Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.
Notes: This piece takes place when Tomoe wakes up after meeting Kenshin - something that was never shown in the OAV. *shrugs* I was just curious about what had happened and my muses took over.
Tomoe's POV seems kind of . . . cold. But her character is also cold, though I still like her very much.
***
Bloodstains - Tomoe Yukishiro's ficlet by Maaya
***
The ceiling was brown.
Usual, wooden brown, so much like all the other roofs in the country, made by unpainted balks and thin chestnut planks. That is what my head managed to apprehend first thing I woke up. A vague moment of confusion followed as I sat up in the bed and touched my forehead that was warm and . . . sticky?
I drew back again and stared in strange fascination at the red liquid hinting on the tips of my fingers, a little like dark cherry-blossom. A small droplet found its way down along my white skin.
It suddenly dawned upon me - everything - the deal with Tatsumi-san [1], the day in Kyoto I spent looking for a young man with long red hair, and finally the fight in crimson rain. It went around in circles but suddenly narrowed down on only the fight and the blood that had sprouted all over me like rain. So much like rain . . .
Sometime during the whirl of memories hitting me like a storm I suddenly found myself curled into a little ball on the covers of the bed, whimpering quietly to myself.
Rain.
A man with sword . . . long hair . . . red hair. . .
A fight.
Blood.
Rain.
Blood . . .
Soft steps suddenly hit the floor and before I had time to think, someone was patting my back quietly. I looked up. "Who . . . ?"
"Just an old landlady, girl." Replied the old lady and eyed me the same way I eyed her. Her face was old and wrinkled, almost bitter but also knowledgeable in its harsh lines. She was still patting my back.
"Where --" I whispered and searched for words. There was a bitter and not so pleasant taste in my throat, somehow making it hard to move my tongue properly. "Where am I?"
"At an inn, in Kyoto. A man --" She hesitated. "--Found you. And brought you here."
Finding me involved blood and dead people, but I didn't want to say it to her. She probably already knew, or wouldn't have paused in the first place.
We sat in silence for a while before she removed her hand from my back and stood up. "I have prepared a bath for you. I'll show you where it is."
I nodded mutely and stood up too - only to realize two things. First, I was feeling dizzy. Second. My clothes were still bloody. Not sticky anymore, but still red instead of brown and dry. The landlady must have noticed my horror and looked at me up and down before quietly muttering.
"It's in your face too." Then she handed me my purple shawl. "Wrap it around your shoulders. It won't be as easy to notice then."
Nodding, I did what she said, and we wandered down the hallways together.
***
The End
***
[1] That's the guy Kenshin fights when he (SPOILER AHEAD!!!) accidentally stabs Tomoe
Then she ends up staying at the inn, but I didn't felt up to write it. I'm kind of disappointed with this piece - it didn't turn out like I wanted it to. I might re-write it someday.
I briefly toyed with the idea of having the landlady hugging Tomoe, but decided against it as the OAV doesn't have very many touchy-feely moments. Not any touchy-feely characters either, though. And I don't think people hurries to hug a complete stranger. *shrug*
Notes: This piece takes place when Tomoe wakes up after meeting Kenshin - something that was never shown in the OAV. *shrugs* I was just curious about what had happened and my muses took over.
Tomoe's POV seems kind of . . . cold. But her character is also cold, though I still like her very much.
***
Bloodstains - Tomoe Yukishiro's ficlet by Maaya
***
The ceiling was brown.
Usual, wooden brown, so much like all the other roofs in the country, made by unpainted balks and thin chestnut planks. That is what my head managed to apprehend first thing I woke up. A vague moment of confusion followed as I sat up in the bed and touched my forehead that was warm and . . . sticky?
I drew back again and stared in strange fascination at the red liquid hinting on the tips of my fingers, a little like dark cherry-blossom. A small droplet found its way down along my white skin.
It suddenly dawned upon me - everything - the deal with Tatsumi-san [1], the day in Kyoto I spent looking for a young man with long red hair, and finally the fight in crimson rain. It went around in circles but suddenly narrowed down on only the fight and the blood that had sprouted all over me like rain. So much like rain . . .
Sometime during the whirl of memories hitting me like a storm I suddenly found myself curled into a little ball on the covers of the bed, whimpering quietly to myself.
Rain.
A man with sword . . . long hair . . . red hair. . .
A fight.
Blood.
Rain.
Blood . . .
Soft steps suddenly hit the floor and before I had time to think, someone was patting my back quietly. I looked up. "Who . . . ?"
"Just an old landlady, girl." Replied the old lady and eyed me the same way I eyed her. Her face was old and wrinkled, almost bitter but also knowledgeable in its harsh lines. She was still patting my back.
"Where --" I whispered and searched for words. There was a bitter and not so pleasant taste in my throat, somehow making it hard to move my tongue properly. "Where am I?"
"At an inn, in Kyoto. A man --" She hesitated. "--Found you. And brought you here."
Finding me involved blood and dead people, but I didn't want to say it to her. She probably already knew, or wouldn't have paused in the first place.
We sat in silence for a while before she removed her hand from my back and stood up. "I have prepared a bath for you. I'll show you where it is."
I nodded mutely and stood up too - only to realize two things. First, I was feeling dizzy. Second. My clothes were still bloody. Not sticky anymore, but still red instead of brown and dry. The landlady must have noticed my horror and looked at me up and down before quietly muttering.
"It's in your face too." Then she handed me my purple shawl. "Wrap it around your shoulders. It won't be as easy to notice then."
Nodding, I did what she said, and we wandered down the hallways together.
***
The End
***
[1] That's the guy Kenshin fights when he (SPOILER AHEAD!!!) accidentally stabs Tomoe
Then she ends up staying at the inn, but I didn't felt up to write it. I'm kind of disappointed with this piece - it didn't turn out like I wanted it to. I might re-write it someday.
I briefly toyed with the idea of having the landlady hugging Tomoe, but decided against it as the OAV doesn't have very many touchy-feely moments. Not any touchy-feely characters either, though. And I don't think people hurries to hug a complete stranger. *shrug*