Daughter Figure

5 of 8

Revised June 18, 2011

"Very unwise of you, Makimachi-san. Very unwise…" the old doctor chided as he shook his head. "Bad girl."

Misao frowned. "Yeah, I know, but it was the only shot I had, I know it was stupid. I won't do it again, that's for sure. Next time I will just lose honorably, no tricks."

He sighed again and stood up. "You wrack this old man's nerves."

She smiled brightly. "Yeah, but you wouldn't have half as much fun in your life without me."

He didn't comment on that, but his expression said it all. He was a good guy and she'd known him all her life with his working in the neighborhood.

"Will they be okay soon?" she asked, her voice colored by genuine worry.

"In an hour or so it will wear off. No more of that, Makimachi-san. Keep that powder tucked away, throw it away, in fact."

She nodded.

She wouldn't and he didn't really expect her to but he had to try anyway. The old doctor left a few minutes later and Misao was left to monitor the others by herself. She had posted a sign out front of the Aoiya.

"Unexpected emergency – closed until tomorrow."

Unexpected emergency indeed.

The powder in her fan was made of dried mushrooms, the inedible hallucinogenic kind. The actual technique didn't involve tossing the powder at the enemy quite like she had; she'd done it without the finesse it deserved.

It actually involved sprinkling the powder about the person while wearing a facemask and doing a hypnotic dance. It had looked really cool when she'd seen it done, but then she wasn't a dancer. She couldn't begin to dance around Aoshi-sama, he'd have suspected something so her best shot was full speed ahead.

She dropped her head onto the table.

Ugh.

She was an idiot sometimes.

"What were you thinking? Misao! That was extremely dangerous!"

She frowned. "Oh, come on. Did you really think I could defeat Aoshi-sama in traditional battle, it was the only shot I had!"

"You used mushroom dust on us!" Okina squawked.

"Actually, I used it on Aoshi-sama. By the way, does that count as a win?" she asked innocently. "Besides, you're okay."

She had fallen asleep and when she'd woke the others were all gone from around her.

"Aoshi and I had a talk about that."

She straightened where she sat, her back muscles tensing.

"Because you got Aoshi to the ground for a period longer than ten seconds as are the standard rules, you are technically the winner. But as your guardian, I have already worked out the terms of your victory with Aoshi."

What?

"What terms?"

The old man grinned at her sweetly. "It is my determination that it's in your best interest that you no longer continue as leader and instead take on the less stressful role of wife."

Wife?

"What?" she asked her expression stormy.

"Aoshi and I have agreed that the two of you should marry." Okina looked entirely too pleased with himself.

"No! That doesn't make any sense at all. You can't determine the terms of my win."

He shook his head. "Your own negligence led to this, Misao. Your choice of tactics was ill thought out and immature. With actions such as that you can hardly expect me to allow you to dictate the terms of your win."

"My immature and ill-thought out tactics were what got me the win the first place!" she snapped angrily. "Where is Aoshi-sama?"

"The Okashira's office," Okina replied simply.

His tone relayed his belief that she would go talk to Aoshi and all would be well. Misao hated the suggestion that she was so simple a creature and that she could be appeased so easily.

She all but jumped to her feet and stomped toward the Okashira's office. She threw open the door and stepped inside. Aoshi sat there quietly, reading, and he didn't look up as she entered.

"Aoshi-sama!"

"Misao?"

Even then, he didn't look up.

"What do you think you're doing? You can't talk to Jiya about my win! I beat you, not him!"

He continued to read until she slammed her fist on the desktop and then he raised his eyes to her.

"Don't ignore me!"

"You told me I needed to take on more responsibilities. I have decided to do that."

"You did it by taking over mine!" she growled.

His expression tilted slightly, the thin line across his lips deepening. "You cannot be the Okashira, Misao. I never wanted such a future for you."

"You mean I can't be the Okashira because I'm a girl or because you don't think it's possible?" she snapped angrily, curling her fists against her hips.

"This is the ideal solution for both our situations," he answered, ignoring her remark. "You wanted me to take on more responsibilities and you also stated you intended to get married."

"No, no, no! Besides you said outside I hadn't really decided to get married."

He paused a moment, studying her. "To anyone else. You have decided not to get married to anyone else."

She scowled at him. "I never said that!"

He shook his head slightly. "Make it your last act as Okashira to see the wisdom of this move."

She snapped at him furiously, "It's not fair. You and him are trying to take over my life!"

"If you can produce a sensible reason for why this is the wrong path to take, I will hear you."

She was dismissed, just like that. He looked away from her and she knew he wasn't going to acknowledge her again. No one ignored a person quite like Aoshi-sama. Then she realized she was admiring him when she was supposed to be angry.

So she left.

She spent most of the day in her room and retired there after dinner. Precisely ten minutes after 9 o'clock the next morning, she emerged and made a direct line to the Okashira's office.

Assuming if he was going to be taking over, he would do it obsessively, the same way he did anything. She had spent the night in contemplation of his request: a sensible reason for why marriage to Aoshi was a bad idea.

She smiled.

She'd made a list of sensible reasons! Let him try to strike down her entire list! She moved toward his office and knocked. She didn't even realize she was regarding it as 'his' office until he called for her to enter and then she was annoyed with that too. She did so with a scowl.

He watched her step inside, his expression passive.

"Good morning, Aoshi-sama."

He inclined his head in greeting.

"I have come with a so-called sensible reason for not getting married," she chirped happily.

He gave her a look as though he were analyzing her. He probably was.

"Okay, ready?"

She stood in front of his desk wearing her normal around-the-house outfit. Somehow the look he was giving her was making her feel a tad bit leery. She hadn't gotten her hakama yet.

"Go ahead," he instructed.

"Okay! Reason number 1: you're too tall."

He blinked and stared. "What?"

She nodded emphatically. "You're too tall, Aoshi-sama. I don't think it would work out." When his expression shifted slightly, she continued quickly. "I mean, just think about the … the… dimensions of it all."

"The dimensions?" he asked his voice completely deadpan.

"Of course. You're so tall, how will we make fit what goes where and…" Hearing herself say that out loud she just managed to kill the blush. "Okay, moving on then, reason number 2."

She looked at her list even though she knew already what was on it.

"You're too old."

His brows drew down, his voice was sharp. "Too old?"

"Right. You're um… almost 30, Aoshi-sama. You need a… a… " she cleared her throat. "Um… ex, wait, no… not that… um… a… no, not that either. Wait, wait, I'll think of something!"

She paused putting her hands on her hips as she tried to think of what he needed while she staunchly told herself it wasn't her or anyone like her. If he married someone like her, she'd kill him. Okay, maybe she wouldn't, but it would be on the list of un-forgivable offenses.

"Okay, fine, reason number 3…" she paused and fished for a reason. Suddenly everything on her list struck her as ridiculous and she didn't want to look stupid in front of him, of all people.

She sighed.

"The only important reason that matters is; it wouldn't work." She turned her gaze up and met his resolutely. "It really wouldn't. You can't have a successful marriage in a situation like this."

"What situation?"

"Where one is the adult and the other is the child." She almost bit her tongue on the remark, but she had an obligation to keep. Aoshi-sama was not going to be hers.

Never.

She was going to be his daughter figure, why wasn't he going along with it? Why now after she'd made up her mind? She found herself suddenly angry. How dare he do this to her? After everything she'd been through? After… After all the agony... All the time she'd waited and nothing happened and then he decides he suddenly want to change things and she's supposed to…

She dropped her head slightly.

She felt like gritting her teeth and pounding the table. How dare he just change everything with the sweep of his hand?

How dare he do this to her?

How dare he muck up all her efforts?

"You can't just snap your fingers and have everything your way!" She felt childish. She wanted to stomp her feet and whine but that would make her look even worse.

He simply stared at her evenly, his expression not so much as twitching.

"You have provided no sufficient reasoning. Our marriage will proceed the first of the following month."

She stomped her foot angrily. "Aoshi-sama!"

He shook his head briefly.

She bit back the growl fighting the deadly itch she had to throw her kunai at him. She didn't know what to do. Turning on her heel, she fled the room. If she was being handed her dream, why was she hating it so much?

"I'm sure she'll come around," Okina said, gazing down at the book. "She needs time to adjust. It's sudden."

"Aa."

Aoshi slipped his fingers around the cup and raised it to his lips. The steam was warm against his face.

"Misao doesn't take orders well," Okina continued. "Eventually, she'll see the wisdom of this decision."

"…"

"Very likely upon her wedding night, eh, Aoshi?"

"Enough," the younger man chided, tired of all the lecherous quips. He didn't want to think about Misao or the fact that she was angry at him or the fact they were even going to have a wedding night. It was just too much for now, one baby step at a time.

Problem 1: Misao wasn't speaking to him.

He was not certain the exact way to go about fixing this. He knew he should give her some space, so he had.

What had she done? Packed a bag and left the Aoiya when he took to the Temple for a short bout of meditation.

Where had she gone? Her exact location was presently unknown. Somewhere between Aizu and Tokyo and Naru, but no one was quite sure.

Had she run away? There was no definite answer to that. Aoshi was inclined to think not, she hadn't taken anything that would indicate she didn't intend to return.

What had he done in response? Although their numbers had dwindled the Oniwabanshuu ninja clan did still exist and nearly all of their previous branches were still intact. He'd sent out an immediate bulletin, via pigeon carrier, to all branches of his re-instatement as Okashira, his betrothal to Misao, and the fact that his chosen fiancée was missing. There was a reward for her return to the Aoiya, effective immediately.

Everyone was surprised, both by her absence and his insistence to have her returned but it had only been several hours.

Aoshi, himself, was displeased. With his conversations with Misao ranging over the last month, he'd felt… refreshed. Something about her new out-bound maturity had struck him deep. He had been both proud and bothered by the fact her growing up was becoming more evident. It had also made him begin to feel old and out of touch. He knew he was out of touch and having Misao as his only lifeline to reality now seemed irresponsible and foolish. Through copious amounts of meditation, he'd come to understand and accept several important facets.

Chiefly among them was that Misao was no longer a little girl. Perhaps she hadn't been the little girl he'd watched over and played with since he left her. Maybe that girl had grown up early; no matter how many smiles she put on the outside his perfect, untouched image of her was now tarnished and he found himself infinitely glad for it. A virginal, unworldly Misao, no matter how much he told himself it was what he wanted, was intimidating to the point it kept him away from her. It bothered him because since his return to the Aoiya his observations and thoughts of her had been less paternal than they should've been.

His lack of familial feelings for her had also had to be accepted. It hadn't been until but a few days ago with her mention of her body to him and her scars had the thoughts really gotten out of control. He'd wondered certain things about her. How soft her skin was, what her weight would be like in his lap, to slid his hands places they shouldn't have gone…

He wondered.

Lately the thoughts had taken a different turn, more explicit, less innocent… less clothes. There were more important things, though.

Misao didn't want to marry anyone else and he wasn't sure he could bear to see it. But then, he didn't want to marry anyone either. Her saying to him she had decided to marry was obviously a lie.

That was another thing he'd come to grips with. He'd been more accepting of that than most other things about Misao. He understood she loved him. He didn't believe it was a childish infatuation on her part. It didn't seem possible to him for an infatuation to survive the betrayal he'd dealt her and the rest of the group, but her love for him had. He believed that.

For her to tell him, though, that she had decided to marry someone else … That he would neither allow nor accept. They both knew it was a lie, and lies, lies to him especially, would never be tolerated.

Lying was a punishable offense in the Oniwabanshuu code and he would see to it that it remained enforced. Misao may have had her way with things while he was gone and things slowly declined, but he was not of the mind to let her have her way with everything. No one lied to the Okashira and most certainly not his wife-to-be.

There were still yet other things. Misao's question about what a man was supposed to provide a wife and the earnest curiosity in the question. That was what had changed everything if he were to sit down and pinpoint a specific event or question. That was when he realized he would never be able to provide a home, or have a family. That was when he realized, an epiphany of sorts, that in true, stark reality, Misao and he were really best suited for one another.

She didn't want anyone else and he couldn't have anyone else. It was something akin of a debt between them. He felt he owed her and that for all the wrongs he'd committed against her he rightfully belonged to her. That turning his attention toward another would be another insult, another hurt, another wrong heaped upon her and he couldn't do it. It was merely the pleasing culmination of all his wonderings and thoughts… He would be able to find out all those things he wondered about her.

Lastly, there was her comment about her clothes and whether or not she should be dressing more modestly. He could not look at her and think the attire was perfectly suitable when it made him think of running his hands up her thighs or gripping her narrow hips in his hands and pulling her into his lap.

For those reasons had he made his decision to take back his life and for those reasons did he want Misao back at the Aoiya.

AN: I just finished 7 and am about to start 8 so I'd thought I'd update this.