- Chapter 3: Author's Note: -

Hello again! Surprise!

I am back with another update. Let us hope that I will finish this tonight. Now, I have not planned out anything for sure; I tend to let my stories write themselves.

Let us see where the words take me today! :D

I do not own the original characters or plot-line of Rurouni Kenshin; those both belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Many Thanks,

-Ami

- Chapter 3: -

Misao's POV:

She fully expected someone to be awake and starting the workday in the Aoiya, seeing as it was currently four in the morning, and everyone starts waking up at this time. However, not a soul was in sight, which was troubling.

Misao threw a questioning glance upwards and at Aoshi; however, he had an intense look on his face as if concentrating on something. Aoshi stopped once they entered the Aoiya doors, and Misao focused her ears to the direction he was listening for something. Someone must have felt their approach to the Aoiya's front doors. Both Aoshi and Misao could hear their footsteps coming from the hallway to their left.

Aoshi and Misao stood facing the reception desk where two hallways met to make the reception room. The left hallway led to the Aoiya rooms and the Aoiya staff's bedrooms, while the right hallway led to the restaurant and kitchen.

Misao panicked, looked up, and to her right at Aoshi, who still held her. She flickered her eyes from the ground and to his arms which were still holding her.

His expression did not change, nor did his hold.

Misao sent Aoshi a look that demanded he let her down and then flicked her eyes to the left hallway where Okina would soon come from and see them in this compromising position. Okina would surely think that I'm together with him. Damnit, Aoshi, put me down. Misao wriggled in his arms and groaned at the pain of such action. She then locked eyes with Aoshi and saw his right eyebrow raise with a look that purely mocked her stupidity.

Misao sighed resolutely, and suddenly, an idea popped into her head. Surely it would work?

She relaxed into Aoshi's hold and tucked her head into his neck lovingly. It was hard to wipe the smirk off her face from the sheer intelligence of this action. On the one hand, Misao would be making Aoshi, the infamously unfeeling man, uncomfortable, and on the other hand, she would fool Okina.

A snort of disbelief and humor near silently releases from the stubborn man as he figures her plan of action.

Milliseconds later, Okina enters the room from the hall and stops dead in his tracks at sight before him. Misao lay "asleep" in his infamously stoic ex-leader's arms, and the man in question's eyes are noticeably soft on the young woman in his arms.

It takes but seconds for Okina to smell the blood and medicine coming from the two, and that is when Okina shouts in distress, "Misao!"

Misao, who was not expecting him to shout, startles in Aoshi's arms and opens her eyes. She then glared at Okina for his loudness and how it didn't help the ache in her temples and body.

Misao released a long-suffering sigh of irritation as she thought of ways to silence the grandfather she loved so dearly. From the strength of Okina's shout, she was sure to be bombarded by the others of the household, and her head began to ache more just thinking about that surety.

Gritting her teeth, she lightly patted Aoshi's shoulder and gestured with her head to the ground as if asking to be let down. Yet, Aoshi happened to ignore her stubbornly.

Misao then grumbles at Aoshi, "You could have at least told Okina, then I would be able to go straight to bed instead of having to deal with this right now when ALL I want to do right now is curl up and sleep in my bed." Sending a glare to Aoshi before switching targets to Okina, she then said, "Now Jiya, I've hardly slept, been poked and prodded by a doctor, and only want silence to beat this ever-growing migraine I have. Can we talk about what happened to me later?" Just as she was finishing her last question, the others barreled into the room one by one. Some came from the left hallway, and some from the right.

Omasu and Shiro seemed to be awake already and in the kitchens while the others were still in their sleeping clothes.

Their voices combined as they surrounded both Aoshi and her, and they began to be so loud that Misao's brain felt like it was shredding itself. Misao lifted her left hand and pressed it to her left ear to block everything out. Then she pressed her other ear to Aoshi's hard-but-comfortable pec muscle, and she curled into him, succumbing to her migraine.

Aoshi gently cuddled her closer into his chest and kept his voice low, mindful of her head splitting itself apart, when he said, "Enough. Misao needs rest; I will watch over her tonight. She will discuss this after she awakens."

Aoshi then walks, and the crowd divides so that Aoshi has room to take her into the left hallway. The others can only stare in shock at Aoshi's protectiveness. Nobody followed them, complying with Aoshi's authoritative command.

Omasu sighs happily and swoons into Okon and whispers loudly, "Finally! He's found his feelings."

Okon swooned into her sister in kind and whispered back quieter than her much louder twin sister Omasu, "Yes, finally."

Okina, Shiro, and Kuro stood there in silence, gazing upon the hallway Aoshi and Misao disappeared into with concern in their eyes. They worried about what exactly happened to Misao and how Aoshi came to be with her.

Back to Aoshi and Misao:

When Misao saw her room, she relaxed and craved the feeling of her blankets and bed cushioning her aching body.

However, Misao was unaware that Aoshi planned to take her to his room to rest. He wanted to be near her if anything should happen.

So, when Aoshi walked right past her room, Misao was ready to scream in agitation. However, when Misao saw where he was heading, her heart began to pound with anticipation of what this could mean. Thoughts raced in her mind; why is he taking me to his room? Could he be turning his heart to me? Oh, I hope!

-END OF CHAPTER: AUTHOR'S NOTE:-

Lol, what's gonna happen? Did I leave you guys on a sufficient cliff-hanger this time?

I'm so sorry about the long delay with writing. Between my birthday and work drama/family drama, sometimes one needs a mental rest.

Many Thanks,

-Ami

XOXO