Half a House Chapter 4
TITLE: Half a House
WORD COUNT: 747
CHAPTER: 4/?
FANDOM: Rurouni Kenshin
GENRE: Humor/Romance
RATING: PG-13 (K+)
SUMMARY: By will, Megumi is heir to her grandfather's fortune, on one condition: she must share the house with Sano for four months or everything goes to charity. But can two people who can't stand each other live under the same roof?
Chapter 4
As it turned out, contrary to what he said, Saitou did not bring them to precinct. But he did fine Sanosuke, issued him a ticket and then subjected him to a breath test on the premise that Sanosuke had been caught drunk-driving before. To Megumi, who knew all about antagonizing Sanosuke, Saitou’s methods were not unfamiliar.
By the time they made it to old Genzai’s house, it was almost evening. Megumi was exhausted. She had earlier sent her supplies and provisions by Takuhaibin but she still had two suitcases with her. Sanosuke, who had worked himself up into a silent fury, merely headed straight for the house without offering to lend a hand. Her annoyance mounting, she followed after him with the intention of giving him a piece of her mind, but the sight of the house arrested her.
Oguni Genzai had a fondness for minka so he bought one of that design with a hip and gable roof style commonly associated with Buddhist shrines and castles and very rarely with folk dwellings. The original construction dated back to the late 17th century, during the Edo Period, and indeed, the house still had the core rooms of traditional minka: a plank-floored ima or sitting room and the adjacent doma, which doubled as an entryway and kitchen workspace. In the past, the doma also provided a place for drying grain during rainy weather but with mechanized farming, that proved to be too narrow a space to store all the grain, so a barn was built some time ago which took care of that problem. Now the doma was mainly used as an entryway and came equipped with a getabako for storing shoes and slippers. The rouka, a wooden-floored hallway that circled the edges of the house and sheltered from the weather by extended roofs, completed the whole structure.
Sanosuke’s figure appeared at the doorway. “Ya comin’ in?”
“Could you help me with my things, please,” she asked, her accent sounding haughty even to her own ears.
“I would, if ya get that ojou-san tone outta your voice,” he only said. He was still simmering from his encounter with Saitou but at least he was talking.
Megumi decided not to provoke him any further and simply asked, “Did my boxes from Tokyo arrive?”
“Yeah.” Despite what he said, he stalked forward and grabbed hold of Megumi’s luggage. Then, with a suitcase in each hand, he reentered the house. She followed him, pausing to remove her shoes at the doma and putting on a pair of house slippers.
Everything looked immaculately clean from the inside. The housekeeper must be new. Mariko Obaa-san, although quite jolly, was really not very good at her job. In the past, the place had been all dust and dirt in the corners. Not like this one.
“Who’s the new housekeeper?” Megumi wondered, placing her handbag on a table in the first room from the entry way.
“No one,” came Sanosuke’s succinct reply from the next room. He emerged a second later, saying, “Kaoru used ta come in every weekend to help clean up the place when old Genzai was sick. But she stopped comin’ ‘coz of the baby. I paid one of the farmworkers' wife to clean this up but it's a one-time deal only. She ain't got no time, what with kids an' all.”
Megumi nodded. She would thank Kaoru in good time. Meanwhile, they were going to have to hire someone on a permanent basis.
“I put your things in your old room,” Sanosuke continued. “An’ if you‘re hungry, there‘s dinner.”
Megumi glanced behind her and saw the covered pots and dishes in the corner on top of the old furnace next to the refrigerator. “You cooked?” For some reason, that was hilarious.
“Nothin’ fancy,” Sanosuke said.
“I would hardly expect that” was the dry retort to which Sano only lifted his upper lip in a silent snarl. “What happened to Mrs. Seikihara?” That was the name of old Genzai’s cook.
“She left years ago. One of her twin daughters -- you remember Tae -- had opened a restaurant in the city and it’s doin' really well. Mrs. Seikihara don't gotta work no more.”
So the housekeeper was gone, the cook, too. Megumi mentally calculated. That left only the workers at the farm. But they all lived in their own houses and came only in the day to perform their respective tasks, then, at sunset, they left again. “But that means…” Her words trailed off as for the first time she realized just how inconvenient the next four months was going to be.
Sanosuke was grinning. “Wanna give up, kitsune?”
~ TBC
WORD COUNT: 747
CHAPTER: 4/?
FANDOM: Rurouni Kenshin
GENRE: Humor/Romance
RATING: PG-13 (K+)
SUMMARY: By will, Megumi is heir to her grandfather's fortune, on one condition: she must share the house with Sano for four months or everything goes to charity. But can two people who can't stand each other live under the same roof?
Chapter 4
As it turned out, contrary to what he said, Saitou did not bring them to precinct. But he did fine Sanosuke, issued him a ticket and then subjected him to a breath test on the premise that Sanosuke had been caught drunk-driving before. To Megumi, who knew all about antagonizing Sanosuke, Saitou’s methods were not unfamiliar.
By the time they made it to old Genzai’s house, it was almost evening. Megumi was exhausted. She had earlier sent her supplies and provisions by Takuhaibin but she still had two suitcases with her. Sanosuke, who had worked himself up into a silent fury, merely headed straight for the house without offering to lend a hand. Her annoyance mounting, she followed after him with the intention of giving him a piece of her mind, but the sight of the house arrested her.
Oguni Genzai had a fondness for minka so he bought one of that design with a hip and gable roof style commonly associated with Buddhist shrines and castles and very rarely with folk dwellings. The original construction dated back to the late 17th century, during the Edo Period, and indeed, the house still had the core rooms of traditional minka: a plank-floored ima or sitting room and the adjacent doma, which doubled as an entryway and kitchen workspace. In the past, the doma also provided a place for drying grain during rainy weather but with mechanized farming, that proved to be too narrow a space to store all the grain, so a barn was built some time ago which took care of that problem. Now the doma was mainly used as an entryway and came equipped with a getabako for storing shoes and slippers. The rouka, a wooden-floored hallway that circled the edges of the house and sheltered from the weather by extended roofs, completed the whole structure.
Sanosuke’s figure appeared at the doorway. “Ya comin’ in?”
“Could you help me with my things, please,” she asked, her accent sounding haughty even to her own ears.
“I would, if ya get that ojou-san tone outta your voice,” he only said. He was still simmering from his encounter with Saitou but at least he was talking.
Megumi decided not to provoke him any further and simply asked, “Did my boxes from Tokyo arrive?”
“Yeah.” Despite what he said, he stalked forward and grabbed hold of Megumi’s luggage. Then, with a suitcase in each hand, he reentered the house. She followed him, pausing to remove her shoes at the doma and putting on a pair of house slippers.
Everything looked immaculately clean from the inside. The housekeeper must be new. Mariko Obaa-san, although quite jolly, was really not very good at her job. In the past, the place had been all dust and dirt in the corners. Not like this one.
“Who’s the new housekeeper?” Megumi wondered, placing her handbag on a table in the first room from the entry way.
“No one,” came Sanosuke’s succinct reply from the next room. He emerged a second later, saying, “Kaoru used ta come in every weekend to help clean up the place when old Genzai was sick. But she stopped comin’ ‘coz of the baby. I paid one of the farmworkers' wife to clean this up but it's a one-time deal only. She ain't got no time, what with kids an' all.”
Megumi nodded. She would thank Kaoru in good time. Meanwhile, they were going to have to hire someone on a permanent basis.
“I put your things in your old room,” Sanosuke continued. “An’ if you‘re hungry, there‘s dinner.”
Megumi glanced behind her and saw the covered pots and dishes in the corner on top of the old furnace next to the refrigerator. “You cooked?” For some reason, that was hilarious.
“Nothin’ fancy,” Sanosuke said.
“I would hardly expect that” was the dry retort to which Sano only lifted his upper lip in a silent snarl. “What happened to Mrs. Seikihara?” That was the name of old Genzai’s cook.
“She left years ago. One of her twin daughters -- you remember Tae -- had opened a restaurant in the city and it’s doin' really well. Mrs. Seikihara don't gotta work no more.”
So the housekeeper was gone, the cook, too. Megumi mentally calculated. That left only the workers at the farm. But they all lived in their own houses and came only in the day to perform their respective tasks, then, at sunset, they left again. “But that means…” Her words trailed off as for the first time she realized just how inconvenient the next four months was going to be.
Sanosuke was grinning. “Wanna give up, kitsune?”
~ TBC