Sorry it took so long!
Disclaimer-- definitely not mine; but don't we all wish?
Chapter 3- And She Leaves
Last time on "This is my Battle"
"Please don't go. I just want you here. I know I was foolish and I know that I made many mistakes in my life but please, just… just hold me."
And he did.
This time--
They were still outside in the cold where Misao had bumped into Aoshi. He gently rocked her back and forth in a comforting fashion. She was on the verge of a mental breakdown and all she needed was love at this point, or at least a person to lean on.
Misao cried hard that night. She was in pain both mentally and physically. Aoshi was enraged at the thought of her being hurt by that… man. He was such a sorry excuse for a man… he tricked Misao into bed with him. He had deflowered her.
"I'm sorry I didn't listen earlier." She sniffled out. She had calmed down and the cold air was starting to make her shiver. He began to stroke her back in a reassuring method, it wasn't her fault. It was Juro's…
"We need to take you to a nearby doctor to make sure you do not have a concussion or worse. Blood has dried into your hair from the impact." He spoke strained. She was badly injured and he could do nothing about the man that had done this to her. The boat that sailed to Miyazaki had already sailed. It was faster to take a boat down to southern Japan, since the train there had been canceled due to minor complications, or at least that was what Aoshi had heard.
He picked her up bridal style before she had time to protest. She didn't want a doctor she just wanted to go home and sleep. 'Sleep…' she thought before drifting off into a soft slumber… maybe it would do her some good.
"Shinomori Aoshi I presume?" the doctor asked as he walked out a door and asked Aoshi.
"yes." Aoshi replied standing up from a small wooden chair. The waiting room was empty except for him and one nurse who would refuse to stop flirting with him.
"She seems to be fine; a little stitching was needed for a wound on her arm. It will need clean, new, bandaging every eight hours on that particular arm. She should refrain from straining herself, so she doesn't reopen the wound, such as heavy lifting. There was no head damage except for a slight headache. There was no stitching for that, and we had to cut some hair to se better but not much." He explained, thinking that Aoshi was her husband or caretaker.
"Anything else before I take her home?" Aoshi asked the doctor
"I will need to see her in a week's time. If the wound on her arm doesn't get better or she complains of tenderness on the stitching please have her back so we may apply a stronger medicine. She is in the first room on the right." He said before walking off into his office.
Aoshi walked into the room where the doctor said Misao was and saw that she as wide awake and had dried tears on her face from when she had to be held down because of her fear of needles. She was too young to be going threw this. She was a fifteen year old woman, but not a child.
"Are you ready?" he asked her. She smiled lightly and stood from the chair she was sitting on. He noticed slightly wet towels beside her, full of blood from the wounds on her body. Her hair had been cleaned by one of the nurses and pulled back but something was different…
"They had to cut my hair, can u believe it?" she asked in a humorous tone. She tugged on the ends of her hair but laughed.
Her hair was still long, but not as long as it used it be. It went down to the ending of her waist, making her look more mature. He liked it that way.
"Let's leave." He told her and she nodded, standing from the chair and following him. The doctor gave her some sort of herb to rub into her legs and it made the ache go away so she could walk better. It proved to work well.
The walk to the Aoiya was long and quiet. Misao had been thinking as was Aoshi about the same man and were he was. They knew the city… but where in particular? He knew Misao had been threw a lot that day and it scared him to even think of the details, but his mind wouldn't let him avid the topic.
"We have arrived." He spoke, seeing the Aoiya in the distance. She looked up and saw her home then frowned.
"Are any of them awake, or do you know?" she asked him. She didn't want them to see her bruises.
"I told them you went to Juro's home. They are sleeping." He answered, glancing at her relived face. She tensed up when he put an arm around her and looked to him with a confused face
"You are cold, body heat will help." He told her when really he just wanted a reason to make sure she was still there… that it wasn't a dream.
"What happened?" Saito asked Aoshi, glancing periodically at Misao in the kitchen. The bruises were a little darker than the night before and she passed it off as a street fight she had gotten into to blow off steam after she and Juro broke up. Of course the entire Oniwaban was happy to here they had broken up once she told them.
"Juro Toshima beat her after she found out he was using her." He explained as Saito wrote it down with a western pen he had bought on a business trip.
"Used her for what exactly? Shinomori I need all the information you know before I could charge this man with a crime." Saito demanded. He cared for the 'weasel girl' as she was mostly called by him, although he didn't show it much.
"He used her for sex." He told him; and Saito looked up surprised and Aoshi could have sworn that his eyes were red for a split second.
"Has she gotten checked?" Saito asked Aoshi with seriousness in his voice.
"For what? There isn't anything wrong with her." Aoshi told him and Saito's eyes narrowed. He would speak with Misao alone about this matter, worrying Aoshi then sending him into a murderous trance. That was definitely not needed at this time.
Misao felt a little tired but continued working despite the heartburn that was starting to build up. She sighed, feeling the urge to just lie down in her room and sleep for hours. It was like she had been sleep deprived for weeks on end.
Looking out the window she saw Saito glance at her from the corner of his eye. She had already known he was there, Aoshi wanted to put Juro behind bars for adultery. It was a serious crime in all of Japan, not just Kyoto.
"You okay Misao? You look tired?" Okon's voice startled her slightly but Misao regained her composer and grabbed the long forgotten broom and leaned on it.
"Don't worry about me; we have a lot of work to do around here. How else will we earn a living?" Misao giggled at her own statement and Okon could only frown at how well Misao was at brushing off subjects, although it hardly ever worked.
"If you say so…" Okon said hesitantly and slowly left the room. Misao began to sweep the dirt in the corners into a small pile.
Misao opened the door nearby and swept the dirt outside into the grass. Wiping her brow from the sweat, she lay the broom aside and shut door. Yawning, she took a small rag and began dusting small figurines and the shelves that they rested on.
"Saito, what are you doing here?" Okon spoke as Saito entered the restaurant
"I'm here for weasel." He spoke softly to her.
"She's in the study, is there anything wrong?" she asked
"Nothing major." He spoke walking passed her and turned the corner into the hallway leading to the office.
'I wonder what he needs?' she mused but quickly brushed it off
Misao placed the wet rag into a bucket and sighed, the heartburn was really getting to her. She didn't know why she had it, all she had was soup, nothing spicy.
"Weasel, long time no see." Saito spoke making Misao jump slightly.
"You're here about Juro I bet?" she asked, dismissing his greeting. He was taken back a bit but nodded his head.
"You need to be checked by a doctor for any known sexually transmitted diseases, they may take a few days. My wife, Tokio, wants you to stay with us for a while." He offered she frowned slightly at his statement.
"I have a job, two of them Saito. I couldn't do that." She replied but he smirked.
"Okina, he will become temporary leader of your clan. I have spoken to him. He thinks it's just a mere mission."
"And of my job at the Aoiya?" she asked him raising an eyebrow
"Sae, from Tokyo, will be coming in by train tomorrow. She volunteering coming. It seems that she has been fired from her own job. She will also being ninja training from Omasu, I believe her name is, starting tomorrow morning, right after she arrives at the Aoiya." He explained to her almost as if he had gone over it in a mirror many times over.
"You certainly have thought this out. But why? We can't get along for two minuets let alone a month."
"This is business Misao, and is a sense you were raped. That man will pay dearly for his crimes, but for now you need to be checked by a doctor. Pack your things, we leave in an hour." He commanded gently. It was strange to here such a soft voice from him… it was like her father speaking to her.
"okay." And she ran off to her room down the hall.
Saito looked out the window to see Aoshi's retreating form going into the Aoiya temple. He sighed slightly, wondering how Aoshi would take the news that Misao would be gone for a month on a so-called mission. He would want to come, that was why he left a note; but the man wouldn't rest with a simple note…
Minuets passed by and Saito saw Misao walking his direction at a steady speed. It would be… nice to have some humor around the house. Tokio was beginning to become depressed lately and was in need of a female companion.
"Ready?" he asked her. The bag she held was light but held all she needed.
"Yeah, I'm ready." She responded and followed him out the Aoiya.
Omasu watched them leave and mentally cried. The Aoiya would surly be dull without her. 'I wonder what Aoshi will say…' Omasu thought
Well thanks for the reviews! I made it longer than the last chapters… I hope u all like! Sorry it took so long. Mass family shit is going on but yeah… REVIEW PLEASE! Every one counts! (Trust me)