Tattered Hope: I agree. I like your username, by the way.
The-Lone-Lemon: lol Neither can I. lol Thanks for your review. ^_^
kean: lol I hope she's not going to be as sick as she seems either. lol People say that a lot about me, so I sympathize. No, there is no hope whatsoever for a KK pairing. However, that does not necessarily mean I'll be keeping the Ken/Meg pairing. You'll just have to read the sequel. I will definitely be keeping the Sou/Yumi pairing, though. ~_^
Pocky-girl: lol Thanks. I have no idea what you're talking about, but thank you nonetheless. ^_^
Jaid Skywalker: Like your username. Star Wars fan? Or is that actually your real name? Anyways, thanks! ^_^
@$$: Thank you! That's the shortest, albeit one of the nicest, reviews I've received. ^_^
Ochanoko: lol Well, you're pretty darn close, if not right on the button. They are, indeed, both lying and insane. I guess I'm doing pretty good at getting that point across, ne? Nope, No KK. Gomen. ^_^
Sobrina: I haven't seen that episode. *Pouts* too bad. Oh well, maybe they'll play it again someday. And anyways, no you don't have a lot of room to talk. I ought to make Kaoru a completely kinky psychopathic pervert just to get back at you.
But I wont.
I don't think.
Alright, to answer *all * of your questions...NO! This is NOT going to turn into a Kenshin/Kaoru pairing. I'm sorry folks, I really, really am but I'm just sick and tired of that pairing. It's been done to death. Its cooked. Fried. Vegetated. Spoiled. It's been sitting in the refrigerator for too long.
It's time to throw it out.
Alright, well, don't throw *all * of it out. It's a good pairing, really it is, I'm just tired of it. People need to think up new pairings.
*Clears throat * Now that I got that off of my chest (and got rid of the vast majority of my readers), Gomen Nasai, folks. I've decided to take a brief interlude from the mystery. *Hopefully * this chapter will have some romance.
Watch as I completely butcher this story.
Devils and Angels
Chapter 4
Soujiro sighed as he relaxed on the couch. Yumi would be home soon; she had taken a friend to the store. The day's events still spun around in his mind. 'Kenshin was right, these people really are insane.'
They had posted a 24 hour watch at the house in case Kaoru returned.
He needed to get his mind off of the case, and he began to hunt around for the remote, finally finding it on top of the TV. One of the few places it had never been before. Lying back down, he began channel surf. No, he wasn't going to watch Law and Order. He hated reality programs, he hated soap operas. He had to watch enough soap operas when Yumi was home; she loved those things. He could never understand why. Of course, it didn't help that their TV only got up to channel 24. He also hated prime time sitcoms, which meant...he didn't want to watch anything that was currently on TV. He sighed and turned it off.
He stood and began wandering around the small apartment. He considered reading a book, goodness knows, he had enough of them...but he had read each and every one of them a minimum of three times. They were mostly about boats, naval history, and the sea. He loved the ocean, and had been saving up for a yacht every since his birth mother took him to the beach when he was three.
One month before she died.
He shook his head, trying to think of something better to do than dwell on the past.
Suddenly he had a brainstorm. 'I know what I'll do. I'll cook dinner! Yumi will be tired when she gets back and wont feel like cooking...it would be nice to have dinner ready for her.'
Not that he knew how to cook. During his existence as a bachelor he lived off of TV dinners and ready-to-serve canned soups. He walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He hadn't the slightest clue what half of the stuff was. He began opening cupboards at random. Well, he would need a large skillet...two plates...two forks...a sharp knife...salt...pepper...garlic powder...real garlic...onion...oh, how about some red pepper as well? Oh, might as well take down the oregano and parsley.
He began chopping up the onion. Half didn't look like enough. So, he chopped up the entire thing. Next to the garlic...well, he had garlic powder, did he really need real garlic? He put the garlic back.
He went back to the fridge. What exactly was he fixing, anyway? Eggs. He had heard about egg casserole on the radio. Maybe that's what he was fixing. Yeah, that's it, egg casserole! Okay, he took out the eggs. Oooohh, and green beans! And potato...oh and ham.
Actually, on second thought, he didn't like ham that much.
But there was ground beef. Cooked ground beef. Yeah...
***
When Yumi walked through the door, she smelled smoke. 'Oh no. What if Soujiro is asleep and can't smell the smoke? It's a good thing I got home...'
The smoke seemed to be coming from the kitchen. She threw her purse and keys down on the table by the door and went running into the kitchen, not sure what she would find.
'Oh, please have Soujiro be all right, please have Soujiro be all right...'
She stopped dead in her tracks as she looked into the kitchen.
Soujiro was cooking.
Soujiro was actually cooking.
Hell must have frozen over.
Actually, Soujiro wasn't cooking; Soujiro was washing the dishes. The skillet on the stove behind him was cooking. And smoking. Quite profusely.
"What are you doing?" Yumi asked, making Soujiro jump and drop the bowl he was holding. Thankfully, it only fell as far as the sink.
"Uh..." Soujiro hurriedly picked up the bowl and checked it over, making sure it wasn't broken. "I...uh...I was trying to fix dinner."
Yumi, with her hands on her hips, looked at Soujiro, then looked at the skillet, which was still smoking. She then proceeded to look back at Soujiro, who was smiling sheepishly. Slowly, she shook her head. Soujiro glared at the skillet. After a moment, Soujiro's eyes lit up and he began grinning. Gesturing grandly toward the skillet, he proudly announced: "We're having smoked eggs tonight!"
***
Yumi chewed. And chewed. And chewed. And chewed. Soujiro was beginning to get worried.
"It's, um..." She chewed some more. "It's um..." Finally she swallowed and smiled. "It's very good! The charcoal ands an interesting texture to it."
Soujiro grinned and took a bite. Well, it was...different.
(A/N this is how I cook. Although, I have yet to chop up a whole onion in a meal for two. I do have *that* much common sense.)
Yumi sighed and leaned her head on Soujiro's shoulder, as they were sitting side by side on the couch, mostly due to the fact that they didn't have a dining table.
"That was very sweet of you to cook dinner."
Soujiro smiled proudly. "Well, I knew you were going to be tired. I'm just glad it's edible."
"So how is the case going?"
He gave a small shrug and shook his head. "It's insane. We get these pictures, like the girl is being held against her will...turns out the pictures were her idea."
Yumi stared at Soujiro. "Why...would she want to do that?"
He shook his head, thinking I about it. "I...have...no...idea."
The clock ticked as the both sat there, each one thinking about something different. Soujiro sighed. They still had to interrogate Enishi tomorrow. He was curious to see what the man would say about Tomoe's comments.
Suddenly a sly smile spread across Yumi's face. "Why don't we ever take pictures?"
Soujiro looked at his wife and blinked, trying to think of an answer. "Um...where do you get these ideas?"
Yumi grinned and shrugged then laughed at her husband's bewildered expression. "I take that as a no?"
"Yeeaahh..." He said slowly.
Yumi pouted. "Too bad."
***
Kenshin sighed as he walked in to his house, closing and locking the front door behind him. He could see lights on in the living room and frowned. The children shouldn't be up this late. They both had school in the morning.
He hung up his coat and headed into the living room, quite surprised to see Megumi sitting in one of the recliners, watching TV.
"What are you doing here?" Kenshin asked, not realizing how that sounded.
Megumi glared at him. "It's my house, too."
He shook his head. "I'm sorry...I...I didn't mean it like that..."
Megumi's expression softened a bit.
"So, um...I thought you were at work." Kenshin said softly.
"Tonight is my night off."
"Oh."
Kenshin stood there for a moment. Megumi turned back to the TV.
"Anything interesting on?" He asked quietly.
She shrugged. "I'm watching a movie about an earthquake."
All kinds of questions ran through Kenshin's mind- 'May I join you?' 'How was your day?' 'Would you like something to eat?' 'Can I get you anything?' 'How are the children?'-but he never voiced any of them. He simply turned and headed back to the bedroom.
Alone.
***
"I have to get ready for work." Soujiro said with a smile, though he didn't bother to move.
Yumi pouted. "I few more minutes won't hurt."
"The lieutenant can be very tolerant, but if I'm late..."
"You won't be. Just a few more minutes."
Soujiro rested his head on Yumi's chest. "Five minutes."
Yumi grinned. She always enjoyed getting her way. "It gets so lonely here after you leave."
"Don't you work today?"
"No, remember, today is Friday."
"Oh. Well, why don't you go over and visit your brother? Doesn't he live nearby?"
Yumi glared at him and he instantly regretted saying that. He kept forgetting that her family refused to speak to her when she re-married.
"I'm sorry." He said.
She shook her head. "Your memory keeps getting worse and worse."
"I know, I know, I'm sorry." He lifted his head up slightly to look at the clock. "It's been five minutes."
"Oohh...five more."
"I really got get ready." He began to stand but she grabbed his arm and dragged him back on to the bed.
"Five more minutes, and I'll fix breakfast while your getting dressed."
He smiled as he slipped an arm around her waist and laid his head back down on her chest. "Five minutes."
***
"Good morning, lieutenant!" Soujiro quipped cheerfully as Kenshin passed by his desk.
Kenshin stopped and looked at the young detective. "How can you be so cheerful in the morning?"
Soujiro looked up with his customary bewildered expression and shrugged. "Um...breakfast helps."
Kenshin shook his head and began to walk off. Soujiro stood and followed the lieutenant into his office.
"Do you ever eat breakfast?" Soujiro asked.
"No, I'm too busy."
"Well, that's why they make things for people on the go. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Or at least that's what Yumi tells me. She's a massage therapist, so she knows quite a bit about health. More than I do, anyway."
Kenshin rolled his eyes and began searching for a bottle of aspirin.
"It's in the bottom left drawer, buried under some paperwork."
Kenshin looked up. "What?"
"The aspirin. It's in the bottom left drawer, buried under some paperwork. That is what you're looking for, isn't it?"
Kenshin slowly looked back down to the desk and opened the drawer, shoving around some paperwork...
Lo and behold! There was the aspirin he had been looking for for the past two weeks.
"How did you know?" He asked Soujiro as he took off the lid.
"I saw you put it there when you first brought it in. Plus I had to borrow a few the other day. I hope you don't mind."
Kenshin shook his head as he reached for his coffee cup. "How did you know I was looking for aspirin?"
"You look like you have a hangover."
"I do?"
"Yeah. So who is interrogating Enishi?"
"You."
Soujiro thought for a moment. "Oookay. And I take it that Kaoru never showed up?"
"No she didn't."
Soujiro nodded. "I guess I'll get started with Enishi, then."
***
Soujiro sighed as he looked through the one-way mirror of the interrogation room at Enishi. The man was staring at the one-way mirror. Either that or his own reflection, Soujiro wasn't sure which. Either way, he had his arms crossed and looked quite surly.
This was not something Soujiro was looking forward to.
*********************************************************
I figure that's a good place to end this chapter. It'll keep y'all in suspense (I hope). I apologize for the lack of interesting content in this chapter-I wanted to drag it out a bit, and give you a view of Soujiro's and Kenshin's home lives, i.e. some romance, at which point my split personality took over a bit. She's really good at writing dull, boring, sappy things.
So, I suppose I have to give her some credit.
This chapter was co-authored by The Monster in your Dreams and Angel of the Deceased.
Angel does have an account here, but for your own sake, DO NOT READ HER FICS!!!! They are AWFUL! Except, maybe, Game Over, her Star Trek: Enterprise parody. She's pretty good at writing parodies. But her drama and romance stories SUCK. Of course, I'm pretty bad at writing romance as well. But she seems to value quantity over quality. Anyway, I'm sorry, enough complaining.
Well, I hope I haven't scared away all of my readers with this chapter.
I'd like to thank each and every one of my reviewers! Please keep reviewing! It makes me want to continue this story! So you want me to keep writing this story? Keep reviewing! ^_^
Thanks y'all! I'll try to make the next chappie more interesting. lol
~The Monster~ ~_^
The-Lone-Lemon: lol Neither can I. lol Thanks for your review. ^_^
kean: lol I hope she's not going to be as sick as she seems either. lol People say that a lot about me, so I sympathize. No, there is no hope whatsoever for a KK pairing. However, that does not necessarily mean I'll be keeping the Ken/Meg pairing. You'll just have to read the sequel. I will definitely be keeping the Sou/Yumi pairing, though. ~_^
Pocky-girl: lol Thanks. I have no idea what you're talking about, but thank you nonetheless. ^_^
Jaid Skywalker: Like your username. Star Wars fan? Or is that actually your real name? Anyways, thanks! ^_^
@$$: Thank you! That's the shortest, albeit one of the nicest, reviews I've received. ^_^
Ochanoko: lol Well, you're pretty darn close, if not right on the button. They are, indeed, both lying and insane. I guess I'm doing pretty good at getting that point across, ne? Nope, No KK. Gomen. ^_^
Sobrina: I haven't seen that episode. *Pouts* too bad. Oh well, maybe they'll play it again someday. And anyways, no you don't have a lot of room to talk. I ought to make Kaoru a completely kinky psychopathic pervert just to get back at you.
But I wont.
I don't think.
Alright, to answer *all * of your questions...NO! This is NOT going to turn into a Kenshin/Kaoru pairing. I'm sorry folks, I really, really am but I'm just sick and tired of that pairing. It's been done to death. Its cooked. Fried. Vegetated. Spoiled. It's been sitting in the refrigerator for too long.
It's time to throw it out.
Alright, well, don't throw *all * of it out. It's a good pairing, really it is, I'm just tired of it. People need to think up new pairings.
*Clears throat * Now that I got that off of my chest (and got rid of the vast majority of my readers), Gomen Nasai, folks. I've decided to take a brief interlude from the mystery. *Hopefully * this chapter will have some romance.
Watch as I completely butcher this story.
Devils and Angels
Chapter 4
Soujiro sighed as he relaxed on the couch. Yumi would be home soon; she had taken a friend to the store. The day's events still spun around in his mind. 'Kenshin was right, these people really are insane.'
They had posted a 24 hour watch at the house in case Kaoru returned.
He needed to get his mind off of the case, and he began to hunt around for the remote, finally finding it on top of the TV. One of the few places it had never been before. Lying back down, he began channel surf. No, he wasn't going to watch Law and Order. He hated reality programs, he hated soap operas. He had to watch enough soap operas when Yumi was home; she loved those things. He could never understand why. Of course, it didn't help that their TV only got up to channel 24. He also hated prime time sitcoms, which meant...he didn't want to watch anything that was currently on TV. He sighed and turned it off.
He stood and began wandering around the small apartment. He considered reading a book, goodness knows, he had enough of them...but he had read each and every one of them a minimum of three times. They were mostly about boats, naval history, and the sea. He loved the ocean, and had been saving up for a yacht every since his birth mother took him to the beach when he was three.
One month before she died.
He shook his head, trying to think of something better to do than dwell on the past.
Suddenly he had a brainstorm. 'I know what I'll do. I'll cook dinner! Yumi will be tired when she gets back and wont feel like cooking...it would be nice to have dinner ready for her.'
Not that he knew how to cook. During his existence as a bachelor he lived off of TV dinners and ready-to-serve canned soups. He walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He hadn't the slightest clue what half of the stuff was. He began opening cupboards at random. Well, he would need a large skillet...two plates...two forks...a sharp knife...salt...pepper...garlic powder...real garlic...onion...oh, how about some red pepper as well? Oh, might as well take down the oregano and parsley.
He began chopping up the onion. Half didn't look like enough. So, he chopped up the entire thing. Next to the garlic...well, he had garlic powder, did he really need real garlic? He put the garlic back.
He went back to the fridge. What exactly was he fixing, anyway? Eggs. He had heard about egg casserole on the radio. Maybe that's what he was fixing. Yeah, that's it, egg casserole! Okay, he took out the eggs. Oooohh, and green beans! And potato...oh and ham.
Actually, on second thought, he didn't like ham that much.
But there was ground beef. Cooked ground beef. Yeah...
***
When Yumi walked through the door, she smelled smoke. 'Oh no. What if Soujiro is asleep and can't smell the smoke? It's a good thing I got home...'
The smoke seemed to be coming from the kitchen. She threw her purse and keys down on the table by the door and went running into the kitchen, not sure what she would find.
'Oh, please have Soujiro be all right, please have Soujiro be all right...'
She stopped dead in her tracks as she looked into the kitchen.
Soujiro was cooking.
Soujiro was actually cooking.
Hell must have frozen over.
Actually, Soujiro wasn't cooking; Soujiro was washing the dishes. The skillet on the stove behind him was cooking. And smoking. Quite profusely.
"What are you doing?" Yumi asked, making Soujiro jump and drop the bowl he was holding. Thankfully, it only fell as far as the sink.
"Uh..." Soujiro hurriedly picked up the bowl and checked it over, making sure it wasn't broken. "I...uh...I was trying to fix dinner."
Yumi, with her hands on her hips, looked at Soujiro, then looked at the skillet, which was still smoking. She then proceeded to look back at Soujiro, who was smiling sheepishly. Slowly, she shook her head. Soujiro glared at the skillet. After a moment, Soujiro's eyes lit up and he began grinning. Gesturing grandly toward the skillet, he proudly announced: "We're having smoked eggs tonight!"
***
Yumi chewed. And chewed. And chewed. And chewed. Soujiro was beginning to get worried.
"It's, um..." She chewed some more. "It's um..." Finally she swallowed and smiled. "It's very good! The charcoal ands an interesting texture to it."
Soujiro grinned and took a bite. Well, it was...different.
(A/N this is how I cook. Although, I have yet to chop up a whole onion in a meal for two. I do have *that* much common sense.)
Yumi sighed and leaned her head on Soujiro's shoulder, as they were sitting side by side on the couch, mostly due to the fact that they didn't have a dining table.
"That was very sweet of you to cook dinner."
Soujiro smiled proudly. "Well, I knew you were going to be tired. I'm just glad it's edible."
"So how is the case going?"
He gave a small shrug and shook his head. "It's insane. We get these pictures, like the girl is being held against her will...turns out the pictures were her idea."
Yumi stared at Soujiro. "Why...would she want to do that?"
He shook his head, thinking I about it. "I...have...no...idea."
The clock ticked as the both sat there, each one thinking about something different. Soujiro sighed. They still had to interrogate Enishi tomorrow. He was curious to see what the man would say about Tomoe's comments.
Suddenly a sly smile spread across Yumi's face. "Why don't we ever take pictures?"
Soujiro looked at his wife and blinked, trying to think of an answer. "Um...where do you get these ideas?"
Yumi grinned and shrugged then laughed at her husband's bewildered expression. "I take that as a no?"
"Yeeaahh..." He said slowly.
Yumi pouted. "Too bad."
***
Kenshin sighed as he walked in to his house, closing and locking the front door behind him. He could see lights on in the living room and frowned. The children shouldn't be up this late. They both had school in the morning.
He hung up his coat and headed into the living room, quite surprised to see Megumi sitting in one of the recliners, watching TV.
"What are you doing here?" Kenshin asked, not realizing how that sounded.
Megumi glared at him. "It's my house, too."
He shook his head. "I'm sorry...I...I didn't mean it like that..."
Megumi's expression softened a bit.
"So, um...I thought you were at work." Kenshin said softly.
"Tonight is my night off."
"Oh."
Kenshin stood there for a moment. Megumi turned back to the TV.
"Anything interesting on?" He asked quietly.
She shrugged. "I'm watching a movie about an earthquake."
All kinds of questions ran through Kenshin's mind- 'May I join you?' 'How was your day?' 'Would you like something to eat?' 'Can I get you anything?' 'How are the children?'-but he never voiced any of them. He simply turned and headed back to the bedroom.
Alone.
***
"I have to get ready for work." Soujiro said with a smile, though he didn't bother to move.
Yumi pouted. "I few more minutes won't hurt."
"The lieutenant can be very tolerant, but if I'm late..."
"You won't be. Just a few more minutes."
Soujiro rested his head on Yumi's chest. "Five minutes."
Yumi grinned. She always enjoyed getting her way. "It gets so lonely here after you leave."
"Don't you work today?"
"No, remember, today is Friday."
"Oh. Well, why don't you go over and visit your brother? Doesn't he live nearby?"
Yumi glared at him and he instantly regretted saying that. He kept forgetting that her family refused to speak to her when she re-married.
"I'm sorry." He said.
She shook her head. "Your memory keeps getting worse and worse."
"I know, I know, I'm sorry." He lifted his head up slightly to look at the clock. "It's been five minutes."
"Oohh...five more."
"I really got get ready." He began to stand but she grabbed his arm and dragged him back on to the bed.
"Five more minutes, and I'll fix breakfast while your getting dressed."
He smiled as he slipped an arm around her waist and laid his head back down on her chest. "Five minutes."
***
"Good morning, lieutenant!" Soujiro quipped cheerfully as Kenshin passed by his desk.
Kenshin stopped and looked at the young detective. "How can you be so cheerful in the morning?"
Soujiro looked up with his customary bewildered expression and shrugged. "Um...breakfast helps."
Kenshin shook his head and began to walk off. Soujiro stood and followed the lieutenant into his office.
"Do you ever eat breakfast?" Soujiro asked.
"No, I'm too busy."
"Well, that's why they make things for people on the go. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Or at least that's what Yumi tells me. She's a massage therapist, so she knows quite a bit about health. More than I do, anyway."
Kenshin rolled his eyes and began searching for a bottle of aspirin.
"It's in the bottom left drawer, buried under some paperwork."
Kenshin looked up. "What?"
"The aspirin. It's in the bottom left drawer, buried under some paperwork. That is what you're looking for, isn't it?"
Kenshin slowly looked back down to the desk and opened the drawer, shoving around some paperwork...
Lo and behold! There was the aspirin he had been looking for for the past two weeks.
"How did you know?" He asked Soujiro as he took off the lid.
"I saw you put it there when you first brought it in. Plus I had to borrow a few the other day. I hope you don't mind."
Kenshin shook his head as he reached for his coffee cup. "How did you know I was looking for aspirin?"
"You look like you have a hangover."
"I do?"
"Yeah. So who is interrogating Enishi?"
"You."
Soujiro thought for a moment. "Oookay. And I take it that Kaoru never showed up?"
"No she didn't."
Soujiro nodded. "I guess I'll get started with Enishi, then."
***
Soujiro sighed as he looked through the one-way mirror of the interrogation room at Enishi. The man was staring at the one-way mirror. Either that or his own reflection, Soujiro wasn't sure which. Either way, he had his arms crossed and looked quite surly.
This was not something Soujiro was looking forward to.
*********************************************************
I figure that's a good place to end this chapter. It'll keep y'all in suspense (I hope). I apologize for the lack of interesting content in this chapter-I wanted to drag it out a bit, and give you a view of Soujiro's and Kenshin's home lives, i.e. some romance, at which point my split personality took over a bit. She's really good at writing dull, boring, sappy things.
So, I suppose I have to give her some credit.
This chapter was co-authored by The Monster in your Dreams and Angel of the Deceased.
Angel does have an account here, but for your own sake, DO NOT READ HER FICS!!!! They are AWFUL! Except, maybe, Game Over, her Star Trek: Enterprise parody. She's pretty good at writing parodies. But her drama and romance stories SUCK. Of course, I'm pretty bad at writing romance as well. But she seems to value quantity over quality. Anyway, I'm sorry, enough complaining.
Well, I hope I haven't scared away all of my readers with this chapter.
I'd like to thank each and every one of my reviewers! Please keep reviewing! It makes me want to continue this story! So you want me to keep writing this story? Keep reviewing! ^_^
Thanks y'all! I'll try to make the next chappie more interesting. lol
~The Monster~ ~_^