy with what you're doing?
"I think you should just thank your lucky stars this time and try again from the start."
"Wha?"
"Find someone to help, like that young girl all those years ago, the one who wanted you to help avenge her parents."
"Fuck... that..."
"Language, young man!" The nun rapped Manji on the head.
"I'll give you some time to reconsider, which is more than I can say for the Kessen-Chu. Feel this?" The nun touched the grave marker to Manji's hand and he was flooded in pain.
"AA-AR-RRRGGGGHHH!!!!"
"This is their way of warning you when you come close to losing your way. They only do it once, so you had best heed this warning."
Manji gasped for air as the pain subsided. He thought he knew what pain was - he had nearly been sliced in half vertically, impaled through the head, had his limbs severed in fights, his heart skewered by a sword - but none of these came close to what he had felt just then. They were all physical, pains of the body, ignorable once you had become used to it - this was a searing pain, as if his very soul
was being flayed.
"Wha... what happens... if..."
"If you lose your way again?" The nun finished. "The Kessen-chu are your chance of redemption. Fail them and they will surrender you to whatever fate that you deserve - your kharma will decide that. Dying painfully will be the least of your worries."
"Sh...eet..."
"I'll come back to check on you, Manji. I hope you will have picked your path by then. And I DEFINITELY hope you'll have improved your language a LOT more." Manji heard footsteps, then a door opening and sliding shut.
"F..king... hell..." Manji's eyes focused on the hair ring lying on the mat. "I.. have.. to go through... all this shit.. again?!"
---
Kenshin knocked quietly on the door. There was the sound of rushing footsteps and the door was thrown open.
"Kensuke-san!?" The woman's face fell as she saw Kenshin.
"Machiko-san?"
"No... it..."
"I have bad news for you." Kenshin continued quietly.
"...It can't... be true..."
"It's about Kensuke."
"Please, no..."
"He was killed-"
"...Kensuke..." Machiko fell to her knees.
"-a few days ago. I'm sor-"
"..Ken..suke..." Machiko sobbed.
Kenshin stepped back and bowed low. He turned and left the crying woman behind, feeling his heart break with every tortured sob that escaped her lips.
I am the Hitokiri Battosai. Whomever I deliver Tenchu to dies. I deliver Tenchu to those that oppose us. I deliver Tenchu to bring this war to an end. I deliver Tenchu so Kensuke will return home to Machiko.
I can take life, but why _can_ I NOT SAVE IT? WHY?? WHY?? WHY!?
As Kenshin bowed his head in shame, he felt a tear forming in his eye. As he reached up to brush it away, his hand brushed past his katana.
CLICK.
Immediately, the tear died. Kenshin paused, unsure what had happened. He felt inside for the rage, the feeling of frustration he had felt at Kensuke's death - it was there, along with another feeling.
The coldness of snow.
And he remembered. He would protect her happiness. He would protect those who could not protect themselves. He would protect.
"The name of the Hitokiri Battousai is a feared one." Kenshin whispered quietly to himself.
"Then let it now become a hated one. I will kill and kill and kill, until there is nothing left for me to kill. I will kill until the new era has come. I will kill so that no more people will suffer."
Kenshin raised his head.
"This I swear."
His cold, expressionless eyes matched the snow he felt inside.
---
During the Bakumatsu Jidai:
In Kyoto, there was a rebel called the Hitokiri Battousai, whose sword killed as if it was possessed by a demon.
But after the new era, the Meiji, came about at the end of the chaos, he disappeared among the people...
Part 2: ... and Present
-----
[Ten years later...]
[Spring, 1877 (Meiji 11th), Tokyo]
Manji wandered through the city, glancing at the new buildings. "Man, it's been a while since I was home... this place has changed a lot."
In the years after Kyoto, Manji had decided to wander - he had to improve his sword skills, not only for his sake but for Rin... no, Rika's memory. He sighed - knowing his luck, he'd probably see her reincarnation in another hundred years. With this new found peace however, finding the last hundred or so people for his one thousand would be hard - all through the Bakumatsu he was unsure of which side was in the right, except for his period of vengenance after Rika's death where he didn't care.
He hoped that wouldn't count against him, but the only person who could know, Yaobikuni, was nowhere to be found. She had disappeared after her warning to Manji, before he could ask that question... however, he knew of one who count towards his tally - the boy who had stopped him in Kyoto.
He had a name - the Hitokiri Battousai, but little else. In the first few years after the war, Manji had searched hard for the Battousai, or any other hitokiri, but they had disappeared without a trace. Now Manji had come home, to rest.
Over the years, Manji had met several outstanding swordsmen and, aside from one, all had a goal, a purpose that drove them. The Battousai had wanted to change the country, a goal that Manji recognised, but cared little for. His Japan had disappeared a long time ago, swallowed up by 'progress'. Even the name of his home had changed, from the old Edo to the new Tokyo.
All he had left was his vow.
To kill one thousand.
Shaking his head out of his thoughts, he spotted the shop he was looking for. He stopped and bought a bag of grain.
"That'll see me through for a while..." he muttered to himself as he hefted the sack into a comfortable position. Manji noticed a crowd of people up ahead. He sniffed, then moved towards a side street. Even though it had been over a hundred years, the legend of the 'One Hundred Man Murderer' still remained and was causing Manji some problems.
Manji glanced over the heads of the people. Some sort of fight going on between one man and a gang... Manji froze as he got a closer look at the man.
Red hair.
That speed.
A cross shaped scar.
"Him..." Manji snarled as he watched the fight. The boy had improved - he was faster, more skilled, but he was lacking something...
His lust for blood. Manji frowned as he noticed something strange - the men were being hit, but no blood was being spilled. 'He's reversed his sword?'
"Kenshin, are you all right?" A woman in purple kimono asked after the last man fell.
"I'm fine, Kaoru-dono." He flicked his sword once, then sheathed it.
"Damn, that was too cool, Kenshin!" A boy with short spiky hair ran up to them.
"You really think so, Yahiko?" The man rubbed the back of his head and laughed in embarrassment.
"Hell yeah!" A tall chicken-like man grinned at them. "You did these guys faster than usual, Kenshin."
"Let's go home. Dr Gensai said he was bringing Ayame and Suzume round later..." Kenshin smiled and turned. An old, familiar scent caught his nose suddenly and his eyes narrowed.
"Kenshin, what's wrong?"
Kenshin glanced back around the crowd, but saw nothing. "Nothing... come on." Blood... Kenshin thought grimly, but then shrugged. The police inspector had told them of no hitokiri in Tokyo area... maybe Kenshin was just feeling the after-effects of the fight?
Manji smiled grimly from the shadow of an alley. "Found you at last, you bastard..."
---
Manji stood outside the dojo he had followed the Battousai back to.
"Kamiya Dojo, eh?" He sneered, then walked in through the front door. He dropped the bag of grain near a tree, then wandered over to the dojo - the woman he had seen earlier was now wearing a kendo gi and was putting the boy through a kata.
"Yahiko, you can do better than that!"
"Yes, Sensei!" Yahiko shouted out in reply and restarted the kata.
"Well sheeee-it. A woman and a kid playing with bamboo swords." Manji smiled lazily as he leant against the dojo door.
"Who are you!" The woman stared at Manji.
"I want the red head." Manji ignored her question.
"What do you want with Kenshin?" The woman pointed her shinai at Manji.
"Got some unfinished business with him."
"What do you want with Kenshin!" She shouted out again and stepped closer her shinai still pointed at him.
"Personal business and if you don't point that thing elsewhere, I'm gonna shove it up your ass." Manji stood up and walked towards her.
"Huh. I'll take him, Kaoru!" Yahiko glared at the scarred man and stepped forward in an identical stance to hers.
"No, Yahiko. This is my dojo and this is my challenge." Kaoru didn't take her eyes off the man.
"If you really want to die, you dumb broad..." The man drew a pair of knives, then looked Kaoru up and down.
"Ain't got a bad form... for a broad." The man grinned idly and Kaoru felt her anger rise. He's mocking me!? she thought angrily, but remained calm on the outside. She knew he was trying to force her to make a mistake, by making her angry, but she knew better. However she wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face...
The woman yelled out a kiai and charged forward. Manji swung his blades in an arc, one following the other. His first blow blocked then sliced through her sword, while his second swung at her neck.
Time seemed to freeze for Kaoru as she saw the second blade slide through the air towards her neck, slowly arcing gracefully closer and closer. She twisted, ducked the blow, then leapt backwards to avoid the man's next attack. Which never came.
"Huh. Better than I thought girlie." The man relaxed again.
"Kaoru!" Yahiko began to step forward, but she stopped him.
"Yahiko, you can't fight against someone who uses two weapons."
"But-!"
"Listen to her, kid." The man stared down at Yahiko.
"It's like an ant fighting God."
Yahiko shook slightly under his gaze, but held firm.
"Now, quit playing games with me girl. I want the red head. Now."
"Yahiko, go quickly." Kaoru motioned to Yahiko, who ran into the house as fast as he could.
"Why are you doing this?" Kaoru asked, evaluating his posture and weapons. He looked competent and his relaxed, lazy stance spoke of either supreme arrogance or ability. She knew that she wouldn't be able to fight him with a shinai - even if she did have a whole one left.
"Got a score to settle with the Battousai and it helps me keep a vow, so two birds with one stone, eh?"
"Why won't you leave him alone! Kenshin's a rurouni now - he doesn't want to fight anymore!" Kaoru stared the man in the eye.
"I couldn't give a shit what he is now or what he wants." The man scowled. "What I want is him."
"And you have me. Let her go, she's got nothing to do with this." Kenshin stared at them from the dojo entrance. Sano glared over Kenshin's shoulder, while Yahiko panted heavily from his running.
"Well, well, well... Thought it was you." Manji glanced over his shoulder, then turned round. The woman glanced at them, then quickly moved over to the dojo door, near Yahiko.
"Kaoru-dono, are you all right?" The Battousai glanced over at her.
"I'm all right, Kenshin." She nodded in reply.
"Yo, Battousai. We got some unfinished business." Manji called out to him as he sheathed his knives.
"Very well." Kenshin waited until Kaoru was out of the way, then walked slowly towards the man.
"Why are you doing this?" Kenshin asked as he reached the centre of the dojo floor.
"Got a vow to keep."
"Very well." Kenshin nodded. The man was seeking revenge for someone the Hitokiri Battousai had killed in the past.
"You know that doing this won't bring them back."
"Ain't got a grudge against ya, if that's what you mean. I just gotta kill ya to keep a vow I made." The man drew a pair of katana.
"I see." Kenshin mentally scowled. The man was too focused to change - he only wanted blood.
Sano moved over to where Yahiko and Karou were - Kenshin and the man would need plenty of space. As the man dropped his arms to his side, katana pointing away from his body, Sano nudged Yahiko.
"Hey Yahiko, what style is he using?"
"Dunno... never seen it before..." Yahiko's eyes narrowed in concentration as he studied the man's fighting stance. "But I ain't ever heard of anybody using two blades in a style like that, or knives like that." Yahiko glanced at Kaoru, who shook her head.
"I haven't seen knives like that before, either." Kaoru replied, her eyes also intent on the stances the fighters were using. "He practices his own style, I think. He doesn't follow any of the major schools."
"Ready to go, Battousai?" The man grinned, his blades reflecting the light dully.
"You know who I am, but who are..." Kenshin froze.
Black and white clothes.
The scarred eye.
Twin blades.
"You... I saw you die." His eyes widened in shock.
"Well, I'm alive now Battousai." Manji smiled evily.
"I stopped you once. I can do it again." Kenshin's eyes narrowed as he drew his sword.
"Like to see you try." Manji leant forward slightly.
"Let's go." Kenshin charged.
--
Kenshin pressed his left hand to his side and stared at the man. He was slower but a good deal stronger and his unorthodox fighting style had Kenshin constantly guessing - his edge didn't work well against this man. Just like last time.
He had hit the man several times, but he kept on getting up as if his blows had no effect. For his part, Kenshin had barely stopped most of the man's strikes and several tears in his clothes and the cut to his side showed testament to when his skill hadn't been enough.
Kenshin felt the old anger rise up again, the hatred, the blood lust.
The hitokiri.
He forced it back down - he couldn't afford to let himself lose control again, not with Kaoru and everybody so close.
Manji stopped. "What the fuck is this?
"A second rater can do better than this. You can't hurt me with that damn stupid sword of yours. Turn it over and get serious."
"No." Kenshin gasped. "I will not."
"Kenshin doesn't kill anymore!" Kaoru shouted out.
The man looked at her in amusement. "You're fucking joking. He was a death god - if he wanted you dead, the only thing you could do was die." He shifted and glanced at Kenshin. Kenshin glared back at the mockery of his words. Words he had spoken himself as the Battousai.
"And you expect me to believe he stopped just like that?" He asked incredulously.
Kaoru nodded and the man doubled over in laughter. The Kenshin-gumi looked at each other in surprise.
"The Hitokiri... Battousai... not killing anymore? Damn... funniest thing I've... heard in... years..." The man stood up as he recovered.
"Yes! Kenshin isn't a Hitokiri anymore!" Kaoru glared at the man.
"Once a killer, always a killer." He sneered. "Someone that good is born with it in his blood."
"Kaoru, enough. He's too far gone to change his mind." Sano shushed her. He knew that look the stranger was wearing - arrogance combined with anger and hatred. He wore it himself during his days as Zanza the gangster. He wouldn't listen to reason, only to action.
"Y'know, you and me, we ain't too different are we?" Manji looked at the Battousai. "We don't feel alive 'til we see blood flowing, unless we're doing what we do best. Killing.
"Now, I know you remember... but maybe I can give you a coupla reminders..." He glanced meaningfully at Kaoru.
Kenshin's anger suddenly snapped. He must protect Kaoru... protect her... protect...
Memories suddenly assaulted Kenshin's mind, the screams of the dying, the exhilaration of fighting, the sight of blood, the warm feeling of it running down your hands, its coppery tang in your mouth... and the smell, so close and so strong... He closed his eyes.
And he remembered. He would protect her happiness. He would protect those who could not protect themselves. He would protect.
The coldness of snow enveloped him.
"You fucking touch her and I'll kill you." Kenshin spoke quietly as he stood and levelled his sword at Manji.
"You want to fight me so bad?" He continued in the lethally quiet voice.
Kenshin's eyes flashed open.
"I'll take you apart, you bastard."
"Kenshin..." Kaoru gasped as she saw Kenshin's eyes. They were the same as when he fought Jin-E. Cold. Hard. Remorseless.
Death.
"That's more like it..." Manji smiled grimly as he charged.
--
"Damn... that... hurts..." Manji gasped for breath as he knelt from their last clash. Several of Manji's knives were buried in the walls, the floor and him. He painfully pulled the blades from his leg and stomach.
The Battousai had taken full advantage of his habit of leaving his knives stuck in things and had thrown them at Manji, when he had been least expecting it.
Need to fix that damn habit Manji thought to himself as he dropped the bloody knives onto the floor.
"Knew... you could give... me... a good fight.. Battousai..." Manji grinned painfully. He had missed this - the pain, the adrenaline, the knowledge he was truly putting his life on the line. He had forgotten what it was to really fight - his immortal flesh had ensured that. Now he was remembering.
Kenshin stared at the man as he also gasped for breath. His ribs were hurting like hell and a cut on his forehead was making it hard to see through one eye. He couldn't feel the other wounds, but he knew they were there. He had to finish this fast.
Yahiko's eyes were wide open in amazement. What the hell was this man made of? He had taken some of Kenshin's best techniques, including the Ryu Tsui Sen, and had stood back up. Sano could barely stand after being hit by that, but this man was still fighting on top of his other injuries, including those knives which Kenshin had thrown back at him.
He glanced at Sano and Kaoru and knew they shared similar sentiments. Kenshin was in trouble.
"Fun's fun... but... it's time to... finish this." Manji stood up. He picked up his Shido and set his fingers in the hilt holes.
"Yeah... it's time..." Kenshin sheathed his sword and turned sideways. He lowered his legs and angled his body towards Manji.
"A battou-jutsu..." Yahiko whispered.
"This will decide it..." Sano whispered.
"One last pass, Battousai?" The man raised his knives.
Kenshin nodded slightly, his face a mask of concentration.
"Cool." The man grinned evilly.
--
"Good day!" cried out an elderly voice.
"Good day!" Two children's voices shouted in unison.
"Grandpa, where are they?" asked Ayame.
Doctor Gensai looked round. "They must be in the dojo..."
"Ken-niichan!" Suzume rushed off happily, closely followed by Ayame. Dr Gensai smiled, then he heard the clash of metal on metal.
"Ayame-chan! Suzume-chan! Wait!" He hurried as fast as he could, fear filling his heart.
--
"Ken-niichan!" Suzume reached the door of the dojo. Big brother was there, but he was fighting against this nasty looking man. They both looked hurt. "Ken-nii!" Suzume shouted and ran towards Kenshin.
"Suzume-chan?" Kaoru looked round and saw Suzume running towards Kenshin. Past the stranger.
"No! Suzume! Stop!"
Manji charged, his attention focused on the Battousai.
Kenshin charged, his attention focused on the man.
Kenshin stopped, drew and cut. Suddenly he saw Suzume running towards him on his right side. His rage suddenly vanished, replaced by stark fear. He desperately tried to slow his attack, but it was too late - he had focused too much. The arc of his sakaba would go through the man and break Suzume like a rag doll.
Manji's eye narrowed as he saw the sword flicker. He raised his right knife to defend and stabbed with his left... what the fuck was that kid doing there?! He tried to shift his aim...
Kaoru gasped in horror. Kenshin's sword struck the man's raised right arm, then he collided into Kenshin, sending the two of them rolling to the floor in a heap. Suzume collapsed to the ground.
"Kenshin!"
"Suzume!"
The Kenshin-gumi hurried to the bodies.
Suzume suddenly started crying and Kaoru quickly checked her - she was unhurt.
"Waaah! Big sister! I'm scared!"
Kaoru cried tears of relief and hugged her. "Thank goodness you're all right, Suzume... thank good-" She looked over at the man and Kenshin. A pool of blood was forming on the dojo floor from the pile.
"Kenshin!" She screamed.
--
"Holy shit." muttered Sano as he checked the body. The blow had gone straight into the skull near the temple. It was fatal, no doubt about it.
He glanced over at Dr Gensai - he was still operating, along with Megumi.
"Sano, get that body out of here! We need space!" Megumi spoke quickly to him, not taking her eyes off her patient.
"But-"
"No buts! We can't afford any distractions."
"Yes, ma'am!" Sano picked up the body and dragged it outside. He left it on the porch, then started to head back inside the dojo.
"Stay out there! If you want to be useful, keep everybody out!"
"Damn it!" Sano glared at them, but they were too preoccupied.
"Megumi, here's the hot water." Kaoru rushed into the dojo.
"Thank you. Leave it there."
"How-"
"Too early to say." Megumi screwed her eyes up in concentration as she assessed the worst wound. "That one's deep, but there doesn't seem to be any problems... what is that?!" Megumi used a pair of forceps and picked the thing up. A worm wriggled briefly in its grip as it died.
--
"How's Kenshin?" Yahiko and Sano asked as Megumi stepped out onto the porch.
"He'll be fine." Megumi sat down and let out an exhausted sigh.
"Here." Kaoru passed her a cup of tea, which she accepted gratefully.
"What happened this time?" Megumi asked.
"We don't know... all we know was that the man was someone Kenshin had met before and Kenshin had to stop him once before."
"Maybe there's some sort of clue on the body?" Megumi looked over at Sano. "Where did you leave it?"
"Over here by the dojo door, but Yahiko moved it." Sano replied and they all looked at Yahiko.
"What?! I didn't move it!"
"Then where is it?" Megumi looked round the yard. "It can't have walked off by itself..."
"Ummm..." Yahiko looked up worriedly. They saw the blood stains near the dojo door where Sano had left the body, but blood marks moved away from the spot.
"That's absurd. Somebody must have picked it up." Megumi frowned.
"But who?" Kaoru winced as she inspected the stains. It would take a lot of cleaning to get out.
"Maybe the cops?" Sano shrugged.
"So who called them?" Yahiko winced as well as he realised that he would be the one doing all the cleaning.
"I thought you did, Sano." Kaoru frowned.
"Me?! I was out running errands for Megumi all day, getting stuff from the clinic!"
"Then who moved it?"
"I don't need this right now..." Megumi raised her hand to her head.
"Sano, you and Kaoru get Kenshin to bed - Doctor Gensai will supervise. After that Sano can take me home and Yahiko can take Doctor Gensai home.
"Kaoru, you go and buy some fresh food - my Ken-san will need a good meal." Megumi looked curiously at the frantically waving Sano and Yahiko behind Kaoru's back.
"And WHAT do you two think you're doing?!" Kaoru whipped round to glare at them.
"Go!" Megumi shouted at them. They quickly went about their tasks and Kaoru fumed quietly about Megumi's use of 'my Ken-san', but was secretly relieved - if Megumi was joking, then Kenshin was all right.
Now if they could only work out where the body had gone...
---
Kenshin eased himself down on the porch, breathing in the early evening air. Kaoru and Yahiko had gone shopping to celebrate Kenshin's recovery and amazingly minor wounds, while Sano had disappeared, saying that there was something he wanted to check out. Dr Gensai and Megumi had gone to get some rest from their gruelling operation - Ayame and Suzume were quietly sleeping near his bed inside, tired out from all their worrying.
As Kenshin looked around the garden, he noticed something at the foot of the tree. He tried to peer more closely, but he couldn't make out more than a small sack of some sort. He wondered whom it must have belonged to, then suddenly realised that it belonged to the samurai. He must have left it here before he fought... speaking of which, Kenshin was surprised that nobody from the police had arrived yet.
When he had asked Sano or Kaoru what they had done with the body, they told him not to worry about it and to concentrate on resting. They couldn't have hidden it for some strange reason, could they? Kenshin frowned. This was entirely unlike them...
As far as Kenshin could tell, it was the evening of the same day he had fought the man - luckily his wounds hadn't been that severe and while Kenshin spent most of the afternoon unconscious and being operated on, he was able to move around mere hours after the fight.
Kenshin gave a grim smile. An after-effect from his days as the Battousai, one of the few things he could be thankful for.
He glanced at the dojo door - there was a large rent where a knife had been thrown through. Kenshin shuddered and looked down. For the past ten years, he had kept the vow he made, never to kill again. And now he had broken it.
He gave another shuddering sigh and felt his emotions run turmoil... what would he do now? Stay here with Kaoru? No, he couldn't do that - twice now he had lost himself to the hitokiri and both times it was when she was threatened.
She was threatened because of who he was and what he did... no matter what she said about not caring about his past, Kenshin cared. He also knew he was starting to care more deeply about Kaoru - why else would he feel so strongly about her safety? Maybe if they moved away from Tokyo they could live together in safety... He quickly crushed that line of thought. Kaoru would never agree to it - she had responsibilities here and she couldn't drop them all and leave, like a rurouni could.
Once a hitokiri, always a hitokiri, Jin-E had said. Kenshin had only half believed him at the time, but now... he wasn't safe for Kaoru, no matter how she might feel about him and especially how he felt about her.
The last time he lost himself to the hitokiri, Kaoru had stopped him from killing Jin-E, but now... not only had he killed, but he had very nearly killed Suzume also...
He had to leave. To keep them safe. To keep Kaoru and Yahiko and Suzume safe. To keep everybody safe.
To protect them.
Kenshin tried to stand, but his muscles screamed in pain and he felt something warm trickle down his shoulder. As soon as his stitches healed he mentally added as he sat back down painfully.
He glanced up as he noticed movement. The samurai was walking towards the tree, reaching for the sack. Kenshin's eyes widened as he reached for his sword... then realised that he had left it in his room when he pulled himself outside. He would never be able to reach it in time.
The man picked up the sack, then started walking towards Kenshin.
"Hey."
Kenshin stared back silently at the man.
"Whoa, no need to give me that look. I just wanted my dinner back, nothing more."
"I don't believe you."
The man grinned. "Living up to your rep again, eh Battousai? I didn't come here to fight. I want to ask you something."
"What's that?"
"That last blow. By the time I saw your sword move, my hand was nowhere near my neck, but you slowed the strike down enough for me to block it. That probably would have killed me for real, even with that stupid sword of yours. Killed me on a fluke though, but anyway; I just want know one thing.
"Why'd you slow down?"
"I couldn't hit Suzume-chan."
"The kid?" He nodded his head towards the sleeping girls. Kenshin nodded and the man smiled in reply.
"Fuck. Looks like they were right about you. You have changed.
"The Battousai I knew wouldn't have slowed his strike."
"And you are not as cold hearted as you seem. You aimed that last stab to avoid Suzume." Kenshin smiled slightly in return as he unconsciously touched the wound on his right arm.
"I don't kill kids." The man shrugged, slightly embarrassed. "Just a thing I got."
"So what happened to you, Battousai? You used to kill anything that got in your way, kids included."
"I will never kill again." Kenshin's stomach turned as the image of Suzume as one of his victims suddenly flashed through his mind.
"That so? How come?"
"During the war, I killed to protect people, to protect the country, to bring in the new era, but now, after so many deaths on my hands... I want to be able to protect people without killing."
"No shit?" The man sounded surprised. "When was the last time you wacked somebody?"
"During the war." Kenshin relaxed slightly. The man didn't seem to be threatening, but his ability to read people didn't work well on him...
"So, you made a vow not to kill after the war? And you managed to keep for 'bout ten years? Guess you're damn lucky with me, eh?" The man smiled lazily
"Yes, I was..." Kenshin paused and frowned. "What did you mean when you said I killed you?"
"Didn't your friends tell you? That blow smacked me silly and caved in part of my skull - you killed me, no doubt about it."
"What?"
"It's a long story..." the man sat down on the porch, then turned and looked at Kenshin.
"Guess I owe you a coupla answers." Kenshin nodded and waited.
"By the way, it's Manji." Kenshin glanced at the man's back.
"Yeah, like the character, Battousai." Manji shrugged.
"I go by Kenshin now. I never cared much for that name."
Manji nodded in reply, "Kenshin then. So shoot."
"You said I killed you, but you're here, still alive...? And the last time we met, I saw you die. I know I did."
"Hell yeah, I died both times, but the damn worms saved me again..." Manji trailed off.
"Worms?" Kenshin looked confused.
"'Bout a hundred years ago, this damn nun stuffed me full of these 'Holy Bloodworms' and now I can't die 'til I complete this vow I made."
"You can't die?" Kenshin looked slightly sceptical.
"Yeah. Well, not 'til I complete the vow I made."
"That does explain why you're still here now, but..." Kenshin looked apologetic.
"I know, it's a bit hard to swallow, but..." Manji pointed at the rents in his clothes. "You know you stabbed me, but I'm all fixed up again." He pulled his legs up and Kenshin saw that the skin was unbroken.
"You're not joking." Kenshin looked shocked as the truth sank in. "And you've been alive for a hundred years..." Kenshin's eyes grew large as he looked at Manji's clothing again.
"You mean you are the-"
"The Hundred Man Murderer? Yeah, but it's closer to... I think nine hundred and seventy now. I kinda lost count during the war."
"Oroooooo..."
"You ok, man?" Manji glanced at Kenshin.
"Oroooooo..." Kenshin made vowel sounds for a while.
"What was the vow you made?" Kenshin asked when he had recovered.
"I have to kill a thousand bad guys to make up for all the good guys I killed."
"You only have thirty men left?"
"Nah, 'bout a hundred and thirty. I killed a hundred good guys first and I keep count of everybody I killed. Saves me the hassle of remembering who was good or bad. Problem is, I ain't too sure who was good and who was bad durin' the war, so I dunno exactly how many I got left."
Kenshin did the mental arithmetic. "That means you've killed eight hundred and seventy people in a hundred years? Under ten people a year?"
"Yeah, it seems kinda low when you look at it that way, but I go through dry patches where I don't kill anybody for a coupla years, then I end up whacking thirty or so guys in a coupla months..." Manji shrugged. "It evens out."
"I have to ask... how... how do you live with it?" Kenshin stared down at the wooden floor, the red of the fading light matching the sudden rush of memories through his mind.
"Live with what?"
"All those people you've killed... all those lives you taken..."
Manji shrugged. "I ain't got a problem with that shit. I figure, they're trying to kill me, so I gotta kill them first.
"The way I see it, if you pick up the sword, then you got no right to complain if ya get cut down."
"I-I see..." Kenshin's heart fell - here was a man who had killed more than him, who was even more steeped in blood than him... and he had no conscience.
Manji looked at Kenshin again. "Huh. Guess you've softened up since the war."
"That's not it!" Kenshin turned round angrily to face Manji. "I never liked killing, even when I knew they deserved it! I hated doing it during the war, but it was for the good of the country, so I did it. I never enjoyed it."
Manji stared at Kenshin for a while. "Sheeee-it, you're serious. Who'd have thought the Hitokiri Battousai was such a tightass?
"I'm just a scumbag who got born into a samurai family, so I ain't got any of those hang ups you do." Manji reached inside his clothes and pulled out a pipe, then scowled as he noticed it was broken.
"Some guys search a lifetime looking for answers to that question. I ain't bothered by the question, so I don't look for answers." Manji threw the broken stem away and tucked the metal barrel and mouthpiece back into his clothes.
"What goes around comes around. I just make the coming round part quicker for bad guys." Manji gave a half smile.
Kenshin sighed. "I understand. I suppose it was too much to ask for... but I wonder if the answer would have the same value if I hadn't searched for it myself?"
"Whoa, I think that's enough philosophising for now. My head's still hurtin' from earlier." Kenshin sweated slightly as he realised the meaning behind the comment.
"Still don't change what I said earlier though. You were damn good, probably the best. You don't get that good without it being in your blood."
"Once a hitokiri, always a hitokiri..." Kenshin whispered, remembering Jin-e's words.
"Yeah, I suppose." Manji shrugged. "Explains why guys like us can't give up the sword no matter how hard we try."
"You've tried to give up the sword?" Kenshin asked curiously.
"Yeah once. My sister got killed 'cause of it, so I've never tried again. In any case, I gotta kill to keep my vow, so I ain't got much choice anymore."
"How 'bout you? You ever try?"
Kenshin shook his head. "I made too many enemies during the war to risk going without a sword."
"But ya still didn't wanna kill anybody, so you had that sword made?" Manji jerked his head in the direction of Kenshin's sword. Kenshin nodded in reply.
"Makes sense. Kinda." Manji scratched the back of his head.
"Well, I gotta get going." Manji stood up.
"I see. Farewell then."
"Whaddaya mean by that? You gave me the best damn fight I've had in years. I'll probably be back in a coupla months to try again."
"What?!" Kenshin's eyes narrowed.
"Hey! Nothing bad!" Manji raised his hands defensively. "I don't kill good guys remember? I just gotta go train for a while to get faster."
"Oro?" Kenshin's jaw dropped.
"The last gir- guy who was as fast as you are, trashed me and you decked me with a freakin' blunt sword. I figure it means I got a problem with speed freaks, an' you're the only guy alive I know who's that fast and can take me, so you're my new training partner."
"Oro!"
"You gotta show me how ya did some of those moves; they fuckin' hurt!" Manji picked up his sack of grain.
"Anyway, see ya in a coupla months." Manji waved his hand as he walked out the gate.
"Oroooooooo..." Kenshin's body winced in anticipation.
As soon as Manji was out of sight, Kenshin smiled. The man was dangerous, wild, but he knew right from wrong. While Kenshin didn't trust him exactly, he knew that he could count on Manji to do the right thing. What exactly that thing was though, Kenshin wasn't sure...
Kenshin pursed his lips - he would have to get some sake for the next time Manji came round. And some bandages. Lots of them.
Author's notes:
Any historical inaccuracy is all my fault, given that I got all the information from the Kenshin OAVs only. Sorry! ^_^;
Japanese vocabulary for people unfamiliar with either series:
Tenchu - 'Divine Judgement'. Term used to indicate an assassination or killing.
Dai-sho: Literally 'Long-short'. Indicates the pair of swords carried by samurai, both as weapons and a sign of their rank/status.
Manji - A symbol of Japanese Bhuddhism. It has been taken by the ronin swordsman Manji as his name.
Bakumatsu - The Bakumatsu Jidai, a period of civil war from 1853-1868.
Hito kiri - He who is most accomplished at killing human beings. Master swordsmen who worked as assassins during the Bakumatsu Jidai.
Shinai - a bamboo training sword. Similar to a bokken (wooden training sword).
Rurouni - a wanderer or vagabond.
Sakaba (sakabatou) - Kenshin's unique sword. Japanese swords were single edged - the sakaba is edged on the reverse side, hence whenever Kenshin is fighting, the killing edge is always facing him.
Ryu Tsui Sen - one of Kenshin's techniques. Delivers a very powerful blow.
Shido - the pair of knives/short swords that Manji uses. Double-bladed, with one shorter blade, edged on the inner side of both blades, (see fig below).
(Handle)
___________ /============== (Blade 1)
-----------O (Edged)
����������� \======== (Blade 2)Battou-jutsu - technique which allows the user to attack as they draw their sword. Very fast, hard to predict. Also known as iaijutsu.
Excerpt from the Blade of the Immortal preface:
The character on Manji's back is the crux gammata, or sauvastika, used to symbolise Buddhism by the Japanese. In romanji, it's known as 'manji', which the swordsman Manji has also taken for his name.
For those who're looking up pictures - THERE ARE NO ANTI-SEMITIC OR PRO-NAZI MEANINGS BEHIND IT!! The swastika used by the Nazis is a variation of this symbol, but the meanings associated with it didn't come into being until 1910.
For further information, look up the graphic novels by Dark Horse, or your local library. ^_^
Well, this has been a hard story to write, one which would work much better in a visual medium, given that a fight that takes at least a page to describe properly could be done in under ten seconds in an anime or two pages in artwork. ^_^;
Hence why I skipped as much as I could of the fight scenes. ^_^;
The idea for this story resulted from a conversation between my friends and me between who could fight Kenshin and win - my suggestion was Manji from Blade of the Immortal.
However, once I thought about it more and started considering Manji's track record with speed fighters (Makie Otono-Tachibana), I soon realised that the Hitokiri Battousai would beat Manji, but Kenshin couldn't, since A) he won't kill and B) isn't willing to carve Manji up (which is basically the only way of stopping him, besides killing him).
Of course writing in a straight Kenshin Vs Manji fight would have been damn boring (for the above reasons), so I came up with some preamble and decent motivations.
I hope I succeeded. ^_^
Now all we need to do is wait for a feasible Blade of the Immortal anime. ^_^
Oni (3/2000)
Omake 1
"You're not joking." Kenshin looked shocked as the truth sank in. "And you've been alive for a hundred years..." Kenshin's eyes grew large as he looked at Manji's clothing again.
"You mean you are the-"
"The Hundred Man Murderer? Yeah, but it's-"
Kenshin grabbed a shinto ward, slapped it on Manji's forehead, then started chanting.
"What the fu-?!" Manji looked cross-eyed at the piece of paper on his forehead.
Kenshin sweated then grabbed a crucifix and started waving it at Manji, while throwing water at him.
"Knock it off! I ain't a zombie!" Manji slapped Kenshin upside the head.
"Oroooooo...."
--
Omake 2
"Well, well, well... thought it was you." Manji glanced over his shoulder, then turned round. The woman glanced at them, then quickly moved over to the side of the dojo.
"Kaoru-dono, are you all right?" The Battousai glanced over at her and she nodded.
"We got some unfinished business, Battousai." Manji called out to him.
"Yeah, I guess we do." Kenshin smiled grimly.
They ran at each other.
And hugged.
"Ken-chan!" "Manji-sempai!"
Kenshin wacked Manji upside the head. "Where were you?! I told you to meet me at the statue in the park in Kyoto!"
"Hey! I've been looking for you for 10 years!!! Anyway, the statue? I thought you meant the Torii gate?" Manji rubbed his head.
"Man-ji-sem-pai! Have you forgotten how important that statue is to me? It's where we first-"
"Oh yeah, now I remember." Manji grinned in embarrassment.
"Well, I'm not doing anything now, so if you want to go and make up for lost time..." Kenshin smiled seductively, blushing slightly at the memory of the statue.
"K...K...K...K...K..." The various members of the Kenshin-gumi were trying to find their voices.
"KENNNNNNNN-SHHHHHHIIIIIIINNNNNNN!!!!!!" Kaoru was glowing blue and emitting a battle aura that even Kenshin could sense at this point in time.
Manji looked at Kaoru, then back at Kenshin.
"You mean, YOU'VE BEEN LEADING THIS FLOOZIE ON?!?!" Manji yelled at Kenshin. He then drew a large sword and began emitting a red battle aura.
"KENNNNNNNN-SHHHHHHIIIIIIINNNNNNN!!!!!!"
"You- you're a-" Sano couldn't finish the sentence. "And I let you see me naked!?"
"KENNNNNNNN-SHHHHHHIIIIIIINNNNNNN!!!!!!" Sano began glowing green.
"YOU PERVERT!!!!" Yahiko was green in the face. "And I wanted to be like you!!!" He grabbed his shinai and began glowing yellow.
"KENNNNNNNN-SHHHHHHIIIIIIINNNNNNN!!!!!!"
Kenshin gulped. "Now, now, calm down, maybe we can sort things out..."
"NO WAY IN HELL!!!!!" "DIE!!!!" "YOU TWO-TIMER!!!"
"DIRTY OLD MAN!!" "I BATHED WITH YOU!!!"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A FLOOZIE?!" "YOU SICK PERVERT!!"
"HEY, LESS OF THE OLD!" "OROOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"