Author's Note: After deciding that the The Horror and Love fic wasn't going
anywhere, I decided to take it off. But at least now I'm starting back up
on this fic. This chapter is kind of short, but this is to let you know
that I'm alive and well and haven't forgotten this fic. So read fools!
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Misao wasn't just excited about the festival. She was also excited about who was going to be at the festival. And it was why she and Soujiro were waiting at the train station.
Unfortunately, poor Soujiro was a bit uneasy.
"Don't worry Soujiro," spoke Misao, seeing his uneasiness when he was looking around. Even with that smile of his, Misao had known him for a year, and was able to guess what he felt sometimes, like now. "They aren't your enemies."
"They were," corrected Soujiro. "And they weren't exactly thrilled when we met at the Aoiya."
How true that was. When Misao had introduced Soujiro to everyone after the defeat of Shishio, things didn't go so well. The former Tenken had been given many looks, especially from a cold hearted man and a loud mouth kid.
Sano and Yahiko, mostly Yahiko, would try to play tricks on Soujiro. But they had been playing tricks at who had recently been Shishio's right hand man, and they ended up having the tricks that were supposed to be used on Soujiro used on them.
There had been a lack of trust given to Soujiro. But what did you expect? He had been a member of the Juppon Gatana, the same group that had been given the task of helping burn Kyoto and were the ones that destroyed the Aoiya. Not to mention him assassinating so many people.
The only people that had actually accepted Soujiro were Misao, Kenshin, and, surprisingly, Kaoru and Okina. Sano was more of a neautral so everyone else basically didn't exactly trust Soujiro. Especially Aoshi.
A few times when Soujiro would be walking through Kyoto, whether alone or with Misao, he had once or twice though he had seen Aoshi somewhere in the crowds of people a few times. He could understand the former Okahira's distrust. He had played a part in causing Aoshi to turn to Shishio's side. Misao had forgiven him, Aoshi didn't.
Fortunately, after that one year staying in Kyoto, Soujiro was able to earn the trust of the Oniwabanshu, though Aoshi still didn't fully trust him. Having helped with the repairs of the Aoiya, and doing his work around the place, Soujiro was soon happy he found a home where people treated him kindly.
"They'll be happy to see you Soujiro," assured Misao. Then, grinning evilly as her kunai appeared in her hand, she added, "Besides, if they don't, then I found some moving targets for my kunai."
Soujiro sweatdropped. Though he considered Misao his best friend, he still thought of her as a bit strange. Then again, he was the one smiling all the time so he shouldn't be talking about Misao being strange.
"That must be it," Misao suddenly said, her kunai disappearing as she spotted a train coming.
The large machine on wheels moved into the station, plumes of smoke appearing from its top.
"I wonder how they can move something like that," wondered Misao.
"I wouldn't know," replied Soujiro. "I was a killer, not an engineer."
Misao shrugged as the train came to a stop. The doors to the cars of the train opened and people poured out of them. Misao quickly scanned the crowd, trying to find the ones she was hoping to meet. She turned when Soujiro tapped on her shoulder.
"I think that's them over there," he said, pointing to somewhere in the crowd.
Misao followed his finger. At first, she didn't see anything. That was until she saw some red hair appear in the crowd, followed by a certain rooster head. Misao immediately walked forward, Soujiro in tow.
Misao easily maneuvered through the crowd. With the hair she was able to see where they were. She soon found faces as well.
"Misao-ni!" a small young voice suddenly cried.
Misao suddenly felt something, or someone to be exact, latch onto her leg. She looked down and saw little Suzume was the one that was latched onto her leg.
"Hello Suzume," greeted Misao, detaching the little girl from her leg and lifting her up into her arms.
Misao had once met the grandchildren of Dr. Gensai before. Two months ago, Kenshin had visited Kyoto to have that tea with Aoshi. He had brought the two little girls with him to show them around Kyoto. While Kenshin and Aoshi had tea, Soujiro and Misao ended up being the ones that took care of Ayame and Suzume.
The two girls immediately took a liking to their two babysitters, though the two had been little devils in Misao's opinion in the beginning. But when the two had to leave, they didn't leave without a fight. Poor Misao's leg had been numb when Suzume held onto it a little too tight.
Soujiro came up to Misao, with Ayame sitting upon his shoulders.
"Sou-ni!" Suzume cried happily, seeing the former Tenken.
"Hello Suzume," greeted Soujiro, smiling at her.
"Well I see that Ayame and Suzume have found you," said a voice.
Both Misao and Soujiro turned to find Kenshin appear from the crowd with Sano right behind him.
"It wouldn't have been that hard to find them anyway," Sano spoke. "It's easy to find a weasel."
Poor Sano got whacked by the now annoyed Misao, aka weasel. Ayame and Suzume burst into giggles at the scene.
"There you guys are!" exclaimed Kaoru, who had been attracted to the sound of the sisters' giggling.
"Hi Kaoru," greeted Misao.
"Hello Misao, good to see you again." Kaoru leaned down and poked Suzume. "And you're not supposed to run off like that Suzume. You too Ayame."
Suzume only smiled innocently, latching onto Misao while Ayame hid behind Soujiro's head.
"How was the trip?" asked Soujiro.
"No trouble," replied Kaoru. "If you exclude Sano cowering under the seat during the ride."
Sano gave Kaoru a glare, who didn't bother to register it. Instead, the owner of the Kamiya Dojo looked down at Soujiro and smiled at him. "I hope everything has been going well for you Soujiro."
"It has," replied Soujiro. "I'm glad to have met people like you. That reminds me. Where is.....Yahiko was it?"
There was a collection of looks when everyone realized that the loud mouthed son of a samurai wasn't among them. Before they could even start looking for him, there was a sudden cry from behind Soujiro as Yahiko burst from the crowd, his wooden sword raised to whack Soujiro over the head. (What's with everyone trying to sneak up on Soujiro? O.o)
Obviously, Soujiro had been expecting this sneak attack like he had expected Misao. Sidestepping, he avoided the weapon and stuck out his foot. Yahiko yelped with surprise when he tripped over Soujiro's foot. He soon fell and landed flat on his face.
"Ow!" cried Yahiko, hand over his face.
"Oh there you are Yahiko," said Soujiro, smiling amusedly at him. "You did a better job then Misao when she tried to sneak up on me."
Misao made a face at him.
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"Where's Megumi?" Misao asked as she and everyone else walked through the streets of Kyoto. Suzume still clutched to "Misao-ni", refusing to let go of the ninja girl. It was the same with Ayame, who still sat upon "Sou- ni's" shoulders.
"She had a patient that came down with a serious disease that she had to take care of," Kaoru explained, though the author finds the laughing fox woman really annoying.
"Be a lot quieter without her," mused Sano.
Misao was able to agree. During the time of Kenshin's recovery, she had gotten to know the doctor. Megumi was a kind woman, but there were things about her that scared Misao.
Sure, the annoying laugh got on the ninja girl's nerves. But then came the whole thing with "Sir Ken." The story about how Megumi tried to keep Kenshin from going to Kyoto by attaching a collar to his neck freaked out Misao a little. The discovery of her once making opium caused Misao to check her drink and food a few times.
The really annoying part, strangely enough for Misao, was how Megumi fell upon Soujiro.
For some reason, when Megumi hung around "Sir Sou", Misao had felt anger boil her blood. It was an emotion she wasn't able to place. Jealousy? .....Nnnaaahhh. Couldn't have been jealousy.
During the year, Misao had felt that unknown emotion when Okon and Omesu would sometimes say how kawaii Soujiro was. Strange how she felt that way. Could it really be jealousy that Misao felt? No, it couldn't have been jealousy. Why would she be jealous?
"Misao-ni," spoke Suzume, poking the ninja girl's face.
Misao blinked, having been lost in thought, before looking down at Suzume.
"We're here."
Misao looked at where the little girl's finger was pointed at. She soon spotted the Aoiya. Guess the little girl's memory of the place two months ago hadn't disappeared.
"Well what do you know," Yahiko spoke, grinning. "It wasn't the dump I was expecting it to be rebuilt as." He was soon twitching in pain on the ground when Misao gave him a good punch.
"I had caught some fish earlier today," said Soujiro. "I'll go cook them while you make yourself at home."
"I'll help you cook," volunteered Kenshin.
Misao suddenly blinked. Before Kenshin had volunteered, the ninja girl thought she had seen Kaoru give Kenshin a look. It didn't like like Kenshin had volunteered willingly. In fact, Misao started wondering if this was all planned.
She wondered what else had been planned.
Shrugging, she followed them into the Aoiya.
Maybe she was just being paranoid.
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Author's Note: Muwahaha. What is Kaoru planning? Well.....can't tell ya! You got to wait until the next few chapters. See ya then!
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Misao wasn't just excited about the festival. She was also excited about who was going to be at the festival. And it was why she and Soujiro were waiting at the train station.
Unfortunately, poor Soujiro was a bit uneasy.
"Don't worry Soujiro," spoke Misao, seeing his uneasiness when he was looking around. Even with that smile of his, Misao had known him for a year, and was able to guess what he felt sometimes, like now. "They aren't your enemies."
"They were," corrected Soujiro. "And they weren't exactly thrilled when we met at the Aoiya."
How true that was. When Misao had introduced Soujiro to everyone after the defeat of Shishio, things didn't go so well. The former Tenken had been given many looks, especially from a cold hearted man and a loud mouth kid.
Sano and Yahiko, mostly Yahiko, would try to play tricks on Soujiro. But they had been playing tricks at who had recently been Shishio's right hand man, and they ended up having the tricks that were supposed to be used on Soujiro used on them.
There had been a lack of trust given to Soujiro. But what did you expect? He had been a member of the Juppon Gatana, the same group that had been given the task of helping burn Kyoto and were the ones that destroyed the Aoiya. Not to mention him assassinating so many people.
The only people that had actually accepted Soujiro were Misao, Kenshin, and, surprisingly, Kaoru and Okina. Sano was more of a neautral so everyone else basically didn't exactly trust Soujiro. Especially Aoshi.
A few times when Soujiro would be walking through Kyoto, whether alone or with Misao, he had once or twice though he had seen Aoshi somewhere in the crowds of people a few times. He could understand the former Okahira's distrust. He had played a part in causing Aoshi to turn to Shishio's side. Misao had forgiven him, Aoshi didn't.
Fortunately, after that one year staying in Kyoto, Soujiro was able to earn the trust of the Oniwabanshu, though Aoshi still didn't fully trust him. Having helped with the repairs of the Aoiya, and doing his work around the place, Soujiro was soon happy he found a home where people treated him kindly.
"They'll be happy to see you Soujiro," assured Misao. Then, grinning evilly as her kunai appeared in her hand, she added, "Besides, if they don't, then I found some moving targets for my kunai."
Soujiro sweatdropped. Though he considered Misao his best friend, he still thought of her as a bit strange. Then again, he was the one smiling all the time so he shouldn't be talking about Misao being strange.
"That must be it," Misao suddenly said, her kunai disappearing as she spotted a train coming.
The large machine on wheels moved into the station, plumes of smoke appearing from its top.
"I wonder how they can move something like that," wondered Misao.
"I wouldn't know," replied Soujiro. "I was a killer, not an engineer."
Misao shrugged as the train came to a stop. The doors to the cars of the train opened and people poured out of them. Misao quickly scanned the crowd, trying to find the ones she was hoping to meet. She turned when Soujiro tapped on her shoulder.
"I think that's them over there," he said, pointing to somewhere in the crowd.
Misao followed his finger. At first, she didn't see anything. That was until she saw some red hair appear in the crowd, followed by a certain rooster head. Misao immediately walked forward, Soujiro in tow.
Misao easily maneuvered through the crowd. With the hair she was able to see where they were. She soon found faces as well.
"Misao-ni!" a small young voice suddenly cried.
Misao suddenly felt something, or someone to be exact, latch onto her leg. She looked down and saw little Suzume was the one that was latched onto her leg.
"Hello Suzume," greeted Misao, detaching the little girl from her leg and lifting her up into her arms.
Misao had once met the grandchildren of Dr. Gensai before. Two months ago, Kenshin had visited Kyoto to have that tea with Aoshi. He had brought the two little girls with him to show them around Kyoto. While Kenshin and Aoshi had tea, Soujiro and Misao ended up being the ones that took care of Ayame and Suzume.
The two girls immediately took a liking to their two babysitters, though the two had been little devils in Misao's opinion in the beginning. But when the two had to leave, they didn't leave without a fight. Poor Misao's leg had been numb when Suzume held onto it a little too tight.
Soujiro came up to Misao, with Ayame sitting upon his shoulders.
"Sou-ni!" Suzume cried happily, seeing the former Tenken.
"Hello Suzume," greeted Soujiro, smiling at her.
"Well I see that Ayame and Suzume have found you," said a voice.
Both Misao and Soujiro turned to find Kenshin appear from the crowd with Sano right behind him.
"It wouldn't have been that hard to find them anyway," Sano spoke. "It's easy to find a weasel."
Poor Sano got whacked by the now annoyed Misao, aka weasel. Ayame and Suzume burst into giggles at the scene.
"There you guys are!" exclaimed Kaoru, who had been attracted to the sound of the sisters' giggling.
"Hi Kaoru," greeted Misao.
"Hello Misao, good to see you again." Kaoru leaned down and poked Suzume. "And you're not supposed to run off like that Suzume. You too Ayame."
Suzume only smiled innocently, latching onto Misao while Ayame hid behind Soujiro's head.
"How was the trip?" asked Soujiro.
"No trouble," replied Kaoru. "If you exclude Sano cowering under the seat during the ride."
Sano gave Kaoru a glare, who didn't bother to register it. Instead, the owner of the Kamiya Dojo looked down at Soujiro and smiled at him. "I hope everything has been going well for you Soujiro."
"It has," replied Soujiro. "I'm glad to have met people like you. That reminds me. Where is.....Yahiko was it?"
There was a collection of looks when everyone realized that the loud mouthed son of a samurai wasn't among them. Before they could even start looking for him, there was a sudden cry from behind Soujiro as Yahiko burst from the crowd, his wooden sword raised to whack Soujiro over the head. (What's with everyone trying to sneak up on Soujiro? O.o)
Obviously, Soujiro had been expecting this sneak attack like he had expected Misao. Sidestepping, he avoided the weapon and stuck out his foot. Yahiko yelped with surprise when he tripped over Soujiro's foot. He soon fell and landed flat on his face.
"Ow!" cried Yahiko, hand over his face.
"Oh there you are Yahiko," said Soujiro, smiling amusedly at him. "You did a better job then Misao when she tried to sneak up on me."
Misao made a face at him.
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"Where's Megumi?" Misao asked as she and everyone else walked through the streets of Kyoto. Suzume still clutched to "Misao-ni", refusing to let go of the ninja girl. It was the same with Ayame, who still sat upon "Sou- ni's" shoulders.
"She had a patient that came down with a serious disease that she had to take care of," Kaoru explained, though the author finds the laughing fox woman really annoying.
"Be a lot quieter without her," mused Sano.
Misao was able to agree. During the time of Kenshin's recovery, she had gotten to know the doctor. Megumi was a kind woman, but there were things about her that scared Misao.
Sure, the annoying laugh got on the ninja girl's nerves. But then came the whole thing with "Sir Ken." The story about how Megumi tried to keep Kenshin from going to Kyoto by attaching a collar to his neck freaked out Misao a little. The discovery of her once making opium caused Misao to check her drink and food a few times.
The really annoying part, strangely enough for Misao, was how Megumi fell upon Soujiro.
For some reason, when Megumi hung around "Sir Sou", Misao had felt anger boil her blood. It was an emotion she wasn't able to place. Jealousy? .....Nnnaaahhh. Couldn't have been jealousy.
During the year, Misao had felt that unknown emotion when Okon and Omesu would sometimes say how kawaii Soujiro was. Strange how she felt that way. Could it really be jealousy that Misao felt? No, it couldn't have been jealousy. Why would she be jealous?
"Misao-ni," spoke Suzume, poking the ninja girl's face.
Misao blinked, having been lost in thought, before looking down at Suzume.
"We're here."
Misao looked at where the little girl's finger was pointed at. She soon spotted the Aoiya. Guess the little girl's memory of the place two months ago hadn't disappeared.
"Well what do you know," Yahiko spoke, grinning. "It wasn't the dump I was expecting it to be rebuilt as." He was soon twitching in pain on the ground when Misao gave him a good punch.
"I had caught some fish earlier today," said Soujiro. "I'll go cook them while you make yourself at home."
"I'll help you cook," volunteered Kenshin.
Misao suddenly blinked. Before Kenshin had volunteered, the ninja girl thought she had seen Kaoru give Kenshin a look. It didn't like like Kenshin had volunteered willingly. In fact, Misao started wondering if this was all planned.
She wondered what else had been planned.
Shrugging, she followed them into the Aoiya.
Maybe she was just being paranoid.
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Author's Note: Muwahaha. What is Kaoru planning? Well.....can't tell ya! You got to wait until the next few chapters. See ya then!