A/N: In case it's confusing the italics represent thoughts...
Disclaimer: Forgot to put this in the last chapter...Don't Own It
Chapter 2: An Interesting Meeting...
Sanosuke Sagara raked a hand through his hair and grinned.
It has been a while since my last job, and knowing Aoshi, if I do a good job this time I'll be getting paid quite well at the end of this. Hell, maybe Aoshi will consider calling on me again.
Sanosuke paused in the middle of the sidewalk.
Why had Aoshi called on me in the fist place?
A stranger pushed past him, glaring. He started walking again.
We aren't good friends, or even friends, at that...and Aoshi is a calculating kind of man. He has obviously picked me for some ulterior reason, but what?
He finally reached the police station and made his way up the stairs into the police building. He was quite surprised to find Misao standing at the front door, waiting for him, and tapping her foot impatiently against the floor.
"Where have you been?" she demanded, trying to look stern.
"Walking around," he replied. He grinned. "Where's Aoshi?"
"In his office," she answered, smiling back. "I'll take you to him." She beckoned him forward and then led him to a door at the end of a hallway. She went inside and he went in after her. She gestured at a second door in there. "He's been waiting for you for a while...so he might be a little annoyed...good luck!" She then walked back to her desk, leaving Sanosuke standing in front of the door.
He looked at her for a moment, then turned towards the door.
I guess I should go in.
As he turned the knob and stepped inside the door, everyone in the room turned to face him.
Well, this is awkward.
-
Megumi turned to face the man that had just walked in the door. Standing in the doorway was a tall, lanky man, who was looking around awkwardly. He was wearing a crisp white t-shirt that showed off his muscles, and an old-looking pair of jeans. As he ran a hand through his thick, unruly, brown hair, she couldn't help but notice its peculiar shape.
You have got to be kidding me. He looks like...like...a rooster.
She watched as the man turned towards Kenshin and said, "Kenshin, long time no see."
Kenshin stood up to shake his hand. "Hello, Sano," he replied, cheerfully. "It is nice to see you as well."
How does he know Kenshin?
"And this must be Kaoru," he said, turning around to face Kaoru. "Kenshin has told me a lot about you." To which Kaoru raised her eyebrow inquisitively to Kenshin. He finally turned towards Megumi and said, "Oi, who's the fox?"
Megumi's mouth dropped open, and a light blush settled on her cheeks. "Excuse me?" she said, trying to look indignant.
The man named Sano chuckled. "That's not a very attractive look, fox," he told her.
Megumi seemed to be in shock, so Aoshi took the moment to interject. "Sagara Sanosuke, this is Takani Megumi," he said, gesturing at her. "Megumi, this is Sanosuke. He will be your bodyguard in the upcoming weeks."
Megumi sank down in her chair and put her face between her hands. "You have got to be kidding me," she groaned.
"What was that?" Sano asked, peering down at her.
She looked up at him sweetly. "I was just wondering..." she said slowly, and looked around the room at her friends before finally focusing on Aoshi and raising her voice. "How this...this...rooster-head is supposed to protect me from Kanryuu and his thugs."
She stood up and faced Sanosuke full for the first time. Actually, she had to admit that he did look kind of strong, and normally, she would have been intimidated, but her anger had made her quite bold at that moment.
"What did you just call me?" Sano demanded, feeling furious. The nerve of that woman! Here he is, offering to protect her, and she insults him.
"I called you a rooster-head," she replied, still smiling.
"Megumi!"
"Megumi-sensei!"
Kenshin and Kaoru turned to look at each other, having noticed the peculiar timing of their outbursts. Kaoru finally began again. "Maybe we should split up and talk this over for a while," she suggested.
Aoshi looked from Sanosuke to Megumi to Kaoru, and then finally to Kenshin. "Good idea, Kaoru," he agreed. "Kenshin, you take Sanosuke to the questioning room...Misao knows where it is. Kaoru and Megumi, you can stay in my office. As for me...I'm going to get some Tylenol."
Megumi waited for Aoshi and the others to leave the room before turning around to frown at Kaoru. "Do you really expect me to believe that he is going to be able to protect me? He looks ridiculous," she said irritably.
"Oh, come on, Megumi! Kenshin and Aoshi obviously trust him, so why can't you? I mean, what else are you going to do? Hide in your bed with your head under the covers?" she said, and Megumi's eyes widened. Kaoru smiled. "Yes, I do know what you were doing when Kenshin and I came over to your house earlier today."
Megumi blushed, and her mouth closed and opened a few times as she tried to come up with a comeback. She finally pursed her lips to a thin line and looked away.
Kaoru sighed. "Megumi..." she began, standing up and walking over to stand behind her friend, placing her hands on her shoulders. "Give Sanosuke a chance...besides it's better than being alone, right?"
Megumi looked up at Kaoru and finally answered, "We'll see...they do say that looks can be deceiving..."
-
Sanosuke barged intothe questioning room with Kenshin close at his heels. Once they were both inside and the door was closed, he spun around to face Kenshin. "Can you believe that woman? I am about to risk my life to protect her from the most notorious drug dealers to ever exist, and she insults me!" he exploded.
"Sano, calm down, listen," Kenshin said, pulling out a chair for Sanosuke to sit on. The seriousness of his tone surprised Sano, and he decided it was probably best to listen to what he had to say. "Megumi-Sensei has been under a lot of stress lately...I'm sure that this is all a by-product of all of the problems she has had recently."
"I hope so, because I don't think I can deal with her like this for too much longer," he muttered. Sanosuke then began to grin again as he said, "So...are you and Kaoru married now, or are you just sleeping together?"
Kenshin looked as if he might faint, and his face had turned a shade redder than his hair. Sanosuke burst out laughing at his friend's discomfort. When he had finally calmed down enough to talk again he said, "Just kidding. Maybe we should go see how the girls are coming along..."
A few moments later...
Aoshi looked towards both parties and felt relieve. "I'm glad you were all finally able to handle this situation like adults. So it's settled then; Sanosuke, you will be in charge of protecting Megumi until further notice. I need you to sign here, here, and here," he said, pointing to various blanks on a police document. After Sanosuke had finished filling out the form, he turned it towards Megumi and said, "And Megumi, I need you to sign here and here."
Sanosuke cleared his throat several times until everyone in the room was looking at him. "So...where am I going to be staying?" he asked casually.
"Megumi has an extra bedroom in her apartment!" Kaoru blurted out. She immediately was able to feel the death ray being directed at her from Megumi's eyes. "What?...you've been looking for a roommate, right?"
Aoshi, ignoring the look that Megumi was giving Kaoru, said, "Thanks for the information, Kaoru..."
"Yes," Megumi interrupted. "Thanks for the information, Kaoru." She then stood up and walked out of the room.
There was a stunned silence in the room, which Sanosuke broke, saying, "I should go after her, shouldn't I?"
Kaoru shook her head frantically, but it seemed that he either didn't see her, or he took that for a yes, because he jumped up out of his chair and ran out of the office after her.
-
Sanosuke stepped out onto the street in front of the police station and scanned the sidewalks on either side until he spotted her walking quickly away from him.
"Hey, fox, wait up!" he yelled down the street as he started running to catch up with her.
Megumi stopped, turned around and yelled back at him, "If you think that I am actually going to let you live in my apartment with me, you are out of your mind."
She then turned back around and started walking even faster, almost running now. Sanosuke followed her down the streets as she cut around buildings and through alleyways.
"It's really dangerous to walk down empty streets at night alone, you know," he called out to her, but she didn't respond to him. He then followed her through an apartment complex, and although she had tried diligently to lose him, he finally found her standing in front of one of the doors shaking. "Megumi?"
She looked at him, and it was obvious that something had upset her.
"What is it?"
She didn't answer him, instead, she handed him an envelope. He opened it and pulled out a small piece of paper, looking it over.
A death threat...
He put an arm around her, and was a little surprised when she didn't push him away, instead pressing her face into his chest.
What do you say when you're in this kind of situation?
"Megumi...I'm here to protect you," he finally whispered in her ear.
"I know..."
A/N: Thanks for reviewing the last chapter, and no this fic has nothing to do with the movie, although I thought of that too. And once again thanks to my beta-reader, don't know what I would do without you. Don't forget to review.
