Ah! My Sempai 6 -epilogue-

****

So many things had gone on in Makoto's life that she had forgotten what it was like to endure tragedy.  That was until Aoshi's story on the death of his men came to mind and when he had mentioned her parents' graves while they sat by the waterfall.  The memory of sobbing by their corpses was too powerful to hide away up till now.  You could never forget the lifeless face of a loved one, even as a child.  The graveyard, which Makoto occasionally visited, was close to the edge of Kyoto, so arriving there by foot would take at least an hour.  But that wasn't important.  Aoshi and Makoto were in no rush to go anywhere else.  Their meditation and sparring had finished early this morning hence they were free to do what they pleased for the rest of the day.

Makoto had the feeling that Ayane didn't mind the young brunette spending a lot of time with the handsome stranger and insisted that she could handle the restaurant by herself, along with two other waitresses.  Ayane had a sympathetic smile on her face after Makoto said she and Aoshi were going to visit the graveyard.  It had been a while since anyone, other than Kino Makoto, who had gone to that place.  Despite the informal statements on life going on, the daughter of a respectable Shotokan Karate master always went to her parents' graves.  It was a routine she didn't mind doing.

After changing into her Kimono back at home, Makoto had picked out some colourful flowers from her back garden to take them to the graveyard.  She recalled her mother's happiness around different flowers from various countries.  Flowers had amazing beauty in their petals.  That was what Makoto had learnt from her mother as a very young girl.  It didn't take long to find the graves of Kino Ryouji and Kino Himeko in the small graveyard, seeing as Makoto had visited this place more than a hundred times. 

Aoshi took the bunch of flowers from the auburn Bishoujo's hands then knelt down to place half of them in front of the grey-looking tombs.  There were already three flowers embedded in the soil but they seemed to have lost colour and appeared totally lifeless in their crinkled postures. 

"I should have picked some better flowers last month," Makoto uttered regrettably.  Aoshi didn't notice her sarcasm from behind as he placed his hands into a soundless prayer.  Makoto knelt down to perform the same steps, shutting her eyes in the same way as meditating.  She was sure her parents remembered who Shinomori Aoshi was back then.  Her father had one hell of a good memory when it came to reciting his fellow friends in the martial arts land.  He and Himeko must be smiling in Heaven right now since Aoshi and Makoto were right next to their graves, offering them fresh healthy flowers as their gift. 

"I wish them well," Aoshi whispered and got to his feet. 

"Thanks," Makoto smiled and blinked away the usual tears that came out each time.  It was only natural that she cried every month.  Keeping the endless sorrow buried inside honestly did hurt the individual so letting all the secret tears be released into a private land was the best thing to do at someone's grave.  Makoto wondered whether Aoshi had done the same thing for his men.  There was one way of finding out but it could be tricky to do.  She called his name gently and his face turned from the graves towards her instead. 

"You want to see my men's graves, don't you?" He automatically replied.  Wow, he *was* someone who could read minds Makoto thought.  She wasn't the type to snoop around in someone's privacy but Aoshi knew she would want to see them, once paying respect to her parents was done.  He could tell she was going to suggest seeing Hannya and the others from deep inside of her gentle gaze.  There was something about her emerald irises that told him she wanted to show HER sympathy as a thank you gesture.  Furthermore, she had listened attentively to the summary of the tragedy with the main Oniwabanshu.  Didn't Aoshi think she deserved something in return? She wasn't his enemy.  Prior to receiving a verbal reply from her, he led Makoto back into the forest; in the direction they had come taken to come to the local graveyard. 

"Whereabouts are their graves?" Makoto asked. 

"In a remote area," Aoshi answered. "Not far from here." As they strolled through the forest again, Makoto wondered to herself where on earth the Oniwabanshu graves would be situated.  Obviously they weren't in the same graveyard as her parents so it must mean they were in an unknown place.  A remote area, as Aoshi put it.  Maybe these guys deserved some private space of their own if they wanted to rest in peace.    Why didn't Makoto bury her parents in a secret spot where nobody would find them? Oh of course that would have been impossible.  Back then she was a little too young to understand how burying dead bodies was done by adults. 

Makoto wasn't paying attention to the direction they were following and had had to rub her eyes a few times to keep the outline of Aoshi's figure in place.  All she had to do was follow him promptly and they would be there.  This forest was huge and lead from Osaka to Kyoto and Tokyo.  It was barely possible to leave markings or signs for people if they were lost.  You had to use your brain to understand this forest.   

"They are here," Aoshi's deep voice surfaced at last.  Makoto had almost bumped into him after he suddenly confirmed their arrival and stopped walking unexpectedly.  She came forward to spot four huge rocks all standing close to one another.  It was evident to see why not many were aware of these graves.  Makoto had never passed this part of the forest before.  The solitary rocks appeared to be missing something very valuable in their resting places.  Seeing them like this didn't look right at some point.  Why were there no decorations or signs of sympathy anywhere on them?     

"Hey I need to get something.  Be right back, ok?" She ran off to leave Aoshi standing by himself.  The echo of Makoto's footsteps disappeared when the Oniwabanshu Commander's thoughts reverted to the screaming of his men as they took in the numerous bullets flying at them.  This was probably one of the hardest memories to forget in the long-term.  Scanning the single graves one by one, he remembered the comatose states of each person left behind after they sacrificed their lives to save their Okashira.  Makoto came back a minute later, holding something in her hands – small daisies and Sakura flowers.  Aoshi's icy blue orbs widened when he instantly grasped the reason for the flower offering.  When he first buried everyone, he wasn't able to find any flowers to decorate their graves.  But now someone had suddenly decided to take an opportunity to show her respect by giving the fallen men of the Oniwabanshu some flowers of her own.  This was why she had walked off briefly.

"They caught my eye as we were walking down," Makoto said. "These are the best I could find." Once dropping an equal number of flowers beside each grave, she pivoted to Aoshi, awaiting a reaction from the cold-faced man standing above her. 

"Shikijou, Beshimi, Hyottoko, Hannya…you will all have the title of strongest soon.  I promise," Aoshi closed his eyes and clenched his fists firmly.  He was in pain from reminiscing the event again.  Why didn't he release the tears he had been holding back? Makoto wondered worriedly.  *She* was on the verge of crying this instant from watching Aoshi recite the names of his men and looking tremendously hurt at the same time.  Even with the emotionless face, some inner part of his mind was crying heavily.  Makoto could visualize the other half of Aoshi in her imagination and it was hurting her as well as him.  Both their families/close comrades had been lost and they were alone. 

She comprehended his losses and wished there was something else she could do to make him feel better.  The growing sympathy seemed to be overtaking her body by the minute when Makoto was startled by Aoshi's recognisable yet unanticipated stare.  However this wasn't the only other surprise to happen in the same minute.  He took one step forward so that they were less than an inch apart.  Makoto's mouth parted to speak but closed a little from the caress of Aoshi's fingers that spread around her left cheek.  The touches sparked like electricity and sent small impulses in every single nerve.  The fingers that had made the girl blush before were back to make her twice as confused and timid.   

"I have to leave," He said and dragged his fingers away from her face.

"What?" Makoto wanted him to stay longer.  This sudden change had attacked her brutally.  First there was happiness and now there was sadness.  How could this happen? If Aoshi left then where would he go? He could stay in Osaka, couldn't he? His men were gone and the idiot responsible for their deaths was behind bars.  He had nothing to hold him back.  Then again, maybe he wanted to keep on trying to ease his soul – alone.  The likely solution to do that was to keep on travelling until the pain vanished.  Makoto assumed that was what Aoshi wanted to do.  Guess it was the right decision, wasn't it?

"Hannya and the others will not rest peacefully until they become the strongest.  I'm going to keep on going until I can achieve that title," Aoshi stated. "You understand, don't you?"

"Oh of course I do," Makoto swallowed the sadness filling her throat. "I believe in you, Oniwabanshu Okashira." He nodded and set off in the opposite route.  She watched him leave, resisting the temptation to change his mind.  There was no use in doing that.  He looked like a traveller anyway and may not find anything interesting in the town Makoto lived in.  He was a mighty swordsman.  Like Makoto herself, he'd get a lot of attention from the crowd for his appearance. 

Oh no I forgot something she realised.  She chased after him desperately.  "Hey, Aoshi-san!" He wasn't stopping.  Did this mean he was going to ignore her now because he was leaving her? She couldn't let that happen.  "Shinomori Aoshi-san, wait!" Hold on.  Was it how she addressed him? Was there another way to get his attention by addressing him differently? What did he prefer to be addressed as? Oh, Makoto wouldn't know for sure.  She never asked him.  He had to stop and listen to her for one last time.  Something had to be said out in the open.  "Aoshi…Aoshi-Sempai!"

The man with the cold blue eyes magically turned back towards her so they were less than an inch apart again.  She must have caught his attention by that accidental change in address.  Some tiny voice was telling her to have a go at adding Sempai to his name to see how it would sound.  And by the looks of things, it sounded appropriate and suited him a lot. 

"Um…is it okay if I call you Aoshi-Sempai?" Makoto's voice almost became a squeak when he stared at her.  What was he going to do? He didn't smile to confirm his reply as usual, which made it hard for her to know what his answer was.  He was able to tell her she was skilled - but that took a long time to come out.  How much longer did she have to wait for him to say yes or no to the suggestion of being addressed as Sempai?           

"Makoto," Aoshi said her name in a subtle tone.  Makoto's focus wasn't exactly functioning precisely because she had become lost in his dazzling blue orbs.  Hearing her name sounded too distant to be noticed.   His head bowed down slightly and Makoto was pressed towards him as he embraced her, his arms wrapping around her shoulders.  What was happening here?  Makoto couldn't think straight.  Her mouth still hung open in awe while Aoshi's broad physique clung closely to her smaller body.  In this embrace, she was able to really feel how strong he was.  Once again her mind was on another dreamy road and she was lost for words while in Aoshi's arms.  The next thing he said automatically snapped Makoto out of her fantasy and gave her another shock. "Thank you."

"F-For what?" She could only say.

"For listening to me," He answered.  "and for showing your respect to my men." A jolt of pride and happiness flew into her when he said that.  She was glad he accepted her offering of flowers to decorate his men's graves.  As they both pulled away from each other, Makoto returned the intimate gesture by gliding her fingers into the fringe of ebony hanging on the right side of his face and stroked the pale cheek in a similar manner of gentleness.  Wow, she couldn't believe she did that to him. 

Makoto stepped back to bow. "Please take care of yourself Aoshi- …" The rest of the sentence hovered in incompleteness.

"You can call me Sempai."

"Oh…Arigato, Aoshi-Sempai," She bowed once more, this time with more honour and appreciation.  

"Till we meet again, Kino Makoto." Aoshi strolled off without looking back. "Continue to be strong like you are now." This time his departure was for real.  Makoto *wasn't* even going to stop him, no matter how desperately she wanted him near her.  She would have done anything to make him cheered up but this kind of thing was best to be left alone for the individual.  His final words repeated in all parts of her mind.  She should have also thanked him for praising her and advising the Karateka to keep her strength going.  Who would have thought Shinomori Aoshi had that sort of kindness in him? She had loosened him up a little from his depression zone by listening to his story and showed she empathised his every emotion of anger and sorrow.  She knew Aoshi wanted to cheer himself up by continuing to travel alone.  That's who he was – a lonely fighter. 

Now that he had completely disappeared into the forest, Makoto was all alone – just like before.  Right now she was glad to be by herself…because nobody would witness her suddenly bursting into tears in the middle of the road.  This didn't feel like the day she cried at her parents' burial ceremony.  She didn't know why she had this unusual urge to release so many tears.  Something was making her so sad and her brain wouldn't tell her what it was.  All she could do was simply sob and let the salty liquid fall down her cheeks naturally.  But during her heavy sobbing, the answer to her question came out spontaneously.  It wasn't because Aoshi-Sempai had left her already.  She was crying because she forgot to tell Aoshi-Sempai she loved him.   

END.

Yes it's sad.  I wanted to do something dramatic.  Sorry if you're not the type of person who likes that XD.