Catching hold of you
Hi minna !!
Chapter 4 finally !!! This fic progresses slowly… well I'm a slow writer. By the way… I've got lots of mails and reviews of readers about my stupid bet in the last chapter, telling me that I was wrong and that they liked Yukiko very much… Wow I'm wondering whether I won't have to make that fic be an Aoshi X Yukiko fic if I don't want to get killed by readers ^_^;; … But no !!! This is and will remain an AxM fic !!! GO ON MISAO-CHAN !!! (or so I hope…)
Special thanks to Chris for pointing me my mistakes in part 3… Wow wow my English is a disaster !!
Enough of my stupid and crazy ramblings !! Enjoy and please review ^___^ !!
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Chapter 4 :
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Misao turned over and over, rolled onto her right side, then onto the left, and finally she jerked up out of her blankets, frowning in annoyance. Her bloody mind was not going to give up and let her rest in peace, she thought with a pang of anger. Indeed, no matter how hard she closed her eyes and tried to sleep, her thoughts remained fixed on Aoshi and Yukiko. Especially on Yukiko's sarcastic smirks; those devilish grins twisting her apparently angelic face.
How can a girl look so beautiful and nice and yet reveal such a fiendish facet of herself? I wonder if my mind is playing tricks on me, or if the others have the same feeling about her…
Well obviously Okon felt resentment against Yukiko too but at first sight it didn't pertain to any kind of fear. In Misao's case, it was a deep thrill of anguish and distress every time she had met Yukiko's eyes during the evening. And it still bothered her. The girl was threatening her in some way, and none of them were going to give up. Yet Misao knew she was launching into a fight she was sure to lose.
Sighing, she got up and dragged her feet to the window. December cold air would freeze her burning face for once and then maybe she was at last going to fall asleep. The sharp wind rushed in the room and Misao wrapped her arms tightly around herself to retain the warmth. She moved to sit on the edge of the window, her bare legs lay limply on the wooden frame and she set one of her feet on the tiles of the roof. She closed her eyes; her jaw set; and she just enjoyed the feeling of the glistening moonlight on her face.
A more powerful gust reminded her of the temperature, and she was about to come back in the room when she noticed the yellow pools of light cast by the windows of the first floor on the sparkling snow, gleaming like two large golden eyes in the blue landscape.
They are still up?
It was hours since she had left everyone in the dining room, and she had expected everybody to have left as well. But when she thought about it, she hadn't heard Aoshi coming back in his room yet. So, she thought with annoyance, he still was in the dining room and undoubtedly the girl was there too. Ruffling her hair, Misao shook her head.
Stop thinking like that. After all he is not a child, he can do whatever he want. You don't care. Remember Misao, you-don't-care.
Her hand fell back in her lap, and she sighed. Aoshi had never shown any sign he loved her, he cared for her, or he didn't want her to flirt with anyone, so why should she feel upset about him spending time with the lovely ex-ninja? She shouldn't care. Let him live his life and give up with the whole torment of running after him for only getting pure disillusions. He was waiting for that girl downstairs. Why should she care? All she wanted, all she had worked hard for, was his happiness. She wanted him to forgive himself, to find his way of life releasing his guilt and sorrow.
So why do I feel so sad, thinking he could be happy with Yukiko?
Because you wanted to be happy too, and happy with him, her mind muttered. Misao's shoulders slouched. What if she couldn't be happy with him? Did he really love that girl in the past? Does he still love her? Did he care more for a girl who left him years ago than for another who had patiently watched over him during the years?
Her musings were interrupted by an almost inaudible noise coming from downstairs. Instantaneously Misao flattened on the roof, merging into the shadows to watch what was going to happen, whatever the noise came from. It was an old ninja habit, and Misao thanked the gods she had kept training everyday; she had been fast enough to hide herself and to observe, remaining unseen. Lying on the tiles, she crawled towards the edge of the roof, making sure not to let the tiles creak when she moved.
The open door closed, and a thin silhouette was outlined in the blue-black night, facing the stars alone, it treaded upon the snow. It was pretty dark but the long glossy hair falling on the back of the figure allowed no doubt about her name. Misao's eyes widened as she stared at the girl standing in the cold wind. Yukiko's eyes were closed, as if she invited the sharp air to take her away, her shoulders slightly stooped as if discouraged, and a sad smile played on her face, so different from the defiant one she was wearing during the dinner. Misao's astonishment reached its peak. Could it be possible that this girl was only wearing a mask, playing a role? Could her apparently self-confident and blustered self only be a façade? The girl Misao saw in front of her looked like a broken one. She looked deeply distressed and lost. Was Yukiko like this when she thought no one was around watching her?
But almost immediately the door opened again, cutting Misao's questions short, as another person came out. The girl hidden on the roof tried to get smaller and smaller so as not to be located, as she recognized the long beige trench coat that the man was carrying under his arm. Misao glanced at the girl standing in the snow, and wondered whether she had dreamed or not as the girl was smirking provocatively again. Had she imagined the whole thing? Aoshi and Yukiko were facing each other, obviously not noticing someone was spying.
What on earth am I doing?! I am spying Aoshi-sama while he is with this… this woman!!
Yet Misao couldn't move; firstly because she would be spotted easily by the two skilled ninjas and would find herself in a very embarrassing situation, secondary because jealousy didn't allow her to miss a single bit of the scene. Her eyes narrowed when, as her sight got accustomed to the darkness, she saw Yukiko's features soften when she noticed the intruder was Aoshi. The girl opened her mouth and spoke, but even Misao, with her sharp ninja senses, was to far away to hear as the wind rushed in the wrong direction.
Kuso!! I can't hear a thing from where I am!!
And she couldn't even think of moving closer from the two; both of them were well-trained ninjas, and she wouldn't risk getting stabbed and sliced by Aoshi's kodachis. Fuming with rage inwardly, Misao clenched her fists and watched Aoshi and Yukiko exchange a few words, and then leave the Aoiya; out of sight.
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From the corner of his eye, Aoshi saw Yukiko mutter a word of apology to a very drunk Okina who didn't even notice and kept babbling happily. The girl nodded absent-mindedly and got up with a forced smile. Inwardly Aoshi had to admire her patience, as she had kept the old ninja company throughout the whole evening, never getting angry or annoyed with his jokes and crises of hilarity, unlike Misao who would have killed the old perverted man at least three times. Misao… Why was he suddenly thinking of her? He had been oddly saddened by the tension he had felt between the two girls. Of course he knew that it was illusory to imagine those two could be friends; there was too much resentment from every angle, he knew that. But if they declared war, he was not sure he would be able to choose his side. Aoshi shook his head slightly.
Don't be stupid, Shinomori. Why on earth should you choose a side?
But he saw Yukiko threading her way outside without anyone noticing but himself. Sighing slightly, he got up this time, leaving Okina alone - but the drunk old man didn't realize that he was on his own. Aoshi grabbed his trench coat, and opened the door, following Yukiko outside. She had to be mad or really upset to go for a walk at such an hour without a coat.
As soon as he was outside, he spotted the young woman easily, as she was standing a few steps away in the garden covered with snow. She had to have heard his treading through the snow, since she did an about-turn, glaring at anyone who had disturbed her. Keeping his distances, he merely blinked as she stared at him. With a kind of relief, he saw her face relax, but he felt in her ki that she was working hard to regain her composure.
"Hai?" she asked in a soft voice.
"You shouldn't stay outside, it's very cold tonight."
"I don't mind. I'm not cold."
Aoshi felt, at his own stupefaction, ill at ease with what he wanted to ask. He took a deep breath, and spoke.
"Do you want to have a talk?"
The young woman nodded.
"Let's talk a while, but not here. I can't help feeling trapped in that house," she confessed.
Aoshi nodded as well, and both of them began to walk in silence. At first, they seemed to enjoy the peace of the calm night, but soon the silence became uncomfortable. They were just walking, side by side, neither of them daring to breath a word. Finally, they reached the edge of the forest, and with a tacit agreement they stopped there. As the silence was really heavy, Aoshi decided it was about time to break it.
"You didn't change, Yuki. You've drunk even more than Okina and yet you're sober."
"You're still using that stupid nickname, Aoshi", she said with a tone of false reprimand, but deep down it was obvious that she quite liked him calling her with her childhood name.
"As you've always been calling me Aoshi, and never Aoshi-sama."
"Should I? I'm sorry but I can't. To me you'll stay Aoshi, that's all!" she retorted rather happily.
"It's better that way," he answered with an even voice.
Yukiko let herself fall her back on a tree, and she glanced at Aoshi, who stood stoically by her side. Diverting her gaze, she sighed and spoke softly, her voice filled with nostalgia.
"I don't know whether I changed or not, but you did, Aoshi."
"I know." His tone was low, as if his voice had to struggle to at least come out. Yukiko's eyes saddened.
"Where are Hannya and the others? I'd be glad to see them."
Aoshi sighed and didn't answer. But he leaned against the tree trunk, his gaze fixed on an especially shining star, far away from Yukiko. Of course, he had expected that question to come, but he really didn't want to answer. The rip in his heart still hurt. An uneasy silence began to spread, and Yukiko bowed her head, wrapping her arms tightly around her knees.
"They're dead."
Aoshi's sharp voice resounded in the silence. Yukiko nodded absently to acknowledge the bad news, but didn't add anything, as she understood that their death had been very hard to accept for Aoshi. She wanted to know, but she restrained her request. Tears filled her eyes when she thought of them: Hannya was her friend, after all. She had had very few friends in her whole life, she could have counted them on her fingers, but Hannya was one of them. And now he was dead, and she had not even known.
"Why didn't you come back to the Aoiya earlier?" This time Aoshi's voice was soft, soothing, as if he wanted to make up for his harshness a moment earlier. Yukiko answered, but her tone was tired, betraying a deeply buried resentment.
"I was proud, Aoshi. I didn't want to be the one who would give in first. And…" Her voice shook a little. "And I didn't have any reason to come back. I didn't want to see you again, Aoshi."
Aoshi nodded.
"I know."
"So why do you ask?"
Aoshi looked surprised, then regain his composure. He diverted his gaze, not answering.
"Are you married?" the young woman asked casually.
"No. Are you?"
"No of course not. I couldn't marry anyone if he not the man I loved."
Another uncomfortable silence started to spread, but Yukiko spoke again.
"Do you remember what I told you the night when I left?"
"Yuki, I don't want to speak about that." Aoshi's voice was harsh and cold, threateningly cold. Yukiko's shoulders dropped.
"It's okay, I understand." Her own voice sounded irritated but weak too. How much she hated herself for sounding so weak…
Aoshi stretched out his hand, inviting her to get up. She grabbed it, letting him support her weight as she jumped on her feet and quickly wiped the dust from her skirt.
"Let's go back home." Aoshi merely said, and started walking quietly towards the Aoiya. Yukiko nodded and followed him, her eyes both sad and defiant.
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Misao's eyes flitted as she woke up, finding herself lying on the ground and rolled up in a sheet that she had obviously grabbed in her slumber. Groaning, she rubbed her temples and tried to reconstruct what could possibly have happened. Let's see… she had gone to bed, couldn't sleep, and then… and then she had caught Aoshi and Yukiko talking in the garden… and she had tried to wait for them to come back… but she had presumably fallen asleep.
Gathering both her thoughts and strength, Misao got up and stretched her limbs that ached from sleeping on the floor. She yawned while catching her ninja outfit, she slipped into it, bandaging her breasts tightly to hide them, and tied her bow so that it held her shirt close and tight on her muscular body. Humming softly, she picked up the blanket on the floor, folded it and the futon as well. Before leaving her chamber for the day, she carefully slid her kunai in the sheaths she wore tied up around her thighs, hidden by her shorts, and she smiled when she hid the last one in her sash. Greeting the sun dancing on her face, she was ready to confront the new day.
Misao was walking in the corridor when the row of a loud discussion hit her ears. Frowning in concern, she edged her way to the door the noise was coming from… which meant… Okina's office ? Her eyes darkened. Okina usually didn't receive any visitor this soon, unless it was really urgent. Anyway, the Oniwabanshuu members wouldn't recklessly disturb him without a good reason; behind his cheerful-grandfather's face, he was hiding one of the most terrible ninjas of the whole Oniwabanshuu. But obviously at this moment the discussion was dead serious. Okina's low voice rang as Misao stuck her ear against the shoji.
"Yukiko, it's okay. Don't bother with telling lies to everyone, Aoshi-san explained me everything."
So he is with Yukiko… Lies? Let's see… It may be interesting…
The woman inside seemed to start and remained speechless, taken off-guard. After a short silence, she breathed with an almost inaudible voice, "Aoshi… told you?"
Misao could faintly hear Okina nodding.
"You can stay here as long as necessary. Yakuzas have not to be regarded rashly, they're more powerful than you seem to believe. As long as you'll stay in the Aoiya, the Oniwabanshuu will protect you."
"I don't need your protection! I'm far strong enough to take care of myself! Stop talking as if you were my guardian, Okina!" Yukiko roughly retorted, anger raising in her voice.
Okina sighed and sat, trying to calm down the fierce woman in front of him, although he know it was useless.
"Yukiko, I am not your guardian, but I do care about you. I feel great affection for you, and I respected your father a lot."
"Don't… Don't speak about that man… That man is not my father!" Yukiko's tone raised and failed, remaining only a broken whisper.
Is she… crying?
"I hate him, you know?! I don't even want to think of that bastard ! If he was still alive… I would be the one who would kill him, with my own hands." Oh no, she was not crying, and her voice burned with long buried hate and anger.
How can she hate her father so much?
The shoji bursted open, and a Yukiko disfigured with anger and hatred rushed out of Okina's office. Misao only got enough time to jump away from the shoji she was listening against and regain her composure before the angry woman turned around and discovered her. Yukiko's eyes widened and she glared at Misao, her bottom lip shaking despite her efforts to look calm and quiet.
"Were you… Were you listening?"
Misao gritted her teeth and faced the furious girl, staring straight in her eyes.
"Of course not. I was just walking in the corridor, but you were making such an exhibition…" She hoped her lie was sounding truthful. Yukiko's look flashed and Misao was certain that if Okina wasn't there, the woman in front of her would have slapped her. Trembling with rage, Yukiko breathed in deeply to smothe her anger and looked daggers at the younger girl. As she spoke, her voice had found her low and soft tone again.
"Would you mind if I brought his tea to Aoshi for once?"
Misao's jaw nearly fell to the floor, and she starred at the older as if she didn't understand. Yukiko's defiant eyes probed hers with piercing accuracy, and Misao could have sworn she had seen a slight smile dancing on her lips. But the woman went on, sounding annoyed.
"His tea… Can I bring it today? There's something I must tell him, so I can bring his tea in the meanwhile."
Misao nodded although her fist clenched until the knuckles turned white.
"It's okay." She returned her defiant stare to Yukiko. She had to be a good loser this time, but she promised to herself that she wouldn't give in tomorrow. No matter who was this Yukiko and whatever her relationship with Aoshi could have been in the past, the tea ceremony was a privileged moment that only Misao herself had a right to share with Aoshi.
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Breathing in and bracing herself, Misao threw two knives at the target hanged on the wall, then knowing that they would hit their aim, she jumped lithely backwards and punched the void, miming a fight. She was moving faster and faster, reaching the extreme limit between balance and imbalance, each time about to fall and yet linking with another swift motion. Misao was aware she could handle such speed for a long time, and would uselessly waste her energy, but in the evening when the day had been such hell, she liked feeling empty and totally worn-out. Like this, she would be too exhausted to feel the threatening aura of the young woman who had moved in the Aoiya and to even notice the sympathetic looks that Okon and Omasu casted at her.
Panting heavily, her heart pounding furiously for having tossed so much blood, she stopped her kata and sighed with contentment as she started gathering her kunai scattered everywhere in the training hall. She felt oddly at ease, fiding peace in fighting. Leaning against the wall, Misao grabbed a flask she had taken with her, full of cold water, and drank big gulps.
The door of the training hall grated, and Misao choked on her water as she recognized the familiar aura surrounding the presence. What was he doing here ? She knew that fighting ki very well ; but today it seemed more… agressive, less inhibited. Regaining her composure, Misao straighted her back and waited for him to come in.
Light steps resounded on the threshold. A figure appeared in the doorframe. But… it was not Aoshi. Instead of him stood Yukiko's slender silhouette, her fighting ki radiating all over the room. Misao's eyes widened.
Aoshi and she… have the same fighting ki ?!
The young woman stepped in, searching the hall with her eyes.
"Oh, you're here Misao-chan?"
Misao grinded her teeth in annoyance and blurted out, "Stop calling me 'Misao-chan'."
Yukiko's eyes sparkled mischievously, almost nastyly.
"I'll stop when you're worthy of it, Misao-chan."
Misao frowned, anger raising through her whole body, rushing in her veins like a lethal venom, but she said nothing. Yukiko glanced at her, then closed her eyes, bracing herself.
"I had come to train, but I thought no one would be there at such an hour."
Misao stared at the woman: she was wearing the same outfit as earlier, but a short sword hung on her back, its sheath was tied with a piece of dark red ribbon across her chest. A small smile found its way on Yukiko's lips, as she raised her hand above her head to grab the hilt of her sword and unsheath it in a metallic ring, the blade gleaming in the twilight and reflecting the diabolical glow in its owner's eyes.
"So what about a fight?", Yukiko asked in a low, fierce voice.
A chill of dread ran along Misao's nape and her eyes remained fixed on Yukiko's weapon, staring at the sharp blade in disbelief as she felt sweat forming on her forehead, knowing too well that kind of sword…
K-Kodachi?!
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To be continued…
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Author's notes : Well the plot progresses slowly… but at this rate, this is going to be a long fic… I thought it wouldn't exceed 5 chapters but it will at least take 10, it seems… Hey I know, some passages are not really interesting and I should take them out…. Well I'll finish the story first and then maybe I'll go over again and make a "refined version". Anyway, I hope this is not too boring !!
But next chapter is going to be very interesting… Everything moves faster !!! Yukiko vs Misao's fight !!! Blood everywhere (no, actually there's no blood everywhere but hey… you'll see that ;-) ) And lots of other things…
Reviews are very very welcome ^_^ !! Thanks to all readers and reviewers !!
