Disclaimers: I don't own RuroKen, they belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.
January,
By Winterwing3000
"The dull red clouds filtered heavily in the sky, so it might be snowing…" she noted, looking out the living room windows.
"Hn," he barely glanced her way, as he continued sitting in his Indian style on the floor.
Four years ago, Makimachi Misao transferred to Kyoto High School from Tokyo, leaving Okina's care. Somehow, the old man managed to contact him (when he was trying to avoid the perverted elder) and asked him to take care of her. Grudgingly, he allowed the teenager to stay with him, even knowing that her temper and teenage rashness would one day make him regret the action.
And he did… when he fell hard… for her.
"Hey, come on, why are you so gloomy? I think snow complements your atmosphere soooo well. So cheer up!" The sarcasm was very hard to miss as she commented on his tendency to be cold and uncaring at times.
And she had learnt that the hard way.
Being only 16 at the time, her friends and she had somehow smuggled themselves into a club, forgetting that her current guardian, Shinomori Aoshi, had people keeping tabs on her to ensure her safety and well being. The one with the Oni Mask, Hannya, her friend and guard had seen her and dragged her out, scaring quite a crowd with his irregular looking face.
When she was placed in his study, tension brewed itself as she stood near the armchair where he was sitting, the fire crackling hauntingly. The disfigured dark shadows were drawn upon the tanned walls and white curtained windows. She heard the slightest rustling of clothing as he stood up from his seat. She concentrated hard at staring at her feet, unable to make eye contact.
"You've disappointed me Misao. What would Okina think if I told him that his granddaughter is running wild with those disgusting mongrels? And to a club nonetheless?" his tone was harsh, though his face betrayed nothing.
"I'm sorry, but I just needed to get away…" she whispered, clasping her hands behind her back.
"From what? I've provided you everything ever since you've arrived to my estate. What more do you need?" he demanded, tilting her chin up as he glared into her eyes.
"Misao…" The warning of threat was physically sounded as he shifted in his position.
"Hai, Aoshi?" The overly sweet reply came, taking on the challenge in pestering him.
"You know very well that I do not tolerate things such as that…" Dusting himself off as he stood up.
"Oohhh! It's snowing!" The excitement was barely contained in her voice as she jumped merrily, completely ignoring his words.
"Have you not heard a word that I said?" The dryness lingered as he slowly followed the girl down the hall, watching as she carelessly threw on a spring sweater and a wool scarf.
"I heard you loud and clear. I was just teasing anyways, but now, let's go and have some real fun!" The twinkling diamonds in her dark sapphire eyes and childish smile flashed warmly at him.
"Hn…" Indifference was his response as he leaned on the wall, closing his eyes briefly to avoid the sudden sharp blow of gusting air as she opened the door.
"Aw… Aoshi! Scared of some snow?" The teasing rose again from the thirty seconds of death.
"Whatever…" Trying to sound detached was impossible when she skillfully aimed a pebble from the dirty ground, which bounced off his forehead, coating it with white powdery substance.
"Misao…" A growl emitted from his throat as he moved towards her, eyes narrowed a fraction.
The fire flared brightly as it broke down another layer of the log. The shadows became more intimidating as it blended the two into darkness.
"I wanted to be free. Free from this entrapment because I feel tied down since you always keep me in this house twenty-four seven! I want to enjoy my life and be like other kids! To have friends, a relationship, and to have fun! But I can't get anything here… I need someone to hold me when I'm lonely; I need someone who really cares for me…" she whispered, turning her head out of his grasp. There, she said it. She wanted someone to care deeply for her, and already knew that he wasn't going to be the one.
He fumed in silence as he got a negative answer for all that he's done for her. Does she not see what her accursed magic has done to him?
"Look at me…" he said huskily, taking his forefinger to lead her face towards his as she refused to do it herself.
"Come catch me Aoshi!" Her giggles reached his ears as she jumped down from the veranda and ran to the mansion's back garden.
"Sometimes I do regret telling Hannya and Beshimi to teach you kenpo," he muttered to himself as he slipped on his shoes and leather trench coat and headed outside to start the game of chase.
"Doushite…?" she mumbled, her face was impassive with quiet distress, with her eyes reverted to the floor.
"To show you… that I care…" he barely muttered before slamming his lips on hers, pulling her closer by the chin.
"Mmf!" Was the little shock she expressed, along with the large innocent eyes widening with surprise, which soon melted away as they drifted shut.
"Omph! Ow… I told you to catch me… not knock me out of my senses…" she whined as he slammed both of their bodies onto the snow-covered ground, with him atop of her.
"Catch you means jump you, no difference," he pointed out, holding himself up with his elbows so he didn't crush her small form.
"Iya… when did you get so perverted Aoshi? Talking too much with Jiya on the phone? I think Hannya also said something about it too…" she mocked; twisting his words as she playfully squirmed from underneath him since his legs were still tangled with hers.
"Influence from Okina… highly unlikely. It's just your own mind Misao," he scoffed, raising his eyebrows as he saw the definite blush on her cheeks.
'Damare' was the muffled reply as she buried her face in his jacket to hide her blush and taking a deep breath of his wonderfully spicy smell.
"Gomen nasai!" she gasped out, as they broke apart from the kiss. Inwardly panicking, she pushed herself from his hold and ran out the door and into the wintry night, missing the furrowed look on his face. On the way, she managed to unceremoniously bump into her training mentor.
"HANNYA!" she cried, throwing her hands around his waist as she cried into his shirt with him smoothing the ruffled hair in a reassuring way.
"What is it little one?" he asked, looking down at her with his mask gleaming in the winter moon. Rarely had he seen the young girl in such state of anxiousness and distress. However, there were times, as he did his rounds of night patrol, he would hear light sobs.
"I… he… so confused… why me?"her words were broken as each hiccup disrupted her explanation.
"Calm yourself and then tell me what's wrong," he said in a fatherly tone, hoping that Shikijo, Hyottoko, and Beshimi were already asleep… deep asleep.
Steadying her voice and shaking, she stumblingly told him what had happen and of course, being the top A+ student he always was throughout his education years, he had put two and two together to get a whole jumble of mess that his best friend had made.
"I see…" was all he said after she finished her tale. And there were two ways to solve this. One: Lock them in the room until they talk things over. Two: Keep them away from each other… permanently.
However, knowing his friend… neither would suit him. But… he supposed that he wouldn't try anything dangerous… if they were to be locked in the evacuation refuge… would he?
Two evenings later…"Hannya! I demand you to open this door this instant!"Aoshi raged, banging his fists on the metal door… locked on the outside with Misao on the inside.
"Learn your lesson first dear friend. And do stay warm; it will be a cold night." Hannya chuckled as he fastened the last lock to the door. Shikijo placed the large garden boulder in front of the door… just in case Aoshi tried anything with those kodachis.
Misao sat quietly near the back of the box like house used for earthquakes or emergencies, then lit candle next to her. There was also a few more matches, candles, some water and bags of chocolate mint cookies, and a couple of thick, fluffy blankets.
"Shimatta…" Aoshi muttered, sliding down the door with his back facing it.
"So what do we do now?" Misao whispered, she felt… uncomfortable with him for the first time. All those times that she usually spent with him in his study talking to him freely of anything was now like a dream.
"I…" Confusedly, the guardian combed the front of his black bangs backwards with one hand, showing uneasiness and befuddlement at the situation.
"I think it is about time that we should be heading in now," Aoshi said, pulling them both up from the ground, now covered in snow.
"Hm… I was thinking of spending the whole day here with you, since Hannya and the others went to buy something." Misao tapped his nose lightly as they stood under the white scenario.
"Speaking of them…just where did they go?"Aoshi asked, with weary eyes.
"… Why did they lock us in here?" he turned to look at her, the dark eyes flickering in the small lighting.
"I… I don't know,"Was the small reply as Misao turned her full attention to candle.
"You've been ignoring me,"he bluntly said, getting a little nearer to the light.
"Aa… I… know I did."
"And I think that it was the reason that they've locked us in here."
"Oh…"
Misao tried deeper into the refuge, only to hit the wall and watched as Aoshi quietly approached her, the silence prolonging.
"N-nani?"
"Where did they go?"Aoshi said, an eyebrow disappearing behind the curtain of black bangs.
"I… don't know. Maybe the corner store?" Misao gave him a nervous innocent smile.
He just looked at her with bland eyes, her lie apparent.
"…Ano… maybe we SHOULD go in…" She giggled anxiously, hating the fact that he could catch her every time.
"… I was scared." That had caught his attention since Misao saw his head snap up at her voice.
A small inclining of his head told her to continue.
"… I had a boyfriend back in Tokyo… his name was Soujirou, and he was a pretty nice guy… that was until I found out that… he had died in a car crash two weeks before I was transferred. I… felt lost.
"He was my only source of security and warmth… and that night, he was coming to see me eve though it was raining just because I told him something that really stupid happened to me at school. And after that accident, I kept telling myself that it was my fault that he died. If I hadn't told him anything, then he would've been alive and well… I'm just scared that something would happen to that person if I … well, you know…"The girl explained meekly, twiddling her thumbs.
The candle flickered harmlessly.
"… Well, you know… ano… hey! Is that a rainbow!" The braided girl pointed above him.
Aoshi merely raised a black brow at her lame distraction.
Sighing in defeat, Misao pouted and shuffled her feet shyly, causing the snow to become powdery in the air. "I asked if Hannya and the others could leave the house to help me pick up something very special that's in Osaka. Jiya said that he bought something for me and it is really, really, really, really big… and he can't send it here with airmail because it would get damaged."
"And what would require four men to carry?" Aoshi asked bluntly.
"Um… something that you don't need to know…""…. You didn't need to know that… Misao no baka!" She scolded herself, wondering why she bothered telling him something so random.
"I see…"Aoshi said after learning a little more about her. He folded his legs into a lotus position as he sat in front of her. The dark shadows washed over his features, making him more intimidating than before.
"For one… I… would like to apologize for frightening you. However, you must understand that… I struggle to understand what is… this mutual feeling between us," he told her slowly, trying to choose the correct words to structure his complicated emotions, which at the moment was boiling from their closeness.
"… And what is this mutual feeling, Aoshi-san?"
"I…" he stumbled on the sentence with his mind reeling. What was this feeling anyways?
"I don't think so…" he accused her.
"Um… how about we play a game."
"I have no time for such foolish things Misao," he reminded her.
"And yet you always comply with my wishes…" she trailed off, smirking.
"Kuso…" he swore for the second time of the night as his mind faltered him.
"I…" Giving up at his hesitations, Aoshi just crept a bit closer to her and stretched out a hand to cup her chin.
Holding her face a few centimeters away from his, he breathed out. "May I?"
Gulping, Misao looked a little unsure but nodded wordlessly. What was this excited thumping inside her heart?
"We're playing a guessing game… so I start. Do you know what month this is?" she asked, hopefully.
"January," Aoshi answered brusquely.
"Do you know what date it is?" she asked, getting a little doubtful.
"13th," he said uncaringly once more.
"And…?" she prompted.
Their lips met in a soft whisper, lasting only a few seconds as Misao pulled back suddenly.
A blush stained her cheeks and the unnatural golden glow of the candle made her, if possible, more innocent.
"Ah… g-gomen. I'm just really… nervous. I mean… you're my guardian and all… demo…I'm willing to… ano… try that again… to … help us both figure out what this feeling is…" she suggested.
"That would be my pleasure," he whispered huskily, bending his face down to capture her lips with his again.
Just outside…
"Very good Aoshi… Okina would be delighted to hear this," Hannya chuckled.
"Hey, do you think Aoshi'll give us a raise for this?" Beshimi asked.
"I don't think he would exactly give us that…" Shikijo said.
"Misao-chan might change that… if you know what I mean…" Beshimi added slyly.
"Let's get something to eat. Aoshi and Misao might want to send some time alone," Hyottoko said, his stomach giving off a loud grumble.
"Aa. A small celebration to their newfound relationship I suppose. And Okina sent some sake…" Hannya nodded, leading the group into their own quarters for a liquor party.
"Happy birthday Aoshi," The masked man said.
"And what?" he said bluntly. "I'm aware of what the date is."
"Hmph. You're downer than down and its ruining my mood… and your present!" She pouted cutely, shaking her hair free of the snow and then tiptoed to flick at the snow that lightly stayed on his dark bangs.
"And that would be…?"
"Hm… not telling or showing cuz you made me sad," she turned her head away, putting her attention to the snow.
Sighing, Aoshi combed his hand through his hair and gave into her silly anger. Bending his back, the man gave the girl a quick peck on the lips.
"Hm… fine. But no peeking! So turn around!" she instructed, satisfied with the apology.
Grumbling in his mind like an ordinary child, Aoshi complied her wishes and faced the trees of his garden.
Misao, grinning like a Cheshire cat, quietly squatted down to gather some snow in her hands and then dug in her pocket for something familiar. Pulling it out, she dusted the snow onto the object and then told Aoshi to turn around.
"Here," she held out her hand, cupping a chain.
Aoshi silently picked up the chain from her hands and observed it with mild curiosity.
"A feather?" he remarked, somewhat dumbly.
"What does it look like? A cow?" she replied dryly.
The chain swayed lightly as a bone-chilling breeze swept through the garden, snow surrounding the mismatched couple. The single feather tied and clipped onto the silver necklace flittered in the wind, the small droplets of white swirling around it in a mystical sense.
"Okaa-san bought it for me before she passed away. She said it was supposed to bring fortune and good luck to those who wore it. But from where she heard it, it was only a legend. So you don't have to wear if you don't want it, it's childish anyways, me believing in fairy tails and myths. I know that you hate all these things so you could j—." Misao ranted and was silenced when Aoshi gently pressed his mouth to hers.
"Thank you for the gift," He murmured against her lips.
Blushing faintly, she whispered. "Happy Birthday Aoshi."
AN: Gah! Fluffy ending! . I'm losing my angsty touch here people! Lol, anywho, thank you Western Ink or Wstrn Ink and Lulu-Chan for betaing this for me! I really appreciated it! So review and tell me what you think of this! Please?