Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, if I did, Aoshi would have a LOT more but kicking scenes.

"All right! Spit it out! What part of that scythe woman is appealing to you, huh?? I mean, she's not bad looking, but – I'm pretty sexy if you ask me!!"

-Makimachi Misao

XXXXX

Day 2

Hiko sighed, folding up his futon as he watched Misao's stupid grin as she slept. Her breathing/snoring sounded like a weasel.

'No surpise,' he thought. He paused, wondering if Aoshi was medita - er - or whatever, again. Hiko stepped outside to look around and sighed. What a boring way to live. Waking up before sunrise, going to some temple, sitting in one place for the entire day, then finally going back home to sleep. Really! If Hiko didn't take control of what came out of his mouth he might tell Aoshi to get a life. Maybe he should go find him. Not to tell him to get a life of course.

X

No rabbits, no Okina, no . . . tea. Aoshi wanted tea. He was hungry too, passing on that fuzzy rabbit stew. He was beginning to regret this. Great, now that he was hungry he probably couldn't concentrate on meditating.

A loud foot step interrupted this.

"So, this is where you've been for the past hour."

Aoshi ignored him. Just like the rabbit, and look where that led him.

"Y'know, I don't think the old man back at the Aoiya sent you here for this."

"Keeping quiet will only make me stay longer."

"What do you want?" Blunt. Very blunt- and for that matter, rude, too.

"Hm . . . That girl really admires you doesn't she? You sit around all day, and she's your one person cheering squad, making you sound like some all mighty hero," Hiko said.

"Couldn't you say the same for yourself?" Aoshi replied. His eyes were still closed, even though he wasn't really meditating anymore.

" . . . Maybe. Actually, I'm a successful potter and you're just some guy taking advantage of other's hospitality."

Aoshi turned around. "What makes you say that?"

"If what I heard was right, you wake up, go to a temple, sit still for hours and hours, and then you come home to drink tea. You say that you spend all that time trying to find 'inner peace'. However, that's not the real story, you're trying to avoid those other Oniwabanshuu members because you're ashamed of what you did," Hiko explained. He saw Aoshi's eyes widen for a moment in shock, surprise, and . . . fear? Of course fear. Fear that someone had discovered his deep, dark, secrets. Hiko was good at these kinds of things.

"It's easy to see that the itachi has feelings for you. Is it really that you are so haunted by your past you can't see that? You'd best get that cleared up, boy. Or else life's going to be a living hell if you don't get over it and move on," Hiko studied Aoshi's face for any reaction for calling him a 'boy'. If that did bother Aoshi, he didn't show it in the least.

Aoshi stood to stand at eye level with Hiko.

"Is that all?" Aoshi asked. His fist clenched.

"Yes. I'll leave you to your thoughts, but I'm not anywhere near done talking to you. That was just for today. If you want to get some aggression out, I'll be happy to spar you." And Hiko turned and started to walk back.

"You . . ." Aoshi growled low enough for Hiko not to hear. He desperately wanted something to throw at him, a rock, a fuzzy bunny, his kodachis, ANYTHING- Anything to get the hag back for saying what he did. Aoshi took a deep breath and counted to ten. He calmed down and began to wonder how Hiko could've concluded this—he hardly knew the guy! Then again, he was Battosai's shishou. If Kenshin knew what Aoshi was truly feeling back on Mt. Hiei, then Hiko probably would've known it ten times as fast.

Wait . . . Misao . . . told him? What exactly? It was time for a talk.

X

"Hey! Don't drop any of those!" Hiko yelled as Misao fumbled forward a bit, nearly tripping on a rock.

"What's the big deal!? They're just logs!" Misao retorted angrily!

"You're should be practicing composer. If you can't even carry some logs ten meters then you certainly aren't going to be a proper lady anytime soon!" Hiko replied, grabbing a sake bottle and chugging it.

"NANI!?!?!? What would YOU know about being a lady? Besides, what does that have to do with anything?" Misao practically screeched it.

"I know plenty. And . . . Don't you want to impress Shinomori?"

"CARRING LOGS ISN'T SOMETHING 'LADIES' DO FOR YOUR IF FORMATION- . . . Huh?" Misao stared at the man, bewildered.

"Well, you're in love with him aren't you?"

"What, what, whatdyou . . . What?"

"Well, I don't think ANY man can fall in love with a girl who acts like a child."

"You . . ." Misao growled threw gritted teeth. How badly she wanted to throw a kunai at him. Or a hundred. Hiko "confiscated" them. He said she didn't "need" them if she was working for him.

". . . big dummy," she finished.

'Real smooth Misao. REAL smooth,' she scolded herself.

Hiko grinned. "See?" There went the logs. Yup, Misao was now chucking them at him. She missed all of them though; she wasn't used to throwing something so big.

"Now, I don't think ladies should be throwing temper tantrums."

Yes. This was request number 1 from Okina. Annoy the heck out of Misao as humanly possible.

"You should pick those up."

Misao fumed. Maybe a good Kecho Giri to the head would teach the geezer a lesson. She forcefully picked the logs back up and practically threw them into the pile by the kiln.

Hiko pretended to yawn. "Why don't you cook lunch? You seem to want to do more lady like things."

Misao turned to him, eyes blazing. "Pardon?" She tried to ask sweetly, but it ended up making her look like some psycho.

"You CAN cook, right? Even my baka deshi was the one who cooked for us when he was a kid."

Misao groaned, "You've GOT to be kidding."

Hiko sighed. "Oh darn. I was hoping you could at least cook. I guess I'll have to teach you." Hiko crooked his head to see over his shoulder. "That is of course you want your dear Aoshi-sama to show you. I bet he knows how to make something."

Aoshi walked into the clearing walking right passed Hiko, ignoring him completely. His eyes and face were once again unreadable and emotionless. Then he passed Misao.

"Hi, Aoshi-sama! You're back early. You don't usually finish until dinner!" Misao said.

"Aa," Aoshi said, not stopping to take a passing glace, went to his bag and pretended to shuffle through his bag to get the attention away from him.

Hiko mentally groaned at Misao's freakish mood swing.

"So, how was your morning?" Hiko asked.

Aoshi froze before continuing shuffling through his bag; picking things up and putting them back in.

"Fine."

Misao looked at Aoshi, then to Hiko, and then back at Aoshi. This felt awkward. She hated awkward silences. They made her fidget and look childish. So she blurted out, "What am I supposed to cook with, anyway?"

Hiko chugged some more sake. "Come inside, I'll show you." Hiko got up and led Misao into the hut. Aoshi sighed, putting down his meditation robe (which became too dirty on first use, the light tan-ish color of it didn't cope well with the forest floor—Aoshi was then forced to wear his gi) for the sixth time. It was still around two o'clock, maybe. Too much time to kill. He grabbed one of the books and – after briefly consulting with himself – his kodachis as well; just in case a certain Hiten Mitsurugi master wanted to chat.

Aoshi sat against the/a tree and opened up, skimming through the book before he found where he left off. Then Misao and Hiko came back out; the former holding a large cooking pot along with some beef, cabbage, seaweed, yam cake, mushrooms, noodles, rice, a bottle of dipping sauce, and bucket of water. Aoshi scowled. He'd seen these ingredients too many times. They only made one thing: Shabu Shabu. Aoshi groaned inwardly. It was to . . . well . . . slow. It certainly wasn't traveling food. You had to take a thin piece of meat, dip it in the stew, wait until it cooked, take it back out, dip it in sauce, and THEN eat it; then you'd do it all over again with another piece of meat; and once all the meat was gone you basically ate everything left in the stew. Why couldn't they invent more foods that you can just pick up and stuff in your mouth? Why all the steps? If you want to eat something, then you EAT IT. You ate some rice along with it, too.

(A/N Shabu Shabu is the Japanese term for the Beef Stew that the Kenshin-gumi is always eating at the Akabeko. It's not that bad, actually, I just had it for dinner! )

'Better than that beef stew anyway,' Aoshi thought.

Great idea, Shinomori. Today you'll pig out on rice for lunch.

Aoshi scowled again as he reread the previous few lines of his book – he hadn't been paying attention to what he was reading. He was starting to get into the book again when Hiko shouted out:

"Don't spill it!" Aoshi looked back up to see the beef stew and rice cooking nicely. Evidently, Misao turned, accidentally bumping into the stew pot, causing to tip, spilling some of the soup in the process.

"Oops? Heh heh . . ." Misao laughed nervously. Hiko rolled his eyes, Aoshi fought not to do the same.

"Well, it looks done . . ." Misao said as she peered down at the food.

"Let me see . . . Yeah, looks about done. Itachi musume, go get some bowls and chopsticks," Hiko ordered.

"What did you call me!?" Misao yelled.

"Are you getting the bowls or not?"

Misao stomped inside. Then she paused. 'Where are they?' She thought.

Then she began to talk to herself, "Jeez, how did Himura put up with this? I almost pity him! I'm only working here for a week, but Himura lived with this for years! No wonder he cooks and does laundry, he was made to growing up!"

At that moment, somewhere in Tokyo, a certain Oroing rurouni sneezed as he did the laundry. "Oro . . . Sessha hopes he isn't coming down with anything, de gozaru. Sessha's been sneezing a lot lately, de gozaru."

Misao looked around before spotting a few rice bowls in an open cupboard. She grabbed three of those, three small saucers for the dip, and three pairs of chopsticks and headed outside.

"Your bowls, dipping saucers, and chopsticks, your egotistical one," Misao said sarcastically, bowing as she handed the bowls and chopsticks to Hiko with both hands.

(A/N I'm not sure about Japan, but in Korean culture giving/receiving something while bowing and with both hands is a sign of respect.)

"Don't give them to me! Fill them with rice," Hiko ordered, yet again.

Misao did so. "Come on, Aoshi-sama! Lunch is ready!" she called happily, with that same freakish mood swing. Aoshi was about to close his book when he took a leaf and stuck it inside like a bookmark. He sat down and Misao handed him a rice bowl and chopsticks.

"Hey . . . Where'd Hiko go?" Misao asked.

"I've got the drinks!" Hiko announced. He bounded out of the hut with a sake jar and three sake cups.

"Um . . ." Misao looked over to Aoshi, thinking that seeing him, he'd give her an answer on what to say. How smart of her. "I'm . . . too young to drink . . .?"

Hiko shook his head. "Nonsense, my baka deshi was practically half your age when he had his first drink."

Misao tilted her head. "Really?"

Hiko seemed to sigh, "I wouldn't lie about an energetic, drunk 9-year-old. Trust me."

"Well . . . okay then. Aoshi-sama, do you mind?" Misao asked.

"You won't tell Jiya, will you?"

". . . No," Aoshi replied. He wasn't sure if he should be prepared to be amused or frightened at a drunk Misao.

"Okay, then! Pour away!" Misao exclaimed. She took a sip. Her reaction was . . .

"EEEEWWWWWWWWWWW!!! You adults DRINK this stuff? It tastes awful!!" Hiko and Aoshi watched Misao as she continued complaining over how bad the sake tasted and how crazy adults were to drink this.

"And you must be on SOME kind of drug because this is the worst drink that . . . has a really nice sensation when you drink it . . ." Misao said as she calmed down.

"So, do you want some more?" Hiko asked.

"Hell yeah!" So Misao had another drink . . . and another . . . and another until her cheeks were blushing red. Suddenly, she past out.

Aoshi just stared through all of this. "Misao . . .?"

"Eh, that happens. She'll be fine; had a little too much to drink, I guess," Hiko shrugged.

"Are you alright . . . ? Misao?" Aoshi inched toward the girl when she suddenly burst out laughing.

If Aoshi and been ANY, ANY, more like Himura, he definitely would have oroed. Misao continued laughing like a maniac until she ran out of air, she breathed hard and fast, still laughing. Then she sprang up.

"WHOOO! That was so cool! Sake must be the best drink in the world, EVERRRRR!!!"

THEN Hiko and Aoshi listened to Misao's rant on how sake was so awesome and that how adults were lucky because most kids didn't get to drink sake.

"Misao . . . calm down. You're drunk." Aoshi said.

"I –hic- know! Aoshi –hic- sama, it's so –hic- cool! You should –hic- try it!!" Misao bellowed. Then, she passed out; again. This time Aoshi didn't dare approach her.

Hiko paused before speaking again. "So. Do you want some?"

"I don't drink," Aoshi replied.

Hiko watched Aoshi watch Misao for a few seconds. "I see . . ." he replied.

Aoshi looked at Hiko in curiosity. Well, irritated curiosity. Aoshi was half-expecting another psychology session.

Hiko stood up. "I'll take her in."

"I'll do it," Aoshi responded. Hiko shrugged.

"Fine, I'll clean up here."

So Aoshi brought Misao in, came back out to get his book (and kodachis), and went back in again.

Hiko decided to work on his pottery so the rest of the day went on without incedent.

Hiko did his pottery thing.

Aoshi read.

And finally Misao woke up and had a headache.

They all had left-overs for dinner, considering they didn't really finish lunch.

That night . . .

Aoshi gazed at the stars, sitting against a tree. He held his kodachis closely.(like the way Kenshin does)

"You can sleep inside. It's not like there isn't any room."

"What? Still angry?"

Hiko sighed. "Do you want to come in or not?"

Aoshi felt like being a stubborn little kid, but decided not to.

". . . Fine."

XXXXX

There's day two.

Sorry if Hiko's OOC.

Yes, some of you may have noticed the story getting slightly more serious.

Fun Quote Time (bottom)

Ah, yes. One of my favorite scenes in Rurouni Kenshin.

Episode 52

Yahiko blurts out that Kamitari is sexier than Misao or Kaoru and they get upset over it.

The End.

I'm tired and feeling lazy. Sue me.

(A/N Thanks to Mia about the sketchiness thing. I'll try to make the scenes longer from now on.)