Chapter 11:
"Making up and Breaking up"
Sanosuke sat on the porch, hunched over so that his head rested peacefully in his hands, his knees drawn up to his body, and for the fourth time in what seemed to him to be an hour, he checked his watch. But he only discovered that the time hadn't changed from the last time he had checked. The hour was still eight o'clock and fourteen minutes and Megumi was still not back from her drive with Aoshi that had begun at about three in the afternoon. Three twenty-four to be exact; Sanosuke had counted.
Sanosuke's ears perked up at the sound of an oncoming car, but he ended up being even more disappointed as the car kept moving down the street. 'Not Fox,' he thought to himself and his thought was immediately followed up with a shiver from the cold, but he was just too stubborn to go inside and wait. No, he wanted to be there when she arrived so he could make sure that Aoshi wasn't doing anything Sanosuke didn't like. He would hate to miss a chance of punching his face in if he even so much as looked at Megumi in any way Sanosuke thought was suggestive.
'Where the hell is she?!' he thought frantically, checking his watch again, but the time seemed to be against him as only a minute had passed, 'Damn it! There's only so many places you could go at this hour with a pocket full a cash! That bastard's probably just throwing money at her! No doubt he got that car in the nick of time... He's like seriously plotting against me, I just know it! Probably whisking her away in some kind of fancy ass carriage or mile long stretch limo to some snazzy hotel in Hawaii... That jerk! He's blinding her with jewels right about now, I can practically see it! And what would Fox do? Narrow Eyes couldn't be right about that whole "women groveling at your feet with just a hint of something shiny" thing, right? No! Fox isn't like that! She'd throw that stuff back in his face and... Aw, who am I kidding?! She's probably flashing off some diamond to the pope right now and any minute I'm gonna be getting some fancy little choir singing to me to announce their wedding! No! Stop thinking that! What's wrong with you?! You're letting Saito get to you! But still, some of what he says is really reasonable... Stop it! Money isn't important in a relationship! Yeah, I may be thinking that, but then again, there is that one quote: Whoever thinks that money is in any way related to the Devil, doesn't have it. Pick me up and turn me upside down and not even lint would fall out!' Sanosuke was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the approach of the very person he had been enduring the cold night waiting for.
Megumi stood in front of him, watching his face as it grew pensive, then stern, then pensive again; she had trouble remembering another time when he had been so caught up in his thoughts and she smiled, taking a seat next to him.
"What are you doing out here all by yourself, Sano? And without a jacket? You could catch pneumonia, you know," Megumi said, concern written all over her face as she noticed the unmistakable blue color of his lips and she gently touched his shoulder.
"Where the hell have you been?!" Sanosuke demanded, suddenly realizing her presence and he stood up and faced her as if she had run off for ten years to the market down the street and never came back, "You said it wouldn't take long! Five hours seems like a pretty long ass time to me! What were you two doing this whole time?!"
"Alright, calm down, Sano. I told you, we went for a little drive around," Megumi answered, not liking his tone one bit and she tried to approach the situation calmly, but Sanosuke obviously had other ideas.
"What?! To America and back?! Fox, a little drive around shouldn't have taken five hours and..." Sanosuke looked at his watch, "and twenty-two minutes! Where did you guys go?! I was waiting here for you to come back for five freakin' hours! What could you do on a little drive around?!"
"So we drove a little farther than I thought," Megumi explained, raising her hand over her head and twirling it in a circular motion, "I didn't realize it was so late until it started getting dark. We made a couple stops in town and grabbed a bite to eat over at some restaurant Aoshi recommended. I didn't think it'd take that long... Why didn't you wait inside where it was warm? You could have at least gotten some kind of jacket or something. Look, your lips are blue!"
"I'll be fine," Sanosuke muttered, not in the mood for changing the subject and he brushed the thought away; he was more interested in why it took more than five hours to make a couple stops and eat, "Why did it take you so long to do a little shopping? Did you stop at every store you passed by or what? Was the restaurant he recommended expensive? What else did that jerk buy you? Did he make a move on you? Why did you have your cell phone off?"
"What are you interrogating me for?! I already told you, I didn't realize it was so late until I saw how dark it was outside," Megumi replied, her hands on her hips as she answered every question he had asked her in perfect precision and order, "No, we did not stop at every store we passed by, the restaurant he recommended was not expensive although some things on the menu were, Aoshi is not a jerk, he was just being nice to me. No, he did not make a move on me the entire time we were out and my cell phone wasn't on because I forgot it in my room upstairs. Sanosuke, what on EARTH has gotten into you?!"
"Are you sure he didn't try anything on you?" Sanosuke asked, ignoring her question like he didn't even hear it, "I mean, are you absolutely positive that he didn't try to make a move on you in any way?"
"And just what are you trying to imply?!" Megumi asked angrily, standing up from her seat on the stairs and she didn't even blink when she stared up at him with a look of defiance that proved her power and courage, "You think that I was off fooling around with him, don't you?! You actually think that I'm cheating on you, is that it?!" At Sanosuke's silence, a dead giveaway that what she said was exactly what he had been thinking, Megumi threw her arms in the air in exasperation as the fire in her eyes burned hotter.
"Oh. My. God! I can't believe I'm actually having this conversation with you! This is crazy! You actually think that I would CHEAT on you?! You... you... I don't think idiot even covers it! Don't you trust me at all?! I was away from you in America for three weeks, I was away from you at college for nine months and now when you see me everyday and are practically with me every moment, NOW you accuse me of cheating on you?! You have to stop saying all that bullshit about Aoshi just because you feel threatened!"
"I do not feel threatened!" Sanosuke lied. It was pitiful, even he knew that and there was no way Megumi didn't see past it. He never really was a good liar in the first place.
"Don't you lie to me, Sanosuke Sagara!" Megumi shouted as she thrust a box into his arms and snarled at him sarcastically, "Here! Thanks for the very warm welcome back!" Without another word, she spun on her heel and ran towards the beach house before Sanosuke could even move.
Puzzled at the box she had placed so roughly in his hands, he opened it up to reveal a few take-out boxes of food with his name on it and the aroma of fish, rice, and beef stew filled his nose. Megumi had taken the initiative to get him all his favorite dishes while she was away.
He sighed, hanging his head down in shame and looked back at the door which was now slammed shut. He took the food inside, forgetting the rumbling in his stomach as he placed the take-out boxes in the refrigerator by the empty carton of milk, and trudged his way up the stairs.
Silently, he opened the door to Megumi's room, his head lowered as he looked over to where she had thrown herself on the bed. Everyone's voices from down in the basement were heard, indicating that the door had been opened, but still Megumi didn't move from her tiny ball under her covers. Sanosuke walked over smoothly, the carpet creaking under his feet as he sat down on the edge of the bed and he looked over his shoulder to see her holding onto a picture of them in a frame, stroking the glass softly and leaving tiny fingerprints on the front.
Megumi was completely aware of his presence, but she ignored him anyway. She was going to make the big shithead talk to her first.
"Megumi, it's not that I don't trust you. I do trust you, it's just that guy I don't trust. And it's not just that I feel threatened by him or anything like that, there's more to it. I know this sounds stupid but, there's something about him that gives me the creeps, but I don't know what it is," Sanosuke said quietly, the room so silent that he thought he could have died from suffocating, "You're right, idiot doesn't cut it when it comes to me, but still I can't help but think that this Aoshi guy isn't on my good side right now. It's a bad vibe I keep getting and I can't ignore it 'cause I'm worried about you. I'm sorry about all the stuff I said, I was just overreacting 'cause I had no idea where you were and I guess I just let myself get carried away..." Sanosuke let out a breath. That just had to be one of the hardest things he had ever said in his entire life; apologies weren't exactly his best subject.
There he went, scratching his head again and he was silent. Megumi sat up, knowing fully well that although he was being a little suspicious, his intentions were good and she smiled at the fact that he had been able to swallow at least some of his pride and say he was sorry. Placing the picture frame of them back onto her dresser, she put her arms around his shoulders, pulling him down next to her against the covers and she kissed his cheek.
"Yes, you did get carried away, but apology accepted, Rooster-Head," Megumi said as she hugged him to her, which actually seemed to be the most intimate thing they'd done since she came back from her trip to America, "you should know that I would never do that to you, Sano, despite whatever the hell Hajime Saito has been telling you. But I guess I can understand where you're coming from. If it were me in your shoes, I think I'd probably react the same way you did. Still, bad vibes or not, I'm not going to stop being friends with Aoshi, you know." Sanosuke let out a groan. "But! I promise you that I will keep my eyes peeled for anything suspicious, okay? Sound good?" At his nod, Megumi sighed. "You know, you're not so much of an idiot when you apologize..."
"Does this mean I don't have to go sleep in the dog house?" Sanosuke asked, reveling in the fact that she was no longer mad at him and he instantly turned back to teasing her.
"Don't push it," Megumi warned, but when he started to obey her and head outside, not really catching onto the teasing tone in her voice, she pulled him back down to her and put her arms about his neck, gently placing her lips on his to show him her last statement was a joke. She giggled when he gave her a shocked face. She just loved catching him off guard like that.
"I didn't say go," she whispered against his lips as she slowly pulled him down under the covers with her, the most devious smile on her face, "besides, I'm sure the doghouse won't mind if I keep you here for a little while..."
(A/N: Doesn't everyone just LOVE make-up sex? ^^)
"Nice shot, Ugly!" Yahiko exclaimed as Kaoru straightened up from getting the ball in the pocket. This time, her horrible nickname didn't seem to insult her, not with the compliment along with it anyway and she smiled at him in thanks. If he hadn't followed the name with a pleasing compliment, Kaoru surely would have broken her pool cue over Yahiko's head by now and suspecting just that, Yahiko hid behind Misao as he waited for the impact of wood to his scalp.
"Don't worry, Yahiko, I'm not gonna hit you this time," Kaoru said with a laugh, "but don't expect the same treatment if I hear you call me that again."
"Yeah whatever, UGLY. You know you just can't lay a finger on me!" Yahiko taunted and he moved from his cowering placed behind his 'girlfriend' to stick his tongue out at Kaoru, "You wouldn't be able to even touch me, let alone whack me on the head with that stick!"
"What was that?! I'll show you just how bad I can hurt you!" Kaoru shouted and she lunged for Yahiko, pool cue raised over her head, but Kenshin pulled her back before she could give him even one concussion, "Hey Kenshin! What's the big idea?! Just lemme wack him once!"
"Please, Kaoru, you need to calm down, that you do," Kenshin tried to reason with her, but she still struggled in his grasp as Yahiko continued to taunt her, and adding to the difficulty of holding her back, Yahiko began singing his favorite song, "Can't touch this!"
"Will you morons shut up already?" Saito grumbled as he held an ice pack to his head, still throbbing from earlier when he fell over, "I've got a big enough headache already without you monkeys running around! Go get yourselves a movie to watch or something... Draw on them coloring book-thingies or watch that fucking purple dinosaur on TV, I don't care, just shut up! And Shit-Break! Go make some food! Make yourself useful for once!"
"I can cook!" Kaoru volunteered, but Saito only stuck out his tongue in disgust at the very thought of eating Kaoru's cooking, followed by excessive gagging from Misao, Kenshin, and Yahiko. Kaoru sneered at all of them and her grip on the pool cure tightened so that her knuckles turned white and she smacked them with it with all her might. "HYAH!!!"
"OW!"
"What the hell?!"
"What was that for, Ugly?!"
"ORO?!"
"You should all be thankful that I cook for you! One day, I'm gonna become a famous chef and people from all different countries will come to eat at my restaurant!" Kaoru announced with a sigh, her blue eyes sparkling as if she had already drifted off into another world, "They''ll all come to try my food that will become famous around the whole world..."
"Yeah, all the people with a death wish!" Yahiko exclaimed and ducked just in time to avoid getting hit again with the stick Kaoru still had in her hands, "Hey! Watch it!"
"I don't think there's anything wrong with Kaoru's cooking," Tsubame said quietly, but no one seemed to hear her from the loud commotion Kaoru and Yahiko made as she hit him numerous times over the head with the pool cue. Suddenly, they both stopped and turned to look at her with shocked expressions.
"REALLY?!" they both asked in unison, Kaoru's grip on the collar of Yahiko's shirt loosening a bit and she dropped him on the floor as if he were last week's newspaper.
"Jeez! What killed your taste buds?" Misao muttered, her opinion of Tsubame suddenly changing from the goddess that Yahiko claimed her to be to the average looking girl with no taste for good food. Misao was then picked up by an angered Kaoru and shaken vigorously as her punishment for insulting her cooking yet again.
"Her taste buds are fine! It's all of you that have horrible taste in food! My cooking is as good as it gets!" Kaoru protested, letting go of Misao when she was satisfied that the girl was so dizzy that she couldn't stand on her own two feet and Misao stumbled around the room for a few seconds before she collapsed into Yahiko's arms.
Tsubame frowned as Yahiko gently propped Misao back up, her arm around his shoulders for support and it seemed to Tsubame that Yahiko was making a very big mountain of a molehill the way he held her so tightly around the waist.
What confused Tsubame even more was that Misao wasn't even very pretty, at least not compared to her anyway. She thought Misao was plain and boring and she had no clue how Yahiko would prefer a dull girl like Misao over a knockout like her. There certainly didn't seem to be anything really special about Misao that Tsubame could see, but somehow Yahiko had the plain girl in his arms, and not her. She sighed in defeat. Losing to a loser was the hardest thing to admit, especially since she was so used to men kissing the ground she walked on and Tsubame doubted that any man had ever gone completely bonkers over Misao's looks.
Standing next to Misao, Tsubame felt she reigned over her like a queen being compared to a mere serf, but for some strange reason, the king wanted the serf. Tsubame cursed her choice of not going home the minute she found out that Yahiko had already been taken, at least then she wouldn't have had to watch him with another girl and she could be happy at home with some other guy willing to do her bid.
'You should've thought this through a little more,' she thought to herself with a shake of her head, 'well, at least tomorrow you can enjoy yourself at the party! There'll be plenty of guys to manipulate there. Too bad the one I want has already been manipulated by another girl...'
It was morning already, the day of the party, and Misao was sitting in Yahiko's room waiting for him to come out of the bathroom and announce if the cream had worked like it was supposed to. If so, that would indicate that they start planning out their break-up act that they would be doing in only a few minutes time.
"Oh my God..." Yahiko murmured as he came out of the bathroom, the huge diaper he had to wear for the last week in his hands as he stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable.
"What is it? Did the penis cream not work?" Misao asked with fake concern.
Honestly, she had hoped that maybe the cream hadn't worked, that way she would be able to keep him as her boyfriend for a little while longer; even if it were just for a day more. It was selfish, but she wanted to keep him as hers. It was pretty obvious that Tsubame could have practically any guy she wanted while she, Misao, could barely even get the biggest loser in school.
Misao had trouble sleeping the night before as she twisted around the logic that Tsubame should just move on and find some other guy that fit her more to her liking instead of Yahiko and just leave him to her. It wasn't fair that Tsubame was already beautiful, smart, and just pretty much perfect, but now she had to take away what Misao had rightfully deserved. She hoped with all her might that Yahiko was still too swollen up to go through with the plan, but unfortunately, a suspicious smile crept over Yahiko's face as he nodded his head.
"Actually, I'm fine! There's no more swelling whatsoever! Yeah, I'm finally gonna get laid!" Yahiko exclaimed, his excitement to get rid of her making Misao gulp back her tears and she stared at her hands in her lap to hide them from his sight, "Alright! Come on, sing it with me! Celebrate good times! Come on!" Yahiko did a drum roll on the bedpost.
Misao straightened up and gave him her warmest smile, the best one she could come up with. She wasn't about to let this ruin her happiness for him, or at least the fact that she should feel happy for him. After all, she knew that this was how it was going to end no matter what; Yahiko would spend time with her to learn more about sex, then he would go to Tsubame to use the lessons learned. That was the inevitable. But, Misao was going to miss him, more than she had ever missed anyone and he wasn't even going away...
"Well, it looks like this is it then! We're actually going to break up," Misao said, standing up to give him a congratulating hug, "It was fun being your girlfriend, even if it was for a little while. I hope you and Tsubame are happy together."
"Thanks, Misao!" Yahiko excitedly stated, "This was really great, but, um... since this is our last time that we're really going to be able to see each other in a while, I guess I should ask you something that's been on my mind for a while now... Why did you ditch me after prom?"
"Ditch you? I didn't uh... ditch you. I just... I didn't want to stick around for a really weird morning good-bye, that's all," Misao replied honestly, "I mean, you didn't really expect me to stay and have you pretend you were in love me with or anything, did you?"
"Why would I do that?" Yahiko asked quizzically.
"Well, guys do that. It's not really all that great of a feeling, so I just thought it'd be better for the both of us if I just left," Misao shrugged and then quickly changed the subject to a happier tone, "Hey! I've got an idea! How about you and Tsubame drop by my band camp concert after the party for like a date! It'd be fun!"
"We'll see, Misao. I mean, I don't know if we'll even be leaving the party, if you catch my drift..." Yahiko smiled, his eyebrows suggestively wiggling at the kinky hint, "But yeah, maybe if we have time, then we'll stop by." Misao nodded, the only thing she could do to hide her disappointment.
"Well, here we go..."
Both Misao and Yahiko took a deep breath before opening the door to act out their well rehearsed scene of breaking up. Just as they suspected, Tsubame was sitting all by herself in the living room, the perfect position for her to hear exactly what they were going to "argue" about.
"YOU BIG STUPID DUMMY!" Misao shouted out the door, making Tsubame drop the book she was reading to the ground in surprise and Misao grabbed Yahiko by his shirt, pulling him out the door with her, a mischievous glint in her blue eyes, "Isn't theater fun?"
Tsubame looked up from her book on the floor to see Yahiko and Misao condescending down the stairs, Misao obviously upset by the way she kept flailing her arms about in the air as Yahiko followed behind her, apologizing for some unknown reason. Tsubame watched with much interest.
"No! I don't care if you are the sexiest man I've ever met! No! I'm leaving right now!" Misao yelled, grabbing hold of her purse as she bounded down the stairs with Yahiko at her heels.
"Aw, don't say that! I thought we had something special!" Yahiko protested, his arms outstretching to Misao as he carried out his best acting face.
"We did! But you ruined it all 'cause you smell really really bad!" Misao shot back at him and Yahiko made a shocked look, indicating that what she said was not at all giving him points up with Tsubame and he viciously made "X" signs from behind Tsubame's back. Misao quickly corrected herself. "I mean! No! I smell! 'Cause we've been having so much wild animal sex and I'm tired! And I haven't taken a shower! And I want a shower! So don't you go being Mr. Super Sexy Man anymore because uh... I'm not ready for someone as sexy as you are! You big sexy... guy!"
Yahiko grinned in satisfaction from behind Tsubame, her attention solely on the yelling girl in the doorway so it was perfectly safe for Yahiko to nod in approval.
"And I don't care if you did give me eleven orgasms in a row with just a kiss! I can't take so much passion! You... you need to be locked up in a cage! You... you... you seductive wild man! I'm gonna go home and shower and then I'm gonna find a man that's not as good in bed as you are and then I'll be happy!" Misao added, causing Tsubame to tilt her head to the side in confusion to the girl's words. She was puzzled, but her opinion of Yahiko's sexual stamina was definitely making a huge U-turn. "You need to learn how to be less uh... amazing in bed! 'Cause I don't like having so much pleasure that I think I might explode! Yeah! And... and... and that includes fucking me in the ass!"
Misao then stormed out of the house, slamming the door so hard that the entire house shook. Yahiko couldn't have been more satisfied with her speech as he mouthed a, "That was SO great!" and he gave her a thumbs up. But his expression quickly changed to a depressed one when Tsubame turned around to look at him and Yahiko put a finger to his eye to wipe away a "tear."
"We... we had something special..." Yahiko whispered and just like a live worm on a hook, Tsubame took the bait. She hugged him close to her, her tight embrace sending shock waves through his body and he tried to finish up the act by giving out a sad sigh. But, Yahiko hadn't needed to force the sigh, it came by itself as the reality that Misao was now gone finally dawned on him and he allowed Tsubame to stroke his hair in an effort to comfort him.
Somehow, her holding him made him feel a little better, but it still didn't wash away the fact that Misao was no longer his girlfriend. Why it seemed to affect him so much, Yahiko had no idea why and he tried to concentrate more on the beautiful girl that was pressing herself against him at the moment.
Outside, Misao sat in the driver's seat of her car, her seatbelt hanging out of the closed door, and she sniffled, trying to contain the oncoming tears. Wiping at
her eyes, she fixed the straps and turning the car on with the key in the ignition, she pulled out of the driveway and out of Yahiko's life.
A/N: Wanna know what happens?! Well I would too! Leave a review and I might let you know! ^^ BTW, sorry but there's no A/M in this story and also sorry for leading anyone on into thinking otherwise! Next up is my kinda drama chapter! OoOOoOoOoOOo! You won't wanna miss it!
P.S. Yahiko?! A sexy wild man?! Hahaha!