Chapter 207: "A Dimming Death"
Kaoru. Enishi. Both stand in the smoke alone, oblivious to the occurences
happening around them. Enishi declares that Kaoru will made into a
sacrifice, but Kaoru is not willing to go without a fight. She declares
that Kenshin will never abandon her, and that she in turn will never
abandon him.
The eyes of Enishi close to a sliver, and he replies with a frown, "I see.
There's no helping it then." He vanishes from sight, and reappears behind
Kaoru, clasping her mouth shut with his left hand.
Kaoru's eyes well up with tears. "Ken... shin", she thinks. Stern and
resolute, Enishi tells her to give up.
Meanwhile, Kenshin manages to break free from Kujiranami's grasp by pushing
the gargantuan's fingers apart. The big ogre raises his metallic cannon to
knock him back into place, but a well-timed punch from Sanosuke and a quick
Gatotsu strike from Saitoh knock the giant down. Sanosuke begins to say
something about Enishi to Kenshin, but our hero suddenly grabs his sword
and runs off.
"Kaoru-dono!"
"Kaoru-dono!!"
Kenshin runs into Megumi and blazes past her, when all of a sudden he stops
dead in his tracks.
"This fragrance... that's..."
"White plum blossoms", Enishi says. Kenshin yells at Enishi, demanding to
know what Enishi has done to Kaoru. With a smile, Enishi replies, "This
fragrance is a signpost. Follow its fascinating way, and at the end, you
will find the 'answer'."
Enishi disappears into the smoke.
Footsteps begin to race towards the dojo.
"Kaoru-dono!"
"Take a good look with your eyes."
"Kaoru-dono!!"
"Grieve! Scream! Mourn! And die weeping!"
"Kaoru-dono!!!"
The footsteps stop.
Kenshin's eyes open wide with disbelief and shock at what he sees inside.
He drops his sword, and collapses on his knees, the weight of what he sees
in front of him too much to bear.
"What is Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu...
What is Kenshin Himura...
And what am I... if I couldn't even protect the one that was
most important to me..."
"Kaoru... dono..."
"Kaoru!"
The 'answer':
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