Author's Note: So you made it to the second chapter! Congratulations! Honestly, I don't know what to say. Enter at your own risk, I suppose.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. I did have 800 of the recommended amount of vitamin C today, though. Ahhh, I love vitamin C drops.
Chapter 2
Really, Misao had every intention of going into the kitchen and preparing tea. It wasn't her fault that Okon and Omasu happened to stray too close, forcing Misao to drop everything and pursue her own personal vendetta. Honestly, she wasn't to blame. At least, that was what she tried to convince herself later.
She was already on her way to the kitchen when she spotted them. Misao lost all reason.
"OKON!! OMASU!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!"
Omasu gaped, mouth open wide in horror.
"M-Misao?"
Okon didn't even pause to think. This was a time for action; there was time enough for thinking later. She broke off into a run, dragging Omasu along.
"Do you think she's serious?" asked Omasu urgently as her toes dragged across the floor. Okon was doing all the moving.
"What?" Okon's running speed had prevented her from hearing properly.
"I SAID, DO YOU THINK SHE'S SERIOUS ABOUT KILLING US?!"
Four kunai flew in their direction.
Okon didn't need to answer. Misao had made her intentions clear enough.
"RUN FASTER, OKON!! RUN FASTER!!"
"WHY DON'T YOU RUN THEN!? HOW COME I HAVE TO BE THE ONE TO RUN!?"
They really didn't have time to bicker. The distance between Okon and Misao was closing fast, and if she caught them…Okon didn't want to think about it.
Half an hour had passed and still no tea. Aoshi was patient. He could wait. Wait, no he couldn't.
This was getting ridiculous. Come to think of it, where was Misao? Surely, it didn't take that long to brew a pot of tea and bring it over to the temple. She must be settling things with Omasu at the moment.
He had a roaring headache, and he was also tired. He close his eyes. Perhaps, he could wait just a little longer. Misao had never failed to bring his tea before, and besides, she had said that she would. And Misao usually kept her promises. Usually.
Okina heard screams. What were those three up to now? Shiro and Kuro were much easier to handle than Okon and Omasu. Oh well, he was on his way to the market, so he couldn't be bothered with their affairs at the moment.
Halfway out the door, Okina decided that he should probably say something. He slid the door open wider and leaned through the doorway.
"Hey, I'm going to the market to take care of some…ah…important business. You three behave, and please try not to destroy the Aoiya completely by the time I get back!!" Okina yelled, sliding the door closed. He wasn't going to tell them that his 'important business' involved gawking at pretty girls passing by. Ignorance is bliss, after all.
To Okon and Omasu, these words were a death sentence, and they expressed their view on the situation with simultaneous blood-curdling screams.
Not to be outdone, Misao felt that she should do the same. Her maniacal laughter could be heard even by Okina as he headed towards the market.
Green tea…green tea…green tea…green tea…green—
Aoshi had already chanted this mantra in his head many times before he realized what he was doing.
He couldn't move. He was either too tired or too lazy. Maybe both. It had now been two hours, and there was still no sign of the tea that had been promised.
People should learn to keep promises…green…tea…
Aoshi had yet to work on 'clearing his mind of all thoughts.' It wasn't working.
Must clear mind of all thoughts…green tea…green tea…tea…tea…tea…
Were thoughts supposed to echo?
Okon and Omasu sat, gasping for breath and crammed into a storage closet.
They had somehow managed to lose Misao and were using this small amount of time to decide what to do. They need a plan. Fast.
"Well, we could go to the temple and declare sanctuary…" Omasu suggested. That sounded like a logical plan.
Okon shook her head. "I don't think that would work. Misao wouldn't care."
They heard the door slide open.
"Okon?! Omasu?!" exclaimed a voice from behind them.
Omasu squealed. Ever the prepared one, Okon whipped around and punched toward the general direction of the voice. Her aim was off, and she missed, her fist meeting with nothing but air.
Shiro and Kuro both looked very confused. They had only opened the closet to get some supplies, after all.
"Ahhhh, Shiro! Kuro! Just doing some…arm exercises…" Okon finished lamely.
"In a closet?"
"Um—"
"AHA! I'VE FOUND YOU!!"
Omasu yelped and leapt behind Okon.
Misao advanced toward Okon and Omasu, waving a hand loaded full of kunai.
Shiro backed away. "Um…Misao…those look really, really sharp…"
This was a time for action! Okon spoke, thinking fast, although Omasu wasn't any help at all. She was too busy cowering in the corner.
"Misao, why won't you wear a kimono for your birthday tomorrow?"
Misao lowered her arm and stopped to think. No real reason came to mind. Instead, she chose to avoid the question by posing one of her own. "Ha! Can you imagine me in a kimono?"
Okon thought for a moment. Of course, Misao did have a point. However, Okon knew just what to say.
"But, Misao, if you wear a kimono, don't you think your Aoshi-sama will finally see you as a woman? Wouldn't you do this one tiny favor for your Aoshi-sama? Please?" said Okon, as Omasu nodded vigorously from behind her.
Misao paused, her hand dropping slowly to her side. She couldn't, could she? As a certified tomboy, she had a reputation to uphold! And yet, and yet...
The kunai fell to the floor.
Omasu winced. Those tiny dents would be there permanently. Oh well, at least she and Okon were still alive.
Aoshi heard the doors of the temple slide open. He looked up hopefully. Tea? No, it was just some random, tea-less monk.
He should have expected it, really. After all, tea leaves don't just grow on monks…
Aoshi paused for a moment. There was something wrong with that thought. Oh well.
He shrugged slightly and put his head back where it originally was, which was against a statue of a dead chicken. Wait, that didn't make since. A dead chicken in a temple? He squinted. It still looked somewhat chicken-like.
Clearly, Aoshi's vision must have been blurred due to the lack of tea. Or, maybe it was because he had been banging his head against the wall multiple times just minutes before. He had ignored the monks when they told him to stop. Well, not entirely. He had given them one of his death-glares, and the monks immediately scuttled off, all of them remembering suddenly that there was a specific corner in the temple far away from Aoshi that they had forgotten to polish.
The statue probably was something else — something that normal temples would contain. Anyway, he couldn't really tell at the moment. He would find out what it was later, when he had tea.
Tea? Someone said tea? Oh, wait. He did. Or rather, he had thought it.
Hang on…wasn't Misao's birthday tomorrow? Oh yes…there isn't anything to worry about. He had already gotten her something…or at least he thought he did…he couldn't be too sure about anything in the state he was in. If he really got desperate, he would just give her this lovely statue of the dead chicken.
She would like that.
Okon took advantage of Misao's silence and pressed mercilessly on.
"Oh Misao, you do want to impress Aoshi, don't you? Just think of how astounded he will be when he sees you in a beautiful kimono!" Okon cried hopefully, clasping her hands together.
Misao sighed.
And with that, Okon and Omasu won the battle. For that particular day, anyway.
Later that night:
Misao brushed out her hair and glanced at the small corner of pink silk that peaked out from a slightly open drawer. Maybe a kimono was what she needed. After all, she had always been told as a child that a kimono was a mark of maturity.
With a small sigh, Misao climbed into bed and closed her eyes. A few minutes later, she sat up abruptly. How could she have forgotten?!
"OH MY GOD!! AOSHI-SAMA'S TEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAA!!"
Misao's screams could be heard throughout all of Kyoto.
Author's Note: Thank you for all of your kind reviews. Really, they're more than I deserve. If you're brave enough for more terrible writing, go on to the next chapter!