"Bah-room! Broom!" – Iori

Jasmine: YAY! I got reviewers! Happy dances

Chou: Feh…this sucks…Ah hate bein' stuck here…

Jasmine: Oh, you know you love it, don't deny your true feelings! Okies…the disclaimer…let this pain of not owning Rurouni Kenshin cause a haphazard pigeon to randomly attack my head! Let's see, I have found a name for the inn…it's going to be called "The Eien Rakkii Inn". It translates literally to "The Eternity Luck Inn" or "The Eternal Luck Inn". It sounded like a place Chou would stay in…Broomie, please say thank-you to my wonderful, stupendous, awesome reviewers!

Chou: Yeah, yeah…thanks…Ah s'pose… Sulking

To GreenEyedFloozy: Feh! I did so tell you that I posted! You just don't pay any attention when I'm telling you things…hn…or maybe it's because you forget things too easily? Anger mark And since when have you called him "Blondie"?

To Angel Waters: Hiya, Angel! Thanks for reviewing! Oh, hi Bob!

To Spyoo: Really? YAY! Happy dances I love you! (Sorry…I'm strange…too much sugar, maybe?) I was afraid that I messed up the accents horribly…it's nice to know that you liked them! Grins I think Chou and Tae are sooo cute together! Plus, they're both from Osaka…hmm… Oh! Kewl name, by the way! Isn't spyoo the sound effect of blood spurting out of Kenshin's head? Like when he got hit with that pigeon in the manga? Giggles

To Narakunohime: YAY! More happy dancing It's good? Yes! It took me forever to do the first chappie! I shall continue! ONWARD!

Jasmine: Okay, evil Microsoft Word Processor! HAVE AT YOU! Charges

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What A Flamin' Spirit – Chapter Two: The Bird Versus The Broom (Round Two)

-With Chou-

Sawagejou Chou yawned widely and stretched his arms above his head, languidly cracking his fingers in the process. What was the way back ta' that inn? Is this the right road? Kuso…and the name of it was "The Eien Rakkii"? Was that it? Feh…at least Ah'm almost there…Ah think, anyways…gah…so tired… He yawned again. It had been a long day for him…first, having to trudge all around Tokyo trying to gather up leads, then having a run-in with some ice that had a grudge against him, and finally…his meeting with Sekihara Tae. The last one confused him to no end, and was still worked up about it… "Ah mean…anyone would beh! That woman…what was her problem? She hardly knows meh at all! And…and…there's nothin' ta' like 'bout meh anyways! Ah have a sword fetish! Ah kill people! Ah'm an evil bastard that deserves ta' burn! Fear mah wrath of doom!" Chou growled for emphasis. Well, at least he could boost his ego somewhat after the horrible bruising it had gotten…he'd never felt so flustered in his life. Damn woman… "Yeah! What's so special 'bout her anyways? Ah've never been that bad around any other women…what makes her any different? 'Course…Ah've always been a bit…shy…but this even tops the firs' time Ah met Yumi! That damned slut started hittin' on meh jus' ta' see how much she could make meh blush…and who told her that Ah was like that? Ah bet it was Soujiro…if that ahou ever comes back from his wanderin' and Ah manage ta' find 'im, he's gonna get a taste o' mah Hakujin…

Busy thinking methods in which to kill the poor Tenken, Chou didn't notice that the ever-present silhouette had gotten closer. Even now it was creeping forward, ready to attack when the broom-head least expected it…

"…Feh! And what does that Tae woman think Ah am? A freakin' clock? Twelve o' clock sharp…che…she can jus' go ta' a certain place, 'cause Ah'm not-"

"HEY, BROOM-HEAD!" The silhouette yelled, springing upon the unsuspecting man with a loud whoop.

Chou died. Literally. His heart stopped beating, and he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. He pushed up the daisies, and was about to go meet his maker. He was not only a former member of the Juppongatana, but also an ex former member of the Juppongatana. In other words, Chou kicked the bucket. Far.

Sagara Sanosuke fell to the ground laughing at the expression on the broom-head's face. The poor guy looked like he had just been told that he had to eat Kaoru's cooking for a whole year! "AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! I got ya', broom-head! I wish I had a mirror! AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAA!" Sano clutched his stomach and laughed even harder.

Chou didn't reply.

The bird-head finally laughed himself out and blinked up at the former member of the Juppongatana, expecting a witty comeback. Instead, poor Chou just stood there, looking horribly pale and staring blankly at the ground.

"Er…broom-head?" Sanosuke jumped up and snapped his fingers in front of Chou's face. "Hey…wakey, wakey…oh-oh…Hey, Kenshin? I think I killed him!"

"Oro? Sano!" Himura Kenshin appeared, walking out from hiding in the nearest alleyway, and he gave Sano "the look". Kamiya Kaoru and Myojin Yahiko weren't far behind him.

"What? It's not like I meant to…" The bird-head shrugged and crossed his arms in front of him.

"Sure, you moron! What an idiot…I wouldn't have been so stupid…" Yahiko grumbled, looking at Sano in disgust.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, SHRIMP?"

"I CALLED YOU A MORON, IDIOT!"

"WHY, YOU LITTLE-"

Ignoring the sounds of fighting around them, Kaoru and Kenshin both walked over to Chou and blinked.

"Oro…this one…thinks Sano overdid it a little, that he does…" The rurouni sweat dropped.

"I agree…but I know what'll wake him up…" Kaoru grinned evilly and took out her "shinai of doom and pain". Where she got it…nobody knows…not even Kami-sama himself! Gasp!

Kenshin's eyes widened and he stepped back a few feet.

Crack!

"GAH! DAMMIT, WHAT WAS THAT FER, WOMAN?" Chou yelped, rubbing at the side of his head in agony.

Kaoru gave him a satisfied smirk. "Yup, looks like it worked!"

The broom-head blinked. What the hell happened? All Ah 'member was somethin' jumpin' out at meh…that was strange… He looked over at the fighting Sano and Yahiko: the former was furiously trying to tug the latter off of his head. "Hey…what's bird-head doin' here? S'matter of fact…" Chou glared down at Kenshin and Kaoru. "What're ya' doin' here? What the hell is goin' on?"

"Er…well…this one can-" Suddenly, there was a call of, "Fly, Yahiko!" and…

Boom!

"ORO!" Kenshin assumed the "oro face" just as Yahiko slammed into him. Both were sent flying backwards into a conveniently placed bush.

The young kendo instructor coughed, not even fazed by Kenshin's sudden disappearance. "Well…we kinda…saw you with Tae, earlier…and…wedecidedtofollowyouincaseyouwereuptosomethingbad!" (Translation: "We decided to follow you in case you were up to something bad!")

Chou blinked. "EH?"

Kaoru swallowed hard, sweat dropped, and pointed wildly at the bird-head. "IT WAS ALL SANOSUKE'S IDEA!"

Sano, who was desperately trying to get Yahiko's spit out of his hair, froze. "YOU CAN'T PIN IT ALL ME, MISSY!"

"IT WAS ALL HIM!"

"WAS NOT!"

"WAS TOO!"

"NOT!"

"TOO!"

"NOT!"

"TOO!"

Chou developed an anger mark.

"NOT!"

"TOO!"

Scratch that. Multiple anger marks.

"NOT!"

"TOO!"

"WOULD YA'LL JUS' SHUT THE HELL UP?"

There was total silence.

The broom-head closed his eye and breathed in and out for a few seconds. "'Kay…calmly now…tell meh why ya' were followin' meh."

Sanosuke grinned. "Well, we saw that little scene with Tae, and wondered what you were doin' back in Tokyo…I decided to tail you and see if you were up to somethin'…" His eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward, almost nose-to-nose with the broom-head. "You aren't, are you? 'Cause I might just have to beat the shit out of you if you are…"

Chou's temper snapped. "OH? BEAT THE SHIT OUTTA MEH? AH'D LIKE TA' SEE YA' TRY, BIRD-HEAD!"

Sanosuke glared at him. "I'D LOVE TO, BROOM-HEAD!"

"FIGHT MEH, YA' BASTARD! AH'LL CREAM YA'!"

"YOU COULDN'T CREAM CORN WITH THOSE SKINNY ARMS!"

Kaoru sweat dropped. "Erm…Sano…that didn't make any sense…"

"BIRD!"

"BROOM!"

"BIRD!"

"BROOM!"

Kenshin blinked, and his swirly eyes disappeared. "Oro…Sano…Chou…this one thinks that it is no time for fighting, that he does…" The rurouni pushed himself out of the bush and grabbed Yahiko, who looked like he wanted to rush head-first right into the fray.

"Aww…come on, Kenshin! That looks like fun!" The young boy gestured to the huge dust cloud that was Sano and Chou.

"BIRD!"

"BROOM!"

"BIRD!"

"BROOM!"

Kaoru sighed and removed the "shinai of doom and pain" once more from her kimono top (presumably…). She took careful aim, lifted her arm back, and threw the bamboo sword right into the dust could. There were simultaneous "GAH!"s from both men, and the dust cleared to reveal both of them on the ground with identical red welts on their heads.

"There, that should shut you two up for now…" The kendo instructor grinned and went over to retrieve her weapon.

"Jeese…that was some throw…" Chou groaned, rubbing at his sore head for the second time that day.

"That was nothing…Missy can be downright dangerous on her bad days…" Sanosuke sighed, thankful that this wasn't Kaoru's "bad day".

Kenshin let go of Yahiko and strolled over next to Kaoru. "So Chou, what are you doing here? This one hasn't seen Saito around, that he hasn't…"

The broom-head growled slightly. "Feh…Ah see no reason ta' tell ya'…but I s'pose Ah will…Ah've been assigned ta' take down a drug-smugglin' ring somewhere in town…" He pushed himself off of the ground and dusted at his pants. "Ya' haven't heard anythin', have ya'? Ah haven't been able ta' find anythin' 'bout the ring…it's like they don't even exist."

Sano, who of course had listened to the whole thing, blinked in confusion. "Drug-smuggling ring? No…I can't say I've seen or heard anything…"

"Oro? This one hasn't either…"

Kaoru shook her head in disbelief. "There's one in town? Sheesh…you'd think the police would have gotten on it sooner…"

The former Juppongatana member scowled. "Feh…whatever…so, do ya'll still need ta' see if Ah'm doin' somethin' bad, or can Ah go ta' mah inn? Which…" He sweat dropped. "…Is somewhere 'round here…Ah think…"

Yahiko snorted. "Your sense of direction is as bad as Sano's! He gets lost in Kyoto, and you get lost in Tokyo…you're both pathetic!"

The said two combined their glares, and, in a matter of seconds, Yahiko was mush.

Kenshin gave his trademark rurouni grin. "Which one are you staying in?"

Chou coughed. "Um… 'The Eien Rakkii Inn'…"

"Oh, that's easy! Just go down this road and take a right. The sign is big and simple to find. You shouldn't miss it, that you shouldn't."

There was a few seconds of silence.

"Well…thanks…Ah s'pose…" The broom-head shrugged and crossed his arms. "Ah'll be goin', then. Tell meh if ya'll find anythin', 'kay? Ah could use all the help Ah can get…" He turned around and began to walk away. "Oh, and Sagara? Watch yer back. We ain't finished our little fight yet."

Right before Chou disappeared around the corner, Sano could be heard mumbling."What a conceited, arrogant, stupid, jerk…"

-With Tae-

"Tae-san, is someone…on your mind?"

Startled, Sekihara Tae blinked and looked down at her cleaning partner, Sanjo Tsubame. "What? Did ya' say somethin', Tsubame?"

The little waitress blushed slightly and nervously grinned. "Well…you have the same look on your face as I always get when…I'm thinking about…Yahiko."

It was time for the Akabeko to close, and Tae and Tsubame were doing some last minute cleaning. It was clear to Tsubame, though, that Tae's mind was on something entirely different than the dirty dishes and the messy tables.

Tae grinned and whispered softly. "Can ya' keep a secret, Tsubame?"

The girl nodded her head slowly, unsure.

"Well…today…Ah kinda…met a guy…"

"Oh, you did, Tae-san? That's wonderful! What's he like? Ooo…can I meet him?"

"Slow down, slow down! Oh, and ya will get yer chance ta' meet 'im tomorrow…Ah invited him over…" Tae's grin widened. "Let's see…Ah don't know much 'bout 'im…but…he was tall 'n thin…beautiful green eyes…well, eye…one was always closed…blond hair that stuck up like a broom…a swordsman, too, Ah could tell…he had 'bout five swords on 'im…he was shy…went red when Ah shook his hand…and…he was sweet, though he acted all arrogant and tough…" Throughout this whole description, unknown to Tae, she had a very dreamy look on her face.

Tsubame almost fell to the ground in a fit of giggles. "Tae-san, I think you've been love-struck! Did you catch his name?"

The head waitress sighed leisurely. "Chou…Sawagejou Chou…" Love-struck? As in…love at firs' sight? Nah…it can't beh…Ah barely even know 'im…though…that's gonna change tomorrow, isn't it? Ah guess…Ah'll see when we get there…

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Jasmine: Wipes away tear Aww…I went from downright strange to kinda sweet…I'm so weird…

Chou: Blushing Feh!

Jasmine: Giggles You know you enjoy it when your Tae-chan talks about you in her "dreamy voice"!

Chou: Crimson F-feh…

Jasmine: Okay! I know this was kind of a boring chappie…but it should get good soon…I have major fluff planned…I love fluff…Coughs I just had to introduce some of the Kenshin-gumi into the mix…next chappie should be better!

Chou: Ah doubt it!

Jasmine: Aww…you're such a sweet guy! You just act all arrogant, but deep down, you-

Chou: Crimson again ENOUGH!

Jasmine: Well, 'till next time, loyal reviewers, this is Jasmine Reinier, signing off!

"People only have hope because they cannot see Death standing behind them…"

R and R!