13: The Cruel Intelligent Killer -- Melville's Malice Runs Deep

Kenshin badly wanted to rest, but doing it out in the middle of nowhere in plain view of his remaining two enemies was not a good idea. He bit the bullet and took his time crossing the remainder of the countryside as Jack scouted ahead of him for a place to rest. As he slipped down a hill and looked over the land spread out before him, the samurai came across a large body of water, so great and massive that it had to be the sea. He saw a small establishment just on the beach, a shack larger than the one the poor widow lived in but still quite small. Several boats were docked all around it; a large one caught his eye as an idea came to him.

"I believe I found something," he said as Kenshin caught up with him. Himura peered over the area, but didn't get it.

"Boats? What would we need those for?"

"We have two enemies left and they are both skilled, but one of them does not have the level of fighting experience that we do," he said. "I think if we can get this person to follow us on this boat, we may stand a better chance of defeating him. He will not have the resources he needs to plan elaborate methods of killing or capturing us."

"And it may provide a way for us to evade the other one," added Himura. He sighed and continued walking, straight towards the small dock. "But heed this, friend. I have no intention of leaving this country or even running away, that I don't. I do not wish to break my vow so soon, but I must end this quickly or I will never rest. We should get back to land once our pursuer is gone, that we most definitely should."

"Very well." He agreed and slid down the rest of the way until they were both at the pier. The dock master thought it odd that two sword-bearing men resembling samurai would want a boat, but business was business and so he allowed them on. Just as they were boarding, the two samurai turned around to see if they were being followed. Obviously, Drakemoth and Rygar did not have the means to conceal themselves as well as Fumus did, and so the appearance of the wiry Englishman was something that neither samurai missed.

"Here he comes," murmured Kenshin as he and his partner slipped on the boat. "We should best conceal ourselves and ambush him when the time is right. I do not believe we would have to kill him to defeat him--simply leaving him on this boat to drift would give us victory."

"To drift?" Kenshin smiled.

"Yes. There's food and water on this boat."

"But what if he comes back?" Kenshin pursed his lips in thought.

"He will not come back." Jack shrugged, and with the skills of a shinobi at his call, he made himself disappear into the bowels of the boat. Kenshin was gone in an instant, leaving Melville Drakemoth the chance to test his hunter's spirit. He was out of breath by the time he reached the dock master.

"Ex… excuse me… my good man!" he wheezed, managing to speak in fluent Japanese despite his origin and lack of breath. "Did… did you see… two… gentlemen… come this way? One was… wearing… a red outfit, and the other… was in… white."

"Yes, they came this way," replied the dock master, not sounding too sure of himself. Now things were getting even more odd, what with this strangely-dressed foreigner there, asking about the strange samurai in a voice that was strangely articulate in his language. He thumbed at the large boat that Kenshin and Jack were on, and said, "They went on that one. Why, do you need a ticket?"

"Yes, please. They nearly left me behind, drat it all. I'm a member of their traveling party; they know me well, so don't worry." The dock master became silent as he gave the strange man his ticket, but since it wasn't his business to ask about personal issues, he just wished the wiry man good sailing and went back to reading and pruning. Melville stepped aboard the boat and cast it away into the ocean as he chuckled darkly and began the hunt once again. He only stopped to curse and pick thorns out of his clothes.

"Meddlesome brats," he spat quietly. "They'll rue the day they tossed me into those brambles. Nobody makes a fool out of me."

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Clump, clump, clump, clump…

Clump-clump, clump-clump…

Clump, clump, clump… pause.

Sniff. Sniff. Sniff. Pause.

Clump, clump, clump.

Sniff, sniff. Sniff. Hiss.

Kenshin could feel it. The floor made a tiny vibration whenever Melville's feet touched the ground. Clump. He was walking all over the boat, carefully studying it, watching for any signs of movement. Clump, clump, clump. He went very slow, and always peered in the cracks and holes where he thought a person could hide. He studied each area carefully, calculating possibilities and forming conclusions. Clump, clump, clump. Pause. Sniff, sniff. He was smelling the air. He had traced the scent of the samurai before, from the pollen he had dusted on them and the smoke that was left over from the ring of fire. Oh, yes. One failed attempt to catch his prey only meant that another clue would be unsolved. Clump. Clump.

Jack saw his shadow creep out over the boat. It slowly vanished into greater darkness as the skies became clouded. He saw a puddle forming on the boat, and then heard the uneasy hiss of rain come down. Melville cursed and paused just long enough to peer up at the watery heavens.

"It's raining now," he announced to the hidden samurais. "Soon it will grow into a storm. This boat may even capsize. Why don't you just come out now and get it over with?" As much as Jack and Kenshin wanted to do just that, they knew it wasn't the right time. Melville needed to be in an area that allowed them to easily ambush him. Luck was on their side--he didn't know where they were hiding, so he couldn't avoid certain ambush sites. Patience would be the key.

Clump, clump, clump. Hiss. Sniff, sniff.

"Blast," he grumbled. "Their scent has completely disappeared. It's this bloody weather. Water has a way of making foul odors vanish. I hope it's enough to clean this boat of the blood that will be staining it, in just a moment." He grumbled some more, then resumed his search around the boat, making sure to check and double check areas just in case his prey had moved. They would definitely move sometime, all right, but not in a way that benefited him.

"NOW!!" Melville's heart went berserk as a scream rose up from the rainy air; he felt a powerful weight crushing him, but was unable to dodge from the surprise attack. Both Jack and Kenshin had leaped out at the same time, tackling him as they finally revealed themselves. Melville was floored with a powerful bang, and stayed down as he scowled and grimaced at his injuries. Two blades found their way to his neck.

"I suggest you leave this country and never return," stated Kenshin darkly. Melville's growl could've rivaled a lion's by that time.

"The only way I'm getting out is if you or I have met with death. I do not expect to die anytime soon, man-slayer." Melville thrust his hand out suddenly, releasing a bundle of debris he had picked up. The contamination clogged up the faces of both warriors, forcing them to cough and claw as their pursuer escaped and made himself hidden. The rain helped clean their faces, but Melville was long gone by that time. Kenshin and Jack silently decided to split up and search for him, and kept their swords out and ready.

They went through the ship in almost the same manner as their pursuer did, taking two roads instead of one and carefully searched every possible place to hide, even the ones they had used. Melville was no master of disguise, but he had lots of wicked tricks and vowed to use them all if it was necessary. He jumped out suddenly as he saw one of the warriors pass his area, and lit a flare directly in their face, blinding them.

Drakemoth screamed and stabbed the butt end of his cane right into Kenshin's stomach, bowling the debilitated warrior over. Himura's eyes bugged out and he nearly hurled out his guts as the blow crippled him, but his senses came back quickly. He slapped Drakemoth away with the back end of his hand, then broke the cane and threw it over the river. His sword returned and begged to be used, but he was still blinded by the light of the flare.

"Curse you!" sneered the assassin. "Oh well. It wasn't an important item. You're still blind, I take it, so I can still deal with you very easily." He became silent, and Kenshin heard something very hard and very small scatter over the floor, probably a nasty trap. He heard Melville run away, so once he was alone, he bent down and carefully ran his hands over the floor. He winced suddenly as he came in contact with something very sharp, and decided to stay put until he could see.

Meanwhile, Jack had found his enemy retreating from the other side of the boat, and quickly ran over to intercept him. The samurai literally ran right into his foe, causing them both to fall down. He snapped to his feet first and prepared to fight off whatever the wiry man had in store. Drakemoth grinned.

"I have a present for you, too," he scowled. He tossed a black orb in the air and allowed it to fall on the floor. He smiled again, and with a tip of his hat, he ran back where he came. Puzzled, Jack rubbed his chin and carefully followed him. He ended up slipping and falling on the slick oil that Drakemoth had left behind. Though he struggled, the samurai found that it was nearly impossible to stand. He decided to crawl.

Melville came back to where Kenshin was, and found the Battousai rubbing his eyes. He cackled and charged after the handicapped man, swinging a backup blade he had. Kenshin did not become the manslayer simply by accident, and used the more advanced skills he had learned to swat away Drakemoth's charge. Melville nearly slipped on his own brambles, but laughed and safely stepped around them. Once he felt he was a safe distance from Kenshin, he produced a revolver and aimed it right at Himura's throat.

Kenshin smelled the horrible scent of metal and gunpowder and quickly dove to the side, forcing himself on one of the smaller brambles as the bullet passed him by. Melville cursed and fiercely kicked more of the barbed objects on the injured Battousai, pelting him with the razors until he curled up into a fetal position. He produced another revolver and aimed it at the back of his neck.

"This ends now!" he snarled. Kenshin was greatly injured and really couldn't muster the flexibility needed to squeeze out of the predicament, but luckily, he didn't have to. A man covered with black oil came running in to save him, and chopped the gun away with a fierce swipe of his sword. Melville screamed as his weapon was destroyed from his grasp, and wheeled around to give Jack a nasty glare and right hook. The samurai grabbed his arm and flipped him over on the ground in a judo move, then produced his sword and returned it to the killer's neck.

"You are right about one thing," he said calmly. "This will end now." Melville snarled again and summoned his strength for one last run.

"Not if I have anything to say about it…" Drakemoth swept his feet, crashing into Jack's legs and forcing him to tumble. The samurai dropped his blade in the process, and Drakemoth was up once again to kick it far away. He placed his foot on Jack's backbone and slowly pressed down, crushing him gradually.

"You cannot win, fools!" he spat. "I may not be strong or quick like you, but all it takes is an advanced brain to topple the mightiest empires! I have studied a thousand methods of death and pain all my life, and I know each of them by heart. I am not a simple berserker like Fumus or a muscle head like Rygar, but an advanced human with all the knowledge of assassination in my mind! You could not have won! I am the perfect killer!!!" He laughed cruelly and crushed Jack further, forcing the samurai to growl under the pain.

With a mighty shout, Kenshin Himura ignored his pain and jumped up from out of nowhere, slamming himself into his enemy.

Melville shouted and screamed as he fell backwards, and lost his balance as his body tipped over the slippery edge of the boat and into the stormy sea, where he disappeared in a terrible splash. Kenshin stood still for a moment as he recovered his wounds--thankfully, none of them were very terrible--and helped Jack stand up as he carefully looked over the edge.

"He's gone," he said flatly. "Drowned in the sea. What a miserable end…" Jack quietly agreed, but before either one of them could even turn around, Melville resurfaced and glared at them both as he paddled to keep afloat.

"You fools!!" he shouted over the storm. "I told you that you couldn't win! I was champion swimmer at my university! This water means nothing more than a bothersome delay to me! I shall resurface and go after you again and again until you are dead! Do you not realize this, you fools?! I will not stop!" Kenshin and Jack could only stare at the demented man, but there really seemed to be no way to stop him.

Suddenly, Melville Drakemoth felt a tug.

"What the devil?" he murmured. He felt another after that, and another still. He stared up at the boat wildly, and suddenly screamed in bloody horror as he felt his legs being shredded apart. Kenshin and Jack gawked as the man floundered around in the ocean, and forced themselves to look away from the bloody carnage as their enemy came under attack from a group of sharks.

To be continued…