Author's Note: Hmmm…well…what should I say? This fic came to me in the middle of the night (when I had too much caffeine). It's funny how the world works, no? Um...maybe not. Anyways, this fic isn't the greatest, but I hope it isn't the worst! Read on...and I really hope you enjoy my humble writing skills:o)

NOTE: The legend is NOT a real legend—at least not one that I've heard of. It was just something that came from the chaos that is my mind! Yuppers, and I guess that's all there is to say about this, ne? Again, I hope you enjoy this fic!

Disclaimer: Yeah…keep on believing that I DO own Rurouni Kenshin, okies? It'll make me feel better anyways…so…yeah. Riiiiight. What ARE you people staring at? OKAY! I DON'T OWN IT! (but I do own the stupid 'red moon' legend—unless some other person has come up with one similar to it…if it someone DID, I didn't know! Don't kill me!)

Prologue

"The moon will be red three days from now," a young girl whispered to her even younger sister. "Do you know what that means?"

Her little sister shook her head emphatically. "What? What does it mean?"

The older girl laughed derisively, waving her hand in a superior manner. "Oh, you don't know, do you? Maybe it's 'cause you're too small to know. Mother and Father told ME, of course," she added, looking importantly at her sister.

The younger girl sighed impatiently, looking up at her sister in exasperation. "Just tell me what it means."

"Why should I?" her sister shot back, her eyes glinting maliciously.

"I'll tell Mom that you—"

"Okay, okay! Fine…" the older girl said, quickly covering her sister's mouth.

The younger girl pulled her sister's hand off, frowning. "So, what does it mean?"

"Legend has it that when the moon is red…" the older sister paused for a moment.

"What? What happens?" the younger sister asked, her eyes wide in anticipation.

"Well…a mysterious lady in red will be seen muttering in a strange language. All the people who talk about it tell me that she is chanting a magical spell that will sometimes be good and sometimes not so good. Mom and Dad both say that she is a fairy."

The younger girl was intrigued. "Is she pretty?"

Sighing, her sister answered. "Of course! Fairies are ALWAYS pretty! You've got so much to learn from me…"

"What kind of magic does she do?"

"Oh! Well, all sorts! Mommy and Daddy say that she even grants some of our wishes! But do you know what my favorite kind is?"

The younger girl shook her head.

"My favorite is when she…"

"She what?"

"When she makes someone fall in love!"

"What if they don't want to fall in love? What if it's all just a mistake?"

The older girl paused, as if this thought was one that had never come to her—which of course she would never admit to her little sister since she WAS the older one (which meant that she had the obligation of being much more intelligent).

Then she continued on, waving her hand carelessly in the air. "The mysterious lady doesn't make mistakes. She IS a fairy—and they NEVER make mistakes," the older girl said, trying as hard as she could to sound intelligent.

The younger girl's eyes widened. "Never?"

Nodding, the older sister answered. "Never."

Misao held her breath as the man she loved—Aoshi-sama—walked toward her, his icy blue eyes warm under the sunlight.

"Misao…" he whispered gently, sending ripples of excitement down her back. "Misao…I want to talk to you…" He laid his hand tenderly on her back, guiding her toward the stone bench under the cherry tree.

"Yes?" Misao asked, her anticipation building. She sat down on the bench.

That atmosphere could not have been more romantic—cherry blossoms were swirling around them in the wind.

Aoshi seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then sat down next to her.

"Misao…"

Misao looked up at him. He was going to ask her…she could feel it. There was something in his eyes that just told her that he was going to do what she wanted him to do. She directed her gaze onto her hands for fear that she would cry with joy.

"Will you…"

"Yes?" Misao said, still not daring to look up at him.

"Will you—?" Aoshi broke off suddenly. He sighed. "It just doesn't feel right asking you this…I'm not sure if you're ready. It's just so sudden of me to ask you this…"

Misao looked up. "No, Aoshi-sama…go on…tell me. What is it that you want?" Misao asked, smiling inwardly, knowing, waiting for…

Aoshi leaned toward her, his lips twitching. "I want you to…"

"What?"

"I…want you to…clean the dirt from between my toenails."

Misao's mouth fell open. Whatever she had been expecting, it certainly wasn't THAT.

She wasn't sure if she heard right. "Excuse me?"

"I want you to clean the dirt from between my toenails!" Aoshi repeated—but Aoshi wasn't so…Aoshi anymore.

Right before her eyes, Aoshi was transforming into the butcher boy from the market. Aoshi's lean, angular body transformed, his toned muscles changing into rolls of fat. His abs became a round belly, and pimples began to appear all over his once smooth face.

And soon, the butcher boy, not Aoshi, stood before her.

He put a fat finger to his chin, scratching it thoughtfully. "Oh," he said, the voice no longer Aoshi's deep, sexy tones, but instead, a thin, reedy voice. "And I wanted to ask you another thing too. After that, you can clean my toenails."

Misao watched in horror as the butcher boy dropped onto his knee. "Will you…marry me?" he asked.

Without waiting for an answer, the butcher boy stood up and leaned toward her, his ugly lips coming closer and closer —

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Misao screamed, shooting out from underneath her covers. Her hands had both curled into fists and were held out defensively in front of her.

Misao looked wildly around, and when she was finally certain that there was not a butcher boy in sight, she closed her eyes.

She fell back onto her futon, gasping for breath. She sat there for a moment to recollect herself, the image of the butcher boy's lips coming toward her still in her mind.

Misao shook her head, trying to get it out.

"It was just a dream…" she muttered under her breath.

Just then, both Okon and Omasu came rushing into the room. "What happened? Are you okay, Misao? What's going on?" they both said, their faces wearing concerned expressions.

Misao shook her head. "It…was…just a nightmare…"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"NO!" Misao answered, a little too forcefully.

Okon and Omasu peered suspiciously at Misao for a moment, before going on to comfort her. "It's okay, Misao. It was just an evil dream."

Misao nodded. "I'm fine…"

Getting up, Okon walked toward the door. "Come on Omasu, let's leave Misao alone. She's okay."

With one last glance, they both left.

Misao sighed. This was the fourth time she had that dream—and it never ended nicely. It always had the hideous part with the butcher boy at the end. She knew that she loved Aoshi—it was just that she didn't understand why the butcher boy had to be in it.

Carefully, Misao stepped into the kitchen watching the backs of Okon and Omasu cooking. The Aoiya would open in half an hour.

Okina looked up at her when she entered, and smiled. "I heard about your little nightmare, Misao. So—what are you dreaming about so much? Come on…I KNOW you want to tell me! Does it have to do with a certain dark-haired guy?"

Misao rolled her eyes. "Jiya, nearly ALL the guys have dark hair—with the exception of Kenshin, of course."

Scratching his chin thoughtfully, Okina said, "Hey…you're right! Oh well…then what is it about? I DO know who you were dreaming about…but did anything…interesting happen? Like…were you two taking off your clothes and—"

"OKINA!" Okon and Omasu both yelled warningly as Misao glared at him.

He just laughed. "Well, what WERE you two doing?"

"Can we just drop it?"

Okina opened his mouth to refuse, but that was before Okon smashed a plate over his head.

Omasu smiled, and whispered, "Don't worry. We won't talk about it anymore."

Misao picked up her chopsticks, poking at her food.

Okina stopped rubbing his head, and said "Misao?"

"What!"

"Do you know what's going to happen in about two days?" Okina asked, his eyes twinkling.

"No…what?"

"It's going to be a red moon!"

"So?"

Okina sighed impatiently. "The mysterious lady in red is going to come out! Don't you remember that legend?"

"What? The stupid one where a 'mysterious lady in red' is going to cast a spell on us all? Come on, Jiya! I'm not stupid! I may have been when I was six, but I'm a lot older now! Do you actually think that I would believe in that crap?"

Okina's smile faltered. There went his little Misao. Hitching his smile back onto his face, he said, "Well…at least make a wish! It just might come true!"

Misao glared at him a moment, before picking up her plate and setting on the table. "I'm done," she said coldly, and then picked up a tray. She set cups on it, and grabbed the pot of boiling tea that Omasu had just brewed.

"Misao—" Okina began. He didn't finish what he was going to say. Perhaps he realized that she was growing up.

Misao didn't even look up when he called, but instead, she slid the door open, balancing the tray on her right hand.

And she left to bring Aoshi his tea, while Okina gazed sadly after her.

Aoshi cracked his eyes open, the icy hue of his blue eyes still cold even under the warm rays of the sun. He had felt like sitting outside today—even he could not resist the warmth that beckoned to him when he woke up.

Now, Aoshi looked around, having opened his eyes for a reason. Aoshi never did anything without a reason, and the reason he opened his eyes was because he had sensed someone coming, and that someone was not a normal someone. No, it had to be an annoying little weasel.

He watched, with a slightly amused face as Misao came storming toward the temple, her eyes aimed directly in front her. She walked past him, taking no notice of him whatsoever, and proceeded to kick the door of the temple open.

And hopefully everyone has been taught the process of cause and effect, as in this case the effect was—

"OW! That fucking door! How could it do that! CRAP it hurts! Oh DAMN! SHIT!"

Misao had stubbed her toe. Still, she had managed to carry the tray without spilling anything—and that was what Aoshi thought of as an accomplishment. Yet he wondered—where DID she learn all that language? Certainly not from HIM…

Still taking no notice of him, Misao walked into the temple, only to have to walk back out, once she realized that no one was there.

She scanned the area for a minute before realizing that Aoshi was still watching her with a slightly amused look on his handsome features.

Blushing furiously, she sat down next to him, setting the tray gently down. Aoshi turned his gaze from her once more, and closed his eyes—apparently in deep concentration.

Misao was silent as she poured some tea into his cup.

"Aoshi-sama?"

Aoshi opened his eyes, looking questioningly at her.

"Jiya still treats me as if I were a little girl!"

"How so?"

"Only this morning, he told me about this stupid legend about some stupid lady and some stupid red dress. He said that every red moon, she comes out and grants people's wishes or something! I mean, he should KNOW that I won't believe that load of sht anymore!" Misao said, looking pointedly at Aoshi.

Aoshi gazed ahead of him. He remembered when he had been told the legend…and that night…when it was a red moon…there, in fact, HAD been a lady in red. He had seen her—but nobody had believed him.

The adults just laughed, calling him 'cute.' Aoshi glared. He wasn't 'cute.'

But he had SEEN her! She had been muttering something under her breath—and she wasn't as pretty as everybody said she was. Aoshi even secretly thought that Misao was much, much prettier than that lady was…but he wouldn't admit it out loud, of course.

"What is it, Aoshi-sama?" Misao asked, concerned. The silence had been just a little TOO long.

He shook his head.

"Nothing…"

Author's Note: SO, what if it wasn't funny? I'm supposed to be studying at the moment, so be happy! Okay, I KNOW it's not that great so far, but it's not THAT bad, right? Anyways, the next chapter of my other fic should be out in…I don't know. I haven't even started on it…SORRY! I'm a very bad girl…okey dokey…just tell me what you think of this so far! (if it sucks, feel free to tell me (by reviewing!)