Elvengirl: Okay...I'm back. I know that you are all probably used to my weekly updates.

Sain: But...

Elvengirl: I'm going away for two weeks and as a result, there shall be no updates during this time. I'll start the Megumi arc when I get back.

Sain: She hopes to appease you with the conclusion of the Jin-e arc...so please enjoy.

"Let me go!" yelled Lyn, stuggling against her bonds around her wrist and ankles. Linus smirked and lit a cigarette.

"I'm sorry, but I can't. I need you captive to make the Sword Demon angry. So angry that he'll go back to the man he was ten years ago. It would only take one cigarette's time to defeat him as he is now," Linus took a long drag on his cigarette as if to emphisis his point.

"Don't you know how powerful he is?"

"Heh, he's more powerful than you think," smirked Linus, "He was a legend in Kyoto. A crazed killer who went mad at the scent of blood. I can't wait to fight the Sword Demon."

"But Karel would never..."

"Oh, he would and he will. That rag I sent along with the location, that will surely help awaken him." Linus laughed and checked his watch. Looking up, he saw Karel entering the clearing. Lyn gasped. Karel's eyes were narrowed into a death glare, and clouded over with a red mist.

"Your eyes are full of rage. That's good." Linus threw away his cigarette and picked up his sword.

"At you who involved Lyn-dono. And at myself who could not prevent it." Karel's voice was rough."Myself? That tone of voice. That can't be Karel. Who is that?" Lyn mumbled in a choked voice.

"And you've stopped talking like an idiot. Now, if you just turned over your blade...the true Sword Demon would be back."

"Karel..."

Before anyone could blink, Karel had rushed Linus with a sudden attack. Linus mearly parried and went in for his own blow. The battle was on. Both attacking and parrying, neither gaining a clear advantage. After about five minutes, Linus attempted the Shin no Ippo.

"That won't work against me!'" yelled Karel, moving behind Linus, who wheeled around, using a one handed flat thrust, forming the first move of the Nikaida-heiho, "yi" or "one." Karel evaded and parried the "shi" or "ten", disrupting it with the hilt of his sword. Linus's face flashed worry but then turned into his usual smirk. Karel rushed for an attack, realising to late that Linus had turned the disrupted Nikaida Heiho to his advantage, turning it into a backwards reel. Linus cut deep into Karel's shoulder, sending him to the ground.

"You are still weak. It would only take me three cigarettes to beat you now."

Lyn stared in horror at Karel, who lay bleeding on the ground. 'Is this what Karel is? Is this the true nature of the Sword Demon?'

"Karel!" she yelled. Linus sneered down at Karel, who lay sprawled on the ground, blood dripping from the wound in his shoulder.

"I must make you far more angrier." Linus turned his attention to Lyn, who suddenly began to gasp and sputter for air.

"Lyn-dono!"

"I've used a stronger Shin no Ippo on her. She'll last at least five more minutes," Linus smirked. "The only way to break it is if she focuses her will or I'm defeated. I doubt that she'll be able to do that though."

Karel, who had struggled into a kneeling position, grasped his sword and dissapeared, only to reappear, slamming his blade into the bridge of Linus's nose.

"I...I didn't see anything. Not a movement," Linus laughed, "The old Sword Demon has returned!"

"Shut up. Strike now, so I can kill you."

"Strike now so you can kill me, heh, words worthy of one as possessed as you."

"Ka...karel..." Lyn gasped, watching as the red mist in Karel's eyes grew.

"The bloodlust grows in your eyes. I clearly must fight you with all that I am." Linus slowly raised his sword, gazing at his reflection as if it were a mirrior.

"What are you doing?" Karel growled.

"I'm going to use the Shin no Ippo on myself. That way, I will become what I believe."

He used the Shin no Ippo.

"I am steel. I am power. I cannot lose." Linus practised on a rock, turning it to dust in a matter of three slashes.

"I don't care. I've vowed to kill you, so you will end up dead," Karel said as he sheathed his sword and took the stance of Battojutsu. It was a crouching position, with the left leg in front and the right extended behind/ His left hand held the sheath of the sword, the right, with the ring and pinky fingers curled and the other three extended, was poised above the hilt. Linus looked worried. Of all the teqniques of Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryu, this was said to be the fastest.

"But if I can dodge this, then the Demon is dead. It's a one shot attack and if I evade it...Which I can..."

Linus rushed Karel.

"You missed one thing Demon! A sword such as yours is unfit for Battojutsu! This match is mine!"

With the god-like speed of Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryu, Karel drew the accelerated blade. Linus narrowly evaded, going in for the final blows with a sneer.

"Auugh!" Linus's screams severed the night. Karel had swung his sheath up into the elbow of Linus, severing the bone and muscle.

"Hiten-mitsurugi ryu. Battojutsu. Soryusen. My attack has ended your career as a swordsman. Now I shall end your life." Karel flipped his sword over and raised it above his head.

"Karel..." said Lyn in a small, weak, voice. Linus grinned.

"Come...kill me Demon. It's the only way to save her life."

"To save Lyn-dono, I will kill again. DIE!"

Karel began to swing the sword down.

"Karel...No!" shouted Lyn, breaking the spell on her own.

"Lyn-dono!" Karel dropped the reverse-blade woa dao and ran to her side. "Lyn-dono, are you alright?" he asked, the red mist clearing from her eyes.

"I'm fine...that I am," Lyn gasped.

"I must be going soft," breathed Linus, standing up and drawing out a wakizashi. "I never thought that girl would break my spell."

"There's no way you can win with a broken arm and a wakizashi...Give up Linus."

"Heh..this is mearly clean up." Linus drove the short sword into his heart. "Don't look at me like that Demon. I liked it better when you were going to kill me. Besides, I can't let people know who hired me. A killer is a killer until death. You can never escape that path. I'll see how long you can keep up this act. I'll be watching you from Hell" Linus lay still.

"Until death..."

"Karel?"

"Let's go home Lyn-dono. Guy and Hector are probably worried."

"Right. Um...thank you for saving me."

"It is I who should be thanking you, Lyn-dono. Without you...I would have succombed to my rage. That's right...I need to return your ribbon." Karel drew out the indigo ribbon from his kimono. Lyn stared at it in horror. It was soaked in blood.

"Karel..."

"Well, my should was cut open..."

"That was my favorite ribbon!"

Lyn grabbed a nearby stick and began to chase Karel.

Mad Dog..are you watching? I shall never become The Sword Demon again. I shall forever stay rurouni.

A dark figure stood in front of the carcass of the Mad Dog. He glanced at the moon, gold eyes gleaming in the moonlight. He smirked as he turned away.

"You are clearly not what you were. It took you far to long to defeat this lout and you didn't even bother to finish him off. I wonder as well, Sword Demon...How long can you remain this 'Rurouni'. How long? We shall see."

Elvengirl: I hope you enjoyed all that. I'm sorry it's kind of short, but I'm really proud of how it turned out...considering that it took me two days to write, and that's the shortest amount of time it's ever taken me to write one.

Sain: Anything else?

Elvengirl: So yeah, I'll be back in two weeks. I'll probably have reached the Kyoto arc by then.. Tell me what you thought and I'll see you all in two weeks.

Reviews:

Nightmare3: Serra basher...okay good. I was starting to fear for a bit. I'll work on the descriptions.

XFreakonleashX: Thanks, I'm glad you like it .

Wandering Cat: I hope that this met your standards for the fight. And I actually never got Harken in the game...so wrong again. Sorry.

Notes:

Wakizashi: A Japanese Short Sword.

Battojutsu: Press the blade's edge against the inside of the sheath, then draw thw sword quickly to increase the speed of the sword's swing by two or three times' normal. The attacker has little time to react

Nikaida Heiho: A style of three forms based on the Mandarin characters for one, eight, and ten. Iconically, the three join to create the "forced" character "hei" thus hei ho.

Shin No Ippo: "One side of the soul" a technique that allows the user to cast Chi "fighting energy" into the attacker's eyes.

Yi: One

Ba: Eight

Shi: Ten
Taken from the Mandarin Dialect.

On how Karel speaks: Having read the manga and seen the anime...Karel uses both traits from the anime. So therefore "This one" and "That I am" will both find there way in...depending on the situation

Next time: Everyone's been waiting for it...The Megumi arc begins Megumi and Aoshi finally revealed. I'll see you all in two weeks with this exciting revalation.