Rain

By : Cereis

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own RK

Thank you for all who reviewed! I'm sooooooo happy that you guys liked my story!

I was so worried that everyone was gonna hate it... thankfully, i was wrong! I hope that i'll be able to write up to your standards: )

Chapter Two

Back in Aoshi's room

The girl twitched slightly and slowly started to open her eyes.

Her body hurt all over. She slowly started to take in her surroundings.

Where am I?

It looked like she was in a hotel room. Still lying down, she looked out the window to her right to see the blue sky.

She looked to her left and noticed a man laying down about five feet away from her, staring at her.

She froze.

"AAAIIIIIEEEEEE!"

She scrambled onto her hands and knees and backed into a corner, taking the blankets with her.

"Who the hell are you and where am I?" she yelled angrily and frantically at the man.

The man smirked at her actions.

Her eye twitched at his smirk.

"What's so funny!"

He shook his head at her.

She partially blushed, finally taking a good look at the man. He had black hair with bangs that fell attractively into his piercing eyes.

Piercing blue green eyes that seem to have somewhat of an icy air about them.

Where have I seen those eyes before...?

Then she remembered.

She tried to kill herself the day before and the man in front of her saved her life.

But why?

A look of confusion covered her face.

"Why… did you save me?"

"A pretty young girl like you doesn't deserve to die so early."

She blushed at his words. The look in his eyes didn't help her at all.

Then she remembered hearing him call her a young girl.

Her eye twitched at that thought.

"I'm eighteen I'll have you know!"

Eighteen, huh?

She was much older than what he had expected.

Anger immediately came over her, remembering the scene from the night before. " I told

you my life's not worth living anymore. You should have just let me drown." Said

looking at the ground.

"That answer's not good enough for me. You seem like a strong girl, why did you give in? Running away from your troubles will do nothing."

"You're a man, you wouldn't understand."

"Then make me understand."

-She went on with her story for about half an hour. -

"There, now do you understand!" She said to him softly, no longer looking at him withtears rolling down her face.

"Like I told you before, being enslaved to a family against your will, nearly getting raped countless of times, and getting beaten by those slave drivers everyday isn't exactly every girl's dream."

He looked at her, motionless.

Her story had moved him, but he believed that with a fighting spirit like hers, she could easily take them on.

He sighed and slowly came up to her and knelled in front of her. He brought a hand up to her cheek, his thumb wiping away her tears.

He looked into her eyes and replied to her softly.

"Then the more you should have a reason to fight."

Her eyes widened slightly.

Blue.

Sea-foam blue.

Looking into her eyes, he all of a sudden had the urge to kiss her. Before he knew what he was doing, his head slowly started to move her closer to hers.

She had such nice eyes; they were the color of the ocean.

She started to blush at how close he was getting.

Is…is he going to kiss me...?

Her heart started to pound.

She too suddenly had he urge to kiss him.

Wait! What am I doing! Men can't be trusted, I can't kiss him!

She looked into his eyes again.

…but how can I resist?

He didn't even know this girl, and yet he wanted to kiss her. He wanted to kiss her senseless till her tears stopped and she forgot her sorrows.

He grew closer and closer.

His lips were about an inch away and growing closer even more so. He could hear his heart pounding. She licked her lips, her tongue barely grazing his lip, so lightly, he wasn't sure if he had imagined it, or if she had really touched him. He could feel her breath on his lip.

But she took his hand off her cheek.

"You still don't get it do you?" she whispered under her breath, bowing her head down.

His eyes widened and he pulled back his hand as if he were burned.

What was I trying to do!

All of a sudden a flashback of a young girl of eight years old with black hair and sea-foam eyes came to mind. A gentle, kind-hearted girl with a lot of energy and a knack for getting into trouble.

What was that flash back? Who was that girl?

He couldn't quite remember.

He pushed the memory aside and came back to the subject at hand.

"You have a lot of energy and strong will power. I can sense it just by how you were yelling at me." And by how you resisted me.

"…you…somewhat remind me of a girl I once knew..." , he said softly

"Well, that girl and I are not the same person."

He frowned.

That seemed pretty obvious now. Who ever the girl from his flashbacks was, there's no way the person currently before him could be the same one. The girl in his memories would never give in to people who manhandled the girl before him today. She would fight for her rights till she won.

He sighed.

The girl looked back at him, giving him bitter looks but stopped.

What's that look on his face? It that sadness?

Anger crossed her face.

Well I don't want his pity!

"Don't you dare feel bad for me. I don't want anyone's pity."

He just looked at her.

Well then, if she has this kind of fire, why doesn't she use it against those who were enslaving her?

"I don't pity you. I just wonder why you don't use the strength you obviously have to fight against those who enslaved you?"

"Are you dense? Fighting against them means putting my family in jeopardy! Why am I even telling you this! You're just like any other man. Men are scum that love to make life miserable for everyone else in the world. You probably don't even care about me. You're probably just waiting to make a move on me and have your fun." She said scornfully looking at him then at the ground.

When she looked up, she saw a fist flying at her.

"AAHHH!"

She threw her arms up across her face to brace for impact, but the hit never came.

:CRACK:

The fist landed left of her head, cracking the wall and causing dust to fly around them.

She slowly lifted her head and was greeted with angry face.

He wanted to smack her.

I risked my self out there for her, and this is how she thanks me! By telling me that I'm pig who just wants to do her!

Anger was strewn across his face.

"You think I'd risk my life for someone just so I could fuck them? If you truly think that, then you really are a stupid girl." He spoke low and deep in her face.

He got up and turned his back to her.

…I hate to admit it, but he does have a point. No one would be that stupid.

Regaining the use of her voice, she shakily asked, "Then why did you save me?"

He paused.

Why did I save her?

He wasn't quite sure, so he said the first thing that came to mind the night of the incident.

"I'll admit, when I first saw you, I had no intentions of doing anything… but after I saw how young you were, I thought it was a shame for you to die so young. There is so much for you to live for."

(the girl's thoughts)

So much to live for? Ha!

That was a good one. Getting beaten and grouped everyday is so something to look forward to.

"But, for all the trouble you're worth, maybe I should have just let you drown in the river."

She glared at him.

"Hmph, maybe you should have. I didn't ask for your help anyways."

Aoshi's fists were shaking and his knuckles were starting to turn white.

What an ungrateful little-

Controlling his anger, he paused for a couple of moments before he spoke to her one last time.

"I suggest you leave before I make any rash decisions."

"Gladly."

The girl got up and left out the door. Her stomping could be heard down the hall.

Aoshi punched the wall again. That girl made him so mad.

Sure, her life seemed bad, but nothing that she couldn't overcome with that fighting spirit. No wonder those people like to beat her. With a tongue like that, anyone would want to hit her.

Stupid, ungrateful little girl. I risk my life to save her, take care of her when she had a fever, let her use my futon, not to mention, she walked out wearing MY sleeping yukata. The nerve of her.

After a couple of minutes, he regained his temper.

For some reason, he still couldn't help be feel a little worried. She had just gotten over a fever. She was in no health to be stomping about like that.

He didn't even know her name….

The flashback of him beings close to her, almost kissing her came back to mind. He could feel her breath, almost taste her. He could hear both of their hearts pounding.

He shook his head.

He hadn't touched a woman in years.

Feeling his heart beating like that and being so close to her gave him an urge of wanting more.

It's a wonder how I didn't miss those feeling all these years…

A knock soon came to his door.

He sighed before replying.

"Come in."

A man with a mask entered his room.

"Aoshi-sama" the man said, going down on one knee and bent his head.

"Hannya."

Hannya got up and knelled in front of Aoshi.

"I couldn't help but notice that you came home late last night," he spoke hesitantly, "and with a girl, no less."

Aoshi thought of the girl again…the thoughts of him almost kissing her fresh in his mind.

"If I'm not too forward, who was that girl? If I'm not mistaken, she looked similar to young Misao, the late okashira's daughter."

Misao! That right. That was the name of the little girl he was having flashbacks of. How could he forget? He helped raise the child. She followed him everywhere, always wanting to play with him, wanting him to teach her kempo. He frequently made paper origami cranes for her.

"Yes…she does have some of the same features as Misao… but Misao lives in Kyoto with the rest of the Oniwabanshuu."

"Yes… well about the Aoiya," Hannya shifted to his side to pull out a scroll of paper.

" I just recently received a telegram by pigeon this morning on my walk. I noticed it fluttering around several other birds eating seeds on the ground. It was by chance that I noticed the scroll on its leg." He passed the note to Aoshi.

"The telegram network is starting to loose it's efficiency."

"Aa." Aoshi mumbled while opening the scroll.

It came from Okina.

Aoshi,

It's been twelve years.

I wish that I would be able to bring you good news about the Aoiya and the rest of the Oniwabanshuu, but I'm afraid that we have had some changes here. Unfortunately, due to certain circumstances of debt as of recently, the Aoiya has been sold to a wealthy man by the name of Izumi Naguchi.

Aoshi tensed at that statement.

Naguchi? Didn't I just kill that man not too long ago?

The remaining Oniwabanshuu and I still live here, but we are all employed by Naguchi-san. By word of mouth, we have heard of his death. His son, Rikai Nagichi, now controls the Aoiya. Life working under either Naguchi-san or his son is not the greatest, but it gets us by. Also, something doesn't exactly seem completely right. Every week there were meetings in the cellar with Naguchi-san and some other shady looking men. Since his death, Rikai has taken his place. I have done some research and found out that Naguchi-san is the ringleader of one of Japan's top drug rings, dealing with opium. It's worries me, but I don't want to get involve… for Misao's sake.

Misao…

Misao isn't exactly having the type of life that I was hoping to give her. She is of age, at eighteen years old.

Eighteen?

She has had many suitors, but Naguchi-san's son, Rikai, chased them all away. He has had his eye on Misao for quite a while now. There is nothing more that I want than to get Misao married, but Rikai-san is not the right man for her. There have been countless encounters when he has tried to force Misao to do…certain things against her will. Luckily, Shiro-kun or Kuro-kun had been there to help her.

Aoshi, you are like son to me, and as an old man I have one last request of you. Please, come back to Kyoto, marry Misao, and take her away from here. She deserves a better life. She always had been found of you. Please Aoshi, just do this, for me.

-Okina

Marry Misao? How could he marry the girl he helped raise? He had shed too much blood in his lifetime; he would be no good for her. She would need some one who wouldn't corrupt her purity.

Someone other than him.

But, he couldn't leave the Aoiya the way it was now.

Every week there were meetings in the cellar with Naguchi-san and some other shady looking men. Since his death, Rikai has taken his place.

So the chase begins again.

Kyoto.

He would have to investigate about that.

It was settled.

He would go back to Kyoto, break down the Naguchi ring, permanently, and take back the Aoiya.

He had made quite a sum of money from his last mission and numerous other missions he and his trusted four had been on. He would give the money to Okina to pay off the debts.

And later on, he would find a good suitor for Misao.

"Aoshi-sama?"

Knocked out of his thoughts he looked up at Hannya. He had completely forgotten that he was in the room.

"Tomorrow we head back to Kyoto."

Hannya was taken aback.

"Kyoto?"

Aoshi sensed Hannya's surprise.

"It seems that Naguchi has some unfinished business there."

Hannya nodded his head.

"We will leave tomorrow at sunrise."

"Understood"

Hannya melded back into the shadows and left the room to tell the others of what was in store.

Ok! that's the end of chapter two! I hope you all like it...and hopefully, you'll review again: )

So please...

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

- Cereis out