Yep, another chapter! More humor, sap, and introspect! "Huzzah liver! Iron helps us play!"

*stops* Okay, I'm done...

Dedicated to my reviewers: Nim (actually, I haven't thought about Tsubame's alter ego yet... but... oh my...), Solace_no_tenshi (yes... Megumi's character will be introduced in chapter four), Kirstian (well gosh, Shinomori is my favorite ego in here too ^_^), Arashi (you haven't seen half of the insanity yet! *laughs* Thanks for being there for me, you're a great reviewer and an even greater friend), MegumiFuu (Shinomori will be in everyone's clothing eventually, I think I've got him in Yahiko's getup somewhere around here... so I'm implying nothing. Yet. *grins*), fishie-chan (everyone has a side like this that just has to get out!), eri (I think I've found out too late that I love being dark and reflective more than I like writing humor. It gives me more joy when people say that my fics "solve all life's problems" then "Lolololololololol!!" But... that's me ^_^), Crystal Okamino (ack! Writing as fast as I can! *is whipped* Thanks for the double review!), Mikomi (great minds think alike!), Yaslana (Of course!), and Gabi-hime (aww... does he have to?)

Starting something new with dedications to my reviewers, this way I can personally thank you publicly! This story will be dedicated to all future reviewers and such... so comment!

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They Say Cameras Are Only Good For Pictures... 3
By: Karina Kineshi (coronaflare@mail.com)

"So... here's another question for you 'Shin-chan'..." Sanosuke emphasized the nickname by making bunny ears with his two hands. "How is it that... well... you know..."

Shinomori giggled. "You mean... you know... yeah?"

Sanosuke nodded and pointed at where Shinomori's pants met his waist. "When I saw you for the first time, you were naked, right?"

"Right."

Sanosuke blushed a bit and stammered. "Now... um... not that I was looking... but... I noticed that... well..."

"Just spit it out already, sweetie."

Sanosuke stopped. "First off, don't ever, ever, EVER call me sweetie again." Shinomori looked crushed, but then he smiled even wider. "Sweetie is just... wrong." Sanosuke stopped and remembered the question he was going to ask. "To be perfectly honest, I think the reason I passed out was because... well, you didn't have anything between your legs whatsoever."

Shinomori grinned. "We souls lack definition, I don't have one, 'Batty' doesn't have one, and..." He tried to conceal a smile, but was giggling behind his hand. "... neither do you."

Sanosuke gasped, undid his pants strings, peered inside, and then cursed. "Dammit!"

"Told you so, sweetie."

"Stop calling me sweetie!"

A small stick seemed to appear out of nowhere. Shinomori then began rubbing it back and forth across his fingernails. "My my, you're just like 'Batty'. No cute nicknames. Fine, since you actually asked nicely, I shall call you by your given name, Sano-chan." Shinomori blew across his nails, then started rubbing that strange stick back and forth again.

"What is that thing?"

Shinomori shrugged. "We here in Gehenna have the power of being able to have all the future technology of the world. These are merely ideas."

"What?" Sanosuke looked lost.

The man leaned over and stopped rubbing his nails. "You know those moments were you go "I've got it!", like... like you figured out something? You know that feeling where lightning seems to strike your brain?" Sanosuke nodded numbly. "Well, that's kind of what's going on here. This thing..." Shinomori held up the stick. "This thing hasn't gotten its "lightning moment" yet. It hasn't made itself a presence in the mortal realm yet."

Sanosuke decided that this spirit realm was way too complicated for his own good. He said what he knew. "So... that thing hasn't been invented in my world yet?"

"Exactly."

He was beginning to understand. "If it hasn't been invented yet, how can you be using it? And how does it get its "lightning moment"?"

Shinomori's eyes seemed to dance. "Ah, now we're getting into the deep and dark secrets of Gehenna here..." He leaned closer to Sanosuke and dropped his voice. "This is where the spirit world comes in. It's like a game of mix and match. A thing gets its lightning moment if a soul here gives it the correct name."

"Like... how?"

A giant flash of light blinded Sanosuke. Where Shinomori was previously standing now was a massive hunk of... something. "This thing... I've been trying to name this thing for God knows how long, but it just won't match up." Shinomori shook his head. "Maybe it's not time for its lightning moment yet."

Sanosuke walked up to the contraption and banged on the outside. It was made of metal. He peered in through one of the transparent panes of glass to the inside. It had two compartments, one in front of the other. The compartments looked almost like a seat. The thing was standing on four rubber circles; they looked like bicycle tires, only bigger. Sanosuke put his fingers on the glass; it was laced with little black lines.

"Oh, that's not even the coolest part!" Shinomori reached for one of the shiny metal bars on the side and pulled it. That lever yanked what looked like a door open. "See, watch this!" Shinomori got inside the contraption and sat down onto the seat. Sanosuke saw that there was a hollow circle right in front of where Shinomori sat.

"Watch this!" Shinomori reached to the side of the hollow circle and turned his hand. The machine sputtered, then finally roared to life. The dull roar echoed all around Sanosuke. He was at the same time mesmerized by the red and white lights that came on near the back of the invention. "Weehee!! Having some fun now!"

"Oh God Shinomori! Turn it off! Off!!" He didn't even realize that he was hiding behind a chair until he noticed his fingers were gripping it so tightly they started to hurt. "It's going to eat you!"

Shinomori laughed and shouted over the din. "No it's not! But it can do this..." Miraculously, the thing started to move, its giant bicycle tires propelling it forward ever so slowly. The contraption emitted a sharp noise, supposedly caused by Shinomori pushing in the center of the hollow circle.

Sanosuke was in hysterics. "It's like that miniature train! Oh God, does it run on steam from a kettle too?"

Just as quickly as it had come, the metal beast was gone, and all that stood in its place was a pained Shinomori and Battousai yanking his ear. "You're not supposed to scare the new arrival, you giant idiot! What's your problem, Shinomori!?"

"Aww... c'mon batty, I'm just having a little bit of fun..."

Battousai's eyes glittered while he pointed at the grown man still shaken up behind the chair. "Shinomori, you're going to scare him into nonexistence. Stop this lunacy." Immediately, Shinomori's eyes grew soft. "Get it?"

Shinomori nodded. "I'm sorry Sano-chan, I really didn't mean it. Please forgive me."

Sanosuke straightened up from behind the chair and smiled. "It's okay, it's just sort of overwhelming, you know, being trapped here." His eyebrows squinched together. "By the way, what was that thing, anyways?"

Battousai shrugged. "Who knows? When you figure out the designated name for it, it will be—"

"Nail file! It's a nail file!" Shinomori's voice excitedly rang out above Battousai's. "It has to be a nail file!" Sanosuke jerked his head over to the screaming Shinomori and saw the stick he had been holding in his hand earlier. The stick glowed for a few seconds and evaporated out of Shinomori's hands with a puff of smoke. Shinomori turned to the two members with a triumphant smile. "I knew it. That was the lightning moment."

"Lightning moment..." Sanosuke repeated. "What happens to that... that thing now?"

Battousai smiled again, amused at Sanosuke's innocence. "Someone down in the mortal realm just got an idea of a thing that can polish nails to a shine. The nail file finally got its 'lightning moment'."

Sanosuke nodded. "Now it will be invented by someone. I get it." He turned to Shinomori, "Say, you're pretty good at thinking this stuff up."

The man who was wearing Sanosuke's gi and pants earlier now changed into something that looked similar to Yahiko's training gear. He then flashed a victory grin. "Yes, you're looking at the invincible Shin-chan! I also gave the 'train' its lightning moment."

... what?!?

It took a while for the comment to sink in, and when it did, Sanosuke started breathing heavily. "You... you... idiot..." Shinomori pointed at himself as if to ask, 'Who, me?' Sanosuke growled. "You're the one that caused all my problems! You..." There was a fierce light growing in Sanosuke's eyes, but of course, it was more of annoyance than of real anger.

Shinomori yelped and hid behind Battousai. "Batty! Save me! Use your sword or something..."

The Hitokiri merely rolled his eyes and pulled away, laughing softly to himself. "No, my sword is to kill, not to protect the dimwitted. You should have Shinta in here, not me."

Sanosuke had to use all of his willpower not to pummel the life out of the Yahiko lookalike. "Besides fight, what do you guys do for fun around here? Do you eat?"

"No", said Battousai.

"Drink?"

"Nope."

He was getting desperate. "Do you have wome—" Sanosuke stopped what he was saying in mid-word. That reminded him of someone... someone he'd left behind...

Women... Megumi...

"Awww..." Shinomori, glad that the eminent danger was gone, stepped out from behind his shield and lovingly tugged on Battousai's arm. "He's thinking about the woman he left behind... isn't that just so sweet?" he gushed.

Battousai yanked his arm from the other man's grasp. "The woman doctor huh? Well, are you somewhat curious about what happened when your soul got taken?"

Sanosuke smacked his head in surprise. Of course! He'd been meaning to find out what had happened to his body in the meantime he'd been stuck in Gehenna. What if another soul had taken over that would totally change him? What if Megumi didn't like him anymore? What if...

"You know, you can stop worrying now. Here, take a look for yourself. Just think really hard about what you want to see, and it shall be done." Battousai waved his hand and a mammoth black cauldron appeared about twenty feet away. "Go see."

Sanosuke didn't know what to say, Battousai was nodding and Shinomori was still gushing. "Um... thanks..." He then ran off as fast as his legs could carry him to where the giant pot stood.

Once he was out of earshot, Shinomori's face became serious. "I don't think that he belongs here. Have you wondered how in the world he got here? It wasn't by one of the three pillars, so how..."

Battousai glanced over to where Sanosuke was staring into the pot, mesmerized. "I've been wondering the same thing myself Shinomori. If it wasn't by anger, divine mandate, or drunkenness, why do you think he's here?"

Shinomori snapped his fingers and a miniature black cauldron similar to the one Sanosuke was peering into materialized in his arms. Scenes of the mortal realm flashed across the screen. He pointed to where Sanosuke's mortal body was standing behind a beautifully dressed woman in a revealing red dress, and Shinta's chosen soul stood behind another equally gorgeous woman. "See, did you see that?" A flash appeared on all their faces, and while three members of the party shook it off and started talking excitedly, Sanosuke's body was still in that dazed expression. "It's like... he got sucked out."

Battousai nodded. "Do you suppose it's the work of... Zanza?" Shinomori's eyes grew concerned. "If it is, then we must go to Tokio at once. This is not natural for..." he looked again at the man leaning over the giant cauldron. "... it's not natural for the chosen soul to be here without coming through one of the three pillars. It's..."

"Impossible." Shinomori finished.

"We'll have to keep an eye on this one..."

*****

"Sanosuke! Stand up straight, you're slouching again..." Megumi chastised him. "Just look really nice for a couple of seconds and you'll never have to wear a suit again. We're going to take just one more picture and we can go home."

Kenshin shook his head in disbelief. "You know, I still can't believe you offered to pay for that Sano. You won't mind paying for the next one, will you?"

Silence.

The three turned to look at Sanosuke. He was standing absolutely straight, and staring dead ahead. Kaoru tapped on his arm. "Sanosuke... are you all right?"

Megumi faced frontward again, slightly annoyed. "No, we're not falling for the 'It stole my soul act,' so don't even bother trying..." Megumi thought to herself that Sanosuke was just acting like a moron now, most likely to get her attention.

What a dolt.

"M-Megumi-dono... there's something really wrong here... I think he's really..." Kenshin started.

Megumi sighed and stood up, irritated. "You fell for it too? Great Gods, Ken-san, I thought you had just a little bit more common sense than that." She knelt down on the chair, rested her hands on the back, and all it took was one look. Kenshin was right. Megumi saw no life in those eyes.

Either the camera really did steal his soul, or else he was just a really good actor.

Megumi opted for the seconds option, what craziness! A stolen soul?! She turned to the waiting photographer and shooed him away with her hand. "Do you think you could leave us for a couple of minutes?"

Kenshin and Kaoru both blinked as the man left the room, his camera still on its stand. "Megumi-san, what was that for?"

She rolled her eyes. "I didn't want him to witness this." The blank look was really starting to scare her; she didn't think anyone could fake it for that long. Keeping your eyes open by willpower is very hard, and without any sort of tears or blinking, it was close to impossible. Megumi raised her arm above her head and slapped Sanosuke as hard across the face as she could.

Kenshin gasped. "M-M-Megumi-dono!" Kaoru could do anything but gape. Even she was not this harsh with Kenshin...

Apparently, it worked. Sanosuke blinked for a couple moments while the shine returned back to his eyes. Oddly, he didn't move or recoil from the pain, and Megumi was sure that she had hit him hard. His legendary resistance to pain had been spoken for. "Rooster, you still in there?"

Kaoru and Kenshin waited for the outburst that was sure to come, something along the lines of "Oi fox! What the hell was that for?" followed by a "You big idiot! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" It was inevitable. Instead...

Zanza breathed a couple of deep breaths and looked at his hands, alternately flexing and relaxing them.

I'm free...

He then looked at his clothing and fingered the fabric. It felt rough to the touch. Finally, his eyes followed the trail of red upwards until he got to the face of...

"Takani... Megumi..."

Megumi's eyes grew concerned; she had known Sanosuke long enough to know that this was abnormal behavior. "Who did you thi—" Megumi did not have enough time to finish because Sanosuke's lips were on instantly on hers.

What is he doing...?

Megumi didn't even have time to think before Sanosuke did something so unexpected. She almost teetered backwards over the chair but she felt one of his hands wrapping around her waist. His other hand was situated right next to her cheek, stroking the skin so gently that it made her shiver in excitement.

What...

Even Kenshin blushed at the sheer hunger that Sanosuke's kiss conveyed. Kaoru had averted her eyes and was now looking at the floor; no doubt embarrassed. This was definitely not proper behavior for nowadays... especially in a public place! Kaoru thanked the Gods that no one else was in the room other than Kenshin and her...

"Rooster..." Megumi breathed over his lips. Her head was still spinning from the lack of oxygen that her brain was receiving; so passionate was the kiss. She knew instantly that without his hand supporting her; she would be on the floor. Megumi pulled away about two more inches and stared into his eyes. "... you know, this isn't appropriate. Especially in public."

Sanosuke didn't say anything; he didn't even blink. All that Megumi saw was something that she couldn't tell burning in his eyes. She was taken aback; she could always tell what he was thinking just by looking at his eyes, but now...

He leaned closer and seemed to be heading towards the side of Megumi's neck, but instead made a detour and went towards her ear. His breath tickled the nerve receptors and sent waves of estrogen coursing throughout her body. "... you don't know how long I've wanted to do that, Takani... Megumi..."

*****

Somewhere, far away, a soul watched heatedly with clenched fists.