Author's Note: My first fanfiction (which, incidentally, has a very cliche plot). I was thinking about removing it, but, for sentimental reasons, I decided to leave it up. If you're reading this, bear with me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, but I just had a bagel. So…yeah.

Chapter 1

Misao couldn't remember the last time she saw so much pink.

She stared. Everything was pink. Well, not everything. But that…thing certainly was. She opened her mouth. And closed it. Then opened it again.

She finally found her voice.

"What the hell is that?" yelled Misao, pointing at the pink kimono.

A very frightened Okon decided at that moment that it was not good for her health to remain and very wisely chose to run out of the room. Unfortunately, that left a stuttering Omasu to fend for herself.

"Why Misao I – we – me and Okon both, you know – decided to get rid of your old clothes. We bought you a few new pieces of clothing since you will be eighteen tomorrow. And they're not all pink! We have some...fuchsia…ones. Um…don't you like them?"

"Y-you…what?" Misao stared. Pink. Pink.

"J-just wear one for your birthday tomorrow…"

"…but my training…" Then, almost instantly, Misao was angry. Every stinking single piece of comfortable clothing was gone, all because of a couple of girly women. And really, how exactly was she supposed to train in that thing? Oh god, and it was pink. Train in pink?

This thought did not bode well with Misao.

"Oh, grow up Misao!" Omasu continued, misunderstanding Misao's silence. You couldn't blame her for misunderstanding. Usually, when Misao got angry, she was loud. Then, something made Omasu stop talking and clamp her mouth shut.

Why she stopped became apparent - Misao's face; there was absolutely no way to describe it. It had contorted grotesquely into an expression that Omasu could only describe as "murderous" (and perhaps "ugly", if she hadn't been terrified out of her mind).

She attempted to save the situation. "I-I mean…you'll look GREAT in one of those um…"

Wrong. Omasu knew at once that it was a lost cause, and she, like Okon, also decided (wisely) to run for it. It was too late, of course.

Breathe in, breathe out. Clear the mind of all thoughts…concentrate on finding my inner-self…become one wi—

"AAAAAHHHHHH! HELP MEEEEEE!"

"YOU COME BACK, YOU COULDN'T HAVE –"

Aoshi opened his eyes and looked up. Misao and Omasu.

What were they doing here?

Ah, of course. Misao. She had strong vocal cords. But strong enough for her to scream loud of enough for it to travel from the Aoiya to the temple? Well, maybe—she was Misao, after all. However, Omasu was a different story. She was usually quieter. So they must be here.

Ah, yes. He could sense them.

"OMASUU! COME BACK H— ARGH!…" Misao had tripped over a rock.

Omasu took this chance to hide, thanking every god, goddess, and/or any other deity she could name. Please don't find me, please don't find me!

Misao leapt back up and looked around wildly. Now where could Omasu be hiding?

"OMASU!" Misao barged into the temple doors, panting. She froze when she realized where she was and who was there. Oh god.

"A-Aoshi-sama…I…" Misao blushed—although Aoshi assumed that he could have been mistaken, as she was already very red from screaming and running.

He closed his eyes again and seemed to pay no more attention to her.

"A-Aoshi-sama, I'm sorry…did I interrupt?"

Aoshi didn't answer, but he was sure she could figure it out herself. Since when were screaming, banging, and running not considered interruptions? Then he remembered. Where was his green tea?

He opened his eyes urgently.

Then Misao remembered and slapped her forehead. His TEA! Her face became, if possible, even redder. She had forgotten to bring his tea to him this morning! The kimono incident had caused to her to completely forget her Aoshi-sama!

"Aoshi-sama? Um….I'll...get your tea now, okay?"

Aoshi closed his eyes again.

Misao took that as a yes and walked out the door. She would get Omasu later.

Misao gripped the tray she had faithfully—until now of course—brought her Aoshi-sama every morning (it was now near noon). She decided to confront Okina first; Aoshi could wait.

"Jiyaaaaaa! How could you let Okon and Omasu do this to me? How the hell will I train?"

"Learn to train in a kimono," Okina suggested.

"BUT JIIIYAA!"

"It's time you learn to be a proper lady."

"But what if I don't want t –"

"End of subject, Misao."

"But-"

Okina walked out of the room.

Misao was upset—no, she had picked the wrong word. She was PISSED!

That stupid old geezer…

Aoshi was waiting.

How long does it take to go back to the Aoiya and make tea?

Aoshi's stomach growled. Was he hungry? Well it was already midday…

Maybe Misao forgot…

Maybe she finally got her hands on Omasu. What did the poor girl do anyway? Ah well, whatever it was, it was most likely the cause of no tea today. He hoped it wouldn't happen again. And besides, there's always a bright side.

At least NOW I have the peace and quiet needed to 'clear the mind of all thoughts'…

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

Misao stomped over to the temple, flinging droplets of scalding tea at poor innocent bystanders along the way. She burst through the temple doors and dropped the tray roughly in front of Aoshi, flinging hot tea at him too.

Aoshi blinked. What had he done to deserve this? He would have enjoyed his tea more if he had been able to drink it. And anyway, she had just interrupted one of his "clear the mind of all thoughts" attempts. He wasn't getting very far anyway. He turned his attention back to Misao. She wasn't smiling, which was unusual. They sat in silence for several moments.

Then came the rant.

Aoshi could only catch a few words like "unfair", "revenge", "KILL OKON AND OMASU", "clothes", and somehow, he thought he heard the word "chicken."

Misao seemed to notice what she had done, because a few seconds later, she was blushing furiously.

"A-Aoshi-sama?"

Aoshi opened his eyes to show that he was listening.

"U-um…" Misao forgot what she was going to say. Her Aoshi-sama was so…beautiful. Even drenched in green tea. If anything, that added to his appeal. Truly, the droplets of tea accentuated his eyelashes and eyes. And hair. Oh hell, maybe he just looked good no matter what.

"…S-sorry, Aoshi-sama."

He blinked, possibly to let her know that he had forgiven her, but it was more likely that he was trying to get tea out of his eyes.

That reminded Misao. "I'll go and get you some more tea then…"

Misao turned to go but was stopped by the sound of Aoshi's deep, wondrous voice.

"Thank you, Misao…"

She rejoiced.

One might consider this pitiful on Misao's part, but Aoshi usually never gave any implication that he knew she existed, so Misao had an internal celebration every time he gave the slightest notion that she was alive (which normally comprised of small things that ranged from nods to "hellos" to "thank yous").

Misao quickly headed back toward the Aoiya on a quest to get Aoshi-sama more tea.

Unfortunately for Aoshi and especially for Okon and Omasu, she never made it back to the temple with the tea. She didn't find tea leaves, but what she did find was infinitely more dangerous.

Author's Note: I feel like I have a lot of running, screaming, and random stupidity in this fic. If that bothers you, try not to read it. Seriously. I mean, I get a headache rereading it myself, and I'm the one who wrote it.