Author's Note: My muse must be in love with me 'cos here comes chapter two LOL

Author's Note: My muse must be in love with me 'cos here comes chapter two LOL! Anyways, this chapter looks into what Sanosuke thinks about the big mess between him, Megumi and Spider's Web. Exactly what Crewel said xD

WARNING: coarse language, please don't be reading this in front of the folks will ya? .

Chapter Two: Last Man Standing

Sagara Sanosuke raced up the steps, two at a go. He had just returned from his morning run around the district and was looking forward to a cold shower to wash away the sweat and cool off the heat he had gained from the run. He reached his apartment on the second storey and was about to open the door when a shrill female voice interrupted him.

"Well well well, if it isn't the baka rooster!" The speaker was his landlord slash landlady Kamatari, who had materialized next to him in a loose-fitting yukata. "Phew, you stink!"

"Yo, Kamatari. Good day for a run eh?" he greeted Kamatari with the maximum amount of politeness he could muster. Kamatari's eyes narrowed. Anyone who didn't know this person well enough would have said that he was just a perpetually premenstrual bitch. However, due to an unfortunate and embarrassing situation whose details neither of them wished to disclose, Sanosuke learned the hard way that "Miss" Kamatari was really a man with a fetish for cross-dressing, and was aspiring to realize his lifelong dream of undergoing a sex change operation. Of course, in order to fulfill this so-called childhood dream of his, Kamatari was relying on the rent that came in from his tenants. Kind of like a really big tick sucking blood from its victim.

"You haven't paid me this months' rent you baka tori atama!" Kamatari shrieked. For a man, he had a really high pitched voice which could drive dogs crazy. "Are you planning to eat me out of my own house?!"

"For your information you she-male, even if I do plan on eating you out of this house, you'll still have tons of other houses to get your dough from!" Sanosuke retorted. He opened the door in a hurried manner and escaped into the sanctuary of his –rented- apartment before Kamatari launched himself into the ultimate bitch fit. Normally, he would have been able to manage finances with his roommate around, but given the current circumstances, this was not possible.

Kamatari was gone by the time Sanosuke had showered and changed, and was preparing to leave the house. Probably gone off to suck blood from another tenant, he thought. A least he had managed to put off the issue of rent for now. Without another thought for the she-male, he left and went to catch the bus downtown.

Located on the outskirts of the central business district of Tokyo was the Metropolitan Police Station, which supposedly kept law and order in the city. This was a place that the Zanza preferred to avoid completely if he could help it. He remembered all too well the countless occasions he had been brought in for creating havoc by getting into street fights as a rebellious youth. Sagara Sanosuke had a record more colourful than the life history of a sailor.

He entered the main building and was immediately button-holed by one of the anal officers who were stationed there. "Well now, I was beginning to wonder if you were even going to show up." It was Saitou Hajime, a micro-eyed detective who acted like he perpetually had a stick up his arse, especially when dealing with people like Sanosuke.

"Watch it you government dog." He retorted. It was just his luck to be living next door to Japan's most anal cop. Not that he ever got involved in any of those illicit activities anyway, but he still hated the idea of "Big Brother Is Watching You".

Saitou smirked in response to Sanosuke's amateur attempt at an insult. Sarcasm was the lowest form of an insult, yet the idiot clearly had problems grasping it. But he couldn't be bothered with small fry like that Zanza; it was the big fish that he was after. "Your friend is waiting in Room 41A. Cho, escort him. And no nonsense or you'll know what's coming for you." He barked.

Sanosuke snorted and followed the blonde officer down the narrow corridor. Cho led him to room 41A and gestured for him to go in. He pushed open the door and saw his friend Tsunan sitting behind a white table. "Tsunan!" He sat down opposite him. Cho followed him into the room and stood at a corner far enough to give them privacy, but close enough to pick up any suspicious conversation between the two.

Although Tsunan was trying to put up a brave front, eleven years together with him had given Sanosuke enough insight to see that he had seen better days. His face was slightly sunken from the stress of being held in detention; eye bags were a tell-tale sign that he had been kept awake at night and his hair no longer retained its glossy texture without the copious amounts of gels he used.

"Hey you." Tsunan grinned. "Kamatari being a bitch again?"

Sanosuke laughed drily. "I don't know how you could still be joking about Kamatari when you're in deep shit," he told him honestly. "Those government dogs better be treating you right or I'm gonna give them a lesson in manners!"

"Shh, those dogs are here. Anyway, did you see Megumi again after that night?" Tsunan was silenced when the Zanza returned his question with a hard stare. With that intense gaze he had right now, he could very well shooting daggers with his eyes.

"Not a word about that.. that vixen. She played us all and bailed out when the fun was over." He growled. His grip was so tight that his knuckles became white. "And I don't wanna see her again unless it's with her behind bars. I don't give a damn about her anymore!"

"Sanosuke, please calm down." Urged Tsunan. "They'll hear." He gestured at Cho and another officer who was standing guard in the room.

"So what, I don't give a fuck! You want dogs outside our front door, we got one lapping up their shit for them! Those pigs don't know slop when they see it. It's that Takani woman who should be behind bars, not you!!" Sanosuke spat the words out like they left a bad taste on his mouth. A really bad taste. "Just because they never found her they had to get the person who drank up all those lies!"

"Aight mister, visiting's hour." Cho came in the middle of the Zanza's outburst. "Let's be gettin' ya outta here before ya make a mess outta this place."

"Fuck you! Quit spewing your trash on me you broom head!" Sanosuke cursed the officer. To hell with them all, this wasn't justice; this was closing one eye on those who really deserved the punishment. And the one who deserved it was Takani Megumi, the woman who betrayed him.

"Sir I have to insist-"

"What's going on here?" Saitou asked as he came upon the scene. Not wanting to be caught doing something under the wolfish detective's eye, Sanosuke simply shrugged Cho off and stalked out of the police station. As he was walking out, he looked back over his shoulder and called out." Tsunan! I know you're innocent, I won't let them get you. I swear I'll find the bastard who got us into this shit!"

Once he was sure he was out of the watch of Saitou Hajime and his crony Cho, Sanosuke spat on the ground outside the police station with all the venom he could muster. Then he walked away from the place. As he ventured further and further away, he managed to cool down his temper and let his thoughts wander back to that night when those pigs got their hands on his best friend.

And the night when he found out the ugly truth beneath the sensuously disguised lies.

The taxi pulled up in front of the Metropolitan Police Station in Tokyo. Sanosuke got out of the car without paying for the fare, while Megumi remained and quickly handed the irate driver the money. He didn't wait for her, but instead ran in.

They had been idling the night away in their apartment, he, Megumi, Kaoru and Kenshin. The gang had planned on spending the night on a movie marathon snuggled up with their partners. Tsunan had politely declined the offer to join them, saying that he had to rush in an article for a magazine the next day. They were just settling into the first half hour of the movie marathon when someone knocked rudely on the door. Thinking it was Kamatari coming to badger them on their monthly rent, Sanosuke went to open the door, only to find several police officers including Saitou standing there. They produced an arrest warrant for Tsunan and without waiting to be invited, rushed in and grabbed Tsunan from his room. Shocked, Sanosuke had trailed them in a taxi he hailed shortly after with Megumi hot on his trail.

"Where's Tsunan?" Sanosuke confronted a stony faced Saitou. "What the hell are you doing dragging him to this shit hole for?!"

"Ahou. For your information, we didn't drag him. We fetched him here in a nice golden carriage because we found traces of opium in his urine sample. Satisfied?"

"What urine sample are you talking about?!"

Saitou didn't answer just blew out a puff of smoke from his cigarette. "Che, if you must know, an anonymous informant dropped a vial of that disgusting liquid on my desk this afternoon. We sent it for checking and found the DNA belonging to your little friend here." He flicked the cigarette butt onto the ash try and continued, "Apparently he had a very good time trying out the new Fox Spirit alcohol last night..oh, that's the new drink that your girlfriend was promoting wasn't she?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Che. If you didn't figure it out by now, I've got a job to do, so get lost." Saitou smirked and walked off, paying no attention to the Zanza.

Sanosuke was confused. Then everything clicked and he got the whole thing figured out: the late-night partying at Toxique last night. The new vodka cocktail that Megumi proudly promoted as the Fox Spirit. By the time she had concocted one, the rest were already wasted and only Tsunan was in a state to fit in one more drink. He had drunk it down without a second thought. He didn't give it much thought until tonight. Megumi was the one who had mixed the opium into the drink and served it to the unsuspecting Tsunan. And then somehow got hold of his urine sample and sent it to Saitou. But, why?

Without a word, he stormed out and spotted Megumi standing alone in the cold. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shouted accusations at her. What was she thinking, why did she do this, why did she lie to him? Then she was shouting back at him. It was more than a lovers' quarrel; it was a full outbreak of fighting between two lovers who were as good as strangers to each other now.

"What were you even thinking that night? Was it the opium that was telling you what to do? Did you even think of what would happen?" Sanosuke yelled.

"I don't know!" Megumi yelled back, tears streaming down her beautiful face.

"You don't know? That's something! Tsunan's in jail because of you you bitch!" The word was out before he knew it was on the tip of his tongue.

Megumi's face turned white. "So that's what you think of me? Fine." She turned and started to walk away, before breaking into a run and disappearing around the corner.

"No, wait, baby, I didn't mean it." Sanosuke groaned. Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut in times like these? He ran after her, but when he turned round the corner, she was gone. Out of the darkness came a black van speeding toward him. He yelped and quickly got out of the way before it ran over him.

He never saw Megumi again after that night.

Sanosuke took out his cell phone and checked it, even though he could anticipate what it was going to say. YOU HAVE ZERO MESSAGES. He sighed and browsed through his inbox. Most of the messages there were from Megumi, or "Kitsune-onna" as he had keyed into his phone book. They ranged from the trivial to the downright lovey-dovey as they kept each other from passing out from boredom at their day jobs. Despite feeling anger and betrayal at her lies, he couldn't bring himself to erase those messages. He hated her for doing that, yes, yet he couldn't bring himself to say that he hated the person itself. To erase the messages was like erasing her from his life forever, but somehow, he didn't want that. There was still some emotional attachment he had with this woman, something that made him want to cling on to their brief affair and all that they ever shared. Some day, when he found the courage to move on, he would clear his inbox and be rid of the liar named Megumi.

But for now, he had to clear the issue at hand and that was to prove Tsunan's innocence. Later that afternoon he would scout around for information with the help of his friends. Taking a deep breath, he walked to the nearest ramen shop for some breakfast. He had not eaten yet and he was starving.

Author's Note: AHHH that was short, but I wanted to update this very badly. Chapter three should involve a deeper look into what happened before the whole fiasco, I hope. xD please review, arigatou!