How odd that he would smile at this point, and yet it was obviously a sad smile. There was a ghost of memory fleeting in his eyes as he realized he probably seemed so much an honorable samurai to her. Yet Kenshin knew the truth. He yearned to carry the burden of the world on his shoulders, the burden of honor, but nothing he could do now would ever fully pay the debt he'd incurred from all the lives lost at his hand.
"Sayuri-dono is too kind again to this one," Kenshin finally replied softly. "I was not samurai. I was not honorable. I was hitokiri, and I am well aware of how dishonorable men fight. I will not stand and let this continue. Whether he tires of it or not, I will not give him the choice."