Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Moonlight Lullaby ❯ Fate and Possibility ( Prologue )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Disclaimer: Me, own Rurouni Kenshin? Ha ha, don't make me laugh!

Moonlight Lullaby
By Lacrymosa

Prologue: Fate and Possibility

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You play melodies of love
forgotten phrases,
tender and sweet.

~Vanity - Kajiura Yuki

In the empty darkness that surrounded her, her question seemed twice as lonely and useless. It only served to show her that she was quite alone. The wind was hardly silent as it swept gentle fingers through the trees, causing the leaves to tremble slightly.

"Where am I?" she asked to no one.

She didn't know. She could hardly see a foot in front of her, despite the clear, cloudless, starless sky. There was no moon to shine down light. Shadows and shapes danced in front of her eyes, causing her vision to dance in confusion.

Something wasn't right. That was the first chilling feeling that she could name, the only emotion she was sure off amidst her jumbled thoughts and twisted senses. This place, wherever she was, was not where she was supposed to be. But the problem was... she didn't know where she was supposed to be.

She wrapped her arms around her shoulders, holding herself against the sudden chill that crawled up her spine. Her legs slid down from under her, and she leaned gratefully against the strong tree trunk that pressed against her back. Her cerulean blue eyes blinked in the darkness, trying to find any something, anything she could recognize in her surroundings.

Her second question shocked her, as her voice echoed in the darkness, but it wasn't the sound that startled her. It was the absurdity of it.

"Who am I?"

She couldn't remember her name... Or maybe she just didn't have one.

- - - - -

May 17, 2007, 11:55 PM Location: Classified


In a dark office, a caged wolf opened an new file that had appeared on his desk that morning. The fluorescent glare from his computer screen shed enough light for him to make out the soft features of the girl in the picture. She looked happy in the pictured, he noticed, and in his usual way, he deducted that it was mere irony that caused the girl to look so happy. Despite the circumstances that had caused her picture to end up in a file on his desk.

Smoking wasn't allowed in the building, but he had long since ignored that rule. No one was here anyways, but even if anyone saw him, he wouldn't have been reported. He doubted anyone had the courage to reprimand him. So, ignoring the rule, the man graceful pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it with a sharp flick of his wrist. The smoked curled around his narrow eyes, which narrowed further as he read the information before him.

Name: Kamiya Chizuru

D.O.B: June 2, 1990

Residence: Sapporo, Hokkaido

Parents: Deceased

Guardian: Oguni Genzai

Height: 5' 1"

Weight: 90.4 lbs

Hair: Waist length, black

Eyes: Blue

Skin: Fair

Reported Missing: March 17, 2007; 8:15 AM

Last seen leaving High School at 9:30 PM on March 16 by classmates, and one corner store video tape of Kamiya riding her bike down 12th Avenue at 9:43 PM. Has been known to frequent the dojo in her neighborhood. No contact has been made to any friends or known relatives. The circumstances of Kamiya's disappearance are suspicious as she left her residence without her wallet and personal belongings. Battousai's assistance is suggested. Under classified information, the search for Kamiya Chizuru is required to be private and unknown to the public.

Saitou Hajime cocked an eyebrow and began to laugh. As if I would ever request Battousai's assistance...

But of course, if this project had been directed to his office, it was only natural that the investigation remained private. That was his speciality, after all.

- - - - -


May 19, 2007, 1:25 AM Location: Tokyo

"Dammit," he muttered to the dark air. "I shouldn't have tried to take a shortcut..."

Sagara Sanosuke walked, or rather dawdled as he kicked at any random stick or stone he could find. It was late, that he knew, thought he wasn't sure how late it was. It was cold, but not cold enough that his spring jacket couldn't keep the chill off, and only the wind could cause the random shiver to shake his body.

He wasn't one to frequent the well-worn trail through the small forest park in Tokyo; he had never even knew such a park had existed before now. It just so happened that he was passing through after his longer-than-normal visit to the medical clinic downtown. Of course, the kitsune had kicked him out before he could any trouble after they closed up for the night. He could still feel the slight throbbing in the back of his head where Megumi had thrown a well aimed shoe.

Ah, he knew that she still liked him. She just wasn't very... affectionate. Which didn't bother him all that much anyways, since he didn't like the clingy types.

But really, it was all her fault that he was lost in a woods that probably wasn't much larger than twice the size of his apartment. Even if it had been him to decide to take a short cut home instead of just walking back the long way.

His feet suddenly connected with something solid that was draped across the trail, and Sano found himself face down on the ground, eating dirt. He spat out the grime that had collected in his mouth and pushed himself up off the ground.

"Damn trees," he cursed to himself, dusting of the legs of his pants. But when he turned around to move said offending object, he experienced another shock that almost sent eating dirt again. For a second, his brain processed any possibility that he could be dreaming. He blinked once, twice, and was going to blink a third time when it occurred to him that blinking wasn't changing the situation.

It was a girl...

Maybe it had been Fate, or just a coincidence, but something had brought Sano out into that small cluster of trees that night.

- - - - -


A shadowed figure watched the unfolding scene in front of him with a scheming smirk etched on his handsome features.

This put his plan in a sort of limbo at the moment, but as he looked over the possibilities that could arise, he found that things could actually work out even better than he had planned.

He watched silently as the man gathered the smaller figure of the girl in his arms. He could tell from his violent aura that the man was confused and unsure of what was happening, but he made almost no sound as he ran at a brisk pace away from the forest. His fists clenched for a moment in mild protest against his victim being snatched from his grasp so easily, but he controlled the urge to smash the first thing in sight.

This will work out, he assured himself. But first I need to clean a few things up...

And he walked on, silently but swiftly through the trees and over the brittle grass of the park, into the tall, opposing buildings of Tokyo; only to disappear into the crowd.

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A/N:

Alright, I've started a new story. I'm going to try to keep the plot different from the plot in Shattered , though I realize that some of the antagonists might play similar roles. I'm not really sure where this is going at the moment, so I might make a few changes before I really get some momentum with this fic. Hell, right now I'm not even sure about the title... Please tell me what you think of it!

~Lacrymosa