"Hah!"

Misao cast her Kunai at the target with deathly precision, striking the stuffed dummy right between the eyes.

She heaved a sigh; her chest rising and falling with the effort. She'd been out in the training yard since dawn this morning, perfecting her ninja skills including her kunai thrusts, stealth technique and even some extensive hand-to-hand strength training.

A thick film of perspiration formed on her forehead; sweat droplets dripped down her neck and back as she pushed herself harder.

It had been two weeks and keeping away from Aoshi had proven more difficult than she could have ever imagined.

A part of her regretted the decision she'd made to avoid him; she missed being hear him, she missed his presence even though he was always so quiet and rarely spoke a word to her.

But another part of her—the bigger part—was just too overwhelmed, scared and confused to be near him right now; she couldn't get their chance meeting or that delicious, damnable kiss out of her mind! Every minute of the day, she had to make the conscious effort not to think about Aoshi, their kiss or anything remotely related to it.

It was nearly impossible though.

Everywhere she went, something would remind her of him.

Or of it.

She hadn't gone near the temple in two whole weeks, unable to face him—just the smell of green tea wafting on the air reminded her of how much he loved tea and then before she knew it, her thoughts were once again consumed with him and she'd scold herself harshly for letting her mind get carried away…again.

Misao huffed, irritated; she was doing it again; allowing her thoughts to carelessly drift to Aoshi without even realizing it. She savagely thrust another kunai at the target, standing eight yards beyond her.

The Kunai missed.

Horribly.

Her aim was at least two feet off to the left.

Her eyes widened in horror.

She'd never missed her target since she was first learning the skill of throwing kunai from Hannya when she was ten.

She groaned loudly, grimacing in frustration.

This was bad.

How was she supposed to perfect her skills further when no matter how hard she tried to concentrate, her head filled with thoughts of that damned—

"Misao!"

She gulped.

Then froze.

She knew that voice.

The coldness and deep firm commanding was unmistakable.

Misao took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. …Damn it. And bracing herself, she turned around to face him.

Aoshi observed her closely, noticing the subtle rise and fall of her shoulders as she inhaled and exhaled, and then the way her back straightened and her shoulders squared as she turned to face him.

She was preparing herself.

Her serious blue-green eyes pierced into his.

Aoshi sighed inwardly. Well this is will be interesting, no doubt…

"Aoshi-sama." Misao greeted him formally, her voice cool and slightly challenging.

"Misao. Why have you been away from the Aoiya all afternoon? Okon and Omasu have been very busy with housework and customers; I'm certain they could have used your help."

Misao scoffed inwardly; of course he'd use neglect of her duties as a way to get to her; so typical of him. She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at him.

He was the Okashira after all and to openly disrespect him would mean huge trouble for her.

"I informed both Okon and Omasu that I needed to catch up on my training; they said it was fine as long as I was back in time for the evening rush." She bent over, picking up another kunai, preparing to thrust it at the target yet again.

"Considering your last kunai thrust was at least two feet off its target, it would appear that your training session hasn't benefitted you very much."

Misao froze, her back turned towards Aoshi. She gritted her teeth, anger slowly building up inside her. First, he insinuates that she's slacking off her duties, and then he has the nerve to spy on her in the middle of her training session and insult her efforts!

"You are out of focus—distracted. How many times have you been told that that is the difference between whether you live or die?"

Misao sighed heavily. "Many times, Aoshi-sama; I already know this."

"Do you? Because it seems to me, you've forgotten, allowing yourself to make careless and rash decisions which will cost you dearly out on the battle field." Aoshi approached her then, unfastening his Kodachi from around his waist and laying it on the ground next to Misao's forgotten kunai. He then took a defensive stance, holding up his fists and spreading his feet apart, grounding them. "Now. When your opponent attacks you, you must be prepared to defend yourself—in the blink of an eye; that is all it takes for your opponent to deliver a death blow, assuming he is a skilled fighter."

"I know, Aoshi-sama, you and Hannya taught me this over and over—"

"Then show me! Or are you just going to stand there like a frightened kitten allowing itself to be drowned."

Misao squared her shoulders and raised her fists; her eyes grew deathly serious as she prepared to attack Aoshi head on. She took two precise steps towards him, thrusting out her left and right fists to attack.

But Aoshi—anticipating her attack—blocked both fists with his left arm and then brought his right fist down, connecting with Misao's middle which was exposed. He pulled his right hook just enough so as not to fracture any of her ribs but he allowed just enough force to painfully bruise her.

Misao gasped and staggered backwards, clutching her side; it ached and burned from the force of Aoshi's counterattack but she could tell he'd checked his right hook significantly or else every breath she took would have been excruciatingly painful on account of a broken rib.

"Never leave yourself open at any moment, or your enemy will use it to his advantage!"

Misao took off again, heading straight for Aoshi at lightning speed. At the last moment, she pushed off the ground, leaping into the air above him, poised for an above attack.

But Aoshi once again dodged her assault. Grabbing her outstretched leg by the ankle, he brought her down, thrusting her hard onto her back and pinning her with his knee and a small dagger she hadn't seen before on his person, held dangerously to her throat. "Never. Ever attack your opponent from above, unless you have the element of surprise and are aware of any and all weapons he possesses. And that is twice now that you have allowed me to anticipate your moves; a careless mistake Misao; you should know better—"

Suddenly, Misao used the force of her body and thrust Aoshi off of her, catching him momentarily off guard. He flew back but crouching down, used the force of his back foot to slow his momentum and skidded to a halt. Misao scrambled to her feet as Aoshi straightened up, his aura calm and controlled, giving no indication that she had startled him.

"Perhaps you are as yet, too unfocused."

This made Misao angry and she charged him, gritting out angrily. "You don't know what—I'm capable of!"

"Then show me, Misao! Or are you going to—continue—to waste my time!?" He challenged her as he fluidly dodged every one of her punches, elbow thrusts and high kicks.

Misao growled, her anger bubbling over as she attacked Aoshi with all of her might.

"Now you are fighting out of anger; control, Misao! Never fight your enemy in anger."

"Shut—up Shinomori!" She was raging now.

Aoshi shook his head inwardly. These isn't good; if she continues to fight out of anger, she will exhaust herself and yet again, leave herself vulnerable to another attack; I thought I'd taught her better than this!

"Misao—your enemy will use your anger against you; he will find a vulnerability; you must control your anger, Misao—control your emotions!"

"Is that what you were showing me two weeks ago?! Control of your emotions?!"

Aoshi's concentration snapped and for a split second, his evasive movements slowed and his eyed widened, startled at her brazen mention of that morning two weeks ago.

Seeing her opening, Misao lunged at him full force, thrusting upwards with her knee to his chest.

Aoshi barely saw her attack, evading it at the last second. He twisted his body to the right, coming up behind her in a blinding flash of speed that even Misao couldn't see with the naked eye.

She then felt Aoshi's strong vice grip as he grasped her arms, forcing them behind her back and imprisoning both her wrists in his right hand. He then whirled her around to face him—her arms securely locked behind her in his iron grasp.

Aoshi pinned her with his deadly azure gaze, backing her into the concrete wall that surrounded the training yard.

Her eyes were wide and bright with surprise and a hint of terror.

Her full pink lips parted with each ragged gasp of breath she exhaled and her chest heaved up and down.

He could feel the blood pulsing hard and fast through the veins in her wrists. He felt her aura trembling with the overpowering energy she had exerted; the adrenaline was clearly still pumping as her limbs trembled.

Aoshi's left hand began to tremble at his side and he pressed it forcefully to the wall beside her head, attempting to calm his nerves.

Having her so close to him—barely inches away; did something terrifyingly delicious to his senses and his body vibrated as it awakened with longing and want.

Misao was exhausted, angry and flustered. But there wasn't much she could do; Aoshi had her hands pinned, her body pressed against the wall and entirely blocked in, his tall, lean muscled form towering over her.

She wanted to shout.

Fight.

Scratch.

Kick.

Anything.

But it was pointless. It would only make Aoshi all the more determined and that was the last thing she needed right now.

Suddenly, Aoshi's lips parted and she felt the warmth of his breath ghosting over her cheek. "I—didn't think you—wanted to discuss it."

His voice was deep, edgy and raw with an undefinable emotion.

Misao gulped, feeling senses succumbing to the earnest look in his ice blue eyes. She wouldn't cave. She wouldn't give in.

Not now. "You were the one yelling at me about 'control over one's emotions'—and I think that's—extremely unfair when you displayed anything but—"

Aoshi pressed closer to her; the edge of his trench coat brushed against her thighs.

Misao did her best to suppress a shiver—she failed.

And Aoshi noticed. "What is it—exactly that you are angry at me for, Misao? Something tells me—it has nothing to do with me challenging your fighting skills."

Misao couldn't think of a response that wasn't self-incriminating so she stayed quiet and only stared at him.

"Misao…"

She resisted the shivers pushing to the surface at the base of her spine.

"You angry at me—but you won't tell me why."

"Like you said before—I don't want to talk about it—Aoshi-sama."

"I am your Okashira, Misao and I want an answer—an honest one."

Misao bit her lower lip and fidgeted; her feet itching to carry her as far away from Aoshi Shinomori as she could get. But Aoshi still had her wrists locked in his grasp and her body blocked in and from the looks of things, he wasn't about to let her leave any time soon—at least not until she gave him a straight answer.

"I want. An answer. Misao...now."

She looked up at him; she could feel her resolve faltering as his ice blue gaze heated up, piercing her oceanic orbs.

She bit her lower lip again—and Aoshi's self-control crumbled.

He crashed his lips hard against hers—bruising her immediately.

Misao held her breath.

Then his tongue plundered her mouth, and she gasped, shivers wracking her body.

Aoshi felt her shudders vibrating against his lips and it only spurred his passion; he pressed his solid body against her lithe frame, aching to feel every shiver rippling through her body.

The feverish urgency in his kiss made Misao dizzy and the heat of his body pressing against her was overwhelming.

Every curve of Misao's body melded perfectly with his own; as if every inch of her had been crafted just for him. Another shudder rippled through her tiny form—reverberating through his own body and Aoshi could scarcely repress the strangled moans that clawed up his throat.

He had Misao completely pinned against him—and yet he couldn't seem to get close enough.

How could he be losing all control of his mind and body—so quickly and completely?! He could barely discern the numberless thoughts and jumbled emotions that flowed around inside him like a torrent.

All he could think of was Misao.

In this moment, she was completely and utterly consuming him.

Her lips.

Her breath.

Every shiver rifting through her body, he felt.

Every trembling breath she drew in the briefest seconds between his fervent kisses.

Every sound and movement she made, he memorized.

And as the tiniest of moans escaped her lips, Aoshi inhaled sharply and wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her away from the wall and pressing her against him.

Misao trembled and shivered all over.

Her breathing was erratic, labored and she could feel herself approaching hyperventilation. …Need….air!

Her mind was screaming at her through the heated, dizzying haze and finally, she managed to break out of Aoshi's passionate spell.

Mustering every scrap of will she had, she pulled away and pressed her forehead against Aoshi's chest. His gi smelled like the mountain forests and green tea—just like Aoshi. Her breathing slowly began to steady; she was thankful Aoshi seemed to understand her need to take a breath—he could probably use a moment himself.

But he didn't release his hold on her and Misao knew it was going to take more effort and persuasion on her part for him to let her go. "A—Aoshi-s-sama—"

"…Misao don't—'Sama' is not necessary…"

"Aoshi-sama…I—please I—n-need—air." She could've sworn she hear the tiniest hint of a snicker from Aoshi but then again things were still heated, charged and hazy; she could imagine pretty much anything at this point and probably convince herself that it was real.

"I—what are we doing?"

"What…?"

Misao pushed back just enough to lift her head and look into his eyes. "I don't understand any of this; what are you doing?!"

For a moment, Aoshi didn't answer, still catching his breath as he felt the last bits of adrenaline ebbing away. His eyes searched every line of Misao's face.

She was so breathtaking. He couldn't fathom how he had missed it.

All these years, she'd been growing up right before his eyes.

And he'd missed it all; the careless fool that he was—so consumed and obsessed with revenge and he'd let slip away the one thing that had always been the most important and precious in his miserable, empty existence—her.

He didn't even realize when his heart had been so suddenly entranced and bewitched by her. It's like it happened over night and his head was still scrambling to catch up with it.

"Aoshi…Aoshi-sama, are you listening?"

He shook his head, his deep steel blue eyes drifting back to the present as they found Misao's serious, troubled expression.

She suddenly looked years older than him—and it unsettled him.

"I—I can't deal with this! Any of this but you keep—I woke up this morning and I came here—for the specific reason to—work and exhaust my stupid thoughts from being consumed with you and then you just show up here—and freakin' confuse me all over again! I don't get what you expect from me? You left—and then you come back and spend all day—meditating in that stupid temple; you ignore me and everyone else only speaking a word when you had to. Then you leave again and when I've finally decided to just give up on your stubborn ass and give you what you want, you blow in here like a whirlwind and suddenly—you—you're here—l-like this and—I just—"

"Misao…please…I just—I need—" He released her arms but still held her around the waist, caressing her cheek tenderly, his steel blue eyes shown with so much emotion as they wondered endlessly through her oceanic orbs.

But she couldn't stand it any longer, it was all just too much.

Too soon.

All at once and with no explanation, rhyme or reason.

"N-no I can't—I can't do this right now, Aoshi—please just don't."

He gasped; it was the first time in all her life, she'd said his name without 'sama' at the end and his insides ached with longing to hear her utter it just once more.

She turned and as he made no effort to stop her, she slowly removed herself from his embrace and walked away.

He called after her, his voice steady and commanding. "You cannot avoid me forever, Misao; you might walk away from me tonight—but I promise you, I will not allow you to walk away from me again…this is just the beginning."

She took one final look at him over her shoulder; his steady, heated steel blue eyes burned into hers and her heart constricted as she knew there would be no escaping the man she'd loved for nearly all of her life.

She could fight against it with all of her strength and will but she would only be denying the inevitable truth.

Aoshi was her weakness—and she would lose.

After all, this was Aoshi Shinomori—and he never ever lost a fight.