Chapter Four: Kyoto
Sanosuke always had a hard time forgetting his latest run ins with Saito, it was just one of Saito's many annoying talents, he just lingered on the young fighter's mind constantly. That is, until Sanosuke returned to the dojo the following morning. Megumi was dozing fitfully in the same room as Kenshin, slouched against the wall. Sanosuke took pity on her and placed the blanket that had slipped from her shoulders back into place. He heard someone stop in the doorway and saw Kaoru standing there. He half expected her to chase him out, still sore from their latest argument, instead she held his gaze with her own, looking far more like the strong woman he remembered. There was a determination to her face and once she let him see how serious she was taking his advice, her pale lips lifted into a smile.
"Thank you, Sanosuke…for before," she whispered, so as not to wake the doctor or Kenshin. She averted her gaze, biting her bottom lip. "I won't…I won't be weak anymore. I'll fill Kenshin's days with happiness. I just…I wish I could get Kenji to come home, Yahiko too but I can't leave him."
Sanosuke regarded her for a moment and then sighed. "Where are they?" he asked. "Do you know?"
Kaoru's eyes widened. "Well yes, Yahiko wrote to me not long ago…they were in Kyoto. But Sanosuke, Kyoto is so far away…"
Sanosuke grinned at her. "Aw hell, Missy, how many times have you lent me money in the past?" he asked. "Wait…don't answer that," he said quickly. "A trip to Kyoto might not be as much as my tab. Don't you worry, Kaoru, I'll bring them both back."
Kaoru's eyes filled with tears of gratitude and she rushed over to hug him. Sanosuke patted her head awkwardly. "Oy, oy…none of that now," he teased. Kaoru smacked him hard on the shoulder and he laughed. "Yeah, that's more like it," he said with a wink. He stepped away from her and grinned. He had planned to stay and keep Kenshin company, but he had a feeling that the former wanderer would like to see his son one last time. Sanosuke was going to do what he could for them both. He waved to Kaoru and left the dojo. A quick stop at Katsu's to borrow some money and Sanosuke was off, once more heading towards Kyoto, a city he never expected to see again after the turmoil with Shishio.
It took about ten days for Sanosuke to reach Kyoto. He didn't have the heart to borrow enough money from Katsu to take a boat there and as such ended up walking on the Eastern Sea Road. He kept a steady pace, but during a bold move to take a short cut he got lost for a day and a half and had to backtrack. Deciding that he really couldn't afford to take any more risks, he stuck to the road the whole way. Kyoto was bustling as usual though there was no longer an oppressive shadow over it. It seemed so recent that he had come here to fight by Kenshin's side…but already five years had passed, not even the ghost of Shishio and his men remained here. It was a good thing, Japan seemed to finally be at peace.
Deciding that the city was much too large to go wandering around hoping to run into Yahiko and Kenji, Sanosuke went to the Aoiya, figuring that the Oniwabanshu's information network was still intact and hopefully Yahiko had stopped there to visit the Weasel girl before running off who knows where to teach a child how to use a sword. The inn was fully repaired, as expected and he saw Omasu sweeping the front. "Yo!" he greeted. She looked at him blankly and he realized that once again his look must have made him unrecognizable. He sighed, waving dismissively at her questioning gaze and entered the Aoiya like any other patron would. He needed to see Okina or Misao…preferably Okina because five years surely wasn't enough to make Misao less annoying.
He saw a door slightly open and he peeked inside. Sitting at the other end of the room meditating was Aoshi Shinomori. Sanosuke wasn't going to disturb him, but the swordsman felt his presence and looked over his shoulder at him. As expected, there was no emotion on his face, but his eyes…once so dead and cold, at least looked alive. Sanosuke grinned and raised a hand. "Hey," he said. Aoshi stood up and faced him completely. "Good afternoon," the former Okashira replied. He gestured for Sanosuke to enter the room and he strode in.
"Long time no see, Mr. Shinomori," he said.
"You may call me Aoshi," the other replied.
Sanosuke nodded and there was a moment of silence in which he felt awkward. He and Aoshi never really had a reason to dislike each other…unless you counted the long period of time in which Aoshi was Kenshin's enemy, that caused quite a rift, but despite that Sanosuke had always respected the man, even went so far as to try and offer him solace when his four comrades were killed. Aoshi never said anything to Sanosuke in the grand total of two times that the younger man spoke directly to him, but he had shown that he was at least listening…well, sort of…as much as Aoshi showed any sort of participation in the world around him.
"What are you doing in Kyoto?" Aoshi asked.
"Oh…" he said, snapping out of his thoughts. "Kenshin…" he trailed off, that feeling of gloom settling over him once more.
"Ah, yes, I've heard of his current situation, it grieves me to think of him in such a state," Aoshi said. He didn't sound like he was grieving, but then Sanosuke never really expected the man to suddenly become full of emotions. There was another moment of silence and Sanosuke sighed, scratching at his hair. "Er yeah…it sucks," he said bluntly. "And I'm here because I heard from the Missy that Yahiko and Kenshin's kid are in Kyoto. I wanted to have them return with me before…it happens."
"Yahiko and Kenji are…unavailable," Aoshi said.
Sanosuke frowned, eyes lowered into a glare. "Oy, don't give me that bull shit, I'm sure Yahiko probably told you to say that and you being the honorable sort of guy you are don't want to go against a promise you maybe made with him, but this is urgent!" he snapped, voice gradually raising in volume as he continued.
"RAHHHHH!"
Sanosuke felt a sudden pain in the back of his head, and caught completely off guard he was knocked forward. He would have face planted the floor if he hadn't been sent flying towards Aoshi, who caught him with the nonchalant grace of one who was expecting such a thing to happen. Sanosuke rubbed the back of his head and looked sharply over his shoulder as Aoshi helped right him. He saw the Weasel girl standing there. She had grown taller, her body more feminine as it developed into a woman's form rather than a mere girl's. Her long hair was in its customary braid and she was wearing odd clothes as usual, shorts and a tight tunic.
"What the hell was that for?" Sanosuke seethed.
"You raised your voice to Lord Aoshi!" Misao growled, pointing at him as if he committed an atrocious time. "And I didn't recognize you so I thought you were an enemy!" The harsh look she was sending his way changed to one of distaste. "You look…kinda awful."
"It never ends," Sanosuke muttered, annoyed. "I'd like to have just one conversation that didn't concern my looks, but if it's that big of a deal then fine, I'll get it cut dammit."
Misao brightened, as if she hadn't just kicked him in the head. "Ooo! I'll cut it!" she offered, withdrawing a kunai from her belt. Sanosuke frowned and shook his head. "I don't trust you to get close to me with something sharp."
The girl's visage changed to indignant anger and she threw the kunai at him. Sanosuke jumped out of the way, glaring at her. "What is your damage?" he shouted.
She crossed her arms in a huff. "You treating me like a brat, that's the problem," she snapped. Sanosuke raised a brow. "You are a brat," he replied levelly. Misao clenched her hands into fists. "I will end you!" she shrieked. She charged at him, but Aoshi caught her by the shoulder and she instantly stopped, her cheeks flushing pink. "Lord Aoshi…" she whispered. Sanosuke smirked and stuck his tongue at her and she glowered again.
"You are both acting like brats," Aoshi said in that same dead pan voice.
Sanosuke decided to ignore the insult. "Whatever, hey, like I said I really need to know where Yahiko and Kenji are," he said stubbornly. "I'm not leaving until you tell me."
Misao had a contemplative look on her face that quickly shifted to one more devious. She held up a finger. "Let me give you a haircut and I'll tell you," she said with a wink.
Sanosuke furrowed his brow. "What does my hair have to do with telling me information?" he asked, exasperated. "I already said I'm not letting you cut it…but if it's really the one thing stopping you from telling me," he paused to glance at Aoshi. "You're pretty precise with a blade, Aoshi, you can do it."
Aoshi blinked slowly and looked at him as if he just stated pigs could fly. Misao suddenly flushed brighter than ever, her hand at her mouth and a dreamy look to her face. "Oooo yes, Lord Aoshi you should do it," she said. "Maybe in the bath?" she tried to suggest in an innocent voice.
Aoshi looked slightly mortified and Sanosuke just stared at Misao, incredulous. "Pervert, get your mind out of the gutter," he said.
In the end, Okan was the one who cut Sanosuke's hair (much to Misao's disappointment and Aoshi's relief) and soon his locks defied gravity once more, making him look younger. Okan even shaved his face, making him clean cut…as clean cut as Sanosuke could look anyway. She left them soon after, leaving Sanosuke, Misao and Aoshi alone.
"Look, I know that Yahiko and Kenji want to be left alone," Misao said. "Or rather, Kenji does and Yahiko is humoring him…but I'm not going to let Kenshin be miserable. They're on the mountain."
"….Mountain?" Sanosuke asked, clueless.
Misao groaned. "Where Kenshin's master lives, you bonehead. Seijuro Hiko."
Sanosuke frowned. "Well excuse me; I wasn't exactly around for that now was I? I was stuck at the police station with Saito."
Misao suddenly looked interested, and impressed. "How many days were you with him anyway?" she asked. Sanosuke shrugged. "I dunno, must have been about a week," he said. Misao's eyes widened. "What?" Sanosuke asked suspiciously.
"How did you survive? That guy is a psycho!" Misao exclaimed.
Sanosuke sighed. "Argh, I don't know," he said sharply. "Luck I guess, if you need an answer. Now tell me how to get to the damn mountain!"
"But it's not possible to be with that guy for a week and not go crazy! Or be chopped up into bits! Did you know he has a wife? I bet she's the only woman who can stand him! At first I thought she must have been like Buddha or something…now I'm thinking she's probably just as bad as he is a perfect match you know?" Misao prattled on.
Sanosuke raised a brow. No, he didn't know Saito had a wife. Good thing he had kept his impulsive thoughts of those days to himself then. He shook his head. "Oy! You're getting yourself distracted!" he chastised.
"Here," Aoshi said, handing Sanosuke a map that neither of them had noticed he gotten up to get. Sanosuke unfolded the map and looked at it. Misao leaned in towards him. "Sagara…do you…even know how to read?" she asked.
Sanosuke smacked her upside the head. "Of course, idiot!" he snapped. She looked like she was ready to lunge for him, but Aoshi held her back. Sanosuke stood up. "Thanks Aoshi, I appreciate it," he said. He grinned. "I'm sure those two can spare some time off their training…if not, I'll knock 'em out and drag them back. Hey, you two should think about going to Tokyo soon as well."
"Hey, yeah!" Misao exclaimed, forgetting that she was mad at Sanosuke for hitting her.
"When you get Yahiko and Kenji from the mountain, return to the Aoiya; Misao and I will accompany you three back to Tokyo," Aoshi said.
By the time Sanosuke reached the hut Hiko called home the sun was sinking below the horizon. It was silent there and he hoped that they were indeed present. He knocked on the door of the hut and after a brief moment of nothing heard the deep voice of Kenshin's master allowing him admittance. Sanosuke opened the door and saw Hiko sitting, a newly crafted pot in hand that he was glazing. He surveyed Sanosuke briefly. "Oh, you," he said simply. "Are all of my stupid apprentice's friends coming?"
Sanosuke narrowed his eyes. "Your 'stupid apprentice' happens to be dying," he growled.
Hiko's expression didn't change, but Sanosuke thought he saw some sort of emotion flash in those dark eyes. "I know," he replied. "Did you come here to get me to go see him? I'm hardly the type who could…cheer him up."
Sanosuke blinked and raised his hands defensively. "No, no I didn't come here for you," he assured him. "I came to find Yahiko and Kenji, Kenshin wants to see them in the very least. Though I'm sure if you came he'd appreciate it."
"No, as I told him, he ceased to be my apprentice when he decided he wasn't going to pass on Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu," Hiko explained.
"You just referred to him as your stupid apprentice," Sanosuke pointed out.
"Old habits die hard."
"…Right, well can you point me in the direction of Yahiko and the kid?" Sanosuke asked.
"Take the winding path behind my house, it'll bring you to a waterfall, there you will find them," Hiko replied.
"Thanks," Sanosuke said, leaving the house and following Hiko's directions. Soon enough he heard the roar of water and the trees eventually thinned to reveal a large cliff in front of the falls. He saw two figures there. He recognized Yahiko in an instant. "Yo!" he called.
Yahiko turned to see who had come to interrupt him and Sanosuke noticed the changes in his friend. He was no longer a boy, but a man. His youthful appearance had been replaced by a far more mature look and in his hand he held Kenshin's sakabato. He looked at Sanosuke in surprise and then a smile broke out on his face. He rushed towards Sanosuke and Sano had a brief look of what appeared to be a miniature Kenshin before Yahiko pulled him into a rib creaking hug.
"Sano!" he exclaimed, his voice deeper, hardly even the voice Sanosuke remembered.
"Ha! Hey Yahiko, been a while," Sanosuke greeted, returning the embrace. They separated and took in each other's appearance, both of them grinning despite the troubling times. "You've grown up," Sanosuke commented.
"Yeah, you too," Yahiko replied with a smirk. "You still free loading?"
"Nah, gave that up," Sanosuke laughed.
"About time!" Yahiko teased. Kenji had, in the meanwhile, stepped closer to the pair, keeping behind Yahiko, clearly shy about the new comer. Yahiko glanced at the boy and smiled. "It's all right, Kenji, I know he looks like a brute, but Sano here is one of my best friends. He inspired the kanji on my collar you were asking about." At this Yahiko showed Sanosuke what he was referring to and Sanosuke saw the character Aku stitched into the cloth. He grinned. "I'm touched, Yahiko," he said, adopting a simpering tone.
Yahiko shoved at his shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, I bet," he snorted. "Sano, this is Kenji Himura, Kenji this is Sanosuke Sagara."
Sanosuke took in the Kenshin's son and smiled. "Hey, I'm a friend of your parents, it's nice to meet you runt," he said.
Kenji frowned. "I'm not a runt!" he exclaimed. "I'm going to be a great swordsman! Both Yahiko and Master Hiko are teaching me so there!"
Sanosuke grinned. "And a fine swordsman you'll be," he said. "Believe me, I won't mess with you, it'd be pretty bad if I got my ass handed to me by a kid."
Kenji beamed, clearly proud of the statement and he puffed out his chest to appear broader than his thin frame actually was. They passed the next few minutes catching up. Yahiko wanted to hear all about Sanosuke's adventures abroad and for the sake of time, Sano gave him an abridged version. Yahiko then told Sanosuke what he had been up to. He had become a skilled swordsman in Kamiya Kasshin Ryu and now Kenji would be learning both his mother and his father's style of combat. Mentioning Kenshin brought a more somber mood to the get together and Sanosuke decided now was as good a time as any to tell the two why he was really there.
"Listen, Yahiko, I won't pretend to know the reason why you and Kenji have decided to stay here in Kyoto…" he began and he noticed both of them tense. "But Kenshin is in pretty bad shape…Megumi said…" he trailed off, not really wanting to say this with Kenji standing right there. "Uh, well I think you both should come back to Tokyo with me in any case…just because…well…you know," he trailed off.
"No!"
This outburst came from Kenji and Sanosuke looked at the kid with surprise. Kenji was staring at him sternly, an intense glare for one so young. "I don't wanna leave! Why should I go back? Father never paid me any mind anyway, he was always off doing stuff for the government and mother…mother would always wait for him to come back. Yahiko was the only one who paid attention to me!"
Sanosuke narrowed his eyes. "Oy, squirt, your dad is an important man, it's thanks to him that you can grow up in peace. Surely you know of what he's done over the years. I'm not asking much, you know, just come and see him."
"He wouldn't do the same for me," Kenji muttered.
"Your father is dying," Sanosuke said bluntly. Kenji's eyes widened and Yahiko looked like he wanted to chastise Sano for saying it, but in the end kept his mouth shut. "He doesn't have that much longer, do you really want him to pass without seeing him one last time? Even if you do go just to tell him what you really think of him, at least he'll have a better understanding than what he has now."
"But I…" Kenji trailed off.
Yahiko rested a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Sanosuke is right," he said. Kenji looked at his friend with wide eyes. "And besides…I want to see your father too."
"Well…fine, but only because you want to go and I don't want to be stuck with Master Hiko alone," Kenji grunted, a pout forming on his features.
"Good," Sanosuke said. "Well come on, if we move now we can get to the Aoiya before night really settles over us." At Yahiko's quizzical look Sanosuke smiled. "Aoshi and Misao want to come back with us."
"Heh, who would have thought Aoshi would be persuaded to go?" Yahiko laughed.
"Actually, it was his idea," Sanosuke replied. "Now let's get a move on."
AN: Okay, so I know Misao probably wouldn't like the idea of Aoshi cutting Sanosuke's hair in the bath so that was a bit ooc on my part *sheepish grin* My apologies, but I wanted some humor to this chapter because the next chapter is…not going to be happy…like at all. I know I also mentioned that Saito's cruelty about the whole situation would be revealed in this chapter, but I just didn't get around to it *sweatdrops* I'm thinking I'll start the next chapter from his POV, give Sano a break for the first half. This story isn't going to be much longer, I never had any intentions of making it too long in the first place and originally this Kyoto chapter wasn't going to be included, just paraphrased really to get Yahiko, Aoshi and Misao into the story but eh, like I said, I wanted some humor and Misao is good for that.
Oh, I know it's also not too usual for Sanosuke to refer to anyone as "Mr." but in the manga, when Kenshin is fighting Aoshi, Sanosuke addresses him as Shinomori-san so I stuck to that.
