Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin so chill. BTW, I'm not sure but the characters may be OOC… I'm not really sure if I've captured their personalities. ^-^x
Icy Heaven – Chapter Seven – By Cherry Chibi
"It's been a while and I hope that Gramps and the others aren't too worried." Misao said, "After all, I think I would like to spend my 17th birthday at the Aoiya with everyone."
So that's what she was happy about. Aoshi couldn't believe that he had forgotten, maybe it was due to the fact that so many years have gone by where he wasn't there on her birthday. However, now that he knew, it wasn't an excuse not to give her something special.
"Okashira!" Shouts of welcome filled the air as well as sighs of relief. Members of the Oniwabanshuu gathered around Aoshi and Misao to welcome the two home. Misao was happily answering their questions and filling in the details. Aoshi however, managed to slip away from the crowd unnoticed by everyone except Misao.
"Are you hungry Misao?" Okina asked while the room settled into its calm mood. Misao nodded. Okina cracked a broad grin, "That's good! Tonight we can have a big celebration to celebration your 17th Birthday!" Then within seconds the crowd was back to laughter, singing and joking.
* * * *
The passed weeks had probably been the only chance for him to be that close to her. He heard the celebration inside the Aoiya mute as each step brought him further away from the building. 'What do I get her?' The question bugged his mind to the point of irritation. She was a bright, vibrant young woman that was for sure. The other women would probably have given her clothing, hair accessories, perfumes and the like. The other men probably gave her equipment for battle. So what should he give her?
Unknown reasons convinced him that this present that was to be given to Misao was to be something extremely different and special. Hell, how was he supposed to know what to get her? It was true that he had spent a lot of time with Misao when they were years younger but then there was a huge gap after that until their reunion, he had missed the time watching her grow. He knew a lot about her but he knew little at the same time.
"Flowers! Flowers for sale!" A woman called from her stall. Aoshi walked passed. 'That isn't what I'm looking for…' Flowers where indeed beautiful but they would eventually wilt. What he wanted to give to Misao had to last. It had to last until the very end of a lifetime, maybe even longer. He walked the street of the town, passing many stalls. He was going to find that special gift. Even if it seemed impossible for the next ten thousand lifetimes at that moment.
"Happiness for one
Is revealed with a small sign -
A smile filled with love."
Two men seated outside of a restaurant were competing with a haiku competition. Aoshi had paused after hearing one of them. His insides erupted into a ray of 'colourful' emotions. He pieced all his thoughts together. Everything was clear as crystal now. He knew why he had acted the way he had during the last couple of months. 'When did this suddenly happen?'
* * * *
"Aoshi-san won't be returning for awhile I don't think." Omasu said while glancing out at the window where Misao's eyes had been attracted to for the whole evening. "Relax and enjoy your celebration Okashira."
"But…" Misao sighed. 'But I want him to be here…' Her heart twisted and she turned her gaze back down to the sake cup that she was holding in her hands.
"I hate to see you like this Okashira, why are you so determined to…" Omasu was cut of by Misao gently. She settled back in her seat while Misao said her words carefully.
"I am certain that he'll show me one day." Misao sipped her sake. Music was being played and everyone else was filling the atmosphere with warmth.
"Okashira, you shouldn't always believe so… Aoshi has always been as cold as ice."
"If you say so that you don't know the Aoshi I know. He isn't the image that he has painted upon himself." Misao paused for a bit. "I've come this far, why should I stop?" Their conversation ended there and the topic was dropped. It was obvious that there was no point in trying to turn Misao away from Aoshi. The girl was so stubborn. Omasu smiled inwardly. But even if Misao still gets hurt by her struggle, Omasu would like to see her Okashira's efforts rewarded.
"I'm getting tired, good night." Misao rose from her position and she bid her greetings to everyone while she made her exit. She had never felt so blue. My skin might as well change colour from what I'm feeling…
* * * *
The dark was inviting. Misao stepped outside and the leaves rustled to sound her arrival. 'Why would he go like that?' She leaned against the door post. 'He didn't even say anything…' Had it been just her imagination that he had changed? 'I don't know… maybe he's just disguising himself as usual. I wish that he didn't have to be like that.' A dark shadow on the ground caught her attention. "Aoshi?" Moonlight scanned over ice blue eyes. Misao smiled, "Where have you been?"
He turned away from her and started a stroll. Misao, confused by his 'reply' assumed that he wanted her to follow so she did so. "Aoshi, is something wrong?" A few minutes passed and they were completely covered by shadows. It came to thought that if anyone was going to search for them, they won't be able to see them
When they had reached a place where they were surrounded by nothing but nature, their walking ceased. Aoshi faced Misao again.
This place was the perfect place. There was little chance for an interruption and most importantly, they were alone. Aoshi took out a small pouch like object from the pocket of his trench coat and held it out to Misao. "Happy birthday Misao."
"Arigatou go zai masu Aoshi." She accepted the gift with a confused head, he had brought her all the way out here just to give her a present? Well, it might as well be like him. He probably was too shy to give her something in front of everyone else. She opened up the material to reveal a black cord necklace with a jade pendant carved into a form of a small bird. "This is beautiful Aoshi!" She gaped at it. It was a rare sight to see something like it around.
"I'm glad you like it. Wear it on…" Aoshi took the necklace by the two ends of the black cord and tied it around Misao's neck. Misao felt a little colour rise to her cheeks. She looked up at Aoshi and almost felt like she was going to fall back. A small but the most beautiful smile had formed on Aoshi's face. His hands rested on her shoulders and slowly, his right hand traced the curve of her neck and cupped her cheek. His intense gaze was pushing the acceleration of her heartbeat. "I…"
He stopped feeling a bit uncomfortable with expressing his feelings. Misao just smiled and hugged him. She leaned her head against his chest. "Arigatou Aoshi." Accepting the embrace, Aoshi wrapped his arms around Misao. It had been many years since he had last been held in an embrace. It had been so long ago that he had forgotten the feeling. He wanted this moment to last.
'He smiled. I knew it. He could do it.' Misao's heart pounced with she replayed the image in her mind repeatedly. 'If only he smiled like that more often…'
A beautiful silence swept over them and it was so close to dreamy. Like an image of the golden dragon gracefully circling the red phoenix to form a symbol of unity. It was perfect. Aoshi took a deep breath and whispered a soft, "I…" again but Misao didn't seem to hear. 'I love you.'
* * * *
Early next morning, the Aoiya was still asleep from the amount of alcohol consumed the night before. Misao slipped out of her room towards the back of the building. 'Hikari no Tobi Kunai has to surpass the Kurayami…' She was going to start training and refining the technique. It was going to be hard but she had no choice, she didn't want her sister to be anymore than a threat.
Making sure that no one was around, she sprinted.
* * * *
Aoshi was struggling to keep up with her without being noticed. He had never seen her move so fast before. All these years had she been hiding her abilities? A fascination grew inside, what else was she capable of doing? But first, where was she going? He leapt over to a branch of another tree and soon had to jump for another. But by the time he landed, he had lost sight of her.
"Aoshi! What are you doing?"
Stifling his surprise and keeping his balance, he turned around to find Misao perched comfortably nearby. When did she get there?
"If you wanted to come, you just had to ask." Misao said while playing with the end of her braid. Her blue-green eyes lit up happily. Aoshi felt like he was growing old and his skills were slipping. It was either that or Misao was more skilled than he thought. "Well, I'm going to go to the 'fields'. Maybe you can spar with me?"
"Aa."
"Yeah… that's a good idea. You can help me find the weakness in my technique." She stepped forward from the tree branch into thin air and landed elegantly after a flip. Aoshi followed suit.
He knew that he was in for surprises. The determined look in Misao's eyes showed that she was determined to get her technique perfected soon but her ki was emitting strong pulses of strength and even more desire to achieve the goal. Without a sound, Misao continued walking, in thought.
Aoshi hid a grin. He had never thought that she would be so adorable when she has a serious look on her face. It wasn't suitable for her personality and that was why he found it very cute.
"Aoshi, what are you looking at?" Misao asked mischievously while glancing over her shoulder. "Ao~ shi no ~ su ~ ke~ be!" She sung teasingly and laughed when she noticed Aoshi's eyes flickered with embarrassment. Since when did she suddenly play those kind of jokes?
* Hint: Sukebe = pervert. If you don't get it, ask and I'll explain next chapter.
* * * *
AN: Finally! An update! ^-^ Please forgive me if this chapter had mistakes in it. I only wrote it last night and I haven't been able to check it properly. I'm getting heaps of homework.
Charmed18: I'm going to finish this fic so don't worry about me stopping writing 'cos I hate starting something and not finishing it. Sorry for not updating sooner but as it goes, school takes priority… Thanks for your review (and for the reminder)!
Leah: Here's an update. Hope you liked it. ^-^
Kat R. Fair: Thanks for the tip. I would like to improve in my descriptions but I guess that I'm going brain dead. I can't really get any ideas nowadays…
Kay-san1: Oh sorry for the confusion. I kinda altered the plot as I went, I changed Jineh's intentions a bit. (I tried to show that in chapter 4 when he was fighting with Misao). Besides that, thanks for the encouragement!
TokyoTeen13: ^-^ I have to agree. I love WAFF and I'll be writing more in later chapters. Tee hee!
Weasel1029: Gomenasai for the long wait! Hope you liked this chapter.
SoT'n'Kenshin: Heh. I'm a romance buff too. It's an important element in quite a number of my stories. Lol. Thanks for the review!
Thank you minna! Until next time!
~ Cherry Chibi.