Being Okashira

Chapter Two: This is the Competition?


"Speak, you fool!"

Aoshi stopped, walking back. What?

He peered in the open doorway only to see the other members gathered around the front of the room, all seated quietly. What was this? Impromptu theatre?

Tinkling laughter drew his attention as he noticed the young Okashira, Misao, just to his right inside the doorway. She was leaning back against the wall, her eyes trained on the performers. Apparently, it was comedy.

He glanced away from the stage again toward her. She seemed thoroughly amused.

"Problems, Aoshi?"

She surprised him, her awareness. Her eyes flickered to his frame silently, plastering a smile on her face. "Would you like to take a walk with me? I could use the break and Hannya will be angry if I go alone."

"Aa."

He followed her out, but not before noticing a young male near the right wall was watching her. Not just watching, intensely watching. He turned standing in front of Misao's fading form to block the man's gaze as he followed her out. Was that Soujiro?

"Ah, there you are my pretty Misao!"

Aoshi stepped out just to see Okina sweep Misao into an air-restricting embrace. After several moments of sputtering the man finally released her. He was about to say something when he looked up at Aoshi.

"Ah... Just like my pretty Misao to capture a beau already. Where are you two sneaking away to?"

"Jiya!" Misao snapped, a blush tinting her cheeks. "It's nothing like that. Don't you have something to be doing?"

She managed to ward off the old man but he was still casting them lecherous glances as he walked away.

"Jiya has an overactive imagination and no one to waste it on but me," she explained briefly continuing to walk.

He caught her easily with his long strides having to walk slowly beside her.

"Has he arrived yet?"

He wasn't sure why he was asking about Soujiro, he wasn't that interested. Or, so he told himself. He hadn't stopped thinking about her and her explanation to him the previous day. It had, honestly, haunted him all night although he wasn't sure quite why. There was nothing particularly extraordinary about the girl but she lingered in his thoughts often.

More often, that is, than any other female that he'd met here. Of course maybe that was proper, she was the Okashira.

"Soujiro?" She nodded. "He's here. I'm... I'm trying to just be me, it's... not so easy. I've known him for a long time so, he knows when I'm not being honest with him. Actually," she laughed nervously. "I'm a very bad liar to the Oniwabanshuu members that live here at the Aoiya. They know me too well."

They walked silently for a few minutes when something else occurred to him. "What about the third candidate?"

She nodded. "Right, Honjo Kamatari is his name. He's here... you'll meet him later."

To say he was curious was an insufficient description of this man who would be his competition. Seta Soujiro was excluded already by Misao's feelings for the man. They passed through a grove of miniature trees, when the footsteps beside him stopped.

"Oh."

He looked down to see what was troubling her and why she had stopped moving. Her gaze was directed across the way at someone. A woman? Without warning she started jumping up and down excitedly.

"Kamatari!"

The figure in the furisode turned and to his surprise, reacted just as cheerfully as Misao.

'Kamatari?' He blinked. No way, he thought watching as the figure approached. Misao remained where she was at his side.

"Hey! I was wondering where you were!"

Aoshi stared down at the figure. Who was this?

"Ah, catch yourself a man Misao and didn't tell me? I thought we were sisters."

This caused Misao to giggle as she shook her head. "Shinomori Aoshi, this is Honjo Kamatari. Kamatari, this is Shinomori Aoshi."

Kamatari sidled closer to Misao elbowing her conspiratorially and whispering not so lowly. "He's a quiet one, eh?"

Misao just laughed turning her gaze up to Aoshi. "Don't be fooled by the kimono - he's all man underneath, no matter what he tries to say about it."

Had he been a man of weaker composition, he would've paled. That was a man!

He tried not to shudder at the thought. This then was his competition for Misao? A man in a dress and a man who broke her heart. There was no way he could possibly not be picked. It was the hollowest victory he'd ever had, but who was he to complain?

Misao was an odd, but jubilant female, he didn't rule out the possibility he would lose the position anyway. Even if he did follow her around like a puppy willing to cater to her every whim to get it. She didn't really treat him like a servant. She did two things whenever he was around her, talk to him, or to hum to herself. Most of the time she didn't seem to expect answers, she just kept on chatting.

She and Kamatari were presently giggling over something, he didn't put off the possibility it was him. Misao seemed to take interest in his quiet, subdued personality and in the last day or so was beginning to be more noticeably comfortable around him by making note of it. Her very casual use of 'Aoshi' had also surprised him. She'd called him 'Shinomori' all of twice, if he remembered correctly, before she'd begun using his given name. Of course, she seemed to do that to everyone.

"Well I'm sure it will all work out. I'm going to go check out the kitchen. If I am dismissed, Okashira?"

Kamatari made a big show of bowing and Misao's humor vanished as she made a very serious 'nod', only to crack up laughing. Kamatari walked off leaving them alone again in the little grove.

"That's him?"

She turned her eyes up to him, her happiness, and humor vanishing. "Odd, isn't it? Kamatari can't stand in Soujiro's shadow in means of skill, I won't pick Soujiro under any circumstances, and then there's you. A man I've heard little about until very recently."

Recently? Had she gotten reports about him personally before he'd arrived?

"Chiku, your former base commander has been inundating the Aoiya with reports of you. I suppose it's his way of recommending you. That or he and Okina are trying to drop you in my lap or something."

He wouldn't discard that possibility. They were odd competition, or maybe he was the odd one. He did wonder though why he would suddenly be thrust to the front of the line to be in this position though. It seemed strange to him although he had no doubts about his qualifications or abilities to actually handle the job.

"Well, anyway, Hannya is away on official business today so - you want to train with me?"

He nodded silently. "Do you need anything from the training hall? I've got everything I require already."

He glanced over her small figure. She was dressed as was typical for her in the dark colored shorts set of her Oniwabanshuu uniform. He also was dressed in a uniform; his kodachi never left his side. Yes, he was prepared.

He shook his head to indicate he needed nothing and followed as she led him down another path, away from the Aoiya. "Okay then, off we go on a training adventure!"

He was admiring the cord of hair hanging down her back when she suddenly stopped, turning to him. "You know, you don't have to follow me around like you do. Hannya usually does that although he gives it a rest every once in a while. Despite what the others say about me being reckless and overly-aggressive I rarely leave the safety of the Aoiya. It's just weird that every time I turn around I almost walk right smack into you." She waved a hand. "It doesn't matter I guess, I was just wondering."

She turned and continued without an answer.

"But you really should talk more. Open up a little, relax. "

She turned off walking into a field.

"I like it out here, nice and wild. Okay with you?"

"Aa."

She smiled reaching around behind her. He reached out instinctively, following the movement of her body with his own, startled as his fingers closed around a kunai blade. He looked up to see her grinning at him. He hadn't been expecting that.

"I had business to take care of the other night so I couldn't make it to dinner. Shiro brought me dinner at my office and we talked for a while. He was telling me about this spider he'd seen once. The female spider would lure a mate into her web, mate with him, and then eat him." She laughed suddenly walking toward him. "You remind me of that... except in reverse... sort of. I feel like that around you, like I'm going to get my head bit off."

She held out her hand, now in front of him, and he release the kunai back into her grip. The shiny metal dropped into her little palm.

"Anyway I'm glad you caught that, if you hadn't I'd be in all sorts of trouble. You'd think being the Okashira you couldn't get into any trouble... not true!" she declared. "I would know."

She continued rambling on and he listened. She stopped some feet away and stared, now silent, back at him. He slid his kodachi from his waist and tossed it to the ground. It wouldn't do to engage her with such a weapon, she had nothing to use in defense. She slid down into a kenpo stance and he followed.

"We aren't on the same level, but I'll go easy on you." Her eyes glittered merrily and he couldn't resist the smirk.

She was small in frame, which meant she had very little physical strength to use against him. She would have to be quick and agile to have any advantage in a fight, which by her kunai throwing earlier, was not a problem for her. She moved skillfully, he noted, seeming to flow from one movement to another. Until she back flipped away from him and fell into a heap on the ground, and came up rubbing her shoulder.

"Ouchies! I do that wrong every time!" She looked up, a blush tinting her cheeks. "I hurt my wrist a couple weeks ago and I haven't exactly let it heal properly so every time I do a back flip, I fall over. I keep hoping every time I try it won't hurt." She laughed uneasily.

She pulled herself up; apparently not injured enough not to want to continue and he followed her lead. She was well trained, he determined. Her form was solid and she carried out her moves with precision necessary to the craft. His assessment of her pleased him. It was something he enjoyed discovering. His first impression of young and immature dimmed a bit even if she was, in his estimation, still too young and inexperienced to lead the Oniwabanshuu. He had yet to see evidence of Okina's statement about being the Okashira being a burden to her, but he believed the man.

She was young and it was a very complicated job she'd been assigned to do. He was more than willing to take the pressure off those tiny shoulders if she'd let him. He guessed she would fight him though, given her determination in other things. She would be willing to fight him for something she didn't really want if he so much as breathed a hint of her being incapable.

He liked her, he decided, as he shifted suddenly from defense to offense, catching her wrists and sweeping her feet out from beneath her. Her mouth fell open in a gasp as he stole her footing away from her and she began to fall. He dropped down on one knee as he followed her body keeping her from impacting hard with the ground, rather controlling her descent and contact with the soil beneath them. She landed softly, blinking as though to awaken herself, a blush tinting her cheeks.

He still held her wrists, bodies' close. He'd somehow managed to maneuver her onto her knees as well.

"Pay more attention to me," he urged, surprised at the low sound of his own voice. He certainly hadn't intended to sound that way. He direly hoped she wouldn't think he was trying to seduce her or anything.

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"You're not watching me close enough in battle. You need to keep an eye on your enemy's movement more carefully." He dropped one delicate wrist, once again amazed at her small stature. He hoisted himself up pulling her up also by that captured wrist before releasing her. "Try again- look closer."

Their little training session resumed, but she seemed even more hesitant than before to get close to him. He wondered, as he watched, defending himself if he'd created a gap that she would only widen with her newly discovered discomfort around him. There could be no doubt she was uncomfortable with the change he'd watched her undergo in a matter of minutes.

Their sparring ended a short time later given the ineffectiveness of it all. He had attempted reversing their positions , with him on offense, but his aggressiveness only seemed to further disconcert her. Perhaps it was just too much for one day, he expected she would be back to her normal self once she got away from him for a while. Presumably, he could only guess.

He now walked behind her, kodachi's in one hand, his eyes on that long braid of hair. It was surprisingly long and almost always drew his attention to her. That swinging cord of hair would almost announce her presence to him calling his eye to her form. He watched her run ahead when the Aoiya came into view. She disappeared through the front door of the building but he didn't follow her inside.


End Chapter Two.

Minor editing: 02/19/05