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-Prolouge: Part 4

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"Hee hee, men don't wear necklaces, daddy."

"Ha ha, this one does."

"Why?"

"Why not? Don't you think it's pretty?"

"Hmm, yes, daddy, it's a very pretty red necklace."

Grin. "Well, I'll give it to you someday, how's that?"

"Okay!"

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"Did you think you were going to get away with this?"

"…"

"Trying to run away to the continent. Feh, pathetic. You realize I have to take payment for this."

"J-just don't hurt her, she didn't know…"

"…Until your daughter was born."

"… yes…"

"Heh, don't worry. I have no need for her. My niece, on the other hand…"

"Stay away from her!"

"Just be glad you won't live long enough to see her become a murderer."

"Monster…"

"Yes I am. Just like you, little brother."

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"You're our cousin, aren't you?"

"Y-yes."

"Pfft, she can't even talk right. What a baby."

"I'm not!"

Smirk. "Yes you are. An ugly one too."

"I'm not…"

"Ugly baby. No wonder your mommy left you here."

"She's coming back…"

"Yeah right, who told you that?"

"No one…"

"Face it, you're all alone. Besides us, that is." Grin. "Yeah, welcome to hell."

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"Kyouri! Wake up!! You're letting it burn!"

"Huh?" Kyouri said, snapping out of her reminiscence. She looked up at the angry cook standing over her, then smelled the burned fish. "Oh no!" she exclaimed, looking down at the charred fish she had been grilling.

"Honestly, Kyouri!" she scolded. "You've been wandering off all day! Would you please come back from wherever you are in that thick head of yours?"

"Hai, gomen nasai," Kyouri muttered as she turned back to the grill. The lady gave a final humph as she stalked off back inside. Kyouri sighed heavily, picking up the fan and turning over the fish.

The same memories of looking at her father's fiery red necklace, which she was now gripping tightly in her spare hand, the few moments before her father's death, and meeting her cousins for the first time kept replaying over and over again in her mind. She gave a weary sigh as she fanned the fish listlessly.

She thought she could leave whenever she wanted. In fact, she had been getting ready to leave for two days now. But, she found she couldn't.

She didn't want to leave him.

Sanosuke was the first person that was actually nice to her. He joked around and laughed with her, and even became concerned about her after she began to get absorbed in memories. People tended to stay away from her, unless they felt they had authority over her, as was the case with the cooks, but the other junior soldiers in the camp never talked to her or approached her.

Especially Katsuhiro. He'd climb a mountain to avoid her.

She was certain he could feel it more than anyone else.

Sano either didn't feel it, or didn't care.

She hoped he didn't care. Either way, she was still happy to have him around.

She could stay in the camp with him. But, eventually they'd fetch her and take her back. They hadn't yet, but she knew the person that had stalked her two days ago was going to return. The only question was when they would.

If she left, she could maybe get away from them by always moving around. It wouldn't be so hard to get lost in all of Japan.

But if she did that, she may never see Sanosuke again.

But if she got caught, it's not like she'd see him anyway.

She sighed wearily as her mind went in circles. She wished there was a way to shut it off, just for a little while. She clenched her father's necklace tightly in her hand as she often did when she was nervous, scared, or both.

"Hey Kyouri!" the boy that had been rampant in her thoughts suddenly walked up to her, a bundle of firewood tied to his back. He noticed her hand clutching the necklace. "What's that?" She blinked and looked down at her fist.

"Oh, it's just an old necklace that I got from my father," she responded casually, finally letting go of the warmed stone.

"Cool," he grinned. "Can I see?" She nodded as she pulled the necklace out as far as it would go. He leaned in to get a better look.

"Incredible," he gasped as his eyebrows arched. "I've never seen anything so pretty." She muffled a giggle at the thought of him saying the word "pretty," then looked up at him smiling. "It must mean a lot to you if it belonged to your dad." She looked down at the deep red stone, turning it in the sun and watching the shoots of gold that flashed through it. It was more than that, it was her lifeline in this world.

"Yeah, I guess," she shrugged. He grinned at her one last time as he began to unload the firewood into a pile besides her. She watched him, her mind resuming its earlier battle.

"Hey, Sano?" she said softly. He looked up at her expectantly. "Could you meet me after dinner today by the river? I need to talk to you." He seemed slightly surprised. She didn't usually ask him to meet her, usually they just went to the river when they felt like it, and bumped into each other occasionally.

"Um, yeah, sure," he responded as he stood up.

"Thanks," she smiled. He grinned and walked away, giving her a wave. She watched as he disappeared down the hill, feeling a throb of sadness in her chest.

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The sun had set and the night was quiet. The only sounds in the air were those of the small crickets that sang into the darkness. He walked down the slope silently, feeling his way through the tall grass and concentrating on not tripping. He reached the bank and looked up, and realized that she was sitting on a large log, watching the dark river flow into the pitch black night.

"Hey," he said as he sat down besides her. She didn't look up at him, but a small smile on her face showed that she knew he was there. They sat in the silence for a while as she continued watching the river, deep in thought.

Sanosuke shifted uncomfortably. An ominous feeling was tying his stomach into a knot.

"So," he said as casually as he could. "You wanted to talk to me?" She nodded slowly, still watching the river. She could feel his discomfort and sighed audibly, looking up straight ahead.

"This is really a great spot," she said just softly enough that he could barely hear her. "I've enjoyed all the times we talked here." A chill of anxiety ran up Sanosuke's spine as the knot became tighter. He didn't like the foreboding way she was talking.

"Yeah," he replied. "We should come down here more often at night. It's… nice." There was a soft smile on her lips that was hard to distinguish in the half light.

"Sorry Sano," she whispered. "I won't be able to come here anymore." Sano felt his shoulders tense suddenly.

"What do you mean?" he asked slowly.

"I'm leaving." She said those words with such finality that Sano felt a lead weight of dread descend on his chest.

He didn't want her to leave anywhere.

"What?" His voice wavered slightly with panic.

"The war's almost over, and I'm not really all that needed here. I'm going off to see the rest of Japan."

"Why? Why don't you just wait until the war really is over? It's still dangerous out there!" She hung her head so that her features were hidden from him, then slid off the log and stood up.

"Can I tell you something, Sano?" she asked softly with her back towards him, wringing her hands together. There was a lump in his throat that prevented him from saying anything, so he simply nodded. "I'm running." Her voice was sad, regretful. Sanosuke choked down the lump and managed to say something.

"From what?"

"From him. And I'll keep running to stay away from him. I'd rather go to the ends of the earth than be brought back to him, and that's exactly what I'll do."

"You don't have to," he said hopefully. "Captain Sagara will talk to him, and you can stay here." She turned to look at him, her green eyes bright with unshed tears. She smiled ruefully.

"He's stronger than Captain Sagara." Sanosuke was at a loss for words. How could he be stronger than the Captain? "I have to go Sano. I'm leaving tonight. Right now." Sano was silent for a moment, then stood up, facing her.

"Please don't," he quietly pleaded. "We can work something out. We'll get the Captain or someone to help. You can stay here." She kept smiling, her expression sad and almost hopeful.

"I'm sorry, Sano," she whispered. "I have to." Sano's shoulders slumped sadly as he sighed and hung his head.

"Are you mad?" she asked softly as she watched his head hang. He shook his head slowly, then brought it up, a transparent smile glued to his face. He reached behind his head, undoing the knot that held his headband in place.

"Here," he said, holding the long red ribbon out to her. "You're still a Sekihoutai. It's a goodbye present." She looked at it, her eyes brimming with tears. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to hold them in, but some managed to squeeze out. She held out her hand and gingerly took the gift. She examined the course fabric for a second, trying to get her throat to slack so she could talk again.

"Thank you," she whispered hoarsely. He managed a small grin, a shrug running through his shoulders. She took in a deep breath, feeling tears welling in her eyes again, then stepped towards him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into an embrace. She could feel his surprise as he tentatively brought his arms up, returning the embrace. She could hear his breathing, and could tell that he was struggling not to cry.

Would he also be the first to cry for her?

"We'll meet again," she whispered near his ear. "I'm sure of it." He gulped, tightening his hold around her slightly, silently telling her to stay. He took in a deep breath to steady himself, and at the same time inhaled the smell of her hair.

It was the smell of something familiar. He just wasn't sure what.

"Goodbye, Sanosuke," he heard her say. Before he knew it, she had pulled away and was walking down the river. He stood still, completely stunned and unable to say anything as she walked away, into the darkness.

A single tear rolled down his cheek.

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Note: Sano? Crying? Wha…?

I'm really worried that her goodbye sounded really corny. I was trying to make it sad, did it work?

I realized while I was writing this that it's kind of like Kenshin's goodbye to Kaoru when he leaves for Kyoto. I mean, there are some similarities, I'll admit that. But I really wasn't trying to copy Watsuki-sensei's most touching scene! Really! (don't hurt me!). Besides, there are differences in the circumstances and the way it was played out (Kenshin wasn't crying, Kyouri was, Kaoru yelled after Kenshin, Sano didn't, blah blah blah…). So please don't yell at me for that.

The prologue's almost done! One last chapter to tie things together, then we head off to the eleventh year of the Meiji!

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Please review!

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