a/n: here ya go! another update! keep the feedback coming! i'm still looking for a beta, so... plz, if ur interested review me and tell me! make sure to give ur e-mail to me as well! this is kinda a slow chapter and i apologize for that, but hopefully next chapter will make up for it!
disclaimer: don't own them, dammit, so stop chasing me cuz u don't like the pairings!
Chapter 4: Phone Call Relationship (Enter the Rooster's Hidden Manners)
Megumi rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she rolled over in her bed. She shot a dark look at her alarm clock; she'd forgotten to turn it off. It was set all the time due to the time her job demanded her to be awake. Turning so she faced the ceiling, she recalled her promise to the deranged tanuki last night. She sighed and tried to get back to sleep. Surely 'Mr. Right,' as he'd deemed himself, wouldn't be expecting her call at six in the morning.
Twenty minutes later she was still staring at her fan as it rotated counterclockwise above her. She threw aside her comforter angrily before getting up and starting her coffee. She set the mug down on the counter with a little more force than needed and headed towards the bathroom to get in the shower.
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Kaoru rolled over and put her pillow against her head to block out the annoying ringing of her telephone. Oh, yes, she was coherent enough to realize that it was indeed her phone ringing at six-thirty in the morning, but this was where she put her telephone importance philosophy into action. If it's important they'll A) leave a message, or B) call back at a more appropriate hour.
Finally the phone stopped ringing, and she heard her machine go off. Sighing she lifted the pillow off her head and closed her eyes until the angry voice made her shoot straight up.
"Kaoru answer you phone right now! It's Megumi, and I know you're home! Just because you don't get up at the most respectable hours-"
Kaoru fumbled with the receiver on the nightstand next to her bed (eventually last night she pried herself off the couch and moved into her bedroom) and eventually answered the phone.
"Whad'dya want?" she asked, the words somewhat slurred due to lack of sleep.
"What time should I call that guy?"
"You woke me up at," she glanced at her clock on more time, "quarter to seven to ask me this?"
"Yes-"
"If I tell you, can I go back to sleep?"
"Yes-"
"Eleven." And then she hung up, making good on that promise and rolled over and fell asleep again, snoring shortly after.
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Megumi glared at her phone. Eleven. Jeez. That was a long time… What the heck was she supposed to do between now and eleven? She sipped her coffee and tried to come up with the answer, eliminating choices as she did so.
Something with Kaoru was out; she was bound to have gone back to sleep like any normal person. Calling that guy was a no; he was probably sleeping too. She didn't feel like watching TV or any of the movies she owned, Kaoru had stolen her PlayStation2 because she hardly used it, and she was bored out of her mind.
'How pathetic,' she thought. 'Outside of work, I have no hobbies…'
she thought. 'She continued to sit on her couch, still drinking her coffee. Thinking about what to do, she re-called the phone call she'd had with Kenshin. He'd been terribly distressed over something and it seemed to have to do with Tomoe. She smiled a feline smile; this could mean good news for her dear Tanuki-chan.
'Megumi, do you know anyone who knows Tomoe really well? She's well…'
'No, I'm afraid I am not well acquainted with Tomoe-san. Kaoru's over here though, would you like to talk to her?'
'Yes, actually, I think she's the person I've been looking to talk to,' he said, a note of relief coming across his voice.
'Oh, never mind, must be that time of month; she took off like a bullet towards the bathroom with her purse,' Megumi lied. 'Well, taa, taa, Ken-san!'
'Megumi, please… I have to talk to her,' he sounded near desperate now.
'I'm sorry, Ken-san, she sounds like she needs help. I have to go. Perhaps if you call me tomorrow morning I could help you more. Bye.'
Kaoru was in the bathroom, trying to hear, but the last parts after 'that time of month' had been drowned out, for she'd been too furious to listen properly any further, afraid of what she might hear Megumi telling Kenshin…
She smiled, now knowing what she was going to do. Kenshin was usually up at this hour, so she picked up her phone and dialed his number. She waited as it rang.
"Hello?"
"Oh, Ken-san about last night-"
"Can you help me!"
"With what?"
"Tomoe's sick and she can't talk well… I need to know the phone numbers of her family so I thought that maybe if someone knew her well enough…"
Megumi's smile fell. Poor Tanuki-chan. "I don't know…"
"Kaoru might know, though, could you ask her?"
"Why would she know?" she asked, remembering the girl's jealousy of Tomoe.
"She dated Enishi for a while a few weeks back and I was just wondering if she still had all the phone-"
Megumi stopped listening, realizing what his whole problem was. He had let Tomoe wrap him around her little finger. In a few words, he was henpecked.
Very.
"I'll ask her, okay Ken-san? But tell me this: why can't you just ask her yourself?"
"I-I… um, that is to say-"
"Forget it, I'll just ask her for you," she said, doing Kaoru a favor. She knew how upset the girl would be when she found out that it was all for Tomoe.
She set the phone down, a frown playing on her pretty features. She'd never felt so bad for Kaoru. Her love life wasn't so bad, I mean, at least she had more than three boyfriends in her life. Kaoru had only ever truly loved one man in her whole life. Kenshin. And he never felt the same. It had always colored her present relationships.
She sighed as she looked at her clock. Seven-thirty. She wished she could have slept in longer, but she'd been so tired and annoyed last night…
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Sano shot up as his phone rang loudly. Cursing, he reached for the phone on the floor by his bed.
"'Lo?"
"H-Hello?"
"Yeah."
"Th-This is Takani Megumi," she uttered.
"Ooh. Hello there. I wondered if you would actually call me," he said, smiling. Of course he'd known she'd call, just not this early. The tanuki had said she would call about eleven. Not eight.
"Yes. I- you see my fried set it up without my knowing and then she just… she goes a little nuts with the whole matchmaking thing." She managed to giggle as she got a little more relaxed.
"I know the feeling! There's this girl I know, happily dating I assure you, that has been trying to set me up with girls for ages! Never successful, though," he said.
"Do you sometimes wonder about her sanity factor?"
"Almost always."
Megumi laughed out loud. "Oh… well, enough about our insane friends. What do you do for a living?"
"I'm in school for relating, but as for now, I'm running a bar with my friend," he answered truthfully.
"I'm sure you know all about me though," she said, laughing. "After all, I saw everything that my friend posted on my profile."
"Right, you're an ER doctor who has a bit of a temper, or so I hear."
"Sounds about right."
"If you want, I can tell you a little bit more about me," he offered.
"Okay."
"Well, aside from school and my bar, I do a little boxing on the side. With my friend that is to say."
"Oh, I'd love to hear more, but I have to go… I forgot I'm on call even if it is considered a day off…" she said wistfully. "I'm sorry."
"That's fine. Did you give me your phone number."
"In the e-mail, yes."
"Great! I'll call you later then. Bye."
"Bye."
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Sano hit the talk button to end the conversation and then hit it again in order to call Kaoru. Her phone rang four time before the machine went off.
"Hey, Jou-chan? You there?"
"God, what the hell do you want! It's only eight-thirty!"
"She called."
"What! I told her not to call till eleven! Ugh! I'll have to kill her later…"
"Sorry for waking you up."
"What did you talk about?"
"This and that. She had to go, though. Said she was on call or something," he explained.
"Oh, that's right… Hey, you know Kenshin, ne?"
"Yeah."
"Well… he called Megumi last night. Do you know if anything's wrong?"
"Um, I think Tomoe's feeling a bit under the weather, but there's nothing wrong with him," he told her.
"Oh."
"Something wrong?"
"No, no. Just curious is all… I'll talk to you later. Bye."
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"Kamatari, what is going on?"
"Oh! That hot bishounen, Kenshin his name was, I believe, with that woman, Tomoe. She was rather sick. I called you because he said he knew you and trusted you to take care of her. Room 37."
Megumi sighed. "Sure."
"Toodles!"
a/n: next chappie... Tomoe's in serious trouble... is there something megumi can do to save her? and wat happens when she finds out that mr. right knows kenshin? find out! don't forget to review!