Here goes Miko and Kristin's approximate Jump summary/translation. ^_- Bracketed text are 'thought' text... ^_^;

Rurouni Kenshin Act 212: Action Begins

Title Page: Rurouni Kenshin - Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Act 212: Action Begins

A rough, dark-eyed, joyless Kenshin stares forward from beneath the low fringe of his hair.

Vertical Side Text: The eyes in which no light dwells see nothing but a world without color.

Horizontal Side Text: The newest individual volume #23 will be on sale on 11/4!!

Light streams down from a window above the bed on which Kaoru lies, dressed in what appears to be a terrycloth bathrobe with a fuzzy collar and cuffs. Opening heavy eyes, she lifts a hand to her forehead.

Kaoru: Nn......

She sits up, flushed, and glances blearily around the room.

Kaoru: Kenshiiiin! Is breakfast ready yet--?

Hearing no answer, she flops back down with a massive sigh.

Kaoru: Well, whatever. Another 5 minutes...............

Awareness of her strange surroundings comes suddenly, and she sits bolt upright, wide-eyed and sweating.

Kaoru: *clutching blankets* (Stupid, it's not 'Another 5 minutes'!! U......mm. What has happened to me...?)

Thought Bubble: When did my clothes get changed into a Western bathrobe...?

She remembers Enishi grabbing her from behind and covering her mouth with his hand.

Kaoru: (Yes, at that moment... At that moment, I thought I was certainly going to be killed --- But he applied a piece of gauze that had been soaked in some kind of drug, and I slowly fell unconcious...

A memory of Enishi's hand, holding a white cloth. Kaoru climbs out of bed, finding a pair of slippers waiting on the floor.

Kaoru: Though I don't know how long it's been since then, from the look of things... there is no mistake in thinking that I've been kidnapped. Regardless...)

Her eyes sharpen as she stands and takes stock of her surroundings.

Kaoru: (To begin with, I have to get out of here!!)

She first grabs a decorative vase from the corner of the room.

Kaoru: (Secure a weapon...)

Trying the door, she finds it open.

Kaoru: (! It's unlocked...)

Outside is an empty hallway with several doorways visible.

Kaoru: (There aren't any guards either. There's absolutely no sign of any people being here. Just like when everything falls silent in the middle of the night...)

She walks quietly past a staircase leading upward, holding the vase ready in front of her.

Kaoru: (... I wonder if everyone's all right... Sanosuke, Megumi-san, Yahiko...)

An image of Kenshin standing a short distance ahead smiles at her warmly.

Kaoru: (...... Kenshin...... I'm sorry, I made you worry about me again. Just wait for me, because I'll be back soon!

At the end of the hallway, she reaches the front door and tries the handle; it turns.

Kaoru: (I'll be back s---)

As the outside view opens before her, Kaoru stares in shock. A few feet from the doorway, the bare ground drops away to reveal steep cliffs, a small cove, and beyond that, ocean.

Kaoru: !?

A footstep sounds behind her, startling her. She whirls, gripping the vase and clenching her teeth, then freezes. Her eyes widen as she sees Enishi, weaponless, his face battered, his right arm bandaged, his left in a sling.

Enishi: It's no use trying to escape.

Kaoru: !

He meets her astonished gaze, his eyes unreadable.

Enishi: This is an island in Tokyo Bay that my organization uses as a midway base when we transport materials to Tokyo. The closest island from here is roughly 20 kilometres away, with large numbers of sharks living in the waters between. In addition to that, save the inlet you can see over there, it is all sheer vertical drops, nothing but cliffs and precipices. Aside from the communications ship that comes into the inlet once a week, no one can enter this island. It can be called a natural fortress.

He steps forward to stand in front of her.

Enishi: For the time being, stay here quietly. If you do so, in due time we will take you back to Tokyo.

Kaoru: When would 'in due time' be?

Enishi: *smiling to himself* (When Battousai dies ---...) ......... Well, it won't be long.

Kaoru stares at him with fierce eyes.

Kaoru: Tell me one more thing. Why did you not kill me back then? I thought beyond the shadow of a doubt... that I would be killed.

Both are silent for a moment as they meet each others' gazes.

Enishi: .........

He turns away quickly and walks toward the house, speaking with his back to her.

Enishi: It's something that I don't need to tell you.

Kaoru watches him go, her expression puzzled.

Kaoru: (Mercy?) .........

She thinks of Enishi's tale of how he brutally killed the family that took him in when he was a child, and of his grin from a few moments ago.

Kaoru: (No, it can't be that. He told of his heartlessness with his very own lips in the middle of his fight with Kenshin... *frowning, with a sweatdrop* I don't understand... But... But no matter what it is, Jinchuu must have been completed in some form, and something is surely happening to Kenshin.)

She looks out toward the cove, and her eyes grow determined.

Kaoru: (Kenshin---... It can't go on like this... Somehow, I'll have to escape on my own!!)

Back inside the house, Gein is leaning against the wall in the hallway when Enishi walks past. Though his face is hidden, as always, by his mask, his attitude seems somehow insolent.

Gein: 'There is no need to tell you.' It's certainly not something to be blabbering to other people about.

Enishi: *glowering at him* ... what.

Gein: *chuckling* No, nothing... Because of that reason, I had the chance to test my impeccable skills. That aside, I intend to leave ahead of you on the next communications ship. *turning to leave* Because I have something very, very important to attend to.

Enishi: Hn...

He pushes up his glasses and stares after the retreating Gein.

Enishi: (... There is no use for him now that Jinchuu is over. Perhaps I should finish him off before he betrays me...)

Meanwhile, back at Kamiya Doujou...

Misao: *lifting her tobikunai as if preparing for battle* Hooooooooooo

With maniacal glee, she sets about destroying the plaque on the death shrine in Kaoru's room.

Misao: HATAA!!

Yahiko sits at the table nearby, munching his rice, while she happily kicks over the entire shrine, sending objects flying everywhere.

Misao: KAORU SAN IS ALIVE--!! THERE'S NO USE NO USE NO USE FOR THIS SORT OF THING ANY MORE!!

Words behind Misao: "Weird Bird Kick of Joy!" ^_^;

Yahiko: You clean everything up after you're done.

Holding a mug of tea, Megumi closes her eyes and sighs quietly.

Yahiko: *turning to her* Hey. Don't get all hung up about it. Even the best doctor in the world wouldn't have known something like that. *munching rice* That sort of thing that is completely beyond common sense, and if you had to assign it to someone, it would have to be under the category of things Aoshi and his bunch are responsible for.

Megumi smiles a little.

Megumi: Fu fu. Thanks. I'm not really depressed. Actually, I'm happy. Because if he knows that that girl is alive, Ken-san will cheer up...

Misao: *wildly enthused* Yeah! So hurry up! We have to go tell Himura as soon as possible!

From outside the room, a voice interrupts her.

Aoshi: Stop. It's too soon.

He stands, as usual, with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, looking bored.

Misao and Megumi: Huh?

Aoshi: Even though Kamiya Kaoru is alive, it doesn't change the fact that, after Yukishiro Tomoe, Battousai once again failed to protect the one person he loves the most. It is true that if he knows Kamiya Kaoru is alive, he will launch into action. I suppose that he would fight madly, to the point of death, defeat Yukishiro Enishi, and save Kamiya Kaoru. But...... That would be the end.

An image of Kenshin walking into darkness, his clothing still tattered.

Aoshi: He would most likely never again return to Kamiya Doujou, and would wander once more. Probably, he would live out the rest of his life without close ties to anyone, the lonely journey itself his final resting place ---...

Misao, Megumi, and Yahiko listen wide-eyed.

Aoshi: Sitting down or with his feet moving, that is the only difference. The inside would be just the same as how he is now. In the end...... The only way is for him to find his own 'Answer' himself. The 'Answer of how he can atone for his crimes as a Hitokiri' that he has been searching for from the bottom of his heart these fifteen years... If he does not find it this time, no soul will dwell in his body ever again.

In Rakuninmura, the Old Fool has risen from his seat near Kenshin and begun to do what appear to be calisthenics. ^_^; He pauses and looks down at Kenshin with concern in his eyes.

Aoshi: *opening his eyes* It's all right if someone pushes him gently in the back to help him along. But.

Kenshin sits, still motionless, his head bowed, his face in shadow.

Aoshi: It will have to be he himself who finds the 'Answer' and gets himself back onto his feet ---

Misao, Yahiko, and Megumi have come outside to stand with Aoshi.

Megumi: *worriedly* But then......

Yahiko holds up a hand to stop her.

Yahiko: Wait, Megumi. *smiling* It's like Aoshi says. We have to go by 'someone experienced' who has gotten back onto his feet before.

Aoshi closes his eyes and looks slightly put upon.

Yahiko: Regardless. What we have to do now is to make it so that once Kenshin gets back up on his own, he can launch into action immediately. We have to locate where Kaoru is as soon as possible!

Aoshi: Yes... We don't have any leads, but there is someone who will definitely appear in Tokyo. First, we'll have to set a trap for that guy.

Yahiko: It's all well and good to set a trap, but if we do nothing but that, who knows how long it will take.

He punches his hand with his other fist, firmly resolved.

Yahiko: If you're talking about leads, there's a place that has them. First of all, let's try there!

Misao: 'A place that has them'...

Megumi: *sweatdrop* You don't mean...

In the background, Saitou Hajime stands smoking in the police station, his brow slightly furrowed.

Yahiko: *grinning* YEP! Although that guy's going to be a real pain to deal with!!

*End Act*