Not Perfect by Silver Miko
As the rain gently fell over the blue tiled roof tops of Kyoto, a lone figure sheltered under an umbrella rushed towards the large temple ahead, another umbrella clutched tightly in a pale hand. Stopping and shaking off the umbrellas, Misao quietly opened the temple door and walked inside towards the figure seated in the middle of the room dressed in a beige yukata.
"Aoshi-sama," she began softly, trying her best not to interrupt him too much during his morning meditation, "The rain isn't going to be letting up anytime soon so I brought an umbrella for you"
Setting it down next to him, she hesitated to stand back up. The urge to just sit next to him and stay with him was still overwhelming, even now that she was eighteen.
She had calmed down and stopped worrying so much that Aoshi would leave, and everyone had noticed Misao seemed to generally calm down overall and had less random spazz outs. She also seemed content to let Aoshi go about his business without knowing where and why and when every six seconds and focused more on Okashira and Aoiya duties. Still.
She would still follow him to the ends of the Earth if he ever left, and she would still do the little things for him like bring him tea or an umbrella. Anyone who thought Misao would grow out of her love for Aoshi was mistaken, because since he had returned she had gotten to know the man he was now and fell even more in love. She had been surprised when he began having meaningful conversations with her after he came to pick her up in Tokyo. She had a feeling Kenshin had said something to Aoshi, and was grateful. Aoshi would ask her what happened while he was away for those eight years, what growing up was like for her...and he actually answered her questions.
The past two years had given them a chance to really get to know each other again as they were now, not as they were then.
Standing up, Misao walked back towards the door and picked up her umbrella.
"Misao"
"Yes, Aoshi-sama?" she asked, looking over her shoulder.
"Have Okina and the others departed yet"
"Yes, they left an hour ago"
"Aa. I will return to the Aoiya by dinner time"
Misao nodded and gave him a smile and headed back to the Aoiya.
Misao had asked Okina and the other four Oniwabanshuu to go to Sapporo on Aoiya business, to see if they could negotiate and bring back some more exotic foods for the restaurant. Misao would have gone except she had her Okashira duties, and Aoshi merely declined without explanation although Okina simply deduced it was to keep an eye on Misao.
Either way, Misao was looking forward to spending quality time alone with Aoshi away from the prying eyes of Okina and Omasu and Okon. It was easier to talk without them around to make faces and tease.
As a loud thunderclap roared through the city, Misao tensed and sighed.
"I hope he gets back to the Aoiya before it gets too bad out." she murmured.
As the storm continued on, Aoshi made his way back to the Aoiya and hoped Misao had dinner ready by the time he got there. His skin was starting to feel numb from the rain pounding down on him, drenching his yukata. He was thankful for the umbrella she had left though as his face and hair were mostly dry. Opening the door, he set the umbrella to the side and shook himself off.
"Aoshi-sama! You're soaked! You better change before you get sick." Misao chided, as she stepped out from the kitchen with a ladle in her hand.
She reminded him of a worried wife, and for some reason the thought did not scare him at all. It was a...pleasant thought.
"Aa, right away Misao-sama." he teased, something he did on rare occasions when it was just her around. She merely rolled her eyes at him and went back into the kitchen to stir the beef pot and add more spice. She heard Aoshi sit at the dinner table and noticed he was wearing his black pants and and sleeveless matching shirt but not the gi that went over it. She had set down a pot of tea and smirked when she heard him pour.
Always went right for the tea.
Blowing out the flame, Misao grabbed the pot and headed for the table.
"I made beef hot pot since I don't have to cook for five other people." she mumbled, setting the pot down and sitting across from Aoshi who simply set his cup of tea and nodded.
Misao served out the portions and snapped her chopsticks with a loud 'itadekimasu' and the two began to eat in comfortable silence occasionally mingled with some pointless chatter on Misao's end. Not that Aoshi minded, he liked her energy and it was refreshing to him. He liked to see her eyes filled with happiness, turning them a bright ocean blue.
"I keep telling Jiya we should try seasonal menu items to try to attract more customers but he's so stubborn about it"
"He is sometimes old fashioned in certain things. However you have a point with introducing new items"
"I know I do. When I was travelling I saw the business other places got and all these dishes we don't find here in Kyoto. Sometimes Jiya thinks I'm still a kid and don't know what I'm saying. It pisses me off." she murmured, biting into a piece of onion.
"I think it is hard for Okina to accept that you do not need his guidance as much as you used to"
"And what about you?"
Aoshi closed his eyes briefly and then opened them.
"I think I always held onto to the image of you as an eight year old, though I knew you were here growing up and I...regret being unable to see that. Perhaps though, because of this I knew I more than anyone you were an adult. I did not see you grow. I saw a sixteen year old in front of me, not a child"
Misao nodded, smiling slightly.
"Nee, Aoshi-sama...do you finally recognize me as an adult than"
He paused mid-bite, and blue lifted to meet ocean blue ones.
"Yes. I suppose I do"
Misao nodded, took a bite of beef, then set her chopsticks down.
"That's good. Because I want to say this to you. Without everyone's eyes on me. Aoshi-sama, for as long as I can remember, the most important person in my heart...has always been you. And when you left, I was always looking for you. Everyone assumed it was a childish infactuation, even when you returned...no one believed really it was genuine. The truth is, I'm eighteen now and I still feel all that, but more. Aoshi-sama, even if you don't want to accept it, please believe me when I say that I truly do love you. As a woman loves a man"
There. She had said what she had wanted to say since the moment he came back to them. The words that had been on her mind, on the tip of her tongue for two years.
But she wasn't sure it made her feel any better.
Aoshi closed his eyes and sighed. He had and had not been expected this.
"Misao, first off...I appreciate your honesty. I am at a point in my life where I still feel empty and I am not thinking of a relationship at this point. That is the only answer I have for you right now"
Misao lowered her head, mumbling an oh.
She would not cry.
"However.." Aoshi continued, which made Misao's head lift up, "someday...Misao, please wait for me a bit longer." he said, his eyes softening.
Misao closed her eyes and nodded, smiling wistfully.
"Always"
She would wait, she had waited long enough, she could wait a little more. As there was no one else for her, she was sure now...there was no one else for him...but her.
His answer was not perfect, but it made her happy none the less.
And they continued with their dinner.
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le fin!