Chapter 4
The fresh smell of grass in her fingers, the cold earth against her back. The warm sun peeking through the leaves on the tree branch as a woman called her name.
Sitting on something soft and warm, fingers that brushed across her cheeks and pushed her messy hair out of her eyes and held her up firmly, safely.
The pain of the hairbrush raking through her hair, tangled during her adventure. The tugging as the brush dug into her scalp and all the way down her long, shiny, silky…
"what about my hair?"
Misao eyed the male before her suspiciously. Her hair was the pride of her life. How dare he ask something like that in such an insulting, insolent manner. She reached up instinctively to bring her long braid forward, to inspect it and twirl it around her fingers. The old familiarity of the gesture would surely calm her down after the episode she'd just been through.
"Man why does this have to happen to me. Harassed by some guy, then almost getting killed by his jealous girlfriend or whatever. What is with the people in this town? Is it the water!?"
Her heart stopped. Her thin fingers desperately reaching out for her reassurance. She could feel her fingers on her back, grasping desperately for something that wasn't there.
" Next stop…Nakanoshima…please prepare to alight from this train. Next stop Nakanoshima…"
The train doors behind her slid open with a whoosh, a gust of cold hair blowing in, tickling the back of her neck. Misao closed her eyes tightly as she reached up to touch the back of her neck. She could feel the ends of her hair there, something she had not felt since she was a young child.
" Ano…Makimachi…you okay there?"
His words didn't reach her. She dropped her school bag to free both hands as she touched her head, feeling the loss of the once long even tresses now replaced by jagged, strands of hair, at uneven lengths tickling her neck and trailing down her back.
No way.
She sunk to the floor, not hearing the rude remarks made by the passengers getting on and off the train.
How could this have happened?
The knife. Mari…Shinomori.
Misao looked up to see Shinomori crouched down next to her, surprisingly wearing a slightly concerned look on his face. He seemed to be afraid to touch her.
Her blood ran cold, her mind seemingly forgetting the pain as she lunged at him, grabbing him by the collar and pushing him onto the ground. She straddled him as she lifted his head up and down, watching with glee as his head knocked back against the train door.
" Its all your fault! You and your stupid girls. You knew this would happen! How could you let this happen to me! Do you care at all?"
The commuters on the train stopped and turned to look at the pair lying on the floor. People on the train platform peered in to see what all the commotion was about.
" Makimachi you're causing a scene."
" Shut up! Don't change the subject! Stop looking at me like that and take some responsibility for your actions!"
Dropping his head down one final time, she heaved a deep breath as the pain caught up with her. She fell off him onto the side, clutching her stomach as she felt the pain from the gash on her side.
Aoshi sat up, tensing up as he became aware of all people they had caught the undivided attention of. Old ladies whispering to each other, giving him dirty looks, the highschool girls from his school hurridly gossiping and blowing things out of proportion. The business men giving Misao the once over before giving him appreciative looks.
" Kids these days…"
" They're getting younger and younger."
" Oh my god! Isn't that Shinomori-kun?"
" Woah he must have knocked her up or something"
WHAT. Aoshi hurriedly got up onto his feet, cursing his good hearing and looked down at Misao, her arms wrapped tightly around her mid section.
Oh dear god. What a misunderstanding.
He grabbed Misao's bag and slung it over with his own and knelt down in front of her again.
"Makimachi" he whispered.
" What the hell do you want. Can't you see I'm busy?"
Aoshi gulped as the train carriage hummed with a flurry of whispering.
" We're creating a scene. You have to calm down…"
Misao snorted with indignation and put her hand out to shove him away.
"Calm down!? How can you tell me to clam down! After what your stupid followers did to--"
Misao stopped yelling, her eye scrunched up in pain. She let out a little cry before slumping over Aoshi's knee unconscious.
Aoshi now assessed the situation. He's now kneeling in a train, headed in the opposite direction to his own home with an unconscious girl in his arms. The very same girl who had been screaming at the top of her lungs at him with phrases such as " what you've done" and "taking responsibility". Surrounded by bored and gossipy old ladies and students from his school and schools from the surrounding area and perverted businessmen who had undoubtedly already made assumptions about what had happened.
" Hey, Makimachi…get a hold of yourself. Wake up. Now isn't the time to sleep."
Her answer was to slip down off his knee falling to the floor. Grumbling, he gathered her up in his arms, slinging her gently onto his back to carry her piggy back style. Slinging both bags around his neck so he had his hands free to keep Misao on his back, he stood up, trying to ignore the gaze of everyone on the carriage. The doors closed behind him and the train began to move as he casually sauntered over to the nearest hand rung (?) and lifted a hand from Misao to hold onto it to steady himself against the trains movement.
He willed the train to go faster. The passengers in line of sight remained silent, staring eagerly at him to see what would happen next. As a baseball player, he wasn't unused to the attention of groups of people, it had never really bothered him. This however…
The carriage remained in a dead silence until they reached the next stop, which, fortunately for Aoshi, was Misao's stop. The doors could not slide open fast enough as he swore under his breath with impatience. Opening with a pressurized hiss, Aoshi hurriedly walked off the train, pushing Misao higher on his back.
" Hey boy, you take care of her you hear? Take responsibility for your actions and don't desert your child!"
Aoshi froze and grumbled as the old lady on the train leapt onto the platform and called after him. Bewildered people on the train platform gave him dirty looks as he hiked up the stairs with an unconscious girl on his back. Everyone around him began to fiddle around with their bags, or digging their hands in their pockets. Why?
Ducking behind a crowd of students, he followed them towards the gates. Staring at the ticket inspector out of the corner of his eye, he jumped the gate and broke out in a run as the inspector turned his back to him. He apologized softly as he ran fast, bumping her on his back. He cursed the thick blanket of snow on the ground as it impeded his progress towards the girl's apartment.
Breathing heavily, he trudged up the stairs, careful to keep his balance and keep the girl on his back. All his years of baseball training seemed to do nothing for his stamina while he had waded his way through the thick snow carrying Misao on his back. She may look small but hell, she's heavy after awhile. Stopping in front of her door, he dropped the bags onto the floor and knelt down, fiddling around Misao's bag for the keys. He breathed a sigh of relief when his fingers grasped the cool metal. Preparing the stand up, he felt Misao slip off his back. Swearing under his back, he let her slide off and set her down carefully on the floor before he stood up to open the door. Pushing the door open, he pulled at the back of his blazer, which had been sticking to his back the whole time. Ignoring it, he kicked a stool to keep the door open before ducking back outside to pick up the unconscious girl to place her gently on the couch. Kicking the chair back out of the way, he slammed the door closed. He headed to her room, grabbing towels from a closet with stunning familiarity. Slinging one over his head and rubbing vigorously, he slung the other over his neck and headed back to the living room where Misao lay.
He stopped in front of the mirror with surprise, catching his reflection out of the corner of his eye on his way out. The back of his blazer had a dark patch. If he'd had Misao on her back the whole time…his back shouldn't be wet.
He quickly stripped off the blazer, tossing it on the floor in his hurry and glanced at his white shirt in the mirror. A pink patch was on his lower right side. He swore loudly, pulling his shirt off as he ran back to the living room. Pulling up her top, his eyes widened at the sight, a bloody shirt tied around her waist. He removed it gently his brow crinkling as he watched the girl tense underneath his touch. Panoply of bruises and scratches littered her stomach and sides. On her left side, he could see where the bleeding had come from, a large gash where the skin had split apart. He wondered where the first aid kit was while he grabbed a towel and pressed it against her side, trying to stop the bleeding. When he was satisfied, he brushed the hair from Misao's face, murmuring under his breath before searching the apartment for a first aid kit. Letting out a sigh of relief when he managed to lay his hands on the metal box, he sat next to Misao again with a bowl of water, washing her wounds clean of blood before applying ointment and bandaging her side up. Reaching over for his bag, he pulled out a jar of cream. Twisting open the lid, he dipped his fingers in, bringing up a generous amount and starting rubbing hard on the bruises on her stomach.
" AARRGGGH"
Misao's eyes flew open, her hands moving to stop the pain coming from her stomach. She quickly glanced down at the culprit…a hand…an arm…a shoulder…a head…
" Oh my god…what are you doing?"
Misao did a double take, frowning as she lifted her head slightly to see better. She screamed, pushing Aoshi away from her this time and scampering backwards, her arms wrapping around her stomach in an attempt to ease the pain.
" what the hell do you think you're doing Shinomori!? With your hand up my shirt no less?!"
Misao snorted indignantly, impatient for Aoshi's excuse. He simply pointed at her sides. When she looked down, she saw clean white bandages, neatly pinned into place.
" Oh…" she blushed. " …that…that doesn't explain why you're in my apartment pervert!"
" You fainted on the train. I carried you back here. Now lie down." He ordered, reaching for her again.
Shocked, she obeyed, lying down on the couch and allowed Aoshi to rub her bruises again. She winced at the steady rubbing motion at first but it became soothing after awhile. Beginning to lose herself in the sensation, she closed her eyes, trying to remember the events that led her to faint and get carried back to her own apartment unconscious.
Her wounds. Stupid fan club. Mari. Knife. Her….hair.
Number one culprit for the whole affair?
Aoshi Shinomori.
Her eyes fly open again, pushing Aoshi over and getting up off the couch. She grabbed his bag and strode to the door, tossing it out of the door and over the balcony. It landed soundlessly onto the piling snow outside.
" Get out."
Aoshi got to his feet and walked to the door, peering over her shoulder to see where his bag had landed.
" I'm only trying to help."
" Help? I think you've helped enough. The last time you 'tried' to help," she screamed grabbing a fistful of her shredded hair, "This happened! So forget it. I don't need your so called 'help'. Just leave me alone…pretend you never met me and this never happened. I want you out!"
Aoshi scowled, his eyes narrowing as he stared down at her.
" You're so impossible to please."
He grabbed his shoes, shoving them on his feet hurriedly before walking past her and stomped down the stairs.
" What do you care?!" she screamed after him before slamming the door.
With her back against the door, she burst into tears, slowly sliding down to sit on the floor. Her shoulders wracked with sobs as she wondered why this would happen to her. What had she done to deserve this?
Aoshi took a deep breath of morning air as he stared at the sky. It was clear blue, unlike yesterday's stormy conditions after he'd left Misao's. He stared at the apartment block, glaring at the familiar door which seemed to have always been slammed in his face. He fingered the keys in his pants pocket, making a jangling sound which seemed to echo around the silent neighbourhood.
Had he woken up anyone? God knew it was early. Maybe he was just being paranoid. It just a set of keys.
Aoshi let out a sigh of relief has nothing stirred around him. All this paranoia early in the morning…that girl definitely had an ill affect on him.
Still, he wondered how she was doing. Having lived with girls most of his life, he knew that yesterday's events would have shaken the girl to her very core. Having her hair cut off would have been devastating. Even guys were like that…a couple of times when Sano had gone ballistic when a couple of freshman on the team had switched his hairgel with super glue. He pulled a business card from his pocket. He'd taken it out of Omasu's business card reel, knowing that by the wrinkled corners of the card that it had been many times. It had to be good.
Squaring his shoulders, he 'marched into battle', climbing up the familiar metal staircase and found himself in front of the wooden door. Taking the keys from his pocket, he quietly inserted it in the hole, turning it and smirking with satisfaction when the door slowly swung open. He crept stealthily inside, his eyes drinking in the state of the apartment. Bandages, dirty towels, balled up bloody clothing was strewn all over the place. A couple of broken cups and plates, pushed over chairs and various books and pages littered the floor.
Someone had gone on a rampage.
Aoshi silently started picking up the pages, collecting them in a neat stack and placed them on the table where he spied a familiar jar. Twisting it open, the familiar scent tickled his nose. He noted that the jar had been used a fair bit as the level had gone down.
At least she was taking care of herself.
Slowly, he'd managed to clean up most of the apartment, save the bedroom which he suspected she was probably still sleeping in. He had just slotted the last book into place when the bedroom door opened, a sleepy Misao stumbling out. It was still quite early in the morning, the sun was only a few hours old. He stood stiffly as she eyed him. She stared at him for what seemed like an eternity before he managed to find some words to say.
" Ohayo."
To his surprise, Misao beamed at him, smiling before replying.
" Ohayo Shinomori."
Then she turned towards the bathroom door, shuffling towards it before disappearing behind the closing door. He could hear the water turn on and off, the sounds of someone brushing their teeth and then…
He braced himself.
The bathroom door flew open, Misao storming out, eyes blazing with toothbrush still in her mouth.
" What the hell are you doing in my apartment?!"
Aoshi glared right back, pointing to the keys on the table.
" You kicked me out when I had your keys."
" You could have returned them at school or something! What gives you the right to come back up here after what you've done to me?"
Aoshi looked at her calmly.
" It is currently 8am. You're currently running almost an hour later for school. By the looks of things you were not planning to go anyway. Also you would not have left your own house without your keys."
Misao froze, knowing that he'd said the truth. She gritted her teeth and tried to stop herself from blushing.
" …yeh…well you've delivered the keys and since I'm not going to school today doesn't mean you aren't. What do you think you're doing?"
" I'm not going."
Misao gave Aoshi an up-and-down. He was wearing grey cargo pants, hooded white sweatshirt and a thick blue scarf…the same one Atsuko had lent her all those days ago. He didn't look too bad…in casual wear.
Oh my god. Misao, now is not the time.
" Get dressed."
Misao raised an eyebrow at his curt order.
" Why should I?"
Aoshi grabbed the keys off the table and shoved it in his back pocket. Then he took a seat on the couch, putting his elbows on his knees and learning forward in a thoughtful, impatient pose.
" Shinomori, give me back my keys and get the hell out of my apartment!"
Silence.
Oh my. The only way to get back those keys was to wrestle Aoshi for them…and put her hands on his ass…
Well, that's not such a bad thing I guess…argh what am I thinking. There's no way I'm even touching him!
" Are you crazy? If I'M missing from school and you're missing from school I'd hate to think what the whole school would think."
" What does it matter?"
" Of course it matters. This is what got me into the whole mess in the first place."
" My sister won't gossip this time."
Aoshi's face darkened at the thought of her sister. Oh there was hell to pay.
Misao stared at him. More like glared holes into his head. The intensity of her stare was making him slightly uncomfortable but he shrugged it off. He was used to being glared at. He was a baseball player afterall. After 10 minutes of glaring Misao let out a weary sigh.
" Where do you want to go? Look at me. I hurt all over the place and my hair seems to have been hacked to bits…not that that's far from the truth."
Aoshi rose from the couch, digging his hands into the pocket situated near his knee on his cargo pants and pulled out a beanie. He walked over to Misao and pulled it over her head.
" Let's go."
Misao pulled the beanie down further over her head, slowly sliding further down the train seat and hid behind Aoshi's shoulder, trying to keep herself from view.
" What are you doing?"
" What's it look like baka! I'm trying to hide." Misao said through clenched teeth, feeling more self conscious by the minute.
" Who are you hiding from?"
Aoshi crossed his arms and stared steadily ahead of him. A blush tinged Misao's cheeks as she observed the situation in the train carriage. There were a few old ladies, business men and young mothers with their children.
"…So where are we going?"
The train began to slow down, an announcement of the upcoming station coming on through the overhead speakers.
" We're getting off."
Aoshi stood abruptly, surprising Misao and causing her to fall over as her support stood up. Misao swore under her breath and quickly hurried off the train, digging her hands in the pocket of her jacket to avoid the cold. She ran to keep up with Aoshi. When she'd caught up, they had already reached the turn slides to exit the station. He handed her her train ticket and went through the gates, walking briskly off towards a flight of stairs. Misao hurried after him, sliding her ticket in and running towards the stairs. Her sides had begun to hurt by the time she climbed to the top.
" Hey wait! Shinomori! Wait!"
Not only did he not stop, he sped up and didn't acknowledge his name being called out.
" OI! Kora! I said wait! Jeez for someone who calls me out-"
Misao stopped mid sentence as she smashed right into him.
" Ow." She complained as she rubbed her nose. " Who stops in a street so suddenly? Honestly."
" we're here."
" where's here?"
Aoshi looked sideways and she followed his gaze. They had stopped in front of a glass store window. Through it she could see rows of mirrors and comfortable seats, basins and people wielding brushes and scissors.
" …you took me to a hairdresser?!"
Aoshi ignored her, grabbed her hand and pulled her inside. The staff cheerily greeted the pair as they walked up to the counter. Misao soaked up the ambience of the place as Aoshi conferred with the guy at the counter. Her converse shoes made squeaking noises on the wooden floor, her baggy jeans, sweatshirt and sports jacket seemed out of place in the store with such rich clientele. There was a middle aged woman wearing a cream coloured business suit, a string of pearls adorning her neck with a LV bag by her side. Suddenly she felt severely under dressed and sub consciously moved to hide behind Aoshi.
" um…"
The guy behind the counter beamed at her, gesturing with his hands.
" This way mam."
An assistant took her jacket as he led her over to a padded black leather chair attached to a sink at the back of the room. She grimaced as she looked at the chair and swore under her breath as she caught a glimpse of Aoshi disappearing to the front of the store, sitting on the chic black leather couch and reading a magazine intently.
" May I have your hat madam?"
Misao reluctantly pulled the hat off her head and reclined in the chair, her head resting on a plastic frame. The guy took the hat and placed it on a nearby tray and turned on the water to begin washing her hair. He rubbed gently at first before applying shampoo and began to rub vigorously.
" Haircut didn't turn out huh?"
" Huh?"
" You're boyfriend over there explained it all to me."
Misao almost leapt off the seat but the guy kept her head down.
" He's not my boyfriend."
" Oh? That's a shame. He's not a bad looker."
He wrapped her head in a towel and gestured for her to get up. She slid off the chair, wincing slightly as she twisted her body around. She sat down in the chair in front of the mirror hesitantly, slowly easing herself down as to not hurt herself again.
" Oh don't worry, we'll take great care of you. You're bound to love it."
The hairdresser smiled at her reassuringly removing the towel from her head and began brushing out the uneven strands. As the hairdresser brushed, he raised his eyebrow, looking at how the hair fell against Misao's back. Two uneven layers, looking like it had been sheared off. In the middle, it was still very long but to each side, the strands had been hacked off unevenly, down to her ear and on the other side, down to her shoulder.
The hairdresser gulped as he ran the comb through her hair one last time. Misao seemed to sense his shock.
" err…"
" …Don't worry. So how would you like me to cut it?"
"…Where's it the shortest?"
The hairdresser held up a strand for her to see and placed it on her shoulder. Misao shut her eyes tightly and gulped.
" …Cut it short."
The hairdresser nodded, grabbing a nearby trolley where his tools were set out. Grabbing the long hair, he lifted his scissors, the blades poised to snip it away.
Her hair…been with her all those years.
Snip.
" …Do whatever you want."
The hairdresser smiled reassuringly.
" I know just what to do little lady. Just sit back and relax."
Now normally, when she went to a hairdressers it was a rather short trip. She sat in the chair, flipped through a magazine and voila, haircut done. Not that it was much of a haircut…more like a trim. But the hairdresser seemed like he was taking an eternity. He'd snip a bit here and there, moving around the layers and clipping it with a gigantic peg at the top of her head.
She felt physically sick. She should not have trusted this guy with a single hair on her head. Why had he smiled so reassuringly!? Its his fault! But wait…no. It was Shinomori's fault. He had brought her here to a 'hair salon' for the higher ups of society and made her sit in a chair while some guy she didn't even know chopped all her hair off.
Misao grimaced as she struggled to stay in her seat.
" Hmm I think that should do it".
The hairdresser smiled, removing the numerous clips that held her hair on top of her head and began to brush it out smoothly. Reaching for a hairdryer he began to ruffle Misao's hair and trained the hairdryer to blow gently on the shiny strands.
Misao squirmed, squeezing her eyes shut as a warm wind blew against her face.
" OK done! Open your eyes and see how great you look"
Misao did so obediently, hoping to find a bathroom as soon as possible. She was caught by surprise at the reflection that greeted her in the mirror. Her dark hair was relatively shorter, gently framing her face just past her ears. From the side to the back, the hair was longer, cut unevenly to give it a chic, modern look. It fell just so the ends of her hair tickled the bottom of her neck.
" There. Wasn't so bad was it?"
Misao couldn't answer the young hairdresser. She sat completely shell-shocked, wrapped up in her reflection in the mirror. She nodded numbly as the hairdresser took off the plastic sheet that protected her clothing and gently helped her off the chair.
" You look great. Hope you come again…Here's my card".
Misao stared blankly at him.
"err…miss?"
At this moment, Aoshi, with his jacket already on and Misao's hanging over his arm, chose to intervene. Thanking the nice hairdresser and softly and politely commending him for a job well done, he took the business card and bowed slightly. Putting her jacket over her shoulders, Aoshi steered her out the door, the sound of the ringing of the cash register behind him as the store door closed.
Now out on the street, Aoshi could see that Misao still seemed to be in some sort of trance. Making her slip on her jacket and grabbing her hand, her eyes seemed to be glued to any reflective surface as he pulled her along the street. He stopped in front of a store and seemed to be looking through the store window, quietly appraising its wares.
Misao stood next to him. Blink. Blink.
All the shiny objects glared back at her with her own image. Blink blink.
Wow what short hair I have.
Short hair.
Where'd all my hair go to?
Why am I standing here obsessing over it?
Blink.
Misao's eyes widened as she found herself staring at her reflection in a shiny metal pot lid. Wasn't she supposed to be at a hairdresser? With Shinomori?
She frantically looked around for him. He was standing near one of the display bins in the front of the store, a bright red plastic basket in hand, peering over plates stacked inside the bin. She marched inside, ignoring the shouts of welcome by the store staff and grabbed his arm harshly, pulling him down to her level and then yelling in his ear.
" Why in the world am I here?!"
Aoshi shook her off, very aware of the shop's patrons staring at them and took a few of the plates and put them in his basket.
" What does it look like I'm doing?"
Misao fumed as he moved to the next display bin that hosted a large selection of tall class cups.
" I'm asking why I'm here with YOU while you do…you…act so homely."
Aoshi glanced up from the cups, the sides of his lips twitching while he looked at her. Looking back down at the cups, he picked up 4, which had been packed in a box.
" Why these are for you."
" I have perfectly good glassware at home thank you very…"
Misao trailed off, remembering the angry rampage she'd gone on at home, the shattered glass covering the floor, the cushions thrown at various ends of the room. Actually come to think of it when she'd woken up that morning her apartment had been clean.
"…hey Shinomori?"
He stopped at the beginning of the aisle.
" Did you um…clean my apartment this morning?"
Misao suddenly felt strangely hot and bothered, pretending to be very interested in the display of bowls on the shelf as she waited for a response.
A grunt before he walked off again.
Misao tried to keep her annoyance in check. Afterall, considering Shinomori's ability for conversation, that grunt was pretty good. She hurried after him, pulling on his sleeve signaling him to stop. He turned around this time, looking down at her as she fumbled around with her clothing, pulling up her sleeves and gesturing for him to bend down so she could whisper something in his ears. Obliging her request, he leaned down. She leaned in, letting her warm breath tickle his ears whispering a thanks before quickly pecking him on the cheek. Grabbing the bowl she'd eyed before, she dumped it inside the basket he carried before and skipped merrily down the aisle.
" Come on Shinomori…we don't have all day. Since we're here I'm going to pick up a few things Move your cute ass!" Misao chided as she turned the corner to the next aisle.
Aoshi's lips twitched slightly in amusement as heat rose up to his face.
Cute ass?
An hour later, with him heavily weighed down by numerous shopping bags, they found their way back towards the station by walking through the shopping district. She claimed that she couldn't hold heavy loads due to her injuries.
Ok so that was probably true. But she still shouldn't be humming to herself and skipping happily in front of him like a 4 year old.
They came up to a pedestrian bridge, both sides had lines of stalls running all the way to the end. Hawkers of all kinds, concert tickets, 'genuine' branded goods, watches, jewelry, small electronic goods…you name it, it was there. Misao had meanwhile run off, standing in front of one stall. The table was covered in a black tablecloth with various beaded, metal trinkets decorating the table.
He hurried over with her bags, catching the end of the conversation between Misao and the shop keeper.
"…all hand made"
" Wow…these are really good! This is so pretty"
Misao picked up a pair of dangly earrings, holding it in front of her face and twirled it around, letting its silver surface catch the sunlight.
The pretty shop assistant eyed Aoshi, who was now standing behind Misao, with appreciative eyes.
" How about it boyfriend. Its dirt cheap at 1000 yen. You should buy it for her."
Misao quickly dropped it back on the table and shook her head vigorously.
" No no. He's not…we're not. At any rate I don't have any more money on me…c'mon lets leave Shinomori".
Misao quickly strode off, hurrying down towards the other end of the bridge. The shop assistant's eyes remained on him.
Should he buy it? He had plenty of money. Maybe as sort of an apology present. Omasu had once told him to buy one for Atsuko when she became mad at him and it had worked then. He leaned forward, picking up the earrings with his long fingers and admired them.
Maybe he would.
The next morning Misao opened the door, toast hanging from her mouth, one hand struggling to slide into her coat sleeve.
Normally it would be quite strange to have a visitor so early in the morning. BE she had a fair idea of who would be behind the door this morning.
"mmrmph mrphgm mrpmmph" she mumbled, greeting her visitor.
Aoshi looked down at the girl kicking the door open and shrugging her coat on, dropping crumbs all over the floor.
" Good morning to you too."
Misao grunted as she shoved the toast in her mouth in her hurry.
" Don't choke."
Misao swallowed and turned around, grinning at her guest.
" so what brings you here so early in the morning?"
Aoshi stayed silent, hovering near the doorway as the cold winds outside tousled his hair.
" Hurry up."
" What a gentleman you are good sir."
Misao grabbed her bag and walked to the door, closing and locking it before skipping down her apartment's stairs to where Aoshi stood waiting. Side by side, they headed towards the station. The sun rose steadily in the sky, a clear blue sky overhead. The thin sheet of ice over the sidewalk crunched under their shoes as they walked along the footpath.
" So how was baseball practice yesterday? Were you late?"
Aoshi, after dropping Misao and her packages off at her apartment had returned to school for baseball practice. The competition would start again soon, he had been anxious to keep up with his practice.
" Just in time."
Misao snickered, punching him playfully on the shoulder.
" Bet ya you had a hard time explaining where you went."
" mm." Aoshi mumbled in a positive tone.
" Did Sagara-san give you a hard time?"
" mm."
These responses would, under normal circumstances, anger Misao. Who answers by grunting? But coming from Aoshi, Misao supposed that this was pretty good…and was probably all she'd get.
" Were the hordes of fan girls there?"
" Of course."
Wow, words this time. What a skillful conversationalist he's turning into.
" was…was she there?"
She. Meaning that little minx who'd lopped off her hair. Miss President of the Aoshi-pukey-pukey-Shinomori club.
Aoshi remained tight lipped on that particular topic as they went through the turnslides at the station and sat down on bench on the train platform.
" Did she mention anything about it?"
No reply.
" Did she say anything at all?"
No reply.
" Did…you do say anything to her? Because you know…the last time that happened…"
" I'm here aren't I?"
" I guess."
" They won't hurt you."
" I don't want empty promises Shinomori. I don't need any favours."
" mm." He grunted in a negative tone.
They fell into silence again, boarding the train. They packed inside, with a steady stream of business men pushing them towards the middle of the train carriage. Aoshi grabbed the run overhead casually while Misao's eyes darted around anxiously. She was definitely not tall enough to reach the overhead strap.
The train gave a lurch as it began to pick up speed. She felt herself reeling backwards before Aoshi reached out and grabbed her with his other hand before she fell into the seedy old business man behind her. Grabbing Aoshi's blazer, she straightened herself and regained her balance.
" Thanks."
Not relinquishing her grip on his blazer, Misao's eyes glazed over and she began to daydream. Daydreaming was something she did a lot of while she was on trains. Her eyes darted around the carriage, the crowd of suits and ties, the odd schoolgirl typing on her mobile phone. The material of the dark blue blazer, the round navy buttons, the large black shows, the grey slacks. She dared not look up.
The girl with the phone looked over at Aoshi appreciatively, her tongue licking her lips in an unconscious action as she soaked in his facial features, his neck, his broad shoulders…all the way down to the girl clinging to his jacket. The girl shot her a dirty look. Misao looked up at Aoshi's face and flashed a haughty grin at the girl. The girl sniffed at her and turned away, nochantly going back to her phone.
Obviously that girl had thought Aoshi was her boyfriend. She was clinging to him for dear life afterall. The girl had been so ready to walk over to stalk her prey before she noticed Misao.
Hmm. That got her thinking. It was a ridiculous idea. But could it work? It's not like she wanted to be associated with him in that way. But why not? All the advantages were there. He had said girls who confessed to him always pestered him. His fan club was breathing down both their necks. He wouldn't have to think of lousy excuses to cover up the fact that he was trying to keep them away from her. The guys at the school would rejoice. The girls at the school would hate her…but practically all the girls in the school were in the pukey pukey fan club anyway.
The best part of the whole plan?
Misao's eye met with the girl with the phone again, the girl's face twisted in a sneer.
Taking away the thing that the girls that attacked her all wanted. What brilliant revenge!
Misao practically skipped off the train when it pulled into the station. She grabbed his hand and pulled him behind a nearby sign as the steady stream of passengers made its way to the stairs.
" Shinomori I have a proposition for you."
He nodded slightly, glancing at his watch, in a hurry to make his baseball practice. She reasoned with him.
" …Will you go out with me?"
" …for real?"
" Of course not for real! Just for convenience."
" Go on."
" You hate girls giving you love letters. You hate having to listen to their confessions and then rejecting them. You hate your fan club."
" mm."
" I'm hated by most of the female students. All of them like you. They did this " Misao said, grabbing her short hair in emphasis, " to me. Clearly I do want some kind of revenge."
Misao smiled. He looked mildly interested.
" What better way than to give them what they've been insinuating all along? Lets go out. At least pretend anyway."
Aoshi turned away from Misao's eager eyes, strolling down to the nearest vending machine for a warm coffee can. Sliding the coins in, he could hear the clink of the coins hitting the pile inside the machine.
She was right of course. It all was really a nuisance. He'd never really thought about it before. He'd never liked anyone to say yes to. He always thought that his fanclub would go ape over it. A relationship of convenience huh?
Misao was the product of his fears. She really had been attacked by the fan club.
He pushed a button before slotting more coins for the next can. Hearing two thunking sounds, he bent over, reaching into the little flap door to pull out two warm cans of coffee. He tossed on to her.
" You're on."
Misao jumped with glee before wincing in pain from the wound on her side. Shaking her head vigorously to get rid of the pain she caught the coffee can and opened it.
" Here's to a good partnership!"
They clinked cans and downed it, tossing the empty can in the garbage bin. Misao grabbed his arm as the next train pulled in. Dozens of students from their school poured off the train.
Misao grinned as she heard sharp exclamations of " Look!"
Aoshi, looking rather uncomfortable and stiff with Misao hanging off her arm shrugged her off. Damnit her hanging off his arm was stopping traffic and delaying the train as students stood shell shocked at the train carriage doorway.
" psst what are you doing. We're supposed to act-" Misao whispered anxiously, keeping her eyes on the crowd.
Aoshi captured her hand in hers confidently, leading her towards the stairs and out of the station. As they left the station, shrieks of "Oh my lord!" and " QUICK someone get a doctor! These girls have fainted" echoed behind them.
" Aahahaha! I can't believe it!" Misao laughed, gripping his hand a bit. " That was sooo rich! Absolutely priceless."
" mm. I believe we caused a train delay."
They were nearing the school now. The station had been a mere stage setter. This was where it counted. If their lovely plan would work for real. They walked to the baseball team club room, aware of the whispering and the gasps of surprise from all the people they passed on the early morning.
" I'll be right back."
Aoshi disappeared into the room, closing the door with a soft click. Misao stood outside in the hallway, leaning against the wall directly opposite the door.
" Hey! What's up Makimachi!"
Sano hollered from down the hall, running towards her with gym bag in hand casually over his shoulder.
" Waiting for your beau? Aoshi?"
Misao smiled. She really liked Sano. He was so vivacious and happy.
" You bet. Tell him to hurry up a bit. His fair princess is waiting afterall" she said, laying it particularly thick.
Sano laughed good naturedly at her 'joke'.
" Sure your highness. I am your humble messenger."
Sano waved with his freehand and disappeared inside the clubroom. Misao smiled as she could still hear Sano's loud booming voice from outside.
" Hey Aoshi! Your princess girlfriend is waiting outside!"
Then she heard a few thuds and the sound of a table scraping the floor. The clubroom door slid open, revealing Sano stabilizing himself using the table and Aoshi strolling out quite straight faced and casual. He held out his hand for her and she took it, tossing a wave to Sano with her other hand.
Such a guilty pleasure, leaving shell shocked people in her wake over something so simple as holding hands.
As the baseball club began morning practice, she sat on the bench with Kaoru, the manager of the baseball club.
" So I guess you and Aoshi-kun are a couple now?"
" …uh yeh I guess."
" Wow that's so great! So Okon was right!"
" mm." Misao responded absent mindedly.
She could see several members of the fan club congregating on the fair end of the field. Even though they were so far away, she could feel their glares stabbing her proverbially in the chest.
Kaoru looked anxious as she followed Misao's gaze.
" Misao-chan…they're not giving you any trouble right?"
Misao's side sent out a twinge of pain to her brain, triggered by remembering the events 2 days ago.
" …Oh no of course not. Shinomori has been taking really good care of me."
Kaoru raised an eyebrow.
" Why are you still calling him by his last name?"
" Um…well you see he's a little shy…so…this makes him more comfortable."
Kaoru's eyes narrowed suspiciously as Aoshi, on field in mid pitch seemed to glance over at Misao and Kaoru with equip suspicion.
" Aoshi! Look alive! What sort of pitch was that!"
The girls turned back to the baseball diamond to see the batter run to third base before being proclaimed safe.
Uh oh.
Author's notes : Does it seem lame to you? It kinda seems lame to me now...but this was what i wanted to spur the plot on. It seems like a fun idea right? Super predictable right? We'll see!! :P But for now lets have some fun with this. Thanks you guys for still reading.
The fresh smell of grass in her fingers, the cold earth against her back. The warm sun peeking through the leaves on the tree branch as a woman called her name.
Sitting on something soft and warm, fingers that brushed across her cheeks and pushed her messy hair out of her eyes and held her up firmly, safely.
The pain of the hairbrush raking through her hair, tangled during her adventure. The tugging as the brush dug into her scalp and all the way down her long, shiny, silky…
"what about my hair?"
Misao eyed the male before her suspiciously. Her hair was the pride of her life. How dare he ask something like that in such an insulting, insolent manner. She reached up instinctively to bring her long braid forward, to inspect it and twirl it around her fingers. The old familiarity of the gesture would surely calm her down after the episode she'd just been through.
"Man why does this have to happen to me. Harassed by some guy, then almost getting killed by his jealous girlfriend or whatever. What is with the people in this town? Is it the water!?"
Her heart stopped. Her thin fingers desperately reaching out for her reassurance. She could feel her fingers on her back, grasping desperately for something that wasn't there.
" Next stop…Nakanoshima…please prepare to alight from this train. Next stop Nakanoshima…"
The train doors behind her slid open with a whoosh, a gust of cold hair blowing in, tickling the back of her neck. Misao closed her eyes tightly as she reached up to touch the back of her neck. She could feel the ends of her hair there, something she had not felt since she was a young child.
" Ano…Makimachi…you okay there?"
His words didn't reach her. She dropped her school bag to free both hands as she touched her head, feeling the loss of the once long even tresses now replaced by jagged, strands of hair, at uneven lengths tickling her neck and trailing down her back.
No way.
She sunk to the floor, not hearing the rude remarks made by the passengers getting on and off the train.
How could this have happened?
The knife. Mari…Shinomori.
Misao looked up to see Shinomori crouched down next to her, surprisingly wearing a slightly concerned look on his face. He seemed to be afraid to touch her.
Her blood ran cold, her mind seemingly forgetting the pain as she lunged at him, grabbing him by the collar and pushing him onto the ground. She straddled him as she lifted his head up and down, watching with glee as his head knocked back against the train door.
" Its all your fault! You and your stupid girls. You knew this would happen! How could you let this happen to me! Do you care at all?"
The commuters on the train stopped and turned to look at the pair lying on the floor. People on the train platform peered in to see what all the commotion was about.
" Makimachi you're causing a scene."
" Shut up! Don't change the subject! Stop looking at me like that and take some responsibility for your actions!"
Dropping his head down one final time, she heaved a deep breath as the pain caught up with her. She fell off him onto the side, clutching her stomach as she felt the pain from the gash on her side.
Aoshi sat up, tensing up as he became aware of all people they had caught the undivided attention of. Old ladies whispering to each other, giving him dirty looks, the highschool girls from his school hurridly gossiping and blowing things out of proportion. The business men giving Misao the once over before giving him appreciative looks.
" Kids these days…"
" They're getting younger and younger."
" Oh my god! Isn't that Shinomori-kun?"
" Woah he must have knocked her up or something"
WHAT. Aoshi hurriedly got up onto his feet, cursing his good hearing and looked down at Misao, her arms wrapped tightly around her mid section.
Oh dear god. What a misunderstanding.
He grabbed Misao's bag and slung it over with his own and knelt down in front of her again.
"Makimachi" he whispered.
" What the hell do you want. Can't you see I'm busy?"
Aoshi gulped as the train carriage hummed with a flurry of whispering.
" We're creating a scene. You have to calm down…"
Misao snorted with indignation and put her hand out to shove him away.
"Calm down!? How can you tell me to clam down! After what your stupid followers did to--"
Misao stopped yelling, her eye scrunched up in pain. She let out a little cry before slumping over Aoshi's knee unconscious.
Aoshi now assessed the situation. He's now kneeling in a train, headed in the opposite direction to his own home with an unconscious girl in his arms. The very same girl who had been screaming at the top of her lungs at him with phrases such as " what you've done" and "taking responsibility". Surrounded by bored and gossipy old ladies and students from his school and schools from the surrounding area and perverted businessmen who had undoubtedly already made assumptions about what had happened.
" Hey, Makimachi…get a hold of yourself. Wake up. Now isn't the time to sleep."
Her answer was to slip down off his knee falling to the floor. Grumbling, he gathered her up in his arms, slinging her gently onto his back to carry her piggy back style. Slinging both bags around his neck so he had his hands free to keep Misao on his back, he stood up, trying to ignore the gaze of everyone on the carriage. The doors closed behind him and the train began to move as he casually sauntered over to the nearest hand rung (?) and lifted a hand from Misao to hold onto it to steady himself against the trains movement.
He willed the train to go faster. The passengers in line of sight remained silent, staring eagerly at him to see what would happen next. As a baseball player, he wasn't unused to the attention of groups of people, it had never really bothered him. This however…
The carriage remained in a dead silence until they reached the next stop, which, fortunately for Aoshi, was Misao's stop. The doors could not slide open fast enough as he swore under his breath with impatience. Opening with a pressurized hiss, Aoshi hurriedly walked off the train, pushing Misao higher on his back.
" Hey boy, you take care of her you hear? Take responsibility for your actions and don't desert your child!"
Aoshi froze and grumbled as the old lady on the train leapt onto the platform and called after him. Bewildered people on the train platform gave him dirty looks as he hiked up the stairs with an unconscious girl on his back. Everyone around him began to fiddle around with their bags, or digging their hands in their pockets. Why?
Ducking behind a crowd of students, he followed them towards the gates. Staring at the ticket inspector out of the corner of his eye, he jumped the gate and broke out in a run as the inspector turned his back to him. He apologized softly as he ran fast, bumping her on his back. He cursed the thick blanket of snow on the ground as it impeded his progress towards the girl's apartment.
Breathing heavily, he trudged up the stairs, careful to keep his balance and keep the girl on his back. All his years of baseball training seemed to do nothing for his stamina while he had waded his way through the thick snow carrying Misao on his back. She may look small but hell, she's heavy after awhile. Stopping in front of her door, he dropped the bags onto the floor and knelt down, fiddling around Misao's bag for the keys. He breathed a sigh of relief when his fingers grasped the cool metal. Preparing the stand up, he felt Misao slip off his back. Swearing under his back, he let her slide off and set her down carefully on the floor before he stood up to open the door. Pushing the door open, he pulled at the back of his blazer, which had been sticking to his back the whole time. Ignoring it, he kicked a stool to keep the door open before ducking back outside to pick up the unconscious girl to place her gently on the couch. Kicking the chair back out of the way, he slammed the door closed. He headed to her room, grabbing towels from a closet with stunning familiarity. Slinging one over his head and rubbing vigorously, he slung the other over his neck and headed back to the living room where Misao lay.
He stopped in front of the mirror with surprise, catching his reflection out of the corner of his eye on his way out. The back of his blazer had a dark patch. If he'd had Misao on her back the whole time…his back shouldn't be wet.
He quickly stripped off the blazer, tossing it on the floor in his hurry and glanced at his white shirt in the mirror. A pink patch was on his lower right side. He swore loudly, pulling his shirt off as he ran back to the living room. Pulling up her top, his eyes widened at the sight, a bloody shirt tied around her waist. He removed it gently his brow crinkling as he watched the girl tense underneath his touch. Panoply of bruises and scratches littered her stomach and sides. On her left side, he could see where the bleeding had come from, a large gash where the skin had split apart. He wondered where the first aid kit was while he grabbed a towel and pressed it against her side, trying to stop the bleeding. When he was satisfied, he brushed the hair from Misao's face, murmuring under his breath before searching the apartment for a first aid kit. Letting out a sigh of relief when he managed to lay his hands on the metal box, he sat next to Misao again with a bowl of water, washing her wounds clean of blood before applying ointment and bandaging her side up. Reaching over for his bag, he pulled out a jar of cream. Twisting open the lid, he dipped his fingers in, bringing up a generous amount and starting rubbing hard on the bruises on her stomach.
" AARRGGGH"
Misao's eyes flew open, her hands moving to stop the pain coming from her stomach. She quickly glanced down at the culprit…a hand…an arm…a shoulder…a head…
" Oh my god…what are you doing?"
Misao did a double take, frowning as she lifted her head slightly to see better. She screamed, pushing Aoshi away from her this time and scampering backwards, her arms wrapping around her stomach in an attempt to ease the pain.
" what the hell do you think you're doing Shinomori!? With your hand up my shirt no less?!"
Misao snorted indignantly, impatient for Aoshi's excuse. He simply pointed at her sides. When she looked down, she saw clean white bandages, neatly pinned into place.
" Oh…" she blushed. " …that…that doesn't explain why you're in my apartment pervert!"
" You fainted on the train. I carried you back here. Now lie down." He ordered, reaching for her again.
Shocked, she obeyed, lying down on the couch and allowed Aoshi to rub her bruises again. She winced at the steady rubbing motion at first but it became soothing after awhile. Beginning to lose herself in the sensation, she closed her eyes, trying to remember the events that led her to faint and get carried back to her own apartment unconscious.
Her wounds. Stupid fan club. Mari. Knife. Her….hair.
Number one culprit for the whole affair?
Aoshi Shinomori.
Her eyes fly open again, pushing Aoshi over and getting up off the couch. She grabbed his bag and strode to the door, tossing it out of the door and over the balcony. It landed soundlessly onto the piling snow outside.
" Get out."
Aoshi got to his feet and walked to the door, peering over her shoulder to see where his bag had landed.
" I'm only trying to help."
" Help? I think you've helped enough. The last time you 'tried' to help," she screamed grabbing a fistful of her shredded hair, "This happened! So forget it. I don't need your so called 'help'. Just leave me alone…pretend you never met me and this never happened. I want you out!"
Aoshi scowled, his eyes narrowing as he stared down at her.
" You're so impossible to please."
He grabbed his shoes, shoving them on his feet hurriedly before walking past her and stomped down the stairs.
" What do you care?!" she screamed after him before slamming the door.
With her back against the door, she burst into tears, slowly sliding down to sit on the floor. Her shoulders wracked with sobs as she wondered why this would happen to her. What had she done to deserve this?
Aoshi took a deep breath of morning air as he stared at the sky. It was clear blue, unlike yesterday's stormy conditions after he'd left Misao's. He stared at the apartment block, glaring at the familiar door which seemed to have always been slammed in his face. He fingered the keys in his pants pocket, making a jangling sound which seemed to echo around the silent neighbourhood.
Had he woken up anyone? God knew it was early. Maybe he was just being paranoid. It just a set of keys.
Aoshi let out a sigh of relief has nothing stirred around him. All this paranoia early in the morning…that girl definitely had an ill affect on him.
Still, he wondered how she was doing. Having lived with girls most of his life, he knew that yesterday's events would have shaken the girl to her very core. Having her hair cut off would have been devastating. Even guys were like that…a couple of times when Sano had gone ballistic when a couple of freshman on the team had switched his hairgel with super glue. He pulled a business card from his pocket. He'd taken it out of Omasu's business card reel, knowing that by the wrinkled corners of the card that it had been many times. It had to be good.
Squaring his shoulders, he 'marched into battle', climbing up the familiar metal staircase and found himself in front of the wooden door. Taking the keys from his pocket, he quietly inserted it in the hole, turning it and smirking with satisfaction when the door slowly swung open. He crept stealthily inside, his eyes drinking in the state of the apartment. Bandages, dirty towels, balled up bloody clothing was strewn all over the place. A couple of broken cups and plates, pushed over chairs and various books and pages littered the floor.
Someone had gone on a rampage.
Aoshi silently started picking up the pages, collecting them in a neat stack and placed them on the table where he spied a familiar jar. Twisting it open, the familiar scent tickled his nose. He noted that the jar had been used a fair bit as the level had gone down.
At least she was taking care of herself.
Slowly, he'd managed to clean up most of the apartment, save the bedroom which he suspected she was probably still sleeping in. He had just slotted the last book into place when the bedroom door opened, a sleepy Misao stumbling out. It was still quite early in the morning, the sun was only a few hours old. He stood stiffly as she eyed him. She stared at him for what seemed like an eternity before he managed to find some words to say.
" Ohayo."
To his surprise, Misao beamed at him, smiling before replying.
" Ohayo Shinomori."
Then she turned towards the bathroom door, shuffling towards it before disappearing behind the closing door. He could hear the water turn on and off, the sounds of someone brushing their teeth and then…
He braced himself.
The bathroom door flew open, Misao storming out, eyes blazing with toothbrush still in her mouth.
" What the hell are you doing in my apartment?!"
Aoshi glared right back, pointing to the keys on the table.
" You kicked me out when I had your keys."
" You could have returned them at school or something! What gives you the right to come back up here after what you've done to me?"
Aoshi looked at her calmly.
" It is currently 8am. You're currently running almost an hour later for school. By the looks of things you were not planning to go anyway. Also you would not have left your own house without your keys."
Misao froze, knowing that he'd said the truth. She gritted her teeth and tried to stop herself from blushing.
" …yeh…well you've delivered the keys and since I'm not going to school today doesn't mean you aren't. What do you think you're doing?"
" I'm not going."
Misao gave Aoshi an up-and-down. He was wearing grey cargo pants, hooded white sweatshirt and a thick blue scarf…the same one Atsuko had lent her all those days ago. He didn't look too bad…in casual wear.
Oh my god. Misao, now is not the time.
" Get dressed."
Misao raised an eyebrow at his curt order.
" Why should I?"
Aoshi grabbed the keys off the table and shoved it in his back pocket. Then he took a seat on the couch, putting his elbows on his knees and learning forward in a thoughtful, impatient pose.
" Shinomori, give me back my keys and get the hell out of my apartment!"
Silence.
Oh my. The only way to get back those keys was to wrestle Aoshi for them…and put her hands on his ass…
Well, that's not such a bad thing I guess…argh what am I thinking. There's no way I'm even touching him!
" Are you crazy? If I'M missing from school and you're missing from school I'd hate to think what the whole school would think."
" What does it matter?"
" Of course it matters. This is what got me into the whole mess in the first place."
" My sister won't gossip this time."
Aoshi's face darkened at the thought of her sister. Oh there was hell to pay.
Misao stared at him. More like glared holes into his head. The intensity of her stare was making him slightly uncomfortable but he shrugged it off. He was used to being glared at. He was a baseball player afterall. After 10 minutes of glaring Misao let out a weary sigh.
" Where do you want to go? Look at me. I hurt all over the place and my hair seems to have been hacked to bits…not that that's far from the truth."
Aoshi rose from the couch, digging his hands into the pocket situated near his knee on his cargo pants and pulled out a beanie. He walked over to Misao and pulled it over her head.
" Let's go."
Misao pulled the beanie down further over her head, slowly sliding further down the train seat and hid behind Aoshi's shoulder, trying to keep herself from view.
" What are you doing?"
" What's it look like baka! I'm trying to hide." Misao said through clenched teeth, feeling more self conscious by the minute.
" Who are you hiding from?"
Aoshi crossed his arms and stared steadily ahead of him. A blush tinged Misao's cheeks as she observed the situation in the train carriage. There were a few old ladies, business men and young mothers with their children.
"…So where are we going?"
The train began to slow down, an announcement of the upcoming station coming on through the overhead speakers.
" We're getting off."
Aoshi stood abruptly, surprising Misao and causing her to fall over as her support stood up. Misao swore under her breath and quickly hurried off the train, digging her hands in the pocket of her jacket to avoid the cold. She ran to keep up with Aoshi. When she'd caught up, they had already reached the turn slides to exit the station. He handed her her train ticket and went through the gates, walking briskly off towards a flight of stairs. Misao hurried after him, sliding her ticket in and running towards the stairs. Her sides had begun to hurt by the time she climbed to the top.
" Hey wait! Shinomori! Wait!"
Not only did he not stop, he sped up and didn't acknowledge his name being called out.
" OI! Kora! I said wait! Jeez for someone who calls me out-"
Misao stopped mid sentence as she smashed right into him.
" Ow." She complained as she rubbed her nose. " Who stops in a street so suddenly? Honestly."
" we're here."
" where's here?"
Aoshi looked sideways and she followed his gaze. They had stopped in front of a glass store window. Through it she could see rows of mirrors and comfortable seats, basins and people wielding brushes and scissors.
" …you took me to a hairdresser?!"
Aoshi ignored her, grabbed her hand and pulled her inside. The staff cheerily greeted the pair as they walked up to the counter. Misao soaked up the ambience of the place as Aoshi conferred with the guy at the counter. Her converse shoes made squeaking noises on the wooden floor, her baggy jeans, sweatshirt and sports jacket seemed out of place in the store with such rich clientele. There was a middle aged woman wearing a cream coloured business suit, a string of pearls adorning her neck with a LV bag by her side. Suddenly she felt severely under dressed and sub consciously moved to hide behind Aoshi.
" um…"
The guy behind the counter beamed at her, gesturing with his hands.
" This way mam."
An assistant took her jacket as he led her over to a padded black leather chair attached to a sink at the back of the room. She grimaced as she looked at the chair and swore under her breath as she caught a glimpse of Aoshi disappearing to the front of the store, sitting on the chic black leather couch and reading a magazine intently.
" May I have your hat madam?"
Misao reluctantly pulled the hat off her head and reclined in the chair, her head resting on a plastic frame. The guy took the hat and placed it on a nearby tray and turned on the water to begin washing her hair. He rubbed gently at first before applying shampoo and began to rub vigorously.
" Haircut didn't turn out huh?"
" Huh?"
" You're boyfriend over there explained it all to me."
Misao almost leapt off the seat but the guy kept her head down.
" He's not my boyfriend."
" Oh? That's a shame. He's not a bad looker."
He wrapped her head in a towel and gestured for her to get up. She slid off the chair, wincing slightly as she twisted her body around. She sat down in the chair in front of the mirror hesitantly, slowly easing herself down as to not hurt herself again.
" Oh don't worry, we'll take great care of you. You're bound to love it."
The hairdresser smiled at her reassuringly removing the towel from her head and began brushing out the uneven strands. As the hairdresser brushed, he raised his eyebrow, looking at how the hair fell against Misao's back. Two uneven layers, looking like it had been sheared off. In the middle, it was still very long but to each side, the strands had been hacked off unevenly, down to her ear and on the other side, down to her shoulder.
The hairdresser gulped as he ran the comb through her hair one last time. Misao seemed to sense his shock.
" err…"
" …Don't worry. So how would you like me to cut it?"
"…Where's it the shortest?"
The hairdresser held up a strand for her to see and placed it on her shoulder. Misao shut her eyes tightly and gulped.
" …Cut it short."
The hairdresser nodded, grabbing a nearby trolley where his tools were set out. Grabbing the long hair, he lifted his scissors, the blades poised to snip it away.
Her hair…been with her all those years.
Snip.
" …Do whatever you want."
The hairdresser smiled reassuringly.
" I know just what to do little lady. Just sit back and relax."
Now normally, when she went to a hairdressers it was a rather short trip. She sat in the chair, flipped through a magazine and voila, haircut done. Not that it was much of a haircut…more like a trim. But the hairdresser seemed like he was taking an eternity. He'd snip a bit here and there, moving around the layers and clipping it with a gigantic peg at the top of her head.
She felt physically sick. She should not have trusted this guy with a single hair on her head. Why had he smiled so reassuringly!? Its his fault! But wait…no. It was Shinomori's fault. He had brought her here to a 'hair salon' for the higher ups of society and made her sit in a chair while some guy she didn't even know chopped all her hair off.
Misao grimaced as she struggled to stay in her seat.
" Hmm I think that should do it".
The hairdresser smiled, removing the numerous clips that held her hair on top of her head and began to brush it out smoothly. Reaching for a hairdryer he began to ruffle Misao's hair and trained the hairdryer to blow gently on the shiny strands.
Misao squirmed, squeezing her eyes shut as a warm wind blew against her face.
" OK done! Open your eyes and see how great you look"
Misao did so obediently, hoping to find a bathroom as soon as possible. She was caught by surprise at the reflection that greeted her in the mirror. Her dark hair was relatively shorter, gently framing her face just past her ears. From the side to the back, the hair was longer, cut unevenly to give it a chic, modern look. It fell just so the ends of her hair tickled the bottom of her neck.
" There. Wasn't so bad was it?"
Misao couldn't answer the young hairdresser. She sat completely shell-shocked, wrapped up in her reflection in the mirror. She nodded numbly as the hairdresser took off the plastic sheet that protected her clothing and gently helped her off the chair.
" You look great. Hope you come again…Here's my card".
Misao stared blankly at him.
"err…miss?"
At this moment, Aoshi, with his jacket already on and Misao's hanging over his arm, chose to intervene. Thanking the nice hairdresser and softly and politely commending him for a job well done, he took the business card and bowed slightly. Putting her jacket over her shoulders, Aoshi steered her out the door, the sound of the ringing of the cash register behind him as the store door closed.
Now out on the street, Aoshi could see that Misao still seemed to be in some sort of trance. Making her slip on her jacket and grabbing her hand, her eyes seemed to be glued to any reflective surface as he pulled her along the street. He stopped in front of a store and seemed to be looking through the store window, quietly appraising its wares.
Misao stood next to him. Blink. Blink.
All the shiny objects glared back at her with her own image. Blink blink.
Wow what short hair I have.
Short hair.
Where'd all my hair go to?
Why am I standing here obsessing over it?
Blink.
Misao's eyes widened as she found herself staring at her reflection in a shiny metal pot lid. Wasn't she supposed to be at a hairdresser? With Shinomori?
She frantically looked around for him. He was standing near one of the display bins in the front of the store, a bright red plastic basket in hand, peering over plates stacked inside the bin. She marched inside, ignoring the shouts of welcome by the store staff and grabbed his arm harshly, pulling him down to her level and then yelling in his ear.
" Why in the world am I here?!"
Aoshi shook her off, very aware of the shop's patrons staring at them and took a few of the plates and put them in his basket.
" What does it look like I'm doing?"
Misao fumed as he moved to the next display bin that hosted a large selection of tall class cups.
" I'm asking why I'm here with YOU while you do…you…act so homely."
Aoshi glanced up from the cups, the sides of his lips twitching while he looked at her. Looking back down at the cups, he picked up 4, which had been packed in a box.
" Why these are for you."
" I have perfectly good glassware at home thank you very…"
Misao trailed off, remembering the angry rampage she'd gone on at home, the shattered glass covering the floor, the cushions thrown at various ends of the room. Actually come to think of it when she'd woken up that morning her apartment had been clean.
"…hey Shinomori?"
He stopped at the beginning of the aisle.
" Did you um…clean my apartment this morning?"
Misao suddenly felt strangely hot and bothered, pretending to be very interested in the display of bowls on the shelf as she waited for a response.
A grunt before he walked off again.
Misao tried to keep her annoyance in check. Afterall, considering Shinomori's ability for conversation, that grunt was pretty good. She hurried after him, pulling on his sleeve signaling him to stop. He turned around this time, looking down at her as she fumbled around with her clothing, pulling up her sleeves and gesturing for him to bend down so she could whisper something in his ears. Obliging her request, he leaned down. She leaned in, letting her warm breath tickle his ears whispering a thanks before quickly pecking him on the cheek. Grabbing the bowl she'd eyed before, she dumped it inside the basket he carried before and skipped merrily down the aisle.
" Come on Shinomori…we don't have all day. Since we're here I'm going to pick up a few things Move your cute ass!" Misao chided as she turned the corner to the next aisle.
Aoshi's lips twitched slightly in amusement as heat rose up to his face.
Cute ass?
An hour later, with him heavily weighed down by numerous shopping bags, they found their way back towards the station by walking through the shopping district. She claimed that she couldn't hold heavy loads due to her injuries.
Ok so that was probably true. But she still shouldn't be humming to herself and skipping happily in front of him like a 4 year old.
They came up to a pedestrian bridge, both sides had lines of stalls running all the way to the end. Hawkers of all kinds, concert tickets, 'genuine' branded goods, watches, jewelry, small electronic goods…you name it, it was there. Misao had meanwhile run off, standing in front of one stall. The table was covered in a black tablecloth with various beaded, metal trinkets decorating the table.
He hurried over with her bags, catching the end of the conversation between Misao and the shop keeper.
"…all hand made"
" Wow…these are really good! This is so pretty"
Misao picked up a pair of dangly earrings, holding it in front of her face and twirled it around, letting its silver surface catch the sunlight.
The pretty shop assistant eyed Aoshi, who was now standing behind Misao, with appreciative eyes.
" How about it boyfriend. Its dirt cheap at 1000 yen. You should buy it for her."
Misao quickly dropped it back on the table and shook her head vigorously.
" No no. He's not…we're not. At any rate I don't have any more money on me…c'mon lets leave Shinomori".
Misao quickly strode off, hurrying down towards the other end of the bridge. The shop assistant's eyes remained on him.
Should he buy it? He had plenty of money. Maybe as sort of an apology present. Omasu had once told him to buy one for Atsuko when she became mad at him and it had worked then. He leaned forward, picking up the earrings with his long fingers and admired them.
Maybe he would.
The next morning Misao opened the door, toast hanging from her mouth, one hand struggling to slide into her coat sleeve.
Normally it would be quite strange to have a visitor so early in the morning. BE she had a fair idea of who would be behind the door this morning.
"mmrmph mrphgm mrpmmph" she mumbled, greeting her visitor.
Aoshi looked down at the girl kicking the door open and shrugging her coat on, dropping crumbs all over the floor.
" Good morning to you too."
Misao grunted as she shoved the toast in her mouth in her hurry.
" Don't choke."
Misao swallowed and turned around, grinning at her guest.
" so what brings you here so early in the morning?"
Aoshi stayed silent, hovering near the doorway as the cold winds outside tousled his hair.
" Hurry up."
" What a gentleman you are good sir."
Misao grabbed her bag and walked to the door, closing and locking it before skipping down her apartment's stairs to where Aoshi stood waiting. Side by side, they headed towards the station. The sun rose steadily in the sky, a clear blue sky overhead. The thin sheet of ice over the sidewalk crunched under their shoes as they walked along the footpath.
" So how was baseball practice yesterday? Were you late?"
Aoshi, after dropping Misao and her packages off at her apartment had returned to school for baseball practice. The competition would start again soon, he had been anxious to keep up with his practice.
" Just in time."
Misao snickered, punching him playfully on the shoulder.
" Bet ya you had a hard time explaining where you went."
" mm." Aoshi mumbled in a positive tone.
" Did Sagara-san give you a hard time?"
" mm."
These responses would, under normal circumstances, anger Misao. Who answers by grunting? But coming from Aoshi, Misao supposed that this was pretty good…and was probably all she'd get.
" Were the hordes of fan girls there?"
" Of course."
Wow, words this time. What a skillful conversationalist he's turning into.
" was…was she there?"
She. Meaning that little minx who'd lopped off her hair. Miss President of the Aoshi-pukey-pukey-Shinomori club.
Aoshi remained tight lipped on that particular topic as they went through the turnslides at the station and sat down on bench on the train platform.
" Did she mention anything about it?"
No reply.
" Did she say anything at all?"
No reply.
" Did…you do say anything to her? Because you know…the last time that happened…"
" I'm here aren't I?"
" I guess."
" They won't hurt you."
" I don't want empty promises Shinomori. I don't need any favours."
" mm." He grunted in a negative tone.
They fell into silence again, boarding the train. They packed inside, with a steady stream of business men pushing them towards the middle of the train carriage. Aoshi grabbed the run overhead casually while Misao's eyes darted around anxiously. She was definitely not tall enough to reach the overhead strap.
The train gave a lurch as it began to pick up speed. She felt herself reeling backwards before Aoshi reached out and grabbed her with his other hand before she fell into the seedy old business man behind her. Grabbing Aoshi's blazer, she straightened herself and regained her balance.
" Thanks."
Not relinquishing her grip on his blazer, Misao's eyes glazed over and she began to daydream. Daydreaming was something she did a lot of while she was on trains. Her eyes darted around the carriage, the crowd of suits and ties, the odd schoolgirl typing on her mobile phone. The material of the dark blue blazer, the round navy buttons, the large black shows, the grey slacks. She dared not look up.
The girl with the phone looked over at Aoshi appreciatively, her tongue licking her lips in an unconscious action as she soaked in his facial features, his neck, his broad shoulders…all the way down to the girl clinging to his jacket. The girl shot her a dirty look. Misao looked up at Aoshi's face and flashed a haughty grin at the girl. The girl sniffed at her and turned away, nochantly going back to her phone.
Obviously that girl had thought Aoshi was her boyfriend. She was clinging to him for dear life afterall. The girl had been so ready to walk over to stalk her prey before she noticed Misao.
Hmm. That got her thinking. It was a ridiculous idea. But could it work? It's not like she wanted to be associated with him in that way. But why not? All the advantages were there. He had said girls who confessed to him always pestered him. His fan club was breathing down both their necks. He wouldn't have to think of lousy excuses to cover up the fact that he was trying to keep them away from her. The guys at the school would rejoice. The girls at the school would hate her…but practically all the girls in the school were in the pukey pukey fan club anyway.
The best part of the whole plan?
Misao's eye met with the girl with the phone again, the girl's face twisted in a sneer.
Taking away the thing that the girls that attacked her all wanted. What brilliant revenge!
Misao practically skipped off the train when it pulled into the station. She grabbed his hand and pulled him behind a nearby sign as the steady stream of passengers made its way to the stairs.
" Shinomori I have a proposition for you."
He nodded slightly, glancing at his watch, in a hurry to make his baseball practice. She reasoned with him.
" …Will you go out with me?"
" …for real?"
" Of course not for real! Just for convenience."
" Go on."
" You hate girls giving you love letters. You hate having to listen to their confessions and then rejecting them. You hate your fan club."
" mm."
" I'm hated by most of the female students. All of them like you. They did this " Misao said, grabbing her short hair in emphasis, " to me. Clearly I do want some kind of revenge."
Misao smiled. He looked mildly interested.
" What better way than to give them what they've been insinuating all along? Lets go out. At least pretend anyway."
Aoshi turned away from Misao's eager eyes, strolling down to the nearest vending machine for a warm coffee can. Sliding the coins in, he could hear the clink of the coins hitting the pile inside the machine.
She was right of course. It all was really a nuisance. He'd never really thought about it before. He'd never liked anyone to say yes to. He always thought that his fanclub would go ape over it. A relationship of convenience huh?
Misao was the product of his fears. She really had been attacked by the fan club.
He pushed a button before slotting more coins for the next can. Hearing two thunking sounds, he bent over, reaching into the little flap door to pull out two warm cans of coffee. He tossed on to her.
" You're on."
Misao jumped with glee before wincing in pain from the wound on her side. Shaking her head vigorously to get rid of the pain she caught the coffee can and opened it.
" Here's to a good partnership!"
They clinked cans and downed it, tossing the empty can in the garbage bin. Misao grabbed his arm as the next train pulled in. Dozens of students from their school poured off the train.
Misao grinned as she heard sharp exclamations of " Look!"
Aoshi, looking rather uncomfortable and stiff with Misao hanging off her arm shrugged her off. Damnit her hanging off his arm was stopping traffic and delaying the train as students stood shell shocked at the train carriage doorway.
" psst what are you doing. We're supposed to act-" Misao whispered anxiously, keeping her eyes on the crowd.
Aoshi captured her hand in hers confidently, leading her towards the stairs and out of the station. As they left the station, shrieks of "Oh my lord!" and " QUICK someone get a doctor! These girls have fainted" echoed behind them.
" Aahahaha! I can't believe it!" Misao laughed, gripping his hand a bit. " That was sooo rich! Absolutely priceless."
" mm. I believe we caused a train delay."
They were nearing the school now. The station had been a mere stage setter. This was where it counted. If their lovely plan would work for real. They walked to the baseball team club room, aware of the whispering and the gasps of surprise from all the people they passed on the early morning.
" I'll be right back."
Aoshi disappeared into the room, closing the door with a soft click. Misao stood outside in the hallway, leaning against the wall directly opposite the door.
" Hey! What's up Makimachi!"
Sano hollered from down the hall, running towards her with gym bag in hand casually over his shoulder.
" Waiting for your beau? Aoshi?"
Misao smiled. She really liked Sano. He was so vivacious and happy.
" You bet. Tell him to hurry up a bit. His fair princess is waiting afterall" she said, laying it particularly thick.
Sano laughed good naturedly at her 'joke'.
" Sure your highness. I am your humble messenger."
Sano waved with his freehand and disappeared inside the clubroom. Misao smiled as she could still hear Sano's loud booming voice from outside.
" Hey Aoshi! Your princess girlfriend is waiting outside!"
Then she heard a few thuds and the sound of a table scraping the floor. The clubroom door slid open, revealing Sano stabilizing himself using the table and Aoshi strolling out quite straight faced and casual. He held out his hand for her and she took it, tossing a wave to Sano with her other hand.
Such a guilty pleasure, leaving shell shocked people in her wake over something so simple as holding hands.
As the baseball club began morning practice, she sat on the bench with Kaoru, the manager of the baseball club.
" So I guess you and Aoshi-kun are a couple now?"
" …uh yeh I guess."
" Wow that's so great! So Okon was right!"
" mm." Misao responded absent mindedly.
She could see several members of the fan club congregating on the fair end of the field. Even though they were so far away, she could feel their glares stabbing her proverbially in the chest.
Kaoru looked anxious as she followed Misao's gaze.
" Misao-chan…they're not giving you any trouble right?"
Misao's side sent out a twinge of pain to her brain, triggered by remembering the events 2 days ago.
" …Oh no of course not. Shinomori has been taking really good care of me."
Kaoru raised an eyebrow.
" Why are you still calling him by his last name?"
" Um…well you see he's a little shy…so…this makes him more comfortable."
Kaoru's eyes narrowed suspiciously as Aoshi, on field in mid pitch seemed to glance over at Misao and Kaoru with equip suspicion.
" Aoshi! Look alive! What sort of pitch was that!"
The girls turned back to the baseball diamond to see the batter run to third base before being proclaimed safe.
Uh oh.
Author's notes : Does it seem lame to you? It kinda seems lame to me now...but this was what i wanted to spur the plot on. It seems like a fun idea right? Super predictable right? We'll see!! :P But for now lets have some fun with this. Thanks you guys for still reading.