Rurouni Kenshin Fanfic

Rurouni Kenshin & Samurai X Original Japanese Version © N.Watsuki/Shueisha Fuji-TV SME Visual Works Inc. Sony Pictures Entertainment

All Fanfics created by Chiruken (me) were written for the sole purpose of shared entertainment and not intended for publication or sale.

Held Within A Single Fragrant Blossom

By:  Chiruken

Chapter 3

It happened just as he thought it would.  He'd stepped outside into the garden, eyes watering from the unaccustomed brightness assailing his senses, flanked on either side by his "keepers".  As his sensitive eyes adjusted to the change in brightness, his gaze had fallen on the large tree he often gazed upon.  As he'd slowly approached it, very much aware of the watchful eyes following his every movement, she appeared before him.  But, this time it was different than all the other times he'd caught glimpses of her in the garden from the third floor window.  This time, she turned and looked right at him.

Her eyes, so deep and blue he felt he could lose himself in them, were filled with a multitude of emotions ranging from surprise to recognition to relief and finally settling on fear.  Why she would suddenly feel fear, he had no explanation for, yet all the same, it had been there.  His vision had nothing to be frightened of, not from him, not ever.  And yet, as their eyes met and held, he'd felt her growing apprehension before she'd abruptly turned from him and disappeared as if she'd never been in the first place.

It filled him with indescribable sorrow to think he had caused the shadows to enter her crystal clear eyes.  It was always the same, he found.  People would gaze on him and fear and disgust would replace all other emotions within their heart and soul, their eyes telling the tale more eloquently than words ever could.  It both saddened him and angered him.  He wasn't the same person he'd once been.  There was no longer any reason to look at him with fear and loathing.  He was different now, yet no one seemed to believe it.

That single frightened look within her eyes made him wonder if he would ever find the peace he longed for, if he'd ever have hope of being accepted.  He longed for just one person to know him…really know him…and the rest of the world could be damned.  Just as long as one person could love and accept him for who he was, the real him, not the façade he was forced to wear by circumstances and past deeds.  He'd hoped, deep within his heart, that the vision within the garden would be that person.  It mattered not to him that she wasn't of his world, that she was indeed probably far beyond the reaches of time.  All that mattered was that she be the one to look at him with eyes that held no fear, but only the calm serenity he'd sensed within her from the very beginning.  Now, even that had been taken from him, leaving him standing in the garden beneath the glaring sun feeling the heavy burden of his past that had shaped him into what he now was come crashing down on his shoulders.

He had been rejected…again.  Only, this time it seemed far worse than ever before.  It seemed to him that now not only the world of the living deemed him unworthy, but also the world beyond.  What was he to do?  Where was he to go?  If he was unacceptable by all, then what was left to him to hope for?  Had everything been in vain?  By all appearances, this seemed to be the case.

A delicate scent came to him, teasing his senses, bringing him out of his morbid thoughts abruptly.  He closed his eyes, trying to identify the elusive scent, and sighed softly, his melancholy escaping with the small sound as he finally identified the fragrance calling to him gently.  It was hyacinths.  He opened his eyes and looked around the garden, searching for the origin of the delicate perfume and seeing no sign of the flower growing anywhere near.  He frowned in confusion and slowly stepped forward, following where the breeze carried the scent to him.

Moving around the tree he stopped abruptly, eyes wide with surprise.  She stood before him, yet somehow, she was different.  She appeared, somehow, more tangible than before.  She still held the branch of blossoms, yet that wasn't the source of the fragrance he'd followed.  Her back was to him, her long hair flowing down her back, lifted by the same breeze he was now feeling.  She looked almost real enough that he could reach out and touch her, yet he refrained from doing so in fear of causing her to disappear again.

He glanced over his shoulder to see where his "keepers" were and realized in surprise that they were unaware of her presence.  They looked infinitely bored with the task of keeping a watchful eye on him and oblivious to the lady standing before him.  He turned back to the vision only to find her head turned to look over her shoulder, her eyes on him intently.  He longed to speak to her, yet didn't dare.  He felt that if he did she'd leave him again, only to never return.

Her lips curved up into a gentle smile as she slowly turned to face him fully and he was struck by the perfection of her ethereal beauty.  He'd be right.  It was more than just the physical…her soul's purity seemed to radiate out from her, making him feel, somehow, dirty, as if just by gazing at her he'd somehow allowed part of his own darkness seep through and stain the fragile loveliness of her untainted innocent heart.  Guilt swirled through him and he lowered his gaze to the grass beneath his feet and shifted uncomfortably.  He, of all people, knew how futile it was to wish for time to turn back for the chance to redo what had been done wrong, yet he found himself wishing for that, for the opportunity to go back and change the last few moments so that he could prevent himself from the folly of daring to look upon her and darken her brightness with his unworthy gaze.

The next instance his head came up, eyes wide with surprise as he felt a feather light touch upon his face.  She'd reached out and touched him with her cool fingers, bringing herself completely into his harsh reality and he wondered at that.  Why would a creature as perfect as she wish to lower herself to the world where darkness reigned supreme and her purity would be forever dulled?

"So…it is you."  He blinked and gazed at her in surprise.  "I admit you gave me quite the surprise.  I was expecting someone…" She paused and tilted her head to the side, lips pursed thoughtfully as she returned his startled gaze serenely.  "Well, someone taller."  Her lips curved up into a smile.  "Well met, Battousai."