Tears of the Red Sky

Chapter 2 : The Ill-Tempered Flower

A/N: This story was set after the last episode of RurouniKenshin's second season (after Kenshin beat Shishio and went back to the Kamiya dojo). Let's pretend that the whole Season 3 and all the rest [OVA / movie] didn't happen (except for the Trust and Betrayal OVA [Tomoe's story]) but Kenshingumi already knew about the whole Tomoe affair. This story mentions lots of Japanese stuff and I also made use of some Japanese words. The words and their meanings/definitions are listed in alphabetical order at the end of each chapter. ^_^

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin and any of its characters. If I did, I'd be doing mangas and not fanfictions. XD.. The OCs are mine though. =)

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Chapter 2 : The Ill-Tempered Flower

"Kuso!"Aki swore under her breath.

Last night was a disaster. She had planned on going to the Asamoto mansion. When she got there, she almost thought she was at the wrong place. There stood a huge western mansion in place of what was once a traditional Japanese one. Even the fence and the gate were now in western style. She almost panicked but was relieved when she saw the familiar sakura tree still standing at the far side of the estate. Guards stood at the gates and there were some patrolling the courtyard. She regretted going there without examining the place first. She was an idiot to think that her home, or what used to be her home, would be as it was fourteen years ago.

She hung around the place while she changed her plans when someone inside shouted something about a thief. Before her brain could properly react to what was happening, a tall man with shoulder-length hair had climbed the fence and dropped to the ground close to where she was standing. She wasn't able to see the man's face clearly because of the darkness. The man broke into a run while she on the other hand stood there wondering what just happened. Before she knew it, guards were charging towards her direction. What was worse, they were carrying weapons. It was too late to start running so she decided to use the last of her special explosives that she had been saving for more important occasions. She threw it at them and the area was momentarily covered in smoke. She started running but unfortunately, the guards were still able to tail her. The chase went on for a long while that her lungs felt like it was going to explode. She even bumped into someone along the way and the fall grazed one of her elbows. After what seemed like an eternity, she was finally able to lose the guards and return safely to the inn where she was staying. Just when she thought she's had enough problems for one night, she discovered that her bracelet was no longer with her. She had intended to look for it immediately but she changed her mind since the guards who were chasing her might still be out there looking for her. She tried to look for it all over the inn but she was not able to find it.

She set off looking for her bracelet first thing this morning. She went around the places she passed through last night but she still wasn't able to find it. She also went to the place where she had collided with someone thinking that it must have fallen off when she fell. To her disappointment, it was also not there. She didn't go to the areas near the Asamoto mansion though since she feared that some of the guards from last night might recognize her.

"Kuso!" She muttered again. "Don't tell me it's really somewhere near the mansion."

She slumped frustrated at a huge stone beside the street. Her eyebrows creased at the thought that she really must have lost it somewhere near the mansion. She struggled between wanting to go there and giving up. She would probably get into trouble if she went there, but she also just can't let it go. It was too important for her. She sat there for a long time staring at nothing in particular. Suddenly she felt something wet trickle down one of her feet. She stared flabbergasted at a dog peeing at her right foot. She quickly stood up and stomped, scaring the dog away.