Armour-piercing Shuriken

Injuries

His world turned black.

And in his heart he was screaming.

One word.

No……

The Battousai sheathed his katana.

And walked away.

Pressing a hand to his abdomen.

Trying to find his way back to a safe place.

His vision getting hazier all the while.

Satsura Oichi leapt up from her crouched position, releasing the tension in her muscles.

And hurried over to the fallen body.

A deep chest wound marked the most serious injury on the man.

Ripping a piece of cloth from her sleeve, Satsura Oichi tried her best to bandage his wound.

When she was satisfied, she hoisted him in a manner similar to that of the fireman's lift, and carried the unconscious Nobunaga to her ancestral home.

Blink.

Blink.

He could see a patch of beige.

A face?

His eyes slowly focused on the image in front of him.

Two faces.

That of a young girl and an old man.

That girl.

The one he had met in the streets.

The one who had run away.

The one he was supposed to kill.

Except now, everything she had seen did not matter.

He had failed anyway.

He felt the presence of his short sword at his waist.

After a moment's pause, he reached for it, drew it and slashed wildly.

All in a matter of seconds.

He had aimed for the girl.

But when he looked up, found that she was no longer there.

Instead, her strong hand was holding his wrist.

Making it immobile and unable to wield the sword.

Slowly, her eyes never wavering from their intense stare at his, she pried his fingers from the hilt.

And, strangely enough, he allowed her to do so.

Letting his arm drop back to his side.

And lying down again.

"Keep still."

The voice of the old man had an element of strength and resilience.

Nobunaga Akimura obeyed.

Till dawn, the three people in the room remained there.

With an old man skilled in the arts of medicine trying to help a wounded man survive.

A young girl helping him.

And a wounded warrior feeling helpless.

And rightly so.

---------end of chapter three----------

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin does not belong to me...

Author's Note:

Sorry for the delay; I should have explained that I'd stopped writing due to a busy schedule. This will come in parts, slowly. Apologies in advance!

Thank you DiaBLo, BC1, cookies and a stranger who's really irritated.

~rurouni