Disclaimer: You'd think that after all this time I'd have gained rights. Not so. I have however probably gained some voodoo dolls of myself out there with pins sticking out of them. Sorry for the wait! Take the pins out please?

Scars of the Past

Chapter Thirteen

Misao felt her heart freeze and an icy tingle begin to spread through her body as Anohorea's hands came to rest on her shoulders, the gi she'd been wearing being forced down her arms. Her breathing quickened and in a panic she shoved her knee upwards.

Anohorea was trickier then she'd given him credit for. It was if he had known she would do that. Before her knee could connect he'd released one of her shoulders and caught her leg in his steel grip. "Now now," he whispered, voice harsh, "the nicer you are to me the nicer I am to you."

"Nicer?" gasped the ninja, aqua eyes watering as Anohorea twisted her leg. "You fucking bastard. The nicest you're going to get from me is dead!"

"I love a girl with spirit," he said huskily, dark eyes boring into hers. "It makes everything so much better."

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Yahiko screamed, having regained his sense of balance and train of thought. Anohorea turned his head to look at the whole reason it has come to this. The boy's hands were raised in fists and his stance was firm. His eyes had a fire dancing in the golden depths although unlike Anohorea's flames these ones spoke of warmth.

"I nearly forgot about you," Anohorea chuckled, never once lessening his grip on Misao. "I've just been enjoying myself so much it's hard to pick what form of entertainment I'd like."

"Your problem is with ME, Teme!" Yahiko fired back. "Leave Misao alone!"

"Ya…hi…ko…" Misao gasped as one of Anohorea's hands move to grip her neck, slowly shutting off her air passage.

"I see," Anohorea said, shaking his head. "You're impatient to die, aren't you? I guess that means this girl's death will have to be now." His hand continued to choke Misao, the ninja slowly going limp.

With a scream Yahiko charged, leaping into the air and slamming his foot into Anohorea's back, followed by two swift punches. The man dropped Misao, still alive and gasping for air onto the floor, and pivoted to face Yahiko.

He didn't like this change. Not at all. Where had the scared, weak little boy gone? The one who had been so ready to give into his clutches just a few moments before?

"You want to kill me?" Yahiko asked, stepping into stance. "You want to see me suffer? Go ahead and try, you bastard. I'm not going to just let you anymore. Because I'm going to kill you. Want to die? Hurry up and attack."

"You cocky brat," Anohorea snarled, his attention fully diverted to the small Tokyo Samurai. "What makes you think you can defeat me?"

Yahiko smirked. "Because I'm fighting to protect the people I care about. I'm fighting so no one will ever be hurt by you again. I'm going to win because I'm stronger…not in body but in heart…because Kenshin taught me that."

And the fight began.

Anohorea withdrew his sword from the wall, the metal shine dulled by the coating of dried blood that incased its entire length. With a roar he charged at Yahiko, swinging the blade down in a deadly arc. The samurai leapt back, the sword missing him by mere inches.

Not missing a beat Anohorea dove in for another attack, this time shouting, "ENJIN KUROHYOU SENKOU!" Instead of simple swing the katana seemed to take on a life of its own, circling Anohorea with the man only lightly gripping the hilt. With a burst of speed Anohorea came full circle and threw the sword out from the length of his arm, much like a Gatotsu.

Yahiko's eyes widened in shock as the blade pierced his shoulder, fortunately not running through as he'd jumped back in the nick of time.

Anohorea chuckled. "You didn't honestly think I didn't have any of my own attacks, did you? Last battle I never used them as I underestimated the Battousai. Not this time. I was trained for many years under the Tsumetai Kurohyou Kuran and I learned many things…maybe more so than your precious Battousai. That was how I was able to defeat him after all.

"How's this? I'll kill you with one of my techniques so maybe you can carry something with you on to the afterlife. You can show the Battousai how it's done."

Yahiko racked his brain, warily watching as Anohorea readied himself in a stance, a feral expression on his face. There had to be someway to counter an attack… he had no weapon, which was a huge disadvantage. But there had to be some way to fight back… there had to be.

"KUROHYOU ARASHI BAKUHA!" Anohorea yelled, charging forward and taking a flying leap into the air. The katana moved rapidly in a spiral pattern, quickly gaining force as a wind rose up around the blade. Yahiko could only stare as the miniature tornado rushed at him while he was helpless to stop it.

He crossed his arms in front of him to attempt to ward and block a small percentage of the attack. And then it clicked.

…watching Kaoru catch a blade with her bare hands…

…practicing crossing his arms for what seemed like forever…

…begging Kaoru to teach him…

…grabbing the bokken…flipping it away…

"Hawatari," he whispered, thankful his mind had unconsciously brought up his hands in the correct stance. He never thought he'd admit it but thank Kami to Kaoru for making him practice so many times. The only thing… could he catch a sword with a whirlwind around it?

"DIE!" Anohorea screamed, bronze chest gleaming as he descended from the air, the sword in front of him. It was a do or die situation. And this might be the only chance…

Yahiko stood his ground, arms crossed as the sword plunged straight towards his chest. With a flick of his wrists he clasped the katana between his hands, screaming as the blade bit into his flesh and blood flew everywhere. But there was no time to lick his wounds as the attack had only just begun.

Throwing his leg up, Yahiko rammed his foot directly into Anohorea's crotch, the stray thought of 'Matsudaitatari' crossing his mind while he allowed himself a grim smile. Sadly enough, Anohorea wasn't as fickle as Gohei and remained upright although his grip loosened considerably on the sword and Yahiko yanked it away.

A snarl rose up in the back of his throat as he hunched over. "How did you block my Arashi Bakuha? It's impossible!"

"Not if you've had a good teacher like Kaoru," Yahiko panted, clutching the katana tightly in his hands. "Speaking of which, a good teacher like Kenshin too. I'll show you what I've learned."

Despite the bravado he spoke with the boy was exhausted, the effort of simply standing making his legs shake. But he needed to finish this…defeat Anohorea. Sparing a quick glance at Misao he saw the ninja was still collapsed. Shifting his gaze in the other direction he looked at Soujiro, lying in a growing pool of blood.

"You shouldn't allow your mind to drift away from your opponent," Anohorea said, already back on his feet and armed with a wakizashi that he'd had on him as well.

Yahiko mentally chided himself as he was forced to run several steps backward to avoid being cut because of his attention span. That was the first rule of being a samurai and he'd completely forgotten it.

The man had no trouble launching another attack at Yahiko, this time shouting, "KUROHYOU CHIKAI TSUPPARI!" The wakizashi flew from Anohorea's hand and, straight as an arrow, soared right at Yahiko. He blocked with the katana, albeit a bit clumsily as the sword was much heavier than the bokken he was accustomed to.

The wakizashi was repelled with a clang and flew neatly back into Anohorea's hand. "Is that all you can do?" he asked, prowling slowly closer towards his prey. "Because if it is you're going to die now… nice and slow."

Yahiko backed up as Anohorea came closer, nearly losing his grip on the sword as the blood pouring from his hands made it difficult to hold onto. 'I need to put distance between the two of us so I can get some speed… but I don't even know if I can jump high enough to get the attack right. But I have to try!'

Making sure to keep his eyes on Anohorea, Yahiko pivoted slightly and ran backwards as fast as he could to the opposite end of the room, right next to Soujiro. He knew he'd have to act fast as he couldn't let Soujiro get mixed up in the fight.

Taking a deep breath, Yahiko sprinted forward, raising the sword above his head. A few feet before he would run into Anohorea he leapt into the air, thankful the ceiling was so high. "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu Ryu Tsui Sen!" he called out, slamming the sword into Anohorea, the sword not reversed. Deep down Yahiko knew he couldn't kill him…he didn't know if he could kill anyone. But he'd have to do something other than just bruise if he wanted to get out of this alive.

The katana connected solidly with Anohorea's torso, the man screaming and staggering backwards as Yahiko propelled himself to fly over him. A gapping cut ran from Anohorea's right shoulder down to his stomach with blood gushing out of the injury.

It wasn't, however, a fatal injury as there hadn't been enough power behind it. Yahiko had landed on the ground and was supporting himself with the sword, nearly all of his energy spent. He had hoped that that attack would be enough to take Anohorea out for the count although it hadn't been the case.

The man was weakened though, that was clear. He had moved his left hand to press against the wound near his shoulder in an attempt to slow the blood flow. "You little brat," he growled, wakizashi held limply in his right hand. "You're going to pay for that…pay very dearly."

And Yahiko could not summon the energy to move. He could only watch as his death approached.

---

'Tree… Tree… Tree… And damn it, they all look the same. How am I supposed to find anything out here?'

Sano was rushing along on the forest floor, eyes searching for any sign that would let him know where Yahiko had been taken to. The blood trail he'd been following of Soujiro's had been lost as it had become too dark inside the forest to see anything.

'For all I know I passed it already,' he thought to himself, frustration mounting. He didn't have time to lose, wandering around the woods. He needed to find the ninjas hideout and he needed to find it now. Several peoples' lives hung in the balance.

He was just about to turn around and go back over the ground he'd already searched when he spotted two men lying on the ground. On closer inspection he realized both were ninja and both were…dead. It had been a clean cut to the neck that had slain them; no suffering.

And… two sets of footsteps led away from the bodies before vanishing into the darkness. Sano smiled grimly; he was still on the right track. Now he just had to hope he could keep on the trail of Soujiro and Misao. To his surprise and disgust it wasn't difficult as there were now larger splashes of blood on the ground and more broken branches as a body had crashed into them.

A few minutes later Sano had noticed there was no more blood on the ground but instead some appeared to have been left on a wide branch that someone would have to jump to reach. Slightly confused Sano glanced upwards, eyes widening as he spotted the treetop fortress the Tozuma Ninja had built. From his position he could see two figures standing by what he presumed was the front door.

Praying he wouldn't be noticed right away because of his bright white jacket, Sano started climbing as carefully as he could, straining his ears to listen for anything the guards might say. But as all ninja, they were quiet as stone and fortunately either very unobservant or just lazy and didn't even notice the street fighter leaping onto the platform until they had both been knocked out.

Dragging the two off to the side where they wouldn't be seen right away, Sano entered the ninja's lair and started down the hall, body pressed against the wall. He had no idea where exactly to go or what to expect. He was hoping to find Misao and Yahiko relatively unharmed with Soujiro… he wasn't sure what he'd find of the Tenken. Dead would be most likely but it was an awfully morbid thought.

To his surprise, despite the first two guards there didn't seem to be any more ninja in the establishment. Unless he had stumbled into the wrong wing… it wouldn't be unlikely; hallways ran like snakes all over the building.

As he ventured further down his chosen hall the clang of metal came to his ears and he frowned. Was it ninja practicing or a deadly battle? Readying his fists with a sad look at his still half-healed right hand, Sano worked his way around the corner and to the door in which the sounds were emitting from.

He stood outside, debating whether to 'Futae no Kiwami' the door and make a loud entrance or opt for a quiet one. Both had their uses; either stealth or distraction. Considering how many ninjas might come running if they heard a disturbance stealth was probably a better option. So long as the door wasn't locked. Because then he'd have no choice.

To Sano's luck, which he only wished would appear when he gambled, the door was open and he opened it with hardly a sound. The lighting was dim inside; a few light bulbs implanted in the ceiling. But the street fighter could still make out what was happening and it wasn't good. Far, far from it.

Misao was closest to the door, the ninja girl collapsed on the ground with both hands touching her neck. Already, even with the lighting, Sano could make out bruises. Blood was running down her right leg, which was bent at a slightly awkward angle and he could only imagine what else had happened.

Yahiko was in the middle of the room, a too large of a sword clutched in his hands as he feebly blocked Anohorea's attacks, his defense becoming weaker with each hit. He too sported bruising and a lot of blood, most of it dripping down his back and arms although Sano noticed a great deal of it seemed to be caked around the hilt of the sword.

He didn't have time to look at anything else even though his observation had taken merely seconds. If he didn't get in there now one of Anohorea's attacks might land and Yahiko would die.

Stealth was never really Sano's style and after slowly shutting the door he shouted out, "Hey! Bastard!" while cracking his fists furiously.

He had caught Anohorea's attention. The man turned to look at Sano, knowing fully well Yahiko had no fight left in him. His eyes were full of rage; as yet another person had come between him and his goal. Yahiko's, on the other hand, lit up. "Sano…"he breathed.

"You're going to fight me now, Bastard," Sano growled, brown eyes flashing dangerously. "And I'm going to kill you." There was no hesitation in Sano's voice, no second-guessing. Just anger, red-hot and blazing.

"You're going to kill me?" Anohorea asked. "When even the Tenken could not beat me you will?" He swept his left arm out in an arc to point out Soujiro, still lying still as death. Sano felt his breath catch in his throat as he gazed upon the once undefeatable Tenken.

"You didn't defeat him," Sano said fiercely. "He was poisoned and you took advantage of that. So you didn't honestly beat him."

The man grinned. "What does it matter? He's dead and that was the desired result. And he died by my hand so I, in the end, killed him. I defeated the feared Heavenly Sword, Tenken no Soujiro. And now I will defeat you."

Without giving Sano the chance to even get into stance, Anohorea ran forward, bellowing out one of his attacks at the top of his voice. Sano leapt backwards to avoid being cut by the tornado on the end of the sword. He'd seen an attack like this of Shishio's except it had been fire. He hadn't seen the end result of it since Kenshin had then defeated the leader of the Juppon Gatana but he had no doubt it would be deadly.

His starting idea had been to just break the sword apart like he'd done to Soujiro's but with a whirlwind on the end that idea wouldn't work very well. Yahiko seemed to be having the same thoughts as Sano as he frowned when he saw what attack Anohorea had chosen while sinking down to the floor, no longer to even support his own weight.

"Are all you going to do is run?" Anohorea asked, voice thunderous as he through miniature winds off of the blade and hurling at Sano, the Rooster running and dodging to avoid them. "I thought Zanza was better than that."

Sano hissed and clenched his fists, willing himself to ignore the jabs. It wouldn't do any good to rush into the battle because of some taunting. He needed to wait until he had an opening and then attack.

The one thing Sano had to pat himself on the back for was Anohorea appeared to be worn down already (slightly) and he had a large gash on his chest, making his shoulder stiff and slowing his movements. He was still strong though… much better than when Sano had first faced him. The fighter wasn't sure what had brought about this definite change in skill. It was impossible to think that Anohorea had learned it in the last few months so he must have known it the first time around. But why only use it now? Why not the first time?

Anohorea appeared to have realized by now that his tornadoes were having no effect; Sano easily dodging each one and hardly tiring. Not only that but Anohorea was getting exhausted and needed to finish this quickly. Changing tactics, he withdrew the whirlwinds and instead to perform a direct assault on Sano. He seemed to think that because he was bigger he could easily overpower the street fighter… oh, how wrong he was.

The gatotsu-like attack Anohorea threw would easily have knocked a lesser man aside, but not Sano. The street fighter dodged the blow and as Anohorea executed the same attack again, he grabbed the end of the blade right before it embedded itself in his stomach.

"I don't think so," he growled, "I don't fall for the same thing twice. Especially if it's so much like Saitoh's Gatotsu. And I definitely haven't forgotten that." Still holding the sword, Sano moved his right hand off of it and clenched it into a fist. "Futae no Kiwami!" he shouted, knuckles crashing against the wakizashi.

Satisfaction leapt into his eyes as the blade was demolished into hundreds of little slivers, most of them pelting Anohorea and creating a myriad of lacerations down his chest.

Anohorea retreated for the first time that night, glowering at Zanza. He had lost his last weapon and if he tried to regain his sword from Yahiko he had no doubt the street fighter would be on him before he could even lift it.

Sano grinned. He could play this game. A simple stalemate…eventually Anohorea would lose. It was just a matter of time. Sano had the advantage since he normally fought without weapons. Plus, the fact that Anohorea had already suffered a wound that was by no means insignificant.

As Sano settled into a comfortable stance to wait for Anohorea to make his move a small, barely audible cough sounded. Turning his head slightly, so as to keep Anohorea in sight, Sano glanced in the direction the sound had come from, eyes widening as he realized it had been Soujiro. The boy's face was towards him, blood trickling down his chin as he gave another feeble cough.

'He's still alive?' It was hard for the street fighter to believe, especially since he'd learned from Yutaro the Tenken had been poisoned. From what Misao had said it seemed the poison was fast-acting and killed mercilessly. It had been nearly three hours since the battle on the dojo and Soujiro's injury.

All of a sudden, Sano realized he didn't have time. Soujiro didn't have time. If he had managed to pull through for this long he was clinging to life with everything he had. But it was no doubt he couldn't last much longer. This had to end. And it had to end now.

Sano turned his entire gaze back onto Anohorea. He had two options now… Injure him enough that he wouldn't be going anywhere and then get the police. Or kill him. The first plan had many flaws. They were in a hideout where the ninjas were Anohorea's allies; if they found him they could get him out of the way. He also couldn't count on the fact that he could injure the man enough without wasting enough time…time that was vital. Killing him… he no doubt deserved it in Sano's mind. But truth be told Sano has never been one for excessive violence and killing ranked on that. Especially since he'd joined up with Kenshin.

But Sano never went back on his word and he had sworn to kill the bastard. But he at least wouldn't draw it out; one fast blow and it would all be over.

"I'm out of time for playing games, Teme," Sano said, glaring at Anohorea. "And when I'm out of time then you're out too." Sano charged forward, right fist ready to perform his bone-crushing technique. Anohorea leapt out of the way and tried to land one of his own punches. As Sano had expected, the man was not useless when it came to street fighting and very nearly hit Sano.

Yahiko watched the battle with tired eyes, too exhausted to even think of leaving the floor. His chest ached something fiercely and his back felt like it was on fire. His hands too were stinging like nothing else but he didn't relinquish his grip, however pitiful it was, on the sword. There was no chance he'd let Anohorea swipe it. He did realize that he was in the middle of the room and he had a very good chance of getting in the way.

Struggling up to his feet, he slowly pulled himself; using the katana as a walking stick, over to Misao's limp form, vision going in and out with each step. With a grunt he fell on the floor next to Misao, tired eyes flicking back up to watch Sano battling Anohorea. How the street fighter had found them Yahiko had no idea, but he was very thankful.

Sano dodged another punch and then landed one of his own, the 'Futae no Kiwami' being used. Anohorea let out something between a scream and a growl of rage as Sano successfully broke his shoulder; the bone in pieces inside of the flesh.

'Almost over… just need to land one of those to his head or his chest…' Sano glanced again at Soujiro, alarm rising as he realized the boy wasn't moving at all, not even a cough or slight shiver. This fight was costing valuable time.

It was time to pull an old trick out of the book. Megumi would kill him for demolishing his hand again, but at this point it didn't really matter.

"Why are you…so worried about the time?" Anohorea panted, evil gleam still in his eye. "The Tenken is dead no matter what happens. Same with you."

"You know what?" Sano said, eyes flashing. "You're the only one here that deserves to die. Not even the Tenken deserves this! He's trying to change himself and help others. You're the one who's hell-bent on revenge that doesn't even have a vital reason. So Yahiko's dad killed your brother; your brother killed other people! And I don't see any of them hunting you down!"

Anohorea snarled. "You know nothing. He was my last remaining family I had and that brat's father took him away from me. Took away everything I had to live for…except to carry out my revenge."

Sano's gaze was dark. "Then rot in hell." Racing forward the fighter, Sano prepared to do his own version of the Futae no Kiwami but was met with thin air as he aimed for Anohorea's chest. Sano flipped around and saw Anohorea rapidly closing the ground between himself and Yahiko, the latter trying to summon the strength to lift the sword to defend himself.

"NOW YOU DIE!" Anohorea snarled, withdrawing a kunai from the holster on his hip where he had kept his swords. Yahiko stared up as the kunai hurtled straight for his head and with that close of range it was certain it would land.

But Sano hadn't been sitting around twiddling his thumbs during the exchange. He had raced into action and was right behind Anohorea as the man withdrew his last and final chance.

"SANJUU NO KIWAMI!" he screamed, slamming his fist into the back of Anohorea's head before the kunai could leave his hand.

In a burst of blood, flesh, and bone Anohorea went flying over Yahiko and Misao and crashed into the wall where he made no signs of getting up. He wouldn't be either; not with Sano having just crushed his skull.

"Hey," Sano whispered, wiping the blood on his pants leg and then kneeling down so he was more of Yahiko's height. "You all right, Brat?"

Yahiko gave a single nod, a tear making its way down his cheek. Not believing him in the slightest, Sano leaned forward and pulled the boy into a gentle hug, not wanting to cause him any more pain then he was in but to reassure him that it was safe.

"Can you walk?" Sano asked, pulling Yahiko to his feet.

"I…dunno," he said softly, legs wobbling underneath him. "Everything really…hurts…" Sano nodded, he had assumed as much.

"Megumi will fix that right up," Sano said with a smile. "Hope she's willing to fix my hand again too." Yahiko cracked a small grin at that. "How's weasel girl?"

"She's…hurt…" Yahiko said, not wanting to share quite yet what had almost happened. "Her leg is broken though…she can't walk either."

"And the Tenken?"

"His name's Soujiro," Yahiko said stubbornly. "But he's…he's really bad, Sano. Anohorea was…torturing him…"

"I need to get you all back to the dojo and fast," Sano muttered, debating how he was going to cart three people back in one trip; two of them unconscious.

One slight problem was solved as Misao stirred, her face clenched in pain. "Misao?" Yahiko asked, shaking her gently by the shoulder. "Misao can you hear me?"

"Soujiro?" she asked weakly, aqua eyes slowly opening up and blinking at Yahiko. As if she had been shocked she sat right up, eyes searching the room. "Where's Soujiro? What happened? Anohorea?"

"Anohorea's dead," Sano said, Misao noticing him for the first time. "The Tenk- Soujiro is still alive but barely. I need to get you all back to the dojo…Megumi should hopefully be done patching up Kenshin and can help."

Yahiko looked up at Sano with a mixture of hope and relief on his face. "Kenshin's alive?"

"Yeah… He was poisoned but Megumi is helping. Jou-chan got injured pretty badly but she's fine. And Yutaro's just sporting a headache."

"No one died?" he asked hesitantly, almost afraid to believe it would turn out to be some joke.

"No one except some Tozuma ninjas. Come on, I've got to get you all back right away." Sano glanced at the two and then at Soujiro, tyring to figure out the best way to go about it. He couldn't leave anyone behind, some of the ninjas had to be coming by eventually. Especially if the guards woke up.

He also couldn't carry Soujiro haphazardly. The poison had to be moving faster and from his experience the more movement the body took the faster the death. He'd have to held nearly still on the way back. But how did he hold someone and carry two other people?

Misao seemed to sense his problem. "I have an idea," she said. "If you give me a boost up I could wrap my arms around your neck and ride on your back and so could Yahiko… you could carry Sou and if you hold your arms far back enough I can hook a leg around and keep balance. Yahiko, could you do that?"

"I…think so. But could you carry us all, Sano?"

Sano pretended to look insulted. "Of course I can carry all of you. It's not like any of you are really heavy anyway."

Very carefully Sano was able to help Misao onto his back, wincing with her as her broken leg rubbed against him as she hooked her left leg under his arm and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Yahiko followed suit although he used his right leg to hook around Sano's elbow and held onto Sano's jacket loosely with his hands; they hurt too much to grab anything with much force.

With the two situated awkwardly on him, Sano went over to Soujiro and slowly bent down, trying not to move the ones on his back much. Gently, he picked the Tenken up, one arm underneath his legs at the knee and the other supporting his back.

"You guys ready?" he asked, back already aching slightly.

"Let's get out of here," Yahiko said vehemently, his eyes staring at Anohorea's form.

Sano nodded and left the room, kicking the door open as his hands were completely full. Hoping the bang didn't alert the guards, he took off down the hall and back the way he came, coming to a halt before the drop down to the forest floor. And he had thought coming up by himself was difficult?

The two ninja he'd knocked out were still unconscious so hopefully no alarm had yet been raised, giving him time to make his way down. Going down it seemed would be the hardest part of the night. As it ended up, Sano left Soujiro on the ledge and made his way down with Misao and Yahiko, the girl protesting the entire way that they couldn't leave Soujiro.

As soon as they were on the ground Sano went back up and retrieved the Heavenly Sword, still miraculously alive although right at Death's Door.

Getting Misao and Yahiko back on him, Sano took off for the dojo, cradling Soujiro in his arms. Time was his enemy and it appeared to be winning. Even as he ran the sun began to filter through the dense foliage and Sano cursed softly.

He was trapped. No matter how fast he ran he couldn't win this race. This race had had a set victor from the start and Sano wasn't it. Soujiro wasn't. Misao nor Yahiko were.

Only Fate could win this race. And Fate was already at the finish line.

Author's Notes:

Please refer to the Disclaimer's Note and don't harm me. If you do I'll never be able to update. But in all honesty, I'm terribly sorry for the wait. A Year and a half xD I would have shot myself if I were you so I think we're all on the same page. This fic fell in and out of my interest until I finally felt like writing it a few days ago and have been working on this chapter since.

I'm really proud of how far this fic has come from SSS. I can tell my writing has improved (and my grammar n.n;) and the plot has exceeded my expectations. Despite the fact I'm not as much of a Yahiko fan anymore (Sou all the way xD) I still managed to make the plot for him and even gave him a major role this chapter. And I think the situation is wrapping up quite nicely. Give or take two chapters and this story will be complete!

I'd like to thank you all for sticking with me this far, my very first fanfic to this one (one of twenty fics). I appreciate all of your support and wonderful comments. I hope to see you all next chapter. And please review! You know how much I love them.

Just a note; when I refereed to Soujiro as the once 'undefeatable' Tenken it was in reference that he would have beaten Kenshin during the Kyoto Arc if Kenshin hadn't messed with is mind xD I'm a Sou fan girl at heart.

All the fun terms I used in here. And guess what? I included myself in this chapter :o And I'm not Mary-sue ish or annoying at all xD Can't find me? Look through the words here… I'm the clan Anohorea was from and I'm mentioned (well, part of me is mentioned) in several of his attacks. Aren't I special? xD

Enjin -Ring

Kurohyou- Panther

Senkou- Flash

Tsumetai- Icy

Kuran- Clan

Bakuha- Blast

Arashi- Storm

Hawatari- A technique of the Kamiya Kasshin Style. Yahiko learned it during the Jinchuu Arc although for this story he learned it prior to that. It involves catching the sword between crossed arms and then disarming the opponent.

Matsudaitatari- Yahiko's trademark little trick used on Gohei where he kicks the poor guy in the crotch. xD That's gotta hurt…

Chikai- Short

Tsuppari- Thrust

Review please!! (That's my heart xD)

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