A/N: This is the longest chapt of my series..you gotta blink every once in a while to moisten your eyes..heheh
Disclaimer: totally not mine..(well..the plot is..)
HOW TO FIND A DATE ON VALENTINE'S
TAKANI MEGUMI'S POV
'Tanuki was definitely getting smarter! Darn it….how did she manage to choose that baka!!', She fumed inwardly as she reflected her previous conversation with her best friend. "You're not thinking of backing down this early right?", Kaoru's voice echoed in her mind. Double darn, Megumi thought, clearly distraught.
'How am I going to even ask him to be my date, darn, I really dig my own grave this time!', Megumi shook her head, sighing deeply.
Takani Megumi has lived alone most of her life, after the fire incident in Otsu that took away each and everyone of her family member, leaving her all alone, and she was barely fourteen years old at the time. She came from a family of well-known doctors for three-generations, and was well versed since very young, in the art of herbal medicine. That knowledge really came in handy during those hard times where she had to work in a medical centre after the fire incident, being a talented young apprentice who learnt quickly and absorb knowledge diligently.
She decided to try her luck and moved to Tokyo a few years ago, and resumed her studies after she had found a permanent job as an assistant doctor at a tender age of seventeen in Genzai Clinic, and coincidentally met up with Kaoru who happened to experience similar hardships in life. The two of them bonded quickly and friendship soon bloomed between them, amidst all those teasing and occasional arguments. Even without saying it out loud, Megumi knew she was grateful for her friendship with the somewhat temperamental Kamiya Kaoru.
Monday Afternoon…
She frowned. 'I only have less than a week to make that baka ask me on a date this Valentine's day…how am I going to do that?'. Her mind whirled as she saw a grocery store. 'Hey, this is a new store!', she thought. 'How come I never noticed it?' She decided to do a bit of grocery shopping, since she has to cook for herself on daily basis, and today she has her regular night shift off at Genzai Clinic, so she could cook dinner leisurely.
She took a shopping basket and wandered around the store, choosing ingredients for dinner tonight. 'Mmmh…soybean milk, tofu, some veggies, a bit of fish…gee…fish is rather expensive these days…', she thought to herself. After she bought her supplies, she walked to the cashier, busily reaching out for her purse inside her bag.
"Irrashaimase..", a deep, sensuous voice greeted her, tickling her senses.
Megumi froze in her spot, and looked up, her face blanched to see …him, of all people, working there!
"A..ah.. there you go", she quickly bowed her head, hiding the heat that rose up her cheeks, pretending to be absorbed in her search for her purse, even though her hand inside her bag has gripped the purse a few seconds earlier.
Sagara Sanosuke eyed the beautiful girl in front of him.
'Hmm…isn't she familiar-looking? Oh…right…might be one of his classmates…'
"Anou…sumimasen", a soft voice called out hesitantly, and Sanosuke blinked, seeing the beauty in front of him looking at him with a weird look. 'Ah..kuso…her groceries…', he proceeded to check her groceries.
Once or twice though, he couldn't help but to narrow his eyes in concentration. "Who is she?"
Megumi was annoyed at herself for suddenly feeling fidgety under the few glances that he threw at her. 'Stop fidgeting!' She scolded herself to no avail.
Sano's deep voice suddenly said, " Think I've seen you before…"
Megumi jolted slightly. 'Of course, you dolt! We're in the same class!', Megumi wanted to scream at him. She was proud, however, to note that her calm and collected voice was intact when she replied, " I think we go to the same school", she dryly answered.
'Oh, that's right, great going, Sagara..', he grinned at his own folly. "Must be it then..what's your name, anyway?", he asked bluntly.
'How rude! Oh, it's so sweet of Tanuki to make her date this Baka!' Megumi thought inwardly. In a clipped tone, she answered, "Megumi".
Sanosuke tilted his eyebrows at hearing the name. "Oh, I see…Megumi…Takani Megumi, the best academic student..I should know that", he said casually, causing Megumi to blush a delicate shade of pink.
"You are despicable, Sagara Sanosuke!", she spat, feeling every bit annoyed, while mostly at her stupid deal with Kaoru, a part of her feels there's a certain something about him that attracted her..she'd be crazy to admit that! But his bluntness…Baka!
Sanosuke's deep chocolate eyes grew large at hearing her words. "Huh? Do you know me?", he asked, purely taken aback.
Megumi's face turned crimson. 'Darn, what did I just say! I am such a Baka!' She gazed at another direction while replying, "We're in the same class, for goodness' sake, refrain from sleeping in class, so you know your classmates", she almost gasped at her own answer. It…it sounded almost as if..I'm upset at him not recognizing me…oh, drat, she winced inwardly. Sanosuke grinned widely. He just finished packing her groceries into a bag when she said her little speech.
In her embarrassment, Megumi quickly placed some bills onto the table, and hastily grabbed her grocery bag. "Here, thanks", she said as she turned and fled, not bothering to look back.
'Drat, drat, drat!', Megumi cursed inwardly. 'My goodness! I think I have to back down my deal with Tanuki…there's no way I'd have the courage to face him again!'
She blushed at recalling her words.
"We're in the same class, for goodness' sake, refrain from sleeping in class, so you know your classmates"
That sounded so unlike her. Darn!
'But to think of what Tanuki would say…oh, she'd definitely have a great time to laugh at me!
Meanwhile, at the store…
Sanosuke was still grinning goofily as he heard a voice calling his name.
"Sano…thanks for taking over for me.. Jiya said that I shouldn't bother you with this chore too often", the voice turned out to be a petite built girl with her bluish-black hair braided, reaching her tiny waist. She wore a modified knee-length working yukata covered with a plain white apron. Misao has always been a tomboy all her life. 'A cute tomboy, though', Sano noted.
She smirked and winked at him.
Sanosuke replied, "No probs, Misao…tell you what..I'd do this duty of yours as often as you want..", he smirked back, adjusting the position of his red bandanna.
Misao's smirk faltered, "Huh? How so?…" she observed her friend's goofy expression and she asked, "Ow-kay, Sagara Sanosuke, you gotta tell me…what did you do to the Sano I know?"
When he still displayed that ludicrous-looking expression on his face, as if he was mesmerized or something, Misao thought it's quite strange…unless… "Sano…who came into this shop while I was away?"
He just chuckled at her perceptiveness. "Ah, Misao, no one in particular…", he ruffled the petite girl's hair "What made you think so, anyway?", he asked.
"Hey, stop it, you're messing my hair!…and you want to know why I asked you that?", Misao shot an incredulous look, but she kept going without waiting for his reply,
"Because, you baka Rooster, you're holding a few bills in your hand, and you're sporting that odd, stupid look on your face! That's why!", she replied.
Sanosuke bowled over with laughter. "That's my girl, Misao, you're such a funny girl!", he chuckled, then opened the cashier's drawer, to put down the bills, and in turn, taking a few coins. He turned towards Misao, who looked at him with puzzled expression.
"Misao, my shift's over, and by the way, this is the change that the customer forgot to take", he showed the coins in her hand. Misao just nodded, dumb-founded.
"Bye, now! I'll see you later!", he said as he stepped out from the shop in a flash.
Misao stood rooted at her spot, "Hm….it must've been a female customer", she pondered.
Sano didn't go to chase her up. She's been gone for a while, and he'd return the money some other time. Instead, he walked through the busy road of Tokyo, looking around at a leisurely pace when he spotted an assortment of red colored hearts and bouquet of flowers displayed in almost every shop alongside the road. 'Ah…Valentine's Day's coming…' A beautiful face suddenly popped up on his mind.
A certain beautiful girl in wrapped up in her glorious fury.
Hmm…he suddenly has an idea. He grinned rakishly.
Megumi's residence
Megumi winced at the taste of her soup. "Ugh…this is terrible! Perhaps all that insults I threw at Tanuki came back to curse me", she sighed, massaging her temples.
A part of her knew that it wasn't the case. She was slightly disturbed by the previous encounter with the imbecile…er…Rooster-head, she shook her head.
Unbelievable! I dig a deeper grave for myself now, she sighed once again.
She put down the soup ladle and turned off the stove.
'Dinner was no longer appealing, 'she thought, walking away to her study room to find something to do to distract herself.
Tuesday… At schoolShe came a little early to read and re-read her notes. The teacher for her first class was quite a strict one, and although she has no problem with the subject, she'd like to ensure that she maintained her position as the smartest cookie in class.
She was studying a passage as she realized a shadow looming over her desk.
She looked up to see a smiling spiky-haired guy. His smile was blindingly charming, making the corner of his eyes crinkled just slightly.
Out of the blue, her breathing became erratic. This is definitely not a good sign.
"What…?" she didn't get to finish her sentence, before he interjected.
"You forgot your change yesterday", he replied calmly, putting a few coins on her desk as he observed the changes in her demeanor.
From irritated, she became embarrassed, and then slightly defensive.
"I…thank..you…", she stuttered a little when she replied, much to her dismay.
He just smiled at her, and waved his hand casually. "No probs..", and he walked to the corner of the class, finding his normal spot, only to lean back and be prepared to have another nap.
Her classes went smoothly and Kaoru refrained from teasing her about her 'date-to-be', thank goodness! Megumi thought with a small smile that Kaoru looked rather happy herself lately, so she cut off her usual smart-ass remarks that every so often would annoy the Tanuki.
'She deserved a bit of peace, I suppose', Megumi grinned.
At the end of the day, she felt something was amiss. What is it? It seems that I forgot to do something… After packing her belongings into the bag, she suddenly remembered.
Darn! I forgot to apologize…to that baka! How am I gonna ask him for a date, if I was that rude to begin with… She put a hand on her forehead. His wanting to take a nap in class is his business, not mine…'
Last night, she decided that she didn't want to be a coward and run off from her deal with Kaoru. So she decided she needed to come up with a strategy. She counted the days. 'Three more days! Ughh…I really have to go to that shop to apologize.. I really don't have much time..'
Tuesday Afternoon - Back at the shop
"Irrashaimase!", a cheery voice greeted her ears. Huh? Megumi turned to see a petite girl wearing a short yukata. Eh? Where is he? I thought he's working here..
Misao noticed the tall girl was looking around for something. Her intuition kicked in immediately. 'Ah-ha…found you! My sixth sense couldn't be wrong this time!' she grinned at Megumi.
Megumi was astounded at seeing the friendly grin directed toward her. Ah…he's not here, perhaps I should just go..but it'll be rude of me to leave when the girl there has recognized me.."
"Sumimasen", the same cheery voice broke her train of thought.
"Yes?", Megumi glanced at her and saw a glimmer of something in those emerald-colored eyes.
"You're looking for Sano, aren't you?", she said in a serious tone.
Megumi's face almost paled when she heard the girl. She caught herself and asked, "What do you mean, miss..?" 'Is she his girlfriend?' Megumi felt a pang of something and her stomach suddenly churned.
Misao was disappointed, but as usual, she never gives up. Her intuition urged her to be persistent.."Don't say otherwise…Sano told me", she threw the sentence and winked at her.
This time, the witty Kitsune was speechless"Na..ni?" she asked in a small voice. 'What did he tell her?' Her curiosity was piqued.
'Bull's eye!' Misao smiled inwardly. 'O yeah, Makimachi is goooood!'
Anyway. if you're looking for him, he's not working full time here. only occasionally, when I need him to…", she grinned.
"Oh..I see..", Megumi said, blinking. 'What is this girl's relation with that Rooster?'
"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself… I'm Misao, Makimachi Misao, my grandfather owns this shop. and you are..?" she extended a hand out
"Aa…I'm Megumi, Takani Megumi, nice meeting you Misao", she shook the petite's girl's hand.
"Nice meeting you too, Megumi, and before you're thinking of anything else, I just want to let you know that Sanosuke is my long-time buddy…so don't get any wrong ideas here…", she smiled at Megumi.
Again, Megumi was stunned at this girl's bluntness, but she kind of admire her honesty..and what was this feeling of relief that immediately reverberated throughout her inner self, calming her churning stomach altogether.
" I'm not sure of what you're implying here, Misao", Megumi countered.
Misao smiled widely now, "Come now…you're attracted to him, right? Well, I could say the same about him…one glance at the Baka Rooster, and I knew that he's hooked", she said good-naturedly
Megumi had to laugh at that. "Misao, you're very funny. but I'm not so sure if that's what you mean…"
"Well, you can come back again tomorrow, and see that I'm right.. anyway, I presume that you were looking for him?", she asked.
"Ah.. you're right, but it's just because I need to tell him my thanks for yesterday", Megumi lied smoothly through her lips.
"Well…" Misao winked playfully, " Then I'll have to make sure he'll replace me again tomorrow.."
Megumi smiled at her antics, " Thank you, Misao…perhaps I'll see you again some other time then", she responded lightly.
"Sounds great…maybe we could hang out or something..", she said.
"Yeah, sure, and I'll have to introduce you to my friend, Kaoru, I really think the both of you will connect really well", she said.
A baritone voice called out Misao's name. The girl's ears suddenly perked up and she was about to excuse herself, when out of the side entrance's door, a tall guy with jet black bangs was entering quietly. He stood patiently and nodded at Megumi curtly. Megumi nodded at the strikingly handsome guy, wondering silently.
"I won't be too long, Aoshi-sama!", the girl chirped, obviously talking to him.
'Aoshi-sama…?' hmm…very interesting..
"Great! I'll see you later then, Megumi!"
"Till' then, Misao!", Megumi elegantly turned on her heels and walked out the shop.
Wednesday Afternoon
After school, Megumi quickly made her way to the small shop. 'I have to say sorry, he's not at school today, and I only have two days left…'
For some reasons, her winning the bet with Kaoru didn't seem too important now. Actually, she couldn't really think clearly in the past couple of days.
Every time she tried to study, a fine, brown, spiky-haired male specimen came into mind.
She opened the door, trying to be obvious in her every movement, but as she was casting one glance toward the cashier, she was stunned.
The spiky-haired baka was standing there, acutely observing her from afar.
Her breath hitched as her heart was pounding loudly. 'Kami…why is he looking at me like that?', she nervously pondered. Misao's word repeated itself in her mind.
For a second there, she was tempted to turn around and just go out from the suddenly stuffy shop, but she halted herself. Instead of escaping, she braced herself and walked to the cashier desk, while trying to maintain an eye-contact with the tall brat. She was never this nervous at having to speak with a guy before. It was rather funny, considering her teaser-flirty type. She never had such problem. Until now…
Eventually stopping a couple of meters in front of him, she closed her eyes for a few seconds to muster her courage that rapidly slipped away at the sight of the handsome guy. 'How odd…I never thought that he's quite attractive…'
"Look, Sagara, I…apologize for being rude last time…it was uncalled for..", she started off. Sanosuke spared an amused glance at her words.
Megumi gulped as she continued, "I have been looking for you to apologize, but I just couldn't find you around.." she finished.
Sano stayed quiet, as if thinking about something. 'She was looking for me?'
Nerve-wrecked as she was now, she started to fidget again. And then she gritted her teeth as she blurted out crossly, "Did you hear me, baka Rooster?"
As soon as she said it, she regretted it. 'What the heck is wrong with me? I kept getting angry… do I owe him another apology now?' She shook her head and sighed.
"Forget it, Sagara, I'm sorry, okay…Ja", she turned away and was close to capturing the door handle when she suddenly felt a steel grip on her wrist.
"Huh? What do you want?", half-scared, she tried to wrench her wrist away, but he tugged her softly, sending her off-balance, that she had to hold on to his arm for support.
"Sagara…..", she warily whispered.
"Sano", he corrected her. "Have you finished with your little speech?", he asked…
huskily? Huh…what's wrong with her ears now?', she frowned.
She blinked. "Uh…Y..yeah…I did apologize, didn't I?", she replied weakly.
"You did..only to insult me once again right away…I think I need a different kind of apology from you…", he said in his masculine voice that sent tingles down her spine and all over her skin.
"What..what do you mean….mmmphhh…"
His lips descended to meet hers in a light yet firm lip lock. Megumi was silently thankful to have held his arms for support, for her knees felt like they have hopelessly turned to mush… but it felt nice…really nice…
An eternity later…
Megumi's flushed face brought a huge grin to his face. "And that is not quite sufficient..", he smirked mischievously. "What..do you..mean?", she blushed, feeling content at being in his arms. "Megumi, have a date with me this Valentine's day?", he said, extracting something from his pocket. A heart-shaped champagne truffle. Her favorite delicacy.
"Ah…how..did you?", she struggled with her words, flabbergasted at seeing his little present. "Oh, I have my ways….", he winked, "And if I give you a few more of these, hopefully you'll be drunk enough to just say yes", he smiled brilliantly at her.
Megumi's face was again suffused with pinkish blush as she softly scolded him,
" Baka no Rooster-head!", then she smiled, taking the heart-shaped truffle out of his hand.
" Yes…I will be your date on Valentine's Day", she flashed her most beautiful smile at the stunned Sagara Sanosuke.
A/N: someone told me she loves S/M, I think it might be Crewel (who reviewed my Stumbling into You...) this S/M is for you, hope you like it.. awhh..I'm so sleepy...