Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Fire ❯ She ( Chapter 1 )

Fire
© Kaz, 2003

Fire. The evolution of heat and light by combustion. The symbol of courage and passion. The symbol of destruction and death. But to a certain young woman with a fragile, scarred heart... it means so much more.

Fire.

Fire had never been anything special to me.

Until that day.

Until that one moment transpired between us.

And ever since then, I had been found by my comrades staring at the dancing flames without missing a single day --- whether it was a bonfire, or merely an ignition from a match's tip --- for no reason in particular. Or so they believed, because most of them never mustered the courage to ask me about it. Those who actually managed to do so never got the appropriate answer, just the two-word, "No reason."

Fire was fascinating, yes.

Special.

But the person who it symbolized was the most fascinating one of all.

The most special one of all.

He had much hope for the future, and he shared to me that hope he held. He believed in me even though we didn't know each other very well, and he gave me confidence when I couldn't seem to have faith in myself. He cherished the simplest things and smiled at the smallest happiness-inducing situations, and his easygoing nature made me smile as well.

And most of all, he saved my life.

That one moment wrapped everything our relationship had to offer in a painful fire-lined parcel --- the time we had together, the things we talked about, the unsaid feelings we had for each other. That one moment, that one moment I would've missed if I thought of blinking, made the fire in my heart burn fervently, eating up everything I felt to generate a powerful torrent of pain through my body.

It pushed me to my breaking point. It made me scream.

Schneider, I love you!

I saw his face, and then...

... I saw fire.