To Search: One Last Look
Summary: A time to remember.. a time to gather strength. It is time to leave one's nest.. taking with you one last look. Misaocentric.
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki. This fanfiction is purely for entertainment purposes, and not for any monetary profit.
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10th year of Meiji(1878)
Kyoto
The mid day sun was already past its prime, the early spring sky dyed in its timeless azure hues. On the main street of the Imperial capital, the day's hectic activities had given way to a more leisurely, settled-down pace. Wooden carts brimming with bolts of cloth rolled down the marketplace, their heavy motion raising tufts of dust. Peddlers shod in their crudely woven zori shuffled along, their voices sharp under the noon sun. Stall keepers cleaned the wares with soft linen, the folksongs from their lips adding to the lull.
The stillness of the afternoon pervaded into the Aoiya, only punctuated by the soft rhythmic clinking of the chimes. Soft cautious footsteps padded their way down the dark corridor, eyes nervously darting around for any sign of movement. A trembling hand clutched at her obi, muting the telltale jingle of last night's stolen earnings. The time had come. On a shakily indrawn breath, Misao's resolution faltered.
Echoes of another era arose to meet her as she wound her way past the training hall. For a moment.. just a moment she felt an indescribable warmth in her heart.. The simple comfort of being with her guardians. The warriors of an olden age who had sheltered a child, even as the streets outside meandered with rivers of blood. The child, doted on by these outcasts, had grown up oblivious to the carnage and chaos of war. The fledgling, who had now grown up, would in turn protect them who had no place in the new world.
It was time for this child of the Oniwabanshuu to bring back its leader. It was time to go out into the world, taking along one last look of what used to be.
Sayonara.
Her footsteps faded away.
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Glossary:
Zori- sandals
Sayonara- Goodbye. Used when two people are not meeting each other forever, or atleast for a long time
Author's Note: The 'goodbye' Misao says in this fic carries two connotations. One, that she is not going to be meeting Okina and the others for a long time. Also, she bids farewell to the youth and sheltered life she has now renounced.
R&R please!