A Broken Promise

Chapter 1: The Crimson Moon

By Kaen

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I can't believe how long it's been since I've written anything for this story! I'm so sorry! To be honest, I wasn't even planning on finishing it because I've just had such terrible writers block when it came to the topic of Rurouni Kenshin. I think I may finally have the rest of this story planned, so I'll try to be more frequent in my updates. Sorry for the wait, but I'd still really appreciate it if you'd be kind enough to review. Thanks!

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The moon shone the color of freshly shed blood, bathing the dark earth in the eerie glow. And it was bright. Bright enough to almost reveal the scene unfolding below it. In fact, it was certainly bright enough to light the earth's cooled surface and was only dark in the areas that lay beneath the sprawling trees' branches. But there were also those whose hearts wished to remain in the merciful sanctuary of the dark, those who refused to acknowledge and to know. And as the crimson moon continued its attempt to light the darkness, it gave off the same pale light that was almost bright enough to light it. Almost.

He couldn't understand why the children were staring at him. Their eyes were wide, glimmering with unshed tears. And they were trembling. Their entire small bodies were shaking. Were they cold? It was too warm for them to be cold. So why were they staring at him? Why were they trembling?

The cry of a small girl shattered the silence as she fell to her knees in uncontrollable sobs. Her long hair was knotted, her dirty feet bare, and her ragged clothes were torn and stained. But her hair, knotted as it was, fell in front of her face, hiding it, as she lowered her head to the ground, still wailing. She hugged herself tightly; her arms crossed over her abdomen, as she futilely try to calm herself. The noise she was making was terrible, heart-wrenchingly horrible- but somehow, the other children didn't seem to notice their companion fall. Their wide eyes were too wide with question, their small bodies too stricken with shock, and their entire hearts too consumed by fear to notice.

His breathing grew shallow, the pace quickening as his mouth went dry. Tearing his gaze from the other children, he focused again on the child trembling and bawling on the cold dusty ground. Taking pity on her, he knelt down next to her and placed a light hand on her heaving back. She jumped, letting out a shriek that was muffled by her small hands clamped over her mouth. Whimpering helplessly behind the hands, her eyes filled with fresh tears that began to overflow the second that Kenshin met her eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, forcing a calm air about himself. She whimpered again, and he lost his last strand of patience. "What's happened?!" he demanded of her, taking hold of her thin shoulders and forcing her to meet his searching eyes. Perhaps the child was scared, but he was desperate.

"Please… don't…" she pleaded, lowering her eyes. She bit her lips to try to make the crying subside. Her frail legs gave out under her as her arms fell limply to her sides, but Kenshin's grip was so tight that she hardly moved.

"Don't what?" he screamed at her, shaking her quivering frame slightly. She flinched, but remained defiant in her silence. His eyes narrowed in uncharacteristic impatience. "Tell me!"

A scream swelled in her throat, but to suppress it, she bit her tongue hard; until she drew blood. The salty blood pooled inside her mouth, eventually rising high and becoming unbearable to the poor girl so she allowed it to trickle out the corner of her mouth. And yet, she astoundingly remained as silent as the night around her. Kenshin exhaled loudly, lowering his eyes while trying to calm his violent desperation. It was wrong to demand such a thing from a child, but she somehow knew what he didn't, or rather, what he had denied himself of knowing… His eyes snapped suddenly into focus.

He loosened his fierce grip on the girl's shoulders, allowing her to sink down to her knees where she was barely steadying herself with her shaky arms that were placed upon the dark ground. Kenshin knelt in front of her, tilting her chin up gently with his right hand. Reluctantly, her dazed eyes met his and she held the intense gave as if spellbound. To her, his eyes were those of a severe, yet somehow beautiful storm. Emotions flashed like lightning through the dark violet orbs and in them she saw confusion, agony, desperation, and fear…

"So pretty," she commented, still lost in the storm that was his very soul. And in the midst of this unlikely beauty, she couldn't help but add: "Very pretty, but so sad…"

Kenshin was taken off guard by the child's strange comment. He gasped softly, drawing back ever so slightly. It was then that something caught his eye, something reflecting the moon's beams. He looked at the girl more carefully, focusing his gaze on the splatters on her face, skin, and clothing. He leaned closed again, timidly brushing a thumb across her cheek once. The substance smeared as he moved his thumb across it, and it was sticky and warm. The smell was sickening, nearly overwhelming. He looked upon the other children, whom were still watching him warily. They, in unison, drew back as they became aware of his gaze falling on them. A thin layer of dust rose from the ground, lightly coating the shaking legs of the group.

And he watched the dust rise; he watched how it clung to their sticky, bare legs, and he watched the dark raindrops fall to the dusty ground beneath their naked feet. Was it raining? He had never noticed its start. He began to stand as he lifted his eyes from the ground, his sight immediately landing on the enormous moon. It was still illuminating the earth with its pale, almost ethereal, rays and it was still red. So very red, scarlet, crimson, the color of-

"Blood…" Kenshin said distantly, his senses filling with the sickening scent of freshly spilled blood. Kenshin felt the world spin beneath him and he reached for anything that he might use to steady himself with. A familiar shape fit quickly and easily into his hand, his subconscious whispering to him what he never desired to know:

"This is the weapon… your weapon… this katana that you killed…"

"NO!!" he shrieked, clutching his reeling head. The katana that he had been using to steady himself with was knocked over by Kenshin's sporadic movement, and now lay on the ground pointing directly at the shattered remains of the sakaba. The hilt, which was still weakly attached to the few chipped inches of the blade stood adjacent to the ground, having been plunged into its rocky surface. And it resembled a grave; a grave where Kenshin's only hope of redemption lay with a shattered blade through its heart. There was absolutely no denying his guiltiness- the blood on the blade of the katana bore silent testimony of his sin. But why couldn't he remember any of it…? It was like a veil of denial blinded him.

But for the first time, Kenshin understood the childrens' trembling and the crimson rain that fell on the dusty land. They had been crying- they had all been crying- but he hadn't noticed their tears as they fell, mingling with the blood he had splashed on their faces and falling, creating small puddles that moistened the dusty, dry ground. Kenshin fell the warmth on his own face, his tears flowing uncontrollably, but no sound escaped his frozen body. He made no effort to wipe away his tears, nor the blood that was streaming from the scar that adorned his left cheek. It felt as though his body had been turned to lead and was too heavy to achieve any movement. He was frozen to the spot, while feeling the heaviness settle in his mind. It was turning it dark and in an instant, he felt as though he were detached from all reality. He was lost in the darkness of his mind and was scarcely aware of the plague spreading rapidly throughout his body. But right before his mind, soul, and body was completely overtaken by the dark, he heard a seemingly distant, whispered plea:

"Please… don't kill me… Please, don't kill us, too…"

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"AIEEEE!!!" was the sound of the scream that escaped the kitchen. Dark smoke billowed from within, venting through the cracks in the windows and door. Inside, the figure of a woman could barely be made out through the fog. She scrambled in search of something –anything- that could possibly put out that fiery inferno that had at one point been dinner. She reached for the pot full of hot water that she had been boiling the vegetables in and dumped it on the fire, also dumping the vegetables and burning her hands in the process. She shrieked again as she hopped, blowing on her hands. Finally succeeding in soothing them several minutes later, she surveyed the damage. The fish she had been cooking had caught fire and was now charred beyond recognition, and the pot full of water that she had used to douse the flames had contained the vegetables, not scattered here and there on the floor. Kaoru heaved a sigh. Dinner was ruined, again.

The heavy smoke had made the kitchen literally a hazard zone to one's health, and this Kaoru acknowledged, lightly coughing, as she hastily slid open the kitchen door, slamming it against its frame. She wheezed against the doorframe, a couple seconds later pushing herself to move further away to more breathable air. Being content with the distance, she plopped down on the uplifted floor, her legs dangling off the side of the walkway. She leaned back against the wooden post behind her while breathing deeply, thankful for the fresh air. Looking up, she gasped as she noticed the gigantic red moon rising into the sky. The color frightened her, for it struck her to be the color of fresh blood. Anything that resembled blood to her was never a good omen, and she couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry for Kenshin. He had been away too long, in her opinion at least. It actually hadn't been too terribly long, but when you had no one else to keep you company except a bratty kid and a lazy ex-gangster, she assumed that it was normal to pine after the only competent one. She shook her head slightly. It wasn't just his company that she missed. Besides his somewhat decent cooking, which indeed was much better than her own, Kenshin had been the one to capture her heart. She felt terrible because she never let him know, never even showed it, but every time she ever got close there always seemed to be some invisible force driving them apart. Every time it looked like life may finally be peaceful, Kenshin would always be called away before she ever got the chance to let him know how she felt. But regardless, that moon was still bloody red and Kenshin was away and Kaoru worried about him. She continued to watch the moon rise over the horizon as the sky above her continued to darken, her thoughts still concentrated around Kenshin. Finally, the last traces of daylight were gone and the chill of the night began to settle in. She rubbed her arms to try to warm them, but the bitter cold was carried by a strong wind that blew and mused her hair and clothes. Sighing, she finally stood up and leaned against the post and watched the peculiarly colored moon for a few seconds longer, Kaoru's eyes reflecting the love that she held in her soul. Of course, it would only make sense that she'd be able to show her freely while Kenshin couldn't be reached by them. She sighed desolately, being somewhat angry with herself and grateful to be outside to be able to vent her feelings privately, but the wind cut through her thin robes again and she shivered. Raising her right arm, she waved gently at the horizon that Kenshin resided somewhere over.

"Kenshin," she spoke softly. "Please come home soon. I'm waiting for you."

With this, she turned around, walked to the kitchen, lit the room's lantern, and prepared to clean up the mess that she had created while attempting top cook dinner. After all, normal life had to go on, even when Kenshin was away.

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Finally, the end of the second installation! I apologize again for how long this took to get this chapter out, and I sincerely hope that it was somewhat worth the wait. Anyways, I finally do have some free time to write so I may have the next chapter out a lot soon that even I suspected. I guess it all depends on where inspiration decides to hide itself. For this chapter, it was a game of pool, the "Love Hina" opening theme, and finally an absolutely random mp3 called "Nightwalker" I found while looking for Maaya Sakamoto stuff, so… ^^& I guess it's sometimes best not to ask… That's all I have to babble about now, so on the ending note, I'd really, really appreciate it if you would review. It just helps the writing process go so much faster to know that I have support for my writing. Thanks!