Hello again! Thanks much to JML for this idea…..well, at least the first part of it. ^^
Check this out, from Firuze Khanume:
"To me Enishi is just the anthitesis of Aoshi, he is not icy ay all. The fact that he is a plotter, a billiant brain, doesn't mean he is restrained or cold in the sense Aoshi is, as I've read in some reviews. Quite the contrary, he is totally explosive, driven by pure extreme emotions. He loves to the point of obssession, and he hates with all consuming passion. No middle terms for this boy."
Sugoi, ne?
Oh, OOC warning. In-character OOC-ness, if there's such a thing. The chapter will explain itself eventually. ^_^ A very dialogue-intensive chapter coming your way.
…………………………………
"Gomen, anata, I can't help you right now." Kaoru apologized, armed with a broom, haired pulled back in a ponytail and a kerchief.
"But you said, about the computations………"
"Later, later, anata, I have to clean the house."
"But I have to submit this on Monday!"
But Kaoru had gone to the back of the dojo to sweep. "YAHIKO!! Get over here and help me sweep! Sano! Where's the soap I asked you to buy?"
"That annoying hag!" Yahiko murmured to Kenshin, still swamped by papers. "It's a Saturday, for crying out loud! Why is she making us clean the house?!"
"I don't know either."
"Misao-chan! Please fluff the pillows," Kaoru continued the orders. "Aoshi-san, would you be so kind as fetch water from the well? It's for washing the plates after lunch."
Aoshi calmly headed to the well. Misao asked Yahiko the same question the boy gave to Kenshin. Yahiko shrugged in reply. "One of those pregnant-woman quirks again, probably."
Sanosuke arrived again at the dojo. He first made sure that Kaoru was not looking, and sneaked into the kitchen. In his hands were slung two large jugs of sake. He was not sure if Kenshin noticed him pass by and place the jugs at a corner near the pots and pans, but for security reasons he addressed him. "Kenshin, pal, I left two jugs, alright? It's for a party I have to go to tonight. Don't tell jo-chan, or she'll be terribly mad at me."
"Hai, hai," he replied without looking up from his work. His handwriting was becoming beyond illegible, almost incomprehensible.
"You gotta get some shut-eye, old pal. I've seen your light on at 3 in the morning for 4 days now!" Sanosuke advised with concern.
"Dai—daijoubu de gozaru, Sano," he reassured him. "I'm almost done, really."
"SANO!! Where's the soap?!" Kaoru yelled from outside.
"I have it, jo-chan, sheesh!" he yelled back. "What's the matter with your wife, Kenshin?"
"I have no idea, Sano."
The rest of the day and the afternoon passed the same way. Kaoru swept through the whole house. She put out the crib and readied its pillows and beddings. She filled the cabinets with the baby clothes and diapers. She arranged their room so the baby had its own corner. She also fixed the rest of the room. She and Misao fluffed pillows, aired blankets, and dusted cabinets. She even went so far as to wash all the pots and pans, even those that did not need cleaning so soon.
The men were not exempt from duties. Yahiko was ordered to clean through the practice area. Sano was made to clean the bathroom and the whole porch. Aoshi – she actually made the okashira sweep the front porch amidst sweatdrops.
"What is the point in all this, Kaoru?!" Yahiko demanded eventually.
"We have to get ready for the baby………….I have a feeling he's coming pretty soon……….."
Poor Kenshin was all but forgotten by the frenzied woman and the hassled –gumi. He did the final grade computations by himself, slowly but surely, a combination of counting with the fingers and adding and carrying and trial and error.
When Megumi arrived late that afternoon with some tea cakes, she found Sanosuke, Misao and Yahiko sprawled on the front porch. Sanosuke was loudly snoring. Aoshi was presumably deep in meditation, but his eyes were closed and his head was bobbing. Only Kaoru was awake to greet her, darning an old blanket. The whiff of fresh cake spread through the air, though, and Yahiko was soon on his feet. "I'll get some saucers for us!" and he ran off to the kitchen.
As he returned with the saucers, however, his face was hard to describe.
"Um, Kaoru…………you have to come with me back to the kitchen………."
"Why? The water was fetched, I cleaned the pots and pans, the vegetables have been bought………."
"Kenshin……..there's something VERY wrong with Kenshin………."
"KENSHIN! Oh, no, I promised to help him today…….." and she hobbled painfully after Yahiko to the kitchen. Megumi tagged along.
The three arrived at the door to a disturbing sight. Kenshin leered back and forth, seated on the kitchen table. The papers were already stacked at one corner of the table, and the trainer was laughing in maniacal triumph. It reminded Kaoru too much of his psychotic brother-in-law, at the height of the insanity, for comfort.
"I'm done! I'm finally done! Much help Kaoru was, ha!"
"Kaoru ONLY? No –dono?" Kaoru noted.
He then lowered his head in defeat. "Ah, I deserved this treatment from Kaoru anyway. Kenshin no baka! She's right! I have been stubborn with her, so why can't she be stubborn at me in return? This is revenge, for my being such a tightwad! That's it! Kaoru's getting back at me for being tight with the money! It's revenge!"
"Absolutely NOT!" Kaoru retorted. "How dare he think-------"
Megumi interrupted. "Replying won't help. He's evidently drunk."
"DRUNK?!" Kaoru and Yahiko both asked. "On what? This early?!"
"Sake, what else does a Nihonjin get drunk on, Kaoru?" Kenshin replied with a slur from the table. "I think I deserve it, after 5 nights of those horrible computations!"
"Sake?" she asked, puzzled. "SANO!!! GET OVER HERE, RIGHT NOW!!"
Sanosuke came in half a second, afraid of the ferocity in the jo-chan's voice. He quickly made his way to the jugs he placed. He was stunned into silence.
"Sano, explain, why do we have sake in the house?! I told you, no sake except on special occasions!" Kaoru demanded.
"Never mind that, jo-chan!" He forcibly made Kenshin face him. "Are you out of your wits, Kenshin?! There were TWO full jugs I brought in, and now they're empty! You finished them BOTH?! What got into you, bakero?!?"
"I don't know, Sano!" Kenshin replied in a daze. "I thought it was water! I eventually found out, but I didn't care! Sake is sake, and I haven't had it for a long while – in fact, since Kaoru told me she was pregnant! Why are you suddenly so concerned about me, anyway, Sano? Worry about Megumi!"
"WHAT did you just say, Ken-san?!" Megumi flared up.
"Don't worry about me, Megumi!" he swung an arm aimlessly at her. "I know you like me, you're way too obvious, kitsune! Haven't I seen all your sideglances and fights with Kaoru? You know that's one thing Kaoru can't do for me, take care of me when I'm sick of something, so you use it full well to your advantage! To be with me!"
"Why, you ungrateful little redhead-----" Megumi charged.
"Easy, easy, foxy lady!" Sanosuke blocked. "Let it pass. I've never seen him like this, and it will do us no good if we do something drastic until we know the end of it."
"You're like Kaoru," he continued, pacing and swaying across the kitchen floor. "You remember me because I'm a patient to you, and you get something out of me. She only remembers me when she has to buy something, and she has to ask for money! But after the baby is born and she's back to being a kendo teacher, she'll have no more use for me! I'll just be her housekeeper and laundryman again, because I'm resigning from the precinct! I don't want to add numbers again! I don't want to grade papers ever!! So I'll just be her housekeeper! Maybe with pay, too!"
"He's gone mad!" Misao had arrived and commented. Aoshi was behind her.
He saw Aoshi standing by the kitchen door. He stood up and staggered toward him. "And you." He pointed and leered at him. "If you don't do or say anything to Misao soon, I am warning you, my brother-in-law will soon get the upper hand. He's aggressive and powerful! He gets his way, the way he wants it! He is setting his eyes on your Misao, you had better watch out! You think you're so cool, being so aloof, but you have a fiery temper, deep inside, that you refuse to let out, now that you have to! You're no better than a living block of ice!"
"Do-ahou!" Aoshi murmured.
"Take that back, Himura!" Misao declared.
"Admit it, Ice Blue Eyes! I'm better than you for more than one thing! At least I got the nerve to propose to Kaoru—even if I think I just forced myself on her and she doesn't really love me. She just felt sorry for me after everything that happened with Enishi, that's it!……… What was I getting to? Ah……..At least I proposed to her! I KNOW you love Misao, I know you do. When will you get the guts to tell her so?! Well, Aoshi?"
He turned his back on Aoshi and Misao, and addressed Kaoru again, in slurs and uneven phrases. He staggered backwards, quickly backing toward the wall. "I know what you're thinking, Kaoru. I've just had too much to drink, and this is not what I'm really thinking. Well, ma'am, this IS what I really think. Why, doesn't a quiet little man like me have a right to his speak his mind like everyone else? Don't you think I haven't been annoyed at all of you at some point or another? A rurouni has feelings, too, you know! The liquor only gives him the nerve to say them out loud!"
He knocked his head hard on the wall, and he fell to the floor.
Sanosuke was soonest beside him, followed by Megumi. "Out cold. It's better that way. Poor guy."
Megumi felt his hands and head. "Kaoru-san, get Ken-san to bed. He has a fever. I think that's why he wasn't able to tolerate the sake well. Then, he's had way too much at one go……."
But Kaoru was not listening. "That's what he thinks? That I don't love him, like he loves me? I thought I already explained that to him. What did I do wrong?"
"You've done nothing wrong, jo-chan," Sanosuke walked to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "It's just that, until now, Kenshin won't believe that someone will love him unconditionally for who he is, like you do. Give him time, jo-chan."
Kaoru nodded silently, as she sadly looked at her husband, disturbed even in sleep by the doubts of her affection. This time Sanosuke did not have to be told what he had to do. He voluntarily scooped up his friend and made his way to the bedroom. Kaoru approached Misao and Aoshi. Misao's face was dotted with beads of sweat, remembering Enishi's advances. Aoshi's was rock solid, except for a slightly larger frown. "I apologize for my husband, but I too didn't know that he could do that………."
"No problem," Misao hastily replied. Aoshi did not budge.
"Everything will be………all……….right…………?" Kaoru tried to reassure. "Ow……….ow……….itai……….Meg………Megu……….mi………." Kaoru grabbed for her back. "Me-Me-Megumi…………Ow…………Ow……………Megumi………….it feels weird, very weird……………."
"Start talking, Kaoru-san!" Megumi's concern turned from Kenshin to Kaoru.
"It feels different from other days………..and it hurts a bit worse than other days……………it comes from the back, not my stomach like it usually does," Kaoru huffed and puffed.
"Water bag still intact?" Megumi's hands were on Kaoru's fully bulged stomach.
"Um, I think so, but the pain is different, I tell you!"
Megumi put on her most doctorly face. "It's time."
"NANI?!" Kaoru exclaimed.
"Well, not exactly right now, but within the next few hours, that baby is coming. For now, we wait."
Megumi faced the other four people around the kitchen table.
"Men will separate from the women. Misao, I need you to go to the well and fetch me some water, and then Kaoru's oldest clean sheets and towels."
"I'm on it," Misao bounded.
"Yahiko, I'll be giving you a list shortly. Go to the Oguni clinic and get the things on the list from Hayata-sensei."
"Got it." Yahiko got ready for action.
"Sano, you've done this several times. Get cool cloths ready to put on Ken-san's head, alright? Then you and Aoshi-san keep an eye on him. Tell me about any changes at once."
Aoshi nodded, Sano did not bother to reply but immediately did as she asked.
"And you, Kaoru. I'll walk you to the bedroom…….."
Kaoru protested. "NOT THERE! It's so nice and clean there, and I did so much work on it this morning! The practice area will do just fine, Megumi!"
"The things I have to put up with you two, really………….." Megumi mumbled and sighed.
……………………………
"Do-ahou" serves much like "baka", it means stupid or foolish. It's a trademark of Rukawa Kaede from Slam Dunk, but I think Aoshi would very much say the same thing. No, I don't particularly like Rukawa. He's handsome and a hardcourt genius, yes, but I HATE his personality! I don't hate Aoshi, but I am stressing his romantic weakness in this chap. ^^
You will remember, in the party episode, prior to the Sano-Ken fight, that both Kenshin and Sanosuke could handle a lot of alcohol fairly well. That's the reason why I used an extreme amount in this chappie.
Egad! I'm over the 200 review mark! Arigatou! You like me, you really like me! Thanks!
For those of you who'd like to read a blown-out E/M fic, read Midori's "White Tiger Jade Concubine", like a few people had already been suggesting to me. Ah, and she has a new E/M songfic,too. ^^
Longer responses:
Kriska – I'm updating! Please wait a few weeks, you'll get E/M mush back! I don't know what Aoshi will do yet!
C-Chan – I HOPE I get a Sou-chan plushie, too!! I like that guy heaps too! Yes, I'm awful at math for the most part, and I let it out on poor Ken-san!
Kaoru Himura – thanks for liking the wackiness in chap 14.
Ayce Shade – Sai/M is weirder, MUCH weirder! E/M is rather a little more believable, despite the age gap. ^^
JML – This chap is your doing, arigatou! Hiko is a weird shishou, ne?
Yen – Thanks! Baby in a few chaps, like I said.
Crystal – I'm updating! Ah, btw, do you happen to know a sapphi-chan over at the Slam Dunk fics? She's my cousin!
V-babe – I can picture A/M, since opposites attract, but Aoshi DOES have to do something about it!
Firuze Khanume – WOW, I so liked that comment about Eni-chan! I'm glad I'm not so wrong about the contractions, but thanks for clarifying my misconceptions. Your last review will REALLY help, thanks much! You have an eleven-year-old kid?! How old are you?! Nee-san!!
Kurara – Eni-chan pair with you? I hope you look like his nee-san! Thanks for liking the last chap!
Spellcaster – I'll remember your suggestions when I make the follow-up fic. ^^ Sorry, I don't know Anubis, unless you mean the one from The Mummy Returns.
Anonymous – Glad you liked it!
Chiki-san – I can picture Japanese journals being awful. All those characters……..^^ I hope you get into Toudai! You're smart enough for it!! I know how you feel, UP is much like Toudai there, the hardest school to get into.
Sabbie – I was born after the Vietnam War and I still used cloth diapers! Thanks for liking it so far!
Fehrocious – Yup, he's so drop-dead gorgeous!! SeisouHen doesn't do it justice, he looks psychotic there! The manga version, he's so cute!
Marstanuki – I'm hurrying, don't worry!
Ro-chan – You're out of your mind! About the not sleeping then almost getting dropped. I submit to your command. ^^ Thanks for the compliment! Please wait a few weeks for the coming fic, OK?
SailorLoneStar – I don't exactly play Final Fantasy, I can't play ANY game on any console very well. ^^ But I like Rinoa and Yuna. Oh, and Aki, too, from the movie. I'm a girl, but I don't particularly like any of the guys, although I agree that Squall looks cool.
Soul – I originally added Saitou, but I remembered that he is supposed to be gone, nobody knows where.
Trickster – Misao isn't even married yet! Why would Eni-chan be trying to court her?!
Yen – I'm not sure anymore which pair I like better. Aoshi is too much of an ice block, as I've seen Kyaa-kyaff describe him. ^^
Chavi-san – As I explained, it's not like Kenshin can't add. Let's just say he didn't learn to add the way most of us learn to add. ^^ I assumed Yahiko had a little schooling before he ran into Kenshin and Kaoru.
That's everybody so far. I'm gearing for the last few chappies, so keep the fingers crossed!