HakuBaikou.com

Disclaimer: Sony, you ask me to explain myself one more time and I'll sic not one but three Kenshins on you, so there! See, this is what happens when non-morning people have to get up at 6am for work every day. I'm sure you all feel my pain...

*Calger-san hands Battousai some water and a Prosac* Here, I think you'll be needing this; you go a bit nuts in this chapter. *Battousai glowers at authoress and wonders why she enjoys torturing him so* Because, you're really sexy and cool when you're angry. "Oh," he says, and considers the Prosac with interest. "Okay." Well, I amuse myself anyway. On with the fic! ^_^

Prism - Chapter 8a

Kaoru and Kenshin left the Akabeko in quiet companionship, each lost in their own thoughts. In her mind Kaoru replayed the conversation in the restaurant over and over, trying to make sense of it. In particular she wondered about the insecurities Battousai had expressed concerning his health and fighting abilities. What exactly had he meant by those words? When Megumi had examined Kenshin after their return from Enishi's island she had said that as long as he took it easy for a few months, he should heal well. However, she had added, all of his long years of fighting were starting to catch up to him, and in four or five years he would be unable to use Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu. That's pretty far in the future; he should still be able to fight now, especially since he's had so much time to heal. Right? Kaoru hated the idea of him fighting at all; he'd already been through so much in his life, not to mention the horrific chaos that had characterized the previous year. Thinking it over Karou marveled that so much could happen in a person's life over the space of only six months. It was a testament to Kenshin's strength of spirit that he was able to endure so much and still smile at the end of it all.

The hard truth was though that Kenshin was the best fighter among them, and Yanagi had come for him. It was almost unthinkable that Kenshin would not have to fight to win this. And besides, he said that he should be able to compensate for the lack of ki. So what's he so worried about? Kaoru glanced over at Kenshin. His expression was blank, his eyes unfocused, obviously lost in his own thoughts. Pressing gently on his arm she steered him back in the direction of the market. They still had groceries to shop for before they could return to the dojo. "Kenshin, did you think of anything else we needed at the market?"

"Never mind." Kaoru shook her head and led them over to a vegetable stand. While she examined the daikon radishes Kenshin let his gaze wander over the market. He couldn't seem to get his mind to focus on any one train of thought; his thoughts were a chaotic swirl, and he could feel the accumulated stress of the past two days starting to get to him. Mostly he worried; before they'd left the Akabeko Kaoru had asked Tsubame to come over to the dojo that evening and to bring Megumi and Genzai-sensei with her. Kenshin had objected to more people knowing about the situation but Kaoru had insisted. "If you feel they are under threat, then they at least need to know that they are; if you keep them in the dark it will only lead to more problems." He'd agreed only reluctantly, his secretive nature crying out in protest. Deep down though he knew she was right; it was better that their friends knew they were in danger than to go blindly forward, foolishly hoping that nothing bad would happen to them. I must stop repeating past mistakes, for the good of everyone.

"Oh thank you, it's new, do you know where Hitomi-san's clothing shop is? She has a wonderful selection."

Kenshin lifted his head on hearing the new voice, which was vaguely familiar. Looking over at his wife he took in the taller woman who had appeared at the stall, dressed in an old but still beautiful maroon kimono with green vine patterns trailing up the sleeves. He felt his eyes widen in shock and recognition. Her hair was different now, and the face was several years older, but nevertheless his excellent memory could never forget her. "Akari-dono?"

The woman looked over at him and she stared for a full minute, obviously trying to put a name to his face. "How do you know my name? Wait...I've seen you before, with the red hair. I'm sorry, what was your name?"

"Himura," he heard himself whisper, suddenly feeling very strange. "Himura Kenshin."

Kaoru looked between them in confusion. "What? Kenshin, do you know her from somewhere?"

Kenshin stared at the woman in front of him in disbelief. Akari, from Hokkaido...it can't be a coincidence that she's here. She must be with Yanagi... Suddenly, his mind's eye produced an image of Yanagi standing next to her, an arrogant smirk on his face. Kenshin felt the heat rise in his body and his hand fisted at his left side, instinctively searching for his sword. "Where is he?" he hissed in a cold voice.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru asked in alarm, watching the hitokiri's mask rapidly overtake Kenshin's previous look of surprise. The amber eyes were burning with sudden fury and Kaoru felt herself take an instinctive step back from the hostility he was exuding. "Kenshin!"

Akari too backed away, one hand going to her chest. "H-Himura-san? Who do you mean? What's wrong?"

"You..." he snarled, taking a step toward her, his fists clenched tight. "If you're here, so is he! Where is Yanagi?"

"Yanagi?" she asked faintly. "I don't know, he went to work this morning, I just came to the market to look around, why are you so angry? We haven't seen you in years!"

"Kenshin, who is she?" Kaoru asked anxiously, trying to put herself between him and Akari. "Calm down, she hasn't done anything!"

"Like hell!" he suddenly shouted, his eyes gleaming with an almost mad light. "Went to work where, doing what? Tell me where he is!"

"Sir!" the shop owner barked, panic and anger mixed on his face. "Not in front of my store! If you keep assaulting this woman I will call on the police!"

Kenshin couldn't hear the man's words over the roaring of blood in his ears. Calm down! He ordered himself desperately but he could feel his heart racing with anger, his vision going red. Enemy! His instincts screamed mindlessly. Consort of the enemy! Catch her, question her, kill her, find Yanagi! He fought against himself, against the building insanity in his mind. What's happening to me? Kaoru! He tried to look for his wife, to focus on her voice, but everything was centered on Akari and he felt himself take another deliberate step toward her, his mind and body running separately, his voice rising to a scream. "He will pay for this, do you understand? Now where is he?"

Shinta tossed the paper ball around the yard, careful to avoid the area where Yahiko was busily running through his forms. The rurouni and Sano sat side by side on the porch watching the young samurai, chatting amiably. The afternoon was wearing on and the sun's rays were slanted as they fell across the yard. Shinta watched his long shadow follow him in his run for the ball, the head tiny on the elongated body. It seemed to take forever to reach the ball, his short legs covering little ground as he ran. I'm so small now. He finally caught up with the toy, his chest heaving. He picked it up in his tiny hands, the short fingers barely able to grip to ball where before they would have wrapped completely around it. While this fact annoyed him slightly, most of him was thrilled at the opportunity to act like a little boy again, to play and laugh and enjoy life as he once had so many years ago, before cholera had claimed his family and plunged him into a world of death and despair. "Rurouni-san, I got it!" he yelled happily, running up to his adult self with the ball held high.

"Aa, that you did." The rurouni replied with a warm smile. Taking the ball from the boy he tossed it again, grinning as the child took off after it.

"He likes to play," Sano noted with amusement, leaning back against one of the roof posts. "He seems like a pretty happy kid."

"What happened?" Sano asked with interest. It was a blunt question, but since the rurouni was being so talkative Sano decided to take the rare opportunity to satisfy some of his curiosity about the older swordsman.

Kenshin shrugged and watched Shinta catch the ball again, this time giving it a firm kick into the air with his foot. The afternoon breeze caught the toy and carried it toward them, the wind pushing the ball under the porch. Shinta ran over and gleefully plunged after it, crawling out of sight on his hands and knees. "I lost my family," the rurouni said, looking up into the sky. He didn't know quite why he was being so open and unguarded today, but it felt good to finally talk about these things with someone other than his master, who wasn't exactly the most sympathetic audience. "And before I met my master I was a slave. They came to my village to collect the survivors of the sickness. I was one of the only ones left."

"You were Shinta's age?" Sano asked. He really has been through hell in his life. Sano wasn't surprised something like that had happened to a child though; he'd seen much worse things, both before he'd left his father's village and after he'd started traveling around after his taichou's death. Kenshin was actually quite lucky to have been taken in by slavers, despite the treatment he must have received there. Slaves at least were marginally fed and slept with a roof over their heads; many others during that time weren't so fortunate.

"Younger, actually." Kenshin said. "Shinta is the same age I began sword training. It's strange, how Yanagi's technique manifested itself. Why three of us, and why did we split the way we did?"

"More importantly, how do you get back to normal?" Sano straightened up against the pole. "This whole thing is just wrong Kenshin. No one should have to be going through this, especially you." Sano glanced over at his friend and was surprised by the rurouni's gentle smile.

The rurouni just smiled mysteriously in response and glanced down as Shinta scrambled out from beneath the porch, pushing the ball ahead of him. The child was reaching for it when he stiffened, his head snapping up alertly. The rurouni's eyes widened at the boy's odd behavior. "Shinta-kun?"

Shinta got to his feet and stood perfectly still, only his head moving as he slowly swept his gaze around the yard. "Something's happening." The laughter had gone out of his voice and as he turned around Sano caught sight of his eyes. The former streetfighter felt a chill go up his spine at the sight of an adult's seriousness staring out through the child's large eyes. Damn, that's creepy. "Something's wrong, outside the dojo."

"What do you mean?" Kenshin asked quietly, meeting the boy's gaze. Yahiko paused in his form and came over, noticing the change in conversation. "What's going on, guys?"

"Battousai-san," Shinta said, his eyes wide and unfocused. "He's very angry. Something's happening to him."

The child shook his head. "I don't know. Outside the dojo, not far from here." He paused for a second, his eyebrows rising in an expression of puzzled surprise. "He's so angry..."

They were all surprised by the certainty in the boy's voice. Kenshin frowned slightly as he looked at the young swordsman. Is that what he really thinks of the hitokiri? I suppose I can't blame him for seeing only the killer in Kenshin, what with the way that fool's been behaving. I should have spoken to Yahiko about this before now. That was foolish of me; Yahiko and his feelings should have been a priority. Even so... "I fear you may be right, Yahiko."

"What?" both Yahiko and Sano asked at the same time, identical looks of horror flashing across their faces. Apparently they hadn't expected the rurouni to actually acknowledge Battousai's very real threat.

Shinta stamped his foot impatiently. "Rurouni-san, there's no time! We have to go now!" Turning on his heel the child took off for the dojo gate, moving with amazing speed. The others followed at a run.

"Which way, Shinta?" Sano was amazed at how fast the tiny kid could go. After leaving the dojo the child had turned immediately in the direction of the market. While it wasn't far away, the system of streets and alleys to get there was complicated and the many turns were slowing them down. Behind him he could hear Yahiko and Kenshin hurrying to keep up. Sano glanced over his shoulder at the rurouni, who was breathing very hard. He doesn't look so good; a few months ago he would have been way ahead of all of us. What's wrong with him? "This way!" Shinta shouted and Sano forced himself to look ahead. He yelled in shock when he found a wall looming in his path; jamming his feet into the dirt he had to slap the wall hard to keep from slamming into it. "Damn it!"

"Come on, Sano!" Yahiko shouted as he zoomed past, the rurouni trailing behind him. The group picked up the pace as the sounds of the market grew louder. Shinta pulled further and further ahead, and as they reached the market he vanished from sight entirely. Sano started to let out a yell when he heard an anguished cry from behind him. Turning, he saw the rurouni collapsed against a wall, clutching one side of his chest, his face twisted in agony. Sano rushed to his side and had to grab onto Kenshin when he nearly fell.

"Can't-run-Shinta-" Kenshin gasped painfully. "I'll come...in a minute...just go..."

Sano shook his head. "No, whatever's gone wrong I'm sure we're going to need you to help fix it. Can you walk?"

Kenshin nodded and the two moved slowly forward together, aware of the chaotic and alarmed sounds of the crowd ahead of them.

Kaoru felt herself on the verge of tears as she tried to hold Kenshin back from Akari. Her voice begging and insistent, she tried to reason with him but just as he had in his fights with Saitou and Jine, Battousai completely ignored her, his attention completely focused on the person he perceived as his enemy to the exclusion of all else. The look of absolute fright and confusion on Akari's face had convinced Kaoru that she was telling the truth about Yanagi and that she had no idea Kenshin had been living in Tokyo. As far as Kaoru had been able to figure out from Kenshin's ferocious questioning and Akari's terrified responses, the woman was Yanagi's girlfriend, or perhaps his wife. Kaoru couldn't be sure, and Kenshin's stubborn aggressiveness was starting to make her angry. "Kenshin, stop it! She doesn't know anything!"

Kaoru stood between the two with arms outspread, trying unsuccessfully to block Kenshin's vision. The irate radish vendor was now threatening for the fourth time to summon the police. Kenshin's murderous glare was the only thing that kept the man in his stall. Unfortunately though, they had managed to attract a small crowd, and Kaoru knew it was only a matter of time before the police showed up on their own. Oh yes that's all we need right now, to be arrested. What is wrong with him? Never in her life had Karou imagined she would see her normally gentle and levelheaded Kenshin with such an enraged and insane look on his face, his amber eyes glowing like a demon's.

Effectively frozen in place by that same terrifying glare, most of Akari's mind begged her to flee this madman, but a strange sense of curiosity kept her from making a serious effort to get out of the confrontation. His accusations, vague as they were, were starting to confirm the suspicions that had been building in her mind concerning Yanagi. What had he really been up to this past week, why had he been behaving so strangely, and what on earth had her husband done to make this man so angry? The last time she had seen Himura Kenshin was in Hokkaido, where he had been working at the same inn as Yanagi. Though she didn't know all the details of their relationship, she knew that Himura had saved Yanagi from being burned alive in a fire. Akari herself had only spoken to him once, the day after the fire, when she'd arrived at the inn to find Himura kneeling beside Yanagi's bandaged body, an unfathomable expression of sadness and regret in his strange gem-like eyes.

Recalling the incident Akari realized that the man-boy really-before her bore little resemblance to the man in her memory. As she struggled to remember more of that time she recalled that his other features, aside from the hair and eyes, had been very distinctive. He'd had some sort of large scar on his face and he had definitely been older, at least Yanagi's age at that time. This Himura was the wrong age and had no scars on his face at all; he seemed more like Himura's younger brother than Himura himself. And his eyes...she definitely remembered that his eyes in Hokkaido had been violet, a very beautiful and rare shade of purplish blue, not amber like they were now. I don't understand this; how could he really be Himura? Nothing he says makes sense.

By the look of it, his companion was just as confused as Akari. The small dark-haired woman was desperately trying to calm him down, even going so far as to put herself between him and Akari, but she was having no success. Ignoring her protests Himura took another menacing step forward, and Akari felt anger pierce through the wall of fear in her mind. Boldly, she took a step closer to him, straightening to her full height, at least five inches greater than his. "That's enough Himura-san! I told you, I don't know where my husband is right now. What has he done to offend you? I thought you and he parted on good terms in Hokkaido."

The question seemed to fend off Battousai's anger a little bit, the fire in his eyes dimming a fraction. "We did," he spat, "But some time between then and now he seems to have changed his mind. You must tell me where he is!"

"I will do no such thing until you calm yourself down and explain exactly what's going on here. Or do you really want the police to come and arrest you for making a disturbance?" Akari fully expected that statement to quell his anger, but to her astonishment it only seemed to make it worse. Has he no control over himself? she thought as he bared his teeth at her in a vicious snarl.

"I have no time for this, woman! What he has done to me is unforgivable and-" he got no farther, because at that moment a rock came sailing through the crowd and struck him soundly in the back of the head.

Battousai's vision exploded with starry light and he let out an anguished cry of pain and shock. Temporarily blind, he fell to his knees. Grabbing the back of his head he felt wet stickiness in his hair and knew the well-aimed missile had drawn blood. For a brief moment, crouched in the dirt of the street, he felt his unreasoning anger subside and the small part of his mind that was still rational cried out in relief. In that precious instant he fought for control over himself. You're being irrational, he explained patiently to the hitokiri raging in his soul. If you calm down and gain her trust she just might take you where they're staying in Tokyo; you can find Yanagi and finally put this mess straight. There's nothing to be gained by this behavior; this is not the Bakumatsu, you can't get your way with terror and rage and violence. Just as he felt himself responding to his own calming words, another stray thought shot through his mind, distracting his calm reasoning. Who was the bastard who threw the rock?!

"Kenshin-san!" Shinta appeared from the crowd and slid to a halt in front of the hitokiri, gasping for breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to do!"

"Sh-Shinta?" Kaoru's eyes widened as she realized it was the boy who threw the rock. It was a small stone, but it had been thrown with enough force to easily bring Battousai to his knees. She looked at the child with new respect. He really is Kenshin inside that little body. No one else could have done something like that.

Battousai lifted his head to glare at the boy, anger swirling in his narrowed eyes. "What the hell are you doing here, you could have hurt me!"

Shinta closed his eyes and concentrated hard on Battousai, trying to figure out what was going on in the teenager's mind. Battousai's emotions felt like ripples in a pond to him, the waves pushing against him with surprising force, as if he were standing up to his chest in water. The surge of murderous rage that had called him from the dojo had lessened but was still there, threatening at any moment to overtake the shaky center of peace in Battousai's mind. The child could sense the danger radiating from the hitokiri, and he feared for the people around them. Keeping his eyes closed, he took a few cautious steps forward. "I came to help you; your anger called me."

"What are you babbling about?" Kenshin shrank away from the eerily calm child, suddenly afraid for no reason he could understand.

"Who is this woman?" Shinta asked calmly. Kaoru watched their interaction in stunned amazement, fascinated despite herself. She wanted to get out of the market as soon as possible, but time for her had slowed to a crawl, the world focusing around the two parts of her husband before her. Shinta's presence was definitely having an effect on Battousai's demeanor; he edged backwards from the boy as if afraid of being too close to him, his anger seeming to wither with the child's approach.

"She's Akari-dono, don't you remember?" Battousai whispered, a strange note in his voice.

"So what?" Shinta countered calmly. His eyes were still closed as he reached out a steady hand to Battousai, his fingertips just brushing the teenager's forehead. "She is not our enemy."

"She is his wife, she must have a part in this," Kenshin insisted desperately, now looking very small and childlike himself. "He is responsible for what happened, if it weren't for him I...I..." Kaoru almost couldn't believe her own eyes when she saw tears of panic and fear shimmering faintly in Battousai's wide eyes. "I wouldn't be..."

"I know you suffer," Shinta said gently, "but you aren't alone in this; let us help you."

Swallowing her own nervousness and confusion Karou knelt down beside Kenshin, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right now? Let's go, please, before something else-"

Battousai stiffened at Akari's voice. "Please, if this has something to do with my husband then I'd like to..." her voice trailed off at the sight of three people pushing their way through the crowd. One was a young dark-haired boy, who was trotting toward them with a worried expression on his face. Next to the boy, leaning on the arm of a very tall man dressed in white, was none other than Himura Kenshin, looking exactly as she remembered him, scars and all. He appeared to be in pain as he walked, obviously depending on the tall man for support. Some people in the crowd began to whisper in confusion at seeing three red-haired people in one place, all of whom looked alike, but the tall man silenced them with a glare.

"Show's over people, we've got things under control now, just get going. You heard me." The crowd slowly dispersed and the three came over to their group.

Akari suddenly felt faint with disbelief as she watched Himura kneel down beside the teenager on the ground, whispering something quietly to him. Suddenly, the boy gave an angry shout and leapt to his feet, turning a furious glare on Akari. "Damn it, she's the key to this, I'm not letting her go now!"

"Kenshin-san!" Whatever it was the rurouni had said it had effectively undone the fragile peace Shinta had managed to establish in the hitokiri's mind, and he couldn't hold back a cry of frustration and dismay. Battousai's rage crashed against him with the fury of a storm and he knew that if the older boy decided to attack, there was nothing he or anyone else could do about it. "Rurouni-san!"

Kenshin's lips were set in a thin frown as he carefully observed the hitokiri. Battousai's eyes were glazed and maddened, his temper clearly having consumed any sense of reason the boy had left. There was only one way the rurouni could think of to bring his younger self under control. Ignoring the painful stitch in his chest brought on by his breakneck run through the market, Kenshin brought up his fist and with the speed of a master swordsman he brought it down hard across the hitokiri's temple, with just enough force to knock him out but not seriously harm him.

There was a collective gasp from all assembled as the rurouni's fist moved in a barely visible blur. Battousai jerked slightly at the blow, staggered and then collapsed into the rurouni's arms, unconscious. "Kenshin," Kaoru whispered, not sure which of the three she was addressing.

The rurouni gently gathered the teenager into his arms and stood, cradling Battousai to his chest. "I'm sorry," he whispered to the boy, staring at him with regret in his eyes. "There was no other way."

There was perfect silence in their small circle, everyone stunned beyond words by the sight. Akari's voice seemed loud in the sphere of quiet, though she spoke in a whisper. "Himura-san, what has my husband done to you? What has he been doing?!" Her voice broke slightly and it took all her will to remain calm. This was just too bizarre, and she couldn't shake off the distinct feeling that the three red-haired people before her were in fact the same man. The thought was insane, but she couldn't banish it from her mind.

The rurouni looked over at her, studying her face with a stoic calm that stood in stark contrast to Battousai's fury. "Come with us, Akari-dono, and I will explain everything."