~Flying~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"What's a guardian?" she asked.
Hiro turned to her, looking at her with calm eyes. They almost looked grey, in this weather.
"Someone who will protect you."
Ami smiled to herself, and gently slipped her hand in his. He looked down at their clasped palms without expression.
"Then you're my guardian, ne?" she stated, contentment spreading over her.
She watched him nod silently, then look up to the sky.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It felt a little strange, having someone walk behind me again. I was strongly reminded of...her.
She reminded me so very much of Tomoe, that while ago. The way she walked silently behind me, letting us catch up to our own thoughts. The way her voice suddenly rang out, without warning. Tomoe always did that. If some question, some worry, some thought appeared in her mind, she would voice it to me, almost without hesitation. I wish now, that she had voiced more of her worries. Who knows; perhaps something would've changed.
I had been thinking of the villagers also, when she brought up her question. I was remembering, how similar it seemed to how my life in Otsu was. I was reminded first of all the children who came to play with me, while Tomoe stood in front of the house, watching us. Sometimes, I thought I could catch the signs of a smile, but she always turned away before I could make sure. I was secondly reminded of us, Tomoe and I, selling medicines. Of course, the men and women gathered around more neatly then those children...
Her question surprised me. I didn't think she'd have really noticed a thing like that. But then, she did seem to be a bit more perceptive then children her age usually were. I quickly wondered what I was like at her age. At her age, the bandits had already attacked the slave caravan, and I was with Shishou. Shishou had always complained about me, but that didn't really mean anything. I asked her why she wished to know what that woman's relation to Nazen was, but she didn't give a straight reply. As always, I answered with the truth.
"She was young enough to be his sister... and old enough to be his mother."
Ami's eyes had looked strange, and she had turned away. I wondered what thoughts plagued her.
"Souka...." she said softly. "I feel...bad for them...they don't have much, do they?"
This child... I moved forward to lay a hand on her shoulder.
"They have each other. It will be enough for them, at least."
Then I began to start walking again, and heard her give a tiny sigh before following me again. Really, her similarity to Tomoe was almost uncanny. Ami's prescence was resurfacing all of these memories...
If we had had a daughter, Tomoe and I.....would she be anything like Ami?
The thought was quick and fleeting. I knew what death was. Better then most people.
I could hear Ami's footsteps behind me...
Death was final. Tomoe was dead. It would do no good, yearning for her. I would honor and respect her memory, by never killing again, ever. That was the one thing I could do for her. But now, I knew, I should concentrate on the people who were alive, around me. Like Ami.
It was dark now. The only trace of the sun was the fading orange far ahead. I remembered Ami's words, and then wondered how long she could walk. I usually walked well into the night before making camp, but with Ami here...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"The sun's gone," Kenshin said. Ami's head jerked up to look at him. He paused and looked at her.
Stopping already? she wondered. Kenshin... Kenshin cannot be possibly tired now, right?
It's for me... she realized. Her stomach dropped a little. Her earlier thoughts about being a burden resurfaced. Could she refuse, and still be polite?
"Souka..." she said, wringing her hands. "Demo...we don't have to stop now, if you don't want," she said hastily. "I'm not tired at all!" She spread her arms, as if trying to guesture that she truly wasn't, though arms had nothing to do with her legs.
Kenshin smiled a little at this. Then he turned, and faced the quickly fading orange.
"Then let's go till we can follow the sun no longer," he said, feeling light-hearted.
Ami smiled widely at this and charged forward.
"Hai! Until the stars are showing!" she shouted.
Kenshin watched her take a running leap, spreading her arms in the little time she stayed up in the air. She landed, a little cloud of dust rising up. She spun around and faced him, cheeks pink and eyes shining. But as Kenshin walked towards her, she suddenly blinked and averted her gaze, shyly.
Kenshin wondered why he seemed to intimidate her so much. He gave her a smile, while feeling strangely helpless. Then she glanced over to his face and he nodded at her, as if saying, go on, run around. She blinked again and she gave a hesitant smile as she dashed forward again.
There was a slight breeze, and Ami ran faster, so that the wind whipped her hair behind her face. She loved running against the wind. It faintly felt as if she was flying. She gathered more speed, then kicked out at the ground, launching herself.
"Hyah!" she cried. She skidded to a stop, hopping a few times on her foot to get balance. She spun around to see Kenshin behind her, still walking, a smile evident on his face. Her eyes sparkled happily at this and she started to run again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Hiro! Hiro, have you ever flown?" she asked, already knowing the answer, but asking anyway.
Her brother shook his head and glanced over at her from where he was sitting. They were outside in the field, and it was a warm and sunny day. She hopped a little bit, and glanced at him, face sparkling happily. Hiro just watched her with no expression.
"I wish I could fly," she said matter of factly. Ami ducked her head slightly and peered at Hiro playfully, as if about to tell him a secret. He watched her calmly.
"Have you ever wished you were a bird, Hiro?" she asked, expecting a no. She was surprised when he answered.
"Yes," he said, and looked up to the sky. There were birds flying overhead just now.
She looked up with him, then turned to him eagerly.
"Yes? Do you still want to, Hiro?" She loved saying his name. It was like a good luck charm to her, vaguely.
He shook his head. Ami's happiness dwindled a little. She walked up to him slowly.
"Why not, Hiro?" she asked softly.
He turned to her, eyes looking an intelligent blue. She looked at his eyes thoughtfully. Usually they were so empty.
"Because birds cannot choose what to do. They grow, hunt, mate, build nests, then die. Humans have more choices than that."
Ami frowned a little. She didn't care about those things. She didn't want to look at it so seriously. But if Hiro said so...
"Souka..." she whispered a little. She walked around the field, no longer running and pretending to flap imaginary wings. Hiro looked at her.
"But for now...you can go ahead. Fly," he said.
Ami whirled around to look at him with wide eyes. Her face broke into a smile. She loved him so much for that.
"Tia!" she cried. And then she began to run.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
She stopped at the edge of the road, panting. She bent over slightly, hands on her knees. Kenshin slowly walked up to her, smiling gently. She looked up at him, standing straight. Her eyes flickered for a moment, and then she seemed to have made up her mind.
"Kenshin?" she asked.
"What?" he inquired, curious to know what thoughts were on her mind.
"Have you ever wished you were...um.." she broke off, losing her nerve, looking off to the side.
Kenshin sighed, quietly so that she would not hear. She seemed to have sensed his disappointment though, because she turned quickly to look up at him again.
"How far can you jump?" she blurted.
Kenshin blinked.
"Ah," he said, putting a hand to his head, smiling a little. "Quite a way, I believe."
Ami blushed a little, looking off to the side again.
"Like you saw, I can't jump very far." She glanced at him again. "I wish I could. It makes me feel like I can fly."
"I've...never really thought about it that way," Kenshin said slowly. When he practiced his jumps, as they were essential for Hiten Mitsurugi, he had always concentrated on perfection so that he could carry out the attack. Not on the wind rushing past him... Kenshin looked at Ami. He expected her to become shy again, now that he had told her he had never thought about such things.
But instead, she was smiling gently to herself, as if caught up in memories.
Memories... what was your life like, before, Ami?
"The stars are showing," he said quietly. "Let's make camp."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It's really late. We've already had a small dinner, and the fire's already died out. Even Kenshin looks like he was asleep. But I can't stop pondering...I think I know why, now.
I was never afraid of receiving a real questioning look from Hiro, or a look of disgust. I had come to always expect his calm, serious face. And with it...I felt he'd never feel annoyed at me. He was always just...there. Watching me without opinion. So I wasn't afraid to do whatever I wanted, whether it was running around, making bird calls, or even asking silly questions.
But Kenshin's face expresses emotion. He has a glare when he is angry, and he smiles when he is pleased. So...I was deathly afraid...of getting a look...that would say he was displeased with me. A scornful look. That's why I acted so restrained around him. But from what I know of him...I don't think Kenshin could look at me, or anyone else who was good, like that. But that doesn't stop me from being afraid.
But I also sense...he doesn't like it when I act restrained. Like he feels a little sad. And I don't want him to be. I'll try to break this habit, for him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"You...could've woken me up, you know. I wouldn't mind," Ami said hesitantly after she got up. She had woken to see the fire restarted and Kenshin already set to go.
Kenshin smiled a little and shook his head.
"Children need their sleep. And I already used the time well. I scouted ahead, and there is a small village there."
"Ah," she said, slipping on her sandals and pack. Kenshin handed her some rice cake. She took a small bite then looked at him as he put out the fire.
"You're...not eating again?" she asked, feeling strangely dejected. "Is it because I'm-"
"No, no," Kenshin said quickly. He feigned an innocent smile. "I just do not feel like eating, de gozaru."
Ami watched him, a little warily. After she finished, Kenshin stood up, gathering his belongings. Including the umbrella, Ami noticed, feeling slightly satisfied.
"Let's go."
He started the pace, Ami following.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Author's Notes:
Gomen, if the ending of this chapter was too abrupt. Once again, not really too much action, just bonding. ^^' Sorry if it's beginning to bore you. But I feel most of the chapters will turn out like that. Well, at least until...something. ^_^ Like I said, I had this whole story planned out in my mind, so at one point, I know there'll be lots of "action".
Plus, (I guess this can be considered good news) I finished drawing a pic of Kenshin and Ami, so now you'll get to see what she looks like. However, my drawing skills aren't that good...heh...so.. she really is cuter than how I drew her. ^^'' *sweatdrop* When my friend comes back from vacation at the beginning of January, I'll ask her if we can scan it and post it on her website. There'll also be multiple pics of her, so what she looks like I suppose is a blend of all of them. Hopefully I'll be able to draw at least one picture of her that does her justice of how I picture her in my mind.
Response to Reviews:
Haruko: Thanks for the compliments. And..heh..erm...*shifts uneasily* Unfortunately...I'm not sure if Hiro will ever show up again. I'm not saying he's dead...I was thinking of leaving a little possibility that he was alive, somewhere, but I'm not sure of Ami ever meeting him again. I noticed you seemed to be really interested in Hiro, so I included more flashbacks in this chapter. I hope that can sort of satisfy you. Oh, that reminds me.
*NOTE: I hope you can decipher which events are actually dreams or flashbacks!!! Everything in this one were flashbacks, but I think all of the previous were dreams.*
Also, about Ami learning swordsmanship...I wasn't planning on that happening, and if it did, I think it'd screw up a few things later on. Really really sorry. Like I said before, I want to stick to the original story plan, but now that I'm getting such wonderful support, I feel a little guilty about denying your suggestions. I hope I can satisfy your expectations for this story with the way it was planned in my head.
AnimeAmba: Thank you for the compliments! I'm glad you could feel the character's feelings. And hurrah, I was right with the synonym thing! I won't fail English! :P Actually, my problem is more of remembering words. Like once I was trying to remember a word for an uncultured civilization that wasn't brutal or anything...er...I still don't know. Uncivilized, pre-something?? X_X' forget it.
Kitty-jinxx: Wow. I never really thought of Ami and Hiro that way... ^^' I'd like to think they were pretty original. Especially Ami. *nods quickly* ....Well, actually, Hiro not so much.
(whispers: I stole him from another anime and altered him slightly. .' Now the secrets out. Uh-oh.)