Two Atonements, One Sin
Part 1:
~*~
It was raining. The sky was covered in different shades of grey from the clouds, and the world was dark. A young, red haired man walked through the small trail through the woods to the next town. He carried a sack over one shoulder, containing his few posessions. As Kenshin walked, his eyes narrowed slightly as he sensed someone watching him. He could've detected where he or she was easily, if not for the rain. Their emotions weren't high enough for him to tell directly where they were, and they seemed to want to keep away from sight. He sensed the person holding his/her breath.
He kept walking the same pace, not letting the potential enemy notice that he knew he/she was there. A movement-! From behind that tree, Kenshin thought quickly as he turned around speedily, hearing something whistle towards him. The person had thrown something? His ears told him it was too big and light to be a weapon, so instead of recoiling, he reached out his hand and caught the object. It was an umbrella.
"Oro?" Kenshin said lightly, letting his voice be heard by whoever had thrown it. Though his face seemed to be looking at the umbrella, his eyes darted towards the place where he had sensed movement. The figure of a child moved back into the shadows. A slim build, Kenshin thought. A girl? He kept his eyes towards the tree where the child had hidden behind. No further movement was made, and Kenshin could sense the girl holding her breath. Kenshin smiled slightly as he realized the child did not want to be discovered, and now he truly looked down at the umbrella.
It was strange, not a regular umbrella at all. It seemed to be made from materials that you could gather from the forest. The pole was just a roughly carved branch, the handle rubbed down to be smooth so you wouldn't get splinters on your hand. The covering was just many large leaves sewn together in layers over the spokes, which were made of twigs. All of this was held together by string and plant glue. The workmanship was simple, but it would serve its purpose, Kenshin estimated. He hoisted the umbrella upwards, shielding his head from the rain. Kenshin paused. It didn't leak. Smiling, he turned to the trees.
"Thank you for your gift. That is very kind of you," he said clearly, kindness in his voice. He paused, giving the child a chance to reveal herself if she wished. No movement. He sighed, then smiled again slightly as he turned and continued his way down the path, not looking back. Ami watched him go, hidden in the tree's shadow. After he disappeared from view, she let out her breath and darted off.
~*~
The hut was messy, but that was fine with Ami. There were various object loitering the floor, including several hand made umbrellas. Among the strange assortment of objects, were slingshots for children, rattles for babies, and a few wooden plates and a pair of sandals. Ami plopped down onto a mat and took the sandals into her lap. They were her latest idea. She had spent weeks making them, and the final project wasn't very good. The sandal was basically a piece of bark which she had roughened down into the shape of a foot. She had tried to attatch soft leaves and plants to the sole, so that the wood would not be rough on the foot. The plant glue she made had not been strong enough, so she had contented to smoothing the wood itself. She had then tried putting in the woven grass string she had made to keep the sandal in place, but the holes were in bad places so all in all, the sandals were pretty uncomfortable to wear. Ami blew out air from her lips and caused her long stringy bangs to fly up. She would have to try again, and get it right next time.
Plenty of times she had seen shoeless beggars walk down the road, hoping to get pity from the people of the town. Ami yearned to help them, but she had no money to spare, only time. So she hatched the idea to make various objects and give them to whoever she saw that might need them. It was her atonement, for her brother. 2 years ago, she had to evacuate from her home, and discovered her brother had killed someone. It burdened her soul. She was still very innocent, in many ways. She hadn't really observed the fact that everybody kills somebody else in war. In her mind, her beloved brother had done the
un-thinkable, and with the guilt that followed, she thought herself stained. She did not hate Hiro. But she felt guilt and grief for the pain he had caused to the woman and her son who burned down her house.
"I am of lower life," Ami whispered to herself in a quiet, lovely voice. She said it like a song. "Serving others shall be my duty, in penance for Hiro." Then she would break down and cry for him. Hiro, Hiro!
Now she watched the world with cold eyes, thoughtful towards the poor peasant's needs in her mind, distributing her craftsmanship to whomever seemed to need it. When a young mother would thank her gratefully for a toy to entertain her baby, or a boy thanked her in joy for the miniature windmill, only then did her eyes shine in warmth and happiness, proud. Ami thought of the red haired man, smiling in her direction. Her eyes shone.
~*~
Kenshin entered the town, make-shift umbrella still over his head. As he walked past he noticed the street vendors closing up, and the shoppers hurrying home. A few well dressed townspeople snickered audibly as they spotted Kenshin's ugly umbrella. He ignored them, of course, and continued walking with a small, seemingly oblivious smile on his face. It was his mask. Five years ago, the war had finally ended, and he spent his time as a wanderer, helping people in need. It was his atonement for all the deaths he had caused, and one stood out in his mind most of all....
"Tomoe," he whispered. He still felt grief for his wife; he probably would for the rest of his life. But he would carry on doing the thing that was right in both of their minds; helping people, never killing. Over the past five years as a wanderer, he had learned a lot. In his first few years, he couldn't shake off his coldness, his outer shell that hid his feelings during the Bakumatsu. But one night during a storm, he had taken shelter with a poor woman and her three children. The children were sweet things, rowdy and joyful. Kenshin smiled and felt truly happy all the time that he was there. The poor, young widow remarked to him as he left, that he should smile more often. His face changed remarkably when he smiled. Kenshin had taken the words truly to heart, and over the years as he encountered all sorts of people, he learned that the oblivious smile made others underestimate him and think of him nothing more than a simple vagabond, which is exactly what Kenshin wanted. The cheerful smile had replaced his emotionless gaze as a mask.
~*~
Ami stood. She was getting hungry... she decided to leave for Hareru's place. Hareru Ichidou owned a resturant in town. Ami, dressed in simple clothes that could be used for rags, had attracted her attention one night when Ami had been roaming around the town in sheer curiosity. Miss Ichidou had taken pity on her and gave her the leftover food from the resturant. It was Autumn now, and since all the plants were dying, Ami stopped by frequently for food.
Ami left on the same road Kenshin had taken earlier, to get to the town nearby. Ignoring the stares of the townspeople, she went around to the backway of the resturant and knocked. A servant answered.
"I'd like to see Ichidou-san, please," she said hesitantly, sensing they were still busy.
The servant nodded abruptly and called for the mistress. Hareru soon came, wiping her hands on her apron.
"Ah, Ami. We haven't gotten much food right now, so please come back in about...an hour or so."
Ami nodded and bowed slightly. "Thank you anyway, Ichidou-san," she said politely. Hareru smiled and nodded her away, then turned back to the hungry customers.
Ami strode down the street back to the forest, aware of the rain pouring on her head.
"It stopped for a while, at least." she said, musingly. Her mind quickly thought of the red haired man. Ami idly wondered what happened to him. She walked a few more meters than halted. There was a man standing in front of her, huge and brawn. He staggered a bit, turning to face her. Ami stared back, stonily.
He's drunk, she thought, panick edging into her heart, though she was not sure why. The man stared at her, leering. "Little blossom. Come here.." he stumbled towards her, hand extended. Ami backed away, confused. His face turned from being lecherous to anger. He growled and darted forward with surprising speed, grabbing her arm.
"Little blossoms 'ought not to wander around at evenin'. Something might happen to them..." he leaned closer to her face. Ami's face was filled with terror and panick. She could smell the sake on his breath. She made a noise of terror, and struggled against him. The man shook her arm, squeezing it hard. Ami screamed.
"Onegai! ICHIDOU-SAN!"
The man struck her across the face with his other hand. "Shut up, wench!" Ami screamed again, shrilly, knees sagging into the mud of the road. "Help me! Help-" A thwack sounded in the air as the man backhanded her. She fell against the mud, unconcious. The man grabbed her and hoisted her over his shoulder, and began to run home.
Elsewhere, Kenshin sat under a tree staring at his small fire, brooding to himself.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
*Hareru-to be sunny, to clear away, to stop raining
*Ichidou- a ray of hope
Once again, I got those from a dictionary. -_-'
Review replies:
Haruko1: Wow! Just on the first chapter, and you already say you'll stick with me. I'm immensely flattered by that. ^_^ Thank you very much. Oh, and I have no desire to discontinue my story. I was just pointing out that I wasn't exactly aiming for audience appeal; I just wanted to "store" this story idea some place so I never forget. So, I will never abandon it! Already, I have more ideas... :)
Riverwood: ^^; Don't worry, way more to come I believe. I hope I don't leave you waiting at the screen too long... I try to write the next chaps. as much as I can, but school and my other fics, ya know? -_-;
Well, thanks for the reviews, guys!