Author's note : So going to sleep after this. Holidays have been insane, this is the last thing I'll write till next year. Have a great holiday and a happy new year!!
Chapter 3The first thing she noticed was the humming. And that was soon followed by an equally annoying little song. Megumi opened an eye and watched as Kaoru bounced around the room, a little bundle of happy energy.
There was only one thing to do in a situation like this.
"KAORU! Shut up!"
Kaoru paused in her singing and looked out of the bathroom at the angry woman uncurling from the bed.
"Mou, Megumi… you don't have to be so mean."
Megumi scowled as she pulled the sheets over her head and blocked out the sun. Kaoru clucked her tongue and walked over, tugging at the sheet.
"Come on Megumi! We're in Rome! We should explore, see the sights! Don't be such a bum and get out of bed!"
Megumi flicked the sheet down so that her angry eyes could shine through. "Look, I'm tired because the flight was long. I'm tired because it's day here when it should be night. And most of all I'm tired because some nitwit managed to lock herself outside on the balcony and was rapping on the door at 4am in the morning!"
"That's not…"
"What exactly were you doing out there anyway?" Megumi demanded.
Kaoru blushed about five shades of red before turning away. "Fine, just stay there. I'm going out to do some exploring before the game this afternoon. If you want to be a party pooper, you can just stay in bed all day."
Megumi muttered something of an agreement and burrowed herself under the covers further. Kaoru's eyebrow twitched. Reverse psychology hadn't worked. There was only one course of action.
She wrapped her hands on the sheets and started to pull, feeling Megumi tighten her grip to prevent it. Then with one strong pull she tore the sheet off the bed, with Megumi following closely behind and landing on the floor with an undignified thud.
"OW! Kao…"
But before she could react, Kaoru walked out of the room and into the bathroom. Something in Megumi's mind started to work, a small distant memory of her time in high school, when she had just started living with Kaoru and her father. She wasn't a morning person back then and they had only one way of…
The memory clicked into place just as the bucket of cold water hit her face. Megumi sputtered a bit, flailing her arms a bit.
"That always worked," Kaoru sang as she moved towards the door. She opened it wide just as Kenshin was about to knock. He and Sano looked worriedly inside.
"We heard a large bang," Kenshin started, "and thought…"
He got a glimpse over Kaoru's shoulder and saw Megumi sitting there, drenched to the bone, the long nightshirt clinging to every part of her body.
Kenshin nose suddenly burned and he pitched backwards. Sano got a very goofy smile on his face. Kaoru was confused. And Megumi was charging at the door full speed, pushing Kaoru out of the frame and slamming it on Sano's face.
* * *
"Ohayo!"
Megumi looked down in her coffee mug like she wanted to crawl into it. It was bad enough that she had been woken up this early in the morning but to have to try to deal with that genki ball of energy this early in the day…
"Ohayo Misao-chan!" Kaoru said, pushing her seat to the side so Misao and Aoshi could join them. A fresh plate of pastries and jam appeared in a matter of moments.
"So," Kaoru said, pulling out her tour book. "What are we going to do today? We have until 3pm before we have to be back. I think we can get in the Coliseum, a couple of the fountains and we have to go the old arena and get some… gelato. That's what it's called here. That's a good start."
"Start?" Megumi managed.
Misao took a bite out of her breakfast. "Sorry, Kaoru-chan, I have plans."
"What plans?" Aoshi said suddenly.
"Plans," Misao replied, not missing a bite.
"What plans?" he asked again.
Misao's brow furrowed. "I just have something to do. That's all."
"Then I'll come with you."
"It's not necessary."
"I think it would be better…"
"No, I'll be fine. You don't have to. It's nothing dangerous."
"Then you can tell me what it is."
"Why?"
As the two lovers' conversation began to grow more heated, the rest of the group at the table began to shift nervously. Kaoru bit her lip and shot Megumi a glance. Megumi waited a beat before nodding.
"Oh for the love of it all, Aoshi," Megumi snapped, breaking the argument. "Misao and I were going shopping for things for the wedding. It was supposed to be a surprise."
Aoshi and Misao blinked. Aoshi looked down at her. "Is that true?" Misao shot a look over at Megumi before nodding slowly. "Then, I'm sorry," Aoshi said.
"It's okay," Misao laughed nervously. "So, it's okay right Kaoru-chan? We'll rain check on all that."
"Sure," Kaoru said forcing a smile. "We'll save some stuff to do with you and Megumi tomorrow."
The conversation died off after that and as soon as the food was done, everyone dispersed to go their separate ways.
* * *
"So what was that all about at breakfast today?" Sano asked, watching Kaoru and Aoshi move towards the gelato store.
"I don't know," Kenshin shrugged. "I don't know Aoshi that well, but he doesn't strike me as the type to get visibly jealous."
"Yeah," Sano replied. "There was something else there too. Did you see the way that Kaoru and Megumi were looking at each other?"
Kenshin's eyes narrowed as the wind tousled his hair. He let out a slow nod as he watched Aoshi and Kaoru interact behind the glass window of the store. He couldn't read their lips to hear what they were saying but he could tell something was going on.
Kaoru had placed a hand on Aoshi's forearm, squeezing it so the fabric curled under her fingers as she spoke. He didn't seem to be listening to her but she kept talking. Her facial expressions were a mix of concern and determination. With a frown, Kenshin slowly turned back to Sano.
"But I'm sure she'll tell us about it if we ask," Kenshin said.
Sano nodded and let the silence sit for a few minutes before he switched topics. "Hey, Kenshin?"
"Hmm?"
"Where were you for an hour last night?"
Kenshin conveniently found a patch of ground to stare at. Sano let out a little laugh and patted him on the back, causing the smaller man to oro and stumble forward. Kenshin rubbed his shoulder a bit as he regained control and turned to face Sano. Sano was still smiling and gave Kenshin a little wink.
"Oi! Iceman."
Aoshi frowned as he and Kaoru walked up to them. "Sano!" Kaoru warned.
"What?" Sano said innocently as he took the gelato from her hand. Kaoru glowered at him. "Look, what I wanted to say was that Aoshi and I need to head back to the hotel now."
"Why?" Aoshi asked.
"Because we need to help them move things to the arena for the game today."
Aoshi's eyebrows furrowed. He didn't remember signing on to help anything. But Sano was giving him the 'yo-stupid-stop-being-a-third-wheel' look and considering how upset Kaoru was at him already, he wasn't about to test how annoyed she could get.
"I forgot," Aoshi replied. "I promised Yahiko."
"That was nice of you," Kaoru smiled.
Aoshi nodded and waved as he and Sano set off. Kaoru jumped up on the edge of the fountain and let her feet dangle, her eyes starring happily into the depths of chocolate gelato. Kenshin smiled a bit before jumping up next to her.
She cast him a glance from the side of her eye and returned back to her chocolate, savoring every bite. He cocked his head a bit to catch her eye but she pretended not to see him, taking another bite of the gelato.
Kenshin let out a sigh and leaned back a bit, letting his arm fall into the water. After a few moments, he let his fingers flicked some water in Kaoru's general direction, watching as the water hit her arm.
Her brow furrowed and she turned to face him, a pout already forming on her face. She moved quickly and before he could react there was a splotch of chocolate on his nose.
"Oro?" he said, violet orbs staring cross-eyed at the offensive blotch.
Kaoru giggled and leaned forward, kissing it off his nose. He smiled at her action and reached forward, dipped a finger in the melted gelato and dabbing a bit on his lips. He blinked up at her innocently and she let out a laugh before leaning forward to kiss it off.
He was to go for it again before she batted him away. Hey, there were limits to how much chocolate she was willing to give away. He smiled as she went back to eating and stared up into the sun.
Silence descended on them but there was no discomfort over it. They just enjoyed the moment for a while before Kenshin broke it to ask about Aoshi.
"Huh?" Kaoru asked, putting the empty cup next to her.
"It's just," Kenshin started, "that he was very upset this morning. And Aoshi doesn't really get upset."
Kaoru nodded and looked out into the crowd. "He'll be fine."
Kenshin raised an eyebrow at her non-committal response. But the way she looked now, he felt it wouldn't be best to press the issue. So he nodded.
"We should get back," she said with a smile. "Yahiko's game starts pretty soon." He nodded again and they strode out of the area.
* * *
Misao walked into the café with a frown. She hated this already. Lying to Aoshi, lying to everyone for that matter! But, the chance to have a Juppongatana member testify against the group…
She saw him in the corner towards the back, hiding the shadows as he sipped some tea. He was smiling before she got there and it never faltered from his face the entire time. She took a seat and let the waitress deposit a cup in front of her. A moment later it was filled with coffee.
They sat in silence for a while, him smiling and her trying to maintain her normal genkiness. But it was difficult to do so while wondering exactly what he wanted. And the silence was becoming deafening. She was about to say something when he began to speak.
"I know you don't believe me," Soujirou said. Misao nodded. "It's all right, I wouldn't believe me either. Why would a high lieutenant in the Juppongatana want to turn himself in?"
"It is a bit unexpected," Misao settled on.
"Well, things change," he smiled. "And people begin to wonder about the choices they made over the years."
"Something has to bring that on," Misao replied.
Soujirou nodded slightly. "You're right." His smile deepened. "It's ironic in a way. They sent me to the Hiten family to spy and sabotage them. But while I was there… I just started to see things differently."
"I understand," Misao nodded.
"I don't mean that I want to switch sides, I just want to… start over I guess. And this is the only way I can."
"The Juppongatana won't let you go?" Misao asked.
Soujirou shook his head. "It doesn't work that way. Either you stay until you're too old or…"
"Or they kill you," Misao finished with a frown. "We can offer you what you want, protection, a new life in exchange for testimony. But…"
"It's all right," Soujirou smiled. "I know you can't just make promises." Misao smiled a bit and nodded.
"I'll contact my people. We can start from…" She trailed off watching as he looked over her shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"You didn't tell anyone you were coming, right?"
"No, no one at all," she said.
His smile faltered a bit. "We need to leave. Now."
Having been in a situation like this before, Misao didn't bother to question as he took off for the back exit. Carefully she reached at her back, drawing her weapon as she scanned the back alley for signs of danger. Soujirou motioned towards a fire escape and Misao nodded. She grabbed the ladder and started climbing up, Soujirou close behind.
They reached the roof and aimed their weapons down towards the back alleyway. They waited in silence for a few seconds before they realized no one was showing up. Misao slowly started to put her weapon away.
"I guess we were overreact…"
Soujirou moved quickly and pushed her to the roof, covering her body with his as the shingles exploded beside them. They never stopped moving after that, instead bounding across the roof towards safety as a couple of goons closed in behind them.
Despite not saying a word, they moved in unison, feet moving at almost the same speed as they jumped across the roofs of Rome, diving off of the edges and landed perfectly on the neighboring buildings.
"I think we lost them," Misao managed, catching her breath. Soujirou nodded.
"I thought we did too but…"
He stood up and brushed himself off, watching as the four suit clad man approached them. He turned to Misao, watching as her green eyes searched her opponents and reached the same conclusion he had. Juppongatana lackeys.
Soujirou looked over at her with an apologetic smile. She frowned and moved for her gun but stopped as she saw him extended an arm out. Hesitantly, she raised an eyebrow.
"Trust me," he smiled.
She put her hand out and he grabbed it, pulling her close before he fell back through the ceiling's skylight, shattering it to a million pieces as he hurtled them to the ground.
* * *
Megumi stared into the window, looking at the fashionable dress there. The fashionable dress that cost a month's pay. With a sigh she turned to walk away and found herself simply walking to the next window.
She smiled at herself in the reflection and put a few fingers on the glass. The arrangement had worked out well. Sure, she wanted to see Rome and all its sites but today, she just wanted to spend some time alone and window…
The reflection in the window shimmered and Megumi felt her breath stolen from her as she recognized the face that smiled at her from her shoulder. Whipping around, she tried to find him, looking for him in the crowd of tourists.
The people seemed to slow down, noises slowly ebbed into silence. The world looked like it lost its color and suddenly all she could see was the familiar man across the street, eyeing her with a smile.
She took a step back and met with something very firm at her back. As she started to fall forward, the world sped up again and the noise suddenly deafening her as they rushed back.
"Oi, megitsune?"
Aoshi looked at the girl that Sano had just caught. Megumi looked phased, her eyes clouded over. She had lost her color, her pale face and black hair suddenly making her seem monochromatic. The only sign that she was still somewhat here was the way her nails were digging in his arm.
"Megumi?" Sano tried again, looking down at her.
Nothing, she was frozen. Sano moved to shake her but Aoshi put a hand on her shoulder and used the other to turn her chin towards him.
"Megumi," he said firmly.
She blinked and looked up at him with surprise, as if she hadn't seen him until now. She shook her head and looked up at Sano. For a moment, he could see something like fear in her eyes before it faded and she pushed away.
"Sorry," she managed. "I think I'm still… tired."
Aoshi looked around with a frown. He didn't know what had startled her so much but he had a good idea.
"You can't do things like that," Kaoru yelled as soon as the vendor took their order. "You almost completely flipped out during breakfast this morning!"
He remained silent, not willing to say anything because he knew it would be a lie. She looked at him with pleading eyes but he still ignored her. She grabbed his arm and forced him to look at her.
"You have to learn not to judge other people because of what happened before. Kenshin was not like Neechi, even though you were sure he was. And Misao is not… she's not like…"
Kaoru let out a sigh and looked away. "It was all going so well. All of us, we were finally putting the past were it belong, in the back of our minds. But now, Megumi is seeing Kanyruu and you…"
He looked down at Megumi with a frown. So Kaoru hadn't been exaggerating. Megumi was seeing her old nemesis again. Nothing else would scare her this much.
"Should we go back to the hotel?" Aoshi asked. Megumi hesitated for a minute before nodding. "Let's get Misao and go."
"Misao?" Megumi asked, before realizing her mistake. Aoshi looked at her with suspicion. "Oh… she was… ummm…"
"I think I saw her," Sano said quickly, seeing where this was going. "In the store we just passed. I'll go get her, you take Megumi back to the hotel."
Aoshi paused looking at Sano and then down at Megumi. Reluctantly, he nodded and flagged a cab, loading her into the car and disappearing down the street.
Sano let out a deep sigh and looked around. Okay, so Misao wasn't around here. Hmmm… if I was like Misao where would I go?
Sano paused, suddenly getting an image of himself, jumping around with his hair in a braid and caffeine in place of blood.
If I was like Misao, my brain would kill itself after the first minute.
He chuckled to himself and started to stroll down the street just as he heard the crashing noise to his right. While everyone ran away from the debris that was filtering out of the building, Sano head there at full speed.
Surprised was not the word to use when he saw Misao stumbling out of the building. He caught her with a sigh. Apparently, today was his day to act as a knight in shining armor.
Misao coughed and looked up at him with a face filled with emotion similar to his.
"What the hell happened?" Sano demanded.
Misao turned back towards the building and then looked at the roof. No one was there. She frowned wondering where Soujirou could have gone but it was obvious he knew how to take care of himself.
"It's a long story," she said looking at him.
"One I'm betting I won't hear," Sano frowned. "And one I'm guessing neither will Aoshi."
Misao didn't have the heart to tell him he was right.
* * *
"He met with the spy girl."
"I know."
"What do you want to do?"
"Heat things up for them."
* * *
Kaoru yawned and leaned back in the chair, watching as the weary Japanese team made its way around the field.
"You think they'd give them a day to relax," Misao said unhappily watching them scatter around the field.
Kaoru shrugged. "It's not a real game, just practice. Besides, I was taught that when you travel, never let jet lag take over, just keep going from the moment you land."
"I guess so," Misao nodded.
"So… what did you get today?"
"What?" Misao asked.
Kaoru frowned. "Today, when you went shopping. Not that you went shopping." Misao tapped her foot on the ground guiltily. "You need to be able to list a few things to him, make it up and check it with Megumi."
Misao blinked and looked up her. "Can I ask you why? Why did you guys step in…"
"Because we know it's the last time you'll ever do it." Kaoru said firmly. Misao stole a glance at the other girl, but Kaoru was already looking past her to the small group coming towards them.
"Hey," Sano said, plopping down into the seat exhausted. Misao snatched the coke from him and took a swig of it.
"Well, I'm glad to see everyone in such a great mood," he muttered as he turned to the field. Aoshi and Megumi were still hiding out in the hotel. Kenshin looked confused every time he turned to Kaoru. The little he got out of the redhead was that Kaoru wasn't talking about what was going on with the other two. Even Misao was not as cheerful as normal.
"Yeah team," Sano said sarcastically as the started to take formation on the field. Kaoru frowned and blinked away the last traces of concentration, standing up and cheering for her brother.
It took a while but the rest of them started to join in, temporary forgetting their troubles as the soccer teams battled each other on the field. It was a rough game, a couple of yellow cards already being drawn before the first half ended. And worse, they were losing by two goals.
Kaoru stood up and grabbed her jacket as the whistle sounded to end the half. "I'm going to go talk to him."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Kenshin asked.
"It's all right," she smiled. "I'll just take a couple of minutes."
Weaving out of the row, Kaoru jogged up the stairs and quickly followed the route to get to the locker room. Security was pretty scarce but it was a non-competitive match, she shouldn't be surprised. The stands had been half empty.
So why was she feeling unease in her stomach?
She found the right locker room and waited until the team started to file out. She caught Yahiko and pulled him aside, shooting his coach a smile to let him know it would only take a minute.
"Come on, busu, I need to get back out there," Yahiko complained.
"Just give me a second okay," she said. "I just wanted to talk to you."
"Why? Tell me what I'm doing wrong?"
"No! Why would you think that?"
"Because I am doing everything wrong," Yahiko said unhappily.
Kaoru smiled and put a reassuring hand on him. "You're not doing everything wrong."
"Yes I am."
"Stop whining!" Kaoru shouted. "All right, so you let two goals go through. But they had to get through ten other players. Look, stop thinking about what happened before okay? You have a whole other half to stop every goal that comes your way. And I'll be cheering for you up in the stands real loud. So the worse you do, the more embarrassing things I'll start yelling."
"Yeah, like what?"
"Like… Do it for Tsubame!!"
"KAORU!" Yahiko yelled, blushing colorful and looking around to make sure no one else had heard.
Kaoru ruffled his hair with a sign. "Your glove," she said pointing at it. "Looks like the tread is coming off. Do you have another one?"
"Yeah, inside," Yahiko frowned, heading back towards the locker room. He stepped inside while Kaoru stood in the door frame.
"Hey busu?"
Kaoru's eyebrow twitched but she refrained from reacting. He had a game to play after all. "Yes?"
"Thanks," he said slamming the locker door shut. Kaoru smiled. He looked up at her as he pulled on his glove. She saw his face change before she even felt the push but it still wasn't enough time to react.
"Kaoru!" Yahiko said, running to her fallen form on the ground.
"Owww…" she said pushing herself off the ground. "What happened?"
"Some guy…" Yahiko stuttered. "He just pushed you and…"
Kaoru stood up quickly and headed for the door. No matter how hard she pushed, it wouldn't budge. She banged on it a couple of times but no one answered.
"Kaoru…"
"What is it Yahiko?" she asked, whirling around at the fear in his voice. And then she smelt it, a soft odor in the air that could only be one thing.
"Fire," he said softly.
Kaoru quickly ran down the length of the locker room, searching for another exit and the source of the smell at the same time. In the back corner, a laundry bin was spouting up flames. But it wasn't the flames that surprised her. She expected that. It was the suspiciously placed barrels next to it.
Two things came to her mind. One, the fire was no accident. And two, she had only a minute or so before whatever was in those cans ignited.
