In a clearing some distance away from Kyoto, a man and a woman walk with hands joined.
"Kenshin? Why are we here?" She asks, glancing around. There are a multitude of decaying wooden crosses, but it is where her companion stops that has her attention.
He stands solemnly before a trio of round rocks. Then, he turns to her and smiles. "Let this one tell you a story, Kaoru-dono. These three stones were once women."
Akane is the daughter of a drunk. Her mother is dead. Her father has neglected his work for a love affair with sake.
There is never enough money in her family. Her siblings are always hungry, and lately, soldiers have come to reinforce the ridiculous three-day laws.
"No one buys new clothes when they're trying to feed themselves." She grumbles and wipes away sweat from her forehead. Boiling dye is unforgiving work, and her face and arms are red from the steam.
When the debtor arrives during her lunch break, she grits her teeth at the sum he mentions. Even if she sold the house, it would not be enough.
"Then, take me. I'm young, I'm unmarried." Better her than any of her siblings. They are children, small enough to forget her and move on with happier lives. "I work hard too."
The debtor scrutinizes her. "Very well. When the slavers come, I'll give your father the money."
That night, she takes her siblings to an orphanage and kisses them one by one. The second oldest, Ao. Her only sister, Midori. The baby, Kin. Only Ao seems to understand that this is goodbye, and she feels his glare. Once they enter the building, she turns on her heel and leaves. They can curse her name, but they will live and that is all that matters.
The slavers come with two carts, horse-drawn and worn down. As soon as the money lands in her father's limp hand, she spits on the ground in disgust. Those coins will turn to sake by evening. Whatever end he comes to, there will be no one to mourn him.
There are only men in the carts, and that unnerves her. She may be plain and too old for marriage at nineteen, but age does not matter to miscreants.
"We can get more money for you if you're a maiden." The slave driver seems to read her mind. "Hey, you bastards! Touch her, and I'll slice off your testicles. She's worth more than all of you put together."
She sits on the edge, keeping her legs together under a blanket her colleagues have given her. After all, that is where her worth lies.
Kasumi is the daughter of a ghost. Her mother is quarantined outside of the village. Her father has been dust since the day she was born.
It is an open secret that her family is Christian, descended from the survivors of the purge over a century ago. She's memorized prayers and keeps a wooden rosary under her collar.
"How much is it for the medicine?" She inquires to the apothecary, already fingering her last few coins. The farmers had paid her barely anything, because she refused to marry into a family.
That evening, the villagers approach her. The recent drought has ruined half of the fields, and they will starve if they do not sell her.
"At the very least, give my mother a decent burial." She says, and despite her tight throat, her voice is calm. "I would like for her to be beside my father."
"What a cold daughter!" That voice belonged to the woman who would have been her mother-in-law.
No, she is not cold. When she visited the quarantined hut earlier, she had felt no presence of life. The next day, they find her mother dead. She is sixteen and alone, for she has a reputation for being odd. She was born in the caul, and that alone was enough taboo. But she is always distracted, as if seeing through things, according to the whispers of the people around her.
The medicine she bought was taken from her, but she has the bag left and she tucks her rosary inside. She prays in silence, for strength and for mercy to those who have sold her to survive. She already forgives them; there is no shame in wanting to live.
There is one other woman in the slavers' carts. She has a sour expression, but it softens when her eyes lock with Kasumi's.
"My name's Akane." She says in a low whisper as she makes room beside her. "We're in the same situation, so let's support each other from now on. And you are?"
"I'm Kasumi." She answers softly.
She only looks back once. The village chief is counting the coins with eager hands, and her worth weighs less than a bag of rice.
Sakura is the daughter of a geisha. Her mother is as beautiful as a fallen star. Her father is nonexistent in her life, but supposedly old and rich.
The house is in financial trouble, she hears, but when she asks, the other women tell her not to worry. Because she is thirteen and still a child at heart, she does not press for answers.
"Mother, I'm looking for my toy bird." She bounces into their room and heads for the drawers. "I bought it at the New Year's festival, and I want to play with it now."
After she finds it nestled in a box, her mother invites her to sit in front of the cracked mirror and dresses her up. Her hair is combed, her lips are rubbed with rouge, and her best kimono is fitted on her.
"Thank you for making me look so pretty!" She's brimming with excitement and pleased at how much she looks like her mother. "Are we going somewhere nice?"
"Darling." Her mother slides her fingertips over hers, trapping the wooden bird between their hands.
She is told that the aunts need her, and that she will be presented as a representative of their establishment. It is important, and she's going to show people how elegant and cultured their women are. She will be showcased as the pride of Osaka's Ninth Street, traveling out of the city and across the region for some time. But she will return, for sure.
Only the owner sees her off. The kamuro never speak to her, and she hears that her mother is too inconsolable to leave her room and bid her farewell. She can't help but feel a little disappointed, before shaking it off. She must be strong, after all. And it isn't as if this is goodbye.
The carts are dirty and crowded with people, and she plasters on her best smile. There are two girls, and one smiles back at her.
"I'm Kasumi. This is Akane."
"My name's Sakura. Nice to meet you!"
They're dressed in such plain clothes, and she touches the little toy bird in her sleeve. She'll prove to them the worth of a girl from the flower world.
Akane is the first to wake when they stop at the ruined farming town. She isn't sure where they are, they've traveled for so long and the sun has not yet left the horizon. But when the villagers speak to the slavers, she hears Kansai accent and isn't sure whether to be relieved at the familiar sounds.
And then she sees the boy. His hair is red, lighter than the dye she worked with, but startlingly vivid. He's about Midori's age, around six years old. Perhaps it's because of her siblings, that she beckons him with a lifted chin and a curve of her hand.
"You must be cold." She says and wraps the blanket around him. He is very small, probably undernourished. "What's your name?"
His voice is a light whisper. "Shinta." His eyes are violet, she notices, like wisteria blossoms.
"Akane." She replies in kind, as Kasumi begins to stir. The other girl turns her gaze onto the newcomer, careful not to disrupt Sakura's head on her shoulder. "That's Kasumi. Sakura is still sleeping. Our families sold us too, because of debt. Is that the case with you?"
"My family didn't sell me. I was sent to this village because mine had cholera. I'm the only one left."
"Sorry to hear that." Kasumi murmurs and yawns. "My mother had cholera."
"You're not sick, are you, Shinta?" Akane inquires.
He shakes his head. "No."
"Good."
"Miss Akane, Miss Kasumi, where are we going?"
She exchanges a glance with Kasumi before admitting. "We're not sure. I haven't heard anything, have you?"
"Not at all. Maybe, Edo?" The other girl suggests and Sakura's eyes fly open.
"Edo? I'd love to go there. I've always wanted to see Yoshiwara." She notices Shinta and beams. "I'm Sakura, nice to meet you!"
"This is Shinta."
"Shinta-chan! I like your hair, it's such a pretty color." This makes him hide under his bangs. Akane wonders, briefly, which of his parents gave him such odd coloring.
Breakfast is a handful of barley and cold water. Sakura pouts and Kasumi chews slowly, but Akane and Shinta eat in a way that is fast and focused. He must have grown up in a poor family, like hers, to cherish meager food. But he is also unnervingly polite.
"You don't have to call me 'Miss Akane'. It sounds very formal, coming from you. How old are you anyway?"
"Nine."
"Nine?!" That makes him closer to Ao's age, but he's so small.
"Or, maybe ten?" He doesn't sound too sure.
"That doesn't help."
He shrugs. His shoulders are bony and fragile. "Oh. You can have your blanket back." He lifts the edges but she shakes her head.
"Keep it." She says. "I don't need it anymore."
Kasumi is lost in thought, enough so that when the cart hits a bump, she feels herself slipping.
"Careful!" Sakura reaches for her and grabs her arm. "Please don't fall off."
"I won't." She smiles, a little sheepishly, and rights herself. Akane is scowling, bracing herself against the cart's side to shield Shinta.
Sometime around noon, they stop to let the horses drink. Akane and Sakura are dragged off the carts and Kasumi is stricken with dread until they're given buckets and orders to give water to everyone else. Akane's eyes are filled with rage and Sakura is bewildered, but they can only do as they're told.
Kasumi and Shinta are given water first, but only a mouthful each. As the other girls move on to the rest, she fingers her cross under her collar, praying they won't be hurt. Noticing Shinta's curious gaze, she discretely pulls out the medicine bag and slides the tiny loop in his hand.
He studies it in his palm, and she whispers. "It's a secret. Not many people practice this religion. The shogun did not like what it taught."
"And that was?"
"All life is precious." She says. "Yours, mine, Akane's, and Sakura's. Even the men, the slavers and those like us. To God, we are all equal."
"Oh." He's thinking it over. "Then are all lives worth the same?"
"That's right. Every person has a life, so everyone matters."
"It's not a bad idea." He admits.
Akane and Sakura soon rejoin them, looking sullen and drained, respectively. "Thank you." Kasumi tells them both and Shinta echoes her.
It is late afternoon when they make camp, and Shinta tries to return her relic. She refuses, tying the rosary in its drawstring bag under his collar. "There, so it can give you strength."
"But…"
"It's alright." She smiles and taps her finger to her lips.
Akane, who always takes charge as they prepare for the evening, lays out her blanket on the cart. While they do not have to sleep on the ground like the men, they are still vulnerable. "We can take shifts at night again. We have only ourselves to protect. And now, we have Shinta too."
"I can help." Shinta says quietly.
"It's not easy." She warns. "Even though we'll get more sleep, we have to look out for you as well as ourselves."
"Then I'll do it alone." He says it so seriously. "I'll protect all three of you."
Akane's mouth pulls down in a grimace. "Thanks for the offer."
Sakura twists a lock of hair around her finger and teases. "Really?"
As for Kasumi, she laughs. "What a good boy." Her voice is not condescending, and she pats his head. "Then, we'll be in your care."
Sakura repeats a single phrase in her head. Girls must be like stones, like flowers. It is what her mother always said. Strong as rock, appealing as nectar.
She swallows the last of her barley and glances over at Kasumi and Akane. They were forced to serve dinner and clean the pot. But Kasumi never complains and even though Akane looks like she will, she doesn't. If they are stones, she must be the only flower. She can't do much, her arms still ache from carrying water.
Shinta has finished eating, but he's trembling. Well, even if she can't work as hard as them, she grew up with the best conversers. She moves closer to him. "Hey, Shinta-chan. Are you cold?"
He shakes his head.
"Then, tell me what's wrong. I won't judge."
He grips his upper arms and mutters. "I miss my parents. And my brothers."
Sakura bites her lip, before reaching into her sleeve for the toy bird. "Here, you can play with this."
"Why?"
"Because you need to smile. Look, the wings fold back. Isn't that neat? You can make it fly."
"I see." He turns it in his hands for a minute, before offering it to her.
"You can have it, at least until you smile from your heart. See, like this!" She demonstrates, hoping it reflects on his face.
It doesn't, but he fiddles with the bird wings and that satisfies her.
As the moon begins to rise and Shinta's watch begins, the three of them stay awake as long as they can with him. They whisper to him about their lives in turn.
Akane goes first. "I have a brother around your age, Shinta. His name's Ao, and I abandoned him with our other siblings. I had to, so they'd be safe and away from our father and more debt."
Kasumi speaks next. "I don't have any siblings, just my mother. But after she died, the village paid their debts through me. That's why I'm here."
"Debt? That's sad." Sakura says. "I was sent here, for…" Why is she here? They're all here because they were sold for money. But she wasn't. Or, was she? The brothel had been in trouble. Money trouble. "I guess…that's the same for me."
"Me too." Shinta nods.
She falls asleep in misery. When she wakes in the middle of the night, Akane isn't in the cart, but walking back to it.
"Akane? Is something wrong?" Sakura asks. The older girl climbs back in, pressing her obi against her stomach.
"No, it's nothing." She smiles, but it's fake. She can tell. "Go back to sleep, you've already done your shift."
Her last thought is that the stars aren't as beautiful as they were back home.
Akane can't sleep. She's stolen a knife, in a leather sheath, from one of the slavers as he dreamt.
When she wakes, the knife is still under her obi, and her mind is buzzing with half-formed plans.
Kasumi sleeps well enough. She dreams of blood in the air, blood on a torn cheek, and blood on a thin blade.
When she wakes, there are tears on her face, and she doesn't know quite why.
Sakura sleeps and doesn't dream at all. She's worn herself out, not only because of travel, but also being homesick.
When she wakes, the sun is up, and they're already deep within a lush and silent forest.
The bandits come from out of nowhere. One moment, the cart is moving along. In the next, the horses are rearing and the slavers are shouting.
Akane reaches into her obi for the knife, but does not pull it out. The cart is still moving, forced further down the path. They're being herded into a clearing, she realizes, like animals to be penned before slaughter. When they jolt to a stop, she stands in front of Shinta. Sakura is hiding behind Kasumi, who's trembling.
The bandits demand for money, but they aren't satisfied with what's given to them. By the way they reach for their weapons and their eyes fill with bloodlust, they want more than just coin.
"You three, stay by me." She orders, moving the stolen knife to her sleeve.
Then, a slaver is stabbed in the gut, and it erupts into madness. The other slavers fight back, and while the men are jumping off the carts, they are forced to battle for their lives as well. Akane unsheathes the knife and holds it in front of her. "Look out for each other. I'll go first."
A bandit is headed for them, but she lands on the ground and catches him by surprise. The knife sinks into his thigh, and he goes down.
"Akane, this way!" Kasumi calls out. They've found an opening, avoiding the fray. She hurries after them.
"Miss Akane, can we hide over there?" Shinta points to the forest.
"Yes, go, go!" Anything is better than waiting to die. She looks behind her and swears. There's a burly, unfamiliar man about to overtake her, and she pivots to stop him with a lunge of her knife.
He parries her attack and while his dagger is smaller, he's pushing back against her. She's holding him off, and looking at her halted companions, she realizes what must be done. "Go, run!"
"But, Akane!" Sakura protests.
"You have to live! You three, at least, have to live!" Akane screams and doesn't tear her eyes away from them. It is Kasumi who takes Shinta and Sakura deeper within the forest, and Akane is grateful for that.
She manages to cut this bandit, aiming for his ribs. But another is already taking his place, while a third is running towards her, his gaze through her. On the forest. If he's seen them, they won't be safe. She can't let him through, and she breaks off, nearly catching him, when-
Damn.
There's a sword through her stomach. The last of her strength goes into her arm, and the knife is in the runner's skull. Good, at least she's taken him with her, she thinks as the sword is pulled out of her.
Her vision is flooded with green. The green of the leaves, full of life. Life that will move on without her. But she's fine with that. This pain is nothing, because it means that Kasumi, Sakura, and Shinta will escape.
They'll survive. They have to go far away, and survive.
She gasps, and feels so certain.
They run blindly. There are branches snagging at their hair and clothes, and roots and pebbles beneath their feet.
Kasumi lands awkwardly on an overgrown root, and her ankle gives. She shakes it off, limping through the pain. Shinta notices her lagging and he slows down, but she motions for him to keep going. He doesn't, taking her arm and settling it on his shoulders. Sakura then stops, panting for breath and doubling over.
"We have to go back for her!" She's on the verge of tears.
"I know. But she risked her safety, no, her life, to stay behind. She has a knife, and it'd be easier to protect herself without us there." She says, despite the anxiety building within her.
"Someone's coming." Shinta whispers, and she doesn't bother to look back. Instead, she forces herself to move, pulling them behind a cluster of bushes. Her ankle throbs as she crouches, but she's focused on the path from where they came. There's only one bandit, searching around. For them. If he comes too close, he'll see them through the leaves.
She makes her decision and speaks in a low voice. "We'll split up. I'll go left, you two go right. Be sure to keep an eye out for each other." She will definitely be in the man's sight but that is exactly the point of being a decoy. They realize this too.
"Kasumi!"
"Miss Kasumi, don't."
"It's fine, I'll catch up with you later." She smiles to reassure them. "And promise me, don't wait. Don't turn back either. So, on three. One. Two. Three."
She takes off, hearing from their fading footsteps that they're fleeing in the opposite direction. Good, they're going deeper within the forest. She would only have slowed them down, with her bad foot. This was the right choice and the man is following her, as planned.
But she doesn't want to collapse and wait for death to come to her. There's still someone who needs her help. She'll circle around back to the clearing, to Akane. If she's lucky, there'll be a fallen weapon somewhere. And even if she can't fight, she can't run for that much longer either. What's important is that she has to buy time.
The clearing is just up ahead, she can already see the carts. There are still men fighting, and many dead or dying. And the crowd shifts so she can see the trees and rivulets of blood at their roots. On the ground, Akane…isn't moving.
No.
Then, she can't breathe. It's painful to do so, and she realizes that her lung's been pierced. Someone is crowing that he got her, and he's waving a bow. She falls on her back, to the hard ground.
The sky is so blue. So beautiful. It's an open color, a kind color. A color that says welcome home. And even though Sakura and Shinta are still out there, she's already accepted that she will never see them again.
God, please protect them. Please.
She sighs, and feels so hopeful.
They are both so tired. It saves them actually, since they stop short of a deep ravine that would have gladly welcomed them.
Sakura swallows the tightness in her throat. She's the only one left to protect Shinta, and if she can't, they'll both die.
"Miss Sakura?"
There's no time to spare. "We have to go. Akane and Kasumi…we can't waste their sacrifices. And if it comes to that, you should leave me behind too."
"I won't do that!" He's angry, but it doesn't last. He wilts and looks so much smaller. "We'll find a way out of here. And Miss Akane and Miss Kasumi will come back."
She slowly nods and takes his elbow. "Let's get away from here first. I never liked double suicides, anyway." It's a morbid joke, but it scares her enough to lead him back into the trees.
She doesn't know where to go. Are they running any further or are they somehow retracing their steps?
"Found you!" A voice howls and she screams. There's a bandit sprinting behind them, and he's so fast, it's scary. Her heart is about to run off on its own, and she is dizzy from exhaustion. They don't make it that much farther. The bandit descends on them, with terrible breath and a gleeful chortle.
They are dragged back to the clearing, Shinta by his wrists and her by her hair. She kicks and beats at the man, but he keeps walking. She feels sick when they land on familiar but blood-soaked ground.
"Look, leader, I found a couple more. They'd make for good money, and the girl can at least give us some fun." She shudders but freezes at his next words. "Not like the other two."
There's a pile of bodies near the carts, and she looks, afraid of what she'll find. She catches a glimpse of Kasumi's long hair and Akane's plain kimono. She covers Shinta's eyes with her hand and begins to sob.
"Help! Please! Anyone!" She cries out.
"What a noisy girl. Cut out her tongue to shut her up. Let's take the boy. His looks might be popular on the black market." The leader motions to another man, who approaches them with a wicked dagger.
He can't. He can't come any closer. She won't let him come closer! "Get back, Shinta-chan!" She moves before him and shoves the man back. But she isn't strong enough and he lunges forward. Then, there's pain blooming in her abdomen. The man's dagger has blood on it, and her kimono suddenly feels wet.
Ouch.
She collapses and Shinta's shouting her name, but it hurts. It hurts so much. She has to get up, she has to help Shinta…but…wait…
There's someone fighting the bandits. Someone she can't quite see properly, but blood is flying from his sword and his coat has a red lining. She's never been fond of red, but now she's never been so glad to see it.
Ah, thank goodness. Shinta-chan will be safe. Thank goodness.
She exhales, and feels so relieved.
Shinta wipes away the last of his tears. The man with the sword is gone, and he's the only one left. He picks up his feet and starts to move.
After he's laid the slavers and bandits under wooden crosses, he turns to the last three corpses.
Akane. Kasumi. Sakura.
He couldn't protect them. He could only do what they said and he was useless.
He buries Akane first, draping her blanket over her shoulders.
For as long as I live…
He buries Kasumi next, placing her cross bracelet under her hands.
I never, I never…
He buries Sakura last, slipping her toy bird into her sleeve.
Want to feel so useless again!
He can't find flowers; he must have torn up the forest searching for anything to make their resting places a little nicer. The best he can do are three identical stones. They are solid and heavy, but his mind is numb to the weight. After he places one over each of their graves, he hears footsteps behind him and then the voice from the other day, the voice that belonged the man with the sword…
"Kaoru-dono, please don't cry." Kenshin brushes away her tears with his thumb.
"But, I never knew that this happened to you. That these three gave their lives to protect you."
"This one can barely remember their faces, it was that long ago." He turns back towards the stones. "This one couldn't give you flowers." He says regretfully. "And this one has made many mistakes and stained the life you wanted to protect. But this one wants to thank you. Miss Akane. Miss Kasumi. Miss Sakura."
"Thank you." She echoes and adds. "For giving him to me."
As they leave the clearing, Kaoru asks. "If they were alive, what would you think they'd say?"
He contemplates for a moment. "Mm, perhaps that they are glad that this one has lived."
That he found a home full of warmth.
That he swore an oath to protect life.
That he loves someone who could make him smile.
And maybe, that Akane, Kasumi, and Sakura are lovely names for daughters.