Rurouni Kenshin Fanfic
Rurouni Kenshin & Samurai X Original Japanese Version ©N.
Watsuki/Shueisha * Fuji-TV * SME Visual Works Inc. * Sony Pictures
Entertainment
All Fanfics created by Chiruken (me) were written for the
sole purpose of shared entertainment and not intended for publication or sale.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kaoru looked up, eyes wide with
shock, and turned to her companion.
“Aoshi…Where’s the spinning top?”
He handed it to her wordlessly.
“Could it be?” She whispered
softly as she stared at the small wooden toy.
“It appears as if this may indeed be
the top this woman mentioned. However,
what of the inscribed name?” There was
no way the name Kenshin could be mistaken for Shinta. But still…How old had the Battousai been when he’d fought in the
revolution? If these words could be
trusted…he’d been little more than a child.
That couldn’t be right. The
hitokiri feared by all hadn’t been a child…had he? Aoshi did some quick calculations. No. Fifteen years ago the
Battousai had not been a child, not by any stretch of the
imagination. However, this woman
described him as such. Why?
Kaoru returned her gaze to the
journal and continued reading. The
woman’s hate was slowly fading, being replaced by…well, if not exactly love,
something very close to it. It was
clear that she hadn’t been in her right mind.
She wished him dead, yet she wanted to protect him. She wanted revenge, yet she desired to save
him. The woman was obviously insane.
Aoshi shook his head slowly. He almost pitied the unknown woman. But even more so, he found himself
sympathizing with the Battousai. The
woman had succeeded in part of her plan…if her journal didn’t misrepresent the
situation. It was wrong of her to have
used love as a weapon. He frowned
thoughtfully. This explained much. The
man he now knew still carried the scars inflicted by this disturbed woman.
“Poor Kenshin…“ Kaoru murmured under her breath.
Aoshi nodded slowly in
agreement. No man should have to endure
such blatant betrayal. It was
understandable now why Himura Kenshin was so reluctant to allow himself to love
Kamiya Kaoru.
Kaoru continued reading then stopped
with a startled cry. “M-married?!”
“The Battousai…was married?!” The villagers had mentioned a wife, but
Aoshi had assumed it was a case of false assumptions on their part. This was almost too shocking for his mind to
grasp. He did some more quick
calculations based on the date displayed at the top of the page. “But…he was only…“
“Fifteen! That’s too young to be married…isn’t it?” She turned an almost pleading gaze on
Aoshi. “There must be some mistake…right?”
It couldn’t be true! Kenshin…her
Kenshin…couldn’t be married! He would
have told her…right?
Aoshi shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t know how to deal with emotionally
distraught females. He cleared his
throat and awkwardly patted her shoulder.
“I’m certain there’s a perfectly logical explanation for this. Perhaps the answers lie in this woman’s
words.” She nodded with a sniff and he
breathed a silent sight of relief. The
Battousai was better suited to comforting distressed women than he’d ever be.
Kaoru focused on the journal again
with a sinking heart. It sounded as if
Kenshin had been thoroughly devoted to this woman. Why else would he marry a woman who so obviously despised
him? When she turned the page she found
her answer. “Oh.” She breathed the word softly.
“I see. A marriage of convenience.
A ruse, to be exact.” In order
to hide his true identity, the Battousai had left Kyoto after the Ikedaya
incident and assumed the role of humble apothecary. The woman accompanied him as his wife. Aoshi wasn’t certain if this was the only reason for the marriage,
but he kept his thoughts to himself.
The woman alternated between hating the Battousai and admiring him. The one constant was her desire to destroy
the man who’d torn her fiancé from her and crushed her hopes for the
future. However, she also wished to
protect him. Kami-sama but she was warped. It appeared as if she viewed the Battousai
as two separate individuals. The
hitokiri, a cold and calculating killer…the Battousai, as she referred to him…and
Kenshin, a kind and gentle boy being used and manipulated. Did she not realize they were one and the
same? Her logic was twisted and flawed
by grief and hatred.
“This woman…“ Kaoru began in a horrified whisper. “Was sick.”
She finished after a moment’s hesitation. “’He can be so noble when he isn’t killing people.’” She quoted softly. “What kind of woman was she?
She wants him dead, but she wants to protect him. She wants him to suffer, but she wants him
to be happy. She makes no sense,
Aoshi.”
“If you remember that she suffered a
devastating tragedy, it does make sense.
She was torn between living in the past and moving forward to live for
the future. She was not strong enough
to give up the past entirely.”
“Maybe, but still…didn’t she ever
stop to think what she was doing to Kenshin?”
She scowled at the faded writing.
“He didn’t deserve to be tricked like this, no matter how guilty he was
of killing her fiancé. It was a
revolution. If Kenshin hadn’t killed
him, someone else would have. He had no
control over it and neither did she.
Yes, it was sad…tragic even…but that’s no excuse. If she wanted to blame someone, why not
blame the man who gave Kenshin his orders?
Or maybe blame the shôgun who sent her fiancé to Kyoto in the first place. To lay all the blame on Kenshin was wrong
and grossly unfair.”
“Perhaps from your point of
view. Tell me, Kaoru, if I had
succeeded in ending the Battousai’s life, would you have been as logical? Grief can alter one’s judgment and replace
logic with irrationality.” Aoshi knew
this from bitter experience.
Her eyes narrowed and she turned to
him with an air of cold dignity.
“Aoshi, this is neither the time nor the place to remind me of your
transgressions. If Kenshin could forgive
you for nearly killing him, then I have to do the same. You may be forgiven, but I assure you, the
incident has not been forgotten.” She
sighed softly. “To answer your
question, Kenshin doesn’t hold grudges so neither should I.”
Aoshi almost smiled. She said many things that made perfect sense…from
her perspective at least…and left his actual question unanswered. Kamiya Kaoru was a worthy match for the Battousai. Both spoke with a passion for living and
neither was willing to budge an inch from their ideals.
“I wonder what happened to this woman. Obviously she didn’t succeed in her plan.”
“I’m not as certain about
that.” She gave him a puzzled look and
Aoshi shrugged. “Check the date of this
last entry. If you want to be
technical, this is a rather auspicious date, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I don’t understand. What is the significance, Aoshi?”
Belatedly, Aoshi realized that Kaoru
wouldn’t have had access to the information that he was referring to. “It could be said that Hitokiri Battousai
did indeed meet his end around this time.”
He explained.
Kaoru scowled irritably. “What are you talking about? Kenshin is alive and well, thank you very
much.”
He closed the book and set it
aside. “Himura Kenshin, Kaoru, is alive
and well. Hitokiri Battousai, on the
other hand, died on this day and faded from the shadows. The Battousai, in other words, ended his
life as an assassin and became a guard for the Ishinshishi.”
**To Be Continued…**
***
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Author’s Notes:
1.Oooo…I’m so terrible! I
made Tomoe-san into the ultimate twisted villain-ess of all times (kinda like
that Cruella woman from the Dalmatian show).
Sorry all you Tomoe fans…like I said before…I really don’t hate Tomoe; I
just need a bad guy for the story.
2.Very short…like all the other
chapters. >>sigh<< Maybe I should try making longer chapters in
my next effort…well, we’ll see.
3.Hehehe…I got my ice cream!
Yay! Now I can write all
night! Sugar Rush! (‘K, maybe not. It IS getting late and morning does come early…I guess this’ll be
the last thing I write tonight after all.)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Definitions:
kami-sama:
God