[ Author Insert – Yes, okay, I fixed up the formatting on the previous chapters mostly because it was annoying the living dayl xuserx Normal xuserx 1 0 2001-11-07T02:02:00Z 2001-11-07T02:02:00Z 3 1123 6405 x 53 12 7865 9.2720 6 pt 2 2

[ Author Insert – Yes, okay, I fixed up the formatting on the previous chapters mostly because it was annoying the living daylights out of me. In addition, there has been a suggestion to rename the fic… since there's a lot more going on than just Yahiko's pre-pubescent problems. If you plan on reviewing, I'd love to know if you think so too, and if you have any suggestions for a new title. Also, there's foul language… I was in a cursing mood. ]

"Sano told you WHAT?!" … Megumi shook her head slowly, cupping her forehead. Of course, HE would be the center of all this mishap. That stupid – "Look, just forget everything Sano told you for the time being…" She had to admit Sano had been pretty accurate in the… "details", and why this was making a doctor blush was bizarre in itself, however, it was a very MALE perspective. Yahiko will have to learn eventually, but surely not from her.

"Time being???…" Yahiko grumbled as his hands raced back and forth through his unruly mane. "Then what the hell do I do NOW?!"

Megumi caught Yahiko by the collar before he could bash his brains out on a nearby wall.  "Stop being a guy for a minute, would you? Problem – you don't have a present. Answer – you get one—"

"I have NO MONEY—"

"I WASN'T FINISHED." For the future Yahikos of the world… When the devil and his minions appear in a vast sea of flames behind a woman who could someday hold your life in her hands (and has many times before) – for we all know "hell hath no fury…" – you shut up. Megumi cleared her throat, and the demons resided back to their shadows, leaving impending doom to another day. "… You have to get her a gift that… when you see it… you see her—" Megumi paused and waited for Yahiko to interrupt and face her wrath, but lucky for him, he didn't. She turned and leaned against the wall (yes, the same one Yahiko was about to smack his head into repeatedly), and her gaze rose to the sky. "You'll hear this a million times in your life, that some things don't have a price tag. You won't hear it from Sano, but you'll hear it." (In a not-so-far-away land, Sano sneezed.) "But if you really like someone… the gift you get isn't to make you look good, or to impress her… it's proof that you know who she is as a person – that you give her something she would want."

Yahiko cautiously piped up, when Megumi trailed off, "But how do I know what that is?"

"Baka ne… You just do. It comes from in here," Megumi promptly poked his forehead, for being a doctor and one of the educated – she knew full well that love didn't actually come from the heart. [ 1 ] "If you want to get her the greatest gift you could possibly give her… you have to think about her, and what she wants… not what YOU are going to get her… or how much money YOU have to get it… don't you see?" She was hoping this would in some way spill into later chapters of "the talk," as initiated by Sagara Sanosuke.

Yahiko sat against the wall, with his knees drawn into his chest, and stroked his chin pensively. There was a moment of silence.

***

The silence was broken when there was a rattling cry from Kaoru throughout the dojo grounds.

"KENSHIIIIN!" The woman variably made the name to Japanese as the letter "e" is to English. Kenshin stopped is staring at the sky, broom in hand, and casually looked over at Kaoru.

"Hai?" His violet eyes cast a simple blink.

Kaoru's heart fluttered… she wasn't quite sure why. She knew how she felt about Kenshin, hell, everyone did. But there were always those moments when she would look at him and just know – things were alright, and if they're not they're going to be. It was surprising how, no matter how much time has passed between them, her feelings never faltered. In his eyes, she's sees the calm future that lies ahead, and the good times that have passed and are waiting to happen… in his eyes she saw…

"Kaoru-dono??" … blank. It was amazing the emotions he would put her through in a few far-too-short seconds, and can continue with life. How could it possibly be fair when she stays awake at night, alone, that the rest of the world – including everyone's favorite redhead – could rest soundly? Although she couldn't honestly or fairly say such things… he was always alert and always around to be the knight with shining sakabatou, after all.

"I just… wanted to see if you were okay.... It was so quiet, that I thought you might have had another fainting spell again…" It just wasn't fair. He would sweep, while she was across the grounds wringing her hands till the knuckles were white, and nibbling at her lip to hold it shut from screaming at him to just go to Megumi or someone… What if something is seriously wrong? Doesn't he care at all?

Of course, no panic on his end. Scratching his head nonchalantly, he waved a few fingers behind the broom in his grip, "I'm fine, no need to worry, Kaoru-dono," and he smiled.

'Don't smile when I'm worried about you, you stupid…' She wished to say. She wanted to kill him and kiss him in the very same moment, and it was as though her liver and stomach decided that they were going to play musical chairs… But of course, she would smile as well, and nod, and stride her way back to the practice hall, and work out her frustrations with a well-crafted piece of wood. [ 2 ]

***

While silence resumed on the Kamiya grounds, Yahiko had finally piped up…

"I don't get it."

Megumi promptly fell over. 'Damn that Sano, he's blockheadedness is contagious.'

***

            Elsewhere…

            "Shimatta, Sano, if you brought a fucking cold in here…"

            "You've been sneezing all bloody afternoon–!"

            Sano wiped his face on his sleeve, "Yeah man, I know, shit, I dunno what it is… Anyway, odd or even! Place your bets!" [ 3 ]

            "That foxy doctor friend of yours is probably talking a mouth full…" his drunken companion said squealing like a ripe piglet. There was a roar of laughter from the gang of testosterone in the room at that awful pun… In theory, they would possibly be excused for the fact that they're drunk, male, and friends of Sano. [ 4 ]

            "… just place your bets."

            When Sano's drunk, one could expect loud and outrageous outbursts. One can also expect a bloody fist fight. … and perhaps a few broken bones. But no one, not even this cluster of friends could've possibly expected this.

            Sano never looked more serious. His friends, with shaky hands placed their bets, and there was an eerie cloud of silence cast over the game… but it was brief. It was broken by a rather coarse belch… then one drunkard leaned over to another…

            'I think we struck a chord…'

            'We??? You mean YOU loudmouth… YOU're the one that brought up Foxy…' there was spit being sputtered, as whispering in a slurred tongue is rather difficult. Particularly if one wasn't all that good at whispering to begin with.

            "You know. I'm tempted to just take all your money while you talk all that shit."

            "We were just joking, man, c'mon! Joke! Y'know! Mouth full! Women! Mouth full! Y'know!"

            And then the expected happened.

            Broken bones.

***

[ 1 ] – the poking of the heart thing is just terribly misleading to children, I think, and I don't particularly think anyone who knows better should honestly encourage children to be misled so they can find out when they're older just how stupid they were to believe in things like that – when they weren't, it was older people that taught them wrong. ._.; But enough of my ranting, on with the story.

[ 2 ] – =P

[ 3 ] – For those of you who don't know what this refers to a dice game that is played where you bet that the dice will either roll an even or an odd number. There's Japanese words for odd and even, I just couldn't remember them.

[ 4 ] – … in theory. Not that drunk women can be much better… frankly, sober women talk more shit than men do drunk. But maybe that's just me.