The Sins of the Father

~Kyoto, 1862~

“You are an idiot, kid… remind me once again why I bother with you?” Kouga
said exasperated; one hand pushing the long bangs out of his eyes as he glared
at his reckless young apprentice. The hair just fell right back in front of
his eyes, obscuring his sight somewhat, and not for the first time he wished
he still had his old wolf skin bandana.

‘It is a damned good thing that I don’t let the kid carry his sword into
town, or I’d be digging his grave right now.’ Kouga thought to himself,
as he pushed the hair out of his eyes once more and took in the appearance of
his bedraggled apprentice.

The thirteen year old kitsune-hanyou stared back at him through a curtain of
red hair. His clothes were badly torn, and he was covered in various scrapes
and bruises. Upon closer examination, Kouga realized that he had also received
one black eye from the fight. Fortunately, that was the extent of the damage.
He could have easily been slain for trying to interfere.

Kenshin winced as he folded his arms in front of him. He shot a cold look
Kouga’s way before speaking.

“Shitsurei, Shishou, I just thought –“

“No Kenshin, you didn’t think – you never think. What the hell were you thinking,
putting yourself in the path of those soldiers? Do you WANT to get yourself
killed? You’re damned lucky you didn’t have your sword on you, or I’d be peeling
your bloody carcass off the path. I tell you kid, it’s a damned good thing
they just thought you were a simple boy, and let you off with just a beating.”
Kouga said, exasperated. He caught a whiff of Kenshin’s human smelling blood
and snarled. “Besides, how many times have I told you not to go out on the
night of the full moon? Are you that fucking stupid?”

“But they killed that man, just because he dared to speak the slogan ‘sonno
joi’. Don’t you care at all that good, innocent people are being brutally
murdered just for their ideals, Shishou?”

“It’s the man’s own fault for opening his mouth.” Kouga said, and smiled grimly
when Kenshin shot him a scandalized look. “Ah, my baka deshi… you will someday
learn that there are only a few things that are worth dying for in this life.
Petty, human dreams of ‘peace’ and ‘prosperity’ are not among them.” Kouga said
with a frown. He could not think of human politics and ideals as anything but
fleeting – such things only caused small ripples of change in the long, flowing
current of time, after all. Certainly, they were not worth losing one’s life
over – especially when one has the lifespan of an ookami youkai, or kitsune
hanyou.

Still, he had meant what he said about there being a few things worth dying
for – and as far as he was concerned, bringing justice to that evil spawn of
Naraku was one of them. An image of his eldest son and his mate lying dead
on the forest floor flashed in his mind, and Kouga shivered. After a few minutes
and a rather large swig of sake from the jug that he was holding, Kouga was
able to regain his composure enough to continue. “Mark my words, Kenshin, if
you pull that kind of shit again, you can find yourself some other masochistic
fool to teach you kenjutsu.”

“Pull what, Shishou? Go out when the moon is full, or protect an innocent
who merely wishes to convey an opinion?”

“Both.”

“But Shishou-“

“No ‘buts’, Kenshin. Let me tell you something, kid. And listen to me when
I say this – stay the fuck out of human politics. Such things are fleeting
and unimportant. No matter what political regime has control, there will always
be those who are the repressed, and those who are the repressors. You can do
nothing to change it, other than to draw unwanted attention upon yourself.
And trust me kid, you don’t want to draw attention to yourself. There are far
worse things in this world than the Tokugawa Shogunate.” Kouga said with a small,
almost indiscernible shiver.

“But –“

“Kid, be quiet and let me finish, will ya?”

Kenshin shot a glare his way that Kouga pointedly ignored.

“Anyway, I’m well aware that there is a civil war brewing, and I even agree
with it for the most part. But if you want to keep learning the Hiten Mitsurugi
Ryu under my tutelage, you will stay the hell out of it. It is not our business
in ways you can’t even begin to understand yet, kid. Someday, I will explain
that to you, but for now I need you to just accept what I say as truth… understand?”
Kouga said, as he took another long swig from his jar of sake.

“But people are dying, Shishou –“

“And people die every day, Kenshin. Besides, I am not teaching you the Hiten
Mitsurugi Ryu so you can fight in a human civil war,” Kouga said, silently adding
‘I am teaching it to you so that you might just have a small chance of defending
yourself when Kohaku comes for your head.’

“But I can save innocents, Shishou. I can use my blade to protect –“

“Kuso – baka deshi, you are not hearing a word that I am saying.” Kouga
said, followed by another particularly large drink from the sake jug. “Listen,
kid – there are many reasons why you should not get involved, and some of which
I can’t tell you until your older. But the biggest one is simply this: the
price that you would have to pay to use a katana as an instrument of ‘protection’
is far too high. It would begin with irreparable damage to your soul, and only
get worse from there.”

He looked at the boy once more. Kenshin wasn’t saying anything, and his expression
was unfathomable. Kouga sighed. In some ways, he had already taught the boy
too well. Already he knew how to hide his thoughts behind his eyes. Kouga’s
voice softened as he addressed the kitsune-hanyou once again, silently praying
to the gods to give him patience.

“Listen, Kenshin. Just promise me that you’ll consider my words… believe me,
I’m only trying to save you a world of pain.”

The petite, red haired lad shot him an indiscernible
look, before lowering his head and nodding once in agreement.

“Hai.” Kenshin whispered through gritted teeth. He did not agree with his
shishou, and did not want to continue to listen to his shit, so he ignored him
as he walked towards his tatami with the intent of crashing for the night.
However, each step he took caused him to wince from the pain of his injuries,
and his eyes narrowed in barely suppressed rage when he heard the muffled snicker
from the other side of the room.

Kouga regarded him for a moment through amused eyes. He gave the kid a cocky
smile and tossed the jar of sake over to him.

“Here, take a swig of this kid – it’ll help dull the pain some.”

Kenshin caught the jar easily with one extended hand, and took a long swig
of the sake. He couldn’t help but to cough from the burning sensation that
accompanied the overly sweet, clear beverage as it trickled down his throat.
His shishou always bought mass quantities of the cheapest sake available.

Despite its awful taste, Kenshin plopped down onto his tatami and continued
to knock back large draughts of the cheap drink. He didn’t know if it would
dull the pain, but he definitely knew that if he was drunk enough, he wouldn’t
give a damn about what his shishou thought about him and his ‘ideals’. Because,
one day, when he was strong enough, he would join the fight and help bring down
the Shogunate – regardless of what his shishou thought.

Kouga watched his young apprentice attempt to drown himself in sake, and he
snorted.

“At the very least, I hope those soldiers knocked some sense into you, kid
– Kami knows I haven’t been able to. I hope that in the future you’ll have
better sense than to get into a fight when the moon is full.”

Kenshin balled his hands into fists and took a deep breath, as he purposefully
ignored his shishou’s words. Grimacing, he took another swig of the terrible
sake, and thought about the full moon.

Kouga noticed his baka deshi tuning out, and sighed. He walked over to the
hearth and started a fire, before leaning up against the wall of the hut. He
should have retired to his own tatami, but he wanted to remain alert just in
case the soldiers came looking for Kenshin again.

They sat in silence for nearly an hour before Kenshin turned his slightly unfocused
eyes back towards his shishou.

“Onegai, tell me why the moon has this effect on me, Shishou?” Kenshin asked,
his voice more than a little slurred. The sake had definitely dulled the pain
of his body, but it had also made him somewhat thoughtful for once.

Kouga, who had started to drift off to sleep, opened his weary eyes to glance
over at his apprentice.

Kenshin’s eyes widened as he took in his shishou’s appearance. Maybe it was
the light of the fire, or the fact that his senses were pleasantly dulled by
the effects of the sake, but for just a moment he swore that his eyes were an
icy blue, and that his ears were pointed at the top instead of curved. Yet,
when he shook his head to clear it and looked again at his shishou, the man
in front of him was the same, arrogant Hiko Seijuro he had known for several
years.

“Someday, kid, when you’re ready, I’ll tell you – but for now, just be aware
of it as a weakness. And never – ever – let anyone use it against you.”

~*~

~Meiji Era~

It wasn’t hard to find the place where Kenshin resided. All Kouga had to do
was follow his nose. Of course, Kenshin wasn’t there now, but the scents that
remained painted a very good picture. Even if he had not overheard the rumors
from the townspeople as he approached, he would have known what had happened
here by scent alone.

Kouga walked around the outside of the domicile and dojo with a frown. The
place was filled with the stench of Kohaku, as well as that of old blood and
death. He could even detect traces of Kenshin’s all too human smelling blood
amongst the metallic, pungent odors prevalent in the air. The fact that his
blood smelled human and not hanyou told him in no uncertain terms exactly when
the attack upon this place had occurred.

‘Kenshin no baka,’ Kouga thought, ‘How many times have I told you
to avoid confrontations on the full moon?’

But even as that thought passed through his mind, he knew that his erstwhile
apprentice did not have an alternative. For it was very possible that Kohaku
had known of his night of weakness, and had purposely bided his time and attacked
him when he was vulnerable. And he had been vulnerable in more ways than one,
Kouga realized with a frown. For among the distinct, male scents in the air,
he detected one soft, delicate trace of white plums and sakura blossoms.

Kouga entered the dojo in order to further investigate what had happened here.
A scrap of blue fabric on the floor caught his attention, and he bent down onto
his knees to examine it further. The large, silky ribbon was covered in blood,
and with a delicate sniff, he was able to identify it as having belonged to
the woman whose scent he detected in the courtyard. He briefly considered transforming
back into a wolf, so that he could better process the scents he was detecting,
but decided against it – it was the middle of the afternoon, and the locals
would not take kindly to a large, brown wolf suddenly appearing within their
midst.

But even in his human form, he could not mistake the earthy scent of the blood
that had been spilled in the dojo, and thus he was able to figure out exactly
what happened to the young onna who had such a delicate scent.

Kouga growled, deep and low.

Kohaku in some ways surpassed even Naraku in his depravity.

It was almost a full five minutes before Kouga had calmed down enough to resume
his explorations. He looked around the dojo a little more, noticing with interest
the plaque on the wall.

‘Kamiya Kasshin Ryu – The Sword That Protects.’ The plaque read,
and Kouga couldn’t help but smile at the irony. ‘It appears that you found
someone who shared the same, unrealistic ideals that you once had, baka deshi.’
He thought fondly. In fact, he was somewhat amazed that Kenshin had been
able to hold onto such a principle, especially with his hands as stained with
blood as they were from his involvement in the Meiji restoration.

It still bothered Kouga that the young kitsune-hanyou he had taken under his
wing had completely disregarded all of the wisdom that he had bestowed upon
him, and became a tool of the Ishin Shishi. And also that he had used the sword
technique that Kouga had taught him to take the lives of many.

The Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu was never meant to be used against humans. It had
been developed and perfected over the many years by the descendants of the taijiya
and houshi that had helped take down Naraku, and therefore had been meant to
be used solely as a defense against youkai.

Never was it meant to be used to guide the sword of an assassin in a human
civil war.

A large part of Kouga blamed the kit for his foolhardiness and naivety. But
a larger part of him just blamed himself. He should have never offered to train
the boy. He should have just put him on a boat to the mainland as soon as he
found him - just like what he did with his own pack members. It would have
probably been what his father would have wanted, had he known of the boy’s predicament.

Not that he knew the kitsune well enough to know his heart – in fact, he barely
knew him at all. Just that he was resourceful and bright, and had loved his
Kagome like a mother. The young kitsune had likely suffered a loss by Kohaku’s
hands, and was probably dead or in hiding. For why else would he have abandoned
his kit into the hands of humans?

A noise from behind startled him from his thoughts, and Kouga had barely enough
time to jump out of the way, before a crazed young boy attacked him from behind
with a wooden bokkan.

How in the hell had the boy been able to sneak up on him? But even as he thought
of the question, the rather morbid answer popped into his mind.

‘Because the smell of dried blood and death is drowning out everything else.’

Kouga turned his ice blue eyes on the young kid, and at the boy’s incredulous
expression, he belatedly realized that although he had transformed from his
ookami form into his more ‘human’ one, he had not yet reapplied the mask that
would keep his ‘less than human’ attributes from being seen. Fortunately, the
voluminous fabric of his large white cape covered his tail, and the only ‘demonic’
features the boy was able to see were his ears and his eyes. His eye color
he could explain away though, because since the start of the Meiji, there had
been many gaijin to visit Japan with similar colored irises. But as for his
ears… he’d just have to think of something if the kid asked about them. Hopefully,
he could play it off without the kid realizing that he was indeed a youkai.

However, one glance at the boy dashed his hopes of doing just that.

“Chikushoo,” he swore softly, as the young, spiky haired boy stood in
front of him trembling. He was a little surprised that the kid still had the
wooden sword pointed at him and had not run off screaming, since it was obvious
that the kid at the very least suspected that Kouga was not as human as he appeared
to be.

Still, he couldn’t help but be mildly impressed with the boy because of it
- the kid had balls, and that was something that he had always respected.

“Who… what are you, and why are you here?” The kid asked in a trembling voice.

Kouga sighed, and closed his eyes. When he reopened them, his magic was back
in place, although because the boy had already seen his true appearance, he
would not notice the change. His magic only worked off of suggestion, after
all.

“Call me Hiko, kid. Listen, I mean you no harm.”

“You’re a demon!”

Kouga only smirked in response, in an attempt to play it off. “Heh – well
the women certainly seem to think so.” At the kid’s disgusted look, his smirk
turned into a full out smile. “But seriously kid - I’m just trying to find
an old acquaintance of mine.”

The kid blinked his eyes a couple of times, before tightening his grip on the
wooden sword in his hands.

Yahiko had seen many things in the past couple of days, and did not know what
was real and what was illusionary anymore. But something inside of him told
him that the stranger before him was not human, and after what he had seen,
Yahiko was inclined to trust his instincts.

“There’s no one left at this dojo but me.” Yahiko answered warily, as he regarded
the tall, dark haired stranger.

“I can see that,” Kouga answered somewhat sarcastically. “What’s your name,
kid?”

“Yahiko.”

“Well, Yahiko-chan, can you tell me exactly what happened here?”

Yahiko frowned.

“I will, if you don’t call me ‘chan’.” He said with narrowed eyes. After all,
he had spent the last several days burning and burying the dead – including
his own kenjutsu instructer, whom he had cared deeply for. He’d be damned if
some stranger was going to come here and treat him like a little kid – even
if he was a demon. “But first, you have to tell me who you’re looking
for – and why.”

“Sure… Yahiko-san. Whatever you say.” Kouga answered, as he raised
one eyebrow in amusement. “The man I need to find goes by the name Himura Kenshin.
He… he owes me some money.”

‘There, that sounds like a good enough reason.’ Kouga thought, silently
commending himself as he watched Yahiko for his reaction.

His words had a surprising effect on the young boy, as Yahiko’s eyes widened
only briefly before narrowing again in suspicion.

“You… you want to find ‘Himura Kenshin’? Well, sorry mister, it’s not going
to happen. The man who went by the name ‘Himura Kenshin’… is dead.”
Yahiko spat with no small amount of hatred.

Kouga’s eyes widened in response, as he felt a surprisingly painful tightening
in his chest. Kenshin – dead? No, he couldn’t be… Kouga took another
casual whiff of the air. Sure, there were traces of Kenshin’s blood, but definitely
not enough of it to cause his death. Still in shock, he turned back to the
young boy.

“How… how did he die?” Kouga asked softly.

Yahiko sneered.

“He was murdered… by the Hitokiri Battousai.”

Kouga furrowed his brow in confusion.

“Uh… what?!? You feeling okay, kid? You do know that Battousai and
Kenshin are both different names for the same person, right?” Kouga asked, extremely
confused by the boy and his words.

Yahiko scoffed. “Nuh uh,” he said, as he shook his head vigorously in negation.
“The Kenshin that I knew took a vow not to kill, and wielded only a sakabatou
for a weapon. He was soft spoken, friendly, polite and dependable. He was…
he was someone I looked up to. The Hitokiri Battousai, however…”

Yahiko trailed off, and looked up towards the tall, dark haired stranger with
the long, white cape. He had steely, unfathomable eyes, and his hair was pulled
up into a top knot. He looked every bit the samurai. ‘Owes him money my
ass,’ Yahiko thought.

He thought about telling him to just get lost, but decided against it when
the rather pleasant thought that this guy might be looking to exact vengeance
of his own against Kenshin made its way into Yahiko’s mind. After all, most
swordsmen who showed up at the dojo looking for Kenshin were only out to kill
him. But this was the first one that Yahiko had seen who looked as if he might
actually be able to pull it off.

Yahiko met his ice blue eyes with his own cinnamon brown ones, and shot him
a fierce glare.

“You wanted to know what had happened here? Well, I’ll tell you. Battousai
happened, that’s what. First he… he violated and killed Kaoru-sensei, and then
he went berserk and slaughtered over a dozen officers. I… I wasn’t here when
it happened, but when I came home…” Yahiko paused to take a deep breath, and
his hands started to tremble. “When I came home, the place was littered with
the bodies of men – all of them looking as if they had been torn apart by some
sort of wild animal – and Kenshin was covered in blood. He looked at me with
red eyes – demon eyes, the color of blood - and… and then he actually growled
at me. I… I was terrified, and for a moment I was sure that he was going to kill
me too. But before he could attack me, a… a demon showed up out of nowhere
and engaged him in a fight. They… they were so fast, I couldn’t even see what
they were doing. All I know is that they were not fighting with their swords.
After the fight was over, Kenshin fell to his knees and begged for death… an
admission of guilt if ever I’ve seen one. And now…”

Yahiko paused, and wiped his brow clear of the sweat that had gathered there.

“And now… the Battousai…” He said through gritted teeth, “is gone.
And I hope that the youkai that came for him dragged him straight to hell.
Because of that asshole, I have spent the last three days burning bodies, not
to mention that I had to bury my own sensei, who was like an older sister to
me. So if you find that backstabbing, murderous bastard, tell him… tell him
that Himura Kenshin is forever dead to me. And I will make it my life’s goal
to become strong enough to exact vengeance for what he did to Kaoru-sensei.
That, I swear.”

Yahiko had never before referred to Kenshin as the Battousai – not even in
his own mind, although he had heard the stories of Kenshin’s past. But after
what he had seen, ‘Kenshin Himura the rurouni’ was dead to him, and he could
think of the red haired samurai as nothing but the bloody hitokiri he had once
been and had apparently become yet again.

Kouga, for his part, stood in silent shock at Yahiko’s words. The boy reminded
him so much of Kenshin at that age, and also of himself. The kid was in so
much pain, but still had the fortitude to do what needed to be done in the aftermath
of such a massacre. And now, he only desired vengeance, and rightly so. But
he desired it against the wrong person.

Kouga shook his head in sympathy, as he considered what he should say to the
boy. He could, at the very least, convince him of Kenshin’s innocence before
he left - for Yahiko’s sake, as well as Kenshin’s, who surely would be devastated
by the lad’s misdirected loathing of him. It was obvious that the two had been
quite close, after all.

But first, he wanted to ask the boy about the youkai he had seen. Did Kohaku
take Kenshin with him when he left? If so, then there was no point in even
pursuing him anymore. Kouga frowned, as he turned to the boy and questioned
him about it.

“Did you say that a… a demon took him away?”

Yahiko scowled at him.

“Yeah. I did. A demon – and don’t bother saying anything, because believe
me I’ve already heard it – yes, I’m absolutely positively sure that he was a
demon, and no, my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. It’s damn hard not to
notice a four foot long, bushy red fox tail, claws, pointed ears…” Yahiko trailed
off as he looked once again at Kouga’s own ears. “Kinda like the ones you have,
by the way…”

“Uh, birth defect.” Kouga answered automatically. Kouga could tell that the
boy didn’t quite accept his explanation – especially when he rolled his eyes.
Young Yahiko was far too perceptive by half. Had he been looking for a new
apprentice, Yahiko would have been a prime candidate.

Kouga made a mental note to check on the boy after all was said and done.
Perhaps if things went well, he could take the boy under his wing and train
him. It was obvious that he had the spirit of a samurai, and since he blamed
himself somewhat for the loss of the kid’s former sensei – after all, had he
informed Kenshin about Kohaku while he was apprenticed to him, quite possibly
none of this would have happened – Kouga felt as if he owed the boy. Still,
he didn’t know if he could find it within himself to take on yet another strong
willed apprentice – especially considering how his last apprentice had turned
on him by becoming a puppet for the Ishin Shishi.

For a moment, he thought on how his actions during the war must have affected
his former baka deshi. Surely, the soul of the violet eyed lad that he had
trained must have been irreparably damaged, once he truly understood the ramifications
of his actions. Kouga had hoped to spare Kenshin of that fate, but unfortunately
his baka deshi had not taken his words to heart.

Regret was something that Kouga knew well. After all, he still carried the
heavy weight of guilt for his own crimes against innocent humans, even after
so many centuries. In response to his thoughts, the image of a young, innocent
girl with her hair pulled into a side pony tail made its way into his mind,
and Kouga shuddered at the memory.

He had been thankful when the Taiyoukai had restored the girl with his life-giving
sword, but the restoration of one life could never erase the guilt he had felt
for so callously bringing death to so many others.

Respect for human life was one of the strongest values he had gained from his
association with her. It had been many centuries since he had last seen
the miko, but Kouga still honored her memory with his promise to not take a
human life without provocation. In fact, the only time in recent years that
he had raised his blade against a human was to save the life of young Shinta.
And Kouga was perfectly confident that she would have agreed with his actions
in that instance.

‘Kagome.’

Kouga shook his head clear of the unrelated thoughts, and concentrated on the
information that Yahiko had provided him. He had never known Kohaku to take
on the form of a kitsune youkai. As far as he knew, Kohaku had taken to imitating
Inu-koro’s powerful half brother. So the kid’s recollection of seeing a kitsune
youkai had surprised him. Could Kenshin’s father still be alive, or was it
merely another one of Kohaku’s tricks? There was only one way to tell. He
would have to see if he could detect the kitsune’s distinct scent amongst the
many others that were present in the area.

“Yahiko, can you show me the spot where his fight with the demon occurred?”
Kouga asked.

Yahiko nodded, and led him into a small grassy area outside. Kouga tentatively
sniffed the air. Upon coming across a scent that was not human, not Kohaku,
and not Kenshin, he dropped to his knees, and scanned the ground. There, amongst
the grass, was a clump of red fur. He picked it up and examined it curiously.

“I knew it! I knew that the small red haired man was a kitsune youkai!
Damn you Sano…” Yahiko muttered under his breath when he saw the clump of fur
from the kitsune’s tail.

‘So the fox really is still alive!’ Kouga thought with relief, as he
surreptitiously sniffed the wiry clump of hair. If the fox was alive, that
meant that Kenshin was hopefully still alive. The kitsune was probably taking
Kenshin somewhere he thought safe. Not that there was such a place, as long
as Kohaku was around. He’d have to find Kenshin and Shippo and convince them
both of that. Combined, maybe the three of them could accomplish what he had
not been able to do on his own, and take care of Kohaku for good.

“Do you know which –“ Kouga began, but was cut off by Yahiko who had already
anticipated his question.

“If you want to know where they went, the last I heard, they were headed towards
the oni forest in the east. I hope you kill him when you find him, if the fox
has not already done so. Now, you know what happened mister – so leave.” Yahiko
said, somewhat exasperated. He was an emotional wreck, and he could feel the
tears beginning to pool at the corners of his eyes. The last thing he wanted
was for this stranger - who was quite possibly yet another demon – to
see him cry.

The boy’s words pierced through Kouga’s thoughts, and drew his attention back
to Yahiko.

‘The oni forest in the east? Does he mean Inuyasha’s forest? Why would
they head there?’ Kouga questioned silently, as he turned towards Yahiko
once again.

Yahiko was clenching and unclenching his fists, as he unsuccessfully tried
to repress the angry tears that were threatening to fall – reminding Kouga that
there was one more thing he needed to discuss with the kid before he took off.
And that was the issue of Kenshin’s guilt.

Kouga sighed, and shot Yahiko a look of understanding.

“Kid, before I leave, I want you to listen to me.”

He waited until Yahiko turned his reddened eyes in his direction before continuing.

“Kenshin did not kill your sensei. I know that for a fact, because
the reason I came here was to warn Kenshin about the one who did. He’s
an old enemy of ours whose depravity knows no boundaries. He… did what he did
to your kenjutsu instructor because he knew that in doing so, he would bring
Kenshin unimaginable pain. I know that this is hard for you to accept and understand
kid, but put your anger aside for a moment and think. What would Kenshin have
to gain by raping and murdering her? Why would he do such a thing?”

Yahiko frowned. That same question had bothered him for the past few days,
because he had not been able to answer it himself. For Yahiko had been under
the impression that there were some very strong feelings between the two. After
all, Kaoru had been such a lively, fun and beautiful girl – even though he often
called her ‘buso’ in jest, he would have had to be blind not to notice she was
far from it. And he knew that Kenshin had noticed her beauty as well - Yahiko
had often seen the sidelong, wistful glances that the rurouni cast in her direction
when he thought she was not looking. What’s more, he had often caught Kaoru
looking at Kenshin in the same way, and had teased her about it on more than
one occasion.

He could not even begin to comprehend what would motivate Kenshin to rape and
murder the girl… Yahiko was still in shock over it, because it was truly unfathomable.

“I… nothing… he would gain nothing from Kaoru’s death… and I don’t understand
why he did it… I guess I just thought he had finally lost his mind for good…”
Yahiko eventually answered as he averted his eyes. They were beginning to sting
with unshed tears, and he did not want the other man to see them.

Kouga sighed.

“Kenshin did not rape or murder your sensei. He wouldn’t have had any reason
to do so. Kamiya Kaoru was used as a weapon against Kenshin. Think about it.”

Yahiko’s hands started to tremble. He wanted desperatelystyle='color:red'> to believe what this Hiko character was telling him,
and yet he had seen Kaoru, had seen the many cuts and bruises
she had suffered, had seen how her kimono had been torn to shreds, had
seen how her throat had been cut… and he had seen the traces of
dried blood on her inner thighs when he gently carried her body out into the
courtyard. One lone tear made its way down Yahiko’s cheek as he vigorously
shook his head in negation.

“Iie. I know what I saw. Kenshin was covered in blood, and his eyes were
red, like a demon. He killed her – I… I know he did. Didn’t he?” Yahiko responded,
his voice wavering and filled with uncertainty.

Kouga sighed and bent down on his knees, so that his head was level with Yahiko’s.

“No, kid. The one who did kill her… is a depraved monster. A demon, kid.
And he targeted your kenjutsu instructor in order to attack Kenshin where he
was most vulnerable.” Kouga said. When Yahiko gave him a confused look in
return, Kouga placed his right hand over Yahiko’s heart.

The pallor of Yahiko’s skin increased as understanding began to dawn.

“You mean, this… this enemy of yours… he… he raped and killed Kaoru in order
to hurt Kenshin… because… because Kenshin loved her.” Yahiko said brokenly,
while he fervently tried to choke back his tears.

“Aa.”

Yahiko was sniffling now, and he no longer cared as the tears finally started
to roll freely down his cheeks.

“Did your enemy also kill the police officers?” Yahiko asked with somewhat
hopeful eyes. It was such a great relief off of his chest to understand that
Kenshin wasn’t responsible for what had happened to Kaoru, and he desperately hoped
that Hiko could provide him with a plausible explanation for the deaths of the
others – one that did not put Kenshin at fault.

Kouga winced, and gave the young boy an answer that was as vague as it was
truthful.

“Indirectly… hai.”

And with a small, sad smile, he turned his back on the boy and took off towards
the east.

~*~

A/N: Phew! At fourteen pages, this is my longest chapter yet! I hope that
I’ve successfully merged aspects of both hiko and kouga into a convincing individual
– I would be interested in hearing what everyone thinks of this chapter. So,
get off your duffs and review! LOL.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. By the way, I’ve done a rather
hentai-ish digital piece of artwork for the older kagome and kenshin in this
story. If you get a chance, go to href="http://whirleeq.deviantart.com/gallery">http://whirleeq.deviantart.com/gallery
and let me know what you think of it! Ta for now!

--julie

Japanese Words:

Sonno joi - revere the emperor, expel the barbarians

Shitsurei – a sarcastic form of ‘gomen’ (sorry)

Shishou – master

Deshi – apprentice (baka deshi = idiot apprentice)

Gaijin – foreigner(s)

Sakabatou – reverse blade sword

Katana – Japanese sword

Aa – yes (male specific)

Taijiya – demon slayer

Chikushoo – An expletive, roughly translates to ‘Oh fuck!’

Buso – an ugly girl

Inu-kuso – dog crap (kouga's pet name for Inuyasha)

Hai – yes

Iie - no

Onna – woman

Kentjutsu – The art of swordsmanship - an archaic term. The modern term is 'Kendo'.

Ookami – wolf

Kitsune – fox

Hanyou – half demon

Ishin Shishi – refers to those who fought against the Tokugawa Shogunate during
the Meiji restoration. (In the dubbed anime, they are referred to as the Imperialists)

Hitokiri – manslayer; assassin

Youkai – demon

Rurouni - wanderer

Baka – idiot, fool

Tatami – bed roll/mat