Chapter 1~Sunday and Monday
"Sanosuke, did you hear a WORD I just said?"
He was startled out of his thoughts, and stared at her for a moment,
dumbly. "Huh?"
"Very intelligent Rooster..." She frowned deeply. "I'm putting you on
house arrest for the next week. Maybe then you'll give this hand a
chance to heal."
"H-HOUSE ARREST?!"
She nodded, grimly. "I didn't want it to come to this, but since you refuse
to head my warnings, you leave me no choice."
Sano stared at her for a moment. House arrest? He wondered. What
the hell is this? "Where would I be staying? Here?" He snorted. "If I
stay at my place or Kamiya dojo, I can just sneak out any ole time."
She nodded. "I took that into consideration. Since I think jailing you
wouldn't do much good for what little sense you have left, you will be
staying with me for the next week."
"How do you know I wont just sneak out of your place?"
"Because, I'm a very light sleeper." When I actually sleep. She shook
her head a bit. "Doctors order."
Sano pondered his situation for a moment. A week with the fox so she
could keep an eye on him didn't sound altogether too bad. He could be
around her all the time, and try to win her over. He grinned a bit,
something reminiscent of his old Zanza grin. "Sure, onna, whatever you
say."
She saw the grin. "Wipe that grin off your face, Sano. You're not going
to do ANYTHING with that hand for a week. And that includes bapping off."
He stared at her incredulously. "Bapping off...?" He burst into loud
laughter, unable to believe that she'd just said that. Her look however
shut him up. Plus the fact that there was one of those scalpel things
nearby. He smothered his laughter, his eyes drawn to those eyes again.
Hurt.
His eyes widened and he shook it off. "Ne, onna...don't talk like that.
You'll make other's wonder about us." He held his breath, hoping to see
the flash of anger in her somehow dead eyes.
She snorted, pulling her eyes away from his. "Don't be stupid, rooster
head." She said coldly, standing upright. "Now go rest that hand before
I decide to break it myself."
He nodded, walking past her, just close enough that he could smell her
scent, an irrisistable, exotic, ecciting fragrance that never failed to send
his pulse through the roof. He paused for a brief moment, wishing the
hand closest to hers was not the one that was always wrapped. "Fox..."
He started softly.
A new patient entered the room, causing him to snap his mouth shut.
"Later..." He said, walking into the back room and sitting against the
wall, and cursing himself for lost opportunity.
* * *
Megumi closed the clinic for the day and went into her small rear room,
where she always stayed in case there was a late night emergency, and
she was needed. To her surprise, Sano lay slumped against the wall,
fast asleep. Her heart skipped a beat as she remembered her order.
What the hell was I thinking? She wondered, moving towards her small
closet and pulling a short yukata from it. She stepped behind the
sepparation screen, and slipped out of her doctor's smock and kimono,
slipping on the yukata.
She was tired.
She was so tired, in fact, that rather than picking up the smock so it
would be wrinkle free in the morning, she left it and the kimono on the
ground, moving towards her futon and laying down. She stared at the
ceiling a long time pondering the day.
Damn his carelessness. She sighed, turning onto her side, glaring at his
sleeping form. The broken hand lay on the floor while the other one was
on his lap, curled into a fist. She could see the tenseness on his face
and how lightly he seemed to sleep. He didn't even snore.
She always thought he'd snore.
Her eyes softened as she stared at him. She knew that he was coarse,
and unrefined, and totally uncouth, but some how that appealed to her.
She worried about him constantely, although she made smart assed
remarks about him, and always called him horrible names.
She didn't want to care about him.
She traced his sleeping, but hardly peaceful face and sighed softly. But
the problem was, she did. She had promised never to care for anyone
after what Kanryuu had done to her. No one would want her now.
Especially not Sano. If he ever did in the first place.
He was so delightful sometimes. He'd always match her insult for insult,
yet she could tell there was no fire behind them. He insulted her for
sport. There was always that wonderful mirth in his eyes, that sexy grin
on his face. Plus...
He'd saved her.
Despite her having made the opium that killed his friend, he'd stopped
her from killing herself. He'd come for her when she'd gone back to
Kanryuu.
Tightly, she closed her eyes, finding sleep difficult. She stood and
walked out of the room, to brew some tea. To her complete surprise,
she found one of Ayame and Suzume's stuffed toys laying around, and
she picked it up carefully. It was a stuffed bear, worn and soft, beaded
eyes shining up at her. She smiled slightly, and poured herself some
tea. Sitting in a chair and sipping her tea, she stared at the bear.
She continued to hold it, staring at it, long after the tea was gone. A
smile crossed her lips as she realized Sano would tease her in the
morning if he saw her cuddled up with a stuffed animal, but she honestly
didn't care. She walked back into her room and lay down, letting her
eyes drift closed as the mild sedative she'd slipped into her tea went into
affect.
* * *
Sano woke with a start but didn't move, hearing Megumi reenter the
room. He kept his eyes closed, not looking at her. He heard her lay on
the futon and slowly, her breaths slowed into soft sleep breaths. Slowly,
he lifted his eyes and stared at her.
Simply beautiful.
He smiled a bit, noting she'd crawled into bed with one of Ayame and
Suzume's stuffed toys and shook his head. He stood slowly, looking
around the room. He caught sight of her kimono's and smock carelessly
laying on the floor and frowned. He decided she must have been tired
and cursed himself for not being more of a help today.
Silently, he walked over and picked up the smock, folding it up carefully
and setting on a nearby dresser, then picked up her kimono, draping it
over the sepperation. Unable to resist, he held the kimono's soft silken
fabric to his nose for a moment then inhaled deeply.
Incredible.
He held it there for a moment, then kissed it, letting it slip between his
fingers. With soft steps so he wouldn't wake the doctor, he crept out of
the room to go grab a few of the doctors riceballs, grinning
mischeviously. When he entered the kitchen, he saw a cup of tea on the
table, with a teapot, as well as a mysterious brown bottle. He frowned,
noting the cap was off an picked it up, wafting some of the strong
smelling liquid towards his nose.
His heart froze.
It was laudnum.
His appetite forgotten, he collapsed back into a chair, staring at the
bottle, shocked. He couldn't believe the down to earth doctor was using
laudnum. So many women these days were getting addicted to the
drug, and he was terrified that Megumi may become one of these
women.
He didn't know how long he sat there staring at it. He didn't notice when
the sun rose, or hear the first soft bird calls.
He felt numb.
* * *
Megumi woke to find Sano was no longer leaning against the wall
asleep. For a moment, she wondered if he'd forgone doctors orders and
run out to go gambling and cursed, jumping out of bed, and wrapping a
long robe around her. She noticed her kimono had been hung and her
smock folded and frowned.
"Did Sano...?" She wondered aloud. She shrugged it off and hurried
into the main room, looking around. Her eyes caught sight of a faint
flickering candle from the kitchen and walked towards it.
To her complete surprise, Sano was sitting there, a familiar brown bottle
in his hand, a dumbstruck look on his face. "Sano...?" She asked softly,
walking towards him. His eyes were utterly confused as he looked towards
her.
"Laudnum...?" He asked, the confusion in his voice making her heart
break.
She walked towards him and took the bottle from him, screwing the cap
back on. "Don't worry about it, Rooster head. It's none of your
business." She stuck the bottle into a cabinet, not looking at him as she
walked out of the kitchen.
He followed her, grabbing her arm. "Megumi." He said seriously, his
eyes holding a deep concern. "Why are you using laudnum."
It wasn't a question. She flinched, tearing her arm from his grasp. "I
said it's none of your business, Sagara!" She fled to her room, and
behind the sepperation, getting a fresh kimono and donning it, then
putting on her doctors smock to go out into the treatment room. When
she arrived, she saw Sano sitting against a wall, chewing on a fishbone
and not looking at her.
She began to grind medicine's, a sixth sense telling her that she
wouldn't be getting many patients today. She glanced towards Sano
and saw him staring at her with deep concern in his eyes. "Don't look at
me like that..." She said, her guard immediately going up.
"Like what?"
"With concern. I don't need it." She looked back to her medicines, her
eyes angry.
He frowned a bit. "Maybe I want ta worry." He said, standing and
walking towards her. "Fox, I don't want ta see you get hurt." He said,
gently brushing some hair from her face.
She slapped his hand away, and cursed when she noticed it was the
broken one. "Dammit...sit down..." She gestured to the other seat.
He obediently took the seat and let her unwrap the hand and gently
examine it. He tried to ignore the gently sweeping fingers across the
back of his hand and fingers. "I'm alright, fox, I haven't used it since I
was put on 'house arrest'." He grinned a bit, in that irritating manner that
always sent her heart racing.
"Maybe, but I'm still going to be giving this hand daily checkups. I want
to make SURE it's healing." When she turned over his hand, the true
reason she'd done this made itself known. There was a narrow scar on
the palm of Sano's hand.
She knew he was trying to do the same thing about the laudnum.
He saw her gaze on the scar and saw the sadness in her eyes and
silently closed his fingers around hers. "Fox..." He said gently,
his other hand going to brush a strand of hair from her face.
She slowly lifted her gaze to his and saw something almost steamy in his
gaze, a fierce protectiveness, a deep concern, a strong longing. She
found herself captivated, and unconsiously, she leaned towards him,
wondering if she was still under the effects of the drug she'd put in her
tea.
He laid a hand on her shoulder, holding her steady. His hand was
screaming at him, but he didn't care. Her hand was tucked into his, her
fingers holding his. He leaned towards her slowly, licking his lips.
The door opened and Dr. Genzai walked in, his face cheerful. "Ohayo,
Megumi-san!"
The pair jerked apart and suddenly, Sano was sitting on the other side of
the room, his hand somehow bandaged again, leaning against the wall
and chewing on a fishbone.
Megumi had gone back to grinding medicine as if nothing had
happened. She looked up and smiled. "Genzai-sensei, Ohayo
gozaimasu."
Sano grunted in reply.
Genzai shook his head in disapproval. "Sano, have you been using that
hand again?!"
Sano blinked, staring at the aged doctor. "Yeah." He grinned. "I even
got put on house arrest by the fox over there." He gestured with his
head, trying to put the cinnamon eyes clouded by desire from his mind.
Just the drug...he told himself. "I'm gonna be in the back room..." He
shot a glance at Megumi before he left and saw the usual cool,
dispassionate look on her face. Inwardly, he sighed and disappeared
into the back room.
-End Chapter One-
Now's the fun part at the end of the chapter where we do horrible things to Doctor Genzai!!! YAY!!! Hope you enjoyed Sano's first day under house arrest, but I feel I must explaing some of my plots and possible sub-plots now. As you can see I have made Megumi get SO damn irritable about him misusing his hand, she puts him under her own care for the next week. Why? Think like this: Long, extended period of time where they are almost ALWAYS in each other's company. Megumi lovers of the planet, don't kill me for making her a laudnum addict. Considering her past, and the possibilities of what had happened in it, I think her being a drug addict is not only possible, but PROBABLE. I love Megumi (As a character for all you ecchi males out there.), but my friend and I both agree this very well COULD happen. If you've actually read this far, thank you for listening to my lame excuses and stupid ramblings. ^_^
"Sanosuke, did you hear a WORD I just said?"
He was startled out of his thoughts, and stared at her for a moment,
dumbly. "Huh?"
"Very intelligent Rooster..." She frowned deeply. "I'm putting you on
house arrest for the next week. Maybe then you'll give this hand a
chance to heal."
"H-HOUSE ARREST?!"
She nodded, grimly. "I didn't want it to come to this, but since you refuse
to head my warnings, you leave me no choice."
Sano stared at her for a moment. House arrest? He wondered. What
the hell is this? "Where would I be staying? Here?" He snorted. "If I
stay at my place or Kamiya dojo, I can just sneak out any ole time."
She nodded. "I took that into consideration. Since I think jailing you
wouldn't do much good for what little sense you have left, you will be
staying with me for the next week."
"How do you know I wont just sneak out of your place?"
"Because, I'm a very light sleeper." When I actually sleep. She shook
her head a bit. "Doctors order."
Sano pondered his situation for a moment. A week with the fox so she
could keep an eye on him didn't sound altogether too bad. He could be
around her all the time, and try to win her over. He grinned a bit,
something reminiscent of his old Zanza grin. "Sure, onna, whatever you
say."
She saw the grin. "Wipe that grin off your face, Sano. You're not going
to do ANYTHING with that hand for a week. And that includes bapping off."
He stared at her incredulously. "Bapping off...?" He burst into loud
laughter, unable to believe that she'd just said that. Her look however
shut him up. Plus the fact that there was one of those scalpel things
nearby. He smothered his laughter, his eyes drawn to those eyes again.
Hurt.
His eyes widened and he shook it off. "Ne, onna...don't talk like that.
You'll make other's wonder about us." He held his breath, hoping to see
the flash of anger in her somehow dead eyes.
She snorted, pulling her eyes away from his. "Don't be stupid, rooster
head." She said coldly, standing upright. "Now go rest that hand before
I decide to break it myself."
He nodded, walking past her, just close enough that he could smell her
scent, an irrisistable, exotic, ecciting fragrance that never failed to send
his pulse through the roof. He paused for a brief moment, wishing the
hand closest to hers was not the one that was always wrapped. "Fox..."
He started softly.
A new patient entered the room, causing him to snap his mouth shut.
"Later..." He said, walking into the back room and sitting against the
wall, and cursing himself for lost opportunity.
* * *
Megumi closed the clinic for the day and went into her small rear room,
where she always stayed in case there was a late night emergency, and
she was needed. To her surprise, Sano lay slumped against the wall,
fast asleep. Her heart skipped a beat as she remembered her order.
What the hell was I thinking? She wondered, moving towards her small
closet and pulling a short yukata from it. She stepped behind the
sepparation screen, and slipped out of her doctor's smock and kimono,
slipping on the yukata.
She was tired.
She was so tired, in fact, that rather than picking up the smock so it
would be wrinkle free in the morning, she left it and the kimono on the
ground, moving towards her futon and laying down. She stared at the
ceiling a long time pondering the day.
Damn his carelessness. She sighed, turning onto her side, glaring at his
sleeping form. The broken hand lay on the floor while the other one was
on his lap, curled into a fist. She could see the tenseness on his face
and how lightly he seemed to sleep. He didn't even snore.
She always thought he'd snore.
Her eyes softened as she stared at him. She knew that he was coarse,
and unrefined, and totally uncouth, but some how that appealed to her.
She worried about him constantely, although she made smart assed
remarks about him, and always called him horrible names.
She didn't want to care about him.
She traced his sleeping, but hardly peaceful face and sighed softly. But
the problem was, she did. She had promised never to care for anyone
after what Kanryuu had done to her. No one would want her now.
Especially not Sano. If he ever did in the first place.
He was so delightful sometimes. He'd always match her insult for insult,
yet she could tell there was no fire behind them. He insulted her for
sport. There was always that wonderful mirth in his eyes, that sexy grin
on his face. Plus...
He'd saved her.
Despite her having made the opium that killed his friend, he'd stopped
her from killing herself. He'd come for her when she'd gone back to
Kanryuu.
Tightly, she closed her eyes, finding sleep difficult. She stood and
walked out of the room, to brew some tea. To her complete surprise,
she found one of Ayame and Suzume's stuffed toys laying around, and
she picked it up carefully. It was a stuffed bear, worn and soft, beaded
eyes shining up at her. She smiled slightly, and poured herself some
tea. Sitting in a chair and sipping her tea, she stared at the bear.
She continued to hold it, staring at it, long after the tea was gone. A
smile crossed her lips as she realized Sano would tease her in the
morning if he saw her cuddled up with a stuffed animal, but she honestly
didn't care. She walked back into her room and lay down, letting her
eyes drift closed as the mild sedative she'd slipped into her tea went into
affect.
* * *
Sano woke with a start but didn't move, hearing Megumi reenter the
room. He kept his eyes closed, not looking at her. He heard her lay on
the futon and slowly, her breaths slowed into soft sleep breaths. Slowly,
he lifted his eyes and stared at her.
Simply beautiful.
He smiled a bit, noting she'd crawled into bed with one of Ayame and
Suzume's stuffed toys and shook his head. He stood slowly, looking
around the room. He caught sight of her kimono's and smock carelessly
laying on the floor and frowned. He decided she must have been tired
and cursed himself for not being more of a help today.
Silently, he walked over and picked up the smock, folding it up carefully
and setting on a nearby dresser, then picked up her kimono, draping it
over the sepperation. Unable to resist, he held the kimono's soft silken
fabric to his nose for a moment then inhaled deeply.
Incredible.
He held it there for a moment, then kissed it, letting it slip between his
fingers. With soft steps so he wouldn't wake the doctor, he crept out of
the room to go grab a few of the doctors riceballs, grinning
mischeviously. When he entered the kitchen, he saw a cup of tea on the
table, with a teapot, as well as a mysterious brown bottle. He frowned,
noting the cap was off an picked it up, wafting some of the strong
smelling liquid towards his nose.
His heart froze.
It was laudnum.
His appetite forgotten, he collapsed back into a chair, staring at the
bottle, shocked. He couldn't believe the down to earth doctor was using
laudnum. So many women these days were getting addicted to the
drug, and he was terrified that Megumi may become one of these
women.
He didn't know how long he sat there staring at it. He didn't notice when
the sun rose, or hear the first soft bird calls.
He felt numb.
* * *
Megumi woke to find Sano was no longer leaning against the wall
asleep. For a moment, she wondered if he'd forgone doctors orders and
run out to go gambling and cursed, jumping out of bed, and wrapping a
long robe around her. She noticed her kimono had been hung and her
smock folded and frowned.
"Did Sano...?" She wondered aloud. She shrugged it off and hurried
into the main room, looking around. Her eyes caught sight of a faint
flickering candle from the kitchen and walked towards it.
To her complete surprise, Sano was sitting there, a familiar brown bottle
in his hand, a dumbstruck look on his face. "Sano...?" She asked softly,
walking towards him. His eyes were utterly confused as he looked towards
her.
"Laudnum...?" He asked, the confusion in his voice making her heart
break.
She walked towards him and took the bottle from him, screwing the cap
back on. "Don't worry about it, Rooster head. It's none of your
business." She stuck the bottle into a cabinet, not looking at him as she
walked out of the kitchen.
He followed her, grabbing her arm. "Megumi." He said seriously, his
eyes holding a deep concern. "Why are you using laudnum."
It wasn't a question. She flinched, tearing her arm from his grasp. "I
said it's none of your business, Sagara!" She fled to her room, and
behind the sepperation, getting a fresh kimono and donning it, then
putting on her doctors smock to go out into the treatment room. When
she arrived, she saw Sano sitting against a wall, chewing on a fishbone
and not looking at her.
She began to grind medicine's, a sixth sense telling her that she
wouldn't be getting many patients today. She glanced towards Sano
and saw him staring at her with deep concern in his eyes. "Don't look at
me like that..." She said, her guard immediately going up.
"Like what?"
"With concern. I don't need it." She looked back to her medicines, her
eyes angry.
He frowned a bit. "Maybe I want ta worry." He said, standing and
walking towards her. "Fox, I don't want ta see you get hurt." He said,
gently brushing some hair from her face.
She slapped his hand away, and cursed when she noticed it was the
broken one. "Dammit...sit down..." She gestured to the other seat.
He obediently took the seat and let her unwrap the hand and gently
examine it. He tried to ignore the gently sweeping fingers across the
back of his hand and fingers. "I'm alright, fox, I haven't used it since I
was put on 'house arrest'." He grinned a bit, in that irritating manner that
always sent her heart racing.
"Maybe, but I'm still going to be giving this hand daily checkups. I want
to make SURE it's healing." When she turned over his hand, the true
reason she'd done this made itself known. There was a narrow scar on
the palm of Sano's hand.
She knew he was trying to do the same thing about the laudnum.
He saw her gaze on the scar and saw the sadness in her eyes and
silently closed his fingers around hers. "Fox..." He said gently,
his other hand going to brush a strand of hair from her face.
She slowly lifted her gaze to his and saw something almost steamy in his
gaze, a fierce protectiveness, a deep concern, a strong longing. She
found herself captivated, and unconsiously, she leaned towards him,
wondering if she was still under the effects of the drug she'd put in her
tea.
He laid a hand on her shoulder, holding her steady. His hand was
screaming at him, but he didn't care. Her hand was tucked into his, her
fingers holding his. He leaned towards her slowly, licking his lips.
The door opened and Dr. Genzai walked in, his face cheerful. "Ohayo,
Megumi-san!"
The pair jerked apart and suddenly, Sano was sitting on the other side of
the room, his hand somehow bandaged again, leaning against the wall
and chewing on a fishbone.
Megumi had gone back to grinding medicine as if nothing had
happened. She looked up and smiled. "Genzai-sensei, Ohayo
gozaimasu."
Sano grunted in reply.
Genzai shook his head in disapproval. "Sano, have you been using that
hand again?!"
Sano blinked, staring at the aged doctor. "Yeah." He grinned. "I even
got put on house arrest by the fox over there." He gestured with his
head, trying to put the cinnamon eyes clouded by desire from his mind.
Just the drug...he told himself. "I'm gonna be in the back room..." He
shot a glance at Megumi before he left and saw the usual cool,
dispassionate look on her face. Inwardly, he sighed and disappeared
into the back room.
-End Chapter One-
Now's the fun part at the end of the chapter where we do horrible things to Doctor Genzai!!! YAY!!! Hope you enjoyed Sano's first day under house arrest, but I feel I must explaing some of my plots and possible sub-plots now. As you can see I have made Megumi get SO damn irritable about him misusing his hand, she puts him under her own care for the next week. Why? Think like this: Long, extended period of time where they are almost ALWAYS in each other's company. Megumi lovers of the planet, don't kill me for making her a laudnum addict. Considering her past, and the possibilities of what had happened in it, I think her being a drug addict is not only possible, but PROBABLE. I love Megumi (As a character for all you ecchi males out there.), but my friend and I both agree this very well COULD happen. If you've actually read this far, thank you for listening to my lame excuses and stupid ramblings. ^_^