Everyone's so freakin' nice! It seems the Saitou/Misao community is full of nice people. But, then again when you like such an odd alternate pairing, we gotta stick together, ne? Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I'm always afraid I'll forget, so just in case, this goes for the rest of this story. I don't own RK. wishful sigh

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Courting The Weasel

Chapter 2: The Date

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It had been two years since Tokio had told me to tell Aoshi how I feel. I was of course, stalling. Remember that rejection comment I made? No use lying, I'm scared out of my wits that he'll just crush me with a negative response. But I'm 18 and if I want things to happen I have to do something about it, right? Right. Now, if only I could get my legs to carry me into the training hall where Aoshi is. I can do this. I'm a Makimachi darn it! We don't give up!

Finally, my legs obeyed my brain and I was on my way. Every step seemed to make my stomach flop. I could feel my face burning. Great, blushing and I'm not even near the training hall yet. I slipped past the rest of my family in the kitchen. I don't want to talk to them right now. I'm on a mission. Just a bit more. There! I'm at the training hall door. This will either be the end of my dreams, or the beginning of a beautiful romance. Let's just do this and quit wondering.

I quietly slid the shoji opened and Aoshi was already looking towards the door to see who it was. He lowered his kodachi and nodded at me in greeting. "Misao."

Oh how I love that voice! He was standing there in his ninja gear, looking terribly handsome with his face slightly flushed from his exertions and his bangs slightly dampened against his forehead. I smiled weakly at him, all confidence fleeing. Why would a man so gorgeous want someone like me? But, I have to try.

"Aoshi-sama, can I talk to you for a second?" Gods, my voice sounds like someone else's.

He nodded and motioned for me to sit in front of him as he lowered himself to the floor. "Actually Misao, I wanted to talk to you as well."

My stomach's activity doubled. Was he going to reject me before I even said my piece? No, mustn't think that way. Negative thinking will cause unnecessary worry. "Why don't you go first, Aoshi-sama?"

He nodded again and took a deep breath. He was steeling himself for something. Hope and nervousness warred within me. "Misao, I wanted to ask you if you would join me for dinner tonight?"

I bit the inside of my cheek. Alright, since that hurt I'm not dreaming. And of course, my less eloquent side decided to show up at that moment. An answer would have been nice, but I came out with another question. "What just the two of us? Like a date?"

Aoshi's lips quirked slightly. "That's exactly what it would be. If you will accept."

I couldn't help the wide smile that burst through. "Of course, Aoshi-sama!"

Aoshi let his mouth slide into a small smile. "Good. Now what did you want to tell me?"

I blushed. "Well, I don't really think it matters now. I was going to ask where your feelings for me stand. But it seems clear now."

"Aa. So is 7:00 a good time for you?" Blue-gray eyes danced with amusement. I had never seen his eyes so beautiful before.

"Hai, Aoshi-sama. I'll see you then!" I ran from the training hall and skidded to a stop in front of Okon and Omasu.

"Misao-chan? Are you alright?" Okon tilted her head at me, slight worry in her expression.

I giggled merrily. "I need help. I have a date with Aoshi-sama!" Our squeals made several patrons turn our way.

Omasu put a finger to her lips as we all continued to giggle. "What time?"

"7:00."

Okon grinned. "Perfect! The guys take on the restaurant duties at 5:00 so that gives up plenty of time to make you gorgeous!"

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I made my way back to my room from the bathhouse. Time to get 'gorgeous' as Okon put it. I was shifting through the few kimonos I had, trying to find the perfect one. While I was searching, the girls burst into my room.

Okon stood in front of me, a bundle of cloth in her arms. "Okay, Misao-chan. We found the kimono you MUST wear. Omasu is letting you borrow this, so be careful in it."

I nodded. There was no way I'd let the kimono get ruined while I wore it. I may be a bit careless at times, but I would be extra careful in someone else's clothes.

Okon let the material unfold and my eyes widened as I stared at the richly colored fabric. It was a deep, dark, shimmering green with golden sakura branches embroidered on it, a thin golden line swirling around and between the individual branches that were scattered sparsely on the material. It was absolutely magnificent. I ran a finger delicately along a sleeve.

"Do you really think I could pull this off? It looks like something only the most distinguished ladies would wear."

Omasu smiled. "That's why you're going to wear it! Come now, let's get you dressed."

After much pulling and prodding and tying and retying the obi, I was clad in the kimono. I was getting ready to look in my full-length mirror when Okon pushed me onto the tatami. "Hair time!"

I began to object. My braid is too much a part of me. I feel naked without it. "No, my hair is fine."

Okon glared at me. "You don't wear a kimono like THIS with a braid, Misao-chan. Now quit complaining and let us work."

I sulked a bit as my poor scalp was mistreated and various hair styles were tried out. They would get it into place, one of them would come around to face me, shake her head, and the torture would start all over again. I was about to snap at them, when Omasu came in front of me and gasped. "Kirei."

I had never been called beautiful before and the compliment made me flush brightly. I reached up to touch my head and Okon grabbed my hand. "No, don't touch it! Just go look in the mirror."

Before I got there, Omasu stopped me. "Just one more thing." She put a small amount of eyeliner just under my lashes and dabbed a tiny bit of lip color on my mouth. She then gently pinched my cheeks to bring color to them and nodded. "Now go look."

I turned, slightly fearful of what they had done to me. There was no time to change it if I didn't like it. It was already 5 minutes till 7:00. I looked into the mirror and didn't recognize myself. Staring back at me was a proper lady. Half of my hair was pulled into a bun and held in place with a pair of decorative sticks, the light makeup made me look a few years older and the kimono made my green eyes appear darker. "Oh my." I had no other words. I smiled brightly at the two who were like sisters to me. I hugged them each tightly. There were no words that expressed enough thanks and I didn't need any. They understood.

They ushered me downstairs, where all the guys were watching expectantly. I saw Jiya first, his eyes widening and then a huge smile came onto his features. Kuro's and Shiro's jaws dropped and then I saw Aoshi-sama, looking oh-so-yummy in his dark blue western suit.

I felt my eyes widen as I saw him. He was incredibly handsome and I felt my heart skip a beat. He looked up and I saw his eyes open slightly wider and his mouth started to open in shock before he caught himself and abruptly closed it. After the other 3 guys complimented me on my appearance, Aoshi-sama and I were prodded out the door.

I blushed as I saw him gazing at me. "You look beautiful, Misao." It was so much sweeter hearing him say it. I smiled brightly and looked up at him.

"You look wonderful too, Aoshi-sama." He gave me that slight smile again and we were off to dinner.

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The restaurant was one of the more high-class establishments in Kyoto with a marvelous, sprawling garden with tables set around it should you wish to eat outside. I looked at Aoshi-sama as I saw all the people milling about in front of the doors. He answered my unspoken question. "This restaurant is very popular. You usually need reservations to get in."

"So, do we wait in line?"

He shook his head at me. "I called in a favor. I was able to get us a reservation for tonight."

I almost shook with excitement. A high-class restaurant, my Aoshi-sama. This night was perfect. Until we were lead to our table and I happened to look to the couple in the next table over. Saitou.

I smiled at Tokio. "Good evening, Tokio. How have you been?"

Her eyes widened and then sparkled with that mischievous glint I had noticed when I first saw her. "Well you look absolutely radiant, Misao!"

I blushed lightly and stammered my thanks. Of course, the wolf spoke up too. "You clean up nice, Itachi." And now I glared. Really, being in the company of those two for any length of time would send me into a nervous breakdown.

Tokio giggled at my glare. "I'm afraid that's the nicest compliment anyone would get out of Hajime."

I mumbled back to her. "Doesn't mean I appreciate it."

I tried desperately to ignore Saitou for the rest of the evening, but he kept looking at me. I don't know what his deal was, but if he didn't quit glancing over I was seriously considering embedding a kunai right in his eyeball.

Finally, he and Tokio stood to leave and we exchanged farewells. As Saitou stood I couldn't help but notice the black western suit he wore. My Aoshi-sama was much better looking in his suit, but Saitou carried it quite nicely as well. Saitou's eyes lingered on me a bit and he smirked. For some reason I felt a slight warmth when he did that. Very strange indeed.

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On the way back from dinner, Aoshi-sama and I enjoyed a wonderful conversation about anything and everything. This evening had been perfect. Even the wolf couldn't spoil it for me. A few blocks from the Aoiya, Aoshi-sama stopped on the bridge. I paused beside him, reveling in his presence and the fact that no one else was around. The sun had already set and the atmosphere was incredibly romantic.

As he leaned on the railing, he turned his head to me. "Misao, if I did something forward and inappropriate, would you be angry with me?"

Oh if only he knew how inappropriate I wanted him to be! Of course, I couldn't say that. "No I wouldn't be angry, Aoshi-sama."

"Good." And then he dipped his head and kissed me. Good god I was in heaven! Wait. No. This can't be right. I should be feeling something right? Like a warmth, or a tingling, some sort of zing in the pit of my stomach. Granted, this was my first kiss but I heard enough of Omasu's and Okon's discussions. It certainly shouldn't feel like I was kissing my brother, but it did.

We broke apart and Aoshi-sama had the same odd expression on his face that I'm sure was on mine. "Umm, Aoshi-sama? Shouldn't I have felt something just then?"

Aoshi-sama nodded. "You didn't feel anything either?"

I frowned and shook my head. "I've heard it's supposed to make your knees weak and fill you with this tingling sensation."

My date's lips quirked slightly. "That's the gist of it."

"I don't understand. I mean if I love you, which has never been put into question before, shouldn't I be gripping the rails for support right about now?"

Aoshi-sama seemed to be concerned. Hard to tell for most, but I could detect the tightening of his jaw. "Maybe it's just because it's our first kiss. Let's try again."

I nodded. There was absolutely no way that this couldn't work. As we kissed this time, I thought about what Aoshi-sama was doing. Maybe he was just a bad kisser. Soft lips, good breath, he isn't doing anything weird with his tongue. Oh just freakin' great! He's not a bad kisser at all. There goes the hope of that being the reason.

Maybe it's because it was my first kiss. Maybe I was doing something wrong that spoiled the experience for both parties. As we broke apart again, still feeling nothing, I asked my question. "Is there something I'm doing wrong?"

Aoshi-sama shook his head. "No."

We walked the rest of the way to the Aoiya in silence.

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A/N: So, there ya have it. The beginning of the end for Aoshi and Misao. I'm usually a fan of these two, like I said in the beginning. But, I also love Saitou with Misao. Being my fave guy and my fave girl, it's too much fun to pass up the pairing. So, hope you liked, despite the lack of Wolfie, and please review. Things start to turn around in the next chapter. (wink, wink)