Aoshi, Okina, and all other Oniwabanshu characters are property of Watsuki Nobuhiro's Rurouni Kenshin. Any other characters are property of Jade, that's me! Enjoy!

Many thanks to Croik for her wonderful editing, couldn't have done it with out her. So if you want to read superior writing check out her stories.

Author's Note: I should say it up front the names of the main characters were taking from Vampire Yui, but that was it. The character's themselves are very different from their namesakes.

Blind Devotion

Chapter 1

Aoshi started his morning as usual; waking, eating breakfast, walking to the shrine to meditate. He started it as usual. Reflecting on his way to the shrine, the blue-eyed ninja wondered when Misao would return to Kyoto. While he never would reveal it to anyone, he did miss her company, and even if he told people that she could take care of herself, he was worried about her.

It comes from watching out for her since she was a child, he told himself as reached the shrine, She's sixteen, she doesn't need anyone to protect her anymore. Not that I did a great job of watching over her. I did leave when she was only eight. But such musing was irrelevant considering Misao wasn't in Kyoto.

Meditating, Aoshi wondered how long he'd continued his time at the shrine. A month, two, three? Ever since the fight with Battousai and Shishio, Aoshi felt as if he needed to straighten out a few things about himself and what he believed in. Sometimes he wondered if he could ever atone for his fight against Okina, and so many other things that he did while blinded by the need for vengeance. He almost paid the ultimate price for his sins, but Battousai managed to beat some sense into him.

It was about mid-morning, but Aoshi hardly noticed the time. Usually, he focused his senses on nothing yet on everything, some senses such as sight almost forgotten, while hearing and touch more intense. On this day, Aoshi was deep in thought that he almost didn't hear the sounds of fighting near the shrine.

"You dare to fight on sacred ground?" he heard a girl's voice say, "I already told you I don't know what you want with me. Leave me alone, please."

"We have our orders. If you don't come with us nicely, then we just have to get you to come with us one way or another."

"I guess I chose the hard way, then," she responded in a much colder tone.

Aoshi traveled towards the sounds and found seven men surrounding a young woman. At first Aoshi couldn't see her face, just the back of her head, and for a second he thought it was Misao, because her black hair was braided the same way. It only lasted for a second as the girl turned as if to study the seven. She was taller and some years older than Misao, but what caught Aoshi's eye was the girl's face. He knew that his blue eyes were a rarity in Japan, but her eyes were amber, a very rare color. It seemed that they were taking a small interlude between fighting. The seven looked very tired and beat up, while the girl looked to be better off. Aoshi could only guess that she was holding her own against them.

"Get her!" the man on the right yelled. He was slightly out of the circle so Aoshi figured him to be the leader of the group; he noticed that none of the men wore masks. They must have been very confident about themselves to attack someone in broad daylight without such caution.

One of the men let out a cry while launching an attack at her. He didn't get very far; before getting within arms length she kicked him in the gut. The force of the blow sent him flying into one of his comrades.

"Idiots!" the leader cried, "The boss told you not to make a sound when getting her, how many times have you forgotten?"

But it was too late; the other four already started their attacks her, all of them cursing her for being such a problem. Each time before they got close enough to do any harm she countered their attack. One of the men got annoyed with the little success they were achieving, so he drew out his sword while she blocked one of his comrades. The man was almost on top of her before she reacted to this new threat. She raised her arm to block the sword. All of the men gaped in surprise that her arm wasn't cut off. The gauntlet on her arm was strong enough against the steel of her attacker's sword, surprisingly enough.

For the first time since the fight begun, the leader looked a little worried about getting his target. However, before they had time to get over the surprise of her block, she punched him in the gut, making him drop his sword. She threw the blade against a nearby tree. The blade bent due to the force it felt upon meeting the tree. At that latest insult all of them drew out their swords. Unfortunately for them, none of them noticed Aoshi. Since they were concentrating on her, they never heard Aoshi coming from behind them. Three of them went down before their leader saw Aoshi. Suddenly, there wasn't just one danger for them, but two. The leader recognized Aoshi as the former leader of the Oniwabanshu.

"This doesn't concern you, ninja, nor do we have any argument with your clan. We're just carrying out our orders to bring this girl back with us."

"Perhaps, but as she said this is sacred ground, fighting here is wrong. Besides, seven armed men against one girl? Aoshi responded coldly.

Not liking the implications Aoshi was bringing up, the leader looked at his men. The others picked up their wounded and fled the grounds. Aoshi faced the girl only to see her examining the tree where she had thrown the sword. He noticed that there was a large hole in the trunk. From there she pulled out a bag, no doubt for traveling, and two envelopes.

"Thank you. I don't think that I could have handled armed men," the girl told him. Aoshi nodded his welcome to her, "Well, I've been traveling for a while, and I'm really close to my destination, and I'm taking up your time. Thank you again. Sorry for the trouble." She then pulled the bag over her shoulders and walked past Aoshi. Only passing a few feet from him she suddenly turned; her face brightened by a big smile. "Good-bye."

The ninja returned to his meditation. Nearing the end of the day, he went back to the Aoi-ya. Usually he arrived after everyone else already ate; Aoshi preferred it that way. It meant that he didn't have to engage in senseless small talk, even if he was the former Okashira of the Oniwabanshu. This time though, he wasn't so lucky. Okina spotted him and motioned him to come over to his room.

"Aoshi. You see my dear, I told you that he wouldn't be long,"

Even though he showed no facial expression, Aoshi was annoyed with Okina. He wished the man would stop trying to flirt with much younger girls. It made everyone within the group look bad, and it was embarrassing--a senior member chasing around women young enough to be his granddaughters. When would the old man learn? At least the young lady here seemed to be ignoring Okina's advances. Her head was bent over her tea, and she had yet to make a sound since Aoshi's entrance.

"Okina, for what reason have you asked me over?"

At the sound of his voice the visitor's head snapped up, for a second her eyes stared straight ahead of her, unfocused, then they flickered over to the direction of Aoshi's voice. He immediately recognized the face. It was the girl from the shrine.

"You!" she cried out in surprise.

"Oh, so you two have already met?" Okina asked.

"Yes. I was attacked on the grounds of the shrine nearby, Shinomori-san was kind enough to help me get rid of them. Of course I was unaware that he was the former Okashira of the Oniwabanshu."

"You mentioned at the shrine that you had journeying to some destination. How is it that the Aoi-ya is the place that you seek?" Aoshi asked her in a very level and cold tone.

"I'm afraid I really don't know the answer myself. You see, I lived in a village not far from Kyoto with my parents. When I was ten, my sensei and his wife were killed in an accident. Afterwards, their son lived with my family. About four years ago my parents were killed and my--my friend felt he needed to leave. I got a letter from him a month ago telling me to come to Kyoto, and he would meet me here later. He wanted me to leave two weeks after I received the letter. I also received another letter, but it's addressed to the Okashira of the Oniwabanshu.

"Ever since my sensei's death, my uncle has been training my late sensei's son and myself. After my parents' death, I lived with my uncle. Unfortunately, he recently passed away. I remember him saying that Aoshi Shinomori was the Okashira, but another had taken up leadership in your absence. I guess his information was a bit outdated," she told him producing the letter. She held it out in front of her. Aoshi was puzzled why she hadn't just handed it to him considering that they were only a few feet apart. Then he realized that her eyes hadn't moved since she first heard him. It hit him; the girl sitting there was blind. That was why her attackers wore no masks.

"You never mentioned your name," he stated as he took the letter.

"Yui. Yui Minamoto."

"Minamoto. Your family is samurai," Aoshi stated.

"Was. True, My family did rule Japan as the second shogunate dynasty. However, my father was injured in war, so he never taught me any of his techniques, and my uncle didn't think it was safe for me to learn, blind as I am," she answered, matching Aoshi's flat tone. She stared straight at him. His eyes were locked in a gaze with her; he could have sworn that she was studying him if it wasn't for the fact that she was blind. It was a very unsettling feeling.

"You have been traveling all day, and you must be tired." Aoshi suddenly said, breaking the scrutiny of her stare. "If you need to I'll direct you to your room."

"There's no need. I was shown it earlier--I remember my way back. Thank you for the tea and the company, Okina. Good night," she replied smiling.

"She's a very happy person, she reminds me of Misao. Which reminds me, I wish that Misao would return soon. Himura is probably sick of her by now," Okina began. Aoshi slowly began to ignore the man's droning.

"Good night Okina," he stated getting up, and the ninja headed to his own room. Getting a lamp, he opened the letter and began to read the message inside, the date on it was about two weeks old:

To Aoshi Shinomori or the current Okashira of the Oniwa Banshu,

My name is Nagi Mizuno. For generations my family has been a part of the Dragon Head Clan. Unfortunately for myself, my family has also been a part of a blood feud spawning from another family in a rival ninja clan, the Shimizu. The feud occurred generations ago between one of my ancestors, a girl, and a Shimizu. Since then, the two families have been fighting one another. While my father was still in the Dragon Head, his uncle and grandfather were killed by the Shimizu. He left the clan in the hope of avoiding the feud. He wouldn't even teach me any of the clan's special techniques--save kenpo--hoping that we both escaped the feud.

Unfortunately, this was not so. Twelve years ago, both of my parents were killed by an explosion in their dojo. Yui, the maiden with you, and her family took me in after my parents' murder by the Shimizu I lived with her parents, and was taught by her uncle since Yui's father received a debilitating injury during the great war. Yui's uncle continued my instruction in kenpo along with the ways of both the ninja and samurai. He also told me about my family's history, which up to then was completely unknown to me.

About six years ago, signs that the Shimizu were determined to continue the feud began to surface. I received notes threatening the lives of my friends, and even the Minamotos. I spent the next two years fighting back those threats by meeting different members of the Shimizu to fight or to talk. Either way, I was determined to end the feud against my family, or to at least have a truce within my generation. However, I still could not overcome the hatred of some in that family. Four years ago while traveling to Tokyo to visit old friends, Yui's parents, my foster parents were murdered. The police thought it to be a random terrorist attack like with my parents' murder. The real reason is that someone in the Shimizu decided to hurt me by killing the ones that I cared about. I decided to leave the village that had been my home in order to protect my sensei and the rest of his family. I also left in order to find the head of the Shimizu family, Shion Shimizu. Although the attacks against my sensei's family were suppose to be blows against me, they were also a great blow to my sensei, and he wanted the head of the Shimizu family to be aware of that fact as well.

I wasn't foolish. I expected the trip to be my last, facing my family's worst enemies and coming back alive would be nothing short of miraculous. However, I had made a promise to Yui that I'd come back alive; I never had to break my word once, nor was I about to start. Anyway, I went to find Shion, and when I found him we were able to reach an agreement. Like my father, his family has suffered much because of this feud, and he tired of it. He has ordered his family to leave my blood, and immediate family out of the feud. It doesn't mean much since most of my blood relatives are dead, but it would give me the chance to raise a family without fear. In exchange of this promise, I agreed not to teach the ways of the Dragon Head clan, or to purposely seek out any from the Shimizu family.

Finally I must address the issue concerning Yui. I have recently heard news that Yui's uncle is dying. Whatever the cause or outcome of his affliction, I now worry about Yui's safety. We grew up like brother and sister, and she is the only family I have left. I do trust Shion's words, but I know that there are others out there that won't respect the words of their leader and may take the matter into their own hands. I also realize that many of them do not fear retribution from the Minamoto family. They have no fear of retribution because none was taken after all of the injuries made to Yui's blood family. Therefore, I fear that those will harm Yui, since she is neither an immediate nor a blood relative in order to strike back at me. The Oniwabanshu own an honor debt to any belonging to the Dragon Head; I claim that debt today. Please protect her, until I reach Kyoto.

- Nagi Mizuno

Aoshi finished reading the letter, then he folded back into its original folds and placed it back into its envelope. Although Yui had retired already, it was not very late in the night. Usually Aoshi would spend the time either training, or mediating. Tonight he wasn't really mediating.

Of course he would honor the request. If he did not the honor of the Oniwabanshu, as well as his own, would suffer. After all that had happened he needed to rebuild the honor that he lost. But there was something else in the letter. Never said directly, but hinted at. The explosion at the dojo, for instance: usually another family member would appear to take care of the boy, instead another family for reasons unspecified. Then, why would an uncle teach an outsider that family's secrets? And of course there was the relationship between Nagi and Yui. Why have her journey to Kyoto, instead of a closer area to their village? Nagi's concern for her was justified, but was there another reason for it? One so strong that he felt the need for her to leave her home to find refuge in another's company?

Then there was the issue of whether the letter was a fake. Although he knew of the blood feud between the two clans, he had never met a member from either family. Aoshi had no way of knowing if the letter was a forgery, and neither would Yui considering she was blind. A way to lure her out. To attack her as a blow against Nagi. With so many questions Aoshi did the only thing he could think of; he mediated on the whole situation.

The next morning Aoshi decided that he needed to ask Yui some more questions. He went past Shiro after noticing that her room was empty.

"Shiro, do you know where Minamoto-san is?"

"I think I saw her with Okon and Omasu. They looked like they were going to practice."

There was a place in the back of the Aoi-ya where the group used as a training ground. At first Aoshi was worried. True, Yui seemed competent, but could she really hold her own against two highly skilled ninjas? As he headed toward the area, Aoshi heard the voices of Okon and Omasu, and they sounded frustrated. Once he got there it only took him a couple of moments to figure out why. Yui was with them, and apparently they were sparring, Yui against the other two. Blind as she was, Yui seemed to have the upper hand over the other girls.

I wonder if this is merely a statement about the Oniwabanshu's fighting skills, the man mused as he saw Yui out-move and out-think the two ninjas over and over again. He silently watched the trio for another twenty minutes; Yui's her blindness didn't seem to hinder her at all, her sense of hearing making her aware of noises that even he didn't hear. It allowed her to formulate a plan of defense or attack before Okon or Omasu could even react. He could only imagine how her other senses were helping her now.

"Yui-san, we should stop. You, the two of us--we've been sparring for a while now."

"Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry, you must be tired," Yui stated in response to Okon's request. Before a word of protest against the observation could be made, Yui placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, "Both of you are breathing hard, and sweating too; it's beginning to soak through your shirts, and you're trembling Okon. You ought to go in and drink something. I shouldn't have asked you two to spar for so long in this heat. You could have gotten heat exhaustion."

"And what about yourself?" Aoshi asked as he came out of his observing place after the two girls went inside.

"I'm use to sparring in the mornings for a long time. Even though Okon and Omasu were willing to humor me by sparring against me, I wish that they wouldn't hold back their abilities."

"What do you mean?"

"They weren't fighting 100%. Well, I mean they seem to be afraid of being more aggressive because they thought I might have gotten hurt."

"What makes you think that?"

"If a someone asked you to spar with them for a morning practice and that person was blind, would you be fighting them with everything you had, or would you be worried that because of the handicap you may injure them?" Then she gave him an impish smile. "Besides, would you also want an outsider to know exactly how good you are when you're not sure whether she is friend or foe?"

The last remark made Aoshi stop. She was right, and she knew it.

"But I doubt you came to talk about your sect," she continued.

"You said that you were used to practicing in the morning. Did Nagi Mizuno use to spar with you?"

"Yes, it was easier that way. He knew my limitations better than anyone else, and I knew his, which my uncle would lecture him about endlessly."

"Yui-san, you stated earlier that you weren't sure why Mizuno sent you here. Are you sure that he wrote you the letter?" he asked as he helped her back to the main building.

"It was him; I know it," was her response.

"But how can you be so sure?" He pressed on. "You're blind; you can't see the words to even tell it's a forgery or if--"

"It's him. I can't explain, really, but there were details in his letter to me that only the two of us know about, or understand," Yui told him firmly. Her body tensed from the remark and it seemed as if she was going to continue. However, she closed her mouth and went inside of the building.

Aoshi just watched her leave into to building. Her reaction to his questions was curious to say the least. Her voice sounded calm; in fact, in the beginning the tone reflected one of amusement, as if she enjoyed surprising him. Only Misao would act like that around him. Her body was relaxed until he mentioned Nagi. She hesitated in her response; her body tensed from the reference. Her breathing changed from fast, deep breaths to a soft gasp to which even she probably wasn't aware she took. Obviously the letter came from Nagi; she believed that it was from him, anyway. Not only that, but Yui's statement also betrayed that Nagi and Yui were very close. He wasn't just an outsider invited into her family as he stated; probably like a brother to Yui, possibly something more. It would be better let it go, for now.