The Letter...
Kenshin sat quietly, his back to the right-side frame of the Kamiya Dojo
entry ay. His right leg was bent upward, with his left leg bent slightly under
the ight one. In his right hand, he held a letter that had been delivered to him
arlier that day, he had only now found the time to read it. His left hand lay n
his lap, opposite the sakabatou that he had leaning against the door frame n his
left side. His bright violet eyes wisped over the delicately written kanji s his
mind raced with all the letter had to tell him. "Mata
hitoribocchi i nacchatta naa," he whispered to the star-sprinkled heavens
as he lightly dropped the letter in his lap, relaxing his head against the frame
ehind him. His eyes never left the trail of their gaze, as if he was searching
or an answer in the deep black depths of the night sky above him.
"Kenshin?" came the distinct whisper of Kamiya
Kaoru's voice. A bright ay of shimmering moonlight highlighted Kenshin's
profile, she knew he was roubled because he didn't answer her. Nor did he move
an inch from his place as he stepped beyond the shadows, her form becoming
visible in the same path of right moonlight that splashed itself over the young
rurouni.
"Kaoru-dono, you should be in bed."
"I'm a big girl, Kenshin...I don't have a curfew for
bedtime anymore..." There was a long period of silence between them after
that, about five minutes, although it felt like hours. When Kaoru decided to
break the silence, Kenshin interpreted it before she could get a word out.
Although he meant to speak clearly and steadily, his words reflected pain and
uneasiness.
"Daijoubu Kaoru-dono, don't worry about me."
Obviously, Kaoru heard him, but the half-hearted assurance didn't send her away.
She knew better than to ignore him when he sounded that way.
"Demo..."
"Oro?" As Kenshin slowly rolled his eyes around
to look at Kaoru, he found that she had knelt beside him. She had already
snatched the letter from his lap and was reading over it with a hint of sadness
in her expression.
"Kenshin..."
"Kaoru-dono..."
"Who is this...Seijuro Hiko, really?" Her
eyes moved from the letter to Kenshin's pained expression, she had no intention
of pressing the matter, but she was concerned.
"Seijuro Hiko was my master back in Kyoto. He...he
taught me the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu...he saved me from death. Only now that death
is upon him...there's no possible way I can return the favor."
"Kensh-"
"I know, you already know this. You met him and learned
a little about him, but you haven't learned everything. I know I should have
told you more about him, but he was the kind of man I thought would be around
for eras to come. I thought there would always be time..." He let his
eyes fall to a rest on his sakabatou.
"I have all the time in the world, Kenshin."
"Gomen nasai, Kaoru-dono, I don't want to bore you with
it..." As he closed his eyes, he was surprised when he felt the light
pressure of her hand resting on his right shoulder.
"This is about someone important to you, Kenshin. How
can I be bored with it?"
"I didn't mean that, Kaoru-dono...it's just very
painful to talk about..." He turned to look back at her after finishing
his sentence to see if she had understood. Then he realized that she had taken
her hand from his shoulder, and was pushing herself to a standing position.
"I respect your secrecy Kenshin, I sometimes find it
painful to talk about my father amongst even my closest friends...so don't feel
bad if you can't tell me right now." With that, Kaoru took her leave to
get some sleep. Kenshin watched her small form disappear within the shadows of
the dojo, then turned his attention back to the starlit sky.
"Goshinpainaku, Kaoru-dono...you'll learn soon
enough." As he lowered his eyes once more from the sky, he took a second
to neatly fold the letter and replace it inside the envelope. With one hand he
gently lifted his sakabatou from it's diagonal position by the doorframe and
pulled himself upward. As he gently slid the dojo door shut and turned to make
his own leave for rest, he wondered whether or not he should return to Seijuro
for his final days. He knew he wouldn't get any sleep that night, his mind was
too clouded with hurricanes of thoughts and memories. The ghosts of his violent
past were returning to him, and as he entered his room, he placed the letter on
a minature table in the corner. He knelt beside the table, taking one look at
his unrolled futon in the opposite corner and deciding against sleep, he assumed
the same position he was in earlier when reading the letter. Placing his
sakabatou to the left of him, he tucked his arms inside his gi and allowed his
head to drop slightly. As he closed his eyes in thought, he lingered awhile on
the last thing that crossed his mind, I can only pray that you will
understand what I may have to do, Kaoru-dono.
Yokuchou...
"Yahiko! That's mine!"
"Nyaaa! Busu!"
"Hiretsukan!"
"Kora! Both of you give it a rest already!" The
complaints over breakfast were ringing all through the dojo that morning.
Regardless, Sanosuke wasn't about to let the two bickering clowns, Kaoru and
Yahiko, ruin his day by putting him in a foul mood this early. As Kaoru
was about to lunge over the table to thwap Yahiko on the head for stealing her
riceballs, Sanosuke stood up with a disgusted look on his face. "Baka-yarou..." he whispered to no one in particular as he
quietly backed his way out of the dojo.
"The yakuza has left the building," giggled
Takani Megumi from the far side of the table. She was coming close to reaching
her fill of the fighting sensei and deshi. But as always, Kitsune-onna had a
plan. She moved over to Kaoru's side of the table and tugged on the sleeve of
her kimono. She wanted to pull Kaoru's attention from the "spoiled brat theif"
she was wildly screaming at.
"Busu!? I'll show y--nani?"
"Kaoru-san...did you notice that Kenshin left last
night and hasn't returned?"
"N-Nani? Doko?"
"I have no clue. He left his sakaba sword here,"
Megumi began, holding up the sword as proof, "that isn't
like him."
"M-Maybe he's just gone fishing or something...or maybe
he went to get some tofu..."
"In the middle of the night? We are still
talking about Kenshin, aren't we?"
"Oi! Kaoru you're a disgrace to riceballs!" came
Yahiko's voice, breaking through the conversation of the two women.
"G-Gomen nasai, Yahiko-chan...I have to go find
Kenshin," Kaoru half-whispered as she abruptly stood up from her place at
the table. Just as she was about to make her way out to begin her search, Megumi
caught hold of her sleeve once again.
"He could be anywhere, how are you going to find
him?"
"If Kenshin was going to go far from here, he would
have taken his sword with him, that much I have learned about
him." Kaoru gave a reassuring nod to Megumi, and Kaoru felt the hand slip
from her kimono. Megumi then flashed a quick glance to the sakabatou she was
still holding, then handed it to Kaoru. "Arigatou,
Megumi-san..." she whispered, accepting the sword with a light smile. She
tucked the sword into the belt of her kimono and quickly made her way toward the
door.
"I wish she wouldn't call me chan!"
squabbled Yahiko as Kaoru flung open the door to the dojo and disappeared into
the bright sunlight outside. Just then, she heard a familiar voice call her
name.
"Jo-chan! You've finally quit the arguing with the
retard?" It was definitely Sanosuke.
"Not now, Sano...I-I've got to find Kenshin. Did you
see him at all after you woke up this morning?"
"Gomen ne, I haven't seen him since last night. Why? Is
there something wrong? Is he in trouble?"
"I don't know, but when I was done talking with him
last night about this letter--"
"What letter?" Sanosuke asked, his interest
aroused.
"It's private, he couldn't even tell me
much..."
"Yare! It's one of those matters...well...if I see him
I'll send him running to find you Jo-chan." Sanosuke was having an
over-average good day, but Kaoru was too worried about Kenshin to notice any
changes in Sano aside from his daily badass routine.
"Arigatou, Sano..." she whispered thankfully.
She then turned in the opposite direction of Sanosuke to look for her departed
friend, where was he? It wasn't like Kenshin to just disappear like that,
but then again he was a rurouni. She remembered what he had told her when he
first decided to live there, "I'm a little tired of
wandering, but I don't know when I'll have to leave here...alright?"
No, she couldn't just let herself believe that, at least not until she had
exhausted her search and then had no other alternative. She had already passed
through the streets, markets, restaraunts, and other dojo's along the way, but
she found no sign of Kenshin. As she pushed her way through crowds of people,
she found herself at the river bridge. She searched desperately for the
red-headed rurouni she had lived with for almost a year; nothing.
"Kaoru! Did you find him yet?" Yahiko's
high-pitched voice was unmistakable. Especially since it was the only one that
was able to reach Kaoru's rather blurry conscience at that moment. His small
figure came running toward her at full-speed, almost crashing into her.
"He isn't here..." Kaoru's eyes searched around
her still, hoping to spot him somewhere among the many people shopping that day.
"Then where is he? He left his--"
"His sakabatou, I know. But why?"
"If it were me, I'd find him so I could find the answer
to that question."
"Yahiko it is you, he's your friend too,"
Kaoru shot back with a hint of mild sarcasm.
"Y-Yeah...well, how are we going to find him? You've
looked everywhere I'm sure..."
"No thanks to you, and I only know of one more
place...but why would he be near the sakura trees?"
"That's it! Kaoru, the sakura trees! He sometimes goes
there when he has a lot on his mind!"
"It might be too la--Oiyaaa!" Grabbing her by
the wrist suddenly, Yahiko ran swiftly back toward the dojo, a battered and
bruised Kaoru in tow. Yahiko didn't want to waste any time in hearing Kaoru's
lame attempt to deflect the possibility that he could still be there. When they
finally returned, Yahiko slowed to a stop, allowing Kaoru to catch her breath.
"There." Yahiko reached an arm outward, and
motioned with a pointed finger among the sakura trees as to where Kenshin might
be.
"Baka! You know how many trees there are out there? He
could be by any one of them!"
"Kaoru, being my sensei you should know it isn't proper
to quivel over petty details." She sensed his own little bit of sarcasm,
but she also knew that he was right.
"H-Hai...I'll go find him now..." Just as Kaoru
was heading for the miniature sakaba forest near her dojo, she saw a familiar
figure coming up the path.
"Kaoru...who is that..?" Yahiko asked, as she
stopped herself in the same second he posed the question. Red hair. That was the
first part of this person's appearance that she recognized. Kenshin?
"It couldn't be Kenshin..." Kaoru whispered,
although sounding convinced that it was. Yahiko slit his eyes against the bright
morning sun as he stared down the road in an attempt to recognize the person
coming toward them.
"It is Kenshin!" exclaimed Yahiko. The figure
had become visible enough for the both of them to recognize that it was Kenshin.
Although Kaoru knew her eyes weren't fooling her and that Yahiko was right, she
was still trying to comprehend something about his appearance.
"Ohayo gozaimasu..." Kenshin's friendly voice
had broken Kaoru from her trance.
"Kenshin..." she whispered in relief. Before
Yahiko could make a move, Kaoru was already heading directly for the still
approaching Kenshin.
"Kaoru! Wait for me!" She heard Yahiko's voice
simply drown out behind her. At the same second she reached him, her arms
automatically wrapped around Kenshin's differently dressed figure.
"Oro...?" Kenshin's eyes became half worried and
half surprised.
"Kenshin..." Kaoru whispered lightly into the
soft fabric of his gi, her face resting against his chest.
"Kaoru-dono?" He wasn't sure if she was being
fuzzy at the moment, or if she really had something serious on her mind.
"I thought you left again...I was so scared that you
were gone for good this time." As she heard Kenshin's voice, she released
her grip from around his body.
"Kaoru-dono, I would never leave without giving
everyone a proper good-bye, and most of all I would never leave without my
sa--"
"Here." Kaoru reached down to the side of her
belt and extracted the sword. Holding it by the sheath, she presented it to the
now very shocked Kenshin.
"K-Kaoru-dono..." At about the same time he
spoke her name, a light, cool breeze began whispering through the trees.
"I knew you wouldn't leave without this, that's what
really helped me to believe you were still here." The calm breeze had
weaved it's way in and out of Kaoru's hair, causing her loosely tied blue ribbon
to fall free. Kenshin just stood there, unable to make the slightest movement,
he was captivated by how beautiful she appeared with her hair down. She
resembled a younger version of Megumi, yet there was a child-like innocence in
her expression. She looked breath-taking, from the beautiful white and
plum-colored floral kimono she wore, all the way to the mirrored reflection of
him in her eyes. It was like she was in her purest form then, nothing added to
make her seem more than what she was, it was just...her.
"Arigatou...Kaoru-dono..." he complied with a
soft smile, accepting the sword from her and placing it into the belt of the
different colored gi he wore. Kaoru couldn't believe how he was once Japan's
most renowned killer, how was it possible? The man standing before her
had never brought the Hitokiri's spirit back out of the extreme need to kill.
Kenshin wasn't a killer, he couldn't be the Battousai anymore, even if he wanted
to. As she clasped her hands together and let them fall in front of her, she let
her eyes wander over his appearance. He wasn't wearing the dark pink gi and
white hakama he normally wore, it was a deep blue gi and dark grey hakama that
she saw. Although his fluffy red hair was still tied back in that low ponytail,
the same way he wore it when they first met. She saw his beautiful, bright
violet eyes staring at her from beneath the feather of bangs hanging low over
his forehead. His sweet, caring smile was enough to make her almost believe that
he never was the Hitokiri.
"Kenshin, hanafubuki..." The both of them had
been too busy gazing at each other, Kaoru finally noticed the tiny blossoms that
were falling all around them. Kaoru's eyes lit up as she extended her hand to
catch some of the bright pink petals, "Utsukushii
sakura..." Kenshin took a few steps toward the young Kaoru, but stopped
when he noticed that she was turning to face him. "Aren't
they beautiful Kenshin?"
"Saranari...er, Kaoru-dono..." his eyes were
still on her, trying to find what he wanted to say.
"Hai?"
"Itamiru, I didn't mean to cause any worry with my
absence."
"As long as you're back, just don't ever do that
again!"
"So-dane, Kaoru-dono." He then turned to head
back to the dojo, but was halted when he felt Kaoru's hand grasp his gently. His
eyes turned to look at her as if to say 'oro?'. Kaoru didn't notice that he was looking at
her in disbelief while she lightly pryed his hand open. Finally, she looked up
at him as she emptied the contents of pretty pink petals from her hand into his.
Kenshin saw hints of seriousness in her expression, but he wasn't sure exactly
how she wanted him to see her. He smiled brightly as if he was thanking her, and
let his arm fall at his side, the blossoms held gently in his hand. "A-Arigatou, Kaoru-dono."
"Kyou wa atashi ni totte wasurerarenai hi ni naru
deshou, Kenshin..." whispered Kaoru. Then without another word, she
motioned toward the trees as if she knew someone was eves-dropping on their
conversation. Kenshin caught the hint, and together they turned to face their
intruder. "Yahiko-dono/Yahiko-chan..." their voices
chimed in unison.
"Heh...er...I think this is where I make my
exit!" Having said that, ahiko jumped out from behind a full blooming
sakura tree and darted toward the dojo. Kenshin and Kaoru both couldn't help
themselves in taking a few minutes to augh at Yahiko's childishness. A few
moments later, they overheard Sanosuke and Yahiko yelling obscenities at one
another from outside the dojo. Exchanging a uick 'not
again' glance, they hurried back as fast as they could in hopes that
hey might stop their friends from murdering each other.
Douya...
Kenshin stood in the corner, in front of a mirror that Megumi had brought
into his room earlier that evening at his request. His appearance was shocking,
but incredibly, frighteningly familiar. Is this how he looked as the
Hitokiri? This igh ponytail held tight by a thin, light red strip of silk cord?
The dark patterns f midnight blue and dark grey that made up his gi and
hakama? Things were missing, he understated himself somewhere in the famous
descriptions of what he used to be. He didn't live up to hose descriptions
anymore. His eyes would be cold, heartless and full of hatred; his clothing
would be discolored with the blood of those he killed during the akumatsu; while
his hands and sword would be stained with the unmistakable shade nd smell of
blood. The absence of blood was what made him different, he no longer wanted to
shed the blood of another. The day he gave up the life of a Hitokiri, was the
day he washed his hands and mind of the need for bloodshed. He could never
return to being a man who damned himself with every life he took, he had friends
now, he had a life now. As he finished looking himself over, unable to
continue looking at what the mirror reflected, he turned his eyes toward the
letter that was still on the small table where he had left it the night before.
He was going to return to his shishou for the final days of his life, but he
would have to put all of the pain and memories behind him to do so.
"Kenshin?" came a faint whisper from behind him.
"Oro?" As he turned around to face the voice, he
expected to see Megumi, but instead he saw Kaoru. He watched the fear rise up in
her eyes as she caught sight of him, both hands shot up to cover her mouth in
shock as she gasped.
"Hi-Hitokiri?"
"Daijoubu za, Kaoru-dono. I haven't relapsed."
"Yare...yare, yare, yare..."
"How...how did you know what the Hitokiri looked
like?"
"I've heard descriptions, I used to...see paintings and
portraits of the infamous Hitokiri Battousai's appearance. But I...I never
thought I would have to see him face to face..."
"Kaoru-dono, I'm not the Hitokiri anymore, I could
never be...not with friends like you to help me remain as a rurouni."
"Atashi...atashi..."
"Don't worry, de gozaru." Kenshin watched as
Kaoru moved quickly across the room, but before she got too close, she stopped
herself. It was obvious that she didn't know what to expect from him, she had
never seen him as the Hitokiri who had slain thousands of men, and although she
knew he was the same person; she still felt some hesitation. Kenshin knew she
wanted him to comfort her, but his appearance had left her with some form of
distrust and unknowing about him. "Kaoru-dono," he
whispered softly as he encircled his arms around her and gently pulled her into
his strong embrace.
"K-Kenshin...atashi..."
"Shhhhh...kimi wo mamoru, Kaoru-dono." Kenshin's
eyes grew wider as he saw the flickering scenes of his past go wild in front of
him.
[ Flashback ]
In the midst of the darkness and shadows cast by the firelight, cream
colored sheets rustled as Kenshin drew Tomoe closer, wrapping his arms around
her tightly. She settled into his embrace, her cheek pressed close against his
chest, as if listening for a heartbeat that would prove that he still lived. All
the while, he felt dead, as if the grim reaper stood behind his back, holding up
the remnants of his shattered soul, laughing in mockery.
He couldn't still be living, and holding this gentle woman in his arms; with
the dead chasing after him, weilding thier weapons the second the light of day
vanished. But it was here that she rested against him. As if somehow, by the
closeness f their bodies, she was able to offer him his own redemption through
her pain and supress he madness raging inside his heart. For a second, two beats
of their hearts, ime stopped and he felt completely at peace, with her by his
side and the resolution of er heart pouring into his.
In the silence he heard her soft stirring, she lifted her chin to meet his
eyes. He was hearing them again, the demons gnawing at his soul, raging in the
darkness of his every thought like serpants waiting for the chance to strike.
She looked deep into his eyes, seeing nothing more than confusion and his own
self hatred, yet she knew all the while that this was the price of his crimes.
This was the price of still being human enough for death to matter to him enough
to spark interest in what was right, after he had washed his hands in the blood
of revolution.
Her eyes filled with tears, and he had to move, or else let the hungry ghosts
sacrifice them both to their angry gods. He gently stroked her naked back with
his thumb, leaning foward to gently kiss her neck. She started, suprised that he
would move, and she gasped, as his warm lips touched her cool skin, she was
shocked that she could feel that kind of desire towards the one that had stolen
what little happiness she had in her life. He had not only stolen her happiness,
but the love of her childhood. She had no intentions of replacing her hatred for
him with love. She had never intended to love him, and she wondered if he could
ever understand the guilt she felt for that, the same guilt that knotted her
stomach. She felt as if she had betrayed the two men she had loved, in a way she
had never expected. She betrayed Akira when she had fallen for Kenshin, even
though she knew it was him that took Akira's life. She betrayed Kenshin for
having already determined to confess him to his enemies, but still loving him in
the process.
She shook her head, leaning in toward Kenshin's warm body, trailing her
fingers across his shoulders. Perhaps he would see when the light of truth was
finally found, that she had never wanted to betray him. She had only wished
revenge, and she had discovered too late that her revenge would cost her the
love that Kenshin offered her. If only it wasn't too late for them, at least,
there was this small thing. They held one another while the fire still burned
brightly in the fireplace, the shadows splashed themselves across the sheets
that were wrapped around them; shakingly wickedly in various patterns. She could
prove to him that she would sheath his madness, she would capture the fire
burning inside of him and place it inside her heart.
She trailed her hand across his chest, beneath the open fabric, her hand
resting against his heart, which raced with her touch. She had thought it would
be difficult, if Kenshin ever pressed the issue of their marital relationship.
She had not thought that she could ever love Kenshin without memories of Akira
flooding her mind. Yet, now with his heart beating frantically beneath her palm,
she was suprised at how easily she was entranced by the simple sound of his
breathing. It was as if the only thing that mattered, and had ever mattered, was
the desperation they both felt as they ran, falling face forward into the depths
of their despair for life.
She moved her hands lower beneath the blanket, wrapping her arms around his
back tightly, then before she knew it, he pulled her to him and held her just as
tightly; as if he never intended to let her go. She closed her eyes, and the
tears fell then, the one chance they may have had for happiness shattering like
a porceline cup on the wooden floor. Kenshin squeazed his eyes closed, reaching
for something, for anything to start rebuilding what they had lost due to his
madness, to their madness. His words came from the depths of his soul, they fell
from his tongue like nothing he had ever said before, "Kimi wo...kimi wo mamoru." Yes, he would protect her
happiness, always.
[ flashback over ]
Kenshin closed his eyes tightly, shaking himself free of the memory. As he
pulled Kaoru closer to him, he heard her gasp. She had felt a drop of moisture
land on her cheek, was Kenshin crying?
"Kenshin...daijoubu?"
"Daijoubu de gozaru, Kaoru-dono..." He released
her gently, turning to the mirror to look into it once again. He saw the single
tear still leaving it's salty track down his face. In that moment, his passion
to live as a rurouni had made him realize that he could never return to that
life as changed as he was now. Within seconds, Kaoru released a high pitched
scream as she watched Kenshin's right fist go through his reflection in the
mirrored glass and through the wooden back plate, stopping only halfway in the
wall behind. As he roughly pulled his fist free of the wall and let his arm fall
back to his side, he heard his friends' collective sounds of shock.
"Ken-san!" Megumi gasped in shock as she stared
into the room from the middle of the hallway. She had dropped a fresh batch of
blankets she had just finished cleaning.
"Kenshin!" cried Yahiko and Sanosuke in unison
as they clammered into the room. Kaoru's tear-rimmed eyes immediately fell to
the floor at Kenshin's right, a small pool of shimmering dark red blood was
building up.
"K-Kenshin..." Slivers and shards of glass were
scattered about the corner as the glittering blood slowly trickled down the
shattered mirror, dripping onto the wooden floor below. His hand was hanging
loosely at his side, blood soaked and still bleeding freely. The red-head simply
lowered his eyes and turned to leave the room without a word. Kaoru would have
done something, even said something, but before she could follow him out of the
room, Sanosuke's hand flew out in front of her and held her back.
"Let him be..." came the husky voice of the
spike-haired former yakuza.
"Demo...demo...that wound..."
"He'll be fine. I'm sure he's been through worse,
considering he was once Japan's most famous Hitokiri Battousai."
"Mou! I'm tired of hearing that name!"
"Jo-chan..."
"Sano, just let me go after him. The wound isn't really
the reason..." With a heavy sigh of helplessness, he let his arm fall to
his side, allowing her to pass without any further obstacles. She tore past
Sanosuke without giving him another look. She felt her body slide to a stop as
she noticed the red glimmer of blood on the doorframe.
"Yare...Jo-chan..."
"N-Nani?" She turned around to face Sanosuke,
lightly wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.
"The sakura trees..."
"Arigatou, Sano..." She smiled slightly, then
turned once more to head for the one place she knew she would find her troubled
Kenshin.
Translation notes...
The meanings vary for how the word is used, so I'll just use the definition
for the way I've used them here.
Mata hitoribocchi ni nacchatta
naa: Can be translated to "So...I'm alone again."
Daijoubu(+za):
Can be translated as "I'm alright" without the 'za' and with the 'za' it means
"it's alright." )
Gomen ne/nasai: Can be translated to "I'm sorry" or
"sorry." BTW, Sano uses more informal language than Kenshin, if that helps.
Goshinpainaku: Can be translated as "never mind" or "don't worry." In
this case, "don't worry" is how I used it.
Sakaba Sword: Kenshin's
reverse blade sword that he carries to protect people, this sword isn't used for
killing.
Futon: Japanese style bed, a flat mattress pad that can be
rolled up when it's not needed.
Busu: Can be translated as "ugly" or
"bitch." It can be used either way here, but Yahiko normally uses it as "ugly".
Hiretsukan: Literally translates to "bastard."
Kora:
Literally translates to "hey."
Kimono: Traditional Japanese clothing
worn by men and women, styles varied with gender. The fabric was made of linen
in both cases. The women had more decorative and stylish kimonos, while men wore
the more plain and honorific styles.
Nani: Literally translates to
"what."
Doko: Literally translates to "where."
Arigatou:
Literally translates to "thank you."
-chan/-san/-dono: 'Chan' is a
suffix that Ruroken characters add to Yahiko's name to antagonize him. Sano uses
it for Kaoru's nickname, Jo-chan. 'San' is a suffix added to names as a sign of
respect for elders or high ranked officials. 'Dono' is a rather outdated suffix,
yet Kenshin uses it because it shows a little more respect than 'san' does.
Yare: Can be translated as "oh!" or "thank God!" Sano says it the
first way, while Kaoru says it the second way.
Rurouni: Can have many
translations, but I prefer the "wandering samurai" thing. It just sounds more
offical.
Oya: This is my own language...heh, it's what is said when
there's shock or surprise. Kinda like the female verson of 'oro.'
Baka(+yarou): Translates to "stupid," "idiot," or "moron," with or
without the 'yarou' attatched.
Hai: Literally translates to "yes."
Ohayo gozaimasu: Literally translates to "good morning."
Oro: Fans of Kenshin would know this already. But if you are new to
Kenshin, it's his favorite word ( one of mine too ), he uses it when he's either
embarrassed, caught off guard, flustered, nervous, or all shook up.
Hanafubuki: Literally translates to "falling cherry blossoms."
Saranari: Literally translates to "of course."
Utsukushii:
Literally translates to "beautiful."
Sakura: Can be translated as
"cherry blossom(s)" or "cherry blossom tree." In this case, "cherry blossoms" is
how I used it.
Itamiru: Can be translated as the act of being "very
sorry." Kenshin simply says the word to imply that he is in the act of being
"very sorry."
So-dane: Can be translated as "ok."
Kyou wa
watashi ni totte wasurerarenai hi ni naru deshou: This probably has a few
translations, but the way I used it, it says "today will be an unforgettable day
for me."
Hitokiri(+Battousai): Can be translated as "assassin" or
"assassinator" with Hitokiri standing alone, but with Battousai added it can be
translated as "sword wielding master assassin," or "sword drawing man slayer."
Any of those is good.
Atashi: Literally translates to the female
version of "I."
Kimi wo mamoru: This can probably be translated best
as "I will protect you."
De gozaru: I'm not entirely sure about this
one, I know that Kenshin says it quite alot. He adds it to the ends of sentences
and even in the middle sometimes. I think he uses it to put emphasis on what
he's saying, or maybe just because he can use it. ^_^*
Demo:
Literally translated as "but."
Mou: Literally translates as "enough"
or "stop it."
Comments? Suggestions? Did you like it? Go
ahead and email me. ^_^
