Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Pottery 101 ❯ Amazing ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: well I'm tired of saying this but I don't own any of these characters and I don't plan to make any money from them. But this story is mine so back off.

Well I would like to apologize for the horrible last chapter. I really couldn't think of any thing else to put in there. Someone asked that I put in more Aoshi and Misao moments, I'll try to do that in this chapter. I totally agree, I barely had any scenes with them in the story and this is supposed to be an Aoshi and Misao fic so yeah there will be more Aoshi and Misao action. If you people have any ideas you think will make the story better just tell me them and if I like it I'll put it in.

Oh and thanks to all my wonderful reviewers you have been nothing but nice to me and please I ask that people start to review more often I mean its not hard to do, I do it almost every time I read a story so you can do it too.

" Speech"

` Thoughts'

**** Change of scene.

Chapter 6

Misao walked down the stairs from the temple she had just exited in a daze. She was smiling like an idiot. Why? Because she just had the most wonderful time of her life drinking tea with the blue-eyed, too sexy for him to be just an ordinary human, ex-okashira who all of a sudden was saying enough that it could qualify as a sentence and staring at her intently for the whole time. Maybe she did have a chance with him after all. He seemed to be very interested in her today. First the stare out this morning and now this afternoon he was talking a lot and staring at her even more than before. She thanked the gods that she was still able to speak intelligently with his gaze fixed on her. ` Why on earth was Aoshi acting like that today? He was acting like any normal person. Whatever it is I'm not complaining at all' she thought with a giggle. Then she remembered when she handed him his cup how he had held her hand longer than nessessary and how he had stared into her eyes for what seemed like an eternity. ` Now whenever I see him I'll be blushing like crazy.' She was nearly to the Aoiya when Hideki-san spotted her. She was in such a daze she didn't even realize she was being spoken to. All she was doing was replaying the part when he held on to her hand over and over in her head.

FLASHBACK

Misao walked up the stairs in deep thought. She was still thinking about Hiko Seijuro and how Okon and Omasu where going to get him to teach her to make pottery. ` I don't know what they're planning to do to get him to agree, but it better be good' she thought as she finally reached the entrance of the temple. She set the tray aside and fixed her clothes. She picked the tray back up and made her way inside where she saw Aoshi sitting in his usual spot with his back facing her as usual. ` You better like this gift Aoshi, cuz if you don't smile when you get it, I'm going to kill you' she thought to herself. She sometimes wondered why she went through all this trouble to get him a birthday present when he didn't even seem to care much about it any way. She was soon reminded why.

" Good afternoon Aoshi, I'm sorry I'm late but I was a bit tired from today's events" she said as she sat beside him and set the tea tray down. " Did you have a nice day?"

" hai." He was watching her like a hawk, taking in everything about her. He noticed that she really did look tired. He decided to find out what made her like that. " And how was your day Misao?"

She was shocked that he actually asked her something. She recovered quickly though. " Oh it was just hectic. You know the usual Aoiya and Oniwabanshuu business and then there was the whole Hideki-san ordeal."

She didn't tell him the part about her planning to learn to make pottery from Hiko Seijuro. She didn't want him to get suspicious.

" I see that woman is still at it. I don't think she will ever grow out of being nosey," he said with a small smile on his lips. He remembered all too well how nosey that woman was. And then some poor innocent soul who was walking by would have to stand and listen to her annoying voice as she gossiped about what she heard about someone.

" So I take it you have fallen victim to her as well. I had to save Okon and Omasu this morning or else they would have been deaf or dead now. I think Okon is still traumatized." She was enjoying this conversation. It was the first time since she was small she heard him say so much.

" So just how did you get them away from her?" he was very curious as to how she had distracted the woman. He remembered many times trying to save Okina from the evil woman's clutches.

She turned red at that one. How could she tell him that she destroyed the woman's vase to distract her. And it wasn't just any vase, it looked very expensive like if it was passed down from generation to generation. " I have my ways" was all she said and she prayed that he wouldn't ask her exactly what her ways were.

" Hmn" was all he said. He knew it must be something drastic if she didn't want to tell him.

" Well the tea is getting cold Aoshi, I think we should drink it now." She set to work preparing the tea.

` She called me Aoshi again' he mused to himself. He sat and stared at her preparing the tea. He looked her up and down and unconsciously noted that she had become curvier and her features had changed slightly.

Misao felt his eyes on her. She could always tell when he was watching her, she would start to feel hot as if his gaze was made of fire. She stirred the tea one last time and then poured some into two cups (AN: bowl or cup you choose.)

She handed him his cup and their hands touched. She looked up suddenly. He didn't let go of her hand. He sat there and looked her right in the eyes. They sat there for a few minutes like that. No one made a move. They sat there staring at each other.

` So beautiful' was all Aoshi could think at the moment. He was transfixed. You could always tell what she was thinking, it always showed in her eyes. And at the very moment they were full of love and even lust. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

Then suddenly they both dropped their gazes and Aoshi reluctantly let go of her hand. He took the cup of tea and closed his eyes and began to drink it.

Misao still couldn't believe what had just happened. She was still shocked. The pink in her cheeks now becoming a lovely shade of red. She shook her head and took a sip of her tea.

They stayed like that for ten minutes and it was surprisingly Aoshi who broke the awkward moment. " So Misao where are you going for your vacation?" he asked.

She didn't know where to tell him. She obviously couldn't tell him she was spending her vacation learning how to make pottery. She thought of something quickly. " I'm actually going by a friend of mine who lives near the outskirts of Kyoto. She was nice enough to offer me a place to stay sometime ago to I took up her offer" she lied. He was eying her suspiciously.

" Well that's good that you are familiar with the person." He didn't know what it was but he felt like she wasn't telling him the whole truth. He pushed it aside for now. ` Maybe Okon and Omasu knows about this person, I'll ask them.'

She needed to change the subject quickly. " Would you like some more tea?" she asked.

" Hai" was all he said. He handed her his cup and there hands touched again. He quickly moved his hands away not wanting a repeat of what happened before. He could see that she was still blushing from before and her cheeks were now even redder.

They drank the rest of the tea in silence. When they were finished, she packed away everything and was ready to leave.

" Well then Aoshi, today was very enjoyable but I must be going. I am needed back at the Aoiya." She stood up and was started to walk over to the door. She was stopped when Aoshi called her name.

" Domo arigato Misao, for the tea. Have a nice walk back to the Aoiya." She immediately started to blush. She nodded and made her way out of the temple with a huge grin on her face.

Aoshi sat by the window looking at her retreating form. He sighed ` I'm never going to get her out of my head now.' He smiled to himself. Only she could make him smile and she managed to make him do it more than once today.

END FLASHBACK(AN: that sure was a long flashback ^_^)

Misao stood there in a daze still thinking about Aoshi and didn't even realize she was in a supposed conversation with Hideki-san. The woman wouldn't notice anyway because most of her conversations were one-sided in the first place, she being the one doing all talking. Every so often Misao's face would take on the same look that Okon and Omasu would get any time they were thinking or talking about Hiko Seijuro. The same look she found disturbing and annoying. She was still thinking about when Aoshi had held onto her hand and looked her in the eye. ` His skin was so smooth and soft' she thought with a sigh. She was brought back to reality by Hideki-san calling her name.

" Makimachi-san are you listening to me?" asked Hideki-san in her screechy voice.

" Hai Hideki-san, I'm listening to you." Misao said with a sad sigh. She was going to die at a very young age before she even had a chance to make Aoshi's present.

" As I was saying, Koura-kun's new girlfriend was caught kissing some other guy down by the bridge after the market." Misao didn't even hear what the woman was saying all she heard was `blah blah blah blah.'

After what seemed like an eternity she had finally manage to escape when Koura-kun himself passed by and Hideki actually stopped talking to follow him down the road. When he passed by he gave Hideki the nastiest glare he could manage and then smiled sweetly at Misao. When he turned around and continued on Hideki waited a few seconds then promptly followed him down the street. Seeing her chance to escape, Misao quickly ran off to the Aoiya and didn't stop until she was inside to take a breath.

" Running from Hideki-san again. That's the second time today Misao, now come on, really" said a grinning Okina. He had seen the whole little episode this morning with Okon and Omasu, it was quite entertaining.

" Oh please Jiya, like you wouldn't run for your life if you were in the same situation." She was tired of his annoying ways. He just always had to say something.

" Well how was your day today my lovely Misao? Did you find any thing for your beloved Aoshi as yet?" he knew he was annoying her already. He just loved to get a rise out of the girl, she was too easy to upset.

" Actually Okina, I have found a gift for Aoshi and it far surpasses whatever your gift is." She was confident in herself now. ` There's no way in hell that Jiya has a better gift than what I've planned' she thought to herself with a smile.

` She must mean business, she's calling me Okina, I better get ready to make my exit, but not without some parting words.' He noted the look on her face. It was one he feared. She was looking like a maniac scheming some sort of evil plan. " Well whatever you say Misao, but I really doubt that with the amount of money you have that it's any better than Shiro's wind chimes." With that he bolted off to his room and locked the door behind him.

" Why you old bat. Omae o korosu!" she shouted after Okina as she darted after him but only to have the door shut in her face. " Next time old man, you're not going to be so lucky my friend, I promise you that!" with that she stomped back to the kitchen to get something to eat where she almost killed an unsuspecting Shiro.

" Misao, please calm down or you'll rip somebody's head off. You know how Okina can be. Now here take some rice balls, I'm sure your hungry." He silently prayed that it would calm her down. She practically had steam coming out of her ears. But at the mention of rice balls she stopped her stamping and calmed down a bit and smiled.

" Thanks Shiro-kun, you're the best. But I swear one day I'm going to get him" she said while taking up a rice ball. Shiro really did make the best rice balls.

" No worries Misao, it's the least I can do to help you. After all you did manage to run into Hideki-san twice today." The woman had managed to corner him once or twice to see if he knew anything that was juicy. The only person who didn't seem to mind the woman's nosiness was Kuro who was also a terrible gossip.

She had stayed in the kitchen to talk with Shiro for the last twenty minutes and her legs were killing her. But it didn't matter because she got to eat all the rice balls that she wanted. She had asked Shiro if would make them for Aoshi's party next month and he had agreed. It was on rare occasions that he cooked them since Okon and Omasu did all the cooking. And it wasn't because she knew Aoshi had liked them, but that she wanted easy access to something that reliable and also a way to escape Kaoru's horrible cooking. The girl just insisted that she help cook something and when she did it always turned out burnt or something far worse. She remembered she even saw Aoshi throw Kaoru's riceballs away when he thought she wasn't looking. And if Aoshi thinks that your cooking is bad then its really bad because the man eats anything. The only time Kaoru's food was consumed was after everyone was too drunk to know any better.

She made her way back to her room with a full stomach. ` Shiro sure knows how to make them' she thought as she smiled and patted her stomach. She didn't have to eat for the rest of the night, she had eaten so much just in case he didn't make any tomorrow and she wanted to remember how good they tasted before they were all gone. The only other time she would get to eat them was at Aoshi's birthday party, which was a month away. Before she could open the door to her room she saw Aoshi walking towards her. The memories of what had happened filled her head and she couldn't help but blush.

" Oyasumi, Aoshi" she said with a bow. He just nodded back and stood there looking at her. " Did you want to speak to me about something Aoshi?" she questioned.

" Hai, but I want to give you something. Hideki-san gave me something, that I believe belongs to you." He handed her back the set of kunai she had used in the morning to brake Hideki-san's vase.

She took it with shaky hands. How did that woman know whose it was? " How did she come in possession of my kunai?" she lied. She knew Aoshi was going to ask her sooner or later but she needed to stall for time.

" I was going to ask the same thing. She said that she found this on the ground. Next to her broken vase." He was watching her now with raised eyebrows, waiting for her to answer him. He could always tell when she was lying. She would always stutter and her eyes would take on a look of torture. He could tell she didn't like to lie. But a lot of time has passed since the time he could read her emotions like an open book.

She sighed in defeat. There was no way for her to escape. And lying was out of the question. He always knew when she lied. She was never able to lie to him with a straight face.

" I used them today to save Okon and Omasu" she said in a barely audible voice but he somehow managed to hear her.

" And you had to brake an old lady's vase to do that?" he said in a cold tone. He really found it funny but he didn't dare laugh. ` So that's how she distracted her.'

" I am sorry for what I did to Hideki-san's vase but Okon and Omasu needed help and I couldn't think of a better way to save them." She was a little annoyed with his questions. Didn't she tell him everything in the temple when they had tea?

"Next time, you should be more careful and don't leave your kunai behind. A lot of people know you use them." With that he made his way to his room leaving behind a stunned Misao. He entered his room but not without a parting comment. " Oyasumi Misao." With that he closed the door to his room and left a still shocked Misao standing in the hallway.

`Did Aoshi just tell me to make sure do get my kunai before leaving a crime scene, so no one will know that I was the one who did it? There must be something in that tea I'm giving him, he sure is acting odd lately' she thought as she finally came out of her daze. She finally entered her room and plopped down on her futon. She stared up at the ceiling as she replayed today's events in her head. First the dream about Aoshi naked, then rescuing Okon and Omasu from Hideki-san, Okon's and Omasu's ridiculas plan to learn pottery from Hiko Seijuro, the whole tea incident, Shiro's rice balls and then that little scene just now. She chose her favorite of today's incidents and soon fell asleep remembering how Aoshi held onto her hand.

****

Misao awoke to loud crashing noises in her bedroom. She looked over to her closet to see Okon and Omasu pulling out all her clothes and dumping them on the ground. Now clothes don't normally make so much noise when you throw them on the ground but this is Misao we're talking about here. The girl practically had kunai in everything.

She rolled over and slowly got up. She was never a morning person. She may be energetic but she hated the mornings. Why get up when you can sleep until noon. Her stomach grumbled. Then she remembered why. Food. For one to be considered genki, you have to eat lots of food. Of course she was a ninja so she would work it all off any way. And even if she wasn't exercising, she was chasing Okina or running from Hideki-san and that was enough to keep any one in shape.

She looked on as they continued to throw all her clothes on the ground. Then suddenly they stopped and turned around and ran up to her.

" Why are you in my room at this ungodly hour and messing up my closet and making so much noise?" she asked them with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

" Misao it's nine in the morning! Anyway we thought that since you would be leaving in a day that we would help you get packed " said Okon who was neatly folding some of her clothes.

" Yes Misao-chan, and do you have to have kunai hidden in everything? I mean I almost sliced my fingers off like three times already!" said Omasu who was watching her fingers and holding them as if they were made of gold.

" Whatever! And why are you packing so many clothes. I won't have any room for anything else if you pack my whole closet." Misao was now looking at all the different piles of clothes on the floor.

" Actually Misao that pile of clothes are the ones you are carrying on your trip. The rest we're going to give them away since you don't wear them and half of them probably can't fit you anymore" stated Okon who was pointing to a small pile of clothes neatly folded on the ground.

" I don't know why you didn't wear these clothes, they were very nice" said Omasu who was folding all the different kimonos that Misao never used.

" Well their okay that you are giving them away, but make sure you don't mix up my mother's kimonos with the ones you are giving away. If you did then I'm going to kill you."

" We know which ones were your mother's Misao. Those are the really beautiful ones. Don't worry, we didn't touch them, they're still in your closet" said Okon who was holding up an obi. " Can I have this obi Misao? I have a perfect kimono that will go with it."

" Take what you want, its not like I wear them. Anyway did you two come up with a way to get Hiko to agree to teach me how to make pottery?" asked Misao who was looking through all the clothes for something to wear.

" Yes we did, let's just say we're going to make him an offer he can't refuse." The two looked at each other and started to giggle.

` Great just what I need, these two lunatics going back into Hiko-sama mode' she thought as she picked up a hairpin and admired it for a minute. " Omasu, I think you would like this, do you want it?"

Omasu bounded over and looked at the hairpin and nodded her head quickly. " It's lovely Misao, domo arigato."

" Hey, it was me you owed hairpins not Omasu!" as she quickly got up and snatched the hairpins out of Omasu's hands.

" Yes but I already gave you that obi and don't think I didn't see you grab a pair of geta and hide in you top."

" Oh sorry but can I have them now that you've mentioned them?" said a flustered Okon who pulled out the pair of geta and showed them to Misao.

" Yes go ahead but give Omasu back those hairpins."

" Misao why do you have so many of these things. Please don't tell that you stole them from someone" said Omasu who was holding a large bowl filled with hairpins.

" Well you see, I get some most of it from losers who come to the Aoiya and try to dazzle me with gifts and then some are from you guys and Kaoru give me some as well."

" I didn't know you had so many admirers Misao" said Okon who was looking at a very expensive looking hairpin. " Who gave you this one Misao? Its very expensive."

Misao turned red when she looked at the hairpin. Aoshi gave her that when she was small for her birthday. " Aoshi gave me those when I was young. He said they matched my eyes perfectly."

" Oh no wonder you had them in this box, he was right, the jewels in them match your eyes perfectly. I think you should wear these to his birthday party Misao. I'm sure he would like that." Both Okon and Omasu watched amused as Misao turned even redder that before.

They quickly packed up all the things she would be using for her trip to Hiko's, all the while asking her about different accessories they found. She ended up keeping most of her stuff because Okon and Omasu insisted that she keep them, probably because they wanted to borrow them later.

She headed to the kitchen to get something to eat. She silently prayed that Shiro had cooked but when she got there she saw that it was Okon who had made the food. Okon always cooked the same thing for breakfast, but it still was very tasty. She crammed down her food and then left for the market. She had promised Odon that she would go get more stuff for the Airy since the supplies were running low quickly. She wondered how on earth they needed more stuff and they went to the market just yesterday. ` Probably Kina having midnight snacks again' she thought as she quickly walked past Hideki's place not without noticing Kurt talking to Hideki like there was no tomorrow. She always wondered about that man Kuro. He was an odd ball all right. He liked to gossip even more than Omasu. She then concluded that most men are nosy, like Okina. He could always be counted on to tell you what's going on with the neighbours. He constantly was asking `who', so much so he started to sound like an owl.

She finally reached her destination. She groaned. There was nothing more that annoyed than getting fish and meat. Of course they needed fresh fish but why did she have to be the one to go get it? She would always end up having to wring someone's neck to get the fish that she wanted. The people would all of a sudden become interested in the fish she wanted and then a fight would always brake out. Of course she would win, she was a ninja of course and it was so easy pummeling those poor men to the ground. And then there was the fact that after she bought the fish and carried it home, she would have to go scrub her skin for the fishy scent to come off and most times she would still smell of fish.

She looked around her and noted her surroundings. There weren't as many people as usual but there still were the usual losers hanging around the fish venders. She had to wonder if they came out only when she came to get fish. She walked to one particular vender that she always bought from. He was a nice old man with a friendly smile, plus he always gave her a discount because she was a loyal costumer. She pointed to a particularly large fish and said that she wanted it. That's when all hell broke loose. All of a sudden the losers hanging around the other venders rushed over and started to yell they wanted that piece of fish too, and they were here first so they should get it.

Then they broke into a fight. Misao punching some guy who had the nerve to push her out of the way. She wasn't standing for this rubbish anymore. She whipped out her kunai and threw them like a mad woman. She did a flip and landed in front of the old man, handed him the money, took the wrapped up fish, retrieved her kunai from the people who were nailed to the ground and then she took off with speed that would make even Tenken no Soujiro proud. She ran all the way back to the Aoiya and then immediately carried the fish for Omasu and Okon and then made her way to the bathhouse.

Meanwhile the people back at the market where now getting off the floor and dusting them selves off. Ready to start back up the fight and then realized that the fish was long gone.

She stayed in the bathhouse for an hour trying to scrub off the smell. Satisfied that she no longer smelled like a salmon, she headed for the Aoiya's kitchen to eat some food and then go wait tables. She wasn't in the mood to carry Aoshi his tea so she got Okon to do it for her. She waited tables the whole day and was exhausted from all the work she did. Too many times she had to be held back by Okon from beating the living daylights out of some poor guy who wasn't sure what he wanted to order.

It was eight at night when she finally decided to retire for the day. She was tired as hell and she didn't even get to see Aoshi today at all. She climbed into her futon and fell asleep quickly. She had to get some rest before her long journey to Hiko's shack to learn how to make pottery for her beloved Aoshi-sama.

Aoshi finally reached the Aoiya. He was disappointed that Misao didn't bring him his tea and instead Okon brought it for him. It wasn't really late now but he silently walked through the halls. He went to the dinning area to find Misao. She wasn't there with the others eating dinner like he thought she would. " Why is Misao not eating with you?" he asked. He would always return home and hear her laughing or threatening Okina for something or the other.

It was Okina who spoke up first out of the stunned group. " Misao had a very stressful day today. She was very tired so she went to bed. After all she is leaving tomorrow for her vacation so she thought best to get a good rest."

" Ah, she is leaving for her vacation. I see." He sat down and ate some dinner then quickly made his way to his room. He stopped outside Misao's door. He stood there for a few seconds before he decided to go in. He silently walked over to her and kneeled down. He quietly admired her and brushed some hair from her face. ` So beautiful.' He looked longingly at her. He wanted her to be his so badly. Deciding that he should leave before he lost control of his actions, he bent over and kissed her forehead and whispered " sleep well my angel" with that he left her room and went to his own. He lay down on his futon and touched his lips, the same lips he used to kiss Misao's soft skin. He stared at the ceiling thinking of Misao. " My angel" he whispered before he fell into a peaceful slumber.

Over in Misao's room, she was smiling in her sleep before she muttered " you too Aoshi, you too." She needed her rest, after all tomorrow she began her journey to the mountain of the master of pottery.

So how was it? Hoped you liked it. Well there's only one way for me to know. Review! Please I really love reviews especially the nice ones. Heck all my reviewers a nice to me. And I'll also like to say that I have to different names at the different sites. At mediaminer.org my name is J_mame-chan and at fanfiction.net I am Kuroi-sakurapetals so don't think that someone stole my story if you see a different name okay. It's still me. Glad that I could make people happy and hyper with my story. Well goodbye for now. Cheers! ^_^