In the middle of the
night, Kenshin, who is still up, hears footsteps approaching
the Kamiya Dojo. Immediately, he goes out to check,
waking up Kaoru and Yahiko in the process. A thud
is heard at the front door. Kenshin opens the gates
of the dojo and finds a student of the Maekawa Dojo
stained in blood. The student asks for the help of
Kenshin, hoping that the rurouni can save his dojo.
Before Kenshin takes off, Yahiko says he'll be coming
along. That prompts Kenshin to snap at Yahiko, telling
him to stay back. Yahiko gives off a blank stare,
as he has never been spoken to in that tone of voice
by Kenshin before. Kenshin warns Kaoru to bar the
front gate, then takes off into the night, unaware
of what's to come.
On his way to the Maekawa
Dojo, Kenshin meets up with Sanosuke, who is with
two injured policemen. Kenshin questions Sanosuke
why he isn't protecting the Oguni Clinic. Sanosuke
answers by telling the rurouni that the clinic is
rapidly filling up with injured men from the Maekawa
Dojo. The policemen are thankful when they hear Sanosuke
referring to the rurouni as Kenshin because Chief
Uramura isn't present. Kenshin looks confused, so
he asks why. The two policemen hesitate, but eventually
spit it out. Chief Uramura has an emergency in his
own home.
While the invasion
of the Uramura residence is conducted by Otowa, Inui
stands tall in the Maekawa Dojo over dozens of bodies,
including Maekawa himself. Inui shows his lack of
respect for his elders when he crushes Maekawa's chest
with his boot. The comrade is pretty confident of
himself at this time. With his wristguards covered
in the blood of the Maekawa Dojo master and students,
Inui challenges whoever's standing, mainly frightened
policemen. A voice is heard at the front door approving
the idea. Inui turns his attention to the source of
the voice and finds Sanosuke catching his breath.
Sanosuke accepts Inui's challenge.
