Disclaimer- I don't own Rurouni Kenshin
A/n- I just reread "What Women Want" by Karina Kineshi
(EXCELLENT read, highly-recommended) and the part where it came to Sano dying
his jacket and gi red—OMG!!!
(Oh oh and on the November/December part they had Megumi in
a European dress just like in A Matter of Choice (VERY GOOD) by umm…ahhh!
Sanosuke Sagara couldn't believe what he was doing as he handed a white package to Samuru.
Samuru, the big, gruff man in his late thirties, took the
package, a greedy light shining in his eyes.
Sanosuke wriggled away from the fat man's grasp, and demanded, "This means that you'll keep your hands off the people at the dojo right?"
"Oh that thing." The man gave a booming laugh. "Yuh, Samuru keeps his promises, righ' boys?"
"Yes Lord Samuru."
~*~
Kaoru Kamiya wiped the sweat off her brow and looked at the
ceiling.
Yahiko Myoujin, panting, replied, "Not—::pant::until—you teach me—::gasp::the new technique!"
Kaoru shot daggers at him, "I told you, it's not until you get to be TWELVE!"
"But that's two years away!"
"Only two years!
As they rambled on, Kenshin Himura poked his head thru the
dojo, "Er…Kaoru-dono?
"WHAT?!?!"
Kenshin backed away, a nervous smile on his face, "Eh…I just wondered…if you want the hakamas hung out to dry now or if you want me to sweep the porch…"
"SWEEP THE PORCH!" "HANG OUT THE HAKAMAS!" and with that the dojo door slammed shut in Kenshin's face.
"Oro?"
~*~
"There," Megumi added one last stitch to the patient's
arm.
The mother gave Megumi a gratified smile and led the little girl (still sniffling) outside.
"Next is…" Megumi glanced at her clipboard.
~*~
Sanosuke glared at Samuru for the longest time.
Samuru rolled his eyes, "Sano, Sano.
"What are ya gonna do to her when I bring her back?"
"Why…" Samuru licked his lips greedily, "have some fun."
~*~
Megumi stopped halfway to the Akabeko.
~*~
"You say you've got an appointment with da doc before so you say you cant complete the mission?" Samuru studied Sanosuke carefully.
"Uh-huh." Sanosuke nodded, dread lumping in his throat.
"All the better then!
Sanosuke bit his lip.
~*~
Megumi made an instant backtrack back to the clinic.
Well…maybe because something about him just attracted
her.
So she slipped on the kerchief she usually tied on her head
during appointments, and she retied her smock, making sure every knot was
tight.
She took one last look-over the whole clinic.
~*~
Sanosuke cursed at himself angrily as he trudged to Megumi's
clinic.
As he approached the screened door, he hesitated, then
rapped on the screen like he always did, hollering, "Oi kitsune!
Megumi poked her head, a look of annoyance mixed with slight
pleasure as she opened the door and let him in.
Sanosuke tried to attain a casual aura, "Yuh I think so."
Megumi plopped him down on a stool and sat down on the chair
opposite of it.
Megumi noticed the change in Sanosuke as his face began to
flush red.
"Sa…no?" she whispered weakly before falling unconscious.
~*~
Sanosuke carried the KOed doctor to Samuru's lair, all the time cursing at himself and occasionally caressing Megumi's cheek with his free hand, whispering, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
She gave a soft groan and stirred ever so slightly.
But she was still conked out.
"Mmm…Sano…" she was mumbling.
Sanosuke stopped and stared at her, amazed.
"Sano…no baka…"
No, it must've been my imagination.
"Gah…Sano…Sanosuke…"
Huh?
"Why…can't…you…see…"
See what?
"How much I…blah…luh…"
Luh?
"Mmm…luh…" Megumi shifted in Sanosuke's arms and suddenly
bolted upright.
Sanosuke had jumped back at her sudden outburst but with
closer scrutiny he realized she was still asleep, and in fact, still
sleep-talking.
And here he was making it all worse.
~*~
Samuru and the rest of his "guys" immediately scurried over
as Sanosuke brought Megumi in, gingerly laying her on a blanket.
"And what will you do ta stop us?" a loud voice bellowed
from the back of the room.
Sanosuke glared at him, "Whatever it takes." He replied quietly.
"Oh yeah?
Sanosuke was getting mad now.
Derrian lifted both his arms and made a low bow, "The pleasure is all mine if you want to fight."
"Oh boy do I." Sanosuke cracked his knuckles.
~*~
Kenshin raced around the dojo, fumbling with a pot of hot meso
soup and exclaiming, "HOT HOT HOT!!!
Kaoru took the pot away from him and placed it on the porch, "Jeez Kenshin, the porch's right here if you need it."
Kenshin gave a low "Oro…" and Yahiko laughed.
"Seriously, Kenshin, you're hopeless around women." Yahiko shook his head, still laughing.
Kaoru and Kenshin both blushed a brilliant pink, each murmuring, "Yahiko no baka…" "Orooo, it was hot."
Yahiko noticed the degrees of both their faces and gave another snort, "Blushing now, aren't we the cute identical couple."
A vein popped in Kaoru's head, "That's IT!" she swung a finger at Yahiko, "Five hundred practice swings, start right now!"
Yahiko blinked.
"You heard me!"
A vein popped in Yahiko's head also, "Fine then, five
hundred!
Kaoru conked him over the head with her kendo stick.
~*~
Megumi gave a small groan and rolled over onto her
back.
There was a scent of something bad in here, but what she couldn't fathom, finally, the answer dawned on her when she saw a familiar red bandanna lying on the ground next to a motionless figure.
"Sanosuke!" she cried, hurrying to her feet and scrambling over to the still body.
Yep, it was Sanosuke alright, a badly mangled version of
him, at least.
"Oh my gawd, Sanosuke!" she immediately began racking thru
her brain for some information on how to treat wounds without proper medical
equipment.
~*~
Kenshin breathed in the afternoon air and walked more
briskly along the road, hoping to catch up with Kaoru and Yahiko at the Akabeko
before sundown.
~*~
Samuru laughed again and handed Derrian fifty hundred
yen.
Derrian grinned and flexed his muscles, "Hey, that Zanza aint no match for ole Derri here!"
"But still, he did put up a good fight.
Derrian's face darkened, "Ah yes.
"She's a pretty one." They all agreed.
~*~
Megumi sighed in relief and leaned back against the
wall.
She fingered the red bandanna she held in her hands right
now.
She gently set the bandanna down on the floor, then picked it up again, studied it, and then finally brought it up to her lips and whispered to it, "Aishiteru." Wrapping it around her head again.
~*~
Sanosuke moaned softly and he felt a stabbing pain right
below his ribs.
He instantly felt a warm hand on his forehead.
The hand gave a slight twitch, then it stroked his
cheek.
And with that he felt so contentedly assured he actually fell asleep for a while.
But then he woke up again and felt the hand now on his right
arm, bounding fabric to a wound.
"Megumi?"
"Mm?"
"Where am I?"
"I dunno, you brought me here."
A pain slashed thru his heart.
"So where exactly are we?"
"Umm…" Sanosuke began flipping thru his mind.
The hand was now on his bare chest.
Sanosuke winced.
Megumi laughed sarcastically, "Yes but you still don't know
how to control yourself.
Sanosuke felt a wave of embarrassment, "Yeah, well…"
Megumi smiled.
Sanosuke smiled back.
~*~
"Oi fox?" Sanosuke called softly as night settled in.
"Hm?"
"How long are we gonna stay here?"
"Until you get better or Ken-san comes."
"Oh."
"Why?"
Well, 'cuz you know, this is Samuru's place, and you know…" he shifted uncomfortably, "they might come home anytime."
Megumi's eyes widened.
"Yeah."
"Oh…so what do we do?"
"If they start comin' in, we hide."
"Where?"
"Anywhere."
"Oh, that's a fat lot of help."
"Anytime."
"But, seriously, where do we hide?"
"Well there's the blankets for one thing, and then ther—GET DOWN!" he hissed frantically, pushing Megumi down into the futon, hidden by the blankets.
"Mmph!" she struggled to get up, but ceased when Sanosuke said in a low voice, "The screen's opening."
~*~
The screen door slid open, and Sanosuke allowed himself a
tiny peek at the person standing outside.
"Ken-san?" Megumi peeked thru the blankets, saw Kenshin, and came out also.
Kenshin took one look at the twosome and said promptly, "Doctor Genzai, now, quick." But then he took on a puzzled expression, "Sano, why is Megumi wearing your bandanna?"
~* Two Days Later *~
Megumi read the newspaper out loud with a triumphant grin on
her face, "'Owing to the heroic efforts of an anonymous redhead, the police
department of Tokyo was able to successfully capture illegal drug dealer Samuru
Azuteru at approximately three PM yesterday afternoon.
Sanosuke grinned back at her.
"Yes, for once Saitou did something right." Megumi rolled up the newspaper and sat down next to Sanosuke, admiring the cherry blossom leaves blowing around them.
"Yeah." Sanosuke couldn't help putting his arm around
Megumi's shoulder as she leaned her head on his.
"Sanosuke Sakura eh?" Megumi cracked, holding a cherry
blossom petal up to his nose.
He kissed her lips.
A/n- WAFF all around for the finale!
Later dayz!
CyberSerpent .~
PS. I thought up the Sanosuke Sakura gag when I was chatting
with a friend.
PPS. All you Gundam Wing fans out there—don't forget Oct.
14-20 is Duo Maxwell Week!
PPPS. Or if you don't like Gundam Wing, October 21 is
Sanosuke Day!
