Chapter Two

Stupid Pen

Sleep, yes, continuous, wonderful, un-interrupted dreamless sleep. That's what Kaoru's having right now. And it'll be total shit if anyone disturbs her out of it.

"C'mon, Kaoru! Wake up!" her younger roommate yelled while taking a pillow on her hand and hitting her straight on the face. Alas, the sleeping beauty was disturbed.

But to no avail, Kaoru still remained motionless on her bed. Misao had tried so many things to rouse her but all of it ended up fruitless. Misao sighed. It was hopeless. "You leave me no other choice." She never wanted her friend to lose her job again. Punctuality's important, just as what Dr. Shinomori stated. It's not that she'd hate Kaoru for slacking on her job because she got the doctor she fancies for a boss. It's just that everyone knows he dislikes tardiness… a lot. She's worried about Kaoru. Who knows what Dr. Shinomori would do if she's late on her first day!

Misao went to the cabinet and took out the megaphone she got from her part time job last summer. She took a long deep breath and then pointed the megaphone near Kaoru's ear, "KAMIYA KAORU WAKE UP!" she shouted right on top of her lungs, releasing all the air she inhaled.

As a result, Kaoru jumped out from the bed and accidentally landed on the floor with a thud.

Realizing that Kaoru's out of bed and wincing on the floor, Misao dropped the megaphone and knelt down next to her, "Oh my God, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

Groggily and terribly feeling her throbbing bottom, she irritably glared at her. "What have I done to deserve this?" she winced as she gently rubbed her back side.

Misao grabbed her arm and helped her up from the floor, "Don't be mad at me, Kao-chan! I'm just trying to wake you up! Do you know what time it is?"

"No." Kaoru sleepily replied, yawning and stretching out her arms.

"It's half past seven. Weren't you supposed to be on your way to work?" Misao pointed on the clock radio on her bedside table.

"WHAT?" Kaoru's eyes bulged wide and her jaw hanged open in stun. She quickly took a glance on her clock and saw 7:30 am turning 7:31 am. "Oh no! This can't be happening!" she jumped on the other side of the bed and grabbed her clock radio. "I put an alarm on this last night!"

Misao sheepishly looked at her and then nervously laughed, raising her hand as she said, "That would be my fault. That thing's wrecked for almost a week. I forgot to tell you."

Kaoru could not believe this. And then suddenly recalled the last words her new boss said.

"I hate tardiness, if you must know."

"Damn it!" she quickly ran to the bathroom, leaving a speechless Misao behind, staring at the closed bathroom door.

Run, that's what she's doing right now. She glanced down on her watch and saw the time. " 8:40? Crap! I'm totally in for it!" she's almost thirty minutes late and surely Dr. Stuck-up wouldn't be pleased with her delay. There's a possibility she might lose her job again.

Kaoru groaned as her feet started aching. Her heels are slowing her down, albeit the fact that the hospital's only a few blocks away. She can still make it! Letting her mind do the rational thinking, she ceased her steps and took off her shoes. There! Much better! She didn't care if she's running on the streets barefooted. She didn't care if some of the people stared at her as if she's a lunatic on the loose. Just as long as she arrives at the hospital, nothing will hinder her from running without shoes.

Finally, Tokyo hospital came into view. She immediately ran inside and luckily found an empty elevator. But before the doors shut close, Jeremy Fisher, Misao's boss and one of the head nurses around the hospital went in. She pulled out a nervous smile and he smiled back. Jeremy reached out to press 6th floor as she pressed the 5th button.

The chubby head-nurse happens to look down on the floor and noticed her lack of shoes. He tried to hide his smile and then said, "So this must be your first day at work, Kamiya-san?"

"Y-yes, sir." Kaoru replied, looking at the highlighted numbers on the top of the elevator's door. 1… 2…. 3—

"Good luck." Jeremy said, truly amused especially when he noticed her holding her shoes on her left hand.

4… 5! "Thank you!" She turned to him and bowed, and then she went out of the elevator and proceeded to where Dr. Shinomori's office is.

Jeremy watched her leave until the elevator's door closed. Will this girl be good enough for you, Shinomori?

"Thank goodness!" she sighed, stopping right in front of the doctor's office, catching all the breath she had lost from all the running she did. She reached to open the door but hesitated when she noticed she was still barefooted. She groaned exasperatedly and reached down to wear her left shoe.

But much to her surprise, the door in front of her suddenly opened. She remained crouching on the floor as she looked up. There before her stood the tall form of Dr. Aoshi Shinomori with a surly look on his handsome face. He pretty looks much annoyed as he glared down on her, noticing her unusual position of crouching in front of his office's door.

She quickly straightened herself, though it was quite impossible since she's standing with one foot wearing a 4-inch heeled shoe while the other left bare. "Good morning, Doctor." She timidly greeted, looking at him as if she's afraid he'd actually slaughter her.

"You're late." He stated indifferently, his cold stare never wavering. He's really pissed off.

"I deeply apologize, sir. You see, I tried my best to get here as fast as I could! But-my-clock-suddenly-got-busted-and-I-woke-up-late-then-I-missed-the-bus-so-I-was-forced-to-take-the-train-on-the-next-station-which-is-quite-far-away-from-my-place-and-then-I-get-to-run-around-wearing-these-stupid-heels-so-i-decided-to-take-them-off-and—" Kaoru didn't realize that she's started blabbering stupid things that fairly annoyed the doctor more instead of convincing him.

Aoshi scowled at her and shook his head, "I don't care about your clock or the train you rode or even the heels you wore. I told you yesterday how much I hate tardiness, and I'm really surprised that you still manage to ignore the warning that I gave you."

Kaoru listened to him intently and nodded. This is it… he's gonna fire me! God, Kaoru, this is record-breaking! Getting kicked out of your job without even starting it! She bitterly thought, imagining herself again on the busy streets of Japan looking for a job again. "Forgive me, sir. I promise, it won't happen again! I swear!" she held up her hand as a sign of her sincerity. Please punish me in stead! Just don't fire me! I'll do anything!

"Of course it won't," he glared at her, "Cause if ever you're late for work again, I won't hesitate to fire you." Something in his voice made Kaoru shiver.

She nodded, feeling quite relieved that he's not planning on kicking her out of her job now. Thank God! She raised her head and noticed him entering the office, a signal that she must enter too.

As she entered the air-conditioned room, she immediately went to her desk. This guy's a tough one. I won't go around messing with him, it's for the better. Unless I want him to extract my heart out of my chest… that last thought suddenly came popping on her mind as she saw again the illustration of the human heart before her. Kaoru winced at that thought and tried to shake it away.

Aoshi watched the girl's peculiar expressions with sudden interest. He approached her table, noticing nervously she looked at him, "I want you to arrange all the files of my patients inside that file cabinet in alphabetical order." He said, nodding his head towards the cabinet behind her.

She looked behind and saw a file cabinet and numerous of papers surrounding it. Kaoru's eyes narrowed, He didn't actually do this on purpose, did he? She noticed that the files were messed intentionally. "You've got to be kidding me…" it'll take her some time to finish this. The piles of papers were humungous!

"Unfortunately, no, I'm not kidding you, Kamiya. It's been a while since I had my last secretary. Throw all the unnecessary records and be quick. I also dislike people dawdling around." Then he turned and went to the other side of the room.

Kaoru watched him leave and then glanced on the loads of work her boss gave her. With a weary groan, she dropped her head on the table with a thud.

This continued for weeks. Going to work on the exact time, organizing files, receiving calls, bringing him coffee, and everything that a usual secretary does. And boy, Kaoru's tired doing it! Three straight weeks and she's thankful she's still alive. Not to mention that she's bored stiff around the office having a tight-lipped Dr. Shinomori for a company. Yes, they may have talked once but it merely lasted for two minutes! She's continuously complaining all these stuff to Misao though the smitten girl chose to ignore it. Of course her complaints have nothing against the un-talkative, aloof doctor she fancies. Since then, Kaoru didn't bother telling her more complaints about the great doctor since she knew Misao will just disregard her accusations.

The next day, she sat behind her desk again; her chin propped on her hand as she waited for the clock to strike twelve. She yawned and a tear slipped its way from her eye. Wiping the tear away, she glanced over to the doctor and observed how he tended on his patients.

Staying in the hospital for ten straight hours and having a Cardiac surgeon for a boss educated her more about the human heart and its imbalances. For example, Angina Pectoris is a situation in which the myocardium is deprived of oxygen often result in crushing chest pain. And who would have thought the abnormal or unusual heart sounds are called murmurs? All this time she thought murmurs means whispering alone. Hah! Let's see how Sano would react with this new found information! A grin started spreading on her face at the thought of seeing his nose bleed from all the confusing cardiovascular words.

And indeed, Sano's nose bled as she told him this stuff just like the time when she spoke straight English to him.

"Stop! No more, Jou-chan! I'm losing too much blood!"

Kaoru laughed hard at the sight and so as her other friends who laughed along. God, she missed them a lot. If it weren't for Tae's call, she wouldn't be here enjoying the night with them. As she sat there with Sano, Tae, Tsubame and Yumi surrounding her, she realized that summer days' nearing its end and school's starting by next month.

This means, she has to quit her job in the hospital and find a part time one that she could adjust with her busy schedule at school.

"Working in the hospital? You?" Takani Megumi, Kaoru's best friend (who she didn't always get along with) asked in disbelief as they went in to the new duplex with a large box on their hands.

Kaoru rolled her eyes, "Better believe it."

"See how fox reacts through this, Jou-chan? I told you your job doesn't suit you." a male voice teased from behind her.

Kaoru turned around to see Sagara Sanosuke putting down a huge cardboard box marked Kitchen Stuff and grinning as he saw the look of pure loathe on her face. He winked at her and then walked outside again to fetch the other boxes. She stuck out her tongue and proceeded to place the box she's carrying on the counter. She then started examining the whole interior of the house Megumi and two of her best friends, Tae and Yumi rented. "This place is nice." She said, quite admiring the whole cool lavender colour scheme.

Megumi smiled and nodded, "It took us some time from finding it. The girls and I loved this duplex the moment we first laid eyes on it." She too observed the place she now calls her new home. "Y'know, no dorms, no crappy roommates, no disgusting cafeteria food—"

"Yeah, yeah, I get the picture." Kaoru dismissed her with a wave of her hand, "Where's Tae and Yumi by the way?"

"Shopping. Tae thought it'll be much better to start a new school year with new clothes. Typical." Megumi replied as she started unpacking the boxes. She had never been fond with shopping and doing the usual stuff girls do. She much prefers staying in the library studying her thick medical books. What more to expect for a med student like her?

"Hmm… yeah. I would have done the same thing if only I wasn't grounded." Kaoru dreamily muttered to herself. Realizing how broke she was up until now despite of her continuous two weeks job in the hospital.

"Nine more months, huh?"

"Yep."

"Does that mean you still have to work while studying?"

"Exactly." She glanced over to her and saw the look of disapproval on her face. Kaoru knew Megumi never consent to anything that may hinder someone's education. She's always been the smart-ass in the group.

"Oh, that's full of crap! What are your parents thinking?" Megumi, as what was expected snapped, both her hands planted on her hips in a very motherly-like sort of way. "You can't work and study at the same time. It'll distract you!"

"Don't worry, mom. I can manage." She sarcastically replied.

Just then, Sano enter the house again carrying another cardboard box.

"This is your entire fault." Megumi glared at him and this made Sano shiver out of his wits.

"What?" he openly asked while placing the box on the floor.

Megumi walked towards her boy friend and started ranting. "If it wasn't for you and that stupid race, Tanuki wouldn't have to work and study at the same time!"

Kaoru cringed and knew there's an upcoming battle of tongues from the two. Oh boy… she shook her head and placed her face between her palms as she watched the two bicker. Do I always have to witness this? Then she felt something vibrate through her jeans. She took out the vibrating phone without even looking whoever's calling.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?" a deep voice asked on the other line.

"Shinomori-san?"

"Kamiya, where are you?"

The whole place was quite noisy caused by Megumi's lectures and Sano's defeated replies. She covered her other ear and walked towards the stairs. "I'm at my friend's house, why?"

"Go to the hospital."

"Wha—but why?"

"What do you always do in the hospital, Kamiya?"

"Work—but its Sunday and—"

"This day is no exception. Go to the hospital, I need you to find something for me."

"But—"

"Do you want to lose your job?"

Kaoru can't believe this. Her mouth fell open as if she's about to protest though she pacified her rising temper and sighed in stead, "No sir." I hate you, you meanie!

"Good. I'll see you then."

And then he hung up.

It's Sunday, damn it! I'm not a freakin' machine who works around 24/7! Kaoru felt the urge of kicking or destroying something. She stuffed her phone back to her pocket and angrily strolled towards the door. She was about to say good bye to her friends though she thought it'll be impossible since they're still in the middle of an argument. In stead she took a pen and paper and left a note on the fridge.

Kaoru arrived at the hospital as fast as she could, only clad in a simple blue shirt, cargo pants, bag pack and tennis shoes. Upon arriving on fifth floor, she saw him standing in front of his office's door, both hands tucked on his robe's front pockets.

"You're late." He wearily drawled as he grimly stared down at her.

Still panting from the all the running she did, Kaoru managed bowing down politely and saying, "I came all the way from Furin, sir. I need to board the train and—"

"How many times should I remind you about tardiness?" he indifferently asked.

You made me scramble my way just to get here in time! And this is all because of you and your stupid unexpected calls! She wanted to scream that out loud. But she'll be jobless again by tomorrow morning if she did so. "Yes sir." She slightly hissed, with all intents of taming her livid anger down.

Aoshi continued to eye her, "I'll definitely fire you the next time you're late." And then he turned to open the door and entered the room.

Kaoru scowled and glared at him as she went in to follow him. I can always kick your sorry ass, butt head! If it wasn't for the sake of her job and Misao's fascination towards him, she could have done that a lot sooner. "You said you need me to find something for you. What is it?"

Aoshi's eyes scanned the room first and with a shrug he replied, "A pen."

"E-excuse me?" did she heard him right? He wanted her to find a—pen?

"My pen. I lost it somewhere here."

She couldn't believe what she's hearing from him. Her jaw dropped and stared incredulously at him. Did he urgently call me here to find a freakin' pen? "Y-you're pen?" she asked out of stun.

Aoshi frowned, "Are you deaf?"

"You called me all the way here in a hot Sunday afternoon just to find your pen?" she's in the midst of losing her last few strands of patience. She's all set to burst out like a rocket.

"As far as I can remember, you're the last person who used that pen. And I'm planning to get it back."

Kaoru do remember borrowing his pen a couple of days ago. She inwardly groaned and shook her head, "As much as I want to return that pen, sir, I can't. It's not here; I left it in my apartment."

Aoshi looked at her apathetically as usual. "Let's go to your place then." He surprisingly suggested and then went to get his suit case.

Her eyes bulged at his sudden command. What did he say? "E-excuse me?"

"Honestly Kamiya, are your senses failing you?" he exasperatedly mocked as he went to open the door. "We're going to your place. I want that pen now." He insisted.

Why does he want that pen so bad to even resort to the idea of going to my place? She frowned and groaned as she saw him leave the room. She immediately followed him despite of her confusion on his behaviour and his freakin' pen.

They walked their way to where the parking lot is. On the way there she could notice numerous girls eyeing the handsome doctor before her. If they only knew how insufferable this git is! They're all fooled by his looks… poor girls… including her dear friend, Misao who's totally smitten by him.

She was so lost in her thoughts of repulsion towards him that she didn't notice they're both standing in front of his ca—luxury car. It was a silver sports car, the latest model of Porsche. Whoa, this guy's loaded. She thought as she observed the incredibly steep wheels.

"Get in." the blue-eyed doctor ordered and being the loyal secretary as she was, she did as what she was told.

As he started the car and the engine roared, Kaoru glanced at him and asked, "Do you really have to do this? I mean, surely you have a lot spare pens, right?"

He didn't spare her a glance and started reversing his way to the parking lot, "its parker."

She looked at him disbelievingly as she heard his reply, its parker?

The ride towards Kaoru's home was a silent one. The silence was nerve-breaking. She's bored and the least thing she needs right now is a phlegmatic doctor who surprisingly decides to visit her apartment without even asking her consent. Kaoru pursed her lips and decided to gaze on the window, finding this much more interesting than watching Aoshi drive.

Argh! I need to do something! Her hands were itching in anticipation of doing something fun and not flattening her bottom in the car seat until they arrive at her place. She then spotted the overly high-tech radio/CD/MP3 player. Hmm… a little music will do… she happily thought and then glanced at the silent doctor. He seems to be focusing on the road ahead and so this fueled Kaoru's determination. She reached out and pressed the power button. But the music she heard from the radio was the inevitable. A classical, orchestra music can be heard from the speakers behind. Kaoru's eyes widened and then narrowed, even his music's boring! She glanced over to the doctor who seems to be ignoring her bold actions of pressing buttons on his radio. Sensing that Aoshi chose to ignore her and concentrated on his driving, Kaoru pressed the station searcher and was delighted when she found a rock music station. Now we're talkin'…

Rockin' guitar solos and booming drum beats filled the car which really startled the blue-eyed doctor. Kaoru held back the urge to laugh when she saw his stunned reaction and simply drowned herself towards the wonderful tune of metal music. As she closed her eyes, deeply listening to the music as she too sang a few lines with it, Aoshi abruptly turned the station back to the previous one.

The boring orchestra station.

Kaoru's eyes bulged wide her jaw fell open as she stared at him incredulously. She again pressed the station searcher and found her rock music station again, this time finding the liberty to sing out loud along with the incredibly deafening music.

Aoshi glared at her and returned the station back to the orchestra station.

Kaoru glared back and defiantly pressed the button again.

This continued for a couple more times, classical cellos and violins altering to guitar solos and earsplitting drum beats. Not until Aoshi saw the red light then turned to her, turning the radio off.

"Why did you do that for?" Kaoru asked, crossing her arms as she stared at him.

"Who owns this car, Kamiya?" he asked back, a hint of annoyance could be heard from the tone of his voice.

"You." She cautiously answered, reminding her self that she's starting to annoy her boss—for the umpteenth time. Not just any boss, but a Cardiac Surgeon. Once again she imagined him extracting her heart out of her chest. Kaoru freely winced.

"Then keep your hands off of my radio." He grimly said, narrowing his eyes towards her. He could see the green light from the corner of his eyes and started driving again.

Kaoru snorted and then returned her attention back outside the window. Since then she never bothered talking or moving or even glancing at him. She was so pissed off from the fact that this guy can easily boss her around. Uh… hello? He's your boss, duh? Still the idea of him giving orders and her scrambling through her feet just to please him irritates her. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she felt the car suddenly stops.

She looked around and saw them selves in the middle of the road somewhere in Seihoku St. This time she finally managed to turn her head and questioningly glanced at the stuck-up doctor. "What happened?"

Aoshi turned the keys and started running the engines for a couple of times before replying, "The car broke down."

"What?" Kaoru disbelievingly asked, not expecting that a chic car such as this has the flaws of breaking down in the middle of the street. She saw Aoshi got off of the car and promptly she did as well and approached him as he checks over the horse-power engine. She noticed that the doctor only stood there, staring at the engine doing nothing in particular. She narrowed her eyes and accusingly said, "You don't know how to deal with engines, do you?"

Aoshi scowled at her and closed the lid. "May I remind you that I'm a doctor and not a mechanic?" He bitterly said, not comfortable with the idea of admitting his lack of knowledge towards cars.

Rich boy… she strived hard not to laugh out loud so she kept herself from not bursting by biting her lower lip. "C'mon, doc. Home's only few blocks away from here. We can walk instead." She said and started walking on the sidewalk. She could hear him inwardly sighing and then heard his footsteps following her from behind.

Kaoru looked up into the skies and noticed it was already getting dark. She then paid her watch a glance, its 6:30 already? She didn't notice the time fly so fast. She's expecting it to run slower than the usual after that boring ride she had in her boss' busted Porsche.

"Hey doc!" she called, knowing that he's walking just right behind her.

"What?" he ungratefully asked.

"What do you want for dinner?" she asked, slowing down her steps so as she could walk next to him.

Aoshi skeptically eyed her, "Steak, why?"

Kaoru looked thoughtful for a moment, her lips pursed, and eyes looking up with the tip of her forefinger placed on her chin. "I believe we already ate that last week… meaning there's no more steak in the fridge." She thought out loud which Aoshi found quite… comical. "Sorry doc, steak's not available at the moment. Want something else?"

"Why are you asking me these questions, Kamiya?" he once again glared at her.

"You're hungry right?" she spat, "At least I have the decency to ask you what you want for dinner!" she pouted, crossing her arms again.

"You want me to eat dinner at your place?" he asked, realizing that eating at her place never came into his mind.

"Would I be asking you if I weren't?" Kaoru sardonically replied.

"Fine." He said, stuffing his hands on the front pockets of his slacks.

"Fine what?"

"Fine I'll eat dinner at your place."

Kaoru felt her self smiling and then asked again, "So, what do you want for dinner? Except for steak, that is."

"Whatever you're having." He said as they both turned towards the next corner.

"Whatever I'm ha—?" Kaoru asked in disbelief, "Are you expecting me to feed you Chinese take out?"

Aoshi again frowned and glanced at her, "Aren't you going to order food?"

"Honestly, you're starting to insult me here." She said, pretending to look offended, "I'm cooking for you silly!"

"You're cooking dinner?" he doubtfully stared at her.

"FYI! I'm a Culinary student for three straight years!" she raised her hand with three fingers raised up. "I believe I'm a better cook now than before."

Aoshi felt himself smirking as this though he tried to conceal it away from her, "You're taking Culinary in College?"

Kaoru smiled and nodded, "I want to be a cook someday. Oh! Which reminds me by the way," she abruptly stopped walking and turned to the blue-eyed doctor, "Since school's starting next month… I'm giving you my two weeks notice tomorrow. I have to find another job that will fit my busy schedule at school."

"You're resigning?" Aoshi was quite upset about this. If she's going back to school and resigning at her job at the hospital means he have to find another secretary. Find another suitable one who he can trust and especially who he can easily boss around. Like Kaoru for example. But before he could even protest to the idea of her quitting her secretary job, Kaoru stopped in front of an apartment building.

"We're here." Kaoru announced and then headed inside.

Aoshi intently observed the whole building which was rather really shabby. Wet clothes carelessly hanged outside each apartment doors which he ever so tried to avoid from bumping with. After walking through that painstaking hallway, they climbed the stairs since Kaoru said the elevator's broken. Finally after climbing two consecutive floors, they arrived in front of his secretary's apartment.

Too bad Misao's not here… I'm sure she'll faint when she sees her beloved doctor in front of our doorstep. But sadly, Misao's doing a graveyard shift at the hospital. After turning the keys, the door opened and she motioned for Aoshi to follow her.

Aoshi cautiously entered and was surprised to see that her apartment's neat. Though the place was small, the whole concept of warm colors and tidiness gives a very homey feeling to it. This place looks much better than his apartment.

Kaoru noticing that her guest still stood near the door said, "Feel free to sit doctor. It's not much but I assure you it's comfortable." She was referring to the shabby red couch.

The blue-eyed doctor nodded and settled himself on the couch as she disappeared from the room. And then she came back with the pen that caused his visit.

"Here" she thrust the pen towards him and he silently took it. "Thanks for letting me use it."

Aoshi only nodded, "The next time you borrow it, try returning it to me, ok?"

Kaoru ignored his comment by a wave of her hand as she proceeded to the next room which was the kitchen, "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

She opened the cupboards and rummaged through it. "Hmm… what to cook? What to cook?" she saw a box of linguine pasta, a citrus stir fry-sauce, canned corn kernels, cereals and oatmeal. "I have to remind Misao to do the grocery tomorrow." She then closed the cupboard and headed to the fridge containing pork chops, a couple of salmons, and a bag of leafy greens. "God this fridge's bare!" and then she remembered something in her head. A simple recipe she learned from school.

"Hey doc!" she called so he could hear her from the other room, "It'll take me thirty minutes to cook this thing. Is that okay with you?"

"Do you need any help?" was his reply.

"No, why?"

"Then I'll wait."

It took some time before she realized that he made a sarcastic remark and she didn't even have the chance to give a witty come back. "Damn. He got me there." Irritably she went to retrieve the ingredients from the cupboard and started boiling the linguine pasta.

As she cooks, Aoshi took his time to observe the apartment. He noticed the array of photo frames on the corner and out of curiosity he went to look at it. There was Kaoru's picture smiling along with another girl who looks vaguely familiar. So she's sharing this apartment with someone… he continued and saw a couple more pictures of the two. And there were a few solo shots and one of them quite amused him. He took the picture of his undeniably gullible secretary, looking at the camera with a funny expression. Her lips were pursed and her brows furrowed as if she's really annoyed with the person who's taking the picture. Her cheeks were blushing too. Perhaps she's embarrassed or rather humiliated to whatever the photographer's doing to her.

"Eeep!" a certain voice yelped from behind him and the next thing he knew, the picture was taken away from his hands. He glanced at the person standing beside him and saw a blushing Kaoru, frantically hiding the picture on one of the drawers. "You're not supposed to see that!" she exclaimed, then mumbling something about killing Misao for displaying that horrible picture.

"Why?" he innocently asked.

"Because I—I look horrible in that picture!" Kaoru shrieked in response.

"That's why I went to look at it. I'm fond seeing horrible things." He teased though his face remained straight.

Kaoru's face reddened and out of annoyance she slapped his arm playfully. "It's not that horrible!"

"Oh yes it is. Want me to prove it to you?" truly, he's enjoying this. He reached on the drawer in attempts of retrieving the picture back.

Kaoru blushed more and started marching her way back to the kitchen not before exclaiming, "Dinner's ready in fifteen minutes!"

Aoshi found himself smirking and with a shook of his head, he settled back on the couch again.

TBC