Ah, greetings humans.
This is the last chapter before the epilogue
Enjoy, rate&review or Shishio will sneak into your bedroom and write on your face while you sleep
*evil laughter*
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It all happened so fast, the girls had trouble trying to keep up with the battle itself. First Shishio began an attack aimed at Aoshi, but switched and attacked Kenshin at the last possible second. Kaoru cried out as he barely managed to dodge the attack. Sishio glared at Kaoru and started to advance on the girls. But Kenshin grabbed Shishio by the back of the neck and threw him towards Aoshi. "Okina, get the girls outta here!" Kenshin yelled as Sishio and Aoshi's weapons clashed. Okina tried to pull Kaoru away but she stubbornly refused to move.
"I'm not leaving!" Kaoru said loud enough for Kenshin to hear. "Kaoru…it's not safe!" he cried as Sishio dodged his attack. "I don't care. I'm not leaving unless you leave with me." Kaoru said stomping her foot on the floor. "And if Kaoru stays, I stay! We're all leaving here together!" Misao said standing firmly next to Kaoru. Kenshin and Aoshi felt their hearts constrict as the girls stood faithfully by their sides. "Aw, how touching. No one but me is leaving this place alive!" Shishio yelled as he caught Kenshin on the left side. Unaware of Sishio's position Kenshin gasped in pain at the deep gash in his side. He heard Kaoru's cries and saw Misao hold her back. "Kenshin!" she cried again. Aoshi took the opportunity and attacked Shishio who dodged again. "Is this the best you can do?"
Okina and the girls watched in suspense as the battle raged on. So far Shishio had failed to been scratched, but both Aoshi and Kenshin already had a few injuries. Not life threatening, but still it wasn't going so well. Kenshin and Aoshi struck at Shishio finally landing a blow on him. But it was only one, and the two assassins could feel their strength pour out of them, like their blood. Kaoru and Misao noticed how Kenshin and Aoshi seemed to be slowing down a bit. Shishio noticed it too. He laughed as he stopped and lowered his weapon. "These pathetic excuses for men are really the most notorious assassins in all Japan? I find that hard to believe, so how about I end your suffering now?" Shishio pulled something from his robes. Kenshin and Aoshi froze as they were faced with a bullet filled death. Okina gasped as Kaoru and Misao cried out. "A gun?" as Shishio began to pull the trigger and shoot down Kenshin, Kaoru acted without a hesitant thought.
"Stop!" Kaoru cried and quickly threw a kunai knife at the gun, knocking it out of her uncle's hand. Shishio tried to pulled the trigger but froze when he heard the gun hit the floor and the kunai knife hit the wall next to him. He turned to see Kaoru armed with several kunai and with a murderous expression plastered on her face. Misao too, had a handful of kunai at her disposal. "Kaoru…" Kenshin whispered as he saw her eyes flicker to his. "You will fight fair…or I will kill you myself." Kaoru said coldly to her uncle. Shishio couldn't help but laugh. "You…kill me? Your head has always been filled with foolish dreams, but this is the most foolish one. You'd never be able to kill me." Shishio said once his laughter died down. "You really think so. You killed my parents, and were planning to kill my brothers and Misao. Do you really think that for an instant that I couldn't kill you if I wanted to?" Kaoru said as venom dripped from her voice. Misao nodded and backed Kaoru up as she faced a deadly foe. Shishio laughed once more. "Would you like to bet on that Kaoru?" he asked turning to face her.
Before Kaoru had time to blink, Shishio flung himself into a full on attack. His goal was to finally kill Kaoru and Misao. As he shoved his Gatosu in the position to skewer Kaoru and Misao in half, Kaoru and Misao braced themselves for the impact. Blood spilled over the floor as the Gatosu hit right on target. But it wasn't Kaoru's blood, nor Misao's. Kenshin fell to his knees as the Gatosu's attack pierced his body. Kaoru's scream filled the hallway and her tears mixed in with the blood. Shishio smiled as he pulled his sword from Kenshin's body. Aoshi leapt to his feet and ran at Shishio with bloodlust in his eyes. Shishio didn't dodge his attack this time. As Aoshi and Shishio battled it out away from Kenshin's body and the girls, Kaoru's cry had caught Hanya's ears and soon the hallway was filled with the Jupongatana and Kaoru's brothers.
Okina ran to them leaving Misao and Kaoru with Kenshin. "You idiot, I told you to be careful." Kaoru scolded half-heartedly. Misao watched as Kaoru pulled her hair out of its ribbon. Kaoru used her favorite blue ribbon as a bandage to help stop the bleeding. "You owe me a new ribbon." She said in a pathetic attempt to make her smile. Kenshin found it funny and chuckled. "I couldn't let him hurt you Kaoru. And if all it cost me was a new ribbon and some scolding, I think I'll live." He said gently wiping the tears from her face. Kaoru grabbed his hand and gently kissed his palm. "I like expensive ribbons mind you." she said smiling as she held on to his hand. Kenshin pulled himself up into the sitting position and looked Kaoru in the eyes. "I'll buy you whatever you want, as long as you'd be willing to stay by my side."
Kaoru couldn't help but cry harder as he said this. "Idiot, you don't know what you're saying." She whispered, looking at the ground. Kenshin placed his fingers under her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. "I've never been more sure of anything I've ever said…until now." His voice was low and emotional as he felt his heart beat faster until it matched Kaoru's. A low grunt broke the couple apart as they saw Aoshi fall at Shishio's feet. Misao's cries masked Kenshin's grunt as he grabbed his sword and attacked Shishio. Kaoru protested but saw something that gave her sudden courage.
Shishio didn't hesitate a second before pulling out his second hidden gun and pointing it at Kenshin. A loud gunshot caused everyone to freeze and watch as a body fell to the ground. Kenshin stood watching as Shishio's body crumpled to the ground. He turned around and saw Kaoru holding the first gun in her hand. She was trembling as everyone ran to her side. Misao, Okina, and Hanya ran to Aoshi's side and carried him to Kamatari in the infirmary. Sano and Yahiko watched as Kenshin limped to Kaoru's side. She looked at him and her tremors stopped once he took the gun from her hands. He put his arm around her shoulder and walked towards her brothers. Sano looked Kenshin over and smiled at him. Kenshin saw this as an approval and smiled his thanks. Yahiko was less approving but for the moment his older sisters were safe, and any person who protected them was fine with him…for the moment. As Kaoru felt her world fade to black the last thing she saw was Kenshin's purple eyes gazing at her lovingly.
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Ah yay, it's over!
The battle I mean.
Next chapter=the end. =(