Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Amber Horizons ❯ Chapter 4: Return to the Aoyia ( Chapter 4 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 4: Return to the Aoyia




Misao skipped ahead, Aoshi trailing behind. Their 'talk' had been surprisingly short. Aoshi had told her she'd been gone too long and then... nothing. They'd left. Apparently he'd not grown more talkative in her absence, but she was glad for it. It reduced her 'failure' in her eyes, to make him smile and whole again, but she'd decided that Aoshi had to be Aoshi. She couldn't and didn't want to change him. As the Aoiya came into sight her feet picked up speed carrying her more quickly to the place she'd not been so happy about returning to a short fifteen minutes or so ago. She pushed past the gate leaving Aoshi and rushing up to her childhood home. She slide open the door and stepped inside the restaurant front of the Aoiya. A waitress, Okon, came around with a smile, her expression fading when her eyes leveled completely upon her and then the tall male stepping in behind her.

"M-Misao!" She screeched loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear.

She rushed forward wrapping her in a huge hug. Moments later Omasu, Jiya, Kuro and Shiro appeared. They all gathered around Misao, each eager to show her how much she had been missed since she had left. Aoshi stood in the doorway, his blank look gave away nothing as he watched the joyful reunion. Finally, the hugs and squeals and welcome homes ceased and Misao found herself being led upstairs to her old room by Omasu. She had taken Misao's hand at first, as if she were leading a child. Misao had scowled and pulled her hand back to follow on her own.

When they reached the shoji leading to her old room, Misao hesitated. Omasu finally grasped Misao's hand once more and tugged the girl gently into the room that hadn't been hers in over six months. Looking around, Misao noted that the room looked untouched, the same as it did when she had left.

"Everything is pretty much the same," Omasu noted. "You should change and come down. Okina will probably want to talk to you about the Oniwanbanshuu- some things have changed since you left." She paused at the door. "That is... if you're staying?"

Misao hesitated glancing up at her. Was she staying? Meeting Omasu's hopeful eyes she decided she was. "I'm staying," she declared, a smile on her face.

Omasu stared silently at Misao for a moment, her eyes taking on a misty sheen and her bottom lip trembled just the slightest bit. Misao fidgeted uncomfortably under her friend's near-tearful gaze a moment before Omasu finally managed to speak.

"Good." She said softly. "We missed you, Misao....we *all* missed you. Welcome home." Omasu then hurried out of the room before her tears had a chance to escape.

Sighing softly, Misao stared at the empty doorway for a few moments. Then....

"I missed you guys too."

Scrubbing furiously at her stinging eyes with the heel of her palm, Misao turned to get changed.


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Okina looked up as the door slid open and Misao bouncily stepped inside.

"Hi Jiya!"

He waved her in silently, stroking his beard and motioned for her to sit. She blinked, noticing Aoshi, her mood sobering a bit.

"Hi Aoshi-sama."

"Sit Misao," Okina ordered softly.

She complied and looked to him expectedly. "Omasu said some things have changed since I've left. So what's up?"

"Where have you been the last couple of months?"

"Um... Well, I've been traveling. Finding the inner Misao! Launching off on my own to become - the fantastic woman you see before you now! With the exception of the whole police arrest thing because that was just a *huge* misunderstanding. Sort of." She frowned, muttering. "That lousy Saitou didn't help anything by dragging me back to that stupid jail cell!"

Okina raised the warm tea cup to his lips. "And you didn't write because?"

She fidgeted. "I meant to I just...I could never think of anything to say and I was worried you'd be angry with me. Oh well, that's all in the past now, right?" She declared a warm smile across her lips. "How have you guys been?"

"Things here at the Aoiya have changed, Misao. Kyoto has become unstable in the last few months. We were visited by Inspector Fujita Goro a good while ago about assisting in the investigations in Kyoto."

She looked up watching Jiya sip his tea. It was unlike him to be so solemn. Things must not be going well at all.

"He suspects there is an opium operation going on here, but it isn't a simple matter of a gang. From our spies we have gathered there are several individual groups all reporting to one central figure. We haven't been able to identify him as of yet. I believe he's calling it the 'Blue Creek case'."

Misao nodded grimly. "What does that mean for us? Just general spying and so on? Wait! Fujita Goro, you mean -"


"Saitou Hajime," Aoshi spoke up, voice indifferent.

"So that means that the Oniwabanshuu is taking a more active role in protecting Kyoto again?" She asked, a tone of hopefulness in her voice.

Jiya nodded. "We have no choice."

"Misao."

She tensed, turning a glance in Aoshi's direction. Jiya was paying unnatural attention to his tea for the moment.

"Hmm?"

"Let's talk a walk."

She sighed uncomfortably but followed. This wasn't going to go well. She could already tell it was going to be a 'I like you, but not that way so let's just be friends talk'. She actually had never had one of these 'talks' before, but she'd met with Megumi on her travels in Aizu and they'd gotten on surprisingly well for a little while. Not that she was upset that Aoshi was about to crush her childhood dream, she had accepted quite some time ago that nothing would ever come of her relationship with Aoshi. Not the way she'd wanted it and the long trip had actually helped. She still loved him, but it wasn't quite the same.

How could it ever be the same, she thought recalling the feel of Saitou's body pressed against hers. No, she had no memories like that one of Aoshi. None. Of course she hadn't kissed Aoshi either. There was another point for Saitou, if she were keeping score. Which *ahem*, she wasn't, she told herself quickly.

Besides she knew the Aoshi love thing was long over. She remained convinced she would be attracted to him forever, he was, in a sense her first love. But she'd determined to move on and she knew he wanted her to do just that.

"Anything wrong, Aoshi-sama?"

"About your leaving..."

She sighed. "It wasn't your fault. At least, not entirely. There were other reasons too. Part of it was my realization that what I wanted from you I couldn't have. I'm... Maybe I'm a little spoiled. I didn't exactly realize that until rather recently, so of course it never occured to me things wouldn't work out the way I wanted them to. But it's okay."

His footsteps ceased on the path and she stopped likewise beside him. "You're all right?"

She smiled brightly. "I'm fine. I mean, I thought I would be a little nervous coming back here and all but... I had forgotten that this was home for me, and how much I truly missed it here. As for you ... I'll always love you Aoshi-sama, but... I don't know what happened to change my mind, but it'll never be the same as it was before."

Aoshi stared at Misao for a long moment, as if trying to assess if she were telling the truth or not. His face was unreadable as always and Misao never knew when he finally came to a decision. He simply nodded, extended his hand to gesture her forward and said, "Come on, then. Let's go have some tea."

With things settled between them, Misao and Aoshi returned to the Aoyia. Both comfortable in the fact that things had finally been resolved between them. Finally, they could move on.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Saitou Hajime sat behind his desk as he looked through the file for the 'Blue Creek case'. They hadn't gotten very far in the ivestigation. Mainly because whoever was smuggling the opium in was doing one hell of a job at keeping his tracks covered. He'd had his men go over the location that was supposedly the base of operations repeatedly. Each time they had come up empty handed.

Having the Oniwabanshuu assist on the case had proved to be an excellent decision. The ninja spies had an excellent and fully functional information network throughout Kyoto. It almost surprised him how well they monitored the province. Despite their help however the case was still moving slowly, exceedingly slowly. He had thought, briefly, the case involving the assassins up at the Nozomi Shrine had been connected but that had proved to be untrue. Yet now that that case was solved he had more time to work this one. Better yet, now that the weasel was back he even had some entertainment.

He was planning on sending up a few of his men to check out an abandoned mill up by Blue Creek hill. It was a job perfectly suited for Koji, the arrogant little punk that caused him all sorts of irritation. He might as well request the weasel girl as well, it was a job good for her too. She was just returning to the Oniwabanshuu, it was a good starting position for her to take up, nothing too dangerous, but something that would cause her to employ all her ninja skills. Not that her training was of any interest to him, but if she was going to be working on this case, as she undoubtedly would, he wanted her in top shape.

Despite the girl- er, should he call her 'woman' now? He shook his head free of the thought. He knew her well enough never to admit to any weakness until she was caught under the thumb of the enemy and even then she would keep on with that mouth of hers. Admirable, foolish, but admirable.

He stood, stretching his aching body. He hadn't gotten enough sleep lately. He grabbed his sword and stood walking to the door. Leaving the station, he began the short walk home. He navigated through the crowds, expressionless, but keeping his eyes open for suspicious activity. His job never ended, he thought ruefully.

He dropped off a side street heading down the lane. His residence in Kyoto was small but managable. He didn't have anyone to care for besides himself and he did all right. He slid open the door stepping inside, his nimble fingers sliding the buckle of his belt. He quickly undid the black strap around his waist and yanked his shirt from beneath it.

He discarded his gloves on a side table and undid the small gold buttons and slid the blue uniform shirt off his shoulders, the thin black one following. He sighed, dropping his head back. He gripped the belt dragging it from around his waist as he headed back to his bedroom. Sleep first - food later. Although he really could go for some soba. He glanced down at his present state of undress. Did he really want to bother dressing again? Then again, he could go up to the Aoiya and see if the weasel girl was around.

Nah, he thought. He'd see her in a day or two. He'd be merciful for once and give her a little time, but after that she was working. He grinned. Oh, how he liked the thought of that. The little weasel taking orders from him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next few days were quite hectic for Misao. She'd barely had time to readjust herself to life back in the Aoyia. Okon had come rushing into her room the very next morning asking for her help down in the restaurant. Misao had growled and proceeded to bury her head into her pillow before being dragged out of her futon by Okon and a kimono thrust unceremoniously nto her arms. Complain though she might, Misao had finally given in and reluctantly donned the kimono for the day.

Then it became repetitive. She'd wake up. Help in the restaurant while wearing that loathsome kimono. Go train with Aoshi-sama before returning to do more work within the Aoyia. It was upon the third day of this routine, when she had been on her way out of the restaurant to dispose of the garbage, that trouble arrived in the form of a six foot former Shinsengumi captain.

Misao's eyes narrowed dangerously as she took in the tall, lean form sauntering up the trail towards the Aoyia. The mid-day sun's rays glinted off the newly shined boots on his feet. His blue uniform trousers creased oh-so-perfectly. He'd pulled off the blue uniform jacket and had thrown it casually over his left shoulder. The sleeves of the black shirt he wore underneath, rolled up to his elbows and he was smoking another of those damned cigarettes, she noted.

"What the hell does he think *he's* doing here?" Misao muttered under her breath.

She did *not* want to deal with the likes of Saitou Hajime. Hadn't she had enough torture today? Quickly, Misao ducked down to stealthily make her way over to the nearby well house unnoticed. She peered around the structure. It had been here for as long as she could remember, but it didn't serve any practical use as far as she could tell. She slinked around the back peeking around watching him walk on by. She sighed heavily, turning and pressing her back against the old, weathered wood. She intended to walk around and hopefully avoid the path Saitou was taking up to the Aoyia. She turned, jumping when two gloved hands pressed down on her shoulders.

"Kyah!" she exclaimed.

He scoffed. "Some ninja you are."

She shook his hands off, or attempted to but they seemed planted on her with a pretty good grip. "What do you want?"

Saitou smirked. "Is that any way to talk to the man that rescued you?"

"Rescued me?! You mean at the shrine? Please! I didn't need your help. I had them right where I wanted them." She moved her hands up to her own shoulders placing them over the white cotton gloves. "And what is it with all the touching lately?"

Saitou merely watched as she attempted, fruitlessly, to pry his hands off her shoulders. He only tightened his grip, fingers sinking into the cloth of her kimono, crumpling her fabric. If he tightened his grip more the fabric would slip, sliding over her shoulders. He briefly considered doing just that, wondering how her pale skin would look in the bright light of day out here in the middle of the yard. Very tempting indeed.

He smirked. "As I recall it was some little weasel girl that started all this touching in the first place."

She blushed heatedly. "That doesn't count. I was... delerious or something."

"Oh really?" The smirk grew into a wicked grin. "I'm not so sure....it sure as hell felt like you knew what you were doing, weasel."

He couldn't be serious. He was joking again, wasn't he? His eyes weren't joking, she thought staring into those depthless orbs. Oh, just leave it to him to reduce her to a sputtering idiot! His hands were still on her shoulders, and with the intense look in his eyes, her knees were feeling a little unsteady. Not only was she looking like an idiot she was about to stagger over.

One hand slipped off her shoulder coming to curl under her chin and turn her gaze back up to him as it had slipped down to focus on his chest. Her breath hitched as she felt his other hand reach around to swirl little circles at the back of her neck beneath her braid with his fingertips. Her eyes widened a bit before fluttering nearly closed. Kami-sama, but that felt good. Oh yeah, she thought. One day she'd have to try this on him, but oh, not today!

When had Aoshi ever caused these delicious flutters? She realized with a frown, he hadn't. *Saitou 3, Aoshi 0.* An annoying little voice spoke up from the back of her mind.

Saitou barely kept the chuckle in as he stared down at her. Sweet, soft, absolutely helpless against the smallest of touchest. He had no idea she could be so entertaining. This was the best discovery he'd had in months. She didn't even seem to realize she was practically swaying at his touch. When was the last time a woman swayed at his touch? He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this close to a woman in the past couple months. He'd thrown himself into work to an unhealthy degree. Now he had her, here. Young, vibrant, completely under his control...

It was then, as he was admiring how long and thick her lashes were, that Saitou heard the approach of two bickering women. He glanced down at the girl still in a semi-daze in his arms and smirked. Not able to stop himself, Saitou bent his head to brush the lightest of kisses across Misao's lips. Something between a sigh and a gasp escaped her lips and she leaned forward for more....but nobody was there. Misao's eyes shot open just in time to see Okon and Omasu coming around the corner of the well house. Misao quickly scanned the area. But found not a trace of Saitou.

"Misao! What are you doing out here? You were supposed to *come back* to the Aoyia. Your shift isn't over yet!" Okon scolded while Omasu silently backed her up.

"I...um... right! Going!"

She turned and, picking up the skirt of her kimono, ran toward the Aoyia and hopefully anywhere that Saitou was not.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

TBC....