Arurisonu's eyes suddenly held a blankness to them. She stared at Kenshin's
friends, the peril they had been backed into, the positions in which
everyone stood. It was all her fault. Her fault, just because she wanted to
create a new era. She had brung Kenshin into this, but now, she was about
to get him out.
The ropes binding her hands snaped as they broke apart.
"It's your choice, Battousai." Dogan smirked evily, his lips curled at the corners. "Either your friends, or Arurisonu, which is to die first?"
Kenshin was glaring at Dogan, the anger in his heart growing. His hand clenched the handle of the reverse bladed sword, until he let it drop from his grip allowing it to clash to the ground with a dead thud. He took a small step forward, never taking his eyes off of Dogan.
"You shall hurt neither of them, for you share no quarrel with them. That you do not. If you wish to spill blood this night, it will be my blood."
It was quiet, and Dogan's expression grew even more hideous. Both Dogan and Kenshin shared glares until the silence was shattered by a riffle being shot.
Form quavering for a moment, Dogan spun around in disgust to look from Arurisonu to the large, bloody hole in the middle of his stomach. "...You...!" His eye twitched as he looked at the old swordswoman. "Foolish...woman..." With his legs buckling beneath him, Dogan fell to the cold cobblestone. Dead as a dog.
Sinking to the ground as well, Arurisonu let the riffle fall. From its position, in order to shoot Dogan, she had to shoot herself, as well.
"Arurisonu!!!!!!!!!" Kenshin's eyes grew wide with horror as he saw the blood trickling down her right abdomen. Running to her side, he held her hand tightly and stared into her almost empty eyes, his own full of tears.
"Please, do not die! You must not! Hold on, that you must! My friends will help you as will I, but you must not die...!" Kenshin looked to Megumi who rushed past the others holding to the folds of her kimono.
Looking up at Kenshin with almost shut eyes, Arurisonu smiled weakly. "Heh...Himura... Just like the old days...willing to give...everything for you..." She sighs, and looks to the others; his friends. "I'm...I'm glad for you...glad you found people for whom you care about, as do they to you..." Wincing with the pain, she pushed Megumi away with a slow shake of her hand.
Again, she looked to Kenshin. "I was foolish...wanting to start a new era and all... I am glad...I was able to see you once more..." She blinked and smiled at her old friend.
"..." Kenshin was at a loss of words, all he could do was hold Arurisonu's hand and watch her die. People were leaving his life again, and that gave him a sense of false security. A sense that he was no longer safe, and that his years of being a wanderer were over. He would once again become a man- slayer, and...nothing would be able to stop him this time...not even death...nothi---
"Himura...don't ever change. Ever..." With her last words, Arurisonu's took her last breath, and her eyes closed forever. Slowly, her limp hand slipped from Kenshin's grip, and she was lost from him. Forever.
Tears fell from Kenshin's eyes. No, he couldn't change. Not now, he had too much in his life. He had fought to obtain what he had now, and was not about to throw it away. Not for revenge. Not for love. Not for anything.
"Kenshin...?" Kaoru's voice rose from the darkness, and she took a small step forward.
Wiping away the tears, Kenshin turned to look at Kaoru, the sadness gone; replaced by an artificial smile. "Kaoru..."
Her own eyes filling with tears, Kaoru ran and sank beside Kenshin's side, hugging him tightly. "Oh, Kenshin! I'm sorry..."
******
The wind was a torrent of darkness upon the gusty trees, The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas, The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor, And the highwayman came riding-- Riding--riding-- The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door.
He'd a French cocked hat on his forehead, and a bunch of lace at his chin; He'd a coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of fine doe-skin. They fitted with never a wrinkle; his boots were up to his thigh! And he rode with a jeweled twinkle-- His rapier hilt a-twinkle-- His pistol butts a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky.
Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard, He tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred, He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there But the landlord's black-eyed daughter-- Bess, the landlord's daughter-- Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
Dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked Where Tim, the ostler listened--his face was white and peaked-- His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay, But he loved the landlord's daughter-- The landlord's black-eyed daughter; Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say:
"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart; I'm after a prize tonight, But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light. Yet if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day, Then look for me by moonlight, Watch for me by moonlight, I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."
He stood upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand, But she loosened her hair in the casement! His face burnt like a brand As the sweet black waves of perfume came tumbling o'er his breast, Then he kissed its waves in the moonlight (O sweet black waves in the moonlight!), And he tugged at his reins in the moonlight, and galloped away to the west.
He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon. And out of the tawny sunset, before the rise of the moon, When the road was a gypsy's ribbon over the purple moor, The redcoat troops came marching-- Marching--marching-- King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.
They said no word to the landlord; they drank his ale instead, But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed. Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets by their side; There was Death at every window, And Hell at one dark window, For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that he would ride.
They had bound her up at attention, with many a sniggering jest! They had tied a rifle beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast! "Now keep good watch!" and they kissed her. She heard the dead man say, "Look for me by moonlight, Watch for me by moonlight, I'll come to thee by moonlight, though Hell should bar the way."
She twisted her hands behind her, but all the knots held good! She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood! They stretched and strained in the darkness,
and the hours crawled by like years, Till, on the stroke of midnight, Cold on the stroke of midnight, The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!
The tip of one finger touched it, she strove no more for the rest; Up, she stood up at attention, with the barrel beneath her breast. She would not risk their hearing, she would not strive again, For the road lay bare in the moonlight, Blank and bare in the moonlight, And the blood in her veins, in the moonlight, throbbed to her love's refrain.
Tlot tlot, tlot tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hooves, ringing clear; Tlot tlot, tlot tlot, in the distance! Were they deaf that they did not hear? Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill, The highwayman came riding-- Riding--riding-- The redcoats looked to their priming! She stood up straight and still.
Tlot tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot tlot, in the echoing night! Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light! Her eyes grew wide for a moment, she drew one last deep breath, Then her finger moved in the moonlight-- Her musket shattered the moonlight-- Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him--with her death.
He turned, he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood Bowed, with her head o'er the casement, drenched in her own red blood! Not till the dawn did he hear it, and his face grew grey to hear How Bess, the landlord's daughter, The landlord's black-eyed daughter, Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.
Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky, With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high! Blood-red were his spurs in the golden noon, wine-red was his velvet coat When they shot him down in the highway, Down like a dog in the highway, And he lay in his blood in the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.
And still on a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees, When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas, When the road is a gypsy's ribbon looping the purple moor, The highwayman comes riding-- Riding--riding-- The highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.
Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard, He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred, He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there But the landlord's black-eyed daughter-- Bess, the landlord's daughter-- Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
-- Alfred Noyes
The ropes binding her hands snaped as they broke apart.
"It's your choice, Battousai." Dogan smirked evily, his lips curled at the corners. "Either your friends, or Arurisonu, which is to die first?"
Kenshin was glaring at Dogan, the anger in his heart growing. His hand clenched the handle of the reverse bladed sword, until he let it drop from his grip allowing it to clash to the ground with a dead thud. He took a small step forward, never taking his eyes off of Dogan.
"You shall hurt neither of them, for you share no quarrel with them. That you do not. If you wish to spill blood this night, it will be my blood."
It was quiet, and Dogan's expression grew even more hideous. Both Dogan and Kenshin shared glares until the silence was shattered by a riffle being shot.
Form quavering for a moment, Dogan spun around in disgust to look from Arurisonu to the large, bloody hole in the middle of his stomach. "...You...!" His eye twitched as he looked at the old swordswoman. "Foolish...woman..." With his legs buckling beneath him, Dogan fell to the cold cobblestone. Dead as a dog.
Sinking to the ground as well, Arurisonu let the riffle fall. From its position, in order to shoot Dogan, she had to shoot herself, as well.
"Arurisonu!!!!!!!!!" Kenshin's eyes grew wide with horror as he saw the blood trickling down her right abdomen. Running to her side, he held her hand tightly and stared into her almost empty eyes, his own full of tears.
"Please, do not die! You must not! Hold on, that you must! My friends will help you as will I, but you must not die...!" Kenshin looked to Megumi who rushed past the others holding to the folds of her kimono.
Looking up at Kenshin with almost shut eyes, Arurisonu smiled weakly. "Heh...Himura... Just like the old days...willing to give...everything for you..." She sighs, and looks to the others; his friends. "I'm...I'm glad for you...glad you found people for whom you care about, as do they to you..." Wincing with the pain, she pushed Megumi away with a slow shake of her hand.
Again, she looked to Kenshin. "I was foolish...wanting to start a new era and all... I am glad...I was able to see you once more..." She blinked and smiled at her old friend.
"..." Kenshin was at a loss of words, all he could do was hold Arurisonu's hand and watch her die. People were leaving his life again, and that gave him a sense of false security. A sense that he was no longer safe, and that his years of being a wanderer were over. He would once again become a man- slayer, and...nothing would be able to stop him this time...not even death...nothi---
"Himura...don't ever change. Ever..." With her last words, Arurisonu's took her last breath, and her eyes closed forever. Slowly, her limp hand slipped from Kenshin's grip, and she was lost from him. Forever.
Tears fell from Kenshin's eyes. No, he couldn't change. Not now, he had too much in his life. He had fought to obtain what he had now, and was not about to throw it away. Not for revenge. Not for love. Not for anything.
"Kenshin...?" Kaoru's voice rose from the darkness, and she took a small step forward.
Wiping away the tears, Kenshin turned to look at Kaoru, the sadness gone; replaced by an artificial smile. "Kaoru..."
Her own eyes filling with tears, Kaoru ran and sank beside Kenshin's side, hugging him tightly. "Oh, Kenshin! I'm sorry..."
******
The wind was a torrent of darkness upon the gusty trees, The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas, The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor, And the highwayman came riding-- Riding--riding-- The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door.
He'd a French cocked hat on his forehead, and a bunch of lace at his chin; He'd a coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of fine doe-skin. They fitted with never a wrinkle; his boots were up to his thigh! And he rode with a jeweled twinkle-- His rapier hilt a-twinkle-- His pistol butts a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky.
Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard, He tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred, He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there But the landlord's black-eyed daughter-- Bess, the landlord's daughter-- Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
Dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked Where Tim, the ostler listened--his face was white and peaked-- His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay, But he loved the landlord's daughter-- The landlord's black-eyed daughter; Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say:
"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart; I'm after a prize tonight, But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light. Yet if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day, Then look for me by moonlight, Watch for me by moonlight, I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."
He stood upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand, But she loosened her hair in the casement! His face burnt like a brand As the sweet black waves of perfume came tumbling o'er his breast, Then he kissed its waves in the moonlight (O sweet black waves in the moonlight!), And he tugged at his reins in the moonlight, and galloped away to the west.
He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon. And out of the tawny sunset, before the rise of the moon, When the road was a gypsy's ribbon over the purple moor, The redcoat troops came marching-- Marching--marching-- King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.
They said no word to the landlord; they drank his ale instead, But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed. Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets by their side; There was Death at every window, And Hell at one dark window, For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that he would ride.
They had bound her up at attention, with many a sniggering jest! They had tied a rifle beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast! "Now keep good watch!" and they kissed her. She heard the dead man say, "Look for me by moonlight, Watch for me by moonlight, I'll come to thee by moonlight, though Hell should bar the way."
She twisted her hands behind her, but all the knots held good! She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood! They stretched and strained in the darkness,
and the hours crawled by like years, Till, on the stroke of midnight, Cold on the stroke of midnight, The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!
The tip of one finger touched it, she strove no more for the rest; Up, she stood up at attention, with the barrel beneath her breast. She would not risk their hearing, she would not strive again, For the road lay bare in the moonlight, Blank and bare in the moonlight, And the blood in her veins, in the moonlight, throbbed to her love's refrain.
Tlot tlot, tlot tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hooves, ringing clear; Tlot tlot, tlot tlot, in the distance! Were they deaf that they did not hear? Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill, The highwayman came riding-- Riding--riding-- The redcoats looked to their priming! She stood up straight and still.
Tlot tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot tlot, in the echoing night! Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light! Her eyes grew wide for a moment, she drew one last deep breath, Then her finger moved in the moonlight-- Her musket shattered the moonlight-- Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him--with her death.
He turned, he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood Bowed, with her head o'er the casement, drenched in her own red blood! Not till the dawn did he hear it, and his face grew grey to hear How Bess, the landlord's daughter, The landlord's black-eyed daughter, Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.
Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky, With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high! Blood-red were his spurs in the golden noon, wine-red was his velvet coat When they shot him down in the highway, Down like a dog in the highway, And he lay in his blood in the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.
And still on a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees, When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas, When the road is a gypsy's ribbon looping the purple moor, The highwayman comes riding-- Riding--riding-- The highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.
Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard, He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred, He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there But the landlord's black-eyed daughter-- Bess, the landlord's daughter-- Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
-- Alfred Noyes
