Deep
Within
By: Jen
Every day I wake up to another day gone by
Nothing but the open road and the never-ending why
Anything can happen, yeah, but nothin ever does
I try to change, it's kinda strange, the same as it ever was, but look at us
- How Do I Deal? Jennifer Love Hewitt
Chapter
4b- Reflections II: Mirror Images
His eyes
traveled to the beautiful night, alit with millions and millions of twinkling
stars. His gaze never left the crescent moon as it hung low in the black sky.
For one moment, a reflection of him appeared once more as his hand reached out
almost as to touch the beckoning moon, but then quickly dropped again to his
side. As it always did, his mind begins to travel back to his childhood.
//Flashback//
'Oniichan!
Oniichan! Where are you??!"
'Shh…
little one. Don't wake up the whole house.'
'Oniichan!'
'Ah…that
is…I had a nightmare and you were it in and saw was 'kaasan, 'tousan, and
jiisan. You were all together in Okina's garden and I was running towards
everyone, but the closer I came, the further away you went. I was scared. I was
running after you screaming for you to wait for me, but my voice was blocked by
the wind. Then the light begin to fade I was left alone in the darkness. I felt
so lonely, my heart hurt soo much. Oniichan, you won't leave me ever? Ne? Ne?
Promise me??'
Blinking
and looking at the little child in his arms, his answer came out in a gentle,
resolved voice. 'Iie. I'll never leave you. I promise.'
'Arigatou,
demo… it's a special promise so you have to promise on the moon.'
'Ehh?'
'Omasu-neesan
said that promises made on the moon are the most special.'
'Sou
da ne. Ok little one. I promise on the crescent moon in this night sky that I
will never leave my chibi-chan alone.'
'WAI!
WAI! I promise to be with niichan forever and ever.'
Chuckling
he held his chibi-chan closer, until the child was close to sleep, he whispered
to the night sky. 'Forever and ever. Hear that? Whenever you need comfort and
I can't be there for you, look up at the moon and remember our promise.'
//End
flashback//
"Oniichan, why did you
leave me? You promised. I need you so much." Ryuuen tried to seek comfort from
the memory and the promise but found that his heart would just not allow any
condolence.
The man awoke from his
slumber as he heard weak voice beseech him and for any unknown reason his heart
constricted. His forest green eyes rested on the light outside his window
provided by the moon hanging low in the sky. Somehow it comforted him as he
remembered, and he was once again in a deep slumber.
Aoshi
stared at the night sky; his cool demeanor masking any emotion he might have
felt. Six months since his life was thrown into turmoil. Six months since his
heart began to long for the missing presence. Six months since the light faded
from his life. It had been six months since Misao seemed to vanish into thin
air. Had it really been that long? And what had he been doing in that time? Did
he go look for her, as he should have done? Did he look for any messages that
might have come for her? Did he as much as show any of his confusion? Not even
anything close to any of those things, but he wasn't the only one. The other
Oniwabanshuu did not do those things, they had refused to search for Misao.
Only, Mei searched. Only Mei went out every week to look for Misao, but then
return later to rest a few days before searching again. None of them could
convince her to stop, her fierce determination and fear for Misao, kept her
going despite their protests. She did what the others wanted to do, but they had
not the heart to do so. So they remained at the Aoiya, hopelessly waiting for
any message from Tokyo, never receiving.
All,
but Aoshi. He remained impassive as usual. Any signs of concern was hidden in
that cool façade. No one could have guessed the turmoil he was feeling. So here
he sat under the moonlight just gazing at the starlit sky, contemplating and
trying to sort out the sudden agitation he was feeling. Of course looking up at
the night sky made him remember the time when he wasn't the first person Misao
ran to with her troubles. It brought back memories of his best friend and rival
for Misao's affection, Misao's older brother, Eiji. Eiji was only two years
younger than he, and yet they had so much in common. Painful childhood, both
minds determined to master all the techniques of the Oniwabanshuu, both a
favorite of their okashira, and both destined to be great warriors. Eiji never
had his chance though. The only reason Aoshi had become okashira was because of
Eiji's untimely death that fateful night. After that Misao had hardly left his
side in fear of losing him too. He knew that Eiji was watching over them right
now, and he would probably enraged at Aoshi for letting this all happen. For not
protecting Misao, but how could he protect her from himself? No matter how much
she persisted, he drew away, even fell in love with Yuri.
//Flashback//
'Ohayo
Aoshi-san!'
'Yuri-san.'
'He
doesn't talk much. Ne, Eiji-kun?'
'Aa.
You'd be surprised just to hear him say one complete sentence.'
'Hey!'
Eiji
and Yuri laughed. Aoshi was not amused. He knew that Yuri was Eiji's close
friend and of that he was infatuated with her. He decided to leave them alone
and turned to leave.
'Matte!
Aoshi!'
'Nande?'
'Tonight
oji- Hiroshi-sama and a bunch of us have to leave on a mission. Can you stay
here and protect Mi-chan?'
Aoshi
raised his eyebrow. 'Nani? How come I'm not going?'
Eiji's
smile vanished. 'This is personal business in my family. We really need you
here Aoshi.'
'Aa.
I promise to protect her. Always.'
'Arigatou.
Now let's practice so I can kick your ass again!'
Aoshi
smirked. 'Go ahead and try.'
\End Flashback \\
He had broken his promises.
He was not the same person anymore, nor was Misao the same little girl anymore.
They were just mirror images of what was once there.
Kaoru gazed
wearily at the midnight sky. Her eyes were brimmed with tears of sorrow and
worry. Six months. Six months since Misao's disappearance. When they first
were notified of Misao's visit, Kaoru had been delighted. She had not seen
Misao for over a year. She regretted this, but it couldn't have been avoided.
She had been too busy with her new students at the dojo and caring for her
daughter, Asuko. Misao had been too busy as the okashira and running the Aoiya.
Kaoru had awaited Misao's arrival eagerly, and had begun to worry after a week
and no sign of Misao. She sent word to Kyoto, but never received a reply. After
three months, Kaoru sent another message to the Oniwabanshuu. She still received
no response from them, and that caused her to write another letter, seeking
information on Misao's whereabouts. Receiving no letters again, Kaoru became
furious and distressed at the same time.
"Kaoru?" Kenshin saw the
distraught expression on Kaoru's face and understood immediately. " It's
Misao-dono, right?"
Kaoru nodded and Kenshin
immediately embraced her, trying to comfort his wife. "It's ok Kaoru. I'm
sure that Misao-dono is fine, wherever she may be."
" Demo, she has been
missing for so long. Six months, Kenshin. Six months, and no one has seen her. I
sent so many messages to the Oniwabanshuu, but they won't ever reply! It is as
if they don't care about Misao-chan anymore."
"Iie. They still care about
her. I'm sure of it. It's just probably too painful for them to bear, and
perhaps by not answering your letters, they could feel comforted."
"Comfort?"
"Aa. Comfort. They don't
want to admit that Misao is missing. If they don't answer your letters, then
they could pretend that Misao is here, safe with us. Otherwise, they would truly
be devastated."
"But they should be looking
for her! They should find her and take her home with them. So that she truly
would be safe…. If I wasn't needed so badly around here, I would… I
would…"
Kenshin
held Kaoru closer as
he tried to ease her anxiety. "I know Kaoru. We all would… but that can't
be helped. All we can do now is pray to Kami-sama to protect Misao-dono."
Kaoru nodded and whispered
sadly, "Please protect her…. Misao…"
Ryuuen's eyes blinked open
as he heard a familiar voice run through his head. "Kaoru?"
Diminishing
it as a figment of his imagination, Ryuuen looked around, noting that it was
still nighttime. Deciding to begin his travels again, Ryuuen crept over to the
pond nearby and begin to cleanse his face. After he dried his face, he caught a
glimpse of himself in the water. The moonlight bounced back his reflection as he
peered at himself through the liquid. He almost let out a hollow laugh at what
he saw. His hair that hung a three inches past his shoulder was covered with
leaves and dirt. His lips set in an emotionless straight line, and his once
vibrant eyes were void of any life. Much
like… He stopped his line of thinking. A great deal had changed in past
months since his departure from Kyoto. He had learned after a while, that he
could not find peace. Those wounds on his heart would never disappear
completely. He would always have the scars to make him remember. So he did the
only thing he could do, hid buried his pain deep inside the darkest chambers of
his heart, hoping… believing that they would never hurt him again.
Soon
after his discovery, Ryuuen had decided to finally go to Tokyo. Now he was on
the outskirts of Tokyo and would go to his friends to stay after looking around
Tokyo for a while. Walking and absently stroking his bird's feathers, Ryuuen
began tour of Tokyo.
"OI! I ordered you to tell
me. WHO are you?! I don't make deals with anyone I don't know. Especially if
it's going to be a murder."
The figure turned around
slowly and in a godlike speed attacked the leader, killing him. "I'm someone
you can't order around."
He turned his gaze to the
rest of the thugs. "Any more questions?"
They cowered in fear as they
saw the murderous gleam in his silverish-colored eyes.
"Good. Gen! Discard of this
piece of shit."
"Hai, okashira." They
watched as the person rode off with his guards.
"Okashira?"
"Nande?"
"Are you sure they can get
the job done? Wouldn't it be better to send some of our clan to dispose of
her?"
"Shizu-chan. Do you doubt
your okashira?"
"Iie. That's not it."
"Trust me. When Makimachi
Misao steps into Tokyo, she will pay with her life for all of her family's
sins against our clan. We will have revenge. Now come with me. I want you to
entertain me tonight."
"Hai."
"Okaasan, okaasan. That
lady's wearing boy's clothes." The young boy's mom looked up to see
Ryuuen walking by. He stopped when he heard the boy's comment. The little
boy's mom hid him behind her. "Gomen nasai. My son is very loud sometimes
and has a very imaginative mind."
"Daijoubu. Ohayo chibi-chan.
My name's Ryuuen. What's yours?" Ryuuen knelt down beside the little boy.
"…Ken… Gomen ne, Ryu-niisan. I thought you were a girl."
"It's ok. No harm done.
See? I'm not mad."
The boy's mom watched as
the mysterious young man talked to her son. Though his voice was gentle, it
lacked feeling. She studied to young man as her son stroked Ryuuen's bird. His
face did have some feminine features, but not too much. She didn't really
think of it as she smiled and said goodbye to the stranger.
Ryuuen watched as the boy and
his mom left. He saw through my façade.
An innocent like him saw through me. He did not have time to think about it
anymore as he headed closer into the city.
He had just past the Akabeko
and was heading no where in particular, when he heard a young boy's curses.
Ryuuen's head snapped up and headed into the alley where he saw thugs with a
boy around Yahiko's age cornered. One of them brought his knife down on the
boy to kill him. The boy's eyes closed as he awaited death, which never came.
He opened his eyes to see himself alone. He ran out of the alley and saw the
people who had attacked him before, surrounding someone.
He weaved through the crowd
to get a better look at the person who saved him. He was surprised to see a
young male, very small in size in the center. He stood there calmly eyeing the
gang. He held a smug expression on his ever-impassive face his eyes gleamed
wildly. The boy watched in awe as he begins to attack the criminals.
Ryuuen gazed at the street
trash circling him calmly. Ten against one. They think they're going to win.
This is going to be so much fun. I haven't fought in a long time, I may be a
little rough. Oh. Whatever. Ryuuen started off by launching a series of kicks
and punches on three of them, knocking each one unconscious. Then he left
gracefully in the air and arched his arm sending a shower of kunai at the rest
of them.
The leader's eyes widened
as he saw the tiny little knives.
'You will know if it is
Makimachi fighting when you are attacked with kunai, little throwing knives.'
'Give her this.'
He charged at his
opponent with the knife in hand.
'But that's not very
strong. It won't kill her.'
'Not true. She will already
be feverish and would probably be wearisome from her travels. Besides she probably
has not recovered from the major blood loss. Let this enter her and it would
weaken her even more.'
The boy watched in utter
amazement as the mysterious man disposed of the thugs effortlessly. The
movements and fighting technique fascinated him. He saw the man smiling at him
and turning to leave. He quickly followed him, hoping to find out the person's
name.
Another person watched with
interest at the fighting scene. The little old lady watched as this stranger
perform a series of moves. Using a technique that only the okashira of the
Oniwabanshuu would know. Ai watched saw the familiar kunai of her former
okashira flew through the air. When she saw the stranger's face, her
suspicions were confirmed. That person was none other than the missing okashira
of the Oniwabanshuu. "I have to alert Okina-san. She's finally here."
Ryuuen's mind was deep in
thought. Today the image of the person he once was had flickered out again.
Stronger that before. Of course. How long did he think he could pull this
charade? He wasn't what he seemed. He was only a reflection of himself. A
mirror image of what he once was. He suddenly felt very dizzy. His head spun as
he tried to remain standing. His body ached all over and he suddenly felt
lightheaded. He fell to ground and before he entered the arms of the welcoming
darkness he saw a figure approach him. Then all was dark once more and the
mirror image of him faded, leaving who he once was in its place.
Author's
Notes (Ramblings):
Oi,
minna-san. What did you think? Did it skip around too much? Probably. Gomen
nasai about that. Did that even make sense? I don't know. So it's been six
months, ne? Finally! A small glimpse of the enemy. Who could it be? He's got
silver eyes! Cool! Who was that woman talking to him? Why does he want Misao-chan
dead?
Preview of next chapter…sort of…
"Someone
please help me! Anyone! Onegai?!" Kenshin and Sano saw a young boy run out
from the forest nearby screaming for help. He ran up to them and begged them,
"Onegai,
help me! There's a body in the road, and he's almost dead! Onegai you have
to help him!"
Kenshin's
eyes narrowed. "Where?"
"Over
there! On that road! Hayaku! Hayaku!" The boy ran off leading the way with
Kenshin and Kaoru and the rest of them racing behind him. They arrived on the
road and saw the body faced down under the pouring rain. The boy ran up to the
prone figure with Kenshin. Kenshin took the body into his arms, his eyes
widening as he recognized the person's face.
"Kenshin!
Daijobou ka?" Kaoru knelt next to him with Asuko in her arms. Her eyes widened
and she gasped when she saw the person's face.
