Disclaimer: In the words of my good friend Seashah, I was what I was and I is what I is. And I is nor was owning the Rurouni Kenshin.

Author's Notes

Midi: Um...well, I recently updated Perhaps in the Past and was hit with the inspiration to write more of this, so...here it is. I hope you enjoy this rather paragraph-heavy chapter. It's got of Sano compared to most chapters, so of course I like it. I worked pretty darn hard to get inside the character's heads this time, so I hope you appreciate my work. See you at the end.

Last Time:

Sano slapped a hand over her mouth and gave Kenshin a half-smile, eyes frustrated. "Meat-lovers, Kenshin, just bring out the meat-lovers."

Himura rolled his eyes and ventured into the back to fufill his order.

"Saaaanooo," she began, tone dripping with biting sweetness.

He gave her a scared look. "Uh...yes, K-Kao?" he stuttered, attempting to move away, but before he knew it, Kaoru's hand was around his shirt collar and her face was in his own.

"When this is over. You. Are. Dead."

He gulped.

- Shifting the Blame -

- Story © Midi Tenshi -

Chapter Six

Chapter Warnings: Cursing, seizures, alcohol-use by minors.
Listened To: Full Moon wo Sagashite Soundtrack Extended Edition

"I don't freaking believe it!" Kenshin muttered, throwing his writing pad against the counter with excess force. "Why the hell would Sano bring Kamiya here of all places?!"

He was tempted to kick the two of them out, but if Hiko ever found out that he had turned away customers, he would get his ass kicked. Sighing exuberantly, he resigned himself to having to deal with the presence of his most hated enemy. Well, on further thought, it wasn't like he'd actually have to put up with her if he stayed in the kitchen, he realized, rolling out the dough quickly and easily. I mean, he'd have to take the pie out to them, but unless Kamiya was yearning for an argument, then maybe one would be easily avoided.

Yes, indeed, Kenshin thought, a smile stretching across his handsome face. He let out another sigh, but this one was happy, and he even laughed a little as he reached for the bowl of home-made pizza sauce. This didn't have to be a bad thing. No, maybe it could be a learning experience. The best Kamiya was an absent Kamiya, but the nexr-best-thing was to avoid her.

He only hoped she would agree; the thought that she might encourage the opposite dimmed his recently delighted smile. His enthusiastic cheese-sprinkling was halted by the thought that she might actually try to do something stupid - like follow him back into the kitchens. His eyes grew wide as he glanced around. He and Kaoru had gotten into some rather messy fights before, and there was plenty of amunition present for any number of battles.

That settled it. He'd just have to go out there and talk to Sano. He would ignore Kamiya, of course, but unless he confronted the problem, it was sure to torment him. This was the only way, he determined, slapping pepperoni, Canadian bacon, and variety of other meats onto the pizza before grabbing it up off the counter and taking it over to the ovens. He set it to the appropriate temperature and then slid the pie inside before turning back to face the door that led to the main of the restaraunt warily.

Well, here it went.

-

Kaoru drummed her fingers along the countertop, playing out a rhythm impatiently and filling the awkward silence.

Sanosuke sure wasn't doing anything to help make things more comfortable; he was spending his time perusing the contents of a paper take-out menu that had been left in his seat. He'd looked through it plently of times before, but he was afraid that if he didn't occupy his eyes somewhere, then his gaze would shift somewhere less ideal, like toward his friend.

Sano and Kaoru had been friends for as long as he could remember, since kindergarten and before. Through the years the two had become fast friends, their bond only strengthening when Kaoru was diagnosed with epilepsy. It had been seventh grade when all of the wierd stuff started happening. Everyone would be playing soccer together and suddenly Kaoru would fall down for no reason and complain of being tired for no reason afterwards. Around that time Kaoru lost a lot of friends, people would didn't understand what was going on, couldn't comprehend the depth of the situation. At first Sanosuke had thought that it was just Kaoru's way of dealing with her parent's divorce, but when it had turned out to be seizures, he was shocked and pretty scared. The confusion didn't kick in until later, after he had come to terms with the fact that there would be no more rough-housing on the trampoline like they used to, or playing tackle football.

The summer before eighth grade was the year that Kaoru signed up for epilepsy camp; it was also the summer that Sano spent researching seizures and seizure disorders. Kaoru was like his sister and he had always taken care of her. If this complication had arisen, then he wanted to know how to deal with it correctly and completely.

Eight grade was a year of changes, in many ways.

That winter break was when things started to get really serious between Kenshin and Kaoru, when their fighting started to get competitive edge; ever since all Sanosuke had heard about was how obnoxious his best friends were (and always from each other.)

Sano took great delight in telling Kaoru that Kenshin hated her just as much as she hated him, and she took some sort of grim satisfaction from it as well. He only wished he could work up the courage to tell her how he felt about her. That would be an even greater delight.

And so Sano did not allow his eyes to wander, forcing them to remain glued to the pizzaria's menu, but his mind was another thing completely.

"The pizza should be ready in about ten minutes," Kenshin said, returning with a grin.

His rather extreme personality change set Kaoru on edge immediately.

"Alright, what have you been up to?" she questioned, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "What's got you so deliriously happy? Did you spit in our food or something?"

But to her extreme annoyance, Kenshin ignored her completely and instead turned to Sanosuke.

"So, Sano, what have you two been doing all day?" He arched his red brow in mock curiosity and Kaoru locked her jaw before she leaned over and strangled him.

"Oh, nothing. A little of this, a little of that," Sano replied absentmindedly, seemingly not to notice the undercurrent of tension between his two friends. "What about you, buddy?" He flipped the menu over and rested his chin in his hand.

Kaoru could have screamed, but instead opted for excusing herself and heading for the ladies' room. "I'll be right back," she told Sano, who flapped his hand at her in a sort-of acknowledgement.

Once she was gone, Kenshin glared at Sanosuke until his friend looked up at him. "What?"

"What the hell is wrong with you, exactly?"

Sano rolled his eyes. "What, I'm not allowed to take my best friend out to pizza, I see."

"I'm your best friend, that thing that is supposedly a girl is a parasite."

Sano's eyes narrowed. "Shut up, Kenshin, you know I hate it when you do this."

The redhead smirked. "S'not my fault you're friends with a talking raccoon."

Sano dropped the menu and held up his hands. "Okay, that's it. I'm tired of this shit. I'm outta here."

Kenshin's eyes widened and he hurried around to the other side of the counter as Sano reached for his jacket. A couple of trays fell off the countertop, but Kenshin paid them no heed. "Excuse me? Where the heck do you think you're going? You can't just leave. Kamiya's still in the bathroom!"

"And there she'll stay, I'm sure, as soon as she realizes that I'm gone. You guys are going to make peace, goddamnit, even if it kills me." Sanosuke paused for a moment in his preparations to depart. He fixed his jacket's sleeves and gave his friend a pleading look. "I'm asking you. Please, just try and be civil for a while. Give her the pizza, get her a drink. I'll come by in an hour and pick her up again."

"But-"

Sano placed a hand on Kenshin's shoulder. "C'mon, man. Do this one thing for me."

He released him and then nodded as though to affirm Kenshin's willingness, and then was gone.

Leaving him all alone with...?

The epilepsy related link of the chapter is: www-dot-epilepsy-dot-com-slash-info-slash-teens.

Please...for the sake of increasing your understanding of Kaoru's situation in this story, and for your own sake. I beg of you! Check it out and increase your knowledge! FEED YOUR BRAIN! -scatters cookies to readers-

- Midi-chan.