Chapter 245: 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!

(He suddenly all but disappears, dropping his sword.)

Kenshin (thinking): Left--

Enishi: Give up!

(He pummels Kenshin with a barrage of bare-handed blows.)

Enishi: The speed of the Kyokeimyaku is no match for your own! Your responses are so heightened you can predict your enemy's moves, but even if I react after my opponent has already moved, I have more than enough time! My eyes distinguish each drop of scattering blood! My ears catch every creak of your bones! My skin feels each grain of sand! Fly through the skies--my every sensory nerve will catch you, and my every muscular nerve will strike you down!

(Two final kicks cast Kenshin into the sea. He doesn't surface.)

Saitou: Height and speed ... that's what sealed the Hiten Mitsurugi school.

Sanosuke: Guess it's down to this ... Megumi, you better go patch him up. I said I wouldn't interfere in a private fight, but I got no choice ... I'll take it from here. There's no way I'm going to let him die.

Misao: Aoshi ... I don't want to let him die either.

Aoshi: I know.

Yahiko: Hold it! Even if he is outclassed, no one said he's lost yet. So this fight is still Kenshin's fight. Kenshin's never lost yet. He hasn't now. And he isn't going to.

(Behind him, Kenshin regains his feet.)

Yahiko: Right?

Kenshin: Yes.

(He smiles.)

Kenshin: Everyone ... Thank you for your good wishes. But this is a fight I can't let anyone else take. This is an end chosen by a lifetime's preparation... (thinking) I'll take victory with my own hands!

Enishi: You're right--of course! Your defeat would be next to meaningless! It's your death that will save my sister! Before my Watoujutsu and Kyoukeimyaku, your Hiten Mitsurugi school is mere street fighting! Despair of the sword that has learned its limits and die! Now!

Watoujutsu Shikku Tousei!

Kenshin: Enishi ... The power of your sword exceeds mine.

(He sheaths his sword.)

Kenshin: But you only see that strength, so you rely on only the sword. The Hiten Mitsurugi school has protected people from the sufferings of the ages--it knows no limits!

Hiten Mitsurugi-ryuu Ryuumeisen!