Chasing Pavements

Summary: Two people, walking their own separate paths however long they seem. Misao is lost and desperately trying to hold on, while Aoshi doesn't know he is lost which could be worse. What each doesn't know, is that their paths are about to intersect and what happens neither could imagine.…(take place during Kanryu).

Just a head's up, I've changed a few things in this story, so if you don't like changes to the Rurouni Kenshin story as it is, then you probably won't like this. I've also may have changed Misao's personality a bit, but once you read the story it should make a bit more sense. I've been inspired to write this story up for year, and have never had a chance to actually sit down and do it. Also, I've also been scared to death to type it, for the fear that it would come out as good on screen as it does in my head. But I've decided to go for it, and hopefully it doesn't stink too much!

Misao is 17, and Aoshi is 27 (yes I know in the anime it's a year less, but I decided to make them both just a tad bit older. This is also before Aoshi and Kenshin fight the first time). And I do not own Rurouni Kenshin!

Chapter 1: Two Paths Collide

Night used to always be her friend. It was the calming blanket to a day of chaos after working a full day at the Aoiya, a time where she could go out and close her eyes and reminisce over the past, over the present, and over what her future may be. A future where she would be a gorgeous, attractive woman, with the man of her dreams at her side and all her family surrounding her. A future in which nothing could go wrong, because love was all she wanted and needed. Love was what her future was.

However, that was not what her future would be.

Misao continued on through the dirt path, huddled up in her long dark cloak. The night was no longer her friend as she remembered it to be. It was now different. It looked menacing, cold, void of life. She knew now the things that can happen at night. Mistakes that can be made in the dark…

Misao shook her head. She didn't need to be reminded of such things.

I've made up my mind, don't need to think it over

If I'm wrong I am right, don't need to look no further

This ain't lust, I know this is love

She just kept on, her destination up further. To be honest, she really didn't know where she wanted to go. She was in a sense lost. She had no family, for she had abandoned them back at the Aoiya. She had left a few hours ago, in the late hours of night and has traveled by foot into what is now more than likely almost becoming morning, but not quite. It now being early fall, the days are now shorter than what they were a month or so ago. The sun wouldn't come up until a few more hours. Not that it mattered to her. Nothing really mattered to her anymore. Nothing except…..

'Stop it!' Misao mentally chided herself. She wouldn't dwell on it. She couldn't, not if she wanted to continue on. If she gave in to her thoughts, she would crash and burn right where she stood. She would collapse into a heaping mess right on the forest floor, and she couldn't be sure whether or not she'd have the strength to get up. 'Just have to keep going goddamn it, can't erase the past and crying about it isn't going to make it go away'.

But if I tell the world, I'll never say enough

Cause it was not said to you

She was sure she was close to her destination in mind. She visited there only once, but from what she could remember, it wasn't that difficult or long of a walk. In fact, she had visited a lot of places back a few years. Back when…

'Back when I was looking for Aoshi-sama', Misao thought, 'But, each time I had a clue as to where he was, I was always too late…..or perhaps…..perhaps they were never even there to begin with'. At 17 now, two years ago she had went out countless to look for the man she loved. She would have gone even earlier, but Okina had prevented her and finally gave in to her tantrums at 15, thinking she was old enough to fend for herself. However, after time and time again of coming up empty handed, she had gone home defeated, and never again went out to look for Aoshi-sama and the rest of them.

She had to finally accept it. Aoshi-sama and the rest were dead. As much as she didn't want to admit it to herself, she knew she had to. They left her; he left her when she was only 8. Almost ten years, and no sign of him, not even a letter. Okina had lectured her time and time again to accept the fact that he wouldn't be in her life anymore. That she should grow up as a normal girl. Live a normal life. But she couldn't just accept that. She couldn't get the picture of the ice blue eyed boy out of her mind. However, after her last trip, she realized the wisdom of Okina's words. She knew he was right. It had taken months for her to put the words Aoshi-sama and dead in the same sentence. She had cried herself to sleep numerous nights, and whether or not the others knew, she didn't know. Time can be so cruel, for it was the only antidote to Misao's pain at the time.

And that's exactly what I need to do if I'd end up with you

'Okina', Misao thought. She wondered what he and the others will be thinking, what they will do in the hours to come. In the hours where they will eventually find out that Misao is not in her room, wasn't in her room for the majority of the night. That she had left them, but this time with no note, unlike her previous departures back when she went out to look for Aoshi-sama. There would be no note.

Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements

Even if it leads nowhere?

Or would it be a waste even if I knew my place

She had no desire to go back. She couldn't go back. She would only bring them shame and humiliation if she did, and she could never do that to them. She knew they would be worried. She knew they would come looking for her in places they think she would be. And that's why she picked the last place she thought they would look for her.

Should I leave it there?

Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements

Even if it leads nowhere?

'Tokyo' Misao thought.

Two days later…

"Aoshi, I have a little job for you to do", Kanryu all but chided, in his usual high pitched voice, with a hint of amusement behind it, like he was asking him to play a board game.

Aoshi, who was behind his desk reading a book, didn't so much as twitch. Still reading the book, he calmly replied, "And that would be"?

I build myself up and fly around in circles

Wait then as my heart drops and my back begins to tingle

Finally could this be it?

"There's this…ah, slight problem I am having with a little rat. The scum owes me money, and now has decided to go into hiding, knowing that I will be coming for what is mine. I think you can piece together the rest".

"And why have you selected me to take care of garbage. Surely you have men who are qualified to deal with this," Aoshi replied, in his usual stoic deadpan voice, still with his eyes glued to the book.

"Of course, however, I can't risk there being a complication. This man does have, let's say friends from other places and if he knows the slightest that I have sent someone after him, he could easily high tail it on a ship and off to god knows where. That's a risk I can't afford," Kanryu replied, taking a puff out of his cigar.

"Why doesn't he just leave Japan now if he has these so called friends as you put it?"

"Because doing that would mean owing those people money for their services, something that I'm sure he wouldn't do unless he felt he had to."

Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements

Even if it leads nowhere?

Or would it be a waste even if I knew my place

Aoshi didn't reply back immediately. He did, however, look up at Kanryu for the first time, piercing him with his ice blue eyes, behind his dark black bangs. He didn't want to have to do an assignment that he knew would be very easy of him to do. It was not only a waste of his time, but a waste of the Oniwabanshu's time. But knowing Kanryu and the dirty filth he is, Aoshi knew there was no point in making an argument, especially when the argument was over money.

Aoshi never understood the meaning of money, the meaning of worthless paper.

Looking at Kanryu, Aoshi rested his hand against his head, looking as if this was boring him to death (which it was), and simply replied, "Name".

"Kiba Hokkaido. He generally attends a restaurant known as the Akabeko, a few people have seen him there from what rumor says".

"I don't pay attention to rumors".

"Ah, of course you don't, but it isn't a bad place to start. Worst case scenario, you get a meal out of the deal. Just make sure you bring him back to me alive, leader. The man owes me several hundred yen and I can't afford to lose that sum of money if you were to, say accidentally kill him".

Aoshi gave him a look that pretty much said, 'I know what I'm doing you idiot' look, but instead replied, "I understand".

Should I leave it there?

Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements

Kanryu, taking another puff of his cigar, turned and left the room, much to Aoshi's delight. It would give Aoshi great pleasure in punching the greedy rotten money pig in the face. But he would never do that….to a certain extent. For now, they had somewhat of an agreement. Aoshi normally wouldn't work for money rich pigs, but it does benefit him in at least getting good fighters. Since working for Kanryu, they've faced several decent fighters, only one of which Aoshi took down personally. The rest, his men easily came up victorious. Another reason which it made somewhat sense in working for Kanryu, were his men. There was nowhere for his men to go. They couldn't live normal lives, unlike many of the Oniwaban who were able to blend in with normal society. These were not the times of chaos and bloodshed, but rather of peace, a word which Aoshi is not accustomed to. He never knew up until this point of living in a time of peace. His whole upbringing was brought up in a time of war. He was trained to be a warrior. He was trained to be a killer. Killing others is who he is. One does not simply just walk away from that.

There was only one thing he and his men wanted; the title of being the best. It was the only thing he could give to his men, the only sentiment to their devotion and sacrifice for years of service. He could not, on good conscious, walk out on his men and leave them to rot. He has seen other leaders of previous clans, and leaders of the revolution do so. Many of them are high ranking official officers of the imperial army. Aoshi couldn't fathom the idea of leaving his men behind, no matter what the circumstances were. What type of a leader would he be if he did that?

Aoshi sighed, he would find no solace tonight in either his book or his mind. Putting his book down, he got up from his chair and went over to his dresser to change out of his uniform, which only consisted of the purple pants and black shirt underneath. He wondered if he would ever give his men the honor they deserved. Wondered at times if they were wasting their time in a filth place like this, knowing his men deserved better. Blowing the candle out, he knew tonight would be no different from his other nights. Nightmares always came to welcome in into the abyss of dreams.

Even if it leads nowhere?

Misao must be delusional.

Normally when someone starts their first day on the job, they are usually accustomed with a variety of feelings. Some feel nervous about screwing up, some feel excited for something new, and even some feel depressed if it's a crap job. Misao fit neither of these categories. To say the least, Misao was….happy.

Happy?

It seemed like such a foreign word to her. Such an odd feeling considering the last few months have been hell for her. The last emotion she thought she would be feeling today was joy. She couldn't even put a finger as to why she was feeling this way, but she wasn't going to complain about it. Anything was better than where she was a few days ago.

Misao grabbed both strings of her apron and tied them both behind her back, making sure it was tight so it didn't droop. To say everything so far was going according to plan was an understatement, because she never really had a plan. To say the least, everything was going extremely beyond what she hoped.

Once Misao made it to Tokyo, she knew she would need a place of her own and came across an old small house on the far outskirts of Tokyo, more or so in the woods. It's not to say the house was anything special, in fact, it was a piece of crap place. There was only three rooms, each of which were very small. The house itself was in bad shape, the front door was half on, the top half broken off. Windows needed to be repaired, and inside most of the furniture (or what was left) was old and worn out. Tables were wobbly, some missing a leg. It was no wonder she had gotten a pretty good deal for it. She only had to put down just over thirty yen and it was hers. Completely hers. No weekly charge or nothing. The man seemed shocked to know she wanted to purchase the house, and from what she saw of his face, knew that he thought she was retarded or something. But, in two days, Misao had made a lot of progress from what the house once was. It still had the rotten look on the outside, since it wasn't painted or anything, but the front door was fixed, windows were new, and she made somewhat progress of getting new furniture, only yet having purchased a new futon.

With her first job, not counting working at the Aoiya, now working at the restaurant known as the Akabeko, Misao was feeling very happy at where she was right now. She almost felt somewhat stable emotionally, and for once she felt independent. She felt like an adult, out on her own making a means for herself. She was fortunate to get the job so easily. She had met the owner, a young woman named Tae and the two instantly clicked. Although she had only met her once, Misao can tell that Tae was a really nice person. She seemed excited when Misao told her she had worked in a restaurant her whole life, which probably was why she got the job so fast, and to know that where she worked was the Aoiya. It gave Misao somewhat a sense of pride, knowing that people even from Tokyo have heard of the Aoiya. Thinking about it, she couldn't help but feel a bit sad again. And it felt even worse that Tae reminded her at times of Omasu.

'Snap out of it Misao!', Misao mentally chided herself, 'No more of that depressed, mopey girl. Time to be HAPPY'! And with that, Misao went to her first customers, greeted them, and took their orders.

There was nothing that was going to stand in her way of having a good day today.

Her first customers were a family of three, the parents and a young boy. They seemed pleasant when she first greeted them, but by the end of the meal they looked like they were having the time of their life, credit to Misao. She smiled at them, chatted with them a bit, even made funny jokes, and they seemed to love it. They left a nice tip, and even went to her to let her know they are happy to have her here in Tokyo, since they knew she was new. After a few more tables, it seemed to be that a lot of the same people came here every day, which was a good thing in terms of money. So far, her mission of having a happy day was so far according to plan.

Until he showed up.

Some tall, rooster head, free loader was trying his damn best in not paying for his tab.

"Look, missy, Tae-san knows me alright. Just tell her to put towards what Sano owes her" the baboon, now known as Sano tells her. Misao is not in the least bit convinced.

"Blah blah blah, do you really think I haven't heard that one before?", Misao chided, "Look, I may be new, but I'm not stupid!

"Could have fooled me weasel girl!," Sano yelled back, meanwhile chewing on what looked to be fishbone.

Right now, she'd like to take that fishbone and stick it in his eyeball.

"What did you just call me?! I'd outta kick your ass out of here, but you have to pay first before I do that!"

Sano erupts into a fit of laughter, "Buwhahahaaha! You couldn't kick the crap out of a butterfly I bet! Don't even make me laugh! Seems like to me your brain is full of weasel poop!"

It's now apparent that everyone in the restaurant is looking at them, as Misao's face turns purple, and possibly steam could be seen coming from her head….

"LOOK HER ROOSTER HEAD, I COULD KICK YOUR ASS ALL THE WAY INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK! YOUR NOTHING BUT A FREE-LOADER! PAY THE BILL NOW!"

Sano punched his fist into the table, and now stood up towering over Misao, matching her level of yelling.

"OH YEAH! TRY AND STOP ME!"

"IS THAT A CHALLENGE?!

"YOU DAMN WELL BET IT IS!"

"SANOSUKE WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

Both Misao and Sanosuke look at a young woman, about a year older than Misao, who's head is not only purple but has veins pooping out from her skin.

"Hey, missy! It's not my fault! This bit-"

"What?!"

"I mean this weasel girl is the one giving me a hard time! I swear!", Sano pleaded, throwing his hands in the air.

"Oh please! Give me a break! He's trying to get out of paying the bill because he's a free loading bum!", Misao attacked back, pointing an accusing finger at Sanosuke.

"I should have known you wouldn't have been up to any good Sanosuke! You are nothing but a free-loading jerk!", the woman yelled back, clearly taking Misao's side, who know has a victorious smile on her face.

"What?! Are you serious?! You're taking HER side?!", Sanosuke yelled, mouth completely dropped, almost touching the floor.

"There's only ONE side idiot! You are clearly in the wrong ONCE AGAIN!" The woman all but screamed as she came over, and gave Misao the money, "I'm so sorry for this jerk. He clearly has no manners and is nothing but a pathetic loser-

"Hey!"

"…and never pays for anything! So how much is his bill this time? I'll cover it up for him", the woman sincerely asked Misao.

"Oh, I can't take your money! Perhaps I'll just tell Tae-san about the incident, since the rooster head says he knows her. I feel bad you have to pay" Misao replied, too reluctantly on taking the money.

"Nonsense! Besides, that means you lose your tip. It's not a problem at all", the woman replied as she put the money in Misao's hands, "This should easily cover the bill and room for tip".

"Th-thank you. That's very kind of you….ah…"

"Oh, my name is Kaoru, Kaoru Kamiya".

"Thank you Kaoru-san, my name is Misao, Misao Makimachi".

"Hey! What's ugly yelling about?," yells a young boy, with spikey brown hair. He looks over at Misao, eyes wide, "Oh god! I didn't think it was possible, but there's someone just as ugly as Kaoru, if not uglier!"

"WHAT DID THAT BRAT JUST SAY?!", Misao screamed.

"YAHIKO!", Kaoru yelled and slammed her boken on Yahiko's head, sending him flying out of the restaurant.

"Sorry about him, he also has no manners! We ought to leave before we cause any more problems", Kaoru replied, "If you have any free time Misao-san, stop by at the Kamiya dojo!"

With that, Kaoru pulls along a reluctant Sanosuke by the ear, and drags Yahiko's unconscious body out of the restaurant, leaving not only Misao but the rest of the customers stunned. Despite the big commotion, the rest of the guests just shrug and go back to eating and chatting like nothing ever happened. Misao smiles, happy to have met another nice person, that being Kaoru-san, though Kaoru-san does seem to have a poor choice of friends. Nevertheless, Misao goes back to her other tables, putting the incident behind her.

Her other tables cause her no problems, and were more or so pleasant. By now, it's midafternoon and Misao, with only two hours left in her shift, finally believes that she will have accomplish her one mission of the day, that being having a happy day. After all, it was just a little minor scuffle, right? Her mission in having a happy day could still work right?

That was, until she went to her newest customer and nearly died of a heart-attack on the spot.

Aoshi Shinomori was sitting at her table.

'No, it can't be him….no no no no it's not him', Misao kept telling herself, though doing a poor job in convincing herself. She was still in the kitchen, and could see him through the slit of the sliding doors that led into the restaurant, so he didn't see her yet. She just sat there and stared at him, not caring in the world what the cooks behind were thinking about her or how dumb she looked.

It just wasn't possible. He was still alive?! She could not believe it was him, after all the years she went out searching for him, all the effort and strain she put in, only to find him now here at her table. What on earth has he been doing all these years? Why, since he's alive, didn't ever come back to the Aoiya? Did he not care about her? Did he forget about her? Was she just a forgotten memory of the past to him? Where were the other members? What were they doing? She had thousands of questions, but not a word could escape her mouth.

To be honest, he's so different from what he looked like when she last saw him, she probably wouldn't have recognized him from his face alone. It was the outfit that gave him away. It was the same outfit she remembered him wearing, the long white trench coat, and underneath his omnistu uniform. His physical appearance, however, was completely different from how she remembered him. He seemed much taller, and he no longer had the long ponytail. His hair now just went past his ears, still that dark black hair. His face, clearly more aged than when he was a boy, but just as serious looking. All in all, he looked like a completely different person than what she remembered of him. She couldn't place that boy she knew to this man sitting out in front of her.

Misao was confused. Shouldn't she be happy? Why wasn't she running out and hugging him like she always dreamed of doing when she found her beloved? Why was she confused? What was wrong with her? It made it worse knowing that she had no answers to either of her questions.

'Oh Kami! What would he think if he knew….if he knew….', Misao shook her head, throwing that incident out of her mind….

Thinking of the incident, why she was even here in Tokyo in the first place, froze her on the spot. It was as if a hand had reached inside her and gripped her heart. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. What was she to do?! How could she approach him? Knowing what she did, how could she tell him? Scratch that, could she even tell him? What would he think of her now? She didn't want to know….didn't want to see the look on his face….when she told him…..

'Kami no, he can't ever know", Misao pleaded to herself, 'He can never know…..okay….come on girl, we can do this. Chances are, he probably won't even recognize you'.

Misao, after standing still for what felt like an eternity, finally gathered the courage to push open the slide doors into the restaurant and walked ever so slowly to where Aoshi was sitting. He sat with his head down, eyes closed, and hands on the table. It looked as if Aoshi was either sleeping, or praying to himself. Either way, it made it a lot easier to take his order…..as long as he didn't look at her.

"Hi sir, welcome to the Akabeko! My name is mi.…miko and will be serving you today! What can I get you?" Misao asked, doing her best job in sounding cheerful. To her benefit, Aoshi didn't so much as move, he just sat there, not moving an inch. He didn't even look at her. The only part of him that moved was his mouth.

"I'll have tea and a bowl of tempora udon", Aoshi replied, in a dead pan tone. Although he didn't say much, just two words out of his mouth had Misao trembling, not believing that she was actually having a conversation with the man that she used to dream she would marry one day. The man that when she was a young child, she would sit on his lap and beg him to play with her outside. The man that would tell her bedtime stories each and every night or else she couldn't go to sleep.

'Enough Misao! Get it together girl!', Misao screamed at herself, losing focus of her current situation.

'Y-yes sir! Coming right up!"

Misao hastily left, moving quickly away to put his order in. She didn't know how to feel at this point. One part of her was happy he didn't recognize her, or else things would have gotten….complicated. However, she couldn't help a surge of disappointment knowing that….well….he simply didn't recognize her. Then again, he didn't even bother to lift his head or even look at her.

She put in his order, distracted in her thoughts. It didn't take long for the kitchen to have it out, only took ten minutes and meanwhile she had been able to attend to other tables to keep her from going over to him. The only time she went over to him during when his meal was being prepared was to give him his tea, which again he didn't lift his head up. When the bell rang, she ran up, grabbed his order and went over to his table and put his meal out for him.

"He's your order!"

She quickly left him, not bothering to ask if he needed anything else, like she normally would. Misao was so distracted by her thoughts, that she almost didn't register the fact that there was a sudden bump on her rear end. She blinked for a second, completely off guard. Then it all hit her like a weight of bricks. Some jerk, who was now whistling at her, had slapped her ass. Some snot nosed, dirty pig just…..

And that was when Misao lost it, and thus, failed her mission of her day.

Aoshi sat quietly at his table, a table that was in the far corner of the restaurant and not on accident. He had requested the far table, because it gave the perfect vantage point of the front doors and also of the entire room. He didn't want his target any way to evade his vision, nor sit behind him.

Hell, he doesn't want anyone sitting behind him.

Just another habit when you live the life a ninja.

He didn't see Kiba anywhere, if he shows up at all. Knowing Kanryu, he could have sent him on a wild goose chase. The thought almost made Aoshi growl in aggravation, but held it back. It would do no good in getting worked up only on an assumption. Especially since he's only been in the restaurant for only five minutes or so. So, he would sit and wait.

He heard his server come over to him and greet herself, though he couldn't care less, more focusing on the people that are coming in and out of the place. He also was focusing on the conversations around him, trying to see if he could pick up any information on Kiba. He simply asked for tea and his meal and she went away. So far, none of the conversations around him had mentioned Kiba or even anything that described him. From what Kanryu described him, he was somewhat of a tall man, though not as tall as him. He was a bit of a lanky man. He was bald, and had brown eyes. Simple description, but sometimes that's all you need.

He vaguely recalled his server bringing him his tea, though he didn't really pay attention. Though, he did pour himself a cup of tea and sip quietly. Just when he looked up, he saw his prey walk in, Kiba. Just as he was described, he walked in by himself, took a seat right near the entrance doors. Making sure not to stare, Aoshi sipped his tea, feeling much better that this wasn't going to be a goose chase. His server came over right at this time to give him his order of tempura udon….

Or, it was supposed to be.

He looked at his plate, which was clearly not tempora udon, but instead was soba.

Aoshi grimmanced.

He was known as a man of patience, and he wasn't an overly picky eater. However, he wasn't a big fan of soba. Not that it mattered what he ordered, the server had given him, the customer, the wrong meal. He would simply wait for her to come back, and he would then address her the mistake she made.

Aoshi immediately tensed up, as he sensed a strong ki resonating somewhere in the restaurant. Looking up, he surveyed the restaurant, trying to depict where it was coming from. He didn't suspect it was Kiba, since Kanryu never mentioned Kiba being a fighter, in fact he was just a sleazy drugs dealer like Kanryu. Nevertheless, he pin pointed it coming from up ahead of him, right where…

Aoshi blinked, it couldn't be who he thought it was.

Surely he must be mistaken, because apparently it's coming from his server, who had just taken his order. It was the first time he had actually looked at his server. Though he could only see her backside, he could tell she was small in size, very small in fact. She probably is just at five feet tall, very slim build that would probably put her at less than a hundred pounds. He immediately wondered how old his server could possibly be. Scratch that, he wondered how young his server could possibly be. She didn't look any older than 15. And from what he's witnessing, she's arguing what looks to a man in his late thirties. Clearly, she being at a disadvantage.

Yet, if you made that assumption, you would have been wrong.

"WHAT THE HELL?! DID YOU JUST DO WHAT I THINK YOU DID!?"

Before the man could even say anything, the young girl did a, very successfully might he add, round house kick right in his face, which sent him flying on his back. The man was unconscious before he even hit the ground. His buddies didn't seem baffled, but instead pissed off.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?! Why you little brat!", One thug yelled at her, slightly tipsy from the booze he was drinking, or was drinking. The thug went with an upper cut, but the girl again surprised him, as she easily dodged his punch and hit him in the stomach with her elbow. The hit knocked the air out of the man, who staggered back a bit. It gave the girl an easy punch straight to his face, and he was out cold with his friend on the floor. The other two thugs' anger completely melted away into fear, one looking at the other like they couldn't believe what they just witnessed.

"Get out of here right now! And if I ever see you come back here I'll make it hurt even worse!", the young waitress yelled at the four men, though two were unconscious. The two that weren't unconscious got up quickly and grabbed their buddies off the floor and ran out. As for the rest of the guests, an applause rang out, some cheers and laughter, clearly amused at the fact that a small girl single handedly took out two full grown guys with ease.

Aoshi would be lying if he didn't say he was surprised either.

However, he found the situation to be suspicious. Although he didn't suspect the girl was a threat to him, he had to make sure. In his line of work, one who wasn't cautious could easily end up dead for an overlooked mistake. This overlooked mistake, in this case, would be the girl. It wasn't even for the fact that she had beaten the crap out of the men, but it was more for the fact that he had sensed not just a ki, but a battle ki. Only a ninja, no, warrior would know another battle ki. This wasn't an ordinary girl that just happened to be lucky. This girl was trained, whoever it was, as either a spy, ninja, warrior, fighter or so forth. She had to be questioned on her intentions, though as not to alarm her.

'Not to mention', Aoshi mentally added to himself, 'She needs to give me the right meal…'

To hell with her mission.

To hell with her having a wonderful, fantastic day.

To hell with everything.

All she wanted….all she wanted was to have a happy, peaceful day. Was it really asking for too much? Was it? What she gets, is a free-loader who doesn't want to pay his tab, a man who she hasn't seen in almost ten years that seems to have risen out of the dead, a man who thinks he can just slap her ass and get away with it, and then a man who had tried to punch her in the face but instead kicked his ass. She didn't ask for any of it, she couldn't have helped it (well, maybe she didn't have to beat those guys to a living pulp) if she tried. Yet, she knew her fate once Tae knew of what happened.

She would be fired.

One her first day on the job.

Head hung low, her heart weighed down, Misao sighed. She had been feeling so good this morning too. She had actually felt happy in what felt like forever, for it to only end in a few hours because of a handful of jerk, with the exception of Aoshi-sama. Feeling completely defeated, her only wish is just to survive the last hour of her shift. Just an hour. Sixty minutes, she could survive that.

Speaking of Aoshi-sama, she ought to go check up on his meal and how he….oh god! What did he think of her tantrum! Did he think look at me like some immature girl?! How completely embarrassing to have behaved like that in front of him! What a great first impression….

'Wait a minute there girl, you don't want him to know who you are remember', Misao reminded herself.

Misao heads over to Aoshi-sama's table, though reluctant. She notices right away that he hasn't touched his plate, and immediately wonders if there is something wrong with his plate. With a little bit more a kick in her step, she quickly walks over to his table, where his head is….yes, still down. Shocker.

"Excuse me sir, is there anything wrong with your plate?"

For the first time since he entered the restaurant, Aoshi lifted his head towards her and his eyes….

'Oh god….he still has the same eyes….ice blue…', Misao thought, mesmerized.

He still had the same eyes, cold ice blue, and in that moment have appeared to have pierced her straight into her soul. His eyes bore through hers, and she was helpless and lost but to stare into them.

Though she wasn't alone, for Aoshi was also having a momentary lapse as well, for he was just as mesmerized by her eyes, the most beautiful ocean eyes he's ever seen….and yet…He's never felt this before in his life. He's never felt this feeling of déjà vu before in his life. There is a part of him, screaming out to him from the depths of his mind, that he has seen those eyes before, the eyes that now bore his, such innocent eyes.

'Enough', Aoshi reprimanded to himself, digusted at his momentary lapse.

"You gave me the wrong meal", Aoshi simply replied, though the soft tone was not matching the intense stare he was giving her. Because she was lost in staring at him, she had not reacted right away to what he said. For all she knew, he could have said "Purple hippos were dancing outside" and she wouldn't have known any better. It took seconds for his words to actually process in her mind, meanwhile she's probably standing there staring at him like an idiot. When the words finally do reach home, her eyes widen, cheeks red, immediately embarrassed, and as usual when Misao is embarrassed, she tends to stammer.

"Aaah! I'm sooo sorry! I'm so so so so sorry! I'm so so so so stupid! Let me get this plate out of your way Aoshi-sama I'll be right back with your tempora udon like I meant to get the first time ughhhh I can't believe I'm so dumb I can't…"

And make costly mistakes.

Aoshi didn't hear what she was saying, didn't care what she was saying the moment his name left her lips. In a rare moment in his life, he was caught off guard, and it even showed on his faced, with the widening of his eyes.

"Aoshi-sama?"

Misao was rambling when she heard him say his own name, questioning her. She then recounts everything she said, her rambling….she had said his name!

And from the look in his eyes, he wants answers.

If she had thought his stare was intense before, it was even worse now.

Well, I guess I'm somewhat pleased with this chapter, and I have to say it's longer than I intended, though I'm not complaining, since I myself love long chapters. Hopefully it didn't stink too much. That's the thing with writing (or typing in this case), I love thinking of my stories, and being creative, but I just stink at writing. I think I've somewhat improved from my old stuff, but I feel like I'm not good at conveying my thoughts into actual feelings and then into words. But hopefully you all liked it so far, let me know what you think. I bet you are all wondering what happened to Misao, don't worry, that will be addressed next chapter.

I've just been inspired to write a story not only on the BEST, yup said it, BEST couple in RK that being A&M, but to write a story that was during the Kanryu time frame. Look, I love aoshi and misao being together, but….sometimes I get so depressed because I can't help but feel like if Aosh had never come across Kenshin….thus, the disaster never having ever happened at the Kanryu estate, would he have ever been with Misao? Would they have ever been together? Are they only together because Hanyaa and the others are dead, and thus Aoshi is stuck having to go back? If so….that's kind of depressing. So, I came up with this story, to try and convince myself that regardless, Aoshi and Misao WOULD have been together….if this rant at all makes sense to you guys…hahahaha.

Oh, and I do not own the song Chasing Pavements by Adele. If your confused by the choice of song, don't worry, it doesn't make perfect sense yet, but it will. Think of the song as forshadowing what is to come later. ;)