A whisper in the early morning. "Misao?"
A sleepy groan. "Wha…?" she settled back more comfortably against Aoshi's chest.
"Are you awake?"
"Kinda…"
"…Do you like koi fish?"
Misao blinked. "Well now I'm awake, Aoshi-sama. They're cute fish, I guess?"
"I had a dream about them. They were larger than horses… And swimming through air as if through water." Aoshi yawned a little and shifted. "Down the streets of Kyoto, flowing with the usual traffic."
"Huh." Said Misao. She could never get used to the candid, talkative side of Aoshi early in the morning. Once they had an entire conversation about rice and another time, they had spoken about whether horses had feelings. (Misao still couldn't get over that one.) "You can't eat them, right? I don't think you can eat them." She thought out loud. "I'm pretty sure the only use they have is decorative. Like in rich peoples' ponds in their gardens."
Aoshi tightened his hold around her. "I find them rather beautiful, however. Despite their uselessness. It's the color. The orange. I like orange."
"Yeah... That iridescent golden red color." She said. "…Y'know, speaking of dreams – I had a dream about miso soup. I was drinking it. I thought I had finished the bowl, but it was like the soup would never end."
"Now you're making me hungry."
"Oh am I?" Misao smiled. "Maybe that'll be an incentive for us to get up and start making breakfast."
"I am completely asleep." Said Aoshi.
"Lazy Aoshi-sama."
"I don't see you getting up either."