Standard disclaimers apply.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Part 4: Confession
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Misao glanced at her guests. She had managed to get them all dressed in yukatas - not an easy task. Finding the right sizes around the Aoyia was no where near as easy as she had initially thought it would be.
In the end, Saitou ended up wearing on of Aoshi's. Yahiko and Kenshin were wearing some of Misao's. Tokio had borrowed one from Okon while glaring needles at Saitou. Hiko had declined to sleep in either, preferring to take his shirt off and sleep in his pants much to the delight of Okon and Omasu. Sano, it seemed, was the only one who was having trouble. He was wearing one of Okina's yukata that fell to his knees with the sleeves only coming to his ankles.
"I feel like a big oaf," he protested.
"I feel like a stupid idiot," Saitou muttered a little too loudly.
Before Sano could pounce on his remark, Tokio spoke up. "Good, you should you dolt. Why didn't you tell me we were going to a slumber party? I would have brought our own yukatas from home. You could have wore the cream one with the little trains stitched into the fabric - "
"I don't have anything in my closet like that!" Saitou protested immediately.
"That right, you throw your clothes on the floor like some brainless oaf, don't you?" Tokio asked sweetly. She turned to Megumi. "He does have one like that. He begged me to stitch the trains on."
"You can sew?" Kaoru asked in amazement. "All of my stitches end up looking like tangles," she said woefully.
Yahiko snorted not-so-discreetly from over by the food table.
Tokio smiled as Kaoru whipped her sandal towards his head. "I can sew, but I didn't put the trains on his yukata - "
At that point, Saitou started singing a Shinsengumi marching song. "OOOOOOH!" was as far as he got, before Tokio's shut-up and sit down lasers wilted his spirits.
"He put them on himself. Hajime is rather talented with a needle," she said.
Sano grinned broadly and dropped one arm over Saitou's shoulder. "Ahou," he said, stealing the wolf's favorite insult and using it on him. "You put wee little choo-choo's on your jammies?"
Saitou smiled. "Aha," he said with a fake laugh. Then with a look of pure rage on his face, he tackled Sano and started strangling him.
"Now, now," Kenhsin said. He whacked Hiko in the knee with a wooden sword. "Break it up Sano and Saitou. If you fight, you'll ruin Misao-dono's party, that you will."
Hiko glanced at Okon and Omasu and smiled. "Baka deshie," he said in a rich voice. Then he gave Kenshin a kick in the direction of the other girls. At the same time, he pulled the rouroni's blindfold off.
"Orororororo!" Kenshin wailed as his face collided with Kaoru's chest, knocking her over.
"Kenshin!" Kaoru exclaimed as the rouroni wailed piteously into her chest, struggling to get away without touching her in any way.
"Gomen nasai!" he hollered, springing back and around at the same time.
Megumi stuck out her foot with a small smile, sending him spilling on top of Tokio. With a foxy laugh, she helped herself to a bit more sake and enjoyed the show some more.
"Get off of my wife!" Saitou roared, reaching for his sword and almost pulling the sash on his yukata off.
"Everyone sit down!" Misao hollered, glaring at Megumi who looked away innocently. "It's time to play a game. Do we have any requests?"
There was a moment of silence, broken only by the sound of Yahiko stuffing himself at the food table.
"Oh . . . I don't know," Megumi said innocently. She held up a small sake bottle, fox ears appearing on her head. "How about spin the bottle?"
"Spin the bottle sounds good," Hiko said instantly, eyeing the sake symbol with appreciation. "What do you two say?" he asked Okon and Omasu.
"Sounds good to me," they both chorused.
"Or we could play Truth or Dare," Megumi added, prompting several people to shudder. They had far too many secretes to want to play that game and she knew it.
"Let's go with spin the bottle," Saitou said at the same time that Sano did. Both men glared at each other with mutual dislike. Before they could begin any arguments, there was a knocking at the door.
"Aoshi," Okon mouthed to Omasu. They both nodded and watched apprehensively as Misao walked to the door.
"Hello?" Misao asked as she opened the door, hoping that it was an extra girl invited and not another boy. Her party wasn't going anything like she had planned it.
Before she had a chance to see who was at the door, she was engulfed in a strangling hug. "Thanks for the invite!" Yukishiro Enishi said with a smile. "Tomoe suggested I take you up on it, so here I am."
"Heh," Misao muttered.
Enishi took it to mean yes and strolled through the door, dropping his sword beside the blankets and sitting down cross legged beside Yahiko. He started helping himself to some food, ignoring the bug eyed looks he was getting from everyone.
"Did you?" Okon whispered to Omasu.
Omasu shook her head. "I don't think so . . . . " she whispered. "Unless . . . " she added, her voice trailing off.
"We were listing all the men we thought were attractive," Okon muttered. "And then we wrote the invitations for Misao-chan. Did we . . . ?"
They both grinned guiltily and shot Misao apologetic looks.
Misao ignored both looks and marched out of the room, returning with another of Aoshi's yukata. "Enishi-san," she said. "Did you bring a yukata?"
He shook his head and stood up. "I'll use that one," he said with a wild grin. He wiped some rice from his mouth with the back of his hand and striped in the middle of the room. He put the yukata on and dropped down beside Yahiko again.
Misao squared her small shoulders and sat down. "Okay, so we're playing spin the bottle . . " she said. "Yahiko, Enishi, it's time to play. Come on over and sit down in a circle."
Once everyone was seated in a circle, Misao took the sake bottle. "Okay, who wants to go first?" she asked, eyeing the large circle of people around her.
"I will," Hiko volunteered. He took the bottle and shook it, listening for the familiar and welcome sound of sake. Not hearing it, he frowned.
"Here, let me go first and show you all how it's done," Megumi purred, pulling the bottle out of Hiko's confused grip. She put the bottle in the middle and gave it a good spin.
"That's it?" Saitou asked in surprise as the bottle came to a rest aiming at him. "You want us to try and spin that bottle and see who gets the most revolutions?"
"No, you kiss whoever the bottle points at," Kaoru and Tokio said simultaneously with a snicker. "Be it boy, or be it girl!"
"Let me out!" Sano exclaimed, attempting to leave the circle right away. "I don't want to kiss this Ahou!" he shouted, jerking his thumb towards Saitou.
"You don't have to, I do," Megumi said smoothly. "It's the person who spins the bottle who has to do the kissing. If you refuse, you lose."
She crawled over to Saitou and made to kiss him.
"Futae no kiwami!" Sano hollered, launching himself foreword towards Saitou. There was no way he was going to let the wolf of mibu get kissed by his girl.
Okon and Omsau grabbed him by the back of his yukata, prompting a strangled yelp from him as Megumi kissed Saitou on the cheek.
Saitou's face fell to the floor with a loud thunk. "Gomen nasai!" he shouted in the direction of his wife. "I won't let it happen again - "
"It's okay, Tokio assured him. "It's all part of the game. Now spin the bottle, it's your turn."
Saitou reached out and tapped the bottle with his foot tentatively. It gave a feeble twirl and stopped pointing at Sano.
The rooster's eyes fell into pinpricks and he stopped his vague struggle to get out of Okon and Omasu's grip. "Huh?" he asked in a curiously stupid voice. Then Saitou kissed him full on the mouth and he fainted.
"Hajime!" Tokio snarled, grabbing him by his neck and jerking him back to his seat. "You don't have to kiss on the mouth. In fact, a mere peck on the hand would have sufficed, ne?"
As Saitou was apologizing once again, Misao and Kenshin attempted to revive Sano. He didn't appear to even be breathing. Although, judging by the violently twitching in his eyebrow, he was still alive.
"I'll take his turn," Enishi declared, grabbing the bottle and whipping in as hard as he could. After several wild spins, the bottle came to a stop pointing at Hiko.
"Better the master then the student!" Enishi said with a shrug. He made to kiss Hiko, but fell flat on his face when the bigger man moved.
"I don't think so, spin again, I won't participate," Hiko said. "It's bad enough when Kenshin tries that weirdo stuff, but I don't even know you enough to humor you." He walked over to the corner, taking a couple of jugs of sake with him.
Enishi frowned. "I'm still in the game," he announced, whipping the bottle again. This time it stopped in front of Misao.
Not noticing the crazed white haired man approaching, it was too late for Misao to even think about moving. Enishi kissed the back of her head with a loud smack and sat down with a satisfied expression on his face.
"My turn?" Misao questioned, turning around and wondering who had kissed her.
Okon nodded and Misao spun the bottle gently. It came to a rest pointing at Sano's still unconscious form.
"I don't think he's playing anymore, but why don't you kiss him and see if he wakes up?" Megumi asked.
Misao looked doubtful, but kissed Sano's forehead quickly. "That makes it his turn . . . . . . . " she said. "How will we do this?"
"I know," Tokio said. She picked up Sano's limp hand and whacked the bottle with it. We'll just help him a little bit . . . . . . "
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Aoshi stood up. It was nearly three in the morning. He had missed Misao's party. He had missed his chance at ever being with her. The invitation had to be Misao's way of saying she was giving up on him. That meant it was over.
For the first couple of minutes, he had felt relieved. Then slowly, he had started to feel lonely. He missed Misao suddenly like he never had before. She wasn't at the Aoiya waiting for him anymore. She wasn't waiting . . . .
He had returned to the Aoiya, hearing Okon and Omasu laughing in one of the rooms. From the sound of things, Misao was laughing too. They were all having a good time. She was over him.
He had gathered a bunch of sake and returned to the temple. Then he had started drinking. His mind wouldn't let Misao out. It was all over . . . .
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
In spite of a rusty start, the game of spin the bottle gained momentum after they got rid of Sano's unconscious form. Okon and Omasu had finally dragged him over to Hiko and Yahiko.
Kenshin, who was passed out drunk on Kaoru's lap, had departed near the beginning, refusing to allow himself to be kissed by Enishi. Kaoru had gotten booted when she had refused to kiss the same white haired psycho. The two of them had retreat to the corner and were talking contentedly.
Misao, Enishi, Saitou, Tokio, and Chou ( who had arrived out of nowhere ) were all still playing the game.
"Ya all know that I'm going to win this time," Chou said, closing both eyes and spinning the bottle gently. So far the bottle always came to a rest in front of Saitou. Without fail it had ended like that all 138 times that he had a turn. This time was no exception.
"Damn," he muttered darkly. He leaned foreword and kissed Megumi.
"You're out!" Saitou shouted, he had moved the foxy doctor into the way since Chou's eyes were closed. "Go away now, ahou!" he shouted happily.
"That's cheating," Megumi announced. "You're out too." She hiccuped lightly and poured herself some more sake.
"Nah," Misao interrupted. "I think that the end of the game. I'm getting kinda sleepy. We should wake everyone and spread the blankets out - "
"Not sleeping!" Hiko hollered across the room, holding up a jug of sake and grinning broadly in a drunken manner.
They started spreading the blankets out and waking everyone to get them to their beds.
"This wasn't so bad," Misao was saying. The sound of the door being flung open caught everyone's attention.
"Misao, marry me," Aoshi said dropping to his knees in front of Kaoru. "I . . . I can't just let you go away. I can't let you stop . . . I know that I missed my last chance, but can you forgive me for not coming and - "
"Dude," Saitou said, shaking his head. "You do not want to beg. You will regret it for the rest of your natural life."
"Really?" Tokio whispered, drawing him away from the obviously drunk ninja.
"Meep," Saitou squeaked.
Aoshi took a deep breath, ice blue eyes flickering upwards and scouring the room. They paused at Misao's eyes. "Marry me . . . . . I love you," he whispered. "I know that you wanted to have sex . . . . . but we can't do that out of wed lock."
"Who told you that I wanted to . . . . . ." Misao questioned, feeling rather strange and giddy at the moment.
He shook his head. "You invited me to a slumber party . . . . . slumber means 'to sleep'. I deducted that you wanted to sleep with me . . . . "
"Is that what a slumber party is?" Sano, Yahiko, Hiko, Chou, Saitou, and Kenshin all asked at the same time.
"Hell no," Enishi said in surprise. "Don't you know?"
"A slumber party is simply a get party where a group of people - " Tokio started.
"Usually girls," Megumi took great relish in revealing.
"Get together and party with plans to sleep on the floor in the same room," Kaoru said, stroking Kenshin's hair lightly.
Kenshin sat upright. "But then why are we all here?" he asked in confusion, pointing to all the boys in the room.
"Because Tomoe said I oughta come . . . .she said it'd be fun," Enishi responded instantly.
"I think that the boys are here because they're ignorant," Tokio announced. "They spend all their time fighting and don't even know what the finer things in life are."
"Shut-up!" Aoshi shouted. He crossed the room in a blur of speed and pulled Misao into his arms. "Marry me," he whispered into her ear. "I love you."
Misao couldn't speak. In five words, Aoshi had said everything she ever wanted to hear him say. She nodded her head wordless, tears of joy streaming down her heart-shaped face
The last minute idea for a slumber party to ease her trouble mind and heart had appeared to be a disaster from the start. At first, no one appeared to be coming. Then too many unwanted people had arrived. Someone she had made the best of everything and now . . . . . . and now things were finally turning out for the best.
"I love you," she finally managed to whisper. "I always have . . . "
"I know," Aoshi whispered.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Author's notes: That's the end. Sorry to everyone who wanted Misao and Shojirio (I'm a die-hard Misao and Aoshi fan, that I am.) I would also like to apologize for the long wait in between chapters.
The truth is I wrote this all at once and then lost the majority of the story. I just managed to find the rest of it and put some finishing touches on it.
I would like to thank everyone who has read my story and liked it. I really appreciate your support.
Thanks for reading,
Kissa-chan
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Part 4: Confession
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Misao glanced at her guests. She had managed to get them all dressed in yukatas - not an easy task. Finding the right sizes around the Aoyia was no where near as easy as she had initially thought it would be.
In the end, Saitou ended up wearing on of Aoshi's. Yahiko and Kenshin were wearing some of Misao's. Tokio had borrowed one from Okon while glaring needles at Saitou. Hiko had declined to sleep in either, preferring to take his shirt off and sleep in his pants much to the delight of Okon and Omasu. Sano, it seemed, was the only one who was having trouble. He was wearing one of Okina's yukata that fell to his knees with the sleeves only coming to his ankles.
"I feel like a big oaf," he protested.
"I feel like a stupid idiot," Saitou muttered a little too loudly.
Before Sano could pounce on his remark, Tokio spoke up. "Good, you should you dolt. Why didn't you tell me we were going to a slumber party? I would have brought our own yukatas from home. You could have wore the cream one with the little trains stitched into the fabric - "
"I don't have anything in my closet like that!" Saitou protested immediately.
"That right, you throw your clothes on the floor like some brainless oaf, don't you?" Tokio asked sweetly. She turned to Megumi. "He does have one like that. He begged me to stitch the trains on."
"You can sew?" Kaoru asked in amazement. "All of my stitches end up looking like tangles," she said woefully.
Yahiko snorted not-so-discreetly from over by the food table.
Tokio smiled as Kaoru whipped her sandal towards his head. "I can sew, but I didn't put the trains on his yukata - "
At that point, Saitou started singing a Shinsengumi marching song. "OOOOOOH!" was as far as he got, before Tokio's shut-up and sit down lasers wilted his spirits.
"He put them on himself. Hajime is rather talented with a needle," she said.
Sano grinned broadly and dropped one arm over Saitou's shoulder. "Ahou," he said, stealing the wolf's favorite insult and using it on him. "You put wee little choo-choo's on your jammies?"
Saitou smiled. "Aha," he said with a fake laugh. Then with a look of pure rage on his face, he tackled Sano and started strangling him.
"Now, now," Kenhsin said. He whacked Hiko in the knee with a wooden sword. "Break it up Sano and Saitou. If you fight, you'll ruin Misao-dono's party, that you will."
Hiko glanced at Okon and Omasu and smiled. "Baka deshie," he said in a rich voice. Then he gave Kenshin a kick in the direction of the other girls. At the same time, he pulled the rouroni's blindfold off.
"Orororororo!" Kenshin wailed as his face collided with Kaoru's chest, knocking her over.
"Kenshin!" Kaoru exclaimed as the rouroni wailed piteously into her chest, struggling to get away without touching her in any way.
"Gomen nasai!" he hollered, springing back and around at the same time.
Megumi stuck out her foot with a small smile, sending him spilling on top of Tokio. With a foxy laugh, she helped herself to a bit more sake and enjoyed the show some more.
"Get off of my wife!" Saitou roared, reaching for his sword and almost pulling the sash on his yukata off.
"Everyone sit down!" Misao hollered, glaring at Megumi who looked away innocently. "It's time to play a game. Do we have any requests?"
There was a moment of silence, broken only by the sound of Yahiko stuffing himself at the food table.
"Oh . . . I don't know," Megumi said innocently. She held up a small sake bottle, fox ears appearing on her head. "How about spin the bottle?"
"Spin the bottle sounds good," Hiko said instantly, eyeing the sake symbol with appreciation. "What do you two say?" he asked Okon and Omasu.
"Sounds good to me," they both chorused.
"Or we could play Truth or Dare," Megumi added, prompting several people to shudder. They had far too many secretes to want to play that game and she knew it.
"Let's go with spin the bottle," Saitou said at the same time that Sano did. Both men glared at each other with mutual dislike. Before they could begin any arguments, there was a knocking at the door.
"Aoshi," Okon mouthed to Omasu. They both nodded and watched apprehensively as Misao walked to the door.
"Hello?" Misao asked as she opened the door, hoping that it was an extra girl invited and not another boy. Her party wasn't going anything like she had planned it.
Before she had a chance to see who was at the door, she was engulfed in a strangling hug. "Thanks for the invite!" Yukishiro Enishi said with a smile. "Tomoe suggested I take you up on it, so here I am."
"Heh," Misao muttered.
Enishi took it to mean yes and strolled through the door, dropping his sword beside the blankets and sitting down cross legged beside Yahiko. He started helping himself to some food, ignoring the bug eyed looks he was getting from everyone.
"Did you?" Okon whispered to Omasu.
Omasu shook her head. "I don't think so . . . . " she whispered. "Unless . . . " she added, her voice trailing off.
"We were listing all the men we thought were attractive," Okon muttered. "And then we wrote the invitations for Misao-chan. Did we . . . ?"
They both grinned guiltily and shot Misao apologetic looks.
Misao ignored both looks and marched out of the room, returning with another of Aoshi's yukata. "Enishi-san," she said. "Did you bring a yukata?"
He shook his head and stood up. "I'll use that one," he said with a wild grin. He wiped some rice from his mouth with the back of his hand and striped in the middle of the room. He put the yukata on and dropped down beside Yahiko again.
Misao squared her small shoulders and sat down. "Okay, so we're playing spin the bottle . . " she said. "Yahiko, Enishi, it's time to play. Come on over and sit down in a circle."
Once everyone was seated in a circle, Misao took the sake bottle. "Okay, who wants to go first?" she asked, eyeing the large circle of people around her.
"I will," Hiko volunteered. He took the bottle and shook it, listening for the familiar and welcome sound of sake. Not hearing it, he frowned.
"Here, let me go first and show you all how it's done," Megumi purred, pulling the bottle out of Hiko's confused grip. She put the bottle in the middle and gave it a good spin.
"That's it?" Saitou asked in surprise as the bottle came to a rest aiming at him. "You want us to try and spin that bottle and see who gets the most revolutions?"
"No, you kiss whoever the bottle points at," Kaoru and Tokio said simultaneously with a snicker. "Be it boy, or be it girl!"
"Let me out!" Sano exclaimed, attempting to leave the circle right away. "I don't want to kiss this Ahou!" he shouted, jerking his thumb towards Saitou.
"You don't have to, I do," Megumi said smoothly. "It's the person who spins the bottle who has to do the kissing. If you refuse, you lose."
She crawled over to Saitou and made to kiss him.
"Futae no kiwami!" Sano hollered, launching himself foreword towards Saitou. There was no way he was going to let the wolf of mibu get kissed by his girl.
Okon and Omsau grabbed him by the back of his yukata, prompting a strangled yelp from him as Megumi kissed Saitou on the cheek.
Saitou's face fell to the floor with a loud thunk. "Gomen nasai!" he shouted in the direction of his wife. "I won't let it happen again - "
"It's okay, Tokio assured him. "It's all part of the game. Now spin the bottle, it's your turn."
Saitou reached out and tapped the bottle with his foot tentatively. It gave a feeble twirl and stopped pointing at Sano.
The rooster's eyes fell into pinpricks and he stopped his vague struggle to get out of Okon and Omasu's grip. "Huh?" he asked in a curiously stupid voice. Then Saitou kissed him full on the mouth and he fainted.
"Hajime!" Tokio snarled, grabbing him by his neck and jerking him back to his seat. "You don't have to kiss on the mouth. In fact, a mere peck on the hand would have sufficed, ne?"
As Saitou was apologizing once again, Misao and Kenshin attempted to revive Sano. He didn't appear to even be breathing. Although, judging by the violently twitching in his eyebrow, he was still alive.
"I'll take his turn," Enishi declared, grabbing the bottle and whipping in as hard as he could. After several wild spins, the bottle came to a stop pointing at Hiko.
"Better the master then the student!" Enishi said with a shrug. He made to kiss Hiko, but fell flat on his face when the bigger man moved.
"I don't think so, spin again, I won't participate," Hiko said. "It's bad enough when Kenshin tries that weirdo stuff, but I don't even know you enough to humor you." He walked over to the corner, taking a couple of jugs of sake with him.
Enishi frowned. "I'm still in the game," he announced, whipping the bottle again. This time it stopped in front of Misao.
Not noticing the crazed white haired man approaching, it was too late for Misao to even think about moving. Enishi kissed the back of her head with a loud smack and sat down with a satisfied expression on his face.
"My turn?" Misao questioned, turning around and wondering who had kissed her.
Okon nodded and Misao spun the bottle gently. It came to a rest pointing at Sano's still unconscious form.
"I don't think he's playing anymore, but why don't you kiss him and see if he wakes up?" Megumi asked.
Misao looked doubtful, but kissed Sano's forehead quickly. "That makes it his turn . . . . . . . " she said. "How will we do this?"
"I know," Tokio said. She picked up Sano's limp hand and whacked the bottle with it. We'll just help him a little bit . . . . . . "
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Aoshi stood up. It was nearly three in the morning. He had missed Misao's party. He had missed his chance at ever being with her. The invitation had to be Misao's way of saying she was giving up on him. That meant it was over.
For the first couple of minutes, he had felt relieved. Then slowly, he had started to feel lonely. He missed Misao suddenly like he never had before. She wasn't at the Aoiya waiting for him anymore. She wasn't waiting . . . .
He had returned to the Aoiya, hearing Okon and Omasu laughing in one of the rooms. From the sound of things, Misao was laughing too. They were all having a good time. She was over him.
He had gathered a bunch of sake and returned to the temple. Then he had started drinking. His mind wouldn't let Misao out. It was all over . . . .
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
In spite of a rusty start, the game of spin the bottle gained momentum after they got rid of Sano's unconscious form. Okon and Omasu had finally dragged him over to Hiko and Yahiko.
Kenshin, who was passed out drunk on Kaoru's lap, had departed near the beginning, refusing to allow himself to be kissed by Enishi. Kaoru had gotten booted when she had refused to kiss the same white haired psycho. The two of them had retreat to the corner and were talking contentedly.
Misao, Enishi, Saitou, Tokio, and Chou ( who had arrived out of nowhere ) were all still playing the game.
"Ya all know that I'm going to win this time," Chou said, closing both eyes and spinning the bottle gently. So far the bottle always came to a rest in front of Saitou. Without fail it had ended like that all 138 times that he had a turn. This time was no exception.
"Damn," he muttered darkly. He leaned foreword and kissed Megumi.
"You're out!" Saitou shouted, he had moved the foxy doctor into the way since Chou's eyes were closed. "Go away now, ahou!" he shouted happily.
"That's cheating," Megumi announced. "You're out too." She hiccuped lightly and poured herself some more sake.
"Nah," Misao interrupted. "I think that the end of the game. I'm getting kinda sleepy. We should wake everyone and spread the blankets out - "
"Not sleeping!" Hiko hollered across the room, holding up a jug of sake and grinning broadly in a drunken manner.
They started spreading the blankets out and waking everyone to get them to their beds.
"This wasn't so bad," Misao was saying. The sound of the door being flung open caught everyone's attention.
"Misao, marry me," Aoshi said dropping to his knees in front of Kaoru. "I . . . I can't just let you go away. I can't let you stop . . . I know that I missed my last chance, but can you forgive me for not coming and - "
"Dude," Saitou said, shaking his head. "You do not want to beg. You will regret it for the rest of your natural life."
"Really?" Tokio whispered, drawing him away from the obviously drunk ninja.
"Meep," Saitou squeaked.
Aoshi took a deep breath, ice blue eyes flickering upwards and scouring the room. They paused at Misao's eyes. "Marry me . . . . . I love you," he whispered. "I know that you wanted to have sex . . . . . but we can't do that out of wed lock."
"Who told you that I wanted to . . . . . ." Misao questioned, feeling rather strange and giddy at the moment.
He shook his head. "You invited me to a slumber party . . . . . slumber means 'to sleep'. I deducted that you wanted to sleep with me . . . . "
"Is that what a slumber party is?" Sano, Yahiko, Hiko, Chou, Saitou, and Kenshin all asked at the same time.
"Hell no," Enishi said in surprise. "Don't you know?"
"A slumber party is simply a get party where a group of people - " Tokio started.
"Usually girls," Megumi took great relish in revealing.
"Get together and party with plans to sleep on the floor in the same room," Kaoru said, stroking Kenshin's hair lightly.
Kenshin sat upright. "But then why are we all here?" he asked in confusion, pointing to all the boys in the room.
"Because Tomoe said I oughta come . . . .she said it'd be fun," Enishi responded instantly.
"I think that the boys are here because they're ignorant," Tokio announced. "They spend all their time fighting and don't even know what the finer things in life are."
"Shut-up!" Aoshi shouted. He crossed the room in a blur of speed and pulled Misao into his arms. "Marry me," he whispered into her ear. "I love you."
Misao couldn't speak. In five words, Aoshi had said everything she ever wanted to hear him say. She nodded her head wordless, tears of joy streaming down her heart-shaped face
The last minute idea for a slumber party to ease her trouble mind and heart had appeared to be a disaster from the start. At first, no one appeared to be coming. Then too many unwanted people had arrived. Someone she had made the best of everything and now . . . . . . and now things were finally turning out for the best.
"I love you," she finally managed to whisper. "I always have . . . "
"I know," Aoshi whispered.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Author's notes: That's the end. Sorry to everyone who wanted Misao and Shojirio (I'm a die-hard Misao and Aoshi fan, that I am.) I would also like to apologize for the long wait in between chapters.
The truth is I wrote this all at once and then lost the majority of the story. I just managed to find the rest of it and put some finishing touches on it.
I would like to thank everyone who has read my story and liked it. I really appreciate your support.
Thanks for reading,
Kissa-chan