Double Trouble: Chapter 7
*bows* Please forgive me on this chapter... it's the big fight with the Battousai, and I really suck at fight scenes. So the fight's short (as usual). Sorry! I hate doing short chapters, but it just takes me forever and all, so I can't help it. I'm working on it, tho!
Sanosuke: *rolls his eyes* Whatever.
Kenshin: *grumbles a bit* Why is it I haven't even read this chapter yet?
A big thank you to ladyoflothlorien04 for the end of the fight. Remember I asked for ideas on what should happen? Well, all the ones I received were really good. Thanks to everyone who gave me one! Of course, now ladyoflothlorien04 now knows the ending, but eh. *shrugs* I'm sure you don't mind, do you? *grins*
Battousai: Lucy doesn't own Rurouni Kenshin. Don't sue her. If you do and you actually win, you won't get much. Trust me.
Random person with clipboard: *pokes head in* Battousai, you're needed on stage!
Battousai: *makes a run for his authoress' comp, aka the stage*
On with the fic!! ^ ^
________________________________________________________________________
Kenshin continued to stare into the river, standing motionlessly. That Kaoru Kamiya had NOT just done what he thought she did!!
(Brief flashback)
"And this one..." Battousai was saying, "I will do THIS with!" Kaoru watched, eyes going wide, as he sheathed the sakabato and threw it into the river. She gasped. Kenshin's sword! Battousai then turned his gaze on her. Kenshin looked too.
"No! Kaoru-dono!!" Kenshin cried. "What are you doing here!?"
But Kaoru ignored him. Dashing out from behind her tree, she leapt into the river after the sword. The rurouni's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.
"KAORU!!!"
(End brief flashback)
"It seems that woman is more of a fool than I thought she was," the Battousai commented, drawing his sword fully. "I simply never understood the point of living with her."
Kenshin did not respond. He just stared into the rushing waters in some state of shock. "Kaoru-dono..." he murmured. "Why did you do it?..." But he knew. She wanted him to have his sword. She wanted him to have a chance. She'd probably do anything for him. Behind him, he heard Tsukai speak.
"Battousai is actually right," she told him rather darkly. "Kaoru is a fool, and you certainly cannot fight him without your sakabato." She watched him closely. "I don't know what you were planning to do, but it had better work."
"You should listen to the old hag, they tend to know things!" the hitokiri taunted. "Although it's too late for you." He leapt into the air. "Now you DIE!!" Kenshin turned and barely managed to fling himself out of the way before Battousai's blade struck the ground, sending up a flurry of grass and dirt. Kenshin stopped rolling and got halfway to his feet when he heard a sinister whisper behind him, "Too slow." Using every bit of speed he could muster, he ducked. The last strand of his hair had just started to descend with the rest of him when the sword flashed where Kenshin' s neck had been. This time, the rurouni successfully managed to get to his feet before having to jump out of the way again to avoid the deadly cutting edge.
"What's the matter, rurouni?" Battousai jeered. "Tired of our little game already?" He launched himself at the other redhead for another attack.
"Battousai is holding back," Tsukai muttered. "He's just taking his time, like a cat playing with a mouse." Louder, she called into the fray, "Himura, you can't dodge him forever!"
Kenshin winced. It was already hard enough to follow Battousai's moves without having someone talking to him. "Tsukai-dono," he answered, keeping as little concentration on avoiding the blows as he dared, "if you have a better solution, I'd be delighted to hear it-- damn!!"
"I thought you knew better than to allow yourself to get distracted during a fight!" Battousai told him, holding up his sword, which was now stained with crimson. Kenshin fell to one knee, clutching his side. Blood seeped between his fingers from the gash he now had in his flesh. Sweat dotted his forehead; he was panting. Not since Shishio had he been injured this early in a fight. But then again, he'd always had his sakabato, too.
"Pay attention!!" the hitokiri shouted, seeing the his attention wavering from the pain. He shot forward once more, his blade pointing backwards, and drove the base of the hilt into Kenshin's forehead. The rurouni's eyes went as wide as they could as he fell to the ground on his back, stunned. He fought to stay conscious as the pain threatened to overwhelm him.
In the midst of the agony resonating from his head, he felt something touch his throat, stopping his breath. Battousai loomed above him, his foot planted firmly on his neck. "I did not think you would last even this long," the man with the blazing amber eyes said. Kenshin clutched the ankle just above him in an attempt to pry off the thing blocking his breath. Between the pain in his side and head and the lack of oxygen, however, his efforts proved fruitless. Black clouded his vision as Battousai pressed harder and he heard a splash, seemingly far in the distance.
"Pwah!!"
Kaoru surfaced, coughing. She threw her good arm onto the ground. She clutched the sakabato in that hand. Retrieving it with one hand had not been a walk in the park. She looked up just in time to see Kenshin's arms go limp and his head loll to one side, facing her. She surpressed a scream.
Battousai lifted his gaze and smirked at the drenched woman at the river's edge. He raised his foot and took a step back. Kaoru slowly climbed all the way out of the water and collapsed there on her knees.
"He..." he whispered, dropping the sakabato and covering her mouth. "Kenshin... is..." She shook her head and cried, "No! He's not dead! He CAN'T be!!"
"Too bad he is! That fool of a rurouni is gone for good!!" Battousai laughed maliciously as Kaoru really screamed.
Tsukai sadly hung her head, but she stopped abruptly. Without lifting her head again, she said with almost a triumphant air, "Look again."
Both Kaoru and Battousai looked fearfully and disbelievingly, respectively, at the rurouni's body. A hand shaking violently slowly reached up and clutched the hem of Battousai's pant leg.
"What!?" the hitokiri gasped. "I killed him!!" He shook his leg furiously. "Let go, you dead fool!!" But Kenshin didn't let go. One of his eyes cracked open a slit.
"Tsukai... dono..." he wheezed out. "Finish... the fight..."
Tsukai smirked and nodded. Clasping her hands together, she began mumbling a spell under her breath. Battousai's eyes bulged.
"No!!" he yelled. "I'll kill him again before you get the chance!!" He lifted his sword high and started to bring it down on Kenshin's heart.
Tsukai's hands flashed as she completed the spell. The sword halted a hair above Kenshin's chest, and the tip began dissolving into the air. Battousai screamed and tried to force the sword down further, but the rest continued disintegrating. The more he forced, the less sword he ended up with. Within moments, it reached his fingers. Screaming louder, he tried to shake it off. However, this only cause him to disappear faster. Finally, all that was left was his head, and soon, that too was gone. Kenshin let out a sigh.
"It's... over..." he murmured.
"Not quite," Tsukai said. "Look." Kenshin wearily lifted his eyes. What looked like another illusion of the Battousai, or perhaps a ghost, appeared in the air above him. It let out a haunting shriek, then flew directly into Kenshin's head. The rurouni's back arched in pain, tears flying from his eyes straight into the air. Kaoru rushed to his side as he relaxed again.
"Kenshin...?" she whispered, wiping a bead of sweat from his scarred cheek. His eyes flickered back again and he smiled vaguely.
"I'm... alright, Kaoru-dono... I'm whole again..."
"Good." Kaoru smiled, then suddenly shook his shoulder with her good hand. "If you ever do this again, I swear I'll kill you myself!!"
"Orororo...!!!!" ________________________________________________________________________
Author's Notes:
IT'S OVER!!! *flops*
All chars who were in the fic: *cheer*
Sanosuke: *breaks out the sake*
*jumps up and snatches the sake from him* Bad Sano! No sake for you! *points to Yahiko* HE can't drink, and I refuse to let Kenshin get drunk again!
Kaoru: *sweatbead* Eh, don't ask about the drunk Kenshin thing... you don't want to know.
Thank you everyone for reading!! I love you all!!! *hugs readers, hugs reviewers twice* And those reviwers (the ones who have reviewed so far) are....
Zero
Lady Hawke
hiyo myani
Dove of Night
Kayrie
nobody
flyinangel777
Luna Angel
ShilviGrl/Amyjenc1
marywolfe32
usukeurameshi
Neptune21
WhiteRabbit
sakurablossoms6
broken reverse blade sword
Raiden-sama
Samurai101
SakuraLuna
toni
Karii
Kat-gurl1
the sacred night
tocole
bakumatsu2448
Tomoe2Kenshin
Mizu
ladyoflothlorien04
And anyone else I might have missed. Thanks again so much for everything, guys! I hope to get as much support for my other fics! ^ ^ Sayonara for now!!
*bows* Please forgive me on this chapter... it's the big fight with the Battousai, and I really suck at fight scenes. So the fight's short (as usual). Sorry! I hate doing short chapters, but it just takes me forever and all, so I can't help it. I'm working on it, tho!
Sanosuke: *rolls his eyes* Whatever.
Kenshin: *grumbles a bit* Why is it I haven't even read this chapter yet?
A big thank you to ladyoflothlorien04 for the end of the fight. Remember I asked for ideas on what should happen? Well, all the ones I received were really good. Thanks to everyone who gave me one! Of course, now ladyoflothlorien04 now knows the ending, but eh. *shrugs* I'm sure you don't mind, do you? *grins*
Battousai: Lucy doesn't own Rurouni Kenshin. Don't sue her. If you do and you actually win, you won't get much. Trust me.
Random person with clipboard: *pokes head in* Battousai, you're needed on stage!
Battousai: *makes a run for his authoress' comp, aka the stage*
On with the fic!! ^ ^
________________________________________________________________________
Kenshin continued to stare into the river, standing motionlessly. That Kaoru Kamiya had NOT just done what he thought she did!!
(Brief flashback)
"And this one..." Battousai was saying, "I will do THIS with!" Kaoru watched, eyes going wide, as he sheathed the sakabato and threw it into the river. She gasped. Kenshin's sword! Battousai then turned his gaze on her. Kenshin looked too.
"No! Kaoru-dono!!" Kenshin cried. "What are you doing here!?"
But Kaoru ignored him. Dashing out from behind her tree, she leapt into the river after the sword. The rurouni's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.
"KAORU!!!"
(End brief flashback)
"It seems that woman is more of a fool than I thought she was," the Battousai commented, drawing his sword fully. "I simply never understood the point of living with her."
Kenshin did not respond. He just stared into the rushing waters in some state of shock. "Kaoru-dono..." he murmured. "Why did you do it?..." But he knew. She wanted him to have his sword. She wanted him to have a chance. She'd probably do anything for him. Behind him, he heard Tsukai speak.
"Battousai is actually right," she told him rather darkly. "Kaoru is a fool, and you certainly cannot fight him without your sakabato." She watched him closely. "I don't know what you were planning to do, but it had better work."
"You should listen to the old hag, they tend to know things!" the hitokiri taunted. "Although it's too late for you." He leapt into the air. "Now you DIE!!" Kenshin turned and barely managed to fling himself out of the way before Battousai's blade struck the ground, sending up a flurry of grass and dirt. Kenshin stopped rolling and got halfway to his feet when he heard a sinister whisper behind him, "Too slow." Using every bit of speed he could muster, he ducked. The last strand of his hair had just started to descend with the rest of him when the sword flashed where Kenshin' s neck had been. This time, the rurouni successfully managed to get to his feet before having to jump out of the way again to avoid the deadly cutting edge.
"What's the matter, rurouni?" Battousai jeered. "Tired of our little game already?" He launched himself at the other redhead for another attack.
"Battousai is holding back," Tsukai muttered. "He's just taking his time, like a cat playing with a mouse." Louder, she called into the fray, "Himura, you can't dodge him forever!"
Kenshin winced. It was already hard enough to follow Battousai's moves without having someone talking to him. "Tsukai-dono," he answered, keeping as little concentration on avoiding the blows as he dared, "if you have a better solution, I'd be delighted to hear it-- damn!!"
"I thought you knew better than to allow yourself to get distracted during a fight!" Battousai told him, holding up his sword, which was now stained with crimson. Kenshin fell to one knee, clutching his side. Blood seeped between his fingers from the gash he now had in his flesh. Sweat dotted his forehead; he was panting. Not since Shishio had he been injured this early in a fight. But then again, he'd always had his sakabato, too.
"Pay attention!!" the hitokiri shouted, seeing the his attention wavering from the pain. He shot forward once more, his blade pointing backwards, and drove the base of the hilt into Kenshin's forehead. The rurouni's eyes went as wide as they could as he fell to the ground on his back, stunned. He fought to stay conscious as the pain threatened to overwhelm him.
In the midst of the agony resonating from his head, he felt something touch his throat, stopping his breath. Battousai loomed above him, his foot planted firmly on his neck. "I did not think you would last even this long," the man with the blazing amber eyes said. Kenshin clutched the ankle just above him in an attempt to pry off the thing blocking his breath. Between the pain in his side and head and the lack of oxygen, however, his efforts proved fruitless. Black clouded his vision as Battousai pressed harder and he heard a splash, seemingly far in the distance.
"Pwah!!"
Kaoru surfaced, coughing. She threw her good arm onto the ground. She clutched the sakabato in that hand. Retrieving it with one hand had not been a walk in the park. She looked up just in time to see Kenshin's arms go limp and his head loll to one side, facing her. She surpressed a scream.
Battousai lifted his gaze and smirked at the drenched woman at the river's edge. He raised his foot and took a step back. Kaoru slowly climbed all the way out of the water and collapsed there on her knees.
"He..." he whispered, dropping the sakabato and covering her mouth. "Kenshin... is..." She shook her head and cried, "No! He's not dead! He CAN'T be!!"
"Too bad he is! That fool of a rurouni is gone for good!!" Battousai laughed maliciously as Kaoru really screamed.
Tsukai sadly hung her head, but she stopped abruptly. Without lifting her head again, she said with almost a triumphant air, "Look again."
Both Kaoru and Battousai looked fearfully and disbelievingly, respectively, at the rurouni's body. A hand shaking violently slowly reached up and clutched the hem of Battousai's pant leg.
"What!?" the hitokiri gasped. "I killed him!!" He shook his leg furiously. "Let go, you dead fool!!" But Kenshin didn't let go. One of his eyes cracked open a slit.
"Tsukai... dono..." he wheezed out. "Finish... the fight..."
Tsukai smirked and nodded. Clasping her hands together, she began mumbling a spell under her breath. Battousai's eyes bulged.
"No!!" he yelled. "I'll kill him again before you get the chance!!" He lifted his sword high and started to bring it down on Kenshin's heart.
Tsukai's hands flashed as she completed the spell. The sword halted a hair above Kenshin's chest, and the tip began dissolving into the air. Battousai screamed and tried to force the sword down further, but the rest continued disintegrating. The more he forced, the less sword he ended up with. Within moments, it reached his fingers. Screaming louder, he tried to shake it off. However, this only cause him to disappear faster. Finally, all that was left was his head, and soon, that too was gone. Kenshin let out a sigh.
"It's... over..." he murmured.
"Not quite," Tsukai said. "Look." Kenshin wearily lifted his eyes. What looked like another illusion of the Battousai, or perhaps a ghost, appeared in the air above him. It let out a haunting shriek, then flew directly into Kenshin's head. The rurouni's back arched in pain, tears flying from his eyes straight into the air. Kaoru rushed to his side as he relaxed again.
"Kenshin...?" she whispered, wiping a bead of sweat from his scarred cheek. His eyes flickered back again and he smiled vaguely.
"I'm... alright, Kaoru-dono... I'm whole again..."
"Good." Kaoru smiled, then suddenly shook his shoulder with her good hand. "If you ever do this again, I swear I'll kill you myself!!"
"Orororo...!!!!" ________________________________________________________________________
Author's Notes:
IT'S OVER!!! *flops*
All chars who were in the fic: *cheer*
Sanosuke: *breaks out the sake*
*jumps up and snatches the sake from him* Bad Sano! No sake for you! *points to Yahiko* HE can't drink, and I refuse to let Kenshin get drunk again!
Kaoru: *sweatbead* Eh, don't ask about the drunk Kenshin thing... you don't want to know.
Thank you everyone for reading!! I love you all!!! *hugs readers, hugs reviewers twice* And those reviwers (the ones who have reviewed so far) are....
Zero
Lady Hawke
hiyo myani
Dove of Night
Kayrie
nobody
flyinangel777
Luna Angel
ShilviGrl/Amyjenc1
marywolfe32
usukeurameshi
Neptune21
WhiteRabbit
sakurablossoms6
broken reverse blade sword
Raiden-sama
Samurai101
SakuraLuna
toni
Karii
Kat-gurl1
the sacred night
tocole
bakumatsu2448
Tomoe2Kenshin
Mizu
ladyoflothlorien04
And anyone else I might have missed. Thanks again so much for everything, guys! I hope to get as much support for my other fics! ^ ^ Sayonara for now!!