Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Evil Within ❯ Trapped Souls - Shattered Dreams (7b) ( Chapter 9 )

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The Evil Within




The Evil Within


Chapter 7B -
Shattered Dreams



Dawn spread its rosy fingers through
the forest's jade-colored leaves and down onto Shinomori Aoshi, awakening him
with a mother's tenderness.


Where
am I? He opened his pale azure eyes slowly, his mind taking him a few
seconds to piece together the cold earth beneath his body and the imposing trees
surrounding him. He slowly got up to a sitting position and looked to his left.


Damn,
he thought, narrowing his eyes charily as he saw who was beside him.


There
a sleeping Misao lay, her bare back turned to him, her yukata, torn and then
carelessly discarded lay a few meters away from them. He noticed that there were
drops of blood on the ground.


What
on earth happened last night? He wondered.


Aoshi
groaned and leaned forward, burying his face in his hands. Why can't I
remember it? He struggled to recollect the events of the past night,
recalling that they had stopped for camp out here for the night, her leaving to
dress, and-


Oh,
no. Oh, kami no, Aoshi shook his head vehemently, desperately denying what
he already knew was the truth, Rofocale wanted to be alone with her.


Shivering as the cold
air of dawn stung his skin, he got up and dressed, pulling on his clothes as
quickly as possible, his movements unusually inept.
What
the hell did Rofocale do to her? He wondered, slowly walking over to
Misao, a feeling of dread descending upon him as he leaned over her.


"Misao,"
he whispered, his voice breaking somewhat as he took in her face, "Misao, wake
up."


She
showed no sign of hearing him speak, her eyes remained shut, and she didn't
move, almost as if she were lifeless.


Kuso…Rofocale,
what did you do to her? Aoshi waited for a reply. Answer me!


To his complete
frustration, Rofocale did not answer.
Tenderly
threading the fingers of his left hand through her hair, slipping his other hand
behind her, he gently turned her around and winced. Her body was covered with
bruises, her face stained with dried tears, and there was blood on her legs,
down her throat and on the corner of her mouth.


I
need to remember what happened last night…I have to…Aoshi
tenderly placed her back down on the cold earth, reaching for his trench coat
and draped it over her to prevent her from freezing. He turned away from her and
closed his eyes, focusing his efforts on remembering the events of the night
before.



Misao in her yukata…
Misao
angrily turning her head away from me…


Misao
being shoved into the tree…


Her
pleading moans as her clothes were torn off…


Her
mouth against mine as I forced poison into her…



Her tears as I…as Rofocale…
His
eyes flew open in terror. She was raped…oh, Gods…Rofocale-using my
body-raped Misao…


He raped
Misao.


"Gomen
nasai, Misao…" he whispered, guilt yanking on his heartstrings as he looked
at her still form, "I'm so sorry."


Aoshi
stood up, his heart pounding as if it were trying to rip his chest open, his
breathing as heavy as it was after his fight with Kenshin.


She's
going to be fine…physically, at least. He assured himself. The poison
only rendered her unconscious, but it wasn't anything fatal.


But no
matter how many time he told himself that she would be fine, he couldn't bring
himself to leave her alone in the forest. He had to be sure she would be
safe and well taken care off before he left her.


Sighing
softly, he stretched out his arm and reached for the small bag that held
Misao's clothes, opening it and taking out the Onmitsu uniform that was
inside. He gently picked her body back up, throwing the trench coat that he had
just placed on her off, and with the utmost vigilance, he began to slip the
outfit on her, guiltily noticing every single cut, bruise, or drop of blood as
he did so.


I
can't bring her to Himura, Aoshi contemplated, distractedly collecting his
own things when he was done dressing Misao, they'll ask too many questions
and I can't have that. I can't bring her to the Aoiya either for the same
reasons. Looks like my only choice is to bring her to an inn and make sure
she's taken care of there until she's fully recovered.


He
didn't feel all that comfortable about leaving Misao in an inn with total
strangers, but for now that was his only choice; it was certainly better than
leaving her in the forest.


Shaking
his head disconsolately, he picked up his bag and Misao's pausing briefly to
contemplate where they were closer-Tokyo or Kyoto. Realizing they weren't even
halfway through their journey yet, he leaned over her.


"Hold
on, Misao," he whispered comfortingly as he gently gathered her in his arms
and began to sprint back down the path that they had walked the night before,
holding her close to him in hopes keeping the cold from entering her body.





Tsukimaya
Inn, Aoshi thought hours later, narrowing
his eyes as the brilliance of the noon sun pierced his eyes when he looked up to
read the sign of the small, cozy-looking building in the more private parts of
Tokyo, this will do.


Studiously ignoring the
whispers that surrounded him-he knew he looked strange carrying an unconscious
woman in his arms-he walked through the gates.



"I
need a room," Aoshi declared the moment he reached the woman who stood at the
door, "do you have any of them vacant?"


The
petite woman gave him and Misao a strange look before smiling brightly. "Of
course," she answered, nodding hastily, "we have only a few rooms for two
left, you got lucky that-"


"No,"
Aoshi interrupted, shifting Misao in his tired arms in a hope to relieve the
slight pain pulsing in them, he shook his head, "I only need room for one.
I'm not staying."


"Oh,"
the woman looked a little surprised, "well, yes, we still do and-"


"Yokatta,"
Aoshi cut in abruptly, "How much is one?"


Now
the woman was starting to look somewhat irritated at Aoshi's rudeness as she
held the shoji open for him. "If you'll just kindly step inside, I'll tell
you our rates."


Nodding
and once again uncomfortably changing Misao's position, he walked in, watching
the woman hurry away.


After
several minutes of waiting impatiently at the entrance, Aoshi was starting to
get even edgier than he already was.



What if the place is too costly
and I don't have enough money left?
What
if Misao doesn't make it?



Much to his relief, the woman
who he was talking to scurried back to him, interrupting his anxious thoughts.
After
she told him how much it would be to stay in the room-something he had more than
enough money left to pay for, he realized-he carefully placed Misao down on the
soft cushions which doubled as seats that were scattered around the floor and
reached for the silver in his pocket.


"I
want you to take the best of care of her," Aoshi warned after he had paid,
dangerously narrowing his cerulean eyes.


"Hai!"
The woman smiled back at him, nodding. "All of us at the Tsukimaya Inn take
special care of everyone that stays here."


"No,"
Aoshi shook his head, "that won't be good enough. You don't understand.
She isn't…well. I want you to provide her with everything she needs
for the whole time she's here. Do you understand me?" Without waiting for an
answer he reached into his pockets again and took out the last of his money-the
money that he had saved from working for Kanryuu-and handed it to the woman.
"There. I'm giving you everything I've got. Just make sure you take care
of her," I'm sure I can survive without money-Misao is the one who really
needs it right now.


The
woman nodded hastily. "Won't you be staying as well, sir?"


Aoshi
shook his head, knowing that the woman was waiting for some kind of an
explanation why he wouldn't be. Well, she wasn't going to get it. "I'll
just follow her to the room and leave."


"I
see," the woman nodded again before another wide smile grew on her lips,
"well, I should probably show you to the room, then."


"Aa."
Aoshi carefully picked Misao back up again and began following the woman up the
narrow stairs and into the room.


"Here
it is," the woman said, bowing slightly as he passed, "I hope you like
it."


Aoshi
ignored her, the rays of the sun that crept into the room casting a beautiful
golden glow around him.


"Leave
us alone for a moment," he ordered coldly, his ubiquitous mask of calm
placidity in place.


"Hai,"
the woman bowed again and hurried out.


Aoshi
delicately placed Misao down on the futon, his fingers lingering on the soft
skin at the nape of her neck a moment longer before he stood up.


He
tilted his head to the side, the ice in his eyes slowly melting away as he
stared at Misao's sleeping figure, bathed in the radiance of the sun.
Narrowing his eyes, he drank her in-her inky black hair, spilling across her
shoulders, the gentle curve of her body, the way her chest moved up and down as
she breathed, everything. He wanted to remember every single detail about her,
to have her image engraved in his mind for the rest of his life.


Because
this will be the last time he will ever plague Misao with his presence.


"Sayonara,
Misao." Forever. Determinedly turning away from her, he walked out-and
straight into the woman who had showed him into the room.


Aoshi
stared at her blankly, his icy indigo eyes asking her silently: What are you
doing here?


The
woman met his emotionless gaze with yet another smile. "Arigatou for choosing
Tsukimaya Inn."


As
if I had a choice, he thought contemptuously. "Take care of her,"
Aoshi returned sardonically, nodding curtly. Without another word, he briskly
walked down the steps, out of the inn, and back down the path that led to the
woods.


It was
time to face Rofocale.





When
Aoshi had finally arrived at a more secluded part of the forest far from Tokyo,
he slowly, quietly drew in the forest's scent and tried to contain the rage
that welled up within him.


"Rofocale,"
Aoshi called when he'd reached a more secluded part of the forest, looking
around with icy indigo eyes, slowly drawing in the forest's scent in an
attempt to contain the rage that welled up within him, "we need to talk now."


Total
silence met his ears; no answering voice echoed within his mind, nor did
Rofocale appear before him or show any sign of being able to hear him. At this,
Aoshi's temper flared and all remnants of his self-control rapidly dwindled
away.


"I know
you can hear me." Aoshi declared, looking around in a way that a man at war
would seek for people to slaughter. "So talk to me!"


"Are
you scared of me?" His voice was loud and mocking, now. "Are you afraid
of what I'm going to do to you for what you did to Misao?" His voice
escalated further with fury, his mind and vision clouded with total hatred.


An
invisible force suddenly lifted him into the air by the neck, and sent him
hurtling towards the base of a tree meters away from him. He could feel the
tight grip of unseen fingers around his neck, keeping him suspended almost a
foot away from the ground.


"This
is just to show you I'm not frightened of you." Rofocale hissed as he slowly
materialized, fingers wrapped around Aoshi's throat.


"And
this," he tightened his hand, cutting off all of Aoshi's air, "is
to show you that it should actually be the other way around."


Aoshi
narrowed his eyes angrily, sliding to the ground as Rofocale abruptly released
him. He knew all too well that Rofocale wouldn't kill him. Not just yet. Aoshi
was able tot ell that Rofocale still had too many plans with him.


"What
did you do to Misao?" he asked, although he already knew the answer. He just
wanted to hear it from Rofocale himself.


"I
had some fun with her," Rofocale replied tonelessly.


"Had
some fun with her." Aoshi echoed hollowly. "Had some fun with her?
You raped her!"


Rofocale
crossed his arms across his chest and shrugged noncommittally, as if he
weren't willing to give Aoshi the satisfaction of hearing his
admittance…either that or he didn't care at all.


For a
moment Aoshi stared at Rofocale, unwilling to believe anyone could anyone could
be so cruel. He knew he had done many things in the past-things he greatly
regretted now-and he may have had no right to speak this way, but he could not
stop himself.


"What?"
he cried, revulsion coursing through him. "Do you take some sick, sadistic
kind of pleasure in doing this? Do you enjoy ruining people's lives?"


The
self-satisfied smirk that spread across Rofocale's face and the glint that
appeared in his crimson-gold eyes gave him the answer he was looking for, though
what Rofocale said next was more than what Aoshi had asked for.


"Yes,
actually pleasure was part of the reason I took over you last night."


Bastard,
Aoshi thought furiously, knowing that Rofocale could hear him, disgust
contorting his features, you filthy, heartless bastard!


Rofocale
simply stared back at him dully, as if none of Aoshi's words affected him at
all. "You do know that you aren't all that much better than I,
Shinomori," he began evenly, his lips pulling back into a complacent smile.
"It wasn't I who was willing to give up everything-just for the sake
of revenge…willing to do almost anything and everything just to have one
battle with some has-been samurai."


Aoshi
slowly breathed in the clean forest air and let it out in an attempt to regain
his composure as Rofocale's words sank into his mind. Rofocale's right, he
realized with slight surprise, I'm not much better than he is.


"No,
you're not," Rofocale agreed, nodding slightly, his dark hair swaying
lightly across his golden eyes as he did so.


But
I can find a way to be, Aoshi narrowed his eyes, "I want my soul back."


Rofocale's
eyebrows lifted in amusement. Then, strangely, he began to laugh. His laughter
rang out clearly and reverberated within Aoshi mind, much like his voice did.


"You
really are a baka." Rofocale shook his head, a chuckle escaping his
lips as he spoke, "This kind of deal isn't something you can back out of.
This deal involves your soul, Shinomori, and there's no turning back.
You can't do anything about it." He placed a mock-solemn expression
on his face. "I'm really sorry."


"You
cheated me into this," Aoshi ignored his sarcastic tone.


"Honto?
Did I threaten you? Did I blackmail you? Did I force you into anything?"
Rofocale retorted, smirking.


"You
know what I'm talking about." Aoshi said calmly, but his eyes were alight
with a certain feral anger in them that had never been there before.


"I'm
afraid I do. And I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about it." With a
self-righteous smile growing on his face, Rofocale was blanketed by a thick,
onyx-colored fog and disappeared.


That's
where you're wrong, Rofocale. Because I will find a way to get my soul
back. Aoshi declared, reaching out to touch the remnants of the ominous fog
that surrounded him.


The
only answer was another smug laugh from within his mind.







Author's
Notes: Eh? Makes no sense? Aoshi's way OOC (okay, let's just say he cares
for Misao too much that's why he went berserk…he wuvs her…:Þ)? The ending
was too rushed? It plain sucked? I suck? Gomen, gomen…I really did rush this
:P Comments!!!


And
the plot gets more and more retarded as each of the chapters proceed…x_x *sob*
<<<Chapter
7a
Chapter 8>>>
The
Evil Within
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