I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.
Fragmented Dreams
Chapter 4
It was yet another boring day at the Aoiya. Misao had lapsed into her customary schedule and position in front of the door, greeting people, but her thoughts always drifted back to Aoshi. She had been receiving gifts lately – they were dropped off early in the morning or late at night on the doorstep of the Aoiya. She had no idea who was leaving these gifts, but they were always addressed to her. There were beautiful little trinkets, perfume bottles, flowers, and other things that one would give another if they were courting. Misao was growing weary of the seemingly endless supply of gifts that were being showered upon her and decided that she had to discover who was behind it all.
Unbeknownst to Misao though, was Aoshi, who was ever watchful of his protégé. He had seen a young man come every night to leave the gifts that she had been finding. Just seeing the young man come filled him with anger beyond words that he wanted to confront him, he wanted to show this man that Misao was his and that he was not allowed near her. This possessiveness of Aoshi was not new founded though. He had always felt this way and almost wished he had shown this part of himself to Misao before he left, but was sure that she would have felt stifled by his attention. What he did not know was that Misao had been vying for that kind of attention her whole life – all she wanted was for him to notice her, and when he finally did, he had abandoned her the night after.
That night, Misao hid, waiting for her anonymous benefactor to come, but he didn't appear at all, and finally, Misao decided to go to sleep.
The next morning found Misao tired and exhausted as usual, but she hid behind her somber mask and no one thought anything of it. The usual morning group had come and gone and Misao was left with nothing to do; everyone was in the kitchen eating. She sat at a table in the corner, sipping her tea demurely, staring into space. Misao suddenly snapped out of her trance and looked around, but saw no one. She gently picked up the teapot, contrary to what she felt like doing, which was flinging the pot across the room and splashing tea everywhere, and poured herself some tea. There was a perfect ring of water on the table where the teapot had just sat, and after pouring her tea, Misao set the pot down in a different place. She idly dabbed her index finger in the water and began writing quickly vanishing character. She wrote simple things at first, but soon began writing names: Jiya, Omasu, Beshimi, Hyottoko, Shikjo, Hannya, Shinomori Aoshi, Shinomori Mi…
"Fascinating, huh?" Misao jolted and looked up at the intruder, a handsome young man with light brown hair and a friendly smile, her shock quickly morphing into anger. The young man stopped smiling and looked uneasy, as she had obviously become hostile and cold towards his interruption.
Misao forced herself to smile and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in, would you like a table?" The man was grinning again.
"A table right here?"
"If you'd like." The man sat down. "Watakushi wa…"
"Excuse me," Misao cut him off as she stood up, "I must be going, but someone will be out soon to take your order," she finished as she walked hurriedly to the kitchen, not looking back.
Aoshi was walking around during the late night, his trench coat blowing in the cool breeze. A sharp cry sliced through the clear evening; it was undoubtedly Misao's. He spun around, looking desperately for the source of the disturbance, his mind in disarray. He spotted her near a bridge, standing near the edge. Three other men surrounded her while a brown-haired youth tried to protect her unarmed.
'Misao, why aren't you protecting yourself?! I taught you… I taught you myself!' Aoshi shouted to Misao in his mind. He found himself running towards the group, his twin kodachis slipping unencumbered from the saya with a slight flick of his wrists. The boy could not protect Misao any longer – the odds were against him. Misao was now teetering precariously over the water, ostensibly weak and unable to do anything.
Aoshi reached the bridge and was stepping onto it when Misao shouted out to him, "Get away! I don't want you here! Leave me alone! I only want him!" She pointed at the man trying to protect her in vain. Aoshi's calm exterior sharply contrasted the raging fire within him that he wanted to unleash as he stopped his movement and put his swords away. It was as if he was moving against his will. He shouted at his body to move and help her, but it wouldn't obey. His usually placid and composed face was contorted into a grimace of pain and wrath as he tried to fight his own body, a struggle within himself.
Aoshi fell to the ground, clutching his abdomen and on his knees as a pain shot through him like a sword. He forced himself to look up as the three men had somehow been driven away by the young man. He was used to pain, but not this kind of manifestation. He felt paralyzed and helpless. The young man was cradling Misao and holding her petite body, getting to close to Misao's pallid face with his own…
Aoshi suddenly woke up, disturbed by his nightmare and the sudden realization that Misao no longer loved him…
A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry about the really long delay, but I forced myself to write this but I'm not really quite sure how it turned out. I'm not really satisfied with this chapter all that much, but oh well. I tried to make it a little longer too and explained more of what had occurred between Misao and Aoshi as well, but I think it turned into more of a narrative than I wanted. Yeah, and the last part where Aoshi felt Misao no longer loved him, well, that's just his view on the whole situation. Anyway, I hope everyone liked it, so please review! Oh, and some of the indentations got messed up... sorry. =_=
I'd also like to thank hannah taylor, Kay Kylo, linh, and Queen of Shadows for reviewing! ^_^ Thanks!