Standard Disclaimer Applies Here
Chapter Seven: Contracts and Useless Friends
Misao almost fell from the wall when she heard Aoshi's question, not quite sure if what she heard was right. She reached out to steady herself and cleared her throat and looked down at Aoshi.
"Excuse me, could you repeat what you just told me?" she asked him carefully.
Aoshi sighed. "I said that I wanted you to be my wife Misao."
Misao let out a burst of laughter and steadied herself on the wall again as she tried not to fall. "Really, Aoshi-sama, are you telling me that you suddenly fell in love with me tonight? I'm sorry but I don't feel the same way, what I feel for you is far from love; it's nearer to dislike." She said, between fits of laughter.
Aoshi sighed. "I'm not asking you to marry me because I love you." He explained.
Misao stopped laughing and blinked at him and coughed. "Why are you asking me to marry you if you don't love me? Is it lust then?" she giggled and smiled sympathetically at him. "I'm sorry to tell you despite that you are a good-looking celebrity, someone as highly attractive as me doesn't have the likes of you as my type."
Aoshi snorted. "I don't feel any lust for you." He stated and started to explain his motives. "You see, I didn't want Kaoru to be hounded by the press, which is why I proclaimed that I loved you instead, but even if I was able to protect Kaoru's privacy and reputation, I made the press think that we were really lovers." His face molded into an almost scowl.
"It does not help that certain newspapers have announced that I happen to be engaged a few days ago and it seems now that they think you are my fiancé who I had just quarreled with." He said and exhaled
"I need you to marry me so I can clear my name. I'm sick of all this scandals that have been going around me and the agency company might drop me if another scandal comes up. If I marry you, I might be able to clear up more scandals for a long time."
Misao scoffed. "Why should I care about your reputation and have you any idea how our marriage will be like? You do know that we dislike each other." She snapped.
"You don't have to worry about that. We'll divorce after an agreed period of time."
She blinked. "Divorce?" she repeated. "We're going to divorce?"
Aoshi nodded. "Aa, I am sure that you would not like to stay with me for the rest of your life?" he replied.
Misao sniffed. "You still should have told Kaoru you loved her and married her instead and this probably wouldn't happen and you can both live happily ever after with me as your ever loyal tea maker." she retorted angrily. "I'm sure by her actions tonight that she and Kenshin probably aren't together so why did you have to go and embarrass me like that!" she spoke in annoyance and stuck out her tongue.
Misao could see Aoshi's frosty blue eyes flash sharply at her words, reflecting the moonlight as he flicked his head sharply away from her.
"Kaoru will never marry me," he voiced sharply then lifted his head up to look at her again. "I can greatly assure you that we will not stay married and will divorce and as soon as we are officially divorced, I will return your house back to you as alimony and we shall never have to do with each other again." Aoshi turned his gaze from Misao to the house and started walking away then paused and turned his head back to her.
"Think about it." He suggested and pushed the glass doors, which Misao had wiped fervently earlier that day and disappeared into the house.
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Misao decided that it would not be wise for her to take off on midnight and delayed her departure until morning. She took a nice quick bath and wore her favorite pink striped pajamas and threw herself on her soft mat inside her old room, which fortunately wasn't occupied by Aoshi. She grabbed one of the pillows and hugged it tightly while a thick powder blue woolen blanket draped over her, keeping her warm from the air-conditioned room. She shut her eyes tightly and waited patiently for sleep to claim her.
Several minutes later, Misao was still awake, to her vexation. It usually didn't take long for her to fall asleep but Aoshi's proposal was stuck in her mind. She couldn't help but think and consider his proposal. The marriage wasn't going to last forever and Aoshi did promise her the house back after they divorced. It could be worth it.
But, did she really want her first marriage to be with him? As a child, Misao had always imagined her marriage as a joyous event with the man that she loved surrounded by her parents, his parents and all their friends. It was a far cry from what a marriage with Aoshi would be.
Still, that dream didn't matter anymore right? Even if she Aoshi were lovers, Misao shuddered momentarily at the thought, her dream marriage would never happen. Her parents were gone and she had no friends. Maybe she should marry Aoshi, he did promise her the house and Misao knew well that even if her novel did get published, the money wouldn't be enough to buy the house back even if she had a part-time job, it would take years for her to buy it back. Marrying Aoshi might be the right decision.
A few minutes later, Misao finally fell into deep slumber.
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Aoshi arrived in the kitchen to find his breakfast laid out for him orderly on the table but no Misao impatiently, waiting for him to finish. He didn't know why, but he suddenly found it queer not to have her inside the kitchen serving him. Had he gotten used to her presence and missed it? He shook the thought off quickly; he probably just wasn't used to not being served by her.
He wondered if she had already left because she had turned down his proposal, but knowing Misao, she probably wouldn't have served him breakfast if she was going to leave.
"Aoshi-sama,"
Aoshi lifted his head up from his breakfast and saw Misao standing in front of the other end of the table, a pen on her right hand and a sheet of yellow pad paper on her left. She pulled the chair nearest to her and sat down.
"I've decided to accept your proposal but I believe that we should make a contract about it to ensure that we follow certain rules and regulations about the marriage." She pushed the sheet and pen towards Aoshi.
"That's only the draft for contract, I'll be printing the real one later and we can both sign it later. I've only listed the rules that I think should be enforced, if you have anymore to add, you can tell me."
Aoshi set his utensils down and took the contract and started reading it carefully.
The marriage will only last for six months, after that, divorce may be filed.
At the end of six months, the house shall be transferred to Makimachi Misao as alimony.
There will be no forced physical contact such as kissing and the likes of it.
Makimachi Misao shall be allowed to use the computer every ten o'clock to eleven o'clock in the morning and ten o'clock in the evening and onwards for her writing.
Makimachi Misao shall not remain in her room like a prisoner whenever Shinomori Aoshi is home and shall be allowed to leave the house from time to time for her own leisure once housework is finished.
Aoshi handed the contract to Misao. "I agree with the contract except that you will only be allowed to go out for leisure only once a week unless if some needed business calls. No one is to find out about our agreement and I wish for you remain my maid for the duration of six months even if your debt is paid."
Misao scowled and took the contract. "Fine, I agree, we shall sign the printed contract this afternoon." She replied and started adding Aoshi's requests to the list.
Aoshi nodded. "And tonight, we shall have a press conference where you will have to be present."
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Misao placed her powder back in her vanity bag and took a moment to view her reflection on the mirror to check out how she looked.
She was inside a hotel room where the press conference was going to be held and she was given the room to prepare herself. Misao brought the first dress Aoshi bought for her and the little make-up she owned. She rarely wore make-up but decided to put on some this time because she wanted to look her best in front of the press. She had even applied some blue eye shadow and removed her hair from its usual plait and let it topple down up to her hips in waves. She smiled at herself. She received desired effect with the make-up and hair and it satisfied her. A slight blush stained her cheeks; she couldn't believe that she actually looked pretty.
Someone knocked on the door. "Hurry up," Aoshi growled from behind it. "You're taking too long, the press is waiting."
Misao sighed and stole one last look from the mirror and grabbed her purse. "Fine, I'm coming." She grumbled and opened the door and was met by Aoshi, leaning against the hallway wall, looking sleek in his gray suit and white polo shirt. Misao had always known that Aoshi was handsome but she couldn't help staring at him right at that moment. She blushed and turned away from him quickly and started walking towards the elevator.
"What are you waiting for?" she said sharply when Aoshi didn't follow her. She turned to him and turned redder when she noticed that he was staring at her.
"What are you doing?" She asked. "Do…I look weird to you?"
"Misao your…hair." He stammered, surprising Misao at his loss for words. "It's…"
Misao looked away, to hide her reddening face. "What about it?" she asked shyly. Was Aoshi going to complement her? She didn't know what do if he did, she wasn't use to Aoshi being nice to her, it didn't make her feel comfortable.
"It's…too long. You need a haircut soon or it might grow as long as Rapunzel's and knowing you, you just might trip on it." Aoshi said coldly and walked past by her.
Misao blinked then she scowled. "Humph! I'm not cutting my hair!" she muttered and stomped to follow Aoshi to the elevator.
"Bastard." She muttered under her breath.
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"Our wedding shall be held at the end of August, a month from now. I shall be allowing some members of the press to attend it." Aoshi announced inside the white hotel meeting room.
"Shinomori-san," a journalist began. "According to some of our sources, you had met Makimachi-san inside the plane during your recent trip to Singapore, is it true?"
"Yes. I sat beside her in the plane. She was very friendly to me." Aoshi answered while a series of voices replayed in his mind. He glanced at Misao, who was sitting beside him and gave her forced smile.
Hey can you throw peanuts in the air and catch them with your mouth? I can!
Don't worry it's just the air pressure but you can get rid of the pain by pinching her nose and blowing it and the pain you feel will just pop!
It doesn't matter! We're all going to die! Goodbye world!
"I found her very interesting." He added. He noticed Misao cock an eyebrow but she just nodded and smiled at the press.
"I see," the man remarked as he started to ask another question. "Which of Makimachi-san's features attracted you the most Shinomori-san?"
"Her friendliness." Aoshi spoke, like practicing a line from a movie script. "And most of all her energy, I find everything about her attractive and I feel incredibly lucky to be marrying her." He glanced at Misao again and noticed that her eyes narrowed. He wanted to shake his head; she was probably surprised with the praises he sang to her in front of the press and probably forgot that he was an actor and was used to handling situations similar to this.
Another journalist raised his hand. "Don't you think that your marriage was a little too fast sir?"
He shook his head. "No, I believe that Misao is really the one for me." He answered and gave another forced smile, feeling his cheeks starting to hurt.
A reporter raised her hand. "I have a question for Makimachi-san please." she said.
Aoshi looked at Misao who nodded to the reporter.
"Makimachi-san," the reporter started. "What do you think is your fiancé's most attractive feature?"
Misao looked nervous and smiled, which looked forced to Aoshi and wringed her hands on top of the table. "I…find everything about Aoshi-sama equally attractive." Then she gave an inaudible gasp when she realized what she had just said.
Aoshi winced. Why did Misao have to keep forgetting not to call him with the sama suffix in front of other people? He stole a look at the press to observe their reactions. He cringed inwardly; he could see raised eyebrows and giggling females. To his dismay, one of reporters with the raised eyebrows, raised her hand and asked Misao a question.
"Do you always address Shinomori-san with the sama suffix Makimachi-san? What is your reason for doing so?" she asked a little slyly.
Aoshi could see Misao sweat as she smiled tensely. "I always do and for certain reasons…" she answered.
"What are those reasons Makimachi-san?"
Misao looked even more apprehensive. "They are private…um; I mean… I call him that to honor…his great skills and talents because he is not only good at acting but also in other…areas. He moves very fast when he does his special techniques and it's really cool." She answered. Some of the journalists giggled and the reporter who asked Misao was smirking slyly.
Aoshi bent his head down. He couldn't take this, Misao probably meant his martial art skills but the malicious minds of the press probably thought she was implying something else. It had never gotten out that he practiced fighting arts because he practiced privately and only when he was alone.
"Are you implying that your fiancé is skilled at the bedroom Makimachi-san?" the reporter said cheekily.
Misao blinked in confusion. "He never does it in the bedroom. He trains in the backyard; I don't think it would be comfortable if he does it there."
He placed his head on his palms. It was very fortunate that the press conference was going to be over in a few minutes
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Misao scowled at Aoshi. "How was I supposed to know that the cheeky and dirty-minded reporter meant something else by the word bedroom?"
Aoshi looked like he was struggling not to sneer at her. "She said skills in the bedroom Misao, what else could have she meant? Children and simple-minded adults are probably the only ones who would have thought otherwise." He replied with a small hint of exasperation in his voice.
Misao's eyes flashed angrily. "Are you calling me stupid?" she asked sharply, slightly raising the tone of her voice. They were back at the Full House again and Aoshi hadn't spoken to her at all during their drive back until their arrival after the disastrous end to the conference when the press thought she was telling them that he was great in bed.
"Maybe." He grumbled and grabbed the evening newspaper and started reading it.
Misao huffed. "I'm sorry! Maybe if I wasn't so nervous maybe I would have realized that the reporter was talking about something else or referred to you as Aoshi-sama. Maybe all of that wouldn't happen if you hadn't made me answer the reporter's questions or bring me to the conference in the first place! You know I didn't want to come because I can't do public speaking!" then she shuddered.
"They probably think that I'm sleeping with you and in all places at the backyard! Ewww." She made a face then suddenlyg blinked and looked at Aoshi. "Hey, maybe you should be thanking me for this, won't you attain more fans because your fiancée thinks you're some sex god?" she remarked then shuddered again. "Even though the thought of it makes me wriggle in disgust."
"Just make me my tea." Aoshi ordered icily from behind the newspaper.
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"Rooster!"
Sanosuke Sagara looked up from the newspaper's business section. "What do you want now Megitsune?
"Hand me the entertainment section and please refill my rice bowl." Megumi ordered her husband over their small breakfast table as she fanned herself with the pages of the art section. "And set the electric fan to number three, I can't take the heat anymore." She complained.
"Yeah, sure Fox," Sanosuke replied and threw the section to Megumi and started refilling her rice bowl. Megumi was only a two months pregnant and it would be long before she'll finally give birth and he couldn't wait. He was slowly becoming a henpecked husband during his wife's pregnancy. He finished refilling her rice bowl and set it down in front of her and observed a look of surprise appear on his wife's face as he pressed the button of the electric fan facing only her.
"Sano!" she exclaimed and shoved the newspaper in front of him. "Do you see this? The actor Aoshi Shinomori is getting married!"
Sanosuke rolled his eyes. "Like I really care." He commented dully and pushed the article away.
"No look Sano!" Megumi said excitedly and shoved the article back to him. "Aoshi Shinomori is not marrying just anyone! He's marrying Misao-chan!"
Sanosuke grabbed the newspaper and stared at the photo that accompanied the article. "It is Weasel girl!" he exclaimed.
Megumi stood up from the table, leaving her unfinished breakfast. "Sano, we should visit Misao and congratulate her today!" she smiled wickedly. "Do you remember the business plan we were planning? Aoshi Shinomori is very rich; he could have the investment money we need!"
Sanosuke nodded. "You're right! We should visit the weasel girl as soon as possible; I just hope she isn't mad anymore."
Megumi laughed. "Ohohohoho, you really are an idiot, Misao-chan could never stay angry at us; she's been our friend too long."
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Misao slouched against her chair and stared at the computer screen. She tapped her fingers against the table, a habit she attained whenever she was at loss on what to do on her story next.
"Hmm…Kana has already given birth to her son already, but he's a redhead and neither Kana nor Aki has red hair so it's obvious to Aki and the rest who have seen the baby that Kenchi is the father, but Miki doesn't know and is off to New York to study and doesn't know the truth. So what will Aki do next?" she mumbled to herself when she heard the doorbell ring thrice.
She pushed herself up and walked the long distance the computer had to the gate. The doorbell rang three more times. Misao frowned. Who was outside? It was probably Aoshi coming back because he forgot something.
"I'm coming!" she yelled as she opened the door and walked towards the gate when the doorbell rang again.
"He is such a hypocrite; he kept complaining on how I rang the doorbell too many times back in Singapore but he's as bad as I am." She grumbled as she neared the gate.
"I'm here so stop pressing the damned doorbell button already!" she shouted and pulled the gate open and looked at her visitors. To her surprise, she was not met by Aoshi but by the two smiling faces of a very familiar couple and in a flash, she suddenly found herself in the arms of the husband, who embraced her tightly and ruffled her hair.
"Weasel girl!" Sanosuke greeted cheerfully. "We heard about your engagement!"
"That's right, which is why we wanted to come over!" Megumi agreed and patted Misao's back. "We wanted to know if everything is going well between the both of you. Now aren't you going to invite us in? Where's your fiancé? We want to meet him!" she said eagerly.
Misao's shock at their visit disappeared as she felt fury bubble up inside her as Sano held her tightly while Megumi and he voiced out more congratulations. They came here only because I'm engaged to Aoshi-sama, a rich celebrity. They probably wouldn't have come if I wasn't engaged to him. She gritted her teeth. How dare they think that they could come back and make friends easily after all of those things they did to me?
Misao clenched her fists and gave Sanosuke her strongest uppercut as he still held her. She gave him a strong side kick and sent him pummeling against the wall.
"Shit, weasel, what did you do that for?" he groaned when his back hit the wall.
"You freaking bastard! Don't ever touch me again!" She roared.
"Sano!" Megumi screamed and ran to her husband's side and helped him up. She glared at Misao. "How could you do this to him? What has he done to you?"
Misao almost laughed at their stupidity. "What has he done to me? Well first, you send to me a fake trip to Singapore which made me owe a huge debt to Aoshi-sama! Second, you sell of all the possessions I left and then my house without my permission! Thirdly, you practically stole all the little money I have left inside my bank account and when I confronted you two about it, you tricked me so that you two could escape!" she laughed ironically. "And you actually expected me to greet you two civilly!" she laughed even harder.
Megumi and Sano glanced at each other guiltily and bowed to Misao.
"We're really sorry Misao! We can explain!"
Misao stopped laughing and sniffed. "You can after I beat the crap out of Sano, don't worry Meg," she grinned wickedly. "I'll come after you after you give birth." She stepped closer to them.
"Please Misao-chan!" Megumi begged and practically kneeled between Sano and Misao. "You have to let us explain! We've been buried in debts and the loan shark was threatening to send his men after us if we didn't pay soon enough! It didn't help that I was pregnant!"
Misao only sneered at her. "A likely story; if I know Sano, he wouldn't feel so threatened by a loan shark; he would probably have gone of to whoever lent you the money and beaten the crap out of them in less than ten minutes."
"Yeah, I would have done that." Sano said from behind Megumi. "But the leader of Shinsengumi happened to have connections with the chief of police and threatened to have me arrested so Megumi stopped me because she didn't want me to have anymore bad records with the law now that we're going to have a baby."
"Idiots," Misao told them, more annoyance than anger appearing in her voice. "Why did you have to borrow from them anyway? Especially Shinsengumi! You know how shady and creepy they are especially their leader who likes like a cockroach. You could have gone on welfare instead or borrowed from the bank, a place where the Rooster head used to work at!"
Sanosuke scratched his chin. "You know Megumi, she is right."
Megumi blushed and smiled at her nervously. "Yes, but Misao-chan don't you think that what we did to you was what you call…a blessing in disguise? I'm sure that you wouldn't have met Aoshi Shinomori if we hadn't sent you to Singapore and he was the one we sold your house to right? If we hadn't done that, perhaps you would have never romanced him."
Sanosuke nodded. "Yeah, you should have thanked us instead!"
Misao felt herself grew angrier and wished that she had her kunai with her. Blessing in disguise? To her, marrying Aoshi Shinomori was anything but a blessing. She clenched her right fist and held it up in front of them.
"Blessing in disguise? What do you expect me to do? Kneel down and be eternally grateful to the both of you? Yes, I did meet Aoshi through your foulness but do you two have any idea of what I had to go through? I went to Singapore with no money to pay the hotel and embarrassed myself in the hotel and now have debt to pay because of that! Do you know how sickening it feels to come home with all your possessions gone and later your house because your so called friends betrayed you?" Misao blinked the tears of exasperation away from her eyes. She looked at Megumi and Sanosuke, surprised to see guilt on their faces.
"We're so sorry Misao-chan, we really are, and so will you please forgive us?" Megumi pleaded and took Misao's hand hesitantly and placed a piece of paper on her palm. "Here's our address just in case you need to find us again. Please Misao-chan; we're really sorry, right Rooster?" Megumi nudged Sanosuke, who nodded.
Misao bit her lip uneasily as she tried to think over what they said. Yes it was true that Sano and Megumi were at times silly and they did a lot of terrible things to her but they were her friends since her childhood, she couldn't stop being friends with them, they've been through too much together. They were the ones who had comforted her when her parents died when she was younger and gave her the motivation to finish high school and enter college. She looked at Sano and Megumi's faces; their apology seemed sincere so maybe she could forgive them but not this easily.
She sighed. "Alright fine, I'll forgive you," sudden cheer appeared on her friends' faces when they heard her words but unfortunately for them she wasn't finished yet. She cleared her throat.
"But you have to promise to give me the money earned from selling my house and what's left of the money you got from my bank account."
"Give it back? We can't do that! We spent it already!" Sanosuke said.
"He's right Misao-chan, I don't think we can find a way to return the money to you anymore, but we still can be friends!" Megumi asked, smiling again. "Ohohoho, after all money doesn't matter in friendships, right?"
Misao rubbed her head. "What do you mean you can't pay me back?" she asked in irritation. "Get a job for goodness' sake and Megumi, you're going to be a doctor one day, I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to pay me back!" she sighed and opened the gate and gestured for them to leave. "I'm sorry I can't forgive you if I can't trust you guys yet. Saying you're sorry isn't enough and I'm afraid you two have to help me solve the problems you've caused."
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"Did you enjoy your meal Genzai-san?" a woman with light brown hair and clothed in a light pink kimono asked an old man as he exited the restaurant.
Genzai nodded and gave the woman a smile. "You know I always enjoy eating here at the Aoiya Omasu-san. How is your father, Okina-san?"
"He's still as healthy as ever and he's doing well in running the business with Soujiro, they get along very well."
"I see, how about your nephew, how is he? I haven't seen him a long time." The old man sighed. " I remember when he was still a teenager; he was a waiter here in the Aoiya and was always helping out with Soujiro."
Omasu's face fell. "Aoshi hasn't come to visit us in a long time; he and his grandfather had another fight about the business the last time he came and I'm afraid they still are not in speaking terms."
"They're still not speaking?" Genzai queried worriedly. "How are you going to attend his wedding then?"
Omasu blinked. "Wedding? What wedding?"
Genzai handed her the newspaper he was bringing. "So you haven't heard anything about it yet? I suggest you read this. It turns out Aoshi is getting married at the end of this month."
Omasu grabbed the newspaper and turned to the entertainment section eagerly. Her eyes grew large as she caught sight of the article she was looking for. "So it's true, he is getting married." She sighed. "Thank you for telling me Genzai-san. I believe the rest of Aoshi's family hasn't heard about this news yet and I think they deserve to know about it soon."
Genzai smiled encouragingly. "I hope it all goes well Omasu-san. Do you know his fiancée?"
Omasu shook her head. "No, but I believe we shall be meeting her soon, if not I'm sure we'll find a way to meet her."
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A/N: Finally I've updated! I'm really sorry for the long wait, if you've been reading my profile you'll know why. Anyway, I 'm sorry to say that I can't reply to all your reviews right now, I don't have time (I'm supposed to be studying for three tests) so I'll just answer the ones which need specific answers. I'm actually surprised that a lot of you ended up hating Kenshin (sweatdrops) and I hope this chapter answers some of your questions. To those who are asking where I live, I live in the Philippines (I love living here!) where school starts in June. Anyway thanks to all those who reviewed and to those who like the story but haven't reviewed, please do! It encourages me to write more! Please also review my other RK fic Heaven's Clampdown!
Microburst#16: I'll be explaining it the next few chapters before Kenshin goes to the States.
Tita666: I'm not sure who's taller Kenshin or Soujiro, but I think it's Soujiro and I don't think Misao's career came to Aoshi's mind when he did that, he acted on impulse.
Fashionteen21: I did base it on Full House. I mentioned it in the first chapter. :D
legolasEstelstar: Don't worry, this story won't go in the direction of Misao's novel.