Author's Note: As I said before, this is the first time I've ever tried to
write a fight scene. And I had no idea what to do, and I still don't:
humor or action? So if I need to revise it, please tell me and make
suggestions! (Hopefully, I won't be too lazy to listen to them.) Oh, and
I'm really really sorry. I wanted to get this out yesterday, but we lost
electricity. And I think the next chapter will be out soon because I
already started working on it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. yet, that is. Fine, I can accept the fact that I was not brilliant enough to think of it.
The Love of Life
Chapter 10: The Final Battle
By CrismHeart
September 20, 2003
Hiko Seijuurou had not paid his best friend Okina a visit for an extended period of time. They had been roommates in college and ever since they had graduated twenty years ago, Okina had been bothering him to drop by. They had not seen each other in nearly a year! After a wearisome journey from Kyoto to Tokyo, Hiko was ready to relax with some sake that his friend was sure to provide. He had called beforehand so Okina could plan ahead. Actually, each time the two did get together, they would have a wild party to celebrate the special occasion.
"Hiko! How have you been?" Okina greeted his companion at the door, "I'm not done with all the preparations, but let's have a drink and catch up on the good old days!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The real reason Saitou had never liked Kenshin was that he was a hypocrite. Kenshin hid from his problems and made up this illusion of redemption to fool others, but Saitou Hajime was not one to be so easily deceived. Besides, if Kenshin were so content with being Himura Kenshin and not the Battousai, then Saitou would have to entertain himself by taking his life when he became the Battousai once more.
The two had been staring each other down for what seemed like hours. Saitou was tired of the lingering silence. With a sudden burst of speed, Saitou charged at Kenshin. "Here I come!" he announced.
Even at such a velocity, Kenshin had anticipated this and shot upward. He had prepared himself to use the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Ryu Tsui Sen. He pulled out his sword to strike down at Saitou, but his opponent had not planning on losing so easily. "There's no where for you to run now, Battousai!"
Saitou employed the technique he was renowned for, the deadly Gatotsu. He thrust his katana in the air, catching Kenshin off guard. Kenshin was barely given enough time to react. Although he held his sakabatou horizontally to deflect the blow, he was pierced in his right side.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
For the past couple of months after Sano had first discovered that Kenshin lived in the apartment as himself, they had waited up for each other to walk to school together. Actually, it was could be described more like Kenshin would wake up early and haul Sano out of bed before he overslept. Because Sano did not especially take pleasure in being woken up in such a manner, he had finally bought himself an alarm clock.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Sano, who had not gotten used to hearing such an annoying sound in the morning, slammed his fist down on it. And thus, the alarm clock as it was once known as in a former life was not any longer.
"Chikuso!" Sano yelped. That had really hurt his hand, but perhaps Megumi could check it out later.
Sano got up from his bed and looked over at the now nonexistent device that told time and saw that it was already seven o'clock. This confused him greatly for Kenshin usually came over by 6:30 in the morning. Sano then remembered Kenshin telling him something about not being able to walk with him on Monday. After turning over several pieces of furniture in the room, Sano found a note that had been addressed to him from his friend. It informed him that Kenshin was going to meet up with him at the school gym since he had to settle something first.
Sano grew suspicious at the word "settle." No good ever came out of that word. It was always associated with violence. Sagara Sanoske would know from experience, he had been in plenty of fights at school. It was Megumi who had made him see the world differently- see that life was not only about fighting.
Even if he might not have known Kenshin for long, Sano knew that he had some sort of a past that he was not proud of. Kenshin had never been willing to talk about it though, so he had not forced him to.
Sano tried to think up of possible people Kenshin could be facing. In school, Kenshin did not have any enemies. In fact, he was rather well liked by both the students and the teachers because of his courteous demeanor. The only person Sano recalled that did not was that new teacher who taught them- what was that class he dozed off in again? Oh, right- history (among others, of course.) Unfortunately, Sano had not been able to sleep in that class because a certain somebody was so scary. That teacher, Saitou, Sano could sense that there was something unnerving about him. He had never once stopped looking in Kenshin's direction mockingly. If Saitou was the one that Kenshin had to deal with, he could be in some serious trouble.
Not wasting a single second, Sano called his friends and dashed off in the direction of the school.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Misao could hear the loud, boisterous voices coming from the living room. She recognized them instantly as her grandfather and his companion, Hiko. As she crept to the doorway, their topic of their conversation became clearer.
"So what brings you here?" asked Okina lightheartedly.
"Actually, I heard that my 'baka deshi' is in Tokyo."
"Ah, Himura-kun. So you do care about him, despite the fact that you'll never show it?" Okina subtly insinuated.
Hiko was not given an opportunity to protest.
Misao gasped, not able to not cover up her surprise.
"You know Himura?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A few drops of blood splattered on the wooden floor. Kenshin could feel the pain from the injury, but it was not something he had not endured before.
"You may have avoided being impaled this time, Battousai, but next time you will not be so lucky." Saitou raised his left arm, which held his sword, and pointed it forward while his right hand grazed the front of the blade to stabilize it. He readied himself for another Gatotsu.
Kenshin's eyes flickered and lost its usual violet hue. They were now a fierce amber-gold. This situation was all too familiar for him. It reminded him of the times they fought when he was still the Hitokiri Battousai for the Japanese government. Kenshin did not appear to be in control of himself any longer. He was transferred back in time, into another persona.
Saitou smirked and rushed at Kenshin again, knowing what was happening to his foe. The force exerted by each of the adversaries caused sparks to fly as the two swords clashed. Saitou thought to himself, "Just as I had suspected, each time he swings his sword, he unconsciously, but surely, is returning to his old self, the Hitokiri Battousai."
Rotating his body around, Saitou's broke out of the momentary stalemate and hit Kenshin with such strength that he was thrown against the wall. Kenshin cried out as he slumped down to the ground. Kenshin's breathing became heavier, but he forced himself to stand up. He would not allow himself to lose.
Kenshin's movements began to gain momentum. Ignoring his wounds, he walked towards Saitou with ease.
"Very well, I will attack with the true Gatotsu without holding back." Saitou announced. He pulled his katana back into an arc above his head the way he had before as Kenshin approached him. Baring his teeth, Saitou roared and he thrust his sword at his opponent.
Taking a step to the left, Kenshin narrowly missed being stabbed. Saitou tried to take advantage of this by swinging the sword sideways to slice into Kenshin's flesh, but the Battousai was too fast. He immediately evaded the weapon by ducking low to the ground and launching his own attack. Kenshin then made a full three hundred and sixty degree turn and hit Saitou in the back of the head with his sword. The impact of the sakabatou against his skull was so great that he crashed into the wall and debris flew everywhere.
"Stand up!" Kenshin ordered, "This would be a pathetic ending to our duel."
Astoundingly, Saitou did get up. "An ending, huh? I wasn't planning on that. I will kill you now."
"You'll kill me now?" Kenshin questioned, his voice full of mirthless humor, "That's my line."
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kenshin was fighting an internal struggle. He thought back to the promise he had made after leaving his old life. He had pledged to himself that he would never murder again. Kenshin then could hear another more recent promise. How could he have forgotten? Kaoru's voice floated through his mind. "Promise me you won't ever change."
_____________________________________________________________________
Author's Note: Many thanks to Califpinay3001, tintin-chan, Miroku's-Best- Lover, pensquared, Mercses, Amish, Yurikkuna, and Kitsune KeNsHiN for reviewing. I love reading other people's thoughts and comments on my works! I just hope this chapter was okay. You weren't disappointed with the way things turned out, right?
Califpinay3001: I hope you continue to review!
tintin-chan: Thank you so much! I mean, I love WAFF, it's just so hard to write it, especially for me.
Miroku's-Best-Lover: Hey, I'm still mad at you for suggesting Kenshin should have been mistaken for a girl! You know very well that he does not look like one! Stop laughing your head off! *glares* And I did not purposely "kill off" the history teacher! Although now that I think about it. Anyways, I know you're not into the romantic stuff, but I am glad that you at least approve of Aoshi and Misao's relationship. Thanks for the reviews!
pensquared: I totally agree with you on Saitou. He is rather creepy.
Mercses: Thank you, thank you, arigato gozaimasu! (And you thought the only Japanese word we knew was "baka.") By the way, is there a reason why you put the emphasis on the word "battle?" *feigns cluelessness* So, did you enjoy it?
Amish: Thank you! That was such a nice review!
Yurikkuna: Arigato! I never really thought people would like my story that much!
Kitsune KeNsHiN: You're always welcome! I'm glad you liked this chapter! I wish I were better at writing romance though. Can what I write even be considered romance? *sighs* Well, it comes with not having a love life, I guess.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. yet, that is. Fine, I can accept the fact that I was not brilliant enough to think of it.
The Love of Life
Chapter 10: The Final Battle
By CrismHeart
September 20, 2003
Hiko Seijuurou had not paid his best friend Okina a visit for an extended period of time. They had been roommates in college and ever since they had graduated twenty years ago, Okina had been bothering him to drop by. They had not seen each other in nearly a year! After a wearisome journey from Kyoto to Tokyo, Hiko was ready to relax with some sake that his friend was sure to provide. He had called beforehand so Okina could plan ahead. Actually, each time the two did get together, they would have a wild party to celebrate the special occasion.
"Hiko! How have you been?" Okina greeted his companion at the door, "I'm not done with all the preparations, but let's have a drink and catch up on the good old days!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The real reason Saitou had never liked Kenshin was that he was a hypocrite. Kenshin hid from his problems and made up this illusion of redemption to fool others, but Saitou Hajime was not one to be so easily deceived. Besides, if Kenshin were so content with being Himura Kenshin and not the Battousai, then Saitou would have to entertain himself by taking his life when he became the Battousai once more.
The two had been staring each other down for what seemed like hours. Saitou was tired of the lingering silence. With a sudden burst of speed, Saitou charged at Kenshin. "Here I come!" he announced.
Even at such a velocity, Kenshin had anticipated this and shot upward. He had prepared himself to use the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Ryu Tsui Sen. He pulled out his sword to strike down at Saitou, but his opponent had not planning on losing so easily. "There's no where for you to run now, Battousai!"
Saitou employed the technique he was renowned for, the deadly Gatotsu. He thrust his katana in the air, catching Kenshin off guard. Kenshin was barely given enough time to react. Although he held his sakabatou horizontally to deflect the blow, he was pierced in his right side.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
For the past couple of months after Sano had first discovered that Kenshin lived in the apartment as himself, they had waited up for each other to walk to school together. Actually, it was could be described more like Kenshin would wake up early and haul Sano out of bed before he overslept. Because Sano did not especially take pleasure in being woken up in such a manner, he had finally bought himself an alarm clock.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Sano, who had not gotten used to hearing such an annoying sound in the morning, slammed his fist down on it. And thus, the alarm clock as it was once known as in a former life was not any longer.
"Chikuso!" Sano yelped. That had really hurt his hand, but perhaps Megumi could check it out later.
Sano got up from his bed and looked over at the now nonexistent device that told time and saw that it was already seven o'clock. This confused him greatly for Kenshin usually came over by 6:30 in the morning. Sano then remembered Kenshin telling him something about not being able to walk with him on Monday. After turning over several pieces of furniture in the room, Sano found a note that had been addressed to him from his friend. It informed him that Kenshin was going to meet up with him at the school gym since he had to settle something first.
Sano grew suspicious at the word "settle." No good ever came out of that word. It was always associated with violence. Sagara Sanoske would know from experience, he had been in plenty of fights at school. It was Megumi who had made him see the world differently- see that life was not only about fighting.
Even if he might not have known Kenshin for long, Sano knew that he had some sort of a past that he was not proud of. Kenshin had never been willing to talk about it though, so he had not forced him to.
Sano tried to think up of possible people Kenshin could be facing. In school, Kenshin did not have any enemies. In fact, he was rather well liked by both the students and the teachers because of his courteous demeanor. The only person Sano recalled that did not was that new teacher who taught them- what was that class he dozed off in again? Oh, right- history (among others, of course.) Unfortunately, Sano had not been able to sleep in that class because a certain somebody was so scary. That teacher, Saitou, Sano could sense that there was something unnerving about him. He had never once stopped looking in Kenshin's direction mockingly. If Saitou was the one that Kenshin had to deal with, he could be in some serious trouble.
Not wasting a single second, Sano called his friends and dashed off in the direction of the school.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Misao could hear the loud, boisterous voices coming from the living room. She recognized them instantly as her grandfather and his companion, Hiko. As she crept to the doorway, their topic of their conversation became clearer.
"So what brings you here?" asked Okina lightheartedly.
"Actually, I heard that my 'baka deshi' is in Tokyo."
"Ah, Himura-kun. So you do care about him, despite the fact that you'll never show it?" Okina subtly insinuated.
Hiko was not given an opportunity to protest.
Misao gasped, not able to not cover up her surprise.
"You know Himura?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A few drops of blood splattered on the wooden floor. Kenshin could feel the pain from the injury, but it was not something he had not endured before.
"You may have avoided being impaled this time, Battousai, but next time you will not be so lucky." Saitou raised his left arm, which held his sword, and pointed it forward while his right hand grazed the front of the blade to stabilize it. He readied himself for another Gatotsu.
Kenshin's eyes flickered and lost its usual violet hue. They were now a fierce amber-gold. This situation was all too familiar for him. It reminded him of the times they fought when he was still the Hitokiri Battousai for the Japanese government. Kenshin did not appear to be in control of himself any longer. He was transferred back in time, into another persona.
Saitou smirked and rushed at Kenshin again, knowing what was happening to his foe. The force exerted by each of the adversaries caused sparks to fly as the two swords clashed. Saitou thought to himself, "Just as I had suspected, each time he swings his sword, he unconsciously, but surely, is returning to his old self, the Hitokiri Battousai."
Rotating his body around, Saitou's broke out of the momentary stalemate and hit Kenshin with such strength that he was thrown against the wall. Kenshin cried out as he slumped down to the ground. Kenshin's breathing became heavier, but he forced himself to stand up. He would not allow himself to lose.
Kenshin's movements began to gain momentum. Ignoring his wounds, he walked towards Saitou with ease.
"Very well, I will attack with the true Gatotsu without holding back." Saitou announced. He pulled his katana back into an arc above his head the way he had before as Kenshin approached him. Baring his teeth, Saitou roared and he thrust his sword at his opponent.
Taking a step to the left, Kenshin narrowly missed being stabbed. Saitou tried to take advantage of this by swinging the sword sideways to slice into Kenshin's flesh, but the Battousai was too fast. He immediately evaded the weapon by ducking low to the ground and launching his own attack. Kenshin then made a full three hundred and sixty degree turn and hit Saitou in the back of the head with his sword. The impact of the sakabatou against his skull was so great that he crashed into the wall and debris flew everywhere.
"Stand up!" Kenshin ordered, "This would be a pathetic ending to our duel."
Astoundingly, Saitou did get up. "An ending, huh? I wasn't planning on that. I will kill you now."
"You'll kill me now?" Kenshin questioned, his voice full of mirthless humor, "That's my line."
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kenshin was fighting an internal struggle. He thought back to the promise he had made after leaving his old life. He had pledged to himself that he would never murder again. Kenshin then could hear another more recent promise. How could he have forgotten? Kaoru's voice floated through his mind. "Promise me you won't ever change."
_____________________________________________________________________
Author's Note: Many thanks to Califpinay3001, tintin-chan, Miroku's-Best- Lover, pensquared, Mercses, Amish, Yurikkuna, and Kitsune KeNsHiN for reviewing. I love reading other people's thoughts and comments on my works! I just hope this chapter was okay. You weren't disappointed with the way things turned out, right?
Califpinay3001: I hope you continue to review!
tintin-chan: Thank you so much! I mean, I love WAFF, it's just so hard to write it, especially for me.
Miroku's-Best-Lover: Hey, I'm still mad at you for suggesting Kenshin should have been mistaken for a girl! You know very well that he does not look like one! Stop laughing your head off! *glares* And I did not purposely "kill off" the history teacher! Although now that I think about it. Anyways, I know you're not into the romantic stuff, but I am glad that you at least approve of Aoshi and Misao's relationship. Thanks for the reviews!
pensquared: I totally agree with you on Saitou. He is rather creepy.
Mercses: Thank you, thank you, arigato gozaimasu! (And you thought the only Japanese word we knew was "baka.") By the way, is there a reason why you put the emphasis on the word "battle?" *feigns cluelessness* So, did you enjoy it?
Amish: Thank you! That was such a nice review!
Yurikkuna: Arigato! I never really thought people would like my story that much!
Kitsune KeNsHiN: You're always welcome! I'm glad you liked this chapter! I wish I were better at writing romance though. Can what I write even be considered romance? *sighs* Well, it comes with not having a love life, I guess.