(A/N: All the Japanese you have read here are all checked from a Nihongo
dictionary. If there are any mistakes/corrections or contributions, please
don't hesitate to review, contact me through Yahoo! Messenger or if you
find out my e-mail. If you find the conversations hard to understand
because of its old way, I am terribly sorry. THANK YOU FOR READING THIS
FANFICTION.)
================
The sun shone immensely bright and the birds sang joyous over the fields by the horizon. The autumn breeze blew with much fascination. Vivid colors flew across the fair azure sky and the song of the Forrest passed through the marsh road. A young man wearing a sky blue hakama strolled by path, with stains of crimson hanging on his face and even on his clothes. With a sheathed sword dangled on his bruised hand, he was confronted by savage-looking men on the road.
"Give us your money and we won't harm a hair on your head," snickered one of them while he caught a stone he repetitively threw in the air. The other two of his companions grinned and had small slingshot in their hands and one with a dagger. They were, apparently, thieves.
The young man said calmly with a smile on his face, "Even if I had any money at all, I think I'd rather not give it to you."
The thieves were astonished, "What?! Such stupidity and arrogance, eh. Take this!" The man with the stone quickly threw the stone from his hand and into the lad. The stone had missed the boy, leaving them petrified. Then, he swiftly unsheathed his sword, beheading the bandit on the spot. The two were petrified but one was able to stab his dagger into the lad's chest. He fell on the ground as the crooks ran away. On the marsh road, lay a young skillful samurai, Soujiro Seta.
THE WANDERER'S EYES
(Chapter 1: Pitiful Child)
"True, I may have been smiling that rainy night... but... The truth is... The truth is... I was... The truth is I was crying..."
Those words echoed through dear Soujiro's subconscious mind. He had been a loyal accomplice to Shishio Makoto and his Juppon Gatana. He lived a life tainted with the philosophy that the weak shall perish and the strong shall survive. When he was defeated in combat, though, all this was altered by the man known as Battousai Kenshin Himura, who had been a wanderer, searching for the true meaning of life. Soujiro had only begun two years since then and until now, he still was blinded from the truth by the lies that were fed to him. His journey had tortured him, for the most part, leaving him a vagrant, homeless, penniless and, most of all, friendless.
He awakened to the sound of a very young woman's singing voice, but he fell back into unconsciousness soon after only a few words were sung...
"De profondus clamo adite domine..."(a/n: if you recognize this, please don't mind it, especially if you watched this certain movie...) He couldn't see what she looks like, but she tended to his wounds.
His eyes were opening up when he felt a sharp object puncture into his skin. The agony he felt with such a painful action, he jerked his arm away from the knife while he regained consciousness.
"Don't move," a masculine voice commanded "I know this will hurt quite a bit."
Soujiro stared at the man who pierced a needle into his skin. He looked somber yet jovially friendly. Blood oozed out his frail skin and a few drops fell on a basin full of more blood. He was somehow disgusted at the sight of this, but he kept tranquil until the doctor-like man had finished.
He said, "You have been through a lot, haven't you? I can tell from all these bruises you have. Some of these date to even what seems to be when you were a kid or so. They're all fixed now. By the way, I am Doctor Kirashime. May I know who I am talking to?"
"Soujiro. Soujiro Seta."
"Hmmm... I believe I've heard of it somewhere but I can't quite remember where." -Soujiro sat upright by that time while the doctor coughed- "Seems to me you don't have a place to stay in, do you?"
"No, sir." he replied.
"Then you are in luck. I take care of a few sick patients that stay here. The patients I have are already family to me, and you can be part of it. You need not worry much, the patients are young, very young. Judging by your looks, I believe you are 16?"
"Actually, 19, Kirashime-sama."
Dr.Kirashime was astounded, "Young and polite, very nice companion to have. Do not fear, you will not be lonely and I'm keeping your sword out of reach. The children may be quite harsh and eccentric but I'm sure you'll fit in. If you may excuse me for awhile, I believe I hear one of my patients screaming by now." The doctor left the drab room and to a boy crying in another room. Lonely Soujiro wondered where he was.
"Harsh and eccentric?" he bewildered.
The next day was a bit better for him. He was able to walk about Dr.Karashime's garden. Soujiro noticed how much the hospital looked more like a dojo than a hospital. He saw flowers brighter and much more colorful than those in the Marsh road. He barely saw anyone else other than the doctor himself. Even as he ate his breakfast, no one seemed to be there. He presumed that the patients were to eat later than he was. Karashime-sensei passed by him on a hallway and Soujiro asked if he may help him. The doctor, once again, was astounded by such a gesture. While walking to a patient, Soujiro couldn't help inquiring on what type of children he takes care of.
"Oh, I take care of patients who don't have much of a chance of living. These patients have only little time left to live and are irritable or grouchy at most times. Their parents want them no more because of their attitude that I am left to be the one who cares for them. Most of them are also insane in a way. Some are paranoid, while others are maybe just psychotic."
"But why do you still nurse them if they are going to die anyway or even are abnormal? You're only wasting your time with them. You could be teaching or caring for others."
"So you've found out I used to teach. Well, I am still a doctor and it is part of an oath that I try to prevent death even if it is impossible for them but my oath also states that I must make their time less painful and comfortable for them though they are of different thinking. Aren't we all like that?"
Soujiro was still hazed, "I don't understand." It was the same expression he had left Kenshin about helping others being worthwhile.
"I know it's hard," Dr.Kirashime said "you'll know soon enough about how it feels to have helped someone."
The room they entered was drab and lifeless. A little bed with a tiny boy was in it. He had a bandage wrapped around his eyes and he lies still, not moving. Flowers from the field were on a china vase, elaborately beautiful and exquisite.
"Soujiro, this is Soushi Tomore. He's a cute little fellow, but has a sort of blind predicament, not totally blind. Sadly, he is sick with Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (A/N: It is AIDS) and is alone in the world."
"What do you mean?"
Dr.Kirashime pressed a wet towel over the young boy's head, "Are you awake, Sou-chan?"
Soujiro went closer to see how he's feeling. Soushi put his hands up and reached Soujiro, then taking his face by the cheek closer.
"Chichi? Haha?" he said.(Daddy? Mommy?)
Soujiro had felt pity on him. The little boy, alone in the world like he was, was a sight that made him almost cry. Sadly, Soujiro had a heart of stone; can never really feel what love really is. If he had only felt it before, he'd understand. But perhaps, he might soften his heart and understand it soon enough...
The doctor suggested Soujiro to leave them for awhile just for brief treatment and he obeyed. Soujiro went straight to the lovely garden. He had never thought of anything else to be more picturesque than it. He strolled around and saw a weasel pass him by, taking his sandal that fell off him. He chased it around, but then, he bumped into a young lady whom the weasel had passed with utter terror, dropping the sandal.
"I'm sorry. I believe this is yours?" she apologized with a soft and meek, yet not too soft and too meek, voice as she held the slipper.
Soujiro nodded and helped the girl stand up. He felt a sudden chill run through his spine. Her frozen hands made him lose his grip of her. Breeze from the wind weren't as pleasant as the ones before. These winds were strangely more of one's from a blizzard.
"I'm sorry. To begin with, it was my fault in the first place that you fell."
"No worries necessary. I am sorry if my hands were-"
"Strangely too cold. What happened to them?"
"Let us assume that I've been far beyond what the body can make of." At this point, Soujiro was pleased to have met her even if he had no idea what her name was. All he knows(or assumes) is that she must be dreadfully ill and this is what she has.
"I am Soujiro Seta. May I know who you are?" He admired her picturesque visage but she was rather pale and white and trembling. Her limbs bore wounds and marks of blood while the rest of her, torso to be precise, was wrapped in bandages, leaving her head, neck, limbs(meaning legs to feet and shoulders to arms) were open to the wind. He admired her, nothing more.
She said without much of a smile "My name is Sai Tomore. Let's just say that I was Kirashime-sensei's helper and at the same time his patient. He-"
"But wait, did you say Tomore?"
"Yes. I think you have met my younger brother here," she stated.
Soujiro lightened up, "Then Kirashime-sama was mistaken. Sou-chan is not alone in the world after all."
"We are worlds apart. He cannot see me, and remembers very little of me..."
Soujiro stared into empty space. He was confused still. Actually, even more confused than before. Her words were like riddles and the riddles she spoke were undecipherable. Suddenly, Dr.Kirashime tapped his back and his mind went back into reality. Dr.Kirashime smiled at him and said, "What are you doing here by yourself?"
================
The sun shone immensely bright and the birds sang joyous over the fields by the horizon. The autumn breeze blew with much fascination. Vivid colors flew across the fair azure sky and the song of the Forrest passed through the marsh road. A young man wearing a sky blue hakama strolled by path, with stains of crimson hanging on his face and even on his clothes. With a sheathed sword dangled on his bruised hand, he was confronted by savage-looking men on the road.
"Give us your money and we won't harm a hair on your head," snickered one of them while he caught a stone he repetitively threw in the air. The other two of his companions grinned and had small slingshot in their hands and one with a dagger. They were, apparently, thieves.
The young man said calmly with a smile on his face, "Even if I had any money at all, I think I'd rather not give it to you."
The thieves were astonished, "What?! Such stupidity and arrogance, eh. Take this!" The man with the stone quickly threw the stone from his hand and into the lad. The stone had missed the boy, leaving them petrified. Then, he swiftly unsheathed his sword, beheading the bandit on the spot. The two were petrified but one was able to stab his dagger into the lad's chest. He fell on the ground as the crooks ran away. On the marsh road, lay a young skillful samurai, Soujiro Seta.
THE WANDERER'S EYES
(Chapter 1: Pitiful Child)
"True, I may have been smiling that rainy night... but... The truth is... The truth is... I was... The truth is I was crying..."
Those words echoed through dear Soujiro's subconscious mind. He had been a loyal accomplice to Shishio Makoto and his Juppon Gatana. He lived a life tainted with the philosophy that the weak shall perish and the strong shall survive. When he was defeated in combat, though, all this was altered by the man known as Battousai Kenshin Himura, who had been a wanderer, searching for the true meaning of life. Soujiro had only begun two years since then and until now, he still was blinded from the truth by the lies that were fed to him. His journey had tortured him, for the most part, leaving him a vagrant, homeless, penniless and, most of all, friendless.
He awakened to the sound of a very young woman's singing voice, but he fell back into unconsciousness soon after only a few words were sung...
"De profondus clamo adite domine..."(a/n: if you recognize this, please don't mind it, especially if you watched this certain movie...) He couldn't see what she looks like, but she tended to his wounds.
His eyes were opening up when he felt a sharp object puncture into his skin. The agony he felt with such a painful action, he jerked his arm away from the knife while he regained consciousness.
"Don't move," a masculine voice commanded "I know this will hurt quite a bit."
Soujiro stared at the man who pierced a needle into his skin. He looked somber yet jovially friendly. Blood oozed out his frail skin and a few drops fell on a basin full of more blood. He was somehow disgusted at the sight of this, but he kept tranquil until the doctor-like man had finished.
He said, "You have been through a lot, haven't you? I can tell from all these bruises you have. Some of these date to even what seems to be when you were a kid or so. They're all fixed now. By the way, I am Doctor Kirashime. May I know who I am talking to?"
"Soujiro. Soujiro Seta."
"Hmmm... I believe I've heard of it somewhere but I can't quite remember where." -Soujiro sat upright by that time while the doctor coughed- "Seems to me you don't have a place to stay in, do you?"
"No, sir." he replied.
"Then you are in luck. I take care of a few sick patients that stay here. The patients I have are already family to me, and you can be part of it. You need not worry much, the patients are young, very young. Judging by your looks, I believe you are 16?"
"Actually, 19, Kirashime-sama."
Dr.Kirashime was astounded, "Young and polite, very nice companion to have. Do not fear, you will not be lonely and I'm keeping your sword out of reach. The children may be quite harsh and eccentric but I'm sure you'll fit in. If you may excuse me for awhile, I believe I hear one of my patients screaming by now." The doctor left the drab room and to a boy crying in another room. Lonely Soujiro wondered where he was.
"Harsh and eccentric?" he bewildered.
The next day was a bit better for him. He was able to walk about Dr.Karashime's garden. Soujiro noticed how much the hospital looked more like a dojo than a hospital. He saw flowers brighter and much more colorful than those in the Marsh road. He barely saw anyone else other than the doctor himself. Even as he ate his breakfast, no one seemed to be there. He presumed that the patients were to eat later than he was. Karashime-sensei passed by him on a hallway and Soujiro asked if he may help him. The doctor, once again, was astounded by such a gesture. While walking to a patient, Soujiro couldn't help inquiring on what type of children he takes care of.
"Oh, I take care of patients who don't have much of a chance of living. These patients have only little time left to live and are irritable or grouchy at most times. Their parents want them no more because of their attitude that I am left to be the one who cares for them. Most of them are also insane in a way. Some are paranoid, while others are maybe just psychotic."
"But why do you still nurse them if they are going to die anyway or even are abnormal? You're only wasting your time with them. You could be teaching or caring for others."
"So you've found out I used to teach. Well, I am still a doctor and it is part of an oath that I try to prevent death even if it is impossible for them but my oath also states that I must make their time less painful and comfortable for them though they are of different thinking. Aren't we all like that?"
Soujiro was still hazed, "I don't understand." It was the same expression he had left Kenshin about helping others being worthwhile.
"I know it's hard," Dr.Kirashime said "you'll know soon enough about how it feels to have helped someone."
The room they entered was drab and lifeless. A little bed with a tiny boy was in it. He had a bandage wrapped around his eyes and he lies still, not moving. Flowers from the field were on a china vase, elaborately beautiful and exquisite.
"Soujiro, this is Soushi Tomore. He's a cute little fellow, but has a sort of blind predicament, not totally blind. Sadly, he is sick with Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (A/N: It is AIDS) and is alone in the world."
"What do you mean?"
Dr.Kirashime pressed a wet towel over the young boy's head, "Are you awake, Sou-chan?"
Soujiro went closer to see how he's feeling. Soushi put his hands up and reached Soujiro, then taking his face by the cheek closer.
"Chichi? Haha?" he said.(Daddy? Mommy?)
Soujiro had felt pity on him. The little boy, alone in the world like he was, was a sight that made him almost cry. Sadly, Soujiro had a heart of stone; can never really feel what love really is. If he had only felt it before, he'd understand. But perhaps, he might soften his heart and understand it soon enough...
The doctor suggested Soujiro to leave them for awhile just for brief treatment and he obeyed. Soujiro went straight to the lovely garden. He had never thought of anything else to be more picturesque than it. He strolled around and saw a weasel pass him by, taking his sandal that fell off him. He chased it around, but then, he bumped into a young lady whom the weasel had passed with utter terror, dropping the sandal.
"I'm sorry. I believe this is yours?" she apologized with a soft and meek, yet not too soft and too meek, voice as she held the slipper.
Soujiro nodded and helped the girl stand up. He felt a sudden chill run through his spine. Her frozen hands made him lose his grip of her. Breeze from the wind weren't as pleasant as the ones before. These winds were strangely more of one's from a blizzard.
"I'm sorry. To begin with, it was my fault in the first place that you fell."
"No worries necessary. I am sorry if my hands were-"
"Strangely too cold. What happened to them?"
"Let us assume that I've been far beyond what the body can make of." At this point, Soujiro was pleased to have met her even if he had no idea what her name was. All he knows(or assumes) is that she must be dreadfully ill and this is what she has.
"I am Soujiro Seta. May I know who you are?" He admired her picturesque visage but she was rather pale and white and trembling. Her limbs bore wounds and marks of blood while the rest of her, torso to be precise, was wrapped in bandages, leaving her head, neck, limbs(meaning legs to feet and shoulders to arms) were open to the wind. He admired her, nothing more.
She said without much of a smile "My name is Sai Tomore. Let's just say that I was Kirashime-sensei's helper and at the same time his patient. He-"
"But wait, did you say Tomore?"
"Yes. I think you have met my younger brother here," she stated.
Soujiro lightened up, "Then Kirashime-sama was mistaken. Sou-chan is not alone in the world after all."
"We are worlds apart. He cannot see me, and remembers very little of me..."
Soujiro stared into empty space. He was confused still. Actually, even more confused than before. Her words were like riddles and the riddles she spoke were undecipherable. Suddenly, Dr.Kirashime tapped his back and his mind went back into reality. Dr.Kirashime smiled at him and said, "What are you doing here by yourself?"