Part 177: Remembrances 12--Harsh Fight

Enishi: Huh?

(He stands at the doorway of the hut, now empty.)

Enishi: Tome? Tomoe... ? That's strange. Where could she have gone? (thinking) She couldn't... she couldn't have passed me on the way into the forest?

(Kenshin charges through the still-falling trees.)

Sumita: He's chosen one of us as a target. After he's settled him, he'll go for the other.

Mumyoui: But that's exactly what I wanted! The space above his head is clear!

(He leaps from tree to tree and stabs downward suddenly, striking Kenshin just beside the neck. At that moment, Sumita throws a tree trunk, hitting Kenshin full in the face. Kenshin reels but refuses to go down. He slashes across, severing both Sumita's legs at the knee.)

(Kenshin slumps with his back against a tree. Instantly Mumyoui is above him, stabbing his other shoulder.)

Mumyoui: So stubborn--I expected no less of Battousai. But I planned for you to abandon your sword!

Kenshin: You flit around--

(He draws his short sword and stabs Mumyoui's hand, pinning it to the tree.)

Kenshin: --but I'll kill you in a minute, so stay put.

(Mumyoui pulls on the sword.)

Mumyoui: I can't get it out--damn you!

Kenshin (turning to look at him): One who hides in the shadows, moving about and attacking... So that's what you really are.

Mumyoui: You saw me...

(He pulls on his hand, tearing through the flesh to get it free.)

Mumyoui: This body is the legacy of the Yatsume family! It is the law of our family to kill anyone who sees us! (leaping away) I'll leave this fight for now, but I will kill you! Time may pass, the years may change, but I will kill you!

(Kenshin watches him go. Behind him, Sumita is still alive.)

Sumita (thinking): He's strong! Too strong! Even now, with his intuition and hearing gone... But he's fighting so recklessly. You couldn't assassinate a hundred people fighting like this. He's like a completely different person from the Battousai we so carefully investigated... What is this man?

Kenshin (turning to him): The first man said there were three others. Where is the last one?

Sumita: In the shack ahead. The girl's there too.

(Kenshin starts to move on.)

Sumita: Wait!! You forgot something. The third barrier. Take this!

(He pulls the trigger out of a barrel half-buried in the ground. There is a flash of blinding light.)

(Elsewhere, Enishi sees the explosion.)

Enishi: That flash... They must be fighting Battousai there. Tomoe!

(He sets off running.)

(Kenshin slowly opens his eyes--his vision is foggy.)

Kenshin (thinking): Intuition, hearing and now sight... The explosion was for the flash. If I wait here for a while it should return to normal. But--

(Tatsumi, too, sees the explosion.)

Tatsumi: So Sumita has become a barrier... Yatsume can't have gotten away unharmed. How could he have defeated them both... Now it's my turn. (He turns back towards the shack.) But he's lost his sight now. It'll take him some time to get here. Now that the woman is useless to me, I'll get her out of the way--

(He hears footsteps behind him.)

Tatsumi (whirling): What!!

Kenshin: I'm taking Tomoe back.

(A moment's pause.)

Tatsumi: I see. You did destroy them. It all makes sense. If you think about it, a man called Battousai would wield his sword cool-headedly, to fulfill his duty alone. But now, the man before me wields his sword for the sake of one woman, ruled by passion, never thinking of the consequences. In form they are the same, but in quality they couldn't be more different... If I were to fight Battousai, there's no way I would win. But knowing this, you are no match for me! Let's do this, Battousai! If you want to take her back, you'll do so over my corpse!

(Inside the shack, the unconscious Tomoe stirs.)