She Left On A Monday (4/5)
By Hikaru

Ship(s): Aoshi/Misao, Kaoru/Kenshin, Hiko/his ego

Summary: AU. Misao returns home after many years to find things really haven't changed.

30kisses challenge #s: #10, the number 10

Chapter IV

As they approached Okina's apartment door, Misao looked down to her keys and played with them. "Thank you for finding me and telling me about the report, Aoshi. I really appreciate it."

Aoshi leaned his head towards her. "Will you be all right this evening?"

Misao shrugged. "I didn't really unpack that much, so I'll grab my bags and head to a hotel. It's no big deal really." She stared up at him with an awkward smile for a few beats of silence. Neither was sure of what to say to each other after all that had happened. For Misao, her emotions were far too confused at the moment to do anything. Aoshi, on the other hand, was unsure of where to start again.

"Would you like for me to wait for you?" he asked, finally. Misao's cheeks blushed furiously. "To escort you to a hotel," he added quickly, to make sure his offer wasn't misinterpreted. "It is very late, and..." he trailed off as he realized he was just digging himself a deeper hole.

Unable to stop herself, Misao giggled. "That would be great, Aoshi," she replied when she finally regained her composure. She opened the apartment door and entered. "Why don't you come in? It'll only take a second for me to-" The sight that she saw in the living room made the words die in her throat.

Aoshi came up behind her, curious to why she stopped so suddenly. "Misao? What is it?"

But Misao didn't give him an answer. Aoshi followed her sight of view to see Okina and a mysterious man sitting across from each other. "S-Sano?" Misao's voice faltered as she spoke. "What are you doing here?"

Okina crossed his arms against his chest. With a grunt he grumbled, "That's what I'd like to know." Sanosuke looked up from the table and smiled. "Misao!" He rushed up to her, wrapping his arms tightly around her. Before she could react, he pushed his lips against her in a very deep kiss. Misao struggled in his grasp, desperately trying to push herself away. Finally, Sanosuke released her, with a confused look on his face. "Misao? Aren't you happy to see me?" Behind Misao, Aoshi visibly tensed.

"Sano, what on Earth are you doing in Ja-"

"Who is that?" Sanosuke interrupted her. He was glaring at Aoshi.

Misao paled. She had forgotten Aoshi was right behind her. "Sano, this is Shinomori Aoshi." She said quietly. "Aoshi, this is Sagara Sanosuke." And that caught Aoshi's attention. He knew that name very well. Sagara Sanosuke was involved with the production of every one of Misao's American films.

Sanosuke nodded his head. "I'm her fiancé," he added, putting his hand possessively around Misao.

"Ex-fiancé," Misao corrected as she pushed Sanosuke's arm away. "I told you-"

"Shinomori Aoshi?" Sanosuke muttered to himself, clearly ignoring what Misao was trying to tell him. "Isn't this the jerk who broke your heart?"

Aoshi visibly tensed. Broke her heart? Wasn't it the other way around?

"Why the hell are you with him?" Sanosuke demanded. Misao opened her mouth to speak, but Sanosuke spoke over her, "Is this why you left? Because you're going to get back with him? We were in the middle of filming, Misao. You know you can't do that!"

"No," Misao said as she nervously eyed Aoshi in the corner of her eye. He looked as if someone had just punched him in the stomach. Or he was about to punch someone in the stomach- she couldn't decide. "I left because you were cheating on me. If anyone's the jerk, it's you, Sano."

Sanosuke laughed. "Oh come on, Misao. I wouldn't have called that cheating..."

"I found the three of you asleep in our bed," Misao retorted. "I think sleeping with two other women who aren't me constitutes as cheating, Sano."

Okina had tried to stay out of this, but he couldn't ignore that. "Three of you?" He fumed. How dare this stranger cheat on his little Misao. He looked towards Aoshi and noticed that he was just as mad. Perhaps a double team was called for...

"Yes three," Misao repeated, her attention still on Sanosuke. "Did you expect me just to sit around after that?"

"But babe we were toasted. I didn't know what I was doing," Sanosuke said as he tried to bring Misao into another hug. She instead pushed him away again. "They meant nothing, you know that," he reasoned.

"Well, then maybe this means nothing too!" she shouted, motioning her arm towards Aoshi.

Aoshi narrowed his eyes. That explained a lot. Misao switching back and forth from hating him to being her old self. She was just playing with him? His stomach sank. This news shouldn't have hurt as much as it did. There was nothing between the two of them any longer, other than the very obviously strained friendship. Now it was clear to him that she no longer loved him. Then there was no reason to stay.

Instantly, Misao regretted her words. She turned to Aoshi, who was already turning to leave. "Wait, Aoshi-" she called. But he ignored her and left the apartment, closing the door quietly behind him. Misao turned back to Sanosuke in a fury of anger. "Get the hell out of here."

Sanosuke crossed his arms against his chest. "I refuse to let our engagement end this way, Misao. You know how much you need me."

"Need you? I don't need you. If anything, it's you who needs me!"

With a smug grin, Sanosuke replied, "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Misao. You know you wouldn't have made it as far as you have if it wasn't for me. If I knew you were going to be so ungrateful-"

"Ungrateful?" Eyebrows furrowed, Misao stormed over to her room. The sounds of her rustling through her things could be heard from the living room where Okina and Sanosuke were left alone.

The old man simply glared at the younger one, swearing that if this Sanosuke character didn't get a clue soon, he was going to wipe the kitchen floor with his face. He also couldn't help but feel angry towards his granddaughter for failing to tell him about her newest fiancé. Getting married was a serious step, and she hadn't even mentioned Sanosuke's name to him. But then again, the old man still tightly held onto the hope that she and Aoshi would get back together once again, so that may have been why she failed to mention her new beau. Still, the fact that she didn't mention Sanosuke at all worried him. What were her true intentions with this man?

It wasn't long until Misao came out of her room, just as angry, and holding something tightly in her right hand. She threw whatever it was hard at Sanosuke's, and Okina could make out something of a golden flash. Sanosuke blocked, saying "Hey!" The old man heard mental clank against the floor and saw a small ring spin around and round, feeling hardly any pity for the stranger standing in his apartment.

"Take this and get out of my life." Misao said.

Sanosuke bent over to pick up the ring. He stood up facing Misao, with a fierce look on his face. "This isn't the end, Misao. If you think you can just drop everything like this, you have another thing coming."

"Get. Out." She said through clenched teeth.

Sanosuke slammed the door as he left the apartment. As it did so, Misao dropped to her knees, with tears forming on the brims of her eyes. Okina turned to his granddaughter, unsure of how to respond. True, he was proud of what she did to that Sanosuke person, but what she just said to Aoshi- how could she use him like that? "Misao, what was..."

"Oh, Jiya-" She said, her voice trembling. She looked up to her grandfather. "I messed up big time. I can't believe I said that to Aoshi-"

A warm smile formed on Okina's face. "Misao, could it be that you still love that boy?"

Meanwhile, Sanosuke stood outside the apartment glaring. "Tch. If you think that's the end of this, you've got another thing coming. I've got far too much invested to just let you run away to be with your childhood sweetheart."

As he began to walk away, a short orange-haired man ran past him, down the hallway. Sanosuke raised an eyebrow at the man's hurry. Whatever it was, it must have been important. As Sanosuke pressed the button for the elevator, he heard someone say, "Aoshi! I need you to talk to you about this new chapter!"

Sanosuke froze. Aoshi? That Shinomori guy? He was an author? Misao failed to ever mention that. Just then, the elevator doors opened with a chime. Sanosuke stepped in, keeping an eye on Aoshi's apartment as the door opened for the orange-haired man. Interesting.

---

There were several things that Aoshi had learned to put up with ever since his fiancée had become a celebrity of sorts. While most were annoying, they could be dealt without too much hassle. Not to mention, they made perfect sense. But this... was asking too much, wasn't it?

Misao brought the last plate of food to the dinner table, trying not to look Aoshi in the eyes. "I know it's seems a bit strange."

"Am I to understand that we would not even be able to tell friends that we are married?" Aoshi asked, sounding more shocked than he had meant to.

Nodding shallowly, Misao said, "If I could get away with not telling Jiya, he wouldn't be allowed to know either. As is, I will have to keep my official residence with him, just in case."

Aoshi ran his hand through his hair. "This is ridiculous, Misao. Your agency can't tell you how to live your life."

"Well, if you take a moment to think about it, Aoshi, then you'd understand why it's so important."

"Oh no," Aoshi shook his head. "I understand why. You are young, beautiful-"

"Stop it," Misao said, reaching out for his hand. "I don't like this any more than you do. " She rubbed her thumb affectionately up and down the back of his hand. "If it were up to me, everyone in the world would know how much you mean to me. And it's not as if I'm going to let this get out of hand again..." her voice trailed off, not wanting to mention Soujirou's name out loud. They both knew what she meant. "If there was any other way..."

"There is another way," Aoshi replied, taking his hand away from her grasp. "You leave your agency."

"You know I can't do that, Aoshi. They're like my family!"

Aoshi looked away. Quietly, he asked, "And what if we wanted to have a family?"

Misao choked on the water that she had just taken a sip from. Coughing loudly, she pounded on her chest, trying to get the water out. Her face flushed, and not from her lack of air, she looked at Aoshi with wide eyes. "Are you saying-" she bit her lip. "That you would want to... h-have a baby?"

"Is that not what happens when two people care for each other?" Aoshi asked, still not looking at her in the eye.

"Well I-" suddenly she found it very hard to be able to form words. "It's just, I didn't think you-" she swallowed hard. "We never talked about having kids, that's all. It's not that I don't want to, I just..." she was only burying herself deeper here. "We'd have to be careful with the timing, that's all. I couldn't... you know... in the middle of a production. There have been several girls' who careers were ruined by having a baby."

Aoshi shook his head. "It was uncalled for me to mention it. My apologies."

If there was one thing that Misao knew about Aoshi after all this time, it was the signs he showed when he ignored his own feelings. He was always putting her happiness before his, and sometimes she really hated it. If only he would be selfish once in a while, it would have been much easier than guessing what he wanted. "No, Aoshi, its fine," she said, putting her hand on his cheek. "I suppose if we wanted to do that, then there'd have to be a formal announcement about us, hm?"

"There is no hurry, you know."

Misao giggled. "Oh, I don't know, Aoshi. You're the one that's always so anxious to have se-"

"I mean getting married," Aoshi interrupted, not allowing her to embarrass him further. They may have been in the privacy of his apartment, but he liked to save at least some face in front of her. Of course, Misao took delight in embarrassing him any chance she got, but they were trying to have an important conversation here. "Simply having you betrothed to me is ample enough."

Misao looked down at the table. "Are you saying... that you don't want to go through with it?"

"I am saying that it might be easier on the both of us if we wait until the time is right," he reasoned. "I do not wish to impede your career, but I will not be cast into the shadows either."

"Do you think I like keeping our engagement a secret?" Misao retorted, indignantly. "That I wouldn't love to go on all of those variety shows and show off my engagement ring and tell them how head over heals in love with I am with my fiancé? That I-" Misao's voice trailed off as she saw the grim look on Aoshi's face.

"As I said, there is no hurry, Misao."

The two began to fill their plates with the meal in front of them, silence filling the room. Their conversation weighed heavily on Misao's shoulders. Aoshi was right on so many counts. Perhaps it would be better to wait on getting married. The biggest reason why they would have to keep their relationship status a secret was because how young she was. If they waited only a few years, it wouldn't matter to the fans whether she was married or not. But the question was would she be able to wait? Could he wait for her? It was unfair to ask Aoshi to sit and wait to start his new life because of her career.

And then there was the bombshell of the baby question. A baby. With Aoshi. Her heart began to race at the mere thought of it. She couldn't help but imagine what their kids would look like. Would they have his blue eyes or her spunky attitude? But what she had said was very true. And she had been through far too much schooling and hardship to just drop everything she had gained in the last year for a family.

It was only after what seemed an eternity, did Misao look up at Aoshi and ask, "This is going to work... isn't it?"

Aoshi looked up into Misao's eyes and said, "I am not going anywhere without you."

A warm smile formed on her lips as she leaned over the table to give him a quick kiss. "I love you too."

---

It was times like these that Sanosuke wished he paid more attention to the Japanese classes that his parents forced him to go to when he was younger. Growing up in L.A., the most Japanese he needed on a daily routine was simply speaking to his parents. But reading was a different story. When it came to kanji and Sanosuke, he had about a middle school reading ability, and it had been a while since he actually had put his skills to work. It had never been a problem before, because he'd never really needed to read things in Japanese before. But now that he knew that his rival (so to speak) was an author, he wanted to find everything he could on this Shinomori Aoshi- as it could lead him to something Sanosuke could use against Aoshi and win back Misao.

However, he had conveniently forgotten that Aoshi's name could be written in many different ways, and he had no idea of where to start. Asking for help was the only option, but the lady working at the counter only smiled and said that she'd never heard of a Shinomori Aoshi, and that if he had the ISBN number, she'd only be happy to help-

Fat lot of help that did.

Cursing out loud, he wandered through the bookstore with a toothpick in his mouth, muttering to himself. By accident, he stumbled across the international section of the store where books in other languages could be found. At the front of the area, there was a huge display for a book by one "Aoko Shinomori" called She Left on a Monday. The display also had a large sign by it with the following: "The first best-selling novel by well renowned Japanese author, Aoko Shinomori- Now in English." The names Shinomori peaked Sanosuke's interest. He picked up one of the novels from the stacks on display and flipped to a random page. After reading only a few sentences, a wide grin formed on his lips.

Okina patted his granddaughter on her back, trying to calm her down. She'd been crying for sometime. "Perhaps you should go talk to him, Misao," he suggested with a smile.

Looking up, Misao blinked at the suggestion. Her face was blotched with pink spots, and her eyes were red. "You... you really think he would listen to me?"

"Of course," Okina said, half laughing. "Whether you realize it or not, Misao, that boy is just as crazy for you as ever. I don't even think he realizes how much her cares about you. Why, you should have seen him tonight. Banging on the door, trying to find you to warn you about that report he saw earlier. He was truly worried about you. If that isn't love, then I don't know what is."

"But I," Misao sniffed, wiping away her tears with the flat of her hand. "But we-"

The old man gave his granddaughter a good shake. "It's time the two of you stop acting so stupid! Just be honest with your feelings! Isn't that why you were dating all of those men in America, Misao? To try and forget about Aoshi?"

"Well, not exactly..." Misao replied, hesitantly, knowing right well that what Okina was telling her was the truth.

He patted her on the back. "But what I want to know is why you didn't tell me about that Sagara fellow? Weren't you going to tell your grandfather you were engaged?"

Misao shook her head. "Don't misunderstand, Jiya. It's not that I wasn't going to tell you. Getting engaged was all Sanosuke's idea. It was either that or he was going to leave me. And... well," Misao looked down to the floor. "I didn't want to be alone again."

"You weren't actually intending to marry him, were you?"

Misao shook her head. "I don't think I could actually ever get married. Not after what happened..." her voice trailed off, looking away from the old man.

Okina nudged his granddaughter to stand. "Go talk to him, Misao. Go apologize."

"Apologize for what?" Misao said, nervously laughing. "For everything? All I've ever done is hurt him. If I went and apologized now, he would... we would..."

"You would actually make up and finally get married?" Okina suggested with a grin. "You've been in love with Aoshi since you were a little girl, Misao. Five years ago you had happiness-"

"And I left, Jiya. Despite what he says, I know he has to hate me for what I did. For crying out loud, he wrote a book about it."

"He still loves you, Misao," Okina said firmly.

Misao shook her head. "No, Jiya. Stop it."

"Fine," Okina put his hands up in surrender. "If you want to leave it at that, I won't stop you. It's your life after all." With a sigh, he turned away and said, "I'm going to bed now. Please let me know if any of your fiancés decide to come into the apartment and start yelling."

"Very funny, Jiya!" Misao called as the old man retired to his room.

As the door to Okina's room shut, Misao looked to the apartment door, weighing her options. What she said to Aoshi was quite uncalled for, especially since he had done her two favors in the last few hours. Damnit, she cursed herself mentally for getting to emotional over the sight of Sanosuke in Japan. She walked over to the bathroom and checked her reflection in the mirror. There were still blotches of pink on her face from crying so hard. She washed her face with some cold water and tried to calm down. When her face was less pink, she nodded at her reflection and walked towards the door.

Aoshi's apartment was 610, which was just a quick walk from Okina's apartment. Misao, however, walked as slow as she possibly could. Her mind was racing as she tried to piece together what she would say to him. Not only that, but trying to figure out her own feelings. She still cared for Aoshi, that much was certain. But was it still that pure love that she held for him all those years ago? She wasn't naive enough to not realize that they were two different people now. She had changed so much, and just from the little time that she had spent with Aoshi since her return, she could see that he had too. But her Aoshi was still there, underneath the newly developed sarcasm and frowns. The man that could melt her with a single smile.

Perhaps if they started completely over again? Would it work this time?

Even with her slowed pace, she reached the apartment entirely too quickly. She knocked quietly, and called, "Aoshi, it's me. Can we talk?" There was no answer. Misao sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for what I said back there. I really didn't mean it. In fact... I, well, I'm sorry."

Still no answer.

Glaring at the door, she checked the knob to find the apartment unlocked. She slowly opened the door to see that the entire apartment was dark. Maybe he went to sleep... she said to herself as she took a step in. "Aoshi?" she said, trying to be quiet just in case he had fallen asleep.

Suddenly, the lights went on in the apartment and Misao was surrounded by hundreds of images of herself. Pictures of her covered every inch of all four walls- movie posters, magazine cutouts, snapshots, and the like. Next to the television were shelves filled with DVDs and video tapes her movies sprawled all over. It was a like massive shrine in her honor. Misao's jaw dropped open in awe. This was Aoshi's apartment?

And in the bedroom doorway stood Aoshi, like a deer in the headlights. "M-Misao!"

To Be Concluded...

This fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. The characters of Rurouni Kenshin belong to Watsuki-san. Standard disclaimers apply.