A Rurouni Kenshin Story: Can Our Love Endure?
Chapter 10
Previously…"It's going to be her birthday next Friday and we were planning a party for her, you know, to show her how much she really means to all of us here. So what are you going to get her for her birthday?" asked Misao as she crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow.
Sanosuke blinked as he thought about it, he did not have any money…at least not enough for a decent gift. He thought for a few more seconds before an idea finally hit him, "I'm gonna give her the best birthday present I could possibly give her."
"Honto ni? What is it?" asked Misao excitedly and Sano merely chuckled at her.
"Okina! We are back!" shouted Taeya as she opened the door to the Aoiya and stepped inside.
"Taeya-san, how was your dinner?" asked Okina as he turned the corner by the stairs and saw her.
"Mmm, it was great, Okina. What about your dinner? I hope Misao-chan here did not blow it out of proportion," she said as she hugged Misao lightly from behind.
"Our dinner was also great. Misao-chan has grown into a marvelous cook."
"Glad to heat it," said Taeya happily and then in a low voice so that only Misao could here, "Where is Sano?"
"Oh, he's upstairs in your guys room. Why? Where else did ya think he would be?" Misao walked over to Aoshi and hugged his arm. "Oi, are you tired?"
"Aa, could you walk me to my room?" asked Aoshi softly.
"Hrm, you sound just like a little boy, Aoshi," said Misao with a smile and walked up the stairs to her room with Taeya and Aoshi. "Good night, Okina," they yelled back just as they reached the top of the stairs.
"Goodnight!"
The three laughed and giggled…well, Taeya and Misao laughed and giggled as they made their way towards Taeya's room. The two girls ceased their giggling and chattering when they laid eyes upon Sanosuke.
"Fuck, Shinamori. You should have told me that you were taking her out to dinner. She might have forgotten to tell me, but I expected more from you." Sanosuke stood up off the floor and glared at Aoshi heatedly.
Aoshi returned Sanosuke's heated glance and Aoshi looked like he was going to punch Sanosuke in the face.
Taeya felt bad that she forgot to tell Sanosuke about her and Aoshi already having dinner plans. She did not know how to start to apologize to him for forgetting. Upon seeing Taeya's face Misao knew that she wanted to be alone with Sanosuke so she grabbed Aoshi's hand and left the room, closing the door behind her.
After a long silence, Sanosuke spoke up, "So, why aren't you talking, kirei?"
Taeya looked at him suspiciously, "What do you mean? Aren't you mad at me?"
"Mad at you? For what?"
"For forgetting to tell you that I had dinner plans with Aoshi-san," Taeya answered, feeling a little guilty that she forgot to tell him.
"Nah," answered Sanosuke casually. "You and Shinamori are like brother and sister. Besides, Misao-chan explained that the two of you go out to eat once a month. But…I would like to know why, the little itachi wouldn't tell me why. Said that it was something that you should tell me. Why do you and Shinamori go out to eat every month on the same day?"
Taeya nodded her head and walked over to where Sanosuke was sitting. She sat down on top of her futon and hugged her knees close to her chest as she spoke. "Because…today is…the day my parents were killed."
"Oh, I see." Sanosuke moved closer to Taeya and wrapped his arm around her waist as he brought her closer to him and made her lean her head against his chest. "So, how did Aoshi end up taking you to dinner?" he asked with a slight smile.
Taeya smiled and hugged Sano as she leaned against his chest. "Well, that was kind of funny. I forgot that Aoshi-san meditated at the temple close to dinnertime and I went to the temple to pray for my parents, you know, to talk to them. The whole time that I was talking to them and telling them everything that was going on, Aoshi-san was listening to me. After I had finished praying and bowed my head, he came up to me and apologized for over hearing my prayers. The two of us started talking about it and…well, then my stomach growled so he took me to eat. Ever since, it became tradition."
Sano nodded his head and smiled at her warmly, "Gomen."
Taeya shook her head and smiled back at him, "It's okay, Sano. You don't have to be sorry." Taeya released her hold on Sanosuke's torso and stood up, "I am going to go outside for some fresh air, okay? Oh, I think that you should go and apologize to Aoshi-san for your little outburst earlier when he was in here. It wasn't his fault though, he thought that I would have told you about it."
"Hai, I'll go and apologize to him in a while. You want me to sleep in her with you or do you want me to sleep somewhere else?"
"Eetto…I think you should sleep in the living room or something."
"Nani? Why?" asked Sanosuke with a shocked face.
Taeya smiled at him innocently, "You are the one who asked so I say leave before I come back from my walk or else."
Sanosuke crossed his arms over his chest and puffed lightly, "You're mean, Taeya."
She giggled, "Hai, tell me something that I do not know tori-atama." She winked at Sano and then left the room.
Sanosuke scratched the side of his head and sighed, "He, she sure is somethin'."
"Yahiko," hissed Taeya as she walked through the grass of the back of the Aoiya that lead to the dojo. She stopped walking as she heard a whoosh sound coming towards her. She ducked to avoid the weapon that was thrown at her and then jumped back so that she could get a good look at her attacker. The air swirled her hair around her face and her eyes glowed predatorily, but they returned to normal when she saw that her attacker was…a small cat. 'Nani?' she thought as she stood up and walked over to the cat.
The cat meowed softly as Taeya's hand caressed its head slowly. "Hmm, how did ya get out here, kitty?" The cat merely meowed at her again and walked away slowly. Taeya propped her head to the side as she stared after the cat. "Now, wasn't that weird?" Taeya lifted her arm over her head and caught a wooden boken in her hand. "Oh, ohayo Yahiko."
Yahiko sighed in defeat, "Shimatta, how do you do that?"
Taeya smiled as she stood up off the grass and let go of Yahiko's boken. She ruffled his hair a little, "Practice, Yahiko. Practice. Now, want to get to learning?"
Yahiko smiled widely, "Hai!"
"Good. Now I want you to do a round house kick," she said as she put her hands on her hips.
"Alright," answered Yahiko as he attempted to do the roundhouse kick that Taeya had asked him to do.
Taeya watched Yahiko in silence and saw his first mistake when he landed wrong. "Your foot is too far out to the side, Yahiko. Bring it in more," she said as she continued to watch him intently. She smirked when Yahiko moved into perfect position to do the roundhouse kick. "Yoroshii. Saa, mouichido yatte goran."
"Hai!" Yahiko attempted to go it right this time, but he rotated too much.
"Matta," said Taeya as she watched him, "matta." She smiled the smile that a teacher would when their students were able to go on to the next level. Yahiko finally nailed the move down, "Anata no koto wa totemo hokori ni omoimasu wa ko desu."
Yahiko smiled, "Arigato, Taeya-san. And I'm not a child, so don't call me one!"
Taeya broke out in giggles and small laughter at his little out burst. "We will do some more tomorrow, okay? It is already pretty late and I need to get some sleep."
"Alright, that's fine, I guess."
Yahiko and Taeya walked back towards the back entrance to the Aoiya, hoping that everyone had already gone to sleep. To their disappointment, it seemed that everyone was still up and about. Taeya draped an arm over Yahiko's shoulders as they entered the Aoiya. Yahiko slightly blushed, "What are you doing?" he hissed.
"Trying to convince everyone that we were not just outside training baka," she whispered and Yahiko nodded at her words.
They both walked towards the stairs and just before they reached the first step, Okan came around the corner and saw the two of them. "Taeya-san, we told you no training sessions until you get better," she said with a stern look.
"I know, Okan-san. Yahiko and I weren't training. Yahiko was helping me take a walk around the Aoiya's garden."
"He was? Yahiko, were you helping Taeya-san get her mind off of training for a while?" Okan smiled as Yahiko nodded his head, "I should have known that you would not let her train in the condition she is in."
Taeya and Yahiko both sighed as Okan turned and left. "That was close," they whispered. Taeya let go of Yahiko and smiled, "Arigato…twerp."
"Hn, don't mention it. Can we train again tomorrow though? I really want to learn some more ninja moves from you, Taeya-sensei."
Taeya smiled at Yahiko's enthusiasm, "Hai. We can train some more tomorrow but now you have to go and get some rest. Get going you twerp."
Yahiko nodded his head and walked past Taeya to the other end of the Aoiya to where his room and Kaoru and Kenshin were sleeping. Taeya turned around to climb the stairs to her room but stopped when she saw Misao standing on the second step of the stairs.
Taeya gave Misao an innocent smile and stood still as she continued to smile at Misao; pretending that nothing happened. "…Taeya-san…are you sure you are feeling alright?" asked Misao.
"Hai, if I was not feeling well enough to do something then why would I push myself?" Taeya tried to give Misao the innocent answer, but Misao knew her better.
"'Cause that's how you are," said Misao with a smile as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Taeya could not help but smile at Misao's statement; it was completely true. Misao was so much like Taeya that it was kind of scary. "Gomen nasai, Misao-chan. I just could not help it," she said with a slight sigh.
Misao's smile remained on her face as she spoke, but Taeya knew that it was a forced smile. "Daijoubo, Taeya-san. Do you need any help washing up?"
"Hai, I still cannot move around that much without it hurting a little, arigato gazimasu. Oi…did Sano…apologize to Aoshi-san for yelling at him?"
Misao smiled again as she and Taeya entered the bathing area, "Hai, you should have been there to see his face, Taeya-san. I think that tori was scared that Aoshi was going to punch him."
Taeya giggled lightly, "Aoshi-san wasn't too hard on him, was he?"
"Iie, demo…he did say that Sano had to sleep outside tonight." The two young women busted out laughing. After they were able to calm down their laughter, Taeya undressed and removed her old bandages from her wounds. "Taeya-san, are you sure you are okay?" Misao asked as she finished re-bandaging Taeya's wounds and began to comb her long hair.
"Hai Misao-chan. I am healing slowly, but efficiently. Could you braid my hair this time?"
"Hai, demo…we are going to look like twins when we step inside the Aoiya," said Misao softly.
"Ne, Sanosuke and Aoshi-san will tell the difference, won't they?" Taeya awaited Misao's answer and was about to turn around to face Misao when she heard no reply from Misao, but stopped when she felt Misao lean her head against her back. "Misao, daijoubo ka?"
"Iie, I don't want to loose you like I lost my parents and grandparents. You're my Taeya-neesan and I don't ever want to loose you, ever."
Taeya slowly turned around and embraced Misao in a sisterly hug. "Misao. You will not loose me; I am not going anywhere. I will always be here for you when you need me, Misao. Coming to the Aoiya was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I was stuck in a never-ending abyss when I met you. Misao, you pulled me out of that abyss and pulled me closer and closer to light and humanity. YOU are the reason why I am here Misao, you saved me. You gave me another chance to live in the world."
Misao clung on to Taeya as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. "I'll always be there for you when YOU need me Taeya-neesan, always. I promise. You were the first person who knew what it was like to loose everything and everyone you cared about. You understood my pain like no other and I am so happy that you helped me, Taeya-neesan."
The two women wiped their tears and stood up as Misao clipped a silver ornament on the end of Taeya's braid. As Taeya stood up, Misao was slightly surprised. She and Taeya looked so much alike, the only differences between them was that Taeya was slightly taller than Misao and her eyes were an emerald green whereas Misao's were a sea green color. Taeya's hair was slightly longer than Misao's and it was a dark black whereas Misao's was a bluish black.
Misao was taken away from her reverie as she heard Taeya's voice. "Should we get going?"
Misao smiled, "Hai." Taeya and Misao walked side by side as they walked underneath the Sakura trees and the half full moon. They arrived in front of the Aoiya's door and opened it to find Aoshi and Sanosuke talking to each other in a friendly manner. "Ohayo," said the two girls as they walked inside and saw them talking.
Sanosuke turned around to face them and grinned. "Oi, Misao, what the hell did you do to her? She looks just like you. Anyways, what took you guys so long? We thought that you guys died in there or something."
Taeya stared at him and then gawked when she saw what Sanosuke was wearing. Hi usual white outfit was completely blue! He was wearing Oniwabanshu colors and his outfit looked like a lot like Shiro's, though she had to admit that it looked a hell of a lot better on Sanosuke. His red hair band was now a dark blue, but his hair was still its usual spiky mess.
She snapped out of her daze when he spoke to her. "Close your mouth, kirei, you're getting drool all over the place."
Taeya snorted, "The, don't flatter yourself," she said as she punched his arm and Sanosuke slightly chuckled.
"Shinamori here is making me sleep outside tonight. You going to keep me company, kirei?"
"Iie, you deserve to sleep outside…by yourself." Taeya smiled when she saw Sano' slightly disappointed face.
"Hn, all right then, g'night," he said as he walked out the door and winked at Taeya over his right shoulder. "Guess you have to sleep by yourself tonight then."
Taeya blushed at his words and wink, "Yeah, guess I will." She, Misao, and Aoshi made their way up the stairs as Taeya called back to Sano, "Good night tori-atama." Taeya and Misao gave each other a hug before they went into their own rooms for the night.
Taeya had been laying on her futon for about twenty minutes now and she sat up and walked over to her window. 'Why can I not sleep?' she asked her self as she turned around and stared at her futon.
An image of her and Sanosuke appeared on the futon. Sanosuke was lying on his back sleeping and she was curled up at his side with her head and left hand resting on his chest. 'Is that why I cannot sleep? Because Sano is not with me?'
She turned back around and slowly opened her window. The cold night breeze sent slight goosebumps around her arms. She leapt on to a near by tree and the jumped to the ground. She looked around the Aoiya's yard and sensed Sanosuke was behind her, but she pretended not to know that he was there.
Sanosuke wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against him as he lowered his head and whispered in her ear. "Told ya you couldn't stay away from me." He began to slowly nibble on her ear lobe and Taeya tried not to giggle.
"I just thought…that you would…get l-lonely out here by…yourself," she said quietly as she gave herself over to Sanosuke. She turned around slowly and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing their bodies closer together in the process. "You missed me tori?"
"Always kirei," whispered Sanosuke lightly as he pressed his lips lightly against hers.
Sorry that it took me so long to put up the next chapter but I have been busy and I almost lost interest for finishing this story but thanks to Peter (Sagara Sanosuke) I got back into the groove. . Thanks a lot!