Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

A Little Hard to Get

Chapter Three

Misao sat by the pond in the courtyard staring tiredly at the fish swimming round and round. She had an enervating day with dirty old men asking too much of her, and what was worse than all of that, none of it even seemed to affect Aoshi in any way. Misao undid her bun of hair as a sign that she had given up her pretense. It fell in long black locks with the wind picking them up in a dance.

With a sigh, she slouched over and rested her head in her hands. What would it take for Aoshi to just… to just…ah…who cares? Then, she felt a presence beside her. She didn't bother to turn and see who it was. She closed her eyes and huffed.

"Leave me alone Jiya, your stupid plan was so…stupid."

There was a silence and Misao found it odd that he didn't say anything in response, not even to defend himself. Her eyes flit open and she gasped when she saw through the blurred ripples, a pair of grinding, blue eyes.

"Aoshi-sama!"

She was about to get up when Aoshi put his hand on her shoulder and pressed her body back into the position she was initially in. His actions shocked her. It had been such a long time since he had been so forceful. The last time he had treated her that way was when she had misbehaved as a child.

"Do not get up on account of me." He said coldly.

"Are you." She gulped. "Angry?"

"Yes."

Again, his words surprised her. He didn't bother to hide his anger, and it scared her a little.

"I know exactly what you're trying to do."

"You do?"

"It doesn't bother me that you're changing. But why you are, trying to get me worried, is so incredibly…"

"Imbecilic? I know. It was Jiya's idea. I know it's also my fault that I went along with it. But well…"

A sudden burst of gale interrupted her, and Misao's hair was tossed into disarray. Aoshi caught a lock of it in his fist and held it up before him. He stared at it for a moment and then released it to the wind. It fluttered, like a struggling butterfly in the middle of a storm. Misao looked at him, her heart beating like a train. Why was he behaving so strangely? It was not like him at all.

She quickly gathered her hair with one hand, with her other; she picked up a twig and wound her hair around it to make a messy bun. Wayward strands fell to the side of her face and neck, but she scarcely took notice.

"I suppose that's why you always braided your hair." Aoshi stated in a fashion that seemed like he was pointing out the obvious.

"No, it's because of you." She blurted in frustration.

Aoshi raised an eyebrow upon hearing her say that. Realizing what she had just said, Misao blushed and looked away. She attempted to explain, stammering as she did so.

"Well, um, I kept a braid so you would always recognize me… in case, uh, you forgot what I looked like."

The man was quiet and Misao shifted uncomfortably in her position. On most occasions, Aoshi's silence posed as a challenge to her, but now it was unbearable. However, to make things worse, she had to continue spilling out her feelings.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Aoshi-sama. Because you know, everybody knows this and I guess I should just say it because, well, because I'm just trying to kill this awful silence between us. I think, you know, it's pretty obvious that I'm in love with you."

Still, there was no verbal response from Aoshi. Instead, he tilted his head forward and his dark hair hid his eyes in its shadow. Now Misao was left with nothing to read, the only visible part of his face were his lips and they haven't exactly changed from their permanent frown.

"Oh great, you're not saying anything and I've just made a fool of myself." Misao said in exasperation. "Ah, forget what I said. I'm going to wash up now."

The girl stood up to leave, but before doing so, a flash of thoughts came to her and she asked innocently.

"Aoshi-sama. Do you think revenge is wrong?"

Aoshi raised his gaze to her, and she was certain there was puzzlement from the look in his eyes. He was taken aback by her question, since it was completely off topic. But he answered her anyway. He felt it was the least he could do since he had embarrassed her by somehow making her confess her love for him. Well, he didn't make her, but he knew he was part of the reason why she had.

"I suppose it depends. Why?"

"Jiya." She said in a thoughtful manner. "We should teach the old man a lesson-- not to meddle in other people's affairs."

"Then Misao," Aoshi said, a glint of whimsy in his eyes. "I would hardly call it revenge. I believe the term 'education' would be more appropriate."

"So, Misao… are you listening to me?"

Misao blinked quickly, attempting to focus on what the Okina was saying. She had been thinking of the plan which she and Aoshi had devised.

"Ah, yes." She quickly answered.

They were in the study, sitting across from each other with an old wooden desk separating them. She wondered if the desk had been around since before she was born.

"Misao, please pay attention here." The old man said, annoyed by her daydreaming. He placed a letter in front of her.

"Of course, you know I take this very seriously." She told him. She picked up the cream colored envelope and fingered its perfect edges. "What's this then?"

"It doesn't seem like it." Okina muttered under his breath. "It's a letter from an old friend of mine."

"Is he Oniwabanshu as well?" The girl inquired. She pulled the letter out of the envelope slightly and placed it in front of her nose. It had been sent not long ago. She could still smell the faint scent of wax and cherry blossoms on the paper.

Misao looked up and asked. "May I?"

Okina nodded, slightly intrigued by her politeness. He watched intently as she opened the letter to read it. If there was anything Aoshi had taught her well when she was a child, it was manners. Soon after he had left, she seemed to lost a lot of it. In some ways, Aoshi was less liberal with his behavior than Okina was, even though he was the younger of the two men.

"He was." He replied, suddenly remembering their conversation.

"He was? What happened?"

"He started a cover up business, just like us, we have the Aoiya. He made so much money that he eventually forgot it wasn't a real business. But that's Hiroto for you, he was a entrepreneur first, ninja second." Okina said, getting up from his seat and looking out the window.

"But you still keep in touch."

"Yes, even though he isn't in the Oniwabanshu anymore in a sense, in still helps out financially."

"I see. So what does this letter have to do with our plan?" Misao asked as she slipped the letter back into the envelope.

"Hiroto is coming to visit us next week." Okina told her, taking a quick pause before he continued. "And his son will be joining him."

"And his son is…"

"His name is Kai. He rarely travels with his father to Kyoto because he is a very busy young man himself. But, he is willing to make an exception this time."

"Why is that?"

Okina turned to look at Misao, but she couldn't tell what the expression on his face meant.

"To meet his future wife of course..."

Misao felt her mouth go dry as Okina finished his sentence.

"You."

End of Chapter Three

Plasmolysed Cell Membrane: Apologies for the long wait. Thank you for all the support and reviews. I do absolutely appreciate it. Please enjoy and let me know what you think. Cheers!