Standard Disclaimer Applies Here
Chapter Eight: Family Reunion
"Aoshi,"
Aoshi pivoted and saw Kenshin coming out from his office.
"Kenshin, I didn't know you were here today." He said.
"Aoshi," Kenshin said seriously, his face grim. "I was looking for you. We need to talk. Do you want to have lunch together again?"
"Aa,"
A third of an hour later, Aoshi found himself sitting across from Kenshin in the same restaurant they had eaten together in last week, waiting for the food they ordered.
"Aoshi, I heard about your engagement, congratulations." Kenshin said, looking straight at Aoshi's eye.
"Your welcome, is this all you want to talk about Kenshin?" Aoshi asked, his eyes expressing doubt.
"No," Kenshin said truthfully and looked down at the August issue of Unlimited that he placed on the table. "I'm confused with your actions Aoshi. Barely a week after we had our conversation about Kaoru-dono, you announce your engagement to someone else. I don't get it, why are you marrying Misao barely a month after meeting her?"
"I love Misao and I only realized my feelings for her after we had talked." Aoshi lied through his teeth.
Kenshin's expressions showed that he couldn't believe what Aoshi had told him. "So soon, Aoshi? I've known you a long time and you're not a person who makes rash and impulsive decisions. Are you sure you're making the right choice?"
"Yes, I believe I am." Aoshi replied in annoyance.
Kenshin sighed. "You stand strong by your decision and I won't bother you about it any longer."
"I'm glad to hear that. Will you be attending the wedding?"
I think I'll be able to attend your wedding before I leave. Are you going to invite Kaoru-dono?" he asked curiously.
Aoshi nodded. "I already have. Have you talked to her lately? I have not seen her since the party."
Kenshin shook his head. "Unfortunately no, do you think she would accept the invitation? The magazine party was an embarrassing experience for her."
"I hope she does but I do think she might come." He said. "Kaoru won't stay mad long enough not to attend the wedding."
"I suppose so." Kenshin agreed then smiled sadly.
"Kenshin," Aoshi started uncertainly. "May I ask you a question?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"I am still not sure why you broke up with Kaoru. Did you do it to make way for me or was it really because of your age gap?"
An expression mixed of sadness and regret appeared on the redhead's face. He was silent for a moment and it seemed to Aoshi, that he was having a hard time answering his question.
"Aoshi," he finally spoke. "Do you remember how I got this scar?"
Aoshi scanned his head for the memory and was disappointed not to find it.
"I am afraid that I cannot recall."
For a moment, Kenshin placed his hand over his x-shaped scar then quickly removed it.
"It may not seem to be related to your question at first, but it is, so let me help you remember."
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"Being engaged to Aoshi-sama does have its benefits." Misao told herself softly as she was led to her seat. "At least I get free trims even if it doesn't outweigh the thought of getting married to him."
"I still can't believe I am going to marry him tomorrow." She heaved a breath, glad that she could finally relax after a day full of tasks. She had just finished trying on her wedding dress and meeting her wedding planner. After fixing the wedding preparations, she had to pass by the travel agency and talk about her honeymoon plans.
The hairdresser placed a stack of magazines on a stool beside Misao, which she looked through eagerly. She picked a back issue of Unlimited and read a short and old review of a romantic movie.
"How many inches are we going to cut again Miss?" the hairdresser asked her.
"Just two inches please." She replied and thumbed the pages of the magazine as she scanned through it to look for other interesting articles. She found an article about bungee jumping and started reading it.
"Oh, I still can't believe Aoshi Shinomori is getting married already!" a woman seated on her right moaned to her friend. Misao's raised her eyebrows at what she heard. She focused her eyes downwards and pretended to read it while her ears remained alert.
"I know how you feel! I wonder why he's in such a rush to get married especially to that woman he's planning to marry. Have you seen her photo?" she had replied. Misao's grip on the magazine grew tighter as her ears puckered up to hear what the women had to say about her.
"Oh I've seen her picture! She's too short in my opinion even in those three inch heels she was wearing in the photo. It doesn't help that Aoshi is so tall. I don't think they look good together."
"You are so right! What does he see in her? She doesn't look like that she even has a large chest! "
Misao gritted her teeth as she tried her best to control herself from hurling the magazine at the two women. No chest! She peeked at the two women through the mirror in front of her. She knew her breasts were small but at least they weren't oversized and droopy like those two fat women talking about her. She may be short but at least she didn't have fat calves like them; her legs were slim even if it didn't help her height.
One of the women sighed and pouted.
"Oh, but I do wish I was in her place, though." She confessed to her companion.
"I feel the same way as you do, if only someone like Aoshi Shinomori would take an interest in me." Her friend said dreamily.
Misao snorted and went back to reading her magazine. She didn't want to waste time and energy listening to these two women who were just jealous of her.
Fortunately, the two women left fifteen minutes before Misao's appointment was over or she might have confronted them before she left. But she supposed, while paying for the parlor bill, that doing that would just stir up more attention her, which probably won't do well for her writing career.
"But perhaps, it would make more people buy my novel," she mused. "I bet they would want to know how the Aoshi Shinomori's wife's novel is like." She shrugged; yes, maybe being married to him did have benefits aside from getting her house back.
Misao was about to exit the parlor, when she bumped a woman slightly taller than her, trying to enter the place.
"Ah! I'm sorry!" she exclaimed then looked up to get a better look at the woman. She gasped. It was Kamiya Kaoru.
"Ah, Kaoru-san! I'm… really sorry! I didn't mean… to bump you!" she stuttered and rubbed her head sheepishly.
Kaoru smiled slightly and shook her head. "It was nothing Misao-san. Good to see you." She said and proceeded to enter the parlor again when Misao suddenly blocked her.
"Oh, before you go, can you confirm whether you're coming to the wedding? Don't worry about the incident at the party, it's all in the past, so will you be going?"
Kaoru looked a bit uncomfortable for a moment then smiled again.
"I wouldn't miss it for anything." She replied.
Misao grinned. "That's great!" she chirped and looked at her watch.
"Well, I have to go now, thanks for accepting our invite!" she said then stepped out of the place after waving goodbye.
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A sleek black car was parked outside of the Full House to Misao's confusion when she arrived back. A tall man with light brown hair leaned on the car while he read the morning's newspaper. He quickly tucked the newspaper away and stood up when he heard Misao park and come out of her car.
He bowed to her. "Makimachi-san, Shinomori-san has sent me to pick you up and bring you to the restaurant."
Misao blinked. "Aoshi-sama, sent you to pick me up?" she replied skeptically.
The driver shook his head. "No, not Aoshi-san, it was Okon-san and Omasu-san who sent for you, they are his older cousins."
Misao almost dropped her bag. "His cousins?" she repeated. "What do they want with me?"
The driver shrugged. "I am not sure why, Makimachi-san, but I think they just want to meet you."
She bit her lip. "Alright, I'm coming." She muttered and walked towards the car. It wasn't like she had a choice. If she didn't come, Aoshi's mysterious cousins would probably have gone and visited her anyway.
Misao fiddled the straps of her bag as the driver started the car, feeling quite nervous.
"If Aoshi was bad," she murmured. "Imagine how much worse the relatives who raised him could be?"
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The car Misao was riding in stopped in front of a large restaurant with a sign that said "Aoiya". A woman with light brown hair tied in a bun and who was wearing a light pink kimono stood outside of the door and awaited Misao as soon as she got out of the car. The woman bowed down and welcomed her with a bow.
"Good afternoon Makimachi-san." she greeted and smiled. "I am Omasu, Aoshi's older cousin."
"Err..hello." Misao replied as she surveyed the woman and smiled back hesitantly. "Nice to meet you."
"Please come inside." Omasu said. "My sister Okon is inside, preparing tea, she would like to meet you too." She pushed the restaurant door open.
"Please follow me."
"Um, okay." Misao replied and followed Omasu through the restaurant, feeling more comfortable as Omasu lead her to a private tea room behind the restaurant part of the house. Maybe, Aoshi's relatives weren't as bad as she thought they were.
Omasu stopped and slid the shoji to the tea room open. Another woman with light brown hair and a kimono was sitting inside the room, behind a small table where a tea was laid out. She quickly stood up when she saw them enter.
"Welcome Makimachi-san, I'm Aoshi's other cousin, Okon. I'm sure that you've met Omasu already. We were the ones who helped raise Aoshi after his parents died" she said.
Misao smiled, enjoying the warmth that radiated from the two women. It was really hard to believe that her monster fiancé was raised by these two gentle women! Perhaps his displeasing personality was caused by a mutation in his genes, she thought.
"Please take a seat, Makimachi-san." Okon offered.
"Umm, you don't have to go all formal on me, please call me Misao." She suggested.
"Well, Misao then." Omasu said. "Aoshi will also be coming over and I'm sure he'll be here in a few minutes. His grandfather, Okina will be coming to meet him too." She sighed momentarily.
"Though none of them know that they'll be seeing each other today."
"Eh? He doesn't know he's seeing his grandfather today?" she repeated.
The two older women sighed exasperatedly.
"Well, it is mainly because Aoshi and his grandfather aren't exactly in good terms Misao-san." Okon said.
"You mean they don't get along?" Misao spoke, feeling a little surprised. She knew Aoshi was disagreeable but did not think that it was enough to have an unresolved feud with his probably only living grandfather!
"Well they used to get along until they fought over Aoshi's choice to be an actor, his grandfather wanted him to take over the restaurant, but Aoshi wanted otherwise. They haven't spoken to each other for almost two years." Omasu explained.
The conversation between the three women was interrupted by a voice behind the shoji, announcing Aoshi's presence; the door slid seconds later, revealing Aoshi. His face was impassive when he greeted his cousins and Misao, but she could see the feeling of discomfort in his eyes. It was obvious that he did not want to visit the restaurant that moment and she was not the only one who noticed it.
Okon gave Aoshi a light slap on his cheeks after she kissed it.
"You insolent boy, are you this unhappy to see us after all this time? I swear Soujiro has been visiting us more than you have even if he isn't our real cousin, then you get engaged and you did not even have the liberty to introduce us to your future wife!" she scolded.
Aoshi kept his head down and replied meekly.
"I was going to introduce her to you sometime."
The two women almost snorted.
"When did you plan to introduce her to ask Aoshi? During the wedding day itself? I don't think Okon and I would have met her before the wedding if we hadn't called her up today!"
Misao tried to suppress a giggle. This was pure entertainment for her. She would never have thought Shinomori Aoshi, the famous and arrogant celebrity would turn as meek as a lamb when faced with angry cousins.
However, the amusing conversation was interrupted by the sound of the shoji sliding and the entrance of an old man, wearing traditional Japanese clothing and a pink bow tied around his beard. Okon and Omasu both froze as soon as they became aware of his presence while Aoshi looked away, avoiding the old man's eyes. Misao could feel the tension build up the air and knew immediately that the old man was Aoshi's grandfather while Okon and Omasu greeted him.
She could feel the old man's silent gaze on her so she bowed and smiled up at him.
"Good afternoon," she spoke. "I am Makimachi Misao, Aoshi's fiancée. I'm pleased to meet you."
To her surprise, a large grin spread across the old man's face.
"Ah, so you're his fiancée! I never knew that you would be this pretty in real life!" he walked towards Misao and gave her a large embrace.
"So pretty! I think I shall call you my pretty Misao from now on!" he announced.
"What!" Misao exclaimed as she tried to escape the old man's grip. "Let go of me! I can't breathe! Let go of me you old man!" she said loudly, forgetting that the old man was her fiancé's grandfather.
"Jiya, let go of her." Okon spoke, sounding repulsed. "She's your grandson's fiancé, not some customer that you can hit on."
Unfortunately for Misao, the old man didn't listen and kept his grip on her even after he released her from his embrace.
"It's very nice to meet you my pretty Misao!" he spoke cheerfully. "I am Okina…
Okina, however was interrupted when Aoshi, who had been silent all that time, grabbed Misao's wrist and pulled him out of his grip. He slid the door open and did not even give his relatives a look before he gave his last word.
"Misao and I'll be going right now. I hope to see you all on the wedding tomorrow."
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"Now that was rude, I knew you were low, but not that low."
It was a half an hour after Aoshi and Misao had left the Aoiya and the latter was still shocked by the behavior of the former to his relatives earlier and had been hampering him on it during the whole car ride.
"I knew you weren't in good terms with your grandfather but did you really have to treat him like that? You didn't even greet him or even spoke a word to him."
"I did." Aoshi muttered as he turned the car right on the next intersection. "I told him that we were leaving and that I hoped to see him and everyone at our wedding tomorrow."
Misao rolled her eyes. "You didn't address that to your grandfather, you addressed that to Okon-san and Omasu-san."
"Misao, would you please keep your mouth shut about my family. None of it is your concern." He replied coldly.
She snorted. "It is my business silly, we'll be married by tomorrow and soon your family will be my family. I have every right to have a say in this feud of yours."
The car suddenly halted in front of the Full House's gate soon after Misao had said that. Aoshi turned sharply at her.
"Did your memory fail Misao? Our future marriage would only be bound by the contract and nothing in the contract mentioned you hampering in my family's affairs. If you don't like it, then I suppose you can back out of the wedding if you wanted."
He parked the car and waited for her answer but received nothing.
"Fine." She grumbled and stepped out of the car and slammed the door behind her.
Aoshi almost felt like smirking. He knew that would shut her up. Misao would never back out of the wedding. She needed the house and the money.
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Misao knew that it was normal for a woman to feel wedding jitters a short while before wedding. Megumi had felt that way the night before her wedding and couldn't sleep at all. She had even called Misao up at ten pm to ask her to sleep over so that she would get some sleep.
But what made Misao restless that night wasn't cold feet, it was frustration that was keeping her awake and it made her want to scream.
Could she really stand being married to the bastard sleeping in the next room? After the way he treated her that afternoon and his family? Yes, it was only for six months, but would she survive?
She remembered the words he spoke to her earlier. If you don't like it, then I suppose you can back out of the wedding if you wanted.
Misao could feel that Aoshi felt that she would never back out of the wedding because she needed it and this only made her angrier.
"To hell, with that stupid contract! I'm not going to risk my sanity any longer! Seta-san is interested in my story so I'm sure I'll be able to pay that bastard back and buy this house again!"
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Sagara Sanosuke was not an early riser, which is why it took him at least ten minutes to get up from his futon to answer the doorbell at four am in the morning.
"What the hell is wrong with people these days?" he muttered while he rubbed his eyes as he walked towards the front door. "Knocking on people's doors this damned early in the morning. I just hope it's not one of the neighbors…"
But what awaited Sanosuke on his doorstep wasn't what he expected. He blinked as he stared at the small figure outside.
"Weasel girl?"
"Sano!" Misao exclaimed. "It took you long enough to open the damned door! Now, aren't you going to let me in?"
"Misao! What are you doing here this early in the morning?"
She scoffed. "I'm leaving the bastard Aoshi, I'm not going to marry him anymore."
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A/N: I actually mentioned in the last chapter that Okon and Omasu were Aoshi's aunts but decided to make them his cousins. I guess I'll edit it later. Anyway, finally here is the long-awaited chapter of More Than Just His Tea Maker! I'm sorry it took so long and that I still haven't wrapped the Kenshin thing up, my brain isn't working enough, which is why it took me almost four months to write this chapter. The first scene with Kenshin and Aoshi was a torture to write so I'm sorry if it's not that good. I'll not be reviewing to any reviews right now because it's supposedly not allowed, but I'm not sure. But let me bring some things up.
Misao not being obsessed with Aoshi in this story does not make her OOC. This is not the original RuroKen storyline, where she was raised by Aoshi, which makes her develop a crush on him. I'll also try to make Aoshi nicer in the future chapters (I'll start the next one tomorrow) and hopefully more romance will come up. I know Sano and Megumi aren't exactly nice and I'm not sure if you'll like them too much next chapter (don't worry, they won't be doing anything horrible) but I'll make my portrayal of them more appealing. Anyway, thanks for the great reviews!