With Derek victorious over Han'nya he rushes to catch up with his master, yet a dark road lies down the path, the Aoishi arc concludes, a new adventure awaits, you won't want to miss it.
Derek staggered down the corridor, the pain in his ribs persisted, it was probably dislodged though he ignored it, determined to catch up with his master ahead of him. Blood dripped from his ruined kimono, however the wounds had already stopped bleeding, he silently gave thanks that Han'nya's thrust hadn't been so deep.
The hall seemed longer than he had expected, it took him several minutes to reach a rather large set of double-doors.
"Oy!" came a shout from back the way he had come, catching his attention before he could throw open the doors.
"Sano!" he shouted, thankful that his friend was still alive, even still standing. Sanosuke was covered with bruises, his headband was slightly torn, his left arm hung limply as if it were unusable. "Are you alright?"
"Don't ya think you're the wrong one to be asking that?" he rebutted, motioning towards Derek's multiple wounds.
"Fine fine, Kenshin-sensei should be through here, hopefully this commander guy isn't as good as Han'nya mentioned."
"By the way Derek….I wanna ask you something."
"What is it Sano?"
A huge grin formed on Sanosuke's face as he asked, "What was that present you got me?"
Derek struck his sheath over Sanosuke's head, leaving a huge bump.
"This is hardly the time!" he shouted, turning to the huge double doors.
Throwing open the doors revealed a massive hall, chandeliers hung from the ceiling, Miss Kaoru was standing directly in front of the door.
"Miss Kaoru!" Derek shouted. "Where are Kenshin and Yahiko?!"
"Um…" she pointed to behind the door Derek had just opened.
Yahiko was plastered against the wall, struck by the door as they had opened it.
"Oops."
"Idiot!" he shouted, flying to his feet. "Watch what your opening!"
"Sensei…" Derek muttered, gazing further into the room.
Kenshin was barely standing; a trio of claw marks etched his chest similar to the ones he had gained from the battle with Han'nya, his reverse blade sword was gone, only upon closer inspection did he notice it discarded in the far corner of the room. The commander, known as Aoishi Shinomori, was lying face down, clearly unconscious.
"He did it….WAY TO GO SENSEI!" he shouted, rushing to meet his wounded master.
"Pupil," he whispered, a smile forming on his face as Kaoru, Yahiko and Sanosuke all ran over to congratulate him. "I see you two have won your own battles well done."
"What about him?" Yahiko asked, glaring at Aoishi.
"Two strikes to the throat is not easy for anyone to take that it isn't. He will live, but will no doubt have a sore throat for quite a while."
"Any sign of Miss Megumi or Kanryu?"
"None, we shall need to search more of the house to…."
"Stop Battousai."
The group spun about, realizing that Aoishi had regained consciousness, though he was in no shape for another fight, his legs buckled as he stood.
"Why did you not finish me off?"
"Why do people always ask that?" Derek asked, planting his face into his palm.
As Kenshin turned to respond, the double doors flew open once again, revealing four shapes.
The entire Oniwaban group had gathered, Beshimi, Hyotokko, a recovered Han'nya, and a battered Shikijo stood before the door, gazing at their commander.
"I told you before," Kenshin continued, unfazed by the newcomers. "We have no intention of killing anybody for any reason, nor do we desire the title of the strongest. Don't you believe that title to be meaningless in this modern age?"
"Nay," Han'nya replied, stepping forward into the room. "We devoted our lives to being the best at our fields…do you truly believe we could live normal lives the way we are? Our leader never gave up on us, despite being offered a position in the government."
"Han'nya…" Derek whispered, understanding how hard it would be to live among normal people with a face like his.
"You had best finish me now Battousai…otherwise I shall keep coming after you again and again until I kill you."
"That is alright Aoishi…so long as the battles consist of ourselves and no others, I can live with that if it means I need not kill you."
With that last word Aoishi slumped to his knees, utterly exhausted, the Oniwaban around him rushed forward, to tend to their wounded leader.
"Whew," Derek sighed, leaning on his sword. "Sensei diffuses the situation yet again…though I wonder where they put Miss Megu-"
A fast paced burst of sound interrupted his speech, as the doors at the far end of the hall blasted open, leaving a smoke cloud where the frame had once been.
As the smoke cleared the collected fighters in the hall gazed in awe at the sight that stood before them, Kanryu Takeda stood within the remains of the smoldering door; a monstrous machine completed the destructive image they beheld.
"HA HA!" he cried, his gloved hand gripping the lever on the device. "This is what happens when you talk back to your master dogs!" Turning the lever caused the machine, known to all in the room as a gatling gun to fire uncountable volleys of bullets, riveting the room with holes.
Everyone scattered, Kenshin group and Oniwaban alike, to avoid the deadly spray of fire from the gun, every shot fired missed by a wide arc.
"He's toying with us," Sanosuke mused. "Missing on purpose."
Derek grabbed Yahiko, leaping as fast as he could towards the entrance, throwing him to the safety of the hallway, Kenshin did the same with Kaoru, Han'nya grabbed Aoishi, scarcely avoiding an incoming barrage.
"Where did you get that thing??" Han'nya shouted, letting Aoishi stand on his own.
"I'm your boss, call me Lord Takeda!" with that he released another massive volley at the mask less Oniwaban.
Han'nya gasped, striking the ground hard as Derek elbowed him to the side, barely avoiding the bullets, Derek however was not so lucky, as two consecutive bullets buried themselves in his shoulder, knocking him to the ground.
"Derek!" Kenshin shouted.
"Han'nya!" Aoishi simultaneously screamed.
Hyotokko roared with anger, charging Kanryu's position.
"Better not shoot me!" he shouted, pounding on his chest. "One bullet to the gut and this whole place goes up with me!"
"Please you moron!" Takeda shouted, aiming the gatling gun high. "I can always shoot you here!"
With a horrific volley Hyotokko's left side of his head was blasted away, his massive form slumped lifelessly to the ground.
"Damn," Derek whispered under his breath, noticing the looks of terror in the eyes of Kenshin and the other Oniwaban. "I can't do a thing like this," hastily he wrapped his sword sheath around his waist tightly, propping his broken rib in place like a splint.
From behind Hyotokko's lifeless body Beshimi leaped, closing the gap between himself and the gatling gun.
"Take this!" he threw several of his darts moments after clearing Hyotokko's form.
The dart ricocheted off the barrel of the weapon harmlessly, Kanryu smiled devilishly as he opened fire into the small airborne man.
"You idiots, did you really think that would work?" This new gun can fire two hundred rounds per minute!"
Beshimi was blasted backwards, landing only a few feet from his fallen comrade, his body riddled with holes, he was dead.
"Now for the leader of fools!" turning the gun in the direction of Aoishi, firing rapidly.
"Aoishi!" Han'nya, Derek, and Kenshin shouted in unison.
Still recovering from his fight with Kenshin Aoishi could barely move, much less dodge the incoming rounds, he gazed at the cannon he believed to be his death.
The rounds never reached him, impacting the new body that had stepped between them.
"Shikijo!" Han'nya shouted at the last of his comrades save Aoishi as bullets riddled his backside, he slumped to his knees, barely alive.
"Don't look that way leader…" Shikijo whispered, his strength gone. "It doesn't suit you, at least I could…be of some….use." Not even falling to the ground he slumped down, having spent his last breath.
"We have to stop that thing!" Derek shouted towards his master, Kenshin's eyes twitched violently, obviously trying to think of what to do.
Only Derek, Kenshin, and Han'nya remained standing now, Aoishi was still crouching behind Shikijo's lifeless body, obviously in shock.
"Retrieve your sword Battousai," Han'nya muttered, pointing across the room where it now laid. "We shall draw its fire until you are able to deal with it."
"But…you can't possible dodge it," Kenshin muttered, looking between Derek and Han'nya.
"We will hold it as long as we can, please go sensei," Derek finished, turning to face the horrific machine.
"Megumi Takani is on the third floor observatory," Han'nya whispered, only loud enough for Derek and to hear."
"Thank you," Derek whispered towards the Oniwaban demon, deep down he had a feeling that they wouldn't have anymore conversations. "Sanosuke, go make sure she is safe." Sanosuke nodded, racing down the hall towards Kanryu's third floor. "I would have liked to have another match, when life and death wasn't on the line."
"Nay, you bested me in ever sense of the word. Your sword style is truly flawless. I shall take the Hiten Mitsurugi style as a souvenir with me to the underworld (best final line, EVER :)). With those last words he shot out from the door, Kenshin and Derek following soon after.
Kenshin darted directly across the room, nearing where his discarded blade awaited. Derek cut diagonally through the hall, hoping his zigzagging would give him an advantage to dodging the bullet, Han'nya however, charged directly towards Kanryu and the gatling gun.
"Han'nya!" Shouted Aoishi, temporarily shaking off his stupor as Kanryu aimed the gun straight for him.
"Commander…FAREWELL!" he shouted, as the seemingly endless volley of bullets struck him dead center, punching clean through his body.
The force of the bullets blasted him backwards, he muttered his last words before striking the ground.
"Misao…Akira….I'm sorry," he was dead before he landed.
Kenshin finally reached his sword.
"Damn you!" Derek shouted, making a beeline right for the gun, pain burned in his sides as he felt his broken ribs grinding in response to the speeds which Derek was running at.
"Another one?" Kanryu screamed, madness filling his eyes. He let loose another volley at the oncoming samurai.
Derek shot back and forth, zigzagging once more as the bullets passed harmlessly by him, however each jump caused his pain to spike once more, slowing him down.
dozens of bullets whizzed past his body harmlessly, however as he neared the gun a single bullet found its mark, striking Derek in his leg, causing him to tumble, crashing to the ground, mere feet from Kanryu's location.
Kanryu's insane laughter echoed through the hall as he aimed the gun at Derek's wounded body, there was no hope of dodging another round. "Say good buy Battousai Brat!"
With all his strength Derek threw his sword in a last ditch effort, it spun like a boomerang towards Kanryu's gun.
The blade struck the gun as Kanryu pulled the trigger, causing the barrel to rotate, firing the bullets ineffectively into the air, after several seconds a clicking sound could be heard.
The gun was out of ammo.
"N-noo!" Kanryu shouted, unable to believe what was happening.
"Two-hundred rounds per minute," Derek muttered, still on his knees. "You weren't even thinking about your total ammunition reserves. Two-hundred rounds go very quickly in the heat of battle, and many minutes have passed, were you a true warrior you would have known that."
"Why you…" Kanryu jumped over the gun, a dagger present in his hand.
"This ends now!" Came a cry from behind as Kenshin leapt over his fallen pupil, striking Kanryu as hard as he could muster in the stomach with his reverse blade sword, spinning around he uppercutted him with the hilt in the face.
Kanryu flew backwards through the open door, his jaw was clearly broken, his face bruised badly, he attempted to utter cries of mercy, yet was unable to do so through his injuries.
"Sensei!" Derek shouted. As Kenshin turned around to face his student fear entered Derek's mind, for a brief moment it appeared that Kenshin had become the man he had seen fighting Jinei.
In that moment of fear, Derek's multiple injuries took their toll, and the young swordsman lost consciousness, as he thought he heard what sounded like police whistles blowing in the distance….
The Aoishi arc ends, and now all that you know….shall change.
Peace returns to the Kamiya Dojo, however not all are content with this time of peace. Derek desires to learn more and sets out on a journey of his own. Next time on Battousai's Apprentice, A New Road Forged, you wont want to miss it.
Thanks for all the views, if you enjoyed this chapter plse review with your thoughts and I shall begin the next chapter as soon as college schedules allow me :).