A/N: Second Chapter peoples! I may have to up my rating. This chapter is definitely PG-13 in terms of graphic violence.
Koori no Kaji
Chapter 2: Itai (Pain)
The cell was colder than the snowy kingdom outside. Aoshi was freezing and he'd only been conscious for ten minutes. And he had a killer headache, which he knew was from being hit repeatedly over the head. He closed his eyes. Perhaps if he meditated he could block out the cold like he had every thing else. Well, ALMOST everything else. He never could block out Misao.
Misao.
What was she be doing now? More than likely she was frantic, tearing apart Kyoto to find him. He could almost see her holding one of the monks of the temple against the wall, yelling, "Where's Aoshi-sama?!?!"
No, she would never do that for two reasons. One being that, although she was rash and hot tempered at times, she would never resort to torture or intimidation, even on his behalf. The second reason being that all of the monks were dead. His captors had killed them all after one of their braver members had snuck up behind him and knocked him out.
He had awoken in the cold cell he sat in now. Sadly, he glanced out the small window and wished with all his might that he was outside. He'd been working recently to free himself from his self imposed prison, only to be thrown into a real one, steel bars and all. The snow, which had looked so bitter before, now seemed inviting. He prayed that someone, ANYONE, would free him, but he highly doubted any one actually would. No one at the Aoiya, besides Misao, had ever really forgiven him for his betrayal. As he stared at the ceiling, he began to wonder if perhaps he deserved this.
~*~*~
Misao carefully tucked her kunais in her belt. With two bobby pins borrowed from Omasu, she pinned her long braid to the back of her head to keep it out of her way. She walked to her door and tried to open it, only to find that someone had locked her in. She glared at the door, willing who ever had locked it to burst into flames. She turned and carefully opened her window. She paused for only a moment, before turning back into her room and grabbing the two kodachis that Okina had given her a s a birthday presant. Then, as stealthily as she could, she leapt from the window and made her way down the quickly darkening streets of Kyoto.
~*~*~
The wooden door made a dull thunk as it rebounded off the stone wall. Aoshi looked up in time to see a dart flying his way. It hit him in the side of his chest and immediately he began to feel drowsy. Soon, he blacked out.
When he woke up, he was no longer laying down. He was hanging by his wrists. 'Great,' he thought vaguely. 'Now I can no longer feel my hands. Just wonderful. I drop my guard for one second and suddenly I find myself hanging from my hands in a dark cell.'
For the first time, he noticed someone else in the room. His eyes darted back and forth, but the room was too dark to tell who or where the person was. Out of no where, a sudden sharp pain seared through his side. He turned in time to see a whip retreat into the darkness.
"Who's there?" he hissed.
"Your executioner."
~*~*~
The walk to the temple seemed much shorter than usual. The streets were silent. Misao was the only one out on the streets, and she remained hidden. She dodged through alleys and between the tightly packed houses. In no time at all, she was standing in front of the temple again. The scene of carnage had been cleaned up. In fact, the temple looked normal. Carefully, she ascended the steps and entered.
~*~*~
He didn't cry out. Instead he closed his eyes and tried to focus on something other than the pain. Misao face floated across his train of thought. He had to smile despite his predicament. 'I am sorry Misao... I've failed you again...' he thought.
The cell door suddenly creaked open and the whip stopped moving. The messenger took a deep breath and said, "Haku-sama. I appologize for interupting, but it's almost sun down."
"I'll be right there," Haku responded for turning back to Aoshi. "You'll have to excuse me. I have to go kill your Okashira."
Aoshi's eyes widened. 'Misao...'
A/N: I'm so horrible. Poor Aoshi. He's my favorite character too... Heh. Now you have a cliffy. Maybe you should REVIEW *hint hint wink wink nudge nudge*
Ja ne!