Authors Notes: Minna-san! Lookie another chapter! And so close to the beginning of Misao's transformation! Now I'd again like to thank everyone for reading and to all the readers who are reviewing as well…big hugs go out to you! ^_^
I'm wondering if anyone knows what Misao's secret is…but just read to find out what I'm talking about okay?
Now for all those asking me to continue with other stories, please don't. Its very flattering that you wish to know what is going to happen in the others urgently, but I cannot rush these things, for if I don't like it then I'm sure the readers will not appreciate my chapters either. If I rush, then I get all hectic and sometimes I'll worry about not pleasing readers and worry myself sick…and I hate being sick. There is only so many hours in the day…and even just one chapter can take me 8 hours to complete…that is just under my working hours I do during the week five days a week sometimes six. It does get tiring…and I do apologise for not having chapters for my other stories out, but while this story is planning itself out in my mind, this is what I work on. My brain switches here and there, but it won't move from this story and so I'll finish it all before doing others…shock isn't it?
Not only that I also have plans rolling around in my head for requests I have committed myself in doing for people. Lucky people they are indeed! I have become a beta reader for a nightwalker fangirl…and haven't gotten around to reading her work yet. I also need to do my RK/Initial D A/U crossover. I've accepted the request from Mara to do a Saitou/Tokio songfic just for her since she is a wonderful scientist who reviews my work constantly and writes to me all the time. Not only that I've got two songfics for Aoshi and Misao to write up as well…each song dedicated to their 'beloved' and placed in there POV. So basically the same story, with their song dedicated to their beloved and yet ending the same way. I have the ending all walked out already and just need the rest. I've got plans lined up for 'Would you Kill for Love' hanging around as well as more writing on 'Hiker…' and yes my fashion story is also getting a bit of writing into it. I have one scene for my last Inuyasha fic as well…and quite frankly everything is draining my energy considerably. I haven't even updated in ages on my Website and need to do so ASAP since I have more doujinshi and a new main menu display…
So much to do…and yet I have only two hands, a very sick and slow computer…and my poor little burnt out brain… I hope you al understand that you need to be patient with Noa…there is only one Noa after all.
Car Trouble?
Aoshi had moved closer to the car, Misao again waving him to do so. Why was it that even though they seemed to argue…so many hours later…or maybe less, everything seemed okay? It was as though her words, although they struck cords into his heart, he knew that she meant well…trying to make him see what he was missing out on Aoshi presumed.
Misao seemed to know a lot of things…and yet her high spirited personality made her seem like she knew nothing. How much of a fool did Aoshi take her for? She wasn't going to jump at occasions to come dine with the rich. Hell he'd only just listened to Misao curse them in their ways not long ago. What was he to do? She truly had become his last resort…unless he actually went and hired an escort…but then…what would the reporters and photographers think of that? Aoshi shook his head at those thoughts. Great! Now she was making him feel self conscious about reporters!
"Before I actually begin teaching you these systems, let me just go over the three major problems you may have when you turn the engine over, but it won't actually start." Misao began, but then Aoshi interrupted her.
"That is exactly what happened a couple of days ago Miss Misao."
"I realise this…Hannya told me all about it. Since you know the basics about keeping the engine running, there are three fundamental problems which may occur if your car doesn't spark."
"Only three?" Aoshi interrupted once more. Misao scrunched her face up slightly as she turned to silently glare up at him.
"Will you let me finish first? Now back to what I was saying…a lot of problems can occur but a bad fuel mix, lack of compression or lack of spark are usually the big three problems.
"Did you want the quick run down of these three main problems?" Misao decided to question him this time and observed as Aoshi nodded his head silently.
"Basically a bad fuel mix can occur in several ways. From being out of gas, to having the air intake clogged and not getting enough air even if there is fuel or that the fuel system is supplying too little or too much fuel. That basically means combustion doesn't occur properly. Another problem could also be that there could be water in your tank, which doesn't help fuel to burn…actually it, doesn't let it burn at all. Do you still follow me?"
"Of course I do Miss Misao, I am not some idiot." Aoshi responded and Misao placed her greasy hands up in silent defeat and continued on.
"Air and fuel need to be compressed properly or else combustion will not work the way it should. Lack of compression in the engine may be because of several reasons as well. They can range from your piston rings becoming worn and thus allows air/fuel to leak past the piston during the compression stages. Also the intake or exhaust valves might not be sealing properly which again allows a leak during compression or the fact that there is a hole in the cylinder." Misao stopped for a moment and Aoshi spoke again.
"I am following what you are saying Miss Misao. You needn't stop and ask if I understand because I've been to university and I know a lot of terminology." Misao raised an eyebrow up at the tall man, he silently eyeing her with his spectacular green-grey eyes.
"Nobody said you didn't. In case you hadn't noticed I am human…and humans need to breathe. You also must remember Mr Shinomori that I am doing you a favour in teaching you such things for free. Usually you should pay to take courses like this, but I can tell when someone is in need of help…and you Mr Shinomori happened to be that person. You also need to realise that this is placing my work schedule back and that I could be working on your cars longer then anticipated. Now, have you finished ranting so I may continue?" Misao retorted back as she absently wiped the grease onto her work overalls.
"You really don't seem to care that you speak your mind do you Miss Misao?" Aoshi questioned the young woman and watched as she shook her head.
"I've grown up Mr Shinomori and I've learnt from my mistakes. I put up with a lot of heartbreak and lies when I was younger and right now I don't need that shit anymore when I am moving on in my life. My heart cannot take… um, can we get back to it?" Misao abruptly cut herself off from going on any further and Aoshi took the hint to just nod silently and not ask anymore questions…for now that is.
"The lack of spark in your engine could be weak for a number of reasons also. The actual spark plug could be worn out or the wire leading to it could be cut or missing altogether. Also if the spark occurs too early or late in the cycle that may cause problems. That basically means the ignition timing is off. There are a whole bunch of other reasons for lack of spark and I'll quickly run through these as well. Your battery could be dead…and so nothing will run at all of course. Bearings in the crankshaft are shot, so the crankshaft cannot turn and that means the engine cannot run. Valves may have problems of not opening and closing at proper times and air cannot get in and exhaust cannot get out so again the engine will not run. Also if there is no oil in your car, one of the things you should check regularly, pistons will not move up and down freely in the cylinder and that will make the engine seize up." A soft clearing of the throat interrupted Aoshi and Misao and they both turned to face Hannya who was moving forward and held a silver tray skilfully balanced in one white-gloved hand.
"I bought the two of you some refreshments." Misao placed on a smile watching the elder man make his way towards the bench to place the iced tea and rice cakes down.
"Thank you Hannya." Misao replied to Hannya's back as he took the cold drinks off the tray as well as the plate of rice cakes. Misao glanced up at the silent man beside her and quickly elbowed him in the side and then turned to the car to pretend to check on a subsystem as though she hadn't elbowed him in the first place.
"Thank you Hannya…" Aoshi spoke softly watching the man bow at the two of them and walk out silently…he getting the hint from Misao to say something. Aoshi turned to look down at a smiling Misao, his eyebrows furrowing as to why she was looking up at him like she was.
"I'm glad you can say thank you…and I'm sure it means a lot to Hannya."
"Shall we have a small break?" Misao questioned but didn't even wait for an answer as she made her way towards the iced tea she was dying to drink! She silently observed, even though she pretended to look over at his Ferrari F50 as Aoshi headed over and instantly took a rice cake and began eating it.
"May I ask you something Miss Misao?" Aoshi inquired once he finished his mouthful.
"Wait, let me sit down first. This could seriously be interesting." Misao responded while quickly grabbing a stool and pulling it towards the bench as she sat down facing a sitting Aoshi.
"Your sarcasm is truly something Miss Misao." Aoshi replied dryly back and Misao instantly contorted with another reply.
"Isn't it just." She held a small joking smile on her lips and Aoshi demanded himself to ask his question.
"When you finish work Miss Misao, what is it that you do?" Aoshi was quite proud of himself for opening up his invitation for her to dine with him…and many others in such a way. Yes, ease into the real question was definitely the way to go.
"You mean for fun?" Misao queried back.
"If you wish to put it in such terms Miss Misao then yes, what is it that you do for fun?"
"I wouldn't think that word would be in your vocabulary." Misao retorted back not answering his question. A thin line crossed Aoshi's lips, as she wasn't answering his question at all and yet she was starring right into his eyes, as hers never wavered at all. Was she challenging him into telling her what he actually did for fun? Wait a minute! What did Aoshi do for fun anyway? Aoshi remained quiet hoping Misao would just give in and tell him something!
"I don't really know what that word means these days, but I used to travel to the beach on weekends and sit under the shade of a large umbrella and read one of my mothers old books. She was one of those romance readers…always loving the mushiness but also the happy ending as well."
"When you say 'was', do you mean she's…"
"Dead? Yes, she died when I was 12 years old." Misao finished for Aoshi, she watching his thin lips turn into a small frown.
"That must have been hard for a young girl like yourself all those years ago." Aoshi pondered aloud, his eyes moving down to the plate of rice cakes and he couldn't help but pick another one up and chew lightly.
"Hard? Hard doesn't describe it at all. Try thinking about a broken father telling his only child their mother is never coming back. Try thinking about a father explaining puberty and women problems to his daughter. I look back on those days and still laugh to this day about my father trying to explain to me about what happens to girls when they grow up. Good old pops, always making things sound worse then what they appear. I remember being near tears and raced to my grandfathers home to ask him…his description was so much simpler then what my father thought up." Aoshi watched Misao shrug her shoulders as she finally took one of the rice cakes and bit into it before replying once more.
"Fun for me is actually getting a day off during the week. I work for my grandfather at his mechanic shop, I waitress at one of the nightclubs in the city and I do my hospitality university studies as well. If I ever have any free time it's spent with…well doing other things I should be doing more often." Aoshi knew Misao was hiding something but he dare not ask her, she needn't tell him anything…just like he needn't tell her a thing and yet they both seemed content to some degree to share a little bit of each other to each other.
"A have a proposition for you Miss Misao." Aoshi began. Yes that's it; he could make it out to be like a business deal and not a date. Misao had raised an eyebrow in recognition of his statement and Aoshi continued.
"What if I release you of some pressure and not demand so many things of you in the one day? I'm sure the cars can handle being without you for one day during the working week so you can go off and have your fun as you put it and do whatever it is you do."
"What is the catch?" Misao responded cautiously.
"You let myself and my employees teach you the ways of being upper class and you join me in attending a cocktail party the day after tomorrow. We shall be amongst 200 other people and you shall be my companion or friend as you call it for the evening. You won't have to worry about anything. Your dress, shoes, makeup and hair will all be supplied to you. Think of it as being pampered for the entire day…and all you need to do is act polite and smile."
"But…I thought someone like you…someone with your stature could get any date he wanted?" Misao replied in slight confusion. Was he…asking her out…on a date?
"This shall not be some date Miss Misao, it is strictly business. Most of the businessmen and women are my employees or businesses I have just bought. We do this to thank them in trusting us with their company and so on. So I ask you again will you accompany me…as my dear friend to this cocktail party? I will not beg Miss Misao." Aoshi clearly spoke, his arms folding over his chest in stubbornness.
"Now that is something I would love to see, but since you seem to have left it quite late in trying to find a "friend" to go with you, I suppose I can help you out…as long as the day I can have off is Wednesdays." Aoshi nodded his head in agreement not bothering to ask Misao why she chose Wednesdays.
"Be sure to arrive at 8am sharp tomorrow morning. We have many things to get through in just one day. Of course you won't have Wednesday off tomorrow though, for you are to come in whatever you desire…something comfortable of course and we shall begin your training. Do finish what you can today and then be off…you'll need your rest." Misao watched as he got off the stool to leave for the afternoon. She hadn't even begun to tell him about subsystems yet again!
"Mr Shinomori?" Misao spoke loudly to grab his attention and watched as he turned around, his hands quickly lifting up to catch the object Misao threw over to him. Aoshi glanced down at the rice cake, his eyes lifting to gaze over at Misao for a moment.
"You had been eyeing it off for sometime now."
"I'll see you tomorrow morning Miss Misao…good day." Aoshi replied while turning instantly around, not taking a bite of the rice cake until he was out of the door. He could hear her soft giggles as she quickly went back to working on the limousine.
* * * *
Aoshi entered the main doors of the mansion, Hannya instantly in the main room awaiting his instructions.
"Miss Misao shall be unavailable on Wednesdays Hannya. We have come to a business agreement and so she has decided to accompany me to the cocktail party." Aoshi stared into dark eyes, they almost wishing to ask questions but Hannya remained quiet.
"Tomorrow morning you, Okon, Omasu and myself will guide her in the ways of being in a room full of businessmen and women. Please begin planning for tomorrow Hannya and do tell Okon and Omasu."
"Yes master Shinomori." Hannya replied and was about to make his exit when Aoshi spoke once more before heading upstairs to his study.
"Make sure that Thursday morning she is to be taken shopping by Okon."
"Yes Master Shinomori." Hannya replied again and didn't leave until he watched his young master move down the passageway upstairs.
"Okon, Omasu?" Hannya called watching the chatting women stop and turned to face him.
"We have been given a task by Maser Shinomori." Hannya began and watched confused looks cross the older women's faces.
"As you are aware, Master Shinomori has a cocktail party to attend to. We have been given the task to turn Miss Misao…into Lady Misao. Do not ask any questions, just be here by 7:45am tomorrow." Hannya moved out of the large lounge room and stopped just around the corner listening to the two women talk amongst themselves.
"Turn the biker woman into a lady? I don't know if that could be down in only one day Okon." Omasu spoke softly as though not wishing to be heard even though Hannya could hear them as clear as day.
"You can't judge her like that Omasu and she seems quite nice…and the complete opposite of Master Shinomori. Perhaps some good might come out of this for everyone." Hannya placed a small smile on his face and then walked off. Okon wasn't as stupid as she played out to be…she was one cluey woman indeed…
"Tomorrow is the beginning of the change for Master Shinomori…I can feel it in the air…" Hannya spoke softly to himself before moving outside and heading for the training hall to pay his respects to his former master like he did every afternoon.
* * * *
To be continued…
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