Disclaimer: I do NOT own Rurouni Kenshin. I'm just an avid fan, nothing more. Rurouni Kenshin belongs to © Nobohiro Watsuki, Shuiesha, Shounen, Jump and Sony. This fanfic is merely for entertainment and not for profit. All ideas are mine to claim…
Author's Notes: My first fantasy fic. The words are a bit cranky because some of the scenes were taken from my life. I hope you like this one and if I get enough reviews to inspire me…I'll continue updating this story.
Up Where Angels Dwell Chapter 1It all started one beautiful day in the early blossoms of spring and I thought I was having the most perfect day of my life. You see, winter break was over and so I was back to school again, with all my books that I've never even read during the vacation and with my all-portable computer notebook, which I consider a big part of my student life.
I just arrived at the train station and it was leaving in 15 minutes. It was when I expectedly crossed paths with Misao, my best friend. I know many people tell us we look more like sisters…they just don't know that our bonding was far beyond than being blood-related. She was like the whole world to me and then after the next second, I find myself not needing her at all. Hmm. Funny, huh?
"Well, you look happy" she noted with a big goofy grin on her face. "Did you meet someone during winter break?"
My brows knotted at that. Whatever it was I feel, she always would find a way to ask me if it was something about meeting someone. For years, she had been nagging me to find a boyfriend…as if life itself would throw me up if I didn't have one before I graduate. Yes, it was all about that silly saying the whole campus believed. It was silly, really. They say you would die alone if you didn't have any boyfriend before you graduate. Well, graduation is after all a few months away and I still haven't got my heart set on anyone. Yet. And besides, I really don't consider men as a very important figure in a woman's life…in my life, I mean. Because for some, like Misao here, men meant everything.
"Well?" I'm sure Misao's tone was impatient and excited as well.
I smiled at her before I shook my head. She frowned. I would have expected it.
"I'm not like you, you know!" I hissed, bobbing my lips in irritation. Really, I hate it when she asks me about guy things. If I can't even find time to read my books in Chemistry class…how on earth am I suppose to find time to flirt with men? "I have no time for that kind of stuff"
"Oh, yeah?" she countered, her brows cocking in challenge "And what kind of stuffs do you spend your time with anyway?"
I bit my lip. What do I do with my time anyway? Well, for most of it…I write novels, I paint, I'm my cousin's unofficial photographer, I'm the adjutant Kasshin sensei of my other cousin and I play mother for my two beautiful younger siblings. Seriously, if you were as busy as I am…would you find a spare minute to go men hunting? No, I don't think so.
"Look Misao. I'm a writer, painter, photographer, sensei, mother, daughter, brother, sister, BEST FRIEND and a student." My reply was persnickety that I had to doubt if Misao had gotten my message. But my emphasis on the best friend part was just as to make her guilty. "How do you suppose I could find time to find a boyfriend?"
"I'll help you…"
Ugh! She won't give up. It was then when I started to doubt if being so stubborn as to never give up was a good thing or a bad thing. But in Misao's stubbornness case, it was, no doubt, about to get me into a big heap of trouble. But what harm would it do trying to help a poor girl like me find the man of her dreams?
I could think lots of them…but the again…
"There's no need for you to do that, Mis" I told her gently with a smile. "And besides, I don't believe that silly rumor about dying alone when you don't have a boyfriend before graduation. It's just a silly nonsense a freaking nutcase made up" I made it as elaborate as possible…complete with gestures and facial expressions.
"But it's true!" Misao pressed in, "Remember Okina, my grandfather? He failed to have any girlfriends before graduation and now, look at him! He's just an old polygamous goat who still lives his life hitting on women but he never ends with one!"
I sighed. Yeah, I remembered the first time Misao took to me to her hometown in Kyoto – Aoiya. It was a beautiful town colored more beautifully with its kind and generous inhabitants. Boy, was I wrong to have presumed that thought because the second I had my foot on the rickety floors of the Oniwabanshuu dojo, her grandfather had already hit on me, asking me out on a date.
I was totally mortified! I never met someone so old and still had nerves to ask young women out…and hit on her in front of her best friend's face! I guess, you wouldn't want to know why the old chap doesn't hit on me anymore…it's pretty violent.
"Misao…" my tone was already tired, "your grandfather was different! His life had a totally different story and it's definitely not about that silly saying…"
Misao was about to open her mouth when the conductor of the train called our attention. The train was leaving in less than five minutes so I hurriedly snatched Misao's hand and dragged her inside the train, not minding her hysterics and rebuffs about the guy issue.
We were already inside the train and we weren't talking. I was just whistling a hum with my hand on my lap when Misao suddenly elbowed me. I glowered at her and elbowed her back, pissed by her sudden movement. "What's wrong with you?" I asked her curtly, shifting my position from the seat.
My brows tangled again as her snout began pointing to the right side. I didn't know then what she was trying to tell me. "What?" I asked, my voice perplexed as ever.
But all I got for an answer was her continuous snout pointing. I gave her another puzzled look and she moved her snout faster…her eyes telling me something. But I really couldn't get it…I tried to trace where her snout was pointing but my eyes didn't land on anything that was worth looking at.
"Could you just please spit it out?" I ordered, thumping her arm with my bag. Whatever she was trying to tell me with her snout, it was getting on my last nerves.
Misao rolled her eyes and leaned on to me. "That guy over there is staring at you," she whispered hotly into my ear. I blushed, not knowing how to react. "That albino with the glasses"
Again, my brows met. Albino? What the heck was she talking about? Somehow, that took away the little blush that crept on to my face. I looked again at the right side and saw an ashen-haired guy with dark glasses. But for heaven's sake…it wasn't an albino. Just the hair was white. He had unmistakable fair skin…even darker than mine.
I shot Misao a dagger and whacked her forehead. "That's not an albino, you dummy…" I chuckled, "Not all white-haired people are albinos, for your information"
Misao checked herself for a while and then blinked at me, "Really?"
I rolled my eyes and circled my arms around her shoulders, squeezing it tight. "Really. Now, I want you to tell me how you knew that the guy was looking at me when he had sunglasses on?"
Again, she stopped for a while and she began tittering, her face etched by embarrassment. I sighed. Misao could be a real dumbass sometimes. I sighed again and settled to my chair.
"Okay, my bad, Kaoru but I really felt that he –"
"Zip it!" I cut her off, placing a finger on her lips. "Save your prattles for English class"
I freed her lip and she went silent, not uttering a single word until we arrived at the school, even until we were seated in our respected seats. Argh! She took it too much! I hate it when people give me silent-treatments.
"I didn't tell you to keep quiet that long" I tapped her knee and she flinched. My brows met. "Are you angry?"
She glared at me and after a moment...gave in to a sigh. "No"
I smiled, "That's good"
That day, English class began to get more boring as Ayumi-sensei kept on reviewing lessons on Renaissance and the Medieval Ages. She would divide the class into five groups and assign each group a topic then each person in the group has to report in front. Reporting was a menace to a student's life really…especially when your classmates laugh at your face.
I remember when I was still a junior in middle school and we were having this Biology class. The teacher was dramatically discussing about sex-linked traits and how they are inherited from a parent to an offspring. She was giving a name for every chromosome she discusses and so she gave the name "Misao" to an X-chromosome and "Aoshi" to a Y-chromosome, which by the way, are the names of my classmates.
At that time, I was busy scribbling some ex-convict drawings on my Biology notebook. You see, I was known for vandalizing my notebooks and for the big-muscled bald men I always sketch, which I always joke to be my future husband. Well, anyway…the teacher was telling us that when two people have sex…
"When two people have sex" I remember her say, straightening her glasses as the class erupts in snickers. "The Y-chromosome from the men meets up with the X-chromosome of a woman"
Then, she stopped and I knew why. My classmates didn't get the point. So, she began again, this time using Misao and Aoshi name. And because I was busy sketching my future ex-convict husband, I didn't know that she did.
"Kamiya, if the child bears an X chromosome, what would be the gender?"
I really didn't hear her until Soujiro elbowed me. I quickly stood up and faced her, gulped as her eyes scrutinized me. "I…" my voice was trembling then, "I beg your pardon?"
The teacher rolled her eyes and restated her question, "Misao and Aoshi had sex and…"
My eyes widened and I felt myself throw up. They had sex…I totally took it the wrong way and I burst out to Misao, "You had sex with him? How dare you! Misao, we're still fifteen and how could you not tell me!"
I was so innocent I totally cried in front of the class with treacherous words bursting from my mouth. I was uttering such imperfect profanities that our Biology teacher had to slap me to calm me down.
It was in the clinic, when I learned that I had it all on the other side out. I was so soo embarrassed I skipped classes for a whole week! And when I finally returned, my classmates couldn't stop laughing and teasing me about it. But then again, every embarrassing moment has bright sides. It was that very day when Misao and I became best friends.
So, that was my most embarrassing moment and I couldn't even figure out why I'm telling all this. But anyway, that was ages ago and everybody had already forgotten about it…that is, except me…
"It's raining" it was Misao, cutting off my reverie.
"Huh?"
"It's raining," she repeated, pointing out to the window.
"Oh, yes" I huffed and started stuffing all my books inside my bag. And it was when the freaking reality dawned on me: it was Wednesday! It was my turn to do the shopping! "Oh my God, I have to get home fast!" I stuttered, kissing Misao on the cheek. "Goodbye! See you tomorrow!"
I was already a yard away from her and I could hear her shout "goodbye and take care" back. Boy, was I hurrying that I completely forgot to change my gym shoes.
I quickly hopped in a cab after I had my transparent yellow raincoat on. The rain that day was one of the most upsetting weather changes I had ever encountered in Tokyo. Just some few hours ago, the sun was streaking with heat and the people around me were all wearing happy faces but now all I see are impatient citizens desperately looking for somewhere to shelter themselves.
I was breathing profusely as I fumbled on my bag, dreadfully searching for my wallet. In the cold of the afternoon, I was sweating like hell…I left my money on my locker! But without any money…how was I supposed to pay the cab? I looked around me and my eyes caught sight of my friendship ring. But no, anything but that…
"Where do we head, miss?" the cab driver suddenly asked, his head turned to face me. His voice made me panic even more and my sweat almost bathed every inch of my trembling body.
"H----H---H-- uh?" I tried to speak, "You…you see, sir…"
And I told the cab driver the whole story. I guess you're not dumb enough not to guess what he did to me for punishment. Me…lonely poor little me….was thrown in the middle of nowhere under the raging rain!
I was crying back then as I walked helplessly amidst of getting wet, which I know will eventually turn into a fever and then into pneumonia. I know I was a first-class clean freak, a hypochondriac they say. I sneezed and coughed and I cried.
My mind went blank. What will happen to me? And where am I?
I kept walking and walking when I finally spotted a log on the riverbed. I looked up and frowned at the sight of the dark noisy sky, blaring at me and telling me to be afraid. I wiped my tears and seated myself in the log, the northeast wind pulling my hair and my tie.
I hugged myself and shivered slightly from the cold, thinking positive things as much as possible but the thought that came knocking on my mind's door were all negative such as getting struck by the lightening, being frozen to death and being drowned by this river if it overflows.
I was going to die!
As tears began to fell from my eyes again, the sky roared and the wind howled harder, causing me to brawl more noisily. I covered my ears with my hands and I began to whistle as the thunder and the lightening began their blatant battle of ceaseless rackets and screams.
My heart pounded so violently against my chest that it caused me to sweat despite of the freezing weather. Gently and carefully, I forced my knees to stand. I just had to get up into some place safer…
When I took my first step, the sky turned on to me unexpectedly and I nearly fainted. I just had the shock of my life when the thunder suddenly roared unexpectedly as if it was just some few meters away from me.
I sobbed as I fell down on my knees, begging for the sky to stop its assail. Sure, I had experience many rainstorms far stronger than this but the sound of that earsplitting thunder was one I never heard before. I never felt so close to a storm and I never felt so helpless I could die…
Moments later after that deafening peal of unexpected thunder, I saw flashes of lightening, which, for some odd reason, were beginning to get nearer and nearer. I was so horrified that I totally dug a hole on the ground for me to hide in. But it was too late because when the hole was just one inch deep; the lightening had already gotten to me.
But…the lightening never struck me. Instead, it struck a bushy little hill just some 50 meters away from me. I stood up and tried to see what it was it had hit. My breath left me as my eyes caught sight of something blinding rays of light had surrounded. It was something far beyond the stretch of one's imagination, something you would never believe unless you've seen it with your own two eyes.
My eyes stuck frozen to the light the lightening had left. I felt everything stopped at that time as everything went on to a blistering mound of silence. I blinked a few times and rubbed my eyes; slapped myself and pinched every sensitive part of my body, hoping that what I just saw was only a silly hallucination my brain created.
But no, the whole thing was real.
A vehement gush of wind blew the rainstorm away and everything suddenly became bright again. I felt the sun on my skin again and when I looked up, the sky was sparkling with birds and blue. The river waters were calm and impeccably clear, not even a trace of the horrible rainstorm was visible. I slapped myself once, still trying to convince myself that what I saw was just a hallucination.
But when I opened them again, the ray of light was still there and it was bickering me to come near, pulling me closer to savor its splendor unimagined. My heart raced as I took my first step towards it.
As I was getting closer, my theory was confirmed…
But…how come…?
It was impossible as far as impossibility is concerned. Where did it come from?
I blinked again as my fingers hesitantly reached out to touch the light. The very moment I did, the light suddenly flashed and blinded me. I groaned as I raised my arms in front of my eyes for protection.
Seconds later, carefully, I fluttered my eyes open. I just froze when I realized that what it was that lay next to my feet was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. I blinked twice and kneeled, relishing the beauty of the creature that had unmistakably fell down from the sky to my feet: a man.
I smiled as I felt my heart beating slowly, my fingers reaching out to caress his flawless face. I moaned as my nerves felt how soft and cold his skin was. My eyes traveled from his hair, which had an enchanting, majestic shade of red to his closed eyes, to his full red lips, to his pale but average-sized body until they reached his long muscled legs.
I didn't know why but every passing second spent just looking at him seemed like an eternity. For some unknown reason I would never know, I just found my face nearing his…my lips not over an inch away from his own.
My lips were about to involuntarily kiss him when he suddenly groaned. I flinched and backed away as he slowly fluttered his eyes open. I wanted to run that very instant but found no way to do so. My knees were shaking and I was really feeling heavy. I swallowed hard as he sat up, shaking his head in his wake. My eyes widened as he slowly turned his head towards my direction. From there, I could see his lavender eyes lovingly telling me there was nothing to fear.
But it was all too much for me to bear that the second he smiled, I fainted.