Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Time Changes All ❯ Touched ( Chapter 16 )

Author's Note: Here is the chapter I promised and posted on the same day. . . what do u say to that ppl? Hahahahahahaha. . . sorry. . . random laugh. . . this chapter is a lot loner than my other ones and I'm a bit shocked. . . give me a few days to get over that. . . hahaha. . . R&R enjoy! Bye!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kenshin or his friends. . . notice I said friends. . . Takaomi sadly belongs to me. . . damn

". . ." dialogue

`. . .' Kaoru's thoughts

*. . .* Kenshin's thoughts

(. . .) author's useless commentary

Touched

By Hoshi-ni-Onegai

***************************** Flashback/Story Mode******************************

Aoshi was the silent boy at school, even when he was little. There weren't that many first graders that could sit still and keep quiet hours on end, so Aoshi was dubbed as a bit weird. Practically no one talked to him, and so he had no friends. Aoshi didn't seem to mind that much. Always keeping to himself not allowing any of the other children to befriend him. He hadn't always been like this. He used to be a cheerful and talkative boy, until the death of his parents. Having nowhere else to go he ended up living with his mother's godfather, Okina. Like any child that went under a major crisis he cried and refused to talk to others. Upon arriving at the inn that Okina owned, the Aoiya, Aoshi still kept quiet. At first people saw him cry but after a few months tears were gone but his voice never really came back. It wasn't that he didn't talk, for when he was talked to he did respond. An occasional sentence would come out of his mouth but a conversation was something he didn't carry out. That was in kindergarten when his parents died. Okina, becoming worried that he hadn't gotten over his so-called phase as the doctors liked to call it told him he would train him in ninjutsu. Aoshi was quick learner and became motivated to train everyday and to one day take over Okina's `school'. Due to his training he became a calm collected boy that possibly matured too quickly, he never learned about human contact. Until he got into the third grade.

"Aoshi~!"

"Yes Kamiya-san?" Kaoru had bounded up to Aoshi the moment she and Soujiro walked through the door together. Soujiro had went to talk to his other friends and smiled after Kaoru who always went up to Aoshi first thing every morning.

"Good morning!"

"Good morning Kamiya-san."

Her assigned seat being right in front of Aoshi she sat with the back of the chair between her legs and her elbows resting on Aoshi's desk her head cradled in her hands. She stared on happily at Aoshi barely blinking, the entire aura around her glowing with cheerfulness. Slightly annoyed with this daily ritual that Kaoru seemed to have independently adapted he, for the first time this all started, asked her a question.

"Can I help you Kamiya-san?"

Kaoru smile became even brighter and responded even more cheerfully than before, "The question, Aoshi, is how can I help you?"

Aoshi stared back wide-eyed at the girl in front him and that's where it all began. Everyday she would talk to him the morning and during lunch. Always persistent and always cheerful. She told him about what happened to her, that she was living now with Soujiro, about the Kamiya Kashin Ryu she was determined to teach when she was older, about Kenshin and the promise. Anything imaginable was talked about and so she continued carrying on a one-sided conversation. Even though Aoshi did not respond he did listen. And slowly Aoshi started to give in, his isolation walls cracking and soon enough crumbling. He began responding at first answering her questions that usually asked about his likes and dislikes then he started asking questions of his own. The one-sided conversations turned into a mutual one. Aoshi grew to be able to talk to her and to crack a smile once in awhile. Kaoru introduced him to Soujiro and Sano, two of her best friends at that time. Knowing that Aoshi was someone Kaoru could get along with they immediately accepted him. Aoshi's best friend continued to be Kaoru even after meeting other people and befriending them as well. Sooner or later people stopped calling him weird and he was just easily dubbed as strong and silent. Being called the strong and silent type in elementary school was unusual but the other students were now less hesitant to approach him.

"Aoshi~!"

"Yes Kamiya-san?"

"Good morning!"

"Good morning Kamiya-san." Being in chuugaku ichinen (7th grade) unlike in the past he gave a slight nod and smile.

"Guess what?!"

"You finally met someone as sickeningly cheerful as you?"

"I told you before Aoshi, I'm not sickeningly cheerful I'm just freakishly enthusiastic. Anyways. . . YES!!!! I did meet a girl that is extremely cheerful!"

"Oh and where did you meet this girl?"

"She's a new student I ran into at the office. She's going to be in our class!"

Aoshi raised an amused eyebrow, "Another one of you huh?"

The door to the classroom opened and the teacher stepped in with a short student in tow. "Class I would like to introduce to you Makimachi Misao."

In all honesty Aoshi's attention was not grabbed when Misao was introduced. She was short, not ugly but cute in a little kid sort of way, and she seemed a bit of a tomboy. There wasn't much to be intrigued about until she started talking. Misao was assigned the seat next to Aoshi diagonally behind Kaoru. Being the ever so friendly girl that Kaoru was she turned around and talked to Misao as if she was a long lost friend.

"Hi Misao!"

Misao with a smile adorning her face replied, "Hi Kaoru! Wow you're in my class? What a coincidence!" Looking over at Aoshi she spoke cheerfully to him as well. "What's your name?"

"Aoshi."

"Wow, really?! My grandfather has a student named Aoshi living with him. He lives by here too!"

Aoshi looked at Misao flatly for a while then he answered, "You must be Okina's granddaughter."

"You're that Aoshi?! What a small world!"

"Aoshi you know her?"

"I know about her. Okina's mentioned her a lot of times. . . he said something about her moving here."

"You don't pay attention sometimes do you?"

"I do. . . I just tune out from time to time."

"I fail to see a difference."

"Um. . . guys? I'm still here you know."

Aoshi and Kaoru looked over to Misao who had become forgotten. "Oh, sorry about that." Kaoru apologized.

"You guys get along very well don't you?"

"Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" Kaoru started laughing hysterically getting the attention of most of the class.

"What you guys don't?"

"No, we do. Sorry that was a random laugh."

Misao looked at Kaoru kindly and smiled, "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

The five of them: Kaoru, Misao, Aoshi, Soujiro, and Sano were always together. Everyone got along with everyone else. What kept the group together was Kaoru. Although the weird one most of the time the rest of the four looked at her like a best friend, and everyone knew her best friend was `Ken-chan' no matter how much time passed.

As surprising as it may seem Misao did not become head over heals in love with Aoshi for a while. They were polar opposites; Misao was energetic and spunky, Aoshi was calm and collected. (I know I already used this description on him but it's really hard to come up with new ones) They were friends, nothing more nothing less. Until one day when Misao came to school with a black eye.

"Misao! What happened?" Kaoru exclaimed the moment her friend walked into the classroom one morning.

Delicately touching her cheek she halfheartedly chuckled, "Oh this? This is nothing. I just ran into the door. It's nothing really." After a few days her black eye faded but that was until she went to gym class to change her clothes.

"Oh my God Misao. . . How did you get that?" Kaoru was hovering over Misao's badly bruised back afraid to touch it.

"I fell down the stairs. It's no big deal."

As time progressed there were new bruises and scabs replacing the old healing ones. Kaoru was not the only who noticed, Aoshi did as well. Every since she had moved to Tokyo from Kyoto Misao had been training under Okina along side Aoshi. Even though they were the same age Aoshi started looking at her as a little sister he needed to take care of. She went in the afternoons to train and went home to her parents soon after. Aoshi saw her everyday and grew to care for the girl, but still he though he saw her as a little sister.

When the bruises became more frequent and the scratches plentiful Aoshi was suspicious along with the rest of the group. In order to `investigate' the reasons for this Aoshi and Kaoru decided that they should be the ones to follow her home without Misao knowing. So one fateful day the two discretely tailed her home, upon arrival they peeked into the living room window and there stood her dad looking furious and wasted as hell. Misao's mother had left when Misao was only six years old, leaving her living with her father. At first her father was devastated that his wife left him but was still civil. After time he turned to alcohol. At first Misao tried to make him stop, telling him that he was only trying to drown his problems. Over the years she realized that there wasn't much she could do, but when she brought a friend home one day her father lost control.

"What the hell are you doing bringing someone home?! Do you think this is a charity?!" Her father was hollering at Misao soon after her friend went home after the short visit.

"But I asked you yesterday if I could have someone come over so we could study and you said it was fine." Misao was cowering in the corner in which her father was bellowing at her.

"Don't smart mouth me! You're my daughter and this is my house! I will tell you who you can bring and that is no one!"

"Fine." Misao looked at the floor ashamed to look into the drunken eyes of the man she had to call `father.'

"Don't take that tone with me you bitch! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

When Misao looked up there it was, what she feared the most, the thing that she hoped to never see, but here it was. Her father had his hand raised ready to slap, the moment her eyes met his he let his palm connect with her cheek. Misao stared wide-eyed at the floor. Pulsing from her cheek less painful than the realization that she had no one left. When reaching chuugaku ichinen her father took a job in Tokyo. Granted it was not a high paying job, but a job at that. For about a year he was fairly sober, a drink here and there but nothing to the extent of before. The beatings that Misao had to endure in Kyoto were gone, they stopped the moment she reached Tokyo. Her father started acting loving to her the way he used to. She thought that it was all over, but it was far from it. Her father got laid off and resorted back to heavy drinking. That was when the beatings started over.

There stood her father in the living room a bottle of beer in one hand looking at Misao as she came through the door. Kaoru and Aoshi who were still looking through the window was a bit surprised that Misao's father was drinking on a week night, for they knew nothing about Misao's problems at home. Until Misao's father started yelling.

"Where the hell have you been?! I told you to come back home right after school!"

Misao gave a sigh and was bending down to take off her shoes. "I told you before, Okina said he would train me so I would be coming home a little late. I've been coming home at this time for the best year."

"Training?! Training to be what?! A whore like your mother?!"

That hit a cord in Misao unable to contain herself she raised her voice, "Don't talk about mother like that! You once loved her you know! And don't insult Okina's training, he's your father for God's sake!"

To say Kaoru and Aoshi were surprised would be an understatement this was a side of Misao they had never seen before. Her long braid was whipping behind her, green eyes blazing with fury and face scrunched up in rage.

"Your grandfather is a senile old man and your mother was a tramp and a whore! Guess what? You're going to end up in the same position!" He pulled back his fist ready to hit her in the jaw when suddenly the adjacent living room sliding door slid open and a quick Aoshi and Kaoru dashed into the room. Aoshi went in front of the fist and blocked it with the palm of his hand. Kaoru went around and hit Misao's father on the pressure point at the back of his neck knocking him out. He slumped to the ground and Aoshi turned around to face Misao he looked pissed off, "Why the hell didn't you say anything?"

"Aoshi!" Kaoru reached out to pull him back from the shocked and frightened Misao.

"No Kaoru! She should have told someone! You were going to let this go on and not say anything? Were you waiting until he ended up killing you?" Aoshi face no longer showed any anger but hurt and sadness.

"Aoshi. . ." The slip of her actual name surprised her at first but she quickly got over that.

Silence fell upon them as Aoshi stared into Misao's eyes. Soon her eyes started looking glossy for tears were coming out. "I-I'm sorry." She couldn't hold it in anymore and she bawled out crying. Kaoru was about to step in and comfort her but Aoshi beat her to it and took her into a tight embrace.

"I'm just glad you're okay. I'll never let anyone hurt you ever again, I care for you too much to look away as if I don't." Misao was taken aback but soon griped the front of his shirt and let herself go.

That afternoon they took Misao back to the Aoiya and called social services. Misao at first was reluctant to report her father but after having a brief talk with Aoshi, Kaoru, and Okina. Kaoru called home and said she would stay with Misao that night. Kaoru didn't leave Misao side for a week and Misao was extremely grateful. After a week she told Kaoru could go home and that she would have to learn to live without her. Her father had been put into rehab and counseling, Misao was to stay with her now legal guardian, Okina. Okina's inn was also where he taught those in his `school.' Those living there were now Okina, Aoshi, and Misao.

It had been two weeks since she moved into the Aoiya and a week since Kaoru went back home. Misao was walking from the bath from one end of the house to her room in the other end. As she was walking dazedly she literally ran into Aoshi in the hallway.

"Sorry! I was kind of zoning out there." Misao immediately apologized to Aoshi.

"Will you sit with me Misao?" He gestured to the porch that opened to the inner yard. (This Aoiya is in the similar format as the one in manga)

Misao looked at him quizzically but soon nodded and walked towards the porch. Aoshi shortly followed and sat next to her. He said nothing and Misao waited patiently for him to speak. Finally after a minute of what Misao was an uncomfortable silence he spoke, "How are you?"

Misao tilted her head to the side with confusion clearly written across her face, "Um. . . I'm fine Aoshi. . . never been better."

". . ."

"Aoshi?"

"Why do you keep it in?"

"Keep what in?"

Aoshi turned his usually cold eyes that now spoke of compassion towards Misao. "Why do you try to act so cheerful? Why didn't you say anything? Why did you just take it? How could you just take it?"

Misao looked at him her eyes wide but soon her eyes softened and a small smile appeared. "I thought that maybe if I acted like everything was fine outside of home it could block out what was occurring at home. I worked in one way for the fact that I forgot about the problems with my father when I left but I got a harsh slap of reality when I got home literally. I didn't know what to do. It has just been going on for what felt like forever. I just learned to take it."

"But why did you?" Aoshi was now looking out into the yard to the small rock fountain in the corner as was Misao.

"Although most of my memories with my father included. . . well. . . the bad times. I can't deny that there was a time when I was little when he used to laugh with me, tell me he loved me, hugged me. . ." Misao was now holding back tears. "H-he l-loved me at o-one point. . . I was s-stupid enough t-to continue loving him. . . even now, when he doesn't love me. . ."

Suddenly Aoshi pulled Misao into a fierce hug. "You're not stupid to love him. You still loving him shows how much of a good person you are. That no matter what, you have hope."

Misao wrapped her arms around Aoshi's waste and sobbed into his chest. "I have no one left. . . I'm alone now. . ."

His grip became tighter, "You're not alone. You have Okina, Soujiro, Sano, Kaoru, and you have me. Whenever you need someone you know you can come to me no matter what."

"And the same goes for me." Misao whipped her head around and saw Kaoru who had decided to pay a visit standing there.

"K-Kaoru. . . Aoshi. . . arigatou. . ."

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AN: I just recently noticed that this fic is getting a bit angsty but I didn't really mean to. . . but it won't end badly. . . I mean it'll be a bad ending b/c I wrote it but it won't be that depressing. . . well I'll see you in the next chapter. . . mattane!