Disclaimer: here we go again with the undying disclaimer thingy. I swear upon the Rorouni Kenshin code of laws (once I finish making it) that I am telling the truth that I, CHEPOT, do not own Rorouni Kenshin. But if someone's willing to grant me the honor of owning it, it won't be a problem. I'd say yes for over a trillion times until he/she gets tired of asking me. But I guess that's just one of my sick fantasies.
Author's note: How did you like the first chapter? Yeah it probably sucked so why read the next chapter? Why? Because it would be unfair if Megumi didn't have someone to par with Sano's sweet little lovey-dovey! And oh yeah… Saito makes a guest appearance here. He needed a job so I patched him in as an extra. He's so cute when he's all pouty and begging. No… I'll reserve all the sweet memories of Saito begging me to give him a job to myself. I soooo… have no crush on him! I just find him cute! (Blush) and besides… he's married and has an adopted son. Oh well… I'm drifting off again so I guess I should stop flappin' my trap and just get on with my wittle lovwey dovwey stowy. Enjoy! Dozo!
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CHAPTER II: SUNSET REFLECTIONMegumi had stopped running (and crying) (MEGUMI: I WASN"T CRYING! I just got something in my eye) (A/N: yeah…yeah…that's what they all say) when she reached the market place. She wouldn't want to lose her reputation of being a lady by running around town, crying her eyes off. But she was in deep thoughts while walking around the crowded hustle bustle of the vendors. Trying to keep her sanity at a stable state…and trying to keep her balance through the crowd.
"Why did I feel so hurt? I don't like him right? That girl…" She remembered the face of the goddess who sat beside her adored rooster head. "Who is she?" she asked herself. She looked very sophisticated and beautiful. It's a very rare coincidence that there'll be a blonde Japanese. She knew that the girl wasn't Japanese. With her physical attributes, anyone could easily tell that she's British. What is a British girl doing in an old run down place like that? With her friends? And most importantly… with Sano?!
She assumed that it won't do any good to go back to the clinic since she don't want to be disturbed during her moments of ponder. And God knows what would happen to the patient if she went ahead and treated people in such mental condition. She headed for the other direction and went to tae's restaurant.
"Now this place will definitely keep my mind off him for a while" she said after opening the door.
"Irashaimasu!" Tae and Tsubame greeted as she went in the resto. She nodded politely; sat down; ordered some tea and tried indistinctly to clear her now, chaotic mental condition. She kept forming thoughts of sheer evil against the poor unfortunate beauty that will soon probably experience one hell of a life with her soon-to-be-husband. She wanted to get rid of the thoughts in her head telling her to give the blonde girl a medicinal overdose or stab her with virus-infected pin. But that girl is innocent. She had nothing to do with the pain that was caused by the rooster head idiot that sat beside her. Yes! The one to blame is that rooster head idiot! He should be the one sedated and stabbed with the virus-infected pin. How can he decide about marriage in his condition? With a girl whom she had never seen before! … How could he be so indecisive?!
"I'm also beautiful! I can't believe that he'd rather go for a blonde!" Megumi exclaimed as she slammed the teacup on the table, which caused everyone to look at her with surprise.
"Huh?" Megumi who finally came to her senses smiled "a-hi-hi oh look what strong teacups they have here!" she said as she patted the bottom of the cup.
"Please Megumi…don't start destroying the furniture…I just had those replaced after Sano's rampage with the town goons yester-" Tae was cut off when Megumi stood up upon the mention of his name; the name of the dreaded rooster head she had oh! So despised since that late afternoon when he announced that he was getting married.
"Thanks for the tea Tae." She said as she flipped her hair; left her pay and went on her way.
"Is there something wrong with Megumi-san?" Tsubame asked Tae.
Tae, who had no idea what just happened, shrugged her shoulders as a reply.
Megumi continued to walk through the busy market place cursing Sano all the way for his indecisiveness; his stupidity and his being so dense. She was too focused on cursing Sano that she didn't notice where she was going and bumped to a man; a tall policeman to be exact.
"Walking like that can get you arrested for serious injuries … but I guess you can cure them so you've got nothing to worry about." Said the tall policeman
Megumi turned to look at the familiar stranger who dared to insult her flawless and poised ways
"But if it's you Saito, I would doubt if I'd even try to treat you." She said nastily
"Why be so cruel?… I can see that you really have a problem. Please try solving it before recklessly wrecking havoc here in public. It may give me more problems than I am already facing with all these thieves running around Kyoto." Saito stated
"Thieves?" she asked as she turned to look at the bunch of kids who're tied in line behind Saito. "Aren't they too young?" she added
"I know… kids these days. Well, I have to hurry I still have part-time duty at the great hall." He said while casting a gray look on the bunch of juvenile delinquents.
"Part-time? Since when are policemen allowed to take part-time jobs?" Megumi posed
"Since last week when the daughter of the British ambassador arrived. I thought you'd know about it since your friend, Sanosuke Segara, is her lucky husband -to -be. I'm assigned to guard her and since Himura assured her safety at the Dojo for the meantime, I'm stuck here. " Saito explained
After her conversation with the relentless and insulting policeman, she proceeded with her previous activity. (A/N: -- Yes… cursing everything about Sano.) And it led her to the riverbanks where she sat and stared at her own reflection.
"I really hate him for doing this to me. Haven't I fed him enough? Stupid bribery…" She said sarcastically
"Uh… miss please keep it down. I'm trying to contemplate here" said the young man who sat not so far from her.
"Why do I keep drifting off like this?" she asked herself as she looked towards the young man's direction.
"And who are you to tell me what I want to do?" she retaliatorily asked the young man.
The young man stared at her "I was expecting women here in Japan, to be more gentle and lady-like."
Feeling insulted, Megumi was about to steadily scold the young man but her attempt was halted when she looked at the young man's features. His skin is as white as snow and like the Goddess whom Sano was with he possessed the most beautiful blue eyes and golden hair that shun under the orange claret sunset. He possessed the beauty that was incomparable to any man that she has met before. It was way beyond words to describe.
Megumi just stared at his eyes and in them, she saw the sorrow and loneliness of a broken hearted gentleman. How can this beauty contain such pain in his eyes? What is his burden?
"I'm sorry… Miss? Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?" the young man said as he spontaneously waved his hand over Megumi's deep purple eyes.
"Huh?" Megumi came to her senses only to realize that she was staring at the young man.
"Hi…are you okay?" he asked again
"Umm… I- I-I…. I'm okay." She replied while nodding her head.
The young man sighed in relief. "Thank goodness… I thought you've gone out cold."
Megumi is still staring at the young man's face and this made the young man uneasy.
"Is there something on my face?" he asked the beautiful stranger who at almost beside him.
"Are you by any chance British?" she asked him
The young man nodded and said, "Yes I am."
"Ah…I see. Then what are you doing here all by yourself? … Did you get dumped by a girl?" she asked…
(A/N: dumping a guy this handsome is not in my philosophy…he-he-he…after I'm done with this fic…we're goin' out for some Saturday night fun…it's no use to envy me…he-he-he)
"No… I dumped the girl."
(A/N: Tsk! Why do I even bother?)
"Then why do you look so remorsed? Aren't you supposed to be bragging about it and laughing? " She asked the boy while imagining Sano doing exactly that.
"It turned out that I was wrong…I really like the girl and now she's got someone else … I feel so stupid…" he stared at the wine-red reflection of the sun on the river water. "She came to get back at me… I just know it."
"Why don't you tell her how you really feel? I can't believe it …are all men this indecisive?" Megumi bellowed
The young man looked at her with incredulity. "Were you by any chance dumped?"
"What!" Megumi shouted "I … I was not." She turned to look away from the beaming blue eyes of the beautiful stranger who had the nerve to ask her the most critical question she had ever received so far.
"Oh I see… then what are you doing here?" he continued to interrogate the brunette doctor.
"I…I…what is it you anyway?" she protested. She knew that she couldn't possibly tell this stranger what her true feelings were. He wouldn't understand anyway.
"I'm sorry…if I offended you… I gotta be careful with what I say." He said as he hit himself to stop his stupidity impulse.
Megumi shook her head in disagreement "no… it's not your fault that I'm mad"
Megumi posed to stand up " well, it's getting late. I should get going now."
"Wait! Please stay a little longer. I want someone to talk to"
Megumi showed a sly grin "okay but you have to pay me"
"Huh?"
Megumi laughed, "I was just kidding. Did you seriously think that I was that kind of girl?"
"I am hoping you aren't" he replied in a polite manner
"Of course I'm not." She said while she flipped her silky black hair in the air
"We've been talking for quite a while now but I didn't remember catching your name." The young blonde said
"Is that a pick up line? Or merely just an invitation for a short introduction?" she asked flippantly.
"Uh… I just want your name. Oh maybe I should introduce myself first. By the way, I'm Francis Grange De Ville " he said as he stretched out his hand for a handshake.
Megumi ignored his gesture and caressed her hair "I'm Megumi"
"I should really stop acting like a bitch," Megumi said to herself.
"What a pretty name… " He complimented.
"So Francis… what is a British like you doing out here in Japan?" she asked curiously
"I … am here to look for my mother. She's Japanese."
"Really? What do you know about her then? " She asked again
"I haven't really seen her but I have a picture of her when she was young." Francis took out a picture in his pocket and gave it to Megumi.
Megumi took the picture to see who was the mysterious lady in hiding. Megumi couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the picture. If she had only known that this was the woman Francis was looking for, she wouldn't have dared to look at her picture. She couldn't bear to stare at the beautiful young lady in the picture. She immediately shoved it back to Francis to take it away.
"Do- do you know her? " he asked
Megumi couldn't say that this young boy's mother was the woman who raised her to make opium who died years ago. She couldn't bear to break his dreams of seeing his mother again. It would be better to keep quiet about it and just ignore the fact that she knew very well, the woman in the picture.
"Hu-huh? O-of course not! I-I've never seen her before. Where does she live?" she stuttered
"Huh? Oh that? I actually don't know. I just thought that I'd start looking for her here in Kyoto." Replied the poor boy with a smile.
"Well, good luck to your mother hunting." She said as she stood up.
"Are you leaving?" he asked the black-haired Japanese lady
"Umm" she nods in confirmation. "I have to cook dinner," she said as she motioned to leave the kind blonde gentleman.
Francis insisted on walking her home and she ended up walking with the nice young man right behind her.
She can tell that this young man needed company but what could she offer him? All she can do is listen to his story and comfort him. She couldn't be that harsh to reveal the truth to this hopeful young boy who may have never in his life thought that his lost mother is also her mentor in making opium.
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How's that for chapter 2? Do you think I should start the payback? He-he-he not yet… we still have to heat the grill before we thrown in the T-bone steak. Please review my work okay…and by the way… erase the idea of Francis and me going out…I just decided that he's not my type…