Sugita Koto Wa, Sugita Koto Da

By Hitokiri Gentatsu

A/N: Well here is the first chapter of this rather strange story. Arigatou to all who have reviewed thus fair. I hope this chapter will being to slowly answer your questions.

Lexa: This chapter is for you. You know I can't really tell you what happens next. You'll just simply have to read it for yourself.

Fitz: Thanks for the review. I've been reading your story 'Life's a Dance' and I recommend it to anyone looking for a good AU story. Yes, I left several things unexplain but they will become clearer as time passes I hope. As you can see I have updated my other stories again as well, especially the one you were asking about. So go check then out.

Colleen: Good to hear from you too. I liked the Battle of Tobu/Fushimi part too. I really want to write something just about that one but, thus far I have not had any ideas pop into my head. Oh, well.

Well, now on to the story, which is what you are all here for, ne? Oh, and if things look a little strange or there are some errors I have gotten a brand new computer and I'm working with a different word processing program.

Chapter One:

"Fah!" Saito said, as he put the cigarette out by smashing it into the wall quite close to my head. "You lie. Surely you don't expect me to believe that you have no memory of what happened."

He ground his teeth in fury and grabbed me by the front of my gi so that he could glare at me, eye to eye. When he got no response from me other than a nod, he threw me against the wall of the cell so forcefully that I saw stars for a moment. Any other time I would have said 'Oro' but this was not the situation to be playing the seemingly foolish rurouni. Only by being serious could I even hope to convince Saito that my unbelieveable story was true.

"What I speak is the truth," I said calmly. "What other explaination could there be. I have taken an oath never to kill again and even you know how important it is to me. Why would I suddenly...suddenly..."

He looked up at me then and saw the tears in my eyes that were threatening to spill. I hung my head.

"Why would I...kill again," I whispered and then looked at him again. "I swore to never take another life once the war ended and I have kept to that oath."

Saito turned his back to me and shrugged. "Until now. Perhaps you became enraged..."

"I would never hurt her or the others!" I stated flatly, a glimmer of anger in my eyes.

"Perhaps but what of Battousai?"

"Not even he would hurt them. They were of no threat to him," I said firmly. "No matter what his past crimes. he would never endanger others. You know this."

"But if he was enraged enough..."

I knew where Saito was going with his train of thought. There had been two times that Battousai had been so enraged, angered beyond reason and ready to kill. One had been when I was fighting Ji'ne, the other when I faced Saito himself. Both times within seconds of killing them but fate and my sakabatou intervened and I had not.

"I don't deny that if he were enraged enough Battousai would do so, but still he would...we would never..."

Saito regarded me with one narrow amber eye from over his shoulder. "Can you think of no one who would wish to frame you, Battousai?"

I thought for a long time but no one came to mind. All of my enemies were supposedly gone now or, at least I believed them to be.

"No, I can't think of anyone."

Saito turned to smirk at me, his narrow eyes glowing for a brief moment. "Are you positive, Battousai?"

I knew he was trying to bait me as he had of old but I did not take it. It was plain he wanted me to accuse him of this attack but I knew it could not be him.

I have Saito a glare and said firmly, "No, not anyone I can think of."

He pulled another cigarette from his pocket and struck a match across the stone wall to light it. He took a few puffs on it, watching me closely.

"And yet you were found holding the bloody katana, the very weapon used on your friends. Can you explain that?" He said it in a tone that clearly said that I'd better find an explaination and quick.

I had a reason but I doubted very seriously that Saito would believe me. I looked at him silently and he tapped his foot with impatience. I could not bring myself to tell him any more then I already had. I couldn't make myself repea the words and thoughts that went through my mind in the moment that blood began to flow. I wasn't even sure what I had felt and heard was even real and not some figment of my imagination. Because of this I could not tell him the truth of the matter so I tried to pick a more reasonable excuse and prayed that Aoshi and Misao found a more tangible reason for all this then a ghostly form I had thought I saw that day. I prayed they would find a living person behind this because if they did not then that left only one explaination.

"Misao...Misao!" Aoshi shouted after the young Oniwaban leader.

Mackimachi Misao's head was bowed, her eyes hidden by a fall of dark hair. Her hands were balled into fists and she seemed to be trembling with fury. Aoshi finally managed to catch up to furious ninja and he put a hand on her shoulder. She turned intense and angry blue eyes too him.

"He didn't do it, Aoshi-sama!" she said so fiercely that Aoshi took a step back. "Himura would never do such a thing! Most of all he would never hurt THEM!"

She stabbed a finger in the direction of the clinic were Kaoru and Yahiko were laying unconscious of wounds they sustained while trying to fight off an enraged Battousai. Two tears escaped her eyes and she dropped her pose as the leader of the Oniwabanshu though her voice remained fierce in tone.

"Himura wouldn't break his vow, Aoshi-sama. He just wouldn't." She looked up at him, pleading with him to agree with her.

"The fact remains that people have placed him at the scene of the attacks and Megumi-san said that both Yahiko-kun and Kaoru-san were muttering about Battousai when they were brought in." He wished he could made her feel better by lying but he could not. Facts were, after all, facts.

"He. Would. Never. Do. That!" she shouted, looking fiercely at him.

"I agree with you, Weasle-Girl."

"I'm not a 'Weasle-Girl!" Kunai appeared in Misao's hands and she spun around to see a serious faced Sanosuke.

The kunai disappeared and she looked up at him. Sano looked between the two ninja and shoved his hands in his pockets, the right one still swathed in bandages. He sauntered off down the street and the two ninja followed him. Silence reigned over the three as they made their way to the Akabeko. Before they were even half way there, Sano turned to the other two, his serious expression becoming more so.

"I don't think Kenshin murdered those other people or that he hurt Yahiko and Jou-chan," he said quietly. "There's something goin on here. Something strange."

"But he was..." Aoshi began.

"I don't care what anyone says. He didn't do it!" Sanosuke's voice was full of anger that anyone, most especially one of Kenshin's 'friends' would think he would committ the crime.

"I'm not say he did do it." Aoshi's voice was quiet. "I'm only saying everyone now believes Battousai killed those men in the alley, and on the strength of that belief people have been known to do things..."

Misao's eyes grew wide and Sano's mouth fell open.

"Just what are you saying, Shinomori?" Sano's hands clenched into fists and Misao put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"So you're saying we need to find whoever is responsible for this and fast or Himura will..." She dared not finish the sentence.

Aoshi nodded and Sano cursed softly under his breath. They continued toward the Akabeko in silence, each one struggling to understand what had happened a few day previous.

The Akabeko was unusually busy for the late afternoon. Sano and the others could hear voices coming from the resturant even before reaching it themselves. As they entered the room, all coversation haulted as the customers stared openly at the group. Aoshi ignored both the sudden silence and the glares of the people as he passed, Misao trailing after him, her hand balled into fists once more. Sanosuke trudged after them, his hands jammed into his pockets and he eyes daring anyone to mess with him.

He'd almost made it to the table Aoshi and Misao now sat when he heard a whispered voice say, "How dare they come in here. They're friends with that murdering Battousai."

Sano's angry brown eyes swept the room in search of the whisperer and found a group of men huddled over their sake, glaring at him with hatred. One man was the grey-haired owner of shop that Kenshin had saved from exicution at the hands of the police swordsmen. Another was a man who had almost been robbed on the road just outside of Tokyo. In fact most of the men at that table had been saved by Kenshin's sword at one time or another during the last two years.

He stalked over to the table amd slammed his hands down on it, rattling their jar of sake and the cups. "Yes, we're his friends. You want to make something of it?"

The men's faces paled considerably and they shook their heads rapidly. Sano smiled at them with no hint of humor in his eyes.

"Good." He stalked off again, a little disappointed that he could take out his anger in fighting those men but relieved that there would be no damaged tables for Tae to add to his ever growing tab.

He sat down at the table with Aoshi and Misao just as Tae hurried over to serve them. Sano noticed that the three other waitresses were going out of their way to avoid serving the small group.

"I'm sorry, Sanosuke but none of the others will have anything to do with you. They seem to think that something evil will rub off on them" She looked at them unhappily.

"It's okay, Tae," said Sano with a genuine smile.

She went to get their orders herself and brought the food to them quickly. When they had begun to eat, she sat next to them.

"How is he?" she asked quietly, the noise level in the room having returned to normal.

"As well as can be expected, given the circumstances," Aoshi said quietly, his eyes scanning the crowded room.

"He's worried." Misao said. "And his wounds are bad."

Tae frowned. "And the others."

"Megumi has returned from Aizu to tend to them. She's says they'll be fine, given time." Sano shook his head, remembering how he had found them.

Tae tried to smile, to put on a brave face but there were tears in her eyes.

"There is talk..." she said even more quietly. "Talk that they will execute Kenshin-san."

The four of them sat in silence for a moment before Aoshi spoke again.

"They will if we cannotfind out who is responsible for this and bring them back here."

Tae's breath caught in her throat and she put a hand to her mouth. "But he is innocent," she said with convinction that was shared by the others.

"We will find who did this," Sano told her, waving a dismissing hand at the other customers. "And when we do, they will know they are wrong about him."

Tae rose to help serve other customers but before she leftshe whispered a word of warning. "Be careful. The people are angry and everyone is on edge."

Sano nodded in understanding, uncharacteristically silent and she left. Aoshi quietly sipped his tea, watching the people in the room carefully, while Misao picked at her food. Sano ate with relish, his appitite fuel by his anger that the fates had seen fit to disrupt Kenshin's hard won peace.

An hour later they were backon the street talking about their plans.

"We will return to Kyoto and see what our informants can find out." Misao said as Aoshi nodded in agreement.

"I will use other means to try and discover the identity of this person." Aoshi stated calmly.

Sano agreed with their thoughts completely. If it was an enemy from Kenshin's past then the place to start looking was Kyoto. But Sano couldn't shake the feeling that it was someone closer to home.

"I'll take care of things on this end. There are a few people I would like to talk to."

Aoshi seemed surprised by the offer but agreed, knowing that Sano's connection to the Tokyo underground might turn up some interesting information.

"I'll talk to Katsu too. Maybe he's heard something."

The two ninja agree and decided to return immediately to Kyoto to being their investigation. Sanosuke took them to the station and, as he watched their train depart, his thoughts turned to his own. He knew he would be able to get information if it was there to be found but he was also certain he would need some help. As much as he hated to admit it, he was going to need the Wolf of Mibu's help on this one.

"I just hope he's willing to ignore the fact that I'm not even supposed to be in Japan.

"The stage is set," thought the observer, as he watched over his target. "The final act in the life of Battousai is about to begin. When he is dead, he will be mine.

The observer passed a transparent hand over the cross scar on Kenshin's cheek, causing it to begin to bleed from both slashes. The blood made a dark path down Kenshin's cheek and began to drip steadly from his chin to pool on the floor at his feet.

"When you die, Battousai my slain comrades and I will exact our revenge on your soul, for all eternity." The observer passed through the door of the cell, leaving Kenshin to toss in fever dreams, his scar bleeding as it had not in twelve long years.