Chapter 6: Renko Village
Akio woke up when the sky was just beginning to lighten. She stretched out on the floor luxuriously, then got to her feet, rubbing her eyes with her knuckles. With a glance at her bed, she saw that Soujiro was still asleep and smiled a little to herself. It was very unlike her to have opened up like that to anyone. It was very much unlike her to talk to anyone at all, apart from angry words exchanged with Ryu or other villagers. "You dug yourself into a good hole now, Akio," she said to herself with a sigh. She padded out to the well, barefoot, and refilled her bucket. "Now, if he decides to tell you nothing about himself, you have no leverage at all. That is, considering he'll still talk to you at all knowing what you are."
'He's not like that,' part of her argued. 'He wasn't disgusted by you, he didn't look at you any different then before.'
"How can you say that?" she muttered to her inner voice. "You don't even know him! You just spilled out the horror that is your life to a boy you found on the riverbank! Then, baka that you are Akio, you start convincing yourself that he may still look at you with the same eyes as a person who thought you were real."
'Soujiro isn't some man from the village. He'll accept you.'
"No, I will not do that! I will not trust him...I will not do this to myself."
'So you want to be alone?' that little voice continued to nag. Akio was becoming furious with herself.
"If it comes to that, I would rather be alone then hurt." She lifted the bucket and stomped back into the house before her inner voice could reply with all the secret hopes and wishes that were swirling in her heart. With resolve in place, Akio vowed not to get too close to this boy.
As she made breakfast, Akio though about the rest of the day. She was not working at the restaurant, which was a good thing considering last night. Akio sighed to herself, thinking about what had passed at the restaurant the night before. Kymo was totally out of line with the comment, but she had been out of line as well with her own insult. She realized that she had been subconsciously looking for a way to strike at him. She had been furious because of what he had done to Soujiro. Maybe taking him in had been a mistake. Akio was beginning to think that Soujiro would be more trouble then she needed.
The nightmares had returned. He had been stupid to think that after the last two nights of dreamless, healing sleep, the nightmares that had haunted his sleep every night for two years would have suddenly vanished. The smell of death hung in the air around him, choking his lungs. All he could feel was the bite of a sword and the grip of a hilt. All he could see was red, blood red, crimson waves that rolled over him, drowning him in an icy river.
Some small part of Seta Soujiro was awakened, but his body was paralyzed from the dream. He couldn't move, or think, or speak. All he could do was stare with unblinking eyes at something that was in his mind alone. He couldn't feel the tears that were running from the corner of his eyes, the tears that he cried whenever he though of those memories of a past he had tried so hard to forget. His private hell, horrors that only he could see and know.
Soujiro didn't hear Akio enter the room. He didn't hear her calling his name, or the concern in her voice. He never felt her grasp his shoulder and try to shake him back to reality. "I'm really sorry," she told him, even though he couldn't hear it, then she punched him in the side. Pain exploded throughout his body.
"Ahhh-ck..." he bit back a few choice words that would have been a scream as he shot into a sitting position and clutched at his side. "What...did...you...do?" he asked between breaths.
"You went into shock," she explained, patting him on the back and giving him an apologetic smile. "I had to get your mind back to the present. Pain is a very good motivator." She shoved a cup of water into his hands. "Drink."
"Ow Akio," he whined before downing the water in one gulp. "Did you have to do 'that'?"
She thought a second. "No!" she said cheerfully, turning toward a small closet in the corner of the room. "I could have slapped you across the face...or broke your finger...or poked your bad shoulder. Punching you in the side was the first thing that came to my head. I panicked."
"You're a sadistic one, do you know that?" he grumped, still holding his side. Akio laughed, the same sweet, quick-silver sound he had fallen asleep to. It was like the sound of a sword being pulled from a sheath, almost musical.
"Sadistic? Probably," she mused with a smile. Then she walked back over to him with some clothes in her arms. "Here, I got a change of clothes for you. I sure hope you can dress with one arm." She kept her voice light, threading a hand through her short hair, but there was a blush creeping up her neck.
Soujiro smiled. She was cute when she was shy. There was a little smile on her face and the blush made her look prettier then before. Her green eyes watched him, sparkling. But Soujiro never noticed things like that. He was a wanderer, a loner, a man who lived his life by the blade of a sword. Women were the farthest things from his mind. And yet...and yet this girl was the only thing on his mind.
'It's only because you're grateful,' that cynical voice inside him said. 'She saved your worthless life and you're thankful. Don't read more into it then that.' Soujiro swallowed, grasping hold of those thoughts.
"I'm sure I can manage," he assured her.
"Well, if you need help getting the shirt over your shoulder, just call me. I'll be right outside the house." She pointed to the food she brought and to the bucket of water that was next to it. "Drink your fill, the rest you can use to wash with." With another blushing smile, she left Soujiro to his thoughts.
"Now, how do I go about doing this?" he mused. His first thought was to step out of the lower half of fabric that covered his body. It was stiff, caked and wreaking with dried blood. Soujiro knew Akio would prefer if he would change out of those dirty clothes, but she was too shy to do it herself. He listened, making sure she wasn't going to be entering the room at an inopportune moment before stepping out of the clothes.
Akio left the room, furious with herself for blushing at such a simple conversation as the changing of his clothes. She had been changing his bandages on his bare chest for two days now. She had been touching a man's bare chest for crying out loud! Not to mention when he had been leaning on her when she brought him outside! Just the thought of that brought the blush back. She sighed, disgusted, and paused only long enough to grab her sword of the rack in the front room before storming outside. "I am such a...such a....GIRL!"
A good morning of solid training and self-abuse would help her get her senses back. No more blushing just because Soujiro was semi-attractive and half-naked, sleeping in her bed, just inside her house, and had been with her for two completely un-chaperoned days. There was not a reason in the world to feel shy or self-conscious. Not a reason in the world to feel what she was feeling. It was like the first time she touched a sword when she was a little girl. The adrenaline of doing something she knew she wasn't supposed to do, but did it anyway. The feeling of excitement and danger. But there was also the hesitant fear, the doubt. And of course, that strange feeling of protectiveness, of wanting to be at his side.
"Oh Akio, don't do this," she willed herself as she started her training anew. Tekeda lifted his head from grazing to watch his mistress from the fence of his pen. She was swinging around that shiny stick again. He put his head back down and continued to eat happily. Akio became so engulfed in her workout, that she didn't here the door slide open behind her.
Soujiro had managed to stay on his feet without support while changing his clothes, but walking had been an achievement. He was able to lean on the wall or other objects as he hobbled his way to the door. He would not be reduced to calling for help like an invalid. Except for the fact that he was almost an invalid. When he got outside, he happily collapsed on the front step to catch his breath and hold his still-aching side. The pain was dull and throbbing, it was something he could live with. He had succeeded in changing the lower half of his clothes, and washing himself pretty good too. But he couldn't get the shirt over his wounded shoulder. For that, he'd need Akio's help. With all the pride he could muster, he had went looking for her.
He found the girl outside, engaged in a rather intense training session. Soujiro assessed her movements. She had skill, and a load of raw talent and potential at her fingertips, just begging for a teacher to come along and harness it. Her body moved in a quick, graceful manner. Akio moved fluidly, like a cat. She was fast, but not as fast as others he had faced, not as fast as himself. But still, for a novice without proper instruction, she was surprisingly good. It made him wonder where exactly she learned to fight.
"You're very good," Soujiro said while watching her land a particularly difficult move with grace and ease. Akio, at the sound of his voice, lost her footing and promptly fell on her face. When she got to her feet, she was steaming in a scary way.
"You should know better then the interrupt someone while they're training!" she snapped haughtily, pointing her sword at his head as she magically materialized in front of him. Soujiro only smiled.
"I'm sorry Akio," he laughed without a touch of sincerity. "Call is revenge for your little healing trick this morning." Akio scoffed, but smiled in spite of herself.
"You need help right?" she asked, brandishing her sword in the direction of the shirt tossed over his shoulder. She then flipped the sword and sheathed it. The scabbard had a strap attached to it so that it slung over her head and shoulder, and the scabbard itself was on her back. Sliding the sword back in, the hilt was in a perfect reach from her hand, but concealed over her shoulder.
"Yes, unfortunately," he admitted sheepishly. Akio smiled, walking over to help him finish getting the shirt on. "Seems like a lot of work when you'll only strip me tonight to change my bandages." Akio blushed at his choice of words, but then her eyes widened.
"Shimatta!" she yelped, slapping herself on the forehead. "I just remembered that I used the last of my bandages on you yesterday. I'll have to go into the village and buy more. You stay here Soujiro, I'll be back before you can say Tokyo!" With that she passed by him and went into the house. He heard a little shuffling around, then a silent pause, then she returned outside. There was something clutched in her hand and there was a pensive look on her face. "Um...how did you get out here?"
Soujiro couldn't help by grin. "You just noticed that, did you?" Akio narrowed her eyes. "I leaned on the walls. My legs are functional, a little stiff, but still good. It's my upper body that's a mess." Akio nodded, running an absent hand through her hair.
"Good, moving around on your own is a very good sign. I'm so happy you're healing so well Soujiro." She beamed him a smile and Soujiro couldn't think of a reply. In fact, he couldn't think of anything at all. "Okay, now that's your mobile, don't wander to far from the house. I'll get home quick. No one usually comes down this far, but if you see or hear anything that's not me, go inside." Nodding to herself, she passed him by and walked down to a make-shift pen a couple yards from the house. "Come here pretty boy," she called out.
It was only then that Soujiro noticed something living was in the pen. It was a buck, a strong, young-looking deer. It trotted over to the fence and nuzzled Akio's outstretched hands. Soujiro watched as she opened a small gate and led the deer out, placing a rope leader around it's neck. Then she pulled a small woven basket from the fence. It looked like a saddle at first, but it had two sides that were open and large. She placed it on the deer's back. Akio paused to wave at Soujiro before leading the Takeda down the path that led to the bridge, then on the Renko Village.
The village itself was still buzzing with the gossip of what happened last night at Suika's restaurant between Kymo, the upstanding citizen rifleman, and the town's favorite talked about person, Akio. It was all Akio's fault of course, for daring to stand against a superior person. But then again, if she didn't doing something stupid like that every once in a while, the town gossips would have nothing to say. When they caught sight of the whispered girl, they started talking incessantly.
Akio held her head high, proudly and defiantly. Her green eyes blazed with beautiful defiance. Her hand stroked Tekeda's soft neck as they made their way into the village. The air was thick with the scents of fire and working metal ore. Akio loved the smell of the forges. They passed small forge-shops. Weapons hung in the windows and set on displays. It was a useless effort now that no outsiders were allowed entrance into the town. All that sustained them was the tradesmen who went down the mountain to sell their wares.
Akio stopped Tekeda in front of a small supplies shop, tying his lead rope to a wooden pillar outside the door and walking inside. Everyone in the building went silent as she entered, all eyes were on her. Her emerald eyes quickly scanned the store of any signs of people she wished to avoid, but found none. There were only a few women and children here. They moved aside as she walked by. The woman grabbed their children to them, away from her, as if she were the carrier of some deadly contagious disease. Akio sighed inwardly, but she was used to it. She went about her shopping as if no one else was there.
The purchases were taken to the small woman who ran the store, a collection of bandages and healing supplies. A few odds and ends. Akio acted like no one in the store was staring at her, not daring to touch what she had touched by let behind.
"Oh, hello Akio," the store woman said with a slight smile. She counted the money Akio handed her, looking over the items the girl had bought. "You find another animal to take care of?"
"Well, I found a stray and took him in," Akio answered. She took the things back outside to Tekeda and placed them in the basket on his back. She then untied his leader, and the two of them walked up the street to the restaurant.
Now Suika was a strange woman. In her restaurant, only the freshest food was used. Anything that wasn't up to her high standards was cast out to the dogs, the scavengers, or the compost heaps. That is, unless Akio took her fill of what was still good. That was what she did then. She sifted through the food that was destined for refuse, and took what she needed for home. Akio loaded it into the basket on her buck, then lead him around to head back to her house. Or at least she would have, if Ryu hadn't stopped her.
"Akio, listen, I'm sorry about last night. Kymo was drunk and completely out of line." Akio looked at the familiar young man before her and sighed. It wasn't that Akio hated him, she really didn't. Out of all the village, Ryu was the only one who offered the smallest amount of friendliness to her. It had been every since they were children, when Akio was ten and Ryu was fourteen.
In the beginning, Ryu had been one of her tormenters. Like all the village children, they had delighted in torturing and beating Akio. It was one of the reasons she had begun learning the sword, to protect herself from bullies. One day, the village boys had taken it into their heads to throw Akio into the river to see if she would be taken away. So they ganged up on her, cornered her, and thrown her--like Soujiro--into the river. Only, it didn't work out like they wanted. The river had given her back, the current carrying her to a shallow edge when she was able to scurry out and run home. After then, after the River had delivered her, Ryu had fallen in love. He wanted to marry Akio, wanted her to be at his side. He had tried so hard to mold her into a proper woman, but it seemed that everything he told her to do, she'd do the exact opposite. It had been even worse when her grandmother had died.
Akio smiled slightly. "Thank you Ryu," she said. She was acting meeker then she ever did. Ryu was on guard now. "I have to get home." She lead Tekeda around him and further down the path.
"Can I walk with you?"
"You shouldn't stand so close to me, people will talk," she commented idly, patting the flanks of her buck.
"Akio, you know I don't care about that. There is nothing wrong with you."
"They don't think so. You shouldn't think so. I have to go Ryu, I'll talk to you later." Without anything else, Akio swung on to Tekeda's back and he galloped off down the past like a shot, faster then Ryu could ever hope to catch. He sighed. 'I'll just have to catch up to her later,' he thought.
Okay everyone, here is chapter 6! I want to thank everyone for reviewing and remind everyone to keep reviewing! Yes! Review, or I'll be on you like a hobo on a ham sandwich! *insane laughter* On a serious note, I want to suck up to you all and say, go read my Inuyasha fics! Chapter 12 of Surviving a City will be up as soon as my Beta is done. And Tainted Blood chapter 2 is up! Please read and review them! *begs* And now, for some shout outs!
Pen D. Fox: Well, here for you, no more begging, okay? I love Soujiro too, isn't he the chibi-est? Thanks for reading!
pruningshears: Wow, you are my favorite reviewer! I really love that you read all three of my fics, thanks so much for the reviews! Thanks for the bed info, but I like keep everything generalized if I can help it. Pocky rocks, but I still love Ramen (Inuyasha's influence). Yes, Soujiro is totally wicked, which is why I wanted to do a fic with him! Okay, as for Akio's father--yes, we know him, but he's not a main-main character. I'll hint as to his identity, but I won't come out and say who he is until the sequel, when we meet all the other Kenshin guys! And I know he doesn't have green eyes, but dammit! this is my fic and I'll make him have green eyes if I want to! LOL, thanks again for the reviews, I'm updating all my stories this weekend, if whyndancer gets back to me.
CurlsofSerenity: I'm glad you liked my flashback mode, lol. And yes, the alternate perspectives is because my goal is to have Soujiro and Akio fall in love. *sigh* I'm a pathetic romantic, but you gotta love it.
EEvee: Sorry, had to have him thrown in the river. For me, it's a must.
Kenshin 44: I've seen one or two other Soujiro fics. Mine is weird though, lol. I just want Soujiro to be happy for once in his life, you know? And I love him! Not only is he a wicked swordsman, he's also got a lot of emotional scarring which makes him into a believable character. I hates those characters that have 'perfect lives'. All my characters have some kind of problems.
Hoshii-Sama: Thanks, I try, lol. I'm happy you think my little fic is the best RK, I don't think so! I just wanted to do an RK fic with Soujiro, hehe. About the changing fonts thing, blarg, I haven't yet mastered that practice. Sorry if I confused anyone. Please feel free to read it as much as you want!
~~Jesse the Wolf Demon~~ Signing off for tonight!
Akio woke up when the sky was just beginning to lighten. She stretched out on the floor luxuriously, then got to her feet, rubbing her eyes with her knuckles. With a glance at her bed, she saw that Soujiro was still asleep and smiled a little to herself. It was very unlike her to have opened up like that to anyone. It was very much unlike her to talk to anyone at all, apart from angry words exchanged with Ryu or other villagers. "You dug yourself into a good hole now, Akio," she said to herself with a sigh. She padded out to the well, barefoot, and refilled her bucket. "Now, if he decides to tell you nothing about himself, you have no leverage at all. That is, considering he'll still talk to you at all knowing what you are."
'He's not like that,' part of her argued. 'He wasn't disgusted by you, he didn't look at you any different then before.'
"How can you say that?" she muttered to her inner voice. "You don't even know him! You just spilled out the horror that is your life to a boy you found on the riverbank! Then, baka that you are Akio, you start convincing yourself that he may still look at you with the same eyes as a person who thought you were real."
'Soujiro isn't some man from the village. He'll accept you.'
"No, I will not do that! I will not trust him...I will not do this to myself."
'So you want to be alone?' that little voice continued to nag. Akio was becoming furious with herself.
"If it comes to that, I would rather be alone then hurt." She lifted the bucket and stomped back into the house before her inner voice could reply with all the secret hopes and wishes that were swirling in her heart. With resolve in place, Akio vowed not to get too close to this boy.
As she made breakfast, Akio though about the rest of the day. She was not working at the restaurant, which was a good thing considering last night. Akio sighed to herself, thinking about what had passed at the restaurant the night before. Kymo was totally out of line with the comment, but she had been out of line as well with her own insult. She realized that she had been subconsciously looking for a way to strike at him. She had been furious because of what he had done to Soujiro. Maybe taking him in had been a mistake. Akio was beginning to think that Soujiro would be more trouble then she needed.
The nightmares had returned. He had been stupid to think that after the last two nights of dreamless, healing sleep, the nightmares that had haunted his sleep every night for two years would have suddenly vanished. The smell of death hung in the air around him, choking his lungs. All he could feel was the bite of a sword and the grip of a hilt. All he could see was red, blood red, crimson waves that rolled over him, drowning him in an icy river.
Some small part of Seta Soujiro was awakened, but his body was paralyzed from the dream. He couldn't move, or think, or speak. All he could do was stare with unblinking eyes at something that was in his mind alone. He couldn't feel the tears that were running from the corner of his eyes, the tears that he cried whenever he though of those memories of a past he had tried so hard to forget. His private hell, horrors that only he could see and know.
Soujiro didn't hear Akio enter the room. He didn't hear her calling his name, or the concern in her voice. He never felt her grasp his shoulder and try to shake him back to reality. "I'm really sorry," she told him, even though he couldn't hear it, then she punched him in the side. Pain exploded throughout his body.
"Ahhh-ck..." he bit back a few choice words that would have been a scream as he shot into a sitting position and clutched at his side. "What...did...you...do?" he asked between breaths.
"You went into shock," she explained, patting him on the back and giving him an apologetic smile. "I had to get your mind back to the present. Pain is a very good motivator." She shoved a cup of water into his hands. "Drink."
"Ow Akio," he whined before downing the water in one gulp. "Did you have to do 'that'?"
She thought a second. "No!" she said cheerfully, turning toward a small closet in the corner of the room. "I could have slapped you across the face...or broke your finger...or poked your bad shoulder. Punching you in the side was the first thing that came to my head. I panicked."
"You're a sadistic one, do you know that?" he grumped, still holding his side. Akio laughed, the same sweet, quick-silver sound he had fallen asleep to. It was like the sound of a sword being pulled from a sheath, almost musical.
"Sadistic? Probably," she mused with a smile. Then she walked back over to him with some clothes in her arms. "Here, I got a change of clothes for you. I sure hope you can dress with one arm." She kept her voice light, threading a hand through her short hair, but there was a blush creeping up her neck.
Soujiro smiled. She was cute when she was shy. There was a little smile on her face and the blush made her look prettier then before. Her green eyes watched him, sparkling. But Soujiro never noticed things like that. He was a wanderer, a loner, a man who lived his life by the blade of a sword. Women were the farthest things from his mind. And yet...and yet this girl was the only thing on his mind.
'It's only because you're grateful,' that cynical voice inside him said. 'She saved your worthless life and you're thankful. Don't read more into it then that.' Soujiro swallowed, grasping hold of those thoughts.
"I'm sure I can manage," he assured her.
"Well, if you need help getting the shirt over your shoulder, just call me. I'll be right outside the house." She pointed to the food she brought and to the bucket of water that was next to it. "Drink your fill, the rest you can use to wash with." With another blushing smile, she left Soujiro to his thoughts.
"Now, how do I go about doing this?" he mused. His first thought was to step out of the lower half of fabric that covered his body. It was stiff, caked and wreaking with dried blood. Soujiro knew Akio would prefer if he would change out of those dirty clothes, but she was too shy to do it herself. He listened, making sure she wasn't going to be entering the room at an inopportune moment before stepping out of the clothes.
Akio left the room, furious with herself for blushing at such a simple conversation as the changing of his clothes. She had been changing his bandages on his bare chest for two days now. She had been touching a man's bare chest for crying out loud! Not to mention when he had been leaning on her when she brought him outside! Just the thought of that brought the blush back. She sighed, disgusted, and paused only long enough to grab her sword of the rack in the front room before storming outside. "I am such a...such a....GIRL!"
A good morning of solid training and self-abuse would help her get her senses back. No more blushing just because Soujiro was semi-attractive and half-naked, sleeping in her bed, just inside her house, and had been with her for two completely un-chaperoned days. There was not a reason in the world to feel shy or self-conscious. Not a reason in the world to feel what she was feeling. It was like the first time she touched a sword when she was a little girl. The adrenaline of doing something she knew she wasn't supposed to do, but did it anyway. The feeling of excitement and danger. But there was also the hesitant fear, the doubt. And of course, that strange feeling of protectiveness, of wanting to be at his side.
"Oh Akio, don't do this," she willed herself as she started her training anew. Tekeda lifted his head from grazing to watch his mistress from the fence of his pen. She was swinging around that shiny stick again. He put his head back down and continued to eat happily. Akio became so engulfed in her workout, that she didn't here the door slide open behind her.
Soujiro had managed to stay on his feet without support while changing his clothes, but walking had been an achievement. He was able to lean on the wall or other objects as he hobbled his way to the door. He would not be reduced to calling for help like an invalid. Except for the fact that he was almost an invalid. When he got outside, he happily collapsed on the front step to catch his breath and hold his still-aching side. The pain was dull and throbbing, it was something he could live with. He had succeeded in changing the lower half of his clothes, and washing himself pretty good too. But he couldn't get the shirt over his wounded shoulder. For that, he'd need Akio's help. With all the pride he could muster, he had went looking for her.
He found the girl outside, engaged in a rather intense training session. Soujiro assessed her movements. She had skill, and a load of raw talent and potential at her fingertips, just begging for a teacher to come along and harness it. Her body moved in a quick, graceful manner. Akio moved fluidly, like a cat. She was fast, but not as fast as others he had faced, not as fast as himself. But still, for a novice without proper instruction, she was surprisingly good. It made him wonder where exactly she learned to fight.
"You're very good," Soujiro said while watching her land a particularly difficult move with grace and ease. Akio, at the sound of his voice, lost her footing and promptly fell on her face. When she got to her feet, she was steaming in a scary way.
"You should know better then the interrupt someone while they're training!" she snapped haughtily, pointing her sword at his head as she magically materialized in front of him. Soujiro only smiled.
"I'm sorry Akio," he laughed without a touch of sincerity. "Call is revenge for your little healing trick this morning." Akio scoffed, but smiled in spite of herself.
"You need help right?" she asked, brandishing her sword in the direction of the shirt tossed over his shoulder. She then flipped the sword and sheathed it. The scabbard had a strap attached to it so that it slung over her head and shoulder, and the scabbard itself was on her back. Sliding the sword back in, the hilt was in a perfect reach from her hand, but concealed over her shoulder.
"Yes, unfortunately," he admitted sheepishly. Akio smiled, walking over to help him finish getting the shirt on. "Seems like a lot of work when you'll only strip me tonight to change my bandages." Akio blushed at his choice of words, but then her eyes widened.
"Shimatta!" she yelped, slapping herself on the forehead. "I just remembered that I used the last of my bandages on you yesterday. I'll have to go into the village and buy more. You stay here Soujiro, I'll be back before you can say Tokyo!" With that she passed by him and went into the house. He heard a little shuffling around, then a silent pause, then she returned outside. There was something clutched in her hand and there was a pensive look on her face. "Um...how did you get out here?"
Soujiro couldn't help by grin. "You just noticed that, did you?" Akio narrowed her eyes. "I leaned on the walls. My legs are functional, a little stiff, but still good. It's my upper body that's a mess." Akio nodded, running an absent hand through her hair.
"Good, moving around on your own is a very good sign. I'm so happy you're healing so well Soujiro." She beamed him a smile and Soujiro couldn't think of a reply. In fact, he couldn't think of anything at all. "Okay, now that's your mobile, don't wander to far from the house. I'll get home quick. No one usually comes down this far, but if you see or hear anything that's not me, go inside." Nodding to herself, she passed him by and walked down to a make-shift pen a couple yards from the house. "Come here pretty boy," she called out.
It was only then that Soujiro noticed something living was in the pen. It was a buck, a strong, young-looking deer. It trotted over to the fence and nuzzled Akio's outstretched hands. Soujiro watched as she opened a small gate and led the deer out, placing a rope leader around it's neck. Then she pulled a small woven basket from the fence. It looked like a saddle at first, but it had two sides that were open and large. She placed it on the deer's back. Akio paused to wave at Soujiro before leading the Takeda down the path that led to the bridge, then on the Renko Village.
The village itself was still buzzing with the gossip of what happened last night at Suika's restaurant between Kymo, the upstanding citizen rifleman, and the town's favorite talked about person, Akio. It was all Akio's fault of course, for daring to stand against a superior person. But then again, if she didn't doing something stupid like that every once in a while, the town gossips would have nothing to say. When they caught sight of the whispered girl, they started talking incessantly.
Akio held her head high, proudly and defiantly. Her green eyes blazed with beautiful defiance. Her hand stroked Tekeda's soft neck as they made their way into the village. The air was thick with the scents of fire and working metal ore. Akio loved the smell of the forges. They passed small forge-shops. Weapons hung in the windows and set on displays. It was a useless effort now that no outsiders were allowed entrance into the town. All that sustained them was the tradesmen who went down the mountain to sell their wares.
Akio stopped Tekeda in front of a small supplies shop, tying his lead rope to a wooden pillar outside the door and walking inside. Everyone in the building went silent as she entered, all eyes were on her. Her emerald eyes quickly scanned the store of any signs of people she wished to avoid, but found none. There were only a few women and children here. They moved aside as she walked by. The woman grabbed their children to them, away from her, as if she were the carrier of some deadly contagious disease. Akio sighed inwardly, but she was used to it. She went about her shopping as if no one else was there.
The purchases were taken to the small woman who ran the store, a collection of bandages and healing supplies. A few odds and ends. Akio acted like no one in the store was staring at her, not daring to touch what she had touched by let behind.
"Oh, hello Akio," the store woman said with a slight smile. She counted the money Akio handed her, looking over the items the girl had bought. "You find another animal to take care of?"
"Well, I found a stray and took him in," Akio answered. She took the things back outside to Tekeda and placed them in the basket on his back. She then untied his leader, and the two of them walked up the street to the restaurant.
Now Suika was a strange woman. In her restaurant, only the freshest food was used. Anything that wasn't up to her high standards was cast out to the dogs, the scavengers, or the compost heaps. That is, unless Akio took her fill of what was still good. That was what she did then. She sifted through the food that was destined for refuse, and took what she needed for home. Akio loaded it into the basket on her buck, then lead him around to head back to her house. Or at least she would have, if Ryu hadn't stopped her.
"Akio, listen, I'm sorry about last night. Kymo was drunk and completely out of line." Akio looked at the familiar young man before her and sighed. It wasn't that Akio hated him, she really didn't. Out of all the village, Ryu was the only one who offered the smallest amount of friendliness to her. It had been every since they were children, when Akio was ten and Ryu was fourteen.
In the beginning, Ryu had been one of her tormenters. Like all the village children, they had delighted in torturing and beating Akio. It was one of the reasons she had begun learning the sword, to protect herself from bullies. One day, the village boys had taken it into their heads to throw Akio into the river to see if she would be taken away. So they ganged up on her, cornered her, and thrown her--like Soujiro--into the river. Only, it didn't work out like they wanted. The river had given her back, the current carrying her to a shallow edge when she was able to scurry out and run home. After then, after the River had delivered her, Ryu had fallen in love. He wanted to marry Akio, wanted her to be at his side. He had tried so hard to mold her into a proper woman, but it seemed that everything he told her to do, she'd do the exact opposite. It had been even worse when her grandmother had died.
Akio smiled slightly. "Thank you Ryu," she said. She was acting meeker then she ever did. Ryu was on guard now. "I have to get home." She lead Tekeda around him and further down the path.
"Can I walk with you?"
"You shouldn't stand so close to me, people will talk," she commented idly, patting the flanks of her buck.
"Akio, you know I don't care about that. There is nothing wrong with you."
"They don't think so. You shouldn't think so. I have to go Ryu, I'll talk to you later." Without anything else, Akio swung on to Tekeda's back and he galloped off down the past like a shot, faster then Ryu could ever hope to catch. He sighed. 'I'll just have to catch up to her later,' he thought.
Okay everyone, here is chapter 6! I want to thank everyone for reviewing and remind everyone to keep reviewing! Yes! Review, or I'll be on you like a hobo on a ham sandwich! *insane laughter* On a serious note, I want to suck up to you all and say, go read my Inuyasha fics! Chapter 12 of Surviving a City will be up as soon as my Beta is done. And Tainted Blood chapter 2 is up! Please read and review them! *begs* And now, for some shout outs!
Pen D. Fox: Well, here for you, no more begging, okay? I love Soujiro too, isn't he the chibi-est? Thanks for reading!
pruningshears: Wow, you are my favorite reviewer! I really love that you read all three of my fics, thanks so much for the reviews! Thanks for the bed info, but I like keep everything generalized if I can help it. Pocky rocks, but I still love Ramen (Inuyasha's influence). Yes, Soujiro is totally wicked, which is why I wanted to do a fic with him! Okay, as for Akio's father--yes, we know him, but he's not a main-main character. I'll hint as to his identity, but I won't come out and say who he is until the sequel, when we meet all the other Kenshin guys! And I know he doesn't have green eyes, but dammit! this is my fic and I'll make him have green eyes if I want to! LOL, thanks again for the reviews, I'm updating all my stories this weekend, if whyndancer gets back to me.
CurlsofSerenity: I'm glad you liked my flashback mode, lol. And yes, the alternate perspectives is because my goal is to have Soujiro and Akio fall in love. *sigh* I'm a pathetic romantic, but you gotta love it.
EEvee: Sorry, had to have him thrown in the river. For me, it's a must.
Kenshin 44: I've seen one or two other Soujiro fics. Mine is weird though, lol. I just want Soujiro to be happy for once in his life, you know? And I love him! Not only is he a wicked swordsman, he's also got a lot of emotional scarring which makes him into a believable character. I hates those characters that have 'perfect lives'. All my characters have some kind of problems.
Hoshii-Sama: Thanks, I try, lol. I'm happy you think my little fic is the best RK, I don't think so! I just wanted to do an RK fic with Soujiro, hehe. About the changing fonts thing, blarg, I haven't yet mastered that practice. Sorry if I confused anyone. Please feel free to read it as much as you want!
~~Jesse the Wolf Demon~~ Signing off for tonight!