Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Someone To Watch Over Me ❯ chapter 14 ( Chapter 14 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Title: To Love Again
Chap: 14

I found out I messed up the time line. :( When I started this I had only seen some of the anime and Seis Houen, I hadn't read any of the manga.

I would like to fix the time line but it would require rewriting the entire story and I don't want to do that. I'd like to thank everybody for being kind and not giving me a hard time about my mistake. :)

I would like to thank Serenitychan13 for suggesting I include a scene with Souzu.

-

Sano couldn't figure out why he was lost. He had been in the woods behind Kaoru's dojo too many times to justify it.

Nothing looked like the little forest behind the dojo, but Sano assumed that's where he was since the place seemed vaguely familiar. Sano stumbled into a person after passing a clump of trees.

Sano started to apologize before he screamed and jumped back. "Not again!" He whined. Right before Sano, stood his captain.

Or at least it was the image of his captain. "You're dead! This is just a dream!" Sano pinched his arm then winced when he felt the pain. "This is just a dream, right?"

His captain stayed silent. Sano tried to figure out what this could mean. There was no dire situation as there had been the last time Sano saw his captain's image.

"Last time, I told you whether you were here as ghost, dream, or hallucination, I was still happy to see you. That's still true today, but that doesn't explain why you're here."

When Souzou turned and walked forward, Sano followed him. 'He still didn't answer my question!' They both stopped in front of a house that looked vaguely familiar to Sano. The sound of a child's laughter and a woman’s voice could be heard coming from inside.

"What are you trying to tell me?" After Sano asked the question, a possible answer occurred to him. "Did you leave a family behind when you died? Is that what you're showing me?"

"Sano." Souzou walked over to the door and started pounding on it. "Sano, wake up!"

Sano groaned as everything around him started to blur. As Sano began to blink away the confusion, he realized he was in his apartment, and not with his captain in some bizarre forest. 'What a weird dream.'

Sano got up when he realized the banging he had heard in his dream was really someone knocking on his door. "I hear you! There's no need to break the door down!" Sano ripped the shoji open and glowered at the person in front of him. "Kenshin? What are you doing here? And what's the deal with trying to knock down my door?"

"You said you wanted to visit today," Kenshin answered. "But the day is already half over."

Sano looked over Kenshin's head to see the sun was indeed low on the horizon.

"I didn't realize I had been asleep for so long. Hold on a second." Sano left to put on a shirt then returned to leave with Kenshin.

"Feels good to be back, doesn't it?"

"It would have felt better to have not left at all," Kenshin sighed. "But yes, it feels good to be back."

The two men walked along in friendly silence until a woman’s scream surprised both of them. They were even more surprised when they found the girl who had screamed, pinning a man against a wall.

"Are you two just going to stand there, or are you actually going to help me?" the girl snapped.

"Oh . . . Right!" Sano immediately recognized the man after he grabbed him. "You're the little rat that hurt Megumi!" Sano hissed.

"I also recognize him," Kenshin spoke up. "It seems you have still been hurting people since I last saw you," Kenshin said to the man. "I will have to keep my promise to you."

"Not before I make him pay for what he did to Megumi!" Sano emphasized his statement with a bone-crunching twist to the captive man's arm.

Kenshin winced when the man screamed in pain. "Sano, I understand your need to protect Mugumi-dono's honor, but Megumi-dono wouldn't want to see you in more trouble with the authorities, especially on her account."

"You didn't see her lying on the ground bleeding!" Sano snarled. "You didn't have to see the fear in her eyes because of this lowlife!"

"What you say is true," Kenshin agreed, "but I'm worried about you losing control."

Sano's expression was incredulous. "You think I might actually hurt him?"

"Without meaning to, yes. Believe me that is something neither you nor Megumi-dono want on your conscience."

By this point, other people had begun to surround them, taking the decision out of Sano's hands. "You saved my little girl!" A heavy set man spoke to Sano in English. "How can I ever repay you?"

"But I didn't -"

The girl hurriedly cut in, "I was so frightened!"

"Um . . . " Sano yelped when the girl pinched his arm.

"Play along," the girl whispered to Sano, "my father still thinks of me as a helpless little girl and I want it to stay that way. It's easier for me to get what I want."

"..." Sano was at a loss for words.

"Excuse me," Sano turned to see yet another person standing next to him. "I've been looking for someone like you. I need someone who will keep a tight security at the docks, someone who isn't afraid to lay down the law. It appears that you can understand English?"

Sano nodded, "A little. I'm more fluent in Chinese."

The man's eyes lit up. "Wonderful. I would be willing to pay you extra for that. What do you say?"

"Well . . . " Sano didn't know what to say. He didn't really want to accept such a thing under false pretenses, but nobody else seemed to care and he could use the money. "Can I think about it?"

The man looked surprised at Sano's question. "This is a good opportunity I'm offering you. What is there to think about?"

Sano glanced at Kenshin, silently seeking his advice. The older man shrugged; this was solely Sano's decision. He had no say in the matter.

Sano grit his teeth. He hated being pushed. "I'll do it."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"We're here!" Kenshin yelled to alert the others of his and Sano's arrival.

"We're in the kitchen!" Megumi greeted back.

Kenshin and Sano walked back to the kitchen to find Megumi making supper and Kaoru playing with Kenji.

"Sano!" It's so good to see you again. Come meet the newest member of our family." Kaoru moved so that she and Kenji were standing in front of Sano. "Sano this is Kenji. Kenji this is Sano. He acts like a child most of the time so you'll probably have a lot of fun with him." Kaoru's grin turned into a frown when she realized Sano wasn't listening to her.

"Sano we haven't seen each other in over a month. You could at least pretend to be interested in what I'm saying."

Sano jerked to attention when he heard Kaoru's angry voice. "Sorry jo-chan." His eyes flicked over Kenji. "Cute kid."

"Excuse me?" Kaoru looked ready to spit fire. "Kenji is your best friend's first son, and all you can say is cute kid!"

"Kaoru, sweetie," Kenshin interrupted before his wife and best friend started arguing. "It's been a while since you and I have seen the sunset together. Why don't we go see it now?"

Kaoru hmphed as Kenshin grasped her arm to escort her outside.

"Don't think too harshly of him," Kenshin gently admonished his wife, "something happened to him on the way over. He probably wants to talk to Megumi-dono about it."

"Mou, why didn't he say so?"

Megumi watched them until they walked outside before turning to Sano with a raised eyebrow. "Something happened today?"

Sano nodded and plopped down at the table. "I got a job."

Megumi's second eyebrow joined the first one. "Most people are happy when they get a job. Especially when they have as colorful a history as you do."

Sano narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "That's it? I know you can do better than that."

"Excuse me?" Megumi asked in confusion. "I don't understand what you're saying Sano."

"Usually you would laugh and tease me about how unlikely such a thing is, or about how poorly I would perform."

Megumi put her knife down so she could sit next to Sano. "Have I hurt you that badly in the past?"

An uncharacteristic blush formed on Sano's face when he saw the sincerity in Megumi's eyes. "Well, I'm not exactly an innocent victim."

Megumi smirked at Sano's statement. "Believe me, I know." Sano gave Megumi a dry look, causing her to laugh. "So what kind of a job is it?"

Sano frowned again, "Running security at the docks."

"Sounds like its right up your alley. So why the long face?" Megumi listened as Sano explained the situation to her. "And now you feel as if you've gained the job under false pretenses?"

Sano scratched his head. "Those aren't exactly the words I would use, but yeah."

"You are capable of performing your job?"

"Heh. Piece of cake."

Megumi hid a smile behind her hair. That sounded more like Sano. "And it was only the girl that had a problem with you telling the truth?"

"Yes." Sano's voice was irritable again.

"Then why don't you just explain the situation to your employer? If you show him you are able to do the things you said you could and I'm sure he'll keep you."

Sano looked as if he was considering Megumi's suggestion. "That sounds like it might work." He grinned and tapped her nose. "I knew you'd come in handy some day."

Megumi narrowed her eyes. "And what do you consider all of the times I patched you up?"

Sano chuckled nervously. "Erm ... freebies?"

Megumi simply "hmmphed".

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Kenshin glanced back to see Megumi and Sano's shadows through the rice paper door and smiled.

It was true, what Aoshi said. But Sano also brought out the best in Megumi.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sano watched as Megumi's last patient left the office before sneaking up behind Megumi. At least that's what he attempted to do.

In reality, Megumi greeted him before he was halfway across the room and without ever turning around.

"How do you do that?" Sano asked.

Megumi looked over her shoulder, a smirk playing across her lips. "It's a gift we women are born with." Megumi walked over to Sano and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You don't usually visit me so early in the day. You must want something."
Sano pouted. "Can't a guy visit his girlfriend without her jumping to conclusions?"

"Not when you're the boyfriend," Megumi replied dryly.

Sano set a hand to his heart. "Ouch! That really hurts kitsune."

Megumi stepped back from Sano. "I'm sure you'll live. I was about to make lunch, would you like to join us?"

" Actually, I was hoping I could show you something."

"Okay." Megumi stood in front of him expectantly.

Sano turned and walked off. "You might want to put a jacket on. It's kind of cold out there."

"Oh?" Megumi followed Sano in confusion. "You mean, you don't have it with you?"

Sano laughed. "No. It's a little too big to carry with me."

Megumi gave him a suspicious look. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing," Sano assured her. "Now hurry up. I have to be at work in an hour."

"Okay, okay. Be patient." Megumi put a jacket on and pulled on her boots. "Where are we going?"

Sano embraced her hand and gave her one of his charming smiles. "You'll see."

Megumi pursed her lips. "I'm not quite sure if I trust you."

"Aww, come on Meg. Have I ever done anything untrustworthy?"

Megumi rolled her eyes. "Should I make a list?"

Sano chuckled nervously. "Uh . . . never mind."

It didn't take long before they were standing in front of a dilapidated house. "See? There was no reason to distrust me."

"This time," Megumi replied. "So what is it you want to show me?"

"That." Sano pointed proudly to the house in front of them.

"That?" Megumi ran a critical eye over it. "What's so great about it?"

Sano didn't answer. Instead he tugged on her hand. "Come on." He pulled her forward. "I looked it over carefully, and the foundation is actually pretty solid. It's mostly just cosmetic work that needs to be done. You know, repainting the walls, fixing the roof." Sano had to catch Megumi when she nearly fell through a rotten board.

"And the porch steps obviously..."

Megumi glared at him. "Sano, why are you showing this eyesore to me?"

"Don't judge it until you've seen the inside kitsune."

"I think it's a risk to my life to see the inside." Megumi grumbled. Nevertheless, she followed Sano.
"You see. It has a nice sized kitchen and living room. And there's space for a big garden out back."

The back of Megumi's neck started tingling. "Sano," she said in a low voice, "are you trying to tell me you actually wasted your money and bought this place?"

"I actually got it for pretty cheap." Sano defended himself.

"I can't believe this!" Megumi cried in exasperation. "No, actually I can. It sounds just like the sort of thoughtless thing you would do."

"Hey! I put a lot of thought into this! It's not too far from the clinic, yet far enough to have some privacy. Kenshin said he would help me repair it and it's a good size to raise a family in!"

"What? Family? Sano, what are you talking about?"

"Come on Meg," Sano looked directly into her eyes. "You're a smart woman. You can figure it out."

Something in Sano's tone struck a realization in Megumi and she felt as if all of the energy had been sucked out of her body. "Are you ..." Megumi hated the hesitancy in her voice, but she couldn't help it. "Are you talking about marriage, Sano?" She asked quietly.

Sano nodded.

"Oh . . . " Megumi whispered and tried to rub some feeling back into her arms. "Oh my . . . "

Sano moved forward to clasp one of her hands with both of his. "Megumi, I know I may never be what most people consider 'family material.' But I've grown over the past few years, we both have. I honestly think this is something we could handle."

Megumi put a hand to her mouth. "Oh my."

Sano narrowed his eyes in irritation. "Would you please say something other than that?"

When Megumi didn't answer him and instead stared off to the side, Sano thought her shocked statement might be preferable to the silence.

"Meg?" Her eyes jerked back to Sano when she heard the waver in his voice. When she realized he was perhaps even more nervous than she was, all of the feeling seemed to come back into the room.

"Yes." Megumi nodded slowly.

"Yes?" Sano asked to confirm what he just heard.

Megumi hugged him and pressed her face into his neck. "I love you Sano. And . . . I do want to have a family with you." Normally, Megumi would have chastised Sano for nearly rendering her deaf with his shouts (and twirling her until was ready to vomit). But right then, none of that seemed to matter.

-

I could end it there, but I want to write an epilogue. Oh, and I'd like to advertise my new site. (I wasn't updating the old one so I tore it down.) You can get to it through the "homepage" link on py profile. Won't you please check it out? :)


I apologize that this story is late. I just didn't feel like forcing myself to work on it this month. (I'm so tired of it all...) But never mind me. My brother has been kind enough to draw pictures for an original story I'm going to start writing. (I have no drawing talent -.-) I'm so excited! I might even try to publish it.

But you don't want to hear about that do you? So, I'll get on to my chapterly review thing so you can all go. :)

I'll try to put the epilogue up in July. :)