Part 2: Ice Blue Eyes
Megumi emerged from her room and directed by Okon, one of Aoshi's aids and among the close four of the oniwabanshus staying in the household, she made her way tremendously to the library. When she got there, the door was slightly ajar, and her host was talking on the telephone.
"No, I'm not angry, Dr. Gensai." She overheard him saying, as Aoshi addressed her mentor, "But dammit, you should have told me a little more about her. I assumed she was older. How the hell was I to know she looked like a young woman? She grew up in foster homes? Oh wonderful, that's just what I need! A sweet young opportunist without a family, who'll insinuate herself in my life!"
The awkwardness of the situation made Megumi clench her teeth. The man stopped speaking, and she heard the click of the receiver being replaced. She waited a moment longer, and then knocked on the door. When his command to enter came, it was with reluctance that she pushed open the door and entered the book-lined room.
He was standing in the shadows at the far end, his dark head out lined against the light draperies. He didn't bother to move as she closed the door.
"Sit down, Megumi." It was an uncompromising order.
She sought a small, straight-backed chair. She seated herself, and then faced him. He walked to the large, leather-covered desk in the middle of the room, and seated himself on the corner, all the while keeping his fixed gaze on her. Although his glance now is cooler than before, almost clinical that is, Megumi's body responded to his scrutiny with an almost sensual shudder. She was furious.
The conceited prig! Who in the world did he think he was to subject her to such treatment?
When he spoke, his voice was softer than she expected. "How old are you?"
"Twenty-four." She was so angry she could hardly speak.
"Twenty-four." He repeated, meditatively. "You look about.eighteen."
Megumi's lips tightened, "My problem, not yours."
A smile almost reached his ice blue eyes. Unusually so, for the person who glared so coldly of her few minutes ago. "You're not what I expected. Dr. Gensai said you are also a medicine practitioner and very experienced one, way back at his clinic in Tokyo. He neglected to mention that you were young and attractive so I assumed you are older. After all, that's quite a responsible job and his clinic----"
Megumi did not let him continue.
"Well, I'm a responsible person. Aoshi-san" she said calmly, though she was furious inside. "I'm sorry Dr. Gensai misled you. Naturally I won't impose on your hospitality." She couldn't keep the words from coming, but bit back and swallowed her desire to tell him what she thought of him.
Silently he continued to look at her. Suddenly, he stood and came toward her, but just walked past her to the door. With his hand on the knob he said, "Let's have dinner."
Megumi wasn't sure she had heard right. She got unsteadily to her feet and smoothed her kimono with shaky hands.
"Come on," He led her out of the library to a small cozy room where a table was set for two. She can see that her employer have everything in big European style, as he held out a chair for her, placed a large bowl of soup in front of her, then served himself and sat down across from her. Megumi glanced at him quickly.
Damn him! Why is he acting now as if she were her guest? But her tension eased and she had finished half the soup when he spoke again.
"While we're eating I'll tell you about Misao. In few more weeks I'm taking her home where she'll start public school, she's already 9 years old and children that age already are sent to proper schools to get decent education. I suppose you don't know that I actually live in Osaka, although of course I do spend a lot of time here with matters regarding the clan and duties compromising that after all, Kyoto is the Oniwabanshu's base. We have other onmistus sent in other parts of Japan, but I want to see how things are going myself. At any rate, Misao is not yet ready to lead such a life and I think it's better that she get to know how the fast-changing world works. She is a year early to start secondary school, but I was told she'd be taken in if she could master a few basics. She needs help to accomplish that. Dr. Gensai told me you work well with children, and he thought you could help."
"And now that you have seen that I'm not middle-aged and fat, don't you think I'll be able to handle it." Megumi snapped. It was a petulant thing for her to say and she knew it. The twinkle in his eyes told her he knew it too, but he ignored her comment.
"Misao has a procession of my aids looking after her." As if he glanced up outside to signal them, four uniformed people, two men and two women entered the room. All of them are wearing a uniform that Megumi presumed was the Oniwabanshu's colors. They bowed down to their Master and stood up upon his command. "I've presumed you have met Okon," Aoshi said, and the woman with a tight ponytail bowed her head, greeting Megumi with a small smile. "This is Omasu," he pointed to another female with draped hair. "And lastly, Kuro and Shiro." Shiro looks like an average guy but Kuro is a hulking, big man that could almost make his master look like a pygmy. But the man seems gentle as he sheepishly greeted Megumi, and she swore he is blushing.
"Even with them, Misao is not spoiled by the attention.but she's a rather well-adjusted girl. What she really needs are children to play with. It's important for her to get into school now." And with that, he dismissed the Onis with just a flick of his wrist. Megumi then continued to eat, and whatever it is, it seems Aoshi is determined to make conversation. "Dr. Gensai told me that you are already an accomplished one in Aizu before you worked in his clinic in Tokyo, he said when he met you, you don't have a stable residence around and even if you're known in Aizu you travel from place to place. Do you like the work?"
She ignored his question, preferring to pose one of her own. "Now that you've seen the opportunist who was raised in foster homes at government expense, what do you think?"
Unbeknownst to them, the Onis are listening outside. Omasu and Okon have their ears firmly planted by the door while the men, Kuro and Shiro uneasily walked back and forth at the corridors of the hall. Omasu cupped her mouth in making a loud gasp, "Oh my! Ms. Megumi is standing up against Master Aoshi! That is not a good thing."
"I don't know.I heard Master Aoshi is gravely disappointed with Megumi. I think she over heard him about how bitterly he talked about her on the phone." Okon replied, "I was there, I heard it."
"Master Aoshi won't let just anyone stand up against him in this house, especially subordinates. He will have her fired.I felt sorry for her." Kuro sympathized, and everyone waited for what to happen, in dead silence.
A glimmer of admiration crossed Aoshi's face, and his lips twitched slightly. He raised his eyebrows. "You don't miss much, do you?"
"I can't afford to. I'm all I've got."
They finished the meal in silence, and when Aoshi rang a bell, Okon readily came in and quickly took the dirty dishes away, cleaned the table, before she went out of the room. Aoshi could hear hushes as she went outside and guessed that the other Oni's might be eavesdropping but he didn't care. Right now he feels interested in conversing with this somehow feisty woman, who is fiercely determined to battle him with wit for a wit, a persona underneath her fragile pallid looks. He poured them both tea and said, "Tell me about yourself."
"You know all there is to know, Aoshi-san." She replied, "Dr. Gensai thought I could help you with Misao, but I see now he was wrong. So if I could trouble you for transportation here in Kyoto tomorrow, I'll check into an inn."
His blue gaze flickered, "Are you always so confident?"
"No, not always," she answered honestly. Somehow there is something aside from his eyes that caught Megumi's attention. His almost rigid-like, expressionless façade slowly changed, his mouth forming what seems a small smile. Aoshi's face is showing a warm interest and an emotion that is considered alien for him for sometime.
"I want to know more about you, Megumi. Your plans, your ambitions." He said.
She was silent for as long as it took her to fight down the angry words that leaped from her lips. When she spoke, her voice was wooden with control. "Aoshi-san, I fail to see how you can possibly be interested in my personal ambitions. That you find me unsuitable to be in your home is your privilege, but pry into my personal life is not."
His eyes locked into hers. He looked deep, as if he were looking into her past, her present and her future. His face went back to being expressionless and his words when they came shock her.
"I think I've changed my mind about that matter. Does anyone call you Meg-chan?" his voice was almost lazy, as if he were talking to himself.
Surprised by his question, she shook her head.
"Then I shall," he said softly. He sat up and flexed his shoulder muscles wearily. "It's been a long day. Go to bed, Takani Megumi. In the morning I'll dig out the list of requirements for Misao."
Megumi's lips parted in dismay, "You want me to stay?"
He got to his feet and stood looking down at her. "Yes Meg-chan. I want you to stay." A smile creased his cheeks. He reached down a hand and pulled her to her feet. As he looked at her his incredible ice blue eyes softened and suddenly they seemed to envelop her in a warm snare of tender amusement. "Don't try to figure me out, Meg-chan." he said gently.
He turned her toward the door and in her confused state she was scarcely aware she was being conducted to the foot of the steps leading into the upper balcony. On the first step she turned her face level with his, a curiously guarded look on her face.
He was standing very quietly, his eyes probing hers with a startling intensity. She hesitated, and then started up the few steps. Once she reached the top she looked back, but the hall is empty, and the last few minutes she'd spent with him seem like a dream.
Megumi emerged from her room and directed by Okon, one of Aoshi's aids and among the close four of the oniwabanshus staying in the household, she made her way tremendously to the library. When she got there, the door was slightly ajar, and her host was talking on the telephone.
"No, I'm not angry, Dr. Gensai." She overheard him saying, as Aoshi addressed her mentor, "But dammit, you should have told me a little more about her. I assumed she was older. How the hell was I to know she looked like a young woman? She grew up in foster homes? Oh wonderful, that's just what I need! A sweet young opportunist without a family, who'll insinuate herself in my life!"
The awkwardness of the situation made Megumi clench her teeth. The man stopped speaking, and she heard the click of the receiver being replaced. She waited a moment longer, and then knocked on the door. When his command to enter came, it was with reluctance that she pushed open the door and entered the book-lined room.
He was standing in the shadows at the far end, his dark head out lined against the light draperies. He didn't bother to move as she closed the door.
"Sit down, Megumi." It was an uncompromising order.
She sought a small, straight-backed chair. She seated herself, and then faced him. He walked to the large, leather-covered desk in the middle of the room, and seated himself on the corner, all the while keeping his fixed gaze on her. Although his glance now is cooler than before, almost clinical that is, Megumi's body responded to his scrutiny with an almost sensual shudder. She was furious.
The conceited prig! Who in the world did he think he was to subject her to such treatment?
When he spoke, his voice was softer than she expected. "How old are you?"
"Twenty-four." She was so angry she could hardly speak.
"Twenty-four." He repeated, meditatively. "You look about.eighteen."
Megumi's lips tightened, "My problem, not yours."
A smile almost reached his ice blue eyes. Unusually so, for the person who glared so coldly of her few minutes ago. "You're not what I expected. Dr. Gensai said you are also a medicine practitioner and very experienced one, way back at his clinic in Tokyo. He neglected to mention that you were young and attractive so I assumed you are older. After all, that's quite a responsible job and his clinic----"
Megumi did not let him continue.
"Well, I'm a responsible person. Aoshi-san" she said calmly, though she was furious inside. "I'm sorry Dr. Gensai misled you. Naturally I won't impose on your hospitality." She couldn't keep the words from coming, but bit back and swallowed her desire to tell him what she thought of him.
Silently he continued to look at her. Suddenly, he stood and came toward her, but just walked past her to the door. With his hand on the knob he said, "Let's have dinner."
Megumi wasn't sure she had heard right. She got unsteadily to her feet and smoothed her kimono with shaky hands.
"Come on," He led her out of the library to a small cozy room where a table was set for two. She can see that her employer have everything in big European style, as he held out a chair for her, placed a large bowl of soup in front of her, then served himself and sat down across from her. Megumi glanced at him quickly.
Damn him! Why is he acting now as if she were her guest? But her tension eased and she had finished half the soup when he spoke again.
"While we're eating I'll tell you about Misao. In few more weeks I'm taking her home where she'll start public school, she's already 9 years old and children that age already are sent to proper schools to get decent education. I suppose you don't know that I actually live in Osaka, although of course I do spend a lot of time here with matters regarding the clan and duties compromising that after all, Kyoto is the Oniwabanshu's base. We have other onmistus sent in other parts of Japan, but I want to see how things are going myself. At any rate, Misao is not yet ready to lead such a life and I think it's better that she get to know how the fast-changing world works. She is a year early to start secondary school, but I was told she'd be taken in if she could master a few basics. She needs help to accomplish that. Dr. Gensai told me you work well with children, and he thought you could help."
"And now that you have seen that I'm not middle-aged and fat, don't you think I'll be able to handle it." Megumi snapped. It was a petulant thing for her to say and she knew it. The twinkle in his eyes told her he knew it too, but he ignored her comment.
"Misao has a procession of my aids looking after her." As if he glanced up outside to signal them, four uniformed people, two men and two women entered the room. All of them are wearing a uniform that Megumi presumed was the Oniwabanshu's colors. They bowed down to their Master and stood up upon his command. "I've presumed you have met Okon," Aoshi said, and the woman with a tight ponytail bowed her head, greeting Megumi with a small smile. "This is Omasu," he pointed to another female with draped hair. "And lastly, Kuro and Shiro." Shiro looks like an average guy but Kuro is a hulking, big man that could almost make his master look like a pygmy. But the man seems gentle as he sheepishly greeted Megumi, and she swore he is blushing.
"Even with them, Misao is not spoiled by the attention.but she's a rather well-adjusted girl. What she really needs are children to play with. It's important for her to get into school now." And with that, he dismissed the Onis with just a flick of his wrist. Megumi then continued to eat, and whatever it is, it seems Aoshi is determined to make conversation. "Dr. Gensai told me that you are already an accomplished one in Aizu before you worked in his clinic in Tokyo, he said when he met you, you don't have a stable residence around and even if you're known in Aizu you travel from place to place. Do you like the work?"
She ignored his question, preferring to pose one of her own. "Now that you've seen the opportunist who was raised in foster homes at government expense, what do you think?"
Unbeknownst to them, the Onis are listening outside. Omasu and Okon have their ears firmly planted by the door while the men, Kuro and Shiro uneasily walked back and forth at the corridors of the hall. Omasu cupped her mouth in making a loud gasp, "Oh my! Ms. Megumi is standing up against Master Aoshi! That is not a good thing."
"I don't know.I heard Master Aoshi is gravely disappointed with Megumi. I think she over heard him about how bitterly he talked about her on the phone." Okon replied, "I was there, I heard it."
"Master Aoshi won't let just anyone stand up against him in this house, especially subordinates. He will have her fired.I felt sorry for her." Kuro sympathized, and everyone waited for what to happen, in dead silence.
A glimmer of admiration crossed Aoshi's face, and his lips twitched slightly. He raised his eyebrows. "You don't miss much, do you?"
"I can't afford to. I'm all I've got."
They finished the meal in silence, and when Aoshi rang a bell, Okon readily came in and quickly took the dirty dishes away, cleaned the table, before she went out of the room. Aoshi could hear hushes as she went outside and guessed that the other Oni's might be eavesdropping but he didn't care. Right now he feels interested in conversing with this somehow feisty woman, who is fiercely determined to battle him with wit for a wit, a persona underneath her fragile pallid looks. He poured them both tea and said, "Tell me about yourself."
"You know all there is to know, Aoshi-san." She replied, "Dr. Gensai thought I could help you with Misao, but I see now he was wrong. So if I could trouble you for transportation here in Kyoto tomorrow, I'll check into an inn."
His blue gaze flickered, "Are you always so confident?"
"No, not always," she answered honestly. Somehow there is something aside from his eyes that caught Megumi's attention. His almost rigid-like, expressionless façade slowly changed, his mouth forming what seems a small smile. Aoshi's face is showing a warm interest and an emotion that is considered alien for him for sometime.
"I want to know more about you, Megumi. Your plans, your ambitions." He said.
She was silent for as long as it took her to fight down the angry words that leaped from her lips. When she spoke, her voice was wooden with control. "Aoshi-san, I fail to see how you can possibly be interested in my personal ambitions. That you find me unsuitable to be in your home is your privilege, but pry into my personal life is not."
His eyes locked into hers. He looked deep, as if he were looking into her past, her present and her future. His face went back to being expressionless and his words when they came shock her.
"I think I've changed my mind about that matter. Does anyone call you Meg-chan?" his voice was almost lazy, as if he were talking to himself.
Surprised by his question, she shook her head.
"Then I shall," he said softly. He sat up and flexed his shoulder muscles wearily. "It's been a long day. Go to bed, Takani Megumi. In the morning I'll dig out the list of requirements for Misao."
Megumi's lips parted in dismay, "You want me to stay?"
He got to his feet and stood looking down at her. "Yes Meg-chan. I want you to stay." A smile creased his cheeks. He reached down a hand and pulled her to her feet. As he looked at her his incredible ice blue eyes softened and suddenly they seemed to envelop her in a warm snare of tender amusement. "Don't try to figure me out, Meg-chan." he said gently.
He turned her toward the door and in her confused state she was scarcely aware she was being conducted to the foot of the steps leading into the upper balcony. On the first step she turned her face level with his, a curiously guarded look on her face.
He was standing very quietly, his eyes probing hers with a startling intensity. She hesitated, and then started up the few steps. Once she reached the top she looked back, but the hall is empty, and the last few minutes she'd spent with him seem like a dream.