Author's note...
Here's the deal, I recently got the RK: A Shinobi's Love too, but it was after I had posted the first chappy. I might put some stuff from the DVD, like the Sanada ninja's, but otherwise it's my own storyline. So if you have any questions please tell me.
Chapter two
Misao woke with a start. Something was wrong. The house was way to quiet. The morning was the one time her father was home from training. He almost always sang or whistled a tune to welcome the morning.
She ran through the house, looking in every room, but he was no where to be found. She rushed outside, still in her yukata, and saw her father emerging from the trees.
"You're hurt!" Misao ran to him and gently touched a wound on his chest. His white gi was soaked in blood from his many injuries. "What happened?"
Her father struggled for words. "Misao...Listen to me...It is my deepest wish for you to marry." He gently touched his daughter's face. "Aoshi is exactly the kind of guy I always dreamed of for you. He'll protect you..."
Misao didn't understand what he was trying to say. She didn't need protection; no one was trying to hurt her.
"I know you don't want to marry him but...Someday, I won't be hear to protect you...And he'll be able to do what I couldn't..."
Misao's eyes began to tear. "We have to get you inside...Your wounds need to be treated quickly." She pulled him into the house.
"I'll do it." He snatched the bandages from her. "You need to get ready. Your spending today with Aoshi, remember?" He began wrapping bandages around his chest.
"Yes father." She bowed and headed for her room.
Her futon was a total mess from when she had jumped out looking for her father. She picked up her futon and set it neatly in the corner. Then she headed to the wardrobe and picked out a simple outfit. (Navy blue shirt and shorts.)
This was her normal outfit. She never liked kimonos. 'Not enough leg room.' She thought.
The dark silk of her yukata pooled around her feet. She pulled on the shirt and shorts, then picked up her ivory brush and pulled it through her silky locks, and then she delicately braided it.
"Misao, your visitor's here!"
Misao walked down the hall, wondering vaguely why he didn't just say, "Time for your date, get down here!"
"Misao!"
"I'm coming!" She yelled.
She ran down the hall into the main room. Her father greeted her at the door with a smile. Aoshi sat behind him at the table. He wore a dark blue uniform under his Cajun trench coat.
"Good morning, Aoshi-san." Misao smiled. 'Might as well act like I'm having fun.'
"Misao-chan, its Aoshi-sama. He is the Okishira of the Oniwabonshu after all." Her father shook a finger at her.
"It doesn't matter, sir."
Misao looked at him and smiled. "No, he's right. I am sorry, Aoshi- sama." She gave a small bow.
"Misao, may I speak to you in privet for a moment?" Her father gestured to the kitchen.
Misao fallowed him. "What is it?"
"Why are you in those clothes?" He asked.
"Why are you covered in wounds?" Was all she said.
"Misao, you know how much this marriage means to me!" He slammed his fist into the wall.
Misao stared into his eyes and didn't move an inch. "I know how much this means to you, but I don't want to get married, unless it is for love." She yelled.
"Listen to me," he grasped her shoulders, "your life could depend on this marriage! Now please go change!"
"But-"
A cough came from the doorway. Aoshi stood in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest. "Makimachi-san, she looks fine."
"But it is improper for a lady to go out dressed like this." Her father shoved her forward.
"If this is what she wants to wear, then I have no problem with it." Aoshi took Misao's hand. "Shall we go?"
"Of course, Aoshi-sama." Misao bowed her head and allowed Aoshi to lead her out the door and into town.
"Where would you like to go?" he asked.
"Where ever you want, sir."
"Why do you call me that?"
"My father says that I must treat you with the respect because you are the okashira." Misao said simply.
"You don't have to. You are not a member of the Oniwabonshu, therefore it does not apply to you."
Misao stopped in the middle of the street and said softly, as though to herself, "And if we were to wed?"
Aoshi looked at her. "If we were to wed, you could call me what ever pleased you." He gave her hand a small squeeze. "But it is too early to think about marriage."
"Of course. Gomen Nasai." She bowed in apology.
"Your father seems desperate to find you a husband." They started walking again. "Why?"
"I...don't know..." she said softly. "He acts as though he knows something's going to happen that he can't prevent... And I know that, when that happens, he wants me to be safe..." Tears welled up in her eyes.
"But you want to marry for love..." Misao nodded. "Then give me a chance." Aoshi got in front of her and grabbed her shoulders.
Misao was surprised at his reaction. "I don't understand..."
"You want to obey your father's wishes, and I have my own reasons for this marriage besides my father, so give me a chance to make you love. For them."
"All right...I'll give you a chance..."
"Arigato, Aoshi-sama." Misao smiled and ran into her house. "I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Yes...Tomorrow..." Aoshi headed back to the Aoiya, where he was late to a meeting with his father.
Misao skipped through the quickly darkening house. She went to her father's office and found an envelope on his desk next to a bouquet of flowers. Misao picked it up and read:
My dearest daughter, Misao,
I have business in Tokyo that needs attending to. Be careful, danger might be lurking around every corner. Stay close to Aoshi. His father should be stopping by soon after sunset. Also, you must avoid going into the woods at all costs! I'll be home as soon as I can.
Misao read through the letter twice more. Why would he just leave her? Normally he would, at the very least, take the time to tell her personally. And why did he think she was suddenly in danger? That's when she realized that he head spent the last few days trying to convince her that she was in danger, but why?
She pushed the thought from her mind and went to her room to fetch her yukata. She slid the shoji door open and froze. Someone had been in her room. Her windows had been thrown open, and her futon lay in pieces, scattered around her room.
She closed the door and began shuffling through her wardrobe. Misao found what she was looking for under a blood red outfit, like the one she was wearing. She grabbed twenty kunais and held them between her fingers.
Outside her window she heard a snicker. Misao jumped out and landed in front of another shinobi. He had light brown hair and wore a mask that covered most of his face. She let loose her kunais, pinning him to the wall.
Someone wrapped an arm around her body, pinning her arms to her sides and forcing her to drop the kunais she had left. Their other arm slid up her back and squeezed the base of her neck.
Misao's head began to spin and her vision blurred. She could feel her body weaken as she tried desperately to hold on, to not pass out...
"Misao!"
A familiar voice floated towards her. Out of the trees came more shinobi. Shouts and yells surrounded her, causing her head to throb in pain. One clear, strong voice rose above the others.
"Oniwabon Style, Double Kodachi, Kaiten Kimbu Roruken!"
Mangled shouts of pain reached Misao's ears as she fell to the ground. Her hair broke free of its braid and blood splattered her face. She was caught, before she hit the ground, by strong arms. The last thing she saw was Aoshi's face, his eye's full of concern, but his face impassive.
"Hang on, Misao. Everything will be all right. Just hold on..."
Hitokiri of the bloodless night: Hope I got your name right! Please don't kill me if I didn't! Hope I answered your question.
E13: A shinobi is a Ninja. By the way, I love your stories. Keep writing.
unique-purple-starfish: Glad you like it. I'll try to update soon.
For the rest of you, it's the same as before. If you see any mistakes please tell me. Like I said before, I've been having problems getting my stories to load properly, so if that happens could you please tell me? Please R&R my other stories, and remember, it's just plain rude to read but not review, so beware!