Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Honest Nothing ❯ Hollow ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: I don't own, so don't sue. The only mentioned character that I do own is Aiko's dad, and im not even sure if I really do own him. Teehee.

A/N: Believe it or not, I had fun writing this chapter! Besides that, I really have no news.

(FLASHBACK), well, that means a flash back

Things between ~ ~ and ~ ~ * * mean sort of the same thing as a flashback, just its more along the lines of a memory flash . . . um, if you all understand that, good job, cause I really didn't. Just take note that whats between them is when Aiko and Okita were in the park spot.

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Honest Nothing

Chapter Four:

Hollow

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Knowledge

Depression hide it, Never!

Loves changing all around.

Nothing better-later or sooner.

Lovers, hating or drowned.

Life, no chance inside.

Friends, not who they ment to be.

Child, no chance outside.

People, open you eyes and see!

Stars glimmer less-lesser.

Goals hide, more depression.

Lover dims, bet on better.

None sees my expression.

Depression, Life, Friend, Child

Nothings real anymore.

Torture of soul, sweet, mild.

Love feels, hearts sore.

Pain Heartbreak, Sorrow....Enough!

Nothing to see, all to hide.

People, diamonds social rough.

Too many rules to abide.

Help me - Be me - See me - Ignore me- Know me!

~ April Zumwalt

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

How long had it been?

Oh yeah, a week.

Just a week.

Seven days in total.

Actually, five, Aiko amended. As she had met him on the second day of her stay in this town. But it seemed to be so much longer than a measly five days.

She sat on the floor, kimono discarded in favor of her normal clothing. Her eyes wondered about the room she knew well. The creaking floor bored in the middle, the pin holes in her shoji. The small bed off in another corner that resembled that of the western style.

Lifting her hand up to her forehead she wiped off a few droplets of sweat. It was quite a warm summer night. Letting out a sigh, she agreed with herself that it was just too warm. It was like a sauna in there, she had to get out.

Removing herself from her spot on the floor she walked over to the window and opened it to let in a draft. She rested her hands on the seal and once again let her thoughts take over.

"He was a nice man." She spoke to herself. True, he seamed to be a little weird, but nice nonetheless.

The opened window wasn't doing too much to cool her down though. Walking back to the middle of the room she crossed her arms. Furrowing her brows, she wondered how Okita could become such a dominant part of her thoughts. It wasn't like her to just meet some guy and spend hours wondering about him.

A frustrated sigh passed her lips as she began to tap her fingers against her arm. Maybe if she saw him again, then she could finally have a decent nights sleep. There were bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. Yeah, it might work, but she had no idea where to find him. She briefly entertained the thought of just running down the streets yelling out his name. That would be bound to get his attention sooner or later . . . and others too. Okay, so that wouldn't be the best thing to do at this time of night. A smirk crossed her features as she imagined what would probably happen to her if she actually did such a thing.

Again, her thoughts drifted to Okita. To the way that his smile had made her almost forget that she was a shadow that clung to hope. Her smirk dropped down to a frown then. The urge to rip her hair out and to scream for all she was worth was almost too much to bear.

Bottom line, he intrigued her.

She was bored, she was restless, and most of all she really needed something to do to get him out of her mind.

Hanging her head down in defeat, she realized she wasn't going to get any sleep at the rate this was going. And it was a nice night out to bout. Maybe a walk would help to calm her nerves.

With her resolve set, she padded quietly over to her door; making sure no one would hear her leave. She cracked the shoji open slightly before realization set in. Looking down at her outfit she knew it was out of the question to let people see her. Secrecy was her ally, she couldn't betray it. Taking a deep breath and then sighing, she thought better of leaving through the door. There was, after all, a window. She could climb though the window. And the night was dark, so no one would see her.

More importantly, she would probably die of heat stroke if she bothered to stay around and put back on her kimono.

She crept through the window, careful to be silent. The streets darkness welcomed her with opened arms. The people that crowded the streets by day had all returned home to their families. Home to bed, home to love.

Aiko stood in the street, still as a ghost, trying to figure out which way to go. It was a silly thought really, both ways would lead her to the same thing. More silence would meet her at each direction. Shaking her head, Aiko proceeded to her right.

She made hardly a sound, making sure unwanted attention would not be drawn to herself.

Strangely enough, escaping by way of window reminded her of her younger years. A childish Aiko slipping through her bedroom window to hide out away from her father.

Putting the notion of silence on hold, she let out a frustrated laugh. If it wasn't one man to fill her thoughts, then it was the other! Couldn't they leave her alone, and let her mind be her own again. Simply put, she had enough problems to worry about than those of the two men.

"Ones a mockery, the others a mystery." She mumbled to herself.

She found a nice, little rock in the road and started to kick it along infront of herself while she let her mind run back on its course of the man that remained a mystery. She almost wanted to hate him. He just seemed to be to damn happy. He had smiled the whole time she was with him. Why? Somehow, she knew that the smile was a mask. It had to be a mask, no living person could possible have THAT much to smile about.

The sounds of screams tore into her thoughts then. A sound she knew all too much about. Stopping dead in her tracks she whipped her head about to try and locate them.

The screams were coming from everywhere. Why hadn't she noticed them before?

She knew she should do nothing and pretend she didn't hear anything, but she couldn't bring herself to just ignore. Not when she could possibly do something, never. But it was no use, the screams were reverberating from every direction. She couldn't pin point them.

Stilling her eyes, she gazed infront of herself, fighting a mental battle against her conscious. And then she took of, running as fast as her legs would carry her.

The screams she heard seemed to morph into a single scream in her mind. A child screaming from long ago. It was a memory trying to break free after years of being hindered. She tried to will it back down under the layers, but as the screaming around her gradually became louder, so to did her memory. Pushing its way into her mind, demanding that she pay attention. It snapped free, and her mind was suddenly run over with a scene from her dark past.

(FLASHBACK)

A young child, not much older than ten, skipped through the small meadow surrounded by tall trees. She liked to think of this place as her own secret hide out. It was her place where dreams come true, and everything ended happily ever after. And in a child's mind, everything does end that way. With the knight in shinning armor coming and sweeping her off her feet from the evil tyrants that ruled her days. But something was wrong with this small one, as she had already learned life didn't end that way. No one would come and take her away. She was doomed to remain.

Sitting down and letting her legs have a break, the girl picked a few of the flowers next to her. Blue ones and yellow ones, all beautiful in their own little way.

She laid down onto the ground and squinted up at the sky. Watching as the clouds drifted across, and matching them to an assortment of animals. A lazy smile graced her face as she noticed a cloud that strangely resembled a squirrel. The smile left when she saw what looked to be a cloud resembling that of a wolf race across the sky and pounce on the squirrel. The squirrel left looking unwell in the wolf's wake.

"Poor squirrel." She whispered into the breeze.

"Aiko," a female voice called out to her, "I know you're here. Come out honney."

Mama?

Aiko sprang to her feet and ran over to where her mother was calling her. Her mother kneeled down to welcome her child into her loving arms. Aiko didn't waste a second as she flung her arms around her mother's neck.

"Mama, your back!"

The woman laughed happily into the back of her child's head. She pulled Aiko out to arms length and smiled at her. She was so happy to be back home, back where she belonged.

Her eyes darted to the surrounding trees. Something was wrong here . . . it was too quiet. Just then an arrow whizzed through the air, narrowly missing its target. Motherly instinct came over her as she picked up Aiko and started to run into the trees. She had always been a good runner, hardly anyone could ever catch her if she took off at a dead run. She could feel Aiko's trembling, and hear her hushed cries.

She wasn't going to allow anyone to hurt her oldest child.

A flash of pain erupted in her shoulder, causing her to drop to her knees. Aiko rolled out of her arms and turned to face her mother.

Her small heart sank.

"Ma. Mama?"

She tried to smile for her daughter, she tried to reassure her. But her strength was quickly leaving her.

"I love you, Aiko."

Aiko was trying to be strong for her mother, but once she heard her mothers words her world seemed to crumble away.

"Mommy?"

With the last bit of strength she had left, she pushed Aiko away. Wanting nothing more than to make sure that her daughter lived.

"RUN!"

Aiko was stuck. She didn't want to run away. She wanted to stay with her mother. What was happening? She took a tentative step toward her but stopped when her mother looked at her. The unspoken plea in her mothers eyes caused her to turn back around and run. She made it a little ways before she heard a grunt and a body crash to the ground.

She whipped around and saw her mothers form lying sprawled out on the ground. A few tall men surrounding her dying body.

Her mother wasn't ever going to come back. . .

"MAMA!" She screamed, unsure whether to run back to her mother or run to safety.

In the end, her decision was made for her as her small body dropped to the ground. She made out a few voices coming her way, but darkness quickly surrounded her. She fell into a void, one in which her mother wouldn't be there to help her out of.

(END FLASHBACK)

Aiko dashed away the few tears in her eyes. She had been too weak to save her mother then, but she wasn't a small child anymore. She wasn't limited to the weak arms and feeble minds of children.

One lone thought crossed her mind, `father hadn't even let me grieve no more than five minutes.' Crying, she had been tossed into her room, and told to be finished crying by the time her father came for her.

Aiko knew she was heading in the right direction of the screaming as they had grown in volume. Leaping onto a near by roof, she continued on her search to find the cause of the screams. The closer she got to the screaming, the more and more she could make them out. They seemed to be coming from only males, she couldn't find a trace of a single child or woman in the sound. There was a more subtle tone coming from the surrounding noise also. Aiko frowned at this, she knew that sound. The ring of metal as it left its sheath, the gently hum as it wove through the air.

Katanas.

The screaming was caused by the massacre that was likely occurring.

Aiko stopped running then, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to understand why it was in human's nature to kill others. Her hands fell to her sides and she clenched them into fists. Her nails breaking into her skin and allowing a slight flow of blood to coat her fingers.

There was nothing she could do to save them then. Her words would hardly act as a balm the furry that hung around like a dark cloud. She shifted uneasily on her toes, caught between wanting to do something that would help to end this feud, and a deepened feeling of regret that she had left her room. She forcefully opened her eyes and decided on the former.

Aiko continued on toward the direction of the screaming. She knew when she had entered the site of battle as the stench of blood filled her sense of smell. Her eyes listlessly scanned the area, taking in the forms lying on the ground. A detached sort of calm spread over her senses as she mentally commented on all the blood.

She hopped off the roof, nearly slipping in a puddle of blood. Her legs coating themselves with the blood that splashed at her landing. She slowly walked along the roads, watching with blank eyes as men fell by killing blows.

No man noticed the strange female dressed strangely as she strolling along the road. To consumed were they with fighting not only for their life, but also for a better future.

Aiko vaguely registered a man fall down infront of her, eyes closed to the world. His face grotesquely twisted in agony in his last moments in this world. She stepped over him, not giving him the respect of walking around. She continued on, not quite sure what it was she was doing here anymore. Her emotions had left her when she looked upon all the dead bodies, leaving her feeling empty. It all had seemed like a page out of a book, that she had hardly believed it was real.

She heard the almost silent hiss of a katana swinging toward her midsection. Not pausing in the slightest, she dropped to the ground to miss the swing. She brought her eyes up to meet those of the man who had only seconds ago tried to kill her. He met her gaze, but quickly stumbled away in an attempt to escape the glare pointed at him.

Aiko moved like a flash of lightening. Before the man knew what was happening he found himself lying on his back, a katana pointed to his throat.

"Pl . . . please don't kill me!" The man stuttered out, his words not belying his fear in the least.

White anger had coursed through her veins at the notion of some one believing they had a chance to strike her. It was the raw rage that had caused her to retaliate and try to bring the pitiful mans life to an end. But she had never before taken a life, and she wouldn't allow the coward the satisfaction of being her first.

She retracted the katana, only to plunge it in to ground by the man's head. She gave a small smirk as she heard him give a startled whelp in fear. Knowing he wouldn't try to attack her again, she turned her back and started back down the road. The feeling of anger once again leaving her mind to be replaced with complete hollowness.

Her ears closed to the scream of the dying, even as she watched them fall. The countless names of the men falling in battle tonight would be forgotten by all but family come sunrise. The only mark left by them the memory that they were fighting to better their country.

Her feet were soaked by now in the blood of others, making a squishing noise as she walked. The blood on her legs long since dried and starting to flake off. It was all a minor discomfort to her, but she ignored it anyway. Deciding instead to deal with it later, she continued on at her leisurely pace. Stopping only momentarily to watch as a man with incredible grace bring back his katana and then slice the other man down from shoulder to shoulder.

The dead man crumbled with a silent cry, his katana landing near his body. The winner turned, giving her a clear view of his face, of a boyish face . . .

She knew that face, she knew that man.

Okita . . .

~ ~

The laughter in his eyes warmed her heart as surely as his smile was.

"Do you have any family here yourself?"

His smile never leaving his face he answered, "No. They all died when I was a little boy."

Aiko whispered softly, her eyes falling to her hands resting in her lap, "I'm sorry."

Okita shifted close to her and placed a soothing had on hers, "It's okay. It happened so long ago."

~ ~ * *

The hollowness in her filled up with her emotions once again, as the sound of katanas clashing against each other once again came to her. She took an unsteady step back, disbelief showing in her eyes. How could the kind-hearted man she had met five days ago turn out to be a man of war? An unchecked tear fell from her eye, as she was left not knowing what to believe anymore.

Aiko watched as a spark of recognition crossed his face, snapping his eyes to hers. She let out a startled gasp when she saw him start to make his way towards her, his eyes never leaving hers.

She wanted to turn away and run, to leave the picture of Okita killing some one behind. But the look on his face planted her to the ground, forcing her to say where she was.

~ ~

"Nature is a beautiful thing, though often taken for granted." He said as he gestured the surrounding area with his hand. "We love the shade a tree will bring us from the sun, yet we still cut them down for firewood and shelter."

A small smile lit her face as she responded in kind, "Shade may bring us peace, but firewood and shelter bring us life."

He lifted a pointing finger at her before laughing out, "True, true."

~ ~ * *

The man standing before her now wasn't the man she had laughed with in the small park. He just like the other men surrounding her who were covered in blood of the ones they had killed mercilessly.

Almost as if by habit, Aiko lowered herself into a comfortable fighting stance. Pulling her daggers out of their hiding place in her shoes, she watched in grim satisfaction at the shocked, yet saddened look plastered on his face.

She pushed her emotions aside again, leaving her with the welcome calm they left in their place. An inaudible sigh left her lips as she watched Okita follow suit. There was still indecision hidden in his eyes and in his stance. He seemed to be waging a war inside himself to fight her or not.

That was all well and fine, either way, Aiko never let him have the chance to come to a decision as she had launched at him. Daggers raised in a position of attack and defense. Her moves calculated and precise, from all the training she went through with them.

She didn't understand when her daggers met with flesh and tore through it. She couldn't comprehend why her hands were suddenly washed in blood. Her eyes drifted from her hands to his katana lying on the ground, having been carelessly tossed there. She sucked in a breath as she felt his arms enwrap themselves around her waist. Quickly withdrawing her daggers from his body, she opened her shaking hands and let them fall to the ground.

He tightened his arms around her. Letting his head fall to rest on her shoulder, his breathing hot and heavy against her neck. Her world stopped as she heard his mumbled word, "Why?"

Her knees gave out, causing her to crash to the ground, bring a hurt Okita along with her. Her whole body began to shake as tears freely flowed from her eyes. A single question repeating over and over in her mind.

`Why indeed?'

tbc.

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::Ducks down behind computer:: Don't hate me too bad! It really isn't that bad of a cliffy! And besides, I made it extra long this time (12 pages instead of 9)!

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Next Chapter:

A certain captian isn't all that pleased when he finds out his friend got hurt . . .

Wonder who that could be?

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Character Notes:

Aiko: Aiko pushed all her emotions away when she entered the battle site as a sort of defense. After going through all she had when she was still at home, the detached sort of self was her only way hidden. I suppose you could say that by doing this, she's actually just running from her problems.

Okita: Insightful to the point of being TOO insightful. I think that's his problem. Lol. Now all I have to do is learn how to be insightful, and then I should have his character down.

Aiko's Mother: Here's a question for you: If Aiko's mother is dead, then who's the strange woman she met in the second chapter? Answer: Only time will tell. Anyway, Aiko's mother was a kind hearted woman who always placed her family first. She was a well respected, and well liked individual within the family, but suffered an untimely death.

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To the reviewers: With out you two, I would have no reviews.

Ione_girl: Thanks for actually signing your review! Teehee! There really isn't any comedy in this chap, but that's okay, cause next few chaps should have way more than enough to make up for it. Lol, shit. Um, next time I'm out there, I'm going to hid all your tomatoes! I love Okita and all, but it was just too easy to get him hurt. Lol, shit. So sorry so sorry! I swear, by the time this gets up, I'll have reviewed on your story . . . what are you doing? Stay away from those tomatoes . . . I warn you . . .::Thwack:: Owwie! That does it, I'll go find Aprils sessy and set him after you, you know I will. LOL, shit. kay, thanks for reading and reviewing, it really does mean a lot to me! But you get no pocky this time cause you threw tomatoes at me! -_-:: lol, shit. Teehee!

Mysticicna: Teehehehehehehe! I hate to say it, but my fav part in this chap is when Okita gets hurt? I'm wrong, I know it. So yeah, you little hentai! Thinking our cute little Okita would do that . . . well, I thought that too. So yeah, if you caught that its sugar coated, good job. Well, I didn't wait too long to get this chap out, only about two to three weeks. Pretty good if you ask me compared to "Truths Tears." ::hint hint:: lol. So yeah, thanks for reviewing and all that. If it really wasn't for you two, I would have NO reviews. So it really does mean soooo much to me. You get pocky!

Thanks all for reading, I still love all you other people out there!

Fanfic by inca_dove

@_@, glad this chap is done . . .