Disclaimer - I don't own Kenshin, and Aoshi's holding both his kodachis behind my back, so I can't really say much else now, can I?
Anyways, what happened to my regular reviewers? They didn't review the last chapter (sob). Oh well, hopefully you guys have the time to review this chapter and the last chapter someday soon, because I really enjoy your reviews and feedback!
Reviewer responses!
? - I update every Sunday now, so hopefully you'll keep checking in! Thanks for the compliment!
nilnil - They fight and fight and fight! You're dead on!
Alright, so finally, finally, finally, I have brought Aoshi and Kaoru together! Sorry it took so long to set the stage, but hey, it had to be done! Anyways, I hope you enjoy their first time together, and see if you can find out how their relationship will progress!
Small note to WhiteRabbit5 - This first little part is for you. I felt really bad about my portrayal of Kenshin and Hiko's relationship, and I really did want to correct it. I hope this is more to your liking, and once again, I'm sorry for my mistaken portrayal!
Alright, so please read and enjoy!
Note - Words in bold and italics are flashbacks!
HOW IS THIS LOVE?
Hiko suddenly felt a slight drizzle as he and Miyana simply stood outside in the cool breeze.
"It might rain," whispered Miyana. "I should leave." She began to walk away when she suddenly heard the swish of his cape and his arm suddenly latched onto hers.
"I don't want you to get a cold," replied Hiko hurriedly. "Come inside, it may just be a passing shower, so you won't have to wait too long."
"Shishou?" asked Miyana softly. Hiko turned to her inquisitively.
"Yes Miyana?" asked Hiko curiously.
"Is Himura-san happy? When you were training me, you told me that he was suffering, that becoming Battousai caused him deep pain. Is he happy now?"
Hiko gave a small smile. "Yes, my baka deshi is indeed quite happy," said Hiko. "He has a wife and a child, and despite him being a secret agent he is still able to spend time with his family. Yes, he is happy."
"You should stop calling him a baka," replied Miyana. "He has given you so much to be proud of."
Hiko gave a small laugh. "No, he's still a baka to me, but he's a wonderful baka to be proud of, no doubt about that! He's an excellent swordsman, and he finally has a family."
Hiko suddenly gave a small cough, slighty embarrassed about talking about his student in such a praising manner. "Now come on, I really don't want you to catch a cold, although I'm sure Saitou's fiery glances could cure anyone of their colds. Are you planning on telling me why he has a vendetta against you?"
"Not now" whispered Miyana, a shadow passing over her features so quickly that Hiko regretted his words instantly. "Perhaps later. Right now, I'm starting to feel a bit cold, so we should go inside."
Miyana and Hiko wordlessly stepped back into the Aoiya.
"Made…it…" commented Kaoru breathlessly, followed shortly by Megumi, Okita, Sanosuke, and Enishi. Misao, thanks to her endless bounds of energy, was still quite hyperactive. In fact, she was jumping up and down, trying to pick out Aoshi from the crowd while her friends lay on the ground, thoroughly fatigued.
"What are you guys doing on the floor?" asked Misao, slightly enraged. "You can't be tired! We still have to find Aoshi-sama in this huge crowd!"
"Misao, where does all your energy come from?" asked Megumi slightly hoarse from lack of breath.
"From coffee" suggested Kaoru.
"Doughnuts!" Okita offered.
"Waaaaaaaay too much sugar" replied Sanosuke.
"From mental insanity" answered Enishi.
A barrage of plastic knives suddenly pursued the five of them as Misao continued to remain on the lookout for Aoshi.
"THERE'S AOSHI-SAMA!" shrieked Misao loudly, jumping up and down wildly.
"Misao! Don't yell!" hissed Megumi quickly. "Honestly, sometimes you are such a child!"
"I don't think she's listening to you Megumi," said Kaoru with a giggle. "Look, she's still jumping up and down and yelling!"
"Aoshi must have a headache by now," muttered Enishi sullenly, rubbing his forehead. "I sure do."
"That sing along from the car didn't help much either, did it?" asked Kaoru jokingly, causing Enishi to glare at her.
"Is Kaya right next to him?" asked Okita excitedly, his whole face lighting up and his smile growing wider, if that was even possible.
"SHE IS!" yelled Misao. Okita began to join Misao in waving to the two people.
"Is her voice permanently stuck on 'shout' mode?" asked Sanosuke with a grumble. "She's going to make me deaf…"
"Okita!" cried out a soft voice. Sanosuke and Enishi grinned upon seeing Okita run up to Kaya and spin her around in circles, laughing as he grinned at the beautiful girl in front of her.
"Who's that?" asked Megumi in a whisper.
"That's Hitomi Kaya, Okita's girlfriend", answered Sanosuke with a smirk. "She's a year older than Okita, and she's Aoshi's closest friend. But when she met Okita before she left, she couldn't help but fall in love with him."
"Okita, I've missed you so much!" whispered Kaya. "It's been four long years, but it's finally over! Okita, I'm not leaving Tokyo again for a long time!"
"I love you Kaya," said Okita, a big smile on his face. "I just hope you'll never be separated from me again!"
Kaya and Okita remained in an embrace until Kaya's eyes fell upon Kaoru and Megumi. She pulled away from Okita and smiled softly at the two girls.
"Okita, who are they?" she whispered.
"Oh, I almost forgot to introduce you all!" exclaimed Okita. "Kaya, this is Kamiya Kaoru and Takani Megumi. Megumi and Kaoru, this is Hitomi Kaya. And Kaya, you already know Sanosuke, Enishi, and Misao."
"Pleased to meet you Kaoru and Megumi. Sano, are you still breaking hearts, or did you finally become serious?" asked Kaya jokingly, a smile spreading across her face.
"I have a girlfriend now," said Sanosuke with a grin, pulling Megumi towards him and kissing her on the forehead. Kaya gave a small laugh.
"Misao, what about you? What's going on with you?" asked Kaya.
"I got asked out!" squealed Misao excitedly. Kaya gave Misao a hug before turning to Enishi, her hands on her hips.
"And what about you Mr. Yukishiro?" asked Kaya with a wink. "Please tell me you had at least one crush on someone!"
"Never have, and probably never will," replied Enishi with a grin. Kaya shook her head with a sigh.
"Kaoru, Megumi, Misao, you guys really have to help me set him up on a nice date" replied Kaya with a grin. Okita slung his arm around Kaya's shoulders and grinned at her.
"And I hope you can help me with the date I have with you tonight, hmmm?" asked Okita with a smile, causing Kaya to blush slightly.
"AOSHI-SAMA!" yelled Misao all of a sudden, causing Kaoru to turn her head in surprise to see Misao glomp a tall man with deep icy cold turquoise eyes wearing a white trench coat with a large yellow collar. His black bangs almost shielded his eyes, but he pushed them back with his hand. Suddenly, to Kaoru's surprise, the ice in his eyes melted ever so slightly and the tiniest of smiles surfaced his face as he gently hugged Misao back.
"How have you been?" asked Aoshi quietly. Misao's face lit up as she began to chatter nonstop about the many happenings of her life in the past four years.
"…and I've made new friends Aoshi-sama, do you want to meet them?" asked Misao eagerly. Aoshi looked up from her to see the others, and in that instant, Kaoru could see his eyes turn icy blue again.
Geez, how hard is it to seem happy to see someone new? Is he always this cold?
"This is Kamiya Kaoru!" replied Misao with a grin. "She's going to become a professional singer some day!"
"Misao, that might not happen" said Kaoru with a smile. "What if no one likes my singing?"
"Don't be paranoid Kaoru! BE HAPPY!" yelled Misao, an angry expression on her face. She turned to Megumi, suddenly all smiles again.
"This is Takani Megumi, who's training to become a doctor!" said Misao excitedly. "Kaoru, Megumi, this is my brother Aoshi!"
"It's hard to believe that you two come from the same family" replied Kaoru faintly.
"Pleased to meet you" replied Megumi with a polite smile as she jabbed Kaoru in the side for not trying to be polite.
Aoshi simply nodded slightly and then turned away to pick up his luggage.
"Wow, he's kind of impolite" said Megumi with a slight scowl.
"He's not impolite" explained Misao hurriedly. "It's just that Aoshi-sama never seems to talk much or smile. But he's wonderful once you get to know him really, really, really well!" She bounded off towards Kaya and Okita, who had drifted away from the group to
"Hey Ice-man, you need some help?" yelled out Sanosuke. "I'm pretty strong after all, and older people do start to grow weak around the age of 25!"
Aoshi gave Sanosuke a withering glance. "I'll fight you the day you beat Saitou, which shall be never" replied Aoshi, causing Sanosuke's eyebrow to twitch. Kaoru and Megumi giggled, and Aoshi turned his head ever so slightly.
So, I was right…those two are new secret agents…
"Hey Aoshi" said Enishi with a smile. "How's the actor doing?"
Aoshi glared at Enishi, who gave a sly grin upon seeing Aoshi's annoyance to being called an actor. "It's horrible" replied Aoshi calmly, picking up his bag.
"Kaya-san! Aoshi-san! How could you leave us behind!"
The group turned to see Omasu and Okon finally pulling out of the airplane, looking thoroughly frazzled. Upon seeing them, Misao let out a shriek of joy.
"OMASU! OKON!" yelled Misao happily, hugging them tightly.
"MISAO!" shouted both of them in unison, hugging her back just as tightly.
"My head's really going to hurt now" muttered Enishi, causing Kaoru, Megumi, and Sanosuke to laugh.
Miyana stared outside at the rain as she watched the tea boiling. She had offered to make Hiko some tea, and he had surprisingly agreed, but insisted that a shot of sake be added to the delicious brew. She had made too much tea though.
"What are you still doing here?"
Miyana turned her head ever so slightly to see Saitou standing in the doorframe, his amber eyes glaring at her. She went back to staring at her tea, ignoring Saitou. She heard a rustle of cloth and suddenly felt a hand upon her shoulder, but she simply continued to ignore it.
"Don't you think this is too friendly of an environment for a murderer?" asked Saitou quietly, his voice rippling with hatred as his hand dug into her shoulder. Miyana simply didn't answer, but shut her eyes, trying to ignore his painful words.
"Answer me!" snarled Saitou, suddenly whirling her around and pushing her against a nearby wall.
"Answer me Miyana! Do you love me? Answer me! Do you love me?"
"Let go of me, please!"
"Do you love me? Answer my question!"
Miyana's eyes shot open and her foot flew up, connecting with Saitou's jaw. He fell back slightly, and she sank against the wall, her eyes wide with horror as she buried her face in her hands. Saitou merely stared at the girl for a moment.
This is what she used to do when we tried to forcefully interrogate her at the police station, she always suddenly lashed out at us, as if she had just discovered that we were monsters. We checked her for signs of abuse, but there were none. Does she still think this act works on me? I'm no fool, I know she's pretending!
"Get up and answer me" said Saitou evenly.
"You still don't believe me, do you?" she whispered, still on the floor, still hiding her face in her arms.
"Why should I believe the word of a murderer?" asked Saitou scathingly. "I know you are a murderer! There was never enough proof to prove it, but I know you were the one who murdered him."
Miyana stood up silently and removed the tea from the stove and poured it into two teacups. She placed one in Saitou's hand and began to walk out the door with the second cup, but she suddenly turned in the doorframe to meet Saitou's cool, cold eyes.
"I am no murderer" said Miyana calmly. "I don't expect you to believe my story, but until you come up with some kind of substantial proof of my guilt, I will not argue with you anymore."
She stalked away from the kitchen, leaving Saitou in the silence.
Enishi drove the car in perfect silence, and he prided himself on picking the perfect arrangement of the people in the cars.
He knew that Misao would be chatting nonstop, so he immediately let her sit in Okita's car. Kaya too, joined Okita, which was natural, considering they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Enishi however, took advantage of Aoshi's stoic nature to achieve the silence in his car, and sent the two, smiling, fairly talkative agents to Okita's car. Thus, he remained with Kaoru, Megumi, Sanosuke, and Aoshi.
But that wasn't the end of his plan. He immediately pulled Sano up front, away from his girlfriend, and he placed Aoshi in the back with the two girls. Since Kaoru and Megumi both did not know Aoshi that well, they too, remained silent after their efforts to create a conversation had failed miserably.
"Silence is golden" sang Enishi in his head, his happiness so great that he almost wanted to break out into song. Not that he would; he could only fathom how embarrassing that kind of outburst would be. Ordinarily, he wouldn't mind the loud noise having been so used to it after three years of hanging out with the same gang of friends. However, that day, a headache had been threatening to ruin the afternoon, and Enishi was not in the mood to take a pill and sleep early on account of a headache.
And it didn't help that Sanosuke's morning sing-along had been so horrid, nor did Misao's constant bickering, yelling, and knife throwing seem to ease his headache.
"This sucks" muttered Sanosuke darkly. Enishi shot Sano his typical glare before turning to the road again. Sano, tired of being bored and silent, decided to ask a question that might create some kind of noise.
"Hey, Aoshi, what's the plot of your movie?" asked Sano loudly, trying to shatter the intolerable silence. Enishi didn't care; he knew that Aoshi would answer concisely and the silence would return.
"It's about the wealthy Kagushi Ryou and the stunning Aritame Minako. She adores him for the money, he despises her because he doesn't believe in love-"
"No wonder you're good with this movie" muttered Sanosuke under his breath. "That's pure Aoshi…"
"But in the end, he falls in love with her and they live happily ever after" continued Aoshi, who was aware of Sano's mutterings but wisely chose to ignore them.
"How do they get together?" asked Megumi, intrigued with the movie.
"The plot just seems so natural!" said Kaoru enthusiastically. "It may be based on the negative aspects of love in the beginning, but in the end, the positive aspects of love outshine the negative aspects! It's just like present-day romance!"
"It is not."
"Nani?" asked Kaoru inquisitively. "Why do you say that?"
"Romance is not about positive overshadowing negative, it is about the betrayal that originates from romance" replied Aoshi, confidence blazing in his ice blue eyes. Kaoru's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Oh shit" whispered Sanosuke.
"Sano no baka, what have you started?" asked Megumi indignantly, making sure her voice did not rise above a whisper.
"I didn't know it would lead to this" he replied. Enishi scowled before addressing Kaoru and Aoshi.
"Alright, the rule in this car is perfect silence, so I must ask that you postpone your argument until-"
"How dare you say that romance is betrayal?" asked Kaoru angrily. "Love is beautiful, and if it weren't for love, you wouldn't be alive! How else do you think your parents conceived you?"
"There are such things as arranged marriages Kamiya, and consummation can occur despite the lack of love! Ever heard of rape?" replied Aoshi, his anger getting the best of him.
"Not all marriages are arranged you baka! There are many based on love, and those marriages create happy families! And I'm not talking about rape, I'm talking about love, when two people actually want to share their lives together!"
"Then explain the ever-increasing divorce-rates! Divorce is a clear sign that love is becoming betrayal!"
"Sano, see what you started!" shrieked Megumi.
"Hey, it's not my fault!" yelled Sano angrily.
"Couldn't you have just let the silence be?"
"It was unnerving! I had to break it somehow, but I had no clue this issue would cause an argument!"
Enishi growled under his breath as he drove down the highway, failing miserably as he tried to ignore the loud voices that increased his throbbing headache. He rubbed his forehead with his fingers and sighed as he pushed up his shades and tried his best to concentrate on the road rather than the painful yelling originating from the back seat and from the seat next to him.
Why, why, why do I not have any luck today? My luck's so bad I actually wish I had brought Misao, Omasu, and Okon in this car…Okita, you lucky bastard…
Oh...poor Enishi (laughs)...
He'll cheer up though...you'll see...it's a secret! (although if any of you have read any of my other works, it will be really obvious to you exactly what's going to happen!)
Aoshi and Kaoru really get along don't they?
Alright, reviews please! I'm trying to get over thirty, because thirty reviews is the most I have ever received, so it will really be wonderful if you review!
Ja ne till next Sunday!