A.n:

1. Okay, I'd like to make up for the lack of action in the previous chapter. It was merely a filler/flashback that served only one purpose –throwing light on Misaki's characterization, how she coped up with the breakup and the disappearance of Takumi Usui from her life. It was only done to strengthen the plot.

2. Ryan, (Refer to chapter 5), is not a character you'll be seeing more of in the next chapters. He was only a memory from the past. I wouldn't call him another rival for Usui. Or Tora for that matter. *_wink_*

3. The story will pick up its pace from now. I'm tired of building up the plot and I'm sure you guys are not enjoying this to the fullest too (I can see that this fic isn't as liked as my other two stories, LOL, I plan to change this fact.), but I can assure you, the future chapters will be better.

4. Tora Igarashi, hmm, Igarashi Tora. Sigh. What an interesting character, right? I'd like to ask you for your hand and go through this journey with me which will end in you falling hard for Tora Igarashi. As for Misaki, let's see what fate has in plans for her. I hope she lives to see herself falling for him. Oops, spoiler, almost.

Not sure how to feel about this,

there's something in the way that you move

makes me feel like I can't live without you

it takes me out of the way

and I want you to stay (Stay : Rihanna)

Her last day in Azalea had been spent cleaning her cabin. She took out all sticky notes off, all the photographs, file and folders, pens, pencils, those stationary items everyone borrowed from her, and placed all her memories in a cardboard box. She was so glad it was Friday. She was going to spend the weekend sleeping. She grabbed her belongings and stepped outside her office after saying her goodbyes. She was going to miss Azalea.

She reached her home late around 10pm. She was exhausted. Her eyes were red and her skin was pale. She grabbed the cardboard box from her car in which her belongings were kept and headed to the elevator.

The damn thing was broken again, so she had to climb ten floors in heels with the huge box. Being the demon she was, it was nothing compared to her college days when she had to pull up all-nighters because of her two part time jobs and studies. She wasn't used to working that hard anymore. Compared to that, these days were practically like a vacation to her.

Feeling fired up after remembering how badass she was, she challenged herself to run the flight of stairs. She was gonna treat herself to ice cream if she reached her unit in 5 minutes. She looked at her watch and noted the time. It was 10:25pm right now. She kept her purse inside the cardboard box along with her phone and ran!

She ran so fast she scared the poor oba-chan who lived in her building. The poor woman almost had a heart attack! Misaki reached her unit at 10:31pm, she was so disappointed at herself. She had been panting now. Her face red, she was sweating copiously. She grumbled as she leaned against her door and gasped.

She threw the box somewhere in her room as soon as she unlocked the door. She closed the door clumsily. Everything was spinning now. She was starting to see black spots. This wasn't a good idea, she hurried to the kitchen to get herself a glass of cool water. She washed her face in the sink and tried to calm her nerves but to no avail. She placed her palms against the kitchen counter and stared blankly at the granite slab. After finally gathering enough energy to walk, Misaki tried to reach her bedroom in a slow pace. Everything was becoming a blur. She could see her bed in view now. With a thud, she landed on her bed and closed her eyes.

Misaki woke up feeling rather disoriented. Everything hurt. She sat up groggily and instinctively rubbed her head. Her surroundings felt too bright to her. She couldn't look up. She tried to get up to switch off the lights but realized that it was morning already. The sun had been peeking inside her window and its rays were too harsh for her eyes. As she tried to look at her window, her eyes started to water up. It was too much sun!

Heaving a sigh, she tried to put up one last fight and managed to close the windows. Her room was dim now, she could see clearly. She looked at her wrist watch to find that it was early morning. Her stomach was grumbling. She needed to eat.

She felt a little better after drinking some fruit juice which she found in the fridge. At least her vision wasn't blurry anymore. After eating a light snack, she decided to bathe. Misaki had never felt this weak before. This felt a little…strange. She knew she had no choice but to go to the doctor today. Misaki sighed. So much for a peaceful weekend.

Misaki managed to find some energy giving pills in her drawers. They didn't make her feel better. She tried to lay down for a while. An hour passed, she still wasn't feeling better. She rubbed her temples, her head hurt. As if on cue, she immediately got up and ran towards the sink. She emptied down everything she had eaten into the sink. She was dizzy. Even if she tried to drink water, it ended up in her sink! This was absolutely insane.

She decided to call her doctor, since she was in no position to move whatsoever, who arrived after some time. Misaki could not keep track of time, everything was either spinning or ending up in the sink.

Somehow she was able to open the door when the doorbell rang. The doctor was by her side in a flash. She had been Misaki's doctor for a while now and knew very well that she was a workaholic.

Dr. Ayame was glad that she had made the wise decision of taking a nurse along. Misaki didn't sound well on the phone. And she wasn't either. Dr. Ayame quickly gave Misaki an injection which soothed the pain. Her headache and vomits visibly reduced in half an hour. An IV was inserted in her vein and a bottle of glucose was hung on her bedpost.

As Misaki rested, the doctor left and told her nurse to keep an eye on her. She had instructed her to give another injection if the problem persists. Telling her that she would be back in half an hour, Dr. Ayame left.

Misaki had woken up sometime later. Although she was glad that she hadn't ended up in a hospital room, her room didn't look any less than one either. She saw a nurse sitting by her side. As Misaki tried to get up, the nurse helped her sit by putting a pillow in between the bedpost and her back, so as to support her.

"I'm sorry for calling on such a short notice. I wasn't feeling well" Misaki apologized.

The nurse gave her a trained smile, "It's alright Miss Ayuzawa. You made a wise decision. You were in no condition whatsoever to go to the hospital anyway."

Misaki felt ashamed, her cheeks reddened and she was waiting for the earth to swallow her already. She knew she was going to hear it from Dr. Ayame today. She had skipped so many regular checkups.

As if sensing her discomfort, the Nurse finally broke the silence. "It seems like the Doctor will be visiting you in a few minutes. Until that, let's check you up"

Misaki nodded and she pulled her sleeves up.

The nurse took her temperature, blood pressure and pulse. Misaki just sat there awkwardly. Doctors were scary.

"Alright", the Nurse said, after writing things down, "Your blood pressure seems to be fine, and you have a little fever which should subside till night, and your pulse…" She looked up at Misaki who paled at the notion.

"Your pulse is low, which is abnormal", the nurse said as she gave her a glass of water, "It should be fine in sometime."

Misaki quietly took the glass and heard a knock at the door. Dr. Ayame was here.

Dr. Ayame quickly asked the nurse about the "patient's" condition and the Nurse backed off as she gave Dr. Ayame a chair.

"Well, Misaki. How are we feeling now?" She asked as she began writing down some medical jargon which was beyond Misaki's understanding.

"I've been better" Misaki confessed.

"Alright, Nurse, why don't you wait outside while I ask Misaki a couple of questions", She gave her a smile and she obliged with a smile.

"So, I'm going to ask you some questions. Are you comfortable talking?"

"Yes."

"When was the last time you got your period?"

"This month, first week"

"Alright, First of all, did you have sexual intercourse this month?"

Misaki blushed, "N-No."

Dr. Ayame paused for a moment, as if thinking about something. She began again.

"When was the last time you had REAL food?" Dr. Ayame looked straight into her eyes.

Misaki wished the earth would swallow her whole right now.

"Last week? Or maybe…I had a lot of—"

Misaki was cut off, "Work, Yes I know", Dr. Ayame said, disapprovingly.

Dr. Ayame wrote some tests for her and medicines for her and gave her the paper.

"Get these tests done and visit me with the results. As per your situation, your body is rejecting everything that you are eating and that's why you got vomits. As for the fever and headaches, they're due to work, stress and anxiety. I suggest two full days of bed rest and starting off with liquid foods. Nurse Hitoshi will stay with you till tonight, or tomorrow night, should you feel sick. Feel free to ask her for assistance. Your body is weak right now Misaki, It needs rest", Dr. Ayame finished, she glared at her seriously. Misaki gulped.

Seeing Misaki so freaked out, Dr. Ayame smiled and patted her shoulder. "I'm saying this more as a friend and less as a doctor, your body needs rest Misaki. You need to rest" Misaki nodded. This is not how she had envisioned her Saturday.

Dr. Ayame left shortly after that. Her Saturday had been spent in the care of Nurse Hitoshi. She was a stern woman. Misaki unobtrusively obeyed her and stayed good. Nurse Hitoshi gave her chicken soup for lunch. It had been so long since she had homemade food. She was silently grateful to be in Nurse Hitoshi's care. Misaki felt very well by the end of the day. She thanked Nurse Hitoshi for taking care of her and told her she would visit the doctor's with the results on Monday. Nurse Hitoshi left sometime around evening and told Misaki that there was some left over soup in the fridge and she only has to heat it up. Misaki smiled brightly and thanked her for the help.

Saturday night was spent watching movies and sipping soup by Misaki. She felt better now. She slept a little better and rested the next day too. She went to the pathology center to get her tests done in the evening. That was freakish! Hospitals were creepy for Misaki. Sunday passed peacefully and Misaki had recovered a hundred percent. In fact, she felt very well.

Monday came and Misaki was more than ready for her new job. She got up early and took a bath. She felt energetic today. She had a sumptuous breakfast which consisted of fruits, garlic bread (the same one she always made), and a milkshake. She wore a black business suit and did a side partition on her hair; made a high ponytail out of her hair and put on a dark lipstick.

Misaki reached the Igarashi Corp. at sharp 8:50am. She parked her car and headed inside.

"Good Morning Ma'am, How may I help you today?" the receptionist asked with the same cherry smile as before.

"Hi. Uh, I'm Misaki Ayuzawa. New employee."

"Yes Ma'am I've been informed about you. Mr. Kei will show you to your office"

In a few moments, appeared. He wished her a good morning and led the way.

The people were very friendly at Igarashi Corp. It had a pleasant working environment. Misaki was shown her office which was on the twentieth floor. She mentally prayed that the elevators worked else she was going to die from climbing stairs!

The office was beautiful! It had a bright atmosphere, not stuffy or disconsolate like regular ones. Misaki already liked it here. The interior design was neither too flashy nor too dull. It had a nice feeling to it. Misaki was told that Mr. Kei was there to help her adjust on her first day and she was free to "call" him up, should anything be the matter.

"Alright Miss Ayuzawa. Here is the Keycard to your office and a few other things like your ID cards and other documents. You're scheduled to have a meeting with in thirty minutes. I trust you know the path to his office?"

"Alright thank you", Misaki said as she took the file from him, "And yes, I know the way. Thank you so much"

"Very well then, I shall excuse myself now. Have a good day" Mr. Kei left.

At last Misaki was left to her own devices. She sighed in content. She felt positive today.

She went on and looked around. It wasn't too large, or too small. It was just right. She made herself comfortable and put her things in her drawer. She placed her id card around her neck using its ribbon. She opened the file of documents and started to read them.

It contained the usual things—newbie stuff. It was basically an instruction manual on how to get around in the huge building without getting lost. It also listed the rules and regulations along with the company's policies. Apparently, they were allowed to wear casual clothing on Saturdays. The company had a strict policy against smoking and drinking in the company campus. Who'd get drunk in their workplace's parking lot? Maybe people did do that. That's why the policy must've been framed in the first place, Misaki mused.

She got up, twenty five minutes later, and headed to Tora's office. She took her laptop along, just in case. She reached without much hassle. Tora's secretary greeted her in the same way the receptionist did. It was creepy sometimes how much they were trained.

She entered Tora's office and sat down. He was busy on a phone call. Misaki patiently waited for him to finish as she studied his features.

He looked different. Different in a good way—he was all serious and business. This wasn't the Tora Igarashi, president of Miyabigaoka high. No, this was a grown man. This was Tora Igarashi—CEO of Igarashi Corporation.

After he finished, both said their polite hellos. Tora showed her how she was supposed to get the work done and assigned her a Mr. Taka who would help her in acclimatizing to 'Igarashi Standards'. Misaki tch-ed. That bastard, she was going to show him 'Igarashi Standards'. She was supposed to give him weekly reports for a month and then Mr. Taka would be relieved. Misaki quickly processed all of the information. She was going to work hard.

Misaki finished her work at 5 and went to the pathology to collect her reports. She went straight to Dr. Ayame's.

Dr. Ayame told her she was fine for now, but she needed to do a few more routine checkups on her since something was "fishy". Her medicines were changed and she had to eat them for another week. Misaki got off the hook shortly later.

The rest of the month went by smoothly. Work was good, her weekly reports were excellent. Mr. Taka had commended Misaki on her hard work and he was relieved. Misaki had adapted to 'Igarashi Standards' and was happy to work there. Tora and Misaki barely saw each other except for work. Every now and then, they both went out for lunch together. Misaki learned that Tora wasn't a bad person. He just gave off the aura of an asshole.

/Misaki had to work with Tora on various projects and slowly both became good friends. Misaki didn't fully trust him but she knew she had found a friend in Tora. They bonded over deadlines and paperwork.

One Friday evening, Tora showed up in Misaki's cabin. Everyone was astounded thinking Misaki must be in deep shit. It wasn't every day you saw the CEO go to an employee's cabin! The office had been eerily silent as soon as he stepped out of his own office. He reached her cabin and got inside without knocking. Misaki, being Misaki, was too engrossed in work to even notice his presence. Naturally, she freaked out when Tora mouthed, "Boo", in a low voice.

Misaki was flabbergasted. She had been 'drowning' in her work again, and her boss-slash-best friend had freaked her out. He knew how scared she was of such things. "You bastard!" Misaki shouted at him after calming down.

Tora burst into fits of laughter and managed to keep a straight face as he pretended to chide her, "Is that how you're supposed to talk to your boss?"

Before Misaki could come back with a snide remark, Tora burst into laughter again. Misaki looked away, ignoring him.

"So, cutie", Tora's face was in front of her again, he smiled. "Movie tonight?"

Misaki replied while reviewing a document, "My place this time"

Tora nodded as he went outside, "Come to my office when you finish", he winked at her.

"Oh stop flirting with me!" Misaki rubbed her temple, how did we become friends again?

"Beautiful Misaki" Tora grinned and ran fast, to avoid any flying objects aimed at him.

Misaki soon finished her work and headed to his office. They both got out together and everyone had been staring at her.

They both had been the topic of gossip in the office. Some claiming that they were going out, while some said Misaki had Tora around her finger. When she would say that to Tora, He would merely smile and tell her that she shouldn't bother with them. When Misaki wouldn't stop worrying, He would make a serious face and ask her, "So, How many do I have to fire?" She would smack him playfully and they would continue their regular bickering.

Later that evening, both had been eating popcorn and watching a Jackie Chan movie. It was an action comedy movie and both couldn't control the fits of laughter.

Misaki's cheeks hurt till the time the movie ended. Tora went to her fridge to find something to eat and was shocked to find the amount of instant food it housed. He was no stranger to her cooking prowess but it was still shocking to see how little homemade food she ate.

"So, let's cook", Tora looked at her.

"Cook?" Misaki looked back.

"Why not?"

Misaki stood up from the couch and went to the kitchen. Both looked innocently at the kitchen counter.

"So, what do we cook? Do you know how to make something?" Misaki inquired.

"I don't know? Let's look at our options"

Misaki took out everything she had that would classify as "Food ingredient", there was a huge pile of canned food and a few vegetables. Tora was silent, so was Misaki.

"So let's make curry?" Tora suggested. He and Misaki were equals when it came to cooking.

Misaki made a chibi face, "O-okay. So what do we do first?"

Tora took out his phone and googled the recipe. They had to cut the vegetables first.

Misaki took out what all she had, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and a few tomatoes. She took out a chopping board and held a knife.

"Oy Baka! We're supposed to wash the vegetables first" Tora took the vegetables and began to clean them with water.

"I don't understand, they looked clean to me" Misaki mumbled to herself.

They managed to cut the vegetables together. It took them one and a half hour to cut the vegetables into weird chunks. Misaki pulled her hair and Tora's expression was unreadable. They managed to put on the pan and put oil in it. The vegetables were put in and they waited.

Nothing was happening! Misaki discovered that the cook top wasn't switched on yet. She looked at Tora sheepishly. Tora was at his limit. "THIS IS IT!" He shouted to nobody in particular and unlocked his phone and began to type furiously.

Misaki sat on the kitchen counter and stared at Tora. What were they doing!? She looked around, the kitchen was a mess but they were lucky not to have burnt anything yet.

In a few minutes, some people clad in formal chef clothes were barging in her kitchen. Misaki face palmed. The Baka had called his personal chef and his butlers! Tora grabbed Misaki from the kitchen slab and carried her in the same manner a child is carried. They both sat on the couch waiting patiently for the food.

The food was presented in a few minutes, unlike them, the chef was really fast. The food had been set out in Misaki's four seated dining table. It felt like they were sitting in a five star hotel. Misaki melted when she tasted the food. They both enjoyed supper and the chefs left. Tora called his driver and left soon afterwards. Regardless to say, they hung out at each other's places and decided to never cook again.

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