Disclaimer: Rk is owned by the great Watsuki-sama.. and i aint him..
"The First Mission" chapter 6
-The next morning-
"Ohayou gozaimasu Li-sama" greeted the young lady
"Aoshi went out to gather some woods in the forest. Can I help you with something?"
"Yeah, can you help me carry these laundries outside?"
Misao thought to herself 'Again? This lady has an awful lot of laundry... Yesterday, we finished two piles and now she has two more piles... Where is Himura when you need him?'
-At Kaoru's Dojo-
(ACHOO) 'Somebody must have remembered me' the red-haired bishouhen thought to himself.
"Kenshin, come inside now. It sounds like you are going to be sick." yelled Kaoru
"Hai, Kaoru-dono. As soon as I finish doing this laundry." replied Kenshin (a/n OrO?)
-In the Forest-
While Aoshi was gathering wood, he sensed someone getting closer to him. He quickly concealed his presence and quietly listened as two men walked within his line of vision.
It was Shura, along with some an older man whom Aoshi didn't recognize.
"Shura, you have done a very good job so far but it is far from over. You still need to capture the Okashira." said the older man. He was probably the same age as Okina
"Hai, but...."
"Are you having doubts? Haven't I told you that you need to focus? Your father died because he was stupid. He didn't listen to me. He wanted to settle things in his own way. The only thing that you need to do is to follow me and you will succeed."
"Don't you dare say my father's stupid, Satoshi." threatened Shura.
"Brother! Where are you?" Aya's voice called out and both men stopped in their conversation.
"It's Aya," Shura muttered; mostly to himself. He glanced back at the older man before him.
"We'll continue this later." The DHT leader said coolly.
Satoshi merely let Shura brushed past him and watched with emotionless eyes as the young man walked out of the woods until he was out of sight.
Satoshi turned his gaze and his lips twitched into a sinister smile.
"I have to execute my plan quickly. The boy is getting too sentimental. Tomorrow, I will dispose him and his sister. I thought I could train them to be ruthless but Katsuo's goodness and honor still runs through their veins." He muttered to himself; thinking that he was alone.
He soon left afterwards; leaving Aoshi alone and deep in thought.
Aoshi gave a small smile. He now had some information critical in accomplishing this mission.
The young man bent down to pick up the fallen pieces of wood and carried them in his arms as he quietly walked out of the scene.
On the way back to the village, the tall Bishouhen sensed a familiar presence around.
"Taka, you can't fool me twice. Come out now."
"Awww...and here I thought I could get to see the Greatest Oniwabanshuu member in action." said Taka with a hint of sarcasm.
"I guess you heard that conversation also?" asked Taka.
"Yeah, I want you to look up Satoshi. See who he is. I heard that name before but I couldn't remember..."
"I only follow commands for my Okashira" replied the young man.
"You mean OUR Okashira." pointed out Aoshi.
"And anyway; I am the husband of our Okashira" He continued. "So I suggest you follow my orders as well.
"Hello! FYI Ice-man...You're not even her real husband. It's only pretend." Taka retorted.
Aoshi merely glared at the other man.
Of course he knew that their marriage was a fraud. You'd have to be pretty stupid to forget such a thing. Although... He wouldn't mind if he is Misao's husband in real life...if she would accept him that is.
Taka was about to continue on with his ranting when Aoshi started to pull out his kodachis.
Taka shut up as the other man cast him a cold glare.
"Er...I should go now and start researching for this Satoshi guy. Wouldn't want to waste valuable time just standing here you know?" Taka stammered; giving a small laugh to hide his nervousness.
Before you could blinked; Taka was out of sight.
Aoshi gave a triumphant smile and sheathed his kodachis.
-Li's backyard-
"My child, what are you doing?" asked Li pointing to the piece of cloth Misao had in her hands.
Misao glanced down and blushed. She was scrubbing too hard that she was starting to tear a hole in the unfortunate clothing.
"Oh! Sorry... I was just thinking about my family. I left them without saying goodbye. I wonder what they are doing right now?" replied the dark-haired girl as she let go and took out another piece of dirty laundry to wash.
"It is alright to worry about someone you love. But I'm sure they are doing fine"
"So, Li do you worry about your grandchildren?" asked Misao hoping that Li would tell her all about them.
"Yes, every time. You see I haven't told you exactly everything. My son, Katsuo died because he followed a very evil man. His name was Satoshi. You may be too young to know, but he is the same guy responsible for the Kyoto bombings. He was stopped by a group called the Oniwabanshuu. It's the same people that killed my son. I don't blame them though since my son has already been corrupted and if circumstances were different back then and I had the chance; I would do the same thing they did."
"Now, I am afraid that my only family, Shura and Aya would suffer the same fate as their father. Satoshi escaped the Oniwabanshuu when they attacked this village about 20 yrs ago. These past months, he has come back to continue his plan. I know he is just using my grandchildren just like how he used my son."
Li sensing that she had just said too much then added, "I'm sorry my child. I didn't mean to scare you or anything. And I know you have your own problems..."
Before Misao could reply, Aoshi arrived from his trip to the forest.
"I'm back koishi!" greeted the tall man
"Aoshi come quick!" yelled Misao back
"What's the matter?" asked Aoshi as he went in the backyard and saw Misao and Li doing the laundry.
Misao cast a knowing glance at Aoshi.
Aoshi was surprised but didn't show it as he nodded his head to show Misao that he agreed. He knew that he had to trust his Okashira's decisions.
Misao smiled and proceeded to tell Li the whole truth; including their real identity.
"Li, we are also not being honest. We are not really a couple. I am the Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu. Aoshi here is one of my most valuable members. I have been sent here to stop Shura. But I have found out that it is really Satoshi that we need to stop. I will help you in getting your grandchildren back but you must trust me. I know it's hard to trust someone who had been lying to you all this time but this is the only way we could find more information about Shura" explained Misao
"My god... I don't know what to say..." replied a still shocked Li
"You need not to say anything. Just be quiet and act as if you'd heard nothing of what we've told you today." said Aoshi
It took Li a long time to say anything before she finally said. "Alright...But promise me that you will not hurt Shura and Aya."
"I promise." replied the Okashira
"Then I will not tell a soul."
Li bid them a good day before she went inside the hut to cook dinner.
The two Oniwabanshuu members followed suit but they went instead to their room where they talked about executing their plans tomorrow.
End of Chapter 6
A/N: Aoshi is a lil OOc in this chp.. so gomen..
Thanks to all that reviewed like White Ninja Spy and legolasEstelstar!!
The "ass-kicking chapter" will be, as uve guessed it, on nxt update..
thanks also to Dan!!