Innocence

An alternate universe Rurouni Kenshin fanfic.

 

Chapter Five-

"The Angle of Reflection"

 

*******************************************

"When it's time to leave I'll be happy to go,

You're just somebody that I used to know…"

 

-Elliot Smith-

********************************************

 

 

 

 

I can hear them all around me; their excitement fills the air with the wordless, electric hum of a hive that senses the beekeeper's passing. The smoky special effect created especially for the occasion by my more scientific peers rolls slowly across the floor of the gym as the overhead lights dim and the spotlight that is to follow me around the floor slowly brightens.

 

I throw my head back and close my eyes, stealing a few deep breaths to fortify me, to help guide me through my trail by ribbon and fire. This is my moment, probably the only moment in which I will be able to prove my real worth.

 

The music begins.

 

How they chant and scream as I step out into the spotlight. The hypocrites. I suppose I am no better than they, my smile is almost genuine as I bow toward the stands, anyone would think I was out here having the time of my life. If only the fools knew what it took for me just to get out of bed this morning.

 

The music started slow, but as I take my position at the stage's center I can hear its pace quicken, my signal to move. Gracefully, carefully, I raise my hands above my head, beaming at the crowd, the large, pink bow on my costume spreading itself out like a butterfly's wings as I do. Tonight, I will give them what they want of me. Tonight, it is my turn to shine.

 

Baby you're all that I want
When you're lying here in my arms
I'm finding it hard to believe
We're in heaven

And love is all that I need
And I found it there in your heart
It isn't too hard to see
We're In Heaven

 

My body moves faster than I thought it would, running only on the pure diligence of practices past. My braid whirls around my body in a circle, weighted by the metal clasp I've fixed at the end of it.

 

Oh thinking about our younger years
There was only you and me
We were young and wild and free
Now nothing can take you away from me
We've been down that road before
But that's over now
You keep me coming back for more

 

I sing along in my head as prance and pirouette around the floor, the new applicability of the lyrics failing to escape me even as I risk everything on the school's government-issue padding. The other gymnasts were too scared to move away from he norm, dancing instead to the more pre-approved music of Beethoven and Mozart. I would have been tempted to do the same, to guarantee my points rather than follow my mind, but one is so much more reckless and creative when they stand to lose what little that they have.

 

Baby you're all that I want
When you're lying here in my arms
I'm finding it hard to believe
We're in heaven

And love is all that I need
And I found it there in your heart
It isn't too hard to see
We're In Heaven

We're in Heaven

 

 

Now nothing can change what you mean to me
There's a lot that I can say
But just hold me now
Because our love will light the way

 

Someone in the stands has started a chant. A shortened version of my name that is meant as both an encouragement and an endearment. Glancing to the front seats in mid back flip I can see my classmates cheering in support. The sight is so sickening to me, that for a moment I almost forget to smile. None of them ever want much to do with me unless they can get something out of it. In all my years of high school I was never once invited to someone's home for even as much as a sleepover. That's why I accepted the half-assed party invitation I was given a few weeks ago. I was just so flattered that someone actually thought that my company was good for something other than tutoring or gymnastic competitions.

 

I was so foolish.

 

I flip backward twice on my hands, using the momentum to propel myself backward a third time, this time without the help of my arms. As my feet land on the mat under me, the ribbon that was previously secured in the band around my waist now lies, unraveled in my hands as if it had always been there. It's just a cheap, magician's trick of speed and misdirection, but the crowd loves it.

 

Deftly, I snap my wrist to get the ribbon moving at the end of it's stick, pirouetting like the paper ballerina in the Tin Soldier story as I surround my body with swirls of powder-blue.

 

Baby you're all that I want
When you're lying here in my arms
I'm finding it hard to believe
We're in heaven

And love is all that I need
And I found it there in your heart
It isn't too hard to see
We're In Heaven

 

Shifting from one foot to the other I use the centrifugal force my body has created to move myself and the still dancing ribbon to the front of the stage again.

 

Now our dreams are coming true
through the good times and the bad
I'll be standing there by you.

 

Faster and faster I move, delighting in the way that smiling faces and clapping hands blur themselves into a meaningless swirl of color as I spin out of control. Concentrating only on keeping the ribbon aloft, I throw it into the air, executing even more complicated floor-turns before catching hold of it again as it descends.

Love is all that I need
And I find it there in your heart

It isn't too hard to see
We're in heaven

We're in heaven.

 

Triumphantly, I raise my arms again as the music comes to an end, lingering in the spotlight for a moment as I acknowledge their praises with a smile.

 

No one sees as my hands come down to rest lightly on my belly as the light goes out. As humbly and quietly as a mouse, I scurry back to the empty locker room to change, simultaneously counting the days till graduation and praying to whatever god that is listening that I would not begin to show at least until the end of July.

 

****************************************

 

Misao twirled the end of the ribbon around her fingers as she recalled the memory of that night. She had been so scared for both herself and for Keiko, entering that dangerous competition even when her instincts told her to stay away. It wasn't as if she had a choice anyway, if she had suddenly pulled out like she had been tempted to do, suspicions would have been raised and she would have been found out for sure. The path she had chosen was a precarious one, but in the end it proved to be the right one for them both. If the authorities had gotten wind of a pregnant seventeen year-old, they would have done more harm than good to both herself and her child. No, this way was better, infinitely better.

 

She was so wrapped up in the past, that she didn't see Yuki approach the couch where she sat, Keiko's chubby hand in hers as she walked beside in her bouncy three-year-old's gait.

 

"Misao?"

 

The gentle, icy tinkle of Yuki's voice served well not to startle the other woman too badly. "Yuki, Kei," she said as she shifted in her seat, "I didn't hear you two come in."

 

Scrambling up on the couch on all fours like a little mountain goat, Keiko pulled herself onto the cushions and nestled herself in the curve of her mother's waist as her intelligent little eyes peered into the box that rested on Misao's knees.

 

"Mommy took down her shoebox," she quietly reported to herself.

 

Misao's right hand descended onto her daughter's hair; gently stroking it's short waves in a motion that was probably more soothing to her than the child at her side. Nothing in the world could ever make her regret the decision that she had made that day. No matter the circumstances of her daughter's conception, the little person snuggled against her side proved a blessing and not a burden as the idiots in social services would have certainly made her out to be.

 

Yuki reached for the box in her best friend's lap turning over its contents with her quick, clever fingers. "There sure are a lot of memories in here," she observed. Picking up a medal with a picture of a girl clasping her ankle above her head, she brought it closer to her eyes so she could read the engraving on the back.

 

"Awarded to Misao Makimachi, voted best female athlete of the year 2000," she read aloud. Below the engraving was the school's insignia and the date the medal was given to Misao. A symbol of achievement like that should not be kept hidden in a dusty old box and Yuki knew it, yet she never dared to tell her friend so. Misao had no family besides the three of them, no mother and father to enshrine her medals and trophies where they could happily show off what a clever daughter they had. Besides, from what she knew of Misao's time in high school, she could understand the need to hide even the happy memories away.

 

Misao offered Yuki a wan smile as she read the engraving, "Yup, that's me," she laughed bitterly, "Misao the flat-chested tomboy turned nighttime entertainer."

 

Yuki frowned in distaste at the self-depreciation in Misao's tone. Sure, they might not have the most respectable jobs in the world, but they got by just fine. Misao herself should have been especially proud of what she was able to achieve in the past three years. Not only had her quick thinking saved her daughter from a life in the system that she herself had been through, but on top of that she was raising Keiko better than she would have been raised in the presence of two parents.

 

Determined to lighten the mood, Yuki reached out a hand toward her friend, "You mean incredibly talented athlete turned sex-goddess," she corrected as she gave Misao's front a firm pat, "I still can't believe that you used to be jealous of me!"

 

Misao chuckled, glancing down at her bustline. "God bless them hormones," she joked back.

 

Keiko looked on with curiosity as Misao's loosely bound breast jiggled under Yuki's touch. She had absolutely no idea what her 'auntie' had meant by a "sesuru-gurduss." As far as she was concerned, her Mommy's 'chests' had been put there to be her own personal, portable pillows. Wherever Mommy was, there was a decent place to curl up for a nap.

 

"Hey, Misao?"

 

"Yeah Yuki?"

 

The snow-colored woman pursed her lips together as if searching for the right words to put with the thoughts on her mind. In the end the strongest of these thoughts won out causing her to blurt it out in a most ill conceived way.

 

"I worry about you Misao."

 

A picture of patience, Misao slowly raised an eyebrow. A silent invitation on her part to continue.

 

A faint sprinkle of pink dusted Yuki's nose and cheeks, "I mean, I know you're on this crusade to avoid the majority of the human race until Kei's eighteen and all," she began, "But you never socialize, not even a little bit and that's just not healthy."

 

The eyebrow slowly came down again, "This is about that stupid phone number isn't it?"

 

Yuki pushed her bottom lip out slightly in childish defiance, "In a way, yes it is!' she admitted, "But the fact is this, you're becoming bitter Misao."

 

"Bitter?" Misao repeated dubiously, "I am not bitter Yuki, and I socialize just fine, thank yew."

 

"Chatting it up in the bar with Mashiro and the rest of us is not socializing, Misao." Yuki superiorly reported, her voice changing to a sound that was closer to a whining puppy with her next words.

 

"C'mon Misao," she pleaded, "You really should go out more and I've a good feeling about phone-number guy. I know you do too, I saw you staring at the napkin again backstage."

 

It was now Misao's turn to blush. She should have known that someone would have seen her staring down the napkin between acts. Embarrassment at being caught boiling inside of her, she kept silent as Yuki continued, contented that she had achieved the upper hand.

 

"Call him Misao," she insisted, rising from her place to bend over the little girl who had fallen asleep against her mother's breast. Gathering her little 'niece' in her arms, she addressed the still-seated Misao gently and authoratively.

 

"We love you, Misao," she declared, "But we're tired of seeing you all alone. Try this guy out, if he sucks, I'm sure you'll have no problem kicking him to the curb…literally." she added with a chuckle and a wink before heading off to put Keiko down.

 

Misao watched as her friend left with her daughter held safely in her arms. When they were gone her eyes automatically fell on the phone on the table in front of her. At first, she folded her arms tightly in defiance and looked away, but little by little her posture relaxed itself and her attention fell to the phone again.

 

"Oh...Hell." she softly swore.

 

**************************************

 

In the next room, Yuki had finished loosening Keiko's clothing and tucked her comfortably into her little bed. Smiling, she bent down and planted a gentle kiss on the tot's forehead before turning to leave.

 

"Hello? Is this…Soujiro?"

 

The sound of Misao's voice, made her stop just beyond the half-open door of the bedroom. Peering through the crack, she could see Misao from behind as she perched on the couch with the phone in her lap, the fingers of her free hand tangling themselves tightly in the white cord out of nervousness as she spoke.

 

"Yeah it's me," Misao continued with a nervous chuckle, "Uhm…I was wondering if…if you're invitation for coffee still stands? Yeah, I'd like that. Friday's fine. Five o' clock? Great. See you there. Sayonara."

 

As soon as the receiver clicked into its place Misao let out a sigh that seemed to deflate her entire body. Quietly, Yuki stepped out of her hiding place and wrapped her arms around her friend in joy.

 

"You did it!" she exclaimed in an excited whisper.

 

"Yeah, I did." Misao said, somewhat bewildered at her own bravery, "Yuki?"

 

"Yeah?"

"He had better be a nice guy, or I'm going to have to kill you." Misao said ominously.

 

"Of course he is!" Yuki said confidently, "If you look at it in a romantic way, he's already proven himself to be your Prince Charming, saving you from the ogre and all."

 

Misao gave her friend a deadpan look, followed by a halting smile.

 

"Don't ever grow up, Yuki." she said.

 

**********************************

 

Song: HEAVEN- DJ Sammy