The struggle between Kenshin and Shishio did not last that long. In this state, Shishio was overbearingly powerful. So despite the fact that Kenshin and her ryushousen was holding him back, she was clearly being pushed into the ground. It was all she could do to prevent herself from crumbling under the blade.
While she struggled to keep Shishio back, a green string of light whipped forward to wrap around Kagome and pull her free. He promptly dumped her by the downed Inuyasha, and Inuyasha managed to grab her arms.
"Dammit, Sesshoumaru! What the hell took you so long? Why is this moron SO DAMN STRONG?" Inuyasha growled. His healing factor was strong, but given that the wounds were deep it would take him a lot longer to heal. He was a tough hanyo though, and had risen to his knees, grabbing Kagome and pulling her up to him. She was shaken, of course. Taking a slam of that ferocity was a bit… much.
"What a good time to arrive, Lord Sesshoumaru!" Sojiro said, stepping between him and Shishio. "But I can't let you go any further, y'know?" He said, beginning to tap his left foot.
"Then it will be I, Sesshoumaru, who will defeat you, Sojiro the Tenken." and he promptly drew Bakusaiga from it's sheath. His eyes were narrowed. Focused. He had taken quite a few beatings over the past few encounters. First, Kenshin wounded him. Then he fought Sojiro, in which he promptly took a few blows. But the fight with Hiko? That human had bested him thoroughly, and in the process had taught him. Perhaps indirectly. But now Sesshoumaru had fought ones with this speed several times, and he had an answer to it.
"Ehehehe! Alright, Lord Sesshoumaru! I just need to grab a sword– one sec–!" he disappeared, and then returned a few seconds later. The handle of this katana was white with a fat, oval handguard. He tucked it into his obi, and promptly drew it. "Are ya ready?!"
"Enough of this!" Sesshoumaru bellowed, and promptly attacked. He crossed the distance between the two of them, raising Bakusaiga above his head and bringing it down in a slash. By the time he brought it down, Sojiro had disappeared and moved behind him. But Sesshoumaru, much to his credit, had been anticipating this. As the sword was going downwards, Sesshoumaru deftly let the sword roll forward until he was holding it backhand. Thanks to the large amount of mokomoko on his shoulder, Sojiro would never see it. So as he went in to slash at his unprotected back, he shoved Bakusaiga harmlessly through his mokomoko. Not Sojiro didn't have enough time to react. Instead, the sword stabbed right into his right thigh.
Meanwhile…
Once Sesshoumaru had rescued Kagome, Kenshin had pushed away from Shishio. She danced to a stop a few paces away, her golden eyes glaring at him. She slowly sheathed Tomoe and promptly slid into a battojutsu stance, her golden eyes seeming to read through him.
Shishio, on the other hand, merely smiled.
"Battousai. Isn't it fitting that this comes down to you and I?" he said, raising the Mugenjin a bit and leveling it at her. "Two Hitokiri's at the pinnacle of their strength. But you'll be a precious resource for me." He said, and he raised Mugenjin above his head now.
Kenshin moved. For some reason, her body felt as if she were in optimal condition. There were no aches anywhere, no pains, and everything moved so freely. So her speed was at its peak as well, and the instant she moved she was on the other side of Shishio, slowly resheathing her sword.
Shishio looked down– his stomach was tore wide open! In the instance that he raised his sword, Kenshin had promptly gutted him. A well aimed assassination technique, a clean cut that would kill any normal man. But then… he wasn't a normal man, was he? From the wound spilled raw fire and what sounded like the screams of a thousand damned souls. Shishio reached down to his stomach, his bare fingers lightly touching it before it sealed itself closed again.
Kenshin's eyes widened at this sight, her jaw slightly dropping. So he had succeeded. And her eyes shifted over to the wounded Inuyasha, and it suddenly made sense.
"You have done it, Shishio Makoto. You have thrown aside your humanity." Kenshin said quietly.
"Was I ever human to begin with, Battousai? Fate has a funny way of doing things. One thousand humans. One thousand demons. I am neither demon nor human. I'm a God– no. I'm an asura. A divine being of wrath!" His laugh bellowed throughout the village. Unfortunately for Kenshin, she was starting to believe that may have been right. That strike was perfectly placed, and it would be very unlikely that someone would survive it. But Shishio had taken it without even so much as flinching. "Come now, Battousai!"
Kenshin moved again, aiming to mimic the same strike as before. However, Shishio was ready for it. His sword came up to parry it, and the two swords crossed in sparks. Mugenjin's serrated teeth bit into the razor sharp edge of Tomoe. The two blades crossed, and they began to dance. Shishio struck. Kenshin parried. Kenshin countered, Shishio blocked. The two went. The two danced. Their feet making rhythmic thuds on the grass. Shishio's face was a fixed expression of madness, and Kenshin's was of sheer determination. Kenshin flipped her sword backhanded, making quick, light strikes. Shishio was blocking them, swinging Mugenjin downwards with ferocious blows. He was backing Kenshin up, the overhead chops were beginning to rattle Kenshin. He made one more downward strike, and Kenshin shoved Tomoe up to meet it. Matching force– or trying to. The swords collided, and it knocked Shishio off balance just enough. Kenshin then swung Tomoe upwards, backhanded, and cut him from pelvis to throat. Another good, clean strike. However, Shishio let out a snarl and slashed outwards, this time Mugenjin ignited, and a fiery cut sliced across Kenshin's front. Knocking her to the ground.
"Do you see, Battousai? There is no defeating the true ruler of these lands!"
The blade hit Sojiro in the thigh, and he cried out in pain. He leapt backwards, his left hand reaching over to press against the wound that was blossoming in blood. "Ow! That's not playing fair!"
"Fairness?" Sesshoumaru asked, turning around and slashing the blood off of Bakusaiga's blade. "In a duel to the death, there is no such thing as fairness. Are you so weak that you don't understand that?"
"Weak?! I am not weak!" And Sojiro moved, making a slash for Sesshoumaru's front. Sesshoumaru had expected this, and casually blocked it. However, the instant the blades connected, he exerted a bit of his yoki, which promptly send Sojiro flying across the way.
"You seem quite weak to me, Sojiro the Tenken." He said dully.
Sojiro landed with a thud and rolled to a single knee. His face was an expression of anger. That calm, happy facade had melted away, leaving one of sheer anger and hatred. "Weak is nothing but food for the strong! And you, Sesshoumaru, are weak! I will kill you!"
"You are weak, human. If you truly believe that Shishio had any intentions of letting you live after this, then are you as stupid as you are weak." He was cutting Sojiro with every word, and it was on his face.
"Fine! You want to see strength?! No more holding back!" And before the words slipped out of his mouth, the distance between them vanished. That sword cut Sesshoumaru three successive times, one to the knee, to the abdomen, and to the left shoulder. Sesshoumaru recoiled, making a noise of pain. "How's that?" Sojiro asked, landing a few steps behind Sesshoumaru. "That was my true speed- Shukuchi! There is none who can match it."
Sesshoumaru composed himself, turning to look at Sojiro. So he was faster than before. But that facade was dropping. There was cockiness in his swings. And he remembered something that his Father taught him all those years ago, when he was whelping Sesshoumaru. If you wield your sword with too much open emotion, you make mistakes. And the wounds were sloppy. Superficial.
So, he had an idea. He could beat him in one more exchange. Sesshoumaru took up a stance, turning his body to the right and gripping bakusaiga with both hands. The blade turned behind him– he was ready.
"Let's go." Sesshoumaru said..
Sojiro's eyes snapped open wider, and his speed was intense. There was no hiding his presence, each footfall was noted by the impact on the ground. Sesshoumaru could hear it. It was a detriment to Sojiro, for when he attacked, Sesshoumaru turned at the last second to block it. The two swords clashed, and once again, Sesshoumaru pushed his yoki into it. Sojiro went flying, and Sesshoumaru followed. The sword came up to slash downwards for Sojiro, who had just a moment to dodge. Bakusaiga tore into the ground, and Sojiro moved to Sesshoumaru's left. A strike came for Sesshoumaru's exposed throat, and his golden eyes snapped to Sojiro at the last second. He dipped his head backwards and the sword slipped past him. Now that Sojiro was in front of him, Sesshoumaru basically decked him in the side of the head.
Sojiro went tumbling, and Sesshoumaru went skyward. One the way down, he tilted Bakusaiga downwards and aimed to stab it straight through the fallen Sojiro. Sesshoumaru missed– but that was his goal. Sojiro moved, but what he didn't realize was that one of his fingers was outstretched. A whip of light escaped, wrapping around Sojiro's ankle and dragging him back. Sojiro made a noise, and the whip of light pulled him in range… and Bakusaiga stabbed deep into his left shoulder.
Sojiro screamed and pushed away. A large glob of blood had gushed out of him, landing with a splat on the grass below him. He gasped, hitting his knees. He lashed out with his sword, his eyes gazing up at Sesshoumaru, burning with hatred.
"That's… that's it! I'm killing you!" he stood, and stumbled. But his eyes held determination. He retreated a few steps, blood pouring out of him, and took up a sword stance. It was battoujutsu– or was it? The stance looked a bit different than Kenshin's. His right hand was hung lower.
Sesshoumaru retreated a few steps, holding Bakusaiga lightly by his side. He could beat this. He was sure of it.
"Take this, Sesshoumaru! Shuntensatsu!" He said, and vanished. The speed was absurd– was he going faster than normal? Whatever the case was, he was on Sesshoumaru before he could react. A battoujutsu slash that would tear through his opponent and dispatch them so quickly they would feel nothing. However, Sesshoumaru had once again seen Battoujutsu more than enough times. The lead foot was it's weakness. Sesshoumaru took this opportunity to put all his speed into it, stepping into the range of the sword and thrusting Bakusaiga downwards. It punctured Sojiro's foot, and disrupted the slash. It went awry, and Sesshoumaru reached up to grab the sword from Sojiro. He took a step back, and stabbed Sojiro straight through the heart.
The noise Sojiro made was quite sad. It was a light gasp. Like he didn't expect to die. Sesshoumaru removed Bakusaiga, sliding the blade along the crook of his elbow- staining his white kimono red. Sojiro fell forward, landing with a dull thud.
"I… I guess… I am weak…" he gasped. "T-thank you… for showing me that… Lord Sesshoumaru…" Sojiro said, and with one last, shaking breath… he died.
A scream pierced the area. Not from Shishio, who was still dueling Kenshin, but from the woman everyone had forgotten. The oiran named Yumi. She bursted out from where she was hiding and hurried to Sojiro. She hit her knees, her hands finding his face.
"What have you done?! What have you done?! You monster!" she cried over him, leaning down sob into him.
Sesshoumaru said nothing, instead he turned to Shishio.
Kenshin and Shishio were still locked in their duel. The only problem was is that Kenshin was getting drained. Her skill was definitely higher than Shishio's. But at this point, it didn't matter much. It was like fighting Sesshoumaru. Eventually the strength difference was overcoming.
"Second secret sword, Guren Kaina!" Shishio suddenly yelled, lunging forward with his left hand. Kenshin's eyes narrowed, and she moved to dodge. However, what she didn't notice was that Shishio's sword came up… and lightly brushed against the glove. It created friction, and caused an explosion! It hit Kenshin at point blank range, and sent her flying.
"And so falls the Battousai." Shishio said, turning and facing Sesshoumaru. "And now comes, what shall I call you? Sesshoumaru of the Dusk? Beast King of the West? How about… my next meal?" he said, raising Mugenjin and lightly licking the side of the sword.
"Call me whatever you want, Shishio Makoto. But at the end of this duel, it will be by my hand that you die."
What a scene to behold. A daiyokai staring down an asura. A hanyo and a miko observing. One dead human. One unconscious human.
The orchestra of fate was reaching it's crescendo.
