tripleofive

tripleofive — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:20:37 GMT

Here are some Dresden Files drabbles - prompts came from some very, VERY old memes that I never filled, so...

Enjoy!

Dresden Files, Harry/Nicodemus, bleed

Nicodemus wakes almost immediately after Deirdre has fished him from the icy waters of Lake Michigan, the power of Anduriel speeding up his regenerative abilities. As a matter of fact, it is only due to Anduriel that he is not dead yet.

That is the first time that has happened since he took up the coin, so long ago.

Two thousand years of leading, of planning, of causing countless suffering and pain to countless humans…and a young wizard, barely more then a boy, has done the impossible.

He hadn’t bothered to keep an eye on Dresden after gifting him with Lasciel’s coin, expecting him to only take a short while before he succumbed to temptation, as every other human has over the past thousands of years– and yet, five years on, not only had he not taken up the coin, he seemed to have somehow destroyed the shadow.

That should Not. Be. Possible.

Anduriel whispers a suggestion in his ear, and he nods grimly.

This will take careful planning, but when it is done…he has Lasciel’s coin. He can simply give it back to Dresden, once he has been properly...persuaded.

Once he was made to realise the consequences of disobedience. Made to bleed, to beg…

Ah, Dresden begging. Now there was a nice thought.

Deirdre had been getting a bit boring lately – worship was all very good, but it didn’t allow for very intelligent conversation, and it had been a while since he’d last tasted the triumph and pleasure of having something beautiful and powerful and dangerous underneath him, compliant at his touch.

And really, when it came down to it, this whole mess simply confirmed what he had known from the first – Dresden was a dangerous enemy – but once he was an ally, his loyalty assured, he would be incredible.

Dresden Files, Harry/Marcone, shift

Harry wasn’t sure when it had happened, but at some point, Marcone had shifted in his mind from ‘evil, cold-hearted, ruthless mob boss’ to ‘not so evil, cold-hearted, ruthless, overprotective and sort of attractive mob boss’. Every time he thinks he’s finally understood Marcone, and there’s no way he can ever like him, he goes and does something brave, or humane, or sweet, and it all goes topsy turvy.

By now, he’s just stopped trying.

Dresden Files, Girl!Harry/Marcone.

I’ll admit it – when I instigated a soulgaze with John Marcone, I didn’t exactly have the best of intentions. I’d just come from a hotel room where two people’s hearts had been ripped out of their chests, if I investigated, Morgan was likely to use it as a excuse to cut off my head, and I’d just been intimidated into his limo by having some linebacker rejects threaten to break my legs if I didn’t.

I was angry, scared, and worried, and I wanted to shake him up a bit, see his composure rattled. So I looked into dollar bill green eyes – and saw Gentleman Johnny Marcone’s soul.

It was Chicago, but a different Chicago from the one outside the Limo’s windows – all cold, smooth metal and sharp edges. There was a tiger there, green eyes familiar, sharp toothed and dangerous and powerful.

And in the corner, held away from the bright, ruthless buildings of John Marcone’s soulscape, was a box, or a safe – locked up tight, but affecting everything.

Lending Marcone the strength he needed to rule Chicago’s underground.

As I exited the soulgaze, more shaken then ever, I couldn’t help but to shiver a little – I’d always been attracted to predators, and there was one right in front of me, staring at me coolly as he calmly processed whatever he had seen in my soul.

I would have to make sure I stayed away from John Marcone – this could only end in trouble.

Dresden Files, Harry Dresden, Rain

When I was younger, I used to love the rain. I remember going outside and running in circles as droplets fell into muddy puddles, splashing and dancing and getting, deliciously, gloriously wet and muddy. Sometime Dad would come out and do the same.

That all changed when I first started doing magic. The rain made me feel weak, powerless, as it grounded out my abilities, and even if it hadn’t Justin certainly wouldn’t allow me to go out and play in the rain like a child when there was studying to be done.

Now, though…I still don’t go out in the rain to play – I guess I’m too old for that now – but sitting in my warm, cosy apartment, listening to the rain beat down on the concrete outside, knowing that in the morning everything will be washed clean and new…

Huh. I guess I still do love the rain.

ganked from anesidorian

tripleofive — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:42:32 GMT

Comment on this post. I will choose seven interests from your profile and you will explain what they mean and why you are interested in them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so that others can play along.

My Interests.

1. original fic ideas
- My brian is on speed when it comes to fic. Seriously. I get SO MANY original fic ideas, and they're all so GOOD...and I never end up writing any of them *pouts*

2. geisha
- I love Geisha. Have for years. I love their culture, their clothes and makeup, how they're so talented in so many different things...I just find them intriguing and beautiful, and I love reading about/watching movies of them.

3. arthur pendragon
-King Arthur! My very first crush...When I was little, I wanted to go live in Camelot...I love him, yeah. Especially the BBC's Merlin version <3!

4. yu yu hakusho
- One of my favorite Anime/Manga, mostly because of how different the Manga and Anime are, and yet i like both equally! And Kurama is made of awesome, natch.

5. samurai
- Same sort of deal with Geisha. I love Japan and it's ancient culture, I love reading about them - I think they're so interesting! And great characters....*coughKenshincough*

6. hitokiri battousai
- Do I really need to explain this? Kenshin is my number one obsession, and I loved him as a tormented, painfully young, cold, rude, and utterly deadly assassin.

7. everyone/kenshin
- The start of my habit of taking one person I love from a canon, and making them into the fanon's bicycle. Everyone Loves Kenshin!

tripleofive — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:46:14 GMT

Guess who just got a blood test done?

*is slightly lightheaded*

On the bright side, at least now we'll know whether I actually am anemic or not...

tripleofive — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:14:20 GMT

Title: Declaration of War
Fandom: Detective Conan/Magic Kaito
Characters: Kuroba Kaito/Kaitou KID, mentions of Edogawa Conan, Hakuba Saguru and Nakamori Aoko
Prompt: #001 Beginnings
Word Count: 262
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: Another Kaitoko ficlet!

Looking at the large picture of a blue eyed boy with oversized glasses on the front page of the newspaper – a boy who seemed awfully unhappy to be there, judging by the look on his face – Kaitoko pouted.

That little brat…‘tantei-kun’ indeed! And any moment now, Aoko would be showing up to try to use this to point out how Kid was bad, and really not worth being a fan of – it was bad enough that she’d caught a cold from having to swim from the boat after that creepy, little brat had seen through her, she didn’t want to have to deal with her best friends hatred for her alter ego right now…

On the bright side, at least Hakuba was still in France, so she didn’t have to deal with him.

Glaring at the picture, Kaitoko closed the newspaper with a snap, a twist of her wrist and some smoke giving it the appearance of vanishing. It was pure luck that she’d gotten away this time – she’d watched as Edogawa Conan laid out his deductions with that look in his eyes, and reacted instinctively, as she would have to a grown man - but how had it worked? Tantei-kun was 6, 7 at the most…he hadn’t even hit puberty yet! The idea of a girl left naked shouldn’t have shaken him up at all…

Nodding to herself, Kaitoko firmed her jaw, before smiling again, poker face back on – she would find out what the hell was up with Edogawa Conan – and next time they met, she would be the winner!

tripleofive — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:18:06 GMT

Title: Queen of Clovers
Fandom: Detective Conan/Magic Kaito
Characters: Kuroba Kaito/Kaitou KID, Edogawa Conan, Lupin the dog
Prompt: #49 Queen
Word Count: 1650
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: From a little AU I’ve got in my head…Just a note on the Japanese - ojisan means uncle, and it’s what Conan calls Jirokichi and Kogorou, Tantei means detective, kun and san are both honorifics, and watashi, atashi, ore and boku are all ways of saying I - ore and boku are Masculine, atashi feminine, and watashi can be used as either.

As the door clicked shut, a figure moved across the tiled floor to the impregnable ‘Iron Tanuki’, pulling on a white glove with a grin.

“You must really like it…dressing as a girl…”

Sato Mizuki, Suzuki Jirokichi’s new maid, froze, before turning to face the small boy who had spoken, smiling at the exasperated look on his face, overshadowed by oversized glasses.

“Don’t you think it’s much cuter like this?” she said, grinning at him – the smug grin that often graced the face of the most well known thief in Japan, Kaitou Kid.

As Kid stuck a piece of paper to the safe door, Edogawa Conan laid out his deductions.

“That time, when you were told to ‘bring the food over quickly’ you pretended to be the muddled maid and hurried over Jirokichi-ojisan…but you didn’t expect you’d cause Kogorou-ojisan to drop his wallet, causing the coins to drop all over the floor. If you went to pick them up you’d leave your fingerprints on them…but if you suddenly wore gloves you’d arouse suspicion…so you spilled the water to give you an excuse to wipe them with a handkerchief.”

“Is that when you realised I was Kid?” the maid asked, fiddling with the safe’s dial as his ear was pressed to its door.

“No,” said Conan seriously, “it was when you said to Jirokichi-ojisan ‘before this, didn’t you say to come give me a hand’? At that moment…that’s when I realised!”

“Together with the previous outdated heist note…it was written vertically instead of horizontally…if you read the words on the bottom of each column from left to right, you get ‘come give me a hand’. That is, the heist letter was actually a notice asking for help form Suzuki Jirokichi, to you, Kaitou Kid!”

“As expected from Tantei-kun,” Kid murmured as he concentrated on the safe. Conan continued to lay out his deduction. "Saying the advisor is trapped in the closet, that’s actually to divert the task force and the attention away from this room, right? Deliberately throwing the keys with his left hand, telling a lie about going to dinner that’ll be seen through quickly, sticking a note from Kid in the vault room – it’s all to make people think that Advisor Suzuki is Kid…the person in the closet is likely the servant in disguise, right?”

Kid didn’t answer, concentrating on the safe and scribbling a number on the paper that was already filling with strange equations. Conan sweat dropped.

“W-Why the scary face…?”

“That door behind you…there are many traces of being penetrated by something right?”

Conan blinked, and looked to the side. “Ah, yeah…”

“That should mean…” Kid murmured, “that if the dial is not turned correctly…”

Suddenly, Kid froze as the face of the dial clicked open – and something shot out at high speed, only just avoiding Conan’s shocked face.

“…This will happen. Truly the work of a professional.”

Realizing the danger of the safe, and having deduced why Jirokichi wanted the thief's help in the first place, Conan wandered over to Kid, putting his skills to work.

“Hey….don’t these tiles here look especially new?” he asked, pointing to a spot right next to the safe. “Look here,” he pointed as Kid bent down to inspect the tiles – before froze as a sound hit is ears. “Eh?”

Suddenly, Conan was looking at an axe that had crashed into the floor - right where he had been standing. Kid had pulled him out of the way, and was currently holding him under the arms, with his legs dangling over the floor.

“Truly a safe made by the great master of traps, Samizu Kocheimon…” murmured Kid, looking almost excited as he put Conan down.

Both of them froze again, as another dial opened, before blinking as a small doll appeared, paper fan spread wide. Kid sweat dropped. “This guy is really too much…” he murmured.

“So you should also know why I’ve been asked to come here,” Kid said, opening another dial to reveal a keyhole. “Otherwise, you’d have called the police to arrest me already.”

Conan nodded, watching as Kid produced lock picks and started to work. “Yeah, because of advisor Suzuki’s weird actions lately…always eating dinner in his room is to get fresh food and water, always taking away two plates is to use one to contain water and the other food…and then he tied those plates to his cane and used it too push them into the vault throw the space under the door!”

“Yep," Kid smiled, standing back as the door started to open. “It’s all for him, who was trapped by accident in the Iron Tanuki…”

Out of the vault padded Lupin, Jirokichi’s dog.

“…this little guy!”

Kid laughed as Lupin pounced on Conan and began to lick his face, laughing at his ‘Hey that’s enough!’

He stopped laughing, however, when Conan got that look in his eyes that normally resulted in things being kicked at high speed velocity towards Kid’s face.

“Who you were disguised as and what you’re doing here isn’t all I’ve figured out, Kid…”

Kid tilted his head as he began to unwrap Lupine’s bandana. “Oh? Do tell Tantei-kun…”

“You,” Conan said, glasses gleaming, “Kaitou Kid…are a girl!”

Kid raised an eyebrow. “Yep.”

Conan face palmed. "Oi, oi, don’t be so deadpan about it…”

“Well it’s not like I was trying to hide it…I’m good enough at disguise that if I wanted to, I could have made it so even you wouldn’t figure it out…”

“Why?”

Kid raised an eyebrow, expression neutral. “Why what Tantei-kun? Why dress as a boy?”

“You’re not the original Kaitou Kid…the one from 8 years ago,” Conan said, “I don’t know whether you’re his daughter, his sister, his apprentice…and I don’t care. I don’t even care to know why you’re dressing as him…but why be so obvious about it? As you said, you’re a master of disguise – but you use ‘watashi’ instead of ‘boku’ or ‘ore’…and with me, you use ‘atashi’! They way you stand, the way you move…”

“Only with you.”

“What?” Conan blinked.

“I only use Atashi with you…I only stand and move and act female around you…because you’re safe. You’d figure it out anyway…and you won’t tell anyone.”

Kid sighed, gently scratching Lupin’s ears. “Tantei-kun…I am just a shadow, the ghost of a flying, laughing, moon white phantom…I have to pretend to be him…but I don’t have to like it.”

“So you don’t like thieving?”

Kid immediately shook her head. “On the contrary Tantei-kun, I love it. The thrill, the excitement, and the exhilaration of a heist…there’s nothing quite like it. What I don’t like is that people don’t realise that I’m NOT him – not even Nakamori-Keibu, though I suspect that’s half because he doesn’t want to acknowledge it…”

As Kid turned her attentions back on Lupins collar, she unwrapped a paper from his bandana.

“Just like that old man said…” she said, unrolling the paper to reveal the instructions for how to get into the safe. “…It’s in the pouch on his neck!”

Conan accepted the change of subject, looking at the paper. “So this means the reason was really…?”

“Yeah,” Kid nodded, “He only realized Lupin wasn’t with him after he had closed the door to the vault…and he couldn’t open it without the instructions…in desperation, he came to me for help! After all…”

Kid smiled, reaching for her neck. “Who else would be able to open such a safe in such a time…?”

In a burst of smoke, Conan was looking at the grinning face of his rival. “Besides me, Kaitou Kid!”

However, as Kid stood, Conan blinked as he noticed differences. Kid’s hair, whilst still chaotically messy, was longer, reaching her collar bone, and the suit was more tailored, making it obvious that she was female – especially since it ended in a white, knee length skirt and shoes that, while sensible enough to run in, were clearly made for a female.

Kid smiled at his surprise. “This is me Tantei-kun – the real me, not my predecessors shadow. When I find what I’m looking for…if I survive, this is what you’ll be chasing!”

Conan smirked back, making no comment about her looking for something – Kid’s heists were too logical to be anything but a search pattern.

“I’ll look forward to it, Kid!”

Hearing sirens, Kid stepped silently over to the window, opening the curtain slightly to look outside. “Looks like they’ve already found out that old man is the real one and are turning back…”

“Say, you’re really taking a risk…”

Kid looked back at Conan, raising an eyebrow.

“Weren’t you worried that it could be a trap designed by Jirokichi-ojisan to catch you?”

With a smirk, Kid hopped onto the window sill, changing into the male Kid in a burst of smoke as she did so.

‘Ah…at first I thought it was a trap too…but after understanding the reason, I decided to help out…”

She looked up at the sky, lit by the moon and stars, and the smirk softened into a genuine smile – one that Conan couldn’t see.

Poker face, after all.

“As a fan of the ‘gentleman thief’ Arsene Lupin…”

She glanced back at Conan, smile still on her face – and reached out and ruffled his hair. While Conan blinked in ill disguised shock, her smile became a smirk again.

“I couldn’t very well leave Lupin imprisoned in such a dark cage, could I?”

As Kid flew away on her hanglider, a peeved Conan turned to face a happy Lupin, who licked him again.

“Oi, oi…don’t be so friendly…based on our names, we’re enemies…”

Coasting, Kid smiled as the words floated up to her. Ah Tantei-kun…what would I do without you? My heists would be far too boring…

Even with no-one around to see it, her smirk widened.

Next time…since you deduced my secret identity…perhaps I shall ask you how you managed to shrink, Kudo Shinichi, Meitantei-san.

tripleofive — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:30:06 GMT

You know, I have a little fic bit in my head for my Kaitoko!AU - she's from after the iron tanuki, but before Nightmare, and in that scene, Conan basically does his whole 'long, drawn out deduction' thing ...

Conan: *does long, drawn out deduction thing* You, Kaitou KID,are female!

KID: Yep.

Conan: *facepalm* oi, oi, don't be so deadpan about it...

KID: Well, it's not like I was really hiding it...

Safe: *Attempts to kill them*

KID: You know Tantei-kun, since we're talking about secret identities...how on earth did you manage to shrink, Kudo-kun?

Conan: adsdggfhfjf!!! *giga shock*

And in there somewhere there's some talk of why KID is dressing as male, and she makes a comment about just being KID's ghost...

God, I need to actually write this...

tripleofive — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:37:05 GMT

Title: Shatter
Fandom:Detective Conan/Magic Kaito
Characters: Kuroba Kaito/Kaitou KID, Snake, Inspector Nakamori Ginzo
Prompt: #11 Red
Word Count: 288 words.
Rating: pg-13 for violence and disturbing themes.
Author's Notes: character death and Psycho!Kaito…

Red used to be Kaito’s favourite colour.

He liked the brilliant fires of sunsets, and the deep glimmers in the ruby his father had bought his mother as an anniversary gift. He liked the soft flush of red on the petals of a rose, and the blush it brought to the cheeks of a pretty, blue-eyed girl outside a clock tower.

Then his father had died, burning in an accident of flames on stage – an accident that wasn’t really an accident, spilling red, red blood on the stage and making Mother’s eyes red from tears.

All over a red glow in a jewel.

And now…

Now the clean, pristine white suit of Kaitou KID is stained with red (He’s never going to be able to wear those gloves again, Mother will be mad at all the laundry she’ll have to do…except Mother is dead), and there is red dropping from Nakamori-Keibu’s lips onto the floor, joining the growing puddle of red on the rooftop (the bullet went right through him, should have been faster should have stopped him no-one gets hurt and now Aoko’s gonna cry and her pretty, pretty blue eyes will turn all red). In the corner of the rooftop, the shattered remains of a jem still glowed red under the light of the full moon.

Red. Red. Red.

And now Snake is red too, except where he’s grey and white, red pulp under his fists and splattered over the rooftop and on his jacket, brain matter pooling onto the gravel and white bone showing through, his face a rictus of horror from the sight of a maddened boy who had just lost his second father to the same man…

No, Kaito doesn’t like red anymore.

</div>

OTP Drabbles - Part One

tripleofive — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 04:29:55 GMT

These are some of the drabbles that were requested from my OTP meme challenge...

Three down, Four to go!

For talia_of_eragon

Himura Kenshin/Himura Battousai: mirrors
As a rule, Kenshin tried to avoid mirrors.

He’d turn his gaze away from Tomoe’s handheld one, even as he gifted it to her, and studiously avoided looking at Kaoru’s mother’s, which she kept in her room, when he cleaned.

Whenever he did catch a glimpse of his reflection, in a puddle of water out of the corner of his eye, he would pretend that he didn’t see the flash of amber eyes behind the violet, and worked even harder to avoid seeing it again.

But there was no way to avoid dreaming, though he did try, working himself to the bone just to have the chance that he would wake with no memory of what happened during the hours when the night was still.

It didn’t work.

Laying in bed in a half dozing state, with a pare of sword calloused hands that he knew as well as his own drifting through his hair, he wondered.

Why me?

You’re beautiful.

I’m you.

You’re still beautiful.

Narcissist.

No. I am not beautiful. You are kind, and gentle and determined…Beautiful.

A whisper soft brush of lips, trailing down his neck…

I’m you.

It doesn’t matter.

There are no mirrors in my room…

A bite.

Kenshin woke up.

Later, he tighten his gi up to hide his neck, and avoided mirrors even more strenuously, as he tried to tire himself out enough that he wouldn’t dream.

Tomoe: cold
When she was younger, Tomoe had heard the village housewives murmuring about her. Poor child, they would mutter, so young, to lose her mother, so young to have the responsibility…

As she grew older and blossomed, the murmurs changed, became harsher, stained by jealousy so cold, they would whisper to each other beautiful yes, stunning, but so cold! Like it was something to be ashamed of. She’ll never get a husband…who wants a wife that will lie frozen in your arms? And they would titter, like it was something funny.

They didn’t see the secret emotions she poured into her diary, or feel the flutter in her chest whenever Kiyosato Akira smiled at her, or the sheer incandescent joy that froze her heart and her lungs when he held out the hairpin, and asked her to marry him.

But she couldn’t show it, and she started to worry that the whispers were right.

Then Kiyosato died, and she knew she had had nothing to worry about. She had not been cold before.

She was now.

Her mind, her heart, all frozen.

In the icy storm of her rage and the frozen hatred of her vengeance, Tomoe went to Kyoto, the city of bloody streets where he had died. And she found a name.

Hitokiri Battousai.

And in the midst of her cold, Tomoe smiled.

Kiyosato: death
It wasn’t supposed to be this way…

He coughed out blood, staggering.

He was going to marry her…

He turned around again, meeting the steel cold amber eyes of a monster – the monster that was going to kill him, was going to take him away from her…

He was going to make her happy…make her smile…

In one last, desperate effort, he rushed at the Hitokiri, blood dripping out of fatal wounds onto the cold stones of the alley.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this!

He fell, sword marking the assassin’s cheek.

No…

There was a flower on the ground…she’d always liked flowers…

I will bring you crushed cherries when I return…

He was going to die. Just like Shigekura-san and Ishiji-san…

Will…she…cry for me…

He reached for the flower.

My love…

To…mo...e…

The sword came down – right before his fingers touched the flower.

In Edo, Yukishiro Tomoe dropped her brush, eyes wide, feeling as something had just…died.

Meme!

tripleofive — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 04:17:47 GMT

1. comment with any character in any of the bellow fandoms.
2. receive three bits of trivia about their sexuality: practices, preferences, experiences, fantasies, kinks, etc.
3. Profit!

Rurouni Kenshin
Detective Conan
Tamora Peirce
Dresden Files
Yuu Yuu Hakusho

30Kisses- Kenshin/Tomoe

tripleofive — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:54:38 GMT

Title: Dragonflies by tripleofive

Prompt: #1 look over here

Fandom: Rurouni Kenshin

Pairing: Kenshin Himura x Tomoe Yukishiro Himura

Rating: for everyone

It was a beautiful day.

Smiling softly, Tomoe laid gentle black eyes on her husbands form. He was bent over a vegetable stall, inspecting the produce and talking to the farmer who ran it. Their garden was still new, and they were unused to farming, so they relied mainly on Kenshin’s fogged memories of farming, and the help and advice of their neighbours.

Suddenly struck by an idea, Tomoe’s eyes glinted mischievously as she walked towards Kenshin, cat silent. It was so much easier to be silent in zori then in clacking geta, she mused.

Holding her breath as he came within reach, Tomoe carefully reached out and placed her hands over his eyes, long sleeves dangling down around his face.

Kenshin had known she was near the moment he smelled white plums.

Her ki was quiet, soft, flowing like air, or moonlight on water, and avoiding any attempts to pin it down, and yet he always knew where she was.

“I saw red dragonflies today.” She said softly, as he grasped her hands and pulled them from his eyes while he turned to face her.

She was not smiling, but her face was soft, and her eyes were warm.

Kenshin smiled for her.

“Oh?”

“Aa.” she nodded. “If you see red dragonflies, then you will have good luck in all your endeavours, my mother used to say.”

“Aa.” He said again. “We should go.” Turning to the farmer he thanked him for his help before starting towards the trail out of the village.

Walking back to the little cottage Katsura-san had provided that was slowly becoming synonymous with ‘home’ in his mind, Kenshin was startled by a soft exclamation.

“Oh!”

Whirling, he discounted an attack before he even finished the turn,as she didn’t sound frightened…but almost…happy.

Despite that, he was surprised to see her beckoning him over, a small, almost imperceptible smile on her face.

“Anata, look over here.”

He followed her gaze – and spotted two red dragonflies hovering next to each other.

She turned to him, eyes smiling. “Now we will both have good luck in all our endeavours…”

He turned to her, taking in the porcelain complexion, the inky blackness of her hair and eyes, the slight part of soft pink lips…

Good luck in all our endeavours…

Swiftly, almost without thinking of it, he reached down and placed a gentle kiss at the corner of those lips, butterfly soft.

“I guess your mother was right.” He said softly, more amused then he perhaps should have been by her expression.

Then he turned, and continued walking. After a moment, he heard her start after him, and the scent of white plum hovered around them both.

He found he rather liked red dragonflies.

The Return of the Shipping Meme!

tripleofive — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:03:41 GMT

Yanked from talia of eragon again! I'm doing this for Rurouni Kenshin, my favorite and longest lasting fandom!

Six ships you like:
1. Kenshin/Tomoe
2. Saitou/Kenshin
3. Enishi/Kenshin
4. Shishio/Yumi
5. Saitou/Tomoe
6. Kenshin/Soujirou

Three ships you used to like, but don't anymore:
7. Kenshin/Kaoru
8. Kenshin/Sano
9. Saitou/Tokio

Three ships that you can't stand:
10. Sano/Sayo
11. Misao/Saitou
12. Saitou/Kaoru

Two ships you're curious about but haven't actually started shipping:
13. Sano/Megumi
14. Aoshi/Misao

1. Why do you dislike #11 so much?
I just can't see them together - Misao loves Aoshi, and Saitou isn't a pedophile or an adulterer.

2. Who is someone you know that ships #13?
I don't know...J-Eventful?

3. What would be your ideal scenario for couple #3?
After the jinchuu arc, Kenshin discovers Enishi is in Rakuninmura, and proceeds to visit regularly, with food, medicene, stories of happier times with Tomoe...helps heal Enshi, and they end up in love!

4. Which is your favorite episode for #1?
Um...All of the flashback? Probably...When they first meet - he saves her, she goes to thank him, 'rain of blood' line, she faints and he takes her back to the inn.

5. How long have you been following couple #6?
Since the immortal line -
Soujirou: Why didn't you save me?
Kenshin: If it's not to late, may this one have another chance?

6. What's the story with #8? What made you stop liking them/caring?
It became to...cliche I guess...

7. Which ship do you prefer - #2 or #4?
#2 (Saitou/Kenshin) Definately #2.

8. You have the power to make one ship non existent. Choose from #10 or #12.
Sayo dies anyway, so...Saitou/Kaoru (#12)

9. What interests you about #14?
Her devotion...How he calms around her...how I honestly think they can grow together and remain in love for a long time...

10. When did you stop liking #7?
bad fanfics, with MarySue!Kaoru, Bitch!Tomoe, and...well, Watsuki did it better.

11. Did your waning interest in #9 kill your interest in the series?
Considering I lost interest cause we never get to see her...Hell NO!!!

12. What's a song that reminds you of #5?
A song that reminds me of Saitou/Tomoe?...Um...

13. Which of these ships do you love the most?
Kenshin/Tomoe. Forever.

14. Which do you dislike the most?
Saitou/Kaoru.

15. If you could have any of these two pairings double date, who would it be?
Kenshin/Tomoe and Shishio/Yumi - Hiokiri in Love!!!! *grin!*

16. Have #2 kissed yet?
NOOOOOO.....And they're never going to...

17. Did #4 have a happy ending? If the series hasn't ended yet, do you think a happy ending is likely?
Shishio/Yumi? err...Define 'happy'...In a manner of speaking, Isuppose...

18. What would make you start shipping #13?
A really good fanfic.

19. If only one could happen, which would you prefer - #2 or #6?
Saitou/Kenshin. Sorry Soujirou!

20. You have the power to decide the fate of #10. What happens to them?
*shrugs.* Canon - she dies, he mourns but moves on.

Ship Meme

tripleofive — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:40:36 GMT

Ganked from <lj user="talia-of-eragon">

Top 10 Shippings Overall

1. Kenshin/Tomoe (Rurouni Kenshin)
2. Kenshin/Saitou (Rurouni Kenshin)
3. Kenshin/Enishi (Rurouni Kenshin)
4. Kurama/Yuusuke (Yu Yu Hakusho)
5. Conan/Ai (Detective Conan)
6. Harry/Luna (Harry Potter)
7. Harry/Neville (Harry Potter)
8. Daine/Numair (Tamora Peirce)
9. Alana/George (Tamora Peirce)

Top 5 Love Triangles

1. Sakura/Sasuke/Narut
2. Kenshin/Tomoe/Kaoru (Rurouni Kenshin) (not sure if this really counts as a love triangle...)
3. Saitou/Tomoe/Battousai (Rurouni Kenshin) (these don't have to be canon, right?)
4. Yomi/Kurama/Hiei (Yu Yu Hakusho)
5. Saitou/Battousai/Okita (Rurouni Kenshin)

Top 5 Canon Pairings

1. Kenshin/Tomoe (Rurouni Kenshin)
2. Harry/Ginny (Harry Potter)
3. Daine/Numair (Tamora Peirce)
4. Alanna/George (Tamora Peirce)
5. Shishio/Yumi (Rurouni Kenshin)

Top 5 "Not my favorite, but they’re very nice alternate choices" Shippings

1. Aoshi/Misao (Rurouni Kenshin)
2. Kenshin/Kaoru (Rurouni Kenshin)
3. Soujirou/Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin)
4. Misao/Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin)
5. Akira/Tomoe (Rurouni Kenshin)

Top 5 Pedophilic Shippings

1. Pedophilia is pretty much my one squick...sorry...
2. -
3. -
4. -
5. -

Top 5 "wtf that makes no sense... but I LOVE it!" Shippings

1. Battousai/Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin)
2. Kaito/Kid (DCMK)
3. Saitou/Tomoe (Rurouni Kenshin)
4. Enishi/Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin)
5. Saitou/Battousai/Okita (Rurouni Kenshin)

Top 5 Crossover Shippings

1. Kenshin/Kurama (RK/YYH)
2. Battousai/Hiei (RK/YYH)
3. Battousai/Sesshomaru (Inuyasha/RK)
4. Orochimaru/Voldemort (HP/Naruto)
5. Harry/Gaara (HP/Naruto)

Top 5 "I just don’t feel what everyone else is feelin’" Shippings

1. Kenshin/Kaoru (Rurouni Kenshin)
2.Harry/Snape (Harry Potter)
3.Harry/Draco (Harry Potter)
4.Sano/Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin)
5. Jon/Alanna (Tamora Peirce)

Top 5 "I hope these die" Shippings

1. Harry/Snape (Harry Potter)
2. Enishi/Kaoru (Rurouni Kenshin)
3. ...I don't really hate that many ships...
4.
5.

Another Shipping Meme

tripleofive — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:31:32 GMT

Comment with one of my fandoms, and I will reply with my-

One True Pairing Ship:
Canon Ship:
"If this happens I'll stab my eyes out with a spork" Ship:
"You are one sick bastard" Ship:
"I dabble a little" Ship:
"It's like a car crash" Ship:
"Tickles my fancy but not sold just yet" Ship:
"Makes no canon sense but why the Hell not" Ship:
"Everyone else loves it but I just don't feel it" Ship:
"When all is said and done" Ship:

Droplets, ficlet 3

tripleofive — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 06:27:13 GMT

Katsura x Kenshin, fire

The moment the boy had stepped out onto the training field, he’d felt the wheels of destiny begin to turn.

It was the colour of his hair that had done it, he thought later.

The colour of flame.

He’d embraced the philosophy of his teacher whole heartedly.

Fire, like the madness he was attempting to harness, would be use to burn down the old, corrupt and overgrown garden that was the shogunate, cleansing Japan.

The moment he’d seen that hair, he’d known it for the sign it was, and that impression was only confirmed by the boys performance on the field.

This young man, this Himura Kenshin, could be that cleansing fire. The fire that would clear away the mulch of the old era to make way for the new.

It was only when he looked into blank, colourless eyes, slowly edging into amber, that he realised his mistake – for in his fervour, he’d forgotten one crucial fact.

In the end, a fire inevitably consumes itself.

Droplets, ficlet 4

tripleofive — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:40:42 GMT

Kenshin x Tomoe, Hair

He stepped into the small cottage in Otsu to find her waiting for him. She’d lit the fire already and the warm glows transformed her, already stunningly beautiful, into something transcendent, a goddess in a white yukata, light shining on smooth skin and highlighting the shadows of soft curves.

He stopped, breath caught.

This woman, framed by light, eyes dark and mysterious and somehow sorrowful, this woman was his wife.

It still took his breath away even now, caught by the same sheer joy he had felt when she had said yes, standing on a bridge as the sun set before them.

“Anata,” came a soft voice.

Pulled from his thoughts, Kenshin blinked. He’d been doing that a lot more lately, drifting off and going into his own world when he never would have in Kyoto – was he finally getting used to the peace of the countryside?

Or was it her?

She made him react so strangely…

“Yes?” he replied.

Tomoe hesitated. Though her face was still expressionless, her body was tense and her hands were clenched tight in her yukata.

She was nervous, Kenshin realised with a start. What could she possibly be nervous of…him?

The very thought of her, the one person who treated him like a man and not a monster or a weapon fearing him.. the thought made his sick to his stomach.

“I…have a request, if it’s not too much trouble…” she said softly.

“Nothing you ask for could be.” He answered truthfully, relieved beyond words at the realization that she wasn’t scared of him, but of being to presumptuous.

Frankly, she could ask for Japan itself and he would move heaven and earth to lay its emperors crown at her feet, just to see the light of happiness in her eyes.

“May I run my fingers through your hair?” she asked softly, eyes lowered demurely, the proper lady even now.

Kenshin blinked.

Why would she want to touch his hair? No-one liked his hair – it scared them, with it’s colour like blood. Not even he liked his hair much…

But if it would make her happy…

He reached up and pulled the tie from his hair, causing it to fall around his face in waves down to his waist.Tomoe sighed softly. His hair was so beautiful, shades of orange and red and gold like autumn leaves.

Ever since she’d first seen it at the inn where he had saved her, she’d longed to run her fingers through it, but it had been improper to even think of it – contrary to what most of the Ishin Shishi thought, she was not having relations with Himura-san whilst they were at the inn.

Frankly, it was still improper, but who was there to comment? And they were married now, though they hadn’t consummated that marriage…

Yet…

Tomoe was drawn from her thoughts as her husband sat down with his back to her, and she reached out.

As her gentle fingers began combing through the long tresses, his thoughts wandered.

This felt goood…

But he was surprised at this ability of his to relax with his back to someone – even now he always slept sitting up. Then again, Tomoe was special…

But really, what did he even know about her? Nothing – he knew she wandered alone at night and drunk on sake, he knew she was a good cook, he knew she didn’t like the war…

Not much at all really.

Who was this woman? He wondered to himself, slowly relaxing as she started massaging his head. Who was this s?

Consumed by his thoughts and the gentle ministration to his hair, he slowly relaxed.

Tomoe blinked in surprise as she felt him relax into her – and then her eyes widened as he lay back fully, resting his head in her lap

She hesitated a moment, blushing – then returned to her gentle stroking through her husbands hair.

Yes, she thought silently, my husband…

His head pillowed on white linen and slender thighs, Kenshin drifted, entering the strange state between waking and sleep, and as he did his mind returned to his earlier thoughts.

Who was this woman, this Yukishiro Tomoe, that could so tame a demon and have him lie his head in her lap with only the soft stroke of her fingers through his hair?

Lying there, at peace for the first time in years, Kenshin knew the answer.

This woman…is my wife.

12 Characters meme

tripleofive — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:13:33 GMT

First, write down the names of 12 characters (it's best when they're all from the same fandom). Then read and answer the questions.You can't look at the questions (or click on the cut) until you write down the 12 characters you're going to use.

1) Himura Kenshin

2) Yukishiro Tomoe

3) Yukishiro Enishi

4) Himura Battousai

5) Kamiya Kaoru

6) Saitou Hajime

7) Seta Soujirou

8) Katsura Kogorou

9) Sagara Sanosuke

10) Okita Souji

11) Shishio Makoto

12) Hiko Seijuuro

Have you ever read a Saitou/Shishio fic? Do you want to?

No I haven’t. That would be pretty darn hot though…

Do you think Battousai is hot? How hot?

Battousai, hot? He’s not hot he’s smoking! (Tomoe is a lucky girl…)

What would happen if Hiko got Katsura pregnant?

Well, Japan would sell the mpreg technology, and Kenshin would attempt to kill his Shishou, and the Shogunate would die laughing…

Can you rec any fics about Sano?

Well, I like ‘Different Lives’ by tir-synni, which is Sano/Kenshin AU, divergent and really good, but hasn’t been updated in a while…

Would Tomoe and Saitou make a good couple?

Hmm… Well, apart from the whole problem of Battousai preceding to break into Shinsengumi headquarters and kill Saitou for stealing his wife…Well, it’s pretty much impossible in canon, but if you’re doing say a modern AU…Tomoe would be good for Saitou, wouldn’t put up with any of his bullshit, and since I picture Tokio as kind of like Tomoe anyway…Now I kind of want to write this AU…

Kaoru/Sano or Kaoru/Okita? Why?

Sano definitely – they’re the same age, and both alive at the same time, they’re friends, she can keep him in line – of course, this is presuming Kenshin’s not there, because I doubt she’d look at another male when he is.

What would happen if Soujirou walked in on Tomoe and Hiko having sex?

He’d back out, apologizing profusely, still smiling, then shukuchi away before Hiko could kill him.

Make up a summary for a Enishi/Okita fic.

After Enishi is beaten by Kenshin, he starts wandering, eventually coming across a man that was long thought to be dead…can the first captain of the Shinsengumi teach Enishi the true happiness of life?

Is there any such thing as Kenshin/Katsura fluff?

No. I love that pairing, but it’s all about the guilt. Maybe if Katsura wanted to offer comfort after an assassination or Tomoe’s death, but there’d still be angst.

What kind of plot device would you use if you wanted Battousai to deflower Kenshin?

Time Travel.

Does anyone on your friends list read Soujirou slash?

Not that I know of – if any of you do, can you rec me some?

Does anyone on your friends list read Enishi het?

Again, not that I know of…I don’t really like Enishi paired with anyone but Kenshin, so…

Does anyone on your friends list write or draw Shishio?

J_Eventful!!! Everyone read her oneshot Off Guard, it’s a brilliant idea, and really well done.

Would anyone on your friends list write Tomoe/Battousai/Kaoru?

Tomoe/Battousai/Kaoru…Well, solves the whole love triangle problem. No-one does, but I for one would love to read it!

What might Okita scream at a moment of great passion?

Tennen Rishi Ryu Ougi! Or Long Live the Shogunate! (hey, a great moment of passion doesn’t have to be sex…)

If you wrote a songfic about Katsura, which song would you choose?

Unforgiven, by metallica. So I dub thee unforgiven… It could be from Kenshin’s point of view.

If you wrote a Kenshn/Saitou/Hiko fic, what would the warnings be?

Threesome, obviously. Yaoi…Bondage and double penetration (sorry Kenshin…)

What would be a good pick-up line for Tomoe to use on Okita?

“I know Battousai’s weakness.”

When was the last time you read a fic about Kaoru?

Today – I’m currently rereading Doll House, and it’s got a wonderful Kaoru in it.

Would Shishio shag Sano? Drunk or sober?

Well, if he thought it might break him, possibly...so sober.

If Enishi and Soujirou get together, who tops?

Enishi. Definitely Enishi. I don’t think Enishi could bear to give up control enough to bottom, at least post series.

"One and Nine are in a happy relationship until Nine suddenly runs off with Four. One, broken-hearted, has a hot one-night stand with Eleven and a brief unhappy affair with Twelve, then follows the wise advice of Five and finds true love with Three." What title would you give this fic? Name three people on your friends list who might read it. Name one person who should write it.
"Kenshin and Sano are in a happy relationship until Sano suddenly runs off with Battousai. Kenshin, broken-hearted, has a hot one-night stand with Shishio and a brief unhappy affair with Hiko, then follows the wise advice of Kaoru and finds true love with Enishi." The Problems of Split Personality’s…J_Eventful for the Lol’s, same with VampiressRina…I don’t know who would write it. Could it be written?

How would you feel if Katsura/Soujirou was canon?
Katsura you pedophile!!!

Does Okita strike you as a voyeur or an exhibitionist?

Voyeur. (He’d watch Saitou and Battousai get it on…)

Who of the list would Shishio most likely bottom to?

Only Hiko. Because Hiko is the ultimate seme.

Would you rather do Enishi or Kaoru?

I’m a girl and straight. Enishi.

Which of Battousai and Kenshin would you rather have do you?

YOU WANT ME TO CHOOSE BETWEEN BATTOUSAI AND KENSHIN!!!!!!!! *whimpers* Can’t I have both…Um, Kenshin, cause he’d be gentle, and there’s still some Battousai in him for the passion.

How much would you pay to see naked pictures of Shishio? Have you? Where can the rest of us find these pictures?

Before the burns? A lot. After…Not so much (Yumi can have him.) And no, I haven’t – maybe Yumi is keeping them all to herself.

Where are Kaoru and Sano most likely to have sex?

Hmm, the dojo’s bathhouse.

Steamy…

When Hiko masturbates, he thinks about...

Kenshin (secret Kenshin/Hiko shipper)

What is Shishio's favorite sex toy?

Yumi *Grin*

Who's more likely to be tied up during (consensual) sex, Tomoe or Saitou?

Tomoe. She’s able to submit without loosing herself.

Saitou x Kenshin ficlet

tripleofive — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:02:19 GMT

The next one of my drabble series!

Saitou x Kenshin, Eyes

In Kyoto, even the markets smelled like blood. Hat covering crimson hair, Himura Battousai looked out over the busy marketplace. There was a feeling of tenseness in the air – people walked quickly, heads down, and nervously moved around the occasional spot that was conspicuously stained red.

Even so, life went on, and the market was one of the few places where Kenshin felt normal anymore.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd, people stumbling away from the centre, huddling towards the edges.

Kenshin frowned, through a gap in the crowd he could just make out a group of men, wearing light blue Haori. He slipped through the crowd so silently that no-one noticed his passing until he was near the front. The blue haori had white triangles on the edges.

He’d been warned about this group, these Shinsengumi.

He studied the pack of wolves, eyes lingering on one tall figure, whose hair was pulled back severely except for some strands that fell in front of his face.

This man smelled like blood, and his ki was softened, hidden, but still bright, shining with conviction. Suddenly, the man he’d been watching turned his head and met

Kenshin’s eyes. Kenshin gasped.

The man had amber eyes, killer’s eyes…eyes like his.

He turned to one of the men next to him, asking him who the wolf like man was - Saitou Hajime, Captain of the third troop of the Shinsengumi.

Saitou Hajime…he mused. The man who has the same eyes as me…

He’d heard of the Shinsengumi’s motto, but hadn’t but much stock in it – Aku Soku Zan was all very well and good, but in his experience, the members of the Shinsengumi were more likely to be fighting for honour or glory or bloodlust then any true belief.

But not this man. Even from here he could feel his conviction, like a flame - Kill evil instantly.

Turning to go, Kenshin put the man out of his mind except for one last thought – maybe one day I’ll have the honour of being killed by you, Saitou Hajime…Man with the same eyes as me.

New community

tripleofive — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 04:13:33 GMT

I've just started a new community kenshinxtomoe , for the pairing of Kenshin/Tomoe (duh!). So anyone who likes Kenshin/Tomoe, please join!

Drabbles

tripleofive — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:46:48 GMT

So, as everyone reading my journal knows, I adore Rurouni Kenshin - seriously, it's my favorite fandom ever.
So, I made a list of my favorite pairings (my absolute favorites that is), and put together a list of prompts for each pairing, words that I felt captured something about that pairing- and I'm going to write drabbles on them.
Now, I've already tried this with Dresden Files - and failed miserably, but I won't give up!

Also, I have a question for whoever reads this - I've signed up for 1sentence set Beta, pairing Kenshin/Saitou, and I was wondering - do I post the prompts I've completed as I finish them (in sets of more then one) like I did with set alpha, or just post the whole thing when I'm done?

Here are the prompts:
Kenshin x Tomoe; silence, snow, blood, sheath, cat, stray, red, black, white, plum, scent, tragedy, death, remembrance, hair
Saitou x Kenshin; ambush, amber, eyes, life, death, sword, water, bridge, respect, possession, rivalry, wolf
Enishi x Kenshin; revenge, obsession, family, love, hate, need, history, guilt, hair,
Katsura x Kenshin; guilt, weapon, old, young, fire, city, water, wood,
Okita x Kenshin; young, swordsmanship, rivalry, water, wolf, snow, mine
Battousai x Kenshin; demon, mind, meory, hair, eyes, fire, blood, snow, word, steel, night, touch, mine

And here is a drabble I wrote earlier today, for Kenshin/Tomoe, Silence.

They did not need words to speak. Not these two broken souls, frozen in their pain unless they were with each other. Wounded and in pain alone, but whole together, finding some measure of happiness out of the ashes of their lives.

They both gravitated to the silence, and so that was how they communicated. In smiles and glances, a whole conversation held in the twitch at the corner of the mouth, in the fluttering of an eyelash, in slight movements of hand and arm and head.

The harvest was good today; a twitch of a smile on a redheads lips.

Dinner is ready; jet black eyes flicker.

The children are happy today; a twitch of the head sending a long rope of red hair over a shoulder.

The one thing they never say, not in words or looks or touches, is I love you.

He comes close, until death do us part.

As does she, you need a sheath, to hold back the madness, so if you don’t mind…I’m going to stay with you for a while.

But they don’t say it – until it’s too late. A last smile, pained as blood tints the snow pink, it’s alright, this is the way it’s meant to be, so please don’t cry.

Tears from violet eyes, as he presses his lips to her cold, dead smile.

Please don’t go. I love you.

Rurouni Kenshii Chapter Three part two

tripleofive — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:13:42 GMT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Enishi shivered.

“I feel like someone just walked over my grave,” he murmured, before turning back to the figure before him.

“It’s nice to see you again nee-chan. I missed you.” He sighed. “I think you’d like Kenshii though. Yes, she was the Hitokiri Battousai, and the one who killed Akira-san, but…well, it’s complicated. She took me in when I had no-one, even though I was a real brat then…”

He smiled.

“I remember you always looked so strained whenever I had a temper tantrum…”

The smile faded. “I’m sorry nee-chan. Maybe, if I hadn’t been so selfish, if I had paid more attention to the look in your eyes, you wouldn’t…be gone.” He closed his eyes and bowed his head.

“She reminds me of you, you know.” He said so softly that he could barely hear himself. “I didn’t realise it at first, when I hated her for taking away your happiness, for making you sad, for making you-” he stopped, choking on his words, and then continued.

“She has trouble showing her emotions like you, or at least she did – she’s gotten better at it, these past ten years. And she feels so deeply, just like you…”

“I’m sorry nee-chan.” He said, his voice soft.

He bowed his head. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you…but I won’t make that mistake with Kenshii. I will protect her, like I couldn’t protect you…”

His voice softened. “…from yourself…”

Leaning forward he gently placed his fingertips on the stone before him. “Nee-chan…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I see, so the rumours of Battousai being here were because of an imposter.”

Inside the commissioner’s office, two men sat talking. One of the men, who had a big walrus moustache, an expensive uniform, and a cigar in his mouth spoke to the other, a smaller man with round glasses.

“I was so busy settling the matters that rose up from the Seinan war that I haven’t been able to get here before now, and I had to rush. I’m sure if I’d had time to think about it and read the reports, I’d have realised…Battousai wasn’t that large, and there was no mention of the hair or the scar…”

He suddenly chuckled. “Then again, I’ve been looking in the entirely wrong direction. He always was sneakily clever, was Kogorou…” the moustached man said reminiscently.

The other man raised his eyebrows. “Katsura Kogorou?”

“Right – he was Battousai’s main commander. And he kept a secret…if he hadn’t left a letter, no-one would have known, but he wanted Battousai to receive the rewards she deserved – and so do I.”

The man with the glasses froze, mouth open. “Sh-she!” he stuttered.

Eyes gleaming, Yamagata Aritomo smiled. “Yes, that was roughly my reaction too.”

Suddenly turning serious, he stumped out his cigar. “Himura was never the type of person to show off her strength. She killed yes – she killed many, but it was for the new era, never her own gain.”

He raised his eyes, setting them on Uramura’s. “Himura saved many Ishin Shishi lives with her sword - including mine. Without Himura Battousai, the revolution would not have been successful. I will find her, and grant her the rewards she deserves – I had planned to give her a job in the emperor’s military, but now that I know her gender…”

Uramura blinked. “Ah, yes, that would be rather hard to hide, wouldn’t it? It’s been a decade since the Bakumatsu, so even if she were young enough then to pass for a boy, she wouldn’t be able to now.”

Yamagata nodded. “Ah. Himura could act as an advisor, teach, or simply take a position high up in the government, and when she retires or marries, she would receive monetary compensation for all her work.” He sighed. “But first I need to find her…”

Clearing his throat, Uramura ventured a comment. “About the false Battousai…the culprits were found beaten in front of the station – beaten so badly they weren’t even secured as none of them could move enough to be a threat.”

Yamagata blinked. “Do you know who did it?” he asked.

Uramura pushed his glasses up his nose nervously. “It’s probably just talk but…they claim it was the ‘real one’. The real Battousai.”

Eyes wide, Yamagata gaped slightly. “What...”

Just then, the door burst open, revealing a panting young man in a police uniform. “It’s terrible chief!”

Spluttering, Uramura rose. “Idiot! There’s a guest here! Can’t you knock?”

The young policeman snapped into a salute. “I apologize sir! But it’s the sword-bearing police…”

Uramura frowned. “Ujiki! He’s at it again I suppose!”

“Sword-bearing police?” Yamagata asked. “I haven’t heard that name.”

“It’s a group of swordsmen. They were formed to deal with the fake Battousai problem, but even after he’s in jail they’re still hanging around – and though they were formed by orders from Tokyo, their captain and most of the men are from Satsuma.”

Yamagata frowned as he realised what that meant. “I see, they can be arrogant, as Satsuma are the ones in charge of the police, as we Choushu are in charge of the army.”

As Yamagata began to gather up his travelling coat and hat Uramura turned to the young officer. “What did they do this time?” he questioned, resigned.

The officer swallowed. “A-actually, they’re still fighting – and it’s only one person.”

Uramura gaped. “What!” he shouted. “That’s ridiculous! They’re some of the finest swordsmen in the country! I can’t believe it!”

“But it’s true!”

“Who is it?” Uramura asked frantically. “Who is the swordsman!”

The officer hesitated. “W-we don’t know…but it’s not a swordsman…”

His voice got softer as though he couldn’t believe what he was saying. “It’s a woman.”

Yamagata froze.

“A woman!”

“Yes – dressed all in black, with red hair, and she moves faster then the eye can see…”

Yamagata’s eyes got wider. Could it be…?

“Oh – and she has a scar on her left cheek, in the shape of a cross!”

Himura Battousai! I’ve found you at last!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Yamagata rushed from the carriage, his eyes widened as he saw Himura Kenshii land from a jump, followed by the last standing members of the sword corps falling to the ground, crying from the pain of broken bones and crushed ligaments.

Amber eyes stared into the maddened eyes of Captain Ujiki.

“And then there was one…”

Somehow the fact that the words were spoken in such a sweet voice made them even more terrifying. Ujiki sweated as he raised his sword into the guard position.

Kenshii felt his ki out again, and frowned inwardly, though her face didn’t move from its frozen expression. The man in front of her truly was mad, and though normally she would try to convince him to stop terrifying the townspeople, she doubted he would actually use the chance she would give him.

She nodded to herself as she decided – the policemen from before had seemed reasonable, and brave to stand up to Ujiki. She would get rid of this rabid dog that dared to call itself a swordsman, and then allow herself to be arrested for violating the sword banning act.

Her eyes narrowed at Ujiki, as he raised his sword so it was shoulder height and parallel to his head. She recognised the stance.

“Come.” She said softly, and he charged.

In the crowd Kaoru’s eyes widened. That stance…it’s the ‘ni-no-tachi irazu’ style of Jigen Ryu – the best school in Satsuma!

“Stop Ujiki!” Uramura cried out. “That woman is -”

“Your captain Ujiki is a fool.” Yamagata said simply. Uramura turned to him. “But that stance! Ujiki is a master of Jigen Ryu! That’s one of the strongest sword styles in Japan!”

Yamagata looked at him, before turning back to Ujiki and Kenshii. “One of.” He said softly. “Yes, the Jigen Ryu is certainly unique and very strong, but…”

Ujiki finished his charge and swept his sword down - onto air.

From above Kenshii narrowed her eyes and calculated. She didn’t want to kill the dog, only make sure he would never use a sword again, so she had to make sure she didn’t break his back.

“…Against Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu it is nothing.”

As she landed, sheathing her sword, Ujiki fell to the floor. Most of the people hadn’t even seen her swing.

For a moment, everything was silent, as if the world itself was afraid of breaking the moment, and disturbing the tableau of the red-haired woman, ragged black sleeves blowing slightly from the wind of her movement, bangs shadowing her eyes.

Then – the sound of geta clattering on cobblestone as Kaoru ran up to her house guest.

“Kenshii! Are you alright?” As Kenshii turned towards Kaoru, she held her breath – then let it out in a huff of relief as she saw that not only was Kenshii unharmed, her eyes were violet again.

Kenshii smiled softly, her eyes closing. “Ah, I’m alright Kaoru-dono. Thank you for asking.” She bowed slightly in thanks.

As if Kaoru had broken a spell, all of a sudden the crowd rushed Kenshii, crying out in congratulations.

“Well, done! That showed them! Come have a drink with us!” As the crowd crushed them Kaoru yelped and Kenshii oro-ed.

“Himura!” Kenshii turned and her eyes widened as she saw the two men. “I’ve finally found you.” Yamagata continued. ‘I’ve been looking for ten years…”

“Yamagata-san.” Kenshii said softly as she squirmed her way free of the crowd. “You’ve grown a moustache.”

Yamagata walked over to them as policemen started pushing the crowd away and gathering up the sword corps.

Kaoru stared at the man she recognised from the carriage – the one who had asked her for directions to the police station.

Yamagata-san Kenshii had called him.

Could he be Yamagata Aritomo, General of the Army?

One of the greatest of the Ishin Shishi…

“Himura,” said Yamagata, holding out his hand, “come, the carriage is waiting.”

Kenshii tilted her head curiously. “Carriage?”

“Of course!” Yamagata exclaimed. “Many from our former unit have been waiting for you to return! It is time you received the rewards you have so justly earned!”

“Rewards?” Kenshii questioned, tense. She didn’t think Yamagata-san would kill her, but she’d been wrong before…

“The payment you left before receiving, the honour due to a patriot as great as you, and the position in our government that is rightly yours.” Yamagata explained.

Relaxing slightly, Kenshii tilted her head. “Honour, money, power…you really think I fought for any of those?” she said softly.

“Of course not!” Yamagata said, affronted. “You fought for a new era where all could live in peace! But you left before you could be rewarded!”

“Look around you Yamagata-san.” Kenshii said, gesturing around at the marketplace. “Look at the children playing, and the sun shining, at the shops full of food. Look at the people who walk freely, heads held high. This is all the reward I desire. And besides…”

She smiled bitterly. “I don’t feel the slightest longing for the glorious work of the hitokiri.”

“What!” Yamagata stepped forward, face red. “If you are talking about the assassinations, don’t worry about them! They were simply part of the great work of the Ishin Shishi!”

Kenshii raised an eyebrow, face expressionless. “Running up behind someone in the rain and killing them and their bodyguards before they could even scream was part of the great work of the Ishin Shishi?” You could barely hear the sarcasm. “There is a reason Hitokiri Battousai is considered a demon Yamagata-san – I have no interest in waking that demon from its sleep.”

Yamagata was flustered. “Yes, some hated the hitokiri, but those people-”

“Are suppressed by government authority?” Kenshii’s voice whipped out like a lash, sending Yamagata back a step, eyes wide.

She softened slightly, nodding towards where Ujiki was being carried off, his eyes rolled up to show the whites. “To think like that leads to conceit and arrogance, just like it did to the sword corps.” Her voice got softer. “…just like it did the shogunate…”

She looked Yamagata in the eye. “We once fought together for an ideal with our swords. It wasn't for power or for glory, but to create a peaceful world where people could live without fear. And, if you should forget about that, then what did we fight the revolution for?”

Yamagata was silent. Kenshii turned to go. “If we forget what we fought for, then we are not revolutionaries – just usurpers.”

“But Himura!” Yamagata called. Kenshii and Kaoru turned to face him.

“The times have changed! It is the Meiji era, and there is an edict against wearing swords! The samurai have been abolished – it’s not like the Bakumatsu!” He stepped forward, desperate to make her see. “In this world, in this era, without government power one sword can do nothing!”

Smiling, Kenshii placed her hand on Kaoru’s shoulder, causing her to look down in surprise. “But with one sword, I can protect the people around me.” Kaoru glanced up at her, eyes wide and a soft blush on her cheek. Kenshii …

“As long as I have this one sword, I can protect the happiness of those in my sight, one by one. That is enough.”

Yamagata’s eyes widened, as Kenshii took her hand down and turned to go. “I’m still the same as the old days Yamagata-san, except that the Hitokiri is now the rurouni. Good day.”

Watching the two women walk away, Yamagata was surprised by the soft voice from behind him. “Commissioner…”

He turned to face Uramura, suddenly looking very tired and very old.

“Judging by the townspeople’s actions, I think it is obvious who is at fault here.” he said.

Uramura nodded, “Of course.”

Pushing his glasses up his nose, Uramura smiled. “As her sword represents no danger in this matter, I think we can close our eyes.”

With a small smile on his face, Uramura looked at where the two women were leaving. “Because of the fake Hitokiri Battousai,” he said “I imagined someone more dangerous.”

Uramura smiled.

“But now I see…the real one is different.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaoru tilted her head back, letting the wind ruffle her ponytail. The sun was setting, and she could already tell it was going to be a lovely night.

She looked at Kenshii as she walked ahead, red hair streaming down the back of her yukata. I think… I’m beginning to understand now – why Kenshii became a rurouni, but…

…there’s still one more mystery…

Kenshii smiled. “You still have a question in your eyes.” She said softly.

Kaoru hesitated. She really wanted to know… but would Kenshii get upset?

She looked over to where Kenshii was smiling at her, looking incredibly patient.

“Why do you put up with him?” she burst out. She hesitated, but then continued on, eager to ask her question before she lost her nerve. “He’s so irritating! And arrogant! And mean, and sarcastic, and-”

Kenshii interrupted. “Tell me Kaoru-dono – what is the first rule of sword care?”

Kaoru blinked, but answered. “Always clean your sword.” She answered.

“Ah.” Kenshii nodded, “and the second?”

“Always sheathe your sword.”

Kenshii smiled at her. “Do you know why that is?”

Kaoru nodded. “Sheathing the sword prevents it from being exposed to water that could rust it or could make the steel more brittle and easier to break.”

“Very true – but that is not all a sheath does. A sheath protects a sword from the elements, yes – but it also protects it from itself.”

“From itself?”

“Yes. When the sword is sheathed, it’s prevented from slashing wildly, and getting soaked in blood that causes deterioration and rust.”

Kaoru hesitated. She got the feeling that they were talking about more than swords right now, but she didn’t quite understand what Kenshii was getting at.

“What does this have to do with you and Enishi?” she asked.

“It’s quite simple,” Kenshii smiled, “Hitokiri Battousai was a drawn sword, soaked with blood – Enishi is my sheath.”

Kaoru blinked, feeling strangely ashamed. The sheer feeling in those four words…Enishi is my sheath…

Kenshii…

Kenshii started to walk again, huffing as she swiped a lock of hair out of her face. She needed to get another hair tie…

Kaoru looked as Kenshii fussed at her hair, and then smiled.

Still smiling, Kaoru grabbed the end of her ribbon – a blue one this time, the colour of the morning sky – and pulled it off. Her hair settled along her back like a river of ink.

Kenshii’s eyes widened in shock as she felt cool hands lifting her hair, pulling it back from where it had been falling in her face.

“Kaoru-dono?” she questioned “What are you doing?”

“That nasty policeman broke your hair tie, and it looked like it was getting in your way.”

Kenshii turned wide eyes on her, before feeling behind her head and pulling the ribbon to where she could see it.

“Oro?”

Kaoru laughed.

Rurouni Kenshii Chapter Three part One

tripleofive — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:50:37 GMT

Rating: T, for blood, violence, and future adult implications.

Pairings: None in this chapter

Summary: How would things have been different, if Himura Kenshin had been born a girl? Genderbender AU, going from the beginning of the series to the end…

Chapter summary: Kenshii gets in more trouble about her sword and meets an old friend from the Bakumatsu, Kaoru learns a bit more about why Kenshii is a rurouni and Enishi goes to visit his sister…

Disclaimer: I don’t own Rurouni Kenshin. It belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shounen Jump, etc.

Rurouni Kenshii

Chapter Three

A week after the Hiruma brothers have gone and the violence of the false Battousai has been put to an end, Adjutant Master of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu Kamiya Kaoru has rushed about recalling her students to revive her school…

But…

“Not a single one!” Kaoru said, fuming. “Not a single one has come back, the cowards! This is unbelievable!”

From where she was doing the laundry, Kenshii looked up, eyes wide and gentle. “It’s because we live in an age of culture and enlightenment,” she said, folding the now clean sheet. “Once things change, it’s hard to go back.”

All of a sudden, Kaoru was in her face. “Speaking of unbelievable, what about your age? 28? It’s a lie, a trick! Apologize and tell me the truth!”

Kenshii backed away slowly, eyes wide. “Would you prefer 30?”

Kaoru shook her head, deadpan. “Not good enough.”

“Don’t be so picky, stick girl.” Enishi jumped down from where he’d been lounging on the roof of the engawa.

“Don’t call me stick girl!” Kaoru shouted at him.

“Don’t pick on Kenshii!” he shouted back. “Just because she’s too nice and puts up with your mood swings…”

Kaoru stuck her tongue out at him, before brightening and turning to Kenshii, proving Enishi’s point.

“Oh, that reminds me - today I’m going to the market, will you two come with me? I need to buy more than usual, so I’ll need more hands…”

Kenshii smiled brightly. “We’d love to Kaoru- dono.”

“Speak for yourself.” Enishi snorted. “I have something to do today.”

Kaoru nodded. She didn’t want that rude man around in any case – how could Kenshii stand him? If they weren’t related and they weren’t married…

Oh well. There were some things that would just have to remain mysteries.

“I’ll see you at the front gate in five minutes, okay?” she said to Kenshii, who nodded and waved her away.

After Kaoru was gone, there was silence for a moment, before Kenshii spoke.

“You were born in Edo - I mean Tokyo, weren’t you Eni-chan.”

“Yeah - and stop calling me that.”

Though usually this would cause Kenshii to start teasing, her expression was serious. “Are you going to visit her?”

Enishi tensed. “…yes.”

“I’ll see you soon then.” Kenshii nodded, and then went to go meet Kaoru, leaving Enishi alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As she walked through the streets of Tokyo slowly, feet encumbered by her white, red and black kimono, Kaoru was pondering her new visitor.

You wouldn’t think she’d been the Hitokiri Battousai to look at her.

She thought, watching as Kenshii bumped into a man and apologised sweetly.

After the Bakumatsu, all the old Ishin Shishi patriots lay down their swords and took positions in the new government. If she wanted honour or money or power she could have it without even asking, so why…?

Kaoru was shaken out of her thoughts by Kenshii turning towards her with a sweet smile. “Is there something you wanted to ask me?” she asked. “You have a question in your eyes.”

Kaoru hesitated, before remembering her words last time she’d been at the market. We all have things in our past that we don’t want to talk about…

She twitched. “Not at all,” she shouted, “it’s your sword - you can’t just walk around with a sword these days!”

Kenshii waved her hands in an effort to calm Kaoru down.

“But just two years ago, lots of people wore them.” She said. “Look, its not bothering anybody.” She gestured around her, and true enough, no one seemed to care at all that a woman was walking around with a sword strapped to her back.

“But what are you going to do when the police find it, like last time?” Kaoru snapped, “They won’t care that it’s a Sakabatou.”

Kenshii shrugged, still smiling. “If it happens it happens,” she said pragmatically, causing Kaoru to huff in exasperation, before she smiled cunningly. “Well then,” Kaoru said with false cheerfulness, “let’s start with the shopping.” Her eyes gleamed, and for a moment Kenshii was reminded of the tales of mischievous shape-shifting tanuki spirits. “You can get the soy sauce, miso, and salt.” Kaoru finished.

“Oro!” Kenshii exclaimed. “All the heavy things!”

“Don’t complain!” Kaoru sang out happily, before waving Kenshii into the shop.

As Kaoru turned to get the things she needed, a coach rolled up behind her with a clatter of wheels on cobblestones.

“Excuse me, miss,” came a deep voice. “I’m a little lost – could you possibly direct me to the police station?” The older man was wearing a cape made of fine cloth, and had a bushy black walrus moustache.

“Oh, yes…” Kaoru turned and pointed up the road, “you just turn right at the large street ahead.”

“Thank you.” The man nodded, before calling up to his driver. “Let’s hurry.”

As the carriage rattled away, Kaoru blew a strand of hair out of her eyes thoughtfully. “That startled me. I wonder where he’s from; I haven’t seen him before…”

Suddenly, she brightened. “Oh well, back to shopping.”

Inside the carriage, the man, lit a cigar and blew a strand of smoke into the air. Are you really in this town? He thought. Are you really here…Himura Battousai?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As rowdy noises echoed around the market square, Kaoru looked up from where she was inspecting a daikon.

“What’s this commotion?” She asked a workman who was passing by. “What’s going on?”

The workman turned to look at her as he answered. “The police caught someone. One of the people who were breaking the sword banning act a few days ago - the pretty girl with red hair.”

The daikon broke.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Enishi nodded in thanks to the flower merchant as he studied the bundle of flowers in his hands.

I don’t get it nee-chan…what’s so good about irises? Other flowers are prettier, why don’t I get you those?

A gentle look from deep black eyes, a soft smile curling pale lips up, and the soft scent of white plums…

I like irises best, because they’re like me – they look most beautiful in the rain.

Enishi stretched as a ray of sunlight broke through the clouds. He hoped nee-chan would like the flowers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, in the marketplace, Kenshii was backed up against a wall – literally.

“You can’t run away!” cried a policeman.

Kenshii raised a hand to scratch her head, taking in the situation. There were half a dozen police officers around her in a semicircle, carrying long poles and hemming her in with her back to a wall.

“That’s true, you’re very persistent.”

She sighed.

“I suppose there’s nothing to be done - I’ll go peace-”

“Out of the way!”

“-fully…” She blinked.

The people at the back of the crowd were being roughly shoved forward by a gang in…uniforms?

“Sword-bearing police coming through!”

Sword-bearing police – the policemen permitted to wear swords. An elite group, selected from among the best for their ability at Kenjutsu.

Kenshii watched silently as the group came forward – whilst most of the men were roughly shoving people to the sides, one man was simply walking forward, eyes narrow and set on the scene before him.

Tentatively reaching out with her senses, her eyes narrowed at what they were telling her - the man stank of blood lust, like a miasma of rotten sewage around him.

This man didn’t want to see justice done; he just wanted to see blood.

As the man stopped in the area his men had cleared, one of the policemen who had Kenshii surrounded stepped forward, nervously saluting.

“Cap-captain Ujiki!” stuttered the policeman.

Without even looking at him, the newly dubbed Captain Ujiki answered. “Good work. We’ll take it from here. Return to headquarters.”

Sweating, the policeman answered. “B-But she hasn’t shown any sign of drawing her sword, and she just agreed to go peacefully…”

Realising his superiors eyes were on him for the first time, the poor policeman sweated even more, but gamely struggled to continue on.

“…so we shouldn’t need any help to bring her in…”

The policeman was interrupted by the hilt of the captain’s sword crashing into his nose, crushing the cartilage and sending the policeman reeling back to the ground as blood splattered out of his nose.

Kenshii’s eyes narrowed.

“Are you trying to give me advice?” Captain Ujiki said, ignoring the pain of the man on the ground before him. “If I say get out of here, get out of here.”

His eyes landed on Kenshii. Though her face was smooth and expressionless, inside a part of her was worried. This man was insane, and you could never quite anticipate what someone insane would do – you could make a good guess, but there was always the possibility of failure, and failure was not acceptable.

“What’s this?” Ujiki questioned mockingly. “Looks like a nice girl…”

Suddenly he drew his sword, so swift it was practically a blur, and the gathered crowd gasped as a woman covered her eyes.

Kenshii didn’t move, not even paying attention to the sword that was currently only an inch or two from the end of her nose.

Captain Ujiki’s eyes got even crazier, if that was possible, the irises contracted around the small dots of his pupils. “Why don’t you draw your sword?” he asked, voice deceptively calm. “You must be pretty confident in your abilities to be wearing a sword in Tokyo.”

Kenshii raised a hand and delicately used two fingers to push the sword down, away from her face.

“Why would I draw my sword recklessly?” she asked, voice emotionless. “I have no reason to show off.”

“Humph.” Ujiki smirked, drawing his sword back and resting it on his shoulder, before his eyes flashed and he swung.

Eyes wide from where she was watching, having just managed to arrive, Kaoru barely stifled the cry that wanted to burst out of her throat - she’d grown up around swords, and the first thing she’d learned was that they were dangerous, she didn’t want to distract Kenshii at a crucial moment and get her injured.

Kenshii’s expression didn’t change as the captain’s sword came towards her neck – and cut through the tie holding back her hair.

Ujiki smirked as long red locks settled over her kimono, and now there was a difference in his expression. It was still dark, still full of bloodlust, but now there was another kind of lust. “Next thing I cut will be your kimono.” He said softly. “Draw your sword.”

“Can you…really be the police…?” Kenshii questioned softly, her eyes narrow and a cold, hard blue.

“That’s right!” crowed Ujiki, smug as he rested his sword on his shoulder. “Permitted to wear swords, licensed to kill, the sword-bearing police!”

Kaoru watched, eyes tormented.

I don’t understand. She thought, flashing back to Kenshii beating Gohei and his thugs. She can beat him, I know she can - why won’t she draw her sword?

The crowd had had enough. “This is tyranny!” yelled one. “Don’t push it cop!” shouted another. “Leave her alone, you perverts!”

Ujiki smirked, turning so the crowd wasn’t at his back. “Jeering from the crowd.” He purred, sickly smirking. “You must be pretty brave…”

He turned to his men. “Arrest them! All of them.” They drew their swords, excitement showing in their expressions - but Ujiki wasn’t finished. “If any resist...” His eyes narrowed as his smirk stretched into a grin, “…kill them.”

Panicked the crowd fled, Kaoru hemmed in by the press of bodies and unable to help. The police chased after them, grinning wider with every panicked scream –

Snick!

“Don’t touch them!” Came an enraged voice. The crowd froze, and Kaoru shivered at the sheer anger radiating from the small, red headed figure dressed in black. “Don’t touch a single one of them – if you want an opponent, I’m here.”

Ujiki looked at narrow amber eyes – and smiled.

</div>

Fic

tripleofive — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:46:58 GMT

Five Things That Never Happened to Yukishiro Tomoe

1) Silence

She sits on the veranda porch, staring at the sky as the sun slowly sets. From behind her, in the small, modest house, her mother screams.

She clenches tiny fists together, and doesn’t make a sound, though she flinches, gently, at each cry.

Finally, the noise stops. She relaxes, and listens for the sound of a baby crying.

Nothing.

She waits. She was at Sakura-chan’s house when her older sister had a baby, and she knows it sometimes takes a while for the baby to make noise.

Still nothing.

She rises, and enters the house, she can see her father standing there, shattered, a midwife washing bloody hands - and two wrapped figures, one grown, and one heartbreakingly small – her little brother, who would never take a breath, or look at the setting sun.

She moves silently to her father, and gently takes his hand in her own. They are all each other have left now.

The empty house echoes with silence.

2) Happiness.

She stares blankly as he talks, just as she did when he proposed. She wants to cry, to scream, to rage, to yell ‘please don’t go, don’t leave me’- she can’t. She never could.

She can’t show her emotions to anyone but her diary…

Her diary.

She raises a hand to cut him off, gestures to him to stay as he blinks surprised at her, and runs, cat silent, to her room. Scopes up the diary, flicking through pages franticly, searching for the right date – there!

Running back to him, she presses it into his chest, begging him silently, pleading with her eyes.

He stares into her eyes for one long moment, then lowers his eyes to read.

Akira-san proposed to me today, and even though I’m so happy, all I could was stare at him in amazement…

Kiyosato Akira never went to Kyoto.

3) Witness

She is drunk.

In plays, when there is a great tragedy, they always say ‘and a rain of blood fell’…

She see the look in his eyes, shocked blue hardening to amber, and can practically hear his train of thought – no-one must know the face of the Hitokiri, there can be no witnesses, not even an innocent women.

He raises his sword.

…But you really made it rain blood.

She doesn’t make a sound as she falls.

4) Death

I had to hate someone, or I would have hated myself…so I went to Kyoto, and got involved in a plot against your life…

She stares at the tanto. It had been her mothers, a long time ago. Her mother, who had been a good wife, who had never had to use the tanto – who had never killed her fiancé.

She closes her eyes.

Even now she cannot cry.

Face expressionless, she draws the tanto, blade glinting in firelight – and plunges it into her chest. As blood sprays across the white cloth under her knees, she faintly hears the shoji slide open, the horrified cry of ‘Nee-san!’, and regrets that she cannot even do this right. Poor Enishi…but he will understand, will know that she is happy in death, reunited with Akira, married as they never were in life, as her cursed mask had prevent them from being…

Anata...If only I could go where you are…

Yukishiro Tomoe smiles as she dies.

5) Tanto

I will not let him die again.

She smiles once, joyfully, then runs into the snow - and stabs her tanto deep into the grey haired ninja’s back. As she does so, her husband’s sword comes down in a sweeping slash that cuts the ninja almost in half. As Tatsumi falls, she sees him, barely standing, wounded all over, his wounds dying the snow as red as his hair,and her heart sings.

“You made the bloody rain fall again,” she whispers.

Then he is falling into her arms, and she cradles him as she kneels in the blood red snow.

She will always be there to catch him.

Drabble Meme

tripleofive — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 02:21:22 GMT

Well, I'm bored and want to do some writing, so Comment with a fandom, a pairing and a prompt, and I'll write a drabble for it!

Fandoms I can write in:

Rurouni Kenshin
Dresden Files (bookverse only, 1-11)
Detective Conan/Magic Kaito
Yuu Yuu Hakusho
Codex Alera (books 1-4)
Harry Potter

Go Wild!

tripleofive — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:01:27 GMT

I don't care how hard the plot bunnies are biting, I will NOT write a fic where the outsiders are threatening to destroy all the multi-verses, therefore causing harry Dresden and Friends to have to team up with Harriet Dresden and friends. The same goes for the missing scene in which Marcone and Thomas meet and talk whilst waiting for Harry's signal in White Night, and the one where John Marcone and Harry end up back in time because a warlock is trying to kill off Harry by killing off his ancesters (cough, Morgana Le Fey, cough) and Marcone is disturbingly good at pretending to be a medievel baron. and the one where the TV Verse and Book Verse crossover is a definate no-no, as is seeing Marcone and Harry in the Dark Knight Gotham, dealing with the mob, the Joker and Batman.
I have, however, finished one of my planned drabbles (only, 40 left to go!)

Nicodemus/Harry – Shadow

He can still remember the feel of being pinned, the harsh scrape of gravel against his back as the liquidy tendrils pressed him down. He remembers the look in Nicodemus’ eyes as he approached, hot and heavy and hungry, and the thrill of bright, white fear that went through him at the sight. Later, after it’s all over (it’s not over, whispers a little voice, it’s never going to be over) and he’s lying in bed, he pretends he’s kept the candle burning at his bedside because he’s to tired to blow it out, and studiedly avoids looking at where his shadow is stretched over the floor.

Dresden Files Drabbles

tripleofive — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 04:54:06 GMT

Pairings and Prompts

Nicodemus/Harry - shadow, coin, rope, lion

Thomas/Harry - hunger, car, leather, family, beauty, hair

Harry/Marcone - money, business, eyes, suit, helicopter, help, crime, healing

Harry/Lash - angel, transformation, mind games, illusion

Harry/Lara - white, incandescent, movies, feed

Harry/Morgan - rigid, warden, burned out, touch, sword, earth

Harry/Mab - ice, winter, queen, fae, air, darkness

Harry/Leanansidhe - blood, inspiration, passion