A Broken Promise
Prologue: Reminiscence
By Kaen
(Welcome to my very first fanfiction!)
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He sat motionlessly, his tired body soaking up the last of sun's rays as the slight breeze gently played with his auburn locks. It had been three weeks and two days since he had left the dojo. And left her. He closed his violet eyes as he wondered what she was doing now, and if she missed him as much as him her. He sighed heavily, the action relaxing and dismaying him at the same time. She was probably too busy to be worrying about him with all that she was depended upon to tend to. It was incredibly selfish for him to hope that she distresses herself over his absence and he mentally scolded himself.
After a few more seconds, he opened his eyes and once again raised them to the darkening sky. He gasped, his eyes widening to take in a most eerie sight. Instead of the usually pale tones of pink, indigo and gold that were associated with sunset, the sky had turned the color of fresh blood, the sun a fiery orb amidst the crimson backdrop. He shuddered as he roughly rubbed his arms, futilely try to force a spark of warmth back into them. He was so cold all of a sudden… Not at all like he had been just minutes ago, while reflecting on Kaoru.
This may have been due to the fact that he was no longing reflecting on Kaoru, but rather, the last time he had seen a blood red sunset… The Bakumatsu… At that time, careless slaughter seemed a so much a part of his life. He recalled the feeling of taking a life, how easily his sword had sliced namelessly through hundreds, if not thousands of men. And one woman…
"Tomoe…" he whispered, almost inaudible, but loud enough to leave a lingering presence in the air around him. He lowered his eyelids as he absently brought his right hand from his arm to trace the cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. He smiled wistfully in the simple remembrance of his beloved Tomoe. He was eternally grateful to her. Not only for her unrelenting kindness, but for her love and how she showed him how to live a meaningful life. He had never forgiven himself for her accidental death and knew that he never would, but he had learned from his greatest mistake. He repented for it by swearing to never kill again.
Unfortunately, he could not honor his own vow for very long. Times soon changed and he once again found himself on a desolate battlefield, shamefully ending lives as he had once done before his tragic love with Tomoe. As he stood along the carnage that he himself had created, he could feel the warmth of his own blood cascading down his scarred cheek and slowly dripping off his chin onto his otherwise unstained gi. Making no effort to wipe the blood away, he bowed low to his slain enemies. A gesture he previously would not have ever made, had it not been for Tomoe's compassionate teachings.
After the battle was won, the Battousai had turned away and ruefully left the battleground. Hitokiri Battousai abandoned his title at the Bakumatsu and was now simply known as Kenshin, but even his name was still that of a soldier that he had been given to him by his sword master. Hiko had declared that "Shinta" was a child's name and was far too weak for a disciple of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. At the time, Kenshin didn't understand why his name had been altered, but he now appreciated the act of his master. His three "sisters" would not have approved of the bloody path that he had chosen to take anyway.
When he was a child, he pretended that he could be someone else other than the helpless boy they died defending if he had a different name. He had hated his own weakness and demanded of himself that he grow stronger. Kenshin was now grateful his name was changed because of the shame his sisters would feel if they knew they had sacrificed themselves defending a future Hitokiri. They died shielding a boy named Shinta, they told him to live to choose his own life, and not let it be taken on that fateful night. He did what they entreated him to do and in that course of action had put himself through more misery and pain than he would have ever felt if he had been killed during the attack on the highway.
The sudden snapping of branches brought him out of his reminiscence. Kenshin realized that the sun had completely set and the only light was coming from the full moon that shone down on the Earth. Just like that night so many years ago… Silently he took in his surroundings as his gaze took in the forest floor below. When he caught sight of nothing he shook his head he reprimanded himself for jumping at sounds as natural in a forest as the forest itself. Either way it was time for him to be leaving for town.
About two months ago the police chief had requested that Kenshin take yet another job to help maintain order. He was sent to Ono, a town near Kyoto, where particularly dangerous rebel factions were confirmed to be hiding. This group, seeming to be more intelligent than most, worked only at night where they congregated and planned extremist attacks on the government building and political leaders. So far, Kenshin had succeeded in catching about fifteen members of this group, perhaps around a third of the estimated size. Unfortunately, none of them had given up without a fight. Kenshin would comply with their will for a battle, but as with most battles it was short and extremely mismatched. He wished that they would just abandon their pointless revolution so he would be able to return to Tokyo, and to Kaoru.
Kenshin stole one last glance at the clear night sky and effortlessly jumped down from the high branch he had been sitting on to enjoy the sunset. He proceeded to make his way out of the lush forest and was soon on the highway that leads to Ono, but he walked at a leisurely pace. For the past week there had been no activity and he began to grow leery of his duty as a watchman. Maybe the group had dissolved itself after finally seeing its efforts a futile? He smiled wishfully at the possibility.
Lost in his own thoughts, Kenshin barely noticed a group of men far off to the horizon. He probably wouldn't have noticed them, had it not been for all the ruckus that they were creating that could clearly be heard from over a thousand feet away. Probably drunk, Kenshin thought to himself dismayingly as he observed them from the far off road. Deciding that this group may need more monitoring than a phantom rebel group that hadn't shown itself for over a week Kenshin moved off the highway and into the tall grasses that grew against either side of the road. Silently he crept close enough to be able to supervise the men lest something get out of control, but distant enough to not to accidentally eavesdrop on their conversation. Kenshin sat on the soft ground using his sword to support him and once again lost himself in the past.
Three hours later the men had appeared to sober up, or were at least finally asleep. Kenshin was thankful that they had gained control over themselves again, but his relief was replaced by a bigger fear than he could not have even imagined just hours ago. As two or three men stood guard over what was apparently a makeshift camp, their conversations had abruptly halted at the distant sound of a wagon traveling along the highway. Kenshin had noticed their tenseness and silently questioned their intentions, but made no move to stop them. He strained his eyes as he slowly got to his feet, trying to see what type of wagon was approaching upon realizing that the men were probably highway bandits that moved from place to place seeking their stolen fortune. From so far away, the only thing he could tell was that there were many people accompanying the wagon and that some may be guards.
To attack something with so many people around seemed foolish, but these men
didn't appear to be the brightest of the bunch and the few that were already awake hastily awakened the others. And if Kenshin wasn't concerned before he became quite alert when all the men proceeded to pick up their katanas off the ground and place them in their sashes. Kenshin narrowed his eyes and impulsively placed his right hand over the handle of his sakabato.
Grimacing at their actions and the pain that those men would more than likely be in within just a few moments, Kenshin sprinted to the highway where the wagon group was traveling. Upon reaching the road, his running stopped abruptly as his breath caught in his throat. Wide-eyed, he watched as several children accompanied by ten or eleven adults walk in silence along a large wagon on the road leading past Ono to Kyoto.
"Slave traders…" he said quietly to himself as his hand dropped from the handle of his sword. Almost instinctively, Kenshin's eyes began searching for his dear sisters, but he quickly realized his foolishness, for those women had died over twenty years ago. He sighed heavily and then began to run up to the head of the train, searching desperately for a leader who would give the command to seek refuge in town before it was too late. As he did, many small children pointed at him, or rather at his sword, while asking questions like children have a tendency to do. Kenshin's heart felt incredibly heavy as he glanced at the innocent faces of the children he passed.
I need to help them or else they could all be… could be… Kenshin wouldn't allow his mind to finish such a horrific thought. He was there and he wouldn't allow something as awful as that to ever repeat itself. He was strong now, like he always wanted to be. And maybe now, after so many years of frustration, he would be able to finally avenge his sisters' death in the form of saving the innocent lives of children.
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Well, that's it for chapter one. I hope you enjoyed it! I'm really not sure what to think about this fic because I had written this chapter a while ago. (This was the first fic for me ever!) Right now, the decision to continue this fic is up in the air, so I'm only going to be writing more if I get at least a few reviews in support of its continuation. I promise that the future chapters will be better if I do continue and as always, I'd love to hear suggestions for the fic and general advice for improving my writing style! Thank you for reading and please review!
-Kaen ^^