A/N: I am back with the newest installment to this story. I apologize to those reviewers who have wanted me to update for the longest. I have been busy since I graduated highschool and am now in the process of finishing my first year of college. But am back now. Thank you to my reviewers who left such nice comments!!
Disclaimer: I own nothing! Though I would kill to own Rurouni Kenshin! *shakes fists*
"You're kidding……right?" she asked as she looked over the dress. Kaoru frowned, her eye twitching. "Misao!" she yelled at her best friend. Misao shrunk away from Kaoru, in fear of her attacking. "What?! You told me to be truthful!" Misao yelled back, glancing at the horrible dress in front of her eyes. Kaoru fumed and put the dress back. "But I really liked that dress."she said. Misao rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. That dress was hideous. It looked like a trash bag!!" Kaoru gasped."It did not!"she countered. Misao waved her off. "Hey, I'm trying to be a good friend and help you pick out your dream wedding dress, but you're making this difficult."
Kaoru sighed and decided not to fight with Misao. She glanced over at the dress and did find that it was quite….ugly. "Go find another one."voiced Misao and Kaoru just nodded and took another dress off the rack and went into the changing room. Misao re-adjusted herself in her chair and flipped through a bridal magazine. She flipped open the magazine and saw a bride and groom kissing, a beautiful wedding dress and the perfect hair styles. She groaned and closed the magazine, slightly sliding down in her chair. She checked her watch and groaned. Two hours. She had been there two hours. Misao crossed her legs and crossed her arms across her chest. It had been a rough week for her. Thoughts of Soujiro plagued her mind constantly. And the fact that he had dinner at The Aoiya yesterday with his fiancé Yumi, didn't help her out either. Kaoru, who had just gotten engaged last week, was dragging her around to help plan for the wedding, which was going to be in two months. Work was however, interesting, thanks to Aoshi. He was beginning to open up a little more to her. She smiled a little, recalling their last conversation.
Misao's eyes widened. "No!"she said, excited. Aoshi merely nodded at her. Misao threw her head back and laughed, slapping her hands on the coffee table in front of her. She wiped tears from her eyes and tried to calm her laughter down when she saw Aoshi's face. She giggled and then coughed when she regained her composure. She looked at Aoshi, his serious face made her burst into laughter once more. "I…I'm sorry."she managed to say. She coughed once more and took deep calming breaths. "I…I can't believe I would so something like that to you."she said. She was sitting right across from him in her livingroom. He had come over at her insistance and shared stories with her about their childhood. "You also blamed it on me."he said. "What? So let me get this straight. I went caused the microwave to explode, causing the whole kitchen to be completely covered in who- knows- whatt…and blamed it on you?"she asked. Aoshi nodded. Her smile widened at that. "Did your mother believe it?" "Somewhat."he replied. Misao laughed once more. She looked at Aoshi for a small while, just taking in his appearance. He seemed calm, relaxed and seemed to be enjoying telling her stories.
Misao pulled her knees up and hugged them to her chest. "Aoshi…what else did we do when we were kids?" Aoshi sipped his drink before he answered her. "We always went for walks."he replied. He looked out of the window that was next to him to look out at the night sky. "On nights like this?"she whispered. Aoshi shook his head "No….everyday."he replied.
"Misao!" Misao sat up in her chair and blinked. "What do you think?" asked Kaoru. Misao looked up at her and she couldn't help but smile. "Oh Kaoru, its beautiful!"she said. Kaoru beamed and did a little turn. "Really? Because I fell in love with this dress."Misao nodded. "This is the one."she said as her eyes filled up with tears. Kaoru squealed in joy and ran over to Misao and hugged her. "Thanks for coming with me Misao."
When they finally got home, Kaoru immediately left with Kenshin to take care of more things, leaving Misao alone once more. Misao quickly changed into a pair of black sweatpants and a white tanktop. She made her way onto the balcony for some fresh air. Her eyes instantly traveled to the balcony next to her, wondering if Aoshi was there. Sure enough, there he was. He was sitting on the railing, reading his book. She smiled at the sight. 'He even looks good in glasses' She furrowed her eyebrows and then shook her head, brushing off her thought. "Aoshi!" Her yell caught his attention and he looked up. "Misao?"he asked. She waved at him and walked to the end of the balcony. "Aoshi…do you want to go for a walk?" He put his book down and took off his glasses. "Aa."he replied. She jumped up and ran back inside her apartment and slipped some shoes on. She grabbed her keys and she was out the door. Once in the hallway, she eagerly waited for Aoshi. When she saw his door open, she zipped across and hurried him along. "Come on!" she said as she tugged Aoshi down the hall. "What's the hurry?" he asked her. Misao looked up at him. "No hurry. I'm just eager!"she replied. They hurried down the stairs and onto the street.
Misao stopped walking and looked up at Aoshi, who just stared down at her. "Well?"she asked. Aoshi raised an eyebrow. "Well?"he replied. Misao smacked her teeth. "You're supposed to lead me somewhere! I don't know where we used to take walks!"she exclaimed. Aoshi blinked and then looked around. "This way."he whispered and made his way down the sidewalk. Misao smiled and followed. They walked in silence for a while before they ended up at the park. They continued to walk until Aoshi stopped infront of a tree. He looked up at it and pointed out a straight branch. "I first met you up in that branch."he said softly. Misao stared up at the branch in wonder. Aoshi looked down at her. "Try to remember." His eyes seemed to plead to her. She flushed and looked back up at the branch.
"Why are you up there?" Five year old Misao stopped in the middle of her song and looked down to the ground and saw a boy with ice blue eyes looking up at her. "I'm sitting."she replied. "Why you sitting up there for?" he asked. "Cuz its fun." The boy blinked. "I like your eyes."she said and watched him blink again. She laughed. "Whats your name?"she asked him. They boy shifted underneath her gaze. "Aoshi."he replied. Misao smiled more. "You have big eyes."he said. "EHH!?"she yelled as she stood on the branch, grabbing the tree to keep her from falling. Aoshi watched with an amused look as Misao began to fume and yell at him. "-and how can you say something so mean!?"she yelled. Aoshi shook his head. "You have pretty eyes too." She instantly stopped her ranting and looked at him, a slight blush over her little face. Aoshi looked behind him as he heard his mother calling him. He looked back up at Misao. "I have to go. Bye." Misao watched as Aoshi quickly ran back to his mother. "Bye!"she suddenly yelled. Aoshi looked back and waved before he continued on.
Misao looked over at Aoshi and smiled at him. "You said I had pretty eyes." Aoshi's own eyes widened slightly. "Aa….so I see you remember something.I remember that same day, after you came home from the park and saw me next door and declared yourself my best friend." Misao laughed and walked up to the tree and laid a hand on the bark. "I guess I remember somethings….Maybe all I need to do is just hear the stories." She looked over at Aoshi. "But ever since I started thinking on what I have forgotten….I feel horrible and empty…because I know that I have forgotten the most important thing. I just don't know what it is." She pushed away from the tree and sighed. "Aoshi?" she asked and he glanced at her. "Where were you after my accident?" Her question was so innocent, she needed to know why her best friend had not been there….and why he showed up years after. Aoshi stuck his hands in his coat pockets, stepping up to her and looking down at her. His eyes shown with sadness. "I left. That same day, I left. I moved away." He looked away and up at the night sky. "When I found out about your accident, I tried to call. In fact I called a lot. Yet, when I found out about your coma, I felt responsible." Misao furrowed her eyebrows. "Why?"she whispered. "You were upset about me leaving. I blamed myself and resolved not to call anymore." Misao stepped up to him and grabbed his arm. "But it wasn't your fault!"she countered. His eyes challenged her own. She let go of his arm slowly and blushed a little. "Sorry. I didn't mean to over react."
Aoshi shrugged his shoulders and turned away from the tree and began to walk further into the park. Misao sighed and followed him. "So where are we going now?"she asked. "A silver bench. It was your favorite spot." Misao beamed and linked her arm with his. He flinched but soon relaxed. "What was so special about it Aoshi?"she innocently asked. "You could see my house from there."he simply said. Misao laughed. "Oh no! I was a stalker?!"she asked through her laughter. Aoshi looked at her and smirked. "You could say that." He commented. Misao smiled more and then looked at him. "I bet your smile is better than your smirk." Aoshi's eyes widened a little. "That's the same thing you said to me when you saw me next door. I was smirking at my mother when all of the sudden, your head popped out of a window and you said that to me." Misao tapped her chin and furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm trying to remember that….."
"Hey!...Yeah, you!!" Aoshi turned his head towards the house next to his and found the same girl he saw in the park, leaning out the window. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw her. "You should smile more. I bet your smile is better than your smirk!" Aoshi furrowed his tiny eyebrows and frowned. Who was this girl? "Don't look like that! Or your face will get stuck like that forever and ever!"she continued to yell. Aoshi's frown deepened as she continued to yell. He turned away from her and started to walk back to his home. "See you tomorrow!"she yelled. Aoshi turned back to look at her. She was smiling at him, sincerely. He blinked in confusion. She seemed to be waiting for him to say something. Yet, he wasn't going to give her satisfaction. He merely nodded and quickly ran inside the house. His mother smiled at him, having seen the whole exchange. "That little girl is so cute Aoshi. You should be friends." Aoshi frowned. "I don't like her. She's too bossy…and had big eyes." His mother blinked in surprise and then laughed. He, on the other hand, huffed. No way was he going to be her friend.
Misao rubbed her head. "I remember little bits of it but I'm getting a headache." She said. Aoshi apologized as he helped her sit down on the bench. He sat down next to her and looked straight ahead at the empty house across the street. Misao followed his gaze and smiled. "My house…and yours."she said as she looked at two very distinct houses. "Aa."he replied and then looked down at her. Misao reached up and ran her fingers across Aoshi's forehead. "I'm sorry."she voiced as she pulled her hand away. Aoshi caught it and pulled her towards him. He hugged her to him as she sat, immobile. "I really missed you Misao."he whispered as his arms tightened around her. Misao smiled sadly and only buried herself deeper in his embrace.
A/N: I realize that that was very short. Please bear with me. I am just getting my mojo back hahaha. I promise the next chapter shall be longer and filled with frustrating "almost romance" hahaha. Please review!! I shall update soon and even sooner if I get nice reviews!! Bye bye