-------------------------------------------------
  Just Another Rainy Day - by Marron

  *Placed somewhere after Nakago runs into Soi for
  the first time.
  -------------------------------------------------

  Again, yes again, it was another droll evening spent by
the cadets of Kutou's army. Their travels had been, as the
past few nights, hampered by the soft, yet overwhelming,
fall of the rain.

  Nakago looked out of his tent, and up into the dark sky.
As the rain continued to pour down, billowing black clouds
rolled across the sky, blocking out the radiance of the
stars, the soft glow of the moon. The rain pitter-pattered
against the ground quietly, the onlysound which interrupted
the still, heavy silence.

  Nakago ran a hand through his thick blonde hair, pale blue
eyes blinking through the rain, staring off into the
distance. His thoughts wandered back to a few days ago, when
the cadets had been in a nearby town. He recalled the young
girl whom he had saved from being a part of a brothel; his
mind wandered over her features, her face in  particular.
She had been so young, and he had seen such innocence in
her eyes. Innocence that he had once possessed...

  His fist clenched, a wave of anger passing through him for
a brief moment. It subsided quickly, however, as another
memory passed through his mind. The memory of the last time
he had been truly angry. "Mother.." He whispered,
voicelessly. Though the word was more of a thought than
anything else, it carried a tinge of sadness. Anger had
killed his mother. Anger had taken her away, and replaced
her with the fat, disgusting, and cruel emperor. Anger
had...

  Anger had helped him to kill those men who were so sick, 
so perverted that they would have their way with even a
little girl. He nearly shuddered as he fought with himself
for control. Emotions. Emotions had helped to cause him
misery. Now, he knew, it was time to put emotions aside. 

  "I'll make things right again, Mother. You will see." He
murmured softly to himself. 

  Nakago's gaze lifted into the sky again; the rain had
subsided, and the moon had broken through the black clouds.
He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the pale orb's
light reflect onto his face. Somehow, he was calmed by this.
He opened his eyes after a moment and  turned, crawling
under the sheets, and settling in his tent. 

  There was so much chaos in the world, but somehow, he
would find a way to make everything right again. As his eyes
drifted close again, he could hear the soft patter of the
rain resume. It soothed him so, and he slowly fell to sleep.
He shouldn't think so much of things that usually didn't
bother him. After all, There was not any reason to do so; it
was just another rainy day.

  by Marron-chan  

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/garden/8332

               ( geocities.com/tokyo/garden)                   ( geocities.com/tokyo)