End Of Last Chapter:
They had invaded her privacy, and they knew it was none of their business,
but only Misao had seen the tears streaking down her best friend's face.
Only she knew how it felt to want that but ashamed to do it because of her
age. So only Misao ran after her.
Chapter Sixteen: What Sano Saw
Soujiro and Aoshi watched the girls go into the Akebeko, and shortly after they saw Ayame run out in tears and Misao chasing after her. So, they followed.
Ayame had ran through the back alleyways, and down to the forest. She ran along the stream and back to the cave, although it was so predictable of her, she didn't care. She knew no one would bother her there, and those men certainly wouldn't be coming back. Not after getting beat up by a girl only half their size. So she sat by the cave, and started to cry. She had told herself it would be alright. She had known she would be ok, but she had also told herself that she wouldn't let anyone find out, for Soujiro's sake. She didn't want to hurt him, and she had let him down, so she cried.
Misao knew her friend oh so well, so she ran down the stream and found her by the cave. She sat down beside her friend who was sobbing. "Ayame..I'm so sorry. We didn't mean to hurt you." "I know. It's not your fault. I...I just didn't want anyone to find out, for his sake. But I let it happen. I was careless, and now I've let him down." She continued to shed tears all over her new clothes.
Soujiro and Aoshi had been watching them closely, not to far away from each other, but they were too concerned to bother noticing. 'Misao..she's such a kind girl. She's being so nice to her friend. I wonder what happened.', thought Aoshi. Meanwhile Soujiro had his own thoughts running through his head. 'What's wrong? Why is she so upset?' That's when both men saw it. The huge purple mark near Ayame's neck. 'Oh my god. Why the hell did she go and do that if it would upset her this much?' Surprisingly, Aoshi had thought better of Ayame than that, but he was beginning to doubt her. Soujiro's mind raced when he saw it. At first he thought of the obvious, that they had found out, but then it crossed his mind. She hadn't cared if they others knew, but she knew that he did. 'She's crying because of me.' The reality hit him hard. Not just that he caused her to cry, but because she did. It told him that she cared for him so much, that she was putting herself through this much just to make him happy. That was all it took. Soujiro ran out towards them, not caring that they would know he had been spying. He ran up to Ayame and hugged her. She looked up. "Sou...Sou-chan? Oh Sou-chan. I'm so sorry." She continued to cry as he held her. "No, no don't be sorry. It's my fault. I should have never gotten so carried away with what the others would have thought. Please don't cry." Misao backed away a bit, and watched the way Soujiro comforted her friend. She had never seen this side to him before, and neither had anyone else. He was so loving, so caring, and so selfless. She watched as he held Ayame in his arms, just holding her. Comforting her. Telling her he wasn't upset. Even though she was happy for her friend to have such love in her life, watching all this just made her wish Aoshi-sama would treat her this way. And he sensed that. He saw the look on Misao's face as she watched the couple together. He could tell she was jealous. He could tell what she was thinking.
Scene Change
Back at the dojo, Yahiko was practicing, Kenshin was doing chores, and Sano was just being lazy. All of a sudden, a question popped into Yahiko's head. "Hey, does anybody know where Soujiro slept last night?" "I thought he slept outside", was Kenshin's reply. "That lucky son of a bitch? My god, what I wouldn't give to have been in his place last night!" "What are you talking 'bout Sano?" "Well, I don't wanna go spreading rumors, but this ain't no rumor." They crept closer, interested by what he had to say. "Go on." "Well, I was walking outside late last night, and I heard some noises so I peered in the window to see what was going on." "And?" "Well, I saw them..let's just say I saw them 'getting it on'." Sano laughed evilly. "Sano! It's not nice to joke about such things!" "Yah, but I'm not joking! I mean DYAMN!, that girl is Fiine!! You should've seen the booty on that little item!" Sano smirked, but Kenshin just kept quiet. "Soujiro and Ayame?! But they're so young! I mean." Yahiko was cut off when Megumi and Kaoru returned. "Hey, where are the other two?" The both looked very ashamed of something and Megumi answered, "Ayame got upset about something and ran away, Misao chased after her." "What was she so upset about?" "It's none of your business!", replied Kaoru. "It was none of our's either.", Megumi added. They both looked guilty of something. "Wait a minute, did this have anything to do with last night?" Both women turned to Sano. "How the hell do you know?!" "Heh. I saw 'em. What about you two? How'd you find out?" "Well...she kinda..she has a mark." "Ayame?! Oh lord! She's got a hickey?! Ahahaha! I would've paid money to see that!" Sano laughed hysterically. "It's not funny! She was very upset that we were lecturing her." "Well it was her choice." So the girls and Sano argued for awhile, while Yahiko tried to calm them down, and Kenshin just kept on doing the chores.
Scene Change-In The Forest
Back at the cave, Ayame was still crying. "Please don't cry. It doesn't matter. I'm not upset." She looked up at Soujiro who was holding her tightly. "You.you really don't care?" He smiled. "No. I shouldn't have cared in the first place, and I certainly don't care now. The world could know, and I wouldn't give a damn." At this, she stopped crying and hugged him. "Alright. I'm sorry I got so upset." "I'm sorry I got you so upset." They both smiled at each other, knowing that they could continue with the apologies forever. Ayame let go of Soujiro and turned to Misao. She gave her a big hug. "Thank you Misao." "You shouldn't thank me. I did nothing." Ayame smiled and simply said, "You were worried and came after me. That has to count as something." They laughed. That was when they all noticed the man in the bushes. "You can come out now Aoshi-sama." So he came out and walked over to them. "Dammit! Have you guys been spying on us all day?!", Misao asked. Aoshi just kept his face straight and everyone else laughed. "What about we finish our shopping?", Misao questioned. "Ok, but first I want to get Megumi to cover this thing up. It's not the most attractive thing, yanoe." The girls laughed.
Scene Change- Everyone's Back
After some continuous arguing, everyone had settled down, until the rest came back that is. "Hey there they are!" They all turned to see the bunch coming back, with Ayame and Soujiro in front, holding hands and smiling. When they had entered the dojo, Megumi and Kaoru ran up to Ayame. "We're so sorry. We didn't mean to upset you." She just kept on smiling. "It's ok, but Megumi? Can you do me a favour and help me cover it up?" "Of course. Come with me." When they walked by, Sano just had to be a jerk and asked to see it. "Yah right, like you're worthy enough to see more than my face!" And with that they kept walking. So Sano turned to Soujiro. "How in hell did you manage to score that high?" Soujiro was about to say something, when Yahiko interrupted. "Don't pat attention to what he says, he's just jealous." Soujiro smiled and said, "I guess I'm just lucky." "Seems more than luck to me." Everyone turned to Kenshin. "What are saying Kenshin?", Sano asked. "I think they have something really special." He smiled at Soujiro, who returned the smile. Just then the girls came back. "Ok! You ready to go back shopping, Misao?" "Hey, can we come too?" "Sure Yahiko. Let's all go! And then we can eat dinner at the Akebeko!" So everybody got up and left to go shopping, but no one knew what old friends this shopping spree would bring....
End Of Chapter
Chapter Sixteen: What Sano Saw
Soujiro and Aoshi watched the girls go into the Akebeko, and shortly after they saw Ayame run out in tears and Misao chasing after her. So, they followed.
Ayame had ran through the back alleyways, and down to the forest. She ran along the stream and back to the cave, although it was so predictable of her, she didn't care. She knew no one would bother her there, and those men certainly wouldn't be coming back. Not after getting beat up by a girl only half their size. So she sat by the cave, and started to cry. She had told herself it would be alright. She had known she would be ok, but she had also told herself that she wouldn't let anyone find out, for Soujiro's sake. She didn't want to hurt him, and she had let him down, so she cried.
Misao knew her friend oh so well, so she ran down the stream and found her by the cave. She sat down beside her friend who was sobbing. "Ayame..I'm so sorry. We didn't mean to hurt you." "I know. It's not your fault. I...I just didn't want anyone to find out, for his sake. But I let it happen. I was careless, and now I've let him down." She continued to shed tears all over her new clothes.
Soujiro and Aoshi had been watching them closely, not to far away from each other, but they were too concerned to bother noticing. 'Misao..she's such a kind girl. She's being so nice to her friend. I wonder what happened.', thought Aoshi. Meanwhile Soujiro had his own thoughts running through his head. 'What's wrong? Why is she so upset?' That's when both men saw it. The huge purple mark near Ayame's neck. 'Oh my god. Why the hell did she go and do that if it would upset her this much?' Surprisingly, Aoshi had thought better of Ayame than that, but he was beginning to doubt her. Soujiro's mind raced when he saw it. At first he thought of the obvious, that they had found out, but then it crossed his mind. She hadn't cared if they others knew, but she knew that he did. 'She's crying because of me.' The reality hit him hard. Not just that he caused her to cry, but because she did. It told him that she cared for him so much, that she was putting herself through this much just to make him happy. That was all it took. Soujiro ran out towards them, not caring that they would know he had been spying. He ran up to Ayame and hugged her. She looked up. "Sou...Sou-chan? Oh Sou-chan. I'm so sorry." She continued to cry as he held her. "No, no don't be sorry. It's my fault. I should have never gotten so carried away with what the others would have thought. Please don't cry." Misao backed away a bit, and watched the way Soujiro comforted her friend. She had never seen this side to him before, and neither had anyone else. He was so loving, so caring, and so selfless. She watched as he held Ayame in his arms, just holding her. Comforting her. Telling her he wasn't upset. Even though she was happy for her friend to have such love in her life, watching all this just made her wish Aoshi-sama would treat her this way. And he sensed that. He saw the look on Misao's face as she watched the couple together. He could tell she was jealous. He could tell what she was thinking.
Scene Change
Back at the dojo, Yahiko was practicing, Kenshin was doing chores, and Sano was just being lazy. All of a sudden, a question popped into Yahiko's head. "Hey, does anybody know where Soujiro slept last night?" "I thought he slept outside", was Kenshin's reply. "That lucky son of a bitch? My god, what I wouldn't give to have been in his place last night!" "What are you talking 'bout Sano?" "Well, I don't wanna go spreading rumors, but this ain't no rumor." They crept closer, interested by what he had to say. "Go on." "Well, I was walking outside late last night, and I heard some noises so I peered in the window to see what was going on." "And?" "Well, I saw them..let's just say I saw them 'getting it on'." Sano laughed evilly. "Sano! It's not nice to joke about such things!" "Yah, but I'm not joking! I mean DYAMN!, that girl is Fiine!! You should've seen the booty on that little item!" Sano smirked, but Kenshin just kept quiet. "Soujiro and Ayame?! But they're so young! I mean." Yahiko was cut off when Megumi and Kaoru returned. "Hey, where are the other two?" The both looked very ashamed of something and Megumi answered, "Ayame got upset about something and ran away, Misao chased after her." "What was she so upset about?" "It's none of your business!", replied Kaoru. "It was none of our's either.", Megumi added. They both looked guilty of something. "Wait a minute, did this have anything to do with last night?" Both women turned to Sano. "How the hell do you know?!" "Heh. I saw 'em. What about you two? How'd you find out?" "Well...she kinda..she has a mark." "Ayame?! Oh lord! She's got a hickey?! Ahahaha! I would've paid money to see that!" Sano laughed hysterically. "It's not funny! She was very upset that we were lecturing her." "Well it was her choice." So the girls and Sano argued for awhile, while Yahiko tried to calm them down, and Kenshin just kept on doing the chores.
Scene Change-In The Forest
Back at the cave, Ayame was still crying. "Please don't cry. It doesn't matter. I'm not upset." She looked up at Soujiro who was holding her tightly. "You.you really don't care?" He smiled. "No. I shouldn't have cared in the first place, and I certainly don't care now. The world could know, and I wouldn't give a damn." At this, she stopped crying and hugged him. "Alright. I'm sorry I got so upset." "I'm sorry I got you so upset." They both smiled at each other, knowing that they could continue with the apologies forever. Ayame let go of Soujiro and turned to Misao. She gave her a big hug. "Thank you Misao." "You shouldn't thank me. I did nothing." Ayame smiled and simply said, "You were worried and came after me. That has to count as something." They laughed. That was when they all noticed the man in the bushes. "You can come out now Aoshi-sama." So he came out and walked over to them. "Dammit! Have you guys been spying on us all day?!", Misao asked. Aoshi just kept his face straight and everyone else laughed. "What about we finish our shopping?", Misao questioned. "Ok, but first I want to get Megumi to cover this thing up. It's not the most attractive thing, yanoe." The girls laughed.
Scene Change- Everyone's Back
After some continuous arguing, everyone had settled down, until the rest came back that is. "Hey there they are!" They all turned to see the bunch coming back, with Ayame and Soujiro in front, holding hands and smiling. When they had entered the dojo, Megumi and Kaoru ran up to Ayame. "We're so sorry. We didn't mean to upset you." She just kept on smiling. "It's ok, but Megumi? Can you do me a favour and help me cover it up?" "Of course. Come with me." When they walked by, Sano just had to be a jerk and asked to see it. "Yah right, like you're worthy enough to see more than my face!" And with that they kept walking. So Sano turned to Soujiro. "How in hell did you manage to score that high?" Soujiro was about to say something, when Yahiko interrupted. "Don't pat attention to what he says, he's just jealous." Soujiro smiled and said, "I guess I'm just lucky." "Seems more than luck to me." Everyone turned to Kenshin. "What are saying Kenshin?", Sano asked. "I think they have something really special." He smiled at Soujiro, who returned the smile. Just then the girls came back. "Ok! You ready to go back shopping, Misao?" "Hey, can we come too?" "Sure Yahiko. Let's all go! And then we can eat dinner at the Akebeko!" So everybody got up and left to go shopping, but no one knew what old friends this shopping spree would bring....
End Of Chapter