Chapter 25: A Showdown of Strength

Yahiko: Hey, Kenshin. Is Sanosuke gonna be okay by himself? That patchwork guy looked pretty strong...

Kenshin: Sano will be fine. He won't need any help. (they approach the ballroom) We're breaking in. Hold on!

(back at the stairway)

Shikijou: Feh. So you call the one entrusted as Keeper of the Castle Gate "third-rate"? It looks like all we've got to be proud of is our arms. A literal test of strength.

Sanosuke: Great. Let's do it!!

(They grapple. Shikijou drives Sanosuke up against the wall.)

Sanosuke (thinking): What kind of strength has this patchwork guy got...

(Shikijou, grinning, headbutts him. Sanosuke slides to the ground.)

Shikijou: Poor, very poor. You let in the headbutt. As you can see from the scars, my whole life has been fighting. You can move the body in more ways than you think.

Sanosuke (struggling to his feet): You... bastard...

Shikijou: Stop. If you took that blow your skull should have been smashed. The shock should have reached your brain, and you should be unable to move a muscle. And yet... you made my hands shake. (glancing down at his hands, which have been gripped so hard they're torn and shivering). I like you, kid. How about it. Forget Battousai and join us.

Sanosuke: What?

Shikijou: We don't care about your background. All that matters is that you're strong. I was originally a spy from Satsuma, on the side of the Ishin Shishi. In the second year of Keiou I was sneaking into the Edo Castle for information about the upcoming war. I was crushed by the Okashira, even though he was only thirteen at the time.

Young Aoshi (standing over the fallen Shikijou, who has fresh cuts bleeding across his face): To kill someone whose strength is so extraordinary would be regrettable. Come to the Oniwabanshuu. If you were to use our secret muscle-building medicine you would become even stronger. Do so and join us, and you will be unbeatable.

The young Aoshi. It's really a design I had done for a different character, but I tried it here and it felt right (It was actually a girl, but oh well.) However, Aoshi's bangs really bother me now. --Watsuki Nobuhiro Shikijou: And so I gained my unbeatable strength! You are the same. You have the potential even now. If you used the Oniwabanshuu's secret medicine, you might rival Hanya or I!

Sanosuke: That's quite a story. Shimomori Aoshi must be some warrior.

Shikijou: If the Okashira had gone to Kyoto with the Ishin Shishi, the legendary strongest of all would not be Battousai!

Sanosuke: The Oniwabanshuu is strong... of course. Fighting like Beshimi or Hyottoko works --but that's all you can say about it. Shinomori Aoshi has gathered fighters from far and wide, but that's all.

Shikijou: What are you trying to say?

Sanosuke: Every last one of them is strong. So that means he found men to which fighting is everything. But Himura Kenshin is different. The girl, Yahiko, even Takani Megumi... he's surrounded by all kinds of people who love him. The Hitokiri is a thing of the past. He's a vagabond now. He wouldn't fight unless it was a just cause.

Shikijou (punching him): What are you trying to say, kid?!

Sanosuke (catching his fist): Everyone knows it. How strong he is, and that he doesn't fight for himself. (He catches the other fist) His reverse blade is only to protect others. You're addicted to strength! You couldn't give it up, and now you're just the puppets of Takeda Kanryuu! Himura Kenshin is not like that!

Shikijou (flailing, trying to escape the hold): What do you think all that flattery's going to get you? Who's addicted to strength? You talk big, but you won't defeat the great Shikijou!!

Sanosuke: That's what I mean by addicted to strength!

(He squeezes Shikijou's fists, then releases them, broken and bleeding.)

Shikijou: What--!?

(Sanosuke punches him in the middle of his forehead.)

Sanosuke: No matter how thick your skull is, you must have felt that.

(Shikijou collapses)

Sanosuke: Shikijou. If your paths cross, try fighting Kenshin. (remembering Captain Sagara) Maybe you can find what you've lost. (turning to go up the stairs) Who knows how many of the Oniwabanshuu are left. If we keep on going like this I'm gonna...

(he passes out.)

(Kenshin enters the ballroom to see Aoshi standing alone at the other end.)

Kenshin: This is the first time we've met, equally, face to face.

Aoshi: Yes...