Chapter 197: A Naive Plan

Gatotsu Zero-shiki!!

(Saitou thrusts the sword through Mumyoui's arm from hand to elbow and sends him flying, sword still in his arm. Mumyoui screams with pain.)

Megumi: Ugh...

Sanosuke: That's the technique. It misfired against Shishio, but that's what it can really do.

Saitou (to Mumyoui): Don't howl like that. It's pathetic. Be thankful I didn't take that arm right off at the shoulder.

Kaoru: He's won...

(Mumyoui grits his teeth and takes hold of the sword, pushing it straight within his arm.)

Megumi (thinking): He used the sword to straighten the broken bone... !

Saitou: You still want to fight?

Mumyoui: Of course! I've lived these fifteen years to kill Battousai! I'd rather die than leave here without fighting him!

Saitou: Then you should hurry up and die.

Mumyoui: Just you wait!

(He runs off and disappears into the dojo.)

Saitou: Freak.

(Mumyoui crawls into the rafters of the dojo ceiling.)

Mumyoui: Dammit ... I didn't want to use them. These things Enishi gave me when we left...

(He appears again at the dojo roof.)

Mumyoui: Let's go!

(He leaps forward, striking the ground, touching off an explosion. As the dust clears he is nowhere to be seen.)

Megumi: He burrowed into the ground?

Sanosuke: With that arm...

(Saitou, unconcerned, lights a cigarette.)

Saitou: So now the spider has become a mole?

Kenshin: It's a barrier.

Mumyoui: Very good, Battousai. Bandan Jiraihou! Gunpowder inside ceramic shells. They're underground bombs used in China since the Ming Dynasty! They're set off if you step on them, or if I pull the fuse--like this!

(Explosions roar up on either side of Saitou.)

Sanosuke: Merciless force. He can't move around freely now. One wrong step and they'll take both his legs off.

Mumyoui: The terror of not knowing where or how they'll explode. The terror of not being able to take a single step. And at the same time, the terror of being attacked where you stand ... Watch, Battousai. Watch how another of your friends dies...

Kaoru: Kenshin...

Kenshin: I'm sorry, but I won't let anyone else die before me.

Mumyoui: You'll regret those words. Let's do this. This is the end. I'll set them all off at once. And at the same time--

(A huge explosion. Mumyoui leaps above it.)

Sanosuke: He's up there!

Mumyoui (thinking): The bombs were just a decoy! I'll concentrate his attention on the ground, then attack from above! I--

Sanosuke: And he's up there.

(Saitou is above him, twisting one arm in a lock and holding his head with the other.)

Saitou: All this showing off and for what. You fool.

(He smashes him into the ground.)

Saitou: It's about time I took this back. It's too good a blade to let it rust in a freak's blood.

(He pulls his sword free. Mumyoui screams again.)

Saitou: Someone who lost sight of reality and lived only for his own personal grudge doesn't deserve my Aku Soku Zan, but since you said you'd rather die, I'll grant your wish. (holding up his sword) Die.

(Kenshin takes hold of the sword.)

Kenshin: I won't let anyone else die before me. I told you that.

Saitou: Someone who's trying to kill you won't thank you for saving his life.

(Nevertheless he lowers his sword and steps back.)

Kenshin: Yatsume ... If you still want to fight, come see me after your wounds have healed. This time it will be between you and me ... whenever you like. Only ... as far as you can, I want you to live for the sake of your clan in the north. If you can manipulate the earth so freely, I'm sure you could be of use to them.

(Mumyoui can only groan in reply.)

Kenshin: Miss Megumi, please see to his wounds.

Megumi: Of course.

Saitou: You were always a good talker. You think you can sweet-talk the general in the sky like that?

(Kenshin makes no reply.)

Saitou: Fine, then ... This is finally the real fight.