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*Wanders in slowly* Wow… I have fics up here! O_O When did this happen?
Eh heh… sorry about the very long wait everyone, it seems that my muses decided to wander out on my during finals week, and I've been without focus since then. It's really been quite bothersome. So, I'm still writing this without them, so it might not be my best, but I just can't stand not writing anymore! By the way… if you see them… Their names are R.D. and Karen, they're about five years old, and loooove apple juice. O.o I'd like them back…
REVIEWERRRRRRSSSSSSESS!
Nigihayami Haruko- Oro… sequel? I might, but not until this one's well enough underway to where I can keep pumping out chapters. And my other one too, but I'm glad you like this one. Sorry for the repetition, but I didn't want to confuse anyone by just hopping into the middle of the action.
Serenity Blossom- I loooooooves it too!!! XD
EEevee- I prefer endings where everyone is… satisfied. It leaves the story open to be expanded upon, and generally gives a feeling of a second chance at life. And I'm sure we've all needed those at one time or another! ^^ I really need to catch up on YOUR fic though! O.o I haven't been on here in almost two months.
Estelle Stafford- I figured some people would, that's why I threw it out here for you all to enjoy (after some editing of course).
Kay Kylo- Ahh… sorry, I didn't mean to confuse anyone!! It's the way that I originally wrote the story, so it's like the first chapter but the unedited, painful parting of ways version! ^^;;
BelleDayNight- But of course! This story has become very important to me! If my muses would stay in one place long enough, I could probably pump out a chapter a day, but as such, they're running away right now… with sippy cups of apple juice -_-
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'm sure some of you are long since gone already, what with me not being able to keep pace, maybe I can pick up some new readers. Thanks, everyone. You've made this story worth continuing.
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BEGIN ACT ONE
Business as Usual
Sano sat in his cell, staring blankly at the wall. His mind had been wandering a lot lately, thoughts of his friends on the outside, how he always seemed to coerce Tae into giving him a free meal, but most of his thoughts lingered around Kaoru. Her image always hovered around his mind, ever present, ever torturous for the imprisoned man. The feel of her skin, her lips, her body against his; dark raven hair framing a beautiful pair of blue eyes, sharp nose, and an amazing smile.
"And now, I might not ever see her again, if this mission goes sour," he realized, running his thumb along the cool stone wall that kept him from his freedom. Sighing, he closed his eyes, trying to rid himself of the thoughts that troubled him. It did little though, and his mind continued to wander back to his life outside. It seemed like it'd been such a long time, though it'd only been a week at most. Being able to tell time was one of those things that was a privilege in prison, only the inmates close to finishing their sentence had a window in their cell, and, since he'd be in for life at best, that was out of the realm of possibility.
His thoughts were broken by the short 'Clip-clip' of shoes making their way down the hall, most likely towards his cell. The groans and whines of other inmates fell upon deaf ears as the young officer stopped in front of Sanosuke's cell. He couldn't have been more than a year older than Sano, but his cold features, and ruthless brown eyes made him appear closer to thirty.
"Time to go, scum…" he growled, unlocking the cell, swinging the door open wide. He stepped back, waiting for Sano to walk out. When he didn't he turned back to the gangster, and shouted, "DID YOU NOT HEAR ME? I told you to get out, and I expect you to do exactly as you're told, you worthless gutter scum."
Stretching, the spiky haired prisoner rose to his feet, taking small, measured steps towards the cell door, and out into the hall. Upon reaching the officer, he turned his head, blinking at the man. "You know of course," he began, smirking, "that if I wanted, I could hit you hard enough to where no one would be able to recognize you, since your bones'd crumble to dust."
The officer bit his lip, his confidence wavering a bit, but then shoved the muzzle of the gun he carried into Sano's chest. "Get moving, Saito doesn't like to be kept waiting."
"Peh… whatever, I really don't…" Sano silenced himself as the guard pushed the muzzle harder against his chest, obviously at the heart.
"Get… moving," he growled, though the fear on his face showed that he was actually terrified.
"Of course, who wouldn't be?" Sano thought, grinning as he began to walk. "He knows that I can make good on that statement, and that gun can only give him so much security… Peh, whatever though, it's really not worth my time to think about beating the shit out someone like him, when I'm going to have plenty of chances to do that over the next little bit."
As they continued through, more guards joined up, probably trying to make sure that he wouldn't be able to make a break for it. Mentally, he kept track of their number, and, after a few moments, decided that if he really felt like it, he could take out half of them in the first blow, then use a Futae No Kiwami, and blow the rest of them off their feet. But, he had a more centralized interest today, this mission. Minokin, and a chance at revenge.
"Ah… I see that the moron actually came along. Maybe he's not stupid after all, just foolish," Saito's smug voice echoed through the entrance of the prison. Sano growled as the man's sharp features came into view, that every present cigarette dangling out of the side of his mouth, though it wasn't lit yet.
"Though… given the choice between killing Minokin and beating the shit out of this guy, I'd be hard pressed to give an answer," he thought, biting his lip to keep from saying too much. Being on the wrong end of about ten guns and the legendary Wolf wasn't exactly his idea of a good time.
"Well moron, I guess you've decided to go along with our little plan?" Saito asked, pulling out a match box, moving to light his cigarette.
"Yeah, seems like the best option," Sano shrugged, keeping his eyes locked on the Wolf. He still didn't trust him, though they'd been forced to work together before.
"Listen, I really don't want to waste too much time on this, it's really a waste of time for me to explain, you'll forget anyway," Saito spoke around the cigarette, taking a pull off of it, while Sano glared and fumed at the smug smokestack. "But, I suppose you do need a briefing. You know your target, the mission, the conditions, and where it will take place. There've been a few changes though, and as much as I fought it, the officials want it this way."
Sano stood, curious now. "Saito looks pissed, wonder what's got him so riled up about a few changes in the mission?"
"You'll be working with two partners, you know both of them. I would have preferred you go alone, but some people think it's better if missions are handled with… teams," he almost spat the word, and Sano wasn't too surprised. He wasn't called the Wolf of Mibu for nothing, and he could more than hold his own in a fight, no matter who it was against.
"So, can you tell m…" he began, before Saito raised a hand, glaring at him.
"I'm not done yet, moron." Lowering his hand, he continued, "You know both your partners, you'll be meeting up with them in Kyoto. Now, you can talk."
Sano glared at Saito, wishing to every god in the world that they would wipe him off the planet. Struggling a little, he managed to give him a cocky smile. "Doesn't sound too bad… I guess I'll get more information when I get there?"
Saito nodded, taking another draw off the cigarette. An evil smile crept across his face, and he chuckled lightly. "Oh yes… one more thing before you get escorted…"
"Neh, what's that?" Sano asked, giving his trademark grin.
"You'll be riding the train."
Sano's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to protest, but was silenced by the butts of five guns which suddenly decided to get acquainted with the back of his head. He slumped to the ground, his vision fading quickly, and ended up face down in the dirt, unconscious.
"Pick that up, and carry it to the train station. The train for Kyoto leaves in an hour," Saito growled to his subordinates, who quickly agreed, four of them managing to lift the moronic rooster up and place him on a cart that was already waiting outside. Saito watched, smiling smugly as the cart made its way down towards the train station.
"Ah, the joys of being in charge," he chuckled, taking another draw off his cigarette, turning, about to make his way down towards his office.
"Hajime… was all that really necessary?" a softer voice called from the doorway, stopping the Wolf in his tracks. "Honestly, the poor boy's been through enough as it is, and these next few months will be very difficult for him."
"I know what I'm doing Tokio, have faith in me," he smirked a little, not bothering to turn back to his wife. He heard a slight sigh, and the rustle of hair against skin. "Tokio… trust me."
"Fine Hajime, but make one wrong move and I won't hesitate to beat you," she laughed quietly, and Saito could almost see her winking at him.
"Of course Tokio, but it's like that with every mission, isn't it?"
She giggled again, then whispered, "Don't stay too late tonight," and with a rustle of clothing, Saito was alone again.
"Of all the women in Japan, I do believe I found the best one…" he chuckled, making his way back to his office.
"Ugh… damn. Where am I? Ow, my head…" Sano groaned, finally beginning to regain consciousness. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see a thin white cloth covering them. He could almost see through it, but there was just too much going on to focus on. Voices, there were lots of voices, and a strange 'clack-clack! clack-clack!' sound that seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place.
"What the hell is this?" he growled quietly, surprised as the voices around him suddenly stopped, and he heard footsteps headed in his general direction.
"Oh damn, maybe I should have stayed quiet," he thought, as he felt someone reaching up and untying something in the back of his head. The white cloth fell away, and Sano was momentarily blinded by the huge rush of sunlight. As the spots slowly faded, he began glancing around, trying to figure out where he was. Turning around, he found himself face to face with a transparent reflection of himself, and a vision of the Japanese countryside flying by.
His eyes widened as he suddenly remembered Saito's words, "You'll be taking the train…"
"GET ME THE HELL OFFA THIS TEA KETTLE!!!" he shouted, thrashing about wildly, only to discover that his hands and feet were bound together. Continuing to thrash, he tired to break his bonds, but to no avail. The guards around him, all dressed in civilian attire, were certainly getting a kick out of it, as were the other passengers, who had been told it was a little bit of entertainment on their short trip to Kyoto.
Finally giving up fighting the bonds, he howled in frustration, "This train's possessed! We're all gonna wake up in a SEWER!!!!"
After several more comments, one of the guards, tired of his comments, walked up to Sano, covering his mouth with a light cloth. As Sano breathed in to try and 'warn' the other passengers again, he suddenly felt a warmth descend over him, and no longer felt the need to yell, or fight, just to sleep. Yes… sleep would be very good indeed.
Several hours later, his eyes cracked open again, and he found himself sprawled out over a bed. Sitting up, he rubbed the side of his head, looking around. He was obviously in a western style inn of some sorts, since the bed was actually elevated, and had several mattresses under it. He groaned a little, standing, legs wobbling a little, and made his way towards the door. Without warning, it burst open, and the rooster head was immediately tackled by some unknown force.
"SAAAAAAAANOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" the thing on top of him called out, hugging the gangster's head tightly. Still under the influence of the sleeping drug from earlier, he blinked, glancing up at the figure holding him.
"Who…?"
"SANO!" it shouted again, hugging him tighter. "Oh, everyone was worried about you, well, except Aoshi-sama because he never worries about anything, but I was worried and Oman and Okan were worried, and Jiya was worried, and everyone in the Shirobecko was worried and… YOU'RE ALIVE!!!" it shouted, strangling him again.
As the fog in his mind lifted, he cracked his eyes open slowly, and saw…
"Oh.… who are you again?"
Whoever it was glared down at him, and let go of his head, which quickly fell and thudded against the floor. Crossing her arms, she turned her head away, pouting. "Stupid rooster-head, you know who it is and I can tell that you're more than happy to see me!" she laughed, patting the top of his head, seeming to be over the comment from earlier.
"Who ever she is, she's, affectionate," he thought. "Not to mention a little spastic."
"So, I heard that you got arrested by Saito two weeks ago in a letter from Kenshin, and that you were probably going to be sentenced to death, and that there was no real hope for and that Saito's an ass and…"
"Aw geez woman, would you stop ramblin'!" another voice shouted at her from the doorway. Sano turned his head weakly, and blinked in surprise. Sitting up suddenly, he shook his head in disbelief, the fog finally lifting from his mind.
"Don't tell me that you two are my partners!"
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Who are Sano's partners (As if I couldn't be more obvious… ^^;)? What exactly are the new specifics of this mission he's on? What is his relationship with Minokin? Why did I decide to do another chapter on Sano when Kaoru's obviously the more popular character!? Most of these and more, answered next time!!
Yeah, I had a bit of fun writing this one, maybe a bit too much. Also, I've lost my editor/slave driver/supporter, so it might not be as clean cut as the other chapters. WHAT INJUSTICE!!! T_T
Once again, I'd like to apologize for my lack of updateness, but I plan on changing that very, very soon. Who knows, my next chapter might be up later tonight ~_^
Thanks again to all my uber sexy reviewers. Feel free to comment and/or flame my works. I will GLADLY take anything you tell me into account. It's the only way I have to improve. G'night!!!
