The Final Mark III
a Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction

written by: Hiko Seijuro

All rights and yada yada belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.  I didn't make the beautiful characters up either.

WARNING: This fic may contain spoilers! Go away if you don't like spoilers!
Otherwise, read on.


    III: Gaze of the Wolf
 
 

        The grating sound of nihontou on nihontou was a familiar feeling, almost a familiar scent to the two warriors battling in the weathered streets of Tokyo.  Himura Battousai and Mibu no Ookami clashed fiercely, quickly trying to read each others next move.  Left, Below, Above?  Neither could put a finger on it.  Battousai's eyes glowed the familiar amber of a true hitokiri.  Saitoh, however noticed something even more distinct about the man.

        <He's using a true katana this time.  If that's so...then I'll have to be a bit more careful than last time.>  he thought, but yet at the same time, felt a surge of exhiliration.  He hadn't fought a worthy opponent in so long.  The smell of human fear, the blood, and the ferocity of the fight, all key elements of battle were there, and he had no plans to waste any of it.  Suddenly, the Battousai spoke, sounding of the spitting cobra attacking its prey.

        "And you complain about Sano's defense?  You have no right to speak of defense, Saitoh."  he said coldly, rotating the swords toward Saitoh, which he easily pushed away.  But while he did so, Battousai used Saitoh's
weight to push himself up and land a kick to Saitoh's jaw.  Battousai used his jaw as a stepping stone, and bounced away, returning his sword to his saya as he did so.  Saitoh staggered back a ways, unimpressed.

        "Well, now.  If you think you'll win with something like that... I've got news for you, then."  Saitoh said, returning to the Gatotsu form.

        They charged again.
 

        *       *       *

        From a nearby building, the window was wide open on the pouring rain, and a clear view of the intense battle was completely visible.  The figure at the window gazed at the fight, enthralled with its complexity, ferocity, and precision.  He turned to view the man laying on the bed behind him, looking at him with narrowed eyes, almost a tinge of hatred and fear.

        "Our plan worked more quickly than expected, Ibuki."  The man called Santo said.

        "Yes, it did.  I didn't expect him to immediately leave and go after me, though.  I guess I'll have to hurry to Kyoto then.  Can't keep our friends waiting, can we?"  Ibuki said, a bit of a gleam escaping from
his eye.

        "Why must you go to Kyoto?  Couldn't you just attack him here? Finish everything here and be done with it?!"  Santo said, irritated.

        "All in due time, my dear Santo.  The next phase of my plan has yet to be initiated.  It can only start when he arrives in Kyoto.  Then, his true misery will begin."  he said, cackling.

        "You realize your brother fought Himura Kenshin and lost, don't you?!  You'll be fighting the true Battousai!  And if your brother couldn't defeat a nonkilling rurouni, do you think you can defeat this man?  I'm just worried, Ibuki-san!  What happens if he kills you?!"  Santo said, exasperated.

        "Then I die, I suppose.  But that will be the end of Himura Kenshin, and the revival of true hell on earth for him.  If he kills me, everything will be taken from him, his life, friends, everything.  If I kill him, I will have avenged my family, and especially my brother.  Either way, I win this.  There is no need to worry.  My brother was blinded with his foolish ambition, and it got in the way of his fighting.  Had that not happened, Himura Kenshin would have been dead.  But that's in the past. This is now.  He will not escape punishment this time."  Ibuki said, a
smile coming to his face.

        Santo clenched his teeth, and turned back to the battle.

        <Battousai...>
 

        *       *       *

        The charge was quicker than before, but Battousai saw it coming, and sidestepped.  Saitoh remembered his little trick, and he jumped away before the katana swished in the air, where his neck had been only a moment
before.  The wolf took advantage, and leaped into the air.

        "Gatotsu, 2nd stage!"

        Saitoh plunged to the earth, the Battousai still recovering from the large swing.

        <Hn.  That wasn't so hard.>  he mused.

        The Battousai was sailing towards him in the air before he could even finish the thought.  His eyes were wild, animalistic.  His perfect form surprised Saitoh.

        "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Ryu Shou Sen!!"  Battousai yelled.

        The swords clashed and passed each other, and both suffered a small cut to their midsections.  Saitoh winced in pain when he hit the ground, but quickly turned and looked above him.  Battousai was already plunging to the
ground, his next technique ready for the kill.

        "Ryu Tsui Sen!"  Battousai yelled once again.

        With little time to spare, Saitoh managed to roll out of the way as the Battousai plunged his blade deep into the earth.

        <A split-second later, I would be finished...> Saitoh thought, and returned to his primary Gatotsu stance, and took off after the Battousai. The Battousai withdrew his sword from the Earth, and swung it across the ground.  Saitoh, unable to stop his attack, was thrown completely off guard.  The dirt and rocks flew at him, blinding him and the force of the swing repulsing him.  Through the dust, the Battousai suddenly emerged as if from a cloud of smoke, his Battou Jutsu cleaving the air just in front of his face.  Saitoh raised his sword, preparing to land the deciding blow, but then the crunching sound of a rib quickly changed his plans.  He grunted in pain, and rolled defensively away.  He stood slowly, his breathing getting heavier.

        Battousai resheathed his sword again.

        "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Sou Ryu Sen."  the Battousai murmured, barely audible over the thunder and pouring rain.

        <I've never seen that technique before.  But ingenious, nonetheless, Battousai.  I guess now I pull out all the stops.>  Saitoh, once again, brought his sword into his famous pose.  But Battousai noticed something different about his one.

        <Seems angled lower than the traditional stance...it must be a low Gatotsu attack...but it doesn't matter.  He dies here.>  And with that, Battousai withdrew his sword from his saya, and held it in front of him.

        Then, the Battousai charged Saitoh, his battle cries echoing out through the city.

        "Kuzu Ryu Sen!"  Battousai screamed.

        Saitoh gritted his teeth in anticipation, and as Battousai came within range, he summoned all of the strength he could muster into his left arm.

        "Gatotsu, Zero Stance!!"

        A tremor shook the ground as the forces of the attacks collided.
 

        *       *       *

        Tsubame woke with a start, the thunder crashing once again.  She pulled the covers to her face, and shivered.

        <It's so scary sometimes...I wish Yahiko-kun was here...> she thought to herself.

        She got up from her futon, and slowly moved to the kitchen.

        <A good cup of tea should help a little...>

        She drew some of the water they had stored, and poured it into the small pot.  As the tea was being prepared, she rubbed her eyes, trying to get focus in the darkness.

        She was jolted into full awareness as she witnessed her door smashed through, with a red-haired swordsman stuck to the door.  He crashed in and slammed against the adjacent wall.  The splinters of wood dispersed along the floor, and near the doorway.  From the doorway, a tall, lanky man with a nihontou slowly entered.  The thunder crashed again, and the flash of the lightning gave her a quick view of his face, awash with blood and water, mingling with sweat.

        "Fujita-san..."  Tsubame barely managed to utter, and she turned her head to see the other man.  He had been a regular customer at the Akabeko, and she had served him on many occasions.  But she never knew that this...

        The other man stood up slowly, struggling as he did so.  He used a nearby piece of furniture to help himself up, and he staggered forward. Tsubame recognized him immediately.

        "Kenshin-san!!"  Tsubame yelped, and her eyes widened in horror as she took in his form.  It had a deep gash in his midsection, with blood oozing out of the wound profusely.  His eyes...amber, narrowed, almost as though it was a completely different person.  He was breathing heavily, and as she yelped his name, he quickly glanced in her direction, with a fierce and lethal gaze, as did Saitoh.

        She quickly ran away.

        "I have to find Yahiko..."  she thought, as she took off into the raging torrent of rain outside.
 
 

        Their bodies were soaked with sweat, cuts and blood, mingling all together with their clothing.  Saitoh had taken 4 of the 9 cuts from the Kuzu Ryu Sen, and Battousai had taken nearly the full force of Saitoh's Zero Gatotsu.

        "It's funny...Battousai."  Saitoh said, coughing up a bit of blood.  Battousai's eyes narrowed inquisitively.

        "It's been so long...I wish this would never end.  This battle..." Saitoh said, a small smile coming to his lips.

        "You don't know when to give up, do you?  The Shinsen Gumi were always hard-headed idiots..."  Battousai said, smirking.  "After I'm finished with you, you may wish that you had never been born."

        Saitoh's irritation was clearly visible, even in the still darkness.  He said nothing in retaliation as his Gatotsu form was resumed again.  Their gazes met once again, both now realizing that this fight would end soon, whomever let up for just a moment would be finished.

        Saitoh's bellow echoed throughout the small home, and he charged again, as Battousai backflipped to the wall, and pushed himself over Saitoh as the Gatotsu ravaged the wooden wall, splinters and dust covering the room.  Battousai leaped at the wolf, his sword poised and coming down on Saitoh's neck, but Saitoh managed a last second duck, and came up on Battousai with a powerful uppercut.  Battousai was sent sprawling, and wolf pounced his prey.  Battousai caught his leap and tossed him over, and he worked quickly to his feet, trying to gain an advantage on the man.  He pushed his body harder, harder than he had ever done so before, and rushed at Saitoh, his sword sheathed.  Blood shielded his view, as he saw the Zero Stance once again about to run him through his temple. But his speed wouldn't allow it.

        "Ryu Kan Sen, Tsumuji!!"  Battousai yelled.

            (The move he used on Cho.  -Hiko)

        The Zero Stance missed by a hair, a sliver from his face as the Battousai leaped past Saitoh's sword, and plunging it into his belly. Saitoh gasped in pain, and Battousai jumped away, before Saitoh could  get a chance at attacking.  The Battousai looked behind him to see the results of his attack.

        Saitoh had collapsed from the immense pain, the sword embedded deep in his muscular belly.  He cringed as he reached for the hilt of  the blade, and screamed in pain as the sword was withdrawn from his body. His breathing was heavy, and he collapsed against what was left of the wall that he had just so recently destroyed.  Battousai stood up, and walked towards him to retrieve his blade.  Saitoh did not resist.

        "I guess...I have the answer...now."  he managed to say, with his blood being coughed, along with a large red stain on his clothing.

        "Finish me...Battousai."  Saitoh gasped.

        Battousai only could glare at him, the amber pupils shone bright even with the absence of the moon.  Instead, he flicked his wrist, letting the blood on his sword spatter on Saitoh's decrepit form.  He then sheathed the nihontou.

        "I won't even grant you death, Saitoh.  You aren't even worth my time.  I guess, your wish didn't come true." the Battousai said, and then turned to leave the destroyed home.

        "Rot in hell, Mibu's wolf."

        And with that, the Battousai stepped into the rain, hesitantly at first, but then, picked up his pace, and was gone.

        Saitoh stared into the space where his opponent had just occupied, and his broken mind finally took in what had just happened.  The Battousai had just denied him an honorable death.  His teeth clenched in white-hot anger and loathing, he attempted to stand up, his hatred giving him strength.  It was then that several people appeared at the doorway.  Many of them he recognized, but one of them brought shame to his mind.

        "Tokio..."  he said softly, and passed out.

        *       *       *

        Santo looked over his shoulder to Ibuki as he saw the Battousai leaving the small house.

        Ibuki smiled.

        "Now, it truly begins."
 



End of Chapter III.
 

C&C is welcome once again.  Private comments go to: CronusZ@bellsouth.net



 

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