Sooooo sorry for taking so long! But here it is: the final chapter of To Walk the Path of Peace. Part of the reason that I took so long is that I had to figure out what to write next, and so, I decided, eventually, to write the ending. So here it is: I hope you enjoy. P.S. Thank you for reading this story.
TWENTY
The night was cool and bright, the full moon hanging heavy and low in the night sky. The only sounds were the waves crashing upon the rocky shore, as each splash sent up a cold mist which floated all around the area.
Two groups stood apart from each other, staring each other down. One side held three samurai who had fought in the Bakumatsu - all three were legendary in their own right. There also was a tall youth, who seemed rather young for this kind of thing, yet he stood there on his own strength, his usually careless gaze steady and hard.
On the other side was another group of four. One was another legendary samurai, a man who had been killed, yet rose from the flames a horribly twisted and burnt monster. Tufts of hair and cruel eyes peeked out from amidst the bandages, along with a ugly, grimacing smile. Beside him stood another youth, whose bright smile deceived people about his intentions. The other two members of this strange group wore all black. One was an average looking man, and the other was a hulking giant, whose strength was in his compact muscles and hard gaze, which told all that he was not a simple, musclebound brawler.
These two groups regarded each other in silence, solemnly, seriously. This was it. This was the time that they would settle all conflict for once, for ever.
XXX
Takeo, along with Kenshin, Sano, and Sano's friend, all watched quietly as a large area in the midst of Kyoto suddenly exploded into flames. The flames only grew larger as small explosions fed them; ammunition and other weaponry ignited and exploded as the hidden stockpile was eaten up by the large fire.
"So this is number two, huh," Sano said quietly, the dancing flames reflected in his eyes.
"Yes," Takeo returned, just as quietly, his emerald gaze strangely sad. "We must act quickly before they do. Let's move onto the next after we eat dinner."
"I will get Saito to send out the next evacuation orders, then," Kenshin spoke up, his crimson hair seeming to be fire itself as the wind blew it about and the light of the fire shone on it.
Silently, the three turned, and departed as one.
Takeo and Sano ate together at a diner, while Kenshin had gone off to speak with Saito. As he chewed on his food, Takeo thought several days back. It had been right after his fight with Yamashi, and he had been strangely distant and cold to his friends.
He realized then, that he could not be a hitokiri, and a simple swordsman walking the path of peace at the same time. The two just did not combine. It had taken a long talk with Kenshin, to realize that he had to make a serious effort here. While he had made the choice to live a peaceful life, fighting to help others, he still had to uphold it. He had to make hundreds of little choices each day, choices which took real effort and dedication. But it was so hard to make the right choice! If he didn't use the instincts of a hitokiri in a fight, he would surely die!
But...Kenshin had told him that he himself had become stronger than the Battousai had been, by choosing the correct reason for fighting. He didn't fight carelessly, throwing his own life away just to save others. He fought, determined to value all life, even his own. He fought to protect life, and as a man who valued life, he became stronger than the hitokiri who had taken so many lives.
Needless to say, this had given Takeo many things to mull over. And as he thought over it, he decided to let his friends help him in his task of destroying the weapon stockpiles. They had been willing to help and offer their support, and as a result, in a matter of three days, he had seen the destruction of two stockpiles.
Kenshin came inside the diner, then, looking very grim. Takeo and Sano instantly turned all their attention onto their short, red-headed friend.
"What is it?" Takeo asked. "What happened?"
"It's time," Kenshin said simply.
Takeo let out a long sigh, understanding the full meaning of those words. He felt an invisible burden settle itself heavily onto his shoulders, knowing that a lot relied on what he and his friends would have to accomplish.
"It's time for what?" Sano, on the other hand, didn't quite grasp what Kenshin meant by those words.
"Shishio has contacted Saito at the police department," Kenshin said quietly. "He has called for a final match, a final battle between himself, and those that would oppose him. We will meet with him...tomorrow night, at midnight."
"Ah..." Sano blinked in surprise. "That's...tomorrow night!!? But that gives us hardly enough time! We don't know anything about who we will be fighting, or even where - they could be tricking us into some crazy trap!"
"Saito chose the place where we will meet," Kenshin replied, calmly. "And as for being prepared, we have been preparing for a long time, haven't we, Takeo?"
"Yes," Takeo nodded his head once, also calm. "And we already know who we will face."
"You do?" Sano scowled. "Nobody told me a thing about the guy I was going to fight."
"Don't worry too much, Sano," Takeo murmured. "You won't be fighting anybody important. Shishio, Hokei, Soujiro...they're all taken. You'll probably end up with someone's assistant."
Sano's scowl deepened, as he read the amusement in Takeo's and Kenshin's gazes. Yet, even as they gave tiny smiles, their hearts were heavy and uneasy. This...was to be the end. Would they succeed in their heavy task? Would they fail?
For the sake of all of Japan depended on their success. They couldn't afford to fail.
XXX
The moonlight lit the sandy beach, its pale, silvery light casting its soft glow upon the combatants. The two groups merely looked at each other, sizing up their opponents, planning strategies in their minds that would help defeat the other...
A gull's cry broke into the silence as it flew overhead, its narrow wings carrying its slender body across the sky and into the distance. Its passage was a unspoken signal, and as one, each group broke off, each man stepping into a small area with his opponent.
Kenshin, his blood-red hair a pale, dark red in the moonlight, stood off the to the side, and watched through narrowed, icy eyes as Shishio took his place ten feet away. Both simply looked at the other: the hitokiri Battousai, and his successor. Both frightening warriors who were spoken about by many in fear and awe.
Saito had drawn his sword, and for once, he wore a dead serious look. The usual cigarette was gone, and his gaze never wavered from his opponent. Soujiro, on the other hand, wore a delighted smile, as he looked up at the Wolf. He was clearly excited about the fight, and he slowly shifted into the battou-jutsu stance.
The other two swordsmen squared off, each looking eerie. Hokei, in all black, seemed to be a faint shadow that flickered in the light, as he constantly was shifting his feet from one position to another. However he moved, his eyes never strayed from Takeo's. Takeo, on the other hand, seemed to almost shine, as his silver hair literally glowed in the silver moonlight. His brilliant green eyes were emerald stars, burning as they betrayed his inner thoughts of determination and resolve.
Sanosuke merely looked up at the hulking giant that loomed before him. "You're going down, buddy," he said. The giant grinned, a large toothless grimace. Sano shared the grin, ready for the challenge. He made his right hand into a fist, and with a wordless yell, charged forward.
His cry was like the gunshot at the start of the race. Soujiro whipped out his blade and shot forward, while Saito prepared to block. Kenshin leapt high, his katana over his head, and plunged toward Shishio.
Takeo pulled out Kuroshi, and took a defensive stance, planting his feet firmly. Hokei gave a dark smile, and moved forward, his ever-shifting steps somehow making him flow forwards. Seeing his approach, Takeo bent his knees a little, and sunk deeper into his stance. And when Hokei came, he was ready.
XXX
"It's not fair!" Yahiko shouted, slamming a fist against the wall. "Why didn't they tell me? I'm not some useless fighter that they can just leave behind!"
"Yahiko," Kaoru said softly, her saphire eyes soft and concerned. "I - "
"I don't want to hear it!" He interrupted angrily. "I thought Kenshin said I was dependable and all that! So why does he leave me behind?!"
"That's the very reason he left you behind," Kaoru murmured.
"What?"
"He's trusting that you will keep us all safe. Who knows what Shishio is planning? He might not agree to a fair fight, and secretly send some of his people over here."
"You think?" Yahiko suddenly brightened. "You think we're going to get attacked?" The chance for a fight seemed to brighten his day.
"Who knows what that horrid man is thinking?" Megumi muttered, brushing a ebony lock of hair out of her face.
"All right!" The door slammed open, and Misao stood there, dressed in her ninja outfit with kunai between every finger. "Bring it on!"
The two women and Yahiko stared at her. "You're supposed to be asleep," Yahiko muttered.
"So are you," Misao shot back, then grinned triumphantly. "I knew something was up, since Kenshin and Takeo all left in the dark of night and all. They're going for a final showdown, aren't they?"
Kaoru sighed. "Please don't sound so excited, Misao. This is a serious matter...Kenshin - Kenshin could...die." Her eyes watered, and she clutched her hands together to keep them from trembling. Kenshin was out there fighting for Japan, and all she could do was sit here and worry.
He had tried to keep her from finding out, but she knew. She could tell from the signs, the little differences. When he had come to see her last evening, he had been very quiet and uneasy. So had Takeo. Immediately, she realized something was going on, and it wasn't hard to guess what.
Misao seemed taken aback. She pressed her lips together, and gave a firm nod. "You're right," she said firmly. "It is serious. But don't worry. Aoshi's gone out to find them; they'll be all right. All we can do here, is to wait, and pray. We have to be strong."
Yahiko grinned, then. "We'll stand guard, then, and make sure they have a place to come back to, right Misao?"
"Right!"
Kaoru managed a small, worried smile. She was sure they'd be fine over here. But...what about Kenshin and the others?
XXX
It was a chaotic madhouse of blood and grunts and the impact of flesh against flesh and the clang of steel upon steel. Blood flowed freely, yet its owners did not seem to notice. They stared their opponents in the eye as they fought with all their strength, both physical and mental. In a battle where strength was even on both sides, it became a matter of the will.
The combatants were no longer in the present world, fighting on a moonlit beach whose beauty was marred by their blood. They fought in one of the bloodiest wars ever known to Japan, a war that took place over a decade ago, a war were thousands of lives were used and thrown away in a selfish battle for power (for what is war but a constant, reoccurring fight for dominion and power on one side, and for freedom on the other?), a war known as the Bakumatsu..
They had traveled back into the past, where they relived the struggle all over again. They lost all awareness of everything save for their foe, who they fought against, struggled against, with all their might and will.
Sanosuke took a powerful blow to the face, which would have thrown him back several meters, had he not somehow managed to hold his footing. His eyes alight with fierce determination, he pushed through the pain of another blow and ploughed his own fist into the solid gut of the giant man -
- who grunted, and stepped back -
- while Saito held in an anguished groan as Soujiro's blade pierced the flesh of his left arm. The smiling boy danced back, pulling away his sword, while coming around for another go with terrifying speed. Saito gave a wolf-like snarl - I will never be beaten by a child! - and sunk into a stance, ready to close his fanged jaws around Soujiro's neck, and tear his throat out.
Soujiro rushed in at astonishing speeds -
- just as Takeo lunged with his ebony blade. Yet Hokei nimbly stepped aside, his feet constantly stepping a pattern into the ground, his body constantly moving. The black-clad man spun lightly around Takeo, and his own sword flashed out. Takeo contorted his body to dodge it, yet its deadly tip bit deep into his side. He stumbled at the sudden pain, yet forced it out of his mind, and turned his stumble into a sweeping attack. He would not lose. I can't lose!
Hokei's eyes glittered, as he drew near, tightening his grip on his weapon's hilt in preparation -
- when a explosion seared Kenshin, and burned part of his kimono off, as Shishio's gauntlet exploded. The small red-head flew through the air, and hit the ground, the smell of burnt flesh wafting from him. But, burned as he was, Kenshin still staggered to his feet, leaning heavily on his sakabatou for support. His gaze was hard, and icy blue. The former Hitokiri Battousai was far from finished.
XXX
A man panted as he ran through tall grasses, one hand clutching the long sheathed weapon that he had slung over his back. His feet pounded desperately into the ground, as he surged forward with an uneasy fear that lent strength to his legs. He ran, and followed the light of the moon toward the coastline...
...where a terrible, desperate fight took place.
XXX
Saito swayed on his feet, barely alive, with most of his blood in a deep puddle at his feet. Yet he refused to go down, snarling at the smiling child who took such delight in slicing him repeatedly with a sword. Soujiro was having a delightful time, and he wanted to take his time in killing the Wolf of Mibu. After all, such fierce creatures were roaring and clawing even at their deaths.
Inhaling hoarsely, Saito heaved his katana - why did it seem so heavy? - into both hands, where it shook with the trembling of his arms. It was a struggle to focus on his smiling opponent through all those sparkly dots weaving in and out of his vision. . .
Sano slumped on his knees, one eye swollen shut, and one hand pressed tightly against his chest, where something rattled and seared with every breath he took. He stared blankly up at the giant which loomed over him. The huge man seemed unaffected, despite all of Sano's best efforts.
The spiky-haired youth suddenly was afraid. Am I going to die here? After all that. . .is this all I can do? Is this. . .the limit to my strength? He looked up at the giant beast, and was on the brink of giving up -
- Kenshin lay on the ground, horribly burned and barely conscious. His breathing was harsh and broken, and he stared through half closed eyes at the blurred form of his sword which lay several feet away. Shishio stood over him, bleeding from a deep cut over his left eye, but no where near the condition his opponent was. He gave a tired, triumphant smile.
This was it, then. With one last stroke of his sword, he would claim all of Japan as his...
"Aarrgh!" Takeo threw back his head and let out a strangled cry as Hokei's sword plunged through his shoulder. It pierced through completely, and Takeo staggered, his hands grasping the naked blade to keep it from going deeper inside him. Hokei smiled.
Takeo shuddered, and he glared at the man in black through the long strands of silver hair that hung in his face. Even as his blood seeped through his clothing, even as it dripped onto the ground, Takeo lifted a foot, somehow balancing on the other.
He slammed it into Hokei's gut. Hokei doubled over with a angry grunt, and Takeo forced his body back, making the sword slip free from his shoulder. Clutching his shoulder, Takeo hit the ground, his fallen sword somewhere in the sand behind him.
He lay on his back, and stared up at the brilliant moon. Its light was so bright that all other stars were drowned out. It was beautiful. The ocean waves crashed against their rocky confines, and a fresh, cold mist wafted out over the beach. It drifted across the sand, and seemed to cover him with a chilly, wet cloud.
Beautiful, indeed. . .
XXX
Sano bowed his head, ready for death to come. He was powerless, now. He hurt, he throbbed, he was so tired, so weak... He could do nothing any longer. So he waited for death to come, ready to embrace the brief pain, followed by whatever it was that came after death...
A faint sshhhing, and a heavy thud that shook the ground. Sano looked up wearily, confused. That...wasn't what he had been expecting.
"Pitiful," a low voice hissed. "Are you just going to sit there and wait for death to consume you like some weak fool?"
"N - nani?" Sano stared at the dark mist that swirled around, and it seemed to recede a little, revealing a dark figure that held two kodachi in his hands. He gaped. "A-Aoshi?!"
"Hn," the man whirled on his heel. "Just make sure that I didn't make a mistake in saving your life." And with that, he walked toward the area where the rest of the battles were taking place. Sano stared after him, and shame swallowed him up.
He pounded the ground with his fist, unaware of the blood that spurted with the movement. What was I thinking? Giving up like that? With a growl, he staggered to his feet. "Sagara Sanosuke...does not...give up!" His determination renewed, he stumbled after Aoshi.
XXX
Soujiro sighed. It seemed like his opponent no longer wanted to fight. In fact, the Wolf seemed more dead than alive. Oh well. It looked like this fun fight would have to come to an end. At least, Shishio-sama would be pleased.
Soujiro stepped toward the lanky Wolf, and held out his blade, ready for the finishing blow. But...what was this? Another tall man, stepped out of the dark, swirling mist, and stood in his way!
"Your fight is now with me," Aoshi said coolly, his kodachi ready at his sides.
Soujiro blinked, and smiled wider. This was fine, then. Perhaps he'd have some more fun out of this, after all!
XXX
"Kenshin!" Sano yelled, running toward the two figures ahead. One was still and unmoving, while the other towered above him. It didn't take very long for Sano to figure out that Kenshin was on the ground, and Shishio was about to finish him off.
"Get up, Kenshin!" He urged his beaten and weary body to run faster, to get there before Shishio decided to kill him. "Get up on your feet, and fight!"
The form on the ground did not move, and Shishio looked in Sano's direction. And he smirked. He turned his attention toward Kenshin, and swung his sword back.
Suddenly frightened and frustrated, Sano yelled as loud as he could. "Kenshin, move, you idiot! If you're gonna die, do it another time, when you don't have so much depending on you! What's everybody gonna say if you die?! What about Kaoru? If you die, you're gonna make her cry, Kenshin. You're gonna break her heart, and she'll never forgive you! So get up already!"
Sano was nearly there, but he wouldn't make it on time. To his horror, he saw the sword come down. Sano felt his heart clench, and screamed out the only think he could think of. "Takeoooo! Get your butt over here!"
XXX
Takeo drifted through the mist, smiling wearily at the blurred moon. It was so beautiful, so peaceful, so quiet...
Wait. Someone was shouting far away. Takeo's smile slipped a little, and his glazed eyes became confused. Why did someone have to ruin such a peaceful scene? Couldn't they just be quiet, and let him slip away in silence...?
"Takeoooo!" A voice screamed so loud that Takeo jerked, "Get your butt over here!" Takeo's eyes shot open wide, everything coming crashing back. Sano's voice! The fight, Hokei, where was he? He had to fight! He couldn't die now! He could do that later, after he'd won! Takeo jerked his body upright, the movement making the thick midst swirl around him. His shoulder seared and roared and screamed with pain, but he forced it back.
His injuries did not matter now. The safety of Japan did. His friend's lived did. And if he had to die to save it, so be it. No matter what happened, how much blood he lost -
- even if he lost both arms and legs -
I am going to win!!
XXX
Thesword came down, and hit nothing but dirt. Sano and Shishio stared. At the last second, Kenshin had rolled over, and the blade missed him by a hair.
Kenshin glared up at the bandaged man, and even though he was flat out on his back on the ground, a very pitiful and weak looking figure, his very glare seemed frightening, even intimidating.
"I am not dead yet," he grated out from between clenched teeth, and slowly, staggering, he stumbled to his feet.
XXX
"Where are you?" Hokei muttered in frustration. "Stupid mist...I can't see anything!" He whirled around, sword ready to strike, but he saw nothing but swirling mist. Where was the silver-haired freak's body? Where was it, so he could stab it and finish off that pestering little -
"Right here," A low voice rumbled throughout the midst, and Hokei jerked his head to the side. Nothing, he saw nothing! Nothing but that mist!
Wait...what was that?! A glow? Hokei stumbled back, unnerved. Over there, the mist was glowing?
The mist swirled away suddenly from one place, pulling rapidly away from the figure that abruptly appeared. In one hand, he seemed to hold a circular shield of pure light, and in the other...a black sword of death. Silver hair blowing about him, and emerald daggers of death stared out of a hard, pale face.
Hokei stared. "K-Kuroshi?"
"That's right," Takeo said, gliding out of the mist, and toward Hokei. "I am the Black Death, and I am going to kill you."
Completely unnerved, Hokei lunged at Takeo, who merely leaned to the side to avoid his blade. Growling, Hokei used his stepping technique to bring himself rapidly around Takeo, and attacked from all sides. His sword clanged off that freaky glowing shield, sliced through air, and grated against that horrible black blade.
"Why won't you just die?!" Hokei screamed in frustration and fear. This Takeo, was completely different from before.
"I cannot," Takeo said in that low, soft voice. "I cannot die until I have won. The lives of my friends are precious; I fight for them. The lives of those in Japan are precious; I fight for their freedom. I will fight so that they may have peace. And until they have that, I will not die."
And he bore down upon Hokei, his spinning Kagayaki a glowing, impenetrable shield, and his Kuroshi a weapon of inevitable death.
XX
Kenshin stood, slumped, with Sano beside him. Together, they faced Shishio, who was looking increasingly annoyed, and somewhat uneasy. Little did they know, that his time was beginning to run out...
A horrible scream rose from the surrounding mist, and brought chills to everyone that heard it. They glanced uneasily around, and Soujiro suddenly appeared at Shishio's side, bleeding and breathing heavily.
They stared at each other, two against two. But then, Aoshi staggered out of the mist, supporting a barely conscious Saito. Soujiro's eyes widened when he saw them, and his smile slipped.
The two newcomers took their place beside Sano and Kenshin, and stared at Soujiro. "Thought you killed us, huh?" Saito drawled, and Soujiro visibly jerked, a strange emotion in those blue eyes of his. His smile was gone, replaced by a completely out of place look of...
...fear.
And then another figure came out of the midst, wielding a sword of light and a sword of death. He looked dead tired, but his eyes held a frightening light to them. It was the same look that Sano, Kenshin, Saito, and Aoshi all wore.
And as Kurosa Takeo joined them, Shishio and Soujiro realized...
...that there was no way they could win.
Beaten and worn and bloodied as they were, the five simply would not give up. They would fight until the last drop of blood left their bodies, and then some, in order to win. They fought for something much larger than Shishio and Soujiro, who simply fought for power and dominion.
The five fought to protect precious lives; they fought for freedom. They fought out of the very need to win, to save Japan from a tyrant's rule. They fought for life. And since what they were fighting for was so much larger, and since their will was so much stronger...
...it was inevitable.
Shishio and Soujiro realized that...
...they could not win.
The two groups clashed for the very last time.
XXX
It was dawn before they returned. Kaoru and Yahiko and Okina and all of the others were outside. They had been there for the past two hours, anxiously watching for their return. If they returned.
It wasn't until the sun first peeked over the horizon that a ninja ran up to them. "They're coming! They're a about ten minutes off! And they're...we need to send some help -"
"Are all of them there?" The Okina asked the question that none dared to ask. Did some of them die? Are they all alive?
"Y-yes! But they're really badly injured and - "
"Then let them return on their own strength," Okina cut in. "Let all of Japan see who they are; they who have save us all from a tyrant's reign."
Kaoru stared anxiously at the end of the street, straining, waiting for the first sight of her beloved...
And there they were. Sano, Aoshi, Takeo, Saito, and Kenshin. All were horribly bloodied and beaten and broken, and they all supported the other as they hobbled down the street. Yet, despite their beaten state, their eyes shined with triumph, and a quiet pride.
They had done it.
They had defeated the evil, and come out as the victors. They had saved Japan.
Kaoru let out a wordless shriek, and leapt up. She rushed toward them, tears of relief flowing from her sapphire eyes. And behind her, came everyone else. They rushed forward to greet the five men; tears and cheers mixing with each other in one loud cry.
Takeo lifted his head toward the sky, taking in the soft golden tones of sunrise. It would be a glorious day.
And he smiled.