"Even After" (Part 2 of 3)
A Sanosuke x Sayo AU gothic romance by 'haunted' Arachay
(reposted with minor revisions: 08-12-2012)

Series: Rurouni Kenshin (the anime)
Characters/Pairing: Sanosuke Sagara & Sayo Magdaria (SanoSayo)
Genre: Gothic Romance, AU, Tragedy
Warnings: This is a bit depressing, very depressing for those who are more sensitive, and of course, for those who love Sano & Sayo, as much as I do... they really broke my heart bad. Also, character death...
Disclaimer: Main characters based on Rurouni Kenshin created by Nobuhiro Watsuki

Part 2: Fate Strings

Sanosuke lived a life in a past, but the memories he had then, are hidden deep within his soul. One by one they resurface as ghosts... as dreams... perhaps it will be these very same dreams are what will lead him to return to a life that once was...

He tried to open his eyes, but his mind remained in slumber. Imprinted vividly in the twilight of sub-consciousness & reality, was a beautiful young lady he once knew as Sayo, her amorous voice and unfathomable green eyes; a lingering kiss on his lips. He wanted to be lost in these memories forever, but like a cold spring breeze & the smell of sweet dew drops after the rain, it was slipping away too soon. Too fast...

Suddenly a voice broke through his delirium, as the memories plummeted further down oblivion, the persistent voice jolted him awake.

"Wake up Sanosuke!" It boomed for the third impatient time.

Sanosuke groaned at the unwelcome intrusion. His numb hands reaching for the unbearable heat in his forehead. He found an ice bag resting there, but doing nothing whatsoever to alleviate his misery. Trying to sit up after being bedridden for long certainly wasn't an easy task, as the back of his head throbbed from insufficient blood circulation, and the pit of his stomach churned with nausea and hunger.

The owner of the voice, presumably their doctor, fidgeted about him, propping up pillows to ease him into position, while asking him how he felt. Sanosuke couldn't reply if he wanted to, his throat was painfully dry. Anyway, he knew this doctor merely asked for the sake of routine procedure...

He had been in bed like this for three days now, but it felt like weeks. The sleeping girl he met at the castle- was his last waking recollection. The only way he kept track of the days were the number of times he was administered medication. He was obliged to do so thrice a day. He had no idea what his ailment was, and was grateful for being so oblivious to it because he felt that any further knowledge would worsen his situation. Whatever it was, his friends and family were fussing about it a lot.

"How are you feeling Sanosuke?" The doctor asked Sanosuke again, the worried expression on his face told Sanosuke that this time the doctor really wanted to know. Sano swallowed the bitter drug gingerly then forced a reply, "Fine."

"Still been having those strange dreams?"

"No." he lied

"Well, that's good. You should do well to get sufficient sleep and sustenance." He patted Sanosuke's arm & left the bedside to talk with someone else inside the room. But Sanosuke didn't hear any of it. He laid back down & drifted off to sleep...

Timeline: 1820 Shikagi Valley, Nagasaki Prefecture

The Tenkusa palace that stands on the highest slope of the Shikagi valley has always been one of the richest in Nagasaki. But this did not mean that they were one of the most prosperous. The daimyos and common folk despised the shogunate severely, for his methods were no less than selfish and corrupt. The people of Shikagi Valley were determined to topple down the shogunate. They have been secretly planning a rebellion. A plan that has been in progress ever since the Tenkusa palace soldiers had first begun taking more taxes out of them than they could afford. The daimyos & common folk had no choice but to work even harder to comply to this. If they refused, they were to be punished. The severity of the punishment depended on the severity of their disobedience. Here, Sanosuke was the son of a prominent daimyo and Sayo, only daughter of the Shogun...

It's just like fate to make two such different people fall in love...

The night of the plan's execution came. The attack was short, simple and ruthless. The whole palace erupted in bright yellow flames, devouring all its inhabitants. Tormented sounds permeated the black smoke and fire greedily engulfed its walls. Not one had survived it... Not one...

"I promise to keep you safe. To protect you... I won't let you die!"

Sanosuke sat bolt upright. Out of breath and perspiring. He remembers everything clearly now... (though he should not)

He remembers.

Every dreadful and shocking detail.

"So the ghost that Sanosuke's been seeing was actually her?" Shinta exclaimed

"Possibly." Professor Tsuki Okami mused. He had just pulled a dusty old book from one of his wooden shelves and opened it to a picture of a beautiful young lady. "Chiyoru Tenkusa, more fondly known as 'Sayo', was the only daughter of the Shogun. Apparently, she had fallen in love with a daimyo's son, who had promised to meet her before the common folk carried out their plan of toppling the Tenkusa Shogunate... But somehow they didn't make it. Both died on the night of the attack. Ever since then, it has been said that her ghost still waits in that castle." Okami smiled as he handed the book to Shinta.

Shinta looked at the picture doubtfully, "But- But isn't that just folklore?"

"As far as I know, it is." Okami said thoughtfully. "The Tenkusa Palace was burned down more than a hundred years ago, but up to this day, people have refrained from setting foot in the castle. I've never been up there myself, I really can't tell..."

Shinta was silent for a few moments. He himself brought Sanosuke back from the castle that night, unconscious. Ever since then, Sanosuke had become ill, and was constantly plagued by nightmares and mumbling in his sleep...

Then suddenly something struck Shinta. "Professor! That castle is going to be demolished isn't it?"

"Yes. Supposedly, three days ago."

Shinta frowned. "Why didn't they push through with it then?"

"The heavy downpour made that fairly impossible." Okami replied. "But I've heard that they plan to demolish it tomorrow morning."

Shinta quickly ran through the text portions of the book & his eyes widened. "It coincides...!"

Okami's brow furrowed, "What does?"

Shinta held the open book out to him on his desk. "The date when the Tenkusa Palace burned down almost 200 years ago! It coincides with the date of the demolition tomorrow! The 28th of Febuary!"

Okami looked mystified despite his skepticism. He studied the date on the book carefully before speaking. "My goodness, you're right! What a strange coincidence..."

Shinta's mind raced. He most certainly didn't believe in ghosts or the like, but he had been to the castle once with Sanosuke, and he couldn't find an explanation for what he experienced: he passed out while exploring it. Shinta was sure he had suffocated due to a most peculiar reason... That being smoke! The kind of thick heavy smoke that a fire would produce... Shinta recalled it with unmistakable accuracy, that even he found the prospect hard to accept. Did the castle have a particularly different effect on Sanosuke? Shinta tried not to get carried away by these ideas, but the feeling of dread that began to overtake him was impossible to ignore...

to be concluded...

End Notes:

Again, to clarify, Kenshin is called "Shinta" here. I used that name to signify that the Kenshin I used here is more like the first OAV Kenshin. (Not the wimpy Kenshin who acts like a pushover and licks Kaoru's feet... *shudders* Sorry, me-no-like Kaoru either. ) Some places and events here in the flashbacks are made up. I am very lazy when it comes to research, but maybe I'll revise this to more historical accuracy one day when I get the time... OTL