Chances
Performed by Roxette
Words and Music by Per Gessle

Misao stands in the rain, her shadowed figure highlighted as a blue flash of lightning strikes in time with the opening chord of the song.  The camera closes in to show rain water mixed with tears on her cheek and the curve of her neck, her face turned away from the camera into the wall against which she's leaning.  Another flash of lightning gives a glimpse of her dejected figure, one foot braced in a tired fashion against her support, the other resting at the edge of a small puddle.  One arm hangs limply at her side, her other hand cupped tightly around its elbow in a half hug.  Water drips from the eaves and runs down her arm to splash into the puddle at her feet as the music shifts tempo.

With the shift in music the image changes as well.  The camera pans away from a different puddle, moving from Misao's reflection to follow her running figure as it fades into the distance.  That image is overlaid with another, and still another: all Misao moving along unknown streets, sometimes walking, sometimes running, but always searching.

Hear my call, here and everywhere
I've been walking the streets in despair.

The picture grows darker, until the overlaid images coalesce to show Misao huddled beside a tiny, smoldering campfire.

One more fire turns a shade of grey,
one more tear is lost in the rain.

Returning to the Misao leaning against the worn building, the camera closes in on the curve of her jaw as she echoes the words of the song:

And I say that I love you.
I say that I need you.
Baby I leave you a sign of desire.

Images of Aoshi flicker in the nearby puddles, and Misao closes her eyes, her hand fisting in frustration.

No shadow will haunt you,
no heart will desert you,
no one will hurt you,
no space or no time.

The music pauses, and in the brief span of almost-silence, the picture rushes forward to a time just after the fight with Shishio.  Misao stands in the doorway to the temple where Aoshi meditates, watching his silent struggle to find balance again.

Got to got you got to got to take your chances on me,
like the river will lead the water to the sea,
take on me,
take your chances on me.
Don't ever let it be.
Don't ever let it be.

Kaoru stands on the deck of a ship, watching the waves below her but seeing something else.  In her mind's eye she studies a sleeping Kenshin as he leans against an open door frame, his attitude one of protection.

There's a night when you close your eyes around a dream
that shines like the sun.
Everyone knows it's beautiful,
tell me why you want to dream it alone.

Closing her eyes and biting her lip, she remembers his leaving, a single tear sliding down her cheek.

And I say that I love you,
I say that I need you,
baby I leave you the lines in my palm.

Taking a deep breath she opens her eyes again, her expression determined.

No darkness will get you,
no heart will desert you,
nothing can hurt you or do you any harm.

The picture blurs -- moving rapidly -- and when it clears, Kaoru stands on the road leading to the Kamiya dojo, her hand extended to Kenshin.

Got to got you got to got to take your chances on me,
like the river will lead the water to the sea,
take on me,
take your chances on me.
Don't walk away from me.
Don't walk away from me.

Times when he has appear and disappear in slow progression -- Kenshin stepping away from her hold to fight Saitou, leaving her crying in the street the night he left for Kyoto -- then the images disperse as he places his hand in hers.

Quiet moments fill the interlude: Kaoru watching Kenshin, Misao watching Aoshi.  The couples drawing closer together, but the progress painfully slow.

And I say that I love you.
I say that I need you.
Baby I leave you a sign of desire.

Stepping into the temple, Misao wraps her arms around Aoshi, hiding her face against his back. In a similar movement, Kaoru moves close to Kenshin as he stands in the doorway, watching the moon rise.

Got to got you got to got to take your chances on me,
like the river will lead the water to the sea,
take on me,
take your chances on me.
Don't ever let it be.
Take on me,
like the river will lead the water to the sea,
take on me,
take your chances on me.
Don't walk away from me.
Don't walk away from me.

As the music fades away, Kenshin and Aoshi each place a hand over the smaller ones clasped around their waists, and smile.



Sekihara Tae
tae@sekihara.dreamhost.com
August 27, 2000


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