Chapter 2
Thursday, second last day of the school week. Misao had been looking forward to the end of the week ever since she had started on Monday. True, she would miss the company of the people around her because she lived alone, but the past week of the hectic rush of going to a new school was enough for her. For once, she would be happy to enjoy the peace and quiet.
Oh well. One more day to go.
" Misao-chan?"
Misao snapped to attention, wondering why the classroom seemed so quiet.
" Class is over now...don't you have to go to your club now?"
Looking around, she saw the room had been mostly deserted, leaving only Atsuko holding her bag, staring at her. Quickly, pushing her chair back, she hurried to stuff her things in her bag, pushing the teddy bear key ring out of the way to sling the bag onto her left shoulder.
" See you later!"
" Wait! Misao! Are you coming over this afternoon?"
Misao peeked back into the classroom after rushing out at top speed.
" Yep. Meet you at the school gate...I gotta hurry! My sempai really hates lateness!"
Misao took off running down the hall, her long braid flying behind her as she kept her skirt down with one hand.
" Meet at the baseball field instead!!!! You can't run in the hallways Misao!"
Ignoring Atsuko's warning, she kept running, taking the stairs 3 at a time as she raced for the Kyuudou club headquarters. Quickly changing into her uniform, she pulled her chest guard over her head and secured the glove on her hand before picking up her bow. Sighing with relief, she snuck onto the back of the line just in time for the captain to start speaking.
Hours later, she found herself walking along the path towards the baseball diamond, freezing as the cold breeze made the freezing cold temperatures more apparent. Wrapping her own scarf around her neck more securely, she pulled it up to cover part of her face to keep warmer. Keeping her head down, she walked faster to get to the baseball field where she was supposed to meet Atsuko.
" Ah! Makimachi-san!"
Misao looked up slightly, peering to her left to see Akiko Watanabe walk next to her. She could hear the footsteps of 2 people behind her, probably Akiko's sidekicks.
" Oh...hey."
Despite her unenthusiastic reply, Akiko spoke happily.
" Ne, so have you decided about joining to Shinomori-suki club yet? The leader wants to know."
" Erm...I don't think-"
" Come on Makimachi-san! It'll be fun?"
Kawai's voice spoke up from behind her. Misao shook her head, quickening her step as she saw the baseball field come into view. Shivering, she pulled her sleeves up to shield her hands from the cold.
" I really don't think-"
" We have so much fun! Join us!"
With the three girls chattering around her, Misao could do nothing to discourage them. Finally giving up, she just let them talk to her as she walked. Hearing footsteps, she looked up to see a tall imposing figure, dressed in a dark blue baseball uniform with a grey undershirt. In his hands was a baseball mitt he had quickly discarded as he trotted towards the team area. Despite the cold, he showed no signs of acknowledgement as he walked calmly. He glanced at her, noticing the trail of people struggling to catch up with her and looked away quickly again. A rush of heat built up in Misao, from embarrassment and annoyance. Running up to him, she whacked him on the arm with her schoolbag, knowing that his head was hurt, and screamed at him.
" Don't you dare put me into the same group as those girls Shinomori! I'm not part of your stupid adoring fan club!"
With a huff of indignation, she stormed off towards the team area herself where she could see Atsuko looking at them slightly worried. The members of the Shinomori-suki club had not even noticed her departure as they were captivated by Aoshi, standing absolutely still. Such lowly members of the club were not allowed to be so close, only permitted to admire from afar. The photo of the guy was a secret from the club, a possession that was against club rules and yet something Akiko treasured too much to give up. They stared in awe at Aoshi.
Suddenly, a loud sneeze escaped his mouth, jolting him back to reality. Covering his mouth in time, he began to walk again, ignoring the girls staring at him as if he was on display. Walking towards the team gathered in the seating area, he tried to ignore the cold. The baseball uniform didn't do a lot to keep one warm in winter. His arm still tingled ever so slightly from when that girl had hit him with her school bag. A pang of annoyance hit him.
Of course, what he had thought was insulting. Through his eyes, anyone who belonged to that demented group was not worth his time. But then not a whole lot of people were worth his time these days.
" Hurry nii-chan! You might catch a cold!"
Picking up the pace, he jogged back towards the baseball diamond, wanting to change back into his school uniform which was much warmer. Ignoring the rest of the team's antics, he shrugged his blazer on over his broad shoulders, bending to pick up his school bag. Wrapping the blue scarf around his neck, he walked out of the change room, members calling out their goodbyes to him. Raising a hand to give a slight wave, he pushed open the swinging door to reach the baseball fields again.
" Nii-chan! Over here!"
Turning to his left, he could see Atsuko seated on the grass in the outfield and she was not alone. As his sister waved to him, he could see the girl seated next wasn't nearly as enthusiastic. The sweet smell left on his scarf became more evident as he watched the source of the fragrance sitting there with a huffy expression.
What was that girl's problem anyway?
He moved his hand to pull the scarf off, stopping when he felt the cold breeze hit his neck. The weather was definitely giving him second thoughts. The annoying girl be damned, Aoshi Shinomori was keeping that scarf on, with that smell or without.
" I guess we'd better get going."
Both girls got up from the ground and dusted themselves off, taking their school bags and chatting as they walked towards the station. Ignoring the mindless chatter, Aoshi reached into his pant pocket for his train pass. Crossing the barricade, he stopped at the other side before getting on the platform when he realized the two girls had disappeared. Trying to ignore the sudden hushes and staring school girls around him, he walked down the stairs to his platform, figuring that his sister could take care of herself. Taking a seat on the bench, he checked his watch to see when the train would arrive next. He was surprised that it was not his sister but that girl take a seat next to him. Looking behind her, he could not see his sister anywhere. Before he asked, Misao seemed to predict his question, answering it for him.
" She just saw some old school friends."
Aoshi remembered his sister's friends from junior high. He never forgot the face of anyone who hurt his sister. It seemed that they only pretended to be friends, just to have the chance to get close to him. He wouldn't let it happen again. Atsuko seemed really happy, bring friends with the girl seated next to him. He didn't want a repeat of junior high.
" Why are you friends with her?"
Misao seemed quite taken aback by his question. Leaning back, she looked up at the metal roof, her eyes absorbing every detail.
" With who? Atsuko? Do I need a reason? Friends are just friends because they want to be. No ulterior motives. I swear."
Looking at Aoshi intently, Misao smiled at his passive expression.
" You really are quite arrogant aren't you? Trust me. I'm not friends with Atsuko because of you. Hell, I don't think I even like you. Pervert!"
Poking her tongue out at him, she turned back to staring at the ceiling, placing her school bag in her lap and wrapping her arms around herself in the cold. The train pulled in, with the usual rush of passengers getting on and off. Waiting patiently in line on the side of the door, she watched the staircase for Atsuko who had not arrived yet.
" What are you doing?"
Misao heard Aoshi's voice coming from behind her.
" What does it look like? Getting on a train!"
" Why this train?"
Heading into the train, she sat down on a side seat as the train was already quite crowded. She found Atsuko's brother towering over her, still expecting her answer.
" I don't usually catch this train. But I'm visiting your house today. Didn't she tell you? Where is that girl! She's going to miss the train."
Suddenly the doors swung close, the coldness slowly disappearing as the train's heat system took over. Misao stared worriedly out the window, still unable to catch a glimpse of Atsuko anywhere. Suddenly her mobile phone began to ring. Fumbling her in bag frantically, she pulled out her phone, the little bells and tiny figurines hanging off falling onto her hand. Flipping it open, she lifted it up to her ear.
" Moshi moshi...ah! Atsuko! Doushita?"
" I missed the train...I'll meet you at home ok? You're with my brother aren't you?"
" We can wait at the station for you."
" No its too cold to wait...I'll see you. Ja."
The line went dead, Misao took the phone away from her ear, looking down at the screen which proved the end of their conversation. Now she was faced with the prospect of walking to Atsuko's house with a pervert guy. Alone.
They stayed on the train in silence, watching station after station go by. The carriage emptied until eventually Aoshi sat opposite her, the only people other than the pair was a pair of elementary school students and an old lady. The announcer came on the air, repeating her words as she called out the next station. Misao, fidgeting with her knee socks and trying to keep them up, noticed that this was her stop as Aoshi got to his feet and went to stand at the door. Quickly grabbing her bag, she moved to stand behind him, following him off the train and out of the train station.
Suddenly, Aoshi stopped in the middle of the road with Misao smashing in the back of him as she was keeping her head down in her scarf to keep warm.
" Why are you following me?"
Misao rubbed her slightly reddened nose. Staring up at his back, she shrugged.
" Because Atsuko told me to. She told me to follow you home...Snow!!"
Her words trailing off, she held her hand out towards the sky to catch the small snow flakes which fell from the sky. Forgetting Aoshi, she ran forward, staring up at the sky as the snow flakes fell softly, covering her hair and face. She smiled in delight, savouring nature's delicate beauty before a cold deep voice brought her back to reality.
" Its this way."
Misao blinked, finding herself heading down the other side of the street as Aoshi began to walk down the other side. Hurrying after him, she continued to stare up at the sky as they walked through the neighbourhood. After a 10 minute walk, Aoshi stopped in front of a large 2-storey home with a wooden plaque mounted on the brick fence clearly stating it was the home of the Shinomori family. Watching as Aoshi pushed open the heavy wooden gate, she was amazed to find that Atsuko's house stood on a veritable compound. There was a lush garden, the house an another building that she was not quite sure what it served as.
She didn't know a lot about Atsuko's family. From what Atsuko had said, it seemed that she lived with her 2 older sisters and brother. Standing at the gate, she made no move to enter the property. Even though she had received a proper invitation from Atsuko, she was not here and Aoshi had made no move to invite her in. Normally, she wouldn't worry and just go right in...but something was stopping her.
Aoshi inserted his key into the keyhole, twisting it and opening the door. From the sounds of it, no one was home yet. Pushing the door open wider, he stopped before going in, noticing the girl standing at the gate out of the corner of his eye.
" You coming?"
The snow was falling slightly thicker than before. Little patches of white could be seen collecting on the road. The temperature was beginning to drop even more so. With this in mind, Misao quickly raced up the steps to follow Aoshi into the house. She tensed when she noticed the silence.
" No one's home?"
" Aaa."
Misao gulped as she took off her shoes, placing neatly and lining them up with the others. What could be worse, being stuck in a house with some pervert guy who roughs people up or freezing outside with the snow waiting for Atsuko. Closing the door behind her, the thud seemed almost ominous, as if it had sealed her fate. Stepping up onto the main floor of the house, she looked cautiously around at the unfamiliar house. Looking down, she saw a pair of slippers lying on the little step in front of her, Aoshi already disappearing through the sliding door directly in front. Sliding into the slippers, she headed for the doorway that Aoshi had disappeared through, finding the kitchen where he was rummaging around the refrigerator. Water seemed to be boiling on the stove already as Aoshi shut the refrigerator. Empty handed, he simply grabbed a package of bread from the center of the dining table, ripping open the package and taking a large bit out of the bread. Throwing one at Misao, he disappeared down the hall, situated on the other side of the door she had gone through earlier. Misao caught the bread cleanly. Looking down at the packaging, the sticker stated it was bread with red bean filling. One of her favourites. Pulling up a chair at the dining table in the middle of the kitchen, she opened the package, biting into the bread, enjoying the flavour. Propping her school bag up against the table leg, she stood up again to turn off the stove. The water had already boiled.
Despite being inside, she was still quite cold. She knew she could definitely go for some hot tea. Looking around the kitchen, she wondered if she should really be helping herself like this.
Locating the cups, she took one out of the cupboard, placing them on the dining table. Looking around for the teapot, she found it with a bright yellow note stuck on top.
Do not tip out this tea you guys! Its new! - Omasu.
Pulling the note off and removing the lid, she poured the hot water into the teapot, smiling at the aroma and the clouds of steam that puffed up. Closing the lid, she let it sit for the tea to become stronger in flavour. The silence made her uneasy, the house quiet as she stood in the kitchen of a house she had never been to before. Looking through the glass of the cupboard, then down at her single cup, she wondered if she should pour Aoshi one also.
Misao nodded to herself, moving to take another cup out of the cupboard and setting it next to her own cup. Grabbing a nearby tray, she set the cups and the teapot onto it. Smiling with satisfaction, she picked up the tray and set off cautiously down the hallway, her slippers making a scuffling sound as she walked. She noticed from the cooler temperature that she was walking by the exterior wall of the house, a long line of sliding doors. Walking along, she was grateful to be holding something warm in front of her. She couldn't wait until she could drink some of that hot liquid herself. Ahead of her, she could see one of the panels slid open on the other wall, obviously leading to a room.
" Shinomori...?"
She peeked into the open doorway. A bedroom, the futon neatly folded up in a corner. The desk uncluttered, the walls bare, it almost seemed like no one lived there. However, there were signs, a neatly hung school uniform and a school bag under the table. What hit Misao was the fact that nothing was out of place. Neat and precise.
How very much like him.
Suddenly she heard a loud series of thuds. Hurrying out of the room, not wanting to be caught inside without permission, she headed for the noise. Going back into the hallway, she slid open a panel to see Aoshi standing outside in the cold throwing a baseball at numbers, chalked on to brick fence in the garden. Without his uniform, wearing a pair of black sweats and a large blue hooded jumper, he looked less threatening. Setting the tray down onto the wooden floor, she sat down, her legs hanging over the side, and poured the tea.
" Shinomori! Have some tea."
In the bitter cold winds and the pretty snow outside, she couldn't decide whether it was a good idea to sit outside or not. Picking up a steamy cup of green tea, she held it out towards him. He stared at her blankly, without emotion. For a second, Misao thought he would refuse her offer as he walked to retrieve his ball. To her surprise he took the tea, putting the ball onto the house floor and sat down next to her, with the tray between them. With him sitting rather close, Misao could see that he definitely felt the cold from the way he was shivering ever so slightly. Setting the cup next to her, she leaned backwards, supporting her body with her arms as she looked up at the sky in a half upright position. A silence passed between them, seeming to last forever. However, it wasn't awkward despite the fact that Misao had mixed feelings about him. Instead, it seemed calming and natural, as if it was an age-old ritual. Despite the comfortable silence, Misao felt the need to make conversation and she had no idea why. Shinomori, to her at least, was definitely not a talker.
" So...you play baseball?"
Misao watched as Aoshi's eye flickered to the baseball lying beside him and then back at the tea cupped in his hands.
" Aaa."
Misao smiled apologetically, sitting up again to take a sip of her tea.
" Isn't the snow pretty? Its pretty cold these days ay?"
" Aaa."
Obviously, both of them knew that if one was talking about the weather in a conversation, that conversation had hit rock bottom. Without losing hope of a reply of more than one syllable, Misao fired another question.
" I wonder where Atsuko is...the train doesn't come very often...does it?"
" Every one and a half hours."
Misao smiled with satisfaction, grateful for the longer sentence she had gotten in reply. Drinking the rest of her tea, she leaned back again, this time lying back onto the floor with her head propped up on her arms.
" Tell me something. Answer truthfully ok Shinomori?"
His blue eyes flashed, glancing at her for a split second before pouring them both more tea. A mischievous smile played on Misao's lips.
" What's with Shinomori-suki club?"
Misao blinked. For awhile there, she thought she saw him visibly shudder.
" So...whats your answer? I'd really like to know."
" ...it doesn't matter."
" Like hell it doesn't. I have some of the members in my class and they are pretty annoying, you saw them today-"
" They're a nuisance. So why the question?"
Misao was quite taken aback by Aoshi's interruption.
" Well have you ever tried getting rid of them? How about telling them that you don't like them. That usually works."
Aoshi's blood ran cold at her suggestion. All those times he had been forced to...he felt nauseous.
" Tried it."
" Well, I don't really understand why girls like you so much anyway. I mean you're non-sociable, quiet, expressionless, perverted-"
Aoshi stood up, grabbing his ball and putting his cup of tea down, walking back to the line he had made on the cold ground to practice his pitching once more. Misao watched indignantly as he had walked off in a middle of a conversation. She could practically hear the whooshing sound as he brought his hand forward, pitching the ball to make it hurtle towards the large number 3, written in chalk on the top right hand corner of the grid. It hit with a loud smack, bouncing off and rolling back towards him.
Misao put a hand up to her forehead to see if she had caught a fever. Something was definitely wrong with her. Shrugging, she lay back down, staring at the ceiling. With her legs dangling outside and her upper body in the slightly warmer house, she didn't know whether she was warm or cold.
A loud banging jolted her out of her daze. She looked over at Aoshi who seemed not to notice the loud banging coming from the direction of the door. Deciding she should answer it, she carefully backtracked to the front door. Opening it cautiously, she was surprised to be greeted with 2 girls, both unfamiliar to her. From their uniform, they were obviously from her school.
" Oh thank goodness someone's home...who are you?"
One of the girls with brown eyes stepped forward, her brown hair piled on top of her head elegantly with a clip. The other, blue eyed and with her blue hair tied high up on her head with a ribbon, hovered behind her, eyeing Misao.
" Erm...well..."
Misao was saved from answering when Aoshi appeared behind her, a towel wrapped around his neck and was now only wearing a t-shirt. The brown haired girl looked at her and then at Aoshi.
" No way...You're Aoshi's girlfriend?!"
Misao's jaw dropped as the blue haired girl squealed and hugged her.
" Wow! I'm so surprised Aoshi-san has a girlfriend!"
The brown haired girl looked at Aoshi and frowned slightly.
" Yerr...same here. You been holding out on us little brother?"
The girl turned to Misao, placing her hands squarely on her shoulders and studied her intensely.
" Well well, my brother has good taste. I'm Okon, Aoshi's older sister. You go to our school don't you? I can tell by the uniform."
Misao stood shell shocked as Okon and her friend fussed over her. Aoshi half grunted/laughed, turning to walk away from the scene.
" Baka onna."
" WHO ARE YOU CALLING IDIOT!"
Okon was surprised to hear Misao yell out in unison with her. Aoshi seemed a little shocked too, judging from his posture. He looked over his shoulder, glaring at them.
" Don't leave the door open."
Smirking slightly he began to walk away. He stopped to dodge a flying kick from Misao, despite her uniform, who landed in front of him to block his way.
" Who you calling idiot!? As if I'd want to be mistaken for your girlfriend anyway PERVERT!"
Aoshi looked down at Misao huffing indignantly in front of him with a semi-interested look. Whacking him solidly on the head with the back of her hand, Okon jumped to grab the back of his collar, pulling him backward and down to her level. From the way Aoshi remained balanced, Misao figured that his sister probably did this a lot.
" You two were alone in this house weren't you?! Why'd she call you a pervert!? Huh!?"
Misao's eyes widened, waving her hands in protest.
" No...its not like that."
Okon sighed with relief, letting Aoshi go. Straightening the collar of his t-shirt, he walked past the girls standing in the doorway and walked into the kitchen, this time keeping his opinions to himself.
" So, if you're not Aoshi's girlfriend, then who are you?"
Misao looked at the girl with the blue hair. Bowing slightly, she introduced herself.
" Makimachi Misao. Hajimemashite. I'm Atsuko's classmate."
Okon looked somewhat puzzled, tipping her head to the side.
" I thought Atsuko wasn't home...Well, anyway. I'm Shinomori Okon. I'm in the third year. This is Kamiya Kaoru."
" Nice to meet ya. I'm in second year."
Misao shook hands with them both as they all smiled at each other.
" Atsuko missed the train today...so I came first."
Okon raised an eyebrow at her.
" How did you get here without Atsuko?"
" Oh, I just followed Shinomori...er...-san."
Misao figured that it would be polite to tag something at the end of his name in front of his sister. Kaoru's eyes glazed over with happiness as she placed her hands on Misao's shoulders and shook her.
" You mean Aoshi-san let you follow him? He let you IN?"
Misao looked bewildered and felt slightly dizzy when Kaoru finally let go under Okon's grip.
" Erm...yeh. We talked a bit too. Is that wrong?"
Okon and Kaoru stared dumbly at her. Misao felt a bit scared of their reaction.
" Um...are you guys feeling ok?"
Okon recovered first, shaking her head and giving Misao another once over.
" Sorry...its just a little surprising. But no matter, its not that big a deal."
" Not a big deal! But Okon-"
" Why is everyone in the doorway?"
The trio turned to see Atsuko standing at the doorway, bent over taking off her shoes and reaching for her slippers. It had seemed that they had totally forgotten that they were still standing in the doorway of the house with the door wide open.
The phone rang and Okon rushed off to answer it, dropping her school bag with Kaoru doing the same thing, rushing off after her.
" Well...that was a weird experience."
Atsuko gave her a bewildered look as she picked up the dropped school bags.
" No...nothing. Don't worry about it."
Atsuko shrugged and gestured for Misao to follow her as she closed the door.
" C'mon. Lets go to my room. I'll get the heater going...its so cold outside!!"
Both girls scampered off, through the kitchen, up the stairs and through the first door to the left. The door slid open to reveal a pink bunny paradise. Bedding, curtains, dolls, cushions, all with pink bunnies. Atsuko blushed deeply, putting down her bag and dragging the kotatsu to the middle of the room. Plugging it in, she gestured for Misao to join her at the warm table.
" You think I'm a little...immature don't you?"
Misao marveled the decoration of the room. True, she didn't like pink.
" No. Not at all. I collect Teddy Bears...just pink is not really my colour."
Picking up her bag, she gestured towards the little brown teddy bear attached to the handle of her school bag. Smiling to each other, both enjoyed the warmth of the heater, watching the cool snow falling outside Atsuko's bedroom window.
_____
" Well, I'm leaving now, just thought I'd say goodbye."
Misao stood at the doorway of Okon's room where she and Kaoru sat inside reading magazines. Kaoru got up, immediately latching onto Misao's arm.
" Ne ne Misao-chan. You're coming to my Christmas eve party on Sunday aren't you?"
Patting her pocket, she nodded, getting out of Kaoru's grip and stepping slightly backward.
" Of course, I've got your address right here. You live near me remember? I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Waving, she walked down the hallway and down the stairs, heading for the main entrance. Standing there was Omasu, Atsuko's eldest sister she had met at dinner. She had already finished college and had just begun to work, helping to support the family.
Putting on her shoes and wrapping her thick scarf around her neck she stood at the doorway waiting for Atsuko.
" Thank you for the lovely dinner Omasu-san. It was very delicious" she said politely.
Omasu smiled, laughing a little.
" I'm glad someone around here appreciates it. Take care now, come by and visit again sometime. You're always welcome here."
Atsuko appeared in the hallway, wearing a long down coat that looked quite enviously warm to Misao, still in her school uniform. Atsuko had said she would accompany Misao down to the train station as Misao had forgotten the way. Waving to Omasu, they set off, closing the door and trudged through the now snowy road.
" Wait, do you hear that?"
Both girls turned around sharply, in time to see a tall figure be pushed from the house. The light disappeared as the sound of a door slammed shut echoed through the streets. The tall figure shrugged on a long coat, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked towards them.
" Nii-chan?"
Walking up to them, Aoshi stared down at them, his skin looking paler than usual.
" She's being pushy."
Atsuko giggled, nodding at Aoshi's words.
" I'm surprised Nee-chan was able to make you come...of course being shoved out onto the street doesn't leave a lot of room for discussion."
Misao inspected Aoshi's face, not knowing whether it was the darkness and the moonlight or the snow that made him look so pale.
" Hey Shinomori, you don't look so good. Go home."
Aoshi's face darkened, Misao feeling the aftereffects of attaining his wrath as Atsuko began to fawn all over him.
" wah! Nii-chan! Daijoubu?"
" Station right?"
Leaving the two girls behind, he walked off heading for the station. The sooner he got this over with, the faster he could go home to his room. With the pair running to catch up, his pace quickened until he got to the street corner and stopped, waiting for them.
" Why do you have to walk so fast Shinomori?!"
Misao stared at Aoshi, seeing the little puffs of her breath in the cold air. She huffed, not only from exertion but also from annoyance. She had no idea why, but every little thing, every detail about this guy seemed to annoy her.
Standing under a yellow streetlight, she now knew her earlier observation was wrong. He looked sick and pale, it wasn't just the snow or the lighting. Looking around, the street seemed vaguely familiar.
" The station is just down this road right?"
When Atsuko nodded, Misao ran off, whacking Aoshi playfully on the arm before waving, running fast down the street towards the station.
" But Misao! We're supposed to...walk you there."
Atsuko trailed off as she watched Misao disappear into the darkness. Sighing, she turned to her brother and chided him.
" Mou...why can't you be nicer to my friend?"
" She isn't nice to me."
Atsuko blushed, refusing to look at her brother.
" Well...you can't blame her...what you did was...really..."
Atsuko turned away from Aoshi, who stared at her quizzically. It was only around his little sister that he really relaxed.
" Really what?"
Aoshi bent down to look at her face, wondering why Atsuko's cheeks were turning red.
" ...perverted."
" what?"
Atsuko waved her hands and spoke, her blush turning deeper.
" No, its nothing. I'm sure you didn't mean to. My Nii-chan isn't that sort of person."
" What person?"
Atsuko shook her head vigorously, grabbing his hand and gasping softly at the icy cold feeling.
" Nii-chan...daijoubu?"
" I'm fine."
Aoshi hated nothing more than to have his sisters' fuss of him like that. However, he regretted his icy reprimand as Atsuko's expression turned from concerned to sad and hurt. He wasn't like this with his older sisters.
" Lets go to the convenience store."
Reaching into his coat pocket, he found 1000 yen note and a few coins. Atsuko lit up, nodding and dragged him along, much happier. Letting her lead him along, Aoshi looked down the empty street which led to the station before turning back to look where he was going. He had in fact heard what Atsuko had said. He really wondered why everyone call him a pervert. Wracking his brain, he tried to remember how he had met that girl. Coming up with nothing by the time they had reached the brightly lit store, he brushed it off, choosing not to think about it anymore. He would need to concentrate on stopping Atsuko from buying too much.
Suddenly, his nose felt extremely sensitive. Moving his hand up just in time, he sneezed. Atsuko dropped the box of mousse pocky into the basket and walked up to him to examine him.
" Are you sure you're alright?"
" I'm fine."
" Well, lets just pay for this and leave. I think you're coming down with a cold."
Reluctantly, Aoshi found himself being pushed around by his youngest sister. If it had been Okon and Omasu, this would never have happened.
_______
The soft yellow light glanced off the red metallic wrapping paper as Misao folded the sides carefully. Taping the ends together, she sighed with satisfaction as she looked at her now wrapped present. Suddenly her mobile phone rang. Frowning as she glanced at the white ribbon which she had yet to tie on, she ran to her bedroom, snatching her phone up from her desk and flipped it open, holding it to her ear.
" Moshi moshi...nii-chan!"
The moment of happiness from hearing her brother's voice passed as she remembered that he had interrupted her in her preperation.
" Yo, Misao. What are you up to?"
" Baka. Don't say ' yo' on the phone. You've just interrupted me. I was wrapping a present."
" What? You mean that grey beanie I saw yesterday? The one with the white pompom?"
" Yep. I told you about the Christmas party remember? It's a present for that."
" Oh yeh. Jeez, I thought you would have wrapped it last night. You're too lazy."
Misao gripped the phone in anger as her face flushed.
" And whose fault was it that I couldn't wrap it last night? You're too messy! I had to clean up after you! And you were only over here for a day visit!"
" calm down...its ok. I take it back. Jeez you get angry real easy don't ya?"
Misao snorted indignantly, loosening her tight grip on her mobile.
" It's just you nii-chan. Anyway, I've got to go. You've caught me at a bad time."
" Wait-"
Quickly pressing the hang up button, she set the phone back on the table and walked back out of the room. After Misao finished wrapping the present, she changed into a fuzzy grey turtle neck and long black pleated skirt. No one would get her outside in a short party dress if she could help it. Comfortable and maneuverable was best. Though she longed to wear jeans, it was a party after all. She pulled her hair out of its braid, shaking it loose and letting it trail down her back in curly waves after its hours in captivity.
Shrugging on her grey coat, she picked up her shoulder bag, putting her phone, wallet and keys inside. Walking out of her room, she picked up the present and walked to the door, putting on a pair of black boots. Locking the door behind her, she once again pulled out another map. She had drawn it herself on Friday night when she had come home after buying her present. The walking route to Kaoru's house.
She sighed happily as she walked through the 3 inch thick snow, staring at the sky as more snow fell. After about half an hour, she finally reached Kaoru's house, checking the family name mounted on the fence. Kamiya dojo. Her eyes widened. Kaoru hadn't told her that her family owned a dojo. But then, she hadn't thought to ask.
Stepping inside the gate, she walked up to the front door, ringing the doorbell. With the freezing winds blocked by the fence and surrounding buildings, she realized that she had been freezing before. She had been so captivated by the snow's beauty that she had failed to realize that she had become numb. Blowing hot breath onto her hands and rubbing them together vigorously, she huddled in front of the door, waiting for someone to answer the door. The door slid open with a loud rattle, the sounds of music and people chatting drifting out into the cold night. A red haired boy with a nasty looking cross scar on his left cheek answered the door, smiling at her.
" Ano...Is this Kamiya-san's house?"
" Yep! Come on in."
The guy swung open the door, letting her inside into the heat of the house. Herding her into the main room, Misao spotted Kaoru, her eyes lighting up and calling out to her somewhat loudly. Misao stood stock still as Kaoru rushed over to her, with the whole room stopping to stare at her. Misao shrugged, holding her present out to Kaoru as she greeted her.
" Hey Kaoru-chan. Hora."
Kaoru took the present, smiling, taking Misao's hand and dragging her towards the giant decorated tree at the side of the room, Placing the present underneath, Kaoru straightened again and placed her hands on Misao's shoulders. Turning her around, Kaoru spoke from behind her, pointing to the guy who had answered the door from before.
" Ne, Misao-chan. Meet Himura Kenshin." Suddenly, Kaoru's boisterous attitude disappeared as a blush deepened on her face. In a very soft voice, she announced; " my boyfriend."
Kenshin smiled at Misao, bowing slightly. Both exchanged formalities before Kaoru bounded off to answer the door again. Leaving her with Kenshin, who seemed perfectly nice, Misao couldn't seem to shake the feeling that she was completely out of place. She knew no one in the crowded room.
" So, you haven't lived here long have you Makimachi-san."
" Misao. Misao will be fine. I used to live in Osaka before I moved here."
" Well since your new, how about I introduce you to some people...Misao?"
Misao smiled, nodding as she followed the red head towards a group of people crowded around a low couch. The only girl was seated primly on the side of the couch, trying to ignore a loud boy with a brown upstyle hairstyle who was joking loudly with the guys standing behind the couch. She recognized them vaguely from seeing them on the baseball field.
" Hey, everyone meet Makimachi Misao."
Misao bowed slightly and smiled brightly at all of them.
" Makimachi Misao desu. Hajimemashite."
Gesturing to each person, Kenshin introduced each one.
" This is the Watanabe brothers Shiro and Kuro"
The slightly heavy guy with small eyes and the other with messy dark hair and a long face nodded at her, giving a slight shy wave.
" This is Takani Megumi."
The girl with the long dark hair looked up at her, giving her an up and down and smiling slightly, extending a hand in an elegant gesture.
" And this is Sagara Sanosuke."
The boy with the upstyle stood up from the couch, winking at her as he gave her a small salute.
" Sano atcha service. How come I've never seen you before? You're pretty, I couldn't have missed ya."
Misao gave him an incredulous look as Megumi stood up and whacked him on the head with the back of his hand.
" Baka!"
" teme! Kitsune!"
Shifting uncomfortably, she looked up at Kenshin for reassurance.
" Um...don't worry. They're always like this." Kenshin reassured Misao before walking up to Sanosuke and Megumi. " Now now...there's nothing to fight about-"
*whack*
" orororororo"
Misao winced as Kenshin went flying, flattened against the wall with Megumi and Sanosuke's lifted fists to blame. Quietly excusing herself from what could potentially be a life threatening situation, she headed for the front door again, where she had spied a place to put her coat. Peeling off her coat, she dumped it on top of the pile before walking back into the room. Finding the couch now abandoned, she got herself a drink and flopped back onto it, letting her hair fall behind the couch instead of her sitting on it. Slowly slipping the cold drink, she stared at the ceiling.
Not that Misao didn't normally enjoy a good party. She just wasn't in a partying mood. She hadn't really been since...Well no use thinking about it. She had come to Kyoto to get away from it.
" Misao-chan!"
Misao straightened and sat higher on the couch instead of slouching to see the person who called out her name. Atsuko was running towards her from the door in the hallway. Behind her stood Aoshi and Okon, who was greeted rather loudly by Kaoru. Aoshi looked less than happy as he walked past both of them and into the party. His baseball team greeted him eagerly.
" Merry Christmas Misao! Here."
Misao looked at the wrapped present Atsuko held out to her. Smiling, she fumbled in her own bag for Atsuko's present, separate from the one she had given to Kaoru earlier. Atsuko took a seat next to her, both of them grinning at each other before tearing into the gifts.
In Misao's arms lay a small teddy bear figurine and in Atsuko's hand was a small bunny necklace. Both girls sweatdropped.
" We think alike don't we?"
" sure do. Thank you! I love it."
" Same here! Oh! Excuse me Misao. I have to go talk to someone."
Misao sighed as Atsuko bounded off into the crowd of people. Swirling the ice cubes the her cup, she watched them intensely as they hit the side of the glass. Suddenly, she felt the other side of the couch sink as someone joined her. Turning, she found Aoshi who sat there bored with a drink in his hand.
" Shinomori."
Before she could stop herself, she had spoken her thoughts. The boy glanced at her, turning his blue eyes on her making her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
" ...Atsuko's friend."
With a surge of annoyance, Misao whacked him on the head, huffing indignantly.
" You know I have a name Shinomori. Use it please. I do not go around calling you Atsuko's brother now do I?"
" Makimachi right?"
" You didn't even remember my name?"
Aoshi froze at her disappointed demeanor. What was with that? One second she's hitting him and then the next, she's disappointed because she thinks he forgot her name?
" How can I forget the name of the person who repeatedly calls me a pervert."
" Hmph. That's because you are one...how's your cold?"
Misao saw a brief flash of annoyance.
" I don't have one."
Ignoring his cold tone, Misao smiled.
" Yokata ne Shinomori."
" Merry Christmas both of ya. Here, pick a present."
Misao and Aoshi looked up to see Kaoru standing in front of them holding a large sack filled with lumpy objects. Peering inside, Misao found the presents which had been sitting under the Christmas tree.
" Misao-chan! You're not allowed to look."
" Gomen."
Kaoru admonished her as she held the bag out to Aoshi. He stared at the proffered bag blankly, not moving to select one.
" Ne...Aoshi-san. You're supposed to take one."
" Jeez why do you have to be so difficult about everything?" Misao asked, muttering her question under her breath.
" Fine."
Aoshi reached forward and grabbed the first present he touched. Kaoru smiled, wishing Aoshi merry Christmas again before moving onto Misao.
Misao reached eagerly into the bag, pulling out a small box wrapped in light blue paper. When Kaoru moved away, Misao looked at the present in her lap. Was it polite for her to open it now? Looking around, she saw Aoshi unwrapping the present he had selected. Suddenly, the urge to open her own present disappeared as she recognized the red wrapping paper. Shoving her own present in her bag, she moved across the couch to sit closer to Aoshi, peering as he finished unwrapping.
" what do you want?"
Misao ignored Aoshi's question as she recognized the familiar beanie in his hands.
" What a coincidence! Here!"
Grabbing the beanie, she promptly placed it on Aoshi, patting his head once she was done. Leaning back, she smiled happily.
" wah! Kawaii!"
Aoshi gave her an incredulous look as he raised a hand to touch the wooly material, almost not believing that he was wearing such a thing.
" Kawaii...?"
Looking up at the girl who had called him cute, he noticed a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. Quickly wanting to prevent her morphing into an obsessed fangirl, all of whom started out with a blush such as this, he spoke.
" What coincidence?"
" You picked my present, that's all."
Silence.
Misao turned to look out the window. The snow was falling quite heavily outside now, showing no signs of stopping. She wasn't really having a lot of fun anyway. She had already stayed for long enough to be polite and the snow was falling thicker than ever. Time to get home...otherwise in another hour, she'd be wading knee deep in snow. Standing up, she picked up her bag and waved to Aoshi, moving off to find Kaoru.
" Ja ne Shinomori."
After apologizing to Kaoru for leaving early, she excused herself, telling Kaoru not to worry about accompanying her to the door. Saying goodbye to Okon, she hugged Atsuko goodbye, thanking her for her present once again.
" Are you sure you want to leave early?"
Misao nodded, riffling through the pile of coats to find her own. Once she shrugged it on, she headed for the door, sitting down on the step to put on her shoes.
" Yeh. I have to walk home and I don't want to be caught in a blizzard. You stay and have fun ok?"
Atsuko looked a bit uncertain as glanced outside as Misao opened the door. A gust of cold wind blew inside, making Misao think twice about going home. But it was either that or be stranded.
" Well...call me when you get home ok?"
" I'll try...but somehow I don't think the call will go through. Anyway, Merry Christmas Atsuko-chan. Oyasumi."
" Oyasumi."
Atsuko waved as Misao shut the door and walked off into the night. Walking back to the group she was talking to before, she noticed that her sister had left.
" Ne, Arisa. Where's nee-chan?"
The blond girl shrugged, tipping her head sideways in deep thought.
" I don't really know. She walked off with a sort of evil smirk on her face. Looks like Okon is up to something again."
Sighing, Atsuko chose to leave it at that. She did not want to get involved in one of Okon's schemes...and she pitied whoever Okon had gone after.
____
" Aoshi!"
Aoshi looked up to see his sister walking towards him. Quickly, he stood, hoping to walk off before she reached him. She had that look in her eyes again. He hated that look. It meant she was planning something, and from the looks of it, she wanted him to be involved.
" Matte!"
Aoshi sighed as he felt Okon tug at the back of his shirt. Turning around, drink in hand, he downed it before glaring at his sister. So much for the get away.
" You know...from the way you took off, it almost seemed that you were afraid of me."
" I know how to avoid trouble. It has nothing to do with fear and you."
Okon smirked at him, crossing her arms and looking up at his head.
" Where'd you get that beanie?'
Aoshi lifted a hand to pull it off his head, shoving it halfway into his pocket.
" Present. What do you want?"
There it was again. That dangerous glint in her eye.
" I have a proposition for you."
" If its to try and set me up with any of your friends, the answer is no. If its to get me to let down one of your friends easy after a love confession no. It never works."
Okon reached out to pat her brother on the shoulder.
" Nope. Its none of those things. All you have to do is walk Misao home."
" Misao...you mean Makimachi?"
Okon nodded, taking him by the hand and attempted to drag him to the door.
" I haven't agreed yet."
" The key word is yet!"
" I'm not going. This is another one of those matchmaking schemes. I can tell."
Okon looked innocently at him, pouting as she did so. She turned away, scowling as Aoshi simply glared at her. Somehow, she couldn't achieve the same effect her little sister did when she pouted at their brother.
" This is not just to my advantage you know."
" What's in it for me?"
5 minutes later, Aoshi found himself standing outside with his coat and shoes, the door closed in his face by Okon. Sighing, he shrugged his long coat on and put on his shoes, taking up a quick running pace to catch up to Misao. Knowing he had remembered the direction carefully, he swore as he couldn't see more than 3 feet in front of him with the falling snow. The tall layer of snow on the ground weren't helping matters any.
" Who's there?"
A female voice called out to him, half cautious and half threatening.
" Makimachi."
He walked forwards, spotting a figure in grey.
" Shinomori? What are you doing here?"
Misao stared up at Aoshi as he walked by her and kept walking.
" Hey! Can't you at least stop and acknowledge me?"
Aoshi stopped, turning back to look at her as a gust of wind tousled his hair.
" I'm here to walk you home."
Misao stared skeptically at Aoshi who glared at her in return.
" Why do I have a nagging feeling that there's more to this than meets the eye?...don't worry. You can go back now. Tell whoever forced you to come that I sent you back."
Misao took a slight step back as Aoshi stared at her intensely.
" If I walk you home I get to leave the party early. I get my sister off my back. Understand?"
Watching Aoshi closely, Misao brightened with a smile, noticing the beanie sticking out of this pocket as the wind blew his unbuttoned coat back. Walking forward, she reached for the beanie and shoved it onto his head, covering his ears and eyes as she did so.
" I like people who are honest Shinomori. If that's the case, then lets go. The faster I get home the faster you can go home right?"
Aoshi listened to Misao's footsteps as the hat obstructed his view. He pulled it up slightly so he could see without making a move to take it off. He rather enjoyed the warmth as he walked behind Misao in silence.
After what seemed like hours, which wasn't too far from the truth, Misao broke the silence, muttering under her breath as she pulled her coat tighter around her.
" jeez...it's freezing."
" How much further?"
Misao stopped, peering around at the white that blanketed everything in sight.
" Well its taken a lot longer to walk home than to get to Kaoru's in the first place. But I'd say...yes! There's the train station."
Misao waited for Aoshi to stand next to her before pointed. Ever so slightly, Aoshi saw the faint outline of the shiny JR sign.
" You can go now. I live just down there a little ways so don't bother."
Aoshi nodded slightly, giving her a small wave over his shoulder as he headed towards the train station. Misao headed for a convenience store opposite the train station. Looking out warily into the snow, she knew she should buy whatever supplies she needed just in case. Paying for her purchases, she walked out of the store, the store clerk's farewell fading as the automatic doors closed behind her.
She could hear faint snatches of conversation. Wanting to find out who was still outside in this weather, she walked forward slightly. She saw Aoshi, now seated on the train station steps. Quickly running through the snow towards him, she bent over slightly, dropping her bags at his feet and panted with exertion. Running through knee-deep snow was no easy feat.
" Why are you still here?"
" I could ask the same question! I thought you were going home. Why are you just sitting here?"
" Trains stopped running."
" Why don't you head back-"
" It's too late to go back to Kaoru's. The snow's deeper now."
Misao checked her watch. It was already 10pm. Apparently, it had taken them almost 2 hours to walk back from Kaoru's opposed to her half an hour to get there earlier that evening. Aoshi was right, there would be no way he could make it there.
What should she do?
A moment of indecision, then determination. Grabbing her bags with her left hand, she tugged on his arm with her right hand.
" Come on, get up."
" Why?"
" You're not seriously thinking of sitting there all night are you? With the way this snow is falling, you'll be lucky if you can get a train tomorrow morning."
Aoshi sat stoicly, ignoring Misao's incessant tugging. A vein appeared on her forehead.
" If you're stupid enough to wait here-" Misao stopped, taking a deep breath to calm herself. " Never mind. I'm not going to get mad at you. Come on, you're coming with me."
Reluctantly, Aoshi got to his feet as he tired of Misao's incessant tugging. She tried to take his hand but he slapped her hand away.
" You know, you really have to work on your people skills Shinomori. But since you walked me home, regardless of ulterior motives, I'm not about to let you turn into a human icicle sitting out here, despite the fact that you rather resemble one."
Grabbing him by the hand, she pulled him out into the street, heading home.
" Where are we going?"
Without stopping, Misao answered him in a loud voice to be heard through the gusting wind.
" You're staying over tonight. At my house."
End Chapter 2.
Thursday, second last day of the school week. Misao had been looking forward to the end of the week ever since she had started on Monday. True, she would miss the company of the people around her because she lived alone, but the past week of the hectic rush of going to a new school was enough for her. For once, she would be happy to enjoy the peace and quiet.
Oh well. One more day to go.
" Misao-chan?"
Misao snapped to attention, wondering why the classroom seemed so quiet.
" Class is over now...don't you have to go to your club now?"
Looking around, she saw the room had been mostly deserted, leaving only Atsuko holding her bag, staring at her. Quickly, pushing her chair back, she hurried to stuff her things in her bag, pushing the teddy bear key ring out of the way to sling the bag onto her left shoulder.
" See you later!"
" Wait! Misao! Are you coming over this afternoon?"
Misao peeked back into the classroom after rushing out at top speed.
" Yep. Meet you at the school gate...I gotta hurry! My sempai really hates lateness!"
Misao took off running down the hall, her long braid flying behind her as she kept her skirt down with one hand.
" Meet at the baseball field instead!!!! You can't run in the hallways Misao!"
Ignoring Atsuko's warning, she kept running, taking the stairs 3 at a time as she raced for the Kyuudou club headquarters. Quickly changing into her uniform, she pulled her chest guard over her head and secured the glove on her hand before picking up her bow. Sighing with relief, she snuck onto the back of the line just in time for the captain to start speaking.
Hours later, she found herself walking along the path towards the baseball diamond, freezing as the cold breeze made the freezing cold temperatures more apparent. Wrapping her own scarf around her neck more securely, she pulled it up to cover part of her face to keep warmer. Keeping her head down, she walked faster to get to the baseball field where she was supposed to meet Atsuko.
" Ah! Makimachi-san!"
Misao looked up slightly, peering to her left to see Akiko Watanabe walk next to her. She could hear the footsteps of 2 people behind her, probably Akiko's sidekicks.
" Oh...hey."
Despite her unenthusiastic reply, Akiko spoke happily.
" Ne, so have you decided about joining to Shinomori-suki club yet? The leader wants to know."
" Erm...I don't think-"
" Come on Makimachi-san! It'll be fun?"
Kawai's voice spoke up from behind her. Misao shook her head, quickening her step as she saw the baseball field come into view. Shivering, she pulled her sleeves up to shield her hands from the cold.
" I really don't think-"
" We have so much fun! Join us!"
With the three girls chattering around her, Misao could do nothing to discourage them. Finally giving up, she just let them talk to her as she walked. Hearing footsteps, she looked up to see a tall imposing figure, dressed in a dark blue baseball uniform with a grey undershirt. In his hands was a baseball mitt he had quickly discarded as he trotted towards the team area. Despite the cold, he showed no signs of acknowledgement as he walked calmly. He glanced at her, noticing the trail of people struggling to catch up with her and looked away quickly again. A rush of heat built up in Misao, from embarrassment and annoyance. Running up to him, she whacked him on the arm with her schoolbag, knowing that his head was hurt, and screamed at him.
" Don't you dare put me into the same group as those girls Shinomori! I'm not part of your stupid adoring fan club!"
With a huff of indignation, she stormed off towards the team area herself where she could see Atsuko looking at them slightly worried. The members of the Shinomori-suki club had not even noticed her departure as they were captivated by Aoshi, standing absolutely still. Such lowly members of the club were not allowed to be so close, only permitted to admire from afar. The photo of the guy was a secret from the club, a possession that was against club rules and yet something Akiko treasured too much to give up. They stared in awe at Aoshi.
Suddenly, a loud sneeze escaped his mouth, jolting him back to reality. Covering his mouth in time, he began to walk again, ignoring the girls staring at him as if he was on display. Walking towards the team gathered in the seating area, he tried to ignore the cold. The baseball uniform didn't do a lot to keep one warm in winter. His arm still tingled ever so slightly from when that girl had hit him with her school bag. A pang of annoyance hit him.
Of course, what he had thought was insulting. Through his eyes, anyone who belonged to that demented group was not worth his time. But then not a whole lot of people were worth his time these days.
" Hurry nii-chan! You might catch a cold!"
Picking up the pace, he jogged back towards the baseball diamond, wanting to change back into his school uniform which was much warmer. Ignoring the rest of the team's antics, he shrugged his blazer on over his broad shoulders, bending to pick up his school bag. Wrapping the blue scarf around his neck, he walked out of the change room, members calling out their goodbyes to him. Raising a hand to give a slight wave, he pushed open the swinging door to reach the baseball fields again.
" Nii-chan! Over here!"
Turning to his left, he could see Atsuko seated on the grass in the outfield and she was not alone. As his sister waved to him, he could see the girl seated next wasn't nearly as enthusiastic. The sweet smell left on his scarf became more evident as he watched the source of the fragrance sitting there with a huffy expression.
What was that girl's problem anyway?
He moved his hand to pull the scarf off, stopping when he felt the cold breeze hit his neck. The weather was definitely giving him second thoughts. The annoying girl be damned, Aoshi Shinomori was keeping that scarf on, with that smell or without.
" I guess we'd better get going."
Both girls got up from the ground and dusted themselves off, taking their school bags and chatting as they walked towards the station. Ignoring the mindless chatter, Aoshi reached into his pant pocket for his train pass. Crossing the barricade, he stopped at the other side before getting on the platform when he realized the two girls had disappeared. Trying to ignore the sudden hushes and staring school girls around him, he walked down the stairs to his platform, figuring that his sister could take care of herself. Taking a seat on the bench, he checked his watch to see when the train would arrive next. He was surprised that it was not his sister but that girl take a seat next to him. Looking behind her, he could not see his sister anywhere. Before he asked, Misao seemed to predict his question, answering it for him.
" She just saw some old school friends."
Aoshi remembered his sister's friends from junior high. He never forgot the face of anyone who hurt his sister. It seemed that they only pretended to be friends, just to have the chance to get close to him. He wouldn't let it happen again. Atsuko seemed really happy, bring friends with the girl seated next to him. He didn't want a repeat of junior high.
" Why are you friends with her?"
Misao seemed quite taken aback by his question. Leaning back, she looked up at the metal roof, her eyes absorbing every detail.
" With who? Atsuko? Do I need a reason? Friends are just friends because they want to be. No ulterior motives. I swear."
Looking at Aoshi intently, Misao smiled at his passive expression.
" You really are quite arrogant aren't you? Trust me. I'm not friends with Atsuko because of you. Hell, I don't think I even like you. Pervert!"
Poking her tongue out at him, she turned back to staring at the ceiling, placing her school bag in her lap and wrapping her arms around herself in the cold. The train pulled in, with the usual rush of passengers getting on and off. Waiting patiently in line on the side of the door, she watched the staircase for Atsuko who had not arrived yet.
" What are you doing?"
Misao heard Aoshi's voice coming from behind her.
" What does it look like? Getting on a train!"
" Why this train?"
Heading into the train, she sat down on a side seat as the train was already quite crowded. She found Atsuko's brother towering over her, still expecting her answer.
" I don't usually catch this train. But I'm visiting your house today. Didn't she tell you? Where is that girl! She's going to miss the train."
Suddenly the doors swung close, the coldness slowly disappearing as the train's heat system took over. Misao stared worriedly out the window, still unable to catch a glimpse of Atsuko anywhere. Suddenly her mobile phone began to ring. Fumbling her in bag frantically, she pulled out her phone, the little bells and tiny figurines hanging off falling onto her hand. Flipping it open, she lifted it up to her ear.
" Moshi moshi...ah! Atsuko! Doushita?"
" I missed the train...I'll meet you at home ok? You're with my brother aren't you?"
" We can wait at the station for you."
" No its too cold to wait...I'll see you. Ja."
The line went dead, Misao took the phone away from her ear, looking down at the screen which proved the end of their conversation. Now she was faced with the prospect of walking to Atsuko's house with a pervert guy. Alone.
They stayed on the train in silence, watching station after station go by. The carriage emptied until eventually Aoshi sat opposite her, the only people other than the pair was a pair of elementary school students and an old lady. The announcer came on the air, repeating her words as she called out the next station. Misao, fidgeting with her knee socks and trying to keep them up, noticed that this was her stop as Aoshi got to his feet and went to stand at the door. Quickly grabbing her bag, she moved to stand behind him, following him off the train and out of the train station.
Suddenly, Aoshi stopped in the middle of the road with Misao smashing in the back of him as she was keeping her head down in her scarf to keep warm.
" Why are you following me?"
Misao rubbed her slightly reddened nose. Staring up at his back, she shrugged.
" Because Atsuko told me to. She told me to follow you home...Snow!!"
Her words trailing off, she held her hand out towards the sky to catch the small snow flakes which fell from the sky. Forgetting Aoshi, she ran forward, staring up at the sky as the snow flakes fell softly, covering her hair and face. She smiled in delight, savouring nature's delicate beauty before a cold deep voice brought her back to reality.
" Its this way."
Misao blinked, finding herself heading down the other side of the street as Aoshi began to walk down the other side. Hurrying after him, she continued to stare up at the sky as they walked through the neighbourhood. After a 10 minute walk, Aoshi stopped in front of a large 2-storey home with a wooden plaque mounted on the brick fence clearly stating it was the home of the Shinomori family. Watching as Aoshi pushed open the heavy wooden gate, she was amazed to find that Atsuko's house stood on a veritable compound. There was a lush garden, the house an another building that she was not quite sure what it served as.
She didn't know a lot about Atsuko's family. From what Atsuko had said, it seemed that she lived with her 2 older sisters and brother. Standing at the gate, she made no move to enter the property. Even though she had received a proper invitation from Atsuko, she was not here and Aoshi had made no move to invite her in. Normally, she wouldn't worry and just go right in...but something was stopping her.
Aoshi inserted his key into the keyhole, twisting it and opening the door. From the sounds of it, no one was home yet. Pushing the door open wider, he stopped before going in, noticing the girl standing at the gate out of the corner of his eye.
" You coming?"
The snow was falling slightly thicker than before. Little patches of white could be seen collecting on the road. The temperature was beginning to drop even more so. With this in mind, Misao quickly raced up the steps to follow Aoshi into the house. She tensed when she noticed the silence.
" No one's home?"
" Aaa."
Misao gulped as she took off her shoes, placing neatly and lining them up with the others. What could be worse, being stuck in a house with some pervert guy who roughs people up or freezing outside with the snow waiting for Atsuko. Closing the door behind her, the thud seemed almost ominous, as if it had sealed her fate. Stepping up onto the main floor of the house, she looked cautiously around at the unfamiliar house. Looking down, she saw a pair of slippers lying on the little step in front of her, Aoshi already disappearing through the sliding door directly in front. Sliding into the slippers, she headed for the doorway that Aoshi had disappeared through, finding the kitchen where he was rummaging around the refrigerator. Water seemed to be boiling on the stove already as Aoshi shut the refrigerator. Empty handed, he simply grabbed a package of bread from the center of the dining table, ripping open the package and taking a large bit out of the bread. Throwing one at Misao, he disappeared down the hall, situated on the other side of the door she had gone through earlier. Misao caught the bread cleanly. Looking down at the packaging, the sticker stated it was bread with red bean filling. One of her favourites. Pulling up a chair at the dining table in the middle of the kitchen, she opened the package, biting into the bread, enjoying the flavour. Propping her school bag up against the table leg, she stood up again to turn off the stove. The water had already boiled.
Despite being inside, she was still quite cold. She knew she could definitely go for some hot tea. Looking around the kitchen, she wondered if she should really be helping herself like this.
Locating the cups, she took one out of the cupboard, placing them on the dining table. Looking around for the teapot, she found it with a bright yellow note stuck on top.
Do not tip out this tea you guys! Its new! - Omasu.
Pulling the note off and removing the lid, she poured the hot water into the teapot, smiling at the aroma and the clouds of steam that puffed up. Closing the lid, she let it sit for the tea to become stronger in flavour. The silence made her uneasy, the house quiet as she stood in the kitchen of a house she had never been to before. Looking through the glass of the cupboard, then down at her single cup, she wondered if she should pour Aoshi one also.
Misao nodded to herself, moving to take another cup out of the cupboard and setting it next to her own cup. Grabbing a nearby tray, she set the cups and the teapot onto it. Smiling with satisfaction, she picked up the tray and set off cautiously down the hallway, her slippers making a scuffling sound as she walked. She noticed from the cooler temperature that she was walking by the exterior wall of the house, a long line of sliding doors. Walking along, she was grateful to be holding something warm in front of her. She couldn't wait until she could drink some of that hot liquid herself. Ahead of her, she could see one of the panels slid open on the other wall, obviously leading to a room.
" Shinomori...?"
She peeked into the open doorway. A bedroom, the futon neatly folded up in a corner. The desk uncluttered, the walls bare, it almost seemed like no one lived there. However, there were signs, a neatly hung school uniform and a school bag under the table. What hit Misao was the fact that nothing was out of place. Neat and precise.
How very much like him.
Suddenly she heard a loud series of thuds. Hurrying out of the room, not wanting to be caught inside without permission, she headed for the noise. Going back into the hallway, she slid open a panel to see Aoshi standing outside in the cold throwing a baseball at numbers, chalked on to brick fence in the garden. Without his uniform, wearing a pair of black sweats and a large blue hooded jumper, he looked less threatening. Setting the tray down onto the wooden floor, she sat down, her legs hanging over the side, and poured the tea.
" Shinomori! Have some tea."
In the bitter cold winds and the pretty snow outside, she couldn't decide whether it was a good idea to sit outside or not. Picking up a steamy cup of green tea, she held it out towards him. He stared at her blankly, without emotion. For a second, Misao thought he would refuse her offer as he walked to retrieve his ball. To her surprise he took the tea, putting the ball onto the house floor and sat down next to her, with the tray between them. With him sitting rather close, Misao could see that he definitely felt the cold from the way he was shivering ever so slightly. Setting the cup next to her, she leaned backwards, supporting her body with her arms as she looked up at the sky in a half upright position. A silence passed between them, seeming to last forever. However, it wasn't awkward despite the fact that Misao had mixed feelings about him. Instead, it seemed calming and natural, as if it was an age-old ritual. Despite the comfortable silence, Misao felt the need to make conversation and she had no idea why. Shinomori, to her at least, was definitely not a talker.
" So...you play baseball?"
Misao watched as Aoshi's eye flickered to the baseball lying beside him and then back at the tea cupped in his hands.
" Aaa."
Misao smiled apologetically, sitting up again to take a sip of her tea.
" Isn't the snow pretty? Its pretty cold these days ay?"
" Aaa."
Obviously, both of them knew that if one was talking about the weather in a conversation, that conversation had hit rock bottom. Without losing hope of a reply of more than one syllable, Misao fired another question.
" I wonder where Atsuko is...the train doesn't come very often...does it?"
" Every one and a half hours."
Misao smiled with satisfaction, grateful for the longer sentence she had gotten in reply. Drinking the rest of her tea, she leaned back again, this time lying back onto the floor with her head propped up on her arms.
" Tell me something. Answer truthfully ok Shinomori?"
His blue eyes flashed, glancing at her for a split second before pouring them both more tea. A mischievous smile played on Misao's lips.
" What's with Shinomori-suki club?"
Misao blinked. For awhile there, she thought she saw him visibly shudder.
" So...whats your answer? I'd really like to know."
" ...it doesn't matter."
" Like hell it doesn't. I have some of the members in my class and they are pretty annoying, you saw them today-"
" They're a nuisance. So why the question?"
Misao was quite taken aback by Aoshi's interruption.
" Well have you ever tried getting rid of them? How about telling them that you don't like them. That usually works."
Aoshi's blood ran cold at her suggestion. All those times he had been forced to...he felt nauseous.
" Tried it."
" Well, I don't really understand why girls like you so much anyway. I mean you're non-sociable, quiet, expressionless, perverted-"
Aoshi stood up, grabbing his ball and putting his cup of tea down, walking back to the line he had made on the cold ground to practice his pitching once more. Misao watched indignantly as he had walked off in a middle of a conversation. She could practically hear the whooshing sound as he brought his hand forward, pitching the ball to make it hurtle towards the large number 3, written in chalk on the top right hand corner of the grid. It hit with a loud smack, bouncing off and rolling back towards him.
Misao put a hand up to her forehead to see if she had caught a fever. Something was definitely wrong with her. Shrugging, she lay back down, staring at the ceiling. With her legs dangling outside and her upper body in the slightly warmer house, she didn't know whether she was warm or cold.
A loud banging jolted her out of her daze. She looked over at Aoshi who seemed not to notice the loud banging coming from the direction of the door. Deciding she should answer it, she carefully backtracked to the front door. Opening it cautiously, she was surprised to be greeted with 2 girls, both unfamiliar to her. From their uniform, they were obviously from her school.
" Oh thank goodness someone's home...who are you?"
One of the girls with brown eyes stepped forward, her brown hair piled on top of her head elegantly with a clip. The other, blue eyed and with her blue hair tied high up on her head with a ribbon, hovered behind her, eyeing Misao.
" Erm...well..."
Misao was saved from answering when Aoshi appeared behind her, a towel wrapped around his neck and was now only wearing a t-shirt. The brown haired girl looked at her and then at Aoshi.
" No way...You're Aoshi's girlfriend?!"
Misao's jaw dropped as the blue haired girl squealed and hugged her.
" Wow! I'm so surprised Aoshi-san has a girlfriend!"
The brown haired girl looked at Aoshi and frowned slightly.
" Yerr...same here. You been holding out on us little brother?"
The girl turned to Misao, placing her hands squarely on her shoulders and studied her intensely.
" Well well, my brother has good taste. I'm Okon, Aoshi's older sister. You go to our school don't you? I can tell by the uniform."
Misao stood shell shocked as Okon and her friend fussed over her. Aoshi half grunted/laughed, turning to walk away from the scene.
" Baka onna."
" WHO ARE YOU CALLING IDIOT!"
Okon was surprised to hear Misao yell out in unison with her. Aoshi seemed a little shocked too, judging from his posture. He looked over his shoulder, glaring at them.
" Don't leave the door open."
Smirking slightly he began to walk away. He stopped to dodge a flying kick from Misao, despite her uniform, who landed in front of him to block his way.
" Who you calling idiot!? As if I'd want to be mistaken for your girlfriend anyway PERVERT!"
Aoshi looked down at Misao huffing indignantly in front of him with a semi-interested look. Whacking him solidly on the head with the back of her hand, Okon jumped to grab the back of his collar, pulling him backward and down to her level. From the way Aoshi remained balanced, Misao figured that his sister probably did this a lot.
" You two were alone in this house weren't you?! Why'd she call you a pervert!? Huh!?"
Misao's eyes widened, waving her hands in protest.
" No...its not like that."
Okon sighed with relief, letting Aoshi go. Straightening the collar of his t-shirt, he walked past the girls standing in the doorway and walked into the kitchen, this time keeping his opinions to himself.
" So, if you're not Aoshi's girlfriend, then who are you?"
Misao looked at the girl with the blue hair. Bowing slightly, she introduced herself.
" Makimachi Misao. Hajimemashite. I'm Atsuko's classmate."
Okon looked somewhat puzzled, tipping her head to the side.
" I thought Atsuko wasn't home...Well, anyway. I'm Shinomori Okon. I'm in the third year. This is Kamiya Kaoru."
" Nice to meet ya. I'm in second year."
Misao shook hands with them both as they all smiled at each other.
" Atsuko missed the train today...so I came first."
Okon raised an eyebrow at her.
" How did you get here without Atsuko?"
" Oh, I just followed Shinomori...er...-san."
Misao figured that it would be polite to tag something at the end of his name in front of his sister. Kaoru's eyes glazed over with happiness as she placed her hands on Misao's shoulders and shook her.
" You mean Aoshi-san let you follow him? He let you IN?"
Misao looked bewildered and felt slightly dizzy when Kaoru finally let go under Okon's grip.
" Erm...yeh. We talked a bit too. Is that wrong?"
Okon and Kaoru stared dumbly at her. Misao felt a bit scared of their reaction.
" Um...are you guys feeling ok?"
Okon recovered first, shaking her head and giving Misao another once over.
" Sorry...its just a little surprising. But no matter, its not that big a deal."
" Not a big deal! But Okon-"
" Why is everyone in the doorway?"
The trio turned to see Atsuko standing at the doorway, bent over taking off her shoes and reaching for her slippers. It had seemed that they had totally forgotten that they were still standing in the doorway of the house with the door wide open.
The phone rang and Okon rushed off to answer it, dropping her school bag with Kaoru doing the same thing, rushing off after her.
" Well...that was a weird experience."
Atsuko gave her a bewildered look as she picked up the dropped school bags.
" No...nothing. Don't worry about it."
Atsuko shrugged and gestured for Misao to follow her as she closed the door.
" C'mon. Lets go to my room. I'll get the heater going...its so cold outside!!"
Both girls scampered off, through the kitchen, up the stairs and through the first door to the left. The door slid open to reveal a pink bunny paradise. Bedding, curtains, dolls, cushions, all with pink bunnies. Atsuko blushed deeply, putting down her bag and dragging the kotatsu to the middle of the room. Plugging it in, she gestured for Misao to join her at the warm table.
" You think I'm a little...immature don't you?"
Misao marveled the decoration of the room. True, she didn't like pink.
" No. Not at all. I collect Teddy Bears...just pink is not really my colour."
Picking up her bag, she gestured towards the little brown teddy bear attached to the handle of her school bag. Smiling to each other, both enjoyed the warmth of the heater, watching the cool snow falling outside Atsuko's bedroom window.
_____
" Well, I'm leaving now, just thought I'd say goodbye."
Misao stood at the doorway of Okon's room where she and Kaoru sat inside reading magazines. Kaoru got up, immediately latching onto Misao's arm.
" Ne ne Misao-chan. You're coming to my Christmas eve party on Sunday aren't you?"
Patting her pocket, she nodded, getting out of Kaoru's grip and stepping slightly backward.
" Of course, I've got your address right here. You live near me remember? I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Waving, she walked down the hallway and down the stairs, heading for the main entrance. Standing there was Omasu, Atsuko's eldest sister she had met at dinner. She had already finished college and had just begun to work, helping to support the family.
Putting on her shoes and wrapping her thick scarf around her neck she stood at the doorway waiting for Atsuko.
" Thank you for the lovely dinner Omasu-san. It was very delicious" she said politely.
Omasu smiled, laughing a little.
" I'm glad someone around here appreciates it. Take care now, come by and visit again sometime. You're always welcome here."
Atsuko appeared in the hallway, wearing a long down coat that looked quite enviously warm to Misao, still in her school uniform. Atsuko had said she would accompany Misao down to the train station as Misao had forgotten the way. Waving to Omasu, they set off, closing the door and trudged through the now snowy road.
" Wait, do you hear that?"
Both girls turned around sharply, in time to see a tall figure be pushed from the house. The light disappeared as the sound of a door slammed shut echoed through the streets. The tall figure shrugged on a long coat, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked towards them.
" Nii-chan?"
Walking up to them, Aoshi stared down at them, his skin looking paler than usual.
" She's being pushy."
Atsuko giggled, nodding at Aoshi's words.
" I'm surprised Nee-chan was able to make you come...of course being shoved out onto the street doesn't leave a lot of room for discussion."
Misao inspected Aoshi's face, not knowing whether it was the darkness and the moonlight or the snow that made him look so pale.
" Hey Shinomori, you don't look so good. Go home."
Aoshi's face darkened, Misao feeling the aftereffects of attaining his wrath as Atsuko began to fawn all over him.
" wah! Nii-chan! Daijoubu?"
" Station right?"
Leaving the two girls behind, he walked off heading for the station. The sooner he got this over with, the faster he could go home to his room. With the pair running to catch up, his pace quickened until he got to the street corner and stopped, waiting for them.
" Why do you have to walk so fast Shinomori?!"
Misao stared at Aoshi, seeing the little puffs of her breath in the cold air. She huffed, not only from exertion but also from annoyance. She had no idea why, but every little thing, every detail about this guy seemed to annoy her.
Standing under a yellow streetlight, she now knew her earlier observation was wrong. He looked sick and pale, it wasn't just the snow or the lighting. Looking around, the street seemed vaguely familiar.
" The station is just down this road right?"
When Atsuko nodded, Misao ran off, whacking Aoshi playfully on the arm before waving, running fast down the street towards the station.
" But Misao! We're supposed to...walk you there."
Atsuko trailed off as she watched Misao disappear into the darkness. Sighing, she turned to her brother and chided him.
" Mou...why can't you be nicer to my friend?"
" She isn't nice to me."
Atsuko blushed, refusing to look at her brother.
" Well...you can't blame her...what you did was...really..."
Atsuko turned away from Aoshi, who stared at her quizzically. It was only around his little sister that he really relaxed.
" Really what?"
Aoshi bent down to look at her face, wondering why Atsuko's cheeks were turning red.
" ...perverted."
" what?"
Atsuko waved her hands and spoke, her blush turning deeper.
" No, its nothing. I'm sure you didn't mean to. My Nii-chan isn't that sort of person."
" What person?"
Atsuko shook her head vigorously, grabbing his hand and gasping softly at the icy cold feeling.
" Nii-chan...daijoubu?"
" I'm fine."
Aoshi hated nothing more than to have his sisters' fuss of him like that. However, he regretted his icy reprimand as Atsuko's expression turned from concerned to sad and hurt. He wasn't like this with his older sisters.
" Lets go to the convenience store."
Reaching into his coat pocket, he found 1000 yen note and a few coins. Atsuko lit up, nodding and dragged him along, much happier. Letting her lead him along, Aoshi looked down the empty street which led to the station before turning back to look where he was going. He had in fact heard what Atsuko had said. He really wondered why everyone call him a pervert. Wracking his brain, he tried to remember how he had met that girl. Coming up with nothing by the time they had reached the brightly lit store, he brushed it off, choosing not to think about it anymore. He would need to concentrate on stopping Atsuko from buying too much.
Suddenly, his nose felt extremely sensitive. Moving his hand up just in time, he sneezed. Atsuko dropped the box of mousse pocky into the basket and walked up to him to examine him.
" Are you sure you're alright?"
" I'm fine."
" Well, lets just pay for this and leave. I think you're coming down with a cold."
Reluctantly, Aoshi found himself being pushed around by his youngest sister. If it had been Okon and Omasu, this would never have happened.
_______
The soft yellow light glanced off the red metallic wrapping paper as Misao folded the sides carefully. Taping the ends together, she sighed with satisfaction as she looked at her now wrapped present. Suddenly her mobile phone rang. Frowning as she glanced at the white ribbon which she had yet to tie on, she ran to her bedroom, snatching her phone up from her desk and flipped it open, holding it to her ear.
" Moshi moshi...nii-chan!"
The moment of happiness from hearing her brother's voice passed as she remembered that he had interrupted her in her preperation.
" Yo, Misao. What are you up to?"
" Baka. Don't say ' yo' on the phone. You've just interrupted me. I was wrapping a present."
" What? You mean that grey beanie I saw yesterday? The one with the white pompom?"
" Yep. I told you about the Christmas party remember? It's a present for that."
" Oh yeh. Jeez, I thought you would have wrapped it last night. You're too lazy."
Misao gripped the phone in anger as her face flushed.
" And whose fault was it that I couldn't wrap it last night? You're too messy! I had to clean up after you! And you were only over here for a day visit!"
" calm down...its ok. I take it back. Jeez you get angry real easy don't ya?"
Misao snorted indignantly, loosening her tight grip on her mobile.
" It's just you nii-chan. Anyway, I've got to go. You've caught me at a bad time."
" Wait-"
Quickly pressing the hang up button, she set the phone back on the table and walked back out of the room. After Misao finished wrapping the present, she changed into a fuzzy grey turtle neck and long black pleated skirt. No one would get her outside in a short party dress if she could help it. Comfortable and maneuverable was best. Though she longed to wear jeans, it was a party after all. She pulled her hair out of its braid, shaking it loose and letting it trail down her back in curly waves after its hours in captivity.
Shrugging on her grey coat, she picked up her shoulder bag, putting her phone, wallet and keys inside. Walking out of her room, she picked up the present and walked to the door, putting on a pair of black boots. Locking the door behind her, she once again pulled out another map. She had drawn it herself on Friday night when she had come home after buying her present. The walking route to Kaoru's house.
She sighed happily as she walked through the 3 inch thick snow, staring at the sky as more snow fell. After about half an hour, she finally reached Kaoru's house, checking the family name mounted on the fence. Kamiya dojo. Her eyes widened. Kaoru hadn't told her that her family owned a dojo. But then, she hadn't thought to ask.
Stepping inside the gate, she walked up to the front door, ringing the doorbell. With the freezing winds blocked by the fence and surrounding buildings, she realized that she had been freezing before. She had been so captivated by the snow's beauty that she had failed to realize that she had become numb. Blowing hot breath onto her hands and rubbing them together vigorously, she huddled in front of the door, waiting for someone to answer the door. The door slid open with a loud rattle, the sounds of music and people chatting drifting out into the cold night. A red haired boy with a nasty looking cross scar on his left cheek answered the door, smiling at her.
" Ano...Is this Kamiya-san's house?"
" Yep! Come on in."
The guy swung open the door, letting her inside into the heat of the house. Herding her into the main room, Misao spotted Kaoru, her eyes lighting up and calling out to her somewhat loudly. Misao stood stock still as Kaoru rushed over to her, with the whole room stopping to stare at her. Misao shrugged, holding her present out to Kaoru as she greeted her.
" Hey Kaoru-chan. Hora."
Kaoru took the present, smiling, taking Misao's hand and dragging her towards the giant decorated tree at the side of the room, Placing the present underneath, Kaoru straightened again and placed her hands on Misao's shoulders. Turning her around, Kaoru spoke from behind her, pointing to the guy who had answered the door from before.
" Ne, Misao-chan. Meet Himura Kenshin." Suddenly, Kaoru's boisterous attitude disappeared as a blush deepened on her face. In a very soft voice, she announced; " my boyfriend."
Kenshin smiled at Misao, bowing slightly. Both exchanged formalities before Kaoru bounded off to answer the door again. Leaving her with Kenshin, who seemed perfectly nice, Misao couldn't seem to shake the feeling that she was completely out of place. She knew no one in the crowded room.
" So, you haven't lived here long have you Makimachi-san."
" Misao. Misao will be fine. I used to live in Osaka before I moved here."
" Well since your new, how about I introduce you to some people...Misao?"
Misao smiled, nodding as she followed the red head towards a group of people crowded around a low couch. The only girl was seated primly on the side of the couch, trying to ignore a loud boy with a brown upstyle hairstyle who was joking loudly with the guys standing behind the couch. She recognized them vaguely from seeing them on the baseball field.
" Hey, everyone meet Makimachi Misao."
Misao bowed slightly and smiled brightly at all of them.
" Makimachi Misao desu. Hajimemashite."
Gesturing to each person, Kenshin introduced each one.
" This is the Watanabe brothers Shiro and Kuro"
The slightly heavy guy with small eyes and the other with messy dark hair and a long face nodded at her, giving a slight shy wave.
" This is Takani Megumi."
The girl with the long dark hair looked up at her, giving her an up and down and smiling slightly, extending a hand in an elegant gesture.
" And this is Sagara Sanosuke."
The boy with the upstyle stood up from the couch, winking at her as he gave her a small salute.
" Sano atcha service. How come I've never seen you before? You're pretty, I couldn't have missed ya."
Misao gave him an incredulous look as Megumi stood up and whacked him on the head with the back of his hand.
" Baka!"
" teme! Kitsune!"
Shifting uncomfortably, she looked up at Kenshin for reassurance.
" Um...don't worry. They're always like this." Kenshin reassured Misao before walking up to Sanosuke and Megumi. " Now now...there's nothing to fight about-"
*whack*
" orororororo"
Misao winced as Kenshin went flying, flattened against the wall with Megumi and Sanosuke's lifted fists to blame. Quietly excusing herself from what could potentially be a life threatening situation, she headed for the front door again, where she had spied a place to put her coat. Peeling off her coat, she dumped it on top of the pile before walking back into the room. Finding the couch now abandoned, she got herself a drink and flopped back onto it, letting her hair fall behind the couch instead of her sitting on it. Slowly slipping the cold drink, she stared at the ceiling.
Not that Misao didn't normally enjoy a good party. She just wasn't in a partying mood. She hadn't really been since...Well no use thinking about it. She had come to Kyoto to get away from it.
" Misao-chan!"
Misao straightened and sat higher on the couch instead of slouching to see the person who called out her name. Atsuko was running towards her from the door in the hallway. Behind her stood Aoshi and Okon, who was greeted rather loudly by Kaoru. Aoshi looked less than happy as he walked past both of them and into the party. His baseball team greeted him eagerly.
" Merry Christmas Misao! Here."
Misao looked at the wrapped present Atsuko held out to her. Smiling, she fumbled in her own bag for Atsuko's present, separate from the one she had given to Kaoru earlier. Atsuko took a seat next to her, both of them grinning at each other before tearing into the gifts.
In Misao's arms lay a small teddy bear figurine and in Atsuko's hand was a small bunny necklace. Both girls sweatdropped.
" We think alike don't we?"
" sure do. Thank you! I love it."
" Same here! Oh! Excuse me Misao. I have to go talk to someone."
Misao sighed as Atsuko bounded off into the crowd of people. Swirling the ice cubes the her cup, she watched them intensely as they hit the side of the glass. Suddenly, she felt the other side of the couch sink as someone joined her. Turning, she found Aoshi who sat there bored with a drink in his hand.
" Shinomori."
Before she could stop herself, she had spoken her thoughts. The boy glanced at her, turning his blue eyes on her making her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
" ...Atsuko's friend."
With a surge of annoyance, Misao whacked him on the head, huffing indignantly.
" You know I have a name Shinomori. Use it please. I do not go around calling you Atsuko's brother now do I?"
" Makimachi right?"
" You didn't even remember my name?"
Aoshi froze at her disappointed demeanor. What was with that? One second she's hitting him and then the next, she's disappointed because she thinks he forgot her name?
" How can I forget the name of the person who repeatedly calls me a pervert."
" Hmph. That's because you are one...how's your cold?"
Misao saw a brief flash of annoyance.
" I don't have one."
Ignoring his cold tone, Misao smiled.
" Yokata ne Shinomori."
" Merry Christmas both of ya. Here, pick a present."
Misao and Aoshi looked up to see Kaoru standing in front of them holding a large sack filled with lumpy objects. Peering inside, Misao found the presents which had been sitting under the Christmas tree.
" Misao-chan! You're not allowed to look."
" Gomen."
Kaoru admonished her as she held the bag out to Aoshi. He stared at the proffered bag blankly, not moving to select one.
" Ne...Aoshi-san. You're supposed to take one."
" Jeez why do you have to be so difficult about everything?" Misao asked, muttering her question under her breath.
" Fine."
Aoshi reached forward and grabbed the first present he touched. Kaoru smiled, wishing Aoshi merry Christmas again before moving onto Misao.
Misao reached eagerly into the bag, pulling out a small box wrapped in light blue paper. When Kaoru moved away, Misao looked at the present in her lap. Was it polite for her to open it now? Looking around, she saw Aoshi unwrapping the present he had selected. Suddenly, the urge to open her own present disappeared as she recognized the red wrapping paper. Shoving her own present in her bag, she moved across the couch to sit closer to Aoshi, peering as he finished unwrapping.
" what do you want?"
Misao ignored Aoshi's question as she recognized the familiar beanie in his hands.
" What a coincidence! Here!"
Grabbing the beanie, she promptly placed it on Aoshi, patting his head once she was done. Leaning back, she smiled happily.
" wah! Kawaii!"
Aoshi gave her an incredulous look as he raised a hand to touch the wooly material, almost not believing that he was wearing such a thing.
" Kawaii...?"
Looking up at the girl who had called him cute, he noticed a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. Quickly wanting to prevent her morphing into an obsessed fangirl, all of whom started out with a blush such as this, he spoke.
" What coincidence?"
" You picked my present, that's all."
Silence.
Misao turned to look out the window. The snow was falling quite heavily outside now, showing no signs of stopping. She wasn't really having a lot of fun anyway. She had already stayed for long enough to be polite and the snow was falling thicker than ever. Time to get home...otherwise in another hour, she'd be wading knee deep in snow. Standing up, she picked up her bag and waved to Aoshi, moving off to find Kaoru.
" Ja ne Shinomori."
After apologizing to Kaoru for leaving early, she excused herself, telling Kaoru not to worry about accompanying her to the door. Saying goodbye to Okon, she hugged Atsuko goodbye, thanking her for her present once again.
" Are you sure you want to leave early?"
Misao nodded, riffling through the pile of coats to find her own. Once she shrugged it on, she headed for the door, sitting down on the step to put on her shoes.
" Yeh. I have to walk home and I don't want to be caught in a blizzard. You stay and have fun ok?"
Atsuko looked a bit uncertain as glanced outside as Misao opened the door. A gust of cold wind blew inside, making Misao think twice about going home. But it was either that or be stranded.
" Well...call me when you get home ok?"
" I'll try...but somehow I don't think the call will go through. Anyway, Merry Christmas Atsuko-chan. Oyasumi."
" Oyasumi."
Atsuko waved as Misao shut the door and walked off into the night. Walking back to the group she was talking to before, she noticed that her sister had left.
" Ne, Arisa. Where's nee-chan?"
The blond girl shrugged, tipping her head sideways in deep thought.
" I don't really know. She walked off with a sort of evil smirk on her face. Looks like Okon is up to something again."
Sighing, Atsuko chose to leave it at that. She did not want to get involved in one of Okon's schemes...and she pitied whoever Okon had gone after.
____
" Aoshi!"
Aoshi looked up to see his sister walking towards him. Quickly, he stood, hoping to walk off before she reached him. She had that look in her eyes again. He hated that look. It meant she was planning something, and from the looks of it, she wanted him to be involved.
" Matte!"
Aoshi sighed as he felt Okon tug at the back of his shirt. Turning around, drink in hand, he downed it before glaring at his sister. So much for the get away.
" You know...from the way you took off, it almost seemed that you were afraid of me."
" I know how to avoid trouble. It has nothing to do with fear and you."
Okon smirked at him, crossing her arms and looking up at his head.
" Where'd you get that beanie?'
Aoshi lifted a hand to pull it off his head, shoving it halfway into his pocket.
" Present. What do you want?"
There it was again. That dangerous glint in her eye.
" I have a proposition for you."
" If its to try and set me up with any of your friends, the answer is no. If its to get me to let down one of your friends easy after a love confession no. It never works."
Okon reached out to pat her brother on the shoulder.
" Nope. Its none of those things. All you have to do is walk Misao home."
" Misao...you mean Makimachi?"
Okon nodded, taking him by the hand and attempted to drag him to the door.
" I haven't agreed yet."
" The key word is yet!"
" I'm not going. This is another one of those matchmaking schemes. I can tell."
Okon looked innocently at him, pouting as she did so. She turned away, scowling as Aoshi simply glared at her. Somehow, she couldn't achieve the same effect her little sister did when she pouted at their brother.
" This is not just to my advantage you know."
" What's in it for me?"
5 minutes later, Aoshi found himself standing outside with his coat and shoes, the door closed in his face by Okon. Sighing, he shrugged his long coat on and put on his shoes, taking up a quick running pace to catch up to Misao. Knowing he had remembered the direction carefully, he swore as he couldn't see more than 3 feet in front of him with the falling snow. The tall layer of snow on the ground weren't helping matters any.
" Who's there?"
A female voice called out to him, half cautious and half threatening.
" Makimachi."
He walked forwards, spotting a figure in grey.
" Shinomori? What are you doing here?"
Misao stared up at Aoshi as he walked by her and kept walking.
" Hey! Can't you at least stop and acknowledge me?"
Aoshi stopped, turning back to look at her as a gust of wind tousled his hair.
" I'm here to walk you home."
Misao stared skeptically at Aoshi who glared at her in return.
" Why do I have a nagging feeling that there's more to this than meets the eye?...don't worry. You can go back now. Tell whoever forced you to come that I sent you back."
Misao took a slight step back as Aoshi stared at her intensely.
" If I walk you home I get to leave the party early. I get my sister off my back. Understand?"
Watching Aoshi closely, Misao brightened with a smile, noticing the beanie sticking out of this pocket as the wind blew his unbuttoned coat back. Walking forward, she reached for the beanie and shoved it onto his head, covering his ears and eyes as she did so.
" I like people who are honest Shinomori. If that's the case, then lets go. The faster I get home the faster you can go home right?"
Aoshi listened to Misao's footsteps as the hat obstructed his view. He pulled it up slightly so he could see without making a move to take it off. He rather enjoyed the warmth as he walked behind Misao in silence.
After what seemed like hours, which wasn't too far from the truth, Misao broke the silence, muttering under her breath as she pulled her coat tighter around her.
" jeez...it's freezing."
" How much further?"
Misao stopped, peering around at the white that blanketed everything in sight.
" Well its taken a lot longer to walk home than to get to Kaoru's in the first place. But I'd say...yes! There's the train station."
Misao waited for Aoshi to stand next to her before pointed. Ever so slightly, Aoshi saw the faint outline of the shiny JR sign.
" You can go now. I live just down there a little ways so don't bother."
Aoshi nodded slightly, giving her a small wave over his shoulder as he headed towards the train station. Misao headed for a convenience store opposite the train station. Looking out warily into the snow, she knew she should buy whatever supplies she needed just in case. Paying for her purchases, she walked out of the store, the store clerk's farewell fading as the automatic doors closed behind her.
She could hear faint snatches of conversation. Wanting to find out who was still outside in this weather, she walked forward slightly. She saw Aoshi, now seated on the train station steps. Quickly running through the snow towards him, she bent over slightly, dropping her bags at his feet and panted with exertion. Running through knee-deep snow was no easy feat.
" Why are you still here?"
" I could ask the same question! I thought you were going home. Why are you just sitting here?"
" Trains stopped running."
" Why don't you head back-"
" It's too late to go back to Kaoru's. The snow's deeper now."
Misao checked her watch. It was already 10pm. Apparently, it had taken them almost 2 hours to walk back from Kaoru's opposed to her half an hour to get there earlier that evening. Aoshi was right, there would be no way he could make it there.
What should she do?
A moment of indecision, then determination. Grabbing her bags with her left hand, she tugged on his arm with her right hand.
" Come on, get up."
" Why?"
" You're not seriously thinking of sitting there all night are you? With the way this snow is falling, you'll be lucky if you can get a train tomorrow morning."
Aoshi sat stoicly, ignoring Misao's incessant tugging. A vein appeared on her forehead.
" If you're stupid enough to wait here-" Misao stopped, taking a deep breath to calm herself. " Never mind. I'm not going to get mad at you. Come on, you're coming with me."
Reluctantly, Aoshi got to his feet as he tired of Misao's incessant tugging. She tried to take his hand but he slapped her hand away.
" You know, you really have to work on your people skills Shinomori. But since you walked me home, regardless of ulterior motives, I'm not about to let you turn into a human icicle sitting out here, despite the fact that you rather resemble one."
Grabbing him by the hand, she pulled him out into the street, heading home.
" Where are we going?"
Without stopping, Misao answered him in a loud voice to be heard through the gusting wind.
" You're staying over tonight. At my house."
End Chapter 2.