Always and Forever

Part II

"Where's Misao?" A flustered Omasu burst out of the kitchen waving a dish towel. "She's supposed to be doing the laundry today."

"She left a few minutes ago," Okon informed her, snatching the dishtowel out of her hand before she knocked over a nearby vase of flowers.

"Left for where?" Omasu demanded exasperatedly, "Honestly, that girl! She's almost seventeen years old now! She should know we need all the help we can get, what with Aoshi-sama still injured and the rest of us recovering."

"Calm down," Okon pulled Omasu back into the kitchen. "I don't know where she went. Come to think of it, she's been disappearing a lot lately. She never says where she's going."

"Has anybody seen what direction she's going in?"

"I'll ask Shiro. He's usually out in the garden," Okon started on the dishes Omasu had abandoned, frowning to herself. "But I don't know how much good that will do. She could just double back and go in the other direction if she didn't want us to know."

Omasu was already out the back door calling for Shiro. They conversed in the doorway where Okon could hear them.

"---yes, I'm absolutely sure that's the way she goes every day---ah, Aoshi-sama!" Shiro gave a small bow when the taller man entered the room. Aoshi returned with a slight nod, handing his emptied teacup to Okon.

"I know where Misao went," he stated quietly.

Surprise spread across the others' faces.

"You---you heard us?" Okon stammered. Omasu elbowed her in the ribs.

"I did," Aoshi replied matter-of-factly. "I will go to her."

"Sounds like a good idea," Shiro put in quickly. "The doctor said you should get some fresh air, as long as you don't over exert yourself."

With another nod in their general direction, Aoshi turned and left.

"Shiro!" Omasu smacked him across the back of the head.

"What??"

"We don't even know where she is!" Omasu hissed. "Aoshi-sama isn't the kind of person to give up and come back when his wounds start to hurt him. What if she's gone to the other side of the city, or---or further?"

"He said he knew where to find her," Shiro shrugged. "I'll get the laundry now." He made a hasty retreat.

"I wonder what will happen," Okon mused quietly. Omasu ground her teeth and stomped out of the room.

Aoshi made his way out the front door of the Aoiya, slipping into the early afternoon bustle on the streets. Under the comfortable robe he wore, bandages still wound around the ointment-smeared wound across his chest. Without him really wanting them to, images and feelings from the battle against the Battousai---no, against Himura Kenshin---floated across the edges of his mind. The lingering scent of blood had receded with his time at home, but he had not forgotten the monster that had been Shinomori Aoshi.

Instead of building a wall to keep them out, or dropping into his darker memories, Aoshi let them drift as they would. He looked over them almost casually, and searched his mind for something happier. His feet took him to the outskirts of the city before he realized it. As the road dwindled into a narrow path and disappeared into a rut in the meadow, Aoshi fell into a memory in the back of his mind from a day just like this one.

Letting the remembered peace and joy seep through him, he wondered idly if Misao really did come here. Since he'd left the Aoiya all those years ago, Misao had definitely changed. He was completely unsure of whether she still remembered this place or not. That last time they'd come together, he had walked slowly through the knee-high grass just as he was now, with Misao running ahead and laughing. Aoshi raised his head to cast a glance across the meadow in front of him, half-expecting to see---

There she was. Misao was walking quickly, and she had almost reached the trees. Aoshi frowned. The girl had been different since his return, not as boisterous and lively as he remembered. She seemed almost uncomfortable around him. And now, he knew she'd seen him coming.

"Misao!"

She didn't turn, or show any sign of having heard.

He knew what he had done was unforgivable, but he sometimes wished he could have that unconditionally loving six-year-old Misao back again.

As soon as Misao stepped into the beginning of the forest, she ran. Aoshi bolted after her in the most unexplainable panic and his initial burst of speed took him to the edge of the trees in less than a minute. Ninja skills he'd perfected as a young boy allowed him to follow Misao's trail. But it was no easy task---she was a ninja too.

"Misao---" he called hoarsely, feeling his wound give a warning throb. He paid it no heed, plunging into the forest after her and noticing that it was indeed somewhat familiar. He forced himself to stop when his chest clenched painfully from his sudden exertion. Pressing a hand against his wound, he walked on.

Finally he reached the familiar clearing. Misao was walking along the length of the log, her arms outstretched for balance. When his presence was announced by rustling leaves, she hopped off and turned to face him.

"Hey there," Her smile was bright as ever, but he recognized a hint of shadows behind it.

"There you are," he said, trying to keep the pain from showing in his voice. He could barely breathe.

"You found me," she grinned, taking a seat on the log. Aoshi joined her with nostalgia rushing through his mind. She turned to him with a trace of worry in her eyes. "Are you in pain? Did you run all the way here?"

"I'm not in very good shape now," he told her quietly, removing his hand from his chest in a deliberate motion. "Didn't you hear me call you?"

"The doctor told you not to exert yourself," Misao pointedly ignored his question. "The more you strain yourself, the longer it will take to heal."

"I know that," he said quietly. He sighed, and changed the subject. "Omasu was looking for you today. Lately you've been leaving the house frequently; do you come here much?"

"All the time," Misao replied seriously. She swung her legs up to sit facing away from him like she had done the last time. The space between them seemed infinite. "When you were gone I came here every day and sat in the same spot, pretending that you were with me---pretending that everything was going to stay the same."

"I'm sorry, Misao," Aoshi murmured, it being the only appropriate thing he could think of.

"No, don't apologize. You're back now, and that's all that matters," Misao assured him. "But things have changed; I'm sure you've noticed. Sometimes I wish we were kids again."

"I feel the same," Aoshi admitted.

They sat in silence for the remainder of the afternoon. There was so much that Aoshi wanted to tell her, so much that he wanted to share. But the comfort of the forest had turned into a murky awkwardness that would hold no words. Once again, Aoshi feared for the future, and for what would become of them both.

. End Part II .