Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is copyright of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shonen Jump and Sony. This fic is written for mere entertainment purpose.
Chapter 12
Of Past and Future
Aoiyah Inn, Kyoto, Earth, late February 1880 A.D,evening.
The Aoiya was, like always at that hour, in a rush of activity. Patrons were flooding it, either for a quick snack on their way back home, or for an early supper, and maybe, a room for the night. He had to concede that since the ryokan had been rebuilt, the new facilities had turned it into one of the more popular of that part of Kyoto. Though he had been opposed to using the old Okashira's project, he was now glad Misao had gotten away with her wish. The newly acquired popularity would ease the transition to a normal life for all of them, with the new prosperity securing an interesting income and worth living means to all the old members of the clan living within it.
Once they were inside, Misao darted towards the kitchen, surely anxious to share their trip and show Okon and Omasu the presents he had given her. He'd have to endure their teasing giggles behind his back for a couple of days, but it was something he could live with. He took advantage of all the activity in the place, scurrying discreetly to his study. Unexpectedly, upon his arrival he found Okina inside, waiting for his return.
"You are back earlier than usual."
"I escorted Misao."
"Yes, I noticed. I saw you two just before entering the Aoiya," The old man's eyes twinkled with mischief. "She looks happy. Did you manage to solve the situation satisfactorily then, I presume?"
"Tonight."
"I see. You still can reconsider, you know... I mean, making it gradually could..."
"We have already covered this point, old man."
"Alright, do as you want. As always. But don't hurt her again."
"She is sensible, she'll understand."
"We'll see."
The old man played with his goatee and sighed, shaking his head.
"Aoshi, I understand your motives, and I agree with you that we must fulfill our compromise to his grandfather. I know that she can be reasonable. But the Oniwabanshuu is the only thing she puts above everything. Even above you. She won't give up so easily. I tried once...and failed."
"I won't." he said, curtly, sitting in his western style armchair, behind his desk. It was time to end the conversation. "Is there something else you want to talk about, Okina?"
"Actually yes, I've got the information you requested from me."
That got his attention fully back.
"It wasn't easy. Misao instructed specifically that nothing could be passed to us without her being informed first. And she keeps a tight control on the usual lines. I had to resort to one or two old channels she had never heard of."
"That is because everything should be ended tonight. We can't afford for her to get involved anymore. Anyway, what did you find?"
"Actually nothing aside of what your attackers mentioned. There is no clue about them. There was a report about one dead man that corresponded to your descriptions, but none about the other you killed, nor about the ones who fled. The man was Chinese, nobody knew him. He moved within a group of five. They had no contact with anyone in the city, and they all disappeared the same day you were attacked. Their bodies were fished from the Kamogawa two days ago, not far from the southwest section of the Imperial Palace. They had been soaking for a while it seems. All evidence is gone, of course."
"Of course."
"Had this 'individual' mentioned by your attackers any ties with Chinese mob?"
"He once met someone from mainland in Yokohama, but he kept us guarding, and at a good distance. We never met or saw his Chinese contact, nor did he reveal exactly what were his deals with him. I always assumed it had to be an import of raw material to be processed by Takani."
"Could this be payback for the failure of his operation with Takeda? Or are you thinking in an involvement of Yukishiro?"
"Concerning the first hypothesis, I don't discard the possibility completely, but I doubt it. There are other dealers, more interesting prospects; Takeda wasn't a big loss, in that sense."
He made a pause. Takeda Kanryuu had been just a passing, fleeting star that burnt himself in his own wildfire. He had risen to the top fast, and he had disappeared twice as quickly. There were too many like them, sprouting like mold in the new built walls of the Meiji Restoration. They fed in the still widespread corruption within it, a by-product of the social imbalance caused by the war and the inner turmoil of the Bakumatsu and the last internal strives. Nobody would have missed an erased spot in such a vast collection of scumbags. There were still many to pick from.
"As regards the second, it's very likely. He disappeared when he was being tracked down by Saitou, he should know by now that we are also behind him, and his father is in our custody. And I collaborated to destroy his operation in Japan. He has all the right motives. He might have used the name of Takeda just to cause in me an emotional response, to destabilize me. He used that kind of tactics with Battousai."
"This would be a fatal blow to Hiroshi-san..." the old man shook his head.
"You will abstain to reveal anything about this for the time being. Keep trying to find more information about these Chinamen. Send someone to Yokohama."
"What about Misao?"
"After the chat of this night, everything will be solved. But I would prefer to keep her as close to the Aoiya as possible. They targeted me first, but if Yukishiro is behind this, any Oniwabanshuu might suit his ends. Besides, Misao was also on the island, and she helped Battousai directly."
"Alright then, I'll keep her busy, helping with the inn."
"Any other affair that requires to be discussed?"
"While you were away in the Temple, a telegram was delivered to you. It was brought by a police officer. And it came from Hokkaido."
He raised a brow inquisitively. The Clan had no business going on in such a far away location. He took the envelope containing the message, and nodded to the old man. Giving him back a curt bow, Okina left his study.
He sat behind his desk, and finally, opened the mysterious envelope.
Though the hardest part of winter was past gone, and they were looking forward to the blooming of the first buds, the nights were still rather chilly outside, though the hearth in the center of the room made the place comfortably warm. The soft rustling of the branches in the gardens was the only sound breaking the silence around the frail looking form of the small young woman. She was all alone, lost for the world in the secluded security of her quarters, well inside the private area of the Aoiya compound, reserved for the staff members, or better said, the Oniwabanshuu and their eventual guests.
The commercial façade of the ryokan was totally separated from this wing, to avoid inconveniences in the more private activities of the group.
It had been based on the original blueprints designed by his grandfather, when belonging to the Oniwabanshuu had a different meaning. But though she knew this past wouldn't come back, she insisted that they could use the original design, destroyed during the Boshin wars (1), for this new era.
The events during the Shishio incident awakened their old pride and gave them a sense of purpose, leaving the old days at the service of the Shogun, and becoming instead the protectors of the city. They had needed a building that kept the new Oniwabanshuu headquarters, while it maintained their façade in place at the same time, and the old project of his grandfather fit their aims like a glove. That's why Okina had heartily agreed to her idea when they started the reconstruction of the building.
To her utter dismay, she learnt from Aoshi-sama's own lips his disapproval to that choice shortly after Jinchuu. He said then that times had changed, and that they had to move on with them.
Aoshi-sama... sometimes he was so hard to figure out...
'And sometimes, he is merely an idiot,' she thought, grinding her teeth.
She knew that somehow, his present behavior was related to those thoughts. She couldn't agree with him more about moving on, but it was clear that for the both of them 'moving on' held very different meanings. To her, 'moving on' was learning from the mistakes of the past to improve the future, while for him, it meant to bury that past as if had never had existed. And in her opinion, that was a gross mistake. But she was used to seeing him learn things the hard way, and this time wouldn't be an exception.
Misao was knelt in front of a kyodai (2), her eyes fixed on the items spread before her.
'How could I be so stupid...so naïve... how could I have fallen so easily? How am I supposed to become the true Okashira, if I cannot see through the others' intentions?'
Of course, her mind was yelling that the other was none other but Aoshi-sama, and that her reaction was only logical.
'But I should have known better...,' she reproached herself.
Oh, yes, she should have known better. But, she was too busy being her usual self: Aoshi-sama's official worshiper. She snorted. It was no wonder why the guy didn't take her seriously, really.
She had been so blinded by happiness at first, she hadn't even thought about the real purpose of these gifts. But after they reached the Aoiya and her initial enthusiasm had waned awaiting the return of Kaoru from her early errands, she started to understand.
It was a very obvious attempt of manipulation. And it hurt. And it made her angry, something that she dislike when it was connected to the tall man.
She knew that Aoshi-sama didn't take her seriously because she was young, and inexperienced. And, on top of it all, untrained.
It was a harsh reality, but she had to admit it. Although she managed a good deal of Kenpo and was a reasonably good and accurate kunoichi, she was nowhere the level of excellence required by the older standards the ancient Oniwabanshuu lived for.
Not that she hadn't tried to learn, but Okina had refused to teach her the fine points of the dark arts, alleging old age and feeble memory, and Aoshi-sama, the other one capable of teaching her among the living ones, had plainly stated that, since in the new era the old secrets weren't necessary, they'd die with him.
That was the moment where she started to understand that they both, Aoshi-sama and Okina, had granted her the privilege of remaining as the Okashira just to humor her, to make true her old childhood dream, which for them, was just that, a mere dream. She almost expected it from Aoshi-sama, who, once had reached a conclusion about an issue, was irremovable about his decision. And it was obvious that he favored the extinction of the Clan.
They didn't take her seriously, she was just a little girl and the adults humored her, at least for a while. Like Aoshi-sama had done that afternoon, with his so-called gifts. Misao was sure that she was behaving in Aoshi-sama's mind like a little child throwing a tantrum, not as a woman with something useful to say. Therefore, he gave her a little candy, to distract her, and defuse the problem, while the adults dealt with the responsibilities.
'How could I think...?''
Misao took one of the combs, making it spin slowly in her hand.
It was so delicate, the handiwork, so beautiful... a present for a lady. That was why she had faltered at first, not believing he had bought them for her. Misao sighed. Yes, how she could have thought he'd buy such precious thing because of her...
Nobody had given her something that delicate and expensive in her whole life. Of course, it wasn't the price what mattered, but the idea that someone considered her worthy of such a ladylike present.
She had felt so insecure, with those 'weasel' comments from her male acquaintances and Okon and Omasu always teasing her about her feminine figure, or lack of it, more accurately. So when Aoshi-sama had given her that beautiful present, so above her expectations, she felt like heaven, like he had seen her for what she was, a woman.
However, as soon as she had time to think by herself, the first glorious throes of enthusiasm gone, she understood it all.
In a way, what at first glance had been disappointing, with nobody around to share her happiness had turned for the better.
Kaoru had dragged Himura for a visit to the Golden Temple, Megumi had went together with Hiroshi-san to the shacks he and his son had lived in, to treat the poor people living there. Okon and Omasu were too busy working in the Inn to hear her rants...
Nobody had been there to hear her when she had arrived... But it hadn't been bad, in the end...
She had time to cool off, and think about the whole affair. That's when she pieced all together and understood how evident his manipulation had been. Obviously, considering his past, he was a real master at the game, and he had noticed her hidden rage.
Through the last days he had tried to provoke an outburst from her. It was evident that he planned to show her how childish her behavior was, then proceed to patiently explain to her why she didn't have to feel offended at his and Okina's intervention behind her back, because that wasn't proper for an adult.
However, and despite the anger boiling in her veins, she had refused to play by his rules for once, though that day at the Temple she had been close to failing her purpose.
Then, she had decided to return to the Aoiya to avoid further damage, and then he had chosen to go back too. Contradictory emotions were stirred inside of her by his decision, and though her pride commanded her to go back on her own, long ingrained habits and lingering hopes won the battle within. So she joined her path with his, not with her usual bouncy and chit-chattering ways, but with a decided, quick pace. However, she almost reconsidered her decision when the brief trace of a smirk made it's way up to his face.
'Damn,' she cursed inwardly, 'I should have followed my gut instinct...'
Misao got up, stomping, and then pacing out through the room, like a caged beast.
She should have been wary from the beginning; the path chosen by him, the overcrowded market, all the signs had been there, and that had been the reason she had not enjoyed as she should have the precious, rare opportunity he would have treated her with.
'Because he didn't mean it... at least... the way I wish he did.'
Misao closed her eyes, the pain and anger in her heart becoming fresh and raw al over again. Even now, she knew he was coddling her, treating her as though she was a child to be placated, a little girl whose troubles would vanish with the slightest little distraction.
'If it were only that easy...'
A sad, almost wistful smile settled on her face, making her appear as young as Aoshi's backhanded courtesy was making her feel,
'...I could just smile, pretend that I am still the little girl he left behind...'
But she was not. Damn, she was not. Misao set her jaw close in irritation. If that fool just stopped patronizing her like everybody else, maybe the stubborn man would take seriously her efforts to make him live again.
Then, he'd leave behind the pain and mistakes to grab the hand all in the Aoiya have been offering him to start anew. But, of course, nothing made or thought by a child mattered...
'Not a single smile.'
She had not gotten a single real smile. His smirks and half heartfelt smiles wouldn't do it... he was better, much better than when she started, but he still was shrouded in guilt. As Himura had been...
'But I won't give up on him. Ever. No matter what he thinks or rather, what he believes he thinks. Someday, the effort will pay, I know it.'
Someday, yes, but certainly not that day.
Her mind went back to the original trail of thoughts. They had to clear some things first, that was sure. She'd settle scores with him later, as soon as everybody is asleep, she'll drag him outside and then she will give him a piece of her mind...
The soft rap on her shoji took her out of her reveries. The shadow cast over the panel was unmistakable with her high ponytail...
"Kaoru... come in..."
Her friend bore a bright expression. It was no wonder considering that she had the rurouni all for herself during a big part of the day, out of the teasing of their common friends. Kaoru was so fortunate, Misao thought.
"Okon and Omasu told me that you have been asking for me..." her friend started "and they also told me you were walking on clouds. So I couldn't help but run to hear the good news."
"Oh, it's nothing... just... nothing." Misao dismissed, quickly "But tell me, you sure had great news, your face reveals it all." She winked at Kaoru. There was no way she'd taint her friend's happiness with her bad mood.
'And who knows? She could even make me feel better.'
"Misao? What happened?" Kaoru narrowed her eyes, reading her like an open book. "Don't tell me nothing is wrong, because something is upsetting you."
'Oppps... Great! I am so transparent that even Kaoru notices I'm distressed. How am I supposed to keep face during dinner?'
She fidgeted under the older girl's gaze for a moment, until she gave up. She walked to her drawer and took the precious gifts she had been spoiled with, bringing them to Kaoru.
"There!" She said, pointing to the offending items, triumphant "See?"
Kaoru's gaze wandered confused from her to the articles laid in front of her and back to her.
"Beside that these are some of the most expensive and wonderful things I've ever laid eyes upon, I don't see anything wrong with them... Someone had stolen them from you and now you got them back? Or this has something to do with a new case?"
"No, no, no... You don't understand... Aoshi-sama gave them to me!"
"Oh but that's wonder..." Misao guessed that her expression was beyond scary, because her friend cut her enthusiastic sentence before finishing it "All right... and this is wrong because...?" Kaoru made a gesture indicating her that she was expecting further explanations.
"Can't you see? He knows I caught him red-handed. Therefore, he is preparing this grand escape from his crime. He has been teasing me the whole week! I'm so predictable... he is waiting for me to explode, and then lecture me about what a naughty child I'm being. As he didn't get what he planned, he gave me a candy, or its replacement," she pointed to the gifts, "as if keeping me bouncing and happy could distract the child enough for him and that old traitorous pervert, Jiya, to do what they want with the Oniwabanshuu."
"Misao... I think you might be overreacting... I know you are rather sensitive but I don't think..."
"Oh, but you don't know Aoshi-sama like I do!"
She paced the room, in furious strides, as to vent all her rage and frustration.
"I know, Kaoru, I know!" she hit her open palm with the back of the other hand and started to recount the proofs. "First, he expected during all these days that I stormed in his quarters demanding explanation, and I bet he had a long discourse to cover his ass. As I didn't fall for his trap, he kept pushing me, until today he pretended with fake innocence, to be concerned about my state of mind. Then, he decided to come with me back to the Aoiya!"
"See? I told you, you are overreacting. Can't you see? You are a nervous wreck, he is only showing his concern, and considering who we are talking about, you should be floating ten feet above the floor..."
"No, no, no."
She stomped in frustration. Couldn't anyone else see it? It was so clear...
"You don't get it... Usually, I go, serve him tea, and leave him alone. He comes back around dinnertime. Alone. When the streets are empty." Misao marked all the phases of Aoshi-sama's routine, trying to make the point clear for her friend. "Today, he practically walked me home. Going through one of the most populated markets of Kyoto. Then... he bought all these..."
"Well, it still doesn't strike me as too odd, except for the gift part... maybe." Kaoru took one of the combs, looking at it almost with fascination.
"Kaoru" Misao noticed a glimpse of something in Kaoru's voice, but she could not define what it was. But she'll make sure to find out very soon. "We are talking of a man that values every second of his time on the Temple, that avoids crowds like maidens avoid Jiya... Doesn't his behavior sound weird to you?"
"He has such a difficult character... I never understood him... Maybe he simply is trying to be nice..."
A new shape cut against the shoji. As it opened, the face of Megumi showed up, with a haughty smile flourishing on her lips.
"So, you've been melting that ice of a man? Or is it just an unfounded rumor?"
If Misao thought that nothing could get worse before, she now knew that she was wrong. Having the sly doctor making comments wasn't her idea of placating her anger.
"Megumi, I don't think...," said Kaoru.
"Ooohh... this is beautiful! Did he gave them to you, weasel?"
That was the last drop, she finally snapped, her voice full of bitterness.
"Yes, and I suppose that a weasel like me cannot appreciate them truly. So take them."
She'd never be anything beyond a weasel or a child, and that was it. Misao put the combs and the other gifts in front of a very stunned Megumi, while Kaoru suppressed a gasp.
"Come on, a lady like you, a beautiful woman that knows how to lure men, will have more use for them than this unfeminine tomboy. Maybe, he'd even appreciate them on you. He surely wouldn't notice if I wear them or not. Take them. And leave me alone."
"I don't know what is going on, but you surely found the wrong target to vent, weasel."
She was about to answer, when she realized what she had done. She had no right to say what she had, nor to mistreat Megumi as she had. The doctor could be infuriating, but she had helped them a lot.
"I'm sorry..."
She could not say anything but that lame apology. She felt drained.
"What's going on here?" Megumi asked.
She didn't answer. Kaoru did it for her.
"And that's it, weasel? Sincerely, I have always thought that despite your quick temper and antics, you were a clever woman."
"Megumi... You have no right to say these things to Misao... she needs our support, not your taunts." Kaoru's tone was close to a growl, but the doctor didn't pay attention.
"I haven't seen Shinomori Aoshi to behave obsequious or flattery with anyone in all the time I've known him. He could care less about pleasing people, that grumpy ice cube. He doesn't ask, he commands. He doesn't suggest, he demands. What makes you think he would act different, if he wants something from you, concerning the Oniwabanshuu?"
"He is a good tactician, that's all."
"What's up with you weasel? Not used to getting male attention that you don't recognize one when you get it?"
"Shut up!"
"No, I won't."
"Megumi!"
"You two are two of a kind, really. I had to shake one of you to come to Kyoto and now I have to shake the other to see what she has in front of her eyes... Is it Karma or what?" the beautiful woman was now scolding her and Kaoru too, who had started to blush. "Now, tell me weasel, will you stay complaining or will you do something to test my theory?"
Her temper was flaring again. True, she had attacked the doctor first with her big mouth, but who did she think she was? But before she could speak, Kaoru talked again.
"Misao, I know that Megumi can sound quite rude sometimes," her friend glared at the doctor, "but she is usually right, and does try to help... in her own way..."
"Tsk-tsk... the point is, Tanuki, that even you recognize it. She does need help if she can't figure out such a simple fact as that the Icicle is sending her a big flare announcing his interest to her. "
"What do you have in mind?" Misao almost growled.
"That's more like you, weasel. Good... Let operation Melting the Ice Block begin..."
The mischievous laugh of the doctor made Misao wonder if she was in her right mind for accepting her help.
'Too late to escape,' she thought, watching the door getting farther and farther away from her position, as the doctor pushed her towards her dresser.
Aoiya Inn dinning room, Kyoto, Earth, late February 1880 A.D,night.
The calm of the room was broken when the annoying street fighter and Kamiya's disciple entered the dinning area. He still wondered how Battousai could bear the company of the first man. No matter that the man could be a valuable ally in a fight; he was far too noisy and far too notorious for the low profile required in their field. In a way, he could understand Saitou's dislike for the youth.
They joined Battousai, Okina, and Yukishiro Hiroshi in the other table (3), where the visitors from Tokyo usually assembled. Okina and Misao usually joined them, and occasionally, Okon and Omasu left their seats to enjoy a conversation after dinner. He usually was gone at the first signs of sociability spreading after the end of the meal.
He knew that they expected that one day he'd stay, sharing the family air of such meetings. But he wasn't that kind of man. He had never been, and would never be.
Soon, Shiro and Kuro entered the area. After greeting the Tokyo group and even joking with Sagara, they bowed respectfully to him and took their places at the far corner of his table. They kept talking among themselves and exchanging a few words with their guests.
He noticed that neither Takani nor Kamiya were there yet. Misao was probably in the kitchen, helping Okon and Omasu. The doctor usually joined them, but Kamiya was kept out of the area, not a simple or pleasant task, but accomplished most of the times either by Hiroshi, Battousai or Okina. They always found a way to keep her distracted enough to allow the other women to work without her presence hindering their task. However, the three males were there...
Before he could continue with his line of thoughts, Okon and Omasu showed up, and Shiro and Kuro helped them with the trays.
'Still no trace of Kamiya, Takani, or Misao,' he thought, sipping his green tea.
The typical laugher of the sly doctor and the voice of Kamiya heralded their arrival. As expected, Misao was with them.
However, all visage of normalcy ended there. The joyous murmurs and exclamations all but ceased, and all the gazes were fully directed on her.
Misao was certainly a vision, wearing a simple but elegant yukata in mild mauve tones. The touch of red in her lips made a definitive contrast with her creamy skin, a contrast that was explosive. The beautiful long hair was free of the constricting braid, floating all around her, enveloping her frame in an alluring sea of dark silken tresses. And there, the combs he had given her earlier made the perfect compliment to her beauty.
Though he couldn't put the blame on the rest of the men in the room, he felt that nobody had the right to stare at her like this. It was, simply put, impolite.
He cleared his throat to make the point across, and Shiro and Kuro were immediately back to help Okon and Omasu serving the food while Battousai wisely distracted Sagara. Okina's mouth was agape; his eyes going from Misao to him a couple of times until his glare made the old man desist of such annoying behavior.
He saw the doctor bending onto Misao, and whispering something in her ear, and she straightened, proudly. A delicious blush covered her cheeks, and suddenly he felt he needed a little more tea to moisten his unusually dry throat.
The next unusual thing was that she didn't approach the table where Battousai and her Tokyo friends stood. She came directly towards his corner, sitting almost in front of him. Takani took the place just at her back.
Of course, he kept as usual his impassible visage. Or at least he thought so.
His certainty weakened when he realized that now it was him who was doing the same action he had reproached in the other males there.
'I'm not staring,' he said to himself, frowning slightly, 'just admiring how finely she had grown up.'
However, he couldn't help but being caught in the grace of her performance, as it had been carried out from a master of the tea ceremony. For one reason or another, probably, because of her continuous attempts to get him smiling or her distracting chatting, he had never before appreciated the elegance and delicacy with which she poured for him.
Her present appearance only enhanced the effect, and he vowed that as soon as the future of the Oniwabanshuu were settled with her, he'd convince her to wear yukatas. The change definitely favored her.
For a moment that seemed to last an eternity, their eyes crossed, but he broke the awkward moment commenting that it might be a good idea to give Tea Ceremony classes in the inn as a new source of income. He suggested that Misao was more than capable for the post of instructor due to her skills.
"Hey, Shinomori, you might be good with the onmitsu stuff and all, but you need serious lessons in flirting," Sagara made one of his foolish remarks, followed by his clumsy guffaws, as Kamiya's protégée joined the street fighter's foolishness, "especially if you try to flirt with weasels."
Misao's levels of anger were explosive, but he wasn't concerned with her fury, but with his. He glared fiercely at him, and Shiro and Kuro gasped. He also sensed Battousai tensing, ready to intervene if necessary. It wasn't.
The woman doctor splashed something -very- hot on the fool, and they started bantering, while Kamiya was beating some manners on the brat under her ward. He smirked briefly. He'd have to make a mental note to thank them afterwards.
But Misao's mood had dampened considerably. He didn't want her to feel bad. She hadn't motives to feel so.
"Sagara, just for your information, we don't keep any weasels at the Aoiya. We do have respectable young women among our ranks. We expect that our guests treat all female members with the due courtesy," he managed to say in a moment of silence during the ex-gangster and fox doctor's verbal fight.
Aoshi went back eating his food calmly. He didn't need to look at them to know that all were blushing. And Misao's temper had not only calmed down, but improved considerably, judging by her ki.
He might not be an expert with women, but he wasn't stupid, and knew how to make a decent compliment to a female, a feat that the street fighter had yet to accomplish.
When he raised briefly his head from is bowl, he saw Yukishiro and Himura's smiling faces, and Okina's lips twisted in the creepiest smile he had seen in his life, Tenken's included. The old man had also a gleam in his eyes that anticipated problems, thus he knew that he'd have to make sure that Misao and he weren't trapped in any embarrassing situation during the following weeks.
Fortunately, Okina's schemes were short lived. Something new always managed to catch his attention, diverting him towards other goals.
'Which is always a good thing, for his health's sake.'
The old man had managed to grate on his nerves more than once, and only a big amount of meditation had eased the sudden wish of inflicting pain on him.
The rest of the meal transpired in relative calm, with everyone leaving to their respective rooms to spend the night.
Misao approached him while the other women had left to the kitchen.
"Aoshi-sama... thanks"
She was charmingly blushing, a light of gratitude shining in her wide, beautiful eyes. He simply nodded, and swallowing an unexpected lump in his throat, he approached the topic he had dreaded all day long
"Misao, I need to talk with you. Tell Omasu to bring tea to my study. I'll be waiting for you there in about twenty minutes."
"Alright, Aoshi-sama," she tensed, knowing perhaps what was coming. "I'll be there."
He blinked, when she disappeared from sight. Was his imagination or her voice had hardened in her last statement?
'Well, I guess I'll learn soon'
Very young women --and males too--- were always a headache. At least that was Megumi's immediate reaction when Misao entered the kitchen, fuming mad.
"Omasu, bring Aoshi-sama tea to his study. Include an extra cup."
The other two onmitsu girls, ignoring her request, fell over Misao like birds of prey, making her spin, examining her closely.
"Oohhh, Our little Misao has grown up!" Omasu hugged Misao tightly, while Okon, wiped a tear.
Megumi rolled her eyes.
'After living among them, I'd never have believed that the Oniwabanshuu would get so... emotional'
Kaoru approached them too, smiling cheerfully to her friend.
"You are so pretty tonight! Look at these combs!"
"Aoshi gave them to her," said Kaoru.
"Is that true?" Okon squealed in utter delight.
"It was about time, if you ask me..." added Omasu. " I had already planned to carry a mi-ai for your 18 birthday if he didn't move that behind of his out of that temple once and for all"
"Oh, yes! But, what a behind, ne, Misao?" the other girl added with a wicked wink "And did you see how Aoshi-sama stared at you?"
"He wasn't staring. He merely was appreciating how I poured his tea," Misao mumbled, half embarrassed, half upset yet.
"Omasu, Shinomori is awaiting his tea, Okon, Misao had a hard day today, I'm sure she is tired, she will tell you all the details tomorrow. Now give the poor girl a break," the doctor intervened in a non-nonsense tone.
As if on cue, the two women left the petite girl alone.
"What's up with you?" Megumi asked unceremoniously, at last.
"We're going to talk, now," Misao said, the implicit meaning of her words sinking in fast in the doctor's mind.
"I see... However, I hope you had learnt a lesson tonight, and now, you put in practice during this 'chat' of yours."
"What do you mean?"
"Didn't you understand? It's as I said to you earlier, whatever business you two have with the Oniwabanshuu, it's something absolutely aside of your relationship, at least in his eyes. I hope you too can separate things."
Misao bit her lip, as if pondering.
"Look at how he 'defended' you from Sano. You know that good old rooster-head would break some bones if someone dared to hurt or offend you, he was just teasing you two. But you know that he is an idiot, and as well intended as he is, when he opens his big mouth he says things that makes you want to throw him in a river. With a heavy rock tied to his neck and his hands tied behind his back. Well, you get the picture." Misao nodded and smiled.
"Don't worry, I'll make him regret it later. Nobody makes fun of Makimachi Misao and leaves unpunished!"
"That's, the spirit girl."
"So... you think I impressed him?"
"Impressed him? Oh, Misao, you have no idea!" Kaoru added, excited. "His eyes... he was looking at you during all the meal"
"Yes, well... he mentioned the other girls too..."
"But he was very clear: no weasels in the Aoiya... You can't expect him to sign his love for you in passionate haikus. That's Shinomori for you, and has to be enough."
"Yes, you are right..." the minute onmitsu said and beamed a smile, "Megumi... thanks! And sorry, for earlier."
Definitely, she'd have to label Misao's hugs as a health hazard.
"Now, I have to go. I need to teach that man a lesson."
"Good luck, Misao!" Kaoru embraced the younger girl before she left the place.
"She will need it, Tanuki, because as I'm certain that we melted the Icicle tonight, I also know that the guy is the most stubborn jackass I have crossed in all my years."
The neat order of the room, covered from roof to floor with shelves full of books, written in no less than a dozen languages, revealed his ownership. It had been kept like this for him even when he was serving at Edo Castle. And though the Aoiya had been destroyed twice during those times, it had been painstakingly rebuilt in every small detail. As a reminder where he belonged to. As a reminder of the faith a small young woman had in him.
Incense sticks filled the room with its spicy odor, and the lamp in the corner cast a yellow light, leaving the farthest corners in shadows, in perfect symmetry with the state of his own soul.
However, he wasn't there to linger in metaphysical inner debates. Far from that.
Misao was sat down on one of the tall Western style chairs that furnished his study. Maybe imagining her legs dangling playfully a few inches above the floor would erase the disturbing image of the beautiful young woman in front of him, making the conversation he planned easier.
'Maybe not...,' he thought, knowing the moment she opened her mouth that he was doomed.
"Well, Aoshi-sama, I think it's about time we clarify certain things" she said, looking at him with wide bluish-green eyes and deep voice.
"Aa" he simply stated, trying to assess the situation better while, for once, he was the one pouring the tea for both.
Somehow, everything has changed. She was different in her attitude. And he had other things to ponder too.
'But let's take it a step at a time.'
Misao was still angry, no doubt about it. However, there was something else tempering her anger, but he doubted it had to do with the gifts. It was just... different, and he couldn't grasp exactly what it was. However, something was certain: she glowed. A definite air of confidence surrounded her, though he didn't exactly know why. Maybe if he hadn't been so stunned when he saw her lowering the steps of the case, he could have paid more attention to the woman's doctor attitude. Definitely, she had something to do with Misao's change.
"Aoshi-sama... I want to ask a question. And I want an honest and straight answer. Is it fair to give back betrayal and condescendence for respect and devotion?"
He flinched at the verbal stab, and was tempted to ask out loud who was that stranger in front of him, because he was certain it wasn't Misao. That was pretty harsh, as he expected she'd be, though far as direct as she should have been. She should have been thinking of the situation for a long time, and maybe the issue would be more difficult to handle than he had considered it would be.
"No, of course not." He found himself admitting "but maybe what is perceived as betrayal or mockery is in fact something different." Aoshi countered, cautiously.
"Maybe you mean that someone wanted to protect a child from the harsh realities of the world, when the child didn't want or need to be protected?" she said, almost tersely.
"There is no child to be protected in first place. Only time taking its toll, and history following an inevitable course."
Misao narrowed her eyes, sipping her tea, trying obviously to gather the meaning of his words.
"Misao, do you remember when, during Jinchuu, you teamed up with Myoujin to find Yukishiro's hideout near the Arakawa river mouth?"
"Yes, of course. It was a long and exhausting search" Misao shuddered visibly. Aoshi remembered the boy's complaints about her whining all day because she missed him.
"Did someone stopped you because you were too young, inexperienced, because you might find thugs?"
"N-no" She looked at him, confused.
"And do you remember how we accompanied Himura to his match with Yukishiro in his island?"
"Of course."
"Did somebody restrain you to stay in the ship, because the bay was full of mines, and it was dangerous in the beach itself?"
"No..."
"Then you remember, Misao, that you, like Sagara, Saitou, Myoujin and I did, also lent your own warrior strength to Himura, granting the boat safe passage among the mines to reach the beach, a strength that in the end, helped him to defeat Yukishiro Enishi, and destroy his net of illegal weapons that would have harmed the country. Strengths like these are not to be disregarded as a child feat. And earlier, you led the defense of the city and the Aoiya. And you succeeded." He made a pause and looked into her eyes before going ahead. "And it was you, as the acting Okashira, who forgave the traitor and opened the door to his return home."
She was in shock. Misao had obviously been so focused in the teasing and her own assumptions that had made her oblivious to the glaring facts.
"Then why...? Is it my incompetence as Okashira? If so, why did you refuse to train me? Why didn't you take the title back when I offered it? Or simply asking it when you deemed you were ready to resume your duties? Is it that you feared to hurt me? The Oniwabanshuu is my life, and it's an honor to serve the clan. But I'd be selfish and stupid if I would not step back if I'm not up to the level of competence to fulfill the leading role... Asking it, instead taking me for a fool, would have hurt less."
He would have preferred her shouting and mad, than sounding so hurt. But he also knew that she would not raise her voice against him, no matter how mad she was at him.
"Misao you are hardly incompetent. On the other hand, you are much better Okashira that I would ever be."
"Please, Aoshi-sama, be blunt. Don't try to patronize me anymore."
"Did I ever in the past?" she shook her head without raising her eyes to his "Did you consider me successful as a leader? My crimes are to numerous to be enumerated, and if your grandfather were alive, he would have finished me himself because of my failure. Of what use were my skills and strengths, if I lost my path? You, on the other hand, might not possess the old secret knowledge, but you are the embodiment of all the virtues that made us proud to belong to the Oniwabanshuu." He said quietly.
"Then I don't understand..."
"Times have changed, Misao. The world is not what it used to be. A man with the best training in the dark arts cannot match a brute with a gun. We are living in the age of the Gatling gun, where highly specialized warriors are no longer needed. And the secrets passed unto me, will die with me too, because there is no need for the Oniwabanshuu in this new era anymore."
"As much time as you spent in the temple, you haven't been enshrined and turned a kami, nor a bodhisattva (4)," she hissed. "Who gave you the right to finish the existence of the best spy net of Japan? You renounced the title, left vacant the position, you lost every right when you chose Shishio over us."
Aoshi widened his eyes slightly, wincing at her verbal stab, but he went on, holding to the merciless reality of cold facts to convince her, something that would be more difficult than he had expected in the beginning.
"Misao, I disbanded officially the Oniwabanshuu just after the Boshin Wars. There was no more Shogunate to serve; we lost our reason to exist with our master gone. Our members, after the sacrifices they made for our lost cause, now deserved a better life, a life where they could live under the sunlight. Just those without another place to go remained together, here in Kyoto, far from our original base at Edo, and without the purpose they held originally. And I left with those conspicuous enough to bring unwanted attention on those who wanted to lead peaceful, normal lives. I'm just closing what I had started myself."
"But it's no longer your decision. Unless you claim the title back, I'm in charge, and I know you are wrong." She said stubbornly "We may have lost our original employer, but still have a reason to exist. We are not the guardians of Edo castle or the Shogun anymore, we are now the guardians of Kyoto, and I plan to stretch it to the country. Even those members who left after the war, still keep open communications with us. Our net is not dead, and we can improve it, revive the Oniwabanshuu in its former glory, and still serve our land, if not through the Shogun, through the Meiji government."
"Misao, the world out there..."
"I know! I know!" She cut him off, completing the sentence, "...It's full of dangerous madmen. I fought them. You reminded me of it a while ago, don't you, Aoshi-sama? Don't you think I know it by this time? Don't you know that I went behind your trail all alone, Aoshi-sama? Himura had to have told you how he met me. I've walked the world myself, Aoshi-sama. Perhaps not in the same companies, or the same dark alleys. But I've seen enough of the world to not be naïve."
"Misao, as I told you, I'm not patronizing you. I know you are aware of the world's dangers. I don't commit the idiocy of confusing your optimism about life with naïveté. You are not oblivious to the dark side of people, and I'm aware of it." He met her defiant stare with his meaningful one. Of course, she was aware. He was the living proof of that. "What I meant is that the world has changed. Thus, we must move on with it. There is no place for the old codes, no place for people like me, or the old onmitsu, the government has its own net of spies, and they are trained in the Western fashion. Our services are no longer required... or needed. This is the reality, Misao, and no amount of romantic wishes will change it."
"As I told you before, you are not entitled to make this decision, at least not now. However, as this plan started when you were Okashira, I will put into the consideration of the other members and Jiya whether or not your former injunction must be followed till the end, and we'll see what the Clan decides." She pressed her lips into a thin line, holding her ground fiercely. He was torn between admiration and the pain of hurting her so, but in the end, it was for the best. It was just a matter of time that she understood it.
"Misao, they all support my decision."
"You mean that in the past they did, but now, Aoshi-sama, things might be different." She was taping her foot lightly, the movement reflecting her efforts to keep her anger at bay.
"Okina and I talked about it just after we came back from Tokyo, and he gathered the opinion of the others. We agreed that after his death, no more onmitsu work will be done anymore."
"Oh, I see... you just said you hadn't patronized me, and you all stabbed me in the back." She smirked, the pain in her eyes so hard to stand, that he, who feared no one, and never step out from a challenge, could not hold her gaze. He had betrayed her again, even if he had only her best interest in mind. "You know, Aoshi-sama, it's true, it's for the best." She finally said in a small but collected voice "A true Okashira would have noticed the plots behind her back. I'm unfit for the post, it seems"
"Misao, we only want what is best..."
"Well, Aoshi-sama, I'm convinced that this is what you think is the best. However, and as much as I admire your genius, we must admit that your choices hadn't been always the most accurate. But I guess I'm alone in this, as you have used your strategies wisely, leaving me no choice, right, Aoshi-sama?" unmistakable bitterness sounded in her voice
She had given back the hit with one of her own, one with unexpected intent behind. The fact that she had tried to hurt him shook him to the core.
"Misao, be sensible..." his countenance remained impassible, but he indeed was affected.
"Thus, as I see it," she said, following her discourse, cutting him off for the second time in the night, something unusual but highly understandable in her state "any further discussion is useless. So, if you excuse me, Aoshi-sama, I'm pretty tired. I need to rest. Good night."
She bowed formally, and exited the room, while he could only watch her go, tied to the floor. He once again had made her suffer, and his heart was heavy with guilt.
A shoji door opened in the opposite corner of the room. The head of a very pissed off Okina popped up behind the screen.
"Misao be sensible..." The old man mocked "Of course, you had to ruin everything. You forgot she is just seventeen. You lost the perfect chance to comfort her, and make her see things out of the cold logic... One simple hug, that would have been all that was required... but nooo... It was too much for Mr. Ice Block... Ah, I don't know why I bother... You are a lost cause." The old man glared at him and then said with absolute conviction before closing the shoji back, with a hard click. "Idiot!"
Maybe he was, he thought, alone in the growing darkness of his study, while the lamp's fuel was running thin, like his hopes of a calm future that now were obscured by resurrected ghosts of his near past.
'Misao, believe me, I know what I'm doing. It's truly for the best. So you will never have to know what a beast is.'
By the tenth time in the night, he reread the short telegram, written in a very old code, used only among the Shogun's Army officers, and that he, as former Captain of the Shogun's Guard, knew very well. As well as the Shinsengumi captains.
Takeda Kanryuu has escaped prison. Whereabouts: unknown.
Yes, he thought, there were beasts under human disguise at large. Beasts he helped to grow. Beasts that now, he will have to hunt down to ensure the future.
Somehow, she managed to find her room in the maze of corridors without shedding a single tear, her head poised high, her steps sure, her heart --in tattered shreds. Calm and collected, as if someone else had taken possession of her body, she slid the shoji apart and slipped inside the room. She changed her clothes and with excruciating precision, she folded them carefully, putting the items in the rack, taking out the combs of her hair, starting to braid it as customary. It was then, performing the oh-so familiar task that the well of her tears finally broke. Silent at first, they ran through her cheeks, until the sobs ran through her body, shaking her petite frame.
"Leave me alone" she said, hearing the shoji sliding.
She didn't turned around; whoever it was, be Jiya, Omasu, Okon, Aoshi-sama, or even Kaoru, she wasn't in the mood to be coddled or soothed. She needed to be alone, and let the feeling of bitter betrayal to wash away. She needed clarity to make a coherent decision concerning what she should do with her life from now on, one not based on feelings but on the facts laid before her.
"My pretty, pretty Misao..."
"Traitor!" she almost spat the word, and the old man winced visible. "Go away, leave this child alone."
"Misao, don't judge us so harshly." the voice of Omasu reached her across the paper wall.
"Yes, why should I? After all, you did all what was best, right? But you forgot to ask me, and you know, for a moment there, I thought that at least you'd respect the title. Boy, I was wrong. I will never be anything else but a little girl in your eyes, right?"
"Misao, listen. We are sorry, we truly are. But we lived though difficult times, and gave everything for our master. However those times are gone, and now we want a little bit of peace too, like everybody else... Do you think Hannya and the rest wouldn't have liked to lead a peaceful life? They did, but they weren't allowed," the voice of Okon, muffled barely by the wall reached her.
"You on the other hand, have this chance, and now that Aoshi-sama is coming back to life, you can have a possibility to do a million things and be happy, don't waste it. That's what the four would have wanted for you, you know it deep in your heart," finished Omasu.
"It's my decision, and nobody else's! He has not right to decide, and you... I cannot believe you, of all people support this farce! Haven't you felt proud of defending the city when Shishio's men attacked it? Have you forgotten what we are?"
"Okon, Omasu, leave us alone."
When the women left, Jiya finally spoke.
"Don't blame Aoshi, and don't blame us. Your grandfather made Aoshi and me swear that we would never allow you to become one of us. It's a matter of honor for us, to fulfill that oath. That's why I had written that letter you found during the Shishio's affair. As Aoshi had failed in his duties, he couldn't look after you anymore, and I had to keep my given word."
"How come you never told me? And why you allowed me to have training at all?"
"It was impossible to stop you. No matter what your grandfather had ordered, the members couldn't resist you, and everyone added a new trick to your 'education'. And later Aoshi thought it was useful that you knew how to defend yourself, not as an onmitsu on a mission, but as a woman that could face dangers in the future, so he consented to a light training."
So all had been a ruse from the beginning? She refused to believe that. Misao knew the pride that his grandfather felt for the Oniwabanshuu; he wouldn't have left her out.
"Listen Misao, do you know how hard it was for your grandfather to lose his wife, his son and his daughter-in-law? These weren't easy deaths nor pretty sights, I was there in each case. He lost them one after the other. These things break anyone."
She listened with reverence, as always that serious matters were mentioned. It was the first time these issues about her family had been addressed in this way.
"It was for the sake of our duty, but a man is still a man, and that pain ate him from the inside. I understand him, I never had a child, but I know how it feels to lose the one you love."
Her eyes widened in surprise. Jiya never talked of his past, and the rest of the older members avoided the topic altogether. This was a night of revelations.
"He didn't want you too follow that path. He wanted you to live, to be happy, to have children and days full of sun and laughter. You have always been special, Misao, full of life and beauty. He didn't want you to lose those things, and Aoshi and I agreed, because you are precious to us. Even if that fool looks like an insensitive piece of ice, he loves you. He might need a little bit of persuasion to realize sometimes, but you already know him..."
Misao smiled lightly. It was a bittersweet smile. Yes, that night she had discovered that Aoshi saw her like a woman, and worthy of delicate gifts. But she also discovered that those who loved her, in the name of that same feeling, had decided about her destiny. It wasn't fair.
"Forgive us, Misao. I know how important the Oniwabanshuu is for you, and I hate myself for having to take it from you, but it's something that has to be done."
"It's not as if I have an option, is it?"
"Just give yourself time to get used to the idea, and though I know it's difficult, you'll finally get over it."
"No, Jiya, it's not as you think. I will never be over it," she didn't know when she had begun to cry again, but she could feel the warm drops soaking the front of her yukata. "But I forgive you."
The old man patted his hands, shook his head in a gesture reflecting his sadness, and left her room.
Later, much later, when she laid still awake on her futon, she said to herself that forgiveness didn't mean to give up. They all were wrong, and for the life of her, she would prove them that the Oniwabanshuu couldn't die. They were necessary, the Shishio affair had proven the utility of the Clan to Kyoto, even in modern times, and against modern guns, as Sadoshima's army possessed.
And the government was always in need of people that they could rely on, but that couldn't be trailed as government agents, as much as the Shogun had needed. No matter that the new secret service had the best western training they could afford; they could never beat an expert ninja. And she wasn't a fool; the new Oniwabanshuu would be instructed using all the technical advances available.
As with every great project, all started with a little step at the time. And she knew what kind of step she would do, starting the following morning. She would need help, even external aid, but she knew who'd help her discreetly. Yes, she was an onmitsu, and she had a plan.
'Nothing can go wrong,' she thought, smirking.
She was Makimachi Misao, and a Makimachi never surrendered. She was ready for battle. And battle she'll give.
Dear reader: If you are still reading this, thanks for your patience. This chapter should have been posted in late November/early December. Unfortunately, things hasn't gone as I planned. My apologies to you all. bows
As always, thanks to my betas, and to Kamorgana, Mary Ann, LSith and MightyMightyMunson for support and advice.
Gracey, Mara, we miss you. (--hugs them--)
1 In Vol 17 chp 144 after the attack of the Juppongatana to the Aoiya there is a reference to this destruction of the original Aoiya:
Misao (climbing to the top of the smashed roof): They really wrecked the place.
Okina (similarly perched): Ah, this is nothing compared to what happened in the Boshin War.
2 Kyodai (also known as Geisha mirror) is the name given to the small vanity, or dressing stand, used by Japanese women to hold make up and other cosmetic supplies. By the beginning of the Meiji era, kyodai were being used by women at al levels of Japanese society, and their great popularity resulted in large-scale production of a variety of styles during the Meiji and Taisho periods. (For a similar example, see Figure 27 in "Japanese Antique Furniture" by Rosy Clarke.)
3 Look in the same Volume than 1 to see the kind of tables. These are from the Shirokebo, but let's assume that, as an inn, the Aoiya would have the same kind of facilities for dinning area.
4 In Theravada Buddhism, the bodhisattva is seen as seeking enlightenment so that, once awakened, he or she may efficiently aid other beings with the expertise of supreme wisdom. Gautama Buddha's previous life experience as a bodhisattva before Buddhahood are recorded in the texts of the jataka. Lay Buddhists of Theravada seek inspiration in Gautama's skill as a good layman in these texts, which account not only his historical life, but many previous lives. The only currently active bodhisattva described in the Pali Canon is the future Buddha Maitreya (Pali: Metteyya). In Mahayana Buddhism, a bodhisattva has the compassionate determination to aid all beings on their quest for the highest state of development, full enlightenment of a Buddha. This type of motivation is known as Bodhicitta.
Remaining in this world of uncontrolled rebirth (cf. Wheel of Life), this individual has taken the bodhisattva vows not to pass into Parinirvana until all other beings have achieved Nirvana.
According to the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism, on his/her way to becoming a Buddha, the bodhisattva proceeds through ten (sometimes fourteen) grounds or bhumi.