Aoshi
Aoshi woke up much too early. He stretched and went out to wash and change. When he came back, Misao was still asleep, snoring gently, one leg kicked up and out of the blankets, her nightgown riding up. Aoshi shook his head fondly and put the blanket back over her. He looked at his watch. Four o'clock in the morning.
He settled down and began to read. Misao shifted in her bed, kicking the wall and flinging her arm out. She was always an active sleeper, even when she was a child. I remember waking up one night thinking that there was an intruder, but it was only her falling off the bed. And still, she didn't wake up. He looked back to his book and started to read again, but Misao had shifted again, this time with a slight whimper.
Is she having a nightmare? Should I wake her? She rolled over again, moaning. Aoshi could make out words. "Don't kill… Stop it…! I don't want… Kill me instead…! Please… No…" Aoshi stood up. I'm going to wake her up. I can't see her like this. He stood up and shook her gently.
"Misao. Misao, wake up."
Misao's eyes snapped open and she sat up with a cry. "Aoshi-sama!" she was panting, her eyes wide and horrified. "No… no…"
"Misao. It's fine. You're alright." He said soothingly, his hand on her back and his other on her shoulder. "It was a dream."
Her breathing slowed a little and she looked up at him. "…Aoshi-sama…" she tried to smile energetically. "G-good morning!"
"Are you alright?" he asked softly, ignoring her attempt to appear nonchalant.
"Uh… Yeah." She said, looking down. "I was just having a… Dream."
Aoshi stepped back a little, sitting on the edge of his seat. "…Do you want to… Talk about it?" he asked carefully.
She waved her hand. "Aw, it's fine. You know, just the usual kind of stuff! Don't worry about me, Aoshi-sama!"
He looked at her. "That didn't sound fine. I am worried." He said flatly.
Misao looked down. "It was just a dream about…" she paused. "Remember when there was some tension with the Takeda Financial Group five years ago? Those businessmen that were actually big black market figures?"
Aoshi stiffened.
"And you… We thought you were captured by them, right? And Hannya-kun and the others all got arrested? We were told… That the Takeda people killed you." She took a deep breath. "…I get it though, you had to lay low and whatever – but you were gone for two years… And the whole time we thought you were…" she took another deep breath and tried to smile. "But you came back and everything is absolutely fabulous now!" she said, the cheerfulness in her voice so strained that Aoshi would've punched himself in the face if he could.
"Misao I-" He tried not to let his voice shake. Misao swung her legs out of bed and stepped towards him, laying a light hand on his arm. She smiled reassuringly and gently. Fuck! She's the one who's in pain here and I get comforted?
"It's fine." She said. "Please don't worry about it, okay? Don't worry about me." Then she grinned and it was a genuine grin. "And plus, don't we have a job to do today…" she grinned wider. "Boss?"
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Aoshi adjusted his tie and loaded his guns, watching Misao load hers. So quick and efficient and yet she's barely even looking at what she's doing, he thought. Misao caught his glance and looked up, finishing with a click. "Anything the matter?" she asked. "I know, I know. I brought too many silencers." She shrugged. "But I thought, 'Hey, there's no such thing as being too careful,' right?"
"No. That's fine." he answered quickly. "Nothing is the matter." Calm down. She's always like this. His voice softened. "Well done."
She laughed. "There was that one time when I completely forgot to bring 'em so I had to use my knives for everything, 'cause I couldn't risk being to loud. And you know how they say, 'don't bring a knife to a gunfight'." Misao stretched. "Waah, my shoulder's stiff…!" she groaned, bending over backward, almost touching her heels. "Must've slept on it funny." she groaned.
It's like she flipped a switch. Aoshi thought.
He watched her adjust the knives strapped to her arms, but quickly turned his back when she strapped on a knife belt under her shirt, unabashedly pulling it up to expose her slim midriff. Don't just expose yourself like that in front of a manwhatthehellareyoudoingwhatiswrongwithyou. Verysmoothlineslightlydefinedmusclesquitenice- Shut UP! Aoshi gave himself a mental kick. Stop thinking unnecessary things, he told himself. This is Misao.
Unaware of his internal monologue, she frowned. "It's not like I'm gonna use these, but… Who knows." She grinned. "I don't feel very 'at home' without them, y'know?"
"Ah really." He said stiffly, clearing his throat. "Is that so."
She pulled her shirt down and grinned. "Alright!"
Aoshi shook his head. This tiny, energetic woman… Nobody would suspect that she can kill a man before breakfast. Literally.
As if reading his thoughts, she cracked her knuckles, earning a slight wince from Aoshi. "Let's go and do this – and then have breakfast. I'm starving."
"Yes. On one condition."
"Huh? What is it?"
He winced a little. "Don't do that knuckle thing again."
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Heishin's first-class suite was luxurious, dimly lit. Heishin himself sat in a seat facing Aoshi, his bodyguards positioned around him. He puffed out smoke and Aoshi could see that the cigar he held in his fingers was an expensive Cuban one. Wu Heishin smiled. "Please sit down, Mr. Shinomori." He said, gesturing. Either he's faking it, or he really has that much of an accent.
Aoshi sat down and Misao remained standing next to him, her hands folded in front of her, her face completely blank. "Good morning, Mr. Heishin." Aoshi said. "Your trip has been pleasant so far, I trust?"
With a laugh, Heishin waved his hand. "Not bad." He said in Chinese.
"That is good to hear." Aoshi replied, also in Chinese. Misao shifted slightly, unable to understand what he was saying – feeling uncomfortable because of it and Aoshi blinked slowly. It's fine.
Heishin laughed again. "Mr. Shinomori." He said. "Do you always bring your woman to business transactions?"
"Not always. But when I do, she is better than the best man." Aoshi raised an eyebrow. "This woman has been a professional killer since she was sixteen years old." He felt a twinge as he said it. "To her, the 'Family Business' is everything – and she is as skilled and committed as any man – even more so." He shrugged. "However, if you so wish, Mr. Heishin, I can ask her to leave."
"Oh, no. Let her stay. She seems almost too cute to have anything to do with our business, no? How very interesting!" exclaimed Heishin. "I will invite you to my house at some later point and you must tell me all about it!"
Aoshi almost smirked. "How kind of you, Mr. Heishin. I would enjoy that very much."
Wu Heishin smiled back and took a piece of paper from one of the 'four gods' while another brought in a table and pens. "Let us get down to the business, Mr. Shinomori." He said, now in English. "The weapons deal, yes?"
Aoshi nodded. "Indeed." He said.
Heishin dipped his pen into the ink and wrote his signature on it. He looked up. "To be the honest…" he said. "I have already sent the order ahead to Chicago. I am thinking, this is a formality, no?"
Dipping his pen into the inkwell, Aoshi slowly began to write. "Mr. Heishin… I thank you for your time." He straightened up stepping back and to the side, giving Misao a clear shot at Heishin. As the bullet whooshed by him, he pivoted, both guns in his hands shooting – one, two, three, four shots.
The 'four gods' seemed less than godly. Their hands frozen right before they could reach for their guns, their faces unmoving, stuck in expressions of surprise – and suddenly… There were four loud thumps of heaviness hitting the ground and a softer thump of Heishin sliding off his seat and onto the floor, blood soaking into the carpet from a hole straight through his head.
Aoshi looked into Heishin's vacant eyes. "We will not be doing business again." He said.
He cast a glance at Misao. She stood, in the middle of the room with blank eyes, smoke coming from the barrel of her gun. A thought suddenly hit Aoshi. It wasn't that I was afraid of her being unable to perform this job. I was afraid of her being able to do it. I made her point her gun at a man and kill him. I was afraid of having her do this on my command. "Misao…" he began.
Misao blinked and suddenly her expression loosened and she turned back to him with a carefree smile. "Let's get out of here, Aoshi-sama." She said. "Sticking around here doesn't seem like a good idea right now."
His eyes widened. "…Yes."