Painted Chord
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to the lovies who reviewed! o
Drawkcab: here ya go :D enjoy! XD
Crewel: wow I'm so glad I attracted some Sano/Megumi fans! here here haha! o I hope you enjoy the next few chappies then .
Miharu Kawashi: isn't it though? sigh I thought it would be a nice twist to have Shinta as the trouble maker
Mad-4-Manga: I've been there, actually I'm supposed to be babysitting right now XD hope you like this chapter!
chakitattyla2h8: haha XD what can we say, the men just can't leave us alone . wow so you're like, royalty! ahhh coolios! XD welcome back from Vegas, hope you had a good time, then again...what happens in Vegas, stays...in...Vegas lol ;)
GoldAngel2: highfives the Zep fan! I'm definetly gonna go read your ficcie Kenshin as a DJ is really coolio, thanks so much for the numerous reviews! I feel so...accomplished? lol o
Wow o mi gawd I am so thrilled by the number of reviews you guys give me! tears of joy! Here is the next chapter, and for those of you who wonder where Tomoe disappeared to, don't worry I'm getting some ideas But she won't show up for a few more chapters, so that's for all you Tomoe hatas out there .
-infidelmaki-
Disclaimer: sighs this is boring...I'm gonna go read my RK mangas which I...did not create...but...I paid for them...so...but I don't 'OWN' them...
Summary: An artist meets the guitarist of her dreams, the only problem is he has a split personailty disorder. So who is Kaoru really in love with? Kenshin, or his split personality 'Shinta'? (AU, KK, AMi, SMeg Rated T)
Chapter Nine
How Many More Times
"Megumi are you okay?" Kaoru whispered. Megumi had climbed onto the subway car looking a mess. She had to have been crying. Kenshin gave Kaoru a concerned look and got out of his seat to let Megumi sit (A/N: How polite he is! ).
"Kaoru, Ken-san...Sano asked me to marry him."
"Wow Megumi that's great! Congratu.." Kenshin stopped. The glare she gave him surpressed his voice.
"Kaoru I don' t know what to do...I want to say yes...but I couldn't..."
"Why Megumi? If you love him, then you don't have to be afraid."
"No that's not it. I just have a fear of commitment..." Megumi pouted. Then she realized that she wasn't being fair to Sano. He was always there for her. When she entered graduate school, he was there for support. He helped her move into her apartment, he was even there to bring her food when she was doing her internship at Brookdale...Megumi shuddered. That was a scary place..Kenshin noticed her change in expression.
"Megumi...we all know you love Sano very much, but if you don't want to get married just yet, then tell him. He'll understand, and he'll stay with you. Sano's not the type to just walk out on someone." Kenshin smiled warmly at her. Megumi blushed. He was right, and she was being horrible about such a little thing.
"Where were you heading Megumi?" Kaoru asked in a happier tone.
"Oh..I was um..." Why had she gotten on the subway? She was heading down to the bar to drink herself to sleep...and yet she turned and went down the steps to the station instead.
"I was going to Sano's place up by Methodist Hospital..." She decided. Yes. She'd go to his apartment, ask for his forgiveness, and consent to marry him. She loved him, and she knew she was just being stupid. No other man could love her and understand her like Sanosuke. She smiled deeply to herself. Kaoru glanced at Kenshin and mouthed a 'is she okay?'. Kenshin returned it with a nod and smile.
"We're going to a restaurant near there. Would you and Sano like to come with us?" He asked. He knew Kaoru wouldn't mind. In fact she was egging Megumi on to say yes. Megumi could see the concern and anticipation in her friends' eyes. But she couldn't go with them. She needed to talk alone to Sanousuke.
"No thanks guys, I need to talk things over with Sano for a bit first." Kenshin nodded with understanding and pressed on her shoulder.
"Alright. But if you do marry Sano..." he began. "...don't get too frustrated with him, he's a simple boy." They all exchanged laughs and information, then exited the train at their stop.
Megumi wiped her tears and gave a final wave to her friends. With a determined posture and squinted eyes, Megumi jaywalked the street and ignored the yells and carhorns. She could see the Barnes and Noble building near by, and on the curb stood the emergency entrance to Methodist. She smiled in triumph. She was going to go and apologize to Sano. She practically sprinted to the end of the block, quickening her pace as she turned a corner. When she neared the end of the hospital complex, she tripped on a coffee can. Replacing her high heel onto her now bruised foot, she stood up and continued to the top of the hill. Her hair whipped around her face and blocked her view, causing her to bash into a tree (A/N: I don't hate Megumi, but I just thought it would be kinda funny...ermm...nevermind .;;). She clenched her currently bleeding nose shut, and breathed through her mouth. Her asthma burned her lungs, and her knees ached from lack of excersize. Still, she continued to run up the empty block. People would think she had been running from a rapist or something crazy like that.
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Sano pulled on his leather jacket and tied his bandana tightly. He felt as though someone had just smacked him with a rotten fish. He was starting to doubt his relationship with Megumi. He had just asked her to marry him, and she ignored him and changed the subject. What if she didn't really love him? Then why was she going out with him? She couldn't be after money, becuase, well, he had none. Why would a medical student want to date a drummer in some underground band? He was staring at himself in the mirror. His face paled and his eyes widened. Could it be? That she was just after...he shivered at the thought of someone taking advantage of him for sex. Sure he had done so in the past, but never had he expected that he would be the one to have been used like a dishtowel and thrown in the wash. I guess I had it coming...he sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. Feeling melancholy, he decided to get to the local pub to drink the pain away. He took hold of the door handle and turned it ever so slowly.
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Megumi was already at the door and ready to start knocking when it had opened. She practically burst into tears when she saw Sano. He looked suprised, especially by her appearance. She had a decent amount of bruises running up her leg from her left ankle, she had cuts on her arms and face and Sano could of sworn that her nose had been bleeding. She was wheezing deeply and her eyes were muddy from a crying spell. He immediately forgot the horrible things he thought of earlier.
"Megumi! Oh my God are you alright!" She looked up and smiled. With a deep sigh she finally collapsed into his arms.
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The waitress sat Kenshin and Kaoru near the kitchen of the restaurant. Most people would consider this an impolite gesture, but not here. To children, getting a booth near the kitchen was a rare and sought after treasure, even to some adults. At this part of the restaurant, the kitchen was revealed by a large counter and island. You could see the excitement of the eatery right there. The chefs who made Two Boots' famous pizza stood near the window, and put on a show of cuisine mastery. They twirled and tossed the dough for all to see, and gave out small samples of dough to children. Children would bring the dough back to the table, and rost it over a candle to make their own pizza.
Even though most of the booths were occupied by familes and small children, Kenshin could tell that Kaoru was enjoying herself. They had ordered a large pie, and a large order of the place's famous sweet potato fries.
Blech...I hate sweet potatoes. Kenshin twitched.
"What's wrong Kenshin?" Kaoru said between bites.
"Nothing, Daijobu Kaoru." He said with a feigned smile. He took a sip of his sierra mist and leaned back into the leather booth. Shinta was trying to come out. Yes he had promised him that he'd let him out on Saturday nights, but he had no idea that it was indeed--Saturday night. He looked at his wrist watch. Six fifteen...maybe if we get out of here before nightfall he won't cause a scene.
Who won't cause a scene? Kenshin jumped. Shinta's presence was beginning to startle him more and more.
'Shinta', can you wait until I've paid and left the restaurant? You can have her all to yourself until tomorrow morning if you wait. Kenshin heard his voice snicker in the back of his head. Then it faded. He began to worry. What if 'Shinta' planned on hurting Kaoru?
"Kenshin are you alright? Here let me get the check. I'll pay for it this time." He was in no mood to argue now. Kaoru could tell he was struggling and that he was in pain. She hailed for a waitress and demanded the check. After paying the bill, she helped him out of the booth and squeezed his hand.
"Kenshin, let's go home. I'm worried about you." Kenshin nodded and held his head. It was starting to burn up. He glanced at his watch again. It was going on seven. Why couldn't 'Shinta' just hold on until nightfall? Oh shit...I told him to wait til we left the restaurant...
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"Sir, her wounds are rather suspicious. I highly doubt that 'she got them from running in her heels up the street like an idiot.'" the emergency room doctor quoted Sanosuke.
"Listen Doc, I'm tellin' ya, I did not beat her! I opened my door and there she was. She collapsed into my arms!" He thundered. The doctor sighed and looked to Megumi. She had just finished getting a nebulizer treatment and sat up from the hospital bed.
"He's telling the truth sir. I was running because I wanted to catch him before he left." The Dr. was not going to be convinced that easily. He eventually brought in the cops, and after deliberating with witnesses who claimed they saw Megumi running up 8th avenue, the doctor finally believed them.
"Doctor, I think that they're telling the truth." One officer said. "Yeah, she's just some crazy lady who was in a hurry. In fact if it weren't for the bird-head here..." Sano cringed. "Then she probably would have fainted in the streets and could have been...mugged...kidnapped...raped..." the police officer rambled on, leaving the doctor speechless. The officers swooshed through the hospital curtains and exited through the lobby.
"Well...whatever. It's kind of late so it's not a bad idea to keep her overnight for observation. She might have a relapse from the asthma. You can stay overnight if you wish." The doctor sulked out of the cubicle to tend to other emergencies. Sano eyed him with a scowl. He turned to find Megumi grasping his arm.
"Thank you Sano. And if you're still up to it...then yes..." and with that she fell asleep. He didn't need to ask her what she said 'yes' to. He already knew. Giving her a soft kiss on the cheek, he began to fill out the paper work a nurse had given him.
Married...engaged...single...seperated...he stopped. He took out a pen and circled 'engaged' in blue ink.
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A/N: I decided to not end this one with a cliffhanger. I hope you understood that last paragraph, it was murder to write eheheh...,;; This chapter is dedicated to all you Sano/Megumi fans Thanks so much for the reviews, you guys make me feel so warm and fuzzy!
Next Chapter: Nobody's Fault but Mine
Kaoru felt horrible, as if she cheated on Kenshin.
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