Disclaimer: I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.
Chapter 17.
It had been a rough day, and Soujiro was looking forward to getting some sleep. However, right now the only thing on his mind was a nice bath. "Aoshi-sama, since you're familiar with the terrain around here, is there a place where I might go to get a good bath."
The rest of the men looked at Soujiro and he noticed some of them rolling their eyes. Soujiro was a little less manly than some of them tended to be, which meant he generally stunk less and was normally more polite.
"Yes, there's a hot spring just outside the walls and down at the bottom of the hill. Follow the path there northward and you'll find the spring." Aoshi said in his non-committal monotone.
Soujiro bowed and excused himself while the rest of the men got ready to stretch out on the ground. They were going to start getting the defenses ready the next day and Soujiro doubted he would have time for a decent bath. Soujiro grabbed up a lantern and headed out into the night.
The spring turned out to be right where Aoshi had said it would be, so Soujiro shed his clothes and got into the water. Unfortunately, he splashed some water that put his lantern out. "Oh man, finding my way back in the dark is going to be fun."
Soujiro sighed and settled back into the water. At least that was a problem for later. Right now he was letting his muscles unwind. Soujiro must have dozed off, because it wasn't until he heard the splash that he sat up.
Light poured across the water and Soujiro looked up to see Misao waist deep in the water and topless. His sharp breath caught her attention and their eyes locked for a moment before…
Everyone came running out of their huts when they heard Misao scream. Sango came running out half dressed as the men sat bolt upright. "Hurry she's down at the hot spring!"
"She's where?" Aoshi said visibly relaxing.
"She went for a bath at the hot spring." Sango said watching the men. A few of them started to smirk as they started to settle back into their blankets. "Aren't you going to go help her?"
Aoshi was as emotionless as ever, but his tone actually seemed amused. "I told Soujiro about the same spring. Apparently they've just discovered each other."
Sango's blush was pretty large and she could see Miroku leering at her with some of his perverted thoughts etched all over his face. She sent him a 'forget it' look and headed back to the women's hut. If it was one thing Misao didn't need protection from it was Soujiro. Soujiro on the other hand…
Soujiro squinted his eyes and hunched his shoulders waiting for the rock he'd seen her grab. He was dead. There was no hope. He'd seen her naked and now he was about to get clobbered. Soujiro sweated waiting for the coming blow, but it never came.
"You can open your eyes now Sou-chan." Misao said softly nearby.
Soujiro slowly opened his eyes to the darkness around him. Misao's lantern was out and he could hear some light splashing near him. The clouds covered the moon, so he was pretty much blind.
"You're not going to hit me?" Soujiro said, unsure of himself. Maybe she had already hit him so hard he was dead and now his soul had finally descended into hell. Soujiro then felt Misao's hand on his shoulder… nope, definitely not hell.
"No Sou-chan. I'm sorry I screamed. You startled me. Apparently you were already here at the spring when I got here." Misao said somewhere off to his right.
"I'm sorry Misao. My lantern went out and I must have fallen asleep. I didn't mean to spy on you. I'll leave." Soujiro started desperately.
Misao's hand went from his shoulder to his lips, DEFINITELY not hell. "I know. It's alright you don't have to go."
Soujiro was getting more confused by the moment. "I don't?"
Misao chuckled to herself and Soujiro could just make out her silhouette. "It's not like we can see each other, and you'll need help getting back. I have a flint in my pocket. I'll use it to light your lantern once we're done bathing."
Soujiro was glad for the darkness, because he was quite certain he was blushing right now. "Misao?"
"Yes?"
"Why didn't you hit me?" Soujiro was surprised to be asking the question, but he distinctly remembered seeing her lift up the rock. Actually he'd been looking at some other things that had presented themselves and the rock got processed as an afterthought, but he really didn't want to test her good nature.
Soujiro got up and waded a little further into the spring waiting for her reply. Misao was quiet for a long time, and Soujiro started to apologize for the question when she finally spoke. "Can I ask you a question first?"
"Certainly."
"All the times I've beaten up on you, you've never raised a hand to stop me. Sou-chan, I know you're a powerful swordsman. Even if you didn't want to hit me back, or to hurt me, you still could have easily avoided any attack I could possibly make at you. Why?" Misao said from the darkness. Soujiro got the distinct impression she was looking at him as if to try to look into his eyes.
"You are so pure Misao." Soujiro said honestly. "I am so stained from my past deeds, that anything you might decide to do to me, I deserve. Besides, it is not within you to truly harm anyone. I trust you, even with my life."
Soujiro waited to hear Misao's response. He hoped he hadn't sounded too lame. "The reason I didn't hit you Soujiro is because it wasn't your fault. You've been hurt by everyone that you've ever cared about. I don't want to be like the other people that have hurt you in the past Soujiro. It's time for your hurting to end."
Soujiro was touched as he thought he could hear the soft whimper of Misao crying. As she too waded further into the spring. "I'm sorry, if I've ever hurt you Sou-chan."
Soujiro was fit to burst. "Misao I'm unworthy of such consideration."
Misao then did something that shocked Soujiro. She hugged him. Soujiro could feel her next to him and he almost passed out. That's it, she did hit me and somehow beyond all reason or hope I've managed to get into heaven.
"Sou-chan if I hadn't vowed never to hit you again, I'd smack you. You said that whatever I decided to do to you, you deserved. Well Sou-chan this is what I think you deserve." Soujiro didn't have time to think before the kiss took away his senses.
He stood there in the water with Misao in his arms and kissed her. It was his first kiss and most likely hers as well. Soujiro couldn't think of a more wonderful thing in his life than that one moment as the clouds parted and he looked into Misao's eyes in the moonlight as their lips parted. The water reflected the light and lit the pool around them. Remembering to be a gentleman, Soujiro closed his eyes.
Misao giggled, and then he felt her move away for a moment. "It's OK Sou-chan you can look now."
Soujiro slowly opened his eyes expecting the return of the clouds and a return to darkness. Instead the light still shone all around the two of them and Misao was once again before him as radiant in the moonlight as his fevered imagination could have ever hoped for.
Soujiro was dumbstruck and started to speak, when Misao put her hand over his mouth again. "I trust you with my life too Sou-chan. Besides, it's hard to bathe with your eyes closed." Misao said putting some soap and a small towel in his hand. She smiled as she turned her back to him. "I'll wash your back if you wash mine."
Hiko couldn't sleep. He hadn't slept well in days. People thought that swordsmen were light sleepers because of their finely tuned senses. Swordsmen generally promoted this idea because it made assassins think twice. The truth was, there were things that waited for you after you closed your eyes, as his apprentice had found out the hard way.
Hiko had spent many years using the sake to help him sleep dreamlessly. He figured the only swordsmen who DID get a good night's sleep were either drunk, or heartless.
However it wasn't for this reason he was still awake when the two of them returned. Soujiro and Misao came sneaking back into the village and killed their lantern as they did so. Even so, Hiko could see them holding hands. They stopped briefly before they parted company and they kissed goodnight. Hiko smirked and rolled over. Maybe now that the last two kittens had made their way back home maybe he could finally rest. He might have to go look at this hot spring himself tomorrow.
Hiko was the first awake the next morning. He looked around at the other men beginning to stir. Sadly he could already smell something cooking, so Tae was probably already up. "I swear that woman must not sleep at all." He said groggily.
The other men didn't look like they'd had much sleep. Soujiro didn't look like he managed to sleep at all, but Hiko surmised it was from a different reason than the usual. Saitoh was the only one who looked well-rested, big surprise.
"Sleep well, Saitoh?" Hiko asked.
"Like a stone. Best sleep I've had in years." Saitoh said getting a lung full of the morning air. "The air is so much cleaner here in the past."
Hiko just shook his head and looked around for Yahiko. "Boy, get me something to drink."
Tae's voice rang out all over the encampment. "Don't you go giving him any more sake!"
"How does she bloody DO that?" Hiko said to no one in particular.
"It isn't that hard master, it's been the first words out of your mouth every morning since she cut you off." Kenshin said smiling.
"Very funny, why don't YOU give me three hundred swings then." Hiko said irritably.
"Master, I haven't done swings for you in years." Kenshin said dryly.
"Then you're bound to be out of practice. Now get started, or I'll have Yahiko supervise you." Hiko said testily.
The rest of the morning went pretty well, with Hiko splitting his time between supervising Kagome and keeping an eye on getting the defenses in place. Some of the other men had begun hunting and foraging for food. By the end of the day the place was starting to look like a real village. Lessons in swordplay had resumed as well as Hiko took over training Inuyasha and Yahiko as well. Hiko had to admit; it was the busiest he'd been in years. Part of him relished the thrill of being at the center of something big. It beat sitting around watching pottery bake at any rate.
There was only one thing that would make his life complete right now… sake. Hiko thought about this as he excused himself after dinner to scout around. It didn't take long before he found the hut with the sake stored in it. The doctor woman Megumi was apparently standing guard over it so Hiko slipped away without being seen. He could return later.
Hiko got back to the campfire to see an argument breaking out. "And I said we are not going to stay cooped up in that hut another night! Women want their privacy, and having us all stuffed into one big hut isn't very pleasant. It may be the biggest hut in the village, but there are too many women in there." Tae was saying to an unfazed Aoshi.
"Here, you can argue your case with Hiko-sama then." Aoshi said calmly to the flustered woman.
Oh no. Please not now. Hiko thought to himself as he walked into the firelight. "What seems to be the problem."
"The problem, Hiko-sama," Tae said stressing the last word, "is that the women would like to split up into the various huts around here and have some privacy tonight instead of being cooped up all together. However your men," again with the inflections, "don't seem to understand that a lady needs some space."
"We decided that the women weren't going to be left alone. As long as you're in the same hut it doesn't take all of us to guard you. There are still demons after us so I'm sorry, nobody stays alone." Hiko said defiantly.
Tae was about ready to argue when Kenshin stepped between the two of them. "Now Ms. Tae we're only doing this for the safety of everyone. Please I'm sure that we can come to some sort of agreement." Hiko was about to agree to put the stubborn woman over his knee when she suddenly shifted her tone.
"Why Sir Ken, that sounds like a wonderful idea. Tokio stays with her husband in a hut I guess some of the ladies who have men willing to stay with them could move out and make more room for the rest of us." Tae said sweetly. From the look on Kenshin's face he was as dumbfounded as Hiko was.
"Fine." Hiko said finally. "As long as no one is left alone."
The women all seemed to be happy and Hiko settled down to wait. Pretty soon everyone would be asleep…
Kamatari looked around the little hut she had picked out for herself. It was a quaint little rustic thing that could have done with a few more modern conveniences, but other than that it was quite comfortable. She looked around one last time before she turned to go get her things. Aoshi was in the door to her hut.
"Hello Aoshi, is there something you need?" Kamatari said calmly.
"No one is supposed to be alone tonight. I plan on staying with you." Aoshi said calmly.
Kamatari nearly smirked. "I don't think I need protection like the other women Aoshi. I'm quite capable of taking care of myself." Kamatari said as she turned to put some wood in the fireplace and get a fire started before she left.
Kamatari gasped as she felt Aoshi's hands touch her arms and felt his chest against her back. She hadn't even heard him move. "It isn't protection I'm offering. I don't want to be alone tonight. I was hoping you were tired of being alone as well."
Kamatari was suddenly finding it hard to breathe. She was never realized how much taller Aoshi was than she until he turned her around and kissed her. She drank in the kiss and could have easily fallen to the floor in his arms right there until painful reason took over.
Kamatari pushed Aoshi away and ran from the hut. She ran straight for the women's hut and inside where she found Kagome with Misao.
"Kagome! Aoshi just kissed me!" Kamatari nearly screamed.
"That's wonderful Kamatari, I'm so happy for you." Kagome said smiling.
"You don't understand. He's planning on staying with me tonight." Kamatari said in near hysterics.
"You too, huh?" Misao said pointedly. "I guess they don't trust ANY of us to protect ourselves."
"You don't understand. He's planning on STAYING with me tonight." Kamatari said seriously.
"I heard you the first time, Kamatari, I mean… oh. You mean STAYING with you tonight." Misao said starting to blush uncontrollably.
Megumi was sitting close by and over heard the exchange. "Well, I guess even HE has a libido. Congratulations, it looks like at least SOMEBODY is going to have a fun night."
"Fun night? Are you NUTS? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?" Kamatari was saying hysterically as she ran around the hut in circles. "There something about me I'm sure he's bound to notice."
The rest of the women suddenly understood the implication. They had come to think of Kamatari as just another one of the girls. Kagome was looking like she was thinking. "I think I may have an idea."
Kamatari suddenly jerked her head around. "What is it?"
"I'm going to try to heal you." Kagome said.
"I thought Alanor told you not to try to do an internal healing." Megumi said seriously.
"I've been studying up on anatomy. It was in one of my science books. I've been studying it since we found out about Kamatari. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't know if I would be able, but I'm willing to try if you are." Kagome said looking at Kamatari.
Kamatari looked a little nervous. She had seen what Soujiro went through when Kagome was just trying to heal some minor cuts and bruises. Still if this meant she would finally be able to have a normal relationship…
"What do you need me to do?" Kamatari said seriously.
"Just lie down." Kagome ordered as she got out he science book. Kagome also blushed. "I need you to lift your kimono, and I'm also going to need a model."
All the other women looked uncomfortable, but Megumi finally stepped up. "I'm a doctor, so I'll do it."
Kagome had the two women lay down on either side of her and laid out her book so she could get a good mental picture of what she had to do. "I'm sorry, but Alanor said I have to touch the area to be healed."
Kamatari nodded and Megumi rolled her eyes. "Don't be squeamish Kagome. If you're going to be a healer, you need to get over it. I've had to operate on men who were wounded there before. Just concentrate on the job at hand."
Kamatari closed her eyes as she felt herself being touched by Kagome. She heard Misao close to the door. "Whatever you're going to do you better hurry, Aoshi is headed over this way."
The pain that suddenly raced through Kamatari's body was immense. It took all of her training as a warrior not to scream in agony. It burned her insides and it felt like her entire body was on fire. After what seemed like an eternity, Kamatari was finally able to open her eyes. Uncertainly she looked down to what was now quite definitely a woman's gender.
Kagome helped Kamatari to stand and she and Megumi quickly covered themselves as Aoshi knocked at the door briefly before entering.
"I don't remember saying come in." Megumi said icily.
"I only came to apologize." Aoshi said stiffly. "I did not mean to offend."
"Darn right you need to apologize coming on that strong to poor Kamatari!" Misao said in a scolding tone. "You nearly gave the poor girl a heart attack!"
"Aoshi, wait." Kamatari said as Aoshi was turning to leave. "I'm sorry for running away. It's just that, in all honesty, I've never been with a man before. If you want to stay with me tonight, you can." Kamatari felt heat rising to her cheeks. I'm actually blushing!
Aoshi turned around to look at Kamatari. For some reason, just the way he was looking at her made her knees turn to water. The only sign of any emotion was an arched eyebrow.
Aoshi walked over to Kamatari and before she knew it he had offered her his hand. Gingerly she took it and let him guide her toward the door. "Good night ladies, I'll see you at breakfast. On second thought," she said looking at Aoshi mischievously, "make that lunch."
Hiko watched as everyone started to get off to sleep. Then he slowly crept toward the hut where the sake was kept. A good night's sleep would be his tonight. He had watched the women until he had been sure that the ones not staying in the main hut were going to be watched by other men.
He had been exceedingly glad when he'd seen the doctor woman come for Sanosuke so she could move into a comfortable hut with the girls. Sano seemed disappointed that he wouldn't be alone with Megumi, but then when the little girls started hugging him with joy, he didn't seem too displeased either.
Hiko pushed the young man and his surrogate children out of his thoughts as he zeroed in on his target. The storage shed was dark and unguarded. All the women were escorted tonight except for Tae and the others who should be in the hut. Hiko started to step out until he saw someone coming.
Aoshi and Kamatari appeared and Kamatari disappeared into the hut, reappearing a few moments later with a bottle of sake. She and Aoshi then disappeared in the direction of the village gate, probably to go explore the hot spring that had been the scene of Soujiro's 'adventure' the night before.
After the two had disappeared, Hiko moved silently to the shed. He quietly opened the door and stepped inside to avoid anyone seeing him. Then he slowly turned around. There in the moonlight cast from a single window he saw the object of his desire. There on a shelf stood three large bottles of sake.
Hiko slowly crept across the room and gingerly lifted one of the bottles. It was full. Hiko smiled to himself and quickly uncorked his prize, lifting it to his lips.
Hiko spewed the offensive substance all over the wall. "WATER?"
A light was lit behind Hiko, and he turned to see Tae sitting up in her futon with a candle lit. "Yes, it's water. What did you think I was going to do, leave the sake out unguarded all night so you could drink yourself into a stupor?"
"You have a sick sense of humor, woman. Where is the sake?" Hiko demanded irritably.
"It's hidden. Well away from wherever you might look." Tae said stubbornly. "You're of no use to anyone if you're going to be drunk all night long. What if we were to be attacked at night?"
"I can fight as well drunk as I can sober." Hiko retorted. "Besides, I won't be able to fight in the daylight if I pass out from not being able to sleep."
"Then I suggest you lie down now, instead of skulking all over the village." Tae said shortly.
"I thought we agreed that all the women were going to be with a man tonight for protection or else they were going to be staying in the main hut." Hiko finally said.
"They are. I figured you'd be along tonight. So I guess I don't have to worry about sleeping alone." Tae said sweetly.
"How'd you know I was coming tonight?" Hiko said hotly.
"I've been watching men drink themselves into an early grave nearly all my life. I can usually tell about what time they start looking for sake to steal. Your hands have been twitching all day long." Tae said seriously. "We need you right now and I'm not letting you drink yourself to death."
Hiko sighed in defeat. "So how am I supposed to get off to sleep?"
Tae moved over and patted the futon next to her. "By coming to bed and getting started now. Sleeping on the ground wrapped up in that cape of yours isn't helping. Your clothes could probably use a good washing as well. I laid out a sleeping robe for you over there and Sango found me a change of clothes for you in the morning. It seems there was at least one man in her village that had been as large as you are."
Hiko looked at the clothes that had been laid out for him and started to get ready for sleep. He doubted tonight would be any better than any other, but he didn't really have much of a choice short of killing the woman.
It had been a fitful night. Tae had heard about swordsmen and their dreams. Hiko, like many others would toss and turn restlessly, and then would sit bolt upright, trying to reach for his sword, which wasn't there. Tae spent the night sleeping next to him and then soothing him back to sleep when he would awaken.
Tae had seen too many men try to drown their sorrows in sake. She'd had to watch her father drink himself to death after her mother died, and she wasn't about to loose another person she cared about. Tae had to admit there was something about Hiko that both infuriated her and attracted her at the same time. He was always the most confident man in the group. He was powerful, strong, and in all honesty he could have beaten the information out of her in order to get to his sake, but he hadn't. Instead had had bent himself to her will, because more than likely he knew it was for the best.
Tae held Hiko all night long until finally the dreams let him be. He snored, not very loudly, but enough for her to be able to tell when he was comfortable and asleep. Tae allowed herself a moment to study the swordsman closely. She kept paintings of big powerful men, but she decided that the paintings wouldn't have done Hiko justice.
The first rays of light had already started to lighten the sky when Tae woke up. She was asleep against Hiko's chest and he was snoring quietly with his arm draped over her. Tae wiggled out from under the giant's grip and got dressed. She quietly went to the small hidden storage compartment and lifted out the smallest bottle of sake she could find.
She placed it next to Hiko and then quietly gathered his clothes and his cape before leaving to go get breakfast started. She was somewhat startled as she left the hut to encounter Kenshin.
"Ms. Tae? I thought you were in the main hut?" Kenshin said as he looked at the clothes she was carrying. Kenshin's eyes were getting larger by the moment.
"I stayed in this hut last night with Master Hiko." Tae said quietly. "I'm taking his clothes to be washed. They're starting to smell."
"Is Master Hiko still in there?" Kenshin asked stupidly, most likely due to the fact that he probably couldn't think of anything else to say.
"No Kenshin, he's decided to become a nudist and is currently streaking through the village. Of course he's still in there, but don't you go waking him just yet, he didn't sleep too well last night. Don't worry, I left him some clothes so he'll have something to wear." Tae said, trying to reassure the obviously uncomfortable samurai.
"Here, why don't you go get the others started on their sword lessons? I'll have Kagome help me with breakfast until Hiko gets up to start her lessons." Tae said smiling.
Kenshin merely nodded and wandered off to go find Inuyasha and Yahiko. He was Hiko's first apprentice after all, so it would have logically been his duty.
Tae sighed and headed for the main hut. If she had the material to replace them, she probably would have opted to burn these smelly things.