Author's Note: Do any of you actually read the author's notes? Cause they contain A LOT of important information you know! (yeah, right…)

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, okay? Do any of you actually read the disclaimer? The disclaimer also contains a lot of important information!!! Ahem, anyways…on with the story!

Chapter 4

Misao's face hurt. Her legs hurt. Everything hurt. And she hated kimonos—every stinking thing about them.

She tried to push herself off the ground, but for some reason, her face seemed unnaturally attracted to the ground today. Oh well, she would just stay here until someone decided to come along and help her. Having her face pressed in the dirt wasn't THAT uncomfortable anyway. She was pretty used to it by now…

Help came soon, but he was the last person she wanted see at the moment.

Aoshi had heard Misao fall, so he came outside to investigate. Sure enough, Misao was sprawled on the ground. With a sigh, he bent to pick her up, and then braced himself for a loud scream (as Misao has been known to do in embarrassing situations).

Misao felt strong arms wrap around her waste and hoist her up. She turned to see her rescuer and froze as she looked into a pair of ice blue eyes, which were staring back at her. People three miles away would have known that it was –

"AOSHI-SAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Despite the fact that Misao's face was covered in dirt, Aoshi could still tell that she was blushing furiously. Misao tried to regain some form of respect, trying unsuccessfully to wipe all the dirt and mud off her face. Then she took off running when she realized it was no use, leaving a very confused Aoshi – him not showing it of course – behind.

What the hell was that for? Aoshi couldn't understand it…all he had done was help her up, and that wasn't wrong, right? Maybe she wanted to have her face pressed in the dirt…maybe it was some crazy remedy to cure pimples or something…who knew? Somebody really had to write a book on how to decipher crazy things that women did…

Omasu was the first who spotted her as Misao sped toward the Aoiya at full speed. She only needed to take one look at Misao to know what was wrong.

"MISAO!! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE!?" As always, Omasu had said the wrong thing at the wrong time. Misao tried not to cry, but the tears seemed so damn HEAVY for some reason.

Misao felt the familiar sting in her eyes, which meant the hot tears were threatening to spill out. Did she look that bad? What would Aoshi-sama think? She had hoped to make him see how MATURE she had grown, but instead, all he saw was MUD!!!! Tears had already begun to streak down her face, this fact even more obvious because of it running in the dirt and mud.

"OH, OMASU, IT WAS HORRIBLE!!!! I-I FELL AND I COULDN'T GET UP, AND THEN, and then…and then AOSHI-SAMA SAW ME LIKE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Misao found her tears hard to control now, as they were streaming down her face at record speed. Omasu looked down at Misao sympathetically, while Okon patted her back.

"M-Misao, you don't look…um…THAT bad…" Omasu said unhelpfully. Misao gave a loud wail, and buried her face into Okon's shoulder. Okon glared at Omasu, and gave her a look that plainly stated the words "shut up."

"Well, Misao, why don't we go and clean you up? You still have a lot of other kimonos to choose from, and I don't think Aoshi really understood what was going on." Okon told Misao reassuringly.

Misao looked up at Okon hopefully. "Really?"

"Sure, Misao. Come on…"

Aoshi was heading back toward the Aoiya. Maybe he should apologize for ruining her remedy for curing pimples. But then, what if she WASN'T trying to cure pimples? From what he could see, she didn't HAVE any pimples to get rid of…if he apologized for ruining her remedy for pimples and she wasn't trying to CURE pimples, maybe she would take that as an INSULT!

Or he could just wait till the party and see if she really was mad at him…and if she really WAS, maybe his gift would make everything all better!!! THAT sounded like a good plan. It sounded better than the apologizing plan anyway, since he didn't know exactly what he would be apologizing FOR.

"WOW MISAO!!! You look REALLY nice!!! Aoshi sure will be pleased…" Okon said, winking.

Misao smiled. "I DO look nice, don't I?" This time her kimono was red, with gold leaves flying across it. (AND you guessed it, the obi was GOLD!) Maybe Aoshi-sama would like this one better than the black one. Misao winced. The black silk kimono WAS nice until she ruined it. Nobody considered mud-covered kimonos as nice.

"Maybe you should take your hair out of that braid!" Omasu suggested.

Misao thought for a moment. Aoshi-sama had never seen her without a braid, so maybe letting her hair down wouldn't be such a bad idea! Maybe he would like it! But what if he didn't? "Well, I guess that sounds like a good idea…"

Aoshi gripped a package in his hands tightly as he strode over to the kitchen. "Okina."

Okina looked up from where he was sitting, and quickly put away something he was reading (A/N: Wanna know what he's reading? Your guess is as good as mine…) "Yes, Aoshi?"

"Where is Misao?"

"She's getting…ready." Okina was about to say 'cleaned up', but he wasn't sure if Misao was secretly listening in on this conversation (he DID value his life…). "Why do you ask, Aoshi?"

Aoshi shrugged, and set his package on the table.

"What's in that package, Aoshi? Is it for Misao?"

Aoshi shrugged again.

"You love her don't you?" Okina asked, a bit bluntly.

Aoshi was surprised to be asked such a question. He didn't love her, did he? He COULDN'T love Misao…it was just…it was just…Do I love Misao? I would die for her…does that qualify as loving her? I hate to see her unhappy…does THAT qualify as loving her? But do I deserve someone like her?

Okina could tell that Aoshi was having some internal disputes. But he knew one thing for sure: Aoshi DID love Misao. He just didn't realize it yet.

As if reading his mind, Okina said gently "Aoshi, it is not a matter of deserving. If you have feelings for her, if you would DIE for her, then that is enough. Aoshi, your feelings are returned! Don't you know how much Misao loves you? How much she cares?"

Aoshi was at a loss for words. He wanted to believe those words so badly. But were they true? Was the dream of having Misao as his own so unreachable, that there was no way to reach it? He promised himself that he would never love Misao for her own protection. But…but…that just seemed so stupid at the moment. If Misao truly loved him, and he refused her, wouldn't he be stripping not only himself, but Misao of joy?

"Tell her, Aoshi. Tell her how you feel. Do not deprive yourself of joy. What happened at Kanryu's estate was not your fault."

Aoshi nodded. He would tell her…he would tell her how he felt. How much she had matured…how beautiful she had grown…and how much he loved her.

Wow…for an old geezer, Okina sure is wise!

Author's Note: So, what do you think? I made it go all weird at the end of this chapter…it wasn't funny AT ALL…sorry about that…I think this chapter was better than the last one though, don't you? Tell me if you think it's good, bad, sucks, or whatever!!! REVIEW!!!!!!! (PLEASE?) tell me if I should continue!

Thanks to all who reviewed!!!!!!