"Boy Meets Girl"
~~~~~~~~~~
Just
a few quick notes: this takes place when Sano & Megumi are children.
Megumi
is a teen (13 or 14), to be exact, while Sano is about 11 or 12.
They
are in Edo, the capital of the shogonate empire. Also, keep in mind
that
women in Japan during the 19th century (actually, sometimes even
today)
were expected to be demure and obedient.
Sansosuke trotted alongside his boss and idol, Sagara Souzo, as they moved
through the dusty streets of Edo. Sagara ocassionally glanced down and
smiled at him paternally, and Sano could only grin back. He had been
personally invited to accompany his boss on a special trip to the captial
city. Sano didn't understand the purpose of the trip, only that it was
very important to Sagara. He tightened his arms around the soft bundle
he held to his chest. The contents of the package were a mystery to all
but Sagara, however, Sano had a way of learning his boss's secrets sooner
or later.
Sagara came to a halt outside a small but elegant two-story home.
Absently, he brushed a lock of raven hair from his eyes with the back of
his hand. The hair fell back to hide one sharp blue eye and Sano watched
as the other gazed up at a particular window in the second story of the
home.
"Sanosuke, " Sagara began.
Sano snapped to attention. "Yes, sir?"
"Please hand me the package." Sagara finished, extending one hand to Sanosuke.
Sano was quick to comply, but not without asking a question or two as he
did so. "Boss, whay is this place? And why is it so important to you?"
A wistful smile touched Sagara's lips. "It's a place that's very special
to me, with a person who is very dear to me living inside."
Before Sano could ask who that person was, Sagara had knelt before him
and placed his free hand on Sano's small shoulder. "Boss, what-"
"Sanosuke." Sagara's blue eyes burned into Sanosuke's chocolate ones. His
tone and expression were utterly serious. "You must swear to me that you
will never speak of this place to anyone. None of my men know
of it. I brought you because I trust you. If anything should happen to
me..." his eyes became light and sad, as thought he knew something he would
not speak of , but his voice remained firm "... I don't want my misfortune
to befall those here. Now, swear."
Upon Sagara's drawn sword, Sanosuke swore.
"Thank you. I know you'll keep your word." Sagara smiled and rose to his
full and rather imposing height. He ruffled Sano's hair with his hand.
"While I'm here, why don't you explore the city? Who knows, you might meet
a pretty girl." he teased.
"Feh, girls." Sano spat. "Who needs 'em."
Sagara only smiled more broadly and turned to enter the house. "Have fun!
I'll find you later." The door the home slid open. Sano wasn't able to
see who was concealed within, but his boss gave a low bow before entering.
The door slid shut with a woosh! behind him, and Sano was left alone in
the street.
Sanosuke wasn't alone in a literal sense; there where dozens of people
bustling about, attending to their daily business. He watched the people
milling about the various stalls boredly. There's got to be something
more exciting than this to do all day. Who know how long the boss is gonna
be in there. He noticed the crowd was parting somewhat in the middle,
as of to make way for something or someone, and Sano rushed forward, darting
around peasants, to find out what it was.
A pair of samurai strode confidently though the crowd, dainty wives in
tow. Their twin swords dangled at their waists while they moved, ever watchful
but relaxed; with their wives along, they seemed to be on a shopping trip,
just like everyone else.
Sano had often imagined Sagara as a samurai, but knew that his boss did
not have the love of combat required of a samurai warrior. His sense of
honour was strong, though, and Sano felt that perhaps one day he would
be the first of a new breed of samurai: the kind, gentle type who
fight in the name of peace.
Sanosuke continued to watch the two samurai as they conversed jovially
while their wives shopped at the various stalls in the market. Their hakamas
were made of the finest cloth, coloured a deep green for the robe and a
dark shade pf grey for the pants. He decided to try to get closer to have
a look at the emblems embroidered on the front of their jackets to see
which familial house these samurai belonged to. He went to a produce stall
near the silk spinner's cart the samurai entourage were currently at. He
pretended to look over the various fruits and vegetables lined up in neat
little rows on the stall's front. With one hand, he fingered the coins
in his pocket; Sagara had left him with some money to buy himself something
to eat. If the shopkeeper get mad or somethin', I'll just buy some stuff
to shut him up. Sano continued to discreetly eye the samurai, hoping
one of them would turn enough that he could see their emblems. There was
a bit of commotion within the samurai group, and he craned his neck to
get a better view.
"Please, Goro! Let me go to the apothecary's stall!" A well-dressed girl
with pale skin and waist-length hair balck as pitch was pleading to the
taller of the two samurai. Judging from her attire, an elegant lavander
kimono with peony flowers blowing across the bottom and down the wide sleeves,
and her bearing, she was a noblewoman. Sano hadn't seen her the first time
because she had been concealed between the two samurai as they walked,
flanking her on both sides protectively.
"Could those guys be her bodyguards?" Sano wondered aloud. He was even
more intrigued. He wanted to discover more about this noisy and imprudent
noblegirl who would dare make such a fuss in public.
The tall samurai named Goro gently removed her imploring hand from his
sleeve. "Lady," he began respectfully, though Sano didn't think the
girl was much older than himself and thus not worthy of kowtowing from
a high-ranking samurai, "why do you wish to vist the apothecary?" From
his tone, Sano guessed that he had been down this road with the girl before.
"You have your father, one of the best doctors in Japan."
The raven-haired girl didn't give up. "I want to see the different medicines.
Maybe he has something my father doesn't and could possibley use---"
Goro interrupted sternly. "Lady, you don't need to concern yourself with
such matters. It is beneath your station. What's more, your behavior now
is quite unlbecoming of a lady of your station. Your father and mother
would be greatly disappointed if they heard of this scene."
Bowing her head, the girl conceeded the fight to Goro. The samurai wives
tittered softly behind thier wide kimoni sleeves and resumed shopping.
They both exclaimed over a pretty pattern of silk and beckoned their husbands
to look. Sano watched as the samurai walked to the stall and bent their
heads over their wives' shoulders to look. He saw the raven-haired girl
take complete advantage of this lack of attention. She ducked into the
crowd and disappeared. More than curious about this crafty girl's destination,
Sano decided to follow her.
The girl wove in and out of the throngs of people, long hair flying behind
her. Sanosuke had a difficult time keeping up with her. A few times
he lost her and only found her again with exteme difficulty. She had finally
stopped moving and was standing next to a stall selling ramen. He watched
as she ordered a bowl of the steaming noodles and began to eat. The vendor,
a balding man looking to be in his mid-forties and having more than a few
misssing teeth, proffered his hand for payment.
"What is it?" the girl asked, puzzled. "What do you want?"
"I nee' m'ney fo' you' food." he slurred.
The girl shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't understand a word you're
saying."
"You nee' t'pay fo' dat!" The man seem exasperated.
The confused expression never left the girl's face. "Could you say that
again? Slowly?"
From his position beside some horses, Sano listened to the exchange. "What
is with this girl? Can she really be that stupid? Everyone knows you gotta
pay for stuff. She gonna really piss that guy off if she doesn't pay soon."
The girl repeated her request for the vendor to speak slowly and clearly.
The vendor took a few deep breaths, then reached over and grabbed
the front of the girl's kimono, dragging her off her feet and partway over
the counter of the stall. The girl shrieked in surprise. "Let go of me!"
The vendor narrowed his eyes and clenched is teeth. "Pay...me."
"Pay you?" The girl began to laugh, half-condenscending, half-relieved.
"Is that all? Why didn't you say so?"
"Whore!" The vendor tossed her to the dirt street.
Standing, the girl dusted herself off. Her once lovely kimono was now smeared
with brown dirt and other refuse. She gazed at the man levelly. "There's
no need for name calling. I'll pay you and we'll forget this. Goro..."
she began, turning. "Pay this man for--" she broke off. Looking around
her, the girl suddenly remembered that she was alone. "Well, I think I
have some money..." she murmured, dipping her hand into her obi and then
into her wide sleeves. She found nothing.
Seeing the alarmed expression on the girl's face, Sano realized she could
not pay for her meal. Yeah...women, especially her kind, aren't allowed
to carry money. Betcha those samurai bodyguards of hers have it. Well,
that's what she get for runnin' off and then treatin' people bad on top
of it. He watched as the girl spun from left to right and back, desperately
searching the crowd for the samurai, any familiar face, anyone to bail
her out. Sano crossed his arms. "Well, it ain't gonna be me."
The vendor grabbed the girl's sleeve. "Go' money?"
She smiled politely. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any right now. If you
would be so kind as to allow me to find my companions, I will---"
"THIEF!!!" The man roared.
The entire crowd ceased their activity and turned to look at the girl.
A quiet murmering erupted throughout.
"No!" she cried. "I am not! I...I..."
A set of coins dropped onto the wooden countertop with a faint ring. "Here.
For the noodles."
The girl looked up, directly into Sanosuke's face. Sano averted his eyes.
"Let's go." he said, taking the girl by the wrist and pratically dragging
her away from the stand. They moved through the crowd quickly, and
only faintly heard the vendor's garbled cries of "Thi' not 'nugh!"
When they came to a realatively deserted area of mostly livestock sales,
Sano stopped them. Releasing her wrist, he looked, really looked
at her. She was gorgeous, he realized. Her long black hair shone more brightly
than a raven's wing. Her eyes were deep black coals with faint flecks of
brown embedded within. Her skin was ivory white, and, he imagined, soft
to the touch. He felt his cheeks warm and looked away, huffing. "You owe
me, girl."
"Who are you calling 'girl?'" the girl said as she finished straightening
her kimono. "You have no right to speak to me like that, you street hood!"
"Hey! I just saved your life! Show some thanks or something!" Sanosuke
cried, offended.
She crossed her arms. "I could have taken care of myself. I did not ask
for your help, so I owe you nothing."
Sanosuke was astonised at her rudeness. "Hah! You looked so pitiful out
there, I just had to do something. My boss wouldn'a forgivin' me if I hadn't.
Besided, what could you have done? You're just a girl."
Raising one finger to him, she smiled slyly. "I'll show you." With that,
she reached up and proceeded to press her finger against the pressure point
on the back of Sano's neck.
"OOOOOWWWWWW!!!" Sano wailed. He tried to reach around to pull her off,
but she kicked him in the back of the knee, dropping him to the ground.
The girl ran away, laughing. "That's what a mere girl can do, boy!"
Sano stood and rubbed the back of his neck. He was more offended than sore,
but she had proven her point. Women are so danm crafty! Especially that
one! He wanted to find her so he could prove that she hadn't
beaten him. "You're on, fox." he murmured.
The girl ran until she found herself to be in rather questionable surroundings.
There were hardly any shoppers here and few vendors. There were dark doorways
and shady, unkept men in plenty, though. She looked around her, wondering
how, in her simple quest to visit the apothecary, she had gotten so lost.
"What a blasted fool I am! I have no idea where I am and no idea how to
find Goro and the others. Father always praised me as being his most intelligent
child and here I am, lost, and all because of my own foolishness. What
a disgrace!" She looked around, and, finding a small bench, sat and tried
to think of a way to get back, only faintly aware of the danger lurking
around her.
"Hey."
She looked up. A tall, thin man was staring down at her through beady eyes.
His hair was thin and oily and pulled into a topknot, and, as the
girl's eyes slid down his form to his open shirt and bare arms, she disovered
he was covered from the collar-down in tattoos. Her eyes widened unconciously,
and the man grinned. He reached one hand out, and she saw the tip of his
small finger was missing. Slapping his hand away, she rose. "Leave me alone."
she said fiercely.
Chuckling, the man asked "What's a pretty, high-born lady like you doing
with rabble like us?"
She backed a few steps away. "That's not your business. Leave me alone.
If you do anything to me, there will be reprisals."
"From whom? Against whom? Here," he chucked his thumb over his shoulder,
indicating the entire slum. "guys like me don't really exist. We don't
have names or nothing. We just are. So, all I have to do is kill
you and dump you somewhere no one can find you. Even if they did, as far
as me and the rest of us go, it never happened."
"The rest of you?" she repeated.
He stepped aside. Two more men were sitting on the ground behind
him, leaning against the sagging walls of the buildings there. They were
similarly covered in tattoos, and seemed to be sleeping, but their eyes
could be seen flitting surreptitiously about beneath half-shut lids. They
were about twice as muscular as the first man.
One of them spoke lazliy, without fully opening his eyes. "That looks
like some nice silk you got. Maybe we could make something off it."
The other one chimed in with his opinion. "I was thinking about selling
her hair myself."
"Then she'd be useless as a whore." the tall one snapped. "I plan to sell
her until she's too diseased to be of any more use. Then we'll just dump
her somewhere to beg."
"You can't do any of that!" the girl cried. She bolted, but her kimono
was not meant for running, and it wasn't long before the three men had
caught up with her.
A muscle-type slapped her. "You can't just run off like that. You're ours,
now."
"I am not!" She tried to break away but the man's grip was solid.
He tightened his hand around her arm. Leaning in so close she could smell
the rot on his breath, he said "You should never have come here, girl.
You should have been a good girl and done what your men told you. Now,
you have to pay the price for tresspassing."
"She doesn't hafta pay for anything!"
Sanosuke watched as the girl's head jerked around, her jaw dropping in
surprise. "What are you doing?"
"Savin' your ass." Sano stated calmly. He winked at her. "Fox."
She huffed in indignation. "You are so crude!"
The man flung the girl to the ground behind him. He looked at Sanosuke,
sizing the boy up, then laughed. It was a lound, cruel laugh, and Sano
felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle. "Are you planning on rescuing
this girl or something?"
"Of course I'm gonna." Sano said flatly, standing his ground.
"Okay. Well," he looked back at the girl, who was now being restrained
by the other two men. "you should tell your boyfriend any last words now,
because he's not gonna be around in a few more minutes."
"He's NOT my boyfriend!" she cried. "He's just some street punk with a
foul-mouth!"
One of the men holding her chucked her in the side of the head. "Fiesty,
ain't she?"
Sanosuke gritted his teeth. He hated to see anyone, especially girls, treated
that way. "Keep yer hands offa her!"
"Make us." the tall man replied.
Sanosuke dropped into his most imposing battle stance, which, he realized,
probably wasn't much yet, but he was determined to see this through. He'd
only had a bit of formal martial arts training, the rest of his fighting
style was mostly what he'd invented himself. As he watched the man approach
him, he admitted he felt afraid. His chocolate eyes met the ebony ones
of the girl. She was terrified. Her face as a whole seemed calm, even aloof,
but her eyes gave her away. She was depending on Sano to win, to save her
life and his. He gritted his teeth in determination. I'm scared,
but she's even more scared. I'm not gonna let her down. I'm not gonna lose!
He
threw the first punch.
The tall man easily caught it in his tattooed fist. He squeezed Sano's
hand. "You expect to win with strength like this?"
Sano listened to his bones popping. He resisted the urge to scream his
pain for the whole city to hear. I've gotta do something! I'm better
than this! Plus, she's countin' on me! He took one of his long
legs and swept it around behind the man's knee. Crying out in surprise,
the man fell, releasing Sano's hand. Sano knew that in a contest of brute
strength, he would lose. But as far as speed and finesse were concerned,
he actually had a chance. He quickly spun and dropped to the ground above
the man, aiming his elbow for the back of his neck. It connected with a
crack. The man groaned sharply and tried to rise, but Sano made a quick
chop with the side of his hand across the back of his head and the man
fell limp.
"Ooo....I'm impressed." the man to the girl's left said. "The runt can
fight a bit. We'll see if he can handle both of us at once. If you win,
boy, the girl is yours to do what you want. If you lose....we'll, for her
sake, at least, you'd better not." With that, he proceeded to press a sloppy
kiss onto the girl's cheek. She squirmed and tried to get away, but the
other man held her fast.
"Now I'm REALLY pissed!" Sano cried. "Let her GO!" He dashed recklessly
toward the two men. He watched as they roughly pushed her to the ground,
further increasing the rage he felt inside. "I'll beat yer fuckin' heads
in!"
The girl could only watch speechlessly as Sano leapt at them like a cat,
throwing punches and kicks with lighting speed. He was taking more than
he gave, however, and the girl began to grow increasingly worried. "He
may be incredibly crude..." she murmured, "...foul-mouthed and stupid,
but he has a noble heart. And...he is somewhat handsome." This she admitted
with a great deal of blushing on her part. He was still young, his body
still developing, but she could see that in a few more years he would grow
up to be a very attractive young man.
There was a lull in the fighting. Sano held his ground, but not without
difficulty. He knew he'd be feeling these injuries tomorrow. If I even
live to tomorrow...he thought wistfully. He figured he had two black
eyes,
a broken rib or two, a cracked nose, and maybe a broken toe. The opposition,
he noticed, wasn't in any better shape. They had an assortment of cuts,
bloody noses, and dangling, broken limbs. Sano wiped the blood from his
lipm with the back of his hand and viewed his handiwork with a measure
of satisfaction. The fight's not over yet, though. Better get 'em when
they're not expectin' it. He readied himself, then charged.
As Sano charged, the girl saw a group of men appear behind him, swords
drawn. They wore matching uniforms and each wore a red bandanna in his
hair. Their leader appeared to be a tall man with a lock of black hair
covering one eye. He threw his arm back, indicated that his men should
wait. She was about to cry out in warning to the boy when she noticed that
he was also wearing one of the red bandannas. Were they friends?
The two thugs prepared to charge Sano in this, the final stage of their
battle. They stopped when they noticed a gang of sword-wielding men appear
behind the running boy. Their leader moved his sword menacingly in their
direction and nodded, a gleam of challenge in his eyes.
"Sekihoutai..." one of the men gasped.
Their hearts pumping with fear, the thugs decided they'd rather cut their
losses than take on armed soldiers. They turned and ran as quickly as they
could, abandoning their companion, still unconcious on the ground.
As soon as the thugs had turned tail and were no longer a threat to Sano,
Sagara quickly motioned for his men to disperse. He himself headed down
a narrow alleyway, laughing silently at the predicament Sano had gotten
himself into. Fighting for a girl...I could have sworn Sanosuke promised
he'd never let himself be bothered with women. Well, I'm glad he's finally
found someone to protect...maybe, to even love. I'm just glad I found him
in time. If he hadn't stumbled across the street vendor complaining
to the police about being robbed by a chicken-haired boy and a artisocratic-looking
girl, he would never have known Sano was in trouble. He'd then tracked
his location though a plethora of witnesses. He'd decided to help, albiet
indirectly, only after he'd seen Sano in a fight he wasn't likely to win.
Now, it was time to disappear as if he'd never been there.
Sanosuke watched the thugs run away, disappearing amidst the run-down
houses and stalls lining the street. He dusted his hands off, satisfied
that he'd taught them never to underestimate a boy like him. He turned
back to the girl. She was sitting up on the dusty street, staring at him
with the most amazed expression on her face. He walked to her a profferred
his hand. "Are you all right?"
Nodding, she took his hand and he helped her to her feet. "I'm fine. But
you...you're hurt," she said, indicating his blackening eyes, bloody nose,
and swollen lips. "and I don't think you have anyone to take care of you.
Am I right?"
"I can take care of this." he replied, waving her off with his hand. "I've
had worse." He bent to pick up a red ribbon which had fallen from the girl's
obi and was almost overwhelmed by a sharp pain in his side. He wrapped
his arm around the offending area and collapsed to his knees, all without
making a sound. Its my rib...I guess I did break it.
"Stay still!" the girl ordered as she dropped down beside him. "Let me
help you."
Sano looked up at her, surprised at the passion in her voice. "Why do you
want to help me? You don't owe me nothin'."
"You saved me. I think I owe you at least this much. Now, stop arguing
with me!" She lowered her voice, mutttering. "This boy is so stubborn!"
With her small, white hands, she removed part of her obi and ripped off
a portion of the stiff, thick, cloth. After absently retucking her obi
she removed his jacket and proceeded to inspect his chest and sides,
blushing as she did so.
Noticing the flush in her cheeks, Sano couldn't help but laugh a little.
He regretted it instantly, feeling anew the sharp stabs of pain in his
side.
Her head snapped up and her blazing eyes fixed on his. "I thought I said
to keep still! And why are you laughing?"
"You're blushing." he said frankly. "I guess I do have a nice body and
all, enough even to get a blush from an unlady-like fox."
"Who are you calling a fox? And stop complimenting yourself." she said,
voice dripping with sarcasm. "What you have in looks you lack in brains."
She quickly tore the piece of obi into long strips and began wrapping them
tightly about Sano's waist.
"Hey! That hurts!" he whined. "You're pulling them too tight!"
"Do you want the bone to stay in place?" she countered. "Do you want to
heal?"
Sano quieted down, watching as she finished up. He looked at her face,
taking in her expression as she worked over him. She seemed very calm and
focused, as if she knew exactly what she was doing. Her eyes had been lit
with an inner fire, prompting Sano to give into his curiousity and find
out more about this strange girl. "Hey," he began, "where are you from?"
"Aizu." she said "I'm in Edo with my family. We came here because my father
is a doctor, one of the best in Japan. The shogun calls on his services
sometimes."
"That's why you're so good at this..." Sano remarked.
"Wait." The girl picked up his left wrist. It had a jagged cut running
along the inside. "Let me bandage this." She picked up the red ribbon he'd
originally intended to get for her, and proceeded to wrap it around the
injured wrist. She tied it off into a delicate knot. "There." She finished
by dabbing at his bloody lip and nose with the sleeve of her kimono.
"Oi, stop." Sano said softly. "You're getting your kimono all bloody."
She smiled softly. "Its okay. I can get a new one."
Their faces were now only a few inches apart, she having moved closer to
better see the cuts and scratches on his face. Their eyes met, and remained
fixated. She felt like she was drowning in his. He felt like he was being
enveloped by hers.
A group of loud voiced broke their rapture. It was Goro and the other samurai,
along with their wives, searching for the girl. She glanced quickly over
her shoulder in the direction of their calling voices, then turned back
to the boy before her. Quickly, impulsively, she placed a kiss on his cheek.
"Good-bye." She rose quickly to her feet and disappeared in the direction
of the voices.
Sanosuke watched her go. He touched his cheek where she had kissed him,
feeling as if some spell had been cast over him. "Who was that girl?" he
said aloud. "I didn't even ask her name." He looked at his wrist where
she had wrapped the red slik ribbon. He decided he'd keep that ribbon
forever, as a momento of their brief encounter.
The girl, meanwhile, had caught up to her entourage. Goro was busy scolding
her. "Megumi-sama." he began, steel in his voice. She knew he was angry
because he hardly ever used her first name. "I told you not to visit the
apothecary. You never even made it there, because I asked him. We searched
all over for you and feared the worst had happened. I am relieved to see
you uninjured, but look at your clothes!" he said, indicating her torn
obi, bloody sleeve, and the dust smeared all over. "How did you do this?
Your parents will be quite upset. We are returning home." He and the other
samurai took their places at her side, their wives trailing descreetly
behind, and they began the walk to their upscale inn, reserved for guests
of the shogonate.
Megumi looked back over her shoulder wistfully, wondering if she would
ever meet that stupid but incredibly noble boy again, and hoping with all
her heart that someday, she would.
~El fin.~
What did everyone
think?
I don't feel this
was as good as I hoped it would be.
I wanted to invent
a story where Megumi & Sano met as
children without
knowing it. I tried to keep the characterizations
basically the same
& I hope I succeeded. If enough people like
it, I may write
a sequel where they realize (as adults) that they
met before.
I also tried to
explain why Sano wears that one red bandage/ribbon
on his wrist.
And one more note:
The Sekihoutai were the guys Sano worked
with as a child.
They were later murdered by the new Meiji government.
Thanks for reading!
Reviews are much
appreciated!
