Chapter Three:

Cold Rain.

Written by Larissa Hyuga.

Disclaimer: I don't own any right over Rurouni Kenshin or any of its characters.

XxXxXx

Everything was almost ready for the graduation party that would take place in less than a month. It was Friday morning and Megumi let out a breath when she finished her breakfast. That day would be long but deep inside she really didn't mind that much. She loved what she did.

The weather was bad. The wind was blowing strong and it hurt the skin at touch. Before leaving her apartment, she grabbed a black case that had been placed on the couch.

As always, Megumi entered the lift and found one of her neighbors. He smiled kindly to her:

"Good Morning, Miss Megumi!"

Megumi smiled back at him.

"Good Morning, Kenshin!"

She kept the smile on her face while her eyes ran over the man. He was shorter than her but he had something that attracted her so much. Maybe it was his good temper, his good manners, the sincere smile and those violet eyes.

"Oh, if Kaoru dream about what I am thinking now…" her eyes rolled and she muffled a laugh.

Kenshin gave her kind of a suspicious look and widened his smile. Kaoru and Kenshin lived together but not in a love relationship or anything. He helped her at her dojo and she just let him stay. But Megumi was totally sure that she was in love with him. Everyone could tell that. And she pretty enjoyed disturbing her jealous friend by flirting with Kenshin.

Both of them left the lift and walked past the building entrance.

"Going to the market ?" the young woman asked him

"No. I am first going to the dojo. Then, I'll pick Yahiko up at school and we'll go to the market."

Yahiko was a ten-year-old orphan boy who both Kenshin and Kaoru came across one day and Kenshin decided to take him as his ward. Kaoru didn't like the idea at first but now she enjoyed having Yahiko at home and at the dojo. The two of them, Yahiko and Kaoru, are always fighting but they do love each other.

"There are ages since I last saw Yahiko!" she remarked.

"He's been busy now. Studying a lot, practicing at the dojo… Kaoru does not let him that free."

"I know." Megumi smiled.

They were walking on the same direction at the street. The dojo was just one block from their building.

"Are you going to the university?"

"No. Today I am working overnight at the hospital. I am going a bit earlier today so I can return a bit earlier tomorrow."

"So, have a nice day at work, Miss Megumi."

"You too, Kenshin." She replied.

The redheaded man walked into the dojo and Megumi crossed the streets to go to the subway station.

It was full as usual. Megumi walked and sat on the seat. When she raised her eyes, she saw the mysterious lean figure of a man sat not that far from her. And he was aloof, as always. She noticed he was carrying the same case hidden under his coat and that he was wearing dark clothes. His eyes were also closed.

She wondered how he could keep that calmness and coldness when people were so noisy around. Well, she was also quiet, but she didn't behave like a statue or anything.

Her mind started working when she realized his stop was approaching. She watched when he grabbed hold of his black case and opened his astonishing blue eyes. It stopped and the mysterious man hopped out of it. Before the doors would close, Megumi ran out of it and she could not believe when she saw herself standing outside.

She stood on tiptoes to look above people's head. Her dark eyes skimmed the crowd and located a black head with shining hair walking to the streets. Immediately, she ran after him and went up the station stairs.

The wind blew freezing. Megumi shivered when the air touched her cheeks and neck. Her hand adjusted the neck of her coat around her skin as she kept on following the strange man. He walked calmly but in large strides making his way on the sidewalk.

"This is craziness!" she thought. "Absolute craziness! What am I doing?"

She continued following him until he walked into a corner. She ran faster, people at the streets stopped to look at her. She hid herself behind a wall and watched as the handsome man entered a building. Before entering, he shot a glance at her direction. She had only her head out but she imagined she managed to hide it before he could turn and look at her. So, Megumi waited outside and breathed in.

"What the hell am I doing?"

It was absolutely ridiculous what she was doing: running after a man, spying like that. The woman told herself to go away but a part of her was willing to discover anything else about the charming stranger. So, some minutes after the young man had entered the building, she walked to there and only then she realized where she was about to go in. It was a theatre. The Municipal Theatre, the oldest and most elegant theatre in the country.

Megumi breathed in and took a step inside. She crossed the beautifully adorned doors and her feet touched the fine tapestry. Her dark eyes surveyed the surroundings. Everything was posh, fine and beautiful. The ceiling had many crystal chandeliers hanging and wonderful golden frames with paintings of angels and renaissance patterns. Sistine Chapel came immediately to her mind. Not that she had ever entered it or ever gone to Italy but she remembered it well from History books at high school.

Only then she looked around and realized she could not see him. She had absolutely no idea of where he had gone. There were three sets of stairs in the entrance hall. The main one, right in the middle, was made out of beige granite and covered with red tapestry. Megumi decided to take it. She went up slowly, still amused by the beauty of the theatre. She had only entered there once when she was barely a teen and she didn't remember it was so beautiful.

Many ways were before her eyes now. For what she remembered, they should lead to the chambers in the main stage. She entered a dark path and followed. Many white doors were closed and she was sure she was heading to the balconies. Hesitantly, her hand was placed on a knob and she twisted it. The white door cracked open revealing a luxurious balcony.

The young woman entered and observed the curtains were closed. They were made on heavy red velvet matching with the cushion of the elegant seats and chairs. Tempted, her trembling hand went for the curtains and placed it aside allowing her a tiny opening. She placed her eye and glanced past the opening. She was several feet above the main stage. Down there, many people were gathered. Most of them were sat on plain black chairs, some were standing. They were talking in low voice but the theatre was completely empty and their voices produced minor echoes. Megumi glanced the audience place and she saw there was nobody there. Once again, her eyes went to the main stage and she got amused to see those people were part of an orchestra.

The orchestra really got her attention for a period of time. They'd start playing soon and she decided to move forward for she had to find her stranger and she was not that fond of classical music. The very second her hand would let the curtain fall, her eyes focused on a figure. It was him. It was that man. Her heart immediately pumped and her grip on the red velvet tightened. Megumi came closer and closer and her hand delicately worked on the heavy fabric in order to place it a bit more aside so she could see.

The handsome man approached and many smiled at him. He didn't smile back, he merely nodded in accomplishment. The master looked very pleased he had arrived and the players got to their places. Megumi watched as the mysterious man went to a black chair near the conductor and sat down. His strong hands opened the black case he always carried and he took an instrument from inside. Megumi's eyes rounded. It was a violin. The wooden instrument shone beautifully on the light and the man placed it carefully under his chin. His other hand grabbed the bow and his right arm was placed rather near his face. All the others had their instruments and were ready to start playing. The conductor looked around and his hand moved quickly. Immediately, all those people started playing a fast, rhythmic and powerful music. Megumi's eyes couldn't help staring. They were totally focused on the mysterious man dressed in dark, playing his beautiful violin. She also noticed he was the youngest person among the others.

She just stood there, hidden in the curtains, watching the orchestra playing. And her heart felt light again, her ears captured the beautiful sound and her eyes focused on the mysterious man. Suddenly, the music ended and the conductor looked very happy with the orchestra performance. All of them rested for a second and then, they restarted playing. But that time it was a soft and sad melody.

By the way, since when did she decided not to be fond of classical music? The young woman was still watching. She felt something inside of her that time. That music… it made her remember of good times in her life. Strangely enough, she was sill absorbed in watching her subway stranger. And for her amusement, all the others violinists stopped playing but the handsome young man continued. He stood up and he played his solo beautifully, the strings were vibrating, his cool features would change slightly as the song was being played. It seemed like tension and Megumi felt like tension as the song became more dramatic, as his blue eyes changed its shade to a midnight blue one, as his colleagues watched him with amusement and pride.

Megumi felt she could not breathe anymore. That man was putting his soul into his music and she had never seen something so amusing. She was almost panting as his agile long fingers pressed the violin strings and his other hand worked on the bow, as he head bowed and his breath was becoming more intense. The sound was high-pitched and haunting, he was frowning a little. His deep blue eyes closed as he made the sound of his violin go lower and lower and lower until one could barely hear the high note. Megumi could listen her own heartbeats…

A cello gave a sign that the orchestra should start playing again. It was when the young man reopened his eyes and Megumi noticed they were normal again, the beautiful blue shade was coming back as the song lost its drama. Shortly after, it ended. The young man sighed and looked heavenwards. The conductor grinned and all his colleagues looked extremely excited. Many came to him, probably praising, some shook his hand and other patted him on the back. He didn't smile at any second. He just nodded and kept the aloofness she had already witnessed.

Only then, Megumi realized her mistake. She had gotten so carried away by the violinist she had placed herself beyond the curtains. Nobody saw her but a young man. His blue gaze lingered on her scared figure for a second before she could turn away and run.

Megumi passed the stairs running. She was blushing. He had seen her, he had realized she was there.

"What a shame! What a shame!" she thought to herself as she gazed the main entrance of the theatre.

It was relieving when she got to the cold streets. Megumi couldn't know what had just happened. She was not the kind to be intimidated by men, on the contrary, she usually intimidated them. But that man was different. He was so self-centered, so calm, so cold, so distant, so… alluring.

The young woman made her way through the crowd until the hospital. Fortunately, she hadn't lost track of time. She'd have probably done it if he hadn't looked at her that time. She entered the building and went straight to the lockers to have her clothes changed. Once she was dressed, she walked the hallways to the E.R.

"Good morning, Megumi!" a smiley beautiful woman came to her.

"Good morning, Yumi." She answered.

"Oh, today you're staying overnight, uh?"

"Yes." She answered with a smile.

The other woman patted her shoulder.

"It's good when you love what you're doing. You put your soul on it. So, we are both staying for today!"

Megumi's smile widened. It was true. She loved what she was doing. She wanted to put her soul on it… maybe nobody never realized it but she did… on the other hand, that violinist's soul was completely given to his music. Megumi smiled again before tending to a girl who had just arrived with a broken arm.

XxX

The rest of the morning was calm. Not many people came with serious things, only minor injuries, broken limbs. The most serious cases were people with heart attacks but none of them had a death issue. The afternoon was pretty calm too and the only thing that could disturb her was the cry of some children who had arrived with deep cuts for playing with knives.

It was late in the night when Yumi came to Megumi and told her to go to sleep a bit and that she would call her if something happened. Megumi agreed, she was in fact tired. So, she walked to the back of the E.R. and entered the small room destined to the doctors who were staying overnight. Her bed was ready and she lied down but she didn't close her eyes… there was a small glass window right above her head and now she could see it was raining. Curious, she opened the window and breathed in: cold air! Her fingers stretched outside and the drops fell on them. Everything seemed to be cold. Cold rain. Cold room, cold air. She closed the window and lied down again.

A siren echoed on her head but she could not tell from where it was coming from. She grabbed on the blankets when a light was turned on and she heard steps.

" Megumi… Megumi, dear." A female voice called her.

Megumi arose from her sleep and opened her eyes. Yumi was right before her face and instead of her smile, Megumi noticed worriment on her face.

" An accident happened. Come." She left the room immediately.

Still confused, Megumi stood up and dressed her coat, then, she went to the sink and washed herself before showing up. She hurried to the E.R. and she noticed the siren got louder and clearer. Many nurses were running too and she walked into the E.R.

" What's wrong, Yumi?"

The other woman turned to her while dealing with surgery instruments.

" A car accident. It seems one driver lost its breaks and crashed into the other car that was coming on the crossroads." She said while arranging things on a tray.

" Wow." Megumi followed the nurse to the outer side of the building where the ambulance had now parked.

The rescuers were coming out of the car and opening the rear doors so that they could take the injured from there. Megumi didn't get too close, she would see them into the hospital and the rescuers needed space to take the four people out of the two ambulances that had parked. She watched and they entered with the injured people.

Two of them were talking but other two were unconscious. There were three men and a woman. One of the men and the woman were not okay. A senior doctor came and asked Megumi to help him and some nurses to tend to the broken limbs of the two men who were better and later on they would be checked more precisely. The other man and the woman were taken to another part of the hospital.

A fairly tall brown-headed man was talkative and gesticulating a lot. By what she could get, he was the one that caused the accident. He was very worried about his wife, who had been taken to the other part of the hospital. The senior doctor looked his radiographies and said he only had a broken foot and some bruises on the body besides some small cuts on his face because of the shards of glass.

Megumi approached the other man. He was silent and his look was vague.

" Hey. Is everything all right?" she asked him to certify he could speak and that he was attentive to what was going on around him.

" Yes, doctor." The man answered.

Megumi saw his forehead was bleeding a lot. She immediately proceeded in cleaning and closing his wound.

" Do you feel pain anywhere else? Any other cut for now?"

" No." he shook his head. " But is he going to be okay? He was not wrong, the other guy was!"

" Don't talk of it now. The other man that went inside, is he your friend?"

" Yes. We work together. Do you know how is he now, doctor? The other car crashed on his side and he got most of the injury."

" I don't know, I haven't seen him. But you hit your head, you have to stay here anyway for some hours. Ok, I am done with you." Megumi said to him and finished putting the bandage on his forehead. Noticing he was not bad and could walk, she asked him to follow the other nurse so he could be examined more precisely.

The other driver had already been checked but his injuries were little too and he hadn't hit his head but he was worried about his wife. The woman was seriously hurt and she had to go on an urgent surgery for se had some internal hemorrhage.

" It was all my fault, all my fault." he cried repeatedly.

Megumi decided to check on the other man, the one that had been taken unconscious to the inner part of the hospital. Doctor Matsuhara was the one who was accompanying him. She approached the older man and asked.

" And this other one, Doctor?"

" He is still unconscious. He had some broken ribs but no lung piercing. He was admitted and went through a CAT scan and there was no harm to his brain although he did hit his head. But he lost lots of blood due to a cut on the abdomen."

Megumi heard everything with attention. Before the doctor went inside the room once again, he turned to her and handed her a wallet.

" It was taken from his pockets. He was the only one we didn't tell the family about yet. Please, take it to the reception and ask one of the girls there to call his family."

Megumi received the black leather walled and nodded to the doctor. She walked the white corridors and arrived at the reception. The counter was flooded with people and all the girls were on the phone. She decided to wait a bit and decided to open the wallet to find any useful information and make the job easier and faster. So, she entered the room behind the counter and sat on a chair near the phone. Her hands opened the wallet and she looked for an ID card or anything. Her eyes rounded in shock when she saw the picture on that ID card.

" I-it can't be!" she covered her mouth with her hands and looked at the ID card now on the table.

The man on the picture was young and handsome. His black bangs almost succeeded in veiling the amazing blue eyes he had. He was looking cold and aloof as always. Shaking, she read his name. Aoshi Shinomori. Date of birth: January 23rd, 1979.

Once again, she grabbed the wallet and surveyed it, longing to find any extra information, his address or telephone number. She finally found it then. There was a piece of paper filled with useful information. That man, he was cautious somehow. He had written his name, address, blood type and telephone number on a piece of paper, probably in case of wallet loss or something serious happened. The doctor breathed in and grabbed the phone. Her fingers slowly dialed the number that was written on the paper and waited. She waited and waited for someone to answer but it never happened although she dialed the number several times.

Knowing it was all in vain because there was nobody home, Megumi gave up calling and returned to the counter. One of the girls was free now and Megumi handed her the wallet so that she could try calling later, fill in the necessary forms and keep his wallet with his other belongings.

She was too shocked. That man, the alluring one was so close, so close to her now. Megumi walked back to the E.R. and things were calmer now. She asked Yumi for the other man, the one who was in the car with Aoshi, the one she had tended to. Yumi said he was now resting in a room near the corner. Megumi made her way to the room and found the patient sleeping. With that, she decided to leave him be and return to the E.R.

Although she was there at the E.R., her mind was elsewhere. She didn't know why she was thinking so much about that stranger and she also didn't know why she was so worried. Of course, she usually worried about her patients but that time it seemed to be different.

She couldn't sleep after all. When the E.R. was peaceful and one of the nurses told her to rest, Megumi wandered through the corridors and found herself standing on the outside of the violinist's room. Nobody would mind if she entered there and checked on him. The absolute silence was interrupted by the machines from time to time. He had just been out of a surgery for the cut he had on his abdomen. She also noticed he had his hand broken and it made her feel sad for him. He would be sad when he woke up and found out of that: it would not be possible for him to play his violin for a while… Megumi sat on the chair near his bed and she spent the rest of the night there, watching his slumber. It was raining outside and she could see it through the glass window.

When morning came, she knew it was time to go home since her period there was over. Very early in the morning, Yumi and Dr. Matsuhara had come to check on him. They looked surprised to see Megumi there but she told them she was just passing by and decided to enter to check on him too before calling the Doctor.

One hour after that, a red car was stopped in front of the hospital. A tall brown-haired young man was leaning against it with arms crossed over his chest and an attentive look to the hospital. His eyes shone when a young black-haired woman left through the door.

"Megumi!" he waved to her.

Megumi put the sunglasses down on the bridge of her nose to look at the man. Mysteriously, the day was quite bright and the light caused her headache. She adjusted her coat around her neck and walked to the man's direction.

"Sano…"

" I imagined you would e tired so I decided to pick you up."

She smiled at him while he opened the door for her to enter.

" Thank you."

Once they were into the car, he started talking.

" And then, much work? You seem out to be really tired."

"Well, I just didn't rest much, there were patients for me to take care tonight."

"Going home now or you would like to pass at any other place before returning to your apartment?"

Megumi waited for some seconds before answering; her fingers lingered and played a bit with loose strands of hair coming to her chest.

"Hum…" she searched for a paper into her purse. When she found it, she handed it to Sanosuke. " If it is not a problem, can you take me to this place, please?"

He got the square piece of paper and read the address. " Sure."

When he was driving, he decided to talk again.

" What is that address about?"

Megumi didn't answer immediately. " Well, it is a patient's address. We could not communicate to his family, so I thought it would be good if I would go to his address…"

"Ok…"

After a long pause, Sanosuke's voice was once more heard.

" And who is this patient? " he asked eying her with the corner of his eyes.

She smirked. " Jealous?"

"Oh, come on, why would I be jealous of one of your patients?"

" I am kidding…"

Sanosuke parked the car in front of a building. " It is here. Do you want me to go with you?"

Megumi unfastened the seatbelt and opened the car door. " No, thanks, I can do it by myself."

She entered the building and for her surprise, there was nobody at the entrance. She went on the lift to the thirteenth floor and located 1301 apartment. Megumi delicately rang the bell and waited. Nobody showed up in seconds. She decided to ring again. Nothing at all. Just like the phone calls, this was in vain.

When she was about to enter the lift, Megumi saw the neighbor apartment door being opened. A tall, thin, black-haired man appeared and looked at her.

" Were you ringing Shinomori's bell?" he eyes her while handling with a cigarette.

"Uh… yes…"

The man eyed her with his amber eyes and she felt somehow ashamed.

"He must be rehearsing now. You can come back at noon, he will surely be here."

"Oh," she smiled timidly. " He won't come back at noon."

The man narrowed his eyes even more.

" I am Takani Megumi, Medicine student. Aoshi Shinomori is at the hospital due to a car crash. I've been trying to contact the family but I couldn't."

The man finally lit his cigarette. " He has no family here, he lives alone… but if you would give me the hospital name and address…"

" Oh, sure…" Megumi opened her purse, got a card from the inside and handed the man.

"Hajime Saitou. I used to be Shinomori's roommate." He shook her hand.

"Thank you, Mr. Saitou." Megumi made her way to the lift and left the building.

"And then?" Sanosuke asked when she entered the car.

" He lives alone but I found his ex-roommate who is actually his neighbor now. Well, at least I found someone related to him…"

"Yeah…Home?"

She nodded.

Sanosuke's car moved fast on the streets. Shortly after that, he parked the car in the garage and the two of them went inside. He looked at Megumi and thought she was worried and she looked tired. She smiled to him when she realized his eyes on her.

" Come in." she told him to enter as she opened the door.

Sanosuke could not be considered a visit and she had no shame of letting him alone on the living room while she was roaming around the apartment to do other things. He sat on the sofa and turned on the TV.

Megumi glanced at his back and smiled. Yet, her thoughts were on the other man she had left at the hospital.

When she finished her shower Sanosuke had already bought lunch and he had also set the table. Megumi raised both brown in amusement and placed her hands on her hips.

"Efficient you are!"

He grinned. " Well, your are undoubtedly hungry and tired after this shift…" he moved beside her and pulled her a chair. " I will make a good husband one day!"

She giggled and let her body fall on the seat. " Surely… when you find a crazy one willing to marry you… yes!"

He also sat and rested his chin on his hands. " Well, a bit more of effort and you'll end up crazy. From there to marry me it takes just a step…" he smirked.

"Rooster head…" she shook her head and both of them proceeded with the meal.

xXx

Shortly after lunch Sanosuke went away. Megumi was too tired and sleepy. She knew she needed to rest if she was really planning on doing that thing she had on her mind.

And it was not difficult for her to fall into a deep sleep.

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This chapter took me forever to be written!

The matter is that I got the whole story in my mind and I am having trouble writing it and I don't know why!

/crazy me!

So now you already know things about Aoshi!

Many thanks to the dear people who are reviewing and giving me strength to go on.