Chapter 1

Dark blue eyes stared pleadingly into his. He found himself staring into those eyes, the depths of them revealing a bright soul. A fire burned within, hindered and wounded. Still.

" Aishiteru Aoshi."

Aoshi. Not Aoshi-sama. He sat there, unable to break free of his stoic silence as the girl in front of him poured her heart out. He knew she hoped for a response, an answer...He couldn't bring himself to move. In his heart, a voice screamed out for emotional comfort...but his mind wouldn't let him drag down the pure angel he'd seen grow up.

His slate blue-grey eyes met her dark blue ones.

" Misao...you don't want me. Go and marry him. You have my blessing."

His heart clenched in anguish, he knew he was lying. But, as always, his mind controlled him.


Hot salty tears ran down Misao's chalky cheeks. The last few months had been overwhelmingly tiring. With the joy of Aoshi's homecoming also seemed to bring the irritation of trying to get under his skin. She had little communication with him except for the occasional arguments they had...or rather she had with a stone wall. Over petty things...forgotten about by Aoshi it seemed. Here she was professing her love and he still sat there like his frosty self.

Normally I wouldn't have the guts to do this...but ever since my bethrothal to Yoshimura I've had no choice but to do it...before it becomes too late.

She made no move to wipe away her tears as they ran unchecked down her sallow complexion. Weeks of stress and confusion had left her with a rather ragged look.

" Aoshi...you don't mean that."

" I do."

" ...no...please. You can't mean that."

Silence. Hesitation or guilt? Her hope faded. Then his husky voice once again, the voice which would echo in her heart for all eternity.

" I don't love you Misao. Marry Yoshimura."

Biting her lip, she struggled to control the flood of tears preparing to break through. Shakingly, she stood up, looking down at Aoshi with her shoulders slumped and wracking with sobs. Taking a shaky breath, she composed herself.

" I...I guess I should say goodbye. I'm leaving the Aoiya after the wedding tomorrow...but I want you to know something. Ever since you left with Hannya and the others, you changed. I can understand that...but I can't understand why you can't accept it. I loved you for so many years...so many. You never gave me one piece of encouragement did you? I was so blind. It's over now Aoshi...I can't wait forever...I can see that now. I realise that I can't change you...I can't make you love me back. I'm sorry."

With one last lingering look, Misao straightened and left Aoshi alone in his room.
Aoshi sat silently, his eyes betrayed his mental torment as Misao left the room. His fists balled tightly by his side, drawing blood from his palms. His eyes watered and overflowed, allowing one single tear to drop onto the wooden floor. He stared at it in wonder. It had been so long since he cried...not since the death of his friends.

Why am I crying? I haven't cried in so long...why does it hurt so much inside?

A voice floated into his room through the walls.

" Jiya...I give in. I'll marry Yoshimura-san tomorrow."

That sweet voice, one he always remembered and treasured in his heart. Promised to someone else. It was his own fault. Feeling a sudden urge to release his anger, he grabbed his kodachi and flew from the room towards the nearby forest where he could practice in peace.
And hopefully get control of my emotions.



The sound of water hitting the pavement echoed in Misao's ears as she lay awake on her futon. It was pitch black outside, the sounds of people awake were gone, leaving silence, save the falling water dripping outside. The monotonous drip almost drove her crazy.

Insomnia had taken over. Her words, Jiya's words and ....Aoshi's chanted again and again, in the time of the water dripping outside, chiding her, trying to push her over the cliff to descend into complete insanity.

Why did I give in. Why did I agree...to marry another?

Shifting, she rolled over onto her side, pulling the covers overherself. Her knuckles turned white as she tightly gripped the blanket. To her dismay, she heard a loud rip. The sound broke the silence for awhile before the same drip echoed again.

Drip.

Drip.

She swore loudly in frustration and got up from her futon. Her fingers moved quickly to braid the strands of hair before they escaped her. With a small piece of twine, she tied it, trapping the hair before swinging it back. She couldn't sleep, no matter how much she tried. Silently, she slid open a drawer and lifted her set of kunai out. Ever since she was told that she was now betrothed, Yoshimura often visited. She had been forced to hide her kunai and not take it out, not use them in front of her future husband. Not show her true self. To her husband.

That didn't make sense at all.

What was worse was that she would be getting married to him. Today.

Her words to Jiya. I give in. I'll marry Yoshimura tomorrow.

But she didn't.

And tomorrow was now.

She shuddered at the thought of marrying the short and fleshy lump they called a man. However he was the leader of an allied clan, and since she was the sole descendent of the Makimachi family, the leaders of the Oniwabanshuu, she was the ideal choice for a bride. Of course, she could have married within her own clan...but...

Aoshi had said no. That had left her with no choice, to go against the marriage would be disgraceful to the clan and would lose an ally. But the thought of Yoshimura...

No way. NEVER.

She remembered when she was first introduced to him. She had been called into the main sitting room by Jiya. She had just gotten back from the temple where she had drunk tea with Aoshi, the usual morning ritual. Surprised, she had opened the door with some degree of excitement. The scene the greeted her was less than pleasant.

" Misao...you have been betrothed to the Yoshimura clan. This is Yoshimura Nobuo, your future husband."

She had dropped to the floor in disbelief, her eyes darting between Jiya's utterly serious face and the fleshy one of Yoshimura. The bulges clearly showed through the thick expensive material. He had stood up to help her off the floor. His hot clammy hands clutched her own. The first thing she had noticed was the lack of calluses on his hand. Instantly, she realised that he had no training...a mother's boy. A far cry from her Aoshi-sama. To her dismay, he seemed to be barely taller than her.

The more she thought about it, the less she wanted to marry Yoshimura. She didn't want to. It should never happen. Never. And...she wanted to make sure of that.

Running for her closet, she pulled out her manto, wrapping it aroundherself. She grabbed her kunai, her stash of money and her photos she'd collected throughout her life. It was a new western technology, they had tried it out quite recently. Her fingers touched the plastic covering the photo delicately, tracing over everyone's face. Her Jiya...Okon and Omasu...Shiro and Kuro...Aoshi. She was going to leave them all behind.

I've done it before...I can do it again.

In her head, a small voice chided her for choosing to run away. That this time, the circumstances were different. Misao shook her head of these thoughts and tied up her most treasured belongings into a small bag. She slung this over her shoulder as she looked anxiously outside. It was still dark...but she could feel it was getting warmer. The sun would be up soon. She needed to get out as soon as possible, but not Noiselessly like a good onmitsu, she jumped out of her second floor window before taking off down the streets of Kyoto, running without a thought to where she was going. She was only following one aim. That was to escape.





Aoshi sat in his room, leaning against the wall staring at his neat and empty futon. He couldn't sleep, and there was no use trying. He knew exactly why he couldn't sleep, but he had no idea why. Misao.

His ears twitched as he heard the sounds of a person within the Aoiya stir. Footsteps. Then silence. Something was very wrong.
He rose from the floor and got dressed, picking up his kodachi with a whirl of his jacket. Silently he hurried down the hall, listening for the even breathing of the inhabitants of the Aoiya. He tensed as he failed to hear Misao's sleeping pattern. His hand reached out for the door, sliding it to peer inside. The window was wide open, the breeze gently blowing the scrolls which decorated the walls. The futon was unmade and the drawer and the closet doors were still open. Dropping his kodachi, he walked forward, soaking up every detail of the room.

" Kuso."

Swearing under his breath, heart clenching with fear, he jumped out of the window to land on the street. Hoping she hadn't gone far, he raced off down the street. If she had run away, she would have headed towards Tokyo, to the battousai's residence. Hoping she hadn't gone far, he increased his speed. It would not do for Misao to go missing on her wedding day...even if it was to be married to someone else.

The feeling of happiness in his mind confused him. Was he happy that Misao would not marry that bastard Yoshimura? He shook himself of his thoughts and kept running, his eyes scanning for her.



" Misao-chan?"

Okon slid open the door to misao's room, expecting to see a sleepy eyed girl ready for her wedding day. The white wedding kimono hung on the pole, clean and immaculate but the supposed wearer was no where to be seen. Sucking in a fast breath, she caught sight of the open drawers and their upset contents. She was gone...all her treasured possessions gone with her.

" What am I going to tell Yoshimura-san?"



Panting with exhaustion, Misao stopped, lifting a hand to lean against the trees which signalled the beginning of a forest. Her long braid hung limply over her neck. Flicking it back, she straightened, staring ahead at the forest. She had been here before. Himura's shishou lived here. Hiko Seijurou.

Taking on last look at the outskirts of Kyoto, her eyes filled with tears. The breeze ticked the back of her neck and blew strands of hair into her eyes. Lifting a hand, she tucked the stray strands back behind her ears and smeared her tears away. Clenching her fist, she tightened her grip on her bag and trotted off into the deep foilage.

" Sayonara...minna-san."