From: "Tin Mandigma" Hi, minna! Here's the long-delayed second part of Ikebana ^^;; I finished it a couple of days ago but I somehow misplaced the floppy disk where I saved the file so... ^_^;;; Anyway, here it is now and, uh, it's really mushy. Gomen! Explanations at the end of the 'fic BTW, thank you once again to Eliz-san and Sakka-chan for your comments regarding "Affinity" ^____^ And to Sariah-san and Courtney chan and Ashfae-san (who is such a great proofreader) ^_^ I really appreciate your support. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much! :) Ikebana by Tin Mandigma ---------------------------------------------------- This is a Rurouni Kenshin-inspired fanfic written entirely for entertainment purposes only. Standard disclaimers apply. --------------------------------------------------- *The sugar spree continues! ^_^ WARNING: OOCness galore! Part 2 Misao sneaked a glance at Aoshi tentatively as they neared the back door entrance leading to the kitchen. His face was calm as always but his blue eyes were dark with some undefinable emotion. He looked distracted, uncertain almost. Misao hurriedly averted her gaze as she wondered why. She mentally reviewed her behavior over the past few days but she couldn't think of anything she might have done to upset him. She'd dutifully kept out of his way as Okina had admonished her to and she certainly hadn't sprung yet another one of what Okon termed disapprovingly as her 'unladylike antics' on him. Misao decided that her conscience was clear. She'd done nothing wrong except for-- She felt a hand suddenly clamp on her shoulder and she jerked back instinctively. Her surprised gaze flew up once again to Aoshi. "What--?" His mouth twitched. "You nearly walked into the door," he pointed out coolly. Misao blushed when she saw that she was indeed only a few inches away from butting directly through the paper-screened wood-bordered compartment. She backed away hurriedly and felt herself connect with something hard. Aoshi's chest. She gulped and took a step forward only to stumble on the stone-littered walk. She squeaked in mingled surprise and mortification when Aoshi grabbed her arm and hauled her firmly upright. Misao closed her eyes in embarrassment, sure that her face was the color of an extra-ripe tomato. 'Lucky I didn't drop the package,' she thought ridiculously. "Are you OK?" Aoshi's voice was bland. Too bland. Misao opened one eye cautiously and peered up at him. Her peripheral vision was excellent. There was no need to doubt the suspicious quiver in his mouth and the slight flaring of his nostrils, as if he was trying to hold something back and desperately failing. Misao's own nostrils flared, this time in irritation. The damn man was laughing at her! Another eye flew open and zoomed up straight to his face. Was there--yes, there was a definite gleam of humor lurking in those oh-so-cool blue eyes. Misao's blush heat up a few more degrees. Aoshi blinked at her then and she realized that he was waiting for her response. She hurriedly averted her gaze to stare intently at her feet, hoping to find some inspiration therein. Her soiled tabi socks winked at her reproachfully. "Okon's gonna kill me," she muttered absently. "Misao..." was he choking on her name? That did it. Misao glared up at him. "I wouldn't have nearly bumped into the door if you'd opened it for me," she said loftily. She nodded at her package. "My hands are obviously full," she continued with as much haughtiness as she can muster. He blinked again. "Mine, too," he observed mildly and he held up her arm with one hand while with the other, he dangled the basket of flowers in front of her face. "And I think I have a heavier load." "You can let go of my arm, then, thank you very much," Misao retorted. "I don't want to--impose." "You're sure you'll be all right?" he inquired courteously. "I am not gonna break even without you by my side to hold my arm, Aoshi-sama," she responded, raising one eyebrow. Something flickered in his eyes again and his mouth tightened. He broke his hold on her arm gently. "You're right," he said softly. He reached out and slid the door open. Misao stared up at him worriedly, wondering at the change in his mood. They had been almost--bantering a few moments earlier and, suddenly, they were on the verge of slipping once again to the old routine: she asks, he answers. In monotone. 'Not in this morning, we aren't,' she thought darkly. Taking a deep breath, she inclined her head towards the open door. "Why don't you go ahead, Aoshi-sama?" she asked cheekily. Aoshi looked at her quizzically. "Why?" "You really have a heavier load than I do," Misao sighed. "With or without my arm to hold. And you're older." "Meaning?" the gleam was returning in his eyes again and she grinned in response. "Meaning your bones are brittle," she retorted. "And I want to be here to catch you in case you slip and fall." He cleared his throat. "If you say so," he said huskily. "But just to be sure..." he reached out for her arm again. This time, it was Misao who stared at him in surprise. "What?" "Why don't we go in together? That way, we can catch each other," he answered softly, his gaze intent on hers. Misao felt an inexplicable stinging in her eyes and she pretended to study the package clutched tightly to her chest. His voice lightened. "Besides, it'll be unfair if I fall on you backwards. I'm older, true. But I'm a lot heavier. You might get crushed at the impact." Misao laughed and she edged closer to him. "OK then," she murmured. "At my count..." Aoshi said as they stood poised over the threshold to the kitchen. "One, two..." "Aoshi-sama, your foot is much bigger than mine!" "So?" "So be fair! Move back!" "Three!" "Aoshi-sama, watch out for that pot!" CRASH. Kakeru looked up sharply from his weeding. He threw away his trowel and started running towards the kitchen in alarm. The door was flung open but the interior was dim. He was on the verge of calling out when he heard what sounded unmistakably like a grunt. "You are definitely heavier," a girl's voice. Kakeru frowned. Misao? "It's the basket!" "Oh, Aoshi-sama, you have flowers all over your hair!" "Look who's talking! You have a rose sticking out of your ear." Aoshi's voice sounded strangely muffled. "And you have one in your mouth!" "Let's not count our blessings..." "No, let's!" Something must be terribly wrong for Misao and Aoshi to start talking to each other like this... Kakeru peered inside, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the gloom and his mouth dropped open at what he saw. Misao was lying half-propped against the wall, laughing merrily, a sprinkling of petals decorating her dark hair which had somehow fallen loose from its clasp. Aoshi was sprawled against her, his equally flower-strewn head resting against her shoulder, smiling widely, a rose sticking out of his mouth like a pipe. Beside them, a large wicker basket spilled a profusion of flowers and leaves all over the wooden floor. Some distance away, looking like some lonely outcast, lay the huge black pot which Kakeru recognized to be the one which Okon used to cook rice. 'They're gonna get a scolding,' Kakeru thought bemusedly even as he turned again to regard the still-laughing couple. "Move over!" Misao said giggling. Aoshi groaned. "But my poor old bones!" he protested. 'Oh gods,' Kakeru thought, wondering if he was dreaming. "Your bones, indeed!" Misao sniffed. "You really should lose weight, Aoshi-sama." She poked his shoulder. "You've been meditating too much. This definitely feels like fat." Aoshi looked outraged. "Excuse me? I am not fat." He glared up at her. "Want me to prove it?" Misao raised an eyebrow teasingly. "Oh yes! Thank you for offering." Kakeru thought that it was definitely time to interrupt. He was about to clear his throat as loudly as he could when with one fluid movement, Aoshi rolled off Misao and brought her gracefully along with him to a standing position. "See?" Aoshi asked, his eyes glinting. "I can still lift weights..." "Ha, ha," Misao snorted. "You used me for leverage. Let me see you hauling Jiya around." "Don't be a spoilsport," Aoshi admonished her. He proffered his arm. "Come on. I'm fair. You can now have your chance of hauling *me* around." "I'd rather sweep you across the floor," Misao retorted. "Is that a challenge?" "Definitely." "OK then," Aoshi murmured, a half-smile still curving his mouth. "But clean the floor first. I don't want to get dirty." "You sneak!" Misao said, laughing. She backed away rapidly when she saw his hand snake out towards her head. "Aoshi-sama! What are you doing!" "Stay still," he said sternly. He gently brushed away the soft drooping petals which crowned her hair, his eyes soft. "You look like a live talking plant." Misao blushed but she didn't move away. Instead she reached up with her hand to pluck the rose from his mouth. "And you look like a really bad imitation of one of those romantic heroes dressed in stockings Omasu keeps pointing out to me from the picture book her English boyfriend gave her." Aoshi raised an eyebrow. "Omasu has an English boyfriend?" "Had," Misao said mournfully. "Her latest one is Dutch." He shook his head. "What's next? American?" "No, Portuguese," she replied. "There's a rotation she and Okon devised, I think." Aoshi stared at her in mock-horror. "You mean they exchange men?" he queried. "They substitute," Misao said, frowning. "That's different." Aoshi choked and Misao patted him gently on the back. "There now, Aoshi-sama, just let it all out." Stifling his laughter himself, Kakeru silently tiptoed backward, hoping he wouldn't crash into something and ruin the entire scene. Luckily, there weren't any inconvenient pots or huge flower baskets barring his way. Finally, he heaved a sigh of relief when his feet landed on the outside stone walk. Before he slid the door shut however, he decided to take one last peek. Aoshi was holding a familiar brown package in his hands "Misao? What's this?" Gasping, Misao snatched it from him quickly. Aoshi frowned at her and she laughed sheepishly. "Nothing, uh, nothing, Aoshi-sama..." "Nothing?" She laughed again airily. "Just a surprise, that's all...Er, what I meant was..." "A surprise for whom?" The frown deepened. "No one!" "Really? That wasn't what I heard," Aoshi retorted. Misao stared at him. "What you heard?" she squeaked. "The little girl you were talking to earlier said, 'He's gonna love it,'" he muttered. "Who's he?" "You saw Sachiko?" Misao said in a strangled voice. "You mean you were in the garden all along?!" "Well, you were making a lot of noise," Aoshi countered defensively. "I just couldn't walk away..." "You were eavesdropping on us!" Misao accused him. "How dare you?" "Uh..." Aoshi suddenly found himself at a loss for what to say. He searched frantically around the room when his eyes focused on the basket of flowers. Misao was still spluttering at his 'nosiness' so he decided to cut her off with: "Misao, what are we going to do with these flowers?" That shut her up. "Uh..." it was Misao's turn to stutter. Chuckling inwardly, Kakeru slowly slid the door shut. He would have wanted to watch events take a more colorful turn (and they were going to be more colorful, if those two had anything to say about it) but he had taken Misao's injunction against snoops to heart. But he figured he'll get a chance to join in the action later on. Especially because... Misao's voice sounded nervous and very wary. "Aoshi-sama?" "Yes?" "Um, what do you know about arranging flowers?" Kakeru walked away, still chuckling to himself. Especially because of *that* End of Part 2 NOTES: Mwahahahahahaha!!!! ^______^ I just love writing this story!!! (even if I do have a horrible tooth ache by now especially since I've also been reading Tae-san's "Someone to Watch Over Me" and Shi-chan's "The Finding." Sugoi! ^_^) Now, minna, please don't flame me ^^;; Lemme explain why I wrote the story like this. I just wanted to, uh, describe how Misao and Aoshi possibly interacted before the infamous Kyoto arc (and maybe even before the events which precipitated that ^^) since this certainly had a drastic effect on their relationship. I'm pretty sure that Aoshi was not always so reserved and withdrawn around Misao. I mean, he practically raised her along with Okina, didn't he? While the events which I outlined in the story are not in any way enough to crack Aoshi's shell, I think they--and Misao--could serve as enough excuse to loosen Aoshi up ^^;; Sort of transport him to more carefree times, ne? :) Besides, I couldn't resist ^____^ A&M are just too cute! ::laughs in a sugar-powered frenzy:: Next Part: The fine points of home making ^_~ Later, T.M. back to finishing ROAD ^_^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Give back to your community through "Grow to Give." http://www.ONElist.com See homepage for details.