Hey everybody! Sorry for the wait again, but I was kinda busy recently. Also, I was hoping for a few more reviews before I updated again…anyway, hope you enjoy, and please remember to leave a review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai Champloo, any of the characters, or the song this fic is based loosely upon.
Chapter 2- Me Alone
A cool breeze tickled my cheek and I shivered, opening one eye to the world around me. As my vision cleared I began to remember everything and I swallowed as I took in the room around me. Things weren't as intact as I thought they were the night before, but I was still comfortable were I was. To my side was the pot with the dying embers of my fire and I sat up to place more wood into the fire. I rubbed my arms as I shivered again and tied my hair back. When I reached for my aikuchi my fingers twinged and I hissed. My fingers were ice cold and numb and I tried to rub warmth back into them. How long had my fire been out? Most importantly, what would I do now? It was morning, and last night had been made up as I went along. This time, I really needed to think things out.
I warmed my hands over the small fire and sighed in contentment. I stood and walked over to the window. Frost covered the rice paper and I gritted my teeth as I opened the window along the track in the sill. The garbage beneath my feet crunched and I looked down to see snow among the tatters. Outside, snow layered the trees and ground a good solid foot or so. The roof was probably the same and I suddenly worried if the old building could support the weight. My face stung in the cold air and I retreated back inside to the few-degrees warmer room. I sat back on the futon and my stomach protested to deaf ears. If anything, I needed to find something warm to put over me and protect me from the cold.
I stood and visited the crates once more. A foreign language was stamped on the sides and everything was nailed shut. I wiggled a few of the boards to see if I could pry some loose and found a few that cooperated. The boards fell to the ground and I grinned at the idea of more firewood for later.
I stilled as I heard a creak from the old building. It stopped almost as quickly as it had started and I figured that it was just the wind. I turned my attention back to the crate and sneezed at all the dust. Inside the crate I could see parchment and books and understood why it had been untouched. I checked two more crates, one of which was already open on the back side- I figured he had turned it around once he was done with it- and had empty boxes of money in it. Figures.
The last box had something furry in it and I screamed in fear that an animal had chewed its way inside and may still be alive. When it didn't move I looked closer and saw stitches along the fur placed a hand on it. It was definitely fur, but there was also fabric. It looked almost like some sort of foreign-country coat, maybe European. I took out the coat to see more fur on the bottom of the sleeves and coat itself.
I was curious about the strange article of clothing and slipped my arms through the sleeves and tied the sash around my waist. I blew stands of fur away from my face and looked down to my feet when soft fluff tickled my toes. The coat was so long that it trailed down to my feet and the collar was so fluffy that it was like a scarf. I could feel myself warming up almost immediately and I basked in it peacefully. I stumbled back to the futon and sat with a huff. My breath still steamed, but I was considerably warmer now.
There came another creak from the building, but this one was long and agonizing and snow and wood sprinkled down from the ceiling. Fear snapped me into action and I sprung up and held my aikuchi for reassurance. There was a thick silence and then a groan from the building; the floor beneath my feet shuddered and I staggered back against the wall. I looked out of the open window nearby and saw snow falling in large clumps from the roof outside.
I suddenly realized how unstable the place was around me. With a fresh burst of energy, I ran from the room and out into the hallway. On my way down the corridor the roof caved in nearly on top of me. I shrieked and doubled my speed, stopping several times to dodge falling debris. The front doors were close to me now, but a rafter had just fallen over the right door. With my last bit of energy I galloped to the broken left door and groaned as I pushed the broken remains out of the way. Dirt fell down into my hair and snow tumbled through the crack; from what I could see, the snow was even deeper outside now than it had been before.
The door jammed on the deep snow outside and I cursed loudly, hearing the roof behind give way slightly in a series of small crashes. I panicked and forced myself to slip through the crack I had managed to create. There was a ripping sound as little wisps of fur floated away with the wind and snow.
After I had run to a safe distance I turned back and saw a gaping hole in the roof and heard a loud, long, sorrowful groan from the building; with one last blow of the wind, the entire roof and part of the walls of the main hallway caved in. I stared in disbelief; how had I gotten out? How did I wake up just in the right time to escape an instant death? Was this what he had once described as instinct? Perhaps this truly was my first step by myself in this new world.
I noticed the steady amount of snow pouring down all around me and that it had started to collect in my hair. I pulled the collar up to protect my face from the cold. I was nice and warm, but hunger was beginning to bother me. I had no choice but to start on my journey; maybe I would find somewhere to get food. I was excited to finally get going, and it actually made me forget my hunger.
Before I left, I turned back to the ruins of the temple. I prayed respectfully to the temple and thanked it for sparing me.
I turned away quickly, depression beginning to leech away my energy, and started down a path west from the temple. I had to watch for ice on the way down, and I slipped a few times.
I felt a little like a child as my shoes crunched in the snow. The snow was packed nice and thick below me, but the recent snow had made it just thick enough to get on my feet if I wasn't careful. The icy crystals would burn and then freeze my skin in a painful pattern.
I wasn't more than a mile away from the temple when I stepped down on a patch of rocks and the whole mountainside path rumbled with a dull roar; I gasped, unable to fully grasp what was happening as the ground fell out from beneath me and I followed close behind into a deep dark abyss. I began to understand and opened my mouth to scream. Instead of my voice there was a sickening crack and searing pain filled my senses.
My senses dulled and without the tiniest warning, my sight went black.
A/N: Ooooo, another cliffhanger! Please note that I really don't like the idea of fur coats- I only put it in the story because it was the warmest, oldest kind of coat I could think of. Sorry if I offended or disgusted anybody T.T Anyway, please review!