Ebony Bliss
Rating: PG-13 for the first two or three parts, definitely R later on
Spoilers: If you haven't seen the OVA and you don't want to know anything about it until you can see it, then you probably won't want to read past the first chapter. There are going to be some references to people and situations that happened throughout them but other then that it should be safe.
Other Warnings: It's definitely AU with a few original characters and a somewhat original plot. If it's been done before then yell at me because I haven't read much of the Kenshin fanfiction that's lying around. It may be OOC but I'll try as hard as I can to avoid that.
Archives: None yet…ask me nicely and I might let you have it
Feedback: Please! Just email me at Dark_Izunami@dangerous-minds.com; I'd love to hear what you have to say!
Blah blah blah…Kenshin is not mine…if he was…you wouldn't be seeing too much of him because he'd be locked up in my room with me for quite some time. He belongs to some really lucky person in Japan who has a lot more money then I do.
Now onto the ficcy!
Chapter 1
The twilight crept silently to cover the small temple. The residents were beginning to settle down, putting away their work and ending hours of practice. Dinner was being consumed between bouts of laughter and cheerful conversations. Playful teasing and affectionate taunts were just as fulfilling as the actually meal. Food was able to replenish the body but it took the feelings of friendship, joy, and love to build up their souls.
Ebony rested outside on a tree branch, enjoying the cooling breezes after a sweltering day of restless sleep. Summer days drove her mad with the dripping humidity. Her pale ivory skin seemed to be constantly glistening with an extra layer of perspiration. Her mint green eyes, an odd contrast to her black hair, scanned the area around her. After plucking a small sparrow from its nest, she drained it of all life and let the body fall to the ground. Some color returned to her normally gaunt cheeks, her thirst quenched for the moment. It was hunger, that never-ending quest for survival that had brought her to that home, miles from where she belonged.
If the rumors were correct, a different sort of manslayer was residing between those walls. If his talents were even half as magnificent as the stories surrounding him, her people would be able to leave their lives of fear and starvation in the past. The population of her children of darkness had swollen to a nearly painful number. However, their tender hearts still held on to the humane feelings of mercy, pity, and a fear of taking life. The burden of feeding hundreds had fallen to her and her sword and she could no longer handle things on her own.
She heard the door open and peered down into the courtyard. A tall man was resting in the doorway, fingers intertwined behind his dark head. The sight of his dark hair made her frown. He was much too large and too casual looking to be the agile samurai she was seeking. The bruised fists and other scratches marring his features confirmed her first assumption. He must be a street fighter of some sort, a man whose brutality and ego would swell so out of proportion that death would fall him before hunger ever would. He would be no use to her but his value of his companions may present a problem she would rather avoid dealing with.
"Sanosuke!" She heard a woman's shrill voice cry from inside the dwelling, "You lazy good-for-nothing freeloader!" A frying pan came flying out of the doorway "You're the only one not doing any work around this place and you still expect me to feed you. You could at least help do the dishes! Sanosuke, are you listening to me?"
Ebony found herself become more and more curious about what he would do to retaliate then she expected to be. She had seen the girl on one of her earlier visits. She was rather attractive but nothing too special to speak of. She possessed no abilities that Sanosuke wouldn't be able to easily overcome.
Half expecting him to retaliate and half expecting him to give in and do the work, she wasn't at all expecting him to get up silently and leave the premises without so much as a simple goodbye. Silent and probably deadly, she bit her lip before darting off into the shadows behind him. He wasn't what she was looking for but it would be best to evaluate the possible obstacles before she made any further moves towards her final goal.
Kenshin Himura looked up from the pile of laundry he was tending to. The fresh summer air was tickling his nose, filling all of his senses with the fragrance of fresh flowers and cool water. Even doing his chores became a pleasure when he could feel the warm sunshine caressing his skin and the smooth earth below his naked foot. It was days like this that made him remember her and that small garden on the side of a mountain...
"Uncle Kenny!" Ayame came running over with her hands cupped in front of her, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"What's wrong?" He asked, snapping out of his memories, "Are you hurt?"
Suzume came running up behind her older sister, her eyes red and nose running. "Uncle Kenny make it better." She sniffled
"Make what better?" Kenshin reached out to open up Ayame's hands only to find a dead sparrow. "I'm sorry girls, but there's not much I can do anymore. The bird died awhile ago."
Suzume began to cry again. "Shh," Kenshin cradled her to him and tried to sooth her cries "We'll have to burry it. That way it can rest in peace and be reborn as something beautiful in its next life."
"Beautiful like a butterfly?" Ayame asked, studying the fluttering insects that inhabited the gardens
"Butterfly?" Suzume wiped away the tears and gazed up at Kenshin.
"Maybe." He smiled at the two of them "Why don't you go see if Kaoru will let you have a shovel so we can dig a grave."
The two girls nodded and ran off to the other side of the dojo where Kaoru and Yahiko were practicing diligently with the wooden swords that were used in the Kamiya Kasshin style. Kenshin picked up the bird, turning it around in his hand to try to find the cause of the death. The look on its face was one of pure terror, a look he had seen far too often. The animal hadn't died from any natural causes. Upon closer inspection, he found the two puncture marks on the sparrow's throat. They were too far apart to have been caused by a cat or any other predator that was around the area. Something was definitely wrong.
The two girls came running back to him with a small garden trowel and the simple funeral began. The two girls prayed earnestly over the small hole, throwing their wishes for a new life as a butterfly into the freshly turned soil while Kenshin kept a close eye on their surroundings. The girls played in the same areas every day and they weren't likely to miss anything like a dead animal. It mostly likely had been killed the previous night which meant the creature responsible was probably still around.
It took him a moment to notice the two girls looking at him "Uncle Kenny, is something wrong?" Ayame stuck the small cross they had made out of two sticks into the ground to mark the grave.
"What's wrong?" Suzume took his hand
He smiled down at the two of them "Nothing is wrong, I was just praying for a safe travel and rebirth for the sparrow. We've done everything we can so what do you say we go make lunch?"
"Mmm…rice balls!" Suzume clapped her hands and ran ahead with Ayame "We'll go tell everyone!"
Kenshin waited until they were out of site before he quickly dug up the body of the bird to put in the house until after he escorted the two girls and Doctor Genzai home. He wanted to talk to Sanosuke about his suspicions and needed the body as proof. "Kenshin!" He heard Kaoru call "Are you coming?"
"I'll be right there!" He called back before taking off running.
* Yes, I know I'm combining religions here, but from the research I did online, at the time of the Mejii Era, Christianity was making a comeback and Mayhayana Busshism was still prominent. I didn't know what they would do for a funeral either but in the OVA, when the young Kenshin creates graves for all of the slaves and traders that were slane, he used crosses. If anyone has any insight on this, let me know and I'll be happy to make the corrections.*