Himura Battousia Book 2: Kenshins Past
Copyright© 2007 by Trojan_85
Part 247: Maddened Nerves
Enishi: I'll kill you--I'll kill you--I'll kill you!!
(He is taut with rage; veins seem to stand out all over his body.)
Misao: Wh-wh-wh-wha?
Aoshi: I knew I wasn't imagining the things standing out on his cheeks before...
Saitou: So you noticed them too? What are they--you don't know either?
Aoshi: No... Even with the knowledge of 200 years of Oniwabanshu martial arts, I've never heard of a technique like that...
(Enishi screams.)
Kenshin:... Enishi?
Misao: That's so gross! Are those his veins?
Megumi: No... those lines aren't veins... but they couldn't be what I think they are...
Enishi: Let's do this.
(Before Kenshin can react, he is already behind him, sword raised to strike.)
Kenshin: What--
Kaoru: Kenshin!
(Kenshin leaps out of the way of the oncoming blow.)
Kenshin (thinking): He's fast! Much faster than before--
(Enishi's sword appears in front of his throat. Kenshin only managed to put his sword up to block; the edge of Enishi's sword cuts into the hilt.)
Kenshin (thinking): How could he have gotten faster?
Yahiko: Kenshin!
Megumi: It has to be. They're not veins--they're nerves!
Sanosuke: Nerves? Nerves can't be that thick!
Megumi: They're not usually... but that's all I can think of. Ken-san and Enishi's speed and reflex time are both as fast as humanly possible. The only way to move faster than that is to speed up nervous response.
Saitou: Yes, but nerves are not so easy to train. If they're so developed as to stand out like that--
Aoshi: It must be an inborn abnormality, a kind of natural talent.
Enishi: Natural talent? No. This is an acquired strength. A strength my sister gave to me--the strength of my revenge. I've hated you ever since that snowy day... Even after my hair turned white, even after I fled to Shanghai, I still hated you. Spring, summer, autumn, winter... Rain or shine, day or night. It was as if my brain fed on my hatred for you. I was able to constantly maintain a state of consciousness, as if I'd forgotten what sleep was! An ordinary person's mind and body would be calmed by sleep, but when I slept it only quieted my body; my mind remained conscious... My ever-conscious mind reached through my spinal cord to every nerve in my body, spurring their growth. They became hypertrophied, whetted ever sharper, little by little. After fifteen years, I was able to feel the lightning that pulsed down my own nerves! This is my secret weapon, the Kyokeimyaku!
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