Chapter 12: Two Hitokiris

Challenge--Wait at the shrine in the forest at midnight tonight. Jin'eh (Kenshin tears the letter to shreds. That night, he enters the forest.)

(At the shrine. Jin'eh has tied Kaoru hand and foot and placed her inside one of the small three-sided shelters that usually house a statue.)

Jin'eh: Don't stare at me like that. I didn't kidnap you to eat you.

Kaoru: I know that. It was to give you an advantage over Kenshin. I didn't think the Black Hat would be a coward.

Jin'eh: You don't know. If you're my hostage, Battousai will be angry. His anger will take him back to his former days as Hitokiri. Battousai now has gotten soft. I could destroy him in the time it takes me to smoke this cigarette. And that would be boring.

Kaoru: I can't believe you don't know how strong he is.

Jin'eh: You're the one who doesn't know... Imagine a killer so great, just listening to stories about him raises goosebumps. To fight and kill that man, stretched to the very edge of life and death--nothing could be more fun. (checking his watch) It's almost midnight. Time for chatting is at an end. The real fun starts in a moment.

(as Kenshin enters the clearing.)

Jin'eh: Ah, Battousai.

Kaoru: Kenshin!

(Kenshin meets Jin'eh with a fierce gaze.)

Jin'eh: Good eyes. You're angry.

Kenshin: You've got Miss Kaoru wrapped up in this. I can't allow that.

Kaoru (thinking): What?

Jin'eh: Excellent, excellent. You're speaking in your old manner. You've put the edge of your strange blade where it belongs. The great Hitokiri of legend is revived!

Kaoru: Kenshin...

(Kenshin leaps at him, and they begin to exchange strokes. Kenshin uses the "rain of blows" technique he used against Sanosuke, but Jin'eh blocks each one. They break and circle each other. Jin'eh focuses his eyes on him.)

Kenshin (breaking the spell): None of your tricks!!

Kaoru (thinking): No... this isn't the Kenshin I know. This is... Hitokiri Battousai... ?

Kenshin: I told you, your One-sided Heart won't work on me!

(Jin'eh only smiles, and lunges at him again.)

Kenshin (thinking): I can read his moves. First, the one-handed level strike. (he neatly dodges.) Next, a side-stroke from the one-character form (he ducks back) From there, an immediate ten-form downward strike... (he flips his sword over, catching the strike on the butt of the hilt, then whipping it around to knock the hilt out of Jin'eh's hands.) Broken!

(Jin'eh retains his blade but is knocked off balance. Kenshin moves in for the final blow. Jin'eh, smiling, hands off his sword behind back from right hand to left, and strikes Kenshin unexpectedly on the shoulder. Kenshin goes down, bleeding profusely.)

Jin'eh: You were reading my moves. Up until the back-pass. Not yet. You're still a far cry from the Battousai of old. I could destroy you now in the time it takes to smoke three. Boring.

Kaoru: Kenshin!

Jin'eh (turning to Kaoru): So let's make you a little more angry.

(He fixes his gaze on Kaoru. She freezes. Her eyes water and she begins to choke.)

Jin'eh: This is a stronger form of the "One-sided Heart." Stronger to the point where it begins to paralyze the lungs. She has about two minutes. It won't be as easy to break as it was last night. Death by strangulation isn't pretty. The corpse salivates, and the bowels relax.

(Kenshin pulls himself into a crouch and gets a grip on his sword.)

Kenshin: Jin'eh... the time for talk is over. If you have something to say then say it with your sword!

(he seems to disappear. He reappears inches from Jin'eh's face, smashing his nose.)

Jin'eh: Oh ho... I couldn't see the movements of your strike. This is the Hiten Mitsurugi school! This, is Hirokiri Battousai!!

Battousai: This time for talk is over. Come, so I can kill you now!