The Tragic Circumstances of Lost Souls Conjoined

Chapter Four: Thence we came forth to see the stars again.

"It lies not in our power to love or hate, for will in us is over-ruled by fate."

Christopher Marlowe

If there is indeed some beauty within the breakdown of common sense, Megumi was representative that aspect of life as she looked into an ornate full-length mirror. The change was so drastic Megumi could not find herself within the layers of make up, multiple petticoats, and the flamboyant black curls that rested atop her head. Mme. Bouffant smiled with some pride as she fastened the finishing touch on her latest project, a set of amethyst pearls to match the light purple dress that hung heavily on Megumi's moderately small frame.

Megumi herself was confused while examining her reflection in the vanity.

'How does this… thing stay on?' She thought, and lightly fingered the 'sleeves' (or more accurately straps) of the dress that sat just below her shoulders. Meanwhile, Mme. Bouffant took a moment to admire her handiwork.

"Miss Megumi, you should consider modeling. You have a beauty incomparable with most other women I've met in these islands." She said. Megumi nodded in reply, still confused by the western clothes and Mme. Bouffant's French accent.

The men were bid to enter, or at least all that remained of them. Aoshi had long departed for more worthwhile pursuits, yet Kanryuu had often desired to see Megumi in the immodest western clothing and would not miss such a moment.

"My dear, you look marvelous." Kanryuu stated, taking Megumi's hand and kissing it lightly. Though she felt repulsed, Megumi could do very little to stop the scrutinizing glares or shallow affections of Kanryuu. Mme. Bouffant also had a scrutinizing eye on Megumi, for her blue eyes were scanning the woman that, in such clothes, could sink ships.

"Mme. Bouffant, you are a miracle worker. I always knew Megumi was a beautiful woman, but you have brought out that which I find most attractive." Kanryuu gleefully stated, leering at Megumi who rolled her eyes in disgust.

Aoshi, in another place and seemingly time, watched from afar the transformed opium woman, but along with the beauty that was accented with a few curls and ruffles he saw her pain. Aoshi could spy the embarrassment that marked her cheeks, even through the foliage of the dense gardens.

Megumi did not see Aoshi, yet could have sworn that more than the prevalent breeze stirred the bushes.

" My dear, we are due at the ball." Kanryuu announced, distracting Megumi from her silent questioning. Megumi begrudgingly accepted Kanryuu's offered arm, and was escorted down to the carriage. When the carriage set off, and Mme. Bouffant had left the estate, Aoshi was left to the large house.

The sadness in Megumi's eyes that he discerned led him to dig deeper into her past. A curious vice was aroused within him, one that left Aoshi glancing behind though he knew no one would come. With the halls deathly quiet he walked toward the west wing and approached the double doors that blocked Megumi's quarters from the rest of the mansion.

Daringly, Aoshi pushed both doors open, and his eyes scanned her room. It was clean, and appeared to be avoided by even Megumi. A memory from but a week ago prompted Aoshi to approach the observatory. As soon as that door was opened, a flood of clean night air brushed against Aoshi's face, and he saw a pane of glass opened.

'Why has Megumi not made an attempt to escape this place?' Aoshi wondered silently while drawing his finger over the revealed frame. For what seemed the end of a small wing in a large mansion, Aoshi's onmitsu skills found a crack in the wooden flooring. Upon closer observation, the crack, to exact to be spontaneous, was a spacious trap door.

Tobacco, intermixed with assorted perfumes permeated the air of the grandiose ballroom. Megumi, though she had little prior experience with dancing, had picked up the technique quickly and was now dancing with her fifth partner for the evening. A young, handsome American of no more than twenty-five led her for the third time around the ballroom.

"I've danced with you for three waltzes but you have yet to tell me your name." He said boldly, Megumi glared softly at him, confused by the American's fearless nature.

"I did not find it prudent." She responded, as the American guided her in a spin and drew her back to him.

"Maybe if I tell you my name, it'd become more proper." Megumi shrugged her shoulders, largely expressing her disinterest for the young man.

"My name is Joshua Hunter, and you are?" He asked, not taking the hint.

"I am Takani-san." Megumi replied, retaining the formal Japanese titles.

"Don't you have a first name?" Megumi's glare turned cold at the gajin's rudeness and she snarled,

"When visiting other countries do not be so rash." The American was thoroughly confused as Megumi walked off of the dance floor; however, Megumi was tossed aside for an easier pursuit.

After escaping the heavily infected air, Megumi leaned against the railing of the balcony and traced cloth-covered fingers against the concrete. Kanryuu, who placed his hands around her waist, startled her peace. Invading what little space she had in the overcrowded place.

" Remove your hands at once." Megumi said coolly, for she already aware the identity of the man behind her.

"Very well," Kanryuu said, and stood by her side, gazing deep into Megumi's thoughtful face.

"You look lovely tonight," Kanryuu repeated. Megumi only responded with a faint but equally annoyed voice,

"You've told me before." Sighing, Kanryuu took a sip of his Champagne and turned to face Megumi.

"You could be kinder to me, at least in public. Grant me one dance." Kanryuu requested. Megumi glared at Kanryuu with bored eyes, and stated,

" I have no intention to dance with anyone." The smile on Kanryuu's face looked more strained as he gripped Megumi's upper arm.

"You will grant me one dance." He demanded, Kanryuu's eyes demanding her submission. Instead, Megumi withdrew her arm, and returned to gazing at the sky above. Kanryuu left Megumi to her own thoughts and returned to the main room.

With the cool evening breezes blowing harshly against Megumi's cream-colored skin she was left to the winds of isolation and introspection. The stars, though innumerable and beautiful were no comfort to her lost soul despite the alacrity, with which Megumi found the North Star. Yet, the guiding star did allow Megumi one moment to know where her home was beyond the glassy, counterfeit world of poppies and princes.

Aoshi found the room whose gate was a waylaid trapdoor was so tiny he could not stay in the room comfortably. His large frame, awkward in the closet size room, discovered a small chest that had been left to decomposition and dust mites.

In spite of the quickness that he found the box, Aoshi took a moment to think before opening it, and determined the heart of a woman was best left to those who it concerned.

With a shake of his head, Aoshi left the small closet beneath the floor and ascended to the observatory. Turning his back to the open window and outstanding view, such thoughts distracted Aoshi from the call of duty. Yet, he could not fully ignore the yearnings of his heart. The stars beckoned Aoshi toward a second look at the deep indigo sky.

It was beyond base, instinctive knowledge, but Aoshi and Megumi's eyes were drawn to the same guiding star and this connection alone called to the souls of both trapped beings to escape whatever monotony chained them on this earth. Predictably, Aoshi would ignore the thoughts of freedom and remained chained to self-inflicted duty. He forced himself to leave the private wing of Takani Megumi and sought to remind his conscience why he remained a ninja in such times. Such moments even surpassed the Okashira's logic; for his soul took flight underneath crisp, clean stars to meet another similar entity.

Megumi, with even more warning, let herself be dropped into Kanryuu's deceit. She, during those weeks, attended other balls in the same western fashion, but to her own credit, she had maintained her distance from Kanryuu; refusing every dance that he offered her. This small defiance did not stop the pliant behavior that was more or less being forced upon Megumi. With every moment Megumi spent in the cursed western corsets, a breath of her vitality was forced out and she reluctantly grew more accustomed to obedience.

Aoshi himself was not totally untouched, it seems the small but effectual breaking of Megumi's spirit depressed his own soul. However, he would not judge a woman with so much sorrow in her voice. It seemed to Aoshi, Megumi had totally given up on any redemption from the goddess' of Kharma and was merely waiting to die. For, with the passing of days, more of the fire in Megumi's eyes died out and was replaced by a dazed edge that concealed a new agony within.

Weeks later, while Megumi and Kanryuu spent time entertaining gajin at fashionable parties, Aoshi wandered the halls in search of his unknown consolation. Aoshi's subconsciously placed steps lead him to the same general area, the west wing of the home. Whether it was the temptation to look at the stars from the safety of an observatory or a glimmer and shade of redemption from an opium woman's presence, his feet always led him to a place he had not the courage to go.

The large clock against the wall had just struck eleven, and the chimes rang an ancient, soothing melody throughout the vast space of the west wing. And in a flurry, the carriage containing Megumi and Kanryuu arrived at the mansion. Megumi fled from it, much like an image of an eastern Cinderella, she was escaping an unknown torment. Aoshi watched from the shadows, his eyes observing Megumi storm into one of her rooms, and stand in front of her vanity mirror.

Muttering silent nothings, Megumi fiddled with the clasp on her latest accessory, a plain black velvet ribbon that boasted a small, tear shaped diamond. In this rushed moment, Megumi's hands trembled and she continued to pull at the delicate necklace, attempting to remove it from her swan-like neck. Megumi, failing to remove the necklace in her haste lowered her hands, clenching them into tight fists with frustration.

Suddenly, she felt two large hands at the base of her neck. The hands began to undo the clasp and Megumi looked to the owner of the hands in the mirror. It was Aoshi Shinomori; his eyes were emotionless in their sockets. Megumi, glaring into the mirror, laid one hand over those undoing the clasp, and she stated with softness to her voice,

"Wait." Aoshi had no choice but to obey her command, and in an eternity of moments Megumi's eyes scanned her reflection in the mirror, the rose color fading from its surface. Within Megumi's mind, a million thoughts ran around each other: forming a myriad of different conclusions that led to one final realization.

The pressure on Aoshi's hand began to increase, as Megumi's tension grew more visible in the lowly lit room. He also looked deep into Megumi's reflection: beyond the immodest ball gown and well-made face. He looked into her burning eyes; transfixed by the imminent glow that now radiated harshly and unguardedly.

In what little room Megumi had given Aoshi to maneuver, he discerned the emotions and struggles raging within those impassioned eyes not knowing the circumstances. Bending his head to whisper into Megumi's ear, Aoshi said quietly while his hand, wrapping around a delicate shoulder,

" Peace, Megumi, Peace. There are far worse sins than the ones you have been forced to commit." If this were an ordinary moment, Megumi would have snapped at Aoshi for his pretentious statement. Yet, this was a moment less ordinary she turned to face him, the necklace forgotten as it fell to the wood floor beneath their feet.

Megumi had no room to question Aoshi; his eyes were radiating in understanding and the earnestness in his voice was far too convincing. Megumi, revealing the weak, struggling side of her nature, embraced Aoshi. She poured everything into the Okashira's large form. Her heart, her strength, and her integrity were all given to Aoshi.

Although Aoshi was initially surprised by her abrupt openness, his senses and heart overrode his logic. And Aoshi returned the embrace, strengthening the bonds they unknowingly made. Now, Megumi and Aoshi shared equally the burdens of their life. Two lonely souls had finally found their solace.

Perhaps, it was the silent strength conveyed in Aoshi's voice and eyes that stopped Megumi's all too common tears from falling and Megumi's strange healing power that left Aoshi at such ease. Yet, whatever caused this remarkable moment to occur in a room smelling of poppies, life had drastically changed for them both. Their tears and sorrows were now left to the four winds, in hopes they would not reappear.

End of Chapter Four.

Rissi's annotations:

Freeeeedom! Oh, sorry for the totally random outburst! I had a great day today, track went remarkably well for being a blow-out day in the weight room and I just finished this feckin' chapter! Seriously, it was a hard one. I mean there gets a point in a story like the one I'm writing, a philosophical one. To make the mind tangents not be repetitive is pretty difficult. If you catch that in my chapter, please tell me. I'll make sure to watch for it. Anyway, onto the personal reviews:

Zero27: Less corset action in this chapter, you should be quite glad of that. Well, I hope this depth weaving has you even more addicted! I don't know it its reached full potency, but maybe this story still has some room to grow. Thanks for the review!

Brooke: This might answer your timeline question. I don't know. I have a nasty habit of working things into the plot that didn't exist. It's the creative writer in me I guess blush . LoL, thanks a bunch for reviewing and believe me, I know about being busy!

Yvvone: What is it about the corset? I take an every-day thing for Megumi's era, put it on the chic, and its suddenly a humor thing. Oh well! At least something peaked your interest! I got the Aoshi Megumi action in, and am damn proud of it too. Divine inspiration rocks! Thanks for reviewing.

KuroKitsune-chan :I always save the best for last. (actually, I can't back that up, I just didn't want to type your long name first, no offense). Aoshi works in lovely with this story, his redemption, or at least the beginning of what could have began the lonely, cha drinking process. No one is completely cold hearted. Anyway, thanks for reviewing.

Ciao!