AN: Disclaimers on everything I don't own.
I'm really sorry that this chapter took so long! Even though I did say before that it would as I'd be out all week, I still feel terribly guilty. Because of which I'll try and update by tomorrow or the day after that. Also, Aoshi might seem a bit OOC but the plot I have in mind won't work well if he's just his normal, brooding self. Though that's a part of Aoshi that I love very much so I won't stray too far from that. Thank you for the reviews! Oh and I was thinking of writing an Ouran/Rurouni Kenshin crossover. The basic plot is that Misao and Tamaki die at the same time (alternate universe) and Haruhi gets transported back to the Meiji era. What do you guys think? Tell me! :) Oh and review, you guys know how much I love hearing from you :)
Enjoy!
Misao was finally on a bed, exhausted. Aaaah peace and quiet. She spread her arms and inhaled. Sleep was slowly overcoming her.
Of course, she never got around to succumbing to sleep. As soon as she closed her eyes, a loud crash resonated through the room.
Startled, Misao sat up and looked at the man who just made a stack of canned goods decorate the floor. "Sano!" Slapping her forehead, Misao moved to stand up but remembered that she couldn't. Before she could dwell on it any longer, Misao turned her attention to Sanosuke, her guy best friend since middle school.
"Can't you ever move without destroying anything?" Instead of sound annoyed, Misao sounded amused. Sano quirked a goofy smile at her and scratched the back of his head.
"Sorry weasel, I didn't see the cans. I got you some onigiri though. And green tea." Sano added the last part with a smug look on his face. Misao hated green tea, but she drank it nonetheless because it reminded her of Aoshi. However, she loved onigiri. She squealed. "Thank you Sano!" Waiting for him to finish picking up his mess, Misao lied back down and thought of the day's events.
After handing Aoshi the results of the x-ray, it turned out that she did have a concussion. Thankfully, it wasn't a complex concussion so in just a little over a week, probably ten days, the recurring dizziness and headaches will ebb. The wounds all over her body would have healed as well. However, the same couldn't be said of her feet. She only suffered stress fractures on her right femur and a couple on her left tibia (Aoshi had her sent for a CT Scan as he couldn't see anything in the x-ray) but if she wanted them to heal as soon as possible, she had to banish any thoughts of locomotion through her lower limbs. Which meant that she was confined to a wheelchair until further noticed or as Aoshi had said "You are to sit and use that chair until I tell you otherwise."
Scrunching her nose, Misao recalled how she stuck her tongue out at him and huffed, only receiving a bemused expression from Aoshi as a response.
That was why she called Kaoru and told her that though she wouldn't be moving in tonight personally, Omasu and Okon will be bringing all her things to the unit instead, probably by the end of the week. It was rather a coincidence that Sano was back in town and only by sheer luck that he decided to phone her right away. He just came back from his tournament in Europe, where he bagged the gold in the Mixed Martial Arts Division and a bronze in Taekwondo. Misao immediately told him of all that happened and without a second thought, Sano had offered to help and assist her until she was well enough and could go about on her own. It took Sano a few minutes to convince Misao that he wasn't busy at all and she reluctantly agreed.
So here she was, in the third floor, inside room 310 of Tokyo Memorial Hospital. Turns out, Aoshi had informed Soujiro of the results and Soujiro deemed it best that she stay at the hospital for at least a week: She'd have less trouble as Soujiro's clinic was on the same floor and for the meantime, she would just help Soujiro with clinic files and occasionally join the differential diagnosis. After the week she was free to go home, but she had to have check-ups everyday for two weeks.
"Here you go weasel." Sano handed her the box of onigiri. "Don't forget the pocky." Sano smiled evily at her and raised the pocky high, Misao naturally couldn't reach it and pouted. "Sanoooo." She wined, and then stopped. Sano was close enough. She moved nearer to where Sano was seated on her bed and wrapped her arms around his neck. Sano stilled and held his breath. Misao leaned closer, until their noses were touching and smiled. "W-what are you—" . Sano forgot about the pocky and lowered his hand.
"Hah! Got you rooster!" Misao stuck her tongue out at him and waved the pocky in front of his face. "No fair! You tricked me!" Sano said, still red from what Misao did. He moved a hand to his chest, his heart was beating rapidly.
"That's your fault. You should have just handed it to me." Misao opened it and took a bite. "Thank you." And gave Sano a big grin. Still shocked at what Misao did, Sano didn't say anything and proceeded to eat his Onigiri. He inwardly smirked; he had a whole week to get her back for it anyway.
Okina paced in his house. He was worried for Misao, yes. But Misao could handle herself and she was in a hospital. Plus, she was a doctor and was consequently surrounded by doctors, including Aoshi.
Aoshi. That was what he was worried about. Okina remembered the day when Misao found out about her parents, Aoshi and his parents.
"Jiya! Where's Mama and Papa? Where's Aoshi-sama? Where's Uncle and Auntie?" Misao looked at Okina with wide, teary eyes. Young as she was, she probably sensed that something was wrong.
"Where am I Jiya?" She was looking around the room, the bright interior an exact opposite of what Okina was feeling. "Misao?"
"Uhuuh?" Jiya looked at Misao painfully. She'd have so much to bear at such an early age. Still, Okina didn't want her to grow up not knowing. He took a deep breath.
"Misao, Uncle and Auntie are in a coma. It's like a deep sleep but the doctor's aren't sure if they will ever wake up. Aoshi is awake-"
"I want to see him! Wait, Mama and Papa?" Jiya shot Misao a pointed look, but softened and almost cried at Misao's innocent expression.
"Misao, they're gone." Okina's voice cracked. Misao's family. His family was gone.
"Huh? Where did they go? When are they coming back?" At that Okina's tears spilled and he hugged Misao tightly. "Misao. Mama and Papa are dead. They died instantly when the car crashed. They're never coming back."
Okina pulled back and looked at Misao. He was expecting her to cry her heart out, but no. Instead, she looked up at him with almost dead eyes. The sparkle was gone and her eyes were dull. But they held no tears. This was worse than her crying.
"Aoshi-sama?" Misao asked, her voice lacked any hint of the cheerful Misao everyone had come to know.
"He's awake Misao. But." He hesitated. "But he doesn't remember anything. Misao, He doesn't remember you."
At first, Misao didn't believe him and asked to be brought to where Aoshi was. Okina complied, calling a nurse to bring in a wheelchair.
When Misao first saw Aoshi, he didn't seem any different – save for the fact that he had bandages all over and his face had a few bruises. Misao stood up and ran from the wheelchair and hugged Aoshi who just sat up. Okina remembered Misao's face when Aoshi said what Okina had feared; he asked who Misao was .
Misao didn't do anything except stare at Aoshi with eyes that weren't fit for a child. Lifeless, cold and above all, filled with hurt. After what seemed like hours she turned, and ran out the open door. Okina later found her huddled next to a fountain. She was crying, even when Okina picked her up, she cried.
For weeks, Misao barely ate or spoke. She refused to go out of her room. All she did was stare at pictures of her parents and of her Aoshi-sama. Finally, after two months she was back to her normal self. Or at least was trying to be cheerful and energetic. Everyone knew that Misao, young Misao was hiding everything.
When Aoshi was released from the hospital, Okina offered to adopt and take care of him. His parents had died a month into the coma and Aoshi's nearest relatives were in Tokyo. The will that his parents left him stated that they wanted Misao's family to take care of Aoshi, if anything similar happened, but with Misao depressed, Okina deemed it best that they not see each other until both of them fully recovered.
Aoshi was adopted by his Aunt and Uncle in Tokyo. There he met his cousin, Hannya, who later on became his best friend. When both were well enough, Okina took Misao to see Aoshi, but not before talking to Misao seriously.
"Misao, I am taking you to Aoshi, but only if you agree to something." Okina had eyed his grandchild carefully, and when Misao nodded he continued.
"Aoshi still does not remember anything. You cannot force Aoshi to try and recall anything the two of you shared, or anything from the past as it might hinder his recovery."
Misao only looked at Okina. For a moment he thought that Misao wasn't going to speak but then she did, softly but sincerely.
"I will wait until Aoshi-sama remembers me, Jiya. I will wait. No matter how long it takes."
And wait she did. When Aoshi was 13 and Misao was 9, Okina started teaching them both fighting skills. Misao however, refused to show herself to Aoshi and instead insisted to train at a different time. Misao would make Aoshi , well more like ask Omasu or Okon to make Aoshi green tea and faithfully served it to him after every practice. She did so while wearing a scarf that covered every inch of her face except her eyes, never uttering a word and eyes always downcast. At first Okina found it foolish, but gradually understood what Misao was trying to do. Misao wanted to give Aoshi space to heal and time to remember, at his own pace.
This continued until Aoshi turned eighteen. Aoshi decided to study medicine abroad, using the money his parents had left him. The car he had fixed was left temporarily to Hannya. Misao however, kept her promise and waited. She would often ask Okina how Aoshi was during his time overseas.
When Aoshi came back, Misao was already twenty-one and he twenty-five. Misao was in medicine proper while Aoshi started to work at the Tokyo Memorial Hospital. Time went by so quickly, but for Misao, and Jiya knew, it felt like eternity.
Finally Misao graduated and finally, Misao could be near Aoshi again. That was why he was worried. Misao had kept her promise so far, but Okina knew it still hurt her every time she saw Aoshi and found that he still didn't remember her. Okina feared that if Misao were to go through this every day that she'd eventually break. Misao was strong, but just how much could the heart take before it shattered and lost hope?
How much longer could Misao's fragile heart hold on?
Aoshi parked his car and walked to the lift. He let out a sigh as he reached his unit on the top most floor. Sometimes, he hated having the penthouse. It emphasized the fact that he was alone.
He was about to open the door when he noticed two girls going in and out of the only other unit besides his. When Aoshi moved in, he had the option to get the whole floor, but seeing as he didn't need that much space and a unit was already really big, he declined, silently hoping that he'd have a neighbor. That was years ago. So now that he was finally going to have one, he wondered if he should lock the door that connected both units. Looking at the girls, he decided it really didn't matter.
There were still a lot of boxes to be brought in and silently he wondered how two girls managed to bring all of it by themselves, but wasn't given a chance to dwell on it too long – one girl was carrying a rather big box and it was about to fall.
Aoshi ran the girl's aid and took the box from her.
"Thank you." The girl let out a breath and gasped as she recognized the man who helped her.
"Aoshi-san!" Okon voiced, shocked to see Aoshi after so many years.
"Okon?" Surprised, Aoshi looked at Okon then at Omasu who stopped whatever she was doing and looking at him as well.
The last time Aoshi saw them was when he visited the Aoiya five years back, when he returned to Japan. They were the grandchildren of Okina, the person who owned the dojo and taught him martial arts. For some reason, Aoshi never thought that they'd be moving from Kyoto so he was more then curious as to why.
"Are you the new tenants?"
"No, no. We're moving our cousin's things in. She can't do it herself because she was in an accident last Monday and consequently, she was asked to stay in the hospital until Monday."
Aoshi had a strange feeling in his gut. This was all too surreal. Could it be that their cousin was…
"You might know her, Aoshi-san. She's a resident at the hospital you work in. Misao Makimachi?"
Okon and Omasu looked at Aoshi funny. Didn't he hear what Okon said? They repeated the question, but when Aoshi still didn't say anything Omasu tapped his shoulder lightly.
"Aoshi?" Snapping out of his thoughts, Aoshi looked at the two and coughed.
"I'm sorry, I'm just tired. Yes, I know her. Anyway, I better help you carry the boxes in." Aoshi didn't wait for their answer and no sooner had he started, he was already done. He asked that they send his regards to Okina and without another word, he walked to his unit and went in. He leaned on the door. So it was Misao who was going to be his new neighbor? This wasn't good at all.
It was a Friday and if Aoshi was correct, he was never more relieved to have a weekend off. The only thing that tainted his weekend was his dinner with Megumi, but that was inevitable so he didn't dwell on it at all.
It was thoughts of her, of Misao that constantly infiltrated his mind. And now that they would be living side by side... He let out a sigh.
She was really different. A day after her accident, she insisted on helping Soujiro and him during the differential diagnosis. At first Aoshi found her presumptuous for even thinking that she would be of any help, but he was wrong.
Soujiro and Aoshi were puzzled as to why a certain patient presented with all the symptoms of Hepatitis C yet when the blood test came back, it was negative.
It was Misao who pointed out the possibility perhaps the results of the blood test for the patient were a false negative and suggested that they run another test or do a confirmatory antibody test to confirm. When they reviewed the results the next day, turns out Misao was right. It was no big case, really. But from that point forward, both Aoshi and Soujiro deemed it more than beneficial to have Misao at their differentials.
Thought not the same could be said about Kana Akasuki. It made a lot of people wonder how Kana breezed through college and even place at the recent board exams. It was even more of a wonder that Kana was accepted at the hospital. By mid-afternoon, Wednesday, Aoshi was reeling.
Never, never in his whole career had he been assigned to such a, dare he say, stupid resident. He often sought out Kami-sama's forgiveness of his opinion on the girl but it just couldn't be helped.
How could a person who ranked 8 overall on the board exam, not know how to get blood samples correctly? Aoshi had asked her to get blood samples from his diabetic patient that had a scheduled check-up for the day as Aoshi was going to be in surgery for the whole morning. By the time he finished, he was gob smacked to know that he was an hour away from being sued. Apparently, it took Kana a total of twenty-five times before she could even hit a vein and draw blood. To make matters worse, there wasn't even enough blood to run the test with.
Appalled and insulted, the patient called for a lawyer and had Aoshi not arrived before the lawyer made his way to the hospital, he doubted that he'd have a license by the end of the day.
And that wasn't all.
Though it was a nurse's job to give out medicines to patients, Aoshi made it a point to give his patients the medication personally, and consequently check their progress. Aoshi had simply asked Kana to get the medicine for his patients at the hospital pharmacy. Much to his chagrin, Kana had neglected to mention that she was under Dr. Shinomori, and the Pharmacist thought that she was trying to steal medicine. Aoshi had to stop the guards from escorting Kana out of the hospital (Kana apparently threatened the Pharmacist that if she just didn't hand over the medicines; she'd have to take them by force).
By Friday, Aoshi had had enough and politely asked (he was surprised that he just didn't bark at her to leave) Kana to transfer hospitals. Kana threw a fit and ranted about Aoshi not giving her a chance to prove herself and started throwing objects around, several of which hit Aoshi. This time though, Aoshi didn't try stop the guards from escorting her out.
His breathing momentarily hitched as he remembered what happened next. He closed his eyes and sat on his bed.
Misao had heard of what Kana did and rushed to Aoshi's clinic. Despite being confined to a wheelchair, she was pretty fast. Misao knocked at the door but didn't bother to wait for Aoshi's answer. She opened it and gasped when she saw Aoshi.
He had a cut on his left cheek, about two inches in length. Misao stood up and ignored the pain that shot up her legs. Aoshi was standing in front of his desk when Misao walked to him. He could see her wince when she walked.
"Misao get back to your chair." Aoshi barely finished what he was saying and found that Misao was in front of him; her right hand softly caressing his right cheek as she examined the cut. It wasn't deep enough to merit stitches, but what he saw in Misao's eyes made his heart jump.
Misao was on the verge of crying. She was tearing up because of him. Her eyes were shiny with unshed tears and her lips were slightly trembling. "Aren't you overreacting a bit, Misao?"
The only answer Aoshi got was Misao wrapping her arms around his chest and hugging him. He went stiff but didn't push her away and opted to pat her head softly. He didn't know why Misao was acting like this, but it felt as if it were normal for her to do this. Aoshi knew that he should hug her back, but found that he couldn't so instead he placed his hands on her waist and he waited for her to calm down.
When he felt her relax he cupped her chin gently and lifted it a bit, her wide blue ocean pools looking up at his blue-green iced eyes.
"Misao, I'm fine. It's only a cut so don't worry anymore. I've had worse injuries when I was younger." Misao let her hands drop from her hug, bit her lip and looked at her feet.
"I know you have that's why I know I shouldn't be fretting but I can't help it, you've gone through so much. I'm sorry Aoshi-sama. I know I didn't have any right to touch you like that. I was just so worried that I didn't keep my actions in check. I'm really sorry."
Misao stepped back and almost lost her balance as she felt pain from her legs again. She regained her footing and bowed at Aoshi. She said sorry again and returned to her chair, sat and exited the clinic.
Aoshi opened his eyes and stood up. What Misao had said puzzled him. What could she possibly know of his past that made her worry like that over him?
"Misao?" Sano opened the door to Misao's room and looked to find Misao sprawled on the singles bed. She had her hands covering her face and looked as if she were crying. He rushed over to her and took a hold of Misao's hands. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were flushed from crying. Immediately Sano enveloped her in a hug.
"Weasel, what's the matter?" Sano asked when Misao had calmed a bit.
"Sano. I-I blew it." Misao sniffed and put her hands on Sano's chest. Sano sat on her bed and pulled her in between his legs. Misao's back was facing Sano and he wrapped a hand across Misao's shoulders. His other hand gently held her chin and tilted it a bit so she faced him.
"Tell me about it?" Misao nodded and looked at her feet.
"T-The resident Aoshi was in charge of was well, no good and when he asked her to leave she threw a fit and hurt Aoshi in the process. I was so scared that I couldn't control what I was doing and I hugged him and said something I shouldn't have. H-He told me that he'd been through worse injuries and I said I knew. Sano I'm so stupid!" Misao faced Sano and buried her face on his chest.
Sano felt a familiar ache in his heart at what Misao had said. He knew that Misao would only ever love Aoshi, but despite this he couldn't help but fall in love with her. She was different from all the girls he met. She wasn't high maintenance and took joy in the simplest of things.
"Misao, you're not stupid. You just couldn't help it because you love Aoshi." It hurt Sano a lot to voice the fact out loud, but he would rather hurt than Misao.
Misao didn't say anything except she curled in between Sano and smiled up at him.
"Sometimes Sano, I wonder what I would do without a rooster like you." Misao got up slightly and kissed his cheek. She curled again and closed her eyes, tired from crying too much. After an hour, Misao was asleep and Sano finally spoke.
"I don't know what I would do without you too, Misao-anata." Sano whispered softly into her ear and kissed her forehead. Sano looked at Misao's sleeping face and silently got off of the bed, careful not to wake Misao up. She stirred a little but didn't wake. Sano tucked her in the small bed and laid down on the couch, drifting off to sleep as well.
It was raining when Misao woke up the next day. Yawning, she looked out at the window and frowned. The sky was dark indicating that the rain would only intensify. She looked around to see Sano's sleeping form on the couch. He was tall so part of his legs weren't on the couch. Misao got up and into her wheelchair, heading for the folding chair that was in the corner of the room.
"There." Misao said as she placed the chair beneath Sano's feet and fixed the blanket over him. Her hands trailed Sano's face lightly as to not wake him. Why couldn't I have fallen in love with you instead? Misao looked sadly at Sano. She was aware of his feelings for her but she could never return his affections. Sano was like a brother to her and she could never change that. She loved Aoshi.
Numerous times she found herself looking at Sano and feeling guilty. He was always there for her, to help and guide her. Of course he got on her nerves when he'd tease her but that was just a part of their friendship. She looked away and moved over to where the canned goods and microwave were. While she was preparing her food her phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Misao! It's Kaoru, are we still on for tonight? I heard about your accident from Sano and well if you aren't feeling well we can always cancel and move it to next week." Misao slapped her forehead, she'd forgotten that it was a Saturday and she had dinner with Kaoru and Kenshin at the Akabeko.
"Of course. I'm fine Kaoru and thanks. Would you mind if Sano comes? He's been with me all week, helping me."
"Not at all. I haven't seen him in a long time and I'd want to hear what he's been up to lately. So dinner at 6?" Misao looked at Sano and back at the food she was preparing.
"Yup. If you arrive there first, reserve a table already okay? I want to take Sano out for a while, to say thank you and all."
"Misao's going on a date!" Kaoru squealed on the other line making Misao cringe.
"I am not! And besides Kaoru, you know that I see Sano as a brother. See you at dinner. Bye." Misao shut her phone, a bit annoyed at Kaoru but angry at herself. Sano was so unselfish, never demanding and always ready to help her but Misao continually hurt him.
She took one look at Sano and decided that she'd at least give him a chance, but made sure to make it clear to him to not expect much. Deep down, Misao knew she could only ever love Aoshi. But after more than two decades, he still didn't remember anything. She knew that Sano would only ever be a brother to her, but she could try and change that.
Maybe it was time for her to move on.