--Silver Wings--
Disclaimer: I don't own Samurai 7. Akira Kurosawa will rise from his grave if I ever tried to own any of it.
Chapter 1: Live!
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He opened his eyes. There he saw pieces of the ceiling start to fall.
Am I alive? He asked himself. He remembered that he was shot. Yes, by Katsushiro and then…Shimada Kanbei. He was telling him something but what? Before he could decipher what it was, he felt his life ebbing from his body. And then it was darkness.
And now he can see again but only to find out that his eyesight slowly weakens that everything he sees seems blur, there are voices, and noise. He could feel the trembling of the ground, its damp coldness on his back. He tried to get up but he can't. Every muscles on his body was aching, he can't even move a finger. His body is already numb, he tried to call out but no sound came out of his mouth.
And slowly…slowly…his world started to dim…he can see the light evanescing from his sight…slowly…
Am I dying?
He remembered that a dying man can view what his life has been, but his thoughts are clouded with the need to survive.
I'm not afraid to die…but…there is still…something…to…be…done…His thought trailed off as the shadows slowly embraces him.
Darkness…falls…
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Sakuraba no Aki silently sat on a dead trunk as she listens to the loud explosion and crashing sound coming from Kanna Village. Though her emerald eyes can't see it, her other senses can deliver the stimuli to her body. Eight years ago, her world was bright, full of colors, until…that day. Another loud explosion took her thoughts away.
The smell of gun powder and burnt debris lingers in the air, with it the scent of dead bodies, both Nobuseris and humans. It produces a familiar scent; death, destruction; the smell of war.
A gentle breeze blew by. She inhaled it deeply then frowned. "The air was contaminated…the deceased calls out from their graves." , she murmured. She moves her staff in perpendicular motion to the ground. "Kintaro, what can you see?"
"The Capital and it is falling." said a deep voice ahead of her. "Are you sure we can seek him here?"
She smiled. Very typical of Kintaro; though tough he may seem to be but a doubtful spirit he has. He was reluctant to take on this journey but was able to agree when she insisted to go. An impossible mission he says. Indeed it was, she thought the same way once but needed to vanquish it for the sake of her family and her self.
"What if he is dead? What essence would that be if what we came here for is already dead?" Though she can't see him, she knows that he was already frowning.
She smiled again. "A doubtful heart always falls on the abyss of nothingness."
Kintaro's frowned deepened. "Says who?"
"Says me."
He puffs out a heavy sigh. She grinned. He was silent again when another explosion took place. He can see it! She thought. I wanted to see what become of them! I want to see them cringe with pain! An angry voice calls out within her.She could feel the envy creeping on her. "I wish I could see it."
Kintaro turned his head to her direction. Lowering his binoculars, he sighed heavily. "It is not a pleasant sight Aki. I assure you that."
A bitter smile escaped her lips. The cause of her family and also her pain is gone. The gods made the move, judgment had been vested, vile creatures are annihilated, vengeance for her and her family. She tightly gripped her staff as a single tear fell down her cheek, which she quickly wiped at the back of her hand. Enough sentimental thoughts, there are things to be done. She lifted her self from where she was sitting and starts to walk at Kintaro's direction.
"We should be moving Kintaro. We need to reach Kanna Village at once."
"Are you sure you want to do this, Aki? Once we cross the Kanna border there will be no turning back. You should need not to do this, there are other ways." Kintaro said as he could possibly know the consequences that lies ahead.
She sighed as she walks toward the rover, using her staff to locate its direction. She stops when she heard the metallic sound against the wood. "This is the other way and there is nothing else. We are heading to Kanna Village". She sternly said without a hint of uncertainty, then hops on the rover they are using.
Kintaro rolled his eyes, sludge his shoulders and followed her to the rover to start the engine. "I hope you're aware of your stubbornness." In minutes they are on the move again.
Kanna Village…such courage, she thought. If only they had managed to hire samurais then…things won't turn out that way. But things happen for a reason. This is the path she choose, she has a war to fight and she is still in need of something…or…someone. And with in the burned debris of the fallen Capital; there lies what she is seeking.
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Shimada Kanbei stared at the vast wreckage ahead. War was fought here. The stench of it reminds him of that one great war not so long ago. He thought he was used to it but still…He fixed his gaze to the graves of his fallen comrade. Gorobei, Heihachi, Kikuchiyo...Kyuzo.
Four graves are stood but one of them was hollow; an empty grave with only his sword to bury. Four mounds of earth was erected, katanas were use to mark the graves of their handlers that was once wield by strong, graceful arms. His thought was interfered when he noticed Katsushiro going his way.
He examined the boy from the distance. There lies the traces of innocence of a youth but it is slowly getting thin, experience will hone him. He can visualize him at the middle of the battle field wielding his sword and with a stance of a true samurai. Katsushiro reminds him of what he has been before. He will be his heir from now on.
Katsushiro approached him, but never met his gaze. The boy stopped a few feet away from him. He was silent, which is very unusual for the boy always have a handful of questions. The young samurai fixed his eyes on where he was looking at a while ago.
"What is it Katsushiro?" He asked. He already knew where this topic would lead, but then again, this will be the first time that Katsushiro approached him since the incident inside the Capital.
The boy remained silent. But continue to look at the graves ahead with clenched fist as he focused his eyes on a certain grave.
Kanbei's eyes focused on an eagle in flight. Its arrogant posture amazes him as it glides its beautiful wings through the sky, creating a patch of brown in its blue color. He looked at it with longing. How he prays that he could be like that free to roam the vastness of the sky…to experience and…to have…life.
"Be thankful that you are alive, Katsushiro."
Katsushiro sharply turned his head to his direction. Pain and guilt etched all over his face. "I-I k-killed him w-with my own h-hands! How can I be thankful? I-it c-could have been better if he was slashed by a s-sword or died in the explosion!" Katsushiro's shoulder rock as he fights for every tear not to fall. He remembered his face as he saw the accusing emotion on his pale face.
The older samurai inhaled deeply. Taking every ounce of air he could before turning to Katsushiro. "There is no certainty when one goes to war. It is either you live or die. It is natural that one perishes in the midst of battle. Those who died will not be bothered anymore, but those who lives take on the burden of remembering every ugly thing that the war left behind. They will carry on, but with in them, the souls of the dead will keep on haunting." He placed his right hand on Katsushiro's left shoulder. Looking straightly into his eyes, he spoke "Remember that Katsushiro."
Katsushiro opens his mouth to say something, but changed his mind and close it again. A small smirked curved on his lips then patted the boy's shoulder before turning away leaving him standing there, unmoving.
He slowly walked down the cliff, passing by the tall trees that almost darken the whole place. He smiled. Kanna Village always makes him forget the dirt of the outside world. He would like to live in this kind of place when the invisible shackle broke. "What do you want, Shichiroji?"
"Why not tell him what we found, Kanbei?" Asked the younger samurai who was leaning against a large tree.
Shichiroji, or Momotaro as Kikuchiyo and Komachi loves to call him has been his partner for so many years now. They had fought a great number of war and survived it together. If there is someone that he could trust, that would be Shichiroji. He had known him inside and out.
"He doesn't need to know." He answered.
"My! You're so cold Kanbei-san! Please be kind to the poor lad, his been badly eaten by guilt." The lemon haired samurai frowned. Kanbei and his intuitive decisions are unfathomable for him.
"It will be good for him. It will teach him know that emotions should not be use when fighting. Why are you not on your post?"
Shichiroji sighed. "We have a bit of problem. Some of the oil spilled and it surely will contaminate the river. We need to clean it for the irrigation."
He nodded and accompanies Shichiroji to the river. Staring at the blue horizon he muttered prayers for the souls of the departed. And another for the living and for the one, who he knows, is still struggling to survive.
I pray for those who had fallen in here…may you find tranquility, and happiness. I ask guidance for him who is still out there…breathing…May he survive or if he may not…then let him die gently.
A soft breeze slowly blew, making the flowers and the leaves swayed as a single leaf drops on a hollow grave.
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A/N: Hi! Hope you like it! Sorry for some grammatical errors! I'm trying to work on it! This just the beginning everyone, I can't seem put my fragmented ideas together. It is really hard to make the first chapter.
Now I had managed to make the chapter one a bit longer. I had finally arrived at the conclusion that my fragmented ideas are not so fragmented after all.
See you next chappies! Ciao!
