Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Chronicle of a Wedding ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

This fanfic is a response to Princess Destiny's Wedding Challenge at the OHC ML and Sano/Megumi ML:Write a romantic Fanfic about your 'Couple' getting married. So, here we have Sanosuke and Megumi trying to survive the longest day of their lives. I hope you like it. ^_____^

Thank you very much to Maria Tolentino-Goldstein for beta-reading my fanfiction.

"..." dialogue

`...' thoughts

~~~***~~~ flashbacks

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Watsuki Nobuhiro, I just own the plot of this story... *snif*

CHRONICLE OF A WEDDING

Chapter 1

Megumi sipped her black coffee as she watched the sunrise through the window of her bedroom, ignoring the fuss her mother and friends were making behind her. Still, as hard as she tried to concentrate on the changing colours that tinted the sky, she could hear them walking from one corner of the room to the other, laughing and chatting excitedly. She frowned. She could not understand the reason why every time a wedding was mentioned in front of a woman she became a fifteen-year-old giggling mass of nerves, something that had never happened to her before. So the commotion taking place behind her was incomprehensible. It was not as if they were the ones getting married that day.

"Hurry up and finish your breakfast, Megumi," called her mother before going out of the room muttering about checking on the men of the house.

"What time do you have to be at the city office?" asked Kaoru as she put her small case if make-up on the dresser.

"Ten," she answered in an annoyed manner.

"Then we'll have to hurry. There's so much to do and so little time..."

The long-haired woman did not move from her position, so nobody could see the ironic smile that crossed her lips for a second. Time? She had plenty of that to deal with the rush, the clothes, the tugs at her black tresses and six hysteric females... Okay, five females and one cross-dresser, but hysterical anyway. And the worst thing was that she had to suffer all of that twice, in the morning for the civil wedding and in the afternoon for the religious ceremony and the celebration. She doubted her sanity would be intact when the day came to an end.

"Megumi, are you still nibbling on that toast? You should be bathing at this hour," said Kamatari looking at his watch. "What's wrong, dear?" he asked, seeing her absent expression. "Last minute doubts?" A sudden silence filled the room and four more pairs of eyes laid on her. "I've heard about them, but if you're thinking about dumping your fiancé, don't wait till the hour of the wedding. It's considered bad taste, you know..."

Megumi squirmed uncomfortably under the stares the others were giving her and her gaze turned back to the window. For a moment, she considered telling them what was in her head, but as her lips parted to utter the first word, she repented and breathed silently before closing them again.

"It's not that. I just..." she paused, reflecting on the next words and then smiled softly. "I like sunrises."

There was a collective sigh of relief and the enthusiastic voices filled the room again. The sun came up fully, shining brightly, warming her body and giving her maroon eyes a golden spark. She barely had time to finish eating before her mother came back with her clothes for the morning in a plastic cover with a wide grin plastered on her face, which told Megumi everything was going as planned, and she became the centre of attention, giving orders to the younger ones. Her friends tugged at her sleeves and she let them and their happiness surround her and drag her to the bathroom with a content smile. After all, she was getting married that day.

+++

Megumi closed her eyes, feeling the drops of water from the shower falling on her skin and her expression became wistful, thinking about Kamatari's words in the room. Of course she was having doubts, her head was full of questions and her heart of fears. What if their married life was not what they expected? What if they could not be happy? They fought too much, argued over the smallest thing, and though reconciliations were always sweet, the ghost of one more quarrel hung over their relationship like a sword, waiting to strike a final blow that would tear them apart. She knew she loved him deeply, but sometimes that was not enough. They could get tired of fighting one day and find out that that routine had killed what had been between them.

She shook her head and sighed. She did not know why she was thinking that way on what was supposed to be the happiest day in her life. She had had plenty of time since the proposal to call off the wedding. In fact, they had done it twice after the most violent arguments they had ever had, both of them for petty details. But after a few days swearing they would not be together again during the day, and remembering their moments together at night, they had irresistibly come back to each other feeling as if they had found the part which was missing inside them.

She smiled when an image of him, with his cheeky grin and twinkling eyes crossed her mind. She had never imagined she would end up with a man like him, the total opposite of what she considered her perfect match. That had been her first impression upon seeing him for the first time.

They had met one summer afternoon, when she was having a walk along the sea front. Her best friend, Komagata Yumi, had insisted on introducing her to her boyfriend and finally, after delaying the date for their work engagements, they had agreed on that day. She had sensed that that time Yumi was serious and the man, called Makoto Shishio, cared deeply for her. She could see it in his eyes, in the possessive way he held her shoulders. And she was happy for them. Her friend had been quite unlucky in her past relationships, and after an abusive marriage and a difficult divorce, she had rejected every single man who wanted to get close to her until that fiery, proud man with red eyes and long hair tied in a high ponytail. At the beginning his appearance had taken Megumi slightly aback, sometimes his expression was hard and his smile cold, but his behaviour was polite and he was extremely intelligent, and soon she felt comfortable in his presence, as the three spoke of their ideas about economics and the state of the country.

And in their way had crossed one of Shishio's partners in the company he worked for, Anji Yukyuuzan, accompanied by a tall man with dark, spiky hair, brown eyes and a charming smile which had no effect on her.

~~~***~~~

"This is my friend Sagara Sanosuke," Anji introduced him to them after Shishio had done it with the women beside him.

As she turned to Yumi to speak, while her best friend's boyfriend and his co-worker exchanged a few comments about some business, she could feel the newcomer side-glancing at her. He was observing her as he pretended to gaze at the sea, and for some reason she did not understand, she felt uncomfortable. She was used to being ogled by men, young and old, their gazes following her until she was lost from view. Their eyes were filled with lust, sometimes mixed with admiration, but the first was always there, telling her exactly what they were thinking. And maybe that was what she found irritating, not knowing how he saw her in his mind.

`Well, two can play this game,' she thought before imitating his actions.

Megumi kept on listening to what Yumi was telling her about the new fashion collection she thought of bringing out at the end of the season and, discreetly, watched his every movement.

He was well built, she could tell by the width of his shoulders, but his physique was proportionate to his height. He was wearing a white sleeveless T-shirt with a small surfer over the slogan `To The Limit' printed on it, dark green Bermuda shorts and trainers. Around his neck, she could see a black cord with a silver fleur-de-lis hanging from it. He had his hands in his pockets, which gave him a carefree appearance.

He was attractive, she could not deny it, but not her type.

Their eyes met and he smirked roguishly, knowing he had caught her attention. She held her gaze defiantly and he was surprised she had not blushed and looked away, like most of the girls did when he took an interest on them. When the last words were said between Anji and Shishio, their link broke by mutual, silent agreement and the groups bid farewell. None of them looked back.

"What's going on in there?" asked Yumi a few seconds later, after sending her boyfriend to buy them some ice cream.

Megumi looked at her questioningly, but when she saw her sparkling eyes, she realized that she had noticed the exchange of looks between Sanosuke and her, and she feigned ignorance.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Oh, you know it well," her friend said with a mischievous smile. "I have to say that the man was pretty handsome."

"He was not," she glared at Yumi. "He was just an annoying boy with a cocky smile and an attitude problem."

"Do you like him? Because I could get his phone number for you... I have connections, you know..." she pressed, glancing over at Shishio with a smirk.

"I don't."

"Are you sure? You'll lose the opportunity."

"I just don't, okay?" she replied, stressing every word.

Yumi was going to insist when her boyfriend approached them with three tubs on his hands. Her eyes gleamed, promising her she would not forget the issue and Megumi sighed, hoping for the opposite.

~~~***~~~

Megumi was startled when somebody knocked on the door and she closed the tap, running a hand across her eyes to wipe the water on her face.

"Yes?"

"Kamatari says if you're thinking of becoming a shrivelling prune, Sanosuke won't be pleased to have one in his bed tonight."

She groaned upon hearing this as a soft blush spread across her cheeks. Trust young, spontaneous and very pregnant Misao to deliver a message exactly as she heard it.

"I'm coming," she replied, taking the towel and wrapping it around her.

She stepped out of the shower and watched her reflection in the enormous mirror over the washbasin. She was slightly paler than usual, though her cheeks were slightly rosy from the heat in the room, and there were dark circles under her bright eyes. She sighed and pulled the bathing cap from her head, letting her long dark mane flow down her back, flipping over her shoulders some strands which had fallen over her chest. Those stupid thoughts she was having had kept her awake until the wee hours and now these were the results.

`Why? I was very sure of my decision when I said yes to him,' she asked herself as she dried her body. `Sano... will he be having these doubts too? Maybe I should call him and...' she paused for a second. `If I talk to him, and he feels the same way... we'll probably understand...'

She put her green bathrobe on and opened the door of the bathroom, looking both ways before going out silently. She could hear the conversation next door and kept her attention on it while she tiptoed along the corridor to the opposite direction, towards her father's study. She went in, careful not to make any noise and walked to the enormous desk covered with his patients' files and medical books. On the left side of the table he kept some portraits of the family and Megumi smiled softly, looking at every one of them. The bigger one belonged to her. She was sitting on the balustrade in the back garden with the rose bushes in full bloom behind her, dressed in jeans and a white blouse, smiling widely. On her left hand she wore a gold ring with a single diamond on it and that reminded her of why she was there. She did not have too much time until one of the people in her room came out again to look for her. After looking at the phone for a few seconds, she picked it up.

TO BE CONTINUED...