No Escape

Chapter Three – The Last One

Kenshin tried to look away, but couldn't. He tried to shut his eyes, or stop his screaming or do anything other than kneel at her side. His body was like a dead weight and his emotions were so far out of control that he could barely feel them. Kaoru's lithe form lay motionless in front of him and every detail of her death was burning itself into his brain against his will. She was lying in a pool of her own cold blood and staring straight ahead, as if she died in surprise. Her hair had begun to slip out of that indigo ribbon and her pretty yellow kimono was a sickly red where it touched the ground. Kenshin could tell from the size of the wound that the killing blow had gone all the way through her chest. He was finding it harder and harder to draw a full breath. One word welled up in his throat with such force that he couldn't stop it for anything. His usually stoic exterior cracked and he threw back his head and screamed until he was hoarse, "No…no…no…nonononoooo… By the gods, NOOOOO!!!"

His mind whirled at high speed as he sought some way around the horrifying truth. How had this happened? What had gone on while he was gone? How could he have let this be? He had known Soujirou had disappeared, why had it not occurred to him that the assassin would come here? How could he have left her unprotected? Questions filled his mind until he was dizzy with fury at himself. How had he allowed this failure? His vision blurred as tears filled his violet eyes and spilled down his face. He reached to close her empty blue eyes and a sob was wrenched from his already sore throat. His body shook as he wept in the way that stole all the air from his lungs, wailing in soul crushing agony.

As Soujirou advanced, Saito tensed. It was clear from the young man's appearance that he was unstable so there was no telling what he would do. True to the observation, the assassin screamed at them in uncharacteristic rage. "You cannot hide him from me!! I MUST SEE MR. HIMURA!!" Soujirou was flushed from the force of his anger and almost broke into a run. Saito's katana met his and the force pushed the policeman back into the dojo. Kaoru yelped, nearly falling over herself trying to get away from the warriors. She backed up to the shrine and gave a silent prayer that Kenshin would get home soon. The men's blows were coming so quickly that she almost couldn't keep up.

Saito growled at his opponent, "You don't…have to do this…there must…be another way!" The wolf of Mibu could barely stay ahead of the enraged young man and was surprised by the ferocity of the attack. Surely he was not intent on killing them all? Saito's words had no effect, Soujirou only slashed at him again and again, his faster-than-godlike-speed picking up. The more the younger man fought, the more involved in his love, hate, confusion, pain, and desire he became, and soon he was in the purest trance of a fighter. Slash after slash was dealt, each faster than the last, and through the emotionally charged haze, Soujirou could feel his blows striking flesh. He heard a voice cut through his trance and his eyes cleared and sharpened on the source.

"Please stop! You're going to kill him!" Kaoru begged again. Soujirou looked back and wasn't too surprised to find Saito on the floor, bleeding from many wounds and panting. He tried to stand, but couldn't at the moment, so the policeman just glared up at his opponent, white gloved hand to his shoulder stemming the blood flow. Soujirou merely looked at Kaoru coolly as he turned on her.

"You've had him all along, haven't you?" he asked in a menacingly quiet voice. "You've been able to see him and talk to him," he paused, taking one slow step in her direction. Kaoru backed away, "You've had a chance to laugh with him, and cry with him…and love him. I never had that chance." Kaoru's back hit the wall and she tried to flatten into it. Soujirou stopped with his face inches from hers, "You do love him, don't you?" Inside, he was hoping she would say she didn't.

Kaoru was so frightened that she didn't say a thing. She knew she loved the ruroni, but if she said so, he might fly off the handle. He came slightly closer and stared into her eyes, boring into her soul. His eyes widened, then narrowed and a blush crept up his neck. His breathing quickened and he screamed in her face, "DON'T YOU?!" and ran his blade so far through Kaoru that it lodged in the wooden wall behind her. She gasped and stared in shock at Soujirou as her hot blood began to spread through the yellow silk of her kimono.

Carelessly, he yanked the sword from the Kamiya assistant master, letting her crumple at his feet. He turned toward Saito to finish him off only to take a gatotsu right in the chest. The impact was stunning, but as he went down, Soujirou jammed his blood slicked blade into Saito's chest and broke it off. Both men grunted as they fell, never losing eye contact. Saito grasped the piece of sword to pull it out, but it had lodged in his breastbone and wouldn't budge. As his blood drained out, he looked at the sad boy lying next to him. He was disappointed, what a useless way for the former leader of the third squad of the Shinsengumi to die. He squeezed his eyes shut against the coming unknown.

As the darkness surrounded him, Soujirou kept his eyes on the doorway of the dojo, hoping to catch a glimpse of the man he had come here for. It would appear he wouldn't have a chance to use the poisoned dagger after all. He was sad when his vision left him, he'd never get to see those kind violet eyes again. The last thing he heard was the beating of his heart stop.

Kenshin knelt next to Kaoru until he was numb. Everything was numb, his heart, his mind, his feelings, his body. Nothing mattered, even in the slightest. The former Battosai stared at the carnage around him and for the first time in his life, felt nothing. All the sorrow, pain and rage was gone, leaving only an empty void where his heart used to be. He could tell his ki had dimmed so much that it was almost non-existent. Slowly, an emotion began to fill him. Loathing. He hated himself for being so useless. He had left them unprotected and this was the result.

Everything he had ever cared about was now gone. His curse of bringing destruction to all those around him was as strong as it had ever been. In his time at the dojo, he had come to believe the dark days of his past were behind him and had actually felt at peace for the first time. As soon as he let his guard down, karma had come to pay him for his role in the revolution. So it was true, then. He was never to be happy and posed only a danger to those around him. What was the point trying? Numbly, he looked down and saw the poisoned dagger with his name on the hilt. So it really was for him, and Kenshin knew exactly what to do. He dully grasped the dagger and stared at it. He gazed at his beloved Kaoru for one last time and bent to place a tender kiss on her cool lips. "I'm sorry…my love," he whispered.

Kenshin sat up straight and closed his eyes, desperately searching for any reason to stay his hand. In his dumb reverie, he missed the sound of footsteps pounding toward the dojo. If he had heard them, he would have recognized the long stride of his gambling friend. With the blood rushing in his ears, he lifted the dagger, his expert hands aiming at his own heart. He furrowed his brow and let out a grunt as he pulled the blade toward his chest. He felt the cool steel impact flesh and awaited the blissful release of death. It never came. Instead, he heard a grunt from a voice other than his own.

Kenshin opened his eyes to the last sight he wanted to see at that point. Sanoske had stopped the blade with his forearm, the bloody tip of the dagger protruding. The ruroni's jaw dropped and he stared at his comrade. Sanoske had the same terrified look that Kensin had when he came in.

"I heard Saito was coming here because of S…," Sano's words stopped as he felt the burn of the blowfish poison start to spread. In one brief moment, he understood. His face softened into a roguish smile and he turned his deep brown eyes to Kenshin's violet. "Hey, now don't go blamin' this on yourself, this was none of your fault. I should'a known something wasn't right when I had that winning streak today…ungh." He groaned and fell to his hands and knees, pulling the dagger from his friend's hand. His breathing was getting shallow. Kenshin could only stare as the toughest fighter he'd ever met fell before him. "Ken…shin, p-promise you won't d-do that…stay alive, d-don't give up." Sanoske fell to his back from the growing pain and looked up at his friend, he knew not too much time was left. "C'mon, p-promise."

Kenshin opened his mouth to answer and no sound came out. His heart clenched at the look of pain on the fighter's face. With tears flowing freely, he whispered, "I promise, my friend." Sanoske smiled once again and closed his eyes against the searing poison, turning his face away so Kenshin would not see his last moments. His chest stopped rising and Sanoske laid still.

The ruroni closed his eyes and bowed his head, not knowing what to do. Never before had so much misery descended upon him. Perhaps it was repayment for the murders he committed, it felt like all the pain he ever caused had come crashing down on him at the same time. He sat perfectly still, but the tears didn't stop. Everything was quiet; even the night made no noise. It was as if the crickets and owls knew. Inside himself, Himura Kenshin ripped out the remaining parts of his heart and destroyed them. When he opened his eyes, a terrifyingly intense gold gleamed from behind his red bangs. He stood, pulled the cloth band from his hair and held it to the candle flame. As soon as it caught, he tossed it to the wooden floor. Smoke filled the room as the Battosai knelt in front of Kaoru Kamiya's body, laid the reverse-blade sword at her side and offered a silent goodbye. From now on, he would need a more effective sword than one not meant to kill.

The End