"I'll never forget the time I saw the smiling boy walking down the street. I can't really describe him, but there was something about that boy that made me smile too." Their journey of finding Aoshi and whatever lies beyond after everything is said and done. SxM
Finding After
SangPakko made this chapter but I control it now!
Disclaimer: Lucy Luci doesn't own Rurouni Kenshin.
One: The Beginning"I'll never forget the time I saw the smiling boy walking down the street. He didn't have much except for his two bags, which he carried over his shoulder. But it seemed like that boy had much more. More than just possessions, it was something invisible, something more meaningful. Well I didn't actually see that then, but I could tell because of its potential. His potential. It seemed like a new smile, one that had just been born.
"He had dark brown hair, almost black, I'd say with dark blue eyes. Not something someone might see everyday. As you might know,not many Japanese people have blue eyes. He was dressed in blue hakama and off-white pants and even wore a sword, which hung freely from his belt. I guess I can't even really describe him in the end. All I can say is that there was something about that boy…something that made me smile too. I could tell he didn't know his direction, but I could also tell he didn't need one. He seemed like the kind of person who could really make it…you know, make it out in the world. Make it out there in the world even if no one joined him.
"But that would a little impossible, wouldn't it? Everyone needs company, friends. Just to have people around them keeps people sane. Loneliness gets to people. It changes them. That's why I wonder what ever happened to that young man who was walking down the street. I wonder if anyone ever joined him? I wonder if he ever took a rest. But who knows, maybe he's still walking out there…walking for whatever he's wanting to find."
Chapter One – In The Beginning
There are plenty of paths to choose from in life.
Soujiro had walked down many paths during the year he had been traveling. He also saw many great and unbelievable things. He had seen beautiful cascading waterfalls that glistened in the sunlight, he had seen unimaginable sights at night while standing out on mountain-tops as he gazed into the starry depths of the sky, and he had seen rainbows that traveled over such long distances, he couldn't even find the end while using his shukuchi.
But there were the bad sights too. There were the remainders of war that had been left over, death, famine, poverty, and other such things. He sometimes wondered if Mr. Himura ever was a witness to these happenings along his own journeys. If he had, Soujiro wondered how he could even smile today.
Even Soujiro's smile was faltering more and more these days. After he had seen such horrific things, he began to realize that some of Mr. Shisho's teachings wouldn't fit in most of the situations in Japan today. And what if the rest of the world was like that? His ideals wouldn't fit at all. As it turned out, practically all of the Japan was weak. That meant all of them would have died. And that meant there would only be a small amount of people left in the world. Maybe people were meant to be different. A variety placed onto the planet so the planet would never get boring. So life would always have its differences.
But it made Soujiro feel guilty for, ever believing in such a 'corrupt' man.
No matter how long Mr. Shishio had raised him, no matter how much time he put into Soujiro's life, Soujiro now knew that what Mr. Shishio did was wrong. What Soujiro, himself did was wrong. Everything was so wrong about his previous life.
But now he was trying to make it right.
Soujiro was a rurouni now, a wanderer as you may. He traveled the land in search of answers hoping that he could become a better person and repent for his previous sins. Sins, such as being a member of the Jupon Gatana. Sins, such as being Shishio's right-hand man. As in killing numerous people…many, many innocent faces he would never recall.
At the moment, he didn't really know what direction he was heading now but he could tell that there was a familiarity in the air. He felt as if he had been here before.
It had a certain name to it…
Maybe that word was home.
But sadly to a wanderer, there was no such thing as home. There was no permanent staying or living place for him. Well, at least for now. But there was no stopping. He had basically just begun his adventures. Maybe his new home was just the open road that laid before him.
He would just have live it through.
-OoO-
Her name was Misao Makimachi and you could say she was a dreamer.
She was the kind who you'd look at and go, 'Wow, she's a puzzling young woman.'
Oh, but she was much more than that. While everyone was thinking about how puzzling she was, she was thinking about how obvious those people were. She believed that a lot of people in the world were just plainly boring. You could say she was different or odd, but she'd just say you were lying.
She was the few who liked people who asked questions, one who always thought there to be something more than to what was just sitting there right in front of them. She also liked liars. Even though their truths were bent, they still were more interesting than the average person. It was fun to know that there was more to the person than they were letting you know. She also enjoyed the way they stretched the truth, she had to admit she did so herself every once in a while.
But most of all, she enjoyed the company of people who thought she was a good person because in reality she was. She just acted in ways, which people would question. It was just getting so hard these days to find that sort of person, everyone seemed like they were uptight and always watching their back. People were always stressed out and worrying about how much their future would be impacted by their past and present or how good looking they were, or why they always seemed to be never moving from the point where they were.
Misao didn't need that.
She didn't need to hear or know their problems.
Misao was already worried about how she would end up when it was all said and done. She couldn't help it, that's just the kind of person she was. But her main concern was a certain man who went by the name of Aoshi Shinomori.
It was if no matter how hard she tried to get his attention, his mind was always somewhere else. Or he would look at her, but it seemed he was looking right through her. Or he would see something that she didn't want him to see, you could say like a tomboy.
She didn't even know why she was attracted to him. He didn't bend the truth, he didn't ask questions, and his views on believing there was something more were a little different than what Misao was accustomed to. But he didn't think of her as an annoyance, or complained about how acted solely one emotion. Maybe she liked him because he was the closest thing she could ever get to what she wanted.
Or maybe it was that he was the exact opposite of what she wanted. Opposites attract as they say.
Did she really know what she wanted?
Because there were those times when she didn't even understand why she functioned the way she did. There were times when she just wished all of it would stop.
It was a year since Kenshin had killed Shishio. Something about that experience changed her. Changed her for the better that is. It made her realize that life was a little more precious than she first perceived. But she had to admit to herself she had been a little naïve before. Just now were her eyes becoming more adaptive to the new and more complex world she had just discovered.
Her eyes had opened, you might say.
But the only problem with that was that she now saw all of the bad that went along with the good in the world. Things made more sense, but often came to sad or disappointing conclusions. She realized how insignificant she was to the world. She realized how insignificant she was to Aoshi. But as she lived through it, she realized that's how everyone else felt.
She sometimes wondered why things worked like that. Great people would be forgotten. She had recalled Kenshin had once said to her in passing, something about how some people say legends live forever, but only the truly great people remain in their loved one's hearts forever.
And that's all that mattered.
But Misao always wanted something more.
She just didn't know what.
It all began the day Misao went for a walk outside the Aoiya. Her head was in a fog at the moment and she couldn't clear it any other way. She could usually feel better just by walking but this time, the feeling felt a little different.
Aoshi left the Aoiya you see. He left over a week ago and Misao still hadn't gotten over it. She was just on a breakthrough to tell him exactly how she felt. Then out of nowhere, he left the morning she had decided to tell him. It had broken her heart but most of all, it shattered her confidence. Crushed her feeling of luck as well.
The members of the Aoiya also heard no word from him. He sent no letters or no messengers to tell them where he was or what he was doing. Usually he did so even if she was in the shady business. He, instead, would just write a white lie or something of the sort. So Misao was of course, worried. She wished she could find him, but she never got the chance to go out on her own. If she could just accidentally get lost and then go on a journey to find him, that would be well worth her time indeed.
But she could never get lost. She was Misao. She didn't have the best sense of direction, but she could find her way home in any situation. It might take some time, but she would always make it back.
He did leave one hint to where he had gone off to though. He had told Misao that he wanted to travel around. He said there was this secret back road that not many people traveled on which lead down south. It was located under a cliff, but that's all he mentioned.
She had no idea what he was talking about.
As she walked through the town, she couldn't help but notice that life didn't have the same spunk it used to…nothing seemed as exiting. It seemed like no one cared about her, or what would happen to her.
She felt a little alone.
And she didn't want that.
Upon exiting the city, Misao began to walk a little through the country. It was around noon now and everything was in full bloom since spring had sprung. Everything around her was so fricking happy! She couldn't take it anymore!
She walked over to the nearby cliff and plopped down onto a rock. She rested her head onto her hands as she leaned forward.
She'd do anything for a little change. And positive change at that, she couldn't bare any more shocks to her life.
She just wished for something that would give her life some meaning. Some reason. Any reason would be nice. Something to live for.
Heck, even going on some sort of crazy journey would make life more interesting.
Something…
…anything.
Too bad she was scared to do it alone. She needed help but no one wanted to seem to help her. She was in a tough situation but always decided in the end that it wouldn't work out. You might think that she was the adventurous type but everyone has their own fears you know. She's only human.
All of a sudden, she heard a noise come from below her. Misao made sure she was silent so she could get a better idea of what had made the noise.
The noise never came again but her curiosity got the best of her. She crawled over to the ledge and peeked over to whatever could've possibly made the noise. She saw a guy walking down below her but that was about it. The person couldn't have made the noise, the thing she heard sounded like it came from right under her. The noise was more of a monkey mixed with a bird's call…
Whatever.
As she turned to sit back up, she felt a nudge behind her and next thing she knew, she was falling towards the ground…
Crap.
-OoO-
I guess you can say it also began when Soujiro set off on his journey once again. It had been a beautiful morning. The cherry blossom trees were in full bloom, the rivers were as clear as ever, and the birds were finally making their home until the cold season came again.
As he was walking though, he did come across some problems…
"Hey kid."
Soujiro turned around to see what called behind him, "I'm talking to you, kid."
When Soujiro was completely turned around, he saw a big man and a little man each standing next to each other. Then the little man stepped forward, "So what's that sword for kid? Someone your age shouldn't be carrying one of those around, especially in this time."
Soujiro glanced down at his sword, "Oh this?" he replied while holding up the sword with his hand, "This is for protection just in case anyone attacks me."
The taller man stepped forward so he was equal distance away from Soujiro, as he was the other man, "Protection, huh? Well there's a law here that say if anyone who's carrying an illegal sword is captured, they can be turned in for a hefty reward."
Soujiro's smile twitched a bit, "You mean you're going to turn me in?"
The two men each took a step forward and Soujiro took a step back, "But I haven't done anything! I was just passing through! I'm just a simple wanderer."
"I didn't know wanderer's carried around swords."
"For protection!" Soujio pleaded, not wanting to hurt anyone, "So I can defend myself!"
The shorter man began to talk again, "Sorry kid but I don't think that one's going to do so well in front of the police forces. Juru, how about you show him how real warrior's fight without swords."
Soujiro glanced up at the man as he stepped forward while cracking his knuckles. He smirked as Soujiro warned, "I really don't want anyone getting hurt."
The man snickered, "The only one who's getting hurt is YOU!"
With that, he charged at Soujiro.
The shorter man watched in smugness as the other man ran towards the much smaller Soujiro. Soujiro, not wanting to seriously injure the figure, tried to think of a way to knock him out first, so then he could run away.
When the man was standing right in front of Soujiro, he swung his fist hard at him. Soujiro sidestepped and pulled off his two bags, which were connected by a long string, and held it out in front of him, "Look Miyota, he's offering his belongings to me so I won't attack him again!"
Miyota cackled as Soujiro held his ground. His smile remained in place but it was now a much darker one.
Juru began his charge once again and when he was right in front of Soujiro, he swung his fist hard.
But Soujiro, being incredibly fast, tied the string of his packs around Juru's wrist and used the momentum to swing him around and flying towards Miyota, who didn't know what hit him. It all happened in an instance too, "I guess I haven't lost my touch."
Miyota grumbled under Juru, "Ki-id. Come back…here!" he strained as the taller man slowly compressed him to the ground.
Soujiro picked up his packs and swung them over his shoulder, "Actually, I think I want to go this way. I hope you'll understand?"
Then with a trembling outstretched arm, Miyota watched Soujiro trot away as he continued to be compressed by Juru, who was well unconscious by that point.
It had been at least fifteen minutes since Soujiro encountered the two strange men. It seemed that people everywhere nowadays wanted to fight and challenge him simply because he owned a sword. He found it admirable that people still had a fighting spirit in them, yet he pitied them because they apparently couldn't pick their battles wisely. He wondered if ever Mr. Himura had gone through such a phase? It seemed though as if Kenshin went through what he did, it must've been much more difficult since he had such a bigger name compared to Soujiro who had more of an underground one. The world seemed so much more peaceful these days though. Maybe it was because he wasn't killing people as he used to. Or maybe he was finally outside more than he was used to because let's stay truthful here, Soujiro had kind of been stuck in a house of some sort for his entire life.
All he knew was that it was nice to get the extra weight off his back and finally be a free man. Now that he finally thought about it, he had never really been a free man before.
There was a wonderful feeling that came along with being free, Soujiro concluded.
By this time, he was walking along a cliff's side. The hill next to him didn't go up that high, maybe about twenty to thirty feet. Its deep red rocks had changed the color of the wall entirely. It was quite beautiful.
But probably the most beautiful thing about the area he was in was the silence.
Silence was one of his favorite things, next to noise. I guess you could say Soujiro liked everything there was to being alive, that what happens when you're eye are opened.
Wait.
He heard something…it was gradually coming towards him but he couldn't make out the noise. But it was coming quick and he wouldn't have that much time to react. He bent his knees so he could react the quickest, but he was definitely not ready for what was coming…
The noise was growing rapidly! It was right on top of him! It was…right on top of him?
He looked up, "Literally…"
And then, Misao fell atop of Soujiro.
'Like the angel that falls out of the sky…"Oww…"
…the rescuer comes to save the one in need.'
Soujiro looked arond. What just happened? He had a massive headache and it felt like something had just landed on him. Or hit him awfully hard on the head. Either one, he couldn't really remember what happened.
Wait, when he looked up…there was a person falling out of the sky! He gathered himself and crawled up to his knees. He shook his head a little and looked around.
There next to him lying in a head laid this…girl.
She apparently landed on him and rolled over a few feet because she was now laying on her side a small distance away from him.
He crawled over to her as his head continued to ache. As he reached her, he took her shoulder in his hand and rolled her gently to her back. She had long black hair that was ties into a braid that traveled down her back. Her bangs fell freely over her face. Her long lashed gently kissed her upper-cheeks and her thin lips spread a little ways across her lower face as they opened slightly every now and then as she breathed.
She was very pretty though. She didn't exactly have curves but she wasn't exactly built like a stick. He rested his hand on her shoulder as he continued to gaze at her face. He just couldn't break his gaze. It was strange. It was a different kind of feeling. The thing was, he hadn't ever really felt feelings before.
He closed his eyes and shook his head as he snapped out of it. He adjusted from where he was sitting and rested on his rear while he shook her gently by the shoulder, "Hey, wake up…" he called, with no reply.
He shook her again, "Anyone there?"
Misao squirmed a little and smiled, "Of course I love you, Aoshi…No please don't leave me…"
'Aoshi?' he stopped shaking her. This girl knew Mr. Shinomori? Had this girl been there when Kenshin was fighting Mr. Shishio? Sure there had been a lot of people involved but Soujiro couldn't recall.
"Um, hello?"
Her eyes blinked open as her smile remained on her face, "Aoshi?"
Too bad as soon as she got a good look at Soujiro, the frown disappeared and she shrieked, "WHO ARE YOU?" she yelled as Soujiro scooted back a few inches.
"You yell really loud…"
She pulled a few kunai out and held them between her fingers as she got in a stance as if she were ready to fire at him, "I'm serious! You better tell me who you are! I know how to use these!" she yelled whiled dropping on of the kunai from her fingers.
She looked down at the ground and so did Soujiro as he chuckled, "I'm not going to hurt you, and apparently you can't hurt me either. I just wanted to see if you were alright since you landed on me…but how on earth did you manage to fall from way up there?" he asked whilst looking up to the cliff, "I can hardly imagine someone just walking off…unless your life had no meaning and you were coming to the conclusion of suicide?"
She became defensive, "I wasn't committing suicide! And my life has plenty of meaning! Someone pushed me off!" She looked back up to the cliff and squinted since she couldn't make out exactly how high she had fallen, "So who are you anyways? You didn't answer my question."
Soujiro's head picked up, "Oh, I'm Seta, Soujiro. I'm a wanderer."
She eyed Soujiro dangerously, "Look you, you'd better keep that sword tucked away unless you want some of these sticking out of your stomach!" she threatened as she shook her fist full of kunai.
Soujiro shook his hands right and left defensively, "I won't! I won't but…who are you? I can't remember you?"
She looked at him funny, "What do you mean you can't remember me? I've never met you before."
He thought for a moment, she might not recall and he probably shouldn't bring it up since it might cause a feud of some sort so, "No never mind."
She looked at him once more and then turned around so her side was facing him, "Whatever," she then picked her head up and looked up to where the cliff began, "Hey, how do I get back up?"
Soujiro looked up as well, "I don't know, you're the one who fell."
She turned to him, "I know that! But since you're down here I was wondering if you knew how to get back up?"
He shrugged, "The only road I know is the one that's straight ahead of me and I don't really have an idea where it goes. Like I said, I'm a wanderer. I wander."
"I KNOW WHAT WANDERERS DO!"
She began walking in the direction Soujiro had previously arrived from, "Well I'll be seeing you Soujiro."
As she began walking, Soujiro held out his hand, "I actually wouldn't walk that way if I were you!" she turned around, "Why not?"
His hand lowered, "Well, there are a couple of guys who are kind of rough, but are beaten up now. They're sure to wake up anytime though."
She sent him a questioning look, "Well why are they unconscious then?"
"Because," he shifted his position, "someone was able to defeat them in battle."
Misao took a step towards him and shouted, "Well WHO then?"
"Some guy with a sword."
"You're some guy with a sword."
"Some other guy with a sword," Soujiro replied as he emphasized the word other.
She looked down the road and then back at Soujiro, "How big?"
Not wanting the newly met girl to be injured in any sort of way, he stretched out his arms to make his point, "They're HUGE! They're like monsters who eat people and devour and crush their bones."
She stared at him in confusion and annoyance mixed together as she droned out, "What makes you think I can't take them?"
He looked worriedly at her, "They're also very fast too."
She looked back as he added, "That's the wrong way anyways. Are you trying to get to Kyoto?" she nodded as he continued, "Well this road definitely leads to Kyoto. The other one leads to a small town that's at least three miles away."
She kept looking down the path as she whispered to herself, "A secret road under a cliff…"
At that moment, she made her final decision. She was going to go on her own to look for Aoshi. She would follow the road under the cliff and find the one she truly loved. And she was going to do it alone to. No matter what, there was no turning back now. All she needed was the initial push, which she received so here she went, hoping for no regrets.
She took a deep breath and began walking down the road.
She was ready.
Only a few steps on her way, she thought to herself, 'I'm coming Aoshi.'
But just then, she felt a hand on her shoulder…it was Soujiro, "Didn't you understand what I said? That road isn't exactly the safest one to walk down…"
She snapped around, angrily set her hands on her hips and leant in close, "Well duh I heard what you said. I just have my own reasons for choosing this way."
Soujiro's head dropped a little as he pointed and said quite loudly, "That's the opposite direction though! Kyoto's THAT way."
She grabbed his hand that rested on her shoulder, "Hey! I know what I'm doing! And who are you to tell me which way is the wrong way? I know where I'm going and that's all I need to know!"
He closed his eyes while lowering and smacking his face, "But it doesn't make any sense! You're also choosing the most dangerous path! And how will knowing where you're going help you when getting there is the main problem?"
"…" she didn't quite understand what he said so instead she did the only thing she knew that would shut him out.
She turned around and began walking again, but Soujiro followed about a good ten yards behind her, "Stop following me!"
"You're going to get hurt!"
"No I won't"
"I'll just make sure you get past them men up there safely."
"I said stop following me! I don't need any help ESPECIALLY from you!"
"Listen-!"
"NO!"
She kept walking and he kept following her. She wanted to get away and he wanted to protect her. He could've left, but there was just something holding him back. Like he felt obligated to stay with her and protect her from anything that might come across on her way.
It was a different feeling.
-OoO-
Fifteen minutes past and there was no sight of the two men who had come to be known as Juru and Miyota. Those names had sounded familiar to Soujiro, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Juru and Miyota…where had he heard those names before?
"Can you stop following me now?"
She turned around but she kept walking but Soujiro refused, "No, those two guys should be around here somewhere. I just want to make sure you get through alright."
Misao rested her hands behind her head and rolled her eyes, "Whatever. It's nice of you to do this but really, I can take care of myself."
He diverted his attention to other areas around her, just in case he was missing soft movements in the scenery around them, "I just want to make sure."
"Fine, you're just basically walking backwards though."
"You're basically walking to your death…"
"What was that?"
"I said-,"
"I heard what you said," Misao mumbled to herself but still audible enough for Soujiro to hear her.
As they continued walking, another few minutes passed, "So why exactly are you going on this journey?" Soujiro asked.
She spoke loudly since she was facing forward still, "I'm looking for someone," as soon as he was about to speak once again, she interrupted, "and the rest is none of your business. Mind if I ask you why you're a wanderer?" she turned her head so it wasn't quite facing him, but it was more like halfway.
He didn't really know how to reply, so he just answered, "I wanted to go sightseeing."
She stopped walking and spun around. She stomped towards him and got right in his face, "I'm not an idiot and I can tell when someone's lying to me. And YOU, I know, are lying to me."
He backed his head up a bit so their faces weren't so close, "No I swear!"
She stared at him for a while as if she were trying to read his expressions as he still pleaded, "I swear…"
She sent one last glare flying towards him before she began walking once more. And once again he began walking after her, but kept giving her space.
It was strange actually. Soujiro was just retracing his steps. And when you're a wanderer, you try to walk down new paths, not ones that are familiar to you. He could've easily parted with anyone at a fork in the road, he could easily forget about anyone he met. But this girl, there was something about her. It wasn't much. Maybe it was the fact that she knew Mr. Shinomori that made him want to help her. But it wasn't quite that. There was something else that he couldn't describe…
Before his eyes, there was a swift movement, and next thing he knew, Misao was being held by the shoulders by Juru, one of the men he had met earlier.
"If you want your girlfriend back, you're gonna have to…hey! It's you!" Juru exclaimed.
Soujiro stood there and watched as Misao struggled in the large man's grip. Out of nowhere, Miyota walked onto the scene as well. He took a good look at Soujiro and smirked, "Well if it isn't little hotshot, is it?"
He took a step forward and pulled a sword out, "Are you really a hotshot now that I have a sword to match yours? Unsheathe your weapon, boy, I want to see just how good of a fighter you are."
Soujiro blinked a few times before replying, "Please let the girl go, she has nothing to do with me."
"Girl?" she shouted, "Why you…"
Miyota and Juru each smirked at the same time. Juru began talking, "Heh heh, not yet. We fight first. And plus a few more guests may come."
From behind, Soujiro heard multiple sets of footsteps. Upon looking behind him, Soujiro had to do duck as someone swung a short blade over his head. As soon as that was over, he jumped because another person tried to take out his legs. He swung around and looked behind him to find the two men who had assaulted him. The two men were much more fit than the original two, Juru and Miyota. One held two shorter blades while the other griped a long sword. Miyota then stepped in front of them, "Take care of him."
"Soujiro!" Misao called out as the two men began their charge. She struggled against Juru's tight grip and watched in horror as Soujiro swung the two packs he wore over his shoulder to the ground.
As the two men quickly approached, Soujiro smiled the same old smile he used to smile in the old days. Some things never change.
When both men were less than a foot away from him, he glanced at Misao. He remembered she said that she wanted him to keep his sword tucked away or something like that. He knew it didn't relate to the situation now, but he came to the conclusion that it couldn't hurt to give it a try. Now it was time to get creative.
First, the man with the long sword attempted at jabbing Soujiro in the stomach. Soujiro dodged to the right and took a hold of the sword as he clapped it between his hands. Soujiro then backed up a little as the other man with the two shorter blades came around to his side and charged at Soujiro.
Soujiro yanked on the sword that was clasped in his hands forward so the man lost his grip of it. Soujiro then flipped it around so then he caught it by the handle, and then held it out so he blocked the other man's assault.
The second sword came around and got a piece of Soujiro.
Or so the man thought.
The image of Soujiro was left as he used his incredible speed. Soujiro ended up behind the twin-swords man and charged. In the last moments of his attack, Soujiro switched which way the sword's blade was facing so the dull end hit the man's back. It was something Soujiro had taught himself over the past year.
The man didn't even have time to yell as he collapsed to the ground and fell unconscious. Soujiro then turned to the man whose sword had been taken from him. Soujiro bent his knees and pulled the sword back as the tip directly faced the man.
He stepped back as Soujiro took a step forward.
Out of nowhere, the man pulled out a short dagger from his sleeve. Soujiro saw this but followed through with his plan. He charged forward.
As soon as he reached the other guy, the man used the dagger to throw Soujiro off by gently tapping it on the top. He came around and hurtled his arm directed straight at Soujiro's side. Misao closed her eyes and Soujiro just smiled.
The next thing the man knew, Soujiro was gone.
He looked around for a moment.
As he frantically looked around, he made eye contact with Miyota as Juru held onto Misao's shoulders just a little tigher.
In an instance, the man felt a sharp pain shoot through his head.
Soujiro had come around and had hit him on the head with the handle of his sword. The two men on the sideline stood in horror but Misao on the other hand was staring in amazement. Who was this guy anyways?
Miyota watched as his last fighter fell to the ground, "You can't do that!"
Oh, but he could. He had gotten a little rusty over the year. Usually a fight like this would only last a few seconds, but for some strange reason, it took more around a minute. Maybe it was because he couldn't use his sword, or maybe it was because he was a little out of shape. All he knew was that he would make sure it never happened again. It was a little embarrassing.
"I'm pretty sure I can," Soujiro said to Miyota as the smaller man backed away, "And I also think you should let go of her."
Misao, who still had her eyes closed was released and then plopped to the ground with a light thump, "Let's get out of here Miyota!"
And with that, Miyota caught up Juru and the two men ran off while carrying the other two whom Soujiro had defeated. Misao watched them behind her as they ran off and then looked back to Soujiro. She just stared at him for a while and he just stared at her back. He didn't really know what to say, let alone if he wanted to say anything at all. But she spoke for him, "Who are you?" she asked, "Really?"
Soujiro watched the last of the men who had ran off as well before looking down at her and helping her up, "I'm Seta, Soujiro," she looked at him funny. But before she could say anything more, Soujiro cut in, "I worked for man who taught me how to use a sword, and then I joined his group. I was his right hand man. After a while of working for him, the system crumbled and I found myself without a place to return to. So I decided that maybe I should go out on my own and see the world. Or Japan, whichever one will take my mind off things."
Doing everything in his power, Soujiro tried to avoid the name, 'Shishio.' He was doing well at it and Misao believed him as well.
"Is there anything else I should know about you?" Soujiro asked, "Maybe your name or something?"
She looked at him for a while. She saw the sincerity in his eyes so she replied, "I'm Makimachi, Misao and I'm looking for my future husband."
"Aoshi."
As she stood back up and dusted herself off, she asked, "How'd you know?"
He chuckled a little and smiled at her, "You mentioned his name while you were unconscious. You said something like, 'You'd always love him,' and, 'you never wanted him to leave you again.' Or something like that…"
She blushed and as she turned around and stomped off. Embarrassed at the fact that someone who she had just met had figured her out. No matter how many times her announced her love for Aoshi, she still wished some of it would stay a secret. Especially from people she didn't know.
The alarmed Soujiro, then jogged after her while still staying a good foot behind her for safety reasons while asking her what he had done wrong. She never answered once yet she listened to every word. You could call it playing hard to get.
As he continued to ask her for forgiveness, she contemplated how she would return home in one piece on her journey while looking for Aoshi. The farthest she had ever traveled was that one time she met Kenshin. She had a feeling though that this journey would take a little but longer.
And she was sure to run into some trouble.
So she needed the right protection, right?
Right.
After a while of asking, Misao finally spun around and asked, "If you keep following me, can you protect me?"
He was a little taken aback but abruptly replied, "Yes…why?"
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath while she folded her arms across her chest, "I guess I need to be protected in the big bad world so can you help me?" he continued looking at her as she went on, "I just need to look for Aoshi…my Aoshi. Can you help me? I'll be looking around a lot so you can keep going on with your journeys."
She wanted him to accompany her?
"Please? I promise I won't get in the way that much!"
Maybe there are just those kinds of people in the world.
"Of course Misao but," he tried to begin but he was cut off unfortunately.
She face brightened as she let out a gigantic smile. Her eyes widened and she ran up to give Soujiro a big hug. It was weird because she felt so comfortable around him. The only other person she had ever felt that comfortable around with was Aoshi.
That was about it.
Maybe Misao wasn't the type of person to have a load of friends. Maybe she was the type of person who only needed and wanted a few, a few friends who would always be there for her, ones that would never let her down.
Ever.
-OoO-
this was originally created by sangpakko and (R)naiLAUG. SangPakko even aloowed me to change her name so I could use it. It's cute I think and I'm glad I get to use it. I hope I won't butcher it though… haa
Lucy Luci