AN: I like that others like this. And yes, it is an oddball story. But it's supposed to be. No one ever said I was sane. :)
Chapter 3: Mist
Ahead there was moisture in the air - a dark and curling cloud, unnatural in its entirety. The black miasma's tendrils wisped onto the surrounding land, blocking what should have been the edge of a field. Light disappeared slowly into an invisible whirlpool centered within it. The phenomenon screamed avoidance, radiating a sense of wrong as it soaked over every positive thing.
A moment's hesitation, and Kenshin let his head fall back and his eyes close as he walked into the mist. Why bother; what would happen would happen.
The mist itself was white. Grey within the black, breathing against his skin as he passed. Slowly tilting his head to look, he watched the mist slowly flow, among an invisible current it seemed to feel. He walked on, his surroundings unchanging for a time.
The movements changed. Kenshin barely had time to notice before the mist was blown at him, moving white as it came. He was surrounded in the color of snow; time froze.
He stood suspended, until the faint sound of screaming reached his senses. He tried to move, push free; he jerked against the pull, trying again and again as the screaming moved closer. He threw himself again, and stumbled forward into a scene of chaos on blood-soaked grounds.
Kenshin whipped his head around, attempting to take it all in. Bodies were strewn about to the side of an open area, slashed and spurting blood. Holding a sword, a man ran by, striking another before Kenshin could react. To his left, he heard a cry, and whirled to see one of the attacking bandits about to kill a woman hiding a child, in the wrong place at the wrong time. Without hesitation, Kenshin ran over, clapping his hand to his side.
His eyes widened as he realized his sword was gone - not even a sheath to show it had ever been. But stopping the man and saving the woman and child had to be accomplished. He scooped up a sword from beside a corpse, and stood his ground in front of the woman. He noted the child was gone - the woman must have sent him running into the woods, a safer choice for the child at the moment.
In the back of his mind, the situation felt somehow familiar.
The man stepped forward to strike as if Kenshin weren't there; and as Kenshin lunged to disable him, he felt a tug that pulled him backwards and off his feet. The scene erupted into wisps. Shocked again, he barely had time to notice his gi had been a different color before the sword in his hands dissolved as well. Standing, scanning for danger and tense about his still absent sword, he continued wandering the mists.
---He heard a voice. A quiet dissension, too far to hear clearly. He turned to that direction and walked.
The voices became clearer in sound, but he couldn't seem to understand the words. Two male voices, one younger, now arguing their opinions fiercely. Wait - it was quiet again - what was the older one saying?
Kenshin bit back a cry (can't give your position away can't show weakness never ever never) as he fell, his head exploding black with pain on contact with the ground.
---He opened his eyes. He was lying on his back in a field, the dark of night almost upon him. He reached for his sword, and found it at his hip. His gi was once again a ratty blue. The mist was nowhere to be seen.
His thoughts were scrambled. Picking up, he started across the clearing. He didn't look back.