Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Evil Within ❯ Convocation ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Convocation - TEW 2

The
Evil Within

Chapter
Two-Convocation

A
useless little note before reading: This fanfic overlaps with the Kyoto Arc…I
altered the events just slightly so it would be more convenient to me and the
plotline.

Aoshi-sama?!?

Makimachi Misao's
speed decreased only slightly as she glanced back. To the spot where she thought
Shinomori Aoshi had been standing on.

Nobody was there.

It's just your
imagination, Misao…keep running. A voice in her mind ordered insistently. You're
just hoping too much that your Aoshi-sama will return to you…you're hallucinating
now!

She shook her head,
forcing herself to ignore the undertone in her mind.

"Hii-muuuu-raaaaa!"
she yelled again, boosting her speed further.

Yatta! I'm going to
catch up to him! She thought excitedly, the notion causing adrenaline to
course through her veins.

Smash.

"What-" Misao's
words were cut off as someone considerably smaller crashed into her.

"Oi!" the voice was
young, male, and irritatingly brash, "Could you watch where you're
going?!?"

"What do you mean me?
You were the one that bumped into me, baka!" Misao glared at the spiky-haired
boy.

"Dame, it was you
that-" the boy stopped speaking abruptly as another girl, probably a bit older
than her, stepped up to them.

"Yahiko, be quiet."
She said, and then glanced at Misao, smiling apologetically.

"Gomen ne," she told
her, "we don't mean to cause you any harm."

Misao nodded hastily,
unwilling to waste any more time. "It's no problem. Now I really have to
go-" she got up, "I have to catch up to Himura…"

Misao was ready to break
into a run again when she felt the girl's hand clutch the back of her ninja
outfit.

Hey.
Let go…
"D-did you say
Himura?" the girl whispered from behind her.

Misao turned around.
"Hai." She narrowed her eyes as she examined the girl thoroughly.

This must be the girl
that Himura was talking about, Misao realized as she took in the enthralled
expression in the girl's eyes and the hopeful smile that was tugging on her
lips. She glanced at the young boy who had bumped into her. His expression
mirrored the one on the girl's.

"Where is he?" the
girl asked excitedly.

"That's just it,"
Misao replied quietly, "he left. And I don't know where he's going."

"Oh." The girl's
frowned. "Is he all right?"

"Hai."

The girl breathed a soft
sigh of relief. "I'm Kamiya Kaoru, by the way. I'm one of his friends from
Tokyo. This is Myoujin Yahiko."

Yahiko nodded, a small
grin on his face.

Misao smiled. "I'm
Makimachi Misao," she faltered as she took in the half-relieved,
half-disappointed expression on Kaoru's face. After only a moment of thinking,
she spoke again. "Look, I do know one person who might have an idea on
where he's going…"

Kaoru smiled hopefully.
"Please," she begged, "take me to him…I have to see Kenshin
again…onegai…" she bit her lip in anticipation.

Misao hesitated for only
a moment. With a sigh, she nodded. "All right." I'm sure Jiya won't
mind…

Shinomori Aoshi's mind
was racing.

Misao…I never thought the day would come that I would see her again. Though I
have to admit, she's blossomed into quite a beautiful girl. One thing hasn't
changed about her, though. Her eyes. They're still as striking and noticeable
as they were before. Even that short glimpse I caught of her was enough for me
to note them. Is she married? He found himself
wondering. She's certainly old enough, and-
"Shinomori Aoshi?" a
small voice inquired, interrupting his thoughts.

Aoshi snapped out of his
reverie. He narrowed his eyes at the petite boy with a small grin on his face.

"Hello," the boy
smiled, "Remember me?"

Aoshi nodded curtly. As
if he would forget Seta Soujirou.

"Aa. What do you
want?"

"We-" Soujirou
gestured at the small number of men behind him, "The Juppon Gattana, are
inviting you to join us."

Aoshi merely raised his
eyebrows calmly, prompting Soujirou to say more.

"We can offer you all
the information we have on Battousai's whereabouts." Soujirou offered,
looking up and grinning at him.

Aoshi's first instinct
was to agree, but then another part of him was vehemently against the idea of
teaming up with Shishio Makoto.

He was pretty damn sure
that they would just yank him around like a puppet on strings if he agreed,
anyway. So what would be the use? He'd be able to make it by himself, anyway.

He stared down at
Soujirou, who was still smiling and scratching the back of his head.

He was getting on
Aoshi's nerves.

Of course, if he joined
them, he could be able to find Himura probably much earlier than he would if he
declined.

They're going to
jerk you around like a useless puppet, if you join them, you know. A
voice-not loud and dominant, just soft, sharp, and fairly ominous-that he had
gotten somewhat accustomed to hearing whispered.

Rofocale. Aoshi
thought. So you don't think I should accept Soujirou's offer?

Of course not. It
would be a stupid move. It wouldn't help you much either. Rofocale
answered, though his reply echoed only within the depths of Aoshi's mind.

But accepting it
would probably help me in finding Battousai. He retorted.

Something that resembled
a scoff reverberated in his mind. It's your choice, Aoshi. Not mine.

Aoshi blocked out the
sardonic, cold voice and locked gazes with Soujirou.

And nodded.

Misao smiled
reassuringly at Kaoru as they approached the Aoiya. "Don't worry, the other
Oniwabanshuu members are pleasant enough."

Kaoru's blue eyes
widened slightly in surprise. "You're Oniwabanshuu?" the mild shock in her
voice was very noticeable.

"Hai. What's
wrong?" Misao asked as she slowly opened the gate to the Aoiya.

"What?" Kaoru
hastily shook her head, studiously avoiding Yahiko's eye. She knew what he was
thinking: Aoshi. "Nothing's wrong, Misao-chan." She forced a small
smile in an attempt to convince the younger girl that nothing was bothering her.

"All right." Misao
shrugged listlessly and walked into the Aoiya. "Jiya probably knows where
Himura's going."

Misao felt a strange
sense of warmth spread over her as hope and delight lit up both Kaoru's and
Yahiko's faces. "Come on, I'll find Ji-Tenkage!" she paused in
mid-stride as she accidentally bumped into her fellow Oniwabanshuu member.

Misao smiled up at the
older girl. "Gomen, Tenkage. I didn't mean to hit you."

Tenkage smiled back.
"Daijoubou, Misao-chan." She regarded Kaoru and Yahiko with kind golden-blue
eyes. "Who are your friends?"

"Oh…Tenkage, this is
Kamiya Kaoru, and this is Myoujin Yahiko."

Tenkage grinned
politely. "Konnichiwa."

Kaoru smiled back.
"Konnichiwa." She echoed, whilst Yahiko simply smiled stupidly.

Baka, Kaoru
thought fondly as she noticed the thunderstruck grin stretched across his lips, so
young and he's already looking at women.

"…and this is
Kourinno Tenkage." Misao continued.

Tenkage offered them all
another smile.

"Tenkage-san, have you
seen Jiya?" Misao asked, feeling Kaoru's growing impatience and unease. She
wasn't saying anything, but Misao felt it anyway.

"Hm? Hai, he was in
his room a while ago. He's probably still there." Tenkage nodded in the
direction where she had come from. "Misao-chan, is this about Himura-san?"
Her voice dropped a notch as she spoke Kenshin's name.

Misao's eyes widened
in surprise. "You know about him?"

"Hai. Okina told me he
was going to meet with his teacher." Tenkage shrugged. "He wouldn't tell
me why, though. Probably to get reacquainted is my guess. I'm not sure,
though."

Misao heard both
Yahiko's Kaoru's stunned gasps.

"Arigatou,
Tenkage-san." Misao smiled at her.

Tenkage nodded. "It
was no problem. Okina'll probably be able to tell you more, ne?"

"Hai!" without
another word, she rushed off, with Kaoru and Yahiko trailing behind her.

Tenkage watched the
three sprint towards where Okina was.

"Good
luck, minna. You will all have a long way to go before your ordeal is over."
She muttered, twisting the long strands of black hair in her fingers uneasily.

With
an apprehensive sigh, she walked away.

*~Owari~*

Author's
Notes: Jeez, for something that took me almost 3 weeks to write, this is
terrible. *cries* Most of you know why it took me long. >_< Anyway, first
an explanation on my character, Kourinno Tenkage. 'Kourin' means
'descent', while 'no' means 'of', or something like that. 'Ten'
means 'heaven', and 'kage' means 'shadow'…so I guess her name
could mean' the descent of heaven's shadow', or something like that. ^-^ This
will probably be the most boring chapter in all of the series, but I promise
everything will start to become more exciting…kind of like a calm before the
storm thing. *gryn*
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Chapter 1
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The
Evil Within
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