Chapter Eight

Invitation

The walk towards home was an uneventful one. Rain poured heavily just as when they exited the train station. That's the reason why both scurried their way on the empty streets, water splattering against their clothes, running towards a shed, completely wet and shivering.

"Great, now I'm all soaked!" Kaoru muttered angrily looking down on her wet blouse and jeans which was now heavy from all the water it absorbed.

Aoshi on the other hand, wiped the water splattered on his face, "You mean, we are both soaked."

She simply glared at him and placed her arms around her in attempts of warming herself up. The weather was so cold; the rain simply caused Goosebumps on her skin.

"Another ingenious plan of going home." He sourly commented, "Way to go, Kamiya…"

"Quit blaming me about everything, okay?" Kaoru snapped back, "I wasn't expecting this… mou! Now the foodstuff's drenched too!" she despairingly looked down on the wet plastic bags.

"This is all your fault, woman."

"Shut up."

"This wouldn't have happened if you did the grocery yesterday."

"I wasn't—" she so dearly wanted to continue but chose to shut her mouth instead.

He looked at her and then mentally cursed for all the uneventful events purposefully happening in one straight day. They're both soaking wet, their clothes clinging on their skin, and the air's biting coldness made them shiver. He saw her continuously rubbing her arms, searching for warmth as the rain incessantly poured. She noticed this and glanced as well. Both eyes locked, they remained quiet and allowed the sound of the rain hitting the pavement surround them. "Are you alright?" he asked, the atmosphere was so cold, even his voice was shaking.

"I'm fi-fine!" she answered, shivering more as another wintry breeze passed by. She looked elsewhere, avoiding prolonging their eye contact. Why does it have to be so cold? She couldn't speak, hear or even think clearly now. She was so cold and the least thing she needed right now was another round of bicker with him.

He noticed she was shivering too much and suddenly felt worried with her condition. "Are you sure?" he asked, moving towards her just as to have a clear view of her face. She looks so pale but her cheeks flushed because of the bitter weather. She may catch a cold… with this condition, it's possible.

"I'm oka—"

She was cut-off when she felt herself being dragged into something that gave sudden rush of warmth around her. Much to her surprise, she stood there with Aoshi's arms circled around her. Slowly and tiredly she looked up, searching for the reason why he did this within those ice-blue eyes. "Why—" and again she was cut-short from her sentence when a loud rumbling noise of thunder engulfed the dark, rainy sky. She released a small "eep" and found herself clinging onto the tall doctor as if it's a matter of life and death.

Despite of the heavy rain, Aoshi found himself smirking at the way his housemaid jolted after hearing the earsplitting thunder. He felt her arms surround his waist, tightly clutching at him as she continued to shiver more in both fright and coldness. A small whimper escaped her lips as another thunder crashed. Hesitantly, Aoshi rubbed her back, trying to soothe her down. "Shh…" he hushed, "It's only a thunder, Kamiya." He could feel her scowling at him despite of the fact that her face's currently buried on the crook of his neck. Just as what he did back on the train, he laid his cheek against the top of her head, closing his eyes as he continuously rubbed her back. Her warm breath fanning on his neck brought warmth within him to some extent.

"I'm sorry…" her voice muffled against his wet clothing, "I'm—I'm scared of thu-thunders…" she trembled, trying as much to sought comfort and heat towards the man who's currently enveloping his arms around her. Gladly, he pulled her closer, sharing body heat as much as possible.

"You remind me so much of her." he softly said.

Kaoru slowly closed her eyes and leaned more against his chest. Their clothes may be wet but standing this close to each other would be enough to bring heat. Hearing his usual sardonic voice spoke softly somehow pacified her trembling form. "Who?"

"My dog."

Her eyes immediately snapped open at the comment and slightly pulled away. She looked up at him, and much to her surprise, he was grinning and not smirking. And here I thought the moment was perfect… damn, why do you have to ruin it? She angrily thought, finding all the strength she could muster to playfully hit his chest. "I remind you of your dog? How dare you!"

"What?" he innocently questioned, feigning a painful look as he said, "My Labrador's scared of thunders too. Can you see the resemblance or do you want me to point it out—Ow!" he slightly winced as she hit him hard again, this time on his arm.

"You assho—!" but before she could finish her curse, Aoshi placed a hand behind her head and pulled her back to the crook of his neck. She continued cursing but it was all muffled by Aoshi's shirt.

"Now, I don't want you cursing in front of me. It's very rude." He taunted.

"Doc—I—can't—breathe!" her voice was barely audible as she struggled to pull away.

With a sigh, Aoshi released her head and allowed her to pull away—slightly, that is.

Her eyes narrowed towards him and said, "You're the one who's rude—" She was fairly breathless, and this worsen her headache. She suddenly felt weak and her legs went frail, almost as if both appendages could not support her anymore. Her vision blurred and then darkened. Her breathing was shallow until she finally went limp on his arms, falling deeply unconscious.

"Kamiya?" Aoshi worriedly called as she fainted on his arms. "Kamiya? Shit…" he looked around and saw the rain finally stopped. He looked down on the pale woman in his arms and mentally cursed. He had no other choice but to carry her back to his apartment. Without further ado, he turned Kaoru behind him, placed both of her arms around his neck, drawing up her legs around his waist and hitched her up. Hell sure I'm going to cut this off on your salary too, woman! And off they went with him running and an unconscious woman hanging on his back.

Perfect. Just perfect.

Can things get any worst?

"Baby, can I go now?" Sano asked, standing in the living room as he and Tae cleaned up all the empty bottles of beer scattered on the coffee table.

"No!" Megumi resolutely replied as she arranged the chairs and couches back to their respective places.

"But I already did my part of cleaning!" he whined.

Megumi glared at him, wiping a sweat on her forehead as she said, "You're the one who planned this party, Sano. Look at what this party did to our house! Arrggh! I know I shouldn't have trusted you but nooo, I have to listen to you and allow you to mess up the whole duplex!"

Sano cringed at her yelling and imploringly looked at her, "C'mon baby, I just did that for Jou-chan's sake! She's all stressed up and—"

"But it seems to me, Tanuki didn't really enjoyed the party." She replied, aligning the paintings on the wall.

"What do you mean?" Sano frowned at her.

Megumi sighed, "She hadn't stayed that long."

"What? You mean she left after the game?"

"Yes and because of that stupid game of yours, her boss—so to speak your fraternity senior got drunk. She felt responsible for him so she took him home."

Tae went next to Sano and asked, "But why is there a Porsche parked in front of our house then?"

"Kaoru called this morning and said that she left her boss' car on purpose. So as his coat." She pointed towards the coat hanger where Aoshi's brown coat's currently hanged.

Sano felt really disappointed. He sunk back on the couch behind him and muttered, "Well, that's a bummer. I thought I finally made it up to her."

Megumi sighed and approach her boyfriend. Placing an arm around him, she said, "It's alright, honey. At least you tried."

"But still I'm disappointed, baby." He pouted and allowed the fox lady to pull him closer.

"Aww… sweetie…"

"Eew! Not here, lovebirds!" Tae scoffed. She threw a throw pillow on them and exclaimed, "Get a room, will you?"

He placed a hand on her forehead and felt it unusually warm. She did catch a cold… he quickly stood up and went to fetch a basin of water on the kitchen. When he came back, he saw her tossing on her bed, her body shivering from the coldness her wet clothes were causing. I must get her out of those clothes… He placed the basin on the table and then started looking around the room. How to strip her off without my being a pervert? His eyes settled on the blankets rumpled beneath her and this promptly gave him an idea.

He took the blankets and placed it over her. This way he will be able to undress her without him seeing what he's undressing. After that he switched the light off and then approached the side of her bed again. It was still raining outside though it was enough to make the room slightly dim. With a sigh, he chanted, "Don't wake up… don't wake up..." The least thing he needs right now was her seeing him taking her clothes off and then receiving a hard slap on the face as an aftereffect.

Hesitantly and cautiously he moved his hands underneath the blankets and tried as much to remove the buttons of her blouse. Breathing heavily, he continued leisurely unbuttoning each buttons until the whole blouse was opened. He removed the wet garment off underneath the blankets and threw it away somewhere on the floor. Next, her brassiere. Fuck… he mentally cursed at the thought of removing one of her underwear. With much effort, Aoshi leaned as his hands went around her back to feel the hook. Granted he immediately found the damn thing and unclasped it. Carefully just as not to wake her up, he pulled the bra off of her and then threw it next to the wet blouse. Well, not before taking a quick peek on it. He faintly blushed and then turned his head away.

Half of her body was finally bare and Aoshi felt really proud realizing that he did it without rousing her from her sleep. Now all he has to take off is her jeans. He moved again and unbuttoned her jeans. Dear Lord, what did I do to deserve this? It took some time to remove the damn garment but in the end, he was successful. He pulled her pants off and tossed the heavy jeans on the floor. Everything was removed, except her underwear. Aoshi decided to leave it there. He had done enough, so it's pretty much ideal to stop now before he succumbs to temptation. He fixed the rumpled blankets on top of her and then placed the comforter as well after noticing her shiver again. He took the basin from the table and soaked a cloth on the cold water. He neatly folded it then placed it on top of her forehead. After that he stood up and went to his room to get his medicine bag.

He returned on her room, quite relieved that she refrained from moving and lay still on the center of the bed. He took out a thermometer from the bag and placed it between her lips. He used his stethoscope and situated it to her chest, far enough from her naked bosoms. Her breathing sounded deep and clear. Taking off the stethoscope off of his ears, he took her wrist and counted her pulse. 89… almost normal. Good… he sighed and placed her arm back on the bed, beneath the thick blankets.

He took the thermometer from her mouth and began to analyze its reading. Gladly, her temperature wasn't that critical. Aoshi placed his things back on the medicine bag and then went down to the kitchen to get the right medicine and a glass of water. He went back and approached her bed. He helped her up and thrust the tablet towards her mouth. He took the glass of water and soothingly said, "Drink this up. It'll make you feel better." As if hearing his words, Kaoru did open her mouth and drank enough water to push the medicine down. He carefully placed her back on the bed and she sighed as she snuggled more inside the blankets.

The doctor took a chair and placed it near her bed. He sat and pinched the bridge of his nose, growing tired from all the rush of tension within him. Closing his eyes, he leaned against the chair and let sleep overcome him.

Kaoru opened her eyes with great difficulty. Her head was aching as if someone's ripping it apart and her whole body felt really, really heavy. She looked around and realized she was now lying on her bed inside her room. Her brows furrowed, how did I get here? She thought. The last thing she could remember was the heavy downpour as she and Aoshi stood on the alley, wet as a stray cat after being caught in the rain. She tried to get up but failed. This is when she realized something felt odd when she moves against the bed covers and blankets.

Her eyes bulged and a surprised gasp escaped her lips when she realized she's naked beneath the bedspread. "What the—?" she grabbed the blanket and took a peek inside. Yep, she was bare and she had not one single idea of why, when and how she ended up all in her naked glory in her bed. Doc! He's the only person she's been with yesterday. Definitely he's the one who undressed her! With this thought, her cheeks flushed. Oh my—he-he undressed me! Somehow much to her utter shock; she managed to sit up as her hand secured the blankets to protect her remaining modesty. How embarrassing! Ho-how could he! She buried her face on her hands and moaned. Why would he undress me? She looked around and saw no sign of her clothes around. We didn't do anything last night—did we? If we did, why isn't he here? Oh the thought just scared her out of her wits and at the same time humiliates her. No—no… doc's a lot smarter than that. He'll never… He couldn't have taken advantage of me! She desperately groaned, wishing that this wasn't real, that this was only a dream—a nasty nightmare at that! She looked around again and surprisingly noticed a basin of water placed on her bedside table. I'm not sick, am I? She raised her hand and felt the temperature of her neck. Slightly warm… why am I warm?

"How are you feeling?"

Kaoru jumped out from her thoughts when she heard that awfully familiar voice. She looked up and saw him standing at her door, a tray of food in his hands. She released a small "eep" and then buried herself back on the bed covers.

Aoshi tiredly sighed and went inside; he could feel her eyes watching him intently until he placed the tray on her study table. Silence and tension filled the whole room.

"Wh-what happened?" She asked, hesitantly looking at him and then blushing when he turned to look at her.

"You were sick yesterday, Kamiya. And if you're going to ask about who undressed you… that would be me." He nonchalantly spoke; taking the chair he slept in last night and situated himself in it again.

Kaoru could tell her whole face holds a resemblance to a ripen tomato. She was blushing so hard her face was on fire. "You-I mean—I…" she stammered nervously.

"Your modesty remains. I didn't see anything." he too could feel himself blushing. Although, the only difference is he can easily mask it all up. "I used the blankets to cover you while I took off your clothes."

"Oh…" she looked down and then sighed in relief. Thank God! "I thought—"

Aoshi snorted, "I know what you're thinking. But I assure you, that will never happen."

Kaoru angrily glared at him. Aoshi felt relieved. At least everything's back to normal. No more tension.

"No creature like you will be given the chance to look at my body, you perv!" she snapped.

"Really, is there any other creature who wants to look at that hideous thing?"

"Why you—! Ow!" she winced as the pain of headache once again shot her head.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I wouldn't be moving too much if I were you. And be considerate for heaven sakes! I tried my best to do my duty as a doctor in order for you to feel better. At least try not to waste my efforts."

"Golly gee, that's very comforting." She rolled her eyes, "What a great way to greet a sick person in the morning…"

"Whatever." He then stood up and returned the chair next to the study table. "I have to go to work. I'll leave that up to you. Surely you can raise a spoon and eat. You don't really expect me to feed you, do you?"

Kaoru scowled at him, "Maybe…"

"Don't push it too much. I'm not your servant."

She pouted and looked away, "Spoil sport."

Aoshi scoffed, "I'll be back by eight. Stay in bed." And then he started towards the door not before taking one last glance at her, "And don't forget to take your medicines."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She smiled at him, "Thank you."

Aoshi found himself returning the smile but fought the urge not to do so, "Who says it's free? Bills are deducted on your salary."

Kaoru laughed and nodded, "Fine! Now go," she made a sweeping motion with her hands, "Shoo, shoo… go to work!"

He inwardly smiled and went outside.

With a happy grin, Kaoru turned and gazed on the tray of food placed on the study table. Well, that's very nice of him… she felt thoroughly touched that he did try to look after her while she's sick. Even he claims it to be a duty; Kaoru could notice that he really did that out of concern. I wonder what Misao's reaction would be if I tell her this! She then decided to call her friend but unfortunately, her stomach protested and made various ugly sounds.

"Oh yeah, eat first before phone call. Thank you for reminding me… Ooohhh…."

"Are you kidding me?" Misao's eyes went wide, accidentally dropping her fork on her plate with a loud clang after hearing Kaoru's story about Aoshi's improvement.

Kaoru looked around and shushed, "Will you keep it down, Misao-chan! Everyone's staring at us!"

Misao could not believe what she's hearing. "Don't tell me you're already falling for him…" is there a possibility that Lisa's theory was right? Is it possible that Kaoru might actually learn to fancy the handsome doctor too? Geez… my chances are wearing thin…

"Oh for Heaven sakes, NO!" The blue-eyed culinary student nervously laughed, waving a hand at the ridiculous thought. Not so ridiculous though… "I don't fancy him, Misao. I just thought he's turning out to be a good employer—despite of the bickers and stuff. Unlike the whole first week as his secretary in the hospital, he's much humane now."

"Really?" Misao inwardly sighed at this revelation. "That's good, Kaoru-chan!"

"I know." She stared into space, a smug smile forming on her lips as she nodded, "I never thought I could tame him down."

Misao laughed, "Such a wild animal is he?"

"I hate to burst your bubble, but yes he is." Both women laughed this time, not caring whoever's staring on them as their burst of laughter resonated on the whole restro.

"So, how are you doing? It's been like weeks since we last talked!" Kaoru excitedly leaned on the table, hoping to hear more enjoyable news. But much to her surprise, Misao's usual smiling face turned crestfallen. "Oh, honey, what's wrong?" she worriedly asked.

"I quit school, Kaoru-chan." She nervously laughed, "And I quit my part time job too…"

"What?" Kaoru unbelievably gaped at her, "What happened?"

Misao sighed, "Mom's sick and I have to go back home to help her." she looked up at her friend's eyes and said, "This maybe the last time we'll get the chance to talk to each other, Kaoru-chan."

"I'm so sorry," Kaoru reached out and rubbed her friend's arm.

"Don't be." Misao managed to pull another reassuring smile. "I'm fine. I can manage."

"I know you will. You're a tough woman; I know you can surpass this."

Misao blushed at the compliment and said, "Thank you."

Kaoru smiled back as an idea came popping into her mind, "Since this maybe the last time we'll actually see each other—let's spend the whole day together!"

Misao furrowed her brows, "Are you sure? I mean, don't you think Shinomori-san will be pleased if he finds out?"

Kaoru scoffed and waved a hand, "He can live, breath and move without me. Don't worry…"

"But—"

"He'll be busy at the hospital. He won't be around."

Misao looked doubtful but not long enough she finally smiled and nodded, "Okay!"

The next two months was strenuous since Midterms are about to come. In Kaoru's case, it's the term she feared yet enjoyed at the same time. She feared Midterms because she'll be once again rushed with humungous books to review and notes to recall. She enjoyed it because of the upcoming culinary event where different universities in Japan have to compete in terms of cooking and art skills. It's one of the events she thoroughly enjoys despite of the hardships and tensions usually felt before the competition. And because of this, Kaoru decided to practice her cooking and went off to the grocery one Saturday morning.

She decided to make a Sorbet Pie, a Strawberry Swirl Bombe and Jeweled Fruit Cake.

"Okay…" Kaoru rubbed her hands together and skimmed the cooking book once more, "Hmm… for Sorbet Pie, 1 pint of peach, lime and strawberry sorbet… one 6-oz ready to fill graham cracker crust…" she looked around and gathered all the ingredients she just read and then turned back on the cooking book again, "For fruit garnish I need raspbe—oh!" the telephone started ringing and it made her wonder who would be calling at this time of the day.

Don't tell me he forgot another file again! She thought, remembering how Aoshi forced her into coming over to the hospital just to deliver his forgotten folder. She sighed, walked towards the living room and answered the phone.

"Good morning! Shinomori residence, how may I help you?"

"My baby, how are you doing?"

Kaoru's brows furrowed, "Mom? Wha—ho-how did you get this number?"

"Easy, I asked Megumi-chan. She's such a nice girl…"

She rolled her eyes and then swore to kill Megumi after this.

"Anyway, I called to tell you that your dad and I have been talking," Mrs. Kamiya went on, "I just can't stand the thought of you sleeping in your boss' house. So, I finally convinced your father that we buy you a nice penthouse for you to stay in—"

"W-wait," Kaoru immediately interrupted, "You mean you convinced dad to rent me a penthouse?"

"Yes dear. Oh you've got to see the penthouse! It's got all the amenities—doorman, laundry, all-new furnishing…"

"Mom, didn't I told you that I don't need your help?" she hissed, trying to keep herself from yelling at her mother. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm fine."

"Well," her mother continued, "The thought of you being a housemaid is quite appalling. You're father disapproved at this too and that drove him into helping you out. Really dear, you should see this place. It's wonder—"

"I'm fine mom." Kaoru tightly closed her eyes, placing a palm over her heating head, "Could you just trust me on this?"

An exasperated sigh could be heard from the other line, "I just thought you're living in complete humiliation! What would other people say about this?"

"I don't care!" she sucked in a calming breath and then sighed, "I don't need your help mom. As what I've said before, I want to prove myself to dad that I can do it. Why can't you understand that?"

"But your reputation—"

Kaoru felt her insides twist, "Mom, this is my life okay? Not the entire family's!" she tried as much to lower her voice down. She didn't want to offend her mother or anything. But her persistent way of helping her angers her. "I'm not your spoiled little girl anymore! Can't you just let me live my own life, like a normal person?"

Mrs. Kamiya sucked in her breath so sharply, she was half-expecting her ear to be pulled through the receiver. "Fine. Pardon me for trying to make your life easier. It won't happen again." She firmly replied, a sign that she's terribly upset.

Kaoru instantly felt guilty and sorry, "Mom, I know you were just trying to—"

"Never mind." Her mother's tone was clipped. "We'll talk about this some other day. Your father and I have a luncheon engagement today, and I have to go get dressed."

"Love you," Kaoru said, but her mother has already hung up the phone. She replaced the receiver and realized that she was shaking in guilt and anger. She felt so awful for snapping at her mother like that. With a sigh she decided to release all of her frustration through cooking. But her steps were ceased when the doorbell rang. She groaned, "What is it now?" she went towards the door and yelled, "Coming!"

She opened the front door and saw a postman standing forth her.

"Good morning! Letter for Mr. Aoshi Shinomori. Is he here?" the friendly postman asked.

Kaoru shook her head, "No, he's at work."

"Oh, that's okay. You can receive the letter instead." The postman smiled at her and then handed her the letter. "Now please sign up." he handed her a clip board and watched her scribble her name and signature on the parchment. "You must be his wife then. Mrs. Shinomori is it?" he inquired.

Kaoru was baffled by this and shook her head. "N-no, I'm not his wife." She could feel her cheeks blushing again, "I'm his housemaid."

"Oh." The postman grinned, "My mistake, I'm sorry."

"No-no, that's okay. Here." She handed him the clipboard.

"Thank you miss—" The postman's brows furrowed as he looked at her. He leaned closer which made her take a step back to avoid his face from crashing into her. "Hey, wait a minute… have we met before?"

Kaoru nervously laughed and immediately grabbed the door, "What? Oh no—no, we haven't."

"Really?" he stared on her face again as Kaoru tried as much to hide it. "But I have seen you before!" the postman insisted, putting a hand to stop the door from hitting his face, "Aren't you Kamiya Takeo's daught—" but before he could finish his question, the door was entirely shut forth him.

The postman scowled, "Why! How rude. Oh well." He shrugged his shoulders and whistled as he walked his way back to his truck. Climbing on the driver seat, he started the engine and then turned to stare at the apartment. "Who am I kidding? A CEO's daughter--a housemaid? Pah!" he shook his head and laughed as he drove off.

Inside Kaoru sighed as she heard the faint sounds of the truck. "That was close…" she muttered and then noticed the letter in her hand. She flipped it back and read, "To Mr. Shinomori Aoshi… From Mr. Tachibana Sazaki…" a frown crossed her features; "Tachibana Sazaki?" the name sounded oddly familiar.

That night, Aoshi returned from another over-time work from the hospital. He climbed up to his apartment and expected his housemaid to open the front door for him like the usual. Oddly, the door remained closed. He heavily sighed and took out his key. He opened the door and entered only to find the living room quiet and empty.

"Kamiya." he called, dropping his suitcase and coat on the couch and loosening the knot of his tie. Damn, he was so tired. "Kamiya." and still no one answered. "Where is she?" he muttered annoyingly as he headed towards the dining room. Much to his surprise, his meal was already prepared on the table. Which means…? "Kamiya!" he called again, this time glaring on the kitchen door.

Just as what was expected, Kaoru's head popped out of it. "What?"

Aoshi had to blink twice at her. Her hair was quite disheveled from its tie and her face had flour on her cheeks and nose. His brows furrowed, "Can't you hear me? I've been calling you since I got here. Don't tell me you're deaf now…"

"No." Kaoru rolled her eyes, "I'm just busy cooking. And I already prepared your dinner so all you have to do is to seat there and eat." She pointed over to the dinner table.

"You're cooking for what?" he curiously asked.

"For Midterms." She answered and then disappeared inside the kitchen again. After a minute or so, her head popped out again, "Umm… leave the dishes when you're done." She grinned and then went inside the kitchen again.

Aoshi stood there for a few seconds and then shook his head. He sat down and started eating.

After eating dinner, he went outside the porch and drew out a cigarette. He took a long drag off his cigarette, allowing the addicting nicotine to relax his stressed nerves.

"Er… doc?"

He exhaled and watches the smoke fade on the cold breeze. "Hai?"

Kaoru walked outside and sat next to him in the porch. She coughed and started waving out her hand through the cigarette smoke.

Aoshi inwardly smirked at her and continued smoking. He turned to her and saw her dangerously glaring daggers at him. "I was here first, woman. You put yourself in that position, so don't blame me." He took another long drag and deliberately exhaled on her direction.

She hastily pinched her nose and waved again, this time using a paper.

"What's that?" he asked, looking at the neat-looking letter on her hand.

Kaoru glared at him and then thrust the paper towards him, "Here. It's for you."

Aoshi simply looked down on the letter, "Open it." He ordered.

"What?" she scowled at him and then begrudgingly did as what she was told. Every task must be done by the housemaid. Damn, I hate this job! She opened the letter and was surprised to see an elegant invitation within.

To Mr. Shinomori Aoshi,

We are pleased to invite you to a dinner party this upcoming Saturday evening. We are looking forward for you presence.

From Mr. Tachibana Sazaki

Kaoru closed the invitation and said, "Looks like you're invited, doc." She glanced at him and noticed a bored expression crossing his features.

I bet Asako planned this so she can throw herself on me again… Aoshi knew it wasn't Tachibana Sazaki who really planned this so-called dinner party. He could picture Asako Tachibana flirting with him again just as what she did back on Tomoe's dinner party. Sure she's pretty, but girls like her aren't worth his time. One night is enough, never he'll be settling with a girl like her. "Throw that away, I'm not coming."

"Why?" she looked down on the invitation again, "They're pretty expecting you to be there. It's a shame if you won't go."

An idea suddenly came popping into his head as she spoke. I guess I have to do something to stop Asako from following me around… he nodded and then stubbed his cigarette on the ground. He turned his head and glanced at her. "I'm going if you're coming with me."

Kaoru looked up to him, blinking twice as if she's hearing things, "Excuse me?"

"You-are-" he pointed at her, "coming-with-me-" he pointed onto himself, "to-the-party."

She shook her head and sardonically laughed, "I can't! I'm not invited."

"You are now. You'll accompany me."

"But I have no invitation!" she protested. She can't go with him. She definitely can't appear on public with him! What if someone who knows her sees her there? After that incident with the postman that morning frightened her to go out. Her boss had not one single idea about the punishment. What happens when someone come up to them and ask if she's the daughter of a famous car company's CEO? Oh she'll be truly busted if she comes with him.

"You don't need one." He nonchalantly replied.

"But—"

"No buts, Kamiya." This time, his voice was stern. His look tells he's quite fed up with bickering. "You're coming with me and that's an order. Did I make myself clear?"

Realizing that there's no other way for her to object, she dejectedly sighed and muttered, "Hai."

"Good." he said and then stood up, "Go to bed." He looked down at her and then headed inside.

Hearing his faint footsteps towards the second floor, Kaoru moaned and placed her face between her palms.

"Mou!"

Man, is she in trouble…

TBC