Will You Promise Me Something?

On with the disclaimer:

I DO NOT OWN RUROUNI KENSHIN! I AM MAKING NO MONEY OFF OF THIS! You guys probably have that memorized by now...this is the third chapter in what I have dramatically dubbed the Akeiko saga...but what you know as "Will You Promise Me Something?" This is the beginning of the fantastic Kyoto arch...ya know, the good stuff before the crap begins and the animators broke out the crack...FENG SHUI!WHAT THE HELL! Anyway just make sure you've read the other two chapters before you read this one or you're about to be COMPLETELY lost. As an extra note, sorry about the delay, but editing got pushed behind other more important stuff like school. If I fail because of this I WILL BE MURDERED!


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Sano's footsteps seemed to be the only ones in brawler's row that night. The heavy rain had driven all the gamblers, prostitutes, and drug addicts inside. He was about to join in, now full after his usual "free" meal at the Akabeko. Sano's head was angled downward to avoid the water, so he didn't notice Akeiko until he was a few paces from his door.

She was standing on his threshold, shielding a piece of paper from the rain and looking at his house in agitation. The hitokiri turned to her friend, she had on her iron mask, from the first time he saw her, Sano knew that the old cloak she was wearing couldn't just be for the rain.

"Hey, Sano." Akeiko greeted him as usual, still glancing in bewilderment from her drenched paper to his hovel.

"Lookin' for something?" He inquired.

"Someone more like it." She handed Sano the directions she was holding. "Government gave me a job to kill this guy, some fight merchant named Zanza."

Sano gulped. A bead of nervous sweat ran down his face. Thank God for the rain! He laughed nervously, "That's nice."

Akeiko raised an eyebrow, "Yes...well."

Shit! I tipped her off! Sano smiled slowly, trying to control his mounting concern.

"...anyway, those official bastards must have given me the wrong address; cause this is definitely your house...Unless you have a roomie you haven't told me about."

Sano took a step forward, fist raised. "What exactly are you implying?" He screamed. The hitokiri snickered, and raised both hands waving them in submission.

"Nothing! But that was more than I was looking for. You must've heard of him though, after all you're a fight merchant too. This guy's apparently a legend, so good that they had to send me to deal with him. Maybe your idol or something?"

Sano sighed, wishing there was something he could do to nurse an injured pride. Akeiko continued undaunted.

"I think he might have some affiliation with the stupid Sekihoutai too. I wasn't really listening."

Sano could feel rage surfacing. "What?" He asked sharply, not being able to control the emotion. Akeiko didn't notice, her attention drawn momentarily by a police whistle in the distance.

"You know that fake army who couldn't...see...an ambush...from.." The hitokiri had finally looked at Sano's face. He shook with anger. She backed away step by step, but still couldn't resist finishing her sentence. "A...mile...away." Sano began to advance, she shrank downward. "Now Sano don't lose it. You wouldn't hit a girl would you? Heh heh." Her pitiful defence didn't work. Sano's right fist connected sharply with the her jaw.

The resounding thud threw her back a few paces. The hitokiri smirked at the outburst, wiping blood from her mouth, spitting the excess onto the ground. "That was a nice reaction!" She moved closer to Sano, poking him in the side with the hilt of her sword. He clenched his fist tighter, eyes narrowed into a battle glare. Akeiko took one look at him, and then burst out laughing, doubling over and pointing an insulting index finger.

"You look so serious it's funny." After a while, she sighed and got hold of her composure as Sano strove to pick up the pieces of his shattered pride. That had broken as his best friend laughed at what he thought was a very grave situation. "Let me guess...either you're actually, and completely coincidently another part of the idiot..." Akeiko cleared her throat as she noticed Sano's expression, and decided to rephrase. "I mean the glorious Sekihoutai, or you're Zanza. That would explain a lot. Fucking around with the government? I thought there was more sense in that thick little skull." She tapped her knuckles against Sano's temple. Sano got ready to fight. One more word and she was going down!

Akeiko ceased her teasing and waved a hand in the air dismissively. "Okay, okay, my mistake. I have a big mouth. I pissed you off, did I not?"

"Damn right you did! The Sekihoutai kicked the Ishin whatever's ass! We were noble at least, not sneaking around in street fights!"

She nodded her head in mocking contemplation, "That's odd since I do recall that most of you guys got a gut full of lead, and were labelled a bunch of traitors, whereas Kenshin and I are legends...Oh but that's just a minor detail."

"That's it! Let's go!" Sano growled ready to strangle the hitokiri.

She laughed, gesturing in his direction. "Ladies first."

It must have been at least a half an hour before the fists stopped flying. She hadn't used her sword in the friendly contest. Both contenders were drenched, covered in mud and feeling the effects of a collaboration of cheap moves. Sano's lip was fat, his left eye was bruised, and his mind was reeling at how dirty a fighter a hitokiri was without a weapon. Yes, a bony knee was quite painful when it met the groin. Akeiko could barely stand, her knee caps having forgotten their customary bodily location, having been rearranged by Sano's heel. The hitokiri held her right shoulder, her arm hanging slightly askew as her friend's elbow had nearly shattered her collarbone. Akeiko's right eye was already black and swollen shut. Her nose and lip bled, the latter swelling so much she could barely speak.

"Pis doeshint dolve anything, we're just getting exdausted. It's shobvious that we don't shee eye to eye and are boo shubborn to change, without keeling each shubber, that ise" She used her sleeve to catch the spit and blood that dribbled from her mouth.

"What do you think we should do?" Sano panted. His voice was at least an octave too high and he hoped his breathing would mask it. It didn¡¦t work. Akeiko snickered, but ended up clutching her stomach with the pain it caused her beaten body.

"Let's get drunk." She said exasperatedly.

"'Kay." Sano shrugged, half in surprise, but mostly in relief. Sure, the suggestion was rather random, coming from a dignified hitokiri, but, then again, they just had a very random throw down. The neighbours were gonna talk about this for awhile- if any of them were sober enough to remember it in the morning. One question lingered in his head as his friend began to limp toward him. Akeiko answered it before voice it.

"I'm buying. Just help me walk will you?" Sano put an arm around her waist and she stuck hers around his shoulders. They stumbled together down the street. It was gonna take them a long time to get to the nearest bar.

"Do me a favour Sano and don't tell Kenshin I'm still...ahem...working." Akeiko said. "He kinda thought I quit when I found him."

"Heh, as long as you don't him that Zanza lives on-and uses all his profits for gambling and booze."

"Ah, Sagara Sanosuke, the perfect freeloader. I'm saving my cash."

Sano's curiosity was peaked, his eyes widened. "What for?"

"A house maybe. Kenshin and I can't live off Kaoru forever, that's just creepy. Plus I doubt Kenny's made any money being a bum for ten years."

"Kenny?"

"Yes, the Brits called him that, they couldn't pronounce his full name, and it drove him crazy. So I started using it for fun."

Sano nodded as they turned into the Akabeko.

"Let's drown ourselves in sake." Akeiko said.

"Maybe you'll drown, but for those of us with experience..."

The hitokiri slapped a hand over his mouth, " Shut up dumbshit. We came here to end a fight not start another. Besides I've been a drunk longer than you've been a drunk."

"Prove it!"

"I hope you have fun staring at the bottom of the bar."

Tae asked no questions as the two combatants stumbled in, and she could think of more than a few (Akeiko what happened to your face? Sano why are you so stooped over? Is that a patch of missing hair?). She only shook her head and got a bottle of sake.


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The next morning, Kaoru was cleaning the dojo, as usual. She made her way from one end of the building to the other, broom in hand. It was so quiet. By now Sano and Akeiko were usually yelling at each other or laughing boisterously, but Kaoru had seen them just sitting on the porch staring into the distance. Maybe they'd had a fight? They looked like they'd been dragged through hell by something, that's for sure. Even Kenshin had been concerned, but was happy enough that it was only a "stupid bar brawl" as Sano had so eloquently put it. Some woman! No shame at all wearing that skirt, then going off drinking with a bunch of men!

Kaoru noticed she had begun sweeping more furiously and promptly stopped, checking for any sign of her obnoxious blue-clad freeloader. She wasn't about to embarrass herself like she had earlier. Assuring herself that the hallway was indeed empty, she resumed her task, sliding back the door to Kenshin's room. She saw all the usual contents, pathetic as they were. One distinct difference reached out and slapped her in the face. The futon was folded. In a different corner of the room. Kenshin never moved it, he never even used it, so why the sudden switch? Kaoru shrugged and went on with her cleaning, suspiciously poking the suddenly dust-free mattress. but denying that anything had really changed. It was when she turned to leave however, her saw the cold light of day. On the floor next to the door, lay a neatly folded blue cloak, with a metal mask resting on top of it.


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A scream bounced through Akeiko's skull, as she sat outside the practice hall with Sano beside her. She clutched her head furtively noticing Sano doing the same out of the corner of her eye. Her body still ached from last night's altercation, her lip and eye smarting along with her injured knees. Sano had the obvious signs of battle bruises, cuts, scrapes, and the like, but he didn't seem half as broken as she did. Must be the cigarettes and alcohol. High pain tolerance didn't hurt either. However, there was one pain Akeiko knew she shared...her hangover.

"Sano, that's the last time I go drinking with you. I've never felt so sick in my life."

He nodded and folded his arms, "I'm never chugging 3 bottles of sake again.. But you know next week it'll be the same thing. You wouldn't stop boozing now, you're just upset you found someone just as hardcore as you."

"Let me be in denial until this agony stops."

"So what's gonna happen with the whole someone's -gonna-kill-me?" Sano asked nervously.

"I'm gonna cite conflict of interest so they'll send someone else." She muttered.

"That still means someone's gonna kill me!" Sano shouted. Akeiko shuddered.

"Shut up, it hurts. They're all ten times crappier than me making it easy sailing So don't freak out."

"Okay, sorry. How's your head?" Sano asked apologetically.

"Well, I'd be better if some idiot would keep her big stupid mouth from shouting every five minutes. Obnoxious landladies..." The hitokiri glanced in the direction of approaching footsteps, too lethargic to actually get up. "Speak of the devil."

Kaoru marched right up to the reclining Akeiko, fuming. Her knuckles were white as she clutched the broom handle.

"Akeiko-san, I need to talk to you." She said sweetly, though it was obvious she was anything but. Her smile looked like it was slowly crushing her cheekbones.

The hitokiri was unmoved. "So talk." Sano tried to conceal his laughter, at the scene in front of him.

"I found your stuff in Kenshin's room."

"Yeah, the shed was like an oven so he offered to share. I was dying from the heat, so I accepted. It's not like it's odd." Akeiko said this matter of factly.

Kaoru's eyes narrowed, her teeth clenched, veins popped out of her forehead as she yelled a hysterical, "What!"

Akeiko clapped both hands over her ears. "Not so loud."

The exclamation had been enough to draw Kenshin from his chores, he appeared stepping out from the edge of the dojo. He was wiping water off his hands with a cloth, his sleeves still tied back.

"What's all the screaming about?" he said confused, glancing back and forth from Akeiko to Kaoru. The former painfully massaging her temples, eyes tightly shut. The latter enraged.

Kaoru raised her chin in the air and walked by Kenshin, grabbing his sleeve, dragging him after her.

"I have to take Yahiko to the temple for training today. Come on, Kenshin." She glared at Akeiko who returned the stare, obviously mad that Kaoru had the audacity to treat Kenshin like a child.

Kenshin removed the girl's fingers, "Just a moment Kaoru-dono." He approached the hitokiri. Kaoru wasn't happy with that suggestion, about ready to implode.

"Will you be alright here, Ake? You don't seem well, that you don't." Kenshin hovered over her, concern marking his tone.

She smiled up at him, "It's just a hangover, if you take princess and her student it'll be quiet. Thanks for asking." Akeiko felt loved, that was quite rare. He nodded and followed Kaoru as she stormed off. After a few minutes she could be seen stomping down the path, Kenshin and Yahiko a tentative distance behind.

"That was fucking hilarious!" Sano burst out laughing, gulping in air between guffaws.

"I found your stuff in Kenny's room...ewww!" Akeiko did her best impression of Kaoru, her voice high pitched, hand out snobbishly in the air, her nose upturned. Then she started to snicker as well, despite the throb it caused in her brain. Stopping a moment, she searched her sleeves for her pack of cigarettes.

"Shit, I must have left them in my cloak." Sano was still rolling on the porch as Akeiko got up slowly and went to retrieve the smokes.

She had just got to the room and found them in the mounds of blue fabric when Akeiko heard a loud thud in the practice hall. She paused, waiting for some other explanatory noise or swearing, but nothing came. Concerned, she walked back to the hall.

Sano lay unconscious on the floor, a broken blade deep in his right shoulder. That wasn't expected. But this was not the least of Akeiko's problems. A tall sinewy man stood before her, a suggestive smirk stretched across his face, sharp eyes glowing amber. They were obscured slightly by several loose strands of black hair, the remainder of which was slicked back. The man stood shoulders back in a casual posture with no attempts to be on guard what so ever. He held the other half of the blade.

"Holy fuck," were the only words that Akeiko managed to get out, before Saitou Hajime, had a hand around her throat and half a sword buried in her abdomen. He lifted her off the floor. She was sure he was going to break her neck.

"I suppose slicing someone's neck open is not as effective as it used to be. I didn't quite believe them when they said you were still around. The bitch that got away." He dug the blade in deeper, Akeiko whimpered in agony.

"K-k-kill..me..n-n-now..t-t-then..."

"No, that wouldn't be half as fun." He smirked, digging his fingers into her scar. "He needs to get angry. But don't worry Youkiya-san; I'll finish the job eventually." His fingers wrapped around the shaft of the hilt. Slowly he drew the sword out of Akeiko's body, never breaking a stare. His eyes shining with intent. Saitou lowered her to eye level. Akeiko's feet were still dangling above the floor. His face was now less than an inch from hers. She could smell the tobacco on his breath. "Any other questions before we say goodnight?"

Akeiko stared the former Shinsengumi member directly in the eye.

"H-h-how's..Okita?"

He was getting angrier, today was one of those days when Akeiko wished her mouth was sewn shut. Saitou hurled the hitokiri against the wall with all his strength. The impact almost knocked the place down, blood spattering across the surface and leaving a smear as Akeiko slid down the wall. He kicked hr sharply in the chest. Her head slumped forward in unconsciousness. Saitou admired his work for a moment before leaving the dojo in the same manner as he'd entered, casually, making sure his face didn't give away any hint of the carnage he'd left behind.


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The walk home from the temple was long, silent, and ominous. The atmosphere reminded Kenshin of the sudden nightmares. It alarmed him and he couldn't figure out why. Sure he¡¦d had them before-but not recently.

But in the meantime he simply nodded and smiled at Kaoru's banter, pretending to listen, intent on his own thoughts. He apparently wasn't very good at feigning calm. She noticed, and launched into a speech about him being distracted. Kenshin just put up with it, not caring to push the matter. He had more important things demanding his attention.

However when he got to the gate and didn't see either Sano or Akeiko on the porch, dread pushed itself into his head. He walked cautiously to the dojo, proceeding down the porch.

"Kenshin!" Kaoru called after him. He ignored it. The sound of dripping hit the rurouni's ear. Water? In the practice hall?

Kenshin paused and flung open the door. His eyes widened as he discovered the source of the noise. Blood was trickling from Akeiko's head to the floor in steady drops, pooling with the other volumes of the liquid which came out of her abdomen. Sano didn't look much better, motionless except for a hint of shallow breathing.

The rurouni slowly traversed the room stepping around his friend, making sure he was alive briefly before going to his lover. He cautiously kneeled in front of her and wrapped an arm around her back and another under her knees. He lifted her up slowly, making sure not to move her more than necessary, keeping her head against his chest for added stability. Kenshin turned. Kaoru was at the door, her jaw agape. Yahiko stood behind the girl, equally horrified. He found his legs sooner than his teacher and bolted.

"I'll get Megumi!" he screamed, voice fading into the distance.

Kaoru still remained a glass-eyed statue. Kenshin walked to the door.

"Kenshin," she whispered, reaching out a hand. He paid no attention, passing her without so much as a glance. His voice was cold, calculating and harsh.

"Tell Megumi that I have Ake." No emotion coloured his speech, it was the perfect monotone.

When Kenshin reached his room, he carefully kicked the mattress into position still trying not to disturb her. He gently laid her down, examining what he could see of her injuries, listening to her breathing. He recognized the technique. Kenshin's eyes narrowed, gold pushing at the edges of blue. He stood up, looking down at his blood stained hands and shirt.

"I'll kill him."


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The first thing that Akeiko saw through her hazy vision was the flicker of a lantern. As her eyes regained focus she observed the dancing flame, and then shifting her gaze slightly, she recognized Megumi's figure near the door. Akeiko attempted to turn her head, noticing the bandages that weaved through her hair. Pain throbbed from her skull, stomach and back.

"What time is it?" Akeiko got out. The only voice she managed was somewhere between a hoarse growl and a faint whisper.

Megumi kneeled next to her, complacent as always. "It's midnight, but you shouldn't be conscious and-"

"Where's Kenshin?" She asked sharply. The hitokiri really didn't care about anything else at this point.

"In the practice hall. He's locked himself in there for at least seven hours now. He won't let anyone in."

Akeiko attempted to sit up, but only got halfway before wincing in pain. She knew what Kenshin was doing, he was preparing for a death duel.

"Don't you dare get up!" Megumi pressed her back down, but Akeiko resisted despite the agonizing pain it sent through her ribs. She ground her teeth to stop herself from screaming.

"I have to help him!" she rasped, Megumi merely slapped her across the face hard.

"How do you ever help him? All you do is put him in a desperate state of mind and that always causes more trouble for Ken-san! I won't let you!" The doctor jabbed a finger into her broken ribcage. As she was distracted by the agony, Megumi forced a sedative down the hitokiri¡¦s throat. She clamped her jaw shut, as Akeiko still struggled, forcing her head backward, stroking her neck to force her to swallow.

"Sorry Akeiko-san, it's for the best."

"Bitch..." Akeiko slurred out, still striking out at Megumi, writhing in pain. Finally, the resistance from the hitokiri became weaker and weaker until she slumped back, and hit the floor. Megumi covered her up with a blanket after treating the reopened injuries. Then, she rose and gathered her things to go see Sano.


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The next time her head unfogged, Akeiko noticed Megumi was no longer there. Everything was still. She was still woozy from the narcotic, which was evident when she tried to sit up. Akeiko winced. Those ribs were broken alright. She sighed, ignoring the pain, and worked on focusing her blurred vision.

As she concentrated, a sound began to rise in the distance. It was a metallic clanging that could only be clashing swords. She could discern the sound of a low, cruel voice. The one which announced the presence of Saitou Hajime. There was another intonation one she recognized but hadn't heard in years.

Akeiko finally managed to kneel after a few minutes of agonized, hurried, shifting. Using the wall for support she was able to stand. Her breathing was laboured, her body screaming in disagreement with her rushed efforts. Akeiko now realized the extent of the damage done to her back, as a steady ache travelled down the length of her spine. One wall could cause a hell of a misalignment.

Akeiko began to stagger out of the room and toward the practice hall, dragging her shoulder along the side of the building for support. She could hear the conversation now, threats punctuated with taunts and swordplay.

Akeiko had reached the door. Calling on all her muscles and every bit of resolve, she flung it open, almost falling over in the process. Kaoru knelt in one corner of the room crying hysterically. Megumi was standing in the opposite one propping up Sano. He didn't look very good, and his bloodstained shoulder let her know why. They all turned their heads, not to look at her but someone who had come to stand behind her. The distinct voice of Kawaji shouted almost in her ear.

"Stop this at once! Saitou you were supposed to test Himura's abilities not kill him!" The small, bald man was heated with both rage and exasperation. Saitou shrugged and picked up his discarded jacket, Akeiko noted the new police uniform. That wasn't what she expected.

"That was the best duel I've had in a while and trust me, Battousai, I intend to finish it." He pushed past Akeiko making sure his sword connected sharply with her side. The "gentle" nudge made her drop to the floor.

Kenshin suddenly spun around, to face the hitokiri. Akeiko gasped. His eyes were yellow and sharp, she hadn't seen that in ten years. They spoke of the Bakumatsu and the Kyoto rain, the torrents of blood and the cold, cold streets.

"Ake." Kenshin's voice was now familiar, steady, sure and intelligent. Calm. He approached her slowly, a hand reaching toward her face. This was the man she'd been seeking, the one that she'd lost.

"Himura-san. Youkiya-san." Okubo Toshimichi had appeared in the doorway beside the official. His tall form, brown eyes, and brown hair complete with beard cut an impressive figure. His words made Kenshin back up a few paces. She watched as Kenshin's hand brushed her cheek and then moved sharply away. He was leaving. Again, he was slipping away. And this time it was worse. There was no goodbye, there was no warning. Just a disappearance. One fleeting glimpse into a past she had never left. As he closed his hand into a fist, he crushed all the memories she'd ever had. She wanted the warmth of this man, but another force was cutting away everything she had waited for leaving her holding the bloody pieces. As he drove his own hand into his face, he might as well have driven the blade back into her gut. The Battousai was hers, her companion, her lover, but the man looking at her now, wasn't. When she found him in Tokyo had she really found anything at all? As his yellow eyes vanished so did her Kyoto, her nights with the Battousai, the fights, and the beating rain.

She put her hand to her mouth trying to stop herself from showing any outward sign of this weakness, this turmoil. Akeiko could taste blood. More than that, she could taste her own futility. No matter how much she may wish for the Battousai he was in Himura Kenshin's hands. He was nothing but an option, a choice that she didn't get to vote for. The rurouni wasn't what she needed. He was in her way, taunting her behind a mask of public acceptance. He was nothing. The Battousai under the surface and had reached out for her, and she didn't intend to let him go. Not this time, however, she was caught in a vice. That vice which held her firmly was Kenshin's own mind. It threatened and had erased her very existence. It had broken her into little more than a hazy recollection not even suitable for the most nostalgic of fairytales. Akeiko almost broke down thinking about it. She had been with the Battousai for two intensive years, and at the flick of some mental switch it had all evaporated. The most happy years of her life were labelled as too painful to hold on to. That glint of recognition had been a glimmer in a darkened memory.

Blood trickled down the rurouni's forehead; his eyes had reverted back to their normal shade and expression. Akeiko sank deeper into the floor. Kaoru ran to Kenshin putting her arms around him, he put up with the hug good-naturedly, trying not to show the pain from his visible stab wound.

The hitokiri picked herself up off the ground and limped out of the room, physical pain outweighed by emotional stress. She didn't care about the bullshit Okubo was spewing about some threat to Japan. Akeiko was still reeling over her own defeat. She hated the rurouni, who wore the Battousai blood on his hands. She was getting sick of dealing with two different people. But the Battousai did still exist, that small flickering hope was enough to cling to.


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Upon Kenshin's insistence all 6 of them were listening to Okubo's briefing, in one of the dojo's small rooms. It was hard to hear a single word over Sano's incessant arguing with the Kawaji. Akeiko sat beside the rurouni puffing on a cigarette, listening to her commanding officer and revolutionary comrade in arms.

"Your replacement, Himura-san, Makoto Shishio has resurfaced in Kyoto." Kenshin's eyes flickered in shock.

"I thought he died in the war."

"We thought he did as well." Okubo replied nervously. "He was shot, doused in oil and then set on fire, but he still lived."

"You eliminated him then." Kenshin said coldly, "He must have known too much for your liking. I imagine that could have been this one, or Youkiya-san if things had gone differently." Okubo didn't answer the statement and continued with his intentions.

"He's now the head of a major syndicate, which includes ten skilled swordsman from across the country, that seems to want to take over Japan. We need this problem taken care of under the table and away from public or foreign eyes. We can't afford another civil war."

"Why are you even asking? You know that this one is a rurouni now." Kenshin said stubbornly.

Okubo nodded toward Akeiko, "I would've sent Youkiya-san, our last hitokiri, but she's obviously incapacitated. Besides if you do this I could pardon Takani-san for her opium trade or Sagara-san for his countless outstanding assault charges."

"Don't use me to threaten Ken-san! I will gladly serve my sentence." Megumi started glared coldly, looking as if she were about to go at him.

Kenshin remained calm, thinking carefully about his response.

It was Kaoru that spoke first, her words icy at warmest. "We won't let him leave." She leaned closer to the rurouni, her stubbornness apparent in expression alone.

Anger rose in Akeiko, she ground out her cigarette and half rose on one knee. Her eyes bore into the teenage girl, fire glowing in the deep amber.

"What the hell are you talking about? Kenshin is not some toy you keep for your own amusement! I'm sorry your tiny brain can't comprehend that this has nothing whatsoever to do with you! Do us all a favour, and shut up."

There was a long moment of silence as Akeiko sat back down. All sets of eyes were on her. Kenshin's stare chastising, Okubo's approving, Sano's confused as usual.

Kaoru nodded but Akeiko could see the mixture of fear and anger present in her face.

Kenshin broke in dissolving some of the tension.

"This one needs time to think about it."

"I can send a carriage in a week-" Okubo began.

"No," the rurouni interrupted, "I'll find you."

"As you wish."

As Okubo, took his leave he threw one final comment into the night.

"Japan needs the Battousai. Don't forget your place." His carriage clattered away down the street. They dispersed, Sano grumbling about the evil of the Meiji era, Kaoru mourning silently, while Megumi and Yahiko kept their feelings to themselves, leaving Kenshin and Akeiko standing alone outside.

A breeze combed through their hair, brown strands and red blowing in the wind. Akeiko rested her hand on his shoulder.

"It's your decision. Kenshin. I'm not going to tell you what to do," she said gently, "but I'll be there no matter what. I'm not about to let you do something stupid again."

"I'm sorry," he put his hand on top of hers, "it's my fault you nearly died."

Akeiko slapped Kenshin, on the back of his head with all the force she could muster. "Don't say that! It wasn't your fault!" She held his face in both her hands. "Stop blaming yourself for everything, you're not just hurting yourself, dumbass."

They gazed into each other's eyes for a few long moments. Akeiko eventually turned to the dojo, pausing.

"But if you do choose to go," she started nervously, "I want commitment...of some form. I don't want to repeat our old mistakes." Akeiko left him there, standing in the wind.

Kenshin was alone with his thoughts and decision.


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Sano was a solitary figure on the porch, the next morning, chewing his fishbone, cursing his injuries and the man who had caused them. He, unlike the others, wasn't tearing his hair out awaiting the dreaded May 14th, but he knew that Kenshin wouldn¡¦t accept this mission. He'd taken a vow after all. What was that guy thinking? Sano shrugged to himself, maybe that's why he wasn't upset like Kaoru or Megumi, or anxious like Yahiko. As for Akeiko, she seemed to carry on normally. Maybe she was smoking a little extra but that was it. He could have sworn if anyone would be pressuring Kenshin it'd be her, after all she was the one who wanted the Battousai, but that wasn't the case.

His thoughts were interrupted by a heavy sigh as the rurouni sat down beside him. He looked downtrodden and this was a man who was forever optimistic even in the most hopeless of situations.

"What's up with you? Decision getting to you?" Sano said through his fishbone, folding his arms.

"No. It's Akeiko she wants..." Kenshin was visibly shaken, and his friend feared the worst. Break up? Move? "C...c...c..." The rurouni stuttered on the word. Sano laughed nervously at his sudden speech impediment, worry being the dominant emotion he felt.

"Spit it out! Clothes? Closets? Cups? What?"

"C...c....commitment! There I said it!" Kenshin was visibly relieved, finally saying the word. Sano laughed harder confusing the man to no end.

"You gonna marry her?" Sano said when he could speak again, wiping the tears from his eyes. Kenshin stared at him, puzzled.

"This one hasn't had good experiences with..."

Sano waved his hand. "There's only one thing you gotta think about. You love her?"

"Well yes..."

"Does she love you?"

Kenshin's face changed suddenly, his eyes turning serious. "She loves the Battousai, but that's not who I am."

"Did she ask the Battousai for commitment?"

"No, but-"

"That settles it. She loves you. She wouldn't be here for the long haul if she didn't."Kenshin opened his mouth to protest but Sano raised another hand and went on, ¡§I know, you think the hitokiri is all she's
after, but she'd have killed you long ago if that was all. Trust me."

Sano stood quickly and stretched. He struck a heroic pose and in a triumphant voice boomed, "Enough of this! Kenshin we're gonna get you a ring!"

"Why?" Sano winced from the words, his effect defeated. Kenshin looked up at him blankly, blinking slowly in bewilderment. Sano sighed and motioned for Kenshin to follow him as he left the dojo.

"You've got a lot to learn about culture, Kenshin, being a wanderer. Lucky for you, ya got the expert of the female species right here!" It was the rurouni's turn to laugh subtly. Sano stopped in his path and glared at the small man fiercely. Kenshin shrugged, still smiling.

"That's a mouthful coming from someone who doesn't have a wife, that it is."

"Do you want my help or not?"

"Yes." He said pathetically.

With that admission, they made their way to the market, Sano doing most of the talking. Kenshin nodded and smiled asking the occasional question. The looming decision was forgotten if only for a short time.


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May 14th nightfall. The fireflies danced in the glow of the moon. Kenshin walked down the path, the sound of Kaoru's sobs still infected the air. He had all his possessions waiting for him at the edge of the dojo and was now going to retrieve them. He didn't expect someone to be there. Akeiko was standing at the edge of the road, smoking a cigarette. She put it out when she saw him and stepped into the diffused light.

"When Okubo died, I knew you'd leave. We went through the good byes with you earlier, but," She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. Kenshin returned her embrace. "I don't want you to leave me again. I'm coming." Akeiko gazed up at him.

"It's too dangerous for you when you're injured. You'll die, that's the last thing I want." He pressed her closer, careful not to squeeze her too tight, "I'll come back, I promise. That's more than I can say for last time. I love you."

"I love you." They remained locked together sharing one final kiss. Akeiko picked up his things from the ground and handed them to Kenshin, he continued on his way, leaving his life in Tokyo.

The apparition of Kyoto had come and seized everything, hurtling sucking it all into a vacuum of destruction. It was the hour to deal with the time that should never have existed. The era that had slaughtered thousands, and still killed her children today by endowing them with broken ideals and a twisted sense of duty. Kenshin could see his doom on the horizon; he was the next child to be consumed by the eternal fires blazing in the Bakumatsu furnace.


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Akeiko watched him depart, not turning her eyes away until Kenshin melded with the darkness. She glanced at the new ring on her finger, and smiled weakly.

"You must be crazy..." She whispered softly returning to the shadows.

To Be Continued...

Author's notes: So that's it! CHAPTER 3! The Kyoto arch has begun yes and brings a whole new mess of problems that I gotta sort out, but hey I got myself into this eh? Anyway look for the next instalment! It's gonna be good!

P.S.-this fic kinda ran away on me...it was originally planned to be 2 chapters, funny how things work out!

Hitokiri Hitensai