Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/434650.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      Rurouni_Kenshin
  Relationship:
      Shinomori_Aoshi/Makimachi_Misao
  Character:
      Shinomori_Aoshi, Makimachi_Misao, Kashiwazaki_Nenji_|_Okina
  Stats:
      Published: 2012-06-15 Words: 4533
****** In Secret ******
by SonjaJade
Summary
     Six weeks after Aoshi's return from Shishio's compound, he makes an
     important decision regarding Misao and the last of the Oniwabanshuu's
     enemies.
***I don't own Ruroni Kenshin or any of the characters within***
===============================================================================
It had been a very long time since he'd seen her in the light of day, and he
looked upon her now with a look that reminded her of when Yahiko had first seen
some of those golden statues that came from Egypt. It was a look of awe and
reverence, though on Aoshi it was much more subdued than on her young friend.
She didn't react to him; couldn't react to him. Misao knew he was clearing off
a list of enemies before making their secret affair public, and she wasn't sure
how far along he was in his progress.
Three years had passed since Himura defeated that mummy-looking guy who was his
supposed replacement, the one known as Shishio who had come to take the
Battousai's place in the revolution. Aoshi spent the first six weeks of his
return in meditation, and then the night he began his assassinations, he came
to Misao and made her an offer…
===============================================================================
                                  ~FLASHBACK~
===============================================================================
The night was almost smothering. It was hot and humid and stiflingly dark. He'd
come to her room and slid the door open, then closed it and knelt beside her
bed. His gloved hand brushed her sweaty bangs from her face and before she
realized who it was, she'd already sprung like a viper in the grass. Aoshi was
caught off guard and he rolled to his back with her on top of him, but held her
wrists firmly. She struggled, still not knowing who her would-be attacker was.
Aoshi easily put her on her back and flattened his body between her legs to
keep her from kicking him in the chest and stomach. "Misao!" he said gruffly.
He was a little surprised at her strength; for such a small woman, she was
certainly stronger than she appeared. "Misao, it's me… It's Aoshi. You're
alright, stop squirming…"
Recognition began to bloom in Misao's eyes, and she blushed in the dark,
thankful he couldn't see it. She was panting with fear and exertion. Finally he
felt the muscles in her body relax and he let go of her wrists, but he was slow
to give up his position on top of her, liking how well their bodies seemed to
fit together. He knelt beside her, then pulled her to a sitting position.
"Aoshi-sama," she puffed into the night, "what are you doing here?"
His hand came back to her face, once more brushing her bangs away, and then
gently touching her cheek with his fingertips. "I've made an important
decision, one I must share with you."
She shivered at his touch, given so freely here in the dark where no one would
see how he let his guard down for her. His face wore a tiny grin when he barely
made out that she'd closed her eyes as his fingers caressed her face gently.
Suddenly she spat at him, "Couldn't it wait til morning?"
"No. It absolutely couldn't." Hesitantly, he stopped touching her soft cheek
and gently took her hand in his. He made out that she'd stopped breathing and
that subtle grin crossed his face once more. "I have been meditating for a long
time now. I've thought about many, many things, and most of them I have
answered for myself and resolved on my own. Only one thing remained, and that
was you."
Misao couldn't believe what she was hearing. The man she loved above anything
in the world seemed at first not to care about her or the Oniwabanshuu when he
first returned from that place that nearly killed Himura… In fact he didn't
seem to care about anything. Now here he was, in her bedchamber, being
affectionate and telling her he'd made a decision regarding her…
Aoshi continued. "I spent a lot of time when you were younger training you to
be the deadly young woman you are today. You make me proud, Misao. You have far
exceeded my expectations in both strength and strategy, and you are a good
Okashira." He squeezed her hand. "However, that doesn't settle the… emotions
that are unresolved between us," he murmured as he reached for her cheek again,
and let his hand slide into her soft hair.
"A-A-Aoshi-sama…" she breathed.
He made a negative sounding grunt. "You must never call me Aoshi-sama again. I
won't have the woman I want for my wife calling me such a name." He felt more
than heard the gasp she made. He wanted to laugh at her; she was so adorable
when she wasn't a loud mouth. "But there is something I must do before I can
take you for my bride, my sweet Misao."
He pulled a scroll from his shirt. It was covered in names. "This is a list of
all my enemies, and yours. I must see to it that they are all gone before we
let anyone know about our plans for each other. I will see no harm comes to us
because of some idiot's desire to hurt either you or me."
Misao began to cry in the night. Just as Aoshi swept her up in his arms, a
refreshing cool breeze began to blow through the window, stirring the wind
chime outside. "I think we have the blessing of the gods." She nodded roughly
against his shoulder as she cried happy tears into the rough fabric of his
shirt. He pulled away from her, lifted her chin and softly claimed her lips.
Their first kiss was slow and gentle, full of love and hope for the future.
When he drew back again, he asked her quietly, "Do you accept my offer, Misao?
Will you marry me and be my wife?"
Misao shook in his grip, but not from fear. She had wanted Aoshi to let her
know ho he felt about her, one way or the other, for a long time. Now that she
knew he felt the same towards her as she had towards him, and made her the
offer of a lifetime… she simply couldn't speak. Her small hands came to the
sides of his face and she stared into his eyes. She nodded, vigorously, and
finally found her voice and gave him a squeaky, "Yes!"
Aoshi devoured her mouth, not giving her a chance to say anything else. He
covered her lips, her cheeks, her neck and jaw line in heated, sensual kisses.
His hands caressed her body, still tightly wrapped in her yukata. He felt of
her gentle curves and could feel her musculature through the thin cotton robe
and his lower body stirred awake. Misao felt his hardness and rubbed her thigh
against it purposefully. The man in her grasp groaned against the side of her
neck and she whispered, "I am yours, do with me what you wish."
Aoshi stopped for a moment and gazed into her face, lit now with a little
moonlight that had managed to peek through the cloud cover. "Are you certain
you wish to give your innocence to me?"
Her nimble fingers were already working on undressing him. "There will be no
others, Aoshi. Either you'll have me now or you run the risk of being killed
before finishing the list and neither of us finding completion. If I can't have
you then I'll have no one." She jerked the tail of the western style shirt from
the hakema he wore and finished unbuttoning it. Her hands fell to his skin,
where a great many scars took away from the beauty of his physique.
He saw her face when she saw his scars for the first time, and his voice said
softly, "Don't let it trouble you. I've seen simple farmers with worse scars."
He reached down behind her where her simple obi was tied. "Can I see you now?"
"Of course, Aoshi." He tugged the knot open and pulled the strip of fabric
away. His weapon calloused hands parted her robe, and her young body was there
for him to see, tinted with a blue hue as a bolt of lightning sliced through
the sky. A summer storm… Perfect cover to hide the sound of love making.
Rain began to tap the roof of the inn the Oniwabanshuu ran, and after a few
moments and a couple of loud rumbles of thunder, it began to really come down.
Aoshi, now nude save for his tabi socks, carried an equally nude Misao back to
her bed and laid her gently down. He grabbed one of the ribbons that Himura's
woman had left for her, a wide strip of colored silk that was a plain light
pink. He folded it and stuck it under her rump, explaining it was to keep her
bedding clean of her virgin blood. She nodded and then he was hovering over
her, sharing kisses with his woman that neither expected to experience. The
storm outside rumbled and flashed and cracked as the rain beat mercilessly
against the roof. Aoshi didn't want the storm to pass before he'd had a chance
to properly bed Misao, so he let his hands begin to wander over her body,
feeling of every soft place she had to offer him.
Misao arched her back when he found her tiny breasts. Though she felt
inadequate for him, he assured her she was all he needed before enveloping all
that she had in the warmth and wet of his mouth. He licked at her nipple until
it stood high and tight away from her chest, and then suckled like an infant.
Before long Misao's instincts began to take over, and her hips started their
needy motions before she was even aware she was doing it. Aoshi sped his pace a
little, desperately wanting to avoid Okina's accusations should he hear what
was taking place in Misao's bed. The storm was perfect in it's timing, but as
many summer storms often did, sometimes they were over and done with in a
matter of minutes. Aoshi was hoping this one would last at least an hour, but
knew it probably wouldn't.
He slid his hands down her body as he reared back on his knees. Tenderly, he
spread her knees and scooted a little closer. His hand came down between her
thighs and his middle finger dragged slowly down her downy split, parting and
delving between her damp folds, going towards her virginal opening. He slid
easily inside as Misao gasped at the pleasant invasion. Her passage was tight
around his finger, and it was well ready to receive him. Not wanting to miss
the strongest part of the storm's noise, he decided to go on and not prepare
her as he would've liked to, instead going ahead and taking her while the storm
was at its peak.
"Misao," he said roughly, "relax as much as you can and know that I love you."
She nodded, heard he take in a few deep breaths and felt as the body
surrounding him seemed to almost liquefy beneath him. He placed his left hand
low between them, his large hand on her hip and his thumb lightly covering her
little bundle of nerves that would send her over the edge. His other hand
gripped his shaft and gathered her moisture on his spongy tip. He slid in
easily in one stroke, as deep as he could go all at once, bursting through what
was left of her seal (she had lost most of it due to injuries and trauma during
fights) and then stilling when he hit her womb. His thumb began to massage her
pleasure point as she caught her breath.
"Are you okay, Misao?" he asked as he waited for her to tell him it was alright
to move. She nodded and simply rippled around him, the movements of his thumb
turning her into a pile of mush.
Aoshi couldn't wait for her to let him know how she felt. He heard the rain
slowing and the thunder weakening. He had to finish this or the old man would
be chewing him out without understanding what plans Aoshi and Misao had made
for themselves. He moved slowly at first, wanting her to feel comfortable in
his grasp. It wasn't long though before her hips were rising to meet his and he
was able to speed up. His thumb moved quickly, and the rippling he felt at
first inside her became stronger, almost like a squeezing.
Misao was lost in the sound of her own voice moaning and whining under her
lover. He had taken excruciating pain and turned it into sinful sweet pleasure
in a matter of moments. Soon she felt her body contracting on its own, and it
felt like everything was culminating into a big bang of some sort. "Aoshi,
something's happening!" she gasped in a high pitch voice as he continued to
pound into her while circling the pad of his thumb over her sensitive nub. He
said nothing, only seemed to growl and thrust into her harder. Seemingly
without warning, she was overcome by blinding light, and every nerve ending
seemed to be on fire with such intense pleasure that she was barely aware she
was calling Aoshi's name. As the feeling began to melt away, she felt her
female flesh undulating and quivering around Aoshi's flesh, felt her legs
shaking as they pulled his hips tighter to her. Then there was his masculine
groan, and then a warm flood of something being emptied into the space he
filled. His body trembled against her as he leaned down and kissed her once
more. The rain still came down in buckets, but the thunder was rumbling further
away now, and he was certain the old man hadn't heard a thing. He breathed a
sigh of relief, and then took stock of himself and the girl he loved.
She was smiling at him, and that was all he needed to see. He retrieved his now
wilted maleness from her body and pulled the ribbon from under her butt. It
held the spots of her virgin blood and some of her fluids, but none of his own.
She'd managed to keep all of his essence inside her, and probably would until
she finally stood up. He whispered he was going to find her a towel and to stay
put. He slid the door to her room open, padded silently to where the linens
were kept on this floor and retrieved a towel meant for washing floors. He
heard footsteps downstairs, the familiar shuffle of the old man, and he hurried
back to Misao, who was still smiling in the afterglow of her first erotic
encounter.
He tossed the towel at her and said, "Place that under you and sit up, I think
Okina's coming." He found her yukata on the other side of the room and tossed
that to her as well, dressing himself before the second in command could reach
Misao's room. Aoshi tied his hakema just as he heard the old man stepping up
onto the second floor of the inn. Aoshi sat himself a respectable distance away
from his bride and the two of them waited for 'Grandfather' to open the door.
There was a light tapping, and then the door slid open. "Misao, are you-" His
eyes fell to Aoshi first, glaring somewhat disapprovingly before glancing to
Misao, who was still wearing a goofy looking grin. "What's going on here?"
"I heard the storm and came to check on Misao," Aoshi answered, not giving away
anything. If only he could get Misao to stop grinning like an idiot…
"I'm alright, really," she said finally. "I was scared at first but… Aoshi came
and made everything all better." She gave Okina a genuine smile. "We were just
reminiscing about the old days. It's been a long time since we've talked about
those times." It was hard to give up the girlish grin for the smile… She could
feel her would-be husband's seed rolling down her internal passage and pooling
n the towel between her legs and it made her overjoyed to know that they'd
finally taken such an important step in their relationship.
Inwardly, Aoshi heaved a sigh of relief. Certainly he'd seen such silly
expressions on the faces of those who were lost in a happy memory. Now it
seemed everything would be alright. The old man looked at Aoshi, as if he
wasn't quite sure he should believe what he was being given from these two.
With a sigh, he said, "I guess everything seems to be alright here. I'm going
back to bed. Good night, Misao. Aoshi, don't stay too much longer, Misao needs
her rest. You can 'reminisce' in the morning."
"Of course. I'll be down in a moment." Aoshi and Misao stared at the old man
until he finally turned and left. Aoshi kept his mouth shut until he was
certain he'd gone down the hall and back downstairs. He turned back to Misao,
crawled to her on his hands and knees and kissed her deeply, softly. He brought
his hand to her face as he pulled away and whispered "I won't be here when you
wake up. I'm going to get started on my list. I'll be back in a few days and
we'll do this again, alright?" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged
him tightly, whispering for him to be safe and come back soon.
"I will. I love you, Misao. I will make the world safe for us to be together."
With another kiss, he soon left her. Misao wiped the fluids of their encounter
away and burned the towel in the kitchen fire early the next morning.
===============================================================================
                                ~END FLASHBACK~
===============================================================================
Misao sat facing Aoshi, but looking past him, gazing at him in her peripheral
vision. He seemed to shake off the stunned look he had on his face, and then
her eyes widened as he started walking towards her.
Aoshi couldn't believe how beautiful she'd grown. Now nineteen years old, she
had blossomed and matured into a strikingly gorgeous woman, filling out the
western style dress she wore quite nicely. Of course, he'd known how her body
changed in the nights he spent with her, but it was quite different to see her
during the light of day; the self she presented to the public was a treat he
wasn't often afforded and hadn't seen in at least a year or more.
He was bandaged under the coat he wore. The last fight was particularly rough
and he needed to see a doctor. But what he needed to see and what he wanted to
see were two different things entirely. At first he simply strode to Misao
casually. But soon he was walking faster, and before long he'd broken into a
run.
Misao stood with her mouth open. Why was he running towards her like that? Her
ninja instincts led her to immediately scan the area, and her hand went to her
wrists where razor sharp throwing stars laid sheathed under her sleeves. Aoshi
grabbed her off her feet and twirled her around, ignoring the look of shock on
Misao's face.
"What are you doing!" she hissed before his mouth slammed down on hers. At this
kiss she melted into his tight embrace, the others around them whispering and
making noises of shock and surprise.
"They're all gone, Misao," he said into her hair as he pulled her as close as
he could to his chest. "The list… there's no one left." Understanding dawned on
her face. "Misao… we can get married now. We don't have to hide anymore."
She nearly fell to her knees, and probably would have if Aoshi hadn't had such
a tight hold on her. The secrets could be over now. No more midnight rendezvous
at various different places, no more making excuses to Okina and the others… No
more lying to Kaoru, who suspected their relationship had deepened almost from
their first night together.
It was when she went to embrace him that she felt the bandage around his
stomach, and her heart sank. They had come all this way, and here he was
wounded, and not at the hospital as he should be. "Aoshi, you're hurt…"
"Shh, it's nothing. Nothing I can't stand. I had to see you first, Misao. I had
to… tell you…" She felt his grip weakening, felt the last of his strength
fading out of him. She had enough sense about her to gently push him backwards
into the bench she had been sitting on when he'd spotted her. He sat down hard,
and then seemed to fall asleep, his chin on his chest. She checked to see he
was still breathing, his pulse still beating steadily. Misao flagged down a
small boy, thrust some coins into his hand and bid him to go to the inn and
fetch Shiro and Kuro, telling them to in turn send for a doctor. The boy was
off like a shot, and Misao simply sat with her soon-to-be husband and waited.
Later that night, Aoshi awakens in one of the rooms on the first floor of the
inn. "Misao…" he croaked into the lamp lit room.
She was sitting beside him, now in a light kimono, and wringing out a cool rag
for his face. "Shh, I'm right here, Aoshi. You're gonna be fine. The doctor
said the wound isn't too deep and it was kept pretty clean. You just have to
rest for a little while."
He smiled weakly at her. He was still so tired. It had been a long night the
night before, finally finishing off the last of the bastards on his list. But
he'd made it back to her. And here they were together again. "I wanna marry
you, Misao. Right now."
She smiled. "It's only a few more days my love. We've been patient so long that
a few days isn't going to make much difference." She bent and kissed him
gently. "We'll be married soon. Get some rest, I'll be right here."
"No," he said with a pout. "If you stay I want you under these blankets with
me. Sleep with me." He saw the look on her face and chuckled quietly. "I said
sleep Misao, not fuck me."
She touched his cheek and kissed him again, then took the kimono off to reveal
her sleeping yukata underneath. She crawled in beside him, on the opposite side
of his injury, snuggling into his chest as his arm wrapped around her. "You
know," she whispered, "we've been married since the night you took my
innocence. There's no need for a ceremony, we'll just go to the magistrate and
have them put it on record."
"Okay," he whispered back as he fell asleep again. Misao let herself find rest
in his embrace and they slept all night, just as he'd asked.
The next morning they were awoken by Okina's panicked bellowing as they were
discovered in the same bed. "What in the blue hell do you two think you're
doing!" He reached down to yank Misao out of the bed when he suddenly found the
tip of one of Aoshi's kodachi at his throat.
"Unhand my wife, Okina."
"W-what?"
Aoshi narrowed his eyes. "Injured or not, I'll kill you where you stand if you
don't let my woman go." Reluctantly, Okina's hand dropped Misao's and he backed
away.
"Surely he's delirious Misao," the old man stammered as he looked at the young
woman rubbing her eyes. "Certainly he must still be fevering if he thinks he
took you for his wife."
"Oh no, Grandfather," she said she sat up. "We've been secretly married for
almost three years now." She wiped Aoshi's face with the wet cloth from the
night before, rinsing it in the bucket of lukewarm water and washing her own
face. "As soon as Aoshi can get out of bed we're going to make it legal."
Okina fell to his knees. "What? When did this happen? Why was it secret?"
Aoshi sat up with a wince and hissed, "You ask too many questions, old man."
"Too many people wanted us both dead at the time. To know our greatest love
would be to know our greatest weakness. Aoshi killed all our enemies in order
that we may make our union known to all." Misao held his hand in both of hers.
"Maybe now I can bear you a son."
"We'll see," he replied with a little smirk. Aoshi and Misao went about their
morning routine as Okina sat watching in disbelief at how Aoshi would stop
Misao occasionally and kiss her, and how sometimes Misao would be tending to
his wound and they would become lost in each other's gaze and he knew then that
it was true. The expression Aoshi wore was the look of a man who hadn't seen
his beloved in a long time, and the soft smiles and the gentle blushes that
crossed Misao's cheeks were of a wife who wanted her husband's intimate
attentions more than was proper.
"I guess I should have expected as much from you two," Okina said as he got to
his feet. "It's not like you ever played by anyone else's rules to begin with."
He slid the door open to leave and said quietly, "I'm happy for both of you.
Congratulations."
As soon as the door slid shut Aoshi kissed his bride fiercely and cupped a
breast. Misao was helpless against his assault on her body, wanting it as badly
as it wanted to give it, yet knowing that it was best if he didn't considering
his injuries. She finally pulled away from him and said, "We should wait until
you've recovered."
"Yes, but I needed just a sweet taste…" he mumbled against the skin of her
neck.
"And a taste is what you've already had, now drink this medicinal tea!" she
said with a smile, pushing him back once more. Once he'd given up his physical
advances, she sat back and regarded his almost light hearted face. "So, this is
how the rest of our lives begin, huh?"
He chuckled. "I guess so. It's funny how we've been sharing a life for so long,
yet this is the first morning we've ever spent together. The first of many
mornings." He smiled at her. "I did it all for you, Misao. All for us. All so
we could have our chance at finally being happy."
Misao made herself comfortable in his lap and hugged him gently. "I love you,
Aoshi. I'm looking so forward to waking up next to you everyday. Although I do
have one more request of you…"
"Anything, koibito," he answered.
"Can we please get our own house so Okina can't walk in on us anymore?"
With a hearty and healthy laugh that was heard throughout the inn, he agreed
that such a purchase was definitely in order. He kissed his bride tenderly and
simply enjoyed her weight in his lap as they listened to the world outside
awaken. Today was going to be the best day, simply because it was the first day
of the rest of their lives.
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