Always and Forever

Part III

"Misao…"

She didn't reply, her eyes fixed on his face with an undecipherable expression. They were no longer the innocent blue orbs he'd left behind. Beneath the shimmering cerulean surface lay the depth of eyes that had seen too much, just as her features had shed their childish softness and taken on a harder, stronger edge. Where was his Misao?

"I have to leave, Misao."

"I know."

He didn't know what else to say, what explanation he could offer her. He wanted to reach out to her and touch her face and see her smile. But in the time since he'd come back to the Aoiya, he had found her more distant---less eager for intimacy---than he remembered. He didn't want her angry with him, so he had kept his distance. Despite his strong will, Aoshi had found himself longing to be close to her almost every day. He didn't have the courage to tell her what he felt.

"Aoshi-sama! It's almost time for you to leave!" Omasu's voice called from inside the house.

Aoshi could not pull his gaze away from Misao. He wasn't a man of fancies, but he could have sworn Misao could keep him bound to the spot with just her eyes.

"You'd better go," Misao lowered her gaze at last. "You'll be late."

Without another word, she stepped forward and past him, out the door to the back porch. Aoshi's eyes were fixed on the spot she'd just vacated. Suddenly whipping around, he grabbed for her before she was out of reach. As his fingers closed around her slender wrist, he thanked the gods for giving him the perfectly honed instincts that had previously allowed him to become the youngest Okashira in Oniwabanshuu history. Fluidly, he took a step forward, bending down slightly as he pulled her almost roughly towards his chest.

All this happened in a few precious seconds, and Misao stumbled against him with a small gasp of surprise. Aoshi released her wrist to put both arms around her, pressing her against him tightly. She had grown without him really noticing, her head nestled perfectly against the base of his neck.

"I'll come back to you, Misao," he whispered fiercely into her ear. "I swear."

She relaxed slightly in his embrace, sliding her hands down to go around his waist hesitantly. Burying her face in his chest, she murmured, "I'll be waiting. You know I will."

"Misao, I---"

"I know." With those two words, she squeezed his waist and stepped away quickly, facing away from him. Was he imagining the tremor that ran through her?

"Aoshi-sama!"

He tore his gaze from her and managed to make it back into the house to meet Omasu halfway down the hall.

He wished he could have gotten a last look at her face.

Misao walked a circle around the edges of the clearing. Late afternoon sunlight lanced through the reddening leaves of fall to shine like silk in her hair. Humming under her breath, she turned her face upwards and watched the sun's molten gold grow richer, redder. Sunset came earlier in the forest because the sun disappeared faster behind tall trees. This had become Misao's favorite time of day.

A month had passed since Aoshi had left Kyoto to join Saitoh Hajime on his shady mission. They expected him back in another month. Misao had learned patience and serenity, two things she'd never quite mastered before. But even still, here in their special place secluded from the world, she missed Aoshi terribly.

She had thought that it would be easier this time, because he'd already left her once before. She never imagined that losing him a second time would be even more painful. She was older now, and a few years wiser. But the half-healed wound in her heart was throbbing again.

As the sun fell away from its visible point in the sky, the forest darkened visibly and the leaves overhead were silhouetted against the orange sky. Lost in thought, Misao ceased her pacing and went to sit down on the log. Like always, she sat on one end of the familiar wood, facing parallel to it and looking into the forest. She pulled her legs up and hugged her knees to her chest like she'd done so many times before. Closing her eyes, she let herself drift back and settle in the memory of her childhood.

A soft breeze blew across her cheeks, with just enough of autumn's edge to chill her nose and tug at her bangs. It had been like that all those years ago too. Misao imagined tilting her face up and letting afternoon sunlight glow through her eyelids. It must have been nice out that day---over ten years ago now. Aoshi's warmth had been just behind her; there was a space between them but she had been acutely aware of him.

Now, Misao opened her eyes to a rapidly darkening forest. Even the wind had stopped, and she was alone. Shivering a bit, she rubbed her hands up and down her arms to warm herself. Usually, she returned to the Aoiya before it got this dark, but today seemed different. She wished briefly that she'd thought to bring a coat or a shawl, but let it go.

As crickets began to chirrup their evening chorus and evening settled itself in comfortably, Misao yawned. The past few nights had been filled with nightmares, jolting her awake long before dawn and leaving her too shaken to go back to sleep.

So absorbed was she in her thoughts that she completely lost track of time, and also losing awareness of her surroundings. Without her realizing, night had dropped its velvety black cloak over the forest completely. Animals and other natural sounds of night surged around her as the moon began to rise behind the trees.

Misao remained sitting sideways on the log, staring sightlessly into the darkness. She was alone. Leaving her body there in the forest, her heart and mind sank almost eagerly into a sea of memories. She relived a ghost of her childhood times with Aoshi and the other Oniwabanshuu; the smiles, the laughter, the sunny days, and even the rainy days and the tears. She watched a misty replay of the years she spent waiting at home, hoping---praying that Aoshi would come back to her. She stepped in her own long-disappeared footsteps on her search for Aoshi across Japan. She felt the echo of her pain and desperation, the glowing remnants of the fiery determination.

He'd come back to her, tried to make amends---but now he was gone again. Pulled away in some distant turmoil by a corrupt, former-Shinsengumi policeman, caught up again in a shadow of the bloody honor and pride he'd had before. Misao couldn't stop him this time either. She knew she had no claims over him, and that she likely never would. A man like Aoshi was as likely to show love---or any strong emotion other than hate---as your average rock.

Misao suddenly felt tired. Alone in the dark with a chilly breeze caressing her exposed arms, she let her memories and sickly sweet doubts fill her being. With a soft sigh, her eyelids closed.

She dozed lightly, a scrap of consciousness keeping her upright on the log. Suddenly, a sense of another presence jerked her out of her stupor. He eyes flew open as she swung her legs back down to put her feet on the ground. A fraction of a second later, the wind was knocked out of her as strong arms crushed her and pulled her backwards against a firmly muscled chest.

Her mind still fuzzy, Misao struggled weakly on the ground. "Let me go!" her voice was hoarse. Tears ran down her cheeks as she envisioned various deaths awaiting her. She would never see Aoshi again. Her body wouldn't move as she commanded---fatigue had drained her of her strength. "Let me GO!"

Then out of the darkness came the voice of an angel.

"No, Misao. I'm never letting you go again."

The girl froze. She felt her captor's breath by her ear, warmth from his body surrounding her chilled limbs. Suddenly, it felt more like a desperate embrace than a crushing danger.

He was here.

"Aoshi-sama!" she cried in joy, her body relaxing against him without hesitation. Her mind slowly returned to full consciousness, and she realized where she was. She wriggled in his arms and he reluctantly loosened his hold. Standing up, he drew her up with him gently and she ended up facing him, still cradled against his chest.

"How come you're back so early?" She blurted. "Why are you here?"

"I told him that the Oniwabanshuu is no longer a tool to be used in other men's battles," Aoshi told her quietly. "Okina-san has been waiting for this to happen. The Onmitsu Oniwabanshuu are no more."

"You-----really?"

"Now is not the time for words."

"Aoshi s---" Aoshi held her away from him slightly so he could press his lips to hers and seal away the suffix.

Time stopped for them both. Misao stood rigidly in shock until the warmth from Aoshi's lips and hands became fire, eliciting response from her weary body. The nightmares disappeared from the corners of her mind when her chained love burst free with a brilliant light.

When they finally pulled apart, Misao was flushed and both of them breathless. For a long time, they stared deeply into each other's eyes as raw emotion became tangible and surrounded them in the darkness.

"You came back," Misao finally said.

"Thank you for waiting, Misao," Aoshi replied seriously.

Her smile lit up the darkness and she lifted her face for his next kiss. That night, the universe sang with them and the stars shone through their eyes. Love swirled around their bodies and melted away the cold of night as two hearts became one at last. Besides everything that the future had brought them, it had brought them together here in this place.

After all, it was their special place, always and forever.

. End Part III .

Notes: This was more of an experiment than anything else, based off a random idea I had a few years ago with some of my not-so-eaily-remembered memories thrown in. I literally wrote it on napkins that I took from a fast food restaurant. I don't really like the way it turned out but I didn't have the heart to discard it. Please leave a review whether you liked it or not! Thank you to Naolin once again for editing and stuff. Five days is fast:)

This is dedicated to the one who was dearest to my heart but whom I lost to time and never hope to find again. yes, I'm dramatic.

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin storyline and characters belong to Watsuki-san. Standard disclaimers apply