Author's Notes: -waves flag- Chapter seven – finally! I'm working on some humour in this chapter – if you remember, Yahiko and Sano are about to try and cook something. A freeloader and a ten-year-old? For all they criticise Kaoru's cooking, I think I'd rather have hers than theirs any day.

Usual Disclaimer: I did not create and therefore do not own Rurouni Kenshin. In light of this some of the characters will probably be OOC. But isn't that what fanfics are all about?

BY THE WAY: I know there have got to be limits to Sano and Yahiko's stupidity, but come on, it's funny! So for the sake of humour, in this chapter they are going to be really, really stupid. Capisi?

Fever Days and Sleepless Nights

Chapter 7

"So, um, what are we making?" asked Yahiko, pulling a few random things off the shelves.

"How about miso soup?" suggested Sano. "It shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"Ok. So what's in miso soup?"

"Don't you know?" asked Sano. "Don't you even look at what you're eating?"

"No, not really. Do you have any idea what's in miso soup?" challenged Yahiko.

"Vegetables, I think," replied Sano with a shrug. "Where does Jou-chan keep the vegetables?"

After locating them, he set them out and said,

"So soup's basically boiled water and vegetables, isn't it?"

"Uh huh," confirmed Yahiko. "I'll go get some water."

Minutes later he returned with a bucket of water from the well. "Here we go, we can boil this." So they set the metal bucket above the flames to boil.

Soon steam was rising from the bucket and the water was bubbling. "Is it boiling now?"

"Probably, but let's leave it on while we put in the vegetables." Sano picked up a carrot and examined it. "Wonder what this orange bit is for….vegetables are supposed to be green, aren't they?" So he cut off the main part of the carrot with a knife and dropped in the leaves. "There we go."

Yahiko meanwhile had taken a tomato and was preparing to cut it. He positioned the knife and then pressed down on the fruit, only to receive a jet of tomato juice and pips in the face.

"Ahahahaha!" Sano laughed until his sides hurt at the 'Tokyo samurai' trying to cook. Grimacing, Yahiko threw the squished tomato at the freeloader. It hit him square in the face, and then bounced off and fell into the soup.

"Nice one, ahou," commented Sano. He inspected a large radish. "Why is this thing pink?"

"Dunno," Yahiko shrugged. "It looks like Kenshin's gi."

"Oh yeah! I knew I recognised the colour from somewhere."

At that point their highly intellectual discussion was cut off by them noticing that the air was rather…steamy.

"Man it's hot in here," observed Sano. He waved a hand in front of his face to disperse some of the steam. "How's the soup doing?"

Yahiko looked round and managed to track the source of the steam to the metal bucket on the fire.

"Well actually…it's kind of boiling over," he said. The bubbling by now had reached a climax and it was very hard to see. Things in the kitchen were now more like blurry steam-obscured shapes.

"Take the soup off the fire!" commanded Sano. For once not arguing back, Yahiko took hold of the handle of the bucket and yelled out. "YEOOOWCH!"

"What's the matter?" asked Sano as Yahiko cradled his burnt hand.

"Hothothothothot!" cried Yahiko, jumping up and down. He ran outside and doused his hand in a tub of now-cold laundry water. "Ahhhhhh…." he sighed.

Sano rolled his eyes. Flexing his fingers, he grasped the dreaded bucket handle and in one swift movement, lifted it off the fire and placed it the table, which was nearby. Between congratulating himself on conquering the Bucket of Doom and nursing his once again injured hand, he failed to notice what he'd done until he smelled a funny smell.

"Hey, what's that?" he asked Yahiko, who was coming back in. "It smells like burning."

"I dun-" began Yahiko, and then realised Sano's mistake. "SANO! You put a hot bucket on a wooden table!"

"Ah…whoops," said Sano as he took the bucket off the table, revealing a large round burn mark on the table. "Uh oh…"

Meanwhile in his room, Kenshin was once again asleep and dreaming of the horrors of the Revolution. Memories of a burning village came to his mind: houses aflame, people running, people screaming, and the smell of burning…

With a start, he awakened. The last vestiges of the dream lingered around him. Kenshin sniffed. He could swear he could smell burning still…

He wasn't dreaming! He really could smell burning! Hurriedly, Kenshin shook Kaoru's shoulder. "Kaoru-dono! Kaoru-dono, wake up! Sessha smells burning!"

A sleepy Kaoru was effectively roused by Kenshin's words and the smell coming from the kitchen. She gasped and sat up abruptly. "Kenshin, what's happening?" she cried.

"I don't know, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin replied, getting up swiftly and going over to the door. Kaoru followed him.

Sano and Yahiko waved their arms about in front of their faces in an effort to be able to see. Sano set the rapidly cooling bucket down on the floor and peered inside. All that was left of their 'soup' was a few centimetres of water, some shrivelled carrot leaves and a squashed tomato. Yahiko was about to comment on their culinary skills compared to Kaoru's, when a surprised "ORO!" drew both of their attentions towards the door. Kenshin and Kaoru were standing in the doorway, both still wearing yukatas. Kenshin's expression was completely bemused, Kaoru's livid. Yahiko and Sano both sweatdropped, but before either of them could attempt to explain, Kaoru the vengeful tanuki screeched,

"WHAT DID YOU TWO DO TO MY KITCHEN?"

Author's notes: Uh oh…Sano and Yahiko are in trouble! This chapter was kind of short, I think, but nonetheless, I updated! Seeings as Kaoru and Kenshin are both pretty much better (Kaoru got her voice back, at least!) next chapter might be the last, or the one after that. It depends.