Um, sorry. I really am sorry!! But, I got married on Saturday the 23rd and of course the week

before that was filled with last minute details and then I needed to rest after all the stress. Whew!!

But, it's over now and I can concentrate on my writing again! Hope you all forgive! And as a

peace offering, I'll post two chappies in a row! I know I said this one would be long, but alas, this

is the short setup for the second chapter I'll post, which is the long one. Hope ya like!


The Reunion

Chapter 8: Making Plans


Megumi almost tripped over her kimono as she briskly walked to the Kamiya Dojo. Normally,

walking in a kimono was no problem, but she was trying to walk faster than her feet would allow

and it was causing problems for the young doctor. She muttered a curse as she stumbled yet again.

The stumbles didn't deter her and she continued on, trying to retain her dignified air as she hurried

along. An attempt at a too long stride and a rock caused the woman to loose her footing entirely,

but a pair of strong arms stopped her fall.


She stood, ready to thank her hero when she looked into a pair of familiar eyes. "Hey, fox! Having

trouble walking?"


She tried to resist the urge to roll her eyes but lost and sighed in annoyance. Of all the people to

witness me looking like an idiot. "Hello, Sanosuke. Thank you for your help."


Sanosuke grinned cockily at her. "No need to grit the teeth, Kitsune. I won't tell anyone you can't

walk in a kimono."


Megumi's eye twitched and she would have wrapped her hands around his neck had she not

remembered where she was headed and why. "Look, baka, I have no time for this today. I need

to hurry on to the dojo."


She turned abruptly and started walking. Seconds later someone's whistling began to irritate her.

"Why are you following me, Tori-atama?"


"Going the same way, Fox. Get over it."


Megumi sighed and raised her eyes to the heaven's, silently asking 'why me?'


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Kenshin frowned as he studied his old pink gi. There was no mending it now. The patches were

many and quite visible, the stitching in the seams was about to give and the material itself had

worn away to a thin sheet. The gi held many fond memories for him, but there was no saving the

garment now. He cast it aside to be thrown out and looked up as he felt two familiar ki approaching. Sure enough, Sano and Megumi walked through the gate, bickering as usual.



The swordsman grinned at his friends. "Hello, Megumi-dono, Sano."


Megumi smiled brightly at him and flipped a lock of hair over her shoulder. "Hello, Ken-san. How are you?"


"Very well, thank you. If you're looking for Okaasan, Misao-dono and Kaoru-dono, they're all in

the kitchen."


Megumi nodded her thanks and headed inside.


Sanosuke watched her leave and slumped down ungracefully next to Kenshin. "She sure is something else. I help her, she gets mad. I try to make her mad, she gets mad. I try to be nice, she gets mad. What am I doing wrong?"


Kenshin shook his head. "I can't answer that one, Sano. But, I get the feeling she enjoys the little confrontations."


Sanosuke stretched out on the grass and closed his eyes. "I don't think I'll ever figure her out."


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Kaoru began bouncing up and down. "I think I finally did it! This soup is wonderful!"


Misao and Akino took a taste and squeezed Kaoru with a group hug. Megumi's giggle broke the

embrace. "What are all of you doing?"


Kaoru proudly held up a small cup for Megumi. "Try this."


Megumi took a small sip and nodded her approval. "It's very tasty!"


Kaoru smiled. "I made it."


Megumi's eyes grew wide. "YOU made it?!"


Kaoru's eye twitched but she didn't say anything. "Call the guys in for lunch please, Misao."


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Everyone was silently sipping on the soup, sighing happily occasionally. Kenshin gave his mother a grin. "The miso is exceptional today, Okaasan."


Akino gave Kaoru a smirk. "It is. Why don't you express your appreciation to Kaoru? She made it."


Yahiko and Sanosuke choked on their sips and Kenshin looked up wide-eyed. "Kaoru-dono made it?"


Kaoru merely smiled and nodded. "I'll take the stunned silence as a compliment."


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Kaoru, Misao and Akino made their way to the Akabeko, ready for more planning. Tae greeted them at the door with a beaming smile. "I am a genius."


The other three looked at her questioningly as she ushered them to a corner booth. Kaoru tilted her head and teased Tae. "Care to explain, mighty genius?"


The restaurant owner wrinkled her nose impishly. "I have all of your dates set up. The place, the

dinner, the ambience. It's all worked out. All you need to do is dress up and go."


Akino clapped happily. "Tell us all the details."


The women hunched over the table and all was revealed.


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Yahiko rushed home to break the news to the guys. He had been at the Akabeko helping out when he heard all the women talking and excused himself for a break. He had to let the guys know before Okaasan dropped the bombshell on them. More importantly, he wanted to see the looks on all their faces when they found out. He allowed himself a wicked grin and evil chuckle as he raced for the dojo.


He flung the gate open and found all the men talking on the porch. "Good! You're all together! I

have big news!"


Kenshin eyed the young boy. "Is something wrong, Yahiko? You look like you ran the whole way."


Yahiko regained his breath and looked up seriously. "I just heard the girls talking with Okaasan."


Sano eyed the youth, uninterested so far. "And?"


At this, Yahiko let his laughter bubble up. He clutched at his stomach and tried to talk, but to no avail. Finally, after lots of strange looks from the three men, he stood again. Only slightly chuckling now, he spoke. "You three are going on dates with the girls tonight!"


At the panicked expressions of the three men, he doubled over again. He turned around to head for the Akabeko again. Just before he closed the gate, he turned to throw one last jab. "Let me know when the weddings are!" The three listened as the laughter faded.


Kenshin turned slowly to look at his companions. "You do realize we have to go."


Aoshi and Sano looked at him. Sano agreed. After all, he liked Megumi. No secret, no walls, he liked her, plain and simple. Aoshi spoke quietly. "Why do we have to go?"


Kenshin furrowed his eyebrows. "Do you want to disappoint Misao-dono by saying no? I'm not going to do that to Kaoru-dono. It would hurt their feelings. They wouldn't be setting this up if they didn't want it to happen."


Aoshi studied his friend. "We don't deserve them."


"I know that. But, it won't hurt to go on this one date. One date and that's that."


Aoshi was still skeptical, but nodded slowly.


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Akino walked through the gate alone. Tae was the make-over artist today. Her job was to take the guys to buy gifts for the girls. Can't go on a date without a gift for the lady!


She walked purposefully toward the men and Kenshin stood. "We already know, Okaasan. Yahiko told us."


Akino smiled wickedly. "Good. Then I don't have to explain. Let's go get gifts for the girls and you'll be ready."


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She led them to the trinket shop that Aoshi and Misao visited. "Aoshi, was there anything in here that Misao particularly liked?"


Aoshi silently walked over to a music box and picked it up. He lifted the lid and Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata started playing. "This is her favorite song."


Akino nodded her approval. "Good. Let's get it and move on." She was a woman on a mission and nothing was going to stop her now.


They made their way to a jewelry store near the clinic. "Sanosuke sweetie, I've seen Megumi look in this shop repeatedly, but I don't know what she wants. Any clues?"


Sano looked at the sign and sighed. "Shoulda known Kitsune would want jewelry. I have no idea what she wants in here." He looked around and a small chain with a heart pendant caught his attention. "That. That's what she wants."


Akino looked at him. "Are you sure?"


"No. But for some reason, that's the only thing catching my eye." Akino nodded and spoke with the shopkeeper a few moments.


Sanosuke eyed her suspiciously. "Why didn't we pay for that?"


"You are dear. You'll be chopping his firewood for six months."


Kenshin turned to his mother, trying to ignore Sano's whimpering in the background. "Okaasan, what about Kaoru-dono?"


She winked at her son. "I've already picked out her gift. We just need to pick it up."


They entered a painting shop and Akino spoke to the man behind the counter. He disappeared to the back for a moment and returned with a painting in hand. "Here you are, ma'am. Just as it was before."


Akino ran a hand over the painting, appreciating the detail. "It's beautiful." She showed the painting to the three curious males.


Kenshin first noticed it was the Kamiya Dojo back when it thrived. The dojo was in top shape, the grounds were well-kept, there was a class being taught by a kind-looking, but tough man and in the front row of that class, was a small Kaoru. "Okaasan, are you sure this is a good idea?"


The old woman nodded, eyes twinkling. "Kaoru always says she wishes we could have seen the dojo before, when it was in good shape. If you're worried she'll be upset by it, don't. She knows she didn't keep it the way her father did. But as a woman, she knew people would steer away from it. A woman dojo instructor isn't exactly looked up to. But, this young man here could paint us a picture of the dojo as it used to be."


The man behind the counter smiled. "My name is Koinosuke Yuasa. I used to study at the Kamiya Dojo. However, I quickly realized swordsmanship wasn't for me. But, Kamiya-sensai still helped me with my academic studies when I needed it. And he allowed me to come to the dojo anytime I wished. My real father died in the war, so I kind of adopted Kamiya-sensai as my own and Kaoru was like a little sister for a while. I used to tell her all sorts of stories. But, after her father died, she withdrew into this shell and I stopped going to see her. If you think she's fiery now, you should've known her then." He smiled at the memory. "Ask her about her first kiss sometime."


Kenshin felt a jealous tug in him, but pushed it aside. "Her first kiss?"


Koinosuke giggled. "All the little boys had a crush on Kaoru. But one little boy was brave enough, or stupid enough, however you look at it, to try and kiss her. He just went up to her, she looked at him and he leaned in real quick and pecked her on the lips. I have never seen a little girl so mad as she was that day. After her initial shock, she ran around chasing him, yelling at him for 'stealing' her first kiss. She tripped him with her shinai and when he fell, she straddled him and just started pounding on the poor kid. It took three other boys to pull her off him. The little boy had bruises all over his arms, stomach, chest and face. His parents wouldn't allow him to come back, saying Kaoru was a bad influence and very unladylike. They blamed her because this kid kissed her. Unfair, but a funny story when you look back on it."


Kenshin felt his jealousy ebb away. It was just a kid thing. Just a peck, nothing special. He looked at his mother and nodded. "I think she'll like it."


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The girls sat with Tae, chatting as they recreated their looks from the party.


Misao clutched at her stomach, butterflies setting it on edge. "I'm so nervous."


Kaoru smiled at her. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. After all, he kissed you once already."


"That's just the problem! You know how awkward that's going to be?! My first kiss. Yes, it was with Aoshi-sama, which I wanted desperately. But he apologized! He ruined the whole thing!"


Megumi giggled. "You girls are hopeless. Just relax. I'm not nervous."


Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Your guy doesn't have these defenses put up to keep you out."


Megumi conceded. "True, true. But I think everything will be fine tonight. I just have this feeling."


Akino entered the room as the girls finished up. "It's time to go girls."


They all left Tae's house to see the men waiting for them. They each walked up to their guy shyly, unsure of what to say. The men were silent, admiring how beautiful the girls were. They all left and

Okaasan began rubbing her temples. "It's not enough. I'll have to do it. I don't want to, but I have to. They're heading for a very unhappy life if they all don't wise up and listen to their emotions."


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A/N: There ya have part of it. My birthday is Monday! Just thought I'd share that bit of info. The big 24! Gosh, I'm old. Oh well. Nothing wrong with anime and writing at my age! They say you should keep part of your childhood and I choose anime. ^_^


And by the way, since I'm putting up two chappies in a row, would you mind reviewing twice? After all, slaving away here so close to my birthday, just to give you all an update on my story. All because I love you guys so much! (Is the guilt trip working? Gonna leave 2 reviews? One per chapter? Doesn't hurt to try! ^__~) Hugs & Kisses!