Pathway to Happiness

By Shin Sankai

He'd felt and known about the presence coming towards his quarters, ever since she took her first step on the stairs in the Aoi-ya. He'd known this ki for so long that even his absence of 10 years, did not for one moment, waver his knowledge of who it was heading towards his sleeping quarters.

Shinomori Aoshi, 27 years old, had returned back to the Aoi-ya, back to the Oniwabanshuu and yet locked himself either in his room or at the closest temple.

He was never disturbed, hearing Omasu and Okon whisper to themselves (as he walked undetected in passing) about how Okina made sure Misao let him be for he needed time to heal, both physically and emotionally after the Kanryuu Takeda and Shishio Makoto incidents.

Misao of course did not like that one bit, but with love and respect for her adoptive grandfather, she had let him be.

Today however, was a day where Aoshi would be greeted with Misao's ever-cheery self as she rapped lightly on his shoji and pulled it across.

"A-Aoshi-sama…?" Her voice was soft, something Aoshi was not used to as Misao called out to him in a tentative sort of way. He knew that she obeyed Okina's wishes to not disturb him in his meditations, but it had been at least 6 months now…and he never meditated everyday…and yet…she still seemed to avoid him.

"What is it Misao?" Aoshi listened to his emotionless and quite bland voice reply back. He waited for her to enter his quarters, to sit beside him, but her feet did not move from their position at his shoji.

"Himura and the others are here for a visit." Misao promptly voiced, her hand tightening on the shoji as she looked at the strong back and shoulders of the man she loved. When he voiced nothing of her news, Misao continued on.

"Himura said something about wanting to have tea with you at the local temple."

"Tell him I won't be long."

"Okay…" Aoshi couldn't help but crack open one of his eyes and turned his head slightly to glance over his shoulder. He caught the downcast gaze of Misao's usually bright eyes and watched her pale slender hand slide his shoji shut encasing him once more in the quietness of his quarters.

Though it was an overcast winter day, the brightness moved through the Aoi-ya hallway, since window shutters were open and Aoshi watched Misao's outline disappear as she headed back downstairs.

The last time Aoshi had paid any attention to Misao's outline was when she was but 5 years old and playing in his quarters.

XxXx Flashback Begins xXxX

A 15-year-old Aoshi was standing in the office that his Okashira once sat in. He stood by Okina dressed in his onmitsu outfit, with a blue scarf Misao had thought would suit him wrapped around his neck. His black hair was pulled tight up into a ponytail, but his eyes were trained on the landscape outside (just like Okina's) as it began to snow once more.

"I fear that Misao-chan will not understand what has happened, unless it comes straight from you Aoshi-kun."

"Why do you say that Okina-san?"

"You have become Misao's world. She follows you like a shadow…and thinks of you very much like an older loving brother. Please Aoshi-kun, break the news gently and look after her for as long as you can." Aoshi bowed before Okina and left the office. He made his way to where he knew Misao would be, playing (or hiding) in his own quarters.

Aoshi stood at his shoji, noticing all the shutters of his windows in his corner room had been pried open and the outline of Misao was rushing back and forth from each end of the room.

Sliding the shoji across Aoshi watched Misao turn to gaze over at the door (her hearing was quite impeccable for a 5 year old) and a smile grew on her lips, the origami forgotten as she rushed over to hug his legs.

"Ah, Aoshi-niichan you're back!" He'd been on a mission with his Okashira and a few other men. However there had been an ambush and Aoshi hadn't been quick enough to save his Okashira from being delivered a fatal blow to the stomach.

Though Aoshi was young, he'd been on many missions before and knew about how painful and how powerful injuries could be. The one his Okashira received meant he would die a slow and painful death. They had been too far away for medical treatment and so his Okashira wanted Aoshi to be his second, to help him pass on honourably and quickly.

Staring down at Misao's face, for the first time in his life, the 15-year-old Aoshi felt his hands shake as he dropped to his knees to look upon her.

"Did Ojiichan bring me sweets like he promised?" Misao had innocently asked, not realising the torment that was rushing through the teenager before her.

"No, your Ojiichan didn't bring sweets Misao."

"Why?" Her large blue eyes blinked innocently up into his green orbs.

"He…had an accident."

"An ack-ident?" She was after all only 5 and was still trying to learn new words.

"Do you know what an accident is?" At the negative shake of her head, Aoshi placed both hands on Misao's little shoulders and bluntly told her his meanings of that one word.

"Accidents occur all the time. When you fall over and scrape your knee or when you bump your head, those are accidents. When someone gets ill or when someone…dies, those too are unfortunate accidents. Accidents come in all different sizes, ones that aren't too serious…and ones that are."

"Aoshi-niichan, you are sad." Misao voiced back, surprising Aoshi that she always knew when something was troubling him. Her small hands had cupped his face by now and the 15 year old, who thought he could handle everything, didn't know how to handle himself anymore.

"I'm sorry Misao, I'm not strong enough."

"Aoshi-niichan is the strongest person I know!" Misao proudly replied.

"I am not. I was not strong enough to help your Ojiichan."

"Something happened to Ojiichan?" Her voice was softer now, watching as her Aoshi-niichan nodded his head once in affirmation.

"Did Ojiichan have an ack-ident?"

"Yes…"

"A really bad one Aoshi-niichan? One where he can't get me sweets anymore?"

"Yes, your Ojiichan had a serious accident Misao. He…died." Aoshi wasn't too sure if Misao knew the full meaning of death, but the sadness in his voice seemed strong enough and truthful enough to rip into the 5 year old as she burst into fits of tears. They streamed down her face, turning her cheeks and eyes red. Aoshi was certain the entire Aoi-ya would be able to hear Misao and they too would grieve silently for the loss of their leader.

As Misao continued to cry, Aoshi's arms instantly went out to her and he cradled her against his chest, her tears soaking into his blue scarf.

"Forgive me Misao, for not being able to save him, for not being able to bring him back to you like I always promised."

"Ojiichan! I want my Ojiichan!" Misao wailed into Aoshi's embrace, her little hands thumping lightly on his chest.

"I…" Aoshi didn't know what to do now. He took Misao's little thumps to his chest, etching them into his heart. The hurt, the despair, the sadness, it was eating him alive. Aoshi hated these feelings…and he hated it most that Misao was not smiling anymore.

"Please smile Misao, please smile and forgive me."

"I want to be with Ojiichan! I want to be where he is!" Misao continued to bawl but her eyes peeled open, watery with tears still as she felt Aoshi's grip on her grow stronger.

"Iie…" Came his soft whisper. Aoshi had closed his eyes by now and a life where the ever-jubilant Misao was not there, placed an even bigger hole in his 15-year-old heart.

"I won't let you go to him. I won't let you die Misao."

"Aoshi-niichan…?"

"I want Misao to stay with me. I want Misao to be with me…always." She'd become such a huge part of his life that Aoshi felt even when he knew emotions were not good, this was a time when all needed to be revealed, so his little Misao knew how much she meant to him, how much his life would be empty without her beside him.

"I promise to look after you always Misao."

"Mm…"

XxXx Flashback Ends xXxX

"Aoshi?" At that softly spoken voice, Aoshi's eyes darted open as he looked over his shoulder to see the short redhead, Himura Kenshin, standing at his open shoji. He had been so preoccupied with the past that he hadn't heard the Hitokiri Battousai coming.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting." Aoshi stood then and walked out of his room and down the stairs with Himura at his side. The two of them left for the temple, the both of them carrying umbrellas to ward of the snow flurries.

Arriving at the temple, the two still did not speak and took residence in one of the private rooms with a balcony. As they sat on the balcony, Kenshin watched Aoshi prepare the tea.

"It is good to see you again, that it is Aoshi." Kenshin broke the silence with his overly polite voice and smiled at the tall broad man before him who was currently eyeing the tea he was in fact stirring.

"It seems to me that Misao-san isn't as lively as I thought she would be now that you have returned." Kenshin observed Aoshi's eyes break from the tea to glance up at his sudden comment, before they reverted back.

"We never did talk about Misao-san much."

"Yes we did, both during the Shishio Makoto incident and when she ran away to see you and Kamiya-san."

"Of course, but it has been over half a year has it not? Misao-san is not a child, not as innocent as you might have first thought. That you must surely see."

"Misao will always be innocent, in the sense she will never taste death and bloodshed like we have."

"You may think this true Aoshi, but I am certain Misao feels differently to what you believe. For happiness, I am certain Misao would do whatever means possible to gain it. She craves happiness like the baron earth craves the rain. She will fight very hard for it, this I am certain of." Himura Kenshin, the once Hitokiri Battousai never missed anything as he caught a perplexed look flash through Aoshi's green eyes.

"I'm searching because I can't forget. How does forgetting the person I love lead to Happiness? Do you know those words Aoshi?"

"Iie…"

"Those belong to Misao-san. She found me on her travels and as I tried to escape her she would not relent. She spoke those words to me as she jumped over a ravine to catch me. She wanted desperately to find what she'd been looking for." At the tightening of Aoshi's lips it almost seemed he knew what Kenshin was going to say next, but the redhead felt like he owed it to Misao to be a little blunt to the man she loved.

"She travelled all over Japan for you Aoshi, to find the person she loved most, to return him to where he belonged, at the Aoi-ya, with her and the other Oniwabanshuu."

"I want Misao to stay with me. I want Misao to be with me…always. I promise to look after you always Misao."

Aoshi set his teacup down and stood up, surprising the redhead slightly.

"You'll forgive me if I cut our tea and conversation short."

"Of course…" Kenshin muttered and stood up as he watched Aoshi walk out of the temple room in long powerful strides. The short samurai smiled as he watched Aoshi head quickly down the temple stairs, not even paying attention to the young woman in a yellow kimono gazing at his retreating figure.

Kenshin decided to meet Kaoru half way as he too headed out of the temple.

Back at the Aoi-ya

Aoshi headed around the back, undetected, as he knew one place Misao always seemed to be at this time of day. He walked quietly to the opened shoji and gazed at Misao just as she was doing a roundhouse kick and throwing several of her kunai into a wooden practice doll. She miscalculated and sprawled on the ground, only one of the four kunai she threw imbedded into the practice doll.

'I'm searching because I can't forget. How does forgetting the person I love lead to Happiness?'

Those words circulated in Aoshi's head as he made his way to Misao. His hand instantly opened and was placed in front of Misao's surprised face.

"Ah, Aoshi-sama, what are you doing here?"

"Searching for you." Those words had surprised him, but the flush on Misao's cheeks was reward enough that he hadn't said anything wrong.

"Would you like it if I helped train you once more?" At the wide-open smile on Misao's face, Aoshi felt his shoulders loosen slightly. He was given his own surprise when she thrust herself into his larger body, her arms moving around to wrap around his waist. This was confirmation for Aoshi that Misao had grown, for she could hold him like he could her.

"Aoshi-sama, what brought this on?" Misao whispered and melted into him as one of his hands moved up to rest tenderly against her head, while the other was around her shoulders.

"The remembrance of a promise I made you long ago."

"Mm…" Misao muttered back.

The both of them stood in the dojo embracing each other and for once neither noticed as the opened shoji was slid closed by a very pleased Okina as he left them in peace.

Their pathways were now entwined just as Makimachi-sama and Okina had hoped.

XxXx The End xXxX

Authors Notes: Hello! This oneshot came about as my Oneesan sent me the RK Profiles Book and I was reading through it and saw Misao's quote: "I'm searching because I can't forget. How does forgetting the person I love lead to Happiness?". And so this story was formed. I hope you enjoyed reading it. And Oneesan, this is for you!