ok, here it is, you asked for it. i hope my readers for 'baka deishi'
don't get too mad that i posted this instead of the next chapter of that
story. oh well, i like this story, it's beginning to get interesting.
History Behind the History
The bell rang, and once again, Akitaka stood up to leave history class. He was beginning to hate it again, since the one thing he's found interesting was buried so deeply you could barely tell it was there. He'd even gotten on the internet to try to find more information on Battousai, but the only sight that came up had to do with some manga he'd never heard of before. He had one more course of action, and if it failed, Akitaka the history-hater would be such again. He would go to the library and look in regular books for the information he sought, which was basically any information having to do with hitokiri Battousai. He was just walking out the classroom door when he heard his name.
"Akitaka!" Mr. Higo called.
"Yes, Mr. Higo?"
"I have something you might be interested in," the teacher said, holding out a plain-looking book to Akitaka. "There's an article on Battousai on page 182, and since you mentioned him in class the other day I thought you might want to read it."
"Thanks!" Akitaka breathed, delighted. He walked out of the classroom more quickly than usual, and tried to rush the frustratingly slow pace of the rest of the school day so he could get to the library, read the article, and hopefully find more.
When Akitaka finally reached the library, it was completely empty of people except for a young woman standing behind a desk, who most likely worked there. He first sat down to read what he already had in his possession and flipped to page 182. There was a picture, and it had the same weird 'x' on it, in the same place. Either it was part of the picture or some Battousai-hating vandal had visited both his history book and this book and Mr. Higo hadn't bothered to erase it. Maybe it was the original picture that was defaced, so all the reprints had the same marks on them. That must be it. No, wait, this was a side view and the other was a front view, so they couldn't be reprints of the same picture. Akitaka didn't know what to think of that, so he started reading, beginning with the picture's caption. Hitokiri Battousai is seen here with his famous cross- shaped scar in full view, and sporting the navy blue uniform of the Ishin Shishi, the book said. So the 'x' was supposed to be there. He looked down the page and saw that this was less an article than a fact sheet. There were bullets, each with a phrase and a brief explanation. The cross- shaped scar- The cross-shaped scar is actually two scars. The longer one was received while performing an assassination, it explained. No surprises there, but it went on: the shorter one was received from his dying wife, Yukishiro Tomoe. What?! That was all? Akitaka scanned down the page for more on this Tomoe person. Yukishiro Tomoe- Yukishiro Tomoe was the maiden name of Battousai's wife, whom he himself killed. Conflicting information exists on this subject: some sources say that he was assigned to kill her and obeyed because he was so devoted to the Ishin Shishi, but others say that he was attempting to kill someone else and the blow mistakenly fell on Tomoe. Man, that was one serious assassin to kill his own wife. That was cold- he must've been totally emotionless, since surely the famed Battousai was too coordinated to land a death blow accidentally. If he was emotionless, though, why would he have been married in the first place? Akitaka was determined to find out the truth behind the title Battousai.
* *
*
Kenshin clawed his way up through the darkness to gain consciousness. Since the deed was done now, Battousai wasn't trying as hard to stay in control, and Kenshin pushed him aside to see what had happened this time. His violet eyes got huge as he realized whose corpse he was kneeling beside.
"Noooo...." he groaned, seeing his beautiful wife's blood pouring out on the ground. Several vital organs were rent apart, but, mercifully, the blood loss would make her faint, and she would not be conscious when she died. It was hopeless to try to find a doctor, since by the time one arrived she would already be dead. Even without the blood loss, the injuries themselves couldn't be repaired.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered, cradling her in his arms in her final moments. She looked up at him weakly and reached around to where his sword lay. What was she doing?
"Remember...," she commanded, dragging the blade across the left side of his face. That would create another scar, to make a cross with the one that was already there. If anything, the physical sting just magnified the intense emotional turmoil he was experiencing. Now a tiny bit of his blood dropped down and mingled with hers, and she exhaled. She didn't inhale again afterward, and he knew she was gone. His tears coursed slowly down his face, then hers, and he cursed Battousai for being a killer and himself for not being strong enough to hold him back.
************************************************
ok, i hope this is turning out well. i have very little knowledge on this period in kenshin's life, so if it is inaccurate please tell me. in any case, thank you for reading it and wanting it to continue.
PraiseDivineMercy: I love your name. i don't think i'll be having him meet kenshin, because part of the fun of the story is that he has to wonder about the info-gaps. it won't be one of those where they go back in time and meet him, either, i don't care for those.
Dreammaster2411: as you can see, i am continuing. i thought it would be a one-shot, but when i stopped writing, it seemed like there was more to be said, so i figured if people cared to hear about it i'd keep writing. thank you for your lavish praise, i'm blushing.
Amaya: i love your name, and thank you for your kind request to continue. i will.
Mayiki: i love your name, too. man, everybody who reviews this story has such pretty names. anyway, tank you, and i'll be continuing, though i don't know how often. i think at least one chapter a week, maybe two.
Ginger 1280: thank you, and i'm glad you can identify with my character. you inspired me to do a bit of research myself, and it is a very interesting topic. i've done some research on the samurai in general and found some very interesting reading, as well.
History Behind the History
The bell rang, and once again, Akitaka stood up to leave history class. He was beginning to hate it again, since the one thing he's found interesting was buried so deeply you could barely tell it was there. He'd even gotten on the internet to try to find more information on Battousai, but the only sight that came up had to do with some manga he'd never heard of before. He had one more course of action, and if it failed, Akitaka the history-hater would be such again. He would go to the library and look in regular books for the information he sought, which was basically any information having to do with hitokiri Battousai. He was just walking out the classroom door when he heard his name.
"Akitaka!" Mr. Higo called.
"Yes, Mr. Higo?"
"I have something you might be interested in," the teacher said, holding out a plain-looking book to Akitaka. "There's an article on Battousai on page 182, and since you mentioned him in class the other day I thought you might want to read it."
"Thanks!" Akitaka breathed, delighted. He walked out of the classroom more quickly than usual, and tried to rush the frustratingly slow pace of the rest of the school day so he could get to the library, read the article, and hopefully find more.
When Akitaka finally reached the library, it was completely empty of people except for a young woman standing behind a desk, who most likely worked there. He first sat down to read what he already had in his possession and flipped to page 182. There was a picture, and it had the same weird 'x' on it, in the same place. Either it was part of the picture or some Battousai-hating vandal had visited both his history book and this book and Mr. Higo hadn't bothered to erase it. Maybe it was the original picture that was defaced, so all the reprints had the same marks on them. That must be it. No, wait, this was a side view and the other was a front view, so they couldn't be reprints of the same picture. Akitaka didn't know what to think of that, so he started reading, beginning with the picture's caption. Hitokiri Battousai is seen here with his famous cross- shaped scar in full view, and sporting the navy blue uniform of the Ishin Shishi, the book said. So the 'x' was supposed to be there. He looked down the page and saw that this was less an article than a fact sheet. There were bullets, each with a phrase and a brief explanation. The cross- shaped scar- The cross-shaped scar is actually two scars. The longer one was received while performing an assassination, it explained. No surprises there, but it went on: the shorter one was received from his dying wife, Yukishiro Tomoe. What?! That was all? Akitaka scanned down the page for more on this Tomoe person. Yukishiro Tomoe- Yukishiro Tomoe was the maiden name of Battousai's wife, whom he himself killed. Conflicting information exists on this subject: some sources say that he was assigned to kill her and obeyed because he was so devoted to the Ishin Shishi, but others say that he was attempting to kill someone else and the blow mistakenly fell on Tomoe. Man, that was one serious assassin to kill his own wife. That was cold- he must've been totally emotionless, since surely the famed Battousai was too coordinated to land a death blow accidentally. If he was emotionless, though, why would he have been married in the first place? Akitaka was determined to find out the truth behind the title Battousai.
* *
*
Kenshin clawed his way up through the darkness to gain consciousness. Since the deed was done now, Battousai wasn't trying as hard to stay in control, and Kenshin pushed him aside to see what had happened this time. His violet eyes got huge as he realized whose corpse he was kneeling beside.
"Noooo...." he groaned, seeing his beautiful wife's blood pouring out on the ground. Several vital organs were rent apart, but, mercifully, the blood loss would make her faint, and she would not be conscious when she died. It was hopeless to try to find a doctor, since by the time one arrived she would already be dead. Even without the blood loss, the injuries themselves couldn't be repaired.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered, cradling her in his arms in her final moments. She looked up at him weakly and reached around to where his sword lay. What was she doing?
"Remember...," she commanded, dragging the blade across the left side of his face. That would create another scar, to make a cross with the one that was already there. If anything, the physical sting just magnified the intense emotional turmoil he was experiencing. Now a tiny bit of his blood dropped down and mingled with hers, and she exhaled. She didn't inhale again afterward, and he knew she was gone. His tears coursed slowly down his face, then hers, and he cursed Battousai for being a killer and himself for not being strong enough to hold him back.
************************************************
ok, i hope this is turning out well. i have very little knowledge on this period in kenshin's life, so if it is inaccurate please tell me. in any case, thank you for reading it and wanting it to continue.
PraiseDivineMercy: I love your name. i don't think i'll be having him meet kenshin, because part of the fun of the story is that he has to wonder about the info-gaps. it won't be one of those where they go back in time and meet him, either, i don't care for those.
Dreammaster2411: as you can see, i am continuing. i thought it would be a one-shot, but when i stopped writing, it seemed like there was more to be said, so i figured if people cared to hear about it i'd keep writing. thank you for your lavish praise, i'm blushing.
Amaya: i love your name, and thank you for your kind request to continue. i will.
Mayiki: i love your name, too. man, everybody who reviews this story has such pretty names. anyway, tank you, and i'll be continuing, though i don't know how often. i think at least one chapter a week, maybe two.
Ginger 1280: thank you, and i'm glad you can identify with my character. you inspired me to do a bit of research myself, and it is a very interesting topic. i've done some research on the samurai in general and found some very interesting reading, as well.