This idea has been bouncing around my brain for awhile, so I thought I'd just write on it and see how it comes out. My favorite anime pairing! (P.S.- This is another romance.... --; )
Disclaimer: I don't own the Rurouni Kenshin characters..... sob
Chapter 1- Rain
"Come on, Misao! Get up! You can't stay in bed all day you know!"
Misao rolled over on her futon, trying to block out Okon's persistant callings. Finding that that didn't work, she gave in and sat up.
"I'm up! You win! Now leave me alone!"
Okon went silent, her mission to wake the weasel girl up accomplished.
"You'd think it was a crime to sleep in," Misao grumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "And it's raining again. Perfect."
Muttering about the weather, she got dressed in her usual outfit and undid her hair to brush it, rebraiding it afterwards.
'I wonder what Aoshi-sama is doing today. Probably meditating in the shrine again. He's so different now, always going to be by himself. I know he used to be reserved, but now he's so.... solitary. He needs to realize it wasn't his fault....'
Her thoughts trailed off as she walked downstairs and greeted the other dwellers at the Aoiya. As usual, Aoshi was no where in site, and Misao figured she was right on her guess about him retreating to the shrine again. Omasu greeted her and brought her breakfast setting it on a table in the kitchen, so as not to disrupt the diners in the main part of the building.
"You've slept in awfully late. Have any good dreams?" Omasu teased her. She giggled when her friend blushed, knowing exactly who she dreamed about.
Misao chose not to answer, and started to eat her breakfast, making a face at Omasu. She could not stop herself from blushing though. Her dreams had been good, although she would never tell anyone what they were about. The color staining her cheeks deepened as she thought about them, and shivers raced down her spine.
"Umm.... I think I'm going on a walk, Omasu. Please tell Okina not to worry."
Her friend looked at her strangely. "In this weather? Misao, you'll catch sick if you go walking in that freezing rain. It's only going to get worse, too. Right now it's only misting, but I wouldn't be surprised if a downpour started any minute now."
"Don't be such a downer, Omasu." Misao chided, bouncing up from where she was sitting, having finished her breakfast. "Besides, it'll do me good, and I'm your Okashira, so you can't stop me."
Omasu stuck her tongue out at her, knowing she couldn't stop the impertinent girl. "Just don't get sick. I'll be the one they blame for not stopping you, and I'll feel terrible too. Here. At least take an umbrella." She handed Misao the umbrella she kept for running errands in nasty weather.
"Okay. If it'll get you off my back," Misao sighed mockingly, pretending she was making a great sacrifice.
"Oh, stop it and get going before someone else comes into the kitchen and stops you." Omasu giggled, gently pushing her towards the door.
"Okay. See you later, Omasu!" She smiled and stepped out the door, opening the umbrella and waving goodbye.
Not many people were out on the streets because of the weather, and the few who were dashed about as if trying to avoid the water. Misao laughed to herself as she watched one wealthy looking man step in a puddle and start to curse, forgetting where he was. When he saw she was within earshot, he gave a small bow and apologized for cursing in the presence of a lady. Misao smiled at him and continued to walk, deciding to leave Kyoto for awhile and seek the peace of the forest.
Reaching the outskirts of the city, she saw a mother huddling in a shack with her two small children, all of them soaking wet. Veering away from her path, Misao walked to them and handed the woman her umbrella.
"Here. You need it more than I do."
The woman smiled gratefully, tears threatening to spill at the generosity of a kind stranger.
"Do you know where the Aoiya is?"
The woman nodded.
"Good. Go there and ask for Omasu. Tell her Misao sent you and you should be able to get a hot meal for yourself and your children. You'll also be able to get out of the rain for awhile." Misao told her with a smile.
The children looked hopefully at their mother who gave them a hug and stood up, giving Misao a hug as well. She lifted the umbrella and they shuffled towards the Aoiya, all squeezing under the protection from the spitting skies Misao's gift gave them.
Misao smiled gently as she watched them make there way to the distant restaurant, happy she could help someone in need. Then she rememebered something.
'Omasu's going to recognize the umbrella and I'm gonna get a lecture. Oh well. They needed it more than I do, and she'll realize that when she sees them.'
With that thought comforting her, she continued to walk to the forest. The cold rain bit into her skin at first, freezing any skin it came into contact with and quickly drenching her hair and clothes.
'At least I wore my boots and not my sandals,' she thought, looking down at the calf-high boots that were now covered in mud.
Reaching the forest, a tranquility seemed to overcome her. The trees seemed to emanate calm, creating a soothing air. Misao continued to amble, wandering through the trees as the drops of collected water from branches fell on her head along with the normal rain, which, as Omasu had predicted, had turned into a downpour.
The sense of peace calmed her mind, letting her think clearly about issues she had trouble thinking about otherwise. Tilting her face up to the sky and feeling the water trace it's way across her features, she thought about what had recently been bothering her.
'Two years..... Two years and Aoshi-sama still hasn't forgiven himself. Why can't he just realize that they did it for him, and there was nothing he could do about it? All he does is meditate and avoid the rest of us, like he can't bring himself to socialize or doesn't deserve to be around us. And now I'm almost 18..... And he still treats me like a child when he does speak on those rare occassions. I'm Okashira! He's supposed to look to me as leader, or at least as a friend! I know I'd give him his position back in a heartbeat if he asked, but that doesn't change the fact....'
She sighed, her own thoughts draining her.
Sitting under a nearby tree, Aoshi watched her, sitting completely still and silent in his cross-legged meditation position. He had come here to relax in the gentle aura of the forest, thinking the stormy weather would keep any unwanted visitors away. Obviously he was wrong.
'What is Misao doing here? She shouldn't be out in weather like this, especially with nothing to protect her. I came here to meditate in peace and she shows up as if it were any other day in the shrine. Although she doesn't seem to be searching for anything, and she hasn't even detected my presence yet....'
Right as this thought crossed his mind, Misao felt someones eyes on her, and swung her head around, searching for the watcher. She was surprised to see Aoshi sitting beneath a tree about 15 feet away.
"Aoshi-sama..... What are you doing here? I thought you'd be at the shrine.... I'm sorry if I disturbed you. I'll leave...." She turned to depart.
"You've not disturbed me. You're going to catch sick if you stand there in the rain like that. You should at least wait for this downpour to stop before going back to Aoiya." He said matter of factly, emotionless, although he was surprised by her un-Misaoish behavior.
Feeling the increasingly heavier drops pounding down on her shoulders, she nodded and walked over to the tree where he sat, sitting down next to him so their arms brushed against one another. She sat there silently and watched the sheets of water beating against the ground, not wanting to bother the man next to her.
Aoshi watched her out of the corner of his eye. She was soaked from her walk, her hair completely drenched so that it stuck to her head and face, and the cloth of her ninja outfit was plastered against her body, leaving little to the imagination.
'She's not a little girl anymore... She's definitely grown up from the little shadow I remember following me around...'
He turned his gaze back to the unsettled skies, afraid he might do something he'd later regret if he didn't.
'I don't deserve her devotion. I still need time to seek peace and forgiveness....'
A small voice in the back of his head, one he hadn't heard in a long time, argued with him. 'But she is devoted to you, and you know it! You've seen how unhappy she is when you ignore her. Look at how happy she is to just be near you.'
Aoshi glanced over at Misao, and saw that she was now reddening, the pink getting increasingly deeper to a crimson. He frowned slightly, not knowing what was causing her to flush like that. He resumed giving his attention back to the rain, not wanting to know.
Misao could feel the burning of her cheeks, could almost see the water steaming off her face from the heat. She couldn't stop it. This was almost exactly the way her dream had went. Now all Aoshi had to do was take her in his arms and...... She shook her head. Aoshi would never do that, she knew he wouldn't.
Nevertheless, she watched him out of the corner of her eye, unaware that he had been doing the same thing, but was now looking away again.
He was as soaked as she was. If Misao knew Aoshi's habits, and she had been following him since she was able to walk, than she knew he had been out here since dawn, lost in reflection. The drips from the trees above had steadily wet his clothing until they were molded to his body, the usually loose fabric of his meditating outfit showing the definition of his muscles.
Face burning hotter than ever, she noticed that the downpour was slowing down to a drizzle, as if the clouds had tired themselves out.
Bouncing up from her position sitting against the tree, she smiled cheerfully and said, "It's slowed to a drizzle, I better be going! Didn't mean to bother you! Sorry!"
She took off back to Kyoto at a run as Aoshi watched her.
'Why is she acting that way? Something is wrong....'
He had felt her looking at him, even if she hadn't realized it. And her blushing was perplexing. Aoshi had a feeling it had something to do with him, although he had done nothing to evoke such a response. At least not to his knowledge.
Closing his eyes, he relaxed and straightened his back, trying to continue meditating, but the image of Misao's clinging clothing kept intruding on his inner peace. He sighed, knowing he could not concentrate with that thought on his mind.
Leaning back and resting his head against the tree, he gave in and thought about Misao. How she had always wanted him to entertain her when she was tiny, her demanding to become a ninja when she was old enough to know what a kunai was, and how he had helplessly watched as her undeserved affection for him grew. She had always been there for him, and seeing her smile had become a kind of dependency for him.
Even when he was consumed by the need to be the strongest and defeat Himura, it had still hurt to tell her that he never wanted to see her again. He knew that if he had turned to look at her, seen the crushed look he knew she wore, his resolve would have been shattered.
'I mustn't let her distract me. I still haven't made up for......'
He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to block the replaying of his friends sacrifice out of his mind.
'I could have stopped them it is my fault. They did not need to die like that. All my fault....'
Another voice, this time a memory of Misao's, chided him. 'It's not your fault! You couldn't have stopped them, because they were going to protect you anyway! Quit blaming yourself Lord Aoshi! It's not your fault! Please, quit blaming yourself! Please....'
He remembered when she had said that. How her eyes had filled with tears, and how he had heartlessly turned away and left her to cry.
'She deserves someone better. I break her heart every time I so much as look at her, but I can't allow myself a pleasure of any kind until I can find peace for my deeds.'
Opening his eyes, he saw that the rain had stopped and the sun was shining brightly, a dramatic change from the morning weather. The heavens seemed to respond to his mood, because as the rain had cleared, so had his thoughts, and now his mind felt as crystalline as the sky.
Standing up, he stretched his cramped muscles and followed the unseen path Misao had taken, back to the Aoiya and the Oniwabanshuu.
Okay...... There's Chapter 1. Please tell me if I have anything mixed up or wrong. I know the characters might seem a bit of OOC. Sorry. . Please read and REVIEW! (They inspire me! )
Disclaimer: I don't own the Rurouni Kenshin characters..... sob
Chapter 1- Rain
"Come on, Misao! Get up! You can't stay in bed all day you know!"
Misao rolled over on her futon, trying to block out Okon's persistant callings. Finding that that didn't work, she gave in and sat up.
"I'm up! You win! Now leave me alone!"
Okon went silent, her mission to wake the weasel girl up accomplished.
"You'd think it was a crime to sleep in," Misao grumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "And it's raining again. Perfect."
Muttering about the weather, she got dressed in her usual outfit and undid her hair to brush it, rebraiding it afterwards.
'I wonder what Aoshi-sama is doing today. Probably meditating in the shrine again. He's so different now, always going to be by himself. I know he used to be reserved, but now he's so.... solitary. He needs to realize it wasn't his fault....'
Her thoughts trailed off as she walked downstairs and greeted the other dwellers at the Aoiya. As usual, Aoshi was no where in site, and Misao figured she was right on her guess about him retreating to the shrine again. Omasu greeted her and brought her breakfast setting it on a table in the kitchen, so as not to disrupt the diners in the main part of the building.
"You've slept in awfully late. Have any good dreams?" Omasu teased her. She giggled when her friend blushed, knowing exactly who she dreamed about.
Misao chose not to answer, and started to eat her breakfast, making a face at Omasu. She could not stop herself from blushing though. Her dreams had been good, although she would never tell anyone what they were about. The color staining her cheeks deepened as she thought about them, and shivers raced down her spine.
"Umm.... I think I'm going on a walk, Omasu. Please tell Okina not to worry."
Her friend looked at her strangely. "In this weather? Misao, you'll catch sick if you go walking in that freezing rain. It's only going to get worse, too. Right now it's only misting, but I wouldn't be surprised if a downpour started any minute now."
"Don't be such a downer, Omasu." Misao chided, bouncing up from where she was sitting, having finished her breakfast. "Besides, it'll do me good, and I'm your Okashira, so you can't stop me."
Omasu stuck her tongue out at her, knowing she couldn't stop the impertinent girl. "Just don't get sick. I'll be the one they blame for not stopping you, and I'll feel terrible too. Here. At least take an umbrella." She handed Misao the umbrella she kept for running errands in nasty weather.
"Okay. If it'll get you off my back," Misao sighed mockingly, pretending she was making a great sacrifice.
"Oh, stop it and get going before someone else comes into the kitchen and stops you." Omasu giggled, gently pushing her towards the door.
"Okay. See you later, Omasu!" She smiled and stepped out the door, opening the umbrella and waving goodbye.
Not many people were out on the streets because of the weather, and the few who were dashed about as if trying to avoid the water. Misao laughed to herself as she watched one wealthy looking man step in a puddle and start to curse, forgetting where he was. When he saw she was within earshot, he gave a small bow and apologized for cursing in the presence of a lady. Misao smiled at him and continued to walk, deciding to leave Kyoto for awhile and seek the peace of the forest.
Reaching the outskirts of the city, she saw a mother huddling in a shack with her two small children, all of them soaking wet. Veering away from her path, Misao walked to them and handed the woman her umbrella.
"Here. You need it more than I do."
The woman smiled gratefully, tears threatening to spill at the generosity of a kind stranger.
"Do you know where the Aoiya is?"
The woman nodded.
"Good. Go there and ask for Omasu. Tell her Misao sent you and you should be able to get a hot meal for yourself and your children. You'll also be able to get out of the rain for awhile." Misao told her with a smile.
The children looked hopefully at their mother who gave them a hug and stood up, giving Misao a hug as well. She lifted the umbrella and they shuffled towards the Aoiya, all squeezing under the protection from the spitting skies Misao's gift gave them.
Misao smiled gently as she watched them make there way to the distant restaurant, happy she could help someone in need. Then she rememebered something.
'Omasu's going to recognize the umbrella and I'm gonna get a lecture. Oh well. They needed it more than I do, and she'll realize that when she sees them.'
With that thought comforting her, she continued to walk to the forest. The cold rain bit into her skin at first, freezing any skin it came into contact with and quickly drenching her hair and clothes.
'At least I wore my boots and not my sandals,' she thought, looking down at the calf-high boots that were now covered in mud.
Reaching the forest, a tranquility seemed to overcome her. The trees seemed to emanate calm, creating a soothing air. Misao continued to amble, wandering through the trees as the drops of collected water from branches fell on her head along with the normal rain, which, as Omasu had predicted, had turned into a downpour.
The sense of peace calmed her mind, letting her think clearly about issues she had trouble thinking about otherwise. Tilting her face up to the sky and feeling the water trace it's way across her features, she thought about what had recently been bothering her.
'Two years..... Two years and Aoshi-sama still hasn't forgiven himself. Why can't he just realize that they did it for him, and there was nothing he could do about it? All he does is meditate and avoid the rest of us, like he can't bring himself to socialize or doesn't deserve to be around us. And now I'm almost 18..... And he still treats me like a child when he does speak on those rare occassions. I'm Okashira! He's supposed to look to me as leader, or at least as a friend! I know I'd give him his position back in a heartbeat if he asked, but that doesn't change the fact....'
She sighed, her own thoughts draining her.
Sitting under a nearby tree, Aoshi watched her, sitting completely still and silent in his cross-legged meditation position. He had come here to relax in the gentle aura of the forest, thinking the stormy weather would keep any unwanted visitors away. Obviously he was wrong.
'What is Misao doing here? She shouldn't be out in weather like this, especially with nothing to protect her. I came here to meditate in peace and she shows up as if it were any other day in the shrine. Although she doesn't seem to be searching for anything, and she hasn't even detected my presence yet....'
Right as this thought crossed his mind, Misao felt someones eyes on her, and swung her head around, searching for the watcher. She was surprised to see Aoshi sitting beneath a tree about 15 feet away.
"Aoshi-sama..... What are you doing here? I thought you'd be at the shrine.... I'm sorry if I disturbed you. I'll leave...." She turned to depart.
"You've not disturbed me. You're going to catch sick if you stand there in the rain like that. You should at least wait for this downpour to stop before going back to Aoiya." He said matter of factly, emotionless, although he was surprised by her un-Misaoish behavior.
Feeling the increasingly heavier drops pounding down on her shoulders, she nodded and walked over to the tree where he sat, sitting down next to him so their arms brushed against one another. She sat there silently and watched the sheets of water beating against the ground, not wanting to bother the man next to her.
Aoshi watched her out of the corner of his eye. She was soaked from her walk, her hair completely drenched so that it stuck to her head and face, and the cloth of her ninja outfit was plastered against her body, leaving little to the imagination.
'She's not a little girl anymore... She's definitely grown up from the little shadow I remember following me around...'
He turned his gaze back to the unsettled skies, afraid he might do something he'd later regret if he didn't.
'I don't deserve her devotion. I still need time to seek peace and forgiveness....'
A small voice in the back of his head, one he hadn't heard in a long time, argued with him. 'But she is devoted to you, and you know it! You've seen how unhappy she is when you ignore her. Look at how happy she is to just be near you.'
Aoshi glanced over at Misao, and saw that she was now reddening, the pink getting increasingly deeper to a crimson. He frowned slightly, not knowing what was causing her to flush like that. He resumed giving his attention back to the rain, not wanting to know.
Misao could feel the burning of her cheeks, could almost see the water steaming off her face from the heat. She couldn't stop it. This was almost exactly the way her dream had went. Now all Aoshi had to do was take her in his arms and...... She shook her head. Aoshi would never do that, she knew he wouldn't.
Nevertheless, she watched him out of the corner of her eye, unaware that he had been doing the same thing, but was now looking away again.
He was as soaked as she was. If Misao knew Aoshi's habits, and she had been following him since she was able to walk, than she knew he had been out here since dawn, lost in reflection. The drips from the trees above had steadily wet his clothing until they were molded to his body, the usually loose fabric of his meditating outfit showing the definition of his muscles.
Face burning hotter than ever, she noticed that the downpour was slowing down to a drizzle, as if the clouds had tired themselves out.
Bouncing up from her position sitting against the tree, she smiled cheerfully and said, "It's slowed to a drizzle, I better be going! Didn't mean to bother you! Sorry!"
She took off back to Kyoto at a run as Aoshi watched her.
'Why is she acting that way? Something is wrong....'
He had felt her looking at him, even if she hadn't realized it. And her blushing was perplexing. Aoshi had a feeling it had something to do with him, although he had done nothing to evoke such a response. At least not to his knowledge.
Closing his eyes, he relaxed and straightened his back, trying to continue meditating, but the image of Misao's clinging clothing kept intruding on his inner peace. He sighed, knowing he could not concentrate with that thought on his mind.
Leaning back and resting his head against the tree, he gave in and thought about Misao. How she had always wanted him to entertain her when she was tiny, her demanding to become a ninja when she was old enough to know what a kunai was, and how he had helplessly watched as her undeserved affection for him grew. She had always been there for him, and seeing her smile had become a kind of dependency for him.
Even when he was consumed by the need to be the strongest and defeat Himura, it had still hurt to tell her that he never wanted to see her again. He knew that if he had turned to look at her, seen the crushed look he knew she wore, his resolve would have been shattered.
'I mustn't let her distract me. I still haven't made up for......'
He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to block the replaying of his friends sacrifice out of his mind.
'I could have stopped them it is my fault. They did not need to die like that. All my fault....'
Another voice, this time a memory of Misao's, chided him. 'It's not your fault! You couldn't have stopped them, because they were going to protect you anyway! Quit blaming yourself Lord Aoshi! It's not your fault! Please, quit blaming yourself! Please....'
He remembered when she had said that. How her eyes had filled with tears, and how he had heartlessly turned away and left her to cry.
'She deserves someone better. I break her heart every time I so much as look at her, but I can't allow myself a pleasure of any kind until I can find peace for my deeds.'
Opening his eyes, he saw that the rain had stopped and the sun was shining brightly, a dramatic change from the morning weather. The heavens seemed to respond to his mood, because as the rain had cleared, so had his thoughts, and now his mind felt as crystalline as the sky.
Standing up, he stretched his cramped muscles and followed the unseen path Misao had taken, back to the Aoiya and the Oniwabanshuu.
Okay...... There's Chapter 1. Please tell me if I have anything mixed up or wrong. I know the characters might seem a bit of OOC. Sorry. . Please read and REVIEW! (They inspire me! )