TWHACK!! A torn and tattered shoe thrown with deadly accuracy landed squarely on Kenshin's arm, provoking a surprise "Oro?" from him. The spoon flew out of his clenched fingers, spun wildly through the air and landed on the wooden ground with a deafening clatter, its echo ringing eerily throughout the closed-up dojo.

"KENSHIN!!!!" Yahiko was the first to break the momentary hushed silence that had fallen upon the group. "Are you nuts? How could you even THINK of trying that thing! That's suicide!" Yahiko yelled, looking aghast and hopping around on a shoeless foot in a state of frenzy.

"Why you...you little twerp!" Kaoru glowered at the kid who stared back defiantly. "You're just jealous because you don't get to taste my marvelous dish first. Well, if that's the way you're going to behave, I'm not going to allow you to try it," she added haughtily and was puzzled to see signs of immense relief.

Kaoru turned back towards her victim only to find her arch-rival planted firmly in front of him.

"AND as your doctor, I am in a position to ban you for trying anything as risky as that AND you are NOT, I repeat, NOT allowed to go against doctor's orders, you understand me?" Kenshin cowered under Megumi's severe lecturing and penetrating glare. But the determined woman was far from done.

"AND......if u are stubborn enough to not heed this warning, I'm gonna have to use THIS....ohohohoho," The sound of the evil laugh made Kenshin's hair stood on end. He peered up cautiously to see the fox woman dangling a dog collar in the air with a delighted expression.

"H...H...Help.....m....me..?" muttered Kenshin, turning pleading eyes towards Yahiko and Sanosuke. But it was the terrifying cook that came to his rescue.

"What do you think you're doing, you vixen?" Kaoru elbowed Megumi away to smile sweetly at Kenshin, who perspired. This isn't much better, though. "Kenshin, I'm SOOOOOO sorry to have kept you waiting, but I had to deal with that brat. Here, now eat up," she plonked the dish a second time in front of him.

There was no escape this time. A sudden tap on the back caught him off-guard. Stiffening, Kenshin turned, fully expecting to witness Satan himself who had came express from Hell to personally invite him there. A huge sigh of relief escaped his lips when he found himself staring at the familiar face of Sanosuke.

Sanosuke was patting him soothingly, almost reassuringly. And on his expression was the most sincere look imaginable. "You've got nothing to worry about, Kenshin," he explained to his tongue-tied pal. "I've got it all covered."

Got it all covered? I'm not sure if I understand what he's implying, but it doesn't matter. That sounds good...really good......He's got it covered...which means......... I......I...can survive!!!

All of a sudden, the world seemed a much better place to live in. The chirping of birds... the rustling of the leaves on the trees... it suddenly dawned upon Kenshin how unappreciative he had been of life. But that was all going to change now...he had gained an insight into life... and was now prepared to live life to the fullest.

A hard poke from Sanosuke brought him back to reality. "Kenshin, you listening to me? I said...there's no need for you to worry...we'll make sure you receive a proper burial and everything. Your funeral is in good hands."

Burial? Funeral? The wonderful, magical world of his dreams came crashing down, shattering into a thousand and one pieces. All at once, his impression of Sanosuke took a turn for the worse as he recalled the earlier incident. The glare he shot at Sano was so venomous-filled that Sano backed away hurriedly, tripping over a tatami mat in the process and ending up in a bruised heap on the ground.

"YOU got me into this," Kenshin muttered angrily under his breath and was about to proceed in an enjoyable task of tearing Sano from limb to limb when a timid "Kenshin?" stopped him dead in his tracks. Praying for another distraction, Kenshin looked around frantically. Alas, he saw that it was not to be. Yahiko was thrust up in the corner, firmly gagged and bounded while Megumi's movements were restrained by the very dog collar she threatened Kenshin with, chained to the furthest end of the room. And it doesn't look as if the knocked-out Sano would be up and around for some time.

A new spoon was pushed between his sweaty fingers and with a hopeful Kaoru watching, he was obliged to humor her. With a heavy heart, Kenshin lifted the now-filled spoon towards his face. Well, here goes. He squeezed his eyes tight and shoved the spoon into his gaping mouth...