Der…the stupid SUCO internet system is down. I hate the internet here. Stupid broadband…*grumbles* There's only one thing that could make me feel better…

*glomps Kamatari, sending the cross-dresser flying*

Kamatari: Itaii…

***

"I'm hungry, Aoshi."

Aoshi looked at his wife. She was trailing behind him, one of her hands in his. Her hair swung back and forth in that long braid and her ninja suit fell in loose folds over the bulge in her middle. The weather was unusually warm and she looked rather happy to be outside.

They had been en route to Tokyo for about two weeks. The trip would take longer than normal because Aoshi was so paranoid about Misao's well-being that he wanted to stop at the first inn they came to after five o'clock and would not leave the following morning until after nine. This caused much pouting and complaining on Misao's part, but she grudgingly agreed that Aoshi did have a firm argument.

"There's a village not too far away, Itachi. Can you hold out a little longer?"

"I suppose so." She said over-dramatically. As if to emphasize her hunger, her stomach growled.

Aoshi smiled at her fondly and a sheepish grin crossed her face. He was finding that she was the Misao he was used to now that they were traveling. She seemed to loosen up when outside. No wonder she disliked the winter weather so much. She couldn't do anything when the ground was covered in snow.

"You're not tired yet?"

"Nope. I could keep going for a while. The baby likes it outside. He's been pretty busy."

"He, is it? You think the baby will be a boy?" He teased.

"Yup." She nodded emphatically, "I think the baby will be a boy and he'll look just like you." She beamed.

He smiled softly. She seemed to have forgotten about all the bad things and she was happy. This made him very happy. She could have easily been a wanderer like Kenshin. Misao was the kind of person who belonged outside.

"You're sure you feel okay?"

"Yes!" How many times was he going to ask her? His concern was sweet, but it was getting old.

"I'm sorry. I know it's annoying…I'm just worried, that's all. All this walking can't be good for you."

"Hey, exercise will keep me from getting fat."

"You're supposed to be gaining weight, Itachi." He reminded her gently, "It means the baby is healthy. I'd be worried if you weren't getting fat." He pulled her closer to him, his arm around her shoulder. "You're still just as beautiful to me, no matter what."

She smiled up at him. Her Aoshi, ever the romantic. He was so serious about everything, he would never tell her something he didn't mean. And he cared for her so much, and the baby, whom she hoped would be a little boy just like his father.

"This looks like a nice place to stay, Aoshi."

Misao and Aoshi were standing in front of a quaint little inn in the village they stopped in for the evening. It was a building similar in structure to the Aoiya and, Misao noticed, there was a restaurant.

So they ventured inside and Aoshi reserved a room. Then Misao dragged him into the restaurant. "I'm starving!" She exclaimed, "And the baby is hungry too. He's kicking me."

Already seated at a chabudai in the restaurant was a man who perked up at the sound of Misao's over enthused voice. Hajime Saito had not seen Misao or Aoshi in quite some time and it was quite the coincidence that they should happen to be in the same place at the same time…The baby is hungry too. He's kicking me…Had he heard correctly? He frowned. Misao was pregnant! A sly smile crossed his face. Aoshi was the only one who could have fathered that child.

He rose to his feet, ready to search for the weasel girl and find out what she was doing there, but he felt a tug on his pant leg and turned back to the table.

"Where are you going, Father?" Eight-year-old Owari was looking at him inquisitively. She had his pant leg clutched in her hand and was staring up at him through the same wolfish eyes as he himself had, strands of her dark hair falling in her face.

He patted her head. "I'll be right back, Puppy. Don't worry."

"But where are you going?" Her fingers tightened around the fabric.

He glanced at his wife. Tokio was smiling in amusement, her dark eyes shining. Too many times had he left them. Too many times had Owari cried when he vanished from their lives. "Some one I know from a long time ago is here, Puppy. I would like to go say hello."

"May I come?" She smiled slightly, "I would like to meet your friends, Father."

"Of course you may come."

But there was no need to go anywhere. A waitress was taking Aoshi and Misao to their seats and she led them right past the Saito family. Passing by, Aoshi looked over his shoulder, his icy eyes meeting the golden eyes of the Wolf of Mibu. "Saito." He nodded a greeting.

"Shinomori." The other man acknowledged the greeting.

"Saito?" Misao looked up, her cerulean eyes wide with surprise. There indeed was Hajime Saito, a little girl clinging to his leg, a somewhat pretty woman seated at the chabudai.

"Itachi." The word sounded strange coming from his mouth. No one but Aoshi had called her that in a long time. Saito's eyes wandered over her, taking in every little detail about the young ninja. She had remained pretty much the same, her hair still in that same ridiculously long braid, her eyes still wide and curious. Only two things about her were different: the wedding ring on her finger and the very obvious bulge in her middle. "You've gotten married."

She nodded gleefully, her braid wagging. "Aoshi and I are very happy together. And," She patted her tummy, "We're having a baby in the summer."

"I can tell." Half a smile crossed his face and he indicated the little girl, "This is Owari. She's eight. And that-"

"-Must be Tokio." Misao finished for him. Never would she forget the shock she and Kenshin had experienced upon learning the wolf had a wife.

The woman smiled. "I don't believe we've met. Hajime, who are your friends?" She rose to her feet, looking at her husband.

"Aoshi and Misao Shinomori," It seemed to be an odd notion, the two of them together as husband and wife. But then, Saito would never have pictured himself with a wife either, "My wife, Tokio."

Tokio bowed slightly, her glossy chestnut hair sliding over her shoulders like water. "I'm very pleased to meet you. Hajime tells me sometimes about the people he meets and I remember hearing about the both of you." She proceeded to lift Owari into her arms so the girl could be on eye-level with them all.

"Father, are these the people you were with in Kyoto?" Owari blinked her wolfish eyes, regarding the man from her mother's arms.

"Yes Puppy." He nodded, "They are some of the people I was with."

Owari looked back at Misao and Aoshi, studying them intently. "You're not very old, are you?" She asked Misao.

"Owari!" Tokio scolded the girl, "You do not ask questions like that." She was embarrassed by her daughter's impertinence.

"It's okay." Misao smiled, "I don't mind." She looked at Owari, "No, I'm not very old. But I am ten whole years older than you."

"You're very pretty. I wish my hair were as long as yours." She reached for the lengthy braid, wishing to touch it and make sure it was real.

"It took me a long time to grow it this long. I bet if you started now, yours would be like this in ten years. It's almost the same color." She told the little girl kindly.

Owari slid from her mother's arms and stood before Misao. She was dressed in a sea green kimono with violet trim and she bore a very strong resemblance to Saito, but Misao could tell she was an incredibly cute child. She seemed to be rather inquisitive; her animal-like eyes searched her surroundings for answers to everything.

"You're going to have a baby." She poked Misao's belly, "I want Mother to have a baby. Sometimes I'm lonely. Sometimes the other children at home don't play with me."

"No, don't poke." The young woman laughed, "Here, put your hand flat and you can feel him kick…"

Aoshi watched as his wife interacted with the child. She would make a wonderful mother. She's so caring with children. She's patient and gentle. Our baby will have the best mother in the world. But it's father…Am I worthy of loving this child? Will I do everything right? Will I be a good father to the child I created?

"When did you marry her, Shinomori? She can't be any older than eighteen now, can she?" Saito's cool voice dragged the ninja back to reality.

"It was shortly after her birthday." Aoshi said, his voice noncommittal, "The ring was my birthday gift to her."

Saito's eyebrows went up. "Didn't wait very long to start a family, did you?"

"It was not something we chose, Saito. It just happened. What about you? I never would have expected you to have a child, much less to be married."

"Hajime and I met shortly after the revolution." Tokio volunteered shyly, "We were together four years before Owari was born. I told him he was going to have a puppy and he laughed. He's called her that ever since. He is a wonderful father." A knowing smile crossed her face, "When he is home."

"Now Tokio…" He began, but she cut him off.

"Yes, I know. You must go where they tell you, when they tell. I understand this. Owari does not." She turned to Aoshi, "You're wife is very young. This is your first child, is it not?"

"Yes." He nodded, his expression never changing, and Tokio could sense he was trying to hide his nervousness. "Although," He added as an afterthought, "I did look after her from the time she was very small."

"And she turned out very nicely. You will be a wonderful father." The woman smiled kindly, "Owari, come here please. Say hello to Aoshi-san. You've been ignoring him."

"Yes, Mother." The little girl managed to drag herself away from patting Misao's tummy. She looked up at Aoshi -he was several feet taller than her- and a very Saito-like expression crossed her face. "Hello, Aoshi Shinomori."

Although his expression didn't show it, he was a little taken aback by her seriousness. Misao at eight had been loud and boisterous. This child is incredibly polite. Perhaps I'll get lucky…Misao appeared at his side, grinning up at him…Then again, probably not. "Hello, Owari-chan."

"You're very tall like Father." Her gaze flickered up to his face, "Mother is tall too."

Half a smile crossed his face. "Perhaps it is just that you are very small, Owari."

"Perhaps." She agreed. She rather liked Misao, but wasn't so sure about Aoshi. He reminded her quite a bit of her father. And he was very handsome, with dark, shiny hair and deep blue eyes. She smiled up at him, the same way her father smiled.

"Can we eat now?" Misao was clutching his arm, looking up at him eagerly.

"Of course, Itachi." He smiled at her, his broad hand rested on her hair.

"Hajime," Tokio smiled at her husband, "Maybe your friends would care to join us. Our dinner hasn't come yet."

"Very well." As hard and cold as Hajime Saito seemed, he lived to please his wife. She and Owari were the two things that gave him any joy in his life and he wanted them to be happy.

"What do you think, Itachi?" Aoshi stroked his wife's glossy hair as he asked the question.

"Fine with me, just as long as I get something to eat." She replied cheerfully.

Misao chatted openly with Tokio and Owari as she ate, her hands a flurry activity as if she couldn't get her point across simply by speaking. Aoshi watched fondly as she enjoyed herself, a small smile on his face. The pleasure she got from every day things made him wonder why he had thought the things he had once thought. "I never want to see you in front of my face again…" Did I really say that to her? She was yawning, her head rested on his shoulder. But she forgave me anyway… "You're tired, Misao." Saito wanted to speak with him privately, he could tell. The other man had been watching him all night. "Go to bed."

"All ri-iii-ght…" She yawned mid-sentence, lifting her head from his shoulder. She kissed his cheek, then rose to her feet. "Good night, all of you."

"Good night, Misao-san." Owari smiled up at her.

"I believe that Owari and I will also retire for the evening." Tokio knew there was something the two men were going to discuss. Leaving them alone would be the best choice of action. She offered her daughter a hand and the two followed Misao out of the room.

"So Shinomori, care to tell me what you're doing here and where you are going?" Saito lit a cigarette and took a long drag on it.

"I could ask you likewise." The ice man regarded the Wolf of Mibu, his voice emotionless and even.

"My family and I are on vacation." Saito said blandly, "When I am home, I try to make it up to them for being gone." He took another puff on the cigarette, "Now what about you? Why are you dragging the weasel around when she is in such a state?"

"I suppose it does seem rather odd, for me to get her pregnant then take her out on such a journey like this. It is most inconsiderate of me, but it is for her safety that I do this."

"Her safety?" Saito's eyebrows went up. This was a peculiar thing for Aoshi to say.

"There is a dangerous man in Kyoto, a man bent on causing Misao to suffer. He has already kidnapped and attempted to have his way with her, mutilated a cat and left it dangling from our clothes line, poisoned me and set fire to the Aoiya. I do not wish for her to be harmed nor do I want anything to happen to our child. So I decided the best thing we could do right now was leave Kyoto."

"You think perhaps this man will come to his senses in your absence?"

"A man like that can never come to his sense. I left because I did not wish to slay him in Misao's presence and it would eventually come to that if we remained at the Aoiya."

"I understand. You wish to protect her. How very noble of you, Shinomori." Saito dropped the cigarette and crushed it with the heal of his shoe, "You have truly changed in these two years and I suppose the weasel is to blame for that."

"Yes. And I am glad of it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be joining my wife in bed." He left Saito and ventured to the room he had booked for the two of them. Misao was already asleep, curled up on her side among the blankets. Rather than settle himself next to her, he watched as she slept, pulling the blankets up to her chin and tucking her in as he had when she was a child. She slept like that often now, her petite body wrapped around their baby as if to protect it. She looked so small and vulnerable there.

He brushed back her hair, his hand lingering on her cheek. Leaning over, he kissed her softly. "I made a promise to you the day we were married, Itachi," He whispered, "I promised to protect you and look after you because I love you." She stirred slightly, mumbling his name in her sleep, and he felt a fresh wave of anger wash over him. All of this she is going through…It is because I didn't tell her sooner that I loved her. If I had told her…Brushing aside these thoughts, he continued speaking, "And I will not break that promise."

***

Well, I lied. This turned into an incredibly long chapter. Whoopsie…Hee hee. Any way, I hope this didn't seem too much like filler…I like making random characters show up in unusual places plus I couldn't resist Owari. She's Saito's daughter that Zanza, Writer-for-Hire, created for a one-shot fic called "Tsuku Ie" and she's just adorable! *glomps Owari*

Next chapter, I promise Kenshin, Kaoru and Kenji, so stay tuned!

*runs off to start writing*