He couldn't move. He couldn't even breathe. A strong wind kicked up and blew his hair into his eyes where it stuck, fastened to the tears forming inside of them. She wanted him to leave, to go back and act like this night had never happened. Aoshi closed his eyes and collected himself. There was no way he was just going to leave and go back to Tokyo. Not now, not after what had just happened. He had come too far and said too much to go back now.

Willing his heart to beat again, the tall man looked towards a Kyoto bathed in the soft golden light of morning. He had hurt her terribly and for that he knew he deserved her anger and rejection. But if her heart wasn't healed she would end up like him; cold, seemingly emotionless and alone. That could never happen to her. Not to Misao. She was too special for that. With grim determination, Aoshi put one foot in front of the other and followed the path Misao had taken towards the Aoiya.

The wind blew Misao's hair into her face as she fled down the path from the hill. Tears stinging her eyes, her mind insisted on replaying the last thing she had said to him, over and over again.

Go back to Tokyo...

Well he deserved it. He deserved to be rejected, to be hurt. She shouldn't feel heartache and sorrow when she recalled the anguished look on his face when she had spoken those words. She shouldn't feel sickening guilt when she remembered how his hands had trembled in hers. She shouldn't want to turn around run back to him. But she did. She felt all of these things and the more she tried to force herself to feel the opposite, the stronger those feelings grew.

Stumbling along the streets of a newly awakened Kyoto, Misao screamed out her frustration and pain. Her cry startled a young woman emerging from her home, the woman's eyes going wide as she cowered back inside her doorway. Misao didn't care. She wasn't focusing on anything at all, letting her feet carry her home and trusting that they knew the way. It was in this state of delirium that Misao reached the Aoiya. Flinging open the door, Misao stormed up the stairs two at a time, never seeing the shocked Omasu standing by the stairs next to her husband Hatsu. She pushed open the door to her room and stumbled inside. Once in the safety of her own room, Misao collapsed into a wet heap upon the floor next to her futon.

Wrapping her arms around herself, the small and proud ninja girl released all of her tears. She wouldn't have thought that it would be possible for her to cry like this after all of the tears that she had already shed. She thought that she had cried herself dry. Once again, what she had thought was a certainty was proven wrong. And so she cried. She cried for everything that had happened, both in the distant past and the recent. She cried for what had been denied her and she cried for what she now knew she would never have. She wanted to curse Aoshi to the ends of the earth and condemn him to the depths of hell. She wanted to but she couldn't. She found that she didn't have the strength, the resolve she had found on the hilltop nothing but a memory now.

She didn't want to be strong. She didn't want to cry anymore. She didn't want to feel so dead inside, and she didn't want to be so confused. Squeezing her eyes as tightly as she could, Misao held her breath as her body shook. Her emotions were violent, each contradicting the one before. Her fingers tightened into fists around her hair. Was there no escape from this? No solution to this mess? She could feel another fit of crying threatening to overtake her and just as she had steeled herself for the blow, she felt warm hands on her shoulders. Looking up in shock, it took Misao a moment to recognize Omasu's face. The woman did not smile; she had more respect for Misao than to mock her with false happiness in this situation. Instead, Omasu gently unfastened the clasp on Misao's cloak, pulling the wet fabric away from her frozen skin. Misao did not object, thankful for the warm touch and care of another human being. She complied with the older woman as Omasu undressed her and wrapped her in a warm blanket. Reaching down, Omasu picked up a cup of steaming liquid. Taking it gently, Misao's numb mind distantly registered that the tea tasted like white plumbs as she sipped it.

"You need a hot bath," Omasu stated, leaving no room for argument or objection. "I will go heat the water for you." Gathering the wet clothing from the floor, Omasu stood and left the room, sliding the door shut gently behind her. Alone again, Misao realized that the threatening urge to cry had passed her by. With a sigh both of relief and of exhaustion, she lay down on her futon to wait for Omasu to finish heating the bath. As she lay there gazing at the ceiling, her mind wandered back to the hilltop. She remembered the tone of his voice.

"I came for you."

And he had cried. Aoshi Shinomori had cried; in front of, because of and for... her. A soft tear leaked from her eye as she drifted into sleep, physically and emotionally spent from the night before.

For the first time in what seemed like years to the residents of Kyoto, the sun had come out again. Already the streets were busy and humming with traffic. The air was fresh and clean, and moods were light and happy. Near the center of Kyoto a building sparkled in the sunlight next to it's neighbors, the warm smell of fresh food wafting out of the now open door.

Bright sunlight filled the rooms of the Aoiya, warming and drying it after so many days of rain. Misao stirred beneath her blankets and opened her eyes. Disoriented, she looked around. Had she fallen asleep before Omasu finished warming the bath? Sitting up slowly, she looked to the window. Her eyes fell upon the grey blanket lying on the floor in front of the window; lying exactly where it had fallen the night before when she had fled into the storm. Her breath caught in her throat as she was reminded forcibly of her encounter with Aoshi. A soft sound caught her ears and she looked over to see Omasu sliding her door open, a tray of food in her hands. This time Omasu did smile, a gentle smile that required nothing from Misao.

"I'm glad you're awake. You need to eat or I'm worried you might get sick."

Setting the tray down in front of Misao, Omasu stepped to the side and sat beside the girl. It was then that Misao noticed that she was wearing her sleeping robe. Touching the fabric lightly, a worn smile pulled at the corner of her mouth.

"Thank you Omasu."

"Of course," came the soft reply. After a moments pause, Omasu spoke again. "Don't give up Misao." Curious, the girl lifted her eyes to peer at the woman beside her. Omasu turned to face her, looking directly into her eyes.

"Don't give up. I know that you are in pain and that you feel like you have been betrayed and used." Omasu closed her eyes as a small smile played upon her face. "But you need to remember something. Love isn't always simple. Sometimes it comes quickly and completely, leaving us with no doubt in our hearts. But sometimes it takes a person much time and suffering to be able to accept love. To admit to love is to admit to a weakness. Even though it makes us stronger than ever before, we have to weaken to truly find it; sometimes that can be enough to prevent a person from finding happiness." Omasu opened her eyes and looked back at Misao. "But don't give up. Please Misao, you deserve to be happy!" Omasu's eyes were shining with tears now as she pleaded with the shocked ninja girl. "Find the strength to try one more time. Please don't turn away from your heart."

Misao's eyes dropped to the floor as tears flowed from their brilliant blue depths. She placed both hands on the floor and leaned forward in her attempt to control her sobs. Omasu reached out and placed her hands on her shoulders, lifting her up and pulling her closer.

"How could you know all of that?" Misao asked, her voice choked and strained as she buried her face into the shoulder of her oldest female friend.

Omasu's grip around her tightened as she answered. "I know because I know what happened last night." Sitting back, Omasu looked into Misao's eyes once more.

"Misao, Aoshi is downstairs. He told me everything."

Disclaimer: I do not under any circumstances own Rurouni Kenshin or any characters included in said anime/manga. But they are fun to play with. :)

Thank you so much for all of the reviews! Since this is my first fanfic and I alreay have more reviews than a lot of the stories I've read, I suppose I must be doing something right. Yay!! So I am nearing the end of my saga. One more chapter, or possibly two. It depends, this story has a life of it's own. I never know what's gonna happen next until I write it!