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Standard Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin characters are the property of creator Nobohiro Watsuki, Shueisha, Shounen Jump, and Sony Entertainment.

Light of the Snow-Red Village
Part I - Love's Advent: The Bakumatsu and Beyond - Chapter 1

The forest glistened with the pure whiteness, the half-hidden winter sun shining down among the trees. A cottage lay just out of the woods, still and seemingly ignorant of the coming weather. The dead, untouched field was covered in ice, mingling with the hardened dirt of crops from earlier that year. A lone boy walked through it, anxious, afraid for what he might find hidden among the white. Dark, red. Blood.

"Neechan?" Yukishiro Enishi called out worriedly, as he approached the cottage with a growing feeling of dread. He had seen the ruined cabin in the woods, and the body of the last Yaminobu, lying in a patch of bloody snow, Tomoe's dagger imbedded into his chest. He was frightened when he didn't find Battousai, or his sister, though it relieved him greatly. It meant that he still had her, but that she was alive.

"Enishi?" her soft voice answered, and Tomoe came into view. "What are you still doing here? I told you-"

"Neechan!" he blurted happily, hugging her tightly. "I thought you were dead! I saw the Yaminobu - I saw all the footprints... I thought Battousai had taken you away again! I thought I'd lost you..." he pulled away, grinning. "Is he dead? Is Battousai dead? Surely, he must be badly wounded! I saw all the blood on the ground. It had to be his! Where is-"

Tomoe gently covered his mouth with two fingers. "Shh..." she hushed him. She led him into the next room. "He's sleeping."

Inside, Himura Battousai lay on a futon, covered with many bandages and a blanket. Enishi stared at him, anger and disbelief flitting across his face. "Neechan?" he choked out, eyes narrowing. "You helped him? Why? Why? I don't understand..."

"Enishi," she closed her eyes and, kneeling down and holding him, began to whisper soothingly, "I don't expect you to understand, but I want you to listen. This man... Himura-san... my husband... yes, he killed Akira-san, but hating him won't bring back the dead. I've learned this, while living with him this past year. He's not the man we assumed he was. I... Enishi, I love him. Just as much as I loved Akira-san."

Enishi stiffened, pulling back and staring in horror. He backed away, covering his ears. "No, no! You can't, you can't love him! He took your happiness, he made you sad, you can't love him!"

Tomoe watched him go, eyes sorrowful. "Enishi... I'm sorry..." 'Maybe someday you'll understand...'

"My fiancé was the second son of a similar family, a childhood friend. Like my father, he wasn't accomplished, but he was kind and hardworking. At the time, I loved him very much. When he chose me to be his wife, I was very happy. But, even though I was so happy, all I could do was look at him in amazement. No matter how much I hated it, I couldn't bring myself to smile. Maybe that's why I never told him how happy I was. 'If the second son of a samurai cannot make you happy, I will at least be known as a warrior of repute,' he told me. He postponed our wedding and joined the Kyoto Mimawarigumi, entering the chaos of Kyoto -- And then, he never returned..."

"I didn't wait for the news to come to me. I went to Kyoto as well... in a far-off place I didn't know, he died there. The happiness I should have had vanished with him... but the truth is, maybe it really was my fault. If only I had cried and tried to stop him... and because I thought that way... if I hadn't found something... someone to hate, I would have gone mad..."

"Tomoe... the happiness you lost once, in all this chaos. I'll protect it this time for you."

"Let's do this, Battousai! If you want to take her back, you'll do so over my corpse!"

One last attack. All it took. One last strike, and she lay in his arms, dying...

"IIE!" Kenshin snapped awake with a horrified cry, sitting up abruptly. Pain shot up his spine, and, wincing, he fell back onto the futon, eyes closed.

So close to what had happened. If he had been half a second slower... if he hadn't halted his attack... if the snow hadn't caused him to falter in his step...

"Daijoubu." a soft voice whispered in his ear. His eyes opened again, meeting her dark, calm expression. "It's all right, nothing's happened."

"Tomoe..." he murmured, drinking in the sight of her with unending relief. "I... I dreamed... I..."

"It's all right." she repeated, wiping his forehead with a damp cloth. "You have a slight fever, and it's causing bad dreams. You were out in the cold for too long."

"Yes. You've been delirious for over a week now. You're recovering though; the medicine you had to sell to the village helped a great deal."

"I know." the ever gentle voice drifted through his consciousness. "I love you too, anata."

"He drifts in and out. I'm not sure if what you say will mean anything to him later on."

Consciousness came to him slowly. He floated sluggishly out of the fog of his mind and raised himself up, shaking his head to clear it. "Ka... Katsura-san?"

Katsura Kogoro and Tomoe turned to him, a little surprised. He blinked tiredly; the world seemed to spin for a moment, then rested again.

"So you're awake." Katsura smiled at him, small and soft as usual. "I've wanted to talk-"

"Here." Tomoe interrupted politely, handing Kenshin a cup of tea. "Drink this; it'll warm you up."

"Arigato." Shakily, he did so, then turned back to the Ishin Shishi leader, his eyes clearer. "Katsura-san, you came back. Everyone said you had run away... but I knew you couldn't have..."

"I'm glad you never lost faith." Katsura shifted his position slightly, as if he was uncomfortable with the subject. "I've been trying to recover from Ikedaya affair. As for the traitor... it was Iizuka. I've already sent someone for him."

"Yes. His name is Shishio Makoto. His past is unknown, but his skills are comparable to yours. He will be taking care of the assassinations from now on."

"Then I am being dismissed." Kenshin replied flatly, his voice unreadable. Regretful... hopeful...

Katsura, however, shook his head. "The Ishin Shishi are gradually growing in numbers, and are fighting strongly again, but the patriots are being hunted in Kyoto. Himura... I'm sorry to ask you this... but I must ask you to continue to wield your sword for us. You are to become squad swordsman, fighting in the front lines to protect the patriots."

"It's cruel of me to ask this of you." Katsura admitted. "But I have no choice. I can't rely on anyone else for this role. Please, put aside your feelings for now... I ask you to wield the Mitsurugi sword for the Shishi again."

After a few moments, Kenshin glanced up at Tomoe, eyes sorrowful. 'Then our life of peace... is really over... I'm sorry Tomoe, I must do this... if I give up my sword now... everything I have done before will be for nothing...'

She nodded, unsmiling, and he knew she understood. It was an unspoken promise... she, who was meant to die that day, lived. Her promise... to stay with him, no matter what...

Kenshin looked back to Katsura, and gave him a slight nod. His head lowered again. Tomoe sent Katsura a cool look - polite, yet reproving - that was clearly a message of dismissal.

He recognized it, and, respecting their privacy, pressed an envelope into her hands. He bowed his head to Tomoe and stood, turning towards the door. "Come as soon as you've recovered. Himura, we will be waiting for you in Kyoto."

Kenshin didn't reply, nor did he look up. Tomoe waited for the door to slide shut, then stood, placing the envelope off to the side and refilling the cup. "It was very kind of him to come all this way. Unfortunately, we won't be leaving from this place until you are well, so his assignments will have to wait."

When she heard the rustling of movement, she moved closer to Kenshin and held his shoulders from behind, even as he struggled to get up.

"Anata..." she murmured softly into his hair, "You can't leave now. If you go while you are still sick, you'll die. Wait just a little longer... please..."

"Tomoe..." he choked out. She had never called him that. Not even... the night before she disappeared, the first time they had truly held each other, in love... "I..."

"You have to go back to Kyoto. I know that much." she wrapped her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder and leaning her head against him. "But not now. Not yet... we're not ready to leave this place..."

"I'm coming with you." she answered the unfinished question without hesitation. Even before she answered, he had somehow known.

He leaned his head back, and, daring, placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. She was startled, but didn't pull away.

Kenshin was surprised, a few days later, at the hug given to him by Mrs. Okami when they arrived in Kyoto. The elderly keeper of the Kohagi Inn was greatly relieved to see both of them in good health, more or less - Kenshin was still recovering from his injuries, but by then they were minor - and especially Tomoe, whose company, however silent, she had missed. They were given a room and a message for Kenshin to be well rested for the next day, in which someone would come for him.

"Look at you two." Okami murmured in a motherly tone. "Even in this chaos, you deserve some happiness..."
Kenshin lowered his head, recalling faintly the words he had overheard the Kyoto administrator Shigekura Jubei...

"And don't worry about Himura-san." he dimly heard Okami pull Tomoe aside. "The job he's been given is dangerous, but it's nothing he can't handle. Katsura-san knew what he was doing."

"He's not well right now." Tomoe replied quietly. "He needs more rest. I don't believe he's ready to fight so suddenly, especially after all this time."

"Tomoe-san." Kenshin called to her. "It's all right. I can handle it. I'll find the strength to do what I must; I always have."

She sent him a slightly worried glance, then nodded and turned away. "Okami-san, I will resume my earlier duties as payment for our stay."

"Yes, yes, of course." Okami waved her off. "But not today. You and Himura-san have had a long day; get some rest, and you can work tomorrow."

She shooed them into their room, sliding the door shut behind them. Kenshin walked straight to the window, hand resting on the ledge. "Tomoe-san... this is the same room as before..."

"Hai." Tomoe opened a small box and began to shelve the books he used to read to help him sleep. "Okami-san must have prepared this. I suppose... it will be different this time... anata?"

She glanced over, and a small smile crept across her face. He had curled up beside the window, and was sleeping silently, one hand holding his katana close to his heart.

'Just like before... when I first awoke here, to find him, asleep... vulnerable...'

She took a blanket from the futon in the corner and wrapped it around his shoulders, memory of the terrifying experience last time she had done so burned in her mind...

... him, awakening, the hitokiri's madness in his eyes, sword at her throat, anger, fury, terror...

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I... I say that I don't kill civilians, but... I almost just did. I almost..."

"Himura Battousai's weakness is... when he's asleep. Even the best swordsman cannot perfectly defend himself when he is sleeping, and the Battousai is no exception."

'It's true.' she stared down guiltily. 'Before, he would have been able to fend off an attack even in sleep. Now... he didn't even react. My being with him must have...'

"Arigato." his hands curled around the blanket, no longer clutching his sword, though his eyes never opened. It took her a moment to realize he was asleep again. The smile returned.

'Things are similar... yet still different. Yes, they are different this time...'

The next day, Tomoe awoke and found herself alone. She was met in the hall by Okami, who explained that a man had left with Himura earlier that morning. Almost robotic, she filled the day with chores, checking her room at every chance she had, in case her husband returned while she worked. At one point, Okami pulled her aside to speak with her.

"Don't fret about Himura-san, dear." she smiled at the young woman's anxiety. "Nothing much happens during the day... it's when night comes that the work begins."

Tomoe nodded, knowing she was trying to be reassuring, yet her words only caused more worry. Night came slowly, and when he did not return, she went back to the room and wrote in her diary.

Her hand drifted to a particular page, one that had omitted many of her thoughts and feelings. One of the worst days of her life.

"April 4th. News arrived from Kyoto regarding Kiyosato Akira-sama's assassination. Though I can hardly believe it, I am filled with regret that I did not stop him from leaving. Now..."

'Now, though I still regret it, I am no longer filled with hate and thoughts of revenge. Now, I have found a new love, and I will remain a good wife to him...'

Late that night, she heard the soft sloshing of water. It was familiar, and she knew immediately who it was. She made her way down to the wash room and found him standing at the sink, hands buried in a bucket of water, scrubbing away. Taking a towel from the rack, she touched his arm and pulled his hands from the water, giving it to him.

"Come to bed." she whispered, watching. "Your hands are clean. Are you hurt at all?"

Tomoe's frown remained in place. She could see it all returning, like a nightmare that wouldn't go away.

'His eyes... during our time away from all this violence, his eyes softened, and almost... almost lost their amber colour... much brighter, more alive... but now... they're going back to... the way they were...'

'I won't allow him to lose himself again. I won't let go back to being what he was... I swore that I would help him... this man... this killer with the gentlest spirit I have ever seen... I will do my best to protect him from the dark madness called Hitokiri Battousai...'

"We've heard rumours of a Shinsengumi attack tonight." the faint murmur was barely heard through the rice paper wall. "You're to go with the officials to the meeting and protect them. It's possible you could be fighting either the second or fourth divisions, and you know that each are very skilled. Be careful; this mission is important."

Tomoe continued sweeping, trying to ignore the conversation coming from only a few feet away. Eavesdropping was rude, hardly the behaviour of a good wife.

'Another mission.' she sighed inwardly. 'Another night of waiting... worrying... wondering if someone would come back and tell me that he... has been killed...'

"Tomoe... we received news about Kiyosato-san... several days ago, he was killed on the streets of Kyoto... defending the honour of the Shogun against the Ishin Shishi hitokiri, Battousai..."

It had been just under a year since they had returned to Kyoto. Just under a year since that cold winter day when the peace had been broken, perhaps forever.

Just under a year since she began to lose her gentle, quiet husband to the hitokiri.

'Please... let the fighting end... enough people have suffered... perished... all for the sake of men without a drop of blood on their souls... men who send others to fight and die for them...'

'First Akira-san, now Himura Kenshin is again being killed by this... cause...'

His skills had not dulled. His wounds had healed. And still, nearly ever night, he went out again and again, to defend... to fight... to kill... to be hurt, again and again...

'We need to get away from here. We need to leave this place... go to a real home, where we can live peacefully again... away from the killing and bloodshed...'

"I'm going out again. I'll be back by morning. Please stay inside the inn until I return." his eyes softened a little. "The streets aren't safe."

"Nothing." she turned away and began to sweep again. 'It is true, however... We are no longer safe from the demons that haunt and hound him day and night. They will never stop... not until the violence is over...'

Notes: These are partial chapters; I was recommended by a reader to upload in smaller sections to get more responses. ^_^ So that means... respond! Please! Well, thanks again for reading...