The New Light

((Look at it this way: I got into the groove of writing a LOT of Aoshi-themed poems at and decided to share them here! Enjoy, guys! Oh, and by the way: Aoshi Shinomori is STILL the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, though I hate to admit it.))

It was getting heated up,
That battle between Kenshin and Aoshi.
But sometime, somewhere, the lines had to be drawn.
And that line was already there... they just didn't realize it yet.

After the Omyou Hasshi trap,
Kenshin delivers his lines,
Which drives Aoshi back to the brink of the path of Insanity,
And he says, "I don't want to hear this from you."

Staring him down,
With both kodachi in hand,
He prepared for a new move
Which Kenshin was unaware of.

Letting his kaiken fly,
Kenshin thought it was an easy dodge,
But he was mistaken...
For the kodachi lay right behind it, perfectly concealed.

"Gokou Juuji," Aoshi calls this new move of his.
Kenshin barely catches the kodachi with his hands,
And a sign of a smirk crosses Aoshi's face.
But there's a catch.

At this point in time, Kenshin delivers his lines,
About the little ninja girl waiting for him at the Aoi-Ya,
The one called Misao Makimachi,
One who loved him so much, despite vast differences.

Even if he didn't realize it,
At that moment in time, Misao was crying for him.
Shaking off this notion, he said, "I've had enough of this."
And Kenshin just stared at him.

Why does he have no emotions? he wondered.
Looking at his still ice-green eyes, he finally understood the situation:
Aoshi had abandoned all fellings, and the little love Misao had for him
In his quest to be the strongest swordsman in all of Japan.

I can't break my promise! Aoshi thought furiously
Thinking of his four friends that had fallen
In order for him to live-
Beshimi, Shikijo, Hyotokt, and Hannya.

"I'll never lose to you, Kenshin", he said
With that strange manic fire that lit up his frozen eyes,
He started to do the ultimate technique:
Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren.

But Kenshin saw it coming,
And finally made up his mind:
To use his own ougi, the Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki,
Even if it meant certain exposure.

As the swords fly,
As emotions run high,
As Kenshin pulls off his ougi,
And Aoshi soars into the air...

One realization has been made:
I can't be the strongest.
I'll have to settle for next best...
I'm sorry I failed you, my friends...

As Kenshin looks at him,
His eyes have changed, his aura has become clear-
Kenshin would be able to keep his promise to Misao.
He would bring back her "Aoshi-sama"...