SHADOWS OF RED
by Hime-kou
Author's note: Ahh! Am dying, very slowly, but dying nevertheless...actually, my story is. Took me forever to write this chapter. Am hitting a complete writers block that's as big as the Sears Tower. And wider. A Sears Tower on steroids. However, I seem to be getting back on track--I hope. And now that I look back, I wince at the first couple of chapters. Ouch. Maybe when I finish this, I'll go back and revise those chapters. But if you're reading this, thanks for following so far!
Disclaimer: Not mine. But I recently read the 20th volume of RK...WISH THAT WERE MINE! I love Kenshin as Battousai. Course, I love Kenshin as Kenshin. And then I realize my story is totally horribly wrong. Sigh. But, not mine.
Chapter 11-These Strange Thoughts
The moon shone its liquid light over everything, a pure white disk in the inky night. The breath from her lips puffed and flowed upward towards the moon, smoky and insubstantial. The cold threatened to bite at her, but she brushed its numbing touch away. Grief overwhelmed her at this simple sight. The untainted moon, so high and unreachable. The shadows within her ate away at her soul until nothing but darkness was left. Loss and loneliness pooled in her stomach and burned away at her heart.
She sat on the stone steps leading down from the porch to the quiet garden behind the house. Moonlight gleamed on the pond that sat tranquilly in the middle. Walls surrounded the bushes and shrubs, secluding Sachiko. She seemed to be the only person in the entire world.
She had always liked fireflies. One of the only memories she had of her youth, she'd spent an evening chasing and catching those glimmering lights. Now, the air was dark and still, undisturbed. No lights came to comfort her now. She sat alone, in the darkness.
Weariness settled over her.
Idly, she picked up a pebble and tossed it into the pond. Ripples spread as it broke the smooth surface, distorting the moon's reflection. The white disappeared from the dark water…
"Sachiko-chan? Are you ready?" A face smiling at her, a topknot of dark hair. A man's face.
"Hai!"
He laughed at her eager voice and picked her up gently, careful. A lovely woman, glimpsed in a room. Smiling gently at them. Light filling the room, a beautiful calligraphy scroll hanging next to the swords…
Sachiko gasped. As she did, the memories faded and she was left, once again, in the dark garden. She felt as if there was a door in her memories and she was nearing it. But what would be on the other side?
All the darkness of Hell? Or the light of the Pure Land?
She shivered slightly, then turned as she sensed Battousai behind her. From her sitting position, he towered over her, amber eyes unreadable, bright hair gleaming.
"Here. You forgot your sword," he said simply and tossed the katana. Surprised, Sachiko caught it by the hilt. How could she have forgotten it? This sword was her way of life. Sometimes, it seemed as if her soul was locked inside the beautiful steel.
Fingering the hilt, still warm from Battousai's grasp, she looked away. She waited until she heard him turn away, before saying quietly, "Thank you."
He paused. They made a strange picture in the moonlight, the two hitokiri.
One with hair dark as death, the other with hair as bright as blood. He stood with his back to her, the lines of his body tense and still. She satas if frozen, silvereyes turned towards the darkest corners of the garden, as if they could pierce the shadows at will.
"It was nothing," came the cold reply.
A flash of light as the screen slid open, then a click and darkness reclaimed its land. Sachiko didn't move. Something important had passed between them, she could tell, but what it was, she didn't know.
She stroked the sheath of her sword. The thought of Battousai holding her sword made her feel strange, as if her territory had been invaded. But somehow, anger didn't rise within her at the thought of the amber-eyed hitokiri. She was slightly puzzled.
Confused, she rose to her feet, the unfamiliar kimono causing her to grimace and stagger slightly. Still holding her katana in its sheath, she made her way to the screen, chilled by the fall night.
In the morning everything will be back to normal, she thought.
In the morning…
The shoji closed with a snap and the silence in the garden soon overwhelmed it, making it seem as if it nothing had ever happened.
Short chapter!
Again, Points of Interest
1. The Pure Land...Also known as the Realm of Bliss. In Buddhism, this is the land where everyone can attain enlightment. I'm not Buddhist, so I don't really know. I'm not implying that Sachiko is Buddhist, or Shinto, or any other religion for that matter. It's merely a reference to a "good" place, where happiness is. Rather like, even if you're not Christian, most people know about Heaven and Hell and what they entail. Ack, now I've turned this into theology class. Please excuse me and please don't be offended if I said something that upsets you, I didn't mean it.
2. Hai...Most know what this means. For those who don't know, it means yeah or yes in Japanese.
Thanks for reading! Please review if you catch any mistakes I made or just to say something! I'd appreciate it. So would Sachiko, I'm sure.