All of my historical information came from Barbara Sheridan's Shinsengumi Headquarters site. I have deviated slightly from historical facts, but this is fan fiction after all, not biography!
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or stories of Rurouni Kenshin. This work is for entertainment and not profit.
Tokyo 1895 - Goro Fujita, formerly of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, is now head of the security staff at the Tokyo Education Museum. His wife, Tokio, is an administrator and professor at the Tokyo Women's School which is affiliated with the museum.
LIVING HISTORY
It was a special day at Tokyo Women's Normal School. The elementary aged boys and girls of the lab school were to go to the Education Museum next door to view the displays. Their guide would be one of the professors from the Women's Normal School which taught older girls how to be teachers.
The museum building was large and imposing, in the Western style. As they entered the first floor, they were shown a large library. Most of the children were bored by books. They had their fill of books at school and were eager to see the natural history displays on the second floor. Jiro however, had to continually be herded back into the group by a chaperone. He kept trying to remove books from the shelves.
Next, the class passed into a large hall filled with the education displays. There were miniature American schoolhouses, desks, chairs, blackboards and even the strange, metal-pointed pens which Westerners used. The children were fascinated by the furniture which was so different from their own. One of the chaperones who had attended their school as a child told them that she had used just such Western things, but later the government had removed them. Jiro was indignant to hear this. To think, Japanese children had once had the chance to actually use Western things instead of just looking at them in a museum!
Finally the class was shepherded up the staircase to the natural history displays. Jiro knew it was just going to be a bunch of dead fish and rocks and things. He lingered at the back of the group and watched carefully for his opportunity to escape. As the first children reached the top of the staircase a cry of surprise and delight was heard. Immediately, the entire group began to push their way up to see the life-size stuffed tiger. The chaperone at the head of the line called out for someone to, "Get down at once!" The chaperone at the end went ahead to help. Jiro did not neglect this opportunity and ran back down the stairs.
At the bottom he turned the opposite direction from which the group had come, reasoning that anyone coming to look for him would retrace the group's steps. Jiro found himself in what seemed to be a wing of offices. His intent was to get back to the library and look at the books. He had noticed several about weapons of the revolution, but was prevented from looking for pictures. His parents did not own books. Their resources were stretched to the limit to enable Jiro to attend the special lab school. Lessons in swordsmanship were also out of the question financially. Jiro would much rather have had a sword and some books about the shoguns and samurai than school, but his parents did not agree.
Jiro stood at the end of the hall, trying to decide what to do. He hoped this hallway would take him back around to where the library was. Most of the doors were closed, but a few stood open. He couldn't hear anyone, so he decided that speed was the best option. He began to run down the hall, but when he heard voices from around the corner at the end, he panicked and dodged into one of the offices. Looking around wildly for a place to hide, he suddenly froze.
Displayed on a table against the wall was a sword. A real sword, encased in its sheath and displayed on a stand. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, or at least he knew it would be once he unsheathed it.
Jiro went past the desk to the table and examined the sword more closely. The leather and wrappings of the hilt and sheath were clearly worn with use, but still carefully polished and cleaned. What did the blade look like? Was it similarly scarred from battle? Jiro reached out a hand to pick it up. Just before he touched it he hesitated, not knowing quite why. He mentally shook himself, then confidently picked up the sword, and nearly dropped it. It was far heavier than he had expected. Using both hands now, Jiro carefully lifted it from the stand. He began to draw the blade, but quickly realized that his arms weren't long enough to pull it free of the sheath. He laid it down on the floor then, using a foot to hold the sheath, he was finally able to pull the sword free.
The metallic hiss of the blade coming out made Jiro's heart pound. Even without the weight of the sheath, the sword was heavier then Jiro could easily manage. He stood for a moment, the sword's tip resting on the wood floor, as he studied the blade. It gleamed so that it almost seemed to emit its own light. Carefully, he lifted the sword with both hands and attempted to hold it in what he thought would be a battle stance. Unable to hold that position for long, Jiro crouched back down between the desk and table and contented himself with examining the sword more closely.
After a few long moments, Jiro became aware of an apprehension within him. He strained to listen for anyone in the hallway, but there was no sound. He had stayed too long already, he knew. He stroked his finger along the blade one last time, then reached for the sheath. He stopped, filled again with the uneasy sense of something.
Jiro gripped the hilt of the sword once again and slowly stood, this time not even feeling the weight of it. As his eyes came level with the desk, he noticed the cigarette which was laying in a tray. It was still lit, smoke curling up slowly from its tip which was heavy with ashes. Obviously, the occupant of this office had not intended to be gone for long.
Jiro suddenly felt very sick as he refocused his eyes past the desk and on the doorway which was filled by a tall, dark figure.
Okay, so it's not a one-shot after all! The conclusion is coming soon. Look forward to it please!
-Neg