Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Sakuras on White Snow ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

No, Rurouni Kenshin and the characters from this manga/anime are not mine.

Well, this is my new experiment.

KLEENEX ALERT!!!

THIS IS FULL OF SEISOU HEN SPOILERS, SO NOW YOU ARE WARNED, LEAVE IT NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW, AND IF YOU DON'T WANT TO CRY.

I want to express my gratitude to Mara who has been helping me with this a lot.

I want to express my gratitude to Mara who has been helping me with this a lot.

One more thing: I'm not a native English speaker, so if I do any speeling mistake, please, help me without flaming me. Thanks a lot.

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Chapter 1

Tokyo, 15 ju-ichi-gatsu, Meiji, 16 (November 15, 1884)

It's been six years.

Six long, dark years.

I can't say life has changed to be milder with me after that fateful

day on the beach; the day on which truth stroke my mind mercilessly.

In fact it is almost as unbearable as ever since I was left alone.

I saw her again today, and as ever she didn't realize I was so close.

But this time it was different.

He was not besides her as he used to be. Her only company was their child.

It's quite strange.

From those days on, long gone in a blur, he had never left her alone.

He was always there, around her, even if she was not aware of him.

But not today.

I wonder why.

I understand him.

Oh, yes, I understand him; no matter how much the mere thought of sharing even the slightest idea with him enrages me to no end.

I understand him, because rare pearls should always be protected, cherished, wrapped in fine cases.

Someone can steal them if you are not careful enough.

I was lenient with my pearl.

And he stole her from me.

Damn him.

I took his precious treasure once, but I knew deep in my heart that I would never have harmed her.

Never ever.

I am not like him.

Not at all.

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Tokyo, 10 go-gatsu, Meiji 17 ( May 10, 1885)

I observed her again today, doing some chores in the market. Six months has elapsed since I had seen her that last time.

She was alone once more. No sign of him in her surroundings.

It is not wise.

Not wise at all.

Things aren't going well for them, as it seems.

Her shopping was meager to say the least. I know they never had lived in luxury, but he should take care of his household in a more appropriate way.

Despite her wide smile, she couldn't hide the sadness emanating from her.

This is really puzzling to me.

I used to despise her as the replacement he had found for my sister.

However after that time at the dojo something akin to respect towards her blossomed in me. Back then she faced me knowing beforehand she had no chance of success, her life at stake against an enemy she couldn't even try to stop, and such behavior should be admired in an adversary. She never gave up, despite the odds was against her.

Like her, my only light, the one he had stolen from me.

But now she is broken.

I wonder what it takes for a woman like her to be broken?

And I promise to myself I will find it out.

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Tokyo, 17 go-gatsu Meiji 17 (May 17, 1885)

Damn him! Damn him!

How could he?

How?

Is he insane?

He left her alone!

For what?

Because he feels guilty, he tries to atone?

So much for your atonement, brother.

You stab in the heart of ones you are supposed to protect.

Damn him.

He ruins everything he touches.

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3 Roku-Gatsu Meiji 17, (June 3, 1885)

After I learned that she was left alone I decided it was the right time to pay my debt to her.

I made her suffer once and although that suffering is nothing compared to the one he is inflicting upon her now, I should repay for it.

From now on I will do his work.

I will protect her and provide her necessities.

But it will be wiser to keep it hidden. She wouldn't accept it, as I have been told she is rejecting the help even from that brat who is teaching at her dojo.

She is too proud for her own good.

It would be worse if she found out that I am the one trying to help her. She would think of it as a betrayal to him.

But she needs help.

And I need to help her.

I will find a way.

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18 Roku-Gatsu Meiji 17 (June 18, 1885)

As I foresaw, she refused to take money from others. I had to device a solution, it was easy and she was unsuspecting.

I had never thought Himura would defeat me, but I also had never trusted that stupid pig Heishin. Before my departure from Shanghai I was clever enough to secure the greatest part of my personal wealth on dozens of small bank accounts under different names, mostly in European and American banks.

I never wrote down anything concerning this money, therefore nobody except myself know of it could access the accounts.

After my defeat at Battousai's hands and my shameful two months of depression among that bundle of shacks outside Kyoto, I recovered enough to come back on my feet, and I decided then to face reality, no matter how hard it was.

To wake up every new day without her is my atonement, because the pain

is so intense that is almost a torture.

This atonement however requires acting.

I found three unlucky but ambitious merchants who were eager to be used as figureheads in exchange of very interesting amounts of money, and I started to make legal business in Japan using them as a cover.

After all, I'm still a wanted criminal at large.

I hide myself as a simple employee of my own new companies, and when some suspicion rose I always found cooperative police officers and blind government officials to add to my payroll.

I just used one of those officials to convince Battousai's wife that she would be receiving a government pension for her husband's services to Japan.

Life is a bitch, isn't it?

Who would had thought I would be helping the wife of my enemy pretending to do it so in the name of the same regime I despise and revile so much?

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Hokkaido Prefecture, 3 San- Gatsu, Meiji 28 (March 3, 1895)

The sun had set long ago.

He had the first volume of the journals still in his hand, but his mind was now occupied with the words on it.

Rubbing his weary eyes he leaned against his chair, the clouded room shinning in a gloomy blue light due the cigarette smoke. Nevertheless the strong smell of tobacco couldn't conceal the subtler but persistent scent emanating from the worn pages.

Woman's scent.

He briefly remembered he had one, waiting for him miles away.

He wondered where that distracting thought came from.

Turning his attention back to the journals he registered a few interesting facts. He had never doubted that his adversary was a cunning, resourceful man, but he always wondered where he had concealed himself.

He could have found his adversaries whereabouts for sure but it would have been a waste of time and recourses to look for him. When he recalled the broken man on the sand after the fight with Battousai, he knew he wouldn't have to deal with him any longer.

Maybe he had been wrong.

He had the feeling that the old tiger had kept his claws after all.

The journals would reveal it nevertheless.

He should check the information on the corrupt officials and policemen who had been in touch with the man.

He expected to find leads and clues through his readings. Then, at last it would be the time for his own justice

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