I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, Wish I did. (Don't we all!)
Chapter Two: Icy Eyes.
The soft sound of a sweet voice filled his ears. The soft singing of the birds pushed into the background of the beautiful song she sang, humming in between words. He lazily opened his eyes to find a blanket wrapped around him and leaning against the cold wall. His eyes searched the hut until they fell upon the young girl sitting by the fire, ready to put the tea in the boiling water.
She noticed he had a woken when a loud yawn was given from the direction in which he was sleeping at. Turning around, she smiled and spoke softly, ceasing to sing," Good Morning Hiko-sama." He returned the smile as he stood to come join her by the fire.
Silence filled the air as they drank their warm morning tea. Loving the taste of the tea, she smiled and began humming a tone similar to the one she sang before. She notice Hiko raise an eyebrow as if asking 'where did you learn that?'. She smiled, silently sitting her empty cup down and refilling his.
"I learned these songs from my great grandmother of Cherokee blood, sadly she passed away a few years ago." She stated to answer his unspoken question.
"It's a beautiful song, your voice is pleasant to listen to. I am sorry for your loss." He responded, before gulping the tea down. She had made it just right, not to hot not to cold and the taste was neither bitter nor sweet but just in between.
"Are you excited about going to Kyoto?" he asked as he sat his empty cup beside heres and gathered his cape, and slipping on his boots. She nodded and smiled, "Indeed I Am." She answered, slowly rising to her feet and walking toward him as he stood at the door. Her right ankle was feeling a bit better this morning. It was probably just a twist that would go away after a day or two, but her knees on the other hand were a pain today.
Raising an eyebrow, she glanced at the pair of shoes he held up for her. Tabi socks and sandals in hand he nudged them into her arms. "I plan on carrying you, but just in case we run into trouble again, you wont have to stand on the snow ground barefoot."
She smiled and bowed her thanks before sitting down and slipping them on. Her knees and feet hurt and the mile or so they had to go to get to Town was more then she would be able to bear. Before she knew what was happening, she was being swept into his arms and carried off, the hut fading into the background. Time passed and Noon came, Alexia could tell by the fact the sun was now overhead and shinning down on the snow-covered hillside. The loud sounds of the busy city were starting to fill their ears as the city came into view. The trip into town had been spent in silence, leaving them trapped in their own thoughts that they were dragged from by the shouts of Innkeepers and storeowners asking them to come into their shops. Hiko shook his head at some and ignored others; his mind was set on getting to the Aoyia and nowhere else.
Misao raced to the door at the sudden knock wondering who could be coming to see them. She was sure Himura and his family would be home since Sanosuke had recently returned from his 'trip'. Quickly pushing the rice paper door open she about dropped her jaw to the ground at the sight of Master Hiko with a young, sleeping girl in his arms, her stomach slightly grown in the fashion of expecting a child within a few months. Aoshi shortly joined her at the door, on his way to the temple.
"Where is Sir Okina?" Hiko asked boredly as the two stared at him, Misao showing her feelings of shock but Aoshi skillfully hiding them.
"Up at the temple." Aoshi responded since it seemed the young ninja girl to his side wasn't going to answer due to the shock of seeing the swords master with a pregnant woman.
"Why do you keep fighting? She'll never come back. She'll never wake up. She's dead and you know it you idiotic moron. Except fate and die by the sword like you should, like Misao and Alexia did!" The deep and dark voice yelled from the flames that surrounded them. She lay motionless on the muddy ground. The thick smell of blood filled the dark night air and the feeling of a lost soul near by made her feel drained of life. She wasn't dead. The voice was wrong and whomever it was talking to didn't believe it either because she heard the unmistakable sound of sword clashing sword and the grinding of mental. She tried to sit up, her vision blurring and her sword held numbly in her right hand. Her right shoulder aching and bounding from the deathly pain. Blood gushing from an open wound she knew would be the end of her, but she had to keep going, she had to stand and help the person that was fighting whatever had tried to kill her and had successes in killing the girl named Misao. "My lord. The girl is up, but she seems to be to weak to stand or even think for that matter! Waste not time! Slay Aoshi and kill Alexia before she finds her inner strength." Another voice, female and weak unlike the other voice.
She turned her blurred vision upon the shadowy forms. Two of them were pushing against each other, the flicking flames reflected off the swords telling her one of them was the Aoshi character who was helping her and one the enemy she didn't know other then by his voice. But as she turned she saw a woman standing to the side, hands clasped together and staring at her. Alexia growled dryly at the female who was staring at her. Her throat felt dry and dead but she had to find a way to speak.
"Aoshi..." she whispered with all her might. Needing water, but dying for breath, she slowly stood. Her vision becoming clearer as she looked at the ebon haired man. He was clearly the friend, his eyes shinning at her. The midnight blue color that was filled with... ... ... Love? And yet pain as well and it tore her heart apart. She glanced over his form as she leaned on her blood stained sword. He had large gashes across his arms and legs and a long one horizontal on his back. He was clearly in pain but he held on just for her, hoping she would awake and find what she had lost before he met her. He hoped she would find her samurai spirit and defeat their foe, Kurai.
"I'll take it from here." She said with more voice now. She stood straight, ignoring the deathly pain in her right shoulder and left leg as well as her bleeding feet and twisted ankle. This fight would end and it would be now.
Sword clashed with sword, and she looked into the ebon gaze of her foe. His white hair framed his face, tangling with her blonde as they pushed against each other, the hot raging flames making their hair and clothes dance in the heated wind. Their faces mere inches away as they growled and snarled at each other like wild wolves protecting their pack.
He gave it his all and pushed hard, causing her to flip backwards and slid on her feet, gravel cutting and slicing her feet even more. Her will was losing and her body weakening. She couldn't hold on much longer and that's when she remembered it. The only ones alive that had mastered it where Kenshin and Hiko. The Hiten masters but she was about to prove she could do it. It was her only hope.
Crouching low, her knees bent, she slowly rose, closing her eyes and breathing deep, placing the sword back within its ebon holder and sliding it back into her white hakama belt. "Now or never" she said softly to herself and opened her eyes.
As if in slow motion, Kurai charged at her with all his might. His sword raised and ready for attack. The situation seemed hopeless and Aoshi winced in fright at the soon to be death of Alexia. She drew her sword just as he brought his down and before he could realize what was happening, she was on the other side of him, sword drawn and already finished with its attack.
"She Did It!" Aoshi half yelled with his dry and cough filled voice.
She breathed heavily. She had never done the attack before and had only trained withHiko a bit, to have successes in performing the attack was rare and seemed impossible. But she had done it.
She doubled over in pain and tried to catch her breath but failed. She could feel Aoshi pressing on her chest and breathing into her mouth to bring her back but he couldn't.
Misao shook the sleeping girl. The girl had called out Kenshin's ultimate technique and then stopped breathing before taking a big breath and crying while remaining a sleep. It scared her and she had called for help repeatedly while trying to wake the girl.
The rice paper door was opened roughly and Aoshi gently pushed Misao aside to look over the girl Hiko had identified as Alexia Ramsey.
A soft whimper escaped her throat of pain and misery, his name tangled in mumbled words and his eyes grew wide in shock. This girl had never met him before and she was calling his name in her sleep as if he had died and she was mourning him.
Griping her shoulders, he shook her gently, repeatedly calling her name, "Alexia. Wake up." Misao said over his shoulder. Alexia stopped breathing again. Her chest didn't rise or fall but was still. Aoshi quickly pressed his fingers to her throat for a pulse and it was there. His ear was placed near her mouth and nose to hear for a breath but none was given. "Master Hiko!" Misao called out through the open door before turning around and looking over Aoshi's shoulder worried that the strange girl would die before they got any new information on the situation as to why she was here. Kami had a reason and she held some answers.
Misao watched as Aoshi placed his hands over her chest and pressed down 3 times before tilting her head back and clamping her nose shut, breathing into her mouth. He repeated this twice before Hiko came running in and could do nothing but watch and urge Aoshi to keep trying.
Once again, Aoshi repeated the life saving technique he had learned years ago. It didn't seem hopeful until after he breathed into her mouth one last time. She coughed hoarsely and struggled to sit up, griping Aoshi's pants for help in which gave her enough strength to sit her head on his shoulder as he held her up.
Misao could hear Hiko's heavy sigh of relief as well as her own, and a soft one from the life saving Aoshi.
Her emerald eyes fluttered open, trying to adjust to the light and find out who was holding her up at the moment, which had saved her. She coughed again and someone offered her a glass of water, the one who was holding her up held the glass to her lips and tilted it so the refreshing liquid ran into her mouth and pleased her lungs and throat. She finally got a clear vision on who all was around. Hiko was standing straight in front of her with a small girl right beside him but what surprised her the most was the young man holding on to her. She blinked as if not believing who he was.
"Aoshi... ..." His name rolled off her lips and tongue as if she had known him forever. He looked exactly like the man in her dream. The dream that felt so real and like it had happened before.
"That is correct. How you know my name is still a mystery." He stated, propping her up more and keeping his arm on her back as a support but letting her clutch the glass of water in her shaking hands.
"Alexia-san, are you alright? You stopped breathing and you were screaming attack forms and Aoshi's name as well as my own." Misao said as she crawled to the other side of the young English looking girl.
"Misao. You. And Aoshi... were." she quickly sat the glass down, barely able to hold her own she bowed her forehead to the floor, "Forgive me. I must have worried you greatly." She said. 'Why do I always have the bad luck on giving good first impressions.' She thought to herself as she felt two hands placed on her back, one of the young girl Misao, and the other of the tall handsome man, Aoshi. "Its quite alright, Alexia-san." She looked from Misao to Aoshi and froze, realizing he had saved her life. She had felt him try and bring her back but for some reason her lungs had froze and wouldn't move.
"Thank you Aoshi-sama." Alexia said as she bowed her head slightly. "For saving my life." She finished, rising to meet his icy gaze. Aoshi merely bowed his head an inch before getting up and exiting the room, leaving a very shaken girl along with two shocked friends.
He sat silently in his room, two fingers placed on his bottom lip. Her sweet smell lingered in his nose still and he felt like her lips were still there, needing him to bring them back to life. The girl had nuzzled her way into his heart just by her aura and beauty as well as the high samurai spirit she gave off. As Hiko had said during their meeting, the girl was a mystery in more ways then one. The proof of her time travel was thin but believable for the people of the Aoyia and the Hiten master, as well as the young girl herself. The poor soon-to-be-mother had no idea what was in store for her. His midnight eyes glanced to the fading sun light outside the window. Soon night would come and he would clear his mind by his nightly walk in the small garden they had made after the Shishio battles.
He read his book, his mind wondering off to think about whether the young English girl was all right or not but the distant sounds of laughter put his thoughts to rest. It seemed Misao and her were having a fine time talking and trying on Kimonos that they would give Alexia for her up coming trip.
This young Tenshi had wandered upon them and found her way into everyone's heart before she even knew their names.
(Tenshi Angel)
Well, I hope this was a good chapter for all. I'm sorry about the way the story is posted, its all bunched together and I'm not sure on how to space it out and fix that problem, so If you could, please help me on that.
I hope I don't get grounded from the computer for beating up the people who beat up my little brother but he didn't do anything to them so its time big-sis stepped in and set justice in those ahou's heads.
Anyways. Enjoy. Will take comments, reviews, flames, and anything else you all have to give me.
B8