Fate Beckons

Chapter 13: Romance Budding

Disclaimers apply

" Aoshi..." Misao murmured again. He smiled at her--a genuine smile, unforced and true, his first in many years. There was something in his eyes that made her feel warm... something that chased away the draught of cold air on wet skin.

Wet skin! Suddenly, she remembered that she was only wearing a tight, skimpy swimsuit and was probably dripping all over Aoshi! Luckily, they were in the gallery, away from view from the spectators' stand. If her friends ever saw them like this, she would never hear the end of it! Blushing, she pressed her hand against the railing, supporting herself upright. Aoshi let go of her waist, but his eyes never left hers.

"You were terrific just now. Just like a dolphin..." His words made her turn even redder. She turned to get her jacket, but before she could get hold of it, Aoshi had taken it off the bench for her (he does have longer arms after all) and put it around her shoulders. She slipped her hands into the sleeves, feeling rather remorseful. The jacket could keep her warm but it could never beat having Aoshi's arms around her, just like just now.

"Misao! Great job out there! We were screaming like crazy for you!" Megumi, Omasu and her other friends (minus Kaoru) suddenly ran up to her. "Of course we know you probably couldn't hear, but--" Megumi suddenly caught sight of Aoshi. "Who's he? Boyfriend ah?" she teased.

Omasu and Okon followed her gaze. "Aoshi?!" they both exclaimed at the same time

They know each other? Misao was rather astonished at the discovery. She looked at the three of them curiously. As if he had read her thoughts, Aoshi replied, "They are my friends Shiro and Kuro's sisters. We met in Secondary school when I went over to Kuro's house to do a project." Misao did recall that Omasu and Okon were neighbours, which explained their closeness.

She realised all of a sudden that her best friend was not among the small groups of friends that had gathered around her.

"Hey, where's Kaoru?" She looked around frantically, her eyes flitting all over the place. Usually, Kaoru would have been the first one to run up to her, congratulate her and then tease her like crazy. However, she was nowhere in sight this time round.

"She's...um...a little preoccupied," Megumi giggled, fox ears popping up. Okon and Omasu sported knowing grins, which was enough for Misao to exclaim, "Come on, tell me what's up!"

"Your um...coach is very (cough, cough) charming," Okon indicated towards the spectators' stand. Misao's eyes widened as what her friends were hinting at dawned on her.

"This, I've got to see!" She slipped into her tongs and sprinted to the spectators' stand, the others not far behind.

The sight that greeted her made her mouth fall open. Kaoru and Kenshin--the most unlikely couple (at least to Misao) were engrossed in conversation, and their eyes were shining...they were like kindred spirits.

And Misao just could not believe it.

Kaoru was signaling and signing away with her hands, probably trying to describe something. She and Kenshin both burst into laughter. And the more Misao observed them, the more they looked like a steady couple to her. She couldn't help but start hyperventilating nonstop, covering her mouth with her hands to muffle her frantic gasps for air.

"Never knew Ken-san could be so charming to anybody," Megumi cracked, coming up behind Misao.

"It's the first time I've seen that drill sergeant act so soft," Sano remarked, throwing a towel over his bare chest. He had just come out of the nearby changing room.

"Well, that's better than somebody who is never soft!" Megumi snapped.

"Isn't that better than an ah kua [transsexual, also meaning sissy]?" Sano retorted.

"To a chauvinist hard-head like you, maybe! But we women love guys who can be soft and romantic at times, has that ever occurred to you? Or is your head too thick for that to go in?"

"Watch what you say, hu li jing. The pot's calling the kettle black."

"In other words, you admit that you're hard-headed." The two of them continued bickering, as was the norm for them.

The greatest surprise, however, was yet to come. Aoshi stepped up beside Misao, his eyes narrowing when he caught sight of the short, wiry man with the easily distinguishable flaming red hair. Kenshin, too, seemed to sense Aoshi's presence and broke off his conversation with Kaoru, turning to face them.

Tension built up as the two men continued their staring match. Even Sano and Megumi had fallen silent.

"Shinomori Aoshi. I never thought we'd meet again so soon." Kenshin's voice broke the silence.

"It surprises me that NCO Himura Kenshin, once an elite commando, has become a swimming coach," Aoshi replied smoothly.

Kenshin nodded. "I no longer want that life where my orders and commands send young men closer to doom. Swimming has always been my passion, and I have made it my job to nurture our future national champions." He looked at Sano, Megumi and Misao, actually smiling. "What brings you here, by the way?"

Aoshi looked fondly at Misao, slipping his arm around her. "To support someone close to me," he said softly. A look of understanding filled Kenshin's eyes. "Aah, you're regaining your footing again," he murmured, so softly that Misao was able to hear it only due to her sharp ears. She couldn't help feeling rather curious about it. When did Aoshi and Kenshin get to know each other? Oh, yeah, the army...but they don't seem to be too comfortable around each other...

" Competitors for the next event, Under-14 Boys' 100 fly, please get ready." Kaoru gave an excited yelp: It was Yahiko's event! They all scrambled up to the first row of the bleachers, eagerly anticipating the much-publicized close competition that was about to take place. All the competitors in that event had astonishingly near-similar timings.

"...Lane 2, Li3 Bu4 Xing2(anyone catch the lame joke in that name?). Lane Three, Myoujin Yahiko..." The announcer's voice was drowned out by Misao and friends' loud yelling and catcalls.

In the moments that followed, the spectators' stand exploded into an ever-growing roar. Megumi, Kaoru and Misao all cheered the loudest for Yahiko, although they knew he probably could not hear them through the water and the incessant cheering of the other spectators. Kenshin and Aoshi watched on, silently but intently, urging him on with their eyes and hearts although not with their voices. And Sano...well, he was supporting Yahiko in his own way--by threatening him with just about anything he could think of.

"Hey, little boy, if you don't get into the top three, I'll beat the f---in' s--t out of you!" He shouted, learning over the railing in front of him. Strangely, Yahiko seemed to hear him and glided forward in a sudden burst of speed to finish third, losing out on second place by only a few milliseconds. His supporters shrieked in victorious excitement, running to the gallery to congratulate him, as was the custom, as well as to grab a snack, for a 30 minute break followed.

"Kenshin and I are going for a short walk. We'll be back for the prize presentations, so don't worry," Aoshi reassured Misao. "And...I'd like to talk to you after everything's over. Alone." He bent over and placed a warm, loving kiss on her cheek( which turned a bright crimson shortly after), which put a mischievous smirk on Kaoru's face. As soon as Aoshi and Kenshin left, she turned to Misao and pouted in mock anger.

"Aren't I your best friend? How come got boyfriend also never tell me? [Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?]"

It was too good a chance to resist. "Well, you and Kenshin talk until so qing1 mi4, I don't want to become dian4 deng1 pao4[light bulb] so I don't tell lah!" [Kenshin and you were talking so intimately that I did not want to be a third party by interrupting...]

Kaoru actually blushed. "Nah...I just got to know him when he asked if Yahiko and I were siblings. he's nice, actually...I almost did not believe he was your coach, he's so different from what you described!" Misao could almost see the hearts in Kaoru's eyes.

"Him, nice? Right now, maybe, but he's a big meanie as our coach! We're beginning to think he's got a split personality or something, he's so...polite and gentlemanly when he's not ordering us around trying to torture us to death." She rolled her eyes.

"Maybe so...but..." Kaoru slapped herself on the forehead. "What am I thinking? He said he's twenty-seven! That's eleven years older than me!" She opened her eyes to meet Misao's knowing grin.

"Oh, so you do have certain hopes after all! Maybe I should get Aoshi to help..." Misao's eyes wandered past the entrance to the swimming pool.

I wonder what Kenshin and Aoshi have to do with each other...

tbc...

I don't think I expressed myself so clearly in this chapter...well, it certainly is a turning point though(gomen, K&K fans, I'm not that good a K&K writer, my friend Saiki Kyoko definitely outdoes me in that!)
It is a fact that swimmers wear swimsuits a size smaller than normal for competitions, it helps to keep the body streamline by squeezing down certain areas (grin). About Kenshin, yeah, he's a mean coach but he's good at heart (and a real lady's man) like the un-AU un-OOC rurouni we all know. His tough training improves all his students in the end. (BTW, my coach does make me do 1500m fly, it's super tiring, but let's take it that Yahiko is a butterflier and so does really well for fly and can make it for 1800m!)

Am I overdoing the swimming thing?(hides face underwater.) Just a reminder: A&M are the main story, S& Megumi and K&K are just mini side stories.

Red House rules!(Okay, I'm really enthusiastic about Sports' Day tomorrow!)