"Who is this bird-head? He's obnoxious." - Chou to Sano

Jasmine: Yay! Ah-hahahahahaa! As far as I can tell…this is only the second Chou/Tae fic out there! WHOO! Yay for strange pairings! Grins

Chou: Sweat drops Can Ah take that maniacal laughter as a bad sign fer meh?

Jasmine: Evil glint YES! Oh, and I'm making it so that Chou is horribly shy around women! Major blush and stutter factor!

Chou: Lots 'n lots of sweat drops

Jasmine: Okay, the disclaimer…let this pain of not owning Rurouni Kenshin cause me to suddenly explode for no reason whatsoever!

Chou: Sulking in corner

Jasmine: Rolls eyes Well, anyways…let's get this thing started…TO THE FIC!

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Bein' a cop ain't the best job in the world. 'Specially when ya're are forced ta' work under the former captain o' the third Shinsengumi unit, Saito Hajime. Oh yes, the great wolf, ruthless and cunnin'. Feh. Who am Ah kiddin'? This job really sucks.

Sawagejou Chou lazily strolled down the streets of Tokyo, casting annoyed glances at passerby. With only one eye, of course, but that didn't make the looks any less scary. His tall, gravity-defying, broom-like hair definitely set him apart from normal people, and his bright red and blue clothing didn't help to camouflage him any. However, Chou's normally carefree attitude, sadly, was nonexistent at the moment. Today, he was downright livid. He had good reason to be, though.

The former Juppongatana member sighed and glared at the bright white snow around him. Dammit all…it's just mah luck ta' get sent ta' Tokyo durin' winter…so cold…Ah hate the cold…

There had been reports of a drug-smuggling ring somewhere in town, and it was Chou's…um…misfortune...to be assigned to take it down. (Actually, it's just the authoress being mean, but ah well…) So far, no leads had come in, and the case was going nowhere. Which means the poor broom-head has been forced to find some leads. Out in the cold. In the dead of winter. Hence the bad mood.

"Damn criminals…damn Saito…damn luck…damn winter…da-GAH!"

A loud yelp and a thump tore through the air.

As did many, many curses.

Chou growled in annoyance and rubbed his sore back. It was just his luck to fall on the only ice in town! He damned everything from criminals to winter once more and tried to pick himself up. This, of course, didn't work very well, as ice is quite slick and doesn't like to be stepped on. With another cry, his feet slipped out from under him and he fell backwards. Again.

"WHY DOES MAH LIFE HAVE TA' SUCK SO BAD?"

"'Scuse meh, sir, do ya' need some help?"

Chou blinked (winked?) up at the lady standing over him. In his anger at the ice, he hadn't even noticed her appear. His gaze took in her clothing: from her red-orange shirt and white-ruffled, apron-like waitresses uniform, to her russet hair that was neatly pulled back with a white handkerchief. The strangest thing about her seemed to be that both of her eyes…were closed. "Uh…w-well…sorta…" Did I mention that he's not very good around females?

The woman grinned. "All right then, lemme help ya' up. Just grab mah hand and Ah'll pull ya' off o' dat ice."

The former Juppongatana member stared up at her in disbelief. Does she even know who Ah am? What Ah was? Though…I s'pose not many people do…still…don't Ah look at least slightly threatenin'? Just great! Now his ego had to suffer a blow! Oh yes, today was a swell day indeed!

"Are ya' gonna jus' sit there lookin' at meh, or are ya' gonna take mah hand?"

Chou shook himself out of his thoughts and glanced down at the hand. Before he could stop it, his arm moved forward automatically, grasping it tightly. The woman beamed and pulled back as hard as she could, successfully dragging the broom-head along. With another yelp, Chou slid off of the ice and onto the gravel road, toppling unceremoniously forward onto his face, accidentally dragging the lady along with him. She squeaked and flopped hard onto his back, causing a muffled "Oomph!" to force its way from his throat. The wind was completely knocked from him, and it took Chou a few seconds to say anything. But when he did…

"Oh…Ah damn mah luck…Ah think ya' broke mah baaaack…" The broom-head groaned, feeling thoroughly squished and quite a bit peeved.

"Oh no! Ah'm so sorry!" The woman quickly pushed herself up, blushing furiously in the process.

Chou coughed and took in a few more breaths of air in an attempt to regain his now mostly non-existent composure. "Right…th-that's 'kay…ya' d-didn't mean ta'…was m-mah fault anyways…" Deciding that he no longer wished to be friends with the ground, the former Juppongatana member jumped up as fast as he could (which really wasn't that fast, considering the squished-ness…), bending his back in the process. He waited for a few choice pops before he righted himself once more.

"Right then…well…nice ta' meet ya'…mah name's Sekihara Tae." The woman smiled warmly and held out her hand once more, though this time for a different reason.

Chou merely stared at her, unsure of what she wanted him to do.

Tae blinked (yes, her eyes are open now…), her grin never faltering, as though sensing the broom-head's discomfort.

"Er…r-right…" He tentatively reached out and shook her hand, reddening horribly at the contact. "S-Sawagejou Ch-Chou…"

The waitress had to stifle an urge to giggle at the expression on the poor man's face. Well…he does look kinda cute like that…all red 'n shy… Tae coughed pointedly, going slightly pink herself at her outrageous thoughts. Ah have no idea where that came from…

Chou let go of her hand so fast it might have been a snake. "Right…I b-best be…goin'…th-thanks f-fer helpin' m-meh out…" He turned around abruptly and started off, crossing his arms and trying to look annoyed again, when the truth was…he was anything but annoyed at the moment. His meeting with this…Sekihara Tae…had been almost…nice… So much fer mah bad mood…

"Wait a second!" The sound of running feet behind him startled the broom-head, and he stopped in his tracks.

"Eh?" Chou muttered under his breath, turning his head slightly to regard the person now standing next to him, who just happened to be Sekihara Tae herself. "E-er…" He stuttered, swallowing hard. Gah…why can't she jus' leave meh alone? And why does she wanna be near meh? Or even talk to meh, for that matter? Feh…

"It seems we're both goin' the same way…can Ah walk with ya' fer a while, Sawagejou-san?" Tae grinned up at him, meaning every word.

Crash!

The waitress blinked a few times and looked down, giving the sprawled out form of Chou a confused glance after his very graceful face-fall.

"Wh-what? Why w-would ya' w-wanna do that?" The broom-head bounced back up, giving her a look that clearly asked, "Are you freakin' crazy?"

Tae sweat dropped. "What? Do ya' not want meh ta'?"

"Gah! N-no! Th-that's not wh-what Ah meant!" Chou stammered out, starting to get very flustered (and very red).

The waitress tilted her head to the side. "So…ya' do wanna walk with meh?" Tae smirked triumphantly, crossing her arms in front of her in her "I'm-so-victorious-watch-me-be-all-high-and-mighty" pose.

Chou knew when he had lost. This is almost as embarrassin' as loosin' that bet ta' Kamatari and havin' ta' wear that pink 'n purple women's kimono for a week…wait…nothin' could be as bad as that…so then…maybe Ah will walk with this girl…s'not like anythin' could happen…'cept Ah might have all the blood rush ta' mah face and die…feh… "Right th-then…if ya' m-must…ya'll jus' h-have ta' keep up w-with meh…" The broom-head suddenly started off at a brisk pace, not even looking back to see if Tae was following him. Which she was. Of course. Damn…

The waitress had to practically jog to keep up with Chou, but she was determined to for a reason she couldn't explain. "So…do ya' live 'round here? Ah've never seen ya' before at the Akabeko…"

The former Juppongatana member blinked (winked?) a few times. "N-naw…Ah used ta' live i-in Osaka, but n-now Ah'm in Kyoto. And what's this Akabeko?"

Tae started open-mouthed at him. "Ya' don't know what the Akabeko is? Why, it's a restaurant! Mah father is the owner, and Ah work there as the head waitress. If ya' live in Kyoto, ya' should know what the Sakabeko is, right?"

Chou shrugged. "Never heard of it. Ah kinda don't have much free time…what with-" Kuso! He has almost told her that he was a cop! Stupid! This proved that he was getting way too comfortable with this girl. He'd just have to get away from her as fast as possible…

"What with what? What were ya' sayin'?"

"E-er…nothin'…hey listen, Ah gotta get goin'. There's somewhere Ah need ta' be…"

Tae sighed in disappointment. She had enjoyed talking with Chou and wished that it didn't have to end so soon. "A-all right then…wait! Maybe ya' could come bah the Akabeko sometime and have lunch…ya' know…it'll even be on the house. What do ya' say?"

The pleading look the broom-head was getting was too powerful for him to ignore. Damn woman…how'd Ah get mahself inta this mess? Gah… "Oh, fine then…Ah s'pose Ah'll stop in sometime and have a bite ta' eat…"

The waitress grinned widely. "Thank ya' Sawagejou-san! Tomorrow at twelve o' clock sharp, 'kay? Ah'll be waitin' fer ya'!" And she bounced off, leaving a very confused and perplexed Chou behind.

Well…that was…interestin'…did she…have Ah… "Been asked out on a date?" He finished out-loud, as though confirming his suspicion. "Ah can't believe it…there's no way…Ah can't possibly have…naw…nope…it's not true…she was jus' kiddin'…" Then he remembered the sincere and thrilled look on Tae's face. "She wasn't kiddin'…Ah really have been…whoa…" The broom-head blinked, completely thrown for a loop. And Yumi and Kamatari said Ah'd never get asked out! Oh yeah! Go meh! Ah didn't even do nothin', either! Chou closed his eye and stood there for a few minutes, mulling over what had just happened to him. By the time he was aware of his surroundings again, the sun had almost disappeared. He looked up at the sky, noting the beautiful oranges and purples as a sign that night was almost upon Tokyo. Kuso…it's later then Ah thought…Ah might as well get back ta' the inn…it's not like Ah'm gonna find any leads now… Not with his thoughts all jumbled up, anyways. And, with that, Chou sauntered back to the inn he was staying in, never noticing the dark silhouette that was slowly but surely trailing behind him.

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Jasmine: Dun, dun, duuuuun! Bwa-hahahahahahaa! Cliffy! Well…sort of…

Chou: Still sulking

Jasmine: Okay, peoples…I have many plans for this story, but if you don't like it so far, I won't finish it. I know that Chou/Tae is an…interesting…pairing, but please give it a chance! I mean…Broomie is so cute!

Chou: Sulking and going red

Jasmine: Oh, and the Kenshin-gumi are gonna be in this, too…the pairings are as follows: Kenshin/Kaoru, Sanosuke/Megumi, Yahiko/Tsubame, Aoshi/Misao (if I manage to get them in this…), and Saito/Tokio (sort of…).

Chou: Feh…

Jasmine: Please tell me if I got his and Tae's accent right…I haven't seen Chou in the anime in a long time, and I only saw Tae recently…oh, and if you could fill me in on his past…that would be helpful, though I suppose I could just make something up…let's see…what else? Oh! Names for an inn? Heh heh…I can't come up with one… "The Cherry Blossom Inn" sounded cheesy… Anything else, Broomie?

Chou: Glares How 'bout mah and Tae's ages?

Jasmine: Oh! Right…in this fic, Tae is gonna be twenty-two and Chou is gonna be twenty-six…I researched, but couldn't find their ages… Sweat drops

Chou: Crosses arms and death-glares

Jasmine: And I know that this chappie was short, but I wanted the whole Chou/Tae encounter to happen before anything else…I'll make the next one longer! Oh, and I commend Miss Daydream for coming up with the Chou/Tae pairing…it was her idea first to put them together. Ja for now, and tell me if you want me to continue!

"People only have hope because they cannot see Death standing behind them..."

R and R!