Twisted Accusations

Chapter Sixteen

The baby reached up to grab a lock of her hair causing her to wince. Kagome wasn't sure if she wanted kids of her own yet but this one was quickly pushing her opinion in one direction. If he wasn't pulling her hair he was pinching a breast in his small hand. He was adorable, looking alot like his father. She didn't mind holding him while Kaoru was washing some laundry, more than happy to discuss their other visitor.

He'd led her back to the dojo to leave her to run into town with Kenshin and Sano. Kagome knew she should be heading back to Kyoto and Shippou but maybe she could find out some information here. Or atleast that's what she told herself but she couldn't help but to ask about Aoshi. For the last thirty minutes she listened to every bit of information the other woman had to offer. What they all knew of him and about his past. It gave her enough to know that he was hurting no matter how well he hid it.

It also gave her insight on another matter that pained her. Misao was very close to Aoshi, he'd help raise the girl. From what everyone believed the two were kind of a couple, obvious that this Misao was in love with him. A small ache formed when Kaoru said that she believed Aoshi returned the girl's feelings but was having trouble acting on them. Was Aoshi in love with another woman?

Why did she even care? The kiss came to mind sending chills down her spine. She had to admit the kiss had been wonderful. It had awakened something that had been laying dormant. It woudn't matter if he belonged to someone else already. She'd tried that before and ended up on the short end. Add in the fact that there was a false charge hanging over her head which he'd kill her for, the best thing for her to do was stay away from him.


Kagome knew fate was being unkind later that evening. Once again she found herself in his presence, unable to do anything about it. Kenshin wanted fish for dinner, so they'd been sent to go get some. For a minute she was about to give into the urge to ask where the nearest super-market was. She almost groaned when handed a fishing pole. They actually expected her to catch them. Where was Inuyasha when you needed him?

No words were spoken as they got to the stream. Which suited her just fine, she had nothing to say to him. Why was he still there anyways? He went straight to work on the fishing. Instead of doing her part she took a seat on a large tree stump. He took off the large coat he always wore, giving her a good view of his oh-so-nice rear. Her eyes couldn't help but land on it.

Several minutes passed while he concentrated on fishing and her his bottom. The silence was a pleasant one to accent the beautiful day. A laugh came forth when he finally got a bite. He yanked back hard enough on the line to stumble back. "Where did you learn how to fish? If you'd have hooked the damn thing you would have just torn his jaw off. I can see now that if I wanna eat later I have to do it."

"Let me show you how it's done." Kagome handed him the pole and the can of bait. There was no way she was putting the worm on the hook. He lifted a brow but did it for her. She thanked him then turned towards the stream, she could do this. They both stood there only a foot apart waiting for one of them to get a bite. "So how old are you?"

"None of your business." He felt something tug at his line and pulled back. A giggle came from beside him when he brought back nothing but a missing worm. How the hell did Kenshin do this? They'd starve at this rate, the girl didn't seem to be having any luck either.

"I'm just trying to make small talk. Just standing here is boring. Fine but I'd guess you were pushing fourties if you haven't reached it yet." She waited for his reaction at the implied insult, he grunted in response. So much for making small talk. "Are you always this unsociable or am I just lucky?" There was a tug on her line, her hand tightened around the pole waiting. She'd catch a damn fish if it was the last thing she did.

"Are you always this annoying?" He watched a smile form as she gently pulled back on the line. A high pitched squeel tore at his eardrums as she pulled the fish up to her grinning from ear to ear. She looked so pleased with herself he wanted to shove her ass into the water to wipe that grin off her face. The idea had merit but she'd lose dinner in the process. "Don't just stand there holding it, go put it in the basket."

"You're just jealous that I got one and you haven't. You might as well eat them worms. Face it Mr. High and Mighty, you suck." She broke out in laughter as his expression changed from shock to disbelief. Served him right for ordering her around when she'd just caught dinner. It was nice to see some kind of emotion cross his face. "You should try smiling more, that one look you have has a way of really chapping a person's ass." She walked over to the basket and put her catch up. Pride filled her seeing how large the fish was, now time to catch another.

Wanting to get on his nerves she waited for him to rebait the hook then stood next to him. He yanked back the pole again and swore under his breath but she managed to hear it. The thought of her getting the better of him was making her happy. She started singing to herself, "Oh yeah, I caught a fish, I caught a fish and Aoshi's a sorry son of a bit...." She screamed feeling herself being shoved nongently forward.

Water went up her nose as she plowed forward face first into the cold stream. She gasped from the shock of it feeling like a thousand needles pricking her skin. His laughter caught her ears as she broke the surface, "You asshole, I can't believe you did that." Her teeth began to chatter as she spoke, the cold air hitting her skin as she stood up. Her clothing was soaked through, her hair hung down her face. Fingers went to work on moving the mess from her now frozen cheeks.

She frowned when he continued to laugh at her expense. What the hell was his problem? She'd be lucky if she didn't catch a cold now and he was standing there laughing at her. Well two could play that game. Before he could react she started splashing at him, catching him in the face with the frigid water. "Cold isn't it." His breath caught feeling the icy water hit his flesh. The laughter died in his chest, stunned at her nerve. Instead of moving he gawked at her as she pelted him with more of the water. Her face lit up as she laughed getting her revenge.

"I think you two should go back to the dojo and get into some dry clothes, that I do." Kenshin stepped from behind the tree, turning two heads in his direction. He smiled seeing both were shocked at his presence. He'd been on his way to offer his help with the fishing when he'd been surprised to hear the deep laughter. He'd seen Aoshi smile on one occasion, the man never laughed. Not only had he laughed, a small smile had crossed his face. His eyes fell on the woman in the water knowing she was the cause of the change.

Kagome felt stupid now. She began to tread out of the stream feeling the weight of her clothes pulling on her limbs. She wiped the hair from her eyes and looked up at Aoshi. The shocked look had left his face to be replaced by another, one she'd seen before. It was the same look the morning he'd kissed her. His eyes were glazed over, his shoulders had tensed. "What's your problem?" He wasn't kissing her at the moment, maybe he was wondering what the hell had gotten into himself. She must look a fright right now.

"Come Lady Kagome, catch a cold you will." Kenshin knew he had to get her back before the situation got more tense. Being a man he knew exactly what was causing the problem. The wet clothes were clinging to the woman's body, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. Her taunt nipples could be seen through the shirt. No doubt Aoshi was dealing with raging hormones at the moment. Even he had to admit the woman was tempting. "This way, I'll finish up the fishing."

Aoshi released his breath once they were a safe distance away. Blood was pounding in his ears, echoing the need he felt. If the girl had taken a good look two feet lower she'd have seen exactly what his problem was. The moment she'd stepped out of the water all the blood had rushed to his groin. She seemed totally unaware of the effect she had on him. Did she realize how lucky she was that Kenshin had showed up? If not he would have tried to take her without caring about their surroundings.


Next Chapter: Another tender moment and Aoshi finally gives in, read and review if you want to see more...