Kenshin lurked in the shadows, scanning the crowd of people gathered for the wake. Everyone seemed in the mood appropriate for a wake; tears streamed from the eyes of some, others stood in glum silence. A young man, no more than sixteen years old, stood on the sideline with the unmistakable grief of one who has lost a lover. Kenshin's heart twisted—this must have been the sweetheart of Tsukamoto's daughter. Kenshin tore his eyes away from the pain that was all too familiar, forcing himself to keep good surveillance of the situation, ready to react in a heartbeat should Nagao appear. Tsukamoto himself looked wan and grim—compared to many of the political officers Kenshin had seen, there was very little fear in Tsukamoto's face. This man was full of grief and rage—he was not a man who would die in fear, begging for his life. Kenshin respected that.

A lantern flashed in rhythm, catching Kenshin's eye. But as quickly as it had begun, it ceased. He blinked a few times, wondering if it had just been a lantern behind carriage wheels.

More flashes in equal rhythm lit up on the other side of the procession.

This is it. They're attacking.

He ran from his place in the shadows, shoving his way through the crowd toward the police escort around Tsukamoto.

Seemingly out of nowhere, one of the mourners in the crowd drew a sword and leapt to intercept him.

"Chief!" Kenshin shouted. He easily deflected the blade with a swipe of his sakabatō, then on the counter-swing struck the side of the assailant's neck with the blunt edge. The assailant went down in a second.

"No guns!" the chief shouted. "We can't risk hitting civilians! Police swordsmen, at the ready!"

Twenty more of the mourners threw back their cloaks, revealing concealed weapons. Swords rang as they were drawn from sheaths. They charged the center, headed straight for Tsukamoto.

"They've disguised themselves as mourners!" came a panicky cry from one of the policemen. "They—they've never—"

One of the swordsmen drove his blade through the panicked officer's throat and ripped it out through the side, sending a cascade of blood spraying through the air. Another officer raised his pistol, but too late—the shaky hand holding the gun was sliced clean off before the officer's head followed.

"Sumimasen," Kenshin muttered as he knocked a distinguished-looking gentleman down, barreling through the crowd at top speed. He leapt high into the air, swinging his blade down on one of the swordsmen in a fierce Ryu-Tsui-Sen that knocked the swordsman flat on the ground. The smell of blood filled the air as the other swordsmen continued attacking the police.

The smell of blood. The smell of cruelty. The smell that sickened Kenshin to his core.

The smell of his own sins.

With a shout, Kenshin sprang between assailant and assailant, striking fierce blow after blow with his sakabatō, knocking one man down after the other. But not fast enough. Policemen were still falling one by one. Tsukamoto stood tall, not a hint of fear in his eyes—only rage.

And then Kenshin sensed it. A presence in the crowd, a presence filled with pure malice and hatred.

The hairs on the back of Kenshin's neck stood up, all of his intuition screaming to duck. He did a somersault forward as a blade whipped through the air right where he had been standing. Springing to his feet, he wheeled around.

Nagao.

"I warned you, Battousai," Nagao hissed. "What are you doing here?"

"Putting an end to your disgusting ways," Kenshin replied, narrowing his eyes. "You will pay for your crimes, that you will."

"Oh, but I thought you don't kill anymore. Or did that change after the lesson I taught you last time? What was her name? Hayashi Nakami, wasn't it?"

"Don't you dare say her name," Kenshin snarled. "You don't deserve to say her name."

"I'll never forget the way she struggled." Nagao laughed. "Every woman struggles differently. It's what keeps things…invigorating. And she…she was especially invigorating."

"You bastard." Kenshin gripped his reverse-blade sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "You bastard!" He lunged forward with a strike toward Nagao's shoulder; Nagao parried the blow and replied with a slash across Kenshin's chest. Leaping back a step to dodge it, Kenshin regained his posture and charged at lightning speed around Nagao, then struck from behind with a mighty blow.

Nagao fell forward to the ground as the blunt edge of the sakabatō struck the back of his neck. He lay on the ground, paralyzed with the shock of it.

"This is a familiar scene," Kenshin said. "You, incapacitated on the ground because of me. You would have done well to heed my warnings then, too, Nagao."

"Kill him!" Nagao shouted. "Forget the target. Kill the Battousai!"

Nagao's remaining thugs circled around Kenshin and charged him recklessly. He narrowed his eyes, leapt into the air, and landed outside the ring of them. He swept the sakabatō across their backs as he ran in a circle around them, knocking all save one them all to the ground in one blow. The remaining man stood, shaking. Kenshin readied to charge, when his intuition told him to leap to the side.

Nagao!

Too late. A dagger bit deep into Kenshin's side as he coiled for the jump.

Nagao had crawled up from the ground, dagger in hand, ready to fight again. "I've gotten stronger since then, Battousai. Much stronger. And it would seem you've gotten weaker."

Clutching at his wound, Kenshin fought to regain a defensive stance. He could not in time, and Nagao landed a high kick against his chest, sending Kenshin flying back. More blood spurted from the wound in Kenshin's side.

"Ah, the smell of blood," Nagao said. "The only thing I love more than the screams of women."

Nagao's earlier words echoed through Kenshin's mind. And she…she was especially invigorating.

Kenshin gritted his teeth and flipped the blade on his sakabatō as he climbed to his feet. Hungry for blood, its sharp edge glimmered in the lantern light. "You're going to pay, Nagao. You're going to pay with your life."

"We'll see," Nagao countered.

For a moment, neither man moved.

Nagao bent down to pick up his sword.

Kenshin coiled to spring forward.

"Hyyyaaah!" Out of nowhere, Kaoru charged in and struck Nagao on the head with her bokken.

Kenshin's eyes flew wide with horror. Kaoru-dono.

Nagao fell, but only for a moment. He grabbed Kaoru by the ankles and pulled her down to the ground with him, then swiped at her with the dagger. With a short scream, Kaoru leaned back far enough to dodge the blow. Then she cocked her arm and punched him in the face.

"You bitch, you'll pay for that!" Nagao shouted.

Seeing Kaoru's face turned something off inside of Kenshin, somehow dulling the blood-lust that raged within him. But it did nothing to the desire to see Nagao pay for his crimes. Kenshin re-flipped his sakabatō and charged again, leaping up into the air and bringing the blunt edge down along the length of Nagao's spine.

Nagao didn't even yell. He simply fell to the ground like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

"You'll be lucky if that doesn't paralyze you," Kenshin hissed. He sheathed his sakabatō, which was mercifully unstained with blood.

"Yes!" Kaoru shouted, pumping a fist into the air. "We got him, Kenshin!"

You promised, Kenshin thought, anger replacing the horror at seeing Kaoru so close to Nagao. You promised you would not put yourself in harm's way. It took every fiber of his being not to grab her by the shoulders and shake her.

She drew back under the ferocity of his gaze. "Kenshin…?"

Kenshin shook his head to clear his expression and chase away the anger. Then, he drew a breath and surveyed the scene. Everyone had been captured or knocked unconscious, and the chief ran over with handcuffs to put on Nagao.

"Well done, Himura-san," the chief said. He raised an eyebrow at Kaoru. "And thank you for your help as well, Kamiya-san, though it was my understanding you would not be here."

"It was my understanding as well, Chief," Kenshin said. "Believe me."

"Well, it's a good thing I came," Kaoru said, sticking her nose in the air. "I'd like to think I played a key role in all of this."

Kenshin let out a chuckle despite his frustration with her. "That you did, Kaoru-dono. But tell me…where is Sano?"

"You mean my babysitter? He and Yahiko are fast asleep, thanks to a little something Megumi gave me. She was worried about you too, you know, and we both knew Sano wouldn't let me out."

"I'll leave you to settle…whatever this is, Himura-san," the chief said, shooting Kenshin a sympathetic look. "Rest assured that Nagao will be properly arrested and tried for his crimes, and face the utmost penalty for them."

Kenshin nodded. The chief replied with the same gesture, then took Nagao away.

"What does that mean, the utmost penalty?" Kaoru said.

"It means they will most likely put him to death," Kenshin said.

"Death? But Kenshin…if you captured him for them…and they do that…"

"I have given it thought already. It is the job of those in authority to decide whose crimes are punishable by death, not mine. He will face a fair trial. If death is his sentence, he earns it through the appropriate means." Kenshin frowned. "Some men do deserve death, Kaoru-dono. I simply choose not to be the one who doles it out. It is not up to me to decide."

"Is that so? I saw you, Kenshin. I saw you flip your sakabatō. Why else do you think I intervened?"

Kenshin looked into Kaoru's eyes. "Then you have saved me once again, that you have. For that, you have my thanks. But still, Kaoru-dono, you said you would not put yourself in harm's way."

"I didn't put myself in harm's way," Kaoru said, smiling. "I knew I could help you without risking my life. I knew I was strong enough to fight Nagao, and that if worst came to worst, you would save me. I'm never in harm's way when you're with me, Kenshin."

"Your faith in me is truly humbling, that it is." He took a step forward to lay a hand on her shoulder. At the motion, a sharp pain in his side reminded him of the dagger wound he had sustained. He groaned and clutched at the wound.

"Oh, Kenshin, you're hurt! We have to get you to Megumi or Dr. Gensai as quickly as possible!"

"That we do. Lead the way, Kaoru-dono."


By the time they had arrived at Dr. Gensai's office, Kenshin felt light headed. The adrenaline from the fight had worn off, and if he had to guess, he had lost quite a bit of blood. The wound was much deeper than he had initially thought. It was true he had sustained worse, and had recovered, but that was always thanks to immediate medical attention.

That bastard, he thought. I cannot believe I let him get the drop on me like that. I thought I had taken him down…

Have I really gotten so much weaker?

As he lay on the mat while Megumi and Dr. Gensai worked to treat his wound, he found himself drifting off to sleep despite the sharp pain of the sutures being stitched in. Everything seemed hazy. He looked up and saw a woman's face above him. For a moment, he did not recognize her, but then she came into focus. Young and beautiful, with deep brown eyes and long eyelashes.

"Nakami…" Kenshin whispered, reaching up and touching the side of her face. "Nakami…I'm sorry…"

His hand fell to the floor as he plunged into sleep.