A/N
Thank you sooooooooo much for all the reviews! Pause, as author blows her knows on a tissue
I really, really, really love you guys!!!! ^_^;
Oni: Thanks a lot for the review! Your story is very interesting, by the way!
KeNsHiN: Well, Aoshi is her half brother . . . and about Saito - heh heh heh . . . you'll find it gets clearer later on! Thanks a lot for the review! I hope things get a bit clearer for you in this chapter . . . if not, tell me and I will do my best to make stuff clearer!
Queen of Shadows: Oh dear . . . I meant that he was 'boisterous' when he was a little kid - around 4/5 years old. Well, thanks for your review!
Poppy2: Fall in love with Misao, yes . . . have lotsa babies? ^_^; well . . . i'm not sure ^_^ thanks for your review and hope you like this chappie!
Kashii: Yep, they meet here! Thanks for your review and hope this is good!
MoonPhoenix: Yes, pure Aoshi and Misao goodness! ^_^
StarPrincess Sakura: Thanks for your review. I hope this chapter makes stuff a little clearer for you!
Nobody: Thank you! Thank you! Hope this chapter's ok!
ice demoness: Hope you like this!
I hope this chapter satisfies you, although I must warn you, it's a bit long . . . ok, fine, it's rather long . . .
Before I forget, here's the disclaimer: I own Aoshi and other RK characters . . . in my treasured dreams.
Here you go . . . enjoy!
Chapter Three: Meeting
"Chicken brain. Chicken brain?! I'll show him how much of a chicken brain I am!" cursed Sano, as they walked out of the school gate after being released by their captain.
"You're complaining about that? He called me a 'brat'!" exclaimed Yahiko, scowling in annoyance. "A brat!"
"What's wrong with that? He's just telling the truth, ya know," said Sano, smirking. "Brat . . . I wonder why I never thought of calling you that . . ."
"Ask yourself that, chicken brain," snapped Yahiko, wiping the smirk off Sano's face.
Kaoru and Megumi wisely kept their mouths shut. They were sensible enough to realize that their friends had had a bad practice, and needed to let off some steam - without their own wise comments. Kaoru glanced at Misao, who seemed to be rather quiet - a feat that was highly unusual for Misao.
"Misao chan?" she asked, softly, making sure they were out of earshot of everyone else. "Is something wrong?" Misao shook her head slowly.
"No . . . nothing's wrong," she said, smiling brightly at her. "I just - feel tired, that's all."
"Oh." Kaoru didn't believe her at all. Firstly, Misao never got tired, and secondly, even if she was tired, she wouldn't be so quiet. Misao frowned inwardly when she saw that Kaoru's eyes were still on her. She didn't want to hurt her friend or anything, but she just didn't feel like talking to her now . . .
"Kaoru chan? You better go to Kenshin before Megumi snatches him from right under your nose," she said, seeing Megumi pulling on Kenshin's arm in front of them. That caught Kaoru's attention all right. Her head snapped around and her face turned a strange purplish/red colour as she saw what Megumi was doing. Muttering under her breath, she stomped towards them.
Misao let out an involuntary breath she didn't know she had been holding. She didn't understand what was wrong with her - she had been fine during the practice (if you counted bubbling with anger towards their new captain 'fine') but the moment practice had ended . . . she had started to get rather grumpy . . .
She racked her brain, trying to remember what had made her so grumpy. It hit her. Sano's house. Everyone was going there now . . . everyone except her. She sighed. It was always like this. She hung out with her friends, and everything went smoothly until they talked about a 'spend the night' event - that was when things started to go downhill for her. Her mother was fine with 'spend the nights,' and she knew that even though there would be boys present, that they were good boys. Her mother liked Sano, Yahiko and Soujirou anyway, and no parent in the neighbourhood hated Kenshin.
Then why couldn't she go to Sano's house that day? Well, her mother would allow her, but her father wouldn't - at all. Why was that a problem? Her parents weren't living together. They weren't divorced, for some strange reason, but they weren't living together. Her father paid for her education, and her mother looked after her. Her father never was the type to let her go out with boys, even though they were just friends of hers - he wanted to keep her cooped up at home doing nothing but studying. That was one of the reasons why her parents hadn't gotten along well in the first place - her mother wanted freedom to talk to friends and neighbours, but her father wouldn't allow it.
"You can't come to Sano's, can you, Misao chan?" asked a gentle voice, snapping her rather alarmed out of her thoughts. It was Soujirou. He was walking beside her, looking at her concernedly. As she looked into his blue eyes, the first thought that came into her mind was to make up an excuse, but what was the point? Soujirou knew all about her family anyway.
"No I can't," she said, looking away.
"Misao chan, you don't need to worry so much," he said, soothingly. "You can always come for a few hours and go early - without spending the night." She shook her head.
"He won't let me, Sou chan, you know he won't," she said.
"Isn't there anything that you can do?"
"No." There was a short silence, where Soujirou berated himself for not being able to do anything to help he and Misao stared at her feet, mournfully. She was never going to be able to get a life - never. An arm made its way around her shoulders, pulling her into a casual sort of embrace.
"You're thinking about it too much," said Soujirou, smiling at her. "Forget it. So what if you can't come? We're not gonna desert you just because you're not allowed to come for spend the nights. That's what you thought we'd do, ne, Sao chan?" Misao nodded.
"Yeah . . . I guess you're right," she said. "But how am I going to - "
"To what?"
"Tell the others?" Soujirou chuckled.
"They may be called hags, foxes, chicken brains, brats and rooster heads, but they're not dumb Misao chan," he said. "They're going to figure it out very soon, you know."
Problem no. 2: No one, except for Soujirou knew what was going on with Misao's family. Yahiko had some idea of what was going on, and she was sure that Kaoru was guessing it, but other than that . . .
"I know . . ."
"Misao chan, it's not a sort of crime to have your parents separated," reasoned Soujirou. "You don't need to be ashamed of it. It happens to some couples - it's not really something outrageous."
"You'll say that, but do you think that their parents will say that? Do you, Sou chan?" asked Misao, somewhat bitterly. "No, they'll think that a girl whose parents are separated but not divorced will lead their own children astray - they'll want all connections with me cut. And all I need to make my life even better is for that to happen." Bitterness coursed through her veins, as she knew that what she said was true. She knew it, and she knew Soujirou knew it.
"My parents won't say that," said Soujirou, rather weakly, unable to think of anything else to say. Before Misao could stop herself, she said what she was thinking.
"That's because you don't have parents, Sou chan," she said. Soujirou stiffened - Misao could see it and feel it. Her eyes widened. "I didn't mean - Sou chan, I didn't mean to - " His arm dropped from around her shoulders and lay by his side. His head was bowed slightly, hiding his eyes from her view. She mentally cursed herself. Here Soujirou was, trying to make her feel better, and what had she done? Hurt him - by reminding him of the fact that he had no parents.
"Sou chan I didn't - " Soujirou started walking faster. "Sou chan - "
"I know I don't have parents, Misao chan," he said, quietly, his face turned away from her. "That's why I think you're lucky that your parents are just separated - at least you have both of them. Something which I don't." He walked past her, towards Sano, Megumi, Kenshin, Kaoru and Yahiko - all of whom were watching the two of them, curious expressions on their faces.
"Oro - what's going on there?" asked Kenshin, scratching his head.
"A fight?" suggested Megumi.
"A fight? A fight between weasel and tenken? Nah . . . they'd never fight," said Sano, puzzled.
"Then why did he suddenly just walk off?" demanded Megumi.
"I don't know! Why don't you try asking him, I'm sure that his answer will satisfy you," retorted Sano.
"Change of topic minna, he's coming our way," said Yahiko, as Soujirou stopped in front of them. A watery smile was on his face, clearly trying to show them that nothing was wrong. One look into his eyes told Kenshin that something was wrong.
"We should get going, ne? If we want to make it to Sano's place today," said Kenshin lightly, seeing everyone staring at Soujirou.
"Hai," said Kaoru, watching Misao walk dejectedly behind them. They came to a set of crossroads where the left one led to the street where Misao and Kaoru lived, and the right one went in the direction of Sano's house.
"Umm . . . guys? I'm - I'm stopping here," said Misao, tentatively as she noticed everyone heading for the right. They all stopped and turned to stare at her - except Soujirou.
"What? Aren't you coming? Misao!" wailed Kaoru, realizing that Misao wasn't planning on coming with them.
"I'm really, really sorry, but I can't come today," said Misao, twirling her black braid in her fingers.
'But why?" asked Megumi, surprised. "It's just going to be us - no outsiders."
"I know - it's just that . . ." Misao broke off. What could she say? "Er - Jiya and Kachan want me to work some shifts at the Aoiya just for this weekend." Five sets of unbelieving eyes stared at her, making her uncomfortable.
"You really expect us to believe that?" asked Kaoru, staring hard at her. Misao desperately wanted to reply "uhh . . . no," but knew that that wouldn't do. She chose to nod her head instead. Kenshin sighed as he looked over his friend. Was it just him, or were his friends starting to act rather strange?
"Try and come by when ever you're free, Misao chan," he said, smiling reassuringly at the younger girl. "Ok?" Misao nodded eagerly, glad that Kenshin hadn't questioned her further.
"You can't just let her go like that! We'll speak to your mother," said Megumi, sounding rather angry.
"NO!" exclaimed Misao. Everyone stared hard at her. "I mean - Kachan really does need the help she can get . . ."
"But she - "
"Leave her alone, Megumi san," said Soujirou, suddenly. "She really wants to come as well, but she really wants to help her mother at the same time. We should get going now anyway . . . ja, Misao chan." Misao beamed at Soujirou as everyone stopped glaring at her.
"Ja."
"Well, we'll see you - if you can come," said Kenshin. "Ja."
"Ja, minna." They all headed towards the right. Kaoru glared at Misao before she followed them.
"I know you're lying, Misao chan," she said. "Well . . . see ya." Watching the retreating backs of her friends for a while, Misao turned around and walked down the other street.
She was deep in thought as she passed the Kamiya residence, failing to catch sight of the figure leaning by the gate and taking deep breaths of fresh air. A few steps passed the Kamiya residence; she reached the fence around her house and jumped over it. Lights were on in her house, making everything seem cheery. The sight usually cheered Misao up . . . but not today. She was fed up of everything - of her life, of her lies . . .
He took a deep breath of the crisp evening air. He had always loved the cold evening air - always. He had been at the Kamiya residence for a few hours now, and he had already fallen into his almost mechanical behaviour. He had spent the past couple of hours in his 'room', trying to figure out why he was staying at the Kamiya residence in the first place, and why his aunt felt that Kamiya Kaeri was 'a relative' of his.
After mentally running through everything that had happened earlier in the morning, he had come to a number of conclusions - each as absurd as the next. Conclusion no. 1 was that perhaps Kamiya Kaeri was an actual relative of his . . . perhaps a distant relative who had been banished from the Shinomori family for doing something or the other. No, that didn't sound quite right to him. If she was a distant relative, why would he have to stay with her? Why not stay with his 'immediate' relatives - Aunt Kazuko and Uncle Tooru and their family?
Conclusion no.2 was that he wasn't his father's son. Maybe he had been the son of another man and woman (Kamiya san?) and they had put him up for adoption or something and Shinomori Yuuji had picked him up to be his own son. That thought alarmed Aoshi very much. It didn't sound right . . . but it explained the reason why Kamiya san was his 'relative' and the fact that her daughter looked a little like him. Then again, that would have to mean that Kamiya san had had two relationships - either during the time she was married to her husband, or before. And that would have to mean that she was his - he almost choked - mother, and that she had left him alone all this time, not giving a damn about what happened to him.
Conclusion no. 3 was that his aunt and uncle just didn't want to look after him, so they made up the whole thing to make him think she was a relative of his. That would also mean that his father (since he had apparently already 'planned' for the 'financial' matters) approved of the fact that he was supposed to go and live a complete stranger. That didn't sound right at all. He had quickly banished that conclusion from his mind. Aunt Kazuko would never do that to him . . . neither would his father.
And for the grand finale, was conclusion no. 4.
The last conclusion he had come up with, happened to be the one that made the most sense to him. His father had somehow had an affair with Kamiya san, and he was the result of it. Kamiya san, after giving birth to him, had disappeared and got married to her husband and had later had Kamiya Kaoru - the girl whose pictures were hung up on the wall of the living room. Everything that had happened so far that day fit in perfectly with this conclusion. When Kamiya san had said: "I don't want money for looking after my so-" earlier, he had been sure she was about to say 'son' but stopped herself for some odd reason. Then there was the fact that she knew his father, didn't know he died, was left money by his father, and the big fact that his aunt had promised his father to take his son to Kamiya san after he died.
He closed his eyes for a few minutes, concentrating on his breathing. His mind went blissfully blank - deprived of all thought about his problems and the conclusions he had come up with. Everything was quiet. He heard footsteps walking past him - quick footsteps - yet he didn't open his eyes. His mind was basking in the calm and quietness of the 'world' his concentration had taken him into, when a voice snapped him out of it.
"Aoshi san? Aoshi san!" He turned around slowly. It was Kamiya san. She was standing beside the front door, staring at him with a hand on her hip. "Don't you realize that it's cold out there, young man? Do you want to get frozen? Come inside . . ." Silently, Aoshi walked briskly towards the entrance to the house, stopping in front of Kamiya san.
"Gomen, I didn't realize it," he said, softly, before he walked past her, in to the house. She stared after him for a second, her eyes glazed. She didn't know what she had expected from him . . . but she knew that she hadn't expected her son to be so cold . . . then again, he had been through much to make him that way. She followed him inside, closing the door behind her.
Aoshi was walking up the stairs.
"Aoshi san - wait," she said, suddenly. He stopped halfway up the stairs and turned around to face her. "Er - why don't you sit down for a minute? I have - I have somethings to ask of you . . ." Wordlessly, he walked back down and sat down on the couch that was nearby. He didn't know why, but he always felt the urge to guard himself - to guard his thoughts whenever he was around her.
"Yes?" he asked, somewhat coldly.
"Er - do you remember anything - anything at all - about your mo-"
"I'm home!" Kamiya san and Aoshi glanced up at the same time. They heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway.
"Anata." Aoshi glanced quickly at Kamiya san, who was staring in to the distance, her expression unreadable.
"Kaeri? Kaeri, you hom - ah! There you are," said a deep, masculine voice, as a figure entered the room. He was tall - though he was a little shorter than Aoshi - and had dark brown hair. There were deep creases on his forehead as he looked at his wife and the stranger in the living room. "Who's this? A friend of Kaoru's?"
"No, this is . . . the son of one of my friends," said Kamiya san, gently. "How was your day, anata?" The man glanced at Aoshi, frowning slightly.
"What's he doing here? Is he staying for dinner?" he asked, curtly. Aoshi felt the strong urge to get up and leave, but knew that if he did so, Kamiya san would have a lot of explaining to do - to him and her husband. Not that he minded . . . but if he was going to be staying here, he might as well not get on anyone's bad side. Kamiya san glanced fearfully at Aoshi before answering her husband.
"Can we discuss this somewhere else, anata?" she asked, quietly. "Aoshi san . . . dinner will take some time to be prepared . . . why don't you amuse yourself until then?" Aoshi got the hint. Getting up, he slowly walked up the stairs, wondering why in gods' name his life was so messed up. He was about to go inside the room he was staying in, when he heard a loud exclamation from downstairs.
"HE WHAT?! WHY HERE?! CAN'T HE STAY SOMEWHERE ELSE?!"
"Hisashi, calm down! And please, lower your voice," he heard Kamiya san plead, before entering his room and closing the door.
Meanwhile:
She sat at her desk, her damp hair cascading down her back, after having a bath a mere half-hour ago. Books were spread open in front of her as she tried to do her homework. Peering at her notebook, she started ticking off the homework questions that she had managed to answer. Once she had finished that, she saw that she only had two more questions to answer, and then she would be free for the rest of the weekend.
"Let's see . . . answer questions 12 and 17 on page 348 of Modern World History," she read aloud. History homework - her favourite subject. She scanned her desk for her history textbook, but couldn't find it. It was too early for her to panic about having lost it, so she proceeded to look through her drawers. She still couldn't find it. Getting up, she opened her bag and searched it, still not finding it. It was time for her to look through her whole room - a task that seemed more like a nightmare to her. She looked everywhere she could think of; under the bed, in the wardrobe, under the mattress, behind the curtains, under her table - even in the cabinet in the bathroom - but she still couldn't find it. She sat back on her heels beside her bed, looking thoughtful.
"Mou, Misao chan! Where the hell did you keep it?" she asked herself. She remembered taking the book to school the other day, she remembered taking it out of her bag and - "Aha! You gave it to Kaoru chan when she forgot her book! Sou ka, Kaoru chan has it!" She stood up, sighing. Time to pay a visit to the Kamiya residence. Pulling a hair band out of the dresser, she tied her hair in a low ponytail, not bothered to plait it. She walked downstairs, meeting her grandfather on the way.
"Misao chan, dinner will be ready in another two minutes," he said, smiling warmly at her. She smiled weakly back at him, still feeling a little grumpy about not being able to go to Sano's place. She walked outside, deciding that she would be able to get her textbook and be back home in two minutes. Reaching the fence that separated the two properties; she jumped over it and headed towards the front door of Kaoru's house.
*
He heard his room door being opened slowly, and didn't bother to get up. Soft footsteps walked up to his bed. He turned on his side, knowing who it was and not wanting to face her again.
"Aoshi san, dinner is ready," said Kamiya san, blinking at his silhouette in the dark room. There was no reply. "Aoshi san?" Still no reply. She sighed. "I know you're awake, Aoshi san, so please, stop pretending. Dinner is ready."
"Why am I here when I'm not welcome?" His cold voice ricocheted around the room. There was a small silence.
"You are -"
DING DONG
"Argh . . . I'll get it," muttered Kamiya san, hearing the doorbell ring. "Aoshi san, please forget whatever it is that you just heard and come down for dinner. Please . . . that is all that I ask of you." With a last look at his silhouette on the bed, she walked out of his room and down the stairs, heading towards the front door, and leaving a very troubled Aoshi behind. He ran a hand through his black hair, letting the bangs fall back over his eyes. He didn't like whatever was going on at all. He'd give anything to be at his aunt's house at this moment, even if it meant living under the same roof as his slimeball of a cousin, Saito Hajime.
These thoughts on his mind, he got up from the bed and headed towards the room door.
*
"Kamiya - Misao chan!" exclaimed Kamiya san, seeing the black haired girl standing on the doorstep. "I thought - I thought you were going to Sano's place today?" Misao flushed.
"Yes - demo Kachan and Jiya - er - wanted me to work some shifts at the restaurant this weekend, so I couldn't go," she said, looking away from Kamiya san.
"Oh I'm sorry," said Kamiya san, smiling at the girl. "Please, come in. Would you like to have dinner with us?" Misao shook her head, politely.
"Iie . . . thanks. Kamiya san, Kaoru chan has one of my textbooks and I need it to do some homework," she said. "Do you think it'd be okay if I went upstairs and got it?"
"Of course it would be okay. I am guessing that it's your history textbook?" asked Kamiya san, suddenly.
"Uhh, yes. How did you know?"
"Kaoru refuses to take it to school because it's too heavy to carry around," said Kamiya san, smiling at the look of indignation of Misao's face.
"W - what?!" she spluttered. "I - I always give her the book and pretend that I forgot to bring my textbook - and all this time she doesn't bring hers because it's too - too heavy?!!"
"Why, yes. I believe she has you nicely tricked, Misao chan," said Kamiya san, grinning. "You know what that means don't you? You need to teach her a lesson." A grin found itself on Misao's face.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Kamiya san?" she asked, evilly.
"If you're thinking about getting her into trouble, then you're thinking what I'm thinking," said Kamiya san, equally evilly. They grinned at each other.
"Well, I'll be sure to do my best, Kamiya san," said Misao, laughing.
"What are you two conspirators planning this time?" asked Kaoru's father, walking towards them. Kamiya san stiffened as her husband approached. Misao watched warily as Mr. Kamiya ignored his wife for a while.
"Planning on paying Kaoru chan back for making me get into trouble for nothing," said Misao, rather nervously.
"I thought you were going to Sanosuke's house today?"
"Yes - but I have to work extra shifts at the Aoiya this weekend," said Misao, looking away again.
"Oh . . . you should take Kaoru with you one day - it would do that girl some good to learn how to cook," said Mr. Kamiya. Misao grinned. That was true - Kaoru did need to learn how to cook.
"We've been telling her that, but she - erm - believes that she can cook rather well already, without any extra lessons and gets rather violent when we tell her otherwise," she said. "But I'll try to get her to come with me - and get her to bring her history textbook to school."
"Yes, you do that," said Kamiya san, as Misao excused herself and walked upstairs.
She walked upstairs, past the spare room and Kaoru chan's parents' room, standing with her back facing the second spare room, whilst she stood in front of Kaoru's room. She laughed at the sign on the door - the sign that she had made for Kaoru - which read: 'Beware! Explosives inside!'
She was about to open the door, when she heard the door behind her opened. She turned around slowly. As far as she knew, Mr. Kamiya, Kamiya san and Kaoru were the only people that lived in the house, and she had already met them downstairs.
It's just the wind, Misao chan - nothing else. No one else lives he -
She stared in shock at the tall figure in front of her. Before she could stop herself, she screamed.
"ARGHHH!!!"
He opened his door, to find someone standing with her back towards his room. The room he was staying in, he corrected himself. He watched as she spun around and winced as she screamed in shock.
"Mou - what's taking him so long?" muttered Kamiya san, as she sat in her seat, waiting patiently for Aoshi to come down. Her husband was glaring at her, wanting to start his dinner. It was a thing they always did at the Kamiya residence - they never ate until all people that were in the house were seated at the dining table - whether they were guests or relatives. "You go ahead and start eating Hisashi, I'll go and call hi - "
"ARGHHHHH!!!" She stopped in mid-sentence as Misao's yelp of surprise reached the dining room. She stood up, having a sinking feeling that she knew what was going on.
"I'll - I'll be right back . . ." she said to her husband, walking out of the dining room and up the stairs. She was sure that Misao must have seen Aoshi in some way and must have got scared - after all, as far as Misao knew, only three people lived in their house.
*
She stared at him wide-eyed. Her first thought was that he was a burglar - an intruder. His eyes were covered by long black bangs, making it difficult for her to see them although she caught snatches of ice blue. Was he a burglar? He seemed to be about Kenshin's age - he certainly dressed like it, wearing a long sleeved white t-shirt and baggy khaki coloured cargo pants. Her insides grew cold as he looked at her, rather surprised. If he was a burglar . . . she was soo dead . . .
He stopped short in front of his room door, staring at her. The first thought that came into his mind was that she was Kamiya Kaoru, but one proper look at her told him that she wasn't. She most certainly didn't look like an intruder - dressed in a pair of faded, very short denim shorts and a dark blue t-shirt that bore the slogan 'dyn-o-mite.' She was also staring at him in shock.
She didn't know why, but she couldn't take her eyes away from his face. She felt all fuzzy inside - something she couldn't explain at all. Who was he?
~
Kamiya san reached the landing upstairs, in time to see Aoshi and Misao staring at each other. One look at Misao's face told her that she thought he was an intruder, and one look at Aoshi's face told her that he was wondering who she was. She cleared her throat, seeing that they were too - er - preoccupied in staring at each other.
"Ahem-"
"ACK!"
"......" Misao's heart went back to its normal breathing rate as she saw that it was only Kamiya san. Aoshi glanced questioningly at Kamiya san.
"Misao chan - did you find the book?" asked Kamiya san, smiling at her.
"Er- no . . . I was going to do that . . . gimme a second . . ." said Misao, turning red. She opened Kaoru's room door and walked inside rather hurriedly. Kamiya san turned her gaze towards Aoshi.
"Dinner's been ready for a while, Aoshi san - aren't you coming down?"
" . . . I was about to when - " he nodded in Misao's direction.
"Oh. Why don't you go downstai -" A loud thump from Kaoru's room cut her off. Both she and Aoshi turned towards the opened room. At first, all that Aoshi could see were pink walls cluttered with posters and clothes lying all over the place on the floor. Kamiya san shook her head as she spotted Misao. She was lying face down on the floor having tripped over something.
Misao spun around, glaring at the object that had caused her fall. Her eyes widened as she saw what it was. Underwear - a pair of pink underwear. She rolled her eyes.
"Mou Kaoru chan, keep your underwear in the drawer not on the floor!" she mumbled, getting up and walking towards the table.
Aoshi glanced at Kamiya san who had turned slightly red.
"Er- my daughter isn't - isn't the neatest person in the world," she said, looking at her feat. "No doubt you can see that." Aoshi nodded slowly. Yes, he could see that. They both said nothing, until Kamiya san looked up at him again. "Why don't you go downstairs? I'll come down with Misao chan." Shrugging, Aoshi walked past her towards the top of the stairs and disappeared. She turned back towards Misao, who was busy moving piles of paper away from Kaoru's desk.
"Did you check the drawers, Misao chan?" she asked, walking into the room.
"Yes, but it wasn't - AHA!" she raised her arm in triumph, holding a rather thick grey book in her hands. "Found it!" Moving the piles of paper back into their original place, she walked towards the exit, switching off the lights. She glanced around her, surprised to see only Kamiya san.
Hmm . . . he must have gone downstairs then . . .
Kamiya san noticed Misao glance around in surprise, and smiled.
"He went downstairs - for dinner." Misao looked at her.
"Oh . . . I was wondering where he wen - er - came from," she said, hurriedly, squirming as she saw Kamiya san smile wider at her.
"Did you think he was a burglar?" she asked. Misao grinned sheepishly.
"Yeah, I did," she said. "But then again, he looked too good to be a bur -" Kamiya san was positively grinning at her as her face turned red. "I didn't mean that! I meant - I meant that he looked too young to be a burglar! Yeah- he looked too young!" exclaimed Misao, in defense.
"I never said anything, Misao chan," said Kamiya san, smiling as Misao twirled her ponytail of damp hair around her fingers. Something she understood the girl did when she was nervous. Misao turned pink.
"Er - I should get going now . . . Kachan and Jiya must be wondering where I am," she said, starting to walk forwards. Kamiya san nodded and walked beside her. They were halfway down the stairs, when Kamiya san spoke again.
"Hisashi's in the dining room, incase you were wondering," she said, referring to her husband. Misao never left the house without saying farewell to both the Kamiya parents.
"Oh - thanks," said Misao, as the question she had been about to ask was answered for her.
" - Along with the person who looked too good to be a burglar," said Kamiya san, chuckling as Misao's face turned into a colour that strongly resembled a tomato.
"Ka - KAMIYA SAN!!!!" she wailed, staring at her. "I didn't mean that! I meant that he was too - too honest looking to be a burglar!"
"I thought you meant he was too young to be a burglar?" asked Kamiya san, her eyebrows raised.
" - I - I meant that too . . ." stammered Misao as they reached the last step. Smiling, Kamiya san headed towards the dining room. Aoshi was seated opposite Mr. Kamiya - next to Kamiya san's own seat. He hadn't touched any of the food yet. Mr. Kamiya put his fork down as he saw Misao enter the dining room.
"Ah, Misao chan, not staying for dinner?" he asked, seeing her.
"Er, no . . . I have to go back soon," said Misao, not looking at the grinning Kamiya san.
"I see. Well, come again when you feel like it," said Mr. Kamiya. "Oyasumi."
"Oyasumi, Mr. Kamiya," said Misao, bowing slightly. She felt her face turn warm as she glanced at Aoshi who was sitting opposite Mr. Kamiya. Hurriedly straightening up, she turned towards Kamiya san.
"Thanks for letting me get my book," she said, seeing the knowing smile on her lips. "Ja, Kamiya san."
"Ja, Misao chan," said Kamiya san. "And if I find anymore of those good looking burglars, I'll let you know." Misao looked horrified up at her as Mr. Kamiya and Aoshi stared at them.
"I - I don't think I would care, Kamiya san," she said, smiling at her before walking down the corridor. She closed the front door behind her.
"Huh? What was that all about? Good looking burglars?" asked Mr. Kamiya, looking questioningly at his wife.
"Oh, that's just a secret between the two of us," said Kamiya san, taking her seat beside Aoshi. "Go ahead Aoshi san, help yourself." She smiled to herself as she remembered Misao's red face as she mentioned the fact that Aoshi looked too good to be a burglar.
Heh . . . you've let on more than you know, Misao chan . . .
*
Misao ran and jumped over the fence that surrounded her grandfathers' property. She couldn't believe that she had thought he looked too good to be a burglar - and she had said it to Kamiya san too! What if he was a relative of theirs or something? Oh, she'd kill herself if Kaoru found out! She was Makimachi Misao - the weasel girl who never fell in love (at least, that's what everyone thought she was like). Fine, maybe she had liked a few people . . . but she hadn't gone beyond that. True, there were anime bishonen that she had been obsessed with - but they weren't real, were they?
Besides, she scorned the idea of love. Every where she looked, there were examples of the disastrous events love could cause.
She entered her house, the delicious aroma of her mother's food reaching her the moment the stepped in. She walked hurriedly towards the dining room, well aware that at least 15 minutes had passed since her grandfather had told her that dinner would be ready soon.
"There you are!" exclaimed her mother as she entered the dining room.
"Gomen for being late, Kachan," she said. "I had to get something from Kaoru chan's place." She sat down and started to pile food onto her plate.
"How was athletics practice today?" asked her mother, who came home an hour after Misao every day, and missed asking her about it. "How was the new captain?" Misao made a face.
"Well, he might be experienced, but he's a slimeball!" she said.
"I take it he insulted you?" asked her Jiya, dryly.
"Yes! He called me a tomboy and a weasel called Sano a chicken brain and Yahiko a brat. The only person he didn't insult was Sou chan!" said Misao, heatedly. Her relatives exchanged soft smiles. "So, anything interesting happened at the Aoiya?" asked Misao, referring to her grandfathers' restaurant.
"Well . . . not really," said her mother.
"Unless of course you count that rather tall young man that came for lunch," said her grandfather. "The one that Okon and Omasu had a fight over." Her mother chuckled.
"Ah, yes . . . him," she said.
"What? Who?" asked Misao.
"This young man that came for lunch, was found by Omasu and Okon to be rather attractive," said her mother. "And they had an argument over who should serve him."
"Who ended up serving him?" asked Misao, grinning.
"Shiro," answered her grandfather. "Much to their annoyance, but they were taking an awfully long time in arguing." She chuckled. Trust Omasu and Okon to fight over guys.
*
After having dinner, Misao ran up the stairs to her room. She decided to finish her homework that day itself. Sitting down at her desk and hunting around for a pen, she opened her history textbook.
She had just started answering the second question, when her concentration was broken by the sound of the phone ringing. Moaning, she placed her head in her hands. She was never going to be able to get her concentration back. Checking the time on her clock, she saw that it was 10:23 p.m. She hadn't known that time had flown so fast! Closing her textbook and exercise book, she decided to call it a day. She had done enough work for that day anyway.
Moving towards her window she opened it wider, allowing the crisp night air to billow inside her room. She caught a glimpse of light inside one of the Kamiya's rooms as she looked forward and her mind reeled back rather unwillingly to what had happened at the Kamiya residence. The burglar. She shook her head, trying to shake away the thought of 'good-looking' burglars. Try as she might, she couldn't get rid of the picture of long black bangs and ice blue eyes from her mind. She was disgusted with herself.
"Sheesh . . . you're acting as though you're in love with the guy or something, baka!" she reprimanded herself. "Besides, you don't want to become like Kachan and Otosan, do you?" She constantly kept on reminding herself of the situation her parents were in . . . the result of their 'marriage'. They had been in love, but where were they now? In the depths of their hatred towards each other. She sighed.
"Love is not your thing, Misao chan. NOT your thing . . ." she said aloud, before turning away from the window and climbing into bed, all thoughts of the spend the night the others were having, gone.
A/N
Well, that was very long . . . and I'm sorry if I bored you to death. I re-wrote the part about Misao meeting Aoshi about twice, and I don't know if this is ok . . . hope it is, coz I didn't want to make everything seem a little too much . . .
Please, please review . . . and tell me what you think of it, and what I should do (in your opinion)
See ya soon!
Siriusgirl