Author's note: I don't really have any valid comments at this point. I am surprised that you've made it this far into the story. And truth to be told, I gagged the whole time I wrote this. So prepare yourself.

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 3

It was morning. Outside, birds chirped cheerfully. Sure, they seemed sweet and harmless enough. Misao knew better, as it was often her job to clean up the birds'…excrements when they landed in unwanted places. Oh, how very charming.

Misao kept her eyes shut. The sun was already streaming through the window, and she knew that if she opened her eyes now, she would have the privilege of being blinded by the white hot light of the sun. How lucky. And even luckier yet, she could even see a bit of the sunlight through her eyelids.

Then, just like that, the light went away. Or, at least, something was in the way.

She opened her eyes, still half expecting to see nothing but white.

Instead of being blinded by the sun, her view was blocked by something. A very scary looking something. Misao sat up quickly, banging her head against something hard.

"OW!"

Rubbing her head, Misao blinked. Her vision cleared. "Oh, it's just you, Jiya. Don't do that!! You know your face isn't the first thing I want to see so early in the morning."

Okina lay in a heap on the floor. Misao had, after all, just hit her (rock hard) head on his chin.

Sitting up, Okina ran a hand over his face, feeling every curve and contour. Nope, he was still as handsome as ever! Or his face felt handsome at any rate. He didn't know where Misao got her horrible taste or her horrible sense of humor.

Nevertheless, he yelled "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" very loudly in her ear before he left to nurse his ego and the large bruise that was forming on his chin.

Aoshi's stomach growled.

Where was he, anyway? Ah, of course. He was still at the temple.

Earlier, the monks had tried to pry the statue of the dead chicken out of his hands, lightly chastising him for "being disrespectful of the temple and its sacred items."

He chose to ignore them. Or, rather he ignored them by giving them another one of his death-glares. Why did the monks want the dead chicken statue anyway? Weren't they supposed to be more concerned with Buddha or something? They were probably just being cruel. This dead chicken had been one of his only friends during this whole tea-less ordeal. That, and the wall too, of course. He patted the wall. What else could he hit his head against? The wall had been there every single time he felt the need.

Other than his two new friends, Aoshi felt quite alone and neglected. Not to mention deprived. And forgotten. And tea-less.

The monks didn't help at all. At one point, Aoshi thought to ask one of them for tea. However, whenever he turned toward them, they just backed away. He even tried to arrange his face into the most pleasing expression possible, but each attempt seemed to fail miserably.

Maybe those last few death-glares he gave them the other day were mistakes. Or maybe they thought that he had disrespected the temple by banging his head against its sacred walls. Or maybe they felt bad for the statue of the dead chicken, which he still had his head against. Aoshi shrugged. He didn't know.

Anyway, this was a new day. Perhaps Misao would come with tea today.

And yet, somehow, he doubted it.

Misao winced as Okon and Omasu both sidled into her room with triumphant smiles gracing their lips. It seemed that they were still milking their victorious moment for all it was worth.

Standing next to the drawers, Okon motioned for Misao to come and stand next to her.

"Today is your big day!! Come here Misao. Which kimono do you want to wear?"

Misao looked at her choices. Definitely not the pink one. She also wanted none of the fuchsia, magenta, rose, pale red, nadeshiko, or whitish red ones.

…The blue one looked okay, as did the purple one (which was as close to pink as she would get). How many did Okon and Omasu buy for her, anyway? There were practically fifty for every color of the rainbow!

Misao sighed. She couldn't choose one of these on her own.

I wonder which one Aoshi-sama would like?

Okina was worried.

Why hadn't Aoshi come back from the temple last night? To show his concern, he decided to take a short stroll over to the temple to check things out.

"Aoshi…?" Okina called out cautiously as he slid the doors of the temple open.

What he found made him want to laugh and want to cry at the same time. Aoshi was asleep on the floor, and he was holding what looked like a large statue of Buddha (or, to Aoshi, a statue of a dead chicken) tightly in his hands.

Okina chuckled, and walked away. The stroll had proved to be a good decision on his part. This would serve as great blackmailing material.

"Um…guys, I don't think – WHOAAAA!!"

It was too late. Misao had fallen. She knew this would happen. The most restricting article of clothing she ever had to wear was a pair of loose shorts, which, in all fairness, didn't count for much. In this tight, constricting, and uncomfortable kimono, she felt more incompetent than ever.

"Misao, are you alright?"

Misao shot Okon and Omasu an ugly look before answering. "What do you think?"

Okon and Omasu stared at her.

Then Okon pulled her to her feet and said gently, "But Misao, you look lovely."

Misao looked at the floor.

"Why don't you bring Aoshi his tea? Oh, he'll be so surprised! Just remember to walk more slowly, since that kimono does restrict your movement a bit. Oh, how lovely you look!" Omasu continued brightly.

The word 'tea' gave Misao a jolt. She had forgotten to bring him his tea the other day. Would he be angry?

Sighing audibly, Misao nodded, and Okon handed her a tea tray.

Here goes nothing. She clutched the tray and began walking slowly toward the temple.

Aoshi opened his eyes. He must have fallen asleep. Giving his head a good shake, Aoshi sat up.

The door of the temple slid open.

Aoshi looked up. And immediately, he felt as if he had died and gone to heaven.

Sure, Misao had just entered, and he was somewhat happy to see her. But who cared about her right now? The important thing was what she was holding in her hands. A tea tray. With tea. Tea. Aoshi gave his head another good shake to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. No, that wasn't good enough. He would have to confirm it in a more reliable way.

"Tea?" he asked hoarsely.

Misao looked at him strangely. She nodded, set the tray down and passed a cup to Aoshi.

Taking the cup, Aoshi quickly poured the tea himself and took a long drink. When he was done, he stood and stretched his legs, immediately feeling more like himself.

Then he saw Misao.

Whoa! Misao?! When did she get here?! Ah, of course. He had tea, which meant that Misao had brought it over. Of course she'd be here. He glanced at Misao again. Wait. Something looked different. Not altogether bad, but just…different, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Ah, he knew what it was.

"A kimono…?"

Misao looked at her hands. "Yes…"

She really did look nice. Maybe he should say something.

Somehow, he couldn't get his mouth to open.

The moment passed.

Silently, he berated himself. It was too late now. But possibly, during her birthday celebration tonight, he could make it up to her. He had been right about one thing last night, at least. He had gotten her a present. A very good one too. At least he liked it.

Speaking of presents…

Aoshi looked around the room for the statue of the dead chicken, which was nowhere to be seen.

"Where…?" Aoshi trailed off as his eyes landed on a statue of Buddha, which was roughly the size of the dead chicken statue. Inwardly, he groaned. At least it all made sense now.

Misao looked confused.

Aoshi sipped his tea serenely, savoring the taste and the warmth.

Shifting uncomfortably in the silence, Misao wondered why Aoshi hadn't said anything. Did she not look as good as Okon and Omasu had made it seem?

Pausing in mid-sip as if he suddenly remembered something very important, Aoshi set his cup down and broke the silence. "Happy birthday, Misao."

Misao did one of her internal celebrations.

"T-Thank you, Aoshi-sama!" Misao exclaimed excitedly, piling the teacups haphazardly back onto the tray. Misao unwisely chose to flash Aoshi her most radiant smile as she skipped outside, balancing the tray in one hand and waving jauntily with the other.

She had also forgotten that she was supposed to be walking slowly in her kimono.

So two things happened:

She dropped the tray. The teapot, broken cleanly in two pieces, lay on the floor, as Misao struggled to regain her balance.

Losing that battle, Misao tripped over the teapot, falling face first into the muddy ground.

Author's Note: Thank you to all who reviewed. I really do appreciate the feedback.