Disclaim it all: Rurouni Kenshin simply isn't mine. Okay? *runs away*
Author's note: Hey, thanks to those who reviewed! I didn't expect much of a response at all: I'm very glad to be wrong. ^_^ So I've continued, as you can see. It's weird: I started this fic just completely spontaneously, with nothing clearly in mind… But I've been busy with my story notepad (yes, I have one of those *grin*) and pen, and it's getting fun already! *grin* Anyway, enjoy. (btw, I don't know off the top of my head what their age difference is supposed to be, but I've set one appropriate to the story, hope that doesn't bother anyone! And North Kelston= made-up place. Okay, on with the show!)
Ice and Chaos Second
The sun was already well above the horizon when Aoshi woke. His first thought was, Damn, my neck hurts, his second was What's that scent? It sure wasn't the smell of dusty roads, an old car and his slept-in set of clothes.
He turned around, and there, just as she'd been the night before, was the young girl, lying on the backseat. She'd rolled over onto her back now, and was examining something in one hand. His coat lay haphazardly across her middle and legs: her top was rumpled, revealing a small part of her smooth stomach. One of her feet was lifted to press against the window, and she tapped the glass with a be-socked toe. Her dark hair messily framed her young face.
Aoshi breathed in slowly. The scent was just the smell of her: like most people, she had a natural scent to her, and Aoshi's cautious senses had picked it out right away. She smelled sweet, but not like anything Aoshi could place.
She turned her head to look at him with wide, sparkling eyes.
"Morning. You sleep late," she commented cheerily. He just looked at her, his habitual calm, cold expression on his face.
"And you'd look better if you smiled, just a little," she added, with a mischievous grin of her own.
Before he could react, she spoke again. "Who are these other people in the picture?" she asked, flipping her wrist to show the photograph in her hand. Aoshi was instantly annoyed.
"Give it to me." His voice was one it was hard to argue with.
She handed it over with a slight pout that would have made her look adorable to any male over the age of twelve. Aoshi ignored her, and took the photo firmly from her hand.
He opened the glove compartment, placed the picture inside, and shut it with a bang. The girl flinched ever so slightly.
"Well?" she persisted.
Most people would have been pretty intimidated by Aoshi's present mood. This girl was unfazed by his abruptness and coldness. He didn't care. "No one you need to know about. And I have a question for you: who are you, and what are you doing in my car?"
She sat up with a grin, setting aside his coat, and offered her hand palm down, as if she were a princess expecting to have her hand kissed. "I'm Misao. I wanted to go somewhere, so I caught a ride. Was that a problem?" she asked politely.
That took him aback a bit. She hadn't offered any excuses, and her question made it difficult for him to have a go at her: it hadn't been a problem, after all, had it? His tone didn't even waver, though.
"No problem, no. But that doesn't mean you're sticking around. You look a bit young to be off on your own. Where exactly were you going?" he asked, his tone suspicious. Her hand stayed alone in the space between them, untouched. She reached forward to his chin with her little fingers, and turned his head slightly to a different angle. He had no idea why he did, but he let her. He just glared calmly at her. She smoothed his hair down over his forehead, and then drew her hands away to make a frame with her fingers. She peered through her frame at him with one sparkling eye.
"Hm… You're pretty attractive at this angle. I said: somewhere." She dropped her hands to her lap.
"That isn't really helpful. Somewhere could be anywhere."
"Exactly."
He raised an eyebrow. "So you're going… anywhere?"
She beamed at him. "That looks good, when you lift your eyebrow like that… Yes. I'm going anywhere. Anywhere my feet, or in this case, your car, takes me."
"You look about sixteen."
"You look about twenty-one." Still grinning innocently.
"The difference being, my age doesn't require me to be at school."
"And my school doesn't require me to be there for life to go on." She tilted her head and smiled at him: a different smile. He looked away, staring at the landscape outside.
"I don't particularly relish the idea getting in trouble for some young female stranger hitching a ride with me instead of being at school. And you look to me like someone who could cause trouble."
"Trouble? Wouldn't you like to know?" she laughed. "Ah, no, I'm a very good girl, really. I just got bored. This is as close to an adventure as I'm gonna get, anytime soon, anyway."
"Why risk the consequences?"
"Why not? You ask a lot of questions."
"So do you."
"I'm allowed, though, because you're a stranger and a guy, and I'm a poor innocent young girl in your car. My next question should have something to do with whether you're a serial killing axe murderer or not."
He snorted derisively. "Your innocence is entirely debateable." He sighed in resignation. It wasn't like he had anywhere specific to go right now, in all honesty. "Where do you need to go? Where are you from?"
"There's a different answer for each of those questions. But I'm from North Kelston. I take it you're planning to take me back there now."
"Yes. So where's North Kelston?"
"About a thousand and five hundred miles that way," she pointed helpfully towards a patch of horizon that looked exactly like every other patch of horizon around them.
He raised both eyebrows then, his eyes glinting sardonically. "We should get going then."
Her face fell as she tried to understand the look in his eyes, but after a moment, she just shrugged, and surprised him by clambering through from the backseat. One of her hands pressed into his shoulder as she came through, and unceremoniously plonked herself down in the passenger seat. She left her hand there, on his shoulder, and turned to look at him.
When he just looked calmly back, she shifted over to rest her cheek on her hand, leaning into him. Her scent filled the air and, as he breathed in, he found himself closing his eyes and savouring her warmth pressed against him.
She gazed up into his face. "It won't take very long to get there: maybe a couple of days. We should make sure this is an adventure to remember, okay?" She looked up at him through her dark lashes, her azure eyes shining with a curious depth. He opened his eyes only to fall into her gaze. He withdrew himself, his ice blue eyes hardening to a glassy shine.
Nodding curtly, he put on his seatbelt and reached for the ignition. She sighed contentedly as the engine purred into life.
"Misao?"
"Hm?"
"I can't drive very easily with you latched onto me like that."
"Oh. Sorry." She sat back in her seat, pouting. Then he turned to her, a very strange, and entirely unusual mood suddenly taking hold of him.
"Don't worry," he said, with the tiniest of twitches at the corner of his mouth: the tiniest hint of a grin. "This will be an adventure to remember."
The car leapt onto the road, scuffing up dirt, and sped away from the cloud of rising dust, on into the open day.
Author's note: Thanks again for the response! I dunno how I got this next chapter done so quickly: something to do with the warm response I think- I can't always do this I guess! I'll just do my best: it helps that my college has broken up for the spring holiday. Means I have time on my hands for writing stories, even while my mum has a regular go at me for not doing revision/housework/cleaning my room etc etc. *sweatdrop* I'm such a bad daughter! But you get to reap the benefits. Hope you liked this chapter. ^_^
Thanks to FlameSolo, linh (*ducks at sight of fist and giggles*), me (hello!), 'unknown', Neko-chan (hee hee ^_^), Mariana-chan, lebleuphenix (thank you ^_^), bee (thanks!) and dynast for reviewing my first chapter! You encouraged me to write this next chapter right away! ^_^
Reviews are as welcome as ever! Click the button- go on, you know you want to! ^_^
