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Act II. Shinjitsu no Battosai

“Kenshin?” Kaoru asked as the red haired Samurai stirred. Barely conscious, his little mishap with the wanderer had not let him in the best mood. He tired to let anger fall slightly as he sat up slowly, he felt the Kaoru touch his arm. He hardly opened one eye to see his environment; it was a room inside the dojo that he had fought against Saito in. The girl had a concerned look on her face and there was another girl standing on the other side of the door.

“Sir Ken’s up? Good, I saw no reason why he would be out cold… Are his eyes still that goldish color from before?” the woman asked opening the dojo. Her long velvety black hair loose down her back.

“I don’t know, he hasn’t actually opened his eyes wide enough for me to see Megumi…” Kaoru confessed. Battosai had a feeling that the Rurouni had different colored eyes, but thankfully that problem could be minimized if he played the right cards.

“I’m fine Miss Kaoru,” Battosai kept his eyes shut and smiled. He remembered the Rurouni saying Miss Kaoru, and it may have just paid off talking with him.

“Are you sure? You basically became the Battosai again even though there wasn’t a fight. Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?” Kaoru asked, there was a certain bit of caution to her question.

“I’m fine, excepted for this horrible headache,” the Battosai’s head did hurt, but why it did so would elude any doctor that examined him.

“Good, then you can do the laundry while Yahiko and I go to train at the Maekawa dojo,” Kaoru relaxed, her hand was no longer touching his arm. She walked off to prepare, another set of footsteps could be heard following hers. The Battosai heard Megumi’s footsteps walk in a different direction.

“Kenshin!” that was the Sanosuke’s voice if the Battosai remember correctly, “I’m going to walk Megumi back to the clinic. I’ll be back afterwards got it?”

“Got it Sano,” with that everyone had left him alone in the dojo. It was a pleasant change for him.

He opened his gold eyes and then looked for their chi just to double check. There was no chi except that of a bird, which he had managed to frighten with his own. Battosai looked around the dojo. It far smaller than he had first thought, his first glance at it was during his battle when he knocked Saito through the wall. Although he hadn’t actually seen that much of it anyway, just the courtyard through a hole the size of the Wolf. He went back to the room he had woken up in and grabbed the Sakabato that he despised so much.

“This is pitiful Rurouni…” the Battosai said, his voice was not as cold as before, ‘you truly do have problems if you think this is place you could live peacefully.’ There was no answer from the Rurouni, (he was probably sleeping as the Battosai often did in that state.)

The Battosai left the dojo after a little while, his golden eyes took the appearance of the Rurouni’s softer ones. He jumped up onto a nearby rooftop and ran off towards the edge of town, towards the police station. As he passed like a shadow above the streets he saw Kaoru and Yahiko, only Kaoru looked up to see the shadow pass.

When he arrived he immediately scan the building for the Wolf’s chi aura. The strongest chi was coming from the far side of the building. Battosai looked in the far window, the wolf sat at his desk reading reports. He felt the Battosai’s chi aura from across the street, he wondered who could accomplish such a feat. He shuddered slightly, how could the Battosai produce such a powerful aura? Wasn’t he just a pitiful Rurouni with a vow not to kill?

‘Saito is here, and I think he’s aware of my presence,’ the Battosai thought, the Rurouni did not respond, ‘brilliant, he’s not responding. That means I can have a go at the wolf.’ The Battosai didn’t have to wait long after he walked behind the station for Saito to respond.

“Who are you and what have you done to the pest?” Saito asked, he unbuttoned the first button on his uniform.

“Do you mean that annoying Rurouni? Not sure, as for who am I… I am your opponent that is unless a certain Rurouni interferes. To be more precise I am the one you fought at the Kamiya Dojo on the eve of May 14,” the Battosai’s eyes narrowed. Saito almost grinned in delight, but decided to scowl just to further the battle’s pleasantly unpleasant mood. Battosai took his Battojitsu stance; his sword sheath was out from his belt and the hilt of the Sakabato nearly touching his left knee.

“So this time there will be no one to stop our fight we started in the revolution. This is indeed worth skipping work for…” Saito countered the Battosai’s stance with his own, the stance for the Gatotsu. His sword was almost parallel to the ground in his left hand with blade facing outward. He reclined slightly on his left foot with his right foot forward. There was a shriek of terror admitted from a nearby passerby that signaled for the start of the match.

The Battosai waited for Saito’s Gatotsu to come into range when he started his assault. He used his sword to break away Saito’s sword and with it he dispelled the trust, then he swung his sheath straight into Saito’s left elbow. Saito moves with the strike from the sheath to prevent and ligament damage. Passerby gathered around, but kept their distance from the two samurai. Another passerby fainted at the sight of the two.

Battosai stands up unharmed except for a few rips on his right sleeve that show minor cuts inflicted by Saito’s now shattered blade. Saito however was not as lucky, his left arm hung limply from his shoulder with blood flowing slightly from his elbow. The Battosai smiled wickedly, Saito grimaced with the pain from his elbow with bit at him so viciously. Saito sheathed what was left of his Katana and preceded back towards the police station.

“Where are you going? I thought it was the way of the Shinsengumi in a matter befitting samurai. Doesn’t that mean that fleeing an enemy in front of you isn’t an option?” the Battosai said in a mocking tone.

“That would be the case except for the fact that my opponent actually meant to kill me,” Saito retorted, he scowl now reflected his pain, “besides the people here shouldn’t see us kill to our own amusement.”

“True, do you want to kill them first?” the crowd dispersed rather quickly at the Battosai’s words.

“No we can let the cowards live for now. Besides it’s too much paperwork… I don’t want to anymore than I have too,” Saito replied with a grin as evil as the Battosai’s, “ we shall have to finish this some other time Himura Battosai.”

“Next time I’ll take your head Wolf,” Battosai replied dragging a bloody finger against his throat. The Battosai left after his statement and looked for a place to fix his wounds that wasn’t near the inner portion of Tokyo. The truth was that Battosai hated the city, but he loved to cut down things that stood in his way. People in his way to what? Now if I told you that it wouldn’t be a plot.

End of Act II. Shinjitsu no Battosai