Love Never Wanted Me

By: Mandella-Sama

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of the characters.

Summary: AxM Life in full circle. Their fates are intertwined and age, distance, and life errors are not enough to keep them apart, but will either realize in time that they are meant to be? AOSHI AND MISAO

Chapter Title: Italicized Lies, Headlines Bold

Misao sat in her tired Toyota Corolla frantically wiping her eyes on her long black shirt sleeves. She couldn't face him like this. She knew the moment she entered the house three things would happen: Jiya would demand what was wrong while, Okon would look worried, and Omasu would look ready to kill. Misao had always been a strong girl, and something this trivial should not have stopped her from living normally. Despite these worries and frustrations, one thought haunted her. What would her neighbor say when he saw her walk into the house.

Long before Misao had been born and back when Okon was just Jiya's little O-Chan; Okina had moved his small family from an inner city apartment into the suburbs of Kyoto. He had picked a nice house near the college he was to teach at. At that time there had only been small family houses around where he bought his house. Over time, however, the college students took over the small houses and in a few years Okina's small house was right in the middle of student housing territory.

His family hadn't minded and Okina and his wife Misao Misao's Grandmother spent many years raising their three daughters: Mika, Okon, and Omasu. Mika was eight years older than her sisters and had more energy them all of them combined. She was fast to love and found her love early on at the age of 18 in the form of a third year college student. His name was Kenji Makimachi and he was quiet and loved art. Despite their age difference they were married a year after they met.

Okina was made a grandfather not long after. Misao Makimachi was born small and sickly, but with quite the set of pipes. Kenji's job moved them into the inner city nearer to his art gallery and Mika worked as a kindergarten teacher for a small private school nearby. Misao spent most of her childhood years in the small restaurant her grandmother owned while her parents worked. Misao was a bright little child and spent three years being watched by the neighbor kids, Shiro and Kuro, who were slightly older than her out in the back garden. Their absolute happiness did not last long.

Okina's wife nearly died when she was told by a stoic police officer that her eldest daughter had been in a car accident. It had been a Monday and it had rained all day. Kenji and Mika had been driving to the Aoi-ya to pick up Misao and to take her home. The roads were slick and a car on the opposite side of the road had been going too fast and hydroplaned. Kenji never had a chance to swerve. Mika and her husband were killed on impact as was the other driver.

Two children were orphaned that day. Trapped in the backseat of the other driver's car was a small boy with black hair and green eyes. He was only six and was scared to death. After he was cut out of the car the small boy was rushed to the hospital. After two hours of surgery the doctors had managed to save the boy's life. Years later the only indications of the wreck would be the boy's demeanor and the scars that covered his chest.

Misao had immediately been put in Okina and Grandmother Misao's guardianship. She hadn't understood why Kachan and Tousan had not come to pick her up, and it took her years to accept the changes. The small boy had never had a mother he could live with and out of pity Grandmother Misao had taken him in. Misao took an instant liking to the boy whose name was Aoshi Shinomori. Their demeanors were opposite, but his level of devotion to the small girl was the solidifier of their relationship.

Misao had the older child wrapped around her tiny fingers. He in turn could make her do what she did not want. Okina had been worried about the strong tie between the two, after all Aoshi's father had killed Misao's parents, but Grandmother Misao had set his worries to rest. "She needs him. He is her last tie to her parents. They will be good for each other." Okina never questioned the two's friendship ever again.

Despite the new found happiness tragedy was never too far from Misao. When Misao was seven Grandmother Misao died of a heart attack and the still tiny girl had been inconsolable. After weeks of Misao not speaking, Okina had gotten worried and sent for the doctor. After a thorough examination the doctor proclaimed that there was nothing he could do, and to give Misao time to get better. Weeks past and she would not speak, nor would she look at anyone, including the ten year old Aoshi.

Misao's teachers begged Okina to find a way to make the normally bright child come back. Finally Okina decided the only one who could help Misao was Aoshi. Ever since the accident Aoshi too had pulled away from Misao. Okina was sure that the bright young boy thought that he was the cause of all the deaths in Misao's life. He was there when Misao's parents died and he had been in the room when Grandmother Misao had the heart attack.

Okina was afraid of what he may find when he went into Aoshi's room. To his surprise the ten year old was meditating and he was sitting in the center of a very bare room. Okina sat down next to the boy and cleared his throat twice.

"Yes Okina-san?" The young boy's voice was soft and full of self-hate. Okina impulsively put his hand on the boy's head and ruffled his jet black hair. Aoshi looked up at the older man through his messy bangs with wide surprised eyes.

"My boy, why are you camped in here instead of down stairs making my little Misao smile, I expected more from you. She loves you very much and I'm sure you being there for her would make her very happy." Aoshi's face visibly shut down at the old man's words. Okina sigh and fell into the lotus position by the boy and closed his eyes.

"Tell me your problems, Aoshi-chan. You can't keep them locked up forever." Aoshi opened his eyes once more and looked at the old man. He was pained inside and had been almost waiting for someone to speak to him. However, Aoshi was not one to let what he was feeling come out and he most certainly was not one to speak openly.

"I killed them. All of them." That was all Okina got, two small sentences, but Aoshi's eyes were enough indication for Okina of his inner torments. The stormy green eyes stared openly at Okina begging the old man to play the father role and to comfort him. Okina's own brown eyes filled with tears and he reached out and clutched the boy to his chest.

"I may miss Mika, Kenji, and my dear wife Misao, but I have found a way to live on. They lived their lives and Kami-sama took them to heaven with your father. You are innocent of their deaths. I know you don't feel it, but you are just a little boy and you could have done nothing. But there is something you can do now, to help them live peacefully in heaven. Their precious Misao is hurting as much as you and she needs you to help her. She needs you to love her, Aoshi, she needs you."

Aoshi sat on his meditation mat and closed his eyes and let his thoughts go. Before Okina could go into another speech Aoshi stood and walked calmly out of his room and into the neighboring room which was Misao's. The seven year old girl was sitting on her window seat looking out of the small glass panes at the rain outside. When Aoshi entered her room she turned her emotionless eyes to his and then back to the window.

Aoshi walked to the window and sat next to her. She shifted her tiny body to sitting in his lap and he wrapped his arms around her. Aoshi did not say anything but he didn't need to. Misao broke down into the first tears since the death of her grandmother and hugged Aoshi close. Okina stood outside Misao's door for an hour before the door was whipped open and a blue of hair flew by dragging a stoic Aoshi behind. Okina never did find out what Aoshi had said to the child to make her happy once more, but that was the start of Misao going to Aoshi whenever something was wrong. He was like a rock, her rock.

By age 17 Aoshi had decide that it was time for him to move out of the small house he had lived in since he was young. When he told Okina of his plans the old man agreed, but warned him about the fuss that the nearly 14 year old Misao would put up. Aoshi told Okina that Misao could not make him stay.

Upon walking into Aoshi's room and seeing only boxes the young junior high girl let out a shriek and descended on Aoshi with a gale force. "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING!?" The young girl demanded of her best friend.

"Calm yourself Misao. I am going to finish my last year of high school at a school in Tokyo." Misao's eyes filled with tears and she flopped onto the floor and tried to rub the tears away, without much success. Aoshi looked down at her, and his heart hurt. He knew that it would hurt them both for him to leave, but he had become a crutch for her. She had no friends her age because to her no friend could be better than "her Aoshi". He knew that if he could distance himself from her enough she would find others that would accept her and love her. She would be friends with people who were not years older than her.

"B-but I don't want you to leave me Aoshi-chan." She had not called him that since she was very small. She had taken to dropping all honorifics and just calling him Aoshi. His icy heart melted a bit and he sat on the floor next to her and pulled her tiny teenage body into his lap. "I will miss you Misao-chan."

They stayed like that for a few hours; Misao talked and, like usual, Aoshi just listened and nodded. Okina came in much later and found Aoshi asleep resting against the wall and Misao tucked into his chest like a child. At that moment Okina knew that it would be for the best if Aoshi left. Misao was very likely to fall in love if he didn't.

The next day when Aoshi was getting his bags into the car to make his way to the train station Okina got an earful of Misao. "Can't I go to a junior school in Tokyo too? They are much better than the ones here, and Aoshi can look out for me!"

"My pretty Misao, SHUT UP!" Misao stumbled back from the yell and scowled. She knew that Jiya would never allow her to go to Tokyo, but he did not have to yell. Okon and Omasu had come down from their college dorms to bid Aoshi goodbye, and Shiro and Kuro were helping Aoshi get his thing to the car. When all was packed Aoshi shook hands with Okina and exchanged goodbyes with Shiro and Kuro. He also received tentative hugs from Omasu and Okon. Misao's goodbye was like her personality. She cried and made him promise to call. Then she flung herself at him and hugged so tightly that it took Shiro AND Kuro to pull her off. From within Shiro's embrace she waved as Okina drove his car out of sight and she sobbed knowing the Aoshi who had been her friend had gone to never return.

Aoshi did not return after he finished high school, and Misao gradually forgot about him and made friends. Kaoru was the first to speak to the young loner and then Misao quickly was accepted into Kaoru's inner circle. Sano, Soujiro, Megumi, Shiro, and Kuro were the most popular group of friends in Kyoto Heights High School.

In Misao's senior year of high school the small house next door was bought by two college students that had transferred from Tokyo University to Kyoto University. One was a man with short red hair that obviously was newly cut and a man with longish black hair. Okina could only groan when he saw the black haired college student.

This would be one hell of a year.

END CHAPTER ONE

a/n: SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO? Long time no But I am back and with a new story. I am thinking of getting rid on To Lead or To Follow it isn't very good and I am having trouble writing it.