Author: Epilogue/preview... This can be considered as both. I am not sure if I will continue this with a sequel (or two) but if I will, this will be preview of it. Since the fic is not planned/written yet, some parts of this may change or be deleted but for now they are what I have in mind for it. If I never will continue this, then this spells the ending of this angsty fanfic I simply loved to write. No plot, just a mess of emotions.

Chapter 11: Epilogue: Live to tell the Tale

Chains of Sun: Preview

Rating: PG

Dark chambers of my mind
Locked around the neck of my love
None of you understand
And it doesn`t matter
To a broken marionette like me

Nightwish - Once - Live to tell the Tale

-Autumn of 16th Year of Meiji Era-

The darkness had settled comfortably all around the town, embracing everything like a blanket. The sun had disappeared from sight already hours ago and the night ruled the city of Tokyo. While most of the population was safely tugged away in their beds, few still wondered around the streets. They were no strangers to darkness.

Sanosuke yawned and rubbed his neck tiredly. He had partied for most of the day today and all of yesterday with his friends. He had just recently returned to Japan from his 'all-the-way-around-the-world'-tour as he called it. He had known that the government wouldn't forgive and forget so easily so he had been very careful but apparently the fact that Tani Sanjuro was imprisoned for taking brides and abusing his power had somehow overwritten his charges. Sanosuke didn't know if Kenshin had anything to do with it and preferred not knowing. He just considered himself lucky. Stranger things had happened.

He yawned again and continued with his steady steps towards the the dojo. He was a little drunk but he knew not to drink himself so silly that he would be lost in the city most familiar to him. It was good to be back in Japan after so long he thought as he looked around in the dark. He had missed his friends and Japanese food. It felt like it had been much longer than it had truly been. Kaoru and Kenshin were married now and they had a child called Kenji. That was to be expected. He was actually surprised that they didn't have more little Kenshin's running around. Yahiko was developing some serious feelings towards Tsubame, though Sano didn't know if Yahiko himself knew. Megumi was living in Aizu as a doctor, or so he had heard. He had yet to see her again.

He shivered lightly. The night was surprisingly cold and the wind blew easily through his thin clothes. He hurried his steps a little, the sooner he would get to the dojo, the sooner he would feel warm again. His steps echoed in the quiet streets and he could only see few people. The quietness made the streets more menacing and scary, but Sanosuke had confidence that he would be able to take care of himself no matter happened.

He was just turning to the road leading to the dojo when his ears caught some disturbing voices. Against the silence of the night the voice had sounded unnatural and he could feel it in his bones. Something had happened. He stopped and strained to hear better. Yes, someone was indeed yelling for help with a voice strained to its peak.

He turned around fast and rushed across the streets towards the direction he had heard the voice from. Very few people were awake and all seemed to be listening to the same voice he had heard, but did nothing but stood still and looked confused. 'Someone else will take care of this, surely.' They all seemed to think. He always felt angry when he saw people like that, but then again the people who walked around at this hour were hardly ever trustworthy or helpful.

The streets were dark and since the woman was no longer yelling, he had nothing to follow to find her. He cursed but continued looking. Jogging along the roads and alleys he searched but found nothing. He cursed again, but no matter how long and hard he searched, he didn't find her. If only he had been a little bit closer...

He hit the closest wall hard and then sighed. There was nothing he could do now.

He started walking back to the dojo, but made sure to keep his eyes open. No matter how careful he was, he almost missed it. A small leg that was barely visible. He started and stopped. Slowly he walked closer and when he saw a sluggish shape of a woman, he ran. She was leaning against the wall with her brown eyes staring into nothing. The frozen look of horror on her face was enough to tell the tale.

As he leaned closer, he could see what he had already suspected. She was dead.

Like a doll she was staring before her with a set face. Her black hair only stressed her paleness. She had been a pretty woman and was so even now. As Sanosuke leaned to close her eyes, he noticed that her skin was still warm. She had not been dead for long which confirmed his doubts that this woman had been the one screaming a while ago. Now kneeling next to her he noticed that there were no signs as to why she had died. No blood stained her simple green kimono, no handprints colored her neck and that meant she had not been strangled either. All he saw were teeth marks and a little trickle of blood on her neck, but the wound was too small to die from. It had been a violent death, of that he was sure. Her horror stricken face and the pleading scream for help confirmed that.

"A murderer!"

Sanosuke started and looked behind him in surprise. A group of teenage boys was standing behind him, staring at him with wide eyes. From their clothes Sanosuke could tell that they were probably middle-class boys who were having fun drinking themselves unconscious and in their drunken state had followed the same voice he had. They were all pointing at him with horror on their faces and he realized that they had meant him with their one worded statement.

"What? I am not--" He said and rose from his knees. The boys yelled in fear and ran away screaming for cops the instant they saw him move. "Shit!" Sanosuke said whole heartedly. The sound of steps was coming closer and he knew. He was in deep shit. *And I just came back too!*

* * * * * * * * * * * *

9 days later...

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Misao sighed and dropped the letter from her hand. She wanted nothing more than to rip the letter into pieces and forget what it said by pounding her head against the table but since doing neither would help or solve the situation, she merely sighed and asked 'why?' without even knowing who the question was directed at.

She had hoped that this day would never come but it seemed that once again Fate was against her.

Misao-chan!

How do you do? It has been a while since we last saw
and I truly hate having to send this letter to you
but we need your help. The help of Oniwabanshu actually.
In the night two days ago Sanosuke (he returned couple
of days ago, but I have been too busy to write before now)
was involved in a murder. He merely found the body
but the police is sure that he is the murderer.

Saitou-san helped Sano out of jail but they are still investigating
the murder with him as a prime suspect. To prove him
innocent we must find the one who did this
and for this we need your help. You are experts at
shadow operations and information gathering.

Also you have much more resources than we have.

At this point we do not know much but in this letter
is every bit of information we have.
Sanosuke heard a scream while walking to the dojo
and went to investigate, but he was too late.
The murderer had already left and all he
found was a body leaning against a wall.
The victim was a woman. Her name was Iwabashi Eiko
and she was 27 years old and married to Iwabashi
Yasuhiro. They have no children.
Her husband is out of town and has yet to return.

He could be called a suspect but Saitou-san thinks
that he might be innocent since he has been out of town for
over a week.

She was wearing a simple green kimono decorated
with circles. According to Sano she was quite beautiful
but he cannot describe her face any further than that.
Her hair was black and long, her eyes brown and
Sano said that her eyes were wide with horror when
he found her which means that she probably died
quite fast. Surprisingly, she was already pretty cold when he found her.

The problem is why she died.

Sanosuke was released because they could only tie him
to the location but not to the woman. The other reason
was that they could not tell why she died. She was neither
stabbed nor sliced. Her body had no marks of strangulation.
The doctor said that her unnatural paleness was due to
a huge blood loss but there was no blood on the ground or
on her. She had no wounds on her that could have lead to her
bleeding to death.

Since they can't find a logical solution for her death,
they are eager to blame Sanosuke and claim that under
pressure he will reveal how he did it.

All of this is based on Sanosuke's words since when
Kenshin asked to see the body with Megumi (you should
have seen her face when she saw Sano and found out
that he is already in trouble...) the body was already gone.

No one in the police moved the body so they blame that
on Sanosuke as well. According to them he is hiding the
evidence.

We have tried to find out more but were are stuck. The
police are putting a lot of pressure on us as well as
on Saitou-san as he is the one keeping Sanosuke from jail
with his influence and status.

We truly need your help.
Please, come to Tokyo.

I will be waiting for your reply.

Kaoru

There was a clear change in the handwriting.

They do not want to include it since they find it
irrelevant but the woman was wounded. On her
neck were teethmarks and two small wounds that
bled. It is not enough to kill a person but I thought
you should know all the details.

Sano

She stared at the fallen letter and cursed all that dictated future and the fate of the living and the dead. There were so many people living in ignorance never wiser, so of all the people in the world, why had they encountered the secret of the night? Why was the fate torturing her so?

Her eyes burned and her vision blurred. She took a deep breath and swallowed down the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. As always, she would have to endure. Take happiness where she could and suffer all that was thrown at her. She had long since learned that self-pity, sadness and depression did not create anything but a broken person. She would stand tall and face the cruel fate cursed on her with dignity and strength.

Still she hoped she would not be as alone in her fate as she was. The people she called family, the people she called friends... None of them knew her truth. She had hidden it so well that they never noticed anything at all. She hunted in the dark, hidden from their watchful and yet so blind eyes. She ate and laughed with them, hiding her true hungers behind her mask. She would not, could not, ever let them learn to see through her barrier. She had to protect them from the harsh truth. She loved them too much to let them suffer as she had.

Misao picked up the letter and stood.

If they investigated too deep they would all be in danger. Himura had lost his strength and given everything to Yahiko who was still much below his level and fought to disarm and defeat without killing. Sanosuke was too rash and jumped at the enemy too eagerly and in this battle his fists were useless. Saitou was the only one that had strength and means to kill. If they found the hidden enemy they would suffer damage because of their lack of knowledge and power. They were simply too weak and unprepared to face this.

She walked out of her room heading towards Aoshi's without any hesitation in her steps.

Aoshi was perhaps the best one among them to fight against them. He was careful, powerful and he did not hesitate to kill. Given the right information he could become possibly the greatest enemy that vampires had had in a while.

She knocked on the door and pulled her lips into a smile before pulling the shouji aside.

Aoshi was sitting in his usual meditation place and seemed to be unaware of her. But she knew that he was alert all the time, even when meditating. Old habits die hard...

"Aoshi-sama, I got a letter from Kaoru-san and it seems that they need our help in Tokyo." She walked across the room and sat beside him. Slowly he opened his eyes and turned to look at her. As always when their eyes met, she felt the excitement take over. The blood that circulated in her veins took up a faster pace and her hunger for physical closeness felt almost overpowering. But she allowed none of it to show. *I have grown good at pretense and hiding.* She thought bitterly.

He held out his hand and she laid the letter on it, making sure that their hands did not touch. To touch the perfection before her would be a mistake. She was unsure if she could take that one touch and be satisfied. Most likely she would grave for more touches, more warmth that emitted from his body. The scent around him lured her to touch him, to have him and she bit her cheek just enough to make it bleed. The sting of pain and the taste of blood in her mouth always distracted her when she was about to lose control.

He read the letter fast and then handed it back to her. "Do you intend to go?" He asked with his emotionless tone and she nodded.

"Yes."

For the better or for the worst, she would go.

-The End-

Author: Whew... I finished a fic. Hurray! It has been a while since last finished one. Whether or not I will make a sequel depends on my mood because for it I actually need a plot.

If I stay inspired, this is how it will go.

Blood Wedding – Persist : The beginning. Set before RK. DONE.
Blood Wedding – Survive : More angst for people. Setting unknown, after Persist before the Chains of Sun. Short.
Blood Wedding: Chains of Sun : Includes everyone from Kenshin-gumi, set after the colored manga. Will have an actual plot and won't be so centered around Misao. This chapter is this fic's prologue.

Of course, the one-shot Blood Wedding (the last of all) may be written, closing the past and showing a piece of the future.

I must thank Nightwish from the bottom of my heart. Their music helps me in more ways than some could imagine. I simply love it.

This fic too was inspired (in a way) by them. While I think that Century Child is their best record so far, Once was what inspired me with this fanfic and its themes seemed to fit it well. So, I took lyrics from it and they belong to them and whoever holds their rights (Tuomas Holopainen most probably).

I do not own any Nightwish lyrics I put up with this fic. I just love them to death.

Http :// www . Nightwish . Com

That is their webpage where they have all lyrics. Remove the spaces. ^^

Umm... I actually have nothing more to say. I hope you enjoyed this crazy ride and big thanks to those few that gave this reviews.

Just for fun I gathered the lyrics I put in this fic here.

Chapter01:

A single grain can tip the scale
Amidst the burden the scale will prevail
Showing what`s worth being here
Storyteller by a hearth of stone

Nightwish - Once - Live to tell the Tale

Chapter02:

The story behind the painting I drew is already told
No more tearstains on the pages of my diary
Tired but unable to give up since I`m
Responsible for the lives I saved

Nightwish - Once - Dead Gardens

Chapter03:

Oh how I wish
For soothing rain
All I wish is to dream again
My loving heart
Lost in the dark
For hope I`d give my everything

Nightwish - Once - Nemo

Chapter04:

Red Sun rising
Drown without inhaling
Within, the dark holds hard
Red Sun rising
Curtain falling
Higher than hope my cure lies

Nightwish - Once - Higher Than Hope

Chapter05:

Temporary pain, eternal shame
To take part in this devil`s chess game
Spit on me, let go, get rid of me
And try to survive your stupidity

Nightwish - Once - Romanticide

Chapter06:

Deep into a dying day
I took a step outside an innocent heart
Prepare to hate me fall when I may
This night will hurt you like never before

Nightwish - Once - Wish I had an Angel

Chapter07:

Last dance, first kiss
Your touch my bliss
Beauty always comes with dark thoughts

Nightwish - Once - Wish I had an Angel

Chapter08:

A dead world
A dark path
Not even crossroads to choose from
All the bloodred
Carpets before me
Behold this fair creation of God

Nightwish - Once - Planet Hell

Chapter09:

My fall will be for you
My love will be in you
If you be the one to cut me
I will bleed forever

Nightwish - Once - Ghost Love Story

Chapter10:

Bring me home or leave me be
My love in the dark heart of the night
I have lost the path before me
The one behind will lead me

Nightwish - Once - Ghost Love Score

Chapter: Epilogue

Dark chambers of my mind
Locked around the neck of my love
None of you understand
And it doesn`t matter
To a broken marionette like me

Nightwish - Once - Live to tell the Tale

Chapter names 06-10:

Walk the dark path
Sleep with angels
Call the past for help
Touch me with your love
And reveal to me my true name

Nightwish - Once - Nemo