Sanosuke flicked absently at the beads of sweat trickling down the side of his beer, eyes staring but unseeing. His mind ran over the past few months. Since when did he start drinking to drown his emotions? Since when did the thought of a particular person fill him with both irritation and longing? Since when did he become so pathetic?

A hand slapped him on the shoulder in a friendly greeting and Sano started out of his reverie. He nodded once toward the man who settled on the stool next to him.

"What's up, man? If I didn't know any better, I would say that you look like a man kicked into the doghouse." Katsu laughed at his own statement but the sound died in his throat at the look on Sano's face. "You've got to be shitting me." He said incredulously. Sagara Sanosuke was known in their circle as the party animal and player, desirable to women but never letting any of them closer beyond the physical. Sano didn't answer but took a swig from his bottle.

"Who is she?" Katsu pressed, intrigued. He hadn't seen Sano in a while. But he had been the same old Sano, getting in and out of trouble the last few times Katsu had seen him. Something big had obviously happened in the interim and from the looks of it, it had to do with a woman.

Katsu had given up on getting an answer when Sano spoke. "Megumi. The most beautiful woman I've seen in my life. Got the brains of a genius and a tongue sharp enough to cut."

"Yeah?" Katsu encouraged. "And what does this Megumi look like?"

At that moment the TV above the bar changed to the evening news. Sano pointed to the screen with his beer bottle. Katsu look up in confusion then whistled as the name of the reporter registered. The raven-haired woman was a household name across the nation who at the young age of 24 had already been recognized by the Office of the Prime Minister for her contributions to journalism.

"Megumi? That Megumi? Takani Megumi?"

Sano didn't respond. He didn't have to.

"Whoa, man, shoot for the moon, why don't you?"

"Just shut up." Sano growled.

Katsu held up his hands in a sign of surrender. "Sorry man, just—." He glanced around the bar. "Look, there's a woman over there who's been eyeing you for a while now." When Sano didn't even look, Katsu cast around for more prospects. He nodded toward the entrance where a group of girlfriends had just walked in. "There are pretty ones over there." He squinted his eyes at one in particular. "Leggy, dark hair, slender but still has curves." He ticked off each adjective. "She might be just the one to help you forget about your Megumi. Same type."

Katsu flinched when Sano slammed his bottle down hard on the counter.

"I don't have a type, I have a person." He said firmly.

Katsu quickly backpedaled. "Okay, man. Just trying to help."

Sano dropped a few bills on the bar top and stood up.

"Where are you going? I just got here." Katsu complained.

"There's something I've got to take care of. See you around, man."

Katsu watched as Sano made his way through the group of girls who were still standing by the door, each of them throwing him subtle or blatant looks which Sano uncharacteristically didn't even seem to notice as he exited the bar. Katsu shrugged. Maybe love did do strange things to people. He had no doubt Sano was about to do something to either make or break the deal with his particular person.


This is what I do as I sit at my desk instead of doing my homework. Escapism at its finest!

Please excuse typos and other mistakes, just typed this up in a few minutes before having to return to answering more clinical scenarios and explaining rationales.