RK/PMK: Shadows, Chapter 20
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Author's Notes for this chapter: I count two more, maybe three chapters (because it depends on the next chapter) before I'm done with the story. As for this one, to keep it relatively grounded in the reality and tone of the overall series, there had to be severe consequences for what Kenshin and Okita did to defeat the last of the practitioners. We saw some of that consequence play out in Remnants, but because both of them were fresh out of about a year (in the case of Kenshin) or more of rest, they had the stamina and strength to recover quickly. Since Shadows takes place at minimum 2-3 months after Remnants, their time to recover had not been that long for either of them.
Megumi had warned Kenshin in the manga series and Kenshin was already well aware of his own limitations going into the Jinchuu Arc - and as a result, we saw what he had to do to conserve his strength and what happened to him afterwards. I wanted this particular story to show a more brutal consequence to the physical limitations that both Kenshin and Okita had, and thus the results at the end of Chapter 20. Their minds and their hearts overrode what their own bodies told them they could do in a fight, but if they had it their way, they would have probably kept on fighting.
I am never fond of hurting characters for the sake of the story, plot, or just because. However, for the grounded reality in which I wrote the entire Legends of the Revolution series, there had to be consequences to actions, no matter if they were good or bad.
Author's Notes for this chapter: I count two more, maybe three chapters (because it depends on the next chapter) before I'm done with the story. As for this one, to keep it relatively grounded in the reality and tone of the overall series, there had to be severe consequences for what Kenshin and Okita did to defeat the last of the practitioners. We saw some of that consequence play out in Remnants, but because both of them were fresh out of about a year (in the case of Kenshin) or more of rest, they had the stamina and strength to recover quickly. Since Shadows takes place at minimum 2-3 months after Remnants, their time to recover had not been that long for either of them.
Megumi had warned Kenshin in the manga series and Kenshin was already well aware of his own limitations going into the Jinchuu Arc - and as a result, we saw what he had to do to conserve his strength and what happened to him afterwards. I wanted this particular story to show a more brutal consequence to the physical limitations that both Kenshin and Okita had, and thus the results at the end of Chapter 20. Their minds and their hearts overrode what their own bodies told them they could do in a fight, but if they had it their way, they would have probably kept on fighting.
I am never fond of hurting characters for the sake of the story, plot, or just because. However, for the grounded reality in which I wrote the entire Legends of the Revolution series, there had to be consequences to actions, no matter if they were good or bad.