Nornal text = the present (See chapter one)
Bold = written articles: letters, newspaper clippings, etc.
Italic = the stuff that happened leading up to the stuff in normal text. (flash back)
Bold/italic = Setsunas past (flash back)
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Setsuna sat on the floor, her legs drawn up to her chin, her arms wrapped around her knees. She didn't think that she would be having those nightmares again, but, she did. The horrible flashbacks of that day started to flow through her head. She shut her eyes tight trying to think of happy thoughts, something that would get rid of those evil memories.
This has crippled me for far too long...I can't let this get to me anymore. I have to be strong for Samanosuke...for myself. She picked herself off the floor and tied her hair back into a ponytail. She walked triumphantly out of the room with the boken in her hand. She headed out to the court yard, determined not to let anything stop her from preparing herself to face her fears.
She walked by the dojo where Kaoru was giving lessons to Yahiko. Kaoru caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of her eye and then walked over to the dojo doorway to see what she was up to. Setsuna got herself into a stance, but just stood there. Yahiko joined Kaoru's side, watching Setsuna along with her.
"What is she doing?"
"She is meditating to gather her sword spirit. Haven't you learned anything," Kauro asked the young boy with a hint of fire in her eyes.
"Maybe if you weren't so ugly, I could pay attention to you more..."
"NANI?! Who are you calling ugly!! Come back here you little rat!"
Kaoru chased after Yahiko swinging the boken at him but missing. He ran out of the dojo and on to the walkway outside. He wized past Kenshin as he held a tray of tea. The tray raddled a bit but didn't fall. He sighed with relief until Kaoru came crashing by and knocked him to the floor. Everything fell from the tray breaking and spilling the tea all over.
"This hasn't been my week...," muttered Kenshin putting broken bits of cups and teapot onto the tray. He looked up and finaly noticed Setsuna standing there with a boken in her hands, meditating in the courtyard. He could feel it now. It was weak, but, her sword spirit was there. He finished picking up the broken pieces and walked back to the kitchen to dispose of them.
~~~~~
Setsuna walked across a deserted beach, the wind blowing her hair across her face blinding her momentarily. The clouds in the sky rushed over head as if late for something on the other side of the ocean. A small island was barely visible from where she stood looking out at the water. She squinted her eyes as sand blew around her.
She turned her attention to the beach as her gaze combed the edge of the water, looking for a way to get to the island without having to swim. The sky was starting to turn black and she knew that a storm was coming close. She spotted a boat farther down the shore and started to walk towards it in hope that it was still in a condition to sail. She heard a faint voice behind her, calling her name...calling to her to turn around and stop walking away.
Setsuna slowly peered over her shoulder and out of the corner of her eye she saw a person standing several yards from her. She turned her body around to face whoever was standing there. He was standing right in front of her...where he belonged, standing right there beside her. "Samanosuke...," she mouthed as tears started to build up in her eyes. She ran to him, almost crushing him with the hug that now embraced him.
The sky continued to darken around them and lighting flashed in the distance lighting up the lonely beach. She looked up into his eyes all he did was smile back at her. That beautiful smile that she has longed to see again ever since that fateful day. It suddenly rushed back to her that he was dead and that he couldn't possibly be standing there in front of her. She losened her embrace on Smanosuke and backed away from him. "I'm sorry...I have to let go of you...I have other things that I have to worry about right now." Samnosuke nodded at her, turning into a mist. The wind carried the fine mist away along with the distraction that he has caused her.
She then wiped her red eyes with the sleeve of her kimono and started walking towards the boat that she saw. The wind starting blowing harder, blinding her with sand. Setsuna started to run towards the direction that the boat was on the beach. The storm grew more violentas she made her way towards the boat. She reached it and smiled weakly at the small triumph. She climbed into the boat and the storm grew somewhat calmer. She found an ore and pushed the boat away from the beach. The waves tossed the boat around violently, tossing it around like a toy. She tried as best she could to row towards the island that seemed so very far away with the weather in it's current state. The wind started to die down as she rowed closer to the shore of the island.
She reached the beach and climbed out of the boat just in time, for a lightning bolt struke the small wooden boat bursting into flames moments later. The storm calmed even more as she saw the object that she was looking for. It was still there after she had locked it away on this island, hoping never again to have to look for it's use. She walked up to the glass case and wiped the sand from off of it. She peared in, seeing that it was still there unharmed. She took a small key from her kimono sleeve and unlocked a big heavy steel lock. It opened with a click and fell into the sand. She opened the top of the glass box and took out the katana that was held within it. The storm suddenly stopped, the sky cleared and birds could be hear singing on the main land.
She smiled, happy to be holding the sword again in her hands. Setsuna walked towards the waters edge, stopped and touched the blade of the sword to the water. The water glowed a bright blue and she stepped out onto it. It was no longer water, it had turned to ice. She passed safely over it, seeing that Samanosuke had returned to standing on the beach. She smiled at him, "It will soon be over my love."
Setsuna opened her eyes. They slowly adjusted to the bright sunlight that filled the courtyard of the dojo. She could hear faint screaming coming from within the house. She oriented herself and looked around. No one was standing there. She looked into the clear blue sky, holding her hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun. "Soujiro you were right, no one can ever turn away from the sword or ever repress it's spirit within you."