A/N: I just finished getting the song I needed for this chapter so I'm gonna hurry up and update it before I forget.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin nor do I own the song 'Natsuhiboshi'
XxXxX
Misao's eyes slowly fluttered open, "Nnngh?"
"So you're finally awake" Misao sleepily looked at the owner of the voice.
"Yeah… I'm awake now… but that really was a nice sleep!" she stretched from her position at the base of a tree.
Aoshi didn't respond verbally but he nodded.
"Ne Aoshi-sama, where's Hannya-kun and the others?" the 16 year old girl looked around to find the clearing they were in empty.
"Beshimi and Hyottoko went to get breakfast and Shikijou and Hannya went to go scout the perimeter"
"Sou da ne…"
at that moment they heard distant whistling and soon Beshimi and Hyottoko came back with 6 fish slung over the shoulder of each.
"Okashira… you still haven't started the fire yet?" Hyottoko frowned.
"Gomen, I was busy talking to Misao. I'll start it now" he leaned down over a pile of sticks that was there when Misao woke up and started to create sparks with the piece of flint that they had.
"Ano…" Misao started.
"Nani?" the three men were huddled around the bundle of sticks trying to start a fire.
"I have matches if you want to use them…" Beshimi and Hyottoko fell down anime-style and Aoshi just sweat dropped.
"and you didn't tell us that earlier because…?" Beshimi looked at Misao with lines for eyes.
"…I dunno"
Once again, they fell down anime-style and Aoshi's sweat drop became even bigger.
Just then, Shikijou and Hannya landed in the clearing.
"What's everyone on the floor for?" Shikijou asked looking around.
"Never mind…" Aoshi mumbled.
"Oh yeah, and if you want to start a fire using flint, you do this" she took the flint from Aoshi's hand and took out one of her kunai. Using one quick motion she struck the rock hard and sparks flew out, landing on the pile of sticks creating a small but steady fire.
"Wow she's good" Hannya muttered.
Misao caught this and smiled, "You learn a thing or two when Jiya makes you cook in the kitchen when he forgets to buy more matches"
About 1 hour later, they had finished their breakfast and were now on the move.
"Misao. You know you can tell us if we're going too fast" Aoshi looked at the girl jumping through the trees behind them.
"Too fast? You've got to be kidding me Aoshi-sama! This is slow! I'll show you fast!" she smirked and increased her speed putting her in front of the group while moving further and further away.
"Hurry up!" she yelled and laughed.
Aoshi smiled and increased his speed so that he was jumping through the trees in the normal speed that he used. Soon enough, he was jumping right along side of Misao with the others trailing behind them.
"Aoshi-sama…"
"Nani?"
"Where exactly are we going?"
"… I don't know yet, we probably will go to the nearest town to get more supplies though"
"Oh."
Misao drifted into her own little world and started to think about other things.
What if Aoshi-sama made her go back? No, they wouldn't do that, they CAN'T do that because she wouldn't let them.
Hannya's voice startled her out of her thoughts, "Misao-sama watch out for that tree!"
She looked up and was about to collide into a large oak. (reminds you of 'George of the jungle' eh?)
"ACK!" using her fast reflexes she quickly did a back flip and pushed off the tree with her legs and propelled herself to another tree to the side and once again used her legs and pushed away from the tree. She skidded to a stop on the forest floor.
"That… was… close…" Misao clutched her chest and panted.
The others stopped and landed in the clearing by the younger ninja.
"Misao-chan… you really should be paying attention to where you are going especially since you were jumping so fast!" Shikijou scolded lightly.
Misao laughed sheepishly, "e heh heh… gomen…" she then turned to Hannya, "Arigatou Hannya-kun for warning me"
"It is naturally our duty to try and prevent you from being injured"
Misao smiled at this. After all these years and they still haven't lost any of their fatherly instincts. Except this time something in her mind gave her a feeling that she didn't want fatherly instincts from one of the members.
"Why don't we take a break?" Beshimi suggested.
"Don't tell me you're tired?" Hyottoko looked at the shorter man.
"No, because Misao-chan is drenched in sweat and is also covered in some dust and leaves from having impacted the tree so hard" Beshimi jerked his head towards the only girl in their group.
True enough, Misao was covered in dust but it was starting to smear against her skin due to the sweat cascading down her forehead and temples. Not to mention there were a few leaves sticking out of her hair and a berry on her head.
Aoshi resisted the urge to laugh but allowed himself to quietly chuckle unnoticed. Although Misao did not see of hear him laugh, she saw the amusement glinting playfully in his eye.
"OH be QUIET Aoshi-sama…" she hissed in annoyance.
Aoshi just stood there trying to look as innocent as possible and also trying to smother the hints of a smile that was beginning to form on his face.
The others looked at the two, blinking stupidly and wondering whether they had missed something of importance that had happened.
Regaining himself, Aoshi cleared his throat and gathered everyone's attention, "I do believe that there is a river about half a kilometer east that we could rest at"
Misao perked up at the sound of 'river' and 'rest'.
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" she yelled and ran off grabbing Aoshi and Hannya's hands in the process and dragging them along.
XxXxX
"eeeeh! SUGOI!" Misao squealed at the large glittering scenery by the river. Everywhere you looked were lush green coniferous and deciduous trees, but most of the trees along the banks of the river were Sakura trees.
Shikijou stretched his arms and exhaled as he let them down, "I think I'm going in for a dip, it's way to hot today"
Agreements were muttered here and there. Soon, all the men were in the water with shorts (they have extra clothes) and letting their tense muscles relax. But then again, since Misao was there, you might as well kiss that luxury goodbye.
"BANZAAAAIIII!" Misao screamed and cannonballed into the river from a high ledge that appeared from who knows where.
"AUGH!" the guys were all dosed from head to toe… or waist since their bottom half of the body was already in the water…
Misao surfaced and started to laugh uncontrollably, her long unbraided hair floating around her.
She was wearing a navy blue swimming suit (full piece mind you and yes, let's just pretend they invented them already) that matched with her eyes and slightly matched her hair that when reflecting the light, shone a extremely dark blue.
"Misao…" Aoshi began. His wet hair dripping with water.
She was too busy laughing to notice Aoshi talking to her.
"Misao." He said once again except this time a little louder.
She stopped giggling for a second to look at her mentor only to get a face full of water.
Misao blinked. Then blinked again before screeching out one name.
"SHINOMORI AOSHI!"
She sent a wave of water to the leader but he simply sidestepped it, which caused Hannya to be hit in the face… or rather mask…
Of course this incident being a chain reaction, everybody was soon involved in the water fight.
"Ha!" Misao grinned in triumph as she managed to give Aoshi a good splash in the face.
But her victory was not long lived for BOTH Hannya and Aoshi gave her a even bigger splash.
"AH! No fair! Two on one!" she complained.
"You think!" she heard Shikijou yell as he was being bombarded by Hyottoko, Beshimi AND Aoshi who decided to join in.
Misao sweat dropped as Hyottoko dunked Shikijou in the water and in the attempt to run away, tripped and fell face first into the water.
"Do you think we should help him or no?" Hannya whispered.
"…how about we join them?" Misao grinned.
Soon enough, Shikijou was drenched completely.
"Hahaha! You look so funny!" Misao laughed and pointed at the older man.
He scowled good naturedly, but grinned afterwards like a child that finished playing a fun game.
Hannya tilted his head up and looked at the sky, "I think we'd best be going now, the night is still young and the wind is picking up"
they nodded and got out of the water.
A sudden cry from Misao startled them, "ACK!" followed by a splash.
they turned around to see Misao still in the water with a irritable look on her face.
"What happened?" Shikijou asked.
"My goddamn hair was so heavy that I fell backwards" she scowled.
Aoshi couldn't help but laugh a little, although quietly. He walked over to the water's surface and held out a hand.
"Need help?" he asked, laughter glinting in his eyes.
"I can get out myself" she pushed his hand away and climbed out of the water. As soon as she stood up, she tilted backwards and nearly fell into the water again... had Aoshi not been there to catch her.
"See? you DO need my help" he teased quietly.
"I've told you to be quiet before so I'll tone it up a notch, shut UP Aoshi-sama" She muttered.
"Language" he warned her.
" 'Shut up' is hardly a swear"
"A lady such as you should not use such profane language"
"I'm not a lady, I'm a NINJA"
" But still a lady"
"..."
He helped her up and gave her a towel to dry her hair. Once most of the water was dryed, she didn't tilt backwards anymore. She got dressed and out of her wet clothing.
"We should find shelter..." Misao said as she shivered from the cold wind, her long hair blowing behind her free from it's braid.
Beshimi took a blanket from their packs and wrapped it around the shivering girl.
"Arigatou..." she mumbled and clutched the cloth closer to preserve the heat.
They walked for a while, searching for some sort of shelter for they did not wish to stay in the forest this night. After what seemed like an eternity, they found a small cave at the side of a large mountain.
"This will do" Aoshi said.
Hyottoko walked in first for he could use his fire to light the way. A good distance inside the cave was a small cavern big enough for 20 people to take shelter in. They started to unpack as Beshimi went out to gather sticks for a fire.
Misao sat down in a corner and hugged her knees. It was extremely cold and her hands were now turning numb. She already couldn't feel her feet and if that weren't bad enough, her hair was cold as ice thanks to the wind. Misao constantly had to shake the hair away from her face.
She stayed huddled in the corner for quite a while until Beshimi had come back and Hyottoko had started a fire. Misao scooted up close to the bright burning flame and held her hands out in a attempt to get some feeling back into them.
Aoshi sat leaning against the wall, his head tilted down as if he was sleeping but if you truly did know him, you would know that he was meditating.
A shuffle was heard outside the cave and Misao's head jerked up. Had she imagined the sound? she looked to Aoshi who was also looking at her. He nodded and signaled to the others that there was something out there.
Misao closed her eyes and stretched out her ki. A familiar tingle made her gasp.
"Aoshi-sama..." she spoke quietly, he looked at her with a questioning gaze.
"Leave it to me" Misao stood up and walked to the space where the tunnel connected with the cavern that they were now staying in.
"Well, looks like you guys found me huh? I knew I couldn't hide from you guys long..." Misao smiled and talked into the darkness. Hannya looked at her and wondered if she knew who the intruder was.
Fast footsteps were heard. Pitter patter. Pitter patter. A small cloaked figure came out of the shadows and tackled Misao to the ground.
"MISAO NII CHAN!" the figure squealed.
Misao smiled gently and hugged the child, "Hello Natsuhi"
4 more people emerged from the shadows, each of them wearing a black cloak.
"Looks like I got caught eh?' Misao laughed.
one of the 4 stepped up and knocked Misao over the head with a fist.
"OW! What was that for!" she glared up at the person.
"For ditchin' us and taking all the Pocky!" the figure took off her hood revealing a girl no older than 17.
"Well that's not a reason to hit me over the head Yui" Misao scowled irritably.
Yui had long brown hair that reached somewhere around her mid-back, it was tied neatly in a low ponytail with the exception of a few strands of hair that framed her face. Her brown eyes glittered mischievously giving her an air that made you thinks he was a daredevil.
"Yeah Yui. You shouldn't hit Misao-sama. She saved you remember?" another one of the figures spoke.
"Oh shut up Mitsuki, as if you're in any position to talk" Yui huffed.
Mitsuki stepped into the light and took off her hood as well.
She had black hair that was tied in a high ponytail and only reached up to the base of her neck. Her black eyes were filled with knowledge and knowing. She was also around the age of 16 or 17.
the last two people giggled, "See Misao-sama? we don't get in trouble ALL the time. We weren't the ones who got you mad first"
"Ha! but you usually do. Especially you Hari" Misao smirked and glanced at the one on the left.
The person looked up. Slivery gray eyes peered out from in the darkness of the hood. Hari crossed her arms and stuck her nose up in the air stubbornly which caused her hood to slide off.
Hari was again, about the same age. She had black hair that was tied on a bun on both sides of her head, hair was dangling from them.
"What about Ruri! she gets in trouble too!" Hari jabbed her finger towards the reamaining person.
Ruri snorted and also took off her hood.
"Pfft! as if! you get in more trouble than me!"
Ruri was Hari's twin, the only thing that separated them was their eyes. While Hari had silver eyes, Ruri had gold ones that always seemed to shine and give her a ominous aura.
Aoshi cleared his throat.
"Woops..." Misao laughed, "Aoshi-sama, Hannya-kun, Beshimi, Shikijou, Hyottoko, this is Yui, Mitsuki, Hari, Ruri and of course" she lifted the child from her lap and held her, "This is Natsuhi"
Misao took off her cloak and held onto it with the other hand.
Natsuhi had black hair as well and the most unique eyes that you would ever see. They were red. They seemed to pierce into your very soul and make you feel all the emotions that you thought you long forgotten. It was as though nothing could escape her eyes. She was around 3 or 4 years old.
Natsuhi looked at Aoshi for a second before jumping out of Misao's grip. She toddled towards Aoshi and looked up at his large frame. She spoke in a quiet and shy voice.
"Are you deh person dat Misao nii chan calls Aowshi-sama?" her childish tone made Aoshi remember the times when Misao was young.
"Aa" his deep voice seemed to engulf the child.
She looked at him for a moment then broke out into a grin, "So if you're Aowshi-sama to Misao nii chan then i guess dat I haff to call you Aowshi-sama too!" she giggled and plopped down in his lap, staring into his icy blue eyes with her fiery red ones.
Aoshi let himself smile a little. He picked up the small child and raised her in the air so that her small feet were pressed against his thigh as she stood with him helping her.
"You know..." he spoke in a gentle tone, "you remind me very much about your 'Misao nii chan'. I'm guessing that you probably haven't heard much about all the little pranks that she used to play?" he glanced at Misao who had now turned red.
"Tell me tell me!" she urged and looked up at him with curious eyes.
Aoshi chuckled, "Well there was this one time when she was playing around with the ink in my office..."
Misao immediately stood up, she knew where this story was going and no way would she let Aoshi embarrass herself in front of her friends!
"I think" she said, "that we had enough for today" she plucked Natsuhi from Aoshi's grip and took her. She sat down beside Aoshi and put Natsuhi in her lap.
"You really should be going to bed now, it's very late" Misao chastised gently.
Natushi stiffled a yawn and said in a sleepy voice, "Sing me a lullaby Misao nii chan..."
"Which one would you like me to sing?"
"Natsuhiboshi" was the answer.
Misao smiled. She began to hum and soft yet enchanting melody before quietly singing:
Natsuhiboshi naze akali (Summer Star, why are you red?)
Yuube kanashii yume wo mita (Last night I had a sad dream)
Naite hanashita (Crying as I talked)
Akai me yo (Oh, red eyes)
she hummed some more and began in the same tone:
Natsuhiboshi naze mayou (Summer star, why are you lost?)
Kieta warashi wo sagashiteru (You are searching for we who disappeared)
Dakara kanashii
Yume wo miru (last two lines mean: That's why I have sad dreams)
Misao closed her eyes and rocked Natushi gently while continuing to hum. Soon, the little girl had drifted off to sleep.
"I forgot how nice it was to hear you sing Natusshi lullaby's at night" Mitsuki leaned against a wall on the opposite side of the room.
Misao smiled at her friend.
"Well it looks like you're good at putting people to sleep..." Aoshi muttered and nodded towards Shikijou and Hyottoko who were snoring.
Misao giggled.
"Why don't all of you go to sleep and we can keep watch?" Hannya suggested.
Yui shook her head, "naahh... I don't usually sleep anyways so I'll keep watch with Ruri and Hari. Mitsuki, you should probably sleep because you did most of the tracking"
Misao rolled her eyes, no wonder they had found her! they had gotten Mitsuki (who was a incredibly great tracker cough stalker cough) to track her down.
Misao stayed lost in her own thoughts until she realized everyone was sleeping except the guards. Slowly but surely, she drifted off to sleep, unbeknownst to her that Aoshi was watching her, when he was sure she had fallen asleep he gently grabbed her hand and surrounded it with his own as he himself fell into a dreamless paradise.
A/N: I have a question for all you Rurouni Kenshin fans out there. I was reading the manga one day and it said something about a continuing series that was called 'Kenshin Kaden'. what is it exactly? when is it going to come out? did it already come out? if you know anything about it, please tell me either by sending me a review or PMing me or by sending me and email which you can get by visiting my profile and scrolling all the way down to the bottom. ANYWAYZ, THANKS FOR READING! AND IF YOU SKIPPED MY AUTHORS NOTE JUST NOW, PLEASE GO BACK AND READ IT! THANK YOOOOUUU!
