Disclaimer - I can't believe it! I am now the proud owner of Rurouni Kenshin!
The whole cast stares.
Aoshi - You have got to be kidding me...
Kenshin - Shall we do it?
The cast nods, and everyone pulls out their weapons and points them at Hitoezakura.
New Disclaimer - I don't own Kenshin, and I'm pretty sure everyone knows that by now...
Anyways, responses to reviewers!
Cutie machan - That's so sweet! I love compliments!
Mori'quesser - Thank you...but I actually have a very strong fear of bugs (I run away from them screaming), so perhaps that is a very optimal form of torture. Thank you for the compliment!
Bradybunch4529 - I have my plans for when Aoshi and Kaoru shall get together, but since it's me, and since I'm working on a whole new plot for this story rather than working off old ones...well, it's going to take a little while (plus, my chapters are short).
WhiteRabbit5 - I never figured that it would happen, but I ended up liking Kaya a lot! So I took the effort to kind of weave her into my current plot plans...you'll figure out later (hint - Do you know a character named Soushi Okita?) And thank you for pointing out that mistake! I have yet to correct it (I'm really slow with this, and computers/technology are not my best areas), but I will be sure to!
Anonymous - I suck? I don't mean to be rude, but the least you could've done was give me a reason for why I suck? I accept negative comments, but only when you actually support them with actual facts! So if you happen to read this fic again, could you please tell me why I suck?
AUTHOR ALERT!
To all my readers - I will not be updating again till the middle of June, because I have too many tests going on between now and June. I'm so sorry! However, I will be sure to update as much as I can duringthe summer, so please don't abandon me!
This chapter concentrates on other characters, so enjoy! It's a severe contrast from the previous chapter, but I tend to jump around during scene changes, and sorry to upset most of you, but Kaoru and Aoshi will not meet during this chapter (they won't meet for two/three more chapters, because there are plots intertwined in this story). However, I hope you still enjoy!
HOW IS THIS LOVE?
Chapter Three: Bringing Everyone Together
"One sukiyaki, Kaoru!" yelled out Tae, the owner of the Akabeko, one of the most popular restaurants in Tokyo. "Tell that to Minami!"
"Sure thing!" called out Kamiya Kaoru, skating by on the roller skates some moron had suggested all the waitresses wear. Her black hair trailed behind her, and for a moment, her sapphire eyes were filled with contempt as she thought about the moron's suggestion for putting waitresses on roller skates
Wait till I find out who that moron is! I had to spend so much time with Misao just to figure out how to keep my balance on these damn skates!
"Minami, make a sukiyaki!" said Kaoru hurriedly as she skated by the petite blond.
"Ok, but could you deliver this to those gentlemen over there?" said Minami urgently, pushing the tray into Kaoru's hands as she pointed to a table in the distance. Kaoru's eyes widened and she did a double-take.
What are they doing here? Is something wrong?
Kaoru quickly regained her composure and gave Minami a quick smile before making her way to the familiar people at that table.
"One plain hot soba, one chilled soba with vegetables, two sakes, and a platter of onigiri" replied Kaoru with a smile, showing no sign of familiarity to the two people. "Anything else?"
"Please tell me you didn't cook this tanuki" replied the taller man at the table, his amber orbs eying the food apprehensively. Kaoru's eyes sparked with anger, and the sudden urge to pull on the four strands of hair that fell in front of his face was unbearable, when she suddenly felt a hand on her arm.
"Don't mind Saitou, Kaoru-dono" said the shorter man, his amethyst eyes calm and cheerful. His bright red hair shone in the sunlight that poured through the windows of the restaurant. "However…did you actually cook this?"
"No" replied Kaoru with a smile. Both men sighed with relief, causing Kaoru's anger to rise. Hajime Saitou jabbed Himura Kenshin with a chopstick, trying to warn the poor man about Kaoru's rage, but it was of no use.
"Kenshin no baka!" said Kaoru angrily, banging the tray down on poor Kenshin's head. Just before Kenshin fell back into his chair with swirly eyes, his hand slipped into Kaoru's pocket. Kaoru's eyes widened and she skated off, leaving Kenshin with a large bump on his head.
"Oro…" muttered Kenshin, rubbing his head to ease the pain. Saitou shook his head exasperatedly.
"If only you knew how to deal with women" muttered Saitou. "How you got married to Tomoe-san is beyond me, and how you got her pregnant is a miracle to be praised."
"I could say the same for you!" countered Kenshin indignantly. "Tokio-dono must be a bodhisattva to have married you!"
Saitou simply chose to ignore the comment and instead took a bite of his soba. "Did you put it in her pocket?" asked Saitou.
"Yes" replied Kenshin. "But I see no reason for me to have undergone that abuse just to give her that slip. Misao-dono would've told her this evening anyways."
"The fact that Okina is calling all of us means that something new is going to happen" explained Saitou calmly, sipping a bit of his sake before returning to the soba.
"Then perhaps the next time we have to inform Kaoru-dono, you should be the one to get hit!" muttered Kenshin. Saitou gave a short bark of laughter before returning to his soba.
"That's your job Battousai" said Saitou with a grin. "You give up the name of the assassin and people aren't afraid of you anymore…so of course you're perfect for this job!"
Saitou calmly continued to eat his soba as Kenshin fumed angrily.
Kaoru skated into the bathroom as soon as the second waitress, a tall, red-haired woman named Naoko, announced her arrival. She ran into one of the stalls and quickly procured the slip of paper from her pocket.
'Kamiya – Report to the Aoiya at six o'clock today – Okina.'
Kaoru pulled out her lighter and burned the slip to a crisp before throwing the ashes into the trash and skating out of the bathroom.
Something is going to happen today…but what?
"Hey, I want a beer!" yelled out a man playing pool in the corner of the Shirobeko, one of the most popular clubs in Tokyo.
"Hey Shiroto, here's the beer" called out Sagara Sanosuke, emerging from behind the counter and running his hands through his spiky, rooster-like hair before spinning the bottle, popping it open, and sliding it over on the counter to the man.
"That girl's cute" muttered one of the men at the counter, staring at a woman with her hair tied up in a bun, her dark eyes narrowed as she defeated yet another man at a gambling game. Yukishiro Enishi was thankful for his sunglasses; he was afraid his turquoise eyes would betray the laughter that was threatening to surface.
This guy thinks Shura is cute? Perhaps I shouldn't tell him that she had only one crush in her lifetime – and that man is happily married to my dear sister Tomoe? Or…maybe I should have fun with this…didn't Sanosuke get beat up when he teased Shura by saying he'd date her?
"You should buy her a drink" said Enishi coolly, running a hand through his spiky white-gray hair. "Girls love it when you buy them a drink."
"Really?" asked the guy with a grin on his face. "Give her a blackberry daiquiri, on me! Can't wait to get her in bed!"
Enishi quickly prepared the drink and jabbed Sanosuke in the side with his elbow as he walked to the counter, causing Sanosuke to turn around angrily.
"What was that for?" asked Sanosuke furiously. Enishi pointed to Shura and then to the man.
"Just wait and see my friend" said Enishi with a grin, setting the drink on the couner. "Shura! This gentleman's ordered you a blackberry daiquiri!" He slid it down the counter towards Shura
Shura caught the glass just before it toppled to the ground and set it on the table. She walked up to the man with a sweet smile, sat down in front of him, and placed her hand on his cheek. The man grinned and began to move closer, his hands inching towards her.
"Three…two…one…and now!" whispered Sanosuke, a big grin growing on his face.
SLAP!
Shura walked away, sipping the blackberry daiquiri as the man nursed his swollen cheek in his hand before slapping a few bills down on the counter and leaving the club. Enishi and Sanosuke laughed hard as the disappeared behind the counter.
"That's always worth a laugh!" said Sanosuke cheerfully. Enishi grinned and pushed up his shades when he suddenly heard the swish of a cape.
That sound…it's familiar…
Both he and Sanosuke turned around to see a muscular man standing in front of them, his black hair in a long ponytail. Enishi's eyes widened slightly behind the glasses, but he simply turned around, grabbed a bottle of sake, and threw it over to the newcomer, whose hand shot out to catch the sake that was so beloved to him.
"So?" asked Sanosuke. "What the hell are you doing here Hiko?"
"Hiko-san to you" muttered Seijuurou Hiko, sipping his sake. "Anyways, just dropped by to get this sake". He pulled out a few bills and tossed them on the counter before walking away. Enishi thumbed through them to find a slip of paper.
"What's that?" asked Sanosuke, pulled out his lighter and a single cigarette. Enishi shrugged and unraveled it.
'Sagara and Yukishiro – Report to the Aoiya at six o'clock today. Send Sagara to tell Megumi to report too. – Okina.'
"What's this about?" muttered Enishi, handing the slip to Sano, who burned it with his lighter before lighting his cigarette.
"Have no clue, but looks like I'll be seeing my foxy lady today" said Sanosuke with a grin, causing Enishi to sigh exasperatedly.
"You have asked her for four years straight to date you, and not once have you been successful!" muttered Enishi, but his words remained unheard as Sanosuke remained lost in his fantasies. Enishi finally just threw his hands up in the air and left.
"Dr. Takani!"
The pretty doctor turned around, her ebony hair tied back with a kerchief and her maroon eyes questioning the nurse that had come behind her.
"What is it Mia-san?" asked Megumi quietly. Mia-san smiled cheerfully.
"Oh Dr. Takani, you need to smile more! Anyways, you have a visitor, and he is so cute! You're a pretty lucky woman!"
It's five-thirty! It's the end of my shift, and some visitor just happens to come right now! I am going to kill that visitor…
Megumi rolled her eyes and walked into her office to see a tall figure sitting in her chair, the tips of his spiky hair unable to be concealed by the back of the chair. She shut the door behind her and sat down in front of him before breaking the silence.
"Why hello Sano no baka" said Megumi sweetly, reaching over and mussing his spiky hair ever so slightly. Sano's hand shot out and he walked around the desk before pulling Megumi against him, causing her to stumble into his arms.
"Hello foxy lady" whispered Sanosuke, his deep voice causing Megumi to giggle and placed a kiss upon his cheek. "How did you like my wonderful surprise greeting?"
"It's unexpected, but perfectly welcome" said Megumi. "However, I know that this is no greeting, and that we probably have reservations at the Aoiya, don't we?"
Sanosuke grinned sheepishly.
Reservations at the Aoiya – our code for a meeting with Okina…she figured it out way too quickly.
"Yes, we do have reservations" replied Sanosuke. "But think about it! It's a thirty minute drive to the Aoiya, and during the ride, we could-"
"Keep our eyes on the road so that we don't crash!" finished Megumi, her fox ears popping up as she watched Sano's face sink into depression. "Come on rooster, we better get there sometime today."
"How about if the road in front of us is perfectly straight, and I don't even need to touch the steering wheel? Then can we-"
"No."
"How about-"
"No, Sano no baka!"
"But Enishi thinks I can never make you fall in love with me at all! At least give me some kind of pleasure during our secret dating trial period!"
"Sano, two months is almost over! After that, you can rub it in Enishi's face! Until then, keep this relationship a secret!"
"Alright, but you know, if we drive at sixty miles per hour, we'll reach the Aoiya with ten minutes to spare. Do you think during that time-"
"No, Sano no baka, I will not do it in a car!"
"Soushi! You have a visitor!"
A young boy turned around, his dark brown hair falling into his eyes. He pushed it back, revealing extremely dark blue eyes. The smile on his face seemed permanently plastered on as he stood up and walked into the visitors office. His smile grew wider upon seeing the visitor.
"What are you doing here?" asked Soushi Okita, his eyes twinkling with happiness as he hugged the woman that stood in front of him. Her crystal blue eyes were just as happy as his, and her long black hair was neatly tied into a bun. She smiled and motioned for Okita to sit.
"I'm finally back from China after researching our newest case" replied the woman with a sigh of exhaustion. "And I couldn't find Hajime, so I figured that I should visit you! How have you been Okita-kun?" asked the woman with a smile.
"I've been fine Tokio-san" replied Okita cheerfully. "But I figured that Saitou-san would've at least greeted you after not seeing you for two months…he seemed to miss you."
"He did?" asked Saitou Tokio with a laugh.
"Yeah, but that's partly because neither he nor I can cook…" Okita trailed off, a sheepish grin on his face.
"That's my husband for you" replied Tokio with a shake of her head. "Anyways, getting off that subject, I came here for an important reason. We're to go to the Aoiya at six o'clock, so I'm getting a ride with you. I'm way too tired to drive right now!"
"Sure thing Tokio-san, let's go!" said Okita happily, grabbing his car keys and pulling her out the door. "I can't stand doing any more paperwork for this office!"
Okina stared at his documents and then glanced at the watch, which read 5:55.
They're all coming here…and Aoshi and Kaya are coming tomorrow…soon, the whole team will be reunited…
Author's Notes
So, has anyone been able to figure out how all of them are related? And what Okina means by the whole team?
Alright, I have a few ideas in my head about what will happen in the future of this fanfic, but all of you will have to wait till June! I'm so sorry!
Please Review! And don't kill me if you hate me for not updating sooner!