Megumi stepped onto the porch of the clinic, pulling off her head cloth and savoring the coolness of the night air. The sun had just gone down and the stars were beginning to twinkle overhead. The stars….
She knew it was Tanabata. All day everyone who came for her services had been discussing their plans for the romantic star festival, and it made her acutely aware of her solitude. She sat down on the porch, trying not to think about anything but the meal she would be eating alone tonight-Dr. Gensai was away with his granddaughters on a visit and the clinic was almost eerily silent.
A tall figure started up the path towards her and she called, "Unless it's an emergency, the clinic is closed for the night."
"Figures," said a familiar voice. Sanosuke walked up to the porch and sat next to her. "Here I am covered with cuts and bruises and the doctor isn't taking any customers."
Megumi could barely see the young man in the dim light that came from the door. "Rough day gambling?"
Sano sighed. "I wish! No, Kenshin accidentally asked Karou to marry him."
"WHAT?"
The young man chuckled, delighted at her reaction. "It was really all Tae's fault."
Megumi said sharply, "Start at the beginning, Sanosuke. How on earth does a man accidentally ask a woman to marry him?"
"You know it's Tanabata, right? Well, Karou kept saying it was a special day, but none of us knew about it being a day for lovers…."
"Why am I not surprised," said Megumi under her breath.
"Anyway, Kenshin thought it must be Karou's birthday, so he went to catch a fish for lunch…."
"Even if it was only Karou's birthday, a fish is not a very special gift!"
"That's what Tae said. As it turned out, the fish had swallowed a ring…."
Megumi was fascinated in spite of herself. "What kind of ring?"
"Tae called it an engagement ring and said Kenshin should give it to Karou. Well, he didn't know what an engagement ring was, and neither did I and neither did Yahiko…."
"The three of you don't have half a brain between you!"
"And then I went down to the river and found this guy about to drown himself. The ring belonged to him-he was going to ask his girl to marry him tonight, but he saw her with another man. It was only a childhood friend, but he got so jealous he threw the ring in the river and the catfish that Kenshin caught had swallowed it, and then Tae got involved…." Sanosuke lifted up his hands helplessly. "And then we had to get the ring back from Karou but we were afraid of hurting her feelings…."
"The three cowardly lions." Megumi bit back her laughter. "What did you do?"
"Well, first Yahiko tried to get it off her hand while she was training with him, and then we thought we could get it while she was taking a bath, but finally Kenshin told her everything. We got the ring and gave it back to the guy it belonged to, so he was all right and he got to propose, but what I've been through today." Sano groaned piteously.
"What you've been through!" Megumi's voice rose indignantly. "Poor Karou-she's the one I feel sorry for."
"Well, don't." Sano snorted, feeling his ribs and his head. "You seem to forget how quick she is with her hands and how good she is with that wooden sword."
Megumi felt a flash of compunction. "Are you really hurt?"
"No." Sanosuke shook his head. "I just wanted to see the stars."
"You can see the stars anywhere."
He didn't answer, leaning back on his elbows and grinning lazily at her, and Megumi blushed furiously as she realized why he had come here on the most romantic night of the year. She jumped to her feet to cover her confusion, took a moment to compose herself, and turned around quickly. Too quickly-Sano had stood up as well and she bumped into him. His arms went around her, steadying her, and she felt the warmth of his body against hers. He released her very slowly and stood looking down at her, his back to the light, his face shadowed.
She came to a decision and took a deep breath. "Sanosuke, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"