Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ My Immortal ❯ My Immortal ( One-Shot )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

I know this song is being played to death and there are umpteen billion songfics on it. Don't get mad at me. I think this might be what you call a music video if not a songfic. Once more, a Serenity-chan specialty, another Souzou fic.




"My Immortal"

( ) <-- Setting
' ' <-- Thoughts
- - <-- Action
[ ] <-- Lyrics ++ As if you couldn't tell... ++
" " <-- Speaking ++ Did I really need to say that?? ++

(A brief look into each child's room...)
(Time: Around midnight)

- Toshio and Sanosuke are sleeping more or less peacefully. -
- Toshio still cries in her sleep, whispering for her father. -
- Sanosuke tosses and turns, going back to that horrible day in his dreams. -

(Midori's bedroom about six months after Souzou's execution)

- Midori is sitting on her futon, looking through her sketchbook. -
- Her eyes are filling with tears again as she looks at a picture of Souzou holding Toshio up in the air, both of them laughing. -
- In her memory, she can see that day perfectly. -

*Flashback*
- Midori watches Souzou playing with Toshio, catching her in his arms and spinning both of them around. -
- She can see the sparkles in both their eyes. -
- Toshio blinks in surprise as a large butterfly lands on her father's hand and he brings it up close to her. -

- "If you're totally still, it'll stay on your hand..."

- Gently, Souzou eases the slightly reluctant butterfly onto the back of his daughter's hand, watching her eyes light up. -
- A slight breeze ruffles Toshio's hair, sending the butterfly off in flight once again. -
- Souzou lets her chase after it. -
- When she comes back, disappointed, he smiles at her and lifts her up into the air. -

*End Flashback: The image of Souzou and Toshio turns back into a black and white charcoal sketch.*

- Midori lets out a weary sigh, her shoulders falling in defeat. -

[I'm so tired of being here]
[Suppressed by all my childish fears]

- Softly, almost unaware of her own touch, she brushes her fingers over her lips, trying to remember the feel of his kiss. -
- Her hand falls from her face to rest over her heart. -
- For a moment, she thinks she can feel his warmth on the futon beside her. -
- Of course, when she turns to say something to him, he isn't there. -

[And if you have to leave]
[I wish that you would just leave]

- Twin tears stream down her cheeks and she closes her sketchbook to protect the drawings. -
- 'God, please. Either give him back to me or take away my memories of him...' -
- Two more tears escape from her eyes and more come as she wishes Souzou were here to kiss them away. -

['Cause your presence still lingers here]
[And it won't leave me alone]

- 'It's bad enough that he's gone... Why does it have to keep killing me inside? Toshio and Sanosuke need me to be strong...'
- Furiously, she starts trying to wipe away her tears, only to have more replace them. -
- In her grief, she turns to Souzou's memory in anger.
- 'Souzou, why did you do it? Why did you go? Why didn't you listen to me?!?' -

[These wounds won't seem to heal]
[This pain is just too real]
[There's just too much that time cannot erase]

(Later that year, Christmas night)

- Sanosuke and Toshio aren't half as active and excited as they should be, not even for Christmas. -
- Toshio looks at T-chan, the raccoon her father had left with Sanosuke to give to her, and starts to cry. -
- Sanosuke wraps one arm around her, tears sparkling in his own eyes. -
- Midori manages to get Toshio and Sanosuke to sleep and goes back to her own room. -
- It feels horrible to go into her room on Christmas night with the painful knowledge that there will be no holiday "surprise" from Souzou, this year or ever again. -
- 'If I could just see him one more time. Just one more night together, to show him I still love him...' -
- She lays down, curls up as tight as she can (considering her very pregnant belly, due any week now) and snaps her eyes shut, trying to imagine the warmth of Souzou's arms around her. -
- Finally, she gives up and cries herself to sleep.

[When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears]

- Midori dreams back to the night Sanosuke turned up, remembering how Souzou had cried for his friend, Reichi. -

[When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears]

- She remembers the morning of the day Souzou left, how he had told her about his fear, how he didn't want to die. -

[I held your hand through all of these years]

- For the first time, the memory of their wedding night brings more tears to her eyes.

[But you still have]
[All of me]

- She lets a tear fall on her wedding ring. -

[You used to captivate me]
[By your resonating light]

- She remembers the way his dark, expressive eyes would capture her gaze and hold her spellbound in their sparkle. -

[Now I'm bound by the life you left behind]

- 'I wish I could kill myself and be by your side again. But I stay to take care of your beautiful daughter, Sanosuke and the son you never knew you had...' -

[Your face it haunts]
[My once pleasant dreams]

- Her eyes fly open and she gasps in shock and near-sickness. -
- Every time she closed her eyes, she went back to that day. -
- He had smiled at her, seconds before he died. -
- She wished she had at least been able to close her eyes. -
- The sight, even the thought of a sword turned her stomach. -

[Your voice it chased away]
[All the sanity in me]

- She sees his last moments, when he was down on his knees, his hands bound, ready to die like a man. -
- Though his lips had been silent when he said "I love you" for the last time, she could hear his voice speaking those words to her. -
- Then, in her head, she heard the unmistakeable swish of a single downward stroke and saw the deed done again. -

[These wounds won't seem to heal]

- He had been in agony for at least twenty-four hours before he died, a bullet having torn into his shoulder. -

[This pain is just too real]

- Midori feels her heart throbbing in her chest. -

[There's just too much that time cannot erase]

- More tears escape her eyes as she realizes there is a little more light in her room and that she has barely slept at all. -

[When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears]

- She remembers kissing happy tears from his cheeks as he tenderly placed a newborn Toshio back in her arms. -

[When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears]

- Her mind goes back to the day her water broke in the kitchen and Souzou nearly had a heart attack, his face turning white as snow. -

[I held your hand through all of these years]

- Part of her goes back to that secluded garden where Souzou had held her hand and given both of them their first kiss. -

[But you still have]
[All of me]

- Her heart flutters for a moment as she remembers the beautiful spring day when Souzou slid her wedding ring on her finger, then swept her up into their first kiss as husband and wife. -
- She even manages to giggle a little at the memory of the indignant look on the priest's face when Souzou finally pulled back from her lips at her soft moan. -
- Another giggle escapes her as she remembers the applause their kiss had recieved and how she and Souzou both turned the same shade of red. -
- Her laughter fades away quickly. -

[I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone]

- 'Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and find that I'm still in his arms snuggling up to his chest, that this was all just a sick dream...'
- She shakes her head, scolding herself in her thoughts. -
- 'Get a grip, Midori. He's gone. You saw it yourself. There isn't any tomorrow and you're not going to wake up in his arms. The reality is that wishful thinking gets you nowhere.' -

[But though you're still with me]

- She is unable to push the image of his smile out of her head and feels her heart fluttering at the memory of his love.

[I've been alone all along]

- A tree limb cracks and falls, jerking Midori roughly back to reality. -
- She sits up, hangs her head and tries not to cry. -
- 'No tomorrow... It's been almost a year now and there's still no tomorrow.' -

[When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears]

- She remembers the happy tears in his eyes that had glistened up at her when he bent down on his knee and proposed. -

[When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears]

- Her throat tightens, but she smiles sadly at the memory of that wound on his stomach, how he had fainted in her arms when the doctor took out the last of his stitches. -

[I held your hand through all of these years]

- A soft sob escapes her as she remembers him kissing all over her hand when he had to say his last goodbye on the night before his execution. -

[But you still have]
[All of me]

- Midori looks down and puts a hand on her rounded belly. -
- She is due any week now and is about ready for it too. -
- A thoughtful expression comes over her tear-streaked face. -
- "You know, I think Souzou would want me to name you Reichi..." -

********************************************************************

- Souzou's spirit is beside her and she feels a warm presence as he drapes one arm around her shoulders. -
- She can almost feel his hand on her belly, stroking the roundest part. -
- It might have been the wind, or a bird, but she could swear she heard Souzou's voice. -

** - "I think 'Reichi' is a fine name, my love..." - **