Disclaimer: Ooohh!! I get to do my own disclaimer! I Don't Own Rurouni Kenshin. What a sweet world it would be if I could… ::all dreamy:: Oops sorry! Go read while I procrastinate some more.
"Oh that," she said casually, slipping her hands out of his. "I make opium for the old fart."
A Morning in Town:
"Opium?" Soujiro asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Hai," she said cheerily.
"Naze? (Why?)" he asked, voicing the second phrase that haunted him [A/N: Okay… maybe it's not a 'phrase'-phrase. So what?]
Aiteru frowned, not at Soujiro, but just in a confused sort of way. "I'm not sure. Why am I making opium for that loser?"
"I'm afraid I'm don't understand," Soujiro smiled, a hand on the back of his head, symbolizing his confusion.
"I mean, I know I offered to make opium as my pay for the rent, but I'm not sure why I'm staying here… of all the places to be in the world." Then Aiteru shrugged and then yawned, reminding Soujiro of his exhaustion. "You should go to bed, rurouni," she told him.
"You know?" Soujiro asked, a fairly blank expression on his face.
She giggled, "Your tattered clothes and the fact that you're not in an inn does point that way."
"I suppose I do look like one," he smiled, his hand lightly scratching the back of his head, as she walked back to the abandoned blanket, remembering the time he stole the bandages for Shishio-san. Perhaps if Shishio-san had not come to town that night, there wouldn't have been any danger to me… no reason to kill them. But would they have killed me anyway? I certainly didn't mind having to working for Shishio-san… It's just that it wasn't me all those years…
Soujiro, who was sitting down and had leaned on a nearby barrel, found the little girl asleep with her head on his lap. He smiled as he stopped stroking her hair and tightly wrapped the blanket around her. He was slowly separating himself from her, when she gripped his hikami and whispered ever so softly, "Don't leave me…" She breathed deeply and exhaled, "I'm scared…" she added like an afterthought. Unsure, Soujiro remained where he was. He fell asleep fingering her hair, and watching her breathe…
The sun was barely over the horizon as Soujiro blinked his eyes open for the new day…
"Are you awake now?" Aiteru whispered curiously, staring at Soujiro at a frightening proximity. Soujiro, suddenly startled into awareness, jumped, just like his heart rate, and began to feel slightly ill. Of course Aiteru hardly noticed those symptoms, for it disappeared in a flash and was replaced by the famous 'Soujiro Smile', whose owner had quickly recovered in inhumanly (and ungodly) speed.
"YAY!" Aiteru cheered with pure delight, "It's time for breakfast!" She nimbly jumped onto her feet as she clapped her hands together. "I'll show you to my favorite restaurant!" Then she skipped outside in such sweet innocence and hyperactive giddy.
Soujiro, now sure that the naïve maniac was out of sight, patted his heart in hopes to slow down his dangerously high heart rate. Soujiro sighed a breath of relief as he was certain the decades of life she had scared out of him was, for the most part, back with him. He smiled again trying to remember the last time he was frightened out of his life like that. Failing to recall any moments in his life, including his years with Shishio, he straightened his katana in his belt (thing-a-ma-bopper) and stepped outside to find Aiteru waiting patiently outside.
Aiteru twirled around once more and declared "100!" and skipped ahead. "Come on!" she called out behind her.
Soujiro could only smile at her enthusiasm and trot to keep pace with her. Soujiro noticed how not many people were up so early in the morning, and he was thankful for that. Not only were swords banned from this era, and the fact that Soujiro was a wanted criminal, he was worried about the health of anyone Aiteru might have ran- err… 'skipped' over in her excitement.
"Gee, you're real slow!" she called out again, skipping backwards and still, amazingly, keeping the same speed. Soujiro smiled as he continued walking at the same pace several yards behind her. Aiteru, who didn't seem to mind, continue to lead the way. She finally stopped in front a non-descriptive restaurant and was talking with a lady.
"OHAYO! (Mornin'!)" Aiteru suddenly greeted, waving excitedly at him with the majority of her arm. She then suddenly appeared next to him in a few seconds, smiling broadly at him. "We're here!" she said in a sing-song voice and raced inside the building. Soujiro followed her in curiosity. Where does she get all that energy? He watched her order and plop herself into a booth. Soujiro looked at her, then to the waitress.
"Sumimasen, (Excuse me,)" he addressed her politely with one of his smiles, "is she always like that?"
The waitress laughed, "Not always. This is one of the best moods I've seen her in since the day she came. She comes everyday, precisely at the same time for about a month now," she smiled with good cheer. "Well, I better get you breakfast ready!"
Soujiro nodded, his smile still there, and walked over to take a seat across from her.
"Mornings are the greatest!" she announced as he sat down. "There's always a chance for new beginnings!" she shouted with glee. She then murmured, "For new hopes…" She was suddenly quite pacified, and looked out the window at the rising sun in a still heavily cloudy sky, leaving Soujiro to his thoughts.
Soujiro, still avoiding the past, thought about Aiteru's sudden change. You can't always hide behind that smile… he recalled when he saw the cheeriness fall away. Her head was propped on her hands with her elbows on the table. In her eyes, he saw a fearful, tormented, and lonely soul, but amid those dark emotions was a tiny light… His face just barely wrinkled, his smile gone, as he thought. What could it be? A short moment passed before he answered himself… hope.
"If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing out in the storm last night?"
"Ano…" she murmured, she shifted her head to one arm and drew imaginary designs into the table with her finger with the other, "I was out enjoying the storm," she explained.
Soujiro, with his experience with incompetent men, knew from the way she acted that she was half-lying, but he thought better of pressing her for the truth. Soujiro had very little money on him and didn't want to end up paying for the meal.
"Breakfast is served," said the waitress, breaking the silence. Aiteru sat up in a flash, and was her genki self again.
"YAY!" she cheered as she dug in with such ferocity that only Yahiko could compete with. But of course, the two had no idea who this boy was and never will unless some extremely rare twist of fate shall occur, which would must certainly occur (de gozaru yo) due to the madness of the gods (in this case the author) above.
"Does she do that often too?" Soujiro asked, his smile still on his young face.
"Well, she has reason too," shrugged the waitress. "Someone always comes in right about… now."
Exactly on cue a man scrambled in crying, "Ms. Doctor! Ms. Doctor!" as he slid to a halt next to their table.
"Done!" announced Aiteru as she faced to listen to the man who ran in crying for help and is currently on his face after sliding and tripping in.
"My only daughter," he panted, "she's sick! Please come see her."
"Of course," she said seriously. (Shocking Soujiro once again at her sudden change.) "I'll come." She got up from the table, "Soujiro, ask the waitress for directions. I'll see if I can show you around town afterward." She smiled warmly, nodded to the man, handed a small pouch to the waitress, and left at a quick pace.
"She's one interesting girl," the waitress said, taking the vacated seat.
"She certainly looks like it," he smiled, beginning to eat his breakfast.
"She came to this town by herself. I certainly wouldn't be traveling by myself, but she didn't seem to mind. But she was so sad, like she lost her entire family or something," the waitress said, sighing. "I hope you know better than to hurt her. She's been through a lot and she doesn't need more." Soujiro simply looked at the waitress and blinked. The waitress smiled, "Gomen, (Sorry,) I'm slightly protective of her." Soujiro nodded but said nothing. "I must be attend my other customers," waitress stood, left Soujiro to his meal, directions, and the small pouch that he had seen Aiteru leave with the waitress.
"Watch over her, day and night, and more importantly make sure she gets plenty of fluids and rest," Aiteru instructed.
"Am I going to be alright?" the younger girl in the futon whispered, her voice hoarse.
"Of course," Aiteru smiled squeezing the girl's hand, "It's just pneumonia. You'll be up and about in no time, if you do as I have told you, okay?" The girl nodded, as the parents thanked Aiteru. [A/N: I'll look up how to treat pneumonia later. For now my 'information' came from Bless Me, Ultima. As in what I remember and got from it.]
"I'll come play with you someday," Aiteru told her, "just make sure you're well by then. Promise?" To this, the girl wrapped a pinky around Aiteru's.
"We'd like you to take this," the mom offered a small pouch filled with yen.
"Mou! I-I couldn't possibly!" Aiteru stammered.
"Please," the women begged wrapping Aiteru's hands around it. "You've done so much for us and this town, for so little." The woman explained. Glancing out the door, she added, "And it seems you have another to take care of."
Aiteru sighed, realizing that refusing it would hurt the lady's feelings. So she reluctantly took it, and stepped into the living room where Soujiro, who heard everything, waited.
Soujiro smiled as he watched Aiteru overly-enthusiastically introduced… insert drum-roll here the marketplace! How she makes everything so grand and perfect, seems to defy Soujiro's sense of reality, as well as anyone around who had seen/heard her.
"Oh, my gosh!" she suddenly gasped, her eyes wide.
"What is it?" Soujiro asked, alarmed by the haunted look in her eyes.
"Lost track of time!" she said panicky, grabbing his hand, "You do know the way back right? I need to go finish something for them."
"I know the way back," he said.
Her eyes brightened again, "Great! Meet you there when you're done looking around town!" she cried as she ran away.
As much as he wanted to stay away from that place… as much as he wanted to avoid his past… as much as he wanted to ignore that foreboding feeling in him… as much as he wanted to imagine Aiteru introduce each street in her own miraculously, impossible, reality-defying way [A/N: Sorry I wanted to but it in there… -_-'] he couldn't suppress that feeling in him that told him danger was coming. So he reluctantly made the trek back to the place of painful pasts…
Author's Note(s): Hopefully Soujiro isn't a bit too "human" again. But then again, this is from his point of view (sort of) and we know that Soujiro always hides his emotions behind that gorgeous smile of his! Please review! Feedback's always a nice inspiration!