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.