Warning: The scar is NOT of Kenshin's… Nothing else to worry about in this chapter.
Disclaimer: Some language. [I think…] No own Kenshin nor Sailor Moon.
Pains of a Scar:
Pain erupted in her left eye. With a terrible howl of pain, the girl clawed at the katana whose tip was embedded in her eye. In her frenzy she unleashed her forbidden power… A white mist curled up the katana towards the wielder. But the man was too distracted, by the incoming assassin, to notice the hand of Death creeping on his arm.
"Kuso!" the man cursed as he realized that the mist had slowly entwined around him. He desperately slashed at the air but to no avail. The mist became heavier and heavier as the man struggled, and more and more the mist prevented the air from entering his lungs. The whimpering child, who clutched her eye, melted into the shadows that lingered on the building's walls. Her strength finally giving out as she leaned against the wall, she collapsed on the floor in half consciousness.
Catching his breath, the man's attention turned back to the original danger as the mists fell away. But it was too late. The sword from heaven had come down upon him…
"Shishio-san!" the boy called to his master.
"What is it now?" Makoto Shishio answered, strolling next to his follower.
Soujiro Seta smiled as he looked up at the bandaged man. "Am I to kill her as well?" Soujiro indicated to the girl who could be no older than his own age. Shishio looked at her in amused curiosity. She was so deathly pale as it is. Her dark attire further accentuated the paleness of her azure hair, ghostly complexion, and her translucent lavender eyes.
"Well, she'll have to die now. She's seen us," Shishio answered as he turned to leave.
"But-" Soujiro interrupted.
"The strong live and the weak die," Shishio answered as he watched the girl out of the corner of his eye. He smirked as her eyes widened in fear.
"Ju-just because I-I've seen you?" she stammered looking up at the two men before her. Her bloody hands fell away from her left eye as she struggled to stand.
"I'm afraid so," Soujiro smiled.
She failed to see what he did, for her hair covered her left eye. But it didn't matter… she heard the blade being drawn. "No…" she whispered, denying her fate. Whatever you do, the Senshi are to survive… "No." she answered slightly louder. No matter how much we are hunted down, we have must live… "NO!" she screamed as she jumped at the bloody heap next to the men. Struggling to remain standing tall, she lifted the katana that was her enemy only minutes before.
Soujiro watched her in surprise. She was at a clear disadvantage. The katana she held was much too heavy for her small and exhausted body, and yet… she stood to fight for her life… Soujiro sighed inwardly. The weak must die. That is what Shishio-san had said. But is being weak-No… Soujiro stopped his thoughts. I must not think that way. What Shishio taught me had saved me; therefore it must be right. Resting his wakazashi on his shoulder, he wanted one answer before her life was extinguished…
"Why do you continue to resist? Whatever Shishio-san says will be done. Why resist your fate?" Soujiro asked, his smile still remained on his young face of eight winters.
"QUIET!" she growled. "I swore to live on, or to die fighting. I'm not going to fall to a mere mortal like you!"
"Mortal?" Soujiro repeated in surprise. His free hand scratched the back of his head in confusion, "I thought we were all mortals."
She snorted in disgust. "As a Senshi of the Dead, I, Sailor Xumia [zoo-ME-uh], is more than a mortal like you."
Soujiro shrugged. It was all Greek to him. "Doesn't matter," Soujiro leaned forward, preparing to attack the way his body had dictated, "she was dead…"
"Wait," Shishio interrupted as Soujiro began to tap his foot. "She's an outlaw like ourselves." Shishio smirked as he stepped forward to gain a closer look at her.
"How do you know?" Soujiro asked as Shishio knelt before her. Xumea kept the blade between her and the mummy.
"All Senshi have a bounty on their heads, no matter what their age. Dead or alive they say," Shishio answered as he grasped her forehead. "But they're still very powerful. The weak always despises the strong." She cried out from the inhuman heat he pressed on her with his hands. Shishio rubbed the bangs away and sure enough… it was there.
"What is it?" Soujiro asked again, peeking over Shishio's shoulder.
"Her gem… the proof that she is one of Them." Xumia felt the heat withdraw away from her head. Her head fell in a slight tilt as she glared through her only working eye.
"You'll never get me," she said hoarsely, warily watching the man stand.
"Let's go," he said as turned his back on her.
"But Shishio-san-" Soujiro began in confusion.
"She'll be of use to us in the future is she survives. I can't have a girl with us either so we'll have to come back for her later," Shishio answered as Soujiro rushed to stand next to him. Shishio turned his head ninety degrees as he looked at her out of the corner of his eye, "You owe me your life. Never forget the name Makoto Shishio to whom you owe your debt…"
Completely shocked, Xumia stood in her wobbly stance as the two disappeared into the mists of the living. "YOU SEXIEST BASTARD!" she called after his vague form. She disappeared into the night as she heard shots fire her way, dragging the sword with her…
A debt to repay… Xumea thought, closing her memories of the time before the SDM. She looked up at the entrance to her office. That presence… I haven't felt it in ten years… She glared at the smiling intruder who had entered her room, his sword dripping with blood like that night. I guess it's time…
~*~Author's Note: I need to clear a few things: 1.) This is an experimental fic, so its future is highly unknown. I've semi re-read it. It was five in the morning when I wrote it, so please forgive me for its non-clarity. My sugar high is running low. [Both cases!]
2.) The twinge of SM is the tiny fact that Xumia is a Sailor Scout/Senshi. Other than that, it's a Kenshin thing.
3.) I'd really like ANY input. I want to know what you think of this fic: things that need improvement, favorable parts, confusing parts, ideas in general, suggestions, etc. So please review! 'cause I'm on writer's block! Thank you for everything ppls!