"To kill you, Takeda Kanryuu, and then to kill myself," Megumi said. "That is what I am prepared to do."
Before Kanryuu could even call for help, she shut her eyes and drove the dagger into him with all her might. She did not hear his screams of pain and horror, she did not feel his body go limp, she did not smell the blood on her hands and face.
Eyes still squeezed shut, she stood up and plunged the dagger into her heart. For one, fleeting instant, she remembered the faces of Kenshin, of Sanosuke, of Yahiko, of Kaoru. But, as she breathed her last, she whispered, "I have no regrets...I have finally redeemed myself." She died happily, believing she had done all she could.
It was not until an hour later that Aoshi, accompanied by Hannya, found their bodies. Not even the strongest fighters of the Oniwabanshuu could withstand the sight. They were horrified.
Aoshi walked slowly over to Megumi's body and lifted it off the ground. "She did nothing wrong. Takani Megumi shall have a proper burial."
"And Kanryuu?" asked Hannya.
Aoshi looked down at Kanryuu as though he were looking at a squashed insect. "Leave it. He was asking for this his entire life. The police can handle it from here." He shifted his gaze to Megumi. Even with Kanryuu's blood splattered on her clothes and face, she was very beautiful.
Later, after Aoshi and Hannya had left, Kenshin and the others arrived in the room.
Kaoru covered her mouth in horror. "Is that...?"
Kenshin's look was grave. "That is Takeda Kanryuu." He eyed the dagger that Aoshi had pulled out of Megumi's body and dropped, unceremoniously, onto the floor. He bowed his head.
"Kenshin...?"
"The Oniwabanshuu could not have done this. We know that Beshimi uses darts, Hyottoko uses fire, and Shikijou uses brute strength. Hannya and Aoshi are ninja, and would not stoop so low as to use a dagger. Kanryuu could not have killed himself, because he would have had to thrown the dagger for it to land where it was, and it would either be in his chest, in his hand, or right next to his body. This leads me to believe that either one of Kanryuu's bodyguards turned on him, or Megumi-dono has gone through with what she said she would do."
Just then, Aoshi walked in with his head bowed. "I've done the best I could. I washed her face and hands and cleaned the wound. I buried her. I could have easily prevented Kanryuu from forcing her to make opium. When it came right down to it, I could have killed him myself. But my own, selfish motives kept me from doing so. Such a beautiful woman...and I couldn't--No, I didn't protect her. Forgive me."
He left. The next day, it was reported that the Oniwabanshuu had vanished without a trace.
"But why?" Yahiko blurted out. "It's so unfair. She saved my life. But I couldn't save hers." Tears rolled down his cheeks. "I didn't even get to thank her," he whispered.
Kaoru put an arm around his shoulders. "Yahiko, you did thank her. Seeing your smiling face was all the thanks she needed."
Kenshin looked up. "Somehow, somewhere, I believe she is watching us. That I most certainly do."
"Kenshin." Kaoru hugged him. "I think you're right."
Sorry I made this so short, everyone. I just couldn't think of anything else to say. This is my first angst story, so please, be nice. And if there's anyone with a lot of angst experience, I'm open to any pointers. I'm experimenting with the different genres a bit. )
Update: After three years (Wow, has it really been that long?) I've made a few changes. I added a space between to each line to make it easier to read, changed "Oniwaban Shuu" to "Oniwabanshuu," omitted the corny line "Death. It happens to everyone," and switched the incorrect usage of the word "ironic" to "unfair." I hope these changes will make this story more readable. :p