Cover Girls

An alternate universe Rurouni Kenshin Fanfic

 

Chapter Ten

"Meet me in the Middle"

 

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The expensive lighting effects overhead pulsed in time with the music and the writhing of the crowd. Color, smell, movement and sound all swirled into one on the dance floor of the Aoiya as the crowd pulsated like one huge, drunken animal to the music that blared from the speakers hidden in every single corner of the club.

 

"I have to say Aoshi, I'm a bit upset. Why didn't you tell her we were together?"

 

From behind a plate of clear, soundproof glass, two darkened emerald eyes oversaw all this chaos knowing full well that the power to sway the multitude lay in the dainty fingers that tapped thoughtfully against the smooth surface that separated the observer and the crowd.

 

"You don't understand Misao, these people are different to what you're used to. They might not…accept you."

 

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

 

With the grace and nonchalance of an experienced goddess, Misao twisted slightly to place that selfsame hand over the keys of the mixing board, effortlessly relaying a new message to her subjects outside who screamed and hooted in approval as they gave themselves over to the control of the new beat.

 

"Look, there's just other way to tell you this Misao. We just come from different places, you're just not of their class."

 

Shiro watched her out of the corners of his concerned brown eyes as she absentmindedly took her hand off the boards and resumed staring out the plate glass window to the main dance floor of the club. He had known the youngest Kamiya ever since grade-school and so, could recall the girl that existed before she had let go of the anger that kept the brighter side of herself locked away. The return of the girl she had once been both frightened and saddened him, for it was painful to one who deserved happiness the most be cheated of the chance.

 

So deep he was in his musings, he barely heard her whisper his name above the static of his private thoughts. Giving himself a firm shake, he looked directly into her eyes  with a practiced smile, "What is Mi-chan?" he asked cheerfully.

 

Misao did her best to return his smile, but only managed a weak lifting of the corners of her mouth. "Shiro-kun," she repeated softly, "I..I n..need to get out of h…here for a few minutes. W…watch the board f…for m…me ok?"

 

Even though his eyes shone with sympathy for his partner, somehow his smile remained intact as he nodded that it was ok.

 

Another weak smile from Misao and she slipped out the side door with even less disturbance than her softened voice had made during her request.

 

With a heavy sigh, Shiro turned back toward the library of discs that covered an entire wall of the "command center". A few moments into his task he heard the door open again and turned in its direction expecting to find his fellow dj once again seated at her place near the window. Instead his eyes met the icy blue gaze of one that stood several inches taller than himself.

 

Shiro's eyes narrowed, darkening to a just a few shades above jet black, "You," he managed to bite out, "What the hell are you doing here?"

 

Aoshi Shinomori inwardly cowered as he faced the shorter man's wrath, no doubt a direct result of the pain he had managed to inflict on Misao. Fighting the lump that had formed in his throat at the sight of Shiro's murderous gaze, he gently placed two items on Misao's mixing board, hiding his expression with his long bangs as he addressed the second man as directly as he could.

 

"I know that I have no right to be here," he said as evenly and quietly as he could, "But I would like to try and fix the mess I created. Please, see that she gets these." he requested.

 

The color of Shiro's eyes lightened a bit but his frown of disapproval remained. "Listen here buddy," he growled in disgust, "I don't know what you did to hurt our Misao, but I swear to Kami-sama that if you don't manage to make things right again I will personally kick your ass. Fair?"

 

Aoshi nodded slightly, "Fair." He agreed.

 

Shiro acknowledged Aoshi's gesture with a nod of his own before turning back to the task at hand. By the time he had looked up again, the tall man was no longer there, gone as if he were never there in the first place.

 

It was then he let his gaze drop to the mixing board where the tokens he had left for Misao lay. One of them was a carefully sealed letter and the other was a single long-stemmed white rose.

 

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The winter chill lent an extra sting to the night air as it rushed under her dark bangs and over the sensitive skin of her exposed cheeks. Instinctively her eyes narrowed to protect themselves from the blast as she steered off the sidewalk and into the open-air mini-amphitheatre that had been erected near the front of what used to be her favorite park. Burying her hands more deeply into the pockets of her jacket she came to a stop at the top of the steps, casting her ocean-colored gaze toward the stage.

 

Drawing one tiny gloved hand out of it's hiding place, she held it in front of her, a familiar envelope trapped between her fore and middle fingers. With a practiced flick of her wrist she sent it sailing down the incline to neatly come to rest before a pair of impeccably polished black boots.

 

Aoshi looked down to his letter on the floor and then up into a pair of unhappy blue-green eyes at the top of the amphitheatre's steps. Somehow in the surrounding darkness her slight frame seemed ten times more formidable than before. In addition to that, the way she held her body left him no room for error, every muscle ready to turn herself right back around and away from him at the drop of a hat.

 

Swallowing painfully, Aoshi managed to clear away the lump that had formed in his throat as he gripped the instrument in his hands a bit more tightly. "I'm glad that you came," he said softly, his voice slightly roughened as if he had been crying just before she'd arrived. "I don't expect you to forgive me for what I said, I…certainly don't forgive myself," he admitted with more than a waver in his tone, "Still, I just want to let you know how I feel…about you."

 

Misao's eyes widened slightly, but she said no word as Aoshi sat down on the edge of the stage and laid the acoustic guitar across his lap. Without another word or action he laid his long fingers on the strings and began to play and sing simultaneously.

 

Could you let down your hair
And be transparent for a while?
Just a little while
See if your human after all
Honesty is a hard attribute to find
When we all want to seem like we've got it all figured out
I may be the first to say that I don't have a clue
I don't have all the answers
And god I pretend like I do just
Trying to find my way
Trying to find my way the best that I know how.

 

Misao remained perfectly motionless as Aoshi poured all of himself into the song. While not as formidable as Himura's, his voice was nevertheless pleasing to the ear. Husky, low and sweet, not unlike the original singer of the song.

 

Well I haven't memorized all the cute things to say                   
But I'm working on it
Maybe I'll master this art for today
I'd I quote all the lines off the top of my head
And you'd believe
I don't understand all of these things I've read
I'm just trying to find my way
Trying to find my way
Trying to find my way the best that I know how.

 

Her eyes widened again at an unmistakable sound, quickly turning her gaze in the direction it originated from, her suspicions were confirmed when she saw a familiar figure standing off to the left, a violin-shaped shadow tucked in under its chin. Surprised, she swung her gaze back to Aoshi who locked eyes with her as he sang out the last of his song.

 

Well I haven't got it all figured out quite yet
But even if it takes my whole life
To get to where I need to be
And if I should fall to the bottom of the end
I'll be one step back to you
I'm trying to find my way
Trying to find my way
Oh, I'm trying to find my way
Trying to find my way

 

Stepping further into the light Tanaka began to play again, the lines that marred his wizened  forehead even deeper than usual as he concentrated solely on the task he that he was given. His bow gripped firmly between his fingers as he strained to bring Aoshi's song to an end as beautiful as the woman for which they both played

 

For several long moments after the music had stopped, Aoshi and Misao stared silently at each other, until Misao raised her hands to the hood that had hidden most of her hair from view, "You were r…really cruel to m…me, you know," she said quietly as she gripped the edges of it with her fingers.

 

Aoshi's eyes filled with pain as the meaning of Kaoru's words were finally made clear to him. "I know," he said painfully, "And I'm sorry."

 

Instead of answering him right away, Misao pulled the hood backwards, allowing it to fall behind her slender shoulders. It was now Aoshi's turn to stare in surprise at what was now revealed to his eyes. Misao's hair was pulled back in it's customary loose braid, her wispy bangs falling around her ears to frame her heart-shaped face. What was special though, was the single ivory blossom that was tucked firmly above her right ear, somehow emphasizing her natural beauty to an almost unbearable level.

 

"I m-meant what I said," she said softly, "I l-like you just the w…way you are a…and…I w-want you to l-like me for me. C-can't you?"

 

For the first time in his life, Shinomori Aoshi did not speak for he was truly dumbstruck. Unconsciously folding his hand over the keys of the guitar once more, he noticed that an unfamiliar sting had started at the back of his throat. It was the first time in his life that someone admitted to liking the person that he was, not the top of his class, not the son of a rich man, just Aoshi and nothing more. The sheer wonder of it was enough to strike him speechless.

 

"You," he finally said after an eternity of silence, "I wouldn't change or trade you for anything, Misao. You're everything to me."

 

With a gentle smile Misao pulled the jacket's hood over her head again, but not before Aoshi could see the distinct shimmer that his words had left in her eyes.

 

Pushing her hands into her pockets again Misao inclined her head slightly toward the stage, "M-make sure he gets home safe." She instructed.

 

"Of course,"  Aoshi quickly responded.

 

Misao turned away from him then, her shoulders shaking slightly, to his surprise the sound of a low chuckle escaped from under her jacket.

 

"I w-was talking to Tanaka-sama." she giggled

 

The look on Aoshi's face was too precious for words, "Oh." he said.

 

Tanaka's low rumble of laughter came up from behind him. "I will my Misao-chan." He promised.

 

"Thank you," she responded, only to realize several hours later that in answering, she had not stuttered once.

 

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"Misao, are you sure you don't want to go with us tonight?"

 

With a gentle smile, the youngest of the Kamiya clan shook her head in decline. Both Megumi and her sister had already asked her to join them three times each if she would have liked to go out as a group with the members of Sakabatou. Six times the petite girl patiently declined the offer, saying that she had a lot of work to catch up on and that Kaoru and Megumi should enjoy themselves without her.

 

"There, all done." she said softly as she arranged the last tendril of Kaoru's chosen hairdo to fall gently over her left ear. Stepping back to examine her handiwork, she allowed herself one small, self-confident smile. Her sister was quite a vision in the outfit that she had picked out for her, a deep blue corset-type top that bared the flawless, fair skin of her shoulders while accentuating her large, indigo eyes along with a sweeping skirt of the same material and strappy black heels to match. Misao had also gathered the sides of her unruly hair behind two silver pins so that her bangs fell in gentle wisps around her face instead of practically blinding her as they were accustomed to.

 

Just then, Megumi sauntered in, looking every inch the fox that she was accused of being in a slinky red dress that had just one strap running along her left shoulder and a thigh high slit on the right side. With dark stockings and shoes similar to Kaoru's, she reminded Misao of the actress from the movie "Bedazzled". Heck, she even had the laugh to go with it.

 

As if on cue, a sample of Megumi's throaty laughter followed Misao's thoughts. "Oh tanuki-chan," she cooed, "With an outfit like that, one would be tempted to think that someone's trying to get lucky tonight, hmm?"

 

Megumi's lighthearted teasing soon yielded the desired effect as Kaoru's face turned into a delightful shade of pink and her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

 

"Look who's talking Miss Fox," she growled, "Or I suppose that slit in your dress is for ventilation purposes only?"

 

Megumi, as she never failed to do, brushed off her cousin's barb as easily as a duck shaking water off it's back, "I'm always lucky, baby," she quipped, "The dress is just an accessory to the crime." To emphasize her point she leaned into the mirror and gave Kaoru a lascivious wink through her reflection.

 

Kaoru immediately retaliated by sticking out her tongue, but just as she did, the sound of a car driving up below the open window caught their attention. Without having to be asked, Misao retrieved both their purses and coats, handing them over just as the other two looked away from the source of the sound.

 

"Your carriage awaits, ladies," she announced with a smile, "Knock 'em dead."

 

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It was amusing to say the least to find an almost identically dressed Kenshin and Sanosuke waiting for them just beyond the door. As cute as they both looked that night, Kaoru could not help but silently observe that Aoshi, like Misao, had chosen to sit this one out, instead sending his apologies for his absence through his friends. She had figured as much, he and her sister were cut from different ends of the same cloth. It would take them some time before they could face each-other again and she respected that.

 

Even without the other two, the four of them had a wonderful evening together. Dinner at one of the better restaurants in town followed by a bit of formal dancing in it's main hall. Megumi's chosen attire proved to be most appropriate when both she and Sano took to the dance floor under a spicy Latin beat. They were well-matched and the easy manner which they both took to one-another added to the synchronicity of their movements. As the music stopped and their fellow patrons enthusiastically applauded their performance, neither the cocky rooster nor the bold kitsune was the least bit fazed. Instead they both bowed to their impromptu audience with confident smiles before sashaying back to the table where Kaoru and Kenshin sat waiting on them.

 

"Show-offs," Kaoru lightly teased as her cousin slid into the booth beside her.

 

In response, Megumi lifted her bare shoulder sexily, "Hey," she purred, "When you've got it, flaunt it."

 

"Seriously though, you guys did look great out there," Kenshin complimented, "Looks like a perfect match to me."

 

At the sound of that, Sanosuke's grin widened even more than before, "Hear that foxy?" he said to Megumi, "Told you we're made for each other!"

 

The telltale way Megumi hid her lips behind her wine glass immediately told Kaoru to prepare for one of her famous one-liners.

 

"Sure," she said dryly, "Just like when you said you could get that car of yours up and running again."

 

Both Kenshin and Kaoru had to stifle giggles at that statement, they both had listened with undivided attention when the fox-doctor had related the story of
"Sano trying to fix the car" otherwise known as "How Sano got that huge bump on the back of his head." After seeing the incident first hand, the good doctor had ultimately come to the diagnosis that the car was (a) Possessed and (b) Trying to kill it's owner. Either way, it made for quite an entertaining story, especially when Megumi carried the joke farther with a rousing chorus of "Let's go riding in an automobile" substituting her own lyrics here and there for added effect.

 

"Ha-ha, very funny Megumi." Sano managed to answer just as dryly despite the blush creeping across his tanned features.

 

"I should think so," a new, feminine voice agreed from above them.

 

Four pairs of surprised eyes looked up to find none other than Amakusa Sayo in a simple black cocktail dress, looking down on the four of them with a distinct air of aloofness about her. Even more surprising was the gigantic figure which accompanied her, wearing a sweeping white cloak with an outrageous red trim that would have overpowered a slightly less formidable man.

 

Seijuro Hiko towered over them like god, turning his dark, cynical eyes to the four at the table below as one would regard something that was already theirs. When he spoke the power of his voice only added to the previous impression.

 

"Konbanwa minna." he rumbled.

 

Kaoru was the first to catch herself, forcing aside the apprehension she suddenly felt, she managed to greet both the millionaire and the pop-idol with as much cheerfulness as she could muster.

 

"Konbanwa Hiko-san, Amakusa-san. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

 

A grin of real amusement crossed Hiko's features, "Ms. Amakusa and I just decided to have a little fun before the finals, just like yourselves." Then, to Kaoru's surprise he turned his gaze squarely on Kenshin with a disapproving frown.

 

"Surprising a lout like you would find a woman with such impeccable manners, baka-deshi."

 

Kaoru looked between the two, a look of sheer surprise as Megumi was the one to interject, "Um…" she said, "Sorry to intrude, but do you two know each other?"

 

Hiko's gaze shifted briefly from Kenshin to Megumi then back again, his frown twice as dark as before. "You are still bent on disowning me I see." He said gravely.

 

Kenshin responded by averting his angry gaze and muttering something that was anything but polite.

 

Before either of the girls could have an answer, Sayo surprised them both by turning his eyes on Sano again and smiling in a way that was much more than just friendly.

 

"It's been a long time, Sano-chan. How have you been?"

 

Megumi could have gagged on her own tongue, Sano-chan? What the hell was that? However, that was merely the beginning as she heard her new boyfriend answer the bold woman with equal familiarity.

 

"Better," he said curtly, "I can see that you're not suffering either myself."

 

Sayo's smile stiffened, but otherwise remained intact, "Same old Sano." She mused allowed.

 

Just then Megumi decided that she had had quite enough and would like to know exactly what was taking place, "Excuse me," she interrupted again, this time with a distinct edge to her voice, "But I would like to know what the hell is going on."

 

"As would I," an equally annoyed Kaoru agreed.

 

Sayo opened her mouth to answer but a large hand on her shoulder stopped her. Looking up, Kaoru and Megumi looked up to find the imposing man had now turned his attention on them. "I apologize that these boys have not been totally honest with you ladies, but please allow me to correct any misconceptions you might have. Young Sayo here," he said gesturing to woman beside him, "And that cocky young scoundrel there were once involved, but as most things do, the relationship fell apart. As for my baka-deshi over there, he and I share a somewhat closer bond, or at least, we should."

 

Kaoru and Megumi looked at each other in disbelief before turning to the large man once more. "Hiko-san," Kaoru asked, "Just what do you mean?"

 

The older man squared his shoulders proudly as he answered her question.

 

"My dear girl," he said, "It would seem that you are going out with my son."

 

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