Old Friends, New Enemies by Meimi (aka Robin Kloster) or edited by Kourika (aka Jodi-chan) Author's Notes: Okay, I'm mucking up with history a bit (I think). If you don't like it then don't read it. ^_^ Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Watsuki-sama and whoever else has the rights to it. ^_^ I'm just borrowing the characters for awhile. On the other hand, Ishida and Masanobu ARE mine. ^_^;; Oh well... Warning: This is set after the Kyoto Saga and before the Revenge Arc. I know next to nothing about the Revenge Arc and I know even less about the horrible filler episodes that are after the Kyoto Saga. So this is probably an alternate future kind of thing after the Kyoto Saga. ^_^ ~*~ Even an Assassin has a Heart ~*~ Unending torrents of rain mercilessly beat down upon the shadow draped, deathly silent city as rolling thunder boomed in the night. Long, thin slithers of lightning struck the sky one after another, lighting the dark streets and alleyways with eerie backdrops of stark whites, velvet blacks and endless greys. Nature's terrible rage seemed to mysteriously echo the bloody storm that threatened to boil to an explosive climax within the beleaguered city far below. Another large crack of incandescent lightning split the black sky, briefly illuminating two small shadowy figures that slunk around the back of a dimly lit, worndown house. Within the leader's delicate yet masculine hands, bare, wet metal shimmered brilliantly in the fading light. A high ponytail glittered a dull crimson and hung limp at his shoulders. His companion's long, wet, platinum hair, pulled back tightly to cascade over her shoulders, glowed slightly in the light before deep shadows blanketed the war torn city once again. The leader abruptly held up a slender hand in caution as he surreptitiously glanced through a small, out of the way side window. His steely gaze hardened as he surveyed what lay within. His wiry muscles tensed slightly, and the grip on his drawn sword tightened in response to the unwelcome discovery inside. Two middle aged men dressed in the now all too familiar blues of the Shinsengumi huddled around a low wooden table. Their heads were bowed close together over the guttering flame of a single candle, the sole occupant of the table's bare surface. Though the leader could not hear what they spoke of over the raging storm, he could barely discern their lips moving as they conversed. The vague information he and his companion had received earlier that day had been correct after all. These men (murderers, his mind whispered) were hiding out from the fierce battles that raged within the mud soaked streets. A feral smile crossed the leader's lips. They would soon find that they had made a fatal mistake, though he knew they would have very little time to regret it. His companion broke his intense train of thought when she lightly rest her chin upon his shoulder and scanned the small room within. "Fools and cowards," she whispered softly, "Let's get this over with quickly. We have other things to do tonight." The leader nodded distastefully in agreement. While he truly despised working with the woman, she was as good at her .. profession as she billed herself as, if not better. "I'm the best," she had stated flatly, with no hint of emotion, at their first meeting several hours ago. Her fluid, experienced actions since that brief meeting had only proven her words to be the simple truth. He sighed silently as he mentally prepared himself, then slipped in through the small window, his unwanted companion swiftly following. Things would be over soon, he mused, this night had to end sometime. Didn't it? The endless boom of thunder quickly drowned out the sound of clashing metal on metal. Would this night ever truly end? The young man fearfully known as the deadly Hitokiri Battosai methodically flicked off the fresh blood clinging to his sword, one that had been part of far too much bloodshed in such a short amount of time. He did not sheathe his sword as he wearily closed his eyes. He had sworn to himself that the next time he did would be the last. He was so very tired of this war. Would it be over after this night as everyone had predicted? Would it? Or would the bloodshed continue? It didn't matter. Tonight would be the end of it for him one way or another. He stood there silently, listening to the fury of the storm and the drip drip of water from both his and his companion's soaked clothes before opening his eyes and getting back to the business at hand. He studied the room, his amber tinted eyes catching every tiny detail yet his expression revealed only bored disattachment. A killer's simple facade of indifference that had gotten easier and easier to maintain of late, unfortunately. His sharp gaze brought little of consequence to his tired eyes. Two corpses that were just now beginning to cool, spread across the floor where there had once been two members of the Shinsengumi: one at his own feet with a creeping pool of fresh blood beneath it; the other at his companion's bearing no obvious signs of injury yet surely just as dead. The empty wooden walls were dingy, dirty and most likely rotten, an almost perfect match to the floor and its creaking floorboards. The table was the only piece of furniture that graced the room and was remarkably clean compared to its surroundings. The little candle that sat upon the table's bare surface danced feverishly in the chill draft that wafted in from outside, casting strange shadows upon the walls and creating an altogether eerie effect. In another time far more peaceful than this, it would have been the perfect setting for children to tell ghost stories to each other. But now was not the time for such thoughts. On the opposite side of the room from the single window that had provided their entrance, a dark gaping hole stood where perhaps a sliding door had once stood. The candle's faltering light barely reached beyond its threshold leaving the rest of the house draped in a velvet darkness. Something out of place in the old house nagged at his senses but he also felt that it wasn't a threat, yet, and thus returned his full attention to his unwanted partner. She stood off to the side halfway in the shadows, probably something she did without even thinking about it, with her arms crossed lightly over her chest. The ghost of a smile graced her delicate features as his somber amber gaze fell upon her. She knew what he thought of her, and it didn't faze her a bit. The woman positively made his skin crawl, that was the only way to describe it. The wet black cloth of her tight black leggings and long sleeve shirt was marred only by the equally wet tendrils of long white hair that had escaped her high ponytail and now draped carelessly across her shoulders. There was no evidence of any sort of weapon on her person, not that she needed any. He knew there were some there though. Earlier that night she had silently cut the throat of one of her victims with a with a small, thin knife. Where it had come from or where she had once again hidden it he himself wasn't even sure. Her stance was casual and relaxed, perfectly prepared for anything be it a tea ceremony or to rip someone's heart out with her bare hands. She was the perfect assassin, if there was such a thing, cold, unemotional and absolutely professional. She had supposedly been hired a few days ago by their side to help take care of the Shinsengumi. The simple truth though was that the revolutionaries were afraid that the Shinsengumi might hire her to help in their "defense" of Kyoto. They had fought side by side most of the day and far into the night with her occasionally breaking off at inopportune times to go stop some firestarters she had seen. Those moments when he had faced off against the Shinsengumi alone had become fewer and fewer as storm clouds had formed over the city until at last the threat of fire had been ended by the torrential downpour that even now beat down from the heavens. Shaking his head minutely to clear his jumbled thoughts, he once again returned his attention to the here and now. "There's still someone here," he stated flatly, knowing full well that with her trained senses she had long since known this, perhaps even noticing it before he had. White, delicate eyebrows arched above clear crystal blue eyes, "Just waiting on you." He bristled slightly at her soft chuckle but held his tongue. Now was not the time to get into an argument with her. The shadows engulfed her as she silently slipped into the next room. Her pace was smooth and silky, almost catlike in the way she appeared to stalk her new prey as she searched for the souls that had caught their attention. He scowled irritably and quietly followed her into the small dark room. His eyes widened in surprise as they adjusted to the lack of lighting. Unlike the room they had just left this one was packed with various pieces of furniture and just plain junk, most of it broken or rotting. His companion hesitated in front of a three legged table that was propped on its side against the wall. Her hesitation lasted for only a short moment before she peeked over the top edge of table at what lay behind it. The quiet rustling of fabric and the soft sound of an indrawn breath was the only indication of her discovery. A gentle smile lit up his companion's face as she slowly reached down behind the overturned table with her right hand and whispered, "It's alright little ones. There's nothing to be afraid of anymore." He received a shock when he joined her and looked down at what she had found. "Children," an icy quality echoed in his voice as he suppressed his surprise. What were children doing here of all places? Two little girls no more than five or six years of age huddled fearfully in the tiny space behind the table. The elder of the two had pushed her "sister?" up against the wall and had wrapped herself protectively around the child. Their little kimonos had small rips in them, most likely from splinters. The elder child's chocolate brown hair hung loosely about her tiny shoulders as she hovered over the other child. The younger child's blood red hair, the same color as his, hung in a loosened braid down her back, just about the only distinguishing feature he could make out of the little child. The little one shivered in fright beneath her sister's protective embrace. The elder child glared courageously, if foolishly, at both of the adults. "Children of the owners of this house I'll bet," his companion mused as she wiggled her fingers just out of reach of the little girls and grinned at the glare the older girl leveled at her. "I wouldn't be surprised if we found the parents' corpses in one of the other rooms. They look famished, that probably means it's been several days since those cowards back there took over the house." She directed her next question at the little girls, not really expecting an answer and not receiving one either. "You've been hiding back here the whole time haven't you?" "We can't leave them here..." He trailed off in indecision. What could they do? It wouldn't be safe to take them with them; there was still too much fighting going on outside. As much as he'd like to abandon this battle he just couldn't do that yet. Too many innocent people were still out in the streets fighting against the dwindling numbers of the Shinsengumi. He knew he certainly couldn't keep an eye on two small children while fighting a mob of trained killers, and he doubted greatly that his companion could either. "I'll take care of them," she whispered as she slowly pushed the overturned table out of the way and gently knelt in front of the frightened girls. The blandness evident in her simple statement cut through the maelstrom of indecision that whirled in his weary mind. She couldn't possibly mean.. could she?!? He reached down and grasped her left shoulder tightly. "You don't.." "You really do expect the worst of me, don't you?" She glared hotly at the offensive hand on her shoulder then up at his confused face and back at his hand once more. Several choice curses were muttered under her breath as she pried the offending hand off of her shoulder in the least gentle way possible. "They're only children, honestly! Besides, I was hired to kill the Shinsengumi and protect your precious city. That's it. Nowhere in the contract did it say to eliminate witnesses or innocents for that matter." She reasoned. "You," she snarled, "don't have to worry about it." Her voice softened to a more soothing tone as she returned her attention to the children. "It's alright, you don't have to be frightened anymore. The bad men are gone, and I won't hurt you." She reached out slowly and softly brushed several wayward strands of hair out of the older girl's frightened face. "See? It's going to be okay now. You don't have to be scared of anything while I'm around." A tear trickled down the girl's face before she whimpered quietly and threw herself into the woman's warm though soggy embrace. While the little girl sobbed against his companion's chest she reached out and drew the younger sister into her embrace as well. She rest the older girl's head underneath her chin and continued to whisper soothing words of comfort. When both girls' sobbing had quieted down to silent whimpers she gently lifted them up into her arms and got up off the dirty floor. She cocked her left eyebrow and grinned at him deviously. "I'd say I've fulfilled the requirements of my contract wouldn't you?" He blinked at her curiously in confusion. What was she talking about? He looked down at the two girls held protectively against her shoulders. Oh! That's it! He nodded along in agreement. "I would say so." While he could really use her help in the battles still yet to come this night he knew this was the right thing to do. What she was proposing in her own offhand way was the only solution he could see to this problem. They couldn't leave these children here nor could they take them into battle with them. It was simple and it was the only way. They threaded their way through several more bare room in a companionable silence until they reached the nearest door that let out onto the drenched streets. They stood there in silence for several minutes just staring out at a canvas of seemingly unending rain and long, ominous shadows created by the night. She was the first to disturb the silence. "It won't end here you know. It may seem like it, but it won't. As long as man walks the world there will never be an end to it." She looked at him then and a weak smile crossed her lips and amazingly touched her now gentle eyes. "Oh well, don't let it get you down. No one has to live their life according to a strict set of rules made up by fools or worse. People always have choices no matter how much it may seem otherwise." Her liquid gaze returned to the darkness without. "Good journey," she whispered softly and darted out into the downpour with her precious burdens, instantly disappearing behind a curtain of rain and shadows. The man known as Hitokiri Battosai stared sorrowfully after her. He had been so wrong about her. She wasn't a cold, calculating killer who took pride in her work. There was more to her than that. She was a human being, bearing numerous flaws and unseen scars just like everybody else. He just hadn't looked beyond the facade she had erected. What else had he failed to see? How many others had he been wrong about who had never had the chance to try and make him understand them? Too many deaths and too much pain. How could he protect the people he thought were innocent when he could well be ending the lives of good men? Invisible tears joined the rainfall as he stepped out into a welcoming darkness that swiftly engulfed him, hiding his presence from all eyes. A bare sword glittered from where it had been stuck point first into the deep mud as lightning ripped across the sky. Sunlight began to peek through the rain as dawn inched up over the horizon. The fierce battles that had raged throughout the night in the muddy streets ceased one by one as the storm clouds above Kyoto finally began to break. And a man torn by terrible grief and endless recriminations took the first few steps on a journey that would last for ten long years. ~*~ Mysterious Early Morning Delivery ~*~ Thin rays of sunlight began to peak over the horizon, and the smell of fresh dew on spring grass wafted through a small dojo sheltered within the sprawling city of Tokyo. Inside a young woman yawned, stretched and smiled brightly at the makings of a beautiful morning. Even with a night full of ragged sleep disturbed by horrible, already forgotten nightmares Kaoru couldn't help but smile at the peace and serenity she felt as she gazed at the beautiful view nature had graced the morning with. Her smile widened as she scanned her dojo's quiet yard with her soft blue eyes. It was at this point when something odd began to nag at her senses. While not super-honed like Kenshin's or Sanosuke's, Kaoru's instincts were far above average, and they were telling her something was off. Something just wasn't quite right today. But what? Her brow wrinkled slightly as she tried to figure out what was wrong. Surely it couldn't be trouble, otherwise Kenshin would be up and about. Without even thinking about it, Kaoru slid her bedroom door shut and began tapping at her lips with her index finger. The odd silence that touched her ears brought her up short. "Baka," she whispered to herself. That must be it. Kenshin wasn't up yet. He was always up before her, cooking breakfast or taking care of some other menial household task. That, of course, was when she woke up at a decent time, not at dawn. A soft secret smile spread across her lips, one she would never let the others see for fear of embarrassment. She *did* appreciate his help, and she was more than certain that Yahiko appreciated it as well. Her cooking skills.. left a lot of room for.. improvement. She grimaced at the path her train of thought was taking. Tae's offers to teach her the *finer* points of cooking were starting to look more and more inviting every day. A very familiar creak of wood broke through the quiet stillness and brought any continuations of her former thoughts to an instant halt. That was the front gates. They were closed and barred every night. In fact, she had done that herself before going to bed last night. What were they doing open? A small, fearful, and entirely selfish thought cried out from where she had buried it deeply in her mind. *He* wouldn't have left *now*? Would he? She kept repeating that question over and over again in her mind as she hurried to see if.. she was wrong. Her mad dash ended far short of her destination. "Baka," she again whispered to herself. She was acting like such a child. Of course *he* wouldn't leave. *He* wouldn't go without saying goodbye.. just like last time. Besides, *he* wouldn't leave, she repeated her earlier thought with growing conviction. She knew that fact with an unwavering certainty that came from that secret place deep down where she hid all of her private thoughts. *He* had wanted to come back home then. To him this was home. She continued on towards the focus of her thoughts with a steadier, silent stride. He trusted her. She ought to know that by now. And he expected her to trust him.. and she did, she realized. The lost smile of before returned to her lips as she rest her hands upon the closed door before her and listened to the soft sounds of sleep on the other side of it. "Baka," she whispered. "When are you going to grow up?" she asked herself in disgust. Unfortunately, this new introspection brought up the immediate problem of the open gate once more. Kaoru wasn't really all that worried. After all, if it had been a thief or worse surely it would've caught Kenshin's attention even in his deepest slumber. That fact settled most of her uneasiness, not all of it though. It was *still* an unsettling occurrence especially since she had been the one to bar the gate the night before. She sighed inaudibly and after a slight hesitation slowly walked across the courtyard to investigate the mystery set before her. The old wooden gate doors stood slightly ajar in the early morning breeze. Every now and then a strong gust would whistle through the the small opening between them and caused them to slowly creak apart. Whoever had opened them must have done it a short time ago because there wasn't much space between them. There was perhaps just enough room for a cat to squeeze through, and a thin one at that. In fact, it had probably happened right before she woke up from the last of those nightmares she had been having all night long. Kaoru lightly ran her fingers over the worn wood and pushed. Loud wooden creaks echoed out into the empty street beyond the door as she peeked out. It was deserted. Well, almost... The rustling sound of paper in the wind brought her attention to the tiny parchment hanging off of one of the gate doors. A small hole had been pierced through the center of it to secure it to the small splinter. The splinter had obviously been pried out of the wood the night before because it hadn't been there yesterday. She slipped it off gingerly in an attempt to keep from tearing the thin paper and nervously scanned the delicate writing that flowed across its surface. "Delicate Blossom, Growing In Adversity, Twilight Is Coming." "What is *that* supposed to mean?" Kaoru mused curiously as she tore the splinter off of the gate door and tossed it against the outer walls. As odd as the little haiku was she couldn't see anything threatening about it. Perhaps it was a joke or.. A bright pink blush quickly spread across her cheeks as another thought came to mind. The older women of the neighborhood sometimes joked about young men courting their favorites with poems. She shook her head and chuckled. No, that couldn't possibly be it. It must have been one of the neighborhood children playing a harmless trick. Still, how *had* they managed to get the gate open? Did they climb one of the trees? But no, that couldn't be it. Sanosuke had cut down all of the tree branches that were accessible with the outer walls shortly after they had all returned from Kyoto. He had said something about not making it too easy for anybody. Oh well, she shrugged and stuck the small piece of paper into her sash, she'd figure it out eventually and then she'd take care of it. Another smile finally graced her lips once again as she shoved the whole thing out of her mind and went off to start making breakfast. ~*~ The Death of Beauty and Youth ~*~ The bright, early morning sunshine filtered wanly through the elaborate wooden screen into the western style bedroom. The sky blue "curtains" on either side fluttered listlessly in the weak morning breeze that occasionally whispered in through the screen. It was as if the elements themselves knew what had occurred that night in this very room and, in their knowledge, grieved as well. The knick-knacks, evidence of a child growing into an adult, that were scattered about the room seemed faded and old, as if their life had fled along with their owner's. The police officers who milled about the room payed scant attention to such emotional flights of fancy. They had a job to do and that was all. After the body of the bedroom's occupant, a beautiful teenage girl with raven dark hair and a porcelain complexion, had been removed for a more respectful resting place, they had swiftly moved in, searching for anything that might give even a small clue to the identity of her murderer. Their search had just gotten under way when their Police Chief, Ishida Kazuki, arrived. He was an unusually stout man of waning years, with grey just now beginning to show at his temples. His officers were far from surprised at his presence. While he certainly didn't show up on the scene of a crime often, it was quite understandable under these circumstances. The child had been the only daughter of a very wealthy merchant family with an inordinate amount of sway in the current political circles. That very fact drug their harried commanding officer out of his comfortable bed much earlier than he had wished. Though quite overworked, he still had to show a good face to the elite of Tokyo, whether he wanted to or not. He was not looking forward to the trials he knew he and his officers would be put through by Tokyo's high society. The instant Ishida entered the richly decorated house the grieving parents pounced on him like hungering beasts on unsuspecting prey. He however was not unsuspecting and knew the exact words to say to appease them, for now. It was a hard thing to lose a child at all, much less when murder was involved. He understood that, but he couldn't let himself get caught unaware by them or they'd start interfering, of that he was more than certain. With the added interference his men wouldn't be able to get anything done. Were that to happen, the killer would get away with his crime, and would perhaps strike again at another unsuspecting child. Completely unacceptable! He spent a great deal of time appeasing the griefstricken parents. Yes, they'd catch the awful person who had done this. Yes, the murderer would pay for his crime. No, whoever it was would not get away with this. Yes, his officers would be finished shortly. No, they didn't need any *help* catching the man, or possibly woman, who did this. It was quite tedious, and while he wanted to investigate his officers' possible discoveries, it was expected. Going out of one's way to anger distraught parents, especially those with some influence in the government, wasn't a very good idea in any given situation. Thankfully, the family's housekeeper, a kind, motherly old woman, rescued him by calling the parents off to have some tea. "To calm your nerves some," she had put it so diplomatically. Ishida smiled thankfully at the woman's retreating back before turning his full attention to his investigating officers. Hopefully, they'd have at least something to work with by now. "Sir?" Ishida glanced up inquisitively at the young man who had called out to him. The young man stood at a deferential distance, no telling how long he had been there, waiting patiently for the chance to snare his superior officer's attention. Masanobu Akihito had been sent up from Kyoto two years ago to be Ishida's aide, though he most certainly went beyond that distinction. At first their working relationship had been strained and difficult. Ishida trusted very few people and was suspicious of anyone new. Masanobu was a dark and broody young man, and that of course only heightened Ishida's suspicion. Fortunately, they had worked out the kinks in an unusually short amount of time, only two months, and could now even be considered friends. Masanobu complemented Ishida perfectly. He took care of most of the field work leaving Ishida free to take care of political annoyances. Ishida trusted Masanobu to get the job done, and Masanobu never looked down on his paper pushing as others tended to. Overall, each did the job the other didn't have the time, or desire, to do, making them a quite spectacular team. Ishida glanced at the officers still searching the bedroom and grimaced before nodding at Masanobu to approach. "Have you found anything, anything at all?" "I believe so sir, though the others don't believe it of any importance." Masanobu glanced emotionlessly behind him. "I will leave the decision to you, of course." Ishida cocked a greying eyebrow sarcastically at Masanobu's dry statement of fact. Sometimes he thought the young man had a sense of humor but at other times...definitely not. "Well, what is it?" Unperturbed by his commanding officer's growing annoyance, Masanobu reached into the pocket of his uniform, drew out a small slip of paper and handed it over to Ishida. "It was laying underneath several sheets of the girl's own writing, but even a cursory glance could tell anyone that it was not written by her. The child's handwriting was sloppy, nothing at all like this." He halted his thoughts and waited patiently as Ishida read the haiku that rolled across the paper in delicate waves. "Spring's perfect flower, Blooming upon the mountain, The end is coming." "Flowery, isn't it?" Ishida mumbled as he looked up questionablely at the other man. "Really Masanobu, it could be from a boy who took it upon himself to court the girl. From what I hear, she was quite lovely." The sober young man shook his head, "No, I carefully broached the subject with the parents. While they were quite vehement in their denial, I detected nothing to make me believe they weren't telling the truth. The housekeeper confirmed it as well, and from what I can tell the woman kept a sharp eye out for the child. She would most likely have seen something along those lines if it were happening." "No, I would say it was a warning. The message is quite clear when read in the light of this murder." Masanobu shrugged minutely as his serious blue eyes met Ishida's, "With nothing else to go on, I'd say that the killer chose his victim by her youthful beauty. And you do realize what that means?" Ishida shuddered from a chill that came not from the early morning breeze but from an awful realization at Masanobu's question, "There will be more." Next Chapter: Oh.. @_@ in about a month or so. ^_^;; I've got too many other projects to distract me to get it out sooner than that.