I'm sorry this took me so long but I was soooo busy, and then when I actually got the time to edit it, my computer spazzed and all my hard work went down the tubes. Yeah, so I was pissed for a LONG time. Anyway, now I'm back, and I'm insanely sorry!!! Also, I need to warn u that this chapter is a little more on the serious side than the others... I hope yal don't mind. hehe. Oh, and also there are a couple of errors in the past chapters that I plan to go back and fix. For one, Sano isn't a boxer, he's a martial artist. My bad... Anyway, let's get back to the story!
Disclaimer: I have an imaginary Kenshin, but sadly enough I don't have a REAL one... tear
oooOooo
"You're evil." Sano stated solemnly as he looked at his short friend.
"It's part of my job." Kenshin smiled, and checked his watch. Perhaps it was time for a break.
No, we can't afford to take a break, that we cannot. The match was in 4 days, and they needed to win this one. There was no other choice. Kenshin sighed irritatedly. "Sano one more hour and then we can break."
"I'm taking a break right NOW." Sano growled angrily. Kenshin was trying to work him to death!
"Sano." Kenshin said warningly.
"Hey!" Kaoru's head popped into the dojo. "If you guys are hungry I was just thinking about cooking something up."
"You are NOT cooking!" Misao's muffled voice could be heard from the main house.
"Sure, we could use a break. Thank you." Kenshin smiled politely. All thoughts of training Sano flew out of his head.
"But, but, but you just said...." Sano stuttered.
"Sano, we must take a break. You can't train your self into the ground, that you cannot." Kenshin nodded his head decisively and walked off with Kaoru.
"I don't know whether to laugh at him, or choke him." Sano said to himself, shaking his head.
oooOooo
Japan was nice and cool, even though it was summer. A faint breeze passed through the windows and softly caressed her skin. This was the life, lounging on a couch, sipping on a drink, not having to deal with the stress of the Aioya.
Misao sighed happily as she listened to Kenshin and Kaoru arguing in the kitchen. Kenshin insisted that he cook lunch in payment for Kaoru's kindness, while Kaoru argued that he did not owe her a thing. Misao knew that Kaoru was stubborn, but Kenshin was bound to win the argument in the end. Especially since Sano kept interjecting with comments about Kenshin's great cooking.
"Fine! You can cook!" Misao heard from the kitchen, and couldn't stop the flow of giggles. Kaoru stalked into the living room, muttering about stupid red haired men, and plopped into a chair. Misao smiled at Kaoru; Kaoru scowled back.
Misao was more than happy not to have to eat Kaoru's food. She loved Kao-chan like a sister, but that girls cooking could lead to death...
"Hey Kaoru, you think I should call and check up on everyone back in Kyoto?"
"Well, I doubt you have to.."
"You're from Kyoto?" Kenshin interrupted. The girls turned to see Kenshin's slight frame in the doorway to the kitchen.
"Born and raised!" Misao declared happily.
"Tell me, do you know a Tomoe?"
"Nope, sorry."
"Oh." Misao looked at Kenshin's pale face and wondered who the hell Tomoe was. Kenshin looked like he was going to throw up.
"Do you want some water?" Kaoru asked Kenshin, also noticing the paleness of his face.
"I'm fine." Kenshin said nodding a bit.
"Hey Ken, lets go get started cooking lunch." Sano said uneasily as he steered Kenshin back into the kitchen.
"Who do you think Tomoe is?" Kaoru asked Misao once Sano and Kenshin had left the living room.
"No clue. You want me to find out who she is?" Misao could get Kaoru any information about anyone. Back in Kyoto was the most succesful information gathering team in all of Japan, and she was the head of it all.
"No. Kenshin would tell me if he wanted me to know. Plus, it's not like it's any of my business." Misao could tell by the look on Kaoru's face that she really wanted to know what was making Kenshin so upset.
"Ok, well I'm gonna call Kyoto to check up on everyone."
"You mean to check up on Aoshi."
"He's a grown man, I don't have to check up on him." Misao glared at Kaoru.
"What about that girl he's training? The one you told me about."
"Kari? What about her?"
"You said she was stuck to Aoshi like a band-aid."
"He'd never want her." Misao said annoyed.
"So then there's no need to check up on him!" Kaoru resolved.
"But I'm NOT checking up on him!" Misao exclaimed.
"Misao, denial is not healthy!" Kaoru quickly walked off to the kitchen.
"I'll get you back Kaoru! No one teases me and gets away with it!" Misao playfully called after her friend.
Misao smiled at the thought that Kaoru knew her so well. So what if she WAS checking up on Aoshi?
With a grin Misao reached over to the phone and dialed the Aioya.
"Hello?"
"Hey Omasu! It's Misao!"
"MISAO-CHAN! How are you?"
"I'm ok. Is Aoshi around?"
"He's meditating, as always."
"Oh, well I don't want to disturb him..."
"Of course you do! Hold on." Omasu laughed, and ran off to get Aoshi.
After a few minutes Misao heard Aoshi's voice rumble over the line. She bit her lip to squelch her sigh of happiness.
"Hi Aoshi, it's Misao."
"Aa"
"Um, I just wanted to know what's going on over in Kyoto. Have I missed anything?"
"No."
"Oh, well I just wanted to check. So what's up with you?"
"Nothing." Aoshi's mouth lifted into a small smile. He would never admit it, but he missed Misao and her bubbliness. Now that she was gone the Aoiya seemed to have less life. If only she weren't so young, Aoshi thought to himself.
"So how's Kari?" Misao teased. She could hear Aoshi give a small groan.
"She's unbarable."
"She's just got a little crush on you."
"She hugged me." Aoshi stated, frowning. Misao could feel the edges of her smile fading. Jealousy snaked around the young girl, and her whole body shook with it. The jealosy briefly turned to anger, and then finally became sadness. Kari HUGGED Aoshi. Misao never once had the chance to hug him. She had never even been physically close to Aoshi. Misao wanted to demand to know if he hugged her back. Misao wanted to beat the crap out of Kari. Misao wanted to curl into a ball and cry, but most of all Misao wanted to take off for Kyoto right at that moment, and confess her feelings. She wanted to make him hers; hers alone. It wasn't fair! If only she could just claim him as her own! But he wasn't hers; he would probably never be hers. I have no right to be jealous. Misao shut her eyes tightly, fighting off tears. "Misao?"
"Huh?"
"You were quiet."
"Can't I be quiet at times?"
"Not at all." Aoshi teased. Misao loved the odd little times he teased her, and she couldn't help but giggle a bit. God did she miss him. She bit her lip, and made a vow to herself that she would at least try. She would not let Aoshi go without a fight. Misao smiled with renewed confidence and happiness.
"I wanted to ask you a favor."
"What is it?"
"Can you do a check on a girl named Tomoe?"
"Last name?"
"I don't know it, but the search shouldn't be too hard. I just need you to search in Kyoto. If you can't find her then just tell me, and I'll decide if we should widen the search."
"Aa."
"I have to go now, but I'll call back later."
"Aa."
"bye."
oooOooo
A/N: I hate writing for Aoshi. I'm so bad at it (frown). Anyways, I apologize if it was not up to ur Aoshi standards.
oooOooo
"KAORU!!!!" Misao yelled.
Kaoru raced into the room, "What? Who died?"
"Take a look out the window."
Kaoru pushed back the curtains and watched as Megumi stepped out of her benz carrying a large tub of ice cream and wearing a very unfriendly scowl.
"Oh my God! Ok, here's the plan: you go stall her, and I go get rid of the guys!"
"Why do I have to stall her?!?!?! She's your sister!"
"Go go go! No time for arguements!" Kaoru raced off into the kitchen. Upon Kaoru's arrival Kenshin turned to looked at her in concern.
"What's wrong Miss. Kaoru?"
"You two have to go now. I'll explain later. Bye!" Kaoru grabbed the spoon Kenshin was using to stir the miso soup, and began pushing him toward the back door.
"Kamiya Kaoru get your ass out here!" Megumi's voice yelled from the livingroom.
"Leave! Save yourselves!" Kaoru pointed at the back door before rushing off to the living room.
oooOooo
"Was that Fox's voice I heard? And What the hell is wrong with Jou-chan?" Sano said once Kaoru had jogged out of the room.
"Maybe it's a girl thing."
"If it's femanine problems then we are definitely leaving." Sano made a pained face, and reached for the door handle.
"You're not curious to know what it is?" Kenshin asked before he could stop himself. He knew that they shouldn't ease drop, but it was so tempting.
"You, Mr. Goody goody, want to listen? Man, you've been acting weird all day. First we come here to train, when where we really need to be is at a gym, then you refused to give me a break until Jou-chan said to, and now you wanna listen to some talk about feminine stuff! WHAT'S GOING ON WITH YOU?"
"Quiet Sano!"
"I wanna know right now. You going after Jou-chan?"
"Sano!"
"Ken-"
"What the hell are you two doing here?" The two men turned to see Megumi holding a tub of ice cream.
oooOooo
"My favorite girl bringing me ice cream. It's like a dream." Sano said as he sat on the couch,
happily eatting his 4 scoops of ice cream.
"I told you guys to leave." Kaoru said irritatedly from where she sat on the opposite side of the room. She tried to spare them from Megumi's anger, but noooo, they couldn't just leave. They had to stay in the kitchen and argue! Although she had to admit that she did want to know Kenshin's answer to Sano's question. Was Kenshin going after her? If so, did it matter? She couldn't go out with him. Could she?
"Megumi called in sick for work, which she NEVER does, and she's carrying a very large carton of ice cream. You two should be VERY VERY afraid." Misao said solemnly.
"Afraid of Fox? Why? What's so bad about her ditching work, and getting ice cream?" Sano said as he licked at his spoon.
"You really must know nothing about women." Kaoru shook her head sadly.
"Let me put it this way broom head, right now men are not high on her list." Misao said slowly.
"God, this is some feminine shit! I told you we should have left Kenshin." Sano growled, eyeing his friend who was staring down into his bowl of ice cream.
"Left? Why would you want to leave? The party just started!" Megumi exclaimed from the doorway of the kitchen. She walked over to a chair and sat with her ice cream and a spoon. "Enjoying the ice cream?" She asked sweetly. For someone who was pissed off, she looked damn happy. Everyone in the room began to fidget nervously.
Sano looked down at his empty bowl and briefly wondered if the ice cream had been poisoned.
"Yes, Miss Megumi. Thank you for giving us some." Kenshin said nervously. Megumi was creepy with a capital C, if u asked him.
"Megumi, your scaring them half to death! You can scare broom head all ya want, but I happen to like Kenshin." Misao interjected.
"I'm not scaring them."
"Megumi, Sano looks like he's gonna pee himself."
"I am NOT gonna piss myself! Weasel, you're really testin my patience." Sano growled.
"My name is Misao, NOT weasel." Misao growled back.
"That's enough you guys! Megumi just tell us what's wrong!" Kaoru finally spoke up.
"What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong! I gave up my break to go help some "poor injured man", and you know who shows up just as I'm about to start working?"
"Who?"
"Nick." Megumi dug her spoon into the creamy ice cream and shoved it in her mouth.
"But... but... he's in England!" Misao sputtered. Kaoru's jaw dropped. The guys looked confused as ever.
"Well, he's back, and he's the new head of the ER! Can you believe it? He decides to show up a month early! He just walks into the operating room, gives me a kiss on the cheek, and starts ordering nurses around!"
"What did you do?" Misao questioned. Kaoru's mouth was still hanging wide open in shock.
"I stood there staring at him like an idiot until he asked me to leave the operating room." Megumi shoved another spoon full of ice cream in her mouth.
"Who the hell is Nick?" Sano said. All the girls in the room turn to look at him.
"Badddd question..." Misao murmured, shaking her head.
"Huh?" Sano said, looking at Misao with wide eyes.
"You stupid males just don't get it do you?" Megumi said, bringing Sano's attention back to her. Megumi was so angry her face was flushed a bright red. "When you break a girls heart you are not allowed to waltz back in town, steal her dream job, and make her look like a fool! What is wrong with you men? Why are all of you led by your penis's instead of your head? Why can't you see something when it's right infront of you? I was there for him, the whole time! Wasn't I enough? Wasn't I? Huh? You stupid fucking bastards! You go around thinking you can just hurt anyone. You think you can just stomp on peoples hearts when you feel like it! Why? What gives you the right? I want answers. I want them now! Tell me! TELL ME! Why...Why wasn't I good enough...?" Megumi watched as concern pooled inside the depts of Sano's eyes. She felt her heart do a small flip. All of a sudden she realized that she was standing infront of Sano, towering over his sitting form. Tears were running down her cheeks, and all she wanted to do was sit in his lap, huddle against his body and bawl. "I... I'm so sorry. I..." Megumi stepped back a bit, and wiped away her tears with the backs of her hands.
"Maybe you should go lie down or something. You've had a bad day." Kaoru cooed to Megumi, taking her hand, and leading her to the bedrooms.
"No." Megumi said, pulling her hand away. "I think I'll go for a walk."
oooOooo
"Why are you following me?" Megumi was enjoying the light breeze, the beautiful sunshine, and the buzzing of the bee's around the flowers until she heard the sound of heavy foot steps coming from behind her. He was the last person she wanted to see. She had embarrassed herself by screaming at him, and then by crying in front of him. She could feel her cheeks getting red at the memory.
"You never answered my question Megumi." Megumi's eyes widened at hearing him say her name. When had he ever called her by her name? It was always Fox this, and Fox that, but she doubted she had ever heard him say her name before.
"What... what question?"
"Who the hell is Nick?"
Megumi swallowed a lump in her throat, and forced herself to speak. "He's the guy who stole my job right from under me. He's the guy that told me I wasn't good enough for him. He's the guy who divorced me after only 6 months of marriage. Nicolas Takani."
(A/N: SEE!!! SHE WAS MARRIED!!!!! THAT'S WHY THE DIFF LAST NAMES WITH HER AND KAORU!)
"You were married?" Sano's eyes bugged out for a second.
"Yes I was, Sanosuke. I married him when I was 22 and in my first year of med school. He was already a doctor. He was a friend of one of my professors. When we first met he flirted with me shamelessly. I thought he was so handsom and smart..." Megumi let out a dry laugh, "We married after only 3 months of dating, so I guess it's no question why the marriage didn't work. We didn't know each other. I was constantly busy with my studies, and he was busy with his patients. One day I came home early and caught him in bed with a nurse he worked with. I forgave that asshole, and he ended up divorcing me."
"Do you need me to maim him? Cause I will. He deserves it Fox, and I'm just itchin' to do some damage."
"Thanks, but no thanks. It's all pointless now." Megumi sighed, and turned around to walk some more. Sano fell into step beside her.
"So why'd you forgive him?"
"I don't know. I guess I was stupid and thought that we could fix things."
"You sure you don't want me to hurt him?"
Megumi laughed and turned to smile at him. Her smile faded as she saw the sincerity in his face.
Sano really did want to hurt Nick. He really wanted to do this for her. Why?
"Megumi, he should have never cheated on you. It must have hurt like hell to walk in on him and another girl. I... I don't have the answers to your questions, but I do have a solution for your problem. I'll hurt him. I'll make that asshole regret he ever hurt you. Just say the word." Sano's hand came up to lightly touch her cheek. Megumi wondered if he was going to kiss her. Suddenly she realized that she wanted him to kiss her. She needed him to kiss her. All she wanted was to feel the safety of being with him. Just when she thought he was going to dip his head down to hers, he pulled away. She almost asked him why.
"I'll go after him right after lunch. I'm starved! Hey Fox, you know how to cook, right? Cause no wife of mine will be helpless in the kitchen." Sano suddenly laughed, scratching the back of his head nervously.
"What?" Megumi asked, shocked at the sudden change in mood. Wasn't he just about to kiss her?
"If anything, Kenshin can teach you a thing or two."
"You stupid ass Rooster! There is nothing wrong with my cooking!"
"I didn't say there was any thing wrong with your cooking."
"But you questioned my cooking!"
"But I didn't say there was anything wrong with it!"
"I hope you die and go to rooster hell!"
"As long as you go with me, Fox." Sano smirked.
"Oh God, where's my ice cream?!?!" Megumi turned and stormed back to the house.
Sano trailed behind her, wondering to himself, What have I gotten myself into?
oooOooo
(While Megumi and Sano were out)
"WOW, I feel tired." Misao made the worst excuse for a yawn that Kaoru had ever seen.
"It's 2 in the afternoon." Kaoru said dryly.
"Exactly! Nap time!" Misao winked at Kaoru, and jogged out of the room.
"Misao!" Kaoru yelled after the retreating form.
"Oro?" Kenshin looked utterly confused (as usual...)
"So... Kenshin..." Kaoru stared at her hands fighting not to blush.
"Yes, Miss Kaoru?"
"Uh, how's the training coming?"
"It's coming very well, I have high hopes for Sano. How was your martial arts class today?"
"It was fine." Kaoru remembered her conversation with Misao, and wondered if he had somehow over heard. Kaoru couldn't stop the light pink from spreading on her cheeks. "Why do you ask?"
"It seems that the boys were not happy with me. I got several glares."
"Oh, well, uh..."
Out of nowhere Misao popped into the room, "The boys were jealous of you Kenshin, you see they have a little crush on Kaoru, and they got the silliest idea in their heads that you two were an item. Anyway, I don't want to intrude on your conversation, I was just passing through on my way to the kitchen for some water." and with that Misao walked off into the kitchen.
"I'm a bit thirsty too, Kenshin, excuse me while I get a drink of water." Kaoru ground out. "The hell was that?!?!" Kaoru fumed at Misao once she was in the kitchen.
"I was just helping out."
"Well, stop it!"
"Why? I think he likes you." Misao grinned widely.
"I don't care! Me and him are NOT going to be an "item" any time soon, so just stop it."
"What, don't tell me you don't like him back?"
"I have to get back to the livingroom." Kaoru said, ignoring Misao's question.
"Ohhh, you like him too! I knew it!" Misao did a little happy jump.
"I just got out of a serious relationship..."
"WEEKS ago, nearly 2 months. Let-it-go."
"I'm in a fragile state." Kaoru sniffed.
"Fragile state my ass."
"Look, I'm going back in there, and you are not allowed to play match maker. You hear me?"
"Yes mam." Misao said dryly.
"Good." Kaoru stalked out of the kitchen.
oooOooo
"Oro?" Kenshin said as Kaoru stalked out of the kitchen.
"Misao was hogging the water." Kaoru said with a weak smile.
Kenshin smiled back, amusement dancing in his eyes.
Kaoru wondered if he heard everything. 'Why doesn't the ground just swallow me right now?'
"You make a very good teacher. You were good with the students, and you're very skilled at what you do." Kenshin said.
"Well, I've been taught by the best." Kaoru smiled "My father loved this place, and he taught me everything I know. He comes by here often, so who knows, you might meet him."
"I'd love to met him, especially if he's anything like you."
Kaoru's face heated. 'Is he flirting with me?'
"Yo, Jou-chan, where's lunch?" Sano barged into the room with an angry Megumi behind him.
"Stupid rooster, can't you tell when people are in the middle of having a moment!" Megumi growled, gesturing to Kaoru and Kenshin.
"It was such a beutiful moment too!" Misao popped out of the kitchen.
"Oro?" Kenshin's eyes swirled.
"I'm surrounded by idiots." Kaoru muttered
Loooong, wasn't it? Well, I hope yal enjoyed it. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I like this fic the most out of all of my other fics, so please be kind!!!! (pout)