hey....fellas!!!!

this is my fourth chapter now....hehe...n also the second last i think.....i'll most probably be completing this fanfic in the next chapter.....so stay updated..!!! oopss....i think i spoke too soon.......just remembered that my trials is in 3 weeks time!!! arrgghhhhhh!!! bangs head against wall soooo........that means my next chapter might be a teensy late.....dun give up on me though, ok, folks??

A GREAT BIG HUG to all my reviewers out there!!! love you ppl sooooooo much........blows a kiss .Without ur reviews....i woud have shredded my story n deposited it into the waste paper basket!

okie..i think u're all probably sick n tired from hearing all this crap.....sooo......on with the story! ooo.....reminds me....i'm seriously sorry if u think i'm dropping below standard....i'm a little diappointed with this chapter cos i dun think it's as funny as the previous ones.....anyway, tell me wat u think, ok??? thankies!!! double hugs.......no ....wait.....triple hugs

Chapter 4

"It's strange....his pulse's steady, his breathing's normal and his pupils aren't glazed. I don't get this. It's like he's only sleeping so why won't he just wake up?" With her voice rising a few decibels, Megumi was clearly frustrated.

"Oh? That's it? That's easy then. Allow me," Sano jostled forward and began cracking his knuckles with an evil gleam in his eyes, chuckling when he saw the panic-stricken look on Kaoru's and Megumi's face.

"Relax......I'm not gonna beat him up or anything. What do you take me for? A street fighter ready to give anyone a bashing?" The others sweatdropped. That was exactly what they took him for.

"Alrighty then.....a few hard pokes oughta do it...," Sano rolled up his sleeves and gave Kenshin a hefty jab in the side.

Silence. No cries of "Ouch!" No wails of "Yeowwch!" And worse still, no sounds of "Oro?".

An irritated Sanosuke refused to give up. "Playing numb, huh, Great Battousai? Hmmph.......you think you're so great? Hmm? Hmm?" A series of merciless jabs ensued. "Wahahaha... .wahahahaha.....WAHAHAHAHA!!!" An evil grin plastered across his face, he looked the picture of a demon from the depths of Hell.

CRACK!! "Aaah!" Sano cried out in alarm.

Megumi, the ever-concern doctor, was all over him immediately. "Ohhh...you poor dear...have u hurt your finger? Aww...poor little over and let mama patch u up..." Megumi clucked sympathetically, oblivious to Kaoru's and Yahiko's hanging open mouths.

Sano replied by waggling his index finger in Megumi's face in a most annoying manner. "Hmm? Me? Hurt? Seems fine, though. It's probably Kenshin's ribs that's broken. Lemme see......." He poked and probed once more.

CRACK!! SNAP!! CRACK!!

"Yup, it's his ribs ...." grinned Sano, sounding really pleased with himself for being able to figure that out. His smug expression, however, was wiped off when he sensed a familiar rise in the room's temperature.

"Oo...er!" he grouped feverishly in his mind for something...anything....when he caught sight of a boiling Kaoru with steam pouring out of her ears and nose. This isn't good...how do I get out of this?? Quick, Sanosuke Sagara! Think! Think!

"AHA!" Sano muttered a silent prayer of thanks for the sudden brainwave. "I've got it!! The secret weapon!! The thing that can wake Kenshin up!!"

Sneaking a glance at Kaoru, he was enormously relieved to observe that she had ceased to resemble a livid dragon. "What is it?" the ex-dragon asked, breathlessly, with an almost amiable look. For the first time in history, Yahiko actually looked intrigued. Even Megumi was not giving him that look he got from her the other day when he was explaining to her that ice-cream tastes so much better when you're eating it upside down.

"Abracadabra!!" Sano proudly brandished the "secret weapon" high up in the air. The others craned their heads to look......

"SCOTCH TAPE??!!??" Stares of disbelief greeted him.

"Yup, it's easy....you just gotta lift up the eyelids..." Sano pried open Kenshin's eyelids with filthy fingers that Kaoru had observed to have squashed a bug just two seconds ago, "and then you stick em' up with scotch tape!! As easy as that!! Can you believe it?! Now all you gotta have is a little patience and..."

"HAI – YAHHHHH!!!!!!!" Sano was cut short by the sound of a strangled war-cry. "What the....?" He had no time to dodge before a broom, handled by a very furious Kaoru, landed squarely on his rooster head....thick as his skull was, there was no question as to whether he felt the blow, for a loud crack was heard.

Kaoru, hot on the heels of a battered Sanosuke while fully concentrated on the task of butchering him into a thousand and one pieces, was suddenly distracted by a distinctly familiar yet chilling sound.

"Ohohoho........!!" The sight of Megumi with newfound foxy ears bent over Kenshin with her lips puckered up caught her speechless. NOOOOOooooooooOOOO!!!

To her utmost surprise, it was her victim who saved the day. "No, you don't," smirked Sanosuke, with a foxy tail firmly grasped in his hand while the fox strained and strived to free itself, yelling curses that could have made any fan of Megumi's ears burn.

"Let go of me, you jerk!" The fox howled, tugging hard. "I'm gonna wake him up! Just a little kiss from the princess to awake the prince of her dreams,,,,," she added dreamily, obviously in her own world of fantasy.

"SPLASH!!!!" Freezing cold water was tipped over the fox, bringing forth a loud gasp of shock. Kaoru, with the telltale bucket still in her hands, and Sanosuke, collapsed onto the floor, laughing helplessly, unable to control the tears from streaming down their faces at the sight of a drenched vixen with drooping ears and tail. Yahiko, on the other hand, was........wait a minute........Kaoru suddenly sat up straight.

"Where's Yahiko?"