Most of the characters are from the pen of Nobuhiro Watsuki-sensei. No copyright infringement intended.

As she began her week, Megumi felt a strange sense of excitement. She wasn't very sentimental, not a girly-girl, not a head-in-the-clouds kinds of person but lately it was as if the simplest thing had the potential to make her break out into a happy smile. It was a new and strange but not unpleasant feeling.

It was Monday and Megumi knew the Sagaras were going to be back in Nagoya that day. She couldn't help but wonder when Sano would contact her. Would he be at the house when she got home from school? A thrill went through her at the thought of seeing him. Funny how her feelings could change toward him in the space of a week! When she got home that afternoon, she had to tamp down her disappointment upon seeing the living room empty of any spiky-haired visitors. She climbed the stairs and slid open the door to her bedroom. On her dresser, bathed in the warm afternoon sunlight was a vase of peonies ranging from deep purple to the lightest of lavenders. Megumi practically ran across the room, tearing into an envelope buried in the foliage. In surprisingly legible writing, the note read:

See you soon. - SS

Megumi fell back on her bed, a smile on her face.

~O~O~O~

Sano didn't arrive that evening but the following day, after she finished her lab work and came out of the building, Sano was waiting for her outside. He was leaning against his car and talking to someone on the phone as Megumi approached.

"That will be all. Please have it on my desk in the morning." He hung up and walked toward Megumi. "Kitsune." He greeted. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. Megumi squeaked and pushed him away.

"Not here!" She looked around to see if anyone noticed.

"Relax, Megitsune. We weren't doing anything indecent."

"Humph." She cocked her head to the side. "What brings you here?" Sano took her hand and led her to the car, opening the door and handing her in before getting in himself.

"To take you home and to ask if you'd have dinner with me tomorrow."

"Sagara Sanosuke, are you asking me out on a date?" Megumi said playfully.

"That depends."

"On?"

"If you're going to turn me down, then I'd rather not call it a date."

"What difference would that make?"

"It could just be a dinner between old friends, nothing more."

"If I'll consider it?"

He looked at her. "It's definitely a date." Megumi laughed.

"Then yes." Sano grabbed her hand and dropped a kiss across her knuckles. Megumi ignored the sensation. "Where are we going?" Sano still hadn't released her hand.

"It's a surprise."

"I at least need to know what to wear."

"Clothing optional." Megumi snatched her hand away.

"What?"

Sano held up his hands. "Kidding! I'll take care of it."

"Be serious!"

"Sweetheart, I would never take clothing, or fashion for that matter, lightly."

The term of endearment, no matter that it was flippantly said, did wonderful things to Megumi's feelings.

"You're incorrigible."

"One of my many charms." He said cheekily. Megumi just rolled her eyes.

Sano dropped Megumi off at home, explaining that he couldn't stay since he still had to get back to work. He would be leaving on business in a few days and still had a lot of paperwork to go through. He refused to give Megumi any details except to be ready by 6:30.

~O~O~O~

The following day, Megumi was cornered by two of her classmates who were also sisters.

"Megumi, you're glowing." One sister, Tae, said.

"Did something happen?" The other, Sae, asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, don't be coy!"

"You smile when you think no one's looking, you're distracted—"

"I saw you go over the same data table twice and you even said 'hi' to that obnoxious T.A. who has a thing for you!"

"I—"

"All of these are uncharacteristic for you."

"So, is there someone?"

"Wha—"

"You can tell us, you know, it'll just be between us." Megumi highly doubted that. These two loved to talk.

"Did you finally agree to go out with that doctor?" A medical intern had once asked her out when they had gone to a hospital for a semester for one of their classes.

"Of course not." The two looked eagerly at her. Megumi sighed. "I have an old friend who's in town and we're meeting up tonight. That's it." The twins laughed. It was rather disconcerting hearing the same laugh from two different people.

"'An old friend', she says!" one twin cackled.

"Ai, Megumi, you have fun tonight then, alright?" Said the other. Megumi raised an eyebrow. What in the world were these two on?

"Thank you." She said primly and made her way to her lab station.

~O~O~O~

In less than two hours, Megumi was done with her labs for the day and rushed home. She still didn't know what to wear and with Sano being so mysterious, she wanted to comb through her closet for at least a couple of options.

"Miss Megumi, a package arrived for you."

"Did it say from whom?"

"Iiye, there was nothing outside. I've placed it on your bed."

"Thank you, Kaiyo. Is my mother home?""

"No. She was picked up by Mrs. Onoda for lunch. She mentioned that she'll be back in a few hours."

"Oh, that's right. The committee is meeting for a function or other they're planning. I'll just be upstairs. Just let me know when lunch is ready."

A flat box lay at the foot of her bed, a high-end European fashion line's logo stamped on the lid. It was bound with a grosgrain ribbon tied into a bow. Could Sano have done this? He did say to leave it to him. She untied the ribbon and lifted the lid. A card lay on top of the tissue paper; Megumi flipped it over and read the now familiar script:

I promised I wouldn't joke about this. - SS

Beyond curious now, Megumi pulled the tissue paper away to reveal a vintage 1950's style black dress. Megumi stood in front of a full-length mirror and held it up. It reached to her knees. Laying the dress back on her bed, Megumi shed her clothes and put it on. The dress fit her perfectly. Old rose colored material showed through the black lace of the top. A square-cut neckline and the absence of sleeves accentuated her graceful neck and slender shoulders. A wide sash drew in at the waist and the skirt fell to her knees in elegant lines. Megumi had to admit that Sano had excellent taste in fashion.

She initially debated between black pumps or red peep-toes but the black felt too severe and the red ones felt too forward although she had a feeling Sano wouldn't mind... Megumi felt her cheeks warm. Baka! What was she thinking? Ultimately, she decided on a pair of nude pumps which perfectly complimented the old rose of the top and showed her shapely legs to advantage. Megumi critiqued herself in front of the mirror. A low chignon, pearls, an ivory clutch, and a wrap would complete the ensemble. Perfect. Megumi took the dress off and just as she hung it up in the closet, Kaiyo came up to tell her lunch was ready.

With a few more hours before she needed to get ready, Megumi took a long bath after lunch – soaking in the tub which she had generously sprinkled with bath salts and oils. After drying off, she blow dried her long hair and painted her nails a light blush pink. Once they were dry she checked her email and found communications from her group members and one from her advisor on some suggestions on her thesis. Megumi responded then lay down for a short nap after setting the alarm.

As always, thank you for the reviews and input. I will stick to getting chapters out on a regular basis (that's currently one a day) regardless of the length I manage to scare up. (^^,)

I realized that I've been inconsistent with my use of name order. I know I've used the Japanese way where the last name goes first but then switched to the Western method of first name first. I'll eventually go back and change the previous chapters but from here on out I'll just go with the Japanese order of last name then first.

So, dear readers, the date is coming up! I'm excited to see how that goes (…even I don't know yet… haha).

Time and creative juices permitting, I might write portions of this from Sano's side of the story! Who'd be interested if I did that?