By: Ochako107
Standard Disclaimers Apply
Kimi no namida subete umi e kaesetara Tsumimo itamisaemo wasurerarerunoka Kodokuna hane ga nukumori kureta itoshii sono kuchibiru Hitotsudake souchikatta mamorubeki hito no tame ni
Hana ha mujyou sarau jyuujika wo daite saita hakanaki tenshi yuuen no ai itsuka mitsukeru nara Kimi ni sasageyou ParadiseIf I can return all of your tears back to the sea, Will the sins and pain be forgotten too? Warmth was given to a lonely wing By that precious kiss. For the one who had only one promise, And kept it...
A flower embraces a cross with uncertainty. With that, bloomed a fickle angel. If, someday, love that's far away is found, Then paradise will be given to you.
-Butterfly Kisses (From Rave Master)
Everyone stood in shock until Misao came to the front of the assemblage. "Soujiro! What's the meaning..."
He pointed his sword at her throat. "Shut up girl." Aoshi took a step in front of her as Misao gasped at such a scathing tone from her friend. "You want to know? Hiko-san trusted me; he thought I was running away from Shishio-sama. Oh but he was wrong. I was just pretending, trying to keep him away from Shishio-sama's plans. Then, he created you three." He said pointing at Kaoru and Misao. "Oh no... what AM I saying. Now there are only two of you."
"No! You're lying to us!" Misao yelled, her voice cracking slightly. "Soujiro, you were one of my friends, how could you do this to us?"
"I didn't do anything for you, Misao. I do everything for Shishio-sama. His words are true: the strong survive, and the weak die. I will not be weak; he trained me to be strong. Hiko was a fool to let you girls take this mission. He shouldn't stick his nose where it doesn't belong. Then he had to make it even better." He smiled to Kenshin.
"He threw in three thugs to escort the three brains. One cannot work without the other am I right? But this is where you all stop. Brains or brawn, you won't be able to stop Shishio-sama."
Aoshi rolled his eyes. "All this for money...""It's not about the money." Soujiro beamed. "You see, this money is only the start. It is not to my liking, but I am ever faithful to Shishio-sama so I will oblige with his orders. We will unite with Kanryu to create a drug that will have the whole country addicted."
"That's stupid." Aoshi confirmed, everyone turning their attention to the usually quiet man. "If we are all addicted, then many will die, who then will you be selling your drugs to if your entire pack of loyal customers die?"
Soujiro raised his sword. "You may be right, but you won't live long enough to see what will happen. Please draw your weapon."
Kenshin and Kaoru took stance, but Misao and Aoshi situated themselves in front of their leaders. "Listen, this is a small fry. You guys go find Shishio and Megumi. We'll catch up." Misao whispered with a hint of despair. "I... want to make him see the same thing as Kamatari did. I want my friend back."
Kaoru's eyes softened. "Misao, you are a fine person, maybe one day you will be a superior leader." She rubbed the trembling girl's shoulder. "We're all with you guys." Kenshin pulled Kaoru from her friend and Sano patted Kaoru's head.
"Hey, don't start crying now Jou-chan." She wiped her eyes, and then hiked her dress up a little.
"Okay, at the count of three. One..."
Sano grabbed Kaoru. "Two..."
Misao and Aoshi prepared themselves before Soujiro. "THREE!"
Aoshi rushed towards Soujiro as Misao backed him up. At that moment, Kenshin took off using his God-like speed up the stairs. Sano threw Kaoru at Kenshin, the brunette dodged Soujiro running towards the stairs himself.
"Ah!" Kaoru fell into Kenshin's arms, but he didn't drop her. Sano came up seconds later, and the three escaped through the metal doors. "Come on, we've got to find them!" Kaoru said running down the deep, dark spiraling stairway behind the door. Misao... please be safe... Kaoru thought.
Back in the large empty room with Misao, Aoshi, and Soujiro, It was holding up well. Misao had the long-range attacks, while Aoshi came in the short-range ones. Soujiro still, wasn't an easy cookie to crack. He proved to be a better swordsman than either ninja considered.
Aoshi came in to swipe at Soujiro's neck, but he deflected it, by pushing the Kodachi's away with his own sword. As Aoshi stumbled back, Misao jumped over him, kicking Soujiro square in the face and pinning one side of his black dress coat to the ground.
He grunted but quickly rolled over, while pulling the kunai from his sleeve. Right before Aoshi impaled downwards, the boy flipped backwards, the Kodachi ringing out an ear splitting screech as it stuck in the floor where Soujiro was once laying down. Aoshi knelt on the floor, and slowly, like a sea monster emerging from the ocean depths, got up pulling his sword from the ground with no emotion. Nothing could describe how he walked ever so slowly, just those ice blue eyes, pinning Soujiro down with his frozen glare.
Soujiro held the kunai in his hand with the sword in the other. "You two are kind of pathetic, you know?" He tilted his head to the side and smiled. "I mean, there are two of you, one of me, and you still can't beat me." His eye glanced to his left, seeing Misao staggering around from lack of vigor and alertness. Then he turned his attention back to Aoshi while looking down at his hand. "Misao-chan should not be holding sharp objects...ne, Aoshi-san? Here, you can have this back." With lightning fast reflexes, he threw the small knife with accuracy, right at Aoshi's heart.
"NO! Aoshi!" With a sudden burst of energy, Misao skidded in the line of fire, the kunai taking in the already weak girl's side, making her scream out in pain.
"Misao!" Aoshi was about to go tend to her when Soujiro came flying at the older man.
"She will die, aren't you upset?" Soujiro asked, the boy acting almost oblivious to the emotion called anger, as he and Aoshi exchanged blows.
It was odd, how remarkably similar the two fighters were. Both of them not showing their true emotions; though Soujiro always smiled, it didn't mean he was happy. As with Aoshi, he was always stolid; wearing that icy frown, but that didn't stop him from releasing emotions for a certain ninja girl. Hadn't Sojirou ever felt a need to protect? Had he not felt anything for the cheerful girl he once called a comrade?
Soujiro grinned further deciding to release his real weapon. "The Shinomori Aoshi. The ice man... because his young sister was raped, tortured and murdered isn't that right?" Unbelievably, Aoshi flinched as if being hit over the head by a bat as Sojirou knocked him to the floor. "Poor girl wasn't even ten years old..."
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Aoshi felt himself boil over in resentment. "You have NO right talking about her, let her rest in peace." He charged again, Misao's screams of ache mixing with the blood pounding in his head. Soujiro stepped out of the way of Aoshi's blind swings then came slashing at his back as Aoshi skid to the floor, feeling his face claush roughly with the hard concrete.
The antagonist put his sword back into it's sheathe. "Aoshi-san, I have nothing against you. Honestly I don't, but Shishio-sama means a great deal to me. If opening old wounds helps me defeat you, fine." He turned to Misao who ripped the kunai from her side, eyes burning at Soujiro. Her face was blotched red and her face twisted in pain.
"Ah, and Misao, my DEAR friend. I know about your past too. Am I wrong? Your poor grandfather is ill. For four years, medical bills were piling up and the family was beginning to fear how they could pay for it."
"No! Don't, don't say it!" Misao whispered in horror covering her ears.
"Misao had to earn money someway... so she entered prostitution to earn some for her dear grandfather, a father figure in her eyes. Yes..." He saw the shock in Aoshi's eyes. "Misao sold her beautiful body to help the old man." Misao got up to her feet, blood now running down her dress, and legs. "She became a prostitute... a young beautiful prostitute."
"You... you... can't know..." She blinked away tears as her voice became horsy and squeaky. "That was all back then! I... I'M NOT LIKE THAT! The fuck I'm not! I found Kaoru and Megumi they helped me! They made me the person I am now; I'm over doing that dirty work! I gave everything away so my grandfather would live! And I will NOT have you fucking TELL people I am a WHORE. That was a part of my life I regret, but you have NO right to go talking about that! I, Makamachi Misao, am a damn better person because of it."
Soujiro smiled bitterly. "Yes, get angry at me. Let it all out before you die." Aoshi also got up, now standing next to Misao who was screaming in angst.
"STOP IT! STOP IT!"
"You cannot help it, Misao... it did actually happen."
"NO! SHUT UP! No...no... their hands..." Misao instinctually snapped her eyes shut and clutched her body.
Aoshi embraced the small woman sobbing profusely. He felt her begin to flail frantically as she tried to get him off of her. "NO! Not again!" She began yelling at Aoshi.
"Shh... Misao... I promise..." Aoshi rubbed her shoulders slowly and bent to her ear. His leisurely monotone voice echoed in her mentality, taking her away from her dark fury. "...I promise I will never let anyone hurt you again. I will not hurt you... please relax. It's just me." Misao shook her head.
"Ao...shi." Misao murmured. The buzzing in her mind, her mental mechanism to block out the hurting, began to diminish. She opened her puffy sea green eyes slowly only to see those even, calm facial features. "Aoshi..." Her eyes began to blur again. "I'm so scared! Please..."
"Don't worry. Remember, I'm right here." Misao felt warm tears flow down her face as she smiled. This time, it was a pure smile as if it would never rain again as if the world would never have any more problems as if there was nothing that would stop her from reaching true happiness. She felt a new energy emerge in her soul though her body forced her to stay down, she would not let Aoshi down. Not now.
"Come on now, Aoshi." Misao glanced at Soujiro who was happily cleaning his weapon. "I promised myself I'd get a friend back, and I WILL do it." She turned to him with that beautiful smile worthy of more than a thousand rainbows. "Thanks to you."
"Misao...I have an idea..." he whispered his plan into her ear and she nodded. She sniffed while pulling out the rest of her Kunais.
"Aoshi... if we..."
He sighed. "Misao, like I said... don't talk like you're going to die. Fight." Sojirou crouched into a stance as Aoshi and Misao faced each other, holding to one another's hands tightly. "This is round two! Get ready, Soujiro because we will get you down."
"Oh my, Aoshi-san!" The young man put the back of his palm on his forehead. "I never imagine you would be threatening me."
"I do not makes threats. I make promises." With that, the duo flew at him with speed unimaginable.
Soujiro tapped his foot once, twice, and three times before he shot at them with lightning speed, burning the floor beneath him as Aoshi and Misao closed their eyes still clutching to one another. She leaped onto his shoulders with a painful cry feeling her wound open slightly. As Aoshi dropped one of his Kodachi's and disappeared, circling Soujiro with his fluid dance.
"What...?" He watched at the Aoshi and Misao figure glided in circles around him, Misao throwing her Kunais in the center of the circle at him. He clenched his teeth while blocking the shower of kunai and still trying to stay focused on the figure circling him.
"Stop moving!"
"Fine." He heard a voice from behind him. Before he could turn fully around, three simultaneous strokes hit him straight on, and two kicks on the head. The power made him fall back as he saw the blurry figure come apart into one short and one tall figure.
Misao jumped down from Aoshi's shoulders quite tired of using so much energy at the hard kick. She flopped to the floor and coughed up a little blood.
Aoshi panted also, feeling the hot sticky blood on his back mixing with sweat. "Soujiro, you must know you are doing wrong."
Misao choked a little. "Yeah, come on man, you wanted to be part of the team... you always seem so into the technician and things. Soujiro, why can't you see? Shishio has blinded you with the phrase 'the strong live and the weak die' so you believe the weak have to die..."
"You are young, it's not too late to change your ways. You can use your life not to kill the weak, but protect them. Yes, you are strong, that is why we need you to save the weak, not kill them. No one has the right to take another's life." Aoshi said.
"Soujiro, why did you hurt me? Did you want to take my life away? Didn't our friendship mean anything?" Misao whispered slowly.
Soujiro watched on with a blank stare, a cut bleeding on his forehead, and three wounds on his chest. He tilted his head down so her bangs could cover his eyes a tiny frown etching his features. "Aoshi...Misao... you know... your way of thinking..." he coughed and sat up straight so his bright smile was showing. "You're way of thinking, does make more sense." He staggered to get up and made his way towards the other two. He put a hand down to help Misao get up. "Aoshi, Misao... I may not believe your way completely, but perhaps protecting people is better that hurting them... I mean I'm wasting my talents in killing others where I can be protecting. Protecting people like my friends. I am sorry, Misao-chan." Misao looked down at his extended hand skeptically. Yet, she couldn't resist Sojirou. She smiled wide did get up and she patted her friend on the back.
"There's the idiot I know." She smiled while punching him on the head. "NOW DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN OR I WILL HAVE TO KILL YOU."
Soujiro raised his hands up defensively. "Sorry, sorry!"
Aoshi was stunned. How could she be so friendly to a man who nearly killed her? He pulled Misao gently towards him, away from Soujiro.
The young boy got the 'back off' message and grinned. "I must help you some how. I am very sorry for that fight." He opened his jacket and found a small bottle of cream. "I may be your enemy right now, but I promise this will help your wounds. There is a trap door. I know you two know what I'm talking about. It's just to the right of those stairs there, see?" He pointed to the door where Kaoru, Sano, and Kenshin had gone into.
"Get your friends out of here through that door. I need to find Yumi-san." He wobbled up and patted his chest, seeing the blood dripping on his hand. "I may need some medical assistance anyway, ha-ha! Please be safe, take care of her, Aoshi-san and I will see you again." He calmly, though breathing quite harshly, made his way through the hole Sano had made. "Good luck." And the smiling boy finally was released from the spell Shishio had made on him, walking away from the evil for good.
Aoshi took the cream and applied it to Misao's wounds, making her cringe and writhe in pain. "I'm sorry, Misao."
She looked up to find concern written all over his face. "Why are you sorry?"
"About yesterday. You're right; I do need to open up to people. It's just... after my sister died at ten, it was like the end of the world. I couldn't believe a cruel man out there raped her then killed my baby sister." His movements slowed down and Misao could peer through his long bangs into his eyes. "You're spirit reminded me of her...and I just couldn't...bear getting too close to you."
Misao chuckled then snatched the bottle from Aoshi, ordering him to turn around so she could apply the cream to his back. "I'm sorry too then. I shouldn't have said those words and slapped you the other night. I... I did that because of what I used to be. The men would be so rough, and order me to... well you know." She rubbed his back soothingly, though her story was anything but soothing. If he knew her four years ago, he would have ripped every one of those men by shreds, one by one.
"I stopped when I met Kaoru. It was one night when I refused one man... he held my wrists and Kaoru came in, hearing all the commotion. She saved me that day. I am just so happy I met her. And Megumi, she's like another older sister to me." She stopped her movements making Aoshi turn to her watching her head bob up and down.
"I...I never talk about it, like you don't talk about your sister. I want to forget it, but I can't. And...and I know you hate me now, for what an animal I am. Throwing myself at men for money, I'm a horrible person!"
Aoshi wrapped his arms around Misao who winced slightly from all the pressure straining on her yet...
...it all felt so right.
"Misao, I still look at you the same way as I've always. Don't cry anymore, I won't let that happen to you ever again. We do things we don't want to for people we love it's okay. It's okay..." He rubber her back, hushing her like a child who was experiencing a bad nightmare. She kept shaking her head in the crook of her arm chanting 'no no no...' but Aoshi didn't let her go until she calmed down.
They pulled apart and checked each other over. "Do you think you can stand up, Misao?"
She nodded, half of her dress covered in blood now. "I'm just a little dizzy, but the cream numbed the pain." Aoshi put her on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Aoshi? Hold on to this for me. I kinda' broke the chain while we were fighting and I have no pockets." She slipped her necklace into his trench coat pocket feeling the heavy yet silky material slip from her hands.
I'm sorry... She thought to herself. They suddenly heard a loud 'BOOM' shaking the estate.
"Come on, Misao. Let's go help our friends."
"Aoshi?"
"Yeah."
"Thank you. You aren't an empty hearted person... really." She slowly kissed his ear before a painful red tear of blood and water seeped from her slowly closing eye.
"And you are not so annoying."
"HEY!"
Authors Note: Hello, hey sorry if Soujiro seems OOC, even Aoshi and Misao. It was kind of hard to write since I know Soujiro is very strong. Up next is the biggest fight, Shishio VS. ??? I hope this chapters was not too confusing, and it was mostly Aoshi x Misao here.
Out of curiosity, is Sano x Megumi a trend now? Way back when I first read, everyone was writing Kenshin x Kaoru. Now, there are a lot of reviewers asking for more Sano and Megumi... hum. But I promise there will be some air time to those two next chapter. I was going to update yesterday but I was studying... reading... in hyper mode...
OH! My good friend got me a manga book as a present! It's called 'Instant Teen' by: Fukushima. Ignoring the sorta silly title, it's SO funny and cute! I usually don't like many shojo manga (um... girly manga) but this one is REALLY fun! I was just saying, and would like to know what you all think if you've ever heard of it or even read it. The good the bad even the ugly. Now I will stop and get to what some of you like to read more...
Responses to the lovely reviews!
Anounmyus T- Hey! I'm am sorry to dissappoint you, but still to no avail the site isn't working. We should complain to the dork who won't let hyperlinks be shown! Jk. But still, I found another site (Don't ask becuase I'm not searching for two hours again) And heard the song Daydream. It's really cool! I might use it in one of the up comming chapters! Also, I'm glad you liked the previous chapter, thanks a lot!
Kimi.the.water.spirit- Hey, I haven't heard for you in a while! Thank you for liking the way I twisted Soujiro into the story! I hope to see you next chapter too Kimi-san!
Jade eyed neko- Isn't Soujiro such a cute little dork? Haha, and yes, I promise next chapter there will be some Sano and Megumi-ness. So what? This is three chapters with no SxM goodness! Sorry, but thanks for reviewing! Next chapter will have em' promisssssseee!
DBZ Goddesss- You are TOO funny! Positive! And thank you for that inspiration, I even started a piece caleed Mr. Damsel in Distress. Bwahaha, torture is sure to come to Aoshi and Sano! When ever I get that comming out, I hope you enjoy it as much as I'm enjoying writing it so far! blush And thank you for liking the way I wrote the action scenes! And I really agree, Soujiro is too cute for his own good. That's probabbly how he gets out of trouble, just sitting there being all so damn cute. And you know what? YOU WON! Haha, here's your prize of chocolate (I'm so weird) I should come up with better fake prizes... (what a loser) Anyway, thanks for the review and see you next chapter!
Kelsy- Epp! Sorry for spelling Soujiro's name wrong, thank you for pointing it out to me. How embarassing, but still everyone's input counts to me, so thank you for the correction!
So... here's where the crazy lady stops babbling about nothing. Thank you all for reading and reviewing! See you next chapter! Be safe please!