End Of Last Chapter:
"And he left me there. At a doorway in the middle of the street in the late
night."
Chapter Seven: Her Story- Part Two
Ayame looked at Soujiro. She could quite easily tell that he felt badly for her. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine now." Soujiro just nodded. "There is more to it all, but if you don't want to hear it, it's fine with me." "No, it's quite alright. Please go on." "Ok."
Her Story- Part Two...
"During the night, a police officer walked by and saw me in the doorway. He picked me up and decided to take me to his home. He honestly didn't know what to do with me, but he knew he couldn't just leave me there. When he arrived home with me, his wife instantly decided that they would raise me. The officer's name was Shiguro. I called him Gu. His wife's name was Kikira. When they saw my staff, they knew my name was Ayame, and decided not to give me a last name, but instead choose one for myself when I got older. They both took excellent care of me, and since Shiguro was actually the chief of police in the town, he knew some English, and with that they taught me Japanese." She paused and laughed a little before continuing. "They were so surprised to find out how strong I was, and that I could handle weapons easily, so in a few years Shiguro decided I could have a small part in the force." She smiled. "The whole town loved me, 'cause I was also extremely fast and agile, so I caught all the crooks. But..." She stopped for a moment. "But one day Gu told me I couldn't help any more. I was upset at first, but I knew it was because he wanted me safe. That night was one I would always remember. I was walking home from shopping, I think I was only about seven years old, and it was late so I didn't want to go home right away because I knew Kikira would not like me being out for so long, so I wasted all the time I could." She said this with as much truth as she could, but never told the whole story. She would never tell the truth to anyone. Not until it was all resolved. "And I should note that this was the time of the Revelation, and we lived in a town not to far away from Kyoto." Soujiro stopped her. "Why didn't you decide to move?" "We never really felt the need to, for we had one of the best police forces for miles, but we really should have raise defences more than we did. But like I was saying, I was walking home, and all of a sudden I heard screaming. I knew it was the rebels, but I wasn't afraid. I wasn't cocky or too bold of myself, but I didn't really ever fear death. So I kept walking ahead, until a neighbour came running by. She saw me there and told me to run away. I simply replied, 'I'm going home to my mother'. She gave me a look of pity and told me that Kikira had been killed. I said that instead, I would go to Gu, but he was also killed that night. With all my grief, I didn't run, but walked a secret route to my house, one that only the police force knew, grabbed my belongings and left. I walked for many hours and many miles before stopping by a stream and praying for my adoptive parents. After I was finished, I saw a elderly man near me, also praying. When he finished, I asked him what he was praying for. He said he was praying for the souls lost in the town of Hokuro. The town of Hokuro. My town. I asked him if he knew any one that was killed, and he told me he knew one family, whose name I can't remember, but he said they were killed. He said everyone was killed. That there were no survivors. With this knowledge, I left and decided I would build my house by a stream in remembrance of my town's people. It was a few days until I reached the next stream, and I wasn't sure how far I had gone, but I built my house there, and that is the house you saw."
When she was finished Soujiro still said nothing. She had gone through so much he thought, and it all reminded him of his own past. His parent's never wanted him, and his adoptive family was killed. Only, his story was a bit different. Ayame started to talk again. "Well, we should stop and eat something before we continue." "Ok." They walked a little ways into the forest and sat down to eat. Soujiro hadn't planned on eating anything because he had brought nothing. Ayame got out the food and handed some to him. "No, it's alright. You've already been so generous, I couldn't take your food." Again she did his favourite expression. She smiled. "Is it that you can't take my food, or is it simply that you don't want to eat my food?" "No no no, it's not like that.." "Then just eat it." He had learned by now that there was no use arguing with her, so he took the food and ate. Ayame noticed he was still thinking about the story she told him. "Don't fret over it. What's done is done. And it's not like that topic is new to you or anything." He quickly looked at her with a puzzled expression. 'How does she know that? Does she know about my past?' He came up with a question he knew she could answer. "I know you've said you don't know how you know about me, but what exactly do you know?" "You are very keen, I give you credit for that. Hmmmmmm..What do I know exactly? Well, I don't want to bring up any painful memories, but I do know your past as well as I know mine." 'She does know. But how far back?' "Tell me what you know." "As you wish. I know that your mother...your mother had a rather unapproved of career, and to discourage any gossip, your father's family took you in." She always shivered at the thought of those dirty bastards. He looked at her in a way that she knew he wanted her to continue. "And I know what those horrible, horrible people did to you." She looked away. She didn't want him to see the tears in the corners of her eyes, but he saw them. Like she had said, he was very keen. He wondered why it was she cried at the thought of his past, but not at her own. She wiped her eyes and Soujiro asked her to continue. "I know how you met Shishio. I know what he told you. And I know what he suggest you did about those bastards." She stopped and looked at him to see what his reaction was. He was certainly surprised that she knew this much, but curious about how much more she knew. So she went on. "I know that he trained you to be the excellent fighter you are, and I know how hard it was for you fighting with Kenshin." She knew about that too, huh? Well then why the hell would she ask him to bring her?! "I know what you must be thinking, and I have my reasons that you will know eventually, but for now, I can only tell you that I am extremely grateful to you." Even though his temper was beginning to rise, that sentence calmed him down. They decided to quickly hurry on their way to Tokyo, and it was becoming night soon, so they wanted to get to the next town fast. As soon as they got back onto the road, they saw a large carriage coming towards them. When it neared them it suddenly stopped, and they saw a obviously wealthy man come out. Soujiro didn't have any idea who he was, but the man wasn't looking at him. He was looking at Ayame. "Ayame! What are you doing here?!" "Officer Jirun! Wow! What a surprise! Actually, I'm on my way to Tokyo with my friend here." "Really? Well what a coincidence! I'm heading there too! I have a meeting with an old officer friend of mine." "Oh neat." "Hey, it's getting dark out soon, would you guys want a ride? I got lots of room!" Ayame glanced at Soujiro with a smile. "You want to?" "Sure. Save more time I guess." "Great! Sure! We'd love to!" "Alright then, come inside quickly so we can be own our way!" All three got into the carriage and it took off. 'Save more time I guess. That's what I said. It'd save more time.' The last thing Soujiro wanted was to get there faster. Once inside Ayame told Soujiro that Officer Jirun was the police chief in Sokada, the vllage where they met, and that she helped the police force a lot. Jirun was a very talkative man, and he certainly proved it by telling Soujiro of practically all the thiefs Ayame had helped catch. He talked for a very long time, and it seemed like forever to them both, but they were glad in the end that he talked so much because they had barely noticed the trip and it was over they next thing they knew. Jirun dropped them off at a resturant called the Akebeko. They said good-bye and Jirun went on his way. "Sou-kun, we should go inside right now. It's getting dark." "But where will we stay?" He blushed. "I mean..where will you sleep? And where will I sleep?" Ayame giggled. "I have an idea." They walked inside the Akebeko and a young girl came up to them and said that they were closing. "Oh my! You must be Tsubame-chan! Oh it's so nice to meet you!" The girl Ayame had called Tsubame looked at her with a big curious look in her eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry! Let me introduce myself! My name is Ayame, and this is my friend Sou- kun. We're here in Tokyo to visit a friend of mine. I had a feeling you might know him, his name is Kenshin." "You're friends of Kenshin-sama?! Oh wow! Nice to meet you! Would you like me to show you where the dojo is?" "Actually, we wanted to meet them in the daytime, and it's so dark out now, we wouldn't have much time to talk. So I was wondering, would it be alright if we roomed here for the night? I've heard so much about your wonderful hospitality! Of course, we'd pay you. What do you say?" Tsubame thought about it for a minute. "Just let me go ask Tae! Be right back!" She ran off in a hurry. "Wow. You show have a way of charming people." "Yes, and I bet you'd know all about that now, wouldn't you?" Soujiro blushed sheepishly, and that made her laugh. Tsubame came running back. "Alright! You guys can stay! There's a room upstairs you can use." Soujiro's eyes almost popped out of his head. "A room? You mean just one?!" Tsubame blushed. They could both easily tell she was a shy little girl. "I'm afraid so. But, Ayame-san can room with me and Tae if you want!" Her eyes beamed. She was very eager to get to know one of Kenshin's friends before anyone else. And in truth, she would, that's exactly what would happen. She would know her before anyone else. "Sure. I'd love to room with you guys, but I'm afraid I won't talk much. It's been such a long trip and we're very tired." "That's alright." And so Tsubame showed them where they could sleep. Before going in her room, Ayame looked back at Tsubame and gave Soujiro a wink. "Good Night Sou-kun." "Good night." And with that, they rested.
End Of Chapter
Author's Note: OOOOH!!! Sweet neh? I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I bet I'll like writing the next one even more because the NEXT chapter is where they catch up with Kenshin!!! XD Keep reading! Thanks! :P
Chapter Seven: Her Story- Part Two
Ayame looked at Soujiro. She could quite easily tell that he felt badly for her. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine now." Soujiro just nodded. "There is more to it all, but if you don't want to hear it, it's fine with me." "No, it's quite alright. Please go on." "Ok."
Her Story- Part Two...
"During the night, a police officer walked by and saw me in the doorway. He picked me up and decided to take me to his home. He honestly didn't know what to do with me, but he knew he couldn't just leave me there. When he arrived home with me, his wife instantly decided that they would raise me. The officer's name was Shiguro. I called him Gu. His wife's name was Kikira. When they saw my staff, they knew my name was Ayame, and decided not to give me a last name, but instead choose one for myself when I got older. They both took excellent care of me, and since Shiguro was actually the chief of police in the town, he knew some English, and with that they taught me Japanese." She paused and laughed a little before continuing. "They were so surprised to find out how strong I was, and that I could handle weapons easily, so in a few years Shiguro decided I could have a small part in the force." She smiled. "The whole town loved me, 'cause I was also extremely fast and agile, so I caught all the crooks. But..." She stopped for a moment. "But one day Gu told me I couldn't help any more. I was upset at first, but I knew it was because he wanted me safe. That night was one I would always remember. I was walking home from shopping, I think I was only about seven years old, and it was late so I didn't want to go home right away because I knew Kikira would not like me being out for so long, so I wasted all the time I could." She said this with as much truth as she could, but never told the whole story. She would never tell the truth to anyone. Not until it was all resolved. "And I should note that this was the time of the Revelation, and we lived in a town not to far away from Kyoto." Soujiro stopped her. "Why didn't you decide to move?" "We never really felt the need to, for we had one of the best police forces for miles, but we really should have raise defences more than we did. But like I was saying, I was walking home, and all of a sudden I heard screaming. I knew it was the rebels, but I wasn't afraid. I wasn't cocky or too bold of myself, but I didn't really ever fear death. So I kept walking ahead, until a neighbour came running by. She saw me there and told me to run away. I simply replied, 'I'm going home to my mother'. She gave me a look of pity and told me that Kikira had been killed. I said that instead, I would go to Gu, but he was also killed that night. With all my grief, I didn't run, but walked a secret route to my house, one that only the police force knew, grabbed my belongings and left. I walked for many hours and many miles before stopping by a stream and praying for my adoptive parents. After I was finished, I saw a elderly man near me, also praying. When he finished, I asked him what he was praying for. He said he was praying for the souls lost in the town of Hokuro. The town of Hokuro. My town. I asked him if he knew any one that was killed, and he told me he knew one family, whose name I can't remember, but he said they were killed. He said everyone was killed. That there were no survivors. With this knowledge, I left and decided I would build my house by a stream in remembrance of my town's people. It was a few days until I reached the next stream, and I wasn't sure how far I had gone, but I built my house there, and that is the house you saw."
When she was finished Soujiro still said nothing. She had gone through so much he thought, and it all reminded him of his own past. His parent's never wanted him, and his adoptive family was killed. Only, his story was a bit different. Ayame started to talk again. "Well, we should stop and eat something before we continue." "Ok." They walked a little ways into the forest and sat down to eat. Soujiro hadn't planned on eating anything because he had brought nothing. Ayame got out the food and handed some to him. "No, it's alright. You've already been so generous, I couldn't take your food." Again she did his favourite expression. She smiled. "Is it that you can't take my food, or is it simply that you don't want to eat my food?" "No no no, it's not like that.." "Then just eat it." He had learned by now that there was no use arguing with her, so he took the food and ate. Ayame noticed he was still thinking about the story she told him. "Don't fret over it. What's done is done. And it's not like that topic is new to you or anything." He quickly looked at her with a puzzled expression. 'How does she know that? Does she know about my past?' He came up with a question he knew she could answer. "I know you've said you don't know how you know about me, but what exactly do you know?" "You are very keen, I give you credit for that. Hmmmmmm..What do I know exactly? Well, I don't want to bring up any painful memories, but I do know your past as well as I know mine." 'She does know. But how far back?' "Tell me what you know." "As you wish. I know that your mother...your mother had a rather unapproved of career, and to discourage any gossip, your father's family took you in." She always shivered at the thought of those dirty bastards. He looked at her in a way that she knew he wanted her to continue. "And I know what those horrible, horrible people did to you." She looked away. She didn't want him to see the tears in the corners of her eyes, but he saw them. Like she had said, he was very keen. He wondered why it was she cried at the thought of his past, but not at her own. She wiped her eyes and Soujiro asked her to continue. "I know how you met Shishio. I know what he told you. And I know what he suggest you did about those bastards." She stopped and looked at him to see what his reaction was. He was certainly surprised that she knew this much, but curious about how much more she knew. So she went on. "I know that he trained you to be the excellent fighter you are, and I know how hard it was for you fighting with Kenshin." She knew about that too, huh? Well then why the hell would she ask him to bring her?! "I know what you must be thinking, and I have my reasons that you will know eventually, but for now, I can only tell you that I am extremely grateful to you." Even though his temper was beginning to rise, that sentence calmed him down. They decided to quickly hurry on their way to Tokyo, and it was becoming night soon, so they wanted to get to the next town fast. As soon as they got back onto the road, they saw a large carriage coming towards them. When it neared them it suddenly stopped, and they saw a obviously wealthy man come out. Soujiro didn't have any idea who he was, but the man wasn't looking at him. He was looking at Ayame. "Ayame! What are you doing here?!" "Officer Jirun! Wow! What a surprise! Actually, I'm on my way to Tokyo with my friend here." "Really? Well what a coincidence! I'm heading there too! I have a meeting with an old officer friend of mine." "Oh neat." "Hey, it's getting dark out soon, would you guys want a ride? I got lots of room!" Ayame glanced at Soujiro with a smile. "You want to?" "Sure. Save more time I guess." "Great! Sure! We'd love to!" "Alright then, come inside quickly so we can be own our way!" All three got into the carriage and it took off. 'Save more time I guess. That's what I said. It'd save more time.' The last thing Soujiro wanted was to get there faster. Once inside Ayame told Soujiro that Officer Jirun was the police chief in Sokada, the vllage where they met, and that she helped the police force a lot. Jirun was a very talkative man, and he certainly proved it by telling Soujiro of practically all the thiefs Ayame had helped catch. He talked for a very long time, and it seemed like forever to them both, but they were glad in the end that he talked so much because they had barely noticed the trip and it was over they next thing they knew. Jirun dropped them off at a resturant called the Akebeko. They said good-bye and Jirun went on his way. "Sou-kun, we should go inside right now. It's getting dark." "But where will we stay?" He blushed. "I mean..where will you sleep? And where will I sleep?" Ayame giggled. "I have an idea." They walked inside the Akebeko and a young girl came up to them and said that they were closing. "Oh my! You must be Tsubame-chan! Oh it's so nice to meet you!" The girl Ayame had called Tsubame looked at her with a big curious look in her eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry! Let me introduce myself! My name is Ayame, and this is my friend Sou- kun. We're here in Tokyo to visit a friend of mine. I had a feeling you might know him, his name is Kenshin." "You're friends of Kenshin-sama?! Oh wow! Nice to meet you! Would you like me to show you where the dojo is?" "Actually, we wanted to meet them in the daytime, and it's so dark out now, we wouldn't have much time to talk. So I was wondering, would it be alright if we roomed here for the night? I've heard so much about your wonderful hospitality! Of course, we'd pay you. What do you say?" Tsubame thought about it for a minute. "Just let me go ask Tae! Be right back!" She ran off in a hurry. "Wow. You show have a way of charming people." "Yes, and I bet you'd know all about that now, wouldn't you?" Soujiro blushed sheepishly, and that made her laugh. Tsubame came running back. "Alright! You guys can stay! There's a room upstairs you can use." Soujiro's eyes almost popped out of his head. "A room? You mean just one?!" Tsubame blushed. They could both easily tell she was a shy little girl. "I'm afraid so. But, Ayame-san can room with me and Tae if you want!" Her eyes beamed. She was very eager to get to know one of Kenshin's friends before anyone else. And in truth, she would, that's exactly what would happen. She would know her before anyone else. "Sure. I'd love to room with you guys, but I'm afraid I won't talk much. It's been such a long trip and we're very tired." "That's alright." And so Tsubame showed them where they could sleep. Before going in her room, Ayame looked back at Tsubame and gave Soujiro a wink. "Good Night Sou-kun." "Good night." And with that, they rested.
End Of Chapter
Author's Note: OOOOH!!! Sweet neh? I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I bet I'll like writing the next one even more because the NEXT chapter is where they catch up with Kenshin!!! XD Keep reading! Thanks! :P