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Chapter Four: Two Broken Hearts
Friendship is the finest balm for the pangs of despised love.
- Jane Austen
A black carriage moved quickly on the paved roads a few miles outside London. Inside the carriage sat three foreigners, all of them Japanese. To an outsider, they would have looked like a normal family, a father escorting his two young daughters to finishing school. However an impression like that would have been very wrong.
Misao, the only woman inside the carriage, sat with her arms crossed and her face expressing the emotions of unhappiness. She constantly glanced at the beautiful female beside her, with strong dislike written on her face. However the receiver of the cold stare ignored her and remained unperturbed while a small smile was plastered on her face, making her look like a young girl, excited to attend finishing school. However that would be another mistake, for Kamatari was not a young student, or was even female.
Kamatari kept his smile when he spoke. "Are we there yet?" he asked for the seventh time during the ride, which made his seatmate, shoot him a sharp look full of irritation.
Mr. Hiro sighed almost exasperatedly. "Yes in fact, I can see the boarding school this very moment."
Kamatari squealed and giggled. "Oh, how exciting, I cannot wait to be Miss Kathryn Doyle, a student in a prestigious boarding school!"
Misao rolled her eyes and tried to control herself from hitting her seatmate. She bit her lip and reminded herself that Mr. Hiro would not be impressed if she would quarrel with her partner within their first hour as partners.
He cleared his throat. "Horace Boarding School is currently one of well known finishing schools in Britain. However, it is under the ownership of the man you are both after, Mr. Edward Murray."
She snorted. "What's the relation between a boarding school and opium dealing?"
"There is a relation." He replied a little smugly. "According to our sources, Mr. Murray was overheard boasting of buying an innocent establishment to disguise his new and largest opium factory."
Misao raised her eyebrows. "How sure are you that this is true?"
"That is the reason why we hired you. We need you to gather evidence by finding that factory so that we can arrest him."
Kamatari grinned. "How exciting!" he exclaimed.
The carriage halted seconds before Misao could make a remark. The chauffeur jumped from his seat and hurried to open the door for his three passengers and helped them out.
Misao rubbed her arms as the cold autumn air enveloped her body. She looked up and absorbed the appearance of the boarding school in her mind. It was nothing to be impressed about. The school was one large gray building with three floors. There was also a small church located near the building while simple gardens surrounded them.
Mr. Hiro reached up and hit the golden brass knocker on the front door. It was not long before the door was opened and they were greeted by a tiny brunette maid.
"Mr. Hiro and the Miss Doyles?" she inquired uncertainly.
He nodded. "We are here to see Mrs. Spence."
The maid nodded. "Please follow me to Mrs. Spence's office. She has been expecting you."
The maid led them through the wide carpeted corridors leading to the office. They walked slowly, giving Misao time to scrutinize the photographs lined on the walls
Most of the photographs were class pictures of the students of Horace and its headmistress. After those photographs were the portraits of all the headmistresses of Horace. None of these pictures interested Misao except for the last one, which made her stop.
A portrait containing a man had caught her attention. He was in his late thirties and looked very handsome. A small smile was on his face and it made her shiver as if he was really there, holding her under his gaze.
She looked down and gasped at the nameplate under his name. It read: Edward Murray, Generous benefactor of Horace and present owner.
"Miss Doyle?" the maid spoke before Misao could make a remark about the portrait. She turned and could see the maid, Mr. Hiro and Kamatari staring at her.
"Oh, yes?" she said then blushed at being caught at such a moment.
Mr. Hiro gestured towards the door that was labeled as the headmistress' office.
"Alright," She replied and followed them to the room while she inwardly cursed herself for being caught unaware.
A tall and thin middle-aged woman stood in the room as her hawk-like eyes pierced Misao when she entered the room.
The woman nodded for the maid to leave and gave the all each a small smile when they were left alone in the room.
Mr. Hiro bowed. "Good afternoon Mrs. Spence. This is Miss Kathryn Doyle." He gestured towards Kamatari then pointed towards Misao. "This is her sister, Miss Mary Doyle." He turned to Misao and Kamatari.
"Miss Doyle and Miss Doyle, this is Mrs. Spence, headmistress of Horace Boarding School."
"Mr. Hiro," Mrs. Spence started. "So this must be the girls you told me about last week." She glanced at Kamatari and Misao before she turned back to him.
"How is their father, Mr. Doyle? Is he still in Japan working with his new railway?" she cheerfully asked with great interest clear in her voice; though Misao could not see why the woman seemed interested in the new railway her supposed father was building.
"Yes," Mr. Hiro replied and cleared her throat again. "He is finishing with his railroad in Kyoto and after that, he will be visiting India to oversee is factory there along with his wife." He coughed. "His Japanese wife, who is their mother, of course." He added then laughed nervously.
Misao sighed. She knew Mr. Hiro was emphasizing that their mother was Japanese to explain why Kamatari and her looked very Asian even if they were daughters of a rich British man who owned several companies in the Empire and abroad. But what he was doing was making their alleged identities more suspicious than it probably is.
"Oh, I see. They seem to take after her." She remarked and turned back to Mr. Hiro.
"I'll be taking them now. Tell their father that they are in good hands."
"Very well," Mr. Hiro said and bowed to all the three women. "I shall now depart." He turned to Misao and Kamatari,
"I wish the both of you luck in school." he told them before he left the three of them together inside the room.
Mrs. Spence turned to them quickly as soon as Mr. Hiro left. She gave them another small smile.
"Very well, I think it's the time for me to play my part and inform you what Horace expects from their students." She gestured towards two armchairs in front of her desk.
"Please sit."
After they had sat, Mrs. Spence followed them and took her seat behind her desk and placed her hands on top of the desk.
"Horace is known to be one of the best finishing schools in the country; our graduates our known to be well-mannered women in society, who've made wise and good marriages. To continue this honor, Horace treats their students with strict discipline and by giving them the best education that a woman deserves. I trust that the two of you will comply with all the rules and obligations we will lay out for you"
"We will." Kamatari replied, answering for the both of them.
Another smile crossed the headmistress' face, this time more complacent.
"I am pleased to hear that. Your classes will start tomorrow and one of the senior students will be giving your schedule. I'll ask one of the maids, to show you to your room."
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Neither Kamatari nor Misao spoke as one of the servants led them to their room in the third floor. It was a silent trip and the only noises present in it were made by two giggling girls who passed by them at the stairs. Kamatari, who was smiling the whole trip, to Misao's annoyance, had giggled along with the girls. Other than those, they saw no other student, for according to Mrs. Spence; most of them were outside, enjoying a walk during their break.
They finally reached the last room in the hallway. It was not large but had space enough for two young women. Two beds were positioned on opposite sides of the wall and a window with the view of the woods and the church located beside it. The baggage they brought was also in the room and sat in blue patterned carpet in front of their beds.
Misao turned to the maid. "Umm, you may…leave us now." She muttered uncomfortably and groaned at herself. She had been living as a cultured British lady for a few months but still needed to master the etiquette.
The maid curtsied and left quickly, leaving Misao and Kamatari alone.
Misao turned away to her bed and avoided catching her roommate's eye and opened her luggage to start laying out her clothes in the bed.
It seemed that Kamatari began doing the same thing. She could hear his luggage click open which was heard along the ruffling of fabric, the silence of the room making the sounds louder than they usually would, and then Kamatari started humming.
Misao loved music. She really did. She was often a spectator of the musicians that frequently performed in public and she loved some of the songs so much that she would sing or hum them softly while doing her daily chores. Nobody minded her if she did and she didn't care if others would sing along with her, no matter how bad they sang a song. In fact she would sometimes find it amusing.
However, what Kamatari was doing was really getting to her nerves. Misao could feel all the stored emotions of annoyance and disappointment that she couldn't express earlier boil inside her and to her little surprise; she stood up and faced Kamatari.
"Listen, you transvestite," she began loudly, catching his attention. "I know you're not exactly thrilled to have me as your partner and if you're dense enough to feel it, let me tell you that I feel the same way."
Kamatari raised his eyebrows and stopped humming; the little smile on his face present earlier was absent.
"I'm glad to tell you that I already know that." He replied and started folding one of the gray Horace school uniforms that had been sent to them earlier. "What I do not get is the relevance of this conversation." He said haughtily.
"I was about to go there before you interrupted me." Misao answered. "Anyway, since we are two people who intensely dislike each other, I was hoping that we could try not to bother each other and try to live in peace despite that fact."
Kamatari giggled. "But how silly of you." He replied nastily. "You're bothering me right now."
Misao felt her left hand grab her hidden kunai as she felt her temper flare up.
"Well you're bothering me by humming! Can't you stop it?" she retorted angrily while she her hand clenched her throwing knife even more tightly.
Cool down Misao. You wouldn't want to cause a scandal by attacking your supposed sister in the bedroom.
"Why? Don't I have any freedom to hum?" Kamatari asked furiously.
"Well, umm…you do, but you shouldn't…" Misao stopped and paused to remember what Aoshi had told her about freedom when she was younger.
"You can use your freedom as long as it doesn't harm others!" she said quickly, glad to have thought of a retort. "Besides, what the hell were you humming anyway?"
Kamatari looked away. "It's a song I hum to remind me of the mission Shishio-sama left behind for me to complete." He answered softly, the sharp look in his eyes softening with a tinge of loneliness.
"Oh." Misao said, remembering what Chou had told everyone on Kenshin's side a month after the battle with Shishio.
Kamatari had been incredibly depressed after Shishio died and had lost most of is will to live until Chou tricked him into thinking Shishio wanted the story of the Juppongatana spread throughout in history just in case their group lost. Chou had told Kamatari that Shishio thought that he would be the best storyteller and that he depended on him to make sure their story was written down in history.
Suddenly, she turned back to Misao sharply, the soft look gone from his eyes.
"Fine, I'll stop humming or bothering you in any manner." He spoke piercingly. "But you'll have to agree to some certain terms."
"Certain terms?" Misao repeated. "So what are they then?" she asked challengingly.
"There should no touching or rummaging through each other's possessions or clothes."
Misao nodded. "Uh-huh. What else?"
"We are partners in this mission and should not try to attack or kill each other in anyway; we should control those urges similar to the one I know you're having against me right now."
Misao grumbled and released her grip on her throwing knife.
"Alright, so that's all?"
He shook his head. "Lastly, we should act close sisters in public for our job demands it but we shall remind as two people who dislike each other in private. We should not try to make friends or get along with each other."
Misao snorted ungracefully, raising Kamatari's eyebrow.
"What is so funny about that statement Mary?" he asked from irritation.
"The last statement is unnecessary, actually." She said. "Of course we have to act like close sisters in public, but do you really think I would try to make friends with you? The day I would try to make friends with you is the day…when… Aoshi-sama follows me to England!"
Misao gasped when she realized what she said then looked away blushing. Kamatari smirked.
He stood up from his bed and walked towards Misao, who was nearer to the door.
"I see, so this little girl's heart has been broken by the iceman." She remarked nastily and headed towards the door.
"You poor thing, I guess it's time for me to give you some privacy for that." She said, smirking, before she left the room.
Misao glared at the door and fell onto her bed, her hands gripping some strands of her hair from frustration.
"Good going, Misao. What a great way to intimidate your partner, humiliate yourself in front of him by mentioning the name of the bastard who broke your heart!" she shouted at herself and gripped her hair even harder that some of her strands fell out.
She couldn't believe herself. Didn't she just swear a few hours earlier that she would forget about Aoshi? She knew it was going to be even harder this time but it was even more difficult then she imagined. It seemed like every situation so far made her think of him.
She felt so pathetic, so pathetic. She couldn't believe that she still probably had feelings for the bastard who tricked her and raised her hopes up. Perhaps that was the reason why she had snapped at Kamatari for humming the song that reminded him so much of his Shishio.
Misao sighed and remembered seeing the lonely look in Kamatari's eyes when he mentioned the reason why he hummed that song. She had to admit that she felt a little sorry for Kamatari even if she didn't like him.
"It's not easy to go on living when the one you love is already gone." She thought aloud to herself.
The thought made her feel more sympathetic towards him. She still didn't like Kamatari but it was difficult to take on a mission seriously with a broken heart.
A broken heart.
Misao wrapped her arms around her body as she shivered. Kamatari had a broken heart but so did she right?
She wanted to laugh at that fact. It was so amusing that they were both in similar situations in love, two broken hearted fighters, joining a mission abroad to heal their broken hearts.
"But I won't be like Kamatari." She told herself determinedly. "I'm here to forget about him. I won't sing or do anything that will make me remember what I felt about him at all!"
Misao sat up quickly and felt a pressure from the side of her dress. She placed her hand at the location and tried to remove the cause of the pressure from her dress. She held it up and there, held in her hands was the golden pocket watch given to her by the very person she was trying to forget.
She sighed and removed all the clothing from her bag and placed the pocket watch at the bottom of the case, making sure that it was hidden under all her clothes.
"Stay there." She mumbled as she stared at the bag's contents one last time. "You're distracting me by making me think of him."
A knock from the door was heard inside the room. Misao stood up and asked the person to come in. A plump and blonde girl around her age entered, smiling.
"Good afternoon Miss Doyle. I am Regina Shaw, one of the girls in your level." She greeted and held a piece of paper out to Misao.
"This shall be your schedule. I already gave one to your sister. According to it, we should be heading for vespers right now. Would like me to accompany you and your sister there?" Regina offered.
Misao nodded. "I would like that very much Miss Shaw." She answered.
Regina smiled. "I'm pleased to hear that. I'll leave you to fix your things for a few minutes. I'll be waiting with your sister downstairs." She said before she turned away and left.
Misao turned back to her bag and shut it quickly. She really needed to get out. She could at least try to make some friends with some of the students around here. Perhaps that would make her forget about him.
She dressed into her school uniform quickly and grabbed the cloak that went along it. She peeked out the window and stared at the forest behind the school. It was a pity that she couldn't visit the forest right at this moment. It looked so inviting and mysterious, something so fun to explore.
She stared at it and saw a tall dark figure moving along the woods, barely viewable by untrained eyes. She could se the figure's cloak, flap lightly against the wind. Suddenly, she saw the man look up straight the window and feel his eyes pierce through her even if she couldn't see him. She shuddered and hurried out of the room.
Perhaps the vespers would erase the hallucinations she had in her mind.
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A/N: Err…I really planned to update all my stories during the first week of November and I was able to update all of them except for this one and for that I'm really sorry! I had horrible writer's block and I couldn't think of anything to write. I wasn't able to proofread or have this one beta read too because of lack of time so please forgive any of the mistakes. Oh yeah, is it true that reviewer replies aren't allowed anymore? It's the reason why I'm not replying to any right now.
I've also been busy with high school, which has been giving me a lot of stress but I hopefully I might be able to type the first chapter of my new story next week, during our non-academic week next week. (Oh, to the reviewers who live near my school in Q.C., you know who you are, please visit the MCHS school fair!) Oh yeah, if you want to hear the song I used for the chapter on of this story and the one, whose lyrics I used in the first part of chapter, two, you can ask me to email them to you and leave your emails in your reviews or try downloading them in Limewire. Please do try to listen them! They rock! I'm promoting this kind of music to the world!