"I know you now, Himura Kenshin! Or should I say … Hitokiri Battousai? At last, the time has come!"
"The time for what?"
"My revenge. You bastard, you killed my father! Eleven years ago, or is recalling one face among all those you've slain too hard for you? He was a good and honest person, and you killed him before he could even try to defend himself!"
The strange, heavily-cloaked man paused, as if saying all that had been very hard for him. Kenshin had his hand on his sword hilt, finely tuned senses screaming at him that this person in front of him was the definition of the word dangerous.
"I may have, but the past is the past. I learned that when the revolution ended, that I did."
"Oh, I've heard all about that. Mister Reverse-blade sword? The Battousai has sworn never to kill again, how noble. You profane my father's memory by using his weapon!"
"Your father wielded a Sakabatou?"
"That he did. Our family has passed down, from one generation to the next, a very unique style of sword fighting. I'm here to give you a sample of what my father could have done to you before you slaughtered him! Draw your sword, Battousai!"
Kenshin barely had time to do so before the stranger charged, a sword already in his hands. Kenshin dived for safety, losing a few hairs to the other's sword.
'He fights in a style similar to the Hiten Mitsurugi, but I've never seen -'
Kenshin didn't have time to think further as the man was attacking again. This time he managed to block the other's blade. Under man's hood, Kenshin could see a feral grin etched on the man's face.
"Very nice, Battousai! I expected nothing less! Now, see if you can handle this!"
Kenshin didn't get a chance to figure out what exactly 'this' was before he felt the man's blade bite into the skin of his upper arm. It cut in deeply before Kenshin got out of the sword's range. Unfortunately, the damage was already done, and the arm was useless now. Kenshin had about a second to feel something he'd never felt before in his life, terror, before the man came in fast and furious. The legendary Hitokiri Battousai never knew what hit him.
…
He felt as the man, whoever he was, finally got bored of stabbing at Kenshin's stubbornly unmoving body and left, laughing loudly at the victory. The second he was alone Kenshin struggled to stand up, stabbing his Sakabatou into the dirt to give himself a support. Parts of him he didn't know existed screamed in protest at the movement. The man had not been merciful in the slightest.
Where was he? Oh yeah, the swampy place near the bridge. Where he had fought Sanosuke's Zanbatou. That strange man had been stalking him for a week straight and Kenshin had wanted to confront him away from the others at the dojo…
'Some confrontation.'
At that point, his already weakened legs gave out and he slumped over, accidentally cutting his hand on the blade of his Sakabatou. Already dizzy from blood loss, Kenshin's vision blacked over as a far-away shout echoed across his brain…
"The time for what?"
"My revenge. You bastard, you killed my father! Eleven years ago, or is recalling one face among all those you've slain too hard for you? He was a good and honest person, and you killed him before he could even try to defend himself!"
The strange, heavily-cloaked man paused, as if saying all that had been very hard for him. Kenshin had his hand on his sword hilt, finely tuned senses screaming at him that this person in front of him was the definition of the word dangerous.
"I may have, but the past is the past. I learned that when the revolution ended, that I did."
"Oh, I've heard all about that. Mister Reverse-blade sword? The Battousai has sworn never to kill again, how noble. You profane my father's memory by using his weapon!"
"Your father wielded a Sakabatou?"
"That he did. Our family has passed down, from one generation to the next, a very unique style of sword fighting. I'm here to give you a sample of what my father could have done to you before you slaughtered him! Draw your sword, Battousai!"
Kenshin barely had time to do so before the stranger charged, a sword already in his hands. Kenshin dived for safety, losing a few hairs to the other's sword.
'He fights in a style similar to the Hiten Mitsurugi, but I've never seen -'
Kenshin didn't have time to think further as the man was attacking again. This time he managed to block the other's blade. Under man's hood, Kenshin could see a feral grin etched on the man's face.
"Very nice, Battousai! I expected nothing less! Now, see if you can handle this!"
Kenshin didn't get a chance to figure out what exactly 'this' was before he felt the man's blade bite into the skin of his upper arm. It cut in deeply before Kenshin got out of the sword's range. Unfortunately, the damage was already done, and the arm was useless now. Kenshin had about a second to feel something he'd never felt before in his life, terror, before the man came in fast and furious. The legendary Hitokiri Battousai never knew what hit him.
…
He felt as the man, whoever he was, finally got bored of stabbing at Kenshin's stubbornly unmoving body and left, laughing loudly at the victory. The second he was alone Kenshin struggled to stand up, stabbing his Sakabatou into the dirt to give himself a support. Parts of him he didn't know existed screamed in protest at the movement. The man had not been merciful in the slightest.
Where was he? Oh yeah, the swampy place near the bridge. Where he had fought Sanosuke's Zanbatou. That strange man had been stalking him for a week straight and Kenshin had wanted to confront him away from the others at the dojo…
'Some confrontation.'
At that point, his already weakened legs gave out and he slumped over, accidentally cutting his hand on the blade of his Sakabatou. Already dizzy from blood loss, Kenshin's vision blacked over as a far-away shout echoed across his brain…