Tohru panted heavily as she ran down the halls. She desperately hoped she wasn't too late to stop Kyo's rage, or else he could lose his fight not only with Jakotsu, but the fight for his life. She wasn't sure exactly which way Kyo had gone, so she took a random route and went from there. All around her were the bodies of men who did not escape whoever had taken them out. She was still carrying her naginata, although it was mainly just in case she encountered any enemies. Although from the looks of it, she didn't have to. Most of the men were out cold or dead, so she didn't have to use the naginata.
The hallway was long, and she was getting tired from running down it; she had already been tired from fighting the blob man, so she was already tired. But she was driven to keep going by her concern and love for Kyo. There was no way she was going to stop now; his life depended on her presence. Only that could calm him down. The only problem was, she didn't know where he was. The only way she could get to him was to find which room he was in.
Finally, she came to the end of the hall she had taken, seeing a door there. That must be where Kyo is! She thought. Finally! Her face brightened, as she knew this was the room he was in. There was no other way. She reached for the door and opened it, and when she did, her face went from bright and cheerful to confused and disappointed, because she was just in time to see…
…Jimmy raised his Springfield rifle musket as the kid Subaru came down on him. Jimmy had literally only one shot, as there was one bullet inside the gun. He kept his aim steady, aimed at the kid. This was the best time to shoot, since the kid could not change directions in mid-leap; no one could do that. Jimmy smirked only slightly; he had lined up his shot. He stuck his tongue out and pulled the trigger.
BANG!!! A cloud of gun smoke erupted from the muzzle like an erupting volcano. The bullet flew out, propelled through the air at 950 feet per second [1]. At the same time, Jimmy felt the force of the recoil, forcing him back a little, but he kept his footing solid. The woman, Hikaru, watched as the bullet cut through the air, as did Tohru. In mid-jump, Subaru's face changed to one of terror as the bullet came at him. He could not slow down or dodge the bullet now, as he was in the air. He could only watch as the bullet…
…Missed. Or did it? Although it missed him, Subaru suddenly belt a force pull him back, coming from above him. He only got a partial glance, but he could see just what happened: The .58-caliber bullet had struck his sword, and because it was shot at close range—probably only 5 or less feet—it hit hard enough to stop him.
Jimmy meanwhile, watched as the bullet struck the sword, exactly as he had hoped. He watched in excitement as Subaru felt the effects of the bullet, and then he saw what he had hoped to see: The blade was cracking, and although the Japanese sword was noted for its strength, this one just so happened to crack. Jimmy Then watched again as the blade, despite all indications that it should not, shattered. At the same time, the sword was knocked out of Subaru's hands and the kid fell to the ground. The remnants of the blade landed elsewhere, and the handle landed right next to him.
Subaru grunted as he landed on the ground. He groaned in pain, because he had landed on his back. It wasn't major pain, but it was enough to make him groan. At the same time, the rest of the room snapped back into real time after everything had slowed down. Jimmy was still pointing his rifle in the air, and Tohru and Hikaru were still watching in amazement. "That's incredible!" Tohru said to herself.
"Wha-how did that happen?" Hikaru asked out loud. "There's no way a sword like that can shatter!"
"NO!" Subaru shouted as he slammed his fists into the floor. His mask had cracked, and he was no longer smiling. At the same time, Jimmy remembered where he was and he put the rifle down, drew his Colt six-shooter and walked over to Subaru. The kid looked up in time to stare down the barrel of Jimmy's Colt pistol, much like what happened when Kyo first met Jimmy—except Kyo didn't have his sword broken. Now Subaru was on the losing end. He was weak; there was only one thing to say now. "Kill me," he said.
But what happened next stunned the hell out of him; Jimmy un-cocked his pistol and put it back in his holster. Subaru was absolutely stunned at Jimmy's show of mercy. "No," he said. "I'm not going to. You're too young, you have your whole life ahead of you. There' no way I'm killing you."
"But why?" Subaru asked. "Why are you being so merciful? I'm weak, you should kill me! The weak should die!"
"You see this badge?" Jimmy asked as he pointed to the badge. "I'm a lawman! It's my job to protect the weak! Besides, I once heard from someone, I'm not sure who he is, but he said this: 'mercy is the mark of a great man'. I reckon I'm just a great man."
"But-but-but, I don't GET IIIIIIIIITTTT!!!!" Jimmy recoiled slightly, shocked at Subaru's sudden outburst. He wasn't sure what he had done, but his act of mercy had made the kid go insane or something like that. "But the strong live! And the weak die!" He shouted. "I'm weak! YOU SHOULD KILL ME!!! THERE'S NO POINT IN LIVING IF I'M WEAK!!! I DON'T GET IT!!!" At that point, Jimmy took his right hand and with a particularly nasty backhand, slapped Subaru right in the face.
"SHUT YOUR BIG BAZOO!!!" He shouted. The room fell slient, with Tohru and Hikaru watching in amazement. "Like I said, you're young. I wanted to kill you but I reckon my own past has prevented me from doing so. I've killed men before, and I reckon with that fake smile of yours, you've killed as well. But unlike you, I've regretted doing it each time. It's like a piece of me is leaving every time I do it. So this time I would be merciful and do my duty as a lawman and let you go. And besides, I read Darwin's book, I don't reckon that's what he was talking about."
"But, Mr. Jakotsu said only the strong survive!" Subaru said.
"Haven't you heard the phrase 'and the meek shall inherit the Earth'?" Jimmy asked. Subaru shook his head, 'no'. "Oh, well. By the way, what happened to you? And where did that perpetual smile come from?"
"I can't tell," Subaru said. The kid had begun to calm down now, and apparently, Jimmy's words had struck a cord with him. "Mikurusu-san, what were you before you became a lawman?"
"A shopkeeper," Jimmy replied. "But I reckon that's not what you meant. For 3 years, I was a drifter after leaving school in Florida. I made my money as a cowboy in Texas. Why do you ask?" It was then that Subaru stood up in front of Jimmy. Now he had his smile on again, but it wasn't as empty as it used to be.
"Then I reckon I'll become a drifter to," he said. "I might as well make peace with my own past. Have you?"
"Made peace with my own past?" Jimmy asked. He though about it for a second and said, "I reckon I have, now that I've become Deputy."
"Then I reckon I'll try to make peace with myself as well," Subaru said. With that, he walked past Jimmy towards the door. Then he stopped just as he was about to leave and turned around and said, "Oh, by the way, Jakotsu and Sohma-san are in that room, if you want to know." He pointed at the door Hikaru was guarding and then left.
Jimmy's face shifted instantly to an almost comical look. "HE MEANS TO TELL ME THAT JAKOTSU WAS RIGHT NEXT TO THIS ROOM!!! GAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" But then he stopped his little tirade when he noticed that the Hikaru woman was looking at him strangely. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Just frustrated."
"Mikurusu-san!" Jimmy's attention was caught by a sudden voice to the right of him. He looked to notice Tohru standing in the doorway. She had a minor smile on her face, which told him she saw everything.
"Well now," he said. "This is an interesting development." At that point, he grabbed his hat up from off the floor and put it back on. "Your Kyo's in that room," he said as he pointed to the door where Hikaru stood. Tohru's face instantly brightened up in her trademark smile. She was ready to go, but Jimmy still had one more thing to take care of. "I reckon I'll take a couple extra Springfield cartridges," he said as he went back in the weapons closet. He came back out, holding a pair of packages, which no doubt held the bullet and gunpowder for the Springfield in each of them. He also went and picked up the spent bullet, which was in a distorted shape after striking the sword. He put the bullet and the cartridges in his pocket. Now he was ready to go. "Let's go," he said as he gestured with his head.
Tohru nodded as well and the two walked over to Hikaru, who was still standing in the way. Tohru, who would not be stopped, walked up to Hikaru and said, "Let us in; now." The forcefulness of Tohru's voice, as well as the circumstances forced Hikaru to step aside. Tohru then lead Jimmy, who strapped the rifle onto his shoulder, into the next room.
At first Tohru was excited to finally see Kyo. When Jimmy opened the door, she rushed in with her bright cheerful smile, but when she saw what was going on, her face instantly shifted from one of joy to shock. Jimmy, meanwhile, followed her. "Tohru, what's—oh. Jesus Christ!"
By now Kyo was in full-blown berserker mode. Jakotsu's taunting had pushed his buttons long enough that he had lost control of his anger, which played to Jakotsu's advantage. Kyo was just running around trying to swing his sword at Jakotsu. His eyes were full of rage, enough that they scared the bejesus out of the guys in the room. Now Jimmy was not afraid of much, but even he was afraid of Kyo by now.
Tohru, meanwhile, fell into despair. "No…" she said softly. "This can't be happening! We came here to escape all this! KYO!!! PLEASE, STOP!!!" But her pleas fell on deaf ears. Kyo was so enraged that no attempt by Tohru to get his attention would work.
Jakotsu was just toying with Kyo now. He would rush blindly at Jakotsu, but the crime boss would simply step out of the way, and Kyo would miss and do the same thing. On occasion, Jakotsu would knock him down and Kyo would get back up, even more enraged. "Pathetic!" Jakotsu said. "You can't even control your own anger! Some samurai you are!" Kyo responded by taking a big cut at Jakotsu, but he easily dodged it.
"I gotta do something!" Jimmy said finally. He rushed over to Kyo and grabbed his left arm, grabbing his attention; kind of. "Sohma, get a hold of yourself, now! Cal—" It was then that Kyo whacked Jimmy with a back-handed punch, sending the American sprawling on the floor. "Damn!" He said.
"Kyo, please stop!" Tohru shouted. But again, her pleas fell on deaf ears. At the same time, Jimmy had to scramble out of the way of the two combatants, since they would have trampled him had he stayed in the same position, and he went back over to Tohru.
"This is not working!" Jimmy shouted. "Sohma, get a hold of yourself, now!" It was then that one of Jakotsu's goons who was still in the room tried to attack Jimmy. However, he noticed this and punched the guy right in the kisser. Tohru was also jumped, but she handled her opponents just as easily. Now Jimmy could see how well she could fight. "Damn, Karen was right," he said to himself as he punched another goon. The two continued until all of the goons were lying on the ground. Now all that was left was Kyo and Jakotsu and those two weren't stopping one bit.
Tohru had to do something. The only thing she could think of was to try and get Kyo's attention herself. In a sudden move, she also ran over to Kyo. "Ms. Honda, wait!" Jimmy shouted. "It's too dangerous!"
"Kyo!" She cried as she ran over to him. Jimmy's pleas also fell on deaf ears as she grabbed Kyo's sleeve. "Kyo, please stop!" She said with tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "Please, stop!" But just like Jimmy, Tohru received a nasty backhanded punch from Kyo; although this looks bad, remember that Kyo's pretty much just a rampaging beast right now. If he was calm, there would be no way in hell he'd ever hurt her. Tohru landed on the ground behind him, and she began to cry. "Kyo," she said. Her despair was reaching critical mass, and now she was in the way of the two fighters. If they got any closer, she could get hurt, but she was in too much despair to get out of the way now.
But suddenly, she felt some one cover her body and tackle her out of the way. She looked to see that Jimmy had done tackled her out of the way of the two combatants. And now Jimmy had a determined look on his face instead of the despaired look she had. "Mikurusu-san?" She wasn't falling in love with him, she was just surprised he had saved her.
"Stay out of the way," he said as he got up. "I've had enough of this!" He reached into his holster and drew his six-shooter and pointed it at the ceiling before pulling the trigger and firing. The gun made a loud noise, but it only barely got Kyo's attention as he continued to fight Jakotsu. "Dammit!" Jimmy shouted. He watched Kyo take a big cut at Jakotsu and saw Jakotsu take an equally big swing, which Kyo dodged. Kyo then charged at Jakotsu again and was knocked to the ground by Jakotsu. Jimmy could see Jakotsu laugh and figured he really had enough of it. Kyo got up again and charged Jakotsu. Their blades locked, with both of the getting in each others face.
Dammit, I've gotta get their attention somehow! Jimmy thought. If only I could—wait, that's it! He remembered the times he shot the swords and maybe this time it would get Kyo's attention. He took the Colt pistol and aimed it at the two, who still had their swords locked. He had a good shot, but Tohru grabbed his arm.
"Iie [2]!" She shouted. She began blubbering again, shaking Jimmy's arm. He ripped his arm free, and aimed the weapon again. The two combatants were still blade locked, not moving an inch. His plan could still work, he just had to concentrate. "No, do not!" Suddenly Jimmy stopped, and looked at Tohru. Her face was silently pleading, and he suddenly realized what she was talking about; she thought he was going to shoot Kyo.
"I'm not gonna shoot 'im!" Jimmy said.
"Please, do not!" Tohru said again. It was then that Jimmy realized that she still didn't know English well and she probably didn't know what he said.
"Ms. Honda, listen to me," he said calmly. "I'm… not… gonna… shoot… him." He said slowly. It did indeed get Tohru's attention, as she seemed to understand what he was saying. "Now… let… go." Tohru did so, and Jimmy aimed his gun at the swords again. The two were still blade-locked, which gave Jimmy the opening he needed. He pulled the trigger of his Colt and fired. The bullet cut through the air and struck Kyo's sword right in the middle of the blade, causing a loud 'PING' sound.
Well, Jimmy's plan worked and Kyo and Jakotsu looked over at Jimmy. Kyo still had his scary face on and Jakotsu was not pleased with what transpired. "Sohma, get a hold of yourself!" Jimmy said. "You're making your fiancé cry!"
"Kyo?" Tohru asked nervously. When he saw the look of sadness, despair and fear on Tohru's face, Kyo's face softened when he saw his fiancé.
"Tohru?" He asked. "You're alive?
Tohru looked at him confused and then smiled. "Of course I am," she said. "Who told you I was dead?" Kyo was at first confused and then he looked at Jakotsu. Now it was Jakotsu who was terrified. Instead of the raging beast he had been before, Kyo's face showed anger, but this time it was a calm anger. Jakotsu backed off, scared at Kyo's face. At that point, Kyoi walked over to his fiancé while Jimmy watched.
"Tohru," he said softly. He touched her cheek gently, just to be sure she wasn't an illusion and that she really was there. Tohru responded by touching her hand and smiling at him. Her eyes were filled with tears, but this time they were filled with tears of joy; her Kyo was back to his normal self. Then, Kyoi threw his arms around Tohru, and she threw her arms around his neck and the two embraced like long-lost lovers. "Oh Tohru! Thank you for saving me."
"I'm glad," she replied, her tears now free-flowing. Again, they were tears of joy. She was so happy that Kyo had stopped his berserker rage.
"Tohru," he said. "Did I hurt you?" Tohru looked confused and she pulled back for a moment to look at Kyo's face. It looked nervous and worried, as if he feared he had done something terrible to her. Tohru of course, knew what he was talking about; he meant the time when he knocked her down in his berserker rage. Tohru looked a little unsire, but then she said,
"Yes." Kyo was at first horrified at himself that he could do something like that, but that changed when Tohru smiled again—and you know he's a sucker for that smile—and said, "But I know you didn't mean to do it since you didn't really have control of yourself. So I forgive you." Kyo smiled lightly; he was glad that his fiancé could forgive him.
"I won't do it again though," Kyo said. Tohru smiled again and the two hugged each other again.
Jimmy watched this tender moment with a smile on his face as well. He was glad to see the two lovers reconcile—well, sort of—and he let them have their moment. But for him, it ended when he looked to his left and made a face of both anger and determination. The reason he made that face was because A: Jakotsu was still there and B: he was about to attack Kyo. And from the looks of it, Jakotsu was pretty mad, and almost crazed. Well, Jimmy wouldn't let Jakotsu have his way, so in a lightning-quick move, he drew his gun from its holster and fired a shot at Jakotsu. The shot missed, but that wasn't the point. The point was to get Kyo and Tohru's attention and to tell Jakotsu that he wasn't going to pull any tricks. Well, it got Kyo and Tohru's attention, and Kyo made the same face Jimmy made. "I wouldn't get to cozy just yet," Jimmy said. "We still have to apprehend this feller."
"Jakotsu," Kyo said in a forceful voice. Jimmy wasn't fazed at all by it, but Jakotsu certainly was. His face was now one of fear. "I will not forgive you for this; for lying to me and turning me into a raging beast, as well as threatening to hurt Tohru." He held his sword up and said, "I am your opponent. And like I said before, you're under arrest."
"Very well then," Jakotsu said. Once again, he began to ham it up. "LET'S FINISH THIS NOW, KYO!!!" His hamming it up certainly didn't impress Jimmy.
"What was that?" Jimmy asked with his arms crossed. "Who does he think he is, Hamlet or something?" However, since he didn't understand what Jimmy said, Kyo simply advanced on Jakotsu.
"Let's go," he said in a steely voice as he approached Jakotsu.
Jakotsu, in turn, smiled in a sociopathic manner. "Bring it," he said. At that point, Kyo rushed at Jakotsu and swung his sword at him. Jakotsu blocked the attack, and their blades locked.
"You're not going to provoke me like you did last time," Kyo said. "We're fighting fairly. And I'll still beat you."
"You talk big, but can you back it up?" Jakotsu asked as he threw Kyo off. The two combatants then circled each other, like lions. Jakotsu had a crazed look on his face, while Kyo tried to imitate Sheriff Kane's steely-eyed look. Then, Jakotsu launched himself at Kyo and took a big cut at him. Kyo block and parried the attack. But Jakotsu then launched into a series of strikes, trying to overwhelm Kyo. But Kyo masterfully blocked each strike, even parrying a few before backing off. Jakotsu moved in to attack Kyo again, but the sound of a gunshot interrupted his advance. He looked to his right to see Jimmy cocking his pistol again to shoot Jakotsu. Jimmy again fired, but Jakotsu dodged the attack.
But now Kyo had an opportunity, and he quickly rushed in for an attack, putting Jakotsu on the defensive quickly. Kyo swung from his lower right going to the upper left. The strike was dodged by Jakotsu, and Kyo quickly tried a different approach. This time, he went with a backhanded strike with both hands on the sword, making seem like he was swinging a baseball bat. But using an amazing acrobatic move, Jakotsu was able to dodge the attack before he had to dodge another shot from Jimmy.
"Dammit!" Jimmy shouted. Now he was out of bullets and he had to reload. Jakotsu now had an open strike at him. Sure enough, Jakotsu advanced on Jimmy, but Kyo was quickly there to block Jakotsu, locking blades with him. Kyo looked behind and nodded to Jimmy, who nodded back. Jimmy now had the time to reload his weapon.
Jakotsu meanwhile, was running out of ideas. Kyo would no longer go berserk over his taunts and he had some assistance from a trigger-happy American; but there was one little thing about Kyo that he did know. And he had not used it yet.
But his little plan was put on hold when Kyo went in for the attack again. He expertly dodged, blocked and parried each of Kyo's attacks but he found trouble when Jimmy came in close, throwing a right, then left hook to try and get a hit on him. Jakotsu again dodged these punches, but then Kyo came in with his sword, swinging it aggressively. Then Jimmy came in, throwing a jab and then a hook to get Jakotsu. Now Jakotsu realized the two were working as a team; he was in big trouble.
Jimmy and Kyo continued their assault, Kyo using his sword and Jimmy his boxing skills. Jimmy went in for an uppercut with his left hand, while Kyo thrust his sword at Jakotsu. The two now had the crime boss on the ropes, and it would only be a matter of time—or so they hoped—before they had Jakotsu and were out of the mansion. Although he wasn;t sure if he could do it, Jimmy did try to kick Jakotsu. Of course, this didn't work out as he hoped—he wasn't good at it, but it did manage to back Jakotsu up a little, who now literally had his back against the wall.
"Well now," said Kyo. "Who's got the advantage now?"
"Give it up you sumbitch," Jimmy said as he cracked his knuckles. "You're beat."
"NO!!!" Jakotsu defiantly swung his sword at the two, causing them to fall back. Then Jakotsu went on the assault, first attacking Jimmy then Kyo. Jimmy got out of the way, but Kyo elected to instead fight using his sword. "Well Kyo, you fought well," Jakotsu said. "But not well enough!"
"Talk all you want," Kyo said. "Mikurusu-san and I almost had you there."
"Almost," Jakotsu replied. "It won't happen again." It was then that Jakotsu felt a powerful blow to his left cheek. He recoiled before noticing that Jimmy had done it. "You American bastard!" He shouted. "YOU RUINED MY BEAUTIFUL FACE!!! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY!!!"
"What?" Jimmy asked.
"He doesn't understand our language," Kyo said as he took a big cut at Jakotsu. Of course, Jakotsu felt silly. In the meantime, Kyo checked to see Tohru beating down a goon who had gotten up.
That's my Tohru, he thought to himself before attacking Jakotsu again.
Jakotsu felt he was running out of time. If he didn't bring up Kyo's mother soon, it would be too late to do so. "So Kyo," he said. "What did happen to your mother?" It seemed to work, as Kyo struck at Jakotsu.
"Shut up," he said. Then, he suddenly broke off, at which point Jimmy tried to punch Jakotsu several times. Jakotsu then realized that if he did try to taunt Kyo about his mother, then he'd have to do it while he was down. Of course, in order to implement this, he had to kick Jimmy down. The American clutched his stomach in pain while Kyo went back in and attacked Jakotsu. However Jimmy got back up to watch Jaktosu and Kyo duke it out.
Jakotsu was no fighting much more aggressively. His near-defeat had made him much more desperate and he had Kyo on the defensive. Then he kicked Kyo in the gut, just like he did with Jimmy. Kyo dropped his sword, which is expected of someone getting kicked in the stomach. "KYO!!!" Tohru shouted.
"Dammit!" Jimmy said. He too, was clutching his stomach, but he was beginning to recover from his injury, but he was still hurting a bit.
Jakotsu smiled in victory. Kyo lay on the ground clutching his gut, and a face full of pain. "Pathetic," he said. "You act like the greatest swordsman ever, and here you are lying on the ground. You're just a human."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Kyo asked.
"Point taken," Jakotsu said. He took the opportunity to kick Kyo again. Jimmy was not happy.
"You slimy snake!" He shouted. "You don't kick a man when he's on the ground!" But deep down, Jimmy knew Jakotsu would not listen. He needed to think of a way to help Kyo. That's when he remembered he still had the Springfield rifle strapped on his shoulder. He took it off and saw that it was not damaged. He noticed Jakotsu was delivering a monologue to Kyo. It was the perfect time to load the weapon. He immediately took a cartridge from his pocket and bit the top off the paper cartridge and poured the contents of the cartidge down the muzzle.
"You know, I heard something about you," Jakotsu said. "And it concerns your mother." Kyo glared at Jakotsu. His plan had worked, and he had struck a nerve. "I think I heard what happened to her. Didn't you kill her?" Kyo's face changed from one of anger to one of despair.
"No," he said. "No, I didn't!"
"Oh, but you did!" Jakotsu said. "You didn't do anything to save her. You are the one who killed her."
"NO!!!" Kyo shouted. "IT'S NOT TRUE!!!"
"OH, BUT IT IS!!!" Jakotsu shouted as he raised his sword about him. Kyo's face was a frightened one, and he watched as Jakotsu brought his sword down. But just then—
BANG!!! Suddenly, Jakotsu was distracted by a shot to his left. He moved quickly enough to just barely avoid being hit by the bullet of Jimmy's rifle. "DAMMIT!!!" Jimmy shouted. Jakotsu glared at Jimmy and launched himself at him. Jimmy just barely blocked the sword with the rifle, even though he didn't have the bayonet. The rifle still did its job, and the rifle held.
Kyo, meanwhile, took the opportunity to get up and grabbed his sword. He then yelled loud enough for Jakotsu to hear him, and brought his sword down on Jakotsu. Jakotsu was able to recover and blocked Kyo's attack. But that was part of Kyo's plan. Now Jimmy was able to reload his rifle. Once again, while Kyo and Jakotsu were fighting, he bit and tore to top of the paper cartridge off and poured the contents down the muzzle. With the tip of the Minie ball still sticking out, he pressed down on it with his thumb before grabbing the ramrod and jamming the bullet down the barrel before putting it back in its place under the barrel. Then he took the percussion cap and placed it on the priming stick on the breach under the hammer, cocked the hammer and brought the rifle up to his shoulder and peered down the sights, ready to fire. But the problem was, he couldn't get a shot off. He literally had one shot, and the right one would mostly likely either break the sword again and/or knock the sword out of his hands.
Kyo could see that Jimmy was ready to fire, and he recognized that he had to get Jakotsu into position for Jimmy to get a good shot. Immediately he turned Jakotsu around to get him in position as a target. But the shot still didn't come, and Jimmy was still trying to aim the rifle. Of course, Kyo knew that Jimmy aiming for the sword, so—"OOF!" Once again, Jakotsu had struck Kyo in the gut, but this time, it was a knee. Kyo doubled over in pain and Jakotsu hit him in the back, sending him to the ground. With another chance, and an absolutely crazed look on his face, Jakotsu raised his sword above his head with his right arm only.
"DIE NOW, KYO SOHMA!!!" He shouted like the ham he was. But then, from his left, he heard the words:
"I got a shot!" BANG!!! Jimmy fired the rifle at the sword again, and this time the Minie Ball bullet hit the target. Jakotsu felt the force of the bullet strike the sword and the sword come out of his hands. Then, he saw something even worse: The sword had cracked in two right where the bullet hit. Jakotsu could only look on in a face that said 'oh crap' as the sword broke in two. The handle fell out of his hands and the rest of the blade fell a few feet away, landing in the tatami mats. Jakotsu himself fell to the ground as well.
"YES!!!" Jimmy shouted as he pumped his fist. "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!" Kyo and Tohru only looked on in amazement at how Jimmy destroyed Jakotsu's sword. But then Kyo saw Jakotsu and he immediately stood up, grabbed his sword and walked over to Jakotsu. As the crime boss got up, he pointed the tip of the sword in Jakotsu's face. Then, Jimmy walked over and pointed his Colt at Jakotsu.
"You're under arrest," Kyo said calmly. "Now surrender."
"Give up, you sumbitch," said Jimmy. "Like I said before, you're beat." Jakotsu at first glared at the two of them. If looks could kill, both would be dead on the spot. Then, his face softened and he raised his hands above his head.
On the sidelines, Tohru took a deep sigh and smiled. "It's over," she said. "It's finally over." As she said that, Jimmy took out a pair of handcuffs and placed them on Jakotsu. He stood him up, holding him by the collar.
"You're coming with us," he said as he started walking out. Just then, Kyo, either because of the pain from getting kicked and kneed in the stomach or simple exhaustion, collapsed on the ground.
"Kyo!" Tohru said as she rushed over to his side. "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay," he said. "I'm just tired… and hurting."
"Oh, Kyo," she said. It was then that Kyo felt his left arm move up and being grabbed—by Jimmy.
"I reckon I might as well help," Jimmy said. "You saved my hide before. I reckon I'm just returning the favor. Of course, that little thing with the sword might count." Although Kyo could not understand what he said verbally, he did understand what he said in his action. He smiled, and Jimmy did so as well. "Up we go," Jimmy said as he lifted Kyo up and helped him walk out. Tohru, meanwhile, took Jakotsu's sword and Jakotsu himself and she followed Jimmy help Kyo out.
--
Outside, Karen was talking with Sheriff Kane, who had arrived with a U.S. Marshal as well as the coroner—who was inspecting the body of the blob man she had killed. Sheriff Kane had told her she wasn't going to be arrested, since she and Ping said it was essentially in self-defense. The other people she, Ping and Tohru had dealt with were simply knocked out and had begun to recover by now. However, there were still men inside the mansion, and the U.S. Cavalry would most likely have to deal with them. Of course, they were on the way as well. But they were waiting for Jimmy, Kyo and Tohru.
"Where are they?" The U.S. Marshal asked. Karen pointed at the mansion, and the Marshal felt stupid. "I meant what's taking them so long?" He asked.
"I don't know," Karen said. "Jimmy and Kyo went inside about an hour ago and Tohru went in about 17 minutes ago. I'm not sure why they haven't come out."
"Well if they don't, we'll come in after them," Sheriff Kane said. "I don't know if they've apprehended this Jakotsu feller by now."
"But I think I heard gunshots in there," Karen said. "So I know Jimmy's alive."
"But that's not the point," Sheriff Kane said. "They need to some out soon or we'll come in after them."
"Damn," Karen said silently. She was worried about the three of them, Kyo and Tohru certainly, but for some reason, Jimmy was the one she was most worried about. Why, she did not know, but it was a feeling in her gut.
"Ms. McKenzie?" Ping asked. Karen was snapped out of her reverie.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I just lost myself. I'm worried about the three of them, Jimmy especially."
"What'd you say?" A voice called from behind them. Karen thought it was a Marshal
"I said I'm worried about Jimmy, Kyo and Tohru!" She shouted back. "Especially Jim—" She turned around and she cut herself off when she saw four figures in the doorway of the mansion. Jimmy was helping Kyo walked, and Tohru was leading some feller who was in shackles. But the one she was really concentrating on was Jimmy.
"I didn't know you felt that way about me!" He said in a jovial tone. Now it was mentioned earlier that when Jimmy usually smiled, it was genuine and the brightest smile one had ever seen. Well, that's what Jimmy was giving her right now: The brightest smile she had ever seen. Karen herself could not help herself but smile as well. At the same time, Jimmy began to laugh. It wasn't one that you do when you're laughing at something funny, but one that you laugh when you've met up with an old friend. And that's what was going on right now. Kyo and Tohru also began to laugh, as well. The reason why they were laughing was because they were just so relieved for it to finally be over. Kyo especially, now that Jakotsu was going to jail and the Jakotsu syndicate was vanquished. But Kyo's thoughts were intherrupted when Jimmy raised his arm, with the Winchester in it and shouted, "HUZZAH!!!"
The US Marshal and the coroner replied with a hearty "HUZZAH" as well.
Then the shouts of 'Huzzah' continued, this time with all of them joining in, except for Sheriff Kane. Karen especially could not help with the 'huzzah's. But when the cheering was done, Karen dropped her shotgun and ran up to the doorway of the mansion. Kyo had recovered enough to walk on his own, and he had taken Jakostu. When he saw Karen running to Jimmy, he gave the American a quick nod before Jimmy also ran over to her.
"JIMMY!!!" Karen shouted with absolute joy on her voice and face.
"HEY, KAREN!!!" Jimmy shouted back with equal joy on his. The two met in the middle and wrapped their arms around each other, giving each other a big bear hug. Although they weren't lovers—yet—the hug just felt so good, like a breath of fresh air after being under water for so long.
"Jimmy, you magnificent bastard!" She shouted. "I thought you were dead!"
"They can't kill me," He replied. "Only old age can."
"I can't believe I'm so glad to hear your arrogance," she said.
"I can't believe you missed me that much," he replied. Karen only blushed and smiled. But Jimmy didn't care. "I'm still glad to see you," he said.
"Me too," she replied. They stayed in their embrace for a few more minutes until—
"A-HEM." Sheriff Kane's sudden interjection interrupted their little moment. Sheriff Kane did not look happy, but Kyo and Tohru were looking at the two with smiles on their faces. Ping himself had a slight smile on his face. "Shall we go?" Sheriff Kane asked.
"Yes," Jimmy said.
"So what happened?" Karen asked as the rest of the group prepared to leave. There was even a stagecoach to take Jakotsu back to town.
"Well," Jimmy said, drawing the word out. "We ran into some trouble."
"Like what?" Karen asked.
"Well, first off, I had to fight a whole mess of fellers armed with swords," he said. "Then, I had to fight a samurai who somehow spoke English and he left after I knocked my sword out. Then, I had to fight some kid who had this smile on his face, but it was fake, because after I beat him by shooting his sword, he broke down talking about how the 'strong survive and the weak die'."
"What was his problem?" Karen asked.
"I don't know!" Jimmy said. "I didn't even get much of a chance to talk to him. He just left!"
"What a dumb move!" Karen said. "If this were a book, then the writer must be stupid! But what about Kyo and Tohru?"
"Ask Kyo," Jimmy said. "I don't know what all he had to deal with, but he looked mad as a hornet when I came across him."
"He did?" Karen asked with a worried look on her face.
"He got better," Jimmy said as he mounted his horse. "We ended up taking out Jakotsu by shooting his sword."
"You did?" Karen asked as she mounted her horse. "How did you do that?"
"I don't know," Jimmy replied. "I thought those swords were tough to break! I broke them with this here Springfield rifle." He pointed to the one on his back. He kicked the horse and the large animal walked forward back to the town of L'Amour.
"So what will Kyo tell me?" Karen asked.
"I don't know," Jimmy replied. "Why don't you ask him and Tohru?"
"I'll ask them back in town," Karen replied. "They're in that stagecoach."
"Oh," said Jimmy. "Oh well, then."
--
When the party finally reached L'Amour, it felt like getting home. Well, it was home, anyway. But you get the point. "Damn, I thought I'd never see this place again!" Karen exclaimed.
"We've only been gone for about 3 hours," Jimmy replied. "It hasn't been that long."
"Three hours?" Karen asked with surprise on her tone and face. "I didn't know it was that long."
"I reckon it was because we were fighting for so long," Jimmy said. The group reached the sheriff's office, and Jimmy and Karen dismounted while Sheriff Kane, the coroner, Ping, Kyo, Tohru and Jakotsu stepped out of the stagecoach.
"Mr. Ping can return to the railroad workers camp," said Sheriff Kane. "Mr. Michaels, Ms. McKenzie, Marshal Dillon, Mr. Sohma and Ms. Honda are to come with me inside the office." Jimmy and Karen looked at each other for a second and then Karen went over to Kyo and Tohru. Those two looked confused as well and they followed the sheriff into his office.
Once inside, Sheriff Kane led Jakotsu to his cell while Jimmy, Karen, Kyo and Tohru stood in front of his desk. He and the Marshal also seemed to be talking about other things, but Jimmy and Karen couldn't tell what they were talking about until Sheriff Kane and the Marshal came back over to the sheriff's desk. Then Sheriff Kane sat down while Jimmy and Karen stayed close. "I reckon you're wondering what is going on," Sheriff Kane said.
"You bet," Jimmy said. "What's going on?"
"Well I didn't tell you this, but the judge has ordered you and Sohma to serve jail time," he said. In that instant, Jimmy and Karen's jaws dropped and their faces were full of anger.
"WHAT!?" Jimmy shouted. "What for? I didn't do anything!"
"Well that little massacre at the Sohma farm might be why," Sheriff Kane said. "You only killed three, but it was enough for the judge to make a deal with me. You serve some jail time."
"With out a trial?" Jimmy asked. "What is this, the Reign of Terror?"
"Jail time for a week!" Sheriff Kane shouted. "And this is to avoid a trial! He knew I was going to deputize the both of you, so he went easy on you both."
"But jail?" Jimmy asked. "Why can't I just serve probation? Or isn't being a Deputy good enough?"
"First off, you would have to go to court for that," Sheriff Kane said. "Second, being a Deputy is not a punishment, it is a reward. But I will not revoke your status as deputies. Now you have to serve or else you will be sent to Prescott to face trial. And I am not in any mood to argue!"
Jimmy had to concede defeat. There was no way he could argue his case, and Sheriff Kane would not have any arguments. "Very well then," Jimmy said. "For a week?"
"For a week," Sheriff Kane said.
"I'll do it," Jimmy said with resignation in his voice. Karen just hung her head as Jimmy was led to a cell and locked in it. Then Sheriff Kane walked over to Kyo. Kyo of course, was confused until Karen had to explain the situation. But unlike Jimmy, Kyo laughed when he heard about his jail term.
"Really?" He asked. "I have to serve anyway? Oh, well."
"But Kyo!" Tohru shouted. "I don't want you to go!" She had not heard the whole details, so she was kind of confused.
"It's only for a week," Kyo said. "And I'll be fine; you won't have to worry about me." He gave his fiancé a kiss on her forehead and turned to Sheriff Kane, nodding his head. Sheriff Kane then led him to a cell in between Jimmy's cell on the right and Jakotsu's cell on the left. He and Jimmy had a glance at each other and began to laugh. It was a funny situation.
"Well at least I'll have company," Jimmy said. "Too bad I can't understand them."
"Now both of you will be able to visit them whenever you want," Sheriff Kane said to Karen and Tohru, which Karen translated to Tohru. Tohru nodded her head, as she understood what Sheriff Kane meant. Well now she walked over to Kyo's cell to say good bye for the night.
"I said I will be fine," Kyo said from behind the bars.
"But it will be lonely without you," Tohru said.
"You still have Karen-san," Kyo replied. "She can keep you company."
Tohru's face relaxed. He did have a point, Karen was still there. "I guess you're right," she said. "But I'll still come here every day."
"Thanks," he said. He leaned in and gave his fiancé a light kiss on the lips before she turned around and left and Karen walked over to Jimmy.
"Don't I get a kiss?" Jimmy asked.
"No," Karen replied. "But I will come here to see you."
"Well that's good," said Jimmy. "But I still want a kiss."
"It's not happening," Karen replied. Jimmy made a face of mock despair to get Karen to give in. Well, it worked and she relented. "Okay," she said. "But not on the lips."
Well, Jimmy wasn't happy, but a kiss was a kiss anyway, he thought. He turned his left cheek to her and she gave him a peck on the cheek. "Can't you do better than that?" Jimmy asked.
"That's all you're getting," Karen replied as she turned around and walked away. Jimmy was left simply to watch the gal walk out with Tohru.
"Well," he said. "She's one good gal. Don't you agree, Sohma?" Even though he wasn't expecting and answer, he still asked the question. Sure enough, Kyo did not answer, just giving him a slight look. Jimmy only laughed lightly and shook his head. At least he wouldn't be alone.
--
End chapter
--
[1]: HistoryNet; Weaponry: The Rifle-Musket and the Minie Ball.
[2] "No!"
And by the way, technically it's not impossible for a Minie Ball bullet to break a sword; the fuckers wreaked havoc in the American Civil War, causing a lot of pain for the men who were hit by them. In fact, the rifle-musket probably had a lethality index of 154.
And as for the ending, don't worry! There's still more to come!
