A/N: Happy Valentine's Day to those who celebrate it. I uploaded Matchmaker Misao ver 2 on my site (www dot geocities dot com/cheriescorner/sentakushi dot html)

Sorta more Sano arc stuff for this…

Part 15: Caught

Day 22: Wednesday

"Isn't he so adorable?" Miya scritched the puppy under its chin.

One of the residents at the manor, Beth, immediately picked up her new pet and stroked its head. "He's so precious..."

"He certainly looks like a handful," Naname commented.

"Want to hold him?" Beth offered.

"Sure...why not?" Naname held her hands out as the puppy scrambled into her lap.

"Lynne...let me borrow your camera phone...we should send a picture of this to Derrick..." Miya declared.

Lynne immediately handed her phone over. "When is Dad supposed to be back again?"

"Tomorrow," Naname answered. Then she smiled softly. "I can't wait for him to come home. These short visits to family members seem to last so long..."

Miya frowned at Lynne before turning to her sister. "Naname..."

Lynne pursed her lips. What did she do that would make her aunt make a face at the camera phone? Oh no...Too late, she realized the picture she had taken of herself and Sanosuke. While her mother looked at her sternly.

"Lynne...what is going on?"

She coughed. "Um..." She paused, seeing her mom's harsh eyes transfer to the digital photograph.

"He looks just like him when he was younger..." she whispered.

"Naname..." Miya looked at her sister sympathetically.

"Um...I can leave?" Beth volunteered before doing just that.

"Lynne...what...?"

Taking a deep breath, she gazed back at her mother. "He's real, Mom. Sanosuke. He's real. Very nice. Doesn't think badly of you at all...he actually wants to meet you..."

"You spoke to him without...telling either of us?" Miya asked quietly.

"You'd try to stop me if I did," Lynne insisted. "I...I had to meet him."

"Why?" Naname whispered.

"Because I wanted to see for myself if I really had a brother!"

Naname pressed her fingertips to her head. "I didn't know you wanted a sibling so much. I should have known...considering the amount of times I miscarried after you..."

"That has nothing to do with it," Lynne responded. "He's your son, Mom. Like it or not...What other proof do you need that-?"

"I can't believe you did this without telling us," Miya exclaimed.

"I had to see him," Lynne insisted. Then she turned to her mother. "Isn't it time to stop running away? He's a good guy, Mom. Whoever raised him at the Sagara Foundation did a good job. He wants to meet you. Just once."

"You told him about me?" Naname asked, horrified.

"No...he heard about you from someone else first. That someone else knew who I was, and it just went from there..."

"Oh my goodness...I can't breathe..."

"Mom. Relax. You have to meet him before he goes back to Virginia..."

"No. I can't..."

"I don't understand it, Mom." Lynne shook her head. "You've lived long enough without ever knowing him-"

"Who knows what kind of lies he's been-"

"Grandpa took him away from you, Mom."

At that, Miya and Naname's eyes widened.

"Lynne…how can you speak of your grandfather that way?" Miya whispered.

Swallowing hard, Lynne pressed on. "Because he wasn't the only one. Kaishou Higashidani and he…both…took Sanosuke away when he was younger."

Naname fanned herself, taking several shaking breaths. "No…"

"Mom…think back…did Grandpa ever approve of your first husband?"

Miya looked at her sister, then her niece.

"And I mean more than the typical disapproval of a father…"

Naname closed her eyes, covering her mouth with her hands to muffle the cry of anguish that emerged from her throat.

"Then it's true…" Lynne concluded. She hated seeing her mother in pain. But she had to know what happened. "Grandpa…and Sanosuke's grandfather…hatched a scheme to take him away. They didn't want you two married at all…"

Two tears trickled down her mother's cheeks.

"Lynne…" Miya trailed off.

Lynne felt her eyes mist over. "You loved him…And he loved you…but the grandfathers…thought you were both wasting your lives away…so they took him away…and lied to you both…making you think that the other was responsible for his disappearance…And all these years…Sanosuke's lived without ever knowing about his parents." She swallowed. "I know you're upset, Mom. But I can't leave him. He's family…"

"I know," Naname agreed, swiping her eyelashes with her fingertips.

"How…do you know so much? About their plans?" Miya asked.

Lynne cleared her throat. "Dr. Takani, the woman who came here with Sanosuke…her…fiancé is an intelligence officer. Sanosuke asked him to locate his family…and he came across Sanosuke's grandfather first. He went there himself to inquire…and he confessed everything…When he came back from visiting the grandfather…he gave Sanosuke information about this manor…"

Silence.

Until Miya placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. "It's your decision. We'll support you in whatever you decide…"

Day 23: Thursday, New Year's Day

            Megumi lifted her head to check the time on her nightstand. Hmm. Ten thirty a.m. Her eyes shifted to Aoshi's sleeping form beside her before settling back against his shoulder in the crook of his arm, sighing contentedly as she rested her hand on his chest.

            While she certainly had no complaints about the physical aspects of their relationship, she probably enjoyed this more than anything else. Lying in his arms, not a care in the world…her fingers on his chest unconsciously reached one of the scars formed from a bullet over a year ago.

            So much had happened since then. Memories flashed in her head of days in the hospital…as he lay looking unlike the strong man she was accustomed to seeing…She took a deep breath. Back then…they hadn't really known each other…their interactions were usually strained and…

            "Since you haven't attempted to wake me up as usual…you must be thinking about something…" he declared in a low voice.

            She smiled slightly. "Just reflecting."

            "On what?"

            "Things."

            He shifted her so that he could look into her eyes. "Sounds serious."

            "It is." She moved slightly, and his eyes noticed her fingers on his chest.

            "Hm."

            "I was thinking about how lucky I am," she stated with a satisfied smile. Her eyes twinkled. "Most couples get a kiss on New Year's Eve. I got…well…"

            A furious pounding and insistent ringing of her doorbell interrupted them. A flash of irritation entered her eyes. "Darn it…who comes calling on New Year's Day??"

            "Someone important," Aoshi answered, nudging her out of bed. "I'll get dressed…"

           Megumi threw on a robe over her short nightgown and headed to the door, surprised to see Kaoru on the other side. Aoshi emerged from the bedroom, dressed in blue jeans and a short-sleeved button down white shirt with a pale grid pattern over the entire fabric. Judging by the wrinkles, he had just pulled it out of his overnight bag.

            "Kaoru," she stated.

            "Ah." But the slight crease between his brows indicated his surprise.

            Megumi opened the door, surprised when Kaoru rushed in, hugging them both.

            "Oh, I'm so glad you're here!" she exclaimed. "You guys weren't answering your phones, so I wasn't sure if I could reach you, I wasn't sure if you were somewhere else…Misao and Okina called me to-"

            "Kaoru, stop," Megumi interrupted. The younger women did as she was told. "What…What's going on?"

            "There was a huge earthquake about three a.m. this morning on the Pacific. A tsunami hit the Big Island not too long ago, but it couldn't stop the wave, so it's coming straight to Oahu. All of the lower island is being evacuated to the northern shore. The base has some personnel trying to secure the ships and aircraft…and some other people were called in to work…"

            Aoshi immediately stepped away to retrieve his cell phone as Megumi and Kaoru watched. He pushed a button and brought the phone to his ear, listening to what appeared to be a message. After pushing another button, he waited.

            "You called?" he prompted, when someone picked up on the other line. "…All right…That's fine…All right…I'm on my way now…" He hung up then turned to the two women. "I'm going to the base."

            Megumi nodded. "All right."

            Kaoru and Megumi moved aside to let him pass through the door.

            "Have you and Himura already left your apartment?" he asked.

            Kaoru nodded. "We took what we needed. I have all the important documents and those relating to the dojo…Okina and Misao are already on their way up…I told her I'd call when we get there."

            "Good. I'll call them on the way to work."

            "Okay. Megumi can come with Kenshin and myself," Kaoru assured him.

            "I'll get dressed," Megumi stated, but not before Aoshi grasped her shoulders and pulled her to face him.

            "Don't get into trouble," he declared.

            She was about to make a retort when he kissed her lightly on the lips.

            "I'll call you when I'm done," he promised.

            "All right." And he was gone in a blink of an eye. Megumi shut the door, seeing Kaoru's preoccupied expression. "What is it?"

            After a moment, Kaoru said, "It's Sanosuke. I haven't seen him since yesterday afternoon. You wouldn't know where he is, would you?"