When Dreams Come True

If wishes could be granted

And dreams would come true

Would I be a believer?

And be happier too?

Chapter four - The Sun

Koukiji swam around in circles as Soujiro watched from up above the waters. Even though the fish only did the same tricks, it intrigued him for some strange reason. Soujiro was still in bed, not wanting to get up. The sun was just about to rise and the early morning birds began to sing their sweet songs.

Koukiji swam closer to the surface as his finger gently stroked the water, which followed his fishy friend. He smiled genuinely as Kou-chan began to slow down a bit, "Getting tired Koukiji?"

He laid himself back down into bed to enjoy the last few minutes of the early morning. The sun was about a quarter up as Soujiro closed his eyes and set his hands behind his head. All of a sudden, he remembered the dream he had last night.

For some reason, he was trying to catch the sun, but no matter what, he could never seem go get a hold of it. He chased the sun's warmth, beauty, and magnificence. But all in the end, the sun would always get away. Sure it seemed like the most random dream, but it meant something to him. Maybe it was because that in his dream, he was the moon. Why was he chasing the sun in the first place? Was it significant in some way?

SOUJIRO!" There was an extremely loud banging noise coming from the door, ìSou, you need to get up! You need to get up NOW!"

She slid the door open finding Soujiro still laying in bed.

"Oh, sorry. I didnít know you were still asleep. I'll come back later," Misao was about to slide the door back until Soujiro spoke up.

"No, I'm awake Misao."

He turned his head to face her as Misao slid the door back open, "Oh, Sou!" She squeaked as she hopped into the room and sat next to him, "Remember what I said? Do 'ya?"

Soujiro nodded, "Well weíre going to go the next to the festival in the next town over tonight! Omasu, Okon, Kuro, Shiro, and Jiya are all going to be running a food stand there and we don't have to help! We just have to help them prepare today for the festival tonight."

He nodded because it sounded fun, but why wasn't his smile sincere?

"Great! Now get dressed and come downstairs so we can cook up a storm for tonight!"

She then sprinted out of the room. Soujiro sat up feeling quite lazy. He felt like he was settled. Like he belonged at the Aoiya. He pondered a moment and thought if this was how Mr. Himura felt when he met Ms. Kamiya. Did he not want to move on either?

He got dressed and headed downstairs only to find everybody rushing around, "Is there anything I can help with?"

No one really replied except for Omasu who was trying to get through the front door while carrying four buckets of tofu. She was about to fall over from the weight until Soujiro caught her shoulders mid-fall, "Oh! Thanks Sou-chan!" She said while still trying to hold the buckets.

"Let me help you Ms. Omasu," she handed him a couple buckets as they walked together into the kitchen. As they entered, they arrived in time to see Misao and Okina fighting.

"Why do I have to do it!" Misao yelled.

"Well, someone has to do it! And you have to help!" Okina yelled back.

"I'll do anything but that!" Misao wasnít really arguing anymore, she was pleading for her life. She was sitting on her knees with her hands entwined as if she were praying, but she was rescued by Soujiro who stepped forward.

"I'll do it."

Misao and Okina both looked at Soujiro who stood there smiling, "Are you sure, Sou?"

He nodded while Okina left the room for a moment to fetch whatever needed to be done, "Are you absolutely positive? I mean, itís kind of gross."

Soujiro just smiled and replied, "Don't worry Misao, I'm sure it can't be that," But he was cut off by Okina holding a bucket of dead fish in front of him, "gross."

"If you don't mind," Okina began, "You need to cut their heads off and then clean them out." Soujiro stared wide-eyed with his smile still printed on his face. Misao just stared apologetically with a meek, toothy grin.

A couple hours later, Soujiro could be found flipping fish left and right. You see, he might have been an expert assassin in previous years, but he had never cut off a fish's head. Also, he had a hard time doing so because every time he brought the knife close to the fishís head, he thought of Koukiji. He didn't know exactly why he had grown so close to the fish, but whatever the reason, he felt guilty.

After he was done gutting the fish, the sat down and wiped the blood off of his face. He had an incident with a fish, which slipped out of his hand and smacked him in the face. He kind of regretting gutting the fish since it somewhat resembled killing someone.

"Sou-chan?" a high-pitched voice came from the doorway. It was Omasu.

He looked behind himself to see Omasu walking over to him with her hands neatly folding on her kimono.

"Sou-chan, can I ask you a question?" She asked as she squatted down next to him. He nodded with a smile still formed on his face.

She looked down as if she were nervous to ask. Out of all the people in the Aoiya, he had spoken with her the least. Okon always went out of her way to talk with him, while Shiro and Kuro would talk to him while doing chores requiring labor. But Omasu, for some reason…

"Sou-chan, Misao was telling me that you were a rurouni," she paused while looking at Soujiro's face, "What made you stop your travels?"

Well…wait. Why did he stop his journey?

He didn't know what to say. He was at a complete loss of words.

Did you stop because of Misao?

…why…?

Soujiro set the last fish in the bucket. He didnít know he didnít have a grasp on his own life. He didn't know he already gave up on something he really wanting to accomplish. But was Misao really the reason why he stopped?

Omasu noticed the sudden silence and fumbled over her words, "Oh! I'm sorry! I'm speaking out of line. I'll just leave now."

But Soujiro stopped her in time, "No, itis not Misao that made me stop. I guess I was just trying to avoid leaving again. Maybe I got too comfortable here," Soujiro drifted off while Omasu kneeled down next to him again.

"Then does that mean you'll be leaving soon?" Omasu's voice sounded nervous as she fiddled with her thumbs.

"Yes."

She looked down with worried eyes.

"Misao will be very sad you know."

Before Soujiro could actually take notice to what Omasu had said, she already started walking back to the kitchen on the Aoiya. Soujiro felt strange.

Then he decided it would be final; he would leave tomorrow. No matter what. No matter how sad Misao would be.

But even thinking that made him hurt just that much more.

He would miss Misao too.

He was pretty sure he was feeling sad, or unhappy at the moment. Sometimes he wished he didnít have to think about what he was feeling at the moment. Being a normal person? He thought not. He was way beyond that. He was past being normal. He was abnormal. He was…what was he? What was the word he was looking for? Oh, yes. He was looking for…

…Tenken.

Later that night, the Oniwabanshuu and Soujiro traveled to the next town over. When they finally arrived, there were a few other booths beginning to be set up. Soujiro was also intoxicated by all the delicious foods coming from every direction. He felt wonderful.

After the stand was assembled, it was already beginning to get dark. Everyone else who had a stand was already busy with people flowing from all directions. Even Misao's stand was incredibly busy.

The lights were up and people were having a great time. But Misao was bored out of her mind. Kuro and Shiro were making the food while Okon and Jiya sold it away. Omasu kept track of the money. But Misao was without a job, and so was Soujiro. But that wasnít until Misao got the brilliant idea to explore the area.

"Come on Sou! We're gonna go explore!" Before Soujiro could react, Misao grabbed his hand and they were off.

"Look at all the games there are! Ooh, I can't wait! Which one do 'ya want to try first?"

He just smiled and replied, "You choose and I'll follow you."

She nodded vigorously and then skipped off to the nearest game.

Soujiro chuckled as Misao threw a fit since she lost. He had to drag her away while she shouted profanity, "Misao, you should really calm down sometimes."

"NO WAY!" She shouted, "THAT VENDOR CHEATED ME OF MY MONEY! I'LL GET THAT SON OF A,"

"But Misao," he cut her off just in time, "there are plenty more games to play, wouldn't you rather you play those instead of returning to the man who cheated you in the first place?" She looked so lost, I mean, wouldn't you rather not return to the place which trouble started so there won't be any more trouble caused?"

She averted her eyes and mumbled, "Yeah…I guess so."

Soujiro kept smiling.

"But," she began with a curious face, "Isn't that kind of like you?" Soujiro just responded with a bewildered expression, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that the whole thing with Kenshin and Shishio was in Kyoto. But you left to you could get away from those problems, right? So then why did you come back?"

She had a good point. But before he could really think about it, she grabbed his hand again and ran off into the crowd.

About after two hours of gaming and such, Misao finally got tired of running around, "Sou! I'm tired!" Misao whined while she caught her breath.

Soujiro tagged along while holding Misaoís winnings. Sadly, her winnings only included a wooden toy bird, ìDo you like what youíve won Misao?î Soujiro asked with a hopeful smile on his face. Sadly his smile was shot down.

"IT'S A BIRD," Misao commented sternly. Her eyes weren't happy at all.

"But Misao, at least you won something, right?"

She kept on giving her evil glare, "NO."

Soujiro chuckled to himself as Misao stomped off into the crowd. He gave Misao her space but soon followed after, "Misao? Misao? …M," something caught his eye. He looked to his right to see a mask shop.

Out of nowhere, a mask popped out, "BOO!"

Soujiro fell over while dropping the wooden bird.

It was Misao.

"I got you Sou! You should've seen your face! It was hilarious! Sou! Sou?" She looked down to see her friend knocked out like a light. Apparently he hit his head a little too hard on the ground, "SOU!" She flew down to Soujiro's side, "Ommygod Soujiro are you alright!"

She shook his a few times before Soujiro regained his composure, "Misao?"

She looked relieved, but only after a few moments did she became the same old Misao, "YOU SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME! DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW WORRIED I WAS! I'LL KILL YOU!" She screamed as she grabbed hold of his shoulder and shook his had back and forth.

Well, until they got the crowd's attention as well. She looked down at Soujiro who was well unconscious again, "…Sou?"

She looked around until she finally, and embarrassedly, dragged her knocked out companion off the scene.

She pulled him to grassy hill. She left him there and ran down to fetch a bucket of water and a washcloth. When she returned, his eyes were still closed. She kneeled down next to him and dipped the washcloth into the cold water.

As she pulled it out, she actually took a close look at Souijro's face. If she just looked at it like she normally did, she would just see the face she always had, the pale, cute, smiling face that always greeted her whenever they were together.

But now that she actually got a good at it, when it was actually not smiling, it looked completely different. He actually looked…what was the word she was looking for? He looked like he was having a bad dream, but then she recalled that's what he looked like earlier that day when she went to his room to tell him about the festival, but she just thought he was having a bad dream. Maybe she was wrong.

He also looked like something was hurting him. Like something was eating him from inside out? He looked…

'You're worthless Soujiro.'

…sad.

No one smiled that much.

Was there something else to the smile he always had on?

She just sat there a moment in silence and stared at his face. She brushed a few strands of hair to the side as he breathed deeply as his smile slowly returned to his face. When Misao saw this, she couldn't help but smile as well. His smile was so contagious, even though it was fake.

She brought the wetted washcloth to his forehead. He winced a little when the cool rag touched his face. She rested it on his forehead as the cool water soaked up into his head. She kept staring at his face. His hair gently flowed as the breeze blew by. His cheek never made any motion whatsoever as a droplet of water slid down the side of his face.

Misao really thought Soujiro was, well, cute.

"Misao?" Sourjio whispered as he sat up. Misao found herself unable to speak.

The washcloth slid off of his face and hit the ground beneath the two, "Misao? Are you alright?"

She watched his face for a moment until she decided to give a little something as well, so she smiled, "The fireworks are about to come on! Let's go watch!"

With that, she grabbed a highly confused Soujiro's hand and ran down the hill.

Misao and Soujiro stood in the crowd and watched the fireworks crack up in the sky above them. Misao watched in pure joy as the fireworks reflected off of her deep blue eyes. Soujiro watched too, and he was actually truly having a good time.

He gazed up to the sky behind the flashing fireworks. He watched as the first star cam into the night sky so made a wish.

He wished to keep the life he had. Even though he was leaving the next day, he wished he could stay.

But in order to keep the title rurouni, Soujiro would have to keep on wandering.

'keep going…'

But he had to admit to himself, he really, really would miss Misao.

Later that night, the Oniwabanshuu and Soujiro arrived back at the Aoiya. Shiro carried Misao piggyback style into the house since she was falling asleep. Then Omasu and Okon tucked her into bed. Kuro put the stand pieces into the shed outside while Shiro took a bath. That just left Soujiro and Okina there alone in the kitchen.

"Souji-chan my boy!" Okina exclaimed, he was obviously a little tipsy, "How did you likey the fireworksss? Weren't they purdy?"

Soujiro nodded with a worried smile on his face, "Yes it was Mr. Okina."

Okina then did some sort of dance while he sang an old song. Soujiro held his hand out, "Mr. Okina, are you ok?"

Okina danced a few more steps until he finally sat down on a chair, getting more serious. His facial expression completely changed as he set his palms onto the cool table, "So you plan on leaving tomorrow?"

Soujiro looked up, "Mr. Okina?"

Okina turned around and set one of his hands on his hips, "I could tell, by your expression that something was up, so I guessed you might be leaving soon," Soujiro scratched his head and Okina smiled, "Don't ask why, I can just sense these things. So when were you planning on telling Misao, hm?"

Soujiro looked down, he hadn't really thought about that. He actually didn't want to tell her that he was leaving. He didn't even know what to tell Okina.

But the old man caught it, "How about you leave in the morning while she's still asleep, and then I'll give her the news after she wakes up?"

His eyes brightened while he smiled and nodded. But even though he was feeling happy, he didn't really think about how Misao would feel. You see, he was still used to the whole 'emotion' thing.

Soujiro left the room and traveled up the stairs to his own room while Okina sat in the kitchen all by himself.

He pondered for a moment thinking that what he did was wrong, but he had to keep in mind of both souls that were at stake. He knew Misao would be sad when her friend left, but if Soujiro didn't leave, well, Okina just thought that his mind would go a little more kooky that his grand daughter's.

When a lost person proclaims itself to find its soul, it must keep searching until it finally does. If Soujiro stopped his travels as being a rurouni, he would never be truly happy.

Or, that's what Jiya was told by his grandfather when he was younger.

Soujiro peeked into Misao's room while she was snored in her sleep. Soujiro giggled as Misao started talking in her sleep. But he stopped laughing when he heard her say, "Sou…Sou you…y-you better not leavvee…"

She then drifted off into dream world again while Soujiro silently slid the door shut.

He felt a little bad. Misao was the one good thing he had ever encountered in a long time. But, he was a rurouni and he did ruouni-type things. He tried never to get too attached.

'Stay a pal to her!'

Or was it too late?

End.

Ok! I can explain for being late! I tried turning on my computer yesterday when it was mostly finished, but then an error occurred and all the quotation marks, apostrophes, and '…' marks became these weird accented I's and stuff. Don't ask really but it's really what happened and it took me a long time to fix!

I feel like this chap was rushed and pretty bad. Most days I wrote this, I was pretty tired. I promise I will do better. So, sorry if there are a total mess of mistakes.

The last italicized quote in this chapter was part of what Okon said in chapter 2.

Back to work!

NaiLAUG!