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Tears of Blood
By : SultrySundina
Category: +. to F > Blade of the Immortal
Views: 1854 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Please read disclaimer in each chapter.
Chapter List
- 22
- 23
- 24
Tears of Blood (My Story Arc: Finale to Blade of the Immortal):

Disclaimer and Rights: This story is not-for-profit fan fiction. The characters and universe of Blade of the Immortal/Mugen no Junin are copyright by Hiroaki Samura and do not belong to me. I will in no way receive any kind of funds or monies for this story, nor will any monies or funds come into my hands in consequence of this story. Please do not sell or print for sale. Do not archive without my written permission. Permission is granted to print for personal use, and to distribute this document in electronic form, without charge, without alteration, and with this disclaimer and my name attached.

Chapter 22: Haunting Visions; Precious Memories

Taito Magatsu watched from the top of a tall cinder wall as a small crowd made their way through the streets. Mito was in a frenzy this morning. People had caught wind of the oncoming samurai and most were scurrying to their homes and not staying in the streets if they could help it. He watched, unmoving, as the people passing by would look up at him on the roof and their pace would increase. He inwardly thought they were smart to leave but did not like the idea of dragging this small town into a war that had been created by so much death. Death, he thought, how fitting. Would this end it? Would this end all that was the suffering and pain of so many? He doubted it. War never ends; it is like the sleeping dragon, merely waiting to be awoken from its slumber once more to wreak havoc until its bloodlust satiated.

Just as he was about to leave his perch high up on the wall he saw a young maiden slowly making her way down the street, her long ebony hair whipping around her face in the cruel bitter wind. Her face was as pale as the moon and her lips were as red and soft as a bleeding rose would have been. She was the epiphany of beauty. Her long black kimono was painted delicately with bamboo leaves. It was very simple, but very elegant. To Magatsu, she was like a black silk rose that walked with grace amongst pink water lilies, and she was no water lily. She was elegance and beauty; she was a haunting vision, straight out of his memory. For a moment Magatsu had forgotten how to breathe. He closed his eyes for only a moment but when he opened them again she was no longer there. It were as if she was a ghost. His thoughts were clouded with visions of his dead love; O-Ren.

Magatsu leaped from his perch to the snow covered ground below. He ran down the street in the direction the young maiden had been walking; towards the northern gate, but no matter how fast he ran, he could not find her. People were staring at him as he whipped around in circles in the middle of the street searching for her, but she was not there. He thought to himself that he had surely seen her, hadn't he?

Saaya watched from her window as a tall man with spiked hair, dressed in a blue kimono. Half of his face was covered with a navy blue cloth and he looked as though he was searching for something or someone. To Saaya, he was handsome, even if she could not see his face. She simply watched from her window as the man searched and searched the streets. She wondered what, or who, he was looking for. She knew he was a samurai for behind him he carried a large sword. She had been warned by the local people that many samurai would be coming here, but he was the first she had seen come. Why was he here, in Mito: What was his purpose; and why was he so intently searching for whatever or whoever he was searching for?

Saaya moved away from the window, as intrigued as she was by him, it was almost time to prepare dinner and she did not wish to receive punishment from her father for not having his meal ready in time. Her father would not take kindly to her dawdling. He was not the cruelest of men she knew, but he was not the kindest either. He was stern, and powerful, and a very persuasive man. Thankfully though, he had never laid a hand on her other than once when she had angered him when he was drunk. The next day he seemed very pained by the thought of what he had done and apologized to her for his actions. Even so, ever since then she took great care as to never anger him again for as gentle as he was normally, when he drank he became violent and she never wished to be on the receiving end of that violence again.

Saaya knew that today, he would be drinking, it was after all, the anniversary of his wife, her mother's, death. She had died two years ago today and he was still not over her. He loved her as much as any man could and even though the townspeople expected and encouraged him to marry again, he would not. He was also saddened to hear that his niece had died a short while ago as well and every time he drank and looked at Saaya he would comment on how much she resembled both her mother and her cousin. Saaya knew how much he missed her mother, for she missed her also, and as for her cousin, Saaya and Ren had grown up together, and when Ren and her family had left Saaya grew lonely. She rarely spoke to anyone else in town, and even when she did people always looked at her as though she were different from then, an outcast perhaps, but not quite. It was almost adoration in their glances and fake smiles.

It was only when a stranger had come to town did Saaya finally realize why the townspeople looked at her so. The man had come to the town saying he was in search of a girl and her samurai bodyguard. He was travelling with his mother and he was very handsome. When Saaya first laid her eyes on him it was all she could do not to stare. When the man looked her way he immediately came up to her asking if she had seen a girl about the age of seventeen or so pass this way with a samurai wearing a manji symbol on his back. She had not seen them, so she had told him so. He thanked her and told her his name was Washi. He and his mother decided to stay at the inn her father owned. For a entire week she would casually talk to him and learned about his search for the young woman and her bodyguard.

One day she noticed the townspeople staring at the two of them as they talked and without realizing it asked aloud, "Why do they stare at me so? I've always wanted to know."

"They are jealous of your beauty Miss Saaya." Washi replied.

Saaya hadn't even realized she had spoken her thoughts aloud and when she stared at Washi questioningly he simply looked at her and smiled his brilliant smile. Then she asked, "How did you..." but before she could finish Washi interjected.

"I am sorry, you must have been thinking out loud Miss Saaya, but it is true, they are simply jealous of you." With that Washi took another sip of the green tea that had been set in front of them by a young girl who worked at the inn, and she flashed a wanton smile at Washi as she left.

"You seem to catch the eye of many yourself Washi-san." Saaya replied, as she noticed the look of desire in the maid's eyes for the young man in front of her.

"My father was a handsome man, I am thankful to have inherited his looks, but it does tend to attract unnecessary attention sometimes. Then again, sometimes attention is a good thing." Washi flashed an almost devilish smirk at Saaya and continued to sip his tea.

Saaya almost wanted to giggle at his attempt to be charming. He was too obvious, and his attempts to charm her made her want to laugh, not at him personally, but for how young and foolish she knew he was. He was too young for her, she knew, but he was definitely handsome, and kind. She appreciated his kindness more than his good looks.

By the end of the week Saaya had become good friends with the young man and told him to visit anytime, and perhaps the next time she saw him, he would have found the young maiden he was searching for. He thanked her and he agreed that he hoped he would find the girl also.

Saaya's thoughts were brought back to the present as she heard a loud crash and a cry of pain coming from outside and when she ran to the door she gasped at what she saw. Her father and their neighbour were trapped beneath the roof of the neighbour's home. It had collapsed from the weight of all the snow piled upon it, and he had been out there trying to help clear it off. Men were now scrambling to try to free the two trapped men from beneath the rubble. Just then Saaya saw the stranger come to their aide and help free the men from beneath the wood, shingles and snow. As Saaya ran outside she saw her father's lifeless body being pulled from the collapse. Saaya saw that he had a large piece of wood stuck in his abdomen, and he was not breathing.

"Tochan! No!" Saaya screamed out in terror as a few of the townspeople tried to hold her back from the wreckage.

"Saaya-san please stay back. There's nothing you can do, Saaya-san." A woman, holding Saaya spoke to her, trying to get the young woman to stop trying to claw her way to her father, but she broke free of the woman's hold and ran to where her father laid lifeless in the snow. Saaya knelt down and clutched her father's lifeless body to her chest.

"Tochan, please tochan..." Saaya wept as she clutched his lifeless form, and just then she felt a hand clasp her shoulder.

"I'm sorry miss, I tried to help but..." Just as Magatsu was about to finish his sentence he noticed the young woman on the ground before him was wearing a long black kimono adorned with painted bamboo, and she had long flowing ebony hair. His words were caught in his throat as the teary eyed woman looked up at him, tears still falling from her large brown eyes.

"Thank you samurai-san. Your help..." Saaya wiped away the tears that had fallen and tried to stop even more from flowing, "Your help is greatly appreciated."

Magatsu looked at the woman before him. She was indeed real, and indeed a haunting vision of his love. Before he thought anymore of what he was doing he knelt down before her and brought her into his arms and whispered softly, barely audible, "O-Ren..."
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Tears of Blood	By : SultrySundina Category: +. to F > Blade of the Immortal Views: 1854 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Please read disclaimer in each chapter.

Tears of Blood