A/N: Okay people, here we are at chapter 9. Yay! I'm so happy that I'm getting this fic along. My co-written Aoshi/Misao fic, Safer On The Outside was updated, so check it out if you have a minute. It's gonna be good! In this chapter of the story, we discover many things. What does Okina really know? What really happened to Misao's mother? Why does Makimachi really beat on Misao? All that and more on the way!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or anything connected with it. I do, however, own several artworks of Aoshi and Misao, and a tee-shirt with the oh-so-molest-able Aoshi.

Riffs and Canvas

Chapter 9: What Cannot Be Undone

She barely spoke to them as they tended to her. All Misao could do was sit on the counter, silent tears raining from her eyes, as she watched them grimly go about the task of putting ice against her bruised ribs and cleaning the puncture wounds on her lip. Okina sacrificed a good piece of streak for her eye, to stop the swelling from getting worse.

Aoshi was angry. He couldn't remember ever being more angry in his life. Not at his mother for all her mistakes. Not at her boyfriends for all the things they stole and all the ones that simply walked out over the years. Not even at Kanryuu for all the threats and lies he tried to shower on his friends. Aoshi became more enraged by every bruise they found on Misao's battered body. Even the faded ones that now looked a sickly yellow-tan color on the soft flesh of her arms. All of it sickened him.

Never in his life had he wanted to hurt someone as bad as he wanted to hurt Misao's father in that moment.

Okina peeled away the outer layer of Misao's clothes with an aching sorrow deep in his gut. Memories of another such girl, a little older than Misao but just as delicate, sitting on this very counter to be tended. He remembered the tears in her large green eyes, mirrored by Misao's own. But Misao was stronger, so much stronger, yet even she had fallen before the power of that man.

He shook his head and sighed once they were finished, reaching up and helping Misao to her feet. It only took a second after her feet first touched the floor until she rocketed herself into his arms, her face buried against the fabric of his shirt. Her entire frame shook from the power of her sobs. Okina closed his arms around her, resting his chin on her head and looking at his grandson.

Aoshi looked away from the scene. He couldn't stand seeing her like that. He had seen women cry enough in his lifetime, but somehow he always thought Misao was too strong for something like that. To be hurt that much. He was wrong, and that single mistake left him feeling like someone fired a shotgun into his stomach. The thing that left him the most speechless, the most agonized, was the fact that no one knew. Misao had never told him, and from the look of it, never told anyone. She had suffered in silence for only God knows how long!

"I think this is a time that calls for tea," Okina said suddenly. Aoshi looked up at his grandfather and caught the meaning in his words. He wanted him out of the room so he could talk to Misao. The insinuation that something had to be hidden from him brought a light of contempt into Aoshi's blue eyes as he turned and stalked into the kitchen, slamming the door louder than intended once he was gone. Misao flinched at the noise.

Okina held her away enough so that he could look into her face. "Tell me what happened," was all he said.

"When I got home," Misao said, her voice hitching with tears. "He was there. Waiting for me. And…and he hit me. Then told that son of a bitch, Jineh, to do the same!" Okina sighed and brushed Misao's shorn hair from her face. "He had me by my hair," Misao sniffled. "I had to cut it off to get away."

"It's all right, my pretty little Misao," Okina said comfortingly. "You look just as beautiful as ever."

"Gramps!" Misao's eyes watered again as she flung her arms around him harder. She just couldn't stop the tears from falling. At first, she hadn't wanted to stop them, now the dam had broken and she couldn't. It was like her insides were being torn into shreds and all she could do was wait for it to be over. Misao hated waiting for the whoever's turn it was to be done with her. She could never be done with herself, why did everyone else get a turn? She couldn't simply walk away when she was done, why did they get to? It was unfair. It was wrong!

"Stay here tonight," Okina said with another painful sigh. "We'll figure this all out in the morning."

"I'm not going back," Misao said over her draughts of air. "I'm never going back there!"

"Then don't go," Aoshi said, reappearing from the kitchen with his tray of tea. He overheard the last part, and the compulsion to protect was too great to remain silent. He had to step in, had to reassure her.

"We'll figure it out tomorrow," Okina said, a little more forcefully now. Aoshi scowled at his grandfather as he poured the tea into three cups. He drained his own in one, long gulp before handing one to Misao. She had backed from Okina and sat shakily on one of the stools at the counter. Her hands shook, and she needed both of them to grip her tea cup.

Okina took a sip from his tea, then turned and left. "I'll stay in my office tonight," he said with his back to the other two. "Aoshi, you may use my room. Misao can used your room."

"Yes, Grandpa," Aoshi said in a low voice, one filled with questions that Okina just couldn't answer. He retreated to his office, to his memories and his photographs, to last out the night.

"I'm tired," Misao said in a rough whisper. Her tears abated, she was exhausted from everything. Now, all she wanted was sleep. The tea was making her drowsier.

"Come on," Aoshi said, setting her half-empty cup down and walked around the counter to help her up. She was still shaky on her feet, body at it's limits, so he carried her up the stairs to his room. Aoshi was struck by just how light she felt, just how small she was with an arm around his neck and her head resting against his chest. Maybe he had been too quick to think her so monumentally strong. She had a temper, but that was not necessarily a sign of great strength.

When they got to his room, Aoshi turned down his covered and gently laid Misao down. He was a little reluctant to let her go, missing the warm feeling of her nestled in his arms. When he pulled the blanket up around her, Misao suddenly smiled slightly, looking up at him with half-lidded eyes.

"I seem to recall the reverse situation happening not too long ago."

He brought himself to smile back at her. "Yeah," he agreed. Aoshi didn't know what else to say. It seemed that every reassuring thought and statement, and declaration of protection and shielding was worthless, a heavy lie on his tongue. He couldn't bare to lie to Misao.

Sensing his internal conflict, Misao reached out a hand to him. "Will you stay with me? Just until I fall asleep?"

He couldn't refuse her. More importantly, he didn't want to refuse her. His heart greatly desired the same thing, to stay by Misao's side, to make sure she was safe with him around. That she wasn't going to go anywhere if he closed his eyes.

So he wordlessly kicked off his shoes and stretched out next to her, an arm around her shoulders to bring her closer. Misao relaxed then, her head resting on his chest, her eyes closing with a sigh. Aoshi couldn't have said anything if he wanted to. A lump had suddenly risen in his throat.

He felt that sudden tug again, that feeling of being needed that he had never felt before. Misao was here, asking for him to just rest with her. Like just his presence could protect her from the nightmares that plagued her. This time, she didn't reflexively curl into a ball, she leaned into him. Aoshi had no words, no thoughts, only a feeling deep in his heart that was so strong it hurt. There was no way he could even begin to understand all that went through his mind. Instead, he just made a promise to himself, and to the girl beside him who had slipped mercifully into sleep, that he would make sure that nothing else would happen to her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next morning happened much like the one before, only instead of Misao groggily waking to prepare breakfast, it was already waiting for them, curtsey of Okina. They ate in silence, both stealing glances at the other, as if attempting to read the other's thoughts. It didn't work because by the end of the meal, neither could read the other's thoughts or expressions.

Okina had walked in on them, mid-meal, then walked out again because the tension was too great. He had gone upstairs once during the night. Upon finding his bed without occupation, he went into Aoshi's room and discovered both teenagers curled up together on the small twin bed. It was enough of an omen, and a realization, that Okina knew that the time of hoping for a resolution was over.

He became even more aware that the time was over when they received two unexpected--yet expected--visitors later that morning. The tension had mostly dissipated into a comfortable companionship without the need for words. Aoshi had been sitting on the counter, strumming a little tune on his guitar. Misao had been sitting next to him, swaying a little to the song. Okina had finished calling his employees, saying that business would pick up as usual the next day. He thought it best to play today out without anyone else noticing Misao's new shiner.

Two local police officers entered the restaurant, despite the closed sign on the door. Immediately, their attention was riveted on Misao, who had noticed them enter and was shrinking down to hide behind Aoshi. He stopped, mid-riff, and placed his guitar on the counter gently before hopping to his feet. He suddenly longed for his trench coat, because it always gave him that edge of a street kid.

From experience, he knew enough of cop behavior to read the reason they were there. It also meant that they didn't necessarily want to be there, to be doing what they were doing. It didn't mean that he had to like the fact that they were there, that they were intruding upon ground that was always safe for both teenagers. With the single action of them walking through the front door, they shattered the barrier around Aoshi and Misao.

"Excuse us," the taller of the two cops said, stepping toward them. Misao hopped from the counter and grasped Aoshi's hand tightly in her own, half hiding behind him. "We're here to take you home Miss Makimachi."

Aoshi stepped fully in front of her, blocking Misao totally from view. "Misao isn't going anywhere," he said in a low and threatening voice. It would send others scattering, make his enemies quake. These cops, who had heard similar statements made a thousand times, were touched slightly by the venom in the boy's voice. Still, they had a job to do, whether they wanted to do it or not.

"I'm afraid that's not up to you," the second cop said, walking closer now. He was ready to grab Misao if he had to. The other officer made ready to subdue Aoshi if he had to.

"The hell it isn't!" Aoshi growled at them, backing up as they drew closer. He wouldn't let them take Misao without a fight.

Misao had been watched from behind Aoshi, waiting to see what they would do. She saw one of them reach for a night stick and became afraid. Not for herself, but for him, for Aoshi.

Over the years, Misao had taken beating far worse than this cop could ever dole out to a teen trying to protect a run-away. She wasn't afraid of a few blows. In fact, they'd happily go along with the ones she still sported from the night before. No, she wasn't afraid to be hit. She was more afraid of Aoshi getting hit because of her.

Never, for as long as her days, would she ever allow him to be hurt in defense of her. She loved him far too much to let him do something so purely stupid. There was no fighting her father, by now she should no that well enough. Still, the reckless abandon that she had suppressed for so long, that had suddenly reached out and gripped her, the very same that told her to love Aoshi with the full of her wounded heart, it had told her that she could fight back. She did, and now she lost a greater cost. She had gotten Aoshi involved. Misao had a selfish heart and it was because of that, that she stepped out from behind the barrier Aoshi created between her and certain oblivion. She stepped out of the safe warmth of his presence and protection, and into the arms of the enemy.

"It's ok Aoshi," she said, not able to bring herself to meet his eyes.

"Misao," he said softly, reaching out an open hand to her. Misao stared at it for a long moment, having to fight every urge of her body to grab it and hold on. She turned away instead.

"I take it my father is at the station?"

"He's very worried about you," the smaller of the cops said, taking a hold of her arm to escort her outside.

"I told you," Aoshi said angrily. "You can't take her back to that bastard!" He was two seconds away from losing his cool totally and jumping both cops right in the middle of the Aoyia.

Okina stopped him, finally emerged from his office. He put an arm around Aoshi's shoulders, successfully rooting him in place. "It's all right officers. Tell Mayor Makimachi that Misao was perfectly fine, here at the Aoyia, as always."

The two police officers nodded and escorted Misao out, pausing long enough at the door for her to shrug on her coat. Aoshi struggled then, and only then, to try and stop them one last time. Okina held him back again. Desperately, Aoshi wanted to chase after them, to get her back. A feeling settled in his bones, one that chilled him totally. The thought that he may never see Misao again.

Misao looked back only once, and couldn't stop her eyes from watering over. There was an ominous feeling in her stomach, something that told her once she stepped outside of this door, everything in her world would come crashing to it's knees.

But that's the way things go, when you fall in love, her mother's voice called from deep within. Everything you know changes, moves so fast you can't catch it. The trick is to hold on and know that the thing that's changing your world is worth fighting to keep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"She's gone," Aoshi whispered, more to himself than to his grandfather, as he watched the car with Misao in it drive off.

"Yes, I know," Okina said sadly.

"Why?" Aoshi suddenly yelled, turning on his grandfather. "Why did you let them take her?"

"Because they would have gotten her sooner or later," Okina said calmly in the face of his grandson's anger. "Makimachi is not a man you can push around, Aoshi. He would have come here and gotten her later this afternoon with an order to arrest you and me both had we resisted."

"Arrest us?"

"For aiding and embedding, or some nonsense like that," Okina cured with a wave of his hand. "The man has power and money, he can do anything he likes in this town."

"You knew," Aoshi breathed suddenly, looking at his grandfather with a mixture of hope and horror. Hope that it wasn't true, and horror that it was.

"Yes," he said with a sigh, eyes turned toward the door. "I've known for years."

"Why didn't you do anything?" the teenager demanded. "Why did you let her suffer? Why let that bastard hurt Misao!?"

Okina sighed again, rubbing his hands together. "Come with me Aoshi," he said quietly. "There is something I should have told you from the beginning."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Misao's blood froze as she entered the station and saw her father, seated in the police chief's office, with Jineh standing beside him. The psychotic henchmen had a bandage over his face, and leered at her so frighteningly that Misao shuddered down to her toes. What had she done?

"Misao!" her father exclaimed when he saw her. He rushed to his feet and embraced the girl, who stood as ridged and stiff as a plank of wood. "I'm so glad your safe! I know that all this running off wasn't your idea. It had to be that boy, Okina's grandson, putting ideas into your head." He turned to the chief. "She is such a gullible child, you see," he explained as if she wasn't there. "Anyone tells her to do something and she's so eager to please she forgets who she shouldn't listen to."

Misao stood there, arms at her sides, green eyes staring ahead and unfocused. Her hands balled into fists at his words, making her sound like she was some kind of dense five-year-old. It was just another way to control her. By telling the chief of police that she was too slow to make decisions for herself, anytime she disappeared from the house, he could make them bring her back under the pretense that she didn't know any better. Who would believe a suggested moron over the mayor of the town?

Misao wanted to scream just then. She knew the truth well enough now. Her father had her under his thumb now. There was no way she'd ever go to art school, or any school for that matter. She'd never be allowed back to the Aoyia. Most importantly, she'd never see Aoshi again. That was the deathblow that forced tears from her green eyes, and she bowed her head, hiding behind the fall of her hair. None of them noticed as the meeting finished up and Misao was escorted out to the car.

Once they got home, and the mayor dismissed the police escort, it was a different story. Now that they were in the privacy of their own home, now he could make sure that Misao knew just how well she would pay for betraying him. For fighting the forces of God. This time he wouldn't leave it in the incapable hands of Jineh--the drug addict was likely to let her escape again. No, this time, he would have the pleasure of being her himself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Here," Okina said, handing Aoshi a framed picture. The old man had taken his grandson into his office, closing the door behind them and sitting them both down on a old leather couch in the back of the room. He took the picture that sat on his desk and handed it to his grandson.

Aoshi looked over the picture. His eyes were drawn to the woman on the right. Younger and smiling brilliantly was Misao's mother. He'd know her anywhere, even if she was looking away from the camera, because of the resemblance. "It's Misao's mother," he said slowly. Then his eyes shifted to the other figure, the one of the far left. Younger, smaller, smiling happily was his mother, Aiko. "And…my mom."

Okina nodded. "This was taken a few years before your mother left," he said quietly. "I took the picture myself. It was just after Sae got married."

"To Makimachi," Aoshi said in a voice of finality.

"That was before he started hurting her," Okina said calmly. Aoshi's eyes flew from the picture to his grandfather's face.

"He hit her mother too?" Okina nodded. "And you knew?" Again, a nod. "Why didn't you stop him?"

"I have to start from the beginning," Okina said slowly, as if painfully tired. Aoshi noticed then how old his grandfather looked. "I knew Sae's parents all our lives. Her father was my best friend since the cradle and when he married her mother, I was best man. It only made sense that I be made Sae's godfather. It was a role I took very seriously, even after your mother was born."

Okina paused in his tale, taking the photograph back and looking down at it nostalgically. "Sae's parents, for all their virtues and kindness, had a major flaw. They were fond of gambling, even when they had no money left to bet. Which is how they quickly came into debt. After you're grandmother left us, your mother and I opened this restaurant, and I was the one they turned to for money. I guess they thought that because I owned my own business, I had money to spare."

"That's a joke," Aoshi snorted. Okina looked up at him seriously. "I'm sorry," he said with his head down. "Continue."

"Well, one day they got into a little too much debt," Okina continued with a disgusted snort and a shake of his head. "They borrowed money from a loan man and couldn't pay it back. I couldn't give them anything because the restaurant was going through a rough patch, and your mother had her music lessons that I was paying for. So, in an attempt to pay off their debt, instead of giving them money, they gave their daughter."

"What?" Aoshi asked, mouth hanging open.

Okina smiled rather grimly and nodded. "Lovely, yes? The loan shark they took money from had a son in his early twenties, and he had taken quite a shine to their daughter. Sae was barely eighteen at the time, head full of dreams and possibilities for her life. Most importantly, her heart was full of love for another man. That was why she was so miserable when she was forced into marrying Makimachi."

"Couldn't she have just said no? Run away with the guy she loved? Anything?" Aoshi asked, trying to understand.

"And leave her parents to face death or imprisonment? Sae was far too generous for that, and it made me sick that her parents could do such a thing. After the wedding, I never spoke to them again. I did, however, keep in close contact with my goddaughter."

"What happened?"

"Perhaps it was the fact that I was so upset by Sae's fate, or maybe I was giving too much attention to her, whatever the answer, that was when your mother left." Okina shook his head sadly, then his eyes met with his grandson. "A few months later I found out she was pregnant with you, and the rest you know of that tale."

"My mom left because of Sae?" Aoshi asked, blue eyes clouded with some secret thought he would not voice aloud.

"Perhaps," Okina said with a shrug. "I think it was more because of Sasuke."

"Sasuke?" Another name Aoshi didn't know. Another part of this story, another strand in this tangled web of lies and things.

"He's the man in the photo," Okina explained, showing Aoshi the picture once more. He had noticed the man when he first looked at it, but now Aoshi looked closer at him, noticing some of his features and the way he held himself. "He lived next door to us all his life," Okina went on. "He was the boy that both Sae and your mother were both in love with."

"My mother…loved him?" Aoshi said, looking up at Okina.

"I think it was a kind of rivalry between them," his grandfather said. "Whatever Sae had, Aiko wanted. Sae was two years older than your mother, so she was always trying to be one up on her, or something. Sasuke was their biggest argument. Aiko loved him, regardless of Sae's involvement, but although Sasuke looked after your mother, he was in love with Sae."

Aoshi nodded, his hopes dashed. It hadn't hurt as bad as he expected. But he had only half-expected his childish notion to be true. The man in the photo wasn't his father. Okina seemed to notice his disappointment and reached out, patting him on the head. "I can't tell you who your father is, my boy," he said quietly. "But I do know that it wasn't Sasuke. He was devoted to Sae. And that was why it killed them both when she married another."

"What happened after that? To Sasuke I mean."

Okina grappled with himself, but came to a sudden decision because he set the photograph down and turned to the boy beside him. "He opened a small art school in town. He was talented, so talented in fact he had been invited to travel abroad to paint and study. But he turned it down, to be close to Sae. Even if she was married to another man, his love never wavered.

"With Sae it was different. She tried to kill her love for Sasuke and threw herself head-long into this marriage. She tried everything to be the perfect wife. Of course, she couldn't prove to him that he was the love of her life anymore than she could convince herself. It had only been six months into the marriage the first time she came here, in the middle of the night, bloody and bruised. He'd found out she'd gone to see Sasuke. After that, she'd show up here, twice, three times a month, beaten so bad she could barely hold up her head without wincing." Okina paused and shook his head again, trying to rid himself of those memories. "You can't imagine what it's like to see someone like Sae, so full of life and spirit, seem to die right in front of you. The light was gone from her eyes to the point where not even Sasuke could bring it back."

"What changed?" Aoshi asked. He knew it had to have changed because Misao had always seemed so happy when remembering her mother. The mother Misao knew was lively, not this dead thing Okina saw in his mind.

"Misao was born," Okina said simply. "When she had Misao, Sae became her old self again. She had a reason to live, something to love with all of her heart, who could love her back without restraint or forbidden promise. Misao was everything to that girl. I saw her take her beatings, take her bruises and scars without complaint, all because of that little ball of energy." Okina smiled to himself. "Misao was like a light in a dark room. So full of spirit and fight. She was the kind of child that everyone seemed to gravitate to, so easy to love."

"What happened when Sae died?" Aoshi pressed.

Okina's smile faded. "After Sae died in the car accident, Misao became the brunt of Makimachi's rage. Everything he did to Sae, he did to her daughter. More so I'd say, because she was harder to control. Misao would fight back when she was young, until she gave up the charade and just took her pain laying down."

"Why didn't you help them, Grandpa?" Aoshi asked. This he needed to know.

"I tried, the first time Sae came in here, I told her to leave the bastard. She could live at the Aoyia and get a divorce. She was going to do just that, but Makimachi threatened me. He said he'd take my restaurant, everything I had, if I ever tried to interfere with him or Sae. I would have anyway, but she begged me not to. She begged me to look after myself and Aiko, that she could handle it. After she died, I was going to do anything to get Misao out of there, before she became next. I hired a lawyer, had the papers drawn up. I even had charged brought against him the first time I saw Misao after a beating."

"He bought his way out," Aoshi said with understanding at last. "He has the money and the power."

"He threatened to take Misao away. He even threatened to kill her if I did anything like that again. I couldn't do it, I just couldn't risk her life. So I watched in silence as he did to Misao everything he had done to Sae."

"But Misao didn't break," Aoshi denied.

"Not completely," Okina agreed. "She's so much stronger than Sae was, because she had to be. Misao still has that spark in her, that only life and beauty."

"That's why you wanted me to stay away from her," Aoshi whispered. "Because you knew this would happen."

"Not really," Okina admitted. "I had a feeling, but that was about it. Misao is a powerful force, and lesser men would be taken in by her charms quite easily. I knew that you would put up a fight, and she would be drawn to that. And before I knew it, the two of you were already too far gone. Now I'm afraid something worse than a broken heart could befall Misao. Especially since she doesn't know the whole truth."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ah," Misao cough, blood dripping from her mouth across the linoleum tile. She was sprawled, pulling herself on to hands and knees. Makimachi stood over her, cracking his knuckles, scowling horribly at her crumpled form. Consumed by rage, he kicked her in the side so hard she flipped on to her back with another cry of pain. She had begun to cry tears of agony as she tried to curl into a ball. He didn't give her enough time.

"Disgusting creature," he flung at her. "How dare you try to spare yourself your punishment!"

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Misao screamed from her gut, spitting a wad of blood and saliva on to his shoe in her own contempt.

He sneered, kicking her again. Misao whimpered, curling around her wounded side and writhing in pain. "You didn't do anything wrong you say," he mocked. "That's what she said!" He kicked Misao again for good measure.

The teenager opened her eyes when she landed face down again on the floor, spying the table in front of her. She gripped one of the legs, pulling herself shakily to her feet. When he came at her, Misao ducked under his hand and retreated to the other side of the table, limping and favoring her left side.

"You're just like your mother," he flung at her. "You think you can fool me. You think I'm dumb enough that I can't see what's going on behind my back."

"Stay away from me!" Misao shrieked. She was going to run for the knives, but noticed with horror that they were all gone. A tribute to her lucky escape from Jineh the night before. She was truly trapped, and there was no getting out.

"I own you!" Makimachi yelled as he dove across the table for her. Misao ducked under the table and crawled to the other side, making a break for the door. She passed through it just before he lunged and caught her by the feet. She fell hard to the ground, scrambling to get up.

"Stop struggling!" he yelled, cursing as she kicking him hard in the shin.

"No!" Misao screamed. She was not going to let this happen. She was not going to die, not today. Makimachi grabbed her from behind, an arm crushing her windpipe. Misao clawed at his wrist, trying to breathe.

"You can't run from me anymore," he whispered into her ear. "I've been wanting to do this for seventeen years." Tears coursed from Misao's eyes, but no air came into her lungs. "I couldn't do it while your mother was around. You didn't matter enough for me to do it since she died, but now that you've gone and gotten it into your head that it's ok to screw around behind my back like she did, I can finally get rid of you."

With that, he shoved Misao from him and right into the hallway wall. Misao struck hard, falling back. She choked on the air she began gulping. Blood and tears filled her mouth as she tried to get up and run upstairs again. He blocked her way, grabbing her arm when she tried to flee. He pinned her against the wall, looking down at her with clouded eyes. Misao was scared, and angry, and in pain.

"You look so much like he," he said thoughtfully, almost as if not seeing Misao at all. "But you look too much like him."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What truth Grandpa?" Aoshi asked, eyes wide in his alarm. This was the real reason he had been brought into this room. The real reason Misao was in danger. He could feel it.

"Misao…" Okina began with a heavy sigh. "She's not Makimachi's daughter." He looked up to meet the eyes of his grandson. "She's the daughter of Sae and Sasuke."

Aoshi grabbed up the picture one more time, scanning the man held in it's frame. That's when he saw it, the proof of the statement, held in the figures of both Misao's parents. Her mother's features and frame. Sasuke's blue-black hair. Sasuke's turned up nose. In the time it took Aoshi to absorb the truth of this, he was on his feet and running.

"Aoshi!" Okina called after him. The boy didn't stop, not even for his coat. He took off into the cold night in a short-sleeved shirt, praying that there was still enough time to save Misao.

A/N: Sorry for the cliff-hanger. Hehe, I couldn't resist! Okay, be on the look-out for Chapter 10 on Monday or Tuesday. I'll try to get it out as soon as I can, but I'll be pretty busy the next for days. Probably on Monday I'll have it out, or early Tuesday. Please remember to review!

Miz: Well, I hope this chapter cleared up your questions and concerns. If you have anymore, just review them and I'll be sure to answer them. Thanks for the review!

SeaBreeze: I read your fic and I liked it. It wasn't like mine at all! Inspiration is not copying. One can read a story and like the idea of it, but yours was nothing like mine. I hope you feel better soon, and I eagerly await the arrival of your sketch. If you want, we could compare, since I have a very nice drawing I did of Hiei from Yuyu Hakusho, lol.

Tiian: Yes, I think the 'past meeting' scenario is pretty played out. I guess the risks she's taking are a little far fetched, but if I didn't make her take them, there wouldn't be a story! Ah, Aoshi confrontation with Makimachi shall appear in the next chapter! No, no, no, there are no 'redemption' characters in this story plotline. That's just stupid. Who really wants to read about a bad guy suddenly becoming all kind and friendly. That's something from a Muppet movie! Thanks for the review!

Len: *beams* I'm so happy that you like my work. Enjoy the chapter and the next will be out as soon as possible!

Spirit demon: That's okay. I'm glad you're reviewing now. And I'm very happy that you like my work enough to review at all! I always try to grow with my story as I go along. I hope this one had you on the edge of your seat!

Tamakia'gss: Yes, Misao is a tragic hero, but I like her like this. It means that because she knows great suffering now, her life will be so much better later. If she lives that is, haha! Yes, Jineh is scary, that was why I chose him for the part of the 'guard'. Here's the update. The suspense here will kill you more, haha!

Namiko-Daughter of Sekhmet: I'm glad!

Susan: Here, tell me what you think will happen, haha!

Darkmoon0829: Never sick of a faithful reviewer! I love you like Ramen! Ah yes, the Aoshi factor in the morning. God, he's look sexy any time of the day or night! Yes, Misao can fight, but most of the time she was so used to it that she never did fight back. Now she has a reason!

Silver Miko: Those are worth their weight it gold! Thank you! By the by, if you like my work--you should check out my new Aoshi/Misao fic that I am co-writing. I think you'd like it. It will get better as it goes along though!

Allin656: I hope that you like this chapter and the rest of my work, if you've read it. Thanks for the review and I hope the ending meets standards!

Neko-chan: I'm so happy that you like my work! It means a lot to be to have suck wonderful readers! Misao is too busy running from him to attack him, and I'm glad you like my characters! The Okina-thing was explained here, but if you have any other questions, just review and ask. Isn't that a great song? I heard it a few weeks ago and the first thought in my head was Aoshi! Don't worry, I can stone flamers to death myself, but it's always nice to gain a new lackey, lol.

Shin-chan: Yes, poor Misao. You'll find out what happens in the next chapter, so stay tuned!

Dysfunctional Superhero: I'm glad that you like my story! Here's an update, enjoy!

SoT'n'Kenshin: I'm so glad I've hooked another one, lol. Yes, well, I had to make it sound preppy-like to get people to read it, I know how readers are suckers for high-school drama. I hope this update leaves you in suspense! I'm rally glad that you can get into my story. I really like how this one is turning out. Yes, well, here is Okina's big confession scene, how did I do? I'm very happy you like my work, it makes me giggle like a school girl, lol. Thanks for the review!