:Human paramilitary organization NYPD has accessed deceptive title files. Created property link Silver Systems/ Kanryuu/ illicit Chinatown activities has been accepted as valid.:
:Investigators Goren, Robert and Eames, Alexandrea assigned to investigate Silver Systems/ Kanryuu link.:
:Investigators, target Takani, Megumi, and known Battousai contact Kamiya, Kaoru now in custody of Takeda, Kanryuu.:
:Odds of investigator survival: 0.01.:
:Odds of Kamiya, Kaoru survival: Unknown. Mitigating factor: known combat skills, capable of assaulting Virus. Detracting factor: Opponents Kin subgroup Oniwabanshuu. Factor of uncertainty necessary due to close association with enemy unit Battousai. (Further information in subfile: Himura, Kenshin. Relevant comment: apparent difference in Kin abilities recorded on last contact.) Estimated 3.:
:Odds of Takani, Megumi survival: 10.:
:Current status of Kanryuu security: concealed cameras, intercom tap indicate human members severely impaired, possibly deceased. Kin subgroup Oniwabanshuu occupied/ currently divided.:
:Estimation of outcome, Oniwabanshuu/Battousai/ Sagara, Sanosuke.: 65 mutual destruction, 22 Target Alpha victory, 11 Oniwabanshuu victory, 2 unpredictable.:
:Previously unknown factor: Kin items developed by Takeda, Kanryuu.:
:Factor irrelevant.:
:Primary goal: Feed, assimilate, spread.:
:Secondary goal: Open portal beyond Twisted Dimensions. (See subfile, Krssd.):
:Necessary sub-conditions: Access to source of magic. Access to dimensional portal ability. (See subfile, Sorcerers, Black magic.):
:Potential magical source: coven pool. Temporarily blocked by Target Alpha sorcery and elimination of assimilated coven member by enemy unit Battousai.:
:Access to pool by coven member impossible to block by outside influence.:
:Latest tech raid successful. Oniwabanshuu-specific weapons acquired, tested, optimal functioning capacity.:
:Retrieve Takani, Megumi.:
Metal gripped metal, and a helicopter's engine whined into the sky.
---------
Kanryuu has betrayed us.
Listening to snow-silent footsteps and panting breaths in their wake as his enemies tore up the private staircase, Han'nya knew it in the steel wire of his bones. He stood behind the arms dealer in Aoshi's shadow, gaze straying to the iolite ring on the Okashira's finger; a ring he had never wondered at, never even questioned. Aoshi had come to them with the jewel, and who was he to question the choice of such a leader?
A jewel he has tried to draw to our attention for five years... oh my leader, I have failed you.
But I will not fail twice.
He was Aoshi's second; he could act in his leader's best interests, no matter the cost, and let Aoshi take his life for the dishonor later. And once this night was over, he would - and Kanryuu would know what it was to tamper with the last of the Oniwabanshuu.
When this night is over, Han'nya promised himself, forcing his gaze back down the staircase below. I will find the secret to that ring... and Kanryuu will know what true pain is.
But first, we must survive.
The approaching auras beat on his senses like a storm; oddly doubled, out of synch as the gusts of wind before a tornado. But a swordsman's, no doubt of it.
Han'nya sucked in a quick breath, feeling what passed for his heart quicken. I have not felt such ki since Edo... oh, this will be a fight to sing of!
Kanryuu straightened his tie and stood nonchalant, as red and black hair leapt up the last step to the landing in clear view below. "Welcome, Bat-"
Steel-blue fixed his gaze; a sword drawn in ancient moonlight.
Han'nya hid a dark laugh as words died in the sweating human's throat. What is that modern saying? "Be careful what you wish for?"
"Kanryuu Takeda." The very slightest inclination of scarlet hair; a samurai's proper acknowledgement, of the enemy he planned to obliterate. "Your war is over."
Kanryuu's lips moved, but no sound came out.
Han'nya controlled a start. Was that sorrow, flickering like darkness in the flames of a swordsman's rage?
"Your time is over," the redhead went on levelly. "Come down with Megumi-dono and the others."
"Hah!" Kanryuu clapped his hands. "Hah ha hah! Better than I'd even hoped!"
"What the heck?" Yahiko muttered.
Sagara snorted. "Guy's lost it."
Cloaked in shadows, Han'nya shot a glance at Aoshi's utter silence. What do you intend, my leader? The plan we have should work, I know - but what of it have you not told me?
Though in truth, it did not matter. He would preserve his Okashira's life... and the life of the little human who held his heart.
"Fifty men, defeated in the space of a few breaths! Stronger even than Jin-e," Kanryuu mused, gripping the railing as he smirked down. "Which means our spell can do even more for you."
The sword-spirit twitched.
"Think of it," Kanryuu offered expansively. "Forget being trapped in one measly backwards blade. We can enhance your curse, increase it - double and redouble it into a thousand thorns of steel!" He smiled, eyes glinting through his glasses. "Think of it. Hundreds of human souls to possess. All thirsting to quench the bloodlust that drives you..."
The Animate felt the mask-slits that served him for eyes widen, at that odd sense of shift within the auras below. Wind and waves - and the ship has turned into the teeth of the storm, sails snapping out full as it rides up the black waves...
This is Hitokiri Battousai!
"Are you coming down," came the low, cold whisper, "or am I coming up?"
Speechless, Kanryuu gaped.
One slow step, sandal touching down soundless on the landing.
"I... but..."
Another.
"You don't get it," Aoshi's quiet voice drifted on the air, as the Ubo crossed his arms in the shadows. "Your money, your spell, your drug... none of that is any use here."
"B-but he's a Muramasa blade-!"
"Driven to kill, say the legends. Demons caged in steel, ever thirsting for blood. All of them... save one." Emerald gleamed with cold joy. "Would it surprise you to know that not one of your men is dead?"
"T-that's imposs- put me down!"
"Follow the plan," Aoshi said dryly, disappearing with Kanryuu into shadows.
"As you will, my Okashira," Han'nya said softly. :And Misao?: he dared.
:I will see to Misao,: Aoshi's mind murmured back. :Do not fear for her.:
Not for her, no, but for you... my Okashira, my kinsman who will bring our lost clan home... Han'nya turned back to the staircase, and spread the steel claws of his hands.
For you, I will face even the Demon of Kyoto.
---------
Fast! But not fast enough. Breathing within steel and flesh, Battousai leaped over one claw strike, ducked another-
Almost.
:Ow...:
Tottering on a step before finding his balance, Kenshin wiped the blood from their eyes, shivering at the sting of the shallow cut as Han'nya paused to let them absorb the blow. :How chivalrous of him,: the redhead thought darkly.
He means to break our morale, Battousai agreed, feeling the flux of ki three landings down as Yahiko tried to yell for explanations and Sano grabbed him. To know that he can strike us, when by what we know of his speed he should not be able to... it would shake most souls.
:And you think it doesn't shake mine?:
We know what is at risk. Whatever fear is in you, I know you will not yield to it. We will not yield to it. Because...
The sword-spirit tested that frail balance between them. Leaned on it.
Right now...
Reached within, for the will and hope and righteous fury that fueled this new strength.
And pulled.
...there is no we.
"What have you done?"
He opened his eyes and regarded the Animate, oddly dizzy. Oniwabanshuu, when I thought I had outrun the government at last... Ame, beloved, don't argue, take Kenji and run-!
She wasn't there.
Not London... New York. I'm in New York, as I have been almost a century...
And Han'nya is between me and mine.
"The war between us ended with the fall of the Shogunate," the redhead said levelly. "Whatever they have offered you, it cannot be enough; not for the life of the master of intelligence of Edo Castle."
The mask looked stunned. "You know-?"
"I remember..." He shook his head, aware the cut was already healing. "I have cost the Oniwabanshuu many lives; for that alone, I would understand if you wished to kill me.
"But you have brought innocents into this battle, and you serve one who would unleash war as bloody as the Bakumatsu." His grip tightened on his blade. "I have seen one rain of blood. I will not stand by, and allow another to fall." He softened his voice. "Let us pass, Han'nya. For your sake... and Shinomori's."
"Commands of the Okashira-" claws keened against claws; flexed apart, casting glints of light over black-and-white-striped sleeves, "-are absolute."
Damn.
"And the peril is not so deadly as you would have me believe, Battousai..."
He's laughing at me! Oh, that tears it-
"After all, if you cannot even break my spell," claws and kicks thundered down; the sword-spirit dodged and dodged again, sleeves shredding in thin rivulets of blood, "you won't last a minute against the Okashira!"
Spell? Spells wash over me like rain, most nights... and even when they do not, I feel them. It can't be a spell-
But it could be illusion.
A memory floated up, not quite of a piece with the others flowing through his mind; of tricks with lines and colors, mind-twisters that had intrigued a bored youngster languishing in study hall after yet another day's homework was done.
Illusions, without magic. That costume... and I can evade his kicks, yet not his claws!
He let himself fall to the next landing, rising back into an antique stance; arm extended and higher than modern styles, sword parallel to the floor and pointing toward where Han'nya's forehead would be once the onmitsu joined him at this level. Ready... and wait.
"The heck?" Yahiko's mutter floated up. "That's not chuudan..."
"Hey!" A soft rustle, likely Sano patting tousled hair. "English, for those of us who don't speak sword?"
"Hands off the head - there's five forms, okay? And that one's kind of like chuudan... only his arm's too high, Kaoru would thump me if I stood like that."
"Because Kamiya-san knows nothing of the ancient styles," Han'nya glared down. "No modern child of kendo would recognize shinken."
Ah. But do you?
"An ancient defensive stance, allowing its user to react instantly to sudden changes in the opponent's strikes... yet disallowing most offensive strikes! You dare shrink from this battle?"
Breathe. Ignore the fear. Ignore time, trickling away...
"Answer me!"
Kaoru's depending on you...
"Is this the true face of the Demon of Kyoto?"
...To get it right the first time.
The mask's ivory tusks gnashed. "A creature like you has no right to face the Okashira! You die where you stand!"
The world narrowed to stillness, even as the Animate charged; everything set aside but the sense of ki bent on attack, the claws on the striped arm passing his outstretched blade-
There!
Claws breezed past his face as he moved, sliding aside with barely a paper's width between scarlet and steel.
Head!
The sakabatou cracked the top of the mask; he almost laughed, flipping up and past the stunned onmitsu to the next landing. Now you have a problem, Han'nya. Turn to face me, and risk Sano shooting you; turn on them, and leave me at your back.
Either way, we are getting through.
"What the hell kind of Edge is he using?" Sano snapped.
"None at all." A shadow of a smile passed over the redhead's face. "Stripes, Sano. Think about it."
He could all but hear Sano's jaw drop. "An optical illusion?"
"Makes his arms look shorter and wider, so when you think you've dodged 'em... man!" Yahiko whistled. "Since when do Kin do something that's not supernatural?"
"The onmitsu of the Oniwabanshuu were ever the finest of ninja," the sword-spirit observed. "And to be ninja, is to use any tactic to accomplish one's mission. No matter how... human."
"As Choushuu's hitokiri knows well." Tusks flexed into a vicious smile; a few more bits of white fell from the mask's forehead. "Using your sword to measure the true distance; turning defense into attack. With no Edge at all." The mask tilted, crackling. "Battousai, whose speed rivals the gods... yet even with that, most legends never suspected you were Kin. You, who fought and vanished like any Herd assassin, never accepting temporary death at the hands of your enemies, even when it would have furthered Katsura's goals... did you think Choushuu would destroy you if they knew the truth?"
"Choushuu would not have had to," the redhead said wryly. He is an honorable foe. He's earned this. "I am not Kin as you are, Han'nya. Like humans, I have only one life."
The Animate hissed. "And you risk it here..."
"As you risk yours, facing me." He raised his sword. "Those I slay die the True Death, Han'nya. If this blade cuts the threads of your life, they are unraveled forever." Breathe. Just breathe. "And so I ask, one more time... step aside. Our battle is with Kanryuu, not you."
"Aoshi is in Kanryuu's service. If you pass me, he will be next!" Claws spread, as the Animate prepared to rush him. "I will not allow it!"
"Then answer this!" We have to get past him. I can't hold back... "Megumi's past - did you know?"
"The master spy of the Oniwabanshuu?" The cracked mask sneered. "How can you even ask?" Claws swooped in-
Blunt steel caught them, held...
He sensed the twist of ki and muscles before his blade felt it; leapt up and back, sandals impacting the wall near the ceiling even as Han'nya's boots did, across the open space above the next flight of stairs.
Oh, a stairwell is so not the place to have this kind of fight...
"Rrrraghhhh!"
The Animate flew at him again, space and time twisting about him in ways that hurt the sword-spirit's head; he fought it, as he had Jin-e's Shin no Ippou, holding to what he knew reality was and should be.
It's a good thing- wall, -I'm not afraid- ceiling, -of heights anymore- railing, and a dizzying glimpse of empty space below as his blade intercepted steel claws and he twisted-
Claws cracked.
Now!
The kesagiri struck home, bending a frame of steel and wood in ways even a bunraku puppet wasn't meant to move.
"Still no match... for Aoshi..."
A patter of feet behind him; Sano and Yahiko, looking down on the limp Animate. "He's not dust," Sano pointed out.
"But he's down. It's enough." The sword-spirit sheathed his blade. "He was buying time..."
"Meaning our ladies may not have much. Gotcha," Sano nodded, tucking Yahiko under his arm for the next dash upwards. "C'mon, kid!"
"Don't call me kid!"
---------
Mmm... nice, warm... could stay here for hours...
So why do I have this funny feeling I didn't set my alarm?
Misao pried an eye open, ready to glance at the clock and convince herself it was okay to go right back to sleep-
Ohmigod! Where am I?
"I should have known the mesmerism would not hold a kunoichi forever."
Misao sat bolt upright, flinging back the white comforter to dash into familiar arms. "Aoshi!" Wait, did he say mesmerism?
The lab.
Death.
Oh, no! No, no, no-
His arms tightened about her, silk over steel. "I had no choice," the Okashira murmured in her ear. "I still do not. I am... so sorry, my Misao. So sorry..."
"Please stop," she begged, holding on tight. "Please, I don't care - just come home! Grandpa-" her voice broke. "Grandpa can help! I know he can!"
"It is too late." His tone was weary, flat. "But at least I can spare you pain." Something hard pressed into her grip.
A knife?
"Kin cannot see it." Emerald met her gaze, cold and merciless. "You will give me your word as Oniwabanshuu: you will not use this blade against Kanryuu."
"I- I won't," Misao said in a rush. "Aoshi, please, tell me what's wrong-"
"Kamiya and Takani are above, here." A building map was pressed into her hands next, here and there clearly marked. "Kamiya is human; she is no threat to Kanryuu so long as we defend him. He has already stated Takani is no longer required. And as you are not a threat - you are free to go." Emerald bored into her again. "Do you understand?"
"No," she whispered. Though I think I'm starting to... oh Aoshi, why can't you tell me? "Last night, I thought - I thought you sent me off with Han'nya so I'd be safe."
Stiff, he drew away, one hand ghosting over a bookshelf. "I did."
"So why am I here?"
For a moment, he looked lost. "I..."
That's my Aoshi, all right. Never does know what to say. Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him.
His lips were soft, and warm, and utterly reluctant to pull away.
But he did, and only held her, breathing in the scent of her hair. "Perhaps I hoped... we would share that, one more time." Closing his eyes, he took one more breath, and gently set her down. "I believe Battousai has rather neatly accounted for most of Kanryuu's security. It's fortunate we have no escaped prisoners, ne?"
"Right," Misao said slowly. I don't get it- but-
"Still, the Oniwabanshuu must remain alert. Our trap is about to spring - and interruptions would be unfortunate." Emerald ice chilled her soul. "As Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu, I order a kunoichi to her assigned post."
"Hai!" She snapped out the same salute she would have given Grandpa, bolting for the door. "I won't let you down, Aoshi-sama!"
"I know you won't, my butterfly." The whisper chased her down the hall; half in her ears, half in her blood. "I'm counting on it."
---------
"Let me out of here, you-!"
With one last pound on the inside of the safe room's solid steel door, Kanryuu stepped back, and smirked. Perfect.
Well, not entirely perfect; it didn't look as if he'd have his hands on Battousai anytime soon, and Shinomori seemed to have developed a sudden, unfortunate resistance to his controlling ring. All in all, not the best of outcomes.
But it's a poor businessman who doesn't plan for reverses in fortune.
And at the moment, Shinomori's plan - however clever the Ubo might think it - was dovetailing quite neatly with Kanryuu's own. Kanryuu was locked up, just as Aoshi wished, with those idiots Beshimi and Hyotokko in the corridor outside to "guard" him - and therefore perfectly safe from most Kin, who simply did not have the skill or talent to break in through the well-guarded ventilation system. An Ubo, with his ability to transform into a tiny white butterfly, might well get through... but Battousai was about to handle that danger in a very permanent way.
All things considered, the night could have gone worse.
The ring must hold part of Shinomori even now, or he'd just have left, Kanryuu calculated. Still, no sense in taking chances. Dusting off his hands, he headed to an alcove in the far wall; a drab, unused corner of his safe room Shinomori had never had the opportunity to examine. Gloved fingers slid aside an innocuous panel to reveal a keypad, and punched a long, coded sequence.
Silently, one small section of wall opened.
Breathing in air with a tang of spider-webs and New York night, Kanryuu squirmed through the gap and stood, smirking at this small, hidden staircase even Shinomori didn't know about. A flight and a half would lead to another hidden door onto the roof helipad, where his own private gyrocopter would be waiting-
Was that a helicopter passing near his building? Damned news-chasers, Kanryuu fumed, starting up the dusty steps. Don't they realize that if those in power want them to know something, we'll tell them?
The whine of engines grew louder.
What on earth are they doing? No one's allowed to land here - and I know it's not Target Alpha, they're too good at sticking to their own plans...
Touchdown. And... odd thumps. Many of them.
Oh, don't tell me those idiots at the NYPD called out SWAT-
With a groan of steel, the roof door was wrenched open. Jaw dropped, Kanryuu froze. Metal... moving...
Tendrils blocked the screams.
---------
"Oh goody." Sano cracked his knuckles, staring down the length of yet another mega-office, this one executive-meeting-room style, at a scarred were-tiger twice his size. Deliberately not looking Aoshi's way; no sense in giving the Ubo an opening to try mesmerizing. Let Kenshin handle him. Or 'Sai. Or... whoever's in charge over there. "One for each of us."
"Hey!"
"Yahiko, no," the redhead said firmly.
"Listen to your big brother, kid," the were-tiger rumbled. "Maybe you're good enough to take Herd, but-" one hand flexed, rippling into claws, "-walk into a Kin rumble, you're lunchmeat."
"Sanosuke Sagara," Sano jumped in, before Yahiko could steam up a reply. "Target Alpha, Triborough. You?"
"Huh. A Herd with manners." The twisted smile showed fangs. "Shikijou, gatekeeper of the Oniwabanshuu." Bones crackled and popped, as stripes rippled over skin, fur pushing through in their wake.
"Remember the lady you chewed up today?" Deliberately, Sano slammed a new clip into his gun. "Susan says hello, and fuck you."
"That so?" Still changing, the were-tiger gave a coughing laugh. "Nothing like long pig. Think I'll have another slice tonight... rrrarrr!"
Forget tricky shots, just go for center of mass-
Fur and blood flew.
---------
Sano can handle himself. Sano can handle himself. "What I have said to Han'nya, I say to you: the war is over. Let us pass."
"And did Han'nya let you pass?" Emerald ice seared his gaze. "He didn't, did he?"
There is the ring. The blue-violet glint was unmistakable, as Aoshi reached for-
A kodachi? This is not good...
"If you would ask favors of me, ask them with that sakabatou."
A smile tugged at the sword-spirit's face, despite the roars and gunfire. "Jin-e said much the same." And you well know what fate he met.
Silent, the Ubo drew his blade.
You know, yet you do not care. But the Okashira's ki felt wrong for that, wrong-
The white trenchcoat was on him.
Fast!
Parry. Quell the tremor of apprehension as he realized how light the kodachi was, how easily Aoshi used it; the shield-sword indeed, though how Aoshi expected to attack with it-
The kick blew out of nowhere. The punches, almost.
Up!
The leap up and back gave him half a heartbeat; bleeding, he took it. Felt strategy slide into place, and let gravity drag him back down.
Three strikes; the kodachi parried them all, keening deadly defense.
Kodachi to block, martial arts to attack - which means his next strike will be-
The impact to his shoulders jarred like bullets.
Sometimes I hate being right... wha- that ki, full of anticipation, why-?
Amber eyes caught an aberration in the pattern on the floor; recognized angled, slantwise shapes.
Runes - he was herding me-!
Lightning and fire.
---------
One arm flung up against the hail of sparks, the Okashira waited. And - almost - grieved.
I truly thought he might win past me...
Of course, that would have meant his own death. But Kanryuu's ring did not demand he survive.
To die defending Kanryuu from Hitokiri Battousai... that, at least, would have been a merciful end.
But Misao should be shortly away, and the innocent with her. He had done as much as he could.
Now to see if Shikijou needs any-
"Grrrar!"
Thwack!
Shred!
Smash!
...Then again, I doubt he'd appreciate the interference. Aoshi shook his head, amazed, as the striped cat-man and the bloodied agent proceeded to smash their way through every last chair and bit of table left in the room. I didn't know any human could trade punches with a were-tiger and stay standing!
A choked sob drew his attention to Yahiko; the Okashira straightened his shoulders. I should be able to spare the boy. Let's only hope he's not resistant to mesmerism-
"Kenshin," the teen breathed.
Impossible!
Red gi smoking, the swordsman rose to unsteady feet; took one shaky step outside the circle of runes. Another.
He should be dead! The runes had been designed, by Smythe and others, along the same lines as those that had prisoned Jin-e; magic meant to slam the demon back into its blade, severing the link between host and steel. Inconvenient, for the sword... yet for the blade-warped body, fatal.
But this man was breathing.
"Don't worry, Yahiko-kun." Violet eyes opened, weary and determined. "If a few scribbles on the floor stopped me, what would Kaoru-dono think?" He managed a laugh. "I don't even want to think about what Sano would say."
The Okashira blew out a soft ha of understanding. "Kenshin Himura." He shook his head slightly. "Now I must offer you the chance to withdraw."
"Aoshi..."
"I imagine my reports on you are even more thorough than Target Alpha's," the Okashira said neutrally. "Kin for less than a month. A shopkeeper all the years before that. Only two kills to your name before that blade took you, and one of those in the grip of Inuit Madness." He narrowed his eyes, letting emerald bite into violet. "I know the strength of those runes. Battousai won't recover enough to touch a host for half an hour yet. Don't be a fool. Take your brother and go."
"When the counter to that kodachi has finally become clear?" A gentle smile. "No."
Suicidal idiot. Deliberately, Aoshi advanced. "Choose your bluffs more carefully. No one learns kendo in two weeks."
"Kendo, no." Another soft, darkly amused smile.
And red blurred.
Too slow! The Okashira moved to parry and step, sliding steel past enough to punch-
Blades caught. Untangled. Keened against each other again and again; head, chest, thigh-height.
How?
The scent of blood tantalized his nose; red and fresh, dripping from-
His hand. His hand is holding the base of the blade - he shortened the reach of the sakabatou-!
The hilt-strike to the throat drove him back, gasping. An Ubo didn't need to breathe often as a human, but gods, that hurt.
"Range," the redhead stated; still gentle, still even as if he held nothing more painful than a flower. "That is the word, Yahiko, ne?"
"R-right," the teen managed. "The - the distance you can attack in one movement, that's what Kaoru says... a longer blade's got more power, more range - but-"
"A larger blind spot," his brother nodded, gaze not leaving the onmitsu's. "Which is how his punches and kicks could come through."
"But - Kenshin, you're bleeding-!"
"The blade is most dull here, near the base. It won't cut bone. If one is careful."
Impossible. "Han'nya checked," the Okashira said flatly. "You are a shopkeeper."
"I have lived as a shopkeeper," Kenshin agreed; smile faint, and sad. "But it seems I was born to be a hitokiri."
Icy shock clutched the Ubo. Did Himura know... could he truly mean... was it even barely possible that he could be-?
He does. He is. Look at those eyes. He may not have the blade's pure knowledge of kenjutsu, but he knows what he is doing, and why.
I am the Enemy. I am an obstacle. And he is determined to pass me. No matter what it takes.
This is a manslayer.
And I thought I faced only the blade...
Honored, the Okashira inclined his head. "Then allow me to show you what I was born to be."
He let the dance take him.
Even now, I love it so.
Himura's horror was clear to read, as the swordsman swung and missed; once, twice-
"Die."
Swirling about his foe, Aoshi felt his kodachi bite home.
I do pity you... even an expert swordsman would never get my flowing movement. He watched the small body fall, flung away by three horizontal strikes. But this is my castle to defend, evil as it is - and Kaiten Kenbu has never failed.
Except-
Dead men don't bleed...
Shock nailed his feet to the floor as the redhead struggled to stand, iron sheath creaking apart into four separate slices.
Slashes to his chest - but they trail away from where the sheath was cut... Aoshi stared, fact fitting with fact to the inevitable conclusion. He used the metal to take the force of the blow! "I hate amateurs."
That won a laugh, painful as Kenshin evidently found it. "Shall we... finish this, then?"
"You're wounded. Slowed." But still obviously a threat to Kanryuu. Ah well. "If you had only the sense to give up, I would pity you." He flowed about the bleeding redhead, circling, never the same movement twice, waiting-
Now!
Steel stopped.
Violet glared up at him, bloody hands holding his blade immobile as a rooted oak. "Two weeks, to learn the whole of kenjutsu - no. Never. But to learn its one movement of self-defense..."
The blade-catch, Aoshi realized, in that split second before clawed hands drove his own hilt into his throat. The only bare-handed move all sword-styles teach-
Claws raked down his right hand, and something snapped in his soul.
---------
Translations and info:
Chuudan - cut to middle level, one of the five basic stances of kendo.
Kesagiri - "scarf cut", diagonal across the torso.
Kodachi - "shield sword"; between wakizashi and katana in length.
Kunoichi - female ninja.
Saya - sheath.