REAL GOOD MAN

The Kenshingumi were sitting around after dinner and chatting back and forth. Tonight was a special one as Sano, Megumi, Kenshin, Yahiko, Kaoru, Aoshi, Misao and the others were all there for the first time in quite sometime after the Enishi battle.

"Kenshin, when are you and Kaoru going to tie the knot?" Misao giggled and propped herself up against Aoshi, who looked at the red-haired man with a curious little smirk on his face.

"US?!" Kenshin countered, blushing about five different shades of red and wrenching his eyes from Kaoru's. "What about THOSE two?" He pointed to Sanosuke and Megumi, who sat next to one another, trying their best to ignore one another's presence.

Sano's head snapped up and he made to retort but Megumi beat him to it. "You HAVE to be kidding me!" She said, eyes growing wide. "ME marry HIM? You're all very funny... but it's not going to happen!"

This made Sanosuke angrier than it should have, and instead of the retort intended for Kenshin falling from his lips, he stood up, pulled her up, kicked the remaining cups and bottles off the table and placed his hands on his hips as he loomed over her.

And thus began his tirade:

"Girl you've never known no one like me
Up there in your high society."

Sano bent forward to get a good look in her eyes, the remark intended to be an insult, but it seemed only to fuel Megumi's point... She glowered up at him, secretly wondering where this would go. She'd never seen him act this way... She'd never seen him this vehement in his argument...

Sano smirked and turned a stone cold glare on Aoshi, Kenshin, and the others as he spun in a slow deliberate circle. His voice picked up a melodic tone as he continued, his gaze concentrated on Megumi once again.

"They might tell you I'm no good
Girl they need to understand
Just who I am
I may be a real bad boy
But baby I'm a real good man."

The last line sent a visible shudder through Megumi, and Sanosuke smiled. Megumi steeled herself and mentally reproached herself for allowing him... and the other's for that matter... see her weakness. At least... at least they didn't know it was all a façade... a mask that covered an attraction to the tall man that could stop Death in its tracks...

Sano tore his gaze from Megumi and grinned at the rest of the audience. Misao and Kaoru were both staring in utter disbelief, Kenshin didn't look all that surprised at the statement, though, and he had always seen the maturity in Sano. Aoshi... well, he looked like he always looked... that meditative sort of annoyed with the world kind of one eyebrow arched smirk.

Sano rolled his eyes and squatted so that he was eye level with Megumi. With a wild-cat sort of grin, he continued:

"I may drink too much and play too loud
Hang out with a rough and rowdy crowd..."

Megumi snorted and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and that's what gets you into all that trouble... THAT'S why I have to keep repairing that stupid hand of yours! Because you can't keep yourself out of brawls!"

Sanosuke only grinned at her and said:

"That don't mean I don't respect
My Mama or my Uncle Sam
Yes sir, yes ma'am"

Sano quirked an eyebrow and half expected Megumi to haul off and slap him across the face. When she didn't, he smiled and sat on the table and rested his forearms on his knees.

"What no Fox-lady?" Megumi snorted and sat back down.

"Nah... you see, you need to understand something about me, you only see this street rat with bad luck and a drinking problem..."

"Don't forget the gambling..." Misao piped up a little cheerfully. Aoshi flat out smiled, and that got most of the people sitting at the table to stare dumbstruck for no less than five minutes.

"Or the Mooching off others for food and shelter!" Kaoru turned traitor on him at the last moment... Megumi shot him an 'I-told-you-so' glare and crossed her arms...

Sanosuke sighed, but in the blink of an eye, continued to defend himself... as it would seem that everyone but Yahiko and Kenshin were against him on this issue...

"I may be a real bad boy
But baby I'm a real good man!"

It was then Yahiko decided to join the majority in their jabbing the Rooster-head's ego... "You always call me 'kid' or 'child' or '-chan'... When even I can act more mature than you at times!"

Megumi burst into laughter then and Sano spun around on the table and punched Yahiko in the gut. "If you're a man... Quit crying and TAKE it like a man!" Sano said... followed by "OWOWOWOWOWOW!"

Megumi rolled her eyes and cackled harder... "See, I told you! You just can't stop with the hitting people... maybe I should amputate that hand of yours... then you'd only have a stump to fight with... how would like that?!"

Sano growled. "Listen..." He continued...

"I might have a reckless streak
At least a country-mile wide..."

"You got that right, bub!" Kaoru piped up, looking at Kenshin and wondering why he had remained so silent throughout this whole comic episode...

"HEY!" Sano countered.

Megumi cut him off, "That and you're irresponsible, immature, crude, uncivilized..." but Sanosuke's glare shut her up promptly, and he moved so that his legs hung over the edge of the table, in effect, straddling her and trapping her in her seat.

"Megumi. I don't know what you're complaining about... You know you like every bit of that in him..." Aoshi spoke in complete sentences... again, something that surprised and shocked more than half the people there...

Sano took that comment and ran with it:

"If you're gonna run with me
It's gonna be a wild ride..."

Sano leaned in closer to Megumi to get a closer look into her eyes... Indeed, there was something that was definitely NOT hatred there... what it was, he couldn't quite tell yet... but... he would figure it out before the night was over, because, if Aoshi WAS right... (and often he was) He was going to give her the 'ride' of her life that night when they got back to her house...

With that thought, he grinned wider and spoke in a lower, more dangerous type of whisper...

"When it comes to loving you
I've got velvet hands
I'll show you how a real bad boy
Can be a real good man!"

Sanosuke did something then that unnerved Megumi who couldn't somehow quite pull away from the hand that slid from her cheek to her jaw line and then down to caress the skin of her neck and shoulder inside her kimono. She had to physically restrain herself from rolling her head back and gasping aloud.

Sanosuke picked up on the lust he'd awoken in her, and grinned as he pulled away from her and leaned back on the table. He caught Kenshin's gaze and after noting the samurai's amusement and encouragement, he turned back to Megumi, who was now wringing her kimono skirt's proverbial neck... So this is what it took to get her attention... Sano took notes well on this subject, and mentally promised her that he would explore all those different shades of lust and craving later.

Grabbing a cup of sake from the part of the table he hadn't swept clean, and took a long hard drink, before tossing it back into the kitchen somewhere. He stood up in front of everyone then and announced:

"I take all the good times I can get
I'm too young for growing up just yet!!"

Yahiko agreed and cheered at that statement, turning to Kaoru he muttered something akin to 'you could learn a lot from this guy!' –so it would seem Yahiko was a fence sitter... fine by Sano... Sano had made his point he believed, and thought it time to wind this tirade down a bit. Glancing to Kenshin who in his own way, gave him a thumbs up sign, and then to Aoshi who still had a sly sort of 'go-get-em' smirk on his face, Sano spun back around and smiled earnestly down on Megumi.

"Ain't much I can promise you
'Cept to do the best I can
I'll be damned..."

Megumi gave a last-ditch effort to resist the man looming over her, and scoffed and rolled her eyes. However, the retort she had intended for him coated itself to her tongue with some sort of oober adhesive.

Sano squatted down in front of her and broke down the last of her defenses with a genuine look of something akin to love.

"Sano..." Megumi nearly begged for him to stop before everyone saw what he could do to her... Tonight, he has awakened things inside of her she had not known existed... especially for a man like him... Before dinner, she had been content to 'hate' him for the rest of her life... and now... with one tirade and one look, she could not live another day without him...

"I'm going to finish this..." He whispered and grinned as he gave a brief glance around the room.

"I may be a real bad boy
But baby I'm a real good man..."

Megumi stood and cleared her throat... "WELL, if you're QUITE through making your point... I believe you were going to walk me back to the doctor's office." The group of people gathered around the table chuckled smugly amongst themselves... those mature enough knowing exactly what would happen when they reached their destination... They could see it playing in both Sano's and Megumi's eyes.

Sano grinned, knowing his tirade had done the trick... "Alright, Megumi. Let's go." He hopped off the table and turned to the group one last time...

"I may be a real bad boy
Oh but baby I'm a real good man..."

He said again, for emphasis... With that, he ushered Megumi to the door and somewhere outside, the Kenshingumi left at the table heard Sano laughing, a clear

'Yes I am!!'

Ringing out into the night sky.

© 2003

Aleesha Posey

Author's Notes: I don't own anything. Not the song (its Tim McGraw's.) Not the Kenshin-gumi. (Dammit.) No, sorry, not even the sake. (THAT belongs to Sano...)... I only borrowed it for a short time for the purpose of entertainment... what did you think?