Birth of the Strongest
By: Vash-chan, Makoto Almasy (or whatever current pen name I have right now)
Rating: G
Summary: Rurouni Kenshin x BSSM one-shot. A young Kino Makoto thinks she is in trouble after accidentally vandalising public property. However things turn out quite differently for her expected punishment.
Disclaimer: The genius Watsuki Nobuhiro owns Rurouni Kenshin. Takeuchi Naoko owns Kino Makoto. I only own the story idea.
AN: Since Mako-chan is eight years old, her characterisation is based on a very young girl who is struggling to understand herself.
Otou-san = Father
Oka-san = Mother
Aa = Yes
Makoto's body cringed as she looked at the small pieces of broken concrete that now stood by her feet. Her lips twisting into a nervous frown, she soon realised the dare the other children had given her was NOT meant to turn out like this. Who would have thought she would really smash a hole with one punch? That attack wasn't supposed to connect with the concrete, nor be able to cause real damage. Makoto was certain she pulled back on her real strength. She was supposed to pretend she wasn't able to make a hole in the wall…but it seemed her own power disobeyed her in the last minute. And here was the result. It was like a nightmare come true.
"Let the big monster get into trouble!"
"Yeah, she's the one who deserves it!"
"We gotta go before anyone from that house comes out and sees us!"
Hearing the boys run off like frightened mice didn't seem to make Makoto feel any better, even if she was trying to cover up her horror behind her own hands (which had proven to be lethal weapons). For perhaps the hundredth time she had let herself fall into the trap made by those three boys. Why oh why did it always have to be her they picked on? It was no thanks to her physical appearance that was for sure.
Compared to the other children in her town, Makoto was tall for her age, making her look at least twelve years old. She also possessed extraordinary strength for a young girl and could almost be as strong as a fully-grown man. It wasn't her fault she was tall and powerful. If there was anyone to blame for her abnormalities, then they could blame the way the reproduction cycle developed her as a human being. Why couldn't she be very pretty like Oka-san and not be huge and strong like Otou-san?
"What am I gonna do?" Makoto asked. The panic in her voice was growing more evident while her green eyes continued to stare at the large hole in the middle of the wall that passed as an entrance gate to a large building she had never stumbled across before (until those boys showed her). She wanted to turn on her heels and run away but somehow her feet wouldn't listen to her command, just like her own strength. "Otou-san is gonna kill me when he finds out what happened here."
This nightmare took a worse turn when the door to the mysterious building slid ajar. Makoto yelped automatically the moment she saw the outline of a figure appear behind the door. She was going to be punished right this minute. Not just by her father but by the person who was about to come out and tell her off. It was too late to run away now. A punishment was a punishment and it had to be dealt with, no matter how frightened one was.
"I guess this is what I get for being a monster," Makoto mumbled, knowing there was nothing she could do to escape. Even if she did run away, the feeling of guiltiness was going to keep following her for eternity until she fixed it in some way. When she sensed the person coming near her, Makoto prepared herself for a long lecture by bowing her head down in shame. Makoto could tell by the way the person walked and dressed that it was a man approaching her, even when she wasn't looking at him face-to-face.
"Did you make that hole in the wall?" the voice was deep and sullen. Makoto swallowed the lump of apprehension building in her throat and replied with a reluctant nod. When was this man going to shout at her? She wondered curiously, keeping her head low to avoid a vicious stare from the person talking. When people spoke in a gloomy voice like that, Makoto knew he or she WAS angry, even if they weren't expressing it openly. "May I ask what you used to make a hole in the wall? Was it a gun, a bomb?"
"I h-h-hit it," Makoto said. She sounded stupid saying that, despite her honesty. The long pause between the two of them was most likely to be a moment where the man was trying to take in the unexpected response from the young girl standing before him. "Please, I-I-I didn't mean to…" Her hands moved in to desperately grip the man's sleeves and show she was telling the truth, however her face somehow ascended spontaneously so they met the man's eyes. Makoto let out a brief gasp of surprise as soon as her gaze clashed with his face.
Well as a matter of fact, the face wasn't of a fully-grown adult like Otou-san. It was someone much younger than that, much to Makoto's bewilderment. He was at least fifteen years old, judging by the shiny long black hair tied up in a ponytail and the absence of wrinkles that were common among the older adults. He was a young man, which was what Oka-san often described people like him. Makoto guessed he would be called an older boy in her mind. Aside from the facial features he was also huge (much huger than Makoto herself) and wore a very strange uniform that had dark blue as the main colour. His mouth was covered by a purple scarf, which would explain why his voice sounded funny when Makoto first heard it. His speech had been concealed by the material around his neck, as though he wanted to make himself mysterious, hide his identity.
The young man's sapphire eyes seemed to be staring right into Makoto, perhaps giving her a message to stop looking at him like he was a foreigner. She immediately released her hands from the man's sleeves and stepped back to look at him in an apologetic manner. He was going to show he was angry now, wasn't he? She just knew it. Well if that were the case then he was welcome to shout at her for what she did at anytime now. But what she didn't expect was for this young man to move forward, right after she had stepped backward, and then ask, "Are you Kino's daughter?"
"Huh?" Makoto said, becoming frightened by how this older boy knew who her father was.
"I can tell. You have his eyes," the stranger went on, cutting Makoto off from expressing more of her surprised yelps. He looked at her from top to bottom with an inquisitive expression. "How old are you?"
"Uh…I'm eight years old." Makoto wondered whether it was okay to tell him the truth, particularly when she knew what he was thinking after looking at her appearance (which was how she looked older for her age). Her mother had often warned her it was dangerous to talk to strangers. This older boy was definitely someone who she didn't know. Of course she was aware that her father was popular in this town but she had never seen ALL his friends. How would she know this person in front of her was a friend or not? Makoto couldn't help panicking and thought it would be best to run back home before something bad happened.
Her eyes returned to the large hole to her left and Makoto sadly remembered that she was about to be punished for what she did. "Um…I'm really sorry about the damage to your gate. I-I-I…"
"Someone told you to make a hole in the wall, I know," the older boy filled in the rest of her explanation. "I heard some voices while I was meditating in the garden." His cobalt irises enlarged with curiosity when Makoto hands suddenly began to shake. Her emotions had started to give way.
"T-Those boys made me do it!" she exclaimed at the top of her lungs and crouched down to bang her fists into the ground, not caring that some sand got into her face. The pressure from being humiliated by the other children was worsening by the minute. "It's not my fault I'm strong and big!" Makoto covered her face with her now dirty hands. "I hate being me! I hate it, I hate it, I hate it…" Maybe those three boys wanted to truly punish her for being different and decided to get her into trouble by giving her some dares. She didn't want to show them her reluctance to do bad things and always put up a fearless face each time they asked her to do something. And when it came to the right moment, she would pretend that she wasn't as strong as people assumed she was. But no matter how hard she tried, her strength just wouldn't hide itself.
"It's not fair!" Makoto sniffed. "People call me names because I'm a monster. They don't want to be my friend."
"I don't see you as a monster."
"What?" She prevented herself from jumping in the air after being startled by the dark haired boy, who had just crouched down to the same level as Makoto to look at her more closely. How did he do that without her sensing it straightaway? Did he have special powers? Aside from being scared like that, Makoto was also shocked with what he had said a second ago, about not seeing her as a monster. This was the first person, other than her parents, who said that sentence. "Maybe you will think I'm a monster if I spar with you."
"Sparring isn't needed," the mysterious older man said. He pulled Makoto's hands away from her face to inspect them and Makoto couldn't help becoming more embarrassed right now. Here she was, letting some older boy she barely knew look at her ugly hands. Surely he would change his mind on saying she wasn't a monster after looking at how long her fingers were.
"They're not a nice sight, aren't they?" Makoto murmured while the man in dark blue uniform observed her hands silently.
"What is your name?" he asked.
She was surprised by the abrupt arrival of this question and, not to waste any time, told him her name to express her politeness. "What about you?"
"Shinomori Aoshi," he simply said.
Shinomori…Aoshi Makoto repeated his name in her thoughts. She thought it sounded nice - in a weird way, much like her own. "Shinomori-san, is it okay if you…" Without any problems he figured out what she wanted and placed her hands back on her lap. His inspection was evidently over.
"Kino Makoto, as a female, you should be proud to be born with strength like this," Aoshi said as he helped her to stand up. Makoto wasn't sure how he say such a thing to her. Why should she be proud of being a monster? His words didn't make sense. "And you shouldn't be paying attention to what people say." Aoshi placed a hand on Makoto's right shoulder, albeit the touch wasn't of anger. It was more of comfort. "Tell me, who is the warrior among you and those boys? Is it you or them?"
"Um…" Makoto scratched the top of her head while contemplating the question. "Well I'm bigger than those boys a-and stronger too. So I guess that means I'm the uh…warrior, right?" She frowned on the last word. Her obvious thought being how weird it sounded to describe someone like herself. Aoshi nodded in agreement and moved the hand behind Makoto's hand so it was pressed on her chest, allowing her to feel her own heart beat.
"You are a warrior inside here, Kino Makoto," he explained. "You have more honour than other people, including those boys who took advantage of you just now. Always keep that thought in mind and focus on becoming a strong fighter."
"A strong fighter," Makoto repeated the key words to herself. "More honour..." She didn't realise how much Aoshi sounded like her father during a private talk after sparring sessions. Kino Ryouji often told Makoto to concentrate on being strong like her parents and not listen to what the other children said about her.
"They're just jealous because you were born with something special," Ryouji joked one day. "They know you're better than them."
So I should be proud because I'm lucky to be bigger and stronger, huh? After reflecting on Aoshi's words, Makoto found herself beaming. "Hey you must be really clever, Shinomori-san."
"Yes, Shinomori Aoshi-kun is a smart boy for his age, isn't he?"
Makoto looked past Aoshi to see her father walking out of the quiet building, waving with one hand to say hello. Aoshi merely nodded his head to greet Kino Ryouji whilst Makoto ran over to her father to hug him by the waist and, when she lifted her head up to look at him and Aoshi, couldn't help but see how both these people were almost the same height.
"I see that you have met my daughter for the first time, Shinomori-kun," Ryouji said, stroking his daughter's hair.
"Aa," Aoshi replied. "I told her she had your eyes."
Ryouji laughed. "Yes, everyone says that whenever they see my little flower." His smile faded when he saw his daughter's face grow anxious. "Hey, what's wrong, Mako-chan?"
"Um, Otou-san, I uh…" Makoto pointed to the very familiar hole in the wall and Ryouji understood straightaway why she had an unhappy façade. She could tell her father had the words, 'Oh dear' written all over his face, even if he didn't say those words out loud.
"Shinomori-kun, I'm sure what she did was an accident…"
"Don't worry, it WAS an accident," Aoshi said. "A group of boys thought they could get Makoto into trouble by challenging her to…"
"Oh those rascals don't know when to give up on making my daughter's life a misery, do they?" Ryouji sighed; already aware of whom Aoshi was referring to. "I'll have to talk with those boys' parents more thoroughly." The tone of his voice switched, as well as his gaze. He did it rather swiftly that Makoto missed the actual change in his expression. "So, Shinomori-kun, how are things?"
"Fine, thank you," Aoshi answered, bowing slightly.
"Hey, Mako-chan, did you know Shinomori Aoshi is the new Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu?" Ryouji asked. "This is where they have meetings with one another or with other people who are their friends." Makoto blinked in awe. New Okashira, did he say? Makoto concealed her horror behind her hand. Why didn't those boys tell her this mysterious building was the HQ for a secret group known as the Oniwabanshuu? She thought it was a haunted house. That was what they said, unless they weren't being honest and lied to her, which was most likely to be the case.
"Shinomori-san, I-I-I didn't know you were the new Okashira," Makoto exclaimed. "Oh now I'm REALLY sorry for what I did. I had no idea this was where the O-Oniwabanshuu..."
"It doesn't matter. We'll fix the hole," Aoshi said. His dark blue eyes pivoted to Ryouji. "Kino, I can see your daughter has potential to be a good fighter at such a young age. I was thinking how it might be good for her to join the Oniwabanshuu."
"Ah, you're thinking on the same wavelength, are you?" Ryouji grinned, patting a hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Maybe when she's older and has had enough training, yes?"
"Aa."
"Ne, Otou-san, what are you whispering to Shinomori-san?" Makoto asked nosily, trying to get her father's attention by pulling on his arm. She wished she was tall enough to hear what these two was saying to one another. Sadly, she was very petite compared to them.
Ryouji turned his attention back to Makoto and smiled warmly to his only daughter. "Why don't you tell her, Shinomori-kun?"
"Your father and I agreed that you can join the Oniwabanshuu," Aoshi clarified. "However it's too early for you right now."
"Would I become stronger if I joined?" Makoto queried excitedly. Aoshi was impressed how she used a very appropriate word. He could see she had been taught plenty of discipline by her father.
"Yes, it's possible Mako-chan," Ryouji said, glad to see his daughter smiling again. "But you'll join when you are older and have trained well enough, okay?" He had to admit, she looked more like her mother than himself. Sure she had his eyes but everywhere else was very much a replica of the mother. "I think you and I agree that we have to work on a few things, right?"
Makoto gave him a sheepish nod, knowing very well what her father was talking about. It was going to be hard work to tame her strength and be able to use it at a good time. At the moment it just ran by itself like a disobedient dog. Maybe once she mastered controlling her strength then everyone would stop calling her a monster and leave her alone. As Aoshi said, people like those boys who always picked on her weren't honourable warriors. She was though. There was a difference between those who knew how to fight and those who weren't martial artists.
"Otou-san, Shinomori-san, I want to be really strong when I grow up," Makoto said with a determined smile. "No, when I grow up I want to be…the strongest." She lifted her fists into the air, showing she was brave to the world.
Ryouji laughed. "She sounds like you, Shinomori-kun. Did you brainwash her?"
"You could say that," Aoshi answered, a subtle smile curling at the corner of his lips. Ryouji laughed even harder after hearing the funny response this boy made. He seldom smiled whenever he made a joke or when something amusing was mentioned. However, it seemed this scenario was a tiny exception to his usual sullen appearance. "Kino, even if she is still young to join the Oniwabanshuu, I was wondering whether I have permission to train her, improve her skills."
Ryouji was stunned that someone like Shinomori Aoshi was treating Makoto with respect, asking for his consent on having someone else help his daughter. It was rare to find anyone who could make Makoto feel at ease from the prejudice she had been suffering in town. "Well I…" He looked down at the small brown haired girl, whose emerald irises were filled with innocence and unawareness of what was being discussed in the current conversation. "What do you think, Mako-chan? Do you think it's a good idea to have Shinomori-kun train you if I'm busy at a meeting?"
"Um…" Makoto glanced from her father to Aoshi. To be trained by Shinomori Aoshi, the Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu…it sounded exciting. The innocence in Makoto's eyes turned into delight and she nodded her head enthusiastically.
"Well there's your answer, Shinomori-kun," Ryouji stated. "I'll let you know when I am too busy so you can spend some time training with Mako-chan."
"Thank you," Aoshi said and bowed.
"Oh you don't need to thank me." Ryouji gently pushed his daughter to the front and crouched down to whisper. "Mako-chan, what do you say to someone like Shinomori-kun?" After a long, silent pause of trying to work out what her Otou-san was saying, Makoto eventually understood what she had to do. When a nice person offered to train you, you had to show manners, which normally involved bowing and saying thank you. She bowed slowly and said, "Um…Shinomori-san, I am honoured to have you as my teacher."
"Good girl," Ryouji complimented and stroked the top of Makoto's head. "Now that Shinomori Aoshi-kun has been a nice boy and offered to train you when I'm not free from work, you must call him Shinomori-sensei or Shinomori-sempai."
"Just Shinomori-sempai is fine," Aoshi corrected politely. "Or if she prefers, Aoshi-sempai." Makoto was certain he smiled at her for a brief moment, but assumed it was a trick made by her own eyes. She looked at him worriedly and asked, "Is it really okay if I call you Aoshi-sempai?" At home, both her parents told her it was more polite to call someone by their surname and she had grown accustomed to this gesture for quite some time now. So it was natural for her to be sure on whether it was all right to be calling an older boy by his first name.
"Aa," Aoshi said. "After all…" he once again rested his large hand on Makoto's shoulder, "you and your father are friends of the Oniwabanshuu." The worry instantly faded and Makoto's mouth transformed into a relieved grin. "Thank you very much." She bowed quickly.
"Shall we get going, little flower?" Ryouji suggested. "I'm sure your mother has started making dinner."
"Okay then," Makoto agreed. Prior to walking away with her father, she turned back to look at Aoshi and waved to him. "I'll see you later, Aoshi-sempai."
"I look forward to training with you, Kino Makoto," Aoshi uttered deeply. "Until then…have a good day."
"You too, Shinomori-kun," Ryouji responded back in the same polite tone. He had the feeling Aoshi was going back to his meditation session. He knew how the fifteen-year old boy often sat in a silent area to contemplate for many hours. Shinomori Aoshi was the hardworking type who was very dedicated to his training. And because of these positive traits, Ryouji found it easy to put all his trust into the Okashira. He was confident that his daughter would become stronger very soon, especially since she was going to have a worthwhile mentor named Shinomori Aoshi. And with that eager expression on her face, it looked like his daughter was thinking the same thing as him.
OWARI