I also managed to get around to it and work on this fic. This one, as you may have noticed, is much lighter than the crossover, but it's just to ease me up. Good reading!
A stitch at a time
Chapter 3
Aoshi's finger connected with the elevator's button. As calm as he might look, Aoshi was dreading the upcoming couple of hours. His secretary had warned him that the three businessmen he would be having lunch with were waiting for him in the building's lobby. He had picked his new trench coat and left the office. He was lost in his thoughts of the next hours to come, when he heard the familiar 'ping' and the doors opened and he got out. Talking with each other in a small circle stood six men, dressed in black and gray suits and horrible ties. A tall, blonde one looked at him and told the others he had arrived. Aoshi tried to remember him, but he couldn't.
He knew all the others, so the introductions between them were made. He was a French lawyer that had come from Paris, to be present in the negotiation. Aoshi, excusing himself with the French guy, invited them to a traditional Japanese restaurant instead of the usual Argentinean. The group was composed by foreigners, so they cheered the idea. Aoshi invited the French guy to go with him in his car and the rest of the group followed his car.
When they arrived Aoshi directed the group inside the restaurant and waited until a very respectful man approached them.
"Shinomori-san! I haven't had the pleasure of seeing you in a long time." The man said, reveling a long relation between Aoshi and the restaurant.
"Hello, Saru-san. I would like a table for seven, if it's possible." The man excused himself and after five minutes returned and led them to their table. Like the traditional Japanese restaurants, all the tables were separated inside compartments, but they weren't closed. Saru led them to a large table near a large window and they sited. The first tem minutes were filled with casual talk about the food served and the drinks. Aoshi started to dread the entire thing when an English gentleman decided to try sake, for the first time. He could already see that they weren't going to discuss a thing!
After some time a waitress came to their table and they ordered. Aoshi couldn't help but feel insulted when the English gentleman told the French that the Japanese women were terribly sexy.
"You haven't had a lover, until you try a Japanese." Then he had smiled at Aoshi, considering he was the only Japanese sitting with them. "Isn't it right, Aoshi-san?" Aoshi could merely stare at him, with his cold blue eyes, and the man had shrunk back to his existence. Most of the men realized he had felt insulted and tried to mend the English's comment. All that Aoshi could do was close himself in his own mind and, in the middle of all of them, a certain woman entered his thoughts. He didn't know why but he felt even more enraged when he thought that, by meaning Japanese women, the English businessman had refereed to her too. He lost himself in his memories of her smile and her clear blue eyes. It was so strange that one small encounter had left such a mark in him.
Aoshi wasn't exactly the type of men that had casual flings and deserted women all over. In fact, he hadn't had many lovers and even if he hadn't been exactly Mister Romantic, he had been polite and he had respected his lovers. But he had never attached himself to the mere memory of a casual smile. Aoshi sighed, he wished he could see her again. Well, it didn't seem too hard. He knew where she was working, he could very well drop in anytime he wanted.
Aoshi was exactly think about it when, in the middle of all the people inside the restaurant, he saw none other than that face that had been haunting him since the previous day.
She was sitting in the table across from his, having lunch with a guy that had his back to him. She had her black hair in two thick braids and Aoshi caught sigh of one of her ears, which had a piercing. She wore no make up, but her face seemed to glow when she smiled. Aoshi caught himself feeling jealous of the guy she was with, especially when he grabbed her hand, while talking to her. He felt better though, when she took her hand away and shook her head no. She looked at the guy with what looked like amazement, as if she hadn't an idea what was going on. By the gestures of the guy, he seemed to be trying to convince her, but she shook her head again. But this time, when she shook her head, her eyes moved away from the guy's face and they came to rest on his'. He felt like a little boy caught with the cookie jar in his hand. So he looked away.
Misao was starting to regret the lunch with Soujiro. He had picked her up at the shop and told her he wanted her to have Japanese food, since she had been away for too long. She had thought it rather nice, even if Soujiro had never stroke her has a nationalistic guy. They hadn't talk much on their way to the restaurant, since Soujiro didn't like to talk while inside the car. It had always been a thing with him. During long trips he could spend five hours inside the car and not say a word, the minute they got out he wouldn't shut up. So, as expected, when they entered the restaurant, he started asking her how she had lived in Italy.
She had told him the main things: that she finished her degree, that she was making her first collection and that she danced for a hobby. He had seamed to like the last part.
"You dance now?" He asked, with a large smile. He had been smiling the entire time they had been together and she couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to use his charm on her again. "I would like to see you dance, Misao. It must be a sight!"
"Well, I'm still in the beginning, but I've whole chirographies already. But it's just a hobby, really. My main interest is fashion and it will always be." She said, but she couldn't but smile at him. She knew that he wasn't the kind of guy she needed, but his charm was just too irresistible. It was just a lunch, she could be a little nice to him!
"Yes, but I would love to see you anyway." He insisted, this time grabbing her hand. She looked at their joined hands and her face hardened. She snapped her hand away from his.
"What do you want, Soujiro? If you think we're going to pick up were we left, you got it wrong." She looked at him. He seemed confused, or he pretended to be confused. What was he trying to do?
"Misao! It's just a lunch and I just want to be your friend again. No need to get all defensive." He moved his hands and Misao's eyes inadvertently followed his movement and she shook her head again. She would have to tell him that she wasn't a young girl anymore, that she could see right pass his masquerade. But her eyes caught sigh of something much more interesting than Soujiro. On the other side of the restaurant, looking at her and surrounded by businessmen, like himself, sat Shinomori Aoshi, the man that had filled her dreams that same night.
Just when her eyes caught his, he looked away as if ashamed of being caught. Over Soujiro's gestures Misao looked at him like she hadn't the previous day. When she had met him on the shop she hadn't been able to really look at him, so she closed her hears to Soujiro's ramblings and focused herself on Aoshi.
He wasn't looking at her anymore, but he wasn't talking to the other men with him either. He was merely looking at his table, as if he were brooding over something. His bangs concealed his eyes, but Misao knew they were blue, pale blue. He had on his left hand a cup of sake and when he took a sip from it she couldn't help but notice his full but thin lips. When the cup left his mouth and it close, his lips took the form they usually had: a line, a very thin line. His lips reflected so well the type of man he was: the brooding type, the one that thinks everything to detail. He looked very collected and closed up, but she had admit that he was beautiful.
Working in fashion she had many times worked off-stage on fashion shows and she had seen many beautiful men in her life. Blonde, brunette, ginger, blue eyed, olive skin, pale skin, brown eyed. She had seen it all! And after all of them, she could only wonder why the heck hadn't Aoshi gone to model instead of whatever the hell he did. One of the guys sitting with him called his attention and he raised his head, to pass the bottle of sake. Even with the white shirt on, Misao distinguished his well toned muscles, underneath the 'cool businessman' act. He had to work off. She knew she was probably calling attention to herself, but she couldn't help but swoon over him!
"Misao? Misao, have you been listening to anything I have said?" Soujiro woke her up of her reverie and forced her back to the dreadful lunch. She smiled at him, trying to cover the fact that she hadn't listened to a word he had said.
"Hai? What is it, Soujiro?"
"Look I have to take this call and signal here is really bad. I'll have to go outside, but I'll be back as soon as possible."
"Alright."
As soon as Soujiro raised from his chair, Misao's eyes were back on Aoshi. But his eyes were following Soujiro, not her. He seamed a bit bothered.
She was watching him. He could feel it, her stare running all over his body and face. He didn't know if he should be pleased or insulted. The guy eating with her was still talking and didn't seem to have a clue that she wasn't listening to a word he was saying. Then he stopped talking to look at his cell-phone and left after looking at it. Just when Aoshi was thinking about going there to greet her, the guy turned around and Aoshi recognized Soujiro, his college.
His eyes followed him until he was outside. So, the bastard had left him to take care of the business lunch for himself, to have lunch with the little missy? Aoshi really wanted to take the jam out of his donut now. The lousy rat! So, without thinking twice, Aoshi rose from his table, excused himself and approached the girl's table.
She seamed to have noticed his approached, but she merely looked at her plate and drag her food from one place to the other. He walked up to her, until he was less than half a meter away from her table. She was then forced to look up and acknowledge his presence. He stared coolly at her, but she smiled that charming smile of hers.
"Shinomori-san! Please sit." If the offer had been made by any other he would have declined it, but he felt strangely attracted to the little woman in front of him. So he sat on Soujiro's place and pushed his plate out of his way. "How are you?" She asked.
"I am very well, Makimachi-san." She smiled at him and laughed when he refereed to her by her surname.
"Please call me Misao. Makimachi-san is too weird for me."
Aoshi looked her up and down and, even if he wasn't a clothes fanatic, he had to admit the girl had style. She was wearing a white and blue dress, with no sleeves, made of a fabric that was almost transparent. Fortunately she had a light white combination under it. Then she had a pair of those roman sandals on her feet. It was obvious she took great care in her state of dress.
"Do you like the dress?" She asked. Aoshi's eyes looked up at her face, trying to catch that look that women usually wear when they catch a guy looking at her, the 'I've caught you checking me out' look. But all that he caught was a curious look, as if she really wanted to know the answer to her question.
"Yes, it's very pretty. I imagine it's from your grandfather's store."
"Well, actually there will be some of those there, in a while, but this one is the first one." She had the most enormous smile on her face. "I designed it! That's what I do, I design clothes. That trench coat you bought yesterday was my design too."
Aoshi looked carefully at her. She was still smiling and her eyes seemed to glow. It was obvious she took great pride in her work. He couldn't help but give her a tiny, little smile in return. But right after that he had to ruin it.
"So, where do you know Soujiro?" He asked, trying to strike a conversation. Her smile seemed to falter though and she looked down at her hands. His eyes followed hers and settled on her white hands. She had such long thin fingers, two of then had small rings around them, but both were very discreet.
"Oh, he's an ex-boyfriend." She looked up, as if to see his reaction. He knew he didn't have a thing to do with them, but he felt a strange tightening on his chest. "And… and you? Where do you know him from?" Aoshi shrugged his shoulders.
"He works at my office. We are colleges." She seamed pleased with his answer.
"Really? You're a lawyer too?" He nodded his head. "I don't know why, but that profession seems to fit you far better than Soujiro. I always thought he looked like a little kid trying to prove himself. I don't know! Maybe he is a very competent lawyer, I don't know." Aoshi had to admit, the woman was… he didn't know, special? She seemed to take everything so well. "Well, I shouldn't be talking like this. Many people have underestimated me because of my kid look. But now everything will be different!"
Aoshi didn't even had to say two or three sentences and she was already talking to him as if he were her best friend. She took a sip from her drink and smiled at him. He supposed she had finished that topic, but he had no desire to start another. His eyes descended from her face, to her neck and settled on the small pit at the base of it. She also wore two necklaces, but none of them covered her neck because they were large. One of them was made of semi-precious stones and the other was just made of string and a pendent with the form of a triangle. He saw her take a deep breath and knew she was going to talk again.
"Hum… Shinomori-san? Is Soujiro seeing anyone?" He looked sternly at her and knew that even if he couldn't his eyes, he must've let something transpire. He didn't know why, but he felt betrayed. When he answered he didn't manage to hold his contempt from his answer.
"I'm not his nanny, I don't know."
"I understand it might seem strange and stupid to ask, but I thought you two could be friends and he might've said something." She sighed. "I really hope he is seeing someone."
"Why?" Aoshi just couldn't stop himself from asking.
"Well, our affair ended when I went to Italy, in a rather drastic way, and now I have no idea why he asked he out for lunch. I really hope this is just a friendly way of saying welcome." She explained.
Aoshi was first amazed that she would tell him all that and then he was purely mad. Soujiro and he weren't exactly best friends, but he knew the guy good enough to know that the lunch with Misao was no welcome home lunch. He was trying to win her back. Yes, by the way the guy liked to boast about his conquests, Aoshi could see him wanting to boast about the clothes designer he had caught. The bastard!
"Well, maybe you should clear that up with him." Aoshi couldn't believe he had just said that! He usually didn't meddle in other people's love affairs, much less give advice.
"I told him something of the kind, but he got all defensive." She said, with a sad voice. "And I don't want to exaggerate things and lose his friendship. He's one of the few friends I still have left in Japan."
Without thinking Aoshi took out his wallet and gave her one of his personal cards, not the professional ones.
"Well, now you have a new one. If you ever need anything, give me a ring. Okay, Misao?" She smiled at him once again and nodded.
"Thanks, Shinomori-san…"
"You may call me Aoshi. Now I have to go. I'm in the middle of a business lunch and Soujiro should be returning. Goodbye."
"Bye, Aoshi. Thanks for everything."
"It was my pleasure."
Misao couldn't believe what had just happened. First she had been amazed that he had gotten up to greet her, then when he had agreed to sit with her… she really didn't expect that from him! And she didn't know why but she felt so at ease talking to him. He didn't seem to listen to all of what she said, but he did! When he had said that he and Soujiro worked together she couldn't help but think that it had been destiny. It had been destiny that had put Soujiro in her way, so that she could later on know Aoshi better.
And he had given her his card! She looked at it while Soujiro didn't return. It had his name and two numbers, his cell-phone and his house. She had first thought he had given her his office number, it had never crossed her mind that he might give her his home number. And it even went as far as to have his address! She would have to make sure not to lose that card or she would kill herself. So she placed it inside her make-up kit.
Soujiro returned five minutes later, with that silly smile that she had once thought charming. He asked the garçon for the check and then smiled sadly at her.
"I'm sorry, Misao-chan. I was really enjoying this lunch, but I was just informed of an emergency back at the office and I really must run." Misao sighed in relief.
"That is quite okay, Soujiro. I don't mind." She got up from her chair and dressed her coat. It was a large blue coat, made of cotton. She had, of course, made it. It was another one of her creations she took pride on.
"Really? Look, let me make it up to you. Dinner tonight, okay with you?" He asked, laying a hand on her back.
"I'm sorry, but I'm busy tonight. We can make plans later, don't worry about it, my friend." She stressed the word friend to see if he got the picture. His smile faltered, but he lived on. He said his good-byes and left. Misao watched him go and, when his back disappeared behind a turn, Misao looked in Aoshi's direction. At that same moment his eyes met hers. He raised a glass at her and nodded. She didn't know if it was encouragement or not, but she felt better after seeing it. She smiled at him in return, but she didn't know if he saw it or not, because a man close to him called him.
After staring at him for tem whole seconds, she thought it best if she retrieved herself. She now had his number, all that was left was the guts to call him.
Mariana's brain: Aoshi's totally OOC! How could you do that to him?
Mariana: Look, can you come up with something better? I had to have him give her his phone number, ok? Or else how da hell are they meeting again?
Mariana's brain: But… it's just sooooo sappy!
Mariana: Oh! Shut your pie hole! Damn stupid brain doesn't come up with anything god then complains!
Well, reviews or flames! You pick…
MaRiAnA
