Disclaimer: I don't steal, you don't steal, you don't sue and I won't, either. 8)
A/N: I've been waiting since Sunday for fanfiction to stop screwing around so I could post this. Just know that I was thinking of you and how you might appreciate a quick update for a change. Haha. Now that the action is starting to get going for real, you can expect updates a lot quicker. At this point, I really don't know how long this fic will be!
As a warning, there will be a lot of sword fighting in this chapter! Those of you who like that (which makes sense…I mean, it's Rurouni Kenshin!) then good news! Lots of tactics, etc. The usual. Those who like the more introspective/romantic side of RK, just bear with us. I promise a lot of drama :wink:
Tanoshimu!
Chapter 14
Naruku: A Fight To End All
-
As Aoshi led Kaoru inside, they were suddenly aware of something headed right at them.It was Kenshin, sprinting down the hall, holding a lantern that illuminated him in an eerie way. His footsteps pounded in Kaoru's ears. Misao, Soujiro, Sano and Yahiko streamed down the hall after Kenshin.
Kaoru knew something was wrong. She subconsciously separated herself from Aoshi and felt him do the same as their friends rushed toward them.
"What—what is it?" Kaoru asked her eyes wide in worry.
"Kaoru-dono!" Kenshin cried, clearly surprised but pleased. "You're back."
Kaoru nodded, her mind still anxious. "What's going on? Where's—"
"Naruku's missing," Kenshin said hastily. "She—she's just simply gone."
"Gone?" Kaoru echoed. She blindly stumbled down the hall, past everyone else to where Naruku's room was. She flung the door open, as if expecting to see Naruku sitting right there in her room.
But it was empty. What was more, the futon and bedclothes were folded neatly in the corner as if they had never been touched. Kaoru fell to her knees and she felt her friends clustering around behind her.
"She…where could she have gone?"
Kenshin shook his head, trying not to let his features become distorted by the anger and regret he felt. "I don't know where she went, but I do know the manner in which she traveled. She had her sword, and Akeri-san's dagger with her."
"So, then…" Misao began slowly from behind Kenshin. "Could she be out looking for Enizu?"
"It's very possible," Aoshi replied.
"Well we have to go look for her!" Misao interjected.
"Misao-chan, there is a storm brewing outside," Soujiro piped from beside her.
She whirled and exclaimed heatedly, "You know what? I don't care right now! Storm or no storm, my only concern is my friend who's gone right now!" Angry tears filled her eyes. She felt bad for yelling at Soujiro, but it couldn't be helped. Before anyone could offer her help, she disappeared from the group, running down the hallway to where it led outside.
Aoshi shifted behind Kaoru. "Perhaps I should go with her," he offered, turning to see if anyone had any objections.
"Go where?" Sano wanted to know.
Aoshi turned on him. "To find Naruku."
-
Naruku wasn't sure why she had done it. Why she had snuck out like she did. Did she just want to get away from it all, the guilt, and the anger?
Or, and this was more likely the case, did she want to get rid of those emotions entirely by getting rid of the source of them?
When she had first left, she ran and couldn't stop running. It was just her pure luck that Aoshi wasn't directly in front of her door and she had managed to sneak out. And that he was distracted, berating Kaoru or whatever it was he was doing, and Naruku managed to steal away into the darkness, past the clothesline, past the gate out into the road. Her heart pumped faster as her feet pounded against the ground, running away, away, away.
Toward Enizu. Was she really looking for him? When she had gotten out, she hadn't though of it, but now she knew it was the real reason she was in an alleyway in the middle of nowhere.
The first time Enizu had attacked the dojo, Naruku had all but shown him the way there. Enizu had, without knowing it, given her the choice between staying at the dojo and revealing Kenshin to him or leaving Tokyo but keeping her friends hidden from Enizu. Naruku had chosen the former, and suffered from it. She wasn't going to make the same mistake. She was going to make things right.
Naruku felt the lightest mist in the air. It couldn't really be classified as rain. It was more like the moister was being plucked from the air and floating around her. She breathed.
"You wanted me Enizu?" she shouted, looking up at the sky. Her voice lowered as her eyes focused on one dim star. "Well, I'm here," she whispered, closing her eyes.
She heard a shuffling step behind her.
"Perfect."
She whirled. Emerging from the shadows was none other than Enizu. Suddenly Naruku could not keep her balance, could not stand on her own feet.
She lurched forward but caught herself just in time. This was the first time she had seen him. The first time she had heard Enizu speak since that night so many months ago. Reality seemed to hit her hard and take the breath from her.
She had to have been kidding herself to think she wouldn't be this upset; this scared at seeing him in the flesh again. She clutched the hilt of her sword as if it would keep her from falling over. She tried not to let him see how much she quivered in his presence.
"What?" Enizu said, suppressing a chuckle. "No Battousai? He didn't follow you here? He isn't…lurking behind the corner, is he?"
Naruku did answer. Mostly because she didn't trust herself to speak without breaking down into tears. And also because she didn't want to let Enizu know that she was all alone. But it didn't matter if she said so or not. Her silence answered for her.
Enizu grinned. "Even better. Just tell me one thing," he drawled. "Why are you here?"
And this time Naruku found her voice. Weak and uncertain as it was, she had found room to speak. "To end this."
Enizu raised his eyebrows, as if he were surprised. He took two steps closer to her, but they still remained the length of a carriage apart. "I hope you don't think it will be that easy," Enizu said, clearly enjoying his first taste of revenge. "But actually, I have a surprise for you."
For one fearful second, Naruku was afraid that Enizu was going to bring out the decapitated bodies of all her friends. That thought vanished as another man stepped out of the shadows and came between Enizu and Naruku.
"Enizu," the man said gruffly. From the sound of his voice and the wary way he moved, Naruku guessed that he was a lot older than her or Enizu. This new man was in his early forties, at least. But there was no mistaking the fact that he was a fighter. Born one, and most probably would die one. "Is this the one?" he jerked his thumb at Naruku.
Naruku watched Enizu carefully. He had a thin smile on his lips. "Yes," Enizu replied slowly, not taking his eyes off of Naruku. "This is the one you will fight."
The man turned to look at Naruku. She expected him to say the usual line, that it was demeaning to fight a woman, or she was too runty to be worth it. Maybe he would even laugh at the sight of her. But he did none of these things. Instead he just turned his whole body to face hers, his eyes becoming flat and pinned. The eyes of a warrior. But Naruku got the sense that there was something else behind that expression. Something almost sad.
"It would be rude to fight you without telling you my name," the man said to her. "I am Kujima Rokuro."
"I don't want to fight you, Kujima-san," Naruku said respectfully, mostly because he hadn't made a rude comment about her being a weak girl. Her eyes flickered toward Enizu.
"You don't really have a choice," Enizu purred. "Fight him."
Naruku shook her head. Then she stopped and glanced back at Enizu. "If I fight him…" she said slowly. "If I win, you have to promise to leave this city and never return. Never even cast a glance in the direction of me or any of my acquaintances."
Enizu laughed. "Very well," he said, a creepy curve to his lips. "But if you loose, you will loose your life."
Naruku was hesitant to accept the offer. She couldn't deny it, she was scared, and the threat of death was enough to make her want to scream and run away. But no. No, she would stay and fight and win, because that would end it all. She thought a second longer before curtly nodding her head.
"Enizu," Rokuro said shortly. "Quit distracting the girl. I want this done with."
Enizu's sneered at him but stepped back and walked a short way down the alley to get out of their way. He seemed to almost blend in with the wall behind him, or at least that's how it looked to Naruku in the dark. She focused her attention of Rokuro, her opponent.
She was surprised to see that her shaking had almost stopped completely. But she hadn't had a one-on-one battle like this since she had fought Akeri in Kyoto all those months ago.
And this would probably be the most important fight Naruku would ever find herself in. Everything rode on her shoulders for this one. To win meant she could save her friends from Enizu. To loose…she would die.
Naruku suddenly felt very much like how Kenshin felt just before a battle. Strangely calm and yet, passionate, or so it went in Naruku's mind. She closed her eyes and a second later, her sword was out of its sheathe.
Rokuro inspected Naruku's 'hanashitou,' thus named by the sword's creator.
"You would fight me with a blunt sword?" Rokuro asked, his eyes still tracing the bladeless sword. He did not sound ridiculing or arrogant, but simply curious.
Naruku's eyes opened to reveal green intensity. "Yes. This is only a battle of life and death if I loose."
Rokuro couldn't help but feel slightly surprised at the words that were coming from such a young woman's mouth. He thought nothing of it, and soon his sword was out as well.
"I try to be a gentleman," Rokuro said. "So I will give you the first chance to strike."
Naruku kept her eyes trained on him, watching warily. She looked for any openings, any clues as to how to beat him, but she found nothing. His stance looked flawless. Naruku closed her eyes, trying to come up with some sort of strategy. Speed, is what she came up with. I need to be quick.
With a tap of her right foot, Naruku set herself off, running at Rokuro in a jagged angle. Her hands tightened around the hilt of her sword, holding it almost vertical and out towards her right. She was ready at any moment to strike.
Watching her carefully, Rokuro shifted the position of his sword slightly.
Naruku pursed her lips as she came toward him. In a flash she was above him, and quickly landed behind him, swinging her sword and using its velocity to turn herself back around.
To Naruku's surprise, Rokuro's sword was blocking long before her own hanashitou had reached its destination. Naruku sprang back underneath one of the awnings on the surrounding buildings.
"Fancy footwork indeed," Rokuro said. "But you should know to save the embellishments. What you really needed to do," he slowly brought his sword around to his other side in an offensive position. "Was make sure you landed a hit when you had a chance. Now, it's too late."
Naruku didn't say anything. She knew what he said was true. Her tricks and ornamented footwork would not do any good, cunning as they might be. She brought her sword down, holding it out from her hip and parallel to the ground. Again she charged, and this time she noticed that Rokuro was in motion as well.
He struck first. Naruku sidestepped his thrust, changing the position of her sword as she did so. She saw her opening. "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu—Ryukansen!" It was a technique she had only just learned, but it worked. She hit Rokuro squarely on the waist where his torso curved around.
Naruku's eyes widened as she felt a blow being dealt to her as well. Rokuro has altered the path of his blade so that the blunt part caught Naruku in the back of the neck. She quickly ducked her head, letting the sword pass over her. But it had already done its damage. Naruku heard Rokuro step back as she gasped for breath, trying to distill the pain.
"So, you train under the same style as Himura?" Rokuro muttered.
Naruku whipped her head back up. "What, did Enizu forget to tell you that, or something?" she snapped. Then she paused. He had said 'Himura,' not 'Battousai.' Did that mean that Rokuro had no real grudge against Kenshin? Was he merely Enizu's pawn?
From his spot in the shadows, Enizu chuckled. "I knew this would get interesting…"
Naruku didn't say anything, but her gaze focused on Rokuro alone. In her eyes she held all the malevolence and anger she felt toward Enizu. She flicked her sword, holding it diagonally in front of her. With a burst of speed she was running at Rokuro once again. He seemed to be holding his ground this time, which Naruku had not anticipated.
As she reached him, Naruku swung her sword back and then in a downward arc. She finally made her attack from the opposite side. Her fake-out worked and she landed another blow on Rokuro. She jumped to the side to avoid his sword. Without pausing, she launched herself at him again. She snapped her wrist forward, sending her sword directly at Rokuro's shoulder. Predictably, he blocked and Naruku brought her sword down to strike at his thigh, planning to duck as well to avoid Rokuro's blade.
Before she could get that far, Rokuro's fist sailed in and collided with her jaw. She was caught completely unaware and was forced to take whole force of the blow. She spiraled away from the impact, only barely managing to land on her feet.
Cringing, Naruku used her thumb to wipe the blood away from her mouth. Part of her lips was split open. She could feel it. This isn't working, she thought desperately. It's just not enough. I must win. Even if it costs me my life.
She started forward again, a new resolve in her movements. Rokuro seemed to sense this as well, for it was the first time he held himself in the defensive stance against her.
Naruku delivered two blows in rapid succession. One that arrived as soon as Naruku was close enough. This one was easily blocked by Rokuro's sword. The next was delivered much closer to him, a short swing to the ribcage. Rokuro blocked this with the palm of his hand. He shoved Naruku away forcefully and came at her, now completely on the offensive.
This man…she thought. He knows how to do anything to win. But I can't let him! I can't allow this to continue.
With quick resolve, she swung her sword, putting her whole body into the action. Surprised, Rokuro jumped back from the swing, avoiding the sword by inches. As Naruku's swing followed through, Rokuro struck again. He was now towering above her and his sword was aimed right down on her exposed back.
Naruku let out a shout and stepped forward to evade the strike, simultaneously crashing her body into his gut. She was sent toppling to the ground while Rokuro held his footing, sustaining only a slight shock in his stomach.
Naruku yelled wordlessly as she crashed her back into the floor. Tears sprung to her eyes out of frustration and anger at herself. Rokuro brought his sword down, as if he were simply chopping wood. Naruku knew that in seconds her torso would be severed in two.
One hand on the hilt, she brought her sword up in front of her, using the other hand to support the sword, knowing that otherwise her block would just crumble beneath the force of Rokuro's blow. As their swords clashed, Naruku assessed her situation and realized she only had so long for her strength to put up against his.
"Hyaah!" Naruku cried, as she rolled out from under the two swords. Her arms were the last part to leave that spot. The force that Rokuro was putting on his sword caused it to go straight into the ground when the resistance of Naruku's sword was gone.
Within seconds, Naruku was on her feet again. "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Ryuso—"
Just as she was about to carry out the 'Ryusosen' attack, Naruku felt the wind being knocked out of her as Rokuro slammed her into a wall using his left hand. The other hand gripped his sword, which came at Naruku's face, millimeters behind his outstretched hand.
She was so tightly pinned against the wall that she had no room to use her sword to block. She didn't even think about what she did next, which was raise her left hand to deflect the sword strike with her wrist. She gasped in pain as the sword hit, slicing into the flesh of her arm.
She was sure the sword would have cut right through her arm had Rokuro not pulled it back. As the sword left her arm, Naruku screamed. Such agony she had never felt. She knew that her left arm was now rendered almost completely useless. All because of her carelessness, leaving herself open to an attack she did not expect. But she couldn't give up. Broken bones or no, she had to win.
"I will not loose!" she cried, driving her shoulder into Rokuro's chest and pushing him away with all of her might.
He stumbled back, his sword waving a foot above and to the left of Naruku's head.
Naruku had put all of her body weight into that push. Her leg shot forward to catch herself from falling. Her grip tightened around her sword. She felt her left arm shaking and she knew she couldn't be putting so much force on it. Please hold on, she told herself. I just have to beat him…to protect everyone. To keep Enizu from hurting them…Kenshin. If I loose, I die, and for nothing.
Her hands stopped shaking and her sword was outstretched on the right of her, sloping downward. Her left had was tucked tightly to her right hip, while her right arm, holding the sword very close to its blade, had the elbow locked and held slightly away from her body. Her legs were far apart and she was very low to the ground, almost crouching. Her green eyes were hooded and staring right up at Rokuro.
She took a flying step toward him, and then another. The last step she took with her left foot was to add momentum to her swing as she brought her sword around to strike.
To her surprise, Rokuro did not raise his sword to block her. Her sword hit him right on his side, and his extreme resistance to the blow forced the sword out of Naruku's weak grip.
Everything I do is just not quite enough… Her own momentum caused her to turn all the way around until her back was facing Rokuro.
His sword was at Naruku's throat. All movement ceased. Everything seemed to be hanging in the air.
I…Naruku couldn't breathe. Her eyes closed, but not by will of her own. Lost. I'm going…to die. And Enizu won't stop until Kenshin is dead as well.
And the others…She was numb, but she felt her knees giving up, just as she felt her spirit do the same. Dead. She fell to the ground, landing on her knees, her eyes opening to see Enizu's dim figure in front of her.
She could hear Rokuro's breath behind her, and felt the cold metal of his sword against the back of her neck. He said nothing. Naruku's lungs refused to take in air.
"I hope you remember our deal," Enizu said, strolling out of the shadows.
She closed her eyes, feeling the tears come. Sobs silently shook her body as she felt a droplet of water come down. And then another. She heard rain hitting Rokuro's sword behind her. The hollow clang filled her ears, vibrated through her whole body.
Enizu's voice reached her again. "You've lost, Naruku."
She wept, knowing it was true and that her life was at its end.
A/N: This chapter was so much different from last chapter. It's no wonder I had to divide them in two! Jeez. 8)
Thank you for all your support yet again! You've really helped me along with this fic. I know there are a few of you who couldn't review because fanfiction essentially broke…I thank you for even just putting in the time to read! It's always nice to know, though, so please do keep sending reviews!
"Oro" Object: Well, you win some, you loose some. Poor Naruku and Kenshin, though, just can't seem to get it together. Not even one kiss…Anyway, thank you for your compliments, as always. (haha…please don't steal my chapter!)
Genki Ninjagirl: Kaoru's pretty kick-ass, isn't she? I'm glad you like all the pairings…more Sou/Mi to come, I promise! Just not a lot of WAFFy stuff, considering…
Justagirl8225: It's fine…I'm really happy that you're reading again! I bet you really liked last chapter, huh? I'm glad you like the Aoshi/Kaoru and don't think it's too rushed or anything…and yeah, Momoru really had it coming, wouldn't you say?
Zioncross: Sorry about Outa…I'll make it up to you somehow! Kaoru can be pretty scary, huh? Just make a note not to get on her bad side…or hit on her like that. I dunno what you're talking about, Aoshi and Kaoru are always cute…according to me. Thanks for always reading and reviewing. You don't know how much I appreciate it!
Noname: :hiding: Sorry! I really am. I promise there will be some good Sou/Mi stuff in the future…as a way of making it up to everyone who wanted more. And also because it was in the plot since the beginning, but whatever.
Question Mark: Sorry…why do you want me to know how to use Photoshop anyhow? Thanks, and it's nice to know you're reading!
Seta Misao: Aoshi and Kaoru are the happiest couple right now. For a reason. Naruku and Kenshin have had it rough huh? Misao and Soujiro broken apart by my hands? No…no, surely not! Haha…well I'm glad you're enjoying this and like all the plot twists…I'm sure having a lot of fun!
Hot-Chick: Haha…I can see where you'd get that scary idea:shudder: that would be a little to dark for me. (Momoru would have probably, but Kaoru made sure that he got taken care of…) I think Aoshi realizes how much of a risk it is, but seeing Kaoru come back safe and sound probably makes him think he made the right choice. Of course, she didn't exactly tell him about Momoru assaulting her…
Thank you thank you thank you! And hopefully, if you are reading this, you'll be reviewing in just a matter of seconds.
But just for your consideration: is anyone interested in beta-ing for me? It would involve a lot of helping me with certain character interactions…not for this fic, a different one. Also involves a few Ocs and lots of romance. If you're up to it, please e-mail me! WhiteRabbit(underscore)the(at)yahoo(dot)com. Thanks for your time!
Important: This chapter was under the setting Aoshi/Kaoru. Next chapter it will be under Kenshin, with no secondary character. Thanks and see you then!
