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Chaotic girl, Battousai
( *** Flashback*** )
(I feel it necessary to explain the next few lines here. These are like those Quick scene flashbacks that happen so often in RK. The scenes are moments of anger and/or drunkenness when Hiko Seijiro spoke to Yui about Kenshin. It cuts right into the present after the three flashbacks.)
***"I had a student once before, He was very good, but he never listened.
"Who was this man, Shishou?"
"Just a disgrace."***
***"I shouldn't have started training you, You should've been a beautiful woman, not a beautiful swordmaster."
"I want to be a swordmaster, Shishou.
"I was still trying to repair my mistake, if I hadn't taken the sorry runt as my student…***
***"Hitokiri Battousai, my failure, The killer who uses Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu."
"Shishou…"***
"His thoughts dwelled on you, even after you'd been gone so long. He never forgot your betrayal." Yui said, readying herself to attack again. She shot forward toward Kenshin, drawing her sword, she let loose a fierce slash. Kenshin's Sakabatou countered quickly. The two swords crashed together in the quiet dojo. Neither her katana, or his Sakabatou broke, they stayed locked in their attack. Yui broke the stalemate, turning counter clockwise, and slashing at him again. When she got back around, he was no longer there. She looked up, knowing what he was doing.
"Ryu Tsui Sen!?" "Ryu Tsui Sen!!" They both yelled at the same time. The Sakabatou smashed into her already wounded shoulder. She gritted her teeth and took the pain for a second or two, but eventually she broke. Letting out a painful cry, she was pushed to the floor. Kenshin stood over her, hoping she was through, but not expecting her to be.
"That… was careless of me." She said, dragging herself up on one knee. She slowly looked up at him. Her eyes were glowing yellow. A sneer curled her lip. "She's lost control." He thought. She pulled herself back up to a standing position.
"I can't wait any longer, you will die now, Battousai." She said, sliding her katana back in its Saya.
"Yui Dono, you're fighting out of pure desperation. You can't win this fight."
"Shut up, you wont confuse me like you did Mori. I know what needs to be done." She said.
"You can't win because…" Kenshin started, but was interrupted by Yui's attack. She slid forward. Kenshin started to counter, But read A sudden change in her attack. She shifted from a straight forward slash, to Ryu Kan Sen-Arashi. Kenshin countered with Dou Ryu Sen. "Kaoru Dono will kill me for destroying her Dojo floor." Yui landed, and made another battou jutsu slash at him. Again, he easily dodged. She attacked him using Ryu Sou Sen. Kenshin countered using the same. She was getting faster, but she was losing more blood. The wound in her leg had almost doubled in size. She was tearing herself to pieces. "If only she'd listen" Kenshin thought. She was breathing heavily. She looked up at him.
"You are very good, I can see why they call you Battousai. But here is where you die. I'm finished playing around." She said, Sliding her sword back in its Saya. "You've defended all my attacks so far. But that's because you know them. I don't need to tell you what's coming. I told you before, remember? The attack you never learned, second only to the Ougi. You may know how it works, but it wont make any difference, you can't counter, or dodge." She said, leaning forward.
"Yui, The attack is necessary to learning the Ougi, but you never learned the Ougi did you?" Kenshin said.
"No, I'm not falling for it. You die here!" She said, bolting forward. Yui seemed to slow down as she made her attack. Each footstep seemed minutes apart.
"At least twelve steps. Then Battousai will die.
*** What the hell do you need to go after that idiot for?"
"He's nothing but a disgrace to Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu! I'll make sure he doesn't dishonor us anymore."***
"Ten more steps…"
***"Don't be stupid, I told you to find…Oh whatever, If you're going to go, then get off my mountain.
"I will be back…I will kill Battousai."***
"Now Shishou, I'll keep my promise, nine more steps."
***"Hitokiri Battousai, my failure…"***
"Not anymore, In eight steps he'll be dead."
***"I'm sure he knows that he is my world."***
"I'm sorry Kaoru San, I can't show any mercy, you don't really know him. The man you married is a killer. Six steps. I can see… the points."
Kenshin hadn't moved at all. He just stood there in a battou stance.
"Five more." He stood still listening to Yui's feet crash across the dojo floor.
"If only she'd listened…" Kenshin thought, his hand hovering over his Sakabatou.
"Three more." Yui thought beginning the attack. Kenshin still hadn't moved. "You're going to die, quickly Battousai. At least I can be humane. Two more." Yui thought. Kenshin's eyes opened, and looked straight at his attacker. Deep eyes, not angry or resentful. Just peaceful. Yui hadn't lost her concentration from those eyes, but they'd gotten her attention. "One more, then you Die Battou…" Kenshin's hand closed on his sword.
"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu Ougi!!" Her golden eyes, flushed brown instantly, as the words echoed in Yui's ears. She watched Kenshin fall away as ceiling flowed quietly before her eyes. At some point she's lost her sword. The ceiling fell backward and she felt something very hard slam into her back. All she could do was breathe. Kenshin slowly walked up to her but it didn't matter. "How…can…How…can you…know…" She asked softly. Her vision became blurry and eventually faded to black.
"Yui Donoo!!"
Yui's eyes opened slowly, she couldn't see well, everything was bright.
"Whe…where…" She muttered, raising a hand to her eyes.
"You're still in Tokyo, At the Kamiya residence." A familiar female voice said softly. Her eyes slowly began to focus on the woman with long sleek black hair and a pale complexion.
"Megumi San," She said, sitting up. "I'm still alive?" She said, somewhat surprised. "And I'm still at the Kamiya residence?"
"That's right, your leg and shoulder are still healing, so you shouldn't move around anymore than you have to." The beautiful doctor said, tucking away a roll of bandage cloth into her bag.
"Battousai didn't kill me…is he still here?" She asked suddenly.
"Ken-San has taken a trip to Yokosuka to get some medicine for you and Kaoru San. He'll be back sometime this afternoon." Megumi said, standing up. She wasn't happy with Yui for attacking Kenshin when she knew Kaoru was so badly wounded.
"He's gone to get medicine for Kaoru San…and me?" Yui said, in confusion.
"Yes, Yahiko went with him." Megumi said. "By the way, someone wants to talk to you. You should be able to walk to the next room." She said, extending her hand to her patient. Yui took her hand, and slowly stood. Megumi helped her out into the hall. She slid open a door, and motioned Yui to enter.
"This is Kaoru San's room…" Yui said. "What can I say to her, I'm sure they've told her that I attacked her husband…" She thought as they walked into the room. Kaoru was laying on her back. Yui couldn't tell if she was conscious or not.
***"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu Ougi!!" *** "He knows the Ougi, that must mean…" She thought. Megumi helped her take a seat. "Shishou…is…"
"Kaoru San, are you strong enough to speak?" Megumi asked, Kaoru's eyes opened partway. She opened her mouth, but Yui didn't hear anything come out. Megumi straightened back up and turned to leave.
"Megumi San, where are you…" Yui blurted, but was interrupted.
"Kaoru San wants to speak to you alone, She knows I have other patients." Megumi said, coldly, resuming her exit. Yui turned back to Kaoru, not knowing what to say. Kaoru broke the silence.
"Yui San…" She said, turning her head to Yui. She didn't know what to say. Kaoru looked at her for a moment before continuing.
"Kenshin told me…why you attacked him…but you have to realize…that's not my husband." Kaoru said, weakly.
"He's told her lies…" She thought. "Kaoru San, your husband is not the peaceful man you think he is." She started, Kaoru didn't interrupt out of physical weakness. "Before he met you, before he became a wanderer, he was a killer. I know it's probably hard for you to hear, but…your Kenshin… was once…Hitokiri Battousai." Yui said, expecting to see shock or hear a denial or argument. Instead she got a tiny grin from Kaoru.
"All you know…about Kenshin…is what you've heard from…your Shishou, and from the legends. It is true,…Hitokiri Battousai was…a terrible killer. But that's not who I married." Kaoru said to Yui's shock. "Kenshin…is just a man now. I've argued…and argued with him…to try to get him…to stop carrying his sword."
"But Kaoru San, He knows Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu Ougi…To learn that he would have had to have…"
"You're…still here…after he used it…on you." Kaoru said, Yui looked up at her.
"How…"
"Sakabatou, it's his most prized possession." Kaoru said with a smile.
"He went back to finish his training…why?" She asked Kaoru.
"Kenshin was…asked to fight…for the Meiji…again…against a ex-Hitokiri. He knew…he wouldn't win if he…fought like he had been. He would…lose control…and become Battousai again. He needed…to learn the Ougi…to fight harder…and maybe not have to…become Hitokiri Battousai." She said. Her breathing was getting heavy.
"He returned so he wouldn't have to worry about becoming Battousai again?" Yui repeated.
"In learning the Ougi,…he learned how…to control the anger…and …desperation…that draws the Hitokiri from him." Kaoru said. "He was…finally able to lay to rest…part of his past…when he took my name. His scar…is healing, as is…his heart." Kaoru said, her eyes slowly closing. Yui leaned forward and put a hand to Kaoru's chest.
"She's still breathing, I guess she's in pretty bad shape still. What am I saying, I'm still in bad shape. Kamiya, You left Shishou so long ago, and returned to learn the Ougi. I guess I was wrong…Battousai is dead."
Kenshin and Yahiko returned to the Kamiya home around five or six in the afternoon. The dojo was quiet, They found Sano asleep at the end of the hall where he could hear anyone's calls. Kenshin decided to leave him like that.
"Megumi San said to mix the medicine in some water or tea." Yahiko reminded Kenshin, knowing that he hadn't forgot. One does not forget how to care for the one most important to you. Kenshin carefully mixed a portion of the medicine into two cups of tea, and placed them on a serving tray. He looked down at the tray, noticing a small tear come to his eye.
"Mah" he said, smiling. "My mind is remembering the strangest things." He thought, remembering the day Kaoru had bought the tray. She'd wanted it to impress guests, but had always been upset about it because they so rarely had guests. Kenshin walked down the hall toward Kaoru's room. It wasn't his choice to give the medicine to Kaoru first, hers was the first room down the hall, and Megumi had said her condition was more serious that Yui's. Kenshin stepped in quietly and slowly slid the door closed. He set the tray down on the floor beside her.
"Kaoru Dono, I made it back safely." He said, Knowing even in her wounded state, she would still worry about him. She didn't speak but just smiled. "You need to drink some medicine." He said, gently putting his arm behind her back like Megumi had shown him. He lifted her up slowly until she was sitting up about a fourth of the way off the floor. He handed her the tea, but kept his hand nearby incase she dropped it. She drank about half of it.
"I…can't drink anymore…Kenshin" She said, softly.
"Alright." He said, taking the cup away, and laying her back down. "I'll be in the next room for a minute or two, If you need anything I'll be listening." He said, smiling at her. She returned his smile slowly drifting back into unconsciousness. Picking up the tray, he headed for the door, taking one look back at her. He left the door open upon exiting, incase she called. "She's my world, If anything happened to her…I…I don't even want to think of that. Kaoru, The mother of my child…" He thought as he stepped across the hall to the other door.
"Yui Dono, I'm coming in." He said, sliding the door open. Kenshin stood in the doorway for a few moments holding the tray with one cup of Medicine enhanced tea. He smiled and slid the door closed, and walked back down the hall toward the kitchen. Yahiko was busy trying to cut vegetables for dinner. Since Kaoru had been hurt, Kenshin hadn't had time to cook. Kenshin set the tray down on the counter, and headed for the sink. Yahiko looked at the full cup with a puzzled look.
"Didn't Yui San want her medicine." He asked.
"I don't know…" Kenshin answered, looking out the back door at the last few glinting rays of sunshine falling on the dojo yard.
Hiko Seijiro sat quietly on the stump he'd grown so accustomed to, the sun was setting behind him. He loved this time of day. Everything was winding down. He stood up and opened the door to the homemade kiln.
"Boy, you're taking forever." He said. Closing the door back, he noticed a shadow rising up from the base of the kiln, he looked back behind him into the setting sun.
"Well, well, So my other stupid pupil has come back too, eh."
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