A Twist In Fate Chapter 1: Lost In Thought, a rurouni kenshin fanfic

Hitoezakura - I guess there's no use in hiding the truth from all of you. Yes, it is true - I am the true owner of Rurouni Kenshin!
Crickets chirp in the silence
Aoshi - Where are my kodachi?
Hitoezakura - Alright, so I don't own the series. It belongs to Nohiburo Watsuki...happy Aoshi?
Aoshi - Immensely

Anyways, how long has it been since I've updated? Let's not go there...

So Kaoru and Aoshi met (once), and now, let's see what happened afterwards, when Kenshin told Kaoru the story of the battle, and when Aoshi disappeared into the forest...

Happy reading!

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A TWIST IN FATE

Chapter One - Lost In Thought

Kaoru carefully placed her wooden sword back onto its holding rack and patted her forehead with her small hand towel, wiping away the sweat that had accumulated from her practice. She gathered her yukata and a few fresh towels before making her way to the bath, ready to soak in the hot water and find some time to think about the situation in peace and quiet.

Wafts of steam rose from the surface into the air as Kaoru stepped into the hot bath, sighing as the water washed over her body, alleviating her tension and stress slightly. She sank into the bath, allowing the water to envelope her entire body, and sat there for a moment before her thoughts ran rampant through her head.

She was slightly worried and concerned about Kenshin.

Well, truth be told, that was an understatement. More like she was extremely worried and concerned about the smiling rurouni, but she carefully hid her feelings behind the mask of a smile. Of course, she did show her concern and worry despite the mask, but not the full extent of her emotions. Most of her emotions were locked deeply within her heart, while only an eighth of them showed. The only emotion she left unguarded was happiness, the smile that she wore so as to reassure Kenshin that she wasn't too distressed, too tense.

She carefully began to spread the lather across her body and into her hair, causing the whole bath house to smell of a sweet jasmine scent. However, as she ran her fingers through her hair, she delved into her thoughts yet again.

So much had happened since Kenshin had arrived in her life, so many events had occurred, so many nights Kaoru had spent awake, wondering if tomorrow would be the day Kenshin would face harm yet again. After both the Hiruma brother incidents, she knew that no matter how hard she wished, Kenshin would continue to counter enemies he didn't wish to fight. There was Jineh, who had frightened her deeply, not because of his deadly attack, but because he had come so close to reverting Kenshin back to Battousai, something that deeply shook Kaoru. And after Jineh, there was Kanryuu…

And the Oniwabanshuu and their Okashira, Shinomori Aoshi.

Kaoru abruptly stopped moving, as she always did when her thoughts drifted to those men. She had not witnessed the final battles like Kenshin, Yahiko, and Sanosuke had, but all three of them had provided her with a detailed account of what had happened, with Megumi chipping in once in a while, during the two days Megumi had stayed at the dojo before leaving with Dr. Gensai. While Kaoru wasn't entirely happy with Megumi constantly flirting with Kenshin, she was thankful that the experienced doctor had tended to their wounds.

And for some reason, truth be told, although Megumi had been flirting constantly, and although it would have been completely natural for Kaoru to lose her temper all the time, she had remained rather calm during Megumi's two-day stay. Perhaps because her mind was too occupied with other thoughts, thoughts about the Oniwabanshuu and their leader.

Kaoru had not been there. She had not seen the violent deaths. She had not seen the leader's anguish. She had not smelled and tasted the blood that hung in the air, spread across the wooden floors, and clung to the walls. However, that morning, after Kenshin and Megumi had both eaten and had then joined Sanosuke and Yahiko in slumber, Kaoru found herself deep in thought about the whole incident.

They had failed in defeating Kenshin, they had failed to survive against the Gatling gun that Kanryuu had unleashed against them, but they protected their leader…

And their leader…he had never abandoned his men, had entered such a dirty task simply to ensure that his men were employed rather than discarded like useless tools…how had he felt, standing there, staring at the corpses of his men…

Yahiko and Sanosuke said they were enemies, Megumi said they were her captors, and Kenshin fought them, but the truth is…

They are admirable men…

Kaoru found herself rushing through the bath suddenly, and hurriedly patted herself dry before blindly throwing on the first kimono she could get her hands on. She grabbed a matching ribbon and tied her hair up in her typical high ponytail, and then quickly surveyed the dojo.

I sent Kenshin for tofu, Yahiko's at the Akabeko, working, Megumi's busy with her patients at the clinic, and that mooching rooster isn't here, so no one will miss me if I leave for a few minutes!

Kaoru carefully removed a small bundle from underneath her futon and lifted a small bucket of fresh flowers before shutting the shoji door to her room and slipping out of the dojo, desperately hoping that Kenshin, Yahiko, and Sanosuke wouldn't return before she did. She purposefully walked towards the small lake shrouded by trees, a romantic spot that she was one day hoping to steer Kenshin towards. She had actually spent her childhood days at the lake, patiently waiting for fireflies to arrive at night so that she could chase the brightly lit insects around the lake. Now a days, she used her childhood abode as a place to sort through her thoughts, but she had never really brought her friends here.

Kaoru carefully kneeled in front of one of the trees that towered over the lake and opened the small bundle. In it lay a rather unusual array of objects that she set aside for the time being. She busied herself in digging four small holes with her bare hands. Once she had finished her small task, she turned once again to the small bundle she had unwrapped. On that piece of cloth lay Beshimi's poison dart, which Kaoru carefully handled, not wanting to explain to Megumi why she was keeping the dart if she was accidentally poisoned. There was also a small piece of charred wood that Kaoru had saved from when Hyottoko had barged into the dojo and had proceeded to burn everything with his fire.

Perhaps he should be slightly thankful about his death…had he been alive, I would have tracked him down and forced him to pay to repair the dojo!

The other two items that sat on the piece of cloth had been harder to salvage. Kaoru had had to leave the dojo and sneak into Kanryuu's mansion to retrieve the other two items. There was a piece of a shattered metal ball, which she assumed was the one Sanosuke had shattered when he was fighting Shikijou. There was also a small piece of a chalk-white mask, and she had made another assumption that the piece belonged to Hanya's mask. She had never told Kenshin about these tiny items she had retrieved; she didn't need him worrying about her anymore then he already did.

She dropped one object into each of the holes and then covered all four holes with the dirt she had scraped out. She carefully laid a flower on each tiny mound and then stood up, brushing the dirt off her kimono as she examined her work with satisfaction.

Small funeral mounds...at least I can pay my respects to these men…

After all, while they were protecting their leader, they also protected Kenshin, Yahiko, and Sanosuke. And their leader, Shinomori Aoshi – even though he tried to kill Kenshin, he still offered Megumi-san a way to escape her terrible fate…and for that, I am in their debt.

They were admirable men…they deserved more…My small respects are not enough, but that is all I can do for them…they deserve much more…

Kaoru glanced up at the sky and noted that the sun was beginning to set, and realized with a start that Kenshin and Yahiko would be returning to the dojo quite soon.

It's becoming dark…I should head to the dojo…

Kaoru tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears and suddenly gasped. On her pinky finger sat a tiny firefly, glowing in the shade of the tree. As she stared at the bright insect, she suddenly remembered a little story her mother told her a year before she died, when Kaoru was only five.

"Kaoru-chan, you see this firefly? Once upon a time, a little girl managed to catch a firefly. As she cupped it gently in her hands, she made a wish – she wished for someone to love her – and then she released the insect. She was a homeless girl, with no family, and no relatives, so she desperately hoped that her wish would come true.

Many years later, a man arrived at the home she was working in. She was carefully cleaning the home, since she was now a maid, but the man took one look at her, and fell deeply in love with the girl. He asked for her hand in marriage, and she gladly accepted, thrilled that her wish came true.

Kaoru-chan, why don't you make a wish on a firefly? I'm sure it will come true!"

Kaoru smiled sadly at the fond memory and carefully turned her hand so that the firefly could crawl into her palm. As soon as it had settled there, she cupped it with both of her hand hands and kneeled in front of the four tiny mounds again.

If this myth or story is true, then please, grant me this wish…

I wish for the Oniwabanshuu to find peace in death…and I wish that their leader could find peace as well, because a man who is that loyal towards his followers, a man who has suffered so much…he deserves peace and happiness as well

She released the firefly, and it lazily flew around the four tiny mounds before floating away with the wind. She smiled for a moment, and then immediately ran towards the dojo, anxiously hoping that Kenshin and Yahiko had not arrived yet.

Kaoru had not been the only person standing in front of funeral mounds that day.

Deep within the forests, where no one dared to venture alone, there were four other funeral mounds. They were marked by four upright stones entrenched into the fresh soil. Unlike Kaoru's simple funeral mounds, there were not mere objects, but actual flesh underneath the freshly dug earth.

However, there were no bodies in those graves. There were only heads.

After all, that was all that Shinomori Aoshi could salvage before his escape from Kanryuu's mansion. The heads of his men were all he could carry in his bare hands. Thanks to his wounds, the extra weight had been rather unbearable to carry.

Or maybe the load had been unbearable because of the weight of his faithful men's souls in his heart.

Aoshi kneeled in front of the four graves, his heart heavy with regret, but his eyes were pure ice. The death of his men had melted the ice as rage had burned throughout his entire being. The ice had leaked from his eyes as one by one, his men had fallen to the floor, dying with smiles on their faces as they protected him, using their own lives as shields.

"Whoa, hey, don't you start squirting now. I got no complaints. Look at these muscles…what else could I want? Not even bullets can…get through to…showed him…"

Shikijou…

"Better not shoot…not unless you want this oil bag to go up in a fireball!"

"Heh, heh. You fell for it."

Hyottoko…

"Aoshi found this wolf – and rescued him! He trained me into a first-class onmitsu! He gave me the Edo Castle Oniwabanshuu – my comrades – and me a reason to live!"

Hanya…

"O-Okashira. We…we couldn't do it…They called us useless, said we had but one trick…but you kept us in the Oniwabanshuu, and so to you…to the Okashira…we give our lives…I'm sorry…for being…in the end…so use…less…"

NO!

Aoshi let out a strangled cry and covered his ears with his hands, desperately trying to block out Beshimi's last words, trying to block out the sounds of his men's blood splattering on the floor, their dead bodies slumping towards the ground, their last breaths.

No, no, no! You were not useless! Don't you dare say you men were useless!

You showed me your loyalty, studied under my command, accompanied me to Kanryuu's mansion, sacrificed your lives to save me…

And I could not even bring the title of 'strongest' to your graves…I could not even offer you a parting gift…

All of your life, you have faced disappointment by following your leader. We lost our chance to display our skills at Edo Castle, I couldn't find you employment anywhere else, I led you to this dead-end job that Kanryuu offered…

I made you face the Gatling gun…

And still, still, you men received no glory!

You were not useless! I will prove to this world that you were not useless!

I will decorate your graves, not with flowers, but with the title of 'strongest'!

Aoshi pulled himself to his feet, his wounds aching as he stood in front of the four graves, his trench coat dirty, torn, and tattered, his face and clothes smudged with blood and dirt.

But he was not tired. He was not weary. He stood strong in front of the graves, ignoring the jolts of pain that ran up his legs. The ice that had melted as he watched his men hit the floor one by one had remained continued to leak from his eyes as rage consumed his entire being, but now, once again, his eyes had hardened into ice.

Because now he had a purpose.

Now he had a reason to live, and he was determined to accomplish the task that lay ahead of him.

Beams of sunlight cut through the dense thicket and shone upon the four graves, illuminating the stones with a bright light. Aoshi stared at the graves that held the heads of his men, his faithful followers, and made his vow.

"For now…I can offer you no glory. But one day…I will."

He heard the sudden crack of twigs being crushed underneath feet. However, he sensed no reason to turn around. The person behind him had a harmless aura, although his interruption of Aoshi's thoughts was rather annoying.

"Hey, what are you doing…alone deep in the mountains?"

The traveler's question rang out through the silence, but Aoshi did not bother to responds to the concerned traveler. He didn't even turn to meet the traveler's eyes. Instead, he let his feet lead him deeper into the forest, deeper into the mountains…

After all, he needed a secluded area to train in. He couldn't allow any interruptions anymore.

I'm powerful now…but Battousai beat me. I need more strength, more power, more training…

"Hey, don't go that way! Even the locals don't go there, not even swordsmen or martial artists in training do that!" cried out the traveler in shock, desperately trying to warn Aoshi of the danger he was stepping into.

I shall defeat the Battousai…

"Hey, do you hear me?"

I shall lay the title of the strongest on your graves…

"Hey!"

You shall not bathe in the beams of sunlight, but in glory…

That is my vow to you, my faithful men…Beshimi…Hyottoko…Shikijou…Hanya…

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