To Reveal All
Chapter 14: Revealing Fracture
By steelphoenix
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, or any of its characters.
Author's Notes: Late again… /sweatdrops/ And posted in a very great hurry. But here it is. Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2005 is a successful, fun year for you. Blessings and joy to all.
I'm not sure the title works with the chapter, but it does highlight one of the main incidents in the chapter. I'm not going to say anything about writing this chapter, anything I say will immediately give away what I plan to happen (If I haven't already, by talking about the title. Oh well.).
I will say one thing: This is easily my favourite chapter of TRA (so far). Enjoy.
Language Notes: I've used 'chi', instead of 'ki', for the swordsman's sense, because that's what it's called in my manga translation.
Ryutsuishousen (Dragon Hammer Flight Flash) is best seen in the anime.
Waraji are the straw sandals / jandals / flip-flops / whatever-the-heck-you-call-thems that people wore on their feet (I hope that's the right spelling, correct me if I'm wrong).
Warnings:PG-13 for violence and sexual situations/scenes.
Shishio had noticed the shivering of the sakura, and when he saw Battousai appear behind the young fighter he was tormenting, he knew that the legendary hitokiri had been responsible. The deepest swordsman's chi he had ever felt from an opponent had risen from the redhead.
As Kenshin pushed Sano aside, and he stumbled away from the two, the dojo assistant stared hard at the dojo master, knowing that there was something strange at work here.
He's different from when he was Rurouni… from when he was Battousai… even different from before, when he was fighting Shishio. There wasn't the aggressive edges of Battousai, and there wasn't the slightly-soft, smooth mercy of the Rurouni. There wasn't even the odd melding of the two, the edges and smoothness combined, as it had been before Shishio knocked him out.
Now, Sano could feel the combination of the two – and not separate entities within the one body, but the two personalities absolutely synchronised, totally the same.
Not merely coexisting, not even simply working together.
They were one.
This was the true Kenshin, undiluted, unbroken, untorn. He was utterly at peace with himself, utterly in control, utterly in harmony with the world and his place in it. He was working towards only one goal: the defeat of Shishio.
And right now, he was the most dangerous man in the world. More dangerous than Rurouni, the man who wore a sakabato to prevent killing. More dangerous than Battousai, the assassin who secretly regretted his work. Now the two, and their powers, were combined, unchecked, unrestrained, totally without thought of retreat, but also totally without thought of killing.
Freed and feral.
And, Kami-sama help him, Shishio was on the receiving end.
Sano almost pitied him.
---
As the rooster-headed fighter stumbled away from the two combatants, the tall Okashira stepped out of the crowd. Setting Misao down, he gently pushed her in Sano's direction, indicating with a nod that she was to aid him. With ninja silence and caution, Aoshi crossed to where Megumi lay, forgotten by Kenshin and Shishio. With a gesture to hush her, he lifted her in his arms and carried her around the silent circle of spectators to where her 'younger sister' stood, lost in contemplation of the changed Kenshin.
Misao caught Sano, waited for him to regain his balance, and then led him, limping awkwardly, to follow in Aoshi's wake.
Kaoru was snapped out of her observation of the now-circling fighters by Aoshi's setting Megumi down by her.
"Megumi!" Kaoru knelt, checking on her 'older sister's condition. She had seen the dive Megumi had made to save Sano, and had been horrified that her sensible, pragmatic friend had done something so impulsive and foolhardy.
"I'm… alright, Kaoru," Megumi croaked, painfully, "It was…" gasp, "worth… it."
Well, she's talking well, no blood on her lips, so there's no punctured lung, Kaoru thought, relieved. That had been her major fear on seeing where Shishio's blade had struck.
Sano limped up, assisted by Misao, in time to hear Megumi's last rasping statement. His face changed from a grimace to a grin, and he sank to his knees beside the geisha, awkwardly and laboriously. Once he was sitting beside her, injured limb outstretched, he caressed her face gently.
"Thanks, fox. I love you, too. Are you alright? You're not in too much pain?" The warmth and concern in his voice was deeper than Kaoru had ever heard.
"When did this happen?!" she asked, shocked.
"Ages ago," replied Sano, looking up at her. Megumi's only reply was a rolling of eyes, despairing that her 'younger sister' was so insensitive.
Finally Kaoru realised what the teasing, and mock arguments between the two had been – their own form of flirting… and it had been happening almost since the two had met.
"Then you two are…?" The light dawning, Kaoru's very-obvious question was merely reflex.
"I love… Sano, yes…" gasp, cough, "He… loves me… too." Megumi's halting reply somehow managed to be mocking, even when her voice was barely able to be heard.
Love seems to happen in the unlikely places…
Her thoughts going to Kenshin, Kaoru turned to where he, and his opponent, were stalking in wary circles, waiting for the other to move.
---
He wants to circle? He's just waiting. Watching. Wanting a space, a weakness, before he tries to beat me. Kenshin knew what Shishio was up to. It was classic: Wait until your opponent shows a weakness, then exploit that weakness to your own advantage.
Very well. A weakness I shall give him.
The shoulder that had received the Guren-Kaina lowered infinitesimally. Not enough to be an open invitation, not enough to be obvious, but just enough for Kenshin to gauge how observant Shishio was.
He's lowered that shoulder! The Guren-Kaina worked! Shishio silently exulted. At last, a gap I can use!
"HAAAAYAAAAHHHH!!" Shishio sprung forwards, katana screaming across the stones, its feeble flame flaring again.
Just as I guessed. Come to me…
He's not even reacting! thought Shishio, his mad run at the redhead faltering ever-so-slightly.
This was what Kenshin had been waiting for.
The small fighter leapt high in the air. His light frame flew high, and as he fell, sword-blade extended, Shishio saw his intent, and moved. The flaming katana swept up, tracing its trail, and blocked the falling strike.
"Hiten Mitsurugi Style. Ryutsui… shousen."
The falling strike entirely missed Shishio's block, and as Kenshin landed hard, he immediately sprang up, sword held horizontally. As Shishio looked down, the blunted side of the sakabato took him under the chin, lifting him into the air.
Landing ignominiously on his backside, Shishio stared up at the small fighter, spitting blood. He had bitten his tongue when the Ryutsuishousen struck, and the wound stung violently.
He's moving so smoothly, so fast… much faster than before! And he tricked me with that strange attack…
---
A combination strike! Kaoru stared across at Kenshin, marvelling at the ease and speed with which he had united two such different strikes.
Seeing Shishio raise himself to his feet, she observed Kenshin's response.
The redhead strolled around his opponent, until Shishio was forced to turn to keep up with his movement. She saw that he didn't move with the humble, almost-mincing step of the respectful Rurouni Kenshin she knew, nor with the stalking, feral movement of the Battousai, that she had only seen briefly, when he was threatening her danna.
This was a confident, easy stride that displayed warrior's grace, but without the anger of the hitokiri or the self-effacement of the rurouni.
It was the same as the intense aura, the deep chi she could feel radiating from him. Not the hitokiri, not the rurouni, but a flawless overlapping of the two.
He's at long last one person. The simple phrase slipped into her head, and she realised that it was right. The Battousai and the Rurouni were together, their personalities meshed and melded together into one seamless being.
Kenshin was whole again.
This is Kenshin… the real Kenshin… not Rurouni, not Battousai… both. Joined together. Kenshin.
My Kenshin… Please… let this being still be the man I knew…
---
Kenshin advanced again, and crouched, not in Battoujutsu stance, but kneeling over on his left knee, right leg bent up forwards, and right hand on the hilt of his sword.
Let's see if this trick works.
Shishio moved, shifting over to his left so that the Battousai's attack would not be coming straight at him, but would have to bend to accommodate his movement.
Good, good. And now…
Kenshin shifted, following Shishio's movement. The shuffle of his straw waraji on the pavings was easily heard over the faint buzz that the crowd made, but Kenshin's friends – and reluctant allies – watched in deep silence.
I was right… Shishio grinned. He can't launch a successful attack from that position without the course being as straight as possible.
I was right… He took the bait with great alacrity. Now to suck him in…
Kenshin shifted again, once more following the line of Shishio's movement.
Having tested the Battousai's trick again, and now certain, Shishio moved.
Arcing in a circle around his opponent, he was aiming for the blind spot behind Kenshin's back. Speeding up his run to an almost-godlike speed, his black boots moved with only the slightest tapping. He glanced briefly at where his opponent was supposed to be, instead of the spot he intended to stop – something he never did, had never done, but which was to save his life now.
He's not there…
Then the sakabato came down on the point at which his spine joined his shoulders.
Kenshin had taken off with his godlike speed the moment Shishio had moved for the third time, and curving in his wake, came down like greased lightning on the Leader's unprotected back.
The shift of movement from the glance caused the sakabato to strike not across the spine, where it would do permanent, possibly fatal damage, but on the fragile left collarbone.
CRACK!
Bone snapped, and the fractured ends grated against one another brutally.
With a visceral, groaning scream, Shishio sank to the ground.
---
"Shishio!" Yumi cried as she saw her lord fall. She had heard the vicious crack of sword against bone, and her lord's scream tore at her. The young woman ran from the porch, shoving through a now-silent, yielding crowd, and dove across the arena towards him.
Skidding to a halt, and collapsing before him, she immediately reached out to aid him, but her hand was stopped.
By the blade of a sakabato.
She lowered the arm, as the blade reached over Shishio's shoulder and tipped up her chin with the point, blunted side up.
She glared at the man who had hurt her Shishio. Purple glared into gold-veined purple, daring him to turn the sakabato over and cut her.
"You… monster!" she spat, for lack of anything else to say.
"Any warrior expects to be injured in a battle with a superior." Battousai's voice was calm, but Yumi noticed it kept modulating between deep, dark tonings and lighter, more kind notes.
"Superior?! No-one is superior to him! Not even the Hitokiri Battousai!"
"You show loyalty," said the redheaded man, smiling, though the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Not many in this age would follow, and aid, their lord in circumstances such as this."
"Shishio is worthy of anything I can give him!"
Again that mirthless smile. "I am glad you love your lord –" Yumi gasped at the Battousai's presumption, "– but even your love for him will not save him from being beaten, as he is now."
---
The briefest of silent snarls curled Shishio's lips, and the bandaged man's face contorted again. He was indeed close to being beaten.
Battousai was too quick to let him use any of his other attacks, which relied on speed and the fire-ability, and he couldn't do most of them one-handed anyway. This, combined with the redhead's ability to predict the reactions of his opponent, meant that this was far more formidable a fight than Shishio had anticipated.
There's only one thing to do… I have to distract him!
And the best way to distract him…
A mirthless, malicious grin plastered itself unseen on the Leader's face, and he glanced across the courtyard at the crowd, seeking out a certain group of people. The black-haired girl that he had seen Battousai kiss… she was the ideal target. Despite the split-seam kimono, and the katana she was handling with every appearance of competence, if Battousai had an emotional attachment to her… then injuring her would inhibit Battousai.
Hopefully severely… She's a pretty girl, who wouldn't want to keep her in one piece?
The bandaged man chuckled quietly, his evil glee unheard as the plan began to foment in his mind.
---
Kaoru had seen the plum-haired woman run across the courtyard to kneel facing Shishio, her back to where Kaoru was. Kenshin's reaching over Shishio's shoulder and his accompanying words were absolutely clear to her.
'Beaten'? I was right… Kenshin's not Battousai. He would have said 'killed', or something like it, if he was.
Some small part of her was jumping for joy that Battousai was not the one dealing with the situation here, but the rest of her was utterly apprehensive about this unknown mixing of Battousai and Rurouni. These were uncharted waters…
As she watched, Shishio lifted his head. His gaze was solidly focussing on her, Kaoru realised. With a shiver, she turned her head half-away from the crimson stare, trying to avoid Shishio and watch Kenshin at the same time. This half-avoiding, half-desiring, wholly confused exercise was completely unproductive, and eventually she gave up, and just watched Kenshin.
---
Kenshin's cold stare at the purple-eyed woman obviously disheartened her, and she broke the staring match, looking down at the man she had come to help. Lifting her hands to Shishio's broken shoulder, she flicked her eyes upwards, asking permission. Receiving a single, brief nod of assent, she lifted the shoulder of her lord's kimono away from the broken bones.
The movement caused Shishio to hiss involuntarily, and Yumi immediately lifted her hands away, her expression contrite.
"Shishio…"
"Do what you will." Shishio grated, through clenched teeth.
Raising her hands again, she reached into her kimono sleeve, and pulled out the concealed dagger she wore all the time.
Within the barest of seconds, the sakabato flicked it away, to skiff over the cobbles until it came to rest perhaps three metres from the tiny tableau.
Yumi again lifted her head. No staring match happened this time. She simply looked up at Kenshin, and he returned it.
"I will cut bandages over there," she said, pointing to where the knife had landed.
The slightest of nods authorised her movement. She crept over the stones, and knelt by the fallen knife. Seizing the right shoulder of her kimono, she neatly cut the stitching, so it simply fell off in one piece. The dagger facilitated cutting it into long strips, eminently suitable for bandages.
The whole task took no more than two minutes to complete, and for the whole of it, the Kokuryukai, Kaoru, Sano and Megumi, Aoshi and Misao hung on to her every move with bated breath. There was no sound but the slight tinking of the dagger-blade against the stone, and the ripping as the sleeve was turned into flame-orange bandages.
Yumi stuffed the dagger into her obi, and carried the tangled, snaky mess of brilliant bandages over to where Shishio knelt, placing them down.
As she reached for his shoulder, her lifting arms revealed the dagger.
Just too tempting…
Before Kenshin had the chance to react, Shishio reached forwards with his unencumbered right hand, and grabbed out the long knife.
---
Kaoru saw the rapid movement of Shishio's hands, saw his grab of the dagger. As he lifted it to throw, his gaze was fixed, intent and completely focussed on his target.
Kaoru.
So that was why he was staring at me… I'm his target…
The sakabato came down too late. Shishio's arm had already thrust the dagger forwards. It cut through the air, spinning towards her.
Author's Notes: More cliffhanger… it's getting exciting! Really exciting! At current rate of progress, I see TRA being 16, possibly up to 18 chapters long. So people, we're near the end.
What do you think of the 'combined Kenshin's' style of thoughts? I wanted to get the feeling of the alternating/changing voice between Rurouni and Battousai, but I have the feeling it may have confused some people. Tell me if you think I should change it.
This was supposed to be nothing but fighting… but somehow, the meringue ended up in there anyway… /sigh/ Battousai mucking with the plot plan, yet again…
(Battousai, a.k.a. Nix-chan's Muse: Don't blame me. You're the one who does the meringue. I think you don't have enough fighting.
Nix: It's nearly the whole damn chapter!
Battousai: There's fluffy stuff in the middle. Which is boring.
Nix: Get used to it, Battousai! This is a romance story, after all! Go back and read Chapter 11 – it's all fighting… Gaahh! You're screwing up my thoughts for the next chapter!)
Review Replies: Thanks to all my reviewers.
half-breed-demon-fox – Drooling all over your keyboard too… hehe, I couldn't resist…
anime-luney (for TRA12 review) – Filler chapters are still chapters, yes… and necessary!
anime-luney (for TRA13 review) – Life does tend to intrude on fanfic, ne? That's why Battousai is currently fighting off a writer's block for me. 'I beg of thee' means 'I beg you'. People used to say thee and thou… well, just because, I suppose…
shan – A bit late, by my standards, but what do you call 'soon'?
lyn – Like I said, this'll probably end up being 16-18 chapters long, so you needn't worry about it finishing just yet!
HiEi JaGaNsHis FlAmE – Don't worry, I got the chapter done, despite drooling on my keyboard… I don't think it's a coincidence that you like these pairings. These are the 'canon' (i.e. follow the manga/anime plot) pairings, and most people follow them. Never mind that you didn't review… I know you're out there, reading, and that's good.
RangerDo'Urden – Is this soon enough? I'm sorry about the big wait with the last chapter, but I had things going on (including Christmas). I'm glad you like the chapter(s)!
thechickenlittle2000 – Long live fluff indeed! Thanks for the compliments, and…
(Battousai: She better think I'm doing a 'great job' – or it could be bad for her health.
Nix: Yes, I know, Battousai, just let me finish the review replies.
Battousai: /death glare/)
…Battousai thanks you too.
Crewel – There wasn't much in the way of SxM stuff this chapter, but there will be more in the next, promise.
inuyasha/kenshin gurl – Cliffhangers are mean, aren't they? And here I am, giving you another one… /evil grin/