The Final Mark IV
a Rurouni Kenshin Fanfic

written by: Hiko Seijuro (cronusz@bellsouth.net)

All characters created by Watsuki-sensei save a few
of my own devising.
WARNING: This story has spoilers!  Flee in stark
raving terror if you don't like spoilers!


IV - Tsuioku (Memory)

	Sanosuke turned his eyes away.
	The now lifeless body of Kamiya Kaoru was covered with a blanket, and yet, Sanosuke
still couldn't look there.  It was almost as if it had been cursed with holding the 
physical form of a young woman whom he admired very strongly and cared for.  Megumi tried
to comfort Yahiko, who was still sobbing quietly near the thin white sheet that housed
his former teacher.  He had almost been hysterical before, punching the floor, even kicking
nearby furnishings of the dojo about.  
	Sanosuke knew the feeling all too well.  His thoughts drifted to his boss, as he saw
the man's face look upon his one last time before his horrible execution.  Right there,
when the guns unloaded, Sanosuke's young wail had pierced the skies in frustration, anger,
and his love for the man.  The man that he looked up to and loved, a man he would have 
gladly died for.
	Kaoru, despite having been pronounced dead by Megumi for about 4 hours, still seemed
to glow with her innate trust, happiness, and innocence.  Megumi covered her face, and
tried again to console Yahiko, but with little success.  Yahiko was mumbling curses to him-
self, no doubt wishing he could have done something to aid the woman who had saved him so
many years ago.
	In the distance, through the torrent of rain pounding the roads and grounds of the
Kamiya Dojo, he heard the splish-splash sound of small feet.
	 he thought.
	His question was answered soon after, in the form of Tsubame.
	"Sanosuke-san!  Yahiko-kun!"  she yelped, running to the dojo, soaked to the bone. 
As she ran up the stairs and was running inside, she slipped on her own small dress.  Sanosuke
quickly caught her, and carried her inside.  He noticed she was terrified, and looked at her
carefully.  No signs of injuries, but...
	"Tsubame-chan!!"  Megumi said, incredulously.  "What are you doing running around
in that weather at this time of night?!"
	"Megumi Hakase, Fujita-san is..."  Tsubame managed to say, as she hiccuped.
	 Sanosuke thought.
	"Himura-san injured him very badly...he's dying!"  Tsubame said, her tears rolling
from her cheeks in fear, and in remembrance.
	  Sanosuke thought, and his eyes
widened in terror.
	"Tsubame!  Where is he?!"  Sanosuke asked her, his mind frantic.
	"At my house...they were fighting outside and Himura-san was thrown inside...
luckily my parents were visiting relatives..."  she said softly in reply.
	"Megumi, Tsubame!  Let's go!  We gotta get him help and fast!  If what's happened
that I think happened..."  he said, his expression becoming grim.
	"Ken-san has become..."  Megumi said, gasping.
	"Yeah.  No time.  Yahiko, stay here, got it?"  he said, turning to the boy.
	He got no response, other than the sound of his heavy breathing.
	"Hey, fox-girl!  Move it!  C'mon, Tsubame, I'll carry ya!"  Sanosuke said, and she
hopped onto his back.
	"Idiot!  I'm not going out in that weather!"  Megumi said.
	Sanosuke turned around and looked at her directly.
	"You want someone to die, because you didn't want to GET WET?!!"  
	Megumi returned his gaze evenly, but grabbed her coat.
	
***

	"Two tickets to Kyoto, please."  
	"There you go, sir.  Enjoy!"  the lady smiled back as she handed him his tickets.
	"Domo."
	Ibuki and Santo boarded their train a few hours later, and were soon on their 
way to Kyoto.  Ibuki had a neutral look most of the way down, and Santo was brimming with
questions for him.
	"Well?  Something you want to know, Santo?"  Ibuki said suddenly, a bit of
melancholy in his voice.
	"Why didn't you kill him when you had the chance?  You know your brother didn't
die from this 'ambition' you spoke of.  Himura had something that he didn't.  Something
greater than your brother's power.  Ibuki, it's impossible for you to win this battle.
You aren't nearly as good as he was..."  Santo said, but was cut off by Ibuki's chilling
gaze.
	"What are you trying to say, Santo...?"  Ibuki asked, again neutral, almost an
uncaring voice.
	"I feel you have brought your own doom upon you.  And there won't be anything
anyone can do to save you should Himura confront you."  Santo said plainly.
	"I AM STRONGER THAN MY BROTHER EVER WAS!!"  Ibuki screamed.
	Santo was taken slightly aback at the outburst, but at the same time, it didn't
surprise him.  Santo knew very well that Ibuki's training was very incomplete, to the
point where he had little chance of succeeding against a warrior like Himura.  Santo had
watched Ibuki's training sessions become monumental anger releases, and thus, lowered
his fighting potential below what it could be.  A man ruled by emotions cannot win in a
true life-and-death fight.
	"And what you did to the girl was less than honorable."  he replied, changing the
subject, realizing he would get little else out of him if he continued there.
	Ibuki smiled.
	"Don't worry about that.  I could care less on what you think about that.  Besides,
I'm not out just to get blood on my hands from innocents that I have nothing to do with.
It was simply a diversion to get his full attention, and it worked."  Ibuki said, folding
his arms over his chest.
	"You mean it was...?"  Santo asked, his eyes widening.
	"I can make poison, remember?  Well, why do you think I had Kento Akuma, master
poison maker, at my home for weeks testing concoctions?  Obviously, I had to make a
formula, or rather, he did, that would fool everyone to thinking that she had died for
at least 8 hours, which I think gave me plenty of time.  I don't know if the girl is 
alive though, as it seemed to work too well.  However, the ingredients he used were those
that can be purged from the body without any side effects."
	"But how do you know that she's...?"  Santo asked.
	"Well, I suppose you could say we had a few...tests..."  Ibuki grinned.
	"Fine.  But what about his baby?  Did you take that into consideration?"  Santo
pointed out.
	"No, we didn't, actually.  That's the wild card in this whole thing.  If the
baby dies, well...that's a factor I couldn't test anyway.  But, I'm confident, that if
the girl survives, the baby will as well."
	"That's pretty damn rotten, Ibuki."
	"Kento said the same thing."
	Santo was silent then, almost all of his questions answered.  Then he asked it.
	"Okay.  Now that that part of the whole thing is done, why are we heading to Kyoto?
You said it was his 'favorite city'...?"
	"That city spawned him, and he brought great bloodshed there.  It was a rather
sarcastic remark, you might say.  But there are others there that can accelerate my plans
for him too.  They will only contribute to the suffering he will feel.  And they are the 
next stage of the plans."

***

	Saitoh's mind wandered as the soft beat of the rain poured around him.  He had
slumped to the ground, his body numb from wounds and near total exhaustion from the 
battle that had taken place only a few minutes before.  He had heard the small steps
in the dirt before he saw the person confronting him.
	"Hajime?  Are you OK?"  the woman kneeled beside him, inspecting him carefully.
	He snorted softly, and winced in a small pain.  The woman beside him was dressed
in a beauteous turquois blue kimono, a large white sash around her.  She had a piercing
gaze with her deep blue eyes and wore her hair up in the formal fashion.
	"Been worse.  I need to get to Takani's clinic..."  he said softly, his voice
straining to get the words out.
	"I saw Akabeko's girl head towards Kamiya dojo.  No doubt she'll bring help here
soon.  Probably that Sagara boy..."
	"Hmph.  He won't be helpful to me, Tokio.  I'd rather you take me."
	"I know that, Hajime.  But Sagara could probably get you there faster than I could.
I would take you, but in this case..."
	"I know, I know.  At least that moron can run fast."
	Both were silent for a few moments.
	"Who did this?"  Tokio asked.
	He was silent for a few moments, then closed his eyes, remembering their past 
battles together, the tension, the ferocity, and now, the final attack only minutes ago.
	"Battousai.  He's back, this time."
	"Can you stop him?"  she asked, running her soft hands over his cheeks.
	"I'd be a fool to challenge him again in this state.  He's on his way to Kyoto
as we speak."
	"Could Shinomori stop him, perhaps?"
	"Possibly.  But Shinomori has lost twice to him, and now that Battousai is an
uninhibited killer again..."
	"Shall I warn them anyway?"
	"May as well."
	Tokio nodded slightly, and looked over her shoulder, only to see Sanosuke, carrying
Tsubame and Megumi Takani following close behind.  She smiled and turned back to Saitoh.
	"You see?  Sagara-kun won't let you die."  she said, running her fingers through
his frazzled hair.  Saitoh just closed his eyes and smiled.
	"You won't either."  he said softly, as he lost consciousness.
	She smiled.
	"You'd be a fool to think otherwise."

	"Over there!" Tsubame said, pointing in the direction of her home, now a complete
mess thanks to two men.  Sanosuke saw Saitoh's body slumped against one of the walls, and
then noted another figure that was beside him, seemingly caressing him slightly.
	 he thought.
	As he reached Saitoh, his eyes widened in shock.  His uniform was stained nearly
from head to waist in blood, and his left sleeve was ripped off.  He lay there in deep
slumber.  The woman beside him stood up as he arrived.
	"Sagara Sanosuke, correct?"  she said plainly.
	"Yeah, and who are YOU?"  he replied.
	"My name is Saitoh Tokio.  I'm his wife.  But enough formality, we need to get
him to Takani's clinic immediately, or he may not survive."  Tokio said, her voice
unwavering and cool.  As she moved to help him, she noticed Sanosuke hadn't moved.
	"Do you plan to sit there, or shall I carry him to the clinic?  I will do
that, if it is necessary.  Well?"  she said, her voice becoming very irritated.  Sano
quickly snapped out of his reverie.
	  Sano thought, scratching his head.
	"All right, all right!  Yeesh, women can be so impatient..."  he murmured.
	"Not only are you slow-witted, but you're slow-moving, eh Sanosuke?"  Megumi
said with sarcasm, breaking Sano's thought.  Sano snorted, and helped Tokio hoist up
Saitoh, taking care in trying not to stretch or open his wounds, the most prominent one
being below his ribcage in the stomach area.  He couldn't believe that Saitoh had
survived a wound of that caliber.  Kenshin hadn't held back in that battle at all.
	 he
thought, as they all ran towards the clinic, only fast enough so that Saitoh wouldn't
reopen his wounds.
	
	
	Thunder exploded in the sky above the lone man walking the dark, mud swollen
path, a trail that he had traveled once before, now almost unrecognizable from the 
monsoon pouring above his head.  Each step sank in a pseudo clay, mixed with small 
stones and grass roots.  The man seemed to pay no mind to the elements that were
pounding on his body, which was too numb to realize what pain really was.
	He had surpassed pain.
	Surpassed sadness, emptyness.
	The cross-scar on his left cheek was but a symbol, a representation of the
pain and horror that had come to his eyes in his 31 years of life.  He had witnessed
the deaths of two women dear to him.  Two wives.  One carrying a child not even
named.  One he killed with his own weapon.  Both died in his arms.  As much as he
wanted to say he felt little anymore, it was quite the opposite situation.  Only
upon a close look could one see through his mask of darkness, to see a man crying,
his tears mixing with the raindroplets bouncing off his skin and soaking into his
blood-tattered kimono and hakama.  On his left hip he wore a katana, stained recently
with blood of an old enemy, who about now, the man thought, would be dead.  But that
was in the past.  The only thing that mattered was now to him.
	And he remembered how it all began...

	***

	"I'm going to clean the room, so could you leave for a while?"  Tomoe said.
	The young boy's eyes narrowed in irritation.
	"Nobody asked you to, you know."  he replied.
	"Okami-san did, however."  Tomoe replied neutrally.
	Himura Battousai left the room annoyed at how this...woman, could just barge
into their hideout and live there.  He couldn't believe Master Katsura was just
allowing this to happen.
	But then...
	"Yo, Himura!"  
	Himura turned to see a fellow friend in his Choshu clan, Iidzuka.  The man 
was known as a bit of a joker, and he most enjoyed teasing Himura, especially about
the new girl, Tomoe, of late.
	"Hey what's wrong?  Get in an argument with Tomoe-chan?"  he snickered.
	Battousai tapped his sword out of his scabbard and glared at him.
	"Okay okay!  Sheesh.  Just calm down, will ya?!"
	"What do you need?"  Himura asked plainly.
	Iidzuka's expression turned a bit serious, as he reached into his kimono
to reveal a token item of the Choshu Hitokiri.
	A black envelope.  An assassination.
	"Take care of this tonight."  Iidzuka said, and handed him the envelope.
	Himura opened the envelope and read the note from Katsura.

	Himura,
		
		We have discovered a bit of a problem.  You have heard of the Goro
	clan in West Kyoto, no doubt, the ones who helped to train one of our new
	recruits, Shishio Makoto.  A spy in the area reported them dealing with
	some of our sensitive information to the Shinsen Gumi.  I have spoken to
	Shishio about this, and he understands what must be done.  Despite the
	family adopting him and treating him as a son, a traitor is a traitor.
	Himura, take care of them tonight.  Our position is constantly in
	compromise and I fear that they may have already taken valuable information
	from Shishio and given it to the Shinsen Gumi.  We cannot afford more losses.
							-Katsura

	Himura crumpled the note in his hands, and shoved it into his kimono, to
use for future reference.  He took a final look to see if Tomoe was finished
cleaning the room, which she wasn't.  He sighed, and decided to go ahead and 
head towards his targets.  He was a good waiter.

	The darkness was staggering, as the moon was covered by the clouds.  But
such conditions were perfect weather for the Hitokiri assassins.  Himura slowly
moved towards the building where the Goro's dwelled, a relatively middle class
establishment, and the Goros had a great deal of land for sharecroppers.  A very
good setup, indeed.
	Noting that no guards were present at all, which baffled him, he knocked
on the door.  He heard laughter inside, as though the family was together having
a chat.  Making his job all the more easier.  A rather large man, obviously the
head of the household, answered the door.  Kibegami Goro, a large man, mostly from
his abnormal height than anything else, and had very little hair remaining.  He
reeked of sake, and seemed to stumble near the doorway.
	"Ah hello there, son.  Saaaay.  Don't I know you...?"  he slurred.
	"Yes, I'm from the Choshu clan.  Himura is my name."  Battousai said 
pleasantly, a grim smile across his face.
	"Ah yes!  Shi-kun told me about you.  One of the great patriots!"
	"It is unfortunate that you are not as patriotic.  It's nothing personal,
really, but I'm afraid all of you must die here."  Himura said coldly, withdrawing
his katana.  The head Goro was shocked as his pupils shrunk to the size of a pinhead,
and made a last ditch attempt to defend himself from the onslaught about to come.
However, the Battousai's sword was too quick.
	"HITEN MITSURUGI RYUU - RYU SOU SEN GARAMI!!"
	Battousai's sword decapitated and mangled the man's head effortlessly.  Before
his body had even crumpled to the ground, the two other men nearby were already dead
from similar wounds.  Within moments, the entire room was awash in fresh red blood.
Battousai looked around, counting 7 bodies.  His note from Katsura had mentioned
later that there should have been 8.  He shrugged, and made his departure as silently
as he had come.
	Yet another night of Tenchuu had passed.

	***

	And now, the one he had missed had grown up, learned to fight, and wanted him
to suffer.  That idea didn't bother him at all.  But that he had killed his wife only
to get to him was the problem.  Such tactics disgusted him.  
	Kyoto was a few more days' trek from where he was.
	Ibuki Goro was a few more days' from his sword.
	
	***

	Yahiko stared at the dojo floor, his expression blank.  He was still in shock
from the events of about 7 hours ago.  Megumi, Sano, and Tsubame had left hours ago
to see what had happened to Saitoh...
	  he thought.
	He clenched his fists, so tight they began to fade a bit.
	
	He released his fist, the circulation returning to normal.
	  he thought.
	"WHAT DID I DO WRONG?!!"  he bellowed aloud, his voice almost echoing off of
the dojo walls.
	With that, he was silent for a while, letting the consistent pounding of rain
on the roof soothe him.  For a time, all was quiet.  
	Then he heard it.
	A moan, and a footstep.
	Yahiko was on full alert, as he planted his back to the wall, and listened.
It was coming from the main room, and heading his way.  He tightened his grip on
his shinai, and braced as the the footsteps slowly approached.  He raised his shinai
to strike the form of...
	The young woman who had saved his life years ago.
	Who had gambled her freedom to save him.
	The one who had taught him his fighting style.
	His jaw dropped in surprise as he saw Kamiya Kaoru rubbing her eyes, which were
bloodshot, and her skin still very pale.  She looked slowly over to him.
	"Ya..hi..ko?" Kamiya Kaoru said, slowly, her voice weak.


END PART IV

Wow.  This chapter took a while.  Oh well.  
If you missed the previous parts, go here:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Shrine/2727/fanstuff.html

C&C are welcome, as usual...
to cronusz@bellsouth.net

	

	

	
	

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/shrine/2727

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