Neko_no_miko presents ~ A Rurouni Kenshin Fan fiction
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The Passage Of Time: Chapter One
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The late summer breeze brought in the refreshingly cool and humid air,
signalling the coming of a heavy rainstorm. Makimachi Misao paused in the
middle of drying the newly washed serving trays to take a deep breathe of
the welcoming change in weather since the endlessly hot and dry season.
Omasu wrinkled her brow slightly as she glanced out at the flapping clothes
hung from the sticks of bamboo in the clearing, "Ara, I'll have to bring
laundry in before the rain starts. It seems that the rain will probably last
the entire day and night."
As much as Misao enjoyed rain, the very thought of her beloved Aoshi-sama
coming home in a wet state or staying in the temple overnight did not please
her. "He could catch a bad cold!"
Misao resolved to bring an extra umbrella along with his lunch and
impatiently asked for Aoshi's packed meal, "Omasu-san, where's Aoshi-sama's
bento?"
Omasu did not raise her head from her work of mending clothes, "I placed it
on the table next to the stove in the kitchen."
Misao dashed to the said place and tucked the wooden box containing the warm
food under her arm. She grabbed an available umbrella from the doorway and
announced, "I'm going out to the Jinja (temple)! I'll be back as soon as I
can."
"Misao-chan, chotto matte! The rain..." Omasu hurriedly stood up to stop
Misao but the girl have already left. "Mou, she's still as impatient as a
young child!"
Omasu put her hands on the hips and sighed exasperated. Despite the young
female shinobi's proclaim of being the new okashiira, the traits of Misao's
childhood tantrums still came out pretty occasionally. With a resigned
shrug, Omasu retreated back to the Aoiya. 'She will know how to take care
of herself.'
The quick steps of Misao's straw slippers carried her towards the ancient
temple where Aoshi visited daily without fail. This habit always annoyed
her as the time spent with her Aoshi-sama was extremely rare as compared to
her younger years before the ex-okashiira left with the rest of the
Oniiwabanshuu.
After a short while of non-stop sprinting, a small drizzle began to spread
throughout Kyoto. Misao quickly used the paper umbrella to ward off the rain
as she complained, "I should have bring along an extra umbrella. Now what am
I going to use to block the rain drops when I need to return to Aoiya?" She
silently swore to be more careful next time as she heaved a sigh of relief
when the steps leading to the temple came in sight.
Rhythmic beating of the rain drops can be heard throughout the temple.
Shinomorii Aoshi briefly opened his eyes to the dim lighting of the temple
before shutting them up in silent comtemplatation.
'My life has been as dark as this room. No amount of illumination can fill
it up with light. Perhaps this quietness and loneliness can lend me enough
strength and comfort to last through the rest of my journey in life. Peace
is all I can seek and be contented with.'
Memories before the Kanryu's incident clamoured to his mind in a weak
attempt to remind him of the promise to Battousai. A hopeful expression
of a starry-eyed seventeen year old girl flashed across his mind. Misao.
'It doesn't matter. My way to repent the sins is to let go of the happiness.
However tempting it may seem.'
"Aoshi-sama. Aoshi-sama," An illusion of Misao's voice carried to his eyes.
He ignored the soft calling and continued his seeking of peace when a whiff
of Misao's cherry blossom scent and the incessant tapping of a delicate
finger on his shoulder made him realized that the girl with big ocean blue
eyes were of no image conjured by his mind.
"Misao." Aoshi's hard blue eyes met the deeper blue ones. The younger girl
beamed a cheerful smile and sat in front of him.
"Good afternoon, Aoshi-sama! I have brought your bento along," Misao set out
the packed lunch in a more presentable array. A delicious smell filled the
dull meditating room. "Here, Aoshi-sama!" she handed the bowl of rice and
wooden chopsticks with an exaggerated flourish.
Eying at the different variety of side dishes and appetizers available, the
usually quiet man's left eyebrow raised in an unspoken question.
Misao blushed at the great amount of dishes laid out. "Ano, Shiro-kun and
Kuro-kun have prepared a especially sumptuous meal at lunchtime today, so I
thought you ought to try every little bit of everything. Go on, try it. I am
sure you will like it."
"Itadakimasu," Aoshi took the bowl of rice and chopsticks to take small bite.
the rice is well cooed and seemed to be slightly better than the usual fare.
Misao sat and observed her previous guardian to take a small morsel of every
dish accompanied with a few mouthful of rice. The rice was soon finished and
Aoshi nodded in approval. "They have done a fine job," he monotone.
A gleam lit up the sea blue eyes as Misao clasped her hands together.
"They'll be glad to know you like the meal today." With that, she cleared
the remains of Aoshi's meal without a word.
The unexpected compliment gave the onmitsu onna no ko a brand new hope of her
Aoshi-sama's recovery. Silently, she prayed to the Kami-sama above that he
would return to the person she adored before he left with Haanya-kun dachi.
The silence returned but there is an air of quiet acceptance when Misao drew
up her legs to close her eyes and enjoy the peace offered. Candles flickled
as she watched the ex-okashiira returned to his meditation.
Time slipped by and the ancient bell outside the shrine rang. The signal that
the session had come to an end was enough to see Misao jumped up.
"Ne, Aoshi-sama. Let's go home together." This statement struck a core within
the normally stoic man.
'Home. Am I truly back yet?' The thought of unease in the place he once grew
up was rather ironic in his mind. 'Is Aoiya really my home?'
He was abruptly snapped out of the mental reverie when Misao peered up into
his eyes in concern. "Aoshi-sama, daijoubu desu ka?
"Aa," he replied and stepped forward to slide open the door. Heavy downpour
greeted upon them and a strong gust of wind, was discouraging to any
travellers that night. The door was once again slid shut to block out any
further raindrops blown into the temple.
Misao nervously wrung her small hands. "Aoshi-sama, what are we going to do
now?" The implications of spending a night alone with the one she loves was
exciting as well as unnerving indeed.
However, the person in question turned to seek out one elderly monk and spoke
in low volume. The old man nodded occasionally and glanced her way once or
twice. Obviously the kind-hearted host arranged temporary accommodation when
beckoned both of them to show them a unused room.
Misao watched in great puzzlement as the monk shook out dust from two futons
and bedding. A few more words were exchanged when the old man and Aoshi both
bowed politely before the former took his leave.
Misao finally got a clue when Aoshi spoke softly, "We'll be resting here for
tonight."
A dark flush appeared on her cheeks as she cleared her throat. "Are we
sleeping in the same room together?" A brief nod from Aoshi. She thanked the
heavens for such a rare opportunity.
To further clarify, Misao timidly asked, "Wouldn't it be improper?"
A slight crease of brow on Aoshi's forehead lasted for a moment as he
answered, "We had done it when you were much younger."
A flash of disappointment on Misao's expressive face. Such a reply was not
what Misao expected or hope for. She stammered out, "Demo, I'm no longer a
little girl."
Although Aoshi could sense the real meaning behind the words, he forced out,
"It's still the same."
'Sumanu, Misao. I'm no longer fit to wish for more.'
The devastation gnawing at her very soul was almost unbearable. "So I'm still
a child in your eyes, isn't it? Nothing feminine can be found either
physically and internally, right Aoshi-sama?" she choked out.
A strange pain tearing at his heart, Aoshi ignored the tiny voice screaming
'No!' "There is nothing more to talk about." He turned away, his bangs
covering his eyes.
Misao sucked in a deep breath and clenched her fists. "So you felt nothing
more than responsibility as a guardian?" she asked in an abnormally calm
voice.
Warning signs flash in his mind but he disregarded the mental alert. "Hai."
Misao quickly clamped down her eyelids to stop any tears from spilling out.
"Sou ka," she echoed lifelessly before crouching down to drag the futon apart
from Aoshi's own.
"Oyasumi nasai, Shinomorii-san," Misao's familiar voice held no emotions as
she settled down to sleep at the other side of the room. The formality for a
stranger made him flinched as if a physical blow landed relentlessly on him.
"Oyasumi Misao." Aoshi whispered to himself. He gripped the side of the
quilt tightly and attempt to comfort himself.
'I have finally made it clear to her. No regrets for this if she needs to
lead a normal life without my stain on her life.' No amount of consoling
seemed to work as he stared at the dark shadows.
'I can survive through this. The worst has ended. Nothing more will hurt
either of us.' However, a nagging doubt told Aoshi that perhaps this is
only the beginning. He tuned it out as he drifted of to the endless pit
of haunted nightmares.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(end of part one)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
------------------------------------------------------
============================================================================
The Passage Of Time: Chapter One
============================================================================
The late summer breeze brought in the refreshingly cool and humid air,
signalling the coming of a heavy rainstorm. Makimachi Misao paused in the
middle of drying the newly washed serving trays to take a deep breathe of
the welcoming change in weather since the endlessly hot and dry season.
Omasu wrinkled her brow slightly as she glanced out at the flapping clothes
hung from the sticks of bamboo in the clearing, "Ara, I'll have to bring
laundry in before the rain starts. It seems that the rain will probably last
the entire day and night."
As much as Misao enjoyed rain, the very thought of her beloved Aoshi-sama
coming home in a wet state or staying in the temple overnight did not please
her. "He could catch a bad cold!"
Misao resolved to bring an extra umbrella along with his lunch and
impatiently asked for Aoshi's packed meal, "Omasu-san, where's Aoshi-sama's
bento?"
Omasu did not raise her head from her work of mending clothes, "I placed it
on the table next to the stove in the kitchen."
Misao dashed to the said place and tucked the wooden box containing the warm
food under her arm. She grabbed an available umbrella from the doorway and
announced, "I'm going out to the Jinja (temple)! I'll be back as soon as I
can."
"Misao-chan, chotto matte! The rain..." Omasu hurriedly stood up to stop
Misao but the girl have already left. "Mou, she's still as impatient as a
young child!"
Omasu put her hands on the hips and sighed exasperated. Despite the young
female shinobi's proclaim of being the new okashiira, the traits of Misao's
childhood tantrums still came out pretty occasionally. With a resigned
shrug, Omasu retreated back to the Aoiya. 'She will know how to take care
of herself.'
The quick steps of Misao's straw slippers carried her towards the ancient
temple where Aoshi visited daily without fail. This habit always annoyed
her as the time spent with her Aoshi-sama was extremely rare as compared to
her younger years before the ex-okashiira left with the rest of the
Oniiwabanshuu.
After a short while of non-stop sprinting, a small drizzle began to spread
throughout Kyoto. Misao quickly used the paper umbrella to ward off the rain
as she complained, "I should have bring along an extra umbrella. Now what am
I going to use to block the rain drops when I need to return to Aoiya?" She
silently swore to be more careful next time as she heaved a sigh of relief
when the steps leading to the temple came in sight.
Rhythmic beating of the rain drops can be heard throughout the temple.
Shinomorii Aoshi briefly opened his eyes to the dim lighting of the temple
before shutting them up in silent comtemplatation.
'My life has been as dark as this room. No amount of illumination can fill
it up with light. Perhaps this quietness and loneliness can lend me enough
strength and comfort to last through the rest of my journey in life. Peace
is all I can seek and be contented with.'
Memories before the Kanryu's incident clamoured to his mind in a weak
attempt to remind him of the promise to Battousai. A hopeful expression
of a starry-eyed seventeen year old girl flashed across his mind. Misao.
'It doesn't matter. My way to repent the sins is to let go of the happiness.
However tempting it may seem.'
"Aoshi-sama. Aoshi-sama," An illusion of Misao's voice carried to his eyes.
He ignored the soft calling and continued his seeking of peace when a whiff
of Misao's cherry blossom scent and the incessant tapping of a delicate
finger on his shoulder made him realized that the girl with big ocean blue
eyes were of no image conjured by his mind.
"Misao." Aoshi's hard blue eyes met the deeper blue ones. The younger girl
beamed a cheerful smile and sat in front of him.
"Good afternoon, Aoshi-sama! I have brought your bento along," Misao set out
the packed lunch in a more presentable array. A delicious smell filled the
dull meditating room. "Here, Aoshi-sama!" she handed the bowl of rice and
wooden chopsticks with an exaggerated flourish.
Eying at the different variety of side dishes and appetizers available, the
usually quiet man's left eyebrow raised in an unspoken question.
Misao blushed at the great amount of dishes laid out. "Ano, Shiro-kun and
Kuro-kun have prepared a especially sumptuous meal at lunchtime today, so I
thought you ought to try every little bit of everything. Go on, try it. I am
sure you will like it."
"Itadakimasu," Aoshi took the bowl of rice and chopsticks to take small bite.
the rice is well cooed and seemed to be slightly better than the usual fare.
Misao sat and observed her previous guardian to take a small morsel of every
dish accompanied with a few mouthful of rice. The rice was soon finished and
Aoshi nodded in approval. "They have done a fine job," he monotone.
A gleam lit up the sea blue eyes as Misao clasped her hands together.
"They'll be glad to know you like the meal today." With that, she cleared
the remains of Aoshi's meal without a word.
The unexpected compliment gave the onmitsu onna no ko a brand new hope of her
Aoshi-sama's recovery. Silently, she prayed to the Kami-sama above that he
would return to the person she adored before he left with Haanya-kun dachi.
The silence returned but there is an air of quiet acceptance when Misao drew
up her legs to close her eyes and enjoy the peace offered. Candles flickled
as she watched the ex-okashiira returned to his meditation.
Time slipped by and the ancient bell outside the shrine rang. The signal that
the session had come to an end was enough to see Misao jumped up.
"Ne, Aoshi-sama. Let's go home together." This statement struck a core within
the normally stoic man.
'Home. Am I truly back yet?' The thought of unease in the place he once grew
up was rather ironic in his mind. 'Is Aoiya really my home?'
He was abruptly snapped out of the mental reverie when Misao peered up into
his eyes in concern. "Aoshi-sama, daijoubu desu ka?
"Aa," he replied and stepped forward to slide open the door. Heavy downpour
greeted upon them and a strong gust of wind, was discouraging to any
travellers that night. The door was once again slid shut to block out any
further raindrops blown into the temple.
Misao nervously wrung her small hands. "Aoshi-sama, what are we going to do
now?" The implications of spending a night alone with the one she loves was
exciting as well as unnerving indeed.
However, the person in question turned to seek out one elderly monk and spoke
in low volume. The old man nodded occasionally and glanced her way once or
twice. Obviously the kind-hearted host arranged temporary accommodation when
beckoned both of them to show them a unused room.
Misao watched in great puzzlement as the monk shook out dust from two futons
and bedding. A few more words were exchanged when the old man and Aoshi both
bowed politely before the former took his leave.
Misao finally got a clue when Aoshi spoke softly, "We'll be resting here for
tonight."
A dark flush appeared on her cheeks as she cleared her throat. "Are we
sleeping in the same room together?" A brief nod from Aoshi. She thanked the
heavens for such a rare opportunity.
To further clarify, Misao timidly asked, "Wouldn't it be improper?"
A slight crease of brow on Aoshi's forehead lasted for a moment as he
answered, "We had done it when you were much younger."
A flash of disappointment on Misao's expressive face. Such a reply was not
what Misao expected or hope for. She stammered out, "Demo, I'm no longer a
little girl."
Although Aoshi could sense the real meaning behind the words, he forced out,
"It's still the same."
'Sumanu, Misao. I'm no longer fit to wish for more.'
The devastation gnawing at her very soul was almost unbearable. "So I'm still
a child in your eyes, isn't it? Nothing feminine can be found either
physically and internally, right Aoshi-sama?" she choked out.
A strange pain tearing at his heart, Aoshi ignored the tiny voice screaming
'No!' "There is nothing more to talk about." He turned away, his bangs
covering his eyes.
Misao sucked in a deep breath and clenched her fists. "So you felt nothing
more than responsibility as a guardian?" she asked in an abnormally calm
voice.
Warning signs flash in his mind but he disregarded the mental alert. "Hai."
Misao quickly clamped down her eyelids to stop any tears from spilling out.
"Sou ka," she echoed lifelessly before crouching down to drag the futon apart
from Aoshi's own.
"Oyasumi nasai, Shinomorii-san," Misao's familiar voice held no emotions as
she settled down to sleep at the other side of the room. The formality for a
stranger made him flinched as if a physical blow landed relentlessly on him.
"Oyasumi Misao." Aoshi whispered to himself. He gripped the side of the
quilt tightly and attempt to comfort himself.
'I have finally made it clear to her. No regrets for this if she needs to
lead a normal life without my stain on her life.' No amount of consoling
seemed to work as he stared at the dark shadows.
'I can survive through this. The worst has ended. Nothing more will hurt
either of us.' However, a nagging doubt told Aoshi that perhaps this is
only the beginning. He tuned it out as he drifted of to the endless pit
of haunted nightmares.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(end of part one)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~