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 content, 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 either the
anime or the
manga, and I will break some canon rules.
Note: I
want to express my gratitude towards Mir, from the Tales from Meiji Era site.( http://tfmeijiera.tripod.com/ )
Mir has
been helping me with this and the improvement in the vocabulary and grammar
through this chapter is due to Mir’s kindness and supervision.
Thanks,
Mir! I hope there are more people like you around!
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Of Legendary Creatures and Mystical Beasts
By Firuze Khanume (firuzekhanume@hotpop.com)
Prologue -- The Desert
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-
No!
The angered, stubborn cry, echoed against the sandy
hills around him.
Sun fell mercilessly over his body, while the dancing
shadows of the birds of prey hung over his head, waiting for him to surrender
to his sealed fate.
He can't die. He couldn't. Not yet...
-
Not yet! Kami, I have never bowed or prayed to you,
but now...please...!
His body was numb. He had blisters on his face, his
back, his feet...
The injuries to his side were burning like hell
...
He had been lost in the desert for the past ten days,
without any food or water for the last two of them, and his emergency medical
supplies had disappeared long ago. His horse had dropped dead of exhaustion on
the fourth day, and he managed to fed himself from the flesh and blood until
the eighth day, when he had run out of luck.
If some kind of miracle didn't happen soon, he knew he
would become vulture's dinner in a few hours, and for this reason he didn't
care if he had to beg to the Kami or whatever God or Demon above the skies or
down the Earth he could remember the name. He had cursed, cried in pure rage,
crawled stubbornly upon the sand fighting the urge to giving up to
inevitability.
His last resource was to beg.
Because he couldn't leave this world peacefully
knowing that the demon was still untouched -- he had to achieve his long
cherished goal.
The demon had not paid for what he has done; the man's
only purpose in life was to face him with justice. His justice.
No, he couldn't die in the desert, in such meaningless
way. He has many things to accomplish yet.
Slowly, he
took one step, two, three… He collapsed to the ground, facedown in the sand.
Tenaciously he managed to get up, leaving the mark of his hands and knees
imprinted on the sand in blood. It was a new invitation to predators to come to
the feast, a feast with him as the main course, he thought, ironically.
Another two steps… again he felt the ground against
his face…he couldn't stay down… he shouldn't…but he was so damned tired…so
damned tired…
He closed his eyes. Only for a moment -- he would stay
there only for one moment…
He saw fog rising to engulf him.
Fog? In the middle of the desert? he wondered
So that was it. He was just dying. He had always
thought his death would be a violent one with the cold of a blade piercing his
flesh or the heat of a killing bullet, even the bitterness of poison on his
lips as the last things he would experience of this world. But he had never
expected fog. He would have laughed if
he could have at the madness of the ending, so anticlimatical.
It was useless to fight back now.
That was it. The end.
-
I'm so sorry, 'neesan…I failed to protect you…I failed
to make you happy…and now I'm doing it again, betraying my promise to you. I'm
sorry…Could you ever forgive me, 'neesan ? Will you be there for me now?
Those were his last words, his last thoughts before
the thick whiteness enveloped his body
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The mirror on the wall of her room was glowing.
< Quite strange> the redheaded girl
thought, approaching cautiously to it. <It never did it this way before…>
Magical mirrors sometimes could be dangerous,
unpredictable objects, but hers had never given troubles… till now.
She tried to look through it from a safe distance.
Something, no… someone (‘a human?’ she
wondered) was out there, crawling the sands stubbornly…
But why the mirror was showing her that image? Humans died all the time along the desert sands;
it was nothing out of the ordinary, something to be expected from those weak
beings, something as common as the sound of the singing glass flowers…
What made that human so special that the mirror was
showing him to her in such way?
She drew near the glowing image, her eyes narrowed,
her body tense in expectation, studying the reflection before her gaze with
thorough concentration.
And then, realization dawned on her as the shinning
golden skies on the mid of a summer day. The being showed by the mirror was not
an ordinary human.
He was a young male despite the white hair crowning
his head and even with his miserable guise due his extensive injuries he looked
quite strong yet. But which called for her immediate attention was that was not
apparent to the eye: his hidden nature.
< A half-breed warrior?!> She thought
still in wonder, looking at the tall, well built man stumbling through the
burning sands
She was astonished.
A human with a mixed heritage!
She had heard the stories, as everybody else, about
the Mystical Beasts, those ancient Guardians of the golden ages breeding
sometimes with humans. They goal was to produce outstanding beings when
hardships was about to befall to any particular place and people within the
Human Realm, beings capable of a rightful, wise leadership, or exceptional acts
of heroism to inspire future generations.
But as the very beings that engendered those
half-breeds, they were extremely sensible to their environment and the events
surrounding them, which could turn a being meant to be a beneficial one into a
wicked slave of darkness.
Pondering about this the girl wondered to whom he was
serving…
She would go to the Elders. They had to be warned.
The half-breed had to be rescued; they needed to
uncover who he was and what he was doing, but most importantly who were the
powers behind him.
She was excited. Probably she will be rewarded, but she
only was interested in being allowed to be the half-breed’s guardian. Humans
had always captivated her, but in addition this being had not only a human
part, but also a magical one. It would be a fascinating experience!
Giving a last glance to the glowing mirror, she
smiled, and with an elegant wave of her hand she disappeared, to get an
audience with the Elders. She was in a hurry, who knows how much the human
could endure such harsh conditions…
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Two figures, hidden in darkness, were watching the
scenes developing before them on a waving pond
-
It has just started, and there is no turning back from
this road. If your perception is wrong, both might be destroyed, and worst, the
cosmic balance would be shaken to the core.- said one of them, a man.
-
Be confident- answered the soft voice of the female by
their side.
-
I know deeply in my heart that she will fail. He never
was her destiny.
-
Destiny is not written on stone. You know that. It’s a
universal truth. It can be shaped and reshaped many times and by many hands. I
wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t this way.
-
Maybe you are right… But still there are things that
shouldn’t be played with.
-
Won’t we meet again? - The woman sighed. She knew that
stubbornness run high on the males of that man’s family. Therefore to keep the
discussion up was useless.
-
Only if it’s completely necessary.
-
All right then. I’m sorry for the many annoyances I
put in your path…
-
Maybe we needed them- he chuckled- Good bye… and good
luck
-
We all will need it
The female figure faded slowly against the shadows
till he knew he was now alone again. He sighed, praying silently, hoping with
all his heart that the woman was right.
Because if she wasn’t, they could be all doomed.