A/N: No really guys, I love you. Thank you to all my reviewers, readers, and lurkers - y'all are the best! Um...what to say about this chapter? I really hate Megumi like 95% of the time, but there's that one 5% where I...don't hate her. I hope my general dislike for her doesn't make this chapter read awkwardly, if that makes sense.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin

Sano brings home a woman the next day - her name is Takani Megumi, and she has a terrible habit of being beautiful, delicate, self-assured, and perfect. Kaoru thinks she may hate her.

"I think I won her playing dice?" He doesn't sound at all sure. "That's what the guys said, at least."

"Oh ho ho!" The fox like woman laughs, hiding her mouth behind one perfect hand and beautiful sleeve. Kaoru twitches. "Don't be so shy - he asked me to marry him!"

"Whoa, wait, what?" Sanosuke looks positively terrified. "I don't remember that, no one said anything about marriage -"

"My goodness, do you always dress like a man?" Megumi inquires, looking rather...smug. "How...modern."

"I'm the Assistant Master of the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryu." Kaoru stiffly informs the woman.

"That certainly explains how sweaty you are!" Yahiko glares even harder than Kaoru.

"Hey! I know she's ugly, but you better be nice to my sensei!"

"Ugly?" Kaoru shrieks, "Why you little -"

"I think it's very brave for such a plain little girl to dress like she does. She must not want to find a husband at all."

"I'm married, thank you." Kaoru snips, nose high in the air.

"Oh really?" Megumi looks positively shocked. "Are you sure?"

"Sano," teeth gritting together loudly, Kaoru swings her dark glare on Sano. "Get. Her. Out. Of. Our. Home."

"Ah, yes ma'am. Come on, fox lady, it looks like it's time you went on back to where ever you came from."

"Don't send me away!" Collapsing into dramatic histrionics, she hides her face, and still somehow manages to peak up at them all with her large, beautiful eyes. "I haven't any where else to go!"

"Jou-chan..." Sanosuke wheedles. He is helpless in the face of feminine tears, and Kaoru swallows of a great surge of furious exasperation.

"You owe me." She answers in a hiss, before marching away.

Word Count: 317