Ah! My Sempai 3

AN: Kumite means sparring.  I obtained information from The Shotokan Karate Association Official Grading Syllabus (c) 1994 Shotokan Karate Association.   

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"W-What?!" She shrieked and backed away from him as if he was a dangerous virus.  This was NOT what she had expected to pop up during this nice conversation.  For heaven's sake they barely knew one another back then and had only recently re-spotted each other a few hours ago after many years.  Why did Aoshi suddenly bring up the subject of challenging her during their reminiscence of the past? Wasn't it obvious who would result as the winner if these two fought? Makoto's chest began to burn like a bonfire while she stared up into the pools of ice blue that watched above her head.  She wasn't sure whether to feel insulted or to laugh from how stupid the question sounded.  Right now she was pretty much…stoned. 

Makoto slowed her hasty exhalation and said more calmly, "Not to sound impolite but are you mad?" Aoshi leaned against a tree trunk, crossed his arms over his chest and averted his cold face away to stare towards the sky rather than her.  What was this gesture supposed to mean? Did she make him angry? It was a simple question, wasn't it? Surely it wasn't hard to answer.  Unless the silence meant he was offended, that is.  Maybe that was why he didn't want to reply to Makoto – because he was mad.  Nice one Mako-chan you just got the guy angry she cursed to herself.  This friendly conversation on her family and the Oniwabanshu seemed to be deteriorating to a nastier level by the looks of things. "Hey, listen uh," She scratched her head nervously, thinking of an alternative comment that would get him to look at her again.

"Don't you want to fight me?" Aoshi asked abruptly then cast his eyes back to the curious emerald orbs continuously staring at him in awe.   

"Hey listen I wouldn't mind…" She began.

"So why do you refuse?" He demanded, not letting her finish her sentence.  His intonation sounded a little impatient.  It was giving her goosebumps down her spine but she was able to give him a proper response afterwards. 

"OK for one, I just got better from a previous fight, thanks to you, and two I'm not even in my Karate gi." Makoto swayed her arms to show off her kimono.  "Besides I'm not THAT strong like you.  I'm only a..." Her voice trailed off when she saw the Oniwabanshu Okashira raise his eyebrows.  Somehow the cold exterior showing around his face gave her the impression that this guy didn't seem to believe her and the scowl around his lips showed he didn't like the last word she stated.     

Her excuse to not fight him wasn't due to the fact she was a frightened coward.  The truth was, she had seen Aoshi in action a few times.  Back when he had just been chosen to lead the Oniwabanshu, Makoto had seen with her childish gaze just how skilled and powerful he was for a young adolescent.  Of course she watched him briefly back in the early hour of the day when he had miraculously found her helpless in the forest while she was fighting some Samurai.  Even though her eyes weren't freshly open, she could tell he hadn't lost his touch after all these years.  He was still as skilled as ever.  Her refusal was down to common sense and generally it was best to avoid as many fights as possible.  Her mother and father had constantly reminded her of that since she began training as a Karateka.  Only fight to protect.  It saved you getting injured far more often. 

"I don't think you're weak," Aoshi commented as he stood underneath the long branches dangling from the tree he was leaning against.  It almost made him appear like a ghost hiding in the shadows though Makoto was still able to see his loose strands of ebony cover his eyes.  She had a hunch her eyeballs were going to bulge out of her face completely if she kept her flabbergasted façade up for a longer time.  Did he just compliment her? Surely it wasn't because he had respected her father as part of the Oniwabanshu disciplinary code – that's if there was such a thing.  Was it simply because of her father? Aoshi moved his back off the tree trunk then re-approached Makoto closely.  A small wheeze came from her lips when his hand touched her left shoulder albeit gently, as the gash to this area remained deep and open; despite the scar that had begun to form bit by bit.

"Uh…" She could only think of saying.  Her eyes didn't know whether to stare into those mysterious cerulean irises of his or at the strong hand that rested on her shoulder. 

"I've seen you fight with my own eyes," He admitted.  Huh? She thought.  Aoshi was saying the exact same thing as her mind had during the past hour.  How spooky.  "I watched you train with your father one night and when he told me that you would grow up to be a true fighter, I knew he meant it." I didn't know Aoshi watched me and Father training! Makoto thought shockingly.  Aoshi then added, "In this present year, you could have easily become a member of the Oniwabanshu.  They would welcome you straightaway…but that's only…."

Without noticing for himself, his hand suddenly pressed down harder on her shoulder as though it was a heavy rock.  Makoto could see why this action was happening.  His scowl had grown much more bitter by the minute while he spoke.  It wasn't making just him feel pain but it was also affecting her too.  The coldness among his facial expressions had transformed into what looked like anger.  Even Makoto developed that same look whenever anger began to develop all over her face and became instant rage soon after.

"Uh…A-Aoshi-san," She beckoned to him.  The pressure wasn't becoming any lighter and her body was going to end up deformed if he didn't let his hand off.  "Aoshi-san, IT HURTS!!" He didn't seem to be tuning his ears in the right direction to her struggling voice and Makoto had no choice but to wake hi up.  Her right hand gripped onto Aoshi's wrist, twisted it and dragged his arm away to gently slam him into a tree.  It was a way to distance him from Makoto and for her to recover the painful press to her left shoulder.  The tiny twist wasn't strong enough to break the entire bone connecting his hand and wrist together but she still managed to break off the forceful weight in the end.  "Sheesh, I'm starting to wonder whether you are mad." Makoto slapped her hand across her mouth as she said that after noticing that it would cause Aoshi to give her one of those frightening scowls to her.

Aoshi's hand concealed his forehead to hide the humiliation he had demonstrated just now.  This must mean that he didn't hear her last sentence (thank goodness).  Luckily the weight had broken off in a short amount of time.  Otherwise Makoto would have an uneven posture around her body.  Pushing the little incident aside, she returned to the main subject of their conversation.  Oddly enough, she could understand why he had lashed out like that from out of the blue.  Anger and revenge must be making him lose his mind and Aoshi wanted to take out the pressure in some way, which did end up being her injured shoulder – not a nice thing to choose now, was it? Makoto's sympathy towards the Oniwabanshu Commander commenced to wash all over her as she stared at him standing by the Sakura tree. 

Apart from observing the attractive exterior of Shinomori Aoshi, she sensed the pain spreading in every single part of his body.  Not just his mind.  The emotionless face wasn't one obvious giveaway to what he was feeling right now.  The strange aura that he was giving off seemed to increase Makoto's awareness of him as she watched the taller man in the white trench coat brood. 

"You don't have to be sorry for what you did," She insisted, hoping to keep the light friendliness going forward between them. "At least you let everything out."

"I've been though a lot," Aoshi replied behind the palm of his right hand. 

"So I see," She said. "What happened to your men, Aoshi-san? You can tell me." From what she had heard in his short muttering Makoto swore she heard him say his men would let her into the group easily.  Her being a part of the Oniwabanshu…it sounded rather intriguing when she thought about it for a moment however the silliness melted away when she went back to the serious topic going ahead.  There seemed to be something else after that but she wasn't able to pick out because he mumbled so deeply in his throat before attempting to break her left shoulder.  Her question on the Oniwabanshu may have sounded ridiculous to him though the question had to be said, or else her answer would never be given to her.

This time it was Makoto's turn to approach Aoshi and she stepped towards him slowly; caution building all over her as she kept her eyes on the ice blue eyes averting the same direction as her emerald ones.  Who knows what he would do next? He could have instantly assaulted her shoulder again, should he become angered again carelessly.  She couldn't risk having her injury damaged a lot more today so she was ready to defend anytime.  Aoshi's hand left his forehead and fortunately his face had returned to gaze at Makoto's concerned visage.  Looked like the current tête-à-tête was back in business once more.

"I lost my men," Aoshi explained. "They sacrificed their lives to save me." He stated how he, Hannya, Shikijou, Beshimi and Hyottoko were bodyguards to the money-hungry bastard Kanryu, who had used a Gatling gun to wipe out the four men of the Oniwabanshu.  The fists developing in both Aoshi's hands tightened as they leaned by his hips.  Makoto noticed his hands shaking a little while he spoke on and bit her lip in order to escape the understandable feeling of pain and loss.  Crying wasn't going to aid her here.  She didn't give a damn whether her lower lip started bleeding due to a deep cut from her front teeth.  Tears weren't suitable at this time and she didn't want to look foolish in front of someone.  This was a moment when she wished she were able to be emotionless like Aoshi.  Nobody would be able to see her crying at all if she just showed a blank front to everyone in the restaurant.  Makoto could imagine the tears roll down his face even though his pale skin was dry.  She could see the endless anguish floating in his blue orbs as she stared at him in concern.     

Poor Aoshi-san She thought.  Losing an army of men who were close to you for many years was the same as losing your closest family members.  Speaking of family, Makoto decided to tell the Oniwabanshu Okashira how she felt on the day her parents died under the blade of a crazy Imperialist soldier.  Revenge was the only thing on her mind.  Though unfortunately her fighting level at that time wasn't able to surpass the soldier's skill and she was instantly knocked down to the ground to lie beside her parents' dying body, ready to join them in the other world.  However, a small army who were from the Oniwabanshu had come to take out their enemies and killed the murderer during the process; without Makoto having to do anything except get on her feet and say thank you to the soldiers who saved her.  The Gods in the Heaven must have listened to her mother or father's quiet prayer to let their daughter live a happier live than them.  The Gods' solution to this problem was to bring forth a group of lifesavers instead.  It was heartbreaking to lose her parents like that and she wasn't even a teenager yet.

In these days, whenever a fight had ended and she was the victor, Makoto merely left the bodies to rot or suffer in blood and pain, ignoring the sound of the opponents to finish her off.  Her mother told her never to become a murderer.  Let the victims suffer and they will understand their wrong doings through their pain.  Makoto was following her mother's ideal and still did so up till now.  At least she had been able to have what seemed to be an ordinary life.  She had a job as a waitress and cook in a restaurant, in spite of the historical rumours of her being a violent girl.  People steered clear from her down the street because of that fact and she didn't blame them.  The only person who had no problems for who she was as a person was Ayane.  She was the closest to Makoto's family and had known them since an adolescent age.

Aoshi went on about his main army of the Oniwabanshu, mentioning they were old-fashioned fighters who couldn't fit in well with the public because they were different.  He had refused an offer of becoming a top officer in an army and preferred to train these guys rather than choose the former.  Makoto couldn't believe she was hearing so much from this popular figure.  She could definitely see why the Oniwabanshu picked him to take over as the new leader. Aoshi was a true warrior who didn't care about anything else.  Except to be strong.  He almost sounded like her father whenever he had a macho talk with her after they did two hours of Kumite every night.  But that talk was more on the lines of laughing.  With Aoshi, he seemed determined as a fighter.  Makoto could detect the seriousness within him.       

"I'm sorry for your losses," She eventually responded after he finished his story. "I can honestly understand what problems those guys went through because they were different to everyone else.  Take a look at me.  I am taller than most girls and *much* stronger than them.  They think I'm a monster."

"It sounds like your true skill exists after all," The Oniwabanshu Commander stared at her as though she had come from another planet and Makoto realised that she could be babbling uncontrollably.

She then understood what the reason was for Aoshi to be staring at her more unusually. "OK I was going to lie to you before about being a normal girl but that was just to uh…decline the offer of being challenged.  Face it, Aoshi-san.  You're an expert in swords.  I'm someone who uses only Karate.  What chance do I have in winning?"

"I want to see whether your Father's words have still remained alive inside," Aoshi stated, pointing to her chest. 

"What do you mean?" She asked, puzzled.  "Oh no, you're not saying…"

"We should fight each other," He suggested.  Makoto grimaced nervously.  This was another nightmare she had to face right now.  Shouldn't it be sparring rather than fighting? The respected Shinomori Aoshi wanted to challenge her and he didn't want to accept 'no' as her answer.  He sounded quite desperate to get a piece of Makoto.  But why? Was her father a real gossiper during his meetings with the Oniwabanshu? How much trash did he tell them about his only daughter? Makoto had always loved her father since she was an infant.  Surely he wouldn't waste his breath to brag such nonsense to anyone, would he?

"I'm telling you, Aoshi-san I'm not worth fighting *or* sparring with," Makoto insisted innocently.  She sounded like a whiny girl who hadn't reached the age of ten yet.  But she couldn't help complaining here.  Aoshi was going to make himself embarrassed if he found out Makoto was as weak as he was.  And she'd look stupid too. "You're better than me.  I know it from the top of my head."

"It doesn't matter," He said. "I don't see any harm in finding out how skilled the daughter of a respectable master in Karate is.  It's been many years since I met anyone from the Kino family." Aoshi brought his huge sheath forward and was ready to draw his swords out, which to Makoto was a bad sign for her.  She wanted to protest on not wearing the right clothes though it didn't look as though the Oniwabanshu Commander was going to listen more of her excuses.  She had lost the chance to prevent this sparring from taking place.  He wanted to start this challenge right away without wasting any precious time.  The sparring wasn't going to last long – not while Makoto was in a tight kimono.  Uh-uh.  She wouldn't be able to throw a jump kick or a proper roundhouse kick to her opponent like this.  It was a pity that Aoshi couldn't exactly understand that.  Making up such excuses wasn't giving her a lot of assistance here.

"I hope you're ready, Kino Makoto," Aoshi uttered.  Makoto was nowhere near to being prepared in a fighting stance.  She wasn't going to do this.  She just couldn't.  This was pointless.  It was going to lead to humiliation for sure.  She bit her lower lip harder when she saw the shine of one blade glowing against the light.  Here comes trouble…

"Sorry to interrupt the talk here, people," Ayane's cheery tone echoed out of the blue.  Aoshi and Makoto turned their startled faces towards the inn owner who had appeared by the entrance gate.  "The restaurant has just closed early for today and I managed to cook a special dinner in the kitchen." Her eyes glanced towards Aoshi. "You must be hungry after arriving here.  Why not join us?"

Sliding the sheath firmly back in place, Aoshi accepted the offer by nodding formally to the older woman.  Ayane giggled to Makoto and strolled back indoors, leaving the other two alone again. 

"Ayane-san makes great food," Makoto said. "You'll love her cooking." Of course she didn't expect Aoshi to smile or express his opinion whatsoever.  Perhaps it was difficult to show appreciation yet easier to show anger or pain.  She wasn't surprised by the empty response he had just shown her.  However, did it even matter? If Shinomori Aoshi was like that then she could deal with it, right? What's more, she didn't want to lose this 'friendship' going on between the two of them.  It was nice to be able to properly speak with the Oniwabanshu Commander after losing that chance from a decade ago.  Ayane's presence had triggered a memory loss in Makoto's mind shortly but she was able to quickly recall what the current discussion was about.  "Listen, if you want to *spar* with me, then why don't we do it tomorrow? I'll be here first thing in the morning, in the *right* clothes.  Is that all right with you?" She searched his face to see him confirm the suggested time of meeting.

"OK," He answered after a long pause. 

"Thank you," She replied, released a sigh of relief and clapped her hands together happily before showing him where the food hall was.  The size of the room wasn't as huge as the restaurant was but it was large enough to fit in at least twenty guests at a time.  The number of guests staying tonight wasn't huge, which was a good thing because then there would be enough privacy between Makoto and Aoshi, as well as Ayane too.  At least Aoshi was satisfied with Makoto's answer to his question.  Yes he was going to spar with her…but not right now.  That answer sounded reasonable, didn't it?  "Hey, Aoshi-san why don't you stay at the inn for a night or two? You look more exhausted than I do and I don't think our Kumite will be interesting if you're tired, right?" She looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"I guess you're right," Aoshi replied. "What made you change your mind?" Oh he was back to that subject again she realised.

"Well sparring with the Commander of the Oniwabanshu does sound like a real challenge when I think about it more than once," Makoto explained. "I suppose I want to see what you're like for myself." She winked before offering him his seat by a table in the food hall.  Come to think of it, Makoto had no idea why the excitement tickled her.  She was going to spar with Shinomori Aoshi.  Shouldn't she be worried rather than looking forward to it? He wouldn't *kill* her now, would he? Unless his version of sparring was different to hers.  Nevertheless they were friends plus the fact that he respected her father like the rest of the Oniwabanshu did.   Maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as she had feared in the first place.  Aoshi seemed respectable in her opinion.  Either way she hoped this challenge was worth taking.

TBC.

Lin­- Glad you liked the characterisation.  I've always had the impression that when Mako is with an older (yet good-looking) guy she *would* become shy, which is normal for any girl.  I bet she was like this around her Sempai.  He must have meant *a lot* to her to get her daydreaming about him each day ~_^.  Most people overlook the fact that Makoto is more serious when it comes to romance and wouldn't always giggle girlishly like Usagi and Minako would.  It's not her fault that she sees Sempai in so many guys.  It's down to tragic romance ;_;.