Author's Notes: ::author is too hungover to leave note::
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Chapter 4: Taco Flavored Kisses
The blaring alarm clock disrupted the peaceful slumber of Misao as she opened one sleepy eyes and grabbed her alarm clock, throwing it against the wall with a dull thud. Burying herself back underneath the covers she sighed.
It was Sunday after all, and it wasn't like she had school or work.
There was no reason for her to even be awake at the hour of ten am.
And then she quickly sat up and cursed.
Flying out of bed and grabbing clothes from her closet she stormed into the bathroom and hazardly showered and quickly dressed. She didn't have time to blow-dry her hair as she ran out of the house, grabbing her purse back-pack and ran out the door and down the street until she got to the subway, pulling her metro card out of her purse and swiping it.
As she pressed her head against the window of the cramped train she sighed. She wished desperately for some source of caffeine badly. Feeling her bangs stick her head from their dampness, she sighed.
She was supposed to meet Aoshi outside the Hatsuharu Shopping Center at 10:30 sharp, as he had said. Nothing more than that.
She wasn't even sure why she was going. They weren't dating, they didn't have much to talk about, the only thing they shared in common was simple adolescent lust. Nothing more.
So then why was she on her way to meet him on a Sunday morning she could be sleeping in on?
Curiosity.
She hated to admit it, but Aoshi had her oddly intrigued. He was quiet and surly and anti-social...yet he wanted to have those brief interludes with her. He dressed strangely, always covered up, which made her wonder. He had a nice body, from what she could tell. And he wasn't ugly.
He was strangely...handsome in a extreme and cold way.
No. She would not think of it.
Thinking of Shinomori Aoshi was just bad news.
She heard the electronic ringing of her cell phone and answered.
"Hello?"
"Misao-chan! It's me! Where are you?"
"Out."
"Well obviously! Whatcha doing?"
"Errands."
"Geez, you're so monosyllabic. Anywho, can you hang today?"
"I don't think so, I'm busy."
"Really? Well...okay. I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Okay. Later Kaoru-chan."
Misao hit the 'end' button and sighed. She had lied to Kaoru, but it wasn't like she could come out and say she was to meet Aoshi for purposes unknown. For all she knew he was going to spirit her away to some No-Tell Motel and have his way with her.
She wondered if it was a good idea to wear her Sanrio Cinnamon Roll bra and undies. Feeling her cheeks flush she shook her head and sighed.
She was treading into extremely wrong thinking.
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Aoshi looked around in boredom from the his spot sitting against the water fountain waiting for Misao.
He was beginning to wonder why he had asked her to meet him there.
Well, he did know the answer.
1- He needed music.
2- He would most likely be bored after said music-purchasing and she would be his means of relieving boredom.
Simple as that.
Finally he saw a figure running quickly and saw her stop before him huffing for air. She blinked and looked down at the awkward way he just sat on the floor so non-chalantly. She was wearing jeans and a simple blue tee-shirt, which was rather simple. Her hair looked as if it was damp and she had left it wet and braided it.
He stood up and began walking, hearing her grumble for him to wait as she quickly followed. He smirked at that.
They went into the music store where he immediately made a bee-line for the rock section while Misao trailed behind and wandered off to peruse other sections. She was slightly annoyed that was ignoring her after HE was the one who asked HER to meet him. Finally she went over to his side to see he was looking at rock cds.
She recognized the cover of the cd and smiled.
"That's a real good one."
He looked at her with a neutral and skeptical look.
"You listen to Pixies?"
"Yes. Is that so hard to believe?"
He merely slanted a brow and Misao sighed and cleared her throat.
"Hold my hand..we'll trampoline...traveling to control...she can really move...oh velveteen my velouria..."
"Okay. You know Pixies."
"You're the not the type I'd figure to like them. Most Americans don't even listen to them."
"And what am I supposed to listen to?" he asked.
"Black metal? Though black metal is cool, but a lot of Scandinavian rock is good."
"Well now that's a surprise. But I bet you'd give anything for a date with Hyde."
Misao grinned.
"Naturally. Though Atsushi would also be my choice."
"Buck Tick Atsushi?"
"Who else."
He turned to face her completely.
"So little miss socialite listens to something beside pop?"
She put her hands on her hips and smirked.
"Well I do have every Buck Tick cd ever made."
That caught his interest.
"Even BT' 99?"
"Naturally."
He was silent for a moment.
"What is your policy on burning music cds for people?"
She laughed at that, covering her face with her hand.
"Is the big, bad Shinomori Aoshi asking ME for a favor?"
He shot her an icy glare and walked away.
"Shinomori-senpai, wait!" she said softly as she padded after him carrying some cds.
She realized as they stood in line to pay, she hadn't felt the usual nervous feeling in her stomach that was usually present when Aoshi was near.
Perhaps she was getting used to him.
Perhaps that wasn't a good thing.
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Taking a drag of a Marlboro Menthol Light as she walked down the crowded street, Tokio
mused the irony that Saitoh would be displeased to see she was smoking again. The man smoked over a pack a day.
Ah, but it wasn't he who she was walking around in a glum over. She was frustrated. She just wanted to go already and get away from her over-bearing parents and live her life to her standards already.
Everybody wanted her to be their angel. Everybody wanted something they could cradle.
But not her friends. Not her beloved Hajime.
She never thought he would mean so much to her, but he made her feel free, something more than a caged songbird, with him she felt like the mate to his wolf.
She smirked as she took another drag.
That would make an interesting story. Perhaps she could spin a fantasy from her reality. It was books and words she escaped to when she wasn't with Saitoh. Her teachers always did say she had a way with words, even when making elaborate excuses for not doing homework.
She grabbed a piece of her hair and looked at the current coloring. Perhaps it was time for a change. Finishing the cigarette, she walked to the salon at the end of the street and walked in.
And almost an hour or so later, she walked out with blue-black hair and soft blue lavender streaks. She smiled. It was one of the major things she did on a whim, change her hair color. It was more apparent than a mood ring.
Her parents were also arguing over something about the house, and so her father has tossed some yen bills to her and told her to go out. She accepted and spent it fruitlessly. On clothes, on her dye jobs. Music.
Any other money she got she stored away to move out.
And she was so close.
She wondered if Saitoh would want to live with her. Were they ready for that after she graduated? She really hoped.
Aside from family, Tokio was quite certain she was the only other person Saitoh would tolerate living with. She knew him as well as she knew herself.
They just read each other that well.
As she stepped into the Hatsuharu Shopping Center and made her way to get a new pair of camouflage cargo pants she stopped in her tracks.
Her cousin Aoshi walking with Makimachi Misao and talking to her too. For all intents and purposes they seemed to be together.
No, it couldn't be.
But....
She watched as Misao stopped and actually kicked Aoshi in the leg.
No one would ever have the gall to do that...
But Aoshi seemed to merely glare at the petite girl and walk on while she rolled her eyes and followed.
Aoshi and Misao.
She closed her eyes and shook her head slightly.
She had seen stranger things, like her and Saitoh. They went from dislike to soul mates. Perhaps the genki junior was what Aoshi needed. He was always alone. Granted he had her, and Saitoh, and Kenshin, and Sano...but...
No one ever really knew what the hell was going in Aoshi's head. He had that wall around him.
She started walking again into a store and went right for a pair of pants, and saw a pair of knee-high combat boots. She grabbed them without hesitation. She paid for them and grabbed her bags, suddenly in somewhat of a better mood.
Oh yes, she was having a talk with her cousin indeed.
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Misao looked through the cds she had bought as they sat at the food court. She had purchased the new L'Arc en Ciel cd, Green Day, Deftones, Utada Hikaru, and a new cd case. Aoshi had merely gotten the Pixies cd.
"Tell me Shinomori-san, why just the one cd. Last I recalled you weren't exactly poor."
"It is all I wanted. I do not need to spend my cash so aimlessly."
She frowned.
"Well excuse me. God, why did you even ask out here? I could have slept."
"This isn't a date, Misao." he murmured, finishing his taco.
"Obviously. I'm not dumb enough to assume it. I think we had a pretty clear understanding. We don't talk in school. We make out sometimes. That's it."
"And that's why you're here. To keep me from being bored."
She shot him a scandalized looked and stood up.
"I'm not some tool for your amusement you jerk."
She turned to walk away, but he grabbed her and kiss her soundly. She melted into the kiss and they broke apart quickly.
"You...taste like taco." she murmured softly, looking away.
The public display embarrassed her a little.
He took her hand and led her away from the food court and outside the mall into the parking garage. He brought her into one of the empty stairwells, pressing her back against the wall.
"This is really why I wanted to see you." he murmured against her neck as he trailed his lips up the pale flesh and nipped her earlobe.
She breathed loudly and grabbed the back of his neck, pulling his head back from the teasing he was inflicting and crushed her lips to his. She raked her fingers through his hand and pulled slightly, but Aoshi ignored the pain as tongues tangled and he pressed closer to her. His fingers grazed her stomach underneath her tee-shirt, moving up and up until he traced the contour of her bra.
She stopped, grabbing his hands and pushing him away.
"What's the matter?" he asked, moving away from her and leaning against the opposite wall.
"It's only kissing. That's what I agreed to." she said, her face flushed as she unclasped her braid and raked her fingers through the slightly dry hair. It fell in slight waves around her shoulders as she sighed.
Aoshi watched her with a bland expression, but... looking like that.
She was a gorgeous girl.
He let the thought flitter away. She vexed him, and though he rationalized he didn't want her...he did.
His body had just said so. He thought he could settle for kisses, that it would sate his desires.
Oh but she had made something in him burn, and to one so used to feeling cold any feeling of warmth made him want more.
He really wished she would just let him screw her and get it out of his system.
He was disgusted by that thought, by the baseness of it, the vulgarness.
But it was true.
Something about this girl made him want to grab her, kiss her, burn with her and touch her.
But he didn't love her. He barely liked her.
But as he said, you can hate someone and still fuck them.
"Should I apologize for acting on my basic human desires?" he murmured, watching as she blinked.
"Aoshi, I'm not amused."
He blinked at that. She hadn't called him 'Shinomori-san'. She called him Aoshi.
"Well I'm not here for your amusement, Misao."
She almost smirked at having her words thrown back in her face.
She walked towards him slowly and took his wrists in her hands and pinned them at his sides against the wall.
"How about for once I really take the lead?" she voiced as she whispered against his lips before kissing him.
He conceded, letting her have her moment. Someday he would get back at her for it, hopefully when she was a bit less prudish.
She kissed him passionately, and her hands left his wrists but he knew she wanted him to stay put.
And then he felt a hand flutter to under his shirt, slowly tracing up his stomach and his chest. It was more of curiosity than anything else it seemed. But it felt good.
Misao stopped and backed away, smirking at him.
So there was some muscle under the dark clothing and trench coat.
She almost wondered what he looked liked without clothes, but that line of thought would just get her in trouble.
Despite lust and everything, she couldn't see herself sleeping with someone she didn't love. It just didn't seem right for her first time.
And that was why she only wanted kisses with Aoshi.
She didn't love him.
"Look, I've got homework to do and we've had our make-out session for the day so why not call it quits for the day." Misao murmured, walking out from the stairwell and into the parking garage lot with Aoshi behind her.
"Aa. I'll follow you home."
"Sure, might as well." she said flippantly, trying to mask that her heart was beating fast.
She almost wished....that Aoshi wasn't so gothic.
Then maybe...
Oh, but that was a horrible thought. He shouldn't change who he was for her to feel that maybe she could date him.
She didn't even WANT to date him.
Didn't she?
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That's it for now folks. I got steak in front of me and it's giving me ADD so later.
