A/N: *CHEERS* I got my Sano and Saitou mini-figures!!! They look awesome! Okay, on with fic.
Part 6: Thoughts
Day 7: Wednesday
"We're going to get caught," Danielle moaned. "I know we'll get caught. We're going to get detention…"
"Will you shut up?" Misao hissed.
It was barely seven forty-five a.m. at Honolulu High. They had just a few minutes before the early bird students would arrive for eight a.m. classes. Misao glanced down the locker hallway to see Stella keeping a watch out towards the amphitheater and administration building, one of the main entrances into the high school.
"Can't you work any faster?" Danielle asked as she held the lock, the keyhole facing Misao.
Misao adjusted one of the picks and jiggled another slightly. "Almost there…"
Over the summer, she had begged Aoshi to teach her to pick locks. At first, he had refused, but she harassed him every day until he gave in. Well, he gave in much faster than she thought. She knew that Aoshi would never say it, but he had a soft spot for her. And he trusted her to know that she wouldn't take advantage of her newly found skills. She wouldn't abuse them. She'd just use them to torment the stupid.
With a definitive click, Misao's grin widened. "Score…"
Danielle reached into her bag and pulled out the foam shoe string canister, handing it to Misao.
"Did you get it?" Stella asked.
"Oh yeah," Misao laughed and began to spray. "Here's for all the ladies who hate conceited atheletes…"
Stella glanced over her shoulder. "Hey! I wanna do it!"
Danielle moved to Stella's position so they could trade places. Stella gleefully sprayed the interior, the door, all over his books, clothes and other items in his locker.
Danielle glanced down the amphitheater, before glancing back towards her friends.
Misao waited.
And waited.
"Okay, that's enough…" Misao snatched the can from Stella. "You have wipes?"
Stella produced a travel pack of baby wipes from her bag and Misao took one towel out, removing any prospective traces of fingerprints.
"Hey, the concert choir class just got on campus," Danielle spoke up, hiding behind a locker in the open locker area.
Misao closed the locker, padlocked it, did one final swipe and nodded. "Okay. Let's go to the girls' bathroom the back way."
The three girls headed towards the back door of the locker area, which would lead them into the breezeway of the science building. Once in the bathroom, Misao wrapped the canister in paper towels and tossed it in the trash.
"What time is it?" Stella asked. "I wanna be there when he opens his locker."
"We still have five more minutes."
Sanosuke surveyed his living room, stacked with boxes of Kat and his belongings. The house was technically under his name…but with no wife to share it with…what was the point? He had stopped by the base yesterday, much to the surprise of his officer-in-charge, and filled out the paperwork for a transfer. The OIC hadn't asked any questions, but the transfer request was answer enough.
Pensacola, Florida sounded nice. Or San Diego, California. As long as it wasn't Virginia.
He sighed. It was all for the best. He had finished his heartbroken stage. But then again…he wasn't sure if that was the right word.
He and Kat had a decent relationship…and he did love her…but maybe not the kind of love that lasted. He had let everyone believe that his relationship was successful. But even he knew early on, that he and Kat had problems. He once told Megumi that Kat wasn't the jealous type. He lied. There were a lot of things he lied about. He sighed again, realizing how good he had been at deceiving others. His best friend…his ex-girlfriend...himself. He thought that he and Kat could overcome their problems. But last weekend was a real eye-opener.
Sanosuke looked up to the sound of a door opening.
Kat.
She met his gaze for a brief moment and looked down. "Sano. I…just came by to collect my things…"
He pointed to several boxes. "Most of your stuff is packed away."
"Thanks." She looked at him. "How come you're still here?"
"I got a few things to take care of," he admitted, shrugging.
"So you're going to Hawaii?"
"Only for a week and a half," he declared.
"And…" Kat cleared her throat. "…What about Megumi?"
He frowned. "What about her?"
"What does she think about it?"
"I thought I'd start by finding out who my real parents were, and she's going to help out if she can."
Kat's eyes widened. "That's it? You're not…You two aren't…"
Sano shook his head. "That's my goal once I get there. Anything else that comes after…I don't really know."
Her shoulders sagged. "You never cared to learn about your past when we were together…"
"Well…you told me to go to Hawaii to find myself…that's what I'm doing," Sano lifted one of her boxes. Why was she depressed? He was doing what she wanted, wasn't he?
"I know, but-"
"Where do you want this?" Sanosuke asked.
She bit her lip and turned to point at her car.
He didn't mean to upset her. But he was tired. He knew he wasn't perfect.
Interestingly enough, he didn't hurt as much anymore…he felt as if a dull object was permanently imbedded into his chest. Maybe he was just more accepting about the whole situation than others would be.
"What the hell?!" John Montano, wide receiver of Honolulu High's varsity football team, yelled out once he opened his locker.
Students buzzed around him, all looking to see what caused him to scream out. Misao, Stella, and Danielle included.
"Johnny, you must have pissed off someone," Charlene, head cheerleader, pointed out. "Kids like you don't normally get tricks."
"What'd you do, Johnny?" the quarterback asked.
"Nothing!"
"Are you sure?" Charlene asked. "Looks like a lot to me…"
Misao glanced at her two friends, who grinned back.
"Working as always, Commander," a female voice spoke up.
Aoshi looked up to see Lieutenant Theresa Williams standing in his doorway. Well, she certainly didn't look like an officer. She was wearing a yellow sleeveless blouse and gray cargo pants that ended below her knees. What did Misao call those…capris? He wasn't too sure.
He arched a brow at her tone. "Some people find work more important than trading stocks and teasing fellow co-workers or former officers-in-charge."
She smiled sheepishly. "Some leave quite an impression."
"So how's Austin doing?"
Theresa shrugged. "He's fine. We're preparing for the wedding." She moved to stand in front of his desk. "I was told that you haven't been out to lunch yet, so that's what I'm here for."
Aoshi grimaced. "Assistants talk too much."
"They're only willing to make exceptions for your former junior officers, sir."
He shook his head. "You seem a little…uplifted…I guess is the right word. What happened to the junior officer who was always strict about following protocol around me?"
"She got engaged to an uplifting guy," Theresa responded.
Aoshi hit a command key on his computer to print a report. While it was printing, he began to rearrange his desk. Theresa moved over to the printer, retrieved the papers and tapped them into a square. She stapled the corner neatly.
"Is this for Commander Saitou's review?" she asked.
"Yes." He handed her a manila file folder, which she used to store the papers. "Where do you want to go for lunch? We'll go outside."
Theresa blinked. "Don't you need to be back in an hour?"
Aoshi looked up, and from his vantage point, could see the entrance into the working area of his particular division. Commander Tokio Takagi had just walked in. "I don't think he'd mind…as long as I get my work done…"
Theresa glanced out his window. "I see." She turned back. "Well…I know a great place that serves Korean barbeque downtown…"
"It's been pretty hectic…and with Luke and I on different schedules…" Theresa paused to chew a piece of pork and rice. Swallowing, she continued, "Planning a wedding isn't easy."
"I imagine it isn't."
Theresa leaned forward. "So are the rumors true?"
"What rumors?" he frowned.
"About you and Captain Takani's daughter."
"That depends on what you've heard," he answered vaguely.
"You two are dating."
"Were dating," he corrected mildly. "I'm sure that will reach the network soon…"
"Oh, no…" her green eyes widened. "What happened?"
It certainly felt unusual talking about their personal lives. Probably more so because Luke Austin and Theresa Williams used to be on his team. They had been friends since the Naval Academy, so while he had been surprised to hear they got engaged, it wasn't completely unbelievable.
"It was too one-sided," he replied.
"Oh. Sorry to hear that…"
"She isn't over her ex," he added.
"Ouch." Theresa smiled sympathetically. "That's tough. No relationship is ever easy, though."
"You seem to be happy."
She smiled. "Because we've been friends for a long time. And we…just fit."
"Given your occupations, you must have a lot of faith," he responded, admiring that aspect about her. Theresa always had faith in people. Including him, when he was being a difficult commanding officer.
"I guess." Theresa shrugged. "I know some people make a big deal about meeting 'the one'. But I think most people don't really know that the person is 'the one' until they've grown old together and shared a life together. Because anything can happen. But going through all of that is worth it because you can look back and honestly say that you don't regret any of it."
"I've never thought about it that way before." Now that was a new idea.
"It's something my father told me," she said softly.
Aoshi set his chopsticks down while Theresa dug into her purse, retrieving a white envelope. She passed it towards him.
Carefully extracting the card inside, he skimmed the words before glancing back at her, "You're inviting me to your wedding?"
"Former COs have to go," Theresa replied. "It's an unwritten rule in Navy law."
"Are you inviting all of your former COs?" he asked, allowing a small smile to show.
"Just the ones we liked," she joked.
"I'm honored," he responded, tucking the envelope into his breast pocket. "I've never been to an officer's wedding."
"You might get some ideas for your own," she kidded.
He shot her a look. "I don't think I'll be getting married anytime soon…"
"Hey, you never know…" Her green eyes sparkled. "So end of February is a long way off. Any idea how many guests you plan to bring?"
"Your ship mechanic cancelled the wedding?" Kyoko blinked, staring at her niece.
Megumi sighed. "He isn't my ship mechanic, and he's an aviation maintenance mate. And I don't want to talk about it."
"And Aoshi?" Yuki queried.
"I don't want to talk about him, either…" Megumi looked down. While she normally enjoyed these dinners with her aunts at the hotel, she wasn't interested in the topic at hand. She swore sometimes that her aunts lived drama through her, since they had nothing going on besides a hotel and hula school to run. Both of her aunts were single, but had been married long ago.
"Goodness…"
Sighing, Megumi picked at her salad.
"I remember what it was like being young…" Kyoko sighed wistfully. "Life was much more exciting back then…"
"Who said you're old, Auntie?" Megumi spoke up.
"I am old," Kyoko argued. "Men were never that good-looking back then. And I would have held on to at least one."
"I'm not exactly feeling very generous to either of them right now," Megumi murmured.
Yuki turned curious eyes onto her. "And why is that?"
Megumi sighed, crossing her arms. "Let's just say that one thinks he still loves me, the other thinks I still love the first one." She blinked. "Wait…I thought I said I didn't want to talk about this."
"Well, you can't back out now, darling," Kyoko smiled sweetly. "Man number one would have to be the younger man you dated three or some odd years ago…number two would have to be that brooding older man you started dating in February."
"He doesn't brood," Megumi replied. "And he isn't that much older than me."
"No doubt about that," Yuki smiled back. Then her smile gentled. "So Aoshi thinks you and Sanosuke are still in love?"
Megumi raised her eyes heavenward. "Yes. He's being extremely difficult. I try to explain to him that it's over, it's been over, it will never continue, but he won't listen. He swears that what he thinks is right. And the worst part of it is that I know what he thinks. But I don't know how he feels about any of this."
"Maybe…you should look at the way he's acting…and that will answer your question," Yuki suggestion.
Megumi propped her chin in her hands. "Aoshi can be very blunt…but because he carries himself objectively…people consider that as coldness."
"Did he seem that way the last time you spoke?"
Shaking her head, Megumi replied, "No…he was angry. But he was good at making it seem like he wasn't…" Her eyes narrowed. "Why does he have to act like nothing bothers him? Showing a little emotion isn't the worst that could happen…"
"We really should have given her the handbook on 'dating alpha males'," Kyoko said to her sister.
Megumi smiled ruefully at the joke. "I could have used that a couple days ago…"
"Do you love him?" Yuki directed the question to her niece.
"Of course I love him," Megumi replied quickly, not caring that the speed of her answer could also be interpreted as denial. "I know it's hard for some people to believe because it's him. People tend to see him at the surface level. But when it's just the two of us…"
"There's a lot more depth to him than most people realize. And the fact that he's willing to reveal himself to you…makes everything more meaningful," Kyoko filled in.
Yuki and Megumi studied her for a few moments.
Kyoko smiled mysteriously, "I once dated a hotel manager very much like him. He had a commanding presence, and people respected him. Very few people saw a side that I saw."
Megumi stared at her food again. "He won't listen to me."
"Then find a situation where he will," Yuki advised.
Months ago…during Valentine's Day…Aoshi had told Megumi that he would have been willing to wait until she was ready to enter a relationship. He would have been persistent, yet patient. But he wouldn't have given up on her.
She wasn't going to give up on him, either.
NEXT! Sanosuke arrives, Okina arrives…Okina and Aoshi go Christmas shopping?? (And if the muse is feeling generous…Megumi's plans to get Aoshi's attention – maybe with a little help from Okina, Misao, and Kaoru.)
