Overhead, the motionless twinkle of stars. In the tall grasses, the dancing twinkle of fireflies. And along the riverbank, the flickering glow of lanterns, with here and there a brief flaring glow as a light was struck, and a tiny lantern went floating off down the river. This was Bon, the festival in memory of the dead, and all along the rivers that laced through Tokyo, families gathered to launch toronagashi, floating lanterns, and remember the loved ones who had gone on to the next world.
I'll be your candle on the water
Last year I came with Okaasan. This year… this year I’m alone. Tsubame knelt by the riverside and lit two lanterns, picturing her parents, together and happy at last. The toronagashi drifted downstream, side by side. Next to her, Tae also launched two boats, one after the other. One was for her mother, Tsubame knew, but she didn’t know who the other was for. There were some things you just didn’t ask.
My love for you will always burn
Timidly, Tsubame spoke. “I… could we put one in for Kaoru-san too?”
Tae nodded. Together they placed another tiny lantern on a slab of wood, and Tae lit it. In the flare of light, tears glistened on Tsubame’s cheeks.
“It’s hard without her to show me how, but I’m trying to have a strong heart the way she said.”
“I know, Tsubame-chan.” Tae wrapped her arms around the girl and held her with sudden, fierce protectiveness, as the tiny point of light vanished downstream.
I know you're lost and drifting,
I’ll be strong, Yahiko Myoujin vowed as he put his own toronagashi into the water. One for the father he could not remember, one for the mother he had been too young and weak to help, and one for his sensei. I’m never going to lose anyone I care about again. I have to be stronger than Kenshin now. He pictured the shattered, empty wreck that had once been his idol, his guiding star, as he launched a fourth small light. If you were here you’d put one in for her… so I’ll do it for you.
but the clouds are lifting,
Megumi was busy with her own memorials. Her father, her mother, her two brothers… Kaoru-chan… so many dead, so very many dead… her hand trembled as she lit the sixth lantern. I don’t know who or how many, but please, everyone who died because of the things I did, please find rest and peace… a part of her noted what Yahiko was doing as well. There’s someone else who should be here, remembering. There was one lantern left. She lit it and sent it off to join its fellows, as her thoughts turned to the tall, spiky-haired fighter who had walked away without so much as a backward glance. I’ll remember Kaoru-chan for you too, rooster-head…
Don't give up, you have somewhere to turn.
From a hillside overlooking the river, Sanosuke Sagara gazed down at the tiny, twinkling lights, following the water’s path to the vast darkness beyond. Some of those’re prob’ly for Jou-chan. The girls from the Akabeko, Yahiko, Megumi… as if that’d do any good. Long as Kenshin won’ budge, long as they let that bastard Enishi draw breath… che. It ain’t my fight no more. He shrugged and turned away from the river, heading inland.
I'll be your candle on the water,
till every wave is warm and bright,
Misao put four toronagashi into the water and lit them, one after the other. Softly, so the man watching her could not hear, she whispered the names as she pushed them out into the current. “Beshimi… Hyottoko… Shikijou… Hannya.” The tiny flames burned steadily on their way to the sea.
My soul is there beside you
Her teachers… her friends… her family… Aoshi turned away for a moment. She might never have reproached him for their deaths, but he was not so forgiving of himself. Their memory seared his soul even now. Not a day, hardly an hour went by that he did not miss them. Beshimi and Hyottoko and their constant back-and-forth insults. Shikijou’s strength and loyalty. Hannya’s wisdom. They had anchored him, connected him, kept him human. Without them…
let this candle guide you
without them, there was still Misao. She was having trouble with the fire-striker, trying to light a fifth lantern. A fifth…?
“Another one?”
“For Kaoru-san.”
Kaoru… the thing that had been nagging at the back of his mind since they arrived in Tokyo suddenly came clear. “No,” he said aloud. “Don’t light it.”
Soon you'll see a golden stream of light.
“Aoshi-sama?” Amazement blossomed in her eyes.
“Don’t make a toronagashi for Kaoru Kamiya. There’s something I need to find out first.”
Misao stared, the amazement slowly changing to wonder… and hope…
A cold and friendless tide has found you
There were no rivers on the island. Enishi Yukishiro knelt at the edge of the surf, trying to launch a toronagashi, as a wave rolled in. It swamped the little boat, overturned it, put out its lantern, and soaked Enishi from thighs to feet.
don't let the stormy darkness pull you down.
No, Oneesama, don’t be angry! I swear I’ll destroy Battousai soon! Dark rage boiled up in him, as it always did when he thought of his sister’s slayer. He seized the little boat and flung it far out into the waves, then turned away and stormed back to the house.
I'll paint a ray of hope around you,
circling in the air, lighted by a prayer.
Above, on the cliff, Kaoru watched him and shivered in the summer wind. How much longer? she wondered. She stared into the darkness as though she could bridge the distance with her gaze alone, remembering Kenshin as he had been the day he defeated Goheh, when she heard the door slide closed and then looked up to see him leaning against it, smiling at her. Remembering the night he left for Kyoto, the way he held her as though she were everything clean and sane and normal in his world. Remembering what it felt like, not the loneliness but the warmth and strength of his arms around her. She dropped to her knees, doubled around the memory. Kenshin…
I'll be your candle on the water,
Most of the lanterns were gone now, swamped in the current or on their way to the sea. The only lights now were the stars and the fireflies. Megumi gathered her things and stood up.
this flame inside of me will grow
Yahiko lingered for a moment, watching the last of the toronagashi disappear around a bend in the river. I’ll be strong, he vowed once again. I’ll protect what I care about. Even on my own, I’ll do it!
Keep holding on, you'll make it,
“Yahiko! Yahiko!”
He turned at the sound of his name, at the sound of running feet. Misao Makimachi was running toward him, waving, her braid flying behind her.
“What’re you doin’ here, Weasel Girl?” Then he looked beyond her. “And what’s he doin’ here?” He glared as Aoshi spoke to Megumi and her expression changed from outrage to amazement.
here's my hand so take it,
“Ma… masaka…” Yahiko murmured. “Kenshin. We have to tell Kenshin!”
“No!” Aoshi’s voice cracked across his startled ears. His hand shot out to grab Yahiko by the back of his hakama.
“Kono yarou…”
“Himura has to find his own answer. If he doesn’t… even if he revives, even if he comes with us to rescue Kaoru Kamiya… he will leave again to resume his wandering. Is that what you want?”
Yahiko stared, eyes wide. “N-no…”
Look for me reaching out to show,
as sure as rivers flow,
Kenshin…Kaoru gazed in the direction of Tokyo. Far in the distance, she saw a tiny glimmer of light on the horizon – some ship, filled with people and goods and all the wonders of the new era. I’m waiting for you to come back… Kenshin…
I'll never go, I'll never let you go,
In Rakuninmura, the only light was the faint shimmer of stars. The figure slumped against the wall was a deeper darkness in that dark place, only a pale reflection of the darkness within.
I'll never let you go.
The figure’s head snapped up, his eyes opened, reflecting the starlight in a thin line, curved like a sword’s blade. In the starlight, it was impossible to tell the color of those gleaming eyes. They might have been violet… or the gold of a candle’s flame.
NOTES, EXPLANATIONS ETC:
Thanks to my daughter Meg, who was kind enough to give me the words to this magically lovely song. It comes from a rather minor Disney movie called Pete’s Dragon, and it’s much too good for its setting. The version you're listening to is one I remixed myself from a MIDI file that's actually fairly common.
Bon, the festival in memory of the dead, occurs in mid-August. While it is best known for the bon-odori dance, fire is also part of the observance. In some locations, small lanterns are placed on tiny boats, along with offerings of food or flowers, and sent down streams. Since the Revenge arc takes place in late summer, I assumed that Bon would coincide with the time just before Aoshi’s revelation.