Puppeteers
Note: This chapter is named for a song done by my god... What Camui Gackt is to MSW-sama, Cat Stevens is to me. He is a god. This particular song Bando- chan first heard while watching 'Harold and Maude', which is a FANTASTIC movie. I cried at the end and I recommend watching the movie if you haven't already. Anyway, nearly every single one of you hit the idea on the head about the end of the last chapter. You all were confused as to what happened... and that was the point... sort of... I left what could have happened up to your imaginations... If you read this chapter well enough, you should catch a couple tiny hints as to what I imagined would happen... if not... well, simply use your imagination anyway.
Disclaimer: Please don't sue me, oh magical owners of all things used! None of the songs belong to me! None of the characters (except Hiro) are mine! Don't sue me!
(((((((((())))))))))
Chapter Thirteen- Trouble
I dressed in a daze, my mind still coming to accept the night before. Kaoru was in another room, and we had agreed not to look at each other, knowing that we would break our promise from the night before if we did. I ran my hand through my hair before I tied it back into its ponytail. "Kaoru." I whispered to the tatami. To the shoji. The disheveled futon. Every part of the room would hear her name, and remember it when we both were gone.
'But I won't ever forget you...' Her words rang through my head as I straightened my gi over my shoulders. I shook my head.
Definitely not the time to be reminiscing, Himura... I thought to myself, picking up my sword. I looked back over the room, watching as the room played time back for me. I fastened the sword to my waist and gripped it tightly as I slid open the shoji.
The hallway was gone before I even knew it. I was already at the door. Already stepping out of the building to what I had felt coming for days.
As I walked into the street, I felt the eyes of the entire group of people gathered to see Saitou, Sanosuke, and myself off, set on me. I didn't bother to force a smile this time, trying to remain stoic. Trying not to look at Kaoru.
I didn't feel her eyes on me, but her ki was seeking mine. Sanosuke and Yahiko exchanged an unreadable look just as I stretched my own ki out to meet hers.
Misao smiled weakly at me. "Try... to bring him back, won't you?"
I nodded. "I won't try, Misao-dono. I will."
She smiled gratefully at me. I tried to smile.
I was still facing the group when a voice behind me broke my thoughts apart.
"Where are you going?"
I could feel Kaoru's heart sink with my own, while we were still close enough to feel each other's presence. While we still were connected together.
Yahiko was the only one who could find the words to address Hiro. "He's going to take care of Shishio Makoto."
Hiro glanced warily at Saitou before looked at Kaoru. "Kaoru-chan... we should go back to Tokyo."
Yahiko opened his mouth to protest, but Sano clamped his hand over it, muttering something into his ear.
Kaoru nodded. "We will, Hiro. After they come back alive."
I breathed inside. Kaoru wanted me alive... she would stay long enough to see me alive again... and then... I let out an inaudible, shuddering sigh. And then we would never see each other again.
Hiro opened his mouth, but quickly shut it.
A good choice... My vindictive half murmured in my head.
Saitou pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Are we going to just stand here for the rest of the day and socialize?"
Sanosuke growled. "No. Let them say goodbye, you unfeeling jerk. What if Kenshin dies?"
Saitou shrugged. "Then he isn't strong enough."
Sano muttered something and shoved his hands into his pockets.
Hiro turned to me. "Himura-san... Good luck... when you come back... I... I would like you to come to the wedding... please..." He regarded me with obvious fear. Fear creates hate in the hearts of men, and he was a coward. He was terrified of me. Battousai scoffed within me, so obviously irritated that I had let us be beaten by a coward.
It would have been a kind gesture, perhaps Hiro even believed it was; but Kaoru and I jerked our heads up and out of the stupor that had overtaken us, glancing into each other's eyes for a brief instant. It was against the deal we'd made, but... we still didn't want to give up one last chance to see one another, no matter how bitter it would be for us. No matter how we would be screaming inside.
I nodded slowly, not really looking at Hiro, but past him to Kaoru. "I... would... like that... very much." I bowed to them, never taking my eyes from Kaoru's. Her eyes no longer shone, like they had for so long. Her eyes were quiet and dimmed, but they stared back into mine with absolution. I nodded so very slightly, in affirmation to her that this was all we could do. Her eyes turned to the ground demurely in acknowledgement.
I turned, following Saitou and Sanosuke, and started down the street. When we were out of earshot, Saitou glanced sideways at me. "You shouldn't give her up to such a disgrace."
I kept my head high. "It's better this way."
Saitou made a small growl in his throat. "To the boy, maybe." He shook his head. "I don't understand you. You love that girl, and I know she loves you." He was silent then, as thought he was done on the subject.
Sano, not breaking his pace, reached into his shirt and pulled out a long length of silk cloth. "She asked if I'd give this to you... she said... it once gave you luck..." He pressed the blue ribbon into my hands.
I stared at it for a moment, contemplating. "I... hope it does this time..." I muttered back, lifting the ribbon to my face and taking in her scent. The same scent that had lingered in my nostrils through the entire night. "I'll have put it somewhere safe." Kaoru didn't have to be there in order to tell me that I wouldn't have to return it. I tied around my arm.
Saitou watched me with his yellow eyes. "Do you honestly intend to die?" His piercing look stared straight through me.
"I hope that I don't, Saitou-san. I don't want to die. I want to come back to her... even if it is to her wedding."
He shook his head. "You are far too patient a man." He laughed callously. "Or you're just masochistic."
I shrugged. "I suppose I am."
Sano watched me for a moment, and then sighed. "Kenshin... you're different..." He shook his head. "It's weird. I can't explain it."
I looked down at the ribbon. There was so much I would have to let go, if I came back. But... Kaoru's ribbon brushed against my hand. We were both in trouble now. I knew that neither of us wanted to leave the other, but we were forcing ourselves apart. Going back, even to see her marry another man... it was dangerous. It was trouble.
"She really did love Hiro... In a way" I murmured quietly.
Sano looked up at me. "Kenshin..."
I smiled, one of the truest smiles I had given in months. Pain was there, in my eyes. Misery was there, in my heart. "I'm going to be okay. Just as long... as we're left alone to suffer... as long as we never have to relive it every day..." I shook my head. "But we have to concentrate..." My eyes rose to the horizon, where destiny waited for us.
"We promised that we would come back."
(((((((((())))))))))
'Trouble, oh trouble, can't you see? You're eating my heart away, and there's nothing much left of me... Trouble, oh trouble, move away. I have seen your face and it's too much for me today. Trouble, Oh trouble, can't you see? You have made me a wreck, now won't you leave me in my misery?'
-Cat Stevens 'Trouble'
(((((((((())))))))))
Note: Did you catch the hints? If you didn't... well... that's fine. Anyway, I want all of you to know that Puppeteers is coming down to its final chapters. In this chapter, I have set things up so that everyone may or may not have a vague idea of what the last few chapters will cover. It looks like this will be a fifteen-chapter story, with an epilogue posted after the fifteenth chapter.
This time... Continue where you were in your torture... I'm extending the last session of torture, and requesting aid from you all for my next story. ::hands out her famous cake cookies and sits back down:: I'm going to present the prospective plots, and I would appreciate it if YOU ALL VOTED IN YOUR REVIEW. This will help me get a good idea of what you all would like to see up here next.
I have some basic ideas (listed below the titled ideas), which are very rough, and will require time and thought in order to put them together. I also have some stories that have at least been started, if not are already several chapters in, or half complete. Whichever gains the most votes, will be the next story I work on... the others may eventually get done (depending on how much that particular muse likes me), but will be put up at a later date. There is one KH fic, that, even though the readers here are for RK, I want to know I if it will go over decently... but if you don't mind the shonen-ai, like the game, and would like to see the story up and complete (it's about halfway completed in my notebook), please do mention this in your review with your vote on the RK story.
A Different Side of Me: [Kingdom Hearts]- On Paopu Island, Sora manages to take, and hold, Riku's hand. The two of them get transported to Hollow Bastion, where they discover the evils that can grow in the hearts of men, and the love that can find a way to bloom in the desolate, emotionally devoid abyss they have found themselves in. (Yes, this one would be R/S slash)
The Far Side of Heaven: [Rurouni Kenshin]- Kenshin has wandered for six years, finally ending up in Tokyo three years before the series would have happened. He meets Kaoru, who is a carefree, happy girl of fifteen. Kaoru teaches him to live again, Kenshin teaches her to cope with the sorrow that engulfs her when tragedy strikes, and together they learn how to love... even when breaking all the rules.
The Samurai Wives: [Rurouni Kenshin]- (I tweak history here, and I don't care) Kaoru is the unknowing daughter of the new emperor. Having been sent to the Tokeiji in order to be kept safe from possible assassination, Kaoru is raised to distrust men. However, when she is discovered, the Ishin Shishi rescues her with their best assassin, who has orders to keep her safe. In time, the cold assassin and the suspicious princess begin to melt each other's shells, upsetting the very foundations of their beliefs with the emotion they never allowed themselves to feel.
- The Tokeiji was a nunnery created during the feudal era to which an abused wife, who could take no more of her husband and husband's family's abuse, could run away. After the woman had stayed at the nunnery for about three years, she could leave, completely free from her husband and the confines of their marriage.
-Untitled ideas-
(Fantasy) Kaoru, the daughter of a feudal samurai, has had her marriage arranged for her against her will. Rather than giving in, she attempts to commit suicide, only to have her life spared by a wind spirit who has fallen in love with her. She is taken to a world of spirits, where she meets characters quite unlike any she has ever seen before (KK, actually... I promise)
(AU/Angst)- Kamiya Kenji has never felt like he belongs with his family. His red hair and small frame give him away that he does not fit in with his dark haired, taller siblings. Making matters worse, his estranged father does not treat him with the same regard as his sisters. However, when his mother remarries to a man, Himura Kenshin, Kenji begins to discover the secrets that surround his very existence, and the greatest secret of all: the sin of his creation, which could destroy his entire world.
Please vote! I need to know! Thank you!
Note: This chapter is named for a song done by my god... What Camui Gackt is to MSW-sama, Cat Stevens is to me. He is a god. This particular song Bando- chan first heard while watching 'Harold and Maude', which is a FANTASTIC movie. I cried at the end and I recommend watching the movie if you haven't already. Anyway, nearly every single one of you hit the idea on the head about the end of the last chapter. You all were confused as to what happened... and that was the point... sort of... I left what could have happened up to your imaginations... If you read this chapter well enough, you should catch a couple tiny hints as to what I imagined would happen... if not... well, simply use your imagination anyway.
Disclaimer: Please don't sue me, oh magical owners of all things used! None of the songs belong to me! None of the characters (except Hiro) are mine! Don't sue me!
(((((((((())))))))))
Chapter Thirteen- Trouble
I dressed in a daze, my mind still coming to accept the night before. Kaoru was in another room, and we had agreed not to look at each other, knowing that we would break our promise from the night before if we did. I ran my hand through my hair before I tied it back into its ponytail. "Kaoru." I whispered to the tatami. To the shoji. The disheveled futon. Every part of the room would hear her name, and remember it when we both were gone.
'But I won't ever forget you...' Her words rang through my head as I straightened my gi over my shoulders. I shook my head.
Definitely not the time to be reminiscing, Himura... I thought to myself, picking up my sword. I looked back over the room, watching as the room played time back for me. I fastened the sword to my waist and gripped it tightly as I slid open the shoji.
The hallway was gone before I even knew it. I was already at the door. Already stepping out of the building to what I had felt coming for days.
As I walked into the street, I felt the eyes of the entire group of people gathered to see Saitou, Sanosuke, and myself off, set on me. I didn't bother to force a smile this time, trying to remain stoic. Trying not to look at Kaoru.
I didn't feel her eyes on me, but her ki was seeking mine. Sanosuke and Yahiko exchanged an unreadable look just as I stretched my own ki out to meet hers.
Misao smiled weakly at me. "Try... to bring him back, won't you?"
I nodded. "I won't try, Misao-dono. I will."
She smiled gratefully at me. I tried to smile.
I was still facing the group when a voice behind me broke my thoughts apart.
"Where are you going?"
I could feel Kaoru's heart sink with my own, while we were still close enough to feel each other's presence. While we still were connected together.
Yahiko was the only one who could find the words to address Hiro. "He's going to take care of Shishio Makoto."
Hiro glanced warily at Saitou before looked at Kaoru. "Kaoru-chan... we should go back to Tokyo."
Yahiko opened his mouth to protest, but Sano clamped his hand over it, muttering something into his ear.
Kaoru nodded. "We will, Hiro. After they come back alive."
I breathed inside. Kaoru wanted me alive... she would stay long enough to see me alive again... and then... I let out an inaudible, shuddering sigh. And then we would never see each other again.
Hiro opened his mouth, but quickly shut it.
A good choice... My vindictive half murmured in my head.
Saitou pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Are we going to just stand here for the rest of the day and socialize?"
Sanosuke growled. "No. Let them say goodbye, you unfeeling jerk. What if Kenshin dies?"
Saitou shrugged. "Then he isn't strong enough."
Sano muttered something and shoved his hands into his pockets.
Hiro turned to me. "Himura-san... Good luck... when you come back... I... I would like you to come to the wedding... please..." He regarded me with obvious fear. Fear creates hate in the hearts of men, and he was a coward. He was terrified of me. Battousai scoffed within me, so obviously irritated that I had let us be beaten by a coward.
It would have been a kind gesture, perhaps Hiro even believed it was; but Kaoru and I jerked our heads up and out of the stupor that had overtaken us, glancing into each other's eyes for a brief instant. It was against the deal we'd made, but... we still didn't want to give up one last chance to see one another, no matter how bitter it would be for us. No matter how we would be screaming inside.
I nodded slowly, not really looking at Hiro, but past him to Kaoru. "I... would... like that... very much." I bowed to them, never taking my eyes from Kaoru's. Her eyes no longer shone, like they had for so long. Her eyes were quiet and dimmed, but they stared back into mine with absolution. I nodded so very slightly, in affirmation to her that this was all we could do. Her eyes turned to the ground demurely in acknowledgement.
I turned, following Saitou and Sanosuke, and started down the street. When we were out of earshot, Saitou glanced sideways at me. "You shouldn't give her up to such a disgrace."
I kept my head high. "It's better this way."
Saitou made a small growl in his throat. "To the boy, maybe." He shook his head. "I don't understand you. You love that girl, and I know she loves you." He was silent then, as thought he was done on the subject.
Sano, not breaking his pace, reached into his shirt and pulled out a long length of silk cloth. "She asked if I'd give this to you... she said... it once gave you luck..." He pressed the blue ribbon into my hands.
I stared at it for a moment, contemplating. "I... hope it does this time..." I muttered back, lifting the ribbon to my face and taking in her scent. The same scent that had lingered in my nostrils through the entire night. "I'll have put it somewhere safe." Kaoru didn't have to be there in order to tell me that I wouldn't have to return it. I tied around my arm.
Saitou watched me with his yellow eyes. "Do you honestly intend to die?" His piercing look stared straight through me.
"I hope that I don't, Saitou-san. I don't want to die. I want to come back to her... even if it is to her wedding."
He shook his head. "You are far too patient a man." He laughed callously. "Or you're just masochistic."
I shrugged. "I suppose I am."
Sano watched me for a moment, and then sighed. "Kenshin... you're different..." He shook his head. "It's weird. I can't explain it."
I looked down at the ribbon. There was so much I would have to let go, if I came back. But... Kaoru's ribbon brushed against my hand. We were both in trouble now. I knew that neither of us wanted to leave the other, but we were forcing ourselves apart. Going back, even to see her marry another man... it was dangerous. It was trouble.
"She really did love Hiro... In a way" I murmured quietly.
Sano looked up at me. "Kenshin..."
I smiled, one of the truest smiles I had given in months. Pain was there, in my eyes. Misery was there, in my heart. "I'm going to be okay. Just as long... as we're left alone to suffer... as long as we never have to relive it every day..." I shook my head. "But we have to concentrate..." My eyes rose to the horizon, where destiny waited for us.
"We promised that we would come back."
(((((((((())))))))))
'Trouble, oh trouble, can't you see? You're eating my heart away, and there's nothing much left of me... Trouble, oh trouble, move away. I have seen your face and it's too much for me today. Trouble, Oh trouble, can't you see? You have made me a wreck, now won't you leave me in my misery?'
-Cat Stevens 'Trouble'
(((((((((())))))))))
Note: Did you catch the hints? If you didn't... well... that's fine. Anyway, I want all of you to know that Puppeteers is coming down to its final chapters. In this chapter, I have set things up so that everyone may or may not have a vague idea of what the last few chapters will cover. It looks like this will be a fifteen-chapter story, with an epilogue posted after the fifteenth chapter.
This time... Continue where you were in your torture... I'm extending the last session of torture, and requesting aid from you all for my next story. ::hands out her famous cake cookies and sits back down:: I'm going to present the prospective plots, and I would appreciate it if YOU ALL VOTED IN YOUR REVIEW. This will help me get a good idea of what you all would like to see up here next.
I have some basic ideas (listed below the titled ideas), which are very rough, and will require time and thought in order to put them together. I also have some stories that have at least been started, if not are already several chapters in, or half complete. Whichever gains the most votes, will be the next story I work on... the others may eventually get done (depending on how much that particular muse likes me), but will be put up at a later date. There is one KH fic, that, even though the readers here are for RK, I want to know I if it will go over decently... but if you don't mind the shonen-ai, like the game, and would like to see the story up and complete (it's about halfway completed in my notebook), please do mention this in your review with your vote on the RK story.
A Different Side of Me: [Kingdom Hearts]- On Paopu Island, Sora manages to take, and hold, Riku's hand. The two of them get transported to Hollow Bastion, where they discover the evils that can grow in the hearts of men, and the love that can find a way to bloom in the desolate, emotionally devoid abyss they have found themselves in. (Yes, this one would be R/S slash)
The Far Side of Heaven: [Rurouni Kenshin]- Kenshin has wandered for six years, finally ending up in Tokyo three years before the series would have happened. He meets Kaoru, who is a carefree, happy girl of fifteen. Kaoru teaches him to live again, Kenshin teaches her to cope with the sorrow that engulfs her when tragedy strikes, and together they learn how to love... even when breaking all the rules.
The Samurai Wives: [Rurouni Kenshin]- (I tweak history here, and I don't care) Kaoru is the unknowing daughter of the new emperor. Having been sent to the Tokeiji in order to be kept safe from possible assassination, Kaoru is raised to distrust men. However, when she is discovered, the Ishin Shishi rescues her with their best assassin, who has orders to keep her safe. In time, the cold assassin and the suspicious princess begin to melt each other's shells, upsetting the very foundations of their beliefs with the emotion they never allowed themselves to feel.
- The Tokeiji was a nunnery created during the feudal era to which an abused wife, who could take no more of her husband and husband's family's abuse, could run away. After the woman had stayed at the nunnery for about three years, she could leave, completely free from her husband and the confines of their marriage.
-Untitled ideas-
(Fantasy) Kaoru, the daughter of a feudal samurai, has had her marriage arranged for her against her will. Rather than giving in, she attempts to commit suicide, only to have her life spared by a wind spirit who has fallen in love with her. She is taken to a world of spirits, where she meets characters quite unlike any she has ever seen before (KK, actually... I promise)
(AU/Angst)- Kamiya Kenji has never felt like he belongs with his family. His red hair and small frame give him away that he does not fit in with his dark haired, taller siblings. Making matters worse, his estranged father does not treat him with the same regard as his sisters. However, when his mother remarries to a man, Himura Kenshin, Kenji begins to discover the secrets that surround his very existence, and the greatest secret of all: the sin of his creation, which could destroy his entire world.
Please vote! I need to know! Thank you!