Why Aoshi Doesn't Drink Sake

By: The Silly Koneko, not in possession of Rurouni Kenshin

Note: This is a fic that I've had in my head for a long while, but never got around to. Then I happened to read a funny lemony fic, and thought, you know, might as well. And it started out to be a one shot funny, but....it went wrong. And now it's angsty. And soon to be multi-chaptered. I wrote it today and haven't checked it, there might be something wrong with it…

"Oh come on, Lord Aoshi!"

"No."

"Why don't you ever have a sip of sake?"

"It causes me to be sick."

Really, that was why. When he was 16, he'd had one small cup and passed out, and he didn't like the way he wanted to act when that vile liquid filled him. When he woke up, he threw up.

"Oh...well, certainly a sip wouldn't hurt!"

Aoshi looked at the now-17 year old in front of him, wondering how she'd gotten away with getting sake in the first place. Leader of the Oniwaban-shu or not, Misao was much too young to have access to alcoholic drinks.

"What if it was diluted?"

"No."

Of course, this was the third night in a row Misao tried to get him to drink sake. He should have never told her that he was intolerant, because now she was curious to see just how intolerant.

"I guess I'll just have to go off and have a bit by myself, then."

"Misao, you shouldn't drink sake. Put it away before I have to tell Omasu or one of the others that you have it."

"They're all gone off on different errands right now and won't be back until it's really late. So why don't you try some? If you really do pass out, they'll just think you're sleeping!"

"Why do you want me to drink sake so badly?"

Misao shrugged. "I'm just curious, I guess. I mean, doesn't intolerance have something to do with body mass and all, and you're one hunk of a - "

She clapped her hands over her mouth, blushing. Why didn't she ever think before she spoke? Everything that popped into her mind just spilled out of her mouth!

She's much too impulsive. She acts like she's always got a bit of sake in her, saying everything and revealing all. Although, he thought, it was interesting to know what went through that mind of hers.

Still blushing, Misao decided to take the initiative and put down two sake cups. One for her, and one for Aoshi. If she couldn't get him to drink one way, she would have to appeal to his sense of politeness.

Picking up the sake jar, she poured some into Aoshi's cup. Etiquette demanded that he do the same for her.

Aoshi stared for a moment. Either allow himself to dig a deeper hole, or be rude to a girl who looked up to him? He blinked. How did she trap him like this?

Misao looked expectantly at Aoshi, who continued to stare at the sake jar. He could pour it, just not drink, but it was also rude to have someone drink alone.

Especially a woman.

Not that Misao had come into womanhood yet - but she was almost there, enough to make him feel guilty about being rude. Well...he could take just one small sip...

Aoshi picked up the sake jar (Misao's face lit up) and poured sake into her cup.

One sip...could he hold himself together? He couldn't remember how many sips he'd taken before he started to get a certain behaiviour that shamed him. Not that he'd had oppourunity to carry out what he'd wanted to do drunk...but now Misao was here...

Misao picked up her cup, looking at Aoshi. After much more hesitation, he did the same.

She brought it up to her mouth, and slowly Aoshi followed suit.

She sipped.

He sipped.

A long moment passed, and Aoshi felt a familiar sensation...the same one he'd felt when 16 years old, alone with a cup of sake. It wasn't good, that sip was a little too long. He misjudged what he had intook then...

"Misao," he started to say, a drunken slur already creeping into his voice, "You need to go now..."

"Why, Lord Aoshi? For goodness sake, you're already drunk!"

She took his cup away from him, and set it next to her.

"Be...cause..."

He leaned forward, the liquid overriding his common sense.

Misao, having never seen Aoshi do much more than imitate an icicle, was surprised at the movement. He always sat up straight, no matter what! Now, this was interesting - no way she was going to leave!

"Because why, Lord Aoshi?"

"I can't...control...myself..."

"I don't think anybody can stand up straight when their drunk."

She took a few more sips.

"Not...that...way..."

He suddenly reached forward drunkenly, grabbing Misao by the shoulders and pulling her close to him.

"Lord Aoshi?"

"I tried...to warn..."

Misao, not quite straight herself after a drink, was unable to get out of the grasp of Aoshi. The working part of her brain told her that this was what she always wanted, and the logical part couldn't come through.

"Aoshi?" she said, in a small, innocent voice.

His grip on her loosened, and he let her go. Misao looked up at him and wondered what he had been warning her about - so far he'd just given her a rough hug, but....soon found out exactly why he'd let her go. Sake steering his brain and his hands free, he pushed Misao back and grabbed the front of her shirt.

Something clicked in Misao's slightly addled mind, realizing what was going to happen. She started to struggle, but couldn't move. Aoshi ripped off her shirt top, leaving her bare from waist up.

"Aoshi!"

The former leader of the Oniwaban-shu pushed the poor girl back onto the tatami, and climbed onto her. He grabbed her chest with his rough hands, his inner demons possessing him to do things otherwise confined to his subconscious. Aoshi kissed her forcefully, to the point of pain on Misao's part; he continued down her neck, continued until...

His hand hit something on the tatami, and he paused. A cup of sake. He wanted more...Aoshi reached for the cup, spilled it - but an amount remained, an amount enough to twist his mind around to do the commit the one of the ultimate acts of evil -

Misao looked at Aoshi, tears in her eyes. She tolerated alcohol better, she felt everything he did, it sobered her - and made it worse, much worse. He hurt her in the worst way possible, with his savage treatment...

He finished taking in the last of the sake, and got up.

Is...it over?, Misao thought. Would he only go so far, even with drink?

Aoshi reached down and practically shredded what was left of her outfit, leaving her bare. She tried to get up, to run, but he was too strong, too fast, and he grabbed her and threw her back to the floor. He yanked off his jacket, his shirt, everything, throwing them into a corner, and turned to Misao. Her small body trembled with fear, shaking more as he came closer, as he climbed on top of her, as he forced her legs apart...

"No!! Aoshi!"

See what I mean when it turned from funny to serious?