ArtemisMoon: I am so, so, so sorry! I am a procrastinator of the worst
kind! I give you all leave to throw rotten fruit at me, but at least be
nice about the story since its not Kajun's fault. I tend to get distracted
too easily, I know (Blame Inuyasha!!!!). I hope you all enjoy this chapter
and I will try to make it extra fluffy for all of you! I enjoy your reviews
so much. Thank you Me10sai for pushing me to get this chapter done, but
still being understanding about it. ^_^ And thank you everybody else who
reviewed! At the end I will try to give some more extended thanks. But
enough of this, I must let Kajun have her moment and then all you guys can
have the story!
Kajun Spice: *Kajun's passes around some rotten fruit* A rotten apple for you Me10sai, a rotten banana for Hembadoon, a rotten peach for Fujifunmum, and a rotten coconut for Midori (ouch!).Okay, please just don't get any on the furniture or you guys will be the ones cleaning it up! Don't look at me like that, just because I handed it to you doesn't mean I am gonna help you! *Reviewers start throwing fruit at Kajun* That's what I get for trying to be nice!!!! *Kajun glares at a grinning Artemis as she wipes some banana goop from her head*
Thoughts are in { }
Author's notes are in ( )
Disclaimer: We do not own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters, just Koishii, whom we have loaned to Sou-chan. If you steal Koishii then that would end the story and you would have a lot of angry readers after you and not Artemis for procrastinating so long!
Koishii
It was later in the morning and Kenshin was, as usual, washing his laundry. The air was still hot and stifling, causing Kaoru and Yahiko to avoid the morning practice routine and instead seemed to be having a glaring contest over whom would be the one cleaning the floors that day. As for Soujirou and Misao, both were conspicuously absent.
Kenshin watched the two glaring at each other with a huge sweat drop on his head before deciding to mind his own business.
"Yahiko!" Kaoru muttered. "If you don't get off your lazy butt and do something."
Yahiko gave her an indignant look and snorted in disgust. "Me? What about you, busu?"
"DON'T CALL ME BUSU! I happen to be a very desirable lady, right Kenshin?" Her head whipped around to stare at him, her face daring him to make one wrong move.
"Of course, Kaoru." Kenshin agreed, keeping his eyes on the wet clothes in his hands. The next sounds heard were the sounds of Yahiko gagging and the loud crack of a bokken over the young boy's head. Kenshin cringed and kept his gaze averted from the painful scene.
"What did you do that for busu?!?!"
*CRACK!*
"STOP IT!"
"ORO! Kaoru, Yahiko."
"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" The two yelled in unison.
Kenshin quickly went back to his laundry.
*****
The shade felt nice on such a hot day, but Misao didn't seem to notice this small comfort as she sat by the edge of the river under a tree. Her eyebrows were lowered and her face was intent as she stared at the flowing water. The sun's position in the sky told Misao it was about noon, and she had already missed breakfast, but the small girl had no intention of returning to the dojo.
"I should probably just go home. It's obvious no one wants me here."
Only the sound of the running water answered her.
"Why do I even care what he does? I should just forget him and go tell Kaoru-san I am leaving today. Right now even!" Despite these words, Misao made no move to leave her spot under the tree.
She sat there for several more minutes, thinking about the events during the past couple of days, and how miserable she felt when a certain 'Koishii' came into Soujirou's life. Everything had been wonderful up to that point.
Misao smiled a little as she thought about the first day she and Soujirou had met. She had come to Tokyo without notice to stay with Kaoru, and Soujirou had come wondering into the area as well..
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Misao's feet crunched along the dirt road just on the edge of Tokyo. She seemed her perky self now that she was almost there, and smiled happily at the thought of seeing her friends again after so many months.
Reaching the first of the many buildings in the city, she broke into a sprint and ran around the corner.
*BAM!*
Colliding with something, or rather someone, Misao hit the road butt first. Without looking at the person she shrieked angrily, "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, BAKA!"
The person in front of her laughed, and she looked up, startled. Her own jade green eyes met the bluest eyes she had ever seen, even bluer than her Aoshi-sama's. His gi and hakama were both blue as well, and Misao just stared at him with her mouth hanging open. It was probably the most silent she has ever managed to be in her entire life.
He smiled at her and held out his hand. "Gomenasai." His look turned slightly questioning.
"Mi.Misao." Still she sat there without making a move to take his hand.
The boy let out another laugh and reached down to grab her hand since she made no move to give it to him. She couldn't find the words to protest, and doubted that she even wanted to.
"Gomenasai Misao-chan.are you alright?" He gave her another gentle smile.
Misao's face turned bright red at the informal 'Misao-chan' as well as the contact with his hand and the smile. She didn't know whether to be angry of flattered, so she settled on remaining silent. Another first for her we bet.
His face fell a bit at her silence, but he continued to try anyway. "Can I walk you to your home? Do you live around here Misao-chan?"
She shook her head furiously and finally found her voice. "No.I don't live in Tokyo. I'm here to visit some friends."
Soujirou had to admit he was feeling a little underhanded. He wanted to know where she would be staying. "Can I help you find your friends, then? I must do something to apologize."
Misao shook her head again. "No, it was my fault. And I can find the Kamiya dojo without help. Arigato for the offer though."
Soujirou's eyes widened at the familiar name, and Misao watched him curiously, noting his odd reaction.
"Kamiya.dojo." he whispered. His smile didn't seem as bright as it had been just a moment before, but he smiled still.
"Is something wrong?" Misao questioned. "Do you know Kaoru-san.or Himura maybe?"
"Hai. I know Himura-san." He admitted softly.
Excitement began to shine in her eyes. "You do?!?! Come with me to the dojo then!" She latched onto his arm without thinking about it and began to tug.
Soujirou shook his head. "I had better not.in the past we were not exactly on friendly terms."
Misao stopped pulling and huffed a bit. "Himura isn't the kind of man to hold grudges you know."
This caused Soujirou to smile a bit more once again. "I do know that.ever after everything I did, he still had mercy on me." His voice had trailed off, and he seemed to be talking more to himself than to her.
As Misao watched him gaze off into space a few moments, another thought dawned on her. {He looks so young.like a boy.and he's wandering.Oh my gosh, I KNOW WHO HE IS!}
She clamped a hand over her mouth and gasped. "Seta Soujirou!"
This snapped Soujirou out of his reflections and it was his turn to stare at her. "How did you guess?"
"When they came back they told us everything. I remember the description of you."
His face seemed to fall once again, and he smiled sadly at her. "Now you know why it would be better that I don't go there with you. It was very nice meeting you, Misao-chan."
He turned to walk away, and so he was very unprepared as an object flew by his head and embedded itself into the wood wall next to him.
"BAKA!" Misao hissed. Soujirou eyed the kunai left in her hand warily. "They won't care! You gave up killing didn't you? Now I bet you wander around just like Himura did! Forget about your past for once and give all of us a chance!" Her face softened a bit. "Please?"
Soujirou watched her in amazement, the kunai in her hands forgotten. {She knows everything I did, everything I was, and she still doesn't care?}
"Well?" Misao inquired after several moments.
The fading sunlight glinted off the sharp metal in her hand.
Soujirou gulped and smiled nervously. "Sounds like a good idea to me!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Misao's face had a bittersweet smile. "I was right. They did except and forgive him, just like I knew they would. Himura can understand better than anyone can what Sou-chan went through, so why wouldn't he forgive him?" She sighed. "But will I ever be able to forgive him?"
"I wish you would give me a chance to explain." A second voice interjected.
Misao spun around to see Soujirou standing behind her, coat, lump, and all.
"What do you want?" She muttered.
"I want to explain to you, Misao-chan. I want to tell you everything. I know I shouldn't keep secrets like that."
"You shouldn't have secrets like that at ALL!" Misao cried angrily. "I don't think I even want to know anymore, because I don't want to care anymore. JUST GO AWAY!"
For once, there was no trace of a smile on Soujirou's face. Misao had never seen him like that before, and it hurt her more than she wanted to admit. {Why do I even still care if I hurt his feelings or not?}
Soujirou held out his hand. "Misao, please, just listen."
"I SAID I DON"T WANT TO LISTEN!" She cried again. Reaching into her shirt she pulled out a kunai without really stopping to think about it. She tossed it at him with the full force of her anger behind it, and it sailed through the air towards him.
Soujirou didn't even have to think about it to react, and he turned to where his side was facing her, just enough for the small knife to sail by in front of him. He forgot to take into account though the bulge in the front of his coat. There was a loud ripping sound as the kunai grazed the lump before sticking into the tree behind him.
For several moments there was nothing but silence as both stared at the small bundle of stuffing leaking through the rip in the jacket.
"Koishii." Soujirou whispered faintly.
Moving slowly as if it pained him, Soujirou began to undo the buttons along the front of the coat, slowly revealing the cause of all Misao's misery and anguish. A simple, brown Teddy Bear.
Across the stomach of the small, worn bear was a long gash from one side to the other. Stuffing was leaking out of the cut, and some had fallen to the ground at Soujirou's feet.
Neither he nor Misao could bring themselves to speak for several more moments, and instead both fixed their gaze's on the bear in his hand.
Finally, Misao found her voice. "That's.Koishii? That's what this whole thing was about? Why didn't you just tell me?"
Soujirou nodded at her first question. "I was afraid of what kind of reaction you would have. I didn't know if you would laugh, or.I just didn't want to be anything less in your eyes."
The dirt under Soujirou's feet crunched as he slowly walked towards her. Extending his hand, he held Koishii out to her, and she took her automatically.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I guess I deserved that." Smiling sadly, he turned and walked into the small grove of trees, leaving a stunned Misao, holding Koishii in one hand.
"Sou-chan." She whispered.
*****
Evening was fading quickly into night, and Kenshin along with Kaoru both sat on the porch, watching the gate with identical worried looks. Kenshin had his arm around Kaoru's shoulders, and his head perched on top of hers while hers rested on his chest.
"Do you think they are okay?" Kaoru murmured.
Kenshin sighed. Just when he was finding some time alone with Kaoru, there were still other things to worry about.
"Hai, Kaoru. I believe they are fine. If they don't come back soon though I can go look for them if it will make you feel better."
Kaoru nodded and sighed as well. {I love it so much when he drops all his formalities when it's just the two of us, alone.}
They sat together like this for several more minutes, when Kenshin seemed to tense slightly.
"What is it?" Kaoru questioned him.
"Someone is coming."
They both waited and watched the dojo gate. It wasn't much longer before the sound of footsteps could be heard by both and a very unhappy Misao trudged in, holding something in her hand.
"Misao-chan!" Kaoru called out, the worry she felt apparent in her voice. "Are you okay?"
Misao stopped and gave the two a weak smile. "I'm fine."
Kenshin noticed what was in her hand along with the damage, but didn't comment. "Would you like something to eat, Misao-dono? You missed all the meals today."
Misao shook her head. "No.I have something I really need to do. Thank you for the offer though."
She walked past them on the porch and into the dark dojo, both watching her go.
"Something was wrong." Kaoru observed. "Maybe I should go check."
"Iie." Kenshin shook his head.
"Why not?"
"We need to let them work it out for themselves." He sat quietly for a moment. "And someone else is coming."
Kaoru watched in surprise as Soujirou came through the gate, shutting and locking it behind him quietly. "What were you doing, Sou-chan? Following Misao-chan?"
Soujirou smiled slightly. "I would never have left her out there alone. Not for any reason."
Following the same path Misao had taken a few moments before, he walked past the couple and into the dojo.
With a sigh, Kaoru leaned back towards Kenshin and wrapped her arms around his waist, and he did the same. "I hope they get things straitened out soon. I want them to be as happy as we are."
{No one on earth could be as happy as I am right now} Kenshin thought to himself. Instead of putting these feelings into words though, he leaned down put them all into a kiss just for her.
ArtemisMoon: (Looks ready to pass out) Aaaacckkkk! That last part was so hard to write! I promised fluff though, so I tried really, really hard! I am gonna have cavities before this is all over! I hope everyone really enjoyed it though and will except it as a sincere apology for taking so long to write it! I hope the next chapter turns out as well, and I actually really liked this one and the way it turned out. Now I am pretty positive that this next chapter will be the last! Okay, now, a lot of you I bet have read Kajun Spice's poem under her author name. She is actually considering writing one for this story, so if you want one in the next chapter, beg and plead in your review for one and make her feel guilty if she doesn't! She is sooooo good at stuff like that!
Kajun Spice: Actually, I wanted them to throw rotten fruit at you not because of how long you took, but for giving me CAVITIES! And no, its not because you are that sweet.*gulps nervously as Artemis glares at her* Okay, so you really are sweet! No wait, I changed my mind again, they are from all the Reeces!
Kajun Spice: *Kajun's passes around some rotten fruit* A rotten apple for you Me10sai, a rotten banana for Hembadoon, a rotten peach for Fujifunmum, and a rotten coconut for Midori (ouch!).Okay, please just don't get any on the furniture or you guys will be the ones cleaning it up! Don't look at me like that, just because I handed it to you doesn't mean I am gonna help you! *Reviewers start throwing fruit at Kajun* That's what I get for trying to be nice!!!! *Kajun glares at a grinning Artemis as she wipes some banana goop from her head*
Thoughts are in { }
Author's notes are in ( )
Disclaimer: We do not own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters, just Koishii, whom we have loaned to Sou-chan. If you steal Koishii then that would end the story and you would have a lot of angry readers after you and not Artemis for procrastinating so long!
Koishii
It was later in the morning and Kenshin was, as usual, washing his laundry. The air was still hot and stifling, causing Kaoru and Yahiko to avoid the morning practice routine and instead seemed to be having a glaring contest over whom would be the one cleaning the floors that day. As for Soujirou and Misao, both were conspicuously absent.
Kenshin watched the two glaring at each other with a huge sweat drop on his head before deciding to mind his own business.
"Yahiko!" Kaoru muttered. "If you don't get off your lazy butt and do something."
Yahiko gave her an indignant look and snorted in disgust. "Me? What about you, busu?"
"DON'T CALL ME BUSU! I happen to be a very desirable lady, right Kenshin?" Her head whipped around to stare at him, her face daring him to make one wrong move.
"Of course, Kaoru." Kenshin agreed, keeping his eyes on the wet clothes in his hands. The next sounds heard were the sounds of Yahiko gagging and the loud crack of a bokken over the young boy's head. Kenshin cringed and kept his gaze averted from the painful scene.
"What did you do that for busu?!?!"
*CRACK!*
"STOP IT!"
"ORO! Kaoru, Yahiko."
"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" The two yelled in unison.
Kenshin quickly went back to his laundry.
*****
The shade felt nice on such a hot day, but Misao didn't seem to notice this small comfort as she sat by the edge of the river under a tree. Her eyebrows were lowered and her face was intent as she stared at the flowing water. The sun's position in the sky told Misao it was about noon, and she had already missed breakfast, but the small girl had no intention of returning to the dojo.
"I should probably just go home. It's obvious no one wants me here."
Only the sound of the running water answered her.
"Why do I even care what he does? I should just forget him and go tell Kaoru-san I am leaving today. Right now even!" Despite these words, Misao made no move to leave her spot under the tree.
She sat there for several more minutes, thinking about the events during the past couple of days, and how miserable she felt when a certain 'Koishii' came into Soujirou's life. Everything had been wonderful up to that point.
Misao smiled a little as she thought about the first day she and Soujirou had met. She had come to Tokyo without notice to stay with Kaoru, and Soujirou had come wondering into the area as well..
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Misao's feet crunched along the dirt road just on the edge of Tokyo. She seemed her perky self now that she was almost there, and smiled happily at the thought of seeing her friends again after so many months.
Reaching the first of the many buildings in the city, she broke into a sprint and ran around the corner.
*BAM!*
Colliding with something, or rather someone, Misao hit the road butt first. Without looking at the person she shrieked angrily, "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, BAKA!"
The person in front of her laughed, and she looked up, startled. Her own jade green eyes met the bluest eyes she had ever seen, even bluer than her Aoshi-sama's. His gi and hakama were both blue as well, and Misao just stared at him with her mouth hanging open. It was probably the most silent she has ever managed to be in her entire life.
He smiled at her and held out his hand. "Gomenasai." His look turned slightly questioning.
"Mi.Misao." Still she sat there without making a move to take his hand.
The boy let out another laugh and reached down to grab her hand since she made no move to give it to him. She couldn't find the words to protest, and doubted that she even wanted to.
"Gomenasai Misao-chan.are you alright?" He gave her another gentle smile.
Misao's face turned bright red at the informal 'Misao-chan' as well as the contact with his hand and the smile. She didn't know whether to be angry of flattered, so she settled on remaining silent. Another first for her we bet.
His face fell a bit at her silence, but he continued to try anyway. "Can I walk you to your home? Do you live around here Misao-chan?"
She shook her head furiously and finally found her voice. "No.I don't live in Tokyo. I'm here to visit some friends."
Soujirou had to admit he was feeling a little underhanded. He wanted to know where she would be staying. "Can I help you find your friends, then? I must do something to apologize."
Misao shook her head again. "No, it was my fault. And I can find the Kamiya dojo without help. Arigato for the offer though."
Soujirou's eyes widened at the familiar name, and Misao watched him curiously, noting his odd reaction.
"Kamiya.dojo." he whispered. His smile didn't seem as bright as it had been just a moment before, but he smiled still.
"Is something wrong?" Misao questioned. "Do you know Kaoru-san.or Himura maybe?"
"Hai. I know Himura-san." He admitted softly.
Excitement began to shine in her eyes. "You do?!?! Come with me to the dojo then!" She latched onto his arm without thinking about it and began to tug.
Soujirou shook his head. "I had better not.in the past we were not exactly on friendly terms."
Misao stopped pulling and huffed a bit. "Himura isn't the kind of man to hold grudges you know."
This caused Soujirou to smile a bit more once again. "I do know that.ever after everything I did, he still had mercy on me." His voice had trailed off, and he seemed to be talking more to himself than to her.
As Misao watched him gaze off into space a few moments, another thought dawned on her. {He looks so young.like a boy.and he's wandering.Oh my gosh, I KNOW WHO HE IS!}
She clamped a hand over her mouth and gasped. "Seta Soujirou!"
This snapped Soujirou out of his reflections and it was his turn to stare at her. "How did you guess?"
"When they came back they told us everything. I remember the description of you."
His face seemed to fall once again, and he smiled sadly at her. "Now you know why it would be better that I don't go there with you. It was very nice meeting you, Misao-chan."
He turned to walk away, and so he was very unprepared as an object flew by his head and embedded itself into the wood wall next to him.
"BAKA!" Misao hissed. Soujirou eyed the kunai left in her hand warily. "They won't care! You gave up killing didn't you? Now I bet you wander around just like Himura did! Forget about your past for once and give all of us a chance!" Her face softened a bit. "Please?"
Soujirou watched her in amazement, the kunai in her hands forgotten. {She knows everything I did, everything I was, and she still doesn't care?}
"Well?" Misao inquired after several moments.
The fading sunlight glinted off the sharp metal in her hand.
Soujirou gulped and smiled nervously. "Sounds like a good idea to me!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Misao's face had a bittersweet smile. "I was right. They did except and forgive him, just like I knew they would. Himura can understand better than anyone can what Sou-chan went through, so why wouldn't he forgive him?" She sighed. "But will I ever be able to forgive him?"
"I wish you would give me a chance to explain." A second voice interjected.
Misao spun around to see Soujirou standing behind her, coat, lump, and all.
"What do you want?" She muttered.
"I want to explain to you, Misao-chan. I want to tell you everything. I know I shouldn't keep secrets like that."
"You shouldn't have secrets like that at ALL!" Misao cried angrily. "I don't think I even want to know anymore, because I don't want to care anymore. JUST GO AWAY!"
For once, there was no trace of a smile on Soujirou's face. Misao had never seen him like that before, and it hurt her more than she wanted to admit. {Why do I even still care if I hurt his feelings or not?}
Soujirou held out his hand. "Misao, please, just listen."
"I SAID I DON"T WANT TO LISTEN!" She cried again. Reaching into her shirt she pulled out a kunai without really stopping to think about it. She tossed it at him with the full force of her anger behind it, and it sailed through the air towards him.
Soujirou didn't even have to think about it to react, and he turned to where his side was facing her, just enough for the small knife to sail by in front of him. He forgot to take into account though the bulge in the front of his coat. There was a loud ripping sound as the kunai grazed the lump before sticking into the tree behind him.
For several moments there was nothing but silence as both stared at the small bundle of stuffing leaking through the rip in the jacket.
"Koishii." Soujirou whispered faintly.
Moving slowly as if it pained him, Soujirou began to undo the buttons along the front of the coat, slowly revealing the cause of all Misao's misery and anguish. A simple, brown Teddy Bear.
Across the stomach of the small, worn bear was a long gash from one side to the other. Stuffing was leaking out of the cut, and some had fallen to the ground at Soujirou's feet.
Neither he nor Misao could bring themselves to speak for several more moments, and instead both fixed their gaze's on the bear in his hand.
Finally, Misao found her voice. "That's.Koishii? That's what this whole thing was about? Why didn't you just tell me?"
Soujirou nodded at her first question. "I was afraid of what kind of reaction you would have. I didn't know if you would laugh, or.I just didn't want to be anything less in your eyes."
The dirt under Soujirou's feet crunched as he slowly walked towards her. Extending his hand, he held Koishii out to her, and she took her automatically.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I guess I deserved that." Smiling sadly, he turned and walked into the small grove of trees, leaving a stunned Misao, holding Koishii in one hand.
"Sou-chan." She whispered.
*****
Evening was fading quickly into night, and Kenshin along with Kaoru both sat on the porch, watching the gate with identical worried looks. Kenshin had his arm around Kaoru's shoulders, and his head perched on top of hers while hers rested on his chest.
"Do you think they are okay?" Kaoru murmured.
Kenshin sighed. Just when he was finding some time alone with Kaoru, there were still other things to worry about.
"Hai, Kaoru. I believe they are fine. If they don't come back soon though I can go look for them if it will make you feel better."
Kaoru nodded and sighed as well. {I love it so much when he drops all his formalities when it's just the two of us, alone.}
They sat together like this for several more minutes, when Kenshin seemed to tense slightly.
"What is it?" Kaoru questioned him.
"Someone is coming."
They both waited and watched the dojo gate. It wasn't much longer before the sound of footsteps could be heard by both and a very unhappy Misao trudged in, holding something in her hand.
"Misao-chan!" Kaoru called out, the worry she felt apparent in her voice. "Are you okay?"
Misao stopped and gave the two a weak smile. "I'm fine."
Kenshin noticed what was in her hand along with the damage, but didn't comment. "Would you like something to eat, Misao-dono? You missed all the meals today."
Misao shook her head. "No.I have something I really need to do. Thank you for the offer though."
She walked past them on the porch and into the dark dojo, both watching her go.
"Something was wrong." Kaoru observed. "Maybe I should go check."
"Iie." Kenshin shook his head.
"Why not?"
"We need to let them work it out for themselves." He sat quietly for a moment. "And someone else is coming."
Kaoru watched in surprise as Soujirou came through the gate, shutting and locking it behind him quietly. "What were you doing, Sou-chan? Following Misao-chan?"
Soujirou smiled slightly. "I would never have left her out there alone. Not for any reason."
Following the same path Misao had taken a few moments before, he walked past the couple and into the dojo.
With a sigh, Kaoru leaned back towards Kenshin and wrapped her arms around his waist, and he did the same. "I hope they get things straitened out soon. I want them to be as happy as we are."
{No one on earth could be as happy as I am right now} Kenshin thought to himself. Instead of putting these feelings into words though, he leaned down put them all into a kiss just for her.
ArtemisMoon: (Looks ready to pass out) Aaaacckkkk! That last part was so hard to write! I promised fluff though, so I tried really, really hard! I am gonna have cavities before this is all over! I hope everyone really enjoyed it though and will except it as a sincere apology for taking so long to write it! I hope the next chapter turns out as well, and I actually really liked this one and the way it turned out. Now I am pretty positive that this next chapter will be the last! Okay, now, a lot of you I bet have read Kajun Spice's poem under her author name. She is actually considering writing one for this story, so if you want one in the next chapter, beg and plead in your review for one and make her feel guilty if she doesn't! She is sooooo good at stuff like that!
Kajun Spice: Actually, I wanted them to throw rotten fruit at you not because of how long you took, but for giving me CAVITIES! And no, its not because you are that sweet.*gulps nervously as Artemis glares at her* Okay, so you really are sweet! No wait, I changed my mind again, they are from all the Reeces!