Twisted Reality Chapter 10 Kageyuki Secret, a rurouni kenshin fanfic

Author: OO Thank you all readers! I can't express enough gratitude! Again, I have nothing to say about the late update…… (eek), and my friend has been asking me about the other fic (which I still need to update) (another eeeek) As many of you questioned, the story still lacks Misao/Aoshi interactions. Why? This is in fact NOT a romance fanfic, so tata. Never fear! We're finally back on track! (oh, and the last chapter isn't included in Misao's tale to the Kageyuki family) Pardon any mistakes... I am down with a cold andI have a splitting headache, so I have no idea how this chappie is.

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Watsuki-sensei. I don't own it at all, but I did purchase the manga so it is legally mine! (the manga) (sweatdrop)

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Chapter 10 Kageyuki Secret

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"And then? What happened to Misao-nee-san? Did she find Aoshi-sama? What happened to Sou-chan?" Little Kayko rubbed her eyes, but she was determined to stay up as late as possible.

Misao smiled more openly at the little girl. Only knowing her for several hours, Misao had already taken a liking to the energetic kid. Bouncy, just like her old self.

"Iie. Misao-san is still looking for her Aoshi-sama, wandering south while somehow kept in touch with the Saitos. Not directly, though. Takamaru would fly to the Saito residence when they were still in range. As a intelligent hawk as it is, when it flew back to Misao, Takamaru would made scratch marks on the dirt to indicate its message. The Saitos are doing very well, and it was said that Sou-kun went north again, just as he had done so after the Kyoto incident," Misao spoke, half feeling a little awkward addressing herself in third person.

Kurosuke was staring intently at Misao, scratching his chin in deep thoughts. Now, where had he heard the name 'Makimachi' and 'Aoshi' before?

"I really want to meet Misao-nee-san! She sounded so cool! I want to learn kenpo too!" Kayko raised her arms and did a complex kenpo combo. Or, at least, tried to. When she did a high kick, she tottered backwards, but Misao was there to stop her fall.

"Now, Kayko-chan, it is really late and I am sorry to keep you all up," scolded Misao gently, chuckling inwardly, and recalling the time when Hannya-kun had been the one stopping her from falling so long ago.

Kea and Kurosuke shook their heads, "Iie, we are grateful to hear such a tale. It is very sad indeed, but nevertheless well told. We are so cut off from the outside, and from your extraordinary tale, we can see how the Meiji era truly is."

Kea stood up and ushered a protesting Kayko to their tiny room, "I'll tug her in, anata."

Kurosuke nodded and went back to wondering about the woman before him. Misao knew he was staring, but she busied herself to tying her possessions into the now dry bundle.

Kurosuke noticed this, "Hey, where are you going? Aren't you staying?"

"I cannot possibly stay…"

"Yes you can, and I think my daughter would like that."

Misao gazed at the man confusingly. Kurosuke is a man in his late thirties, with a mass of dark hair and wide shoulders. He was slightly crouched, but she reasoned that it was probably because of heavy farm work. Kea is a woman about the same built as Kaoru-san, though Kea has brown eyes and dark brown hair. Misao furrowed her brow; Kayko is petite like her mother, but she has unusual silver hair. Misao failed to notice that before because of the darkness, and she had simply thought Kayko might be albino, yet she doesn't have white hair, but silver. Where did she inherit this trait?

Misao opened her bundle again and took out a long sheathed katana. Kurosuke blinked. This woman not only has one against her hip but also another one in her baggage? Misao held both in her hand and spoke in a grave tone, "I am not exactly the kind of person one would give permission for a sleep-over. As you know, it is Meiji, and yet I have two katanas. You would let I, a total stranger, stay?"

Kurosuke was taken aback for awhile, but he grinned smugly, "Well, jou-san, you are not exactly a total stranger, are you? Your clothing, two kodachis sheathed as a katana, and the way you walk……… I can tell you are an experienced fighter."

Misao smiled lightly, "A veteran……Kurosuke-san?"

"You could say that. My crippled back is the reason I wasn't of any use. And my answer is still yes, jou-san. If you meant us harm, you could've gotten rid of us long ago, or poison your onigiris before we eat them. No, you don't intend any harm, do you?"

Misao was amused. Kurosuke is an interesting man, she decided, so is his family. A loving, warm, family. Misao cringed inwardly at the thought 'family', but accepted his offer. After all, she really needed to stop traveling and wait for Takamaru to catch up.

"Well, what's your name, jou-san?"

Misao shrugged, "You can call me Arashi no Aoi, but I prefer Arashi."

Kurosuke's grin widened in understanding, "Wouldn't Kayko love that?"

Aoshi stood amidst the crowds, walking like a shadow in spite of his height. It took him a year just to get back to Kyoto, as he is penniless and stuck at the far end of Kyushuu. But he made it back. Back to face the consequences. Back to see Misao.

Is she still angry at me? Does she still remember me? Would Okina let me come back? But I would face anything now, not after all that had happened had taught me how important Misao is. I must get hold of information before going to the Aoiya. I will have to ask someone, even if it is beneath me.

He looked around the bustling street, suddenly felt like a stranger to an unfamiliar place. Why does he felt this way… as if there is no real connection between him and a city he once called home?

Kyoto has not changed at all, even the way the streets looked, the way people converse, the markets, the scenery and everything. It was perfectly normal. However, Aoshi felt a strange emptiness; there seems to be one thing missing, a very crucial component to the Kyoto he once knew.

Not wasting anytime, he went off to the woods, trying to sort out his thoughts. He kept walking and walking, never had Aoshi been so perplexed by something.

Naturally, he was rather surprised to see a shabby hut in the middle of nowhere, pottery scattered about the place. While some looked rather exquisite, most looked like some kind of target practice.

He tensed, his kenki flaring in excitement, for he had not felt such anticipation against the presence another swordsman for so long. The ki… it felt like Battousai's……yet not completely his…

"Well, well, I certainly didn't expect to find a ghost on my doorstep," exclaimed Hiko Seijuro casually, leaning against his door frame and took a swig out of his sake bottle.

"Ghost?" Aoshi raised his eyebrow, glaring coldly at the strange man.

Hiko Seijuro, even in his late forties, looked just striking as before. Unlike Kenshin, Hiko's long hair rather suited his massive, muscular body, and not to mention his cloak. A katana without a hand guard was strapped by his pants, looking innocent yet dangerous.

"Well, I don't suppose we'd ever met before," Hiko shrugged his wide shoulders, sauntering towards Aoshi. Aoshi did not know this man, but he knew that he wasn't looking for a fight. Aoshi's stance relaxed slightly.

"I'm the infamous Hiko Seijuro the Thirteenth, master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu, and I believe you've met my baka-deshi," proclaimed Hiko as a matter-of-fact-ly.

Aoshi's expression did not change; after all, he was not one easily impressed. Although, he had t admit that it was rather difficult to make a connection bewteen this enormous man to the tiny Battousai who wears amagenta haori."Explain what you meant by 'ghost'," he said coldly.

Hiko's face darkened, "Well, you really are a man of few words, as they say, Shinomori Aoshi."

"They?"

"Those people at the Aoi-ya…" Hiko's voice hesitated a little, and he swallowed another gulp of sake.

Aoshi's heart quickened a little. "What has happened in the Aoiya?"

Hiko glanced at him, his onyx eyes icy, "Them? Why, they had all been devastated. When you disappeared in the inferno more than four years ago, naturally, we all think that you are dead."

Aoshi's lips were dry, and his throat was parched. What? How……. Yes, I had amnesia for years…… of course I didn't come back… and they would think that I died, as I had planned… nevertheless, somehow I had lived, and I will continue to do so until I make sure Misao and the others are fine.

"And?" he asked as indifferently as possible.

Hiko smirked at him, his gaze seemed to belittle him, "And? That loud girl…what's her name? Right, that Misao girl turned into a totally different person, and she left. We do not know her whereabouts."

Hiko stopped, his eyes penetrating and observing Aoshi's reaction.

"She…… left?" Aoshi's desperate whisper held a pleading tone, and Hiko was mildly surprised at his feelings.

"Yes. That old man… Okina, became rather senile and delusional, and sometimes they say he talked to Misao's room a lot as if she were still there. Okon and Omasu and the other two might look okay on the outside, but I am sure they still miss their little 'Okashira'."

"And Battousai-tachi?"

"My baka-deshi went back to Tokyo a few weeks after her disappearance. As I live the way I do, I do not know anymore than what I had learned all these years before. Now, I would like an uninvited visitor such as yourself to get out of here. Yare yare, why do all those people who know my baka-deshi act this way?" He shook his head exasperatedly, and turned back to the house, slamming the door shut.

Aoshi did not know how long he stood there, compensating on what he had just heard. Misao left… because of me. I had hurt her too many times before…… and I failed my promise more than once. I swore on Kouri's grave…… I would find her and repent for my crimes. I will find you, Misao, and then……

"Don't think about dying again, Shinomori," Hiko's deep voice resonated from inside the hut, "It has to mean something that you are still alive…… Can't you see? I personally don't care about you, but the Oniwabanshuu for certainly did; they died reserving your life, and you should treasure it. That Misao girl obviously cares a lot about you too. All you think of is trying to protect her by distancing yourself, but have you ever wondered what is her feeling about this? All you do, in the name of 'for her sake', you only make her miserable, nothing else. Why don't you start acting like a man of your age and not like my baka-deshi?"

Aoshi stared at the wooden door as if he could see through it. Hiko's words had struck home.

Aoshi felt like waking up for the first time after Hannya-tachi's deaths. He felt clearer than when Battousai had defeated him; he felt more refreshed than he was when he got his memories back.

Further more, Aoshi himself felt that he could see his sister smile again, somehow, iup in the blue sky.

It took awhile for Aoshi to arrive at the Aoiya. He was still nervous, but he had made up his mind.

He couldn't talk to Okina; no, in his state, not even Aoshi wanted to face the old man – he will in the future though, just not now.Kuro and Shiro have always been somewhat of lackeys and distant cousins to Aoshi, and they would probably take the steps they thought necessary, like convincing him to do whatever he felt reluctant to.As for Okon…… well, she had always been a rather dramatic one, as she was the mischief leader of the Impish Four so long ago. She would definitely make a huge deal out of this. But, then again, who wouldn't?

That left him Omasu. When Hannya-tachi and he had to leave on missions, Aoshi would always entrust Misao to Omasu, not Okina (even an icy Aoshi back then did not completely trust such a perverted man, even though chibi-Misao seemed to get along great with her 'Ji-ya'). Yes, Omasu would certainly understand. She had always been the most sensible out of those four; but, that is, of course, when Omasu wasn't in what Aoshi called 'Okon mood'.

Omasu looked just as he remembered, though she did appear a little more haggard than he last saw her. She was cleaning the front as always, and Aoshi wondered why she had not sensed his presence. He decided to change his tactic.

With his watery movement, undetectable, he snaked behind her and clamped his gloved hand over her mouth. A surprised, muffled yelp was heard, and Aoshi quickly gripped her arms in his large hand.

"It's me, Omasu. Just listen to me," Aoshi's voice sounded sinister, but Omasu tensed in shock.

No, this voice…… it can't be…… but it feels like him, his aura…… and his grip…

"Aoshi-sam…Okashira?" Omasu muttered timidly, and Aoshi released her. She turned around and gasped.

"Listen Omasu. This will be a long explanation… no, you are not dreaming. It had been long, but I had finally found myself to come home…… and I heard what happened…… I will come back again, and next time, I will bring Misao with me. And this is a promise," Aoshi thrust the kodachis in her fumbling arms, and she peered at his great height tentatively. The kodachis had been taken from the mercenaries so long ago, but what they represented is precious, and so, he will come back and fulfill what he swore on the weapon.

Omasu was speechless. This all too much for her. Waiting and waiting for so long, waiting for their little Okashira to come home while grieving for their previous Okashira and taking care of Okina, Omasu had literally given up hope. Everyday was like a robotic pattern for her, the last string of hope not yet broken.

But now……… Omasu lurched forward, and Aoshi caught her before she hit the ground. Aoshi sighed but took her inside. He had sensed no other ki in the restaurant currently, and he carefully laid the unconscious Omasu on the tatami. Her face was pale, but her grip on his kodachis was still firm.

Aoshi nodded to himself, and left, with a new purpose in mind.

Inside, Omasu smiled faintly in her dream, her dream of when Aoshi and Misao came home. The kodachis he left promised the reality of this meeting, and the future that is to come.

Misao looked up at a distant speck in the sky, circling above the grass field further upwards. She slowly unsheathed her katana as she advances towards a figure trying to hide under the bushes.

She jumped and pressed the blunt edge of the katana lightly onto the figure. She smiled, "Gotcha, Kayko-chan."

Kayko dug her way out of the pile and leapt at her with a bokken Misao had made for her. Misao then quickly sheathed her katana and parried the girl's attack. Misao took out her bokken and the two sparred for awhile.

Takamaru let out a screech, signaling the end of the lesson. Kayko sprawled on the grass, gasping heavily and clearly exhausted. But that didn't stop the little girl from grinning ear to ear, "Ne, Arashi-nee-chan! Did Kayko improve?"

Misao ruffled the girl's silver hair in affection. In return for her stay at the Kageyuki household, Misao worked with Kurosuke and Kea at the fields, and Misao had decided to teach Kayko what she knew. For a girl her age, Misao felt it sufficient that she learn to use a bokken and a bit of kunai and kenpo. Misao also taught Kayko the literature, math and science she knew, and the knowledge she had gained from wandering.

Kayko's spirit is like a mirror to herself, and Misao wondered if this is how Aoshi-sama feels when he half-raised her; always asking, always bouncing, Kayko's inquisitive nature is all very adorable. Even Takamaru allowed the girl to pat it on some basis.

Misao realized it impossible to rever back to the 'old Misao', since she had matured after so long. She thought back the time she was with Sou-chan and she decided that, even at that time, there was still something that had anchored her to reality. However, Misao chuckled inwardly, it seems that somehow, Kayko-chan is turning into what Saito would probably call 'Mini-itachi'.

"Hai, you have adapted to the ways of bokken well, Kayko-chan. Well, we should help your Papa find some medicinal herbs now, ne?" Misao tickled the little girl, who nodded furiously and giggled at the same time.

The Kageyuki family, unlike what Misao had guessed, are not just any ordinary farmers; they own a medicinal-herb farm, and sometimes the fields were too barren and infertile to produce anything good, so they have to venture into the wilderness beyond the forests that surrounds their hut.

It also surprises Misao, about Kurosuke. The man is definitely not just a humble farmer or a simple, retired veteran, at least he probably wasn't before;the scars on his back were simply dreadful, yet he can still pull wagons made to be pulled by horses. He was certainly grateful when Misao offered to help him at his task; any lesser man in his condition would have, to put it bluntly, went into the grave already.

Family. Misao got extremely nostalgic by just being with this family, reminding her blurry memories of her parents and grandfather, and Ji-ya and Oniwabanshuu no minna. As for teaching Kayko, well… at least, this time, I am the one doing the teaching. The pride of seeing a young girl growing mature in such a short time, and improving so much from a simple peasant girl to a good fighter…… is that how you feel when you taught me, Aoshi-sama? Kama-san? Sou-chan?

"Arashi nee-chan! Look! That's the ……um…… wolfbane herb you told me about, ne?" shouted Kayko excited, and Misao could almost see her bouncing here and there. Was she really that active in her youth? Misao wondered.

"Wolfbane? That's such a rare one, Kayko, are you sure?" Misao ran to her side, and peered at the plant the girl's tiny finger was pointing at. There was a single, prominent plant, its purple flowers clustering like stairs on its thin stem, near the edge of the cliff side.

Misao smiled and pat the girl, "Good job Kayko. Your Papa would be so proud of you. Do you know what it's used for, Kayko?"

She blinked, crooking her neck cutely, "For… poisoning?"

"Yes, that would be when it's used as a weapon. However, wolfbane, or herbal arnica, is used topically to relieve the pain and inflammation of soft-tissue injuries such as bruises and sprains. Inflammation is a response to irritation, injury, or infection. It usually includes pain, redness, and swelling in the area of the damage and it can occur within body tissues as well as on the surface of the skin," Misao quickly added, seeing a confused look on the six-year-old's face, "Due to possible uncontaminated and slight antibacterial properties, wolfbane has also been used to treat insect bites and minor skin wounds. Such characteristics is necessary in some treatments in the clinics, Kayko-chan."

Kayko nodded her head in agreement, wanting to appear to understand Misao's words. Though Misao had told her her true identity, Kayko still preferred calling Misao by the name 'Arashi', as it gives off a, well, mysterious feeling. It was different than Misao's tutoring time to Saito's daughter. Hyoga has knowledge of fist fights on some level, so it wasn't that difficult to teach her kenpo. In Kayko's case, it was completely different, though she enjoyed it nevertheless.

A pain suddenly seized Misao's lungs and she coughed profusely, and Kayko patted her mentor's back hard, trying to help somehow.

"Arashi nee-chan, daijoubu?" Kayko's wide, innocent brown eyes stared up into Misao's clouded gaze.

Misao glanced at the black spots on her arm guard, and managed an uneasy smile, "It's probably because of the... dust, Kayko-chan. Nothing to worry about,I assure you. Now, show me how you handle the wolfbane, ne?"

Kayko seemed greatly relieved, "Don't let it come to contact with your skin!"

As Kayko picked up the wolfbane carefully by using a rag, something flashed from the nearby trees. Misao dove forward covering the little girl. A kunai embedded itself into Misao's back and the ground below her crumbled suddenly when an explosion went off. Misao aimed her kunai in the direction of the attacker, and a pained bawl told her that she hit her mark.

The sudden momentum caused her to lose her balance, and both she and Kayko seemed to be swallowed into the gorge.

Kurosuke hummed pleasantly, as work was easier than before and life was a lot more entertaining. All thanks to Misao, of course.

Kurosuke's breath quickened at that name. He doesn't like it - it's not that he had anything against the name; it was just something seemed to be triggered in his mind whenever he heard that name. Which is why he called her 'Arashi-san' instead of Misao.

Her story seemed familiar too, somehow. Aoshi. Seriously, where had he heard that name? Why did he feel so guilty at that name?

He was just about the go back to the hut when his old instincts rushed in his veins, and he gripped his hoe warily. It was a rather hot, humid day, but he felt cold. The scars on his back seemed to throb in warning a voice called out smoothly from behind, "Now, I would drop that…thing…… if I were you, Kuroi."There was an amont of disgust expressed in that word, disdainful and giving off a superior tone.

He whirled around but a fist thumped deep into his stomach, cracking a few ribs. He gritted his teeth in pain when pain from front and back assaulted his senses. He blinked up at the towering figure.

The man had not changed at all. Sure, age had brought a few grey hair, but that was all; same cruel, mocking azure eyes seemed to sneer at his condition. Iron shackles covered his right arm and leg, both acting like supports and enhancement to his power. The man's handsome face was further disfigured not just by that pitiless grin, but also by multiple slashes that seemed to destroy the right side of his face.

"What is it, Kuroi? Aren't you happy to see your master again after almost twenty five years?"

"…………Shinomori no Dan-na…………"

Kayko opened her eyes and shifted her weight a little. Something grunted beneath her and she craned her neck to speculate.

"Arashi nee-chan!" She cried out in concern, quickly jumping off her mentor onto the tree branches beside. There were many limbs so it was easy for an experienced child like her to maintain balance.

Misao groaned in pain as she lifted herself up onto the higher branches. She sucked in breathes when she saw her left ankle bent at a strange angle.

"Arashi-nee……… your back…" Kayko whimpered, and her figure seemed to dwindle at her mentor's injury.

Misao winced not from the pain, but from the scared look on the girl's face. Yes…… she had not seen so much blood yet, has she? The kunai wound is counted as small for Misao already, as her missions for Saito had earned her way more life-threatening wounds. She pulled the kunai out almost angrily (how could someone actually dared to attack her with HER 'Misao-type' weapon?).

Okay, now, they had to figure away to get up. This would be the time her ninja abilities kicked in, but how can she haul both Kayko and herself up with a broken ankle?

And besides, who was the one attempting to assassinate Kayko? That may seem like a big word, but there's no doubt about it. The attacker was aiming for Kayko's throat………… who would do such a thing? And that bomb... it was meant to completely annihilate her body...ugh...I must ask Kurosuke…… there's something off about him too.

Two gun shots tore through the sky, and Kayko curled besides her in terror. To the little girl, who had never seen guns before, gun shots must have seemed like triple thunder to her.

Misao let out a battle cry and unsheathed Aoshi-sama's kodachis. "Hold on tight, Kayko! Don't let go!" The little girl was still shuddering, but complied.

Please give me your strength, Aoshi-sama. She managed to get to the cliff side, and thrust both kodachis in like pitons. She slowly heaved both of their bodyweights, agonizingly slowly, and her arms protested at the strain. She insisted on continuing, coaxing her muscles on urgently.

Please let me get there in time. Kayko…… she is so young…… she did not deserve to have the same thing happening to her!

It was dusk when Misao crawled towards the forest. She used her katana as a cane to trudge on, and Kayko shuffled along besides her, overwhelmed by all that had happened.

She had tied a tree branch to her broken ankle as a support, and her back wound was already forgeotten, just like that wolfbane.

"Arashi nee-chan! It's Taka-chan!" Kayko shrieked, horrified, and her trembling finger pointed at the bloody mass in front of them.

No... Sou-chan left me Taka-chan... Misao ran to the best of her ability, and knelt down besides the limped form of the hawk, inspecting her companion. Misao saw a bullet lodged in its right eye, and she tenderly removed that cursed thing. As if recognizing its nakama, Takamaru screeched weakly, its tail twitching in greeting. Misao sighed in relief. Though Taka-chan had forever lost its right eye, at least it can still fly and hunt. It was most likely that the bullets penetrated something, causing the ammunition to lose most of its votality, and managed to blast Taka-chan eye; enough to blind but not to kill.

Misao shuffled nervously at this disquieting fact. "Kayko-chan, stay close to me. And can you take Taka-chan?"

The little girl nodded silently; the times she held helped her father stacking firewood was enough to give her stength to lift this huge bird of prey.

It took awhile to get down from the climbing hills, and scouting the surroundings a bit. The masked assassin's corpse was foundin a bush, with Misao's kunai in his throat. Misao cringed in regret that he was dead, but she moved on. She did not recognize the assassin at all, but she was surprised to see him wearing the Yaminobu ninja clan's uniform. That thought alone gave her the energy to walk faster.

The Yaminobu Clan had always been somewhat of a rumor within the Oniwabanshuu. It was said that they had taken a part in the Bakumatsu in the dark, opposing the Oniwabanshuu who guarded the Edo Castle. The Yaminobu was to be feared, and that was what she had learned when she was young.

Misao's katana dropped onto the ground in a crash when she beheld the sight before her. Her hands flew to her mouth. No… Kurosuke-san……… Kea-san! Doushite?…… Naze? Dare?

The Kageyuki couple lay motionless in the fields, the barren pebbles splattered in blood. Countless slashes seemed to permanently gore into their bodies, as if just to torture the victims. Who can be so cruel?

Kayko flopped onto the grass, fainting from the shock. Misao didn't notice the ambush until it was too late. A tonto slashed her left eye, and it took Misao all her energy just not to scream aloud. Temporarily blinded and with her injured leg, all Misao could do was aim a ground Futae no Kiwami.

Never confronting such assault before, the attacker yelled in both surprise and pain. Misao endured the overwhelming sting pulsating from her left eye and sent two other Futae no Kiwamis at the score of subordinates rushing at her.

By using the momentum of those attack waves, she used her uninjured right leg to soar into the swarm of 'varmints', her katana flashed several times.

In her haste and unadjusted grief, she had forgotten to flip her katana to the blunt edge. When the sensation of steel slicing through flesh was felt, all the assailants were already dead.

Misao crumbled to the ground, her face coated with both cold sweat and rapidly drying blood, and sobbed. No tears came, but she still cried. Crying for the Kageyukis; crying because of the guilt of taking human lives, and weeping for poor little Kayko.

Her body was burdened with an incredible amount of aches from forcing her injured body to execute so many harmful techniques in such a short time. She inched slowly towards Kurosuke, and was both relieved and shocked to find him still breathing.

His labored breaths dropped Misao into despair when she realized that he wouldn't last long. Kurosuke cracked open one bleeding eye and peered at Misao's looming silhouette.

"Please…… I have a favor……"

Misao swallowed in dread and whispered gravely, "Anything…Kurosuke-san…… gomen….. hondo ni gomenasai……… if I was there……"

"Please don't say that…cough cough…… I am the one who should be sorry……cough," he coughed up blood and gurgled a little. He stared blankly at the crimson sky, dyed by the dying sunset.

The fact that your memories came rushing back to you when you are on the verge of death seemed to be true. Kurosuke saw flashes of his past crimes, the guilt that ate his heart everyday. He saw all the times he had tortured the prisoners Shinomori no Dan-na had brought back. He recalled his assignation missions as a ninja of the Yaminobu, orders given by Shinomori no Dan-na, formerly calledthe Okashira. Kurosuke wasknown as 'Kuroi', meaning black and completely contradicting with his unusual silver hair. Kuroi decided to become 'Kurosuke' when Shinomori no Dan-na had killed his own daughter, and that Kurosuke can't even be a shinobi anymore because of the injuries Dan-na's son had given him.

In order to run away from Shinomori no Dan-na, and live a normal life in the Meiji Era, he had dyed his hair black and worked as a farmer. His knowledge of poison as well as antidotes helped him on his herbal farm. The land is too sterile and desolate anyways that he did not have to pay any fees to get it. And he met Kea; such a compassionate woman, caring for him in spite of his hidden past.

Kurosuke felt his tears gathering up and sliding down his broken cheeks. And in return for Kea's kindness, this is the thanks he gave her – a gruesome death. They were just living so happily even without the right income. Why, after so long, did Shinomori no Dan-na come back again?

His shuddering words became difficult to decipher, " I 'ave no right te say 'tis, Arashi-san…… demo, I beg of you…… take care of Kayko-chan…please…… dere are some'un after 'er…… I was a shinobi…… and after I left the clan, even after so long…… they had come and hunted me down…… they don't know Kayko's existence yet…… onegai……"

Misao held his rough, shattered hand gently, "I promise in Aoshi-sama's kodachis…… I will protect Kayko-chan."

Aoshi…… here's that name again…… I should have remembered…… of course, Shinomori Aoshi……… Dan-na's forgotten son……. And Arashi-san… iie, Makimachi Misao……… I should have realized it right away……… the survived granddaughter of Okashira Makimachi whom Dan-na… Dan-na had……

Kurosuke's vision became foggy, and he smiled weakly in gratitude. He murmured softly, "You…… are just as beautiful……as your name sake……… and just as courageous as your mother…………Misao-san……"

His hand went limp and his head lolled to the side, his dilated pupils staring into nothing.

Misao gazed at Kurosuke for a long time. She did not comprehend what he just said. How had he known her mother? And who was her name sake? There was too much, and how is she going to tell Kayko-chan? Misao's still-functioning eye fell on Takamaru's shivering form, and then to Kayko.

Misao struggled to stand, and she carefully laid the two on the Kurosuke's wagon. She trudged towards the two Kageyukis, and spend all night digging the graves, pretending not to notice her body's profuse protests.

She paid her respects to the stones adorning the graves, and started pulling the wagon step by step.

Her will overpowered her body long ago, and she continued, hoping to last long enough to find a proper shelter in the forest. To heal in both mind and soul.

Enough to continue her search for Aoshi-sama. South.

It is time to visit Tokyo.

End of chapter 10

Dan-na - Master (like how a servant would call the master)

-(for the first three reviewers for the previous chappie)

Charmed Wolf - thank you for all your supports. They worked wonders for my headache. (glomps)(sweatdrop)

cleo - sorry to make u wait (heh) thanx

Yuki - Alright, ur constant nagging has gotten me a headache lol. Actualy, that helps me go on, Yuki.

All other reviewers: THANX FOR ALL YOUR REVIEWS! I am too sick and tired to response to each of you, and I apologize for that.

Sigh.I can't seem to update frequently anymore. I am very saddened by this. However, i will try my hardest to update at least one chapter per month (a kunai whizzed by). Erm, pizza anyone?

Also, about wolfbane, that was written from a science lecture I had a while ago and I am not sure if it was all correct. You are welcome to contradict me on that (blink)

I have always wondered how the Oniwabanshuu four had thought of Aoshi-sama. AndI decided Omasu would probably the one he would talk to more than ther other three. This is only my opinion.

Well, Misao and Kayko are going to Tokyo, so is Aoshi! (wink, nudge)

(smirk) It's not gonna be all fluff, and I didn't promise anything.

And what's with Misao? And the connection between Shinomori-Danna and Okashira Makimachi?

Wait and see!

I would like at least some reviews (grin). More review equals medicine to cure my sickness and writer's block lol

Until next time, minna (waves)

-Kaco-