Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, the characters, or anything related to it. The anime is owned by Watsuki Nobuhiro.
Fanfic Title: Epic of a Rurouni
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
Rating: PG-13 for violence and mild language
Summary: Yuki finds where she belongs, and her past unfolds.
She finally found where she belonged,
But she would soon remember the lamentable song,
Memories can be so cruel and so distant,
A painful story is quite reminiscent.
Soujiro noticed that Yuki's head was damp with perspiration while they sprinted through the abandoned streets. It made him wonder why they wanted to follow the enemies of the Oniwabanshuu.
"Yuki-chan, why do you want to follow them?" he asked, through panting.
"I think...I think I used to know them," she gasped.
He sighed as he mused about the fatigue that was apparent by Yuki's facial expression. He knew this was important to her, so without thinking anymore, he suddenly fell behind her in running. He clasped her shoulders and her legs in a quick motion and lifted her thin body up into his arms. She looked wildly at him and he returned her look with a pleasant smile. His nimble feet then seemed to cause them to zoom through the streets, dust and debris flying up in their treaded path behind them. Yuki suddenly laughed as Soujiro leaped over a rock, not breaking or slowing his stride.
"You are truly amazing, Seta-san. How is it that you're running so fast?" she laughed.
Soujiro grinned at her. "I would be running much faster if you didn't weigh me down!"
Yuki giggled and smacked his head playfully causing a chuckle to escape from Soujiro's mouth. He could be almost invisible while sprinting if he had started his rhythmical foot-tapping before breaking into a wild run but he did not need to be running that fast while carrying the kunoichi; one mistake would cause a fatal accident for them.
Soujiro observed that he was right beside the ninjas that hopped over roofs in a few minutes. Most of the ninjas were yelling at their Okashira and pointing at Soujiro who carried Yuki. The ninjas then jumped in their way, causing Soujiro to skid violently to a stop. He slipped on the dusty ground, falling on his behind while Yuki was uninjured because she sat on top of him. Soujiro knew that his slippers and socks were mutilated because pain swelled in his feet. He looked up at the ninjas, his blue gaze illustrated disorientation while Yuki's dark hues showed curiosity.
One Kishuu kunoichi spoke in a rude tone. "What the hell are you?! Some kind of speed demon?!"
The okashira shoved the kunoichi out of the way, staring at Yuki while he did so. He muttered to her softly. "I thought...you died."
Yuki said nothing to him, she only returned his stares with confusion.
"Satsuki, you don't remember me...do you?" he asked in a gentle voice, holding a hand clad in black tekko out to her.
She touched his hand and rose off of Soujiro. She looked into his fiery brown eyes, as if the amnesia clouds in her mind were being pushed away by the wind of memory. Her soft tiers of pale pink slowly lifted into a smile, both of her dainty hands gripped his large hand firmly then. Brimming tears her eyes obscured her vision, and gave a soft edge to her vacant eyes.
"Mamoru, I missed you so much."
- - - -
Darkness had engulfed the vicinity when the sun had set and the day had died. The twinkling stars and the glowing moon were the only signs of light in the black sky. The Kishuu Shinobi Headquarters in Kyoto, Japan was stirring with activity that diminished the peace in the quiet district. The air was acrid with smoke from the torches that lit up the vicinity of the Kishuu HQ, while yelling and laughing could be heard from the large building unit. Inside one of the buildings, (the dojo to be exact) was a young kunoichi who wrote on parchment with a brush and ink. Yoko, the kunoichi, wrote swiftly and effectively on the parchment as her dark hair cascaded over her eyes, trying to make her writing incoherent. She swept the hair back in an agitated way and tossed her brush down near the dying lamp on the wood floor where she sat on. Her lips puckered into a sort of kiss but steady, slow moving air moved out of her mouth and onto the paper to help dry the ink. She was in charge of the ninja status reports and different assignments offered by wealthy, corrupt gentlemen and she felt that this report was quite late. Yoko knew that neither her okashira nor his favorite kunoichi would be pleased at this. Then she lay down on the wood in exhaustion, waiting for her annoying runner to come slide open the dojo doors like an excited child.
While almost dreaming, her eyes opened suddenly at the anticipated sliding of the doors. She sat up and her gaze immediately fell on her runner. He grinned at her, but the grin looked uneasy and reluctant. She sighed while her hand covered her sweating forehead. "What now?"
"Gomen nasai, Yoko-san, but they were making love and not really paying attention to the words you told me to tell them," he said with his hands behind his back.
Yoko grimaced as she felt a headache overwhelming her. "They didn't say anything back to you, did they?"
"Not really, Yoko-san. But I did catch some words through the loud moaning and groaning," said the runner while musing and smiling, "Mamoru-sama said that he wants YOU to report back to him and not me."
"But I'm not a runner! Go back there and tell him that!" she complained through frustration and agony.
"I wish I could, Yoko-san, but you'd better get that report to him now before he's done with Satsuki-sama," the runner said in a low, frightened voice.
Yoko rose from the floor and swept the imaginary dust off of her clean, white yukata. She had dressed to go to sleep but Mamoru, her okashira, wanted a new status report on the injuries that took place on the assignment that was about the infiltration of the Meiji government police station in Kyoto. Her runner smiled as he watched her hand pick up the parchment. Then she sauntered to him, stopping in the doorway to look at him.
"Would you like me to come with you, Yoko-san?" he asked politely.
"No, but arigatou. I'll go talk to Mamoru-sama," she replied through a sigh.
She left her runner lingering in the doorway as she sauntered towards the building that contained Mamoru's room. The journey did not take her long, but she dreaded every step she took that lead her closer to his domain. She slid open the door when she arrived there and trudged up the steps dejectedly. Noises directed her to where exactly in the building Mamoru was. What was unusual was he was not in his bed chamber with Satsuki, the so-called "Kishuu Shinobi no Bara"; it seemed they were in his office. Yoko shuddered at the thought of sex in an office, vivid visions flooded her mind as she knocked politely on the office door.
"Mamoru-sama, it's me Yoko...I have the report you wanted."
She shut her eyes in irritation as a scream erupted from the room instead of a reasonable response. She brooded whether or not he would answer her; she knew better than to leave without giving him the report, since it was already late. She boldly dropped the paper on the floor area below the door, and turned to leave.
"Mamoru-sama, if you're wondering where the report is, I left it on your door step."
With that said, Yoko left the building to go to her own bed chamber near the dojo to sleep.
- - - -
"Yoko was such a nice, respectable status reporter until she did this!" Mamoru yelled at Satsuki as he read Yoko's report while they were readying themselves to rest in his bed chamber, "Why didn't she hand it to me like she used to?"
Satsuki brushed her hair gently and grinned at her lover. "I don't think she wanted to interrupt us."
"Yeah...and what about that pathetic fool of a runner?! At least Yoko knew to leave when we didn't respond," said Mamoru in an annoyed tone.
Satsuki shrugged and set her brush down on their bed. "Who has the mission for tonight?"
Mamoru looked at her in a puzzled way. "I have no idea...Yoko didn't put that in her report did she?"
"I don't believe so, I should go check with her," suggested Satsuki.
"If you really wish to do so," Mamoru said and then he lay down on the sleeping mat.
Satsuki leaned over him to kiss him gently before she wrapped her yukata around her nude body and left the room.
- - - -
Satsuki barged into the bed chamber of the female ninjas and practically tore Yoko's clothing as she wrenched her off of the sleeping mat. She grinned malevolently at Yoko as her fingers gripped onto the status reporter's yukata violently.
"Has anyone gone for tonight's mission?" Satsuki whispered fiercely. The other ninjas that were slumbering had soon awoken to the sight of Satsuki grabbing Yoko.
"Yes... two ninjas... are gone: Kagemaru... Kentaro," answered Yoko while gasping for air.
"Hmph, they're only going to screw this mission up," she said while she threw Yoko back down on her mat, "I'll go on this mission too."
"Okay...do what you wish, Satsuki-sama. But remember that you have to go to the police station and obtain criminal information!" Yoko called after Satsuki as she was leaving.
- - - -
"Bara-sama!" Kagemaru and Kentaro said in unison when they noticed Satsuki entering the room of the officer they had killed. The smell of blood and death reeked in the small room.
"Did Yoko-san send you on this mission as well?" Kentaro asked as he eyed Satsuki graceful movements toward them.
Satsuki grinned at them and brushed the hair out of her pretty eyes. "No, I wanted to come along."
"Oh, I see. Well, we have the criminal reports!" Kagemaru shouted while holding up sheets of parchment with bad hand-writing on them.
"Shh!" Satsuki put a finger to her lips, "Don't talk so loud, you've gotten this far so don't screw this mission to Hell."
"Sorry, Bara-sama, here...you can hold the information, Yoko-san would probably trust you more than us," said Kentaro and he grabbed the sheets away from his partner to hand them to Satsuki.
She grinned maliciously again while looking at the paper. "Mission success!"
"Not quite," said a voice from the open door of the room.
The Kishuu Ninjas turned to face two officers wielding Japanese swords. Satsuki recognized one of the officers, that was the one the injured ninjas had described to Yoko. He was quite tall and thin, with narrow eyes and a thin nose. The Mibu no ookami: Saitou Hajime. The other one that stood near Saitou was a lot younger and one that Satsuki never saw before.
"Well look at this Shirou, wasn't this the group that was here the other night?" Saitou asked the officer standing next to him in a taunting voice.
"I think so Saitou-san, but we'll get rid of them again like we did before."
"Kagemaru, Kentaro, stand back...I'll handle this," she said while steadying her ninja katana.
She sprinted into a losing battle, while her ninjas stood back, yelling encouragements.
- - - -
Kagemaru and Kentaro were lucky to leave the station with their beloved Bara-sama in their arms. They wanted to clutch her both but Kentaro ended up being the one to carry her. He carried her morosely, as if he were getting ready to bury her in the ground that was soon muddy because of the crying sky above. But they did not want Satsuki's grave to be watery and murky, she deserved a grand tomb in their eyes. She was the best kunoichi their clan had and she was also the lover of their okashira, but all that would be gone soon. They looked at each other solemnly, they did have a message for Mamoru-sama but how could they say it? It was quite vivid in their minds. Shirou said, "We're only going to let you live to tell your okashira that he should steer away from government issues." They saw it bizarre that Saitou let them live, but Shirou was begging for his mercy like a beggar begging for bread. Shirou valued life, unlike the ex-samurai of the Shinsengumi.
The ninjas' eyes brightened a bit when they noticed the sign of isha or doctor on a nearby building. They sprinted towards it and entered to give Satsuki's badly injured body to the doctor who seemed quite surprised. When they paid the doctor and left, they decided to do something drastic.
"What's the point of living if Bara-sama's not going to be the same again?" Kentaro asked his partner.
"Yeah, she might be dead after this night and Mamoru-sama won't want to hear that from us. He'll kill us even if we tell him that we failed our mission badly, even with Bara-sama's help!" Kagemaru yelled over the rain that fell on them.
"Hara-kiri is the only way out of this. Maybe we'll see Bara-sama in the Land of the Dead, so she won't be lonely," proclaimed Kentaro.
Kagemaru nodded and gripped the hilt of his katana tightly as they walked to an alley near the doctor's building. There, they stabbed their stomachs with the sharp blades of their swords, committing hara-kiri over the shame they experienced while carrying the silent body of Satsuki. Unfortunately for them, Satsuki died only to remain in the body of a girl who was like a blank slate. A girl who had no memories.
- - - -
Sad chapter, yeh? Anyways, I had to keep it short since this would probably exceed seven pages if I kept describing what happened in each scene. I hope you enjoyed this chapter about Memory Lane! ;D