Ice Blue Eyes--Remember Once Again

My first attempt at a songfic, on a sudden burst of inspiration! Characters belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki and Jump comics, the song Ice Blue Eyes by Sakurai Tomo belongs to Sony. R&R!

Sono aoku koori hitomi
Kono mune ni dakishimetai

Those ice blue eyes
To my heart I want to hold them

Misao watched as Aoshi trained with his kodachi, in the hot sun. So many things had changed since the first time she met him as a little girl of four...the both of them had changed as well--grown up. But something had not. She stared into his grayish blue eyes, remembering how much she loved their depth and mystery. She just wanted to hold them to her heart...

Nakushita kono yuuki o
Omoidashite Once Again

The courage that disappeared,
Remember it once again

He was no longer the carefree Aoshi she had known all those years ago. He seemed to have lost the courage to show his feelings freely, but somehow, she knew it was still there, somewhere in his heart. She just had to make him remember once again.

Tooi senaka oikaketa
Tsuki kage ni kakureru

From far behind I followed
Hidden in the moon's shadow

How many times had she sneaked out to follow him at night, hidden in the shadow of the moon? Whenever she heard him going out so late at night, she would scramble out of bed to trail him, for fear that he was leaving her again. There was no way she would let him go without taking her with him!

Ikari ienu kanashimi
Hitorijime suru no

Anger and suffering
You kept it to yourself

The sadness those eyes conveyed...anger and pain. They were there, but he never showed much of it, or shared it with anyone. He kept it all to himself, in his heart. And as those bottled up feelings grew, the pain in his eyes did so as well.

Kurai mori samayou
Murasaki no kizu ato
Yoru ni matataku ryuusei
Mitsumete iru Ice Blue Eyes

Wandering in a dark forest
A purple scar
In the night, twinkling shooting stars
[I am] staring into Ice Blue Eyes

This time, she followed as he wandered through the dark forest, with neither aim nor destination. Her heart skipped a beat--was he planning to leave for real, again?

His scars were still visible, dark purple unhealed remainders from his fight with Himura and other opponents. They were like shooting stars in the night...twinkling and shimmering evidence of the battles and pain he had been through.

And then he turned in her direction. She suddenly realised that she had been staring for too long--Aoshi had sensed her presence. Before she knew it...

She was staring into ice blue eyes.

Sono aoku koori hitomi
Kono mune ni dakishimetai
Nakushita kono yuuki o
Omoidashite Once Again

They brought back countless memories...those icy eyes...her feelings for him amid his coldness to her. In spite of all that, she still wanted to hug him and tell him that everything was alright, and comfort herself in the process. But staring into his eyes, she somehow lost the courage to do so.

sono kizu no itami taezu
Oogoe de naite ii no
Atataka na namida wa
koori tokasu Harvest Rain
Watashi matteru

That wound's pain is constant
It's okay to cry out loud
My warm tears are
The ice- melting Harvest Rain
I'll be waiting...

Misao lost her self-control, flinging herself into her arms, wanting to end his pain that had been so constant. He held her to his chest; hurt, bewilderment and anger all surfaced in his eyes, all threatening to explode him.

"It's okay to yell out loud," Misao told him, sensing his pent up hurt and frustration. He hugged her closer to him, burying his head into her hair, seeking comfort and warmth.

Her body trembled with sobs as she cuddled closer to him, resting her head just above his heart. There was just so much she wanted to tell him, and all she wanted to do was to help him release all the emotions he had kept so painfully to himself. But the realization that she was in his arms overwhelmed her, and nothing came out, except for the warm tears that trickled onto his chest right onto his heart. And Misao hoped that somehow, those tears would melt his ice...no matter how long it took, she would be waiting for that to happen.

Tsuyosa dake motometa
Hito kogasu tsumetasa
Hokori sute nikushimi de
Kono toki tomeru no

You asked for only strength
A person burning coldness
Pride thrown with hatred
This is when it stopped

For some time, Aoshi had searched for only strength, forsaking all to win the title of the Strongest ('Saikyou') from Himura Kenshin. With coldness that burnt so many close to him, he had thrown his pride away with hatred--and become a demon. Abandoning all human emotions, he fought and betrayed his own friends, as well as planned to end his own life.

And then time stopped.

Asu negau tatakai
Yume mamoru senshi yo!

Tomorrow, the battle you wish for,
Dream protecting warrior!

He had wished for battle, now he had one--tomorrow, the future! Misao looked into Aoshi's eyes, and he seemed to understand. As peace reigned and lesser battles were fought, his job was no longer as much to fight evil as it as to be a warrior who protected dreams--namely, hers. All that had happened were the past, now there were new battles to fight, in 'tomorrow'.

Yami ni nigekomu kokoro
Tsuremodoshite Don't Look Back

Into darkness your heart has run
Take it with you and don't look back!

During those tumultuous times, Aoshi's heart had retreated into darkness, where he thought he could find relief and forgiveness by defeating Himura, presenting the title of 'Saikyou' to his murdered comrades, and then committing suicide. But Himura had woken him up during their fight, and as he pulled himself and his heart out of darkness, Misao helped him to not look back, but toward the future.

Sono kodoku ikari sakebi
Watashi ni mo kanji sasete
Hontou no kono yuuki o
Torimodoshite Once Again!

That lonely angered scream
Let me feel it too
This real courage that disappeared
Regain it once again!

And then Misao saw the loneliness in this eyes, a silent angry scream that came from his heart. She did not really know what Aoshi was feeling, having never felt it herself, but she wanted him to share his heart with her, and to let her feel his pain too. Maybe with her understanding, he would feel better.

As he held Misao in his arms, Aoshi suddenly felt a strength wash over him, returning after long years of forsaking. He realised that he had regained his bravery once more, with Misao's help. With the dawn of light, his heart had reawakened to feeling and emotion. Smiling, he looked down at the girl who had made it all possible, and held her close to him, stroking her long, silky hair.

Sono kooru hitomi tokashi
Kono mune de namida fuite
Atataka na namida wa
Koori tokasu Harvest Rain

Those frozen eyes melt
Wipe away the tears in your heart
Warm tears are
Ice-melting Harvest Rain

She felt his fingers run tenderly through her hair and looked up into those melting frozen eyes. He was gazing at her with a soft warmth and smiling--for the very first time in a long while. And she smiled back at him, eyes lighting up.

Seeing her cry with so much pain had made Aoshi cry too, internally; but the smile that shone on her face wiped the tears in his heart away.

As dawn broke in the sky and tomorrow awakened, they walked out of the no-longer-dark forest, hand in hand.

Misao's tears had indeed been the Harvest Rain that melted Aoshi's ice.

Watashi.......matteru
Watashi.......matteru
Watashi.......matteru

And no matter what, they would always wait for one another and never give up.

Owari

Notes: I scribbled this down as fast as I could in school (through Higher Chinese and English periods). My Chinese teacher caught sight of part of it--we were supposed to be doing some group work and I left this unwatched for a while! Luckily, my English teacher was absent so we had one whole hour to ourselves...when I showed this songfic to my friend Kyoko Saiki for proof reading( all 5 pages 3 sheets of paper of school foolscap of it), she commented, "Sugoi!" and so here I am now, posting this for all to read.
This is actually a prologue to a series of Misao POV fics ('Misao no Monogatari') I intend to write, so watch this space as well as for its counterpart 'Aoshi: From the Heart'!

You can find Kyoko Saiki's fics on fanfiction.net, she has a continuing series called 'Kokoro', so watch out for it, K+K fans!