Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Misao's Surprise ❯ How To Make Aoshi Crazier Than It Is Healthier For Him To Be ( Prologue )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
Misao's Surprise

An NC-17 Romantic Comedy by: A Warrior's Soul

POV = * *
Thoughts = ' '
Speaking = " " (Did I really need to say that?)

Prologue
(Or: "How To Make Aoshi Crazier Than It Is Healthier For Him To Be")

Aoshi Shinomori dragged himself back to the Aoiya from his favorite place to be - the Zen temple across town from the restaraunt. It was raining, or as the ever-encroaching Westerners would say, "pourin' buckets", perhaps "raining cats and dogs". Any way you put it, Aoshi was soaked through to his skin, sneezing intermittently, and thoroughly miserable. Despite the bitter cold temperatures of the rainy November day, he noticed that he was sweating profusely. His wet clothes felt unbearably uncomfortable and restrictive as they stuck to his overheated body. He guessed that he had been out there too long and had caught a nasty cold.

A glare as cold as the weather outside sent most of the Aoiya residents and patrons scurrying in the other direction as Aoshi plodded along to his room. All he wanted was a hot bath and a soft futon. A warm light sparked in his eyes as he thought of another softness he was looking forward to after his bath... But then he remembered - Misao had gone out for the day and said she wasn't going to be back until late. His shoulders fell in exhaustion, giving him an extremely defeated look as he dropped his two kodachi in his room, sighed, and headed for the bath house. However, he certainly wasn't prepared for what he would find there...
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*Misao's POV*

I giggled almost giddily as I waited for Aoshi to come to the bath house, imagining the look that would be on his face when he saw me and my whole setup. I looked down at myself and almost blew my cover with a burst of laughter. Did I look good enough? Looking down at myself, I shook my head and blew my bangs out of my face. I knew that if I was even the slightest bit off, it would ruin the whole effect. My shoulders fell in defeat for a moment as several less-than-encouraging possibilities flashed through my mind.

I might just look ridiculous, not at all like the sexy diva I had been told by the shop owner I would be. In fact, I could feel my cheeks flushing bright red at the thought of the words the woman had used. Sure Aoshi and I had been lovers for some time now, but both of us were still working at overcoming different obstacles. He was finding it difficult to come to terms with his past actions and his new discovery of me as a woman. With me, the problem was the opposite of what anyone would probably expect... Yep, I was shy... I was the absolute last person I would have imagined in the getup currently bedecking my slight form.

A cursory glance around the bath house brought my mind back to reality (the grim reality, perhaps?) and I quickly readjusted my position to suit my surroundings. The whole place seemed rather forbidding, but I was supposed to make it look like it was perfectly natural. I believe the lady told me that it was to be my "domain" as she supplied me with all the necessary equipment. My eyes were still having a hard time adjusting to the variety of equipment around me. An uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach made me wonder if all this was really "necessary" as she insisted it was. Despite her fervent praise of her shop's wares, I had my doubts and I deemed them reasonable. Would Aoshi really go for all this like she said he would?

~~ "Oh, he'll just melt right into it!" she said reassuringly. "There's just no way you can fail with this one! He seems just the type - tall, dark and handsome. Oh yes, he is JUST the type who needs this kind of thing. He needs to learn how to relinquish control..." ~~

That just sparked up another item on my seemingly endless list of brow-furrowing doubts and nail-biting apprehensions. Aoshi and I were deeply in love and he had promised he would never hurt me, but I still wondered about his stability sometimes. At times, in the throes of passion, he seemed to be trying to hold back the old demon of chaos. I often wondered if Himura had managed to fully exorcise that old spirit... A major jolt like this might just be the grain of rice that broke the ox's back and send him full-throttle back into his old condition.

~~ "Now don't you worry if he tries to put up a fuss, honey," the lady reproached me as I opened my mouth to voice a concern, leading me to a rack of various leather objects. "In fact, it's just part of the fun getting him to go along with it. You really have to use your natural abilities to their fullest potential - shake what your mother gave you, so to speak!" ~~

I had no idea in heaven or on earth how in the hell that woman stayed so bright and cheery and encouraging through that entire spiel. Looking down at the thing in my hand - a leather riding crop - and wondered if she had just been lying through her teeth. How was I supposed to raise this to the man I loved? Maybe there was a trick to get it to hurt in a way that it felt good? I barely suppressed a shudder, wondering how the devil getting hit with that thing could feel good...

Oh well... Maybe if I just used it as a pointer to begin with, the rest would come naturally like the lady said it would...
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Aoshi was halfway to the bath house when he could have sworn he sensed Misao's ki - but that was impossible, wasn't it? Misao said she had gone out and she had never given him reason to doubt her word. Aoshi guessed it was a combination of wishful thinking and the headache brought on by the weather and his cold that pushed thoughts of Misao into his mind. He shook his head and continued on.

Then could have sworn he heard a giggle! Was he going crazy? Had all his previous experiences and the trials of recovery finally gotten to him and caused him to snap? He shook his head and tilted his ear towards the supposed source of the sound. He was a ninja wasn't he? He certainly was, and a damn good one at that! He should be able to tell whether he was actually hearing a person laughing or just the wind, right? Right! He perked up all his senses, felt and heard nothing, and nodded sharply. Just as he thought - there was nothing there and now his headache was getting worse.

Argh! Was that it again!? And this time it sounded closer! Aoshi insisted to his mind that it was just the wind and he was just going to make his headache stronger. For a moment, the small bit of his mind still capable of sane thought agreed --- but then he heard it again! Gyah! Was it some kind of SOMETHING out there just DETERMINED to drive him INSANE!? Aoshi's eye began to twitch as he shook the sound away again, trying to convince himself it was just his headache. He was going to take a bath and then go to SLEEP! Yes, he agreed with his inner voice. Sleep was always good - couldn't go wrong with sleep.

"Oh damn it," he muttered under his breath. "Now I'm hearing voices again... Pretty soon I'll be talking to myself..."