Title: To where you are
Authoress: lil kagome
Summary: It was a life she had without wanting, it was a path she followed with her whole heart, the path just seemed to keep bringing them back together, hand in hand, and heart to heart they will find thier way through the many trial's and tribulations of what is meant to be thier life.
Warnings: Honestly I don't believe there to be any real warnings, it is just one reminder that this is rated T and does in some parts indicate some very mild violence, and some sexual hinting.
Coupling's: A&M, S&M, K&K, and H&A(two OC characters)
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin… If I did I wouldn't be writing this fic. So why don't you e-mail me if you own it… I'd 'love' to buy it from you. lol Lawyers… Don't sue me!
A/N: I know this is probably not my best work, but it just came to me as I was talking to my grandmother about how it was for her when she was little, so I hope you can all apreciate the story, and also any fast OOC'ness is product to the fact that in every interval I skipped a few months to a few years, so keep that in mind.
OoO
Who can say for certain
Maybe you're still here
I feel you all around me
Your memory's so clear
Time must have flew by as she sat in the tree top, just looking down upon all of Tokyo, is this not what being able to fly is like? To see the world in a different view, to experience the thrill of feeling the wind blow through her hair, scattering strands about that had fallen out of her braid. "Aoshi-sama... i'll find you." She said her determination showing through as she stared hard down upon the bustling city.
Cold; that was the feeling coursing through her small frame. Her shoulders quivered as she shivered for a moment. Her thoughts once more drifted to the eyes, those eyes of her Aoshi-sama. She couldn't believe how long ago it had been, and yet she still remembered every feature, his eyes a cold blue like ice. She shivered as she remembered the sharpness of those eyes.
Her hand grasped a kunai as she jumped down to the small pathway below. Somthing about the ariveing darkness led her to feel frightened, to not want to move. Her eyes shifted from one side of the path to the other, watching all that was her surroundings.
OoO
"Hai!" She jumped up and down as her fire sparked to life, it was well into night and the darkness had set upon her for hours due to the damp wood, and poor kindle. She sat upon a small rock watching as the flames started to grow, reflecting back in her eyes.
She smiled as she gathered some twigs to throw upon the small fire now glowing in the middle of a circular clearing. She halted as she heard a small snap in the distance. She stared at the tree tops, somehow not trusting the world, as dark somehow shrouded the good that was light from the earth.
Her heart jumped as a rabbit came runing from the bushes, she laughed as it retreated back into the shrouded, dense forest. She sat down upon the rock, tossing into the fire the small amount of twigs, and kindle she had managed to find.
She sat watching as the stars twinkled so far above her, so out of reach, and yet so in touch. She could feel a warmthness running over her, not the fuzzy, pleasing to the touch kind, but the cozy, let me stay forever feeling that carresed her feeling's and her heart seemed to echo in her world. She smiled as she lay back, slowly drifting into a restless sleep.
Deep in the stillness
I can hear you speak
You're still an inspiration
Can it be (?)
That you are mine
Forever love
And you are watching over me from up above
Misao watched as the young children played in the streets, laughing and jumping, seemingly caught up in a world of thier own. "So naive." She turned at the voice, only hoping it wouldn't fade away like every time before, to have just been her imagination hoping for him to be there before her. She smiled sadly as she saw no-one standing behind her.
"Just my imagination." She said, but somehow, deep down, she knew he was there. He was always there, just watching, just waiting. Only seldom would she feel alone, and those times she knew of the reason, those timese he really wasn't with her. She smiled as she continued down the road, skipping in her usual happy mood.
She had only hoped that the emptiness would leave for the longest time, the feeling that she had a gaping hole in her heart. She had wished that hole could stop beating all together. For each time it beat was another moment he was away, another pain, another burden as she whispered in her dreams for him to come back to her.
And even after the hurtful words he had said, she still loved him, she loved him with her whole heart, she loved him with all she was. For in truth-he was all she was. Shishio had to be taken down, that was for sure, she just hoped Kenshin could bring him back to her, if only for her world to survive.
OoO
She watched the darkness once more take over her world, and watched as she contemplated the next step. Was he even the same person? Of course! She told herself, her body shaking as her tears came down her face. "He's just hurt." She said whiping the stray tears from her eyes as she smiled. "I'll heal him. I know I can... It'll just take time."
She sighed as she leaned back in her bath, the steam rising before her seeming to cloud her veiw, and yet it made things all the more clearer. 'To drift away is not the end, but to return to the air you once came from, only to begin again into the water that is the normal-or rather-not so normal life.'
Fly me up to where you are
Beyond the distant star
I wish upon tonight
To see you smile
If only for awhile to know you're there
A breath away's not far
To where you are
Misao's eyes came to rest upon Aoshi, as he silently drank his tea, completely oblivious to her state of anguish. She had tried for months to simply break the barrier that he had errected over his time gone. "It's a wonderful day today Aoshi-sama!" She gushed, her eyes watching as he nodded with his eyes still closed in peace, or possibly remembrance.
"And why would that be Misao-san?" He asked his eyes cracking ever so slightly. "Kaoru and Kenshin became parents this very day a week ago." She said smiling, her eyes filled with laughter, and pureness he noted.
"And so it is." He said before closing his eyes once again to drift into the qietness that consumed his life in full. Misao smiled sadly before picking up the tea tray and heading back for the Aoi-ya.
It had been almost a year now, she had waited, and watched, and contemplated. And still... She found no reason to hold on to somthing that wasn't what it was. She felt the one lone tear roll down her cheek but her smile never faded. "He's so close... and yet so far." She said as she came into the kitchen.
"Who's so far?" Asked Omasu her eyes curious as she looked at Misao's pale cheek's and calm dispostition. "No-one... and everyone." She said as she walked out of the kitchen with a faintly growing grin.
OoO
She stood before him, clad in a pale blue sleeping yakuta. "Aoshi-sama?" She qeustioned him with a quirked eyebrow. Her eyes seemed to sparkle as he looked down at her with realization. "Are you alright?" He asked simply, all emotions hid behind the facade he not once had let slip. "Just fine." She said as her eyes looked at his eyes, just content in staring at the icy depths.
"Your lieing." He stated simply, and Misao simply cocked her head, her smile growing ever wider. "And how do you know this?" She asked almost in a mocking tone. "Your scared." He said and she shook her head her smile never once faltering. "Aparently you have not been listening have you Aoshi-sama?" She said her eyes looking up at him from beneathe her long, dark lashes.
He looked down at her for a moment, seeming to be taking in all that she was. "Very well." He said and walked away, not bothering to call out a good night, or nod in affirmation as she did so. Her eyes clouded with pain as she put her hand on her chest. 'Why does it have to hurt so much?' She asked her smile returing tenfold as it grew wider.
Are you gently sleeping
Here inside my dream
And isn't faith believing
All power can't be seen
Misao tossed and turned in her fitful sleep as her eyes opened to gaze tiredly at her surroundings. She looked out the window, gazing unintentionally at the stars that cast a cool glow upon the world below them. She smiled faintly as she listened to the sounds of night around her.
It wasn't long before she heard a faint tapping from somewhere down the hall. She found herself standing, and shortly after walking down the hall. She stood at Aoshi's shoji, her hand so close to opening it to reaveal to her the object of the noise. And yet she was hesitant to do so, to finally see what it was, to lose all thought's of anticipation.
She sighed as she pushed the shoji open slowly after knocking a few times. She was greeted with Aoshi writing somthing at his desk. "Misao" He nodded to her, his eyes never leaving the parchment before him. She was greeted with numerous flashbacks of a time long ago. She smiled and shook her head as she stepped forward. She simply took a seat watching him write upon the paper.
He turned to her, his eyes looking her over as if trying to find a reason for her being. "You haven't said anything." He said a faint smile caressing his features. And that's all it took, that's all it took for a tear to fall. She looked at him smiling through her tears, simply at knowing that maybe... just maybe he wasn't as much of an 'ice-man' as peaple often thought.
"I was waiting for you." She said smiling even wider at his look of concern. "Misao, now will you tell me what's wrong?" He asked his eyes looking into her own waiting for a response.
"I'll tell you when your older." She said mocking him as she watched his eyes flash with somthing she hadn't seen in ages; laughter. Her lost love seemed to be returning all at once to her, and she couldn't help but to smile full heartily at this fascinating detail.
OoO
She watched the sun rise as she sat on top of the Aio-ya, her eyes scanning over all that is, and all that was. The night slowly fading away from the world she found herself watching as the colors changed from light gold's to orangy hues. She held her kunai in her hand, watching as the sun dansed along the blade, the sharp tip casting bit of light onto her face.
So Aoshi had finally cracked. She smiled as she closed her eyes, losing sight of the dawn, and yet at the same time seeing it brighter. She felt herself fall into a slumber once more.
"Misao?... Misao?" She groaned at the sound inturuptingher peacful slumber. She looked up to see Aoshi smirking at her. Wait! Smirking? She had to rub her eyes to make sure it was real, but even when her hands returnedhe was still there. She smiled brightly forgetting she was on a roof and jumping up, almost falling off, if it hadn't been for Aoshi she probably would have. He smiled as she looked up at him, her eyes bright, and her smile albeit covering her face.
"Aragotou, Aoshi-sama!" she thanked him, her voice sweet as she looked at him through her emerald eyes. Just then something happened, he saw for the first time all the pain hiding behind the mask, all the sadness she had been hiding from him, and the truth he had so long wanted to see from her.
He pulled her too him, as he used to when she scraped her knee, or was scared by some 'monster' in her room. Her eyes widened before the first few tears fell, and then the flood came. She sobbed into his chest as he simply consoled her all he could before she fell into a slumber in his arms. He looked down at the young woman in his arm's, almost captivated by how beuatiful she had become.
He carried her to her room, laying her softly down in her bed, tucking her in. And then he did somthing he had not done in some many years. He kissed her on the forehead and wished her sweet dreams.
He looked about her room to see that it was just as it used to be, the same as when he used to come in to fend off the said 'monsters'. He smiled as he looked down at the most important person in his life, and just to think last week he was thinking about leaving her again. He sighed as he closed the door behind him, walking slowly to his own room.
As he made his way down the stairs to head to the temple, his last thought was off a certain seventeen yr. old girl sleeping soundly above him.
As my heart holds you
Just one beat away
I cherish all you gave me everyday
'Cause you are my
Forever love
Watching me from up above
Misao stood in a room, all alone watching as Kenji and his mother 'bonded' as Kenshin would put it. As Misao put it Kaoru simply was too afraid to leave Kenji with anyone other than herself, but then again Misao didn't blame her for that either. She had her own special bond with the special child now resting in his mothers loving arms.
Yahiko peeked his head in looking at Kenji and Kaoru. "Dinner busu!" He said closing the door behind him before Kaoru could retaliate. Misao laughed as Kaoru reddened and narrowed her eyes at her. "Not you too!" She said and Misao stopped laughing abruptly.
"I'm sorry Kaoru-san, I just don't know how you put up with him." She smiled looking at Kaoru, she really looked vibrant now that her and Kenshin were together. "We best get going, otherwise I fear Kenshin will go insane not seeing your face for over an hour." Kaoru laughed and I smirked at the hilarious, and yet truthful words.
They steepped into the kitchen to be greeted by Sano and Megumi in another one of thier fights. It was quit hilarious due to the fact that Megumi was at least six months pregnant and was still trying to knock his head off.
"Megumi, please!" He said as he ducked another one of her punches. "Oh shut up rooster head!" She screamed as she threw a glass at him. "What'd he do this time?" Kaoru asked the very frightened rurouni. "He said she was getting big." Kenshin gulped as another flying object went flying for Sano's head. This time it hit him, causing him to fall to the floor, temporarily seeing stars.
Megumi smiled sitting down and looking at everybody in turn. "Shall we eat?" She asked and all the while Kenshin was thanking Kami that Kaoru didn't have mood-swings as bad as Megumi's.
OoO(Misao's POV)
I sat in a chair watching as Kenshin rocked Kenji slowly to sleep. I looked over at Aoshi watching as he smirked slightly at the ex-Battousai. I smiled and looked over at Sano, who know had his head cradled in Megumi's lap, a wet cloth gently placed on the ever-growing bump. Yahiko sighed and stood anouncing to us that he was off to bed. Kaoru sat in the corner mending one of Kenshins torn Gi's. It was as if our world was finally at peace.
Aoshi looked over at me, his eyes seeming to brighten at the sight of me lying on my back on the worn mat. My eyes were transfixed on his and I watched as he smirked at me. I stuck my toung out earning a sort of pout. I laughed as he smiled at me. It was honestly like he had never left, he was just the same mildly-ok maybe majorly- stoic Aoshi, and I love him for that.(end Misao POV)
The sky was dark, and the stars lit the sky as they twinkled far from where we could touch, or even dream of going. Far above them was th world's worries floating so far away, that not one at this moment could touch them. For a moment all thier sadness, all the anguish, and all the fighting was long forgotten, as they lived the normal lives that had somehow been bestowed upon them.
(Aoshi POV)Aoshi watched Misao watch as Kenshin softly lulled the baby Himura to sleep. Somthing almost primative flared in his chest as he looked at Misao, her eyes glowing from the candle-light on the other side of the room.
He looked her over again, smiling at the thought of babies with her hair and his eyes, or vise versa. 'Wait! Where'd that thought come from? Bad Aoshi!' He thought to himself turning his attention back to the now retreating form of Kenshin. (End Aoshi POV)
Misao and Kaoru yawned and decided to turn in, leaving Aoshi, Sano, and Megumi alone. "So when ya' going to propose?" Asked Sano in a sickiningly sweet tone. "What?" Asked both Aoshi and Megumi at the same time. "I saw the way you were looking at Misao there, just lucky you didn't gobble her up whole." He said smirking as Aoshi glared.
"Misao is still a child, and clearly it is just puppy love Sanoske, there is no proposal." Aoshi said looking to the direction she had retreated to. "Sais you! You don't know how many night's that girl-" Megumi cut him off abruptly covering his mouth and dragging him out of the dojo by his ear.
"Ow... Ow... Ouch!" Was all that you could hear, and Aoshi was left to ponder upon what Sanoske had said, surely it could not be true, could it? That she actually could love him that much, he was stunned by the fact that he had never thought of that prospect before.
And I believe
That angels breathe
And that love will live on and never leave
Misao sat upon a swing watching the birds fly by as she sighed contededly. Her eyes captured all that the world could be before her. She faintly heard the footsteps, but already knowing who it was she didn't look up. "Aoshi-sama." She acknowledged nodding to him and smiling at him.
His face was serious and she found herself once more shivering at his gaze. "We need to talk." He said his eyes turning to the cold ice he had harboured at first in his return. She sighed and nodded, walking behind him as he led her to the gardens.
"Misao, you've grown an enormous amount since I had left, yet I have to ask you one qeustion." He sighed his eyes flashing with only worry. "Do you forgive me?" He asked his eyes looking over her small frame as her eyes widened in disbelief. "Of course." Were the first words to escape her mouth, her eyes sharp as they held only certainty.
He only faintly sighed and then he held his breathe once more. "Do you still love me?" He asked and a tear fell from her eye, causing him to step forward and kneel down to her, looking directly in her eyes. "Yes!" She said and her eyes once more only held certainty. He smiled freely now, taking her hand into his own and putting it to his cheek.
"Makimachi Misao, Would you do me the honor of becoming Shinomori Misao?" He asked his eyes holding to hers at what had to have been observance. "Yes." She said her smile becoming bigger as he took her in his arms and kissed her. Her first kiss, and it was to the one person she loved most in her life-Aoshi.
OoO
Misao kneeled garbed in a white Kimono her eyes watching as the priest handed them the cup they were to both drink from. First Aoshi, then her. He drank it, his eyes firm on the priest before him. As it was handed to Misao she sipped looking at Aoshi, who in turn looked at her for the briefest moment, and gave her a smile, that clearly could have been mistaken as a smirk.
"I now introduce to you, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Shinomori." The priest exhaled as Aoshi kissed Misao deeply, his hands coming to cradle the back of her head, and his eyes relaxed and closed. Everyone clapped as they stood, Aoshi picking her up and carrying her down the row of chairs. "Gettin' a start on your family already are you?" Okina asked as he stood before them, smiling like mad.
"Oh, Jiya!" Misao said her eyes clouded with tears. "Well hurry up! I can't wait to hear the pitter patter of little feet in the Aoi-ya again." He said laughing as Misao turned a deep shade of magenta.
"Good to see you took my advice!" Said Sano holding a month old baby Aytile. Misao looked at him strangely and he just chuckled. "I'm so happy for you Misao!" Said Kaoru smiling as Misao laughed at all her friends. "Thank you." She said her head resting against Aoshi's protective chest.
"So you finally snagged him?" Megumi joked as she smiled at the couple. "You are a wonderful couple that you are." Said one-readheaded rurouni- Kenshin. Misao smiled and Aoshi simply nodded in acknowledgements of all the complements. "Sorry to all of you, but I believe i need to borrow my wife for a moment." Aoshi said and Kaoru and Megumi smiled to each other with knowing looks.
Aoshi walked for a long while until he came to a small clearing in the woods, he kneeled down before the four stones that decoratedthe bare ground. "H-Hannya, and... You brought me to see them?" Misao said and Aoshi nodded bowing his head to the fallen comrades of his past. "Thank you." She said bowing her head and letting a single tear drop from her face before her smile returned to her face.
"Your welcome my Misao." He said and she smiled even wider as she prayed for her four old friends to Kami-sama.
Fly me up
To where you are
Beyond the distant star
I wish upon tonight
To see you smile
If only for awhile
To know you're there
A breath away's not far
To where you are
Misao lay on the futon, her mind lulled into a state of comfort at simply the thought of the past few months. She was now Shinomori Misao, and she was very happy with that. Her eyes opened as she felt for him, but he wasn't there. Her eyes opened and she looked around thier room. Sure enough, there he stood, looking out the window, sipping upon his cup of green tea.
"Ohayou my Misao." He said his eyes never leaving the window. "Ohayou Aoshi-kun." She said smiling as he turned around abruptly. "What?" He said his eyes full of homour. "Thought it was time for a change." She said before standing up and coming to stand beside her husband. He poured her a cup of tea, and smiled as she sipped it slowly, making sure to savour the flavor.
"So, Aoshi, what're you going to do today?" Misao laughed as he looked at her watching as she winked at him. He turned toward her as she headed back to bed... With no intention to sleep that is.
OoO
Aoshi paced back and fourth, both Kenshin and Sano watching him with little interest. "Women have been doing it for centuries." Said Sano chewing on his fish bone. "Yes, but she's so small, what if somthing's wrong! What if the baby get's hurt?" He shook his head. "Or even worse Misao?" He said his voice full of worry.
There was a loud scream, and then a louder crying as the men stood thier. Aoshi nearly barralled through the door then, and would have if it had not been for Sano and Kenshin holding him back. "This is why she told you to leave the room." Grunted Sano and Aoshi growled. "At least I didn't get a vase hurled at me by my wife." Aoshi countered and Sano growled back.
"Maa maa." Said Kenshin seperating the two. "Aoshi I think it's safe for you to go in now that it is." He said his eyes twinkling with knowing. Aoshi didn't wait a second before running into the room, and the sight before him made him want to cry. Misao sat up on the small futon, thier baby tucked safely in her arms. "Aoshi-kun." She said smiling as he came closer.
He looked down into the face of an adorable little boy, with jet black hair, and blue eyes. He looked almost exactly like his father. "I thought Hannya." Misao said her eyes showing only love, and admiration, and the look was mirrored in her husbands eyes. "Yes, I think that suits him." He smiled and the three of them were left alone by a very tired Megumi and Kaoru.
I know you're there
A breath away's not far
To where you are
A young woman and a man stood in front of two stones, the light sinking down over the horizon. "They say they died in each others arms, smiles and all at the ages of 87 and 77." The girl said and the man smiled. "As they did." Hannya said his eyes cast down on the headstones of his parents.
"Let's go home Hannya-kun." Said the girl and Hannya smiled. "Let's my Aytile." She winked and he smirked. So they went home, hand in hand, and heart in heart.
OoO
A/N: Hope you like it, and i'd really apreciate it if you R&R it's a great help to me, and I'M FEELING SO UNLOVED! lol, so please if you care any bit about this fic, or even if you don't please REVEIW!