Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Water on a Glass House ❯ Part Seven ( Chapter 7 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Water on a Glass House

written by: ChiisaiLammy (Chiisailammyhotmail.com)

May 2004

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin does not belong to me.

Part SevenKanryuu picked mirthlessly at his meal. If Hiroshi terminated his business dealings then what would he have? Would they leave? Would they be able to walk away?

He had worked so hard for this little arrangement of his.

He decided to abandon his lackluster meal and stalked across the room. Strewn across a small table were several presents. Without ceremony, Kanryuu picked up the bolt of blue silk and smiled in delight as the jewel-toned blue cloth slipped against his skin.

He imagined the luxurious cloth on Megumi's skin, perhaps as a scarf. He felt the smoothness of the silk underneath his fingertips and smiled to himself. How he envied women, who wore such finery as this. Adorned like flowers in spring, women seemed to be made solely for adoration.

He paused and folded the piece of cloth with a sigh. This color though. This color was would offset the gray of the Okashira's eyes. That man had eyes that were as elusive and expansive as the horizons.

Kanryuu's mind drifted over to the first time he had ever seem those eyes.

It was spring. It must have been, because he remembered the cherry blossoms that floated in his sake cup.

Toki was entertaining him. She was his favorite courtesan, with dark expressive eyes set evenly on a thin, heart-shaped face. Her lips were a little fuller and her nose was a little flatter than Megumi's, but it didn't matter, he could almost fool himself if she wore her waist-length hair down.

"Takeda-sama, you're so smart," she cooed as she poured sake into his cup. Her lips were lacquered a bright vermilion color that seemed to look ridiculously high in constrast against the blue-white of her makeup.

He was always generous. He always brought her presents and when he did she would always throw her arms around him and laugh excitedly at the exotic goods that he had procured.

He had brought her a saffron-dyed embroidered scarf that day and was half-listening to her praises. She prattled nosily about his most exquisite tastes, completely oblivious to his boredom.

From the corner of his eye, something caught Kanryuu's attention. A tall man dark hair slipped gracefully into the main hall. Kanryuu was fascinated by the fluid dexterity with which the man had moved, descending down the flight of stairs like a bird of prey across the sky.

Their eyes met for a moment and everything in the room seemed to disappear in a white haze.

His eyes, Kanryuu remembered, his eyes were the color of an autumn storm. Anyone, Kanryuu was certain, could easily be swept up in their tumultuous waves of light and dark.

He turned to Toki. "Who is he?"

The corners of her mouth twisted into a wry, indulgent smile. "Oh he isn't a customer. He must have come by to speak to the owner." She replied as she refilled his cup of heated sake.

Kanryuu ran his fingernail lightly against the delicate skin of Toki's neck, "Does he have a name? What do you know about him?"

Toki squirmed and replied with her patented smile, "Shinomori Aoshi. His men rent a house from the owner. Some of the kitchen girls like to cook for them because when they're around, they'd help out with chores like firewood and stuff. And well, Hannya has sort of taken it upon himself to make sure that the girls here don't get in too much trouble with the drunks. So I guess you can say that they've sort of become unofficial yojimbos for us." She sighed and the perfect smile fell from her lips, "But Aoshi, he isn't ever interested in anyone or anything."

She shook her head and touched Kanryuu delicately on the sleeve, "Oh but you must find it terribly boring. The spring will be lovely in Osaka this year, would it not? I'm sure a man as worldly as you can enlighten me on this."

Kanryuu sipped delicately at his sake, deep in thought. His eyes flew across the room to the tall man dressed in a black kimono. He bowed slightly and spoke politely to at the young blushing kitchen girl. "Does he come here often?"

Toki shook her head, "No, he's rarely ever in Tokyo. I heard that he comes and goes for weeks at a time. I think he and the men hire themselves out occasionally as bodyguards and such. I'm not sure."

Kanryuu blinked as Aoshi ducked out of the house and out of his vision. He felt as if he had just woken up from a dream. Returning his attention to the young woman, and smiled. Her makeup took on a lacquered look, thick and unctuous. Kanryuu suddenly felt his stomach turn.

"I heard that the water positively glitter like jewels in Osaka." Toki continued as she poured him more sake with her delicately poised wrists.

He took his monogrammed handkerchief from his breastpocket, leaned in close to Toki and started wiping away the powder on her face.

"And the sake is the finest…hey what-"

"Shhh." He hushed as he continued to strip away the white paint.

He then buried his nose into her neck and nipped at the bare skin. He breathed deeply. Her skin still smelled of powder and perfumes that had just been there a moment before.

"Takeda-sama. We're in the main hall…" Toki protested.

"Toki-chan," He murmured as he grazed his canine teeth lightly against her neck, "I don't want to talk about spring in Osaka. I want to talk about autumn storms. Tumultous autumn storms in Edo."

---

Megumi raised her head from her laboratory table at the metallic clanking of keys against the locks.

She rubbed her eyes as Hannya entered. He begins to collect the basket of meticulously wrapped opium.

She yawned, "What time is it?"

"It's late. I will return to escort you back to your chambers, Takani-sensei."

He paused mid-step at the door, and turned his head, "Takani-sensei, when was the last time you had eaten?"

Her eyebrows knitted together in thought, "Um. I honestly don't remember."

Hannya, nodded. "I see." He set the basket down near him and dug into his gi. Fishing out a bright, shiny apple, he tossed it in her direction.

Her eyes widened as her arms shot out in front of her to catch the projectile fruit.

Hannya smiled behind his mask. She had good reflexes.

"You must be hungry. That is all I have for now, my apologies." And with a polite bow, he exited the room, making sure to lock the door behind him.

Megumi set the apple on the desk and rested her head lightly on her forearms. In her confusion, she stared at the apple for a moment and smiled.

Hannya caught Aoshi as he made his way back to the compound. He bowed deeply, "Okashira."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm returning to the apothecary to escort Takani-sensei back to her quarters."

Aoshi waited until Hannya had caught up to him before he replied, "I shall accompany you, then."

Aoshi soon fell into step with his subordinate. Without preamble he said, "Report."

"He received yet another visitor this week."

"From Hiroshi?"

Hannya grunted in affirmation.

"That's the third one this month."

"He can't raise the money that Hiroshi is demanding."

"That explains why Takani has been in the apothecary for the past week."

"He wants to double the volume of his spider's web stock. He plans on expanding his market to the greater Tokyo area rather than just limiting it to the underground yakuza."

Aoshi nodded.

After a pause, Hannya added, "He wants to secure a partnership with Hiroshi."

"So he wants more than to supply arms for his foolish little army."

Hannya agreed. "Yes, I suspect that he would want in on the arms deal in Tokyo. But the details of how he will do it-- they're not so certain. Hiroshi doesn't need him to deal with the Dutch."

Aoshi's frown deepened. "That's why he wants to expand his army. He wants to force Hiroshi into a partnership."

Hannya grunted, "This cannot be good for Tokyo. Hiroshi's influence is limited. Kanryuu has greater connections because of the drugs-"

Aoshi exhaled, deep in thought. "Of this I am well aware. Arms to the underground of Tokyo would only mean…"

"-the eventual destruction of Japan," Hannya interjected. At Aoshi's sharp look, Hannya coughed. "Well it is the worst scenario, should those arms get into the hands of anti-government factions."

Aoshi clasped his hands behind his back and strolled with his friend and comrade in the moonlight. A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. "You always had a flair for the dramatic, Hannya."

Hannya shrugged, and replied affably, "The circus life in my blood, perhaps? Can't really escape it."

Aoshi's smile disappeared. He added cryptically. "Bound to our fates…"

Regret stole the light from Aoshi's eyes. Even in the dim silver moonlight, Hannya could catch the change. He cleared his throat, "But perhaps we make our own fates."

Aoshi nodded. "At the very least, Kanryuu's plans would result in civilian and police casualty."

"We should do something then. I'll alert the other Oniwabanshuu."

Aoshi stared into the abyss of Hannya's mask. "No."

Hannya stopped. Aoshi could see the other man's scar-tissue eyes widen, even behind the pitch-black darkness of his mask.

"No, Okashira?"

Aoshi continued walking. "The Oniwabanshuu were guards and keepers of peace for the city of Edo and for the Tokugawa Shogunate. Those relics didn't survive the war. We owe this city no loyalty."

"But Okashira-"

Aoshi turned around, his tone dismissive. "See to it that Beshimi or Hyottoko is stationed in front of Takani's chambers. I will escort her there. We will continue this discussion later."

Hannya bowed deeply. "Hai, Okashira."

---

"What took you so long, I-"

He entered and cleared his throat. Catching her off guard, she spun around, dropping the satchel in her hand.

Collecting both herself and her fallen bag, Megumi straightened herself and greeted the man before her.

"Good evening, Okashira."

He nodded, "Sensei."

On the way out of the apothecary, Aoshi dismissed the guard posted outside her door. They walked through the corridors and across the courtyard in silence.

Megumi craned her neck as her head looked upwards the open sky. The uncharacteristically warm night must have had some effect, because the moonlight graced everything with a silvery rose color. Aoshi noted how her hair glowed and each individual strand seemed to have an aura of its own. She smiled slightly, enchanted by the beauty of the night. He noted the subtle, sweet scent of the earth as it rose with the heat towards the stars. Even the piquant fragrances of courtyard's tea roses seemed to dance, intertwining with the emerging freshness of the night-blooming jasmine.

She turned to him, her large, brown eyes glittered in such a way that made him forget the sprinkling of stars in the sky. "Looks like it might rain soon." She murmured, looking up at the sky.

Aoshi walked with his hands clasped behind his back. "So it seems."

Everything under this sky, during this night seemed out of this world. Aoshi wondered if the demons had captured the moonlight for what shone in the sky was far too bright, far too beautiful to be anything mundane.

Like her.

His jaw set a bit in reaction to his own treasonous thoughts. Were he a weaker man, he knew that this woman would be his undoing.

Megumi smiled a small indulgent smile, and he wondered if she felt it too. He wondered if she noticed the change in the air. "You know, love the rain."

Aoshi observed the dancing light in her eyes as the corners of her flower-petal lips curled up into a nostalgic smile.

She turned her head away and cast a side-long, dreamy glance across the courtyard. "When I was younger, I wanted to catch the rain. I wanted to save it, capture that moment in time so that I could always go back to it. It's like saving the paper from a gift. I wanted something to tie me to that moment of happiness and save the joy of the memories."

They paused in the middle of the courtyard. He studied her as she hung her head in contemplation.

She sighed and looked up into the cosmic swirl of stars and clouds, "How silly of me to think that I could catch the rain."

Aoshi cleared his throat and fixed his gaze forward, "The Chinese believe that a woman is like water."

A small inaudible gasp escaped from her mouth as she peeked at him beneath her bangs.

Inwardly, he delighted in her surprise. Without looking, he could almost see her lips curl up in her a fox-like smirk, as she recovered from her initial reaction. "She is yielding and contends with nothing?"

He turned his head slightly towards her. His face was enigmatic as ever as his eyes intensely studying her frame. "Aa. That is what they believe. The female is the yin, the moon, the darkness and the mysterious." He paused for a minute, "But I think she is more." He looked meaningfully at her. "I think that she is at once impressive and unpredictable. Like the sea, she can turn from tranquil to tempestuous without notice."

Megumi laughed. "She who moves the world by staying in place."

"She who will devastate a man at her whim."

Megumi looked solemnly at the man in front of her. Aoshi felt her dark eyes search his questioningly, as if she was uncertain of what he had meant by his statement.

He turned away, wondering if indeed the demons had captured their world. If somehow, they had fallen into some mystical place where the night air only held the scent of flowers and rain.

"If the woman is water. What is a man?"

He smirked and continued walking, his face was hidden behind his hair. "Doomed."

She let out a more audible gasp as she hurried to catch up to his long strides, "Is that a joke? From you?"

"No."

She knitted her brows together in confusion but nodded thoughtfully. They walked slowly in silence for a while, with nothing more to say. As they passed along a row of roses in the garden, he watched in amusement as Megumi trailed her fingers along the silken petals. Water droplets clung to her outstretched pink fingers.

Suddenly he caught her voice as she murmured a poem from memory. He stood there, enchanted by the voice that drifted soft and clear though space between them and danced into the warm night air.

"If the white dew must vanish, let it vanish. Even if it stayed, it is doubtful that anyone…"

"…would string the drops like jewels." He finished almost automatically.

She looked at him her eyes wide in surprise. After a moment, she blinked and her look of astonishment soon melted into a small, genuine smile.

The sound of her voice seemed to be stolen by the gentle breeze as soon as the words left her mouth. "You're just full of surprises tonight, Shinomori-san."

Fascinated by the light of the moonlight in her hair, his silent eyes watched, transfixed, as she rose to her tip toes. Her cheeks glowed as she reached her hand hesitantly towards his cheek.

"This night, it's so unreal. Does it feel like you could forget where you are, too?"

His eyes lowered almost instinctively as her apprehensive fingers extended to touch his jaw. Suddenly, as her skin touched his, he winced and his hand sprang up catching her wrist in his vice-like grip. Turning her palm face up, his scrutinizing gaze fell on her marred wrists.

She protested and tried in vain to free herself from his hands. His gaze missed nothing as he studied the delicate wrists that were marked by rivers of thick white scars.

The criss-cross of her scars seemed to mirror the ones on his body so well.

"Like the water, she can take on many forms." He murmured. "You cannot use me to escape, Takani-sensei."

He thought about Shiki-jou and the flow of scars that ran like poetic kana script down the length of his body. A testament, Shiki-jou had declared, to his dedication to the Oniwaban. It was and the product of his incredible strength and so he would wear them proudly like some men wore crests of their family's military prowess.

Aoshi thought about all the scars between them and how even in the diffused illumination of the moonlight, they never seemed to fade. These scars return to him, invading his mind like the poems from his past. Even in the light of the moon, Aoshi couldn't divide love from war.

Without procession he released her hand and stepped back. "Nor is death an escape." He breathed softly, almost mournfully.

He could not pry his eyes from the tiny scars that flowed up the length of her forearms. He remembered the smell of the blood, fire and metal from his days in battle.

The night had ceased to smell of flowers. He could only smell blood.

She hid her hands under her kimono sleeves and stared at him, wide-eyed and indignant.

He thought of the story of his life and of scars that will never fade. He thought of the Oniwabanshuu's scars and how they were each a relic of courage in war. He thought of this woman before him, and how her scars told the story of her weakness.

And he felt the air thin and his heart fold into itself inside his chest.

He grabbed her by the elbow and led her towards her chambers. His voice was once again cold and indifferent, to his relief. "We've stayed out here too long."

She glared at him and almost violently twisted her elbow out of his grasp. Straightening her kimono, she raised her chin defiantly and walked briskly ahead of him. "I know how to get to my quarters." She spat coldly.

Without another word, he followed her. As Aoshi stepped through the doorway of the great mansion, he took one lingering look back into the courtyard. The allure of the moonlight seemed to dissolve into the abyss of night. In the darkness of his memories, Aoshi realized that there is no room for dreaming.

---

Somewhere on the third floor of the mansion, a vase flew across the room and exploded against the plaster wall. Against the moonlight-illuminated window a silhouette stood, panting as he picked up another object from his desk and smashed it angrily against the wall.

He had seen it. He had seen it all. How dare they? The audacity!

He felt his windpipes close as he swallowed back the hot tears that welled up behind his fashionable glasses.

He picked up the mother of pearl accented lacquer box and smashed it frantically under his foot. Inside, a delicate string of perfectly cultured pearls exploded as it sprayed across the carpeted room.

He ground the heel of his fine Italian leather shoes into the floor until he felt the pop as a pearl shattered beneath force of his foot.

They should have loved only him.

He had the power now.

He stomped his foot down and tore apart the silk-wrapped calligraphy scroll.

He had been so delighted just minutes before. He had thought he had found the perfect shade of blue cloth to offset the gray-blue glint in Aoshi's intelligent eyes. He had been so proud the gift. It was perfect, worthy of an Okashira.

His breath flowed into and out of his nostrils unevenly as he tore through the soft, well-worn paper of the painting. He lusted for the feel of the power, of destruction in his hands.

He needed to control the situation. His brows knotted in frustration. For their trespasses, Kanryuu would be cruel. He would ground them underneath his boots until they begged for mercy.

---

A/N: OH! So close! The last chapter (chapter 8) will take a bit to finish since I have finals and all that good stuff.Good news, it's half-written. I feel like it should be spectacular, and angsty. And the pressure to write a good non-disappointing ending is pretty high. :( ChiisaiLammy bites nails nervously Not much to say in terms of continuity. Neither the manga or the anime says much about how Kanryuu met Aoshi. So this is completely the author's construction.

- yojimbo - Japanese for bodyguard.

- a poem taken from the "Tale of Ise" chapter 105. Actually the poem that inspired the story--to a degree.

Many thanks to Oryo, eriesalia, Shimizu Hitomi, mij, Rissi-sama, and PackLeaderT. I had hoped to make the interactions and characterizations a bit more ambigious...I know I keep saying fruedian, but um, hopefully you can draw your own conclusions.

Thank for reading!

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