The Mysterious Blonde (Sanosuke Sagara) Pt. 26

The next morning, Ume was awakened by the ringing of a bell.
"Rise and shine, Ume! Time for breakfast!" Ume slowly opened her eyes, groaning. The first thing she saw was Herve's shiney square toed shoe.
"...Herve....?" Ume mumbled. Herve looked down at her.
"It looks like you got a good sleep last night, Ume! You managed to stay alseep even after you...umm....fell off the bed..." Herve said. Ume lifted her head and looked around. Herve was right, Ume was on the floor tangled up in her blankets.
"This is why I need a futon...." Ume mumbled, sitting up. Herve smiled down at Ume and held up a silver tray.
"Up, up! Time to eat!" He sang. Ume pulled herself to her feet and sat down on the bed, the bed sheets still tangled around her body. Herve placed the tray on Ume's lap and smiled.
"Herve...what's this?" Ume asked, looking down at the finely cooked omlet. Herve just smiled.
"Well, I just thought since you just got back to France you might want your favorite dish!" he explained. Ume nodded and picked up the fork that lay next to the plate. Herve bowed his head and left Ume to eat her omlet.
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Across the hall, Herve also brought Sanosuke an omlet.
"Rise and shine! Hey, what is your name, anyway?" Herve asked, stepping into the room. Sanosuke had made himself a futon-like bed on the floor and was sleeping soundly. Herve gasped and rushed over to the dresser next to Sanosuke's bed. He placed the silver tray on it and walked over to Sanosuke.
"Sir....Sir! What are you doing on the floor!?" Herve asked, kneeling down and shaking Sanosuke slightly.
"Go away Ume....just....just five more minuets...." Sanosuke mumbled. Herve sighed and shook Sanosuke again.
"I am not Ume! This is Herve!" Herve said. Sanosuke opened his eyes and looked up at Herve.
".....Bushy-Brows....? What are you doing here?" Sanosuke asked, sitting up.Herve stood up and walked back over to the tray.
"I came up here to get you breakfast!" he said. Sanosuke sighed.
"I'm not eatting any of your crazy French food," he stated. Herve turned around.
"But we don't have any of your Japanese food, so you're going to have to deal with good 'ol French cooking!" Herve then noticed that Sanosuke didn't have a shirt on. In Japan, people walk around like that, but it is unheard of in France.
"S-SIR! Why are you not wearing your night clothes!?" Herve shreiked. Sanosuke looked down at his bare chest.
"Night clothes? Why would I need those in this kind of heat? Besides, I always sleep like this," Sanosuke said. Herve sighed and knelt down beside Sanosuke.
"Well, as long as no one sees you like that..." he mumbled. He then set the tray on Sanosuke's lap.
"Hey! This is an oblet! Ume makes these!" Sanosuke gasped. Herve gave him a confused look.
"An...oblet? Don't you mean an omlet?" Herve asked. Sanosuke nodded and looked around the plate.
"Where are my chopsticks?" Sanosuke asked. Herve sighed.
"We do not use chopsticks in France, we use forks," Herve said, picking up the silver fork next to the plate. Sanosuke took it and examined it.
"Sano-san, have you seen my-" Ume stormed into the room without even knocking. Herve and Sanosuke looked up, both of them blushing.
"UME!! Why are you not wearing your night clothes!?" Herve hissed. Ume glanced down at herself. Her chest was wrapped up with bandages (like she always did,) she wore a black loincloth type underwear (like she always did,) and she had bandages wrapped up from her knees all the way to her hips (Like she always did,).
"I don't need night clothes. Anyway, Sano-san, have you seen my sandals? I thought I left them by my door," Ume said. Sanosuke looked up from Ume's chest and blushed again.
"I....I haven't seen them!" he said. Herve jumped to his feet and stood infront of Ume.
"Stop staring at Ume, you beast! Ume, pleae get some night clothes on!" Herve said, glaring at Sanosuke. Ume sighed and walked around Herve.
"Forget about it, can you go find my sandals for me?" Ume asked. Herve sighed.
"Yes Ume, right away." Her then turned to the door. He opened it and glanced back at Sanosuke.
"You better not lay a finger on Ume!" Herve hissed. Sanosuke just rolled his eyes.
"Whatever," he mumbled. Herve then left, shutting the door behind him.
"Sorry about Herve, he's a little over-protective," Ume said, staring at that door for a moment.
"When Mom died, he tryed to protect me from everything. So when I went to Japan he kinda broke down. He wrote letters to me all of the time," Ume sighed and walked over to Sanosuke.
"Did you ever write back to him?" he asked. Ume sat down next to him.
"Nope." Sanosuke fell over on his side.
"That's probably why he's over protective!!" Sanosuke hissed. Ume chuckled to herself.
"Oh well, he's always been like that. Ever since I was a kid, he would spoil me...." Ume said. Sanosuke shrugged his shoulders and stabbed the omlet with his fork. He then lifted the whole omlet and took a large bite out of it. Ume stared at Sanosuke for a long time.
"What? Do I have something on my face?" Sanosuke asked, noticing Ume staring at him. Ume shook her head.
"It's just that, I don't know anything about your past, or your family," Ume mumbled. Sansouke took another bite out of his omlet.
"My past isn't a big deal. Neither is my family," he said. Ume sighed.
"I know it might seem like prying, but I would like to know about them," Ume said. Sanosuke sighed.
"Well, I was the son of a farmer, and when I was ten I left home to join the Sekihoutai during the revolution. After they were claimed a fake government army, they cut off my captain's head and displayed it in town. When the revolution was over, I became a fighter-for-hire. When I fight, it takes things off of my mind and I can calm down a bit," Sansouke said. Ume nodded, thinking.
"Oh," was all she said. Sanosuke finished the last of his omlet and sat back.
"That was good, but you can cook better," Sanosuke said. Ume smiled.
"Thank you! It's nice to know people like my cooking!" she said. She then stood up.
"Well, I was going to go to the bank today, but I think I might stay home for the day," Ume said. Sanosuke chuckled to himself.
"Ume, you're so lazy," he said. Ume smiled down at him and laughed too. But it was short lived when Sanosuke started to cough slightly. Ume stopped laughing and looked down at him.
"Sano-san, you okay?" she asked. Sanosuke finished coughing and nodded his head.
"I'm fine, just got a tickle in my throat," he said. Ume shrugged and walked out of the room. Sanosuke sighed and stretched his arms over his head.
"I should probably get dressed..." he said. He stood up and scratched his head, looking around.
"Now...where did I put my normal clothes," he asked himself. He wondered around the room for a few moments trying to find his clothes. He opened up a drawer and noticed that his shirt and pants were neatly folded in the dresser. He pulled them out and tossed them on the bed. He closed the drawer and walked over to the bed. He pulled on his pants and tied the string in the front and then pulled on his infamous shirt with the character "Aku" on the back. He picked the red ribbon from there he slept on the floor and tied it around his forhead (like he always does,). He stretched for the ceiling once again and let out a long sigh.
"I wonder if Bushy-brows will make me another omlet if I ask him nicely," Sansouke wondered out loud. He left his room and headed for the stairs. Right as his foot touched the first stair, he heard something strange to him. He stopped and listened. It sounded like a corous of birds, though he knew it wasn't. The bird like sound was comming from a hallway to his left. Sansouke listened to the birds sing in a rather slow rhythm.
"What is that?" he asked himself. For some reason, he was drawn to the sound, so he wondered down the hallway. As the sound got closer and closer, Sansouke began to open the many doors that lined the hallway. Finally, he opened one door and saw Ume sitting in a chair with a strange looking wooden object under her chin. Ume, hearing the door swing open, stopped what she was doing and looked up.
"Sano-san?" she asked. Sanosuke just stared at her.
"Can I help you?" Ume asked, lowering the wooden object. Sansouke stepped into the room and pointed to the object.
"What is that?" he asked, walking closer. Ume held the object up.
"Oh...this?" she asked. Sanosuke nodded.
"It's my violin. It's a musical instrument that came from Italy in the 1600's," Ume said. Sanosuke grabbed a near by chair and placed it infront of Ume.
"That's an instrument? Is that what was making that noise?" he asked. Ume nodded and lifted the violin to her chin. She then lifted the bow and showed it to Sanosuke.
"This is the bow. You drag it across the strings here," Ume pointed to the strings, "And you change the tune with your fingers, here," Ume moved her fingers on the finger board. Sanosuke nodded his head slightly.
"How about I just show you instead?" Ume asked. Sanosuke nodded.
"That would be great because I didn't understand a word you just said," he stated. Ume rolled her eyes and placed the bow on the strings. She moved the bow back and forth and moved her fingers on the finger board at the end. The mysterious bird calls where heard as Ume played. Ume closed her eyes and let the music flow out of the violin. Sanosuke just sat there and stared at Ume, amazed. When she was done, Ume lowered the violin and opened her eyes.
"Well, how was that?" she asked. Sanosuke blinked a few times and continued to stare at Ume.
"That was.....how did you learn to do that?" he asked.
"Well, lots of practice. My mother taught me when I was young, and she would play it for me when I would go to sleep at night," Ume said. Sanosuke thought for a moment.
"No wonder those boys love you," he mumbled. Ume blushed slightly.
"R-Really? Well, all of the girls say that I'm not that good," Ume said, looking down at her violin. Sanosuke leaned forward and stared into Ume's eyes.
"Well, forget what those girls say. This is what I'm saying now," Sanosuke slowly got out of his chair and stood on his knees in front of Ume. He wrapped his arms around her waist and looked up at her, (on his knees he came up to Ume's chin when she sat on the chair)
"I love you," he whispered. Ume blushed slightly and stared into Sanosuke's deep brown eyes.
"I....I love you too," Ume said slowly. Sanosuke smiled softly at Ume, something hardly anyone saw. He then leaned up and pressed his lips against hers. Ume set her violin down on the chair beside her and wrapped her arms around Sanosuke's shoulders.
From now on, these are the only lips that I want to kiss, Ume thought. Sanosuke pulled away and rested his forhead on Ume's. Ume couldn't help but smile for some reason.
"What? Why are you smiling?" Sanosuke asked, smirking. Ume shrugged her shoulders and continued to smile.
"I don't know. I guess it's because I never thought this would happen," Ume said. Sanosuke pulled his head back and gave her a confused look.
"What would happen?" he asked with a smile.
"That I would love someone back," Ume stated. Sanosuke continued to smile.
"It's true! All of the boys here love me, but I could care less for all of them. You're the first one I've ever really loved," Ume said. Sanosuke chuckled and leaned forward and gave Ume a quick kiss on the lips.
"Really? It's funny because I'm the same way," he said.
"Except, girls really didn't like me. They always go for guys like Kenshin and stuff. And I guess," Sanosuke paused for a moment, "I guess I was never looking for any girls in the first place." Ume laughed.
"Sano-san, you're funny," she said. Sanosuke chuckled too, but was cut short when he started coughing agian. Ume jumped.
"Sano-san, are you sure you're okay?" Ume asked. Sansouke nodded his head, covering his mouth with his hand.
"I'll be fine," he said, continuing to cough. Ume placed the back of her hand on Sanosuke's forhead.
"Sano-san! You're burning up!" Ume gasped. Sanosuke pushed Ume's hand away from his head.
"I'm fine," he stated. Ume frowned and placed her hands on either side of Sanosuke's face. She turned his head and kissed his forhead.
"Sano-san, if you're sick, I will take care of you. You just need to let me help," Ume said. Sanosuke sighed and looked at Ume.
"Ume-"
"Ume! I don't hear a violin playing!" Herve stepped into the room and saw Ume and Sanosuke. Ume was sitting in the chair with her hands on either side of Sanosuke's face. Sansouke was on his knees infront of Ume with his arms wrapped around her waist. There was long moment of silence between the three people.
"Get.....GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF UME RIGHT NOW YOU PERVERTED BEAST!" Herve screamed. Sanosuke jumped back and Ume jumped to her feet.
"Now, Herve-"
"Ume, what did he touch? Are you alright?" Herve stormed over and examined Ume. He then turned and glared at Sanosuke who was sprawled on the floor.
"And YOU! How dare you force yourself on Ume like that! You should be thrown in jail for this kind of behavior!" Herve hissed. Sanosuke was speechless.
"Herve, Herve! Please calm down." Ume said. Herve turned and glanced down at Ume.
"And you, young lady! You should know better than to mess with boys! If someone starts to approach you like this....Beast, you should defend yourself!" Herve said. Ume sighed.
"But we weren't doing anything!" Ume complained. Herve grabbed onto Ume's hand and pulled her towards the door.
"I've had enough of this! To your room now, young lady!" Herve snapped, pulling Ume into the hallway. Ume knew she could easily over power Herve, but she knew she would only get into more trouble.
"....Yes sir..." Ume mumbled, heading for her own bed room.
"I will be there to give you a stern talking to after I speak with him!" Herve said, pointing to Sanosuke. Sanosuke just sat there on the floor, his heart racing, having no idea how to react to Herve's behavior.
"Now..." Herve waited until Ume went into her room before he turned and faced Sanosuke.
"Please takea seat," Herve said, walking over to the chair that Ume had been sitting at. Sansouke scrammbled to his feet and sat in his chair, scooting it away from Herve. Sanosuke didn't think that he had ever been more scarred in his life.
"What is your name again?" Herve asked. Sanosuke paused for a moment.
"Sanosuke..."
"Well, Sanosuke, I have a question for you," Herve said, looking up into Sanosuke's eyes.
"....What?" Sanosuke quietly asked. Herve was quiet for a long time.
"Ume has been hurt by a lot of people, and there are only a few people she really trusts. For many years Ume has been chased by many men....I presume you've met Algernon?" Herve asked. Sanosuke thought for a moment.
"Oh, that kid who said he was 23..." Sanosuke said. Herve nodded his head.
"Many men, like Algernon, have stalked Ume and tryed to manipulate her to get her to marry them. Some of them because they like her, or for most...because they want Clarabelle's money for themselves." Sanosuke was quiet. He would have never thought that Ume was extremly rich and was loved by tons of guys.
"Really?" he asked. Herve nodded.
"It's completely different in Japan. People try to pick fights with her all of the time and she's not liked by many people because she's so strong," Sanosuke explained. Herve blinked for a second.
"You mean.....Ume gets into....street fights?" Herve asked slowly. Sanosuke nodded, as if not thinking it was a big deal. But he then stopped and noticed a small fire burning in Herve's eyes.
"W-Well, what about this quesiton you were going to ask me?" Sanosuke quickly changed the subject.
"Question...?" Herve asked, blinking.
"Oh! Yes!" Herve then stared into Sansouke's eyes for a second.
"Do you really love Ume?"
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"This is stupid," Ume stated, laying on her bed. She stared up at the canopy with he hands behind her head.
"Even at the age of 17 I still get bossed around like a little kid....I think Herve is the only one who could put me in my place..." Ume then thought of Kaoru hitting her over the head.
"M-maybe not...Gyu-san is a pretty scary person...." Ume muttered.
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Tokyo....
"Achooo!!!" Kenshin glanced up from his laundry to look up at Kaoru.
"Are you catching a cold, Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin asked. Kaoru sniffed.
"I don't think so..." she stated.
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"I hope Herve isn't being too mean to Sano-san," Ume sighed, rolling over onto her stomache.
"I mean, we were really doing anything.....bad." Ume then thought about the kiss that she and Sanosuke had shared. She got butterflies in her stomache. She could almost feel his warm strong arms wrap around her. And his sweet-
"Ume! May I come in?" Herve called from Ume's door. Ume's eyes snapped open and she glanced at the door.
"Y-Yes!!" Ume stammered, clearing the images from her head. Herve opened the door and stepped inside.
"I spoke with Sanosuke," Herve said. Ume just stared at him.
"You weren't too mean to him...were you?" Ume asked. Herve shook his head.
"I just asked him a few questions. He must've been really embarrassed because his face was very flushed," Herve stated. Ume blinked.
"But, I understand that you might love this man, but you can do all of your smooching when you get back to Japan. I don't want to see any of it, understand?" Herve asked. Ume nodded her head.
"Alright then," Herve stood up and left the room.
"............That's it?" Ume asked herself.