"What's wrong with you two?!"
Yahiko had interrupted their intimate moment, only to receive blows from both
sides in the head.
"What's wrong with you, retard?!" Sano clenched his fists. He couldn't believe
that the exact moment he decided to tell Megumi his feelings, this runt ruined
it. Megumi only shook her head, thinking along the same wavelength as Sanosuke.
"It's alright, Sanosuke. Just forget it." Megumi retreated inside to fetch
Kenji.
"Megumi..."
But the words fell upon deaf ears.
And the four walls of her house only saw Megumi's tears.
Sano sighed angrily, his hands shoved into his pockets. Yahiko carried Kenji on
his shoulders, pondering what could have gotten the chicken-head and the fox so
upset.
And then it hit him like a brick.
He slapped his forehead. "Sano...I'm sor-"
"I don't need your apologies. Just...just forget it." He gruffed, glaring at the
redheaded terror from the corners of his eyes. His thoughts began to stray for a
moment.
"What would one of my kids look like?"
Little did he know that he had stopped in his tracks.
"What the hell am I thinking?!???!"
But Yahiko was too caught up in his own guilt to realize that Sanosuke was no
longer at his side.
Murasaki untied her blue sash from her waist to wipe the blood from her blade.
She had no idea that she could drive her blade that far through a person.
Kenshin and Kaoru were both on the ground, surrounded by a crimson pool. Kaoru
was the first to awaken: red. That's all she could see around her. The bed sheet
she had wrapped around herself was stained red; she lifted her hands to her
face: red. She turned to her husband to ensure he was all right: his red hair
had come undone from the small ponytail he had managed to tie it into.
"Kenshin! Kenshin!" She stretched towards Kenshin to shake him to consciousness,
but a stabbing pain in her shoulder prevented her from doing so.
Kenshin mumbled, coming to from unconsciousness. He held his head and struggled
to open his eyes, only to see the pool of red around him.
"Kaoru...no...." He darted his eyes to the direction he thought his wife was.
The sight of her sitting upright holding her shoulder quickly comforted him.
"Are you alright?" He reached his hand to comfort her, but a sharp pain cut off
his touch from reaching her. His hand painfully rested on his chest.
"Damn lucky." Murasaki re-tied her sash around her waist, pulling her shirt over
the area where the bloodstain was. "Your girlfriend here jumped in the
way...luckily." Her eyes fell on Kaoru. "Course, now you know the blade's gone
right through the shoulder. You should thank her. Could've been your chest
instead."
Kenshin glared up at the uncaring eyes of his daughter...the daughter he loved
and cared for. But he saw no trace of her left in the golden hue of her eyes.
"That's enough, Yoriko. I was satisfied with you waiting to take my life for
what you've been through. But trying to kill my family...taking my loved ones
away from me...that's just going too far." He brought himself to his feet, but
not without some pain. On the other hand, he had been through many pains and
cuts before, so this was nothing.
"Ironic, don't you think? A life for a life. You take my mother away from me, I
take away your whore."
The words resounded in his head. His was tired of hearing this, of all these
assumptions.
Was she really calling his own beloved wife a whore?
The one who cared from him in his times of need?
The one who comforted in his bad times?
The one who was always there to give him a smile?
The one who was strong enough to protect the honour of her father so many years
ago all by herself?
The one who mothered his child?
His child.... Kenji.... what if he's next?
An image of his dead son hit him like a bullet in the chest. He couldn't put up
with that.
Anger rose in his chest. His glare grew more and more fierce towards the young
girl.
A yellow glow, long gone, returned once more to the kind and gentle husband and
father.
And Kaoru could sense it.
Please...not again....
The last time she was unable to bring the Battousai out of Kenshin, and she
prayed that an event like that would never happen again.
"Kenshin..." She choked on her tears, afraid of what was to come. Her hands
found his ankles; she clung onto them so tightly, not caring if he reacted
wrongly by striking her. She didn't want to lose him ever again.
"Aha! The Battousai." Shiro stood by the window. No one had any idea how long
she was there for, or that she was even there for that matter.
2 pairs of golden eyes drifted to the new visitor. But neither cared what her
intentions were.
"Kenshin...you promised...please...you said so yourself that the Battousai would
never return...please...come back, Kenshin..." Kaoru's tears fell to the ground,
dampening the soles of his socks.
But the Hitokiri didn't care.
He neared towards Murasaki...only to meet Shiro's eyes instead.
"What are you doing?" Murasaki was confused. She was the one that wanted to face
her father. She thought that's what Shiro wanted, as well.
"Getting what I came for. Now be quiet." She backhanded her across the face,
only to hit air.
?
She had forgotten...instincts and movements were much quicker when this
"battousai trait" was released.
Murasaki had ducked under the attack, delivering a sweep-kick to the side of
Shiro's knee. At least she could have a warm-up before she finished her father
off.
As the 2 dueled, Kaoru continued her pleas to Kenshin. She only prayed that her
words would find their way to his ears; she prayed that those words could also
bring her husband back to her.
But they all failed.
A last resort: she pulled herself to her feet, regardless of how shaky they
felt.
And she kissed him.
A long passionate kiss.
Sanosuke, Yahiko and Kenji had finally arrived at the dojo.
"Well, we're back home." Yahiko nudged Sanosuke in the ribs with his elbow.
"Think everything went ok?" He winked.
But Sanosuke refused to answer; he was still upset about what happened earlier.
However, the silence didn't remain for long.
Two shadows crashed through the front door onto the ground, remaining
motionless.
"I'll say everything went just as planned" Sano replied sarcastically, rushing
over to see what the commotion was.
Kaoru shut her eyes tight. She last thing she remembered before feeling herself
propelled backwards was Kenshin pulling away from her, staring at her
bewildered. And then, he lunged at her. "He's...actually going to...."
She still felt him over her, waiting for his hand to strike...to feel pain of
any kind. What seemed like merely seconds, felt like years to her.
"Sano...Yahiko...please take of Kenji..." she muttered, her eyes still remaining
tightly shut.
"You're going to leave it up to those two to take care of our son?"
That voice...
It startled her, causing her to open her eyes in surprise. What she saw was not
the golden glow of death, but the violet-blue kindness of her husband. His short
orange shock of hair, now dulled by the blue hue of the night, fell over one
shoulder. He smiled gently at her, with a hint of almost laughing.
"You 2 ok?" Sano rushed up from behind.
Kaoru and Kenshin looked from each other, to Sanosuke, and back to each other,
only to smile. "Couldn't be better," they replied in unison.
"I thought I would get the chance to kill him!" Murasaki darted around the room,
getting her hits in when she could, and then retreating, knowing that Shiro was
still more skilled.
"Ha! You thought wrong! You were only a pawn to bring out the Battousai." Shiro
smirked, knowing that all the elements of her plan had basically come together.
"Bitch..." Murasaki rushed head long, blinded by her rage and stubbornness.
Shiro easily sidestepped the attack, slashing her blade across Murasaki's back.
"A scream!" Yahiko faced the dojo, eager to know what was going on inside.
Kenji, on the other hand, was startled by the sudden sound and now awoke out of
his slumber. Seeing the concern on everyone's face, she reached for the sleeve
of his father's clothes.
"What was that, Papa?"
Kenshin patted his son's head. "Nothing you need to worry about. Papa will fix
it."
"Not alone, you're not." Sano lightly punched Kenshin in the back. Of course, he
always underestimated his strength, leaving Kenshin winded.
As usual, Yahiko was left with Kaoru and Kenji to protect them in case the fight
strayed to outside. As Sano and Kenshin watched the feud from the safety of the
doorway into the bedroom, Kenshin noted that there were 2 pairs of glowing
eyes....?
He had only one daughter.
And that was with Yukishiro Tomoe.....?
Before Sanosuke could blink, Kenshin was between the 2 foes; he had a firm grip
on their hands, prevented their blades from striking at the other. His attention
was fixed on Shiro.
"Your eyes..."
But he didn't need to finish the question.
"You can thank Enishi for them." Shiro smiled evilly.
Yahiko had interrupted their intimate moment, only to receive blows from both
sides in the head.
"What's wrong with you, retard?!" Sano clenched his fists. He couldn't believe
that the exact moment he decided to tell Megumi his feelings, this runt ruined
it. Megumi only shook her head, thinking along the same wavelength as Sanosuke.
"It's alright, Sanosuke. Just forget it." Megumi retreated inside to fetch
Kenji.
"Megumi..."
But the words fell upon deaf ears.
And the four walls of her house only saw Megumi's tears.
Sano sighed angrily, his hands shoved into his pockets. Yahiko carried Kenji on
his shoulders, pondering what could have gotten the chicken-head and the fox so
upset.
And then it hit him like a brick.
He slapped his forehead. "Sano...I'm sor-"
"I don't need your apologies. Just...just forget it." He gruffed, glaring at the
redheaded terror from the corners of his eyes. His thoughts began to stray for a
moment.
"What would one of my kids look like?"
Little did he know that he had stopped in his tracks.
"What the hell am I thinking?!???!"
But Yahiko was too caught up in his own guilt to realize that Sanosuke was no
longer at his side.
Murasaki untied her blue sash from her waist to wipe the blood from her blade.
She had no idea that she could drive her blade that far through a person.
Kenshin and Kaoru were both on the ground, surrounded by a crimson pool. Kaoru
was the first to awaken: red. That's all she could see around her. The bed sheet
she had wrapped around herself was stained red; she lifted her hands to her
face: red. She turned to her husband to ensure he was all right: his red hair
had come undone from the small ponytail he had managed to tie it into.
"Kenshin! Kenshin!" She stretched towards Kenshin to shake him to consciousness,
but a stabbing pain in her shoulder prevented her from doing so.
Kenshin mumbled, coming to from unconsciousness. He held his head and struggled
to open his eyes, only to see the pool of red around him.
"Kaoru...no...." He darted his eyes to the direction he thought his wife was.
The sight of her sitting upright holding her shoulder quickly comforted him.
"Are you alright?" He reached his hand to comfort her, but a sharp pain cut off
his touch from reaching her. His hand painfully rested on his chest.
"Damn lucky." Murasaki re-tied her sash around her waist, pulling her shirt over
the area where the bloodstain was. "Your girlfriend here jumped in the
way...luckily." Her eyes fell on Kaoru. "Course, now you know the blade's gone
right through the shoulder. You should thank her. Could've been your chest
instead."
Kenshin glared up at the uncaring eyes of his daughter...the daughter he loved
and cared for. But he saw no trace of her left in the golden hue of her eyes.
"That's enough, Yoriko. I was satisfied with you waiting to take my life for
what you've been through. But trying to kill my family...taking my loved ones
away from me...that's just going too far." He brought himself to his feet, but
not without some pain. On the other hand, he had been through many pains and
cuts before, so this was nothing.
"Ironic, don't you think? A life for a life. You take my mother away from me, I
take away your whore."
The words resounded in his head. His was tired of hearing this, of all these
assumptions.
Was she really calling his own beloved wife a whore?
The one who cared from him in his times of need?
The one who comforted in his bad times?
The one who was always there to give him a smile?
The one who was strong enough to protect the honour of her father so many years
ago all by herself?
The one who mothered his child?
His child.... Kenji.... what if he's next?
An image of his dead son hit him like a bullet in the chest. He couldn't put up
with that.
Anger rose in his chest. His glare grew more and more fierce towards the young
girl.
A yellow glow, long gone, returned once more to the kind and gentle husband and
father.
And Kaoru could sense it.
Please...not again....
The last time she was unable to bring the Battousai out of Kenshin, and she
prayed that an event like that would never happen again.
"Kenshin..." She choked on her tears, afraid of what was to come. Her hands
found his ankles; she clung onto them so tightly, not caring if he reacted
wrongly by striking her. She didn't want to lose him ever again.
"Aha! The Battousai." Shiro stood by the window. No one had any idea how long
she was there for, or that she was even there for that matter.
2 pairs of golden eyes drifted to the new visitor. But neither cared what her
intentions were.
"Kenshin...you promised...please...you said so yourself that the Battousai would
never return...please...come back, Kenshin..." Kaoru's tears fell to the ground,
dampening the soles of his socks.
But the Hitokiri didn't care.
He neared towards Murasaki...only to meet Shiro's eyes instead.
"What are you doing?" Murasaki was confused. She was the one that wanted to face
her father. She thought that's what Shiro wanted, as well.
"Getting what I came for. Now be quiet." She backhanded her across the face,
only to hit air.
?
She had forgotten...instincts and movements were much quicker when this
"battousai trait" was released.
Murasaki had ducked under the attack, delivering a sweep-kick to the side of
Shiro's knee. At least she could have a warm-up before she finished her father
off.
As the 2 dueled, Kaoru continued her pleas to Kenshin. She only prayed that her
words would find their way to his ears; she prayed that those words could also
bring her husband back to her.
But they all failed.
A last resort: she pulled herself to her feet, regardless of how shaky they
felt.
And she kissed him.
A long passionate kiss.
Sanosuke, Yahiko and Kenji had finally arrived at the dojo.
"Well, we're back home." Yahiko nudged Sanosuke in the ribs with his elbow.
"Think everything went ok?" He winked.
But Sanosuke refused to answer; he was still upset about what happened earlier.
However, the silence didn't remain for long.
Two shadows crashed through the front door onto the ground, remaining
motionless.
"I'll say everything went just as planned" Sano replied sarcastically, rushing
over to see what the commotion was.
Kaoru shut her eyes tight. She last thing she remembered before feeling herself
propelled backwards was Kenshin pulling away from her, staring at her
bewildered. And then, he lunged at her. "He's...actually going to...."
She still felt him over her, waiting for his hand to strike...to feel pain of
any kind. What seemed like merely seconds, felt like years to her.
"Sano...Yahiko...please take of Kenji..." she muttered, her eyes still remaining
tightly shut.
"You're going to leave it up to those two to take care of our son?"
That voice...
It startled her, causing her to open her eyes in surprise. What she saw was not
the golden glow of death, but the violet-blue kindness of her husband. His short
orange shock of hair, now dulled by the blue hue of the night, fell over one
shoulder. He smiled gently at her, with a hint of almost laughing.
"You 2 ok?" Sano rushed up from behind.
Kaoru and Kenshin looked from each other, to Sanosuke, and back to each other,
only to smile. "Couldn't be better," they replied in unison.
"I thought I would get the chance to kill him!" Murasaki darted around the room,
getting her hits in when she could, and then retreating, knowing that Shiro was
still more skilled.
"Ha! You thought wrong! You were only a pawn to bring out the Battousai." Shiro
smirked, knowing that all the elements of her plan had basically come together.
"Bitch..." Murasaki rushed head long, blinded by her rage and stubbornness.
Shiro easily sidestepped the attack, slashing her blade across Murasaki's back.
"A scream!" Yahiko faced the dojo, eager to know what was going on inside.
Kenji, on the other hand, was startled by the sudden sound and now awoke out of
his slumber. Seeing the concern on everyone's face, she reached for the sleeve
of his father's clothes.
"What was that, Papa?"
Kenshin patted his son's head. "Nothing you need to worry about. Papa will fix
it."
"Not alone, you're not." Sano lightly punched Kenshin in the back. Of course, he
always underestimated his strength, leaving Kenshin winded.
As usual, Yahiko was left with Kaoru and Kenji to protect them in case the fight
strayed to outside. As Sano and Kenshin watched the feud from the safety of the
doorway into the bedroom, Kenshin noted that there were 2 pairs of glowing
eyes....?
He had only one daughter.
And that was with Yukishiro Tomoe.....?
Before Sanosuke could blink, Kenshin was between the 2 foes; he had a firm grip
on their hands, prevented their blades from striking at the other. His attention
was fixed on Shiro.
"Your eyes..."
But he didn't need to finish the question.
"You can thank Enishi for them." Shiro smiled evilly.