Revised June 29 2004

Summary:  Women are dieing, being slashed by a blade that is all too familiar. Can the crimes be solved before it's too late? And why do all the victims resemble one particular woman from the past? A/U: Reincarnation Fic.

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.

The Hitokiri Returns

By:  Chiruken

Prologue

1880

Saito scowled through the driving rain at the smaller man kneeling in the churned mixture of blood and mud, glaring at his trembling form, the short and somewhat shaggy red strands plastered to his bowed head and the once pristine uniform now stained soaked in blood and rain, mud caked into the material. "What's done is done. I sympathize, but nothing can make the dead live again." When there was no response he tossed his soggy cigarette aside. "Get up, Battousai, and be a man. Groveling in the mud will not bring the jou-chan back to life."

"Shut up." Saito's eyebrows rose to meet his hairline at the growled answer. Himura Kenshin was never rude or abrupt to anyone...not even his former enemy from the Bakumatsu, Saito Hajime. The Assistant Inspector in the Keishichou was ridiculously polite at all times, much to Saito's disgruntlement. "Don't you think I know she won't come back?" He winced at the pain filled whisper barely audible over the sound of the falling rain and blowing wind. "I know what death is, Saito." The voice was a little louder, the tone stronger…deeper? The Inspector scowled suspiciously and waited. He didn't have long to wait. Slowly, Himura Kenshin lifted his head to meet Saito's gaze directly. "After all, I was the Bringer of Death."

Saito took an involuntary step back when he saw the ruthless amber gaze of the hitokiri he'd once known replace the gentle violet gaze of the man he now knew and worked with closely in the Keishichou. Eyes narrowed to golden slits and lips pressed firmly together in a tight line of disapproval, he rested his hand on the familiar worn hilt of his katana. "Battousai…what is this?" He demanded roughly, not entirely certain he truly wished an answer to his question yet unable to stop himself from asking all the same.

"I can't bring Kaoru back." He spoke coldly, his low voice devoid of emotion or inflection.  The grief Saito knew he felt was currently hidden, locked away deep within his shattered heart. "Death is permanent." The younger man glared up at Saito with his burning amber stare glittering in the cold, rain-drenched night. "But I can avenge her brutal murder." He stood slowly, mud clinging to his blood-soaked uniform, rain dripping from his hair, streaming down his youthful face, mixing with the tears Saito knew he shed for the young woman laying in the mud, her once vibrant blue eyes now dull and glazed with death, her smooth, porcelain white skin splattered with her own blood which continued to seep from the gaping wounds, staining her once yellow kimono. "Don't get in my way, Saito. I don't want to have to kill you."

Saito shook his head, expression carefully blank, not allowing his true feelings to show through the tight control he now held over himself. "I can't let you do this, Battousai." He had no particular fondness for the younger man, at least none that he was willing to admit to, yet he couldn't allow him to throw his life away foolishly.  His honor wouldn't permit him to stand aside and allow the other man to follow through with the new path he was now setting himself on.

"I will kill the butchers who did this to Kaoru." The former captain of the third squad of the Shinsengumi remembered seeing the same insane glitter in the smaller man's eyes during the revolution on the occasions that they'd crossed blades in the streets of Kyoto. He meant what he said, Saito knew. Hitokiri Battousai never bluffed…and neither did his gentler rurouni self, Himura Kenshin. He would kill the men responsible for the death of Kamiya Kaoru and nothing and no one could deter him from this path.

With an inward sigh the Inspector knew that he had to try to stop the other man from hunting down the killers of the woman he'd loved, but never told.  He knew that if he were in the smaller man's position he'd feel the same rage and desperate need for vengeance, yet despite this he couldn't just walk away without trying to dissuade him from his course of action.  "I don't care one way or the other if those murdering bastards die by your hand or mine, but think of what Kaoru-chan would want. Would she truly wish for you to revoke your vow and stain your sakabatou with blood?"  He felt that perhaps reminding the younger man of the young woman's views towards bloodshed might help to calm the fury roiling though him demanding that he spill the blood of her murderers.

"Does it even matter?" Himura Kenshin tilted his face up to the sky, letting the rain wash away his tears. He was silent for a moment, his chest rising and falling rapidly with his harsh intakes of breath.  His hands clenched into fists at his sides as his shoulders shook from the violence of the intense emotions rushing through him, tearing him apart inside from the soul out, the older man deduced.  "I am nothing without Kaoru!" Saito winced at the anguished cry. The amber gaze moved back to him. "Step aside, Saito. I don't want to kill you."

"If you do this I will have no choice but to bring you to justice, Himura Kenshin."  He didn't have much hope of dissuading the smaller man from his set course, yet Saito felt honor-bound to at least try.

There was a moment of silence while the two men stared at each other through the driving rain. For a moment, Saito dared to hope he'd finally gotten through to the grief stricken man when he lowered his head to stare at the ground. An instant later, Saito's hopes were dashed. "Who is Himura Kenshin?" Saito shook his head slowly at the harsh tone, part in denial and part in understanding. The smaller man turned and strode away. "I am Hitokiri Battousai."

Saito Hajime, former squad leader of the Shinsengumi of Kyoto, now an Inspector in the Keishichou and going by the alias of Fujita Goro, skidded to a halt and stared in carefully concealed horror at the scene before him before shaking his head sharply. He was too late. He failed in his task to stop Himura Kenshin from the grievous error he'd chosen to commit himself to and in effect failed to protect Kamiya Kaoru's ideals and belief in the man she'd chosen to give her heart and love to.  Despite their differences, Saito had come to view Himura Kenshin as something akin to a friend, the common thread being their survival of the chaos of the Bakumatsu and mutual respect in each other's abilities as a warrior.  He had even admired the former hitokiri's stubborn adherence to his vow to never kill again and now that he had, he found himself wondering where the younger man would go from here.  His duty as an officer of the law dictated that he bring the rurouni turned hitokiri to justice, but his own personal feelings were interfering in his ability to carry out his duty.  With an inner sigh he squashed his own sorrow at what must be done and steeled his resolve.  "Inspector…" He ignored the other officer's coming up quickly behind him.

He stepped forward slowly, paying no attention to the mutilated corpses of the suspects in the murder of Kamiya Kaoru strewn haphazardly along the narrow lane between buildings, choosing instead to focus on the small garden just ahead of him and the two figures standing there. There was one thug left living. "Stop." He commanded harshly, addressing the red-haired man with the bloodied katana. Not surprisingly, he was ignored. He strode forward, drawing his own weapon with practiced ease. "This cannot continue. Stand down…now."  He regretted that he'd been unable to stop the younger man from committing such a grievous error.  His soul and that of the woman he'd loved would never rest now that more blood had been shed with the once pristine blade of a katana designed to protect without killing.  The ideals of two people had been destroyed and Saito felt his sorrow grow at the thought of the torment Himura Kenshin's own heart must be experiencing.  He knew the rurouni was still within the man now standing before him, merely buried deeply within the psyche of the hitokiri he'd once been.

The smaller man pressed the blade of his katana against the suspect's exposed neck, then turned partway back to face Saito over his shoulder, amber eyes narrowed and glittering with the rage of the hitokiri. "Stay out of this." The once gentle and mild voice was now a low, harsh growl, no evidence of the rurouni remained in the hardened features of the man glaring across the short distance.

"I will not allow you to continue on this path, Himura." Saito approached the younger man cautiously, fully aware that if it came down to a true duel that he would be at a severe disadvantage. Himura Kenshin was just too fast to face in a fair fight.

"Himura?" The other man laughed harshly. "I don't know anyone by that name." He leaned closer to his prisoner. "Do you know anyone by that name?"

Saito suppressed a shudder. The man he'd once respected no longer existed. He'd been replaced by a monster. "You're insane."

"No, I'm proving a point. Himura Kenshin died with Kamiya Kaoru. He no longer exists."

"Fine. Have it your way, Battousai. But remember this…Kaoru-chan would not thank you for this. That poor girl's spirit must be weeping at what you've allowed yourself to become."

"What would you know?" The Battousai turned abruptly back to the captive and drew his katana across his exposed throat, killing him instantly. He spun to face Saito again seemingly oblivious to the blood dripping down his face and off his chin. "He deserved to die slowly for what he did to Kaoru, but you didn't give me enough time." If there had been a petulant note in his voice, Saito would have been relieved. If there had been a pout on his youthful face, Saito would not feel cold dread running up his spine. But there hadn't been either. The words had been spoken with absolutely no emotion or inflection, his expression remaining cold and blank.

"So what now?" He studied the smaller man's stance, seeing no immediate opening that would allow for a successful attack. "Are you going to kill me, too?" Why was he just standing there? Saito gritted his teeth, waiting for the attack that he knew was coming. "Is this just the beginning?" The former hitokiri's ki was a massive swirl of conflicting emotions, swelling and receding. So much so that Saito was unable to predict when or if he was going to attack. "Well?" Saito scowled and shifted his stance, preparing for his favorite technique. If Battousai wouldn't attack, then he would.  He had no choice but to stop the younger man from shedding more blood.  He almost desperately wanted to save him, but he also knew that the other man was far beyond redemption now.  To tell him the truth, to tell him the men he'd killed were not the true killers of Kamiya Kaoru, was not an option.  The truth would completely destroy the other man and possibly obliterate any remaining sanity he possessed.

"The Gatoutsu. Saito? How unimaginative. Save it. I'm finished now." Battousai lowered his katana and bowed his head. "They're dead now. I did what I said I'd do."  Slowly he shifted his grip on the hilt of his sakabatou, the movement not lost on Saito though he was as of yet uncertain what it could signify.

"And damned yourself at the same time. I can't let you go…not this time."

"I didn't ask you to." Saito stared in horror as the smaller man dropped to his knees, falling onto his own bloodstained blade.

"May you find forgiveness, Himura Kenshin…from Kaoru-chan…and yourself." He shook his head and walked away as he calmly lit a cigarette pretending to not notice that his hand shook as he held the match to the tip and inhaled deeply.