Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Thank you.
"No way!" remarked Aiteru, looking positively innocent and overjoyed. "I was happily working for Makoto Shishio!"
A Strange Connection:
Normal people would have shivered and cowered at the name, or in reality, ask who he is, take a moment to process it, and then shiver and cower at the name, but Soujiro and Saito are anything but normal (just like everyone else in the show) and reacted far differently. Soujiro only looked at her with a blank expression, only because he didn't know how to look shocked. He knew she could not fight, so how could she be of any real service to Shishio-san and for so long?
Saito first frowned at hearing the name, and then raised an eyebrow at her odd giddiness when she mentioned the name of such an evil, and diabolical person.
"Let's eat!" Aiteru said skipping out of the courtyard, and jumping into all the puddles.
The two sullenly and silently followed the girl to the police station, both of them avoiding each other. Or at least Saito was, unsure of what he is to do to the smiling killer next to him. At last, they reached the boring building of peacekeepers, and Saito left the two alone to eat and dry in a vacant room.
"You worked for Lord Shishio?" Soujiro asked, confirming what she said.
"Hai!" she answered in between bites. Swallowing again, she continued, "See, I was being chased by this wanna-be drug-dealer and I ran into Kamitari. So I hid behind him, and Kamitari was curious about why I would be running away from a guy who claimed to be my father. So I told him everything and then he chopped his head off-" she paused, taking a bite and allowing Soujiro to wonder if there was any truth in her story. "Then Kamitari took me to Shishio who offered to train me, because he said I got potential. But I declined, because it isn't right for a doctor to fight. And then Mama Yumi convinced him to allow me to doctor his 'little people' army." Then Aiteru returned to devouring her food.
Soujiro ate quietly, digesting the food and her quick story. Soujiro thought it made sense, considering the point that the Juppon Gotana liked to cut up people for fun. 'Mama Yumi,' he thought. Could Yumi-sama have had a child? Or was it some polite gesture of Aiteru's? He mused to himself. He certainly liked Yumi. She was kind and gentle in a way he hadn't encountered before. But what about her being a soldier of some kind? Soujiro wondered. What did Mr. Shishio see in her to offer to train her? Soujiro glanced at Aiteru, who was happily drinking the soup. He failed to see anything about her that would signify any potential. Perhaps, her passiveness to death, Soujiro jokingly suggested to himself, thinking back to that morning. Can't be. He closed his eyes and sighed, returning to his meal.
Then he saw it, or rather felt it. It was her ki. It was abnormally strong. Soujiro ate, trying to figure out why he hadn't sensed it before. Her ki was more of a bubbly kind, not defined and focused like any swordsman. He put down his empty bowl, still curious. Her ki… it's like it's asleep, he thought looking at her.
"Done?" she asked calmly. Soujiro nodded in reply. "Then we should get going. I've been a burden to him for as long as I could remember."
"Sure," smiled Soujiro. "But where to?"
"Away," she said, climbing out the window, "just away." With that she dropped out of sight. Soujiro got up and then recalled that they were on the second floor…
Author's Note: I have total writer's block. I have no idea how I could get Aiteru out of the mess I wrote her in. But hey, nobody cares! I'll rewrite this part later, and probably revealed a little more than I intended to. Oh well! On with the show! Oh yeah, R&R. Any constructive criticism and suggestions would help! [Now where the fun and the insight begin!] ::thinking to self 'maybe I should add a killer here and there…:: ^-^ PS: This hasn't been read over so I apologize for any difficulties.