Okay, here's Chapter 3! If you have any questions or comments, just put them in the reviews okay? Well, I hope you like it! Laterz!
Disclaimer: These people/places/stuff (except what I made up) is not mine, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
On to the story!
Megumi's aggravation doubled as she heard Sano and Yahiko snoring. They not only had the nerve to eat her food, then stay the night, but they had also slept in, waking her most of the night with their snoring. That was when her anger boiled over.
Megumi walked outside to the little wooden well and filled the nearby bucket to the brink. She had a little trouble bringing the bucket back in, as she tried to keep the water from sloshing out onto the ground. She chuckled to herself as she walked back into the clinic, and over to where the two freeloaders were sleeping peacefully. Although she had had some trouble getting the bucket of water inside, her body made no hesitation as she flung it all over Sano, with a well deserved yelp from the rooster-head.
"What the hell was that!" Sano yelled. He shook his head of the water that now drenched him. Yahiko sat there, with a very unpleasant look on his face. Although the water had completely covered Sano, it didn't quite make it to Yahiko's side; the upper half of the futon was the only part that managed to stay dry, much to Yahiko's dismay.
"Megumi-san… I think I wet the bed…" Yahiko cringed sleepily. His face showed that he was clearly uncomfortable, and clearly not awake, and undoubtedly not aware of what was going on.
"All right fox-woman, you're gonna get it this time!" Sano fumed.
"Quiet Sanoske! You're going home now!" Megumi answered.
"Wha-"
"Not another word! Collect your things and go back to Kaoru-chan! You too Yahiko! I'm tired of you freeloaders! I don't know how Kaoru-chan puts up with all of you! Including Ken-san!" she said. Yahiko got up and began to put away his futon, while Sano just sat there, arms crossed, eyes closed.
"And what are you going to do to make me leave fox-woman?" he asked. Yahiko looked up, sweat forming on his face as he saw Megumi's face turn as red as Kenshin's hair. He knew instantly that Sano was going to get hurt, so when his chance came, he ran out of the clinic. He made it outside just as he heard Sano's screams echoing throughout Megumi's office. Yahiko suddenly felt an urgent need to get back to the dojo, leaving Sano to fend for himself. That's when he heard the ex-Fight for Hire's footsteps chasing after him.
"Yahiko! How could you leave me behind!" Sano yelled, with Megumi in tow. Yahiko looked behind him, eyes wide as he saw Megumi behind them, and he quickened his pace. "Yahiko! Come back here! BE A MAN!" Sano screamed.
"Sorry Sano, but I've got a long life ahead of me!" he yelled back. As soon as they were close enough to the main road, both of them pushed the gas and ran with all their might. Megumi slowed, her breathing coming in short, heavy breaths. She straightened herself to regain her composure and calmly walked back to the clinic. A tiny smirk played on her face as she recalled the incident.
"What a couple of babies… Oh ho ho ho ho ho!" she laughed wickedly.
8------------8------------8
Yahiko was the first to make it back to the dojo, with Sano right behind him. They both stopped at the gate, covered in sweat, trying desperately to catch their breath.
"Ya-hi-ko! Why… did you leave me be-hind!" Sano yelled impatiently, his breathing slowly returning to normal.
"Well, if you hadn't wanted to hear what Kaoru and Kenshin were doing, we wouldn't have had to go to Megumi's in the first place!" Yahiko snapped.
"Well I wasn't the one to crash through the door now was I, you little kid!" Sano returned. Yahiko fumed and lunged for Sano, but he quickly put up a strong hand to keep him away. That's when he noticed the silence surrounding the dojo. "Hey Yahiko? Where's Kenshin and Jou-chan?" Yahiko stopped his attempt to get to Sanoske and looked about their home.
"Kenshin! Kaoru!" Yahiko called. No answer.
"Maybe they went out somewhere" Sano suggested. Suddenly, flames filled both of their eyes.
"I bet they went to get some yummy food" Yahiko drooled.
"And they went without us!" Sano growled.
"See, all of this is your fault you big rooster!" Yahiko yelled.
"My fault! What are you talking about! It was your fault!" Sano replied. Both of them left the dojo, trying to blame Kaoru's and Kenshin's disappearance on each other.
8------------8------------8
Kaoru ran about furiously trying to find Kenshin. Every time she caught a glimpse of red she ran frantically to see if it was the former manslayer.
"Kenshin!" she called desperately, but each time there was never an answer. Nor did she ever expect there to be one. Thinking she saw her beloved's glowing red hair, she ran after it and ducked into an alley. She looked down the narrow opening, realizing she had yet again mistaken seeing Kenshin.
"Hey there missy… What's a pretty 'lil thing like you doin' hangin' 'round this joint?" Kaoru's body froze in fear. She turned to face the mysterious voice, only to have the stench of bad breath explode in her face in a disgusting laugh. She stared at the yakuza breathing down her neck.
"W-what do you want?" she asked, her eyes narrowing as she tried not show her fear. The group of four yakuza stared at her greedily, and then proceeded to inspect her from head to toe. Kaoru clenched her fists in anger. "How dare you!" she yelled.
"C'mon missy, why don't you come play with us?" the "leader" said evilly. Kaoru lifted a hand to slap the perverted monster, but he caught her slim wrist as if it were nothing. She tried to take a step back, but the gang member held on to her hand tightly.
"L-let me go!" she cried desperately. The yakuza laughed at the helpless girl. That's when the large man began pulling her toward him. "NO!" she screamed. Kaoru slammed her eyes shut as the man's face lowered toward hers. Suddenly, the yakuza member let out a quick yelp dropping Kaoru's hand to her side. She squeezed her eyes tighter, not wanting to know what was happening.
"Are you all right miss?" she heard a kind voice say. Her eyes flew open, and she found herself staring at a much kinder looking face. She stared into the face of a very handsome man with dark shaggy hair that fell about his perfect face and shadowed his deep green eyes. He wore a green gi and black hakama pants with dark socks and sandals. She noticed the hilt of his belt, and then the sword that lied between it. She looked past the man in front of her and gaped at the yakuza lying unconscious on the ground. That's when the man spoke up again. "Miss? Are you okay?"
"Uh… Y-yeah…" she answered. She was astounded by the young man's concern for her, but then she remembered why she had ventured into the alley in the first place. 'Kenshin…' she thought.
"Are you sure? Would you like me to walk you home?" the man asked again. Kaoru's eyebrows lifted in surprise.
"N-no… but thank you" she closed her eyes in a bow and turned. But before she could take another step she felt a hand clasp around her wrist once again and she gasped in surprise.
"Your name… You didn't tell me your name" the man said quietly. Kaoru turned to the man, a confused look on her face.
"My name? Kaoru Kamiya" she said. The man smiled sweetly at her, causing her cheeks to become noticeably warm.
"It's nice to meet you Kaoru-san. My name is Yue. Yue Nakatsu" he said politely. (A/N: Yue is pronounced "you-eh") He bowed his greeting, which caused Kaoru to blush even more. As he stood, his green eyes pierced into her own, making her jump.
"Yes… Nice to meet you – but now I really must be going" she said. She didn't notice the smirk on the man's face as she hurried out of the dark alley and back onto the crowded road.
"Now that I've finally found you… You shall be mine… Kaoru…"
8------------8------------8
Kaoru continued to search for Kenshin along the crowded road, but this time being much more careful in judging whether or not something red was actually Kenshin. She slowed her pace to a shallow stroll. She lowered her head to the ground in despair, not wanting to accept the fact that she may never see Kenshin again.
'Kenshin…' she thought. 'It's hopeless… I'll never find him…' Kaoru turned slowly and walked back to the dojo, not noticing the swift flow of red hair behind her.
Kenshin darted into a nearby alley and leaned against the wall of the building, hoping Kaoru had not seen him. He didn't want her to see him… "Get out…" Why was it that those words kept repeating in his mind? He knew that Kaoru didn't care for him and yet he still could not take his mind of the cold words that dared to escape her perfect lips.
"She must really hate me" Kenshin said with a bitter smile. He lowered his head and let out a heavy sigh. That's when the rurouni heard the faint groan next to him. His eyes grew wide as he saw the group of yakuza lying next to him. 'Who did this?' Kenshin asked himself. He shook the question from his mind and turned to leave. That's all he needed was the police thinking he was reverting back to the "old days". He quickly left the alley, disappearing as best he could into the sea of people. He knew where he was headed, but first he would need a few things. He reached for his wallet, only to discover that he only had a couple of yen left.
"Kenshin? Is that you?" Kenshin turned to see who it was that had addressed him. He found himself staring into the surprised faces of Sano and Yahiko.
"Hey Kenshin – where's Jou-chan?" Sano asked looking around, his hand over his eyes as if he were staring into the far sea.
"Yeah! We thought you guys had left to get food or something!" Yahiko announced grimly. Kenshin smiled and shook his head.
"No, no! I left… to get something for Kaoru-dono, I did…" Kenshin said. Sano stared at his friend, having noticed the obvious sadness in his voice. He didn't know what had happened between them the night before, but he wasn't going to just allow Kenshin to deal with it alone! He was their friend!
"Well, not to fear Kenshin! We'll help ya find something for Jou-chan!" Sano said with a burst of energy. Sweat formed on Kenshin's face as he laughed nervously.
"We will?" Yahiko asked. Sano forced a smile and gave a quick WACK to the boy's head. "OW! What was that for!" Yahiko yelled. Sano grabbed Yahiko by the collar and pulled him close to his face.
"Look Yahiko! We're gonna help Kenshin, got that! It's for Jou-chan!" Sano said with a lowered voice. Obviously his attempts to give Yahiko a hint weren't working.
"Why would I want to help busu!" Yahiko yelled back. Sano growled in the boys face.
"What did you say you little brat!" Sano screamed. Yahiko reached up and pulled at Sano's head.
"Lemme go ya big rooster!" Yahiko shouted. Kenshin waved his hands in a desperate attempt to try and calm the younger boys down; the two were causing an enormous scene.
"Yahiko! Sano! Get a hold of yourself!" Kenshin said sternly. The two boys stopped, and then let go of each other. They turned red from embarrassment, apologizing to the older swordsman for their behavior. Kenshin walked down the road to his destination, Sano and Yahiko both in tow.
Well, what do you think? Did you laugh, did you cry, did you think "man, this girl's got some problems"? Let me know in the reviews please! Oh, and I hope this chapter was a bit longer than the other two for those of you who wanted a longer one!
trekker4life : I'm glad you like it!
animefreak-shinobi : Well, I tried to add a bit more humor in this chapter - also, you'll get a big surprise later on in the story!
Coke-48-Kenshin : Thank you for the compliment! I hope this chapter came soon enough for you!
Lathayan : Thank you so much! And don't worry - it won't stay too depressing for long!
Snow Lepord : Thanks, I'm glad you're reading it!
wah : Yeah, the meat of the story will come soon - I promise!
Nette JP : I'm so happy! You're one of my most extatic reviewers yet! I'm glad you love my story - hope you liked this chapter too!
starrydreamz : Thanks a bunch, I'm happy you enjoy my story!
CryingOro : Yeah, I wanna play into their romance a little more! They're so dense aren't they! It's fun to torture them! Ah, I'm so bad! Well, I hope you liked this chapter as well!
Coming Soon - Chapter 4
Candizzle