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"Night Visitor"
"All in the Family"
"Romancing the Wolf"
WARNING: This story is "semi-dark" -- it has dark elements (violence, profanity, etc) but it's not a darkfic! Actually, there's quite a bit of romance in it.... ^_-
This story takes place after the end of the Kyoto story arc. After that, it takes a sharp left turn into its own world. Elements of the Revenge story arc may or may not show up later on in the story. The Kenshin Gumi already know that Saitoh survived the destruction of Shishio's stronghold.
As always, C&C is greatly appreciated! ^_^
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Disclaimer: All rights and privileges to Rurouni Kenshin belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shuiesha, Sony Music Entertainment, and associated parties. The characters of these series are used WITHOUT permission for the purpose of entertainment only. This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit. Original portion of the fiction included here is considered to be the sole property and copyrighted to the author.
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Text Conventions:
( ) are character thoughts
* ----- * ----- * marks the start and end of flashbacks
[ ] denote visual or time notes
Makimachi Misao was in the mood for mayhem and murder. Perched in a tree overlooking the forest path favored by the Oniwabanshuu, she waited impatiently for her victim to show up.
(It's destiny, I suppose. I didn't even have to travel all the way back to Kyoto to finish the fool off. Instead, he's walking right into my lap.) She chuckled evilly and admired that lethal black sword in her hands.
(Just you wait, Aoshi....)
She suddenly stiffened as she saw a familiar figure, dressed in a trenchcoat swiftly making his way toward her. As she concealed herself in the thick summer foliage, she could barely keep herself from quivering with anticipation.
There was a small dip in the path and Aoshi disappeared from view. She waited eagerly for him to reemerge.
Nothing.
After a few minutes, she snarled impatiently and hopped down from the tree.
(Isn't it just like that bastard to screw up a perfectly good ambush!)
She carefully searched both sides of the track and soon located exactly where Aoshi had gone. Misao clutched the sword tighter and set off after him.
He made his way along a barely noticeable track. It was hard to believe to that he traveled this same path just over two months ago. Two months... two totally different men. The Shinomori Aoshi of early May had been nothing more than a hollow shell, utterly consumed by his quest for the title of the "Strongest" and his pursuit of Himura Battousai.
He sighed wearily and glanced up at the blue sky. (And who is the Aoshi of today? What kind of person am I?)
That brief look upward saved his life as a slim figure dropped from the trees with an angry scream.
Aoshi flung himself aside. When he rolled to his feet, he was holding his two kodachi, ready to meet his attacker. But the sight that met his eyes left him totally dumbfounded.
"MISAO!?"
She glared furiously at him, a katana with an eerie black blade in her hands.
"What are you doing!?"
Misao's only response was a lightning swift lunge. Aoshi barely managed to fend off the attack, staggering backward a few steps from the sheer force of the attack.
(What the....!? That's impossible! She's moving nearly as fast as the Battousai! And where is she getting that strength!?)
The next instant, Aoshi was too busy trying to survive the lethal storm of thrusts and slashes Misao unleashed.
(This can't be happening! Misao knows how to use a sword, but there's no way she could have gotten THIS skilled!)
"Misao! What's wrong with you? What are you doing!?"
She sprang out of range and chuckled viciously. "What am I doing? Isn't that obvious, my dear Aoshi-SAMA!? I'm trying to rip your stupid guts out!"
Aoshi shook his head. The whole encounter was taking on the aspect of some horrible nightmare.
"Why....?"
"Why? WHY!? Because I HATE YOU, YOU FILTHY STINKING BASTARD!!!"
He flinched from the sheer rage in her voice.
"Misao, I...."
"I don't want to hear it! You don't care about me! You never cared about me! You're a selfish, traitorous coward and you deserve to DIE!"
Misao lifted her sword and held it horizontal, then charged.
Aoshi, stunned both by her verbal attack and what he was seeing, barely managed to parry Misao's thrust, but couldn't move quickly enough to fully block the sweeping side slash that opened a deep cut down his right leg.
(That's... that was a version of Saitoh's Gatotsu!)
"You're wrong, Misao! I... I...." (I do care about you....)
Misao hissed furiously, "Don't you DARE say care about me! You deserted me without so much as a second look, just so you could run around and feed your damn ego with all that 'glorious Oniwabanshuu' crap! It's all your fault Hanya and the others died!"
"No...."
She came in low and stabbed upward. Aoshi lashed out with a kick and nearly lost his leg to her incredibly fast counterattack.
Misao shouted, "You knew that they'd follow you wherever you went! You were the one who hired yourself out like some damn whore to that drug dealer Kanryu! Don't try to tell me that you didn't know EXACTLY what sort of cowardly scum he was! You knew, but you just didn't care! All you were concerned about was the chance to play around with the Battousai!"
In a blur, she slipped behind him. He spun away, but not before she managed to inflict another deep cut on his shoulder.
"And then you betrayed us by getting all cozy with Shishio just because you were too stupid and too lazy to find the Battousai by yourself! You abandoned us without a second thought! You probably would've led the attack on the Aoiya yourself if you thought it would get you closer to Himura! Don't lie to me! I know it's true! You would have!"
Aoshi dazedly shook his head. (Would I have actually done that? Instead of just turning my back on them, would I have attacked them... killed them.... I might have.... I was ready to do anything, no matter how ruthless.... I... I don't know!)
Misao stood across the small clearing, panting slightly, but she was clearly in much better shape than Aoshi who was bleeding from several wounds.
"Last, but not least, you're a damn coward! After Himura managed to pound some sense into that thick skull of yours, what do you do? Crawl away and hide! That's all you did... all you've ever done. You act so cold and controlled, but all you are is a sniveling coward! I can't believe that Hanya, Beshimi, Shikijyou, and Hyottoko all died to save your miserable, worthless hide! Well, I'm tired of all your shit! If you're too scared to live, then I'll be happy to bury you myself!!!"
(Is... is she right? Is that all I am? Did Hanya and the others sacrifice their lives to protect a selfish coward?) He felt his guard slipping, then suddenly shook his head. (No. I've got to get myself together. This... this isn't right. This isn't Misao. I have to stop her... but can I? I don't know where all this skill, speed, and strength is coming from... I can't afford to hold back if I want to survive... but Misao could die....)
Aoshi had no more time to think as Misao pounced toward him, launching a furious series of strikes. He managed to parry or evade most of her attacks, but his reluctance to take the offensive proved his undoing as a last, vicious blow broke several ribs and sent him crashing through the undergrowth. His head slammed into something hard and everything went black.
(Wha...?) A misty form with a familiar demon face seemed to materialize before Aoshi's eyes. (HANYA!? No, it can't be!)
/ Yes, it is I. /
(I'm sorry. It seems as if all of you wasted your lives saving a selfish fool of a coward.)
/ No! You merely lost your way for a while, but you are finding your way back. These things take time. /
(I think I'll be joining you quite soon....)
/ Okashira, listen to me! You can't die, especially by Misao's hand. It would destroy her utterly. If you want to save her, you have to stop her, no matter what it takes. /
&nbps;(I don't want... to hurt her anymore.)
/ Sometimes that can't be helped. /
(If I make a mistake, I could kill her....)
/ It could come to that. /
(NO! I can't!)
/ If you fail, our Misao will be dead... as dead as if you stabbed her through the heart,... perhaps more so. /
(....)
/ Do you care about her enough to run the risk of killing her in order to save her from a much worse fate? /
(Like what?)
/ Madness. Damnation. /
(....yes.... What do I have to do?)
/ Get that sword away from her. /
(I see. Hanya?)
/ Yes? /
(The others... are they... here?)
Three more shadowy shapes appeared in his vision... blurry but instantly recognizable. Aoshi heard no words from them, but he could sense both their support and their urgency.
(All right. Himura made a promise to bring me back, no matter what the cost. Hanya... Beshimi... Shikijyou... Hyottoko.... I make you THIS promise. I'll bring our Misao back, no matter what it takes.... )
"Not... so fast." He could feel the blood trickling through his hair and down his neck. He was steadily losing blood from his other wounds, also. He would have only this one chance.
"Oh, now you're getting serious?" Misao snarled.
"Yes."
"Then come on... if you dare, coward!"
Aoshi silently flipped his grip on his two kodachi, then turned them over, presenting the back edge of the blades.
She narrowed her eyes, but didn't move. They stared unblinkingly at each other.
(Misao knows she can outwait me. I'm losing too much blood. If this goes on, I'll be too weak....)
Suddenly there was a snapping noise in the undergrowth. Misao's attention was shifted ever so slightly and Aoshi made his move. With every bit of speed he could muster, he pounced. His kodachi attack broke Misao's two-handed grip on her sword. He twisted and brutally yanked the hand that was still holding the sword off to the side. Aoshi was all too aware that Misao's other hand was free, but he concentrated all his attention on breaking her grip on the black sword. Even with all his effort, he was losing to Misao's unnatural strength.
Steeling himself, he slammed her arm across his knee and felt her bones crack. The blade dropped from her hand as Misao screamed in pain. That scream was echoed by Aoshi as he felt the enraged girl plunge one of her kunai deep into his side with her free hand. Somehow he managed to both punch the struggling girl unconscious and kick the sword across the clearing before finally passing out, still tightly clutching Misao's broken arm.
The clearing was silent, except for a faint, dripping noise.
(What... what's going... on? Oh, I hurt....)
She gradually became aware of a warm body lying on top of her... a man's body. Misao squinted until the face came into focus.
"Aoshi-....sama? AOSHI-SAMA!?"
And then, to her utter astonishment, the moment she had been waiting for so long arrived.... he opened his eyes and smiled at her... REALLY smiled at her.
In a faint, breathless voice, he whispered, "Misao... you're... back...."
"You're smiling... you're smiling at me!"
"Yes... I guess... I am." He closed his eyes as his grip on her injured arm slackened.
Misao watched in horror as Aoshi's quiet sigh turned into a moist cough. Blood seeped from his mouth and splashed her cheek. Only then, she realized that there was warm liquid dripping all over her stomach. With a growing sense of dread, she touched the wet spot and looked at her hand.
It was covered in dark red blood.
"Aoshi-sama! Aoshi!" Getting no response, she struggled to wiggle out from under his limp body. Once free, she carefully turned Aoshi over. The amount of blood he was losing appalled her.
And sticking out of his side was one of her own throwing knives.
The memory of the last few hours hit Misao with a vengeance.
"NO!!! Aoshi, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!!!" Tears mixing with the blood on her face, she clutched at Aoshi's body and started to sob hysterically.
"Mi... sao...."
She choked back her tears and leaned close to him. "Yes, Aoshi-sama?"
"Is... that... any... way... the Okashira... of... the Oniwa... banshuu... should... act?"
Misao took a few gulping breaths and said, "R-right.... I... I need to get some help! But... but it's too dangerous to leave you alone in the forest!"
Aoshi smiled again... another small but genuine smile.
"I think... this spot... is probably... the safest place... in Japan... for me. And... yes, I... care... about... you. A lot.... Get going.... Misao." He quietly passed out again.
Misao staggered to her feet and looked around in confusion.
(He... cares...?) Since her mind wasn't up to dealing with that particular topic at the moment, Misao concentrated on the first part of his statement. (What on earth is Aoshi-sama talking about? What's so special about this place?)
Then she noticed the short standing stones in the clearing.
Four of them.
In a neat row.
With a low mound of earth next to each stone.
Misao collapsed to her knees next to Aoshi's wounded body. As her eyes drifted from the smallest mound which was the size of a child to the largest which was large enough to contain ten men, her voice was the softest of whispers.
"It... it can't be! Beshimi... Hanya... Shikijyou... Hyottoko...."
The rustling leaves in the summer breeze sounded like a murmur of reassurance.