I Don't Like The Catcher in the Rye
Chapter 8
"Megumi-dono, I don't understand why you're so upset over Misao-dono and Shinomori-san having dinner together, de gozaru…"
"I'm not upset over their having dinner together," Megumi snapped irritably at Kenshin, scowling at him. He shrugged his shoulders and grinning sheepishly. "I'm merely puzzled. What could he possibly see in her?"
"Looks are not everything," Kenshin replied, nodding wisely. Megumi fell silent, studying the ground as they made their way at a leisurely pace to Kyoto Station.
"… That's what they all say," she said finally, a wry, cynical smile on her face. Kenshin paused in his step, causing her to stop too. He looked into her eyes, and she saw a softness there that she had never noticed before.
"I don't know what hurt Megumi-dono has gone through in the past, de gozaru," he said softly. "To cause her to have such a cynical outlook on relationships. I hope that one day, you could find someone who can show you that how you look on the outside does not matter, but it's what inside that counts. But putting down people who you think aren't good looking enough to be 'good' enough for someone isn't going to make the hurt go away, de gozaru ka."
"I… I don't know what you're talking about!" Megumi snapped, turning away haughtily. "That's an awfully rude thing to say, Ken-san, especially on a first date."
"No," he said. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up into kind, violet eyes, crinkled by the gentlest of smiles. "When Megumi-dono made that comment about looks being all that matters, her voice was filled with such bitterness and hurt that I realized that Megumi-dono has been hurt very badly in the past because looks, to whoever it is she had been seeing, did matter.
"It has cut its way into her very core, and she cannot help but believe it is the absolute truth, and as a result harbours great resentment towards so-called 'unattractive' girls who have handsome boyfriends. But it has been buried so deep inside that Megumi-dono probably does not even realize how strongly she feels about it, or even the root cause of it.
"She feels that because she is more attractive than Misao-dono, Shinomori-san would automatically react to her flirtations, as her previous boyfriend probably had done so when a more attractive girl came along. That, de gozaru, is the reason why she was so angry when Shinomori-san outright rejected her advances, choosing Misao-dono over her." He smiled again, his eyes sparkling in the night lights.
"Megumi-dono. It does not always have to be like this, de gozaru. Looks, really, aren't everything. Anyone who feels that way, is not worth your time, or your heart." They stood as they were for a moment, him, a gentle smile and reassuring hand on her shoulder and her, eyes wide, mirrors of shock and remembered hurt and pain.
Then time moved once again, and she slapped him, hard, the sound crisp and sharp in contrast to the dull drone of Kyoto traffic. He turned his head to face her again, the gentleness in his eyes never leaving, his lips quirked in the smallest of smiles.
"Although I am not the one that slap was intended for, I hope that Megumi-dono feels emancipated of the hurt that has been weighing down on her heart, holding her back from a true, meaningful relationship with someone who can truly appreciate and love her for the woman that she is."
Tears now welling in her eyes, she whirled around and stormed off angrily without a word, never stopping to look back.
-
The weekend passed all too quickly for Misao, who spent most of it lying in bed staring at the ceiling while replaying her entire Friday evening, word for word, in her head, over and over again. Every single word was carefully and thoroughly analyzed, searching for hidden meanings in his, unintended ambiguousness in hers. Before she knew it, her wretched alarm was beeping, yelling at her to go to school.
Five… More… Min… utes…
—SHIT!
"Misao, are you stil—"
"Bye Ketsuna-san!" Misao yelled, slamming the door behind her. Mrs Ketsuna blinked. That girl…
-
"You're late, Makimachi. Six rounds, go." Misao groaned in protest.
"But!"
"No buts," Coach Higashidani said. "Go, this will be good for your form, you're getting sloppy."
Grumbling under her breath, Misao started her run around the school track. Sometimes having her soccer coach as her gym teacher as well had major disadvantages! As she passed the class, she saw Kaoru, Sanosuke and Kenshin sitting together, absorbed in conversation. She felt a flicker of anger ignite in her stomach. Were they talking about her?
At that moment, Kaoru looked at her, an expression of pure fury on her face. Misao gulped, her own anger dissipating. Uh-oh, I think she knows about Megumi and Kenshin… Increasing her speed, for once she was grateful that she would escape gym with Kaoru, at least for now. As nerdy and as quiet as her friend could be, she had an infamous temper, and was surprisingly adept at most of the games they were forced to play in gym. Plus she was deceptively strong. Misao secretly suspected her friend of pumping iron every day, although she had never really dared to straight out ask her.
Kaoru watched as Misao ran further and further away, seething under her breath. Oh, that silly, big-mouthed, weasel headed… she cursed at Misao's retreating back.
"It was not a date, Sano," Kenshin protested, snapping Kaoru back to the present. "Anyway, you're avoiding my question de gozaru. Did you and Misao-dono have a fight?"
"Yeah," Kaoru chimed in, having overheard Kenshin asking Sano that, which was why she had joined in their conversation, interested. "Aren't you two like, detention buddies or something?"
"Ugh don't remind me," Sano said, grimacing. "Anyway, I notice you and that weasel aren't talking as well, jou-chan." Kaoru glared at him.
"It's… Complicated," she sniffed.
"Kaoru-dono and Misao-dono had a fight?" Kenshin asked, looking positively bewildered. "When did this happen?"
"It's been on for a few days now," Sano said, exasperated. "Honestly Kenshin, where the hell have you been?"
"He's been too busy being wrapped around that fox devil's fingers, that's where," Kaoru snapped before she could stop herself. Sano and Kenshin stared at her, and she flushed. "I mean, I'm sorry, I don't like that girl…" Sano was giving her an odd look, and she shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny.
"Megumi-dono is just misunderstood de gozaru," Kenshin spoke up, smiling at Kaoru. "I'm sure once you get to know her, she isn't as bad as you think."
"A… Aa," Kaoru said, feeling very small. She looked down at her feet, both embarrassed that she had insulted someone Kenshin apparently thought well of, and mortified and crushed by the fact that he had come to Megumi's defense.
"If you say so Kenshin," Sanosuke said, shrugging. "If you ask me I don't trust the fox lady, and you shouldn't too. I'm gonna find out what she's up to Kenshin, watch out for your back and all. You're my best buddy, I can't just let you fall into some conniving trap of hers. You with me jou-chan?"
"Uhm, yeah, I guess," she mumbled. Sano laughed, slapping her good naturedly on the back. She jumped.
"C'mon, let's go, Higashidani's starting games now, finally."
-
"Oi, jou-chan!" Kaoru turned towards the direction of Sanosuke's voice, stopping just before she entered the Physics laboratory.
"Sano?" she said quizzically.
"You're my lab partner today," he said, grinning.
"What?! No way!" she said, slightly miffed. "If you think I'm going to do all the work for you like all your other lab partners…"
"That's not the reason," he said, laughing. "C'mon, I need to talk to you."
"Talk to me?" Kaoru repeated, puzzled. Even though they shared a bunch of classes together, they had never really talked much, he only really talked to (teased) Misao, but right now she was in Biology class, which Kaoru was not taking. "About?"
"I'll tell you later," he said hastily, ducking into the classroom as Yukyuzan Anji-sensei appeared behind him. Kaoru followed suit, but, instead of following Sanosuke to the back of the laboratory, she took her regular seat near the front with Higashidani Uki, who she usually paired up with.
"What did Sano want?" Uki asked Kaoru as she slid beside the girl.
"Oh, I dunno," Kaoru said, shrugging. "Can't be important coming from him." Uki giggled.
"Sorry, Uki," Sanosuke appeared at their table, giving Kaoru a dirty look. "But I'm going to have to borrow this tanuki for a lab period…" Ignoring Kaoru's protests ("What are you doing?! What about Uki?!"), he dragged her to the back of the lab, leaving behind a confused (and suddenly partner-less) Uki behind.
"Ouch, let go Sano!" Kaoru growled, smacking his hand. He finally let go, scowling at the red mark she left on his hand.
"What the hell is your problem, I asked you to follow me," he said angrily, rubbing his hand. "If this is the attitude I'm getting, maybe I shouldn't be helping you!" At that Kaoru fell silent and looked at him suspiciously.
"Help me?" she asked. "What is it you want to help me with?" Sano stopped rubbing his hands and grinned mischievously at her.
"I know your secret," he said with a self-satisfied smirk.
"What secret?" Kaoru asked, frowning. "Sano, if this is one of your tricks to make me do all the work again…"
"God, woman!" he said, throwing up his hands. "No! It is not! I know you like Kenshin!" Kaoru immediately froze, all thoughts of getting away from here and back to Uki forgotten.
"What?!" she gasped, choking. No one else knew! Aside from…
"Did Misao…" she whispered, unwilling to believe her friend's betrayal.
"Call me a genius," he said, straightening his collar. "I figured it out just now when you made that remark about Megumi."
"Y-You didn't tell him about it did you!" she demanded, grabbing him by said collar. His eyes widened in shock.
"Geez, relax jou-chan!" he said, unclenching her hands (Wow this girl is strong!). "Your secret's safe with me. For a price." Kaoru narrowed her eyes.
"If you think for one moment you're going to blackmail me…" she hissed dangerously, her hands snaking their way back to his collar. Sano laughed.
"Look, I need information and you can help provide it," he said, flashing her a toothy grin. "Meanwhile, you have a problem and I—" he thumbed his chest proudly "—am Kenshin's best friend. Who better to help you with getting your lover boy than me? Call it a… Collaboration."
"Sano, I'm not helping you cheat in school," Kaoru warned, finally settling down. At the front, Yukyuzan-sensei was lecturing something about fulcrums and loads.
"It isn't academic, I promise," Sano said, rolling his eyes. "It's about that guy." He jerked his thumb across the lab, towards Shinomori Aoshi, and Kaoru raised an eyebrow.
"Shinomori-kun?" Kaoru said. Inside, her head was in a whirl. What could Sano want to do with Aoshi? Did he know about Misao…? "Why do you wanna know about him?"
"Oh, no reason," he said smoothly, leaning casually on the lab table. "None that a girl should hear about anyway. What do you know about him?"
"Wait," Kaoru said, still suspicious. "I tell you what I know about Shinomori Aoshi, and you, in turn, will help bring me and Kenshin together?" Up a floor, in the Home Economics room, Kenshin sneezed, covering his face just in time to avoid covering his tempura ebi with gross stuff. Oro? "I'm coming off this too easily, what else do you want from me, Sagara?"
"You got me there," he admitted, grinning sheepishly. "I need you to do something for me…"
Across the laboratory, one Shinomori Aoshi sneezed.
Author's Rants ( 8th September 2007, Saturday - Written as I post this chapter ) :
Cliffhanger! Sort of... I'm quite happy with how this chapter turned out, I so didn't expect it to tak this turn, but it did! Sanosuke and Kaoru working together?? An unholy alliance, or will it all work out for the greater good? Hahah, actually, to be completely honest with you, I'm as much in the dark about this as you are. I don't know what Sano has up his sleeves, haha, barely a vague outline... I know, i'm setting myself up to be painted into a corner, haha, but i'll get out of it, I know I will!
As for such luck at Aoshi being in the same class as Sano and Kaoru, I actually didn't really plan for that. I spent about my whole morning writing out the time tables for Aoshi, Kenshin, Sano, Megumi, Misao and Kaoru to ensure consistency, and after I did that THEN i started writing my chapter, and just right everything flowed really nicely, after gym Sano would get Kaoru alone. I know can get a bit confusing because you don't know what classes they have together and all... Hopefully I'm explaining stuff well enough...
Anyway, an update! Yup, that's two in a week, and early too (tho a bit short and i'm sorry bout tt, but once again I couldn't fit anything else in! Plus, cliffhanger! It ended all too perfectly!). I kinda wanna makeup for missing my last deadline haha... Thanks to KyteAura, I'm paying more attention to each character rather than just stereotyping them into a character as fillers for Misao... As a result, you're probably gonna see more of the other RK characters as I try and develope them as well, like in this chapter... write little side stories about them and explain why they are like that, capture their characters and what not. But this is still an Aoshi Misao fic, haha, don't worry :)
Tell me what you think about the Megumi and Kenshin thing at the start, I really didn't mean to portray Megumi as a slut, which I realized I did at the start a bit, because she really isn't one, in fact I quite like her character, I was just using her without really giving much thought about the person tt she is, and I'm sorry to Megumi fans out there... Hopefully this redeems her, plus we get to see more of Kenshin's personality in this chapter! I know he's been totally in the background, haha, what with him being the main character of the manga and all... We'll definitely see more of Megumi in the next chapter tho! And who knows, Higashidani Uki may take on a bigger role than I expected, haha, this is her second appearance, which i definitely had not foreseen haha...
OK I'm done. Till next time:)