Misao: I hate you.
DM: -ignoring Misao- Okay everyone, I'd like to introduce you to my new co-host-Aoshi!
Aoshi: ... -meditates-
DM: -sweatdrop- Hnnn... maybe this wasn't such a good idea...
Misao: See, that's what you get for replacing me!
DM: -glare- Hmph, I'll just get someone else for next time.
Misao: Good luck with that! You can't replace Makimachi Misao and you know it!
DM: -sigh- ... Anyways, I'd like to thank Kioji and rurouni madness-battousai obsession for having read and reviewed my story for the past two chapters. It means a lot for a writer who doesn't post very many things. This is the first time I have posted a story, so it's nice to know ya'll don't think it's horrible, etc. For everyone else who reviewed, thanks so much!
Disclaimer- Okay, everyone knows I don't own ruroken, but only because my birthday wish hasn't come true yet. lol, anyways, on with the story!
--Chapter 3-Unexpected Source of Help--
A maid drew the curtain from the large window in Misao's room, flooding the spacious room with the bright morning light. She then followed her mistress' orders to wake Misao. Now, this maid was very obedient and followed her mistress' orders to the letter-so gathering the necessary equipment necessary to wake the heavily sleeping girl, she began the process.
-Splash!-
A stream of cold water splashed down onto the unsuspecting and previously out cold Misao.
Misao's POV
"Kyaaaaaa(1)!" I shrieked as I found myself wet, cold, and spluttering from the water. I glared at the maid who backed away slowly, carrying a now empty pitcher of water. And I was in the middle of such a nice dream!
"I apologize, Misao-sama!" she bowed hastily, "Etsu-sama's orders." she hastily retreated out of my room. Which was wise, considering I was not in the best of moods at the moment. My mother knew that I would have stayed in bed, or pretend to be ill to avoid the meeting, and now I had no excuse... unless I could catch a cold between now and the time before Soujiro-san arrived. Highly unlikely.
Sweeping back dripping ebony bangs that were determined to remain plastered to my face, I glared at the person who now entered my room.
My mother seemed to be suppressing her laughter-well, kudos(2) to her. I was not amused in the least.
"Misao-chan, don't be so angry. We both know that you would have stayed in here otherwise." she smiled at me.
I sighed and swung my legs over the side of the bed. Turning slightly to face her, I grumbled about her rude form of wakening others. She merely laughed, and perched at the end of my bed.
Wiping away a thin trail of water that had been traveling down the bridge of my nose, I studied her in the light.
My mother was the model of beauty, decorum, gentleness-basically everything a woman of gentle birth should be... and everything I'm not. Her long black hair was swept up into an elegant bun, wisps of bangs framed her heart-shaped porcelain face ending at the fringe of her dark curly lashes. Her eyes were the same shade of teal blue as mine, so that ruled out my chances of being adopted. People always say how much I look like her, but other than the eyes and hair, I can't see the resemblance. She is so beautiful, and so proper-and I, I am a misfit. Born as a woman of gentle birth, but obviously not meant for this lifestyle. Though there are times when our personalities are oddly similar.
I must have lost myself in these thoughts, for my mother was looking at me as if I was an oddity for having remained silent. Guess I can't blame her, typically I would have ranted and raved about this mistreatment for a while-then calm down and apologize.
With another sigh, I stood up and made my way over to the extensive closet at the far end of the room. Pulling out a simple yet elegant dress, I held it up for her inspection.
She shook her head no and walked over to the closet. I sat on the floor, this was going to take a while. Sure enough, I was right. Almost eight minutes had passed before Mother decided on the dress.
"What about this one, Misao-chan?" she asked, holding up a highly fashionable jade-green dress embroidered with tiny gold flowers on the sleeves. I wrinkled my nose, "Don't you think it's a little much?"
Mother frowned at me, "Misao," you know she's serious when she doesn't attach -chan, "your father wishes you to make a favorable impression."
"But you don't." I stated.
She looked a little surprised, then smiled faintly, "No, actually I don't. I'm a little surprised you noticed."
"You didn't pick out something with a ton of ruffles, ribbon, and lace." I pointed out, "Therefore you have no desire for me to acquire a favorable impression."
Nodding slightly, she winked, "That's my daughter, intelligent as always." Sobering slightly, she frowned again, "Just try to get through this afternoon and we'll figure out what to do about Soujiro-san and your father."
"No -sama?" I teased.
"No -sama." she handed me the dress and turned to leave. "Ganbatte(3), Misao-chan."
"Arigato."
There are times when I can see the resemblance, but only in personality. How on earth did she end up with Father?
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There are days, and there are days, if you know what I mean. I slowly walked down the large staircase that separated the top floor-my haven of safety-from the bottom floor-my worst nightmare. Okay, maybe not my worst nightmare, but it comes close! Soujiro-san had arrived, and Father wanted me downstairs quickly.
Mother joined me at the bottom of the stairs and walked with me to the parlor. I can assure you that we walked as slowly as possible, both of us unwilling to know what the men were talking about. I had my fingers crossed that Soujiro-san would not want me-but in this getup, I look like a proper lady not the hooligan I typically was. Suppressing a smile at that thought, we paused as a maid opened the double oak doors for us-then walked inside to face the music.
Father was beaming as he took in my appearance, I guess I looked good enough for him. "Soujiro-sama, this is my only daughter; my pride and joy, Misao."
I barely kept my eyes from rolling at his ludicrous comment.
Soujiro-san looked as impressed as I was at Father's statement, though it's hard to see through that ever-present smile. He stood and bowed to me, "I am pleased to meet you, Misao-san."
I dipped a brief curtsy, "Likewise."
Father then introduced Mother, "This is my lovely wife, Etsu."
Soujiro bowed and greeted her. Mother gracefully returned the greetings.
I sat quietly as Mother made small talk with Soujiro-san. Then after a long time of boring chatter, they started discussing something I found interesting.
"So, do you wish to be married?" Mother asked inquisitively, making sure to look only curious, not prying in order to keep Father from suspecting anything.
Soujiro-san laughed, his boyish features making him look so much younger than he was-it wasn't unpleasant, but Aoshi-sama was still top in my interests for now. "That is a hard question, Etsu-san." he leaned back against the chair he sat in as a thoughtful look spread upon his face. "I would have to say, yes and no."
Mother put on her you-can-talk-to-me face, the one that persuades all the men to confide in her. Father simply watched, as long as Mother wasn't saying anything that could possibly jeopardize this, then he was willing to let her talk. If it had been me, on the other hand, I would have been shut up in an instant.
"Please explain, Soujiro-san."
"Well," he laughed again and rubbed the back of his head, "My advisors and friends all wish me to continue my line, but I am not so sure I am ready for marriage."
I growled inwardly, so that's what I was to be used for! Not that it was that big of a shock, but-
Soujiro-san turned to face me, disrupting my inward rant as he smiled disarmingly, "But I'm sure Misao-san would not appreciate being married under those circumstances."
I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped slightly, he understood!
"Though, if I were to persuade you to marry me as a friend and confidante, would you object?" he continued, kindly ignoring my gaping mouth.
Father jumped in at that point, "Of course she does not object. You are a very kind man, Soujiro-sama!"
Soujiro looked up at him as he was still seated and Father was standing by him. "Please, Makimachi-san, Soujiro-san is fine. I am not deserving of the title -sama."
Father nodded, "As you wish, Soujiro-san."
The younger man looked at me again, his eyes were unreadable. Typical, but I'm sure that he knew I would not marry him. I had a sneaking suspicion that he was helping me out in a way, by getting Father into a good mood. How I was thinking of such a thing was beyond me, but I'm sure that Soujiro-san would have wanted to talk to me personally if he was serious about this. He is not the type to just dive into something, not without orders anyway.
As if he knew where my thoughts were heading, he gave me a discreet smile while Father was going on about how great a match the two of us would make. Hnnn, can't help but wonder what he would think of Aoshi-sama, my Shadow.
Mother and I were excused from the room while Father and Soujiro-san talked further about the matter. Soujiro-san gave me a pleasant smile on the way out, which I returned whole-heartedly. I had a feeling that even if I were to be married to him, he would be a good friend. I would just prefer our relationship to stay as friends, outside of marriage.
Mother practically bolted up the stairs after the maid closed the doors to the parlor again, dragging me along at a break-neck speed.
"What the-!" I gasped after she pulled me into my room and locked the door.
She put a finger to her lips, indicating I needed to shut up. "I have something to tell you."
We settled ourselves on my spacious bed. I was impatient to hear what she was about to tell me.
A secretive smile hovered about her full red lips, "You aren't going to marry Soujiro-san."
I pretended to look bored, "I already guessed that." Then, after ducking a playful swipe from Mother, I gazed at her inquisitively. "So..." I prompted.
"Well, it turns out that Soujiro-san already has fallen for someone-but as she is the daughter of a woman of gentle birth and a merchant, his advisors aren't too happy about it. In short, I promised to help him if he helped me."
"How are you going to help him?" I asked curiously.
"Simple," my mother smiled brightly, "as both the poor thing's parents are deceased, I'll adopt her."
"I see! If she becomes a Makimachi, there's no way they can tell him no!" my mother is so smart, but one thing still bothered me, "How are you going to talk Father into it."
"I already did, Kagami will be arriving in two days' time." she winked at me, "I simply told your father that I would be so lonely without you here, and brought up Kagami. He decided I needed a companion since you were to leave, and adopting Kagami was 'his idea.'"
I laughed aloud at this bit of news, then a thought crossed my mind, "Is that why you married him? He lets you get your way?"
Mother looked pensive, "Partly, and my only love had died in the war-that was long before your time. Your father was the best choice out of the ones left to me."
"I'm sorry."
She smiled a little sadly at me, "Don't be, Misao-chan. I did have you, and that made up for a lot of things." She slid off the bed and stood up, "Besides, I have another secret for you."
I watched eagerly as she took out a letter from a pocket in her sleeve. She noticed my puzzled look at this and laughed, "Don't think you were the only one. I was also interested in becoming a kunoichi for a while-but I never had the opportunity, even after being trained by Okina-san."
"So that's why he keeps calling me Etsu!" it all made sense now, those long tortuous training nights, when Gramps became tired, he would call me Etsu. Everyone was a little puzzled at this, well-all the younger ninja at least.
"Hai." she laughed, then opened the letter and handed it to me. "Your friend Himura-san gave this to me while I was shopping. He requested that I give this to you. Then we had a nice conversation about what we were to do to help you."
I blanched at the writing on the page.
"What is it!" Mother's face had worry written all over it.
"His writing..." I held out the letter for her inspection. I knew Himura's writing was bad, but good grief! You could read it, but it was hard to.
Mother laughed at the writing. I could almost imagine Himura looking in puzzlement at our reaction to the letter, then getting a little steamed about it. Though, more likely than not, he would simply try to direct our attention to its contents.
I read it as quickly as I could, Kaoru needed to help Himura out with this...
"It says to go to Megumi's house. She and Sano will help me hide at their place." I groaned, spending time with that tori atama was not going to be fun. Especially since he keeps calling me itachi musume, just like that ogre of a policeman-Saito Hajime. Of course, that cop has helped me out at night when I was younger and couldn't defend myself as well. So, while I remain irked at the memory, at least he had some right to it. The rooster on the other hand...
"Megumi?" Mother cocked her head to the side in puzzlement.
"A doctor who lives with her idiot of a husband in one of the more... uh... interesting parts of town." I tried to make it sound nicer.
Mother's eyebrow arched.
"It's just for now, she plans on moving soon." I hastened to add, glad that Megumi had sent a letter containing that bit of information. Mother looked somewhat appeased at this, but still a little skeptical. Still, I have to do what I have to do in order to get out of here.
"So, I guess Himura's plan is what I'm going to follow." I folded up the letter and placed it under my mattress.
"I'll come in to help you pack at midnight, seeing as how you're supposed to leave between that and dawn." Mother stood up and walked out of the room.
"Thank you!" I called after her.
She smiled as she glanced back over her shoulder. "I'm glad to help, Misao-chan."
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I couldn't sleep at all, so when the clock boomed out 12 strikes, I was already up and packing.
Mother slipped into my room and quickly helped me gather some things I needed and stuffed it into a light travel bag she had made for me. Thanking her quietly, we hugged and said goodbye.
I left quietly, almost like a part of the shadows, just as I had been taught. I stole out of the house without a sound, then ran as if my life depended on it for the part of town Megumi and Sano lived.
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Out of breath and panting heavily, I located Megumi's house. Knocking on the door, I found myself looking up into the eyes of an angry kitsune. Her cinnamon eyes flashed dangerously until she noticed that it was only me. 'Oh boy, that rooster is in for it when she gets a hold of him. Wonder what he did this time.' I wondered as I noticed her slump slightly against the door.
"Oh, it's you." she offered me a half-smile.
I plopped down on the ground and looked up at her, "What did Sano do this time?"
She glared at nothing in particular as she answered, "He's out."
Ouch, the venom in her tone made me want to take a few paces back. He should know better than to tick her off, especially when she's pregnant. That's just begging to be hurt.
"Want me to help you look for him?" I offered.
She merely nodded as she stalked off, leaving the door open for me to deposit my bag.
Tossing it into the house, I pulled the door shut behind me, I had to run to catch up to the angry kitsune. Yep, Sano was in for a world of hurt.
After looking for him in a few bars he tended to hang out at, we tried the last one Megumi thought of. And, unfortunately for Sano, he was in there... gambling.
Megumi's glare could be felt by everyone in the room. I never knew she could be this scary...
"Sanosuke." she said in a flat voice that promised trouble, silent poison laced the name making it sound like a death threat. It probably was, I decided after seeing the way Sano froze.
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--END NOTES--
(1)-I'm pretty sure ya'll know this, but 'kya' is a typical scream found in manga. Whether it be over something kawaii-cute-or out of fear or anger, this is used a lot.
(2)-It's basically 'congrats' 'congratulations'
(3)-Good luck
Goodness, I didn't get through a lot of my notes in this chapter! Etsu seemed to want a bigger part than what I originally plotted for her... hopefully Soujiro wasn't too OOC, he was soooooooo hard to write! Grrr... it was just trying to envision how he would act in that situation that became a headache to deal with. -sigh- I do hope that this chapter wasn't boring to read. I had to stop at that point, otherwise I would have an extremely long chapter. Don't think anyone would object to that, but I'd like to start on the 4th chapter. :) Please tell me what you think! It was so hard trying to decide what Misao would call Sano, seeing as how she only says what-one line to him in the manga! And it was a death threat at that... so that was troublesome.
Misao: Okay, tell me again why Aoshi-sama isn't in this chapter!
DM: I have to build up the story first, but don't worry, he'll be in all the rest of the chapters.
Misao: -glare-
DM: How did I end up with you as a co-host again?
Misao: -grins then whistles innocently-
DM: What did you do?
Misao: No one wanted the part.
DM: You probably threatened or tied them up, ne?
Misao: You think I did that?
DM: -points- Yes, I do.
-scene shows characters tied up and Tsubame hiding behind Yahiko-
Misao: Your point?
DM: -sigh- Whatever. Anyways, please review and tell me what you think of this new chapter! Does anyone think something needs to be altered? Not to sure if I like how this chapter turned out...
Misao: I don't like it either! You left out Aoshi-sama!