A/N: I'm back from my hiatus! L.A. was awesome! Too many palm trees though.
Anyways, here is the chapter. It's mostly Aoshi being introspective as he
wakes up and remembers what happened the night before (Can you blame the
guy for being a bit fuzzy on the night's events? He lost a lot of blood and
had spent a night in a cold, dark cell).
Chapter 7: Inai Kokoro (Within the Heart)
The second he woke, he could sense something was different. Last night was blurry, but he knew he had not been drunk. When he focused, he can up with vague memories of pain caused by a whip that shot out of the darkness and then retreated... a fight between Misao and a man he did not know... collapsing on the floor of the temple... being treated by Misao... Their kiss...
Wait a second. Hold that train of thought. Their kiss?!?
He tried to bring his hand to his face, only to notice that it was being held by something warm. This only further confused Aoshi. Speaking of things that are warm, Aoshi suddenly realized that an object that was warm and moving was lying very close to him. So, he finally resigned to the fact that it was morning and opened his eyes. And he saw the face of the last person in the world he expected to see lying next to him.
Misao.
Ok, so she wasn't the last person in the world he expected to see. In fact, Himura was the last person he expected to see. But it was still a close call.
He should have wrenched his hand from Misao's and taken off running. But, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew that if any member of the Oniwaban entered the room to find him sleeping next to Misao, he'd be going to live with Hannya in the blink of an eye. The only thing was... being with Misao felt so, so right. He looked down and noticed Misao had a tight grip on his right hand, preventing him from moving it. He allowed himself a small smile and reached up with his left hand to stroke Misao's hair. This was his heaven.
Nothing could possibly go wrong.
~*~*~
Okina had planned to talk to Aoshi before Misao woke. He scampered down the hall carefully, being sure not to wake anyone. Aoshi was always up at least two hours before any one else. It was the perfect opportunity to speak to him about Misao.
He already knew basically what he was going to say too. He was going to tell Aoshi to leave Misao alone. That for her, it was nothing but a childhood infatuation. Nothing more. He should just let the matter drop.
Okina cautiously slid open the shoji and was shocked. Aoshi wasn't there. But... if he wasn't in his room, then where the hell was he? Wait, he couldn't of... he wouldn't dare...
Okina turned quickly on his heel and raced back down the hall to Misao's room and cracked open the door. No amount of ninja training could mask his surprised look. Aoshi was lying next to Misao in her futon and was playing with her hair with his left hand, while his right hand was intertwined with hers. And, perhaps the most surprising part of the scene was the fact that Aoshi looked completely at peace, not to mention he was smiling. The change was drastic; he now looked as though he were seventeen or eighteen instead of twenty six.
Okina watched then for a few moments before closing the door once again. He could not bring himself to disturb the serenity that Aoshi had finally found in Misao after so much bloodshed. He would let them be if that was what made them happy.
~*~*~
Misao stirred slightly. The memories of last night suddenly hit her like a tidal wave.
"Aishiteru anata. I don't know what I'd do with out you..."
Aoshi. Aoshi had said that. Right before he had fallen asleep. Her cerulean eyes opened to be great by Aoshi's smiling gray ones. She spoke first.
"You're still here."
"Are you angry about that?"
"No, just surprised. I thought you'd leave before Okina discovered you here."
"Too late."
"WHAT?!?"
Aoshi shook his head slightly. "He said nothing."
"I'm glad. He may be ok with this but-"
"With what?"
"Us."
"Ahh. Continue."
"The others are going to be upset."
Aoshi sat up and pulled Misao into his lap. "We'll just have to take it one step at a time."
Owari
A/N: ::sighs:: I love sappy endings. I hope you like the end of this. To all my reviewers, YOU RULE MAAAAAN!!! If you're looking for other Aoshi/Misao stories, my advice is to check out some of Kitten Kisses' stories. They are super good. My favorite is "Flying Without Wings" (which is where I got the inspiration for this story btw. THANKS KITTEN KISSES!!!). It hasn't been updated in a while, because she's writing other stories at the same time (I can never do that. I've tried. Did NOT work.) so you can't blame her. But, it still is awesome and you should check it out. Until next time.
Ja ne!
Chapter 7: Inai Kokoro (Within the Heart)
The second he woke, he could sense something was different. Last night was blurry, but he knew he had not been drunk. When he focused, he can up with vague memories of pain caused by a whip that shot out of the darkness and then retreated... a fight between Misao and a man he did not know... collapsing on the floor of the temple... being treated by Misao... Their kiss...
Wait a second. Hold that train of thought. Their kiss?!?
He tried to bring his hand to his face, only to notice that it was being held by something warm. This only further confused Aoshi. Speaking of things that are warm, Aoshi suddenly realized that an object that was warm and moving was lying very close to him. So, he finally resigned to the fact that it was morning and opened his eyes. And he saw the face of the last person in the world he expected to see lying next to him.
Misao.
Ok, so she wasn't the last person in the world he expected to see. In fact, Himura was the last person he expected to see. But it was still a close call.
He should have wrenched his hand from Misao's and taken off running. But, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew that if any member of the Oniwaban entered the room to find him sleeping next to Misao, he'd be going to live with Hannya in the blink of an eye. The only thing was... being with Misao felt so, so right. He looked down and noticed Misao had a tight grip on his right hand, preventing him from moving it. He allowed himself a small smile and reached up with his left hand to stroke Misao's hair. This was his heaven.
Nothing could possibly go wrong.
~*~*~
Okina had planned to talk to Aoshi before Misao woke. He scampered down the hall carefully, being sure not to wake anyone. Aoshi was always up at least two hours before any one else. It was the perfect opportunity to speak to him about Misao.
He already knew basically what he was going to say too. He was going to tell Aoshi to leave Misao alone. That for her, it was nothing but a childhood infatuation. Nothing more. He should just let the matter drop.
Okina cautiously slid open the shoji and was shocked. Aoshi wasn't there. But... if he wasn't in his room, then where the hell was he? Wait, he couldn't of... he wouldn't dare...
Okina turned quickly on his heel and raced back down the hall to Misao's room and cracked open the door. No amount of ninja training could mask his surprised look. Aoshi was lying next to Misao in her futon and was playing with her hair with his left hand, while his right hand was intertwined with hers. And, perhaps the most surprising part of the scene was the fact that Aoshi looked completely at peace, not to mention he was smiling. The change was drastic; he now looked as though he were seventeen or eighteen instead of twenty six.
Okina watched then for a few moments before closing the door once again. He could not bring himself to disturb the serenity that Aoshi had finally found in Misao after so much bloodshed. He would let them be if that was what made them happy.
~*~*~
Misao stirred slightly. The memories of last night suddenly hit her like a tidal wave.
"Aishiteru anata. I don't know what I'd do with out you..."
Aoshi. Aoshi had said that. Right before he had fallen asleep. Her cerulean eyes opened to be great by Aoshi's smiling gray ones. She spoke first.
"You're still here."
"Are you angry about that?"
"No, just surprised. I thought you'd leave before Okina discovered you here."
"Too late."
"WHAT?!?"
Aoshi shook his head slightly. "He said nothing."
"I'm glad. He may be ok with this but-"
"With what?"
"Us."
"Ahh. Continue."
"The others are going to be upset."
Aoshi sat up and pulled Misao into his lap. "We'll just have to take it one step at a time."
Owari
A/N: ::sighs:: I love sappy endings. I hope you like the end of this. To all my reviewers, YOU RULE MAAAAAN!!! If you're looking for other Aoshi/Misao stories, my advice is to check out some of Kitten Kisses' stories. They are super good. My favorite is "Flying Without Wings" (which is where I got the inspiration for this story btw. THANKS KITTEN KISSES!!!). It hasn't been updated in a while, because she's writing other stories at the same time (I can never do that. I've tried. Did NOT work.) so you can't blame her. But, it still is awesome and you should check it out. Until next time.
Ja ne!