Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Someone To Watch Over Me ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Silent Tears of Agony 
Anime/Manga: Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.08.2004 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 426 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.08.2004 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 426 | Status: Completed
Title: Someone to Watch Over Me; Chap:5
I've decided to go with Scarlet Fever for the disease. (I think). I know what the symptoms are. I just don't know how to cure it and what the death rate is. Oh well. I'll just fudge my way through it like I do everything else ;)
Thank you Brittanie Love for being such a wonderful beta-reader! :)
Because ff.net is having trouble using stars I will use = = to denote emphasis.
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Sano was having very pleasant dreams of Megumi -- dressed in only a thin yukata -- locked in a passionate kiss with him. That is until someone screamong woke him up. A string of curses ensued as Sano threw off his blanket. He was =not= happy. And whoever woke him up was about to become =very= aware of that. He turned his head around when he heard the scream again and cursed under his breath. It was Megumi screaming. He was afraid this would happen after he saw how affected she was by the attempted rape.
Sano ran over and held her arms down in an attempt to keep her from moving too much. Unfortunately it had the opposite effect, causing Megumi to increase her struggling and Sano to wince as her screaming grew louder.
'Baka!' Sano chastised himself. 'If she's dreaming about the rape then she probably thinks your attacking her.' He immediately let her go. "Shh, shh koishii." He whispered, not even realizing he had used the endearment. "Megumi its just me. Its Sano. I'm not going to hurt you." He prayed that she could hear him in her dream. Apparently she did becuase she stopped screaming. She was still moving though. "Kitsune if you keep moving like that your going to open your wound" He murmured. To his surprise she stopped moving and started mumbling something -- he couldn't tell what. Sano brushed a stray lock of hair away from Megumi's face and leaned forward so he could hear what she was saying. Something about...'he came for her'?
Sano leaned back in shock. Didn't she know he would always be there for her? 'Yeah, and what do you call traveling outside of Japan =away= from her for two years?' 'Well its not like I could help it! The =police= were after me. They probably wanted to kill me.' Sano sighed and whispered down to Megumi, "Don't you know? I will =always= come for you Megumi."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Megumi stretched, blinked, and looked around. Where was Sano? Was all of yesterday just a dream? If it was why was she in the forest? Megumi looked around again. Ah, there he was. Cooking breakfast? And he was dressed in a different pair of clothes and his hair was slightly damp like he had bathed. Megumi scowled. The sun was barely even up, since when was he Mr. Early Bird?!
"Ohayo, Sleeping Beauty." That did nothing to help her scowl, but it did cause a blush to form. Sano chuckled.
"You should be careful. Your face might freeze like that." Megumi "hmmphed" and turned her head.
"Come on Kitsune." Sano said softly. "I know you can smile. I've seen you do it before." Megumi turned her head to see Sano's sad and --longing?-- smile. That was the kind of look you gave something you knew you couldn't have, but desperately wanted. 'Why should he be smiling at me that way?' Megumi was shaken out of her thoughts when Sano kneeled down in front of her.
"Megitsune I'd like to take another look at your wound. I want to make sure you didn't hurt it during your...dream." The last part came out a little hesitantly. Like a little kid who admits to doing something, but they're afraid of getting punished for it.
Megumi gasped. He =knew= about the dream? Maybe then, the things she heard in her dream, maybe he really said them? She colored slightly and a warm feeling spread inside her as she remembered the endearment he had called her in the dream.
"Kitsune?" Startled, Megumi looked up at him.
"Yes, of course Sano."
Sano took off his shirt again so Megumi could cover her chest with it. Megumi decided it was better to stare at Sano's shirt than at Sano. It was a Chinese style shirt. There was nothing surprising about that. The old shirt he used to wear could only have lasted so long, and he was traveling abroad so it was unlikely he would have found a Japanese gi to wear. What surprised Megumi was that it was =different= from the one he wore yesterday. The one he wore yesterday was white with red edging. This one was blue with gold. So Sano actually owned more than one shirt at a time now. Wow. And it looked like it was made of good cloth too. Nothing fancy, but strong and durable.
"This is...this is a different shirt."
"Yeah the other one was getting a little ratty."
"No, I meant from yesterday."
"Oh. Um, yeah well, I did some odd jobs while I was traveling but I moved so much I didn't really have time to gamble. So instead I spent some on necessities and saved the rest."
"Wow, that's very....mature of you Sano."
Sano laughed. "Thanks. I think."
"It was meant as a compliment."
"Mm." Sano was finished taking off the obi and the top of the kimono and started to unwind the bandage.
"Rooster. Before you take that off. I'd really like to take a bath."
He looked at her incredulously.
"Its just that, I didn't get to take one yesterday and the sweats still on me. And I just feel so....dirty." Her skin still crawled where that man had touched her.
Sano understood the hidden meaning behind her words and clenched his fist. She didn't feel dirty because of the sweat, but because of what =that man= did to her. He should have killed him when he had the chance. But that wouldn't make Megumi feel any better about herself.
Sano looked her in the eye. "Megumi" His voice was hoarse. "Megumi don't say that about yourself. You're not dirty."
Megumi's smile was forced. "Of course I am Rooster." Her voice was light, but Sano could detect the hint of a waver in it. "Just look at me. I'm sure I must have dirt smudges everywhere, and I know I smell."
"Megumi, we both know thats not what I'm talking about. Please don't say that about yourself." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Megumi, you aren't dirty. You are a very honorable woman. You shouldn't be ashamed because of what that man did to you. It wasn't your fault. And if anyone says differently they have to answer to me." He grinned and cracked his knuckles. Well at least that got her to smile. For a few seconds anyway. Then her smile fell and she gasped.
"Rooster, your hand." It was swollen, bruised, and covered in dried blood.
"Oh, yeah that's from when I hit that man last night." He scratched his head embarrasedly. "To tell you the truth, I forgot about it. I was too busy--"
"Taking care of me." Megumi finshed for him.
"Don't feel bad. Your wound was more important to me. I know you'd do the same if our situations were reversed."
"Thanks."
Sano gave a lop-sided grin and pulled the sides of her kimono up. He started to put his arms around her when he was interrupted.
"Rooster, what are you doing?"
"Well....you wanted to take a bath." He looked at her uncertainly.
"I can't take a bath if I don't have anything to bathe =with=. Get me a cloth and a towel. And some soap. No, wait I wanted to save the soap for the villagers. Okay just get me the cloth and towel. And my medicine bag. I'll take care of your hand while we're over by the lake." Sano stared at her.
"Please." Sano crossed his arms and smirked.
"A please from her majesty. I'm so honored."
"Rooster.." She growled.
"Alright. Alright. I'm going. Sheesh, no need to get your short pants in a bunch."
Sano gathered the things Megumi asked for and dumped them in her lap. Then he gently picked her up and carried her over to the lake. Actually he tried to put her right in the lake, but Megumi protested to that.
"Tori-atama! Don't!"
"What?! You =said= you wanted to take a bath."
"Not with my kimono still on! And I wanted to take care of your hand first."
With a sigh, Sano set her down by the bank of the lake. 'Patience, Sano, patience.'
Sano sat down in front of Megumi while she opened up her medicine bag. They offered each other a small smile when Megumi gently grabbed Sano's outstretched hand.
"This is just like old times, ne?"
Sano chuckled softly. "I was just thinking the same thing."
A comfortable silence settled over them as Megumi finished tending to his hand. When she was finished Sano, after some prompting from Megumi, dutifully turned around so that Megumi could take off her clothes. With that task over Megumi tried to stand up....and found she couldn't. Not without leaning on something. Now what could she lean on? She looked around and found the only close object was, she swallowed thickly, Sano.
"Ah, Rooster?"
"Yeah, Kitsune?" He started to turn around.
Megumi panicked and hit him hard on the leg to stop him. "Baka! I didn't say to turn around.!"
"Yeah, well you didn't have to hit me so hard." He mumbled as he rubbed his leg.
"Rooster I need you to BACK UP with your HEAD FACING FORWARD so I can lean on you while I stand up. Do NOT under ANY circumstance turn around got it!"
"What do you think I am, your slave?!"
Megumi smiled evily. "Yes. Now hurry up, we don't have all day!"
Grumbling, Sano backed up the few feet to Megumi. He even leaned over so she could reach his arm better.
Megumi slowly inched her way up his arm, trying to ignore how nice his skin felt under her fingertips and how perfectly the curve of his arm muscle fit under her hand.
"Okay now we need to back up into the water. Only far enough for me to sit in it. I don't want to get the bandage wet." Megumi guided Sano as they slowly backed up so that he wouldn't trip over any rocks. Once the water reached up to Sano's ankles, Megumi slowly lowered herslef down to the water. Sano found tha if he craned his neck just right, he could see Megumi's reflectoin in the water.
'Heh. Better not tell =her= that or else more than just my leg will be bruised.'
A tug on Sano's arm indicated that Megumi was ready to get up and they repeated the process until they were by the bank of the lake. Megumi decided that it would be easier to dress if she stood up.
"Okay Sano. You can turn around now."
"You sound weak, Megitsune."
"Yeah, I-" Sano caught her just before she fell.
"Maybe we should stay here for today so you can rest."
"Don't be ridiculouis Rooster. I'll just eat something and then I'll be fine. It's important that we reach Akayama as soon as possible." Sano caught her chin with his fingers so that she was forced to meet his gaze. "You staying healthy is important too." His voice was quiet but his tone was firm. Megumi averted her eyes from his face.
"Sano please, just help me change my bandage. I"m sure I'll feel better after I've eaten something." Sano pressed his lips into a thin line and narrowed his eyes.
"Fine." Megumi couldn't remember a time when his voice had been so cold.
Megumi sat rigidly in the tense silent and Sano's movements were automatic as he unwrapped her bandage. Megumi winced when the cloth was pulled away from the dried blood.
"There's a lot of blood. It's soaked all the way through."
"Sano. I =have= to go." Her voice held a pleading note to it; begging him to understand.
Sano sighed and started washing the area around the wound.
Megumi picked at invisible lint on Sano's gi. Not for the first time she noticed there was no kanji for "bad" on it, or any of the others. She figured now wasn't a very good time to ask about it though.
When Sano was finished, he helped Megumi pull up the sides of her kimono and tie her obi.
"Rooster. I...I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with." Sano raised an eyebrow at that.
"Hey, you're no picnic yourself." Sano chuckled.
"Go on."
"Well, I just wanted to say thank you. For putting up with me, and for-for taking care of me."
"No prob Meg. Just think of it as payback for all those times you took care of my hand free of charge."
"Oh? And who said anything about free of charge? I remember you promised to work around the clinic as payment. But you left town before you could make good on it. Do you know how much you owe me now? With interest?"
"Hey! Hey! I'm working it off now!"
Megumi actually giggled for, probably, the first time in a long time. "I know Rooster. I just like to see the look on your face when you panic." 'Its almost cuter than Kenshin's.'
Sano walked off grumbling about "baka kitsune" under his breath. Megumi couldn't stop laughing.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Rooster, you can't carry me plus all the other stuff. I'll hold onto you and we'll walk slowly. I'll be =fine=, honest."
"Kitsune, you =saw= how much you bled just from last night. Do you have any idea how much more you're going to bleed walking =all day=?"
"Of course I do. I'm a doctor."
"Then you know how dangerous it can be. Let me carry you. =Please=." The fact that Sano was pleading with her should have shown Megumi how sincere he was. Megumi simply lifted her chin and limped a few steps forward.
"Alright. Alright." Sano wrapped an arm around her for support. "You can walk. But if you start to slow down, if you trip, if you even =sigh= the wrong way, I'm carrying you. Got it?"
"Fine Sano."
They didn't get more than ten feet when Megumi tripped and Sano made good on his threat.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++
A small dirty child looked up to see a man and a woman approaching. The child dashed off into a small cluster of buildings shouting "They're here! They're here!"
Sano set Megumi down. "I think we're at Akayama."
"Really Rooster. What was your first clue?" Megumi asked dryly.
A handsome man about Megumi's height, with short brown hair and soft brown eyes came out to greet them.
"Toki-kun!" Megumi gasped.
"Megumi-chan. Is that-is that really you? I thought I'd never see you again."
Sano's brain zeroed in on one word. 'Megumi-chan? Megumi-chan?! Who does this guy think he is calling my Megumi such an affectionate name.' Sano looked over at Megumi's bright smile. 'And what is he to Megumi?'
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I am SO sorry about the long update. Unfortunately I have no excuse other than pure, unadultrated laziness. ;) I want to thank everbody for sending me such nice reviews last chapter. But lets face it. That chpter sucked. Big time. The K/K part was passable I suppose. Anyway I tried to make it up to you with this chapter, but I'm afraid it might be to random. =big sigh=
RECOMMENDED FANFIC: "Hangman's Truth" by reves. It's a bit more drama than romance, but it's still very good. I like how the author filled in gaps left open in Sano's childhood, without detracting from the original story set up by Nobuhiro Watsuki. At least not too much. And everybody's in character! Whoohoo! :) Anyway, its definately worth reading. (Its on my favorite stories list.)
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<MY REVIEWERS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>&g t;>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>& gt;>
ranmaakanesanomegumi -- Decent sano/meg fics are hard to find. With that being said, I'm glad you think so highly of my story. :) I will definatly keep writing more.
Golden Sky -- I'm so glad. It's nice to know I was able to create an exciting story. :)
Kitsune-Blue -- Thanks. :)
indigochipmunk -- Hopefully I'll be starting on A/M in the next few charters. But be warned! I've never written them before, so I don't know how it will turn out. :)
Lady Xiu Mei Pheonix -- Yes, that is sweet of him. :) I forgot to ask last time, what does "il mio amico" mean? What language is it?
ruberducky -- Here's more just for you! ;)
Story Weaver1 -- Thanks. I thought of it and I just couldn't resist. :)
Augusta -- Kaoru is my fave character, so I had to defend her somehow. We =might= be getting somewhere if it wasn't two steps forward, one step back with those two. *sigh* That sounds like a wonderful deal, thanks. :)
mushi-azn -- Then I am doubly (is that a real word?) glad that you enjoyed them. :) Oh no, I have at =least= five more chapters of torture for S/M before they reveal their feelings to each other. ;) (I'm so evil) I'm updating right now! Please don't hurt me. :)
captain eccentric -- So sorry. I know I took way to long on this update. I'll try my best to update future chapters faster. :) I didn't really think of it as comic romance, but it is isn't it?
I would like to thank the following people for putting me on their AUTHOR ALERT LIST: K1dgey, CEEGEE, gaby hyatt), Selena Maxwell, koorime-princess12, sataness-ov-desire, dacrayZblaze1, Story Weaver1, Zerianyu, glasclach, sabella/pan, The Monster in Your Dreams, Angel of the Deceased, are-en1, Koneko Maiden, th*-d**d-d**m*d-m*nk*y, chmsweety, XxSilentxDreamerxX
Many thanks also go to these people for adding me to their FAVORITE AUTHOR LIST: The Monster in Your Dreams, Angel of the Deceased, Selena Maxwell, Shade16, LAdy Katherine2, chmsweety
Thank you so much for reading! And please review. :)
I've decided to go with Scarlet Fever for the disease. (I think). I know what the symptoms are. I just don't know how to cure it and what the death rate is. Oh well. I'll just fudge my way through it like I do everything else ;)
Thank you Brittanie Love for being such a wonderful beta-reader! :)
Because ff.net is having trouble using stars I will use = = to denote emphasis.
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Sano was having very pleasant dreams of Megumi -- dressed in only a thin yukata -- locked in a passionate kiss with him. That is until someone screamong woke him up. A string of curses ensued as Sano threw off his blanket. He was =not= happy. And whoever woke him up was about to become =very= aware of that. He turned his head around when he heard the scream again and cursed under his breath. It was Megumi screaming. He was afraid this would happen after he saw how affected she was by the attempted rape.
Sano ran over and held her arms down in an attempt to keep her from moving too much. Unfortunately it had the opposite effect, causing Megumi to increase her struggling and Sano to wince as her screaming grew louder.
'Baka!' Sano chastised himself. 'If she's dreaming about the rape then she probably thinks your attacking her.' He immediately let her go. "Shh, shh koishii." He whispered, not even realizing he had used the endearment. "Megumi its just me. Its Sano. I'm not going to hurt you." He prayed that she could hear him in her dream. Apparently she did becuase she stopped screaming. She was still moving though. "Kitsune if you keep moving like that your going to open your wound" He murmured. To his surprise she stopped moving and started mumbling something -- he couldn't tell what. Sano brushed a stray lock of hair away from Megumi's face and leaned forward so he could hear what she was saying. Something about...'he came for her'?
Sano leaned back in shock. Didn't she know he would always be there for her? 'Yeah, and what do you call traveling outside of Japan =away= from her for two years?' 'Well its not like I could help it! The =police= were after me. They probably wanted to kill me.' Sano sighed and whispered down to Megumi, "Don't you know? I will =always= come for you Megumi."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Megumi stretched, blinked, and looked around. Where was Sano? Was all of yesterday just a dream? If it was why was she in the forest? Megumi looked around again. Ah, there he was. Cooking breakfast? And he was dressed in a different pair of clothes and his hair was slightly damp like he had bathed. Megumi scowled. The sun was barely even up, since when was he Mr. Early Bird?!
"Ohayo, Sleeping Beauty." That did nothing to help her scowl, but it did cause a blush to form. Sano chuckled.
"You should be careful. Your face might freeze like that." Megumi "hmmphed" and turned her head.
"Come on Kitsune." Sano said softly. "I know you can smile. I've seen you do it before." Megumi turned her head to see Sano's sad and --longing?-- smile. That was the kind of look you gave something you knew you couldn't have, but desperately wanted. 'Why should he be smiling at me that way?' Megumi was shaken out of her thoughts when Sano kneeled down in front of her.
"Megitsune I'd like to take another look at your wound. I want to make sure you didn't hurt it during your...dream." The last part came out a little hesitantly. Like a little kid who admits to doing something, but they're afraid of getting punished for it.
Megumi gasped. He =knew= about the dream? Maybe then, the things she heard in her dream, maybe he really said them? She colored slightly and a warm feeling spread inside her as she remembered the endearment he had called her in the dream.
"Kitsune?" Startled, Megumi looked up at him.
"Yes, of course Sano."
Sano took off his shirt again so Megumi could cover her chest with it. Megumi decided it was better to stare at Sano's shirt than at Sano. It was a Chinese style shirt. There was nothing surprising about that. The old shirt he used to wear could only have lasted so long, and he was traveling abroad so it was unlikely he would have found a Japanese gi to wear. What surprised Megumi was that it was =different= from the one he wore yesterday. The one he wore yesterday was white with red edging. This one was blue with gold. So Sano actually owned more than one shirt at a time now. Wow. And it looked like it was made of good cloth too. Nothing fancy, but strong and durable.
"This is...this is a different shirt."
"Yeah the other one was getting a little ratty."
"No, I meant from yesterday."
"Oh. Um, yeah well, I did some odd jobs while I was traveling but I moved so much I didn't really have time to gamble. So instead I spent some on necessities and saved the rest."
"Wow, that's very....mature of you Sano."
Sano laughed. "Thanks. I think."
"It was meant as a compliment."
"Mm." Sano was finished taking off the obi and the top of the kimono and started to unwind the bandage.
"Rooster. Before you take that off. I'd really like to take a bath."
He looked at her incredulously.
"Its just that, I didn't get to take one yesterday and the sweats still on me. And I just feel so....dirty." Her skin still crawled where that man had touched her.
Sano understood the hidden meaning behind her words and clenched his fist. She didn't feel dirty because of the sweat, but because of what =that man= did to her. He should have killed him when he had the chance. But that wouldn't make Megumi feel any better about herself.
Sano looked her in the eye. "Megumi" His voice was hoarse. "Megumi don't say that about yourself. You're not dirty."
Megumi's smile was forced. "Of course I am Rooster." Her voice was light, but Sano could detect the hint of a waver in it. "Just look at me. I'm sure I must have dirt smudges everywhere, and I know I smell."
"Megumi, we both know thats not what I'm talking about. Please don't say that about yourself." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Megumi, you aren't dirty. You are a very honorable woman. You shouldn't be ashamed because of what that man did to you. It wasn't your fault. And if anyone says differently they have to answer to me." He grinned and cracked his knuckles. Well at least that got her to smile. For a few seconds anyway. Then her smile fell and she gasped.
"Rooster, your hand." It was swollen, bruised, and covered in dried blood.
"Oh, yeah that's from when I hit that man last night." He scratched his head embarrasedly. "To tell you the truth, I forgot about it. I was too busy--"
"Taking care of me." Megumi finshed for him.
"Don't feel bad. Your wound was more important to me. I know you'd do the same if our situations were reversed."
"Thanks."
Sano gave a lop-sided grin and pulled the sides of her kimono up. He started to put his arms around her when he was interrupted.
"Rooster, what are you doing?"
"Well....you wanted to take a bath." He looked at her uncertainly.
"I can't take a bath if I don't have anything to bathe =with=. Get me a cloth and a towel. And some soap. No, wait I wanted to save the soap for the villagers. Okay just get me the cloth and towel. And my medicine bag. I'll take care of your hand while we're over by the lake." Sano stared at her.
"Please." Sano crossed his arms and smirked.
"A please from her majesty. I'm so honored."
"Rooster.." She growled.
"Alright. Alright. I'm going. Sheesh, no need to get your short pants in a bunch."
Sano gathered the things Megumi asked for and dumped them in her lap. Then he gently picked her up and carried her over to the lake. Actually he tried to put her right in the lake, but Megumi protested to that.
"Tori-atama! Don't!"
"What?! You =said= you wanted to take a bath."
"Not with my kimono still on! And I wanted to take care of your hand first."
With a sigh, Sano set her down by the bank of the lake. 'Patience, Sano, patience.'
Sano sat down in front of Megumi while she opened up her medicine bag. They offered each other a small smile when Megumi gently grabbed Sano's outstretched hand.
"This is just like old times, ne?"
Sano chuckled softly. "I was just thinking the same thing."
A comfortable silence settled over them as Megumi finished tending to his hand. When she was finished Sano, after some prompting from Megumi, dutifully turned around so that Megumi could take off her clothes. With that task over Megumi tried to stand up....and found she couldn't. Not without leaning on something. Now what could she lean on? She looked around and found the only close object was, she swallowed thickly, Sano.
"Ah, Rooster?"
"Yeah, Kitsune?" He started to turn around.
Megumi panicked and hit him hard on the leg to stop him. "Baka! I didn't say to turn around.!"
"Yeah, well you didn't have to hit me so hard." He mumbled as he rubbed his leg.
"Rooster I need you to BACK UP with your HEAD FACING FORWARD so I can lean on you while I stand up. Do NOT under ANY circumstance turn around got it!"
"What do you think I am, your slave?!"
Megumi smiled evily. "Yes. Now hurry up, we don't have all day!"
Grumbling, Sano backed up the few feet to Megumi. He even leaned over so she could reach his arm better.
Megumi slowly inched her way up his arm, trying to ignore how nice his skin felt under her fingertips and how perfectly the curve of his arm muscle fit under her hand.
"Okay now we need to back up into the water. Only far enough for me to sit in it. I don't want to get the bandage wet." Megumi guided Sano as they slowly backed up so that he wouldn't trip over any rocks. Once the water reached up to Sano's ankles, Megumi slowly lowered herslef down to the water. Sano found tha if he craned his neck just right, he could see Megumi's reflectoin in the water.
'Heh. Better not tell =her= that or else more than just my leg will be bruised.'
A tug on Sano's arm indicated that Megumi was ready to get up and they repeated the process until they were by the bank of the lake. Megumi decided that it would be easier to dress if she stood up.
"Okay Sano. You can turn around now."
"You sound weak, Megitsune."
"Yeah, I-" Sano caught her just before she fell.
"Maybe we should stay here for today so you can rest."
"Don't be ridiculouis Rooster. I'll just eat something and then I'll be fine. It's important that we reach Akayama as soon as possible." Sano caught her chin with his fingers so that she was forced to meet his gaze. "You staying healthy is important too." His voice was quiet but his tone was firm. Megumi averted her eyes from his face.
"Sano please, just help me change my bandage. I"m sure I'll feel better after I've eaten something." Sano pressed his lips into a thin line and narrowed his eyes.
"Fine." Megumi couldn't remember a time when his voice had been so cold.
Megumi sat rigidly in the tense silent and Sano's movements were automatic as he unwrapped her bandage. Megumi winced when the cloth was pulled away from the dried blood.
"There's a lot of blood. It's soaked all the way through."
"Sano. I =have= to go." Her voice held a pleading note to it; begging him to understand.
Sano sighed and started washing the area around the wound.
Megumi picked at invisible lint on Sano's gi. Not for the first time she noticed there was no kanji for "bad" on it, or any of the others. She figured now wasn't a very good time to ask about it though.
When Sano was finished, he helped Megumi pull up the sides of her kimono and tie her obi.
"Rooster. I...I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with." Sano raised an eyebrow at that.
"Hey, you're no picnic yourself." Sano chuckled.
"Go on."
"Well, I just wanted to say thank you. For putting up with me, and for-for taking care of me."
"No prob Meg. Just think of it as payback for all those times you took care of my hand free of charge."
"Oh? And who said anything about free of charge? I remember you promised to work around the clinic as payment. But you left town before you could make good on it. Do you know how much you owe me now? With interest?"
"Hey! Hey! I'm working it off now!"
Megumi actually giggled for, probably, the first time in a long time. "I know Rooster. I just like to see the look on your face when you panic." 'Its almost cuter than Kenshin's.'
Sano walked off grumbling about "baka kitsune" under his breath. Megumi couldn't stop laughing.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Rooster, you can't carry me plus all the other stuff. I'll hold onto you and we'll walk slowly. I'll be =fine=, honest."
"Kitsune, you =saw= how much you bled just from last night. Do you have any idea how much more you're going to bleed walking =all day=?"
"Of course I do. I'm a doctor."
"Then you know how dangerous it can be. Let me carry you. =Please=." The fact that Sano was pleading with her should have shown Megumi how sincere he was. Megumi simply lifted her chin and limped a few steps forward.
"Alright. Alright." Sano wrapped an arm around her for support. "You can walk. But if you start to slow down, if you trip, if you even =sigh= the wrong way, I'm carrying you. Got it?"
"Fine Sano."
They didn't get more than ten feet when Megumi tripped and Sano made good on his threat.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++
A small dirty child looked up to see a man and a woman approaching. The child dashed off into a small cluster of buildings shouting "They're here! They're here!"
Sano set Megumi down. "I think we're at Akayama."
"Really Rooster. What was your first clue?" Megumi asked dryly.
A handsome man about Megumi's height, with short brown hair and soft brown eyes came out to greet them.
"Toki-kun!" Megumi gasped.
"Megumi-chan. Is that-is that really you? I thought I'd never see you again."
Sano's brain zeroed in on one word. 'Megumi-chan? Megumi-chan?! Who does this guy think he is calling my Megumi such an affectionate name.' Sano looked over at Megumi's bright smile. 'And what is he to Megumi?'
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I am SO sorry about the long update. Unfortunately I have no excuse other than pure, unadultrated laziness. ;) I want to thank everbody for sending me such nice reviews last chapter. But lets face it. That chpter sucked. Big time. The K/K part was passable I suppose. Anyway I tried to make it up to you with this chapter, but I'm afraid it might be to random. =big sigh=
RECOMMENDED FANFIC: "Hangman's Truth" by reves. It's a bit more drama than romance, but it's still very good. I like how the author filled in gaps left open in Sano's childhood, without detracting from the original story set up by Nobuhiro Watsuki. At least not too much. And everybody's in character! Whoohoo! :) Anyway, its definately worth reading. (Its on my favorite stories list.)
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<MY REVIEWERS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>&g t;>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>& gt;>
ranmaakanesanomegumi -- Decent sano/meg fics are hard to find. With that being said, I'm glad you think so highly of my story. :) I will definatly keep writing more.
Golden Sky -- I'm so glad. It's nice to know I was able to create an exciting story. :)
Kitsune-Blue -- Thanks. :)
indigochipmunk -- Hopefully I'll be starting on A/M in the next few charters. But be warned! I've never written them before, so I don't know how it will turn out. :)
Lady Xiu Mei Pheonix -- Yes, that is sweet of him. :) I forgot to ask last time, what does "il mio amico" mean? What language is it?
ruberducky -- Here's more just for you! ;)
Story Weaver1 -- Thanks. I thought of it and I just couldn't resist. :)
Augusta -- Kaoru is my fave character, so I had to defend her somehow. We =might= be getting somewhere if it wasn't two steps forward, one step back with those two. *sigh* That sounds like a wonderful deal, thanks. :)
mushi-azn -- Then I am doubly (is that a real word?) glad that you enjoyed them. :) Oh no, I have at =least= five more chapters of torture for S/M before they reveal their feelings to each other. ;) (I'm so evil) I'm updating right now! Please don't hurt me. :)
captain eccentric -- So sorry. I know I took way to long on this update. I'll try my best to update future chapters faster. :) I didn't really think of it as comic romance, but it is isn't it?
I would like to thank the following people for putting me on their AUTHOR ALERT LIST: K1dgey, CEEGEE, gaby hyatt), Selena Maxwell, koorime-princess12, sataness-ov-desire, dacrayZblaze1, Story Weaver1, Zerianyu, glasclach, sabella/pan, The Monster in Your Dreams, Angel of the Deceased, are-en1, Koneko Maiden, th*-d**d-d**m*d-m*nk*y, chmsweety, XxSilentxDreamerxX
Many thanks also go to these people for adding me to their FAVORITE AUTHOR LIST: The Monster in Your Dreams, Angel of the Deceased, Selena Maxwell, Shade16, LAdy Katherine2, chmsweety
Thank you so much for reading! And please review. :)