The sun was setting slowly in the evening sky and a young couple was watching it from the riverside. The male, a short man with long red hair, a cross shaped scar on his cheek and a warm smile curling his lips had his arms wrapped loosely around the female, a young woman with long black hair, wearing a beautiful pink kimono, leaning against the man and smiling contently as her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Neither of them spoke, though it was clear to any passerby that there was no need for words between this loving couple. Kamiya Kaoru and Himura Kenshin were enjoying a beautiful sunset after yet another day had passed. Kenshin had left his sword at home. Now was a time of peace, he was finally able to truly enjoy life. Leaning over to his love, he softly kissed her cheek, to which Kaoru responded with an equally gentle kiss on his lips. "I wish these sunsets would last forever," she sighed as the sun was almost disappearing from sight.
"Alas, we cannot stop time, I say," Kenshin replied. He smiled at Kaoru and got up, helping her up as well, being the polite person he had been for a long time now.
Together they walked back to Kaoru's Dojo, their arms wrapped tightly around each other's waists, as if they feared being torn apart at any given moment.
Neither of them noticed the figure clad in dark robes following them from a safe distance. Kenshin's senses seemed to have numbed slightly as he only payed attention to Kaoru.
However, despite being followed by a man of average build, wearing an oddly shaped bag across his back, they safely reached the dojo where the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu had been taught for so many generations.
Yahiko had already been waiting for them, preparing a nice meal for the three of them. He had made a lot of progress over a relatively short amount of time, perhaps even to the point where Kaoru could not teach him any more, however he felt it was his obligation to stay with the dojo, helping Kaoru out where he could.
He had taken the liberty to prepare the dinner table as well and was now patiently waiting for the others to arrive. His patience was soon rewarded as Kenshin and Kaoru walked in just minutes after Yahiko finishing. The young couple looked surprised at the set table and a calm Yahiko who had already been waiting for them. Kenshin just smiled politely at him and sat down. "You seem to have gotten the hang of cooking, I say," he said as he made himself comfortable. However Kaoru was not fooled so easily and walked up to Yahiko, leaning over so far that their faces were only inches apart. "Alright Yahiko, this is pretty suspicious, usually you try to get out of chores like these," she said as she performed her most intimidating glare on him. Yahiko immediately raised his hands, shaking them as if he were trying to create a distance between the two, as he smiled as sincerely as he could, saying: I was just trying to mature a bit, show that I am coming of age!" Kaoru blushed a little, feeling embarrassed that she had judged him too quickly. 'Perhaps he did mature,' she thought. "Buuuut… Now that you mention it, there's a festival in town tonight and I was hoping you could lend me some money," Yahiko added, smiling awkwardly, already foreseeing the answer of his sensei. Kaoru shook her fist, infuriated, and punched Yahiko's head hard, making him fall over sideways and land flat on his back. "You little brat! I knew it! I knew it I knew it I knew it!" Kaoru was already getting ready to choke him when Kenshin interfered, standing in between the two, placing his hands on his beloved's shoulders, smiling apologetically. "You can't blame a young man such as himself for wanting to get out sometimes, I say," he said, turning to Yahiko. "Run I say!" he exclaimed. Yahiko immediately obeyed and before Kaoru had realized what Kenshin was doing, Yahiko had stormed out of the door, not forgetting to take some money with him. "How will he ever mature if you keep letting him regress to such childish behavior, Kenshin?" Kenshin just smiled as he walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her. "'T 'is wrong of me perhaps to allow him to have fun the way a mischievous child would, but," he said as his face got remarkably close to Kaoru's, "now we are all alone, I say." He kissed Kaoru's lips in his usual gentle manner. Kaoru returned the kiss passionately as the young lovers made their way to the bedroom.
Their pursuer from before had been watching them for a while now, still from a safe distance. When he saw Yahiko leave the dojo, he followed him. Yahiko never even noticed him. It wasn't until he was passing through a dark alley that he discovered he wasn't alone. He stood still in the middle of the alley, his eyes straightforward, looking ahead, but at nothing in particular. It was obvious he was trying his best to sense the whereabouts of the other. "Reveal yourself!" There was a deadly silence. Yahiko repeated his command, but still nothing. Suddenly he heard an odd click. It had sounded familiar but he couldn't quite place it. It was not until the gunshot that he remembered what it was. Yahiko couldn't hear where the shot came from, The walls in the alley produced an echo, distorting the sound. Yahiko felt the fear of death paralyzing him The seconds it took for the bullet to penetrate his skull from behind seemed like an eternity. Yahiko's past adventures flashed before his eyes. Fighting alongside with some of Japan's greatest swordsmen, which had been his dream for so long. At least he was able to see one of his life's wishes fulfilled. Yahiko closed his eyes as tears welled up in them. The pain of a bullet entering your body is indescribable, it hurt more than anything Yahiko had ever experienced in his short life. But fortunately it reached his brain within a second, killing him instantly. Yahiko's dead body fell to its knees before the rest of his body met the ground. Yahiko's eyes were still closed. The tears had reached the ground as blood slowly poured from the back of his head, creating a puddle of it around Yahiko's lifeless head. The assailant appeared from the shadows, saw the young swordsman's body and grinned. "One down," he said, laughing maniacally as he returned to Kamiya Dojo.
Kenshin and Kaoru were lying in bed, their bodies entwined and their faces close together. Both were sleeping as the blankets covered nearly all of their bodies. They never noticed the outline of the man who had snuck into their room. Nor did they hear the soft noise as the man's revolver was cocked. He aimed for Kenshin's head, smiling. "So much for Japan's #1 swordsman…" He pulled the trigger. The bullet speeded towards the former hitokiri's head as he awakened. Kenshin opened his eyes just in time to see the instrument of his death approach him at an immense speed. Kenshin felt weak, he would be unable to dodge this bullet and it meant instant death. His eyes glanced over at Kaoru as he threw his body on top of hers as a shield. However he was not fast enough and the bullet pierced his head from the side, resulting in yet another instant kill. Kenshin's body covered nearly all of Kaoru's, whose face was now covered with her lover's blood. She was also awakened from the gunshot, but even more so by Kenshin's body landing on top of hers. She saw his lifeless expression and her eyes widened in shock. She screamed loudly, tears pouring down her eyes. Her arms tightly wrapped around Himura's body, refusing to let go. She buried her face against his chest and screamed her lungs out, mourning the loss of her true love. A second shot made the screaming stop. Kaoru's body fell back onto the bed, a bullet entry wound just above her left eye.
The figure checked to see if both were dead and then left swiftly, met by another figure outside. The two nodded and fled into the night, heading for the harbor.
In one night, three great swordsmen had died, killed like lambs lead to a slaughter.