Disclaimer: (singing) oh baby baby…I don't own RK you see…cause all this writing is killing me…yeah…yeah…(stop singing) what are you staring at? Is it a crime to sing? Man! It's a free world! Can't a girl be appreciated around here?
Author's note: oh my gosh! I'm really touched with all your reviews and they've really inspired me to continue (especially yukimura aiko's and crewel's)…thanks guys…I hope you will keep reviewing my work…thanks…and please tell me if it sucks. And oh…yeah…Gaby Hyatt…about your query…you'll know soon enough the answer to your question…I know how much people hate to wait but I'm sorry …you have to cause I will reveal everything soon… okay… patience goes a long way my friend…patience. (Pats Gaby Hyatt's back)
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
CHAPTER VIII: UHHHHHH…
Megumi struggled to break free from the unknown stranger's clutches "this freak thinks he can get a piece of me!" she thought…Megumi took out a pin from her kimono and jabbed it straight at the stranger but before she can totally prick her perpetrator, the moon shun on the stranger's face revealing someone she have never thought of doing such a thing to her. Someone whom she had hated yet still loved …"Sa-Sano?" she said flabbergasted as Sano lets go of her hand…
"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU GOING TO DO TO ME WITH THAT THING?!" He said furiously pointing at the shiny metal paraphernalia
"What does it look like?" Megumi snubbed the rooster-head
"GRRR! And who were you with just now? Who's this Francis freak?" he asked at an aggravated tone
"What do you care? I can befriend anyone I want and I don't need to let you know. And besides! Who died and gave you power to insult my friends…Francis is not a freak…for your information…he's more of a man than you are!" she pointed a finger
Sano saw the Sanosuke Segara troop flag fall straight down…he can clearly feel the pain of the flagpole hit his head…he was just smashed by the woman…whom she thought would understand him. "Fine! Do it your way! I-DON'T- GIVE- A – DAMN!!!!!" he shouted back at the agitated young lady doctor
"FINE!" Megumi shouted back
"FINE!" Sanosuke shouted back (again)
"FOR PETE'S SAKE! CAN YOU KEEP IT DOWN! IT'S THREE IN THE MORNING!" a neighbor shouted
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Morning the next day, everything was pretty normal in the Gensai household. The clinic was back to operation although, there weren't as much patient as there have been in the past two days. Megumi slept late (or early) so it wasn't that pleasant of a morning for her. Her head hurts like hell but she intended to keep it from her mentor to lessen the hassle. It has been quite noisy with all the chattering women outside the room …she knew it was quite normal since women gossip so vulgarly…and her clinic wasn't an exception in the list of venues. But the pain is made worse with all the whisperings and laughing noises that her patients outside are making. "I'll deal with this headache later" she thought as she intended to call on the next patient. (A/N: She was in for a surprise when she saw who the next lucky patient was)
"Good morning doctor…" Francis gleamed while holding a bag of ice over his head
"F-Francis?!…Whu-what are you doing here?" she was startled to see her British friend standing inside her clinic.
"Hi! I didn't know you were the renowned lady doctor of Kyoto…" he said with a wink
"I don't understand …what are you doing here?" She asked, amiably welcoming and assisting her patient to his seat
"I was chased by this policeman (A/N: he's a wanted man remember?) and I hit this beam…they said there was a great lady doctor here so I came to see her…I didn't know that it was you…how fortunate can I be? Now I get to have a discount," He said, still holding the bag of ice cubes on his bump.
"Discount? You must be dreaming…" she said as the fox ears pooped out on top of her head "I don't give discounts to friends…"
"That's too bad…" Francis frowned playfully
"Cause I give them 100 off" she laughed and gave Francis a light pat in the back
"Well that's a better deal…" Francis placed the ice bag on top of an empty table and gave his attention to the astonishing lady doctor who carefully tended to his bleeding and swelling bump.
It became quite silent after that time. Francis attentively followed Megumi's movements in order to lessen the pain of the bump. Francis felt Megumi's small hands dab the piece of cotton on his swelling bump then carefully wrap the gauze around his head. He barely felt the pain that he was feeling before. He actually believed that Megumi was like some miracle maker for not letting his bump hurt more unlike in other doctors he had been in, where they say that it really won't hurt a bit but it really hurts like hell…(A/N: based on my own experience, I'd say that it is soooo…. True…that's why I hate the hospital!)
"This is would've been quite serious if you aren't so hard headed…thanks to your thick skull, you'll still be alive" Megumi joked to break the deafening silence that enveloped the room.
"It makes me wanna wish that I wasn't so hard headed…then all of these mess wouldn't have happened" Francis remarked
"Do you seriously want that to happen? If all of this didn't happen you wouldn't meet me and you wouldn't be sitting here having 100 off of my services…"
The two little girls ran inside the room playing tag when they noticed the beautiful stranger sitting on the chair being treated by Megumi.
"Wow! He has beautiful blue eyes! Just like Sano's girlfriend!" Shouted Suzume
(A/N: you know those kind of scenes where a person is irritated and this red vein like thingy pops out on their heads showing that their irritation…I think this is quite like that for Megumi.)
"And he also has those same golden hair like Sano's girlfriend!" Ayame gleefully followed
"And he also looks very bright! Just like-"
Megumi just pops! And … "ALRIGHT! ALL RIGHT! SANO'S GIRLFRIEND IS EVERYTHING I'M NOT! I GET THE IDEA! SO JUST…JUST…GET OUT!" Megumi shrieked while pointing to the door
"AHHHH!" The two little girls were terrified that they just scrambled out of the room
Megumi took a while before she realized what she just did…she just shooed away Dr. Gensai's grand daughters and what's worse is that she went berserk over Sano's girlfriend…
"Are you alright?" Francis stood there looking very concerned. He knew pretty well, that those little girls's naïve admiration stabbed Megumi like a sharp knife of insecurity. He didn't want to remind anyone, especially Megumi, that he is in fact, British like the girl that he loves, which will soon be married to Megumi's beloved…Sanosuke Segara.
Megumi stood there enveloped in her chaotic thoughts. She knew that is wasn't the girls' fault that Sano is getting married to Christine, but she just can't help it. She couldn't bare the thought that this girl, was stealing everything away everything from here and she didn't really intend to. It was pretty difficult to admit that she lost this one heck of a guy to someone like her. It wouldn't be just to hit Sano and shout at him because he wasn't committed to her in the first place. She wanted to blame everything on Sano's indecisiveness to tell her how he really feels when she knew all along that he loved her. But there was this voice inside her saying that it was her fault. She wasn't bold enough to tell Sano how she really felt that he might have not looked for another and indeed found another. Another woman, whom she may consider as her rival in the throne for the fairest in the land, and who is willing to accept Sano's stupidity and shallow-mindedness. And she was right here trying to get on with her daily routine only to be reminded of this heart-stabbing pain.
Megumi trembled and it wasn't soon after that she couldn't fight the gushing rapids of tears that she cried. "Why does it hurt so much? Why can't I cure this pain?"
Francis was afraid to approach Megumi. He was afraid of rejection…He knew that this woman is indeed in great pain but he cannot bear to hold her in his arms and comfort her. He knew it would be helpful and it may give her security but he was not able to obtain the courage. He had arms to hold but they were too frozen to give warmth to this crestfallen deity. He didn't want to give her the idea that he will be there for her infatuational needs. Someone to cover up the hole that was left by the one they call Sanosuke Segara…but pity and empathy came over him…
Megumi turned around, with her eyes welling with precious pearls of sorrow. She tried to smile and said, "Sorry…I didn't want you to remember her again…I'm afraid that it might hurt y-" Megumi's eyes widened as Francis wrapped his arms around her in a vague attempt to comfort her
"I'm sorry…I'm not Sanosuke Segara…but I hope that this will comfort you …it may not do much but I hope it will help. " he said as he held her tightly
Megumi's eyes, though still welling with tears, narrowed with a smile and she said, " T-thank you…". The arms of this man is not as warm as Sano's, well, at least not to her but her new friend has found a way to give her strength. He made her realize that she was not alone in this world and he was right there beside her to help her win back something that was supposed to be hers…yes (A/N: you probably know what that is…you'd be an idiot if you don't)
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Meanwhile, back at the Dojo, things were quite busy. Everyone wants to help with Sano and Christine's big day.
"Kenshin! Can you please take those teacups over there" Kaoru pointed towards the empty corner of the room.
"Coming!" Kenshin acquiescently took the box and laid it to where Kaoru said that they were supposed to be laid. "Is that all?" he asked in hopes to help out more in the preparations for the wedding
Kaoru was making those traditional origami flowers for the wedding (A/N: and believe me she's having the worst time of her life) "waaah! Finally! I finally finished one!" she said cheerfully, showing off her finished origami.
"My! I say you did a pretty job with that turtle Kaoru-Dono" Kenshin remarked
Sadly, I don't think Kaoru took it as something positive…"Kenshin Himura!!!!!" she turned red and…(A/N: here goes the almighty tantrum!) "HOW COULD YOU! It's not a turtle!" Kaoru was enraged. How could this man insult what she had worked so hard for… it was quite insulting with him smiling all about it too!
Kenshin, not wanting to hurt Kaoru's feelings, asked "I'm sorry…. but what is it?"
Kaoru knew Kenshin was never a good liar to her and with his reaction, she'd say that he didn't really want to insult her so she sniffed and sobbed her tears and said "I-it's …it's a flower…" (A/N: if she continues to make these…the wedding would be turtle paradise!)
"Well that didn't actually look like a flower but what the heck…" he thought "Oh I see…so that explains the long green stick at the bottom… " He said hitting himself lightly in order to make up for his bad
(THIS IS A MESSAGE OF CONCERN FROM YOUR LOVING AUTHOR)
(A/N: I know it's hard to imagine a flower that looks like a turtle with a long lollipop stick, sticking out of it's abdomen but please don't strain yourself too much. I dun want my readers to overdo it and faint at the mere thought.)
"Do you need some help with that?" Kenshin asked in hopes to assist the frustrated artist
" Sure Kenshin…here!" she shoved a bundle of origami paper to the red-haired guy "I bet that if you'd help ma make them, I can get started with the dishes for dinner" she said euphorically
"D-Di-Dinner? " he asked in horror. What are the odds of Kaoru making dinner for everyone? He had to admit that she was improving but it won't be enough to swallow for those who haven't tried eating live worms and fried tarantulas. (A/N: its like fear factor … only worse)
"Well, I thought that Christine was really nice to us by giving us lots of stuff from her homeland so I figure, why not do something nice for her and so I decided! I'll cook her something very special!"
"I think I should help you with that too" Kenshin said in hopes to save everyone's tummy. (A/N: this just proves what a nice guy this person is…)
"Thanks Kenshin! (Smack)" Kaoru kissed the red haired samurai which made the samurai's face as red as his hair (A/N: for those people who wants to scold me…red is what I mean by orange here so don't go saying that I'm wrong because his hair is really orange or something…) "that's why I really love you my silly samurai!" she pounced on the poor skinny guy and threw them both out of balance. Both laid on the floor staring at the ceiling; watching the time pass by them as if nothing else matters but their affection for each other.
"Kenshin…do you wanna get married?" Kaoru asked all of a sudden
"ORO?!" was all the shocked samurai
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Meanwhile, out back of the Dojo, Sano is sitting on top of a tree, watching everyone buss over his wedding the next day. He knew that tomorrow is the faithful day that he would finally be free from all his burdens and he would hopefully find the chance to tell Megumi about this little mess that their foreign visitor made. He just hopes that Megumi still has the patience to listen to his long explanation.
He brushed his hair up and tied his bandana in place to refresh his nape from the heat. He knew it's supposed to be cold since, winter is coming in soon but why didn't he feel so cold? He stared back down at the ground where he saw something move by the bushes. It was a blonde guy! "WHAT THE-!" He jumped down and faced the stranger who's too busy hiding behind the bush to notice him. Sano peered through the stranger's vision only to see that this guy was looking straight at Christine. Christine was standing at the door telling everyone where to put the things for the wedding the next day. And this stranger seems to be staring lovingly at her. "Could it be that this is her Francine?" Sano thought to himself. "So the girl was right…he would come and ruin the wedding…"
Sano hid behind the bushes and observed the guy closely, when he noticed that it was the same guy whom he saw with Megumi yesterday. "WHAT A TWO-TIMING SLUT!!!!" he shouted in his head. He restrained himself from beating the guy up, keeping in mind what Kenshin advised him the night before. If he would beat this guy up and it would turn up to be Megumi's friend, he could be in a bigger trouble with Megumi than he already is. He must try hard not to beat this guy up…
(THIS IS BETWEEN ME AND THE CHARACTERS ONLY)
CHEPOT: that's right Sano…restrain yourself! It's not like Megumi will like him better because, he's a lot more attractive than you are…or he's richer…or he has a higher I.Q…. it's really not like that right?
Sano: SHUT UP!
CHEPOT: oh…SORRY!
The whole watching thing; lasted for about an hour until the strange European guy got tired of watching Christine shout her head off to organize everything for the wedding. The guy sat behind the bush and sighed. He buried his head in his hands and stayed like that for minutes.
"I think he's guilty for what he did to Christine…ha! Ditching a girl like that on their wedding…what a coward!" Sano said proudly to himself. But deep inside him he wanted to know the reason why this guy just ran off to Japan and left Christine in London. Christine was a charming and nice girl and one would b an idiot to pass a chance to marry her. She has everything a man could ever want. She has riches, beauty, brains and a whole lotta attitude! But what was this guy thinking when he ran away?
The curiosity was too much that he decided to jump into the water and meet this guy in person. Sano walked towards the young man and greeted him "hey! You there! What are you doing out here?"
The young man jumped in surprise making him fall on his butt upon seeing Sano approaching. (A/N: of course he doesn't know Sano yet!) "Whu-who are you?" he stuttered (A/N: told ya he doesn't know him yet)
"No one important…and you?" he asked the British back
"I- I'm just passing by…yes…I was just passing by…Uhhhh … to see how the wedding preparations are going…" Francis can't let anyone know who he is especially now that he in the police wanted list. He can't afford being put to jail before Christine's wedding day. He just can't!
"Oh…really? Are you by any chance Francis? Uhhh…what was that name again? Francis the devil? Sorry I really can't remember…"Sano shrugged his shoulders
"I-it's not devil…its grange de Ville" he corrected the spiky haired stranger
"The devil…grange de Ville? What's the diff'rence? It's practically the same. Anyways, are you that guy?" Sano gave him that strict look that says, "HEY I'M STRONGER THAN YOU ARE SO YA BTTA START SINGIN'!"
Francis didn't want to answer him. If this guy turns out to be some kinda police intelligence, he might tell on him and he might not be able to destroy the wedding…and Megumi wouldn't be together with her loved on. Many thoughts flooded through Francis' head that he failed to answer the spiky-haired stranger.
"Don't worry…I'm not going to tell on you or anything. I just want to ask you a favor…" Sano put both his hands in his pocket. "I want you to stop the wedding no matter what. Don't let it happen…don't let your girl be married to a strong, handsome and smart young Japanese guy. (A/N: I didn't think he was this proud of himself…) "
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
WAHAHAHAHA! I am sooo evil…well, I'll cut it off here for now…I just can't help making people wait so much. Snickers I still have to reveal the great secret! And it's all for you! Especially for the really puzzled Gaby Hyatt.