I Don't Like The Catcher in the Rye

Chapter 6

Misao's eyes fluttered open. She felt something hard yet inexplicably soft at the same time beneath her, warm and smooth. She was lying in an awkward angle, and her legs were tangled up in…

Oh. Blushing, she sat up without thinking, using her hands to push herself up. Unfortunately, the very thing she used to push herself up was the shoulder of the person she was currently sitting on, and it slipped down the smooth material of the front of his shirt and she found herself back on the floor and face to face with Shinomori Aoshi.

Biting her lips, she felt a blush spread all the way up from her neck. She was acutely aware of the warmth of his arm beneath her, cradling her head, and how hard and loudly her heart was beating at that instant. Their faces were inches from each other's, and she bit her lip, gazing into his azure eyes. She wondered why was it that no one was yelling at her (for some reason Saitou came to mind) and, even more so, why Aoshi was not asking her to get off him yet.

"Aoshi…-kun…" she breathed, faint. Was this really happening? Was she really lying in Shinomori Aoshi's arms, and was he really letting her do so? Her mind felt clouded and hazy—she found she was having difficulty thinking straight.

"Aa…" he said, his voice low and husky. He leaned in towards her and she closed her eyes, a shiver running down her spine. She felt his cheek brush against hers and she turned her head slightly as he nuzzled close to her. His warm breath sent a shudder throughout her body.

"Misao…" he all but whispered into her ear. She felt an involuntary sigh slip her parted lips at the sound of her name. "Tell me…"

"Anything…"

"Why… Why are you in love with me? You don't know me." She felt a prick of annoyance. Not quite what she was expecting to hear, but he was so close, and the feeling passed in an instant.

"I… I…" she was at a loss for words.

"Let me…" he interrupted. He pulled back slightly and she opened her eyes, only to see Sanosuke's face—his eyes half closed, lips parted as if he were caught in a moment of ultimate peace and joy. His lips moved, but it was Aoshi's voice that came out of his mouth.

"It's because you're a shallow, useless hypocrite," Sano/Aoshi said, his face never losing that faraway look.

"I'm sorry?" she whispered, oddly not freaked out by the sudden appearance of Sano in front of her, or the fact that she was hearing Aoshi's voice. She closed her eyes again.

"You're shallow and useless," Sano/Aoshi repeated, reaching a hand up to cup her cheek lightly. She flinched at the touch, her eyes opening as the words registered in her drunken state of mind. Yet her body was responding to her closeness—every muscle in her being felt relaxed, her breath came in deep sighs, while her mind recoiled in horror at his words.

He drew her close, so that their noses were touching. She realized Sano's eyes were a soft, blue grey.

"You love me purely because of how I look," he sighed sensually, and she heard herself echo his sigh. Her arms, the only part of her body she felt she had some semblance of control over, tensed.

"That makes you shallow," he said, his voice not losing its huskiness. "Shallow and useless, and because you taunt those who do the same thing as you, a hypocrite. You hide behind the pretense of a 6 year old's love, when you are truly hiding behind the fact that you're ugly and unattractive."

Her arms, stronger and more her own now, pushed against him, trying to widen the distance between them, but he wrapped his arm around her and trapped her. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to concentrate on waking her body up from its current state of slumber.

"Misao…" Aoshi's voice groaned, deep and throaty, filling her mind. Immediately she felt a warmth spread through her entire body, but her mind was screaming danger. Her body was torn, caught between her warring emotions, and she struggled in his grasp, her breath coming out in ragged hitches.

"Misao," he shifted beneath her, and her eyes flew open and it was once again Aoshi who half rose and leaned over her, his intense gaze burning her. She stopped her struggling and looked at him, her breathing coming in short gasps, waiting—whether in fear or with desire she couldn't be sure.

"Ao… shi…" she whispered, her voice breaking on his name. She felt tears spring to her eyes although she did not know why. He lowered his head and grazed his lips across her cheeks, kissing them lightly. His eyes were gentle, and his mouth curved into a half smile. A feeling of dread mounted in her chest in anticipation of the words that were going to come out of his mouth; her mind screamed for her to flee, and her body was still traitorously responding to his touch.

"How could you ever hope for me to love you back?" he asked, his voice a soft whisper. Her breathing quickened, and she dug her nails into her palms even as he brushed the lobe of her ear with soft lips. "What do you think an ugly girl like you could ever offer a guy like me… Besides… Your…"

Her body finally responding, she shot up, shoving him with all her might. She sat, gasping, her whole body trembling violently. In the distance she heard something crash. Her eyes wide, she was vaguely aware that she was still in detention hall. Drawing shaky breaths, she looked up and realized Muto-sensei was looking at her, worry etched deeply to her face. Dazedly, she looked down at the overturned desk.

It was… Only a dream after all. Forcing her breath to calm, she focused on the present, realizing every eye in the room was upon her. Even Aoshi had looked up from his book, his unwavering gaze resting on her, unnerving her. She grinned weakly.

"Sorry, bad dream," she said apologetically, sheepishly. Mouthing a sympathetic "Ah…", Muto-sensei nodded and gave her a small smile before continuing with her work, while Aoshi simply turned back to his book.

Sano, however, was still watching her. Anger flaring up in her chest, she met his gaze stonily, eyes never leaving his as she leaned over to pick up her desk. Part of her blamed him for her nightmare, well actually, all of her blamed him. They continued staring at each other for a few moments, before Sano uncharacteristically looked away first, turning to the front, his face an unreadable mask.

Oddly disappointed, Misao sat back, staring without quite seeing, and sank into herself, her mind a careful blank. She did not move until the last bell rang.

-

Abruptly, it rained, hard and fast. Misao stared up at the sky in disbelief. Where the hell had that come from? A flash of lightning crackled magnificently across the western sky. Off to her right, she heard Coach Higashidani cursing the weather darkly. The rumbling thunder caused heads to be turned skywards in apprehension.

Slowly the girl's soccer team trickled off the field and into the locker room, where Coach Higashidani went through some team formation tactics before calling it a day. An exhausted Misao now stood under the shower head, grateful for the warm water cascading down her body. She had run herself ragged today, venting her frustrations on the pitch. The result was that she was too tired to mull over the events of the day, and the exercise had helped lift her dark mood, if not completely, enough.

"Misao, did you drown in there or something?!" the voice of Higashidani Uki, the coach's daughter, called out. "Everyone's out except you!"

"Go away, Uki!" Misao shouted. "I'm having fun in the shower!"

"Misao!" Uki chided, laughing. "Keep your dirty habits to yourself!" Misao could not help but grin at that, even if the other girl could not see it.

"Yeah!" Seijuu Omasu joined in. "We're gonna leave you behind Misao!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Misao replied lazily, closing her eyes and leaning back into the water. "You guys go ahead 'kay, I wanna stay here a little longer, ooh, I need this shower." Her team mates laughed, and after a while, the chatter and giggles faded with the sound of the locker room door closing. Misao sighed contently. Usually she would join them for dinner, but today she wanted nothing else than to just go straight home and sleep all the way to next Monday.

When she finally left the showers, the rain had already stopped. The last glimmer of daylight was slowly fading over the horizon, and she strolled leisurely across the school track, towards the bicycle bay. As she was approaching the main building, the front doors opened and out stepped a tall figure. She stopped dead in her tracks. Oh shit…

Aoshi walked down the front steps, a canvas bag slung casually over his shoulder. He paused at the bottom of the steps and turned in her direction. Oh shit shit shit… she cursed, frozen in her step. Their eyes caught and for a fraction of a second, time stopped.

"Well I've gotta say, he's freaking good," a loud voice thundered out, as the doors to Kyoto High were flung open, and 4 other figures sauntered out. Aoshi turned away and looked expectantly at the newcomers, who were seniors that Misao identified as the guys he had been eating lunch with a few days earlier. Snapped out of her daze, she started walking again, berating herself at being caught staring.

"Same time next Monday guys," the loud voice belonged to an incredibly tall, muscular boy, with long brown hair that spilled messily over his shoulders. He had a strong face that was marred by a huge, ugly scar that ran down the side of his face, over his left eye, running parallel to his noise.

"See ya." Waving a huge arm, he started walking towards the bicycle bay. A strikingly handsome boy, almost as tall as Aoshi—though significantly skinnier—followed after him, nodding his farewell.

A small, mousy looking boy with a ridiculous amount of gel in his hair muttered something Misao could not hear, and, together with a huge, rather dull looking boy, they left in the direction of the track side gate, towards Misao. They took no notice of her as they passed, caught up in good natured bickering. Aoshi had turned back to the front gate, and was walking slowly towards it.

"Hey," Misao called, her legs moving as if of their own accord to increase her pace. Ugh, what the hell am I doing? Aoshi turned his head, pausing.

"Yes?"

"Erm…" she faltered, suddenly shy. She was not sure what in the world had possessed her to start running after the guy. She ventured a small smile. "Just wanted to say sorry… You know, about detention. I mean, for getting you in detention today. It really wasn't your fault, Saitou is just a real bastard." He looked at her for a moment, then nodded.

"It's a small matter," he said. "Understandable considering the teacher in question. Consider it forgotten." He started walking again, and she followed, trying to match his long stride.

"So, where are ya going?" she asked, then groaned inwardly at the idiotic question. She hated how nervousness caused her to chatter incessantly. He was silent, and just as she thought he was not going to answer, he said, "Home."

"Oh, really, well, where do ya live?" she asked brightly, happy he had replied at all. They walked through the front gates, and he turned left. This time he did not answer. Without really thinking, Misao found herself falling in step with him, even though her house was down the street on the right.

"Do you live near the station?" she asked, chagrined at the words that were coming out of her mouth. "I mean, you don't have to answer, just, I'm heading towards the station to pick up something, maybe we could walk together." It was a lie. She had planned on hopping on her bike and taking her time to cycle home, enjoying the cool night air, forgetting the horrible events of the day. Now here she was, walking to Kyoto Station with the man of her dreams (in more ways than one), the very person she had been trying to forget, every step taking her further and further away from home. God, why was she so stupid?

"Aa," he said, finally. "I'm taking the subway."

"Oh, wow, you have to take it every day?" she asked, her shyness vaporizing as she digested that new piece of information. "How can you stand it, I hate the subway, it's so crowded and horrible, ick."

"…You get used to it," he said. She smiled. They were having an actual conversation! Sort of, she was doing most of the talking, but that was fine with her!

"Do you live very far?" she asked, curiously. "Cause I could never imagine having to take the subway everyday, I'm so glad I live cycli—" cutting herself off hastily before she revealed she had a bicycle, which could lead to all sorts of unwanted questions "—I mean, quite near the school."

"No," he replied, indifferent to her falter. "It's only a ten minute ride."

"Ah, I see," she said thoughtfully. She was a silent for a moment, before asking the first thing that came to her mind. "Do you like History?"

"…Yes."

"How about Literature?"

"Yes."

"Ew," she said, wrinkling her nose. "I hate Literature, I have no clue why I decided to take it. The Catcher in the Rye is so BORING!"

"…I like The Catcher in the Rye." Oops.

"W-well, good for you," she managed, wishing she would just shut up. "I guess I'm just not a Literature person, I hate reading!" Caught in her passionate dislike for Literature, she immediately forgot her embarrassment at insulting a book Aoshi liked. "I can't bear sitting still for long, I think I'm allergic to books." She stole a glance at Aoshi, to see if that line had coaxed a smile from him. It hadn't.

"Ugh, but I can't afford to fail Literature," she continued, undaunted by his lack of reaction to her rants. "Maybe one day you can tell me what actually happens in the damn book so I don't have to read it, ne, Aoshi-kun?"

"…Maybe."

"Whoo hoo, alright!" she cheered, pumping her fist in the air. Maybe this day wouldn't turn out so bad after all. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she had not eaten since lunch, and without thinking she asked, "Hey, Aoshi-kun, have you eaten dinner yet? I'm really hungry, ya wanna eat?"

Aoshi paused in his step and turned to look down at her. She shifted uncomfortably beneath his scrutiny, and suddenly she remembered that, with the exception of the 18th of April pencil incident and today, they had never actually talked up until that moment. What would he think of her, asking him to have dinner with her with such familiarity, even though they were virtually strangers. Come to think of it, what had she been thinking?

"It's not like that!" she blurted, feeling her face get hot. "I mean, I'm sorry, I know we barely know each other, it's just that I do feel kinda bad about your detention today—" and she truly did, it's just that the joy at being in the same room with him followed by the drama that had unfolded after Sano revealed her big secret had completely overshadowed her guilt, "—because it was my fault, well, Sano-I mean, Sagara's fault really, but if you'd let me I wanna make it up to you, oh please let me make it up to you, dinner my treat?" She was babbling, and she couldn't help it. Please, oh please say yes…

He was silent for a while, scanning her face, she wondered what he was thinking.

"E-even if you say no," she declared boldly, her mouth once again speaking on her behalf. "I'm gonna have to treat you to dinner eventually, for causing you so much trouble. (It really wasn't your fault!)"

"…Aa," he said, finally, and started walking again. Misao broke into a wide grin. Nearly tripping over herself as she tried to keep up with his long strides, she started talking uninhibitedly, her endless chatter filling the silence as they walked to Kyoto Station together.

"So, where do ya wanna eat, Aoshi-kun? I know this place…"

Author's Rants ( 29th August 2007 - Wednesday, Written as posting this chapter! ) :

A non back-dated author's rants! You guys are so lucky, haha, now you won't get all confused by the chronological order! Actually I finished the chapter only a couple of days ago. I'd written up to before cutting to girl's soccer and couldn't quite continue, I got some inspiration from the sudden, very heavy burst of rain (hence it being reflected in my fic) that I experienced on that day.

Anyway, before I continue, minor announcement.

I went back to chapters 3 and 4 to make minor edits, nothing story-line altering in anyway hahah. In Chapter 4 I closed the parenthesis of Misao's thoughts about Yumi (haha i noticed i accidentally deleted it just now), and instead of starting a new paragraph even though it was still Yumi speaking I brought it back up so now it's one long paragraph instead of two shorter (but SLIGHTLY more confusing) paragraphs (very minor I know, but it bugs me). And in Chapter 3 I put the explanation of kohai to the start of the chapter instead of at the end after complaints from a peeved reviewer :P haha, thanks alot KyteAura for pointing it out, I kinda wanted it to be a footnote, it didn't actually occur to me to put it at the start, I have no clue why.

End of announcement.

Ok, this chapter is, as promised, way longer than the previous one (by about 700 words, this is my longest chapter to date). I'm not sure how the chapter turned out... I kinda like the ending bit, but I'm not so sure about the dream (I spent a really long time editting it till I was satisfied with it, hope it's okay but I'm not so sure if I'm very happy with it tho)... I'm also worried about Aoshi and Misao's conversation, did it feel too stunted or awkward, and I mean stunted and awkward in a BAD way, not 'she feels awkward around him' that kind of awkward. I'm very worried about my conversations, I feel like I can't write them smart or funny enough, ugh they always sound so immature! Also, was it realistic? Do you guys think Aoshi and Misao are in character????

I also got complaints (glances at KyteAura) about the lack of Aoshi up to chapter 3, and I realized he's also not really there in chapter 5, haha, I hope chapters 4 and this chapter make up for it! Sorry bout it k, we'll be seeing more of Aoshi in future chapters I promise I'll try, haha, no guarantees tho, like I said the story has a life of it's own:P DO tell me if you think I'm going too slowly tho, thanks...

Oh, and I've started work now, just to let ya'll know, which could be why I don't have a back dated Author's Rant. It's a pretty good job, I'm in the training phase so it's 8:30 to 5:30 for the next 3 weeks, but I get weekends off so I'll try to make it up by then, plus I do write when I get home, after my OTHER job which is giving tuition to a 12 year old girl. As of this moment, I've only written TWO lines of Chapter 7, yeah I know, it's so not like me to be so far behind, but I've got 7 lines of guide and another 6 brainstorming ideas, so it's not a totally gone case, haha... I'm NOT entirely sure how I'm gonna carry on actually, or what's going to happen to tell you the truth. I THOUGHT I knew, but now, well, I'm not too sure... Noticed what COULD be a flaw in my plan, I'm still analysing it...

Anyway, a huge thank you to all you readers. Your reviews mean aLOT to me, especially when ya take the time to give constructive criticism and point out my mistakes, thank you so so so much! Continue reading please, I DO still plan on updating by Sunday even though I have work though, don't worry. :) Till then!