"Shinta, could you get me that ribbon over there?"
"Demo Sakura chan, don't make him work just yet"
"Iiie Akane chan. Shinta likes to help, don't you Shinta?"
The small eight year old nodded, eyes slightly downcast and reserved though the slight smile on his face suggested otherwise. Retrieving the aforementioned ribbon from the back of the small wagon, his childish grin grew as Sakura chan patted him on the head "Arigato des Shinta, you're so kind" right before one of the slave ringleaders ushered them away. By this point, everyone in their little rag tag slave group had learned the importance of not putting up a fight.
Shinta was thankfully, naturally inclined not to put up a struggle. For some odd reason or the other, he never even said a word and did what was asked of him - childish but ridiculously obedient with a heart made of cotton. Raising his hands as he was told, he hardly flinched as the dull rope cut into his wrists and they were bound in front of him before they told him to start walking next to the caravan. His bound hands were connected to another slave's with a rope while the cluster of women walked in a group ahead while the adult men brought up the end. He could see Sakura chan and Akane chan in the front and colored slightly when Sakura chan looked back to give him a small wave.
She was beautiful, of course. Much like his mother who had passed away from Cholera a few months ago; in fact, Cholera had wiped out most of small farming town lining the outskirts of Kyoto, that place had been his home and he was the sole survivor or the epidemic. Naturally an eight year old wasn't well versed in how to make it out in a ghost town, though that question had been answered when the slave traders had picked him up.
Though not in the best of ways. Shinta found that he couldn't complain...he was an odd child, but he would learn to adapt like he always did. They hadn't told him much of where he was going or what was to become of him and that had made him afraid of the most part, though after meeting Sakura chan and Akane chan, he had slowly started to feel better. They were like sisters to him and they treated him like a little brother, always shielding him from the brunt of their situation and giving him some of their food because 'a growing boy needs it'.
One day, he was to become an adult and he was to take care of them. Shinta had no qualms about it, he liked Akane chan and Sakura chan very much, if there were anyone he would do anything for it would be them...which is why he didn't question when a commotion began and the horses began to panic. He heard yelling from the back where the men were and a woman screamed in the front just as a plethora of battle cries washed over their little group, terrorizing everyone to the core.
Galloping horses, and the sound of human flesh being sliced to ribbons. Everyone froze for a minute before panic made its wake and people began to run about, almost as if in a stampede to get away from the caravan. Kenshin was still in a daze, though the prisoner linked to him by the rope snapped out of it first and disregarding everything, ran for it. He ran behind the caravan, ducking low to emerge from the other side and pulled the eight year old with until Shinta collided with the wooden out-cropping because he had been too dazed to duck. His 'partner' was too panicked to care, and simply tugged the rope hard enough to free his hands and run while the dazed eight year old collapsed in the mud, head pounding and hands numb from the lack of circulation, bound by the wrists.
What was going on? Lilac eyes blinked slowly, the light of the full moon reflecting in them as more screams were heard, followed by more battle cries. Everything seemed slightly hazy and he almost didn't realize someone slicing through the rope binding his hands and pulling him close.
"Shinta, I was so worried" Sakura chan's voice shook as Akane chan checked his forehead, mumbling something about a nasty bruise before they hastily got up and Sakura chan grasped on to his hand with urgency "We need to run Shinta, the caravan was attacked an-" she was cut off by a grueling scream nearby, followed by the unmistakable squelch of a spear cutting through a human chest. Somewhere next to him, Akane chan let out a gasp before pushing all of them forwards "Hayaku Sakura chan, they're close". Her fearful tone made him look at the woman addressed in particular and he saw her features tremble as a stray tear traveled down her cheek. Wordlessly, she took their wrists in her hands, ignoring the pained hiss from the eight year old before pulling them away from the caravan and they ran, sandals making the barest of sounds in the dew dipped grass.
A little way farther and Shinta could still hear the sound of horses and more yelling. Patches of the grass were splotched red and shone eerily in the moonlight, they were so fascinating that he didn't notice where they were going until Sakura chan has him pressed to the front of her kimono, her fingers trembling "Its okay Shinta, we won't let you die here" is all she said as two other women - Akane chan and Hiruki chan huddled close to him, all three of them embracing the child and trying their best to not let him see what was happening. He could hear screaming and smell the enticing scent of blood, one which he had grown accustomed to when his father had gotten ill. Lilac eyes could see everything from above the crook of her elbow, the spray of red followed by a scream or a gurgle.
A battle cry, followed by more shrieking and he could feel their grip on him tighten while Hiruki chan sobbed quietly "Shinta, you must live" Sakura chan whispered as the sound of footsteps came near and one of the weights surrounding him was pulled away "We chose the way to live our lives but you didn't" He didn't know what exactly happened to her, apart from the sound of a sword being thrust through beating flesh and the grip on him tightened as Hiruki chan too, was pulled away. By now, Sakura chan had taken to huddling over him, her frame full of trembling as the red head stared at her with wide eyes, lilac meeting a watery black "Promise me, Shinta. You must live" she whispered as fingers tightened in her hair and pulled her away. Shinta watched as the man held her up by her beautiful hair before driving a sword through her throat. Weakly, she raised her arms to grasp it while trying to say something but the man withdrew the steel and dropped her like a barrel of rice.
"Sh-shin-" her watery black eyes stared at him with a pleading resolve, hand fighting to stretch towards him before the burly man stepped over her fighting corpse and stabbed his sword through her chest.
Slighted purple orbs opened slowly as the sound of the wind chime floated through the open window. Blinking, Kenshin raised a hand to his forehead before turning his head to look out of the window. The stars were shining well tonight, and the moon hung pale in the sky, casting an eerie glow so similar to that night. Propping himself up on one shoulder, his hair loosely framing his oddly complacent expression, he felt an odd feeling somewhere in the recesses of his chest.
It had been a while since he had dreamt of that incident; usually his dreams were an odd combination of his Battousai days accompanied by a haunting smile of his late wife Tomoe. In comparison, one could even consider this a better dream, he supposed. Lilac eyes narrowed slightly, tired at the thought before the wind chime sounded, followed by a flurry of leaves; some of which floated in his room, falling like sakura petals near his futon.
Luck had an odd way of favoring him at the oddest of times. Maybe that was what Hiko had meant when he had talked about 'the fates favoring him' though that, he felt, was somewhat ironic. He had done so many wrongs, in so many ways that even death would not have been a justifiable punishment.
Though no, that idea seemed like a mirage for now. He just hoped that one day, Sakura chan would eventually forgive him; maybe Shinta's soul could rest in peace then, once and for all.