Ruroni Kenshin belongs to its respected companies and associates.
This is a work of fanfiction, written with no purpose of infringement
and profit.
This is a prequel to my Ruroni Kenshin fanfic, 'Ties' which is about
Aoshi and Misao before Aoshi leaves the Aoiya. You can find the
fanfic at , though you don't need to read it to understand this fanfic. This fic is set a few
years before that, right after Aoshi becomes Okashira.
I don't think the manga or anime series ever mentioned a system
of hierarchy for the Oniwabanshuu. Japan lives and dies by a certain
order and rank of things, so I borrowed some terms to define order
and rank within the Oniwabanshuu. I applied the ninja hierarchy
system, which is as follows:
Jonin – the leader/s, or head.
Chunin – the second-highest person or group who give out the
orders from the Jonin, to the—
Genin – the troops who carry out the orders.
I'm not aiming for historical accuracy, but if anyone finds issue
with this improvisation, please feel free to suggest and refer me to
other ways to go about it.
More notes and acknowledgements can be found after the fanfic.
---
'Coming of Age'
A Ruroni Kenshin Fanfic
by Mia M.
---
During the turbulent Tokugawa era, Okashira Makimachi further
expanded the Oniwabanshuu's network by opening a base in Kyoto. He
sent his daughter, Naoko, and his top Chunin, Okina, to organize the
base that would be known as the Aoiya. Rival clans attempted to stall
construction and development of the Aoiya but the Oniwabanshuu fought
them off.
As the Aoiya neared completion, a stronger and more persistent take-
over was attempted. The Oniwabanshuu managed to defend the Aoiya, but
they had one fatal casualty: during the battle, Naoko was cornered
and raped.
The Oniwabanshuu found and killed her rapist, but the rival clan
retaliated by spreading word of Naoko's indignity. This did not
affect her status in the Oniwabanshuu, but beyond Japan she was a
woman without respect. Since then, Naoko worked and remained within
the Aoiya. To save her Father from the burden of her shame, she cut
any direct connection to him. While it broke Makimachi's heart to do
so, he left her alone and just waited for the time she would speak to
him again. But Naoko never did, and she died nine months later
without another word to her Father. When Makimachi heard of Naoko's
death, the shock drove him ill and bedridden. His right-hand man, a
young boy named Aoshi Shinomori, commanded the Oniwabanshuu in his
place. When Makimachi died four years later, Aoshi fully assumed the
role of Okashira. He was only thirteen years old.
When he became Okashira, their intelligence sent more and more
reports of a possible violent outbreak in Kyoto. Aoshi immediately
sailed for Kyoto, intending to lead the Oniwabanshuu from there.
It was Okina who met with him and took him back to the Aoiya. Okina
knew Aoshi, having trained him since he was three years old. Aoshi
was gifted with the fighting arts, but it was only with Okina's
training that enabled him to accelerate through the ranks of the
Oniwabanshuu Aoshi owed his successes to Okina, but their
relationship was on a strict, teacher-student basis. Even as
Okashira, Aoshi regarded Okina with the respect of someone higher
than him. Okina still saw him as a student.
So Okina felt no urgent obligation inform him of a few facts the
Aoiya didn't tell Edo Castle, but he was polite enough to reveal it
to him when they arrived at the Aoiya. As Aoshi stepped through the
gates, a troop of Oniwabanshuu Genin bowed before him. Aoshi caught
sight of a young girl, about the age of four, at the end of the front
row. She was fidgeting in her place, clearly not accustomed to
staying in place for that long.
"I did not know you took outsiders in for training, Okina-san." Aoshi
noted.
"That's no outsider, Aoshi-sama. She's one of ours. Misao!" He called
for the little girl. She stood up and ran towards them, dropping to
one knee before Aoshi.
"Introduce yourself." Okina ordered.
"My name is Misao Makimachi." The girl recited. She smiled up at
Aoshi. "What's yours?"
The last name rang through Aoshi's ears. Makimachi? Was this the
reason Naoko cut off contact from her Father? He shot a look at
Okina. Okina did not look back at him.
"Uhmn, excuse me, what's your name? Who are you?" Misao inquired.
And so rude! Aoshi glared at her as Okina spoke. "This is Aoshi-sama,
Misao-chan, he's the big boss of the entire Oniwabanshuu."
"Big?" She looked doubtful. "He's rather short."
The Oniwabanshuu stifled a laugh at the observation.
"Don't underestimate his height, Misao-chan." Okina chuckled. "He can
be just as bad as you. You can go now."
"Bye-bye!" Instead of returning to her place in line, Misao skipped
back into the dojo.
"All rise and return to your posts!" Okina told the others. The genin
stood up and dispersed. Aoshi was about to speak, but Okina held up a
hand to silence him. "My office." He said. He entered the Aoiya an
lead him to the very back of the dojo where his office was. As soon
as he entered, Aoshi faced Okina, looking very insulted.
"Why wasn't this told to me or Makimachi-sama?" He demanded.
"Naoko made me promise never to tell her Father." Okina
replied. "You've heard the stories about her, if word of her
pregnancy reached Edo it would have further damaged the Makimachi
name."
"Makimachi-sama would have died in peace!"
"Would he? Knowing that his beloved daughter carried a bad seed? What
if you were to report to Makimachi-san that she died while bearing
it?"
Aoshi looked even more stunned. "That crucial information was held
back from Edo?!"
"Naoko did not want to cause any more suffering. I think she knew she
would die after bearing Misao, so she asked us to raise the child in
her place. We have, for the last four years."
Aoshi gave a hollow laugh. "Some child you raised. She doesn't have
any manners."
"You just met her, Aoshi-sama."
"She fidgets in place, does not bow low enough, and insulted me in
front of your Genin."
"But you are short." Okina pointed out. He did not flinch when Aoshi
stared at him. "In spite of that, she's a good girl, she's not much
trouble—"
As he spoke, they heard a loud scream, some laughter, followed by a
loud pounding of footsteps. "You can't catch me!" They heard Misao
tease, followed by another pounding of footsteps. Aoshi winced. "You
let her get away with that?"
"She's just a child." Okina said again.
"You know that's not an excuse."
Okina sighed. "I applaud you for your success, Aoshi-sama, but I
sometimes wonder if I taught you too soon."
Since that day, a strange tension set upon the Aoiya. Aoshi was
treated with the same respect as Okina, but any laughter of fun in
the dojo seemed stifled by his arrival. They sensed a certain
agitation from their Okashira at the sight of merriment; what
agitated him the most was the Aoiya's one joy: Misao. The
Oniwabanshuu did their part to keep the peace between them by making
sure Misao never crossed Aoshi's path, calling her away when Aoshi
would come near.
To keep a four year old away from someone was not always easy, and
Misao did escape on occasion. To their alarm, she would head right
for Aoshi when she did. Children had a nasty tendency to gravitate to
people who didn't like them.
At one time, while running away from the Genin looking after her, she
clobbered him. She jumped right on his back without warning. "Hi
Aoshi-sama! I haven't seen you in a long time! Wanna play?" She asked.
The Genin halted in his steps at the sight. Uh-oh.
Aoshi twitched. "Unlike you, I have work to do." He pulled Misao off
him and set her down. She trotted after him.
"You're so busy! Busier than Jiya!"
"Jiya?" She must mean Okina. Did he know she called him by that name?
If he did, he'd be surprised to know he tolerated it.
"You're short, but Okina is so old! Hey, hey, wanna see me with my
kunai? Hanya-san says I'm getting really good at it!" She picked up
her pace as Aoshi piskced up his.
"Maybe next time." Aoshi brushed her off.
"I should call you Jiya too, you act old."
"That's because I am old." Aoshi said. He entered a room and slid the
door shut between them. He hoped that would be the last time Misao
approaches him.
She never went near him after that, but Aoshi did see her – and
did
not like what he saw of her. As he walked down the halls of the
Aoiya, he would sometimes see her, engaged in a game against an
Oniwabanshuu genin. Sometimes he would see her being coddled and
bounced upon the lap of another genin. Aoshi inspected and trained
the Oniwabanshuu, but the minute he turned his back on them he swore
that Misao would pop in and distract them as they trained. As time
passed, he witnessed this more frequently, and he finally brought up
the issue with Okina once again.
"She's growing spoiled." He warned her. "If this keeps up, she will
become soft-hearted and impossible to train. At the rate your genin
pampers her, she believes that everyone is there to serve and be nice
to her. She's a drain on our money and resources, and I don't think
we'll ever get anything from her."
"Don't think we don't get anything in return, Aoshi." Okina grew icy
when Aoshi brought up the topic. "Misao stays."
"Just what is it about her that keeps you, and everyone in this dojo
so entranced?" Aoshi's voice fell to a deadly low. "What will it take
for you to let her go?"
"You would have to let me go first, Aoshi." Okina answered. "You
might as well replace the entire Aoiya. If Misao goes, the Aoiya goes
with her, you must understand that."
Aoshi slammed one hand upon the table. "I'll make you a deal." He
told Okina. "I challenge you to a duel We will have our Chunin
witness it. If I defeat you, Misao must go. If you defeat me, I will
never complain about Misao again."
Okina saw the spite and desperation in Aoshi's challenge He must have
so much contempt for her to dare challenge him - his own teacher.
Okina wondered if he was aware of the risks involved in challenging
him, the man who has taught and made him. Okina had a very good
chance at winning, and if he wins...Aoshi must know that Okina may be
granted post as Okashira. When the Okashira challenges a fellow
Oniwabanshuu, and loses, the Oniwabanshuu may be made Okashira. He
would risk all that, to rid of Misao? Okina was not surprised. He had
seen this coming since the day Aoshi arrived. To Okina, this duel was
the only way to straighten Aoshi out and snap him out of his spite.
"I accept the challenge." Okina told him.
Two weeks later, Aoshi and Okina met for the duel. The chunin to
witness and referee it were Hanya, Beshimi, Shikijou and Hyottoko.
The duel was held late at night outside the Aoiya, so they may fight
uninterrupted.
The battle started. Aoshi and Okina moved quickly, and even the
experienced Chunin were unable to follow their every move. They set
back and watched what they could, catching a glint of moonlight
bouncing off a kodachi, or hear the chink and scrape of metals as
their weapons met. A few kunai flew and embedded themselves in the
tree at the other end of the yard and there were a few cries of
frustration or of victory – so close, yet so far. What did one
expect
when the student challenges his teacher? How do you counter someone
who taught you to think and move that certain way?
Sometime during the duel, Misao woke up. It was not like Misao to
suddenly wake up at night, but she sensed something horrible in her
sleep. It was not a nightmare, that much she was aware of, but she
felt a strange fear creeping up her spine She left her room and
headed downstairs, checking the training rooms and the sleeping
quarters of the genin before venturing outside. She heard the sounds
of a battle as she stepped out the front porch. She grew alarmed, and
walked towards the back – just as she saw Okina with his sword
against Aoshi's throat.
Misao screamed as she reached for the kunai in her pocket and hurled
it at him. Okina had been so concentrated in his battle against
Aoshi, that he did not see Misao, or sense her presence and movement.
They hit, but lucky for him, they were made of dull wood, and did not
embed themselves upon him. Okina snapped out of his trance for a
moment, as Misao had come between them. Aoshi looked confused. What
was she doing?
"Okina-sama! Please don't hurt him!" She pleaded.
Okina took a deep breath and stepped back. Misao remained standing,
arms outstretched as she shielded Aoshi. He caught Aoshi's bewildered
eye, but looked at Misao. "Why shouldn't I hurt him, Misao?" He asked.
The gentle tone of his voice reassured Misao, who knelt down and
hugged Aoshi to her. The comforting move surprised him.
"I don't know Aoshi-sama well, but I know he doesn't do anything
bad." Misao said. "And if he has, he deserves another chance, right?
Okon-san told me that you never hurt anyone until they prove they
haven't learned his lesson Aoshi-sama can learn his lesson, don't
hurt him yet!"
Okina smiled, and slowly sheathed his sword. "Very good, Misao-chan."
He told her. "You have given me a reason not to hurt Aoshi-sama.
You're right, he should learn from his mistakes first." He turned
towards the door, but paused before he left. "I hope you heard that,
Aoshi. This is what our pampering has done to Misao-chan. She was
loved. She was allowed to be a child, and have the heart of one." His
gaze grew regretful, as he looked back at Aoshi again. "I intended it
to be that way, because heaven forbid she grows up to be just like
you."
And with that, he left.
Misao gave a sob, the earlier tension having been too much for her to
bear. She hugged Aoshi to her, who remained too overwhelmed to move.
It was a poignant scene, and the Chunin could only keep watching and
staring. The scene would be embedded in their mind, and they would
swear: that was the night that melted Aoshi's cold heart.
--END—
The idea for this fanfic came from Anabelle G's review of 'Ties' on
Fanfiction.net. She mentioned that there's rarely any fanfic on Aoshi
and Misao before the series, or even before they left for the Aoiya.
It was true, in the amount of Ruroni Kenshin fanfiction I've read,
fic authors prefer to write about A&M during or after the series, but
none have written about they actually met. I hope this fanfic gave
the idea some justice. Thank you very much, Anabelle!
On another note, I know most people assumed it was Okina who was
Okashira before Aoshi. He mentioned in the manga that "making you
[Aoshi] Okashira was a mistake", but the way he delivered it was
under rather broad terms – anyone could have made Aoshi Okashira,
so I worked with the assumption that he came right After Misao's
grandfather. And if you haven't realized it yet, with the exception of Misao being the granddaughter to a former Okashira, her tragic background is entirely my fault. .
While I consider this to be a prequel to 'Ties', I am aware that
Aoshi seems too cold in this fanfic, and too much like the Aoshi in
the series. I took necessary extremes, and I hope readers picked up
on Okina's involvement in this regard. Okina raised both Misao and
Aoshi, but he treated Aoshi more as a student while Misao was treated
more as a child. When Aoshi arrives at the Aoiya, he notices the
differences between them and grows jealous. Okina gives Misao the
love and care he never had as a child – why her and not him?
Thank you, Kae Stirana, for putting this into perspective for me. ;)
Thanks also goes to Khursten, who got me into this. Hehehe!
Please send in your reviews!