Chapter 4
For the next few days, Megumi worried about Sanosuke and whether he had made it to safety or not. After Sano had left, she had cleaned up the operating room, till it looked as clean as it was before. She made sure that all traces of blood had been wiped away and all equipment had been cleaned and wiped free of blood. She even had not recorded the operation down in the clinic logbook. She knew that for Sano's sake, she had to keep the operation a secret. She even took precautions to mop the floor and wash away the bloodstains on the floor. When Dr. Lin came in later in the morning, she acted as if nothing had happened, and went back to her apartment for a rest.
She also began to take a greater interest in the affairs that went on in the town, especially about the rebellions. She read in the town newspaper that there had been a confrontation between the soldiers and the rebel the night before, and that many of the rebels had been wounded. It was rumored that the leader, Wang Jin, had been shot and was seriously injured. Megumi half guessed that the person she had operated on that night was Wang Jin himself.
Right now, there were so many questions on her mind that needed answer. And all these answer could be gotten from just one person – Sano. She needed to know what was he doing, messing around with the rebel group; she needed to know where had he been all these years, and she needed to know where he was right now…
Megumi thought about all these questions and others, as she walked around the market, buying groceries for her meals. She stopped at the vegetable stall to select a few vegetables. She paid for her produce, and then she proceeded next to the meat stall. It was the weekend, and the market area was crowded. Megumi had to squeeze her way through many people just to get from stall to stall. Just as she saw an opening in the crowd to get to the meat stall, she felt someone pull her in the opposite direction and she turned her head to see Sano staring ahead at the crowd and pulling her along.
" Come on…" he whispered urgently, as she pulled her through the crowd and into an alley. Megumi didn't dare say a word as he led her through the corner streets, and finally into a corner teahouse, where he chose a table right at the corner, where they wouldn't' be seen by most people.
While She sat in her place and didn't move at all, Sano poured tea for both of them. It was only when the owner came along and Sano ordered some buns for them that Megumi finally spoke
" Your Chinese sounds very fluent. Have you been here all this while?"
" I came here six months ago, but I had been traveling around China all this while, so I picked up the language quite easily. You look like you've been coping well here too, language and everything…" Sano replied, as he helped himself to a bun which had been placed in front of them a few seconds earlier.
" I learnt the language from my father as a kid. Though I haven't used it for quite a long time, but it's coming back to me quite quickly."
" Figures… you know, I was real surprised…"
" SANO!" Megumi shouted. All the frustration that had been building up for the past few days now came pouring out at him in torrents. " HOW… HOW CAN YOU ACT SO CALM ABOUT EVERYTHING! AS IF WE JUST SAW EACH OTHER A FEW DAYS AGO!"
" Will you be quiet? There's a reason why I chose this back seat in the first place…" Sano whispered loudly.
Already, people in the teahouse were turning around to look at them and Sano glared at them before putting Megumi's basket on the table, erecting a makeshift barrier between them and the rest of the people in the teahouse.
" Look Megumi, I know that I owe you a lot of explanations, but I need your promise that you will be quiet and keep your outbursts to yourself." Sano said.
Quietly, Megumi nodded.
" Ever since I left Japan, I have been traveling around China. I came to Xinjiang about half a year ago. During my journey here, I got into trouble with some government officials, because they tried to get some extra money from me and I refused. It was the rebel group who came to my rescue when the officials were about to beat me up and charge me with corruption." Sano paused to take a sip of tea before continuing " It was then that I got to know Wang Jin. He's this great guy and he kind of reminded me of Captain Sagara… and for the first time, I felt that I could actually do something which I couldn't do when I was in Japan. Megumi… have you seen the state of the government here? It's full of corruption. The Emperor is a useless bum here, and all his officials are just accepting bribes. The people here are worse off than the people in Japan. I'm sure that you've seen the number of beggars there are on the street…"
" So that's what you've been doing all along? Helping the rebel group? Are you going to continue till you finally get what you want? What if you don't succeed?" Megumi pointed out.
" We will. I'm sure of it. We are not the only rebel group in the whole of China. There are several in the main cities and towns as well. Slowly, we will overthrow the every province till we free China from autocratic rule."
" Sano, this is dangerous work. Already, the last confrontation resulted in so many casualties on your side, and I'm sure that even your leader was wounded seriously. Besides, do you know how worried Kenshin and the others are for you back in Japan? All these years, you never bothered to keep much in contact with us. Have you ever spared a thought for us, for me?" Megumi put her hand to her heart as she said that " You said that night that I healed your hand… but look at what you're doing now… it may come to a point that I won't be able to heal your hand again. I may be a doctor, but there's a limit to what I can do."
" Megumi, I promise you that I will not do things that will get my hand into any worse condition. Besides, with my skills now, I can use my left hand to fight too…" Sano took her hand in his hand, and covered it with his right hand, which was still bandaged.
" How am I supposed to know that you'll keep your promise…" Megumi replied skeptically, " You hardly ever keep your promises and you're forever getting into fights, whether you want to or not. You might even get me into trouble, don't forget that I'm working for a government clinic now…"
" Three years and you still haven't changed…" Sano grinned and shook his head; " You're always the same, nagging at me, and looking out for yourself…"
" What about you!" Megumi argued back, " Still acting like you're some big hero, fighting here and there, just as long as you can get some punches in, you're happy. Look at you, don't you ever get serious about life and what you want to do!"
" I have!" Sano shouted, but immediately lowered his voice, " I have…I."
" Sure, like I believe you…" Megumi rolled her eyes. Then, she took a look at her watch, a recent purchase. " I have to go now, my shift is starting soon. Here…" she took out a small paper package out of her pocket and placed it on the table, " Tell the person whom I operated on that night to take this once a day after meals. It will help to speed up his healing process." With that, she stood up and took her basket. Just as she was about to move, Sano caught hold of her arm, stopping her. Megumi turned back to him with a questioning look.
" I…I've always thought of you, Megumi. I won't do anything that will get you into trouble, never."
Megumi looked at him for a while, and then finally she replied
" Just take care of yourself Sano, it is not my wish next to see you in a coffin."
For the next few days, Megumi worried about Sanosuke and whether he had made it to safety or not. After Sano had left, she had cleaned up the operating room, till it looked as clean as it was before. She made sure that all traces of blood had been wiped away and all equipment had been cleaned and wiped free of blood. She even had not recorded the operation down in the clinic logbook. She knew that for Sano's sake, she had to keep the operation a secret. She even took precautions to mop the floor and wash away the bloodstains on the floor. When Dr. Lin came in later in the morning, she acted as if nothing had happened, and went back to her apartment for a rest.
She also began to take a greater interest in the affairs that went on in the town, especially about the rebellions. She read in the town newspaper that there had been a confrontation between the soldiers and the rebel the night before, and that many of the rebels had been wounded. It was rumored that the leader, Wang Jin, had been shot and was seriously injured. Megumi half guessed that the person she had operated on that night was Wang Jin himself.
Right now, there were so many questions on her mind that needed answer. And all these answer could be gotten from just one person – Sano. She needed to know what was he doing, messing around with the rebel group; she needed to know where had he been all these years, and she needed to know where he was right now…
Megumi thought about all these questions and others, as she walked around the market, buying groceries for her meals. She stopped at the vegetable stall to select a few vegetables. She paid for her produce, and then she proceeded next to the meat stall. It was the weekend, and the market area was crowded. Megumi had to squeeze her way through many people just to get from stall to stall. Just as she saw an opening in the crowd to get to the meat stall, she felt someone pull her in the opposite direction and she turned her head to see Sano staring ahead at the crowd and pulling her along.
" Come on…" he whispered urgently, as she pulled her through the crowd and into an alley. Megumi didn't dare say a word as he led her through the corner streets, and finally into a corner teahouse, where he chose a table right at the corner, where they wouldn't' be seen by most people.
While She sat in her place and didn't move at all, Sano poured tea for both of them. It was only when the owner came along and Sano ordered some buns for them that Megumi finally spoke
" Your Chinese sounds very fluent. Have you been here all this while?"
" I came here six months ago, but I had been traveling around China all this while, so I picked up the language quite easily. You look like you've been coping well here too, language and everything…" Sano replied, as he helped himself to a bun which had been placed in front of them a few seconds earlier.
" I learnt the language from my father as a kid. Though I haven't used it for quite a long time, but it's coming back to me quite quickly."
" Figures… you know, I was real surprised…"
" SANO!" Megumi shouted. All the frustration that had been building up for the past few days now came pouring out at him in torrents. " HOW… HOW CAN YOU ACT SO CALM ABOUT EVERYTHING! AS IF WE JUST SAW EACH OTHER A FEW DAYS AGO!"
" Will you be quiet? There's a reason why I chose this back seat in the first place…" Sano whispered loudly.
Already, people in the teahouse were turning around to look at them and Sano glared at them before putting Megumi's basket on the table, erecting a makeshift barrier between them and the rest of the people in the teahouse.
" Look Megumi, I know that I owe you a lot of explanations, but I need your promise that you will be quiet and keep your outbursts to yourself." Sano said.
Quietly, Megumi nodded.
" Ever since I left Japan, I have been traveling around China. I came to Xinjiang about half a year ago. During my journey here, I got into trouble with some government officials, because they tried to get some extra money from me and I refused. It was the rebel group who came to my rescue when the officials were about to beat me up and charge me with corruption." Sano paused to take a sip of tea before continuing " It was then that I got to know Wang Jin. He's this great guy and he kind of reminded me of Captain Sagara… and for the first time, I felt that I could actually do something which I couldn't do when I was in Japan. Megumi… have you seen the state of the government here? It's full of corruption. The Emperor is a useless bum here, and all his officials are just accepting bribes. The people here are worse off than the people in Japan. I'm sure that you've seen the number of beggars there are on the street…"
" So that's what you've been doing all along? Helping the rebel group? Are you going to continue till you finally get what you want? What if you don't succeed?" Megumi pointed out.
" We will. I'm sure of it. We are not the only rebel group in the whole of China. There are several in the main cities and towns as well. Slowly, we will overthrow the every province till we free China from autocratic rule."
" Sano, this is dangerous work. Already, the last confrontation resulted in so many casualties on your side, and I'm sure that even your leader was wounded seriously. Besides, do you know how worried Kenshin and the others are for you back in Japan? All these years, you never bothered to keep much in contact with us. Have you ever spared a thought for us, for me?" Megumi put her hand to her heart as she said that " You said that night that I healed your hand… but look at what you're doing now… it may come to a point that I won't be able to heal your hand again. I may be a doctor, but there's a limit to what I can do."
" Megumi, I promise you that I will not do things that will get my hand into any worse condition. Besides, with my skills now, I can use my left hand to fight too…" Sano took her hand in his hand, and covered it with his right hand, which was still bandaged.
" How am I supposed to know that you'll keep your promise…" Megumi replied skeptically, " You hardly ever keep your promises and you're forever getting into fights, whether you want to or not. You might even get me into trouble, don't forget that I'm working for a government clinic now…"
" Three years and you still haven't changed…" Sano grinned and shook his head; " You're always the same, nagging at me, and looking out for yourself…"
" What about you!" Megumi argued back, " Still acting like you're some big hero, fighting here and there, just as long as you can get some punches in, you're happy. Look at you, don't you ever get serious about life and what you want to do!"
" I have!" Sano shouted, but immediately lowered his voice, " I have…I."
" Sure, like I believe you…" Megumi rolled her eyes. Then, she took a look at her watch, a recent purchase. " I have to go now, my shift is starting soon. Here…" she took out a small paper package out of her pocket and placed it on the table, " Tell the person whom I operated on that night to take this once a day after meals. It will help to speed up his healing process." With that, she stood up and took her basket. Just as she was about to move, Sano caught hold of her arm, stopping her. Megumi turned back to him with a questioning look.
" I…I've always thought of you, Megumi. I won't do anything that will get you into trouble, never."
Megumi looked at him for a while, and then finally she replied
" Just take care of yourself Sano, it is not my wish next to see you in a coffin."