Thank you everyone who reviewed throughout this whole story!!! I honestly
appreciate it with all my heart! I hope everyone liked how the story
turned out. I really tried my best in the ending so let me know what you
guys think mmk?? And for those who read my other fic, 'loving you', I'm
having major writer's block right now so I might juss stop the story for a
while and start on a new one. Anyways~ I juss want to THANK YOU ALL again
and please enjoy the rest of this story!! ~Aya~
I do not own rurouni kenshin
Nineteen~ Kaoru stole her way across the hospital hallway and ran straight for the elevator not looking left or right afraid if she had eye contact someone would recognize her. She'd been coming to visit Kenshin for the last couple of weeks and even though nothing ever happened, today she suddenly had a bad feeling about coming. Stop being so stupid, she tried to tell herself but the feeling just won't go away. Standing in front of Kenshin's door she pressed her ear against the door to make sure there was no one inside besides Kenshin. Satisfied with the quiet from within she opened the door slowly and looked in and saw Kenshin's face staring right at her.
"Hey, you're late," Kenshin complained trying to make a disappointed look even though inside he was relieved. For a minute he almost thought she wouldn't show up today and was kind of shocked at how sad he became.
"Sorry, my dad was making me do extra chores today because my mom is sick." Kaoru explained closing the door and walking over to Kenshin where she made herself at home sitting on his bed. "So how was your day?" She asked casually seeing the new magazines and cds that had probably came that morning.
"Nothing much actually," Kenshin answered truthfully not including the fact that he'd been too anxious waiting for her.
"What? You didn't try to harass the pretty nurses today?"
"I would have but today the sent a male nurse to help me out," Kenshin replied pretending to be displeased making Kaoru feel a moment's jealousy.
"Oh."
"I was just joking." Kenshin wanted to kick himself for being so stupid when he saw the hurt expression on Kaoru's face even though she tried to hide it from him.
"I know," she said a little crossly then wanting to change the subject she asked him the question that's been nagging at her for a long time now. "Hey, you know I've always wondered where you wanted to take me that night," she asked carelessly not wanting Kenshin to know how much the answer meant to her.
"Oh," Kenshin muttered rubbing his back of his head in embarrassment, "I wanted to take you to this place I used to go all the time as a kid after..." Kenshin's face became troubled and he trailed off as if the subject was an uncomfortable one for him to discuss.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," Kaoru replied gently.
"No, I want to tell you that's why I was taking you there. I used to go there all the time after... my mom left me."
Kaoru gave out an involuntary gasp but before she could get any words out of her mouth Kenshin continued as if he hadn't heard her. "I was about 17 when she ran off with another man and I haven't seen her since. My dad was really hurt by what she did and for a while he'd drink heavily to forget about her but it backfired on him because his business started going down and he was becoming an alcoholic. I used to lock myself up in my room and pretend nothing was happening or pretend I didn't care, when that didn't work anymore I started taking my car and just driving around. Oh do you remember that car I made you wash for me?" Kenshin suddenly asked making Kaoru blush.
"Do you have to remind me?"
"Haha, don't worry I still haven't told anyone about that. That car was the final present my mom gave me before she left-..."
Kaoru gasped again and wanted to slap herself for acting like such a bimbo, "I didn't realize-..."
"It's okay, anyway one time I was driving in my car when it suddenly went dead on me. I wasn't really watching the gas level so I didn't know I had to refill it and it was getting pretty late so I decided to stay there for the night then walk home in the morning. I guess staying in a closed space really got to me because I started thinking about killing myself," Kenshin looked straight into Kaoru's eyes to see what she was thinking at that moment.
Another gasp was about to escape Kaoru's lips but she quickly refrained from doing so knowing the last thing Kenshin wanted right now was her pity so she placed her hand over his warmly and gave him an encouraging smile.
Feeling relieved and touched Kenshin continued his eyes suddenly seeming distant as if he was back at that spot again two years ago. "I remember I was really excited about the thought because for once there was an easy answer and a quick escape for me. Then thinking I didn't want to die in my car I thought I'd find a nice spot in the forest in front of me but when I finally found it I realized it was too beautiful for me to taint it with my dead body so I slept there instead. You know, it was probably the best sleep I've had in months that night. Well that night my dad got really worried about me so when I came home looking like as if I've been robbed but okay, he cleaned his act up and ever since then his business has been booming and he doesn't drink anymore. I wanted to take you there that night and tell you this but I guess I never got the chance."
"Why would you want to share something so personal with me?" Kaoru asked quietly feeling a tear fall from her eye. Kenshin wiped it away with his thumb and cupped her face with his hand then before he could answer the door suddenly opened.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
Kaoru and Kenshin both turned around in shock and saw Mr. Himura's outraged expression as he blocked the doorway.
"Dad-..."
"Didn't I warn you never to come near my son again?" Mr. Himura yelled completely ignoring Fany was getting confused.
"Please let-..." Yoo Na tried to explain but was quickly cut off by Fany's dad.
"I am going to call security right now and if you're not gone by the time I'm back, you're going to regret it," Mr. Himura threatened as he turned to leave.
"Why do you want to throw my girl friend out?" Kenshin asked stopping his dad in mid stride and shocking Kaoru into speechlessness.
"Excuse me?" Mr. Himura stared at his son as if he'd gone crazy.
"You've always wanted to me to have a girlfriend well here she is," Kenshin replied calmly.
"Are you telling me that girl that almost killed you is your girlfriend?" Kaoru was still too shocked to say anything as she continued to stare open- mouthed at Kenshin was acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"We got into an argument in the car and well one thing led to another, she was just angry."
"Angry, anger is no excuse for almost killing my son."
"And anger is no excuse for throwing my girlfriend out," Kenshin returned then more gently knowing that his dad was just acting this way because he was worried about him, "Dad I know there's a big misunderstanding between the two of you but I hope that you can overlook that. I was the one that almost got killed by her and if I can find it in my heart to forgive her, I think you should be able to do it too."
"I think the injury to your head is a lot worse than the doctors have predicted."
"Dad, please, you know how the doctors say it's amazing the way I recovered so fast? Well you have Kaoru to thank for that, if it weren't for her I think I'd still be in a comma right now. So she tried to kill me but then saved my life so I guess that evens out things."
Kenshin's dad gave him an incredulous look as if his son was going insane in front of is very eyes. Not knowing what to say he quickly walked out of the room and closed the door needing some time to think. Kenshin watched his dad go then looked at Kaoru who was still staring at him in disbelief.
"I've always wanted to say that you know," he said softly studying her face for a reaction. Expecting her to punch him, when he saw the tears streaming down her face he thought he had messed up again and savagely swore under his breath. "I'm so sorry," he said as he let her hand go realizing he'd been dreaming all this time, that he would actually have a chance with her.
Kenshin looked at her hand and more tears fell from her eyes. "Why'd you let my hand go," she asked pitifully.
"Because I-..." Kenshin started but when the question really sunk in he quickly grabbed both her hands and gave her an excited look. "Can you repeat that?"
Yoo Na let out a sound that was between a laugh and a cry as she punched Kenshin's arm and leaned her head on his shoulder. When her tears finally stopped and her sniffing has quieted down a bit she felt Kenshin mouth close to her ear, his breath tickling her.
"I love you..."
* * *
"Megumi.. megumi.. MEGUMI!" Pierre yelled at her seeing her staring into space as customers were trying to get her attention.
"What?" She jumped with surprise, as she looked Pierre's way.
"There are customers waiting to be served," he told her with a little shake of his head thinking maybe he should let her off for the night.
"Oh I'm so sorry," Megumi answered as she hastily made her way to a nearby table with the menus.
"Hi, my name is Megumi and I'm your waitress for the night," she introduced herself the way she was taught during her training, "may I take your order?"
"We've already eaten," the man at the table said with an annoyed expression on his face, "we were hoping for the bill."
Megumi felt her face glow red as she apologized and made her way to the cash register to get the bill. She was hurrying back and wasn't watching where she was going when she bumped into someone. "I'm sorry..." Megumi looked up and let out a loud gasp as the bill fell to the floor.
Sano stared back at her as a girl walked up behind him and placed her hand on his arm. "Sanosuke, where's our seat?" She asked sweetly as she gave Megumi a friendly smile. Sano looked down at her with a heartwarming grin and turned back to Megumi.
"We would like to be seated please," he said coolly daring her to contradict him.
"I'll have to seated immediately, Megumi can you show these people to their seats, I have to bring this bill to another table," She told a nearby waiter as she picked up the bill, trying to act as calm as possible even though at the moment the urge to cry was so strong.
"Sure, please come this way," Megumi told Sano and his date politely as he led the way. Megumi walked towards the other table and gave the occupants the bill without really seeing them.
"Are you okay?" The woman sitting there asked seeing the stark look on Megumi's face. Megumi looked at her as if she didn't even hear a word the woman said or see her at all.
Megumi felt her heart breaking and her vision became blurred as the image of the girl with her hand on Sano's arm kept replaying in her mind. "Please excuse me," She whispered as she walked mechanically into the back room and called on another waiter to serve her table.
She just finished getting changed and was ready to leave when Pierre walked in with a confused look on his face. "Megumi your shift isn't-..."
When he saw her bleak expression, her face as white as a ghost he quickly made his way over to her. "Megumi what's wrong?" He asked worriedly.
"I'm okay," She answered hollowly wanting to get away from the restaurant before she completely embarrass herself by breaking down right there where Sano might be able to see her. "Please give me the day off," she pleaded desperately not realizing she was gripping Pierre's arm sleeve.
"Yes of course, let me call a taxi for you," he said as he made his way to the office but Megumi didn't stay and walked out the door not hearing Pierre as he called out to her.
What did you think? That he'd be as hurt as you after that kiss? God you are such a fool Megumi, when are you going to get a grip on reality and see what's really there in the mirror? Did you really think you could compare with those girls he's always going out with? Megumi yelled at herself silently as she walked down the deserted street not really seeing anything in front of her at all. She didn't even notice the three guys that were following her from behind or notice the way they were rapidly increasing their step to catch up to her.
"Hey, why are you out alone tonight?" A guy called out as he ran in front of her and finally woke Megumi up. Megumi stumbled back and tried to run the opposite way when she realized she'd put herself in danger but ran smack into a hard body. She let out a gasp and backed away and noticed that they have surrounded her completely, making escape impossible for her.
"How about you come with us and we promise you won't regret it."
"That's alright, my boyfriend is waiting for me," Megumi lied through her teeth and felt the dread grow stronger when they laughed at her comment.
"I'm sure your boyfriend won't mind if we borrow you for a few hours," the guy on her left said rudely empathizing on the word boyfriend telling her he didn't believe her at all.
"Leave me alone or I'll scream," Megumi warned dangerously hoping that will make them back off.
"And who would hear you?" the guy on her right asked as he touched her arm making her shriek and jump to the left right into the guy standing on that side of her. He quickly grabbed her and hooted, "Haha, I knew she wants me," he exclaimed as he tried to kiss her.
Megumi yelled at the top of her lungs as she tried to get away from him and stomped her foot down hard on him. "Nice try sweetheart but I'm wearing running shoes so it doesn't hurt a bit," He whispered and Megumi finally smelt the alcohol that was coming from him.
She recognized right then that she was in real danger because these guys were only half conscious of what they were doing. "Please let me go," she said weakly as tears fell from her eyes.
"Aw, the poor girl is crying, see what you guys did? Now I'm going to have to take her over there and comfort her," the guy holding her said as he pulled her towards a nearby bush.
"NO PLEASE DON'T" Megumi yelled going hysterical now and trying hard to fight them off, cursing Sano for getting her into this mess. If he didn't show up the way he did she'd never run into these rapists, then suddenly she wished he would show up and save her and knew that if anything happened to her she'd kill herself.
"Hey, why do you get to go first?" One of the guys from the group yelled as he ran after them and pushed the guy holding onto Megumi off her. "I get to go first since I'm the oldest," he reasoned and took over where the other guy left off.
"PLEASE LET ME GO!" Megumi was crying so hard and was trying to fight him off that she didn't hear the scuffle going on behind her.
"Hey, what the-..." The guy holding her yelled then she felt him drop like a stone and taking the opportunity she ran for her life not caring what had just happened.
"MEGUMI!" Sano yelled out in the dark as he ran after her wanting to hold her in his arms to assure himself she was safe.
Megumi hearing Sano's voice stop dead in her tracks and turned around trying to see him through the darkness. When she saw his shape running up to her she met him half way and threw herself into his arms crying with relief and gratitude.
Wanting to get her away from there he picked her up in his arms and turned back to his car. After he found out from Pierre that she left he ran after her wanting to explain. Then when he heard her yelling out for help in the distance he felt his heart leap up to his throat. Seeing the way those guys were handling her and knowing what they were going to do to her, he felt rage bubble up and was frightened by the way he was ready to kill them. And he would have if they had hurt Megumi in any way but luckily they haven't tried anything yet.
After getting her into his car he drove off until they were in a safe area before stopping the car and getting out. He opened Megumi's door and gently got her out of her seat before hugging her tightly to his body never wanting to let go. "God Megumi," he whispered too shaken up to say anything more. Wanting to find comfort he pressed his lips against hers and gave her a hard kiss as he pulled her closer to him.
When the shock has passed her body and when she realized what Sano was doing she pushed him away with all her strength and slapped him across the face making him stumble back in surprise.
"I don't ever want to see you again," She yelled as she walked off anger suddenly welling up inside her.
Sano felt his own anger raising as he chased after her and forced her to turn around. "This is what I get for saving your life?" He screamed back wondering if he did the right thing in saving her.
"IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU I WOULDN'T NEED TO BE SAVED!"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"If you didn't show up with that bimbo and flaunt in my face, I wouldn't have gotten upset and if I haven't gotten upset I would never have left like that. And if I didn't leave like that those guys would never have tried to-to..." Megumi could not go on, the horror of what if was still too strong on her mind.
"What bimbo?" Sano yelled back then a thought struck him that caused him to feel warm inside making him smile, "Are you jealous?" He asked tenderly knowing she'd never admit to it.
"What are you talking about? Me being jealous of that, that bimbo?"
"Then why'd it shake you up so much to see me with her that you had to run off?"
"I-I..." Megumi felt her face grow hot and knowing she could find no real reason for it decided he didn't deserve an explanation. So instead she did the only thing she could think of and started walking away from him again.
Not willing to let it go, Sano followed her again and ran in front of her to block her path. "She's not another bimbo, she's my cousin," Snao explained and wished he had a mirror so he could show Megumi what she was looking like at that very moment. "She just came over from Canada and I had to show her around. My parents were the ones who made the reservation at La Palace."
Megumi stared skeptically at Sano not quite sure whether he was telling the truth or not.
As if sensing her thoughts, he took out his cell phone and started punching in a series of numbers.
"What are you doing?"
"Calling my parents, if you don't believe me at least you'll believe them."
"Are you crazy?" Megumi yelled grabbing the phone from him and pressing the end button on it.
"Congratulations, I think you're the first person to hang up on my dad," Sano said and almost laugh when he saw the horror written all over Megumi's face. Then the thought of what could have happened that night slipped into his mind making his smile disappear as fast as it came. Megumi was right; if it weren't for him she probably wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place. Wanting to hold her again, he made to pull her towards him but she eluded his touch. Not about to give up he stepped closer to her and quickly kissed her again before she could complain.
Megumi pushed him away and slapped him for the second time that night feeling outraged. "If you ever dare do that again-..."
"Do what?" Sano interrupted.
"KISS ME!"
"I'd love to," Sano answered misinterpreting her words on purpose and pulled her against him this time holding onto her arms so she can't push him away to slap him. Knowing he was stronger than her and not willing to give in without a fight, Megumi tried to squirm her way out of his arms but Sano only tightened his hold. Finally out of strength and not really wanting to fight anymore, Megumi started to relax her body letting Sano do as he wish. She tried to tell herself that she was not given a choice, that he was stronger than her making her accept his kiss but when he finally let her arms go and instead of pushing him away as she intended, she moved them up and around his neck to pull him closer, she decided to just stop reasoning with herself.
When the kiss finally ended Sano hugged Megumi tightly wanting to feel her warmth. They were both out of breath but never has neither ever felt so complete before.
"Megumi..."
"Hmm?"
"I love you..."
Epilogue:
"Hey come take a..."
"Did I look funny..."
As the graduates ran around looking for their friends and family, Megumi and Kaoru searched around for Sano and Kenshin. "I can't believe they didn't even show up for their graduation," Megumi said exasperatedly feeling sorry for her and Kaoru because they had to sit through the 4 hours ceremony then find out their boyfriends weren't even there.
"I know, the least they could do is tell us so we don't have to waste so much time and energy dressing up then sitting through that boring ceremony just so we can find out they sold out." Kaoru complained Kenshin was there right now so she could give him a knock in the head for being so insensitive.
"Hey there they are," Megumi said as she pointed towards the two tall figures moving their way.
"You guys better have a very, very good reason for not showing up," Kaoru said threatening as she gave the both of them hard stares.
"We do," Kenshin and Sano both said at the same time. "We saw this beautiful new car and the time just passed quickly!"
"WHAT?" Megumi and Kaoru yelled then looked at each other before staring back at their boyfriends their faces growing red with anger. Kaoru started pulling up the sleeves of her dress while Megumi calmly took off her high heels making Sano and Kenshin stare at each other in horror and terror.
"RUN!"
I do not own rurouni kenshin
Nineteen~ Kaoru stole her way across the hospital hallway and ran straight for the elevator not looking left or right afraid if she had eye contact someone would recognize her. She'd been coming to visit Kenshin for the last couple of weeks and even though nothing ever happened, today she suddenly had a bad feeling about coming. Stop being so stupid, she tried to tell herself but the feeling just won't go away. Standing in front of Kenshin's door she pressed her ear against the door to make sure there was no one inside besides Kenshin. Satisfied with the quiet from within she opened the door slowly and looked in and saw Kenshin's face staring right at her.
"Hey, you're late," Kenshin complained trying to make a disappointed look even though inside he was relieved. For a minute he almost thought she wouldn't show up today and was kind of shocked at how sad he became.
"Sorry, my dad was making me do extra chores today because my mom is sick." Kaoru explained closing the door and walking over to Kenshin where she made herself at home sitting on his bed. "So how was your day?" She asked casually seeing the new magazines and cds that had probably came that morning.
"Nothing much actually," Kenshin answered truthfully not including the fact that he'd been too anxious waiting for her.
"What? You didn't try to harass the pretty nurses today?"
"I would have but today the sent a male nurse to help me out," Kenshin replied pretending to be displeased making Kaoru feel a moment's jealousy.
"Oh."
"I was just joking." Kenshin wanted to kick himself for being so stupid when he saw the hurt expression on Kaoru's face even though she tried to hide it from him.
"I know," she said a little crossly then wanting to change the subject she asked him the question that's been nagging at her for a long time now. "Hey, you know I've always wondered where you wanted to take me that night," she asked carelessly not wanting Kenshin to know how much the answer meant to her.
"Oh," Kenshin muttered rubbing his back of his head in embarrassment, "I wanted to take you to this place I used to go all the time as a kid after..." Kenshin's face became troubled and he trailed off as if the subject was an uncomfortable one for him to discuss.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," Kaoru replied gently.
"No, I want to tell you that's why I was taking you there. I used to go there all the time after... my mom left me."
Kaoru gave out an involuntary gasp but before she could get any words out of her mouth Kenshin continued as if he hadn't heard her. "I was about 17 when she ran off with another man and I haven't seen her since. My dad was really hurt by what she did and for a while he'd drink heavily to forget about her but it backfired on him because his business started going down and he was becoming an alcoholic. I used to lock myself up in my room and pretend nothing was happening or pretend I didn't care, when that didn't work anymore I started taking my car and just driving around. Oh do you remember that car I made you wash for me?" Kenshin suddenly asked making Kaoru blush.
"Do you have to remind me?"
"Haha, don't worry I still haven't told anyone about that. That car was the final present my mom gave me before she left-..."
Kaoru gasped again and wanted to slap herself for acting like such a bimbo, "I didn't realize-..."
"It's okay, anyway one time I was driving in my car when it suddenly went dead on me. I wasn't really watching the gas level so I didn't know I had to refill it and it was getting pretty late so I decided to stay there for the night then walk home in the morning. I guess staying in a closed space really got to me because I started thinking about killing myself," Kenshin looked straight into Kaoru's eyes to see what she was thinking at that moment.
Another gasp was about to escape Kaoru's lips but she quickly refrained from doing so knowing the last thing Kenshin wanted right now was her pity so she placed her hand over his warmly and gave him an encouraging smile.
Feeling relieved and touched Kenshin continued his eyes suddenly seeming distant as if he was back at that spot again two years ago. "I remember I was really excited about the thought because for once there was an easy answer and a quick escape for me. Then thinking I didn't want to die in my car I thought I'd find a nice spot in the forest in front of me but when I finally found it I realized it was too beautiful for me to taint it with my dead body so I slept there instead. You know, it was probably the best sleep I've had in months that night. Well that night my dad got really worried about me so when I came home looking like as if I've been robbed but okay, he cleaned his act up and ever since then his business has been booming and he doesn't drink anymore. I wanted to take you there that night and tell you this but I guess I never got the chance."
"Why would you want to share something so personal with me?" Kaoru asked quietly feeling a tear fall from her eye. Kenshin wiped it away with his thumb and cupped her face with his hand then before he could answer the door suddenly opened.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
Kaoru and Kenshin both turned around in shock and saw Mr. Himura's outraged expression as he blocked the doorway.
"Dad-..."
"Didn't I warn you never to come near my son again?" Mr. Himura yelled completely ignoring Fany was getting confused.
"Please let-..." Yoo Na tried to explain but was quickly cut off by Fany's dad.
"I am going to call security right now and if you're not gone by the time I'm back, you're going to regret it," Mr. Himura threatened as he turned to leave.
"Why do you want to throw my girl friend out?" Kenshin asked stopping his dad in mid stride and shocking Kaoru into speechlessness.
"Excuse me?" Mr. Himura stared at his son as if he'd gone crazy.
"You've always wanted to me to have a girlfriend well here she is," Kenshin replied calmly.
"Are you telling me that girl that almost killed you is your girlfriend?" Kaoru was still too shocked to say anything as she continued to stare open- mouthed at Kenshin was acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"We got into an argument in the car and well one thing led to another, she was just angry."
"Angry, anger is no excuse for almost killing my son."
"And anger is no excuse for throwing my girlfriend out," Kenshin returned then more gently knowing that his dad was just acting this way because he was worried about him, "Dad I know there's a big misunderstanding between the two of you but I hope that you can overlook that. I was the one that almost got killed by her and if I can find it in my heart to forgive her, I think you should be able to do it too."
"I think the injury to your head is a lot worse than the doctors have predicted."
"Dad, please, you know how the doctors say it's amazing the way I recovered so fast? Well you have Kaoru to thank for that, if it weren't for her I think I'd still be in a comma right now. So she tried to kill me but then saved my life so I guess that evens out things."
Kenshin's dad gave him an incredulous look as if his son was going insane in front of is very eyes. Not knowing what to say he quickly walked out of the room and closed the door needing some time to think. Kenshin watched his dad go then looked at Kaoru who was still staring at him in disbelief.
"I've always wanted to say that you know," he said softly studying her face for a reaction. Expecting her to punch him, when he saw the tears streaming down her face he thought he had messed up again and savagely swore under his breath. "I'm so sorry," he said as he let her hand go realizing he'd been dreaming all this time, that he would actually have a chance with her.
Kenshin looked at her hand and more tears fell from her eyes. "Why'd you let my hand go," she asked pitifully.
"Because I-..." Kenshin started but when the question really sunk in he quickly grabbed both her hands and gave her an excited look. "Can you repeat that?"
Yoo Na let out a sound that was between a laugh and a cry as she punched Kenshin's arm and leaned her head on his shoulder. When her tears finally stopped and her sniffing has quieted down a bit she felt Kenshin mouth close to her ear, his breath tickling her.
"I love you..."
* * *
"Megumi.. megumi.. MEGUMI!" Pierre yelled at her seeing her staring into space as customers were trying to get her attention.
"What?" She jumped with surprise, as she looked Pierre's way.
"There are customers waiting to be served," he told her with a little shake of his head thinking maybe he should let her off for the night.
"Oh I'm so sorry," Megumi answered as she hastily made her way to a nearby table with the menus.
"Hi, my name is Megumi and I'm your waitress for the night," she introduced herself the way she was taught during her training, "may I take your order?"
"We've already eaten," the man at the table said with an annoyed expression on his face, "we were hoping for the bill."
Megumi felt her face glow red as she apologized and made her way to the cash register to get the bill. She was hurrying back and wasn't watching where she was going when she bumped into someone. "I'm sorry..." Megumi looked up and let out a loud gasp as the bill fell to the floor.
Sano stared back at her as a girl walked up behind him and placed her hand on his arm. "Sanosuke, where's our seat?" She asked sweetly as she gave Megumi a friendly smile. Sano looked down at her with a heartwarming grin and turned back to Megumi.
"We would like to be seated please," he said coolly daring her to contradict him.
"I'll have to seated immediately, Megumi can you show these people to their seats, I have to bring this bill to another table," She told a nearby waiter as she picked up the bill, trying to act as calm as possible even though at the moment the urge to cry was so strong.
"Sure, please come this way," Megumi told Sano and his date politely as he led the way. Megumi walked towards the other table and gave the occupants the bill without really seeing them.
"Are you okay?" The woman sitting there asked seeing the stark look on Megumi's face. Megumi looked at her as if she didn't even hear a word the woman said or see her at all.
Megumi felt her heart breaking and her vision became blurred as the image of the girl with her hand on Sano's arm kept replaying in her mind. "Please excuse me," She whispered as she walked mechanically into the back room and called on another waiter to serve her table.
She just finished getting changed and was ready to leave when Pierre walked in with a confused look on his face. "Megumi your shift isn't-..."
When he saw her bleak expression, her face as white as a ghost he quickly made his way over to her. "Megumi what's wrong?" He asked worriedly.
"I'm okay," She answered hollowly wanting to get away from the restaurant before she completely embarrass herself by breaking down right there where Sano might be able to see her. "Please give me the day off," she pleaded desperately not realizing she was gripping Pierre's arm sleeve.
"Yes of course, let me call a taxi for you," he said as he made his way to the office but Megumi didn't stay and walked out the door not hearing Pierre as he called out to her.
What did you think? That he'd be as hurt as you after that kiss? God you are such a fool Megumi, when are you going to get a grip on reality and see what's really there in the mirror? Did you really think you could compare with those girls he's always going out with? Megumi yelled at herself silently as she walked down the deserted street not really seeing anything in front of her at all. She didn't even notice the three guys that were following her from behind or notice the way they were rapidly increasing their step to catch up to her.
"Hey, why are you out alone tonight?" A guy called out as he ran in front of her and finally woke Megumi up. Megumi stumbled back and tried to run the opposite way when she realized she'd put herself in danger but ran smack into a hard body. She let out a gasp and backed away and noticed that they have surrounded her completely, making escape impossible for her.
"How about you come with us and we promise you won't regret it."
"That's alright, my boyfriend is waiting for me," Megumi lied through her teeth and felt the dread grow stronger when they laughed at her comment.
"I'm sure your boyfriend won't mind if we borrow you for a few hours," the guy on her left said rudely empathizing on the word boyfriend telling her he didn't believe her at all.
"Leave me alone or I'll scream," Megumi warned dangerously hoping that will make them back off.
"And who would hear you?" the guy on her right asked as he touched her arm making her shriek and jump to the left right into the guy standing on that side of her. He quickly grabbed her and hooted, "Haha, I knew she wants me," he exclaimed as he tried to kiss her.
Megumi yelled at the top of her lungs as she tried to get away from him and stomped her foot down hard on him. "Nice try sweetheart but I'm wearing running shoes so it doesn't hurt a bit," He whispered and Megumi finally smelt the alcohol that was coming from him.
She recognized right then that she was in real danger because these guys were only half conscious of what they were doing. "Please let me go," she said weakly as tears fell from her eyes.
"Aw, the poor girl is crying, see what you guys did? Now I'm going to have to take her over there and comfort her," the guy holding her said as he pulled her towards a nearby bush.
"NO PLEASE DON'T" Megumi yelled going hysterical now and trying hard to fight them off, cursing Sano for getting her into this mess. If he didn't show up the way he did she'd never run into these rapists, then suddenly she wished he would show up and save her and knew that if anything happened to her she'd kill herself.
"Hey, why do you get to go first?" One of the guys from the group yelled as he ran after them and pushed the guy holding onto Megumi off her. "I get to go first since I'm the oldest," he reasoned and took over where the other guy left off.
"PLEASE LET ME GO!" Megumi was crying so hard and was trying to fight him off that she didn't hear the scuffle going on behind her.
"Hey, what the-..." The guy holding her yelled then she felt him drop like a stone and taking the opportunity she ran for her life not caring what had just happened.
"MEGUMI!" Sano yelled out in the dark as he ran after her wanting to hold her in his arms to assure himself she was safe.
Megumi hearing Sano's voice stop dead in her tracks and turned around trying to see him through the darkness. When she saw his shape running up to her she met him half way and threw herself into his arms crying with relief and gratitude.
Wanting to get her away from there he picked her up in his arms and turned back to his car. After he found out from Pierre that she left he ran after her wanting to explain. Then when he heard her yelling out for help in the distance he felt his heart leap up to his throat. Seeing the way those guys were handling her and knowing what they were going to do to her, he felt rage bubble up and was frightened by the way he was ready to kill them. And he would have if they had hurt Megumi in any way but luckily they haven't tried anything yet.
After getting her into his car he drove off until they were in a safe area before stopping the car and getting out. He opened Megumi's door and gently got her out of her seat before hugging her tightly to his body never wanting to let go. "God Megumi," he whispered too shaken up to say anything more. Wanting to find comfort he pressed his lips against hers and gave her a hard kiss as he pulled her closer to him.
When the shock has passed her body and when she realized what Sano was doing she pushed him away with all her strength and slapped him across the face making him stumble back in surprise.
"I don't ever want to see you again," She yelled as she walked off anger suddenly welling up inside her.
Sano felt his own anger raising as he chased after her and forced her to turn around. "This is what I get for saving your life?" He screamed back wondering if he did the right thing in saving her.
"IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU I WOULDN'T NEED TO BE SAVED!"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"If you didn't show up with that bimbo and flaunt in my face, I wouldn't have gotten upset and if I haven't gotten upset I would never have left like that. And if I didn't leave like that those guys would never have tried to-to..." Megumi could not go on, the horror of what if was still too strong on her mind.
"What bimbo?" Sano yelled back then a thought struck him that caused him to feel warm inside making him smile, "Are you jealous?" He asked tenderly knowing she'd never admit to it.
"What are you talking about? Me being jealous of that, that bimbo?"
"Then why'd it shake you up so much to see me with her that you had to run off?"
"I-I..." Megumi felt her face grow hot and knowing she could find no real reason for it decided he didn't deserve an explanation. So instead she did the only thing she could think of and started walking away from him again.
Not willing to let it go, Sano followed her again and ran in front of her to block her path. "She's not another bimbo, she's my cousin," Snao explained and wished he had a mirror so he could show Megumi what she was looking like at that very moment. "She just came over from Canada and I had to show her around. My parents were the ones who made the reservation at La Palace."
Megumi stared skeptically at Sano not quite sure whether he was telling the truth or not.
As if sensing her thoughts, he took out his cell phone and started punching in a series of numbers.
"What are you doing?"
"Calling my parents, if you don't believe me at least you'll believe them."
"Are you crazy?" Megumi yelled grabbing the phone from him and pressing the end button on it.
"Congratulations, I think you're the first person to hang up on my dad," Sano said and almost laugh when he saw the horror written all over Megumi's face. Then the thought of what could have happened that night slipped into his mind making his smile disappear as fast as it came. Megumi was right; if it weren't for him she probably wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place. Wanting to hold her again, he made to pull her towards him but she eluded his touch. Not about to give up he stepped closer to her and quickly kissed her again before she could complain.
Megumi pushed him away and slapped him for the second time that night feeling outraged. "If you ever dare do that again-..."
"Do what?" Sano interrupted.
"KISS ME!"
"I'd love to," Sano answered misinterpreting her words on purpose and pulled her against him this time holding onto her arms so she can't push him away to slap him. Knowing he was stronger than her and not willing to give in without a fight, Megumi tried to squirm her way out of his arms but Sano only tightened his hold. Finally out of strength and not really wanting to fight anymore, Megumi started to relax her body letting Sano do as he wish. She tried to tell herself that she was not given a choice, that he was stronger than her making her accept his kiss but when he finally let her arms go and instead of pushing him away as she intended, she moved them up and around his neck to pull him closer, she decided to just stop reasoning with herself.
When the kiss finally ended Sano hugged Megumi tightly wanting to feel her warmth. They were both out of breath but never has neither ever felt so complete before.
"Megumi..."
"Hmm?"
"I love you..."
Epilogue:
"Hey come take a..."
"Did I look funny..."
As the graduates ran around looking for their friends and family, Megumi and Kaoru searched around for Sano and Kenshin. "I can't believe they didn't even show up for their graduation," Megumi said exasperatedly feeling sorry for her and Kaoru because they had to sit through the 4 hours ceremony then find out their boyfriends weren't even there.
"I know, the least they could do is tell us so we don't have to waste so much time and energy dressing up then sitting through that boring ceremony just so we can find out they sold out." Kaoru complained Kenshin was there right now so she could give him a knock in the head for being so insensitive.
"Hey there they are," Megumi said as she pointed towards the two tall figures moving their way.
"You guys better have a very, very good reason for not showing up," Kaoru said threatening as she gave the both of them hard stares.
"We do," Kenshin and Sano both said at the same time. "We saw this beautiful new car and the time just passed quickly!"
"WHAT?" Megumi and Kaoru yelled then looked at each other before staring back at their boyfriends their faces growing red with anger. Kaoru started pulling up the sleeves of her dress while Megumi calmly took off her high heels making Sano and Kenshin stare at each other in horror and terror.
"RUN!"