Nana Mae - My Aoshi is very different from the anime Aoshi... He has feelings! But they are artificial! No one shall know until later, though! AHAHAHAHA! But... At the end of the chapter, Aoshi's gonna be questioning himself... Mwahahaha...
Disclaimer - I do not own Rurouni Kenshin! GAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Rating - Rated T for adult situations, mild language and demented humor.
Here's MisAOshI!
Love At First Sense
Chapter 8
The IceMan's Ice
"Aoshiiiiiiiiii!" Yahiko cried, hitting his head lightly on the older man's arm as he clung to it.
"... Yahiko, it's not my fault that Tsubame is the supreme overlord of whack-a-mole..." Aoshi muttered, patting Yahiko's head.
Tsubame was a cute little brown-haired girl, around the same age as Yahiko. Her chin-length brown hair was pulled into two pigtails and she was wearing a cute yellow sundress.
"I-I'm sorry, Yahiko... Do you want me to lose?..." Tsubame asked innocently, blinking adorably.
Yahiko looked to her... Then blushed as he sighed heavily, "No... I may be pig-headed, but I know when my pride's in danger..."
"That's my boy..." Aoshi grinned and pushed him forward.
Yahiko placed his fists on his hips as he observed the girl before him, "So... What do you wanna do next?..."
"... Um... Oh, wanna get cotton candy?" Tsubame asked excitedly.
"Hey... That sounds good! Aoshi!" Yahiko turned to him holding out his hands expectantly.
"... I feel like a vending machine..." Aoshi placed the tickets in the young teen's hands.
"... No, you're not a vending machine, Aoshi..." Yahiko started off, "... Vending machines don't give tickets... You're more like a game that you just have to look cute for to get them..." And Yahiko grabbed Tsubame's hand and rushed off.
Aoshi smirked, "... Brat..." He brushed his bangs out of his eyes, "I'll be here when you're done, Yahiko! Don't lose Tsubame!"
"YESSIR!" Yahiko called back.
"Thank you, Mr. Aoshi!" Tsubame called as she tried to maintain her balance behind Yahiko.
Aoshi sat... his smile fading as he tapped his fingers on the table in front of the game arcade.
xXoloXx
Misao hurried around the fair.
This was her new assignment.
Her way of being assigned was different from Sano's or Kenshin's.
Saito would give her a place, then she'd pick out a suitable 'victim'.
Misao pranced around, grinning at cute little children as they brushed past her with their parents, winking at the nice-looking men that eyed her as they passed.
She was wearing a nice, flowy black skirt that ended mid-thigh, a bright white top and a short-sleeved denim overshirt.
She walked over to one of the men at the booths and smiled innocently, "Um, excuse me sir, but do you know where the arcade is?..."
The man turned from his shelf of prizes... Then grinned when he saw her, "Oh... It's..." He walked up to her, then leaned out and pointed to the left, "Right down there, you can't see it cause the merry-go-round is covering it..."
"... Thank you!" Misao patted his arm.
The man gulped slightly as she hurried off.
"... Hm. She's cute..." He muttered to his flushed self before heading back to his shelf.
xXoloXx
Aoshi was silently thinking of something veeeery important...
And wasn't expected the nice-looking, strapped, high-heeled sandals to appear in his line of vision.
His eyes travelled up slowly.
Thin, but shapely legs, a petite waist, a toned stomach from what he could tell through the white tank, a nicely curved chest, slender neck, light pink painted lips, then he finally met big blue eyes.
He blinked, "Eh... Hello?..."
Misao smiled plopping down right next to him, "Heya, mister!"
'He'll have to do... I just wanna get this over with...' She thought as she flashed him a smile.
"Eh?..." He was so confused, his ice-emotion-mask didn't return until a few minutes later.
"U-um, hi!" He smiled, holding out his hand, "I'm Aoshi, can I help you?..."
"And I'm Misao..." She shook his hand, then smiled, "No, I don't need help... Just company..."
"Oh? You're not here with anybody?..."
"Nope!" She said as she pulled her braid over her shoulder, "I'd go with my boyfriend... Except, I don't have one..." She said, sighing.
Aoshi blinked.
Was she trying to say she was available?
'Eh... Oh boy, another lonely, moody girl...'
But he smiled, "Aw. Why?..."
"... I'm short." She said simply, looking to him as she crossed her arms and sprawled the top half of her body onto the table, resting her head on her arms.
Aoshi almost choked on the Coke he was sipping from.
"... Is that so?..." He said, trying not to laugh.
"Yeah..." Misao pouted, noticing something wasn't working quite right.
Most guys... Wouldn't laugh.
If they were trying to hook her... Wouldn't they try and make her feel better?...
And if he just didn't like her... He'd just completely disclude her, wouldn't he?
"I guess short girls aren't very exciting..." She said as she shifted slightly, crossing her exposed legs and watching closely for a reaction.
... Nothing...
She blinked as he gave into his laughter, "Ever thought it was just you?..."
Misao's jaw dropped, "What?"
Aoshi sighed as he laughter slowly simmered down, "You're... trying to hook me, aren't you?..." He asked nochalantly.
Misao blinked, "Wha..."
"Yeah, I figured... Look, you're cute, but I'm not looking for a relationship... But you could try that guy over by the bell and hammer... Looks like that hammer's a bit too heavy for him..."
Misao was still speechless.
He was talking to her like she was some kind of child!
Aoshi looked to her with twinkling ice blue eyes.
"... Eh... Wh-wha..." Misao stuttered.
"... What? Afraid the hammer's too heavy for you, too?..."
That did it.
Misao's eyes snapped as she looked to Aoshi, "... How rude! Talking to a complete stranger that way!"
Aoshi just shrugged, "It's also rude exposing that much skin to someone you've barely met..." He said, motioning to her slipping skirt.
Misao blinked... The blushed furiously as she fixed herself, "Hmph, for your information, I wasn't trying to 'hook' you!... I was being friendly!"
"... Very friendly..."
"I don't think I like you anymore!"
"Did you ever?..."
"... Y-... I... Oh, you're just... GAH!" Misao crossed her arms and turned her head away.
Aoshi chuckled lightly to himself.
He knew exactly how to swat those kinds of girls off...
The fact that quite a few were after him helped quite a bit with his practice...
But this girl was far more amusing than the others.
Most others would hurry off, looking like they were so embaressed that they might cry.
But this girl looked... Angry...
Aoshi shivered slightly, though he was unsure why.
Maybe it was the thought of the deathly wrath that usually came in those tiny packages.
Misao spotted Aoshi eyeing her, "What?..." She snapped.
"Suddenly interested? Because I don't like you... at all... So there!" She said, stomping her high-heeled sandal and sounding rather childish.
"... No, no... I just think you're amusing..." Aoshi smirked, sipping from his Coke.
"Amusing? Well, that's not what I was going for..."
"... What were you going for?..."
"... Appealing?..." She muttered, sniffling.
Aoshi smiled, "Sorry.. You just seem you young for me..."
"... Mm? How old are you?..." She propped herself onto her elbows.
"... Why? How old are you?..."
"... You tell me first..."
"I believe the saying is 'Ladies First'..."
"... Nineteen. I'm twenty in two months..."
"... Okay." Aoshi shrugged.
"Hey! Tell me your age!"
"Why? I never said I would..."
"Ugh, you jerk!" She reached over and thunked his head.
"Aoshiiiiiiiiiiii!" Yahiko called, running back to him with two big pink cotton candy sticks, Tsubame hurrying behind with one of her own.
"I got one for you, too!" He handed the tall man one.
Aoshi laughed, "Heh, thanks, Yahiko..."
But Yahiko was looking to Misao, "Wow... Hook a hottie, Aoshi?.." At that, Tsubame covered her mouth to hide a giggle and Aoshi and Misao looked to eachother.
"... Um. Hi, I'm Misao, I was just talking to your brother..." She held out her hand.
"Hi, I'm Yahiko." He shook her hand, "But Aoshi's not my bro... I wish he was, though..." Yahiko said with a smile.
"Aw, how sweet... How old is he?.." She asked randomly.
"Eh?... Oh, he's tweny-se-"
"Yahiko! Did you have fun?" Aoshi asked suddenly.
Yahiko jumped, "E-eh, yeah.." Yahiko looked from Aoshi to Misao, "You guys are creeping me out..."
"Twenty-seven, huh?... Only eight years..."
"Only?..." Aoshi said with a sigh, then looked to Yahiko, "Don't just give away my age, smart one..."
Yahiko blinked... Then rubbed his head, "Uh... Tsubame and I... Are gonna go elsewhere, you and your new girlfriend can talk for a while..."
Yahiko took Tsubame's hand and started off again.
"Hey, you can't just leave me!" Aoshi called, laughing.
"Oh, yes I can! Watch me!" Yahiko joked, waving.
"Have fun, little brat!" Aoshi called.
"... Who's kid?..."
"My best friend's little bro..."
"Girl? Guy?.."
"Why do you care?..."
Misao looked to him.
Oh, this man was something...
She could just give up, walk away and find an easier target, but something about this tall, dark, deceptivly sweet man was intriguing her so much it was almost painful.
"... Why do you want to know if I care?..." She asked.
"What? Do you care if I care?"
"Would you care if I said I cared?..."
"... Hm, okay, you're wittier than you look..." Aoshi said with a shrug.
"... I don't know how to take that..." Misao said, blinking.
"Just take it as a compliment... Safer that way..."
"You're an ass..."
"No, I'm a man... I have an ass, though..."
Misao glared at the icey man before her.
Oooooh...
He was gonna get it.
He was out-witting her and she wasn't liking it one bit!
Or... Was she?
"Yeah, bet it's something too..." She grumbled, fixing her skirt as she turned away.
"Wouldn't you like to know..." Aoshi sighed and stood, stretching his arms slightly.
Misao sighed, then looked down to her feet, realizing her sandal strap was loosening.
Bending down, she attempted to fix it.
Aoshi's eyes drifted to the small woman beside him...
And quickly returned to staring the other way.
He coughed lightly.
How improper!
Staring just because it was there!
Misao slowly straightened, a grin marring her innocent face, "Oh... See something you like?..."
Aoshi blinked, looking to her as if nothing had happened, "What?..."
Misao grinned and walked up to him, one hand on her hip, "Tell me... You like my ass, don't you?..."
"What? What makes you think that?.." Aoshi said innocently.
"I can read the signs... Men usually look away either because they really like it, or completely hate it... And I know my butt's cute.." She brushed a finger against his chest, "And you agree, don't you?..."
"How can butts be cute?..." Aoshi asked awkwardly.
Ah, what a lovely conversation.
"Fine... Sexy?..."
"There's nothing sexy about a rear-end!"
"Except my rear-end.. It's an exception for you, isn't it?..." Misao purred.
Aoshi gulped... Then grunted and turned away, "What do you want besides a boyfriend? I'll do whatever, just stop talking about your ass..."
Misao giggled, pushing him down into his chair lightly...
It was surprisingly easy... But she guessed that was because of the state his mind was in at the moment.
Aoshi blinked as she bent over him, "Let me hang out with you and your little friends today?..."
"What? Why? You-"
"Please?..." Misao traced a finger down his chest as she moved closer.
"... Shit..." Aoshi cursed aloud.
Misao smirked, "Mm?... What do you say, Mr. Aoshi?..."
"... Well, I said shit... But fine, you can come with us... Because I'm not gonna get out of this unless I let you come with us, right?..." His voice was slightly heavy as he scooted back further in his chair... Which was pretty hard, considering he was already at the far back.
"Thank you!" Misao stepped back, smiling completely different from before.
Aoshi slowly stood, "... You're... A weasel..." Aoshi said, resisting the urge to hit her head.
Misao smiled and winked, "I get that a lot!"
"Aoshi! We need more tokens! WE GOT A HIGHSCORE ON THE BASKETBALL HOOPS!" Yahiko cried as he hurried back to Aoshi, with a huge wad of tickets, a stumbling Tsubame behind him once again.
"... C-congratulations! Good job, you guys!" Aoshi smiled as both children grabbed onto his arms... then they started digging through his pockets.
Misao giggled slightly, "Shows where you rate..."
"... Pick-pockets..." Aoshi hit Yahiko's head pretty hard... and only tapped Tsubame's head.
"Ow!" Both whined and rubbed their heads.
"They're not in there, numb-brains..." Aoshi smiled and reached into his long grey coat, pulling out a heavy plastic bag, filled with arcade tokens, "Here..."
"Come with us!" Tsubame said as Yahiko snatched the tokens.
"Okay, okay..." Aoshi smiled as he was lead into the arcade by the cute little girl.
Misao cleared her throat politly.
Aoshi winced, "Um... Hey, guys, my friend Misao is lonely... Could she come with us?..."
"As long as she uses her own tokens!" Yahiko said as he joined Tsubame in tugging Aoshi along.
Tsubame hurried over to Misao, her eyes glittering excitedly, "Wow, you're pretty! Are you Mr. Aoshi's girlfriend?..."
Misao looked to Aoshi, who gave a heavy sigh, then looked back down to the cute girl, "No, no... I just met him, in fact... He's very charming! I was lonely, so I sat next to him and asked to hang out... Would you allow me to hang out with you and your friends?..."
"Yeah!" Tsubame cheered, "We need another girl around here!"
Misao giggled as she was hurried along by Tsubame into the arcade.
Yahiko kept tugging at Aoshi, "C'mon, Aoshi! We gotta beat the girls!" He whined.
"Okay, okay.." Aoshi smiled, then picked up the teen, running into the arcade as Yahiko yelped and started laughing.
Misao gasped as Aoshi brushed past her, "Beat you to the ski-ball..."
"... In your dreams..." She muttered, now running ahead of Tsubame as the little girl hurried behind.
"Aoshi! Run faster, you can beat her!" Yahiko cheered from his position tucked under Aoshi's arm.
Tsubame whooped as Misao swept her up and carried her on her back.
"Go, Misao! Show Aoshi who's boss!" The girl hooted.
Misao and Aoshi were now neck and neck.
"... Sorry to have to embarress you in front of the kiddies..." Misao whispered breathlessly before speeding up.
Aoshi smirked as he sped up as much as possible as well.
People yelped as the two swished by them, dropping a few tokens.
Misao was closing in on the ski-balls... But so was Aoshi...
Misao slammed a hand onto it and turned around, letting Tsubame get off her back and jump onto the ground a few feet away, "In your f- AH!" She yelped as Aoshi stopped right in front of her, causing her to lose balance.
She grabbed into his shirt and the unexpecting Aoshi let Yahiko slip from his grasp as he was tugged forward.
Misao fell onto the ski-ball ramp and Aoshi barely caught himself above her.
Time seemed to stand still...
Both were heaving air into their lungs as they stared into eachothers varied shades of blue.
But both were interupted when Yahiko's whiny voice broke through their eardrums, "THAT WAS GREAT!" He jumped up from his heap on the floor, pumping his fist excitedly.
"Misao won!" Tsubame giggled happily, dancing around.
"That's true, but Aoshi's still the bomb!... Even if he was beaten by a girl... who was really short... Especially compared to him... Hey, Aoshi, how could you lose?" The boy suddenly cried, looking to his brother-like figure... Then stopping.
Tsubame was still dancing around, but she paused when she heard Yahiko's voice halt.
"Yahi-... ko..." She stared at the ski-ball ramp...
The adults...
Who were supposed to be mature and know that their was a time and place for certain types of things...
Were laughing their asses off!
Misao was laughing uncontrollably beneath Aoshi, who was having trouble breathing as he tried to hold in his own laughter.
Yahiko nearly fell over, "A-Aoshi! What's so funny!"
Aoshi slowly stood, trying desperatly to sober himself as he held out a hand to Misao.
Misao couldn't even lift her hand at the moment.
Tsubame stared for a moment... Then her eyes suddenly went misty, "Oh... How romantic..." She whispered, taking the famous swaying pose that any hopelessly romantic girl would in this situation.
"Romantic?" Yahiko yelped, looking to her, "They're laughing!"
"... Exactly!" Tsubame grabbed his hand, "That's what's soooo... Yahiko?..."
Yahiko was staring down at his hand, encased between both of Tsubame's... And his face could've been mistaken for a ripe tomato...
".. I-I'm sorry!" Tsubame quickly pulled her hands away, linking them behind her back as her own cheeks were tinged pink.
".. D-don't worry 'bout it..." Yahiko quickly loooked away, rubbing his head.
Misao had finally gotten up, with help from Aoshi's offered hand.
She was holding her side with one hand as the other wiped away tears, "Oh... Th-that was great..." She said, sounding dreamy and breathless.
Aoshi was now nearly sobered, but smiling like a fool, "Man... You're the first to ever beat me in a race..."
Misao looked to him with glittering eyes as she nudged him teasingly, "What? You race every short girl you meet at the fair?..."
"Well, of course!" Aoshi said simply, walking back over to Yahiko and Tsubame, the cute blushing teens.
"So... Who bet on who?..."
"You let me down, you big lug!" Yahiko laughed and punched Aoshi's arm playfully.
"I wasn't expecting to lose either, boy!" Aoshi hit his head lightly.
Tsubame looked past Aoshi and grinned, "Wow, I should hang out with you guys more often... As long as Misao's around, of course!"
"O-only for Misao?" Yahiko whined as Tsubame hurried over to the giggling woman.
She connected herself firmly to Misao's arm, sticking out her tounge, "Who else would I care to hang out with?..."
As Yahiko's jaw practically dropped to the floor in bewildered shock, Aoshi smiled and grabbed the back ofthe boy'sshirt collar, dragging him along behind him, "C'mon, Yahiko, we'll find you another girlfriend..."
"Tsuuuuuuuuuubaaaaaaaaaaaaaameeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Yahiko cried as he was dragged along... Even though Misao and Tsubame were following right behind.
"Got him hooked, I see..." Misao grinned as she looked down to Tsubame.
Tsubame gave an uncharacteristic grin, "... Yeah, I see it too..."
That took Misao completely by surprise...
"Oh... You're a little devil!" She laughed as Tsubame returned to her innocent outerlook.
Aoshi hummed to himself as he dragged the adopted boy along to the whack-a-mole, "Maybe you'll feel better if Tsubame kicks your ass at your best game, eh?..."
"Shut up, jerk!"
Aoshi smiled...
But his mind was racing...
'Oh no... Oh no... My ice... is breaking...'
Review Responses-
Reignashii - Yeah, I love that, too... XD It's fun! Thank you for reviewing!
Happyloveygirl - Well, hope you enjoyed it! I thought it was cute! XD
ELLIE 31773 - H-here! It's here! DON'T EAT ME!... ... Th-thanks for reviewing... -scoots away-
Chrispecks - Yes, I love Cho! XD. Here's the MisAOshI chapter I promised, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did typing it!
Crewel - Sorry that there weren't any in this chapter! But I will have Sano talk about it when he's with Kenshin, kay! WOOT!
Jasmine Blossom625 - No. Like I said before, Kenshin is taking liberties with Kaoru that he wouldn't with other assignments. He usually wouldn't corner them in an alleyway and sniff them... He'd just catch their scent from their stuff or living quarters. And he usually wouldn't sit there with them and listen to them talk... He'd listen in on conversations with family members or friends. You got it now? Hope that helped!
Bbzachariah - C-cake! Thank you so much! I feel so loved and so does my story! XD
Trickstar - Thanks! I almost forgot to make him skip out on the bill... It felt so awkward when I was trying to make him pay Cho for his drink... XD Thank you for reviewing!
Stela - Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy my story! So much love!
Crymson is Champloo - You just have to check up on the story more often! XD I'm a fast updater, I usually have one chapter up every two days... XD So keep that in mind! Thank you so much for reviewing!
Author's Notes
Okay! The next chapter will be the long awaited 'Touch'! I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I did! I love how cute Misao and Aoshi are together and can't believe how cute Yahiko and Tsubame are! -blushing and spinning- I love romance! Anyway, read and review! Much love!
-Nana Mae-