Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is © Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shuiesha, Sony Picture Entertainment, Jump Comics and Fuji TV. All characters related to Rurouni Kenshin are used here without permission for the purposes of nonprofit entertainment only. All other original content is to be considered sole property of the author. * ---* --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * Aoshi tore past the trees, weaving through low hanging branches and stepping nimbly over jutting roots. Blood… It dripped from his face and stained large portions of his shinobu gi. So much blood… he had never seen so much blood in his life. Not even when he had lost his parents. Not even when Miharu-san had been killed. So much blood… and none of it was his. He should be relieved about that. He should be grateful. But instead— His toe snagged on some debris and he stumbled forward a few steps before recovering his balance. Misao shifted restlessly in his arms, whimpering. Aoshi automatically drew the infant closer to his chest as he looked around cautiously. In the distance, he heard the faint sounds of running footsteps and crashing branches. Obviously not ninja like the rest of their attackers – most likely, they assumed that a ten-year-old boy was hardly a threat. Misao twisted in his arms, her little hands grasping the bloodstained gi. "Misao-chan," he soothed softly, rocking her gently as he maneuvered into the underbrush. "Just stay quiet a little while longer…" The girl cooed at the sound of his voice and tugged his gi. Nothing mattered to her other than the bigger, stronger presence that had protected and cuddled her ever since she was born. Anything else faded into the background. If only he could have such blessed innocence but that rare quality had eluded him for a long time now. Kami-sama, don’t let me fail her. Not now… not ever. The men were approaching rapidly, judging by the sounds in the distance. Aoshi surveyed the surrounding forest. If he stayed on the ground, the men would probably find him eventually – thirteen to one were highly unfavorable odds. His ninja training was intermediate at best so the most logical plan would be to continue eluding his pursuers. But how and where—? Aoshi turned his head sharply as loud voices filled the air. Eyes widening as the words registered, he quickly moved towards the nearest tree. Holding Misao tightly against him, he began to climb. A harsh voice snapped loudly, "Kuso, where’d that boy go?" "Look here! He went this way. See the blood!" "Blood? The boy wasn’t injured!" "Never mind that now. Find him and that wailing brat or Kanemori will have our heads!" Five men broke through the trees into the small space beneath him. Reflexively, Aoshi jerked back until his back hit rough bark. He felt Misao’s tiny fists clutch at his gi in a persistent tug. A muffled whimper sounded from the general area of his chest, over his heart. Shifting his attention from the men to the baby, he glanced at the fretful expression on her face. She could feel his fear – he knew it for sure. Iya, don’t cry, Misao-chan. Not now, please. He rubbed a knuckle against her cheek, feeling the chilled skin. As the baby relinquished her hold upon his gi for one upon his fist, Aoshi returned his gaze to the men below them. Listening intently to their vicious curses, he watched as they searched the forest floor for signs of their trail. Aoshi held his breath as one actually laid a hand upon the trunk of the tree in which they hid. He silently moved backwards until they were shrouded in the shadows of the tree’s ever-reaching branches. The leaves had long since withered and fallen but he prayed that the large branches would help to shield them anyway. The minutes slowly ticked by but eventually, the men moved on through the forest as their search availed them nothing. As their loud voices faded into the distance, Aoshi released his breath in a slow exhale. At the small sound, Misao tightened her hold upon his hand, her soft breath brushing against his skin. The boy looked down at the fragile, little infant with solemn eyes. What would they do now that Higashi-san and Miharu-san were dead? What kind of life could Misao possibly live without even knowing her parents? She could grow up to be like you… But Misao was not Aoshi. She had not witnessed the deaths of her parents at an age where the vision would be burned in memory forever. Perhaps… perhaps it would make a difference. Aoshi shifted his arms and brought the baby up towards his face, much to Misao’s blissful delight as she tapped his face exuberantly with one hand. One would think that in the midst of all this tragedy, the sunlight in her deep blue eyes would have faded at least a little. But nothing seemed able to dampen her spirits… nothing at all. I swear… I swear to you, Misao-chan, I will protect you with my life… Miharu-san’s wish will come true. So that the shining light in Misao-chan’s face would never be extinguished. One Wish Part 2 After she finished putting away their things, Misao ran back downstairs. Aoshi and Jiiya had to be discussing her "surprise" birthday celebration. If she could only eavesdrop on their conversation, she’d find out exactly what they had planned. Misao grinned to herself. Although Jiiya and the others should know by now, she had expected Aoshi to deter them from even starting the plans. After all, he knew better than anyone that to keep a secret from her was near impossible, especially when she was determined to find out. "Yare yare, Misao-chan, can’t you control that curiosity?" It was something Shikijou said to her at least once a week in response to the numerous questions with which she had bombarded him – something that had started the very first night he had spent with the Oniwabanshuu and lasted until the day he had left with Aoshi and the others… Misao shook the heavy thoughts out of her head. There was no need for her to dwell on those memories any longer. Her Aoshi-sama had returned to her, just as Himura had promised her. Now if I could just get Aoshi-sama to notice me as a woman. Then everything would be perfect. Focused entirely upon plotting a way to do just that, Misao didn’t notice Okon until she nearly collided with the older woman. Skidding to a halt, she smiled brightly as Okon balanced the baskets of vegetables that she carried. Unfortunately, it didn’t work because the woman scolded, "Misao-chan, no running. Be ladylike, ladylike. Mou, you’re almost eighteen!" Misao waved her hand. "Gomen ne, Okon. Demo… I’m looking for Aoshi-sama and Jiiya. It’s really important." Okon sighed and rolled her eyes. "It always is. They’re in the formal sitting room." At the answer, she blinked. The formal sitting room? Why in the world would they be in there? That room was hardly used and when it was, only to greet some of Jiiya’s more prestigious contacts from his younger days as Oniwabanshuu. Despite her confusion, she replied cheerfully, "Arigatou." Stepping easily around Okon, Misao continued down the hall at a more sedate pace. It was not quite a run but it probably did not conform to Okon’s idea of a dainty walk, either. The sound of Aoshi’s soft-spoken voice reached her ears as she turned the corner, immediately bringing a smile to her face. Misao paused outside the room, one hand on the shoji just as Jiiya’s indignant voice said quite loudly and clearly, "You want us to do what?" A voice that she did not recognize responded, "The previous Okashira swore to me that very same night when the blood of my kin was spilled. Based on that promise, we have come to claim that debt. Are you reneging on that solemn oath?" Nani? Oath? Fallen kin? Debt? The words whirled around in Misao’s mind, instantly bringing forth doubts about her choice to eavesdrop. The conversation certainly did not involve her surprise celebration but obviously was something else entirely. But what that something else was remained a mystery. And what could be so dire as to elicit that tension in Jiiya or the underlying anger in the voice of the stranger? What… What is happening? Just then Aoshi spoke into the silence, "We will fulfill the blood debt. You wish for us to meet you and the rest of your companions tomorrow on the eastern side and we will do so. Have your enemies followed you here to Kyoto?" Her eyes widened at the word "blood debt" and "enemies." Instincts, honed by years of shadowing Aoshi, Hannya and the others, immediately snapped into sharp focus. The conversation faded into the background as several thoughts rushed to the forefront of her mind. How was Aoshi involved in this? Surely by now, someone would have mentioned something about a blood debt… Where was Aoshi going to go? Concentrating on that thought, her hands curled into fists. Aoshi was not going anywhere without her. Drawing herself up, she made to enter the room when the visitor asked, "So how is the girl? I cannot recall her name at the moment. Please forgive my lapse. She would be about eighteen now, correct?" That simple question stopped her short. Impossible. They were talking about her now? No, that could not be right. This stranger could not know about her. But… How could they shift from discussing a blood debt to her so easily? Well, if it was her that they spoke of anyway. A little voice nagged insistently at the back of her mind. Something was definitely wrong. "Aa," Aoshi replied, without elaboration. Misao hesitated again. That’s odd. True, Aoshi was not one for conversation that existed just for the sake of conversation but… Why is he avoiding the question? Seemingly unaware of her presence, Aoshi continued, "If that is all, I need to discuss this with the others." The sounds of rustling and shuffling filled the air and Misao instantly darted to the side as the shoji slid open. She looked up into Aoshi’s penetrating grey-blue eyes as he stepped out of the room and moved towards her. Blinking nervously, Misao took a step back before realizing what she was doing. Something about his aura was unbalanced – it worried her. Reflexively, Misao opened her mouth to ask what was wrong but his gaze immediately altered, those wonderful eyes growing hard and glacial. Recognizing the warning for what it was, Misao relented and held her silence. Peeking unobtrusively around Aoshi’s lean form – or attempting to anyway since Aoshi maneuvered his body so that she remained constantly hidden – Misao saw an old man walk out, talking amiably with Jiiya. Or perhaps, talking to was more applicable since Jiiya held his face in a blatant mask of boredom. Who was that man? And more importantly, why was Aoshi hiding her from him? As the two old men vanished around the corner, the tensed body shielding her relaxed minutely. "Aoshi-sama?" she whispered. The man that she had spent a lifetime adoring turned to face her, the handsome face held in its ever-present stoic expression. "Misao, you should have stayed upstairs." An indescribable quality tinged that statement, making her heart both elated and heavy at the same time. Elated because the words meant that he worried about her but heavy because the tone held that same note of responsibility that filled his words whenever he spoke of Hannya, Hyottoko or any of the fallen Oniwabanshuu. Of all the things in the world, Misao did not want him to view her as a burden or duty. I’m right here, waiting for you, Aoshi-sama. When will you see me? Rather asking all the questions that she wanted to ask, she said instead, "I unpacked everything and came down. Okon told me where you and Jiiya were." His gazed flickered over her face before he looked over his shoulder in the direction where Jiiya and the stranger had gone. Slowly, Aoshi turned back to her and replied, "I see." Misao clenched her hands in the silken folds of her kimono. "So are you going to meet them tomorrow?" Aoshi closed his eyes and looked away from her. "Aa. Misao—" "Aoshi-sama—" she said at almost exactly the same moment. And of course, he anticipated her question, "Iya." Interrupted in mid-sentence, Misao stammered for moment before falling silent. "Naze?" "Misao, this is dangerous. I do not—" "You’ve trained me yourself since we came back from Tokyo. Remember? You made that promise over their graves!" They had visited them earlier that day. Surely he could not have forgotten… Aoshi did not forget things like that. So that meant… "Misao—" She continued right over his quiet interjection. "Don’t you think your training is good enough?" "Misao—" "I promise I won’t get in the way. Don’t you trust me?" Did he think so little of her and her abilities? "Misao," he reprimanded sharply. Having known him for as long as she could remember, she fell silent at once. He only ever used that tone when his patience wore thin – something that happened very rarely. Misao met his gaze with timid eyes. Reading the unvoiced apology in their icy depths, she began, "Aoshi-sama…" "This is not a topic for discussion." With that final sentence, he walked past her and left her alone in the hallway with her confused thoughts. * * * * * In the silence of his room, Aoshi’s only companions were his own thoughts and long forgotten memories that were beginning to resurface. The sun dropped below the horizon, lengthening the shadows across the expanse of his room. Strange. He never seemed to notice the shadows or the darkness when Misao was present but perhaps that was because she held her own special, inner light and brightness. He remembered that same quality in Miharu-san but his happier memories of the previous Okashira’s daughter were from when he was younger, not too long after he had been orphaned. During that chaotic time, the days had jumbled together as grief, pain and loneliness blurred memories into a series of unhappy stretches of time. Miharu-san had alleviated that darkness slightly with her smile and bright, blue eyes but nothing had really worked. Not until Misao… Aoshi bowed his head. Misao should never have been born under so much sorrow and death. He once thought that the taint of those events would have left its mark upon her spirit and made itself known in time but it never had. And now… what could he tell her now? How could he explain that her grandfather had formed a temporary alliance with the Kouga ninja to obtain certain information implicating enemies of the Bakufu? And that while the mission had been successful, it had cost the Oniwabanshuu the lives of several of their best ninja, including Higashi-san, her father? Maybe in a different life, Misao would have been proud that her father had died for such a noble cause. But this was Misao… In this life, all that mattered was that a loved one had died. As Aoshi contemplated the sky as it darkened from flaming red to velvet indigo, he replayed the conversation with Yorihisa. He already knew that the old man was hiding something. But what? Although he recalled the events that had occurred nearly eighteen years ago, they were colored by Miharu’s death and Misao’s kidnapping, all seen through the eyes of a young boy. Any clues that could point in the right direction lay hidden in the past or at least, were obscured by those two events involving mother and daughter. Despite everything that Misao had endured and all the pain that he himself had caused her, Misao was a strong girl. Perhaps she could handle the news well but with regards to this, how could he know for sure? She had never asked about her parents as a child since all the family she had ever known was the Oniwabanshuu. Yes, they had told her that they had died but never the circumstances and especially never Miharu-san’s feelings concerning her newborn daughter. So much of Misao’s strength derived from the love and warmth that she received from others. How would she react to something like that? Usually Aoshi could read Misao and predict her emotions easily but it seemed to become more difficult with each passing day. Part of it stemmed from his awareness of her feelings about him but part of it came from somewhere else. As if something within him did not wish to have the ability to predict her emotions because it feared his response to it. No, I mustn’t think of that. So instead, he focused upon the deaths of three Kouga ninja, who all had been Yorihisa’s sons… who had been all of his sons and thus killing his entire kin. All to rescue one helpless infant. Perhaps the Kouga had other reasons for lending their aid such as retrieving the stolen documents as well as destroying other documents that incriminated them in certain dealings that definitely would have resulted in sanctions from the Bakufu. But in the end, they had died rescuing Misao. And perhaps it was the result of his terrible grief, the previous Okashira had sworn that solemn oath and the Oniwabanshuu had remained in debt to the Kouga for all these years. But that was the question, wasn’t it? Why now, after all these years? Thinking of the debt, of course, always led him to Misao and he thought wryly, Their timing is impeccable. Her birthday is less than two weeks away. That last thought quickly brought another to mind. Why was Yorihisa asking about Misao? Rising to his feet, Aoshi dismissed the errant thought. Mention of the blood debt so suddenly had simply pushed him off center. There was no reason for him to be so paranoid. It made perfect sense for the aging leader of the Kouga to ask about the baby who had caused so much trouble for his clan. But if that were the case, why did the faint taste of unease hang in the air? Yorihisa is hiding something from us. Iya. Yorihisa is lying to us. Something in his words did not ring true. But what? Everything that he had said – every memory that had been brought up – was something that Aoshi himself had witnessed or heard about from the other Oniwabanshuu. But if that were the case, why didn’t he trust Yorihisa? The back of his neck prickled and he turned as he felt a presence move in front of his room. No doubt that it was Misao. Impressive that she had waited this long to seek him out. He had half expected her to chase him down the hall when he had ended their conversation. Yet another sign that Misao was growing up— Without any further announcement, the shoji slid open and Misao met his expectant gaze hesitantly. She had changed out of the traveling kimono and into her more casual clothes, he noted. Judging by the expression on her face, she seemed very determined to accompany him tomorrow. "Aoshi-sama," she began after a moment. "Mm?" The one sound seemed to confuse her immensely. Misao fell silent before starting once again. "Ano… are you planning to leave tomorrow?" "Are you thinking of following me?" he countered quietly as he moved closer to her. Her lips curled into a pout as she glared at him. It was an unconscious gesture and Aoshi knew quite well that she was unaware of how lovable the expression truly was. Realizing the direction in which his thoughts were heading, Aoshi focused his attention on her eyes as she replied, "Maybe." Narrowing his eyes, he shook his head in negation. "No." Tilting her head to the side, Misao was silent a moment. Then, "You really think I’ll stay here while you go meet that man and his little group?" As he opened his mouth, she continued hastily, "Aoshi-sama, I’m not a little girl anymore. You don’t need to worry about me." Oh Misao, you have no idea how wrong you are. "Misao, I believe I told you that this was not up for discussion." She frowned. "Are you ordering me to stay as my Okashira?" His muscles tensed at the sharp accusation in her voice. Yes, he could order her to stay and he was almost certain that she would but that would not be fair to her. Not when her desire to accompany him stemmed from her— Again he cut off the thought before his mind could acknowledge it. Finally, Aoshi said softly, "Iya. But I am asking you to please stay." That stubborn glint entered her eyes. "No. I will not. Not unless you give me an explanation why I should." Once those words left her lips, Aoshi nearly took an involuntary step backwards. If she went, Misao would learn why the blood debt existed. And if she stayed at the Aoiya, she would find out eventually. Perhaps via her curiosity or one of the other Oniwabanshuu or a million other possibilities. How ironic. She had deftly maneuvered him into a trap without even realizing it. "You don’t even have a reason!" Misao’s hands clenched and unclenched at her sides. "Aoshi-sama, you’ll need help in this, right? And you haven’t asked Jiiya or the others yet. Jiiya said you haven’t brought the subject up with him yet. See? No reason at all!" Oh, but he had such a good reason. But Misao did have a point. She wasn’t a child anymore and she did have the skills, though the training he had given her in the past year was intermediate at best. Hopefully it would be enough for whatever they would encounter. Despite all his efforts, fate had apparently dictated that it be time for Misao to learn about her parents. Miharu-san, despite everything I have done to make your wish come true, Misao has taken her own path. Resigned, he said, "If you want to come with me, be ready at dawn." Like the sun, Misao’s smile brightened the entire room. If only he could be so optimistic. * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * --- * Next ~ Part 3: The Problem Glossary of Japanese Terms aa: yes ano: filler word; similar to "um" arigatou: thank you; arigatou gozaimasu is a more polite form Bakufu: the Shogunate government demo: but gomen ne: I’m sorry (the cute, girly version) iya: no Kami-sama: equivalent of God kuso: damn mou: typical female expression of exasperation nani: what? naze: why? shoji: sliding door Author’s Notes 1) Many thanks go to April for being a pre-reader. ^__^ 2) On names: I usually just throw together syllables and sounds and hope they sound pretty. ^^; But in the case of Misao's mother, I wanted her name to have a special meaning so Miharu is written with the kanji for "beauty" and "sunny days." 3) On the timeline: "One Wish" takes place before "For Your Love." So hopefully it will explain a little more about what caused Misao to have that melancholy present in the latter fic, while having a little exploration into their past. 4) A useless cultural/religious note (yes, I must share my random, pointless knowledge with you): In Zen Buddhism, a person meditates on a single question to find and/or seek an answer. Typically, these aren’t mundane questions like "How do I grow a good tomato plant?" but rather the, "If a tree falls in the middle of a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" variety.