Categories > Anime/Manga > Rurouni Kenshin > Tanabata Goseki: Season of Fireworks
Chapter One: Kurai no
0 reviewsYears later, Misao still waits for a promise to be fulfilled. But Aoshi doesn't seem himself.
1Exciting
TANABATA GOSEKI: Season of Fireworks
Chapter One: Kurai no
By Morrigan Mikagami
12.09.2005
Author's Notes: Well? I hope I haven't lost my touch, seeing as I haven't written after a long time... way too long indeed! I'm still making a few adjustments to the storyline, but there will be no crossovers. Originally intended to be a short vignette, but somehow it's begging me to take it further. R&R's appreciated! J Many thanks to Niagra-san for helping with the Japanese verbs!
Dedication: To Sheena, who gave me the much needed kick in the shin to continue this. And to my Aoshi-sama, if someday we should find each other again.
Disclaimers: Rurouni Kenshin and its characters do not belong to me. They are Nobuhiro Watsuki's.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Misao opened her eyes and blinked. Surprised to have found herself enveloped in complete darkness, with a livid soreness on her shoulder and an electric tingling down her legs. She abruptly raised her head up, only to cause more pain at the back of her neck.
"Kuso..." She hissed, instinctively rubbing the discomforting ache.
Gaining a bit more consciousness and orientation, she had let her eyes adjust to the night as her hands prodded her immediate surroundings. She felt cold, hard wood and the rustling of papers as her arms swept the table, knocking over what seemed like a teacup that stood on the edge. It appeared to be empty as she didn't feel anything spill; so she continued to feel around for the lantern that she have a vague recollection to be somewhere at the other end of the table.
"Ah." She had found some matches as well.
The lantern glowed softly, throwing a small light across the low table Misao had apparently been working on. There were several books laid open to one side and some scrolls of paper rolled beside them. She noticed her own scrawls on one of the papers that had the ink stone holding it down. She picked up the nearest document to her, unfolded it and looked at it more closely through the light. Misao immediately recognized her friend Kaoru's calligraphy.
It suddenly dawned on her what she has been doing before she fell asleep. How long was it? Two, three hours maybe? The soft beam of moonlight that permeated through the paper panes told her that it was well into midnight.
Rubbing her temples, she stretched out her legs before getting up from half-sitting, half-laying position. Picking up the teacup that fell on the matted floor, she decided to get back on the reports after a cup of hot tea to wake her wits about. She knew she'd be able to think more clearly that way and absorb more information.
Kaoru had sent her that letter a couple of days ago, a sense of anxiety in her tone. Strange things have been happening around Tokyo recently: "a mystical light coming from the temples, mysterious sightings, and other quaint oddities that you ought to look at yourself"'.
No sooner had she finished her friend's tale that Misao dispatched a pigeon to a couple of Onis based at Tokyo to investigate on the matter. Although she would prefer to go to the city and check on the situation personally; Kyoto hasn't been exactly quite peaceful as of late too. Mystical white lights have also been sighted at temples around the city, and rumors of other-worldly beings roaming the streets, troubling the citizens at night reached the Oniwabanshuu intelligence.
For the past few days, Misao has been staking out at various temples around Kyoto, hoping to apprehend the person-or whatever it is, responsible for causing the raucous. Okina objected strongly about it, and kept convincing her to let Aoshi go with her. Misao protested on the idea.
"Aoshi-sama has a lot to deal with still." She reasoned to her surrogate grandfather, a mixture of worry and sadness in the undertones, as she thought about the man she has been nursing deep feelings for. Aoshi-sama//...
Though he did not frequent the temple as much as he did two years ago after the battle with Shishio, Aoshi seemed to have chosen the training room as his recluse. She knew he wasn't obsessed with obtaining the title of "the Strongest" anymore, but during the many times Misao stole to watch him practice his kempo, his seriousness was overwhelming. It looked as though he was preparing for the fight of his life.
"I don't want to bother him with this, Jiiya. Besides," she added with a smile and a casual wave of her hand, her note changing to a much lighter one, "It could just be some act started by some crackpot fool with much time in his hands. Aoshi-sama would find it a waste of time."
Okina tried to argue with her a little more, but realizing that she had already made up her mind, gave up and left her to her research, muttering about how much she reminded him of her grandfather on his way out of her room earlier that evening.
Misao slid open the shoji and took in breath as she felt cold breeze brush her skin through the thin cloth of her yukata. It was already the end of June, but the frothiness of spring didn't seem to want to go away just yet. Recovering from the initial shock, she padded quietly down the empty corridor of the Aoiya. Everyone appeared to be asleep, there were no lights emanating from any of the rooms and everything seemed to be still as the night. Yawning, she made her way to the kitchen.
As she turned to a corner from the veranda, her senses all of a sudden sparked up like hot kindling inside her. She never quite made out if it was intuition or her omnitsu training, but within seconds, she was sprinting towards the one of the rooms at the far-end of the corridor. Something's wrong. Something's very wrong. Her heart thumped frantically in her chest.
As she neared the room, she was sure of the moaning coming from inside of it. Without a moment's hesitation, she slid open the door and rushed to the man laying on the futon, flailing his arms in hysterical motion and whimpering loudly.
"Aoshi-sama!" Misao cried out to him as she shook his shoulders, "Aoshi-sama please wake up! Aoshi-sama!"
As he was much larger than her petite frame, she shook him awake with much effort. Aoshi groaned sour fully, his arms thrashing all over the bedding. Whatever nightmares he's having, it was causing him a great deal of pain. Panic now griped Misao. If he doesn't wake up...
"Aoshi-sama!"
"Yamero!..." Aoshi shot up from his futon to a sitting position, his right hand grasping nothing but air. He was sweating profusely, his knuckles white. But nothing startled Misao more than the look of horror he had on his face. Never in her whole life she had known him, that he displayed any sign of emotion, for any kind of situation. Though now, his usual cold, blue-grey eyes exhibited an intense fear, his handsome face contorted in pure anguish.
"Aoshi-sama..." She called out quietly to him, placing her hand on his arms.
Aoshi turned to look at her. For a moment, he seemed to have not realized who she was. The color of his eyes quickly changed into a softer hue as the terror faded away and upon recognition of her, but the intensity was still there as he held his gaze.
"Misao!"
In one swift movement, Misao was enveloped in Aoshi's arms. He held her close around the waist, his head propped up on the nook of her neck.
"Kisama... Misao..." He was whispering her name between gasps, breathing heavily. After a while, she detected a wild relief in his tone as he continued to call her and clung to her more tightly. The iciness of his voice that Misao has become accustomed to seemed to have vanished along with his detached and impassive demeanor.
She placed her arms around his back to return the embrace. He looked really scared back there. She couldn't remember a time when Aoshi ever exhibited any sign of fear, especially not in battle. It worried her immensely that a dark dream could have done this to him.
"Aoshi-sama? Doushita no?" Misao stroked Aoshi's hair tenderly, remembering how he used to stroke her hair whenever she was feeling frightened or had nightmares as a child, easing away her anxiety. At that instance, it felt as if she was returning the favor.
Aoshi buried his face into her shoulder, sighing deeply. With one last squeeze, he slowly loosened his grip on her. He looked deep into her eyes, the first few moments spent on swimming in the bright blue orbs that showed all indication of worry and concern for him.
Misao felt blood rush to her cheeks, her heart throbbing rapidly, but not of panic anymore. She's never been this close to Aoshi before. Their faces were inches away from each other; she could loudly hear his intake of breaths, which surprisingly grew steadier as he gazed down at her, intense blue-grey eyes watching her intently.
Aoshi swept a stray hair away from her face and gently held her cheeks. She felt the roughness of the calluses on his fingers, nevertheless, his touch was warm and inviting, she could almost stay that way with him forever. Misao smiled softly at him.
"I swear to the gods I will protect you, Misao," Aoshi said in a deep whisper, "I won't let anything happen to you, I promise. I /will /protect you."
To be continued....
------------------------------------------------------------
Translations:
Kurai/ no : "Of darkness"/
Yamede/ :// "Stop"/
Doushita/ no : "Are you alright/ What's wrong?"/
Chapter One: Kurai no
By Morrigan Mikagami
12.09.2005
Author's Notes: Well? I hope I haven't lost my touch, seeing as I haven't written after a long time... way too long indeed! I'm still making a few adjustments to the storyline, but there will be no crossovers. Originally intended to be a short vignette, but somehow it's begging me to take it further. R&R's appreciated! J Many thanks to Niagra-san for helping with the Japanese verbs!
Dedication: To Sheena, who gave me the much needed kick in the shin to continue this. And to my Aoshi-sama, if someday we should find each other again.
Disclaimers: Rurouni Kenshin and its characters do not belong to me. They are Nobuhiro Watsuki's.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Misao opened her eyes and blinked. Surprised to have found herself enveloped in complete darkness, with a livid soreness on her shoulder and an electric tingling down her legs. She abruptly raised her head up, only to cause more pain at the back of her neck.
"Kuso..." She hissed, instinctively rubbing the discomforting ache.
Gaining a bit more consciousness and orientation, she had let her eyes adjust to the night as her hands prodded her immediate surroundings. She felt cold, hard wood and the rustling of papers as her arms swept the table, knocking over what seemed like a teacup that stood on the edge. It appeared to be empty as she didn't feel anything spill; so she continued to feel around for the lantern that she have a vague recollection to be somewhere at the other end of the table.
"Ah." She had found some matches as well.
The lantern glowed softly, throwing a small light across the low table Misao had apparently been working on. There were several books laid open to one side and some scrolls of paper rolled beside them. She noticed her own scrawls on one of the papers that had the ink stone holding it down. She picked up the nearest document to her, unfolded it and looked at it more closely through the light. Misao immediately recognized her friend Kaoru's calligraphy.
It suddenly dawned on her what she has been doing before she fell asleep. How long was it? Two, three hours maybe? The soft beam of moonlight that permeated through the paper panes told her that it was well into midnight.
Rubbing her temples, she stretched out her legs before getting up from half-sitting, half-laying position. Picking up the teacup that fell on the matted floor, she decided to get back on the reports after a cup of hot tea to wake her wits about. She knew she'd be able to think more clearly that way and absorb more information.
Kaoru had sent her that letter a couple of days ago, a sense of anxiety in her tone. Strange things have been happening around Tokyo recently: "a mystical light coming from the temples, mysterious sightings, and other quaint oddities that you ought to look at yourself"'.
No sooner had she finished her friend's tale that Misao dispatched a pigeon to a couple of Onis based at Tokyo to investigate on the matter. Although she would prefer to go to the city and check on the situation personally; Kyoto hasn't been exactly quite peaceful as of late too. Mystical white lights have also been sighted at temples around the city, and rumors of other-worldly beings roaming the streets, troubling the citizens at night reached the Oniwabanshuu intelligence.
For the past few days, Misao has been staking out at various temples around Kyoto, hoping to apprehend the person-or whatever it is, responsible for causing the raucous. Okina objected strongly about it, and kept convincing her to let Aoshi go with her. Misao protested on the idea.
"Aoshi-sama has a lot to deal with still." She reasoned to her surrogate grandfather, a mixture of worry and sadness in the undertones, as she thought about the man she has been nursing deep feelings for. Aoshi-sama//...
Though he did not frequent the temple as much as he did two years ago after the battle with Shishio, Aoshi seemed to have chosen the training room as his recluse. She knew he wasn't obsessed with obtaining the title of "the Strongest" anymore, but during the many times Misao stole to watch him practice his kempo, his seriousness was overwhelming. It looked as though he was preparing for the fight of his life.
"I don't want to bother him with this, Jiiya. Besides," she added with a smile and a casual wave of her hand, her note changing to a much lighter one, "It could just be some act started by some crackpot fool with much time in his hands. Aoshi-sama would find it a waste of time."
Okina tried to argue with her a little more, but realizing that she had already made up her mind, gave up and left her to her research, muttering about how much she reminded him of her grandfather on his way out of her room earlier that evening.
Misao slid open the shoji and took in breath as she felt cold breeze brush her skin through the thin cloth of her yukata. It was already the end of June, but the frothiness of spring didn't seem to want to go away just yet. Recovering from the initial shock, she padded quietly down the empty corridor of the Aoiya. Everyone appeared to be asleep, there were no lights emanating from any of the rooms and everything seemed to be still as the night. Yawning, she made her way to the kitchen.
As she turned to a corner from the veranda, her senses all of a sudden sparked up like hot kindling inside her. She never quite made out if it was intuition or her omnitsu training, but within seconds, she was sprinting towards the one of the rooms at the far-end of the corridor. Something's wrong. Something's very wrong. Her heart thumped frantically in her chest.
As she neared the room, she was sure of the moaning coming from inside of it. Without a moment's hesitation, she slid open the door and rushed to the man laying on the futon, flailing his arms in hysterical motion and whimpering loudly.
"Aoshi-sama!" Misao cried out to him as she shook his shoulders, "Aoshi-sama please wake up! Aoshi-sama!"
As he was much larger than her petite frame, she shook him awake with much effort. Aoshi groaned sour fully, his arms thrashing all over the bedding. Whatever nightmares he's having, it was causing him a great deal of pain. Panic now griped Misao. If he doesn't wake up...
"Aoshi-sama!"
"Yamero!..." Aoshi shot up from his futon to a sitting position, his right hand grasping nothing but air. He was sweating profusely, his knuckles white. But nothing startled Misao more than the look of horror he had on his face. Never in her whole life she had known him, that he displayed any sign of emotion, for any kind of situation. Though now, his usual cold, blue-grey eyes exhibited an intense fear, his handsome face contorted in pure anguish.
"Aoshi-sama..." She called out quietly to him, placing her hand on his arms.
Aoshi turned to look at her. For a moment, he seemed to have not realized who she was. The color of his eyes quickly changed into a softer hue as the terror faded away and upon recognition of her, but the intensity was still there as he held his gaze.
"Misao!"
In one swift movement, Misao was enveloped in Aoshi's arms. He held her close around the waist, his head propped up on the nook of her neck.
"Kisama... Misao..." He was whispering her name between gasps, breathing heavily. After a while, she detected a wild relief in his tone as he continued to call her and clung to her more tightly. The iciness of his voice that Misao has become accustomed to seemed to have vanished along with his detached and impassive demeanor.
She placed her arms around his back to return the embrace. He looked really scared back there. She couldn't remember a time when Aoshi ever exhibited any sign of fear, especially not in battle. It worried her immensely that a dark dream could have done this to him.
"Aoshi-sama? Doushita no?" Misao stroked Aoshi's hair tenderly, remembering how he used to stroke her hair whenever she was feeling frightened or had nightmares as a child, easing away her anxiety. At that instance, it felt as if she was returning the favor.
Aoshi buried his face into her shoulder, sighing deeply. With one last squeeze, he slowly loosened his grip on her. He looked deep into her eyes, the first few moments spent on swimming in the bright blue orbs that showed all indication of worry and concern for him.
Misao felt blood rush to her cheeks, her heart throbbing rapidly, but not of panic anymore. She's never been this close to Aoshi before. Their faces were inches away from each other; she could loudly hear his intake of breaths, which surprisingly grew steadier as he gazed down at her, intense blue-grey eyes watching her intently.
Aoshi swept a stray hair away from her face and gently held her cheeks. She felt the roughness of the calluses on his fingers, nevertheless, his touch was warm and inviting, she could almost stay that way with him forever. Misao smiled softly at him.
"I swear to the gods I will protect you, Misao," Aoshi said in a deep whisper, "I won't let anything happen to you, I promise. I /will /protect you."
To be continued....
------------------------------------------------------------
Translations:
Kurai/ no : "Of darkness"/
Yamede/ :// "Stop"/
Doushita/ no : "Are you alright/ What's wrong?"/
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