Subject: [KFFDISC] "Finding the Answer" - Prologue (slight 2nd OVA spoilers) Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2002 11:01:50 +0800 From: " Megan Lavey" Reply-To: kffdisc@nabiki.com To: kffdisc@nabiki.com Yo! I’m still working on “Love and Duty,” but after reading the summaries and reviews of the second episode of the new Kenshin OVA series, I got deeply disturbed. One reviewer from the SASSE mailing list really said some things that resonated with me. He pointed out how Kenshin lost his desire to live, as well as Kaoru – how both of them embraced life so much that it is hard to see them give it up like that. His words spurred this story. It is my theory as to what happened after the end of the manga, not years ahead but months. It plays around with some different theories about Kenshin’s origins and what happened to certain characters after the end of the manga. If also brings in a big “what if?” question into play that comes about while rewatching the Kyoto arc. I hope everyone enjoys it and is not too shocked at some things happening here. “Finding the Answer” by DQBunny Prologue Christmas – 1854 The small red-haired child threw the door open and burst free, racing for the river that flowed near the house. Free, free at last! After hours of listening to Papa drone on and on from the big book he called the Bible, he could play outdoors. Sure, he was really out there to get some water for dinner, but he could play along the way, couldn’t he? “Shinta!” Shinta groaned and stopped, waiting as patiently as a six-year-old boy possibly could as his father approached him. His father placed an arm around his son’s shoulders and the two walked toward the river. “Shinta?” “Yes, Father?” “You were not listening during the sermon.” Shinta squirmed. “I know that, Father,” he mumbled under his breath. The two reached the river. Shinta skipped out a few steps ahead of his father and waded into the water. Last year, the water had reached his waist. Now, it only lapped around his ankles. Shinta had told his mother it was because he was growing so much. His mother had given him a tight-lipped smile in response. She didn’t have the heart to tell her son that it was him growing up, it was the water going down. “Why did you not listen?” Shinta shrugged. “It was boring. It’s the same thing every year. You tell us how Jesus was born. I know it by heart now. Why don’t we learn something different?” “What would you like to learn?” Shinta whirled around. “Let’s learn about Hotohoke-sama!” His father didn’t grow angry. Instead, his blue eyes were faintly amused. “Buddhism?” “Uh huh.” Shinta lowered the bucket into the water and watched as it filled up. “Yusuke-kun said that we were strange for learning about Jesus and God. He called us heathens. He said that we need to learn about Buddha. Most of the villagers know Buddha.” “I know that.” Shinta straightened. “So, why are we learning about Jesus?” Father sat down near the river’s edge. “My father was Dutch. Do you remember us telling you about Holland?” Shinta nodded. “Grandfather was a sailor whose ship got wrecked close to our village. He stayed and lived in the village and married Grandmother.” “Your grandfather taught your grandmother and several other families about Jesus. We chose to believe in him.” “Do I have to believe in him?” Father was silent for a moment. “I would like for you to believe in him, but it’s your decision to make when you become a man. Then, you can be baptized like your mother and I were.” “Why did you decide to believe in Jesus, Father?” Father didn’t answer. Instead, he rose to his feet, his attention focused on something past Shinta. The boy turned around and blinked. A family of five stood on the other side of the river. Shinta recognized them. They had come to the village the day before looking for food. Everyone he saw had refused them. They commented on their strange clothes, made out of bark they said, and habits. They called them rubbish and heathens, just like Yusuke called Shinta. Shinta backed up toward his father. Father bowed deeply to the only man in the group. The rest consisted of a woman, two small girls and a baby. The man nodded his head in reply. “Father…they said in town that they were rubbish,” Shinta whispered as softly as he could. Father shot Shinta a hard look. “Son, you just told me that members of the village consider us rubbish too.” “That’s true, but…” “We are not rubbish, are we?” Shinta shook his head. “No, Father.” “We’re just different.” “That’s right, Father.” “So, do you think these people are different?” Shinta observed the family across the river. They didn’t seem too different from the villagers. They looked a little dirtier and very hungry. Other than that, they seemed to be the same as he was. And he most certainly wasn’t rubbish. “Who are they, Father?” “They are called the Ainu. They lived here long before we did.” Father’s voice was sad. “Yet, we’re the ones running them off.” “Oh.” Shinta frowned. “They’re not rubbish, Father. They’re just different. They look hungry. Could they have dinner with us?” Father smiled at Shinta, proud of his son. He knew they barely had enough food to feed the three of them, but with the food of both families combined, they could have a decent meal. “Shinta, you have just realized why I worship Jesus Christ.” Shinta blinked in surprise. “Why do you?” “Because Christ teaches you to ignore people’s differences, to accept people for who they are. That is why I follow Him. Christ teaches acceptance of all people. Remember that, Shinta. Don’t judge people based on their differences from you. Accept them for who they are.” Shinta nodded his violet eyes wide with wonder. He looked at the Ainu family, then back at his father. “Father, I think I want to worship Jesus Christ as well.” Father smiled. He took Shinta’s hand in his own. Together, the men waded to the other side of the river to meet the Ainu family. AUTHOR’S NOTE: The Ainu lived in Hokkaido long before the Japanese did. One of the theories is that they were a group of people from northern Mongolia who immigrated to Japan thousands of years ago. The Japanese considered the Ainu to be aborigines and persecuted them much like Americans did to Native Americans. Even today, there are large social problems between ethnic Japanese and the Ainu. As for the possibility of Shinta being Christian, there are several signs that suggest it. When he buries everyone from the slave train, he uses crosses to mark their graves. During the Edo or Tokugawa Period, trade was restricted to all but four countries: China, the Ryukyu Islands (now Okinawa), Korea and Holland. During this time, all trade with those four countries was conducted through Nagasaki. It is quite possible that an ancestor of Kenshin’s was Dutch, explaining the red hair and violet eyes. The teaching of Christianity was also forbidden during the Tokugawa Period. Those who watched the Shimbara Arc of the anime know a good dose of actual history that occurred during this time. This is why Shinta and his family were also considered to be outsiders in their village. And one final question for those of you who made it this far. Megs no baka forgot what part of "Love and Duty" she stopped posting at on this mailing list and I forgot how to access the archives. I've written nine chapters but know that nine haven't been posted here. If someone who even remotely remembers please let me know where I stopped so I can catch everyone up? Thank you! Megs ***** I do have a signature...somewhere! There it is! ::yanks out signature from underneath a heaping pile of Kenshin manga:: See? My...OROOOOO!! ::Megs is covered by the now fallen over stack of Kenshin manga ***** dqbunny@earthlink.net AIM: MegsLeigh http://www.wishing-blue.net/dreamweaver/ --