DISCLAIMER: Rurouni Kenshin characters (c) Watsuki Nobuhiro, Shueisha, Sony
Entertainment and whatnots. I am borrowing characters, not making any money
out of this and not worthed suing. I'm a poor student interested in writing
stories to make others happy... so...
Minna - I don't write yaoi fics, so this is strictly a NON-YAOI fic. Yaoi
lovers beware your disappoint, non-yaoi lovers, this is for you. ^_^x Those
who proceed with my warnings, don't say I didn't. ^_^x
Sorry guys, I was in a super hurry trying to finish writing this chapter, so
if everything seems rushed... IT IS! ^^x I HAD TO RUSH! SO this chapter is
HORRIBLE!! And embarassing... I'm so sorry, hope you all don't mind.
Lady rain, I hear you at my window
Lady rain, I need you softly falling on my face
Why did the sunshine come and take you away?
With you again my Lady rain...
~ Lady Rain by ???
Chronicles of a Rurouni
Part Five: My tears and rain are one...
"Murasaki?"
"Someone... I met during my initial stages of journeying."
Kenshin observed Soujirou carefully, under the soft light of the
lamp gently nudging their prescence. His head was bowed, but Soujirou was
hurt in emotion, this he could sense and empathize with. Soujirou's hands on
the floorboards started to tremble, balled up in fists. Kenshin decided to
let silence do the judgment, as Soujirou finally began to open up about the
mysterious new enemy, his persistence... and his hatred for Soujirou...
Soujirou stepped into the town, a little bleary eyed from last
night's sleep under the local town bridge. Boy was he sleepy... he hadn't
felt like that in seriously... one week was that? So today had to be a
special day...
... It was special all right. Soujirou was out of money again.
*Well, I guess it's wild fruits and berries today, as usual...* The
boy sighed, stumbling over a little at a rock piece in front of him. Bright
sun, nice wind, happy people... such a lovely, ordinary day...
Ordinary?
A scream was heard. Soujirou had no time to do anything else but
turn around and get knocked on the forehead by a food basket.
"Araaaaaaaaaaa???"
"HELP MEEEEEE!"
A young girl came dashing out from the dust created from a mob of
running people, grabbing onto Soujirou's gi before he could figure out what
was going on. She clung on and refused to let go while the confused rurouni
tried to grasp hold of the situation.
He didn't have to wait for long.
Two men came running down in chase of the girl, shouting and yelling
and hurling all the abuses they could think of in the world, holding knives
in their hands as well. The girl dug herself deeper into Soujirou's back,
while the young boy held out both hands to try pacifying the incoming men.
"Sirs! Sirs! I'm sure matters can be settled in a more dignified
matter..."
Minna, we pause for a moment to recollect this scene in RK manga 1,
Bonus Story. Do we all recall, minna? YES WE DO! ^_^x
"They're bandits! Perverts! Disgusting excuses for men in the
society! They won't talk 'dignified' with you!" Came the lady from behind
Soujirou.
"Oh really?" Soujirou scratched his head in sheepishness. "Oh well,
I don't want to hurt anyone today, so..."
Tenken Seta Soujirou takes off in top speed in the other direction
with the lady in his hands! And, as the two ruffian's jaws detached
themselves from the upper mouth to the floor, Soujirou had completely
disappeared in a puff of smoke, with nothing but a whiff of wind left behind
to indicate his previous presence...
One of the men snarled. "Why does it always happen everytime we try
to get that girl?"
The other one scoffed. "You'd think all the rurounis in Japan had
something against us."
Seeing that their staying would be futile, the two men with knives
disappeared down the other direction, still a little numb from what had
happened just in front of them.
Soujirou stopped, then looked back over his shoulder to check. He
had gone quite a distance so he doubted whether those undignified gentlemen
would be able to catch up. Satisfied that they wouldn't, he turned his
attention to the girl.
"Hello! I'm..."
SLAP!
"How long do you think you're going to hold me? Let me go!" The
girl, fuming mad retracted her hand and retorted angrily. Soujirou recovered
from the initial stinging shock of a slap straight to the cheek and briefly
mumbled something which sounded distinctly like an apology had his cheek
hadn't been so flattened, and put the girl in his arms down onto the ground.
"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." Soujirou plainly
stated with his trademark smile while the girl dusted the dust off her
kimono with a face. "I was only passing by and you asked for help, so I
thought I might just..."
"Yes yes, I know." The girl sighed, having being satisfied with her
outlook now. She turned to Soujirou and squinted her eyes, suddenly, then
began a close-up check from top to toe, making Soujirou grow increasingly
uncomfortable.
He cleared his throat. "If there is nothing else now..." He made an
action, as if to move away. "... I think..."
"Wait." The girl caught his hand, then looked at him straight in the
eye. She broke into a sweet smile after a few moments' eye contact. "My name
is Raikouji Chitsuru (please refer to RK manga 1 Bonus story). If I'm not
mistaken, you must be a rurouni too."
*Too?* Wondered Soujirou, but nonetheless made the acquaintance.
"I'm... a rurouni, yes... my name... if you're really so interested, is Seta
Soujirou." He beamed.
She beamed too, then began to sock him. "Well thanks for saving my
life again, you rurounis. It must be a job or something. Anyway, knowing you
guys, I suppose you'd like to come over to my house for dinner or
something..."
Soujirou started to hold his two hands up, at the same time
wondering what she meant by 'you rurounis' and 'saving my life again'. "No,
I... I don't suppose..." He tried unsuccessfully to call out to Chitsuru,
ten metres away from where he anchored. She turned back, however, and
snapped at him.
"Don't just stand there! MOVE IT! You're coming to my house and
that's final!"
Sighing, Soujirou slowly followed the lead of the young girl,
twirling her purse all around on her finger and whistling happily, and
making her way cheerfully to the place she called...
... home. Soujirou had no idea a young girl like her would be living
in a mansionette like this. His absolutely awed expressions was quickly
noticed by Chitsuru, who laughed and joked about the other rurouni who made
the same face, then ushered Soujirou in.
The gardens were wide, vast and well kept. Neatly trimmed bonzais
stood all over and little sakura petals were floating all over the pathway,
brightening up the already very beautiful looking place. Unfortunately, in
the gardens, no matter how bright and cheerful it looked, there was an
absolute feel of hollowness, of emptiness, of void and of... nothingness.
The many sounds ringing in Soujirou's ears did not do anything to ease this
first impression impressed upon his brains, as he turned from left to right
to examine the terrain and rank the landscape.
He was, naturally surprised that they stopped in front of an
unmarked tombstone, very well masked and blended into the surroundings, to
pay their respects. Soujirou bowed as Chitsuru knelt, very much wondering
what was going on.
When Chitsuru stood up, he got the picture.
"My grandfather." A sad smile. "Quite a wealthy merchant, and very
protective of me..." She gently took a strand of hair and twirled it around
in her fingers, recollecting the beautiful memories, perhaps.
Soujirou smiled along with her just as tears began to well up in her
eyes. One could see that she loved her grandfather very much, if even seeing
his grave could summon such emotions. At a loss of what to do, Soujirou
stayed his ground and tried to keep his face from showing anything other
than absolute empathy. He hadn't needed to try hard, though.
Just like this girl, he lost his family a long long time ago in the
past, while no one was willing to therefore look after him as their own,
there were some people who was, so to say, 'kind' enough to let him into
*their* houses and have a share of the work there. To these people he felt
grateful, and they may not have realized it through their thick skulls, but
Soujirou wanted nothing from them. Nothing except the bare necessities...
He hadn't realized that Chitsuru was coming close to grabbing him
and crying it out in his gi, but when he did, she was already there, sobbing
gently.
He hesitated, then relaxed, and examined the surroundings. The house
was definitely empty, with a few birds singing it's empty tune to it. The
air felt hoarse with action, and the surroundings... just brimming with
emotions. For someone so young to lose all kith and kin and inherit such a
huge, but emotionally void house...
It was really no wonder that she should fall into the arms of
someone at the mere mention of a memory. She was too frail... too protected,
but somewhere too, she must have been strong to have actually stayed on for
so long. Soujirou smiled again, sadly.
If she needed to cry, well...
"Chitsuru?"
There was a rustle in the nearby bush, and a boy stepped out from
his previous hiding place. He and Chitsuru looked like they were on the same
age, or at least somewhere there. Soujirou smiled at the boy, who smiled
back almost hesitantly, then shifted glances to Chitsuru, still in
Soujirou's arms.
Slowly, the girl lifted her head to stare at the newcomer. Very
quickly, using the sleeves of her coat her tears were wiped dry and she went
forward to welcome the new one with a hug.
*Wow, this girl is generous with hugs...* Soujirou mused.
"Welcome back." Chitsuru started. "Where have you been all this
time? This house felt so... empty, when you weren't around." She almost
croaked, due to the added effects of tears being stuck down her throat.
"I was gathering herbs, Chitsuru." The boy cheerily replied,
reassuring the girl that he had gone nowhere dangerous. "You know, I needed
to find an antidote for that new stuff I've cooked up." His eyes gleamed
slightly, then went back to the monotonous tone it had when he first
appeared. Then, tone turning slightly more serious, he addressed the girl,
now all smiles. "What were you crying about? Who made you sad again?" He
asked, darting a slight glance over in Soujirou's direction. "Him?"
"Him?" Chitsuru repeated, looking in where the boy was looking. She
broke into a big, beautiful smile. "Oh him! No, not him, if anything, YOU
were the one to have made me dead worried all this while enough to start
crying in the arms of a total stranger." She laughed bitterly. "But he's not
just a total stranger, Murasaki. Remember those rurounis I told you about?"
Murasaki scratched his head for a while, then the light bulb lit up.
"Oh! You mean those warriors who wandered the lands without an owner to give
alliance to and end up helping those in need?"
Chitsuru was embarassed when she saw the absolutely devastated
expression on Soujirou. Indefinitely, her teachings of what a 'rurouni'
meant was pretty much contrary in many aspects...
Soujirou eyed Murasaki, Murasaki eyed Soujirou...
... and they broke into loud laughter.
"Good day, my name is Seta Soujirou."
"I'm Raikouji Murasaki. Raikouji-ojisan adopted me a few weeks
before he... died." His expressions turned sour, then regained that same
line of tone it had when he smiled. "He had always been good to me, I feel
so bad that he had to die before I proved my gratitude..."
"There, there, Murasaki..." Chitsuru chided slightly. "... do you
want to trouble someone else with our family affairs?"
Soujirou panicked. Actually, if Murasaki didn't mind, he himself
wouldn't have minded learning about another person's family affairs. Call
him a busybody or whatever, but it always felt so good that someone else
trusted him enough to reveal their house secrets. He didn't want anyone to
think he was some really careless rurouni who had no snort as to how one
led their family lives... he really had feelings for all...
"But Soujirou wouldn't mind, eh Chitsuru?" The boy pulled Chitsuru
by the ear, letting her gain a red face. "Would you, Soujirou?" Murasaki
turned to face the also red-in-the-face rurouni, giving an innocent smile.
A pause.
"Of course, I don't mind." Soujirou beamed. Chitsuru followed him in
beaming, followed by Murasaki.
For someone who didn't have a family affair to begin with, of course
Soujirou would be glad to share with someone's else's.
With a hand signal, he felt himself being invited into a house. With
smiles and acceptance. Soujirou smiled too, as he always did, and accepted
the invitation.
Perhaps, this journey would not be so bad after all.
The days passed joyously. Soujirou had intended to leave, but he
was just too attached to many things to. That was forgivable for a newbie
Rurouni, so to say. It was quite hard adapting to the fact that he had to
make no friends, no acquaintances, no family...
... and for someone like Soujirou, someone with that internal yearn
to belong, it was a tempting prospect that someone could understand and let
him in onto their houses...
Soujirou had collapsed into a messy heap in Kenshin's room, having
felt tired to kneel and talk at the same time. He paused just as Kenshin
lifted his head to place it gently on his knelt thighs. Looking up with
questioning eyes, he only found the ones of Kenshin smiling into his.
"It's not nice to just collapse on the floor like that, especially
in cold weather..."
Averting his eyes, Soujirou slightly smiled.
It all happened in one day. One short day...
On that day, everybody's mind was filled with their own thoughts. It
seemed that Soujirou had been apparently paralyzed so much so that he had
been unable to move out of his futon, where he laid for almost through the
entire morning. Chitsuru had made a visit to his room and was shocked at how
absolutely pale he looked.
"Oh dear, Murasaki must have fed you one of his poisons again. I
don't know why in the world did you agree to being his guinea pig in the
first place..." Chitsuru blushed terribly, pouring a cup of tea for him.
Soujirou shook his head slightly to indicate the negativity of that thought.
"Please don't worry about me..." Soujirou tried to smile, grappling
with his paralyzation at the same time. He could move if he wanted to, but
he wanted to be a little more lazy this morning. "And as for this... well...
ugh, never mind." Soujirou innocently brushed the subject off.
Chitsuru pouted, handing the cup over. "If there's anything in the
world that could scare this boy, I'd try it." She announced.
"He doesn't seem to be afraid of anything. And oh yes, he was
playing around with the kitchen knives yesterday, wanted me to teach him
how to use it." Soujirou chuckled. Such a naive boy, one used a knife to
chop, and there wasn't any standard way of chopping things up.
Chitsuru sighed. "The next thing you know, he'll want to dig a
tunnel! He never does seem to run out of curiousity in dangerous materials
does he?"
"Nope." Was the agreement.
"Anyway," Chitsuru took the finished cup and got up. "if you need
anything, just shout, I'll be at the backyard." She exited the room, sliding
the door shut behind her, gently and easily. Soujirou thought for a while,
then sat up, still a little paralyzed.
*"Will you ever leave one day?" Murasaki stopped his digging and
looked up at the young rurouni still hard at work beside him. Caught totally
off guard, Soujirou stopped abruptly in the digging too and looked straight
into the eyes of the younger boy.
"Leave?" Soujirou said, then paused. Yes, he was true, he had indeed
thought of leaving them, one of these fine days, since he never thought he
was welcomed anyway. Then again, they had treated him with mighty fine ways
and to be leave would be totally unjustified...
... but did they want him? He felt very drawn towards them, towards
they love they displayed... was he accepted in their hearts?
"Yes." Murasaki proceeded, reinitiating his digging all of a sudden.
"Leave."
Soujirou was speechless, and quietly dug beside the younger boy. Did
they want him to leave? That was expected... as a free-loader and all...
"I meant, if it was possible, could you... stay?" Murasaki said,
face hidden by the wave of hair. His digging went on as usual, no stopping,
just at the usual pace.
Soujirou was electrified with a rush of emotions all of a sudden.
"I know... rurounis are wanderers of the land... and they don't have
a permanent anchoring point... but..." Murasaki stopped all actions again,
looking up at Soujirou, already paralyzed beyond any further movement. "BUT!
Soujirou-san... won't you stay? I know you make Chitsuru very happy, and if
she's happy, I'm happy, and if we're happy together, like a family..."
The rest of Murasaki's discourse was tuned out totally. Soujirou's
eyes glazed over, and his joy hit the roof, burst the vessels, warmed his
blood, whatever. He rooted himself to the ground, paralyzed beyond belief.
Finally, acceptance without obligation?
Murasaki had stopped, he realized, and was looking at him weirdly.
"Eh, Soujirou?"
"Ah? AHAHAAAAHAHAAAH! Yes? You called?" The young rurouni scratched
his head and exploded into uncoordinated laughter. Suddenly realizing how
very stupid he must have looked, the young rurouni melted into a small,
sincere smile, eyes bright and polished.
Murasaki smiled back.
Acceptance...
... Soujirou...
... Family...
"So what was this plant you were going to plant again? I hope you
didn't make me dig for all this time just so that you can grow a few...
sunflowers..."
"It's called aloe vera. Very useful against this kind of poison,
come, let me smear some on you..."
"Ugh, no, no no, Murasaki..."
That night, Soujirou just froze in bed. He was paralyzed, so to
speak, with joy. *He* made Chitsuru happy? They wanted *him* to stay? Could
they have made a mistake? Could *he* have heard wrongly...?
Whatever it was, he fell asleep eventually with the sweet smile he
always had...*
He stretched, knowing full well it was useless to laze around any
longer if he wanted any productive done. It must have been weeks since he
stayed with the Raikoujis, yet today felt fresh. It felt like a first day
for him, for everything... anything...
He happily strode out of the room into the back yard, and after
informing Chitsuru he would be leaving the house to find Murasaki, he
exited.
Murasaki frowned and tested the fish, poking it cautiously. Hmmm...
not bad, a little too fleshy, but for three people, it should be enough...
He smiled at the shopkeeper, who took it as a sign of acceptance and wrapped
the fish up promptly for him. They had known each other for ages now, so it
wouldn't really hurt even if the wrong language was used to convey the
message.
"Well, Murasaki." The shopkeeper, plump and bouncey started the
moment the little boy finished paying up his fish. "Haven't seen you buying
my stuff in quite some time have we?"
Murasaki replied by beaming again. He was all smiles that morning,
for his plant tricks had been working all very well... all thanks to
Soujirou for being gracious enough to "volunteer" himself for trying out the
gadgets. Of course, this was purely Murasaki's own maneuvering. Soujirou
probably hadn't realized that Murasaki had been using his drinks, his
food...
... but that wasn't why he had asked Soujirou to stay. He really
liked the guy, and he could see that Chitsuru liked him too.
Except in Chitsuru's case, her 'like' was probably turning into
something deeper...
He chuckled, then replied, "Erm, we have a newcomer bunking in on
our house lately. I think it might be permanent bunking in, so we might as
well stock up now, right?" Murasaki joked, placing the wrapped up fish
gently into his basket. The shopkeeper eyed him with his beady eyes for a
few moments, making Murasaki flinch under his scrutiny. Finally, the plump
man bent downwards from his taller position to whisper softly to Murasaki.
"Never trust all those wanderers, Murasaki." He hissed. "They're
always only thinking for themselves. One day, they will leave, and leave
behind that feeling of betrayal..."
Murasaki started. Soujirou? Give a feeling of betrayal? He looked up
and gave the shopkeeper a You-must-be-kidding look, then paused. "How did
you... know?" He asked warily, deciding that it was not a good sign for
anyone to be in knowledge of this if he himself had not divulged the
information to anyone else.
The shopkeeper shrugged, then proceeded to handle the other
customers who had customarily clustered around to get a hold of the freshest
materials and greatest stuff. Murasaki retreated. It was getting so that he
couldn't trust a single person in this entire town.
Except Chitsuru, of course, and that smiley Soujirou, probably.
Smiling as he had saw Soujirou always done, he began on his way
home, without thinking nor observing much of the environment around him. One
slight detail, however, did make him stop and look up.
The familiar figure of the blue drabbed, smiley faced rurouni was
seen heading towards his direction, calmly spacing out his steps,
expressions hidden by the shadows of the sun.
Murasaki stopped to await Soujirou's arrival. The young rurouni soon
reached him, and he too, stopped at where he was. He smiled even wider when
he saw the little boy, who was a little confused as to his presence in the
market, when Chitsuru had been telling Murasaki not to disturb 'our sick
rurouni', who apparently was quite very 'sick', this morning.
"Good day." Soujirou put up a hand in greeting.
"Good day." Murasaki replied, beaming at the sight of Soujirou doing
the same. Soujirou then turned the direction he had previously been heading
towards to and invited Murasaki to walk together with him, home, presumably.
They thread together in silence for a little while, letting the
noises of the surrounding markets, of people bargaining, of all the buying
and selling, soak into their brains. Soujirou was also still unsure as to
why the sudden departure from... home... to find Murasaki. But he realized
that there was this little lump in his heart he just had to clear by saying
this before it grew into a communication constipation whenever the subject
was brought up. He cleared his throat.
And decided to jump straight into the point. "Remember what you said
yesterday?"
Murasaki looked up. What he said yesterday...
"Yup." Soujirou smiled again, looking straight into the path ahead,
as if he could read Murasaki's thoughts. "You know, all these days with you
guys, I really think... this is the sort of..."
Dare he say it?
"... family, anybody would want to belong to. I am one who had
always been without this, I... never had any real experience until... you
guys, of course."
He took in a huge breath, while Murasaki looked on in anticipation.
"I was thinking, just... thinking, that... perhaps if... if you guys don't
mind me at all..."
Closing his eyes, he drew another draught of air.
"... could I... stay? For... a very long time... ?"
This time it was our Murasaki's turn to be paralyzed with shock. But
his recovery stamina was suprisingly much more faster than our Soujirou's.
In time, he beamed, entire outlook enhance-softened by the probing, gentle
rays of the sun shining onto his face. He nodded, slightly at first, then
started to really, really nod. Seeing that he made Soujirou smile the eyes
out of his sockets, he proceeded to do the same.
The sweet, serene scene only to be disturbed, when Soujirou, or it
should be the other men, accidently bumped into Soujirou, causing the
lighter one to topple over, and that is of course, Soujirou. The young one
was about to fall over when Murasaki's arms shot out in assistance, grabbing
him before he hit the ground. Soujirou heaved quickly, and helped himself
stand up straight to apologize if need be.
He found himself staring at a huge, burly man, another of those
egoistic hero-wannabe, and his two lapdogs tagging loyally behind him, one
on each side. The man was looking at him with a look which conferred the
meaning of 'apologize!', which Soujirou did, bowing deeply.
"Please excuse me... I didn't mean to bump into you..." He said,
smiling even when looking on the ground. Beside him, he could feel Murasaki
tense up with agitation, which was totally unexpected. He lifted his head
slightly to inquire of the situation when a sickening sound was produced...
... the sound of a bamboo sword making contact with a person's
flesh...
Soujirou gapped, and this time really collapsed to the floor before
Murasaki could help him. Somebody could be heard chortling away, laughing
sadistically for all it was worthed and the whole world seemed to have
gathered to watch the ongoings of this sudden commotion. He cringed, and
tried to hold his numbed left shoulder while sitting up. With much
difficulty, he stared face to face at the person who attacked.
It was that big, bulky man indeed, proudly hoisting the bamboo sword
with a delirious smirk in check. "Ho ho. You dare to even bump into me? Me?
The leader of all that is bad in this town?" He gave a small laugh, then
regained his small speech. "You had it coming to you!" He broke off,
laughing hysterically. Beside him, his two lapdogs followed in every pitch
and rythme of the same action.
Murasaki ran up to bravely face them. "Don't push it too hard, you
and I both know who was at fault." His tone was challenging. "You bumped
into Soujirou, you still dare hit him?" He growled. "You're still the bad
guy you were, aren't you?"
"Oh looky looky." Big burly man's chin twitched. "If it isn't
Raikouji again." He stopped, and pushed Murasaki aside to examine Soujirou
behind him. "If this fellow is involved with the Raikoujis... hahahah! Then
it well serves him right to get beaten up!"
"NONSENSE!" Murasaki screamed, and tried to throw himself at Big
Burly man. But however, big burly man was, as said, Big Burly Man, so the
teenaged Murasaki could hardly touch him without being flung 3 metres back
into the sand roads, writhing in pain.
Biggy chuckled again, then stopped when Soujirou suddenly stood up
from his previous knelt position. His hand was away from his injured
shoulder blade now and his expressions were hidden conveniently under the
wave of hair.
Impressed, Biggy commented, "Never seen someone stood up so quickly
after one of my blows. Just who in town are you?"
"You don't need to know who I am."
Soujirou's tone irked the egoistic fool.
"'Coz you're about to be put out of commission."
The boy looked up, a deadly glare directed in way of Biggy. He was
gone in an instance, and so was the bamboo sword he previously held proud
sway over. Alarmed, he turned to his back, where Soujirou had already
arrived, and dropped his jaw when he saw his sword in Soujirou's hands.
"This was a commotion uncalled for. You should've just been glad to
accept my apology and be done with. But you attacked Murasaki. You're not
going to get away for doing that."
Murasaki, with increasing effort, struck his chords and clambered
onto his two feet to see the ongoing situation. It was hard accepting this
defeat now, but he swore, he swore those idiots would pay for this, and the
earlier grave sins they had committed on the Raikouji family...
He started. From the look on Soujirou's face, a duel seemed likely,
and from what he knew about Soujirou, he couldn't fight to save his life...
He was just a rurouni...
"Now you will know what it's like to be hit with the blade of your
own sword..." He continued to handle the bamboo sword into the imaginary
sheath of his fingers made, crouching in displeasement.
In the next instance, everything was over. All one could see was a
big, blue blur (yes, that's Soujirou for you guys), then Soujirou on the
spot with a finishing stance as well as three flying figures, and a broken
bamboo sword shattered to bits by pure energy transferred.
Soujirou stood up, oblivious to all the awe-struck onlookers who had
gathered around, examined the broken bamboo sword then flung it away in the
direction of the Baddies as soon as they landed. Changing his priorities, he
ran up to where Murasaki was, helping the numbed boy up this time with a
warm, smiling face.
"Are you okay?"
Blinking, Murasaki could only nod, very slightly, having witnessed
a feat of amazing skills.
"Let's go home, shall we?"
Murasaki stopped being dazed and understood the situation. Yes, he
need not feel bad about anything now, for suddenly there was a feeling of
security. Nothing could possibly harm him now could he? He nodded happily in
response to Soujirou's question, deciding that it would be all right to tell
him about all those problems...
Night fell. Very quickly indeed for Soujirou, who on the way home
with Murasaki heard some interesting facts about the big burlies earlier in
the commonplace.
Apparently, they hated the Raikoujis.
As for why, their reason was because they hated the way the
Raikoujis got rich by doing business with the despised foreigners. They were
so sure that the foreigners were up to no good, and thus this status
increasing to that of the Raikouji family who was in constant contact with
them.
But their hatred was fabricated. This, Murasaki was sure about. They
were jealous, most certainly, of the Raikouji's wealth. For their wealth
were gotten through decent ways, trading with the foreigners was no crime!
They wanted the riches for themselves, they always wanted everything! So
they figured out the next most simplest way to get rich was to take over
another man's riches.
And to do that, they would want to kill Mr. Raikouji, Chitsuru and
then later Murasaki's grandfather... and they did. They killed him, they did
that just when Murasaki's respect for the sturdy old man was at it's peak,
they finished him off just when the Raikouji family was growing to be a warm
little cozy place to live in...
*So he wanted revenge.* Soujirou thought, gently washing his face
with his towel. *He wanted to finish these greedy people off so that they
would never bother him again...*
Carefully, Soujirou folded the towel and hung it upon a wooden rack.
Murasaki strictly warned him that his mission would be tonight, and Soujirou
should not follow, for it would be his own revenge. Even more strictly,
Soujirou was forbade to tell Chitsuru about what he was going to do. This,
Soujirou was not sure how long he could do for Murasaki. He knew that
Murasaki had a wrong viewpoint already, for revenge was wrong in itself and
would draw to nothing eventually, yet he did not have the heart to stop him
from going. Why? Soujirou mentally kicked himself. Why?
But the thing was, from Murasaki's account, all those big burlies
could manage to get from assassinating Mr. Raikouji was the big trading boat
he always used for the very purpose it's name deigned. Surely these people
would not be satisfied with just that, and would likely strike again...
Soujirou dumped himself heavily onto the futon, thinking and
thinking, hard in thought. Murasaki should have gone by now, but Soujirou
had curbed his urge at having wanting to follow him. What a mess. What a big
big mess...
"Soujirou?"
The so-said Soujirou snapped his head up to greet the incoming new
one, and smiled when he saw who it was. "Good night, Chitsuru. Is there
anything up?"
Her worried clad figure drew near, eyes radiating with darkness and
fear. She knelt down in front of Soujirou, and pushed a piece of paper into
his hands.
"Murasaki left me this, do you have any idea what it means?"
Murasaki? Soujirou wondered as he squinted to catch the print on the
letter. Carefully, he read the words out:
Hi sis,
Well, I'll be going for a walk by the sea later tonight, so don't
worry about me too much. I'm sure that with Soujirou by your side, you'll be
in safe hands, right? Oh well, see you later then!
Murasaki yori
Re-reading the letter, Soujirou heaved a sigh of relief. "Well,
there's nothing wrong with this letter... seems that he just wants to go for
a walk by the sea..."
"Soujirou..." Chitsuru chided. "Are you nuts or something? Who goes
for a walk by the sea at this hour in the night?" She bowed her head to
render her expressions unreadable. "Besides, you know Murasaki. He doesn't
like being alone... and it's already so late... do you think he's really
okay?"
Soujirou's heart ached at having to probably lie about this again.
He cursed himself inwardly and wished he knew more details as to this
intricate web of relationships before offering more assistance, which he
really wanted to, and they desperately needed someone to.
"He will be all right... maybe he's just... depressed." Soujirou
smiled. "He told me about Mr. Raikouji this morning." He slowly phrased his
sentences in the most tactful method he could think of.
"He did?" Chitsuru was amazed. "I... he... he never wanted to talk
to anybody about it!" She raised her eyebrows in amazement. Murasaki was
actually opening up! How nice of him... "Grandfather... was a bitter memory
to all of us." Chitsuru sniffed. "Murasaki hated those who set him up and
drove him to his death... he had always been talking about revenge on them."
The word 'revenge' pricked Soujirou's conscience like a thick swab
of cactus spike. He smiled gently in the moonlight, remembering
Shishio-san's conviction to himself, that he had wanted to avenge his own
charred flesh from the Meiji government, the one who caused him to be so. In
the end it all drew to a blank, those who looked for revenge came to be
finally working for themselves and their own benefit in the end, for from
the start they thought of no one but themselves. Shishio-san was so, and so
was anyone else who wanted 'revenge'...
Suddenly, Chitsuru tensed, large eyes gleaming in the darkness. She
grabbed the letter back and re-read it intensely, finally crumpling the
thing then violently standing up.
Alarmed, Soujirou inquired of the matter. He was ignored, though he
knew it wasn't deliberate, he couldn't help but feel a little hurt at this.
Getting up hastily, he was hardly able to keep up with Chitsuru's flurried
steps as she went from his room, to Murasaki's, to her own, then out of the
house completely with a slam of the door after throwing on an extra cover.
Gently, the night breeze grazed Soujirou's pretty much confused
face. How often did a boy, then a girl of the same family name ran out into
the middle of the night without a given reason whatsoever just to 'go for a
walk by the beach'?
He brought a finger to his chin then proceeded to absent-mindedly
walk past Murasaki's room. The moonrays shone softly into it, giving it a
most serene look through the slightly ajar sliding doors. Soujirou paused
considerably, then with one hand threw open the entire door.
In full view of the scene, Soujirou was not sure whether the word
'serene' could be attributed to an adjective of this room.
Drawers were out and everything that had been kept was dragged out.
It looked as if the room had messily been ransacked, but definitely by
somebody who knew what was going on in the room itself. Drawers and drawers
of where Murasaki last placed his experimental plants and 'toys' were pulled
out and emptied of it's contents. Some of it still lay on the floor as
Soujirou, in a wrecked state of nerves as it was, ploughed through the messy
floor in wonderment.
Who would want to take Murasaki's things and... why?
Stopping in front of an object, he picked it up and examined it with
great interest. Yes, another of Murasaki's 'toys', so to say. This one was
the one which had a roller attached to a certain object. Murasaki had taught
him how to play with it and yes, it did quell his bored nerves for a while.
Unfortunately, from what Soujirou knew this toy was pretty much treasured by
Murasaki. He had been told that it was the first gift he ever made for his
grandfather, Mr. Raikouji who died before he could receive it...
... in fact, he loved it so much, he told Soujirou that if he died,
he wanted to bring it into the grave with him...
The toy, the ransacked room... the letter... Murasaki had been
looking for something in his own room. Something so long and forgotten that
he had to ransack it to be able to sift it out. It was not by accident that
Soujirou found this toy, for it was sitting comfortably in the middle of a
pretty obvious spot and the letter...
*Tonight, they will pay... I will... extract exact revenge...*
*No...*
The toy in his hands, Soujirou dashed out of the house too in hot
pursuit of the Raikouji family...
... to protect them...
... Murasaki...
*... Chitsuru...*
*... please don't do anything silly... !*
The harbour was deadly hushed when Soujirou finally did manage to
arrive. In fits of breath he examined the surroundings to assess the
situation. The stagnant air showed signs of a fierce storm whipping up, like
the curtain red clouds gathered in clumps right above his heads now...
Frantically, Soujirou started to look around for the ship of where Murasaki
and Chitsuru could be right now. Murasaki was dead-bent on revenge, likely
Chitsuru was dead-bent on stopping him from doing anymore wrong for the
Raikouji family... Soujirou... Soujirou...
Where did he stand admist all these conflicts? He was not family, he
merely lodged. What business was it that he interferred with other people's
family business?
Suddenly feeling very inferior, Soujirou stopped running and looked
down on the ground. His emotions were acting up again, it seems and he would
not be able to analyze the situation as he had always been able to. When it
came to pricky matters of such, he always refused to believe that anybody
would be able to accept him, a humble servant of the land...
He wanted to belong... but so afraid of rejection...
Where, indeed, did he stand here?
There was a whistling sound, then a massive explosion somewhere to
Soujirou's left. This snapped him totally out of wallowing in insightful
self despair, to make him jump right back into reality.
Two lives (or more) were at stake. He could settle his internal
conflicts after this issue!
He ran... and ran... and finally decided that he wasn't running fast
enough, so he pushed and transformed into a whizzing blur on the harbour
grounds, tearing up the ground behind him as he emerged in front of the ship
where the explosion had occurred, sliding to an emergency stop, overspeeding
by five metres.
The ship was like any other ordinary trading ship, except that it
seemed ready to leave the harbour, it's anchor having been lifted to the
bow. Bright sparks flew off parts of it's passenger's cabin room and certain
screams and shouts, curses and voodoo spells were heard, while the ship
cackled and swallowed up more of the wood. Soujirou got to the edge of the
stone steps and couldn't get any further without getting wet, so he stopped
and tried to squint.
A few moments later, a small blob was seen bobbing up and down on
the surface of the waters. Soujirou gapped, decided against shouting out
anybody's name and quickly spotted a small rowboat by the side of the steps.
Quickly unroping it, he clambered in and started rowing towards the blob.
As he got closer and closer, he could recognize the unmistakable
head of Murasaki despite all the wetness, and was overjoyed, warmed with
relief. He rowed closer and called out Murasaki's name, receiving a
welcoming smile and thumbs-up in response.
He helped Murasaki into the boat, careful not to get too near the
big, burning, trading ship. Half of him was overwhelming with gladness, that
Murasaki didn't seem hurt in any way at all, but the other half was full of
worry.
Murasaki was safe, but what about Chitsuru?
The boy however, seemed delirious with joy, choking every now and
then as he let out bits and pieces of laughter.
Unable to contain his curiousity, Soujirou asked.
"Oh, they're a bunch of goons." Murasaki chuckled. "Didn't even know
I was sneaking up behind them and dumping skin poison into their water
supply! You should've seen their face when I threw a piece of sodium into
a barrel of their water..." He chuckled some more, unable to keep the sea
water from entering his mouth anymore, choking.
Sodium, my friends, is a very lethal piece of thingumajig, high in
the chemistry reactivity series. Unless kept secure with oil, one touch with
a single drop of water (less say a lot) explodes the little thing and gives
a person, if not a big shock, a small fire and a lot of soot.
Soujirou smiled nervously, sweatdropping all over the place. He
lifted his eyes to examine the boat, then narrowed it when he heard a woman
scream. "Murasaki." He nudged the laughing boy. "Murasaki!"
"Wha... What?" Murasaki glowered good-naturedly, apparently too
delirious with joy at having revenged against those bad guys. "Their ship
will burn down soon, and they with it." He smiled evilly. "It's their just
deserts. For killing my grandfather."
"Murasaki, Chitsuru went after you."
Silence.
"What?"
"Chitsuru ran after you."
A longer pause.
"WHY???" Murasaki stood up suddenly, violently shaking the mini
rowboat. He was looking pretty intimidating, backed by the piercing rays of
an eerie moonlight and the initial stages of a whipping wind. "YOU TOLD
HER?"
"I didn't!" Soujirou retorted. "Your letter did!"
Murasaki was fuming by now, eyes always darting quickly to the deck
of the trading ship, body actions getting increasingly nervous. He knew it
couldn't have been Soujirou's fault even if he did tell Chitsuru, for
Chitsuru had every right to know about his action, although she would most
naturally went after him to stop him. He cursed, again and again and again,
slamming his fist into his palm. "What's the possibility of her being on the
ship?"
A woman's scream shrilly rang through the air, amid the horde of
footsteps then heard and a mob of voices seemingly in pursuit.
"Very high." Soujirou gravely nodded. Murasaki facefaulted, then
Soujirou decided it was time to act.
He rowed closer to the bigger boat, feeling the sides for anything
to help him climb upwards in. There was nothing, worksmanship had been good
on this boat so much so that not a single creak was big enough for
Soujirou's little finger to lend support for. This time it was *his* turn to
curse, as he finally gave up and took a step back into the boat.
He thought of Chitsuru... Murasaki... Soujirou was useless, he knew
he was... he could never bring them happiness, couldn't even protect the
person he wanted mostly to now... hot tears brimming near the edges of his
eyes, he took his left hand to wipe them away.
Something hard touched his face instead, and when Soujirou brought
it within reasonable viewing range, the idea struck.
Murasaki's toy.
Without second thoughts, he flung the thing upwards to try to hook
onto whatever he could. The toy came back without results. Squinting,
Soujirou took to a second try, and this time hit something. Unexpectedly,
but very fortunately, the string wrapped itself around the railings of the
ship to allow tight control over it. Soujirou pulled it experimentally and
nodded. All was going well now.
He prepared to climb, when Murasaki stopped him.
"I'm coming too."
Soujirou hoped he could muster something near a glare, but it just
couldn't happen when it was someone he didn't feel hate for. He sighed.
"All right, but only after I climb up. This thing can't support two
people."
Soujirou began the heart-wrecking climb, the wind now howling and
the clouds preparing to break into bits and pieces of great rain. Despite
the worsening weather conditions, Soujirou pressed on. If Chitsuru was on
the ship, he knew those baddies wouldn't let her off for anything in the
world. He had a mission when he came, when he promised to stay... he wanted
to protect them all, and now he had to fulfill his word...
With one final burst of strength Soujirou transferred his weight
from the string to the railings of the ship, at the same time breaking the
string and watching the dead piece flutter away into the choppy seas. He bit
back his fear and hauled himself onboard, then signalling to Murasaki to
stay where he was now that the string was gone and there was no other way of
climbing up. He turned around.
The fire had not helped much in lighting up the seriously in need
of lighting deck. In the pitch darkness of the night where nothing provided
real light for sight, Soujirou could not see his own palms outstretched. But
that didn't bother him. The sound were clear enough for him to know where
the chase was on. In fact, the footsteps were fast approaching where he was
as he stood still...
Murasaki, on the other hand, could see everything clearly from where
he was. The moonlight was an aid to him, but alas he, for he did not know
that Soujirou could not see a thing on board. He thought Soujirou was able
to see, able to see everything as clearly as he was now, and mayhaps even
clearer, for Soujirou was on board!
Murasaki's fists tightened as he watched the chasing mob nearing the
stationary Soujirou. *I trust you, Soujirou.* He could feel himself
trembling in fear and utter belief. *You'll save Chitsuru and we'll all be
fine again, wouldn't we?*
He saw Soujirou turn around to face the mob.
Soujirou's head snapped around quickly to face the noise. From the
shouts, it seemed that there was indeed an unwelcomed visitor on the boat,
likely Chitsuru. Likely too, they thought Chitsuru had been the one to have
poisoned them or set the ship on fire... this wasn't their fault, for any
outsider on the boat would be first priority for suspicion...
As his eyes adjusted gradually more and more to the darkness,
Soujirou could now clearly see the silouette of a female shape running
towards him. There was a desperate scream as she dove behind him and the mob
swarmed up towards the two of them. Stepping back, Soujirou pressed Chitsuru
further up the deck to make sure she didn't slip away from his grasp so he
could always keep up with this protection and finally send her safely away
from this boat.
But suddenly, her hands slipped away from his and Soujirou couldn't
feel her presence anymore.
Murasaki heaved a huge sigh of relief. Chitsuru was now behind
Soujirou. Soujirou would protect her, no problem. He looked at Soujirou, who
currently still looked too confused to do anything. Chitsuru had taken two
steps back to try to catch her breath.
*Finish them!* Murasaki calmly, with an evil glint in his eyes,
said. *Like how you did in that guy this morning, finish them all!!*
Soujirou thew his head left to right and back, not feeling Chitsuru
behind him anymore. Where was she? Had she been hit? He had no time to
ponder too many questions, for the swarm of mob in front of him was getting
more and more agressive, demanding more and more blood as the moments went
by. Soujirou stood rooted to the ground. Now what was he going to do?
Suddenly, there was a whizzing in the air. The mob had decided to
attack with their wild accusations of 'you burnt our ship!' and 'you deserve
to die!'. Unsure of what to do, yet sure at the same time where to duck,
instincts just swiftly made Soujirou side-step on the side deck to avoid
getting hit by anything thrown at him. The moment he did, he heard a sound
he knew he would regret forever.
The dagger thrown still hit something. It hit flesh, not his, but
somebody behind him. Chitsuru let out a cry of pain. Stumbling sideways,
paralyzed with pain, she fell over the railings of the ship, the icy cold
waters ready to rush up to hit her...
Murasaki stopped his internal cheering for Soujirou. He could not
believe it. The boy had just side-stepped to save himself from getting hit
by the flying dagger, only to let Chitsuru get hit?
The words of the shopkeeper just kept rebounding in his head...
that a rurouni merely worked for his own gain so that everything would be
for his own benefit...
But Soujirou, you weren't like that were you? Soujirou?? Murasaki
quietly comforted himself. He was numbed with emotions, watching tearily as
Chitsuru fell over the railings of the ship, ready to plunge into the
seas...
"NOOO!" Soujirou screamed, hands automatically reaching out to
where he thought Chitsuru had fell. He was right in his estimation and he
could feel his own hands grasping around a cold, limp one. The sheer
weight was dragging him down and over as well, as he stubbed one foot on
deck to stop himself from slipping any further.
Did he... did he just harm the person he wanted to protect most?
He didn't want to know, but he knew, and all he wanted to ever do
now was to save Chitsuru, save her from hitting the seas... Chitsuru,
don't go now...
Soujirou risked a look over the railings, the winds now whipping
his hair all around his face, nevertheless not disturbing his view. Behind
him the mob started to yell and shout abuses, some even using their brooms
and pans to hit him so that he would fall from the railings. But his stoic
stand was not to be easily moved. He was protecting Chitsuru to the end
and that was final. He didn't want to hurt her anymore... he didn't mean
to anyway...
"Chitsuru!!" Soujirou cried out pitifully, subconsciously checking
that he was actually crying now. "CHITSURU!!!"
Chitsuru finally looked up, with a smiling face nonetheless. Her
forehead had been grazed and a deep gash appeared on it, blood pouring out
as if there would be no other chance to get out of the body systems like
this. Her mouth opened and closed, mouthing the words 'Soujirou', but no
noise coming out from within it.
Soujirou could feel his grip slackening, for upstairs, he was still
receiving beatings to his back by the mob. They were indefinitely trying to
haul him overboard as well, but he was just as stubborn as they were. He
resisted, and gritted his teeth. He was in excruciating pain, but nothing
hurt him more than the fact that he got Chitsuru hurt...
... not to mention how Murasaki must think of him now...
Chitsuru's hands slipped more and more, when the drizzle set in.
Rain. What a bad time to come... but even without the rain, Soujirou could
see that Chitsuru would never make it. Her blood loss was too high, her
body... too fragile...
*Don't go, Chitsuru!* Soujirou wept, inwardly torn and outwardly
very injured. Chitsuru looked up at him, smiling again. Her pale face told
of only one fate in such, which Soujirou already knew and had seen fairly
well in so many all his years...
She was dying. The gash was just too deep.
Even as she was dying, she could fairly see that Soujirou, someone
she also loved as dearly as Murasaki, was being hurt, beaten and bashed
because he wanted to protect her... she couldn't help but smile and smile,
for she knew it was a privilege to have someone love you enough to suffer
a sacrifice like this.
Soujirou was crying... for her... but she was dying... You shouldn't
cry now, Soujirou... you deserve to live a long long life and have a happy
future now... your past had been tained enough with badness as it was, so
please be happy now... I am dying, I will need no more protection...
protect yourself Soujirou... be happy always... I'll join my grandfather
now... you stay with Murasaki... stay with him... so long now...
With whatever strength she had left, she forced her hands away from
Soujirou's slipping grip, and plunged into the surface of the waters now...
... I love you both always...
"CHITSURU!!!!"
The moments passed slowly, ticked painfully, oozing with the taste
of despair and helplessness, as Soujirou's empty hand was still outstretched
in hope that all this was a dream, that Chitsuru was still in his hands,
still in his grasp... still in his protection...
A soft splash and a break in the surface waters off the deck of the
ship came resounding in the ears of all.
Murasaki broke down.
Soujirou too.
And the heavens opened their floodgates to allow the sympathy of
the rain in accordance...
They beat down in rhythme... at the crumpled figure of Soujirou,
terribly slumped on the railings of the ship in shock.
*I let her go?*
Murasaki's mourning outcry was ignored in that part of him which
died.
Suddenly, he felt like crying, but suddenly, he could not. Seeing
the peaceful method in which Chitsuru had fallen from his grasp... he...
he...
*I... I...*
His lips trembled. More and more and his fingertips turned ice, ice
cold... he blinked, the first one rolling off his cheeks, hot and fresh in
contrast to the cold and unsympathatic ones already falling on his cheeks
in rain.
*I AM SO USELESS!!!*
Soujirou screamed. A scream so scary, so horrible, so bloodcurling,
and so in the state of a helpless man...
*WHO AM I CRYING FOR? NO ONE! MYSELF! MYSELF!! Useless man! YOU
USELESS MAN!! UUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!*
And for the second time in his entire life, Soujirou could not
differenciate his tears from the salty rain...
fwah@geocities.com
12/7/98
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