“YAMERO!!!!!”
Everyone stopped at that yell. Kenshin’s eyes flew open and he saw the knife halted right at the rope. He sighed with relief, sweat covered his face, ‘Good thing this executioner has good reflexes!’ He then turned towards the crowd and saw Sanosuke shoving his way though, ‘SANO?!’
The tall fighter made his way up to the line of soldier, bashing the weak ones aside. When a stronger one came, he stepped back a bit cautiously, “I just wanna say something to that bastard up there before he goes. It’ll be quick too.” He then peered over the shoulder and hollered, “Oi, Kenshin!! As far as I’m concerned – you can go straight to hell!!”
“Oro…” Kenshin uttered, dropping his head.
Sanosuke slid his hands into his pockets then turned to leave, “Ch! That’s all.” The soldiers exchanged looks and then turned back towards the platform, the execution going to proceed as planned. All of sudden, Sanosuke did a complete turnaround, assaulting the bunch together, “TEME!!! Who gave you permission to put my friend to death!!!!!”
One of the leaders grumbled, “We’re being double-crossed! Turn on the townspeople and cut the ropes!!” he ordered, drawing his own sword, everyone doing the same. The people started screaming and running away from the square, the soldiers at their heels. Then, the ground erupted with explosives, creating a wall of destruction between them. “What the hell is going on?!!? CUT THE ROPES!!!”
The executioner nodded, getting in position again. Kenshin gasped, “D-Demo!! Onegai – dame de gozaru! Sessha… sessha… Datte… I … I …” He closed his eyes. What difference did it make? People were dead – people were going to die. And he too. “Hayaku de gozaru…” he whispered, the sounds of battle and screams loud in his ear, “Hayaku!!”
In the blackness, he waited. And waited. Then he heard the sound of a sword unsheathing. He opened his eyes in time to see the excutioner leap up and slice the ropes above him with a sword. He landed in front of his as the ropes came down and the noose went loose.
“Dare…” Kenshin uttered, then turning to see that it was the sakabatou. The executioner then threw the headdress aside, smiling briefly, “Kaoru…”
She handed him the sakabatou, “I can’t make people come back to life, demo… I promised Tsubame and myself… I wouldn’t let anyone else die, not when I can do something about it. Isn’t that right?”
He stared into her blue eyes, nodding his head, “Sou de gozaru. Demo, Sessha… anata…” he stammered, so much to say to her, so many feelings.
“Kenshin, I know you’re still suffering and I’m sorry I couldn’t do much for you but get in the way… but right now we can’t talk – we have to protect these people. Please help Sanosuke and Yahiko – I’ll be the one to get Serika-san, Hiro-san, and Mai-chan to safety. Kenshin… hayaku!”
”Aa!” he uttered obediently, taking his sakabatou and jumping from the platform. He then saw what was happening. Parts of buildings were collapsing, creating obstacles and narrowing the walking space. Explosives had lifted even some parts of the ground. The entire town seeming like it was a war zone or even an earthquake. “How is this happening?!”
Inside one of the buildings, Tsubame had her network, igniting explosives by with triggering the wires dove into the ground at certain spots of the square. Watching from the window, she was timing and predicting when to set them off. Already the entrance had been blocked off with a great pile of debris and Yahiko was standing guard there, making sure no one got past to where the townspeople had taken refuge.
‘Ganbarou Yahiko-kun!’
“HAAAAAAAA!!!” Yahiko was beating on a line of soldiers coming at him one at a time because there was only enough room to do so. One by one they fell into a pile, his years of training paying off. “Ch! Is that the best you can do?! You’re all damned for trying to take revenge on this town!! I, Myoujin Yahiko, won’t let you continue!!! DOU RYU SEN!!!” he called out, doing his imitation of Kenshin’s Hiten Misturugi long-range attack. The entire line fell unconscious. “Heh, how’d you like that!!”
“Nice move, boy!” One of the leaders had come his way and stopped in front of him, swords at hands, “But how well will you do against me??”
Yahiko glared at him. ‘Koitsu… he’s huge!!! And he has more than one sword. Something tells me he’s not like those other push-overs.’ He got into stance. “C’mon! Let’s go!!!”
”Heh, if you say so!”
Meanwhile, Sanosuke was handling another leader. This one being smaller and a bit quick. “Teme!!! Stay still!!!!” he snarled, punches going everywhere. The little one kept bouncing off the destroyed scenery and managing a hit at Sanosuke’s leg, “Chikuso!!! You’ll pay for that!!!” he growled, limping a little from the wound.
“You’re a friend of the Battousai’s… therefore, you have to die!”
”Ch! I’ll say when I’ll die!!” Sanosuke yelled, finally focusing all his strength and mind, going in for the hit, “SANJOU NO KIWAMI!!!” The mega force erupting from his hand sent the swordsman flying and crashing into the wall. “Heh,” Sanosuke chuckled, before stumbling to his knees, ‘Aitsu… he got me good… I can’t stand at all…’
All of a sudden, more soldiers were coming directly at him. Not able to move or get up, he stared in panic. Then a pair of pineapple bombs came flying out a window. The soldiers screamed and ran away as they went off creating a hefty crater. Sanosuke had scooted away just enough, his heart beating fast.
“N-Nan de?! Oi oi! You almost got me there, Tsubame-chan!!!”
He turned around to see Yahiko leaping up to finish the other leader, “RYU TSUI SEN!!!!!” The impact broke the shinai and sent the huge man to the ground. Yahiko then landed on his face. “Ch! Gotta work on that landing…” he muttered, pulling himself up, “Oi! Sanosuke! How’s it going?!”
”Oh! I’m still here! But looks like Kenshin could use some help… should we dare? I mean, after dragging us into this thing…”
Kenshin was fighting off the remaining leader, his sakabatou a little shaky. ‘I’m still not putting my heart into this fight… is it because it’s technically my fault? I had my solution – then minna… they devoted their efforts in saving these people. Isn’t that what I had wanted to do… all along…? Why do I still…??’
The leader bashed Kenshin aside and took into a run in the direction the hostages had gone. Yahiko hurried over to Kenshin, “Daijoubu?? Did he hurt you good?? Kenshin, get it together!”
”Aa… suman…” he uttered, rubbing his bruised side, “Sessha is still… still…” So full of doubt, uncertainty. His focus had left him completely – did he want to save the people, repent for his sins, face or fear death… Kenshin didn’t know what to think. “Demo! That man is after people I love – I have to go to them!!” he cried, getting up and rushing after them.
Sanosuke looked towards the running rurouni. ‘Kenshin, daijoubu – you’ll find your way soon… as soon as you see Jou-chan… you will know…’
* * *
Kaoru trailed behind the fleeing Serika, Hiro, and Mai, who was being carried by her father, through the narrow pathway. “Hayaku! We’re almost to the other side!!” But as they heard noises coming from behind, Kaoru stopped. “You guys keep going! I’ll hold them off!”
“Arigatou de gozaru, Kaoru-obachan!!!” Mai chimed as her voice became distant.
Kaoru turned back to the darkness behind her, shinai ready. It was then the leader came at her, two swords at hand. “HEH!! GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!” he yelled, swinging at her. She sidestepped his attack and get ready for more. “I SAID MOVE!!!”
”Iie! I cannot do that!” she snapped, countering every hit he was making. “No one is going to die! I won’t allow it!!!”
”No one… does that include you?!” He then readied his next attack, crossing his swords together, “HIIIIIYAAAAAAAA!!!” With that, he sliced through her shinai, the pieces flying right from her hands and she falling onto her back. He then lifted one of the blades, going down to her, “DIEEEE!!”
Kaoru caught the blade and held it firmly at a halt with the palms of her hands, “Iya… I don’t want to die… there’s no way you can…” As he was lifting his other blade, her eyes flashed. “I WON’T LET…!!” Kaoru wrapped her legs around his ankle and pulled him down, then flipped the sword she was holding, hitting him unconscious with the bottom of the handle.
Silence fell. Kaoru found herself cold and weak again, although she had no wounds. ‘It’s happening again… doushite…?’ she asked, clinging onto the wall, her vision blurry, her legs giving way, ‘Why is it after the battle… I can’t hold out anymore …’
It was the throb of pain that stopped her from passing out.
* * *
“KAORU!!” Kenshin called, entering the dark path. He had heard her scream and the sound of flesh piercing, ‘Kaoru – what’s happened… I… smell… blood… Kaoru!!’ He stopped and stared up ahead, unable to speak.
Kaoru was pinned up to the way by a sword in her right shoulder, her face in agony, “Ken… shin….” she gasped, eyes wide and pleading with him.
The man who had done this pulled his blade out and chuckled, “Battousai, I guess I can’t get an interview before you go.”
“Who the hell are you…” Kenshin sputtered, concentrating only on Kaoru, his arms to his side, the sakabatou becoming losing in his hands. Kaoru was still up against the wall in shock, sliding down a little, leaving a smear of red. “Answer me!”
“My name is Hiachimo Masaru and I’ve been following your story for the longest time.” the young journalist said, “I cannot understand why a man like you has become such a hero when all you really did was kill a lot of people. Where I come from – that deserves capital punishment! I was hoping my ending to the story would be great – like Bakumatsu serial killer gets his reward… daga…” He paused to glare towards Kaoru, “Your little friends had to get in the way.”
”Leave Kaoru and the others out of this!” Kenshin exclaimed, taking a step forward, “They have nothing to do with my crimes or anything!”
“Oh, I knew from the beginning she had a lot to do with it. It seems your new heroic activities started three years ago, since you entered the town of Tokyo. I do believe that behind every great man there’s a woman. And since you left Tokyo a couple days ago to come here… I knew she would be trouble. I should have finished her off when I had the chance.”
‘He was the one…’ Kaoru thought, moving her head slightly to him, ‘The one who tried to strangle me to death… I thought I had been dreaming… or maybe I had done it to myself… demo… now I remember…’
“Battousai, I’m giving you a choice…” Masaru said, “You give me your life or I take hers. Simple as that. What do you say? You rather I kill her in front of you??”
”TEME!!” Kenshin exclaimed, grasping the sakabatou, ready to pounce him. But then, Masaru let the blade fly again, this time piercing through her other shoulder, another cry ensuring. Kenshin stopped at those sounds, the sword dropping from his hand. “Kaoru…”
This time, the blade broke and remained. She clenched her eyes and gritted her teeth, trying not to scream again, but it was too much. She stared up ahead at Kenshin, who was in shock. In the meantime, Masaru was taking a knife from his coat, “That’s right, Battousai – I mean business. You either kill yourself now – or I’ll slit her throat!”
Kenshin’s eyes were tearful. He could bear looking at her that way, although she was trying hard not to show any pain, it was so obvious. He knelt on one knee, and picked up the sakabatou, holding it directly pointed towards his stomach, ready for a traditional samurai suicide.
“Kaoru… suman… I can’t… I don’t want you to suffer…” he sobbed, “Because of me…”
She shook her head, her voice already lost, but still her lips were moving. He couldn’t hear what she was saying, but he wished it was ‘Good-bye’. Finally, he will put an end to everything, her suffering, his guilt and pain… never again…
Masaru chuckled and turned to watch. Over his shoulder, Kaoru still continued to try to reach him, saying the same words over and over. Kenshin stared up at her one last time. But this time, the words were said in his heart, ‘Kenshin! Don’t hesitate!!’ She was shaking her head, pleading with him – not to give up, not to put an end to everything.
It was then, for that moment alone, the doubts were lifted. Kenshin, with quick speed, flipped the sakabatou and got on his feet, charging the man. “B-Battousai!! I-I… I’ll kill her!! I swear!!!”
His eyes flashed yellow, “NOT WHILE I’M HERE!!!” He then knocked the knife from his hand, then quickly went into battoujutsu, a multitude of hits gouging Masaru’s chest to the point of blood coming out of his mouth. “RYU SO SEN!”
Kenshin then pushed away from him, sheathing the sword. In a split second he let it fly, the enormous swing sending the man crashing into the building, un-conscious and cracks behind his beaten body. “SOU RYU SEN – IKAZUCHI!”
He then dropped the sakabatou and rushed to Kaoru, her half-closed eyes and mouth slightly still moving without words, “Kaoru,” he uttered softly, tearfully looking up and down at her state, the half blade still stabbed in her left shoulder. He quickly freed her and held her in her arms. Her skin was ice cold and already her breathing was slowing. “Daijoubu – I’ll bring you to a doctor… you’re going to be okay!”
“Ken… shin…” she finally uttered, weakly fighting the blackness, “It’s happening again… I can’t help it…”
“Kaoru? What’s happening again?”
”… you … your arms…” she sighed, eyes falling shut, “… so warm…”