The Inevitable

Disclaimer! Rurouni Kenshin doesn't belong to me, but to Nobuhiro Watsuki. Darn, maybe some day ^_^x

'......' signals thoughts

hey, minna-san! Sorry for the long wait. When I first wrote this, I didn't like it and had to keep re-editing it until I liked and it made more sense. Sorry again and enjoy!

Chapter 4: Confrontations

------

It was very late. Or very early, depending on how you looked at it. The time? a little two in morning. Aoshi could not sleep. He must have lain in his futon for an hour or two, constantly tossing turning.

He rose, quietly exiting his room. He stopped in front of Misao's room and silently pressed a hand to the door. After a moment's hesitation, he slowly slid open the shoji, expecting to see Misao entangled in her sheet like she always was when she was a child.

Astonishment briefly played over his face. The room was empty, or so he thought. He turned to leave when he heard a sound that could only be the angelic voice of a certain pretty petite ninja girl

"Aoshi-sama, what are you doing in my room at this time of the night?"

A little startled, he turned and answered honestly. "I couldn't sleep" There was a questions that he was burning to ask. "Were you in here the whole time?"

From the darkened corner she nodded. "I masked my ki." she said simply. She stood and walked toward him. She wore a dark purple kimono, the obi was of an ebony color.

"Was there something you wanted?"

He thought quickly. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry, for everything."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, everyone has already forgiven you."

And . . . what about you?" It didn't matter to him if everyone else forgave him. it only mattered that Misao forgave him.

"I . . .," she started, then frowned a moment. "Honestly?" she asked him.

"Honestly" he confirmed.

"Honestly . . . I . . . don't really know."

"I see" he paused, a bleak feeling engulfed his heart. "Goodnight Misao"

"Aoshi-sama, wait . . ." but he had already left. And even if he had head her, he wouldn't have turned around anyway.

Sighing, she changed into her yukata and went to what would be a restless night of sleep.

------

A week or two had passed and not a word was said between Aoshi and Misao. It was hard to tell, but Aoshi was scheming, and a scheming Aoshi is almost as dangerous as an angry Misao.

Misao sat in her favorite cherry blossom tree. She wore her Oniwanbanshuu uniform and was waiting for Aoshi to leave the training hall, so she could make use of it, alone.

She felt Aoshi's ki coming near her. Not wanting another confrontation with him, she silently jumped to another tree. And again she felt his ki coming closer and closer, so she jumped to yet another tree. This happened over and over again, like a broken record, until she stopped to take a short break. Misao sat on the branch and searched for Aoshi's ki, but the attempt was futile for he had, too, masked his ki.

Misao realized what he was doing. 'A game' she thought, 'the one that we used to play all the time' it was a game much like hide and seek, but the winner would be determined by the battle.

And so she jumped from tree to tree until she reached the edge of the forest and ran in. Once she had gotten a distance away from Aoshi, she climbed another tree and waited for her prey.

As she waited, she fingered a kunai. Aoshi walked by, seemingly not knowing where Misao was, and stopped. He looked around for a moment and concentrated. Misao noticed that his kodachi were still sheathed and decided the battle would consist of only kempo.

Misao jumped down from the tree and landed soundlessly, as graceful as a panther stalking its evening snack. She crept forward until she was a couple of meters away.

"Kyaa!" Misao flew into the air, attempting a kick at his head.

Aoshi barely evaded her attack. He turned and ran deeper into the forest. Not hesitating, Misao chased after him. Suddenly, he disappeared. Misao stopped and shook her head. What the hell just happened?

"The old ninja vanished trick!' Misao recognized the old tactic. 'He knew I was in that tree the whole time! He just wanted to lure me out into the open!'

And then Misao found herself on the ground, pinned down by Aoshi. Unfortunately for her, thinking took up valuable time to get away. He easily stopped Misao's punches; she was completely at his mercy.

"It looks like you are trapped Misao."

Misao scowled. 'Thanks for telling me, Captain Obvious!' she thought sarcastically.

"What will you do now?" He said, a bit teasingly.

Misao's eyes narrowed. She huffed and threw her head back defiantly. It was then that Aoshi noticed a tiny scar marring Misao pretty neck. He traced it and could feel the roughness of where an enemy's sword had been.

"What happened?" he asked softly.

"A reminder never to be so careless again." Misao replied bitterly.

"Who did this to you?" He questioned, hoping to get a more comprehensive answer.

"Why should you care?" Her words pierced into his heart, like a needle piercing into one's flesh.

And the answer was plain and simple. Because he loved her and when you love someone, you care about them. But telling her that would most likely scare her off. So instead he told her, "Because it's my duty to protect you."

The pair was dead silent. You could hear the wind rustling around them; leaves flew around them and a faint scent of vanilla tantalized Aoshi's sense of smell.

And it all ended so abruptly. "Are you going to let me up now?" She was a bit annoyed as to why he had not let her go yet.

"I don't think so, Misao." She growled at his reply. "You know, Misao," he continued, "I'm quite proud of you. You must have trained a great deal while on her journey."

"I know that!" she snapped. "Now let me up!"

As if magic had somehow intervened, Misao's scowl turned into a slightly seductive smile. "Aoshi-sama. . . . .won't you please let me up?" She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him closer so that their lips were almost touching.

Instead of answering her question, he dipped his head lower and captured the little ninja's lips in a kiss. She sighed contently as he nibbled on her bottom lip. His hold on Misao loosened and she took full advantage of this. Misao pulled away and jumped up.

"Score! It looks like I've found your weak spot, Aoshi-sama." Misao teased.

"Aa, I guess you have" he replied. His arm shot out and he pulled her against him. "but we can finish this. . .another time" He pressed another kiss to her lips and turned back, heading towards the Aoiya.

Misao stood there for a few minutes, in a slight state of shock. She didn't expect him to actually respond. She pressed a hand to her rapidly beating heat. "Oh, Kami" Eventually she too left for the Aoiya, wondering what was to come next.

------

The days came and left and the interaction between Aoshi and Misao was next to nothing. Needless to day, Misao was a little pissed. Or perhaps really pissed. Misao had decided to not seek out Aoshi, instead letting him to the confrontation. Afterall, Misao had resigned herself never to be the same carefree, genki girl she once was.

Misao was in the Aoiya's kitchen, venting her anger on the dishes. She sighed as the sound of a cracking plate filled the room. That was the third one today. Okina had asked her to wash the dishes in hopes of having clean dishes, not needing to by new ones. 'I need a distraction'

The streets of Kyoto were bustling with activity. After much walking, Misao spotted a stand selling kimonos and went to take a look. They were on the simply side. She scanned then and one caught her eye.

It was of a rich blue-grey hue. Pale silvery-pink sakura blossoms were stitched in and fireflies fluttered here and there. Misao gasped. It was the most magnificent kimono she had ever set her eyes on and she simply had to have it.

So she did. Misao bowed to the merchant and returned to the Aoiya. Once there she changed out of her simple green kimono into the newly purchased one.

She walked to the familiar sakura tree and sat by its base. So many memories lay at the base of that very cherry blossom tree. Mostly good, but everytime Misao looked at it, she couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic. She sighed. The past was the past. she would have to accept it and move on, for there was nothing else she could do.

Misao just sat there in a semi-conscious state; staring out into the empty space in front of her. Her quiet time was interrupted by a voice that shattered her thoughts.

"A beautiful kimono such as that should be saved for a special occasion."

"And who's to say it's not a special occasion?" Misao retorted.

He sat down next to her. "But there will be, in a few months there will be a festival special enough for you to wear that kimono."

She raised an eyebrow. "And what festival would that be?

A small chuckle escaped his lips. "The Tanabata of course.

A squeal emerged from Misao. "The Tanabata festival! I completely forgot about it! I used to love going to those. Do you remember what happened when I saw six, Aoshi-sama?"

"Of course" he replied softly. "I remember everything with clarity" He paused to take a breath. "Misao, would you do my the honor of allowing me to escort you to the Tanabata?"

Anger that Misao had originally had for Aoshi was replaced with surprise.

"I'm sure you could find someone better to go to the Tanabata with."

"No one better to go with except the young woman I helped raise. Surely you would want to spend some time with me, ne?"

Misao looked at him. She was not exactly sure if she wanted to go with Aoshi, but she decided to accept now and if she changed her mind, she'd find a way to back out of it. "Alright then" She brightened. "It'll just be like old times!" 'But no one can live in the past' she added silently, feeling a bit sad once again, but her face as always betrayed her emotions for joy was seemingly plastered on like a mask.

And because of this, Aoshi thought that he had succeeded. But he failed to notice that it has taken him nearly a decade to crawl out of his shell, so was Misao really able to the same in less than two months?

------

A/N: Yes really, Misao has only been home for a little over a month. It just seems longer because of the flashbacks. Oh course it would take Misao more than a month to return to the way she was. Granted Aoshi had been like that for the majority of his life, but it would still take sometime for Misao to revert (or at least partially) to help old self, ne?

PLEASE REVIEW!!