Thanks to all the awesome reviewers of the last chapter: donhisiewen, Emi Violet, Althea M, LimeGrass, caseyedith, SRAS9, geckohawaii, No one special, Crau-san, kokoronagomu, and Scarred Sword Heart.
I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.
Distrain
-verb
To levy a distress upon.
Two blades, katana and wakizashi, thrust blade-down and abandoned in the rusty mud of Fushimi's battlefield: Was there a more potent symbol of the freedom he felt, without those killing tools at his side?
Heedless of his lack of possessions—he has no winter haori, in spite of the cold, food for little more than a day, no money and no prospects of getting any—he feels weightless. All Japan's open road is before him, and great burden has been lifted with the taking of his promise never again to kill.
No oath could be heavier than the weight of his victims on his soul, but now he can begin to atone.