Tofu of Change
Chapter 3: Consequences of animosity
Disclaimer: FINE!! I don't own anything in RK! Not even my OC! Oh wait, at least I own THAT!! Take that you stupid lawyers! Nyah! ::Sticks out tongue::
Lexi: WOOT!! I do another chapter! Sadly, it appears that I didn't get enough reviews, so…::Goes off into corner to cry::
Sano: ::Unsure whether to feel relieved or worried about drowning from all the tears::
Lexi: But some people DID review…so…thank you…::Watery grin:: That is, thank you to Jasmine Reinier, GreenEyedFloozy, samuraiduck27, and DoubleNatural…you guys make me feel HAPPY!! And anyone else who read and didn't review...well, you suck lead! ::Sticks out tongue::
Sano: Are you sure it's not the 12 pounds of chocolate you just ate that's making you happy?
Lexi: …Er, fairly sure…
Sano: ::Shakes head and sighs::
Lexi: Enough of that…ON WITH THE FIC!
P.S: This chapter is dedicated to cleo…you gave some AWESOME ideas!!
Sano rubbed his head. Something felt…odd. Out of place. Missing, really, was more of the right term. He sat up abruptly and bit his lip to make sure he wasn't dreaming. His…hair. (A/N: With these guys, it's always their hair, isn't it? ) It was…gone. Instead of the happy, usual, messy-sticky-out-ish-ness that he had come to love, it was all sleek and…his headband was gone, too! What was going on?!
Yahiko is going to DIE…I bet HE did this!
He hopped off the futon and swayed. He was used to being tall, but not THIS tall. THIS was just wrong. Plus, what in Kami's name was he WEARING?! He pulled at the trench coat in wonder.
Che…that little brat really went all out for this little ruse. Well, it's not funny!
The shoji slid open, and in walked Misao with a tray of green tea. "Good morning, Aoshi-sama!" She said, starry-eyed and hyper as usual.
I doubt Yahiko would do something THIS elaborate…cutting my hair, yes. Stealing my headband, yes. Putting on the trench coat, maybe. Transporting me to the Aoi-ya and hiring Misao to call me Aoshi-sama, no way. Something VERY strange is going on…
"Aoshi-sama?" Misao asked, waving her hand in front of his face.
He snapped out of his internal reverie. "Uh…yes, Misao?"
She looked at him oddly. "Your tea's getting cold."
"Oh, uh…I don't feel like tea." He said, with a half grin.
Misao stopped dead in the middle of a sip. "Aoshi-sama…you said you didn't feel like tea. And you almost grinned. Are you feeling ok?!"
"You know what? I really don't know." Sano said.
Aoshi woke up, and his first conscious thought was…
Tea…I need tea…
His head was too bleary to really respond to anything before he had tea, but it quickly registered that he was NOT at the Aoi-ya. He stumbled in the direction of what he HOPED was the kitchen.
Tea…must…have…tea…
He set about making it, eyes half open, but vision slowly coming back to normal.
Tea…tea…tea…tea…
Someone walked in. He whipped around, suddenly alert.
"Oro? What are you doing in the kitchen, Sano?"
Tea…but…
Aoshi lunged at "Kenshin". "DIE BATTOSAI!!" He reached for his kodachis, but his hand met only a pocket, the contents of which consisted of a small fishbone and some lint.
DAMNIT ALL! THIS BETTER BE A DREAM!!
"Er…Sanosuke? Are you alright?"
Aoshi took a deep breath. "You know what? I really don't know."
After his encounter with "Sanosuke", Saito did some thinking. (A/N: Gasp! Saito thinking?! Saito: ::Glares:: )
Now Sagara's looking for TEA?! This has GOT to be looked into…I mean, I could understand SHINOMORI looking for tea, but…hold it…
He ran back to the kitchen, where "Sano" was calmly sitting, deep in thought, sipping tea.
"OK, Shinomori, it happened to you too, didn't it?!"
"Sano" blinked in amazement. "What do you mean, me 'too'?"
Saito came THIS close to rolling his eyes. "You and Sagara switched bodies, didn't you?"
"I don't know what happened to the freeloader, but yes, I'm Aoshi."
"And I'm Saito."
"I figured. You're stuck in Kenshin's body?"
He grimaced. "Sadly yes…"
"And…Kenshin?"
"In mine."
"This could be a problem."
"I agree. Let's find Sagara and Kenshin and have a victims meeting."
"I'm fine!! I swear!"
"I don't believe you…come ON!"
Misao dragged "Aoshi" in the direction of the local clinic. Luckily for him, Megumi wasn't there, being at her OWN clinic back in Tokyo. Otherwise, things might've gotten real messy real fast.
"I'm telling you, something's WRONG with you! You ARE NOT all right! Now come on!"
He sighed and followed her reluctantly but obediently.
"What do you want?"
"Battosai, it's kind of an emergency."
Kenshin sighed. "What kind of emergency?"
"We-ell…" Saito said, looking pointedly at Aoshi.
He echoed Kenshin's sigh. "I'm stuck in the bird-head's body."
Groaning, Kenshin rubbed the back of his head. "This one knows not what to do, that he does not."
"We were planning to invite Misao and 'Aoshi' from the Aoi-ya to Tokyo; hopefully something can work out."
-You know, this might end up amusing…-
YOU AGAIN?!
-Hmm…funny, just what Saito said last time…-
::Twitch::
-I think I might be able to help…-
How? By giving useless ideas?!
-No-o, I can temporarily go into Sano's mind and get him to convince Misao to come to Tokyo!-
…Maybe you have an idea there…
-Of course I do.-
How long will it take?
-Instantaneous…I won't be able to chitchat long; the SPG has very strict guidelines on this...-
::Blinks:: SPG?
-Split Personalities Guild. You'd be surprised at how many protagonists have split personalities…but anyway! I'll go talk to him…wait here.-
Like I have a choice…
Aoshi watched with mild concern as "Saito's" eyes flashed to purple, back to amber, to purple, etc. "I thought they only did that when he was in his OWN body."
Saito shrugged. "Well, we don't really have any experience with him being OUT of his body, do we?"
The two personalities seemed to come to an agreement. The eyes cleared to amber, and Kenshin spoke.
"Battosai's going to run over to Sano's head and try to get him to come to Tokyo so we can confer, that we can. Fortunately, we're almost halfway through the week, so it can't be TOO bad, that it can't."
-Look, don't worry, you're not imagining anything, this is Battosai with a message from Kenshin.-
::Blinks:: Whoa, really?
- ::Face fall:: Yes. Now, it's kind of an emergency…VOTCWP meeting.-
::Blinks again:: The what meeting?
-Victims Of The Crazy Western Priestess.-
The who?
- ::Another face fall:: Long story…but Kenshin and company need you in Tokyo right away… ::Crackle:: I'm breaking up…::crackle::…gotta go…hurry! By train, if possible! ::Crackle, fritz::-
I DON'T LIKE TRAINS!! Battosai, you there?
-…-
Sano shuddered. He did NOT like trains. But this sounded like a desperate situation, so he'd have to brave it.
"MISAO!!" He yelled. Fortunately, the doctor had pronounced him sound, and they had gone back to the Aoi-ya, Misao only slightly put out that her suspicions were unsubstantiated.
She bounded into the room. "Yes, Aoshi-sama?"
"Let's go to Tokyo to see our friends…we haven't seen them in forever!"
Misao blinked several times. "OK! By train?"
I feel like such a martyr… "Yes, by train."
-He's coming.-
"He's coming."
Aoshi sighed with relief. "I want to make sure he doesn't drink in that body…that alcohol intolerance isn't just myth."
Saito snickered. "Can't hold your sake, Shinomori?"
"Not in the slightest." Aoshi emotionlessly replied.
Kenshin sighed. "In the mean time, what should we do?"
"I suggest going back to that Priestess woman and find out why it effected Shinomori and Sagara."
"That works, that it does."
The Priestess looked out the window, the fox kit pawing at her foot.
"They're back again? I wonder why this time…"
A knock at the door prompted the little fox to growl.
"Hush, Shinta, it is just visitors." She opened it, and with the slightest hint of irritation in her voice, greeted the men. "Why do you return to me AGAIN?!"
It was Aoshi's turn to be awed by her hair. It's so…golden…and shiny…and yellow…and shiny…and light…and shiny…
Kenshin glared, a formidable glare in Saito's body. "Why did your spell affect our friends?"
She paled. "It…it…heh? Er…it…umm…that's not supposed to happen…"
Saito twitched. "Baka Priestess."
The Priestess smiled nervously. "Heh heh…come in, this may take a while…" She gestured to the Western-style chairs and slipped into a back room, pale blue and lilac kimono rustling slightly behind her. A few minutes later she returned, holding a large, dusty tome.
"Here we go…this is a book of every side effect that can occur in any spell. I'll see if it says anything about this one…" She flipped through it busily, blowing dust from the pages as she spoke. The fox kit wandered over to Aoshi and sniffed the bindings on his ankles. He twitched and nudged it away with the same foot. Offended, it sidled back over to the Priestess, who appeared to have found what she was looking for.
"Here! It says…it says…oh Goddess…"
"What now, baka Priestess?"
She glared. "You call me baka Priestess one more time, and I'll…"
"You'll what?"
Smiling a sweet smile, eyes still glaring, she replied, "Just remember this. I have more power in my little finger than you'll EVER have. IN YOUR WHOLE LIFE."
He mumbled some kind of an apology and sat back. "Well, what is it?"
The Priestess cleared her throat. "Well, apparently if the ones originally affected by the spell have enough open animosity, it can spread to their friends in an attempt to right the wrong. Meaning…"
"…That because Saito and this one hate each other so much, Sano and Aoshi were also affected."
She grinned weakly. "Exactly."
If Aoshi wasn't so good at controlling his emotions, he would've death glared and done a full body twitch. As it was, he still twitched slightly. "So it's Kenshin and Saito's fault that Sanosuke and I are stuck like this?"
She nodded and smiled cheerfully. "Yup! None of my fault! And if they can't come to terms with that hatred by the end of the week, you'll be stuck like this forever!"
Aoshi glared at the two of them. "You guys better make up, or else…"
Saito and Kenshin sweat dropped. This was gonna be a LOOOONG week…
Lexi: Yay! Only about 7 chapters to go!! I've decided to try for ten, but it may end up longer or shorter depending.
Sano: …Wow, a little much commitment for you, ne?
Lexi: ::Raises chin:: I can handle it!
Sano: ::Raises eyebrow in a feeble attempt to look philosophical:: Really?
Lexi: ::Falls over laughing:: AHAHAHAHA!!! Sanosuke…that face! AHAHAHA!!! ::Writhing on ground cracking up::
Sano: ::Frowns:: What face?
Lexi: ::Coughs:: Never mind…Well, there's chappie 3, PLEASE REVIEW!!!! I will accept criticism, in fact, I'll accept about ANYTHING, as long as it's not an outright dis (e-mail me if you must do so). Well, see you next chapter!! Probably in about a week, being that I'm back in school ( >. ) and have no time to write. It might even take longer...::Tears:: Anywho...see ya people!! Ja!