Author's note: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, and I apologize for taking so long to update this... please review and some suggestions would be helpful.

Act III. Crimson Rain POV: Kamiya Kaoru

Word quickly spread through Tokyo about the match between Saito and the Battosai, but it was worded rather differently. Some rumors mentioned a demon slicing off a police Lieutenant’s arm, others were truly vague on the people, but told of two former revolutionaries battling it out behind the station. The thing that had worried Kaoru the most was the rumor about the scarlet haired man with golden eyes that had threatened a crowd of people, that disturbed her after she thought about the shadow that had pasted her earlier. She noted that the laundry was not done and Kenshin was nowhere to be seen.

“Is Kenshin here?” Sanosuke asked. Sano was not the patient type; he wanted to slug Kenshin in the gut for leaving. Kaoru shook her head and sighed quietly.

“So maybe it was Kenshin in those rumors… After all how many people in this city have scarlet red hair?” Yahiko said as he started doing the laundry in Kenshin’s steed.

“I don’t like this at all,” Kaoru replied, her face was flush as she thought it out, “that must be it! The person talking to us earlier wasn’t Kenshin, but the Battosai! That would explain the rumors.”

“Yea, but why would the Battosai threaten a crowd of people and not us?” Yahiko asked.

“I think the Kenshin we know asked him not to… Besides, he when to the trouble to fool me,” Kaoru answered unsure as ever.

“Yeah right, are there two Kenshin’s or something?” Sanosuke yelled. They all tensed up as they heard footsteps. Yahiko returned to doing the laundry, but he was paying more attention to Sanosuke and Kaoru’s actions then before. The door slid open, in the doorway stood Chief Ukimura. Yahiko and the others relaxed instantly.

“Is he here?” Yukimura asked plainly, he was almost white.

“Define He, is, and here,” Sanosuke replied smugly.

“Is Mr. Himura here at the Kamiya dojo?” the chief said, his face was becoming flush. Suddenly the dojo doors opened, and Kenshin walked in and turned around to shut the doors.

“Who’s asking this time Yukimura?” was his response.

“Kenshin? Or is my theory correct,” Kaoru asked, the Battosai turned around to reveal his golden eyes, “Battosai.”

“You mean it really was you who fought with Lieutenant Fujita? You always seemed to hate violence Mr. Himura,” the chief was half white and half red. The truth was right in front of him; it was Himura Battosai not the Rurouni Kenshin Himura.

“Are you here to nag me? I been nagged for the past hour by that blasted Rurouni, you can’t imagine how stupid you seem compared to that annoying pacifist,” he paused and hit skull lightly, “So if any of you even think about it I’ll cut open your stomach, take out you guts and put them in a bowl. By the time I’m done you will wish you were dead.”

“I take back what I said before about threatening the crowd and not us,” Kaoru whispered to Sano.

“That is a fine way to greet someone, but might I suggest you don’t anger the Rurouni who stays here,” Yukimura was pale, but he held what little ground in the argument that he could.

‘I should have killed the wolf, but the Rurouni was being such a pest that I stopped there,’ the Battosai thought grimly. The Rurouni was awake and sunset was approaching far sooner than the Battosai had thought. ‘If I don’t fight off the Rurouni I’ll be stuck inside for another ten years. I can’t let that happen.’

“Himura Battosai, you are under arrest for assaulting a police officer,” came a cry from outside the doors, “put your sword down and surrender. We have you surrounded, Yukimura are you through?”

“If it’s a fight you want I’ll surely give you one if you intend to try capturing me,” the Battosai motioned to Kaoru to open the door. She opened it slowly to reveal about twenty-five policemen. A few of them backed up when Battosai lowered into his famous Battojitsu stance.

“Your resistance is futile Battosai, you’ll never dodge all of their bullets,” Yukimura said as he walked behind the ranks. He raised his hand, in response the gunmen aimed for the Battosai. When he dropped his hand to let the gunmen fire the Battosai unsheathed his sword. He hit them first with the dull edge then cut through the bullets that had been fired with the sharp side of his blade. In doing so he cut down the first rank of men, many of the gunman were sprawled out on the ground drowning in their own blood.

“HITEN MITSURUGI-RYU RYUSOSEN!” Kaoru and the others could only watch in horror as the Battosai cut down man after man, the once untainted Sakabato was now bloodstained. Kaoru dropped to her knees crying, the Battosai glared at the survivors to gloat that no one would ever defeat him using such trivial weapons as guns. Many of them fled, as the rain came the Battosai looked at Kaoru with the same eyes and expression as he had started with. The rain washed the crimson liquid down the street.

“You said that it was past him, that you didn’t care that he had been a murderer,” the Battosai walked towards her Sanosuke stepped in front of him, but Kaoru pushed Sanosuke aside, “Now that you seen the hell made by the assassin’s sword… do you truly believe that you could live with someone who saw and or did that everyday during the revolution at an age younger than you?”

“I…” Kaoru ran towards him, “Even now that I see his nightmares brought to life I cannot truly comprehend the Hell that is created by the sword of a Hitokiri, but I would try if it meant that you and Kenshin would stay with us. That you would protects from the fate that just befell those men.”

“I never could have thought that was what Kenshin hid from us, he hid such a dangerous method of protection from us,” Yahiko managed to say through his fright.

“I really don’t care about the past, that’s what behind us. I even if you kill, even if you do… I would and will still stand behind you,” Kaoru answered looking the former Hitokiri in the eyes, “as long as you are not killing women, children, or the incapacitated, I will stand by your side.”

“Kaoru…” Yahiko stated, “but I thought…”

“Foolish one aren’t you? I really don’t care, no let me rephrase that… I don’t give a damn about you even if that damn pacifist was your lover or something. My interests are purely my own, and staying here with you weaklings is not going to help my interests,” the Battosai said calmly, “ to add before I leave this hellhole, I will NOT hesitate to kill you if you get in my way.”

“Is that all you have to say Battosai?” Yukimura was bleeding at the shoulder, he looked at the Battosai,“ You really are a demon’s incarnation, aren’t you?” The Battosai gave his a full view of his golden eyes, Yukimura was certain that there was blood behind his eyes. The Battosai struck him the butt of his sword.

“Battosai?” Kaoru asked, “what makes you so evil?” The Battosai didn’t answer, he just tossed her the reverse blade sword.

“I will leave you for now, but I shall return,” with that Kenshin left, leaving the Kamiya dojo and his bloodstained blade yet again.

The Battosai was frustrated, he had been trying to get out of Tokyo for an hour, but every cop that saw him. He was forced to battle them with random objects he found lying around, like pieces of wood, sushi, and something he’d rather forget about. He defeated them, but his makeshift weapons always broke. One broke while he was fending off an attack, he was forced to move and counter attack before they could regroup from the shock of the blow.

“Give it up Battosai, you can’t win this,” a confident cop shouted as they surrounded him. Battosai narrowed his eyes, there were only twenty of them, and he could probably steal one of the swordsman’s swords… ‘ Nah, to dangerous getting caught by a bullet,’ the Battosai cursed about leaving his dumb blade at that dojo. What surprised him was that none of the officers advanced, he was without one of his weapons, and it took its toll. He still had his speed and accuracy though, and that thought alone terrified them.

“Hey Battosai!” he heard, Kaoru Kamiya and the rest of them were running toward him. Note Sanosuke looks pissed about being left behind, “ didn’t think you could get rid of us that easy. We will not let you die.”

“Persistent witch, what do you want Zanza?” Battosai almost growled, Kaoru, Sano, and Yahiko burst through the officers’ ranks.

“You damn patriot, I told you not to leave without my permission!” Sano yelled at him. Kaoru took up her wooden blade on the Battosai’s left; Yahiko did the same on his right. Sanosuke stood there looking like a fool for a second, then handed the Battosai wooden sword. Sanosuke took up the backside with his fists.

“What the hell am I going to do with this Zanza? It’ll break faster than I’ll give up!” Battosai said in his cold voice, “ why’d you bring this stick?”

“You cannot kill if you don’t have a blade,” Kaoru smiled, then answered, “It will withstand your attacks because of a metal rod that was forged into it’s interior. Yahiko stop shaking…”

Indeed Yahiko was shaking; he was scared of the Battosai. Who in their right mind isn’t? Yahiko was there to make sure that the man he admired wasn’t killed along with the Battosai, the Rurouni had to be there. Kaoru’s smile faded into a scowl, Sano’s changed into a smile.

“Stop shaking, this ends now,” the Battosai said, he raised the wooden blade.

“Stop dreaming Battosai, you may have allies, but you are fiercely outnumbered, and outclassed,” the office replied, Yukimura appeared panting, “stop resisting Battosai, you cannot win.”

“Screw you people, I’ll cut you down if you get in my way,” the Battosai yelled, he took his wooden blade and charged. He hit two officers in the head hard enough that it broke their necks. Kaoru batted down an officer that came after Kenshin from behind, and Yahiko hit someone in the face with his blade.

“Hey where are you going Battosai?” Sano yelled as the Battosai whacked a path to some horses.

“I’m leaving this hellhole, if you’re following me you better get a ride,” he replied, the Battosai hopped on to the closest one, he helped Kaoru by shoving his blade into the eye of an officer trying to cut the horse. She jumped on the same horse that he was on. Yahiko got on the next horse, (the had to bat down an officer to get it though.)

Then there was Sano, he charged through and hopped on to a tan horse with a dark brown mane. The Battosai made his black stallion ride out hard, he almost trampled a few people. Yahiko and Sano made their horses do the same they did trample a barrel. They rode hard into the sunset; they dared not stop for they knew that pursuers would be not far behind. They did slow the horses to a walk though. Their journey had only begun.

Hours pasted like days for the group from the Kamiya dojo. The Battosai had finally stopped inside a thick forest; he dismounted and led his horse to a small creek. Kaoru jumped off, then tripped over a rock. Battosai caught her by the ponytail.

“What was that for Battosai?” she nearly screamed.

“Don’t get your selves cut, blood attracts predators,” he replied soothing his stallion.

“Oh,” Kaoru felt stupid. She thought he had done it out of concern for her, but the truth was he had done it out of self-interest.

“Where are we anyway Battosai?” Sanosuke asked, looking more closely at the forest. There were no creatures on the forest floor. There were a few in the trees and that was it.

“A forest of death, Yamiryu Renkinjutsu,” he pointed to the creek, “that is Yokai creek, it is said that it is impossible to find unless you truly know where it is.”

“So how do you know where it is?” Yahiko asked bluntly.

“The signs around it, besides I’ve been here before,” the Battosai leapt up in to a tree, “I would not advise sleeping on the forest floor, especially not if your wounded. You learn that after you make that mistake.”

“So are you going to sleep up there?” Kaoru asked, he nodded, “ can you help me get up off the ground? It’s in your best interests not to let me get eaten alive.”

“I don’t want any complaints about you falling off. You’ll want help down later I suppose,” she nodded as the Battosai jumped down from his branch. He scooped her up into his arm and jumped to a branch about three feet thick. She looked down to see Sanosuke about fifteen feet below, (she decided not to shriek.)

“Can you do me one last favor? Can you indent the branch so it’s harder for me to fall off?” Kaoru looked as scowl formed on his face. He set her down on the thinning side of the branch; he took the wooden sword off his belt.

“Hold on,” she grabbed around the Battosai’s waste. He hit the branch several times, but she only saw it when he picked her up and dropped her in the hole a foot and a half deep. The whole was about the 5 feet long and about the same foot and a half wide.

“Arigato,” she said, the Battosai hopped down his branch and did the same.

“Get some sleep, you’ll need it you really plan on doing what you were saying,” the Battosai fell asleep the fastest. Before Kaoru knew it she was asleep, but she welcomed her dreams with open arms.

Sano was scared for the first time since he had been a child. Here he was in the middle of nowhere with a kid, a girl, and a ruthless murderer. He had no food, no bed, no fire, no Rurouni, and no food, he did note there was water and materials for a fire nearby. This was not something he thought he’d be doing with his former pacifist friend in his Hitokiri state leading them into dangerous beyond that of Shishio or Saito.

Was this the last day he would ever see the Rurouni?