"You will tell your story right here. You think I am the only one involved?"
Stop. This is not who we are. This is not who Himura Kenshin is.
Battousai paused, amber eyes narrowing as the rurouni voiced dissent in the back of his mind.
No? Perhaps not... but this is who I am, and now I am in control.
A wave of sympathetic yet determined disagreement.
The time of Himura Battousai is past.
The calm response further irritated nerves already balanced on the razor-sharp edge of annoyance. Battousai's hand held loosely by his side suddenly flexed as if reaching for a weapon, but there was no one to fight now but himself, the only battle internal.
If my time were past I would not be here. Your pain and anger called me. Saitou called me. If I am a relic from the past, then so is he. If I do not belong here, then neither should one of the Shinsengumi. Our enmity is... proper.
Proper? Frightening those we wish to protect is proper? Fighting simply for the joy of shedding blood is proper? The rurouni's words were tinged with outrage, echoing with the memory of Kaoru's tears, her pleading for someone to stop the fight that had already been delayed ten years.
Mibu's wolf was right -- we are not needed as the rurouni; your strength and abilities are as nothing compared to mine, useless against those who would attack the people we - you - care for.
Silence was the rurouni's answer, a pause which lasted less than a second. Then slowly, his whole arm shaking with the effort, Battousai felt his hand move to the other's will.
I have enough strength to protect them now. To protect them from myself.
With the crack of knuckles popping from strain, strong fingers clenched into a fist.
Startled by the rurouni's boldness, the Battousai's control slipped a notch.
It was the only opening the rurouni needed. Faster than thought, Kenshin's arm moved, landing a blow powerful enough to send blood trickling down his face.
Your time is past.
Fueled by adrenaline and determination, the rurouni forced himself to the fore, shouldering his opposite aside with the wedge of unexpected pain. In the silence following his unexpected attack, the rurouni lowered his arm and raised soft, unassuming violet eyes to meet Okubo Toshimichi's gaze.
"I'm not the only one involved in this incident, that I am not."
Author's notes and random babbling:
- This was written in response to the "60 Second Vignette" challenge I issued on KFFDisc.
Sekihara Tae
tae@sekihara.dreamhost.com
March 18, 2002
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