Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Wild As The Wind ❯ Wide Open Spaces ( Chapter 3 )

Wide Open Spaces

[Start Music]

Misao, about eighteen, stands in her room packing a bag. She is a little bit taller and fuller of figure than she was at sixteen. She still wears her Oniwabanshu outfit but with pants now.

[Who doesn't know what I'm talking about

Who's never left home who's never struck out ]

She checks the contents, making sure she has all of her essentials. Satisfied that she has everything she needs, she ties off the bag and swings it over her shoulder.

[To find a dream and a life of their own

A place in the clouds, a foundation of stone ]

Sliding open the door, she looks back sadly at the very empty seeming room. Sighing a bit, she turns and exits.

[Many precede and many will follow

A young girl's dream no longer hollow ]

Walking down the hall to the stairs, she lets her hand trail along the wall, indulging herself with good memories of this place.

[It takes the shape of a place out West

But what it holds for her, she hasn't yet guessed ]

Starting down the stairs she remembers... ~Seven-year-old Misao lies in wait near the top of the stairs, hoping to ambush Hannya or Aoshi-sama.~

[She needs wide open spaces

Room to make her big mistakes ]

~Twelve-year-old Misao walks uncomfortably in her kimono and clogs, which Okon and Omasu had insisted she wear to the festival.~

[She needs new faces

She knows the high stakes ]

~Sixteen-year-old Misao chases Himura Kenshin down the stairs trying to convince him not to leave and that he can accept other's help.~

[She traveled this road as a child

Wide-eyed and grinning she never tired ]

At the bottom of the stairs, Misao pauses and recalls the last time she left the Aoiya like this three years before.

[But now she won't be coming back with the rest

If these are life's lessons, she'll take the test ]

Her eyes fill with pain when she remembers the reason that she left then and the reason she is leaving now.

[She needs wide open spaces

Room to make her big mistakes ]

~Misao, two months previous, answers the door of the living area of Aoiya to see Takani Megumi standing there asking for Aoshi. Confused, Misao lead Megumi to him.

[She needs new faces

She knows the high stakes ]

When Aoshi sees who the guest is, he and Megumi share a look that is not lost on Misao.

[She knows the high stakes]

When they announced their impending marriage a few days later, Misao knew that she could not stay.

[Musical bridge.]

Misao waits until after the couple is married and then announces that she is leaving.~

[As her folks drive away her dad yells, "Check the oil!" ]

Continuing down the downstairs hall, she opens the front door to be greeted by the sight of everyone in residence waiting to see her off. She walks past the group, stopping to hug and say something to each one.

[Mom stares out the window and says "I'm leaving my girl." ]

Most present her with a small going-away present. When she gets to Okina, he slips her a small bag of money to augment her own funds.

[She says, "It didn't seem like that long ago

When she stood there and let her own folks know." ]

Finally, Misao reaches the end of the line where Aoshi and Megumi stand. She awkwardly tries to smile at the couple.

[She needs wide open spaces

Room to make her big mistakes ]

Aoshi hands her a kodachi wrapped in cloth and says something about using it to protect herself while she is gone. Megumi passes her jar of salve "in case she is injured." Misao does not listen very carefully as her emotions war within her. She shakingly nods to them in acknowledgment of their gifts.

[She needs new faces

She knows the high stakes]

Misao proceeds to the gate and turns to wave at everyone in the courtyard. Then, she turns her back on them and starts along the road.

Owari.

Lyrics by Susan Gibson

Sung by the Dixie Chicks

Disclaimer: I don't own the song or the characters and I'm not making any money so please don't sue.

Author's Notes: Yep! It's yet another weird songfic set to Country music. And yet again, it was written in the wee hours of the night when smart people are sleeping. Please don't kill me for splitting up Misao and Aoshi (and setting him up with Megumi)... it's leading up to my next songfic (again set to a Country song). This part is attributed to Courtney-san, who unknowingly encouraged it with a comment on a previous songfic.

(Written April 1999)

Riah-chan
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ruki_and_Ryo/
.. .because everyone needs a little R&R.
"Well, then there'll be just one less person to poke fun at you, right pumpkin."
"Tashika ni kimi wa Queen, kedo dattara ore ga King da na!"