Neko_no_miko presents ~ A Rurouni Kenshin Fan fiction
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The Passage Of Time: Chapter Three
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"Thwack!" A kunai fell short of the bull's eye and ended up stuck at the
rough bark of an ancient tree. Misao muttered a curse and dragged herself to
retrieve the weapon. She slumped down under the shade of the huge greenery
and shut her eyes to the glare of the morning sun. Sweat resulted from a
long period of training trickled down her neck and back but no attempts were
made to wipe away the rolling beads.
'My techniques as a shinobi were less than spectacular,' Misao reflected.
'Had my real grandfather knew how weak our group has become, he would have
been ashamed of the present state. Not my fault that I've not been getting
anymore training since Aoshi-sama left us,' she gave a dry laugh.
Although Kyoto might have looked peaceful and calm on the surface at the
present, Misao knew the fact that a little disturbance could topple the
tentative balance it managed to maintain so far.
'How can I protect Kyoto when my skills as a ninja and a leader cannot even
be compared to an ordinary ninja before the Meiji time.'
Asking Aoshi would teach her was definitely out of question. His vow to
stop involving in the Oniiwabanshuu's affairs put any excuses of hoping he
would agree to such request to rest. Okina was not suitable either. Although
he was once the most influential man in the group, he was no longer sharp
enough due to lack of practice in terms of both fighting or strategic
planning.
'I guess the only option left was to search for a highly skilled person in
battle and strategy to be my mentor. I'll probably have to make a trip to
hunt for such a person.' Misao stood up and mentally resolved to set off
within these few days. She stretched lazily to relieve her stiff muscles and
she ran towards the direction of Aoiya with great determination.
Misao paused in a mid step as she passed by the shrine where Aoshi always
visited. A tiny frown marred her smooth brow as she considered informing the
ex-okashiira about her decision. It has been quite a few days since she
started avoiding him.
'No. Shinomorii-san need not know my quest at all,' Misao decided. 'He told
me personally to stop sticking my nose into his business, so I'll give him
all the peace and quiet he bargained for. Besides, it's time for me to stop
clinging onto him like a lovesick fool!'
Misao's fists clenched tightly as she continued her way to the restaurant so
as to announce her decision to prepare for a little trip.
(Two days later, Kyoto's Jinja)
Shinomorii Aoshi shifted slightly after a long time of meditation. The
cooling breeze brought a slight chill to the atmosphere. However, he hardly
felt much cold despite a thin yukata worn.
'The body will not understand what is cold if the mind does not register the
thought.'
Footsteps approached the dark room from the corridor outside. Aoshi paused
in the middle of meditation for a shortest moment as his entire body tensed
unknowingly in anticipation.
The door slid open to reveal Omasu bringing his afternoon meal. A crushing
disappointment nearly undo his surface calm. The unwanted disturbance were
shoved to a corner of his mind as he shut his eyes again in a weak attempt
to meditate.
The almost unnoticeable emotion were seen by Omasu's sharp eyes as she bowed
and slid the door shut behind her. "Aoshi-sama."
Only a slight raise of his raven eyebrows gave any indication of him being
aware of Omasu's presence. She gently placed the bowl of rice with vegetable
and meat piled on top on the floor. A bowl of soup joined its companion as
well. After setting up the food, Omasu sat back in a corner in silence.
The difference in the way Misao and other members of the Oniiwabanshuu
treated Aoshi made a small impact on him. Ever since he was made the
okashiira, all of them with the exception of Misao, had always shown distant
respect to their young leader. All the members of Oniiwabanshuu shown
excessive politeness and yet wary of his every thought, always made him felt
rather uncomfortable and not at ease. Misao did not often bother with the
formal code of showing respect to Aoshi since she was young, but everyone
did not seem to mind such behaviour from the overly energetic girl the
slightest bit.
The comparison between Misao and other members of the group reminded him of
their last encounter. Even though Aoshi was mentally prepared for any
vengeful or cold acts by Misao, he was unprepared for the total absence of
the girl for so many days. The depressing thought made him lost all
appetite.
Aoshi took a tiny sip of the soup and was hardly able to make out any mild
taste of miso and seaweed. He grimaced and pushed the tray of food away.
'Even though the dishes were the same, the person to bring the meal was no
longer here' he thought bitterly.
Omasu frowned at the untouched meal. "Aoshi-sama, is the food to your
displeasure? Misao instructed the kitchen to prepare the menu specially for
you."
The icy anger sprung up in his eyes at the mentioning of Misao's name made
Omasu shrunk back in fear. "Sumimasen, Aoshi-sama. I'll tell Shiro and Kuro
to do a better job tommorow."
The reaction of Omasu managed to still the unexplainable irritation in his
heart. "No. The meal is fine. I'm just not hungry."
Omasu sighed in relief. The frustration in his voice caused Omasu to pause
in the middle of collecting the utensils. It was obvious that Aoshi was more
concerned about the girl who usually brought him his food and tea.
"Misao-chan will be away for quite sometime," Omasu spoke to no one in
particular.
The growing curiosity and worry gnawed at Aoshi after he heard the news.
"Where is she." Aoshi tried to act unconcerned.
"Who?" Omasu pretended not to understand the question.
"Misao. Where is she?" Aoshi's patience ran thin when no further words came
from Omasu.
Omasu covered her sly grin as she replied, "Oh, she just something about
training and improving on her ninja skills." With another polite bow, Omasu
took her leave. Once again, the room sunk into eerie silence as Aoshi
thought over why Misao left without telling him. After all, Aoshi had always
been the one to look after Misao's training and education since she was a
toddler.
The implication that Misao wishing to learn from someone else rather than
Aoshi himself was troubling, to say the least.
'So, she has given up on me finally," Aoshi thought. The news brought no
comfort to him. The idea of Misao wanting to cut off all chances of contact
from him was extreme and the reason behind such acts was suffocating him.
The possibility of Misao no longer in any part of his life gave him a
glimpse of hopelessly bleak and lonely future. The much needed solitude he
wished for was not sufficient to ease the painful twinges of his heart.
The pressure of Aoshi trying to handle these unfamiliar feelings soon faded
into a welcoming pit of black oblivion.
(Memory flashback, ten years ago)
A six year old girl watched in fear as many of their men were brought into
to Aoiya seriously wounded. A familiar figure emerged from the endless
stream of people as she threw herself at the unaware man.
"Where's Aoshi-sama and Haanya-kun?" Misao finally asked after catching her
breath.
A slight crease of worry on Okina's forehead was quickly disguised as a
feigned pout. Okina pretended to be hurt and protested weakly, "I came to
greet you and all I get is a 'where is Aoshi-sama and Haanya-kun'?"
The weird expression was not lost by an observant Misao. She played along
with Okina though and pretended to consider Okina's words, "Yup!"
Okina's looked crushed as he begun to sob, "After all that I've done for you,
you only cared about your Aoshi-sama?"
Misao was alarmed at Okina's reaction. She hurriedly patted his back as she
comforted the old man. "I'm just kidding. Please don't cry Jiiya."
A strange light entered Okina's eyes as he turned around to hug the child
entrusted by the late okashiira. "Thank you, Misao!"
Misao escaped narrowly from his bear hug as she called out to Okina,
"I'm going to see Aoshi-sama, ja!"
"Misao! Wait!" Okina tried to intercept the little girl but she was far too
quick.
Okina managed to catch up with Misao but was too late to block the view of
heavily bandaged Aoshi.
Aoshi opened his eyes and Misao noticed his normally icy blue orbs fogged
grey with pain. Her chest felt tight as she held back tears of fear at her
beloved Aoshi-sama's condition. She pasted a fake cheerful demeanour and
entered the room. Aoshi dismissed Okina with a wave of his hand and turned
to Misao.
"Aoshi-sama."
"Misao-chan," Aoshi tried to sit up.
Misao quickly shook her dark head as she pushed him back onto the futon. Her
tiny hands felt Aoshi's forehead and quickly withdrew at the burning touch.
"Aoshi-sama! You're burning up!" Misao gasped as she took a clean cloth
spotted nearby and soaked it in a basin of cold water. She squeezed out the
excess water and place the cold compress onto Aoshi's forehead.
The caring look on Misao's face touched him. Had Misao been a young woman,
Aoshi would have assumed that she was taking care of her loved one or her
husband. The thought was banished as plain silliness as he stared blankly at
the moving shadows of his bedroom.
The cold took away a little heat. Aoshi closed his eyes in relief as his
body felt slightly better. Misao took great care to avoid the wounds on his
body as she rested her little head on his chest.
"Aoshi-sama?" Misao suddenly broke the silence.
"Nanda?"
"Do you know I have a dream yesterday night about a wedding?"
"Aa?"
This prompted the girl to continue, "The groom wore a nice black tuxedo and
the bride was in a prettiest white gown that I've shown you on a picture
last month. They were in a western kind of ceremony and there are flowers
everywhere. Guess who was the bride and groom?"
"Who?"
Misao's face took on the softest and mysterious smile. "Us."
(end of flashback)
"Misao."
Aoshi tossed and turned restlessly as he chanted Misao's name again and
again. An elderly monk wiped the sweat on Aoshi's forehead with a clean rag.
"The young man seemed disturbed. Put him on a futon to rest." The reverend
instructed the younger monks to move Aoshi to a more comfortable place on
the futon.
After Aoshi had been moved to the softer mattress, the candles were blown
off. The meditation room sunk into darkness once more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(end of part three)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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============================================================================
The Passage Of Time: Chapter Three
============================================================================
"Thwack!" A kunai fell short of the bull's eye and ended up stuck at the
rough bark of an ancient tree. Misao muttered a curse and dragged herself to
retrieve the weapon. She slumped down under the shade of the huge greenery
and shut her eyes to the glare of the morning sun. Sweat resulted from a
long period of training trickled down her neck and back but no attempts were
made to wipe away the rolling beads.
'My techniques as a shinobi were less than spectacular,' Misao reflected.
'Had my real grandfather knew how weak our group has become, he would have
been ashamed of the present state. Not my fault that I've not been getting
anymore training since Aoshi-sama left us,' she gave a dry laugh.
Although Kyoto might have looked peaceful and calm on the surface at the
present, Misao knew the fact that a little disturbance could topple the
tentative balance it managed to maintain so far.
'How can I protect Kyoto when my skills as a ninja and a leader cannot even
be compared to an ordinary ninja before the Meiji time.'
Asking Aoshi would teach her was definitely out of question. His vow to
stop involving in the Oniiwabanshuu's affairs put any excuses of hoping he
would agree to such request to rest. Okina was not suitable either. Although
he was once the most influential man in the group, he was no longer sharp
enough due to lack of practice in terms of both fighting or strategic
planning.
'I guess the only option left was to search for a highly skilled person in
battle and strategy to be my mentor. I'll probably have to make a trip to
hunt for such a person.' Misao stood up and mentally resolved to set off
within these few days. She stretched lazily to relieve her stiff muscles and
she ran towards the direction of Aoiya with great determination.
Misao paused in a mid step as she passed by the shrine where Aoshi always
visited. A tiny frown marred her smooth brow as she considered informing the
ex-okashiira about her decision. It has been quite a few days since she
started avoiding him.
'No. Shinomorii-san need not know my quest at all,' Misao decided. 'He told
me personally to stop sticking my nose into his business, so I'll give him
all the peace and quiet he bargained for. Besides, it's time for me to stop
clinging onto him like a lovesick fool!'
Misao's fists clenched tightly as she continued her way to the restaurant so
as to announce her decision to prepare for a little trip.
(Two days later, Kyoto's Jinja)
Shinomorii Aoshi shifted slightly after a long time of meditation. The
cooling breeze brought a slight chill to the atmosphere. However, he hardly
felt much cold despite a thin yukata worn.
'The body will not understand what is cold if the mind does not register the
thought.'
Footsteps approached the dark room from the corridor outside. Aoshi paused
in the middle of meditation for a shortest moment as his entire body tensed
unknowingly in anticipation.
The door slid open to reveal Omasu bringing his afternoon meal. A crushing
disappointment nearly undo his surface calm. The unwanted disturbance were
shoved to a corner of his mind as he shut his eyes again in a weak attempt
to meditate.
The almost unnoticeable emotion were seen by Omasu's sharp eyes as she bowed
and slid the door shut behind her. "Aoshi-sama."
Only a slight raise of his raven eyebrows gave any indication of him being
aware of Omasu's presence. She gently placed the bowl of rice with vegetable
and meat piled on top on the floor. A bowl of soup joined its companion as
well. After setting up the food, Omasu sat back in a corner in silence.
The difference in the way Misao and other members of the Oniiwabanshuu
treated Aoshi made a small impact on him. Ever since he was made the
okashiira, all of them with the exception of Misao, had always shown distant
respect to their young leader. All the members of Oniiwabanshuu shown
excessive politeness and yet wary of his every thought, always made him felt
rather uncomfortable and not at ease. Misao did not often bother with the
formal code of showing respect to Aoshi since she was young, but everyone
did not seem to mind such behaviour from the overly energetic girl the
slightest bit.
The comparison between Misao and other members of the group reminded him of
their last encounter. Even though Aoshi was mentally prepared for any
vengeful or cold acts by Misao, he was unprepared for the total absence of
the girl for so many days. The depressing thought made him lost all
appetite.
Aoshi took a tiny sip of the soup and was hardly able to make out any mild
taste of miso and seaweed. He grimaced and pushed the tray of food away.
'Even though the dishes were the same, the person to bring the meal was no
longer here' he thought bitterly.
Omasu frowned at the untouched meal. "Aoshi-sama, is the food to your
displeasure? Misao instructed the kitchen to prepare the menu specially for
you."
The icy anger sprung up in his eyes at the mentioning of Misao's name made
Omasu shrunk back in fear. "Sumimasen, Aoshi-sama. I'll tell Shiro and Kuro
to do a better job tommorow."
The reaction of Omasu managed to still the unexplainable irritation in his
heart. "No. The meal is fine. I'm just not hungry."
Omasu sighed in relief. The frustration in his voice caused Omasu to pause
in the middle of collecting the utensils. It was obvious that Aoshi was more
concerned about the girl who usually brought him his food and tea.
"Misao-chan will be away for quite sometime," Omasu spoke to no one in
particular.
The growing curiosity and worry gnawed at Aoshi after he heard the news.
"Where is she." Aoshi tried to act unconcerned.
"Who?" Omasu pretended not to understand the question.
"Misao. Where is she?" Aoshi's patience ran thin when no further words came
from Omasu.
Omasu covered her sly grin as she replied, "Oh, she just something about
training and improving on her ninja skills." With another polite bow, Omasu
took her leave. Once again, the room sunk into eerie silence as Aoshi
thought over why Misao left without telling him. After all, Aoshi had always
been the one to look after Misao's training and education since she was a
toddler.
The implication that Misao wishing to learn from someone else rather than
Aoshi himself was troubling, to say the least.
'So, she has given up on me finally," Aoshi thought. The news brought no
comfort to him. The idea of Misao wanting to cut off all chances of contact
from him was extreme and the reason behind such acts was suffocating him.
The possibility of Misao no longer in any part of his life gave him a
glimpse of hopelessly bleak and lonely future. The much needed solitude he
wished for was not sufficient to ease the painful twinges of his heart.
The pressure of Aoshi trying to handle these unfamiliar feelings soon faded
into a welcoming pit of black oblivion.
(Memory flashback, ten years ago)
A six year old girl watched in fear as many of their men were brought into
to Aoiya seriously wounded. A familiar figure emerged from the endless
stream of people as she threw herself at the unaware man.
"Where's Aoshi-sama and Haanya-kun?" Misao finally asked after catching her
breath.
A slight crease of worry on Okina's forehead was quickly disguised as a
feigned pout. Okina pretended to be hurt and protested weakly, "I came to
greet you and all I get is a 'where is Aoshi-sama and Haanya-kun'?"
The weird expression was not lost by an observant Misao. She played along
with Okina though and pretended to consider Okina's words, "Yup!"
Okina's looked crushed as he begun to sob, "After all that I've done for you,
you only cared about your Aoshi-sama?"
Misao was alarmed at Okina's reaction. She hurriedly patted his back as she
comforted the old man. "I'm just kidding. Please don't cry Jiiya."
A strange light entered Okina's eyes as he turned around to hug the child
entrusted by the late okashiira. "Thank you, Misao!"
Misao escaped narrowly from his bear hug as she called out to Okina,
"I'm going to see Aoshi-sama, ja!"
"Misao! Wait!" Okina tried to intercept the little girl but she was far too
quick.
Okina managed to catch up with Misao but was too late to block the view of
heavily bandaged Aoshi.
Aoshi opened his eyes and Misao noticed his normally icy blue orbs fogged
grey with pain. Her chest felt tight as she held back tears of fear at her
beloved Aoshi-sama's condition. She pasted a fake cheerful demeanour and
entered the room. Aoshi dismissed Okina with a wave of his hand and turned
to Misao.
"Aoshi-sama."
"Misao-chan," Aoshi tried to sit up.
Misao quickly shook her dark head as she pushed him back onto the futon. Her
tiny hands felt Aoshi's forehead and quickly withdrew at the burning touch.
"Aoshi-sama! You're burning up!" Misao gasped as she took a clean cloth
spotted nearby and soaked it in a basin of cold water. She squeezed out the
excess water and place the cold compress onto Aoshi's forehead.
The caring look on Misao's face touched him. Had Misao been a young woman,
Aoshi would have assumed that she was taking care of her loved one or her
husband. The thought was banished as plain silliness as he stared blankly at
the moving shadows of his bedroom.
The cold took away a little heat. Aoshi closed his eyes in relief as his
body felt slightly better. Misao took great care to avoid the wounds on his
body as she rested her little head on his chest.
"Aoshi-sama?" Misao suddenly broke the silence.
"Nanda?"
"Do you know I have a dream yesterday night about a wedding?"
"Aa?"
This prompted the girl to continue, "The groom wore a nice black tuxedo and
the bride was in a prettiest white gown that I've shown you on a picture
last month. They were in a western kind of ceremony and there are flowers
everywhere. Guess who was the bride and groom?"
"Who?"
Misao's face took on the softest and mysterious smile. "Us."
(end of flashback)
"Misao."
Aoshi tossed and turned restlessly as he chanted Misao's name again and
again. An elderly monk wiped the sweat on Aoshi's forehead with a clean rag.
"The young man seemed disturbed. Put him on a futon to rest." The reverend
instructed the younger monks to move Aoshi to a more comfortable place on
the futon.
After Aoshi had been moved to the softer mattress, the candles were blown
off. The meditation room sunk into darkness once more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(end of part three)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~