Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Doorway to Honor
Once again, Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Tetsunosuke found themselves racing down the hallway towards the place where Shishio waited. With some reservation, they had left Tatsunosuke in the room where they had found him, with the promise that he would catch up with them soon.
"You sure you're still able to fight, Tetsu? Those gunshot wounds had looked pretty bad." Sanosuke said, as they ran along. At this, he got a slight smirk from the younger Wolf.
"Worry more about yourself, Sano. As long as there's evil here, I'll continue to fight. My wounds won't hold me back." Tetsunosuke reassured, even though a slight glint of pain could be seen in his eyes, despite his strong words. Then, abruptly, Kenshin skidded to a halt in front of another of the rooms; his eyes narrowing, when he felt the ki emanating from within.
"Don't be in such a rush. There's no one in there; that's Houji's room, and it's empty!" Yumi snapped, irritably; yet was even further annoyed, when the elder rurouni ignored her.
"What's up, Kenshin? Who's ki is this?" Tetsunosuke asked, when he'd noticed the unnerved look on his friend's face.
"Is this a trick?!" Sanosuke questioned, as he put Yumi down and snarled at her.
"I've already told you! Any 'tricks' you've seen so far have been Houji's idea from the start! Shishio-sama just doesn't do that in a duel! And Houji's in no shape to fight, so he couldn't be here!" Yumi snapped, angrily; leaping to the defense of her beloved, in the face of the unspoken insult towards him and his honor.
"That may be, Yumi-san……but whoever is here, he isn't Juppongatana…..even though he's still an ally of Shishio." Tetsunosuke murmured; feeling a chill work its' way down his spine, at the unearthly feel of the ki as he stood there. And it was just then, that it occurred to Sanosuke just who it could be…..and he allowed an alarmed look to appear on his own features, as well.
"It isn't…..!" Sanosuke started to say, yet trailed off when Kenshin gravely nodded.
"It is. The only one it could possibly be…..the Okashira of the Oniwabanshu Onmitsu…..Shinomori Aoshi…." Kenshin nearly whispered.
"Then the next step would be to face him…..There's no way around it." Tetsunosuke said, his own voice subdued by the feel of the former Okashira's ki, and when Kenshin nodded in agreement.
"And yet, even as we stand here talking, the Aoi-Ya's in danger! We don't have that much time to waste! We've got to hurry!" Okita worriedly said, even though he knew that the trio before him knew it only too well. It was only now that they realized just how much the survival of their friends and loved ones hinged on the strength of Hiko Seijuro.
"I just hope he's able to fight, when the time comes!" Tetsunosuke worriedly thought, as they slowly opened the doors, and walked into the room where Aoshi waited…..hoping against hope that the swordmaster's strength would hold till they returned.
Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)
"Come out, come out, wherever you are! The Juppongatana have come to play!" Kamatari sang, as he and his comrades stood in the blocked off street in front of the Aoi-Ya, "We're gonna chop off your heads and wrap them up for Shishio-sama!"
"…..That's the Juppongatana?!" Misao, Yahiko, and Yutaro muttered, in disbelief, as they eyed the weird-looking trio that stood apart from the one-hundred and fifty plain-looking fighters behind them.
"Freaky-ass lookin' bunch, aren't they?" Harada mumbled, as he gave Kamatari a look that said it all (and as Shinpachi also gave the strange fighter a grossed-out look, as well).
"Who'd've thunk it?" Kaoru added, as well.
"Good question." Susumu agreed.
"What shall we do, then?" Kaoru asked, as she turned to look at Okina questioningly.
"Hmm…..well, twelve on three beats twelve on one-fifty. Let's take them up on it!" Okina replied, strongly.
"Yet, it's not as though these are just any normal three fighters. As Kamiya had said, concentrate on defense, not offense." Susumu said, then added, "A crowd like that is bound to attract the attention of the police….If we can just hold them off long enough for them to notice it."
"How should we split it up, then? Three on the best, and three on the others?" Shiro then asked, with a brief glance over his shoulder at his comrades for an answer.
"No. We'll all strike at one, and bring him down quickly. Five on one gives us the best odds." Okina said, then looked at each group in particular, "Kaoru, Yahiko, Yutaro; keep the one in the black mask occupied!"
"Right!" the three agreed, with determined nods to add to it.
"Misao, you take on the one with the scythe, but don't try to finish the fight on your own. As for you five, take on our slow-looking friend! Bring him down fast!" Okina ordered, and got silent affirmatives from Shiro, Kuro, Okon, Omasu, and Saya for that.
"What about us?" Shinpachi asked, in turn; ready for an assignment from the older man, as well.
"You three try to keep as many of those others from interfering as possible." Okina commanded.
"You've got it." Harada replied, with a thumb's up before he hefted his spear in battle-readiness.
"Right, then! C'mon, everyone! Let's go!!" Misao shouted, before they all leaped from within the room; their weapons bared and ready. The time had come to fight…..and they could only hope that their strength would be enough. With loud shouts, the five Oniwabanshu struck first; throwing all manner of weapon at Iwanbo…..only to find out, to their dismay, just how thick-skinned the simpleton was, as they watched their weapons bounce right off of him.
"No good! His flesh is too thick!" Omasu yelped, when she'd seen this happen, and as they all warily backed up from Iwanbo at that.
"Damn…..He isn't even cut!" Kuro growled, his eyes narrowing even as he spoke. Yet they weren't prepared for what happened next. With a flourish of his hands, and a swifter leap than they had thought possible, Iwanbo attacked; knocking all of them off of their feet. As she flew through the air, Saya could only think of one thing…..
"Tetsunosuke….." Saya's mind whispered, before she braced herself for impact with the ground; knowing that she would have to get up quickly, so death wouldn't have the chance to claim her, before her beloved returned. As the world seemingly slowed down around her, Saya could see when Kaoru's and the two boys' attention was focused on the black-masked fighter, and could hear it when Kamatari again spoke up; his tone speaking more eloquently than anything else, the immense confidence he had in his abilities…..and the victory he seemed to think was just within his reach.
"I wouldn't worry about them….However, the one I'd worry about is you." Kamatari sneered, as he lifted the scythe into a ready position from off of his shoulders.
"We'll just have to see about that, won't we?" Harada growled, as he, Shinpachi, and Susumu assumed positions with each of the three separate groups; ready to defend them, when the need arose.
"But why're you…..?!" Yutaro started to ask, yet felt the words die in his throat, when he saw the grimly determined looks in the two ex-Shinsengumi commanders' eyes.
"You're the Puppy's friends and allies……We're not about to let him suffer that kind of loss again. Not if we have anything to say about it." Shinpachi growled, as he stood alongside Misao.
"Such strength and loyalty…..Is this what Tetsu saw, when he was in the Shinsengumi?" Yahiko wondered, as he glimpsed for himself what had cemented the firm bond between the Wolves of Mibu...and it made him even more determined to live up to the younger rurouni's trust.
"You ready, Yutaro?" Yahiko quietly asked, as he gave his fellow student a quick glance.
"Been ready." Yutaro replied; the glint in his own blue eyes proving that he'd also taken the camaraderie of the Shinsengumi to heart.
"That's the spirit, you two. Show these bastards what the true future of Japan really looks like!" Harada thought, when he'd felt the strength in the boys' ki, then gave Henya a smirk that would have frozen any normal man's blood.
Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)
The room Aoshi had chosen was a sight to behold, as the three men and their guide walked through it.
"Knowing how much Tatsu-nii loved to read when we were younger, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he didn't choose this room….." Tetsunosuke mused, then looked at Kenshin, when Sanosuke started to speak up again about his own misgivings.
"Kenshin…..You're sure about this?" Sanosuke questioned, as he also glance around uneasily at his surroundings. At this, the elder rurouni sighed.
"A promise was made, to bring Aoshi home….to Misao-dono…..and, before that, a promise was made to Aoshi….for a battle." Kenshin murmured, as they moved further into the library.
"Miss this chance, and both promises will come to nothing. You've got no choice but to fulfill them." Tetsunosuke added; understanding too well just what was going through his friend's mind, at this point, "Thus you've opened the Door to Honor with your own hands."
"Aa." Kenshin agreed, as they rounded a corner, looked down another of the book-laden aisles, and saw the man they had been looking for. Clad in a white trench coat and a black sort of uniform, with what appeared to be a long bladed sword on his lap, Shinomori Aoshi was an imposing sight to behold…..But the part that truly sent chills down Tetsunosuke's spine, was the fact that when the Onmitsu looked up, there was no life in his eyes whatsoever.
"Damn. It's like I'm looking at the walking dead…..Did Saito-san ever face someone like this?" Tetsunosuke wondered, as Kenshin stepped forward, and silently motioned for them to move back.
"You've come." Aoshi intoned, as he looked up at Kenshin; dead blue eyes just barely showing any reaction at all to anyone else (even though Tetsunosuke could see what could have been the barest hint of surprise, when he'd noticed the similarity between them).
"Yes." Kenshin replied; nodding as he did so.
"Is now the time then,…..Himura Battousai?" Aoshi asked, as he silently and gracefully stood up.
"Aoshi…..you've changed so much…..It's hard to believe you're the same man I had faced in Kanryuu Mansion." Kenshin said, with some dismay in his own voice, when he'd also felt how strange Aoshi's ki felt now.
"To defeat you….and become the one, true hitokiri……I will change into anything." Aoshi growled, as he took what Tetsunosuke had taken to be nodachi, and split it into two; unsheathing both and revealing them to be dual kodachi!
"Draw, Battousai." Aoshi finally snarled, as he held the kodachi in front of him, ready for a fight…..A fight he was determined to see end in bloodshed…..
Author's Note!
Sorry for the long wait, minna, but Writer's Block has been very relentless, in recent months. Hopefully I'll still be able to finish this before the year is up! Wish me luck in the next chapter, please! (I could use all the help I can get, lol)
Gemini14
