Story Eleven: Making Eternity

It was deep into the starry night at the Kamiya Dojo, and only two beings remained awake. Amid the shadows and moonlight graciously distributed by the clouds and bright moon, a small redhead and a lanky teenager sat upon the veranda.

The one bearing a sword, the redheaded man, looked up to the moon in simple, appreciative silence. This was the best friend the other man, Sanosuke, had come to know; solemn, strong, wise, fiercely protective, and yet wonderfully serene. The spiky-haired young man heaved a sigh, as he too looked up into the velvet sky.

Kenshin was waiting; Sanosuke realized this after a long period of expectant silence from the swordsman. Yes, Kenshin was most definitely awaiting Sano to say something…all day long; the boy had seemed unusually thoughtful. This could only mean one thing; that Sanosuke was about to make a decision so big even he had to considered the options and consequences before action.

Sanosuke played with the ends of his red bandanna that were flipped over his shoulders casually, unsure of how to pick his words. Continuing his fidgeting by itching the back of his neck, Sanosuke jutted out his bottom lip in frustration as he glared up at the moon.

Finally, Sano spoke. "Hey, Kenshin."

The small man looked over at his young friend, blinking amiably. "Yes, Sano?"

Taking a deep breath, Sanosuke did his best to keep a straight and manly face upon his features as he told Kenshin what he had been keeping inside for many weeks. "I think…. I think I'm gonna… I think I'll ask Megumi to…to….marry me…"

Of course, Kenshin didn't look surprised at all. Sometimes, that frustrated Sano, but this time he was glad that he didn't have to endure shocked exclamations and the classic yelp of "Oro!" that Kenshin usually offered. Instead, Sano's best friend nodded attentively, deep in thought.

"How are you doing to ask Megumi-dono this?" Kenshin inquired, looking up.

Sheepish, Sano smiled weakly and shrugged. "I dunno… I was thinkin' maybe I'd up'n'tell her I wanna…y'know. I mean, that's all there's to it, right?"

Kenshin gave the poor boy the most bizarre look Sano could have dreaded for a response. "'All there is to it'?" Kenshin repeated, thrown for a loop. "Sano, proposing to a woman is an expression of utter love and devotion for the rest of your life! Marriage is about becoming eternally linked forever. If you ask Megumi-dono this, you must make this special for her! After all, it is true that girls dream of marriage ever since they are small."

Sano gulped. Of course, things had to overcomplicated themselves and make life miserable for poor, wee little Sano. Proposing. The word echoed in his mind; it sounded like some sort of hideous surgery, equivalent to castration in Sano's mind.

Kenshin caught the frightened look on his friend's face, and chuckled. "Do not worry, Sano," the wanderer assured, "we all know you love Megumi-dono very much, and she'll appreciate whatever you do for her."

"Huh…yeah," Sano muttered, swallowing loudly once more. "It doesn't bother me much 'bout what I do; it's what I don't do that worries me."

-

"Awright, Kenshin!" Sano barked at the wanderer, as they sat on the Dojo floor the next evening. The two men were surrounded by hills of books that they had collected, from everywhere and anywhere they could get their hands on. The books ranged from various topics, but they all had to do with courting and romance.

Pointing at Kenshin and nearly jabbing the redhead in the nose, Sano growled, "We're gonna read every single one o'these books and figger out how t'properly propose to a girl. Got it?"

"Oro…" Kenshin mumbled, looking nervous as he looked at the many novels. "Sano… I'm not sure this will help so much…"

"Sure it will!" Sano bellowed, looking proud. He picked up a nearby manuscript and shoved at the poor wanderer, nearly knocking him over. "Now, get reading! There's no time to waste."

Ten minutes later…

Kenshin looked up from his second book to find Sanosuke consumed in a novel, his brow furrowed. The cover was concealed by Sanosuke's knees, and so Kenshin crawled over to inspect the book Sano seemed so intent upon.

"ORO!" Kenshin fell backwards, his hair on the fritz and his eyes bugged out wide. Leaping back up with terror, he shouted, "Sano, what are you reading? If Megumi-dono finds out that you are—"

"Huh?" Sano looked up, only now noticing Kenshin and his trauma. Glancing back down at his rather mature book, he grinned back up at the wanderer and said, "It's no big deal… nothin' I haven't seen before."

Kenshin stared down at his nineteen-year-old buddy, looking halfway between disgusted and amazed. "Sano… another thing about marriage is that you must stay faithful to your wife, and not indulge yourself in other…things. Were Megumi-dono to find you reading things like that, she'd think you don't desire her anymore if you spend your time reading adult content!"

Sano scowled. "Nobody said I didn't desire her…but she won't let me do anything!" He then went into an entire speech of how Megumi stubbornly remained to keep abstinent, whining in his most pitiable voice. "I mean, it's freakin' killing me—she doesn't understand that I'm a man and I have needs…do you know how long it's been since I've been laid? Well?" He grabbed Kenshin by the collar and shook him rather violently. "It's been three WEEKS! THREE WEEKS! And that's only 'cause I mas—"

Kenshin pushed his sex-starved friend away, cutting off Sano's tantrum. "I think it is very mature of Megumi-dono to keep herself pure for marriage, that I do!" said he. "And if you truly love her, Sano, you will respect her choice, too."

He pouted. "I do…I do respect her choice, 'cause I haven't bugged her about it for three weeks…three weeks…three weeks…three weeks…" He chanted, dazed.

Kenshin covered his eyes with his hands, looking hopeless. "This one has gone for fourteen years, that he has."

"FOURTEEN YEARS?" Sano looked ready to pass out. "I—I can't do that! Megumi expects me to—to—aw, jeez, NO!" He folded his arms and glared at Kenshin stubbornly, internally blaming the poor redhead for his frustration concerning the whole proposing issue.

Kenshin sighed. Only Sano. Smiling, Kenshin offered, "Well, there must be something besides research that we can do to help you." After careful, thoughtful, and sometimes irritable discussion, the two pals decided on their next move.

-

"You want me to what?" Kaoru growled, looking incredulous.

Yes, it's true. They went to Kaoru for help. She was the nearest female, and not to mention Megumi's best friend and younger sister figure. Explaining the matter to her, Kenshin implored that Kaoru would help Sano act things out, so he could have a better feel on what to do when the real thing came about.

"We want you to pretend to be Megumi-dono," Kenshin repeated, "so that Sano can practice proposing to her!"

Sano looked just as absolutely thrilled as Kaoru. He glowered at the closest tree like it had just magically transformed into a particular yellow-eyed, nicotine-worshipping cop that Sanosuke would just love to mangle right about now. Of all of Kenshin's ideas, why did playing pretend with Kaoru have to be one of them?

"I don't think so, Kenshin," Kaoru said, blushing. "I—I mean, well…it's Sano…"

"Yeah, Kenshin, it's Sano," Sanosuke growled furiously. The two continued to protest and refuse Kenshin's begging, until it became obvious Kenshin wasn't going to release the matter. So they both agreed, to try it once.

Kenshin played director, watching the two and their progress. Kaoru let her hair down from its ribbon, so that it hung down her back somewhat like the Foxy Doc's. She sat near the well, pretending to be filling out paperwork at the Clinic. Sanosuke waited impatiently from afar, scuffling his heels in the dirt.

Finally, Kenshin told them to begin. Sanosuke stiffly walked towards Kaoru, trying to remain emotionless, carefree and sure of himself; Sano tried to imagine this being the real thing, a do or die situation. He replaced his surroundings with that of the Oguni Clinic, and instead of Kamiya Kaoru, there at the desk sat Takani Megumi.

'Megumi' looked up at him, and scowled. "What is it now, Rooster?" she said, in a voice that really didn't sound like Megumi at all; briefly bringing Sano out of his trance as he remembered that it was Kaoru.

He threw away that, hoping to get the hang of this proposing stuff so that he could get it over with. "Um…" Sano anxiously searched for words. "F-Fox… I wanted to talk to you…"

"I'm busy. Now, go away, before I call upon my minions to devour your soul," 'Megumi' snapped, looking down at her paperwork.

Sano blinked out of his dream land, scowling at Kaoru, who was busy pretending to write strangely large kanji in midair. "Missy! Megumi wouldn't say that!"

Kaoru bared her teeth, talking in that voice that was an attempt of Megumi's, but a rather poor one. "Don't talk to me that way, mortal! I can say whatever I want. Now go, before the underworld swallows you."

"Kenshin!" Sano growled, turning to the exasperated redhead as he pointed accusingly at Kaoru. "She's ruining it!"

Sighing, Kenshin decided this plan wouldn't work out so well, either.

-

"Well," Kenshin huffed, as he and Sanosuke walked down the busy streets of downtown Tokyo. "We're not having too much luck with the whole acting business, so why don't we focus on another department? After all, you need to look nice for Megumi when you ask her to marry you."

Sano sighed, looking miserable already. "And… just where are we going…?"

"We're going to see Tae at the Akabeko," Kenshin said happily.

"WHAT!"

At the Akabeko…

Tae was overjoyed to hear the news of Sano's impending proposal, and happily agreed to assist him. While on break, she, Kenshin, and Sano visited a nice shop full of clothing. Tae raced about the store, picking out items of clothing so quickly that neither of the men could tell exactly what she picked.

"Here!" Tae said gleefully, handing Sano an outfit. "I like this one the best. Go and change into it, and come out when you're done!"

Feeling a little nervous, Sano clutched the clothing, took a backwards glance at Kenshin, and then entered the dressing area. It was a minute or so before Sanosuke called out, after the soft rustle of clothing. "Hey, Tae…"

"Are you done?" asked Tae.

"….yes."

Tae frowned. "Come out, then!"

"….no."

Looking displeased, Tae put her hands on her hips and demanded, "Why not?"

"…'cause I look funny."

After a bit of coaxing and warm persuasion, Kenshin and Tae managed to get Sano to open the door and step out. Tae squealed with joy, while Kenshin simply blinked in disturbed surprise. It turned out that Tae had outfitted poor Sanosuke in a baggy, forest green outfit that made him look more like a chibi plush doll than anything. He hugged himself self-consciously at Tae ooh-ed and aah-ed over his—well, truthfully—strangely cute appearance.

"You look wonderful, Sanosuke-san!" Tae yipped, clapping her hands.

"I do not," Sano grumbled unhappily. "I look like a…a…stuffed animal…"

Kenshin scratched the back of his thick red hair, chuckling slightly. "Well, I have to say that Sano most certainly does look a bit different than what we're used to!"

Throwing a deadly glare at the redhead, Sanosuke snarled, "I look like a flipping panda drowned in green paint! How is that defined as 'a bit different'!" Sanosuke attempted to storm back inside the dressing room, but Tae caught him by the arm and tried to hold him back.

"I hate this! I want it off me!" Sano yelled, as Kenshin assisted Tae in dragging him into the main room, out into the open. "No! No! NO! Leggo o'me! You can't make me—"

Thump. Tae and Kenshin dropped Sanosuke to the floor as a dozen young girls or so came scampering over at the sight of the adorable Sanosuke, touching his hair and his face, tugging on his clothes, and squealing of how cute the poor boy was.

"Getawaygetawaygetawaygetaway!" Sanosuke yelled, fleeing from the grasp of the crowd and back into the dressing room, where he changed at light-speed and fled the shop in terror, leaving behind a mystified Tae and an oro-ing Kenshin.

-

Sanosuke ran, and ran, ran, ran. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, not caring where they took him as long as it was as far away from that blasted shop and crazy bunch of women. Pumping his legs with renewed strength at the memory of that horrid outfit, Sano zoomed down the lane like a streak of lightening.

He found himself panting, slumped against the Oguni Clinic door, minutes later. He took in a deep breath, drew up his knees to his chest, and rested his chin upon them. And he sighed. I'm hopeless, Sanosuke thought, biting his lip. I'll never be able to propose to Megumi like this! I don't know what to do…

Abruptly, the door opened. Sanosuke tumbled backwards with a surprised yelp, landing on the shoes of an astonished doctor. He looked up sheepishly, to find Megumi's ironic gaze smirking down at him.

"Oi," Sano mumbled, grinning shyly as he sat up, and got to his feet.

Megumi watched him curiously as Sanosuke shoved his hands in his pockets and fidgeted. "Well, is something wrong? You're covered in sweat, and your breathing irregular; so you must have been running."

"Yeah…" Sanosuke murmured, shrugging and trying to play cool.

Megumi frowned at her boyfriend, who was acting odder than he usually did. Lifting a hand and checking his temperature, Megumi found nothing, and slid her palm to cup Sano's cheek in worry. "You've been stressing out, haven't you? Over what?"

Before he could even open his mouth, Megumi had released his face and seized his wrist, dragging him along into the Clinic. "Never mind, I should probably check your hand. You can tell me about it then."

Sanosuke gulped as they set down together, so that Megumi could inspect his bandaged right hand. She went about her usual treatment, humming softly as Megumi did so. After a bit, she set down Sano's hand and looked up. "Well?"

"Ah…um…" Here's my chance, Sano thought. A feeling of ugly dread coiled up inside, as he opened his mouth to speak. "M-M-Megumi…I w-was wondering, i-if you might wanna… if you want to…" Sanosuke's jaw froze as Megumi met his eyes, confused. His throat went dry, and Sano finished hoarsely, "…never mind."

"Sano?" Megumi frowned again, reaching out and brushing some of the bangs in his face aside gently. He shivered, Sanosuke's thoughts racing a million miles an hour as he realized he'd let the opportune moment flee. "Sanosuke, what is it?"

His hands shook as he folded and unfolded them in his lap, twisting an interlocking his fingers as his palms sweated frantically. "Ah—um, I m-mean, uh…" Shivering, Sanosuke squeaked, "…d'you mind taking a walk with me?"

Megumi blinked in surprise, but nodded. "Sure, Sanosuke." Standing with him, Megumi noted that his hands were trembling and his face was pale beneath the fiery blush spread across his cheeks. What's bothering him so? she wondered, looking worried.

Slipping her fingers in a crisscrossed fashion with Sano's, Megumi hoped this would be a comforting gesture to him as they exited the Clinic. They walked in silence, down the street together until they came upon a leafy path. The trees overhung them, wreathing the two in chords of shadow and sunlight that sparkled and leapt down in waves on the path between the branches. Birds offered their song to the skies, taking flight occasionally to meld their voices with the gentle wind.

Megumi looked at Sano again, to find him deep in thought and still as nervous; she felt his hand sweat and tremble against her own. She blinked, concerned as she parted her lips to speak to him.

Instead, she let out a small yelp when Sanosuke suddenly turned and put his arms around her tight, crushing her against him in a desperate hug. He buried his face in her neck, drowning in her scent and listening to the music of her breathing. "Meg…" he whispered, shaking.

Megumi gently put her arms around Sanosuke in return, slipping her fingers into the nape of his thick spiky hair, as she awaited him to continue. It confused and worried her to see Sanosuke so frightened and worried; was something wrong? There must be something wrong…Sanosuke had avoided her for a day and a half. It was lonely for Megumi during that time; she was so accustomed to his little visits and Sanosuke's assuring presence; she loved the feel of his arms around her, and silently accepted the moment as Sanosuke held her now.

He whispered her name again, Sano's voice low and trembling with both worry and eagerness. "Megumi…I…I'm sorry that I…I mean, well…I wanted t'ask…you to…" Megumi remained quiet as Sanosuke's embrace grew tighter, drawing her against him as he continued in a sudden outburst. "Megumi, I know I'm not exactly—I mean, I know I'm… I know I don't deserve to—to ask you this, but I…I really want…it's just that I love you so much, and I really wanna be with you for as long as I live! A-And, I've been tryin' hard to figure out how t'say this and how to ask you, but I don't know how to make it good enough…I want to, but I don't have much else to give you but what I feel… and I wanna know, 'cause I can't keep it inside anymore—will you…"

Shivering, Sanosuke removed his face from Megumi's shoulder and looked up with frightened but hopeful chocolate eyes. "W-Will you…marry me?"

Megumi's eyes widened in complete astonishment, her scarlet lips parted in a gasp. Sano gazed back, looking just as anxious. Time froze into silver, priceless moments as the two looked at one another with unexplainable emotion.

Tears flooded to Megumi's magenta eyes, as Sano's question registered in her thoughts. Sanosuke watched this in frightened confusion, praying frantically inside that this didn't mean rejection. He had tried so hard to get to this place, this silver white place that captured only two people in its boundaries, the place that one could only truly reach once in his life—

"S-Sanosuke," Megumi sobbed, unable to hold herself back as thick tears ran down her face. She hugged her love tight, pulling him near so she could kiss him deeply, running her fingers through his hair with delight. "Sano, yes…yes, I will…"

Sano nearly began to cry, too. He did it! He did it! Sagara Sanosuke actually managed to successfully propose to his Fox, with a pleasing result. Sanosuke held her near again, pressing his lips to hers once more as the silver place burst into life, and light danced back and forth along the leafy path when the wind shook the trees, the blue sky above wreathing the blazing sun in its heavenly ocean.

Crouched behind a tree, Kenshin, Kaoru, and Tae met eyes and grinned wide. He had done it! Sanosuke had learned and grown in this, and now his reward came in this wonderful form of an everlasting love. Megumi had taken the next step with him, and now they were on their way to an unbreakable vow.

"You think they'll make it?" Kaoru whispered with a warm smile.

Kenshin smiled back, sighing. "Yes. I think Sanosuke will treat Megumi with all his love, and will make her a very happy woman, that I do." Beckoning for Kaoru and Tae to follow him and flee the scene before the two lovers noticed, he chuckled and whispered, "After all, 'I love you' is easy to say when you care for someone, but only 'I do' really makes eternity."

OWARI.

MadiSano: Yay! All thanks to Crewel, who gave me this wonderful idea. I liked writing this one a lot! And I thank you all for your excessive support since the last chapter; I feel really good about myself now! I guess my casual work last time was another aspect to be explored, then. And by the way, before anyone asks, I don't hate Naruto or Yu Yu Hakusho or (bites tongue for lying) Dragon Ball Z...ahem, LOL, I just thought it'd be like Megumi to trash them.

Up next is a really evil fic, one that contains Sano-Torture! Only this time, it's not physical. It's emotional. Even worse. I know. Waah. LOL! XD The plot is this, suggested a while ago by SanoDevil: After starting a great day, with unusual luck and cheerful occurences, Sanosuke's good time comes crashing down when he visits the Oguni Clinic to get his hand checked. The reason...? He opens up the front door to walk in on another patient kissing Megumi :o OH NO! Is this a misunderstanding or is our Fox giving up on our baby Rooster? And upon seeing this, how will our Sano go on, especially being the lovesick birdie he is? I guess you'll see. But only if you review! LOL I'm evil, sorry. :) Don't hate me. Ja!