Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin, and most of the characters related to and featuring in the following fictional stories are property of creator and master manga artist Watsuki Nobuhiro, and no copyright infringement was intended in any way in the creation of these projects. Used without permission.


Light of the Snow-Red Village
Vignette Three: Lament of the Storm

by Akai Kitsune

~*~

    They really were a nice couple, he thought to himself, watching the pair disappear along the horizon. One complimenting the other; father and daughter, teacher and student, man and child. He liked that idea, quite a lot.

  'If Rishi was here...'

Turning away from the street and heading into the store at his back, Heiji entered his home and business and began preparing for the customers of the day. It was still early, and his new apprentice was expected to come at any moment.

  'There is still time, isn't there? I need to write home. I want... I want my family with me again...'

  'How to start... there is so much I want to say...'

He carefully took a brush from the counter, grasping a few sheets of paper from a shelf nearby. His hand shook like a leaf in a rainstorm, wavering over the page.

  'Rishi... I... I...'

He wrote a character. Two characters.

  'Rishi...'

A few drops fell and spattered across the words, blurring the ink slightly.

  'Come home...'

    "S... sensei...? I'm here."

He hastily crumpled the sheet between his fingers, ignoring the ink that stained his skin, before he could stop himself. He stared at the ruined paper in his hand for a moment, then looked up at the newcomer with a smile. "Ah, Shinzo-kun. I was wondering when you'd show up."

    "I'm sorry for being late. My..." the boy hesitated for a moment. "My father..."

The smile on his face faded a little. "It's all right. You can start by sweeping the store; I need to finish setting up in the back. Customers should be arriving in the next few minutes, so if anyone comes, just call me."

The boy nodded, taking a broom that rested against the wall and dutifully beginning his job, not bothering to ask about the hidden letter. Heiji finally let the smile fade, then glanced back to the letter still clenched in his fingers. He considered it for a moment, then stuffed the remains in his gi.

  '... later... I will do it later...'

~*~

    "Thanks for coming, have a good day!"

    "You're pretty good at this, Shinzo-kun," Heiji patted the boy on the shoulder as they both waved to the final customers of the day.

    "A... arigato." The soft-spoken young man beside him nodded in acceptance. He had been quiet all day, with only a little enthusiasm, but Heiji felt assured that his uneasiness would fade in time.

  'But I doubt he will relax until his father is in prison for good.'

  'I know I certainly won't...'

  '... Rishi... is it safe for you?'

He felt the paper in his gi brush softly against his skin, and he winced inwardly, imagining her touch and missing it rather badly. "Shinzo-kun, why don't you go outside and bring in the front display. We'll close together so you know how I run things up until the very end. Afterwards we'll eat, and then we can practice before you go home."

    "Hai."

Heiji watched the boy as he went out without objection or complaint, and sighed softly to himself. 'This kid... he's nothing like Himura described him before. His father's actions must have really changed him... and also this trial.'

  'He's been disowned though, hasn't he? If his father is acquitted... he will no longer have a home.'

  'I can't imagine ever doing that to a child. My own child...'

He turned away again, clenching his eyes against the memories. 'By kami, I can't stand this anymore. Forget this indecision. I will write this damn letter... and I will write it tonight.'

  'Rishi... I will let you decide if it is safe or not.'

~*~

    "So, was it good enough?"

    "Hai," Shinzo nodded, placing the chopsticks carefully atop the rice bowl. Heiji took note of his nearly flawless form and stature, recognizing the acquired skill nobility must have earned him.

He stretched, trying to relax and encourage his companion to do the same. "I have to admit, Himura-san cooked better than that. Even Hikari-chan would agree. It's too bad... a student is supposed to appreciate the master's skills, ne?"

        "Hai."

Heiji resisted the urge to roll his eyes. 'It's going to take awhile to instill some confidence in that one. Am I really up to this?'  "Well, you should get changed into your practice uniform. I'll wash up these dishes, and then we'll spar for a bit, then you can get going before your mother becomes too worried."

Shinzo nodded, and in a moment was gone. Heiji blinked, then looked to the small stack of dishes in front of him.

  '... dishes... yeah, that's really at the top of my priority list...'

Carefully, almost reverently, he pulled the crumpled sheet from his gi and spread it across the table, trying to flatten the wrinkles. 'Rishi... you were always strict on protocol... would you scold me for my lack of manners lately?'

  'Ah, what have I done without you?'

  '... come...'

His mind wrestled with the possibilities, visualizing a pen in his hand, the words flowing onto the paper before him. So many things he could say to her.

  'So many... but...'

  'Come home...'

    "I'm ready."

Heiji started, glancing over, and saw Shinzo standing in the doorway, dressed in a plain gi and hakama, carrying a shinai in his hands. "Oh, that was quick. Right then; let's get started."

He folded the letter carefully this time, placing it in his gi and making a mental note to finish when Shinzo was gone. 'It can wait. I can wait a little longer, Rishi... will you?'

~*~

    "Good, that's very good." Heiji nodded in approval, blocking Shinzo's strike and knocking the shinai away with ease. "However, you should take care not to hesitate before you attack. Otherwise you're a dead man."

    "Hai," Shinzo spun on his heel, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face as he raised his weapon again.

  'It must make him feel better to be having a proper lesson again. I wonder if he thought his days as a kendo student were over when his old master dismissed him.' Heiji marveled at the boy's hidden potential. 'He can be very, very good if he tries... and if he keeps that temper in check. Yes, I see what you can become, Shinzo. You only need a good hand to show you where to go... and you need to stay far away from that idiot of a father of yours.'

  'That fool... he almost ruined you, didn't he? Like a purebred horse that's been broken... you have to treat them right, or they'll lash out at everything.'

  'If he weren't considered a full man already I'd discuss things with his mother... but I suppose it's mostly out of her hands, now. It's too bad... from what he's told me, she seems to have a good head on her shoulders.'

  'Sounds like someone else I know...'

    "Okay, that's it," Heiji relaxed his form, and Shinzo did the same after a brief moment. "We're done for today. Go on, get home. It's late, and there's a storm coming. I'll see you tomorrow; try to be on time, but don't panic if you can't."

    "Hai..." Shinzo lingered for a long moment, then raised his eyes to meet that of his teacher's. "Sensei... I just wanted to thank you for what you've done. I'll try to be a much better student than I have been in the past... I'll try to be worthy of your lessons."

    "I just want you to try, and that's what is important," Heiji answered honestly, giving the boy a wide smile. "I'm counting on you for that, and only that. I'll take care of the rest."

    "A... arigato!"

Heiji chuckled softly as the boy darted off, disappearing into the streets. 'He's a good kid. Still needs some refining, but I think he can really develop into a strong person. Yeah... with the right kind of help...'

  'I wonder if I'll manage all right...'

He took the sheet of folded, wrinkled paper from his gi for the third and final time, determined. 'Now, Rishi... I just need to finish this... I can mail it in the morning, before Shinzo-kun shows up... and...'

  'When will you get it?'

  'Will you come?'

  '... Rishi...'

He smiled, brushing his hand across the page, wistful and sad. 'I miss you...'

The smile was still on his face when, unexpected and completely undetected, a sword thrust its way through his heart and out again.

There was no time to scream, no time to dodge or defend. He stumbled against the counter as the sword was removed, one hand lashing out frantically and striking a few objects from the shelf above him. He fell to his knees, his body numb with pain, eyes flooding with silent tears. He could feel the blood flow; he could feel the damage done.

  '... Rishi...'

He managed to look up, to see the eyes of his killer. One of the escaped yakuza stood above him, casually wiping the blood from his sword, using one of the papers he had scattered as he tried to escape. His fists tightened, grateful that his letter was not tainted. The man didn't even look at him. Just outside, beyond the door, he could hear the laughter of different man, and his eyes blurred again as his gaze met Shinzo's. The boy looked almost peaceful, his blank, glazed expression showing no fear, no pain. He probably hadn't felt a thing as he died.

His knees wavered, and he dropped to the ground, weakened and without strength. He watched, teeth grit, as the men disappeared from sight, the laughter still echoing in the night air.

  'Iie... too close to the heart, I'm a dead man...'

  'Ah, Himura-san... perhaps if you were here...'

  'Will you ever hear of this? Will you ever know?'

  '... sorry, Shinzo...'

His failing vision caught sight of a broken photo frame in front of him, and he smiled again, reaching out for it with his free hand. His fingers, stained and clumsy as a small child's, brushed against the colourless picture behind the shards of glass, ignoring where the fragments cut his skin. It didn't matter anymore.

  '... Rishi... I waited too long, didn't I? I could have written... you could have been here, and...'

  'We would have been gone...'

  'I should have gone to you, Rishi...'

  'I miss you... I...'

  'I... should have...'

His head slumped to rest against the floor, eyes focused on the smiling, beautiful face within the photo. The smile faded, as the tears fell, and he took his last breath.

  '... come home, love...'

Outside, it began to rain.

~*~

    Notes: Not much to say for this one, expect perhaps why I wrote it. I did this vignette as a way of showing that even though Kenshin may solve problems as he travels, and leaves everything in a happy, healing situation, it doesn't always end that way. Although I really liked Heiji, he died because of a need to present a situation that Kenshin couldn't solve completely. Sad, but true. Apologies also to those who liked Shinzo in the end... he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Or perhaps the revenge was also against him? You never know what those nasty yakuza are planning...

    Rishi: My beta-reader suggested the name. I considered that being the daughter of Heiji, and something like Risako as his wife, but that never worked out, and I decided to focus on only the wife with the first name. I at first wanted Heiji to have a daughter as well, to have something in common with Kenshin and maybe take Hikari in with a fatherly affection, but it turned into more of a yearning for a child of his own, with his lost wife. Plus it was harder to describe both in his thoughts, ^_^

    In Part III, Heiji mentions having a mother and two sisters in hiding, yet never mentions a wife. When he says that, he is still protecting his wife, because he doesn't want to reveal her to the son of his enemy, even if they are working together. It's just a cautionary tactic, and something that isn't really important, yet still noticed. (And congratulations to those who actually *did* see it, since even my beta-reader didn't recognize that, :P)

    The theme of the vignette titles, "Lament of..." will probably end with this one. I'm running out of ideas, and it was something that occurred as an afterthought. I rarely ever title my works at the beginning of the story, but rather at the end... and after the name of the second vignette was decided, it was something that might be interesting to do.

    On another note, I drew a quick sketch of Hikari the other day for a friend, just as an example of how I draw anime, and she fell in love with her, ^_^ If she hadn't stolen it off my as soon as my pen left the paper (and if I hadn't drawn it with pen so that it would supremely suck compared to what I've done before) I would post it...

    But for those of you who are curious to see what Hikari looks like, go here (copy-paste the link into your browser, as my site doesn't support hotlinks: [ www. akaikitsune.150m.com / hikari_butterfly_c. jpg ] (Remove the spaces... everytime I posted the link without them, FF.net decided to delete the whole thing... *glare*)

Let me know what you all think, please, oh please! (Hey, didn't I say I wasn't going to say much? >_<)

    Thanks for reading... the Tokyo Saga is coming soon, I promise!
    ~ AK

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