damned_institute | Nightshift 35: West Wing, South Hall 1-A

So it came down to this. After days of circling each other and keeping the thinnest of alliances, here it fell like a forest to a fire. Homura wasn't around to keep Okita at bay, Sano was taken care of, and now no one stood between him and the Battousai. This was a fight he'd been craving, whether he won or he lost, he needed to resolve this. In fact, Okita didn't really see a downside to losing this battle.

Which made him dangerous. He had nothing left to lose here and everything to take and reclaim, and he didn't care how he did it so long as someone ended up dead. As Okita heard Himura's speech patterns change, his smile widened into something a little more manic as the humanity drained out of his eyes. This was more like it.

It was time to face the Battousai.

Kenshin lunged and Okita watched his shoulders and his hips, calculating where he'd strike and moving his blade to block. The sound of metal singing as it smashed against metal ricocheted off the wall and Okita felt his mind slipping from him. He remembered these sounds and the beautiful horror that usually came with it. They were part of it now. Twisting, he kicked a foot out and aimed it at Kenshin's stomach.

Don't worry? Yeah, because it was really that easy. Sanosuke just had a little internal bleeding plus a limp arm, one of Kenshin's worst enemies ever had completely lost his mind, and Kenshin was going to fight him without the use of his greatest technique. Now he just needed that damn giggly ghost from before to show up, and things would be fucking perfect.

They were already fighting too, the sound of swords clashing familiar even to him. Sano'd seen enough sword fights to know how it worked, and he knew enough about Kenshin to know how this would work, even as he hoped he was wrong. Maybe Okita would slip in his madness, somehow get less accurate, and leave an opening for Kenshin to capitalize on.

Yeah right.

Sanosuke stumbled back, not because he wanted to get out of the way of the fight, because he had to. Another round of coughing, this one enough to drive the fighter to his knees. It really was getting worse. More blood was coming out of his mouth, out of his lung, and damn if the hall wasn't somehow getting darker. He couldn't blame it on his flashlight either.

Shit.

Okita may have had a longer reach than Kenshin, but the rurouni had speed on his side. He dodged Okita's kick and fell back to the wall, pushing off of it to add momentum to his next swing. Already, he was falling back into the old pattern, the strange almost-disconnect between mind and body. Attack, block. Se an opening, respond with a strike. The movements were automatic, letting him assess the situation. There was a pressure point under the armpit. Striking it would completely immobilize Okita without hurting him too badly. Even now, he was still thinking as the rurouni.

The sakabatou swung in a wide, almost lazy arc towards Okita's chest. If he could just get him to respond to the feint, he'd be in perfect position to strike the pressure point with the sheath.

In Okita's mind there were only two people in the hallway - him and Kenshin. Sano melded into the background, into the dark and the coppery smell of blood. He was no longer a threat and he wasn't about to get up again, so he could be ignored for now. Instead, Okita focused everything he had on this fight. He was physically stronger, but Kenshin was faster even when he had his knees caught by the Western pants. Okita had the advantage of wearing his old yukata, but that still didn't equalize the speed factor.

On one thing, however, they were even. They were both experts in their fields and they could both read the other. Okita saw the feint coming and dodged it instead of blocking it, pulling back and out of Kenshin's range. He switched his grip on the sword and tucked his arms in close to his sides before he took another stab at attacking. If Kenshin thought he'd be taken by such an easy blow, he had another thing coming. Running forward, Okita feigned to the right and then struck on the left at the arm holding the sheath.

Kenshin saw Okita's feint just as clearly as Okita had seen his. He dropped low to avoid the blade, but not low enough. It cut across his shoulder, laying it open. He hissed in pain, but didn't drop the sheath. Already, a change was starting to come over him. His eyes were sharper, colder. Just like with Saitou, each moment he fought brought him closer what he had once been.

He reacted to Okita's attack with one of his own, responding tit for tat. He was the faster one. He could get into Okita's space more easily than Okita could get into his.

Unlike Kenshin, Okita didn't care about using the blunt edge of his sword. The smell of blood and the feel of the blade resisting as it cut into flesh were all too familiar. He wished he'd dressed in his uniform now, if only for the nostalgia factor. He could almost imagine tatami beneath his feet and the dying screams of rebels who were too prideful to lay down their weapons echoing off the walls.

He really shouldn't have been thinking of that though. His attention should have been on Kenshin and before he knew it, the rurouni was in his face and Okita was forced to backpedal, trying to get out of his range again. He was still missing something though and as Okita caught a glimpse of Kenshin's eyes, he knew what it was. The Battousai was lurking, but it hadn't yet come out to play. Well, he might as well force it out.

Stopping midstep, Okita abruptly changed directions and brought his sword up to block, before attemping to ram his shoulder hard into Kenshin's injured one.

Kenshin only very distantly registered Yuffie's arrival to the scene. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her kneeling next to Sanosuke, helping her. The part of his mind that wasn't completely focused on the fight--the part that was still the rurouni, Kenshin and not anyone or anything else--was very grateful. When he saw bubbles emerge from nowhere in what he could only assume was some sort of magical healing spell, he could've kissed her. It was all right. Sano was going to be okay.

And now he could focus completely on the task at hand.

Mostly.

The bubbles were too distracting. He let himself get caught up in thinking about his friends, and he made a critical mistake. This time, he did fall for Okita's feint. He didn't see the shoulder coming at him until it was too late, and renewed pain exploded in his injured arm. He gasped, sheath dropping from his nerveless fingers. It had been a stupid, stupid thing to do, but now wasn't the time to mentally berate himself. He had to regain his space and respond. Okita's strikes may have had more force behind them, but he had sheer technical skill on his side. He had the advantage here: he knew how Okita fought. At this point, his opponent had never seen Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryuu in action. He could still surprise him.

He dropped low again, ignoring the pain in his shoulder so completely that it might have not even been there, for all the difference it made. At first it looked like he was actually running away from the battle, but once he had gotten enough momentum he turned and jumped, higher than anyone conceivably should have been able to. It wasn't near his normal standard, thanks to this place, but it would do. The sakabatou flashed in a wide arc, aiming for the juncture between Okita's shoulder and his neck. At one point this had been a killing stroke, meant to slice his opponent neatly in half. With his sword reversed, though, it would just hurt like hell if it connected.

"Hiten Mitsurugi-ryuu: Ryuutsuisen," he announced.

His voice was cold.

Unlike Kenshin, Okita didn't notice Yuffie when she arrived. Anything that wasn't registered as a threat just didn't break through right now. He'd gotten a hit in on Kenshin, but it hadn't seemed to slow the man down. And for all the good his strength and range did, Kenshin's speed and his skill were showing to be formidable. It was like fighting against Yoshida all over - someone else who overpowered him. It ended up taking two people to take him down and most of that had been Tetsu's unorthodox methods of fighting.

Maybe he needed such methods, too.

Kenshin was running through and Okita chased, focused on driving his sword through Kenshin's chest. It wasn't until Kenshin suddenly turned and jumped that Okita knew he'd fallen into a trap. It was impossible how high the man had managed to go, but in the time it took for him to slash down, Okita had slid to a stop and brought his sword up, bracing for the blow. But why announce the attack?

It didn't seem to matter since the attack was stronger than Okita had expected. Their blades connected and Okita was shoved back; more than shoved, he was practically thrown. His arms ached from the force and he felt his fingers go a little numb when his back hit the wall behind him hard. That wasn't good. Whatever that Ryuutsuisen was, it couldn't be allowed to happen again or he'd break his sword. Pushing off from the wall, Okita tightened his grip and refused to let the air that had all but fled from his lungs to stop him. Taking a deep breath before he shot back into the fight, Okita tried to circle around and stab Kenshin from the side.

Kenshin could feel the vibrations from the Ryuutsuisen in his own sword as well. The weapons he and Okita had commissioned here were well-made and serviceable, yes, but they'd been forged with scrap metal, not honed steel. They weren't as strong and flexible as the swords that both men were used to. Any more strong attacks like that, and they'd both end up with broken weapons.

Good thing to know.

The Ryuutsuisen had managed to wind Okita, though, so maybe the effort hadn't been entirely wasted. No matter how professional he was, the Shinsengumi Captain's next attack was bound to be slightly sloppier than the last because he couldn't breathe properly. In order to make up for it, he'd probably go for a thrust, like...that?

He blocked it easily enough, but it wasn't exactly the attack he'd expected. His blue eyes got even sharper, and something...else crept into his expression.

"Interesting. I was expecting something more along the lines of Saitou's Gatotsu."

Edited 2008-09-30 13:45 (UTC)

I? Now that was interesting. Personal pronouns weren't something he heard out of Himura Kenshin. The only time he had was when the Battousai had emerged when the nurse's blood had sprayed Kenshin in the face. Kenshin easily blocked Okita's blow, but he had been expecting that. He wasn't strong enough to put any real force behind the blow. Still, it gave him an opportunity to strike back and learn more about how Kenshin fought, even on a superficial level.

He was expecting something else.

Okita stepped back and brought the sword around, holding it in both hands in front of him. Saitou's Gatotsu? What in the world was that? He knew all of Saitou's moves - they'd trained together - and he'd never heard of anything like that. The rurouni was trying to throw him off, muddle his mind with unnecessary thoughts when the only ones that mattered were the fight and punishing someone for Hijikata's disappearance through it. Even if that someone ended up being him, he didn't care. He wanted to feel fire and blood and physical pain in place of this deep emotional ache. Anything was better than admitting he had a heart left to break.

"Something along those lines, hm?" Okita backed up a step and then held firm, leveling an empty gaze at the man in front of him. "I'm sorry to say I'm not Saitou-san, but I'll kill you all the same if you wish."

Running forward, Okita decided to try something a little different. If Kenshin was looking for standard Shinsengumi attacks, then he'd just have to go with something a little more...Tetsu. Moving in like he was going to go for another strong thrust to the chest, Okita released one hand from his sword just before reaching Kenshin and slid along the floor, kicking out at the man's legs while pulling the last pen from his sleeve to stab it at Himura's right thigh.

"I think half of Japan has already claimed that right. Saitou, particularly." Kenshin's eyes were just as empty as Okita's, cold and sharp and lacking any of their usual expressiveness. He was focusing on the fight, and the fight only. He couldn't even see Sano and Yuffie anymore. The darkened hallway felt more and more like Kyoto with each passing second.

He anticipated Okita's lunge and moved up to counter it. He even managed to avoid the kick that had come with it. What he didn't anticipate, though, was the pen. He cried out as it sank into his leg, but it was more of a temporary annoyance. Pain wasn't something that slowed him down. He'd learned how to move beyond it long ago.

Gritting his teeth, he yanked the pen out of his thigh and threw it far away from them. It stung, but it wasn't a bad wound. The pen hadn't hit the artery. He wasn't in any danger of bleeding to death. Straightening, he swung at Okita's exposed neck.

Edited 2008-10-01 23:28 (UTC)

He missed the artery, but he got a hit in anyway. The smell of blood and the cry of pain was enough for him. And the time it took Kenshin to remove the pen meant he had a little time to get back to his feet and start to move away. Not enough though and suddenly there was a sword coming at his neck. Okita didn't have enough time to counter, but he could still dodge and that's what he did.

Dropping to one knee, he bent away from the sword, feeling the wind graze his ear. Something caught a few strands of hair and he knew that he'd just gotten a slightly unorthodox trim on one side. Pushing off from the ground, he jumped back and adjusted his grip on his sword. That was far too close.

Too close and just enough. Now it felt like home. That had been a kill blow and this was no longer the Himura Kenshin he'd fought before. Kenshin went for pressure points, he went to disable his opponent, but this new person in his place...he went for the blood and the pain. This was the man who had killed his friends.

Okita took a few more steps back and smiled bitterly. Kenshin had always been the man who had killed his friends, but Okita had refused to really see him that way. Until now, they'd been allies, but now they were just enemies. Tomorrow would be a difficult day, if he lived to see it. He hoped he didn't. He didn't really have much to go for now except the thrill of battle and the glory of death whether it be his or someone else's. "If Saitou-san has claimed you, then I'll have to apologize to him later. He'll understand." Standing firm now, the captain spread his stance. With a sword, Himura Kenshin was dangerous, but without one? Physical strength was on Okita's side. "I was never good at sharing."

And again, Okita dashed forward, aiming a slash down and across Kenshin's body. It was probably easy enough to block, but that was what he was hoping for. If Kenshin blocked, a hard kick to his stomach would follow.

The pen had gone deep enough that Kenshin wasn't as fast as he should have been. Instead of dodging and rolling like he normally would, he was forced to block Okita's attack with his sword, opening himself up to the kick to his stomach. His breath came in short gasps, and he had to fight to stay upright. He didn't hear Sano shouting, or his ensuing scuffle with Yuffie.

Kenshin did, however, hold onto his sword.

"Neither was I." He spat a little blood in Okita's direction. "I won't kill you, Okita. I won't sink to your level." Not yet.

"We all have to live in this world. Stop this idiocy."

His foot connected solidly and Okita grinned, pushing forward with his sword as Kenshin blocked. Their swords connected and Okita kept a steady pressure on his, forcing Kenshin to push back or risk letting Okita get another slash in. This battle was getting his blood going and it was making him remember. Fighting in narrow halls was what he was trained to do, but so was Kenshin. The Ikedaya had been dark and the floor slick with blood, the air thick with shouting and tension and fear. Across the city, Hijikata's group searched for a hideout that Kondou and the others had already found. It rested with Yamazaki to let them know where the Choushuu were. Inside, it was life or death. Here again, he was tasting that same thing. Life or death, fear and tension, shouting and blood - all of it flooded his senses until he channeled it down to one thing: the desire to kill his enemy. \

He had to blame someone for losing him again. The first time Homura had stopped him, but this second time, no one could. He was alone now. A wolf without its pack, cut off and left stranded in a strange wood with no one to answer his calls.

Kenshin spat blood at him and Okita grit his teeth. How dare that bastard remind him now? It was a distraction, that was all. He meant to remind him of how he was dying of that disgusting disease again. Kenshin was forcing him to remember that he was fighting a losing battle. "No, we don't," Okita snapped back, shoving his sword harder against Kenshin's. "You have to live in this world. Your friends have to live in this world. All of mine are dead at your hands."

Shot in the back in Hokkaido. Forced to commit seppuku as a traitor. Lost on the battlefield. Left to die in Edo. There was no place for the Shinsengumi in this new world. Canting his left shoulder, Okita pushed off Kenshin's sword, jumping back before running forward again, his blade aimed at Kenshin's heart. "And I'm going to follow them soon enough!"

(no subject)

degozaruyo.livejournal.com - 2008-10-05 08:22 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

notachick.livejournal.com - 2008-10-05 10:03 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

degozaruyo.livejournal.com - 2008-10-05 23:23 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

notachick.livejournal.com - 2008-10-06 00:10 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

degozaruyo.livejournal.com - 2008-10-06 02:17 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

notachick.livejournal.com - 2008-10-06 02:30 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

damnrudecock.livejournal.com - 2008-10-06 20:32 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

thatdamnedninja.livejournal.com - 2008-10-06 21:31 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

degozaruyo.livejournal.com - 2008-10-07 06:37 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

damnrudecock.livejournal.com - 2008-10-07 21:07 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

thatdamnedninja.livejournal.com - 2008-10-08 01:26 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

degozaruyo.livejournal.com - 2008-10-08 06:53 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

damnrudecock.livejournal.com - 2008-10-08 12:10 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

degozaruyo.livejournal.com - 2008-10-08 23:14 (UTC) - Expand

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/454507.html?thread=37789035#t37789035)]

When Yuffie had entered the hallway, the first thing she'd noticed was the scent of blood. Then the sound of clashing steel, of swords.

Third? Third was the red-head. Kenshin? She didn't recognize the other person; couldn't even tell whether it was a guy or a girl. And it was only after a bit of squinting that she made out the shape of Sagara, off to the side a little and on his knees.

Well, damn.

Her good mood vanished, her footsteps slowed, but only for a moment. seconds later, she was walking again, briskly, sticking close to the wall. Her footsteps were almost silent against the floor. She didn't want to get caught up in the fighting yet- her priority was to see why the hell Sagara was on his knees at a time like this. He was strong, wasn't he? Maybe... maybe he was taking a break!

Even as she thought it, she knew she was wrong.

And when she got close enough, when she was crouching down next to him, she knew just how wrong she'd been.

"Hey," she said, with false cheer. "When I thought to myself, 'the guys are gonna be dying to see my awesome self', I didn't mean it literally."

Sanosuke had been so focused on the fight, on being able to keep watching the fight, he hadn't even realized Yuffie had come up to him until she was already there. Figured she'd show up too, when he was looking especially pathetic.

"Hey Ninja Girl." Sano's words were ragged, and for obvious reason. Damn it was fucking hard to breathe. "Bad timing."

She couldn't get involved. Yuffie had been damn eager to jump in against that guy last night, and that was bad enough. But Sanosuke knew the two guys fighting now, and even if it wasn't really worse than some guy with powers, it still seemed that way.

"You don't know--first aid, do you?" He needed a hell of a lot more than first aid, but Sano was one to make light of his injuries. Especially since he could already tell she was worried. Not that it was surprising, with a pen pretty much going through his left arm, and another sticking out of his side. Still, seeing Ninja Girl having to fake her smile didn't make things seem too bright.

Pathetic was the biggest understatement of the century, as far as Yuffie was concerned. Man. Why'd he have to go and get himself so roughed up? It was... It...

If there was one thing Yuffie hated, it was worrying about people. She hated it. And now, as she eyed Sagara, the blood, the injuries and the pens sticking out of him, she was worried.

"This is mondoliciously grossness, Sagara. You know that, right? Lucky enough for your sorry ass, I am a ninja." She set her lawnmower down on the ground beside her as she spoke. "And that means I'm a multi-talented extraordinaire."

She barely even realized that she was speaking. It was a flinch reaction, almost; she couldn't help it, couldn't stop it. "These pens haveta come out before I can do anything, though."

"Yeah, I know." Sanosuke would've laughed, except even talking that much was getting harder. Still, he managed to grin at Yuffie, even when she complained about how gross it all was. It seemed more like her to do something like that anyway.

Sano didn't know exactly how much good Yuffie would do, but since they were from different times and places, and people had weird powers and crap, the fighter didn't think it'd hurt. At least not more than what he'd already been through, anyway. So when she said the pens had to come out, he nodded, and grabbed the end of the one in his arm. And it did hurt, but Sanosuke was able to yank it out without too much trouble. Damn good thing he was used to pain.

"Shit." Another cough, and more blood this time. He spat again to clear his mouth, then threw away the bloody pen to grab the one in his side. "Get ready, okay?" He knew that keeping the pen there had slowed down the blood flow, and that was probably the reason he was still conscious. Yuffie would just have to act quick. Otherwise, Sano would have to just haunt her for the rest of eternity or some crap.

He clenched his jaw tight, then pulled out the final pen.

Get ready? Like she needed to be told that.

Yuffie was already sitting back on her haunches, focusing within herself. Her second Limit was the best she had to offer as far as healing went, and damnit, she just hoped it would be enough.

Her head bowed slightly, her eyes closing, just as Sagara yanked the pen out. For a moment, all of her concentration was fixated upon Clear Tranquil; it was making her head swim and her breath come short, which was wrong, but it was working.

And, fortunately, it only took seconds. The blue energy, water-like and air-like both at once, expanded outwards like two bubbles, one each surrounding herself and Sagara. The Limit finished, the bubbles bursting into more bubbles, before dissipating into nothing.

Yuffie toppled forward to rest on her hands and knees, gasping for breath. It had worked- or it felt like it had, at least- but... but it had been harder to control, less stable. Less powerful.

Were those...bubbles? Oh great. Like there wasn't enough shit to be confused over.

But weird as it was, Sanosuke immediately began to feel better. The screeching pain in his arm had all but vanished, and his side felt much the same. It wasn't perfect though, and Sano knew he'd have to be careful for a bit. Being able to breathe easier, more normally felt pretty damn good, though.

There was more hacking, but it didn't concern the fighter so much. Kind of something to be expected, really, since he'd just pulled a pen out from his side. Already it felt like less, and when he was done, he looked to Ninja Girl with a smile.

"Not bad at all." Sanosuke reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "Thanks."

Now there was that other matter. Sanosuke couldn't move quite yet, sure as hell not enough to make a difference. But now he could focus on the fight again, and he could see the change in Kenshin's movements. Just like it had been in the dojo with Saitou. Fucking hell.

"Ninja Girl." Sano's tone was serious, something that probably seemed odd for him. If he was going to be serious about anything though, it was going to be something like this. "Don't get involved with that fight, okay?"

The rush of weakness wasn't fading anywhere near as quickly as she liked, and Yuffie was horrified to find that she was slumping against the hand on her shoulder, using it as an impromptu prop.

Gawd. Okay. Now was not the time to be wishy-washy, tired, and-or pathetic!

Her cheeks coloured slightly at the thanks, and she looked away sharply, towards the fight. "Don't mention it," she said, somewhat awkwardly.

The battle was intense- that was the only way she could describe it. And something about the way Kenshin was moving seemed different, dangerously so. He didn't seem much like the friendly guy who'd rubbed her back this morning, that was for sure.

At Sagara's warning, she turned to look back at him so fast she almost fell over sideways. "What's that s'posed to mean?" She demanded. "I helped you, right? Why can't I help Kenshin, too?"

Edited 2008-09-30 04:36 (UTC)

Sanosuke felt it when Yuffie shifted her weight, so he didn't move his hand away. Probably a good thing too, given how unsteady she seemed then. Not to say that Sano was the master of balance at the moment, but he'd always had more endurance than most guys could ever dream of. He'd be able to get back up soon.

And then...something. Not that he knew what the fuck what.

Yuffie was trying to protest though, and making sure she stayed put came first. "I'm serious!" Sanosuke wasn't smiling, wasn't talking with that hint of tease he normally did. Now wasn't the time for it, not when Kenshin had just taken a hard hit to the shoulder. Damn it, that was not good.

"These two guys are out of your league and mine. Okita Souji's one of the best damn swordsmen of our age, and he's fucking lost it." And when that happened in a guy who didn't hesitate to kill anyway, the situation got all the better. And then there was his opponent. "Kenshin's trying to stop him from doing anymore damage, but it's not easy. He's just as good as Okita is--" But.

But.

He couldn't bring himself to say it. To talk about how Kenshin's strongest technique had been taken away somehow, just like the full power of Sano's Futae no Kiwami. And worse, to bring up the cold personality he was starting to hear in the rurouni's voice. The Battousai, famous for slaying countless during the revolution. That person Kenshin never wanted to become again, but who he would be if he killed.

"If anyone dies here, Kenshin will change." Sano could say at least that much. And Kenshin was still using the blunt side of the sakabatou, though there was no way of knowing how long that will last. "He'll change into someone he doesn't want to be, someone he isn't. So that's why I'm telling you to stay put Ninja Girl."

"Besides," Sanosuke still stared intently at the fight, watching the moves he could manage to keep up with. The two guys were too fucking fast. "It's not like I want you to get hurt over some stupid shit that I walked into."

"So am I!" Was Yuffie's swift retort. She drew back slightly, balancing her own weight with some difficulty. Her head was still spinning, still felt fluffy, like it was doing a not-so-crappy imitation of a poofed up baby Chocobo.

Despite her growing- and obvious- impatience, she did try to listen to his reasoning. Tried not to block it out of her head and replace the words with 'blah-blah-lecture-blah', like she usually did.

It worked. To a point.

But that didn't mean she liked what he had to say, or that she was going to keep quiet and just go along with it.

"Don't go underestimating me, Sagara. I haven't died yet, and I'm not planning on dying. Ever!" Yuffie tried to look at him as she was speaking, but her eyes were continuously drawn back to the two men duking it out mere meters away. "I can take care of myself."

But she wasn't done yet, oh no. She still had things to say, and, as always, she was going to say them: "And what about Kenshin, huh? What happens if he gets hurt?" When Kenshin leaped into the air, Yuffie twitched, making to jump to her feet. "I dunno about you, but I ain't gonna sit around here and watch it happen!"

Sure Ninja Girl, you go right ahead and think that. Sanosuke knew that Yuffie just couldn't understand, because she hadn't been there for the months Sanosuke had. She hadn't seen when Kenshin fought against Saitou, and she certainly hadn't fought against the Shinsengumi herself, or Jin-e, or any of the rest. Sanosuke had.

He just had to get her to fucking listen to him.

It didn't help that what she said wasn't exactly what Sano wanted to hear. Trying to make him feel guilty about Kenshin getting her was pretty damn low, but it didn't change the fighter's resolve. And when she tried to get to her feet, Sano used the hand on her shoulder to forcefully pull her back down. Woman or not, Sano would knock Yuffie out if he had to.

"Listen to me, Yuffie." Finally, finally Sanosuke managed to look away from the battle, finding the ninja's gaze and staring into it. "You don't think I've thought of shit like that? I'm not an idiot or a weakling. It takes a hell of a lot to get me off my feet, and Okita can do it. He did do it, and without even touching his fucking sword." In a fight that Sano should have done so much better in, because Sano's talent was brawling.

"It's not like I want Kenshin to get hurt, okay! And that's why I'm telling you--" Sanosuke's voice cut off when he heard the talk from the other two. He'd almost missed it, almost, but it was one of those things he'd been listening for. Kenshin wondered why they got such a thrill out of his oro's after Kyoto, and this was why. Because they'd heard him drop his normal style of talking, and use that particular pronoun I.

Fuck. Sanosuke didn't know it, but his hand was suddenly squeezing Yuffie's shoulder so tight, his fingers were shaking.

When he pulled her back down, Yuffie had to seriously resist the urge to punch him. Damn, he was strong! Strong enough that she hissed through her teeth in irritation, finding herself unable to just shrug him off.

At another time, in another place, she might have been grudgingly impressed.

Now? It only served to piss her off more.

"Yeah? I'm not blind, Sagara." She spat, glaring at him. "I can see how good you are, and how good they are, and you know what? I've faced up to these kinds of things before, y'know! I'm not just some kid who claims to be a great ninja just for the hell of it!" Not anymore, anyway.

She'd noticed the slow changes in Kenshin's demeanor, too, but that was pushed far to the back of her mind- when Sagara's hand had started to tighten, she hadn't been able to help a small yip of pain. Was he crazy? She hadn't even tried to jump up again yet, so why the hell did it suddenly feel like he was trying to break her shoulder?!

Well, screw this!

Gritting her teeth, she lashed out with her free hand, the one that wasn't nearly immobilized from the grip on her shoulder. There was a pressure point, under the ropey-muscle or whatever on the forearm, that she was aiming for; if she got it, it should make him let go, or at least loosen his grip.