The darkness overwhelmed him. The smell of blood already pungent in the air as he moved closer to his destination, careful to keep hidden in the shadows. His childish form moved quickly, his small hands gripping his sheathed swords as he hurried along the streets of the outskirts of Kyoto.
His hands steadily unsheathed his swords as his sensitive ninja trained ears picked up the sounds of a person breathing. He was close to the place now, the place where he was ordered to murder a family. The Makimachi family.
In his mind, he knew that his own clan had sent him on a death mission. The chance of success was minimal, after all he was just a young child of 10 years. Though he had the body of a child, he had the mind of a grown man, cool, calculating and had the reputation of such. Shinomori Aoshi was the child prodigy assassin, a boy who killed quick and without remorse, without so much as a blink of an eye.
He approached the scene carefully, not even flinching as he noticed the blood beneath his shoes. The walls were awash in the colour of red. Bodies littered the small area, broken swords, broken bodies, broken dreams. He crouched behind a large straw basket, peering to survey his situation. The silence was broken with the steady dripping of blood from a severed limb that lay on a crate opposite him.
Ten uniformed men in black. One in a blue yukata. Dead on the floor. From the looks of it, the man in blue had taken them all out. The moon, peering out from behind the clouds, allowed a shaft of light for Aoshi to identify his dead target.
" Kaa-san...kaa-san..."
He blinked. They shot over to the owner of the voice. A little girl, whose face was tear streaked and blood stained. Crying, clinging to the still body of a woman.
The way he was found. Stained with blood and tears. But never again, he had to be strong to survive. He could not cry again.
Making sure that there was no one fast approaching, he walked over the strewn bodies, occasionally finding a man breathing. However unfortunate, when Aoshi was satisfied that the man could not give information he drove the tip of his sword through the body, to make sure the man would never speak again.
Turning his attention back to the crying girl, he realized who she was, who the person she was hugging was, who the person who lay before them was. His targets, father, mother and daughter. Makimachi.
Clenching his jaw, he strode towards them sheathing his other sword to hold his shorter kodachi easily in one hand. Heaving the crying girl from the prone woman's arms, a hand on the collar of her little pink kimono, he lifted a blade to her little neck. The little girl's cries died down to slow sniffles, enough for him to hear the tell tale sounds of footsteps, of people approaching. He did not have much time.
His arm muscles tightened as he prepared to bring the blade across the young girl's neck. He had never been ordered to kill a child before. It occurred to him that whoever had killed his targets for him could be lingering around, prepared to kill him also.
The blade stopped at its target. He looked down at the woman he had mistaken for dead, still clinging to life, holding onto his pant leg and using all her strength to drive a kunai into his leg. Despite her efforts, the blade did not penetrate more than a centimeter. As she lost her strength, she slumped forward, her hand still gripping the kunai as it sliced down his calf before dropping onto the floor with a clatter.
" Let my daughter...my Misao go. Please..."
He dropped the child, both startled and hurt. His eyes went dead, unseeing as the little girl clung to the woman, hugging her to her small chest. It wasn't as if Shinomori Aoshi cared. He was merciless, he would kill without a second glance. But looking down at the pitiful girl calling for her mother, he felt something give way inside him. An emotion...pity?
This was the way he probably looked, when he had been deserted on the streets years ago, barely a child. Smeared with the blood from his parents, lying on the road side helpless. To be found lying in the midst of dead bodies, abhorred by villagers simply for being at the murder, unwanted with no one to care, neither living nor dead.
Extending a hand, he whispered softly to the young girl, still trying in vain to wake her mother.
" Shall we leave?"
Big blue eyes stared up at him. The same colour was where their similarities with his stopped. Hers contained the childish innocence and confusion while his saw the cold hard truth of reality. Though he had the body of a child, he no longer had the eyes of one.
" Nii-chan. Why won't my kaa-san wake up? Where's tou-san?"
Such a clueless being. She had no idea that her world had just fallen apart around her, that her parents had truly left her with no hope of returning.
Kill while they have no protection. Do whatever it takes, kill them at all costs.
Following his orders would mean approval from his clan. He would do anything for that, to be a good assassin, to gain the approval of his okashira. Even if that meant slaughtering the little girl.
" urusei."
He spoke softly as he picked her up by the collar, holding the blade to her throat until blood trickled down her neck. The girl stilled immediately, unconsciously aware of her precarious situation, her big blue eyes trained on him.
He seemed vaguely aware of the distant police whistles and the dim light of lanterns approaching. However, he found himself captivated by the innocence of the blue eyes staring up at him. Knowing he should just kill her and be done with it, knowing it would probably be better for her to die than to lose that innocence, he still couldn't bring his hand to move in that way.
He lowered his sword, knowing that his indecision was only costing him time. Cursing, he sheathed his sword and covered his tracks, grabbing the girl by the waist and carried her off, running down the street to disappear into the shadows.
________
Cool fresh air, no longer the dank, suffocating smell of the city streets. No more paved floors, rotting bodies and spilt blood. Just cold hard dirt, the smell of dewy grass, the clear night air. He could see his home in the distance, a small shack almost hidden behind the beginnings of a forest. A small wooden shack, one room, enough for one to survive with the bare necessities.
He eased open the door, putting down his swords onto the makeshift table. His blue eyes focused on the sleeping girl on his futon, limbs flailed out at the blanket barely covering her small body.
Having just gone to his clan meeting and a mission, Aoshi knew very well that he was in a precarious situation. Here he was, keeping the child whom everyone wanted. The Oniwabanshuu wanted their heir. His clan wanted her dead. The people who had murdered her parents also wanted her gone from this world. Not to mention the severe punishment which would come with withholding information from his own clan.
He really should just kill her. After all, she was nothing but unnecessary trouble.
Walking over to her, he pulled the blankets back up to cover her body, brushing her long messy hair out of her eyes. The moonlight streamed through the open doorway, illuminating the young girl's face. Her delicate nose, small rosy mouth curved into a content smile.
Turning quickly, he walked out of the small shack, kicking off his shoes, closing the door and heading for the nearby stream with a wooden bucket in hand. His bare feet made no sound on the dirt path as the sound of rushing water grew louder. Carefully picking his way down the rocky slope, he stepped into the cool water. He stared for down for awhile, watching the water rushing by his stained pant legs turn red.
Filling the bucket with water, he upended it over his head, letting the water clean his pale skin. Dragging a hand through his wet hair to make sure it was wet, he filled the bucket once again before climbing back up the rocky incline, careful not to spill the water.
Opening the rickety door quietly, he set the wooden bucket down, his eyes focused on his swords lying next to it. Taking a deep breath, he reached out for them, unsheathing the shorter of the pair, admiring the silver gleam of the blade in the moonlight. By far his most treasured possession, and probably the most expensive also. They had been given to him when he had made his first kill by his okashira. Little rivers of dried blood clung to the blade, giving the evidence of the dirty work which he had partaken in that night.
Soon, there would be more blood.
Aoshi strode to the futon, kneeling beside it with his sword clasped tightly with his left hand. He looked down at the sleeping girl, slightly amused that she had already managed to kick away her covers since he had last placed them on top of her. He reached out with his right hand, covered in bruises and cuts from practice, to gently touch the girl's cheek, trailing down to her neck. Drawing his finger across his throat, as if it was his blade, Misao stirred, opening her eyes sleepily and squinted at him through the darkness.
" Aoshi-nii?"
Aoshi quickly stepped back, amalgamating back into the shadows of the small shack as Misao absently lifted a hand to find him. He backed up against the wall, not wanting her to find him.
" Aoshi nii-chan...are you there?"
The girl groped in the darkness as he stared at her. Though her face was blanketed in darkness, the sounds of sniffling signaled the start of tears. Rubbing her eyes with her small fists she cried softly, hugging her knees as she rocked back and forth.
" Kaa-san...tou-san...where did you all go?"
Aoshi did nothing but stare as Misao sniffled, hastily wiping her nose on her sleeve. Was this what he was like? Back when he was found? The furthest he could remember was being beaten, yelled out to do his kata over and over again. Never was there a time that he was allowed to cry.
Suddenly, Misao sat straight up, clawing her hair out of her eyes. She got to her feet, turning to stare. For a moment, she seemed uncertain, trying to decipher weather it was really Aoshi or just her eyes playing tricks on her. The moment of indecision passed as she ran, throwing herself around his waist, grateful for the comfort such contact gave her. Aoshi stared bewildered at the little girl wrapped around his legs. Quickly, he hid the blade behind his back, staring awkwardly down at the figure attatched to him.
She turned her big teary blue eyes at him with a look of both admonishment and relief.
" Where did you go ...I don't want to be alone anymore. Where did kaa-san and tou-san go? Can I go home yet?"
Aoshi knew that he could never comply with the girl's request. She could never return home. Removing himself from Misao's grip, he backed away from her, still holding the blade behind his back.
Misao, however, was oblivious to Aoshi's thoughts. All she knew was that she didn't want to be left alone again. She had nightmares of screams and pain.
" Where do you go Aoshi-nii?"
" out."
Misao shrugged off his curt reply, rushing towards him again. Never in his memory had someone wanted to seek comfort from him. She tugged him insistently on the arm, trying to pull him into a kneeling position. Kneeling down, his shoulders slumped from weariness, Misao threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, whispering in his ear.
" Don't leave me...I don't want to be alone in the darkness...it's scary...what's that shiny thing you're holding nii-chan?"
Misao loosened her grip on his neck scampering behind him to try and grab his short kodachi. Quickly, he stood up, sheathing it back into its rightful place and putting the blades on top of a cupboard, out of reach.
All his killing resolve disappeared in that moment. He could find no strength to do so. And to his surprise, he felt that he did not want to.
The little girl pouted at him, pulling on his hand while trying to reach for the kodachi.
" Promise me that you won't touch them."
Misao frowned as she studied Aoshi's serious face before smiling happily, nodding with agreement.
" Now go to sleep."
Her smile disappeared, a look of fear passed over her. Aoshi found himself concerned as the little girl shivered visibly.
" Doushita?"
" ...ne Aoshi-nii...can you keep a secret?"
" Aaa."
" Misao-chan has bad dreams...monsters come out of the dark with shiny objects...like yours...they want to hurt me."
" They won't hurt you."
Misao looked up at him pleadingly, pulling him over to the futon.
" ne ne...Aoshi-nii will protect Misao-chan when she sleeps right?"
Settling herself onto his lap, she snuggled into his chest, falling asleep before he had time to refuse. Not that he would. Looking down, she looked so peaceful, so innocent. He didn't want to kill her. But Misao staying alive meant that her presence could never be known to anyone but himself. He didn't want Misao to fall to the same fate he had, to be taken in a forced to go along the path of darkness. The path which had been chosen for him.
No, Misao would be free to do what she wanted. He couldn't force her. Smiling slightly as his eyes swept over her angelic face, he knew that she would be the one controlling him.
His hands steadily unsheathed his swords as his sensitive ninja trained ears picked up the sounds of a person breathing. He was close to the place now, the place where he was ordered to murder a family. The Makimachi family.
In his mind, he knew that his own clan had sent him on a death mission. The chance of success was minimal, after all he was just a young child of 10 years. Though he had the body of a child, he had the mind of a grown man, cool, calculating and had the reputation of such. Shinomori Aoshi was the child prodigy assassin, a boy who killed quick and without remorse, without so much as a blink of an eye.
He approached the scene carefully, not even flinching as he noticed the blood beneath his shoes. The walls were awash in the colour of red. Bodies littered the small area, broken swords, broken bodies, broken dreams. He crouched behind a large straw basket, peering to survey his situation. The silence was broken with the steady dripping of blood from a severed limb that lay on a crate opposite him.
Ten uniformed men in black. One in a blue yukata. Dead on the floor. From the looks of it, the man in blue had taken them all out. The moon, peering out from behind the clouds, allowed a shaft of light for Aoshi to identify his dead target.
" Kaa-san...kaa-san..."
He blinked. They shot over to the owner of the voice. A little girl, whose face was tear streaked and blood stained. Crying, clinging to the still body of a woman.
The way he was found. Stained with blood and tears. But never again, he had to be strong to survive. He could not cry again.
Making sure that there was no one fast approaching, he walked over the strewn bodies, occasionally finding a man breathing. However unfortunate, when Aoshi was satisfied that the man could not give information he drove the tip of his sword through the body, to make sure the man would never speak again.
Turning his attention back to the crying girl, he realized who she was, who the person she was hugging was, who the person who lay before them was. His targets, father, mother and daughter. Makimachi.
Clenching his jaw, he strode towards them sheathing his other sword to hold his shorter kodachi easily in one hand. Heaving the crying girl from the prone woman's arms, a hand on the collar of her little pink kimono, he lifted a blade to her little neck. The little girl's cries died down to slow sniffles, enough for him to hear the tell tale sounds of footsteps, of people approaching. He did not have much time.
His arm muscles tightened as he prepared to bring the blade across the young girl's neck. He had never been ordered to kill a child before. It occurred to him that whoever had killed his targets for him could be lingering around, prepared to kill him also.
The blade stopped at its target. He looked down at the woman he had mistaken for dead, still clinging to life, holding onto his pant leg and using all her strength to drive a kunai into his leg. Despite her efforts, the blade did not penetrate more than a centimeter. As she lost her strength, she slumped forward, her hand still gripping the kunai as it sliced down his calf before dropping onto the floor with a clatter.
" Let my daughter...my Misao go. Please..."
He dropped the child, both startled and hurt. His eyes went dead, unseeing as the little girl clung to the woman, hugging her to her small chest. It wasn't as if Shinomori Aoshi cared. He was merciless, he would kill without a second glance. But looking down at the pitiful girl calling for her mother, he felt something give way inside him. An emotion...pity?
This was the way he probably looked, when he had been deserted on the streets years ago, barely a child. Smeared with the blood from his parents, lying on the road side helpless. To be found lying in the midst of dead bodies, abhorred by villagers simply for being at the murder, unwanted with no one to care, neither living nor dead.
Extending a hand, he whispered softly to the young girl, still trying in vain to wake her mother.
" Shall we leave?"
Big blue eyes stared up at him. The same colour was where their similarities with his stopped. Hers contained the childish innocence and confusion while his saw the cold hard truth of reality. Though he had the body of a child, he no longer had the eyes of one.
" Nii-chan. Why won't my kaa-san wake up? Where's tou-san?"
Such a clueless being. She had no idea that her world had just fallen apart around her, that her parents had truly left her with no hope of returning.
Kill while they have no protection. Do whatever it takes, kill them at all costs.
Following his orders would mean approval from his clan. He would do anything for that, to be a good assassin, to gain the approval of his okashira. Even if that meant slaughtering the little girl.
" urusei."
He spoke softly as he picked her up by the collar, holding the blade to her throat until blood trickled down her neck. The girl stilled immediately, unconsciously aware of her precarious situation, her big blue eyes trained on him.
He seemed vaguely aware of the distant police whistles and the dim light of lanterns approaching. However, he found himself captivated by the innocence of the blue eyes staring up at him. Knowing he should just kill her and be done with it, knowing it would probably be better for her to die than to lose that innocence, he still couldn't bring his hand to move in that way.
He lowered his sword, knowing that his indecision was only costing him time. Cursing, he sheathed his sword and covered his tracks, grabbing the girl by the waist and carried her off, running down the street to disappear into the shadows.
________
Cool fresh air, no longer the dank, suffocating smell of the city streets. No more paved floors, rotting bodies and spilt blood. Just cold hard dirt, the smell of dewy grass, the clear night air. He could see his home in the distance, a small shack almost hidden behind the beginnings of a forest. A small wooden shack, one room, enough for one to survive with the bare necessities.
He eased open the door, putting down his swords onto the makeshift table. His blue eyes focused on the sleeping girl on his futon, limbs flailed out at the blanket barely covering her small body.
Having just gone to his clan meeting and a mission, Aoshi knew very well that he was in a precarious situation. Here he was, keeping the child whom everyone wanted. The Oniwabanshuu wanted their heir. His clan wanted her dead. The people who had murdered her parents also wanted her gone from this world. Not to mention the severe punishment which would come with withholding information from his own clan.
He really should just kill her. After all, she was nothing but unnecessary trouble.
Walking over to her, he pulled the blankets back up to cover her body, brushing her long messy hair out of her eyes. The moonlight streamed through the open doorway, illuminating the young girl's face. Her delicate nose, small rosy mouth curved into a content smile.
Turning quickly, he walked out of the small shack, kicking off his shoes, closing the door and heading for the nearby stream with a wooden bucket in hand. His bare feet made no sound on the dirt path as the sound of rushing water grew louder. Carefully picking his way down the rocky slope, he stepped into the cool water. He stared for down for awhile, watching the water rushing by his stained pant legs turn red.
Filling the bucket with water, he upended it over his head, letting the water clean his pale skin. Dragging a hand through his wet hair to make sure it was wet, he filled the bucket once again before climbing back up the rocky incline, careful not to spill the water.
Opening the rickety door quietly, he set the wooden bucket down, his eyes focused on his swords lying next to it. Taking a deep breath, he reached out for them, unsheathing the shorter of the pair, admiring the silver gleam of the blade in the moonlight. By far his most treasured possession, and probably the most expensive also. They had been given to him when he had made his first kill by his okashira. Little rivers of dried blood clung to the blade, giving the evidence of the dirty work which he had partaken in that night.
Soon, there would be more blood.
Aoshi strode to the futon, kneeling beside it with his sword clasped tightly with his left hand. He looked down at the sleeping girl, slightly amused that she had already managed to kick away her covers since he had last placed them on top of her. He reached out with his right hand, covered in bruises and cuts from practice, to gently touch the girl's cheek, trailing down to her neck. Drawing his finger across his throat, as if it was his blade, Misao stirred, opening her eyes sleepily and squinted at him through the darkness.
" Aoshi-nii?"
Aoshi quickly stepped back, amalgamating back into the shadows of the small shack as Misao absently lifted a hand to find him. He backed up against the wall, not wanting her to find him.
" Aoshi nii-chan...are you there?"
The girl groped in the darkness as he stared at her. Though her face was blanketed in darkness, the sounds of sniffling signaled the start of tears. Rubbing her eyes with her small fists she cried softly, hugging her knees as she rocked back and forth.
" Kaa-san...tou-san...where did you all go?"
Aoshi did nothing but stare as Misao sniffled, hastily wiping her nose on her sleeve. Was this what he was like? Back when he was found? The furthest he could remember was being beaten, yelled out to do his kata over and over again. Never was there a time that he was allowed to cry.
Suddenly, Misao sat straight up, clawing her hair out of her eyes. She got to her feet, turning to stare. For a moment, she seemed uncertain, trying to decipher weather it was really Aoshi or just her eyes playing tricks on her. The moment of indecision passed as she ran, throwing herself around his waist, grateful for the comfort such contact gave her. Aoshi stared bewildered at the little girl wrapped around his legs. Quickly, he hid the blade behind his back, staring awkwardly down at the figure attatched to him.
She turned her big teary blue eyes at him with a look of both admonishment and relief.
" Where did you go ...I don't want to be alone anymore. Where did kaa-san and tou-san go? Can I go home yet?"
Aoshi knew that he could never comply with the girl's request. She could never return home. Removing himself from Misao's grip, he backed away from her, still holding the blade behind his back.
Misao, however, was oblivious to Aoshi's thoughts. All she knew was that she didn't want to be left alone again. She had nightmares of screams and pain.
" Where do you go Aoshi-nii?"
" out."
Misao shrugged off his curt reply, rushing towards him again. Never in his memory had someone wanted to seek comfort from him. She tugged him insistently on the arm, trying to pull him into a kneeling position. Kneeling down, his shoulders slumped from weariness, Misao threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, whispering in his ear.
" Don't leave me...I don't want to be alone in the darkness...it's scary...what's that shiny thing you're holding nii-chan?"
Misao loosened her grip on his neck scampering behind him to try and grab his short kodachi. Quickly, he stood up, sheathing it back into its rightful place and putting the blades on top of a cupboard, out of reach.
All his killing resolve disappeared in that moment. He could find no strength to do so. And to his surprise, he felt that he did not want to.
The little girl pouted at him, pulling on his hand while trying to reach for the kodachi.
" Promise me that you won't touch them."
Misao frowned as she studied Aoshi's serious face before smiling happily, nodding with agreement.
" Now go to sleep."
Her smile disappeared, a look of fear passed over her. Aoshi found himself concerned as the little girl shivered visibly.
" Doushita?"
" ...ne Aoshi-nii...can you keep a secret?"
" Aaa."
" Misao-chan has bad dreams...monsters come out of the dark with shiny objects...like yours...they want to hurt me."
" They won't hurt you."
Misao looked up at him pleadingly, pulling him over to the futon.
" ne ne...Aoshi-nii will protect Misao-chan when she sleeps right?"
Settling herself onto his lap, she snuggled into his chest, falling asleep before he had time to refuse. Not that he would. Looking down, she looked so peaceful, so innocent. He didn't want to kill her. But Misao staying alive meant that her presence could never be known to anyone but himself. He didn't want Misao to fall to the same fate he had, to be taken in a forced to go along the path of darkness. The path which had been chosen for him.
No, Misao would be free to do what she wanted. He couldn't force her. Smiling slightly as his eyes swept over her angelic face, he knew that she would be the one controlling him.