Hi there! Haha I am sorry for any mistakes you may find…I remind you I am not an English native speaker :)
Disclaimer: Anythig related to the anime or manga "Rurouni Kenshin" belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki.
"You are impossible!" she told him annoyed and stood up "Let's keep walking, I just want to arrive and lose you!" she lied.
"Fine, let's keep walking" he answered disappointed, but he was smiling.
"One more day huh?" she asked cleaning her tears from her cheeks "I can't be with you!"
They kept walking in silence, Misao ahead of him. He hated this, he felt something for her and seeing her in pain made him feel sad.
This was their last day together, she was sad and relieved in some way. She was sad because she had begun to like and love Soujiro, but somewhat relieved cause it was going to be over and her life would return to normal.
Soujiro HAD to lose her, she was changing him and he couldn't let that happen. He was supposed to be one of the strongest men in all of Japan, and Misao was only making him weaker and confused. He had learned to love her as a woman, she had been his first friend and he had his first kiss with her. His first kiss…'Wow Master Shishio won't believe me'
They had been walking for two hours and their stomachs asked for food. She wouldn't say anything, she was too mad at him.
"Miss Misao, I am hungry" he said in a shy voice and looked down; he didn't want to meet her angry face.
"Hmm…Ok fine" she said and turned around, but he then realized she was crying. He decided to do nothing about it because it could get worse, so he sat down in front of her and began cutting the last melon they had left.
She was looking down, occasionally cleaned her tears with her hand. Soujiro tried not to think about it, he was as confused as she was, but she was sad and he wasn't. It was his fault Misao was suffering. If just he hadn't kissed her! But she kissed him back! She was involved as well, but it was his entire fault in the end.
"Let's keep walking" she managed to say in a weak voice and stood up after she finished eating her melon.
"Yes" he agreed and stood up. He wanted to tell her who he was, why he couldn't be with her! But he knew he couldn't, he was the Tenken, not someone who could fell in love with the first woman he saw.
They kept walking in silence, Misao had stopped crying already but her face was all red. Why did he do that to her! He was so…huh mean! She was really mad at him, but she felt something for him too.
It was dark already when they decided to stop and rest. They sat one in front of the other, it was a cold day and she wasn't wearing anything but her shirt bandaged around her stomach and back. He looked at her, she was shaking, she was really cold…He thought about it for a moment 'I can't give her my gi! It would just complicate things a lot worse, but it is freezing and her wounds are still healing, I can't do this I have a heart, but nonono I can't and I won't'
"What are you looking at?" she asked in a rude way "Stop looking at me"
"I'm sorry" he said and looked away "How are your injuries Miss Misao?"
"They are fine! Don't be a hypocrite, I know you give a damn about my health" she answered annoyed and laid down on the ground.
'Touché' he thought, what she didn't know was that he really did care, he had saved her life twice already. He had learned from Shishio that the Strong live, the Weak survive. If he didn't care about her, he wouldn't have saved her! He was now convinced; he for sure felt something for her "Miss Misao?"
"Hmm?" she asked and turned around to see him, he was laying next to her looking at the cloudless sky.
"The sky is beautiful tonight" he said and smiled, it was really beautiful, there were no clouds and there was full moon. The stars glittered and the light of the moon hit their bodies. "I used to look at the stars and count them when I was younger"
"That's pointless" she said and laughed "How could you count the stars?"
"You can't" he laughed and looked at her face "but it is fun and relaxing"
"Fun?" she asked annoyed, she was being sarcastic about her 'good' attitude towards him "Oh yes, when I was little I loved to count how many clouds there were in the sky!"
"Wait, that sounds even more difficult" he said as he started thinking about it "It is easier to count stars"
"Go to sleep Soujiro" she ordered him and turned around, but she heard him counting stars.
"Hmm…37, 38, 39, wait no what was it? 38, 39, 40" he said as he was pointing his hand at the stars he was counting.
"What do you think you are doing?" she asked and looked at him surprised, he was now on the 50th star.
"55, 56, 57…Hm what?" he answered and looked at her confused gaze "Oh I am sorry, I forgot to tell you how to play the game"
"Game? What game?" she asked more than confused "What is the science in counting stars?"
"Well the game is about counting stars, but at the same time it is about finding shapes after every ten stars you've counted" he told her and saw her still confused "Like this, look"
"1,2,3,4,5…" he began counting and pointing at the stars he had counted "That is a...hmm, what is it, it has the shape of a horse!"
"It looks more like a pear to me" she said and moved her head so that she could see the bunch of stars in a different angle.
"No! it is a horse for sure!" he said and smiled.
"Of course not! It is what I say it is!" she answered and laughed "My turn now, 11,12,13…"
"I TOLD YOU! IT IS A TREE!" she said laughing after a few minutes they had been playing.
"Whatever you say, I still think it looks like an owl" he answered and received a smack from her. It had work, it had made her happy and she was laughing with him again.
"Agh, you are impossible" she said and met his gaze "I am tired Soujiro"
"Well then go to sleep, I will keep counting stars and win the game" he answered and received a second smack on the head.
"You never said anything about a winner!" she said disappointed "But I'll let you win, I know you can't beat me"
"Really?" he answered in a challenging tone "I think you are afraid to lose"
"Of course I am not, I am just sorry for you" she said and lay down again, but she was still looking at the sky.
"Sorry for me?" he said and poked her playfully in the ribs; he got a giggle from her. "I am sorry for you; I didn't know you were ticklish"
"DON'T YOU DARE…DON'T YOU…NO SOUJIRO! STOP IT!" she managed to say between her giggles "NOT FAIR! I AM…THE TICKLISH…ONE…HERE!" But she then realized she wasn't when she poked him in the ribs and he began laughing as well.
"Hey! No! Stop it! Ok! YOU WIN THE GAME!" he said begging for her to stop, he wasn't used to that, to beg for things. She finally stopped and looked into his eyes.
He looked into hers, but he then realized that it was happening again so he turned his head down and broke the eye contact.
"Why do you do this Soujiro?" she said in a weak voice, her tone had suddenly changed. "I mean, why do you say that there can't be anything between us, but then you tickle me and make me laugh!"
She didn't get any answer from him, so she kept talking.
"It is not fair! It is not fair at all! Don't you see it?" she asked him disappointed, she felt how her eyes began to fill with tears but she quickly cleaned them with her hand.
"See what?" he managed to say and looked at her.
"You, well you make me, you make me happy dammit!" she screamed and hid from his gaze "I love to be with you! I don't want this trip to be over! I probably won't see you again!"
So, she did feel something for him, but what was he supposed to do?
"I didn't know Miss Misao, but, hmm…" he said but she interrupted him.
"I told you to call me Misao, look we will be in the next down by tomorrow morning and I won't see you ever again! I don't know where you are from!"
"I am from Kyoto, Misao" he told her and looked down "But I think we won't see each other again"
"I knew it, so this between us, is it just a…game?" she asked him, tears were now running down her face.
"No, of course not, I am sorry Misao, I would see you again if it was up to me!" he answered hurriedly and looked at her.
"What are you? A slave?" she asked insulted.
"Kind of" he answered and dared to say "But you don't see it either!"
"What! WHAT IS IT THAT I DON'T SEE!" she asked him and cleaned her eyes.
"I, You, well YOU MAKE ME HAPPY TOO!" he answered and it was his turn to clean her tears.