Walking through the white snow in her hakama and gi, Miryu felt her senses slowly becoming dull, rendering her unable to react to her surroundings. Kenshin's Ki that was usually so strong suddenly faltered, and she knew that it was not her skill that was drastically depleting. Somehow, it was the forest around them…
That morning, when she and Kenshin were fretting over Tomoe's disappearance, Iizuka suddenly came and said to them that she was the traitor, and being the only one who truly knew about Tomoe's past in the Choushu faction, Miryu knew that it was a false accusation. The older woman had already told the both of them about her past and Enishi's, plunging Kenshin into a deep chasm of guilt. As she steeled her eyes, she noticed that even her vision was slowly blurring… Oka-sama, grant me the strength to get through this… She prayed to her mother, knowing that Ryumiko had been through worse times than this.
"This forest…" she said to Kenshin, but suddenly felt cold steel pierced through her shoulder, and uttered a soft yelp of pain. Looking up towards where Kenshin was, she found that he was also attacked at the same spot. Who was it? Why could she not sense their attacker's Ki? A ninja then stood before them, black-clad and masked. Immediately, she unsheathed her titanium katana, which bell tinkled clearly as she moved it. It was like a sound coming from heaven in that dark, foreboding forest. "Kenshin, are you all right?" she asked.
Kenshin nodded, and panted slightly. "I'm fine…" he said, checking the severity of his wounds. The Ninja in front of them laughed as the flame-haired youth leapt away from him.
"Welcome, Battousai and Battouryu, to the Forest of Barriers!" he exclaimed. "Did the two of you see me coming?" They did not reply, readying themselves in the stances of the Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryuu. The Ninja was no fool; he could feel that Miryu was stronger than Kenshin, judging by her Ki. Also, he felt that it was harder to wound her than Kenshin… but why? Did Battousai not surface earlier than Battouryu did? "I'll have you know that this is no ordinary forest, but one with a magnetic field far stronger than Fuji's sea of trees!"
Miryu then threw a dagger towards him, and missed him completely. He only laughed the more. "The sixth sense of those who are adept in Kenjutsu are useless here, and only we of the dark arts can overcome the barriers this forest!"
She spat and said, "Then let us be the first!" With what speed and strength she could still muster, she attacked him, only to get shot with his tiny crossbow just above her elbow. Kenshin then moved in for his attack, saying,
"I will protect Tomoe's happiness, no matter what it takes!" Amber shrouded the soft violet shade of his eyes, anger and rage-filled. He drew his katana and slashed the Ninja's chest. "What does it matter if my abilities are disabled? I will keep my vow, and I will kill anyone who dares lift a hand to stop me!"
Miryu then delivered a swift attack to his shins, and she said, "No matter who you are, you will die under the hands of Battousai and Battouryu of the Ishin-Ishishi!" Immediately, the Ninja ran for his life, only to be stopped by the two of them. "Now, where is Tomoe one-san?"
The crossbow that the Ninja used against Miryu then shot Kenshin, and he pulled the arrow out, wincing in pain as he did so. "Will you die, or will you tell us?" Kenshin asked. Without giving the Ninja a second to react, both he and Miryu delivered attacks that severed off his arms from the elbow-down. Screaming, the Ninja ran towards the mouth of the cave. "We will give you an easy death if you do…" he said.
Out of fear and pain, the Ninja then said, "Head straight to your right after leaving the cave…" With his toes, he pulled a cord on the floor of the cave, resulting in a huge explosion. "I… I will a barrier to the two of you!"
What Miryu remembered of what followed next was only a flash of white light brighter than the sun. Jumping out of the cave, she and Kenshin found that their hearing drastically faltered. "They plan to mess our hearing up…" she said to Kenshin.
"No matter, we will go find Tomoe…" Kenshin replied, gritting his teeth as they continued their journey deeper into the so-called Forest of Barriers.