Against the Folds
By:: Melissa

Disclaimer:: I do not own anything from this story except for the cameo made up character. Everything else belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki, creator of Rurouni Kenshin. All rights reserved. Constructive criticism is welcome. No flames please.

Chapter 1

A tall girl with short black hair faced he rising sun, the light reflecting in her eyes. She sighed openly and closed her eyes.

He had left her again. He had abandoned her again. He always came back and then left again. She never understood why he always left her. She wanted him to stay but he never stayed. Never more than a few days. And he never left in the day. It was always in the night. Always when she was asleep. And she could never chase after him until the next day.

"Misao, come inside now." Okina came out and yelled at the girl. She looked down from her spot on the roof and nodded. Okina went back inside and Misao looked at the sunrise before jumping down and going inside.

"Misao-chan, what were you doing up there?" Okina asked, setting down food on the table.

"Oh… no reason… actually, I'm not that hungry… I think I'm going to go and take a walk. I'll be back in a short while." Misao got up and left in a hurry, not looking at anyone as she did so.

She couldn't just let him go off by himself without her going after him. She couldn't just let him go off and get hurt or even worse, get killed. She had to protect him. At all cost.

She ran down the alleyways and hidden streets until she made it out of Kyoto and into the wilderness. She traveled for five days and five nights, sleeping in the forest and stealing money for her travels. Finally, on the sixth day, she heard the sound her beloved walking.

She quietly followed him until she saw his stealthy outline. She smiled gently, always loving the way he walked.

"Misao, I know you're there, come out." She was startled when she heard him speak to her but she shouldn't have been. After all, this was Aoshi Shinomori she was following.

"Yes, Aoshi-sama?" Misao asked, coming out of the tress, revealing herself to him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I followed you."

"Why? I left you with Okina."

"I want to stay with you, Aoshi-sama… I can help you in fights and with spying…" Misao looked at him longingly but his face was calmly indifferent as always.

"You must stay with Okina and the rest of the Oniwabanshu in Kyoto. I want you to try and live a normal life. Go home, Misao." Aoshi turned the full power of his cold eyes upon her.

"No, I'm staying with you."

"No, you're not. You're going to go back to Okina." Aoshi turned her around and pushed her in the direction of the headquarters in Kyoto.

"No! I'm going to stay with you and protect you, Aoshi-sama. I love you, Aoshi… and I always have… I want to stay with you till the very end." Misao moved forward and looked at him with desperation in her eyes. He looked at her with surprise written all over his face.

Misao hadn't planned on telling Aoshi her true feelings but she did. She hadn't planned on telling him that she loved him. She hadn't planned on it at all. It just happened. And she couldn't take any of it back. Not that she wanted to. She meant every word that she had said. She just didn't think she would tell him in this way.

Aoshi regained his composure and started coldly at Misao.

"I said go home, Misao." He turned his back to the girl and walked on without her, leaving her behind. She turned around dejectedly and started walking home.

Suddenly, a man came out of the tress and went after Aoshi. With his back to the attacker, Aoshi couldn't see the man coming for him. He was still too stunned with Misao's announcement to even hear him. Misao turned quickly around and ran after the man, taking out her kunai in the process.

"Aoshi-sama!" Misao yelled, jumping up into the air in attack.

"Misao, I told you to go…" he turned around and saw the man. The stranger had turned around to face Misao, who was caught off guard. The man took out his sword and stabbed her in the stomach, pulling her out of the air. Aoshi quickly pulled out his own swords and killed the stranger in one quick move.

Misao was on the ground, bleeding profusely. Aoshi sheathed his swords and ran to her side.

"I'm sorry… Aoshi-sama…. I shouldn't have fought…" Misao opened her eyes slowly, trying to smile at Aoshi.

"Don't say anything, I'm going to take you back to Kyoto…" Aoshi picked her up and started running to the nearest town.

"Aoshi… stop… I'm not going to last that long…" Misao put her hand onto Aoshi's arm.

"But…"

"No… just let me die here in your arms…." She smiled up at him, no pain in her eyes.

"Misao, I…"

"I understand… if you could never love me… how I love you… but I wanted you to know… that I do love you…. before one of us died… and I will always… be there for you… in your heart…. And I will always… love you with…. All of my heart…" she stuttered quietly, her eyes going pale. Aoshi sat on the ground, holding her in his arms.

"Misao?" Aoshi asked, looking down at her.

"Yes?" she whispered.

"Can I tell you something?"

"Of course Aoshi-sama." She opened her eyes and smiled at him. He looked at her with sadness in his eyes and a battle within himself was happening. A battle between his pride and his heart. A battle between what he wanted and what he needed. A battle between his ambition and his feelings.

"Misao… I know that you love me. And I have known that for a long time. And I've always been getting you to love other people because you deserve someone better than me. Someone that would take care of you and stay with you. I never told you this because I never wanted to get your hopes up and then crush them later on. But I feel ready to tell you how I really fell. I do love you, Misao. I have for a long time. I wanted you to live a normal life without my burdens. That's why I never told you, that's why I kept it a secret. I'm sorry, Misao." She looked up at him with shining eyes and a smile on her face. She took his hand in hers and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Thank you, Aoshi-sama…" She closed her eyes, took one last breath and slowly passed from this world. Aoshi stayed sitting there till night started to fall. He stood up in a mechanical way, taking Misao's body into his arms. He walked slowly back to Kyoto.

He made it to the inn where the Oniwabanshu stayed. Okina came outside and cried out in horror. The rest of the group came out and were surprised and grief stricken to see Misao's limp body. They cried, grieved, and mourned the loss of their little ninja.

Aoshi had walked off, not talking to anyone. He knew what she would've said if he had told her that he loved her before she died. "Against the folds of fate," she would say. Yes, against the folds of fate. He wished he could've told her sooner. He wished he could've had something with her. He wished he could've had everything with her.

"I will never love another again," he said, putting his hands to his face, letting the tears burn down his cheeks.

What a sad little oneshot. Yes i love the MisaoxAoshi pairing. sometimes, during this oneshot, it feels to me like Aoshi might be a little out of character... but i think it might be alright just because he's really traumatized by the whole "misao dying" thing. But yes, in the end, Aoshi told Misao that he loved her all along. And she's able to die happy. anyways, please tell me if Aoshi or Misao are OOC. Please review! Thanks!