|
|
Episode Three "Return of Saitoh, Ga-totsu improved!"
by Evan Coole (9/11/98)
***means the viewpoint has changed to and from the Predator.
Chapter 3
Kenshin looked at the group, a gleam passing over his eyes. "This isn't over just yet." A shadow appeared at the door, and Kenshin and Hiko stood up. Kaoru and Misao also got up. The door swiftly opened. Tae and Tsubane stood wide eyed. They both steeped forward. Tae grabbed Kenshin's arm, Tsubane stole a look at Yahiko, who had a questioning face on him. Kenshin looked deep into Tae's eyes, and realized, without a word, what had happened. "Take me to him, Tae-dono!" Kenshin cried. Kaoru stepped forward to ask who Kenshin was talking about, but had to run after the two. Yahiko, Misao, and Aoshi followed. Megumi, stunned, looked at Hiko. Hiko looked back after a swig of sake, and. She ran out the door to follow the other group.
***
Kandak'la jumped across an alleyway, hearing voices below him. He glanced at them quickly and saw a female and small female child running somewhere. Kandak'la landed with a *thud* onto the large rooftop. He sat down, frantically trying to take off his mask. He fiddled with the wires and finally depressurized it, and he pulled it off and threw it to the ground. DAMMIT! He had ruined a perfect kill. He should have realized that that human's blow to his helmet had caused the aim on his cannon to be a little off. He missed the human's forehead, and ended up just barely grazing the human's temple, or so he thought. The instant he fired, the human had slammed his fist into Kandak'la's helmet, and an intense ringing went through his helmet. That blow would have turned anything into a million pieces had it not been his helmet. The helmet was protective against hard impacts, and could absorb extreme amounts of pressure. It even had two
layers to it, and the first had been shattered by the blow. The ringing had caused Kandak'la to drop the human, and for some reason, there was a cloud of dust in his face. Kandak'la had decided to leave, especially to get the ringing out of his ears.Kandak'la sighed. That wouldn't look good to the others. He had ruined a PERFECT kill. Kandak'la heard a small patter of feet again, and looked below, seeing a couple of figures go by. Figuring they were nothing, he put his helmet back on after a few blips of re-programming, and hopped off to find a resting place. After all, even HE needed sleep.
***
Kenshin ran alonside of Tae, hoping he wasn't too late. If Sano had gone against a Hunter, there was a very little chance that he would have survived. Kenshin's ears heard some small noises, like a bird quickly chirping, but he decided to forget it. Farther down the road, he saw a small group of about five around someone on the ground. Kenshin ran up to the circle and saw what he feared. Sano was on the ground, a pool of blood at his head. Megumi ran up, and in one fluid motion, knelt down to Sano's chest. The others ran up, all stopping at what they saw. Kaoru turned, and buried her face in her hands. Kenshin frantically looked at Megumi for anything that would show that he was alive. She stayed at his chest for a moment, then moved up to his mouth, putting her ear to it... ... ... ... ... Megumi looked up. ... Tears formed in her eyes. Kenshin started to grit his teeth together. He looked up to the sky and saw a star fly through the sky, burning into oblivion in the atmosphere. He heard Megumi gasp, and he looked down. She was at his mouth again. She looked up and smiled. "HE'S ALIVE! HE'S ALIVE!" Megumi yelled. She looked down, and grabbed her bandages. She touched his head, and turned it to see the wound. His head had been grazed by something, but wasn't too serious. She pressed her hands to it to stop the small amount of blood that was still streaming. She looked down at Sanosuke as he groaned and opened his eyes. He looked around and weakly smiled. "I...is everyone that worried ab..about me? Geez, stop c..crying Jo-Chan, I'll be fi..fine." Sano whispered. Kaoru, tears streaming, smiled and clapped her hands together. Yahiko let out a breath of relief, as did Misao. "And wh..why the hell is Saitoh here? I th...thought he was dead..." Sano questioned softly. Everyone looked at each other. Kenshin looked up, and saw a small red dot in the shadow of two buildings. Kenshin instantly jumped in front of the group, drawing his sword. This was it, the Hunter. Kenshin recalled all the information through his head. He prepared for the dot to travel forward, but he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. Thoughts flew through his mind. Had it already come up behind him? Was this the speed of the Hunters? He flipped forward and turned to see his assailant. It was Hiko. "Stupid pupil, the Hunters use THREE red dots, not one. That's a cigarette." Hiko explained, pointing. Kenshin looked at the dot, and saw a figure start towards him, taking shape into Saitoh Hajime. Kenshin breathed a sigh of relief and turned to everyone, telling them to take Sano home. They all complied, Aoshi carrying him on his back, with Misao and Yahiko supporting. Kenshin and Hiko turned towards Saitoh, expecting a reason why he was here, but they didn't get one. Saitoh walked to them and took another puff of his cigarette. "I was assigned to the train attacking that occured 3 days ago, and when I found a list of the passengers, I happened to see Shinomori Aoshi's name, so I thought it might have something to do with you." Kenshin squinted, picking up a sound in his ear. Hiko and Saitoh heard it also. They all looked around, then Kenshin saw a form atop a building. He lightly said "there...", and the others looked. It was if the air was wrapping around the air. The three all readied their swords. Then, two yellow eyes flashed in the air, where the form was. It stood up, and then was gone. Hiko sheathed his sword, as did the others, as soon as they felt the Kenki (warrior spirit) leave. "I suppose that was the attacker." Saitoh said calmly, although in his mind, he was amazed by the power of the kenki he had just felt. Kenshin, too had felt something deep within him burn...
-The Next Day-
Okina opened his eyes, and looked around. He yawned and sat up. Smacking his lips, he looked around, sniffed the air. His eyes widened as he smelled something cooking. He jumped up and walked out of the room. Walking into the room where the others were eating, he noticed that everyone was uptight, everyone was worried about what was going to happen. Hiko, Kenshin, and Kaoru weren't in the room, and Megumi was once again taking care of the wounded at her office in the city. Misao looked up, and saw him. He sat down as she handed him some breakfast. Kaoru walked into the dojo, hoping to find Kenshin, and she did. He was thinking to himself in the corner. As Kaoru walked towards him, his head shot upwards, and he stared at her, his hand on his sword hilt. He sighed, and went back to his former position, still looking at her. She knelt down in front of him, looking deep into his eyes. He lightly smiled, and she looked down. He knew what she was thinking; he always did. "Everything is going to be alright, right, Kenshin?" Kaoru asked, looking back at him with a frown. She had expected a quick "yes" to the question, but he didn't say anything. He just looked at her and then looked away.
"I have to leave." Kenshin said. "It is too dangerous for me to stay. It isn't after anyone but Hiko and I. I can't let what happened to Sano happen to you and the others, so I must leave. I will come back after this thing has been defeated." Unlike the other times, Kaoru nodded. Kenshin was surprised at her acceptingness, because she usually didn't want to lose him. He wondered why she had said that, and then she told him without him asking. "I trust you, Kenshin. I know you'll come back. Just try to make it quick, please?" Kenshin smiled and nodded. He stood up, and Kaoru wrapped her arms around him. He embraced her tightly, feeling her warmth, and then he let go. He hated doing that, but he had to leave. He walked out the door and looked back at her and smiled. Kaoru then smiled, and when he turned the corner, she started to cry. She so had wanted him to stay, but the fight was inevitable, and if the thought of having to keep her safe was going to only impede him, then that meant that she had to act strong for him. She wiped her tears and stood up. She thought she might go see how Sanosuke was.
-Outside-
Kenshin walked from the dojo, hoping noone would see him, but apparently Yahiko had. He ran up to Kenshin, and asked if he was going to find out where the killer was and defeat him. Kenshin nodded, and Yahiko threw up his arm, grinning. "ALRIGHT, KENSHIN! Give a good whack or two for me, will ya?" Yahiko yelled. Kenshin laughed and agreed, and he went on his way. Kenshin walked for a ways, searching for the beast. Down the street about a mile, he saw a the same sort of movement in the air jump from one building to another. Kenshin widened his eyes, and started to run.
***
Kandak'la frowned. He had given the humans a good look at himself last night. He had analyzed the Dragons, an dthe others was very powerful, too, but wasn't a dragon. Kandak'la thought he would have a couple of courses with his main dish, just to entertain himself. Kandak'la roamed the streets all morning, until he found the man on a street corner. He hopped from his building to the next, going over a very crowded street, and landed with a loud thud onto the next building. He sprinted across the roof and jumped off the ledge, claws drawn. As he looked down during his descent, the other human he had seen last night drew his sword, his body temperature suddenly flaring into red and yellows. The two metals clashed, and the fight began...
Well, that's that for Episode 3! Yet again, I'm sorry for the 17 day delay for this episode. I'm a lazy bum who can't write without his music! I REALLY want to know what you think of this nifty little fanfic, so e-mail me at evanrc@yahoo.com
*The Final Thought* (livin' in the ghett-ooooooo)
Ummm.....I can't think of much to say..... Thanks to Watsuki for making Kenshin, and to....WHOEVER made Predator!
NEXT TIME, ON RURONI-KENSHIN VS. PREDATOR!
The fight with Saitoh and Kandak'la rumbles on, and the rest of the Oniwa Banshu come to Tokyo to face a horrible destiny! Next Episode: "Oniwa Banshu: Aoshi relives his past!"