I do not own, nor have I ever owned Rurouni Kenshin. Any and all characters not associated with Rurouni Kenshin are rightfully mine.
Misao awoke with a headache, she opened her eyes slowly finding darkness all around her. She shook her head slightly and tried to move her left arm. She scrunched her eyebrows confused, as she could feel her arm and flex her fingers and move her wrist, but for the life of her she was unable to move it. Misao found she was able to lift her right arm and found it was wrapped in blankets, which was usual when she slept. She's end up movin around so much she usually woke up tangle in the blankets. She placed her hand, after unwrapping from the blankets, against her forehead and groaned. Misao knew she had a fever, as he warm palm touched her burning head. This also explained why she felt so cold, wrapped in blakets. She blinked, trying to help her eyes adjust to the light, as she tried to see in the darkness. A creaking noise came to her ears, and the wind rustling some cloth caught her attention as well. She looked to where she thought her feet were laying. She could make out the stars as the wind whipped the top part of the cloth open. She heard the creaking noise once more.
"A wagon?" She whispered the question.
"Yes," Came a muffled and sleepy reply. Misao almost screamed at the sudden presence she felt next to her. She groaned once again, her head ached and her body was freezing.
"Why is it so cold?"
"You were poisoned and there are still a few lasting affects. They will disappear in a few days time." Aoshi sat up the little sleep he'd finally been able to get was not nearly enough. Misao was now able to lift her left arm, and felt a chill run down her spine at the loss of warmth. She had felt cold all over, but even more so when Aoshi's body heat left. "You have about 8 blankets on you now." Aoshi stated as he yawned. Two more hours of sleep is what he needed.
"I still feel like I'm in a snow drift." Misao stated more to herself.
Aoshi stared down at her, his eyes able to make out the outline of her form. That was not a good sign. She should be warm under the blankets. He shifted laying down once more, moving the blankets aside to get under them.
Misao felt the slight chill of the air as Aoshi moved the blankets. It was gone in an instant and more warmth seemed to come instead. "What are you doing?" Misao felt groggy, but knew she should not fall asleep just yet. She felt Aoshi wrap an arm around her waist lightly. His other arm slid under her back and rested on her shoulder.
"You need to stay warm." Aoshi stated flatly. His body was reacting to her presence and he regretted ever having saved her, until the thought of his clan entered his mind once more. The hand on her shoulder pulled her closer to his body. Misao was forced to turn on her side. The slight shift made her abdomen ache, but it subsided after a few seconds.
In a matter of minutes Misao felt warmer and sighed. She felt safe and protected in his embrace. She nuzzled her head against his chest and sighed again.
"What?" Aoshi growled, as the slightest movement seemed to send shocks up his spine. Misao wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer to her. "Your so warm." Misao mumbled as she drifted into a peaceful slumber. Aoshi blinked and soon let sleep claim him as well.
CHING
Aoshi awoke at the sound of a sword being unsheathed. He went to move and halted, Misao was still wrapped in his embrace, or he hers. Either way there would be no way to move without waking her, and maybe asserting the person to their presence. Aoshi unwrapped his left arm from her waist and grabbed his Kodachi sheath.
A second later the flap was thrown open on the wagon. Steel blue eyes greeted a masked man. "Hannya," Aoshi bent his head in acknowledgement.
"Leader," Hannya replied the same way. His eyes lingered on Misao. "Is this the girl you went to meet?"
"Yes," Aoshi stated. "She was attacked about three days ago when we were to leave the town and head for the village. She awoke last night." Aoshi kept his mask in place like always.
"So that is what has taken you so long?" Hannya bowed and let the flap shut. "Rest leader I will keep watch and we can continue to the village later."
Aoshi stared at the flap and relaxed laying down on his back once more. He sighed and closed his eyes. His hand dropped the Kodachi sheath, which contained the kodachis. Misao moved by wrapping her arms tighter around his waist. "No," Misao whined in her sleep." Aoshi heard some other mumbles from her and bent his head closer to her. "Don't take her, don't take Michi." Aoshi's eyes widened. Misao's voice sounded broken. Her arms tightened even more and she screamed. Aoshi jumped back from her, but didn't get far as her embrace was strong.
Misao woke up with a scream and buried her head against the warmth next to her, when it tried to move she held her arms tight. She'd been dreaming about her little girl and they were both wearing beautiful kimono. Michi had the biggest smile on her face and looked up at Misao. Her voice rang in Misao's ears. "We'll always go to the star festival together right mommy?" Misao had smiled at her daughter, her hand squeezing her daughters. She closed her eyes and nodded. Her eyes sprang open as the little hand went limp and Michi's body leaned against Misao's leg. Misao looked at her daughter seeing a knife in her daughters back; it went through her back and came out the other side of her chest.
"No," Misao wined as tears started to come to her eyes. "Don't take her, don't take Michi," Misao sobbed. Misao then screamed as she clung to her daughter. Misao had woken up after that.
Her eyes widened as she realized just who, she was clinging to. She let go instantly, "I'm sorry." She tried to turn away from Aoshi, but got to her back and pain coursed through her stomach.
"You can't move too quickly you'll reopen the wound." When she'd clung to Aoshi she still had a fever. Aoshi was staring at her face. She had tear streams down her face and her eyes showed great sorrow. "What were you dreaming about to make you scream?" Aoshi had no idea why he was worried about her, but pushing his worries away only made things worse, if she refused to answer then he would drop the subject and worry no more about it.
"Why do you care?" Misao bit harshly, wiping her eyes and cringing at the pain.
"You fall ill I will be the one looking after you." Aoshi replied with a cold voice.
"..." Misao closed her eyes, willing the tears that wanted to spill to go away. 'He'd actually sounded worried, and I had to snap.' Misao wiped the tears away as they started to spill. "My...child." Misao sniffed as she was finally able to turn her back to Aoshi.
Aoshi didn't know what to say, he didn't have a sister either. He had no idea how she felt. Aoshi saw Misao try to sit up, the blanket falling as she did. Misao pulled the blanket back up. "You should rest, you still need to gain your strength back."
Misao chuckled. "For not wanting to marry me you sure can act." Misao was shocked at herself. It was as if she was unable to control what she said.
Aoshi stared at Misao. "The poison," Aoshi remember the doctor's words.
"She may have regrets or things bothering her, she might normally keep to herself. She might snap at you out of frustration you should take it in stride and try to not make her angry. If she's lost something recently she may get emotional. If you are unable to handle it then keep your distance. Aoshi took a deep breath the last of the doctor's words ringing in his mind. "She'll get through the pain faster if you support her in anyway possible.
"Rest, you'll need your strength." Aoshi scooted over to Misao, pulling the blankets over his clothed legs and laid down behind her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her.
Misao wanted to snap at him to leave her, but the embrace was too warm and inviting. She snuggled her back closer to his chest. This time her sleep was not assaulted with nightmares, quite the opposite actually.
Misao awoke from the tantalizing dream with a blush on her face. Aoshi was still asleep next to her, his arms tightly embracing her. She was now facing him, her head buried in his chest. She could feel the puff of air, moving her hair, as he breathed. It was an odd feeling and Misao moved her head back to look at him and stiffened. His lips were about two inches from Misao's. Misao gulped, as his embrace seemed to tighten, so she wasn't able to move back at all. His steel colored eyes stared into hers as his eyes opened. A hazy look was all she could make out before Aoshi had unwrapped his arms and pulled away from her. Aoshi's eyes darted to the flap as he heard a creak. "It seems Hannya is taking us back to the village." Aoshi commented as Misao stared at Aoshi. His steel eyes stared coldly back into hers, "You will be carried to the back entrance, we can not have you see the people injured."
"You were actually sleeping." Misao stated. Aoshi rose an eyebrow at her statement.
"What?"
"You were actually sleeping, I mean you weren't in a light sleep where any noise would wake you, you were in a slightly deeper sleep." Misao slowly sat up keeping the blanket up over her breasts.
"I sleep as well, cat naps don't last long."
"I know, but..."
"I had a scout watching us, I can sleep easier with Hannya around. Now lie back down." Aoshi gruffly stated; talking was one of his least favorite things.
"I can sit up if I wish," Misao lifted her chin. Even a cold glance from Aoshi didn't break her resolve. Misao closed her eyes and sighed. It was going to be a long trial between the two. Misao opened her eyes to catch a blur and then her body slumped back onto the blankets. Aoshi's arm braced Misao's back and slowly let her fall back.
Aoshi gazed down at her sleeping form 'Her reflexes are weakened.' Aoshi moved a couple long strands of her hair from her face and sighed. 'Lots of training will be necessary, she has the ninja skills, but the proper lady skills will need to be learned. That is the difference between our clans.' The lower class was all ninja's, women and men alike. The middle class had some female ninja's, but most decided to stay away from battle. Most middle class families need not have a female, as the husband would do the work needed. If the husband was to die in battle, a son was to take over, if no son had reached the required age of 14 then the wife, or eldest daughter, having reached the age of 16, would take over. Some circumstances required there not be a ninja from the family for a little while, that was dealt with as needed. The upper class women were not allowed to go into battle. That consisted mainly of the families living in the castle.
"Hannya?" Aoshi questioned in a loud whisper.
"Yes leader."
"How long before we arrive at the road?"
"About three more or four more miles. Then we still have to climb the trail, so at least three more hours until we reach the village."
Aoshi's steel eyes looked across the path as he sped up the rocky path. "Left"
Hannya followed Aoshi's shouts as he wove up the road. Traps were know to be set on the back road leading up, only the royal family knew exactly where they were located.
Aoshi continued to scan the ground around his feet first, then searched around where Hannya was. His pace was much slower as he held Misao in his arms. She was still unconscious. They were nearly to the village their trek would end in 15 minutes, as long as Aoshi's pace stayed the same.
"Jump and right" Aoshi called again as he'd been lost in his thoughts and an inch forward, Hannya would have hit a trap.
"Our dear son should have been back by now." Dark blue eyes scanned the throne room. They landed on a tall thin figure wearing black.
"Yes, even with Hannya leaving they should have arrived by now." The man in black stated as he removed his facemask to show eyes that were almost a white shade. His skin was a light tan, his hair a rich white. His white eyes looked to his right as the door opened without a sound.
"We have returned, highness."
"What was the delay in coming back to the village?" The dark haired woman stood and asked angrily.
"Leader will show you." Hannya bowed and with the stealth of a ninja left the room as he had entered it.
"Why does that man insist on calling him leader?" The woman fumed.
"Nalia," Her dark blues eyes met his almost white gaze. "He is the most efficient ninja in the clan. He had his own companions, all of which died, except for Hannya. He shows his respect by calling him leader.
"It is disrespectful for the..." The icy glare from him made her cut her sentence short. The quick movement of his eyes made her look toward the door once more. The door opened to reveal Aoshi soaking wet, carrying Misao. "My dear child what happened to you?" Nalia replied with disgust.
"It seems one of the maids decided to throw water on me." Aoshi replied with a hollow tone.
"You will not use that tone with me boy." She approached her son, only to get to where her husband was. His hand came out and blocked her from going any further.
"This young woman is wrapped in a blanket?" His father questioned.
"Yes the kimono she was wearing, was tainted with blood when she was attacked." His fathers white eyes looked into his as he continued. "I went to retrieve her, it seems you sent a man to taint her." Aoshi's voice was still hollow.
"I did no such thing, I honor the pact made by the clans." His voice stayed in a neutral tone. His eyes pinned Nalia's. "I believe you can thank your mother for that. Nalia broke the gaze.
"Yes I had assumed." Aoshi stated, glancing at his mother's face.
"You men annoy me..." Nalia started
"And you will do well to hold your tongue. This conversation is for my son and I. If you have the need to interrupt, I then suggest you leave." Aoshi's father stated angrily. Nalia huffed and stormed from the room. His eyes followed her until she left the room with a slam. "Finish!"
"The next morning a man attacked. I am unsure if the attack was aimed at her or I. She pushed me out of the way," He lifted Misao indicating he meant her. She was injured severely and the doctor stated not to move her for at least two days. I managed to come by a carriage for sake and we've had to go at such a slow pace. Hannya met up with us earlier today and thus we are, where we are now.
"This young woman, would she be your bride to be?" His father replied after a slight pause.
"Yes according to her she's 18, not that it matters..." Aoshi was interrupted by his father.
"Weather it matters to you Aoshi is not the issue. She was of age two years ago." A slight pause as his father looked her over. Aoshi rolled his eyes as he turned away from him and continued. "Her parents found a way around the pact, which is indeed clever, but she is still quite old to be married now." He turned to face Aoshi once more. "She also looks quite younger, which is in her favor."
"Father she still has one year before the pact is nulled.
"I know boy." Aoshi closed his eyes and steeled his gaze as he opened his eyes once more. "She has a child that is 2 years of age, am I correct?"
"According to the man that fetched her, yes."
"That child is a female or male?"
Aoshi shook his head, "I have not heard if it's male or female."
"The child's name, that is to be your wife?"
"..."
"Aoshi?"
"My child is none of your concern and we have not been introduce properly." Misao snapped her eyes open to stare into almost white eyes.
Okay well I wanted to leave off with him asking her name and then doing the next chapter but umm I went a different way hehe. Hope you all like.