Always and Forever
Part I
"Aoshi-sama!" a delighted little voice called. The tall young man took a deep breath and smiled, quickening his pace to catch up with his bouncing young charge.
The morning air was crisp but not too cold---the perfect autumn's day. Aoshi had decided to take a break from his usual Okashira's duties, since there had been no missions and the paperwork wasn't too bad, and take Misao out for a walk. As the sun rose higher in the sky, they had left the Aoiya and headed for the outskirts of Kyoto. Now, Misao was waving to him from halfway across a wide field, her bubbling laughter carrying in the still morning.
"Aoshi-sama, look!" Misao grabbed his hand as he came near, drawing him over to a patch of wildflowers. "Aren't they pretty?"
"Yes, very pretty," Aoshi bent to pluck a light pink bloom with his long fingers. The color of the petals matched not only Misao's sash, but also the cute little blush that spread across her cheeks as he tucked it into her hair.
"Let's go, let's go," the girl tugged on his hand and began to skip through the grass again, Aoshi easily keeping up with walking strides.
The meadow ended in a forest, with paths that led into it but faded soon after. Many times before Aoshi had come here with Misao, sometimes with the other Oniwabanshuu but mostly it was just the two of them. Today, as always, Misao fell silent as they stepped into the dappled shade of the trees. All around them, birds chirped and squirrels chattered, and the cool breeze rustled through the leaves.
Aoshi led the way through the trees as the path dwindled and faded into the forest floor. He knew the way by heart, having found this place even before Misao had been born---before he became Okashira. As the sun reached its noontime zenith in the sky, Aoshi and Misao stepped past a thicket into a natural clearing in the woods about twelve paces wide. Ages ago, a tree had fallen from the edge of the clearing, its trunk cutting across one end. Misao immediately walked over to it and sat down carefully on the worn wood.
Aoshi joined her on the log, dropping the pack off his shoulder. Digging inside it, he produced the two lunchboxes one of the Oniwabanshuu kitchen staff had given him before they left. Misao opened hers eagerly, tucking into her midday meal without hesitation. Aoshi followed suite a little more slowly, savoring each bite.
A brown squirrel darting through the clearing in the early afternoon found them sitting on the log beside each other, a careful space between their bodies. Misao had her legs pulled up onto the uneven surface of the log, her body turned parallel to the length of the wood. Aoshi was sitting as he had been from the beginning, letting his eyes run casually over Misao small back facing him.
"Ne, Aoshi-sama," the young girl broke the silence as she turned to place her feet on the ground again.
"Hm?" Aoshi smiled fondly, watching the gentle breeze tug playfully at loose strands of hair that framed Misao's face. Her brilliant blue eyes took on an unexpectedly mature shade, the cerulean depths reflecting Aoshi's face back at him.
"This will always be our special place, won't it?" She inquired softly. Her voice and words belonged to a child, but a shadow behind them showed an adult. As the leaves overhead rustled in the wind, webs of shadows danced across her face like a tint of darkness to come.
"Yes," Aoshi replied, trying to decipher the inexplicable twinge in his heart when he met Misao's gaze. "Always and forever."
Misao's gaze broke away from his as she shifted to sit closer to him, letting him put one arm around her and hold her against him---a little tighter than necessary. The silence of the morning returned, but now it was heavy and pensive. When Misao's small form slid down across his legs, Aoshi was startled out of his thoughts. The little girl was asleep, blue eyes closed and a peaceful look on her features.
Aoshi touched the child's face and felt a sudden rush of fear for the future that was bearing down on both of them.
. End Part I .