Chapter Five: Introductions
First of all, I would like to send a big "THANK YOU" out to Shin-no-Shibo, Dragowolf, and Rurouni Gochan for the spellings of the names and the coordination with the faces, I really appreciate it. I also want to thank Rurouni Gochan for clearing up the whole Saito(h) thing (If you read through the reviews you'll know what I'm talking about). Well, unfortunatly I couldn't meet my goal of finishing before the 20th. School has started and I won't be able to update as often as I have been (which hasn't been very often- sorry.)I realize that Okina wasn't the leader of the Oniwaban in the anime, but in this story he is. I hope you all like this chapter! It was difficult to write, but I worked long and hard just for you guys. (I don't know what a common breakfast food is in Japan, so I just Americanized it. Heh heh- I'm so lazy, it's really sad. ^_^;;;;)
The sun continued to rise, spreading its warm glow to each of the nooks and crannies in the room. The minutes kept going by and Misao desperately wished that she could just stop them. She didn't want to have to think about this, but at the same time knew that she had to.
Yukaria had said that the Oniwaban were dedicated to the shogunate, the side her parents always told her was bad. They had said that they oppressed the people, making their lives miserable. "If I join up with the Oniwaban, I'll be a traitor. Mommy and Daddy wouldn't want me to be on that side of the war, but if I don't I'll die, and Mommy and Daddy wouldn't want me to die either. They gave up their lives just to save me, and even though it would be nice to be with them in heaven, I don't think it's my time to go yet. I still have lots of stuff to do: find grandpa, grow up, fall in love, get married….." As she spoke, a vision of the man Yukaria had called "Aoshi" floated into her head. 'Why don't you just forget about him? He's dangerous, not to mention a lot older than you.'
"Darn conscience." She said aloud. Although it went against her heart, she did have to consider all of the things her common sense was telling her. 'But, what if he isn't dangerous? He could be younger than he looked. I think…..I think I need to meet him face to face.'
Just then, Yukaria opened the door of the little room. Misao was sitting on the bed with a glazed look in her lovely blue eyes, a look that could only mean one thing: she was thinking about someone she loved.
"I brought you something to eat, just like I promised." Yukaria walked over to Misao with a steaming plate of french toast with syrup dripping over the edges and a nice, cool glass of orange juice. "Have you made a decision yet?"
"Yes. I want to live here. It doesn't seem so terrible, I guess."
"You guess? Gee, thanks."
"W-w-well, it's just r-r-realy plain, that's all. How many other people live here?" Stuttered Misao, caught completely off guard.
"Hmmmm, let's see. There's me, Aoshi-sama, Okina-sama, Hannya, Shikijo, Hyottoko, Beshimi," she paused for a moment and shuddered as the image of Beshimi came into her mind. Of all of the members of the Oniwaban, he was easily her least favorite, "Okon, Omasu, Shiro, and Kuro." Misao's eyes grew larger with each name mentioned, the look of surprise growing more and more pronounced.
"Wow! That's a lot of people!" Yukaria simply giggled in response. "So, what is life here like? I mean, what am going to have to do to be an Oniwaban member?"
"It's going to be really hard for you, Misao, but you're young yet, so it should be easier than it would have been if you came here later in life. Every member of the Oniwaban has to know how to incapacitate others and defend oneself, so that means you're going to have to train in martial arts. It's really difficult, but there are many here who are good teachers. Hannya would usually be the one to do it, but as punishment for botching the mission last night Aoshi-sama will be in charge this week." A sparkle of amusement came into her eyes as she envisioned Aoshi being attacked by all of the younger members of the Oniwaban.
"Aoshi-sama? Isn't he the one who brought me here? I'd really like to see him again to……ummm……thank him. How old is he?"
"Thirteen going on fourteen. Why do you ask?"
"Just wondering." She replied, a ridiculous grin on her face.
"I see." Yukaria raised an eyebrow, knowing perfectly well what was going on inside Misao's head. "How does that boy do it? You haven't even met him yet and already you're hooked. Wow, I don't believe I've ever seen someone blush like that before. Sorry for embarrassing you." Misao glared at her, knowing that she wasn't sorry at all.
"Misao, you really should start eating. It will get cold soon."
"Ooooops, sorry. I forgot all about it!" She looked down at the blue plate full of food. French toast was a definite favorite, but the syrup usually didn't mix very well with the orange juice. Picking up her chopsticks, she tore off a small piece and raised it to her lips, breathing in the heat radiating from her meal. She slid the morsel into her mouth and chewed once or twice, savoring the sweetness and warmth.
"So, what am I going to do today?" She asked between bites.
"After you're done eating, I'll take you upstairs to introduce you to our leader. Once that's done, you'll get to meet the rest of the Oniwaban; if they're still here, that is. You can do whatever you want between then and your martial arts lesson, which will begin after lunch. Oh, I almost forgot: you must never, under any circumstances, enter the rooms of Okina-sama without permission. I can not even begin to express the importance of that statement. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Yukaria…….-sama." This girl seemed so much like a best friend already, she had almost forgotten.
"Just call me Yukaria, Misao."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, that was delicious!"
"I'm glad you think so. I'm the one who does the cooking around here, since I'm really not good at fighting."
"Well, you're really good at this. Could you teach me so that I can be a good wife someday?"
"Of course, it would be my pleasure."
Yukaria led Misao down the hallway and up the stairs to Okina's room and knocked upon reaching it.
"State your name and business."
"Okina-sama, this is Yukaria. I brought the new girl here to meet you. May we come in?" Now that she was speaking with her leader, Yukaria was totally different, almost scary. Her voice lost its friendly tune for favor of a cold ritualistic one. It was that, more than anything else, that caused Misao to begin to fear this unknown entity that was her new leader.
"Yes, you have my permission to enter." Yukaria did so, bowing in much the same manor as Aoshi did the night before. Misao trailed slightly behind, following the older girl's example.
The room was filled with earthereal light streaming through the windows. Upon entering the room, Misao felt as though she had walked into a dream. Sweet smelling insense permeated throughout the chamber, making her feel calm and relaxed. Even though there was so much light, it was still slightly hazy from the flames. Because of this, the edges of her vision faded into a smoky blur, and it was hard for her to focus. Unlike the other rooms, this one was heavily decorated: the walls were entirely blue except for a black ornamental border around the top. The only three pieces of furniture, a writing desk, a chair, and a wardrobe, were painted in gold, red and black. A small statue of Buddha rested in the far left-hand corner near the writing desk and chair, creating an interesting finishing touch. The part of the room she noticed the most, however, was the serious-looking old man sitting in the middle of it.
"Okina-sama, this young lady is named Misao. Neither of her parents are alive, but she says she has a grandfather that she's never met. He would be her only other remaining relative. She says also that before arriving she has never heard of the Oniwaban, but she agrees to become a member. In doing so, she realizes that she will be forced to learn the way of the ninja, and also the art of spying."
"Very good, Yukaria. You may leave." Yukaria turned to do so and Misao followed, but that was apparently the wrong move. "Girl, I did not dismiss you." The words cut into her heart like icicles and her eyes became misty; she didn't like being scolded by this man.
"Please forgive me, Okina-sama." The girl bowed until she couldn't go any lower without falling over.
"You are forgiven, for now anyway. You must always remember your manners, Misao-chan. Without them you will go nowhere, or at least nowhere that you would want to be." Misao nodded solomnly. "Misao, you are dismissed." The little girl scuttled out of the room, tail between legs, to catch up with Yukaria. The two descended the staircase in silence. They now shared the mutual understanding that Okina was not one to be crossed.
Once they were out of earshot, Yukaria spoke again, "Well Misao, don't let Okina-sama get you down too much. I think he likes you more than he lets on. You see, the truth of the matter is that he lost his daughter a long time ago, and since then he's been very lonely."
"Oh, that's sad. How did she die?"
"She didn't. She ran away from home to be married to a samurai from the Imperialist Army."
"I see. I guess now I can sort of understand why he's so bitter. Do you think I could cheer him up?"
"I'm sure you could Misao. One of the best ways to cheer him up would be to become a powerful warrior and an excellent spy, both of which I know you'll accomplish. Don't you think so, Misao?"
"I suppose."
"You will, but only if you have faith in yourself."
"O.K, in that case, I will!"
"That's the spirit." She reached down and patted Misao's head. "Well, shall we see if we can find the rest of the Oniwaban?"
"Yeah! I'm really looking forward to meeting them."
"The same goes for them, I'm sure." They walked around for a bit chattering idly to each other about trivial details of life in the Aoiya, now and then meeting a member to introduce. Misao thought that they all seemed like nice people and looked forward to getting to know them a bit better. The rest of the morning found Misao waiting apprehensively in her room for lunch.
'What will I say when I finally do see that man again? I guess I should say "thank you" or something like that. I mean, really, he did save my life and all. Now I don't have to live on the street, so that's always a plus. I finally have food and water whenever I need it. I guess I really got lucky. But, if I'm so lucky, why do I feel so badly about this? I guess it's sort of like I can't get over that whole being a traitor thing. Oh, well. I'll deal with it in time.' Lunch came and went, Misao barely eating a thing. Once everyone else was finished, she shuffled into the central courtyard along with the other children to begin the lesson she had been waiting for.
