by
Anaphalis
Summary: A journey of a thousand miles may start with a single step- but what happens if someone walks into you? Battousai the assassin gets transported to feudal Japan. The rest of his year isn't looking very good either. Rurouni Kenshin X Inuyasha crossover. Romance/Drama.
Chapter Summary: Kagome makes gravity-defying leaps of logic and Battousai is led around by his er... head.
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Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Shonen Jump. Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Watsuki Nobuhiro and Jump. Brushes on this page courtesy of Pure Anodyne.
Nothing generates belief faster than the prospect of death and starvation. Sex helps too.
It didn't occur to him until they had already resumed walking that she had known not only that he was from the future, but precisely the time he was from as well. The Meiji reign was barely a few months old when he left and yet she had pinpointed him there.
She forestalled his questions with a wave of her hand and a tired sigh.
"I know that you want some answers, but may I get your name first?"
"Hitokiri Battousai." She knew about his time. He waited with far more dread than he should have felt for the flicker of recognition followed by horror.
"You're an assassin. That's nice. But I wanted your name."
He should have been offended. He should have drawn his blade and killed her on the spot. But something inside him warmed to her words. "Kenshin, Himura Kenshin."
Dear god, her smile made her glow. "Very pleased to meet you Kenshin. If speaking so familiarly offends you, please let me know, but I address all of my companions this way now. And please, call me Kagome."
He realized in some dark corner of his brain, that if she kept smiling there was a very real possibility that he would do a lot more for her than call her Kagome. He shook his head hard to try and clear the traitorous thought. He had spent hours in teahouses without the slightest flicker of desire. What the fuck was wrong with his body?
He needed a distraction. Fast.
"How did you know that I was from the future?"
Her eyes momentarily unfocussed before she answered.
"I'm from another hundred or so years farther in the future than you. I grew up in a shrine so we learned a lot of small details about historical changes in clothing and weapons over time. Something about the cut of your clothes is wrong and no wandering soldier in the Warring States would carry a sword of the quality and craftsmanship that that blade possesses. Besides which, your blade is too wide and has too long a point for the era. It looks like the make produced just before the start of the Meiji."
She blushed as she mumbled, "My father was a bit of a sword buff."
"Most of those facts could be explained away." He looked at her with grudging admiration. "So you were just guessing that I was from the future, and even more blindly guessing that I was from the Meiji reign."
"Well you did appear out of nowhere. If I was wrong, you would have just been another person who thinks I'm crazy."
He realized that maybe being insane was an advantage in the Warring States. He wasn't sure if the thought was comforting.
It was then that he looked, really looked at her. She was carrying a staff and a bow slung over her back but he couldn't distinguish her outfit from that of the other woman traveling with the group.
Seeing the direction of his gaze, she spoke again. "I used to wear clothing from my time. But this is easier to fight in and it attracts less unwanted attention. Look, I know you probably have a lot of questions, but my companions are getting jittery and we really need to get out of the area before nightfall. I promise that I'll do everything I can to try and get you back where you belong. Although selfishly, I must admit than I'm hoping that you can stay with us for a little while."
The smile she gave him was completely open, friendly and non-flirtatious. It shattered what was left of Kenshin's already fractured defenses. As he blindly followed her, something in the back of his mind absently wondered how he had managed to go from Battousai to Kenshin in such a short space of time. The same little voice wondered which of his heads was currently doing the thinking. Poor, beleaguered Kenshin wondered how hard it was to assassinate voices in the back of his head.
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