[AN] The title comes from one of the themes on the OST, from the Kyoto arc – which struck me as particularly appropriate. The working title of this piece was originally "Sides of a Coin", stressing the similarities between the paths of three particular characters. However, this title had been teasing at my mind for a long time, and then I realized how well it fit… [/AN]

Unmei no Haguruma

(Wheel of Fate)

Part I: Arrival

The bedraggled young man half-staggered into town, exhausted beyond even the impressive endurance he possessed. His unkempt hair fell into his eyes and his worn clothing seemed to be held together by sheer force of will. It was anyone's guess as to when he'd last eaten a proper meal or slept the night through.

A slightly built youth, out on an errand, came across the stranger. His concern overcame his distrust when the lean figure, shorter but than himself, raised chocolate brown eyes full of profound sadness.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Aa," the stranger croaked.

"No. You're not. Here, let me help you," the young man said. "I'll take you to our doctor. In the shape you're in, I know I'd never hear the end of it if I didn't bring you to get immediate medical attention. Our doctor is very persistent about these things."

"No… I… No doctor…"

"With all due respect, sir, I don't think you're in any shape to argue. Here." The slim youth threw his arm around the shorter man's waist just as he collapsed. "Wow. You're kinda heavy, no offense. Stronger than you look, I'd bet, when you're not at death's door. But don't worry. Our doctor can cure just about anything," he said proudly.

He kept up a running monologue all the way back to the clinic.

His name was Nobuo, he was sixteen, and he was a huge fan of the doctor who had come to town a few years before. The man he had just encountered hardly seemed to be aware of his surroundings, much less what his temporary companion was saying, but Nobuo did not let that stop him.

The clinic was not large, but it was busy when they arrived.

"Nobuokun! Isn't it bad enough you pick up stray animals all the time for the doctor to tend? Now you're picking up stray people?" one oldster teased.

Nobuo shrugged one-sidedly. The other still supported the ragged man. "I can't help it. How else am I going to learn to be a great doctor like – Takanisensei!" As he was speaking, the doctor had emerged from the inner office and caught sight of them.

"Nobuo! Another stray? Bring him inside. I'll just be a moment, to get him settled. He doesn't look to have any immediate injuries. Nobuokun, would you help me with him please?"

The enthusiastic young man nodded and supported his half-conscious burden into one of the rear examination rooms. The doctor sat down next to the bed and looked at the patient. Malnourished, unwashed, and exhausted, the stranger clearly needed rest and food above all else. The doctor said as much, adding, "If you would stay here, there's some broth. If he can feed himself, so much the better. If not, you'll need to feed him for now, since that's the most important thing. But remember, only a little, or he'll get sick."

Nobuo nodded. Following the doctor's instructions, he ladled some of the broth that was simmering on the stove into a bowl and brought it to the vagabond.

The doctor had resumed examining the steady stream of patients who were waiting not so patiently. They were all curious about the stranger who had been brought in before their very eyes, the mysterious young man who had clearly seen better days. Who was he, where was he from, what was wrong with him?

"It's not plague, it's malnourishment. He's had it rough. More than that, I don't know," was the doctor's only response.

When the last of the headaches had been given a powder, and the last stomachache some tea, and the last injury bandaged, the doctor returned to Nobuo and his patient.

"Takanisensei. He had about half of the bowl before falling asleep."

"That's fine. Eating too much would only make him very ill; rest is even more important."

They watched the sleeping man's chest rise and fall slowly, his breathing only slightly labored.

"I hope he gets his strength back soon," Nobuo said finally. "For one thing, if he isn't much cleaner by the time your sister comes back from Tokyo…"

At that, the doctor laughed softly. "You've got that right, Nobuokun," he said. "She does value cleanliness, and rightly so. Still, as much as I love my sister, Megumi has never been very good at keeping her opinions to herself."

The young man blushed slightly and nodded. Though he was ten years her junior, he was crushing rather severely on the beautiful sister of his hero. Ever since she had come to Aizu nearly five years before, she had become the epitome of everything he idealized in a woman.

Takani Toshihiro, having established his clinic nearly a year prior to her arrival, knew of this and gently discouraged the young man as best he could. Even he did not know her entire story, but he knew that someone had hurt his little sister, and someone else had broken her heart, and now that they'd found one another again, nothing was going to happen to her on his watch. That was part of his job, as the big brother.

"She's due back the day after tomorrow, isn't she?" Nobuo asked.

"Yes. I'm glad she finally took the opportunity to go to visit her friends from Tokyo," Toshihiro said.

"It's the first time in three years," Nobuo said by way of agreement.

"Aa." He remembered how his sister had looked upon her return from that first trip. That had been when he knew that the man who had broken her heart was in Tokyo. He had some very strong suspicions, but Megumi refused to talk to him about that aspect of her life.

"What's done is done," she'd said. "I lost a game I could never have won and wish I hadn't wanted to try." She'd refused to discuss it further, and when Toshihiro had persisted, she pointed out that her unmarried state was hardly something her unmarried brother could criticize.

He'd conceded the point. He knew that someday, even his stubborn baby sister would give in; something would happen that would make her talk about it at last. It had never taken so long when they were younger, but then, much had changed for them in the intervening years…

Takani Toshihiro remembered the last time he had seen his sister as a child. She had been crying and begging him not to go away; not to follow in the footsteps of their father. Unlike their fifteen year old brother Hideaki, he had not been anxious to go to war, but like his parents, felt the need to help heal those who needed it most. And so he had left with Hideaki, their mother traveling with them to the front to put her own impressive medical skills to their best use. Megumi had stayed with a family friend, one whom the children had grown up calling "Uncle". At twelve, she had been far too young.

He had been seventeen when he saw his father killed on the battlefield. He'd sent word to Megumi but did not know if it reached her; the war had already pulled him farther from home. He was separated from his mother and had not found out what had happened to her or his younger brother, who had joined the Byakkotai in order to fight.

He didn't know the details. He remembered an explosion, and a dark hazy time, but when he'd regained full awareness he had been in Kyuushuu. He had made a home for himself there, working on regaining his memories and his strength, helping a doctor on that southernmost island. But then word had come to him of the desperate need in his home province and he had returned.

Not two years later, his sister had arrived. For five years, they had worked together in harmony, just happy to have found one another. Though the clinic did not flourish financially, they were doing well enough to stay afloat.

Toshihiro wondered why he was remembering so much so suddenly as he contemplated the young man. Nobuo was washing the patient's face with a soft cloth, and though he was filthy and malnourished, the stranger did not seem to be badly injured.

"I suspect he's simply been too long on the road," the doctor mused aloud. "There's nothing for it but he stays here. Megumi-neechan probably won't like it."

"Probably not, Nobuo said with a resigned smile. "She's very protective of her privacy."

"That's no bad thing," the doctor chastised.

"I know, I know. I'm just unenthusiastic about being the one to bear the brunt of her wrath, since she never takes it out on you."

"Ha!" He had to laugh at Nobuo's disconcerted expression. "She does indeed, but not so anyone else would notice. She's my sister, after all, and she does know how to get to me. Also," he said more seriously, "Remember that as doctors we must present a more united front to the public than almost anyone except parents."

Nobuo made a noncommittal noise.

"Anyway, over the next day or so, let's see if we can't get this guy cleaned up at least a little. It might not be enough for my sister's standards, but he is pretty rank, and she won't stand for that at all."

At Nobuo's nod, Toshihiro laughed again. "I'll leave you to it."

Despite the younger man's grumblings, the doctor could tell that he was happy to help. Confident in his assistant's skills, Toshihiro left them and returned to the queue of patients better able to explain their conditions.

That evening, the bedraggled stranger was still asleep. He hadn't woken up during the sponge bath that Nobuo had tried to give him, nor had he stirred when the youth had tried to feed him. Eventually, Toshihiro had suggested they let the man sleep. "His body knows best what it needs, and if he's that deeply asleep, we'll just let him rest." The doctor had left some broth in a covered bowl by the man's bedside, should he awaken during the night and want something, and sent Nobuo home before retreating to his own bed.

The next day proved relatively uneventful; the stranger woke up late in the afternoon only long enough to eat something and to be helped to the facilities. He was clearly not up to answering any questions, but Nobuo and Toshihiro gave him another sponge bath before he went back to sleep.

"Is that normal? What if he's really sick?"

The doctor shook his head slowly. "I don't think he is. Unless I miss my mark, that young man is very near to the point where he would be very ill, but he's a fighter. He's not going to let some disease lay him low. Did you notice his hands?"

"His hands?"

"Yes. He has sword calluses, although they seem worn. It's been some time since he wielded a sword, but he spent many years doing so – and I'd guess he was quite good at it. Also, his legs show a very strong definition. He was used to running at high speeds, and possibly for a relatively long time. But there's been some deterioration there as well; it looks as though he'd been doing small labor here and there for the last few years."

Nobuo was looking at his mentor with awe. "You can tell all that just from looking at him… Will I ever be as good as you are?"

The eldest scion of the Takani line chuckled softly. "It's very possible, but it will take quite a lot of work."

"Megumisensei comes back tomorrow," the boy said, changing the subject abruptly.

"Yes. I'm sure you'll be happy," the older man teased.

Nobuo tried to deny the evidence of his flushed cheeks. "So will you. And while I hope she had a good visit, I'm sure she'll be happy to be home too."

Toshihiro chuckled again. "That's true, I will. And I'm sure she will too. For now, the hour is late. Go home and have dinner with your family." As he watched his protégé leave, the doctor felt a wave of sadness pass over him briefly.

~She'll be home tomorrow. But she's right… It's time I look for a wife.~ Sighing, the man shook his head and went about his own preparations for a meal.

He figured he was respectable enough as a man that the marriageable women didn't shy from him, and his lack of parents to be domineering in-laws had to be a plus in the eyes of many. He worked hard and made a decent living for himself, in a thoroughly respectable position. There was no question in his mind about his looks. He wore his hair a little past his shoulders, long enough to make a decent tail, but wisps occasionally escaped to frame his face and fall into his deep brown eyes. Tall and broad-shouldered, he had a pretty good build though he occasionally bemoaned the slight love handles that had developed since Megumi's arrival in town. Like his sister, he took after Takani Isamu. Though Ryuusei had not been an unattractive man, Isamu was a true beauty. In Megumi, her features were mirrored almost exactly; on him, they were masculinized nicely. The strong chin, the widely spaced eyes, the long nose all came together to form a face that had left many girls staring after him wistfully.

As a youth, he'd always felt more awkward than attractive, something that the girls his age had done little to change. The truth was, he'd never really noticed them, absorbed as he was in his studies. Then the war came, and there was no time. Afterward, there was always some excuse not to find a wife and settle down… And then he'd found Megumi.

His little sister had grown to be an impressive woman. Competent and capable, she ran the household as smoothly as she helped him run the clinic. Before she'd come, he had been a good doctor but hopelessly disorganized. She'd set him to rights. Part of him felt that he didn't need a wife if she was around. After all, she kept their home neat and clean, kept him well fed… And there were other outlets for his other basic needs.

~But what will you do if she finds a husband? Anything could happen. For all you know, that broken little stray could be the future love of her life. Under the dirt and devastation, he looks like he'd clean up pretty well. Although he may be a bit younger than her…~ Shaking his head to clear it, Toshihiro dismissed the possibility. ~I've gotten too comfortable. I need to shake things up.~

He went to bed, finding it easier than he had expected to fall asleep.

The morning went swiftly in Toshihiro's estimation, although Nobuo complained that it was dragging too slowly for his tastes.

"When my sister returns, you can go back to your usual routine. I feel bad about having kept you here so much."

"I don't mind, Takanisensei," the boy said. "It's not as if I really want to follow my father's path into his business."

"And here I thought you just decided to go into medicine so you could spend more time with my sister."

"Did not," Nobuo muttered.

Toshihiro laughed again.

"What's so funny?" a familiar, acerbic voice said behind them.

"Takanisensei!" Red-faced and trying to hide it, the young part-time assistant stood up quickly and bowed deeply to his hero's sister.

"Neechan," Toshihiro beamed as he opened his arms.

"Yare yare, you'd think I'd been gone for a year instead of two weeks," Megumi rolled her eyes in exasperation. Her actions gave lie to her words as she accepted her brother's embrace warmly. From the way she clung to him for that extra moment, he knew how glad she was to be home – and away from the source of her heartbreak.

"It was hard, wasn't it," he said sotto voce.

She nodded slightly. "Not as bad as I thought it would be, but I don't think it will ever be truly easy."

He made a small sound in the back of his throat and released her. Tossing back her hair, she looked around. "I see you've managed somehow to keep the place from falling apart without me."

"Only barely," her brother replied with an easy grin.

She made a small noise of her own. "So you never did tell me what was so funny when I came in."

"Oh, it's nothing really. Nobuo was just –"

"Telling-him-a-joke!" Flushing more deeply than before, the young man waved dismissively. "Not something for a lady's delicate hearing," he added with only slightly less panic.

The elder Takani seemed ready to choke on his own amusement, while the younger looked unimpressed. Shaking her head again, she picked up her bag. "I'm going to unpack and settle in."

"Before you see him and panic, Nobuo picked up another stray," Toshihiro mentioned. "He's been asleep for the last two days. He's been severely malnourished and pushed past his limits. The best thing for him is rest, but if he doesn't awaken soon, I can't honestly say I hold out much hope for him."

"Are you asking for a second opinion?"

He shook his head. "Go unpack, Neechan. I don't think he's going anywhere anytime soon."

"Does this creature have a name yet?"

"Probably, but we figured we'd let him wake up before we asked him."

At Megumi's raised eyebrow, Nobuo sent his teacher a withering look. "We don't know it. I found him by the edge of town two days ago. He was barely conscious. He's pretty much slept ever since."

"I'm awake now." His voice sounded a bit scratchy and raw even to his own ears.

"I can see that," the doctor said, nodding. His lips were tight; he really didn't think that the young man should be out of bed so soon.

Nobuo, impetuous with youth, voiced the same concern aloud.

"Actually, I needed to…" He looked down and away from Megumi, a slight flush on his cheeks.

"Oh, of course!" Nobuo offered the other man his shoulder. "This way," he said as the offer was politely declined. The young stranger rose shakily and followed Nobuo from the room.

Toshihiro turned back to Megumi. Her brow was furrowed in concentration. "What's wrong?"

"There's something oddly familiar about him… I don't think I've met him before and yet there's something about him that it seems to me I ought to recognize," she said slowly. "I'm sure it's nothing." Shrugging, she carried her bag to her own room.

"That lady is a doctor as well, is she not?" As they made their slow way to the facilities, the stranger tried to ask the question nonchalantly. His voice was on the low end of the tenor register but cracked from disuse as he spoke.

"Yes, that is Takani Megumisensei. She and her brother Toshihirosensei are the world's best doctors," Nobuo said proudly. "It is my great honor to be their part time student."

"Ah, sou." ~So I was right… Of all the places to end up, I had to end up here. There's no help for it, I suppose. There's no way I'll be able to leave before she realizes who I am. I only hope…~ But exactly what it was he hoped, even he could not say.