DISCLAIMER!: Rurouni Kenshin characters (c) Watsuki Nobuhiro and Shonen Jump and whoever owns it. Don't own anything, anyone, and don't want to, so please be kind and don't sue... ? ^^x Chapter Three ~ Pan They stood in front of the same clearing they had went to yesterday, the wind howling in their faces like a million miburo okamis, which was making Kenshin very jittery. (imagine, one million Saitous going after him. WOW!) Kenshin tried to perk up his senses for incoming danger, but all he got was the swaying of the grass and the rumbles of an impending storm. A very disadvantageous situation to start a fight in... but... "You know Kenshin..." Sano started behind him. Kenshin turned around, prepared to ask when a punch landed on his forehead. "Sano!" And all at once, Soujirou's words rebounded off the chambers of his mind... *There are powerful enemies after your head, trust no one. Not even the people closest to you...* ~ Rurouni Kenshin's vision blurred. He barely managed to avoid Sanosuke's next blow. Sanosuke watched as Kenshin tried to fight off the approaching darkness. A direct blow to the head... Sanosuke had to give him credit. He was still standing. Most people would have keeled over in pain and shock. Then again, Kenshin wasn't most people, the legendary Hitokiri Battousai, Kenshin was a lot stronger than he looked. That was the reason Sanosuke had to give his all in his first surprise attack. If his first attack failed, he would not get another chance. Time to finish it. Sanosuke threw another punch at Kenshin. This time, however, Kenshin side-stepped Sanosuke's attack and followed up with a swift stroke of his sakabatou which caught Sanosuke by surprise. "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu...Ryuu-Sho-Sen!" Violet eyes gleamed with a tinge of gold...just before Kenshin finally succumbed to the all-consuming darkness. Sanosuke caught him as he fell, holding Kenshin's prone form limp in his arms. He remembered...all the times they fought together...side by side... "...gomenasai..." he whispered. ~ Poping Kenshin regained conciousness,and looked at the room around him.He couldn't see much,since it was pitch dark,and he had not recovered the full use of his eyesight.The effects from the blows that he took from Sano still lingered on for a while.Then,he could see a small flame approaching him. "Himura Battousai,how nice to see you again...."Kenshin was shocked to see who it was standing before him. "What...." Kenshin started to ask,his wide-open eyes staring at the face of the man holding a candlestick. "You thought I was dead,didn't you?I'm disappointed in you.The rest thought so too,but you.....I expected more from you.Sigh.....Heh heh heh,HA HA HA!!!"He broke out in laughter,filling the whole room with his thunderous voice. "Now let me introduce you to someone,or have you met before?"The semi-crazed man proceeded. The room then lit up,and Kaoru was seen to be hanging upside down from the ceiling. "Kaoru-dono!"Kenshin wanted to help her,but his hands and feet were bounded by rope. ~ Sano "Kenshin..." Kaoru whispered. "Kisama! Let her go!" "Can't do that, Kenshin." Sanosuke stepped forward, followed by Soujirou. "Sano...why?" The look on Kenshin's face was almost unbearable to look at for Sanosuke. "I...can't tell..." "..." Soujirou smiled, then shrugged. "I warned you, Himura-san. Too bad you didn't listen." Kenshin's violet eyes narrowed into slits. The Battousai of the old was emerging. ~ Pan He closed his eyes to prevent his soul from transforming. "Why?" He asked, without opening his eyes. The 'new villain''s evil laughter could be plainly heard by all. "Why?" He repeated, walking forward in the shadows, leaving the candlestick behind with Soujirou and Sano. Kenshin felt a hand touch his left cheek, as if tracing the outlines of his beautiful cross scar, then got slapped. "Ask yourself that!" ~ Rurouni He remembered... About eight years ago... "Hey, Himura!" Kenshin looked over his shoulder to see Hitoshii waving wildly at him. "I think I found it!" Kenshin went over to look at the tiny plant Hitoshii was holding carefully in his palm. "Is this the one? The one you need?" Hitoshii asked excitedly, his shock of red hair the same fiery shade as Kenshin's spilled over his eyes but he made no move to brush them away. "...yes..." Kenshin said slowly after examining the plant at length. "Why don't you go on home first, it's your turn to prepare dinner. I'll join you soon, I want to walk for a bit more." Hitoshii groaned. "Why me? Ah well... don't take too long, else the food'll go cold." "With your culinary skills, perhaps it would taste better cold." Kenshin teased. Hitoshii gave an irritated "chi" before heading home. ~ Poping Hitoshii leisurely strolled home,all the while fondling the plant in his hand. Suddenly,four men appeared in front of him.They were all holding a sword,ready to do battle. "What...what do you want?"A suprised Hitoshii asked. "Battousai,you will pay the price for crossing the ShinsenGumi!!"One of them exclaimed fiercely. "But I'm not...."Hitoshii started to defend himself,when he felt cold sword blades cut open his flesh.The four men slashed numerous times at his hapless body,and were about to finish him off,but they stopped when they saw a figure approaching them. "What are you all doing,killing a defenseless,innocent man?I assure you,that is not Himura Battousai..." It was Shishio. "Who the hell are you anyway?Do you even know who we are?"The leader of the pack questioned. ~ Sano "Why should I? You'll all be dead soon anyway." "What?!" A minute later. Shishio wiped the blood of his sword and sheathed it. Soujirou smiled brightly as he entered the scene. "That was fast, Shishio-sama!" Shishio's charred lips curled into a small smile. "Take him back to our base. We might be able to use him to coerce Battousai into joining us." "Hai!" The Present... "It was because of you that I became like this." Hitoshii threw off his gi to reveal a body badly scarred from numerous sword wounds. "Futhermore, you killed my benefactor. Time for you to die too." Kaoru's eyes widened in horror. ~ Pan "But Hitoshii!" Sano started in shock. "You said... you told me... you could remove Kenshin of his Battousai persona if I..." He stopped as Hitoshii turned back, grinning evilly at him. "I lied." He scoffed. "I saw that you guys seemed so disturbed by the fact that Battousai and Kenshin always remained as one, so I just took the opportunity..." He shrugged. "You fell for it, that's all that's important to me now." "Kiaru..." Sano started when he got whipped to one side. Hitoshii turned over to look at Kenshin, whose hair covered his face. "DIE! Battousai!" He charged, whip high up and Kaoru watched in horror as he brought it down... A little, withered plant fell out of Kenshin's gi. And to Hitoshii, it looked deathly familiar... ~ Rurouni The whip struck home. Kenshin gasped in pain. Hitoshii paused, then picked up the withered plant. A wave of nostalgia hit Hitoshii like cold water, twisting him up inside. Images of the past flashed through his mind, images of him, of Kenshin, of the Shinsengumi who attacked him, of Shishio, of Soujirou... His eyes hardened once again. "Why? Why didn't you come to my aid when I needed you? Where were you when I needed you most?!" Kenshin's eyes remained close, his face deathly pale. "ANSWER ME!" "...when I realised what had happened, you were nowhere to be found..." Kenshin whispered so softly that he could hardly be heard. "...sumimasen..." ~ Poping "You could have tried to look for me after that,but you didn't!You probably couldn't care less,right?" "I'm sorry if you feel that way,but you have to believe me,there was nothing I could do at that point in time..."Kenshin said,avoiding Hitoshii's icy glare. "Then you just have to pay the consequences for your actions!" Hitoshii lifted his whip once more.Kenshin closed his eyes,anticlifted his whip once more.Kenshin closed his eyes,anticipating the sting that he would feel when the whip strikes him again.After a brief moment,he felt nothing,and reopened his eyes.Sano was holdi ~ Sano "Sano..." "Don't even think of touching Kenshin." Hitoshii smiled icily. He yanked the whip away from Sanosuke and began walking away. "I'll take care of him for you." Soujirou smiled and went over to Sanosuke. Minutes later, Sanosuke fell to the ground in a bloodied heap, breathing heavily. "Stop it..." Kenshin's eyes were wide with horror. Sanosuke was a highly-skilled fighter, but when compared to someone like Soujirou... Hitoshii suddenly spun around. The whip lashed through the air with lightning speed. A woman's scream echoed through the room. "KAORU!!" Both Kenshin and Sanosuke yelled out her name as she writhed in pain. "I want you to watch as your beloved is slashed to pieces. I want you to see how much pain she feels when this whip cuts into her body like a thousand knives." "ENOUGH!!" A definite cracking sound was heard. The ropes slid off Kenshin's wrist. The ropes around his ankles followed. "There is a way to get out of these ropes. Dislocating your thumb is one of them." Kenshin calmly stood up. "You want my life, don't you? Kill me then. If you can." Kenshin slid into his battle stance. ~ Pan "Hitoshii, I would have tried to save you, I would have, if it weren't that..." He closed his eyes, unable to continue. He opened them again, the golden light in him shining with fierce determination, but in a suppressed form of way. "When I got back, it was too late. I saw nothing, nothing but that..." He glanced briefly at the withered flower in Hitoshii's hands but quickly returned his stare to Hitoshii. "Believe me, Hitoshii, it was the first year of my journey, I wasn't even tired yet, yet I chose to stay with you... I told you to 'go home first'. Something I would not have done otherwise with anyone else. Hitoshii... surely that tells you something?" Soujirou looked on, hit by the word 'journey'. An injured Sanosuke and Kaoru listened on, hit by the word 'home' this time. "But, HITOSHII!" Kenshin suddenly raised his voice. "These are my new family members! Just like how I would have done this to protect you from anyone last time, now I shall do to protect them from you!" He disappeared. ~ Rurouni Kenshin caught the sword which Soujirou had thrown to him in mid-air, then landed behind Hitoshii. "I have no wish to do this...but you forced my hand." He rammed the butt end of the sword into Hitoshii's side. At the same time, Hitoshii's whip lashed at Kenshin's arm like an angry snake. Both combatants jumped back to better assess the situation. "You've grown stronger," Kenshin stated. "And you, my dear friend, have grown considerably weaker since the last time I saw you," Hitoshii mused. Kenshin sheathed his sword. "I will not fight you." "W-what?! If you will not then perhaps this will encourage you to..." With a flick of his wrist, Hitoshii sent his whip arcing out towards Sanosuke and Kaoru. In a flash, Kenshin moved to protect his friends. The whip coiled itself around Kenshin wrist instead. "I will not fight...a friend..." Kenshin said softly, his head bowed. "Do what you will to me but leave the others alone." ~ Poping "I won't get tricked by your sweet words again!Don't think you can make me forget all the pain that I have gone through with your stupid philosophy....." Hitoshii made his point while still tugging at the whip. "You leave me no choice but to defeat you,in order to ensure that my companions leave safe and sound." Kenshin begins to look even more serious than before.He slices the whip in a flash,and flings the piece around his wrist onto the floor. "But,but,that's not possible.This is a special whip that is not supposed to be damaged in any way..." Hitoshii stands completely still,eyes wide open,fixed upon the broken whip he is holding. "Ah,things are getting more interesting,isn't it?"Soujirou being amused by the happenings around him. ~ Rurouni "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu...Ryuu-Tsui-Sen!" Kenshin flipped the blade and delivered the blow. Hitoshii fell to the ground, he tried to get up but could not. He could only watch in silence, helpless as a newborn baby as Kenshin approached him. Kenshin's eyes gleamed as he raised the sword. Hitoshii closed his eyes, and waited for the end to come. The sword struck the ground next to him, barely grazing his cheek. Kenshin knelt before him, and spoke, "Hitoshii, I am your friend. I was then, I am now. For what I failed to do when I should have, I ask your forgiveness." A trickle of tears escaped Hitoshii's closed eyelids. ~ Pan "Kaoru-dono!" Kenshin immediately ran forward as Kaoru moved slightly. He gently let her down. "Are you alright?" "Never felt better..." Kaoru joked and smiled while panting heavily, hands dangling near her slightly battered body. Kenshin's disapproving face scanned the surroundings for his friends. He could not believe how much hurt this time he had caused them. Even Soujirou was looking confused. When he did finally shake his head in a swift moment... "Wha... What's going on?" Kenshin narrowed his eyes on Soujirou, who was now looking more helpless than confused. ~ Rurouni "Kenshin...gomen..." Sanosuke looked distinctly uncomfortable. "I thought...I thought..." He shook his head, then shrugged helplessly. Temporarily distracted from Soujirou, Kenshin turned to Sanosuke. "Sano... My past may have been a painful one. At times, I might not even like it. However, what I was has helped me to become what I am now. Just as the Sekihoutai is a part of you that can never be erased. Battousai will always be a part of me. Without Battousai, there will be no Rurouni." Sanosuke started at Kenshin's words. "Himurasan...help m-..." Soujirou's words were abruptly cut off as he started shuddering violently before crumpling to the ground in a dead faint. END CHAPTER THREE