Ultimate Struggle
Chapter Six-A Quiet Dream
Disclaimer: I am bored. I am writing because I am bored. If I had been
bored and made up any of the characters in this story besides Ari,
then I would be busy spending money. In other words, NOT MINE!
Yusuke: Gee, a little bitter aren't you?
Goku: Who's the new gal?
Ari: I don't know, but she gets on my nerves. She keeps telling me I'm
dangerously psychotic and that I need much therapy and medication.
Kenshin: Now that's not nice.
Battosai: .though true.
Ari: Shut up. I'm the main character and you're not.
Yusuke: No need to rub it in!
Vash: uhm, hi.
Allison: KILL!
Katrina: Yet another lost lamb, in need of my treatment.
Ari: Oh just shut up.
-A small child looked around her, afraid. She knew that if she
went to sleep, they would find her, and she would not wake up. She
desperately tried to stay awake, and focused, but in the end her need
to rest over came her and she slumbered. The small child was not
afraid of police; she was afraid of dreams.-
Ari Stormset, Ultimate of the Universe, once again had
managed to get herself hurt. It had occurred during a fight with a
certain angry ancient evil spirit whose Millennium Ring had
effectively taken away her sight. Again.
'How is it that I always manage to get hurt?' she asked
herself. 'Why can I not just go in, save some people, and go back to
the dojo without any bodily harm?'
Then a rather worrisome thought entered into her mind.
'How' she wondered, 'am I ever going to explain or even hide the fact
that I can't see from Kenshin, Sano, and Yahiko?'
Oops. She thought.
"Ah, well," she said to no one in particular. "I guess
I'll just have to get better quick."
Ari crept quietly back into the dojo early in the morning,
before Kenshin or anyone else should be up but way too late to have
any hope for sleep. She had just finished making a quick stop at
Kame's Lookout (think DBZ) to get Dende to fix her sight. It had
worked, but Ari felt like she had somehow fudged on the laws of proper
recuperation. Oh, well.
Unable to get to sleep, because there would only be about
an hour of it, Ari decided that she would get up and make one of the
few things she knew how to cook well for breakfast: clam chowder.
Yahiko and Sanosuke actually begged for this at times, and she figured
that if they were busy eating they wouldn't ask about the small scar
that Dende had been unable to prevent from forming from her injury.
Kenshin she wasn't sure about, but she decided to make sure her bangs
were down so that they could hide it, just in case.
Over the course of the two years she had been at the
Kamiya dojo, Ari had managed to never once let anyone see any more
scars of hers than possible. Herself, she thought of them as Badges of
Courage, so to speak, but she wasn't sure how people would react to
them, and so she kept herself covered. Good thing the Japanese were
people who believed in keeping themselves covered.
Ari sighed, feeling slightly better as she went ahead and
had a bowl of chowder. She pretty much always came in and had a first
serving before telling people that breakfast was ready; she needed it,
too. After battling nightly for her life and generally doing things
that most heroes only had to do once or twice in their lifetime, Ari
was very hungry. Eating before breakfast usually satiated her need for
calories already burnt, and then breakfast got her ready for training.
When she was finished, Ari went to first to Yahiko's room,
then Sano's, and finally to Kenshin's to wake people up and alert them
to breakfast. Yahiko was up and out in an instant, and after hearing
about the clam chowder, Sano quickly followed suit. Ari watched them
go before knocking on Kenshin's door.
He didn't answer, and so Ari stepped softly into the room.
A little too softly, perhaps; he didn't awaken as he usually did when
someone came in. Ari, a little confused on proper etiquette I in a
situation such as this, stood for half a moment wondering what she
should do. She thought and finally settled on simply waking him up.
"Kenshin," she said, trying to wake him up without giving
him a heart attack, "C'mon it's time to wake up-breakfast is ready. If
you don't get out there pretty quickly, all the clam chowder is going
to be gone!"
He awoke. "Clam chowder?" he asked, happy. "Really?"
"Not for long with Sanosuke and Yahiko already eating,"
she replied seriously. "We'd best go eat."
"Okay, I'll be along in a minute," he said, realizing that
he had no shirt on.
"Alright," I said, " but don't blame me if it's already
all gone!"
Everyone sat down and had a nice breakfast, and Sano and
Yahiko actually told her that she had cooked a good meal. "Ah,
thanks," she said, wondering what they'd say if she cooked dinner,
too.
"It's very good, that it is," said Kenshin, content. "A
nice way to start off some training."
"Aw, man, whose side are you on?" whined Sano and Yahiko.
"Watch yourself boys," said a rather tired instructor. " I
feel like sparring today. you know, I think that that's exactly what
we're going to do tomorrow unless you can give me three hundred reps
today." Ari grinned evilly, her eyes hardening slightly. "Believe me,
I am really, really ready to beat on someone, too."
Yahiko and Sano ran out to get started. Neither of them
enjoyed the bumps, bruises, and occasional broken rib that usually
accompanied sparring days. Ari, of course, enjoyed it immensely.
Kenshin watched them go. " They really do not want to
spar, that they don't," he observed thoughtfully. "Why?"
Ari grinned wolfishly. " Because I beat the crap out of
them as a general rule."
"Oh." He said, somewhat taken aback. " Why are you so
harsh with them? They might enjoy themselves sparring if you give them
a reason, that they might." He quietly left to go do the dishes.
Ari sighed, then, feeling guilty went to do laundry.
Kenshin had only just finished the dishes when he found Ari cleaning
the floors. He went to hang up the clean laundry and when he returned
was surprised to find her asleep on the floor. 'What on earth has she
been up to? Although.' he thought, 'come to think of it, she does do
an enormous amount of work around here. I wonder if she sleeps well.'
He shrugged, then decided that it would be better for her to sleep in
her bed than face down on the floor. He summarily gathered her up off
the floor and carried her quietly to her room, closing the door softly
behind him.
Ari awoke later to find herself refreshed and somewhat annoyed with
herself for falling asleep. It was the late evening, and she stretched
a moment before mentally berating herself while stepping out. She
managed to step out smack into Kenshin, causing clean fresh smelling
laundry to go everywhere.
" Sumimasen, oh, sumimasen!" she said, half way panicking as she
scrambled around picking up clothing. " I'm so sorry, I didn't see you
there-," she broke off, feeling a little high-strung and deciding it
would look better to be quiet than babbling.
"It's all right, Miss Ari, please don't worry yourself over it!"
Kenshin said, looking like he was a bit worried about her.
"Are you sure you're alright, Miss Ari? You're looking a little
troubled, that you are," he asked.
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine." she said distractedly, not sure what was wrong
with herself.she was acting so out of sorts, unable to focus-she ran
her hand through her hair, trying to figure out what was wrong. Bad
move- Kenshin saw her scar.
"When did you get that?" he asked, now really concerned. "I haven't seen that scar before- Miss Ari, what is happening? Is there anything going wrong that you need to tell us about?"
"NO! I'm fine!" Ari said desperately, turning and running outside and fleeing down the street. She dimly heard Kenshin yelling after her, but didn't stop to hear him. She ran, completely panicked now, trying to get to somewhere she could relax and be home but realizing that such a place, for her, did not exist. She continued to run until she reached the edge of the forest, where the river wound a path between the wild and where she stood. Kenshin ran up behind her, and stopped, taking her in to find clues as to what had her so badly spooked. Ari had stopped, however, and was somehow at peace- the sight of the river and the forest gave her a sense of content. Kenshin realized this, and stared, wondering.
Ari stood, confident, at the edge of the river, on a large gray outcropping of granite, looking up to the moon. Her short brown blonde hair rose with her chi, cape slung over one shoulder, rustling in the breeze created by her rising energy. Her small, lithe, and strong body spoke of strife, and of pain, but also of a quiet confidence in herself. She was possessed of an air of quiet suffering, of private and deep pain. She gazed deeply up at the moon with blue-grey eyes that held the light, and gave it back with rolling storms mixing infinitely with steel and a rich red the color of blood. She stood there, strength incarnate, and Kenshin stood, as close to awe as ever he'd been.
It was only a passing moment in time, and somehow within those few seconds Kenshin had seen every part of Ari. He had seen how incredibly weary her spirit was, and how lonely she felt day to day. He noted the colors running through her eyes, and realized the pain, they space, the anger, and the mettle that was within her. He was amazed at her capacity to live, and to fight, and to keep on living, even though she stood on the brink, repeatedly. He admired her for her confidence, the kind of inner strength inside her, and how she very carefully kept it all restrained, as though she were afraid to be herself for fear of hurting the loved ones around her. After a moment, Ari blinked, and the feeling was gone like the breeze. She sighed, then, with a last look at the moon, she turned and walked towards Kenshin.
Kenshin was silent as she looked at him with a kind of unvoiced gratitude in her eyes, and they agreed in a glance that no words would be spoken on what had transpired. They walked, without a word, back to the dojo, and entered into their respective sleeping quarters. Ari and Kenshin were both up after that, thinking on what had happened.
Allison: Phew! It's 3.30 in the morning, and I am tired! Hannah: You're tired? I'M tired! Allison: Folks meet my part time co-writer, Hannah! Hannah: Shut up. It's time for bed. Kenshin: zzz. Yusuke: zzz. Goku: SNORE.. Vash: zzz.mumblemumbledonuts. Hannah: zzz. Allison: aw, come on, y'all! I'm just a bundle of energy at this time of the morning! I could keep on writing until the sun comes up! Hannah: (knocks Allison unconscious with a high pseudo-chop to the back of the head) goodnight.
Screensaver: Please review!
Disclaimer: I am bored. I am writing because I am bored. If I had been
bored and made up any of the characters in this story besides Ari,
then I would be busy spending money. In other words, NOT MINE!
Yusuke: Gee, a little bitter aren't you?
Goku: Who's the new gal?
Ari: I don't know, but she gets on my nerves. She keeps telling me I'm
dangerously psychotic and that I need much therapy and medication.
Kenshin: Now that's not nice.
Battosai: .though true.
Ari: Shut up. I'm the main character and you're not.
Yusuke: No need to rub it in!
Vash: uhm, hi.
Allison: KILL!
Katrina: Yet another lost lamb, in need of my treatment.
Ari: Oh just shut up.
-A small child looked around her, afraid. She knew that if she
went to sleep, they would find her, and she would not wake up. She
desperately tried to stay awake, and focused, but in the end her need
to rest over came her and she slumbered. The small child was not
afraid of police; she was afraid of dreams.-
Ari Stormset, Ultimate of the Universe, once again had
managed to get herself hurt. It had occurred during a fight with a
certain angry ancient evil spirit whose Millennium Ring had
effectively taken away her sight. Again.
'How is it that I always manage to get hurt?' she asked
herself. 'Why can I not just go in, save some people, and go back to
the dojo without any bodily harm?'
Then a rather worrisome thought entered into her mind.
'How' she wondered, 'am I ever going to explain or even hide the fact
that I can't see from Kenshin, Sano, and Yahiko?'
Oops. She thought.
"Ah, well," she said to no one in particular. "I guess
I'll just have to get better quick."
Ari crept quietly back into the dojo early in the morning,
before Kenshin or anyone else should be up but way too late to have
any hope for sleep. She had just finished making a quick stop at
Kame's Lookout (think DBZ) to get Dende to fix her sight. It had
worked, but Ari felt like she had somehow fudged on the laws of proper
recuperation. Oh, well.
Unable to get to sleep, because there would only be about
an hour of it, Ari decided that she would get up and make one of the
few things she knew how to cook well for breakfast: clam chowder.
Yahiko and Sanosuke actually begged for this at times, and she figured
that if they were busy eating they wouldn't ask about the small scar
that Dende had been unable to prevent from forming from her injury.
Kenshin she wasn't sure about, but she decided to make sure her bangs
were down so that they could hide it, just in case.
Over the course of the two years she had been at the
Kamiya dojo, Ari had managed to never once let anyone see any more
scars of hers than possible. Herself, she thought of them as Badges of
Courage, so to speak, but she wasn't sure how people would react to
them, and so she kept herself covered. Good thing the Japanese were
people who believed in keeping themselves covered.
Ari sighed, feeling slightly better as she went ahead and
had a bowl of chowder. She pretty much always came in and had a first
serving before telling people that breakfast was ready; she needed it,
too. After battling nightly for her life and generally doing things
that most heroes only had to do once or twice in their lifetime, Ari
was very hungry. Eating before breakfast usually satiated her need for
calories already burnt, and then breakfast got her ready for training.
When she was finished, Ari went to first to Yahiko's room,
then Sano's, and finally to Kenshin's to wake people up and alert them
to breakfast. Yahiko was up and out in an instant, and after hearing
about the clam chowder, Sano quickly followed suit. Ari watched them
go before knocking on Kenshin's door.
He didn't answer, and so Ari stepped softly into the room.
A little too softly, perhaps; he didn't awaken as he usually did when
someone came in. Ari, a little confused on proper etiquette I in a
situation such as this, stood for half a moment wondering what she
should do. She thought and finally settled on simply waking him up.
"Kenshin," she said, trying to wake him up without giving
him a heart attack, "C'mon it's time to wake up-breakfast is ready. If
you don't get out there pretty quickly, all the clam chowder is going
to be gone!"
He awoke. "Clam chowder?" he asked, happy. "Really?"
"Not for long with Sanosuke and Yahiko already eating,"
she replied seriously. "We'd best go eat."
"Okay, I'll be along in a minute," he said, realizing that
he had no shirt on.
"Alright," I said, " but don't blame me if it's already
all gone!"
Everyone sat down and had a nice breakfast, and Sano and
Yahiko actually told her that she had cooked a good meal. "Ah,
thanks," she said, wondering what they'd say if she cooked dinner,
too.
"It's very good, that it is," said Kenshin, content. "A
nice way to start off some training."
"Aw, man, whose side are you on?" whined Sano and Yahiko.
"Watch yourself boys," said a rather tired instructor. " I
feel like sparring today. you know, I think that that's exactly what
we're going to do tomorrow unless you can give me three hundred reps
today." Ari grinned evilly, her eyes hardening slightly. "Believe me,
I am really, really ready to beat on someone, too."
Yahiko and Sano ran out to get started. Neither of them
enjoyed the bumps, bruises, and occasional broken rib that usually
accompanied sparring days. Ari, of course, enjoyed it immensely.
Kenshin watched them go. " They really do not want to
spar, that they don't," he observed thoughtfully. "Why?"
Ari grinned wolfishly. " Because I beat the crap out of
them as a general rule."
"Oh." He said, somewhat taken aback. " Why are you so
harsh with them? They might enjoy themselves sparring if you give them
a reason, that they might." He quietly left to go do the dishes.
Ari sighed, then, feeling guilty went to do laundry.
Kenshin had only just finished the dishes when he found Ari cleaning
the floors. He went to hang up the clean laundry and when he returned
was surprised to find her asleep on the floor. 'What on earth has she
been up to? Although.' he thought, 'come to think of it, she does do
an enormous amount of work around here. I wonder if she sleeps well.'
He shrugged, then decided that it would be better for her to sleep in
her bed than face down on the floor. He summarily gathered her up off
the floor and carried her quietly to her room, closing the door softly
behind him.
Ari awoke later to find herself refreshed and somewhat annoyed with
herself for falling asleep. It was the late evening, and she stretched
a moment before mentally berating herself while stepping out. She
managed to step out smack into Kenshin, causing clean fresh smelling
laundry to go everywhere.
" Sumimasen, oh, sumimasen!" she said, half way panicking as she
scrambled around picking up clothing. " I'm so sorry, I didn't see you
there-," she broke off, feeling a little high-strung and deciding it
would look better to be quiet than babbling.
"It's all right, Miss Ari, please don't worry yourself over it!"
Kenshin said, looking like he was a bit worried about her.
"Are you sure you're alright, Miss Ari? You're looking a little
troubled, that you are," he asked.
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine." she said distractedly, not sure what was wrong
with herself.she was acting so out of sorts, unable to focus-she ran
her hand through her hair, trying to figure out what was wrong. Bad
move- Kenshin saw her scar.
"When did you get that?" he asked, now really concerned. "I haven't seen that scar before- Miss Ari, what is happening? Is there anything going wrong that you need to tell us about?"
"NO! I'm fine!" Ari said desperately, turning and running outside and fleeing down the street. She dimly heard Kenshin yelling after her, but didn't stop to hear him. She ran, completely panicked now, trying to get to somewhere she could relax and be home but realizing that such a place, for her, did not exist. She continued to run until she reached the edge of the forest, where the river wound a path between the wild and where she stood. Kenshin ran up behind her, and stopped, taking her in to find clues as to what had her so badly spooked. Ari had stopped, however, and was somehow at peace- the sight of the river and the forest gave her a sense of content. Kenshin realized this, and stared, wondering.
Ari stood, confident, at the edge of the river, on a large gray outcropping of granite, looking up to the moon. Her short brown blonde hair rose with her chi, cape slung over one shoulder, rustling in the breeze created by her rising energy. Her small, lithe, and strong body spoke of strife, and of pain, but also of a quiet confidence in herself. She was possessed of an air of quiet suffering, of private and deep pain. She gazed deeply up at the moon with blue-grey eyes that held the light, and gave it back with rolling storms mixing infinitely with steel and a rich red the color of blood. She stood there, strength incarnate, and Kenshin stood, as close to awe as ever he'd been.
It was only a passing moment in time, and somehow within those few seconds Kenshin had seen every part of Ari. He had seen how incredibly weary her spirit was, and how lonely she felt day to day. He noted the colors running through her eyes, and realized the pain, they space, the anger, and the mettle that was within her. He was amazed at her capacity to live, and to fight, and to keep on living, even though she stood on the brink, repeatedly. He admired her for her confidence, the kind of inner strength inside her, and how she very carefully kept it all restrained, as though she were afraid to be herself for fear of hurting the loved ones around her. After a moment, Ari blinked, and the feeling was gone like the breeze. She sighed, then, with a last look at the moon, she turned and walked towards Kenshin.
Kenshin was silent as she looked at him with a kind of unvoiced gratitude in her eyes, and they agreed in a glance that no words would be spoken on what had transpired. They walked, without a word, back to the dojo, and entered into their respective sleeping quarters. Ari and Kenshin were both up after that, thinking on what had happened.
Allison: Phew! It's 3.30 in the morning, and I am tired! Hannah: You're tired? I'M tired! Allison: Folks meet my part time co-writer, Hannah! Hannah: Shut up. It's time for bed. Kenshin: zzz. Yusuke: zzz. Goku: SNORE.. Vash: zzz.mumblemumbledonuts. Hannah: zzz. Allison: aw, come on, y'all! I'm just a bundle of energy at this time of the morning! I could keep on writing until the sun comes up! Hannah: (knocks Allison unconscious with a high pseudo-chop to the back of the head) goodnight.
Screensaver: Please review!