A/N: Hi, everyone! This is my first RK Fanfiction entitled "How the Tiger was tamed". This is an EnishixOC fanfic and the prologue is set during the Boshin War (According to the manga and what I've read in RK sites (specifically RK wiki), Enishi left Japan after the end of the Bakumatsu, so I estimated the date to be sometime around the year 1868. So correct me for any discrepancies. :D )
Beauty and the Beast was the inspiration in writing this fanfic. So there will be some elements that will come from that fairytale. But the main point is how a young woman can tame the man Enishi had become.
The setting of the prologue is in China. So if you guys see this: ""dialogue"", it means that the characters are speaking in Chinese.
I love it if you guys will give me a review! Comments on grammar and content are highly appreciated. Just be sure it doesn't go to the point of the dreaded Flames.
Disclaimer: I don't own Enishi, the family that took him in (although I gave them the names), or the rest of the characters of the Rurouni Kenshin universe. They are solely owned by Nobuhiro Watsuki, its mangaka. Also, Beauty and the Beast is owned by its author, Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont and Walt Disney (the animation). The only one I own is the OC.
So on to the story!
How the Tiger was tamed
Prologue
Shanghai, April 1868
""Oh dear, the poor boy!""
""Is he all right?""
There was a lot of chattering in Chinese as the crowd surrounded a boy who was lying unconscious on the dusty road, his dirt-stained silver locks scattered throughout his face. His yukata was stained and tattered, showing the distance he had traveled just to get to that town. The townspeople felt sorry for the boy. Surely he never had something to eat on his journey and his young body had taken its toll.
""Out of the way!""
A man in western clothing pushed his way through the crowd, causing them to divide and make way for the newcomer. The man kneeled beside the boy. He checked his pulse. There was a faint beating. He felt for the boy's forehead. It was hot to the touch. He also noted the pale yellowish tint of the boy's skin.
'Malaria!' the man thought in horror of his diagnosis, 'I must get this boy to the clinic fast before it's too late!'
""Doctor Shizuaki, is this boy a fellow compatriot of yours?"" a man asked as he went near the two.
""Oh yes he is, Yuan."" Doctor Shizuaki replied, ""Now I must get this boy to the clinic!""
The doctor lifted the boy from the ground and walked through the crowd. A woman clad in a kimono ran to the man. She had a worried look on her face that grew when she saw the boy.
"Oh!" the woman exclaimed, touching the boy's forehead, "A fever! How did he get here? Does he have any relatives here in Shanghai?"
Doctor Shizuaki exhaled, "I don't know, Umeko, but I believe this boy may have been traveling from Japan to here, probably to escape the war between the Imperialists and the Tokugawa supporters. Now he contracted malaria. As to why he would risk his life to do so…" he stopped.
"The poor boy. What if he doesn't have any family here, Noburo?" the woman named Umeko asked.
"I might consider adopting the boy, Umeko." the man replied thoughtfully, "Besides, in his state, I think he must be abandoned."
"Oh, Emi will love to have a new brother! She even told me to hurry up and give her one." Umeko said with a giggle, "Our daughter, indeed."
The couple walked to the clinic the Japanese doctor ran. 'Ah, Emi will indeed be happy to have a new addition to our family.' Doctor Shizuaki thought with a smile, looking at the boy. His smile faltered a bit. 'But this boy may have had a very traumatic experience.' noting the silver locks that would have glittered under the sunlight if not for the grime staining it, 'Why this is the first time I've ever seen this case in my thirty years of practice!'
At the clinic, a girl of about 13 was treating a young boy's scrape on the knee. After applying the antiseptic on the wound, the girl patched it up with gauze, then lightly patting it.
""There you go. You're all set!"" the girl said, grinning at the boy who stood up from the bench.
""Thank you very much, older sister!"" the young boy bowed to the girl and ran off.
""You be careful, okay?"" the girl called out to the boy who disappeared through the hallway. The girl sighed and untied the bandana that kept her braided chocolate brown hair in place. After setting down the bandana on the bench, she dusted her emerald green michiyuki and walked towards the dresser to get her hat.
'Probably a stroll in town would be nice.' she thought as she wore her hat and walked through the hallway of the clinic, 'I would probably meet mother and father on the way and we would go to our favorite teahouse just by Madam Yen's hat shop.'
As she was about to approach the door, it burst open to reveal the doctor, who was carrying the unconscious silver-haired boy, followed by his wife. Both had worried looks at their faces.
"Mother! Father!" the girl exclaimed, "Oh, what happened to him?" she added after she noticed the unconscious boy.
"We just found this boy in front of Yuan's bakery, Emi-chan." Doctor Shizuaki replied as he strode past the girl to the clinic, "By the looks of his clothing, I'm positive that he came from Japan and traveled here to Shanghai probably by ship. He must have contracted malaria from his journey.
"Umeko, prepare the warm bath!" the doctor said as he placed the boy on the futon. His wife nodded and hurried upstairs.
"I'll go to the backyard and fetch water from the well, father!" Emi said as she took her hat off and laid them on the bench and ran to the exit to their backyard.
"Hurry up and don't forget to get a washcloth from the cabinet!" she heard her father yelling at her when she was already outside.
"Okay, father!" Emi yelled back and ran to the well to fetch water. As she was pulling the rope, her mind was filled with the thoughts of the boy.
'The poor boy, he must have escaped Japan because of the war!' the girl reached out for the wooden pale of water and set it aside on the ground before hurrying into the house to get the basin.
'No matter what it costs, I'll save him!'
Later that night, Emi watched over the boy at the clinic. Her father gave her specific instructions on what to do if the boy will have a convulsion if ever he will wake up.
As she thought of that, Emi saw the boy stirring in his sleep. Then she saw his eyelids slowly opening to reveal turquoise blue eyes. He slowly turned his head to her, their eyes locking for the first time.
"W-where am…I?" the boy asked, his voice very faint as he had just woke up.
"You're in my father's clinic." Emi replied with a smile, removing the cold compress from the boy's forehead and submerging it in the basin of water, "You contracted malaria and when my father found you near the bakeshop, you were already near death. It was just a good thing he had the medicine for that or you would have died." As she twisted the cloth, she was trying to fathom where in Japan this boy is from. 'He must be from Edo. Just by his accent I can tell.' she thought. She placed the neatly folded compress back on the boy's forehead. But before the compress even touched the boy's forehead, the boy caught her wrist and immediately sat up.
"What are you doing?" Emi exclaimed, startled by the boy's action.
"You should have let me died." he said coldly, letting go of her wrist. His eerie voice sending shivers down the girl's spine.
"W-why are y-you saying that?" Emi asked in disbelief, "We're doctors! We just can't leave you to die there!"
"You don't GET IT, DO YOU?" the boy's soft voice now rose in a crescendo, before reaching its forte beginning with "get", "DON'T YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO LOSE SOMEBODY YOU LOVE, HUH?"
He was now on fours, his knees and hands supporting his still-weak body as he inched closer to the girl, his face a mere inches away from her. Emi did not know what to do. The boy's arms were on both her sides, and the wall was behind her. There was no escape from the unexplained madness the boy manifested.
"P-please get back to the futon." Emi said in an audible whisper, "Y-you might have a relapse if you keep doing this."
Then she saw his eyes. The irises had contracted into a tiny dot, giving the boy a very much sinister look.
'What really happened to this boy before he arrived here?' Emi thought. Suddenly, she felt a pair of hands wrapping around her neck. Then she felt them constricting her airway, suffocating her.
"S-Stop it!" she screamed grabbing the boy's wrists in a futile effort to pull his hands off her neck. But the more she did it, the stronger the boy's grip was on her neck.
"P-p-please…."she sobbed, tears forming in her eyes, forcing herself to look at the boy's crazed turquoise eyes, giving him a pleading look in hopes of him changing his mind of killing her, if ever that was what he was intending to do to her.
Suddenly, the boy's face contorted, as if he was in pain. Emi saw his face inching away from her and watched as his body curled and his arms wrapping around his own shivering body.
"Boy, are you all right?" Emi's face was now filled with concern, as the boy started to whimper, and his once shivering body was now violently shaking.
"Hey, I think it's time if -" the girl began but to her horror, the boy violently threw up blood, staining the tatami mats and his sleeping yukata.
Emi hurriedly leaned towards the boy, her one hand taking hold of one of his shoulders and the other gently rubbing his back as he continued to shudder and cough up the remaining blood and bile.
After what seemed like eternity, the boy stopped shuddering and retching. Emi thought the boy would try to harm her again as what he did to her earlier but he did not. Instead, his eyes closed and he lurched towards her, his arms falling to his sides before he fell into her arms.
Emi caught the boy and wrapped her arms around him. She peered at his face. There was some blood on the corners of his mouth. At this sight, Emi panicked and mentally slapped herself.
'What was I doing? I was supposed to call father if this would happen!' she thought, now fearful that her father would be very angry at her for not thinking quickly as she should. As she thought of that, she heard footsteps growing louder. Suddenly, the Emi heard the click of the doorknob before the door opened to reveal her father.
"I heard screaming here, Emi-chan, what ha-" Doctor Shizuaki saw the blood on the tatami mats and the unconscious boy in his daughter's arms.
"EMI!" her father exclaimed, hurriedly going towards them and pulled the boy out of Emi's arms, "What were you thinking? I gave you specific instructions if ever this will happen! We can't just leave him to throw up blood! That's a sign of internal bleeding!" he said angrily as he placed the boy back on the futon and getting the stethoscope from the drawer. He turned his head towards his daughter whose eyes were now filled with tears. Then he saw black and blue marks on the sides of her neck.
"Emi, did something happen here?" the doctor asked, eyeing the bruises with concern.
"H…he….w-was experiencing delirium, father. He t-tried to s…strangle me." she stammered as she fought hard to control the tears to fall from her eyes.
Her father sighed, "Okay, okay, Emi, that's all right now. But when he suddenly throws up blood, don't hesitate to alert me, no matter what happens here." he patted her arm to calm her down. Emi nodded and wiped a single tear that fell on her cheek and stood up.
"I'll clean that up, father." she said, pointing to the bloodstain and walked to the backyard to fetch water. She was still a little bit shaken after her encounter with the boy.
A week had passed since Doctor Shizuaki found the boy. He had not woke up since and the doctor informed his wife and daughter that no vital organs were affected. But he told Emi to keep an eye on the boy and to inform him if ever anything goes wrong.
Emi was still wary when she was doing her duty. The incident that happened at that night was still fresh in her memory and she did not want to commit mistakes this time or her father will refuse to send her back to Nagasaki to continue her studies on Western medicine.
When she heard a knock on the door, she stood up and walked towards it. When she opened it, she saw a messenger.
""Good morning, Miss Emi."" the messenger bowed, ""I have a letter from Aizu.""
'Aizu...Megumi-san!' Emi thought, happy that her best friend was alive and well and was able to write her back, ""Thank you, Chen!"" she said and took the letter from the messenger.
After Chen left, Emi proceeded to open the envelope and read the letters contents. Her heart broke when she began to read her best friend's correspondence.
'Dear Emi-san,
I'm so glad to receive that letter from you. Don't worry about me. My parents and older brothers left me at home to go to the war front in the north. But I received terrible news of my father's fate. He was killed in a fire but they did not mention who of the two factions set it up. I never received news of my mother and brother's whereabouts.
How are you and Uncle Nobu and Aunt Umeko? Do you still have plans on returning to Nagasaki? If you do, just keep me posted. I hope to see my one and only true friend and that this wretched war will end very soon.
Yours sincerely,
Megumi
P.S. And please stop saying that you are as plain as the weeds on the side of the road. You ARE beautiful, even though you don't notice it! If I'll ever hear you say that again (whether it's in a letter or plain talk), I swear to God that I'll personally come there to Shanghai and talk to Uncle Nobu about an omiai and you'll see how many suitors you'll have. '
Emi laughed lightheartedly on the post script her friend wrote. 'Oh Megumi, humorous as always.' she smiled. But she had already discussed with her father that he will not send her back to Japan as long as the war still raged on.
She heard a faint whimper from the boy's head. Emi hurried back and kneeled beside the futon and took off the cold compress from the boy's forehead. She felt for his forehead and was glad that his fever had already gone down. As she took off her hand, the boy's eyes slowly opened.
"You're fever's already gone." Emi said, "But father said you still need plenty of rest. He doesn't want you to have any further relapse after what happened a week ago."
"A week." the boy murmured, his voice still quiet and eerie. Emi nodded, fear suddenly taking hold of her heart, "You've been asleep for a week." she said, hiding the fear that she felt after hearing his voice.
The boy shifted in his futon, facing her. Emi prepared herself to scream if the boy would do anything harmful to her.
"I remembered you said this was your father's clinic." he said.
Emi fought hard to keep herself from sighing from relief, "Yes." her smile now returned, "My father runs this clinic here for five years."
"Where exactly is this place?" the boy asked.
"You're in the Mainland." Emi replied, "Well, in Shanghai, exactly. Uhm…I just want to know, how did you get here?" she asked, hoping her question would not appear that she was being too nosy.
The boy did not reply. 'Uh-oh. Now I'm really toasted.' Emi thought, slightly trembling.
"I got on a ship that I did not know was bound for here." he replied after a moment of silence, much to Emi's relief (again), "Then I stayed at a nearby forest for three months, eating anything that I could find."
'Anything that he could find.' Emi thought, thinking of anything edible in the forest, but what she knew about that forest is that it did not have any fruit bearing trees or any herbs that were edible. Now she understood the events that happened a week ago.
"Then I finally reached this town after three months of searching. There near the bakeshop, I lost consciousness. That was where you probably found me." the boy continued.
Emi nodded, "Did you escape the war over there?" she asked.
The boy shook his head, "It's not the reason why I left Japan." he said emotionlessly.
Emi noted the lack of emotions of his voice. 'Something really happened to him.' she thought.
"So you do not have any family left in Japan?" she asked. The boy shook his head.
"I used to have an older sister. But she was killed by a wretched Imperial assassin." There was anger in his voice when he said that. 'No, not anger. Rage.' Emi thought after she heard the boy talking about the death of his sister.
Then she saw the boy's right hand curled into a fist, "I swear I'm going to kill him if I will learn to become the greatest swordsman." he seethed, his fist shaking, "I'll make him pay for what he did to my sister!" he pounded the tatami mat, startling the young girl. Then he panted.
"Please be careful. You might have another relapse." Emi said, lightly patting the boy's back. After the boy calmed down, she removed her hand.
"I'm so sorry about your loss." she said sincerely, gingerly taking the boy's hand in hers. When she saw the boy wince at the touch, she immediately removed it, but the boy caught her hand.
"Please, that felt nice." the boy murmured, holding Emi's hand with his, "I've never held somebody after my sister died."
Emi could not help but feel a little affection for the boy. 'He only wants comfort after his sister's death. But I couldn't agree with his plan of revenge.' she thought. But she didn't utter any single word of protest of his plan. 'I might ruin the moment if I will.'
"You're from Kyoto." the boy said, bringing Emi out of her thoughts.
"Pardon?" Emi said. She did not hear what the boy said.
"You're from Kyoto." the boy repeated, "I know it from your accent."
Emi smiled. "Yeah, that's right. My parents and I came here to Shanghai six years ago. Then after a year, my father set up this clinic for this town. Ever since, I've been helping my father run the clinic while he's out meeting with the other Chinese doctors."
The boy's turquoise eyes moved around the room. "So you must know Western medicine, then?" he asked, glancing at the paintings of Western doctors treating their patients.
"My father sent me to study in Nagasaki." Emi replied, "But ever since the war started, he said he won't send me back. So I'll just remain here helping him. Probably I could learn more from my father."
Then she saw a ghost of a smile on the corner of the boy's mouth, "You will be a good doctor." he said.
Emi blushed a little, "Oh, uh…thanks…uhm…and you are…?" she asked.
"Enishi." the boy said.
"Enishi." Emi repeated, "What a beautiful name."
She swore a tint of red that grew on the boy's cheeks after she said that. Then she began to laugh.
"What?" the boy named Enishi asked, sounding a bit annoyed.
"O…oh…it's nothing! It's just that…you look…you look…" she could not bring up any more words as she could not control her fits of laughter. When she looked up, she stopped laughing when she saw the boy glaring at her. The hands that held her hand were gone.
"I'm sorry." she said, bringing her hands together, "I…it's my first time hearing that name and I think of it as beautiful so I told you that and…" she trailed off. 'Silly Emi! You could just tell him that he looks so cute when he blushes!' a tiny voice in her head chided her.
"You must have a pretty name." Enishi said.
Emi cocked her head, "How can you tell that?" she asked.
Enishi looked at her, "I remembered my father used to tell me that a pretty face always has a pretty name." he said.
Emi felt the heat slowly creeping up her face. Unfortunately, Enishi had an eye that could spot even the lightest tint of red on the girl's cheeks and he began to chuckle.
"W-what?" Emi pouted, hiding her face behind her hands to hide her embarrassment.
"You're blushing." the boy said, his face show a little bit of amusement, "Which means what I said was true."
Emi's face even reddened. She swore she could hear that tiny annoying voice laughing and mentioning about karma. Emi mentally told the voice to shut up.
"N-no I'm not!" Emi lied, although she mentally slapped herself for lying about the obvious. The amusement on Enishi's face even grew as she said that.
Emi was really getting annoyed, "Well I don't think Emi is a pretty name if that's what you're trying to say." she said. When the boy stayed silent and just stared at her, Emi thought she had won the argument. How wrong she was.
"You lied…twice." Enishi said after a few seconds and he began to laugh. Emi was now very embarrassed.
"I…" she began but closed her mouth. She chose her words carefully.
"No one ever said about me being pretty." she said, looking away from him. Enishi took her hand again, which made the girl turn her head back at him.
"You remind me of my sister." he said, his eyes were now looking far away, "She would usually say that whenever somebody would tell her she's beautiful."
They were not aware that Doctor Shizuaki had already arrived and he spotted the two.
"Friends now, huh?" he said, startling the two. He walked towards them with a smile on his face.
"Hello there, boy." he said, kneeling beside the futon, "How are you feeling right now?"
"I'm all right, sir." Enishi replied. Doctor Shizuaki waved his hand at him.
"Oh now, just call me Noburo." he chuckled, "And you are?"
"Enishi." Emi chimed in. Doctor Shizuaki looked at his daughter and smiled.
"So you two had a heart-to-heart talk, huh?" he said, amused at how his daughter reacted to the word ("Father!" Emi exclaimed, much to Enishi's amusement.).
"So, Enishi, my wife and I discussed this matter and we decided to let you stay for as long as you want." the doctor said, "That's if you don't have any relatives left in Japan looking for you."
At this, Enishi's amused face disappeared into an emotionless one. "No, I don't." he said glumly.
Doctor Shizuaki bit his lip, "I see." he said, "Well, make yourself comfortable here." he smiled.
Enishi made a small smile, "Thank you." he said softly.
"Oh father," Emi said, "I received terrible news from Megumi-san. Ryuseii-senpai died in a fire while he was serving at the war front in Aizu. She never heard anything about her mother and two brothers as of now."
"God in heaven! Poor Megumi-chan!" her father exclaimed, saddened at the news of the death of his longtime friend, "Ryuseii-san and I used to go together at the medical school where you were going. We'll go to the temple and pray for them. For now," he pointed at the medicine cabinet beside a desk, "Could you help me in getting the medicines while I check Enishi here."
Emi nodded and stood up to get what her father asked for. When she turned her head, her brown eyes locked with Enishi's turquoise ones. He was smiling at her.
Emi smiled back at him and nodded before turning her head back and walking towards the medicine cabinet.
A/N: Ok guys, so that's the prologue! I never meant it to be so long but I just wanted to give a detailed account of how it all began for Enishi and Emi. And yes, I made Emi as Megumi's best friend.
The model I based Emi on is Sophie Hatter from Howl's Moving Castle. I wanted Emi to be this girl who doesn't have much confidence on her looks, just like Sophie. I probably might have turned Megumi into Letty, as seen in her letter, offering emotional support. So Emi's green michiyuki is no coincidence...*fox laugh*
So review please! I promise to continue this during my Christmas break!
Oh some terms:
omiai - Japanese traditional custom of meeting two unattached individuals for a possibility of marriage.
michiyuki - Japanese traveling overcoat
yukata - kimono made of light material, also called summer kimono