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Just a fool to believe
I have anything she needs
She's like the wind

- She's Like the Wind
by Patrick Swayze
on the Dirty Dancing Soundtrack

Chapter I: The Calm Before the Storm

Inhaling deeply, Aoshi took in the smells of Tokyo. It
hadn't changed. The smell, it was the same. The memories of
his friends, now departed from this world, flooded back to
mind. The sound of the gun releasing bullets of death. The
smell of the black powder in the air. Tokyo was full of
reminders of the event that Aoshi was trying so hard to
forget.

So why am I here?

He clenched the letter he had in his hand tighter. *This* was
the reason why Aoshi had returned to Tokyo. Not because of a
want to forgive himself, not because he wanted to remember
those painful memories.

It was because of *her*.

Misao.

Looking down at the letter in his hand, Aoshi ran through its
contents over in his mind. He had read it so many times he
could recite it word for word.

'Hi All,
Guess who! I'm fine. Tokyo is great! I had forgotten
how wonderful this city is! I'm having a great time staying
with Himura. Kenji is so cute! I often nominate myself to
baby-sit just so I can play with him.

My health is good, so no need to worry about that.
And tell Jiya that he was right, the air does smell sweeter
in Kyoto, but I still don't think I'll be returning any time
soon. After all, Kaoru needs my help, since Kenji is such a
handful. Don't worry about me.

How's everyone over there? I heard that Okon has
nabbed a fiancee?! That lucky girl! Wish I were that lucky...
Oh well.

Tell everyone I said hi. And tell Aoshi... tell Aoshi
that I'll be fine and that I'm perfectly all right. I'm not
upset at him about anything. And I never was. I left because,
I needed a change of atmosphere.

Well, take care. Ja na!

-Misao'

As Aoshi mentally reviewed Misao's letter he slowly passed
the Akebeko. Only the sudden slamming of the front door
snapped him out of his daze. Out of the restaurant ran a
small girl. Curious, Aoshi turned so he could fully see what
was going on. His eyes focused on the purple of the girl's
outfit, tied with a pink bow. Aoshi's eyes grew wide as he
realized who was running out of the restaurant.

"Of all the-" She yelled as she ran.

Dazed that he had found her so quickly, Aoshi snapped back to
reality to find that she had disappeared. He quickly scanned
the area for a whisk, anything, to tell him that seeing her
wasn't a hallucination. It had to have been real!

Finally focusing on the sunset, there she was, running
towards the beaming light, again leaving him alone.

Aoshi could see her in the distance. How her elegant figure
slowly was melting into the sunset; the bright hues of pink
and orange dancing around and enveloping her. How he wanted
to embrace that warmth. To hold it in a jar and never let it
go; so the warmth would always be with him.

"Misao.." He said whispering roughly.

Why was he here? Her letter said that she was fine. Why, in
the back of his mind, was Aoshi panicking? Something about
her letter seemed a bit too cheerful, even for Misao. A
feeling in his gut told him there was something she wasn't
saying, something she was trying to hide.

Something... she was too terrified to say.

Something so horrible that she left her old life behind. She
left *him* behind.

'Maybe that's why I'm here.' He thought bitterly, 'I'm afraid
she won't come back to me.'

But just as soon as that thought surfaced, he pushed it
far back into his mind, burying it under his emotional walls.

I can't love her. I would kill her happiness; suck it right
out of her bright eyes and loving smile.

A breeze crept up, blowing away the dead leaves of the fall.
Winter was coming; the bitter bite of the wind was the ample
sign of that. Aoshi closed his eyes and raised his arms,
letting the wind blow through his clothes. He could feel the
light gust touch his skin and warm it.

Was he that cold?

He could have stayed there for an eternity. Yet, he caught
himself in this moment of joy and realized how foolish he was
being. Acting like some sort of child. Acting just like-

Misao.

She had disappeared into the sunset. Dammit. He had totally
forgotten that she was that close to him. He wanted to talk
to her.

But what would you say?

Come back?

Why did you leave?

I love you?

No. Saying that would show him to be weak. He had worked too
hard, resisted for so long, he could not just simply break
down like a blubbering fool. Aoshi turned his back to the
sunset, yet his eyes still stared at it.

No. Not again. Not the memories... Not the heartache. How
much he probably had hurt her during the next month. He never
even spoke to her. But what was he supposed to do? If Okina
had found out-

Okina *did* know.

You were just afraid of what would follow.

Aoshi closed his eyes tightly, shutting out the sunset and
the fading memories.

The feeling. Her skin, his skin. Aoshi forced his mind to
forget it. He had lost control. And what happened because
of it? Misao left the Aoiya. Misao left her old life. Misao
left him. He had ruined both of their lives, because of his
stupid mistake. He would never see her silly smile again. He
would never hear that voice, calling to him ever again.

She had left.

"Boy, that girl sure left in a hurry! Yahiko! What did you
say to poor Misao-chan?!"

Raising an eyebrow Aoshi turned to the near-by Akebeko. On
it's porch stood Himura and his wife with their son Kenji,
accompanied by the attitude driven Myojin. "I didn't say
anything, Kaoru! All I said was that if she didn't stop
pigging out, she'd turn into a cow!"

"Yahiko!"

"What?!" He whined back in response.

"Aoshi." Kenshin's voice stopped the argument. Kaoru and
Yahiko's heads whipped towards the direction that Kenshin was
looking, their eyes wide.

Nodding his head in response, Aoshi took a step towards the
group.

Kaoru's lips curved into a warm smile. "Shinomori-san! What a
pleasant surprise!" Yahiko grunted. After giving Yahiko a
dirty look, Kaoru continued. "What brings you to Tokyo?"

"Probably to chase after Misao." Yahiko muttered under his
breath. Again, Yahiko received a glare from Kaoru. Yet, as
she glared, Aoshi's hands tightened into a fist. Seeing this,
Kenshin raised an eyebrow.

"Maa, maa." Kenshin said, smiling. A uncomfortable silence
came upon the group, as they stared at each other. Aoshi was
never one to talk much, but this was worse than usual.

Aoshi slowly walked over to the group, his footsteps
scattering the dirt road beneath him, breaking the silence.
"Himura, I must speak to you. Would it be possible for you to
join me for tea?" His voice was cold, even more than usual.

"I accept your invitation, de gozaru." Kenshin said taking a
step forward.

Yahiko and Kaoru exchanged nervous glances. *Both* Kenshin
and Aoshi were being more quiet than usual. Laughing
nervously Yahiko began to walk to the near-by alley. "I had
to go find Tsubame anyway," He muttered, disappearing into
the shadows.

Following Yahiko's example, Kaoru shifted Kenji in her arms.
"And I really should take Kenji home. I promised Misao that
she would get to give him a bath." She hurriedly scampered
towards the setting sun, following Misao's path.

The two men watched Kaoru and Kenji leave, still remaining in
silence.

"Shall we?" Aoshi said, passing by Kenshin and opening the
doors to the Akebeko.

Kenshin turned to Aoshi and, for a second, he could see
sadness in Aoshi's eyes. This wasn't going to be easy. Aoshi
was going to ask questions that he couldn't, in good
conscious, answer. "Aa."

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The candle flickering against the shadows gave light to the
dark private room in the Akebeko. Kenshin watched Aoshi with
close eyes as the later drank his tea, in silence. The cup
in front of Kenshin had been un-touched, the steam had long
stopped from flowing out of it. Kenshin glanced down at his
cup. He knew it was lukewarm. He picked up the cup and drank
from it anyway, pretending that the tea was still 'too-hot',
his excuse to continue to observe Aoshi's behavior.

The first time Kenshin had ever seen Aoshi, he knew that he
was a force to be reckoned with. His cold eyes and his
icy-heart directed towards fighting reminded Kenshin of the
past that he was trying to forget. But after Misao had
told him, so many nights, of her love for Aoshi and how he
cared for her so much, it was hard to see anything different.
That was why it pained him so to see him welcoming death the
second time they dueled. After that fight, Aoshi had seen the
light and returned to the Aoiya. Kenshin had hoped, that with
Misao by his side Aoshi would slowly come out of his shell
that had developed after so many years.

He had once been in that shell.

And only with the love of a woman did he break free.

"Himura?" Aoshi placed his cup down on the table.

Kenshin blinked his eyes. How long had he been on *that*
train of thought? Shaking his head, he hollowly laughed, "Hai
de gozaru?"

Aoshi's lips curved into a slight amused smile. "You've
hardly touched your tea."

Blinking again, Kenshin stared at Aoshi in disbelief. Aoshi
was- smiling? Well... sort of. Bringing the cup to his lips
again, Kenshin took a small sip. It was freezing cold. Again,
he pretended that the tea was boiling hot. "Still too hot, de
gozaru."

"Liar." Aoshi slowly grabbed the kettle laid out for them and
began pouring himself another glass. "Tell me, is Misao all
right?"

Kenshin tensed. Raising an eyebrow, Aoshi confirmed that
Misao was indeed the one that ran out of the Akebeko in such
a huff earlier. He cursed himself for not saying something to
her then. Kenshin scratched the back of his head with his
left hand, nervous because of the subject. "I didn't know
that you knew Misao-dono was staying with us, Aoshi."

Aoshi slid the white parchment across the table, over to
Kenshin. Uneasily he picked it up and skimmed over its
contents.

"Is Misao all right?" Aoshi repeated his inquiry.

Now that was the understatement of the year. Kenshin locked
onto Aoshi's cold eyes. 'It is not my place to say anything,'
Kenshin told himself. 'Misao-dono has entrusted me with her
feelings and I should respect that.' But the look in Aoshi's
eyes --behind his mask of coldness-- his pale blue eyes were
filled with worry. Kenshin could just feel the demon of guilt
creep over him.

Aoshi had a right to know, didn't he?

No. Misao-dono. Remember, Misao-dono's pain.

After flattening out the crumpled worn letter, Kenshin
returned it back to Aoshi. "I have no idea what you're
referring to, de gozaru."

A silence grew between the two, as they stared at each other
in the flickering candlelight. Both were trying to stare the
truth out of each other, both determined to get to the bottom
of what was going on. Seconds grew into minutes of silence.
The waitress assigned to that tatami room had walked in,
thinking that the customers had left, but then stopped
abruptly as she saw the two men still sitting there, still
silent. She bowed in apology and quickly left the room.

Still, no one spoke.

"Himura," Aoshi finally broke the silence with his soft
voice. "I felt it."

Raising an eyebrow, Kenshin blinked. "Oro?"

"Misao's chi." Aoshi closed his eyes and began to think back
to a few hours earlier, when he saw Misao leave the Akebeko.
Her chi was steaming off of her, because of Yahiko's comment.
Yet, it wasn't her usual battle chi. "Something- was wrong
with it." Aoshi thought out loud.

Kenshin was amazed that Aoshi had sense that. 'He's even
better than I thought.' His lips curved into a small smile,
but changed back again to his serious face. "You're correct
Aoshi."

Slamming his cup down on the table, Aoshi propped himself
high on his bent knees. Now towering over Kenshin more than
before, he repeated his question. "Is Misao all right?"

Meekly, Kenshin picked up his cup of cold tea and began to
sip from it. 'I can't tell him. It's not my place.'

Aoshi's eyes narrowed as he glared down at the silent
rurouni. "You know. I know you know. Damn it Himura, tell
me!"

"If you were so concerned with Misao-dono's health, why did
you let her leave the Aoiya, de gozaru ka?" Kenshin finally
replied in a cold voice.

Aoshi froze.

And for a moment, his eyes drowned with guilt.

Pushing his hand through his hair, Aoshi calmly sat back
down. He had to remain calm. Why was he getting so upset
anyway? Just because Misao might be sick or ill? 'Of course
that's why!' a voice inside of him screamed. 'If Misao left
your life, you would truly turn into the heartless man you
pretend to be!' Aoshi bit down hard. Now even his
subconscious was lecturing him about Misao.

Sensing Aoshi's distress, Kenshin put his cup down and looked
directly into his eyes. "It's not my place to tell you what
is wrong with Misao-dono's health, de gozaru."

Aoshi tensed. "Health?" He repeated. "Is she sick? Dying?
What?"

Kenshin gave a small shrug. "That's all I can tell you
Aoshi." Kenshin watched solemnly as Aoshi knelt his head in
defeat, his bangs now covering his eyes. Pursing his lip,
he finally picked his cup up again and took another sip. "Why
don't you come over for dinner tomorrow, Aoshi."

"Hmm?" Aoshi's head shot up, giving Kenshin an accusing look.

What was he up to?

"Dinner. Tomorrow, de gozaru. Sano is coming back from
Mongolia tomorrow and we are all gathering for a celebration
dinner. Why don't you join us, de gozaru ka?" He paused,
putting his cup back down on the table. "You never know,
Misao-dono may tell you what I can't."

Now he was even more suspicious of the battousai. Aoshi
raised his eyebrow as he muttered, "I hardly think *I'm* the
first person Misao wants to see right now."

Kenshin shook with laughter. Again, Aoshi looked lost; and
he kind of liked Aoshi looking that way. It was a lot better
than the icy death stare Aoshi had adopted since the loss of
his companions.

"What's so funny?"

"Nani mo nai, de gozaru." He said, still trying to suppress
his laughter. "It's just that Misao-dono constantly talks
about you, Aoshi."

"Really?" There was a tone of disbelief in Aoshi's voice. He
again looked at Kenshin as if he had lost his mind. Honestly,
there was the growing feeling of hope that Misao would at
least speak to him, still. Yet, his head continued to repeat
'Misao hates you, you should just leave her alone, she'd be
more happy without you in her life.' And, no matter how much
Aoshi wanted to believe in the small hope, the thought of
her erasing him totally from her life was so much easier to
believe. Too many things pointed in that direction. Too
little pointed to that she actually did-

love him.

Kenshin winced at the memory of the day Misao came running
into his arms, three months ago. She was a complete wreck. A
dirty, half-starved Misao just leapt into his arms and
started crying. He was surprised that she was still standing
on two feet. For a whole week, all she did was cry. Finally
he and Kaoru had coaxed out what had basically happened. But
Kenshin knew there were details she was leaving out, and he
had no intention to force them out of her. It was her choice
to tell him anything. He was just relieved that she let some
of her frustrations out.

"Yes. Really." Kenshin took another sip of his tea, half
smiling.

-------------------------------------------------------------

The warm steam of the bath surrounded the small furoba. Misao
sighed with relaxation as she felt the warmth of the steaming
water surround her. Kenji in hand, she slowly sat down in
the bath. "There now, see Chibi-chan? It's not too bad is
it? And after all that fuss when I was scrubbing you..."

Kenji giggled and clapped his hands. "Misao-nee-chan smart!"

"And pretty..." She added, smiling.

Kenji's small head bobbed up and down, as his smile grew.
"Hontou! Hontou!"

Gently, Misao slowly splashed the warm water onto Kenji's
soft baby skin, careful of his eyes. Kenji danced his palms
against the surface of the water, creating splashes and
making him giggle. A warm smile grew on Misao's face.

Just like she always wanted-

"Misao-nee-chan?" A surge of pain shot through Misao's arm as
Kenji continued to hit Misao in the arm. Shaking her head,
Misao left her daydreaming state.

"Arei.. Kenji..." She looked around, now aware that it was
all a dream. She smiled lightly, standing up in the, now
cold, bath. "Let's get you dressed, kay?"

Kenji nodded and shouted a bright "Hai!"

Plopping Kenji onto the wooden counter of the furoba,
Misao swiftly wrapped a small robe around the small boy,
singing a soft melody as she did. All the while, Kenji bobbed
his head back and forth, enjoying the melody. She then took
a towel and lightly dried his hair enough that it was not
completely dry, yet not soaking wet. Nodding in approval of
her work, Misao bent down to her toiletries bucket to pull
out her brush. The soft porcelain tingled her wrinkled finger
tips as she slowly turned the brush around in her hand. It's
soft pink and blue flowers had always appealed to her.

The door burst open, letting a strong breeze fill the room.
The chill of the fall winds sent shivers down Misao's skin,
goose-pimples popping up all over her body. She slowly began
to rise back up to shut the door when a voice called.

"Misao-chan I thought you-" her voice cut off.

Misao froze. Oh no. Her eyes grew wide as she stood up
completely to see Kaoru at the door, her eyes wide also.

"Misao-chan... you're...."

A crash echoed through the furoba. The once beautiful
porcelain brush shattered to a million pieces. The breeze
then swept into the small shack, scattering the pieces
everywhere. Kenji looked down to the bright pieces of pink
and blue that now colored the floor. "Kowa-teruuu."

End Chapter I

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Author's Notes:

................

Kay. I'm cryptic aren't I? _ Poor Aoshi. He has no idea in
hell what's going on. And you know what, about half of you
readers probably don't realize what is either. *evil gryn*
But that's the way I want it. MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA.

*ahem* However, most of my beta readers figured out what's up
with Misao, so I guess I'm not horrifically cryptic.

So how does it go? Am I totally being gross and icky doing
this? ^^ I hope not. Pnu-kun warned me there was a fine line.
I'm trying not to cross it ^^ HONTOU!

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A Scene of What's To Come:

Kenshin kneeled down to Kaoru's futon and wrapped his arms
around her figure, kissing the nape of her neck. "Please
forgive this silly rurouni for not telling you sooner,
koishii. However, Aoshi visiting tomorrow may bring Misao
to.."

"Or it could lead her into crying for another week," Kaoru
added, flatly. She was still not ecstatic about Aoshi coming
to dinner so soon after Misao's secret was let out. It
would be too uncomfortable for everyone, especially Misao and
Aoshi. Shaking her head, Kaoru sighed. "What a mess this is."

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Disclaimer:

I don't own Misao or Aoshi or any other characters mentioned
in this story. I do not own them I tell you! Nobuhiro Watsuki
does though. And so does Sony and Jump Comics. And they are
big companies that have lots of money. I am a poor otaku who
has *no* money. So please don't sue me. This fiction was
created for entertainment purposes only ^^;