Disclaimer: RK is not mine. I don't want people to sue me just because I like to write.
This is getting too long for my taste, but somehow I like writing this. It helps.
This little chappie continues right from chapter 7 ending.
And I made a little mistake. Yahiko is 17 already. I counted wrongly. I have corrected it from previous texts, but some I may have missed.
Chapter 8. Welcome to my Nightmare
"I was a very different person five years ago. I had to go through a lot of changes to become who I am now. And all of that started because of one man." Mei started telling. If Yahiko would figure out who she was, then he would. But now Mei needed to tell this to someone. Because of her and because of the danger Shimabara was.
"I was walking in a forest when I was attacked. The men hid in the bushes and using poisonous blowing arrows they got me. I lost my consciousness quite soon and they caught me. When I woke up I was in some kind a room. There were candles giving light." she paused for a moment and Yahiko gasped.
"If you know what it looked like in there, then..." he looked at her eyes wide.
Mei nodded. "Yes, you are right. I could see five years ago. But let me continue. This is not easy for me so just listen."
Yahiko nodded and Mei continued. "My hands and legs were tied and there were many men in the room. It was impossible to escape. The leader stepped fort. He claimed that some relative of mine had killed his brother. I doubt that. He just needed some excuse to do what he wanted. We spoke and he took a knife from the only table in the room. He said that he didn't like the way I stood up to him. His men took a hold of me and he sat on my stomach."
Mei stopped for a while. Yahiko almost asked her if she wanted to stop, when she suddenly continued.
"He said that he didn't like defiance that shone from my eyes and so... He took it away. With his knife he destroyed my eyes and made me blind." her voice was empty, unfeeling, cold.
Yahiko looked at her horrified. *How can anyone...?* The mere thought was sickening. Nailing someone down, nailing _a woman_ down, and then cutting her...
"If he hadn't been interrupted at that moment, I wouldn't be here now. I would be dead. But someone called out for him. Someone called his name." little bit of anger coloured her voice.
Yahiko wasn't stupid. "You mean... The new leader of Yaminobu did that to you?"
Mei nodded. "Yes, he blinded me. The only reason I survived was the fact that one of his men chose to leave him and help me. He took me out of there and gave me a new change to live. So you see, the first blood of an Oniwabanshu member was spilled already five years ago. That is when the war started. That bakemono must have been very disappointed when I escaped. Men must have lost their lives."
"You are an oniwabanshu member? But Shinomori said that he was sure you weren't! And he's hardly ever wrong." So much, so much was happening that Yahiko couldn't exactly follow it all.
Mei shook her head. "I am not anymore. I was five years ago, but I don't see myself as a real member anymore. The reason why Shinomori is sure that I am not a member, is partly because I have changed my name and partly because I look and act differently from before. Besides, I am no celebrity among them."
Yahiko could only stare at Mei. All of this new information filled his head. How Mei had lost her eyes, how she was a member of Oniwabanshu, her change of name and being. Five years ago... A ninja. Every though swirled around his head.
Mei stood up and walked to open the window. She leaned out from it, smelling the air. It wasn't as clean and pure as in Suzu, but it helped her to clean herself.
"Why did you change your name?" Yahiko looked at Mei, who turned to him. This one fact stood out somehow. Mei answered surely. "To hide myself from that monster and... to hide myself from my friends. I can never return to live the life I had before I lost my sight."
She walked from the window. "But that is of no importance. What I want you to do, is to tell this to Shinomori after I have left on Sunday. Maybe this will explain some things to him. Also, listen carefully. I'll tell you what that man looks like so that you'll know him if you see him. I don't know if Shinomori has seen him or not, but I want to give the little help I can to my former okashira."
Yahiko's forehead wrinkled. "Why won't you tell this to him yourself?"
Mei shook her head. "He will ask too many questions and I can not answer to him. I know things that are better left in secret. But now. This man is almost as tall as Shinomori. And before you have time to ask, yes I have seen Shinomori and I know what he looks like and just how tall he is."
Mei smiled and Yahiko shrugged. He had been just about to ask her the very thing she thought he would.
"He has got a black hair. It was very short when I saw him last time, but who knows what kind of hairstyle he has got now. It was dark in the room, so it was hard to say what colour his eyes were, but they seemed to be black also. But the thing about his eyes is that, when you look into them carefully, you'll see just what kind of man he is. He does not cover the darkness in him. He allows his sadistic nature to shine from his eyes. He is about 35 years old now, I would say." Mei sighed.
Sitting down, she opened the eye cover. It was time. She didn't really want to show her eyes, or what was left of them, but it was the only way she could prove that she didn't lie. The cover fell to her hands and her hair flew to her face, covering the scars. Taking a deep breath she raised her head, so that her face was visible. She heard Yahiko gasp.
*Kami-sama!* was all Yahiko could think. The scars covered her eye-area completely. From right to left, from left to right they swirled all over her eyes, her nose. There was nothing left of her eyes. No slashes, nothing. Yahiko couldn't even tell where her eyelid ended and her cheek started. All he could see were scars.
"Not really very pretty, now are they. I remember how people always told me how beautiful eyes I had. Would they say the same now, I wonder." Well, she didn't really wonder. She knew. And Yahiko knew this.
He had never expected to see something like this. He had thought that Shimabara had slashed once or twice, but this... This was insane. *No wonder why she hates him so much. It must have been awful. No being able to do anything, but lay there, while her eyes were destroyed.*
"So this is why you never returned, huh?" Yahiko said. He was so sad. She had lost so much. How could she still move on? How?
Mei just sat there a strange expression on her face. "What do you mean?" she said it carefully. Yahiko looked at her frowning. "You never returned to your friends, but hid yourself from them. And you also said that you are no longer a member of Oniwabanshu. This is why, isn't it."
Yahiko couldn't explain it, but Mei seemed to relax a bit after he explained what he meant. As if she would have been waiting to hear something else. "Yes this is why." She took the cover and hid her eyes again. And no matter how much Yahiko hated it, it was a relief for him. Seeing her eyes so suddenly and realizing just how much it must have cost her was almost more than he could bear.
But he knew something. Mei was his friend and Shimabara her enemy. He was also an enemy of Oniwabanshu and now he was also Yahiko's enemy. He would pay for what he had done to Mei! If no one else, he would take care of it. Then he got an idea.
"Hey, Mei-san. Why don't you stay here and help your former allies? That way you can get your revenge on him. He'll attack sooner or later." It was perfect. She would get her revenge and in the mean time they could continue his training. He had just suddenly remembered that Mei had said that she would leave Sunday, which meant that they didn't have that much time. But this way they would both get what they wanted!
To his surprise Mei just shook her head. "No." was all she said.
Yahiko stared at her confused. "What 'no'?"
"I have no desire to ever meet that man again. I'll stay out of this." her voice was sure. She knew what she wanted and he could hear it from her voice.
But he couldn't understand it. "But don't you want to get revenge?"
Mei shook her head. "No, I don't."
"I don't understand. Why not? Think about what he did to you."
Mei's voice flared. "That is exactly why! Nothing can change it! I am blind the rest of my life. If I kill him, it won't change a thing. I have still lost every thing that was important and dear to me! My family, my friends and most importantly myself! Killing him won't give them back to me. It won't make me happy."
She shook her head furiously. "I never want to hear his voice again. I never want to be in the same place with him. I want nothing to do with him. I just want... time. Time to find myself again. I lost more that day that you can ever imagine."
She stood up. "Now you go and eat something. After that we'll continue your training. We have got only less than four days, of which I'll spend one with my friend Himiko-san at her sister place. That means less than three days for practise." She pointed at the door.
Yahiko stood up. "Hai!" And before he noticed it, he was already walking down the stairs. Her voice had been a voice of someone who was used to commanding people. "Where has she learned to speak like that?" he said out loud shaking his head.
"Huh?" A female voice.
Yahiko turned and saw Omasu looking at him strangely. He laughed a little, embarrassed. "Did you hear me?"
Omasu nodded. In her hands she carried a basket full of clothes. *She must be coming from making laundry or she is going to make it.*
"It was nothing. Forget it." Yahiko spoke hastily and changed a subject. "I am a little hungry. Do you have anything I could eat?"
Omasu nodded, smiling kindly. "Just go to the kitchen they'll give you something." It was then that she noticed the cut on Yahiko's throat and the dry blood. "Yahiko, your neck.."
Yahiko looked at her surprised and placed his hand on his throat. Now he remembered. Mei had cut him slightly in her anger. Little blood stick to his fingers. *Shit. How do I explain this to her without raising her suspicions?*
"Ah, it's nothing. I must have cut it when I practiced sawing with a knife. The knife must have been sharper than I thought." he smiled to her, hoping that she would buy this explanation.
Omasu nodded, but the look on her face was unbelieving. "I see." was all she said before smiling at him. Yahiko knew that she hadn't really believed him, but there was nothing he could do. Now before he would go to eat, he would have to clean the blood away and hope that no one else would notice it.
Omasu watched his departure, concerned. She had no doubts that he was coming from Mei-san's room. And if she was indeed a Yaminobu, he was in a grave danger every time he was near her. But Okina had said that he had already made up his mind. She just hoped that he was safe.
She knew that she had to tell about the cut to others and see what they thought about it.
********************************************************************************
Misao sighed. Her heart ached. Reliving all the horrors always left her pained and frustrated. Now she was also scared. Yahiko was close. She knew that sooner or later he would understand who she had once been. She didn't want him or anyone else to know what had became of her. She wanted to save them from the pain of knowing.
She knew that the fact that she was 'missing' pained them, hurt them. But she knew that knowing what had happened to her, would hurt them probably even more. They would feel helpless, they would blame themselves...
Misao wanted to spare them from that. Especially Aoshi. He blamed himself about every little bad thing so easily.
Besides, she was indeed missing. Even after so many years, she was still missing. *I wonder, was Aoshi lost like I am now? After seeing others die... He lost his way, just like I have lost mine. I don't know where to go. I have no goal anymore. Well, no other than becoming happy. I never realized before, how hard it was to become happy. My nature was happiness, I was always happy about something. Even when Aoshi betrayed us, I was happy that Jiya survived. But now I can't even be happy that I am alive. There is no happiness left in me.*
Misao stood up and started to change her clothes and took her weapons. *I miss seeing. I wish I could see Aoshi, Jiya, Yahiko... Everyone for the last time.*
She straightened herself and tied her hair. *But wishing never solves anything. Actions are the ones that lead you forward, not wishes.*
A small smile rose to her lips. "If I wouldn't be such a coward..." She laughed and shook her head. "Maybe I also need to be stricken down by Ama Kakeru Ryuu no Hirameki, maybe then I would be able view things differently."
She walked to the door, her steps quiet. Taking the cane with her, she walked downstairs. Yahiko would probably be in the kitchen, since she had ordered him to eat something.
She met Omasu in the corridor. She nodded to her and walked forward with her eyes on her back. Misao could feel that she was concerned about something and also that she was angry with her. She didn't understand what could have made angry. Concern she could understand since she was a possible enemy in her eyes, but not the anger in this form. *I wonder...*
She walked down the stairs with the help of her cane. This time she missed his approach.
"May I help you?" Aoshi's voice surprised Misao and she automatically turned, her cane raised. Ready to attack him when she realized just who it was. She lowered her cane and sighed. "I am sorry. You surprised me."
He had asked the very same question once earlier. That time she had accepted his help. Now she didn't need it, didn't want it. "Thank you for the offer, but I think that I'll manage." she almost smiled, but at the last moment stopped herself.
Aoshi nodded. "As you wish." Then he walked past her. She inhaled his scent deeply. She missed him so much. His scent surrounded her for a moment and for that short second, she allowed herself to think that nothing had changed.
But reality came back with a rush. Nothing was the same.
*********************************
Aoshi had met Omasu who had worriedly told him about the cut on Yahiko's throat. He had intended on questioning Mei about it, but when he had seen her walking down the stairs slowly and in such a hard way, he had felt the same urge to protect her that had bothered him for some time now.
And so instead of questioning her, he had offered her his help. He had been surprised that she hadn't felt him and almost attacked him. She had apologized, true. For a moment he thought that she was about to smile, before she had gotten a hold of herself.
He had wanted to see her smile. She had never smiled when he was close.
Something about her bothered him. The more he saw her, spoke to her or was near her, the more familiar she felt. He couldn't explain it. He had never seen her before, he was quite sure of that, so why did she feel so familiar.
Exactly who was Takahashi Mei? And why did she feel so very familiar, as if he would have known her, been close to her sometime in the past?
Shinomori Aoshi frowned. He would find answers before she left.
End of chapter 8.
TBC in chapter 9.
Author:
The names in the previous chapters I have thought up myself, but the title of this one, is a name of one RK song. Some of you may know it.
It just seemed to fit Misao's situation. Well, it's not a complete nightmare, but close to.
~Tiian~
This is getting too long for my taste, but somehow I like writing this. It helps.
This little chappie continues right from chapter 7 ending.
And I made a little mistake. Yahiko is 17 already. I counted wrongly. I have corrected it from previous texts, but some I may have missed.
Chapter 8. Welcome to my Nightmare
"I was a very different person five years ago. I had to go through a lot of changes to become who I am now. And all of that started because of one man." Mei started telling. If Yahiko would figure out who she was, then he would. But now Mei needed to tell this to someone. Because of her and because of the danger Shimabara was.
"I was walking in a forest when I was attacked. The men hid in the bushes and using poisonous blowing arrows they got me. I lost my consciousness quite soon and they caught me. When I woke up I was in some kind a room. There were candles giving light." she paused for a moment and Yahiko gasped.
"If you know what it looked like in there, then..." he looked at her eyes wide.
Mei nodded. "Yes, you are right. I could see five years ago. But let me continue. This is not easy for me so just listen."
Yahiko nodded and Mei continued. "My hands and legs were tied and there were many men in the room. It was impossible to escape. The leader stepped fort. He claimed that some relative of mine had killed his brother. I doubt that. He just needed some excuse to do what he wanted. We spoke and he took a knife from the only table in the room. He said that he didn't like the way I stood up to him. His men took a hold of me and he sat on my stomach."
Mei stopped for a while. Yahiko almost asked her if she wanted to stop, when she suddenly continued.
"He said that he didn't like defiance that shone from my eyes and so... He took it away. With his knife he destroyed my eyes and made me blind." her voice was empty, unfeeling, cold.
Yahiko looked at her horrified. *How can anyone...?* The mere thought was sickening. Nailing someone down, nailing _a woman_ down, and then cutting her...
"If he hadn't been interrupted at that moment, I wouldn't be here now. I would be dead. But someone called out for him. Someone called his name." little bit of anger coloured her voice.
Yahiko wasn't stupid. "You mean... The new leader of Yaminobu did that to you?"
Mei nodded. "Yes, he blinded me. The only reason I survived was the fact that one of his men chose to leave him and help me. He took me out of there and gave me a new change to live. So you see, the first blood of an Oniwabanshu member was spilled already five years ago. That is when the war started. That bakemono must have been very disappointed when I escaped. Men must have lost their lives."
"You are an oniwabanshu member? But Shinomori said that he was sure you weren't! And he's hardly ever wrong." So much, so much was happening that Yahiko couldn't exactly follow it all.
Mei shook her head. "I am not anymore. I was five years ago, but I don't see myself as a real member anymore. The reason why Shinomori is sure that I am not a member, is partly because I have changed my name and partly because I look and act differently from before. Besides, I am no celebrity among them."
Yahiko could only stare at Mei. All of this new information filled his head. How Mei had lost her eyes, how she was a member of Oniwabanshu, her change of name and being. Five years ago... A ninja. Every though swirled around his head.
Mei stood up and walked to open the window. She leaned out from it, smelling the air. It wasn't as clean and pure as in Suzu, but it helped her to clean herself.
"Why did you change your name?" Yahiko looked at Mei, who turned to him. This one fact stood out somehow. Mei answered surely. "To hide myself from that monster and... to hide myself from my friends. I can never return to live the life I had before I lost my sight."
She walked from the window. "But that is of no importance. What I want you to do, is to tell this to Shinomori after I have left on Sunday. Maybe this will explain some things to him. Also, listen carefully. I'll tell you what that man looks like so that you'll know him if you see him. I don't know if Shinomori has seen him or not, but I want to give the little help I can to my former okashira."
Yahiko's forehead wrinkled. "Why won't you tell this to him yourself?"
Mei shook her head. "He will ask too many questions and I can not answer to him. I know things that are better left in secret. But now. This man is almost as tall as Shinomori. And before you have time to ask, yes I have seen Shinomori and I know what he looks like and just how tall he is."
Mei smiled and Yahiko shrugged. He had been just about to ask her the very thing she thought he would.
"He has got a black hair. It was very short when I saw him last time, but who knows what kind of hairstyle he has got now. It was dark in the room, so it was hard to say what colour his eyes were, but they seemed to be black also. But the thing about his eyes is that, when you look into them carefully, you'll see just what kind of man he is. He does not cover the darkness in him. He allows his sadistic nature to shine from his eyes. He is about 35 years old now, I would say." Mei sighed.
Sitting down, she opened the eye cover. It was time. She didn't really want to show her eyes, or what was left of them, but it was the only way she could prove that she didn't lie. The cover fell to her hands and her hair flew to her face, covering the scars. Taking a deep breath she raised her head, so that her face was visible. She heard Yahiko gasp.
*Kami-sama!* was all Yahiko could think. The scars covered her eye-area completely. From right to left, from left to right they swirled all over her eyes, her nose. There was nothing left of her eyes. No slashes, nothing. Yahiko couldn't even tell where her eyelid ended and her cheek started. All he could see were scars.
"Not really very pretty, now are they. I remember how people always told me how beautiful eyes I had. Would they say the same now, I wonder." Well, she didn't really wonder. She knew. And Yahiko knew this.
He had never expected to see something like this. He had thought that Shimabara had slashed once or twice, but this... This was insane. *No wonder why she hates him so much. It must have been awful. No being able to do anything, but lay there, while her eyes were destroyed.*
"So this is why you never returned, huh?" Yahiko said. He was so sad. She had lost so much. How could she still move on? How?
Mei just sat there a strange expression on her face. "What do you mean?" she said it carefully. Yahiko looked at her frowning. "You never returned to your friends, but hid yourself from them. And you also said that you are no longer a member of Oniwabanshu. This is why, isn't it."
Yahiko couldn't explain it, but Mei seemed to relax a bit after he explained what he meant. As if she would have been waiting to hear something else. "Yes this is why." She took the cover and hid her eyes again. And no matter how much Yahiko hated it, it was a relief for him. Seeing her eyes so suddenly and realizing just how much it must have cost her was almost more than he could bear.
But he knew something. Mei was his friend and Shimabara her enemy. He was also an enemy of Oniwabanshu and now he was also Yahiko's enemy. He would pay for what he had done to Mei! If no one else, he would take care of it. Then he got an idea.
"Hey, Mei-san. Why don't you stay here and help your former allies? That way you can get your revenge on him. He'll attack sooner or later." It was perfect. She would get her revenge and in the mean time they could continue his training. He had just suddenly remembered that Mei had said that she would leave Sunday, which meant that they didn't have that much time. But this way they would both get what they wanted!
To his surprise Mei just shook her head. "No." was all she said.
Yahiko stared at her confused. "What 'no'?"
"I have no desire to ever meet that man again. I'll stay out of this." her voice was sure. She knew what she wanted and he could hear it from her voice.
But he couldn't understand it. "But don't you want to get revenge?"
Mei shook her head. "No, I don't."
"I don't understand. Why not? Think about what he did to you."
Mei's voice flared. "That is exactly why! Nothing can change it! I am blind the rest of my life. If I kill him, it won't change a thing. I have still lost every thing that was important and dear to me! My family, my friends and most importantly myself! Killing him won't give them back to me. It won't make me happy."
She shook her head furiously. "I never want to hear his voice again. I never want to be in the same place with him. I want nothing to do with him. I just want... time. Time to find myself again. I lost more that day that you can ever imagine."
She stood up. "Now you go and eat something. After that we'll continue your training. We have got only less than four days, of which I'll spend one with my friend Himiko-san at her sister place. That means less than three days for practise." She pointed at the door.
Yahiko stood up. "Hai!" And before he noticed it, he was already walking down the stairs. Her voice had been a voice of someone who was used to commanding people. "Where has she learned to speak like that?" he said out loud shaking his head.
"Huh?" A female voice.
Yahiko turned and saw Omasu looking at him strangely. He laughed a little, embarrassed. "Did you hear me?"
Omasu nodded. In her hands she carried a basket full of clothes. *She must be coming from making laundry or she is going to make it.*
"It was nothing. Forget it." Yahiko spoke hastily and changed a subject. "I am a little hungry. Do you have anything I could eat?"
Omasu nodded, smiling kindly. "Just go to the kitchen they'll give you something." It was then that she noticed the cut on Yahiko's throat and the dry blood. "Yahiko, your neck.."
Yahiko looked at her surprised and placed his hand on his throat. Now he remembered. Mei had cut him slightly in her anger. Little blood stick to his fingers. *Shit. How do I explain this to her without raising her suspicions?*
"Ah, it's nothing. I must have cut it when I practiced sawing with a knife. The knife must have been sharper than I thought." he smiled to her, hoping that she would buy this explanation.
Omasu nodded, but the look on her face was unbelieving. "I see." was all she said before smiling at him. Yahiko knew that she hadn't really believed him, but there was nothing he could do. Now before he would go to eat, he would have to clean the blood away and hope that no one else would notice it.
Omasu watched his departure, concerned. She had no doubts that he was coming from Mei-san's room. And if she was indeed a Yaminobu, he was in a grave danger every time he was near her. But Okina had said that he had already made up his mind. She just hoped that he was safe.
She knew that she had to tell about the cut to others and see what they thought about it.
********************************************************************************
Misao sighed. Her heart ached. Reliving all the horrors always left her pained and frustrated. Now she was also scared. Yahiko was close. She knew that sooner or later he would understand who she had once been. She didn't want him or anyone else to know what had became of her. She wanted to save them from the pain of knowing.
She knew that the fact that she was 'missing' pained them, hurt them. But she knew that knowing what had happened to her, would hurt them probably even more. They would feel helpless, they would blame themselves...
Misao wanted to spare them from that. Especially Aoshi. He blamed himself about every little bad thing so easily.
Besides, she was indeed missing. Even after so many years, she was still missing. *I wonder, was Aoshi lost like I am now? After seeing others die... He lost his way, just like I have lost mine. I don't know where to go. I have no goal anymore. Well, no other than becoming happy. I never realized before, how hard it was to become happy. My nature was happiness, I was always happy about something. Even when Aoshi betrayed us, I was happy that Jiya survived. But now I can't even be happy that I am alive. There is no happiness left in me.*
Misao stood up and started to change her clothes and took her weapons. *I miss seeing. I wish I could see Aoshi, Jiya, Yahiko... Everyone for the last time.*
She straightened herself and tied her hair. *But wishing never solves anything. Actions are the ones that lead you forward, not wishes.*
A small smile rose to her lips. "If I wouldn't be such a coward..." She laughed and shook her head. "Maybe I also need to be stricken down by Ama Kakeru Ryuu no Hirameki, maybe then I would be able view things differently."
She walked to the door, her steps quiet. Taking the cane with her, she walked downstairs. Yahiko would probably be in the kitchen, since she had ordered him to eat something.
She met Omasu in the corridor. She nodded to her and walked forward with her eyes on her back. Misao could feel that she was concerned about something and also that she was angry with her. She didn't understand what could have made angry. Concern she could understand since she was a possible enemy in her eyes, but not the anger in this form. *I wonder...*
She walked down the stairs with the help of her cane. This time she missed his approach.
"May I help you?" Aoshi's voice surprised Misao and she automatically turned, her cane raised. Ready to attack him when she realized just who it was. She lowered her cane and sighed. "I am sorry. You surprised me."
He had asked the very same question once earlier. That time she had accepted his help. Now she didn't need it, didn't want it. "Thank you for the offer, but I think that I'll manage." she almost smiled, but at the last moment stopped herself.
Aoshi nodded. "As you wish." Then he walked past her. She inhaled his scent deeply. She missed him so much. His scent surrounded her for a moment and for that short second, she allowed herself to think that nothing had changed.
But reality came back with a rush. Nothing was the same.
*********************************
Aoshi had met Omasu who had worriedly told him about the cut on Yahiko's throat. He had intended on questioning Mei about it, but when he had seen her walking down the stairs slowly and in such a hard way, he had felt the same urge to protect her that had bothered him for some time now.
And so instead of questioning her, he had offered her his help. He had been surprised that she hadn't felt him and almost attacked him. She had apologized, true. For a moment he thought that she was about to smile, before she had gotten a hold of herself.
He had wanted to see her smile. She had never smiled when he was close.
Something about her bothered him. The more he saw her, spoke to her or was near her, the more familiar she felt. He couldn't explain it. He had never seen her before, he was quite sure of that, so why did she feel so familiar.
Exactly who was Takahashi Mei? And why did she feel so very familiar, as if he would have known her, been close to her sometime in the past?
Shinomori Aoshi frowned. He would find answers before she left.
End of chapter 8.
TBC in chapter 9.
Author:
The names in the previous chapters I have thought up myself, but the title of this one, is a name of one RK song. Some of you may know it.
It just seemed to fit Misao's situation. Well, it's not a complete nightmare, but close to.
~Tiian~