The Glass Maiden
The Glass Maiden
A Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction by Uo
Chapter 7
It's been nearly two and a half years since an update, so I'm pretty shabby. Unfortunately, I have lost interest in this anime and anime overall. However, I recently picked up an old copy of my Rurouni Kenshin volume 1 and started looking through the pages again. I was mesmerized since this once interest became an interest again. Of course, I believe I don't have the drive to write as well anymore, since I don't have as much inspiration. I guess I'm just saying that I'm not obsessed anymore because life unfortunately, got in the way. For some reason, I was inspired to rewrite the sixth chapter, despite the fact that I barely remember what the story I wrote was about and I don't quite remember where I was going with it. However, I do remember tidbits and hopefully you as a reader will still enjoy it. Also, as you can see, I have renamed my story, and from now on it will be only The Glass Maiden.
Quiet Evenings – Begins.
She fell back, absolutely astounded at the fist that just seemed to fly at her.
Kenshin was shocked. It was late at night, and the only light that could be seen was the light from the moon, illuminating the mid section of his room. There she laid, elbows propped beneath her, eyes wide open. He crept towards her and gently lifted her up to her feet again.
"Sorry, I just.."
Like it was instinct, she turned her head and didn't look back. Then, her small feet flew across the wooden floor of the room that the man named "Shinta" was to stay at. The last thing she saw before she was completely out of the room was the crimson-ginger hair that stood out even at the darkest hours of the night.
Morning approached, and all the geishas were in one room, all applying their face powder and dark scarlet lipstick. Whispers surrounded the room. The girls all looked over at Kaoru, smiling. Although she was new, they seemed to favor her- only because they knew that they were better geishas and no matter what she would be incomparable to them. She was attaching flowers to her jet black hair when something caught her ear.
"The new servant boy, he's cute."
A giggle followed, as another girl turned around and smiled in approval.
"Yes, he's a fine one. Too bad he's poor!"
"Perfect, for you Kaoru!" Everyone laughed until Kaoru shot her eyes around the room and glared at the group of geishas talking. They slowly turned their head around back to the mirrors that guided them. Day one of being a geisha for Kaoru officially began.
The first customer of the evening came in as the girls lined up in a straight line behind Lady Tomoki.
"Ahhh, Sano. I haven't seen you in a while. Which girl would you like today?"
His eyes scanned the group of girls, and they blinked in dismay. "Where is she?"
"Where is who?"
"You know who I'm talking about."
Lady Tomoki just gave a faint smile, as she told him the fate that had fallen upon his favorite girl, Megumi. Without speaking, he just pointed at Kaoru. The girls gasped, as she took his hand and led him to a room and slid the door behind them with many pairs of eyes still staring.
"She's really dead?"
Kaoru just nodded. He took his hand and placed it within his robe as he took a brown envelope out. He spilled out the contents, and she covered her wide open mouth. Numerous papers of Japanese Yen fell out.
"You knew, right?"
Her heart beat fast in disbelief when she answered a mere 'yes.'. Megumi had told her, she had told her about Sano. Megumi's words echoed in her head.
"Sano, he is the one that I love. He is not like the others. And he will take me away."
Sano clenched his fist and almost broke the ground with his punch. "It was supposed to be today. I was going to bring her home today. Home with me."
The teahouse got crowded, and the room stayed quiet. Kenshin worked in the back, washing all of the dishes, wondering if the men that Seikei spoke of actually came here. The men he had to kill have not returned since the last geisha killing. Missions from Seikei were so vague. He was just ordered to kill, no background, nothing.
What another useless, boring killing he would have to face. Yet, there was one girl that caught his eye, one girl that made his heart skip a beat. He wasn't about to admit it to himself, though. Although she was kind, she seemed to despise him, if she felt anything at all towards him. And, after all, the only girl that he had ever loved rested at the bottom of his heart and probably beneath the shady layers of earth that people walked upon everyday, as well.
Anyhow, he hoped his mission would e over soon, so he could run out of the boring hell of it and just get out of the teahouse. Unfortunately for him, that was not the case. Lady Tomoki had walked in right when he had stopped scrubbing and whacked him with a broom. "Get back to work."
When the day was over and the teahouse was cleared, it was quiet once again. Kaoru took her bottle of yellow liquid and slid open Kenshin's door. He was quiet as she knelt down beside him and removed his bandages. Yet, in place of the open wound she had found just a scab, almost gone.
"Thanks for the medicine. It really helped."
When everyone sleeps, there is one person always awake in the midst of the night. This person happened to be a theater worker tonight. He walked through the empty theater out to the night. He walked and walked, and then slowly crept to the place he was so familiar yet unfamiliar with. Then, without a thought, he jumped on top of the fence and sliced the backdoor ever so quietly. A sword was in between the grasp of his hand, and he walked into a room. Strangely, although it contained neatly folded kimonos and seemingly new make up, it was not occupied.
He went into the next room, and there he found a girl beneath the covers of her futon. Stealthily, he slashed the girl in the stomach. Not one scream was heard as a pool of blood gathered beneath his feet.
Three rooms away, she looked at him. Her mind, as if it went blank and made her body move on its own, took control. Her body fell forward upon him as she buried her forehead into his chest. She finally broke. She finally needed something, someone to clutch onto. And in the back of her mind, she felt as if she were clutching onto her father. His soul was different, but the same. His body felt cold; his eyes felt warm. She closed her eyes.
"What is she doing?" His heart raced as the girl that seemingly despised him was taking shelter into his body. A familiar scent surrounded him, and would've kept doing so until he smelled blood. He shot up, ran to the source that provided this scent and found a geisha clearly dead. He yelled for help, discovering that the killer had just escaped right under his nose.
