Misao is sitting on a weeping willow tree's branch. The wind is tugging at her braid, and she lets her hair free. She kicks off her shoes and her red kimono tied with a gold obi shimmers in the glow of the sun. As Aoshi looks at her, he believes that she is the most beautiful person on the earth.

"Aoshi? What are you doing here?" She asked him.

"I was just, taking a walk," Aoshi said in his defense. Of course he was lying.

"Right...Yeah, okay, sure," Misao countered his lie.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I was just watching the sunset from this tree branch. It's really quite lovely," Misao said.

'Yes, you are...' thought Aoshi. He sat on the branch next to her, and they watched the sunset together.

When it started to get dark, Aoshi said, "I think we should be getting back now."

"Just a few more minutes, and we'll go. Okay?" Misao persuaded.

"Alright," Aoshi said. 'Why do I have such a hard time saying no to Misao?'

"Aoshi?"

"Yes?"

"Promise me, that you won't leave me again? And if you have to go, you'll take me along with you?" Misao asked.

"Promise," Aoshi said.

"Good. Now let's go back," Misao said happily. When he didn't respond, she looked over at him, and found he was staring at her. "Aoshi?"

Then, he kissed her. They both felt total bliss washing over them. Their thoughts of them parting faded to a lingering shadow to the back of their minds. To Misao, it was something she had wanted for years, and for Aoshi, it was something he'd secretly wanted to do, yet couldn't admit it. He had always thought of her as a child. Yet, in the recent months, he could not ignore the fact that she was growing up. It was hard for him to accept at first, and he'd avoided the issue completely. When he could hide from it no longer, he had made his move. He hadn't meant for it to be so perfect, however. Yet, he didn't care how it went. Just as long as she accepted him. And he accepted her. Through that kiss, they gained a mutual understanding, they didn't care about much else beside each other. That was all that mattered.

dark_shadow1387