I do not
own Rorouni Kenshin, bla, bla, bla...(Ah…You already knew that…Good)
Note: Be warned. It will include violence, some use of profane language, and will include some extent of explicit sexual contend . So keep on reading at your own risk.
The story begins few month before the events of Kyoto Arc, so it will include spoilers and some elements from it as well as from the Revenge Arc too, although my fic will not follow neither the anime nor the manga, and I will break some rules
Please Review and comment it! I need some
feedback…Onegai…
Remember I’m not a native English speaker, so
if you do have complains about my spelling, please, don’t flame me, but help me
to improve...
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She went
running all the way to her retirement place.
Running out
of time, she traced a magical circle with iron powder and salt, and to avoid
any detection she secured the circle
placing four Phoenix feathers in each of the cardinal points, lighting
candles made of unicorn’s grease.
It was a
perfect and secure place to put the human avoiding unnecessary risks. She only
had to worry of him never leaving the circle till he was in full condition for
his come back to human’s realm.
She sat just on the middle of the circle, and
collected all her strength to get him there. She only hoped it wasn’t too late
and to avoid unpleasant predators in her room.
After two
failed attempts, she succeeded on the third one. Shaking all over for the
strenuous job, she leaned over the motionless body before her.
He barely
breathed.
He has
blisters all over his body, his skin cracked and bleeding, his lips swollen and
broken…Besides, two large and deep sword cuts in his side were infected,
although not bleeding. It will take a long while to get him over his feet
again, even using magic.
She put his
head on her lap to let him drink some water. He was barely conscious and he was
babbling in a quite uncommon language for the place he was wandering at :
Japanese. He could drink by himself, although
she had to calm him down to avoid him chocking with the urge of
quenching his thirst.
After a
short while, the young man, maybe in his middle twenties, slipped on sound
sleep, out of exhaustion.
She look at
him closely jumping at the realization of her having to bathe him to take care
of his wounds properly. With a deep sigh, he started to undress him, carefully
enough to avoid to deepen his scars, since his clothes were stuck fast to the
open wounds.
Apart for
his miserable state at that moment, it seems that the man was heavily trained
on any kind martial art, a true warrior, his carefully build body, his firm and
well toned up muscles, gotten only through the hardest kind of training told
her so, as well as the scars from past
battles scattered here and there.
She blushed
a furious shade of crimson, when she took his last piece of cloth. She had
never seen any adult male naked before. After all, she was still a young girl
at her second century old, as the Elders had told her before. She knew, though,
that her cousins used to go with men of their own kind once in a while, but she
never tried it, since she disagreed with the whole idea of males being outcasts
only useful to pleasure or reproduction. She was indeed a headache to all
conventional standards of her Realm, but she couldn’t help it. She would go to
a male only if she met him before, and to keep him at least as a friend. And
that idea was a mortal sin there, so she prefer chastity to became the reason
behind any innocent’s death. Pleasure or even reproduction was not worth taking
any life. Besides, she would never surrender a baby boy born from her to be
banished or killed because of his sex. Elder’s laws might have useful in a time
of anguish and desolation, but those times were long gone. Now those rules were
outdated and cruel, and she couldn’t help but to rebel herself against them.
She sat him
inside the large tub she used to bathe herself. He was too far too heavy for
her so she had to use her magic. Avoiding to look at the human’s nakedness, she
blew on the tub trice and warm water began to pour into it. With a clean cloth
she started to rub him carefully, taking apart the loose skin on the open
blisters. Soon enough water was a bloody mess so she blew again twice and the
water was gone an replaced with fresh one. She had to do it trice, till she got
only soapy water on the tub.
Then she
took him out of the tub and wrapped a towel around his body to rub him dry. She
covered his blisters with medicinal and magical ointments. They would be gone
in a matter of hours, without any trace of being there at all. The sword wounds
were an entire different matter, though.
It was
almost incredible that he had survived such infection and bleeding. In normal
conditions it would be hard to believe it, but being lost in the desert…Quite
remarkable…Of course it had to be the share of mystical beast inside him, which
saved him long enough to be noticed by her. No common human male would survive
such conditions.
She was
confident enough that her magic and the potions would work on him pretty well
to get him recovered soon enough to get him back on his realm just before
anyone, specially the Elders, could be aware of his presence in there.
The fever
would be gone by the morning and the infected wounds will take some days to be
recovered. Two weeks at least to them to fully close, and to recover his
strength to be on his own again, but
although the schedule was pretty tight, she was certain he’d make it.
Asiyah only hoped not to run out of luck, and
to get him ready for his come back just before the Elders could have any hints
of her disobedience.
********************************************************************
In some
place inside the worst den of corruption in China, known by people as the demon
city of Shanghai, a short fat man called Wu Heishin rubbed his hands in sheer
pleasure.
After many
years under the shadow of his powerful associate, Yukishiro Enishi, he could
enjoy real power. He was no longer Number Two.
The fact
of dropping his former boss’
whereabouts to the right ears after his successful and profitable last trip
to Dunhuang, on the Silk
Road was a brilliant master plot, carried out as an innocent slip of the
tongue, to avoid further suspicions.
He hated that bloody arrogant bastard, but he already
was too dangerous to bear as an ally to have him as a foe. The very thought of
the merciless, powerful and fearless assassin being deep buried on a Western
China desert, as the meal of little disgusting bugs satisfied him greatly.
Ah, again
brain was superior to muscle and strength!
He knew the
thought was not entirely right, since Yukishiro Enishi was cunning and slippery
through the years. It has to be that way, since he got his place among the
great bosses of Shanghai Mafia at a very early age, maybe the younger boss in
history. It was utterly impossible to reach such level relying only on killing
talent and brute force.
But he was
gone now.
Dead.
He had got
rid of him, at least.
He gave a
sigh of relief . The guy was creepy to say the least. He had thought of him
over the years as a bit insane, his obsession over his dead sister and his
revenge over her killer (his own brother in law) eating him from the inside.
But despite
this fact, it can’t be said he was a madman, at least not enough to get rid of
him without facing troubles coming from the other bosses, always suspicious
of subordinates who grew too much
ambitious for their own good.
They were
not the kind of people you want to upset.
He walked
to the wide room where his now deceased boss carried his business over the past
years, and he sat down on the smooth
comfortable black leather armchair just before the large mahogany desk. He put
his short legs over the carefully polished surface his boss look after so
dearly. He could even imagine his blind rage at the sight if Yukishiro was able
to see him doing this from Hell
Little vendettas was really pleasurable
things.
The sound
of his laughter echoed through the great house, while servants weave their heads
in disgust. They had the feeling that their new master could be even stranger
that the former one…
********************************************************************
There were
no incidents on the last three weeks.
Every time the
man wake up from his slumber, she put him to sleep again. She only allowed him
to stay partially awaken at the time of
his meals, to avoid him chocking with the food. It was safer to keep him this
way, as much as for his own recovery as for security measures, to avoid him to
step out the magical circle around the place, which would disclose his presence
to the Elders.
It was very
embarrassing and uncomfortable to take care of him as a quite huge baby, but it
was a lot better than to face banishment from the Kingdom.
As the days
went by, her decision over saving him grew more and more confusing to herself.
She always
had a deep curiosity over humans, and once in a while she ventured to their
realm to study them. Once, she spent ten full years on Isfahan only to learn
how they lived…
But she
felt it was different now. It was not sympathy nor curiosity or pity.
She could
feel something eerie on this human, something that makes her hair stand on the
ends but attracts her to him as a magnet at the same time. It was something odd
and she couldn’t say what was it.
This
feeling and the fact of the Elders prohibiting her to act to save him was
enough to rise on her the exact taste of temptation and adventure to push her
to this point, risking all she had for a stranger who she would never see again
for sure.
She sighed
and look over the subject of her new
worries.
He was
almost ready to his come back. His wounds healed quicker than she thought and
he seemed strong enough. Just a couple of days and she’ll put him on Beijing,
from where he could manage to get back to her destination, whatever it was.
She found
quite curious the fact of him not being Chinese but Japanese. It was uncommon
to find Japanese people so deep on Chinese territory. They used to stay on the
cost.
She still
was wandering about this when catastrophe knocked at her door.
The Elders
gave her a visit.
********************************************************************
He woke up startled,
jumping to be sit on which seemed to be a futon.
His head
was spinning and he was not aware of his surroundings.
Last thing
he remembered clearly were those God damned vultures flying over his bleeding,
fallen body.
He seemed
to be on a tent, all alone.
He looked
at himself carefully. He couldn’t believe his eyes. All his blisters were gone,
not even traces of any scar from them, and his sword wounds, carefully wrapped
on clean clothes, was almost healed. It was pretty clear he was unconscious for
quite some days, even weeks. And those who had rescued him was really caring
about his well being and health during
those days.
He closed
his eyes and sensed all around him seeking for hostility, danger or potential
treats around him.
He felt a
very uncommon, powerful, strange ki. It was the most strange feeling he ever
experienced, but it seemed not to meant any danger to him. He had to locate it,
thought. He couldn’t allow himself being caught again.
The
presence was outside, not too far away.
He collected
all his strength, supporting his weight on every object he felt fit for it, his
muscles trembling for the lack of use during the past days, and went outside.
He was
received by the cold night of the desert, full moon shining on the sky.
There were
a camel fully loaded, its knees bent and tied to avoid him to escape, and the
most beautiful two Arab horses he had seen on his entire life was tied to a
pole on the sand.
While he
was staring them, wind brought him the sounds of a song. A song sung by a
feminine voice, as it seemed.
Events
turned even stranger by the moment, he
thought, since he couldn’t reconcile the feeling of the powerful ki he
had felt with the image of a woman. Anyway, he didn’t feel other presences
around.
Reeling on
his feet he forced himself to the place the sounds came from. He indeed found a
woman in there and, yes, the ki belonged to her.
He found
the whole picture totally out of reality. A quite petite woman, with the most
exquisite voice was singing the saddest song he ever heard in a totally unknown
language, just in the middle of the deadliest desert on Earth, but besides she
had the strong ki of a warrior.
He thought
he was suffering another illusion of the desert . He waved his head as to get
rid of the vision, but she was still there.
Suddenly,
she turned her head. She muffled a cry on her throat, surprised at the sight of
him standing there.
His legs
betrayed him and he fell to the sand on his knees.
She rushed
towards him and stopped his falling on his face.
Using her
as a supporting staff they made to the tent again, where she helped him to go
back to the futon.
-
Who...are…you?
How...did I …get here?- his voice was
hoarse, dull, by the lack of use, as the rest of his body. He repeated the
answer twice, in perfect Mandarin and then in Cantonese, hoping she could
understand any of those languages.
-
It was
sheer imprudence to get up from the futon, not to mention to walk outside. You
should not move. I …only went outside for a little while. You should have waited
for me to come back. Well, no harm done here. At least you are awaken now ...-
she answered him in clear unaccented Japanese, and strange as it was, it took a
while to collect the meaning of the words. It was a long time since he had the
chance to hear his own native language, not to mention to speak it. He reached
the point of almost forgetting it.
He was clearly stunned. He was actually a
Japanese man. But she was obviously not. The snow white skin (so strange for a
desert woman) and the strange green eyes was from gaijin woman. And gaijin did
not distinguish between Japanese and Chinese, although the many differences on
their features. It was clear she was aware of these differences. And who the
Hell was she that she even can talk Japanese in that God forgotten place, where
nothing but bandits and greedy merchants flourished? He did a mental note: he had to investigate the
fact when his brain was in better conditions.
-
How-
did- I- come-here?
He marked purposely every single word. He
wanted answers, and he wouldn’t take anything less. To make the point clear
enough he locked his eyes on hers with a deadly serious gaze. Granted, he was
quite grateful to her and her people to save his life, but he was not in place
to risk himself unnecessarily.
He felt himself baffled at her when he saw the
joyful glint behind her eyes. She meet his eyes without a hint of fear. He
wondered about his condition. He had to be as miserable as a beaten dog, so he
can’t even scare a little desert girl. He growled in frustration.
But he noticed she had the most peculiar eyes
he’d ever met. They were emerald green, with golden flecks dancing deep on
them, and he would swear she could hypnotize with them.
She was not an ordinary nomad. In fact, she was
not an common woman at all. He felt an unease sensation growing in him at her.
He was unarmed and weak, and although she was a petite woman who in normal
circumstances would only serve to amuse him, everything warned him not to be
guided by external looks.
-
I found you when you was about to be eaten…I
didn’t think it was right so….
-
Where
are the others?
-
You
were all alone...
-
No...I
meant your friends, guardians, family, whoever is with you here... the
caravan... It is quite obvious you are not alone. No woman can survive on her
own on the desert, just in the middle of the Silk Road, not to mention to load
a camel, and keep an eye to two horses and a injured man, without any help.
She seemed
to be taken aback. After a short while she answered him .
-
Well,
I was traveling with my brother to Dunhuang, with three camels fully loaded to
sell our Persian goods there. But in a stop I forget to tie the knees of the
camels and two of them run away. So my brother went after them, and ordered me
to stay here, with you, the horses and the third camel. This is the path of
caravans so I should not be afraid of losing myself in the desert if he didn’t
return soon. He told me that if he didn’t come back at the time of a new caravan going by us, then I had to try to
wake you up and follow them to Dunhuang, as was planned. He would meet me there
then, were our family is although I’ll ask them to come back for him. But I
think it is too dangerous for a woman to stay alone in the desert. There are
bandits, and many risks. I assume you
are quite recovered now, so if we found any caravan coming this way, I suggest
we should try to go with them.
-
Ah.... I see...
The answer was odd in a way, although not quite
impossible. So he took it . For now.
-
Are you hungry?
-
Quite...
She gave him a rice bowl
. It tasted awful, but after years
after the Bakufu forces in Japan and the rotten flesh he had eaten during his
first months on Shanghai, he was not a gourmet anymore..
-
How long since you found me?
-
Near three weeks.
He was so surprised that he chocked with his food. And
soon enough he found her helping him to regain his breath.
< Three full weeks... Heishin …That bloody bastard
is surely celebrating my death by now...
he had better not ruined anything during my ... vacation>
-
What is your name, little one?
-
Asiyah...and yours?- she gave him a death glare at the
comment, which amused him very much. He couldn’t scare her, but he could annoy
her. Good point to be recorded on his brain.
-
Enishi
It was enough to give
her his given name. He didn’t know who was she
for sure (or her mysterious brother, as a matter of fact), nor if he can
trust them at all. They could be planning to sold him to any of his enemies, as
far as he knew. He was already ambushed during his trip, so he had no reason to
be confident in anyone, lest in people he never met before that very day. If they were truly helping him, then he
will care for them to be rewarded in a way they would never forget. If they
wanted to betray him, he would not let them to have an easy prey on him
-
- Well, Enishi... I
think you should sleep now. This is the first day you was awaken in the last
three weeks, and I think you already has talked, walked and moved yourself too
much. We could find a caravan anytime, and I’ll need you to help me. We don’t want
to be stuck here, we were running out of water and food.
He had a
thousand questions to ask her, and he did not want to sleep, but he found
himself slipping into sleep soon enough. A white snow field smelling white
plums surrounded him and then he didn’t care about the questions to the gaijin
girl anymore.
< THAT was pretty close ...> Asiyah gave a sigh, relaxing herself only at
the sight of his steady breathing. He was sleeping at last.
Now she was
alone again.
Alone with her
thoughts, alone with her sorrows… her memories of a land she would never see
again for her life time.
Because she
was now an outcast.
She went
out of the tent again and walked away. She didn’t want her sobs to awaken the
human called Enishi.
N de la A :
Isfahan :
Ancient Persian city ( Iran from 1935), old capital of Safawid dynasty .
One of the most astonishing cities of the world, famous for his miniature craftwork and the old
palaces, gardens, pools and Mosques, and the central square where the sport
called polo was invented and played by first time. (My husband was there last year, so those who may want any info…)
Dunhuang
lies at the western end of the Gansu Corridor, called Hexi Zoulang, on the
actual province of Gansu. The name Dunhuang originally meant "prospering,
flourishing"-- a hint that Dunhuang must once have been an important city.
Its position at the intersection of two trade routes on the renowned Silk Road
was what made Dunhuang flourish. The coming and going of horse and camel
caravans carried new thoughts, ideas, arts, and sciences to the East and West.
This city lies at the verge of the merciless desert called Taklimakan
The
Taklimakan Desert, also known as the Tarim Desert, is the largest desert in
China and one of the largest in the world located in the center of the Tarim
basin south of Xinjiang’s Tianshan Mountains. It is 1,000 kilometers from west
to east and 400 kilometers from north to south, covering a total area of
327,000 square kilometers. Taklimakan means “ no emergence
upon entry” in Uygur language. It has three characteristics: 1) Drifting
sand dunes account for 85 percent of the total desert area, while stable and
semi-stable bush sand dunes account for only 15 percent, which are found mainly
on the edges of the desert and along the rivers flowing into its depth. 2) The
sand dunes are complicated in form, and are of great height, mostly 100-150
meters and some as high as 200-300 meters. 3) There are “ natural oases” with
wide development potentials and diversiform-leaved poplars over the wide areas
in the valleylands deep in the desert, along the rivers on the edges of the
desert and in the frontal part of the alluvial fans.
.In next chapter we will
lean why Yukishiro Enishi was lost in there