Disclaimer: I regret to inform all of you that I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters, although I do own any created characters that my imagination comes up with.

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Chapter 7 – Joys and Anguishes

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Author's Notes: This chapter is told in Misao's point of view.

I dreamily gazed out the window as Hennya-sensei's talk about aeronautics was going into one ear and out the other. I looked at him glumly, took another glance at the clock and returned my stare to the window. It wasn't that I didn't like the topic of aeronautics, but when you're going to meet the man of your dreams in less than four hours for tea, how can you pay attention to anything else? It's just impossible.

"…Miss Himura?" I faintly heard someone call out my name.

I shrugged, thinking it was a figment of my imagination and began to daydream again. Ooooo……I can't wait!

Suddenly, I felt someone give me a hard nudge on my side and quickly turned my head to find Kaoru pointing towards the front of the room. With a look of dread upon my face no doubt, I found Hennya-sensei looking directly at me with his small, piercing eyes.

"Miss Himura, are you going to answer my question or just stare out the window, observing the clouds move?"

"Uh…sorry Hennya-sensei, but could you repeat the question?" I quickly replied, secretly hoping for it to be something I knew.

I heard him sigh before he answered my request. "What is the speed of gravity upon the moon, Miss Himura?"

I gulped down really hard. Now this was something I had no clue of the answer to. Sure, if he asked me the gravity upon the Earth, it would have taken me less than seconds to answer the question. I quickly surveyed the room and found Aoshi also turned towards me. I sweat dropped even further. Now I knew I had to answer correctly or Aoshi would probably think I'm stupid or something of the sort.

"Ummm……well Hennya-sensei…" I said, prolonging the inevitable. "The gravity upon the moon, unlike what the gravity is upon the Earth………is……" And then best thing that could ever happen to me, happened.

"Brrrrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggg!!!!!"

I sighed happily as my other classmates quickly gathered their things and left the room just as quickly. I slowly packed up my notebook and textbook and walked out the room, giving a happy nod towards Hennya-sensei, who looked at me strangely before returning to whatever was occupying him on his desk. It didn't matter though, because exactly three and a half hours from now, I would be in heaven…………once again.

"Misao, for future reference, the gravity upon the moon is one sixth that of Earth's." I heard a familiar voice mention to me the minute I stepped out the classroom door.

I turned my head, and to no surprise, found Kenshin, with his back leaning against the wall and head down so he could once again, hide his eyes he was so fearful to show in public. At that moment, I felt sad for my brother. If only people really knew the real him and not this fake façade he puts on to push others away, then perhaps, he would be much more social and unafraid.

I rolled my eyes. I had more important things to worry about at the moment than the gravity force upon the moon. "Kay Kenshin, I'll keep that in mind." I quickly asserted as I rushed towards my locker.

To my surprise however, it was not Kenshin who I found next to me, but Kaoru. I jumped in surprise. Catching my breath, I looked at a confused Kaoru. "Sorry Kaoru……didn't expect to see you there."

She blinked blankly, but shrugged in the end. "Hey Misao, I was wondering if you were doing anything after school today?"

I stared at her for a brief moment. No one, and I mean no one ever asked me that question ever before. In all my years as a child or teenager, I had never once been asked by someone if I was busy after school, almost like they wanted me to join them in some sort of an activity. Kaoru asking me that question almost made me feel accepted………like I was actually part of her "circle" of friends if you wanted to say. I don't know, but that's how I felt.

I was about to say no when I spotted Aoshi out of the corner of my eye. I couldn't believe that I almost forgot about that. I smiled apologetically at Kaoru. "Sorry Kaoru, but I'm already promised elsewhere."

I watched as Kaoru's expression slowly changed from a happy to a sad demeanor. I felt completely horrible inside. I wanted badly to accept Kaoru's offer, but Aoshi was a once in a lifetime opportunity. "But I'm free tomorrow Kaoru, and the day after……" I quickly added.

She answered with a smile. "Oh, ok……thanx for the insight then, Misao. See you around." And with that, she left.

I watched as she rounded the corner and into another hall. Quickly snapping out of my reverie, I packed the books I needed to complete tonight's homework and ran outside. However, when Kenshin didn't show for a full five minutes, I had enough as I quickly ran to my apartment. I needed to prepare tonight's dinner, finish my homework, and pick out what I would wear to my "date" later today. So much work, and yet so little time do accomplish it in. But why should I complain? I'm happy.

Why the hell does our apartment have to be on the fifth floor? I mean, I remember asking Hiko to at least get Kenshin and me an apartment on the third floor or lower, and what does the arrogant guy do? He goes ahead, requests an apartment the exact opposite of what I so nicely asked him to try to get. I don't believe that I actually love the guy. Ugh!

However, all of that soon goes out the window as I reach our apartment, only to find it locked. Now let me tell you all that on the very rare occasions that Kenshin does not walk home with me – I suppose he wants his privacy every now and then – he always reaches here before I do. I mean, I remember one time, a few years ago, I clearly remember leaving him back at school as I was racing him back home. And yeah, you guessed it. As soon as I reached our apartment, there was Kenshin, in the living room, already diligently doing his homework. It had seemed like he never left home in the first place! One day, I swear to it, I'll find out how he has the ability to run so fast. I mean, he can't fly, right? ……………Right?

So now I'm worried. I don't even remember Kenshin telling me that he had somewhere to be after school.


Cautiously I get out my key and open the door. Taking off my shoes, out of habit, I drop my book bag next on the sofa and begin to walk into the kitchen when Kenshin's bag catches my eye. Well, what do you know? He's already here. But then why did he lock up the door?

I walk to his room and find it empty. The bathroom door is open, already telling me he's definitely not inside there and nobody is in my room either. I check the kitchen lastly and as all the previous room had in common, empty of any life whatsoever.

Ok – now I'm scared.


What if somebody kidnapped him?

What if, when on his was to opening the door, he dropped his key, bent down to reach for it, and while he was doing that, somebody came with a wooden stick and knocked him unconscious?

What if…………

……………….he left me a note on the kitchen table.

"Hehehe……good one Misao. Getting worked up for no reason." I slowly tell myself. 'After all, Kenshin does know the Hiten Mitsurugi Style of Swordfight. If someone was going to approach him, he'd know it ten seconds beforehand.'


Slapping my forehead, I grab Kenshin's note:

"Gone out. Don't worry. Be back late. Not till 8 or 9. Don't bother with dinner."

-Kenshin

Yep, it's Kenshin's handwriting alright.

The nerve of him! He leaves me no contact information whatsoever; doesn't tell me where he's going or why. I mean, c'mon! He doesn't even write one complete sentence. It's just a bunch of fragments. Better remember to give him a piece of my mind when he gets back.

…………Then again, now that Kenshin won't be back till late, that means I won't have to worry about dinner, which means I can start my homework………NOW! ………Eh, I'd rather make dinner.

I glanced at the clock and read it to be three-thirty. If I wanted to adequately prepare myself for my "date" with Aoshi, I needed at least thirty minutes to find something nice to wear. Yeah, I know that seems rather long. But it usually takes me twenty five to actually figure out what I want to wear. Hehehehehe………….

Looking through my subjects, I had a choice of math, history or economics. "Well Misao. You know that you're terrible at math, and without Kenshin's homework around to guide you through the problems, you're as good as dead." Agreeing with myself one hundred percent, I decided to wait until tonight, when Kenshin would be around, to finish up math.

"Now all that leaves is economics………and about fifty pages of history reading (small text, may I add too), followed by a two-page summary of what we read." Sometimes, I wish I could just punch Hajime-sensei in the face.

"Finally………DONE!" Putting the last period in its place on my essay, I quickly dropped my pen and shake my hand. Writer's cramp can stink sometimes. Yes, sometimes. You wouldn't believe it, but one time, I got out from taking a test, complaining to the teacher that my hand was sore because I had written a ten page paper the night before. FYI, our computer was down that night.

I quickly checked the time. "Five forty-five. Perfect – forty-five minutes to prepare for tonight!"

Applying a bit of blush and lip gloss, I grinned as I opened my closest. Inside was probably the most unique, widely group of dresses, skirts, pants and shirts known to man. It had everything from the most beautiful of dresses to the roughest jeans around. Eyeing my closet I found a blue dress hung in the back that I had only worn a couple of times before – for the most special of occasions, like Kenshin's birthday for example. I shook my head, deciding it would be a bit to classy. After all, Aoshi usually trains at that park – the chances of him wearing a tuxedo to match this dress were slim to none.

After much deliberation, I finally found what I was going to wear. Simple blue jeans and a t-shirt that said "Ninja-girl" on the front. I smiled as I checked myself one last time in the mirror. Pulling my hair to check on my braid, I found it at its correct tightness. And in record time. It took me only twenty-five minutes to prepare. "Yay! This means I have twenty minutes to roam around before I meet Aoshi!"

Locking the apartment, I happily skipped to the ground level. Once outside, I looked up, shading my eyes, and smiled. "A beautiful day: the sun shining, not one dark cloud in the sky, birds chirping – nothing can go wrong today. Yep – just perfect."

Of course, I always speak to soon, as at that exact moment, I tumbled towards the ground as I felt something, rather, someone, run into me.

"Iiiittaaiiiii!" I groaned loudly.

"Hey busu!!! Why don't you watch where you're going?" I heard a voice, a rather familiar and annoying voice, yell out.

'Yep, there goes that perfect day of mine.' "Me watch where I'm going?! I was just standing here, Yahiko-CHAN!"

Like before, the –chan seemed to hit a sensitive spot in the kid, because a moment later, he was staring at me furiously, with eyes full of rage. "I'm NOT little!"

'Oohh…this was too good of an opportunity. Maybe today will be a perfect day.' Smiling, I patted him on his head like I would have done to Ayame or Suzume. "Kay Yahiko-chan, whatever you say."

I watched as he gave me this bemused look, like he wanted to say something back to me, to defend his position, but couldn't think of anything at the moment. At this, I couldn't hold it any longer and finally collapsed in a laughing fit.

"What's so funny busu!?" I heard the kid yell at me.

"It's…haha…just…haha…well…haha……nothing!" I was surprised that I was actually able to say anything. I really was laughing pretty hard right then.

It wasn't until a moment later when Yahiko all of a sudden panicked and grabbed what looked like to be another delivery from the Akabeko. "Ugh! Now look what you made me do. I'm going to be late! Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!"

I watched him run as he gradually disappeared into the distance. Still basking in my latest win over the little brat, I began on my way when I bumped into someone else, or to be more precise, somebody ran me over, because when it was all set and done, I was on the floor with someone looking down upon me.

"Iiiitttaaaiiiii…" I groaned for the second time that day as I rubbed my little butt. 'Ugh, one more time and I think I'm going to crawl to the park.'

"Sorry weasel girl. Didn't see you there, you know what I mean."

'Weasel girl!!' I deduced that could only be Sano, because if that was indeed Hiko-sama, then he'd be laughing his little arrogant laugh when I would be in a tight spot. Taking that hand Sano offered me, he pulled me up easily.

"You okay Misao?" he asked as if he didn't really care.

I rolled my eyes out on him. Today I really didn't feel like yelling at him for calling me weasel girl – I dunno, I just wasn't in the mood. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for caring."

It took the rooster head a couple of seconds to actually reply back. "Huh? Oh yeah, it's no problem." And with that, he started to run along, ironically in the same direction as Yahiko. "Gotta run Misao. Catch ya at school tomorrow." If I would have cared at that moment, I would have asked him why he was caring a delivery bag from the Akabeko, but like I said; I didn't care at the moment. After all, I had more important things to do.

Deciding it would be for the best to just forget everything that had happened in the last five minutes, I crossed the road and entered the park. Now that I thought about it, I never really took a detailed look around this place. The park itself was really big. A well-sized pond was located at the center of the park, with trees here and there around it. The grass was the purest shade of green one could find in such an industrialized city like Tokyo. Benches were scattered around as well as sandboxes and playgrounds for the children. A couple of swing sets here and there, and to make the park perfect, there were four areas, each located at the respective corners of the park, where one could find solitude if they really wanted it.

Trying to remember the exact steps I took last week, I went to find Aoshi. So what if I was going to be ten minutes early? It's not like its going to mean anything………right? Right. It means exactly nothing. 'Then why do I get the feeling like it does mean something?'

Desperately tossing the last thought out of my mind, I somehow found myself staring at Aoshi, who was only an approximate ten to fifteen feet away from me. 'How in the world did I get here? How did I not notice him earlier? And why the hell do I always tend to lose my concentration when thinking? ………like I'm doing NOW!"

I watched him, or so to say, just downright stared at him. Even though the only part of him I was looking at was his back, just his stature right there made me melt. 'Ugh…this is already not going my way. Just relax Misao. Remember, Aoshi is a normal guy, just like Sano or some other knucklehead in your class. Just because he downright gorgeous doesn't change anything.'

Smiling to myself for figuring everything out, I cautiously walked over to him until I was about five feet away. "Hey…"

Apparently I didn't speak loud enough, or he just didn't hear me. "Hello."

This time I knew I spoke loud enough. If he didn't hear me, then he must be deaf. "HELLO!"

Finally, he answered. "I heard you the first time Misao."

For some reason, this seemed to be a common practice. I quickly rethought my other encounters with him and found out that he always said that; answered me on the third call rather than the first, but however, claiming that he heard me the first time. Next time I'll be ready.

"You're early?"


Actually, from the way he said it, it sound more like he was pointing it out rather than asking. "Yeah…" I said weakly. "Uh……you know……finished my homework a little earlier than expected………and with nothing else to do, I decided to come here."

I watched him as he nodded understandingly. I stood there like an idiot for a few seconds before he continued. "Care to sit?"

"Huh!? Oh, yeah, love to." I answered quickly, sitting on the ground across from him.

"If you don't mind, can you wait another five minutes while I finished my meditation exercises?" he asked.

"No, I don't mind at all." At that was the truth, all the more time to scrutinize his looks even further. When I was positive that he returned to his meditation, I risked a look at his face.

Now, let me begin by saying that if it was possible to describe Aoshi Shinomori in words, I'd do it. But it's impossible. The elegant flow of his hair cascading down to his eyes, just to the right height, was all in itself beautiful. His hair is a dark shade of blue; I supposed he dyed it from an original black, who knows. 'Then again, who cares?' The rest of his features on his face all flowed together smoothly, again, non-describable.

What was five minutes felt like ten seconds, because he finally opened his eyes, and I couldn't help but to release of a small gasp. Cerulean blue eyes – downright gorgeous. Not only did they look mysterious, but they held a certain passion in them.

"Is there something on my face?" he asked suddenly.

Now here, I was probably blushing the deepest shade of red known to man. "Huh? Oh, no! Nothing. I was just……ah……there's nothing." 'Calm down Misao. Remember your training. He's just a normal guy. Nothing to be worried about.'

The answer seemed to satisfy him as he shrugged and got up to stretch a bit. That's when I noticed the wooden kodachies at his side. "Are you going to try out for the Swordfight Team tomorrow?"

I waited for a minute till he finally answered. "Yeah. I usually don't, but this year…it's different."

"Why" I asked innocently.

He stared at me for a moment before walking over to his backpack. "Let's just say, I've been put on the spot."

"How?" I prodded again.

As he turned around, I saw a small smirk across his lips. 'Wow, that actually looked……refreshing to me…to see him have something other than a solemn face.'

"Nothing you don't have to concern yourself over with, Misao." he answered gently as he brought a couple of foam cups and a thermos. "How about you?"

"Me? Swordfight Team? You've got to be kidding me. I'm not good enough."

This seemed to get something out of Aoshi because he paused in the middle of pouring out his tea. "Seemed to me the other day that you handled yourself more than adequately against Sagara."

I waved my hand nonchalantly. "Eh, that was just a spur of a moment thing. Plus, I knew the rooster head was holding back on me. And, yeah, it maybe have looked like I knew my stuff, but that's all I know about kenjutsu. I just picked up bits and pieces from watching my brother train."

Again, this elicited another shocking reaction from Aoshi, as he stopped in the middle of pouring my tea, and to make matters even more intense, his eyes widened a bit before returning to this normal state. "Interesting…" he commented slowly before handing me my cup of tea.

I stared at the liquid. I completely forgot that I didn't even like tea. Eventually, not to ruin the moment, I took a deep breath and took a sip of the tea. I was ready to force the drink down my throat when, surprisingly, I found it to be very refreshing to my body, and not tasting all that bad either. "What kind of tea is this?" I asked curiously, eyeing the liquid from a million different perspectives.

I dimly heard Aoshi chuckle before he answered. "My own concoction of herbal tea. It refreshes the mind and relieves the body of stress. Plus, it just feels good to drink it."

"I agree!" I exclaimed happily as I continued to sip the hot liquid slowly. "I'm going to have to get the recipe from you some time. The tea I make is not nearly as good as this, at least in taste."

"I find that hard to believe." Aoshi replied back, which completely caught me off-guard. I really hadn't expected him to say something like that.

Shrugging, "Hahaha……then I'm just going to have to bring you some next week, so you can see for yourself."

"Look forward to it."

I smiled as my secret way of asking him for another "date" so to speak for next week was answered positively. Maybe we could just make this a weekly ritual of some sort. Who knows?

The two of us quietly sipped the tea in companionable silence, at least I thought it was companionable, when Aoshi suddenly asked me a question. "So, how do you like it here?"

I beamed – now this was something I could talk about. "It's gorgeous……so much better than all the other places I've lived in. Here, there's everything. A great school, cool people, movies, dojos, parks……like I said, everything. I mean, just the scenery around here gives me the spark to get through another fun-filled day of school." I said sarcastically. "And the school……people might not say that our school is perfect, but compared to every other one I've been too……."

"How many exactly have you been enrolled in?"

"Eh, tons. Now that I think about it, we move every six months or so because of a school change. If we don't like it, then we leave. But anyway, that's beside the point. Now where was I? Oh yeah, this school though, its actually fun to go to. Everyone is so nice, there so many activities to take part in like drama and key club and………………"

If I had actually would have taken the time to stop from my tirade, I would have seen Aoshi – completely serene at the moment, with a small smile hidden behind his cup of tea.

Waving bye to Aoshi, I watched his retreating figure walk in the opposite direction that I was heading. I sighed happily as I finally turned around and merrily skipped back home. Now that had gone much better than I had expected it to go. Sure, at first, I was nervous as hell, not knowing exactly what we were going to talk about. But after sipping some of that tea, everything all of a sudden clicked and we……………………………

……………………………………

……or I was talking to him like I knew him for so long. Now that I do think about it, I surely did talk a lot…maybe more than I should have. 'Oh no! Maybe he was getting pissed at me for pestering him so much.' But then, why didn't he say something. And he also showed me some new techniques for throwing kunais (after I told him that I did that), some tricks that will even amaze Hiko the next time he tests me, heheheheheheheheheh.

Well, even if I did seem to do most of the talking, he didn't seem to mind at all, so it doesn't bother me. 'As long as I get to hang out with him more often, then it's all worth it in the end.'

Agreeing with myself, I soon found myself in my own apartment, and the first thing I notice was exactly how late it was. 'Oops! Eight-thirty? Kenshin is going to have my head.' I waited for the inevitable verbal assault, but strangely, it never came. I guess Kenshin wanted to get some extra practice in before the tryouts tomorrow. Now that I think about it, it has been awhile since Kenshin fought a swordfight seriously……a long while.

"Oh well…he'll be home by nine. He's always arrived by nine. I suppose I'll take a nice, long, hot shower – to freshen up before a good night sleep."

And believe me, when I say long, I do mean long because I wasn't finished till ten after nine. Then again, I didn't start until eight forty-five, so I suppose twenty five minutes isn't too long, at least for me.

But that all soon became trivial matters when I found out that Kenshin still hadn't arrived from his training. And to make things worse, it started to rain…and I mean pouring. I couldn't help but to get worried. It's not like I don't trust him, I know he can take care of himself. But I still get scared when I don't know what's happening to him.

Slowly convincing myself that he was probably on his way right this moment, I decided to pass the time by watching some television. And just in time too. My favorite show started at nine-thirty.

You could always rely on your favorite television show to let you momentarily forget your worries. Becoming so engrossed with the story of the show, you sometimes tend to replace yourself with a character in the show, hoping to experience what that person was feeling at the same time. I blushed slightly at the fascination I created with placing myself as one character and Aoshi as another. Hehehehe…………

"Doooonnnnggggg!"

I quickly turned my eyes toward the clock – it just struck ten, and Kenshin was still not here. Ok, now I started to panic…a little. …………………………………

…………………………………………………………

……………….ok, maybe a lot!

But can you blame me? If the person you loved – the person that was responsible for your very state of being, was not home by his usual time, even though you are completely aware that he could take care of himself…or herself…do not tell me you would still not worry. Cuz that's a complete lie.

"Kenshin……where are you?" I remember myself whispering to myself every now and then.

I just sat there…on the sofa…curled up in a ball…intently watching the clock as its minute hand tortured me…slowly moving around the clock. The loud roar of the thunder against the hard beating of the rain against the window; along with the howling of the wind just made be even more terrified by the second. Something was definitely wrong.

10:10………10:15………10:30………10:45………

"Doooonnnnggggg!"

"11:00……p…m…" When I knew I couldn't stand it any longer, I was going to pick up my coat and umbrella. I know that Kenshin would probably kill me if I ever went outside in this kind of weather, but I had to find him.

I swear, the exact second as I was going to pick up my coat, the door slammed open, and I screamed. Oh yeah, I screamed – very loudly. Not because I was scared – well ok, maybe I was a bit scared…but the state Kenshin was in made me want to cry…hard.

Here I was, enjoying a beautiful evening with Aoshi and a warm, cozy night in my apartment. But Kenshin……the state he was in……I couldn't describe the fear I felt within my body. All I knew was that it was immense.

Kenshin was here alright……along with a broken wooden sword, rips in his training hakama and gi, fresh new scars alongside his arm, body and his unscarred cheek, and he was soaking wet.

However, when I looked unto his eyes…………I froze in shock. They weren't the usual kind and innocent looking violet eyes he always has when he's around me, nor were they the hard, steely blue he wore during training.

They were amber yellow alright. However, with one tremendous catch. Unlike the previous times I've seen his eyes with that color……this time though……I felt pure hatred emanating from his body. Never, never in my entire life that I had known him, had I ever seen Kenshin have pure hatred for something…someone. NEVER! Whenever he wore his amber yellow eyes, it just meant he wanted to be left alone.

I watched him as he labored a step inside the house. He then opened to speak, "Mii………..saaaooo…"

I let my tears run loose when I saw him collapse to the ground. In pain? In fear? In frustration? In fatigue!? I had no clue! I had no fucking clue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When the common sense part of my brain finally kicked in, I wasted no time in getting Kenshin to his room, securing the look on our door, stripping him of his wet clothes, redressing him with warms ones and setting him on his bed, in his blanket, making him as warm as possible. I felt his forehead, only to feel that he was burning up…quickly too!

In his state, Kenshin was having trouble breathing, let alone swallowing some medicine pills. Quickly getting a wet cloth, I placed it over his head.

This was all I could do.

This was all I could do.

"This was all I could do!!!!!!!!!!??" It wasn't fair!!!! There had to be something more I could do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That night……for the first time in a long time………I cried myself to sleep, telling myself there was only one thing I could do. Be there for Kenshin, just like he was there for me all those years ago.

A low groaning sound woke me up the next morning. From the awkward position I found myself in, sitting in a chair, with my head on the bed next to me, I sat up and yawned when suddenly everything what transpired last night hit me like a thunderbolt against a lightning rod. Instantly feeling Kenshin's forehead, I let out a huge sigh to find the fever barely noticeable, almost gone.

I was going to the bathroom to replace the washcloth when a delicate voice broke the silence. "Misao………"

It wasn't even as loud as a whisper, but I could hear that voice anywhere. I felt fresh new tears threatening to spill from the eyes as I quickly turned around to find Kenshin smiling weakly at me. I couldn't hold it back any longer.

I hugged him.

"Kenshin! I…I……I…" I couldn't think of anything logical to say at that moment. I was just so relieved that he was ok.

"Shhhhh, Misao. It's ok. I'm feeling a lot better." There was a brief moment of silence. "Thank you."

"What happened Kenshin!?" I couldn't help my inquisitive nature.

I watched him carefully as he averted his eyes away from my stare. "It's something I really don't feel like discussing right now."

I nodded, respecting that fact he wanted his privacy. 'Ooo…but he is NOT getting out of this one that easily. He WILL tell me…sooner or later……and I'll make sure it the former of the two!'

"Misao, do me a favor?" I heard him say.


"Anything Kenshin."

"When you go to school today………"


"There is NO way I'm going to school today with you being in your state of condition. Someone needs to look after…………"

He didn't let me finish. "Don't worry Misao. Honestly, I feel much better. I just need rest. Anyway, like I said, when you go to school today, make sure you tell Saitoh that I'll won't be in his class, but I'll still make the tryout, got that?"

"WHAT! ARE YOU INSANE?"

"Misao." And he just didn't say my name; he said it with a hint of authority.

"But Kenshin! Look at you! You are in NO condition to try out! I'll just ask Saitoh if he could let you try another day, when you're feeling better. I'm sure if I explain the circumstances, he'll understand."

"Misao, let me be frank with you."

I looked at him curiously before nodding slowly. This was going to be the deciding factor on whether I would win this argument…or if Kenshin would.

"Do you still want to go to this school?"

I was about to retaliate when what he said finally hit me. "But…"

"No buts Misao. Now if you don't get going, you're going to be late."

There was nothing else in my mind to fight back. Kenshin had won. I don't believe this. 'That wool-headed baka!'

"Fine! If you want to get yourself injured to the point where you won't be able to stand anymore, that's fine with me." And with that last sentence, I left and didn't look back. I was pissed, for more than obvious reasons.

It didn't take me long to get ready and I figured that I would just arrive at school in time. However, my conscious wouldn't let me leave until I said "bye" to Kenshin. Walking to his room, I found him contently sleeping with a smile on his face. Seeing that picture brought a warm smile to my face.


No matter how stupid he was, I still love him all the same.

Author's Notes: looks around nervously

Ok, before you guys get on my case, let me make the point that with the 5 hours of sleep I got each night for the past 4 or 5 months, you can't blame me that I didn't have time to update. I've been writing this chapter throughout those past months while swamped with loads of homework and studying. Again, I'm terribly sorry for not updating sooner, but this was the best I could do.

I do promise that this fic WILL NOT die…it'll just update slower until summer vacation. I hope to at least get another few chapters in before that time though.

As for this chapter, I really had a hard time seeing how exactly Aoshi was going to react, but I did the best that I could do and came up with what I have. I suppose I won't get to know if it was good enough until I receive some reviews.

So, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and make sure to review so I will know what to fix in my style to ensure better chapters. I love you guys for doing it so far!!!

Next chapter: Swordfight Team Tryout - title tentative

Till then,
vindemon64