Haiku on a Paper Fan

By Misanagi

Fandom: RK

Pairing: Slight Sano & Megumi

Rating: PG

Summary: Sanosuke reflects on something he bought.

Word count: 662

Thanks to Anne for the quick beta.

Notes: For Ruth. (Written for the LJ drabble meme.)

"Temple bells die out.
The fragrant blossoms remain.
A perfect evening!" [1]

Sanosuke read the words three times before deciding that they were nothing but rubbish, and slipping the paper back in his pocket. The small girl who was selling them had said that it was the way to a girl's heart and that those simple words were enough to make any woman fall for him. Yeah, right, and he was never gambling again and living a quiet life of austerity.

It was not like he had any woman in mind when he bought the paper, not at all. He had simply done it because the girl looked hungry and probably needed the money more than he did. After all, he was just going to go and get a drink. It wasn't as though he liked sake anyway.

His stomach took him right to the door of the Kamiya Dojo. He was hungry and since he had traded his last coins for some nonsense on a paper, he would have to settle for some of Kaoru's cooking.

"What is wrong with me looking like a lady?" Kaoru's voice was loud and was coming from inside the Dojo. Sanosuke smirked. Yahiko was probably teasing her and, like always, he was in for a beating. The boy never learned.

However, the voice that answered Kaoru didn't belong to the boy. "Of course there is nothing wrong. It's just that we are used to see you wearing those boy's outfits and running around with your little wooden sword. This new look comes as quite a shock." Megumi's voice was as condescending as ever, and Sanosuke could just picture her throwing her hair back and smirking.

"I wear kimonos all the time," replied Kaoru. "And it's not a boy's outfit and a wooden sword. Those are my training clothes, Megumi!"

Sanosuke walked cautiously to the Dojo door, looked inside, and gasped.

Kaoru was standing in the middle of the room, wearing a light blue weird dress, a matching hat, and holding a blue fan in her hand.

"See?" said Megumi gesturing to the door. "Not even Sano gets this weird western outfit."

Kaoru glared at Sanosuke before concentrating on Megumi again. "I still like it and Tea said it would look perfect on me."

Megumi covered her mouth with one hand and giggled quietly. "I'll be going now. We can continue this latter." She moved to the door and grabbed Sanosuke's shirt. "Come, Rooster Head, I need to take a look at your hand."

Sanosuke just followed her to the street and then they walked together to the clinic. He noticed that Megumi was pensive and quiet; she wasn't even insulting him.

"What's wrong, Fox Lady?"

She looked at him and for a moment all the defensiveness was gone from her eyes. "It's just a silly thing. When I was little I used to admire my mother's fans and since I was too young to have something like that, my dad gave me a paper fan." She smiled bitterly. "It was just a piece of western paper that he folded for me, but I really liked it. It was lost in the fire."

Sanosuke didn't know what to say, so he nodded and put his hands in his pockets. His fingers brushed against a crumpled piece of paper and he smiled. He knelt in the middle of the road and quickly folded the paper. It was wrinkled and the words couldn't be read, but it was the best he could do.

Megumi was waiting for him and staring at him with a curious expression. Sanosuke just smirked and handed her the small paper fan he had just made.

She gave him an annoyed look and opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind and took the gift. Sanosuke could see a small smile gracing her face, and he thought that maybe buying the haiku hadn't been a total waste.

- The End

[1] Written by Basho Matsuo (1644-1694) and found in "Haiku for People"