Reflected Moonlight

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Chapter Two: My Beloved

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Kaoru realized then what Kenshin had been trying to tell her. He knew that he was changing and he wanted her to know that he really loved her and that this wasn't him. She turned away from him and began running as fast as she could. She had to get away. It was what Kenshin had told her to do and she would listen to his words. But she swore that somehow she would find a way to change him back.

The battousai gazed after the fleeing girl with a smirk on his face. Slowly he began to walk after her drawing out his sword in a blaze of reflected moonlight. His eyes burned through the night like fire as he followed behind her down the dark streets of the city. The memories of Kyoto, the smell of blood in the air, it made his thirst even greater.

Kaoru's heart beat wildly inside her chest and she felt so terrified that she just wanted to collapse, but something kept her running, something kept her moving through the darkened alleyways.

Kenshin was trapped inside his own body, trapped inside his own thoughts, his own feelings. He was in complete darkness. He was chained, to what he did not know, but he could not move. He twisted and squirmed trying to get free, all the while calling out Kaoru's name.

~ This is all my fault. I should have known that this would happen. I should have stayed away from Kaoru. I could have done better. I could have protected her better. Oh, my Kaoru, I failed you. ~

Kaoru turned down one alley to see that it was a dead end. She turned around, but it was too late. The battousai already was standing there. She was cornered.

Slowly he advanced upon her, his sword raised. He gazed upon his sword and noticed something. With a laugh he flipped the blade so it was no longer a reverse blade sword.

"Hahahaa... That's better now isn't it? Now I can hear you scream in pain as you slowly die." The battousai said cruelly.

Kaoru's eye's widened. There was nothing she could do. She was at the mercy of Battousai the manslayer.

~A sword is a weapon. The art of swordsmanship is learning how to kill. That is the truth. What Miss Kaoru says is sweet and innocent talk that only those whose hands have never been stained with the blood of man can believe. ~

The battousai swung the sword in a curving arc. Flashes of reflected light danced in the air where its blade past as it drew closer and closer to Kaoru.

~But to tell you the truth, I much prefer Miss Kaoru's sweet and innocent talk over the truth indeed I do. I hope the someday her words will become the truth for all of us to live by. ~

Kaoru closed her eyes. She couldn't look. She just couldn't. She couldn't stand to see what had happened to Kenshin and what was about to happen to her. This was all her fault. This was all her fault!

Before the blade could reach her, Kaoru collapsed onto the floor by his feet.

"I love you Kenshin, I love you! Even if I die by the hands of the battousai side of you, I still love you. I love even the battousai because it is part of who you are. That means it is part of what I love."

The blade never reached her. It paused inches away from her skin. The battousai stood frozen in place. Slowly his eyes melted back into a violet gaze and his face softened.

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