"You're Not Alone…"
Khmer Moon Blossoms
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.
Author's Notes: Yes! An idea hatched! I think this will be the best fic yet! Very dramatic!
Enjoy!
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I shuffled along the packed sidewalks of New York. The dark had engulfed the beautiful sunset earlier, showing the moon and displaying its rays amongst the town. Of course, New York's skyscrapers and buildings had enormous lights that reflected off of each other, lighting the view into multicolor visions. The sidewalks were overcrowded with tourists of different colors, sizes, and shapes. They wore brightly colored shirts of their native states and famous slogans.
I became squeezed between two people who had smacked me between them. I sighed, pushing my way out of them, and still walking behind the crowd before me. I was used to this kind of hectic life. It was New York.
As I reached the streetcorner, I waited along with other fellow pedestrians. I heaved out another sigh as I waited for the lighted red, glowing signal of the hand to turn green. Everyone around me seemed happy, chatting in twos or threes.
I stared forward-almost absently-at the street before me. Cars zipped by, leaving only clouds of thick, black smoke.
I was tired…almost tired of living. With all the events happening this week, everything-even the tourists and joyous atmosphere of New York-seemed no longer worth while.
The events of this week danced back into my mind as I waited for the traffic to stop for us pedestrians.
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"Kenshin," she breathed into my ear. "I love you,"
I darted my eyes around quickly, hurriedly, breathing uneven. I felt my nerves burst into flames. I didn't want to be here right now. "I know." Was all I could mutter…I didn't want to lie to her.
"Isn't there anything you want to tell me?" she pulled away from me, almost giving me a pouting look.
I smiled back at her innocently while rising up to leave. "Yes." I said. She seemed excited as she awaited my answer. "I have to leave."
As I turned away towards the door, a small hand grabbed my wrist which caused me to turn back to meet her pleading eyes.
"Why? Why are you always like this when we're about to leave for our date?" she asked, her tone rising quickly into an angry one. "We never even step out of the house! You always walk out on the last minute! What's wrong with you?" Her anger had rose to its full potential now.
"I just don't feel like going, that's all." I muttered, my head lowered. I did not dare to meet her angry stare. "Please understand, Tomoe."
"No!" She threw my arm away from her for emphasis. She then whirled on her heel, turning her back on me. "That's the fifth excuse I've heard this week!"
"You-" I started.
"Now it's about me?" Tomoe turned around fiercely. "Now you've turned it against me? We're talking about you, Kenshin!" It was sort of strange, because her anger had started to trigger mine.
"Please listen," I muttered firmly through my gritted teeth. She looked as if she was taken aback, eyes wide and mouth opened slightly in surprise.
"I don't think it will work out between us," I whispered, now looking at her straight in the eyes, temper still evident. "I'm sorry," I spun to the wooden door that held me in, opening it furiously and stepping out into the main hall. My feet made no noise against the carpeted floor.
And with that, I left her apartment quickly. I was dressed appropriated for eating, but I guess I would never use this outfit in a restaurant with Tomoe ever.
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I felt that I had done the right thing. We didn't 'belong' together as our parents had put it. Her parents as well as mine had put their children, us, together as a bethrothed. Whenever I'd try to protest, my parents would simply ignore and say Tomoe was the one for me.
But that was the thing. They didn't know what kind of girl I like…they weren't me. They didn't have my way of thinking…my sense of heart.
My vision became clear again, and I found myself back where I was: on the street corner.
What happened next was much of a blur.
I saw a small, bright yellow car spin out of control on the street. Out of instinct, I moved to the side, hearing a loud roar behind me. The roar caused me to jump, landing on my back on the hard concrete of the sidewalk.
Then, there was a crash that was louder than a million bullet shots.
I heard glass shatter…and a few moments later, some fragments of the blue glass flew across the sky over me and some fell into my hair and pierced my skin. I covered my face by crossing my arms over my eyes.
Then, nothing but dead silence.
I quickly got up to my feet, still a little dazed and confused. A mob of people crowded around the street where the car had spun out of control. They seemed to be observing the tire tracks…for whatever reason, my curiosity caused me to want to know.
It all had happened so fast.
At first, I couldn't believe what had happened. Was it all a dream?
But feeling and seeing blood trickling on my arm from the shattered glass, I knew it was all true.
I ran as fast as I could, weaving through the crowd to see what had happened on the road.
I reached the middle of the circle of the crowd…there was a young girl there crying. I saw only from behind, her shoulders shaking and her dirty hands covering her face. I felt my feet take me towards her, and before I could stop myself, my eyes wandered to what was in front of her…what she was crying about.
A body.
I wanted to shut my eyes, to turn away, or something to get rid of the vision. But my eyes remained glued to the body…one of a woman.
I heard the crowd around me murmer puzzingly. One of them, a male, I presumed, shouted: "Someone get an ambulance!"
And right away, many people started to pull out cell phones and beep numbers into them.
Everything started to fade into white...everything but the woman. She stayed there, laying in a pool of blood on the ground before me. My eyes focused in onto her. I couldn't shut them.
She had black midnight hair that flowed onto the ground. Her clothes were tattered slightly. Her pale white skin was covered with dirt marks and blood. And her expression…it was one of pure terror; mouth agape and eyes wide.
Blood seeped through several wounds on her body, but as the blood flowed, she stayed motionless.
I could feel as if I was in a trance; there was nothing but the body in front of me. Everything else was a blinding white color. There was nothing pulling me back to reality…nothing except a small vibration on my leg.
I snapped my vision towards my leg, finally free from my small spell. The girl had found her way to my pant leg, hanging onto it and trembling from crying.
I felt my heart sink. This girl had lost her relative.
Her tears flowed endlessly from her eyes. I lowered, kneeling next to her. I felt my arms take form around her body, hugging her tightly. Not knowing who she was, I didn't care. She needed comfort right now.
She seemed my age, a teenager of no more than sixteen or seventeen. She had the same silky black hair that tumbled down her shoulders. My hands were on her back, and I forcefully squeezed her into my chest, trying to keep her from trembling.
"My mother," She choked out, head on my shoulder, soaking my shirt. "My mother,"
I squeezed her even tighter. "It's alright. You're going to be alright. It's okay," I whispered into her hair.
At this, she sobbed even louder. Her head was pressed against my shoulder, and her crying droned out all of the rest of the crowd's murmering…all of the approaching sirens of the police cars…
She continued to cry for her mother, and I repeated to her, saying it was alright. I couldn't stop her from crying…it seemed impossible to stop her.
A ambulance crew arrived, placing spokes around the body of the woman. They wrapped yellow tape around the spokes, telling the crowd to back away.
A few members of the crew put white gloves on, trying to lift the womans body onto a stretcher. They had painful looks on their faces, making it obvious the woman was already dead.
I felt the trembling on my shoulder stop. The girl had stopped crying. She had her head turned to the ambulance crew taking her mother away. For the first time, I saw that she had bright sapphire blue eyes. Her hands suddenly pushed off of my chest, causing me to move away, letting out a small groan.
The girl stood up, tears streaming down her face again. "My mother! Leave my mother! Leave her here! What are you doing to her?"
I knew she wanted her mother back. But her mother could never be helped if she wasn't taken to the hospital. But the girl did not seem to show any trust.
"Miss, I have to take her to the hospital to the examination room!" One ambulance member shouted through his face mask.
"No!" The girl started to lunge, but I stood up in time and caught her shoulders.
The girl seemed shocked, as if seeing me for the first time. She pushed me away, struggling out of my grasp, crying uncontrollably.
"Miss, you mustn't!" I whispered to her, pulling her as far as I could. I pulled her to the ground, letting her sit down to calm down.
She continued to wail and claw her way through the blood on the ground to her mother.
"Mother!" She shouted once more as the ambulance crew placed her into the back of the truck. I saw a bed sheet over her, one small sheet. As they moved the stretcher away, I saw a limp, pale hand fall off of the stretcher.
I pulled the girl's head onto my shoulder, fastening it there with my palm. "Don't look anymore," I told her. "You don't need to look anymore."
And I knew that would be the last time she would ever look at her mother.
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Author's Notes: Kind of a intense beginning eh? Oh, just FYI: I deleted Through What She Sees and To Hunt the Inhuman because I ran out of ideas. If you want to take the ideas for them, go on ahead! Go wacky with it!
Hope you liked the first chapter…very long…I'll try to shorten it later on.
(Oh, and hint: this story will be mostly written in Kenshin's POV cuz I've never done that before and I want to try).
