Aoshi

Aoshi trusted that Seta Soujiro boy less and less every time he saw him. It could've been because of the familiar way he treated Misao – but Aoshi did not think himself that petty. It seemed more to be a certain 'wrong-ness' the boy had about him. His bright, mirthless smiles, his sharp and precise yet seemingly absentminded movements. There seemed to be something fake in the way his eyes sparkled excitedly and the way he playfully tilted his head to the side.

Another thing was the number of weapons the boy had under his clothes. As someone used to people packing heat, Aoshi could tell at a glance who had a gun and who didn't. That Soujiro boy had more than one – a few knives too. Aoshi did not doubt that he could use them.

'Who indeed, Mr. Shinomori.' The boy had said. If Aoshi was not as used as he was to dealing with the most unnerving of people, he would have gotten chills. Soujiro was unapologetically cheerful, yet with the smell of blood around him as thick as a winter coat. Why did he seem to be so interested in Misao? Aoshi wondered. Seta Soujiro was definitely on the list of people to watch out for on this train.

However, speaking of people to watch out for, Aoshi still had lingering suspicions about a certain Himura Kenshin who was the ex-hitman Battousai. Aoshi knew well that it is hard to rid a wolf of its' claws and teeth. Had Himura Battousai truly taken the 'path of righteousness' and chosen not to kill? Aoshi had his doubts.

He reclined against the wall, a cigarette dangling from his lips and a book in his hand – alone with his thoughts. I should have turned the light on. When he heard a knock at the door he assumed it was Misao. "Come in." he said, not looking up from his book. "It's not locked." The footsteps sound wrong and there's no sound of the swishing dress. The thought came to him in an instant and he moved fast, putting his gun to the head of the person who had entered.

"O-oro?" Kenshin put his hands up slowly. "T-this one only wanted to have a drink…" Aoshi looked at the bottle in the smaller man's hand and slowly removed his gun.

"My apologies." He said stiffly. "At first I mistook you for Misao, but hearing that you were not, I assumed the worst." He looked carefully at Kenshin. "A drink?" he stubbed out his cigarette.

Kenshin smiled amiably. "I thought having a drink together would be a way to remember and put the past behind us – and resolve our differences, indeed it would." He looked down, a sad tilt about his eyebrows. "This one could see you still doubt me, although you did not pull a gun until now…" he said. "…Which is always good." He smiled, attempting at a lighter mood.

Aoshi put his gun back in its holster and took off his jacket. "It is difficult to believe that the legendary hitman of ten years ago is an easy-going airy-fairy family type now." He took large gulp and gave the bottle back. Shit. I shouldn't be doing this. I have no tolerance.

Kenshin looked a bit offended yet slightly amused. "Airy-fairy?" he sipped from the bottle.

Taking the bottle from the red-haired man, Aoshi took another swig. "Sit down." He said. "Not on Misao's bed." Most of the weapons are underneath that. He passed the bottle back to Kenshin and opened the window a crack. "…It's snowing." He said. Fuck it. Maybe only a few sips.

"Oh, is it?" Kenshin drank. He peered over and smiled. "Rather beautiful, isn't it?"

"Hm." Aoshi gave a non-committal grunt. "…What have you come to me for?" he asked.

"This one wanted to have a drink, indeed I did." Kenshin said, maybe a little too smoothly.

Turning, Aoshi raised an eyebrow and lit his cigarette. "Usually, when people come to see me with a bottle of moonshine and a gun in their jacket, that have something they need from me." He said with slight amusement. "I could be mistaken, of course, but I do not think so. You've come to see the Boss of the Oniwabanshu."

"Ah, you've caught me…!" With a sigh, Kenshin shook his head, smiling a little embarrassedly.

"So?" prompted Aoshi, breathing smoke as he spoke.

Kenshin took a drink from the bottle, looking down. His face darkened. "There's someone who wants to kill this one and is unscrupulous about what he has to do to get there. I am afraid for the lives of my wife and children, indeed I am. I thought I had put the underworld behind me when I left, so I did. Yet it seems as if traces of the underworld still cling to this one, no matter how hard I try to leave." He looked up. "And so, to save my family, I will go back into the underground again. Please help me. This one will do anything."

Aoshi's fingers tapped slowly as he looked at Kenshin, thinking intently. "…Who is it that wants you dead?" he asked finally.

"Yukishiro Enishi. You know of him?"

"…I see. Last time I checked, his affiliations lay somewhere between Heishin and Shishio. He has a small yet skilled group of mercenaries surrounding him." He looked sharply at Kenshin. "Heishin may be dead, yet Shishio is an enemy I do not want to make lightly. …You want him dead?"

The latter looked pained. "This one does not want him dead. I simply want to keep my family safe, indeed I do." He looked away. "…Is killing him the only way to do it?" he asked quietly.

He did not answer immediately. "It would be easier." Aoshi said. "On this train, I have few allies. Misao and I, a few contacts – not fighters, not killers. Just as in any operation, the Yukishiro will be protected. From what I know, he has four protecting him. Otowa Hyouko – an ex-spy. Innui Banjin – a ridiculously skilled street fighter. Yatsume Mumyoi – some mercenary I hadn't heard of before he began working for Yukishiro – apparently, he was a Colorado miner – and Kujiranami Hyogo – soldier-turned-hitman."

Kenshin bit his lip. "This one knows that Kujiranami. His left arm is missing, yes?"

"Indeed it is."

"…That was this one's doing." Sighed Kenshin. "…These other people must have a grudge against this one, indeed they must…"

He raised an eyebrow but did not say anything. Instead he sat down on Misao's bed and furrowed his brows. "There is one more man under Yukishiro. This man is called Gein – a master of disguise. He seems to have no other name and no other past. He used to work for me, before Yukishiro offered him more cash. But it seems Yukishiro is rather a piece of work and does not pay as often as he says he will. Gein's description of Yukishiro Enishi sounds as if he is a madman, hell-bent on revenge. He wants out. So, his loyalties can be shaken – indeed, they already have."

"Really?"

"He assisted me with the hit on Heishin. Indeed, he was one of the 'four gods'."

"Four gods?" asked Kenshin, confused.

"The bodyguards. He was the 'fifth god', going back and forth, gathering information."

"This one sees…" Kenshin slowly nodded.

There was a silence.

Aoshi leaned back and looked at Kenshin through narrowed eyes. "…What will you offer me?" he asked. "I have decided to undertake this, as it coincides with my plans. I will do my best not to have Yukishiro killed, although, if he does die, I still expect you to pay up."

Starting to pat his pockets, Kenshin pulled out a few crumpled dollar bills, a paperclip, a lighter, a pack of cigarettes, some loose coins and a can opener. "This doesn't have much money, but-"

"Keep your money, Battousai." Aoshi said. "It is not that which I want. I am a reasonable man. You have a child to support, your wife works hard, you work hard. Keep your money."

"Then what is it?"

Standing, Aoshi stubbed out his cigarette. "I want your loyalty. To me, to the Oniwabanshu. You don't have to do anything. Just be loyal to me – and one day, when I am in need of your services – I will call upon you. Your decision to no longer kill… I do not understand it – but I respect it. Will you give me your loyalty, Himura?"

Kenshin stood too. "Then I give it." He said, bowing low. "I, Himura Kenshin, pledge my loyalty to Shinomori Aoshi and the Oniwabanshu." He straightened slowly and then smiled, a hint of sadness in his eyes, or was that just Aoshi's imagination? "I guess this one can only drink in Oniwabanshu-affiliated speakeasies now, right?"

Allowing himself a very brief smile, Aoshi met the other man's violet eyes. "Oh yes." He said. "Only those."

They sat in silence, the transaction having passed between them, now beginning to relax.

"…But really, why is it so hard to believe that this one would put my past behind me? Have you never thought of doing the same?" Kenshin cast a few wary glances in Aoshi's direction before saying this and passed the bottle of booze to Aoshi.

There was another long silence.

Aoshi did not turn around. "Ten years ago… I was still a kid, really." He said slowly, taking a deep draught from the bottle. "Himura Battousai was a man of legend. He was known to be a legendary assassin, who, besides having killed a large number of people, planned out things very carefully, could come up with fool-proof plans in split seconds. Killed without hesitation. …To say nothing of his skill with the gun and martial arts. The Oniwabanshu had some dealings with you in the past and I saw you many times. But after the New York underground war ten years ago… You disappeared and became a legend. I never believed that you died." Turning back to face Kenshin, Aoshi looked pained. "I admired what you were. I strove to become someone like that. To become the strongest and protect what was important to me." He took several more large mouthfuls from the bottle. I can blame everything on the moonshine later. …Yeah. I'm definitely drunk now.

"This one remembers you." Kenshin smiled. "You were a such a serious young man – looking barely eighteen but acting so much older." Kenshin took the bottle back and took a large swig to match Aoshi's. "…From the outside it may have seemed grandiose and amazing. But to have the blood of so many people on my hands… To realize that I was no more than a tool in the hands of those with money… And the person who was most important to me then was taken away because of my 'killing without hesitation'… I was not able to protect the person most important to me because I had all this skill, indeed." he looked at Aoshi. "Those whom you've killed will come back to haunt you. You may have chosen that way of life… Ice-cold blood of war flowing in your veins… But really… It's Misao-dono I feel sorry for, indeed I do."

"Misao?" Aoshi stepped forward, his eyes wild and his jaw clenched. "What do you know about Misao." It wasn't a question. It was a definitive growl. You know nothing of Misao, Battousai. Do not pretend. Aoshi snatched the bottle from Kenshin's hands and drank deeply.

"Only what this one can see. I apologize in any assumptions, indeed I do."

"The Oniwabanshu is her home, her family – she has made a conscious decision to be part of the family business." Aoshi began to pace. "If you know that there is a reason for killing, then it will not bother you" he took another draught. "We… We're professionals. This is our way of life and we have devoted ourselves completely to the Oniwabanshu, because it is all we have. Our family. Our friends. They kept us when we had nowhere to go." He took several large gulps. "You… You have no idea… She says she is happy…"

Kenshin looked at Aoshi with sad eyes. "I can see that you doubt Misao's happiness and that you wish for it more than anything else, Aoshi."

Aoshi did not answer and drank the rest of the bottle, chugging everything that was left. His legs almost collapsed under him and he leaned his back against the wall. His bangs covered his eyes. "The first time she killed a man…" he said quietly. "It was when she was sixteen. I heard the gunshot and opened the window… And she was standing there, shaking, looking down at the body of the man. There was blood on her dress… He was an assassin sent to kill me. It was the day I had become the official Okashira – the head of the family. He was sent to kill me… And Misao had slit his throat with a knife I gave her for her fifteenth birthday."

Kenshin listened, sadness written all over his features. "This one… Is truly sorry."

"…I… I had never wanted that path for her. I was going to send her away to the country after a few years. Maybe to the vineyards on the East Coast… Even to Canada! I'd have kept her away from the moonshine business, away from the weapon trade… If she wouldn't go, I'd have… I'd have her manage the ledgers. Do paperwork or something. Go to Harvard and become a lawyer… Become my secretary for anything legal. But… In the end… I was too late…" Aoshi looked up, his voice almost breaking. "When I called for her… She looked up and saw my face – saw that I was worried… Horrified…" his voice cracked again and he raised the bottle to his lips but there was nothing in it. "…Misao smiled… To reassure me… …Misao… She said, 'It's okay Aoshi-sama'… She had protected me…" he stood up to face Kenshin, his sharp, yet darkening icy eyes boring into the red-head. "I had sworn to protect Misao! Do you understand?! I swore to her that I would!" he roared.

"…Aoshi…" Kenshin said quietly.

The strength left Aoshi and he slowly sank down again. "But I failed. I failed long ago. I didn't send her away in time." He said, his voice hollow. "Why…? I wanted to be strong… The strongest…" he looked up at Kenshin. "…Like what I knew about you… I wanted to fight you and prove myself the best… But you disappeared… And I failed… I suppose we both failed in a way. We've found ways of living, yet it all keeps coming back to bite us on the ass."

"It's never too late to end something, indeed it is not." Said Kenshin softly.

"No." Aoshi's voice was strangely hard and his eyes were distant. "I have a job. This is what I know how to do – and do well. There are people depending on me. Even now… Despite my failure… She still believes in me… Misao… Still depends on me… Even though…"

"It's your choice." Kenshin said. "I cannot make it for you. And if she believes in you, don't you think her judgement is at least a little bit correct? She is very level-headed, indeed she is." Kenshin's voice was gentle. "And… I don't think you failed – indeed you did not. She has still been able to keep her smile because of you. Just as you want to protect her… Misao-dono wants to protect you. It's something we don't realize – but the people we want to protect have the same towards you – yet they may show it differently, indeed they do." He smiled slightly. "Speaking of which, she's about to open the door now."