Chapter 12: Confession

A fanfiction by Kyo

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"C'mon, Aoshi! Let's go back!" Misao said excitedly as she clinged to his arm, looking one side and other to cross the street. They had already subscribed to their respective categories and Misao couldn't wait for the tournament to start.

"Okay, Misao-chan. Kaoru and Kenshin should still be at the park where we left them." Aoshi said holding her hand to his arm as they waited for the cars to let them cross.

Misao looked at him curiously. "Why is that? They could have gone anywhere by now." She replied.

Aoshi nodded. "I know Kaoru. That park is full of Sakura." Aoshi said, not giving any further explanation. After that they walked silently, each immersed in his or her thoughts. They were near the park when they first spotted them. At first, they didn't believe what they were seeing. They were so close to each other, closer than normal, at least. They seemed oblivious to everything else around them.

At Misao's order, they did not make a sound as they approached, relaying heavily on their ninja skills. Aoshi did not want to intrude, sure that his little sister would be very mad at him for interrupting them. On the other hand, his protective brother nature was surfacing and he wanted to know what was going on.

A few more steps and they were close enough to hear what they were saying. Oddly enough, none of them realized that they were intruding, so engrossed in each other they were. Aoshi suddenly felt the urge to tear them apart, but soon enough realized that he was being unreasonable.

"I'll protect you till death takes my heart, my breath, my blood." They heard Kenshin saying. Misao felt her breath caught in her throat realizing just what Kenshin was doing, and suddenly, she didn't want to be there. She was being rude, but she wanted to know, wanted to hear. "And even after death my soul will seek yours, for I cannot live without you." Misao felt the urge to squeal in delight, but knew that he was not finished, and did not want to interrupt. "For you are my very soul." The last line was very hard to hear, Kenshin having only whispered it in her ear, breathless. That was when she squealed her delight.

"Kawaii!!!" She near screamed, snapping them out of their reverie. Misao wanted to bang her head on a wall for her outburst. She had ruined it! She would never hear the end of it from Kaoru, and Megumi was going to kill her! That is, if Kaoru did not kill her first.

Kenshin turned around in a snap, his face as white as paper and his eyes wider than saucers. He gulped visibly and let go of Kaoru as if she had burned him. He opened is mouth to say something, then closed it and opened it again, but no words came out. His throat was drier than paper, and so tight he could hardly breathe.

Aoshi wanted to run far, far away. Was it his imagination or Kaoru's eyes were darker than cobalt when they rested on him? And was that amber on Kenshin's eyes? Was Misao gulping hard and stepping backwards? Oh God! It was amber on Kenshin's eyes.

Aoshi looked from Kaoru to Kenshin and back. Kenshin was making an immense effort not to let his anger show. He cleared his throat repeatedly.

Kenshin had suffered from so many strong feelings in a single minute. First had come the revealing of his feelings to Kaoru. That was enough for him in a single day. But then, it came the utter and complete panic, that was, when he had heard Misao and when he had seen Aoshi. Then it came the embarrassment. So intense he wanted to die. But then, came the anger. Anger, with such a passion the only thought in his mind had been: "Kill". Which he had to control with the very last ounce of emotional energy he had left. He had to get away. Now. Fast.

"I gotta go." He muttered lightly. And that was he did, he left, far away from the scene. Far into the park. He heard Kaoru calling his name in a whisper, but he did not look back. He just walked faster, till he was running. Away. Far away.

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"I should just kill you!" Megumi said for the nth time that afternoon. She was frustrated with the whole deal. She needed to punch someone, hard.

"I know!" Misao whined, burying her face on her hands. Megumi sighed. Even if it was Misao's fault that they were in this problem, she couldn't really be angry with her.

"Look, it's okay Misao. I know we will fix this somehow."

"It's not that easy! Kenshin's been missing for four hours now! He doesn't answer our phone calls to his cell and Sano and Aoshi already went to look for him! And they didn't find him! And Kaoru hates me!" Misao finished miserably, near to tears.

"Misao, is not that bad. You shouldn't cry. And Kaoru doesn't hate you. You know she is incapable of that." She said in her more soothing voice and Misao sniffed.

"Hey." A male voice saluted from the doorway. "Kitsune is right, weasel. You know jou-chan doesn't hate you, and Kenshin is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Kyoto is not a strange city to him, he knows his way." Sano said in a strangely gentle voice.

Misao sighed, sniffing away the remaining of the tears that had threatened to spill. "Okay."

Just then Aoshi stepped into the room, accompanied by Hiko. Hiko did not look in the least bit worried about his son, in fact, he looked as smug and proud as ever, not in the least bit affected by his son's disappearance.

"All of you are baka." Was the first thing that left Hiko's lips once he stepped fully into the room. "You are worried over nothing. Baka deshi can take care of himself, after all, I trained him. He just needs time to think." He finished, waving his cape in a dramatic gesture.

"Hiko-san is right." Aoshi said. "But if he doesn't come back by sunset, Sano and I will go out to look for him again." He suggested, more to assure a distressed Misao than over his worries about Kenshin. He was not worried about him. Not like his sister and her best friend were.

Aoshi sighed. Kaoru was giving him the silent treatment. Maybe she felt it was all his fault, being him the older brother and the supposed to be responsible and sensible guy here. She was not mad at Misao, well at least she wasn't giving her the silent treatment.

Aoshi sighed again. This was going to be a though situation. He could see Kenshin (that is, once he came back) acting all shy around Kaoru, avoiding her and being completely awkward.

"Where is Kaoru?" Megumi asked.

"She is in the living room, with the girls." Came Sano's instant reply.

Just as Sano had said, Kaoru was in the living room playing with Suzume and Ayame. They were chasing each other around the couches and sofas and Kaoru hal-heartedly went after them. She didn't want the girls to see that she was sad and upset, but children have knack for those things.

"Kaoru-nee, why are you sad?" Suzume asked in her tiny sweet voice.

"I'm not sad Suzume-chan."

"Yes, you are!" Ayame and Suzume cried in unison with identical pouts on their faces.

Kaoru smiled sadly. "Okay, I am, kinda. I guess. I'm confused." She said, bowing her head, trying to sort out her thoughts. She didn't know how to act around Kenshin anymore. Was he her boyfriend? Only a friend? Not even that? She wanted to shout in frustration. She breathed deeply. The only thing she needed to do was talk to him, right? Right! The only problem was that he had decided to go missing. Now, of all the time in the world.

She sighed. "Why are you sad, Kaoru-nee?" Suzume-chan repeated her question.

"I'm sad, because Kenshin is not here." She whispered, more to herself than anybody else.

"Ken-nii will return very soon, Kaoru-nee!" Ayame answered happily, resting importance to the situation. "And when he returns, I will pull his hair for making Kaoru'nee sad."

Kaoru had to giggle at the mental picture of Kenshin being punished by the little girl.

Suddenly she heard a sound. It was a sound that did not come from upstairs, where everybody was, but from outside, the garden, and then a door being open.The little girls were running toward it before Kaoru had time to stop them. She didn't have to follow them thoug, when she heard their greeting.

"Ken-nii!!!" Suzume shouted in greeting, smiling widely from ear to ear. Kenshin answered her smile with a sad one of his own. There was so much going on in his head right now. He titled his head in amusement and confusion when he saw that Ayame's face was not decorated with the usual wide smile, but with a small frown and a visible pout.

He gingerly stepped in, closing the door and lifting Suzume with one arm. "What's wrong Ayame-chan?" He asked quietly, raising an eyebrow.

Suddenly, without warning, Ayame kicked Kenshin in the shin, making him yelp. "Oro!" He complained, careful not to let go of Suzume. "What was that for, Ayame-chan!?"

Before the little girl answered, Suzume gave Kenshin's hair a mighty pull, making him yelp again. "Oro!"

"That was for making Kaoru-nee worry!" Suzume replied to his previous question. "And that was for making her sad!" Ayame said right afterwards.

"Oro? Is Kaoru here?" Kenshin asked uncertainly, looking around him, but he found no trace of Kaoru.

Both girls nodded in answer to his question. But before Kenshin could ask again about Kaoru, everybody that had heard his oro's went to greet him, and scold him and tell him all the other things they wanted to tell him.

"Stupid Kenshin!" That's Sano, Kenshin guessed. "I told you baka deshi would be here in no time." That's obviously Sihshou. "Himura!!!" That sing-song voice can only be Misao's. "Ohohohoho!" Why is Megumi laughing?

He heards many voices, but he couldn't make Kaoru's out. But he couldn't even start worrying about because in less than a second he was surrounded by his friends, his Shishou, Dr. Genzai and the girls. But there was no sign of Kaoru anywhere.

Kaoru was debating with herself about a question. Was she going to face Kenshin, just like that? After the (beautiful, she inserted mentally) things he had told her? What was she going to tell him? What would happen to their relationship? She didn't want to loose everything they had right now. They were best friends, and she loved the situation as it was. She had wanted to be something else, more than a best friend, but now that she had achieved that (or almost) she didn't know anymore.

Finally, after about ten minutes, the crowd stopped beating Kenshin for his absence and they scattered around, or so it seemed to Kaoru who was still hiding in the living room. But fate had it that things were not what they seemed. In reality, the crowd was approaching the living room so they could seat, and Kenshin was with them.

Kaoru's head snapped up the moment she felt Kenshin's presence enter the room. Instinctively, her eyes searched for his. And locked.

His violet eyes were wide with what she thought was apprehension, and maybe confusion and fear. He was just as confused as her. Maybe he thought she was going to reject him. Kaoru managed an small and furtive smile, and he seemed to relax in her gaze. He returned the smile with the tiniest of his own. The exchange was not gone unnoticed by the small crowd. They ushered one another out of the room, leaving them alone. When Kenshin noticed, his eyes went as wide as when he had entered. And he tried to stop them with his gaze, but everything was in vain. He was alone with Kaoru. What was he going to do?

Aoshi placed his hand in the small of Misao's back, pushing her lightly out of the room. Misao protested a little, at first, but then she let herself be guided out of the room. Aoshi was being almost unnaturally gentle and gentlemanly with her. To the point she wanted to turn around and demand an answer to such strange situation. But instead, she decided to enjoy the situation, given the circumstances. She would have thought that Aoshi would interfere in the Kaoru-Kenshin situation at hand, given that he was the older brother and all, supposed to be protective and everything. But instead, he had proven to be quite a help in the case. In fact, he had been the first one to usher the crowd outside the room.

Now they were in the beautiful garden. It was full of well-taken-care-of flowers and an enormous Sakura tree. In the center of the garden, there was a medium-sized lake full of pure, blue water. If you looked closely, you could even see the little fish moving around the water. It was surrounded with round big stones, so it was easy to step very near the water without falling inside.

Misao looked around, expecting to see the whole crowd in the garden, but instead, it was she and Aoshi alone. She saw her reflection in the water, accompanied by Aoshi's taller one.

"Misao, I have something to tell you." Aoshi started, from behindd her, looking at her thanks to her reflection in the surface of the water.

Misao's heart started to beat more rapidly, but she did not let it show. She lazily moved the water with her fingers, making little ripples and startling the fish. "What is it, Aoshi?" She asked without looking at him.

He leaned beside her, and mirrored her movements in the water. The fish, bewildered, moved to the other side of the small lake. "It's something I have been waiting to tell you for weeks, now."

"Sou da ne?" Misao asked to make him now she was listening and force him to conitnue. There was something in his tone that told her that this was something important, and that if she missed the chance now, she might never know.

He nodded, knowing that she could see him in the reflection of the water. There were a few seconds of silence, and Misao, for a moment, thought she would never know.

"Misao . . . I like you."

Only then, did Misao turned to look at him. She titled her head, a small smile on her lips.

"Only like?" She asked mysteriously, her smile widening.

Aoshi almost had a heart attack, thinking of her actions as rejection, but then he noticed the playful glint on her eyes, and knew what the right answer was.

"No." He said quietly, shaking his head. Using his nimble ninja skills, he moved even closer to her with catlike movements, not making a sound. She turned to him, her eyes curious.

"No?"

"No." He repeated. With extreme delicacy, not strange, but unexpected from him, he placed his hands on her waist, just where he top ended and her jeans started, touching the exposed flesh. His touch felt warm against her skin and electricity flowed through all her body.

Again, with catlike movements, he leaned even closer to her, his face mere centimeters away from her own.

"I adore you." He amended, lightly kissing her forehead. Her eyes closed on her own accord at the touch of his lips on her skin.

"I cherish you." He whispered moving lower and kissing a closed eyelid. She smiled at the sensation, like a tickle but more sensual.

"I admire you." He kissed the other eyelid, and a delighted giggle escaped Misao's lips, but she did not open her eyes.

"I long for you." He moved lower and kissed the tip of her nose. She breathed in his scent and was delighted with it. He smelled like the sea.

"I treasure you." He whispered just above a breath before lightly kissing her left cheek. She parted her lips, hoping for something more.

"I'm insane for you." He said passionately, kissing her other cheek, he too, hoping for something more. "Aoshi . . ."

"I love you." He said breathlessly, his lips finally finding hers. There was nothing tender about their first kiss. It was pure intense passion in a fire the first moment their lips touched. Misao felt a jolt of electricity flowing through all her body, starting from her lips. It was an addictive jolt of electricity. She wanted more. She leaned closer to him, seeking more of him, wanting all of his presence around her.

He crushed her to him, wondering how he had ever hesitated about telling her about his feeling, thinking she was going to reject him. This was the best that had ever happened to him in his life, and he intended to keep it that way. He loved the feel of her lips against his. Loved the way she pressed herself closer, seeking for more. Loved the way she made him feel. And loved to make her feel like he felt.

They didn't want to separate, but fate had it that there was a loose rock right where they were. And luck had it that they were to immersed in each other to notice. When Misao moved a little to place her arms around his neck to have better access to him, she slipped falling into his arms. He lost balance and in a second they were both rolling into the lake, dripping wet.

"Oh! God! This is my favorite top!" Misao complained instantly, but had to stop the line of protest that were coming when Aoshi started laughing, his pitch balck bangs plastered to his forehead.

"I don't see what's so funny!" Misao protested, but his smile and joy were contagious and she had to laugh to at the situation, besides . . . she liked the way he looked with his clothes plastered to his body . . .

"I didn't know Aoshi had a sense of humor." Sano said with a smirk from his place on the porch, next to his girlfriend.

Megumi slapped him playfully on the arm. "Obviously he has." She said with a raised eyebrow at the scene. He had actually been laughing nonstop for about five minutes and didn't look like he was going to stop anytime soon. "Or maybe that's hysteric laughter cuz he realized that he said he loves weasel-girl." Sano quipped.

Megumi slapped him again, making him drop some tea on the floor.

"Hey!"

"You deserved it."

"And how are Kenshin and Kaoru faring?" Sano asked, moving closer to her.

Megumi sighed, leaning her head on Sano's soulder. "I don't know. But I think they will be alright. They just need to talk, that's all."

"Kenshin won't be easy to talk to. He likes to keep many things to himslef. And I don't think Kaoru will be able to talk either, not with everything's that's going on on her head right now." Sano said sagely.

Megumi looked at him oddly. "Since when do you know how to read people so easily?" She asked suspiciously.

Sano grin was lopsided when he next talked. "Since Kenshin's my best friend and I love jou-chan as a sister. And, believe me, I know both of them very well." Sano said proudly.

"Whatever."

That's when Kaoru burst out from the room and into the garden.

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