Chapter 7: The Beginning of the End...
by: Suzaku no miko
Miko: Hii, minna-san!! Sorry it took so long to make this chapter, but I had writer's block...hee hee... but I'm okay now!! I will now conclude this small series of Kenshin's past! I hope you enjoyed it and you will review it!! Thanks for taking the time to read my stories and I will be out with more! Well, here is the final chapter!! Read, Review, and Enjoy! Ja ne!! ^_~*
Ami made her way slowly down the snowy path, never looking back... Not wanting to see the face of the man she left behind. The man that she wanted to love, but could not.... "So, you decided to come by yourself. How brave of you.." a deep voice stated, nearly startling the young girl.
The dark-haired girl held the sheathed sword closer to her as she looked all around her. She saw no one in the surrounding shrubbery. 'I can do this... I must avenge Akane-chan... my family... Kenshin-san...' Ami thought to herself, trying to reassure herself. "Getting scared now?" the voice asked, sounding closer.
"Dame!" she gasped, startled by how close the voice was to her. Ami quickly took the sword out of its sheath and tried to ready herself for an attack. She then turned around, to find a tall young man. He stood in his attack stance, his sword level with his head. His legs were spread wide, as if ready to run in with his attack. His long, dark hair whipped in the breeze as he began to chuckle to himself.
"Who are you?!" Ami demanded, the sword shaking in her hand as she began to tremble. "My name does not matter but if you must know it... Hajime, Saitou. The battousai would recognize that name if he were here." the tall man replied, not moving from his position. "You were that man... the one who killed Akane-chan and my family! You're the one who hurt Kenshin-san!" she cried, tears falling down her cheeks.
"Oh? So you remember now... well, then. Are you ready to fight me? To kill me for what I've done?" Saitou asked, a large smirk on his face. "You're damn right I am!" Ami exclaimed, beginning to charge at him.
Using Kenshin's sword, she charged straight for his head. Unfortunately, he has the speed of a wolf and easily dodged her attack. "Is that all you have?" Saitou taunted, now appearing behind her. Ami then swung the sword, turning herself to face him, and locked with his weapon.
"I can read your every move and anticipate what you're going to do next. You're so predictable.." Saitou stated, pushing her back against a tree. He then unlocked their weapons and went back to his stance. Ami stood, with her back to the tree, holding the sword in front of her. "How can you be so cruel? After all that you've done, do you really think you're a man?" she asked.
"Don't question about my manhood! The way I do things is just how I am! Following the motto: Aku, Soku, Zan. And if you think you can defeat me with your pitiful skills, then you're just desperate... desperate to die!" he yelled back as Ami shut her eyes tightly. Swiftly moving his sword towards her head, he attempted to stab her. He felt the blade hit the tree trunk with a loud thump. Everything became suddenly silent...
"Nani?!" Saitou exclaimed, startled. Just as he was about to make his kill, something knocked him off balance. He turned around to find Kenshin with a wooden sword. He had used the wooden sword to hit Saitou so that it wouldn't hit Ami! "Ken...shin..." she whispered before falling to the ground.
"So, the battousai has decided to show up... Now, it's time for a real battle." Saitou chuckled, taking his sword out of the tree trunk. "If you want to fight, then just fight me! Leave her out of this!" Kenshin cried, standing in front of the unconscious Ami. "Hmph! If you think I'm going to fight against a man with a wooden sword, you must be on crack! Go on, get your sword!" Saitou huffed, getting into his strike stance.
Kenshin looked at his oppenent warily before turning to Ami. He looked at her sadly before crouching beside her. He gently removed the sword from her slim hands. 'I will protect you...' he thought to himself, slowly laying her against the tree. He then covered her with a robe that he had brought with him to keep her warm. Kenshin then slowly got up, never taking his eyes off of Saitou.
The young samurai looked at the wolf with hateful eyes, narrowing as he slowly brought his sword up. "Heh.." Saitou chuckled, aiming his sword at Kenshin's head. And then... he pounced...
The two young men engaged in their battle, locking their swords together. "You think I was going to let you go freely after hearing what you've done to her life?!" Kenshin cried, as the two separated. "So you were listening...eh? I don't like people who can't mind their business..." Saitou replied, making another dash at him. "She is my business!" the red-haired samurai exclaimed, jumping high over his opponent's head.
"You think that trick will work on me?" Saitou retorted, moving behind him. Kenshin landed a few feet away, his sword digging into the snow. At the same moment Kenshin hit the ground, he quickly spun around and brought his sword up into the air. Saitou quickly dodged the attack, for the fact that the distance between them was only sword-length.
As a retaliation, Saitou then swung his sword downward, aimed for the samurai's body. Kenshin then brought his sword up to defend against the attack. The taller man quickly changed his movement and now made it so that the sword would go under Kenshin's and stab him instead.
Kenshin sensed that Saitou would do this and quickly moved his sword, making it come from the side. Both men winced at the pain as both swords went into their bodies. They also felt the blades ripping through skin, shredding it apart as they went through.
But both soon realized that there was something that prevented both of their deaths. Something they thought would never appear....
Ami looked at her lover wide-eyed, slowly gasping for air. "Ami!" Kenshin cried as the young woman fell forward. She had stood between them as both men attempted to stab each other. However, she was not able to stop the swords from hitting them completely.
Kenshin soon noticed that Saitou's sword had gone through her back and into his shoulder while his own went around her body and hit Saitou's side.
Saitou gently fell to the ground, in pain. Kenshin didn't know where the pain was greater... in his shoulder or in his heart...
Kenshin quickly removed the sword from her body, taking it out of his own shoulder. He looked at Saitou, who had fallen unconscious, as he quickly threw away the sword. "Ken...shin.." a voice whispered.
The young man held her body closer to him as he released the tears he had been holding back. "Ami... Why?" he cried, bringing her face closer to his. "I wanted to get revenge for everyone... my family... Akane-chan.. and you..." she began, trembling.
"But if you felt this way then you should have told me... I would have protected you." Kenshin protested, staring deep into her eyes. "But you did protect me... and I love you for that... I just felt that I needed to give you something for all that you did for me.." Ami whispered, resting her head on his warm chest.
"How many times... How many times must I lose the people that I love?" Kenshin asked, shutting his eyes tightly. "Don't worry, Ken-san... You will never be alone. And you will find someone in the future... I'm sure of that.." she replied, her voice becoming harder to hear.
"I wish this wasn't happening..." Kenshin said, sadly. "I wish it wasn't, either... I also needed to tell you something... I am pregnant with your baby... I hoped that we could have started a family. But promise me you'll get over this and start a new life..." Ami instructed, trying to form a gentle smile. Kenshin's eyes became wide with shock before looking down, sadly. He understood...
"Ai shiteru..." Kenshin whispered, gently kissing her soft lips. "Ai shiteru..." Ami replied, kissing him back. And soon, Kenshin could feel that she had left him. He weeped silently into her chest, still trying to feel the warmth of her body.
Soon, Kenshin picked up his sword, put it back in its sheath, and tied it back around his waist. He then gently picked up the lifeless body of Ami and slowly made his way back to the place where they had buried Akane, leaving Saitou, who had suddenly disappeared without a trace.
Kenshin gently placed her body onto the ground. He found the spade and to dig a grave next to the one of Akane.
Next day
Kenshin woke up early the next morning and made his way to the graves, in the forest, not too far away from Ami's home. When he arrived, he placed flowers on the two graves as he whispered prayers. "I'll never forget you..." he whispered when he finished. He then took one last look at the graves, took one last breath of the air, and envisioned one last image of Ami before he turned to leave. To never return to Kyoto or the Kyoto woods. To never return to the resting places of his two loves and friend....
*^*^*^*^*^Epilogue^*^*^*^*^*
10 years have passed. The Meiji era has finally begun. The era of change and hopefully, happiness.....
The scene shifts to lower Tokyo where rumors have been spreading of a Hitokiri Battousai committing many crimes of murder. It has been said that he had learned his budo at the Kamiya dojo. A dojo famous because of the late Kamiya's excellent teachings of a new type of budo that uses wooden swords. One that allows you to fight without actually defeating your opponent by killing him.
The day was somewhat foggy, perfect for the battousai to come out. And a young woman by the name of Kaoru promised herself that this would be the day that he would be stopped.
Kamiya, Kaoru wandered the streets, looking for this battousai that disgraced the Kamiya dojo and her father's name. And soon, she came up to a figure that carried a sack over his shoulder and an illegal sword tied around his waist.
"Stop, Battousai!" the raven-haired woman called after him, waving her wooden sword. The young man slowly turned around, curious. And suddenly, she attacked!
The man expertly dodged her attacks, but soon found his foot stuck in a bucket! He stumbled backwards until he fell into the wooden crates. "Oooorrrroooo..." he cried, in a daze. "This is the battousai?" Kaoru sweatdropped, looking at the young man nervously.
"I'm a rurouni. Do you really think I could kill anyone with this sword?" the man replied, holding up the sheathed sword. "Nani?!" Kaoru asked, examining the sword as she took it out. When suddenly...
"Stop, Battousai!" a voice cried. "That's him!" Kaoru exclaimed, excitedly. And she quickly runs off, throwing the sword back at its owner.
Elsewhere
Kaoru immediately jumps in to attack. But the larger man easily breaks her wooden sword. "Oh no!" she cried. "DIIIEEE!!!" the man cries, beginning to charge at her. When suddenly...
In the blink of an eye, the same young man from before races into the scene. As he swiftly runs by, he picks up the young woman and brings her to safety. "Your sword is no match for his real one..." he whispers, his long, blood-red hair gently falling behind him. And soon, the attacker quickly runs off.
"He's getting away..." Kaoru puffed, trying to go after him. Kenshin holding her tightly, prevents her from going. And she soon passes out.
Later, Kaoru finds herself in her room, her wounds taken care of. She soon dresses and finds Doctor Genzai outside with Abame and Suzame helping someone do the cooking. "Rurouni?" she asked, making him turn around.
"Oh, you're awake! I was just making breakfast for everyone." he replied, smiling happily.
After breakfast, the rurouni was playing with the children while Genzai attended to Kaoru's wounds. After some time, Kaoru watched the violet-eyed rurouni as he entertained the children.
"Why don't you stay with us?" Kaoru suggested, after the doctor had finished. "Eh? Are you sure you want a stranger living with you?" he replied, stopping to look at her. "Look, I don't care about your past. You look like you've been traveling a long time and really can't afford anywhere to stay. So, how about it?" she asked, forming a gentle smile across her lips.
And the rest is history...
~*Owari*~
Miko: *Whew!* It's finally finished! Well? Did you like it? Btw.. The epilogue was my shortened version for most of the first episode of the series. If you really want to know the rest of history, then I suggest those who haven't, to go watch Rurouni Kenshin! One of the greatest anime (in my opinion) ever made! Well, that's all for now! Please make sure you review! Arigatou!! And don't worry...I'll be out with more ficcies soon! Ja ne! ^_~*
by: Suzaku no miko
Miko: Hii, minna-san!! Sorry it took so long to make this chapter, but I had writer's block...hee hee... but I'm okay now!! I will now conclude this small series of Kenshin's past! I hope you enjoyed it and you will review it!! Thanks for taking the time to read my stories and I will be out with more! Well, here is the final chapter!! Read, Review, and Enjoy! Ja ne!! ^_~*
Ami made her way slowly down the snowy path, never looking back... Not wanting to see the face of the man she left behind. The man that she wanted to love, but could not.... "So, you decided to come by yourself. How brave of you.." a deep voice stated, nearly startling the young girl.
The dark-haired girl held the sheathed sword closer to her as she looked all around her. She saw no one in the surrounding shrubbery. 'I can do this... I must avenge Akane-chan... my family... Kenshin-san...' Ami thought to herself, trying to reassure herself. "Getting scared now?" the voice asked, sounding closer.
"Dame!" she gasped, startled by how close the voice was to her. Ami quickly took the sword out of its sheath and tried to ready herself for an attack. She then turned around, to find a tall young man. He stood in his attack stance, his sword level with his head. His legs were spread wide, as if ready to run in with his attack. His long, dark hair whipped in the breeze as he began to chuckle to himself.
"Who are you?!" Ami demanded, the sword shaking in her hand as she began to tremble. "My name does not matter but if you must know it... Hajime, Saitou. The battousai would recognize that name if he were here." the tall man replied, not moving from his position. "You were that man... the one who killed Akane-chan and my family! You're the one who hurt Kenshin-san!" she cried, tears falling down her cheeks.
"Oh? So you remember now... well, then. Are you ready to fight me? To kill me for what I've done?" Saitou asked, a large smirk on his face. "You're damn right I am!" Ami exclaimed, beginning to charge at him.
Using Kenshin's sword, she charged straight for his head. Unfortunately, he has the speed of a wolf and easily dodged her attack. "Is that all you have?" Saitou taunted, now appearing behind her. Ami then swung the sword, turning herself to face him, and locked with his weapon.
"I can read your every move and anticipate what you're going to do next. You're so predictable.." Saitou stated, pushing her back against a tree. He then unlocked their weapons and went back to his stance. Ami stood, with her back to the tree, holding the sword in front of her. "How can you be so cruel? After all that you've done, do you really think you're a man?" she asked.
"Don't question about my manhood! The way I do things is just how I am! Following the motto: Aku, Soku, Zan. And if you think you can defeat me with your pitiful skills, then you're just desperate... desperate to die!" he yelled back as Ami shut her eyes tightly. Swiftly moving his sword towards her head, he attempted to stab her. He felt the blade hit the tree trunk with a loud thump. Everything became suddenly silent...
"Nani?!" Saitou exclaimed, startled. Just as he was about to make his kill, something knocked him off balance. He turned around to find Kenshin with a wooden sword. He had used the wooden sword to hit Saitou so that it wouldn't hit Ami! "Ken...shin..." she whispered before falling to the ground.
"So, the battousai has decided to show up... Now, it's time for a real battle." Saitou chuckled, taking his sword out of the tree trunk. "If you want to fight, then just fight me! Leave her out of this!" Kenshin cried, standing in front of the unconscious Ami. "Hmph! If you think I'm going to fight against a man with a wooden sword, you must be on crack! Go on, get your sword!" Saitou huffed, getting into his strike stance.
Kenshin looked at his oppenent warily before turning to Ami. He looked at her sadly before crouching beside her. He gently removed the sword from her slim hands. 'I will protect you...' he thought to himself, slowly laying her against the tree. He then covered her with a robe that he had brought with him to keep her warm. Kenshin then slowly got up, never taking his eyes off of Saitou.
The young samurai looked at the wolf with hateful eyes, narrowing as he slowly brought his sword up. "Heh.." Saitou chuckled, aiming his sword at Kenshin's head. And then... he pounced...
The two young men engaged in their battle, locking their swords together. "You think I was going to let you go freely after hearing what you've done to her life?!" Kenshin cried, as the two separated. "So you were listening...eh? I don't like people who can't mind their business..." Saitou replied, making another dash at him. "She is my business!" the red-haired samurai exclaimed, jumping high over his opponent's head.
"You think that trick will work on me?" Saitou retorted, moving behind him. Kenshin landed a few feet away, his sword digging into the snow. At the same moment Kenshin hit the ground, he quickly spun around and brought his sword up into the air. Saitou quickly dodged the attack, for the fact that the distance between them was only sword-length.
As a retaliation, Saitou then swung his sword downward, aimed for the samurai's body. Kenshin then brought his sword up to defend against the attack. The taller man quickly changed his movement and now made it so that the sword would go under Kenshin's and stab him instead.
Kenshin sensed that Saitou would do this and quickly moved his sword, making it come from the side. Both men winced at the pain as both swords went into their bodies. They also felt the blades ripping through skin, shredding it apart as they went through.
But both soon realized that there was something that prevented both of their deaths. Something they thought would never appear....
Ami looked at her lover wide-eyed, slowly gasping for air. "Ami!" Kenshin cried as the young woman fell forward. She had stood between them as both men attempted to stab each other. However, she was not able to stop the swords from hitting them completely.
Kenshin soon noticed that Saitou's sword had gone through her back and into his shoulder while his own went around her body and hit Saitou's side.
Saitou gently fell to the ground, in pain. Kenshin didn't know where the pain was greater... in his shoulder or in his heart...
Kenshin quickly removed the sword from her body, taking it out of his own shoulder. He looked at Saitou, who had fallen unconscious, as he quickly threw away the sword. "Ken...shin.." a voice whispered.
The young man held her body closer to him as he released the tears he had been holding back. "Ami... Why?" he cried, bringing her face closer to his. "I wanted to get revenge for everyone... my family... Akane-chan.. and you..." she began, trembling.
"But if you felt this way then you should have told me... I would have protected you." Kenshin protested, staring deep into her eyes. "But you did protect me... and I love you for that... I just felt that I needed to give you something for all that you did for me.." Ami whispered, resting her head on his warm chest.
"How many times... How many times must I lose the people that I love?" Kenshin asked, shutting his eyes tightly. "Don't worry, Ken-san... You will never be alone. And you will find someone in the future... I'm sure of that.." she replied, her voice becoming harder to hear.
"I wish this wasn't happening..." Kenshin said, sadly. "I wish it wasn't, either... I also needed to tell you something... I am pregnant with your baby... I hoped that we could have started a family. But promise me you'll get over this and start a new life..." Ami instructed, trying to form a gentle smile. Kenshin's eyes became wide with shock before looking down, sadly. He understood...
"Ai shiteru..." Kenshin whispered, gently kissing her soft lips. "Ai shiteru..." Ami replied, kissing him back. And soon, Kenshin could feel that she had left him. He weeped silently into her chest, still trying to feel the warmth of her body.
Soon, Kenshin picked up his sword, put it back in its sheath, and tied it back around his waist. He then gently picked up the lifeless body of Ami and slowly made his way back to the place where they had buried Akane, leaving Saitou, who had suddenly disappeared without a trace.
Kenshin gently placed her body onto the ground. He found the spade and to dig a grave next to the one of Akane.
Next day
Kenshin woke up early the next morning and made his way to the graves, in the forest, not too far away from Ami's home. When he arrived, he placed flowers on the two graves as he whispered prayers. "I'll never forget you..." he whispered when he finished. He then took one last look at the graves, took one last breath of the air, and envisioned one last image of Ami before he turned to leave. To never return to Kyoto or the Kyoto woods. To never return to the resting places of his two loves and friend....
*^*^*^*^*^Epilogue^*^*^*^*^*
10 years have passed. The Meiji era has finally begun. The era of change and hopefully, happiness.....
The scene shifts to lower Tokyo where rumors have been spreading of a Hitokiri Battousai committing many crimes of murder. It has been said that he had learned his budo at the Kamiya dojo. A dojo famous because of the late Kamiya's excellent teachings of a new type of budo that uses wooden swords. One that allows you to fight without actually defeating your opponent by killing him.
The day was somewhat foggy, perfect for the battousai to come out. And a young woman by the name of Kaoru promised herself that this would be the day that he would be stopped.
Kamiya, Kaoru wandered the streets, looking for this battousai that disgraced the Kamiya dojo and her father's name. And soon, she came up to a figure that carried a sack over his shoulder and an illegal sword tied around his waist.
"Stop, Battousai!" the raven-haired woman called after him, waving her wooden sword. The young man slowly turned around, curious. And suddenly, she attacked!
The man expertly dodged her attacks, but soon found his foot stuck in a bucket! He stumbled backwards until he fell into the wooden crates. "Oooorrrroooo..." he cried, in a daze. "This is the battousai?" Kaoru sweatdropped, looking at the young man nervously.
"I'm a rurouni. Do you really think I could kill anyone with this sword?" the man replied, holding up the sheathed sword. "Nani?!" Kaoru asked, examining the sword as she took it out. When suddenly...
"Stop, Battousai!" a voice cried. "That's him!" Kaoru exclaimed, excitedly. And she quickly runs off, throwing the sword back at its owner.
Elsewhere
Kaoru immediately jumps in to attack. But the larger man easily breaks her wooden sword. "Oh no!" she cried. "DIIIEEE!!!" the man cries, beginning to charge at her. When suddenly...
In the blink of an eye, the same young man from before races into the scene. As he swiftly runs by, he picks up the young woman and brings her to safety. "Your sword is no match for his real one..." he whispers, his long, blood-red hair gently falling behind him. And soon, the attacker quickly runs off.
"He's getting away..." Kaoru puffed, trying to go after him. Kenshin holding her tightly, prevents her from going. And she soon passes out.
Later, Kaoru finds herself in her room, her wounds taken care of. She soon dresses and finds Doctor Genzai outside with Abame and Suzame helping someone do the cooking. "Rurouni?" she asked, making him turn around.
"Oh, you're awake! I was just making breakfast for everyone." he replied, smiling happily.
After breakfast, the rurouni was playing with the children while Genzai attended to Kaoru's wounds. After some time, Kaoru watched the violet-eyed rurouni as he entertained the children.
"Why don't you stay with us?" Kaoru suggested, after the doctor had finished. "Eh? Are you sure you want a stranger living with you?" he replied, stopping to look at her. "Look, I don't care about your past. You look like you've been traveling a long time and really can't afford anywhere to stay. So, how about it?" she asked, forming a gentle smile across her lips.
And the rest is history...
~*Owari*~
Miko: *Whew!* It's finally finished! Well? Did you like it? Btw.. The epilogue was my shortened version for most of the first episode of the series. If you really want to know the rest of history, then I suggest those who haven't, to go watch Rurouni Kenshin! One of the greatest anime (in my opinion) ever made! Well, that's all for now! Please make sure you review! Arigatou!! And don't worry...I'll be out with more ficcies soon! Ja ne! ^_~*