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.
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Battousai
By Chiruken
Merging
He didn't know how long he stayed, trapped, in his sealed prison, but now something was different. He felt an indescribable weight settling on his spirit. There was a break in the seal, a tiny crack that allowed him to **see** passed the darkness. He could **hear** beyond his own thoughts and he wondered at it. His senses were returning to him, overwhelming him with sensations from the outside world.
He listened, hearing a distant rushing of air. He stretched out his senses, listening intently. Again the sound came to him and he recognized it as breathing. A human was nearby! He almost wept with relief. He'd been remembered after all! He hadn't been forgotten. Joy rushed through him until he caught the scent of salt water. **Tears?** He thought curiously. Someone nearby wept.
He struggled, fighting against the remaining invisible chains binding him within his prison, surprised that he was able to do so after so long. With a gut-wrenching pop he found himself free at last. He paused, uncertain of what he should do now that he was no longer bound to his prison. Without a physical body he was reduced to being fairly useless, yet his curiosity urged him forward.
He gazed down, seeing a small body, a child he assumed, huddled before a shrine, his clothes ragged tatters on his thin frame. He moved closer, seeing the child's shoulders shaking with near silent sobs and he wondered what would cause such hopeless grief in one so young. As he moved closer still, he sensed death clinging to the boy and knew his life was near its end. Unfamiliar emotions welled up within him, and he silently cursed those who'd done this to him. Before, when he'd roamed the world freely, he'd been unhindered by emotion, now he felt weighed down by it. It took a moment for him to realize that what he felt was compassion.
He gazed down at the child and bent closer, seeing the unmistakable signs of abuse. His tiny arms were covered in bruises, his wrists encircled by bands of raw flesh. The boy had been mistreated terribly, the cruelty unmistakable. His hair lay matted and dirty against his thin shoulders, unbound and tangled. His small hands were raw and covered with dirt. **A slave?** It seemed the most likely assumption, given his ragged appearance. He turned away, intending to leave to boy to his fate, unwilling to linger when the child's life force was seeping away before his eyes. There was nothing he could do to save his life even if he wished to. His death was unavoidable.
"Please…" He paused, listening to the threadbare whisper of sound. Was the child aware of his presence? He bent closer to hear better. The boy's eyes were closed, his lips moving with barely a sound escaping him. He became aware that the child was praying.
**So…he is aware that his life is at its end.** He settled down beside the child, listening as he spoke what was likely to be his last words. He bent closer and concentrated, finding that his time of imprisonment had dwindled his ability to communicate effectively. "What is it you want, child?" He asked softly, the words whispering on the breeze.
His head came up slowly, eyes opening to reveal a soft blue gaze over bright with unshed tears. "Wh-who's there?" He looked around cautiously, but saw no one, his question met with silence broken only by the wind swaying through the trees overhead.
"Does is matter who I am?" He asked, fascinated by the intelligence revealed in the boy's fearful gaze. "What are you called?"
"Shinta." He whispered, lowering his head again to rest in his folded arms. "I am Shinta."
"Shinta…" He murmured, watching the child intently. "You are dying, Shinta."
"I know. I am glad you are here, whoever you are. I didn't want to die alone."
"Loneliness is a terrible thing." He stretched out and stared up at the stars through the thick branches above them.
"Do kami feel loneliness?" He was finding it difficult to concentrate on the conversation. His chest hurt with each painful breath he took, his heart laboring to keep him in the world of the living.
"Is that what you think I am?" Amusement tinged his tone.
"Aren't you?"
"No." He turned his gaze back to Shinta. "Do you want to die, Shinta?"
"No, but I don't think I have a choice."
"I don't want to be alone anymore." He sat up and stared at the child's small, battered body and frowned. "You don't have to die, Shinta. I can keep you alive."
"How?" He was afraid, but also hopeful.
"I can lend you my strength." Hope surged through him. If this child would agree, then he never had to be alone again. He'd be given another chance to walk through the world of mortals.
"But how?" He opened his eyes and stared at the moss covered rocks beneath him.
"If you agree, I can show you." He waited until, finally, the boy nodded. Gathering himself, he shifted into the child, gasping at the sensations assaulting his senses. Pain and hunger were foremost, drowning everything else out. He retreated, then, to the back of the boy's consciousness and observed the world through his eyes.
"That's it?" Shinta blinked and looked around, slowly pushing himself up. He felt stronger, not nearly as weak as he'd been moments before. It no longer hurt to breath, his heart beat strongly within his chest. Somehow, the being had saved his life.
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Author's Notes:
The first uploading messed up, so this is a second try…hopefully it works this time. Sorry for any inconvenience…
