A/N: This story is getting closer and closer to the end... Enjoy!

TEN

Takeo slowly walked out onto the brilliant green lawn, his movements fluid, yet uneasy. He could feel eyes watching him intently, and held back a nervous swallow. He could feel Inage's cold gaze, boring into him with a cruel anticipation. Saito also was watching him, no doubt interested in the fight, to see the infamous Hitokiri Kuroshi's abilities. Kaoru and Yahiko, they were the only ones who were on his side, their eyes wide and scared.

Takeo suppressed an urge to laugh. If anyone was to be scared, it should be himself. This time, he would truly be fighting for his life. He quickly sobered as he came to a stop, facing Inage. For a long while, they just stood there, with nothing moving but the wind that blew their clothing about.

"Why do you pursue me?" Takeo asked of Inage. "Why can't you people just leave me alone? I will not reveal your identities, nor will I spill your plans and safe houses."

"Why indeed?" Inage let out a ugly sneer, his dark eyes narrowing. "Because, Kuroshi, it's time that you die." In one smooth motion, he drew his katana, and held it before him with both hands. His feet shifted in the grass, his dark eyes narrowed and on Takeo.

Suddenly tired, and feeling sick of all this fighting, Takeo slowly unsheathed his kodachi. Why couldn't this end? Why couldn't there be peace in the world?

"Haaaahhhh!" Inage sped forward, becoming a mere blur as he rushed toward Takeo. Takeo let out a startled gasp before he threw himself to the side. This man was fast! He could hear him coming, but he couldn't move fast enough to put up a good defense - not when all he had to go by was his ears.

Takeo rolled once, twice, and leapt to his feet. Silence. He couldn't hear Inage, and he stood in a rigid stance, desperately trying to find where the elite was. Sweat rolled down the side of his face, and he gripped his kodachi's hilt with a death-like grip.

Suddenly, he heard a whispered, "Here," right behind him just as Yahiko yelled out, "Behind you, Takeo!"

Instantly, Takeo threw himself to the side, his mind in a state of shock. I hadn't even heard him approach! And I never fail to hear things like that! Even though he had moved quickly, he hadn't moved fast enough, as a searing ribbon of pain was sliced across his left shoulder blade.

He couldn't withhold a pained grunt, but he hurriedly got to his feet once more, only to be greeted by the same, tense silence. Takeo gritted his teeth.

So he likes to play this game, huh? If I'm going to counter it, I need to calm down. I wasn't the Hitokiri of the Shadows for nothing.

He took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. He forced his heart rate to slow down, his breathing to deepen, his body to become relaxed, yet alert. He focused entirely on his hearing...

...and caught the slightest whisper of a footstep behind him. "Hah!" He whirled around, his kodachi becoming a blurred fork of lightening. His blade glanced against Inage's hastily thrown up defense, and managed to leave a small scratch which hardly bled.

Takeo let out a frustrated growl, and leapt back, putting some distance between him and Inage.

"Oh?" Inage sounded faintly surprised. "You've managed to draw some of my blood." He let out a cold, bone-chilling chuckle. "But that's all you'll get." He shifted his blade to his right hand, and used his left hand as a bracer. He blinked once, and was gone.

Takeo ground his teeth together, and gripped his kodachi tightly.

Kenshin walked slowly towards the dojo, the expression on his face being tired. He had just returned from an rather unpleasant fight with someone sent by Hajime Saito. The man had just been a simple thug, but Kenshin felt like he had all his energy and strength sucked out of him.

As he neared the dojo, he frowned. Something was out of place. He stopped, a hand going unconsciously to his sakabato's hilt. It took him several moments to figure out what was wrong.

The sounds. He could hear the sounds of a fierce fight. Fear suddenly overtook him, and he used his inhuman speed to bring him inside the dojo's compound within seconds. When he came to a stop, he stared with wide eyes.

Takeo, bleeding from several wounds, battling another one of those strange, darkly-clad men. It looked like he was losing.

"Kenshin!" He whipped his head around at Kaoru's half relieved, half terrified cry, and instantly, his whole face darkened, and his voice dropped into a hiss.

"Saito..."

The tall, narrow man turned in his direction, and smiled cooly. "Why hello, Battousai. It has been a long time."

"Why are you here?" Kenshin asked in a dark tone.

"If I recall correctly," Saito mused, "The last time we fought each other was at the battle of Toba-Fushimi. So it must have been...ten years."

"Why are you here?" Kenshin hissed, his violet eyes darkening into a sparking blue fire. Kaoru gave a little gasp at his tone, and even Yahiko drew back, his face uncertain. Saito just smiled, and drew his sword.

"To finish what I started, Battousai."

"Aagh!" Takeo stumbled back, a new gash across his left arm spurting blood. He was getting his butt handed to him on a silver platter, and if he didn't smarten up, he's soon be a bloody corpse.

But what can I do?! Inage is so quiet when he moves, I cannot pick up where he is until the last second. And even then, my reflexes aren't fast enough to stop his attack.

"Pathetic!" Inage sneered. "You can't even block my blade. Why don't you draw that famous ebony blade of yours? With that in your hand, you'll be more of a challenge."

"No!" Takeo hissed, grimacing in pain from his multiple wounds. He was amazed that he still managed to stand, with so much blood pouring out of him. Another thing that amazed him was how his own blood seemed to not affect him. It puzzled him. Why could he not stand the blood of any other person, but remain unaffected when his own blood covered him?

"I will not draw this cursed blade ever again, nor will I kill another human being." Takeo heard a faint cry of terror from inside the dojo, and winced. Several minutes ago, Kenshin had arrived, and he and Saito had disappeared inside. From outside, he couldn't hear what was going on, but on hearing Kaoru's frightened voice, he could only guess.

I need to finish this...if I can...

Inage let out a harsh, amused laugh. "Very well, Kuroshi. I have played around enough. I will kill you now, and have this business done." Takeo heard Inage shift slightly, then he suddenly became aware of wind rushing toward him at incredible speeds.

Fear and shock froze his mind; his own death seemed to laugh mockingly in his ears. Yet his own body, trained how to fight, to kill, to survive, moved on its own. His own reflexes threw him backwards and to the side, and it saved his life.

Inage's sword, intending to slice Takeo's head clean off of his shoulders, only managed to score a small, but deep cut on Takeo's face. Blood spurted from a thin line that started between his eyes and ran to just beneath his right eye, and Takeo fell backwards to the ground in a state of shock. He hit the ground hard, rolled once, and lay still, face down.

Inage smirked, and slowly walked over. He nudged Takeo with his foot. "Are you dead yet?"

Get up...

Inage shrugged. "Best way to be certain is when the head is completely separated from the body."

Get up!

Inage lifted his sword eye, eyes narrowing slightly as he focused on Takeo's neck.

GET UP!

Silently, suddenly, Takeo jerked his body upwards, rising onto his hands and knees. Inage lowered his sword slightly and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

Takeo lifted his head, a thick lock of silver hair falling away, having been sliced off. Blood slid slowly down his nose, his face, over his lips, and dripped off his chin. Slowly, the black bandages covering his eyes fell away, also having been sliced in half. They dropped to the ground, revealing Takeo's closed eyes.

For a moment, nothing happened. Inage looked down at his opponent with a small frown, and Takeo just kneeled there, unmoving.

Silence.

Stillness.

Slowly, Takeo opened his eyes.

Eyes that he hadn't used in nearly ten years. Eyes that he vowed he would never open again. Eyes that shone with a blazing green fire, a green so bright it was completely unnatural. Eyes which were full of a dark fury.

"You forced me to break my vow," Takeo whispered, staring up into Inage's startled black eyes. "For that, you will pay. For the eyes you have forced me to open, I will take yours. You will take on the vow that you have made me break - to never see again."

Takeo's eyes narrowed, and his kodachi came up like a streak of lightening. His blade flashed once, twice, across Inage's face. Blood spurted, and Inage screamed. He fell, clutching his now ruined eyes. Each bleeding orb had a deep vertical slash through it.

Takeo watched emotionlessly at the former elite thrashed on the ground, blood leaking through the man's fingers.

Blood, deep red blood. After all these years, I see it again. And...it does not bother me. Why? Is it only the blood of the innocent that haunts me? Is it only the blood of the pure-hearted...? Perhaps...I am finally overcoming this fear of mine.

The sound of a carriage pulling up, and several men jumping out drew Takeo out of his thoughts. He bent down, wiped off his kodachi, and sheathed it as he turned to see what was going on.

Two men stepped from the carriage. One was a smaller man with a precise mustache, and the other was tall, and bearded. Takeo frowned. He didn't recognize any of them.

The smaller man started toward the dojo, where sounds of battle still came, but stopped, catching sight of Takeo. He stared at the silver-haired swordsman.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? What is going on?" The little man's eyes went from Takeo to the still-thrashing form of Inage, who let out guttural groans while clutching his eyes. Takeo, still angry with Inage, turned his burning green eyes on the little man.

"It is none of your business." He turned away, and began to stride toward the dojo, intent on stopping Saito and Kenshin. His long silver hair swirled behind him as he went.

"Wait!" The little man cried behind him, but Takeo paid no attention. He stepped inside the doorway, and stopped. At once, his eyes widened.

Kenshin, with the blood-thirsty, raging look of the Battousai on his face, and Saito, an almost mad glow to his eyes, were charging right at each other. It only took Takeo a moment to realize that this attack would most likely end up killing either or both of the combatants. He had to stop this. He took a deep breath, and shouted in a harsh, angry, commanding tone.

"Stop this right now!"

Instantly, Saito and Kenshin stopped in mid-air, freezing in shock. They stood a mere three feet from each other. Both looked toward the doorway, to where Takeo stood. Blood was spattered all over him, with his silver hair blowing slighttly in the wind that came through the doorway. His face was hard, and his brilliant green eyes were blazing with anger.

"Takeo?" Kaoru asked in a small voice, trembling in a corner of the room. Yahiko, and Sano as well, who still looked rather pale, were staring at Takeo in shock. "You can see?"

But Takeo did not pay them any attention. He focused his anger on Kenshin and Saito. "Stop this foolishness right now," he commanded in a dark tone. "This is not the Bakumatsu; this is the Meiji era, and it is supposed to be a time of peace, not a time of bloodshed."

"That's right," came a voice from behind Takeo, and he stepped aside to allow the two newcomers to arrive. "Saito. I understand your pride and honor as one of the Shinsengumi has to be defended, but I don't want either you or Himura to die without just cause."

"Eh?" Yahiko piped up. He, Kaoru, and Sano all had confused looks. "Who's that?"

"So you're the one behind all of this," Kenshin said darkly. "Satsuma-based Ishin patriot...Secretary of Internal Affairs...Toshimichi Okubo."

"What is going on?!" Yahiko shouted. "Who's the bearded guy?!"

"You don't read the papers, do you?" Sano shook his head and scoffed. "Kids."

"He's the last of the three great Ishin patriots, the three people who brought in the new era," Kaoru murmured, slightly dazed. She still hadn't processed just what was going on. One minute Kenshin and some strange guy had been fighting to their deaths, then Takeo came in with his eyes uncovered and he could apparently see, and now these strange, powerful government guys came in. What would happen next?

"That's right," Sano said. "He has complete control of all domestic affairs in his position. You could say that he's the most powerful man in Japan."

"Himura," Okuba said in his deep voice. "I'm sorry for the rough treatment. However, we needed to evaluate your strength. I presume that you wish to know why."

"...yes." Kenshin still had that frightening man-slayer look on his face. "Even if I have to do it by force."

"Hmph." Saito walked over to where his jacket lay on the floor, and picked it up. "I'd love to stay and play, but something tells me I have to do some work know. We'll finish some other time."

"Your life has been spared," Kenshin told him. Saito smirked.

"No. Yours has." Saito walked to the door, and paused, looking over at Takeo. "Too bad I never got to see the end of your fight. It was getting pretty interesting." He turned his head slightly so he could look at Okuba. "Mission report: Himura Kenshin would be of no use to us. However, Himura Battousai may be of some help. As well, you might want to look into Kuroshi, over there. I haven't seen much of his abilities, but judging from the rumors, he may be of help, also. End of report." And Saito walked out the door, his coat slung over one shoulder.

Both Okuba and the little man turned to stare at Takeo. "Kuroshi? Hitokiri Kuroshi?" The little man's voice was stunned, while Okuba got a big frown on his face.

"That's right," Takeo said coldly, his green eyes boring into the two of them. "I'm the one you tried to kill, remember?"

Silence.

Complete...

...utter...

... silence.