Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Written in The Stars ❯ Authoress note ( Prologue )

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to own RK, the series, manga or characters (buahhh Enishi-sama!!!!) don't belong to me. They belong to the great Watsuki-sensei and a bunch of greedy guys in the big companies. I only use RK characters for amusement, I don't dream in getting any money from this little hobby meant only to soothe my strained nerves (living in Argentina could be considered hazardous job). However Jihan Masshwov, as well as other OC belong to ME, if you want to use them, fine, write to me, and I'll be glad to grant you my permission for their use.

Well, it's time for an authoress' note… and some warnings.

First: I'm not a native speaker and though I have the assistance of wonderful and very patient beta-readers who are doing their best with my stuff to make it readable, some of you will probably find some sentences sounding too funny, confusing or inexact. If that is the case, I apologize in advance for my mistakes. I request from you to show me some leniency, and point my errors with civility, please

Second: This is NOT an easy story. In fact, it's a fic with heavy DARK moments, where the lines between good and evil, wrong or right might be so thin that sometimes would vanish. It's rated R, but I'd gladly rate it NC17, more due to the violence involved than for sex. There will be LOTS of violence, swearing and adult themes involved, including sexual references (the lemons will be posted somewhere else. An external link will be provided on those chapters), non-consented sex, harassment, torture, racism, etc. Therefore, if you are waiting for a fluffy, sappy, happy or waffy thing… (alarm bell exploding in the morning air !!!!!) WRONG PLACE!!!!!!!!! You won't find it here. There will be romance, of course, and maybe some moments of sweetness, but this is not a pink fairy tale. (I love fairy tales though). If you are looking for those, look for them somewhere else.

Third: Being my favorite character Enishi the fic will be centered on him. The rest of RK cast will appear briefly at the beginning and then from mid fic to the end they have a major role in the story. Therefore, I wan to warn you in advance: this fic will introduce some ORIGINAL CHARACTERS interacting with the RK cast. If you only expect, want or desire exclusive RK cast interaction, then please, stop reading it right now. This is the wrong fic for you. You have been warned. No complaints, whining, etc, concerning this aspect of the fic will be accepted. However, if you keep reading, I think you will probably find something original that will tease your imagination, expand your views and give you a different point of view of eternal questions that dwell in the collective human mind, regardless of time period, place or ethnicity. At least, this is what I will try to show with this, and I'm not saying I'll get it.

Fourth: this is a fic settled in an AU, post Jinchuu Arc, and it does not follow the Seisou Hen continuity. If you are not fond in Sci Fi, or have no idea about time travel, time paradoxes, alternative universes, alternate timelines, space travel, etc, etc, etc., then this fic is not meant for you. It's not a prerequisite, but if you have watched Star Trek (The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and The Original Series) and/or Babylon 5, you'll have some points of reference to make the reading of this fic easier.

Fifth: You'll notice that I've chosen to place Oirbore/Enishi meeting not in Tokyo's Rakuminmura, but in Kyoto's look-alike. Though the 'canon' fanfiction sets the meeting in Tokyo, in my opinion it never happened there.

I based my assumption that Enishi is NOT in Tokyo Rakuninmura but in its Kyoto counterpart, where he is found by his father in these fragments (vol 25-ep 225):

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Oibore: Ha ha. Maybe you're right. Thanks for the drink. It's time I got going.

Kuma: Going? Where to?

Oibore: To Kyoto. It's been a while; I miss my daughter.

Kuma: Didn't know you had any family to go back to.

Oibore: No, I'm visiting her grave.

Kuma (surprised): Then that hairpin is your remembrance of her . . .

(Oibore only smiles.)

Kuma: . . . Forget it. When are you coming back?

Oibore: Probably be there a while . . . Big cities always have places for outcasts to go, so they'll look after me.

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and Manga Vol 28 ep 251

Kaoru and Kenshin, who has his arm in a cast, walk towards Tomoe's grave in Kyoto.

Side text: Anything and everything is different, it appears... What awaits these two at the revisited Kyoto...?!

Pg. 6

Some flowers, a hair ornament, and a fragrance bottle are laid at her grave already.

Kenshin and Kaoru [surprised]: ..........

Kaoru: Did Yukishiro Enishi come? It... seems so from the flowers, but...

Kenshin [picking up the hair ornament]: *This is.......* He remembers that Kiyosato gave Tomoe such a thing.

Kenshin: *Who could it have been? Aside from Enishi... Someone with a relationship to Tomoe...*

And the same episode:

The scene changes to Oibore, who is returning to the poor section of town with a fishing pole over his shoulder. Oibore [in a perky mood]: HAAAAA~~~~~~~ It's great, isn't it. It's great, gre-------... He catches sight of Enishi, who is sitting slumped against the wall with his head bowed. Tomoe's diary is grasped in his left hand, and it's obvious he's read it from his depressed expression.

Pg. 15

Oibore [sitting next to him]: You're a newcomer, eh? He watches Enishi intently.

Oibore: ----------... Is it my imagination... It's like I've met you somewhere a looong time ago...

Enishi says nothing.

Oibore [laughing]: No, I'm sorry. Of course it's my imagination, isn't it.

Enishi glances at him out of the corner of his eyes.

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(End of quotes)

So it's established that Oibore set to Kyoto, and that Enishi and Oirbore (separately) had visited Tomoe's grave, which is also in Kyoto. Then, if you look closely, the author mention the part of the city where Oirbore is heading to, as the poor section of town, but not as Rakuninmura. On the other hand, he told his companions in Rakuninmura that he would stay for 'a while' in Kyoto and that 'Big cities always have places for outcasts to go', all these things points that he does not move to Tokyo again, but he stayed in Kyoto after visiting Tomoe's grave. Not to mention how difficult for an old man (who besides is not in a rush whatsoever) would be to go to Kyoto, paying her respects to her daughter and come back to Tokyo, all happening during the time that took Kenshin to recover and go to Enishi' Island, plus Enishi's flight from custody and trip to Kyoto, to her sister's grave.

Again, if we analyze that Enishi has been visiting Tomoe too, and it would be very risky and without purpose to come back to Tokyo, where there would be a huge risk of being trapped by the police, I can't help than thinking he stayed in the poor part of Kyoto where he is found by Oirbore. Given the fact he escaped police, the general idea is that he is lucid enough to realize the risks and dangers of dwelling near the Kamiya dojo

There is no reason for Enishi to come back to Tokyo, nor he seems to have the energy to get up after the fight, the revelations and the visit to Tomoe's grave. My conclusion, therefore is that both men are in Kyoto, contrary to popular belief.

It's interesting to note, though that one of the reasons that place Enishi in Tokyo's Rakuninmura is the power behind the idea of both Kenshin and Enishi falling in the same place. However, if you look the manga closely you will notice that Watsuki-sensei didn't place them in the same spot. (Thank you Fujifunmum for the hint). This reinforces my views in a deepest level: both men's attitude to their depression is quite different, because their natures are different: one is reserved, keeping his emotion, his guilt, his sorrow, his pain in the inside. The other use emotions in the most destructive sense. Therefore, the placing of the characters and their reactions to the exterior environment symbolizes their nature and their dilemmas.

The whole image of them in that place means to me that realization and truth strikes men in different ways, because Kenshin as well as Enishi were awakening from their respective obsessions (Kenshin's being the oppressive guilt that kept him closed to life as a form of atonement to Tomoe, an atonement that she in fact never meant for him, and Enishi's is revenge/rage/ selfishness which also deprived him of living life). Each one of us have a different kind of living Hell, a place where our soul lingers in dark moments, and the answers we find there are different in each case. Besides, while Kenshin's living Hell rested in Tokyo, where the cause for his fall and redemption is placed (Kaoru), the same can be said of Enishi being in Kyoto (Tomoe)

I might be wrong, yet quoting another author, I'm in the possession of "Almighty-Power-of-Author-Over-Any-Character," so for the sake of this fic I've decreed that Oirbore and Enishi meet in Kyoto, therefore the action in the prologue transpires in that city.

Now the time for being a grateful authoress:

To Midori, and Fujifunmum, for patience, encouragement, helpful comments and hints and thorough examination and corrections, a big hug and a deep bow.

As always to my dear partner in crime, my dear Mara, my greatest admiration and affection. You are a great person, author, and a warm, wonderful friend. Thanks for your helpful comments.

To Wombat: thanks for patience and helpful comments.

To Jason…Thanks for your patience.

Well I think this covers I all, at least at the moment…

As I've said before, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Go at the beginning again, and re-read all the points before dealing with the fic itself.