The birth of Sakuretsudan
A young man's story
The long haired figure loomed over a low wooden table, his expression inscrutable. Well, he was feeling particularly moody today, but boy, why wouldn't he? All that he has lived for, gone in a matter of minutes. All the years he has spent guarding his precious possession, gone as simple as a flick of a hand.
Yeah, true, he has been doing great with his so-called side business, but there was still a deep hatred nurtured within his heart, considerably burnt with the need to avenge. He closed his eyes, reminiscing.
It certainly was a biting, cold, biting night…
"Move! run to different directions!", the usually gentle voice had a hard, commanding edge to it on that fateful night. The voices of puzzled murmurs and footsteps treading on the cold winter soil as they ran, the stricken look on the faces of the familiar group of people who ran with him… it was almost like a blur to him as the shocking sound of gunshots broke the silence of the night continually. It reverberated through the dark forest, claiming the lives of many brave and spirited warriors.
They ran, and kept running, although their feet were shaking.. only their determination kept them going… until more gunshots sounded, straight to Taichou's heart…. Though it ended up embedded in his knee, effectively pulling him to the ground…
"Taichou… Taichou!", their fearful voices squeaked out in unison. For their sake, he tried to stand up, to no avail, clenching his jaw as the pain in his knee became almost unbearable. "Leave, you two…leave now", he said between rugged breathing and clenched teeth.
The two youngsters quickly looked at each other with panic, but within those nerve-wrecking milliseconds, they had come into a decision. Resolutely, as unexpected as it may be, both silently kneeled and took each of Taichou's arms and propped them up, silently praying to be empowered to withstand the additional load on them. With as much strength as they could muster, they carried on.
Not giving up… never giving up.
"….." it was difficult enough for him to talk, yet he made the effort with every fiber of his being… "Leave…". For once, the two youngsters did not heed his order. No, they ran as fast as they could while propping his arms like a pair of crutches. All was done for their respected Taichou.
Then, just as a nightmare could only get worse as it rolls on, this one was no exception. When their feet stumbled upon pebbles and more pebbles, they did not think that they were approaching a cliff.
They gasped as they saw what was unfolded before them.
A cliff.
A dead end.
Even the scheming mind of his was numbed at the sight. Hearing voices and approaching steps, they began to turn sideways, frantically looking for a way out.. anything.. anything at all…
Sagara Taichou was silent during all those moments. He seemed to be on the verge of unconsciousness, thanks to the bleeding on his knee. But he surprised them by pulling his arms, silently forcing them to let go of both his young comrades' grip on both his arms.
He turned to them.. and smiled.
This was no ordinary smile.. it was a serene one.
Dumbfounded, they just gazed at his face, waiting… as if sensing that there was something very important that needed to be said…
"…Thank you…. You've made us proud…", he said with much effort.
The noise was approaching closer and closer, we itched to run so much, but didn't know where to.
"We're The Sekihou Tai… always remember that…", he halted, looking every bit the calm and confident Taichou we've known all along.
Something was amiss, but we just couldn't quite name it.
My spiky-haired comrade looked at me, with eyes full of question…
What should we do, what should we do, what should we…
"Taichou… we've got to run..", I voiced out in near whisper. My voice was barely audible, I had to admit that I was not a sissy, yet the fear that gripped me was incomparable beyond description.
"…Live on, and find happiness….", he said, as with a strength unbeknownst to us he still possessed even under that weakened condition, he pushed us… off the cliff!
All I saw next was Taichou's back shielding us from the upcoming shots, merciless gun shots as we fell into the deep, dark, spiraling abyss.. I felt my body went so limp and useless, trying as I might to defy gravity, and vaguely I heard Sanosuke's hoarse cry, "Sagara Taichou!….", before everything before me blacked out.
I still remembered waking up at the river side, bruises all over my body, even though I was not aware of them just as yet, but amazingly enough, every part of my body was intact and whole. Barely conscious, I was half-aware of the fact that there was a voice next to me, hovering next to my limped body as I was on my way once again into the dark oblivion.
Perhaps then I could meet Taichou…
I woke up with a pounding headache, and my flesh seemed to scream out in pain.
Suddenly I saw blurry figures by my side, and, focusing to look at them hard enough, I saw them. An elderly couple, observing me somewhat worriedly, though I didn't understand how could they worry about a stranger's condition.
Before I could say anything, the wife drew a cup of broth closer to my lips, urging me to swallow the warm remedy, at least that was what they thought, though no one could possibly understand that nothing could remedy me.
I was broken beyond repair, and before I realized it, I voiced my thoughts out.
"Sanosuke..?", I asked, wondering, if by some miracle, he too had survived the fall, just as I had.
The couple only looked at each other, confusion etched on their eyes as they returned to me. Understanding dawned on me, just as the headache returned full force. My heart was torn.
No. Not even one of my comrades was alive.
"Why did you save me?", I asked in a shattered voice.
They looked at each other as though I was crazy.. then the lady soothingly replied, "Because you were worth saving.."
At that, my eyes teared up and I yelled with all my might… "No, I was a nobody, I'm still a nobody, and I'm not worthy to live…".. vivid images of Taichou's body being hurled by the shot guns kept appearing in my mind.
If only I was an adult, if only I was strong enough to protect my Taichou and my fellow comrades.. if only…
The sheen of cold perspiration was clearly evident on my forehead. Every time I closed my eyes, the nightmare kept haunting me.
I opened my eyes. Yes, I'm still alive.
Twelve years ago, that incident happened, leaving me orphaned in the blink of an eye. Since then, I have lived with the kind elderly couple who took care of me. Takase-san was a teacher with interest in sciences, and Junko-san was a devoted wife to her husband whose favorite pastime was to do paintings. They took me in just like their own child, and as I grew older, they encouraged me to do what I wanted to do most.
The problem was, I never knew what I wanted to do most.
Now, both of them have passed on a few years ago due to old age, and I was once again in a deep sorrow. Why did all the good people have to die?
Am I doomed to live an orphan life?
If that was so, may it be so..
Perhaps I should surrender my life to the mysterious doings of fate.
I am all alone now. What good could all the skills they taught me with, now when I have no one to make proud of?….
Oh, they did teach me so many things, for they were simple people with kind and unsuspecting nature.
Wait…
Perhaps I could still put all these skills to a good use…
Now I understood what I had wanted to do most. My purpose of life came spiraling back to me in all of the sudden, ironically, when everyone has gone..
Who would ever guess that all these could lead me to one thing.
Taichou…now I could avenge for you..
Day and night I spent reading, swallowing the knowledge written in the many books of my adoptive father. I wallowed in sorrowness whenever I gazed at my adoptive mother's paintings. I was a lost case. Broken still beyond repair. I began to paint in between my reading times, if it was just as a means to finding solace.
Until that fateful day when I happened to read about the new Meiji government and the so-called restored era. All my deeply buried hatred sprang free once and for all. Obviously, it was merely buried within me, but was not forgiven, nor forgotten…
All those years ago, we ran..we ran away from the evil puppet master that was the Isshin Shishi… the group we, the Sekihou Tai once supported, yet we were made into scapegoat, betrayed, trampled, and assassinated in the end. And now, look at what they've become. They stood behind the powerful new government that was the Meiji government and corrupted people's mind with their dirty politics. Again… and again….
Something clicked in me.
Someone must stand up to destroy this trash they dare called government.
And that someone…..would be me…
Taichou… now I'll really make you proud..
The pages of the yellowing book was very interesting to read. No wonder this book was my adoptive father's favorite. I read it a bit, then read it a bit more, until I found something of value in this book. It made me wonder…
Just how did I overlook such a brilliant idea?
Yes, this is it! This is a brilliant way to destroy the Isshin Shishi and the Meiji!
But wait… how am I gonna fund this?
…
…
Ah… the answer came easily enough… my adoptive mother wouldn't teach me to paint just to let that skill go down to waste now, would she?
Hence, I will paint. I will draw and paint and sell them all to fund this little project of mine. And no one shall learn of it…
I will destroy Meiji government.
Hm… what shall I call this project?
Ah… I shall call this: ' The birth of Sakuretsudan'
Very fitting name, indeed.
A slow smirk surfaced on his usually grim pair of lips as he smiled his first smile in twelve years.
- fin -
Vocab:
Sakuretsudan: Katsu's hand bombs.
Taichou: Leader
Disclaimer: (why did I put this in the bottom anyway?) Sekihou Tai needs some acknowledgement! RK still isn't mine though..
A/N: do expect more on Sekihou Tai from me…