I Turn To You
When I'm lost in the rain
In your eyes I know
I'll find the light, to light my way
He remembered the first night Shishio had brought him back. The heavens had been shedding tears, and he had slipped out into the rain, smiling up at the sky torn by lightning bolts as the tears leaked from his eyes, remembering that fateful night when the blood of his so-called family had dripped from his sword for the first time. But all of a sudden, there was a beam of light, shining into the darkness out of nowhere. That woman – Yumi something-or-the-other – was standing behind him, a lamp in one hand and an umbrella in another. " Hey, boy!" she had barked. " You'll catch a cold if you stay there any longer. Come back in!" He remembered staring at her, his mouth open. No one had ever cared whether he lived or died before. No one had ever worried about him getting a cold. But she did. This woman did. He remembered running toward her and hugging her tightly, sobbing and laughing at the same time. She had been shell- shocked, at first, but then her heart went out to this pitiful young boy and had held him, stroked his hair as he mumbled almost unintelligibly to himself about the strong surviving.
When I'm scared, losing ground
When my world is going crazy
You can turn it all around
He remembered, on how she had sat by his bedside as he tossed and turned in his sleep, and on how the times he had woke up screaming and crying from a nightmare, she had always been there to comfort him with a hot drink and soothing words.
And when I'm down you're there
Pushing me to the top
You're always there giving me all you've got
He remembered, on how she had always watched his training with Shishio, offering him encouragement when he fell, treating his wounds, and making him drink terrible-tasting brownish-colored brews that made him want to throw up but drank down anyway just to please her.
For a shield from the storm
For a friend
For a love to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you
She was his elder sister, his mother, his friend.
For the strength, to be strong
For the will to carry on
For everything you do
For everything that's true
I turn to you
Where would he be without her? Who else would tuck him in at night, sew his clothes, answer his questions about the world, nag at him to eat more fish and tell him to wash his face three times a day? Certainly not Shishio.
When I lose the will to win
I just reach for you
And I can reach the sky
At times when he just wanted to curl up and die, she had shook him, scolded him, coaxed him, nagged at him and pleaded with him to stand up. She never let him give up.
I can do anything
Coz your love is so amazing
Coz your love inspires me
And when I need a friend
You're always on my side
Giving me faith, taking me through the night
Her love had been like a ray of light, guiding him as he made his way through the darkness, like a blanket during the cold winter. Her love was like…returning home.
For a shield from the storm
For a friend
For a love to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you
" Yumi-san, why do you always look after me?" he remembered himself asking, a petulant eight-year old. "Because there's no one else who bothers," she had replied in an effort to sound fairly neutral and unsentimental. But he had retaliated with a, " Then why do you bother?", and her eyes had clouded over for a second before replying," Because…I've always wanted a little brother." He remembered his innocent, earnest reply, " Why don't I be your little brother, then?", and the slow smile that had spread across her face.
For the strength, to be strong
For the will to carry on
For everything you do
For everything that's true
I turn to you
" When I grow older, I'll be strong and I'll protect Yumi-neesan."
" Okay, then, that's a promise!"
For the arms to be my shelter
Through all the rain
He now lay on Yumi's lap, after being defeated by Himura Battousai, feeling an overwhelming sadness. He had to go now. He had to leave everything, everyone behind. He had to go find his truth.
For the truth that will never change
But whatever this 'truth' was, he knew that there was a truth that would never change: Yumi would always be there for him. His sister, his mother, his friend, whom he had confided in, whom had laughed and cried along with him, whom had comforted him, pulled him up from the black pit of misery, whom he had loved and had loved him.
For someone to lean on
For a heart I can rely on through anything
" Take care of yourself," she said, her voice sorrowful yet still tender, and left the room, her head bowed. He allowed a tear to slip from his eye, then turned and set off on a path to nowhere.
For the one I can run to
He didn't know where this journey would be leading him. But he wasn't worried, he thought as a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips. His onee-san's beam of love would always be there to light up his path, to show him the way.
~ owari ~
Author's Ranting/Babbling/ Nonsense-spouting: Like it? Hate it? Whatever you feel, please let me know. Just write something, okay? All comments accepted. I just want to know that someone has actually bothered to read my fic. And as usual, let me know if I have any spelling or grammatical errors. I hate having those in my fic.
Oh yeah, and Sheba? If you dare say ONE BAD THING about Yumi or Soujirou, I'm going to write a very detailed account on your tragic, heartbreaking story of love, loss and betrayal between you and a certain underweight cricket player who's initials are A.S. and send it to Privy-chan for her to post up on your class's display board. Maybe I'll even post one up in the reviews section ^_~. You get me?
Disclaimer: Oh, of course Rurouni Kenshin is mine. That's why I'm sitting in front of my outdated old computer typing a fanfic instead of counting the number of cruise ships that I have just bought after a multi-million dollar lawsuit on some poor fanfic writer. Umm…I hope the people from Sony or whatever company can recognize sarcasm.
