Author's notes: I Just had a particularly bad week. Let's leave it at that. Release stress… breathe in, breathe out…. *HAAAAAH* breathe in, breathe out… *HAAAAAH*
Minnie me: *twitch twitch* B-bad… breath… *twitch*
PAH! *breathes out fire* NYAHAHAHA!!! (minnie me is a black charcoal- like mass on the floor, still twitching)
Aherm. Well anyway, I do hope you find this chapter… interesting. *gleam in the eye* I know I do. *evil grin* Well, enjoy!! ^_^
Reminder: Just to make things clear, this happens Thursday night to early Friday morning (the previous happened Thursday afternoon, and the other chapter before that happened Thursday morning. *shrugs* Let's just say it's a LOOOONG day.) *grins apologetically*
Disclaimer: *breathes fire on disclaimer* MWAHAHAHA – oh. drat. It survived. ~_~' Well, might as well… I don't own RK and its characters. I do own the plot though, and no one can take it away from me! HAHAHA!!! (minnie charcoal me: She's scary when she's stressed. @_@)
Mission: Frustration!
By Tesuka- chan
Chapter 11
Dark Waters
"Oi, Weasel! Have a drink!"
"HAI!!!"
Misao accepted the bottle of beer and gulped its contents down. Ah, a refreshing way to end the day! She sighed, body relaxed against the cushioned seat, cheeks crimson from the small amount of alcohol. After eating in the mess tent, they decided to go to town and bar hop to celebrate their small success. This first bar, The Akabeko, was really something. Quality drinks, a mellow ambiance – all in all a very comfortable place to hang around. She looked around the table, observing the boisterous Chou, the giggling Okon and Omasu, the talking Shirojo, and the ever- smiling Soujiro. Misao grinned.
This is the life.
"Can I get you anything else?" the kind waitress named Tae asked them, a gentle smile gracing her features.
"Hmmm… I'll have another beer."
"Martini, please."
"Ano… I'll just have an iced tea. I'm not really into alcohol."
"Hmm, I can't decide…"
"How about you, Tomo- san?" Soujiro asked.
Misao burrowed her eyebrows. What to choose? Maybe I'll have their special tonight… she looked over the waitress's shoulder to glance at the menu board. A dark-haired girl passed in front of it, making her crane her neck to see the choices better. Okay, let's see… huh. Not really my type. I guess I'll just have another beer. She turned towards the waitress, a weird feeling nagging at the back of her head. Something feels odd. Maybe its that girl who passed by… she looked exactly like –
"How about you, miss?"
"Ah," Misao hesitated, the odd feeling still there. That thought had somehow made her lose her spirit. The thought of her friend HERE left her feeling paranoid. What if she suspected? What if she knew about me being Jade Jaguar? Her thinking side scolded her. That's preposterous! She's taking a vacation somewhere. She won't go here. Yeah. That's right. Still, it wouldn't hurt to take precautions. Someone nudged her, making her rise from her thoughts. "Eh? ah! N-no, thanks. This is enough for me, thanks." She smiled apologetically and suddenly stood up.
"Eto, Sumimasen, minna-san! I have to go! I just remembered that I have something important to do… you know, document the whole relic thing for the Tokyo University. Ehehehe… I have to finish it soon! Gomen!" She grabbed for her bag and waved, already halfway across restaurant before anybody could react.
Damn… paranoia sucks. Just when you relax and have fun, it starts to kick in. She opened the door, making the little bells tinkle, and went out.
On the other side of the bar, a thoughtful Kaoru sat sipping her drink while trying to put her finger on the familiar figure that just went out the door. Somehow, that girl had a keen resemblance to Misao… yet her friend would simply die first before wearing dorky glasses and tweed coats. But still…
"Daijobu ka, Kaoru- dono?" Kenshin asked, noting her thoughtful expression.
"Uh, yeah… I just thought I saw something."
"Hmph," Kamatari sniffed, "probably those little green men running around your head telling you to stop torturing me."
Kaoru laughed and shook her head. She gave up her earlier train of thought, shrugged, and enjoyed the company of Kamatari and that pretty cute officer, Kenshin.
Aoshi walked briskly towards the trailer, mind set on intimidating his roommate into giving him the missing relic. Although he seems calm and cool externally (which is always the case), he was fuming inside, his anger growing by the minute. Well, he really couldn't do anything about it – this is a competition after all and one must use all means to win… even if it means stealing and lying. After all, he had done that in the past himself so it wasn't such a big deal.
Then why was he feeling so angry and betrayed?
He banished that feeling away and arrived at the trailer, stopping just outside the door. This is it. She's probably inside, observing her precious little clue. Good. Then he would catch her in the act. Aoshi opened the door.
The light was open, illuminating the messy state of the living quarters. Although his side was reasonably clean and neat, the rest of it looked like a tornado just passed by. He raised an eyebrow as he took in the stacked up dished by the sink, the clothes thrown all over her side, and the pieces of crumpled paper surrounding the empty wastebasket. His lips unconsciously tugged up into a small smile. She is still certainly the same.
Taking all of these in and seeing his roommate's absence, he resolved to straighten things out. Well, it's not like he had anything else to do anyway. Might as well do something to occupy his time while waiting for her. He smirked, suddenly reminded of a friend of who cleaned and cooked with a passion. Maybe the guy's rubbing off on him. He started picking up the papers when…
… *TOOT TOOT*
"You've got mail."
Curious, Aoshi looked for the source of that electronic voice. He finally found it… under a pile of dirty laundry. It was one of those high- tech cellular phones, probably not out yet in the market. He held it up, and the screen automatically opened a file, the electronic mail. Glancing at the message, blue eyes widened, and then narrowed at its contents. He quickly put the cellular phone on top of the table.
It looks like his rival was one step ahead of him.
Oh please, PLEASE let my phone be there! Sano is absolutely going to KILL me in 10 different ways if I lost that! Shit! Where did I put it? Misao fretted while driving as fast as she could back to the dig site. She had looked for it in her bag just outside the bar and found out that it wasn't there. She remembered putting it down in the trailer, but not bringing it with her when she went out again. I KNOW it's there! Sheesh, Misao, that's what you get for being so messy and careless!!
Upon arriving at the site, she slammed on the breaks and ran towards the trailer.
Then she suddenly remembered.
Aoshi. He must be in there.
She shrugged, irritated at herself for allowing him to affect her like that. Well, what do I care? He doesn't know about the medallion, thank Kami-sama, and we're already at each other's necks in the first place. I'll just ignore him. As simple as that, she told herself. She took a few calming breaths to settle her nerves (why were they agitated in the first place? it's not like there's any reason at all…), and opened the door.
Nothing unusual. It looks just like how she left it. The usual mess, the usual things. She quickly glanced around and noticed that the dreaded professor wasn't around. Misao thankfully let out the breath that she was unconsciously holding in. Okay, to the task at hand. Where is that damned cellular phone?!
She rummaged around the room, yelping out a curse here and there. It HAD to be here. She knew she left it on her bed… or somewhere. After a few minutes of searching in vain, she finally collapsed to the bed, exhausted and worrying her head off.
Oh no, it's lost! Sano will definitely kill me now! He'll probably electrocute me in my sleep and I won't wake up ever again! Or He'll choke me with a chord and my eyes will pop out of their sockets before losing air. Or even worse… he'll program me into one of those bloody computer games of his and play until I die! NOOOO!!!
Her imagination now running wild, she almost didn't notice the flashing light coming from the table. Cerulean eyes narrowing, she abruptly stood up and approached it, not daring to trust, not daring to hope that…
… it's her CELLPHONE!!!!
"All right!!!" She almost went through the roof, jumping with joy and intense relief. Sano's not going to kill me! I'm safe! Ahahahaha! I've cheated death! She grinned and hugged the beloved cellphone, who kept repeating, "You've got mail."
Yeah! Yeah! You've got..!? I've got mail? She looked at her phone and read the message coming from Sano himself:
Though the pics you sent me were vague and difficult to read (typical of you), I was still able to figure out some important details. There were some words that when translated into the modern language, it means "statue", "map", and "sword." That is, if I interpreted correctly, which I probably did, this medallion was situated behind a statue – and you found it accidentally by going the back way. That means, if you dig further on the same place you found this, you'll find the statue.
The map thing… ehhh… that sounds kind of vague. You figure it out. And the sword must be the one we're looking for.
What??? I figure it out? That's why he's there, for Kami's sake! HE's the one who's supposed to analyze the damned thing! Misao raged, annoyed at her partner. She closed her eyes, trying to calm down for the umpteenth time that long day. Okay… just… figure this thing and get to the sword. Finish the job and get the hell out of here.
With that in mind, she got the medallion out of her handbag. Uncovering the cloth, it flashed gold against the light. Misao scrutinized it closely, trying to find anything map- like on it. O-kay… I don't know what the hell I'm looking for but it should be here somewhere.
*POKE, PRESS, SCRATCH*
After jiggling the thing for a few moments, the frustrated burglar threw the item across the room. It bounced on the bed, toppled down the floor, and vanished under her bed. She breathed in a few calming breaths, getting her temper in control. Patience is a virtue… right. Grumbling her heart out, Misao went on her knees and groped for the relic. She finally grabbed it and quickly pulled it out – when it got stuck in between the floor and the edge of the bed.
"Great. GREAT. This is NOT my day!"
The supposedly- professional robber pulled at it with all her might, but with no avail. Pausing for a moment, she thought of a new tactic. She twisted the edges of the medallion, trying to ease it out. Getting very annoyed by then, she quickly made one strong jerk, and a noise was heard.
*POP*
Misao landed on her buttocks, staring at her hand – no, at the piece on her hand. Half a Medallion. Oh no. I broke it! Nonononononononono… More than a little panicked by then, she took the other half and tried to put them together. Yet, it was like the pieces weren't meant to be put back… they won't fit! Seeing this, Misao's brain began working. Maybe this is the map! If I just figure this out… She put them down on the floor side by side. Think, Misao, think! You've stumbled upon something he- WHAT? She dumbly stared at the sight before her.
The two pieces moved towards each other, by some unknown force. Their sides touched, and something mechanical moved inside, releasing slides of golden disks above, below, and beside them. The disks expanded, creating a golden square map made of thin disks stuck together on the edges. And this showed the way to the sword.
Astonished and awed, Misao couldn't move for a couple of seconds. This is it. The map. She found it. And it's going to lead her to the sword. And she's going to be filthy rich! Then rational thinking side of her taking over, she quickly took her camera/ phone, took pictures of it, and sent it to Sano along with a message: analyze properly! I won't do all the work here just because you have a big date! – Jade.
Finishing up, she touched the golden map and it quickly went back to its original medallion state. She picked it up and grinned. You are going to be my VERY best friend. She quickly gathered a few things (including her phone and a shovel), and stepped out of the trailer. She inhaled the sweet night air, and began to make her way stealthily towards the caves.
A dark shadow followed close behind, unnoticed.
Upon reaching the entrance of the caves, she donned her working clothes and brought out a lantern. Glancing around, the place looked eerier than it does during the day. There seemed to be more shadows, more hidden creepy crawlers. Misao shuddered. Just don't think of mud monsters, or ghosts… or huge mutant centipedes with poisonous claws and red, piercing eyes… stop it! She shook her head and concentrated on her task. She trekked steadily and quietly towards the place where they found the vase. It's around… here!
Taking out her shovel, she began her tedious digging.
The burglar- turned- archeologist worked continuously, making long, heavy strokes. The light from the lantern flickered every other minute, sending weird shadow shapes behind her. Not taking heed of these, she continued, not stopping once. Since the vase with the medallion must be right behind the statue, it wasn't long before she struck something other than rocks and dirt. Gold.
Jade eyes widened in amazement. She didn't expect the statue to be made of gold too. Seeing this, adrenaline and anticipation rushed through her veins. Working her way around it, she finally got through and made a hole big enough for her to squeeze through. The shovel was dropped, the lantern picked up. And the burglar entered the golden hallway.
It was a really magnificent sight. The light from the lantern splashed gold wherever it touched – the walls, the statue, the ground. It was like the whole place was made of gold. She presumed that it might be some trick of the light, but it was still breath- takingly beautiful. She hesitantly stepped on foot forward, going past the huge dragon- like statue from which she emerged behind from, and hidden lights lit the whole passageway up, the splendor of it all making it hard to breathe. Only one word kept repeating around her brain: WOW.
Unconsciously tightening the backpack on her back, she started down the passage, not missing a single thing in that grandeur place. After walking around fifteen minutes, her eyes started to hurt. Fifteen minutes more and she'd give anything for sunglasses. Thirty minutes of staring at nothing but gold can really take a toll on a person. One can only take so much. Squinting and blinking rapidly, she wondered. Maybe this was a sort of discouragement. Probably has something in it that will make you blind after an hour of staring, she thought randomly. Then it hit her. Yeah! That's it! It would be some sort of protection for the sword…
Oh crap.
She quickly squeezed her eyes shut. Ah hell. Why didn't I think of this? It was only now when the realization hit her that the pain began. Pure, excruciating pain shooting from her eyes to her head. Dizziness and fatigue suddenly overcame her body and she collapsed on the floor. She couldn't think, she couldn't see… there was only pain.
Concentrate.
Mochi balls, Inky, Sano's goofy face… she started thinking of the things that made her happy, that made her laugh. It was a habit of hers, whenever something bad happens. And for some odd reason, it was actually helping ease the pain. Kaoru, money, frustrated policemen, cartoons… Aoshi.
And the pain was gone. Just like that.
She slowly opened her eyes. Wha- what? Blinking a couple of times, she found out that she could see again. Oh, thank Kami- sama… now I get it! The one who possesses the sword must be strong in mind too. That's why they put all this magical gold thingamajig… some psychosomatic device. Wow. I can't believe I got over that. She rubbed her face with her hands and sighed. She will definitely ignore whatever bogus things in her head that made her think of… think of… that. These people are smart. She smirked, standing up and continuing on her way. Damned smart. I got lucky there. I'll have to expect something worse.
She walked on. The passage was like a never-ending snake, twisting and turning. She took a few breaks on the way, but the walking was dragging, leaving her feeling tired and drained. On top of all that, she still has to fight that psychosomatic gold device once in a while. It was tough going. But she was tough too. Tough and determined.
At the point when she felt like she would die if she took one more step, she turned a corner, barely hanging on to the golden walls, and saw it. A dead-end.
She wanted to cry. No, she NEVER cried. Crying is for the weak. She wanted to destroy something… or punch those meretricious walls until they open up and swallow her. After all that hard trekking, after all that psychosomatic shit… AAARRGGGHHHHH!!!! She wanted to die in her misery.
*crunch*
It was a small sound, not that much audible, really. But that snapped her out of her devastated state and put her on alert. She just now realized that someone had been following her from the start. A few nonsense little noises that she heard before had now only registered in her brain, maybe because she was so concentrated in the mission. High on anger, disappointment and frustration, she was definitely in a condition to kill someone. Anyone.
Misao hid around the corner and put down her backpack on the floor beside her.
She heard another small noise, nearer now.
She held up her guns, one for each hand.
Three…
Two…
One…
The sound of guns clicking in place echoed throughout the passage.
Emerald green eyes met ice- cold ones.
Misao was semi- crouched, pointing both guns at the intruder: one at the face, one at the heart. Still, two guns were also directed at her, at the very same points. And the intruder was… Aoshi.
Why am I not surprised?
They glared at each other, either one not willing to back down. It is a test of wills, as well as a test of skills. They waited.
Not wanting to keep this on for long because of her state, Jade Jaguar gritted her teeth and said, "what the hell you doing here?"
Grey- blue eyes narrowed down into slits. "I should ask that question myself." He glanced at her backpack, where the medallion was jutting out. Misao saw this and turned crimson. She quickly cooled down, still not slacking her hold on her guns. She tried a half- smile, sarcastic. "Well, that's the game, isn't it? It's all about cheating and lying. It's not like you're not an expert on that already," she spat out.
"No." His features changed somewhat cooler than ever. She couldn't read anything. And to her surprise, he put down his guns, tucked them in their holsters, and walked confidently towards her backpack on the floor. He picked up the medallion (HER medallion!) and started fiddling with it.
She stood there, feeling awkward, not knowing what to do. NORMAL people would tremble and pee in their pants whenever she would point her guns at them. He's obviously not normal. She sneered silently; it's not like I didn't know that before. She should definitely do something instead of looking stupid, pointing her guns at him while he's calmly fiddling with HER medallion! Just… threaten him or something… before he does… Oh, now he opened the map! The bastard… I've a mind to kill him here and now!
"Put. That. Down." She said in a cold, deadly voice. The guns were pointed right at him.
Aoshi simply raised a perfectly arched eyebrow.
She began to wonder why Kami-sama would give such eyebrows to men.
"Looks like you're in a dead end here. Did you look at the map?" he queried, looking back at the relic on his hands again.
Misao had a funny expression on her face. Part- questioning, part- surprised, part- insulted. Mostly angry. What the hell? Here I am, looking my meanest and he just asked if I followed the map? What an iceberg! He's not even intimidated by me! "OF COURSE I FOLLOWED THE DAMNED MAP!" she shouted at him, not understanding anything at all.
"Aa." He replied, oblivious to her frustration.
And there she was again, looking stupid, staring dumbly at him. Sniffing, her chin raised, she finally gave up and tucked her guns on their holsters on her waist. She observed him reading the relic as apt as a student reading his textbook. His hair was falling on his eyes. She fought the urge to brush them away with her fingers. Instead, she walked over to him, looked over his shoulder and whispered huskily on his ear, "find anything of interest?"
She thought she saw him shiver slightly… but it couldn't be. There wasn't any breeze or draft here. It must've been her imagination.
He cleared his throat. "Actually, yes. There are some instructions here. Perhaps…" He abruptly stood up and move towards the dead- end wall. If Misao didn't know any better, he was moving as far away as possible from her. She smiled in amusement. Maybe she DOES intimidate him after all.
Jade Jaguar observed him studying the wall in front of him. She just realized now that the wall was smooth, not like the jagged passage walls on either side of her. Suddenly, she saw him close the map and hold out the medallion, somehow sticking it in place in the middle of the wall. And it DID stick. Bewildered, she started, "what are you – "
And the world began to move erratically.
Or something to that extent. There seemed to be an earthquake. Misao collapsed on the floor, not being able to take the moving floor. She shut her eyes, holding her arms above her head to protect herself from falling debris. One moment, everything was chaos, the next, silence. The woman cautiously looked up, and saw that the wall was gone, and a whole, gaping vastness of dark chasm was there in front of her. Aoshi was nowhere to be seen.
Her heart began to pound against her ribs. What happened? Where is he? What's that? Where's Aoshi? She quickly grabbed her things and ran towards the black entrance. It looked like some sort of black water, or something of a gel substance, defying gravity by not pouring towards her and into the passage. She gingerly touched it. It was cold. Well, here goes! Misao steeled herself, took a deep breath, and jumped in.
She was floating.
The dark water was surrounding her… it wasn't black at all. It was actually some sort of silvery- gray substance… beautiful, even. It was like a sea of fairy dust. There was some sort of inner light that's making it all glittery. She hung there suspended, staring everywhere.
Then she realized that she couldn't breathe.
She tried to swim upwards, but there was an unknown force that's pulling her down. Her lungs were squeezing painfully; her head was going to burst. If she didn't get any air soon, she'd drown. Desperate, she treaded her arms faster, kicked her legs with more force, but to no effect. She gasped, releasing an air bubble. She hazily watched it float above her, away from her. And she felt the darkness coming in.
Suddenly, her hand jerked and something resembling an arm surrounded her tiny waist. She only had enough energy to open her eyes… and she saw penetrating electric blue staring right back at her.
Aoshi?And then they were suddenly closer, and she felt firm, yet soft lips on hers, his mouth moving over hers to open. Hopelessly weak now, she couldn't help but follow his mouth, and her full lips opened under him.
And he breathed life into her.
She gasped it in greedily, her senses reeling, her body suddenly alive. Her hands clutched his strong shoulders, pressing closer, searching for that blessed air. They both began kicking for the surface, supporting each other, not letting go. In the process, the simple kiss of life turned into a full- blown kiss, giving and taking, devastatingly beautiful, their mouths pulsating together in a movement as old as time. It was something they realized they both needed desperately, just like air. All those past tensions, all those frustrations and passions… it all led to this. This kiss of life.
At last, they reached the surface. And slowly, hesitatingly, their lips released each other, both reluctant to let go. A thin thread of glistening saliva connected their swollen mouths.
Misao was panting – not knowing if it was from the near- death experience, or the kiss – and looked up, her lashes fluttering upwards, her cheeks flushed. Her eyes met his.
His eyes were different; she hadn't seen them like this before. He was clearly astonished, and they were of warmly dark hue because of the passion they had shared. And he looked at her like she was a very fascinating being, like she was something he hadn't realized before, and was just now discovering. Something had opened inside him, the floodgates of his firmly kept emotions, and he was glowing in happiness.
And they were still in each other's arms.
Aoshi lifted a trembling hand and cupped her left cheek. "Misao," he whispered, gave her a little smile, and closed his eyes forever, falling back towards the dark waters.
Everything seems to be happening in slow motion, hazy and surreal. She remembered shouting his name, grabbing him and pulling him towards the shore with great difficulty, because she herself was weak. Upon reaching the shore and dragging him safely on ground, that was the only time she realized that she was crying. Crying over him, that stupid bastard who was dying, or who was probably dead already. She was bent over him, confused at her emotions, crying and sobbing like before… calling his name like before…
"No… please, Aoshi… no…"
No… please, Aoshi… no…
A/n: Ohhh, lookie! A cliffhanger! NYAHAHAHA! O.o I meant for this to be considerably shorter, and less melodramatic… but my imagination ran away with me again. *sweatdrop* Uhoh. Maybe all this depression crap's taking their bloody toll on me. XP So sorry if this chapter was on the details side… hehehe. ^_^ Next will be something about Aoshi. *cackles evilly* Somebody stop meh! NYAHAHAHAHA!!!
Anyway, thanks so much to the following people! (who still read even though I rarely update nowadays *sheepish grin*)
EK: Gomen nasai! I KNOW it's very confusing… So I'll try to make it straight: First, Misao goes to Mt. Fuji for the mission, meets Soujiro and everyone else, finds out that her professor's Aoshi (who's both in disguise and in his job… you'll find out later. ;p). She also finds out that Aoshi's her roommate, gets angry, goes to town, gets hit by a car, and gets saved by Enishi. They become good friends, and she goes back to the site the same day, finds the medallion… and then this chapter. kapeesh? :P Hope that sort of clears up most things. About Kaoru and Kamatari, they go to Mt Fuji to look for Jade Jaguar (documentary), umm… have some financial problems because of Kamatari's shoes and meets with Kenshin. *phew* So there. Sano and Megumi will come later, I promise! ^_^
JadOo: Nyehehehe… thanks! Yeah, I like Chou too! (That rhymes! LOL) Though this chapter concentrates more on the mission and Aoshi and Misao's relationship. Damn… it's getting angsty. I'll have to do something about that. :P Your welcome for the Kaoru moment! ^_^
Prudence-chan: Well, Sano will still come later on… their date is still on Friday night and it's only Thursday here. ;p
Iiemtenshi: Nah… Soujiro's not really hiding anything. He's just an inquisitive, cute little side character. *grins* And I didn't really elaborated on Enishi and Misao's date. Hmmm… And I certainly can't kill Aoshi on that chapter! Here, perhaps… MWAHAHAHAHA!!! *evil grin*
Devil1: Thanks! I love twisted, complicated plots… and there are more twists to go! ^_^
Adrianne Doracas (Darkfairy): Thanks much! So sorry or the late update… am totally having a bad time in school. XP At least I recompensed by making this long… hehe.. he. *smiles*
Chris37: sorry for not really putting up a direct confrontation. Aoshi just decided to do something else. *grins*
Kmye- chan: Wow, really? Well, I should ask tips from you then! I don't exactly know what archeologist exactly DO, so I just presume they do those stuff… well! You have a really interesting course! ^_^
Moonstorm: hmm… my favorite room too *winks*. It's where I get most of my brilliant ideas! MWAHAHAHA! Oh no! The attack of the Squirrels! The horror!
MoonPheonix: Thanks! Hope this was interesting too… ;p Again, gomen for the late update!
Hitokiri- miao miao: I know the feeling *sweatdrop*. Well, this chapter further explains the medallion. :D And much more… wahahahaha!!!
NatsuNoAme: well, we all have our priorities… *sigh* If I could, I'd write everyday! *sniff* Well, thanks! ^_^
Innocent Dreamer: hmmm? What tense confusions? *looks around* They're not tensed, are you, Misao and Aoshi? *looks at rigid characters* Oh. Well. *sheepish grin* All is not yet revealed, that's why there really are confusions. ^_^
Nekonomiko: Actually, I already migrated into my deranged world. I just visit here to write crazy fanfictions! NYAHAHAHA! :P Well, dodge, I will! Anyway I put it, it still won't be a cat and dog fight because Aoshi is too stoic for that. Besides, he wouldn't want to hurt her NOW. (I wonder why… heehee) Of course, there'll still be the chance in the future. *moves eyebrows up and down*
Ah! Another chapter done! ^_^ Well, Please READ AND REVIEW! Arigatou, minna- san! *grins*
