Story title: A series of unseen events
Chapter title: Our chosen path
Authoress: lilkagome13
Warnings: There will be mild fluff, and some mild cursing. But other than that I feel there is nothing really there to worry on.
Couples: Just the usual RK couples. A/M, K/K, S/M, and Y/T
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin… If I did I wouldn't be writing this fic. So why don't you e-mail me if you own it… I'd 'love' to buy it from you. lol Lawyers… Don't sue me!
A/N: I just started writing this for fun, not really on a deadline, just trying to get out of my recent bout of writers block.
XXXXX
A series of unseen events: I
Our chosen path
Misao sat back, trying hard not to make much noise. It was well before dawn, and she knew as much. Sneaking around in the night had really never been her thing, but anyone under these circumstances could be driven to do the same.
She tucked her hand behind her back and watched as the wind slowly blew the trees. The Aioya was dark and she had found herself drawn to the outside where the moonlight cast a blue glow upon the world. The darkness of the world and the feeling of the cool wind soothed her as she closed her eyes. The wind was as singing a lullaby to her. She smiled a serene smile at the sound of leaves rustling.
Her eyes snapped open as she heard the slow padding of feet come up behind her. "Ohayou Aoshi-sama" came her steady and calm voice.
"Ohayou Misao-chan." He said and she frowned at the use of chan. She found herself looking back out at the moon. Her breath forming small clouds in the air, He was treating her as a kodomo-a child of sorts. It had been this way since he came back.
XXXXX
Aoshi looked at his long-past ward. She looked so sad, as if her world might crumble apart at any moment. He had often wondered what it was she was thinking about. Even when she was a child, and when she used to come to him with the most innocent of questions.
Not much had changed now, except of course she had grown. Her eyes seemed to glow as she looked off at the sky. He was drawn to look downward, but as usual he did not. He instead directed his gaze elsewhere, ending up looking at the small cracks of light now coming over the trees.
His lips quirked up as she leaned back more, exposing her bare neck. He quickly shook his head to rid him of his, not-so-fatherly-thoughts. "You are going to catch cold." He said as she shivered in the cold. He watched her head shake and shook his own.
"I have no fear of becoming ill." She answered and smiled wryly. "The only fear I have is of having to be stuck in that house with Okon, and Omasu all day!" She said and stood.
He nodded, holding back his grin. If she was anything, she was definitely a handful. He almost laughed but in the end it came out as a cough. She gave him a weird look and then she stepped past him and into the Aioya.
XXXXX
As Misao found herself once more in the security of her bed, she thought about her relationship with Aoshi. And even worse she thought, did she even have one? She looked out the window; just staring at the sun slowly showing it's beauty.
She covered her face from the light and waited for the sound of Omasu coming down the hall. "Wake up! No use being lazy! Take Aoshi-sama some tea." Her voice came and she groaned.
Her head felt light. And she knew she was going to regret the four hours she spent thinking about Aoshi. Yes, she had lost many nights to thoughts of Aoshi. She lazily pulled herself out of the bed and grabbed some clothes. She pulled off her yakuta and put on her normal attire. She slowly padded out of the room, greeting Jiya with a small grunt.
"Misao-chan! The tea is ready!" Came once more the voice of Omasu. Misao growled at the cheeriness of her voice and cast her a glare.
She grabbed the tray and headed out toward the place she knew she'd find Aoshi, after all that's where he spent most of his time! Before she knew it she was there.
She entered silently as usual. And supported the tray on her knee as she opened the door. Her eyes found him in his usual spot. She knew he was meditating, but she just couldn't help but to talk to him. "Aoshi-sama." He acknowledged her words with a nod.
"Misao-san" he said and she smiled. How he always brought a smile to her face, she had no idea. She grimaced as she sat the tray down, almost dumping the contents of the small teapot. She began to pour the tea, her hands all but steady. She picked up her cup in her small hands, letting the warm steam soothe her shattered nerves.
XXXXX
Aoshi looked at Misao's shaking hands. She was paler than usual, her eyes held dark circles beneath. And her breathing seemed almost labored. She held the cup there for many long, shaky moments, before it fell to the floor. "Misao?" He asked in a worried tone.
"I-I'm fine." She said scrambling to wipe up the now wandering liquid. She looked at him sadly and shook her head. "I'm just being clumsy today." She said.
There had been a time when she would tell him everything, from the necessity to brush your teeth, to her theory of trees being her friends. But now, she seemed so lost, distant, like that of a butterfly flittering just out of reach of it's captor. He sighed and sipped his tea. She seemed to re-compose herself, sitting straighter than usual.
"Misao, 'tis it not your birthday tomorrow?" He asked, and she seemed to jump at his words.
"Oh… yes it is." She replied and he looked at her in deep thought. She would be turning eighteen. She would be marrying soon. He found himself growing more aggravated by the second. 'You know you love her! Tell her!' he cursed himself for even composing such a thought.
He had told himself long ago that it would be wrong to fall for her. That even if he loved her, she deserved better. She didn't need to carry along with her, one such as him, one with a tainted soul. He wouldn't be the one to ruin such a fragile, and pure soul.
He found himself watching her again. The temple filled with the sound of rain on the roof, he found himself wanting to reach out. To tell her he loved her; that he wanted her to be with him forever. And yet he knew he could never tell her, for the fact that it would complicate so much.
XXXXX
She found herself listening to the rain. No words spoken, and yet there weren't any words needed she knew the story behind the rain; she knew the sorrow it had brought her on so many occasions. She still remembered the night in Edo…
-Flashback-
She sat awaiting the rain to let up. Her head was spinning with thoughts of just how close she was coming. She had been nearer to him than she had thought the last time. They were but a day apart. She looked down at the muddy ground.
"What's a pretty girl like you doing out here on a night like this?" A large, and very scary man stood towering above her. "None of your business!" She screamed clutching her kunai. "Oh but it is, you see I'm looking for a little… entertainment." He said and she stepped back.
"Where you going?" Asked another man coming out of the darkness. She threw two kunai at her and he found herself fighting with at least seven men, all at least twice her size.
A sword pierced her side and she hissed in pain. Her mind told her she had to get away! Her moves became more and more frantic. She found herself covered in blood. And she looked back to see three of the guys lying on the ground.
"Shit! Lets get out of here!" Screamed one of them, but the first one she had met refused to leave. He stepped closer. And Misao yelped as he grabbed her slender neck slamming her onto the hard brick wall. She gasped as he punched her in the stomach.
"Help!" She screamed, but in the end it came out gurgled. "You're going to pay for what you did to my friends!" He said and ran his hand along her face. She instantly paled and her eyes glazed over. "Oh, am I to ruff on you?" He asked and she bit her bottom lip as he put his hand up her shirt.
She flailed as his hand came in contact with her sensitive and pale flesh. Being as short as she was she kicked him in a spot he should have tried to protect. He fell onto his knees, and she made due and ran off. Her side was bleeding heavily and she tried to find some help, but no one seemed to be around.
The rain washed away some of the blood from her clothes, but it was clearly there. She found the alley dizzying and her eyes wouldn't focus. "Miss? Miss are you ok?" And that's when her world went black…
-End-
She found herself in someone's arms, but who's? She opened her eyes and found that she was holding her side and crying. She reached her hands up and wiped away the incriminating tears. They were nothing unusual, she just had never let them free in front of Aoshi before. He looked into her eyes and she found herself frozen.
"What's wrong?" He asked and she choked up again. He looked at her even more worried than before. "Misao! What is wrong?" He asked and she covered her eyes.
"I'm fine," She said and he looked at her through hooded eyes. "Misao! You are not fine! Fine is not holding your side screaming 'don't touch me!'" He said and she gasped. Not once had he yelled at her before like that.
"It's just… Just… I don't want to… It was a long time ago." She said and he looked down at her. "Enlighten me please." He said and she nodded.
XXXXX
"You see it was on my path to Edo… There was this guy… With friends… He, tried to… tried to…" She started sobbing and he just held her close.
"Did he?" He asked after a moment. She shook her head. "I killed three men that day Aoshi-sama… I killed three… and almost died myself..." Her words hit him hard. This had happened on her rode to find him this was his fault! He looked down at her and knew now that he had already affected her more than he had ever wanted. He had changed her life more than he thought. She looked so vulnerable now.
"Misao… Do not blame yourself… There are men out there, the vilest of men who deserve what it is that you gave them… They deserved to die." He coxed and her tears stopped al-together.
"So many nights… I stayed up haunted by that memory. Remembering the pain… The scar always carrying with it the remembrance of that man… And the men I took the lives of. Will I ever be able to truly let it go? No." She decided. "I have long since forgiven the men… But I could never… Never forgive myself." She said and he nodded.
This was not the girl he used to rock to sleep. Not the girl he used to sit up with in the middle of the night to prove that her nightmares weren't real. This was Makamachi Misao, a young woman lost in nightmares… Very real nightmares.
"I am sorry…" He said and she looked at him in confusion. "If you had not been searching for me, you would've never ended up hurt." He said and she froze. "No! That's not true! It is not your fault! And as far as I'm concerned… It was worth it." She said and Misao let out a sigh. "The scars… They were just the journey… They were just our way… They; were just a path to be followed."
His eyes widened at the thought that brought on. 'A path to be followed, Sounds fun doesn't it?' He coughed at his own thought and she looked up at him. "Are you sick?" She asked and he nodded. "Funny… You told me not to get sick, and then you do the exact opposite." She laughed and he smiled.
XXXXX
"I better be taking the tea back… Okina and Omasu are probably already stressing over what could be taking me so long." She said and he looked back down at her. "Ok." He said and she tried to stand up. But she fell just as fast as she had tried. She looked up at him from her spot on the floor and he looked at her. His eyes seemed to linger on her long legs, but he soon got to his feet and helped her up.
She coughed breaking the awkward silence and she picked up the tea tray. She was quick to leave and found herself back in the Aioya before she knew it. She pressed her back up against the door and sighed.
"Misao-chan! Your back! We were starting to think you got lost!" Omasu said and she stood straight up. "Nope! It takes more than that to get rid of me!" She said and Okina came around the corner.
"Oh! My pretty Misao! What have you been up to?" He asked looking at her messed up hair, and disheveled clothing. "Nothing… Why do you ask?" She said and he looked over her with a smirk. "No reason." He answered her but she looked at his retreating form rather quizzically.
XXXXX
"Oh shit!" Misao said as she dropped another piece of paper. The paper work just seemed to be piling up more and more. She looked to the door and found that the sound of rain could be heard more clearly with it closed. Maybe it was the fact that Omasu, and Okon, along with Okina were all bustling about getting prepared to host guests.
She found herself looking out the window. The rain was coming down rather heavily and the lightning struck across the sky as if it was splitting it in two. "May I come in?" It was Kaoru. She had come earlier with the rest of the-as Aoshi would like to call them-Tokyo group.
"You may." She said and Kaoru came in. She sat in the small seat near the desk. "How have you been?" Kaoru asked and Misao laughed. "Is that a rhetorical question? She asked and Kaoru laughed as well. "I don't know … is it?" She said and they both let off a hearty laugh.
"I've been ok… I guess. It's just, well you know. Aoshi's not exactly an easy egg to crack." They both laughed at the analogy and Kenshin came walking in. "Are you enjoying yourselves?" Misao asked letting her face drop back to the book.
"Hai, we are." They spoke in unison. "But I think Yahiko and Tsubame are enjoying it the most." They said and Misao laughed. The two teen-agers seemed to be desperately in love with one another.
"Yes they are." Misao said and nodded. Her paperwork looked as if it was all in a foreign language at the moment. "I wonder how serious they actually are?" She asked and Kaoru and Kenshin exchanged meaningful looks. "Oh well, I should probably go see if Omasu needs any help. See you later." She said and Kenshin and Kaoru laughed.
XXXXX
Aoshi walked past Okina and Okon as they worked on the arrangements for the surprise birthday party. He was about to go up the stairs when he saw Misao. She looked rather mad and volatile at the moment.
"Aoshi-sama," She said and he looked her way. "Are you going to be down for dinner with all of us? Humura and the gang are here." She said and he smiled. "Yes, I will." What made him smile like that? Was it that Megumi-san? She found herself pouting before him and she looked up rather defiantly.
"Shouldn't you be getting ready too?" He asked and she looked down at herself. Yes, she still wore her ninja outfit. It was clinging rather closely to her skin thanks to the rain she had practiced in.
"Yes I guess I should." She said and he laughed. They walked up the stairs together, and Misao accidentally brushed up against Aoshi. She blushed and he looked down at her. He faltered as he looked down into her eyes.
He found himself drawn to her lips. Before he knew what he was doing he could feel her warm breath on his lips. He moved back quickly and saw Misao's eyes were closed. He felt guilty immediately and her eyes shot open. "I'm sorry Misao." He said and she shook her head.
"Why are you sorry? Am I not good enough for you? Is it Megumi-san you want?" She screamed with tears streaming down her face. He crushed her lips under his before she could say another word. She felt her body warm. As his tounge traced her bottom lip, she shivered.
"Aoshi-sama." She said as he pulled away. He looked back at her rather sadly. What had he just done? He had just ruined his relationship with the one who mattered most to him in his life.
I-I have to go get ready." Came her voice as she left. He watched her retreating form and gradually let out a sigh.
XXXXX
So this is where I end up, facing up to my own musings… What am I supposed to do now? He thought to himself as he lent on the windowsill of his room. This is the chosen destiny, this is my chosen future … this is my chosen path.
XXXXX
A/N: This is only my second RK fic so be nice. Well I hope you liked it… it was very fun to write… And I will be working on the next chapter… I have no idea how long it is going to turn out being though. So just try and bear with me here. I have plans for this fic. But until next time… I want to hear from you! So R&R.! That will make me so happy along with let me write faster… Any ideas will be appreciated too. So, ttfn… lilkagome… Or lilkagome13.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV