Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin and all its characters, events and places belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Set in Shanghai.

Dedicated to Enishi; the boy with white hair who lived in the shadow of his sister's death.

Recommended song : Sound of Snow Falling (OVA soundtrack)

Sound of Snow Falling

"This is My December, this is all so clear,

And I give it all away just to have somewhere to go,

Give it all away just to have someone to come home to…"

—Linkin Park, My December

Nee-chan, the streets are cold tonight, and I cannot see the stars anymore. Remember what you used to tell me about stars? "If the stars are pretty, it means you're happy, but if the stars are unlovely, then there's something wrong with you. The stars are always the same, being unlovely or lovely is what you yourself is thinking" I still remember every word you said, every gesture, every smile, every frown. Everything was still so vivid as if you are still here with me.

You are up there with the stars, right nee-chan? Even if the clouds are covering the steets, you can still see me, right? Think of me always; remember all the things we shared always. Do I ever cross your mind, sometime? Do you still remember my every word, every motion, every smile, every frown? Answer me, nee-chan!

…I miss you.

Look. It is starting to snow, and it is getting very cold. Can you help me find a shelter somewhere? I used to sleep in front of the old library by the main street, but they now keep a large dog by their entrance so I cannot sleep there anymore. The dog bit my hand once, and I could not move it for two days. Ah, I will just sleep in the alley. There are some pieces of cloth thrown away too. Seems like I am going to get a good night's sleep tonight.

Ano…it is cold. I have not eaten for three days now, and it is cold. Tightening the cloth around me did not work, the cold is from within. I hope I can find some food in the garbage can beside me. It is empty except for a piece of apple core. I guess I can eat that; the seeds would not taste so bad. It was sour. Yet it did some good to relieve my aching stomach, it have been aching since yesterday. It is hungry I suppose, but I felt worse than this, so I will get through.

Nee-chan, I miss your cooking. Sometimes when it is cold and I am hungry like this, I would imagine sitting by the fire with you. I would imagine sipping my soup from ceramic bowl and taking in the scent of Haku Bai Kou. My stomach just grumbled at the thought. I released a sigh which formed white smoke because of the chill.

It is getting colder. Nee-chan, are you cold? If you are, then do not just stand there and freeze! Come and I will share my cloth. No? Okay.

Sit by me, please nee-chan? I am cold. Please, I know I am not a little boy anymore and I should not be spoiled, but it is really cold, nee-chan. I need you, please, sit by me. Nee-chan!

…Oh…I know. It must be because of that Battousai, ne? You are mad at me because I let him live after killing you. You do not want to sit by me because I ran away from him? But nee-chan, I did not run away from him; it was just that I could not stand to live in the same country as him. However, I will go back there to avenge you someday, I promise you that. You have to be patient, though, I want to make it big so it might take some time. I will make him suffer as he had made you suffer!

Until then, you will have to wait. Until then, I will have to wait…but you will sit by me when he is finally punished, right? You will pat my head when I did that, right?

My fingers are turning blue; almost as blue as the garbage can. Uh…I just threw up the apple, it looked rotten but I was hungry so I ate it anyway. Gomen ne. You told me not to eat rotten things, but I disobeyed  you. My body is shaking, and I feel numb. Nee-chan, I think you should go back now, it is getting too cold for you, you might get sick.

Bye, nee-chan. Remember our deal, okay? If I avenged your death, you will sit by me and I will not feel cold anymore.

The cold is from within. Maybe I am turning cold myself…but I do not want to turn cold. Nee-chan, if you sit by my side, you can turn me warm again, right?

You will make me warm like I used to, ne?

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Author's Note: I don't really know what made me write this, but one thing for sure, I started liking Enishi since a few days ago. So, you guessed it, I figured out that Enishi needs more attention than just being paired up with Kaoru. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against E/K, it's just that there are so few Enishi fics which centered on him himself. A vignette would be really nice. In summary, I encourage those of you who claimed to like Enishi to write more about Enishi!! He needs more character development and there are just so many ways for you guys to fill it up for him!! : ) Good luck guys!

* The quote of Tomoe which was about stars was taken without permission from Crystal's fic "Blood and White Plums" Read it! It's wonderful in ways words cannot express!!!