Author's note: sighs This wouldn't be the first time I took forever updating, no less losing fans. Oh well at least I know this one WILL be completed. Oh yeah baby!! (Sorry, seems like when I stopped watching RK my inspiration died, but after Samurai X the spark has started again!!)

"Kenshin…" She looked at him in awe. The way he stood with his body erect and his sword held out in front of him in a manner that would lead someone to believe that it was nothing more than another appendage… and extension of him. Despite the fact that the look on his face had been entirely different from the gentle looks he had given her the many times they met before… he was still beautiful.

"Kaoru!!!" Megumi yelled drawing her sister's attention from the man she had dreamed of. "Come look at this…" She said as Kaoru turned one final glance back at Kenshin before she ran over to the window. Several carriages appeared and several men and one female climbed out with three of Shishio's army member accompanying them.

"Shishio's army… I never knew they were that huge." She whispered.

"Let me... it's been bothering me since it started." Megumi produced a handkerchief from the folds of her kimono and started dabbing at Kaoru's bloody nose from when Yumi smacked it on the stone cold floor.

"Ouch…" She winced when pressure was applied.

"Foxy, hurry up. It looks like we're going to have to start fighting off some of these soldiers here." Sano took a step back bumping into one of the guards in the room.

"You're not going anywhere punk…" The guard said.

"I think we are… Foxy fix jo-chan's nose, because when I'm through with these guys we need any able fighter." Sano cracked his knuckles and charged at the group.

"Beshimi…" Aoshi called to the small male as they neared the village outside of the palace. Beshimi had just returned from rushing ahead to find out the situation. Not too much longer after that several bodies of the soldiers had begun to fall from the windows of the palace.

"The Juppon Gatana…" Beshimi said as shocked looks traveled across the faces of the oniwabanshu.

"Juppon Gatana?" Misao frowned a bit.

"Shishio's top men." Aoshi provided.

"The remaining six are there."

"And of my family?"

"Still alive… but the castle is flooded with soldiers."

"If I know Himura he'll be facing Shishio by now." Aoshi murmured.

"And if Tokio got Kaoru out of her cell they will be trying to find a way out, fighting no less." Misao looked up at Aoshi with her eyes big with excitement.

"Shikijou, Kyottoko you will launch a sunned attack on the Juppon Gatana… do not allow them to get inside the palace further… We will be your back up taking on what hasn't been injured." The two biggest males of the oniwabanshu nodded and started to move forward to move in.

"Around this corner…" Sano led the group of females around the palace to retrieve his fallen weapon in Megumi's room.

"Good going Rooster head…" Kaoru and Megumi gave the male a look that clearly read idiot.

"It's fine… just a small bump in out road to freedom." Sano fell into stance with the three soldiers before him.

"Sano… I'm thinking this "Bump is more like a hill…" Kaoru muttered falling into a stance of her own with the lance she borrowed from a statue along the way.

"What makes you say… oh..." He glanced over his shoulder apparently drawing the attention of almost then entire army in the palace walls. From then the soldiers wasted no time in moving in on the group who were trapped. Megumi raised a small white packet and threw it right in the face of a soldier… the contents within it blew out like a mist right in the face of three others. The ones struck with the powder froze right on the spot before they began clawing at their faces as if they had been bitten with millions of mosquitoes.

"A simple itching agent…" Megumi smirked at herself in pride producing several other packets while the other two started fighting.

"Your good, Rurouni, but nowhere as good as I…" Shishio smirked lifting himself off the ground not taking his gaze off the red headed male who had been taking slow steps toward him. "I am the one who took over when you faltered, where you failed… and intend on keeping it that way…" Shishio fixed his grasp on the blade smirking slightly uncomfortably.

"Being Hitokiri does not mean your strength is greatest, no it doesn't. It just means you have no regard for life…." Kenshin paused changing the way he held his blade before charging at Shishio, who in turn merely smirked as he mimicked the charging motion ignoring the bandages that had started to flap since they had come loose in the battling they had done.

They met in the middle with their swords clashing leaving it's high pitch tone to scream through the quiet atmosphere. Once more they both advanced towards each other blades pressed against the other their faces merely inches apart. Their eyes held nothing more than pure fury and determination to win.

Shishio of course found this "cozy moment" to be nothing more than a nuisance and raised his knee aimed at the body of his opponent. Kenshin took the blow right in the stomach stunning naught a moment. Again with the space between them they looked at each other. And slowly they began to moved… taking step by step to the side eyeing the other.

"Rurouni… Give it up. The edge you once had has grown dull." Shishio spoke glancing at his bandaged body quickly.

"There are too many lives in trouble, and even if I die here I will save them all from your tyranny."

"Tyranny…" Shishio scoffed shifting his stance this time the discomfort became a bit obvious in his eyes. "I will kill you and get rid of the useless era starting the era under my control."

"Ahhh!!" She moaned hitting a wall behind her. Her petite body slumped to the floor and her weapon hit the floor with a clang.

"Kaoru…" Megumi gasped running from the corner she hid herself in while her fiancé and sister tried to ward off the ever coming soldiers.

"I'll be alright…" She whispered watching Sano going at the endless amount of soldiers with his bare hands. Fatigue can slowly be seen forming in his body tall body, but still they were nearly done for the moment.

"Say goodnight!" One of the soldiers had snuck up behind Megumi. He had been armed with a battle axe and had it risen above his head.

"Goodnight…" A clang had been heard and the soldier fell. Both princesses had turned their gazes upward to look at the one who had saved them only to find their end of soldiers had been taken out… by a group of five.

"Tsubame…" Kaoru gasped seeing the mildly weak girl wielding a heavy pan from the kitchen with her sister Tae beside her also holding a pan. Behind the two of them were Tokio, Yahiko and Saitou.

"Looks like the ugly girl needs help after all." Yahiko commented as the hallway of littered soldier bodies had finally cleared.

"Shut up brat…" Kaoru stood up but her arm remained entirely limp at her side.

"Jo-chan your arm." She winced in an attempt to try and move it when he mentioned it.

Unfortunately I gotta go to bed so I'm guessing two more chapters after this one…I apologize for the jumping around, but it brings closure to the other things that are going on! (Pretty much bringing the circle to a close) JA!