Little
Is Much
Chapter 3- Fear of what?
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Soujirou whistled as he made his way through the dog
kennels stopping, of course, to pat several dogs on the head. Everyone in the
Aoiya had a dog. Every single person. Well, except for Okina, Dr. Genzai, and
Ayame and Tsuzume. They didn't need a dog.
The Aoiya raised a lot of animals. In order to keep to themselves, they raised
dogs, horses, chickens, and sometimes they had a cow or steer lying around
somewhere. Right now though, there weren't any cows.
All of the ninja's, spy's, and guards at the Aoiya had dogs that went with them
on every mission. The dogs were trained exceptionally well, and would ONLY
return home alone if their master or mistress was dead. If their master went
missing, the dog would not come home. The horse would.
Of course, that was Souzou's job. To train the horses for that. The horse
returned if his/her master or mistress was captured, lost, or injured.
Of course, the dog would stay with his master to keep him company, while the
horse brought back help.
And that was why Aoshi almost always sent people on missions in pairs. It was
safer for the people, two dogs would be safer, and two horses guaranteed that
if one horse was injured, they could double-up to get home.
During the day, when not on a mission, all of the Aoiya's dogs were kept in the
kennels. As were the pregnant or sick dogs. Aoshi always had his dog with him,
unless of course, his German shepherd was scheduled for a bath- like today.
That was Soujirou's first job- and his most hated one. Sometimes Kilika would
come down to help him with his least favorite job, but she wouldn't be down
until nearly mid-day.
And Aoshi insisted that all the dogs be washed TODAY.
Soujirou groaned and set up the dogs' washtub and
soap and all that other fun stuff before going to get Fury, Aoshi's dog.
The Fury Beating Round Us, or, Fury, was Aoshi Shinomori's
German shepherd. All of the dogs also had pedigree names, though they weren't
registered anywhere except in Soujirou's records. Fury was the biggest shepherd
at the Aoiya, and was probably the most quiet.
While other dogs barked and whined for attention- though, not while they were
on a mission, of course- Fury kept to himself, much as his master did. He stood
still through the washing, rinsing, and brushing that Soujirou
administrated, and he even let the young man scratch his head.
He tethered the large dog outside to dry out in the warm sun. In the grass, the
dogs wouldn't get too dirty, and then usually a good brushing would do them
well.
One dog down, 19 to go.
The next dog was Freedom, Kenshin's dog. Soujirou had
no idea why Kenshin had named his dog something so strange, but.......it really
wasn't any of his business.
So he took "To Be Free Once More" out to be washed. Freedom was a
golden retriever.
The only dogs the Aoiya raised were German shepherds, Border Collies, Golden
Retrievers, and Doberman Pinschers.
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Misao awoke the next morning feeling rather strange. Was it her wounds? She
glanced down quickly, but ruled that out. Her leg still looked as bad as ever.
She couldn't see her back, and it still hurt as bad- maybe a little worse- as
the day before.
Her stomach lurched, and she stumbled out from under the tree she'd been
sleeping under. She'd eaten too much for her stomach. All she'd had was a tiny
slice of pie. But the nutrients were too much for her body to handle all at
once.
When she finished heaving up the night before's
dinner, she collapsed onto the ground a few feet away.
She was too weak to move. Maybe a little sleep would do her some good.......
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Aoshi was bored. More bored than usual, because all of his work was done. He
couldn't help Soujirou wash the dogs', because the
younger man would insist that Aoshi relax. How could he relax?!
He drummed his fingers on his desk meticulously and wished for something to do.
He could train, but that depended on if someone was already in the training
hall or not. He'd have to be very careful.......
He stood from his desk and headed to his room. First, he would have to change
out of his yukata. He couldn't train properly with it
on. Time for his regular outfit!
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Souzou happily scrubbed Rumbling Thunder [Thunder], his horse. He wouldn't be
training and washing the Aoiya's horses for nothing. He loved them. Thunder was
solid black, completely so, with no white (or any other color) showing on him
anywhere.
Thunder was a good horse, and very gentle, for being a male. The only stallion
in the whole place was Aoshi's, Dancing Through The Fire [Firedancer].
All of the other male horses were geldings.
But it was probably a good thing, because that made the horses more obedient
and loyal to their masters.
So far, Souzou had scrubbed up Kaoru's, On The Wings Of Destiny [Destiny] and
Megumi's, Fly Away Forever [Fly-Away]. The next horse on the list to be washed
was Omasu's, It's Only Fantasy [Fantasy].
He really didn't know why their Okashira wanted all of the horses scrubbed so
badly. Could a visitor be coming?
Whenever someone important visited the Aoiya, Aoshi ordered everything cleaned
and scrubbed- even the animals. At least the chickens didn't get washed.......
He was just finishing up Thunder's rinsing when Tae came by with something for
him to drink.
"Hey Souzou," she greeted, handing him some cold water. Water was
always the best thirst-quencher. "I heard that someone's coming by to
visit tomorrow."
Souzou's eyebrows raised. So, he was right.......
"Who?" he asked, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.
"Houji," she answered calmly. "I don't
know what he wants with the Oniwabanshuu here, but I
really wish he's just leave us alone."
Souzou nodded. "Same here," he agreed. "I could swear he's
trying to get something out of us."
"The last time he came, Aoshi-san was furious. And usually, you can never
tell what's going on inside his mind."
"Yep."
"Who's up next to clean?" she asked him.
"Fantasy, and then Typhoon." Souzou shook his head. "I doubt if
I'll get all of these horses done before the end of the day."
"Maybe I can help later. And do you mean to say you haven't washed my
Lightening?"
"Sorry," he apologized. "She's after Typhoon." Lightening
Across the Sky [Lightening] was Tae's horse. Lightening got her name because of
her coloration. Solid black with a white blaze and a single white line down her
chest that resembled a 'bolt'.
"Well, I'll forgive you this time," she teased. "And I'll be
down between lunch and dinner to help out. I might even be able to get Tsubame
to take care of dinner with Yahiko. Who knows?"
Souzou nodded. "I'd be grateful," he told her.
"Good, I'll go see what I can do. It's almost 11:00 already! Time for me
to start lunch."
She ran off and Souzou tied up Thunder and went to get Typhoon.
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Aoshi was slightly annoyed to find Shura, Katsu, Kamatari, and Amaura training
in the hall. But he wouldn't bother them, because then they'd immediately leave
him to train alone. 'But Okashira! We can train somewhere else!'
He sighed and decided that a simple walk in the woods might do him some good.
He wore his regular clothes with the trenchcoat. And
he carried both his kodachi's with him. Who knew what
was in the woods sometimes? Once he'd killed a wolf. The wind swept through the
trees making an eerie whistling sound, and Aoshi pulled his trenchcoat
just slightly closer.
It was rather chilly.
He suspected a long, harsh winter ahead. Especially since it was chilly
already, and it was only August.
Houji-san was coming the next day, and Aoshi was
slightly nervous. Not that Houji scared him, but Houji was a very strange man, with a very strange attitude.
And his girlfriend or wife.......whatever she was. Yumi
was creepy, and she hung around Houji. He didn't care
when women around the Aoiya wore clothing that showed their legs. They were
ninja's after all, and had to be able to defend themselves. But for a woman's
cleavage to show.......that was another thing entirely.
Not only was it inappropriate, it was dishonorable as well. Only a woman's
husband should be allowed to see that.
Aoshi Shinomori was very set in his morals. And his morals were very simple.
Men and women should be treated as equals. They wouldn't both have been put on
the earth otherwise.
Animals should be treated with kindness. He didn't tolerate animal cruelty,
such as whipping horses or shooting dogs. They were put on the earth alongside
humans, and they deserved to stay there.
Women should be treated with the utmost respect. They cooked, cleaned, and bore
children. Not to mention they would be a doting wife one day after marriage.
A husband's duty was to live with, take care of, and protect his wife (and
kids). Aoshi himself didn't have a wife, of course. And he didn't have anyone
in mind either. But it was still a good true moral.
Children are a blessing, and should be treated as such.
And that was pretty much it. There were more, of course, like.......feelings
should be kept mostly to yourself, but.......sometimes he didn't even pay
attention to those himself.
His step was quiet as he walked. The grass and leaves he left behind were
barely startled by his footfalls. He was a ninja, and had been trained to be
silent.
He wondered how Soujirou would fare while Houji was around. The young man of 19 seemed to have a
panic attack every time the older man came to visit. Aoshi himself hated him
because the man's virtues were trash, and he seemed to like the nastiest
things.
He'd even tried to BUY members of the Oniwabanshuu. Soujirou, for some reason that Aoshi hadn't figured out
yet, refused to leave his room when Houji came to the
Aoiya. Kilika refused to find out why exactly the young man did this strange
action.
And Aoshi wasn't going to push for an answer.
Soujirou would tell them when and if he wanted to.
He wondered if Fury was clean yet. The dog would probably enjoy a walk. He
detoured to the dog kennels to find out- and to tell Soujirou
about Houji's coming.
He found Soujirou and Kilika cleaning off Setting in
the West [West] and Rising In The East [East].
"Soujirou," he stated. "I need to have
a word with you."
Soujirou nodded and wiped his hands off on his blue
pants. "What is it Okashira?" he asked.
"I need two things. First, is Fury cleaned yet?"
The young man nodded with a huge smile on his face. "Yes sir, I cleaned
him first thing. He seemed to enjoy it."
"Good. And the second thing....... I came by to inform you that Houji is coming tomorrow to discuss business."
Soujirou immediately started shaking. Just a little
bit- and barely noticeable- but Aoshi noticed nonetheless. And so did Kilika,
though.......she didn't know WHY exactly Soujirou was
shaking.
His smile disappeared and he swallowed slightly. "May I.......?" he
started.
"You may stay in your room if you wish to."
"Thank you Okashira!" he answered, his smile back in place.
Aoshi nodded. "Would you kindly bring Fury to me? I'll be taking a
walk."
"Yes Sir!" Soujirou answered, and went to
fetch his leader's dog.
~*~
Fury walked by his master's side with a lopsided grin on his face. People say
dogs can't grin, but they can- when they're happy. Fury was very devoted to his
master, and he was trained to alert him of anything suspicious. After all, who
had the better sense of smell?
Aoshi was slightly startled when he felt Fury tug on his lead. His dog almost
never 'tugged' ahead. Maybe he knew something that Aoshi didn't. So he followed
the dog until Fury stopped in a clearing.
The Okashira didn't see anything unusual. He looked around carefully, but then
Fury bolted- taking his lead with him. Aoshi was momentarily stunned. This was
the first time the dog had EVER taken off like that.
He followed as quickly as possible, but it was hard, and it took him a good few
minutes to figure out what direction the animal had taken. Five minutes later,
he stumbled upon a small clearing- so small that it only contained one tree in
the center. Fury was busy moving over some dark shape.
Aoshi walked closer, and saw that the 'shape' was really the girl from the day
before- with the pie. Only....... she looked worse- if that was possible.
The pie must have made her sick. That was the only explanation. Her face was
the color of skim milk, and her black hair was messed up, falling all over her
sleeping form.
He felt a slight pang of pity for her when he noticed how thin she was. Not
only was she short (very), she couldn't weigh more than 80 lbs.......at the
most. He suspected that the pie was probably too much food for her to stomach
at once.
She looked dead, but he knew that she wasn't. Her stifled intake of air - which
he suspected to be breathing- let him know she was alive.
Her leg sported a gash, and where her shirt hung open at her stomach, all he
could see was blackish blue. Fury threw his paw over her and rolled her towards
him, though Aoshi tried to stop him.
The gash on her back was worse than the one on her leg- not to mention it was
almost twice as long. He mentally cringed at the dirt that clung to the nearly
fresh - it couldn't be more than a few days old- wound.
All at once, her breathing quickened and Aoshi looked down to see Fury licking
her face gently.
Her eyes snapped open, and Aoshi thought, 'She has pretty eyes.......' It was
true, of course, because Aoshi didn't lie- even in his thoughts. Her eyes were
a bright blue-green. Ocean-sprayed.
Her eyes were wide in fear- and shock- and her body fairly trembled in fright.
He realized that she was afraid.......of him? Or was she afraid of Fury? He
snatched up the lead of his dog to pull him off of the frightened child- no-
young woman. He- and Soujirou- had been mistaken. She
was older than they'd given her credit for. At least 15.
And he did have to hand it to her. Though she was scared to death, she didn't
scream at all.
She eyed his kodachi's nervously, and moved back
against the tree.
She needed help.......but.......
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Misao hovered between the dark and the light, and, for awhile, she could hear a
panting sound. It got louder and louder, eventually stopping at her head. It
sounded like a dog, but she wasn't sure.
And she couldn't open her eyes.
She didn't have the strength just yet to do that. She would have to wait
awhile. If she saved her strength, if only for a few minutes, she would be able
to open her eyes.
Nothing happened for a few minutes, but she heard another sound- like footfalls
in the grass- come to a halt by her side.
Something flipped her over, and she waited a few minutes before snapping her
eyes open.
And what she'd seen- scared her.
A DOG had flipped her over, and a man stood straight and tall beside the dog.
Two of her greatest fears were right in front of her.
She nearly sighed in relief when the man pulled the dog off of her, and she
pushed herself against the tree behind her with a small burst of adrenaline.
For a moment, the man before her looked hesitant, and backed up.
And she took off.
She ran, as fast as she could, until her legs buckled and she fell in a heap
beside a small almost-invisible dirt road. She vaguely recognized the road as the
same one from the day before, but she was too weak to move.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I think I need help....... Will you help me Lord? Just once more, please? Your
will be mine, amen.......
And, she remembered before her eyes slipped closed, that that was the shortest
prayer she'd ever made.
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Aoshi didn't know exactly why he had let her go. She would die for certain if
she didn't get some medical treatment. Logically, he should have carried her
back to the Aoiya and set Megumi, Okon, and Omasu in charge of helping her.
But she'd been so frightened of him.
And, for some strange reason.......
.......he didn't want to scare her anymore.
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~
^.~ well, that's the end of chapter 3. Sorry it took so long to get this
chapter out. Lol,
Oh, and I have a whole background already made up for Soujirou.
^.^ It's not happy, and.......heh.......heh.......it has to do with Houji, Yumi, and Shishio.
And I know what I want to happen next chapter.
But I'm going to take a few days off to practice drawing and to read. ^.~ I
have sooo many picture ideas to draw, and I need to
get them down on paper!! Lol!
Oh, and my old email - sweet_miss_Kaoru@yahoo.com, got terminated for some
annoying reason. So if you emailed me there.......it was lost.
Email me at my new email now, okay?
Here's the name of everyone's horse AND dog. ^.^
Name, horse's name, horse's nickname, dog's name, dog's nickname
1.) Aoshi, Dancing Through The Fire :: Firedancer,
The Fury Beating Round Us :: Fury
2.) Misao, The Echo of Loved Ones Near :: Echo, An Angel From The Heavens ::
Angel
3.) Kenshin, Glory's Blazing:: Twilight, To Be Free Once More :: Freedom
4.) Kaoru, On The Wings Of Destiny :: Destiny, Heaven's Cloud :: Heaven's Cloud
5.) Sanosuke, Gravity Can't Hold Me :: Gravity, Tears
of the Rain :: Rain
6.) Megumi, Fly Away Forever :: Fly-Away Forever Rainbows In The Skye :: Skye
7.) Kamatari, Singer of the Winds :: Windsong, Phoenix's Eternal Flame :: Phoenix
8.) Amaura, Bubbling Brooke :: Brooke, Layers of Harmony :: Harmony
9.) Soujirou, To Run Like The Wind :: Windspeed, Autumn's Immense Beauty :: Autumn
10.) Kilika, Lead Me By Candlelight :: Candlelight, Showers of Blessing ::
Blessing
11.) Souzou, Rumbling Thunder :: Thunder, Life's Blazing Nova-Star :: Nova
12.) Tae, Lightening Across The Sky :: Lightening, Wave of Faith :: Faith
13.) Katsu, The Fervor Frozen Inside :: Frozen Fervor, Setting in the West ::
West
14.) Shura, Eye Of The Storm :: Typhoon, Rising in the East :: East
15.) Yahiko, Wishin' on a Star :: Star, Raider of
Lost Hope :: Raider
16.) Tsubame, River of Emotion :: River, Summer's
Lovely Song :: Summer
17.) Saitou, Oblivion in the Wake :: Oblivion, Shadow In the Shadows :: Shadow
18.) Tokio, Winter's Hopeful Wish :: Hope, Spring's Tearful Voice :: Spring
19.) Okon, Reality's Dream :: Dreamer, Ring The Bells :: Belle
20.) Omasu, It's only Fantasy :: Fantasy, Far Beyond The Clouds :: Cloud
On my computer, of course, it comes up in highlighter!! Lol.......but
remember, the horses' names, THAN the dogs' names.
Well, love you all lots! *hugs and kisses*
Reviewer Responses
Sakura Fae: Umm Ch.3 to Ch.8 are prewritten by Kitten Kisses and I don't want to add to them, just a little changes. Yeah I'll email you when I update. Thank you for adding me to your favorite authors. ^___^ *hugs Sakura*
fei_chan: Thank you very muchie.
Sakura Star: Thank You!!!
A nonnie mouse: Thanks, but the storyline credits go to kitten kisses.
dadsnavygirl83: Your welcome and thank you very much for reviewing I hope you like the way I continue it.
Kari: Thanx.
A/N: Please review!!!! Also
if you want me to email you when I update says so in a review and leave your
email address or just email me.