Title : Christmas Present

Settings: Meiji Era. Misao, 16 years old. Aoshi, 26 years old.

Warnings: Some amount of OOCness and harsh language.

Summary: Misao preparing a Christmas present for her beloved 'you know who'.

Approximately four months have passed since the last fight Yukishiro Enishi. Kenshin, Sanosuke, Kaoru, Tsubame and Yahiko were invited to Aoiya to celebrate Christmas together.

"Yahiko, hold the chair still" Misao commanded.

"Stop complaining!. I'm trying my best here. Why don't you get your Aoshi sama to place it for you then?"

Yahiko replied with an irritated tone as he strengthened his grip on the wooden chair.

"Well, Aoshi sama was meditating and I don't think it's a good idea to disturb him" Misao answered.

"I was practicing with my wooden sword when you dragged me here" Yahiko protested.

Misao let out a heavy sigh.

"Look, Yahiko. I apologize to have dragged you here. Would you be more cooperative so that we can finish this quickly?" she stated.

Yahiko grunted.

Misao carefully placed the neatly decorated mistletoe on Aoiya entrance door. She stared at it for a while before she showed a smile of satisfaction.

"Yahiko" she called the younger boy.

"Now what?" Yahiko responded lazily.

"Do you know the magic of mistletoe?"

Yahiko shrugged his head horizontally.

"Any couple who managed to kiss underneath mistletoe will get married in near future" she explained.

"So, are you going to ask mister dark and handsome to kiss you underneath it?" Yahiko smirked.

"What?. I didn't say a word about that"

Misao flushed.

"Oh, I forgot that you're such a coward when it comes to love relationship" Yahiko started to mock his opponent.

"I'm not a coward and I definitely will ask Aoshi sama to kiss me underneath the mistletoe!" Misao claimed as she jumped from the wooden chair.

"Why don't you practice here so I can give you some suggestions" Yahiko continued.

"Well, if you insist"

Misao cleared her throat.

"Oh ma' Lord Aoshi. It'll be a great honor for this sinful woman to be granted a chance to steal a kees from your leeps" she declared in an exaggerated accent.

Yahiko stood still for a moment before he burst into laughter.

"You sounded stupid!. Who do you think you are?. A mad French lady?" he spoke out.

The poor boy was responded by Misao's famous anger kick that successfully hit the side of his head.

Aoshi was about to drink his tea when all of sudden the shoji door of his room slid opened revealing a rooster head street fighter and a red haired samurai.

"Hey, Shinomori san. Let's go to the Shirobeko for lunch. The old geezer said that the restaurant has been serving Chinese food since two weeks ago and I've been craving for Chinese food lately" Sanosuke said as he rubbed his growling tummy.

"Did your parents teach you to knock first before entering someone's room?"

Aoshi complained as he placed his teacup back to the desk.

"I guarantee that you'll like the food" Sanosuke added.

"I'm afraid to say that Chinese food isn't the only thing Sano was craving for" Kenshin sighed.

"What do you mean by that?" Aoshi raised an eyebrow.

"Well, all waitresses there are….hmmmph!"

Kenshin had not even finished his word when Sano blocked his mouth with both hands.

"Just come with us and you'll see" Sanosuke smirked.

Aoshi felt that something unfortunate was about to happen when he noticed Sanosuke's evil grin.

"Sanosuke!, where do you think you're going?. We still haven't finished decorating the Christmas tree in the living room"

Kaoru who was passing through the corridor with a huge box of Christmas decorations on her hands protested.

"Sorry, missy. I'll deal with that later. We have an urgent call" Sanosuke replied while dragging Kenshin with him.

"Aoshi san, what the hell is going on here?"

Kaoru averted her gaze to the tall and dark man beside her.

"That rooster head is up to something evil"

Aoshi replied promptly before following Sanosuke.

"Something evil?"

Kaoru repeated as she tilted her head to the right side looking confused.

"Yo!, Tae!. It's been a while" Sanosuke greeted a waitress near the entrance door.

"Sanosuke san, how many times do I have to tell you that my name is Sae. Tae is my twin sister" Sae complained.

"Sorry about that. Anyway, I'm bringing two customers with me" Sanosuke continued.

"I'll let the newcomer guide you to our finest seat so please wait here"

Sae smiled before she left the place.

Aoshi explored his surroundings carefully and his eyes stopped at some waitresses who giggled at him. He finally noticed Sanosuke's main purpose for eating lunch at the Shirobeko. All of the waitresses were wearing China dress and Sanosuke was busy gawking at more than half exposed female legs passing by in front of him.

"Aoshi, you're quite popular here. Aren't you?"

Kenshin said as he pointed at several girls drooling at the gentleman sitting beside him.

"Not really" Aoshi replied as he averted his gaze away.

"You don't have to be modest about that. Everyone knows how popular you are among girls" Kenshin concluded as he sipped his Oolong tea.

"Poor weasel girl. She will have to fight those girls for the rest of her life" Sanosuke chuckled.

"May I take your order, Sir?" a waitress dressed in bright red China dress asked.

"Speak of the devil, here she is" Kenshin said.

Aoshi turned around and his eyes met those familiar ice blue eyes.

"A-Aoshi sama!"

Misao who didn't expect to see Aoshi nearly drop her tray to the floor in panic.

"What are you doing here?" he asked curiously.

"Err… part time job" she replied nervously.

"I have no doubt that Okina provides you with pocket money every month" he added.

"Well, I need more to buy something" she rolled her eyes.

"What is that something?" Aoshi gave a serious look.

"I can't tell you" she answered promptly.

"Hey guys, you better continue your fight at home. I'm so hungry that I might die" Sanosuke complained.

"Misao dono, please bring us today's special lunch" Kenshin ordered politely.

"Certainly" Misao replied after she wrote down the order and left the place in a hurry.

Aoshi stared blankly at the dining table in front of him while thinking seriously. To be honest he was curious about what Misao was hiding from him. He frowned when a negative thought of Misao having a secret boyfriend crossed his mind.

"Psst!, Shinomori san"

Aoshi was brought back to reality by Sanosuke's words.

"I didn't know that the weasel girl has beautiful legs to be stared at"

The poor street fighter was replied with a hard kick on his right shank causing him to cry out loud in pain.

Misao smiled as she glanced at the high-rank green tea package on her right hand. It costs her more than a half of her part time salary for two weeks.

She was about to enter the Aoiya when her eyes caught two figures coming out from inside the restaurant. She immediately hid herself behind a huge plum tree nearby. The light already went out since the restaurant was closed earlier for Christmas celebration. Misao gasped when she noticed two faces revealed by the moonlight.

"Tsubame" Yahiko called the smaller girl in front of him as they faced each other underneath the mistletoe.

"What is it, Yahiko kun?" Tsubame replied with a sweet smile on her face.

"Do you know about the magic of mistletoe?" he asked.

Tsubame stared at the so-called thing above her for a while.

"I really have no ideas about Western belief" she answered shortly.

"It's a promise of marriage"

Tsubame's face turned paprika red.

Yahiko took both of her hands and stared at her seriously.

"I'm not yet an adult but I promise I'll become stronger and when the time comes I want… I want…."

Yahiko gulped nervously while Tsubame froze in amusement.

"I want you to be my bride" Yahiko said after a long pause.

Tsubame smiled happily as tears escaped from both of her eyes.

"My pleasure" she replied.

Yahiko let out a relief smile before he leaned forward to kiss her.

That impudent brat sure is a true gentleman, Misao thought as she shed her tears of joy.

She tiptoed her way to the Aoiya and entered from the back door in order not to disturb the happy couple. She saw drunken Kenshin sang along song with drunken Okina while Kaoru were giggling like crazy with Omasu and Ochika. Silently she climbed the stairs and proceeded her way to the room at the corner.

Meanwhile, Aoshi was busy writing an investigation report. It usually was a piece of cake for him because he has been doing the job from since he was fifteen. However, today was different. He kept misspelled some words and ended up filling his desk with numerous crumpled papers. He was even thinking to drink a huge bottle of sake to chill down but he ended up throwing away the thought since he knew that he'll end up blabbering like an idiot when he is drunk.

Misao is sixteen and it's obvious for a girl of her age to be involved in a love relationship, he thought.

Unfortunately, he has no choice but to admit that a part of him wanted to claim both her body and soul as the property of his own.

Knock!, Knock!

"Come in" he said after tossing those crumpled papers to the trashcan.

Misao slid the shoji door opened and walked in.

"Aoshi sama, I'm sorry for disturbing your peaceful time" she apologized after she closed the shoji door behind her.

"Never mind" he replied as he placed his book back to the bookshelf then turned around to face her.

She kneeled in front of him and took something from her front pocket.

"Merry Christmas, Aoshi sama"

She muttered as she handed him a package of high-rank green tea.

He examined his Christmas present with a look of surprise. At last he realized how stupid he was to have mistrusted her behavior.

"Thank you, Misao" he said calmly.

She smiled at him shyly.

"Do have any request for your Christmas present?" he asked.

"Would…you…. kiss me…. underneath…the mistletoe?" she uttered nervously.

After a long moment that seemed like forever he finally nodded to her request. Her lips formed a happy smile. She guided him to the entrance door and stood below the mistletoe.

"Misao" he called her.

"Yes, Aoshi sama?" she replied.

"Although I might not be able to provide you with a happily ever after I promise that I will protect you until the end" he stated firmly.

"Aoshi sama, to be by your side is a happily ever after for me" Misao replied with a big smile.

He smiled back at her before leaning forward to lock his lips fully on hers in a long and passionate kiss.

The End

Author's Note: I'd like to apologize to Shinomori's woman for disappointing her with my last chapter. My brain was cracking (still now, LOL) at that time. This one is a token of my apology. I hope you like it (^-^)V. See you all again next time in…lemony fics collection, perhaps? (LOL).

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