Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or Peacemaker Kurogane. I claim ownership to this fanfic & the OCs, though.
Part 1: Akairi and the Wolf of Mibu
Chapter 2: Mother and Son
Kanagawa Prefecture, 1861.
She was the mother that abandoned her own flesh and blood.
And she had vowed that she would take care of Soujiro for as long as she'd lived. Watch over him as he grows up day by day. Teach him to live as a good person. See to it that he is happy…
So many things she wants to do for her Sou-chan. So many things she needs to do…
But she'd probably never get the chance to do them.
"Please take my baby in, Seta-san! I beg you!" She beseeched to them in anguish. "Please take him in…" She prostrated herself at their feet in desperation.
They were cold-hearted people. They didn't give a damn about her pleading. They were smirking and exchanging sastisfied looks to each other. A shower of sneers and invectives poured down upon her. It was much colder than the icy rain whipping against her slim frame. She did not retort. She did not weep. She did nothing except pressing the wailing Soujiro closer to her bosom. So forceful it made him cry louder.
She crawled into the porch. Yes, crawled, for she had no energy to walk. The brother's wife growled at her, "How dare you, you revolting wench! Get your filthy self and that little bastard out of here before we have to dirty our hands throwing you out!"
She hissed, anger boiling inside her, "I care naught what you call me! But my child has parents! And he will not be drenched in the rain if that'd be the death of me!"
A slap burned on her cheek, leaving an ugly red mark upon her wary face. To her, it didn't hurt at all. She was used to pain, both physical and emotional, that she was jaded by it.
The mother scoffed, "You think you can come crawling to us now that the fool died?! What makes you think we would take that burden on ourselves? You must be insane!"
"The three of you are a disgrace! A stain in the family! Now just get out before someone sees you here!!" boomed the drunken brother.
Pleading didn't work. Not to this sort of heartless creatures. So she tried the final tactic, "I will pay for his expenses. Money for his food and clothing. You won't have to spend a sen on him."
They glanced at each other, eyes flashing in greed, "For every single month. If it's late, we'll kick him out."
"Every single month for as long as he lives here." She sighed. All of the sudden she felt the exhaustion and agony suppressed for the past few months taking toil on her. Her body was freezing. Her back was aching. Her throat was sore. Her eyes were throbbing. Her mind was void.
"Dearest Sou, please don't cry anymore. Kaa-chan loves you…Kaa-chan loves you a million stars…" She gently rocked Soujiro back and forth, tears streaming from her eyes as water would from a flooded river.
"Are you crying because you're angry at Kaa-chan? Kaa-chan is sorry! So so very sorry…Kaa-chan can't…take you along…" She wept profusely as she hugged Soujiro closer, trying to keep him warm. But it just made it worse, because she herself was soaked from inside out.
"Teishu…please don't be upset with me…I can't take Sou along…I can't let him have the same cursed life I have…"
It's the truth. She cannot bring him with her. She cannot bear to see the sordid world she was living in swallow up her son's innocence and spit him out marred and soiled. Her life doesn't belong to her. It belongs to the lechers who come in at nights and the bloodsuckers who own that place. If something happens… if by any chance they aren't pleased with her… all that remains of her would just be a lifeless corpse in the middle of a bloodbath…
What would happen to Sou then?
She couldn't bear the thought of it.
The Seta family, no matter how spiteful, is still his family. At least they'd treat him more civilly than the bloodsuckers at the brothel.
"Teishu, please watch over our Sou…Please protect him…"
She pressed Soujiro close to her one last time before placing him on the mat and rushed out of the room with the last bit of energy she could muster. Her hands flew to her ears and adhered to them. Blindly, she ran through the rain, stumbling and tripping into the mud as she goes.
One word echoed in her mind. Run. Run. Run.
Still hearing Soujiro's heartbreaking cries, she jammed her fingers into her ears harder. Her eyes were blurry from both the rain and tears. She saw nothing but darkness. Heard nothing but Sou's hoarse wailing and her own weeping amidst the crying of heaven.
Run, run, run…
Her son's wailing never seemed to end. It haunts her every step even as she ran further and further away from the Seta residence.
End of Chapter 2.
Next chapter: Absentee Father.
--Tou-chan...so far and away...--
