title: Hanafubuki | Interlude 1
rating: pg-13
author: Mir
email: cathedraldragon@bigfoot.com
website: http://tfmeijiera.tripod.com/
disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin was created by Watsuki Nobuhiro,
published by Shueisha in "Jump," and produced by Sony
Entertainment. All rights are theirs. I have no money to speak
of, so suing me will not make you rich. This story contains
spoilers for...I'm not quite sure what...up until the Kyoto Arc
and the OAV's, I think (plus corresponding manga volumes).
Many thanks to maigo-chan for her manga translations.
AN: Again, I'm in the process of going back and revising
parts of this work that... are a little rough around the edges.
Although there's nothing major here, I've changed some of
the word choice, some syntax, etc. All in all, I think it reads
reads more smoothly.
--------------------------------------------------
*Interlude: Kaoru*
Sometimes I wonder why nothing ever works out as it should. No
matter how hard I try, whenever I step back and look at myself, all I see
is girl stumbling through life without clear purpose or direction. As I hold
the image steady in my mind I pace slowly around the small form, nothing
the way her hair falls down her back and frowning at the eager expression
on her face. Can the owner of this naive smile really be myself?
Father, I've tried my best to carry on the style in your name, the
gods know I've tried my hardest. But it's difficult, so very difficult. After
the students left, I fear I would have been lost had it not been for the
appearance of Kenshin.
Himura Kenshin -- I think you and he might have gotten along
well together. You'd recognize him in an instant if you met him on the
street. With hair as distinctive as the expansive crimson sunset and the
deep scar on his cheek still unfaded years after the fact... I'd be
surprised if anyone ever forgot his face. And in nature, he's so gentle
and protective, always going out of his way so as not to worry me.
Can you imagine that, father? Yet at the same time, when I think of
the experiences he's been through, of all the blood that he's washed
from his hands, and of the men whose lives he's taken... I can't help
trying to imagine what he'd be like if he'd never joined the Ishin Shishi.
How can I compare myself to him when I haven't witnessed the
autrosities of war firsthand? He lives as atonement for his past actions,
lives and makes the world a better place by his presence.
Should I have given in and allowed him cook the fish? No, I
needed to prove to myself that I could do something right, no matter
how insignificany, that I wasn't a failure to our family name. I've been
so alone since you left, so completely alone with no one to talk to. I
used to lie awake at night and whisper my thoughts to the walls
because there was no one else to hear them. I still do so from time
to time, though mostly out of habit. But, if Yahiko ever heard me --
he teases me without mercy, Father. Sometimes I wish I could beat
some respect into the little brat, but I suppose he just wouldn't be the
same Yahiko if he stopped calling me names.
Do you believe that fate brings people together for a reason? I'd
never thought I'd find such good friends, never imagined the ways they'd
enter into my life. Kenshin never searches for trouble -- it follows him like
a stubborn shadow that won't dissolve into darkness after the sun has set.
But whatever he touches is forever changed by his gentle concern...
myself included, I admit.
Father, I want to love him, but I don't know what I have to offer.
He carries with him an aura of unassuming confidence, and I'm afraid
that he's going to leave again some day. He taught me how to wash
the rice so that the rice-balls won't turn out lumpy.... Wasn't that sweet
of him, Father? The way he looks at me sometimes, with those deeply
violet unreadable eyes, makes me wonder what thoughts occupy his
mind, but I've always been afraid to ask. How can I be afraid of
someone so warm and thoughtful? I wonder if he only thinks of me as
a child. No, he wouldn't, not Kenshin; he even treats Yahiko with
respect. Still, I wonder what he's thinking.
I had to throw the fish away, that beautiful gift from Haruna-san,
and Yahiko laughed until I thought he was going to be sick. At least
Sanosuke knew to stop before he started choking. Kenshin said nothing
-- just nodded sympathetically and began preparing dinner as he always
does. The way he calmly takes everything in stride can be so infuriating
at times. He's said that he would risk his life for me again and again....
Why won't he understand that my life would mean nothing if he were to
die? I never would have guessed that such a generous person could be
so stubbornly selfish. Kenshin, why...?
And now, dear Vather, sometimes I feel as though I'm merely an
observer of my own life, watching the days drift by like logs floating
slowly down a river. This peacefulness that's fallen over my life must
certainly be an illusion, for never before have I been, at the same time,
so happy and yet so unsure of myself. One day I know I will wake up
and the dream will be gone.
*end of interlude*
- - - - - - - - - -
Now that that's over *ducks* I'll say that I have about 8kb's of chapter two
written and plan on finishing it this week (I hope). Staring at my computer
screen has been giving me headaches, so I might have to write it on paper
and then type it out...arg. Anyhow, write me -- emails are good motivation!
And I'll write back *g*.
- Mir (06.03.01 ~ 02.13.02)
.
rating: pg-13
author: Mir
email: cathedraldragon@bigfoot.com
website: http://tfmeijiera.tripod.com/
disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin was created by Watsuki Nobuhiro,
published by Shueisha in "Jump," and produced by Sony
Entertainment. All rights are theirs. I have no money to speak
of, so suing me will not make you rich. This story contains
spoilers for...I'm not quite sure what...up until the Kyoto Arc
and the OAV's, I think (plus corresponding manga volumes).
Many thanks to maigo-chan for her manga translations.
AN: Again, I'm in the process of going back and revising
parts of this work that... are a little rough around the edges.
Although there's nothing major here, I've changed some of
the word choice, some syntax, etc. All in all, I think it reads
reads more smoothly.
--------------------------------------------------
*Interlude: Kaoru*
Sometimes I wonder why nothing ever works out as it should. No
matter how hard I try, whenever I step back and look at myself, all I see
is girl stumbling through life without clear purpose or direction. As I hold
the image steady in my mind I pace slowly around the small form, nothing
the way her hair falls down her back and frowning at the eager expression
on her face. Can the owner of this naive smile really be myself?
Father, I've tried my best to carry on the style in your name, the
gods know I've tried my hardest. But it's difficult, so very difficult. After
the students left, I fear I would have been lost had it not been for the
appearance of Kenshin.
Himura Kenshin -- I think you and he might have gotten along
well together. You'd recognize him in an instant if you met him on the
street. With hair as distinctive as the expansive crimson sunset and the
deep scar on his cheek still unfaded years after the fact... I'd be
surprised if anyone ever forgot his face. And in nature, he's so gentle
and protective, always going out of his way so as not to worry me.
Can you imagine that, father? Yet at the same time, when I think of
the experiences he's been through, of all the blood that he's washed
from his hands, and of the men whose lives he's taken... I can't help
trying to imagine what he'd be like if he'd never joined the Ishin Shishi.
How can I compare myself to him when I haven't witnessed the
autrosities of war firsthand? He lives as atonement for his past actions,
lives and makes the world a better place by his presence.
Should I have given in and allowed him cook the fish? No, I
needed to prove to myself that I could do something right, no matter
how insignificany, that I wasn't a failure to our family name. I've been
so alone since you left, so completely alone with no one to talk to. I
used to lie awake at night and whisper my thoughts to the walls
because there was no one else to hear them. I still do so from time
to time, though mostly out of habit. But, if Yahiko ever heard me --
he teases me without mercy, Father. Sometimes I wish I could beat
some respect into the little brat, but I suppose he just wouldn't be the
same Yahiko if he stopped calling me names.
Do you believe that fate brings people together for a reason? I'd
never thought I'd find such good friends, never imagined the ways they'd
enter into my life. Kenshin never searches for trouble -- it follows him like
a stubborn shadow that won't dissolve into darkness after the sun has set.
But whatever he touches is forever changed by his gentle concern...
myself included, I admit.
Father, I want to love him, but I don't know what I have to offer.
He carries with him an aura of unassuming confidence, and I'm afraid
that he's going to leave again some day. He taught me how to wash
the rice so that the rice-balls won't turn out lumpy.... Wasn't that sweet
of him, Father? The way he looks at me sometimes, with those deeply
violet unreadable eyes, makes me wonder what thoughts occupy his
mind, but I've always been afraid to ask. How can I be afraid of
someone so warm and thoughtful? I wonder if he only thinks of me as
a child. No, he wouldn't, not Kenshin; he even treats Yahiko with
respect. Still, I wonder what he's thinking.
I had to throw the fish away, that beautiful gift from Haruna-san,
and Yahiko laughed until I thought he was going to be sick. At least
Sanosuke knew to stop before he started choking. Kenshin said nothing
-- just nodded sympathetically and began preparing dinner as he always
does. The way he calmly takes everything in stride can be so infuriating
at times. He's said that he would risk his life for me again and again....
Why won't he understand that my life would mean nothing if he were to
die? I never would have guessed that such a generous person could be
so stubbornly selfish. Kenshin, why...?
And now, dear Vather, sometimes I feel as though I'm merely an
observer of my own life, watching the days drift by like logs floating
slowly down a river. This peacefulness that's fallen over my life must
certainly be an illusion, for never before have I been, at the same time,
so happy and yet so unsure of myself. One day I know I will wake up
and the dream will be gone.
*end of interlude*
- - - - - - - - - -
Now that that's over *ducks* I'll say that I have about 8kb's of chapter two
written and plan on finishing it this week (I hope). Staring at my computer
screen has been giving me headaches, so I might have to write it on paper
and then type it out...arg. Anyhow, write me -- emails are good motivation!
And I'll write back *g*.
- Mir (06.03.01 ~ 02.13.02)
.