A/N::: First of all, big thanks to everyone who has read my story and reviewed! Really means a lot to me.

Next, this chapter is kinda emotional. Lots of tears and random things happening. Good news is that this chapter is longer than the first chapter. I how you guys like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything….but enjoy anyway!!

"Wake up!!" yelled an annoyed Kaoru. Misao groaned and slapped the persistant hand away from her. Kaoru growled. "Misao, wake up!!! Come on!"she yelled out as she shoved Misao. Misao rolled off the bed and onto the floor with a loud thump. She instantly sprung up, clutching her head. "Dammit Kaoru!"she hissed and stood up. Kaoru smirked at Misao. Misao rolled her eyes and glanced down at her clock. Her eye twitched. "What the hell Kaoru?! Its 5 in the morning!"she said. Kaoru just looked at her and kept smiling. Misao raised an eyebrow at her best friend.

"Oi, Kaoru, whats up with you?"she asked, moving around the bed to stand right in front of Kaoru. Kaoru held up her left hand, thrusting it into Misao's face, poking her eye. Misao screamed and back away, holding her eye. Kaoru gasped and put her hand down. "Misao! Are you okay? I'm so sorry."she said as she checked on her friend. Misao shrugged her off and opened her good eye, while rubbing the other one. "What'd you do that for?"she hissed. Kaoru giggled and squealed. "Misao, Kenshin proposed!!" yelled Kaoru in utter excitement as she held her left hand up to show Misao her engagement ring. Misao's jaw fell open as she stared at the ring.

"No…..way"she whispered in disbelief. She looked at Kaoru who was smiling ear to ear. "Kaoru that's…..that's" Kaoru looked at Misao, expectantly. Misao smiled a bit. "That's…..awesome. Congradulations."she said and hugged Kaoru. "Thanks Misao."replied Kaoru. Misao nodded and pulled away from their sweet little hug and rubbed her face. She sighed out as she glanced back at the clock. "Well, I might as well start getting ready for work." She quickly left the room though, when her cell phone started ringing, with Soujiro's ringtone.

Misao frowned at the mirror as she cleared away the fog that she produced while taking a shower. She sighed as she continued to dry her hair with her hair dryer. 'I should cut my hair…..but' Soujiro's smiling face flashed through her mind.

FLASHBACK::

"No."he said quickly, surprising her for a moment. "Eh? Why not Soujiro?"she asked, leaning her head to the side a bit. His smile never faded as he looked away from her. He turned his back to her and cupped her chin in his hand. He pulled her face closer to his. "Because, I love your long hair. Don't cut it….."he said, pausing as he leaned down and captured her lips with his. She closed her eyes and his free hand held her neck, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss. He pulled away after a moment, just a centimeter from her lips. "Please….don't cut it"he whispered. Even though her eyes where still closed, she blushed as she slowly nodded. "H-hai"she stuttered, letting out a small gasp when his lips captured hers again.

END::::

Misao shook her head roughly and turned off the dryer. She rubbed her face and walked out of the bathroom. She passed by the living room and saw Kaoru in the kitchen. Misao quickly dressed in her usual attire of denim jeans and a shirt. She slipped on her sneakers and put her hair up in a clip. She grabbed her purse and went into the living room. She placed her purse on the couch and walked into the kitchen. Kaoru handed her a cup of coffee, the only thing that Kaoru could make in the kitchen besides tragedies.

"Someone came by looking for you."said Misao as she finished her sip of coffee. Kaoru nodded at her. "I saw the notepad. Did he say anything in particular?"she asked. Misao looked up at the ceiling, trying to think. "Mmmm…..nope. Just what I put in the notepad."she replied. Kaoru nodded again. Misao raised an eyebrow at Kaoru, a sly grin spreading across her face. "Sooooo…….who is he?"she asked. Kaoru raised her eyebrow also. "He's an old friend from highschool. Don't you remember him?"she said. Misao shook her head. "He seemed familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it."she said.

Kaoru pushed away from the counter and put her cup in the sink. "Well he recently moved here and I told him where I lived so that he could come visit me. He's also a friend of Kenshin and Sano."

Silence followed after. The sound of Misao's cellphone broke the silence. Kaoru looked over to Misao who just ignored the sound. "Misao, aren't you going to get that?"she asked. Misao shook her head. "Its Soujiro."she simply said and finished her coffee.

"All the more reason for you to answer it!"exclaimed Kaoru. Misao bit her bottow lip. 'Should I?' she asked herself. The ringing stopped and she turned and looked over at the living room. "Misao…..something is up."declared Kaoru. Misao looked at her.

"Tell me what happened."whispered Kaoru. Misao could feel her eyes burning up. She blinked the tears away and sighed. "He cheated on me, Kaoru."she whispered. Kaoru's eyes widened in shock. "WHAT!? Misao are you sure?!"she yelled. Misao covered her face with her hands. "I saw him yesterday……he was with Yumi."she said, a tear rolling down her cheek.

Kaoru rushed over to her and embraced her. She couldn't find anything to say to Misao because she knew that it wouldn't comfort her. Instead, Kaoru just hugged her and let her cry. A couple of minutes had gone by before Misao straightened up. She wiped her face with her hands and sniff softly. She backed away from Kaoru.

"Sorry about that Kaoru. I should be going. I think I might be late for work."she said, her voice soft. Kaoru nodded at her. "It'll be ok Misao."she whispered. Misao looked down and just nodded. She hugged Kaoru. "Thanks."she said and walked past her. She grabbed her bag and left the apartment. Misao walked a couple of blocks until she reached The Aoiya, her grandfather's restaurant in which she worked as a cook. As she walked into the restaurant she saw her grandfather already setting up tables. "Jiya, good morning."she said and Okina. "My pretty Misao!!"she said happily as he embraced her in a bear hug. "Jiya…..can't breath."she said. Okina let her go and smiled at her. "Misao, we have a new employee today."

Misao started making her way to the back, Okina following behind her. "Oh really? A new waitress?"she inquired as she set her bag down on a small counter. "No, a new chef."he said simply. Misao looked at Okina. "You're not firing me are you!?"she asked. Okina laughed and shook his head. "Of course not my pretty Misao. Its just that since the reataurant is getting bigger, we will need mor of everything. But I expect that you will show the new chef the ropes when he arrives."he said. Misao mock saluted her grandfather. "Of course Jiya. Wait….did you say 'he'. I'm shocked you didn't hire some young girl that you could harrass."she said, looking at Okina. He shut his eyes and rubbed his beard as he walked away. "Nonsense Misao, pretty young girls are ment to be the waitresses."he said in a sing-song voice as he left. Misao shook her head and pulled out her cellphone. She flipped it open, her eyes widening when she saw that she had 45 missed calls and 45 voice messages, all from Soujiro. She closed her phone and slipped it back into her purse before she walked back to the main restaurant area.

"Misao, please come over here."saod Okina from the entrance. Misao walked to the entrance and saw a man standing in front of Okina. "Misao, I'd like you to meet our new chef, Shinomori Aoshi."said Okina with a smile. Misao looked over at Aoshi and he gave a nod to her. "Shinomori Aoshi, we meet again. I'm sure it'll be a pleasure to work with you."responded Misao.

"Misao,I'm delighted you still remember Aoshi!"said Okina. Misao looked at him, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What?"she asked, glancing at Aoshi, who stood silent. "I know him?"she asked her grandfather, to which he nodded happily. "Of course, he was our neighbor and a friend of yours."replied Okina. Misao rubbed her head. "Really?"she asked. Okina's smile seemed to fade. "Well maybe you just forgot, due to your little accident a couple of years ago."he whispered, somewhat. Misao could feel her heart sink as she watched Okina's expression. Okina still blamed himself for her 3 month coma she suffered when she was 17. She and Okina had been in a car crash which caused her to go into a coma and lose half her memory.

Misao gasped. "Oh wait!!"she suddenly said and both men looked at her. She turned to Aoshi. "We went to highschool together!!"she said. Okina instantly perked up and hugged her. "You remember!"he said happily. Misao let out a small laugh. "Yeah."she said and looked at Aoshi. He just stared at her, his eyes boring into hers. "Misao, why don't you show Aoshi around the restaurant before we open?" suggested Okina. Misao nodded and watched as Okina happily skipped off to chase after the young waitresses. She turned to Aoshi and smiled. "Let me give you a tour."she said and walked ahead of him.

She spent next 10 minutes showing him around the comfy restaurant. When they ended up in the kitchen, she turned to him. "Well, there you are. End of the tour. What do you think?"she asked. Aoshi rested a hand on a counter and looked around the big kitchen. "It is a nice restaurant."he replied. Misao simply nodded and looked down. Silence over took them as they just stood in place. Misao sighed and let her eyes wonder around the place. She turned her back to Aoshi as she heard a slight crash in the front of the restaurant, followed by some crying. She turned back to Aoshi and found him taking out some supplies. As he set them on a counter, she walked over to help. "So…..how old are you?"she asked. Aoshi spilled a spoon in a bowl. "24."he replied. "Me too!"she exclaimed. She looked up at Aoshi but he only continued to set up the supplies.

"Shinomori-san."she finally said. Aoshi looked at her. She nervously fiddled with her hands. "I hope I didn't offen you when I didn't remember who you where. It's just that-" "It alright."he said, looking away. "You still don't know who I really am, am I right?"he asked. Misao scratched her head. "….Yeah."she whispered. Aoshi turned to her, coming closer to her. She looked up at him. "Try."he said. Misao gulped as she stared into his eyes which seemed to flash with pain and pleading her to remember. The door swung open and Okina poked his head in. Aoshi went back to setting out things and Misao stood in place. "Misao….Soujiro is here."he said. Misao's eyes widened. "Tell him I can't see him right now. I'm busy."she said.

Okina frowned. "Now, Misao. How can you turn your boyfriend away like that? Come out and see him. He's worried about you." Misao rolled her eyes. "Yeah right."she mumured. "Misao?" came Soujiro's voice. Misao stood still, watching as Okina withdrew from the door and Soujiro came in. Misao's heart beat faster at the sight of him. She couldn't avoid him now. He rushed over and embraced her and kissed her. She didn't respond to his affection but he didn't seem to notice. "I've been calling you since last night. Where have you been?"he asked, smiling playfully at her. Misao pulled out of his embrace and turned back to her work. "I've been busy, Soujiro" she replied. "Listen, why don't I just call you later?"she suggested. "Misao, is everything okay?"he asked, touching her cheek. She pulled away. "Yeah everything is fine."she quickly said and turned towards Soujiro. She couldn't believe what he done to her and how he showed up to see her, acting like he was completely innocent. "Misao, we need to talk now."he said a little to sweetly.

She couldn't handle this anymore. "Sou-" But she wasn't able to finish her sentence. Soujiro knelt down infront of her and pulled out a little velvet box. Okina gasped in happiness. "Misao, will you marry me?" Misao looked up at Okina's beaming face, Aoshi's slightly narrowed eyes, and Soujiro's fake love filled eyes.

Her lip trembled and her eyes stung. She snatched her hand away from his grasp and slapped not once, not twice but three times. "Get out!"she screamed. The velvet box dropped to the floor and Soujiro stumbled back to his feet, holding his burning cheek. Misao picked up the box and chucked it back at him. "You're nothing but a liar and a cheater! We're done! Get out!"she yelled. Soujiro stepped up to her, grabbing her wrists. She yelped in pain and was snatched forward. But she was quickly let go of when Soujiro was snatched back by both Aoshi and Okina. "Leave."warned Okina, pointing to the door. Soujiro didn't budge until Aoshi stepped up. "Leave"he repeated. Soujiro glared at him but slowly left the kitchen. Okina rushed over to Misao but she stopped him.

"Jiya, its time to open." Okina got the hint that she did not want to deal with this now. He kissed her forehead and walked out. She wiped her eyes. She looked up at Aoshi and turned away. "Thanks you for what you did Shinomori-san, even though you didn't have to." Aoshi handed her a napkin and she smiled in thanks. "I'm so trouble-some. Sorry."she sniffed and wiped her eyes. "We should get to work."she said and washed her hands. "Kaoru tells me you're a friend of hers and that you recently moved here."

"Aa."

"Do you live near by?"

"Across the hall from your apartment."

"Oh really? That's great because then you could come talk to us when you need to."

"Aa."

"I don't remember you. But I guess you're not much of a talker."

"Aa."

"Does it bother you that I talk so much?"

"No, you talked more when you were younger."

Misao bit her lip. "I'm really sorry I don't remember you. I bet you were a great friend." Aoshi looked at her, scanning her face. Her eyes were puffy, her nose red and her cheeks pink. He turned back to his work. "Whenever you need to talk, I'll listen."he replied. Misao blinked in surprise but smiled.

"Thanks Shin-"

"Aoshi."

"Thanks Aoshi."

He didn't respond, just nodded and continued with his work. Misao glanced at him, trying to remember who he was to her. Her mind wondered to Soujiro but she quickly shook her head. "Misao, can we get two cups of tea?"asked Kiro from he door. "Coming right up!" she yelled back and poured the tea into two cups, put them on a tray and handed it to Kiro. She sighed as she prepared herself for the busy day ahead. She glanced at Aoshi, smiling a tiny bit.

"Tell me…..about us"

09-14-07

A/N::::: ahhhh!!! I finally posted the 2nd chapter to this….a little quicker than I expected but oh well. I liked this chapter a lot and I made a lot of changes before I finally chose to go for this version. I hope everyone liked it. Please review people so I can find out what you liked about the story!!

I'm not exactly sure when I will update but it will be soon. I MIGHT update tomorrow or in a couple of days but I will update this week!