A/N: This is a continuation of my first fic “Along the Vistas of Life"

Breaking Through Time and Space

“Ano... where is this?”

The elderly man looks up to get a clearer look of who was asking.

“Shizueka district. Young man, you must be from afar?”

The young man smiles with a slight nod, then he continues walking.

Heaven is passing its violets down the sky across the horizon.

Hours pass heavily. He can’t keep up with time.

Why does it have to be this way? He thought that a friend has come into his life, but... He left without saying goodbye to anyone. Would anyone look for him? Would anyone be sad at all? Should he return to Shinkage dojo? But what for? To say a proper goodbye?

Return. A daunting thought shoots through Soujiro’s mind. He’s thinking frantically as he ambles. Minutes pass and pass, his fingers are clutching his father's sakabato decisively.

It’s hard for him to believe: He returned faster than he left. Something stronger than guilt has driven him... The door of Shinkage dojo slides open before he knocks on it.

“Thought you were leaving without saying goodbye, weren’t ya?”

Soujiro looks up quickly.

“Miyamoto-sensei!”

“Where were you supposed to go, Soujiro-kun?”

Soujiro smiles, “To some place where I can find my unfamiliar true self. I need to find the real answer from my life, sensei.”

“Does sound like yourself.” Miyamoto’s lips spread into a smile. “But why are you coming back? Forgot something?”

There’s an intake of breath, and Soujiro knows he should go straight into the matter.

“Miyamoto-sensei... has everybody left?”

Miyamoto nods, “Yes, but not all of them.”

“Who remains here, sensei?” Soujiro asks hurriedly.

“Matsuo Hitoki. What’s the matter, Soujiro-kun? Want to speak to him?”

“Soujiro-kun!”

He looks around. The hall is desolate. It seems that only Miyamoto is here. Before he can avoid those deep brown eyes, they already peer deeply into his.

“It’s calm before a storm, and we may never know when and how the storm will come,” Miyamoto raises his voice again. “Remember, Soujiro-kun, you are welcomed among us. If anytime, you should feel weary of the long course, this is your home.”

Miyamoto-sensei!

Soujiro looks up, only to see Miyamoto’s warm smile.

He bows deeply. A farewell once and for all. He has never thought he would return to a place that holds so much memories...

He continues walking. The only one he hoped to see today has gone. To her time. He’ll never see her again. Never. Nonetheless, it's his fault.

There is the hill. This time, he will cross it forever, without looking back.

“Soujiro”

This voice... Proceeding uphill, dodging the blinding spot on the horizon and raising his head in response to the call, he’s approaching closer and closer to the voice. He recognizes the figure on the hilltop.

It can’t be...!

His face is an utter mark of surprise. He takes a step backward and finds nothing to say.

He feels stiff and nervous all of a sudden. She has thrown herself into him as he ceases his footsteps. Soujiro’s eyes spread askance. His mouth barely lets out any word; he doesn’t know if this feeling is a mark of surprise, felicity, or relief, but he feels lighthearted.

“How can you find me?”

“You forgot your gi, Soujiro. It’s torn by wolves, but I’ve mended it.” Dressing in white attire outlined with sky-blue hem, Shohane is unmistakably blocking the road where Soujiro is walking on.

Discerning her initiative, Soujiro knows he should rather decline beforehand. “I...” but to him, denying is even harder than accepting or lying. “You shouldn’t follow me, Shohane.”

“I won’t. Only if you give back my portkey!”

“Nani?”

“My port-key, Soujiro! You’ve been keeping it with you since the fight.”

He gropes his gi’s pocket and his bag frantically. He might lose it during the battle.

“I’m sorry...”

“Soujiro, you mean...?”

Soujiro says nothing.

“I can go back if Terumi picks me up, but I must find my own portkey. It can fall into the wrong hands. You know, it enables people to travel through time. Terrible things will happen. Terrible.”

He looks away slowly. He knows he can’t avoid the fear of seeing the expression on her face at this time. He hopes she will curse him, or slap him the face, but she just stands and gapes at him, which makes him feel guilty. She falls silent, too, and he knows how disappointed she is. He finds that his heart is racing and that he is sweating all over his gi, although the light of sunset is very gentle. Both fall silent for a very long time. He knows it’s his job to break this silence. But how? He’s never used to sooth someone. His thoughts run wild. And on the spur of the moment, Soujiro finds himself slip off the tongue:

“Let’s go and look for it, then!”

He’s well-aware of what he just said. She turns around only to see his back. He doesn't need to go on; she knows that this is his way of asking her if there's any way she could walk the path with him. She smiles, reaching her hand to the hilt of his sakabato.

As if a gleaming shine of hope had arrived, profound eyes of Seta Soujiro broaden. He places his hand on top of hers, and she looks up to find his face shine with the last pieces of sunset. . . He turns around, fixes his deep blue eyes upon her so earnestly that she casts down her own. He only knows that he is smiling. She returns the tight grip of his hand and they walk on into the sun, their hands clinging one to another in the last attempt to stop the rain from falling, the sun from descending...

Time has elapsed. Leave the past behind and move on.

I don't dream to heal your deep wounds. I don't dream to change you. I don't dream to be another revolution in your life. I don't dream you into my life either.

I've tried to let you know that I do not come to hurt. . . .

-

End of Stage I

This is NOT the end yet XD

Next: Stage II – The Wanderer’s Eyes

Stage II, Chapter 1: Mermaid’s Legends

Sorry, I can't paste links here, please search my profile for its release (I'm in the middle of writing it.. XD)