Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Waking Nightmare ❯ Waking Nightmare ( One-Shot )

Waking Nightmare

~Ryou-chan~

Silence...

A whisper of wind, then the blue flashing light of something moving almost too fast to see.

Muffled choking; attempts to scream aborted by a slim blade through the throat.

The slight resistance of flesh as gleaming metal is drawn upwards.

A scarlet spray arcs outwards...meeting the obstuction of new, living skin.

Dripping warmth. The familiar sticky sensation as blood dries...the instinct to wipe away the unpleasant reminder of death is no longer any use.

Death is not something you can escape from. All must face it, sooner or later. Of course, for the Hitokiri Battousai's victims, it was always sooner.

Rivers of blood. The crimson liquid seeping slowly over the ground, away from the lifeless body as though trying to escape.

And then, nothing...only a body, lying still and bloody in the mud.

* * * * * * * * * *

"No!" The gasped exclamation slipped from his mouth as he suddenly jolted up into a sitting position. Kenshin stared forwards, unseeing, eyes wide with an expression of haunted anguish. "No..." He whispered, his sleep tainted mind still having trouble separating dream from reality. "I-It's not..."

Sleep could never be an escape for him. Always, always the dreams...

And they were always silent.

Not once - not once would they scream. He remembered...he remembered being congratulated about that.

I was too fast....they couldn't even cry out...

He clenched his fists and bowed his head in anger. The stench of blood filled his senses, and he felt sick to his stomach.

No....Leave me alone....please...

It wasn't even real. And yet the smell of blood seemed as fresh and familiar as though there was a corpse lying next to him.

They won't leave me...

I don't deserve for them to leave me...

It is my punishment, for all that I have done...

I should not be allowed to escape it.

But still...

I cannot...I cannot live with them.

His breaths were quick and shallow as he tried to banish the memories from his mind once more.

Victims...so many victims......dead........because...because of me...

I am forever stained with their blood.

But...

They will not leave me!

A stifled sob broke free of his throat, and he felt his eyes burn with the unfamiliar sensation of tears. But they would not fall. He desperately hugged his knees to his chest, his bowed head allowing the delicate strands of hair to fall in front of his face.

I am...

Alone in my memories...

Alone in my guilt...

But I must atone for what I have done. Then maybe....maybe....

Maybe one day I will find peace.