Chapter 5: More AU
Internally, I relished the look of surprise of Shishio's face as I rush in with god-like speed to block his swing at Kenshin's head. I can hear and sense the surprise of the other fighters as well. Our swords clash with a loud ring. The impact is strong, and I mentally forgive Kenshin for struggling so much against Shishio. A puny person like Kenshin would have lost strength after so many repeated sword locks. I, on the other hand, have no problems.
"Who are you?!?" Shishio demanded. "Where did you come from?" In the background, I can hear the other fighters asking each other, who is this guy?
I offer Shishio a smirk and declined to answer verbally. Instead, I'll let my attacks answer his first question. Let's see how fast the man catches on. I wonder if the others will catch on before he will.
Using my superior size, I levered and pushed him away from Kenshin and I. I'm not too concerned about opening myself to Hogi's rifle angle as I saw from the corner of my eye Saitoh stalking the businessman. Saitoh's reputation precedes him - if there's only one thing that irritates Saitoh more than evil then it's dishonorable evil. Hogi is no longer a factor in this fight.
I focus my attention on Shishio who has ignited the tip of his sword again. I sheath my sword and take a battou-jutsu stance - one that has the sheathed sword in hand instead of at the waist. This should be clue number one. Discarding with the useless pleasantries - which is perfectly agreeable to me - Shishio charges me.
I use the Sou Ryu Sen Ikazuchi - the same attack I used on Kenshin the first night he came back to me. I trapped his burning sword with my sheathed sword before pulling out the sword for an overhead blow.
I can feel my sword bite into his shoulder, but it doesn't penetrate very far. The impact does force Shishio to one knee.
I take a step back and wait for Shishio to get up again. I sensed that Sano and Aoishi had taken the opportunity to go to Kenshin's side during this time. Saitoh was on the other side of the arena, cleaning off his bloodied sword, and resting his yellow eyes on me.
"Will he live?" I directed towards Aoshi and Sano, without taking my eyes off of Shishio.
Aoshi looks up. "His spirit might be willing, but his body is fading. He is losing too much blood. He'll need a doctor soon if he is to live."
With the dire news, I resolved to end this quickly. "Do what you can to stop the blood loss. I won't be long."
"Rather presumptious, aren't you, my mysterious stranger?" Shishio rasps.
"Still mysterious to you? Your powers of observation are overrated then." I retorted back.
"I guess I should be more obvious." I grasp my sword in a two-handed hold in front of me. I said in my normal voice, "Kuzo Ryu Sen," before charging into the attack.
With eyes widen, Shishio makes an attempt to leap to the side with sword parrying, but he's no Tenken. Four of my hits land on him and he's knocked spinning back past the boundaries of the arena. He toddles at the edge, attempting to stop his fall into the abyss, but I give him no mercy. I follow-up with the simplest of battou-jutsu to force him off the edge. He wasn't worthy of another Amakakaru no Hiremaki. He falls and the walls echos with his denial of "Nooo!!" before he fades from view and hearing.
Grunting, I turn away and scan the others. Sano is obviously dumbfounded with his jaw dropped and eyes wide open. Aoishi is marginally better at hiding his astonishment. Saitoh, on the other hand, makes a calculating look at me.
The attention annoys me as much as their lack of action.
"Well, are you just going to stare or are we going to get Kenshin out of here?" I sheath my sword and walk over to Kenshin to take a closer look at his wounds.
"Hey, wait a minute, just who the heck are you?" blurts out Sano. He blocks my view of Kenshin. The stupid moron doesn't cower out of my way when I glare at his interference.
"Yes, who are you? You obviously have some connection with the Battousai," Aoishi adds.
"Hmpt. You're all fools," was the comment from Saitoh. Aoishi and Sano turned their attention to him while he fished out a cigarette from a pocket.
"Get out of his way if you know what's good for you. This person knows the same fighting style as the Battousai, the Hiten Mitsurugi, and unlike the Battousai, he has no qualms about killing." Saitoh lites his cigarette before continuing.
"Also, I know the Battousai's fighting style from the days of the revolution. I've seen most of his special attacks and can deduce the others based on the work I've seen him leave behind. The Kuzo Ryu Sen is a new attack that he must have just learned and this stranger here also knows this attack. Therefore, it's logical to conclude that this stranger is the Battousai's master." The yellow eyes land on me again after he takes a few puffs of his cigarette. "Am I right?"
I don't answer his question and instead grate out, "Stop wasting my time," before brushing past the idling morons to examine Kenshin. The wound in his side caused major blood loss, but the bullet wound might have caused worse damage inside of him. I use the remains of his gi to add another layer of bandages to the ones Sano and Aoishi had wrapped. What really concerns me though is that Kenshin is in shock. His body feels cold and when I peel back an eyelid, his pupil respond sluggishly.
I take off my mantle and wrap it around Kenshin. It dwarfs his tiny form. I remember thinking of the time when I offered it to him after he had learned the Amakakaru no Hiremaki. He had declined, saying it wouldn't look good on him. I have to agree that as he's wrapped in the abundant folds, it definitely doesn't look good on him. "For once you're right, baka deshi," I muttered to myself.
I picked him up and said to the others, "Let's go."
I lead the way out of the temple. I use the secret path that I learned decades ago when I visited the temple while searching for spiritual enlightenment from Budda. It was before I met Kenshin, before when I was wondering the merits of Hiten Mitsurugi when evil and death still persisted.
After we had traveled for quite a distance from the Temple, the entire mountain seem to explode in a massive fireball. It lite up the evening sky and I wondered if it would be visible from Kyoto. Wondered if Kenshin's friends would see it as a good omen or a bad omen.
We trudged along until the moon was up in the middle of the night sky. Sano had offered once to carry Kenshin, but I took one pointed look at his mangled hand and said no. Aoishi wasn't foolish enough to think that he could carry the Battousai with the large wound on his chest and Saitoh never offered. Just as well, I don't want to reveal every single secret of the Hiten Mitsurugi by letting others handle the mantle.
Kenshin's red hair had worked loose and was floating in the light wind. It tickled my arm, but I bore it patiently like I had dealt with his other little annoyances, both past and present. It was the only motion from my baka deshi. I could not feel his breathing through the layers of my mantle.
At the edge of the city, Saitoh peeled off to go to the police station. That's one annoyance gone.
I debated on whether to take Kenshin directly to a clinic or to his friends and decided in the end to head to his friends. If he was aware of his surroundings, he needed a reminder on why he should fight to stay alive. If he was completely oblivious, at least I could count on them to wrap fresh bandages until a doctor could be found. The woman, Kaoru, should be good for both the former and latter.
As we approached the remains of the Aoiya, I see the heads of Kaoru, Yahiko, and the Oniwaba members turn in our direction. I see a momentary flicker of fear on their faces until they recognize the bundle that I held in my arms. Pure joy erupts on their faces and I muse on why they didn't think I could be carrying a dead Kenshin instead of an almost dead Kenshin?
Internally, I relished the look of surprise of Shishio's face as I rush in with god-like speed to block his swing at Kenshin's head. I can hear and sense the surprise of the other fighters as well. Our swords clash with a loud ring. The impact is strong, and I mentally forgive Kenshin for struggling so much against Shishio. A puny person like Kenshin would have lost strength after so many repeated sword locks. I, on the other hand, have no problems.
"Who are you?!?" Shishio demanded. "Where did you come from?" In the background, I can hear the other fighters asking each other, who is this guy?
I offer Shishio a smirk and declined to answer verbally. Instead, I'll let my attacks answer his first question. Let's see how fast the man catches on. I wonder if the others will catch on before he will.
Using my superior size, I levered and pushed him away from Kenshin and I. I'm not too concerned about opening myself to Hogi's rifle angle as I saw from the corner of my eye Saitoh stalking the businessman. Saitoh's reputation precedes him - if there's only one thing that irritates Saitoh more than evil then it's dishonorable evil. Hogi is no longer a factor in this fight.
I focus my attention on Shishio who has ignited the tip of his sword again. I sheath my sword and take a battou-jutsu stance - one that has the sheathed sword in hand instead of at the waist. This should be clue number one. Discarding with the useless pleasantries - which is perfectly agreeable to me - Shishio charges me.
I use the Sou Ryu Sen Ikazuchi - the same attack I used on Kenshin the first night he came back to me. I trapped his burning sword with my sheathed sword before pulling out the sword for an overhead blow.
I can feel my sword bite into his shoulder, but it doesn't penetrate very far. The impact does force Shishio to one knee.
I take a step back and wait for Shishio to get up again. I sensed that Sano and Aoishi had taken the opportunity to go to Kenshin's side during this time. Saitoh was on the other side of the arena, cleaning off his bloodied sword, and resting his yellow eyes on me.
"Will he live?" I directed towards Aoshi and Sano, without taking my eyes off of Shishio.
Aoshi looks up. "His spirit might be willing, but his body is fading. He is losing too much blood. He'll need a doctor soon if he is to live."
With the dire news, I resolved to end this quickly. "Do what you can to stop the blood loss. I won't be long."
"Rather presumptious, aren't you, my mysterious stranger?" Shishio rasps.
"Still mysterious to you? Your powers of observation are overrated then." I retorted back.
"I guess I should be more obvious." I grasp my sword in a two-handed hold in front of me. I said in my normal voice, "Kuzo Ryu Sen," before charging into the attack.
With eyes widen, Shishio makes an attempt to leap to the side with sword parrying, but he's no Tenken. Four of my hits land on him and he's knocked spinning back past the boundaries of the arena. He toddles at the edge, attempting to stop his fall into the abyss, but I give him no mercy. I follow-up with the simplest of battou-jutsu to force him off the edge. He wasn't worthy of another Amakakaru no Hiremaki. He falls and the walls echos with his denial of "Nooo!!" before he fades from view and hearing.
Grunting, I turn away and scan the others. Sano is obviously dumbfounded with his jaw dropped and eyes wide open. Aoishi is marginally better at hiding his astonishment. Saitoh, on the other hand, makes a calculating look at me.
The attention annoys me as much as their lack of action.
"Well, are you just going to stare or are we going to get Kenshin out of here?" I sheath my sword and walk over to Kenshin to take a closer look at his wounds.
"Hey, wait a minute, just who the heck are you?" blurts out Sano. He blocks my view of Kenshin. The stupid moron doesn't cower out of my way when I glare at his interference.
"Yes, who are you? You obviously have some connection with the Battousai," Aoishi adds.
"Hmpt. You're all fools," was the comment from Saitoh. Aoishi and Sano turned their attention to him while he fished out a cigarette from a pocket.
"Get out of his way if you know what's good for you. This person knows the same fighting style as the Battousai, the Hiten Mitsurugi, and unlike the Battousai, he has no qualms about killing." Saitoh lites his cigarette before continuing.
"Also, I know the Battousai's fighting style from the days of the revolution. I've seen most of his special attacks and can deduce the others based on the work I've seen him leave behind. The Kuzo Ryu Sen is a new attack that he must have just learned and this stranger here also knows this attack. Therefore, it's logical to conclude that this stranger is the Battousai's master." The yellow eyes land on me again after he takes a few puffs of his cigarette. "Am I right?"
I don't answer his question and instead grate out, "Stop wasting my time," before brushing past the idling morons to examine Kenshin. The wound in his side caused major blood loss, but the bullet wound might have caused worse damage inside of him. I use the remains of his gi to add another layer of bandages to the ones Sano and Aoishi had wrapped. What really concerns me though is that Kenshin is in shock. His body feels cold and when I peel back an eyelid, his pupil respond sluggishly.
I take off my mantle and wrap it around Kenshin. It dwarfs his tiny form. I remember thinking of the time when I offered it to him after he had learned the Amakakaru no Hiremaki. He had declined, saying it wouldn't look good on him. I have to agree that as he's wrapped in the abundant folds, it definitely doesn't look good on him. "For once you're right, baka deshi," I muttered to myself.
I picked him up and said to the others, "Let's go."
I lead the way out of the temple. I use the secret path that I learned decades ago when I visited the temple while searching for spiritual enlightenment from Budda. It was before I met Kenshin, before when I was wondering the merits of Hiten Mitsurugi when evil and death still persisted.
After we had traveled for quite a distance from the Temple, the entire mountain seem to explode in a massive fireball. It lite up the evening sky and I wondered if it would be visible from Kyoto. Wondered if Kenshin's friends would see it as a good omen or a bad omen.
We trudged along until the moon was up in the middle of the night sky. Sano had offered once to carry Kenshin, but I took one pointed look at his mangled hand and said no. Aoishi wasn't foolish enough to think that he could carry the Battousai with the large wound on his chest and Saitoh never offered. Just as well, I don't want to reveal every single secret of the Hiten Mitsurugi by letting others handle the mantle.
Kenshin's red hair had worked loose and was floating in the light wind. It tickled my arm, but I bore it patiently like I had dealt with his other little annoyances, both past and present. It was the only motion from my baka deshi. I could not feel his breathing through the layers of my mantle.
At the edge of the city, Saitoh peeled off to go to the police station. That's one annoyance gone.
I debated on whether to take Kenshin directly to a clinic or to his friends and decided in the end to head to his friends. If he was aware of his surroundings, he needed a reminder on why he should fight to stay alive. If he was completely oblivious, at least I could count on them to wrap fresh bandages until a doctor could be found. The woman, Kaoru, should be good for both the former and latter.
As we approached the remains of the Aoiya, I see the heads of Kaoru, Yahiko, and the Oniwaba members turn in our direction. I see a momentary flicker of fear on their faces until they recognize the bundle that I held in my arms. Pure joy erupts on their faces and I muse on why they didn't think I could be carrying a dead Kenshin instead of an almost dead Kenshin?