AUTHORESS NOTES: Wow, it's been a looooooonnnnnnggggg time. After finishing the last chapter for this fic, I went on an AnimeExpo costume rush. Yes, I'm going to AX02 in Long Beach and for a while it had been hectic! Trying to figure out who's coming, who's driving (I live near Long Beach, so we don't need hotels), costume finishing, etc., etc. So, now I have the time ^^. For a few more days anyway. After AX02, I will be working and it'll be a bit longer for updates to happen. But not to worry! After this chapter, I have already written the next chapter!

Oh, yeah, Aoshi is a little bit OOC and this chapter is more Misao-based, I think. R&R!

Chapter Ten ~ Nightmares and Feelings

A small village had turned into a roaring blaze with smoke that rose into the dark sky above, changing the colors to a dark gray hue. Screams of the dying echoed within as well as the sounds of struggle. Struggle for life. Struggle for survival.

A woman ran alone through the chaos, carrying her two young children in her arms and stumbling over every possible stone that got in her way. Yet she did not fall, only continued to run through her tears. Her youngest, only a year old, began to cry in the madness. She tried to calm her young daughter while her oldest looked on in silence. Fear and devastation played in his blue eyes.

"There they are!" a voice cried out.

The woman's head sharply turned in the direction of the voice. Her ice blue eyes narrowed in anger.

"Don't let them escape!" another shouted in the opposite direction.

The woman darted into a nearby home that was miraculously untouched by the flames. She set her children down and looked straight into her son's eyes.

"Ao-chan, listen to what okaachan has to say," she began. The young boy stared back and nodded. "Whatever you hear out there, even if it's me, do NOT go out. Got it?"

He nodded, trying to put on his most serious face. Only then did the woman let her features soften and kissed her two children one last time.

"Take care of your sister," she said to him before heading outside to meet her fate.

The young boy hugged his sister tightly, smothering her tears into his chest. Both children winced as they heard metal clashing against metal and a woman's ear piercing scream. They shut their eyes tightly and waited, desperately waited for the chaos to all end...

Aoshi snapped out of his meditation, eyes wide with shock, and gasped for air. He put a hand over his eyes, forcing his mind to calm itself before he could scream. He stood up, stretched his sore limbs, and walked over to the small porthole of his temporary room.

It's that again...why is it coming back again? he thought as his eyes listlessly gazed at the water.

It had been nearly ten years since the memory of his parents' deaths came back to haunt him. Yet none of them were as impacting as this one. He unconsciously rubbed the side of his ribs. They had been out at sea for five days and everything still remained the same with the exception of Ryu's sudden appearance. Aoshi had a mutual respect towards the younger man, but at times Ryu began to remind him of all the things he despised of himself. Happiness. Tranquility. Love. Ever since his parents' deaths, Aoshi had since lost those feelings. He would have gone insane without the help of Okina and that particular little girl who tried to make the brightest out of the worst times. But even then he still felt lost.

That was the reason why he had closed himself from society. From the world. Even from himself at times. The only person who was actually capable of prying open his carefully guarded walls was his own sister but that was because she could. It was her right to do so.

A knock at the steel door broke him out of his reverie. "Nani?"

He heard the door swing open and close. The only person in the entire world who would even dare allow himself or herself in without asking would be Ikumi. She did that twelve years before, and she still did it now.

Misao used to be like that, his inner conscience told him. He batted the thought aside as he turned around.

"Ne, Aniki, why don't you go outside to get some fresh air?" Ikumi suggested. "You've stayed inside your room for the past three days."

"It's...quieter here," he replied. "I like it."

Ikumi sighed. Since when did he like square, steel rooms? Then an idea popped in her head. She grinned evilly in her mind.

"Don't tell me that you're still afraid of the water," she said.

His eyes flickered in annoyance. Inwardly, Ikumi smiled. That's it... "I am not."

A small smile spread across her lips. Aoshi knew that look. He always hated how she was able to strike the right cords. He frowned at the though. Damn, why does she always get her way?

"Yes, I used to, Ikumi, but that was when I was ten," he retorted with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "You should know that. I got over it, remember?"

Ikumi's smile grew wider, a teasing glint in her eyes. She remembered very well that her brother had gotten over his fear of water once he learned how to swim, but she still loved to remember how he used to shriek in horror whenever the Oniwanbanshuu would cross a river to get to the other side quickly.

"Oh? Then why have you been in here the past three days, then?" she asked again.

Aoshi was about to repeat the same answer but thought better of it and sighed in defeat.

"Fine, I'll go outside," he muttered as he grabbed his trenchcoat and began to walk into the hallway past his sister, past his own dark thoughts.

As soon as he disappeared from view, Ikumi chuckled delightfully to herself. She always had the knack of disrupting her brother's usually stoic personality, and she loved it. She liked her brother better when he actually acted like a normal person for once.

<on deck>

Misao was happily entertaining Setsuko with origami while the girl's parents were busy with other matters. It was a bit difficult to keep the papers still while the two folded, but Setsuko didn't mind. In fact, she didn't mind ANYTHING for a girl no more than two.

Maybe that's why she accepted her father so easily...she thought.

"Misao-neechan?"

Misao snapped back into reality, giving the little girl her most winning smile. She continued on her work, showing Setsuko each step.

"Now it looks like a diamond shaped thingy...see? So all you do is fold your paper like this and..."

With one swift move, Misao successfully popped up a paper crane in her hands. She showed her masterpiece to Setsuko. "Tada!"

Setsuko grinned and clapped wildly for a few minutes. Then she peered at the crane closely and looked down at her own paper. After a few moments of pondering, she lifted up a flap that had stuck out of her paper and popped up a crane as well. Her large emerald eyes widened in childlike glee.

"Sugoi! I did it, I did it!" she squealed happily.

Misao giggled and patted her on the head. "See, Set-chan? I told you that anybody can make a crane!"

"Can we do it again?" the girl asked.

"Sure, why not," Misao replied as she took out the last sheet from her sack. "But this time, you do it on your own, okay?"

"Hey, can I join in?" Jun asked behind her.

"Go ahead," she replied and then turned back to Setsuko who was tugging on her sleeve.

"Demo, Misao-neechan, what 'bout the other cranes?" Setsuko asked with a puppy dog look on her face.

Misao thought for a moment, trying to remember what Aoshi had said to her long ago. "Why don't you make a wish and let them fly away? That way, they'll always be by your side."

"Hai!!"

As she thought deeply about her wish, Misao turned her attention back to Jun who had taken a seat next to her.

"I just asked the captain how much longer until we reach the mainland. We'll arrive tomorrow if nothing happens," Jun informed her.

"Sou ka..." Misao murmured, noticing Aoshi stepping out from the stairs below. She finally convinced him...Aoshi-sama..."What is the school like?"

She half-listened to what Jun was saying, but her eyes kept on following Aoshi's figure until he had finally settle don leaning against the rail and staring listlessly at the vast ocean before him. Jun noticed Misao's eyes and turned to see what she was looking at as Setsuko climbed onto her lap. Her eyes too stopped at Aoshi's brooding form and inwardly frowned.

Uh-oh... She recognized that look. She too had done that with her husband, Isamu, at times, particularly when he was outside working. The thought of him made her heart flutter.

"Ne, Misao-chan?" she asked softly.

Misao snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Jun. Oh god, she must've watched me look. "N-nani?"

"How long have you loved Aoshi-san?"

Misao sighed heavily, staring down at her hands. "I'm not sure. Ever since I saw him, I suppose." She let out a light laugh. "Everybody thought it was just a childhood crush, a phase, you know? But it wasn't. I don't think it ever was."

"People like that tend to deny their own existence..." Jun murmured enigmatically, wrapping her arms around Setsuko. "They like to keep things secret, make it easier for the people around them to ignore them."

"But I don't want to ignore him!" Misao burst out loud before regaining her composure. "I've wanted to see him smile for me. Just once."

"You know, maybe he will someday or he already does," Jun replied. "You just don't realize it yet."

Misao didn't reply. All she could think of was the past, the happier times. The times when he had at least shown affection in his eyes whenever she showed something new to him. But those times had disappeared. She wondered to herself: Will Aoshi-sama just disappear, too?