Yes, I am back from the dead. High school's been worse than I thought it
would be (what with sexual harassment, stupid classmates, and bloody pages
that are due in two hours.). But anyway I'll be updating sporadically.
QUICKIE FACTOID: The stuff that was given to Tsukiyo in the last chapter, called 'Itami' by Mystery Man 1 and Mystery Man 2 (feel free to try and identify one of them, he's appeared earlier), literally translates to 'pain, grief, and distress'. It certainly caused all that didn't it? *giggles* Poor Sano.
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Sano growled to himself as he sat on the edge of the porch-like area that faced the garden. It had been only one day since the night where. Well.
//Kuso, I HATE getting hit there.// He winced at the remembered pain, almost curling up into a ball. All he could remember after he had gotten hit was blackness. When he woke up, he found an unseemly amount of ice on THAT area. He hadn't seen Tsukiyo since, but according to Megumi and Kaoru, she had literally disappeared, with only Yahiko claiming to have seen her.
//She probably feels like she should kill herself for what she did.// He sighed and stood, squinting against the bright sunlight that hit his eyes with that motion. //Where'd Yahiko say he saw her last.//
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Tsukiyo had managed to squeeze herself into a barrel barely big enough to fit her, even when she curled up as much as she could. Although she could get out (with some difficulties.), she had no intention of leaving her place of shame until she starved or was found by the boys who had found her the last time she had tried to hide.
//Death death death death death. all self deserves now.// She knew the consequences of her actions. She had attacked the man whom everyone respected, and also the man who had tried to make her see what was wrong, just not in the way that was needed. She knew what kind of pain was given to the man who got himself hurt there, and was deathly afraid for her life.
Suddenly she heard the noise of trash being moved, and was acutely aware of the stench that surrounded her in the garbage heap nearby. Carefully she poked her head out of her barrel, searching for the cause of the disturbance.
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Sano grinned inside when he heard the rustling of fabric from the alley. //Finally!// He moved a large box, half rotting, and called out, "Tsukiyo! I'd like to have a word, if you don't mind leaving this place. We can go back to the dojo, if you'd like."
He almost didn't catch her reply. "No. Self will stay here, self is fit for trash, and so self will be trash."
He felt a flare of anger at the people who had broken her spirit so that a girl who might have been a vibrantly independent girl, almost like Kaoru and Misao, was reduced to a child who didn't have enough self confidence to try and make up for her mistakes. He instead called out, "Tsukiyo, if you're going to sit here in the trash, then I guess I have no other alternative," he paused, sighing dramatically, "than to sit here with you and provide some company."
He was almost unprepared for the wildcat that sprang out at him from a tiny barrel, crying out, "No! Sano-san go back! Leave self alone!"
He caught her in mid-air and bundled her into his arms, holding her like a baby. A ferocious one, but still a baby. "Tsukiyo, we need to talk, and it is a bit difficult to do so when the person I'm trying to talk to is inside of a barrel and thinks she should be trash." She lay in his arms, stunned, as he walked swiftly to the river.
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Tsukiyo was speechless. //Why Tori-strong-laugh doing this? He no need to, self was safe where self was.// She grunted quietly as he unceremoniously dumped her onto the riverbank and sat down next to her.
She kept her face turned away, trying to concentrate on the rippling water, flowing past their spot. She almost smiled as a tiny bird landed in front of her, but caught herself in time. //No. Self must not laugh. Self was bad, must punish.//
Sano hadn't missed her lips twitch, and them smooth with a fierce determination. He sighed inwardly, trying to figure out what to say to the child. //Likely enough she'll be as stubborn as I am.// he mused, pursing his lips. //Don't know if that's possible, but what do I know.// The sound of the swallows scolding and singing, swooping and sweeping the air free from bugs made him smile and begin to whistle, a little tune he'd picked up while listening to a mother entertain her children.
Tsukiyo made no movement, at least not outside of her body. Inside, she was in turmoil. //Why? Why is he nice?// She peeked at him from underneath her red hair, trying not to make it obvious. When he met her eyes and grinned, she whipped her head around and continued studying the water. The song he had been whistling changed, becoming more slow, sad, and mellow.
When she turned to face him, he saw what he thought were the beginnings of tears in her eyes. However, he made no comment, and simply waited for her to say something first. She turned away from him again, then back before she opened her lips.
"Sano-san?"
"Yeah, Tsu-chan?" He turned to face the water, but he knew she'd keep talking.
"Why. Why are you nice? Nice to me, after what I did?" She seemed genuinely confused as to how that was possible.
"Well, there are a lot of reasons as to why I'm nice to you, even after last night." He grinned, remembering how effectively she had totaled him. "For one thing, you're a strong girl, like Jou-chan and Megitsune. There aren't very many ladies like you three left." He paused, waiting to see if she'd say anything.
"But. That isn't enough."
He grinned and replied, "Of course not, that's why there's more." He shifted his position, so that he was lying relaxed on the grass. "My second reason is because you look so much like Kenshin." Tsukiyo started to say something, but he continued on. "Yeah, I know what you're going to say. But the thing is, you're so much like him that I can't help but trust you. You're both quiet, have a bad past, and are so innocent."
She snorted her dismissal of the last comment. "I look the same as him, yes. But I am different."
"Right. Which brings up my third reason." He held up three fingers to emphasize the remark. "Tsukiyo, the reason I like you, and probably everyone else has this reason and others, is because you are a part of the family. The day Yahiko found you is the day you were 'born' into the Kenshin-Gumi. Family doesn't hurt family. And if it does happen, the family accepts it, and makes it better." He lapsed into silence, hoping that his words had had some effect on her.
He was startled to hear the sounds of quiet crying. He sat up and looked over that the child. She had her knees drawn up to her chest, with her arms wrapped around them. Her face was hidden, but her back heaved as she sobbed quietly into her gi. When Sanosuke wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, she went willingly, crying all the harder. They sat like that, Tsukiyo letting out thirteen years of tears, while Sano's shirt and bandaged chest grew steadily wetter, and not just from the sobbing child.
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Megumi stopped dead as she walked down the path. Peering at the riverside, she saw what appeared to be Sano and another woman! Prepared to beat him into the next world, she changed her path and walked straight for him, rolling up her kimono sleeves. But when she was within a few feet of him and the other person, he stopped her hurriedly. Surprised, she halted and opened her mouth, to ask what was going on. But she understood immediately when she saw the red hair.
She moved to his other said and sat, smoothing her kimono. She made no comment on the dried tears that rested on Tsukiyo's cheeks, nor the ones on Sanosuke's. She only said quietly, "Is she feeling better?"
He nodded and rubbed the girl's thin shoulder. "She fell asleep about half an hour ago." He shook his head as he recalled the endless stream of tears that had come pouring out of her yellow eyes. Now those eyes were puffy and tender, and would be sore for the rest of the day. He turned his head to face Megumi and said offhandedly, "Hey, Megitsune."
"Yes, Tori-atama?"
He mock cringed at her use of his nickname. "Where do you think she came from? Like, who were her parents, and all that?"
She sat quietly for a few moments, idly twirling a piece of grass, before she answered. "She probably would have had nice parents, ones who would have brought her up to be a beautiful, if headstrong girl. She might have become a martial artist, or possibly a housewife." She brushed furiously at a stand of her black hair that had sneaked past an ear. "But she'll never be the same as she might have been. Those. Those monsters who raised her ripped her away from a perfect childhood."
Sano's already punctured heart began to crack when he saw the way she turned away from him. //Kuso. She's remembering what happened to her with Kanryuu.// Hoping he didn't get killed for his daring, he brushed back her hair, so he could see her face better. "Megumi. At least now she's got a chance to start over. Like us."
Megumi froze as she felt Sano's rough, callused fingers brush against her face en route to her ear. She took a steadying breath and fought back the urge to crumple into his arms. She almost felt envy for the young girl who was so protected by the man she would have died to save. She stood, and said hurriedly, "Come on, then. Kaoru will be wanting us home in time for dinner."
Sano sighed and stood, Tsukiyo in his arms. "You're right." He walked ahead of her, knowing her eyes were boring a hole into his back. But he felt strangely relieved that she was quiet, and not being her usual argumentative self. Tsukiyo sighed in her exhausted sleep and snuggled closer to his chest, her hands full of his shirt.
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Did ya think I was gonna put a little person watching them? Not today. I just want to say 'gomen nasai' for not writing. I had a really blah period when I didn't want to write, but now I'm back!
QUICKIE FACTOID: The stuff that was given to Tsukiyo in the last chapter, called 'Itami' by Mystery Man 1 and Mystery Man 2 (feel free to try and identify one of them, he's appeared earlier), literally translates to 'pain, grief, and distress'. It certainly caused all that didn't it? *giggles* Poor Sano.
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Sano growled to himself as he sat on the edge of the porch-like area that faced the garden. It had been only one day since the night where. Well.
//Kuso, I HATE getting hit there.// He winced at the remembered pain, almost curling up into a ball. All he could remember after he had gotten hit was blackness. When he woke up, he found an unseemly amount of ice on THAT area. He hadn't seen Tsukiyo since, but according to Megumi and Kaoru, she had literally disappeared, with only Yahiko claiming to have seen her.
//She probably feels like she should kill herself for what she did.// He sighed and stood, squinting against the bright sunlight that hit his eyes with that motion. //Where'd Yahiko say he saw her last.//
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Tsukiyo had managed to squeeze herself into a barrel barely big enough to fit her, even when she curled up as much as she could. Although she could get out (with some difficulties.), she had no intention of leaving her place of shame until she starved or was found by the boys who had found her the last time she had tried to hide.
//Death death death death death. all self deserves now.// She knew the consequences of her actions. She had attacked the man whom everyone respected, and also the man who had tried to make her see what was wrong, just not in the way that was needed. She knew what kind of pain was given to the man who got himself hurt there, and was deathly afraid for her life.
Suddenly she heard the noise of trash being moved, and was acutely aware of the stench that surrounded her in the garbage heap nearby. Carefully she poked her head out of her barrel, searching for the cause of the disturbance.
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Sano grinned inside when he heard the rustling of fabric from the alley. //Finally!// He moved a large box, half rotting, and called out, "Tsukiyo! I'd like to have a word, if you don't mind leaving this place. We can go back to the dojo, if you'd like."
He almost didn't catch her reply. "No. Self will stay here, self is fit for trash, and so self will be trash."
He felt a flare of anger at the people who had broken her spirit so that a girl who might have been a vibrantly independent girl, almost like Kaoru and Misao, was reduced to a child who didn't have enough self confidence to try and make up for her mistakes. He instead called out, "Tsukiyo, if you're going to sit here in the trash, then I guess I have no other alternative," he paused, sighing dramatically, "than to sit here with you and provide some company."
He was almost unprepared for the wildcat that sprang out at him from a tiny barrel, crying out, "No! Sano-san go back! Leave self alone!"
He caught her in mid-air and bundled her into his arms, holding her like a baby. A ferocious one, but still a baby. "Tsukiyo, we need to talk, and it is a bit difficult to do so when the person I'm trying to talk to is inside of a barrel and thinks she should be trash." She lay in his arms, stunned, as he walked swiftly to the river.
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Tsukiyo was speechless. //Why Tori-strong-laugh doing this? He no need to, self was safe where self was.// She grunted quietly as he unceremoniously dumped her onto the riverbank and sat down next to her.
She kept her face turned away, trying to concentrate on the rippling water, flowing past their spot. She almost smiled as a tiny bird landed in front of her, but caught herself in time. //No. Self must not laugh. Self was bad, must punish.//
Sano hadn't missed her lips twitch, and them smooth with a fierce determination. He sighed inwardly, trying to figure out what to say to the child. //Likely enough she'll be as stubborn as I am.// he mused, pursing his lips. //Don't know if that's possible, but what do I know.// The sound of the swallows scolding and singing, swooping and sweeping the air free from bugs made him smile and begin to whistle, a little tune he'd picked up while listening to a mother entertain her children.
Tsukiyo made no movement, at least not outside of her body. Inside, she was in turmoil. //Why? Why is he nice?// She peeked at him from underneath her red hair, trying not to make it obvious. When he met her eyes and grinned, she whipped her head around and continued studying the water. The song he had been whistling changed, becoming more slow, sad, and mellow.
When she turned to face him, he saw what he thought were the beginnings of tears in her eyes. However, he made no comment, and simply waited for her to say something first. She turned away from him again, then back before she opened her lips.
"Sano-san?"
"Yeah, Tsu-chan?" He turned to face the water, but he knew she'd keep talking.
"Why. Why are you nice? Nice to me, after what I did?" She seemed genuinely confused as to how that was possible.
"Well, there are a lot of reasons as to why I'm nice to you, even after last night." He grinned, remembering how effectively she had totaled him. "For one thing, you're a strong girl, like Jou-chan and Megitsune. There aren't very many ladies like you three left." He paused, waiting to see if she'd say anything.
"But. That isn't enough."
He grinned and replied, "Of course not, that's why there's more." He shifted his position, so that he was lying relaxed on the grass. "My second reason is because you look so much like Kenshin." Tsukiyo started to say something, but he continued on. "Yeah, I know what you're going to say. But the thing is, you're so much like him that I can't help but trust you. You're both quiet, have a bad past, and are so innocent."
She snorted her dismissal of the last comment. "I look the same as him, yes. But I am different."
"Right. Which brings up my third reason." He held up three fingers to emphasize the remark. "Tsukiyo, the reason I like you, and probably everyone else has this reason and others, is because you are a part of the family. The day Yahiko found you is the day you were 'born' into the Kenshin-Gumi. Family doesn't hurt family. And if it does happen, the family accepts it, and makes it better." He lapsed into silence, hoping that his words had had some effect on her.
He was startled to hear the sounds of quiet crying. He sat up and looked over that the child. She had her knees drawn up to her chest, with her arms wrapped around them. Her face was hidden, but her back heaved as she sobbed quietly into her gi. When Sanosuke wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, she went willingly, crying all the harder. They sat like that, Tsukiyo letting out thirteen years of tears, while Sano's shirt and bandaged chest grew steadily wetter, and not just from the sobbing child.
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Megumi stopped dead as she walked down the path. Peering at the riverside, she saw what appeared to be Sano and another woman! Prepared to beat him into the next world, she changed her path and walked straight for him, rolling up her kimono sleeves. But when she was within a few feet of him and the other person, he stopped her hurriedly. Surprised, she halted and opened her mouth, to ask what was going on. But she understood immediately when she saw the red hair.
She moved to his other said and sat, smoothing her kimono. She made no comment on the dried tears that rested on Tsukiyo's cheeks, nor the ones on Sanosuke's. She only said quietly, "Is she feeling better?"
He nodded and rubbed the girl's thin shoulder. "She fell asleep about half an hour ago." He shook his head as he recalled the endless stream of tears that had come pouring out of her yellow eyes. Now those eyes were puffy and tender, and would be sore for the rest of the day. He turned his head to face Megumi and said offhandedly, "Hey, Megitsune."
"Yes, Tori-atama?"
He mock cringed at her use of his nickname. "Where do you think she came from? Like, who were her parents, and all that?"
She sat quietly for a few moments, idly twirling a piece of grass, before she answered. "She probably would have had nice parents, ones who would have brought her up to be a beautiful, if headstrong girl. She might have become a martial artist, or possibly a housewife." She brushed furiously at a stand of her black hair that had sneaked past an ear. "But she'll never be the same as she might have been. Those. Those monsters who raised her ripped her away from a perfect childhood."
Sano's already punctured heart began to crack when he saw the way she turned away from him. //Kuso. She's remembering what happened to her with Kanryuu.// Hoping he didn't get killed for his daring, he brushed back her hair, so he could see her face better. "Megumi. At least now she's got a chance to start over. Like us."
Megumi froze as she felt Sano's rough, callused fingers brush against her face en route to her ear. She took a steadying breath and fought back the urge to crumple into his arms. She almost felt envy for the young girl who was so protected by the man she would have died to save. She stood, and said hurriedly, "Come on, then. Kaoru will be wanting us home in time for dinner."
Sano sighed and stood, Tsukiyo in his arms. "You're right." He walked ahead of her, knowing her eyes were boring a hole into his back. But he felt strangely relieved that she was quiet, and not being her usual argumentative self. Tsukiyo sighed in her exhausted sleep and snuggled closer to his chest, her hands full of his shirt.
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Did ya think I was gonna put a little person watching them? Not today. I just want to say 'gomen nasai' for not writing. I had a really blah period when I didn't want to write, but now I'm back!
