'Kay, I know that 'All In The Name Of Cement Shoes' is about Misao and Aoshi, but there are two side stories that deals with the other two relationships introduced. So, this chapter is dedicated to the unfolding romances between Kenshin and Kaoru and Megumi and Sano. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own 'Rurouni Kenshin'.

All In The Name Of Cement Shoes: Spanky Buns!

To meet once in life is…to be exact…a once in a lifetime experience. To meet twice, is coincidence. But to meet once, twice…five times in a row? Well, it doesn't take a genius to realize that fate is slapping you in the face.

Such is the case for Megumi Takani. It had started with the hospital. Sanosuke Makimachi had waltzed into her life and into her examination room with a distressed childhood friend. After all was said and done, he had helped her with Joey by acting as her fiancé. The educated woman thought that that was the end of it. Kapoot. She had never expected to see him the very next morning. Nor had she expected the odd chemistry that had somehow popped up between them. She wasn't complaining but she wasn't comfortable with it either. It was like mixing baking soda and vinegar. In the end, you would either get an organized science project volcano built upon clay or a drastic explosion that would take out the entire science wing.

The Morning After The Hospital Meeting

Megumi Takani had done the impossible – she had somehow convinced her superiors to let her have the day off. She had even gone so far as to shed a few crocodile tears in order to get the tiny vacation away from the hospital. And for the most part, she was enjoying it. She had started her day with a nice cup of refreshing caffeine at a café her coworkers had mentioned. After two cups of coffee, Megumi decided that a visit to the mall was in store for her.

Two fruit shakes and several shopping bags later, the doctor found herself at a local flowershop. It had been so long since she had last filled her small house with fresh cut flowers. There was just something about them that made her feel at peace. But peace can't last forever, as she soon discovered.

While mentally debating with herself over whether she should create her own floral arrangement or shell out the dough for a professionally made one, Megumi failed to notice the leather clad man sprinting in through the double doors. But he had noticed her. He also noticed the low cut shirt she had chosen to wear this fine afternoon. It DID suite her quite well. And red was an exceptional color for her; it was able to outline every single voluptuous –

"Getting into trouble again Sano?" The petite blonde who cashiered in the lunch hours was also his bodyguard. Many a time Sano had run into some kind of trouble and the small woman always had her doors open for him to hide in. No one would suspect the tough Sanosuke to be hiding in a floral shop. A slight blush spread across his cheeks as Megumi glanced up and tuned into the conversation. But instead of becoming flustered, he remained calm and calculated a flirting tactic. He inched up between Megumi and the tiny shopkeeper and leaned against the table that housed longstem roses.

"Shirley! Light of my life! Angel of mercy! I hope my mistress of compassion is doing well this beautiful afternoon?" Megumi furrowed her thin brows in annoyance. Such large words for such a small brain. But the little blonde named Shirley seemed to be unaffected by the wave of compliments.

"What kind of trouble did you get into this time, Sanosuke?" For a split second, the hoodlum seemed absolutely appalled by the accusation but he quickly recovered.

"Now Shirley, that's no way to speak to a man who has changed his ways." This managed to catch Megumi's attention. Had he been in trouble before? Acting as if she hadn't been listening, Megumi sipped her most recent fruit shake purchase, shifted her weight to the other foot, and examined the multicolored daisies standing at ease before her. As for Shirley, she seemed to have more interest in her fingernails than where the conversation was headed.

"How the hell have you changed Sano?" Before Dr. Takani knew it, an arm was snaking its way around her thin shoulders and pulling her towards something warm and heavy.

"Because I'm engaged, Shirley!" A sick churn began twisting inside Megumi's stomach and she could already taste the regurgitated strawberry and banana concoction making its way up her digestive system. But the nauseous feeling was quickly mixing in with an anger unknown to Megumi. Her vision was becoming blurry and heat was spreading through her face at a rapid pace.

"WHAT!" Both women had to scream out the question in order to comprehend what was just said. Sano glanced down at the young doctor and winked that stupid wink and grinned that idiot grin.

"Spanky buns! There's no reason to be shy now that the news is spreading. Besides, it's just Shirley, you don't have to be modest around her." Large gray eyes scanned over the couple in surprise. They seemed compatible enough…if they were the last two people on earth.

"I'm not buying this, Sano. Dr. Takani has been in here many times while she was on vacation and not once did she mention anything about a boyfriend." Megumi silently blessed the girl for her memory. But Sano was able to retaliate in a hurry.

"Well we just met, and I swear, it was love at first sight. She announced it at the hospital to an old friend of hers and the rest is history." The doctor's voice finally broke through the bile and rage. She instinctively grasped a small bunch of skin on the jackass' hand and pinched with all her might until he let go of her. She pointed her finely manicured finger at him but could think of no words to hit him with. So, she just…hit him. In the three years that Megumi had been a doctor, she had never used physical force against someone. But here was this man, who had the nerve…the audacity to claim an intended marriage between them when he knew that the whole lie was to get her out of a date. So she socked him squarely on the jaw and stormed out of the flower shop with no flowers and no relaxation for the rest of the day.

Kaoru gazed down at the piece of paper with uncertain eyes. Typed in a professional style, the wedding planner read the address out loud and peered up at the apartment for what seemed the hundredth time that hour. The address had been given to her in an attempt to console her about the decision Misao had made in the heat of a moment. But it was the only address that she had within her grasp since the vicious shooting. With every nerve in her body jumping higher and higher, Kaoru began the great task of paging the home of one Himura Kenshin.

There was a slight shuffling noise followed by a muffled, "What?" Kaoru stepped back at the sound of the voice behind the speaker. Could this be the same gentleman that helped her find Misao? Or had he just played her for a fool? Searching for some form of courage, the young planner found her voice and spoke into the expensive speaker box.

"Hi. I'm Kaoru Kamiya. You met me the other day at the Blue Toad and helped me locate my friend. I'm sorry to intr-"

"YES!" The pitch of his voice rose for a second before the young businessman re-settled himself and politely continued the conversation. "I mean, yes, I remember you Ms. Kamiya. What can I do you for? I mean, do for you?" A small smirk played at the corners oh Kaoru's mouth. This was ridiculous. They were both adults and yet both of them were acting like hormonal teenagers. She was about to explain her situation but found herself being gawked at by several passerbys.

"By any chance, can I tell you up there? It's kinda…um," She couldn't find the right words without sounding cheesy or like she was in serious danger. "It's kinda top-secret." So much for not sounding cheesy. But a small buzz from the lobby doors comforted Kaoru as she pulled the heavy suitcase filled with her belongings towards the elevator.

Kenshin was already waiting for her in the hallway, anxiously pacing for the girl's entrance. How long had it been since he had seen her last? A week? And yet not a day went by that he hoped he would run into her or receive an out of the blue call. But he was hardly expecting her to be pulling luggage behind her as she exited the sliding doors. The CEO hastily ran to her side and wrapped his fingers around the handles to take over the tedious task of hauling suitcases. She paused in front of his apartment door and peered at him with large, desperate eyes.

"I would've told you the details but I was receiving suspicious looks from strangers." He nodded and gestured her to come inside with him.

Unlike most bachelors of New York, Kenshin's apartment was immaculate. Black leather furniture clashed with ivory carpet and speckled with color in various kinks and corners of the living room. Among those splashes of vibrancy was a single red rose placed neatly in a vase on a coffee table, an aquamarine landscape –possibly a Monet reproduction – hanging over the fireplace mantel, and a tangerine blanket thrown over the back of leather recliner. Besides those few colors, the living room was strictly on a black and white template.

"So what brings you to my neck of the woods?" His smile was charming and inquisitive, but Kaoru was still reluctant on asking for shelter from him. She slowly walked towards the bar and leaned against the wall.

"I still can't quite believe I'm here but I don't know many people and I had no one else to turn to." The warm smile began to fade away and Kaoru started to grow nervous again. "See, last night my apartment was shot up by some local mobsters. Luckily, a friend of mine had seen it coming and I wasn't killed or mortally wounded. But this friend seems to think I should find someone to stay with. And to be honest, there are only two people I could have run to – Misao and Sano. But you know the situation with Misao and her brother, Sanosuke. But Sano refuses to get Misao involved and no offense to him, but he's a bit of a slob. So then I found your address in the mess of things and ta-da! Here I am!" She threw her arms up to give the exclamation a little more oomph to it, but the serious features were still glued on Kenshin's face. She already felt uneasy about asking him but the fact that he wasn't even talking was sending goosebumps up and down her arms. "I know it's a lot to ask but…"

"Why didn't you call last night?" The words were stern and they frightened Kaoru. She didn't know if she should feel threatened by the depth of his words or relieved that they were actually coming out of mouth.

"I truly didn't want to bother you with my tiny problems." She gave a weak smile and watched as Kenshin ran a tanned hand through his fiery locks.

"You could have been killed. If it means life or death, then hell Kaoru, of course you can stay here!" The smile returned to his face and huge weight began to melt off of Kaoru's shoulders. She could stay! Without thinking, she lunged at the kind man and knocked him down with one of her famous hugs.

"Thank you so much!"

The Blue Toad

Inconceivable. That could be the only word to describe the events that led Megumi to a bar. The moron that called himself Sanosuke had somehow managed to be in every place Megumi happened to be at. It had started with the hospital, then the flowershop, followed by the grocery store, and ended with the botanical gardens. After several encounters with such a human being, the doctor gave into the temptations of alcohol and ordered a brisk Vodka Cranberry.

"Vodka? I'm surprised. You seem more like a Tequila woman." The sarcastic tone was enough to make Megumi want to spit out the cool drink. She quickly sent him a gaze of hate and turned her sleek body in the opposite direction. But the thug was just as fast as her and was immediately in the chair beside her.

"What do you want Sanosuke?" He leaned back in the barstool, shaking his lean frame out of the leather jacket. Out of the corner of her eye, Megumi could see the tight muscles underneath the thin long-sleeved shirt he sported. I bet there isn't a single hair on that fine specimen. Ugh! What am I thinking! She quickly tapped the glass to order another drink. She needed one after thinking like that.

"The same thing I wanted at the store and at the botanical gardens, spanky buns – a date." As swiftly as her drink had come, it was downed in the same minute.

"Well you're not getting it." Another drink.

"I bet that after a few more of those things, you'll think a little differently." He nodded towards her filled glass and grinned that cocky grin she had knocked off at the flower shop. She could still see the faint outline of a bruise underneath the neon lights.

"I seriously doubt that I will change my mind after a few more drinks." He shook his head and raised up to her level. There was a small glint in his eye and it sent chills down her spine and heat throughout her stomach. He shouldn't look at her that way. It made her want to get drunk or get the man beside her drunk and take advantage of the situation. The bartender was flagged down as another drink was swallowed. He leaned in close to her ear and smiled against her cheek. Megumi was losing control at a rapid pace.

"You misunderstand. I need you drunk so that when I knock your shoes off with a kiss, you won't smack the crap outta me." Ruby red lips widened until they formed a complete smile.

"Sanosuke I don't think there is a kiss in this world that could knock these heels off my feet. They're a size too small for me." Before she could raise her fingers to order another drink, her mouth was captured in an unforgiving kiss meant for hopeless romantics. Megumi was not a hopeless romantic, nor did she intend to ever become one. But if she were ever kissed like this again, she would make a compromise. Two pairs of lips melted into one as the doctor gave into want and let her body slide into Sano's grip. The embrace was so innocent, yet so erotic. Much to her dismay, he pulled back to catch his breath. And with a wink of an eye, he was off into the night. Bringing a hand to her flushed face and bruised lips, Megumi smiled at the tingling sensation that began at her toes. They were chilled by the wind and her toes wiggled freely from their tight cage.

"Well I'll be damned…he knocked the heels off of me."