The hands of the clock were already nearing nine. By the river, the C.D.s were making their final adjustments. Minako sat of the river’s edge, gazing off into the stars. ‘Time is running out…’ She turned to her friends who were now looking over Mimi’s latest invention.
“Wow~!” Mikawa exclaimed. She didn’t know what it was, but she sure liked it. It was a large structure with many pipes and a large oven-like part, painted with a lovely white coat, “So, what does this thing do?”
Lili crossed her arms and grinned, “Unlike the other junk my Nee-san makes, this one is actually useful! It takes the DNA from hair and clones living objects!”
Clinging to Mikawa, Stacey cried out, “Kyaaa! Not another ‘cloning device’!!! Last time, all it did was make ugly monsters!!!”
“That’s because I had a glitch.” Mimi explained, “So the things were coming out mutated and warped. This time I got it right. You saw the Battousai! He wasn’t mutated or anything – and he was warped to begin with…”
”Now onto important things!” Lili said, taking out a photograph, “This is my childhood crush from my hometown… let’s give this thing a try, nee?”
”Gaaah?!” Mimi exclaimed, taking out the same photograph, “You had a crush on Satoru-san also, Nee-chan?!”
”Well, you can’t have a clone of him – he’s mine!”
“Yeah, but… it’s my machine!!!”
”Maa maa…” Mikawa uttered, staring nervously at the arguing sisters, while holding onto the fear-stricken Stacey. She turned her attention to where Minako, but strangely she had gone. “Mina-chan…?”
* * *
Back in the middle of the forest, Battousai was squaring off the Rurouni, who was having difficulties standing. Blinded by the blood running down his head, he couldn’t focus and collapsed onto the ground, ‘How can I fight … how?!’ He closed his eyes tight, trying to picture his glimpse of hope, but even that didn’t come, ‘…Kaoru?!’
“Now you DIE!!!!!” Battousai exclaimed, raising his sword to kill the fragile form before him. “HYAAAAA…!!!”
”Kimi-san!” Shena cried frantically at her side. But Kimi didn’t even budge, her focus on the ending fight before them. “Kimi-san!” Shena yelled once again, this time adding, “It’s nine o’clock!”
With those words, Battousai’s sword was stopped in midair. Kenshin, who had been anticipating his death, rubbed his eyes to see the hitokiri frozen in time. “Playtime is over.” Kimi noted, lifting a hand. A large blast emitted from her palm towards Battousai, sending him to the ground. He slowly seeped into the dirt below and vanished. She then turned to Kenshin. “You will have to settle it eventually though. There’s no way you can run away this time…”
”Eh…?” he panted, pulling himself up with his sakabatou. Strangely all his injuries had gone, but the pain was strong in his mind, ‘What happened to me?!’ he wondered, ‘Is my other self so much stronger than I am? Will I be able to face him again?’
Sanosuke ran up to support his friend, who looked exhausted, “It’s nine o’clock, so you lucked out. But how and why these gals are doing this to you is beyond me!” He stared towards Shena who was following Keiko and Kimi to the river, “Naze…”
”Oi, Kimi!” Keiko said, “It’s already begun! Let’s hurry!!” The three of them leaped up into the trees, moving at top speed towards the sparkling river. The other C.D.s were waiting for them, a small boat at the edge of the river. “Yosshi! Let’s do it!”
At Keiko’s words, the Mukashi sisters pushed the boat into the river, Mikawa emitting a small blast to give the waves a push. “TSUBAME!” Yahiko called running up from behind and tackling Mikawa, “Why’d you put her in that boat?! What the hell are you doing to her?!”
”Get off Mi-chaaan!” Stacey growled, yanking him up by the hair and violently hurling him into the bushes, “Ecchi boy!!!”
“Daijoubu! I’m not hurt or anything!” Mikawa assured everyone, but they sighed and turned away, “Nani? Nani?” she asked, looking confused.
“Bezuni.” Kimi replied, looking over to the river. Already dark spirits were rising in the river, one large one pulling itself together and ready to come at them. She turned to see Kenshin and Sanosuke coming as well, ‘Ch! They’re in danger as well…’
“N-Nan de?!” Sanosuke cried as one of the spirits had wandered towards them. Kenshin lifted his sakabatou, but a blast cut him off, destroying the spirit. “Eeeh?!”
“Normal swords won’t work against this!” Kimi noted, unsheathing her other katana. Crossing them together, she conducted a combination spell. Kenshin watched in amazement as the white blast restrained the oncoming black force from going to them. She turned to the rest of her comrades, “It’s now or never! We must activate the pentagram!”
“Hai!” each girl said, directing their powers to the center of the river. Seven beams of lights went racing towards the boat, breaking wood as the source went upward. Soon, waves rose around the lifeless body, making a shield of water raining down as a pedestal formed underneath it. The floor of the river had become bare, the pentagram structure they had made earlier, moving into place, the pedestal its center.
“TSUBAME!!” Yahiko yelled, struggling against Sanosuke and Kenshin’s grasp, “Let me go, dammit!!! Let go of me!! I have to go her now!!!”
”Yahiko,” Kenshin replied calmly, “It’s too late. You can’t protect her, de gozaru. To go out there now would be insane…”
”I DON’T CARE ABOUT THAT!” he yelled, tears in his eyes, “I know I can’t protect Tsubame… I know I can’t do anything for her… but I have to go to her! No matter what happens… I don’t want to lose her!”
The rurouni loosened his hold, “Yahiko…”
A voice caught him from above. Kimi was continuing to push her power towards the center of the river, “You can’t always protect the ones you love, Himura. But protection isn’t what they are expecting of you. ”
He looked from her to Yahiko, who was now struggling against Sanosuke, and giving a good fight. At last, the boy broke away and started running towards the thundering whirlpool, speeding his way from the lifting tides to the bare floor of the river, until he made it to the pedestal in the center. Climbing nimbly upward, he made his way to the limp fragile form at the top.
“Tsubame…” he uttered, cradling her close to him as razor sharp sparks of energy sliced at his cheek and arms as he tried to shielded her with himself, “If we’re gonna die, at least we’ll be together. You and me, okay… I won’t let you go no matter what!”
”YAHIKO!!” Sanosuke called to him, the pedestal rising and the whirlpool moving faster. “Kenshin, what do we do?!” he asked. But Kenshin couldn’t even move; he was just so shocked. He too looked out and saw what his friend was staring at. “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?”
”Don’t worry. It’s almost over.” Kimi uttered as she and her comrades struggled. She suddenly paused, her eyes slightly widening, “Masaka…could it be…?”
Stacey smiled. “I knew it!”
Already the pentagram around them had activated with a red glow. But the darkness in the river was replaced by the growing light emitting around the huddled forms of Yahiko and Tsubame. The waves lifted completely over them, swallowing them up. And in a split second, everything flashed white; the river returned back to its calm self.
Sanosuke broke into a run down the bank looking for the two bodies. “Yahiko! Tsubame-chaan!! Where are you?!” But he couldn’t find them. He then stopped and heard a small noise behind him. Lying in the grass, unhurt and undead – Yahiko and Tsubame sat up, looking bewildered. “Yokkata!” he cried, going to them.
“W…What happened?” Tsubame uttered, blushing hard as everyone was staring at her, especially Yahiko, who couldn’t do anything but look at her, “Weren’t we just at the festival?”
Sanosuke let out a sigh of relief, “What a night of strange events! I mean, you two really worried us! We thought we’d lost you guys, but you came out okay! I guess you were the heroes and saved the town!”
“Aa…” Yahiko uttered, remembering all that talk about ‘sacrificing’. He turned towards the C.D.s and wondered, ‘Why did they bother to save us? Was that their intention all along? Who are these people exactly…?’
As the other C.D.s rejoiced in their success and unexpected surprise end, Kimi stood off by herself gazing off at the calm river. She didn’t bother to turn around, speaking to the shadow behind her, “You know that was ‘Wish #76’…”
“Yes, well… sacrifices have to be made, demo… not always.” he replied, “I have powers to help others – let me use while I can. I can’t run away anymore from my fate. It’ll come anyways, won’t it?”
Kimi simply crossed her arms and nodded. This was the same realization and choice she had made years ago when she became the leader. Grinning at the outcome of the mission, she wondered if there was a girl out there, looking for her love on Tanabata as a light shower of rain covered the town.
”Okaeri nasai, Yuri.”
* * *
Now that the mission was over, the sealing ward had been lifted off the forest. Therefore, the snooping Tae and Tsunan, and their newest member, Megumi, came running into the forest, “I have to find out what’s going on with that girl and Sanosuke!!!” the fox woman raged.
“I still don’t get why we weren’t able to get into the forest before…” Tsunan uttered.
“Does it matter?!” Tae exclaimed, dragging him along, “Let’s hurry up before they get away!! Nee, Tsunan-han, Takani-han! Yossha!!!”
* * *
“Onii-chaaan?!” Stacey cried, running over and glomping onto Yuri, who stumbled backwards and fell on his back, “Okaeri, O ni chaaan!”
“Tadaima, Spacey.” he chuckled, as the other C.D.s came by to greet him, “Hey everyone! Long time no see?”
Mikawa smiled and nodded her head, “Hai! It’s good to see you again!” Keiko didn’t say anything, just lifting her glasses and turning away from the spectacle.
Lili grinned, “With him around, I don’t have to work so much. Ohohohohoho!!!”
Mimi frowned, “Nee-chan…”
Shena turned towards Mikawa, “Are? Where did Minako-san go?”
Mikawa tapped her chin, thoughtfully, “She disappeared just before nine. She wanted to go to the Kamiya Dojo…”
“Dojo?!” Kenshin lifted his head and turned towards them, “Leave Kaoru-dono alone!! Or else I’m…!” He skidded to a sudden halt as a figure rose from the ground. The Hitokiri Battousai had returned to finish what had been started, “Masaka!”
“Himura,” Kimi uttered, “It seems the only person standing in your way is yourself. If you don't pay for your crimes, then this Kamiya girl will.”
Sanosuke growled at her, “Teme! Why are you doing this to him?! Why can’t you just let him go to Jou-chan!! What’s the point of all of this?!?!”
“The Battousai and the Rurouni are both at blame for disregarding the code of the Balance! Battousai, for the 675 lives he took, and the Rurouni, for the 675 lives he holds captive with his continual guilt. Emotions generate power and this power has prevented any of these souls rest. As far as I’m concerned, the Rurouni is much more at fault than the Battousai…”
”Nani?! Demo… I…!” Kenshin gasped, falling to his knees. He couldn’t come up with the words. How could he respond to this charge, he did not know. ‘I’ve always thought that I had to suffer for what I had done… instead, I’ve only brought pain to those I wanted to protect… those I didn’t mean to kill… people I care about… the person I…’ He clenched his eyes tight. ‘Kaoru…’
The scene from earlier that day played his mind. Her leaning against his back, her faint words in his ear. ‘It wasn’t that I couldn’t hear you…I…’ Kenshin, ‘I-I chose not to hear you.’ despite your own feelings ‘I didn’t want to believe that you…’ aishiteru. With that, she backed away from him, the tears glinted in her eyes as she turned and rushed into the house.
Back to the present, Kenshin knelt to the ground, grabbing onto the grass. ‘I thought you were making a mistake. I didn’t want you to waste it on me. I wanted to keep you safe… Instead… I’ve hurt you. The worst thing I could have done… Kaoru… to hear your voice again – to hear you say… I’d do anything! Please…!’
“Enough.” Shena stepped forward. “A man willingly to feel regret for a moment at least, deserves forgiveness. You cannot dwell in your thoughts forever; otherwise nothing will ever change. Kenshin, you must keep moving… forward - if not for yourself, then for those around you. Believe me, you have been forgiven for your grievances – so please let those souls rest.”
“Shena-dono…”
“Himura-san, the future is constantly changing. Even I know not what to expect. Because we choose to change.”
After a moment, he lifted his head, asking, “If the Battousai and the Rurouni are both guilty… what am I supposed to be?!”
Kimi walked over and smiled, holding out her hand, “Kenshin, just Kenshin.”
“Oro?” he uttered, taking her hand as she pulled him up and helped him stand, “Just…”
”You don’t need those other personas just to be a man who lives his life. I know those two are part of you, but you must always keep them at balance, otherwise one can overtake the other as you saw before. It’s never too late…”
”Aa.” he uttered, slowly smiling. He then turned to his friends who were nodding their heads. It was then he realized the cloned Battousai had been evaporated by an ofuda that been thrown without him seeing, ‘See you again sometime, old friend.’ He then lifted up his head and said, “Let’s go, everyone and…!”
He was put on hold as three figures stumbled out from the bushes. “Anata ya!!” Tae exclaimed, pointing at Shena, “What is your relationship with Sano-han!!!”
“Eh? Watashi?” she stammered, stumbling backwards. Keiko stepped forward and fired a gun at Tae, making her collapse. “KEI?! NAZE?!” Shena cried.
“It’s just my new tranquilizer gun.” Keiko replied with a shrug, “Only way to make her shut up.”
”It’s late as is.” Tsunan said, lifting up the snoozing Tae, “I’ll take Tae-san home and…” Sanosuke was at his elbow, chuckling mischievously, “Nan de, Sano?” he hissed at his friend.
“Just you two had spent Tanabata entirely together… thought there was something going on…”
”CHIGAO! THERE ISN’T!!!” Tae had suddenly woke up and started yanking Sanosuke by the ears. “Now tell me the truth – what’s going on with you and… ?!”
“Tae-san…” Tsubame sighed, staring at the scary woman. She lifted her head slightly as she felt someone take her hand. Turning to her side, she could see Yahiko concentrating on the cloudy sky. Blushing, she clasped her fingers around his and smiled.
Meanwhile, Kenshin had started running through the forest. ‘Kaoru! I’m coming!’