##


Late that evening.

The day wasn’t a total waste despite how most of them felt it was. Although 
the
answer didn't leap out at them after five hours of searching through books 
so
dusty a round of sneezing was induced at every turn of the page, a few clues
relating to Triseoul were found; however, they often confused the readers 
even
more with the contradictory recordings. All of them agreed on three things
however: One, It could be Male or female. Two, at some point a wielder of 
one
of the swords was always present at it’s appearance. And three, the scariest
one, it didn’t leave quietly or without bloodshed. One particular account
referred to one such fight where an entire town had simply ceased to 
exist….Not
even wreckage or bodies were found….

Not good news.

Then again, they couldn’t do as much research as they liked due to 
‘extenuating
circumstances’. The first being Tomoe excusing herself time to time with
excuses like using the bathroom and what not….Kenshin alone noticing and
returning a little out of breath each time or evidence of her being outside
like grass or dew on her Kimono hem….but kept it to himself. The second was 
the
constant arguments between a certain pair of lovebirds and two others that 
soon
got more and more distracting until Merlin had enough and settled the 
argument
for them all.

So for the rest of the day until dinnertime, A pissed off Chicken, a
shell-shocked Fox and equally annoyed Chickenhawk and Chow puppy sat where
Sano, Megumi, Jubei and Yahiko formerly resided, glaring at the old man.

Still, Sano got the last laugh by leaving a ‘surprise’ in Merlin’s hat…..

Shuriken had a feeling this was an omen of things to come.

She was right when Soujirou offered to help her sister with the firewood an
hour before dinner….and her mother pulled her aside not a second later….

Which was why she was grumbling as she went to fetch her baka bodyguard.
“Should’ve known they’d pull a stunt like this…..”

Just like she expected, she found him doing all the work….in his particular
way.

She stayed back a safe distance to watch….Soujirou standing before a large 
tree
with his hand on his sword….eyes closed and standing as if the tree was an
opponent waiting to strike. Micheala sat back safely out of range as well on 
a
stump, watching in amusement and a familiar look in her eyes that made
Shuriken’s blood boil. *I knew it….Damn interfering…..*

The thought was lost as Soujirou suddenly vanished so fast it kicked up a 
gust
of wind…..Only the slight sway of a branch being landed on and immediately
leapt off giving away his path all the way to the top….then a few seconds 
later
landed feathersoft on the ground again in a crouch, sheathing his sword.

Two seconds later a VERY stunned Shuriken watched the tree collapsed into a
pile of perfectly cut firewood. A pile at least five feet tall.

*Showoff….*

Micheala giggled. “Where have you been all my life, Kid?” Soujirou chuckled
sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head and smiled. He then noticed
they had company, turning to look in Shuriken’s direction….

And immediately gaped like a fish as his eyes bugged out.

At first he thought she was one of Shuriken’s aunts he hadn’t met yet, she
looked so different….Gone was the usual haphazard outfit she bounced all 
over
Japan in, replaced by a simple, but lovely dress of blue that reached to her
knees. Her hair was braided into a simple ponytail that hung over her left
shoulder and fastened by a hairclip that resembled a dagger. The effect was
astounding. When she started to growl threateningly he finally recognized 
her.
“Miss Shuriken??!!”

*Men….* Shuriken thought ruefully. “Mother threatened to disown me if I 
didn’t
wear something ‘decent’ to the table.” She mumbled, glaring at him. “What’s
your problem?!!”

“Ahh!” Soujirou reddened and looked even more sheepish. Micheala looked 
smug.
“It’s just that you look so….so….”

“So what, Baka?” Her voice was laced with brimstone.

*What can I say that won’t get me killed?*

“…..Different?”

It seemed to have worked. Shuriken looked less ready to kill him. In fact 
she
looked pleased. “Why thank you, Can we go now? We’ll get the rest of the 
wood
later.”

“Hai, Miss Shuriken.” He gathered some wood and walked by her as they 
started
toward the house. Shuriken bit down the urge to laugh maniacally. *Hah! 
Looks
like Mother’s scheme….*

“You should dress like that more often.”

*….Failed….*

Micheala snickered. Shuriken slowly turned to give Soujirou a look of death.
“Right….This would be real practical in a fight, Soujirou.”

He shrugged and smiled at her. “You don’t fight all the time.”

Despite her stubborn refusal to give in to the situation, Shuriken felt her
cheek grow flushed. Micheala looked triumphant. *Ooh! Why can’t I have a 
normal
family? One that wouldn’t make it their ‘duty’ to interfere with my love life or lack therefore of?* 
She glanced at Soujirou. *And why did I have to bring
home the perfect idiot for them to play matchmaker with?!*

A sudden sharp wind made her shiver, Soujirou stopping long enough to shrug off
his shirt and drape it over her, Shuriken almost too stunned to protest and
felt her cheeks redden even more from both the act and a view of his bare
chest. “I-I’m not made of glass, y’know. Stop that.” He just kept smiling to
her annoyance and walked a little ahead of her and her sister. *Hell…. forget 
my parents…He’s dangerous by himself!* She mused.

Micheala smiled at her little sister. “Interesting man, ne Mouto-chan?”

“Don’t even think about starting on Soujirou.” Shuriken hissed.

“I was talking about Himura-san and how he doesn’t look like such a great swordsman.”

Realizing she fell for the bait, Shuriken politely told her sister to shut
up, much to Micheala’s amusement.

A moment of reflection, if you will, about two of Nature’s laws that come to
mind as Dinnertime arrived. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction 
and
an object in motion will remain in motion unless an equal or greater force
causes it to stop. While this law is interesting when concerning rocks and
such, it is even more so when applied to a more…..active….group of 
subjects…..
Case in point.

The entire gang had somehow managed to fit around the large table Alex had
dragged out of somewhere, a bit snug since that included Usagi’s now ‘oroing
for fun’ kids but it was manageable. (And something that certain women among
the table were going to take advantage of….) An impressive feast of various
American and Japanese food was spread out, Sano actually falling to his 
knees
and thanking Kami-sama and the Jamison women at the sight of it, much to
everyone’s amusement. Then after Arain had arrived Alexander announced that
they could start dinner.

Thus did the chaos begin….

Sano stood up and pulled out a seat for Arain beside him. “Allow me.”

Megumi raised an eyebrow.

Arain looked surprised at Sano’s highly polished maneuver.

“I’m not gonna bite. Sit already.”

*Well…* She smirked inwardly. *An overbearing lout like you showing such 
high
decorum. What a surprise.*

“Thank you,” She smiled as she sat down and let him push her to the table. 
“A
true lady deserves such treatment from someone like yourself.”

“I’m full of surprises.”

“That’s not all he’s full of….” Megumi muttered.

“Did you say something?”

Megumi turned and smiled sweetly to Jubei. “Please fill my glass, Jubei.”

“Ah, sure.”

One could feel the room temperature rise a couple notches as Sano and Megumi
glared at each other until Arain snapped a napkin loudly in irritation, both
looking slightly embarrassed while Jubei looked clueless.

At that moment Merlin brought out a positively ancient looking wine bottle. 
“In
honor of this special occasion, I thought it would be appropriate to 
celebrate
in Avalon tradition…..” He poured the wine in a glass and raised it in 
salute.
“As each of us drink from this cup we share in our hopes and dreams of our
hearts. May they come true.”

He then sipped and passed the glass to Kenshin who did the same and passed 
it
to Karou….the ceremony going well as it was passed on to each person….Usagi
making sure the kids didn’t get too much….Then just as Jubeiaccepted the 
cup
from Megumi and sipped….

“It’s almost like we’re indirectly kissing….” She said coyly.

It didn’t have the effect she intended. Jubei almost choked when he heard 
that,
turning several shades of green before going to white as he looked at 
Kenshin
and Tomoe in absolute horror. Kenshin just grinned evilly, A hint of
micheviouness in Tomoe’s eyes as she gave him an arch look. Sano grinned….

A grin that died as Jubei handed it to the next person….Grandma.

There was a fiendish light in both Megumi’s and Saiko’s eyes as the little 
old
lady slurped from the glass and smacked her lips, commenting on the taste 
and
age before handing it to Sano, who looked a little less smug at this
development. He accepted the glass with a sickly grin and after a quick demo 
of
his ‘Faster than Godlike speed out of desperation’ technique to wipe the 
glass
rim he drank and handed it to Arain….

Their hands ‘accidentally’ brushing….Although questionable as to who’s fault 
it
was….

Sano made the most out of the situation by subtly winking at Arain, who 
slyly
did the same and drank a little deeper than needed to be from the glass 
while
looking him in the eyes.

If one listened very carefully….One could hear the rumble of approaching
doom….particularly from Megumi’s direction…..

The ritual was completed without incident as Soujirou and the rest of the
Jamison household finished the ritual. Alexander standing up to give the 
second
half of Merlin’s speech in conclusion. “For without dreams there is nothing 
to
guide us through the night before day, the darkness before dawn….” He 
finished
the glass completely then set it down…breaking into a huge grin. “So dig in
everybody!”

There was no need to repeat himself. Everybody attacked the food as if it 
was
their last meal, with ether the ‘enthusiasm’ of Sano, Yahiko, Jubei and
Shuriken or the dainty restraint (But still energetic.) of Megumi, Tomoe and
Arain. Things were starting to look like nothing could go wrong….

Until….

“Oi, Arain….Your homeland, whatzit called again….”

“Avalon.” She said without looking up.

“Yeah, that’s it, Babe.” Arain raised an eyebrow at Sano’s ‘endearment’. 
Megumi
was quiet, although it was a good guess that she was annoyed because she
started SAWING her meat with the knife as he went on. “Mind telling me what
it’s like there? I love learning new cultures.”

Megumi’s sneeze suspiciously sounded like “Bullshit!”

A wicked idea popped into Arain’s head. “Nothing much really….” She mused. 
“A
few humans….Dragons here and there and you can’t spit without hitting a
fairy…..” Then delightfully dropped the bomb. “A lot like Japan really….”

The result was electric. Merlin choked. Sano stared at her. Tomoe raised an
eyebrow. Megumi was now sawing the BONE of the steak, a demonic glare in her
eyes that makes Jubei cringe. Everybody else just pretended they didn’t hear
and nervously keep eating for a tense second or two….Until Alex and Sano
exploded in laughter.

“Good one!” Alex crowed.

“You got a point there, ‘specially the fairies. Still…” Sano turned on his
charm full blast, smiling sexily at Arain as he leaned his head on his hand.
“Can’t be so bad if a interesting girl like you came from there, Ne?”

There was a screech as Megumi cuts through the bone and deep into the 
PLATE…..

Arain just blushed with a chuckle and dug back into her plate to avoid 
looking
at Sano. *Mou, Arain…All that training and high breeding’s for shit whenever
you get around a guy like him….*

One of Usagi’s kids decided to join in at that moment. “Are there really
fairies in Japan, daddy?”

“Ahhh….” Kiro forced a smile while glaring at Sano and Arain out the corner 
of
his eye. “Ask me later baby….”

Usagi snickered.

Megumi’s voice was dangerously sweet when she spoke next, grinning so
charmingly and polite it raised the hairs on Sano’s neck. “Would you like 
some
of this roast, Sano?”

He nodded, Megumi taking the carving knife by the large roast pig and stabs
down in it’s back with such force the table rattled, Sano and Jubei wincing 
as
she continued. “Such a curious and still growing BOY like you needs lots of
food for energy….” She cut off a large slab and set it lovingly on his 
plate,
her eyes glinting with malice. “Although you must be careful when it comes
to….” glanced at Arain in contemptuous manner. “….Pork.”

Arain’s eyes glittered dangerously at that obvious barb.

And as if the others could sense the approaching danger they started
conversation between themselves. This however, was also decidedly 
dangerous…..

Tomoe polished off her THIRD full plate, ignoring Kenshin’s astonished 
stare.
Food was another way of getting the energy to sustain herself, although not 
as
potent as her usual method. *Not to mention she had to make a pig out of
herself in front of Kenshin, grrr….* “So how did you two meet?” She asked 
the
couple, giving Kenshin a coy look. “Did he sweep you off your feet like he 
did
with me, Karou?”

Kenshin reddened and took a deep drink of sake.

“Actually….” Karou replied, also faintly blushing. “I attacked him in the
middle of the street.”

Tomoe blinked. “Ahhh…..” Then chuckled ruefully, Giving Kenshin a teasing 
look.
“You always seem to effect the ladies this way, Kenshin dear.” She smiled a
little more at the way he reddened even more.

“Repent, the end is near….” Jubei intoned. “Tomoe’s developing a 
personality….”

Kenshin almost frisbeed a plate at him but Tomoe got to Jubei first, her 
tone
sharp and sarcastic. “Being dead can change you a lot, Kimagami-san.” A 
feral
smile crossed her face, eyes glinting with promise. “Would you like to find 
out
first hand?”

Jubei snorted and went back to his meal and Megumi, Tomoe musing over what 
they
both said and what was probably running through Kenshin’s head. *True….I 
have
changed a lot since my return, no, since that night I admitted to myself 
that I
loved him. If only….No. Don’t regret….Enjoy these feelings. Enjoy yourself 
for
once…..While you still can….* She smiled sweetly at Karou. “Kami-sama was
smiling at you two when he brought you together; Kenshin’s quite a catch.”

Karou blushed deeper, smiling at Kenshin. “That he is.”

Tomoe grinned, reveling in another evil thought. “And he can be so cute. 
Like
the time I was ill and he and kids cooked breakfast in bed and offered to do
the housework…..”

Kenshin went from embarrassed to horrified. “Ahh, Tomoe…..”

Tomoe ignored him, Smiling at the memory. “Or at least they tried to. I’ve
never seen egg served as soup until that day….and the house looked like a 
bomb
went off…..”

Kenshin grabbed the whole bottle of sake and started downing it as Tomoe 
told
Karou more horror stories….

On the other end of the table, Operation Matchmaker went into effect.

Moshi started them off. “So tell us how you met our daughter, Soujirou….”
Shuriken freezes, starting to sweat. “Are you a professional bodyguard?”

Soujirou forced a smile. “Not really, Mrs. Jamison….”

Alex roared with laughter. “No need for formalities! Heck, you can call us 
Mom
and Dad….” Soujirou missed his Wink at Shuriken. “….if ya like, Son!”

Shuriken grumbled something unpleasant. Soujirou carefully thought about his
answer, wanting to live to his next birthday then smiled at Shuriken.

“Just a wanderer who happened to be…in the right place at the right time.”

Her parents mistook Shuriken’s sigh of relief for one of lovesickness.
*Agratou, Soujirou.* She smiled back at him. *If they knew I just walked 
into
the first bar I saw, stood on a table and announced I needed a bodyguard…..*

“Ah, a fellow traveler.” Alex impossibly grinned wider. “I like ya even 
more,
son. I love traveling, you can meet all kinds of people,” He punched 
Soujirou
lightly on the arm and almost knocked him out the chair. “Even the girl of 
your
dreams like I did!”

“Here we go….” Shuriken muttered.

Soujirou chuckled nervously. “Hai, Mr…I mean Dad.”

Moshi and Usagi played the moment for all it was worth, looking the perfect
wife and lover so well that Shuriken cringed. “My sister and I were quite 
lucky
to meet our sweethearts.” Moshi said, turning and gave Shuriken a doting look mixed with part making you feel guiland part threat. 

“And I hope our daughters will be as lucky and bless us with lots of grandchildren….”

Soujirou kept the smile in place out of desperation as He turned to 
Shuriken,
whose homicidal look aimed at him and her mother changed to instant smile. 
“I’m sure she will.”

Shuriken nervously laughed….firing off a death glare at her parents the 
second
he turned back to his food, Alex and Moshi the picture of innocence despite 
a mischievous twinkle in their eyes…..*Why can’t they leave us alone? Let us take it slow and WHOA WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, GIRL?!!!*

Back in the middle, the firing solution boiled nearer to completion: Sano was taking animatedly with Arain, both enjoying themselves and flirting ridiculously hard. Megumi wasn’t much better, having Jubei literally eating out
of her hand as she playfully fed him his dinner….Her feminine wiles 
obviously
in hyperdrive and working rather well on the poor sucker from the goofy grin
Jubei had plastered on his face. And of course, with Sano and Megumi were 
both
stealing smug ‘Top that’ glares at each other doing their little contest of
wills, waiting for the other to finally crack.

One could almost hear the sleazy saxophone music in the background or smell 
the
stale and smoky atmosphere of a bar, the sexual tension that thick in the
air…..Just waiting to explode….

Arain laughed as Sano finished his funny story, smiling at him. “You are so
entertaining, Sagara-san….” She leaned a little more forward, her eyes
smoldering with something akin to lust. “I’m surprised you’re still
unattached.”

Sano grinned, unflinchingly looking into her eyes. “Me too.”

A rather sarcastic remark from Megumi killed the mood. “After all, you do 
have
SO much to offer a woman…..”

“Yeah, I guess some just don’t recognize a good thing when they see it.” 
Sano
sneered in reply.

Megumi grinned evilly. “Like most men, ne?” She was so focused on her 
pissing
contest with him she didn’t notice that poured hot sauce in Jubei’s glass
instead of wine…..“But Jubei doesn’t seem to have that problem….” She turned 
to
Jubei, tickling him under his chin and raising the glass to his lips as she
cooed. “Do you, Koibito?”

Jubei smiled back and drank….and immediately turned every shade of the 
rainbow
and choked, Megumi patting him on the back in concern and fussing over him 
as
Sano and Arain laughed.

“Not at all…..” Jubei wheezed in-between gasps.

“I’m SO jealous of you Megumi.” Arain’s voice dripped sarcasm. “I’m sure 
he’s a
real find.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Megumi ignored Jubei question and glared at Arain. “Hmph. And I’m sure you 
two
will make a lovely couple….Queen Drip and the Bakayarou king!”

The kids, who had been more behaved than the adults to this point, lit up at
the discovery of a new word….making up a song on the spot: “Baka, baka, 
baka,
baka….” They howled the last syllables. “Yaaaaarrrrrrroooooooouuuuuuu!”

Kiro dropped his fork in horror. Usagi chuckling at first but stopping to 
give
Arain and Megumi a stern look. “As much as I encourage my kids to learn,” 
She
said dryly. “Would you ladies mind your French?”

Both had the grace to look sheepish before glaring back at each other.

“See what you did?” Megumi hissed.

“Me?!!”

“Now ladies….” Merlin started….

Both whirled on Merlin with eyes of brimstone. “STAY OUT OF IT OLD MAN!!!”

Merlin eeped and almost jumped back out his seat, forming the sign of pain 
with
his hands.

Jubei sweatdropped, turning to Sano. “Aren’t you going to stop this?”

Sano, who was leaning on a hand and watching with the two argue in 
amusement,
looked at him funny. “Are you?”

Jubei’s expression turned cross. “How stupid do I look?”

Kenshin attempted to calm them down, (Although with the ulterior motive of
escaping Tomoe’s torture) when Tomoe and Karou both grabbed him by the 
shoulder
and sit him back down shaking their heads. The Jamison family was totally
obvious to the literal powerkeg about to go off, intent on their matchmaking
mission and halfway there as Alex poured the slightly ‘loosened up’ Soujirou
his fourth cup of the strong wine.

“What do you think of children, Soujirou?” Yasha asked.

“I like children.” Soujirou grinned goofily at the chagrined Shuriken. 
“They’re fun….”

“Indeed they are. I’m sure you make a fine father and husband to SOME lucky
girl….” Yasha made another not so subtle wink at Shuriken, who glowered at  her.

“Grandmaaaaa…..”

Soujirou sighed and turned solemn. “But I don’t know if I can settle down Just yet, there’s a lot I need to…sort out in my life before I take such a big step….”

Alex nodded sagely. “That’s understandable, You’re young, and you have plenty of wild oats to sow….”

“Nani? Wild oats….?”

Shuriken panicked, trying to change the subject. “How about you tell 
Soujirou
some of your stories, Daddy….”

Micheala interrupted as if she didn’t hear Shuriken, patting Soujirou on the
shoulder. “But you be ready one day, maybe sooner than you think. Heck, you
could be sitting next to your future wife now….” She nudged him, winking.

Shuriken looked horrified. Soujirou looked adorably clueless.

“Where?”

The Jamison family facefaulted.

Moshi cleared her throat and tried another approach. “So what do you think 
of
our daughter, Miko?”

Soujirou looked nervous, especially with five pairs of eyes boring into him.
“Ahh….She is….um….Well I mean to say…..” He got even more nervous at the
impatient looks. “She is….unique.”

The Jamison family blinked. Shuriken looked halfway between relived and a
little insulted.

“Well…..” Alex slapped the table. “We can work with that!”

That was the last straw for Shuriken, who pounded the table hard enough to 
Make the plates leap. “Stop this instant!!!”

Alex gave his daughter an innocent look. “Whatever do you mean, dear 
daughter?”

“You know exactly what I mean, you scheming old goat! Stop playing 
matchmaker!”

Soujirou dropped his glass, stunned. “Matchmaker?!!”

“Forgive her, Soujirou!” Moshi exclaimed theatrically. “My poor baby can get 
so emotional so times….”

“I am not emotional!” Shuriken roared. “You’re trying to marry me off!!!”

Soujirou looked like he was just walloped by an oar. “M-Marry?!!!!”

Back in the middle, Arain and Megumi were now almost at each other’s 
throats, insults flying back and forth…..

“You’re jealous!” Arain accused. “Isn’t one man enough for you?!”

“You think I want Sano? Ha! Take the moron for all I care!”

“Don’t insult him. It’s not his fault he’s too much man for you!”

That one pissed Megumi off. “What did you say?! If he’s too much for me, then
what chance does a stuck up hussy like you have?”

Arain sniffed and turned her nose up. “You bore me, Takani Megumi. I am far
above arguing with a commoner like you anyway.”

Megumi laughed scornfully. “Commoner, eh? Then allow me the honor of serving
you, Your highness!” With one hard chop of the carving knife she cut the 
entire
tail end off the roast pig and dropped it on Arain’s plate. “There! A piece 
of
ass for a royal ass!”

Utter bedlam broke out. Shuriken and her family arguing around a 
shell-shocked
Soujirou, Arain and Megumi barely being held back by Merlin and Jubei as 
they
struggle for each other’s throats hurling insults, Tomoe laughing her head 
off while Karou stared in horror, a blitzed Kenshin just lying his head on the
table with a long Oro, the kids are cheering the fight on despite their 
parent
trying to hush them….and in midst of it all Sano and Yahiko were just 
sitting
back watching the chaos, Sano reveling in his handiwork.

Yahiko broke his long silence, snatching a wine glass and sipping 
arrogantly.
“Women are SO emotional….”

Sano chuckled as he munched down on a barbecue rib. “Ya got that right 
kid….” 
##