Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Alchemy of Gold and Silver ❯ Embattled ( Chapter 16 )

Chapter 16: Embattled

 

The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.

-Robert Ingersoll

 

*******

 

Kenshin tried without much success to calm his breathing, to remember all the lessons Hiko had taught him about staying cool in the middle of a fight. He and Shishio were well-matched, seemingly equal in terms of speed and strength.

 

Still, the fight was in its early stages, and both of them had yet to really begin. Kenshin knew that his opponent was holding back just as surely as Shishio could guess the same about him.

 

“What say you, Battousai? Should we dispense with the child's play?” the man's voice was low, but it carried enough to be easily audible. There was a rather nasty smirk plastered on his face, a glint of madness in his eyes.

 

Regarding Shishio as he was, a disturbing thought struck Kenshin. Is this… what I was? Or what I could have been? He could not deny the similarities between them. Both fought like men possessed, a cut above their peers in the rebel army even restraining themselves as they were. Both commanded absolute loyalty in their subordinates… and both clearly took pleasure in the rush that accompanied a match against each other.

 

The bestial grin never left Shishio's face as he continued. “No? I see…” he trailed off, and his eyes bored knowingly into Kenshin. It was as though he sensed the conflict that raged within the other man, and was amused by it. “I suppose I can wait, though I'm not usually a patient man. What will it take for me to face the dreaded Battousai the Manslayer at full strength, hm? Perhaps the death of one of your little flunkies? Two or three, maybe? I assure you, it is being arranged as we speak. Whose body would you like to see first? The thug? He doesn't strike me as too important. The Wolf of Mibu? Yes, I suppose killing someone as strong as he might drive the point home. Then again, I don't think you care too much what happens to that one, either.” He finished suggestively, and what he omitted was obviously his real point.

 

Kenshin remained silent. The gambit was easily discerned: Shishio sought to face him at full strength, which would mean provoking him into reversing the blade on his sword, and striking with the bladed end. A sakabatou, no matter how well-made, was still not lethal, after all, and so represented less danger to his opponent than a katana would.

 

Tired of listening to Shishio talk, Kenshin flew forward again, employing the Ryushosen, one of the moves he'd relied upon most during the many battles of the revolution. Unsurprisingly, but all the same to the redheaded swordsman's disappointment, the other hitokiri dodged it without much difficulty.

 

“Tsk, tsk, Battousai,” he admonished. “You're going to need to do better than that.” He readied his own blade and rushed Kenshin, scoring a shallow cut to the arm when he surprised the other man by increasing his speed dramatically.

 

Kenshin ignored the wound. It was minor at best, and probably wouldn't even hinder his movement. Still, it was unsettling that Shishio had been the one to land the first blow; their tradeoffs until now had been completely without success for either of them.

 

It was at this point that the door to the inside slid open. Hoping against all hope that Kaoru would be the one stepping through it, he tried not to let any emotion slip onto his face when he realized it was none other than Saito. The officer swiftly appraised the area; seeing no fighters but Kenshin and Shishio, he moved off to be within reach of the latter's lieutenant, doubtless in case he should try to escape. A cigarette dangled carelessly from his mouth, and his face was carefully schooled into his trademark haughty indifference. If he thought anything of the scene before him, he did not show it.

 

Somehow, this relieved Kenshin. If any of the others were seriously injured, surely the once-Shinsengumi would have said something. The former Battousai was tempted to extend his own ki sense to be sure, but knew that to distract himself from this battle would mean a most unceremonious demise.

 

Distraction… Maybe Saito wouldn't tell me, after all. To do so might be a problem worse then letting me guess, but… There is no point in going over all the things that could be. I must defeat Shishio, and trust that they are strong enough to defend themselves.

 

With his resolve set, Kenshin returned his full focus to the man in front of him, who raised a laconic eyebrow as if he knew exactly what was going on inside the shorter man's head. Rather than comment, though, they simply returned to the pattern of the battle: attack, dodge, attack, parry, counter…

 

***

 

Aoshi allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction. With assistance from the Oniwaban, the government's forces had managed to rout Shishio's main army. Now all they needed was to save the city of Kyoto itself from being sacked, and their victory would be complete. Well, perhaps not quite, he thought, and his mood quickly sobered as his mind wandered to Kaoru and Sano. They were placing themselves at a great deal of risk, and not for the first time, he wished he could have gone with them.

 

The burdens of leadership, however, were such that he could not always do what the warrior and friend in him wanted. The Okashira wondered if there wasn't something wrong with that, and decided that now was not the time to be considering such things.

 

His job, after all, was far from over yet. Signaling to his men, Aoshi indicated that the bulk of them should begin patrolling the city, taking out any remnants of the invasion force that they could find. Pointing out another five of his most skilled operatives, he motioned for them to follow. The Aoiya was burning, he had been told, and Misao was trying to hold off some of Shishio's stronger subordinates.

 

Aoshi's tactical mind was already running over possibilities and- heaven forbid- contingencies as the six of them took to the rooftops, leaping over the spaces between them with all due haste.

 

***

 

Sanjo Tsubame was at this point hiding in a small corner of the Shirabeko's kitchen. Nobody had thought the action would get as far as the Aoiya itself, but then someone had set fire to the building, and all the non-ninja staff fled through smoky streets to the other restaurant, whose owner was apparently an old friend of Okina.

 

They were trying to make as little noise as possible, and it seemed that they had not been discovered. Privately, Tsubame was unsure that this would remain the case, though, and she was doing her best not to panic as sounds from the outside filtered into their hiding place. Just in case, she was maintaining a white-knuckled grip on a heavy frying pan. In any other situation, this might have been laughable, but it was an implement she was familiar with at least; she would have had no idea what to do with a kunai or even one of those wooden swords that Yahiko carried.

 

Yahiko… Tsubame bit her lip apprehensively. She was worried for him. Ever since they were both small children and she had lost her parents to a strange, wasting disease, Yahiko had been there for her. He had showed her how to live on almost nothing, to become unnoticed in large crowds, to survive, no matter what. He had always, always, protected her, and she realized now that he may have gotten deeper into this than he could come back from.

 

I'm always such a burden on him… Even knowing that he was risking his life to save everyone, she could not help but wish that he was here protecting her instead. I'm useless. The knowledge bored a hole in her heart, and it burned.

 

“Don't worry, Tsubame-chan, everything will be just fine,” whispered Sae, the owner, misinterpreting her expression. “You'll see.”

 

Not trusting herself to speak, Tsubame nodded. Fortunately, this meant she didn't miss the sound of the front door being opened. Her eyes flew wide, and her grip reflexively tightened.

 

“Anyone here?” the voice was harsh, raspy, and Tsubame did not recognize it. She licked her lips nervously, pursing them and willing her breath to be silent.

 

Unluckily for herself and the others, whoever the voice belonged to was clearly unsatisfied with the lack of an answer, and the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard getting closer.

 

For lack of a better idea, Tsubame stood and made her way over to the door. Sae's frantic look wasn't enough to dissuade her, and she squeezed her eyes shut briefly before taking a deep breath and opening them again.

 

“Hey, I said, is anyone here?” the voice called again, and Tsubame would have gasped at the closeness of it had she not been holding her breath as it was. The door was pulled open roughly, and Tsubame observed a man of about thirty with black hair and a beard. Before he could react or even show surprise, she had swung the pan with all her might, and a sound similar to a small gong rang out as it connected with his head.

 

The man dropped like a stone, and Tsubame stood over his prone form, trembling from head to toe. Behind her, Sae whistled. “Oh dear. Remind me not to upset you in the future, Tsubame-chan.” The smile on her face was shaky at best, and did nothing to soothe the girl.

 

“Is… is he dead?” she asked, almost too afraid to consider the possibility. She hadn't wanted to kill anybody, and the mind-numbing panic that settled over her at the thought nearly caused her to faint.

 

“Dead? No, no, Tsubame-chan, he's just knocked out.” Sae spoke soothingly, now that she understood the trouble.

 

“Oh… that's good then.” Despite her best efforts to the contrary, Tsubame slipped into unconsciousness herself. The last thing she would remember were Sae's surprisingly strong arms breaking her fall, and the woman ordering someone to help her find Megumi-san.

 

***

 

“Come now, my dears, you managed to deal with my comrade there so… creatively. Surely you can do better than this.” Kamatari's tone was light, almost teasing, and he placed a hand on a hip, absently swinging his chained scythe about.

 

Misao, for one, was not having it. “Argh!” she managed. Oh, how articulate, Misao! What would Aoshi-sama say if he saw you now?

 

“Misao.” Oh, well I guess he might. Wait…what!? Turning around somewhat, the kunoichi observed that Aoshi had indeed just arrived. Kuso. This was not exactly the best of situations: she looked like a wreck from fighting all day, not to mention the fact that she just couldn't seem to deal with her off-putting opponent no matter what she tried.

 

“Aoshi-sama,” she replied, trying to appear more nonchalant than she felt. “The battle went well then?”

 

Rather than answer, he looked over her shoulder. “You should not be talking to me if your opponent is not yet defeated,” he replied coolly, and she could have kicked herself.

 

Turning around, she noticed Kamatari giving her a look that bespoke much amusement. Grr… he's really starting to get on my nerves! Misao was a pretty realistic person, even when it came to her self-image. She knew she wasn't the sharpest kunai in the belt, so to speak. She also wasn't as strong as Aoshi-sama or Kaoru or a lot of other people she could name. But never let it be said… that Makamichi Misao gives up.

 

“Right. Yahiko, you ready?” she asked. If her tone was filled with false bravado and shook a little, nobody mentioned it.

 

Yahiko shot her a sideways look, and for once, he didn't argue, or make fun of her. “Yeah, you got it,” he replied shortly, turning his gaze back to Kamatari.

 

“So they decide to play for keeps now, do they?” the scythe-wielder exclaimed. “This might just turn out to be fun after all. You don't mind if I stop going easy, do you?” he asked flippantly, shooting an indecently dazzling smile their way.

 

“Not at all,” Misao tossed back, regaining some of her fire. “Let's do this, Yahiko!”

 

***

 

“Face it, Battousai, you can't beat me like this. Unless you decide to fight me for real, we're done here.” Shishio sneered, and resheathed his blade.

Blood dripped from Kenshin's many wounds, and he could not help but think that the other man was right. He simply couldn't defeat his opponent without the use of deadly force, and that was something he was unwilling to do. He staggered forward all the same, even as his lungs cried out for more oxygen than they could provide and his vision faded in and out of blackness. He'd scored hits on Shishio, yes, but nothing compared to the cuts that now riddled himself.

 

He was vaguely aware of the door sliding open again, and three people emerged this time. He heard a woman's voice cry out, and then a man shouting. He could not make out what they said, however, and slid painfully out of awareness, even as his body collided with the floor.

 

***

 

“Kenshin!” the cry tore from Kaoru's throat, raw and painful, and then she was by his side, trying to shake him awake, fighting back the tears that threatened. No, I can't cry! He needs me now, this is no time for me to lose it! She took note of the many lacerations oozing blood, and felt herself growing sick at the sight of it. And the smell. It was cloying, and she had to force herself not to retch as it overpowered her senses.

 

It wasn't long before Sano had joined her, and she looked up into his face imploringly. “Please, Sano, is there anything you can do?” She knew her voice sounded pitiful and desperate, but she couldn't bring herself to care, not at a time like this.

 

The look on her surrogate brother's face was grim, but before she could give herself over entirely over to despair, he spoke. “Maybe. I dunno, missy, his wounds are pretty bad.”

 

“Well, do what you can anyway,” she practically shouted. Worrying her lower lip, she looked down at Kenshin. He was bloodied and bruised, eyes closed against the horrendous pain he must be in. Some strands of his hair had fallen across his face, and she brushed these away tenderly before standing abruptly. This is my fault. He swore he wouldn't kill this man for me, and now he's… no. She refused to believe he would die from this. There was no way. This was Kenshin, after all.

 

So then he just needs time… and time is something I can give him. Her expression hardened visibly as she glared at Shishio. So this was the man who sought to bring all of Japan under his thumb. She could almost see why Yumi loved him. He was well enough, as men went, and he radiated confidence and power. Kenshin had been much like that when she'd first met him. But even then, even at his worst, there was a gentleness in Kenshin that this man does not possess. Her hands clenched involuntarily into fists at her sides, and she forced them not to shake.

 

He returned her scrutiny almost curiously, as though he did not know what to make of her. Well, she was used to that. Nobody ever seemed to quite get what she was about, and that was just fine with her.

 

“So you're Shishio Makoto then,” she said coldly. There was no response initially, and Kaoru suppressed a shiver as a breeze kicked up from the west, teasing her ponytail and rapidly cooling he sweaty back.

 

“I am,” he replied, and his tone chilled her more than the wind. There was something… unnatural about it, as though the man were not quite sane.

 

Chiding herself for thinking such things, she gripped the hilt of her sakabatou. He's still human, and that means he can be defeated. “Draw your sword,” she snarled, aware that Sano had moved Kenshin off to the side and was attempting to staunch the worst of the bleeding despite having only one functional hand.

 

Rather than obey her, he cocked his head slightly to one side. “Are you the one who managed to make it past Soujiro then?” The question was laced with disbelief, and that only fueled Kaoru's inner drive to see him as a heap on the ground.

 

The swordswoman ground her teeth in frustration, but decided to just answer. It didn't matter how she stalled for time, after all, and it was only her anger that demanded it be by battle. “I am,” she responded, echoing him on purpose.

 

His eyes narrowed slightly, and she watched him stiffen without relinquishing her hold on the sakabatou. If he had inflicted that many wounds on Kenshin, then he was fast, probably faster than she was. That was not an insurmountable obstacle, however: Soujiro had been quicker than her as well.

 

“Hmm, fine. Perhaps you will prove a less disappointing diversion than the Battousai,” Shishio drawled, deliberately provoking her further.

 

He disappeared from view, and it was only her reflexes, honed by hours training against Hiko, that saved her from being sliced in half. As expected, he seemed to have the edge in speed, and definitely in strength. No matter. Most of her opponents were stronger than her, and she still had a tendency to win against all but the best of them.

 

Disengaging, she whipped her sword around to try and get at his abdomen, but was blocked just as surely as he had been by her. Her muscles, sore already from the bout with Soujiro, protested violently, but she ignored the pain as she flung attack after attack at the man in front of her.

 

Aggressive though she was being, one of the earliest lessons her father had taught her was that letting her anger and frustration rule her led only to foolish mistakes, and she was careful to keep it in check. Blow after blow hammered against Shishio's blade, but never once did she give in to the aggravation and drop her defenses either.

 

Eventually, her opponent seemed to tire of being on the defensive, and lashed out with strikes of his own, first at her side, then her neck and chest. She bent and twisted around them all, blocking when dodging wasn't an option. Still, she could feel herself tiring. Fighting Soujiro had apparently taken more out of her than she thought, and she was quickly accumulating more shallow cuts to add to the one on her shoulder.

 

Please Kenshin, she implored him in her mind, you have to wake up soon. I don't know how much longer I can do this…

 

***

 

Misao was out of brilliant ideas. The thing was, she just knew there was a way to beat Kamatari, otherwise Aoshi would have insisted on stepping in. As it was, he hadn't decided to insult her by offering, and she was grateful. He had to see that she could do these things on her own.

 

Well, not exactly alone. She had Yahiko's help, after all, and it had been his quick thinking that had felled their last opponent. He was clearly quite content to follow her lead on this one, though.

 

That assumed she could think of anything to lead him to do, of course. C'mon, Misao, you can do this! What do you have at your disposal? Three knives, your fists, and… Yahiko. She knew that projectiles were all but useless; Kamatari just knocked them away with the chain attached to his scythe.

 

Her thoughts were interrupted when the ball on the end of that chain came hurtling towards her. Misao scrambled to dodge, just barely avoiding being hit with the business end of the scythe a moment later. That's it!

 

“Yahiko! Be ready to attack on my signal!” she yelled, and the boy nodded in response.

 

Gritting her teeth against what she knew was to come, she threw one of her remaining kunai at Kamatari, who, true to form, blocked it and sent the ball and chain flying at her as a response. Instead of jumping to the side to avoid it, Misao ran forward, leaping straight up just in time to avoid the hit , landing on the chain just as Kamatari was about to whip it back. Gripping her two remaining kunai in each hand, she thrust one between the links of the chain, effectively staking it to the ground. It wouldn't hold for long, but it would be long enough.

 

“Now!” Yahiko sprang forward, and Kamatari turned his attention to the boy. Grinning wickedly, Misao ran up the taut chain. Just as Kamatari was about to strike Yahiko with the remaining end of his weapon, she tossed her final kunai. “I don't think so!” she said in a sing-song voice, springing into the air. Kamatari was now faced with a choice: try to hit Yahiko, or block her kunai.

 

Doubtless deciding that a shinai was bound to do less damage than a bladed knife, he opted for the latter. To be fair, either would have been a mistake, since Misao was now descending on him with fury. Her heel met his shoulder at the same time as Yahiko's wooden sword found his exposed side, though the kunai did clatter harmlessly off his scythe.

 

Misao landed hard, but she hardly cared, so relieved was she that it was finally over. In fact, she was pretty sure she was laughing like a maniac, but she would never remember for sure in the years to come, because, for what seemed like the first time in years, Aoshi-sama actually smiled. At her. For some reason other than her being silly.

 

So it was with a big, stupid grin on her face that she dared to slip a hand in his. “Let's see about putting out some fires, shall we?”

 

Aoshi merely cocked an eyebrow and nodded, but it was enough.

 

***

 

Sano attended as best he could to Kenshin's wounds, but he had little in the way of supplies other than a small jar of ointment the fox had given him. It wasn't easy tying makeshift bandages with one hand, either, especially when that one hand was slick with blood. Still he made due with strips torn from his own and Kenshin's garments, all the while mumbling to his patient.

 

“Dammit, you'd better not be dead,” he groused. “The missy… well, I think she loves ya, and she'd be hurt as Hell if you didn't make it. If you die, I'm gonna hafta kill you.” Realizing the absurdity of his statement a only belatedly, he shook his head a little.

 

As soon as he was finished, he dared to look up at the battle. Kaoru was riddled with lacerations, though none of them were yet as bad as the unconscious man's. Still, she looked to be tiring swiftly, and he knew that she didn't have much left in her before she became little more than fodder for Shishio's blade.

 

It was then that he saw something extraordinary. Kaoru moved into a stance he'd never seen her use, which should have been his first clue. As it was, he'd only realize later what she had been doing. Shishio, too seemed to be more serious than before. The fistfighter strained his ears, and was able to hear what the two were saying.

 

“…I'll give you credit for lasting longer than expected. I think it is time to end this now, though.” Shishio said without much inflection.

 

Kaoru, silver eyes flashing, nodded. “I agree. Come at me with all you've got, because I'll do the same.” Gone were all traces of gentleness from her manner, though her ki still felt the same as it ever did. It seemed that had Kaoru been anyone else, she would have been about ready to kill him. Sano knew, though, that her code was ingrained so deeply in her being that the idea had probably never even occurred to her to flip her blade.

 

Missy, be careful… Sano was interrupted as his patient stirred.

 

***

 

Kaoru stood, sword held before her in one hand. The other held her sheath, now positioned parallel to the blade itself. It's now or never, Kaoru. Time to make your father proud. Her plan would require timing of the most precise kind, and she struggled to quiet her trembling muscles. This was no time for her body to fail her.

 

Shishio seemed to sense her discomfort and grinned sadistically. Taking a steadying breath, Kaoru forced herself to be still, repeating the motions over and over again in her mind until they were fixed there, like a tattoo upon her consciousness.

 

So when Shishio moved, she was ready. When he swung, she blocked with the sheath. As expected, he cut straight through it, slicing off the bottom half. She shifted swiftly while he was caught off-guard by the move, sliding what remained of the sheath over his sword, twisting to force the blade sideways.

 

Flipping her sakabatou over in her hand, she brought the bladed end down on the bottom half of his sword, now protruding from the end of the sheath. Because of her grip on it, she was able to control the precise angle of the strike.

 

“Kamiya Kasshin-ryu,” she intoned, “Kenbure-ka!” She struck Shishio's sword twice with her blade, and once with the hilt. Upon the last blow, the sword bloke cleanly in half, and she leapt back, taking her tattered sheath with her.

 

For a while, nobody moved. Shishio was regarding his broken sword with something approaching appreciation, while his assistant and Sano openly gaped. There was a small smirk on Saito's face, as though he were simply amused. Kaoru dared not look at Kenshin, for fear of what she might see.

 

“Hmm… not bad,” her opponent conceded. “I'll not fall for it again, however.” He motioned to the other man, who produced a second sword from under his cloak. “Consider yourself honored, woman. I have not killed anyone with my real sword since the day I slew my master many years ago.”

 

Kaoru's shoulders sagged, and she knew she had been defeated. The exertion from the maneuver had pulled open many of her wounds, and she was losing blood quicker than she cared to contemplate. She needed rest, and there was simply no way she was going to get it now. Kenbure-ka was, for the moment, the strongest move in the Kamiya Kasshin style, and had been her father's final technique. She lamented briefly that she would not have the opportunity to create something even better. Still, I am not afraid to die, and if I must do so, then… she swayed unsteadily on her feet.

 

“You have done enough, Kaoru-dono,” came a voice from behind her, and Kaoru nearly jumped out of her skin when hands touched her shoulders, steadying her, careful to avoid any of her cuts. Looking over her shoulder, she caught sight of Kenshin, now apparently standing despite his wounds.

 

“Kenshin…” she said softly. There was something… off about him. In that moment, though he held her carefully, he felt more like the Battousai of old then the Kenshin she had come to know.

 

Still, she sheathed her sword, careful not to cut herself where it now protruded from the end for about a foot and a half. His eyes softened when she looked back at him, and she thought she must have imagined it.

 

Stepping back, she came to stand near Sano, who rested his good hand on her shoulder for comfort. “Ya did somethin' pretty amazing there, missy,” he said proudly. “If that jerk Shishio didn't have a spare hangin' around, that woulda been then end of him.”

 

Kaoru shook her head. “That sword isn't just a spare, Sano,” she replied. “It's his real one.” Looking between the bruised and battered Kenshin and the relatively little-damaged Shishio, she felt her heart twist uncomfortably. Kenshin…

 

***

 

Shishio surveyed him with disinterest. “That's not very good of you, Battousai. I was having more fun with her than you. She's so much more… interesting. It would be a pleasure to kill her, don't you think?” The terrible grin seemed to stretch out his face in some grotesque parody of joy.

 

“I wouldn't try it if I were you,” Kenshin replied coldly. “You might not like the result.”

 

“Oh?” Shishio laughed, a slight manic quality to it. “And I suppose you think you could stop me? You weren't going so well last time, and well, now I just feel so worked up that I have to kill something. And let's face it: your woman put up much more of a fight than you did. It's a shame she has to die. I could use someone like her…” he trailed off, malice gleamed in his eyes.

 

Kenshin felt the tide of anger sweep him away before he was fully ready for it, sharpening every sense to its razor edge, slicing away all his self-control in the process. No, I mustn't… I promised Kaoru-dono. I am not the Battousai any longer.

 

Oh? asked a familiar voice in his head. Don't tell me you're willing to let her die to appease your conscience. If you care about her, you'll make sure she lives, no matter the cost. He grimaced; it had been a while since the killer inside him had been so strong, the instinct to rip Shishio to pieces was nearly unbearable.

 

Kenshin struggled, but there was no way out. The logic was irreparable: he either had to become the Battousai once more or allow those cared about to die, crushed under Shishio's blade or his tyranny, whichever came first. After several moments of agonized indecision, he submitted to the Battousai within himself and struck.

 

***

 

Kaoru was growing more apprehensive by the moment. As of yet, Kenshin had not flipped his blade, but she could not shake the sense that it was only a matter of time. Kenshin, please… you have to fight it.

 

She watched as the two swordsmen flew about the area, blades clashing violently, the sound ringing in her ears. She followed their movements carefully, watching for any sign, any signal of who would be the victor. Kenshin seemed to be landing more hits, but Shishio was certainly not getting soundly defeated, either.

 

It wasn't for another ten minutes that they stopped, and Kaoru had to constantly remind herself to breathe, so frequently did her breath still as Kenshin sustained a new wound or barely dodged a blow. Her own injuries pricked at the edge of her mind, but she firmly ignored them. She would live. His safety was, for the moment, a much more pressing concern.

 

At last, Shishio leapt backwards and settled into a different stance. Observing it, Kaoru could tell that it was different from anything else that he used, and would likely rely on powering through any and all defense. She hoped Kenshin knew this, but reminded herself that he had been trained by the same man as she, and Hiko-sensei would not have neglected something so important. I must believe in him. The warning she may have voiced faded into the whisper of her breath between her lips.

 

Kenshin himself sheathed his sword, ready to use some form of battojutsu, most likely the final technique of the Hiten Mitsurugi. He stood with one foot slightly turned, like he always did whenever attempting to use his speed to its fullest advantage.

 

“Shu no Hiken-”

 

“Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu-”

 

“Kaguzuchi!”

 

“Amekaeru-ryu no Hirameki!”

 

Kaoru almost lost track of them, so fast did they move. Shishio's attack was deadly, but not fast enough for Kenshin, who managed to hit first, completely taking the strength out of his opponent's slash. Still, the other man's sword did manage to slice him across the chest, if only shallowly.

 

The effect of the Amekakeru-ryu no Hirameki was much more pronounced, and there was an audible, sickening crack as at least three of Shishio's ribs shattered and he fell to his knees, struggling to take in air to his lungs.

 

There was a sharp intake of breath to her right, and Kaoru noticed Yumi cover her mouth with her hands in shock. Furrowing her brows, she turned back to the others, and her eyes widened in horror as she observed that Kenshin was still advancing. He came to stand before the fallen Shishio, and, without so much as a word, flipped the blade of his sakabatou.

 

*****

Kiku's Corner!

 

Uh-oh! What will Kenshin do? Lol, I realize I'm evil. I also said this would be the last chapter, but it's actually only half of it. I decided to split it and give you guys this half early. The last bit will be up on Friday as usual. Hope you enjoy!

 

Thanks to Beth the edit ninja for all her help; you rock, lady!

 

~Kiku~