Author's Note
Well…here I am, starting another story. I'm not sure if it's worth the time…this one isn't known for finishing any of the stories he starts, heh heh. However, I've been reading a lot of great kenshin fanfics lately and have a desire to start my own kenshin story. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish it…or at least, do better than with my other fics. You know what would help me out a lot? Reviews. :D
Seriously…I ask that if you read this story, and you like it, please take the time to review! I don't care what you say, really, (though I prefer good reviews, but hey…;D) but I need motivation to continue working. The more reviews I get, the more inspired I become to continue writing! So please…it can just be a simple "hey, I like your story" or asking me to update, but reviews really raise my spirit. Truly!
So! I shall begin writing this story, and maybe, it'll go somewhere…and I leave that up to you, the good folks of I can't stress this enough! Please review, if you like the story and want it to continue. I'm not one of those picky authors who absolutely refuses to update unless they get a set amount of reviews, it's nothing like that…I just find that if I'm writing a story and posting it online, I feel like I'm doing something worth my while if I get some feedback on it, positive or negative. And that really motivates me…Alright, enough of my pleading, you get the idea. Review if you like, give me criticism if you find it suitable, anything! Thank you. I hope you enjoy the story!
(P.S – Review! Plz and thanks.)
Rated T
I'll be giving this here story a "T", to play it safe. Writing this fic was really a spur-of-the moment decision in the first place, so I'm not really sure where I'm taking the story myself. However, I figure violence will factor in one way or another inevitably, and there might be some other touchy material, as well. I guess we'll just have to see as the story progresses, won't we? shrugs
Disclaimer
I do not own Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X or any other related material (my own collection aside), that I most certainly do not. You should probably be grateful for that.
Eclipse – Prologue
Breaking
I am…weary…
The world around him was fading, that much he knew. He did not know why, did not understand the reason for any of it…he had fought to preserve this…he had tried so very hard to make sure that nothing happened, that nothing would change. He did not want change.
It was inevitable, change. It would come, and he would have to face it when it did. This thought brought pain, caused sorrow to blossom within his heart…so withered and broken, missing a piece here and there…yet still, whole. It remained strong for those who depended on it, not for himself.
It was difficult to maintain that type of strength. Especially now…with every step he took, he found his strength fleeting. With every thought, more suffering. It hurt to think. It hurt to move, it hurt to stand…sleep brought him no relief. With sleep, came the dreams…Only the ones he so ardently wished to protect, those he had found a home with…only they brought him relief.
Such a simple thing…such a basic thing it is. Living, having a home to come back to…and yet…
For a moment, he found it much easier to walk. For a single moment…he was sure in his footing, confident in where the path he had taken upon himself to travel ended…wasn't he?
And then he stumbled. It was getting dark…where was he? He had never stopped to think about where it was he was going. Or had he forgotten? How had he gotten to this point? Where was he headed? This place…was familiar enough, in the beginning. When he had taken his first step, he knew where he was, he knew which way to go, who to turn to if he became lost. That simple knowledge had been with him, at the time.
When had the change occurred? When had he realized he did not know where he was going? Had he become so dependant upon the happiness of others, the path that they walked, that he had forgotten where his own feet had taken him?
I'm tired…allow this one some rest, if you please…so…tired…
No…he could not stop, not here. It had become too dark…if he allowed himself the luxury of resting, even for but a moment; he would only lose himself further. He had to continue, no matter what. Nothing else mattered…he had to keep walking, at least until he found his way back home.
Was it really darkness that surrounded him…? Or had he brought this lack of light upon himself? Had he strayed from where he was supposed to be…?
He looked down at his palm, and he remembered a time from long ago, a time in which he had held this palm to his face, soaking up the blood from a cut that just wouldn't stop bleeding…
His thoughts drifted to fire, first…the flames burned something, a familiar scent…the summer heat was just too much for that which was burning…what was it, again…? What was to be found within the flames, burning in the snow…?
Blood. There was blood seeped deep into the snow, coloring it a pinkish shade of regret and weakness, of love and he remembered that this was where the wound that didn't stop bleeding had been completed, a cycle finished, perhaps destined to repeat itself…
He coughed, and tasted blood in his mouth…but then, had there been a time in which he had not tasted blood within his mouth, choking him with his own hands, as he found himself drowning within the rain he had caused to bleed?
This is not the time…there is only home, that is all that matters…I…I have to see them, and I have to keep my promises…I can't allow myself to fail. No matter what…this one has a deep debt to pay. No…more than one.
"M-must…live…I can't stop walking, I have t-to…I have to go home…"
His legs were frail, and with his continued effort to walk, he found them growing weaker still, as if his own body found him unworthy of keeping his word…he had broken more than his word in the past. This, he knew…
"I…I know that I am not worthy…but still, there are those that depend on me, and it is the faith they have in me, it is their belief that I will always be there for them…that keeps me tied to this world. Please…"
As he walked on, time seemed to slow to a maddening halt. Was he even going in the right direction? Everything was dark…so dark…he felt blind.
Thoughts of the snow resurfaced, the blinding white pillar that had helped bring about the end result of the mistake he had helped shape with his own murderous hands…or maybe it had only been the beginning of his suffering. No…
That he still suffered was purely of his accord. He knew this…none of this would have ever happened if he had been stronger, seen the truth in words spoken by the dragon that had brought him in, had taught him, and had warned him against making the decision that would bring about so much pain and so much sadness…
His hands were stained with the worst of offenses. He had fooled himself into believing that he was saving lives even as he destroyed them. Yes…this was true. But now…what about now?
I need…I need to get home, please…
Was he correct in his philosophy, even now? Or was he still mistaken…? Was there something he was doing wrong, something that bound him to this terrible suffering?
He had sworn to never kill again…and he hadn't. He had kept his word, no…his oath…for how long now? Such a very long time…had it really been enough?
Was it truly enough to seek atonement by protecting others? Was there even more he could do, could have done in all this time…?
His breathing became faint, and he felt his chest grow cold…
He couldn't…he just couldn't. It was taking too much from him, all of this…was just too much. He fell to one knee, using his sheathe as a support…and he thought of all the blood. So much…so much…all his fault…all because of him…
He lost his grip on the sheathe, and it fell, with a sound that seemed to resonate within his very core, to the hard, unforgiving earth below it. Without his sheathe as support, he fell, curling up into a ball, as if it was enough to protect him from the onslaught of memories and the uncertainty of his path that blinded him from finding the way back home.
Allow this one some rest, please…Kaoru-dono…everyone…I will be home shortly, that I will. Just give this one…some time. I promise, I will come home.
And he drifted off into a deep, deep sleep, the scent of white plums filling his soul, and the vision of cherry blossoms drifting before his eyes, carried by the wind to a place where he could only ever hope to see.
Well, there's the prologue! I hope it was passable, considering this is my first kenshin fic. I want to finish the story…and I'll need the support of readers to do so. Please, if you read, and you like it and want more, review. That would help me finish the next chapter, that it would. "
(If you see any typos or something of the sort, please tell me and I'll edit it. I notice that even if I re-read something after I've finished writing it, I tend to miss mistakes. So I would appreciate it. Thanks!)