Strength and recklessness made the axe-bearing ninja step back in fear as he saw Miryu and Kenshin advancing towards him. They did not even stop to think of their next moves, but for some unknown reason, they could move as one. Every movement was perfectly executed, accurate with precision unmatched by any other. But from the way they were fighting, it was nigh impossible to even realize that they were Battousai and Battouryu, they would not be able to assassinate a hundred people if they really fought like that. They were not the people they had investigated for so long.
Kenshin then turned to the axe-bearing ninja, and said, "The first one told us that there were three others. Where the Hell is the other one?" He was determined to know where would the last one was, so that he and Miryu could kill him and save Tomoe. But Miryu gave him no chance to actually die a quick death. With her mother's katana, she slashed his back, and his blood spurted out, yet not so much that he died on the spot.
"Do not forget to tell us where Tomoe one-san is", Miryu said, her sapphire eyes gleaming in amber. Her anger was not as frightening as that as Kenshin's, but the ninja could feel it through the wound she gave him. That woman was more of a threat to them than Battousai was, and he knew that she was somehow stronger than he was. "Or do you want me to remove your limbs as well?"
The ninja spat at her, and she glared at him. "The last one is in the shack up front with the girl", he replied. As the two deadly assassins began to move on, he pulled a trigger out of a barrel that was half-buried in the ground. "You have forgotten the last barrier!" Suddenly, a blinding flash of light appeared, and the ninja could not be seen anywhere. It was an explosion, an explosion set to destroy them, but once again, the efforts of the ninja went all to waste.
Not far from them, Enishi saw the explosion, and his heart soared. They must be fighting Battousai and Battouryu! He thought gleefully, and immediately went to look for Tomoe. But back there, all things were not as fair for Kenshin and Miryu. First they lost their hearing, then their intuition. Now, they lost their sight… They were fighting a losing war, and fear started to fester in Miryu's heart. Nonetheless, they walked on. They needed to save Tomoe, not because she knew many secrets of the Choushu faction, but because, they started to love her in their own fashion. They knew, if they waited more patiently, they could recover their senses…
The last man stood before them, shocked. After all the barriers ignited, they should be dead! "So, Battousai and Battouryu walk still alive, no matter what challenges I throw to you…" he said to them coldly, but they ignored him.
"We come to take Tomoe back…" Kenshin said, trying hard not to reveal his condition to the enemy.
"The two of you could wield the katana so freely and without much emotion, but now you risk all for a mere woman…" the last ninja continued despite his situation. "You are now ruled by passion, without any thought of the consequences. You are now no match for me, now you must die!"
The fight soon ensued, and as the bell upon Miryu's katana rung, the worse she and Kenshin were beaten up. They were wounded and tired, and only a miracle could save them from death under this last ninja. Blow after blow they tried to dodge and parry, but the old ninja was still too strong for them. Tomoe, looking from a shack not far into the distance, was unafraid. She knew that they would win… They have won almost every battle. Reiyama Ryumiko, if you love your daughter, you will watch over her… and he who fights beside her as well, she prayed to Ryumiko. Miryu had told her before that the prodigious Iron Wolf-Maiden of Mibu was her mother, and Tomoe found no other one who could help them as they were now.