Legacy

 

An RK Fanfic: i.e. the author doesn't claim rights to the anime used.

 

Chapter 20-The Deeper Truth

 

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

"If you only come out at night

Then I wish to be the first moonbeam

To cast its light on you…"

 

                                                                         K. Ramganesh

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

 

Unlike the popular saying, men aren't all the same. However, the things that each man has in common, just happen to be the most irksome of all.

 

Their inability to face their feelings is one of them.

 

Aoshi spent all of the following morning reinvestigating all of his contacts to try and find some information on the mystery woman and her strange ship. As expected, he came up blank…again. But he already knew that was going to happen didn't he? Old habits died the hardest, and as long as the choice was between facing himself and working himself to death, the latter would always be first in his mind.

 

As he retreated to the shelter of a nearby restaurant, images of Hideki played freely across the screen of his mind. Her graceful hands dancing along the hilt of her sword as they talked, the beautiful cobalt color of her eyes, her luxuriously thick hair glittering in the light of the afternoon sun, but above all those things, was that gorgeous smile that lit up everything within a square mile radius. No matter how he looked at it, he had to admit that she was absolutely amazing.

 

She also happened to be pissing mad at him at the current moment.

 

Aoshi looked at the bowl of soup set in front of him as if he would like to drown himself in it. Would the plan that Misao and Soujiro came up with work? He didn't know and to tell the honest truth, he was afraid to find out. Yes, Shinomori Aoshi, who had faced Shishio head on in battle, who always kept his head cool under pressure and who had had the courage to look beyond everyone else's grief when they thought Kaoru had died, was afraid of one angry woman because he knew that whatever she had to say, might do more damage to him than all of those things put together.

 

Putting his money down on the table next to his untouched food, Aoshi left the dark little restaurant and walked into the blindingly bright street outside. In the moment it took for his eyes to adjust to the change of lighting, he heard a musical voice speak from somewhere to his left and closer to the ground than he was.

 

"Would you like to buy some flowers, sir?"

 

Surely his mind was playing tricks on him, and cruel ones at that. Looking down at the spot where the voice had come from, he came face to face with one of the prettiest children he ever saw. She had to be around ten or eleven years old. Her skin was smooth and slightly tanned and her dark hair fell around her face and over her shoulders in soft waves lending her rounded features an extra hint of innocence. However, the most outstanding of all her features were her eyes, luminous, honey-brown orbs whose stare could soften the heart of the hardest criminal. Saitou himself might have squirmed under their calm and trusting gaze.

 

"Pardon me?" he asked.

 

She smiled sweetly as she repeated her question. "Excuse me sir, but would you be interested in buying some flowers today?" On that note, she raised her basket of blooms for him to see.

 

An impulsive idea struck him. Assuming an amicable expression he reserved just for young children like herself, he spoke again.

 

"You wouldn't happen to have any peonies today would you?"

 

The girl's eyes lit up immediately and she reached into the basket to pull out a bouquet of the selfsame blossom, just large enough to be generous and perfectly arranged. Anyone could see that a lot of care had gone into preparing those flowers.

 

"I arranged these myself," she said proudly as she held the bouquet out to him,  "They're my very favorite kind of flower."

 

Aoshi was speechless. It seemed that fate had done all of the work for him. So, now what was he going to do as the chips fell into place?

 

"They're perfect," he said with a small, but genuine smile playing across his lips, "How much do you want for them?"

 

The girl smiled even wider and waved her hands. "Oh there is no charge for you today sir!" she grinned, "It will be my good deed for the day, helping you out with your lady friend."

 

Aoshi found himself blushing slightly, "How do you know they're for a lady friend?" he asked innocently.

 

"You're not the type to buy them for yourself," she replied with a shrug.

 

"You've been doing this for quite a while haven't you?"

 

"Yup."

 

The child's witty response amused him and he smiled inwardly. Bowing toward the young girl Aoshi gave her his thanks.

 

"By the way," he added, "What's your name?"

 

The girl smiled again, even more sweetly than before, "It's Mayuka," she replied, "Suzahara Mayuka."

 

Aoshi bowed again, "I am called Shinomori Aoshi. Thank you Mayuka-chan."

 

"I'm just glad I could help." The sweet little thing replied.

 

Aoshi bowed once more before turning about. Cradling the bouquet carefully so that it would not be crushed in the passing crowd, Aoshi set out in the direction of the Kamiya dojo and one Kusokube Hideki.

 

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

Misao and her husband were helping each-other with the dishes, a chore that had shared ever since they were still engaged and living under Kenshin and Kaoru's roof as boarders. The sharing in the work around their little home had long since become a ritual for them both, a most basic expression of their love and respect for one-another and they both had fun doing it.

 

Misao giggled as Soujiro accidentally-on-purpose brushed his elbow against hers as he reached across her to retrieve a serving ladle. This initiated a mock fight between the two where they bumped their shoulders together trying to see who would give in first. Soujiro chuckled as his wife mewled in mock-exasperation and covered his face with one of the towels she'd been drying the washed bowls with.

 

Soujiro laughed out loud when the dish-towel landed on his head, pulling the cloth off he regarded Misao with mischievous eyes. "Hey, what you do that for?" he managed to say between chuckles.

 

"Mou! You started it!" Misao retorted with a smile.

 

"Aa, I did, " Soujiro relented, "But can I help it if you're adorable when you're annoyed?"

 

Misao blushed a little but did not look away, "Silly…" she managed to say before he leaned in toward her.

 

How could one describe Soujiro's kisses? The effects of his touch were nothing less than exquisite. Even though her lips were the only things making contact, every inch of skin on Misao's body sparked with electricity. The world literally melted away until her only bearings were that of her own body's confines. Seta Soujiro loved her completely, as one who had been versed in the art of love from birth.

 

Even though the fact remained that he was not completely human.

 

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

 

The days battling Shishio and preventing the advance of his Kuni Tori were crazy ones at best, and all involved had seen more of their share of curious and more often than not, horrific things.

 

The Shingetsu Village was one of them.

 

Neither she nor Ejii had expected tumble headfirst into that first fight between Soujiro and Kenshin but thanks to that sadistic cop Saitou, they both received front row seats to one of the greatest fights of all time.

 

Misao remembered raising herself off the floor to first see Kenshin and then his dark-haired opponent. Silently cursing Hajime for embarrassing her and the boy like that, she assumed a half-sitting, half-kneeling position and regarded the place she was in warily.

 

Strangely enough, Kenshin's opponent was smiling non-stop as if the fight ahead were nothing more than an idle chat between the two. However, that wasn't what was bothering her, yet she still couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly it was though.

 

She momentarily forgot her anxiety when after a short bout of attacks, the young man pitted against Kenshin threw some particularly insulting phrases in her friend's direction. Incensed, the girl sprang up and ordered Kenshin to kick his overconfident ass. All that got her was a particularly strong burst of ki energy from the comrade she was trying to defend, his version of asking her to be quiet. A little insulted, but otherwise patient, she complied to his wish for silence.

 

They fought for a while more, but soon it became clear that the boy was simply toying with the older man, who, for the first time since Misao had met him, seemed to be losing the fight.

 

Then Kenshin's sword broke into two.

 

If she weren't still under the effects of his spell, Misao might have cried out in terror for her friend at the sight of the broken sakabatou. "This was unthinkable, how could Kenshin lose? This was impossible!" she screamed in her mind. Her alarm turned into outright horror as she realized that his opponent's sword was for the most part, whole. 

 

"Oh gods no!" she managed to whisper, fearing the very worst.

 

Then a strange thing happened.

 

The antagonist turned his eyes on her horrified face and for just a fraction of a second and her eyes locked with his. Misao's jaw dropped as her eyes widened in realization as time seemed to come to a stop around  them.

 

"That guy isn't human…" she said in an almost inaudible voice.

 

Almost. Saitou heard her little epiphany and he snorted in disgust and muttered something about "nonsense" and "overreacting".

 

But the ex-Shinsengumi had misunderstood her words. Anyone who might have heard her would have. Misao was not marveling at this young swordsman's skills.

 

What she had said she meant….literally.

 

Turning away young man looked at his sword briefly, "Damn, you ruined it," he said without any real conviction to his words. It's once perfect blade was now marred with cracks and nicks all along the edge, but somehow Misao doubted that would have stopped him if his intent was to kill her friend where he stood.

 

"Why don't we continue this some other day, Himura-san?" he suggested with that eerie smile still plastered on his face.

 

Kenshin regarded the younger man warily, "As you can see, I'm in no position to disagree, Soujiro."

 

"Very well then!" Soujiro said pleasantly, "We will continue at a later date, but for now I must be going if I am to catch up with the others, sayonara." With that he simply left.

 

 

After that incident, she returned to the Aioya with Kenshin in tow. Before long, Kaoru, Yahiko and finally Sano had joined forces with them. It was stressful living like that, knowing that somewhere out there, there was a psycho-tyrant intent on destroying all of their lives. Every time she left the Aioya, she could not help but feel that she was being watched, and it kept her temper on edge the whole time.

It was not difficult to pick a fight with her under normal circumstances, but for the time spent waiting for the real battle to begin, her temper became a volatile thing and even the smallest of transgressions could set her off like a handful of New-Year's fireworks. The final straw fell when Aoshi attacked Okina, and although the others believed that her withdrawal afterward was an indication of sadness, her latent mood could only be described as livid. One did well to stay out of her way.

 

Unfortunately, this proved to be a difficult task as the usually spacious grounds were now made very small by the number of people staying there. It was not long before a verbal battle ensued and in her anger she saw it as the whole group coming down on her.

 

"Fine then!!!" she hissed as she slammed the front door on her way outside.

 

The day was scorching hot, and everything outside gleamed under the sun's harsh light. Most of the population had chose to hide from it under parasols and hats, but Misao's temper was blazing just as brightly, and as a result she was oblivious to the heat. "Why do the gods always surround me with idiots?" she thought as she elbowed her way through the thick of the crowd without the slightest apology. "Now was not the time to be laughing and joking around. Couldn't they see that all of their lives were in danger?" As that last thought crossed her mind she shoved past a much larger man, who was in truth hogging the path, almost toppling him over as she did so.

 

"Hey you skinny little wench! Watch where you're going!!!" he shouted angrily at her receding back.

 

"Up yours pal!" Misao retorted just as loudly as she gave him the one finger salute without even turning around.

 

 

In the shadows of a stall across the street, a young man watched the exchange with amused eyes. Maa, she's quite upset today, isn't she? He mused to himself as he bit into a fragrant piece of fruit he'd bought  there. She was kind of attractive with her face all flushed like that and a few stray hairs cascading down the sides of her cheeks. The finger thing was decidedly funny as well, none of the women, well, the one woman he knew would never have done that in public. And from the look on the big guy's face, he never expected to hear that from a female either. His lips curled upward as he took another bite. "You're something else little girl," he said thoughtfully.

 

 

Misao stopped suddenly and spun around, peering into the throng of people that surrounded her. Was somebody coming after her to try and make peace? She searched for a glimpse of a yellow gi or a bright blue ribbon, but she couldn't find any. Her eyes widened in muted surprise and fear as awareness slowly dawned upon her. She turned back the way she was previously headed, walking more purposefully than before, turning around two corners before losing her self in the mass of people that made it's way through the streets of Kyoto.

 

 

His eyes narrowed slightly as she turned around looking for something within the crowd….or someone. His smile turned almost feral when he caught the panic that briefly flitted across her features before she sought to lose herself in the multitude again. Her ninja family had trained her well, for her to pick up his presence in such a crowded place. Giving the woman at the stall a polite "Thank you," he casually strolled out in the direction where she was headed.

 

 

Walk. Walk. Don't run. She reminded herself even as beads of sweat began to trickle down the side of her face with her growing anxiety. Why did they insist of continuing this useless farce? If they wanted them dead, if they wanted her dead why didn't they come out of the goddamn shadows and face her head on? She was an Oniwabanshu damn it! She was trained to be the huntress, not the game! She thought bitterly as she took another left turn. For days they had been playing this sick little game and she was tired of it. It was all she could do not to scream for the bastards to show themselves right there in the middle of the street.

 

 

This was…fun. He followed her easily, sometimes he even ran ahead to watch her as she passed by. The poor thing, she was trying so very hard to lose him too. The third time he got ahead of her, she passed so close by to him he caught the scent of her skin. It was not an unpleasant scent, an intermingling of what seemed to be vanilla, cinnamon, and…he drew in a another deep breath.

 

"Herbs from the kitchen. It's actually quite lovely."

 

He pushed himself off of the wall he had been leaning against. "Oh well, that was enough mind games for the day, I think." he said to himself softly as he casually strolled in the opposite direction.

 

 

It took Misao a few moments to realize that whoever had been trailing her had stopped their sick little game. Leaning against the nearest wall, she forced her breathing to slow down before taking a more meandering route back to the Aioya.

 

 

By the time she made it back home it was already dark. Omasu noticed her as she walked in and was not doubt about to comment on the hour at which Misao chose to return to them. But it only took one tired and irritated look from the new okashira for her to change her mind and remain silent. Forgoing dinner, Misao opted to have a very long hot bath instead. Yahiko, probably sensing her distress, offered to help her heat the water. Despite her previous upset, she could not help but flash the younger warrior a grateful smile as she accepted his offer.

 

An hour later, she sat on her futon combing the tangles out of hair. Because of it's sheer length, she had kept it well out of the water so that it could be combed quickly before she went to bed, but she was so tired from the day's ordeal, she didn't bother to braid it before curling up for some hard earned sleep.

 

 

As the inhabitants of the restaurant lost themselves in their own dreams, a shadow stealthily made its way through the darkened halls. Up the stairs, into the sleeping area, searching for something that could only be found within those walls. Then suddenly it stopped outside of one of the bedrooms. It hesitated for a brief moment before gently sliding open the shoji and stepping inside.

 

Shutting the door just as gently behind him as he had opened it, the figure approached the futon in the middle of the room and knelt beside it.

 

"Vanilla…" he whispered.

 

She must have tossed around in her sleep a little bit, because the sheets fell in a tangle at her knees and her yukata had ridden up her legs so that rumpled hem stopped just above mid thigh revealing a delightful expanse of creamy flesh to his wandering eyes. Her face was absolutely angelic in sleep, her full, sensuous lips slightly pursed as if in concentration and all that glorious ebony hair scattered like a halo around her body. One long tendril of it traced a winding path into the neckline of her sleepwear where it ended just between her pert little breasts.

 

Unable to resist any longer, one hand reached out to trace a light path along the curve of her cheek, down past her nose and around the contours of that sassy little mouth. He leaned in closer to her face as his hand wandered further down to the hollow of her throat and further still to the place where lock of hair ended.

 

Her lips began moving slightly and her expression grew almost pained. Her throat worked violently under his thumb as some moisture escaped from her closed eyes. He reached out inquisitively to catch some of it on his fingertip. He looked at the shimmering liquid for moment before bringing it to his lips. "Salty." he thought,  "So that was what tears tasted like…"

 

Her lips started moving again and this time he leaned close to her mouth to hear what she was saying. It was muddled at first, but soon the syllables smoothed themselves out and he could just make out the words. It, sounded like she was saying…

 

 

"Aoshi…No Aoshi-sama don't!!!" Misao shrieked as she sat upright in her bed. Trembling all over with fright she looked around her room, half-expecting to see Jiya sprawled out in a pool of his own blood right in front of her. Finally realizing that it was just a dream and her beloved guardian was merely injured, not dead as the nightmare had dictated, she curled up with her arms hugging around her knees as she silently rocked herself back and forth. A strangled sob escaped her throat and she dropped her forehead to her knees briefly before springing up and storming outside.

 

When she got to the garden, she fell to her knees and sobbed for all she was worth. The nightmares only came to her late at night when her all defenses were down, when she didn't have to pretend that she was strong for the other's sake. Every time it happened, her anger at Aoshi increased tenfold, after all she went through to find him, how dare he cause them such horrible pain. He was nothing but a goddamn shadow, a mere reflection of the Aoshi she had loved in the worst possible light.

 

"It's strange to see you cry." A voice observed from the shadows.

 

She was instantly on her feet, peering in the direction that the voice had come from. "Who's there?" she hissed, "Show yourself!"

 

There was the sound of gentle shuffling, and little by little, a familiar figure inched it's way into the light.

 

Misao's eyes widened considerably, "You!" she snarled.

 

His smile remained steady even under her hateful glare. "I'm flattered that you remember me, Makamachi-san," he said almost pleasantly.

 

Misao's eyes narrowed into icy slits, "How dare you come into my home like this," she growled, "Did Shishio send you here to murder us all in our sleep while Kenshin was away? Is that it?" she snorted in disgust and turned her nose up at him slightly.

"I didn't know that the Juppongatana was governed by such a disgraceful coward."

 

She barely had finished her sentence before she found herself pinned against the trunk of the nearest tree with her hands held high above her and Soujiro's smiling face mere inches from her own.

 

"Strange," he mused, "Anyone else would have been dead by now for saying such a thing about Shishio-sama."

 

"I'd watch my tongue if I were you Makamachi-san," he said calmly as his eyes peered into her own. That was another strange thing, even though she was completely helpless, her eyes lacked the desperate look that each of his victims got when they realized that they were at his mercy…that is, if he had any. Her gaze however remained defiant even as he locked his eyes with her own.

 

Soujiro blinked, "Aren't you afraid of me?" he asked.

 

Misao's expression soured even more, "Fear accomplishes less than nothing," she said evenly without looking away.

 

Soujiro searched her face for a moment more, "You're a very strong woman," he said finally.

 

Misao just narrowed her eyes even further than before, "Why are you here?" she repeated.

 

Soujiro tilted his head to the side slightly, the way a puppy would when something confuses him.  "How did you do that?" he asked.

 

Misao's expression changed to one of utter confusion, "What?"

 

"I really wanted to get rid of Himura-san for Shishio-sama the other day, but when I looked at you…I stopped. How did you do that?" he asked again.

 

So it wasn't just her imagination. What she saw back at the Shingetsu Village had been real.

 

"I…I didn't do anything." she answered quietly.

 

Soujiro looked at her blankly for a moment, but then his features relaxed into his usual grin. He chuckled briefly before he spoke again.

 

"You know…somehow I already knew that. Oh well," he sighed relaxing his grip on her a little bit, "You can't make a believer out of a pessimist, ne?"

 

Misao's scowl was long gone, but she continued to stare defiantly up into his eyes without a single word as he stood there smiling down at her. Realizing that she was not about to spark up any fresh conversation he dropped his head forward and ruefully shook it from side to side.

 

"What is it that is so special about you?" he asked quietly with his eyes still averted from her own.

 

What the…? Misao blinked once in utter confusion only to realize when she opened her eyes that he was gone. Ever so slowly she brought her hands down from where the rested against the rough bark of the tree towering above her, and just as slowly snaked them around her body as if she were cold. The word "strange" could not describe what had transpired there that night.

 

"Anou, he…he called me special." she whispered in disbelief.

 

Shishio's right hand, a man who was now her sworn enemy, had come all the way to Kyoto in the middle of the night to give her a compliment? Gods in heaven, what the hell was really going on? She was still reeling from the unexpected compliment when a cheery voice spoke from somewhere beyond the darkness.

 

"I think I liked you better when you were asleep!"

 

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

Fate is a strange thing indeed, she thought as she picked up the broom that leaned in the corner of their little kitchen and walked out toward the front door to start clearing the dust away from the porch. If anyone had told her that night, that the being who came to her from the shadows of her garden was her soul-mate, she would have probably thrown some kunai in addition to some choice words at them. However, here she was, helping him to take care of the little home they had built together like any normal couple would.

 

She sighed and leaned against her broom for a moment. Nevertheless, there was no denying that Soujiro, as sweet a husband as he might be, was still not human. On nights when the moon was full she could feel another presence growing inside of him, something that was not of this world and at first, it made her very afraid. That was until she realized that his love for her, his need to be bonded to her increased exponentially during those times and that only made their relationship all the stronger.

 

"Daydreaming again I see." A cheerful voice sounded from beyond the gate, snapping her mind back into the present.

 

A little girl with sparking brown eyes smiling in at her from the street. Her surprised expression was quickly replaced by a smile as she motioned for the child to come closer.

 

"How did it go?" Misao asked as the girl came to stand next to her on the steps.

 

The child's smile brightened, "He was a little reluctant at first, but that didn't last too long," she replied cheerfully. She cocked her head to the side slightly as her eyes took on a dreamy look, "You should have seen his smile," she sighed, "You could just tell that he was thinking about her."

 

Misao's grin stretched wider at that part of the girl's story, "I know the one. I used to wish he would smile at me like that someday…" she confessed shaking her head gently from side to side, "Now I realize that all I really ever wanted was for him to be happy."

 

The girl's smile faded slightly and became more serious, "Yes," she agreed, "They both deserve some happiness after what they've been through…what they will have to face later on…" her words grew fainter as she dropped her luminous gaze to the ground.

 

Misao bit her lip gently as her own smile waned. "Do…do you really believe…are they going to make it through this?" she asked quietly

 

The girl raised her eyes to meet Misao's, but this time they were comforting and very,  very strong. Misao could almost see her hidden power swirling in the depths of her gorgeous eyes as she held Misao's attention with an intensely protective, almost motherly gaze.

 

"You are all a family now," she said firmly, "If you all stand together through this, I guarantee you all will survive." She then reached out a hand and caressed Misao's cheek comfortingly, "You are strong, they are strong. This battle will be difficult to say the very least, but that does not mean that you are outmatched."

 

 

Misao looked into the child's eyes for a moment more before slowly closing her own and leaning slightly into her touch.

 

"Thank you….Suzahara-sama." she whispered.

 

"Misao?"

 

Her eyes flew open at the sound of Soujiro's voice calling to her from inside. She turned just in time to see him poke his head through the door.

 

"Anou…" he began with a puzzled smile, "Were you talking to some…one?" he stopped his question short as he stared at his wife as if seeing her for the first time.

 

Misao employed a confused expression of her own, "Sou, what's wrong?" she enquired in alarm.

 

Soujiro just reached out and brushed her temple lightly with his fingers. "Kireii…" he whispered pulling something from her hair. Misao's expression melted from shock to pleasant surprise as she realized what Soujiro was holding in his hand.

 

A single peony.

 

Gently, he replaced the blossom and tilted her chin up to the light so her could see her face better. "That settles it." he said finally.

 

"Settles what?" she asked.

 

"Oh, just the fact that I married Japan's most radiant beauty, that's all." he replied with his most innocent look.

 

Misao just smiled for a moment while her eyes took on an almost devilish cast, "Flatterer…" she purred before tiptoeing up until they were almost nose to nose.

 

"You know Tae did give you the whole day off today…" she said innocently, "It would be such a shame to waste it…"

 

Soujiro could barely hide the wicked grin that crept onto his face, "Why you pretty little tease…"

 

"Ah-ah," Misao pouted as she took his hand and gently pulled him inside, "I'm no tease anata…you should know by now that I never, ever bluff."

 

Soujiro followed her easily, barely waiting for the door to close properly before setting upon her with a ravenous kiss. Misao simply melted into his arms giving everything that was hers in that one simple act. Even as she sought out more of his touch, more of the comfort that only he could offer, she sent up a simple and silent prayer.

 

"Gods please, don't take him away from me just yet…I need him. I need him so very much."

 

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

 

 

                                 

  next                               main