"Even After" (Part 1 of 3)
A Sanosuke x Sayo AU gothic romance by 'haunted' Arachay
(reposted with minor revisions: 08-12-2012)

Series: Rurouni Kenshin (the anime)
Characters/Pairing: Sanosuke Sagara & Sayo Magdaria (SanoSayo)
Genre: Gothic Romance, AU, Tragedy
Warnings: This is a bit depressing, very depressing for those who are more sensitive, and of course, for those who love Sano & Sayo, as much as I do... they really broke my heart bad. Also, character death...
Disclaimer: Main characters based on Rurouni Kenshin created by Nobuhiro Watsuki

A/N: I chose to keep Kenshin's real name here, so he is Shinta.

Part 1: Ghosts of a Past Life

There is a thin line between life & death... between coincidence & fate...

A clap of thunder.

It was dark now, and the strong wind that blew leaves high up into the air harshly conveyed admonitions of a storm. Still he was undaunted. If it were of any relevance to him, it served only to reinforce his enthusiasm, and to him, his heartbeat pounded louder than the roaring thunder. He moved forward with impetuous speed.

"Sano!" someone called out to him.

A clap of thunder again, this time louder & much nearer. Shinta froze in his tracks, out of breath and exhausted, as he tried to keep up with his best friend's hasty pace.

"C'mon Shinta!" Sano stopped to look back at his companion. "We can't turn back now! We're almost there!"

Shinta eyed his hyperactive companion with sympathetic disapproval. Why does this always happen to him? Why was he out here in the middle of the night, shivering down to his shins at the mercy of the violently cold breeze. He had let Sano drag him out of his cozy bed, to investigate some forsaken castle. Yes, Sano always had a taste for strange adventure, he should know. But this was his most outlandish idea yet! So why was he out there with him, like it was a perfectly normal thing to do?

Shinta smiled to himself as the answer dawned upon him instantaneously. They had been the best of friends for as long as he could tell. He extremely favored Sano, and the feeling was mutual. To everyone, they were the inseparable twins of two different families, and to him Sano was the brother he never had. They got along so well that they had never once fought, even though the latter was much, much younger than he was.

Now, was one of those many situations alike, despite Sano's impulsive habit of coaxing Shinta into such anomalous perils, he was always the one helpless to decline. And Sano never failed to remind him: 'What are best friends for, right?'...

With a sigh, Shinta continued to ascend the steep slope, pushing thick, barbed branches aside, he eyed the run-down old sign that Sano had just passed. It ominously read:

No Trespassing

"Sano, we really should go back. It's starting to rain." Shinta finally spoke up. "Besides, there's nothing worth seeing up there. I don't think-"

"You're not scared are ya?" Sano's voice interjected with a hint of goading. "Do you actually buy all that 'stuff' about a curse?!"

Shinta smiled wryly. He tried to sound as serious as he could muster, before answering, "Curse or no curse, I really think we should go back now..." He was about to dish out some more reprimanding to his statement, since it would take a lot more effort to dissuade Sano once he got all worked up about something, when a deafening crack of thunder scattered his thoughts & rain began to fall in huge unnerving drops.

"Hurry! Let's take cover in the castle!" Sano prompted. Before Shinta could retort, he was already over the slope and bee-lining for the abandoned structure. Shinta let out a sigh of defeat, hauling himself up and much to his chagrin, followed suit.

The gigantic ancient wooden doors creaked open with lesser effort than expected, producing a long reverberating sound that made their insides quiver. Shinta literally dragged himself after Sano into the middle of room. It was huge and evidently once served as the reception hall. Sano quickly continued to survey the vast area of empty space, while Shinta stood still where his feet had left him. There was an unearthly aura in the room, as though they were being watched by unseen entities. He tried to see what was around him, but it was almost pitch dark and the angry breeze outside made moonlit shadows dance before him in the most phantom-like shapes. Shinta was trying to focus, he wasn't the type who got scared so easily. But-

A hand slammed down on his left shoulder. "Hey Shinta!" Sano interrupted his thoughts. The walls hurled spine-tingling echoes back at them. Shinta met his friend's face, trying to gather his witts.

"You take the east wing, and I'll take the west, okay?" Sano told him without even meeting his gaze. "Meet you back in half an hour!"

He stared speechless, as Sano made his way to the far end of the room where he ascended a flight of stone steps. Before his imagination could get the best of him, he took a deep breath and turned to ascend his own flight of steps.

A pang of damp and musty air met Shinta's senses. The higher he climbed, the thicker the air got around him. He shook himself, hoping to dispel the nausea building up in his gut, and proceeded almost mechanically. His hand touched the damp, icy walls and he eyed it lazily. This old structure was once a popular landmark that failed to draw fame to itself. Rumor has it that it was because misfortune after another had plagued all who set foot there. He wondered if any of it were true. He really didn't care to find out. Nevertheless, it was going to be abolished soon, to make way for some new government project. Ironically, it's as though the castle itself brought about it's own demise. So why in the world had Sanosuke suddenly taken interest in it?. He had been so insistent about going there, almost to the brink of deathly urgency. Deathly urgency... deathly urgency...Those words echoed in Shinta's mind before he passed out on the stone cold steps.

Sano continued to ascend the tower. He could not explain why his heart thumped so loudly. His body kept going forward, but unanswered questions were swimming in his mind. "What am I looking for? ...It ...was only a dream, but I know I've been here before... how? ...I have to find out what it all means, before this place is destroyed forever!"

Not aware of where his feet had led him, Sano now stood before a curious looking door. Judging by it's appearance, the door was thick & compact, about 10 feet high & 3 feet wide, made of sturdy looking wood that was steel-reinforced in it's hinges, it looked very intact and undisturbed. A peculiar characteristic for something that was more than a hundred thousand years old. He found a steel latch, he grasped it & tugged once...twice... it creaked wide open. "Too easy." Sano thought aloud, the sound of his own voice startling him, as it scattered, penetrating the walls. He squeezed in cautiously. Another set of stairs rested there. Much steeper, colder and situated narrowly in-between the tower's walls. Where the steps led, he could not see, it was pitch-black darkness now. His excitement was difficult to contain at this point. Its intensity masked out the fear which seemed to always mingle in nicely with curiosity, both overpowering in it's own nullified way. He proceeded nevertheless. As if the inevitability of the situation was his only recourse.

The air got thicker and thicker as he lifted each foot up, step by step, higher up the tower. He didn't even notice how the ascent seemed to take eternity, when he finally stopped before a smaller wooden door at the top. "This is it," he thought. Sanosuke turned the latch and stepped into the room beyond...

It was a small circular room illuminated by crystal clear moon beams that shone in from an open window. The only window. "I must be in the west tower room now..." Sanosuke surmised.

The room, unlike the rest of the damp castle, was dry, and a fresh evening breeze blew in steadily. He heaved deeply and began to scan his surroundings. There wasn't much to be seen except... a bed and...

Sano blinked a couple of times to make sure his vision wasn't playing tricks on him. On the plain wooden bed, lay a girl! A fair skinned girl, very young, maybe around seventeen; and all around her, long brown locks framed a saintly and serene face. She was lying so peacefully, both hands rested gracefully over her bosom, eyes closed, as if in deep sleep. Still bewitched by the strange sight, Sano moved closer until he was kneeling right next to her.

"Sayo..."

He heard himself half choke, half sob. A sharp familiar pain in his chest resurfaced...

...and he began to cry...

Tsuzuku...

End Notes:

Republished this with minor revisions. Already plotted this till the end but I haven't gotten around to writing it yet... Just haunted by my fave pairing in RK lately... thanks to Sambun No Ichi... u_u Hated the outcome of the Shimabara Arc, but I am grateful that darling Sanosuke was given a perfect partner... Meh, sorry, me-no-like Megumi! Too old for him. Feels so weird.