Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Curl ❯ Chapter 26

"Hey, ya'jerk, ya could put me down ANY time now!"

"Hm?" Sano was still rolling the same toothpick over in his mouth, chewin' it till it was just soft saliva-ed down splinters. Spitting it out into the gutter, and making sure to miss the innocent passersby, he shook his head. "Naaah." The kid needed a lesson in manners. If having every man, woman, and child gawk and stare at him for two blocks did it, well then, that's what just had to be done.

"Look," the brat's voice turned serious and low. Obviously, he wanted to reason with the guy, but he didn't want to beg. "Put me down. This is humiliating." His tone was flat, and he went limp against Sano, after having fighting kicking and screaming the whole way. Frankly, it was less embarrassing if he pretended to be dead weight.

"You gonna behave?" Sano didn't really need an answer, nor did he wait. They were standing by the opening of a children's playground when he set the boy down. Tilting his head slightly, he looked down at his hand, not to mention the scuff marks on his shirt. "That was one hell of a fight ya'put up there, you work out or something?"

"ARE YOU HITTING ON ME?!!" Acting fast, Sanosuke clamped one hand over his mouth, and the other behind his head. Had he actually been mad, he could've crushed the kid's skull.

"Geez, you're high strung…" After the brat quit fighting, he let go. There were a couple mothers, young and old, looking at the pair rather strangely. Sano put on his most dazzling smile, and bowed to them, "No worries ladies! False alarm!" The older women sneered, while the younger ones blushed and giggled. 'I still got it. Sagara, you dog…' Tucking some hair behind his ear, he flashed another smile towards the whispering ladies. 'Talking about this lovely hunk a'burnin' love, no doubt…' Running a large hand down his abs, as though to straighten out his shirt, he actually stretched it over his muscles, he earned more giggles, blushing, sneering… and a few odd whistles. He was basking it in alright. However, his self-praise was cut off when the kid piped up.

"What's so hot about you?" The kid was looking from him to the women, back and forth a couple of times. He didn't seem furious anymore, but he honestly looked clueless. 'So young, so impressionable…' Sano roughed up the kid's hair a bit. The brat was on the short side, but he had good taste in hair cuts, so Sano was throwing him a couple brownie points.

"Why do you wanna know? Dontcha got a girl already?" Topping it off with a noogie to the kid's skull, he laughed and started walking again, "… a pretty cute one at that…"

"Only one… HEY! Wait up!!" the furious stomping came up behind him in no time at all, the kid catching up though Sano's legs were a lot longer. The boy kicked at the floor, glancing around, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Sano took a closer look at him through the corner of his eye. 'Another privy school kid… fantastic. No wonder he's lookin' to me, Sagara Sanosuke, for my expertise…' All schools had uniforms, but the private ones were more obvious. Usually because their uniforms had either military stripes, or crosses and sacred hearts scattered all over. Sano idly wondered what school this kid was from, as there wasn't a name so much as just a coat of arms on his blazer. When it registered how the kid had answered, Sano halted in his tracks. Holding his hands up to ward the kid off, he shook his head firmly.

"Ohhh no. No. Go," The man just pointed in the opposite direction. His eyes were laughing, but in his act to feign seriousness, he hid them behind his eyelids. Sano shook his head negatively, as though he were shockingly disappointed at the boy. "Look, I won't be responsible for some dancin' boy's innocence." He tried hard to keep a straight face, and nearly drew blood from biting the inside of his lip to keep from laughing as the steam started coming out of the kid's ears again. This kid needed a chill pill, or Ritalin, or *something*. 'A good joint does a body good.'

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!! My *mom* dances, not *ME*!!" The boy crossed his arms firmly, nodding, as if agreeing with himself, "I take kendou… but every since the guys found out my mom teaches ballet at St. Kat's - but ANYWAY! What makes you think I need *you* to show me how to lose my innocence?!" He blushed when he realized he was basically admitting his innocence just by saying that.

"Whoa, St. Kat? As in Catharine??" Sano blinked, as he tried to backtrack through the boy's ramblings. He seemed to be going over this in his head, and he hooked a thumb in his pocket, stroking his chin with the other hand. When the images of Misao in that uniform started popping up in his head again, he quickly changed the subject while waving his hand dismissively, "Right. Alright. No dancing boy…"

"I have a name, y'know."

"No shit, me too." Silence. The two looked at each other, then looked forward to the sidewalk. As if they'd known each other for years, they walked without a word passing between them. Then they stopped at a red street light.

"Sano."

"Yahiko."

"Problem solved." They nodded, never having to look at each other, and kept on walking.

*-*-*-*

The lease allowed pets, sure. That wasn't the problem. The problem was where to put the little pup. At least, that's the problem Aoshi saw. The lady friend beside him, however, saw other difficulties. As they walked into the apartment, Aoshi holding the door for an enraptured Misao, he settled the bags on the dining table.

Misao, on the other hand, was busy twirling with the pup in the air, giggling cheerfully. "So what should we call you, eh boy?" She paused, and did a little look see. "… yes, boy." Practically bouncing with each step, the pup was just about as happy as she. It yipped a bit, but didn't show signs of being a very loud or bad tempered dog. Aoshi thanked the heavens for small favors. He folded his arms, surveying his apartment. This was no place for a dog. Particularly since it was so… spring clean fresh? Glancing down at the dining table, able to see the reflection of every single feature of his being, he took a good sniff of the air.

"Sano cleaned." Misao nearly dropped the puppy.

*-*-*-*

Aoshi had disappeared for a bit, leaving Misao to play with her new best friend. Just after getting the papers and what not for the dog, which surprisingly took no time at all, Misao insisted they go buy toys. He agreed, if for no other reason than to spare the furniture.

Then her mind went back to that creepy dog catcher guy, and she physically convulsed. The puppy was now rolling over, chewing on a rawhide bacon strip. What was up with that guy? She then figured the adoption went so fast so that he could get her out of his face. Tapping her chin, she tried to muster up some details.

'Gorou,' that was what was on his name tag. He'd been about Aoshi's height, maybe taller. Misao really couldn't tell because he seemed to be always trying to strike a cool pose with that cigarette. She sniffed her clothing, they still stank of the stuff. Shuddering again, she returned her attentions to the puppy. Little crumbs and things were being scattered on the carpet, but nothing a vacuum couldn't fix. Then Misao did a double take around the apartment.

Sano sure was a piece of work. He comes home at some ungodly hour, with some … *woman* and… with the hands, and the things, and the smells, and the things… Grabbing the sides of her skull, Misao shook her head fiercely. The puppy, with some sick sense, must have noticed Misao's distress, and halted all play and chewdom. He twitched his little nose and nuzzled into her leg. She smiled sadly, reaching down to massage the cuff of the pup's neck.

"You wouldn't hurt me, would ya boy…" she whispered quietly, not noticing that Aoshi had returned and was standing in earshot.

*-*-*-*

There was some stuff down in storage of the apartment building, mostly furniture he had to have moved out because of buying the new bed and dresser for Misao's room. In his arms was what looked like a roadie trunk from a concert, or something. It was the only thing he could think of that could possibly have substituted for a puppy play pen… he'd just have to unscrew a couple hinges, and take the top off or something, so they didn't accidentally trap the pup in there…

All of the logic was halted, when he caught the reflection of Misao in serious distress. She wasn't very good at hiding it. After all, she wasn't Aoshi. A tiny pang hit the shallow of his chest, when he set the trunk down by the dining table. Obviously, he'd gone unnoticed, but then again, it's hard to hear something if you're trying to squish the sides of your skull into a single pancake. He would just calmly approach, not to shock her, and jar her out of her little manic episode.

It was the words that stopped him then. On one knee behind her, as she sat in the sunken couch, his breath caught in his throat.

"You wouldn't hurt me, would ya boy?" Her hands were playful with the pup, as if trying to convince it that there was nothing to worry about. But the pup knew as well as Aoshi did, that the false vibes weren't gonna fly.

'From parent to pet. Great. Just great,' it seemed that not only the longer he was with this young woman did he want to do the forsaken, and smile every once in a while, not to mention the deep-seeded violent tendencies towards anything of a vaguely threatening nature, now he was slipping down the evolutionary ladder. Shinomori Aoshi, the penthouse puppy dog.

*-*-*-*

Misao pulled the puppy up into her lap, where it sat happily, wagging its tail, and waiting for his mistress' biding. What a surprisingly obedient dog, for a puppy. Then again, it was just the first… hour. As her hand petted down the fluff on the lil' tyke's head, she smiled, briefly pushing aside her angst for a later hour. Scrunching up her face, she poked out a pouty lower lip at the curious pup.

"So what are we gonna call ya huh?" Tucking her hands under the dog's front legs, she dragged him up as if it were some hard laborious task. She gave him a little Eskimo kiss, and giggled when she was showered with those sloppy puppy kisses. "Okay okay! Don't eat me!" She squealed, kicking her legs up and resting her head back on the back of the couch. Bringing the puppy up overhead at arms length, she noticed the rather large shadow the little pup was casting.

Turning her head slowly to one side, she saw a foot. It was a very well dressed, leather bound… manly foot. It was attached to a leg, encased in fine linen, which was bent at the knee. Her eyes traveled, and her head followed her gaze, until she found herself staring rather profoundly at a man's crotch. To worsen matters, it was *this* man's crotch. She swallowed hard, as if she were trying to bring the blood back down from her head into the rest of her emptying veins. The little pup began to squirm, probably because it had been suspended in the air so long, and now it was getting shaken by trembling hands. 'Okay. Breathe Misao… yes, in… then out… I mean it's not like you've never stared at a man's crotch before…'

*-*-*-*

Now this was unexpected. Had he known his package was going to be examined, he might have prepared somehow. The puppy didn't obstruct too much of his vision, that he couldn't see as Misao arched up to roll onto the top of her head to follow her gaze along his parts. Why had no one told him all he had to do was be down on a bended knee to get such an inspection?...

'Hah.' He really had been living with Sano for too long. Had Sano been home, Misao would've gotten quite the earful. Pause. Sano's not home?

Looking left, and looking right. The fact that there was no noise of any kind in the apartment pointed all signs to Sanosuke's absence. He glanced at his watch, still not moving from his position, in case Misao would do something rash from the shock. He needed this parts, y'know. Last thing he needed was a puppy being thrown at his crotch and making lunch out of his testicles - he'd become quite attached to them over the years.

*-*-*-*

Somewhere in dreamland, Misao galloped through several fantasies in the back of her mind, while the front of it was still trying to figure out what the hell to do. She recalled a gutter thought of, 'Take two Aoshis and call me in the morning…' The little she-devil on her shoulder mentioned something about there being no morning after two Aoshis the night before. Not much walking either.

By this time, the poor girl's arms couldn't hold the puppy to ward off whatever reaction Aoshi had to her obvious… well, stare. When a man was posed like that, it made the crotch of their pants' tent deceptively and…

'Think of Jiya naked. Think of Jiya naked. Think of Jiya naked…' Oddly, all of this mental turmoil was going on in a matter of seconds in the real world, so when her arms weakened from the lack of circulation… Misao lowered the puppy back into her lap, and stared straight up into a finely angled chin. He wasn't looking at her, though; he was looking left, and right? What *was* he doing?

'Maybe…! He didn't see me!... or maybe, he thinks I saw a piece of lint or something - no no then he'd be looking at his crotch too… unless he was so confident in what he'd see…' The world slowly started to spin out of focus as her ecchi dark side began to surface. Even though she was taking birth control, it didn't mean that she was constantly sexualizing the world. Frankly, she didn't really think about it, if she could avoid it. When she first discovered she had the startings of a chest, she had tried to hide them because of all the boys in her classes who were also developing in places. Maybe she needed more female role models? Some good they would do her *now*… Then a disturbing thought surface, '…masaka… he can't… *want* me to look????...'

*-*-*-*

His attention went back to the girl staring off into the space through his head. Because it was quite obvious that she wasn't in the room with him right now. With puppy a safe distance from his family jewels, he idly waved a hand in front of Misao's face. Not a moment without comedy with this one, that's for sure. One would think having spent most of your life sparring with men twice your size that every once in a while…

The notion of Misao's face in another man's crotch nearly made him wretch right then and there. Of course that would mean puking on Misao, and somehow that was less settling. It was just… horridly disturbing to think such things. Not to mention… kind of kinky. The notion of Misao's head in his crotch on the other hand…

'… out of the question.' … was entirely out of the question. Not that *that* would have been kinky, you know, unless she was still in that short little skirt… However, it was an indefinite non-topic, and will be thought of no further in the Shinomori household. Most people called it denial; Aoshi knew it as "safe." Although, Misao, obviously, was not going to snap out of her trance any time soon, and the even the enamored puppy lost interest and went back to his rawhide bacon strip. Since she wasn't in the land of the living, he allowed himself to roll his eyes while another was (in theory) watching. He stood up and went to work preparing the temporary home for the pup. Aoshi saw no long term domicile for the animal if Misao was going to keep boring him by scuttling off to dreamland.

As he walked upstairs, to change his clothes, he paused once he got into his bedroom. He still reeked of thick tobacco stench, and remembering that so-called 'dog-catcher' struck a chord. Not in the same way that Hiko guy had, but there was a challenge in there somewhere, and it was obvious he hadn't seen the last of him. Dragging off his jacket, and hanging it over his arm, he began walking towards the bathroom.

Each step was bringing him closer and closer to the disaster area that Sanosuke had left behind. Aoshi had no idea what he was going to see when he got to that bathroom door, or when he opened it to find various towels lazily draped over the shower door, and the towel racks, not to mention the sink that was home to lonely specks of nose hair… or the fact that his bath oils (which were still in question as to why he had them and what he used them for) were mostly lying on their sides next to the furu. No, he expected, nor suspected any of this.

As his hand curled around the bathroom door's knob, there was just one thought that popped into his mind when it came to his brother.

'Isn't Sano… allergic to dogs??'

===

Author's Note:

Yay! Sano torture! - er, I mean… Sano's back, horray? ^_^;;… And in our next episode, Sano and Misao may FINALLY cross paths again… yes, I know. "About time!!"… I know… I know… @.@; But the puppy. ::points:: See the puppy bark! See the puppy play! See the puppy cause more chaos and havoc to add to the plot! Hehe. 'nuff from me for now. ^_^ Love to hear from each and every one of ya.

So now you've read. Now you see that little button saying "Submit Review"? Well y'see you click that… and when you type something in… and submit it, you will be magically rewarded with new chapters!! (I do update lots, ask any of my regular readers. ^_^ They're spoiled, aren't you? Aren't you? ::coos at her readers, before stopping before they bite her hand off:J You know the drill. Nice hello, how are you, and thank you to my reviewers, who basically have stuck around since the beginning. ^_^; A couple newbies, too, thankee very much.