Good morning, everyone. You are currently reading the newly-updated Chapter 1 of my story, Long Way From Innocence. After many years of hiatus I've decided to finally give this a good polishing, and finish it up.
Editing Note: As I was editing, I realized that this story was so old that I was still finishing spoken dialog with periods instead of commas inside quotes- i.e., "Okay." She said. Yikes! Furthermore, there are instances of Japanese where the English translation would suffice. I'll be keeping the use of 'sessha', since it's an awkward concept to translate, but I think I will revert everything else I can to translation.
Chapter 1 has been edited, but chapters 2-4 are awaiting revision. Chapter 5 should be up before November 2012!
To all of my returning readers, I thank you for your patience. To new readers, I hope you enjoy!
The scent of death hung heavily in the air.
The small town was rank with the stench of the dead and dying. Out in the narrow roads, carts rattled by, carrying the bodies of those who had succumbed to the sickness. The town criers went from house to house, announcing the Death Cart's arrival.
A small boy sat in the corner of his house. On the futon in front of him, a man and a woman lay. The man was long cold, and the woman seemed as if she would follow him shortly; her breathing was ragged and deeply labored.
"Bring out your dead!" A town crier called in the street-facing window. He paused. "Damn, another kid. Toshi!" He turned around and called to the strong man dragging one of the carts. "Toshi, it's another of those damned orphans!"
Moments later, the boy jumped as the door was kicked in. A burly man with masses of scarred muscles picked up the man and the woman by the arms and dragged then out the door.
"MAMA! PAPA!" The boy seemed to break out of his daze, suddenly screaming. "MAMA! PAPA! DON'T GO!" He beat on the arms of the other man who carried him out by the back of his shirt. He hardly weighed anything.
"Got another one for ya, Mizuko," he muttered gruffly as the boy was tossed into another cart which was already filled with ragged children, all of them orphans of the epidemic; all of them to be sold into slavery.
"Aye. This cart's about full, Mu. Give the rest to Kazeko."
"Where is your brother anyway?" Mu asked Mizuko. He shrugged.
"Knowing him, collecting all the teenage girls he can manage," he sneered, "in whatever condition he can find them."
"Your brother is a sick bastard," Mu shook his head. Mizuko shrugged again, losing interest in the conversation.
"I didn't raise him," he said, snapping the whip at the horse in front of them. Slowly, the cart rolled down the street.
"MAMA!"
"LET MY MOTHER GO, YOU BASTARDS!"
"FATHER! DON'T LEAVE ME!"
Children's cries rang out as they passed the other carts that lined the streets and recognized their parents, neighbors, and friends.
"PAPA! LEAVE MY PAPA ALONE! HE'S NOT DEAD!"
"LET GO OF IRUKA-SAMA! LET HIM GO!"
The cold-hearted Mizuko ignored their screams as he pulled them on towards the mansion in the next town, where they'd be cleaned up and set to work.
"MAMA!"
"Kenshin! Kenshin, are you alright?"
Kaoru heard Kenshin's fretful whimpering all the way down the hall; it had woken her from a very deep sleep, it was so loud. Yahiko poked his sleepy head into the room as well.
Kenshin sat against the wall as he was wont to do, with his sword against his shoulder. His eyes were wide, however, and his breathing was not deep and even.
"Kenshin!" Kaoru shook his shoulder. His head shot up and wide violet eyes searched the room frantically before his eyes fell on Kaoru's face.
"Miss Kaoru?" He asked softly.
"Kenshin, are you alright? You were crying in your sleep," Kaoru murmured, gently reaching to wipe away one of the tears that had been pouring down his face. Kenshin leaned into her touch unconsciously.
"Sessha is fine," He murmured. "Sessha is fine. It was just a bad dream."
"You were just about screaming, Kenshin, that doesn't sound 'fine' to me," Yahiko protested sleepily.
"Sessha is sorry to have woken you, Yahiko. Please forgive Sessha."
Kaoru sighed, reigning in the frown she wanted to express for the sake of not disturbing Kenshin further. It was obvious that nothing more would be gotten out of him that morning.
"Well, the sun will be up soon, I imagine. I'm not going to try to go back to sleep," She said with an uncharacteristic gentleness. She stood up slowly. "I'll start breakfast."
"You'll start breakfast! Yuck!"
"What are you saying yuck for!"
"You, ugly old hag, can't cook!"
"What do you mean, I can't cook!" Smack! "And what do you mean UGLY?" Smack, smack! "Five hundred strokes before breakfast!"
Kenshin listened as their argument traveled down the hall and to the dojo. He rested his forehead on his knee and took a few deep breaths.
For a moment, he was pulled back to the Maekawa Dojo, when he first became lost in the Bakumatsu again. Those memories had seldom visited since Shishio's defeat, but in its place were these.
Memories of his childhood, when he was no more than seven or eight; of the time when his parents died of cholera, and he was taken by slavers. There were happy memories, too, of course, but they faded in contrast to the stark, harsh poignancy of the memory of that night, and the nightmare that followed it.
Reluctantly, Kenshin rolled to his knees. He remembered distinctly how he felt the morning before his encounter with Jin-e, the morning he woke up and left the dojo, then returned to find Sanosuke had been attacked… A wave of nausea passed over him. Those days are GONE. All of this is suppose to be settled by now, he thought vehemently.
After a moment, he stood. He stared at his neatly made futon across the room. After a long, hesitant moment, he approached it. He drew back the blanket on top. His sakabatou was set on the floor within reach.
Slowly he slipped between the blankets. He laid his head back and closed his eyes, willing himself to relax.
He hadn't slept on a futon, actually slept, that is, since he left Hiko Seijuro's lair in the mountains when he was 15. He took a deep breath. The faint scent of charring food reached his nose, but he found himself unwilling to get up and go assist Kaoru. The futon's warmth was comfortable, inviting. It was a luxury he had not allowed himself in a very, very long time.
"Kensh—" Kaoru cut herself off as she saw the figure, laying under the blankets on the futon. He was on his side, half curled over. His eyes were peacefully shut, his face, for once, untroubled. Kaoru's eyes softened. She smiled gently, sliding the shoji back shut with a faint click.
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated! If you've already left a review on this chapter, you're welcome to re-review while logged out-I do accept unsigned reviews. Not much has changed in this chapter, I don't think, mostly grammar, usage, and punctuation edits. New readers are encouraged to post your thoughts on each chapter, before reading the next :)