Cover Girls

An alternate universe Rurouni Kenshin Fanfic

Chapter Eleven

"Mother Knows Best"

"Betrayed..."

"Deceived…"

"Hurt…"


These were the mantras of the three Kamiya women as they lay in separate rooms on the night of Kaoru and Megumi's unfortunate outing to the restaurant. All three lay on their beds, facing their respective ceilings with one arm thrown across their foreheads in frustration. Each was so sure that they had found something special, only to find that life was a much crueler mistress than they had ever imagined. Was it really true? Were they really just pawns from the very beginning? Was there ever any truth at all? What was real and what wasn't? The questions echoed in their heads like the voice of a dissatisfied audience, demanding answers to questions that they could not. Their hearts ached too much if they even tried.

Not much sleep came to any of them that night. And as morning dawned, streaming spotlights of gold onto their bedclothes through the lacy curtains, three tired sirens dragged themselves from the sheets knowing full well it would do them no good to sulk there all day long.

Breakfast was a painfully silent affair as well, as each was too busy cursing her own stupidity to lend a kind word to either of her companions. Misao's pop-tarts failed to bring her the sugary pleasure that they usually did, Megumi's neglected coffee turned cold in her favorite mug and Kaoru was too preoccupied with pushing her cereal around in her bowl to actually eat it.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a fist hitting the table, rattling both the dishes and the nerves of the two people it wasn't attached to. Kaoru and Misao followed the offending appendage all the way up to a graceful, swanlike neck and further on to a blazing pair of cinnamon eyes that, in their anger, seemed more crimson than russet.

Even devoid of her usual decorations and with her hair hanging limp and uncombed around her shoulders, Megumi's demeanor never failed to show just how formidable a woman she was. Looking both her cousin's squarely in the eyes, she spoke in a voice that personified authority, holding the complete attention everyone within earshot of her words.

"I'm not losing my clinic."

Kaoru and Misao looked at each other briefly and then back to the eldest woman with equal expressions of determination written across their faces. With narrowed eyes and a resolute heart, Kaoru spoke in a voice no less commanding than that of her cousin's.

"I won't lose my house."

Finally, the youngest of the trio stood up, the legs of her chair grating across the kitchen tiles as her glittering eyes settled on the only family she had. Before their eyes the mask she was used to wearing fell away, revealing the woman that had always resided within the seemingly immature person she was used to portraying. When that woman spoke, she spoke with the authority of a goddess.

"We're not losing this competition."

***************************************************************

Chou looked up just in time to see the lead singer of Ko-Neko-Neko walk into his office at Hiten Misterugi Records. In her hand she held a large manila envelope, containing, no doubt, the sheet music for the songs they had chosen for the finals two nights away. As stage manager, he had requested that each band send in their chosen music to him so that he could organize any additional help that they might need. So far, Kamiya-san was the only one to bring the stuff in herself, instead of sending them through the mail as a sheaf of messy papers with coffee stains at the corners. Although it was unprofessional of him to admit it, he wholeheartedly hoped that the three girls would be the ones to take home the first prize. They all had a…wholesomeness that would do the company good to have. Unlike that prima-donna Sayo Amakusa who had elevated herself above the rest of the world the minute the limelight had been turned her way. Something about the Kamiya girls promised him this would never happen in their case. They could walk in and out of the spotlight without it changing a thing about the persons they knew themselves to be.

Even though he was tired and had worked his way right through lunch, he could not help but offer the young woman a warm smile as she approached his desk.

"Good afternoon Kamiya-san," he said, "I take it that you came to bring me the music I requested."

Kaoru managed to flash the broom-haired man a brilliant smile as she handed him the neatly packed envelope that she carried in her hands. "Konbanwa," she replied, "Hai, I did. Also, I would like to ask you if it were alright if we added one more member to our group on the night of the finals."

Chou raised his eyebrows in question as he pulled out the contents of the envelope, "Sou da ne?" he asked while gesturing to a chair on the other side of his desk, "Why do you need another member?"

Kaoru's expression grew a little more serious as she took the proffered seat, "Well," she explained, "As you can see in the manuscripts, the songs we have chosen requires that we have the assistance of a dj. I know that the company would provide us with one at request, but we would be more comfortable with one that we have had previous experience with. My sister's work-mate to be exact. You will find any information you need on him in the envelope along with the music."

Chou nodded in agreement as he came across the said document.  "I see. Well I cannot find anything wrong with your request Ms. Kamiya. I'll forward the information to the appropriate people immediately." As he finished his sentence he came across a sheet of music that caused his pale eyes to widen in surprise.

"Kamiya-san?" he sputtered. "You can't be serious about this song, the difficulty level alone would be a great disadvantage to your band!"

Kaoru's response was a calm, self-assured curling at the corners of her mouth. "Hai, I am aware of that," she admitted, "However if it is done correctly it would put my band at a great advantage over the others, ne?" Lifting herself gracefully from the chair she bowed in Chou's direction. "Do not worry about us. Sawagejou-san. We are not in the habit of letting anyone down."

****************************************************************

Sano lay sprawled across his futon in the tiny apartment that he chose to call home, staring at the ceiling above. Megumi would probably never speak to him again, as Jou-chan would most certainly never want to see Kenshin ever again. Deep in his thoughts of regret he almost did not hear the phone next to him as it began ringing. Once he did notice he could not help but reach out, hoping against hope that Megumi was on the other end.

"Hai? Moshi-moshi."

"Well," a heavily accented feminine voice replied on the other end, "This must be my lucky day. If I had called once more and not gotten through to you, I would think that you'd have disowned me!"

Sano rolled over onto his back again, not bothering to restrain himself from the affectionate smile that graced his ruggedly handsome features. "Hi Mom." He replied, "How are you?"

"Ach mein Gott! He remembers his mother!" the woman exclaimed in mock surprise, before settling into a more quietly amused tone, "I am fine my Sano-chan. How are you my darling?"

Sano could feel his smile stiffen as he lied through his teeth, "I'm…fine Mutti, things are just great."

Sagara-san's eyes narrowed at the untruth she detected in her son's voice. "Unsinn," she said sternly, "I can hear in your voice that something is wrong. What is it mein liebling?"

With a heavy sigh Sano rolled over onto his stomach, "Well Mom," he said somewhat hesitantly, "There's this…girl."

Although her son could not see it,  Leyna's face lit up like a Christmas tree at the news of her son's discovery. Ever since he had had his heart broken by that dreadful Amakusa girl, she was afraid that Sano had closed himself off from love completely. The news of him finding someone new was worth a decade of Mother's Days. "Ist das so?" she asked, unable to keep the excitement from her voice.

Sano's chest constricted at his mother's blissful question, "Yeah," he admitted, "She's really great. Smart and funny and she seems to like me for some weird reason," he managed to joke, "But Mom?" he continued after a pause, "I think I made a mistake with her and now she might not want to see me again."

Her face grew serious as she shifted the phone to her other ear, "What kind of mistake?" she asked softly.

Sano sighed again, unknowingly copying his mother as he tucked the phone up to his other ear. "To make a long story short? I kept something from her that I shouldn't have and I'm pretty sure that now I've lost her trust."

"Oh dear," Leyna sighed in response, "That is unfortunate."

"Tell me about it," Sano groaned in frustration, "I just don't know what to do to make it up to her. I don't want to let go of this one Mom, she….she's everything to me."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment or two. "Then don't."

"What?"

Sano's words were enough to touch any mother's heart and Leyna found herself wiping away tears at the emotion in her son's voice. "Don't," she repeated, "If your feelings are real, then a simple misunderstanding cannot tear you permanently apart, love. Your father and I found ourselves in rough spots quite a few times, as does everyone. It will all work out, you'll see."

A new smile crept across Sano's features, trust Leyna Amery Sagara to be there whenever he needed her. "Thanks Mom." He said.

"Hey, it's my job," Lena replied, her tone becoming playful once more, "I've got to go now liebling, but remember what I told you. Do not give up hope…and for God's sake call me sometime!"

That elicited some chuckles from Sano's end of the line, "Aa, I will," he promised, "Bye."

"Good bye, love." Leyna replied before hanging up her end.

In the tiny apartment Sano did the same, once again tucking his arms behind his head as he took on a new train of thought. Unbidden, the last bit of their conversation replayed in his mind and it caused him to chuckle again. His mother was never one to be delicate with words.

"….call me sometime…" he repeated unconsciously through his laughter. "Call me…" he repeated again, his eyes widening as realization dawned on him. That was it! Scrambling to his knees he practically lunged for the phone again, fingers flying across the keys as soon as he made contact. "Just you wait Foxy," he said with a grin, "I'm gonna get you back to me, I promise!"

************************************************************

Author's Ramble:

This was supposed to be the final chapter, but as usual, my fingers and imagination refuse to cooperate with the more sensible part of my mind. Next chapter will have the battle of the bands you've all been waiting for, I promise.

About Sano's mother being German/Japanese…what can I say? I thought it would be fun. Besides, Sano's so tall and brawny, he'd be easy to pass off as someone of mixed descent. Plus the idea of Sano calling his mother "mutti" just tickled me too much not to try it out.

But hey, if you don't like it, you know what to do.

Light my fire.