Chapter 2
By Crystal Snowflakes
Author's
Notes: Thank you Wicked Enough for beta-ing this
chapter for me! I cannot thank you enough.
Disclaimers: Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki and not to Crystal Snowflakes :(
As other travelers journeyed along the road, they watched would have seen a young woman with unusual green eyes and a braid hop along with a carefree attitude and a young man with the sword had a smile plastered on his face, occasionally chuckling at his companion. As they laid their eyes on the couple, a smile would bebrought to their faces by just watching the younger ones travel with such satisfaction in life...
It's been six days since the Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu started traveling with the former Tenken no Soujiro. The young woman twirled around, laughing as she chased the last of the few leaves that were falling. The man behind her trailed along, chuckling at her when she caught one.
"Misao-san!"
"Hai?" She stopped as she turned around, her cheeks flushed from the running and laughing.
"We should find a place to settle down for tonight..." He looked at the setting sun. "It's going to get dark very soon."
Misao nodded enthusiastically, "I'll cook tonight!" She wasn't as good of a cook as the infamous Hitokiri Battousai, but unlike the object of his love life, at leastshe knew how not to burn tea. Her mind drifted to the instructor of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu and she giggled. I've worked in a restaurant for most of my life...
Finding a place, they sat down. Soujiro began the fire as Misao grabbed the bit of meat and vegetables that had been bought at Tokyo a couple of days ago. They didn't end up meeting with the Kenshin-gumi... This was something Misao was thankful of "Maa... It seems like we're going to have to find a job soon, Misao-san."
She nodded the affirmative, "Hai." As she started cooking, Soujiro sat down beside her, watching the sky... Slowly and out of the blue, she started humming a song that popped into her head The sky was darkening quickly, the moon becoming visible as the stars shined brightly over their heads, twinkling and in a senseplayful... And while cooking, her mind drifted...
Her new katana was unsheathed and she was breathing deeply, her eyes narrowed dangerously... Her new clothing wrinkled beyond recognition...
Soujiro grinned playfully, "Hurry up, Misao-san." He waved. "You still haven't touched me today!"Exhausted and finally giving up, the ninja collapsed on her butt and sat on the floor, glaring at him while mustering all the hate she had for the rurouni to show. Though it was really hard, seeing him smiling cutely like that. At the thought of his teasing, she scowled again. Without warning, she stood up and pounced on former Tenken, which was quite unfortunate for both of them...
Thump!
"ITAI!" Misao yelped as her knees made contact with the dirty ground.
"Are you all right, Misao-san?" Soujiro asked as he looked up at the ninja, who was now straddling on his stomach. His back ached slightly, but his head hurt even more.
She nodded, and then flushed as she noticed the position they were in. She got off his stomach and sat on the ground.
He sat up and rubbed his head, wincing slightly.
"You all right, Soujiro?"
"Hai." He replied, smiling playfully, "Just remind me to not annoy you next time."
Misao laughed softly, "Hai!"
She smiled at the recollection as she looked to her right side... For a few moments, she watched him as he looked up at the stars, thinking. "What are you thinking about, Soujiro?"
"Hmm?" His smiley face looked away from the heavens and looked at the woman beside her. "I was just thinking about our first meeting... Remember when you were with Himura-san and Saitou-san in Shingetsu?
She nodded at the memory, "Of course... That stupid Wolf had to open the door, making Eiji-kun and I tumble in... I remember cheering for Himura during the match and I remember how you sliced the tip of Himura's sword clean off and how your sword shattered along the edges..." I wonder how Eiji-kun is doing with fish face and his wife...
"Aa... I remember everything that day. I think that was the only time we met, ne?"
"Hai!" She chirped, flipping the meat so that it would cook on the other side. Her smile wavered as a sudden thought crossed her face.
"What's wrong?" He asked, his hand grabbing her wrist. As the fire lit up her green eyes, making it more profound and beautiful, he felt a strange feeling in his chest.
She looked at her own hands, "Ne, Soujiro?" She paused, her eyes closing slowly as she leaned against the tree. "I haven't matured much since then, have I?" She sighed, "That's why... That's why Aoshi-sama... Aoshi-sama..." Her voice broke and as she opened her eyes, he could see that they were damp. Closing her eyes again, she gave another sigh as she leaned on Soujiro. "And here I thought, after three weeks, I'd forgotten about him..."
He wrapped his hand around her shoulder, "It's all right, Misao... If he isn't there for you, I'll always be here, ne?"
A small smile graced her lips, "Honto?"
"Hai."
She snuggled closer into his arms, "Arigatou..."
Neither of them had noticed the slip of honorific from Soujiro... And if they did, they never mentioned it.
The weight of the katana was getting to her, but she couldn't give up...
Soujiro, although a master at the art of swordsmanship, was not the brightest person in the world. He had, for the last hour, teased her endlessly and laughed at her.
It wasn't like Misao wasn't enjoying their time together... But there were times when he got on her nerves, and now was one of them. Her grip on the katana tightened as Soujiro teased her once again. She pouted, "Stop it! Stop teasing me!"
He chuckled, his blue eyes amused, "It's so fun though, Misao-san."
It had been two days since the couple had arrived at Hamamatsu, where Misao had found a job at a new opened restaurant as a waitress and Soujiro as a cook. Hiroshi-san, the owner of the store, had enjoyed both their cooking, but had decided that a female waitress was better than a male waiter...
"Really now, stop it, Soujiro!" She scowled at the young man as she shivered.
Soujiro continued to splatter the ninja with freezing water, "Come on, Misao-san!"
Grimacing, she looked down at the bottom half of her body that was currently numb from the water. My legs are numb! How am I suppose to just run over to him and hurt him, much less even touch him? It's not even possible, and even if I could, the second I got near him, he'd use his bloody Shukuchi to run away... Giving up, she sighed as she brushed her wet bangs away from her face. "It's not even possible."
"Maa maa, Misao-san. I'm sure it's possible. Don't give up now! You want to train to become stronger, ne?"
"But..." She sighed again, dejected.
He looked at her, his smile never leaving his face as his mind devised a quick plan... Although they haven't known each other for long, he knew exactly which buttons to push... He pretended to look up at the sky, his face thoughtful, "Well, Misao-san... If you're going to give up like that, we might as well go and change for our bath." He looked straight into her eyes, "You might be right... Maybe it isn't possible."
She growled as her eyes flickered with determination, "Don't underestimated me, Seta Soujiro!"
He almost shivered with delight when he saw her eyes change within a mere second... And almost blinked when he saw her take big steady steps towards him... He chuckled, "Congratulations, Misao-san!"
"What are you congratulating me for, baka?" She snapped, her eyes narrowed in anger and resolve.
"Well, Misao-san... For one, perhaps you should look down at where you're standing..."
She looked down for a few moments, and finally noticing how close she was to her companion, she lifted her head up. Her eyes were sparkling in a mischievous manner, "Sou-chaaan..." She sang, a grin on her face as she lifted her own katana.
Soujiro's smile wavered slightly as he caught sight of her sword. He gulped, "Maa, maa, Misao-san... You might want to watch where that sword is going... It's dangerous..." He backed up slowly, his hands held up defensively, "Ano... Misao-san... We better start changing for work. We're going to be late..."
"Hah!" She swung her sword, and when he began running away, chased after him. "Don't move Soujiro!"
"Ara..." He laughed as he ran away.
She grinned as she continued chasing the smiling Tenken with a sword in her hands and giggled inwardly as she watched him run away from her.
For a few minutes, they chased each other around, all the while laughing. When Misao collapsed on the floor, Soujiro soon followed. He was still chuckling, his face showed no signs of tiredness or sweat. Misao, on the other hand, was slightly red in the face.
She glanced at him sideways, studying his face... Himura, the Hitokiri... Hitokiri Battousai. Aoshi-sama, the former Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu... Hanya, Hyottoko, Shikijou, Beshimi... Why was it that all the men laughed with hesitation in their voices, yet this one... This one is different. She looked at him again, at his smile, at his blue eyes... He's so strange at times... Although he has killed just as much as the other men, he seems... Much more childish than them. Why is that?
"Misao-san...?" He asked, his hand on her arm.
She forced a small smile, "I'm fine. I just thought about something."
"Shinomori-san?" He asked.
"Iie... It's really nothing, Soujiro." She jumped up, "Let's get ready for work. We don't want to be late, ne?"
"Hai." He sighed as he watched the parting girl. Something's on Misao-san's mind...
The day flew by much quicker than the both of them expected... Misao had been in a daze since morning, her thoughts on everything that has happened... Soujiro was curious as to what Misao was thinking.
Not only was the young woman thinking about her own past, but she was thinking of Soujiro's past as well... She kept coming up with questions like why he had followed Shishio Makoto... And how he had gotten the attention of the former Hitokiri... Questions upon questions were formed, but none were being answered. By the end of the night, the ninja was not only curious, but frustrated as well because she couldn't figure figure it outby herself... And what is with that damned smile on his face?
The two was walking the road back to their inn, uncomfortable silence hanging over them. Finally, Soujiro sighed, "Misao-san? What is wrong? Ever since this morning, you seemed... different."
She looked at the concern in his eyes and felt a tremendous sense of gratitude, "It's really nothing... I was just thinking..."
"About what?" He asked, attempting to persuade her to tell him.
"Nothing, really." She answered, giving him a smile.
Though Soujiro wasn't very good at reading emotions, he was very good at masking his own with a smile, so when she tried doing that, he had immediately frowned inwardly. "Maa maa..." He started, lightheartedly. "It's no use using a fake smile on Tenken no Soujiro."
Her response was the twitching of her smile.
"It's no good keeping everything to yourself, Misao-san..." He stated, looking down at her, "I'm here to listen."
She stopped in her steps and looked up, "You really want to know, Soujiro?"
He nodded, "I know people usually like to be secretive, and I accept that, but if it's going to worry you the whole day..."
"I was thinking about you."
He blinked, certainly surprised by her answer, "Me, Misao-san?" He asked.
"Hai..." She nodded as she continued walking, "I just... I guess I was wondering why you decided to join that flambé bacon."
He blinked again... "Misao-san... Flambé bacon?"
"Er... Shishio Makoto." She corrected.
"I see..." He looked up at the sky.
She looked at him, "If you don't want to talk about it..."
"Gomen nasai, Misao-san. It's really personal and it's painful... And I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet..." The setting sun was painted in different shades of colors... Blue and orange were mixed, then red and purple, all in a swirling whirlpool of color...
She nodded, "I understand... But if you try to bear everything by yourself, you'll only end up miserable. I don't agree with that at all..." She whispered, and a smile lit up. That was the exact phrase I had told Himura when I first met him... It seems like so long ago that we beat Shishio, when in reality, it's only been a little more than two years... "And plus... If you're afraid I'm going to leave because of your past, you're an idiot. Himura's the Hitokiri Battousai, right? I'm still friends with him."
"I agree with what you say, Misao-san... But I guess I'm still not quite ready... Perhaps later I can tell you the secrets of my past. But for now..."
"Promise?" She asked, holding up a her pinky finger.
He looked down from the setting sun and at her, his eyes shining as a real smile was placed on his face. Slowly, he slipped his pinky into hers and nodded, "I promise."
She smiled, "Yoshi! Let's head back then!" Now back to her old self, she bounced up and down as they headed towards their inn.
Soujiro was at the back, catching up to her, a big grin on his face.
"I'm so tired from practice and working the whole day! What I really need a hot bath!"
"Aa... Misao-san... Slow down!"
"Stop whining Sou-chan! You have Shukuchi, right? You can catch up!"
"It's not that, Misao-san... You're going to hurt yourself if you keep running backwards!"
"No I won't! I'm the Okashira of the Oniwaba—"
Thump!
"ITAI!"
"Ara... Misao-san... I won't say I told you so..."
"Shut up, Soujiro."
Strangers watched the banter between the couple with amusement clear on their faces. The sight of a young man tending the injury on a young woman's head brought them all a warm feeling.
Author's Notes: Attention to reviewers. For those who are not aware that I am revising, please listen. I am revising all chapters. So no need to freak out about how there isn't any new chapters.
And for those who think I am bashing Aoshi. No, I'm not. I love Aoshi in my own little way, and as a matter of fact, I do like Aoshi and Misao pairing (just not as much as Soujiro and Misao). If you want to flame next time, please leave an email so I can reply. I'm just going to keep this short. Don't assume I don't like Aoshi because I'm making him an ass... It's kind of necessary for Misao to move on (we all know how much in love she is with him). Good day. Thank you for your reviews nonetheless.
-Crystal Snowflakes
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
