Standard disclaimers apply.

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The trail led into the mountains.

Misao stopped walking abruptly. "The old gnome's just up ahead," she announced. Then, after a slight hesitation, she continued. "But I don't think he has Kenshin. There is no sign that he even came this way."

Kaoru frowned. "Well, Rizzu was probably carrying him," she reasoned after a moment.

"Not if he was as old as you claim. Himura might be small but -" Misao began.

"That's right, I didn't get a chance to tell you, did I?" Kaoru mumbled. "But know really isn't a good time. I'll explain everything to you after we get Kenshin..... if you haven't figured it out by then."

Misao shrugged. "He's in that cabin," she announced, pointing at a small wooden house with an overgrown garden.

They approached the doors cautiously. Kaoru felt her pulse begin to quicken with the rising uncertainty of their situation. She pulled her wooden shinai off of her back and clenched it tightly in both hands. It had been a while since she had actually been in a fight.

Which was silly, she reflected suddenly. The only reason that Rizzu had been able to steal Kenshin in the first place was because he had used poison and her friends had restrained her. Using force probably wouldn't be a good idea in the upcoming battle.

Misao nudged the door open with her foot, peeking inside cautiously. "Oh," she said in surprise. She pushed the door open with her hand and stepped inside, all caution set aside for the moment. "It looks like he already left."

Kaoru nodded, sapphire blue eyes scanning the room. "Then he's probably beginning the ceremony with Kenshin......." Her words sank in and she raced back out the door with all of her senses straining for some indication that Kenshin was close by.

Her ears, no where near as acute as Misao's, picked up the chanting almost immediately. It was coming from a valley.... Without waiting for Misao, she began to run down the rocky incline.

"Kaoru!" Misao exclaimed. "Wait for me! I'm part of this too!" She raced out of the cabin and paused, listening to Kaoru crashing into the valley. She shook her head. Even a gnome with bad hearing was going to detect the rescue operation. Any element that surprise could have lent to their fight was now lost.

Or was it? Kaoru probably wouldn't need back-up to deal with one aging gnome. Misao could follow her down the path discreetly and provide surprise reinforcements..... if they were even needed at all. Frankly, the young ninja felt confident that they could win the fight and save the day. But that was only if Kenshin hadn't taken care of things first.

She reflected lazily, as she made her way sneakily down the slope, that everything was different then she had imagined it would be. Kaoru wasn't marrying Kenshin. Enishi seemed to be an ally. Crazy old gnomes were becoming adept at sneaking up on the former hitiokiri battousai. Kaoru had been angry at her friends.... said mean and spiteful things to some of them..... There was something that she was missing. A key piece that would make everything come into focus.

She frowned thoughtfully. Clearly nothing was normal. That meant that she had to anticipate everything and not let anything surprise her. She had to go into the upcoming engagement with the truth as she knew it in her mind. But what did she know?

Suddenly the answer crystallized in her mind. The one thing that was absolutely clear - Rizzu had kidnapped Kenshin. That meant he had to be talented. And that meant Kaoru was probably in danger.

"Baka!" she berated herself. "Why didn't you see it sooner?" She picked up her pace, racing as fast as she could. Now everything was an obstacle and she didn't seem to be making any progress.

Then she heard a scream of pain.

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Kaoru hadn't been worried at al. She arrived at the 'Holy Place' - a small river with a towering oak tree hanging in the water. Rizzu was wearing crimson garments, exquisitely embroidered with strange symbols. His hood was no longer drawn over his head, leaving his face exposed to the world.



He was really, really old. His hair, held up in a traditional samurai topknot, was whispy and gray with patches of it completely gone. His face was worn and creased, and it looked like his wrinkles had wrinkles. Over his amber eyes, thin gray eyebrows flowed across his entire brow.

He turned and watched her cover the last few steps to her. "I have been waiting for you," he said, his voice thin and wiry. He looked pleased to see her. "I was afraid that I hadn't left a clear enough trail."

Trap! Kaoru's mind closed around the one word quickly and she berated herself for abandoning Misao at the top of the cliff. She braced herself, expecting an attack from any direction at any moment. Her shinai came to her hand naturally, falling into a defensive posture.

Rizzu seen her looking around and laughed, a dry rasping cackle. "I'm sorry, young miss, but it's just you and me. I didn't bring anybody else here except the babe." He pointed his wooden staff at a bundle of crimson cloth.

"Why did you leave a trail for me to follow?" Kaoru demand, mind whirling through the possibilities but coming up hopelessly short. "What do you really want with Kenshin? I know you don't want him back at his proper age!"

"The hitiokiri is as he is. It is irreversible," Rizzu acknowledged. "But that idiot Yukishio Enishi ruined things before I had completed the spell. Now I will need some assistance to get it started again......"

"What kind of assistance? And what spell are you talking about?" Kaoru asked loudly. "You can't hurt Kenshin, I won't let you."

Rizzu looked toward the sky. "Maybe if I show you...?" he offered. "That would make things so much easier. He stooped over, picking up a sword. "This sword is Himura's original. The sword of a manslayer.... a hitiokiri!"

Kaoru felt her eyes widen in shock as he pulled the blade from its sheath. "Impressive, isn't it?" he asked her. "But it hasn't been used in so long. It thirsts for blood." He smiled, revealing yellowing teeth, decaying with age. "And in it's blade lies the skill of the Hiten Mitsurgi Ryuu."

"I don't understand!" Kaoru objected, stalling for time. She was starting to worry. Something about this priest wasn't right. He felt evil. He was also too sure of himself. She had to get Kenshin off of the alter he was lying on.

She had to get Kenshin. It was the only thing that mattered. But that wasn't right, Enishi mattered too! She didn't want to lose a single member of her new family. It wouldn't be fair. She started inching closer to the alter, keeping half of her attention on Rizzu.

Then he vanished, leaving nothing but an after image behind. A chill shot up her spine. Had he looked different? His hair hadn't been that dark and thick before.... had it? And there was no way that he could move that fast.

"You see, it's incomplete! My mastery of the Hiten Mitsurgi Ryuu is still lacking the full knowledge. Eternal youth awaits me!" Rizzu seized her by her hair, jerking her back sharply and drawing a startled scream from her lips. "All off his knowledge, his skill - it's all mine. You can't beat me because I am him. I'm the hitokiri battousai now! And I don't fight with a sakabatou."

He threw her away from him, unfastening his robes and flinging them away to reveal hakama and a gi. He tucked the sheath into his belt and swung it into a battou jitsu stance. And he was getting younger. His hair was now ebony black and his face was unlined. "I think you know this stance," he said with a laugh.

"Why are you...?" Kaoru began to ask. But the answer was clear. He was old - ancient was probably a better word. He wanted free of the ties of age, so he had done something to Kenshin - stole his skill. Altered his age. But it wasn't complete. "What do you still have to do? she asked.

Rizzu straightened up. "Kill." He smiled. "Kill you to be precise. I set up the ritual so that his replacement wife would be killed by my hand. Then the final stages will be complete and I will be all powerful."

He attacked, letting the blade rake along her sword arm, tearing a deep gash into the skin. Kaoru screamed again, this time in pain.

"Do Ryu Sen!" Rizzu proclaimed, smashing the sword into the ground and laughing as Kaoru was flung back by the blast. She crashed into a thicket of trees and lay unmoving. "Victory is so easy with these new powers," he laughed.

He turned away from the trees, moving back to the alter just in time to see Kenshin get picked up by a small girl with long black hair.

"Lady, I ask you not to take other people's children," Rizzu said irritated, but still in a fairly good mood. He had never won a fight before in his life, and finally accomplishing the unreachable task of being a winner had him in a good mood. In the past he had always been in last place, the looser. He had no friends, and everyone always picked up him..... called him names..... said he was worthless. But now he had all the power that he needed to become invincible.

"No way, you stupid old gnome!" Misao exclaimed. She sprang straight up, landing in a tree lightly. "This baby is mine!"

Rizzu's face tightened. "What did you call me?" he demanded lightly, but fury was boiling inside of him. He hated her suddenly, the strange young girl that reminded him of a weasel. She was just like his tormentors from the past. As the thought made its way through his mind he smiled wickedly. He would begin his killing spree with her.

"A gnome," Misao replied. She watched him begin to seethe and behind him she saw Kaoru struggle to a sitting position. There was still no sign of Kenshin. It was just Kaoru, the gnome, the baby, and herself.

"Misao, watch out!" Kaoru screamed at her. "He's using the Hiten Mitsurgi Ryuu!"

"Huh?" the young ninja managed, then he was right in front of her, reaching for Kenshin with murder in his eyes.

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Misao sprang out of his grasp nimbly, feeling the fabric on her sleeve tear. Her balance lost, she teetered on the tree branch, frantically windmilling her free hand.

Rizzu laughed, reaching out with one hand and pushing her backwards roughly.

For one horrible moment, she was falling towards the ground headfirst. Then she twisted her body, and cradled the baby closer to her. She hit hard and fast and came to her feet shakily. The child was giggling and pumping his arms and legs furiously.

A shadow fell over her, darkening the child's face as Misao was peering at it. "Where's Kenshin!" she yelped, springing back as the sword dug into the earth where she had just been standing.

"Your holding him!" Kaoru screamed back at her. She was getting closer by the second, her shinai held tightly in her left hand. A long cut along her right arm was bleeding heavily. She sprang into the air with perfect form, putting all of her energy behind a downwards strike.

She slammed into the ground, leaving a decent sized impression, but missing Rizzu by inches. He knocked her back with a careless strike and stood poised to strike the finishing blow. "You can't win. I'm smarter then you, stronger then you, and even faster then you. I better. I'm the winner. I'm -"

"You forgot one thing. You're uglier then Kaoru, you gnome!" Misao shouted. "And you aren't prettier then me!" She felt slightly apprehensive as he turned towards her, cocking his head angrily to the side. "What didn't you hear what I said, busu?" she demanded.

"Busu?" he asked, fury blurring the adjective.

"Oh yeah!" Misao agreed, moving beside Kaoru and handing the bundle of baby to her. Without looking back, she pulled out a handful of kunai. "You can't win with that injury," she said softly for the kendo instructor. "Get back to town and bring reinforcements."

"But...." Kaoru objected. This wasn't a fight that either of them could win. Even working together, they would be no match for the Shinto priest with Kenshin's skill. They would both die..... and Kenshin would die with them.

"Go!" Misao exclaimed, giving her a sharp push.

"Neither of you are going -" Rizzu started to say. Then he was ducking under Misao's flying kick. "That's way too slow!" he snarled, swinging the sword to the spot where she should have landed.

"GO!" Misao shouted from the trees where she had landed. Kaoru took a step towards her, the baby held protectively to her chest.

"Misao-chan I - I can't just leave..." she tried to explain desperately. "I have to -"

"I'll be all right! I won't let this looser beat me!" Misao exclaimed. She flung a couple of kunai at Rizzu to keep him occupied. "We can't both die here," she said softly, landing beside Kaoru and giving her a push.

"Then let's both run," Kaoru argued. "We'll double team him and then split in different directions." She kept her words low and switched Kenshin to her right arm. "Let's do it now."

Misao nodded and shot towards Rizzu in perfect time with Kaoru, striking high while the older girl went low.

The priest slashed up with his sword, sending an arc of crimson blood shooting away from Misao's face. "NOW!" the ninja shouted and both girls split into the trees.

Rizzu made to follow Kaoru almost instantly. Without her death, his powers would fade the moment he lost contact with the sword in his hands. His spell would be broken and he would revert to what he had been in the past. "Ku Zu Ryu Sen," he muttered grimly.

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Author's notes; Thank you to everyone who reviewed me on the last couple of chapters. I'm happy to say that this story is almost complete. Give it about two more chapters and maybe an epilogue.... perhaps an alternate ending...... And then that's all.

Thanks for reading,

Kissa-chan