..sorry it took me so long to get this up…I don't have an excuse so don't bother askin' for one…besides…I highly doubt anyone finds this worth reading. sigh Oh well…anyway…this is where the new girl comes in. Kenshin's life basically depends on her…By the way; her name is pronounced Zai-e-da….
Kenshin stumbled forward onto the path and dropped to his knees. Tears began to swell in his eyes. "Why...why must they suffer because of this one? They did nothing to deserve this..."he muttered, slowly rising to his feet. The rain was still falling and had grown even harder. Everything more than three feet away was invisible due to the fog created from the water hitting the cold air. The rurouni pushed some strands of wet auburn hair out of his face and started walking along the dirt road again.
Even though he couldn't really see, his hearing was still as good as ever. The sound of thundering hooves began to approach and suddenly a large white, ghostly figure towered above him. It was pure white with a silver mane and tail, it's eyes a light cream color. The creature peered down at him and lowered it's head to nudge him lightly. "Kanta, stop it!" a young female's voice yelled from it's back, then the young girl swung off the horse. She was wearing a black kimono and white hakama and was about the same height as the rurouni. Her hair was solid black and went to her shoulders, a small braid on the left side.
Her eyes were blue but her right eye was hazed over. He could already tell that she was blind in that eye. "Sorry if I scared you or somethin'. Can't see anything with this damn fog." she muttered, wiping some water off her face to see better. "It's alright." Kenshin replied quietly. "What are ya doin' out here anyways?" she asked, stroking the white horse's neck while looking at Kenshin. "...This one is visiting the gravesite ahead." he replied after a while. "Oh! Me too!" the girl suddenly cried out.
"You seem rather cheerful to be visiting a grave." He commented. "It's what my father taught me. To always keep my spirits high no matter what has happened." She said happily, her hands on her hips and sporting a fake grin. She then slumped over and sighed. "I'm just tryin' to keep myself out of depression. Bad things follow when you're depressed." She said, leaning back against the horse.
"Well…it was nice meeting you." He said softly before walking past the girl and her horse. "Wait! What's your name?" she asked, walking after him. "…Himura Kenshin." He called over his shoulder after a minute. The girl swung up onto her horse's bare back and trotted up beside him. "My name's Sayda, and this here is my stallion Kanta." She called down to him, lying against the horse's neck and patting it.
Kenshin said nothing in reply and kept his head down. Kanta nickered and glanced back at his rider. "It's alright. Let's just give him some space." Sayda whispered into the horse's ear. He tossed his head lightly as if he had actually understood and took a few steps backward, putting a few feet between themselves and the rurouni.
Sayda sat up and turned around on Kanta, lying back against his neck. She looked up at the fog covered sky and closed her eyes part-way. "Sennen ni...ikkai no koi…nanta mon ja nai." She began singing softly to the rhythm created by Kanta's hooves clattering against the road. "Futari no tame…ni sora to daichi ga…ugoiteta…."
Kenshin kept his eyes ahead but listened to the girl's singing. It made him feel better having her and Kanta there, rather then him still traveling alone. He wasn't as depressed now…and the singing helped distract his thoughts. Sayda stopped and glanced over at the rurouni. "Oi…mind telling me why you decided to travel out here in the rain on foot? Where ya from anyway?"
"It wasn't raining when this one left…he didn't plan anything before hand…" Kenshin called back, still keeping his head down. "And this one comes from Kyoto." He replied a few moments later. "I'm from Edo originally but was staying in Kanda for a while training." Sayda called down, knowing that the rurouni wouldn't have bothered to ask.
"One more question, why ya always say 'this one' and all that?" she asked, swinging back around on the horse's back, and holding on to his mane. "It's natural for samurais to speak that way." He said back, glancing up at her slightly. "You're a samurai?" she asked, amazement glittering in her eyes.
He stopped and Kanta halted with him. The ronin moved aside a strand of his auburn hair to reveal his scar. Sayda's eyes widened and Kanta took a step back. "You...you're Hitokiri Battousai…" she choked out. "That name is nothing but a memory." He replied quietly before walking again.