Ashes of the Past

***Dreanscape***

Kuchiki household....

The Kuchiki clan, one of the five great Nobles of the Seireitei, the keepers of the ancient scrolls, and historians of the Central 46, occupied a very large portion of the Seireitei.

However at this particular time, the lively household was eerily quiet, with nearly no trace of a soul on the huge family compound.

Inside of their huge main hall, dozens of guards of the Kuchiki clan, dressed in purplish ninja attire stood in troops, along with several other Shinigami, ready for battle surrounding a tied up figure who was seated on his knees in the middle of the encirclement.

Walking with their chins held high, multiple elders from the Kuchiki family walked up, took seats, entered the encirclement and sat before the prisoner with prideful yet wary expressions.

"You must be the infamous Battosai..."

One old man with long white hair and a moustache spoke, dressed in black and white fancy robes spoke with a stern expression, his eyes trailing the scar on the left cheek of the prisoner as well as his head full of red hair which seemed to be dyed with the blood of thousands.

"What business do you have with the Kuchiki clan, and why have you set your eyes on us?!"

The old man roared, with grief evident in his eyes, as he unsheathed his blade and pointed it towards the red haired prisoner.

Unfazed whatsoever by the old man's gimmicks, the red haired prisoner slowly raised his head, revealing an extremely handsome and slightly effeminate face, with pure violet irises that could glow in the dark.

With no emotion whatsoever, the youth gently lowered his head and closed his eyes once more.

"Aren't you satisfied with the thousands of Shinigami you've killed from the other noble clans?! Why do you target us?! Why!! Battosai!!!!"

The old man roared in pain, before he grasped his chest in pain.

"A debt of blood....must be paid in blood.."

The red haired youth slowly uttered, his voice bland and calm, clearly unfazed by the anger and grief from the Clan Head of the Kuchiki clan whose descendants he had nearly eradicated.

"Clan head!!!"

Seeing the old man grab his chest in pain, the Shinigami rushed to him and supported him. Even they couldn't help but sigh in their hearts. The Captain of the 6th division, Ginrei Kuchiki, a once proud and headstrong man reduced to such a pitiful state, after losing nearly all of his descendants.

"You monster!!?"

One Shinigami, a middle aged man clearly of the Kuchiki clan grabbed a wooden staff and smashed into the back of the red haired youth, who was instantly smashed into the ground and coughed out blood.

"Feel the pain!! The pain and grief you have brought upon this family!! Slaughtering our descendants, women and children alike without remorse!!?"

The man mounted on top of the youth and began choking him with the scabbard of his blade, before he arose and kicked him in the gut sending him smashing into a wall nearby.

"Tell me, Battosai, does it hurt?!"

The man unsheathed his asauchi and then proceeded to stab the red haired youth in the shoulder as he laughed maniacally, before he grabbed him by the jaw and whispered in his ears.

*DONG!*

For a moment there, the middle aged man seemed to be enjoying the torture, until a huge bell rang signalling midnight. In that moment, a murderous and animalistic light sparked in the eyes of the red haired youth and he moved in an instant.

Taking advantage of the man's slight distraction he hurled himself onto him and savagely bit him on the ear mustering every bit of strength he could with his jaws.

*AAARGHHH!*

The man roared out, as many of the Shinigami present took steps back in fear of the savagery from the youth.

"Sano!!!"

The old man finally moved. Unsheathing his blade with one hand, he slashed out, sending out a massive beam of energy directed towards the red haired youth.

Sensing the incoming attack, the youth manuevered around the body of the middle aged man before he picked him with his legs and tossed him towards the incoming attack.

*SLASH!*

The stomach curling sound of flesh being ripped apart resounded, as the decapitated body of the middle aged man fell to the ground, in a pool of blood.

"AAARGHHH! Battosai!! Kill him!!"

The old man roared and signalled to the Shinigami who unsheathed their blades and rushed towards the red haired youth.

Spitting out the man's ear from his mouth, his emotionless irises scanned towards the incoming enemies.

With his forearms still tied up by a hado spell, he was going to free himself by killing the caster of the spell who was a shinigami.

Blasting into the midst of his enemies with full speed, he executed a set of intrinsic techniques, using his very body and legs as a weapon, kicking out repeatedly, and sending multilke Shinigami flying with just his kicks. Spotting the caster of the spell, he leapt onto one Shinigami, before he smashed his head into the shinigami's face shattering his nose and then he crushed his throat with his foot. And like that, he used his foot to hoist the fallen shinigami's blade, before he executed a 360 degree kick and hurled the sword like a spear.

*SLASH!*

The spell caster who was rapidly trying to escape was pierced in the brain by the blade before he dropped to the ground lifelessly.

Feeling the binding sensation on his arms gone, the red haired youth gently caressed his wrists and turned towards the Shinigami who were now scurrying away in fear.

Wrapping his arm in reiryoku he tore through space with his hand and pulled out his own blade.

Placing the scabbard into the band at his waist, he gently unsheathed the blade, his eyes emotionless, reflecting along the blade.

"From the depths of the abyss...."

"Mugenjin.."

Muttering to himself calmly, as he unsheathed the blade, the space around his body began to wiggle, and in that moment, a magnificent reiryoku burst out of his figure, fraying the gaps within dimensions, as space seemed to fold and shatter like mirrors.

Taking a step forward, he suddenly disappeared into thin air. Behind one unsuspecting Shinigami, he materialized and slashed out, cleanly beheading the Shinigami as blood batyed his figure.

Turning around, he simply waved his blade, and in that moment, multiple dimensional shards exploded forth, swirling in the air like a tornado, destroying everything in its path.

Before the multitude of Shinigami and guards could even react, they were instantly swallowed up by the tornade of blades, which instantly eviscerated their bodies, along with their pitiful screams, as mists of blood rained onto his figure.

"Monster!!!"

The old man couldn't help but roar in fear, watching the blood soaked figure who had instantly eliminated about 150 Shinigami plus soldiers in a single slash walking towards him with shaky steps.

"Ban-...."

*SLASH!!*

Opening his mouth to unleash his ultimate technique, the second release of his zanpakutou, the sound of slashes swept out, as blood dyed the gates of the hall.

*********

Under a heavy thunderstorm, a small figure, a young boy with short dark hair rushed towards the main hall, unbothered by the heavy rainfall.

Upon reaching, he suddenly halted in fear, seeing a figure so drenched in blood, that his facial features were obscured walking out with a dejected expression and shaky steps.

As the emotionless eyes fell on the young boy, the figure stopped for a moment and closed his eyes.

"Don't go in there..."

His young yet calm voice resounded out, as tears began to roll down the cheeks of the young boy mixing with the rain.

"Who are you?! What did you do?!"

The young boy roared in pain and fear and picked up a stone in his hand, however the bloodied figure still kept his eyes closed, unwilling to look innocence right in the eye. An innocence he once possessed.

"When you're old enough to understand vengeance, I will not resist even if I die by your hand...."

Leaving behind these few words, the bloodied figure disappeared as the young boy looked around him

"Where are you?....ARGHHHH!"

Dropping to his knees, he cried out in grief, as he flung the stone in his hand into the position the bloodied figure once stood.

**Present Day***

Rukongai....

Within a small tavern, a familiar youth with long red hair that was tied into a ponytail, leaving several strands that obscured his face sat against a wall, hugging onto his sheathed sword that rested on his shoulders.

The cross shaped scar on his left cheek was most the prevalent feature on his effeminately handsome face, dressed in a red kimono and white pants.

*BOOM!*

At the sound of the thunder, his body shook, as sweat materialized on his forehead, and in that moment, the cross shaped scar on his cheek began to bleed.

Nightmares of the above series of chaotic events flashed within his dreamscape, and in an instant, his eyes snapped open, his body tensed up and he unsheathed his blade halfway.

With a pained look on his face, he slowly arose, wiped the blood on his cheek with the kimono and walked to a bucket of water, drank from it and sat by the wall, again.

'Hitokiri Battosai...'

Glaring at his own hands, tears pooled within his eyes, however he held them back, grabbed his sword and unsheathed it, revealing a weird shaped blade with a blunt front and a cutting edge on the back edge, with black markings on half of the blade.

'Do you really think I can do this, Shaku? My past still haunts me every night. My scars bleed whenever I dream. Is it really possible to be able to escape this never ending loop of madness? After everything? After all the blood on my hands? You made me vow not to kill again Shaku, however, each day I fear. I fear the monster inside me will one day resurface in this world. What should I do Shaku? I wish you were here..'

Monologuing to himself in the deep of the night, the youth rested his head against the wall, as the tears he fought so hard to halt, rolled down his cheeks, drenching his face.

********

A/N: Some people might complain that although Kenshin was a killer, he didn't really kill innocents and all that in the series. While the Kenshin in this FF and that Kenshin are the same, their motives for killing and the reason why both of them took up the mantle of the Battosai are two different things. In the original series, Kenshin became Battosai to put an end to the Shogunate and usher Japan into a new era, hence he refrained from killing innocent people and went after the Shogunate's men.

However in this FF, his motives for killing Shinigami and the members of the royal clans are completely different and will be revealed in consequent chapters.

Stay tuned for more, and don't forget those powerstones.