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Disclaimer: don’t own RK. Wish I did, but then pigs would also fly. ‘nuff said.

Welcome back! Don’t remember who Yanagai is? That’s okay, I’ll remind you…and I guarantee Kenshin won’t be forgetting anytime soon. On with the fic!

Prism - Chapter 2

“Yanagi-dono?” Silence followed Kenshin’s stunned whisper as he stared at the face of the man before him, a person he had not seen for nearly seven years. He’d left him behind in a small town called Furano, hundreds of miles away on the northern island of Hokkaido. Shimizu Yanagi had been a troubled young man, a natural yet untrained swordsman fighting against a restrictive family. When Kenshin had left the village Yanagi seemed to have finally forged a path for himself, and his future had seemed hopeful. They had parted on fairly decent terms, and Kenshin had honestly not expected to ever see him again. What in the world had led him here to Tokyo?

Yanagi smiled grimly and turned slowly to face Kenshin, his arms tucked casually inside his black kimono. There was a hard set to his eyes that made Kenshin very uncomfortable. He didn’t appear to be armed, but Kenshin knew better than to trust that. “Well, I’m glad you remember me Himura-san.” He looked Kenshin up and down, raising a surprised eyebrow. “Goodness Himura, you look even more threadbare than the last time I saw you. Still poor as dirt?”

Kenshin tensed at the other man’s insulting tone, eyes narrowing in anger. “I would say that it was pleasant to see you again Yanagi-dono, if it weren’t for your words. How did you find me, and what do you want?”

The other man gave a short, barking laugh devoid of humor. “I see you still wear your politeness as a façade, to be discarded in an instant. Come now, aren’t you going to at least invite me in properly?”

“You let yourself in,” Kenshin reminded him coldly. “I’m not obligated to be polite to those who invade my home.”

Yanagi shrugged. “Fair enough, I suppose. I must admit, at first you were a bit difficult to track down, but honestly, who *doesn’t* know that the Hitokiri Battousai currently lives at the Kamiya dojo in Tokyo and has recently married the master of the school? Such a ridiculous question. But I think what you really meant was for me to tell you why I’m here.”

“And that reason would be?” Kenshin slowly placed the bundle of cloth on the ground and advanced purposefully towards Yanagi, eyes hard chips of ice. “It’s obvious your intentions aren’t friendly, so state your business quickly.”

Yanagi regarded the tiny swordsman before him. “You haven’t mellowed out at all, have you? I suppose if you had your many enemies wouldn’t have pursued you with such enthusiasm. I don’t suppose you remember a certain hitokiri named Jine?”

Kenshin felt his mouth curl into a snarl and he cursed the fact that he’d left his sakabatou in his room this morning. It had been for Kaoru’s sake mostly, she didn’t really like him going around armed and after all, he’d placed his past behind him; he should have no need for a sword now. I grow more foolish by the day, it seems… “If you’re an associate of his, then I think you should leave. Now.”

Yanagi held up a hand and Kenshin found himself stopping at the unspoken command, though he wasn’t sure why. “Oh I’ll leave, but not until I’ve explained myself to you. Actually, I think you would be quite proud of the abilities I’ve developed since we parted. Tell me, if you remember, what Jine’s true strength as a swordsman was?”

Kenshin’s senses screamed at him not to listen, that he was in terrible danger, but he couldn’t seem now to make his feet move; his eyes were locked with Yanagi’s and he found himself feeling strangely calm. What the hell? Is he somehow holding me here? Gritting his teeth, fighting against whatever control the other man had exerted on him, he hissed, “I have no time for games!”

Yanagi rolled his eyes. “So impatient. You don’t want to play or have a nice chat? Fine. Ki. That was his true power, the Shino no Ippo. I ran into him a couple years ago during my studies and got him to show me a few pointers. His technique was instrumental in developing mine, though really I can do a lot more now than just paralyze someone.”

Of course, no wonder I can’t move. Kenshin concentrated on throwing the effect of the mind control off, just as he had with Jine, but to his dismay he found himself still trapped. Can it be his spirit is stronger than mine? I don’t believe that…but he really had grown strong since I knew him before. “Release me Yanagi, I have done nothing to you!”

The other man nodded; he noted the lack of honorific on his name now, but chose to ignore it. “True, you haven’t. In fact, I really should thank you for that little shove in the butt you gave me all those years ago. Of course, it turned out my physical skills with the sword were really quite abysmal; it was my skill with ki that set me apart, and I couldn’t find that kind of training in Hokkaido. So I set out to do my own wandering, and it led me finally back to you. I’ve developed the ultimate technique in ki manipulation, and I couldn’t think of anyone better to try it out on. You really should be honored, Himura-san, that I thought of you after all this time. This should be an interesting learning experience for the both of us.” Slowly he walked forward until he was just inches from Kenshin. “Please understand that it’s nothing personal; it was a manner of logistics. One should always work with the best raw materials. And really, you have such a curious nature…one minute a buffoon doing laundry, the next a brilliant swordsman. Such a fascinating dichotomy.”

“Wha-“ Kenshin began, but was cut off by strong fingers suddenly pressed to his temples. There was powerful flare in Yanagai’s ki, and to Kenshin’s trained sight the brilliance of the flare in his mind’s eye was almost blinding, as was the splitting headache that immediately followed it.

Kenshin screamed and fell to his knees as his head seemed to literally explode. Senses thrown into chaos, he couldn’t even tell which way was up. What on earth has he done to me? Kenshin felt incredibly strange as the pain increased. It seemed like his body was pulling apart, his mind separating. Kenshin’s screams died off as he fell over trembling, hands spread over his skull in a vice-like grip.

Memories started flashing across his mind with incredible force. Unable to control his own thoughts, Kenshin could only stare helplessly at the images before him.

A slash of a sword, the wet sound of metal tearing through flesh. Horror and disbelief beyond imagining. “TOMOE!”

Grief as he crouched in the darkness of a quiet mountain cabin, the body before him strangely beautiful in death. Empathy and heartache, understanding and sympathy for the victims of his actions: emotions so long buried in his soul he felt as if he were feeling them for the first time. The hand clasped to his scarred cheek was trembling.

A small boy ran after his mother with a seed basket, helping her plant rice in the wet field. She smiled at him warmly, his cheer helping to ease the exhaustion in her body. A peasant’s life was hard, but it was all she had ever known. “Thank you for your help, my little Shinta.”

A young woman ran before him in the rain laughing, pulling him under the building’s overhang. “Mou! Darn rain! And this was a new kimono, too.”

He placed a strong hand over hers, pushing it gently out of the rainfall, the intimate touch warming both their lonely hearts. “Careful, or you’ll get it wet.”

“But you were able to go back to normal soon afterwards; in the end Kenshin is still Kenshin! A wander who doesn’t kill. You’re not a hitokiri any more!”

“She is meeting with her conspirators up on the mountain. Go and kill her.”

Yanagi cast a satisfied glance at the shaking body on the ground, which was now starting to develop a faint bluish glow, and silently left the dojo, congratulating himself on a job well done. Tomorrow he would come back to see the results of his work.

The restaurant owner winked at her. “It was my pleasure Kaoru-san, it’s a very special night after all. Say hello to Kenshin-san for me!”

“I will!” Kaoru turned and gestured for Yahiko to follow her. “We’d better hurry so Kenshin can get this cooked. I hope he remembered to start boiling the water when he got home.”

Yahiko rolled his eyes. “Kaoru, it’s Kenshin, he’s got this whole cooking thing down to an art. I don’t think he’d forget something like that.” The fact that Kaoru was something of a control freak when it came to food (especially since she was incapable of making it edible) was common knowledge among the Kenshin-gumi.

“Oi, Jou-chan! What’s new?” Sano’s friendly greeting boomed across the street and Kaoru suppressed a groan, casting at the glance at the fish in her basket; it suddenly seemed pitifully small. A part of her was always happy to see her boisterous friend, but the other half always ground her teeth in annoyance at his freeloading habits. He was so predictable.

“Let me guess Rooster-head, you’re gonna mooch off Kenshin’s cooking again!” The cocky eleven-year-old samurai generally wasn’t one for subtlety.

Sano strode over and gave the young swordsman a not-so-gentle swat on the head. “Watch it brat, it just so happens I had a good dice game today, so I can actually pay you guys back for once.”

Kaoru smiled. “Good, because there isn’t enough fish here for you; I’ll have to ask Kenshin to make up something extra. Let’s hurry back so I can help him out.”

“A new gi, huh? For real?” Sano grinned at the tiny woman next to him. “I’m impressed Jou-chan, that’s no small feat. I’m kinda looking forward to seeing it.”

Yahiko smiled. “As long as it’s not pink, that’s all that matters to me!”

The dojo gates came into sight and Kaoru sighed gently, glad to finally be home. She was startled when her walk was stopped by Sano’s hand on her shoulder. “Hold on a minute Kaoru, something’s odd. It’s really quiet in there.”

Kaoru frowned and glanced at the gate, which was slightly ajar. Aside from that, everything seemed normal to her. The fact that Sano had actually called her by her name for once was not lost on her; he must be genuinely concerned that something was wrong. Swallowing around the nervous lump that had formed in her throat she replied, “Kenshin’s always quiet. I’m sure everything’s fine. Kenshin, we’re home!” Kaoru stepped through the gate and almost tripped over a bundle lying on the ground. Muffling a curse, she started to shove it aside with her foot before realizing it was the package containing the two gi. Why on earth would he leave this out here? “Kenshin, are you here?” She hadn’t quite registered the deathly silence of her two companions. As she straightened up she caught a glance of Sano. She froze at the look on his face. “Sanosuke, what is it?”

“K-kuso…” he whispered. It was rare to see Sagara Sanosuke without his gruff, confident exterior. His usual expression had been replaced by a tangled mixture of shock, alarm and even a little fear. It was unnerving, to say the least. Kaoru slowly followed his gaze, and she gasped at the sight before her.

Kenshin lay sprawled on the ground in the dirt just inside the dojo gates, unconscious, but he wasn’t alone. There were two others lying beside him: a small red-haired boy, and a flame-haired teenager.