Full Circle:
oo
Misao sighed. She just didn't know what to think anymore. As usual her thoughts were centered on one vexing individual.
When Aoshi left she had experienced a whole new emotion. Everything that had previously brought her joy lost its luster. She was submerged in such an amount of despair that at times she would shock herself. But she was stubborn; she channeled her pain into a desperate search for him.
The turmoil left in his absence should have ceased when he returned, but things had changed. Misao would never be the same. Essentially she was still rambunctious, clever, and compassionate, but she was no longer innocent. She would no longer be deceived. She knew the world was not as comforting as the Aoiya. She definitely still had her spirit, but the inevitable had occurred: Misao was no longer a child.
One of the byproducts of this was an inability to accept Aoshi's return as permanent. She knew that this too would end in tragedy. Often she would wake up in the middle of the night swearing he was gone. It was distressing that even his presence could not ward off these demons. The damage he had done when he left seemed irreversible. She threw herself into her routine to keep herself from going insane. She did everything she could to accommodate him, ignoring any complaint her own mind formed. It was a trick, born of desperation, a superstitious way to fight what was intangible. It was an unfounded attempt to silence the wicked part of her mind that reminded her, He will leave you.
The night before she had stayed awake with the kind of dark imaginings only lying alone awake at night can unleash. Then shortly before dawn she finally fell into a deep sleep, exhausted.
o
"Kami that girl can snore."
"She's probably just sleeping in an awkward position. Should we wake her up?"
"No… she's obviously really tired."
Aoshi left his room to find the members of the household assembled outside Misao's door. In passing a very diverse collection of comments reached his ears.
"Either that or she has something stuck up her nose."
"Let's just wake her up in an hour…"
He could very distinctly hear a light but steady snore over the din of conversation, and had he been more prone to show emotion, he definitely would have smiled.
o
That day was one of the busiest the restaurant had experienced; everyone was working hard, rushing to fill orders and accommodate the customers. Everyone that is, with the exception of Misao. Ironically, in all the chaos they had neglected to rouse her despite the help she would have provided. Consequently, she did not wake up until the late afternoon. When she woke up, she really woke up.
She opened her eyes, confused, and then the situation hit her like Kaoru's bokken. Caught in a whirlwind of thought taking place in the foggy mind of a person recently awakened and still emotionally muddled, the situation was so dire that she threw herself out of bed. Somehow she had had latched onto one idea alone, so ingrained from the fervor of her panic that she believed it to be true: Aoshi will leave me again. He's gone. Irrational tears gathered in her eyes as she threw on her clothes almost ripping them, one arm not completely in the sleeve. Skipping sandals altogether she tore down the hallway barefoot, her unbraided hair disheveled and wild. She ignored the hard contact of her bare feet on the ground, the cramp in her side, and even the shortness of her breath, and pushed on, not stopping until she arrived at the temple where she threw open the door without knocking.
At the time there was only a very small part of brain that registered that she was getting way too carried away, instead it was quickly drowned out by the other conflicting messages. However, when she burst in the room and tripped right over a meditating, yet still present, Aoshi. All the voices conveniently became silent except one particularly smug one. Thankfully her severe embarrassment helped to calm her down or else she probably would have squeezed him to death out of pure joy.
Instead she was mortified. She was flushed from running and shame, one bare foot was bleeding, her hair was a mess, she was half dressed, and she was also sprawled on the floor rather ungracefully.
To his credit he didn't tease her.
However, he didn't really say anything, being Aoshi.
After a brief period where the only sound was Misao's ragged breathing he finally broke the silence.
"Misao."
This shocked her out of her daze. She quickly stood up and started muttering inaudible apologies. She desperately tried to retreat but Aoshi stopped her.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
She just squeaked something unintelligible and bolted out of the room.
o
When the time for Misao to bring him his tea came and passed Aoshi had a good idea what had happened. If the snores he had heard this morning where any indication she would probably sleep through dinner. He had to admit though it came as a surprise when he heard hurried stumbling footsteps and felt Misao's explosively panicked ki. He was also unprepared for her to completely miss him and end up on the floor. What's more her reaction was incredibly puzzling, not even a sentence. Just panic, trip, and slink away.
However, he wasn't quite as surprised as he probably should have been. Ever since his return he had noticed a change in Misao. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he missed something significant. This feeling was only intensified when he noted her occasional lapses into contemplation, definitely atypical to the expressive girl he left.
There was no way he was meditating now.
o
Despite the fact she now appeared to be a moron with the coordination of a three year old, a part of her reminded her it was probably for the best. They would never be together.
She knew while in the past her maturing would only serve to advance their relationship, the circumstances in which the change took place were enough to destroy what little they had.
And then- and then-, Aoshi would leave. It was only a matter of time.
oo
Rain isn't harmful but it complicates things. A simple trip to the market becomes a treacherous struggle involving an immense amount of coordination. One wrong move and you'll be eating mud instead of the tofu you went out for. At most the only thing gleaned from venturing out in the rain is getting your sandals stuck in the mud, your clothes soggy, or a nasty head cold. Misao learned that the hard way and in doing so received a solid Come to Jesus from Okon and Omasu about maturity, consideration, and the care of fine clothing.
She had attempted to evade getting a kimono fitted by distracting them with a battle cry and jumping out a first floor window. It was a valiant attempt, but one that ended in a dirty kimono, a wet Misao, and a two furious ninjas.
And so, it is a dreary day that finds the residents of the Aoiya confined to the indoors.
Okina found that without a specific task to occupy him in the present his thoughts often strayed to the past. Impure thoughts that will not be transcribed here to protect the sanctity of the reader caused Okina's face to form a lopsided lecherous grin as he reminisced. However, as he was the only person in the room, this gave him the appearance of leering at random pieces of furniture.
Rounding a corner he came across Aoshi standing at a window. As usual the ex-Okashira was silent, even as Okina approached. The old man's thoughts rounded on the tall figure as memories assaulted him.
oFlashbacko
A young Aoshi practices, brow knit in a fierce, even frightening glare of concentration.
o
A smaller Misao scrambles over rocks on all fours near a stream giggling feverishly. "I made it Aoshi-sama!" she squeaks. The boy in question follows wordlessly, eyes trained on the girl, neither questioning her ability to navigate independently nor retreating so far as to be unable to catch her should she fall.
o
A faint light is visible through the crack of the door of the Okashira's office. Aoshi's small frame is hunched over the western style desk poring over paperwork. The light remains, even as all others are extinguished. The only soul still awake, Aoshi struggles to fend off exhaustion. The chair is much too large, he can't possibly fill it.
o
A small Misao requests to use Aoshi's kodachi. Her eyes shine in anticipation-- she deems it a truly fabulous prize, if her Aoshi-sama values it so! Aoshi, however, hesitates. To place even the hilt of that killing device into the small hand of an innocent girl-- a hand that only moments ago had reached out to grasp a delicate butterfly-- seems inherently wrong.
So he shakes his head, "No Misao." The look on her face is one of uncharacteristic hurt and confusion.
Misao cries softly on the porch. Tears slope down her cheeks. Aoshi watches her from the window. His stance shows little out of the ordinary but he grips his kodachi.
The blisters on his hands are the only indication of his effort. Her eyes light up at his gift. She holds it--a crude wooden stick--in what she believes to be a terrifying pose before barreling into his arms excitedly babbling her thanks. She is enraptured by the novelty of danger; he knows the difference.
oEnd Flashbacko
'He was always such a serious boy,' Okina thought absently.
By this time the subject of his musings had grown quite uncomfortable under Okina's blank yet unrelenting stare and surrendered his view of the porch.
Aoshi made a brief mental note to determine whether the old man had given up chasing women and instead turned his attention to men.
oo
A/N:
(1. a Come to Jesus is one of those long lectures you get from authority figures, or peeved Owanibanshu members.
R&R!Sano has been fired, however we have every confidence in his replacement
Dolphin2: Shessha would like the reader to review, that he would. De gozaru yo.
AUGH