Chapter 2: You scream, I scream, we all scream---from surprise.
"Megumi!!" Sanosuke called her name out frantically.
Megumi rushed out of the warm dojo and went out into the cold air. The last of the sun disappeared beneath the clouds, not to come back until morning. The dark slowly set in, the sky turning a cobalt blue.
"WHAT are you yelling about, you rude, no-good---?" Megumi growled, but stopped dead in her tracks. She saw the unconscious woman in Sanosuke's arms. Her mouth slightly hung open.
"Come in! Hurry!!" Megumi called out to Sano. She saw him run toward her. Megumi left the door open, rushing into the room where her friends sat. Their attention was on her completely.
"What's wrong, Megumi?" Kaoru asked.
"Someone's hurt!" Megumi responded quickly. "Yahiko, go get some hot water and a damp cloth. Sir Ken, please get some candles and a blanket. Miss. Kaoru, go get some bandages and my equipment!" she ordered. Sanosuke entered the room.
Kenshin saw the familiar woman, his eyes widened. He quickly exited the room to get the needed things.
"You!" Megumi looked at Sano. "Bring her into that room and let her sit against a wall, I need to see her arm first---it may be broken."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sanosuke and Kenshin sat outside of the room where Megumi mended the woman.
"It was all my fault…sorry, Kenshin." Sanosuke murmured ruefully.
"Nothing was your fault, Sano. Everything is fine and you carried her all the way here, that you did." Kenshin contradicted.
"Still…she still got hurt!" Sanosuke growled, punching his fist into the floor.
"She'll be fine with Miss. Megumi taking care of her! And that woman is a strong woman, that she is." Kenshin remarked.
"Yeah, you got that right…she hit me hard for her size and weight." Sanosuke grumbled, holding a pack of snow and ice on his cheek.
Kenshin laughed. Imagine that. A pretty, slender woman giving Sanosuke a painful bruise. Kenshin sipped the tea Kaoru made, wondering how she made it taste good. Truth be told…she isn't the most talented woman in cooking anything.
"She sure is strong…I can't expect anything less from someone being SAITO'S wife…" Sanosuke remarked.
Kenshin became wided-eyed. Suddenly he began choking on the tea. He sputtered. Sanosuke sweat-dropped.
"I must have said that 'little' fact too soon." Sano murmured as he watched Kenshin gasp for breath.
"Wha---WHAT?!" Kenshin sputtered.
"Yep…I know. I was just as surprised as you…I'm sure she's Saito's wife. I just know it." Sanosuke replied with a sigh as a sweat-drop rolled down his head.
Kenshin was still trying to get over the shock.
"That nice, polite woman…is…Saito's…w-w-w-" Kenshin couldn't say the word.
"Hey, guys," Yahiko slid open the door. He stopped when he saw Kenshin---he looked like a chalky white statue.
"What's the matter? Why does Kenshin look like one of those Buddha statues?" Yahiko blinked.
"-w-w-w-wife…" Kenshin finished.
"Wife? Who? What?" Yahiko blinked.
"That woman you helped," Sano replied to Yahkio.
"Yeah. What about her?" Yahiko asked.
"That woman...is..." Sanosuke grumbled, turning a slight blue. "Is Saito's wife."
"W-WHAT?!!??!" He yelled, he turned into a gray statue from utter surprise.
"Will you all SHUT UP?! You're so LOUD!" Kaoru glared at the boys as she slid open the door a tad bit. The guys sweat-dropped from HER loud voice. "We're still working!!" Kaoru growled.
Yahiko knocked Sanosuke out of the way, he stared straight at Kaoru.
"That woman----IS SAITO'S WIFE!!" Yahiko exclaimed.
"........." Kaoru blinked. She looked at Sano and Kenshin, who were both serious as they nodded their heads.
"That kind woman?" Kaoru blinked. "With SAITO? Ha ha ha, don't try to trick me AGAIN! I won't fall for your stupid jokes again!!" Kaoru rolled her eyes at them.
"I'm not joking...unfortunately..." Sanosuke mumbled.
"Hey, Megumi, come over here for a moment." Kaoru called.
Megumi slid open the door a bit more.
"The woman you brought in will be okay. Her arm and shoulder are tender because of a bruise, but she'll be okay. She's still sleeping and...why are you guys looking like that?" Megumi blinked, seeing that Kenshin and Yahiko were chalky statues.
After Kaoru explained Sanosuke's "joke"...
"HAHAHA!!" Megumi laughed. "You're telling me that she's Saito's wife?! HAHAHA!" Megumi clutched her stomach from laughing so much.
"I'm NOT joking!" Sanosuke exclaimed.
"He's not!! For the first time in his sad life, Sano's not kidding!!!" Yahiko exclaimed.
Sanosuke drove his fist into Yahiko's head.
"Is it true, Sir Ken?" Megumi asked.
Kenshin nodded.
".... ...." Kaoru and Megumi looked at each other.
"That nice, attractive woman....is married to..." Kaoru murmured.
"SAITO!!" Megumi finshed.
"THAT INSENSITIVE---" Kaoru exclaimed.
"MORONIC---" Megumi added.
"IDIOTIC---" Kaoru added.
"RUDE---" Megumi added.
"CRUEL---" Kaoru added.
"COLD--" Megumi added.
"JERK!!!" Kaoru and Megumi exclaimed in unison as they spun around and looked at the woman sleeping peacefully.
The room was occupied by white, chalky statues.
********************************************
Saito sneezed many times.
"Ahh, Mr. Saito, seems like you have a cold there." Yoshitoko remarked.
"..Maybe." Saito shrugged carelessly. Either he had a cold...or someone was insulting him.
He believed someone must have been insulting him. He shrugged it off.
"Take care of yourself---or you'll have to be sick in bed for quite a while." Yoshitoko pushed up his glasses from the tip of his nose. He was a very kind and intellectual guy---one of the very, very few people Saito actually respected.
Even though Yoshitoko could be a silly moron...Saito respected him.
"I actually think that would be beneficial...I'll actually be home for more than 6 hours." Saito mumbled as he wrote and finished some paperwork. He put a stack of papers in the Finshed pile...then he got ANOTHER stack and began on that one.
"Ah! I almost forgot! You're the lucky one with Tokio for his wife!" Yoshitoko remarked brightly. "To have a woman like that like care of you...if she was my wife, I'd be running home, take her in my arms and----" he stopped when he saw Saito staring at him, rather glaring at him...
"Eh.....I'll stop." Yoshitoko sweat-dropped.
"You do that." Saito glared.
"Heh heh...so..It's almost her birthday, isn't it?" Yoshitoko mused. "Have you gotten her a present?"
"Yes," Saito nodded.
"Well, what do you know! You actually remembered her birthday! You really DO love her!" Yoshitoko exclaimed.
"... ..." Saito shook his head from his 'smart' friend's remark. A slight blush crossed his face though...
"You haven't seen her in while, have ya?" Yoshitoko said, not really a question.
Saito looked at him. He stared at Yoshitoko.
"...how do you know?" he asked after a while.
"Well...you've been awfully quiet these days...well, you've always been quiet, but ya know what I mean...and you always look out the window...hurry home when your work is all finished...tapping your pencil against the desk impatiently..even though you're more impatient enough..." Yoshitoko replied.
"You're tough and quick with putting criminals in jail...you're more sarcastic...as if you're not cynical enough..." Yoshitoko mumbled on.
"...I get the idea." Saito interuppted and frowned.
"How the hell did he know all that? Am I THAT noticable...?" Saito narrowed his eyes. "Yoshitoko obviously isn't doing his work if he looks at me so often...what a moron." Saito sighed. Either way, Yoshitoko was very observant about it...and right.
"Just go home." Yoshitoko said simply. "It's that easy."
"But my work---" Saito started.
"Can wait." Yoshitoko finished. "Believe me, Saito, my pal, the criminals won't be goin' anywhere soon tonight. It takes at least 16 hours for them to get out this town to another. So don't worry---"
"What if one of those rebel gang members tries to get away? They do have connections with faster transportation...and weaponry." Saito debated.
"Look, Saito, we're policemen...let's give the criminals some credit. They're pretty smart---they're not THAT stupid to travel in snow." Yoshitoko contradicted.
"... ..." Saito frowned with doubt.
"THINK about it, my friend. Wouldn't you rather be in your nice warm home than in this dark, needs-heat office? Rather than with Tokio cooking you something and massaging your sore, aching muscles and----" Yoshitoko said dreamily, but...
With that, Saito put on his hat and exited through the door, "Oyasumi nasai!" he said before the door closed completely.
"Guess that worked." Yoshitoko mumbled, ready to call the take-out boys (hopefully girls...) to bring him some dinner.
Saito hurried home. Even when the cold winter wind stung his face, it hardly bothered him. He just wanted to go home. Home, home, home. He hasn't been with his wife for some time, much less he hardly spent any time with her...
Much less, he hardly talked to her lately...so they didn't have their occassional sarcastic bickering and little arguements...damn he missed those...he missed laughing with her...
He quit thinking.
Saito took longer steps along the snow covered road. He just hoped she wouldn't be too upset with him. He chuckled--she had quite a temper--but it always amused him so he didn't mind at all.
Unfortunately, Saito was not aware of his wife's absence from their home...
~~Author's Note~~
Hope you liked! Please review!
"Megumi!!" Sanosuke called her name out frantically.
Megumi rushed out of the warm dojo and went out into the cold air. The last of the sun disappeared beneath the clouds, not to come back until morning. The dark slowly set in, the sky turning a cobalt blue.
"WHAT are you yelling about, you rude, no-good---?" Megumi growled, but stopped dead in her tracks. She saw the unconscious woman in Sanosuke's arms. Her mouth slightly hung open.
"Come in! Hurry!!" Megumi called out to Sano. She saw him run toward her. Megumi left the door open, rushing into the room where her friends sat. Their attention was on her completely.
"What's wrong, Megumi?" Kaoru asked.
"Someone's hurt!" Megumi responded quickly. "Yahiko, go get some hot water and a damp cloth. Sir Ken, please get some candles and a blanket. Miss. Kaoru, go get some bandages and my equipment!" she ordered. Sanosuke entered the room.
Kenshin saw the familiar woman, his eyes widened. He quickly exited the room to get the needed things.
"You!" Megumi looked at Sano. "Bring her into that room and let her sit against a wall, I need to see her arm first---it may be broken."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sanosuke and Kenshin sat outside of the room where Megumi mended the woman.
"It was all my fault…sorry, Kenshin." Sanosuke murmured ruefully.
"Nothing was your fault, Sano. Everything is fine and you carried her all the way here, that you did." Kenshin contradicted.
"Still…she still got hurt!" Sanosuke growled, punching his fist into the floor.
"She'll be fine with Miss. Megumi taking care of her! And that woman is a strong woman, that she is." Kenshin remarked.
"Yeah, you got that right…she hit me hard for her size and weight." Sanosuke grumbled, holding a pack of snow and ice on his cheek.
Kenshin laughed. Imagine that. A pretty, slender woman giving Sanosuke a painful bruise. Kenshin sipped the tea Kaoru made, wondering how she made it taste good. Truth be told…she isn't the most talented woman in cooking anything.
"She sure is strong…I can't expect anything less from someone being SAITO'S wife…" Sanosuke remarked.
Kenshin became wided-eyed. Suddenly he began choking on the tea. He sputtered. Sanosuke sweat-dropped.
"I must have said that 'little' fact too soon." Sano murmured as he watched Kenshin gasp for breath.
"Wha---WHAT?!" Kenshin sputtered.
"Yep…I know. I was just as surprised as you…I'm sure she's Saito's wife. I just know it." Sanosuke replied with a sigh as a sweat-drop rolled down his head.
Kenshin was still trying to get over the shock.
"That nice, polite woman…is…Saito's…w-w-w-" Kenshin couldn't say the word.
"Hey, guys," Yahiko slid open the door. He stopped when he saw Kenshin---he looked like a chalky white statue.
"What's the matter? Why does Kenshin look like one of those Buddha statues?" Yahiko blinked.
"-w-w-w-wife…" Kenshin finished.
"Wife? Who? What?" Yahiko blinked.
"That woman you helped," Sano replied to Yahkio.
"Yeah. What about her?" Yahiko asked.
"That woman...is..." Sanosuke grumbled, turning a slight blue. "Is Saito's wife."
"W-WHAT?!!??!" He yelled, he turned into a gray statue from utter surprise.
"Will you all SHUT UP?! You're so LOUD!" Kaoru glared at the boys as she slid open the door a tad bit. The guys sweat-dropped from HER loud voice. "We're still working!!" Kaoru growled.
Yahiko knocked Sanosuke out of the way, he stared straight at Kaoru.
"That woman----IS SAITO'S WIFE!!" Yahiko exclaimed.
"........." Kaoru blinked. She looked at Sano and Kenshin, who were both serious as they nodded their heads.
"That kind woman?" Kaoru blinked. "With SAITO? Ha ha ha, don't try to trick me AGAIN! I won't fall for your stupid jokes again!!" Kaoru rolled her eyes at them.
"I'm not joking...unfortunately..." Sanosuke mumbled.
"Hey, Megumi, come over here for a moment." Kaoru called.
Megumi slid open the door a bit more.
"The woman you brought in will be okay. Her arm and shoulder are tender because of a bruise, but she'll be okay. She's still sleeping and...why are you guys looking like that?" Megumi blinked, seeing that Kenshin and Yahiko were chalky statues.
After Kaoru explained Sanosuke's "joke"...
"HAHAHA!!" Megumi laughed. "You're telling me that she's Saito's wife?! HAHAHA!" Megumi clutched her stomach from laughing so much.
"I'm NOT joking!" Sanosuke exclaimed.
"He's not!! For the first time in his sad life, Sano's not kidding!!!" Yahiko exclaimed.
Sanosuke drove his fist into Yahiko's head.
"Is it true, Sir Ken?" Megumi asked.
Kenshin nodded.
".... ...." Kaoru and Megumi looked at each other.
"That nice, attractive woman....is married to..." Kaoru murmured.
"SAITO!!" Megumi finshed.
"THAT INSENSITIVE---" Kaoru exclaimed.
"MORONIC---" Megumi added.
"IDIOTIC---" Kaoru added.
"RUDE---" Megumi added.
"CRUEL---" Kaoru added.
"COLD--" Megumi added.
"JERK!!!" Kaoru and Megumi exclaimed in unison as they spun around and looked at the woman sleeping peacefully.
The room was occupied by white, chalky statues.
********************************************
Saito sneezed many times.
"Ahh, Mr. Saito, seems like you have a cold there." Yoshitoko remarked.
"..Maybe." Saito shrugged carelessly. Either he had a cold...or someone was insulting him.
He believed someone must have been insulting him. He shrugged it off.
"Take care of yourself---or you'll have to be sick in bed for quite a while." Yoshitoko pushed up his glasses from the tip of his nose. He was a very kind and intellectual guy---one of the very, very few people Saito actually respected.
Even though Yoshitoko could be a silly moron...Saito respected him.
"I actually think that would be beneficial...I'll actually be home for more than 6 hours." Saito mumbled as he wrote and finished some paperwork. He put a stack of papers in the Finshed pile...then he got ANOTHER stack and began on that one.
"Ah! I almost forgot! You're the lucky one with Tokio for his wife!" Yoshitoko remarked brightly. "To have a woman like that like care of you...if she was my wife, I'd be running home, take her in my arms and----" he stopped when he saw Saito staring at him, rather glaring at him...
"Eh.....I'll stop." Yoshitoko sweat-dropped.
"You do that." Saito glared.
"Heh heh...so..It's almost her birthday, isn't it?" Yoshitoko mused. "Have you gotten her a present?"
"Yes," Saito nodded.
"Well, what do you know! You actually remembered her birthday! You really DO love her!" Yoshitoko exclaimed.
"... ..." Saito shook his head from his 'smart' friend's remark. A slight blush crossed his face though...
"You haven't seen her in while, have ya?" Yoshitoko said, not really a question.
Saito looked at him. He stared at Yoshitoko.
"...how do you know?" he asked after a while.
"Well...you've been awfully quiet these days...well, you've always been quiet, but ya know what I mean...and you always look out the window...hurry home when your work is all finished...tapping your pencil against the desk impatiently..even though you're more impatient enough..." Yoshitoko replied.
"You're tough and quick with putting criminals in jail...you're more sarcastic...as if you're not cynical enough..." Yoshitoko mumbled on.
"...I get the idea." Saito interuppted and frowned.
"How the hell did he know all that? Am I THAT noticable...?" Saito narrowed his eyes. "Yoshitoko obviously isn't doing his work if he looks at me so often...what a moron." Saito sighed. Either way, Yoshitoko was very observant about it...and right.
"Just go home." Yoshitoko said simply. "It's that easy."
"But my work---" Saito started.
"Can wait." Yoshitoko finished. "Believe me, Saito, my pal, the criminals won't be goin' anywhere soon tonight. It takes at least 16 hours for them to get out this town to another. So don't worry---"
"What if one of those rebel gang members tries to get away? They do have connections with faster transportation...and weaponry." Saito debated.
"Look, Saito, we're policemen...let's give the criminals some credit. They're pretty smart---they're not THAT stupid to travel in snow." Yoshitoko contradicted.
"... ..." Saito frowned with doubt.
"THINK about it, my friend. Wouldn't you rather be in your nice warm home than in this dark, needs-heat office? Rather than with Tokio cooking you something and massaging your sore, aching muscles and----" Yoshitoko said dreamily, but...
With that, Saito put on his hat and exited through the door, "Oyasumi nasai!" he said before the door closed completely.
"Guess that worked." Yoshitoko mumbled, ready to call the take-out boys (hopefully girls...) to bring him some dinner.
Saito hurried home. Even when the cold winter wind stung his face, it hardly bothered him. He just wanted to go home. Home, home, home. He hasn't been with his wife for some time, much less he hardly spent any time with her...
Much less, he hardly talked to her lately...so they didn't have their occassional sarcastic bickering and little arguements...damn he missed those...he missed laughing with her...
He quit thinking.
Saito took longer steps along the snow covered road. He just hoped she wouldn't be too upset with him. He chuckled--she had quite a temper--but it always amused him so he didn't mind at all.
Unfortunately, Saito was not aware of his wife's absence from their home...
~~Author's Note~~
Hope you liked! Please review!