Author's Notes: Hey Minna-san! Gomen nasai about the late update yet again. My cousins went on a trip and left their dog with us after we got back from an unexpected trip….isn't it great when parents spring a road trip to visit relatives on you? So, as you can tell, this is a late update yet again. cries….I can never get a chapter out when I intend to! That and add projects and insane amounts of homework into the mix….and as you guess, no update for awhile…I am sooo sorry! All AP testing is done for me, but I still have graduation announcements and other stuff to do…I know…I always brag about fan fic being my life…but lately it hasn't been. This summer I will be better, that I will, I promise! I have exams all next week, but after that I should be HOME FREE to write as I so choose!
Leah, I went back and fixed the Aoshi part. I am sorry about not including his thoughts. I honestly did not realize I was doing that. Other than that, I am also afraid I will not do a good enough job writing him. That, and I am angry at myself for taking too much time getting chapters out. Add that in as well as me getting frustrated with writer's block and straying too far from the original plot, and I end up forgetting stuff. Thanks for reminding me! I hope you like my after-post addition/ revision!
Other Info. Before Reading: Sakura Matsuri during the time of this series did not exsist; it's an American thing after 1912 (When Japanese people immigrated to the Untied States in the late 19th century, they planted the flowering cherry trees wherever they lived. In 1912, the Japanese government sent thousands of cherry trees to Washington D.C. which were planted all around the Washington Tidal Basin. This gesture of friendship between the two countries began the first Sakura Matsuri or Cherry Blossom Festival in the United States.)
The name used was O-hanami or otherwise known as "Flower Viewing" in Japan from the 17th to the 19th centuries. During this time, the festival included all people in the festivities including singing, dancing, and sake drinking. Usually, the Cherry Blossom front begins in Okinawa in the south in March. Then it sweeps northward in April and finally reaches Hokkaido in May with more than 50 varieties blooming at this time.
Other than this, I really was not able to find anything "historically accurate" on the festival even after hours of research. believe it or not!
So please BEAR WITH ME, Some aspects WILL be MADE UP!!!!!
And without any more stalling, here is the next and final part of this four part chapter!
By LadySword04
April 9, 2004
Previously on BTSHOH:
She had each of the boys sit on the mats in the kitchen while she simply took out her concealer and skillfully applied it on the marks on their faces and necks. They would have to deal with the other markings by keeping the collars of their gis tightly shut.
"There, all done. See, it didn't kill you now did it?" Megumi asked.
"Yeah, but now I feel like a GIRL!" Sano said in an agitated tone.
"Oh grow up! You act like one sometimes. Like just tonight you wanted to look in a mirror and worry about your complexion." Megumi scoffed at him. "Let's get going before the others get worried about us!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever Kitsune."
With that said and done, the four of them proceeded to walk into town to enjoy their night out on the town.
Chapter 8: Dinner, Plans, Crazy Guests, and The Festival (Part Four)
Upon arriving, they discovered that the Kami had already been brought into town to the local Shinto shrine. The food and wine had been offered to the seat of the Kami including the staple grains, fish, vegetables and rice all cooked and prepared.
"Well, it would appear that we missed the procession to the shrine, but at least we can still relax under the Sakura trees!" Megumi stated.
The sun was just beginning to set as the four headed out to meet the rest of their group. Kaoru and the gang had already set up blankets to sit on and gaze up at the trees for a time before heading out to take in the sights and activities at the festival that would begin soon after sundown. Upon arriving, Megumi, Sano, Tsubame, and Yahiko were greeted by the group that left them behind earlier, and three other guests.
"Hello! You guys Finally made it!" Kaoru stated. "We were beginning to get worried! Glad to know Sano didn't get you lost!" she snickered remembering earlier conflicts involving his difficulty navigating.
"Mn. Hmph." He replied. "I don't get lost!" He then snapped before Yahiko gave him a menacing look that promised another head chewing if he dared blame Yahiko again for his problems with directions.
"Yeah right Sano, and paint brushes full of ink fly!" Yahiko jeered at him. "Which reminds me K…A…O…R…U and M…I….S….A…O, How DID we end up with the marks on us?"
"Yeah! Jou-chan and Itachi! How did that happen?" Sano contributed noticing the uncomfortable looks on the girls faces and in their body language.
"I for one don't have a clue as to what you BOYS are talking about!" Kaoru stated.
"Yeah, don't blame us for your decision to sleep with an ink jar you morons!" Misao said while laughing.
"Misao, sleeping with an ink jar Does NOT cause strange MARKS like that!" Yahiko piped up. Plus, I am NOT the moron around here! Sano is, so don't look at me!"
Megumi, noticing the mounting tension decided to try to change the subject before a fight broke out. 'I am in NO mood to play doctor tonight let alone be forced into the role. I had better break this up before Kaoru and Misao kill the boys!' She thought.
"Well, I have to say that the little stunt you four pulled was amusing. And another thing that was even MORE amusing was getting the two to wear MAKEUP!! I for one never thought that I would ever see the day the boys wore concealer!" She laughed.
Kenshin "Oroed" while Kaoru, Misao, Dr. Genzai, and his two granddaughters simply stared with utter fascination and disbelief before all fell over anime style in a fit of laughter. Aoshi as always, just crossed his arms and wondered how it was possible for a group of people to be so pathetically stupid. 'They're all insane not to mention immature. Then again, when you throw a moron like Sano, a child like Yahiko, and a dense rurouni into the mix, I guess this should be expected. At least Tanuki can keep her temper in check tonight. I guess I should never underestimate the power of immature people in large groups again.' He thought to himself.
The rest of the half-hour left was spent simply watching Ayame and Suzume play around along with taking in the beautiful Sakura trees whose petals were blowing off in the spring zephyr. Kenshin and Aoshi were deep in thought about their pasts for some time before being shaken out of their reveries by the rest of the group.
"It's time to get to the festival minna!" Kaoru excitedly said. "Let's go!" Misao shouted while giving her characteristic victory sign and spinning around on her feet.
At the Festival
As our loveable group wandered the now transformed streets of Tokyo, they took in all the wonderful sights and activities that accompanied the festival. On the outskirts were the stalls of the usual merchants with various goods to sell, and more toward the center was where all the activity was located.
The activities included Taiko Den drumming, Sumo wrestling competitions that the local Yokozuna was participating in, various artists selling their work, poetry competitions, calligraphy exhibits and paintings, sake drinking competitions, and even flower arranging, and we can't forget the martial arts displays!
For the kids, there was Fukuwarai (The Japanese version of Pin The Tail On The Donkey), Kamishibai (story telling of folk tales), origami, games of all kinds, and the Candyman was here again this year to perform his lion dance, magic, and amezuke (sculpting characters out of hot taffy-like candy) skills.
As I am sure you know, Dr. Genzai was dragged off to all the stalls with children's activities by none other than his two adorable granddaughters.
"Grandpa! Grandpa! Come look!" wailed Ayame.
"Come look, come look!" Suzume imitated.
"What is it girls?" Dr. Genzai asked while being dragged down the street to the Candy man. Over his shoulder he yelled to the group that they had a lovely time, and would see them all tomorrow. "Have a wonderful time everyone!" The rest of the group just waved and watched with amusement at the three now walking down the street.
With Genzai and his granddaughters
Soon after arriving and sitting down, the Candy man entered. Both girls watched his Lion Dance with intense fascination, which was so good even Genzai was having able to enjoy himself. The Candy Man's magic tricks were even more interesting. He made himself disappear and reappear, and asked for volunteers to perform this on as well. (this was made up of course!)
"Pick us! Pick us!" Ayame happily shouted. Much to her surprise, she and Suzume were selected for the stunt. After getting permission from their grandfather, the Candy man led the girls onto his makeshift stage, and into a black box with stars and moons on it.
"And now, I will make these two adorable girls disappear, then reappear!" With the snap of his fingers and a few magic words, he opened the door and lo and behold, they were gone!
"Hmm…Isn't that interesting?" He asked the crowd. "Now, let's try to get them to reappear!" With a few more magic words and a wave of his hand he opened the door, but no girls were there!
"I wonder where they could have gone? I know I put them in here…this has never happened to me before. I wonder what is doing on?" The Candy man trailed off before a look of irritation and fear graced his features. He hesitantly added, "Let's try this again shall we?" By now, Genzai was getting worried.
"One, two, three!" The Candy man said, and there appeared the girls giggling like there was no tomorrow. Dr. Genzai was relieved to say the least.
After numerous other tricks, everyone got a piece of candy that was handmade by him earlier that evening.
"Grandpa, can we go to the Fukuwarai stand? Onegai?" Ayame asked with Suzume adding on her oh so irresistible "Onegai" with puppy eyes too. Dr. Genzai didn't stand a chance, and he agreed. After that, the girls went to the Kamishibai event to enjoy folk songs and folk tales before heading home to sleep.
Back with the group
"So, what do you all want to do first?" Kaoru asked.
To this Megumi countered, with fox ears mind you "Why don't we break into groups and just meet back home whenever we all feel tired okay?"
"That sounds good!" Misao piped up happy for this excuse to spend some alone time with Aoshi.
Of course, at hearing the possibility of being able to break up into smaller groups, Sano made a bee-line for the sake drinking competition now going on.
"Free Sake? I'm not passing up an opportunity like this! See ya'!" He tossed over his shoulder as he was running.
"Well, at least we'll know where he is tonight! Plus, he's out of our hair, now we can have some real fun!" Megumi chirped.
Grabbing Kaoru's and Misao's hands, she told the boys they were going to look at anything and everything artistic, and for them to have a good time.
Misao was of course disappointed at being separated from Aoshi and a pout made it even more evident.
"Oh quit whining already! He's probably following us along with Kenshin if I know those two." Megumi stated.
"So, where to first?" Kaoru asked.
"I was thinking the origami stand for awhile, then the calligraphy exhibits as I love those, and ink paintings as well, and OH! The caricature stand is near there, and then we could go to the flower arranging. Or, we could go to the games after the calligraphy and caricature stands." Megumi stated simply with a finger on her chin and one arm crossed over her stomach supporting the elbow of her "thinking arm and hand."
"Well alright. But I want to go to the games Sometime tonight. They have this awesome kunai throwing competition going on right now!" Misao squeaked.
After about a half-an-hour at the origami stand, Kaoru had made a paper crane and ten or more little stars. Megumi had made quite a few flowers of different colors and shapes, and Misao had been busy learning how to fold different types of notes ranging from simple pull down ones (we see in school) to complicated ones in the shape of throwing knives and throwing stars (A/N: Leave it to Misao to have weapons on the mind!).
They all then left the stand and headed for the calligraphy and caricature stands. Misao and Kaoru were busy admiring the art work while Megumi wasted no time at all in displaying her prowess with a calligraphy brush in a small competition. She of course won easily and gladly accepted her prize of the calligraphy set they were offering.
"Let's not go to the caricature stand now, I really want to go to the games! I'm going to find Aoshi" Misao whined.
"Okay I guess. Kaoru and I will see you back at the dojo alright? Be careful and have Fun!" Megumi slyly stated.
"See you back home Misao!" Kaoru excitedly mentioned.
With Misao and Aoshi
Using her shinobi skills, Misao easily located Aoshi, and both went off to the numerous games available that night. Aoshi watched with mild amusement as Misao bounced here and there looking at the different games. The first "game" of course was the kunai throwing competition.
"Well hello!" the owner of the stand where the competition greeted Misao and Aoshi as the two of them approached. "I suppose you want to compete, ne?" He asked while looking at Aoshi expectantly.
"Not me. Her." Aoshi replied with great effort, and pointed at Misao to emphasize what he had just said.
To this, the man's eyes widened, but upon seeing Misao's irritated visage, he quickly recovered and began to turn around. "Well then, right this way!" With that, Misao and Aoshi were led into the large white tent. Numerous targets were set up, some were stationary, while others moved across the floor or sprang from either the floor or ceiling.
'This ought to be easy! The competition doesn't look all that great tonight!' Misao thought with glee. 'Aoshi's going to be so proud of me if I win! Maybe this will convince him that I am good enough to spar with when we both get back to Kyoto! Plus that guy with the disapproving look from earlier will be shown girls can be just as good if not better than guys in these kind of exhibitions.'
"Alright. You have a minute and a half to hit as many targets as you can. Try to get in the center of each target for the most points. Any technique you choose to use is fine. The one who is the fastest, hits the most targets, and is the most accurate wins the match. Semi-finals and then finals will be held afterwards. Here are your assignments."
With that, he pinned the papers up on the wall as to what groups everyone was in. Misao was placed in a group she knew she could easily win. Good thing I wore my ninja suit under this kimono!' she thought to herself.
Half an hour later, Misao was in second place; second only to an old master of the art that looked oddly familiar. Misao remained in second, with the mysterious old man in first. But the top three people from the group were put up against the other group's top three competitors. The semi-finals came and went, Misao still in second place, though the gap in points was greatly reduced. Misao was only four points behind the masked competitor. This trend continued in the finals, though the gap was only one point at the end.
Even though she lost by a point, she was proud to have competed against so many and come out in the top three. And, she had also figured out who the masked competitor was now that she could focus better on the ki. She approached the old man with caution until she was sure her assumption was correct; which it was.
"OKINA!" She screamed at the old man before hugging the life out of him in her characteristic manner. "What in the world are you doing here?"
Luckily for Okina, Misao had let go before really killing him. "Well, I wanted to come for a visit. You have been gone for a while now, and I missed you. When I saw the kunai throwing competition, I decided to try my hand in it, knowing I would eventually see you here. You have improved greatly Misao. You should be proud of yourself!"
With Aoshi
Meanwhile, Aoshi had been following Misao and keeping an eye on her. To say he was proud of her would be like saying the train was the slowest form of transportation available to the general public. Proud was not a strong enough word for the situation. Inside he was beaming with pride. The only outward sign he gave was a small smirk as he watched Misao both while competing and getting her award. Though she never would see it, Aoshi was immensely proud of her.
'She has improved a lot since the last time I sparred with her. It would appear as if I have underestimated her abilities. Sparring with her when we get home sounds like a good idea; who knows, it may even be fun. Whoa….fun? Did I just say that? What am I thinking? I could end up hurting her. No matter how much she improves, I worry my instincts will resurface. If that happens, she will wind up dead in an instant; and I simply cannot let that happen. I care too much for her to ever think about harming her. As much as I want to, and I do know that sparring with me will help her, I simply cannot.' With that last thought, he crept up on Okina and Misao in time to her the tail end of their conversation.
Back with Misao and Okina
"Hai, I am. Arigatou very much Okina! Maybe Aoshi-sama will agree to spar with me after seeing how much I have improved! Even if he doesn't want to, I am not going to give up. I swear, before I die, I am going to spar with him once more!"
'Well, this complicates matters. She and I both want to spar, but I know I will hurt her.' He thought.
As expected, Okina won first place, Misao won second place, and some man all the way from Yokohama won third. After the prizes had been handed out, a picture was taken to be put in the newspaper the following day.
To say that Misao was very pleased with her prize was an understatement. She received a ribbon along with a new addition to her repertoire of weapons.
"These throwing stars will be so much fun to practice with!" She beamed.
The rest of their evening, Misao was found for the next hour or so dragging Aoshi to the various stands of games and convincing him to play. After that, both decided that it was getting late and that they should return to the dojo before anyone got worried.
With Kenshin, Kaoru, Megumi, and Sano
"Well, it is getting late; I have patients to treat in the morning….and who knows what kind of late night emergencies I will have to deal with tonight. Ken-san, Kaoru, I had a wonderful time, but I am going to find that baka tori-no-atama before he gets alcohol poisoning. Plus, I need any rest I can get in between! I will come by later tomorrow if I can…possibly for lunch if that is alright. See you two later, and have fun!" Megumi stated, and then ended with a suggestive wink, fox ears, and her characteristic laugh before turning on her heels and walking off to hunt for her rooster.
With Sano and Megumi
"Sano, you BAKA!" She roared upon seeing Sano slumped over the counter of the competition stand.
Apparently, Sano had met his match and then some in the competition, and passed out.
Megumi shook him and cuffed the back of his head for good measure in order to wake him up.
Seeing as that did nothing to aid her cause, she grabbed his ear and yanked.
"Owowowowo!! Sano yelped in protest of the Kitsune's rough treatment.
"Finally, you're awake. Let's get going you bumbling, drunken idiot you. I know, you want to know if you can stay at the clinic. Unfortunately I have to put up with you again tonight so you don't end up dead from all the alcohol you can't help but consume." She ended in an exasperated huff.
To this, Sano just smiled tiredly and followed Megumi. Upon arriving at the clinic, Sano relied on his feet to lead him to the very familiar back room where he usually crashed for the night. Megumi watched in amusement as Sano flopped down onto the futon and fell asleep instantly.
'He really is an idiot. I am always stuck looking after him. One of these days he's going to wind up dead. Sano has to learn how to stop drinking so much. I am really getting tired of this repetitious cycle every night.' She thought to herself.
Her thought pattern was interrupted when a small child was brought into the clinic with a broken leg. His father explained that the boy was climbing one of the sakura trees, then fell and landed wrong.
'This is going to be a long night.' "Right this way. It looks like a compound transverse fracture. I will need to set it, clean it, and stitch the skin closed too. After I finish, I will mix up some herbs that prevent infection of the area, and promote healing. You will need to apply to his leg twice a day. But, right now I need him in an exam room."
With that last comment, Megumi began working on the child. Little did she know, this would not be her last case of the night, and that a certain someone was watching her from his futon through half lidded eyes with utter fascination.
Author's End Note: I know that I promised to only have this segment in four parts, but after not updating for so long, I know you all are eager to read something. The KK Fluff will have its own chapter next time I promise. I just simply don't have the time to give this part the time and effort it justly deserves. I have exams and graduation coming up. Next weekend though I will give you the final segment of this now five part series of Dinner, Plans, and CrAzY Guests. I am soo sorry about the long wait and the constant division of this chapter. Thanks for bearing with me!
Personal Replies:
Hitokiri of the Bloodless Moon: Thanks so much for the KK suggestion. Definitely look for it in the next chapter! I like the suggestion very much, and I think it will work well. Thanks so much for sticking with me!
Leah durose: Thank you very much! hugs That's true about Misao…the human energizer bunny! I never meant that meditating for hours on end was bad for your health…I meditate for an hour a night usually. I was simply saying that depriving yourself of sensory stimulation and human contact all the time was bad. It seems Aoshi does that all the time, and refuses to do anything like LIVE. In my opinion, that doesn't seem healthy. Sorry about the long wait between updates, but thanks for sticking with me! 2 reviews on this chapter…I feel so special! Finals? Oh dear…those are never fun. Yepper, Aoshi is silent again…sighs….he was a little too OOC for me earlier…but he'll talk more later!
Invader Zim: Well thank-you! No worries…let's say we're even…you didn't review last chapter…I didn't update in a long time! LOL. Look for some KK fluff and more action in the next chapter! I hope not to disappoint!
S3r3nity: I am soo glad that you like reading my fic. and that you find it both entertaining and enjoyable! I promise to keep up the good work!
theWolf24: I am glad that you still like what you read. I agree…the girls seem to be on a mission to make life for the guys miserable. The focus will change soon though to one in particular…Sano and Aoshi I don't think will suffer much longer! Yep…they'll be getting a break from the terror of the girls. Thanks for the idea about the Martial Arts competition. I was going to include that to begin with, though having you suggest it gave me an entirely different idea as to what I can do. Thanks very much! I look forward to hearing from you again…and as always, thanks for staying with me!