When Dreams Come True

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or any of the characters

NOTE: I've noticed my mistake about the whole 'Shirobeko/Aoiya thing, but I have a reason! Trust me, I'm no the person to just make up a name for something that already exists, such as renaming a person or a certain restaurant. But anyways, the reason is, while I was looking up the names of Okon, Omasu, etc to make sure I had the right people down, I came across the word Shirobeko. It read that 'Shirobeko' was the name of the restaurant whereas Aoiya was the name of the hideout. I didn't know I was wrong so I just decided to try it out. So my bad, I'll change it soon enough.

Ok shut up naiLAUG and get on with it!

If wishes could be granted

And dreams would come true

Would I be a believer?

And be happier too?

Chapter three – Meanings and a fish

Instead of only staying for only one night, Soujiro ended up staying at the Aoiya for an entire week. Well, maybe the term, 'ended up staying' isn't the right one. It's more like he was forced to stay there because of Okon and partially because of Misao. There was always some last minute chore given to him the night he announced he was about to leave. Of course, being the gentleman he was, Soujiro would start and complete them. So the chores finally added up to an entire week.

It was about noon…

"Sou-chan! Misao-chan! Can you come here for a minute?" Okon called.

Misao and Soujiro trotted in, "What do you want now?" Misao asked with an attitude added to her voice.

"I need you to go fishing for me so we can have something else yo cook for the restaurant tonight. I have the net ready. Is it alright if you walk to the river?"

Soujiro glanced at Misao, who's chin dropped to the ground, "BUT THAT'S TWO MILES AWAY!"

She might've scared Soujiro, but Okon was still unaffected, "So? That town you went off to a week ago was a good eleven-mile roundtrip. Two easy, simple, meager miles shouldn't be much for your strong, nimble legs Misao-chan."

Misao pouted and looked to the side, "Yes master…"

"Oh, come now," Okon replied with a pleasant smile plastered onto her face, "Master makes me sound so old."

"How old is Ms. Okon?" Soujiro asked.

But right at that moment, Soujiro regretted everything he had just said. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, she held butcher knives in her hands. The smile was still there, but it was pure evil. As Okon slowly and dangerously approached them, Misao grabbed Soujiro's arm and darted out of the room.

While they sprinted out of the room, they were followed by a flying trail of pots, pans, and even large pieces of food.

As they ran out of the building, only then did Okon actually look where she had thrown. There in the hall laid a very annoyed Okina and a very unconscious Kuro. Omasu stared in horror while Okon gave off a meek attempt at a smile before she quickly re-entered the kitchen.

Okina then sat up and wiped the excess rice off his face. He looked up to the ceiling with an frustrated look on his face, "So is this what things will be like until that boy leaves…
?"

Omasu sat by the elderly man and handed him a washcloth, "It's refreshing to see Misao in such high sprits again, isn't it?"

Okina sighed and chuckled slightly, "Yes, I don't know what overcame me. It's just that being the age I am, I can sense some things that others can't. There's something about boy, as if there's a looming shadow that surrounds his heart. Only when he can rid himself of whatever demons that have been bothering him, he can't always be completely here all the time if you understand what I mean."

Omasu nodded, "But doesn't everybody have some sort of secret they wish they would have kept hidden? Including you, sir?"

Okina could only lower his head and smile.

"Never…ask Okon…for her age," Misao panted as she layed back onto the dirt with her arms sprawled out and her knees in the sky. Soujiro, being the ex-Tenken, wasn't tired at all.

"And we also have to go back and get the net," Misao complained. But much to her amazement, Soujiro held it up with a sheepish grin, "It's not fair how fast you are!"

Soujiro giggled as he held out a hand to Misao. She took it and they began their walk to the river.

During the whole trip to the river, Soujiro felt strangely happy. He contentedly smiled along the whole trip, but for some reason, it wasn't 100 sincere. He felt like it was, he wished it was, but he just couldn't understand why something was bothering him, even when he got to spend such a lovely day with Misao. The more he thought about it while he talked, his permanent smile slowly began to fade little by little.

By the time they were about a quarter of the mile there, Misao had noticed the change in Soujiro's mood, "Um, should I stop talking 'cause you can tell me if I need to shut up."

Soujiro's eyes picked up, "Oh no Misao. It's not you, I was just thinking about something else. It's nothing that you need to worry about anyways."

Misao's smiled, though her eyes said she was a little disappointed that Soujiro wouldn't tell her.

Soujiro caught this and abruptly continued, "And-and I would never would tell you to shut up…!"

Misao recognized that Soujiro understood where she was coming from, "Ah never mind, it's ok. Look, we're here."

Misao pointed down to river that flowed smoothly along the river's edge under the bridge which they were standing on. Misao skipped down the rocks to the edge of the water as she watched her reflection sway with the changing currents.

The dragonflies flew along the reeds and dipped into the water as if they were trying to catch their own mirror image.

Soujiro walked down and stood next to her, "Are you sure there are fish in there?"

Misao nodded as she kneeled over and dipped her finger into the water. Soujiro watched her do so until he bent over as well.

It was actually quite peaceful there. Soujiro was so calm, he could just stay in that position forever…

With her…

Huh?

They watched the water flow past them for about a few minutes until Misao got the best idea ever, so she hooked her arm around Soujiro's shoulders.

Soujiro didn't really know what was happening but he kind of enjoyed it. Well, until Misao tried to push him into the water.

But Soujiro used his Shukuchi so that he jumped up behind Misao and let momentum carry her into the water below.

SPLASH!

"HEY!"

Soujiro sat on his rear while he laughed. It had been a long time since something funny enough would make him laugh like that.

Was happiness the word he was looking for?

About half an hour later, after Misao was through with all of her fuming, Soujiro tossed out the net. It made a slight splashing noise as it hit the water. He let it sit there for a minute until he started to pull the net back in.

"I can't wait to see all the fish we caught!"

Soujiro pulled hard and then out came the net. Misao's smile still remained on her face, but it was more of an astonished type of smile.

"Well," Soujiro chuckled, "We caught a fish…!"

…The fish was sad.

It was about four inches long with green and turquoise scales with two black eyes. Its mouth opened and closed as it gasped for air. Soujiro kept it in the net but set it in the water so he still had it captured.

"That's it! It's puny!"

Soujiro gave it a kind smile, "I think it's kind of cute."

"Well if you like it so much, why don't you keep it?" Soujiro's head snapped up.

"Really? I can? Are you sure?"

Misao looked a little caught off-guard while Soujiro was getting giddy. All of a sudden, he disappeared. Misao looked around frantically, "Soujiro? Soujiro!"

"What?"

"AH!"

Misao almost fell into the water again out a fear, "Where did you go? You were almost gone for a… couple of seconds…" Misao said with slowed speech, feeling a little foolish as she blushed.

"I went to go get this bucket so I can take Koukiji home!"

Misao frowned, "Koukiji? So you named the pathetic puny fish?"

Soujiro nodded as he scooped up some water into the wooden bucket. He then tried to pick up Koukiji up but with no avail. Since 'Koukiji' was a fish, he was obviously slippery. Misao only cracked up every time Soujiro let the fish go back into the net as it flipped water back up at him.

After a few more attempts, Soujiro finally got a good grip on Koukiji. He then set it in the water and said, "Now we just have to catch the fish that Okon wanted us to catch!"

Misao only held her hands to her face and shook her head, "I can't believe you just named a fish."

Soujiro smiled, "I've always wanted a pet."

Misao looked up, "A fish though? Why not a dog or cat? Or maybe even a little, cute bird?" Soujiro shrugged, he was paying far too much attention to his newfound friend. It even made Misao a little jealous, "Why are you paying so much attention that thing anyways?"

Soujiro shrugged again, "AND STOP SHRUGGING!"

Soujiro picked up the bucket, "Shall we go home now? The sun is beginning to set you know."

Misao looked off into the west to only to see the golden sun sinking into the distance of tomorrow, "Aw, I wish we didn't have to go home yet, I was having so much fun too. Wait! But we didn't even catch any ," Misao was cut off by Soujiro holding up Koukiji's bucket, "-fish."

She hopped across the river, "Fine, let's go."

As Soujiro and Misao made their way back home, Misao asked the eternal question, "Do you think Aoshi loves me the way I do him?"

Soujiro kept smiling, "I truly have no idea. But why wouldn't he?"

Misao looked up to Soujiro, "W-what do you mean?"

Soujiro didn't know he was digging his hole deeper and deeper, "Well, you are very eccentric and also very lovely. And even though she may not seem it, Misao is lady-like as well."

Misao stopped walking. Soujiro turned around to see a very stunned Misao, "Is something wrong Misao?"

Misao could only really stand there as she tried to force herself to speak, "R-really? You honestly-to-God think that?"

Soujiro didn't really know what he had just said, or what the words meant, especially to a female. He just thought it to be a compliment.

Misao blushed. Only at that moment did she ever feel about Soujiro a little differently than she had before. You could say she saw him in a different light. But that light was blown out extremely quickly.

"There is no doubt in my mind that Aoshi would love you."

Misao remembered that she had been told that the Tenken held no emotion within his body. She convinced herself that Soujiro was only doing what he did best, he was being a nice guy. She also scolded herself for ever thinking something like that because even if she had, it would only be one sided…

But she could help but wonder…

"Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Misao realized she was about to walk into a building. She had been so deep in thought that they hadn't talked for the entire trip.

The sun had already set and the moths were coming out and began to circle around the lit porch lights. The streets were empty and the wind blew briskly around them.

Misao looked into the bucket which Soujiro was still carrying, "Are you really gonna keep that little fish?"

Soujiro glanced down into the water as well, "I like fish."

She looked back up to him with a worried look her face, "Why"

"Well because," Soujiro paused, not really knowing what to say, "because they don't have a care in the world. Kind of like how I wish life was like sometimes."

Misao watched Koukiji swim from side to side within the closed walls of the wooden bucket.

"But, if you didn't have problems in life, then life wouldn't be any fun!"

He blinked a few times. He never thought about that. What if you fixed all the problems he thought about? What if he had nothing to wake up to? Even a simple thing as a chore, he didn't know that simple things like that could mean so much sometimes.

Can she really see these things?

"Okon!" Misao yelled as she ran into the Aoiya. Soujiro walked in after her, still holding the bucket, which carried Koukiji.

Soujiro could hear Misao and Okon yapping in the other room, "We only caught one fish and Soujiro named it."

Okon laughed, "So, are we still going to cook it?"

Soujiro blasted into the room, "But Koukiji !"

Misao was still staring at Okon as she cracked up because of Soujiro response to what she had said, "Oh, Soujiro. I tease! I tease! I would never cook you pet," She glanced over to Misao and mumbled, "Start up the oven…"

"Thank you Oko- ah! I heard that!"

Okon only laughed again, "You are too much Sou-chan. So its name is Koukiji, eh? Cute. It's pretty small anyways, I would never cook him," Soujiro's head picked up, "I'm just kidding!"

Misao laughed along with the older women as she said, "Come on, let's eat."

Then she pulled him into the other room.

Later that night, Soujiro set the bucket next to his bedside. He hung his head over the clear waters and smiled to his newfound friend as it only moved every once in a while. Soujiro then whispered, "If I were a fish, I would,"

But his sentence was cut short because of Misao who opened the door, "Talking to Kou-chan?" Soujiro nodded as Misao sat down next to him with a blanket wrapped protectively around her head and body.

"Misao," Soujiro began, "Tomorrow I have decided to leave. I promise I will come back and visit, but tomorrow is going to be the day."

Misao shook her head vigorously like a little girl, then looked up, "Soujiro, I know we've been keeping you hear for a week but, can you please stay a little while longer?" She begged, her eyes were hard to turn down, "It gets so lonely here sometimes…and you're the only one that has time to spend with me!"

Soujiro was just about to open his mouth until he remembered what Ms. Okon had said earlier, "So I guess she just wanted to talk to someone who was closer to her age instead of someone being over five years older than her," he looked down to the floor beneath him, "can I trust you to always make her smile the way she does when she's around you now?"

He then picked up his head, "If you insist, Misao. But I will leave sometime or another, I am a rurouni you know."

Misao probably only heard the 'ok' part since her face and wide smile were glowing, "Oh Sou! I knew you would! You're the best!" She then jumped on him and gave him a great, big hug. The little rurouni couldn't help but pat her back in return. I mean, come on! She had given him a nickname now too; Sou.

When she released, she smiled again, "Thanks Sou!" She then pulled the blanket around her and waddled back to the door, "And you won't regret it, tomorrow we're gonna do something great!" With that, she slid the door behind her.

It was funny really. He could honestly call Misao his friend now, he couldn't do that with anyone before.

He also realized that life was getting better day after day. He was beginning to see the meaning of the big picture. He was beginning to like living and his own impact on other people lives.

Yet, Soujiro hadn't known at that he had only impacted people in a positive way during his new life. He had a whole second side he had to face at one point or another.

But the good thing was, his fake smile was becoming something of the past. Little by little, his old smile was beginning to return. But the didn't know exactly what the feeling was since he didn't exactly specialize in that area, but he knew it was something good.He only wished someone would explain it to him in detail. He might be getting happier, but he was also tremendously confused.

The petit woman named Misao was saving him, he just hadn't figured this out yet.

End.

Well, well, well. I am quite proud of this chapter. The first page and a half were first written at 11:30 at night, which is late for me since I need mucho sleep. I'm really starting to like Okon now and the person she has shaped out to be. I will also focus on the other members of the Aoiya but that will come later.

I actually didn't want somw of these things to happen so soon, such as some of Sou's realizations. But, that's the way things go I guess.

Also, (I know I'll get something in reviews about this if I don't mention it), the whole thing with Soujiro getting 'giddy' is really not ooc I think. Why, you might ask. How, you might ask. But, HA! I've done my research. In some manga scans on the internet, I see Sou being really, really happy. So what other word would I use besides giddy? Maybe I'm just making a too big of deal about this. Forgive me, I'm just afraid of flames. Flame-a-phobic you might call me. Anyways…

This fic is taking up waay too much research than I thought…

NaiLAUG!