Her heart was beating too hard in her chest as she continued to run as fast as her legs could carry her. Short gasps of breath filled her lungs briefly filling them with fire and pain… but the pain was nothing compared to the thudding of her heart and the whispers in her mind. Please let them be okay... please… don't let this be true… not true… not true… There was no time to waste… none at all. All she could do was hope and run… always keep running. Finally she arrived and in her haste, threw all of her remaining strength in opening the door. The sight before her was a frozen scene. The two men facing each other… each with some of their blood spilled on their pale faces, their eyes shining with an emotion she could only have named as hate. If only her heart would stop beating so hard. She gasped, almost choking on the air. Her muddled thoughts no longer wanted to see the blood, the hatred… Aoshi-sama was here wasn't he? And so was Jiya… the two of them would make everything okay, ne? Ne? Her mind was pleading for her eyes to close… for the image to stop playing before her. Stupidly and dimly she thought she heard her shaking voice breath out … "I've arrived just in t-…" She was never given the chance to finish as Jiya's old withered face was suddenly ravaged with blood, deep wounds opening as if surprised that the old man could have been hit so hard… so deathly by the young man that he had viewed as a son… Her breath once again was caught in her throat. This isn't happening… this isn't… please make it stop… please make it stop… Aoshi-sama… please? The soft deep voice that had sung to her lullabies years ago now filled the air with ice.
"It's finished." He said grimly not even looking at her as blood splattered over her pale cheek. It's warmth made it all too real. Don't make this real... don't! It isn't real! In slow motion Jiya fell to the floor with a dull smack and nothing could make Misao turn away from the scene. Aoshi… her Aoshi-sama moved away from the body, his blue eyes more closed off than before as she regarded him in shock. He moved passed her, barely acknowledging her presence. Why? Why? What… this isn't what's supposed to happen! It's not… real…
"A…" Her mouth quivered. Please… Her mind begged once more to be reassured by the man who's back was turned to her. "Aoshi!"
"Leave." The voice was dull. "Don't ever show me your face again." And with those few words, he was gone, leaving her unbearably alone with a reality that couldn't be. That couldn't be. With sudden calm… she moved away. With sudden strength …she carried Jiya home and when it was all over… when she was just staring at Jiya's bandaged body… that's when it started to hurt again. The beating of her heart, the whispers in her mind and warm tears that slid down her cheeks made everything so… real. Her small hands tightened in fists pressed upon her bare legs. She could hear the others whisper… they were as bad as the whispers in her head…but she was stronger than this. Stronger than this…
Stronger than him…
Stronger…
A single tear managed to trail down and land on her fist.
I will not give up the Oniwabanshu. I will never give up on my dream. I will never give up… on you, Aoshi-sama. And her heart started to be wrapped up in cold ice…as she knew that she was following his path.