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Dec 10, 2011 : Format fixed

Speech - Thoughts

Speech - Memories

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Wahoo! Here's the next chappie. Wouldn't expect the others to come at anywhere near this speed though. *sighs* The joys of writer's block.

Anyway, I didn't check the grammar on this one (too lazy, hehe), so If there's any mistake, feel free to point it out, I need to improve my English. Gracias!

Kyme-chan: Actually, I read your story after I started writing the third chapter of mine. By the way, I love your stories, especially "Catching a Hold of you". My story is a bit disjointed? *scratches her head* I'll be more careful with the next chapters then.

Sharai Darekin: Thanks for the encouragement!

nekonomiko: Yes, Aoshi-sama is a bit thick, isn't he? I'll just have to knock some sense into him, hehe.

MoonPhoenix: I can live with that *smiles*

Cat H: Thanks! I'll try to make it enough of a priority for you, then *hint, hint*

bee: And I had a great time writing it, believe me. Hey sugar, I'm waiting for the next chapter of "Lingering Fragances"!

Venus Smurf: thanks a lot, sugar! you made me happy *smiles Soujiro style*. And yes, my native language is Spanish. You couldn't tell?

FyBanditGrl: Here's next chapter, be happy :)

Mary-Ann: Yes, Saitou is gonna be here *evil laugh* I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Actually, this wasn't intended to be a comedy, but I found out I can't be completely serious when dealing with our favorite weasel.

ran-chan: Yeah, no one knows what goes on in that head of his. I'll try not to get too deep into his thoughts, and let you find out what happens at the same time he does.

Disclaimer: This again? *grumbles* I don't own them, ok? I'm a poor university student who should be studying if she doesn't want to fail this semester.

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Chapter 4

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Hours later, Misao stood in front of the stuffy-looking building. Police men mingled about, some of them occasionally looking in her direction. She was winded from all the running she had done (most of it around the Aoiya), she was tired, she was angry, she was hot, and she definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with the conceited Mibu wolf.

She had searched high and low, but Okon hadn't been nowhere in sight. And so, after almost an hour of fuming, she had suddenly realized she was late. And she knew Saitou was capable of sending her back home and re-scheduling the meeting if she was. Misao wanted this to be over with as soon as possible, so she had (regretfully, grumpily and cursing Okon all the while) put on the kimono. It was either that or the dress.

She started walking towards the main door, with the small steps she now knew were necessary if she didn't want to trip. She unconsciously wondered how Kaoru managed to chase Yahiko and even fight in a kimono. She would have to learn how to do that.

Saitou lit up a cigarette while reclining on his chair. His clock ticked incessantly and it showed only three minutes before 5. The wolf arose from his seat and walked towards the door, taking a key out of his pocket, and putting it on the keyhole. A faint sound of footsteps could be heard. Saitou smirked and took out the key, returning it to his pocket.

"I'm a busy man, you know" He said while returning to his chair, not even bothering to look behind him. "I don't have time to lose waiting for lazy weasels"

Misao seethed in anger. She stepped into the room and calmly slammed the door, almost tearing it off its hinges.

"What the hell do you want Saitou? You better have a good reason for making me come here. I'm a busy woman too" Her voice was annoyed, as she slumped over into a chair.

Saitou raised an eyebrow at her, surprised to see her out of her usual outfit.

"So I have been told" he said, sounding like he'd just been told about the weather. "What's with the kimono? New technique to catch Shinomori? " He said, not even batting an eyelash when a kunai imbedded itself to the wood next to his left ear. He smirked.

"Interesting way of doing business weasel" A puff of smoke left his lips as he retrieved the small object and started twirling it around. "Is that a way to treat a potential business associate?"

Misao stood in front of her chair. Upon hearing Saitou's words, she sat again, growling quietly. She needed the police's cooperation. And that meant she couldn't kill Saitou just yet. "Yeah, whatever. What is it that Kouga couldn't answer? I sent you all the details"

"I don't like doing business with subordinates. You are proposing a secret alliance, you should know the meaning of secret" Saitou said, taking out a stack of papers Misao recognized to be the ones Kouga had brought, and the same ones Okina had 'helped' her with days before.

"Of course I know the meaning of the word! That's why I sent you a folder! Even Kouga didn't know what was in it! It's not my fault you're too conceited to trust anyone!" Misao bristled.

Saitou just looked bored, occasionally glancing at his pocket watch. The weasel was becoming predictable, even her tirades weren't as amusing as they used to be.

"You should learn too, weasel. Anyone could have read that folder. And stop looking at me like that, your hateful look is pitiful" Another two kunai, one of them actually cutting through the cigarette he had been holding in his hand. He raised an eyebrow. She had gotten better.

"You do realize what you're proposing, right?" His tone had changed, no trace of mockery now. Misao blinked.

"Of course I do. The Oniwabanshuu could be a great help for the police. All of our connections aren't just there for the sake of it you know, and I really don't want to work for the highest bidder, even if it means working with YOU"

Saitou nodded, amused at her attempt to sneer at him. He flipped the pages of the thick report casually. "And to think it actually makes sense" there was that annoying mocking tone again.

"And what's THAT supposed to mean?

"Means that it seems you finally got a brain. And act like it, before I change my mind" Saitou said casually, drawing another cigarette from his pocket. He could hear very well her mumbled threats and her cursing, assuming she even cared if he heard her or not. Probably the latter, but he really didn't care. It had been a long time since he had someone to amuse him like this.

He lit a match, lit his cigarette and then, tossed Misao's folder into the trash can. And dumped the lit match into it.

Misao jaw went to the floor. "Wha… What the hell do you think you're doing!" Had she screeched? Yup, by the wince on Saitou's face, she had. She had worked hard on that thing! It was one of her greatest ideas yet! And now the flames were enveloping it like it had been some sort of garbage! She felt beyond angry!

Saitou was taken back a little when he saw that the weasel girl was actually GLARING at him. Not her usual pitiful excuse of a glare, but one that could put Battousai's golden I'll-kill-you-now glare to shame. So, the weasel girl had suddenly grown a backbone, uh? Maybe all that hanging around Shinomori had actually taught her a thing or two.

"I read it already. The idea is good, as amazing as it sounds. I think it may be worth a try" The ex-shinsen said. Upon seeing her clenched fists, he decided to elaborate. "SECRECY weasel. Meaning you don't leave your secrets laying about for anybody to discover. Now stop sulking, we have an alliance to establish"

He hadn't lived so many years of conflicts without learning a few things. He had faced the most deadly opponents and the worst situations. But even he had to admit that there was nothing scarier than an angry woman. His years married to Tokio had seen to that.

Misao blinked a few times, still trembling with anger. What did he say? . Still trying to grasp the meaning of his words, she shook her head a few times. Her mood lightened suddenly. Sure, she still hated him for dumping all her work, but at least now she knew it had not been useless. Besides, she could always get revenge, couldn't she?

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A couple of hours later, the deal was closed. Misao had to admit that, once Saitou had changed into his business persona, he had become a lot more bearable.

Unfortunately, that only extended to business. Which meant that, now that it was over, he could go back to annoy the hell out of her.

The young ninja was on her way home. She kicked a pebble out of her way, almost losing her geta in the process. She was thankful Saitou hadn't made any more comments on her kimono, the first one had been enough. Even if he had cast several amused glances at it.

Amused. She kicked another rock out of her way. Why did everyone find her change so amusing? Strange, maybe, but amusing? She'll show them. She wasn't a little girl anymore! And why the hell did he think she did it for Aoshi? Argh!

She kicked yet another pebble that dared cross her path. And this time, her geta went along with it. Into the river.

Just perfect.

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Perfectly coordinated moves, one after the other, flowing with grace, done almost effortlessly. It was a routine he had mastered to perfection. Sweat glistened on his brow as he did yet another set of movements.

In the end, it had been this what made him at peace with himself. Not the fighting, but the ART. After the ShiShio episode, he had distanced himself from it, wanting to redeem himself at the temple, refusing even to spar. But no matter how many hours he spent at the temple, or how much he meditated, he still felt the same. Sometimes even worse. So, he meditated some more. Later on, he had realized THAT had been the problem. He was living in the past, constantly relieving the memories he so desperately wanted to forget.

He had moved on. Which, he had discovered, wasn't the same as forgetting. And, he liked this new routine better than getting a leg cramp or a sore butt at the temple. Misao was right, he really tended to overdo things at times.

He stopped in mid-kick. Misao had often gone into the temple to serve him tea, trying to engage him into conversation. At first, she had been on his way, taking away precious self-punishing time. Really, had he been such a masochist? He realized now that those tea-breaks were the only really peaceful moments he had during that time. Somehow, Misao had not given up when he barely spoke to her and had… well, he really didn't know how she had done it, but he had come to actually listen to what she had to say. And she had more insight than everyone gave her credit for. Yeah, he had been surprised.

Aoshi lowered his body to the ground. He had been training for a couple of hours now. He lay on the floor, his chest heaving from the exertion and his heart thumping in his ears. And speaking about Misao, he wondered how did her meeting with Saitou had gone. Okina had told him were she had gone just before he started training. Knowing Saitou and, more importantly, knowing Misao, he suspected it had gone anything but smooth.

"Aoshi-sama?" He turned his head to meet the owner of that voice. Surely enough, it was Misao, dressed for training, and carrying a training dummy.

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Misao had returned to the Aoiya, in one of her angriest moods ever. She had had to recover the geta (which she had borrowed from Omasu), and had gotten her socks wet in the process. Not a nice thing in the middle of the fall. That, coupled with her earlier misfortunes, had made her change into her training clothes almost without thought. She certainly hadn't expected to find Aoshi sprawled over the floor, however.

"Misao" Aoshi acknowledged. He really didn't want to get up just yet, so he stayed put.

Misao left her dummy by the door and sat by his side. Aoshi could tell she was angry about something.

"How was it?" Straight to the point. So Aoshi-like.

"You have no idea how much I hate that man" Aaaaand.. here we go. Aoshi listened patiently as she told him all that had happened, glad he was lying on the floor and not sitting by her side. She had the habit of moving her hands around when she was telling a story, and he really didn't need a black eye.

He had to admit, he was impressed when she described her plan. She had told him the general outline, but to actually hear all the details… well, at least now he understood why she had been a little more than a zombie a couple of weeks before. Probably staying up late thinking all of this.

Misao stopped her tirade before telling him about the river incident. Of course, she had conveniently forgotten to tell him about Saitou's assumptions about her kimono. She didn't need further embarrassment. Then, she proceeded to plop herself onto the floor like Aoshi had. Her right hand brushed his left arm. She left it there, not minding the contact in the slightest. He apparently didn't either, but probably because he just didn't care.

A couple of minutes passed in silence, neither of them moving. Suddenly, Aoshi sat up and faced the young woman besides him. "Rest is over" he said while getting up.

"Uh?" Misao said intelligently, looking at him like he had just grown another head.

"You came here to train, did you not?" A nod.

"Let's get to training then" he said, offering her a hand.

Misao's expression went from confused to understanding, and then, she smiled that huge smile of hers. Aoshi liked to see her smile, it suited her better. The petite ninja took the offered hand, and let him pull her to her feet.

"You haven't trained with me since you came back. Why now?" A perfectly innocent question. But also a dangerous one. He wasn't sure himself. The idea had just sprang into his mind, after hearing her rant about her awful day. Something along the lines of 'making her smile'. Well, it had worked, hadn't it? But seeing her look up at him with those questioning eyes… those huge, blue, bottomless eyes… he just…

"A…Aoshi-sama?" Why was he looking at her like that? She felt a tingle across her spine. His eyes were… well, almost… soft? And her brain was turning into mush. She mentally kicked herself. HELLO? You're getting over him, remember? You're not going to let yourself be beaten by a look. No matter how much you want to.

"It sounds like you could use the distraction" Aoshi blinked as soon as the words left his mouth. Well, it was the truth. "Well? Are you up to the challenge?"

Misao smirked. "You don't know what you're asking for"

He raised an eyebrow. "Pretty confident, aren't you?"

"Yup. Here I go!"

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Another hour later, Misao found herself sprawled into the floor, looking a lot like Aoshi had when she found him. Who, by the way, was next to her, mirroring her position, although he didn't look nearly as tired.

"Damn. My whole body aches!. Leave it to me to spar with you the day after a 7-hour training session. Remind me to kill Okon and Omasu later. Sae too, for that matter"

"You've improved your skills, even if you were a bit stiff. I see no reason to complain about it" Misao smacked him lightly on the arm, too tired to do anything else. "For your information I have all the reasons in the world to complain, and you're making it sound as if I was whining, which I was NOT"

Aoshi blinked. Whoa, maybe she was a little more stressed than she let out. He couldn't guess for the life of him what had he said to make her mad. Women were weird. Correction: Misao was just herself. And that little phrase was explanation enough for him.

That had to be first time ever that she had talked back to him. There were definite good things about this getting-over business. She wasn't concerned about his reaction, she just did it. And it felt good. Of course, there was nothing to worry about in the first place, because he never reacted to anything, but it felt good nonetheless. It did help he had just complimented her. Maybe he was finally realizing her value as a ninja.

"You must train more" Or maybe not.

"Didn't you just say I had improved a lot?" Misao asked, her mouth forming a little 'o'

"For someone who trains alone, yes. From now on, I'll train you" Aoshi said, sitting up. He was telling the truth, she had gotten a lot better. And to keep telling the truth, he had enjoyed sparring with her. Beat sparring with your shadow any day. Besides, he had forgotten how fulfilling it could be to teach someone the art.

""Thank you!" Aoshi only had time to blink before a certain dark haired girl attached herself to his neck, almost throwing him to the ground and choking him to death. Almost immediately, she let him go, and ran to the door.

"You won't regret it!" all he could see now was the end of her braid. Same Misao as always.

Still a little blue from the lack of oxygen, he sat up, trying to regain his breath. Now, if only he could figure out why had he had found himself so mesmerized by her a while ago…

Misao was pretty. That he knew. And there was no denying it either, because anyone could see that. The way her beautiful features lightened when she smiled… Whoa, wait a second. Just when had his mind replaced the 'pretty' with 'beautiful'? This was Misao, for Kami's sake! He shouldn't even consider thinking about her under that light. Unless… he had already done it. Time out! He had not and would not think of Misao under a romantic light, ever! Appreciative, yes, but romantic? No way!. He was supposed to have an ice chunk for a heart.

Aoshi shook his head all the way to the bathhouse. He had a lot to think about.

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There are some things you just don't do. Such as sitting alone with no distractions when you want to forget about something. Or thinking for hours when there's something you'd rather not think about. Seems like Aoshi hadn't learned his lesson yet.

Which each passing thought, he seemed to sink lower into the bathtub.

That night, it was Aoshi's turn to learn you could NOT breathe underwater.

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End of Chapter 4

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Hehe, Saitou is one of my favorite characters. So… sneaky and conceited *hearts in her eyes*

Is Aoshi finally seeing the light? Sure, whatever. This is Aoshi we're talking about here.

Wanna drop me a review?

Verito-chan