Disclaimer: I do not own "Ice" by Sara McLachlan nor do I own any of the Rurouni Kenshin characters as much as I wish I did.
Ice
By: Reverie, the Dream Angel
"Ice" Sara McLachlanThe ice is thin, come on dive in
underneath my lucid skin the cold is lost forgotten
Hours pass, days pass time stood still
Light gets dark and darkness fills my secret art forbidden
I think you worried for me then
The subtle way that I give in
But I know you like this show
Tied down to this bed of shame
You tried to move around the pain
But all your soul is anchored
The only comfort is a movie of the river
You enter into me, a lie upon your face
Offer what you can, I'll take all that I can get
Only a fool is here
Well I don't like your tragic size,
as if your God has passed you by
Well hateful that's your deception
Your angels speak with jilted tongues,
serpent's tail has come undone you have no strength to squander
The only comfort is a movie of the river
you enter into me, a lie upon your face
Offer what you can, I'll take all that I can get
Only a fool is here to stay
Only a fool is here to stay
Only a fool is here
Prologue:
Beneath the descending sky, a wanderer scraped along the brittle road. Though he did not wander far anymore, today the red-haired rurouni roamed, skirting the boundaries of Tokyo and the wide world beyond to breathe in the clear air of a winter dawning. He wanted to be alone.
His violet eyes vacantly noted the undressed trees and barren ground, his the only color on this path.
Dawn was a flicker of thought, and perhaps it would soon climb into the heavens. But none would notice except for the little smattering of light that could filter through the thick blanket overhead.
Nothing moved. There was nothing that could.
Silence, but for his sandals rasping against the road and something else. Something he could barely put to words. The air felt kinetic here, though there was no wind. Shifting, he seemed to sense the change in the season, the change that was approaching.
"Snow," he faintly told the road.
That is when the road stopped moving beneath his feet. One hand gripped his katana. The other gingerly fingered his scar memento. In the shadows of that winter desert, the past unfurled its wings across his mind. His eyes eclipsed, the dark angel extending over him, conquering thoughts and cares. It drew his view further from the road on which his body remained standing, from Tokyo's outskirts. Dragging him away into the clouded indistinguishable dawn or night.
"Kyahh!"
Kenshin's eyes focused.
"Nani?" His mind questioned. He thought no one else would seek the predawn solace as he did.
"Hup! Ah!"
The voice broke the gray cold, this heavy silent burden hanging over him. Kenshin hastened off the road, seeking the source, this warmth within his self-imposed seclusion.
Calls and the rushing sound of shinai strokes began to fill his ears in beginnings and echoes. They brought him to a clearing in the barren forest not far off the road.
There a lone figure danced. "Fairy, tennyo, goddess," No title his mind summoned could describe she who danced with her wooden partner, slicing air, fighting off the advancing season.
Mesmerized, Kenshin stared, following her movements through the ring of trees. He watched her fly, only to graze the ground, and leap away from it again. Bliss to embrace the cold air and work towards achieving perfection. Her cries were not of pain but exultation and ecstasy. Radiating her indigo light through the grove, she was the dawn that remained obscured, and she painted the branches silver, the ground sienna with the touch of her brush and the white cloud of her breath.
Agile, as she attacked invisible targets, striking, with blossoming cheeks, rosy mouth, and eyes that ran over with merriment.
The first few flakes fluttered down unnoticed, non-existent in her sphere.
But when the snow began to cascade down despite her efforts. Yet it was not her loss. It became her victory that she and the sword had fought for. To bring out the fragile splendor hiding in the shadows of the austere beast had been their intention. And the goddess danced her triumph, laughing, spinning eyes closed, glorious in the falling lace.
Beautiful, he gaped.
Then a knowing warm smile spread over his lips, melting his eyes to soft violets.
Beautiful, Kaoru-dono…* * * *