Meanwhile, here's Chapter 2. (grin) There's a little love note for those who reviewed me and e-mailed me at the end, so I trust you'll read this to get to that. Deal?
Tell me, what is it that makes
The places you go to so special?
Of course. Since it's you we're talking about,
You've done your best to live everyday heroically, right?
How about we finally head off into a new world?
Together, hand in hand, let's fly away!
Come on, let's go! Although I can't see into tomorrow,
I'm really excited.
So let's go on a little adventure.
Because I know you like adventures, right? (1)
Soujirou got up at the crack of dawn. He shook his head vigorously in hopes to get those annoying strands of hay poking out from his head out of his hair.
Once successful, (or so it seemed) he checked the figure beside him. Sure enough, Misao was fast asleep.
"A… a…" she murmured without stirring.
"Misao-san? Are you awake?"
"Aoshi-sama…"
"I guess not…" With the rarely-absent smile on his face, he waited for his friend to wake up. He just stared at her for a while, and realized she was pretty. Even though her hair became a form of orphanage for hay, she was pretty.
When he looked at her, fast asleep, he would see a smooth face, untainted by a wide, angry mouth or closely knitted eyebrows. He could see her big, curious aqua eyes, even though at the moment they were hidden…
He mentally kicked himself. 'What are you doing?!' he chided himself. 'She's Misao, your friend. Your friend who would be kicking your ass if ever she knew what you were thinking about!'
But she looked so peaceful and innocent...
'Soujirou! You're supposed to be thinking of how to raise money, not how-'
"Ohaiyo…"
"Yaaah!"
Misao blinked. "Did you forget that I'm your new travel buddy, Sou-chan?"
"Iie, iie!" Soujirou said quickly. "You just startled me!"
"I startled the former Tenken no Soujirou, eh?"
He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. For some reason, he didn't feel like telling her the truth behind his surprise. "So, are you ready?"
"Ike!" she said in response, springing up.
"Ano… Misao-san? Maybe you should… fix your hair first."
Misao reached the top of her head. "Eeep! Get it out!"
"Hai, hai!"
After an hour or so, Soujirou and Misao were finally prepared. They walked through a busy, crowded street, hoping to get inspired and to think of a way to get money.
"Sou-chan, how do you usually take breakfast?" Misao slurred, dragging her feet on the way.
"Sometimes I skip it, sometimes I wash dishes for it," he replied, contentedly watching the people pass by. "Sometimes, when I catch thieves, I get rewarded by generous people."
Misao shot him a look as sharp as her kunai. "So you were planning to make money off me?"
"Oh, no. I never plan that people would reward me. I just felt sorry for the lady."
Misao laughed. "Bet you don't anymore."
He grinned with a tinge of guilt. "I dunno. I just hope I don't bump into her again."
"Amen to that!" Misao sighed heavily. "I'm hungry, Sou-chan. Look at those-"
"Misao-san, we already went through the concept of stealing and why it's wrong."
"Demo… they're out in the open-"
"We could always resort to thievery, if only the Oniwabanshuu didn't vehemently disapprove of something so lowly as that. Do they?"
"Who do you think we are, you--?!"
A moment of silence, please.
Misao sighed in defeat. "Alright, alright. Aoshi-sama wouldn't be too happy, ne? But I wonder what he'd do."
Soujirou instantly felt guilty at the mention of Shinomori Aoshi's name. He just pulled the same trick on Misao. He used her pride to sway her from her desperate ideas, just as he used Aoshi's excessive need for being the best to make him join forces with Shishio. Misao is as obsessed with Aoshi -- if not more -- as Aoshi himself was obsessed with being the most powerful.
Aoshi evidently meant so much to Misao. Soujirou silently basked in his guilt and started conceptualizing his redemption.
"Hold it, you two! Official police business!" a voice barked out from behind Soujirou and Misao. The two felt a hand on their shoulders and froze on the spot.
Misao turned to scream at the guy, but when she saw his hairstyle, she abruptly changed her mind.
Soujirou knew why. He recognized that nasal voice…
He turned. "Chou-san."
"Oi! So the smiling brat does remember me!" Chou grinned at them. "Some things never change, eh, Seta Soujirou? You still have that dumb smile on your face."
"You talk about dumb, while you smile like a freak?" Misao retorted loyally. "Sou-chan's smile is much better than yours!"
Soujirou reddened slightly. "Calm down, Misao-san…"
Chou blinked. "Sou-chan?!"
Soujirou reddened heavily.
The broom-haired man apparently enjoyed colorizing Soujirou's cheeks. "So, when did you and the loud braid-girl get together?"
"WHY I OUGGHTA-!"
"We didn't 'get together'," Soujirou said, thankful Misao was too busy glaring at Chou to notice the intensifying cerise heat his cheeks. "We're just friends and we're trying to find a way to make money." At this point, Soujirou had to resort to restraining Misao.
"Look, that's cute and all, but isn't she Battousai's friend? What would he say when you invite him to your wedding-"
"ALRIGHT MISTER, I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TRYING-"
Soujirou quickly put a hand over Misao's mouth, smiling innocently at the gawking passers-by.
Chou laughed and finally decided to set aside embarrassing Soujirou. For the moment. "Well, since you and your loud friend here so desperately need money, why don't you try earning it?"
"Do you…" Soujirou said, eyeing him hopefully.
"Still not very bright I see," Chou said, whacking Soujirou on the head. "I'm a policeman now, Soujirou," Chou said with an almost tangible air of superiority.
"No wonder everyone hates the government," Misao muttered derisively.
"Did you say just something or do you want the fucking money?! Two simple choices!"
"Etto… she didn't say anything! Right? Right! Go on," Soujirou said, rather quickly.
"Thought so," Chou said with a sniff. He opened both his eyes and turned seriously to Soujirou. "You see, I need you to help me in a case. Sometime tonight, just like every night for the past two weeks, an illegal trading of drugs is being made. It is pulled off very quickly, and any witnesses are killed. I guess I was hoping that you'd catch the guilty party. And come on, you little bastard, there'll be a reward!"
"We'll do it!" Misao said perkily.
"That's great…" Chou muttered, at the same time checking if his ears were still functioning. He wasn't taking anything back: she was loud. "And of course, it goes with your fee." He whispered the amount.
"Aiiiyaaaaa!!!" was Misao's none too coherent reply.
"This is great, Misao-san!"
Chou gave them further details and couldn't help noticing Soujirou's attitude.
Chou had remembered him as the kid who showed no emotions, just a smile that lacked actual reason. Now, Seta Soujirou got embarrassed, shy, excited… and smitten. It was obvious to Chou that Soujirou liked this girl, (he didn't bother actually trying to come up with a possible reason why) or maybe he was even infatuated with her. Did the annoying girl know? More importantly, did Soujirou? It was something
left unanswered after leaving the odd duo, and as he grinned slightly to himself, he couldn't help thinking, 'So… some things do change…'
Soujirou and Misao walked around the pier which was near the place the exchange would take place. They ate lunch and put it on a tab, knowing they'd have enough money to pay for it by the end of the day.
"Dig in, Sou-chan! You'll need energy!" she said between chewing and swallowing, as Soujirou nervously surveyed the helpings.
"Is all that food necessary…?"
When they were done, they went back outside the pier and sat. They let their legs hang on the edge of the dock. "Say, Sou-chan? Have you ever gone on a boat during your journey?"
"Well, considering the fact that I had to wass dishes just to get food, I couldn't really afford a boat ride…"
"Oh yeah. So what have you been doing?"
"Walking around. I've met a lot of people that way." Soujirou looked up at the sky, which was slowly being invaded by darkness. "I even met this girl who looked a lot like Yumi-san."
"Really?"
"Mm-hmm. She was really pretty. They were nothing alike, though. She was softer and kind of more reserved. And she cooked really well." Soujirou laughed. "All Yumi-san would make were noodles. They're very good though, to her credit."
Misao glanced at him. "You miss her, huh?"
Soujirou nodded. Misao, a stranger to his sad eyes, put her hand on his shoulder and waited for his answer. "Yumi-san was like a sister. Or even a mother. Sometimes she'd be irate and snappish, but other times, she'd be the only one to comfort me and to talk to me. Of course, there was always Kamatari-san. He was very nice to talk to, he would teach me all these different things. He was kind of strange, though… He always adressed himself as a girl, but Anji-san told me…"
"I knew it!" Misao gloated.
"Nani?"
"Erm… nothing. Go on."
"Well… Chou-san also taught me some of the things Kamatari-san did. They both seem to enjoy talking about… those things. But I think Kamatari-san talked more about his feelings. I never really understood him. Anji-san and Usui-san didn't get along well, either. Usui-san was slightly anti-social, but he'd talk to me from time to time. Anji-san was friendly too, but a bit too serious.
"… I never realized it, but I was kind of lonely back then."
"Are you lonely now?"
"Sometimes, I guess." He smiled. "But when I'm with you, I'm not."
Misao grinned, blushing slightly. "I was lonely too, at first. But I'm glad you came along. Now it's actually fun." She winked. "Anyway, what happened to you and that girl, hmm? The one who liked like Yumi-san?" She grinned mischievously.
"Kakiko-san? She's married. She has two children."
"…Oh."
Soujirou smiled at the memory. "Her kids were awfully cute. And they'd always ask me to play. And they called me Soujirou-neechan. So you weren't the first to give me a nickname."
"Well, Sou-chan's better anyway!"
"Ssshhhhhh!"
"Eh?"
Soujirou put a hand over Misao's mouth. Misao elbowed him, and needless to say, he let go.
"Itai…"
"Hey, what's mmmmmppprrrrmph?!"
Soujirou put a hand over Misao's mouth again. This time he whispered, "They're here. We better keep it down." He let go of Misao once she stopped squirming.
"I didn't realize it was so late," she whispered.
They quietly crept closer. Soujirou adjusted through night vision. He concentrated quietly then spotted the exchange being made. He ran, quicker than the human eye could perceive and intercepted it.
"Gomen," he said, almost teasingly.
One of them quickly ran away as the other tried to deck Soujirou. He avoided the hit easily and knocked him out then ran after the other criminal.
Once Soujirou caught him, he returned to the other whom Misao had bound with rope.
"Yatta! Now, guys," Misao said triumphantly, "I think you have a story to tell."
"You little-"
Misao took out her kunai.
"-."
"Don't let the smiling boy fool you either." Misao grabbed Soujirou by the collar and opened his gi slightly, revealing the hilt of a katana.
"So… about the story?" Soujirou prodded with his trademark smile.
Misao and Soujirou got their confession and contacted Chou. Chou took them to the jail, trying his best to ignore Misao's joyous screams of victory. Let's just say his best wasn't good enough.
Once the criminals had been locked up, Chou finally took Misao by her shoulders and told her to calm down, to say the least.
"Eh! I am calm!" Misao replied.
"Couldn't think of a better word to describe you…" Chou muttered.
"Weasel girl."
Misao turned at the sound. That calm voice that could mock her expertly could have only come from one person.
"That's Misao to you, Saitou!" she replied.
"And Tenken no Soujirou. So Chou wasn't kidding," Saitou said.
"Nice to see you again, Saitou-san," Soujirou said with a grin. "It's nice now that we aren't fighting each other."
"Yeah, yeah, what a small world…" Chou said from some corner.
"Naruhodo… Chou has found more people to do his work for him," Saitou said with a slight but unmistakable tone of disgust, maybe even amusement.
"Oi, Saitou-san, how's Eiji by the way?" Misao asked.
"He's doing fine. It's been a year after all. Do you want to see him?" Saitou asked.
A little overcome by Saitou's sudden show of kindness, Misao smiled. "No… I just wanted to know if he was fine. Tell him I said 'hi', okay?" Ever-subtly she grinned and walked up beside Chou. "Chou, are you forgetting something?" the little ninja asked brightly.
"Nani? Do I have to fucking thank you?" Chou asked.
Misao gave him a fisheye. "Baka! The reward!"
"There, you little brat! Take it!"
"Ureshii!" Misao cheered as she received the cash.
"Domo arigato, Chou-san!" Soujirou said with successive bowing gestures and a larger smile than normal, as Misao busily counted the money.
Chou rolled his eyes and turned his back to hide a smile. "Whatever, kid. Just don't spend it all on your honeymoon."
Chou went flying after getting into close contact with Misao's fist.
"Just ask me and Tokio if you guys need any help," Saitou said with the same tone of voice Chou had.
Before Misao could do anything stupid, such as actually attempting to hit Saitou, Soujirou dragged her out, thanking Saitou quickly. Misao pouted a little when they arrived at the same pier where they caught the drug traffickers. She pouted more. Until she decided to dance.
"We did it Sou-chan, we did it!" She flung her arms happily into the air…
… and hit Soujirou square on the face.
"S-Sou-chan? Daijoubu?"
She pulled him out of the water.
"I'm fine…" he said, as he squeezed water out of his gi. "You're on a roll. Well, at least Chou didn't get thrown into the water."
"Ehehehe… gomen nasai, Sou-chan."
Soujirou smiled. No big shocker there. But then he was surprised as she handed him some money.
"Are you that sorry?"
"Baka. This is your share. We're splitting the income!"
"Misao-san, it's alright. I don't need money."
Misao raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, that was a slight exaggeration, but-"
"But nothing!" Misao interrupted him. "Besides, it's not like this money's enough. We still have to work tomorrow. And since we both did the work today, we split. It's as simple as that!"
"But we destroyed the Aoiya, I should only-"
"I told you, you didn't. So shut up about that, alright! Take the money and just work with me again tomorrow!"
A smile grew comfortably on his face. "Okay, but… could you keep it for a while?" Soujirou gestured to his wet gi.
Life is only what we choose to make it
Let's just take it, let us be free
We can find the glory we all dream of
And without love, we can't win
As the battle goes on we feel stronger
How much longer does this go on?
Each and every day we dream of winning and beginning a new life
Still, we must fight or face defeat
We must stand tall and not retreat
Our strength will find the might
There's no fight we can't fight together; all together we can win
Blessed with strong hearts that beat as one, watch us soar
And with love that conquers all we'll win this battle
This last battle - we will win! (2)
author ramblings; I hate this chapter. I'll get inspired soon, I swear. Here's the promised "love note": I'm sorry to so royally disappoint you, I'll try harder on the next one. This one's for all of you, though, even if it supremely sucks. (sweatdrop) Please give me ego-boosts though.
My ego certainly doesn't need it, but my poor excuse of writing skills does. 'Til next time!
notes;
(1) "But But But"; Slayers
(2) "We Will Win", Michael Bradley; Robotech