I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.
Tanabata MadnessChapter 2
Misao sat idly on the porch, staring at the neatly wrapped package. 'Hmm… I wonder what it is… And who dropped it…' She sat for a few moments more, pondering. Then a thought occurred to her – what if it really was Aoshi-sama's? She had completely disregarded that idea at first, but now it seemed much more possible. No one had claimed it as their own when Misao had first found it, and the only person not present was Aoshi-sama…
Who was Aoshi-sama going to give it to? Did he already have someone in mind? He was definitely one of the better looking men in Kyoto, no doubt about that. Or maybe someone had given it to him! Misao jumped up suddenly. She would have felt triumphant had the present not been for Aoshi-sama. She sat down again sullenly. Who would dare give Aoshi-sama a gift? There were the countless women that were constantly throwing themselves at him, but they should have known by now that Aoshi-sama was her territory, rightfully claimed after countless years waiting for him. Well, rightfully hers despite getting no reaction and/or evidence of his love…
Misao scowled at the bonsai Aoshi had found so interesting before. When it was just them two in the garden… Misao's scowl disappeared and she began to smile. 'I wonder what would've happen had everyone not appeared…' she mused. Misao giggled suddenly to herself and then looked around quickly to see if anyone was near. She let out a breath and grabbed the present, heading towards her room. She was still smiling when she ran into Okina.
"What could possibly make you so happy, my pretty Misao? I would have thought that you would be unhappy in that kimono. Oh, and especially after everyone interrupted your 'special time' with Aoshi." Okina smiled wickedly at Misao while she began frowning again. The older man's eye caught the small gift box that Misao had tried in vain to hide behind her back. "And what is this?" he said as he grabbed her forearm, pulling the present into view. "Hmm… a gift, eh?"
"No! Who would give me a gift? I'm just an ugly weasel girl!" Misao cried shrilly as she jerked away from Okina, looking ready to cry. She turned away and ran to her room.
"M-Misao!" Okina tried to call her back but she was gone. He felt terribly guilty now. He hadn't intended to make her cry, just tease her a bit about the incident this morning.
Misao grinned to herself as she slowed down her pace and walked to her room. 'Works every time,' she thought as she pulled open the shoji door. 'First things first, I really need to change.' She set down the present on her desk and began to reach for the bow to untie her obi when the door flew open.
"MISAO!" Okon and Omasu yelled together. "What happened? Okina said that he felt terrible and told us to come up and console you right away!" They were breathing hard and were gasping for air once they had spoken.
"Me? Console?" Misao gave them each a weird look. They stared back at Misao until they noticed her hand grasping onto her obi.
"Oh no you don't!" Okon shouted as she tackled Misao, pulling her hand away from the bow.
"Okon… can't… breathe…" Misao whispered as she tried to push Okon off of her. "Get… off…"
"Oh! Misao, I'm so sorry! For a moment there I thought you were trying to change out of the beautiful," a sniff from Omasu, "beautiful kimono Omasu and I looked so hard to find in the market. Of course, you would never, ever be so mean to us…"
"And ungrateful…" Omasu added.
"Yes, and ungrateful, to change when we worked so very hard to get you to wear it this morning, would you?"
Misao had no choice but to shake her head. She sighed deeply and said, "Fine. I won't change. But please, excuse me," while she ushered them out of her room. She shut the door quickly before they could say anymore and sat down on a small cushion. "Now what?" she asked herself, looking once more at the present. Misao's fingers itched to open it. She desperately wanted to know what was inside.
~*~
Aoshi left the temple, heading for Okina's garden. He had to find the gift for Misao. If someone else found it… He arrived at the garden and began searching furiously around the various plants and few weeds. Aoshi let out a frustrated breath noisily and walked out of the garden, his anger barely discernable in his footsteps.
Aoshi found Okina in the main room of the Aoiya setting up a large bamboo tree.** Okina looked up as he finally got the tree in the position he deemed worthy. "Need something?" he said nonchalantly, as he pull off a leaf here and there on the tree.
"Okina. You didn't happen to find a …" The words died on Aoshi's tongue. How would he ask Okina about the present without drawing attention to the fact that the gift was from Aoshi to Misao? "Find a… A…"
"Find a what?" Okina asked impatiently. "Did you lose something?"
"Aa. A… gift from… someone," Aoshi finished, feeling ridiculous.
"Well, I did see Misao with an interesting box. She was rushing up to her room…" Okina sniffed, still feeling slightly guilty about the earlier incident. He shrugged and said to himself, "She's a strong girl, what's a little harmless teasing?"
"Did you say something?" Aoshi questioned, clearly confused at Okina's strange behavior.
"N-No! Nothing at all! Now, run along," the old man said as he shoved Aoshi out the room. Aoshi gave Okina a strange look as he slowly headed to Misao's room.
** During Tanabata, bamboo trees are set up for people to hang wishes on.
'Maybe I could get it if she left it in her room…' Aoshi thought to himself, smiling just a bit. He reached Misao's room and looked around sneakily. No one was around, so he quickly slid the shoji door open and slipped in. Slipped in right into someone. Misao. 'Well, this is her room…' Aoshi reasoned.
"What are you doing, Aoshi-sama?" Misao was trying to hide her blush and didn't look very happy at the intrusion, but she also looked… guilty of something?
"Nothing… I thought that… I came to…" Aoshi stammered out, trying to keep a straight face. He spotted his gift stashed in the corner and was relieved that Misao had not opened it yet. Then an idea hit him. "Kuro and Shiro wanted me to ask for your help… to cook cakes."
"Cakes?" she responded skeptically, raising an eyebrow at his feeble excuse.
"Aa. Cakes," he confirmed.
"I see… Well, it sounds like a very good reason for me to go down and leave my room, but I am currently occupied." Misao folded her arms stubbornly. "So, if you don't mind, Aoshi-sama, please excuse me." She looked at Aoshi and then the door.
"Currently occupied doing what?" Misao froze. Aoshi almost smiled; the tables had turned.
"Doing… doing… Girl stuff!" Misao said a little too loud and a little too quickly.
Then, as if perfectly timed, Kuro and Shiro began yelling, "Fire! Fire!" Aoshi looked at Misao and then the door. She gave him an incredulous look. To seal the request were shouts from Kuro – "Misao! Okon! Omasu! Anyone!! Please help us!!" Misao rolled her eyes and stomped out of the room, but stopped outside the doorway.
She cleared her throat and looked at Aoshi with her hand on the door. He gave her an innocent look and also exited while she slammed the shoji shut, glaring at him. Aoshi flourished his hand teasingly for her to proceed ahead of him so he could follow. She scowled and then began walking to the kitchen, making sure that Aoshi was close behind her so he couldn't sneak back to her room.
AN: Wow! What nice reviews! ^_^ You guys are too kind… Well, I think I will be updating this one more often than 'Fragmented Dreams,' but this one will probably have less chapters because it only spans one day. Anyway, on to the nice people that reviewed! Thanks to: nikki, battousai, nobody, Hi-iam-misao, tristen mikayl ozz, Thimonkey, JT, RurouniGochan, marywolfe32, Jaded Ayumi, and Airen2
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