Standard Disclaimer: Do you REALLY want me to keep explaining this?
Chapter Seven:
Falling Dragon:
Kenshin and Satsu; Last Battle
Even Saitou and Aoshi softened their attitude after hearing the cries of the many women and children. Sanosuke came back from gathering water from the creak and saw Kenshin using a fan made from twigs and leaves to fan a fire. He was cooking the fish Saitou caught. Though they were all rivals at one time, they were working together now due to the fact that they could trust Kenshin the most. Though they didn't trust each other, they trusted Kenshin and what he said.
"Hey Kenshin," Sano said while putting the water buckets on the wooden porch. Kenshin turned his head towards Sano so he could listen better and not be rude. "How long do you estimate that this war will be going?"
Kenshin shrugged and turned back to his cooking, "I'm not so sure Sano. I just hope it ends soon because I don't want to take any more part in it." He paused and looked at the fish. He smiled and took the sticks with the fish on them and put out the fire. "Your food is done."
They all took their stick with a fish on it. They sat and ate in silence for a little bit until a rustling in the bushes was heard. Kenshin put his thumb at the bottom of his sword hilt and pushed his sword out and inch. A boy about ten comes through the bushes. He was about as tall as Yahiko but with black hair and silver eyes. His sword was carried on his back in a jeweled sheath with three Japanese characters. They were the symbols for "Life, Death, and Kill", why he had that engraved on his sword sheath is unknown. He stood about three feet from them.
"Does anyone here go by the name of Hajime Saitou?" The boy asked. Saitou tore off the last piece of fish and stood up. Kenshin looked confused. Saitou ignored him and left with the boy.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Sanosuke said while watching them walk off.
"Who cares…" Aoshi mumbled while taking his last bite of fish and standing up to go inside.
"Who asked you Aoshi?" Sanosuke yelled as Kenshin sweat dropped.
"No one, I just felt the need to annoy you, that's all." Aoshi said while going inside.
~
Shinta took Saitou to the palace that his parents and the Shitogoru Hayamashiho were staying. Saitou was shown into the main room where some members of the Shitogoru Hayamashiho were. Haku was sitting in a chair playing a board game with his wife as Saitou walked in.
"Hajime Saitou, how nice of you to visit." Haku said. Saitou kept a straight face as his yellow eyes slimmed. Haku turned towards him and noticed this. He grinned stood up and walked over to Saitou. He held out his hand in order for a 'friendly' handshake. But Saitou didn't budge.
"I came here to discuss something with you, Haku Yumagashi," Saitou said as Haku took his hand back.
"If you're planning on stopping my revolt, you're wasting your time. It's started and it will go on until I die." Haku said. Saitou then unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Haku. Some members of the Shitogoru Hayamashiho unsheathed their swords ready to fight Saitou. Haku raised his arm ordering them to re-sheath their weapons.
"Fight me, Haku Yumagashi," said Saitou. Haku drew out his sword and held it upon his shoulder as Satsu did when she fought Kenshin. Saitou lowered himself a little bit and held the hilt of his sword straight and placed his free hand on top of his sword. He did a forward thrust but missed Haku. Haku had jumped and landed behind Saitou. As Saitou turned around, he saw a sword point at his neck.
Saitou moved his sword in order to hit Haku's hand but Haku turned his sword enough so he hit at an angle. He lowered his sword enough so it wouldn't kill Saitou in an instant. He stabbed Saitou in his right lung and Saitou fell.
Following Sanosuke's bad feeling they had rushed to the palace and burst in just after Saitou had fallen. Kenshin went over to Saitou as blood slowly left his mouth.
"Tell my wife I said I'm sorry…" were Saitou last words. He then died after making handing Kenshin his sword. Kenshin looked confused at first then realized that Saitou wanted him to kill Haku.
"Haku, you… you," Sano was about to hit him when Haku pulled up his sword.
"Unless you want to end up like him I suggest you stop right there." Haku said slyly. Sano stopped then left along with Aoshi. Kenshin stood back up and glared at Haku.
"I believe my wife has something she wants to ask of you." Haku said nodding towards Satsu. Kenshin turned around and looked directly at her. What he saw slightly made him happy. He could see that her mind was questioning what she was doing and why she was doing it.
"Meet me in the abandoned field just outside of Tokyo," was all she had said. Kenshin was about to decline then he remembered something. Just before he left to become a wanderer, she had challenged him. When he declined, she said that if they were ever to meet up again, she would challenge him again. So this time he nodded.
"Tomorrow at midnight…" she finished.
"All right." Kenshin said and walked out after taking one last look at his old rival/friend.
~
"What? Saitou's dead?" Kaoru asked after Sano took a trip back to the Kamiya Dojo.
"Yep, from what I guess Haku stabbed him in his right lung." Sano said.
"Is Aoshi okay?" Misao asked.
"Just fine, he might be coming back sooner than you think because he thinks that Kenshin can handle himself." Sano said taking a swig of tea.
Kaoru continued to pace back and forth on the wooden floor. Sano looked over and noticed her pacing. He looked at the floor and noticed that her pacing was beginning to wear down the wood.
"Hey missiy!" Sano said towards Kaoru. Kaoru looked over towards him and he noticed the rings under her eyes. "You need sleep." He said. Sanosuke stood up and walked over to her. He took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. She took it slowly then looked at the name. It was from Kenshin!
"Dear Miss Kaoru, (the note read)
I'm sorry I couldn't tell you this myself, that I am. But I will be gone for a while. Hopefully not too long. I want you to continue eating and sleeping, I wouldn't want you be in bad health when I return, that I wouldn't. Goodbye for now, Miss Kaoru…
Sincerely,
Kenshin," she finished. She smiled and ran outside to tell the others that Kenshin was all right and that he might be returning soon. Ayame and Suzume were thrilled and played around with Yahiko.
I hope he returns soon… I miss his company… and I want to tell him how I feel as soon as possible… Kaoru thought while watching Yahiko being mugged by two little girls.
~ Midnight~
Kenshin stood silently in the field with his reverse blade drawn and the Japanese sword by his feet. There was no moon just a mask of stars. He heard footsteps behind him and he turned around to see a silhouette of someone. The hair was pulled back and hung down to her waist. The silver eyes seemed to pierce the darkness. The sword shone brightly but some parts seemed darkened.
"Satsu…" Kenshin whispered. Satsu took several steps toward him until she was right in front of him.
"I want to fight you… and I want to fight you as the Battousai that you are…" her voice very soft but very menacing. "I want you to turn back to the Battousai you were during the Revolution… I want to fight you manslayer against manslayer…" Satsu said.
"Why are you doing this? Why are you being this bloodthirsty animal?" Kenshin shouted.
"I've told you before, I live by war…" her voice was cracking as if she were about to cry. But she had pushed that back and stood there with her sword held upon her shoulder.
"Satsu, we used to treat each other as if we were brother and sister! What changed?" He said with anger. His eyes began to flash the Battousai yellow that they were during the Revolution.
"I looked up to you Kenshin. In fact, I even loved you for sometime. But even after we vowed only to be friends, I still loved you. When you left, I swore that I would kill you at any cost. And when I got the chance to, you scared me. You smiled thinking that you lived a life of peace. But how can you live a life of peace when your battle to defeat the Battousai is still going on?
"Why can't you just give in to the Battousai? Why continue to persist against what your body wants? You know that you will die knowing that the Battousai will devour your soul. And the ones you love will suffer knowing that the man that they trust is in a constant battle. Peace has never come to you and it never will!" Satsu finished with her fist clenched at her side.
"Satsu…" Kenshin whispered looking at his old friend.
"Don't 'Satsu' me anymore Kenshin! From now on I'm Hageshisa Ken to you!" She shouted. Kenshin took his hand and set it on her shoulder. She tried to push away but his grip tightened.
"You can't constantly think that war will be your only excuse to hurt and kill! Don't you care that innocent lives are being lost just because your husband decided to start a war just for your pleasure? Don't you care that you will die miserable? You will die and wish that you could turn back time and change your ways! You'll never live in peace knowing that you took away many innocent lives from their families and friends! How can you possibly feel at ease with yourself?" Kenshin shouted. Satsu finally pulled away and stepped back a few steps. She moved her sword so that the tip was in Kenshin's face.
"Fight me and don't hold back." She said with her eyes flaming blue.
~
The rain poured down upon the field causing extreme slippage for the two fighters. Satsu wasn't holding back while Kenshin struggled to hold inside his manslayer soul. The Japanese sword that Saitou had given him was still on the ground.
"Use the Japanese sword you fool! There's no way you could beat me without it!" Satsu shouted while landing a blow on Kenshin's shoulder. She's right, I won't be able to beat her with a reverse blade. But I vowed never to draw a sword without a reverse blade. What am I going to do? His mind raced. Her sword once again had his blood on it.
Then he remembered something. The scar on his right cheek. She had said that if she were ever to hurt him against her will, she would give him a scar with her sword. And the same thing to herself with his sword. Was she hurting him now against her will again?
"Why did you give me a scar on my right cheek? Is it because you hurt me against your will? If so, are you hurting me now because you were told to or because you want to?" Kenshin shouted as he fell to the ground and landed on his knees. His body ached and his clothes clung to him as the rain beat down upon them both. He shook from his blood loss. The Japanese sword sat next to him gleaming with pride. As if it were saying to him to fight with it.
Satsu's mind then raced. She remembered her promise to him and to her husband. She did hurt him against her will. But was she hurting him now against her will also? She walked over and took his reverse blade in her hand. She looked at him and broke his reverse blade. Shock passed through him knowing that there were no other reverse blades. The only other sword there was that Japanese sword. She threw the two pieces of the reverse blade behind her and sat down in front of him.
He looked at her and noticed that she was pained. Her eyes were silver again, but he noticed that he hadn't seen since they were little. She cared for him. She cared about him and would do almost anything to help him. She ripped some parts of her outfit and tied them around his major wounds. He looked at her with confusion. Then slowly everything went black and he fell forward. She caught him and picked him up.
~
The next morning, he woke up to the bright rays of the sun. He sat up quickly and fell back instantly. A sharp pain stung at him in almost every part of him. He sat up more slowly and saw a plate with food and tea next to him. By the plate was a not. All that the note said was that Haku wanted to see him around noon. It was signed by Satsu. He saw some spots of the paper that looked like tear drops had fallen there.
Did she really still care for him? Even after trying to kill him twice? Did it really pain her that much to try and fight him? He noticed that he was back at the abandoned dojo and the Japanese sword was on the other side of his mat bed. He turned towards his food and ate quietly.
His mind was then set upon his battle with Haku. How was he ever going to fight with a Japanese sword? He vowed never to use one ever again. Will he have to break his vow? Will he have to become Battousai the Manslayer again? Will he be able to control himself? Will he be able to live with himself knowing that he turned Battousai again? He would have to leave if he were to turn manslayer again. But he promised Kaoru that he'd never leave. He can't be Battousai and live with the people he loves. Why did this have to happen?
