Standard disclaimers apply. I do not own Rouroni Kenshin!

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Part 3: Party!

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Misao eyed the door apprehensively. She was starting to get a feeling that no one was going to show up. "Okon-san . . . . " she started, attempting and failing to keep the worry out of her voice.

"Hai Okashira?" Okon inquired, tacking on the title to try and boost Misao's spirits. "Did you need something?"

Misao shook her head. "No, I should be fine. I was just wondering if we should play any games - you know, like truth or dare?"

"Truth or Dare!" Okon and Omasu both exclaimed at the same time. They were wearing identical mischievous smiles while attempting to look innocent.

Misao nodded her head and turned back to her post. She was watching and waiting for the other to arrive.

Okon brushed her silken brown hair aside. "I think that we're safe," she whispered. "Nobody seems to be coming." She gave a bright smile to Omasu.

"I know, but I'm worried. This is the first party that Misao-chan has ever thrown. Do you think she'll be all right if no one shows up? I mean, don't you think that Misao-chan would rather have boys over then no one?" Omasu whispered, biting her lip with worry.

"Oi!" Sano's familiar voice boomed from behind them. "What are you two whispering about?" he demanded.

Both of their faces went blank and pasty white. Slowly, they turned to look behind them at the tall 'rooster head'. "Sanosuke," they peeped, anger at being scared nearly witless starting to gather in their faces.

Sano had come in through the restaurant. That meant that he had come up behind them. That meant that they hadn't been ready for him - not to mention that they were ninja and shouldn't have been caught off guard so easily.

Yahiko stepped up beside the ex-gangster. "Man, I'm starving, when's this party going to start?" he asked, putting both hands behind his head in a relaxed gesture.

Misao's eyes fell flat. "Sano-san, Yahiko-chan," she said in a dry voice. She heard the door open behind her (the one she'd been watching ). Slowly, she cranked her head to see who was coming through.

Her eyes, if anything narrowed into shocked slits even more. "Saitou," she said in a dangerous voice, her hand reaching for her kunai but encountering only loose fitting nightclothes. She had decided to leave her weapons beside the food table so they wouldn't be poking her.

Saitou cleared his throat. He was obviously about to make some sort of speech. However, before he finished, Hiko brushed by him.

Okon and Omasu, both who had been wearing nervous expressions, sighed simultaneously, all of their worries about Misao's reaction to the extra guests fading from mind. "Hiko-sama!" they both gushed, rushing foreword and throwing Saitou aside.

Misao dropped her head at a sharp unnatural angle. "Saitou," she said again, her voice much less enthusiastic then anyone was used to hearing it. "Why are you - "

"Oh, there you are," a woman's voice called out, perking Misao's spirits slightly. A logical explanation for the presence of the men was forming in her mind.

Obviously, Kaoru had brought Yahiko, Sano, and perhaps Kenshin along for the ride. Once they had arrived ib Kyoto, they had looked up Hiko and Saitou. Now they were dropping the girls off and getting ready to go drinking somewhere else.

That had to be it.



Misao turned with a smile, her arms opening to engulf Kaoru in a hug. The tall black haired woman standing in front of her gave her a polite smile.

Misao's face practically slide off. "Who are you?" she squeaked, attempting to keep herself from being rude. Somehow she didn't have one guest at her party that she had invited.

Tokio smiled brightly. "I'm Tokio Saitou. I would like to thank-you for inviting my husband and me to your party. We don't get out as a couple very often. And if I didn't know any better, I'd say that he is always trying to keep his marriage a secrete." She bowed politely to the young hostess.

Half of Misao's lips went up on one side in an attempted smile. "I'm so glad that you came," she said, her voice hollow and her mind blank. "Please, make yourself at home, ne?"

Tokio nodded and started to step more fully into the room. She had a habit of evaluating people and their parties based on the amount of planning that went into them.

To her dark eyes, Misao clearly was a disorderly person. She had a low set table with nothing but snaks on it. A large pile of bedding sat in a disordered heap in the middle of the room. And the young girl was dressed in her sleeping yukata.

The door opened again and Kaoru and Megumi stepped in. Instantly both of them looked at each other and smiled slightly. Misao's baffled expression clearly stated that the boys hadn't been invited.

"Misao-chan," Megumi called out. "I hope you don't mind my tagging along with Kaoru. I haven't been out in quite a while." She stepped up in front of Misao and embraced the younger girl in a careful hug before walking over to the bedding pile with a foxy laugh.

Kaoru, in the meantime, had decided not to greet Misao right away. Instead, she headed to where Sano and Yahiko were whorfing down Misao's snacks. "Stop eating," she said sternly, slapping Sano's hand away from a plateful of ohagi.

"Waph arf yof talfink abof?" Sano demanded with him mouth stuffed to full to fit even a needle. As he spoke, pieces of partially eaten ohagi flew out of his mouth and hit Kaoru's.

Kaoru smiled humorously, wiping her cheeks and stepping back. "I just don't think that you should eat all of Misao's food without first greeting her."

"Yeah right, you hag," Yahiko objected. "You just want us to back down so you can snort it all down yourself!"

Kaoru's eyebrow twitched and she slapped her apprentice into the food table, sending the carefully prepared meal in all directions.

"Heh heh heh heh," Misao murmured, starting to crack. She twisted her head back to the door, ignoring the flying food and focusing on the polite knock on the outside door. She slid the door open and opened her mouth to scream.

"Misao-dono!" Kenshin squawked first. "You're not dressed!" He looked scandalized. His face turned bright red and he dropped to his knees, bowing his head towards the ground in apology.

Misao took a deep breath. "Kenshin, I'm wearing a sleeping yukata." She glanced back into the room, eyes falling onto Okon and Omasu. They were both staring at Hiko with hearts in their eyes.

"Come on in, Kenshin," she said in a neutral voice.

Kenshin stood and walked into the room, head bowed and carrying Kaoru and Megumi's bags on his back. He found a seat by the door and sat down.

"Is everyone here for the party?" Misao inquired blankly.

Saitou, who had been looking around with growing horror, carefully nodded his head. He was starting to realize that a 'slumber party' included sleeping obviously. Judging by the bedding the nighttime clothing that the girls were wearing, they were all just going to bunk down and sleep in the same room.

He glanced at Tokio, who was starting to get an idea about what was going on. Her mouth was held in a tight line and she was standing completely straight and unmoving.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. His nerves were shot. Coming to the party had been a bad idea . . . . a really really really bad idea. The only thing that he had learned so far was that he didn't have the slightest clue what was going to happen. And he knew that there was going to be hell to pay when Tokio found out what was going on - he didn't know why, he just felt it was true.

Hiko, on the other hand was completely at ease. Although he still didn't know the basics of a slumber party, his initial instincts had been correct. All parties had sake and he was far to great to be made a fool of.

He smiled charmingly at Okon, enjoying how the worried expression melted from her face to be replaced by silly pink hearts. He had always been great with the ladies - all though that was no small wonder considering his obvious perfection.

"Hiko-sama?" Misao questioned. "Are you here for the party?"

"Of course," he said smoothly. "And I would like to thank-you for inviting me. To tell the truth, I usually have to crash parties . . . . . "

"Thanks . . . for inviting you . . . . . " Misao mumbled. "But I - "

"Wasn't sure if you were coming or not!" Okon shouted. "Right Misao-chan?" she said, flying across the room and pinching Misao's back to keep her from objecting. "I mean, why would a master of the Hiten Mitsurgi Ryuu want to attend a run-of-the-mill slumber party?"

Yahiko looked up curious. "Yeah, why did you - " he started to say.

Tokio cut him off, stepping on his head and drilling his face into the floor. "Slumber party?" she inquired lightly. Her head swiveled in a deadly arc towards Saitou. "I wasn't aware that this was a slumber party," she said in a falsely sweet voice that chilled everyone's blood.

Saitou swallowed nervously, resisting the urge to fall and her feet whimpering apologies.

"Actually," Kenshin spoke up, raising his head towards the room. His wide violet blue eyes encountered five young women wearing sleeping yukatas. (Kaoru and Megumi went and changed in the other room.) "Gomen nasai!" he exclaimed and planted his forehead to the ground once more.

"Well . . . . . . Misao murmured, deciding to take things in stride. "Welcome to my party everyone, and please enjoy yourselves. Okon, Omasu . . . " she made a gesture for them to meet her in the other room.

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"Who invited them? Which one of you invited a bunch of boys?" Misao narrowed her eyes at them. "And," she added, suddenly suspicious, "Was that everyone that you invited, or are there more?"

"More," Okon said meekly. "But we only wanted your party to be a success - "

"Enough," Misao said flatly. She turned and headed back into the room without another word or even glance back at the two ninja.

"That went well," Omasu muttered. She glanced at the other ninja. "Do you think that she'll be mad for a week . . . or a year?"

"I'd angle for eternity," Okon said blandly. She stared glumly at the wall that Misao had ventured through for several moments then brightened. "But on the bright side, Hiko-sama's here!"

"That's right, let's go see if we can catch his attention, ne?" Omasu said, her expression brightening at the thought of the studly swordsman.

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In the darkness of the Zen Temple where he was meditating, Shinamori Aoshi contemplated the pink sheet of paper in front of him. Misao hadn't mentioned anything about the party that morning when she had brought him tea. He had tried to hint at it, but she seemed oblivious to his attempts.

That meant he couldn't get no peace. Ever since she had left the invitation for him, he had been baffled. What was a slumber party exactly?

The only thing that he could come up with was that she had gotten tired of waiting for him. It was her childish way of asking him to sleep with her. And that brought up an important question. Did he want to sleep with her?

He closed his eyes, trying to imagine lying alone in a bed with her, their clothes scattered around the room.

"Misao . . . why now?" he whispered to the gathering darkness.

Now was the time to chose, should he give himself to her or give up on ever returning her love for him?

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Author's notes:

Well, I finally found the rest of the story. (It was buried under a heap of books and other junk in my closet . . . **sweatdrop**) Anyway, here it is for anyone who may care!

Actually, there's one more chapter. \_/

Kissa-chan