Disclaimer: I own Rurouni Kenshin about at as much as I own Gravitation or Trigun. With that said, I now go to prepare for battle with Watsuki, Nightow, and Maki! *cackles*
Warning: Ugh.. the pain... the pain... my poor game... I killed the characters...
Souken no Shibun
Prelude to trouble
Michika was feeling pretty proud of herself as she headed for the inn she and Natsuo would be staying in. Sometime during the night, Natsuo had been nice enough to send word of which hotel they were using, if not where it was. After asking a few people for direction, she finally made it there. She nearly collapsed on the stairs however. She hadn't slept in... She took a moment to mentally calculate it. Two, almost three days... and the only thing she'd had to eat were Kyouki's mochi the day before.
She did manage to drag herself up the stairs, though. Staring at all the seemingly similar doors, she decided the best course of action was to yell until Natsuo came or someone dragged her to her room. At least, that had been the plan until she heard Natsuo's voice from behind the door next to her. She frowned when she realized he was conversing with someone else. She hoped that idiot wasn't planning on handing her over to the Nentou. Even in her weakened state, she'd give the Chushin an ass-kicking he'd never forget. After all, Natsuo was her little brother so she had every right to slap him around.
She reached over and slid the door open, at first only seeing Natsuo as he sat on the floor with his back to her. He looked over his shoulder, blinking curiously, until he saw her. "Hi, Aneki!"
Michika mumbled incoherently and he smiled. "I take things didn't go as planned?" A silent glare was the only response she gave him and he shrugged. As he turned himself to face her, a quick scan didn't reveal the other speaker and Michika started to get worried.
"Did you at least save some food for me?" He nodded and she sighed in relief. "Kami-sama... thank you." He chuckled, watching her use the door to haul herself to her feet. That was when she spied the little blonde hair. Her brow furrowed as two muddy brown eyes peered at her from around the arm she was clinging to. "Natsuo, there a growth on your arm..."
"I know!!" He pulled his arms from the child's grip and wrapping them around her, cuddled the little girl. "Isn't she so cute?!" Michika groaned at she watched his eyes light up with that damn twinkle she had hated so much as kids. The girl only looked to be around six or seven years old...
"Natsuo..."
He frowned. "But I wanna keep her."
"Natsuo, she's not a dog. She's a little girl, and a foreign looking one at that." Natsuo shrugged, ignoring her reasoning. Michika's eye twitched. She was annoyed, but that wasn't enough to give her the energy to smack him just yet. "What are you going to do if her guardians come looking for her?"
"Does it look like anyone's taking care of her?" he asked, pointing to her torn clothing and the dirt that covered her from head to foot. Ok, so maybe there wasn't anyone caring for her. Didn't matter. Natsuo traveled too much to look after a child and Michika would never have time, especially to look after one as seemingly small as her. Michika didn't want to seem heartless, but there was simply no way.
"You can't keep her, Natsuo. First off, she probably doesn't even speak Japanese, and secondly, we're in the middle of a situation that a child simply should not be dragged into." Natsuo rubbed his chin, seeming to think that last bit over.
For all of two seconds. "She stays."
"She goes."
"She stays."
The shoji began to rattle as Michika was forced to put more of her weight. "Only until we can find someone to take care of her."
Natsuo grinned victoriously. "Deal."
Michika grumbled. "Why do I think I just made a deal with the devil..." She pushed off of the door and shakily stepped inside, seeking the food. Natsuo and the little girl watched, chuckling conspiratorially when Michika finally sat herself in front of the tray of leftover food. She glared once more at the two, effectively quieting them. Natsuo headed for the door and motioned for the girl to follow. Michika paid the two little attention as she began stuffing food into her mouth. So immersed in this was she, that she missed the insidious look the young girl gave her before passing out of the room.
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"WHAT?!"
She tore the papers from the old man's hands, quickly scanning over the information written on it and becoming more incensed with every word she read. "But she promised!!" Ignoring the old one's questioning glance, she continued reading. "She wouldn't... he wouldn't dare..." Finished the page of the later, she threw it aside to move onto the second page. "He did!!" The girl's green eyes grew to an immense size as tears poured from them. "How could he?!"
"You know he only wants to protect you-"
"I'm not a little girl anymore! I can take of myself. I've done it before and I can do it again. Why won't he see that?"
She nearly ripped the last page to pieces, but manage to think better of it. Instead, she handed it back to the old man, mumbling to herself. "And with the Sangokudoumei on the move, too..." This wasn't good at all. Their presence there could trigger the very war they were trying to avoid. "Damn." She whirled around and marched towards the door, her mind already set.
"Misao, just what do you think you're doing?"
Misao paused at the door and smiled back at the old man. "What does it look like, Okina? I'm going to Tokyo!"
Without waiting for him to answer, she was out the door and heading down the hall. Okina sighed. It was always like this. He began to wonder if they'd ever change. Shaking his head, the old man stood and leaned his head out the door. He couldn't see Misao, but he knew she'd hear him anyways. She had a bad habit of charging out with a few hundred kunai and no real plan. "Just don't forget to pack your clothes this time!! We don't want a repeat of the Sendai fiasco!" A kunai magically appeared, imbedding itself next to Okina's head. "I mean... have a good time!"
Smartly, he retreated into his room before she came back to retrieve the weapon.
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A/N: Pyro remembered Pigeon!! But now he's hurt... and what'll Pidge do about the moon girl... argh, it's so confusing... Yes, I'm obsessing! And over something no one has a clue of! I'd almost liken it to the time Kiley shot Knives... almost. It's not quite that earth-shattering. But still... *tears up* Poor Pigeon... *looks around* Did I mention I suck at pool?
To Cymberleah: *sweatdrops* Yes... that would be a nice phrase... but... then any random person could set her off and that would ruin the point... *grins* Still, it does make an interesting thought... I can see the blood now... *sighs* Oh well, I still have five more phrases to create, ne?
To SaveTheTurkeys: I already knew what I was going to do with Natsuo... although, I couldn't decide whether or not to put it in this chapter. But then I did, so there you have it. *eyes twinkle* But... another bad guy scene coming soon... and Kaoru's in trouble! *singsongs*
So what do you choose, Author Lady? Spearmint or Cinnamon? Just remember not to swallow when you're done! (Actually… it's a lime gumball)