A/N: This story plot has been floating around my mind for quite few months already. I was reluctant to start on a new story but here I am again anyways xD

A lot more has been put into the planning of this story and I hope you'll enjoy this FF as well C':

Rated for slight violence and suggestive themes in future chapters.

Illusions of Dreaming proudly presents:

Glass Hearts

The Kingdom of the West was considered a relatively small kingdom when compared to the others. Though small, its rich lands provided many resources to keep the kingdom well maintained and happy. The Elorians were more than happy to share its kingdom's wealth with its neighbors and for years the Kingdom of the West traded with the East, keeping a peaceful treaty between the Elorians and Matrians.

Everything changed when Shishio Makoto took the throne. Shishio's hungry desire for power led the Kingdom of the East turning its fangs towards its neighbors, quickly consuming the northern and southern lands through brute force in a matter of few years. It wasn't long before his greed turned his attention towards the blessed lands of Eloria. The fragile truce shared between the West and the East was broken just like that, as the two Kingdoms clashed and war began.

The 'First War' was long and bloody as one kingdom fought to conquer and the other to protect. Though its lands were filled with rich resources, Eloria couldn't hope to compete with Matria whose lands had increased by several times its original size ever since it swallowed the northern and southern kingdoms. Eloria was slowly chipping away, Matria's size and army slowly overpowering the weaker Kingdom's forces. It was rumored then, in the midst of all the chaos and despair –when all hope was thought to be lost- that the Battousai appeared.

The birth of the Battousai could be considered as a miracle; for it was only because of him that the Elorians won the First War. It's a wonder how one man could possibly hold this much power to turn the tables around completely –and even now, the people found it hard to swallow the knowledge that such a man existed within Eloria's borders. But the Kingdom counted it's blessings and never questioned his existence, accepting the Battousai as what he was –a powerful being.

However, the Elorians soon found that the war with Matria was far from over. Though defeated once in battle and burned beyond recognition, Shishio never pulled his army out from Eloria. The Matrians continued to harass Eloria's borders and small towns with small assaults and guerrilla wars.

Elorians continued to die, their blood pooling and washing over Eloria's fresh soil and their cries echoed hauntingly across the dying Kingdom. The victory brought by the Battousai during the First War crumbled to nothing and was changed and documented as 'unnecessary bloodshed' in many records. His name was cursed and spat on as the people pushed all the blame onto the closest being, never once stopping to wonder or consider the burdens someone like the Battousai would carry.

As the Kingdom of the West shifted deeper into a time of terror, the knowledge of the hero in the beast slowly faded from people's memories until the Battousai… was only known as a monster.

The Kingdom continued to suffer.

This was the third year of the war.

Chapter 1: The Third Year

The tangy, salty, putrid scent of blood saturated the crimson soaked plains. Its presence a pressuring reminder, so strong and so thick that one could almost taste the foul substance from the air on their tongue. Torturous cries rose to the air as warriors laid half dead, strewn across the battlefield, weeping as life slowly leaked from their half opened bodies.

On a small hill a figure stood, covered and completely drenched in crimson liquid. His red hair flickered and lashed across his features in a punishing manner as the cold wind battered against his body. It had taken this one less than a few moments to cripple the small Matrian army to a bare minimum, their bodies scattered across the plains like thrown out dolls in an impressive show of his strength.

No one could hinder the Battousai, the differences in strength and speed being ludicrously apparent. His katana hung by his side, as a seemingly never ending rivulet of red ran down its cold blade and dripped on the ground, weeping for its impassive wielder.

Another soldier approached the small hill, his lumbering figure casting distorted shadows across the bloody plain as he hefted himself next to the silent male. Towering over his companion with a tired smile on his face, the Elorian soldier observed the scenery from the same raised perch, whistling in a low appreciative tune that sounded dull and weary.

"Bloody hell." Sanosuke murmured and his companion agreed silently.

The once beautiful plains were now sullied and nothing less than 'hell' could accurately describe this horrific massacre and destruction of nature. How long must they continue with these meaningless clashes? How many more times must they be forced to sully their homeland with blood?

With a quick flick of the wrist, scarlet pearls of liquid were dislodged from the katana and the redhead sheathed the weapon silently. Turning around abruptly and began his silent trek down the hill, his companion pausing to take one last look before following behind.

They continued walking silently for a few moments, each preoccupied with their inner demons and thoughts, barely registering the disfigured bodies they're stepping over. A few more joined their small group as they walked, the rest of the army drew together slowly, sluggishly as they picked their way over to follow their leader back to camp where brief respite awaits.

Not a word was muttered, not a cheer was heard and though victorious the Elorian soldiers shared neither delight nor pride in their triumph. Their faces tired, drawn together and wary, for what was there to be happy for? They might have won the battle but they didn't return unscathed, nor did this small victory result in any significant change in their current predicament.

It was ironically like trying to exterminate vermin. For two years, Elorian soldiers fought bravely to rid Eloria of Matrian pests, yet they could only defeat so many at a time, Matria's numbers were just too large.

Wary and tired of the heavy atmosphere the second in command scrabbled blindly through his mind's depths trying to find a topic for conversation that would hopefully drive away the depressing aura.

His mouth opened as he drew in a soft breath of air and drew a blank.

I don't feel like it. Sanosuke felt just as crappy as the rest of the army, his mind and body just as weary. But as second in command, it was part of his duty to raise the morale of their division –his eye turned warily towards the Battousai stalking silently ahead- especially when their leader was so inclined on ignoring the rest of the team.

"So…" he tried again, eyebrows pulled together as he searched for an appropriate topic and eyes widening when he found one.

"I heard there's a new captain arriving soon, transferred from some other division."

No response.

Sanosuke continued idly, "Probably sent over to take over unit seven since they were lacking a captain. I wonder who it'll be?"

"Must be pretty darn good to be transferred to this division. What's more, I heard that he was suggested by a General."

Now that, stirred some interest. Sanosuke hid a small satisfied smirk as several soldiers glanced up, clearly interested now.

"Pretty skilled with a sword and some said he's undefeatable with his second in command. Too bad the General didn't write much, not much is known other than the fact that there's someone coming. But General Hiko was always a man of few words." Sanosuke shrugged lazily, crossing his arms behind his head.

A murmur of surprise rippled through the division, their attention now fully trained on their second in command.

Eloria's army was divided into seven divisions, the first division being one of the strongest. To be part of the first division, one has to have a certain amount of potential; the feat of being able to join their ranks was impressive enough. Not to mention, General Hiko, one of the few great monsters on the battlefield, gave his approval. Just who was this mysterious new captain? Soldiers began murmuring and chatting among themselves, trying to guess the identity of the new captain.

"What does it matter?"

The excited murmurs ceased immediately as all eyes turned towards the owner of the soft mutter. The redhead had paused in his steps, his back was turned towards the rest of his division and his head was lowered.

"Ba…ttoouuuu… saaaaiii…." A throaty whisper came from the ground as a bloody hand clamped down on his ankle. Half glazed eyes stared up at the Elorian leader with hatred, gurgling and choking on his blood.

The half corpse smiled eerily, a mouth full of bloody teeth before his head slowly slipped off and dropped to the ground. The redhead sheathed his sword and turned away.

"The war would kill him."

With those words the Battousai left, leaving the rest of his division standing in eerie silence in the middle of hundreds of bodies.

x x x

The bouncing became an irritation to the young rider, a constant reminder of the growing ache settling in her back as her steed ran through every possible bump and fell through every possible depression on the road.

"I'm getting sick of this."

Who knew she could hate riding this much. She tightened her grip on the reins again and gritted her teeth as the saddle jostled her small frame.

"We're almost there."

Kaoru growled and pressed her lips together angrily, flashing a sharp glare at her companion. The tall male seemed perfectly at ease on his horse, cantering at a steady pace as he trailed just slightly behind her. His stoic face betrayed no emotions or thoughts, though Kaoru could swear that minute twitch of facial muscle was a perfect attempt to hide a small smirk.

"We better be."

The raven haired lady grumbled as she clasped her legs around her horse urging it to a faster pace, leaving her second in command to catch up. Though she seemed to grumble a lot about being stuck on a saddle for several days both knew that that was not the real cause of her bad mood.

It was the nerves. It was the gut twisting, heart wrenching, sickening feeling of dread that settles in one's soul and gnaws on your conscience. The fear of what the future beholds, the dreading of first meetings and biased opinions.

"Don't worry, they'll accept us."

Kaoru glanced up in surprise to meet the piercing blue eyes of her companion and her most trusted friend.

Ever since they were kids they had been watching over each other like brothers and sisters and without knowing they had formed an inseparable bond. Both knew the other like the back of their own hands and through the years, they were unconsciously trained to decipher every minute twitch and gesture of the other. It was rumored that their uncanny ability to understand each other was so accurate that it's similar to telepathic communication.

The raven haired lady smiled slowly as the nervousness building within her started to melt, thankful for the understanding presence of her childhood friend.

"Thank you Aoshi."

With a noncommittal grunt, her stoic faced companion snapped his reins and galloped ahead, leaving Kaoru choking on his dust and blinking after his quickly disappearing shape. The female captain shook her head as a soft amused sigh escaped her lips, pressing her thighs against her horse she chased after her amusing companion. Her temporary worries forgotten as they crested over another hill and rode towards the sunset.

x x x

Kenshin pushed out from his tent, tussling dry his wet locks with a worn out towel as he stared at the darkening sky. The sun had dropped to kiss the horizon, washing the area with lingering hues of fiery red and orange that eerily reminded the captain of blood.

Activity around the campsite was slow. Tired soldiers were seen leaning against tents, probing at camp fires and some didn't even bother taking off their armor from their most recent battle.

Mentally, the colonel reminded himself to do something about the atmosphere and morale of the first division but found that he lacked the motivation to do so. After all, what's the point in giving them false hope when no one knows when this war would end?

The fluttering of a piece of clothing caught his eye as Kenshin's amber orbs rested on his clothes hanging by the side, fluttering in the wind. The soft material of his gi was ripped in several places and soaked thoroughly with blood, turning the once blue fabric purple.

I'll have to get new clothes again. The redhead reflected bleakly, eyes running down his hakama to find it in the same worn state as his gi.

The sight of blood no longer offended him. The years spent on the battlefields had hardened him against the soul wrecking demons the crimson sight evoked to the point that blood was no longer a foreign sight and could be as easily dismissed as any other daily seen fluids. A small wry smile that never reached his eyes touched his emotionless face, the manslayer silently wondered when he changed so much.

He drew his eyes from his worn clothing as his second in command arrived, chewing on a stalk of wheat as the taller male met the amber gaze of the colonel.

"All units present. Twenty three with minor wounds, thirty six receiving medical care, eight in critical condition and reported total of fifteen dead or missing." Sanosuke ratted out numbers monotonously as he chewed on his stalk of wheat slowly, fisting his hands in his pant pockets.

"Matrian army…" Sanosuke spat the name out like it was venom before a small cruel smile reached his face. "..dead or dying."

Kenshin listened quietly as he stared into the horizon, his face in its usual emotionless mask. If the colonel felt angered or saddened by the information he didn't show it.

"Have you heard from the fourth division?"

Sanosuke shook his head. "Nothing major yet, they know backup is arriving, Shishio's forces are two weeks away. Medium sized force… several hundred or so."

Kenshin accepted this piece of information with a dip of his head. "We're close to meeting up with the fourth division. There's a nearby town north of these plains, we're running low on supplies and we'll take this chance to restock while Shishio's army is still traveling."

The redhead closed his eyes briefly as he decided on his next orders. "Notify all unit captains. We'll move out in five days."

"Yes sir." Sanosuke saluted as he clipped his heels together. The captain turned, an obvious sign of dismissal as he started towards his tent.

"Wait!"

Kenshin paused, turning his head sideways to glance at Sanosuke with a question in his eyes. The tall male spluttered as he shifted in his stance.

Sanosuke didn't know what had came over him, but the moment Kenshin turned, his sharp eyes had caught the briefest moment of weakness, the agony and sadness seen was soul shattering and it's a wonder the redhead was still sane under all the pressure. Sanosuke's gut feelings told him that he shouldn't let his friend go and before he even registered his lips moving the command had already left his mouth.

"Erm… They are serving food now… do you..?" He scratched the back of his head nervously as he left the open-ended question hanging between them.

The tired smile that appeared on the colonel's face never reached his amber orbs. "Thanks Sano, but I'm not hungry." The redhead dipped his head and excused himself as he pushed into his tent and disappeared behind the flaps, leaving Sanosuke staring at the offending barrier.

Sanosuke sighed, his face falling as he dropped his awkward hand from the back of his neck. If this continues on much longer, the bloody war would ruin them all.

If only Shishio would just drop dead and save us all the trouble... the second in command snorted as he turned and left for a tasteless dinner.

To be continued...

I really struggled with this first chapter. It's been sitting around my folders for several weeks now and finally I just decided it's time to get this fic up and posted. A lot more effort has been placed into the planning of the plot in this story, I've got its storyboard all written and saved in my folder.

This story contains three major arks C: lots of drama, angst and romance (and triangles...)!

This story is however, not about sex, if you're looking for lemons every chapter, this isn't the one for you.

When will chapter two be up? Perhaps soon, perhaps never -at least until I stop hating my writing. OTL

Until then~

Eloria - Kingdom of the West

Matria - Kingdom of the East