Author's Note: I'm sorry about anything I misspelled. Names aren't my thing. Besides, I'm now officially confused about what's the first and last names of everyone!
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. I am only a lowly high school student preying off the ideas of others to practice my horrendous writing skills. ::awkward smile:: Heh heh…
"Away," she said, climbing out the window, "just away." With that she dropped out of sight. Soujiro got up and then recalled that they were on the second floor…
A New Beginning for Two:
Soujiro looked down. He had expected a scream of some kind. There Aiteru was, rubbing her face with the sleeve of her kimono. Suddenly, she looked up and smiled at him. She waved merrily, and walked to the building to lean against it, waiting for him to come down. Soujiro smiled and quickly tidied the room and prepared to leave.
Aiteru looked up at the pouring clouds. Storms always made her feel better. She smiled at the rain, feeling the rain gently splatter on her face. Thinking of Soujiro made her blush. She recalled how Mama Yumi had always said that Shishio's right hand man, Soujiro, was special. "Just like you! You're like my right hand girl." she always managed to add. Aiteru sighed and let the rains dwindle her problems to nothing as a tune came to mind. Aiteru had no idea where the songs came from, because most of them were certainly not of the present day's style and sometimes she had trouble getting the right words. Despite that, Aiteru loved to sing the songs for they calmed her especially when it wasn't raining. She thought of Soujiro again, and the song came more clearly…
Sono aoku kooru hitomi (Those cold blue eyes)
Kono mune ni dakishimetai (I wish to embrace them in this heart)
Nakushita, kono yuuki wo (This courage lost)
Omoidasite once again (Remember it once again)
She paused. Once again? "It certainly isn't Japanese," she muttered to herself. Watching Soujiro fly out of the window and land softly in the mud, Aiteru pushed the thoughts out of her mind.
Soujiro stifled a chuckle, seeing Aiteru in such a muddy mess. Although most of her face was clear of mud, the rest of her needed a good cleaning. Aiteru blinked, wondering was Soujiro looked so odd smiling like that.
"Nani? (What?)" she asked when she walked next to him, heading for the nearby forest.
"You're mess," he said lightly. Aiteru looked down at her clothes, then pouted at him. Soujiro merely smiled at her, and lead the way.
"Oh!" Aiteru exclaimed quietly, "Would you mind if I join you?"
Soujiro blinked, slightly surprised by the request. "Sure," he agreed. Hey, he was running low on money, and from the look of things she's got enough for a while.
"Arigato! (Thank you!)" She said happily reaching for his hand.
On the way out of town, they passed by the house again. Soujiro's eyes became distant and cold. Aiteru didn't notice immediately. She was busy muttering a prayer.
"Demons of the Past, please rest now," Soujiro heard (in a distant sort of way) without comprehension. "I'm going to continue my life, atoning for your sins in your place." She took a deep breath, and bowed to the open gates. She looked up at her new onichan (big brother). His eyes were cold again. The song appeared again in her mind. Well, if it helps me, maybe it will help him, she thought. And once again she sang in her angelic voice… [A/N: and we are bogged down with another space killer! ::evil laugh begins::]
"Sono aoku kooru hitomi (Those cold blue eyes)
Kono mune ni dakishimetai (I wish to embrace them in this heart)
Nakushita, kono yuuki wo (This courage lost)
Omoidasite once again (Remember it once again)"
Soujiro reminded me of my pride again, she thought, that's why I went to the police station at dawn. But Soujiro was still occupied with his past as he trekked back to the forest he was in the night before.
"Tooi senaka oikaketa (Hiding in the shadows)
Tsukikage ni kakureru (That follows your back afar)
Ikari, ienu kanashimi (Anger, unspeakable desires)
Hitori-jime suru no… (Keeping them to oneself…)"
Aiteru continued to sing, more to herself than anyone, and rushed to join her silent brother, who kept his haunting past to himself. His mind fell into darkness as the forest's shadows swallowed his body.
"Kurai mori, samayou (In the dark forests you wander)
Murasaki no kizuato (Purple scars)
Yoru ni matataku ryuusei (At a falling star gleaming in the night)
Mitsumete iru Ice Blue Eyes (Staring Ice Blue Eyes)"
No longer able to draw strength from Soujiro, she depended on the storm and her song that she sang softly to keep going.
"Sono aoku kooru hitomi (Those cold blue eyes)
Kono mune ni dakishimetai (I wish to embrace them in this heart)
Nakushita, kono yuuki wo (This courage lost)
Omoidashite once again (Remember it once again)"
As she sang, she looked at Soujiro's eyes again. This song must be talking about him! She thought with certainty as well comprehending that she knew this wasn't her own song [A/N: Just like the author! ^-^ -hint hint!-]
"Sono kizu no itami taezu (The pain of that wound does not cease)
Oogoe de naite ii no (Just cry it out)
Atataka na, namida wa (Warm tears)
Koori, tokasu harvest rain (Melt the ice harvest rain)"
She struggled through the thickest part of the forest with her bag in tow. [A/N: Forgot she had one huh? Me too!] Mou! This guy must be built for stealth or something! Aiteru thought ruefully.
Watashi matte 'ru… (I am waiting…)
I'm waiting for him to stop, she grumbled to herself in her mind, trying to prevent breaking the rhythm of the song in her heart.
Tsuyosa dake motomete 'ta (I ask only for strength)
Hito, kogasu tsumetasa (Coldness that burns)
Hokori sute, nikushimi de (Throw away the pride, and hate)
Kono toki, tomeru no… (This time, stop it…)
Exactly! Stop! Aiteru thought in frustration, not knowing it was the aid Soujiro needed.
Ashita negau, tatakai (A battle, asking for tomorrow)
Yume mamoru, senshi yo (I am a fighter, defending love)
Yami ni nigekomu kokoro (To the heart that flees the darkness)
Tsuremodoshite don't look back! (But turns don't look back)
Aiteru was getting more frustrated, she felt that Soujiro was running from something he didn't want to face.
Sono kodoku, ikari, sakebi (That solitude, anger, scream)
Watashi ni mo kanjisasete (Let me feel them too)
Hontou no kono yuuki wo (Taking back this)
Torimodoshite once again (This true courage once again)
Soujiro paused in the clearing, looking down at the ground. Wondering if there was any truth in the song, she searched for the pain. His cheeks where wet... Aiteru gasped, she knew it wasn't the rain. How she knew, she probably will never find out, but she knew it was tears. Tears of the heart's pain…
Sono kooru, hitomi, tokashi (Melting those frozen blue eyes)
Kono mune de, namida nuguite (And wiping off the tears from this heart)
Atataka na, namida wa (Warm tears)
Koori, tokasu harvest rain (Melt the ice harvest rain)
Her singing continued as she realized how much she wanted to comfort him. He was feeling pain that should never have been there…
Watashi matte 'ru… (I am waiting…)
-Ice Blue Eyes (Misao Image Song); Rurouni Kenshin
"Onichan? (Big Brother?)" she said questioningly, holding him in a way a little child would attempt to comfort an adult. Soujiro eyes widened for a split second, only in shock of being awakened into the present.
"It's okay to cry you know," she said, rubbing the liquid off his cheeks.
"I'm not," he quickly said, smiling to assure her.
"You are, I can tell," she murmured.
"It's just the rain silly," he smiled again.
Aiteru sighed, unsure of how to get the ideas through. "It's okay to be weak," she offered.
"I'm not," he said indignantly.
"I'm not saying you are," she said softly. "You're the strongest person I know!" She said proudly. "But there can only be one person that is strong. The rest must be weak, because they're inferior. But yet so many of us are alive." Soujiro just looked at her, trying to figure out what she was getting at. "I think everyone has a strength of some kind. They may not be the best, because their lives don't require it." She then frowned, trying to figure out the words she wanted to express. She looked up at Soujiro again, smiled and shrugged. "The best kind of strength comes from believing in what you do, your faith!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the full force of the rain, "That's what I believe!"
Soujiro sighed. The problem was that he didn't know who he was. He hated dealing with his past. There was so many things that should have been, but didn't happen. So many confusing things…
"You need to lay to rest the Demons of the Past," Aiteru offered, thinking back to his glare at the house. "Just the ones behind you," she added, pointing behind him.
"Nani? (What?)" he said. Turning around to see what she was taking about, he was suddenly knocked out by someone…
Author's Notes: I want to officially thank animelyrics.com for unofficially letting me use the lyrics (and for possibly more that I will use in the future). ::awkward smile:: heh heh… ::Sees large crowd of angry lawyers:: I'M SORRY!!! BUT I'M NOT MAKING ANY PROFITS I SWEAR!!!! ::begins to run away:: PLEASE REVIEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWW!!! ::disappears into the sunset:: ^_~ [How can you wink with both eyes closed anyway?]
Saito: Ahou…
Star: *mutters* Am not…