Hmm…I have nothing to say right now other than I'm on a Kamatari high *glomps Kamatari* He is just sooooo KAWAII!!

Kamatari: *struggles to breath I'm glomping so tightly* …Save…Me…

All of you: *too busy reading*

***

March…

"Misao, where have you been?"

The young woman had just shut the door to Aoshi's study. It was a blah, rainy day and she was sick of being cooped up inside. It had been raining for days and showed no signs of stopping. Misao couldn't stand being stuck inside. "I went to the clinic to see the doctor."

"Everything all right?"

"Yup. Just a check up. He says that I've gained the right amount of weight so far; that the baby should be healthy." She broke into her characteristic grin.

Her excitement caused him to smile. Five months it had been. She had a little tummy that got hidden in the folds of her clothes, but he knew it was there. He'd seen that soft mound that was their baby, the product of their love. "That's good."

She crossed the room to him, dropping her haori into the seat of the extra chair he'd brought in for her. "What are you up to, Aoshi?" She was behind him, her arms around his neck, her chin rested on his shoulder.

He turned to look at her. "I've been thinking…"

"About what?" She could easily tell that he was being very serious.

There was a long silence before he responded. "About that cat back in January. My being poisoned last month. All those other odd little things happening around the Aoiya; your clothes disappearing from the line, the threatening notes pinned to the door…" He paused, taking a deep breath, "You do know who it is doing all of this, don't you?"

Her face darkened and she looked very sad. "…Jishin." Her voice was low and melancholy. "I don't understand what happened to him, Aoshi. He was so sweet when we were children. I really did like him."

"Itachi, people change. Things go wrong. It's not your fault; it wasn't anything you did, so don't ever think that." He reached up with one hand, stroking her cheek. She looked so worried. "I want you to be careful. Don't go anywhere alone. If he hurt you in any way, I don't know if I would be able to go on. I'd be lost without you."

"I'll be careful."

"You promise?" He asked solemnly, his deep eyes meeting hers.

"I promise. I will obey you, Aoshi." She kissed him softly, "Because I don't want you to worry." She paused, looking pensive for a moment, "I wish things could have been different. I would have liked to be friends with Jishin the way we used to be. We had a good time together."

"Things cannot always stay as they are, Itachi." He pushed the chair back from the desk and she settled herself on his lap. "Life goes on. The only thing that stays the same is that everything changes."

"I don't like change. I just want me and you to be happy and stay that way forever." She lifted a piece of hair from his eyes, looking up at him earnestly.

He smiled faintly. "Some change is good. Without it, you and I wouldn't be happy together. There would be no baby and no me and you. We would just be two people who lived in the same house because I never would have been brave enough to say I love you." He took her face in his hands, drawing it up to his for a kiss, "So you see, there's a reason for the madness."

She smiled, her forehead rested against his. "I suppose some change is okay. But not much." She kissed him back, "Although there will be a big change once the baby is born."

"Yes." He agreed, "That will be a very big change."

"Misao?" Okon's voice drifted into the room from somewhere down the hall, "Misao, where are you?"

The young woman sighed. What did Okon want now? "I better go see what's up." She hoisted herself from his lap and wandered back out of the room.

"I need you to go to the market, Misao." Okon told her hurriedly, "We have guests. I'd send Omasu, but she's washing sheets. And Shiro and Kuro are cleaning all the slush from the melting snow and rain from the front walk. That only leaves Okina and well…Sending him to the market is a lost cause."

"What do you need me to get?" She sighed a second time. Aoshi had just told her to not go anywhere alone and now Okon was asking her to go out.

"Just a few things. I have a list for you."

"Let me see what Aoshi says. He doesn't want me to be out by myself after all the weird stuff going on."

"Okay, but make it quick. I really need you to get this stuff."

Aoshi was bent over a newspaper that he had spread across the desk when Misao left. At the sound of the door opening again, he looked up. "What did Okon want, Itachi?"

"She needs me to go get some things for her at the market. It figures she would ask right after you tell me not to go places without some one else. Everybody is busy and I need to go for her. Will you come with me?"

"Of course I will. Give me a moment to finish reading, then we will go."

"Okay." She settled into her chair to wait.

A while later…

"I really like going places with you, Aoshi." Misao said pleasantly as she and her husband walked back to the Aoiya. They had gotten everything on Okon's list and Aoshi was carrying the groceries, Misao skipping along a ways ahead of him. "It doesn't matter where I am, as long as I'm with you."

"Don't do that." He chided her, "I don't want you to trip on anything. And slow down a little, Misao."

"Aoshi…" She gave him a withering glance over her shoulder, "Don't start with that again. I'm fine."

"Let me fret over you. Indulge me a little." He smiled faintly, a trace of laughter in his icy eyes.

"Oh, All-" She stopped in mid-sentence, "Is that smoke? Look, it's coming from the direction of the Aoiya!" She exclaimed, pointing.

Aoshi's eyes widened. Smoke…That was bad.

Real bad.

Dropping the groceries all over the street, he took off running, leaving Misao standing there. "Don't you dare run anywhere, Misao!" He called over his shoulder, "No running!"

"Wait! Aoshi, wait for me then!" She trotted after him, as fast as she thought he would approve of, her kimono flapping around her ankles.

"No…" She came to a dead stop once she had caught up with him, "No!" The Aoiya was on fire, the rest of the Oniwabanshu scuttling around, trying to quench the flames as they licked the sky. "NO!"

"Misao…" Aoshi's arms were around her. She buried her face in his chest and he hugged her tightly, rubbing her back in a soothing manner. "Don't cry. We've faced worse before. A little fire won't stop the Oniwabanshu."

"But Aoshi…" She looked up, her face streaked with tears, "It will take a long time to repair the building. What if the baby is born and we have nowhere to live? What will we do if all our things were destroyed? What if…"

"Shh…Calm down." He buried his face in her hair, inhaling that faint smell of sakura blossoms that always encircled her, "We'll be fine, Itachi. Everything will work out." He assured her. But he was frightened. What would Jishin do next? It wasn't safe for Misao in Kyoto any more. He had to get her out of there.

"Stay here." He told her sternly. "Don't move. I need to talk with Okina. Don't wander away, don't go anywhere near the building. Please just stay put. If the building is badly burned, it might not be very stable. It could collapse; it's still burning. And I don't want anything to happen to you, do you understand?"

"Yes…" Her voice wavered slightly. She was terrified of being homeless. Were it not for the impending birth of their child, she would not have been so worried. She rested a hand over the curve of her belly. Don't worry, Baby, We'll think of something before you come along. Don't worry, Little One…

"Misao!" Omasu saw her there, one hand over her stomach, a dazed look on her face, "Are you all right?"

"Wha…? Oh, I'm fine. Are you okay?" She looked at the older woman, who was slightly sooty from the fight with the fire.

"Nobody got hurt. We're all okay. Lucky for us, Shiro was still outside and noticed before it got too out of control." She attempted to smile, "It'll be like when the Juppon Gatana wrecked the place. We'll just rebuild."

Misao nodded vacantly. That was something she would never forget -her battle with Kamatari- but this was different. This happened solely because of her. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"This is my fault. It happened because of me." Her voice caught in her throat and she began to sob, "We have no home now and it's all my fault."

"It's not your fault, Misao." Omasu hugged the distraught girl, "None of this is your fault. You can't blame the sick things that man does on yourself. He needs help, Misao. There's something wrong with him and it has nothing to do with you."

"I'm scared, Omasu." Misao whispered, "I don't understand why he wants to hurt me. I wouldn't care. Normally, it wouldn't bother me. But my baby…I don't want him to do anything to my baby."

"Aoshi won't let anything happen to you. He loves you and he loves your baby. There's no way he'd let that skunk hurt you." Her gaze wandered back to the smoldering building, "This will not tear us apart. It only serves to make us stronger. The Oniwabanshu won't go without a fight. We would all fight to the death for you. The child you and Aoshi are to have is the future of the Oniwabanshu. It's our job to protect you."

"Omasu…" Misao blinked back tears, glancing up at Omasu. The older woman was smiling confidently, her eyes lit with hope. "Thank you."

Omasu looked down at her. "What kind of friends would we be if we didn't look out for each other?"

The girl smiled faintly, trying to make herself believe everything Omasu was saying. Things would work out. They would all be fine. She nodded slightly, more to reassure herself than to agree with the other woman.

"Misao, come with me." Aoshi appeared before the two women.

"Where are we going?" She asked curiously.

"We're leaving. It isn't safe for you here any more. I'm going to get a few things from our room, then we're leaving immediately." He took her by the arm, pulling her close to him, "We're going to see Kenshin." He whispered softly, "I know you've missed him and Kaoru. So we're going to go visiting, just like any normal couple."

"Okay." She agreed. This was bad. If they were being forced to leave Kyoto, that meant that Jishin was very, very dangerous. Aoshi was afraid of him and Aoshi was not some one who scared easily. She looked up at him, "Bring me my ninja uniform. I want something that will be familiar if we're leaving."

He looked at her oddly. "You travel a lot, Itachi. You've never been homesick before."

"I've also never been pregnant before." She replied casually, "There's a first time for everything, Aoshi."

It was then that he understood. While it was true that she had not only traveled but traveled alone before, this was the first time she would be going anywhere in such a condition. It would take a little while to get to Tokyo and they would be there for a while. He wasn't about to travel all that way only to turn around and come back. Misao was smart enough to realize this. She must have been frightened at the though of giving birth. She was, after all, only eighteen. He could understand her wanting to take a comforting item along.

"I'll bring it." He assured her, "You wait here. I'll be right back."

She watched as he ventured into the burned out building. Aoshi…You'll do anything for me, won't you? You're going to leave home for me. You're doing so many things you never wanted to for me. I'm such a nuisance and you love me so much…

Aoshi was angry. Very angry. Jishin had taken things too far this time. Not only had he attacked himself and Misao, he had put the rest of the Oniwabanshu in danger too. That man…if he hurts any one, he'll answer to me…

***

HAH! All of you thought they were going to get visited by the Himuras…Little did you know…

Okay, the poll is closed. Girl won by quite a few votes (13 to be exact), so it looks like Aoi-chan will be making an appearance in a few chapters. Next chapter will likely be short, with the two of them traveling and possibly Saito and Tokio chucked in somewhere. Chapter 18 will be when they get to the dojo. I told you I get long-winded!