Chapter 3 Mi-chan's house.
The metal stairs gleamed with ice as the snow continued to fall. Despite his long legs and tall height, the stairs seemed endlessly high and long, even though a girl was happily rushing up them.
" Come on, hurry up. All the cold air is going to get in."
Gripping the metal railing, Aoshi walked steadily up the stairs, not flinching at the searing cold of the metal. He walked to the open doorway where he had seen that girl disappear into. He hovered at the door, looking down to see the girl's discarded shoes.
" Close the door will ya? You're letting in the cold."
He bent slightly to pass under the doorframe while he observed the room. It was a small and modest apartment, but he couldn't really expect it to be any bigger for one person to live in. Looking around the room, he couldn't see Misao anywhere. Quickly closing the door, shivering as he felt the last gust of wind disappear, he relaxed. Misao appeared from what seemed like the bathroom, throwing a towel at him. He caught it easily, still standing at the door as Misao reached for the TV remote which lay on the couch. The items she had bought from the store still lay beside the doorway.
" Oh oops."
Flipping on the television, she tossed the remote down again before walking towards him, picking up her groceries in one clean swipe, setting down on the kitchen counter barely visible to him before disappearing into an unknown room. Aoshi stood somewhat awkwardly in the doorway wondering what to do next. Coughing softly, he raised the towel to his wet hair and started rubbing it vigourously. When he was satisfied that his hair was as dry as it was going to get, he looked up to see Misao holding out a pile of neatly folded clothes to him.
" My brother left these here. They should fit you…I hope. It beats staying in those wet clothes anyway. The bathroom is just behind me here so you can change in there and take a shower or something. Do you need to call your sisters?"
Aoshi stared at Misao incredulously. He wondered how this girl could be so open about inviting him to stay. Feeling the cold wind flowing through the crack between the wall and the door, he couldn't exactly complain. Taking the clothes he walked towards the bathroom.
" No. Don't call them."
Misao watched the door close and lock with a click. That click sounded with an amazing finality, almost as if it had sealed her fate.
Makimachi Misao. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?!
Comments such as these were the only thing racing through her mind. Was she crazy? Inviting a guy to stay over at her house alone. Usually she wouldn't have minded if it was back in Osaka and it was a close friend but this was ridiculous. This was a guy she barely knew, had spoken no more than a handful of sentences to and had barely gotten any reply. This was a guy she was still on last name basis with, and a pretty impolite name basis at that.
" I thought I couldn't stand the guy."
Walking into the kitchen, she shoved a saucepan under the running tap and moved to boil some water. She let the heavy saucepan whack heavily against the stove as she flicked it on with annoyance.
" I can't stand this guy. So why is he here?!"
He had accused her of being part of his dodgy fan club. He had accused her of being a stereotypical groupie befriending his sister just to get to him. The indignity of it all…and yet, she couldn't find a way to hate him. Annoyed yes…but hate was a bit too powerful.
She quickly cracked eggs into the hot pan while reaching for the ramen packets. Dropping the noodle in, she placed the lid on the saucepan once more, still holding the chopsticks clenched between her teeth.
Pulling two bowls out of the cupboard, she slammed them onto the table with a loud whack. Expertly flipping the eggs and adding a bit of meat to the pan, she grabbed the handle of the saucepan and pulled the chopsticks from her mouth. Moving quickly, she managed to separate the noodles into the two bowls equally. Shoving the saucepan into the sink with a loud clang, she scooped the eggs and meat to the edge of the pan and turned back to the noodles on the table to add the soup packets.
The click sounded again and in a cloud of steam, a figure emerged with a towel draped casually across his shoulders.
" Are you usually this loud when you cook?"
Misao stared at his tilted head, wishing she could whack him with the pan she was holding. She was at least cooking for them both after all. The least he could have done was be a little grateful. He probably thought that she was part of his fan club.
" I'm not part of your dodgy fan club get it! You don't have to eat it if you think I'm loud!"
Putting down the pan, she turned his back to him. Turning back to eat her noodle, she found that he had already begun to devour his bowl of ramen. Taking a seat, she reached for her own bowl and began eating. She looked at him warily as she lifted the noodles to her lips. He ate slowly, as if he was pacing himself. Not a single drop of soup splashed onto the table as the noodles disappeared into his mouth.
" What?"
Misao reddened, flustered at being caught staring.
" Nothing."
Studying her noodle intensely, she raised another mouthful to her lips, slurping it and savoring its warmth. In her second mouthful, she looked up again to find Aoshi lying back against his chair silently, arms crossed watching her eat. Staring at her half full bowl and his finished bowl, chopsticks neatly placed on top, she wondered how on earth he had managed to eat so damned quickly.
Stop it Misao. You're looking too much into things.
Shaking her head, she gestured towards the living room.
" Go watch some television or something. I've still got to wash up."
Seeming a bit reluctant to move, Misao made a shooing motion. Aoshi stood up slowly, picking up his bowl and chopsticks and putting it in the sink Pushing back his sleeves, he moved his left hand to turn on the tap.
" Just leave it there. I'll do it."
Aoshi gave no sign of acknowledging Misao's request. Instead, he turned on the tap, not recoiling at the icy cold water as he stuck his hands under the cold flow. Misao's annoyance surged before dropping as Aoshi turned the tap off, wiping his wet hands on his pants and walking out of the room.
Does he do that on purpose? Does he always have to annoy her?
You betcha.
Misao snickered, smiling to herself.
" I've gone crazy. Absolutely crazy."
Humming to herself, she winced at the cold water pouring from the tap as she washed the dishes. Drying her hands on her pants, she pulled a pack of cards out of the cupboard and walked out of the kitchen.
" How about some cards?"
Aoshi, seated at the kotatsu, looked up from the television screen looking a little flushed.
" what?"
That was all he said before slumping over, his head hitting the table with a loud thud.
" Are you ok Shinomori? Oi?"
Misao drops the cards and runs over, kneeling beside him and heaved back his shoulders with all her might. Taking a close look at his face, she could tell he was sick before she even felt for his temperature.
" BAKA! Why do you have to get sick now?"
Touching his skin, she could tell he had an abnormally high temperature.
" Shinomori? Can you move?"
" uhh…err…"
Aoshi fell backward, another loud thud sounded in Misao's ears as his shoulder's hit the floor.
Damnit.
There was no way she could move him, it was hard enough to keep him upright. Thinking fast, she ran to the bathroom, grabbing her face towel and a small wash basin. She turned on the tap to find no water was coming out, hot or cold. Just as she had thought her luck had hit rock bottom, an electrical dzzztt left her in complete darkness.
" why me?"
She asked aloud as she walked out of the bathroom. Heading for the kitchen to find some candles, she tripped over a large 'lump' on the floor.
" …watch where you're going baka."
Misao raised an eyebrow, heaving the washbasin to smack Aoshi on the face as she climbed off him.
Funny how he was so sick and still managed to insult her.
Hurrying into the kitchen, swearing as she hit various tables and chairs, she smiled as she managed to light a candle. She walked back into the main room, kicking the kotatsu as far away from Aoshi as possible. Setting the candle safely down, she lit a few more before grabbing the hand basin. At the door, she hesitated. Swallowing her fear, she swung open the door, moving quickly to gather snow from the ground outside before racing up the steps and back into her apartment again. Heaving the door shut with a shaky sigh, she walked over to Aoshi and set the basin, now filled with snow, down. Moving to her room, she grabbed her blankets from her futon and dumped them over Aoshi's body. Eyeing the basin filled with snow swimming in icy water, she gulped.
" You have to do it Makimachi Misao. If Shinomori doesn't survive, Atsuko will kill you!"
That was all the self motivation she needed. Grabbing her face towel, she stuck it in the icy cold water, gasping in pain as her skin made contact with the water. She sat, cross legged in front of Aoshi, pulling his head into her lap with great difficulty before beginning to mop his face with the cold towel.
This was going to be a long night.
________
One eye lazily opens as Aoshi awakens. Feeling the urge to sneeze as hair tickled his face, he closed his eye, lifting a hand to brush the hair away from his face and gingerly touch his forehead as he groaned.
What a killer headache.
Letting his hand fall back down to his side, he moved his head, wondering when he had managed to get such a comfortably warm pillow and his hair had grown so long. He opened his eyes, his body stiffening as he looked straight up, seeing a face looking down at him.
" Oh…its just a girl's hair falling over my face…."
Lifting his left hand again, he gently pushed away her hair which had obstructed her face from his view. In the darkness, he could only see her pale complexion, almost glowing. He gently traced the outline of the girl's face, shocked at the coolness of her skin.
" Mou…yamete nii-chan….give me 5 minutes."
She spoke softly in her sleep, biting Aoshi on the hand. Aoshi frowned, extricating his hand.
"…Makimachi."
He sat up, careful not to hit her and looked around to orientate himself. He was still in her apartment. When his eyes fell upon the washbasin, he figured what had happened. Turning around to look at Misao, he found that she had already fallen over onto her side, still fast asleep. He got up, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his head and threw the covers over Misao's small body, picking her up and walked towards her room. Placing her gently onto her futon, he walked towards the window, pulling back the curtains to look outside. Despite the lack of street lighting and the heavy clouds overhead, the street seemed to glow with the white snow piling up all around.
He yawned, stretching his body. Pulling on the soaked collar of his shirt, he took it off, knowing full well that if he stayed in it, he'd get even more sick. Looking around for his coat, he swore under his breath as he found it to be still slightly damp. Now stuck in the dark, cold, shirtless, Aoshi became desperate. He dragged a hand through his hair, his fringe wet from the cool water he had been toweled with. Looking around Misao's room, he noticed a large shadowy lump in the corner. A gigantic teddybear. Deciding quickly, he walked back out into the living room, picking up the towel which he had used to dry his hair earlier before returning to Misao's room. Flopping down onto the floor, he wrapped the towel over his shoulders and leaned back against the giant stuffed animal, sinking into it's furry embrace comfortably before closing his eyes and falling asleep.
______________
Doorbell.
Mobile phone ringing.
Pounding on the door.
What does one have to do around here to get some sleep?
Lazily getting to his feet, Aoshi walked blindly towards the source of the loud banging.
" Anyone home!?"
A loud female voice boomed, knocking Aoshi out of his stupor as he pulled open the door and glared at the person standing in the doorway. A blast of freezing wind almost blew him over as he asked menacingly;
" What the hell do you want?"
" …who…is it?"
Aoshi turned around to see Misao completely wrapped in a mountain of blankets staring at him with bleary eyes.
" KYAHHH!"
Quickly turning around, he wondered why the person at the door had screamed. Before he could say anything, that person had him in a headlock.
" Talk Aoshi. What the hell did you two do last night?"
" Nothing. Let me go."
Aoshi began to cough violently as he breathed in more cold air.
" Kyaah! Okon nee-chan let nii-chan go!"
Atsuko popped up, hurrying to shut the door and getting her sister to release Aoshi from her headlock.
" err…nii-chan…why don't you have a shirt on? Its very cold."
As if on cue, Aoshi sneezed. Misao threw one of her blankets at his head. Wrapping it around his shoulders, he sauntered off to the bathroom in search for tissue, leaving Misao along in Okon's firing line.
" Ok Misao-chan. Fess up. What happened between you two yesterday night?"
Misao shook her head and waved her two hands in a clear gesture.
" Absolutely nothing."
Okon walked up close, peering at Misao with a mischievous glint in her eye.
" I walk in to see my brother half naked and you completely covered in blankets emerging from the bedroom. What am I supposed to think?"
Atsuko flushed a fierce red and shook her head vigourously.
" Sonna! Nii-chan and Misao-chan wouldn't do something like that…would you?"
Misao shook her head, appalled by Atsuko's question.
" Of course not! Anyway you should take him home. He was pretty sick yesterday."
Atsuko gasped and rushed off to find her brother who had just come out of the bathroom. With her fawning over him, Okon sighed.
" Well I guess we'd better get going. Omasu is waiting downstairs in the car."
" Car? You mean the roads have been cleared?"
" Of course. Its almost 5 in the afternoon now."
" You're kidding!"
Okon smiled and showed Misao her watch. Watching Atsuko lead Aoshi out of the apartment, blanket and all, Okon put a hand on Misao's shoulder.
" Thanks for taking care of him. Are you sure you're going to be alright by yourself?"
Misao nodded and waved Okon out the door. She watched as the car pull away through her bedroom window. Looking down at the floor, she saw her mobile phone. Picking up and flipping it open, she stared, shocked at what it said on her screen.
30 missed calls.
Quickly pressing the button on the phone, the screen showed only one name.
Nii-chan.
Misao sighed as she pressed the dial button, putting the phone up to her ear. There would be hell to pay…and she was to one who would be put through the slaughter.
_______
1 week later. Monday.
Misao walked briskly up the sidewalk, hoping to get to school as quickly as possible. She couldn't wait to bask in the warmth of the school's air conditioning. Suddenly, she was glad that her grandfather and brothers had been so insistant on her going to a 'higher class' school such as this.
" Ohayo!!"
Misao looked up from the ground to see a car pass by, a familiar face waving wildly at her. The car pulled to a stop a few meters in front of her at the school entrance. The right passenger door swung open and Aoshi stepped out of the car, followed by Atsuko. When Misao walked up alongside the car, she could see Omasu in the drivers seat and Okon looking at her meekly, bundled up in blankets and coats and looking rather sick. Atsuko slammed the door shut and the car took off again.
" Ohayo."
Aoshi glanced at her for a second and nodded before walking off, his backpack strewn casually over his left shoulder.
" Ohayou gozaimasu Misao-chan."
Atsuko brushed the bottom of her skirt with her hand before bowing deeply.
" eh? What's wrong Atsuko? What are you doing?"
" Gomen nasai! Honto ni gomen ne! Because of what my sister has said….i'm so sorry!"
Misao reached out to touch Atsuko on the shoulder. Atsuko quickly straightened, moving quickly enough to escape Misao's grasp and ran into the school, leaving Misao standing alone, bewildered.
What was that all about?
" Weird."
Sighing, Misao headed inside the school.
" Psst did you hear…"
" Oh my god wait til you hear…"
" I'm going to kill her! She's soooo lucky."
" I think that she must have done something indecent."
" Totally…"
" Did you hear?"
" did you?"
Excited whispers went on all around her, groups of people huddle together and their heads close exchanging secrets beyond her understanding.
Its too early. Like she could give a damn.
Walking inside, she tossed her book bag onto the floor, moving her right hand to open the door to her shoe locker. She paused, her fingers grasping the door knob.
" Why does it feel like everyone is looking at me?"
Looking to her left, she tried to catch the eye of the girl next to her. The girl stared at her for a second before quickly turning away. Suddenly the sounds of whispering became louder and louder, rushing through Misao's ears in a loud churning sound.
" Did you know?"
" What a …"
" She must have…"
" Ugh that is such a …"
" I didn't think she'd act like…"
" she'll stop at …"
Shaking her head to clear her mind, she opened the cubby hole door, reaching inside for her cloth shoes.
What the hell!?
Pulling her shoes out for a closer look, she saw that they were completely soaked. She could hear snickering and tittering around her. Turning around sharply to see who had been the culprit, the crowd quickly disappeared, not giving her a second glance. Sighing, she resolved to go and get a new pair from the office. Not that she had much choice anyway.
With brand new white cloth shoes, Misao headed back to the classroom, only to be stopped by none other than the class 1-B division of the Shinomori-suki fan club.
" What did you do to our beloved Aoshi-sama!?"
The girl with the red curls rushed forward and shoved her backwards, her red, manicured fingernails digging into her shoulder. Misao brushed her off, taking the girl's wrist and forcing her backward.
" You're invading my personal space Yamamoto. Watch yourself."
The red head snorted, tossing her dyed hair over her shoulder and sneering at her.
" Aoshi-sama is-"
" That's enough Yuki-chan."
The blond stepped forward, gently pushing her lackey behind her. The other, with short brown hair held her red-head friend back.
" Makimachi-san, did you do anything indecent with our idol?"
Misao crossed her arms and glared at the trio.
" Look. I'm not in the mood for this. Why the hell would you suggest that I did something …something…indecent with that icicle?!"
" You don't have to lie. We know you did."
" Well you'd better get a new source of information because you're totally wrong."
" Am I? We know about Kamiya-san's party."
Misao's eyes widened, her jaw dropping in disbelief.
" How did you find out about that?"
Suddenly, the red head broke free, lunging for Misao.
" I knew it! You tramp!"
" Get ahold of yourself Yuki!"
The blond scolded Yuki, pushing her back into the clutches of her brown haired friend.
" Makimachi-san…you didn't think no one would find out did you?"
The sound of the ringing bell was music to Misao's ears. She felt sick, quickly pushing past the fan club and walking towards her seat.
This is going to be a long day. Very long.
Sitting down, Misao leaned forward, resting her head on her desk. Tilting her head up, she caught the sight of Atsuko, constantly turning her head to look warily at her.
" What's with her today? She barely said anything before she raced off by herself this morning…what did she say?"
Because of what my sister has said….I'm so sorry!
Misao's eyes widened, straightening up and pushing back her chair with a loud scraping sound which silenced the loud chatter of her classmates. She glared at Atsuko who seemed to wince and shrink in her seat.
" Atsuko!!!!"
Suddenly the classroom door slid open with a loud rattle. Everyone quickly sat down, afraid to be in the presence of such a person.
" Makimachi, you can sort out your petty problems later. Take a seat."
Misao glared at Atsuko before turning to Saitou with a death glare. Sitting down in a huff, she clenched her teeth, now knowing why it seemed the whole school was against her this morning.
When homeroom was over, Misao was the first one out the door for gym period, avoiding Atsuko who seemed to be trying to follow her with puppy dog eyes. Dumping her gym clothes on a bench, she proceeded to change into them.
" Ano…Misao-chan…"
Atsuko approached her cautiously, her apprehension visible as she nervously wrung her hands.
" I don't want to talk about it."
Misao placed her uniform and shoes inside a vacant locker, slamming the metal door shut before stalking out of the room.
_________
PHWEEEETTT
The gym teacher blew the whistle, clapping her hands and told everyone to hi the change rooms. Misao slowed to a stop, bending over and breathing hard after a long run. A shadow cast over her.
" I don't want to talk right now."
" I'd appreciate it if you didn't use that tone with me Makimachi."
Misao looked up, startled to see the teacher looking down at her, one hand holding a clipboard to her hip.
" Sumimasen sensei. I thought you were someone else."
The teacher laid a hand on her back, patting it gently.
" I know that…well…you'll be having a lot of problems with your friends right now. So if you ever need any help you can come and talk to me or another sensei. You know that right?"
Problems was a major understatement.
" Oh…don't worry about it. I'll be fine…I'll sort it out by myself…well have to run. Can't be late for class!"
Misao smiled before racing off towards the change rooms through a now empty athletics field. Walking towards the locker she had put her stuff in, most of the girls still inside cleared out quickly. Suspicion and fear gripped her as she pulled open the door.
There was nothing. Nothing to surprise her. Nothing to frighten her.
But nothing is nasty all the same.
Misao sighed, staring at disbelief that someone had actually been moronic enough to take her school uniform. She turned abruptly to search for the culprit, only to find the whole room completely empty. Turning back, she looked down at the floor of the locker.
Well. At least her shoes were still there.
Doing a quick scan of the room, she spied a blue sleeve peeking out of a rubbish bin. Quickly pulling it out, she dusted it off, checking for any dirty parts. Looking back down to inspect the bin, she found it was completely empty and had probably been clean.
" Clean or not, I have no choice but to put it on."
Quickly glancing at her watch, she let out a squeak. IN a flurry of activity, she quickly changed, not bothering to fold her gym clothes and raced back to her classroom with the bundle in her hand. To her relief, the teacher had not arrived yet. She scanned the room, wondering why all the girls were sitting there glaring at her with a smile on their face, giggling and snickering amongst themselves/
" They've done something again."
She looked in the direction of her seat, only to find it missing. A big gaping hole in the seating arrangement. Dumping her things in the space that her now missing desk had left, she stalked back to the front of the room.
She brought her fist down on the table hard and fast, a loud boom noise. Satisfied that everyone's attention was on her, she proceeded to speak.
" I've had enough of your stupid pranks. I don't know what you expect to get out of it. However, whatever it is, I won't give you the satisfaction."
Yuki, sitting in the far left corner snorted, twisting a red curl on her finger before laughing at her. Standing up, she pulled the chair in front of her and put her left leg up on it, leaning forward and putting her left hand on her leg in an offensive stance.
" We want you out of school. No less. Be prepared slut."
" Like I said. I wouldn't give you the satisfaction."
The door slid open again with a loud bang. A tall figure with slicked back hair stepped into the room, his arms crossed.
" Well well. I see we're having problems today."
No one dared to make a sound as Saitou walked into the room, scanning the room to absorb every detail.
" Makimachi, I believe that is where I sit."
Misao nodded cautiously, letting out a sigh of relief as Saitou turned back to look at his class.
" Yamamoto that is not the proper way for ladies to stand. I suggest you take a seat. Why is there a missing desk? You. Right there. Tell me."
The boy sitting at the desk in the second row gulped, trying to move as far back as possible from Saitou's face. Saitou bent down, moving in closer to intimidate the male student.
" Erm…ano…"
" Its nothing. I seemed to have misplaced my desk. I'll go get a replacement."
Misao walked over to Saitou, placing her hand on the students desk before moving towards the door.
" Did I say you could go Makimachi? I don't care who, what or how this happened. But if I don't see a desk materialize in 5 minutes, I'm holding you all for detention."
Saitou straightened, walking back up towards his desk.
" hmph. Let the stupid girl get her own desk."
Saitou's eyes narrowed as he pivoted on his heal to catch the one who could not hold their mouth.
" Ahh…Yamamoto. Thank you for volunteering. I trust that you'll easily find a replacement. In the meantime, you make take Yamamoto's desk Makimachi."
Misao grinned at this weird twist of fate. Quickly dumping the stuff inside Yamamoto's desk ceremoniously on the floor, she moved the desk to her former position before taking a seat with a satisfied smirk on her face.
Right back in your face Yamamoto.
_______
" Kyaaah! Shinomori-sama!!! Is it true that you're really together with that girl?"
" Tell me it isn't so!"
" Damn you Shinomori! Do you have to take every single available girl in this school?!"
" Yeh! You should share more!"
Aoshi slowly made his way down the third floor hallway, trying to ignore the sea of people asking him questions and threatening him. A vein appeared on his forehead as he turned around at all of them and narrowed his eyes, speaking in a low, flat voice.
" You want to make something of it?"
Shaking off the fangirl's clutches, Aoshi grabbed the nearest complaining guy by the collar. The guy began to sweat profusively, holding his hands up and waving them to suggest surrender.
" Maa…Aoshi-san. Lets go back to the classroom…leave the guy alone."
The insane glint in Aoshi's eyes disappeared as he dropped the guy on the floor and proceeded back on his path. Kenshin quickly blocked the path, suggesting that the crowd give Aoshi some space.
With his left hand in one pocket, Aoshi pulled aside the door with his right hand and stepped inside. A happy go lucky Sano walked up, casually draping an arm over Aoshi's shoulder.
" So did you get some Shinomori?"
Aoshi shrugged off Sano's arm and proceeded towards his seat.
" You know? With that Makimachi girl?"
Aoshi quickly turned around, grabbing Sano by the collar and smashed him up against the wall, his eyes gleaming with anger.
" Don't mess around with me Sano. I'm not one for your childish games."
Sano shoved Aoshi backwards, straightening his tie and collar before shaking a fist at him.
" Me childish? I'm only asking you if you got-"
" Maa maa…Sano…Aoshi-san. Lets calm down. Class is about to start de gozaru."
" Che. What the hell is his problem…"
Kenshin quickly pushed Sano back towards his own seat as Aoshi sat down on his, leaning against the back of his chair and looked sullenly out the window.
________
Human tolerance doesn't last forever. In fact, it doesn't last very long at all. With her patience wearing thin, Misao caught the latest ball of paper thrown at her and flicked it onto the floor. The math teacher had no idea what was going on and it had already been 2 periods since her female classmates cut her a break. Having enough, she stood up, walking towards the back door and excusing herself quietly without waiting for the teacher's permission.
" Makimachi! Where do you think you're going?"
The teacher placed her math book down on the table and snapped the piece of chalk in half in annoyance. Atsuko, sitting at the front row, had turned around to watch worriedly at Misao's sudden exit from the classroom. Sitting at the front, she could not see what happened behind her.
" Ano…sensei…may I go-"
Looking up, the teacher waved a hand at her to cut Atsuko off.
" Wait your turn Shinomori. Yamamoto put her hand up first."
" May I go to the ladies room sensei?"
" Can it wait?"
Yuki smiled sweetly, shaking her head.
" Ok. Go."
Yuki rose from her seat quickly and left the room. Atsuko frowned slightly before raising her hand.
" Hai Shinomori?"
" May I go as well? Misao-"
Picking up the math book again and taking out a new piece of chalk, the teacher turned back towards the blackboard.
" I think there has been enough people leaving my class already. You may leave when Yamamoto comes back. Now lets go back to math…"
_____
" Argh! What is with this stupid school!"
Misao trudged down the stairs loudly, bringing her feet down heavily, step by step. It seemed everyone was against her. The male student body was too scared to approach her now that she was 'Shinomori's woman' and the fact that such an action would incur the wrath of most if not all of the female population. All the girls in the school were either scared, nasty or ignoring her. But despite all this, Misao wondered how much she really cared about the approval of the whole school.
Well, it would be hard to stay if the whole student population wouldn't talk to her.
Pushing open the doors to the cafeteria, she headed straight for the vending machines. Shoving coins inside and pushing the button, she waited for her hot chocolate. Picking up the paper cup, she headed outside towards the school sports field, reluctant to go back to class. She headed down the short cut between the school building and the gym when someone gave her a hard shove from behind.
The hot liquid sloshed out of the cup, burning her hand and staining her shirt as she stumbled, putting her hands out to brace herself for the impact. She could see a crowd of people surround her as she picked herself up off the ground.
" Hey what's your problem!?"
The group surrounding her hovered closer, preventing her from standing up. Two of the girls grabbed her roughly by each arm, holding her steady as the rest of the group parted. Misao struggled vainly, looking up to see a girl approach her. Her sharp brown eyes glared at her menacingly even though her face still wore a gentle smile. Her long brown hair was twisted and swept over her right shoulder and a small blue clip held her fringe back. She was relatively tall and positively towered over her.
" I've seen her before…No way!"
Misao remembered where she had seen this girl before. On the stage of an assembly…vice president of the student body council. Respectable, demure, friendly, totally unlike the person standing before her now.
" I have heard a report from the class 1-B division that you have become too close to Aoshi-kun. Is that correct?"
Misao struggled against the two girls holding her down. More girls quickly moved to restrain her. She could feel the spilled hot liquid seeping into the bottom of her skirt and her fingers still tingled from coming in contact with the liquid.
" no! of course its not. Is this what this is all about? Shinomori?!"
" You have turned down the offering of membership to the Shinomori-suki club correct?"
Misao stopped struggling, choosing not to waste her energy as she stared in absolute disbelief at the calm girl in front of her.
" Of course I did!! It's a stupid club to belong to. Who the hell are you? What do you want with me?"
The girl took a step back as another girl kicked her in the stomach. Misao coughed violently as she winced in pain.
" I suppose it was rather rude of me not to introduce myself."
Misao looked up again to see the girl bow.
" Seino Mari. President of the Shinomori-suki club. Yoroshiku."
" Don't even bother being polite."
Mari smiled, straightening and folded her arms, glaring at Misao.
" You should be aware of your position Makimachi. You've attracted the wrath of my club for numerous offences."
" Don't act all high and mighty."
" You have come too close to our Aoshi-sama. You even go as far as to invite him to your house and make him suffer overnight in your presence. You should observe the rules Makimachi and get in line."
" so would you have preferred me to let him freeze to death outside? Come on! You're being totally unreasonable. Has he seriously robbed you of all your rational thought? I don't even like him! Why are you doing this? What is the whole damned point?"
Misao gasped as she felt liquid drip from her head. She could feel a steady stream of cold water being poured onto her head. When the stream stopped, she looked up and glared at Mari.
Mari daintily screwed the cap back onto the bottle and handed it to a girl standing beside her.
" Please calm yourself Makimachi-san."
Bending down, she extended a hand to cup Misao's chin, forcing Misao's eyes to meet hers.
" There is no need to shout."
Misao's eyes narrowed. She spat on Mari.
" All this for some stupid guy. You're all crazy."
Mari straightens, pulling out a tissue from her pocket and wiped the spit off her blouse. Stuffing the tissue into Misao's mouth, she stepped back and kicked Misao on the side. As her victim whimpered in pain, Mari motioned for the rest of the girls to join in. Taking a step back, Mari marveled at her groups' vigour as they attacked Misao.
After a loud thud, Mari watched with a satisfied smile as Misao slumped on the floor. One of the girls crouched to turn Misao over to see her face.
" Is she dead?" one of the girls asked cautiously.
The girl inspecting Misao shook her head.
" Did we go too far?"
" Ano…Mari-chan. Was it really ok to hit her like that?"
Mari made a shooing motion with her hand and shrugged off all the questions.
" You hit her body where it can be hidden by clothes. She's just unconscious anyway. I'm the vice president of the student council. Who would suspect us? It's a new girls word against us. Why would anyone want to be on her side?"
" I don't know…she's kinda close to Shinomori-san…"
Mari's temper flared for a split second before waving the girl away.
" Aoshi-kun will believe me above this girl. I'm sure. Anyway, all of you, clean yourselves up and leave. I'll take care of all of this."
The girls smiled and waved, all sidestepping to avoid Misao while straightening their uniforms and patting down their hair. Mari made sure they were gone before picking Misao's right hand. She dragged her body into the path between the gym and the garden shed. Dropping Misao on the ground again, she dusted herself off, pulling out her hair clip and running a hand through her hair. Clipping her fringe back, she pulled at her collar to straighten her shirt before heading back to the main school building.
_______
Aoshi looked down at the ball in his glove.
" Ready!"
Looking up, he could see Kenshin in his batters helmet, signaling for him to pitch. He closed his eyes, concentrating on where and how he was going to pitch this ball.
" Kyah! It's Shinomori-sama!"
" No way its true right?"
" Right?"
" Right."
Annoyingly high pitched voices resonated in his ear drums as his fingers gripped the ball tightly. A large group of people crowded around the benches all talking and gossiping loudly.
" Aoshi! Pitch it already!"
Complying with Kenshin's request, Aoshi threw the ball at the dust in front of the benches, causing a huge cloud of dust to rise up and envelope the chattering group.
" I've had it."
Kenshin nodded slowly, not knowing what else to do as Aoshi stalked off the field.
" Hey where's that icicle going?"
Kenshin turned around sharply, catching the ball Sano had thrown to him with his bare hand.
" Tough day."
Sano sauntered over to Kenshin, chewing a blade of grass and wiping his hands on his white pants, covered in grass stains. He let out a low whistle as he scanned the edge of the field where it seemed half the school had gathered.
" All this because of Shinomori?"
" You heard about it right?"
Sano sniggered, punching his right hand into his left palm.
" Time to do some clean up…its not right that useless trash is cluttering up our practice area right?"
Kenshin was stuck at a moral crossroad. To let Sano shut them up or let the students have their freedom?
Well, he is human afterall. No one can take that constant chit chatting about the same old thing over and over right? RIGHT?
Shrugging, Kenshin left Sano to do his own thing, calling the rest of the team together for some batting practice.
_____
Slamming his locker shut, Aoshi pulled on his collar to straighten it out before slinging his side bag over his chest. Shoving his hands in his pant pockets, he walked silently out of the male baseball team club room. His footsteps made no sound as he walked down the hallway. Looking out the window, he could see a large group of girls heading inside the building. Quickly, he ducked behind a corner, his back against the wall, holding his breath.
The double doors swung open with a loud squeak, a large group of girls stampeding in, their high pitched laughter and chatter echoing through the empty halls. Aoshi tensed as the group passed by without noticing him hiding in the shadows.
It was too dangerous to go out the main gates. He climbed out the window, quickly heading for the gym, hoping he could slip out the back of the school by climbing over the fence. Bending low, he ran along the buildings, making sure that no one who might be walking inside the building could see his back through the window.
He straightened again, slowing his pace, when he reached the edge of the gym. He stopped suddenly as he started to pick up noises. Had they discovered him? He was not in the mood to see a mob of crazy deluded fan girls. Quickly scanning the area, he found a girl sitting with her back to the gym wall. The strange sounds had been sniffling.
He approached silently. The girl sat against the gym wall, her head resting on knees with her arms wrapped around herself. Her long hair lay in disarray all around her.
He only knew one with hair as long as that.
" Makimachi."
The girl tensed, her head slowly turning to look at him. The hair which covered her face fell to the side, revealing the tear streaked face, scratched and bruised.
" What's wrong?"
Misao quickly dragged the backs of her palm across her eyes to wipe away the tears. She glared at him, a look of hate and confusion.
" what's wrong? Everything is wrong. All because of you!"
Aoshi was taken aback as the girl scrambled to her feet and lifted a fist to punch him. He quickly stepped sideways to avoid the incoming punch but it never came. Misao doubled over and crouched on the floor, her hand clutching her side as she wheezed and breathed heavily.
" why do you always have to be so violent?"
Aoshi walked over to her crouched figure, towering over her.
" Oh great." Misao scoffed. " He thinks I'm the one who's violent. What about your stupid followers?"
" What's that supposed to mean?"
" You know what I mean. Back off."
Misao shakily got to her feet, slapping Aoshi's hand away.
" I don't need your help."
Aoshi's mouth was set in a firm line as he felt annoyance bubble up inside him.
" I don't understand what your problem is."
Misao snorted and turned around, slowly walking away from him, her right hand wrapped around her stomach and delicately holding her side as her left hand supported herself on the gym wall.
" Why are you limping?"
" If you want to know, ask your deluded fans."
Aoshi's eyes narrowed as it all seemed to come together. He walked up to her, grabbing her right arm and forcefully pulling it from her side. He moved his hand to lift her shirt to see underneath but was stopped when Misao slapped him across the cheek with her hand.
" What the hell do you think your doing!? Echhii"
Aoshi seemed unfazed as he ignored Misao's protests. Her skin was marred by a sea of red and emerging purple. Dirt and scuff marks were caked on her skin.
" They did this didn't they?"
Misao clenched her teeth, turning away from Aoshi's prying eyes as she pulled her shirt down again.
" Like it matters to you. Its my problem so stay out of it…-hey!"
Misao yelled out in surprise as Aoshi grabbed both her arms and dragged them over his shoulder, pulling Misao onto his back piggy-back style.
" What do you think your doing! That hurts you idiot!"
" Be quiet."
Aoshi trotted off, heading back the way he came. He ignored everyone who came across his path as he headed to the school doctor's office. He kicked open the door, quickly turning around to kick the door close on all the curious faces outside.
" Hey! Put me down damnit!"
Aoshi placed Misao on the nearby bed and threw a blanket on top of her, staring her down into place.
" Stay there."
Misao gulped, nodding slightly and sank back into the bed, pulling the covers up to her chin. She watched Aoshi stride out of the room and slam the door shut.
What was he planning? Why would he just up and carry her to the nurse's office and just leave?
Hmm. Perhaps the better question would be where was the nurse?
_____
Neatly folding her t-shirt and shorts, Mari placed them neatly back into her gym bag. Straightening, straightened her uniform, tugging at her collar and fastened the school bow at her neck. Reaching into her locker, she pulled out a hairbrush and began dragging it through her tangled brown hair. Oblivious to the knock on the door and her teammates around her, she began to gently apply heavy mascara to her eyelashes, admiring herself in her compact mirror.
Her lips set into a line when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder, interrupting her in the middle of her beauty routine. She scowled turning on the person who interrupted her. She quickly made herself smile, wanting to keep her nice persona.
To her surprise, a first year girl in her club looked up at her with wide eyes, her face flushed with excitement.
" Seino-sempai! Shinomori-sama is waiting for you outside the club room!"
Mari's face reddened as she dropped her compact in surprise, bringing her hands up towards her mouth. She quickly caught herself, regaining her cool composure, willing the blush to fade away from her reddened cheeks. Stooping to pick the compact back up, she eyed herself in the mirror, pursing her lips and preening for the reflection. When satisfied, she straightened, placing the compact back into the locker before shutting it with a soft click.
" Thank you."
The starry eyed first year hurriedly got out of Mari's path as she headed for the exit. Running a hand through her free flowing hair, she smiled brightly, pushing open the door and walking outside, calling out for Aoshi in a chirpy voice.
" Sorry to keep you waiting Aoshi-sa-"
She stopped midsentence, surprised as a large powerful hand took hold of her wrist and flung her against the wall. Wincing at the pain from the impact of her back hitting the wall, she looked up at her attacker. Her left hand was pinned above her head as her right hung loosely at her side. She was surprised to see Aoshi glaring intently at her, his cold blue eyes staring into hers as his breath tickled her nose.
" …what is this for Aoshi-sa-"
He put a finger to her lips to silence her as he leaned in to whisper into her ear. She was vaguely aware of the whispers of the people standing in the hallway as she was place in a rather compromising position. She blushed and smiled slyly as Aoshi's finger fell from her lips, gently tracing her jawline before skipping across her shoulders. She shivered at the touch as she felt Aoshi's hot breath tickling her ears.
But what he said next was not what she wanted.
He backed away, letting go of her hand and shoving his hands back in his pockets as he strode away. Mari's mouth hung open as her left hand dropped back down lifeless at her side. She slowly slid to the floor with her back still against the wall.
Shock….
Frustration.
She bit her lip as she squeezed her eyes shut, as if in pain.
Anger.
The words he whispered to her kept going round and round in her head. It wouldn't stop. She knew one way to stop the voices…
" Mari-chan? Are you ok? Mari?"
The voices disappeared. Calm restored itself as her eyes focused on her teammate extending a hand to her. Slightly surprised to find herself on the floor she accepted her teammates offer of help and got to her feet. While the initial surprise had gone, the steady drone of the voices chanting in her head had not disappeared.
" Yes I'm fine….just fine."
_______________________
Misao plunged her cupped hands under the tap and flicked water onto her face. The warm water felt like bliss at her fingertips as the water began to drip onto her shirt. Ignoring the pain of the many bruises that littered her upper body and upper legs, she shrugged her blazer back on and struggled towards the door to exit the nurses office. She needed to get out of there before the nurse got back…before…*he* came back.
Hurrying towards the stairs that led to her classroom, she kept her eyes to the floor, thanking whoever was up there that it was still the extracurricular activities period and not that many people were roaming around the halls. Ignoring the funny looks she was getting, she walked quickly into her classroom, sliding the door shut behind her. Lucky for her, no one was there.
She walked quickly to her desk, grabbing her bag and hastily shoved her belongings in. Letting out a whimper of pain as she bent over to pick up her diary, she could feel the skin on her back split apart. Reaching behind her, she lifted her the back of her shirt with one hand and slid her other hand under. She could feel moisture.
She looked at her hand. Blood.
She swore under her breath, pulling her white shirt tight at the front and tying a knot, hoping that it would be tight enough to stop the bleeding. She buttoned her blazer and grabbed her coat which was hanging at the back of the classroom. Swinging her bag over her shoulder, she hurried out of the classroom again, her eyes darting around anxiously for a glimpse of any students. Her chest heaved and she panted loudly by the time she reached the shoe closets at the front entrance.
Dropping her shoes onto the floor she took off her cloth ones with her feet, not wanting to bend. Shoving her feet into her cold leather shoes, she left her indoor shoes on the floor, not caring if she was leaving a mess. A mess is better than the pain she would receive if she tried to pick her shoes up.
Ugh. She hated herself for what had happened to her. Beaten up, can barely stand let alone walk. She started to resent herself for moving here. She couldn't call her brother for help. She had no one here to comfort her. Her only close friend was Atsuko…and Misao couldn't talk to her about it because if involved her beloved brother.
Her brother Aoshi. At the thought of his name, Misao doubled her slow pace, walking past the school gates and heading towards the station. There were so many other students walking towards the station but none of them noticed a small girl limp along the sidewalk. None of them noticed when she was pulled into an alley way and pushed into a little alcove.
Misao gasped in surprise and pain as her back slammed against the concrete wall. A large bin and plumbing unit blocked her view of the main street.
" I warned you not to cross me Makimachi!"
Brown eyes stared daggers at her. The blue clip that had held back her normally neat hair was gone, leaving it in disarray.
Misao's brow furrowed, her patience letting go as the pain left her body and red hot anger took over.
" Just what the hell is your problem Seino!? You've already beat on me enough today haven't you!? Get OVER IT"
She pushed the girl backward, the bruises on her arms causing no pain as she kicked the legs of the girl who had lost her balance and was sprawled on the floor. Her eyes darted around wildly looking for her bag. Stepping over Mari, she reached for her bag. Cold hands grabbed her ankle and tugged viciously, making her lose her balance and falling face first onto the floor. Misao propped herself up on her elbows, looking over her shoulder at Mari who was still holding onto her leg, fumbling around her bag with her other hand. A lump rose in Misao's throat as a silver gleam caught her eye.
Mari tossed her bag aside. In her hands was a large art knife. Mari let go of Misao's leg, struggling to push the blade up and tighten the knob that held it in place. Given the chance, Misao quickly darted forward, grabbing her bag and hugging it to her chest while struggling to her feet. Her initial anger had left her and the pain was coming back.
" You can't be serious Seino…over a guy…you can go to jail for this!"
Mari caught hold of Misao's bag's strap and pulled her back before she could flee. Misao, reacting quickly, loosened her grip on her bag and pulled on the other strap, getting some distance between her and the psychotic girl. Giving her bag a strong tug, Mari let go. Taking this change Misao turned and fled, willing her legs to run faster. The main street seemed to be so close now.
Suddenly her head snapped back. Misao winced in pain as Mari caught hold of her long braid and lifted her arm to bring down the blade.
This. Is. SO NOT HAPPENING.
She squeezed her eyes shut, thinking to herself that she never should have moved away from her family, moved to a place filled with perverts and psycho fan girls. She tried to run, even though she could still feel Mari holding on to her by her hair.
Suddenly she could feel the tight grip Mari had on her slackened. Keeping her eyes closed and with a hand gripping her bag tightly, she ignored all the pain and ran out of there.
____________
Aoshi frowned in frustration as he shoved his shoes on, slinging his bag over his shoulders. He tossed the white cloth shoe, clearly labeled with "Makimachi" aside as he ran out the doors of the school building and headed for the station.
It didn't take much intelligence to figure out that the girl had run away, the empty shoe cubby hole, the discarded white cloth shoes, despite his insistence for her to stay put in the nurses office. He took off at a fast speed, dodging other students walking on the path. He glanced around anxiously for a glimpse of her. There was no way she could have gotten far.
He ran flat out towards the station, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Squinting in the late afternoon sun, he spotted a petite figure hiking the stairs up to the train station. Hoping that it was Misao, he raced towards the steps, knowing that he had to hurry or he'd miss her entirely. He could hear a train pulling into the station.
" sumimasen." Aoshi muttered as he almost knocked a girl over in his haste to make it up the stairs.
He breathed hard as he finally reached the top of the stairs, bending over slightly with his hand on his knees. Looking up, he caught a glimpse of the shadow that had resembled Misao. Fumbling in his pocket for his train pass, he raced towards the gates. He could see already that the train that had pulled up was beginning to close its doors.
Why did he have to go through so much trouble for this girl again?
He raced to the door, catching the side while they prepared to close and jumped into the crowded train. Breathing hard now, having run around the whole school and all the way to the station, he searched for Misao, hoping that he hadn't seen the wrong person. His eyes rested on the figure which slumped against the opposite train door against the glass. The girlish figure seemed to be holding herself up delicately, as if the contact against the glass hurt but had no choice but to lean against it because she couldn't stand straight herself. There were no free seats.
Aoshi's eyes looked her up and down. This couldn't be her. This girl did not have Misao's trademark long braid. But then his eyes narrowed on the short haircut of the girl, how the cut was uneven and shaggy. Deciding to take a chance, he glared at the other passengers, who in their shock and fear parted to make way for him.
" Makimachi."
The girl stiffened, her head turning slowly to look at him. Her blue eyes widened with shock.
" you…"
" what happened to your hair?"
________
End Chapter 3.
The metal stairs gleamed with ice as the snow continued to fall. Despite his long legs and tall height, the stairs seemed endlessly high and long, even though a girl was happily rushing up them.
" Come on, hurry up. All the cold air is going to get in."
Gripping the metal railing, Aoshi walked steadily up the stairs, not flinching at the searing cold of the metal. He walked to the open doorway where he had seen that girl disappear into. He hovered at the door, looking down to see the girl's discarded shoes.
" Close the door will ya? You're letting in the cold."
He bent slightly to pass under the doorframe while he observed the room. It was a small and modest apartment, but he couldn't really expect it to be any bigger for one person to live in. Looking around the room, he couldn't see Misao anywhere. Quickly closing the door, shivering as he felt the last gust of wind disappear, he relaxed. Misao appeared from what seemed like the bathroom, throwing a towel at him. He caught it easily, still standing at the door as Misao reached for the TV remote which lay on the couch. The items she had bought from the store still lay beside the doorway.
" Oh oops."
Flipping on the television, she tossed the remote down again before walking towards him, picking up her groceries in one clean swipe, setting down on the kitchen counter barely visible to him before disappearing into an unknown room. Aoshi stood somewhat awkwardly in the doorway wondering what to do next. Coughing softly, he raised the towel to his wet hair and started rubbing it vigourously. When he was satisfied that his hair was as dry as it was going to get, he looked up to see Misao holding out a pile of neatly folded clothes to him.
" My brother left these here. They should fit you…I hope. It beats staying in those wet clothes anyway. The bathroom is just behind me here so you can change in there and take a shower or something. Do you need to call your sisters?"
Aoshi stared at Misao incredulously. He wondered how this girl could be so open about inviting him to stay. Feeling the cold wind flowing through the crack between the wall and the door, he couldn't exactly complain. Taking the clothes he walked towards the bathroom.
" No. Don't call them."
Misao watched the door close and lock with a click. That click sounded with an amazing finality, almost as if it had sealed her fate.
Makimachi Misao. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?!
Comments such as these were the only thing racing through her mind. Was she crazy? Inviting a guy to stay over at her house alone. Usually she wouldn't have minded if it was back in Osaka and it was a close friend but this was ridiculous. This was a guy she barely knew, had spoken no more than a handful of sentences to and had barely gotten any reply. This was a guy she was still on last name basis with, and a pretty impolite name basis at that.
" I thought I couldn't stand the guy."
Walking into the kitchen, she shoved a saucepan under the running tap and moved to boil some water. She let the heavy saucepan whack heavily against the stove as she flicked it on with annoyance.
" I can't stand this guy. So why is he here?!"
He had accused her of being part of his dodgy fan club. He had accused her of being a stereotypical groupie befriending his sister just to get to him. The indignity of it all…and yet, she couldn't find a way to hate him. Annoyed yes…but hate was a bit too powerful.
She quickly cracked eggs into the hot pan while reaching for the ramen packets. Dropping the noodle in, she placed the lid on the saucepan once more, still holding the chopsticks clenched between her teeth.
Pulling two bowls out of the cupboard, she slammed them onto the table with a loud whack. Expertly flipping the eggs and adding a bit of meat to the pan, she grabbed the handle of the saucepan and pulled the chopsticks from her mouth. Moving quickly, she managed to separate the noodles into the two bowls equally. Shoving the saucepan into the sink with a loud clang, she scooped the eggs and meat to the edge of the pan and turned back to the noodles on the table to add the soup packets.
The click sounded again and in a cloud of steam, a figure emerged with a towel draped casually across his shoulders.
" Are you usually this loud when you cook?"
Misao stared at his tilted head, wishing she could whack him with the pan she was holding. She was at least cooking for them both after all. The least he could have done was be a little grateful. He probably thought that she was part of his fan club.
" I'm not part of your dodgy fan club get it! You don't have to eat it if you think I'm loud!"
Putting down the pan, she turned his back to him. Turning back to eat her noodle, she found that he had already begun to devour his bowl of ramen. Taking a seat, she reached for her own bowl and began eating. She looked at him warily as she lifted the noodles to her lips. He ate slowly, as if he was pacing himself. Not a single drop of soup splashed onto the table as the noodles disappeared into his mouth.
" What?"
Misao reddened, flustered at being caught staring.
" Nothing."
Studying her noodle intensely, she raised another mouthful to her lips, slurping it and savoring its warmth. In her second mouthful, she looked up again to find Aoshi lying back against his chair silently, arms crossed watching her eat. Staring at her half full bowl and his finished bowl, chopsticks neatly placed on top, she wondered how on earth he had managed to eat so damned quickly.
Stop it Misao. You're looking too much into things.
Shaking her head, she gestured towards the living room.
" Go watch some television or something. I've still got to wash up."
Seeming a bit reluctant to move, Misao made a shooing motion. Aoshi stood up slowly, picking up his bowl and chopsticks and putting it in the sink Pushing back his sleeves, he moved his left hand to turn on the tap.
" Just leave it there. I'll do it."
Aoshi gave no sign of acknowledging Misao's request. Instead, he turned on the tap, not recoiling at the icy cold water as he stuck his hands under the cold flow. Misao's annoyance surged before dropping as Aoshi turned the tap off, wiping his wet hands on his pants and walking out of the room.
Does he do that on purpose? Does he always have to annoy her?
You betcha.
Misao snickered, smiling to herself.
" I've gone crazy. Absolutely crazy."
Humming to herself, she winced at the cold water pouring from the tap as she washed the dishes. Drying her hands on her pants, she pulled a pack of cards out of the cupboard and walked out of the kitchen.
" How about some cards?"
Aoshi, seated at the kotatsu, looked up from the television screen looking a little flushed.
" what?"
That was all he said before slumping over, his head hitting the table with a loud thud.
" Are you ok Shinomori? Oi?"
Misao drops the cards and runs over, kneeling beside him and heaved back his shoulders with all her might. Taking a close look at his face, she could tell he was sick before she even felt for his temperature.
" BAKA! Why do you have to get sick now?"
Touching his skin, she could tell he had an abnormally high temperature.
" Shinomori? Can you move?"
" uhh…err…"
Aoshi fell backward, another loud thud sounded in Misao's ears as his shoulder's hit the floor.
Damnit.
There was no way she could move him, it was hard enough to keep him upright. Thinking fast, she ran to the bathroom, grabbing her face towel and a small wash basin. She turned on the tap to find no water was coming out, hot or cold. Just as she had thought her luck had hit rock bottom, an electrical dzzztt left her in complete darkness.
" why me?"
She asked aloud as she walked out of the bathroom. Heading for the kitchen to find some candles, she tripped over a large 'lump' on the floor.
" …watch where you're going baka."
Misao raised an eyebrow, heaving the washbasin to smack Aoshi on the face as she climbed off him.
Funny how he was so sick and still managed to insult her.
Hurrying into the kitchen, swearing as she hit various tables and chairs, she smiled as she managed to light a candle. She walked back into the main room, kicking the kotatsu as far away from Aoshi as possible. Setting the candle safely down, she lit a few more before grabbing the hand basin. At the door, she hesitated. Swallowing her fear, she swung open the door, moving quickly to gather snow from the ground outside before racing up the steps and back into her apartment again. Heaving the door shut with a shaky sigh, she walked over to Aoshi and set the basin, now filled with snow, down. Moving to her room, she grabbed her blankets from her futon and dumped them over Aoshi's body. Eyeing the basin filled with snow swimming in icy water, she gulped.
" You have to do it Makimachi Misao. If Shinomori doesn't survive, Atsuko will kill you!"
That was all the self motivation she needed. Grabbing her face towel, she stuck it in the icy cold water, gasping in pain as her skin made contact with the water. She sat, cross legged in front of Aoshi, pulling his head into her lap with great difficulty before beginning to mop his face with the cold towel.
This was going to be a long night.
________
One eye lazily opens as Aoshi awakens. Feeling the urge to sneeze as hair tickled his face, he closed his eye, lifting a hand to brush the hair away from his face and gingerly touch his forehead as he groaned.
What a killer headache.
Letting his hand fall back down to his side, he moved his head, wondering when he had managed to get such a comfortably warm pillow and his hair had grown so long. He opened his eyes, his body stiffening as he looked straight up, seeing a face looking down at him.
" Oh…its just a girl's hair falling over my face…."
Lifting his left hand again, he gently pushed away her hair which had obstructed her face from his view. In the darkness, he could only see her pale complexion, almost glowing. He gently traced the outline of the girl's face, shocked at the coolness of her skin.
" Mou…yamete nii-chan….give me 5 minutes."
She spoke softly in her sleep, biting Aoshi on the hand. Aoshi frowned, extricating his hand.
"…Makimachi."
He sat up, careful not to hit her and looked around to orientate himself. He was still in her apartment. When his eyes fell upon the washbasin, he figured what had happened. Turning around to look at Misao, he found that she had already fallen over onto her side, still fast asleep. He got up, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his head and threw the covers over Misao's small body, picking her up and walked towards her room. Placing her gently onto her futon, he walked towards the window, pulling back the curtains to look outside. Despite the lack of street lighting and the heavy clouds overhead, the street seemed to glow with the white snow piling up all around.
He yawned, stretching his body. Pulling on the soaked collar of his shirt, he took it off, knowing full well that if he stayed in it, he'd get even more sick. Looking around for his coat, he swore under his breath as he found it to be still slightly damp. Now stuck in the dark, cold, shirtless, Aoshi became desperate. He dragged a hand through his hair, his fringe wet from the cool water he had been toweled with. Looking around Misao's room, he noticed a large shadowy lump in the corner. A gigantic teddybear. Deciding quickly, he walked back out into the living room, picking up the towel which he had used to dry his hair earlier before returning to Misao's room. Flopping down onto the floor, he wrapped the towel over his shoulders and leaned back against the giant stuffed animal, sinking into it's furry embrace comfortably before closing his eyes and falling asleep.
______________
Doorbell.
Mobile phone ringing.
Pounding on the door.
What does one have to do around here to get some sleep?
Lazily getting to his feet, Aoshi walked blindly towards the source of the loud banging.
" Anyone home!?"
A loud female voice boomed, knocking Aoshi out of his stupor as he pulled open the door and glared at the person standing in the doorway. A blast of freezing wind almost blew him over as he asked menacingly;
" What the hell do you want?"
" …who…is it?"
Aoshi turned around to see Misao completely wrapped in a mountain of blankets staring at him with bleary eyes.
" KYAHHH!"
Quickly turning around, he wondered why the person at the door had screamed. Before he could say anything, that person had him in a headlock.
" Talk Aoshi. What the hell did you two do last night?"
" Nothing. Let me go."
Aoshi began to cough violently as he breathed in more cold air.
" Kyaah! Okon nee-chan let nii-chan go!"
Atsuko popped up, hurrying to shut the door and getting her sister to release Aoshi from her headlock.
" err…nii-chan…why don't you have a shirt on? Its very cold."
As if on cue, Aoshi sneezed. Misao threw one of her blankets at his head. Wrapping it around his shoulders, he sauntered off to the bathroom in search for tissue, leaving Misao along in Okon's firing line.
" Ok Misao-chan. Fess up. What happened between you two yesterday night?"
Misao shook her head and waved her two hands in a clear gesture.
" Absolutely nothing."
Okon walked up close, peering at Misao with a mischievous glint in her eye.
" I walk in to see my brother half naked and you completely covered in blankets emerging from the bedroom. What am I supposed to think?"
Atsuko flushed a fierce red and shook her head vigourously.
" Sonna! Nii-chan and Misao-chan wouldn't do something like that…would you?"
Misao shook her head, appalled by Atsuko's question.
" Of course not! Anyway you should take him home. He was pretty sick yesterday."
Atsuko gasped and rushed off to find her brother who had just come out of the bathroom. With her fawning over him, Okon sighed.
" Well I guess we'd better get going. Omasu is waiting downstairs in the car."
" Car? You mean the roads have been cleared?"
" Of course. Its almost 5 in the afternoon now."
" You're kidding!"
Okon smiled and showed Misao her watch. Watching Atsuko lead Aoshi out of the apartment, blanket and all, Okon put a hand on Misao's shoulder.
" Thanks for taking care of him. Are you sure you're going to be alright by yourself?"
Misao nodded and waved Okon out the door. She watched as the car pull away through her bedroom window. Looking down at the floor, she saw her mobile phone. Picking up and flipping it open, she stared, shocked at what it said on her screen.
30 missed calls.
Quickly pressing the button on the phone, the screen showed only one name.
Nii-chan.
Misao sighed as she pressed the dial button, putting the phone up to her ear. There would be hell to pay…and she was to one who would be put through the slaughter.
_______
1 week later. Monday.
Misao walked briskly up the sidewalk, hoping to get to school as quickly as possible. She couldn't wait to bask in the warmth of the school's air conditioning. Suddenly, she was glad that her grandfather and brothers had been so insistant on her going to a 'higher class' school such as this.
" Ohayo!!"
Misao looked up from the ground to see a car pass by, a familiar face waving wildly at her. The car pulled to a stop a few meters in front of her at the school entrance. The right passenger door swung open and Aoshi stepped out of the car, followed by Atsuko. When Misao walked up alongside the car, she could see Omasu in the drivers seat and Okon looking at her meekly, bundled up in blankets and coats and looking rather sick. Atsuko slammed the door shut and the car took off again.
" Ohayo."
Aoshi glanced at her for a second and nodded before walking off, his backpack strewn casually over his left shoulder.
" Ohayou gozaimasu Misao-chan."
Atsuko brushed the bottom of her skirt with her hand before bowing deeply.
" eh? What's wrong Atsuko? What are you doing?"
" Gomen nasai! Honto ni gomen ne! Because of what my sister has said….i'm so sorry!"
Misao reached out to touch Atsuko on the shoulder. Atsuko quickly straightened, moving quickly enough to escape Misao's grasp and ran into the school, leaving Misao standing alone, bewildered.
What was that all about?
" Weird."
Sighing, Misao headed inside the school.
" Psst did you hear…"
" Oh my god wait til you hear…"
" I'm going to kill her! She's soooo lucky."
" I think that she must have done something indecent."
" Totally…"
" Did you hear?"
" did you?"
Excited whispers went on all around her, groups of people huddle together and their heads close exchanging secrets beyond her understanding.
Its too early. Like she could give a damn.
Walking inside, she tossed her book bag onto the floor, moving her right hand to open the door to her shoe locker. She paused, her fingers grasping the door knob.
" Why does it feel like everyone is looking at me?"
Looking to her left, she tried to catch the eye of the girl next to her. The girl stared at her for a second before quickly turning away. Suddenly the sounds of whispering became louder and louder, rushing through Misao's ears in a loud churning sound.
" Did you know?"
" What a …"
" She must have…"
" Ugh that is such a …"
" I didn't think she'd act like…"
" she'll stop at …"
Shaking her head to clear her mind, she opened the cubby hole door, reaching inside for her cloth shoes.
What the hell!?
Pulling her shoes out for a closer look, she saw that they were completely soaked. She could hear snickering and tittering around her. Turning around sharply to see who had been the culprit, the crowd quickly disappeared, not giving her a second glance. Sighing, she resolved to go and get a new pair from the office. Not that she had much choice anyway.
With brand new white cloth shoes, Misao headed back to the classroom, only to be stopped by none other than the class 1-B division of the Shinomori-suki fan club.
" What did you do to our beloved Aoshi-sama!?"
The girl with the red curls rushed forward and shoved her backwards, her red, manicured fingernails digging into her shoulder. Misao brushed her off, taking the girl's wrist and forcing her backward.
" You're invading my personal space Yamamoto. Watch yourself."
The red head snorted, tossing her dyed hair over her shoulder and sneering at her.
" Aoshi-sama is-"
" That's enough Yuki-chan."
The blond stepped forward, gently pushing her lackey behind her. The other, with short brown hair held her red-head friend back.
" Makimachi-san, did you do anything indecent with our idol?"
Misao crossed her arms and glared at the trio.
" Look. I'm not in the mood for this. Why the hell would you suggest that I did something …something…indecent with that icicle?!"
" You don't have to lie. We know you did."
" Well you'd better get a new source of information because you're totally wrong."
" Am I? We know about Kamiya-san's party."
Misao's eyes widened, her jaw dropping in disbelief.
" How did you find out about that?"
Suddenly, the red head broke free, lunging for Misao.
" I knew it! You tramp!"
" Get ahold of yourself Yuki!"
The blond scolded Yuki, pushing her back into the clutches of her brown haired friend.
" Makimachi-san…you didn't think no one would find out did you?"
The sound of the ringing bell was music to Misao's ears. She felt sick, quickly pushing past the fan club and walking towards her seat.
This is going to be a long day. Very long.
Sitting down, Misao leaned forward, resting her head on her desk. Tilting her head up, she caught the sight of Atsuko, constantly turning her head to look warily at her.
" What's with her today? She barely said anything before she raced off by herself this morning…what did she say?"
Because of what my sister has said….I'm so sorry!
Misao's eyes widened, straightening up and pushing back her chair with a loud scraping sound which silenced the loud chatter of her classmates. She glared at Atsuko who seemed to wince and shrink in her seat.
" Atsuko!!!!"
Suddenly the classroom door slid open with a loud rattle. Everyone quickly sat down, afraid to be in the presence of such a person.
" Makimachi, you can sort out your petty problems later. Take a seat."
Misao glared at Atsuko before turning to Saitou with a death glare. Sitting down in a huff, she clenched her teeth, now knowing why it seemed the whole school was against her this morning.
When homeroom was over, Misao was the first one out the door for gym period, avoiding Atsuko who seemed to be trying to follow her with puppy dog eyes. Dumping her gym clothes on a bench, she proceeded to change into them.
" Ano…Misao-chan…"
Atsuko approached her cautiously, her apprehension visible as she nervously wrung her hands.
" I don't want to talk about it."
Misao placed her uniform and shoes inside a vacant locker, slamming the metal door shut before stalking out of the room.
_________
PHWEEEETTT
The gym teacher blew the whistle, clapping her hands and told everyone to hi the change rooms. Misao slowed to a stop, bending over and breathing hard after a long run. A shadow cast over her.
" I don't want to talk right now."
" I'd appreciate it if you didn't use that tone with me Makimachi."
Misao looked up, startled to see the teacher looking down at her, one hand holding a clipboard to her hip.
" Sumimasen sensei. I thought you were someone else."
The teacher laid a hand on her back, patting it gently.
" I know that…well…you'll be having a lot of problems with your friends right now. So if you ever need any help you can come and talk to me or another sensei. You know that right?"
Problems was a major understatement.
" Oh…don't worry about it. I'll be fine…I'll sort it out by myself…well have to run. Can't be late for class!"
Misao smiled before racing off towards the change rooms through a now empty athletics field. Walking towards the locker she had put her stuff in, most of the girls still inside cleared out quickly. Suspicion and fear gripped her as she pulled open the door.
There was nothing. Nothing to surprise her. Nothing to frighten her.
But nothing is nasty all the same.
Misao sighed, staring at disbelief that someone had actually been moronic enough to take her school uniform. She turned abruptly to search for the culprit, only to find the whole room completely empty. Turning back, she looked down at the floor of the locker.
Well. At least her shoes were still there.
Doing a quick scan of the room, she spied a blue sleeve peeking out of a rubbish bin. Quickly pulling it out, she dusted it off, checking for any dirty parts. Looking back down to inspect the bin, she found it was completely empty and had probably been clean.
" Clean or not, I have no choice but to put it on."
Quickly glancing at her watch, she let out a squeak. IN a flurry of activity, she quickly changed, not bothering to fold her gym clothes and raced back to her classroom with the bundle in her hand. To her relief, the teacher had not arrived yet. She scanned the room, wondering why all the girls were sitting there glaring at her with a smile on their face, giggling and snickering amongst themselves/
" They've done something again."
She looked in the direction of her seat, only to find it missing. A big gaping hole in the seating arrangement. Dumping her things in the space that her now missing desk had left, she stalked back to the front of the room.
She brought her fist down on the table hard and fast, a loud boom noise. Satisfied that everyone's attention was on her, she proceeded to speak.
" I've had enough of your stupid pranks. I don't know what you expect to get out of it. However, whatever it is, I won't give you the satisfaction."
Yuki, sitting in the far left corner snorted, twisting a red curl on her finger before laughing at her. Standing up, she pulled the chair in front of her and put her left leg up on it, leaning forward and putting her left hand on her leg in an offensive stance.
" We want you out of school. No less. Be prepared slut."
" Like I said. I wouldn't give you the satisfaction."
The door slid open again with a loud bang. A tall figure with slicked back hair stepped into the room, his arms crossed.
" Well well. I see we're having problems today."
No one dared to make a sound as Saitou walked into the room, scanning the room to absorb every detail.
" Makimachi, I believe that is where I sit."
Misao nodded cautiously, letting out a sigh of relief as Saitou turned back to look at his class.
" Yamamoto that is not the proper way for ladies to stand. I suggest you take a seat. Why is there a missing desk? You. Right there. Tell me."
The boy sitting at the desk in the second row gulped, trying to move as far back as possible from Saitou's face. Saitou bent down, moving in closer to intimidate the male student.
" Erm…ano…"
" Its nothing. I seemed to have misplaced my desk. I'll go get a replacement."
Misao walked over to Saitou, placing her hand on the students desk before moving towards the door.
" Did I say you could go Makimachi? I don't care who, what or how this happened. But if I don't see a desk materialize in 5 minutes, I'm holding you all for detention."
Saitou straightened, walking back up towards his desk.
" hmph. Let the stupid girl get her own desk."
Saitou's eyes narrowed as he pivoted on his heal to catch the one who could not hold their mouth.
" Ahh…Yamamoto. Thank you for volunteering. I trust that you'll easily find a replacement. In the meantime, you make take Yamamoto's desk Makimachi."
Misao grinned at this weird twist of fate. Quickly dumping the stuff inside Yamamoto's desk ceremoniously on the floor, she moved the desk to her former position before taking a seat with a satisfied smirk on her face.
Right back in your face Yamamoto.
_______
" Kyaaah! Shinomori-sama!!! Is it true that you're really together with that girl?"
" Tell me it isn't so!"
" Damn you Shinomori! Do you have to take every single available girl in this school?!"
" Yeh! You should share more!"
Aoshi slowly made his way down the third floor hallway, trying to ignore the sea of people asking him questions and threatening him. A vein appeared on his forehead as he turned around at all of them and narrowed his eyes, speaking in a low, flat voice.
" You want to make something of it?"
Shaking off the fangirl's clutches, Aoshi grabbed the nearest complaining guy by the collar. The guy began to sweat profusively, holding his hands up and waving them to suggest surrender.
" Maa…Aoshi-san. Lets go back to the classroom…leave the guy alone."
The insane glint in Aoshi's eyes disappeared as he dropped the guy on the floor and proceeded back on his path. Kenshin quickly blocked the path, suggesting that the crowd give Aoshi some space.
With his left hand in one pocket, Aoshi pulled aside the door with his right hand and stepped inside. A happy go lucky Sano walked up, casually draping an arm over Aoshi's shoulder.
" So did you get some Shinomori?"
Aoshi shrugged off Sano's arm and proceeded towards his seat.
" You know? With that Makimachi girl?"
Aoshi quickly turned around, grabbing Sano by the collar and smashed him up against the wall, his eyes gleaming with anger.
" Don't mess around with me Sano. I'm not one for your childish games."
Sano shoved Aoshi backwards, straightening his tie and collar before shaking a fist at him.
" Me childish? I'm only asking you if you got-"
" Maa maa…Sano…Aoshi-san. Lets calm down. Class is about to start de gozaru."
" Che. What the hell is his problem…"
Kenshin quickly pushed Sano back towards his own seat as Aoshi sat down on his, leaning against the back of his chair and looked sullenly out the window.
________
Human tolerance doesn't last forever. In fact, it doesn't last very long at all. With her patience wearing thin, Misao caught the latest ball of paper thrown at her and flicked it onto the floor. The math teacher had no idea what was going on and it had already been 2 periods since her female classmates cut her a break. Having enough, she stood up, walking towards the back door and excusing herself quietly without waiting for the teacher's permission.
" Makimachi! Where do you think you're going?"
The teacher placed her math book down on the table and snapped the piece of chalk in half in annoyance. Atsuko, sitting at the front row, had turned around to watch worriedly at Misao's sudden exit from the classroom. Sitting at the front, she could not see what happened behind her.
" Ano…sensei…may I go-"
Looking up, the teacher waved a hand at her to cut Atsuko off.
" Wait your turn Shinomori. Yamamoto put her hand up first."
" May I go to the ladies room sensei?"
" Can it wait?"
Yuki smiled sweetly, shaking her head.
" Ok. Go."
Yuki rose from her seat quickly and left the room. Atsuko frowned slightly before raising her hand.
" Hai Shinomori?"
" May I go as well? Misao-"
Picking up the math book again and taking out a new piece of chalk, the teacher turned back towards the blackboard.
" I think there has been enough people leaving my class already. You may leave when Yamamoto comes back. Now lets go back to math…"
_____
" Argh! What is with this stupid school!"
Misao trudged down the stairs loudly, bringing her feet down heavily, step by step. It seemed everyone was against her. The male student body was too scared to approach her now that she was 'Shinomori's woman' and the fact that such an action would incur the wrath of most if not all of the female population. All the girls in the school were either scared, nasty or ignoring her. But despite all this, Misao wondered how much she really cared about the approval of the whole school.
Well, it would be hard to stay if the whole student population wouldn't talk to her.
Pushing open the doors to the cafeteria, she headed straight for the vending machines. Shoving coins inside and pushing the button, she waited for her hot chocolate. Picking up the paper cup, she headed outside towards the school sports field, reluctant to go back to class. She headed down the short cut between the school building and the gym when someone gave her a hard shove from behind.
The hot liquid sloshed out of the cup, burning her hand and staining her shirt as she stumbled, putting her hands out to brace herself for the impact. She could see a crowd of people surround her as she picked herself up off the ground.
" Hey what's your problem!?"
The group surrounding her hovered closer, preventing her from standing up. Two of the girls grabbed her roughly by each arm, holding her steady as the rest of the group parted. Misao struggled vainly, looking up to see a girl approach her. Her sharp brown eyes glared at her menacingly even though her face still wore a gentle smile. Her long brown hair was twisted and swept over her right shoulder and a small blue clip held her fringe back. She was relatively tall and positively towered over her.
" I've seen her before…No way!"
Misao remembered where she had seen this girl before. On the stage of an assembly…vice president of the student body council. Respectable, demure, friendly, totally unlike the person standing before her now.
" I have heard a report from the class 1-B division that you have become too close to Aoshi-kun. Is that correct?"
Misao struggled against the two girls holding her down. More girls quickly moved to restrain her. She could feel the spilled hot liquid seeping into the bottom of her skirt and her fingers still tingled from coming in contact with the liquid.
" no! of course its not. Is this what this is all about? Shinomori?!"
" You have turned down the offering of membership to the Shinomori-suki club correct?"
Misao stopped struggling, choosing not to waste her energy as she stared in absolute disbelief at the calm girl in front of her.
" Of course I did!! It's a stupid club to belong to. Who the hell are you? What do you want with me?"
The girl took a step back as another girl kicked her in the stomach. Misao coughed violently as she winced in pain.
" I suppose it was rather rude of me not to introduce myself."
Misao looked up again to see the girl bow.
" Seino Mari. President of the Shinomori-suki club. Yoroshiku."
" Don't even bother being polite."
Mari smiled, straightening and folded her arms, glaring at Misao.
" You should be aware of your position Makimachi. You've attracted the wrath of my club for numerous offences."
" Don't act all high and mighty."
" You have come too close to our Aoshi-sama. You even go as far as to invite him to your house and make him suffer overnight in your presence. You should observe the rules Makimachi and get in line."
" so would you have preferred me to let him freeze to death outside? Come on! You're being totally unreasonable. Has he seriously robbed you of all your rational thought? I don't even like him! Why are you doing this? What is the whole damned point?"
Misao gasped as she felt liquid drip from her head. She could feel a steady stream of cold water being poured onto her head. When the stream stopped, she looked up and glared at Mari.
Mari daintily screwed the cap back onto the bottle and handed it to a girl standing beside her.
" Please calm yourself Makimachi-san."
Bending down, she extended a hand to cup Misao's chin, forcing Misao's eyes to meet hers.
" There is no need to shout."
Misao's eyes narrowed. She spat on Mari.
" All this for some stupid guy. You're all crazy."
Mari straightens, pulling out a tissue from her pocket and wiped the spit off her blouse. Stuffing the tissue into Misao's mouth, she stepped back and kicked Misao on the side. As her victim whimpered in pain, Mari motioned for the rest of the girls to join in. Taking a step back, Mari marveled at her groups' vigour as they attacked Misao.
After a loud thud, Mari watched with a satisfied smile as Misao slumped on the floor. One of the girls crouched to turn Misao over to see her face.
" Is she dead?" one of the girls asked cautiously.
The girl inspecting Misao shook her head.
" Did we go too far?"
" Ano…Mari-chan. Was it really ok to hit her like that?"
Mari made a shooing motion with her hand and shrugged off all the questions.
" You hit her body where it can be hidden by clothes. She's just unconscious anyway. I'm the vice president of the student council. Who would suspect us? It's a new girls word against us. Why would anyone want to be on her side?"
" I don't know…she's kinda close to Shinomori-san…"
Mari's temper flared for a split second before waving the girl away.
" Aoshi-kun will believe me above this girl. I'm sure. Anyway, all of you, clean yourselves up and leave. I'll take care of all of this."
The girls smiled and waved, all sidestepping to avoid Misao while straightening their uniforms and patting down their hair. Mari made sure they were gone before picking Misao's right hand. She dragged her body into the path between the gym and the garden shed. Dropping Misao on the ground again, she dusted herself off, pulling out her hair clip and running a hand through her hair. Clipping her fringe back, she pulled at her collar to straighten her shirt before heading back to the main school building.
_______
Aoshi looked down at the ball in his glove.
" Ready!"
Looking up, he could see Kenshin in his batters helmet, signaling for him to pitch. He closed his eyes, concentrating on where and how he was going to pitch this ball.
" Kyah! It's Shinomori-sama!"
" No way its true right?"
" Right?"
" Right."
Annoyingly high pitched voices resonated in his ear drums as his fingers gripped the ball tightly. A large group of people crowded around the benches all talking and gossiping loudly.
" Aoshi! Pitch it already!"
Complying with Kenshin's request, Aoshi threw the ball at the dust in front of the benches, causing a huge cloud of dust to rise up and envelope the chattering group.
" I've had it."
Kenshin nodded slowly, not knowing what else to do as Aoshi stalked off the field.
" Hey where's that icicle going?"
Kenshin turned around sharply, catching the ball Sano had thrown to him with his bare hand.
" Tough day."
Sano sauntered over to Kenshin, chewing a blade of grass and wiping his hands on his white pants, covered in grass stains. He let out a low whistle as he scanned the edge of the field where it seemed half the school had gathered.
" All this because of Shinomori?"
" You heard about it right?"
Sano sniggered, punching his right hand into his left palm.
" Time to do some clean up…its not right that useless trash is cluttering up our practice area right?"
Kenshin was stuck at a moral crossroad. To let Sano shut them up or let the students have their freedom?
Well, he is human afterall. No one can take that constant chit chatting about the same old thing over and over right? RIGHT?
Shrugging, Kenshin left Sano to do his own thing, calling the rest of the team together for some batting practice.
_____
Slamming his locker shut, Aoshi pulled on his collar to straighten it out before slinging his side bag over his chest. Shoving his hands in his pant pockets, he walked silently out of the male baseball team club room. His footsteps made no sound as he walked down the hallway. Looking out the window, he could see a large group of girls heading inside the building. Quickly, he ducked behind a corner, his back against the wall, holding his breath.
The double doors swung open with a loud squeak, a large group of girls stampeding in, their high pitched laughter and chatter echoing through the empty halls. Aoshi tensed as the group passed by without noticing him hiding in the shadows.
It was too dangerous to go out the main gates. He climbed out the window, quickly heading for the gym, hoping he could slip out the back of the school by climbing over the fence. Bending low, he ran along the buildings, making sure that no one who might be walking inside the building could see his back through the window.
He straightened again, slowing his pace, when he reached the edge of the gym. He stopped suddenly as he started to pick up noises. Had they discovered him? He was not in the mood to see a mob of crazy deluded fan girls. Quickly scanning the area, he found a girl sitting with her back to the gym wall. The strange sounds had been sniffling.
He approached silently. The girl sat against the gym wall, her head resting on knees with her arms wrapped around herself. Her long hair lay in disarray all around her.
He only knew one with hair as long as that.
" Makimachi."
The girl tensed, her head slowly turning to look at him. The hair which covered her face fell to the side, revealing the tear streaked face, scratched and bruised.
" What's wrong?"
Misao quickly dragged the backs of her palm across her eyes to wipe away the tears. She glared at him, a look of hate and confusion.
" what's wrong? Everything is wrong. All because of you!"
Aoshi was taken aback as the girl scrambled to her feet and lifted a fist to punch him. He quickly stepped sideways to avoid the incoming punch but it never came. Misao doubled over and crouched on the floor, her hand clutching her side as she wheezed and breathed heavily.
" why do you always have to be so violent?"
Aoshi walked over to her crouched figure, towering over her.
" Oh great." Misao scoffed. " He thinks I'm the one who's violent. What about your stupid followers?"
" What's that supposed to mean?"
" You know what I mean. Back off."
Misao shakily got to her feet, slapping Aoshi's hand away.
" I don't need your help."
Aoshi's mouth was set in a firm line as he felt annoyance bubble up inside him.
" I don't understand what your problem is."
Misao snorted and turned around, slowly walking away from him, her right hand wrapped around her stomach and delicately holding her side as her left hand supported herself on the gym wall.
" Why are you limping?"
" If you want to know, ask your deluded fans."
Aoshi's eyes narrowed as it all seemed to come together. He walked up to her, grabbing her right arm and forcefully pulling it from her side. He moved his hand to lift her shirt to see underneath but was stopped when Misao slapped him across the cheek with her hand.
" What the hell do you think your doing!? Echhii"
Aoshi seemed unfazed as he ignored Misao's protests. Her skin was marred by a sea of red and emerging purple. Dirt and scuff marks were caked on her skin.
" They did this didn't they?"
Misao clenched her teeth, turning away from Aoshi's prying eyes as she pulled her shirt down again.
" Like it matters to you. Its my problem so stay out of it…-hey!"
Misao yelled out in surprise as Aoshi grabbed both her arms and dragged them over his shoulder, pulling Misao onto his back piggy-back style.
" What do you think your doing! That hurts you idiot!"
" Be quiet."
Aoshi trotted off, heading back the way he came. He ignored everyone who came across his path as he headed to the school doctor's office. He kicked open the door, quickly turning around to kick the door close on all the curious faces outside.
" Hey! Put me down damnit!"
Aoshi placed Misao on the nearby bed and threw a blanket on top of her, staring her down into place.
" Stay there."
Misao gulped, nodding slightly and sank back into the bed, pulling the covers up to her chin. She watched Aoshi stride out of the room and slam the door shut.
What was he planning? Why would he just up and carry her to the nurse's office and just leave?
Hmm. Perhaps the better question would be where was the nurse?
_____
Neatly folding her t-shirt and shorts, Mari placed them neatly back into her gym bag. Straightening, straightened her uniform, tugging at her collar and fastened the school bow at her neck. Reaching into her locker, she pulled out a hairbrush and began dragging it through her tangled brown hair. Oblivious to the knock on the door and her teammates around her, she began to gently apply heavy mascara to her eyelashes, admiring herself in her compact mirror.
Her lips set into a line when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder, interrupting her in the middle of her beauty routine. She scowled turning on the person who interrupted her. She quickly made herself smile, wanting to keep her nice persona.
To her surprise, a first year girl in her club looked up at her with wide eyes, her face flushed with excitement.
" Seino-sempai! Shinomori-sama is waiting for you outside the club room!"
Mari's face reddened as she dropped her compact in surprise, bringing her hands up towards her mouth. She quickly caught herself, regaining her cool composure, willing the blush to fade away from her reddened cheeks. Stooping to pick the compact back up, she eyed herself in the mirror, pursing her lips and preening for the reflection. When satisfied, she straightened, placing the compact back into the locker before shutting it with a soft click.
" Thank you."
The starry eyed first year hurriedly got out of Mari's path as she headed for the exit. Running a hand through her free flowing hair, she smiled brightly, pushing open the door and walking outside, calling out for Aoshi in a chirpy voice.
" Sorry to keep you waiting Aoshi-sa-"
She stopped midsentence, surprised as a large powerful hand took hold of her wrist and flung her against the wall. Wincing at the pain from the impact of her back hitting the wall, she looked up at her attacker. Her left hand was pinned above her head as her right hung loosely at her side. She was surprised to see Aoshi glaring intently at her, his cold blue eyes staring into hers as his breath tickled her nose.
" …what is this for Aoshi-sa-"
He put a finger to her lips to silence her as he leaned in to whisper into her ear. She was vaguely aware of the whispers of the people standing in the hallway as she was place in a rather compromising position. She blushed and smiled slyly as Aoshi's finger fell from her lips, gently tracing her jawline before skipping across her shoulders. She shivered at the touch as she felt Aoshi's hot breath tickling her ears.
But what he said next was not what she wanted.
He backed away, letting go of her hand and shoving his hands back in his pockets as he strode away. Mari's mouth hung open as her left hand dropped back down lifeless at her side. She slowly slid to the floor with her back still against the wall.
Shock….
Frustration.
She bit her lip as she squeezed her eyes shut, as if in pain.
Anger.
The words he whispered to her kept going round and round in her head. It wouldn't stop. She knew one way to stop the voices…
" Mari-chan? Are you ok? Mari?"
The voices disappeared. Calm restored itself as her eyes focused on her teammate extending a hand to her. Slightly surprised to find herself on the floor she accepted her teammates offer of help and got to her feet. While the initial surprise had gone, the steady drone of the voices chanting in her head had not disappeared.
" Yes I'm fine….just fine."
_______________________
Misao plunged her cupped hands under the tap and flicked water onto her face. The warm water felt like bliss at her fingertips as the water began to drip onto her shirt. Ignoring the pain of the many bruises that littered her upper body and upper legs, she shrugged her blazer back on and struggled towards the door to exit the nurses office. She needed to get out of there before the nurse got back…before…*he* came back.
Hurrying towards the stairs that led to her classroom, she kept her eyes to the floor, thanking whoever was up there that it was still the extracurricular activities period and not that many people were roaming around the halls. Ignoring the funny looks she was getting, she walked quickly into her classroom, sliding the door shut behind her. Lucky for her, no one was there.
She walked quickly to her desk, grabbing her bag and hastily shoved her belongings in. Letting out a whimper of pain as she bent over to pick up her diary, she could feel the skin on her back split apart. Reaching behind her, she lifted her the back of her shirt with one hand and slid her other hand under. She could feel moisture.
She looked at her hand. Blood.
She swore under her breath, pulling her white shirt tight at the front and tying a knot, hoping that it would be tight enough to stop the bleeding. She buttoned her blazer and grabbed her coat which was hanging at the back of the classroom. Swinging her bag over her shoulder, she hurried out of the classroom again, her eyes darting around anxiously for a glimpse of any students. Her chest heaved and she panted loudly by the time she reached the shoe closets at the front entrance.
Dropping her shoes onto the floor she took off her cloth ones with her feet, not wanting to bend. Shoving her feet into her cold leather shoes, she left her indoor shoes on the floor, not caring if she was leaving a mess. A mess is better than the pain she would receive if she tried to pick her shoes up.
Ugh. She hated herself for what had happened to her. Beaten up, can barely stand let alone walk. She started to resent herself for moving here. She couldn't call her brother for help. She had no one here to comfort her. Her only close friend was Atsuko…and Misao couldn't talk to her about it because if involved her beloved brother.
Her brother Aoshi. At the thought of his name, Misao doubled her slow pace, walking past the school gates and heading towards the station. There were so many other students walking towards the station but none of them noticed a small girl limp along the sidewalk. None of them noticed when she was pulled into an alley way and pushed into a little alcove.
Misao gasped in surprise and pain as her back slammed against the concrete wall. A large bin and plumbing unit blocked her view of the main street.
" I warned you not to cross me Makimachi!"
Brown eyes stared daggers at her. The blue clip that had held back her normally neat hair was gone, leaving it in disarray.
Misao's brow furrowed, her patience letting go as the pain left her body and red hot anger took over.
" Just what the hell is your problem Seino!? You've already beat on me enough today haven't you!? Get OVER IT"
She pushed the girl backward, the bruises on her arms causing no pain as she kicked the legs of the girl who had lost her balance and was sprawled on the floor. Her eyes darted around wildly looking for her bag. Stepping over Mari, she reached for her bag. Cold hands grabbed her ankle and tugged viciously, making her lose her balance and falling face first onto the floor. Misao propped herself up on her elbows, looking over her shoulder at Mari who was still holding onto her leg, fumbling around her bag with her other hand. A lump rose in Misao's throat as a silver gleam caught her eye.
Mari tossed her bag aside. In her hands was a large art knife. Mari let go of Misao's leg, struggling to push the blade up and tighten the knob that held it in place. Given the chance, Misao quickly darted forward, grabbing her bag and hugging it to her chest while struggling to her feet. Her initial anger had left her and the pain was coming back.
" You can't be serious Seino…over a guy…you can go to jail for this!"
Mari caught hold of Misao's bag's strap and pulled her back before she could flee. Misao, reacting quickly, loosened her grip on her bag and pulled on the other strap, getting some distance between her and the psychotic girl. Giving her bag a strong tug, Mari let go. Taking this change Misao turned and fled, willing her legs to run faster. The main street seemed to be so close now.
Suddenly her head snapped back. Misao winced in pain as Mari caught hold of her long braid and lifted her arm to bring down the blade.
This. Is. SO NOT HAPPENING.
She squeezed her eyes shut, thinking to herself that she never should have moved away from her family, moved to a place filled with perverts and psycho fan girls. She tried to run, even though she could still feel Mari holding on to her by her hair.
Suddenly she could feel the tight grip Mari had on her slackened. Keeping her eyes closed and with a hand gripping her bag tightly, she ignored all the pain and ran out of there.
____________
Aoshi frowned in frustration as he shoved his shoes on, slinging his bag over his shoulders. He tossed the white cloth shoe, clearly labeled with "Makimachi" aside as he ran out the doors of the school building and headed for the station.
It didn't take much intelligence to figure out that the girl had run away, the empty shoe cubby hole, the discarded white cloth shoes, despite his insistence for her to stay put in the nurses office. He took off at a fast speed, dodging other students walking on the path. He glanced around anxiously for a glimpse of her. There was no way she could have gotten far.
He ran flat out towards the station, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Squinting in the late afternoon sun, he spotted a petite figure hiking the stairs up to the train station. Hoping that it was Misao, he raced towards the steps, knowing that he had to hurry or he'd miss her entirely. He could hear a train pulling into the station.
" sumimasen." Aoshi muttered as he almost knocked a girl over in his haste to make it up the stairs.
He breathed hard as he finally reached the top of the stairs, bending over slightly with his hand on his knees. Looking up, he caught a glimpse of the shadow that had resembled Misao. Fumbling in his pocket for his train pass, he raced towards the gates. He could see already that the train that had pulled up was beginning to close its doors.
Why did he have to go through so much trouble for this girl again?
He raced to the door, catching the side while they prepared to close and jumped into the crowded train. Breathing hard now, having run around the whole school and all the way to the station, he searched for Misao, hoping that he hadn't seen the wrong person. His eyes rested on the figure which slumped against the opposite train door against the glass. The girlish figure seemed to be holding herself up delicately, as if the contact against the glass hurt but had no choice but to lean against it because she couldn't stand straight herself. There were no free seats.
Aoshi's eyes looked her up and down. This couldn't be her. This girl did not have Misao's trademark long braid. But then his eyes narrowed on the short haircut of the girl, how the cut was uneven and shaggy. Deciding to take a chance, he glared at the other passengers, who in their shock and fear parted to make way for him.
" Makimachi."
The girl stiffened, her head turning slowly to look at him. Her blue eyes widened with shock.
" you…"
" what happened to your hair?"
________
End Chapter 3.