Misao returned late that evening. She had had a surprisingly good time with Jishin and only felt slightly guilty at that point. Her old playmate was a man who knew how to treat women surprisingly well. He had dinner served by candlelight, given her a glass of chardonnay, while a man sat in the corner, dressed in a tuxedo, and played soft music on a violin. Unlike Aoshi, he knew how to be romantic.

Jishin grinned to himself as the carriage bounced along back to his father's house. The evening had gone far better than he had hoped for. He had dazzled Misao; swept her off her feet. She'd even allowed him to kiss her on the cheek as he saw her to the door and she had agreed to see him again the following day. He leaned back against the plush seat, his hands behind his head. She would be his by the end of the week. She was so innocent. All he had to do was act kind and she got all flustered and embarrassed. What would she do when he had her alone? He laughed in anticipation.

Hold your horses, Boy. He told himself, She's not yours yet. You still have to make her forget about the Icicle…She went on and on about him all night. It had been "Aoshi-sama might…" or "I don't think Aoshi-sama…" or his favorite: "Did I tell you about the time Aoshi-sama…?" She was obsessed with him. He had to figure out how he could make her forget that damn ninja. This will take all of my wit…

Where is she? Why isn't she home yet? Aoshi was pacing the length of his study. It was getting late and he'd sworn to himself that he would not go to bed until he knew Misao was home safe and sound. He didn't trust Jishin. There was something about that boy that made him wonder…What does he want with Misao? She has no money, no family, nothing to offer. She's loud, she's crude and she can be very insensitive. Why is she so special to him? She's naïve. She knew nothing of…Surely he couldn't want…?

…Could he?

This troubling thought caused the man to pace harder. He would not allow Misao to be taken advantage of. But how could he express his concerns to her when she wasn't even speaking to him? He sighed. This was already such a complicated situation and it was getting more and more complicated as time went by.

Misao walked through the door in a daze, her hand raised to her cheek where Jishin had kissed her. She was in a drunken stupor -partly from the wine he had given her, partly from the whole dreamy atmosphere of the evening- and rather unaware of her surroundings.

"Did you have a good time?" Aoshi's voice -its usual deadpan- broke through her cloudy thoughts. He was struggling to control his jealousy and his heart skipped a beat at the sight of Misao with her hair down long. He had never seen it undone before; she always kept it bound in the braid.


She suddenly seemed to wake up, the fog lifting from her mind. She was still angry with him and wanted to make sure he knew it. "Not that it's any of your business, but I had a very good time." She said frigidly, her tone arrogant and aloof. He needed to suffer a while longer and, anyway, she did have fun with Jishin.

"Misao…" His mind was racing. Tell her he was sorry? Not on his life. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but she had readily abandoned him for that other man. He was hurt. His confidence was wounded, his heart broken. However, he still had his pride. No eighteen-year-old girl would make him come crawling.

She looked at him expectantly, her arms still folded across her chest. What did he want now? "What?" She asked sharply.

"…" He stared back at her, taking in the sight of her looking so angry. "Never mind. Go to bed. You were out late."

Her mouth fell open. That was not what she had been expecting from him. "I'm not a child, Aoshi! I'll go to bed when I damn well please. Oh, and just so you know, I'm going out with him again tomorrow." Then she turned on her heal and marched from the room.

Aoshi took a shaky step back. Again she had addressed him without the "-sama" prefix. And what did she mean she was going out with him again?! How could she? How could she?? He sank down to the floor, leaning against the doorframe. This was terrible. She had never before treated him so cruelly. They thought he was cold and distant? Misao when she was angry could freeze hell.

Misao, meanwhile, had stormed up the steps and was flinging things around her room as she prepared for bed. Articles of clothing, sandals, blankets…things flew here and there as she threw them. She was so pissed off she couldn't control herself.

Finally her rage seemed to diminish. She settled herself on the bed and peered out the window at the moon. I'm not going to cry…I'm not going to cry…She began twining her hair into a braid so it wouldn't get tangled while she slept. I come back from a date with another man and all Aoshi-sama says to me is "go to bed." Her heart ached. Why isn't he angry? Why doesn't he care? Can it be that he really doesn't care for me like I thought he did?

The moon cast silver light into the room where it made puddle on the bed around her. Moonlight was so cold, like Aoshi-sama's icy eyes. She wanted to melt his frozen heart, with her smiles, her love, her tears…Whatever it took. She wanted to take him in her arms and tell him everything would be okay. She loved him. She would be there for him, no matter what.

And he didn't seem to understand.

Why was love so painful? He put her through so much grief. He hurt her and she wasn't even sure he was aware he was doing it. I should tell him all of these things…She bit her lip, contemplating what she would do. She was angry at him over his lack of enthusiasm about her birthday, hurt that he didn't forbid her from seeing Jishin, and overall confused about the whole thing.

"What's on your mind, Aoshi-sama? What are you thinking about all of this? I wish you would talk to me…" She sighed, falling back from the window. A shiver ran down her spine. There was a chill on the air and that made her think of the approaching winter. Cold weather always reminded her more of her beloved; frost on the windows was like the blue ice of his eyes.

Her eyes misted with tears and, before she realized it, she was crying. All of her life she had loved him. All of her life, she had waited for him to love her back. And it didn't seem like it would happen. Even now, when she was trying her hardest to make him jealous, it didn't seem like he had any concerns one way or another.

"Oh, Aoshi-sama…" Her cerulean gaze drifted out the window to the night once more, "Aoshi-sama…Ai shiteru…" A few more tears trickled down her cheeks, "But I don't think that you understand."

Down the hall and on the right, Aoshi was seated in a meditative fashion on the floor of his room. Bathed in silver moonlight, he pondered over the situation for the millionth time. Something was telling him that Misao wasn't as happy about the evening's events as she let on.

His thoughts drifted back to the un-given, unopened birthday gift. Maybe I should give it to her anyway…It may be a day late, but better late than never. It could help smooth things over…Or make things worse. Inwardly, he groaned. That small box had the power to make everything right -if presented to her at the right time- but he didn't have the courage to give it to her. Why am I such a coward??

He rested his head in his hands. This was too much for his poor hardened heart to handle. He'd tried to turn her away, tried to block out his feelings, and it simply did not work. Some warrior he was, brought to his knees by a girl ten years his junior.

Just like Battôsai.

He had once scoffed at Kenshin Himura's love for Kaoru Kamiya; swore he would never allow himself to be ruled by emotions for a woman. Himura had gotten soft due to what he felt for the tanuki and Aoshi had never wanted to be like that. Yet there he was, fretting over Misao, trying to figure out just how to right all his wrongs, as if he was no more than a child again.

He fully understood everything Himura had gone through, all the debating and wondering if what he thought he wanted was what he truly wanted. But the difference between him and the former hitokiri was that Himura had gotten married while he continued to leave Misao hanging. Himura had been able to open his heart to the tanuki. Aoshi's heart was still frozen and ready to shatter at the weasel's slightest touch.

How does one thaw a frozen heart? That was the next question he needed to find an answer to. And he knew it would not be an easy answer to find. It would require much opening of his soul and whom could he open it to? Misao was intensely angry. He didn't think she'd listen to a word he had to say. She got so passionate about these sorts of things. He was in deep.

There was one thing he was sure he had to do: make certain Jishin didn't try anything funny with his Misao. If that spoiled rich boy made her cry -if he hurt her the slightest bit- there would be hell to pay. Both of his kodachis had found a home mounted on the wall, but they were still sharp and deadly after two years of rest. He would have Jishin's head if he harmed Misao in any way.

This grim decision finalized, he figured it was as good a time as any to go to bed. Tomorrow would be a busy day of spying and espionage and he wanted to be well rested, his mind as clear as possible. It would take all of his skills to pull this off. You wait, Misao. I'd follow you to the ends of the earth…

***

Note: This next chapter is for Missy Misao, who requested that I "make sure to have Jishin and Misao go on a little date, and Aoshi follow around and stuff." I was planning some more date chapters, going into finer detail of what they did together, but it hadn't occurred to me to make Aoshi stalk them. This could get interesting, considering the way I've written Aoshi's train of thought and how suspicious he is of Jishin…Heh heh…*rubs hands together in anticipation*

Ahem…Anyway, thanks to all who have been so kind in their reviews. I do believe this is one of my most reviewed fics, considering how short it still is.

Until nest chap…^^v

-SC