Disclaimer: You know this, and I know this…Do I really have to say/type it? (A marshmallow cheep says "yes.") I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or Innocence. So there.
Author's note: This chapter is in first person (Soujiro's POV). I don't know why, but writing in third person suddenly seemed quite boring. Now the italics are figurative language, things said in the manga/anime ect…
And yes, the chapter title is a parody of the RK episode name with Soujiro in it.
ayu- Someone new reviewed my fanfic! *Claps hands like a five-year-old*
Lilac Fire BlossomChapter 6- Utopia–Tragedy in the Storm
~Honshu Island, 16th year of the Meiji Era~
We strolled along an insignificant uncharted path along an insignificant and barely populated part of the country. Wild streams carved their way down steep mountain slopes, and the grass stalks grew freely, uncut for years. How ironic that a wood believed to be inhabited by demons would be located in a place of wonder and natural beauty.
Almost suddenly, large, gray rain clouds appeared and fat, translucent raindrops fell from the sky.
The tears of heaven…
Seeking shelter, we roamed among the ancient trees of the Oni no Mori. The twisted branches reached toward the center of the forest, creating a giant dome. In the middle of the forest was a crater. A glistening pond glimmered in the clearing, and fed the nearby grass.
I tilted my face toward the darkening sky. "It's not going to stop anytime soon…"
"Well, get out of the rain, Soujiro-chan!" I heard Mieko say, as she was pulling me to a hollow in the side of the cliff face. We sat at the edge of the cave, watching the rain fall.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked me.
"Hai." I replied, "it most be the most perfect place in the world. Why did you leave?"
"Don't you remember that day, twelve years ago?"
"I remember. Demo, I don't know why you decided to come with Shishio-san and me." I knew that she was old enough to tell that Shishio-san was a dangerous murderer, but why she decided to risk her life associating with the hitokiri was a mystery.
"Well…" Mieko paused, not quite sure of how to put her thoughts into words, "this forest was a place I liked to go to. Here, people would leave me alone. But, being alone has detrimental effects on sanity, so when Shishio-san and you came here, I wanted to come with you, so I wouldn't be lonely anymore."
I nodded, although I felt there was something she wasn't telling me. So much for conversation.
The next hours passed by, rain relentlessly pouring down. I gradually fell asleep, lulled by the soft pattering of the tiny drops of water…
* * * * *
I found myself standing along the bank of a river, and in my hand was a sword. It was sharp, pointy, and fresh blood was still on the blade. It felt…foreign…
Before me was a lifeless body. It was Senkaku, the last person who felt my sword take their life. His blood seeped out of the wound in his head, and mingled with the rolling river water.
My eyes followed the trail of blood through the forest. Then, they came upon a shocking and rather pitiful form.
A child, clothed in rags stood before me. His skin was pale, causing him to take on the appearance of a ghost. And the eyes…they did not have the same playful light most children had. They were a deep midnight blue…reflecting nothing. They were dead eyes. The child parted his chapped lips and, to my horror, let out a thin whisper of a message.
"You killed me…"
* * * * * *
The next thing I knew, I was back in that little cave. Mieko was standing over me, watching with a…strange look on her face.
"Soujiro…you look scary if you're not smiling…"
"Gomen." I forced a grin.
"Don't do that."
"Ara?" It was my confused reply, "Don't do what?"
"Smile. Soujiro no baka. Don't smile if you're not happy." Mieko answered, slightly annoyed.
"But, "I started, "I'm not like you. My words and actions aren't determined by my emotions." Mieko looked at me, a blank look on her face. "If I only smiled if I was happy, it wouldn't ever happen…because I was like that…back then…"
Back then…Back then I…
"Before I met Shishio-san, I lived with my relatives. They owned a rice distribution company, and since I wasn't directly related to them, they would make me carry the rice to the warehouse. And if I didn't meet their quota, they would hit me…"
"But, what does that have to do with anything?"
I closed my eyes. "Because if I cry or get angry, they'll only hit me more. So one day, I smiled when they hit me, and they got confused and left me alone. So no matter how much it hurt, I would always smile."
Mieko wrapped her arms around me in a comforting embrace, while a flash of lightning sparked outside, casting ghastly shadows upon us.
"Mieko-chan, why are you crying?" I asked, noticing liquid on her face.
"It's not me. It's you. " she told me.
My hand crept up to my cheek. It was indeed wet. My tears must have fallen on her. Ironically, the storm had stopped. Most peculiar.
"So what happened afterwards?"
I sighed. Kami-sama must've put too much curiosity in Mieko. "I met Shishio and I killed them off using his wakizashi."
"Are you crying?"
"No, it's just the rain. Do you think I can be strong too, Shishio-san?"
"I have to go…" I stood up to leave, and Mieko followed my steps. "Mieko-chan, please stay here."
"Why? If you're going to go, I'm going too! And, if you're unhappy, I'll be unhappy with you!"
There was no simple way of getting out of this situation. "I just don't want you to be hurt while being with me. So, please, stay here…"
"Datte, The only reason I left this forest was because I love you!"
"Ara…"
"And I don't mean the sibling kind either!"
"I know."
"Nani?! Soujiro no baka! Then why didn't you tell ne that you knew so I could be spared the thoughts of how to tell you?!"
"Actually, I didn't know, it just seemed like the right thing to say…" I sweatdropped as Mieko glared at me. "Demo, I don't think I would be able to say the same thing to you."
"Why? I only said 'I love you.' I didn't ask to be kissed or to be married."
"Still…" I ran out of ideas.
Mieko ran out of ideas first. Plucking a small flower from the ground, she offered it to me, saying: "Please let this daisy remind you of me…and come back to this place."
"Hai. I will." I took the blossom and left. "Ja matte ne, Mieko-chan. I just need to find my truth."
Kaze, itai ame, sakebi koe, kireta ito, fuyu no sora –Wind, painful rain, a shouting voice, a cut thread, the sky of winter
Boku wa naze, waratteru no? Wakaranai, nakushita yo –
Why am I smiling? I don't know, I'm just lost…
~End Chapter ~
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