Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ A Little Wind Can Fan A Single Spark Into A Bright Flame ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: None of the characters in Rurouni Kenshin have been created or owned by me. However, Riho and Tatsuhiko happen to be mine and mine alone.

A/N- Italics = thoughts. Ok, now on to the story! ^_^

Chapter 4

Miss Kaoru's late, that she is. I hope she's all right…

Kenshin had, by now, finished doing all the chores he could and was watching the doorway anxiously from his seat on the floor, waiting for Kaoru to step in and say that she was sorry for being late. There was an ominous air about and even Yahiko and Sanosuke felt that something was wrong. Then suddenly, the distinct ring of steel clearing its scabbard was heard. A sword had been drawn.

Kenshin stood up immediately and rushed out the door, his left hand clutching the scabbard of his own sword tightly. Sanosuke got up from his place quickly, accidentally knocking over the slender glass vase that Kaoru had placed on the table that morning. It fell over the edge and shattered as it hit the ground. The single rose it contained was maimed and broken.

"Oh man, Sanosuke. Kaoru's going to kill you!"

"It's only a stupid little flower. And besides, that doesn't really matter right now. What matters is that we follow Kenshin and find out what's happening outside. There could be innocent people who might get hurt if we don't hurry."

"Right, let's go."

They left the dojo, leaving the rose lying in a puddle of water and glass shards.

Kenshin ran frantically in the direction which he perceived to be where the sword was drawn. His palms were sweaty and his heart raced. His mind conjured up ghastly images of what might or could happen, spurring his legs to run ever faster. Perhaps it's not what I fear, but I can't take any chances and I must be sure! Trees and bushes flashed by in a blur, as he sped by. Several branches reached out across the road to try to snag his clothes and slow him down. Leaves lashed against his face and arms but he didn't even seem to notice them.

Soon he was able to make out two forms on the road ahead of him. One had a sword while the other seemed to be unarmed. As he gained some distance toward them he saw that it was Kaoru, but the other had his back to Kenshin so he couldn't see his face. The one started at Kaoru with his sword poised for an attack, sand and gravel kicking up behind him as he sprinted. Kenshin saw the evident path of the blade descending toward Kaoru.

"Nooo! Miss Kaoru!" Kenshin shouted, although he was still too far away to be heard and even farther from being able to do anything.

There was a split second where time seemed to stand still and nothing else mattered but this one moment.

The shrouded man lowered his sword just the slightest bit as he ran towards her, preparing for an upward slash. The edge of the sword caught the moonlight and cast a glare. Once it had passed Kaoru was able to see the man clearly and she saw a blur moving quickly towards them from behind him. She saw a flash of red hair and then felt the icy feeling of something slicing across her abdomen and through her insides. Kenshin! Her viscera spilled messily onto the ground as she fell backwards from the force of the blow. There was a sickening thud as she hit the ground and then nothing more.

Kenshin stood there staring with wide, unbelieving eyes. Then he ran to her side and held her in his arms.

"K-ken…shin…" she managed to say with her last breath as she died in his warm embrace.

"I promised myself that I would never let this happen again, that I would never let another woman die because of me. And now," Kenshin's voice cracked as tears flowed freely from his eyes, streaming down his face in tiny rivulets, "I will never be able to see Miss Kaoru's shining face again." He bent his neck forward and gently kissed Kaoru one last time, whispering his final farewells once they parted. Her lips hadn't lost their warm, soft feeling just yet, but the thought of them being dead and unmoving made them seem ice cold.

I knew something like this would happen. That's why I didn't want to stay here in the beginning. This can't be happening. It just can't! Kenshin's anger raged inside of him, screaming to be released. His hold on it was weakening by the moment.

"Who are you?" Kenshin asked in a suddenly hoarse, threatening voice.

The man chuckled in amusement at Kenshin's plight. "I am Tatsuhiko Miyazaki. I trust you haven't forgotten about me, have you? And by the looks of the scars you still carry on your face, I believe I've made quite a lasting impression on you." He laughed at himself while Kenshin fumed at his lightheartedness. But he did remember Tatsuhiko. Memories of their fight flooded into him and flashed before his mind's eye over and over. This was the man who had given him his cross-shaped scar on his cheek; this was the only man who could get close enough to him to put scars where they are now. Kenshin thought he had killed him on the battlefield ten years ago but apparently he hadn't completed his grisly task. For here he was standing before him and quite alive while Kaoru lay dead at his feet.

"When my wife came home today and told me about her encounter with an old friend who was living with quite a skilled swordsman, I took a chance and hoped that you were the swordsman that she was talking about. It seems that my hunch was correct."

"You've gone too far this time. You had no reason to kill her! If all you wanted was to get revenge on me then why did you have to get Miss Kaoru involved? She had nothing to do with any of this!"

"I wanted you to hurt not only physically, but emotionally as well," Tatsuhiko hissed. "Do you realize how much I wanted to kill you? The humiliation at being defeated was excruciating. So for ten years, I've practiced with my sword and sharpened my skills to a deadly edge. Killing your lover was but an appetizer as to the pain you will taste at my hands," he smirked when he finished his sermon.

The night wind blew, hard enough to chill one to the bone and make teeth chatter. Kenshin's clothes whipped about him in the bitter wind but his eyes might as well have been set in stone for they were unmoving from his object of hatred. He looked ready to lop off his adversary's head right then and there when the sudden sound of footfalls against the ground was heard.

"Kenshin! What's going on? Who is that guy?" Sanosuke yelled into the wind as he ran, holding his arm up to try to keep as much of the sting out of his face. Yahiko was doing the same and puffing in an effort to keep up with Sanosuke.

Soon, they were able to distinguish a lump on the ground before Kenshin. When they had come closer, their footsteps splashed in something, although it hadn't rained for the last week.

"What…" Yahiko started and then suddenly stopped as he saw what the shape was. "Kaoru…" He looked from the lifeless body to Kenshin's face and finally settled his gaze on Tatsuhiko standing not that far away from them. He had a look of mixed bewilderment and anger. Sanosuke had just about the same expression but he seemed to have a better grasp of the situation in front of them.

"Hey you! You didn't do this, did you?" Sanosuke shouted.

Tatsuhiko just smiled wickedly and replied, "So what if I did? Does she mean something to you? Looks like I got more than I'd bargained for."

"You worthless bastard! Why did you do that?" Sanosuke had come to the end of his tolerance and charged at him, fists leading the way, emotions clouding his reason.

"Oh dear, don't tell me I'd have to repeat myself," he said in an all too calm voice and simply side-stepped Sanosuke as he came.

Damn, he's fast. If I didn't know better, he's probably just as fast as Kenshin. No, Kenshin's a little bit faster than this guy. And that punch was supposed to have punched his ugly face in! I'll get him next time. Sanosuke turned his head to see where Tatsuhiko had gone and saw no one but Kenshin and Yahiko standing over the Kaoru. Kenshin was running towards him, seemingly with a purpose and a horrid look on his face. Suddenly, Sanosuke felt a presence behind him, and thought he knew all too well just what that presence was. There was a small laugh that sounded more like a snort of contempt at his feeble attempt from behind him. The next thing he knew he was laying on the ground. When he tried to get up he couldn't feel his legs. He lifted his head slightly up off the ground only to notice that his lower half wasn't connected to his torso like it should have been. The world dizzied and swam before his eyes, slowing fading and taking him farther away. All he could hear was the contemptuous laugh of Tatsuhiko but even that sounded like it was coming from across worlds. And after that there was nothing more but the cold blackness swallowing him, taking him into its eternal embrace.

"Sanosuke!" Yahiko shouted and ran to his fallen friend's side. Tears welled up in his eyes and made him feel a child again. Everyone around him that he loved was dying. "What kind of a monster are you? First you kill Kaoru and now Sanosuke! What did they do to you?"

"Heh, they got in my way so I had to eliminate them," he talked nonchalantly, as if killing people for no other reason was something he did everyday, and wiped his sword clean of Sanosuke's clinging bowels on his cloak.

"Kenshin, get this jerk for me will you?"

But before Kenshin could respond, Tatsuhiko spoke. "Kid, if you hate me so much why don't you just come and get me yourself?"

"You know what, you're right! I don't know why I asked Kenshin to do it in the first place!" Yahiko cried angrily and picked up his bamboo sword from the ground beside him.

"No, Yahiko! Don't-!" Kenshin tried to stop Yahiko from becoming reckless and lashing out. But it was too late, the moment Yahiko accepted Tatsuhiko's challenge, his life was as good as over. Tatsuhiko ran and had done his damage by the time he was standing on the other side of Yahiko. His sword dripped fresh blood and stained the ground beneath it a crimson red. Yahiko's bamboo sword lay in halves next to his maimed body. His eyes already had a glassy look to them and as he tried to speak, blood ran sporadically from his mouth. He started to tremble and then abruptly went still, his soul having finally left its earthly vessel.

Kenshin stared disbelievingly at first, shocked from the stark fact that all of his friends had died before his own eyes; he having done nothing, or rather, could not have done anything, to prevent this from happening. What ever was left of the resistance in him dissolved in that instant. The vehement emotions of his anger poured into every fiber of his being. Ten years of wandering away from the hurt and death was all in vain. Here it was, right in front of him, staring at him as if challenging him to try to deny it. It was the inevitable. Nothing he did could have ever changed it. He was a man-slayer and doomed to be one until the end of eternity. There was no escaping it and when he tried to hide, it reminded him of it single-handedly. But that is all irrelevant at this moment. For now, all that mattered was revenge: the only way to end it once and for all. Why should it matter anymore? Why did any of this matter in the first place? Are human emotions truly this weak? How much more will we have to suffer? How much more pain must be dealt before it can end? All these thoughts ran through Kenshin's head in a rushing torrent creating chaos and tumult in his mind. When he raised his head, he had a death glare set on his face.

Kenshin spoke in a dangerously calm voice, "Tatsuhiko, you came for me and got all of my friends as well. Why don't we get this settled with our swords? Mine is eager to taste your tainted blood."

"At last, I get to have my revenge! Prepare yourself Battousai!"

"On the contrary, today will be the day of my revenge and your death. I'd suggest taking your own advice and prepare for your funeral."

A/N- The tension in the air is killing me! I can't believe it; did Kenshin really turn back to Battousai??? And what's going to happen next? Who's going to win? Find out in the next chapter of this thrilling story!