: This is fluff, pure fluff and nothing but fluff. This
is what happens when Hikaru writes *too* much angst for *too* long.
You have been warned, proceed at your own risk.

-

"Why don't we go have lunch outside, just the three of us?" He said,
rising to a standing position. Misao was shocked. Why was he acting so
kind to her? It wasn't unusual for him to totally ignore her for hours
at a time. What had happened to him today? Extending his arm out to
Misao, who blushed furiously, Aoshi said, "Let's go."

What did she have to lose, other than her hold on her self-confidence.
Oh yes, she could totally say the wrong things and mess up a completely
good opportunity to show Aoshi how much she loved him. Not to mention,
she could come out looking like a complete fool. However, she muttered
an agreement before she could stop herself. Something good had to come
out of this.

She hoped.

Komori
by Hikaru

Part 2: Dreamers Never Try

Misao glared up at the dark gray clouds as they spat out drops of rain
upon the ground. Their picnic was ruined, and it was all the rain's
fault. It wasn't not like the picnic was going anywhere anyway...

For a full hour Misao, Aoshi, and Kenji sat on the grass; Aoshi,
opposite from where Misao sat, had Kenji in his lap; the latter happily
munching away on rice. Misao's eyes were locked on Kenji, eating. She
envied him. Not for the same reasons that anyone else would envy a
child, but because he was sitting in Aoshi's lap- and she was not.
Aoshi had not so much as looked up to the young ninja-girl, for he too
watched the child. Was he envious? Misao couldn't tell. The permanent
catatonic look in Aoshi's eyes made it impossible to tell what the man
was thinking.

Not one word was spoken for that hour. Not so much as a bird flying
over the gathering, or anything. Complete silence. And it was
aggravating the hell out of Misao. What had she thought earlier? That
Aoshi might have actually *talked* to her? Well, his want to do that
seemed to disappear as soon as they stepped outside. Aoshi was once
again back to his normal silent state.

What broke the silence was a crack of thunder that pounded against the
earth, close to the Aoiya. The loud crackle upset Kenji, and he began
to cry. That's when the rain began to fall.

'Perfect.' Misao sulked. Whatever she had said about this being nothing
to worry about, she cursed a thousand times over as the rain began to
fall harder.

"It's raining Misao." Aoshi said, covering Kenji's head with his broad
arm.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," she said bitterly. She was in no mood to
play hide-and-go seek with Aoshi's personality at the moment. She just
wanted to go inside. Misao scowled at Aoshi as she shook her head
furiously to get all of the water out. She was already completely
soaked. "Come on!" She said standing up. "Leave the picnic stuff out
here, we'll get it once the storm is over."

Misao scowled at the memory, despite the fact that she was still living
in it right at the moment. Her scowl turned to Aoshi, who was standing
beside her, with Kenji in his arms. "So, what were you saying about it
being nice outside, Aoshi-sama?" Misao's tone turned very bitter as she
put her hands on her hips.

Ignoring the peeved little petite, Aoshi quietly commented "Himura is
all wet, Misao. We should get him dry."

Misao flinched. She really hated being ignored, and now was not the
time to do something that would piss her off. "Dry? DRY? Aoshi-sama,
LOOK AT ME! I'm wet, you're wet, we are ALL WET! Why don't you try and
think before you say something stupid like that?"

Without responding back to her, Aoshi walked back into the Aoiya,
shutting the door softly behind him. Misao turned to the door, her eyes
softening. Oh shit. She had totally blown that one. Aoshi never got
really mad, at least in front of her. Instead of yelling back at her,
he would leave quietly, and go suffer in silence- which Misao knew was
not good for anyone to do. Keeping feelings bottled up for too long was
dangerous to one's health- that she knew from personal experience.

'Daisuki, Aoshi-sama.'

Cursing under her breath, Misao followed Aoshi into the house, only to
find that he was no where in sight. "He must have taken Kenji into the
bath," she mused aloud, unconsciously walking toward the furoba. Rain
pounded hard against her skin; however, Misao did not feel it. The
little demon guilt was beginning to creep into her subconscious, as she
was beginning to regret what she had said to Aoshi. 'It was a bit
harsh,' she admitted to herself, 'But, still- he had put me in a BAD
mood all day.. trying to be all suave with Kenji.'

"I just can't help it." Aoshi's voice? Misao paused, in front of the
tiny shack that contained their bath. She had heard Aoshi's voice from
within. She cautiously inched towards the rice-paper door, her ear
ready to receive any communications from the other side. True,
eavesdropping was a bad thing... but that never stopped her before. A
grin formed on the weasel-girl's face.

There was a slight giggle from Kenji as he splashed the water. A small
smile came to Aoshi's face. "Careful, Himura- you don't want to get the
floor wet. As I was saying, every time I look at her, everything that I
had planned to tell her leaves my mind. I know how she feels about me,
it's obvious. No matter how much it hurts, I need to tell her how I
really feel, but I can't. The words, just won't come out of my mouth."

Kenji muttered his support in baby gibberish. Aoshi laughed slightly,
getting out of the bath with the baby in his arms. "So what do you
think I should do, Himura? I don't want anyone to get hurt," he asked
as he tried the baby off with a small towel.

Shocked at what she had 'overheard' Misao began to head back towards
the Aoiya. She needed some time to totally comprehend what Aoshi had
said. What did he mean by 'how he really feels'? Somehow, deep in her
heart, she knew that his feelings for her were not the same feelings
that she had for him. She loved him- every hair, every breath,
everything that was Aoshi, she loved. She loved him so much it hurt
her- repeatedly. She couldn't stand to see him this impassive. But she
had promised Kenshin that she would take care of Aoshi. She ran back to
the Aoiya for shelter, her eyes blinded with oncoming tears. He didn't
love her, so what? She loved him, that was the most important thing. No
matter how much it hurt her, no matter if he had no feelings for her,
she would remain by his side forever.

Unbeknownst to Misao, back in the furoba, Aoshi and Kenji were
continuing their conversation. Kenji was giggling up a storm, spewing
out more baby words. "Really?" Aoshi questioned, amused at Kenji's
behavior. "But don't you think that would embarrass her?" More
gibberish. "No, think the in-direct approach is more appropriate when
telling someone that you love them."

-

Lighting cracked through the twilight sky as thunder crashed in the
background. Misao twitched, slightly frightened by the loud booming
noise. She sat in the restaurant area of the Aoiya, playing with an
empty tea cup. She needed something to keep her hands from fidgeting,
or breaking things... either one. The suspense was absolutely killing
her. After Aoshi and Kenji had returned from the furoba, Aoshi had
retreated to his room, handing Kenji over to her, muttering that he
'wanted to talk to her later.' She didn't desire him to crush her
dreams so soon. She had hoped that he would have waited a week... a
month... no, a decade, until he told her that he didn't love her. She
turned her attention over to Kenji, who was being suspiciously quiet.
He had curled up in a small ball on the floor, sleeping soundly. "I
wish I had your innocence," Misao bitterly spat as she stood up from
the table.

At that moment, Aoshi slid open the door. Another flash of lightning
lit the sky. Misao could feel the air grow incredibly thick- making it
harder to breathe. 'No, not now...' she thought. The day had turned
from bad, to worse- and now, with the look in Aoshi's eyes, it was
about to take a turn for the terrible. "I'll-uh be right back!" Misao
muttered as she tried to speed past Aoshi.

"No!" He demanded as he caught her by the arm; swinging her around to
face him. His towering figure seemed almost frightening to the young
ninja at the moment, his eyes pieced her through to the heart. "I told
you," he said, taking a deep breath in, trying to control his new-found
temper, "I need to speak with you."

Misao pulled her arm out of his grasp, "Yeah, well- not right now."

"NOW, Misao." Aoshi said, his monotone voice turning slightly forceful.

Taking another step away from him, Misao scoffed. "I already know what
you're going to say, Aoshi-sama."

His eyes grew wide, "You do?"

"I over heard you speaking to Kenji." Misao retorted, her voice turning
quiet. The last thing she wanted to do at this moment was to relive the
entire scene again. He didn't love her; she would just have to learn to
live with it.

"Misao, I-"

"I just-" she put her hand up, telling him to stop. "I just want you
to leave me alone." Her moist eyes locked onto his. Couldn't he take a
hint?

At that moment, Kenji woke up and began to cry. Her eyes full of hurt,
Misao looked away from the towering shadow, muttering "Excuse me-". She
walked over the crying Kenji, her feet stomping in anger. Without
thinking, Misao violently scooped up Kenji in her arms, trying to calm
him. This treatment, along with Misao's jagged aura, made Kenji's cry
elevate in sound.

Aoshi winced at the scene, "Misao, you should be more-"

"I asked you to go away Aoshi-sama," she snapped as she turned her back
to him.

Accepting his defeat, Aoshi began to turn towards the door he had just
entered through. "Aoshi-sama," he paused, flinching slightly; as he was
not expecting Misao to speak to him so soon.

He turned around to see Misao probing him with worried eyes. A lump
formed in his throat. "What is it?" he asked.

Misao took a timid step towards Aoshi, her right hand on Kenji's
forehead. "Aoshi-sama," her voice was full of panic. "His head- he's
burning up!"

"What?" Aoshi rushed over to her side; the tension that had been
between them only a few minutes ago had vanished, only to be replaced
by concern for the Himura child. He gently put his hand atop of
Misao's, silently asking her to take her hand off of the baby's
forehead. She took the hint, and Aoshi placed his hand on the Kenji's
forehead to see what exactly was going on. Misao was right, he did have
a fever; however, it was a very low-grade at best. "He must have
developed a fever earlier today in the rain."

"Oh- damn it!" Misao exclaimed, "This is all my fault!" She began
pacing around the room, muttering absolute worried nonsense, that only
she could understand.

"Misao," Aoshi reasoned, "if anyone is to blame, it is me; I was the
one who suggested that we should eat outside. I should have kept a
better eye on the weather-" She didn't hear him; she only continued to
pace like a lion in a cage. "Misao!" Aoshi said sharply.

Misao turned to Aoshi, looking as if she were a child who just got in
trouble. "Yes?" she asked in a whimper.

A half smile formed on Aoshi's face as he tried to keep from laughing.
Seeing Misao this upset was almost comical to him. Her so-called
'womanhood' had vanished without a trace, leaving only the young
spitfire that he had grown up with. She was always so funny when she
was anxious. "Go to the kitchen and take one of the serving cloths- get
it wet with cold water." Her body was twitching in nervous convulsions,
as her eyes locked on the crying Kenji. Aoshi raised an eyebrow. She
was more worried than he thought.

"Misao."

She looked up to him, not saying anything.

"I need you to stay together, okay?" Aoshi placed his hand on her head,
trying to show support. "It's only a slight fever.. we just need to
bring it down a little bit. Now, can you do what I asked?"

She nodded, her eyes turning back to Kenji.

"Good." He nodded, extending both arms out for the baby. "Then give me
Himura. I'll meet you in my room, okay?" Aoshi walked off, not giving
Misao the chance to argue.

-

Timidly poking her head into Aoshi's room, Misao smiled at the two as
another bolt of lighting struck the earth. There Kenji lay in Aoshi's
arms, now fast asleep. It was hard to believe that only a few minutes
ago he was wailing and screaming so loud that Misao thought the weak
structured Aoiya would tumble on top of them. She crept over to Aoshi,
who had not yet noticed her entrance, and knelt down next to him.
"Here," she said, offering the damp cloth that he had sent her to
prepare.

"Thanks." He said quietly. "Just put it on top of his forehead."

Misao nodded as she followed his directions. Her eyes locked onto the
sleeping child. Somehow, this scene between the three of them felt so
natural, so right. Perhaps in another life, she would be the mother of
the child, sitting next to her loving... Misao looked up to Aoshi with
a bright blush on her face. "It's still surprising to see how good you
are with babies, Aoshi-sama," she said in a whisper, admiring his
handiwork.

"I told you, I had a lot of practice taking care of you." Aoshi said
matter-of-factly. "You weren't the easiest child to take care of,
Misao- especially with Omasu and Okon teasing me." In a high mocking
voice, he acted out what the two older women would say, "'Oh look at
little Aoshi-chan and Misao-chan! Aren't they so cute together?'
'Awww, are you two playing house?' It really was annoying, Misao. Be
glad you don't remember it."

Bringing her hand up to her face, Misao whispered, "I remember some
things from my childhood." She remembered very vividly how he had saved
her from the terror of the tree when she was very little. How he made
sure that she was absolutely secure with letting him catch her in his
arms. And, most of all, she remembered his warm embrace as he held her
close; thankful that she wasn't hurt.

"Oh?" Aoshi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Misao shook her head vigorously, desperate to change the subject.
"Nevermind." She sighed aloud, trying to relieve herself of the tension
that was building up. "As I was saying, you being good with babies is a
shock because- I mean..."

"What?"

"Well, you're a guy."

"So is Himura."

"Well Himura is a special case; he looks like a woman, not to mention
he acts like one half the time. And you, Aoshi-sama-err- well you
don't."

"I meant the baby, Misao."

"... so did I..."

"..."

"..."

Kenji contentedly slept in Aoshi's arms, a small smile on his face. It
appeared as if the damp cloth had done the trick. Aoshi removed the
small cloth from the baby's head as Misao let out a small yawn. "He's
fever has gone down," Aoshi stated, looking to Misao. "I'll stay up
until Himura and Kaoru get here. You go on to bed."

Shaking her head no, Misao held back another yawn, "No, no. I'm the one
that's supposed to be baby-sitting the little tike. Besides, shouldn't
you be meditating or something?"

"Taking care of Kenji is relaxing enough," Aoshi retorted.

Misao folded her arms, "I'm staying here, I'm fine I tell you."

Sighing of defeat, Aoshi hesitantly nodded, "Okay. Fine, I won't argue
with you. You are old enough to make your own decisions."

A sly smile formed on Misao's face as she playfully poked Aoshi in the
side, "Ah! He said it! He said it! Wow, Aoshi-sama has finally realized
that I'm not a little baby anymore."

His eyes narrowing, Aoshi playfully glared at the young ninja. "Well if
you didn't act like a child half the time..." Misao immediately
stopped poking Aoshi's dark gi, a slight blush on her face. Aoshi
couldn't help but laugh. Not a hardy loud laugh; but a very quiet
inward laugh to himself. An Aoshi laugh.

Misao beamed up at him, her face slightly red of embarrassment. "Did
you just tease me, Aoshi-sama? My gosh! Someone call a doctor! You have
a fever too!" She teased, bursting out into laughter.

"Shhhh!" Aoshi hissed, trying to quiet the weasel girl down. "You'll
wake Himura."

With one stifling giggle, Misao cut herself off. Then, with a small
smile, she put out her arms, gesturing for Aoshi to put Kenji in her
arms. "Can I hold him?" she asked. "After all, I AM the woman here."

Slightly amused, Aoshi gently placed the baby in Misao's arms. She held
the baby close to her chest, breathing in deeply the smell that all
babies have. "Thank you for your help today, Aoshi-sama." She paused,
pursing her lip. "I- uh... appreciate it."

A small smile came across Aoshi's face, "You're welcome, Misao."

-

"Kenshin," Kaoru said in her disapproving tone of voice, "I don't think
we should just walk in like this- we're un-invited."

A small smile came over Kenshin's face. "Daijobu, Koishii," he said,
reassuringly. "I'm sure Misao-dono just fell asleep. After all, she did
spend the day with Kenji. The poor girl must be exhausted."

"Still-" Kaoru hid behind her husband. "We shouldn't-"

"It'll be fine." Kenshin met his wife's eyes, trying to calm her. After
a nod from her, he yelled, "Hello?"

There was still no answer. Kaoru's uncertainty gave full way into worry
now. "Kenshin, what if something-"

"Nothing happened." Kenshin shook his head. "Didn't Misao-dono say that
Aoshi was here, this morning?"

"Well... yes..."

Another smile. Kaoru felt as if she would punch him if he smiled at her
again. She didn't like him trying to quell her motherly worries. "Aoshi
wouldn't let anything happen to Kenji, or Misao-dono. There's nothing
to worry about, Koishii."

The two came to a fork in the hallway. The entire Aoiya was completely
dark. The only light was coming from the occasional lightning bolt that
scorched the sky. Kenshin let out a small nervous laugh as he turned to
his wife, "So which dark and scary hallway should we take?"

"Kennnnnshinnnnnn..."

Luckily the two chose the correct hallway, left, leading them directly
to Aoshi's room.

Kaoru gasped at what the scene that was before them.

Within Aoshi's room, one dim candle burned at the hilt of the wick;
giving just enough light to see the room's contents. There sat Aoshi,
Misao, and Kenji- each asleep. Kenji was sleeping contentedly within
the young ninja-girl's embrace; while she slept with a small smile on
her face. It appeared as if Misao had fallen asleep while trying to
rock baby Kenji to sleep. But the biggest shock was Aoshi, who was
behind Misao. He had fallen asleep sitting up behind Misao, letting her
use his body as support. His arms were wrapped around her tiny body,
holding her close to his chest. On his lips was the tiniest smile.

Kenshin beamed. "See, Koishii. Nothing to worry about." He placed his
hand lovingly at the curve of Kaoru's back. "They were just sleeping,
as I said."

"I suppose you're right," Kaoru said with a slight nod. "But which one
to wake up?"

"I think it would probably be safer to wake Aoshi. Misao-dono might get
violent with us." Kenshin said with a small chuckle as he walked over
to the small model family. He gently placed his right hand on Aoshi's
shoulder and slightly shook the kunoichi. "Aoshi..."

Aoshi stirred slightly, opening his heavy eyelids very slowly. He
shifted his head slightly and focused on Kenshin. "Battousai," he said
flatly.

"Good evening, Aoshi." Kenshin said, his smile not leaving his face.
"We've come to gather Kenji."

"Kenji?" Aoshi asked, still dazed by sleep. "Oh yes," he remembered as
he pushed his hand through his hair, "Kenji." Carefully, he maneuvered
the sleeping child out of Misao's grasp. The ninja girl stirred
slightly, trying to keep hold of the bundle. Aoshi whispered in her
ear, "Shhhh..." quelling Misao. Kenji remained asleep the entire time,
his father's smile on his face.

Kaoru took the baby in her arms, smiling at Aoshi. "Thank you,
Aoshi-san. And please, tell Misao thank you when she wakes up." At the
sound of her name, Misao moaned in her sleep, turning to her side,
burying the side of her face in Aoshi's wide chest.

Aoshi nodded.

"Come to Tokyo soon, Aoshi." Kenshin said, standing up next to his
wife.

Again, Aoshi nodded. His tired state wouldn't allow much more. "You
will forgive me if I don't see you to the door," he said, gesturing to
the sleeping Misao in his hands.

Giggling slightly, Kaoru nodded, "It's okay Aoshi. We don't want to
wake the other baby up." The two bowed and made their way out of the
Aoiya.

Looking down towards Misao's sleeping figure, a small smile crossed
Aoshi's lips as he bent his neck, kissing the top of Misao's head. "No,
she's not a baby anymore." He shifted his head down to Misao's,
whispering into her ear, "I love you Makimachi Misao."

Unaware of what Aoshi had just said to her, as Misao was still lost in
the land of dreams, she murmured in return, "I love you too,
Aoshi-sama..."

Fin

-

Author's Notes:

Er- well, there you have it. Pointless, yes- but cute. Why it took me
over six months to produce this second chapter, I don't know. I think
"Wind Storm" distracted me for a while- and when that was all over I
was kinda sick of AxM fanfiction. Well, I'm back now XD Huzzah!

Aoshi: *FEAR*

I didn't explain how Aoshi and Misao ended up falling asleep while
tending to the slumbering Kenji for a reason. I wanted to leave that up
to the reader- let them use their sick- err... I mean CREATIVE (^^;;)
minds to conjure up how they could have ended up that way. Heh... I'll
admit, I'd probably have some sort of "creative" scenario myself- I am
a pure AxM fangirl after all ^_~

Hope everyone enjoyed this short fluff fic. Thanks for reading!

-

This fic was written for the entertainment of us, the Misao and Aoshi
obsessed. Hikaru made no profit from this fic and never will. The
characters of Rurouni Kenshin do not belong to her. Standard
disclaimers apply *here*.