Rurouni Misao

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Rurouni Kenshinthey all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki!

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A/N: I got the 3rd chapter up! Now I can finally relaxand write the next chapter. ^_^;

I'm glad you all liked Hiko Seijuro! I was really worried about him being OOC.

Once again, I want to thank everyone who reviewed. Since there were only 3 people who reviewed the last chapter, I actually have time to write notes to the ones that did O_O.

I'm not sure if that's bad or good

Alexia: Glad you like the fic! And you guessed right, Soujiro will meet up with Misao ^_^. But not until later on ^_~.

Celtic Oak: Wow, I didn't know you added my fic to your favorites list! Thanks ^_^.

Cat H: I agree with you, Hiko does have a good heart ^_^. I hope the training doesn't disappoint thoughI was running a little low on ideas. ^ ^;

Well, that's it! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

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Chapter 3: It's all in the Eyes

It was a beautiful day.

The autumn sun shined down upon the land turning everything that used to be green, into a great red, gold, yellow and orange. It was still early, so the only thing that could be heard far and wide was the cheerful singing of the birds.

Yes, anyone out on this day would definitely agree that it was a wonderful and peaceful day-

"GYAAA!!!"

nevermind.

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"And that's how you correctly throw and pin someone on the ground."

Finished Hiko bending her arm back in a way she was sure it wasn't supposed to go in.

She bit her lip to keep from screaming again.

"Eh, it doesn't look like it hurts enoughperhaps I should bend it a little farther?"

*Oh kami, no*

Apparently, kami wasn't listening to her at the moment.

"GYAAAA!!!!"

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"Ok, that's enough sparring for today. And I don't want to hear you whining about your armpain builds character!"

He smirked as he turned around and started to walk away.

*Yes! Maybe he'll forget to make me*

"Oh yes, start meditating now."

She cursed under her breath. *Kuso, I hate meditating*

But she didn't argue. She had learned by now that it wasn't wise to argue with Hiko Seijuro.

She had been very, very wrong to think he was going to train her.

Nope.

What he'd said was that he'd train with her. Which involved them sparring everyday while Hiko made pointers every now and then.

It also involved lots of pain.

But it was obvious enough that he was holding back. And for the rest of the time, she would meditate while he went through the rest of his training.

It had been a week since they left and everyday they sparred, she would meditate while he finished his training and then she would cook breakfast for both of them. Then, they would start jogging towards the next townthrough the river, that is.

Why he insisted on doing the jogging only after the training when she was achy and tired, she didn't know. But she was beginning to think it was to torture her.

She sighed tiredly as she meditated, sweat leftover from their spar beading down from her forehead occasionally.

*CheI have to wipe this sweat from my forehead! It's so annoying! And my hair is making my face itchy He's training, so he probably won't notice, right?*

Wrong.

As soon as her hand so much as twitched, he was on her.

Literally.

She gasped as she found herself on the ground. He lifted the offending hand to pull her up on her side with his knee weighing down so that she couldn't get up.

"Must we go through this every time I ask you to meditate?"

Misao grimaced.

"My face was itchy"

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Hiko's POV

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Her face was itchy.

*Kami, this girl is trying my nerves more then that baka-deshi of mine ever did! She does this every day!*

He stared down at Misao who was now pouting.

*She talks too much, has almost no control over her temper, can't sit still for a secondI'm beginning to wonder how an ice-cube like Shinomori could deal with her! *

His respect for the man who had raised this energetic girl slightly rose.

*But I suppose she's not really that bad, though*

True, Misao always tried her best at whatever he had her do and surprisingly enough, barely ever complained. She was quick to learn from her mistakes and even though in the whole time they'd been training together he done nothing but criticize her, she never let herself get discouraged.

And he never said anything about it, but he knew that she practiced on her own after she thought he was asleep.

But there was another thing

*Determination. Her eyes are filled with it. They're just like my baka-deshi's*

He sighed again and stood up.

*I'd die before I told her that though.*

"Fine, I'll let you off of meditating today."

Misao's eyes widened in surprise as she slowly got to her feet.

"Really?"

He smiled evilly.

"Yes, but we're going to start jogging right now, so get you're things together."

"Eh?! Butwe haven't had breakfast yet!" she said in alarm.

"You mean you haven't had breakfast yet."

He turned away from her to gather up his things.

"I ate while you were meditating."

"So" Misao stared at him in disbelief.

"Sonna!"

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Misao's POV

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*Aoshi-samaeven if I have to run through rivers on an empty stomachI'll deal with it.*

*If it means getting stronger, then I guess I don't mind as much but*

"Who does this in autumn! We're both gonna get sick!"

She almost fell forward as Hiko smacked the back of her head.

"Less talk and more running." He said, passing her without a glance.

*I'll also be brain dead* She thought to herself, glaring at the back of Hiko's head.

Still grumbling a bit to herself, she quickened her pace a little so she wouldn't get left behind. And up in a tree, a lone figure stood watching them as they ran off further and further down the river, an amused grin upon his face.

"InterestingI may just have to follow them."

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Tsuzukeru

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A/N: Hehe, anyone care to guess who that is? It's not Soujiro yet ^_~.

PLEASE review!

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-furin