Rurouni Kenshin Fanfic
Rurouni Kenshin & Samurai X Original Japanese Version ©N.
Watsuki/Shueisha * Fuji-TV * SME Visual Works Inc. * Sony Pictures
Entertainment
All Fanfics created by Chiruken (me) were written for the sole
purpose of shared entertainment and not intended for publication or sale.
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By: Chiruken
Cold, ugly and gray for as far as the eye can see. The ground, the sky and all in between the
same lifeless colour. Nothing in any
direction to break the bleak monotony of the drab and dreary landscape.
I know this place. I know it well. I resided here for a short time---an eternity. It is nightmares made real, horrors brought
to existence---memories relived. It is
called…The Dreamscape. I hate it here.
It is the same as I remember it…yet
different somehow. It is a terrible
place, one I thought to never return to.
And yet…here I am. What horrors
await me this time? What memories will
return? What nightmares will come to
life? I don’t want to be here.
I step forward reluctantly,
unwilling to enter further in to the nightmare, but unable to stop from doing
so. Puffs of grey dust rise from the
deadened ground to curl around my ankles and I shudder, my mind conjuring
ghostly fingers reaching out to me. The
still air is suddenly moving, calling out in plaintive moans, grating on the
nerves, terrifying in its eerie resemblance to a parody of human voices.
I halt abruptly and turn at the
sound of flapping wings. “Korosu! Korosu!”
I wince at the harsh, accusing cry of a crow. I search the sky for the black bird of bad omens, intending to
run in the opposite direction from it.
My jaw drops and I stare in disbelief
as a purple feather drifts down.
“Oro?!” I’ve never heard of a
purple crow. “This could be bad, that
it could.” I turn and hurry away,
hoping the strangely coloured bird doesn’t follow.
I can see something in the distance
rising from the grey soil like a marker or signpost. I shrug and turn my steps in that direction. As I draw nearer I can see that it is indeed
a signpost. The words are too faded to
make out from this far away so I hurry closer.
Just as I reach the marker an orange
owl perches on it and stares at me with unblinking eyes. I stumble back as its beak opens wide and
its voice echoes across the barren landscape.
“Kuru’u! Kuru’u!”
With loud flapping of its brightly coloured wings, it flies away.
I shake my head sharply and rub my
eyes, but the orange owl is gone. I
laugh nervously and move closer to the sign.
“I’m definitely seeing things, that I am.” I study the faded kanji with a frown. “This way to
the Sea of Drown Koi. Drowned koi?! Oro?” I sigh and head in
the direction indicated.
I don’t remember anything like this
happening before when I came to The Dreamscape. Much has changed it seems.
I’m not certain if it’s for the better.
I wonder where the signpost came from.
It wasn’t here the last time I was trapped in this kami-forsaken place.
Why now, after all this time, have I
been drawn back into this nightmare? It
doesn’t make sense. I’ve made peace
with the past…haven’t I? Learning the
Ama Kakeru no Hirameki saw to that…didn’t it?
Living the life of rurouni stopped my return to The Dreamscape somewhat, but completing my
training, learning the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu’s final attack should’ve ensured I’d
never again come to this place. “So why
am I here?” I close my eyes and shake
my head slowly. Obviously, I wasn’t
nearly as successful at putting my past to rest as I thought.
I open my eyes, blink and stare at a
grey, leafless tree in front of me that hadn’t been there a moment before. Movement in its branches catches my
attention and I take a hasty step back at the odd sight that greets my
eyes. “Kutsuu!
Kutsuu!” Hearing that harsh word
in such a lovely voice is disconcerting, but seeing a blood red dove is just
plain horrifying.
“I have to wake up!” I quickly leave the tree and dove behind me and
continue in the direction the sign indicated, and then stop abruptly. “Maybe I shouldn’t go this way. Maybe I should go back instead.”
“Mae, baka! Mae, baka!”
I look down at the croaked words and watch as a blue frog hops past me,
a startling contrast to the dull gray of the ground.
“Forward,
then…to the Sea of Drowned Koi.” I sigh
and continue forward. I take three
steps and blink in surprise. “Oro?” I stare in open-mouthed shock at the vast,
grey body of water spread before me.
“Well…this is a surprise, that it is.”
I’m beginning to feel more than a little uneasy. This nightmare is becoming ridiculous. “What next?”
“Goujou na!” I look down at the
drawled words. “Goujou na.”
“It’s a turtle. A pink turtle. A pink turtle sitting on a rock by a sea that wasn’t here a
moment ago.” I slowly lower myself to
the ground beside the odd creature. “I
think it was something I ate, that I do.”
“Goujou na.” Is the turtle’s reply.
“I’m certain it was the grilled eel
that Kaoru-dono prepared for
dinner. I’ll be fine in the morning…I
hope.”
“Goujou na.” The turtle says again.
“I might feel a little ill, but once
that eel is out of my system I should be all right.” I pointedly ignore the talking turtle and stare at the still
water instead.
“Ugoku.” I turn at the loud grunt
on my left and find myself nose to snout with a yellow pig. “Ugoku.”
“Mae, baka.” The blue frog is perched on the pig’s head
and glaring at me. I didn’t know frogs
could glare like this. I refuse to acknowledge
that frogs don’t talk, either.
I stare
at the water with a frown, and then stand.
“I want to wake up!” My voice
echoes hollowly across the desolate landscape, but I don’t wake up and nothing
changes. I throw my hands up in
frustration. “I can’t move
forward…there’s a sea in front of me!”
“Mae, baka! Mae, baka!”
The frog is quite insistent.
“Oh, shut up.” I snap over my shoulder and move to the
water’s edge, my eyes focusing on something black drifting closer. “Drowned koi.” I state flatly.
“Achira.” One listless fin points
to my right. “Achira.”
“Of course. Silly me.”
I turn and hurry away. “Please…Please…Let
me wake up soon!”
“Kuru’u! Kuru’u!” A bright orange
feather floats past my nose on the faint breeze.
I look up and nod miserably. “I think you’re right, that I do. I swear I’ll never eat Kaoru’s grilled eel
again.” I stop and close my eyes, my
hands clenched into fists at my sides.
“It wasn’t the eel.”
***
**To Be Continued…**
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Author’s Notes:
1.This was intended to be a one-shot at first, but, hey, I like
cliffhangers.
2.Very short…I think that’s just my style. Think of it as “Kenshin-Ryu” Writing. (Kenshin is short, and so is my writing!) (>>GACK<< That was a terrible
attempt at a 2am joke! Gomen gomen mina-san!)
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Definitions:
korosu:
to murder, to kill
kuru’u:
to go mad
koi:
carp
kutsuu:
pain; agony; anguish
mae:
forward
baka:
stupid
goujou (na):
bullheaded; stubborn; unyielding
ugoku:
move
achira: that way
Kaoru-dono:
Miss Kaoru
kanji:
Chinese characters used in Japanese writing
Rurouni:
wandering masterless samurai
Kenshin-Ryu:
Kenshin-Style
Gomen (nasai): Sorry
Mina-san:
everyone