Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or any of its characters. If I did, I would be drawing all day, instead of toiling away at school. And I'm not making any money off of it either, so if you decide to sue me, you'll just get my cat, who's good for nothing and lazy anyway.

Author's Note: Okay class! Today you'll be reading an A/U with an alternate pairing. Now who's the lucky couple?

*points to a hand* Yes, Kaoru?

Kaoru: Saitou and I? *glances over at Saitou, chain smoking as ever*

Me: Err. no. * takes her tea and drenches Saitou, along with his cigarette*

Saitou: *glowers* Ahou. *lights up another*

Me: Okay! Any more guesses?

Kenshin: *sheepishly raises hand*

Hiko: *whacks Kenshin over the head with his sake jug* Baka deshi! What
have I taught you? Come on! Show some backbone! *whacks him another
time for good measure*

Kenshin: Oro! *swirly eyes*

Me: *rolls eyes* It'll be like pulling teeth. *sigh* Anyway, it's a
Sano/Misao pairing, so if you don't like it, I'm not trying to convert
you to S/M. (I'm a die-hard A/M pairing myself. ^.^) I just wanted to try
something different. It'll be rated now for Sano's vocabulary, so there.
Enjoy! =D

Epilogue: In Which There Was A Lump

By the time Sano got home, it was well past dark. The apartment was quiet and quite impossible to see in, as he found out. Stumbling through the darkness, he cursed brightly as he tripped over a shoe, nearly smashing his face into a glass table.

Ah. Now he knew where he was. A glass table meant that the kitchen was approximately northwest of him. Not that he was any good with directions, mind you. He could just hear that leaking faucet that had gone without service for the past week. But what about the shoe.?

His grumbling stomach tossed the thought right out the window.

Patting it absently, Sano half-crouched, hands blindly searching along the edges of the table until he was sure that it was put behind him.

"Mm, hmm!" he hummed, pleased that he could be so crafty, a ghost of a grin flitting across his face.

He straightened, jammed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans- and promptly fell over the couch as he took his first step.

Oh, yeah. The couch.

He had forgotten that he had moved it there.

Managing to plant an elbow and a hand on the back of it, he saved himself an ungraceful sprawl, bent in half, over the cushions. But as he levered himself back up, a dangling hand brushed over a lump on the couch.

"Damn cats." Sano muttered, once again blindly sweeping both hands in front of him. He paused.

It wasn't a cat.

It wasn't a dog.

And it sure as hell wasn't going to stay on Sano's couch.

This time, Sano knew what he was searching for. His hand found the table light instantly, snapping it on with a deft twist of his fingers. Bright light spilled from the lampshade, and for an instant, he was blinded, caught off guard. After the initial blindness wore off, the lump on his couch was most definitely not any animal.

It was a human, and it was snuggled up in Sano's favorite red flannel blanket.

On his favorite couch.

In *his* apartment.

. a guy can only take so much.

Grabbing a fistful of flannel, Sano gave it a sharp yank. The human-shaped lump was unraveled, and tumbled to the unyielding floor.

He suddenly wished that he had left the blanket alone.

Sprawled on the floor was a woman. no, girl.? He couldn't tell, the black curtain of her hair was extremely dishelved, falling across her face, shoulders and back in a seemingly endless wave of night.

It was ratty and tangled, but so was the rest of her, by the looks of it. She was wearing some sort of uniform that Sano suspected had gotten small for her, judging by the length of the shorts. It was dirty, ripped and cut, and altogether, looked about as fit as a pile of Salvation Army donations*.

Her feet were bare, and he hadn't seen any shoes, of course, it had been dark when he-. wait a minute! He had tripped over one of them. Focusing back on her, it was no wonder she had chosen such a warm blanket.

Although it's was almost Spring, the nights are still chilly for such an. almost. indecent outfit, he mused, eyes absently roaming the creamy expanse of a toned thigh.

The female lump suddenly moved, shifting in her sleep.

Sano's eyebrows snapped together in disbelief, marveling how one could sleep through falling off of a couch. Well. he had done it- many times- when he had been drunk. but hey, that explained itself.

"Oi!" Sano called, prodding the lump in the back with a socked foot. "Get up!"

The lump then proceeded to yawn loudly, stretching lithely as she rolled to her back. One emerald blue eye blinked open.

Sano was stunned speechless.

"Oh," She murmured, sitting up. "So you're finally home." She rubbed a delicate hand across her face. "Do you know how long I've had to wait?"

Chocolate brown met brilliant blue.

"Misao. what the *hell* are you doing here?" Sano bellowed, flinging his arms up in exasperation.

The lump known as Misao grinned mischievously, scrambling up from the floor. "Surprise!" she crowed, striking a pose that distinctly reminded Sano of Sailormoon.

Sano clapped a hand across his face with a groan. "What did I ever do to you, god?"

^___^ Sorry in advance for any errors on my part with spelling and/or grammar. And just to warn you, it might be a little bit until my next update. Or not. I don't know just yet. So, please, hang in there with me! Wai!