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The shoji* slid shut with a fierce, hoarse rasp as it made a speedy way to closing. Megumi leaned on it with frustrated, angry growl rising in her throat. She actually wanted to scream, but she wasn't about to give Kaoru the satisfaction. She could still hear her conspiratorial laughter as it floated back to her on the mid autumn breeze. As a quiet murmuring undertone, she could just make out the nervous sound of Kenshin's voice as he tried to defend the doctor. Well, at least someone is. With a defeated sigh and a non-committal shrug of her shoulders, she turned back to the rest of the clinic. Of course, she could still see the smile the rurouni* had fought to hide when he was still in her site.
Ugh. What was I thinking? Since when do I go spouting off my mouth? Especially to those two! As much as she thought of them as friends, there were still things you didn't say. In particular, things you didn't admit to. Unfortunately she knew where she had gotten that habit from. More importantly from whom. At least they had promised not to say anything. She knew they were ones to keep their words, and she prayed fervently this was no exception.
She turned and slapped her hands loudly in the large wash basin, trying to rinse away the clammy feeling that had formed on her hands. Again. And hoping in vain to cool down the heated flush that had risen in her after that conversation. She chided herself with a grunt. That she let Kaoru go on was giving in to a child's game. Worse, letting it affect her was childish. Hmph! She certainly lives up to the tanuki* image!
Anyway, the dinner invitation was still open, and someone had to tell Sanosuke. It might as well be her. The last thing she wanted to hear was his whining about having missed a free meal.
She started to gather up the basic supplies she would need, stuffing them angrily into her small travel bag. A roll of thin bandages, some ointment, a small case of pasted soapwort to wash the wounds. She paused for a brief second, her hand hovering ambivalently before a small glass bottle with a clear liquid inside. A wonderful antiseptic, but it stung like the devil, no matter how little you applied on a wound.
With an evil grin, almost feeling the fox ears appearing on her head, she grabbed the bottle. It certainly wouldn't kill him. Pain was a good thing. It let you know you were alive. Her grin widened. The ears settled themselves in their nest of thick, long black hair. The bottle joined the rest of her supplies in her bag. Serves him right, for causing me so much grief.
She stepped out into the street, the sky reddening with the oncoming dusk. There was a chill in the air which sent Megumi clutching at the neck of her kimono, and cursing under her breath. Quickly catching herself, she put an end to the foul-mouthed tirade and started walking. It was all his fault. In the end, it was always his fault.
She kept her pace brisk, trying to outrun the oncoming cold. But it didn't stop her mind from wandering as she followed the all-too-familiar route.
Sanosuke had become her curse. Worse. He had become one of her regulars. Either he was always as the clinic being cleaned up after some fight or other, or she was chasing him down to redo the bandages on his hand. Which he was always re-injuring because of a fight. She could swear he was dong it just to spite her. With the way she was always forced to chase him down, it was no wonder Kaoru thought what she did. Megumi sighed. At least his apartment was on the way to the restaurant.
But then, no one was forcing her to do anything she didn't want to, were they? Best to face facts as they were. She sighed. She had been doing a lot of that lately. That she was attracted to him she had no doubt. She had said as much to him once, when she had first met him. He was a handsome man; tall, proud, sure of himself (a little too sure!), strong, and despite a foul temper, he did have a good heart. She had to admit, it wasn't exactly a more common combination. A warm heat settled itself over her like a warm blanket, chasing away the cold in an all too familiar and all too disturbing way. The fevered flush settled itself in her face and took hold of her chest, sending her heart racing. She stomped her feet angrily as she walked and tightened her grip on her bag defensively.
This is ridiculous! She continued to stomp down the street until the equally uncomfortable but more bearable chill returned. She was a woman, and certainly not immune to the opposite sex, but she was certainly no little girl who was prone to silly fits whenever a boy walked by. She was a doctor, for kami's* sake! It was certainly no mystery to her what made a man!
But she wasn't about to entertain the theory of bearing her heart and soul to him. Not that there was much to tell. He was an attractive man. That was all. Nothing more and nothing less. So why did she get overly defensive when Kaoru tried to tease her about it? Especially when none of it was true. A part of her, hiding all the way in the back, chirped in that she wished it was. She almost stopped short when the thought hit her.
Why him? Of all men, why him?
Why else would she go chasing after him? Something she almost never did with her other patients. It was frustrating.
Of course, Sanosuke was prone to just as strange behavior as hers, if she thought about it. If she was stuck late at the clinic, he was there. If she found herself in poor company at any time, he seemed to show up out of nowhere. Granted, too many times it was under the guise of a free meal or she had to endure his spiteful tongue, but he never accepted thanks, and before she could even get him in the door to give him his coveted meal, he was already on his own way.
And why save her, so many years ago? He didn't even like her much then, not that she blamed him. But when she could have easily have ended her life, it was his blood that dripped down the tanto's blade, to stop it from being hers... Maybe she wasn't the only one thinking the way she did...?
Bah, I'm just being foolish. A merry little dream, but that's all it was. She let it drift away with the evening wind.
"Shit, Megumi's gonna kill me." Sanosuke turned sharply away from the closed clinic, breaking into a brisk trot as he started down the road. He placed a quick glance towards the quickly setting sun, dark shadows quickly forming over the ground. A frown quickly spread across dusty features as his features began to echo the darkening surroundings. Not only was she going to be angry, he knew he'd left her to walk out in the oncoming night alone. She was probably going after him. His apartment was not in the best of locales. And a woman walking alone at night was considered an easy target. He cursed again under his breath and picked up his pace. As the chill wind whipped his jacket around his bare chest and bit into exposed skin, he let his anger grow. A low growl rose in his throat. If anything happened to her...
Maybe she should just get it over with and tell him right out front. They were alone often enough, make it quiet and honest, she could say her peace and everyone but the two of them would be none the wiser.
That was, of course, assuming that he was as bothered by this as she was. Which he probably wasn't. A gust of wind picked up again, and as it whipped her kimono around her, it took her courage with it as both continued on their paths.
More than likely, she would tell him, and she would have to endure countless jokes, rude comments, and untold humiliation. And not just from him. Once the others realized what had transpired, it would be open season. Then she would learn just how foolish one person could feel, and how much shame one person could put up with before falling into insanity.
Of course, she could always make sure he never told anyone. And what would you do to stop him? Threaten him? A bitter laugh escaped her throat. That antiseptic only goes so far. She could just imagine trying to restrain him with only a bottle of liquid. He was a big baby with no tolerance for pain outside a fight, but she doubted that would do the trick.
She turned down the street with the all-too-familiar row of apartments. Her heart quickened slightly in it's pace once more, and she knew it was more than just to keep her body warm. She felt her body go uncomfortably warm as she reached his door. She kept a white-knuckle grip on her bag.
She knocked loudly on his door. More than likely, she assured herself, she would say nothing, he would know nothing (which seemed applicable to everything when it came to Sanosuke), and life would continue as it would.
And she would always be bothered by the fact that she might be missing something in her life. Well, better a little lonely than living as the fool. The chance that he might even be interested wasn't worth what she would have to deal with if he wasn't. Which he more than probably wasn't.
She waited. The place was hardly that big. Maybe he wasn't home? Out gambling, or... Her features darkened with an image that sent her stomach tightening uncomfortably and her skin crawling into a sickly shade of green. He probably could get any girl he wanted... She stopped short. She recognized the feeling all too quickly. Jealousy...? She nipped that thought right in the bud. It's none of my business, nor is it his, who either of us are with.
She knocked again, a little more loudly, and a little more angrily.
And she waited. He definitely wasn't home. She sighed again. Resigned, maybe a little disappointed, she settled herself to go to the restaurant by herself to meet the others. A sound of disgust escaped her lips as her head bowed to meet her hand in resignation.
"My luck I had to fall in love with that baka chicken head."
An arm reached over and flung the shoji open, whipping Megumi's head up in surprise, eyes deathly wide and her hand floating detachedly in the air in front of her face. She was frozen in place, all the blood in her body draining into her feet.
"Oi, Megitsune*, you gonna
stand there all night? It's cold out here." He stood there
and waited for her to move. After a few seconds, he gave her a
gentle push to get her started. Without a word, or a look back,
she shuffled into the apartment, both hands clutching her bag
with a death grip. He paused, not moving himself for a second,
just watching her, his face blank.
Did she just say what I think she said?
He quickly caught himself with a shake of his head, long red bandana and thick spiky hair swaying back and forth in the wind to follow his movements. He trotted in after her and with the flick of a nearby match, lit up another of the lanterns that served as an extra light source. At least he found her.
He watched her quietly, only letting a quiet, relieved huff leave his lips as she just as silently took out her supplies and laid them carefully on the tatami* floor beside her. Her movements were precise and fluid, graceful and beautiful. She was never one to waste movement, but from the sickly pale look on her face, she looked more afraid of extraneous movements than irritated by them. He wasn't sure whether to admire her beauty or worry that she was going to keel over at any moment. He fought off a smirk as an image flashed through his mind. Not that he'd mind having her in his arms, but if the occasion ever presented itself, even if only in his mind, he'd prefer to have her conscious.
He was so tempted to say something--anything, as she sat there, staring intently into space. But what? The usual pointed remarks that were his trademark just wouldn't obey this time. He didn't want to try to guess why. So for once, he let the moment go and plopped himself down without a word in front of the doctor.
She wouldn't look at him. Couldn't look at him. Refused to look at him. If she did, she was either going to run screaming or drop dead away in a faint. Either one was not an option. A part of her knew that fate however, in its cruelty, had a way of not letting insanity be an easy getaway from even a horrendous situation like this. Especially this.
She grabbed his hand with her usual practiced calm. If he didn't bother to watch her, or didn't know her so well as he did, he might not think anything was wrong. But he himself was feeling particularly taut. Sagara Sanosuke, in his entire life never one to run away from anything, wanted very much to do just that now. The bandages fell loose and she let it drop between them. All of a sudden Sanosuke felt very naked. Why now? Why all of sudden, would she make him so uncomfortable?
He was certainly more than comfortable in her presence. With some of the wounds she'd had to treat on him, he'd better be. The water seemed unnaturally cold as she placed his hand in it, sending shivers up his spine. Nah, prob'ly just the weather. It's been gettin' colder lately. It certainly couldn't be the warm heat that spread through him as she had first taken his hand. It definitely wasn't the sensuous, electric spark that coursed through him as she massaged in the soapwort. Definitely the weather. It could just be nothing else. He may be young, but he was certainly no stranger to the charms of women, and he knew how to have a little fun. But now was definitely not the time. And this certainly not the woman. Definitely the weather. He had to keep from nodding his head to convince himself.
Her words tried to echo dully in his head. He hadn't heard that. It was just some slip in his mind. Take any reason you like, whatever was convenient. There was no way she'd say-- or even think-- something like that. There was just no way. Not about him. Not that he'd mind, but he knew better.
A feeling kept nagging at him, however. The tension just before a fight, or before a storm broke. But instead of feeling apprehensive, he felt...
Like laughing.
Normally at this time, Megumi had to wonder, the room would be filled with the sound of friendly banter and pointed jibes, discussing whatever came to mind, each trying to find a way to insult the other under the guise of normal conversation. It was a light, easy friendship, one part amiability, one part respect, and two parts good natured animosity. In its odd way, it worked for them, and certainly kept things lively.
The only echo she could hear now was the heavy silence in the room and the only pointed observation she could have made was that each of them refused to look at the other. If there was ever a time to go stark raving mad, it was now.
She had to do something. He'd heard her and she knew it. So why the silent treatment? Where were the jabs, the relentless humor at her expense? Where were the insults? She could almost prefer it to the suffocating blanket of quiet and her own growing curiosity that seemed to get worse and worse as eternity ticked by. It certainly felt like eternity.
Sanosuke was tempted to look in her direction. He was getting sick of the sound of his own breathing as it raged in his head. The scene out front repeated itself over and over, the same words every time coming out of her mouth. He hadn't been standing there long. Just as she'd finished knocking he'd found her. Then the words came out.
Whatever 'greeting' he'd originally had in mind had fallen out of his head. After those words, even if they weren't meant for his ears, what comeback was there? Even now he felt like he had been beaten senseless. For all he'd lived through, this he knew nothing about.
When he had first fallen for the fox's charms he couldn't quite say. With the whole opium mess, he'd hated her, what she'd done, but even if misguided, what she had tried to do to set things right had forced a grudging respect. And after knowing how she'd been forced to make the opium, forgiving her hadn't been too hard. And she'd always been there, for all of them. Checking up when they might be hurt, cooking instead of Kaoru (who especially since her pregnancy had developed some really frightening cravings), and just always backing them all up. She was beautiful, sure, strong, and not afraid of anything. And she could definitely keep up with him in conversation (though sometimes the comments shot straight over his head-- to this day, he still didn't know what she had meant by 'opponent'-- oh well...). He figured that kind of combination was bound to wear down any barriers he'd had against her eventually.
Where friendship overlapped with more was still a mystery, but it wasn't his nature to question. Just deal with it and keep moving. But he'd always figured it was dead in the water. Now that he finally had an opening to test just how deep out he could swim, he'd discovered he'd totally forgotten how.
"Kaoru and Ken-san wanted you to know you were invited to dinner after this." Megumi finally broke the silence in a flat monotone. Sanosuke almost jumped out of his skin.
"Huh?" All that betrayed him, however, was a general twitch.
"That's why I came over at all. They wanted me to tell you about dinner. That's it."
Sanosuke was jolted back to reality with a rush. Her voice had broken the silence with a crash, even as matter-of-factly as she had spoken. He just stared at her, blinking periodically.
And Megumi just stared back.
She watched him for a second as he just stared at her with that confused, lost-dog look on his face. Even as endearing a look as it was, she wanted to throttle him. Not for anything he'd done, just because she was slowly going mad waiting for those words to come out of his mouth, the jokes to start driving forth and begin flailing madly upon her sensibilities. She was so expectant of it, she could almost say she was numb to anything it might do. And so far, there had been nothing. Not an insult, a wry remark, nothing.
Her peripheral vision caught a flickered reflection of light on glass. The antiseptic. It glared at her like an accusation. He had been given the best opportunity for attack in his life, and he had to opt for the nice route. And now the guilt was beating her over the head. She sighed and grabbed the new roll of bandages.
"Oi, Megumi."
She lurched at the sound of her full name. He never used it, unless he was serious, or... Her hand flashed over to the bottle, her last defense. If he was going to attack her now, it was going to be over a flaming hand. There was no way she was going down without a fight.
"You're not gonna use that stuff again are you?" Sanosuke eyed her and bottle warily. He knew that stuff all too well. And with him, she loved to use it often. He would have sworn she made the stuff just for him. She couldn't possibly think to use that on anyone else. He had a really good tolerance for pain, but that stuff was too much.
Megumi's body went limp with relief. Her eyes closed and she smiled. She put the bottle down almost gratefully.
"No, I don't have to. Your
hand is finally healing up." Feeling infinitely more relaxed
now, she took his hand back easily and began to wrap. "It's
amazing what a little rest will do." She shook her head with
an easy laugh. His hand actually felt good in her grip, she thought
wryly. Strong, capable hands. A wandering thought wondered just
how capable those hands were and what they were capable of. Her
eyes widened and a bright flush rose in her cheeks.
Sanosuke's body sagged with relief with the imminent danger gone
and a friendly smile from Megumi. A sudden heady warmth in the
room followed by a pretty blush in the doctor's cheeks piqued
his interest. He wondered just what the doctor was thinking that
would make even her blush. Sanosuke felt a sudden surge of bravado,
and an evil sense of mischief. Those waters seemed pretty inviting
right about now.
"So what did it?" His head tilted curiously, his eyes glinted evilly. "Was it the charm or the good looks?" This might be fun.
"EXCUSE ME?!" Megumi almost snapped the bandage in two. Her head whipped up and her body jumped back at least a foot. Her breath came in ragged gasps. She took on the look of a rabbit in the jaws of a fox. Or a fox in the jaws of a dog.
Sanosuke just let the smile grow a little wider.
"I--" Megumi tried in vain to reclaim her dignity. "I don't know what you're talking about." If she was blushing before, she was going to burst into flames now.
"It's an easy question. You said it yourself out front--"
The glass bottle whipped into the air almost of its own volition as Megumi's anger flared. Her body stiffened and she leaned forward facing Sanosuke, enraged.
"Listen! What I may or may not have said is none of your concern! So just leave it alone!"
"I'm not leavin' this alone! I know exactly what you said--!" Sanosuke let himself explode, a little angry, a little put off.
"You don't know anything! And I'm not discussing this with you!" She settled herself on her knees to get up. She might be giving her life to atoning for sins of the past, but there was no way she was going to hand herself over as a sacrifice to humiliation.
"Like hell you're not!" He grabbed her wrist to keep her in place. They were going to settle this once and for all. If there was one thing he hated, it was not facing up to things, especially when it was right in front of you.
The bottle came smashing down on the tatami with her clenched fist. Although it didn't break, liquid sprayed everywhere.
"OW! @*$%()%#$!!!" Sanosuke recoiled as the liquid splattered on his hand. "Shit! What the hell was that for?!" He stopped short at the darkened, bitter look on her face.
"You listen to me," She growled warningly. "I've lived long enough to know what battles are worth fighting, and which aren't. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I didn't say what I did. But I'm also not going to put up with your nonsense or the humiliation. Understand?" She looked down and sighed. Well, at least what little dignity she had left she might be able to keep. "Just let it go."
"Listen, Megumi, I--" Sanosuke's voice softened as he watched her. He could understand her pride. But there were some things that needed to be said.
"Don't you dare!" Megumi shot him a glance to rival the weather outside. Or to dim the lanterns without the damper. "Sanosuke, I will not tolerate your jokes in this. And the one thing I'll tolerate even less is your pity! I'm more than old enough to take care of myself! You don't need to tell me that you don't--"
"Oi! I'm tryin' to tell you that I feel the same way! Baka* kitsune!" He stared at her as defiantly as she had at him just before. Not quite the way he had ever imagined the whole scene playing out, but it had to happen somehow. You rolled with the punches as they came.
Megumi just stared in disbelief.
And kept staring.
"Oi, you gonna snap out of it or what?" He was getting
uncomfortable with the blank stare she was giving him. He almost
wanted to wonder if he was the one who was going to have to endure
the jokes.
"Masaka*..." She wanted to ask him to repeat that. She'd imagined plenty of ways for this scene to play itself out, but she could never imagine him actually saying what he had. "I never thought--"
"You gotta start thinking more, Megitsune." He gave into his usual mischievous grin and tapped a bandaged finger on her forehead.
There was a retort to that. There had to be. She just needed time to think of it. She fought to still her features and regain usual composure.
Inspiration struck quickly and suddenly. She might have thought it seemed unlike her, too much a Sanosuke-type reaction, but then, she had been spending too much time with him.
Sanosuke almost fell back as he was pounced upon, flesh meeting flesh as their lips pressed together wickedly, a bold statement of just who was in charge. He let himself be dragged in, but fought back equally hard, mouth opening and tongue probing hungrily.
Megumi kept a hard grip on his gi* and kissed him back for all she was worth, showing her own strengths as both warred silently in a playful battle of wills, both fighting to be on top.
Sanosuke wrapped long, strong arms around Megumi's body, pushing her down gently backwards onto the floor. In all his battles against the good doctor, he may have lost a few more than he had won, but there were certain concessions a man never made.
Megumi let herself be guided to the floor as her own grip loosened and hands started to wander. Let him have this one, a voice in the back of her mind said. No matter what he did now, she had made the first strike and the battle was hers. A wandering thought fought to remind her about a certain dinner date.
An invitation to a free dinner floated through Sanosuke's memory. He let it go as quickly as it came.
They weren't hungry anyway.
The trio sat patiently at the Akabeko, easy conversation passing between them as they waited.
"Man, Kaoru, you keep eatin' like that and the baby'll be sure to come out as grouchy as you."
"There's nothing wrong with what I'm eating. Pickles and wasabi are perfectly healthy for you."
"Yeah, but together? With
nothing else?" His face wrinkled in obvious displeasure.
The combined, equally strong smells had hit them like a ton of
bricks. Yahiko marveled at how Kenshin hadn't seemed to notice.
Kaoru patted her enlarged tummy appreciatively. "What the
baby wants, I give him. Ne, Kenshin?" She smiled brightly
at him.
"I guess..." An uneasy grin was all he could muster to return. He never thought two food items could react quite that way when mixed together.
Yahiko caught what a blissfully oblivious Kaoru did not and took comfort in the fact that he wasn't the only one who had been disturbed by her eating current eating habits. That this was one of the more agreeable ones was not a comfort.
A sudden thought occurred to Kaoru mid-wasabi covered plum. "We should probably just order now."
"Oro? It's still early..." Kenshin watched his young wife with a wide-eyed baffled expression. He crouched by her and took a tentative peek outside their booth, hoping to finally see their expected arrivals.
Nothing.
Kenshin paused as he re-sat himself on his pillow. A wide-eyed violet gaze met a laughing blue. "You don't think...?"
Yahiko watched the two share a meaningful glance whose meaning shot right over his head.
Kenshin smiled and Kaoru laughed.
"I don't think they're coming."
Yahiko stared at the odd pair. "What made you say that?"
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