Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or events taking place in "Rurouni Kenshin" by Nobuhiro Watsuki. Please don't sue me. I receive no money from this fanwork, only a writer's creative satisfaction. Also, reviews are always welcomed, read and cherished, but never necessary.

Title: Kaerigake, On the Way Home

Chapter 7: …and you will find yourself lost in the past…

Word Count: 2,203

[Total Word Count: 16,999]

Fandom: Rurouni Kenshin

Character(s): Himura Kenshin, Kamiya Kaoru, Saitou Hajime, others mentioned.

Warning(s): Bloody memories, melancholy, violence, mention of same-sex relations, slight canon-storyline AU

Author: Kita Kitsune (Call me Fox!)

Post date: Saturday, October 4, 2014・平成二十六年九月四日・土曜日

: : : : : : :

It was midday by the time Kenshin strode out of Tokyo, hands folded in the front of his gi as he walked, when he came upon a scuffle on the side of the road. There was a woman, dressed quite masculine in a white gi and navy hakama, her hair up in a long, dark ponytail, bandages around her chest. She had what looked to be a bokken propped over her shoulder in its narrow bag, giving for all the world the impression of a kendo instructor. Kenshin blinked as she let her drawstring bag fall to the ground behind her, pulling her bokken out and facing off against the bandits surrounding her. She seemed to know how to fight, and – not certain if he would be needed or not – Kenshin opted to duck behind a tree and watch the fight. If he had to intervene, better he have the element of surprise. The road was oddly deserted for this time of day, and he wondered grimly if that had been these bandits' doing.

The loud thuds of a bokken connecting to a body drew his attention from his thoughts, and Kenshin blinked as he saw the bandits laid out on the ground, the woman posed in a final stance, breathing out slowly before straightening.

"Guys like you should know better than to mess with me! You can't defeat the Assistant Master of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu that easily!" She scoffed at them, and went to gather her things. Kenshin hid a smile as he ducked out from behind his tree, walking towards her – which was the direction in which he had initially been traveling. He'd never heard of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu, but it must serve her well. She heard the scuff of his sandals on the path, and sprang back, holding up her bokken defensively. Kenshin smiled disarmingly at her.

"That was quite a battle. You are very good at swordsmanship." The suspicious look in her eyes wavered, until she caught sight of his sword. Then she straightened, outright frowning at him.

"And who are you? Carrying a sword in this day and age is illegal." Kenshin upped the harmlessness of his smile, another notch.

"This one is only a rurouni. I have no intention of fighting you, Miss." She scoffed at him, still keeping a wary eye out even as she lowered her bokken from an attack stance.

"If you don't want to fight, why carry a sword? Thugs like these – " She kicked at one of the men she had beaten, to indicate him, before looking back up at Kenshin. " – don't care if you're armed or unarmed, but there are some men out there who'll fight just for the sake of it." Kenshin blinked at her.

"Are you thinking of someone in particular, Miss?" She flushed and yelled at him.

"N-N-No! Are you crazy? A guy like that is nothing but trouble!"

"Oro?" Kenshin hastily got out of her way as she stomped past him. He looked down at the bandits, for a moment, then smiled fondly after her retreating figure, down the road. No, the future of swordsmanship was in no trouble at all, with people like her around. What a courageous girl. Shaking his head, gently, Kenshin silently wished her the best before turning and continuing to make his way out of the city, alone.

: : :

Unfortunately, hours later, he had only just veered off the wider path for one snaking through the trees, when Kenshin heard a carriage behind him. He turned, squinting into the gloom of the twilight, and watched as it approached. He was already well off the road, dewy grass soaking the bottoms of his hakama. The carriage slowed as it neared him, however, pulling up to a stop and Kenshin blinked up at it as the window opened. A harried-looking man peered out at him.

"Sir! Have you seen someone passing along, carrying a sword? He's escaped from Tokyo's jail and is rumored to be the legendary Battousai – he's extremely dangerous!"

Glad for the darkness, which obscured the sword at his hip against the backdrop of the forest, Kenshin silently thanked himself for keeping his left side facing the trees as he watched the carriage approach. He smiled up at the haggard man, all unguarded innocence.

"This one is sad to report no, sir." Certainly, Kenshin hadn't seen anyone else passing along with a sword, now had he? He bowed his head and turned to leave (still hiding his sword against the shadows), but a smug voice rang out from the carriage behind him.

"So the rumors are true." Kenshin paused, glancing over his shoulder, eyes narrowing as Hajime Saitou's smirking face appeared from behind the curtain on the other window of the carriage. "You are here. Or, rather, were. And we nearly lost you." He tutted, dismissively requesting for the man in the other window to open the door. "Won't you join us, Battousai? There is much to discuss."

The carriage door opened, but Kenshin didn't move. His eyes were still narrowed on Saitou to show he was serious, even if his firm tone didn't already give it away.

"This one has no intention of joining anyone's side. This is an age of peace." He stated calmly enough, even if his manslayer-self was slightly annoyed at Saitou's arrogance. "This one is but a rurouni, now." Saitou's smirk widened.

"Yes, I can see that, and will address that ridiculousness at a later time. But you have no interest in 'keeping the peace', Battousai?" Saitou was taunting him. Of course he – "There is a man running around claiming to be you." Was there? Well, that rankled, but if he was doing no harm… "He's killed twenty of my men in three days, and my sources say he's aiming to illegally take over a struggling dojo in town." Kenshin frowned up at him.

"What dojo?" Saitou watched him like his next words would seal his compliance, still smug.

"Kamiya Kasshin; the sword that protects life. The Master passed away in the Boshin War, and his child runs the dojo as Assistant Master." The name was vaguely familiar from somewhere, but Kenshin didn't recognize it. Perhaps seeing Kenshin about to protest that it really was a case more for the police than a vigilante such as himself, Saitou pressed on. "His female child. Seventeen, and with only three students against the fake Battousai's swarm of men."

Kenshin froze. Surely – surely it couldn't be the same girl he'd run into earlier, on the road? She was strong, but if numbers overwhelmed her…

"I wouldn't be surprised if those three students have quit, now, due to pressure from their parents." Saitou intoned this lowly and Kenshin glared up at him for the manipulation.

"Why would they?" Saitou grinned ferally down at him.

"The fake's been professing he's of the Kamiya Kasshin school. You and I both know that's a lie, but the parents of that school's students don't. I wouldn't expect them to want their children learning the style of a murderer. It's only a matter of time before they're pressured into quitting, and then the little girl will be all alone against a mob of usurpers who want her dojo only for the value of the land."

Kenshin turned back towards Tokyo, ready to run, but Saitou stopped him short.

"We'll travel faster by carriage, idiot. Besides, you don't know where the school is. Get in."

: : :

And so, Kenshin saved Kamiya Kaoru and her dojo. She invited him to stay, saying she didn't care about his past. In short order, Myoujin Yahiko, Sagara Sanosuke and Takani Megumi gathered around them. Saitou kept in contact, having been recently stationed in Tokyo – Kenshin knew it was to keep an eye on him, however. For all their history as rivals, they didn't hate one another. Quite the contrary, if Saitou's attempts to draw him in meant anything. And Kenshin indulged him, now and then. But then there was the day where Saitou made himself publically known to Kenshin, threatening his new gaggle of admirers and seriously injuring Sano in the process. Kenshin tried to figure out why, but in the end could only wait for Saitou to reappear. Kenshin didn't want a deathmatch, but he wasn't sure he could beat Saitou without having the intent to kill.

Their battle in the Kamiya dojo proved this. Kenshin reverted to his manslayer-self, and not even Kaoru-dono's voice could bring him back. After speaking with Okubou, Kenshin thought over his answer for a week. He ignored any attempts by Saitou to approach him.

On May 14, 1868, he left Tokyo. Kaoru was sobbing his name behind him as he left, but Kenshin's steps didn't falter. At least, this time, the woman he loved was not dead as he left her behind. Kaoru was strong, she had Yahiko and the others, she would bounce back. Kenshin didn't know what he would do when he met Shishio Makoto, but he would never return to Tokyo again. If he should revert to Battousai, again, and lose himself in the midst of the duel, he could never bring himself to face the people who had put so much faith in his oath to never kill again. Kenshin wasn't sure that he would be able to keep mind of himself while in the midst of battle – Saitou's fight with him had shown him that. He wouldn't subject his friends to seeing him like that, again. Kenshin knew it had scared them.

Oddly, Saitou showed up at Senkaku's village. Kenshin hadn't spoken to him since Tokyo, when Saitou had both offered him a free trip to Kyoto and tried to bait him into drawing his sword, again. With Misao and Eiji in the midst of it all, there wasn't much room for real conversation. Still, Kenshin didn't doubt Saitou was watching him for an opportunity – not that there ever was one. Misao stuck to him and Kenshin was relieved that her presence seemed to entice Saitou to keep his distance.

Kenshin had given up Kaoru; he knew he would never see her, again. His heart ached for the pain he would cause her, but he knew it to be for the best. Saitou was not someone Kenshin had to protect; the overtones of their contact in Tokyo before the dojo fight also made Saitou's intentions absolutely clear. But then, there was also the factor of Saitou's wife, Tokio. Kenshin had not known of her role, in all this, and could not help but bitterly resign himself to never indulging in Saitou's advances, again. How like Saitou, to not tell him everything. How unlike Saitou, however, to be unfaithful to his own wife. But then, perhaps she knew? Perhaps she had even given permission for such dalliances?

Kenshin shook his head at his own thoughts. Even knowing he could never be any good to anyone unless he was completely alone – even knowing that, he still tried to reach out for companionship. Saitou wanted a good deal more than that, yes, but it wasn't as though Kenshin really minded… If he had, their relationship would have never become what it had been, to start with. Not that it was much more than sex, of course. Kenshin held no romantic delusions about Saitou's feelings towards him; lust, a good lay, a better rival, a man who shared their history of bloodshed. They understood one another in unspoken ways, due to these things. And then, there were things Saitou would never understand; Kenshin's oath not to kill, his insistence on protecting without taking life, his cheerful rurouni mask to hide the killer lurking just a breath away from the edge of the sakabatou. Saitou wore his true face at all times; at least, every time Kenshin had seen him. Saitou's was a blazing sword of absolute truth; unflinching, uncompromising, overwhelming, merciless and efficient. Kenshin's sword was soft, tempered as to not cause more harm than necessary, only hard enough when the situation called for it. His hitokiri sword had been sharpened with Tenchuu; measured force, instant death, and passive neutrality over the lives it took – just like Heaven's Judgment was meant to be.

But what good did these musings do him? The battle with Shishio might very well end in Kenshin's death. He couldn't die without stopping Shishio, though. Even if it cost Kenshin his life, he would stop Shishio. Maybe, if he found Hiko once he returned to Kyoto, Kenshin could go to him and beg to be taught the ougi of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style. He had never completed his training, all those years ago. It had occurred to him, now and then, but his opponents over the past fifteen years had never been strong enough to require anything beyond his usual techniques. To beat Shishio Makoto, Battousai's successor, however… And with Kenshin's oath not to kill, he would need more power. Hiko could give him that power, he was sure of it, could give him something more that would spell Shishio's certain defeat.

But whether his Master would do so or not, remained to be seen.