Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

A Little Hard to Get


Chapter Four

Misao stood outside the Aoiya, her two feet planted on the dusty road. She looked up, squinting at the mid-summer sky as though it were peculiar in some way. Passers-by gave her strange stares, and some even offered to help her find her way home because they assumed she was lost.

"No," she had said. "I am not lost. This is where I live."

After an hour or so, people stopped coming up to her and the neighbors reached a rather reasonable conclusion that the girl had lost her mind.

"Misao, please come back inside." Omasu said, concern building up in her voice. She was starting to believe that what the neighbors were saying were true.

"Not now, I'm busy."

"Busy with what?"

"Shhh."

"Misao. You'll get sick; it's so warm out here. "

"I'm busy." Misao mumbled once more, and it was the only response Omasu realized she was ever entitled to.

Omasu shook her head in despair as she returned to the restaurant. On her way to the kitchen, she came across Aoshi who was on his way out.

"Good afternoon, Omasu." He greeted her.

"Afternoon Aoshi-sama." She said. She took one look at his outfit and decided it had been such a long time since she had seen Aoshi in training gear because the sight felt so foreign to her eyes.

"Are you going out?" She asked, pointing to the swords in his sheath.

"Yes, I am."

"Well, do you mind getting Misao to come inside? She's been standing out there for almost two hours and she refuses to come back in. Isn't that strange?"

"She must be upset."

"What about? I can't understand. She's so lucky, now that she's engaged."

"Engaged?"

"Oh, you haven't heard? Well, I suppose she's only told us girls."

"I see."

"Anyway, I need to help Okon with the laundry. See you later, Aoshi-sama."

Aoshi nodded as Omasu took her leave. He walked to the entrance of the Aoiya and peered out the window. Sure enough, Misao was still standing outside, her head tilted back so she could effectively stare at the sky.

He found himself half-smiling at her behavior. Misao never seizes to amuse him with her assortment of strange antics.

"Misao," he said as he finally walked out the door to stand by her side. "Grab your kunai, we're going training."

"Okay." Misao answered immediately, shrugging her shoulders as though it were normal to be standing outside for hours and suddenly decide that doing something else was better.

When Omasu came to check on the girl again, she found that the road outside was clear and only a set of footprints remained on the ground from where Misao had stood. She sighed, placing her hand on her hip. That girl would do anything for Aoshi-sama. Suddenly, she saw the shadow of a tall person approach her. She looked up to find her breath stuck in her throat as she found herself staring into the most intense grey eyes she had ever seen.

"Good day Miss," the young man said. "My name is Kai, I believe Okina-san has been expecting me."

The road to the old training site had not been cleared in a very long time, and the path had developed a dense amount of undergrowth. It was a dark road, with many trees overhead that allowed only patches of sunlight to grace the pathway. Nonetheless, Aoshi was thankful for the trees because it was a hot day and they provided a fair amount shade.

They shared a perfect silence between them as they walked, only the sound of the grass crushing beneath their feet could be heard. Aoshi was always a step ahead of Misao, and she didn't bother to keep up, choosing instead to stay at her own pace.

She studied intently the shape of his body from the back and wondered if he had grown taller since he had left. But it was hard to tell since she too had grown. She decided after a while that he had.

She watched the way he ran his fingers through his hair to keep the strands from clumping to each other because of his perspiration, and how a few stubborn locks still clung to the back of his neck. He probably needs a haircut, she thought.

Finally, Aoshi pushed aside a large fern that hung from a branch to reveal a vast clearing. Misao found herself gapping in wonder at the space before her. How could she have not known about this place?

"I have never been here before." She said, as she toured the training site.

"No, I don't believe you have." He said. "The Oniwabanshu used to train here. A very long time ago."

There were some thick poles that still stood, but many of them had been sliced by swords. She ran her hand down one of the poles and allowed the tips of her fingers to explore the holes in the dead wood. She could feel that fine grains as they powdered her fingers in brown.

She looked up at Aoshi and beamed.

"This person trained with kunai." She told him excitedly.

There was something so strangely nostalgic about the facility. She had never been there before, but she felt like she knew so much about it – about the people who went there. When she closed her eyes and tried to imagine what it was like those many years ago, she could see the Oniwabanshu with all their knowledge and skills and it was amazing. It made her heart pang when she thought of how they weren't great as they used to be.

"Come Misao." Aoshi called.

The girl shook her thoughts away and made her way over to where he was standing. He withdrew one of his swords and left the smaller one in his sheath. Then, he stretched it out and offered it to Misao.

"Use this." He commanded.

Misao stared at the sword, trying to think of how many times she had held a sword and although she considered herself a warrior, she could count the times with her fingers. There were very few Oniwabanshu who used swords, two of them being her grandfather and Aoshi.

She took it from him with both her hands wrapping tightly around the handle. The weight of the metal surprised her when he let go. It was a lot heavier than she remembered.

"You'll get used to the weight." Aoshi informed, as though knowing exactly what she was thinking. "For now, we'll just perform basic sparring."

Misao nodded, holding the blade up like she would a bokken.

"Let's begin."

Aoshi moved in a swift attack. She managed to block his first blow and was taken aback by how gentle his stroke was even though it came so quickly. His movements were controlled in the most deliberate manner so that he could get to points on her without hurting her.

By his second move, he had his blade at her neck.

"Again." He said. There was no pausing with him. No resting. His had a persistence that was not unlike hers.

So she picked up the sword and continued. And they sparred. Over and over, he would beat her and say, "Again, try again". It was the most contact she had had with Aoshi since before she could remember, and the fact was strangely painful to her.

Then a moment came when Aoshi had his blade by her neck once more and he had his face come up so close to hers. She felt a sudden burst of unwanted tears stream down her cheeks.

Aoshi quickly moved his sword away upon seeing her cry.

"Did I hurt you? I was so sure that I…"

He leaned over and touched her neck to see if there was a wound, and the warmth of his hand against her skin made her quiet tears turn into violent sobs.

"Why are you crying?" He asked when he could not find the wound.

"I don't know. And I can't. I can't stop. I can't. I can't. It hurts, it hurts."

"What hurts?"

But she could not answer; it was hard for her to breathe. She pressed her hand over her chest and her fingers grasped the material of her clothes. And Aoshi knew at once that it wasn't something he could fix at that moment in time.

He moved closer to her, and this time he had kept his sword away. He took her hands and locked his fingers between hers. Then he whispered softly in her ear.

"Please, Misao." He said. "Please don't cry."

His words seemed to bring some kind of temporary consolation, a different kind of comfort from what she needed. Maybe it was his words, or the sound of his voice, or the fact that it was him, she didn't know. But she felt her body calm, and her tears slowly lessened and dissolved into nothingness.

When she was ready, she pulled her hands from his and turned away.

"Let's go home."

End of Chapter Four
Plasmolysed Cell Membrane: Whew. Okay, sorry for the wait! Uni is absorbing all my time and energy and it's quite a miracle I managed to get this out of my system really. So I hope y'all enjoyed reading it. I made it a tad longer this time.