Innocence
An alternate universe Rurouni Kenshin fanfic.
Chapter One-
"Sing it with me"
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"You
were only waiting for this moment to arise..."
The Beatles
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"Happy Birthday!"
The heavily
accented exclamation was followed by the lively chink of wine glasses all
around the dinner table. Soujiro managed to smile
nervously at both his guests and the other people at the restaurant who
politely raised their own glasses in his direction as well. His mother, bless
her over-enthusiastic soul, would probably never tire of showing her children
off in public this way, no matter how old they got. Still, that did nothing to
cool the heat he felt rising in his cheeks as she successfully made a spectacle
of both him and herself with a birthday toast that would have put any
professional actress to shame.
He knew she
meant well, really she did. He just wished that she didn't boast about him that
way in front of everyone. Always going on about what a genius he was and how
any woman should be proud to call him her son. No matter how humble or
invisible he made himself to be, there she would be at the drop of a hat,
pulling him into the limelight by his shirt-tails again.
Seeing his
mortification his sister reached for his hand under the table and gave it an
affectionate squeeze. He smiled back at her, returning the action. Brave, beautiful, refreshingly un-bourgeois Yumi.
Where Soujiro was proclaimed to be his mother's
crowning jewel, Yumi preferred herself to be a
diamond that would always remain in the rough. When they had gone to
high-school together, a friend had nervously joked that her entire English
vocabulary consisted of two words, one of which was certainly not to be found
in the dictionary.
Removing her
hand from his, she picked up her wine glass again, "You know," she
said softly, "I think that Mom missed her true calling in life."
"You mean
the stage?" he grumbled into his own glass.
"Nope." The elder sibling quickly countered,
"Organic Farming."
Soujiro blinked in surprise, "How'd you come up with
that?" he asked.
"Because,
silly," she said in a deceptively serious tone of voice, "She has the
magical ability to produce bullshit on command."
Soujiro snickered. Trust his big sister to turn even the most
mortifying of moments into a joke. She had the ability to deliver the worst
scorchers with a straight face and perfect timing. The only downside being that
while she carried on as if she had nothing to do with it, Soujiro
always ended up covering up his giggles with coughing fits. Tonight was no
exception to the rule.
"Sou dear," his mother cooed as she lightly patted him
on the back, "What's the matter? Did something go down the wrong
way?"
Yumi opened her mouth again, but quickly shut it when her little
brother shot a glare in her direction. She raised her wine glass again, this
time to hide the grin of pure evil that crept across her pretty face.
"No
mother," he replied for himself, "I'm fine."
Noriko frowned
slightly, barely satisfied by her son's reassurances, "Hn,"
she hummed dubiously, "I should have followed my mind and gone with a more
traditional restaurant, you've always been picky about western food."
He blushed
again, "No Mother, the food's fine. Really it is." To prove his point
he began to push his meal around his plate, trying to pretend that he was
interested in it. What she had said was only partway true, he happened to like
western food, just not gourmet western food. Once when they were young Yumi had loudly announced that someone had put raw human
brains on her plate and dressed it up with lettuce leaves to look like real food.
Try as he might to erase the memory, the analogy had stuck with him into
adulthood.
Bored with the
idle chatter surrounding him, he allowed his mind to wander back to the
previous night. When the party was over he didn't know whether to drag Sano off
to the nearest temple for redemption, or kiss him on the lips. Images of
blue-green eyes and shining blue-black hair had haunted his sleep to the point
that he had woken up next to his bed that morning
rather than on top of it as he was accustomed to. He hoped that his
childish fascination would pass with time but now he found himself thinking
about it more today that he did the day before. For now he was just biding his
time, trying his best not to notice that the wine in his glass was the same
shade of red as the lipstick that got smeared on the collar of his shirt the
night before.
Dimly aware of
his surroundings, he noticed that his guests, or rather, his mother's friends, had hushed their socialite babbling and the lights
in the dining area had suddenly gone dim. The lights at the front of the room
brightened a bit, highlighting the live band that had been playing softly for
the duration of their meal. An expectant murmur rippling through the crowd
caused him to look up in time to see a lone singer approach a mike at the
front. She wore simple clothing, a fitted, sleeveless, black dress that flowed
around her ankles, her bare shoulders covered by a matching chiffon scarf and
large silver earrings accented her pale heart-shaped face. Her dark hair had
been neatly swept into a great coiled braid on top of her head, lending her the
air of sophistication that set her apart from the other women in the room. She
bowed slightly in response to the applause that greeted her entrance and then
turned to the band leader who nodded in response as he began the intro to her
song.
Oboete'ru yo ano nukumori
Komorebi no yureru naka de
Aishiatta tooi hibi ga
Subete da to omoikonde'ta
Omoide ni dakarete ima wa, okubyou ni natte
itami sae
kanjirarenai, ikikata erande'ru
The singer had
a pleasant voice, deeper and richer than what was expected from someone with
such a petite frame. It was hard not enjoy the show, for although the words of
the song were sad, something in that voice made that sadness beautiful, like
sunlight reflected off of a teardrop.
Tashikametai aisuru imi
Kagami ni
utsushita sugao
Aojirokute tsukareta kao
Taekirezu kuchibeni nutta
Omoide ni
dakarete ima wa mae ni
susumenakute
Oikakete samayoi aruku ikikata yurusenai
Omoide ni
dakarete ima wa okubyou ni natte
Itami sae kanjirarenai
ikikata erande'ru
Soujiro returned his attention to his wine-glass again, observing
the way his reflection rippled on the alcohol's surface. He wondered what his
friends were up to now, the lucky bastards. They probably went back to the bar
for a repeat of last night's performance. Hell, he wished he were right back
there with them.
"Alright Sou, cool it," he mentally chided himself, "This
is bordering on obsession now."
Nanimokamo sutete shimaeba
Atarashii jibun ni aeru
ima sugu ni
Omoide ni
dakarete ima wa okubyou ni natte
Itami sae kanjirarenai
ikikata erande'ru
Omoide ni
dakarete ima wa mae ni
susumenakute
Oikakete samayoi aruku ikikata yurusenai
The audience
applauded loudly as the performance came to a close. The singer had the grace
to blush slightly as she bowed toward them in acknowledgement before moving on
to the next song. Recognizing the tune, Yumi reached
for her brother's hand, dragging him out onto the dance floor.
"If
you'll excuse us Mommy-dearest," she said with a bright smile in Noriko's
direction, "My brother and I are going to shake what you so graciously
gave us."
Noriko frowned
in disapproval at her daughter's crude words, but Yumi
brushed her hostility off with an easy smile as she linked her arm in Soujiro's. Soujiro himself
offered his mother an apologetic shrug of his own, but it was only to appease
her ego.
"Thanks
for pulling me out of there," he breathed in
relief, "I thought I was actually going to go crazy this time."
Yumi shrugged as she moved her brother's hands to the correct
positions for dancing, "There are enough crazy people in this family
already, believe me," she jokingly replied. "But now we've gotten rid
of the privileged set back there," she continued, throwing a fake accent
into her voice, "How's about you and me cut a rug, babe?"
Sou's response was to give his patented,
"Oh, how I love my crazy big sister" grin and maneuver her to a less
crowded area of the floor.
Some day,
when I'm awfully low,
When the
world is cold,
I will feel
a glow just thinking of you...
And the way
you look tonight.
They kept the
steps simple as they began, but gradually the space between them gradually widened until the momentum of Yumi's turn was enough to raise the skirt of her red dress
around her thighs. Out of the corner of her eye she caught the expression on her
mother's face when she just came short of flashing her underwear and mockingly
covered her mouth in feigned surprise never falling out of step with her
brother for a single second as she carried on with her antics.
Yes you're
lovely, with your smile so warm
And your
cheeks so soft,
There is
nothing for me but to love you,
And the way
you look tonight.
By the time
the second verse was completed, Noriko's face had turned a lovely shade of red
and she was now glaring openly at Yumi who continued
to smile brightly over Soujiro's shoulder as they
copied each-other's steps.
With each
word your tenderness grows,
Tearing my
fear apart...
And that
laugh that wrinkles your nose,
It touches
my foolish heart.
Lovely ...
Never, ever change.
Keep that
breathless charm.
Won't you
please arrange it ?
'Cause I
love you ... Just the way you look tonight.
Unbeknownst to
them both, the singer's countenance had brightened considerably as she noticed
the young couple on the dance floor. Without her willing it to be so, her voice
grew even richer, loving the words of the song even as they left her mouth. Her
smile brightened and her body began to sway with the music, moving in time with
the two free spirits on the dance floor.
And that
laugh that wrinkles your nose,
It touches
my foolish heart.
Lovely ...
Don't you ever change.
Keep that
breathless charm.
Won't you
please arrange it ?
'Cause I
love you ... Just the way you look tonight
Soujiro found that he could not hold back the carefree laughter
that tugged at his throat when he saw Yumi blow an
exaggerated kiss in their mother's direction as he dipped her toward the floor.
Still chuckling, he pulled her upright again, only to allow her to pirouette
away from him and be pulled back again. The other dancers instinctively pulled
back, giving the two of them all the room that they wanted. Yumi
was quick to make use of the new arrangement, executing more complicated turns
and kicking her legs high up in the air as Sou lifted
her up and spun her in wide circles around his body. Then, just as easily as
they had begun, they wound the steps back down with the music, easily returning
to the place where they began.
Mm, Mm, Mm,
Mm,
Just the
way you look to-night.
When the song
ended, the audience was quick to applaud the dancing siblings. Some of the
wilder ones went as far as throwing a few wolf-whistles in their direction.
While Soujiro smiled politely and proceeded to blend
with his surroundings again, Yumi reveled in the
attention, waving and blowing kisses as if she were the queen of
Turning his
eyes away from the crowd, Soujiro found himself
looking right at the cabaret singer who was smiling directly at him as she
brought her own hands together in applause. Shyly, he smiled back at her,
instinctively bending slightly at the waist as he did. Her mouth opened wider
in laughter and she turned to the band leader to say something. However, as she
revealed her back to him, the chiffon scarf slipped slightly exposing her pale
flesh to the light.
He blinked, then he rubbed his eyes. Nope. It was still there, glaring
back at him like a beacon. She must have felt his stare on her skin because she
turned to face him again, the color of her eyes being the first thing to catch
his eye.
"Kami-sama…" he heard himself breathe.
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