The 12th Street Apartment
2/3/2004
Disclaimer: Yes... I don't own.
+Review Responses+
Koishii Sweet: I'll try my best with the updates. Thanks for reviewing! ^^
MissBehavin: Thanks for being patient waiting for my updates! Thanks for reading! ^^
Kakashi-Fan: Yup... Saitou got to be my favorite character in this story... thanks for reviewing! ^^
Purpo kitee katx: Of course Aoshi still has a chance... Thanks for reading! ^^
Noner_89: Thanks for reviewing! ^^
Cricket-chan: YAY for the review! ^^
Nigihayami Haruko: I know the Gina leaving is a bit abrupt... it was planned all along that Gina would leave... well... thanks for reviewing! ^^
Hm...: Of course. Enjoy the next chapter and thanks for reviewing! ^^
+++++++++
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Kaoru... would you like to have dinner with me? No... no... too hasty... Would you like to have some coffee together?" Kenshin looked at the mirror.
Aoshi popped his head in, "Don't girls do that?"
"Shut UP!" Kenshin yelled.
"What are you trying to do anyhow?"
"Ask Kaoru... you know!"
"Oh."
"I heard Misao is with Chou."
"Oh... that's his name." Aoshi leaned on the doorway and closed his eyes with a sigh.
"You noticed?" Kenshin waved his hand.
Aoshi's eyes opened, "It's a little hard not to notice Misao... not being there..."
"Do you like her?" Kenshin asked slyly.
"Yeah..." Aoshi glanced up, "Wait... WHAT?" He shook his head wildly, "That didn't just come out..."
"Aoshi and Misao sitting in a tree..." Kenshin started.
"Grow up Kenshin." Aoshi growled, "And besides... I've missed my chance."
"You really think she likes Chou?" Kenshin glanced at his older brother.
Aoshi sighed, "I know she doesn't. She is just using him to get me all riled up. But I had a chance... she been throwing herself at me for months... but I never pursued it because I thought there was no need to rush!"
"So take it now!" Kenshin demanded.
"Why don't you?" Aoshi shot back.
"What?"
"With Kaoru! I come back... and you two have been circling each other like two shy teenagers. Can this be anymore simpler? She loves you and you love her!" Aoshi shouted.
"Look at you! You've been ignoring Misao who's been after you all this time... and you ONLY notice her when she with another guy!" Kenshin retaliated.
"Whatever." Aoshi grunted, starting towards his room.
"Yeah! Whatever! You know I'm right."
"And you know I am also." Aoshi replied before closing the door to his room.
(A/N: Brothers spat.)
***
Yumi noticed a patron yelling angry into his cell phone. The man with a bandaged face and arms slammed the phone down before relaxing his head on the back of the chair.
She sighed. Him... Makoto Shishio... the man she was in love with... and still was...
Now his sharp features were gone, covered by the white bandages; scars of his heroic effects...
Shishio studied fires, but he was no pyromaniac. He had been a firefighter, until a fire in an apartment building caused his body to become 80% burned...
(A/N: This is a nice fluffy story... I couldn't resist but make Shishio good...)
And when he broke her heart. He didn't believe when she said she would never leave him.
"All good things will come to pass." He told her as he closed the door to his new apartment in her face. "You don't need a man in your life that you will need to take care of like a baby."
And the day Yumi vowed never to give up on love or Shishio. All she could convince him to do so far was come drink coffee every Friday night.
"You all right sir?" Yumi asked quietly as she set his coffee in front of him.
"Hn." Shishio snatched the coffee.
Yumi glanced around and sighed. She watched him drinking coffee out of the corner of her eye, just as a song filtered through the speakers; White Flag by Dido.
(A/N: Disclaimer: Don't own this song.)
I know you think that I shouldn't still love you,
I'll tell you that.
But if I didn't say it, well I'd still have felt it
Where's the sense in that?
I promise I'm not trying to make your life harder
Or return to where we were
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
I know I left too much mess and
Destruction to come back again
And I caused but nothing but trouble
I understand if you can't talk to me again
And if you live by the rules of "it's over"
Then I'm sure that that makes sense
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
And when we meet
Which I'm sure we will
All that was then
Will be there still
I'll let it pass
And hold my tongue
And you will think
That I've moved on...
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
Yumi glanced over at Shishio who got up hurriedly and left. She sighed again.
She was doomed a spinster. It wasn't like men did like her... lots of them came asking for her to date them... she just wanted to married for love... not out of convenience.
She was doomed a lonely life then... but she still held onto that...
That very small...
Very small...
Small...
Sliver...
Of...
Hope.
***
Aoshi walked into the café, hoping to escape his silent office.
Now there was no Gina helping him file papers... and there was no Misao who stopped by and talked to him, at least filling his office with words.
Yumi greeted him politely. Aoshi turned on his computer, glancing around.
He heard the bell jiggled and Misao's voice come in...
And a lower one answering.
Chou... of course.
Misao didn't glance at Aoshi, but sat down at the table right in his view. Chou sat on the other side.
Misao began animatedly talking. Aoshi's eyes narrowed as he scrunched down, trying only to see the laptop screen.
He cursed himself for getting a small one.
Misao's voice was laughing, eyes twinkling while Chou was... doing something...
Aoshi gritted his teeth.
He felt as tug at his ear. He glanced up to see an amused Yumi, "You're jealous." She teased.
"I'm not." He huffed.
Yumi set the green tea on the table, "Yeah... and I hate Shishio."
"Thought you did." Aoshi said dryly as he sipped the tea.
Yumi sent him a haughty sneer.
Aoshi stole a glance back at Misao, surprised to see her stealing glances at him.
She quickly reverted his attention to Chou and flashed him a brilliant grin.
Aoshi had had enough. He gently turned off the laptop and stalked upstairs.
Misao smiled as she watched out of the corner of her eyes.
"Misao?" Chou was his hand in front of her face, "He was jealous."
Misao laughed, "Yes he was."
Chou smiled, "I guess..."
Misao put her finger on her lip, "Not here Chou."
"Sorry." He quickly replied, "Habit I guess."
(A/N: Of course this will be Aoshi/Misao!)
***
"Miss Kaoru... I... uh..." Kenshin fumbled with the words.
Kaoru smiled, "Would you like to come in?"
"Would I... I mean... sure!" Kenshin leap in, nearly tripping.
They sat at the low table as Kaoru poured tea.
"How was New York?" Kenshin asked, trying to make conversation.
"Noisy... crowded..."
"How is your father?"
"Well."
There was that uneasy silence.
Kaoru spoke up, "How is Gina?"
"I suppose she's happy."
"Oh..."
There was silence again, more uncomfortable then before.
"I-" Kaoru began just as Kenshin said quickly, "I should go."
"All right." Kaoru was a little disappointed.
Kenshin stood at the door, "I guess... I'll be seeing you around."
Kaoru glanced down at her feet, "I guess..."
Kenshin was just about the leave when he rushed back and planted a tentative kiss on Kaoru's cheek.
Kaoru's face flamed, "I will be seeing you around..."
"You definitely will." Kenshin promised as he left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AWWWWW!!
Well... I got this chapter out... earlier than I though would be possible...
Hope you enjoyed the fluff... I'm not a mushy writer... I try...
Next chapter will be up... late February... I think... or early March...
Sorry... I'm weighed down with work, not so good grades, and three stories...
Thanks for reading!
Please review!
Next time on the 12th Street Apartment: (Very tentative) Kaoru and Kenshin begin a lost courtship. How is Okita holding up? How is Aoshi handling jealousy? Will Shishio be back?
2/3/2004
Disclaimer: Yes... I don't own.
+Review Responses+
Koishii Sweet: I'll try my best with the updates. Thanks for reviewing! ^^
MissBehavin: Thanks for being patient waiting for my updates! Thanks for reading! ^^
Kakashi-Fan: Yup... Saitou got to be my favorite character in this story... thanks for reviewing! ^^
Purpo kitee katx: Of course Aoshi still has a chance... Thanks for reading! ^^
Noner_89: Thanks for reviewing! ^^
Cricket-chan: YAY for the review! ^^
Nigihayami Haruko: I know the Gina leaving is a bit abrupt... it was planned all along that Gina would leave... well... thanks for reviewing! ^^
Hm...: Of course. Enjoy the next chapter and thanks for reviewing! ^^
+++++++++
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Kaoru... would you like to have dinner with me? No... no... too hasty... Would you like to have some coffee together?" Kenshin looked at the mirror.
Aoshi popped his head in, "Don't girls do that?"
"Shut UP!" Kenshin yelled.
"What are you trying to do anyhow?"
"Ask Kaoru... you know!"
"Oh."
"I heard Misao is with Chou."
"Oh... that's his name." Aoshi leaned on the doorway and closed his eyes with a sigh.
"You noticed?" Kenshin waved his hand.
Aoshi's eyes opened, "It's a little hard not to notice Misao... not being there..."
"Do you like her?" Kenshin asked slyly.
"Yeah..." Aoshi glanced up, "Wait... WHAT?" He shook his head wildly, "That didn't just come out..."
"Aoshi and Misao sitting in a tree..." Kenshin started.
"Grow up Kenshin." Aoshi growled, "And besides... I've missed my chance."
"You really think she likes Chou?" Kenshin glanced at his older brother.
Aoshi sighed, "I know she doesn't. She is just using him to get me all riled up. But I had a chance... she been throwing herself at me for months... but I never pursued it because I thought there was no need to rush!"
"So take it now!" Kenshin demanded.
"Why don't you?" Aoshi shot back.
"What?"
"With Kaoru! I come back... and you two have been circling each other like two shy teenagers. Can this be anymore simpler? She loves you and you love her!" Aoshi shouted.
"Look at you! You've been ignoring Misao who's been after you all this time... and you ONLY notice her when she with another guy!" Kenshin retaliated.
"Whatever." Aoshi grunted, starting towards his room.
"Yeah! Whatever! You know I'm right."
"And you know I am also." Aoshi replied before closing the door to his room.
(A/N: Brothers spat.)
***
Yumi noticed a patron yelling angry into his cell phone. The man with a bandaged face and arms slammed the phone down before relaxing his head on the back of the chair.
She sighed. Him... Makoto Shishio... the man she was in love with... and still was...
Now his sharp features were gone, covered by the white bandages; scars of his heroic effects...
Shishio studied fires, but he was no pyromaniac. He had been a firefighter, until a fire in an apartment building caused his body to become 80% burned...
(A/N: This is a nice fluffy story... I couldn't resist but make Shishio good...)
And when he broke her heart. He didn't believe when she said she would never leave him.
"All good things will come to pass." He told her as he closed the door to his new apartment in her face. "You don't need a man in your life that you will need to take care of like a baby."
And the day Yumi vowed never to give up on love or Shishio. All she could convince him to do so far was come drink coffee every Friday night.
"You all right sir?" Yumi asked quietly as she set his coffee in front of him.
"Hn." Shishio snatched the coffee.
Yumi glanced around and sighed. She watched him drinking coffee out of the corner of her eye, just as a song filtered through the speakers; White Flag by Dido.
(A/N: Disclaimer: Don't own this song.)
I know you think that I shouldn't still love you,
I'll tell you that.
But if I didn't say it, well I'd still have felt it
Where's the sense in that?
I promise I'm not trying to make your life harder
Or return to where we were
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
I know I left too much mess and
Destruction to come back again
And I caused but nothing but trouble
I understand if you can't talk to me again
And if you live by the rules of "it's over"
Then I'm sure that that makes sense
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
And when we meet
Which I'm sure we will
All that was then
Will be there still
I'll let it pass
And hold my tongue
And you will think
That I've moved on...
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
Yumi glanced over at Shishio who got up hurriedly and left. She sighed again.
She was doomed a spinster. It wasn't like men did like her... lots of them came asking for her to date them... she just wanted to married for love... not out of convenience.
She was doomed a lonely life then... but she still held onto that...
That very small...
Very small...
Small...
Sliver...
Of...
Hope.
***
Aoshi walked into the café, hoping to escape his silent office.
Now there was no Gina helping him file papers... and there was no Misao who stopped by and talked to him, at least filling his office with words.
Yumi greeted him politely. Aoshi turned on his computer, glancing around.
He heard the bell jiggled and Misao's voice come in...
And a lower one answering.
Chou... of course.
Misao didn't glance at Aoshi, but sat down at the table right in his view. Chou sat on the other side.
Misao began animatedly talking. Aoshi's eyes narrowed as he scrunched down, trying only to see the laptop screen.
He cursed himself for getting a small one.
Misao's voice was laughing, eyes twinkling while Chou was... doing something...
Aoshi gritted his teeth.
He felt as tug at his ear. He glanced up to see an amused Yumi, "You're jealous." She teased.
"I'm not." He huffed.
Yumi set the green tea on the table, "Yeah... and I hate Shishio."
"Thought you did." Aoshi said dryly as he sipped the tea.
Yumi sent him a haughty sneer.
Aoshi stole a glance back at Misao, surprised to see her stealing glances at him.
She quickly reverted his attention to Chou and flashed him a brilliant grin.
Aoshi had had enough. He gently turned off the laptop and stalked upstairs.
Misao smiled as she watched out of the corner of her eyes.
"Misao?" Chou was his hand in front of her face, "He was jealous."
Misao laughed, "Yes he was."
Chou smiled, "I guess..."
Misao put her finger on her lip, "Not here Chou."
"Sorry." He quickly replied, "Habit I guess."
(A/N: Of course this will be Aoshi/Misao!)
***
"Miss Kaoru... I... uh..." Kenshin fumbled with the words.
Kaoru smiled, "Would you like to come in?"
"Would I... I mean... sure!" Kenshin leap in, nearly tripping.
They sat at the low table as Kaoru poured tea.
"How was New York?" Kenshin asked, trying to make conversation.
"Noisy... crowded..."
"How is your father?"
"Well."
There was that uneasy silence.
Kaoru spoke up, "How is Gina?"
"I suppose she's happy."
"Oh..."
There was silence again, more uncomfortable then before.
"I-" Kaoru began just as Kenshin said quickly, "I should go."
"All right." Kaoru was a little disappointed.
Kenshin stood at the door, "I guess... I'll be seeing you around."
Kaoru glanced down at her feet, "I guess..."
Kenshin was just about the leave when he rushed back and planted a tentative kiss on Kaoru's cheek.
Kaoru's face flamed, "I will be seeing you around..."
"You definitely will." Kenshin promised as he left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AWWWWW!!
Well... I got this chapter out... earlier than I though would be possible...
Hope you enjoyed the fluff... I'm not a mushy writer... I try...
Next chapter will be up... late February... I think... or early March...
Sorry... I'm weighed down with work, not so good grades, and three stories...
Thanks for reading!
Please review!
Next time on the 12th Street Apartment: (Very tentative) Kaoru and Kenshin begin a lost courtship. How is Okita holding up? How is Aoshi handling jealousy? Will Shishio be back?