Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin… *snaps fingers* darn…

Asking for Forgiveness

Chapter One:

The Talk at Midnight

The day had finally gone. Night took over Kyoto and it seemed that everyone was fast asleep in their beds. Well, almost. Misao was the only one awake at the Aoiya.

Getting up from her futon, she made her way to the kitchen, or what was left of it. Thanks to the Juppon Gatana, the Aoiya now looked like a war zone. No matter, Misao and the rest of the Oniwa Banshu will restore it in no time tomorrow.

Her ribs were still sore after that beating that she took from Kamatari. Still, she was such a good sport that Kaoru and herself helped treat his wounds, and those of the Juppon Gatana. Misao sighed as she remembered all of the days happenings. But still, there was something troubling her mind.

Aoshi… Her mind would remind her. Why?...

Misao sat on the steps of the porch that lead outside. Fireflies would dance around her and she would only smile, a sad smile at that.

Her mind would wander… Wander when she found out that Aoshi, her Okashira, had betrayed her and the Oniwa Banshu.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Misao sniffled at bit, and then hugged her legs to her chest. It brought tears to her eyes that Aoshi would betray her like that. It also made her angry. Misao didn't cry tears of pain or suffering, but of anger and resentment towards the one man she thought she loved.

She couldn't lie to herself. Misao did love Aoshi, but after what he did, she just couldn't think she could ever forgive him. Maybe in time she would, but not now.

A cool breeze swept through the yard. It made Misao feel slightly better than the just a little while ago. She sighed again and went into the kitchen to get something to drink; her throat was feeling quite dry. When she came outside again, she found Kaoru walking down the steps. It seemed that she too was having difficulty sleeping.

"Hey Kaoru" Misao greeted her with a cup in her hands. She took a seat next to Kaoru who sat out on the porch looking at the sky; quite similar to what Misao herself was doing not to long ago.

"Hey Misao, why are you still awake?" Kaoru asked, looking at Misao.

"I just couldn't sleep." Misao said quietly.

"Oh," Kaoru said. "Is it the pain in your ribs? Are they acting up again?" Kaoru asked slightly worried, it could mean that Misao's injuries were graver than what they seemed.

"Oh no" Misao assured her. "They haven't been bothering me, I'm strong remember?" She said quiet cheerfully making Kaoru smile at her.

Misao smiled too and then quickly looked up at the sky. A moment passed between them where no one talked. The breeze came and went along with the twinkling of the stars above them.

"So what's really bothering you?" Kaoru said without looking at Misao. Misao looked at her with awe but said nothing at first; she didn't know how she's was going to put this into words.

"Well…" She started off quite embarrassed. "It's…" she looked around, "It's all this. I hate what's happening now." Well, she was being quite truthful. She hated what was happening now with Kenshin and Shishio. In a way, she felt helpless.

Kaoru just listened in silence, deep in her mind, she knew this wasn't what was REALLY bothering Misao. "Why don't you just tell me the truth?" She said sincerely. Misao began to blush with embarrassment.

"Ok," she said. "It's really Aoshi that's bothering me." Misao said quite quietly; now she was looking down at her hands, fiddling with them while she spoke. True, everyone knew that Misao had special feelings towards Aoshi. But now, while talking to Kaoru, Misao realized it was hard to say what it was exactly she wanted to say.

Kaoru smiled at her. "I knew that was it." She patted Misao on the back, in a sisterly manner. Misao took this time to take a drink from her cup she was holding in her hands. "What else?"

Misao sighed then continued. "I hate…" she trailed off. "I hate what he did. I mean, it was stupid of him!" Misao said angrily. She sighed deeply to compile herself. She didn't want to take her anger out on Kaoru.

Kaoru just sat there and listened, never trying to tell her she was wrong for thinking how she did. It was the best medicine to just talk about this sort of thing. She would listen until the end, then give advice to Misao on what she should do, or how should she act. Now, if she didn't heed Kaoru's advice, it was her decision.

"…He's such an idiot! I wish this didn't happen! I wish…" Misao trailed off. She put her head on her lap and put her arms over her head. She sighed and when she spoke, her voice trembled a bit. "I wish Beshimi, Hyotoko, Shiki-jo, Han-nya were still alive." Misao broke down into quite sobs. She remembered them well, and prayed that they were in a place were they were happy.

Kaoru stroked her head gently. She could understand of the pain of losing dear people that were close to you. "Shh…" Kaoru tried to calm her down. "You know it wasn't Aoshi's fault they gave their life for him. He was their Okashira, and they believed in him. They gave up their lives to save Aoshi."

Misao sniffed. She knew the story, and she knew it wasn't Aoshi's fault. "I know it wasn't." Misao smiled at bit when she looked at Kaoru. "Han-nya told me that Aoshi was going to return to the Aoiya."

Kaoru was a bit startled at her smile. She was just crying a second ago and now she was smiling. What an odd girl Kaoru thought. She was brought from her thoughts when she heard Misao continue talking.

"There was another thing on my mind as well," she said looking at the ground now. Kaoru looked at her and waited for her to continue. "It's what Aoshi did."

Kaoru was confused. "What did Aoshi do?"

"He betrayed us, he betrayed me! He went off and joined forces with Shishio!" This, it seemed, was the cause of Misao's anger. It was more than the death of the four members of the Oniwa Banshu. This was paining her heart.

"Misao…" Kaoru started off, she wanted to reason with her, but it seemed she wasn't going to listen to what anyone else had to say.

"I don't care what people say! I don't care if he did do it for the title of being the strongest. He was a jackass! He should have known that taking Kenshin's life wasn't going to bring back all four of them!" At this point, Misao stood up and was talking quite loudly.

"Please, Misao, calm down! You'll wake the whole house up!" Kaoru said, motioning with her hands to lower her tone of voice. Misao did, sat back down and stood quiet for a moment.

"I don't know if I can ever have trust in Aoshi again…" she murmured. She heaved a heavy sigh and Kaoru could feel the conflict inside Misao's heart.

"Don't worry," Kaoru said quietly. "Give it time, watch. You'll see" Those words of encouragement made Misao feel a little better.

She smiled at Kaoru. "Thank you" she said quietly, then stood up. "It's late, we should go to bed." Kaoru nodded in agreement with her and both of them left towards their own room.

Inside Misao's room, she made a promise to her and Aoshi, when he came back. "Things will be different around here… You'll see…"

(AN: End of Chapter One. I don't know whether to continue this or not so review and tell me what you think! ^-^)