Why Aoshi Never Drinks Sake

Chapter 4

By: The Silly Koneko, who doesn't own Rurouni Kenshin but does have a few explanations for this story. Like about how Aoshi got drunk so fast – all will be explained in time.

And sorry for the long wait; I got a new kimono and had to make a few things for it…AND THEN my computer decided to crap out. For a month. And I lost my train of thought, and did not update for…a few more months. Man, did I disappear or what? But yeah, yay! I've been on ff . net for over a year now.

The story might not make sense, however, notchet. In addition to not having read my own words in over nine months, I haven't seen anything Kenshin in a looong while, either. In addition to a complicated plot.

:3

It was a lovely afternoon. The sun shone, birds sang, flowers bloomed, the wind danced over the trees, and the sky…erm…blued.

No verbs for the sky, then, thought Seijuro Hiko XIV. It was still nice, though, which is why he decided to abandon his pottery for the day and go on a walk instead.

Not to mention it cleared his mind of the picture of the beaten and raped weasel girl. He wondered if they had found out who did that to her – he had left before the police arrived, agreeing not to say anything. (Receiving, of course, two more jugs of sake in reparation for the one Misao took.)

There was one place in particular he was headed towards, actually. A clearing in the woods, where every student of the Hiten Mitsurugi style had fought with their masters at least once. Just over a few low-lying trees there could be seen a wonderful view of Kyoto, and the place always looked as though it had remained untouched by human hands.

Finally, he arrived. Taking in a deep breath, he could smell the fresh, earthy smell…and…tea? Wait, not just tea – it was intermixed with sake, and a sour bit of vomit.

A drunk tea drinker?

Following his nose, he found the source – and was both surprised and not. No wonder the smell of tea reached his nose before the sake; Aoshi Shinomori practically inhaled the stuff by the gallon.

But sake?

"Now this is something I didn't expect to find on an afternoon stroll."

This was a story he had to hear an explanation for. Taking care to keep his brilliant white cape from getting dirty, Hiko picked Aoshi up and brought him back to his home.

When Misao woke up, the Aoiya was silent. It was sometime in the evening, perhaps about seven-thirty, but the silence was of no help to the inner demons that Misao tried to quell.

An hour passed.

Okina's comment about her potentially carrying a child filled her with fear and…for some reason, excitement. A part of her still loved Aoshi, despite the events, the nightmares, everything. She had dreamed about being with Aoshi from the time she was young up until now (although the subject matter left less to the imagination directly in proportion with age).

But fear had thrust its claws deep into her heart - violently seizing it as her love committed the atrocity that now consumed the essence of her being. No longer was she the carefree girl, nor would she ever be again. It was a part of her childhood that was forever lost.

The excited part, although existant, was very smothered; the thought of being unmarried and carrying the child of a man who very likely wouldn't be coming back wasn't the most pleasant one.

No. I'm not with child.

Misao made up her mind. She would will herself from having one, if she had to. Even if carrying Aoshi's child had been a long-time dream of hers (although that dream usually included being married), it would inconvenience everybody, and she wasn't having any of that.

Aoshi woke up, immediately suspiscious – this wasn't where he had fallen – his eyes snapped open, and he heard a conceited chuckle.

"Finally, you're awake. You've been out all afternoon."

He snapped his head around to see the man who called himself Himura's master.

"What am I doing here?"

The long rest had cleared Aoshi's mind, and now he wasn't clouded by those distracting emotions.

"I found you."

How much does he know? Aoshi thought.

"Although I must say, you do smell of sake."

And that's all I wrote, about nine months ago. I'll upload this for now, collect my thoughts and pick up the story later, but I figured I may as well bring this up again. (Oo Although I still got comments during the over-long hiatus.)