Author: Arashi
Website: www.kenkaya.com
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin nor am I making any money off this story!
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Shinomori Aoshi walked into the Aoiya with some interesting news. He was looking for Misao so he could let her know what he had just found out but she was the one to find him. She jumped out of one of the rooms as he walked by.
"Aoshi-sama! Guess what I just got in the mail!" He looked her over. She was absolutely ecstatic. A teeny weenie smile turned the corners of his mouth.
"Is it possibly a letter from Tokyo inviting us to come over because Sagara Sanosuke has returned from his world travels?" His voice was totally serious as usual.
"Ack! How did you know? I just opened this thing!" The 'smile' left the corners of his lips as he remembered the information he had just discovered.
"Apparently the Keishichou is already aware of his return. It seems they are hunting him down."
"Nani??" Misao looked shocked. "What do they want with that rooster-head?"
"That's what we need to find out." Misao got a serious look on her face and nodded at him.
"Alright, Let's go." Misao and Aoshi walked out of the Aoiya ready for a little information gathering. About half an hour later they were quietly going through top-secret files down at the Kyoto Police Headquarters. Misao silently handed Aoshi a sheet of paper and gave him the secret "I found what we're looking for" nod. Aoshi read it over quickly and handed it back to Misao. She slid the sheet back into its file and put the file back in its place. The two snuck back out of the headquarters and were safely back at the Aoiya another half hour later.
"That's terribly interesting." Misao commented as the two of them sat down to some afternoon tea. Aoshi nodded his agreement. Misao looked up at him quietly sipping his tea. "To Tokyo then?" He set down his cup.
"To Tokyo." He agreed. In the next fifteen minutes the two of them packed, said goodbye to Okina and the rest of the Oniwabanshu, and boarded a train bound for Tokyo.
~//~
It was all a hazy memory but Sano was sure it had happened. I
blew it. Sano kicked a rock in frustration. The road from
Aizu to Tokyo seemed much longer now that he wasn't in a hurry
to get anywhere. He wasn't entirely sure how long he'd been walking
but he knew at least one day had come and gone. He didn't care.
Sanosuke pulled his right hand out of his pocket and inspected it. The blood caked bandages were proof enough that he'd done and said all those terrible things to Megumi. And in turn, he knew that she had done and said all the terrible things to him. It was hard to admit defeat and just walk away. But I was drunk enough and stupid enough to pull it off.
Sano suddenly felt too weak to continue his pointless journey. He walked over to the side of the road and collapsed onto his back, staring up at the blue sky. His eyes closed and he might have fallen asleep but lately it had become so hard to tell if he was awake or just having a bad dream.
"Sanosuke? Are you alive?" Her voice was haunting him.
"Megumi I'm sorry. Please forgive me" His mumbled apology even seemed inadequate in his own ears.
"It's not your fault Sano. And I hope you don't blame me. I never imagined that you felt that way about me. We should have just talked it over but I was afraid to admit my feelings, and even more afraid at the thought of being rejected." Megumi sure is a lot nicer in this dream. Sano opened his eyes and sighed. A few clouds floated by overhead.
"I woke up. Too bad" Sano closed his eyes again, hoping to return to the caring Megumi of his dreams.
"Are you listening to me rooster-head?" His eyes shot open and he sat up in confusion. There she was, sitting on a log beside him.
"Megumi!?"
"Who did you think it was?"
"Megumi!!" Sano jumped to his feet ignoring her sarcastic comment. "What are you doing here?"
"Sitting on this log talking to you." She stood up and dusted off her kimono. Sano watched her in disbelief, expecting her to disappear at any moment. "Stop looking at me like that."
"You're really here aren't you?" He took a tentative step towards her. She raised an eyebrow quizzically.
"Yes, I'm really here. I came because I had to find you. I had to apologize. I've been so rude to you. Everything was a misunderstanding Sano. If the two of us had confronted each other five years ago, things would have worked out differently."
"But we didn't confront each other. You went to Aizu instead" Sano lowered his head sadly.
"And you left Japan. But we're both here now. Do you think maybe we could try again?" Sano's head shot up.
"Do you mean that?" Megumi nodded timidly. "You'd give me another chance?" Sano was beginning to become excited.
"As long as you give me another chance."
"But Megumi." Sano's shoulders slumped. "I haven't changed in the past five years. I have no place to call my own, no job, no stable lifestyle... I still get in trouble and I still owe money at the Akabeko! I don't want to hold you back. You need a man who can really provide for you." Megumi took a step toward him.
"Well, I thought about that Sano" She took another step toward him. "And I realized that you can't control how you feel." Her last step closed the distance between them. "The man I want is you." She put her hand behind his head and pulled his face down to hers, kissing him passionately. After they finally pulled apart Megumi smiled up at him. Her eyes were moist with happy tears. "And you know what else I realized?"
"What's that?" Sano stroked his hand gently across her face, removing the single tear that had escaped the corner of her eye.
"I'm a doctor. I can provide for us both."
~//~
"Stop laughing. I don't think it's funny!"
"But you should have seen the look on your face!" Megumi doubled over, clutching her stomach as she laughed uncontrollably.
"What kind of man would I be if I let you take care of me?" It took Megumi a moment to answer his question as she tried to keep herself from laughing.
"Kenshin?" She almost collapsed
with another wave of laughter. Sano fought valiantly, but he
couldn't keep himself from chuckling. "And besides rooster-head,
it never bothered you before!" It seemed her fox ears had
become a permanent fixture.
"Alright you." Sano scooped her up in his arms and
headed toward the carriage Megumi had borrowed from one of Seki's
friends. She was too weak with laughter to argue. "By the
way fox, do you have any food? It feels like it's been days since
I ate anything."
"It has been days, rooster-head!"
"Well that explains it." He set her down beside the carriage. Megumi opened the carriage door and pulled out a container filled with rice balls. She handed them to Sano and then grabbed a wrapped bundle.
"And by the way, this is for you."
"What is it?" Sano set the tray of rice balls down and took the bundle, inspecting it curiously.
"Just open it." Sano eyed her curiously before he sat cross-legged on the ground setting the bundle in front of him so he could open it with his good hand. What he saw almost made his eyes pop out of his head.
"My old shirt!!" He tenderly pulled
out a white shirt with black lining. "It's all new looking
and stuff!" Megumi smacked him.
"It's not the same shirt, moron."
"It looks like my old shirt." He commented as he flipped it over to take a look at the back. The character for evil was sewn in all its glory. Sanosuke grinned as he looked down on his trademark. "Where'd you get this?"
"You wanted to know if I ever thought about you? I made this a few years ago I knew if you ever did wandered into my backyard, you'd probably have worn the shirt right off of your back."
"Ooooooooh! Megumi!" He sounded absolutely ecstatic. He jumped to his feet and in one smooth motion he slid into the shirt and then stood there for a minute admiring how well it fit and looked. He looked down and realized that there was a matching pair of white drawstring pants to go with it. "Pants!" His current excitement wasn't lending itself well to intelligent comments. He picked them up and held them out for inspection. Without thinking he quickly undid the strings holding up his old pair of pants. It took them both a minute to realize that they were both in plain sight of each other. Megumi may have seen plenty of naked men in her time as a doctor, but the idea of Sano standing right next to her wearing next to nothing cause a slight blush to creep to her face. Sano grinned and started taking them off anyways. When she realized he was serious she quickly turned around muttering under her breath about Sano's lack of manners. Sano whipped his pants off and tossed them in Megumi's direction, managing to drape them right over her head. She cried out in surprise.
"Yuck! These things are filthy!" She turned around and threw them at his face. Megumi was just a second too late to get a free show. Sano had his new pants up and had just finished tying them. His old pair of pants was wrapped around his head and shoulders from Megumi's well aimed throw. He removed them from his head with a flourish and stood posing in his brand new yet all too familiar outfit.
"Well, how do I look?" He asked her with a disarming grin.
"Cleaner at least." Megumi placed her hands on her hips and put on her best unimpressed look. Sanosuke laughed, fully aware that he looked good.
"This is great!" He was practically jumping for joy. "I feel like running around or going and getting in a fight or something! It feels so good!!" He ran up to her and gave her a big childish hug. "You don't know how much this means to me!"
"Oh I think I have a small idea. Or else, I never would have made it in the first place."
~//~
"When do you think they're going to get here? They've all
had plenty of time." Yahiko commented as he sat watching
Kenshin hanging the laundry.
"It's hard to say, that it is." Kenshin replied as he draped a shirt over the line and straightened it out. "But my guess would be sometime soon." Not a moment later there was a knock at the entrance. Yahiko jumped to his feet and rushed toward the gate. Kenshin stopped what he was doing and hurried around to the front just a little behind him. The gate flew open a moment before Yahiko reached it. Misao and Aoshi walked in with bags slung over their shoulders.
"We're HERE!" Misao called out happily and loudly. Yahiko covered his ears in pain.
"Geeze, now that the whole neighborhood knows!" He yelled back at her. Misao was beaming and waving at Yahiko and Kenshin. Aoshi stood just a step or two behind her looking his usual serious self.
"Misao-dono, Aoshi, good to see you two." Kenshin said happily as he greeted their Kyoto friends.
"It's great to be able to come and visit again!" Misao said cheerily.
"There's only one problem." Aoshi commented seriously when Misao had finished speaking. Yahiko and Kenshin glanced at each other and raised their eyebrows. "It's about Sagara Sanosuke." He continued, his eyes searching the premises.
"What have you heard?" Kenshin asked, suddenly very serious. Misao and Yahiko both dropped their happy looks as well.
"So you know there's something going on?" Misao seemed surprised that Kenshin and Yahiko already had some information.
"Chou stopped by asking for Sano a few days ago. He wouldn't tell us what it was about. Do you two know something?" Kenshin looked at both Aoshi and Misao. Misao turned to Aoshi who nodded slowly.
"Perhaps we should head inside to discuss it?" He glanced around the open courtyard.
"Right." Kenshin led them toward the main house. Kaoru came outside carrying a broom as the four of them headed for the front porch.
"Misao! Aoshi! Hi you two! Glad you could make it!" Kaoru greeted them with a smile. Then she noticed all the serious looks on their faces. "Is there something wrong?"
"It's about Sano." Kenshin commented to her.
"Has something happened?" Kaoru's voice sounded very concerned.
"No. Not yet, at least. But Aoshi and Misao have some new information."
"We were just heading inside to discuss it." Misao told her. They all followed Kenshin inside and headed to a room where they could have some privacy. Kaoru closed the door behind them. Aoshi sat calmly and gave Kenshin a serious look as everyone took a seat on the floor.
"I was doing some routine investigation work when I discovered the first bit of information. It seems certain Keishichou agents were searching for Sagara Sanosuke. They were aware of his exact arrival date. The first notice I discovered was very brief only stating that he was back in the country and that he needed to be found and detained."
"I knew it. Chou was going to arrest him." Yahiko looked pissed. Aoshi turned and gave him a little look before he continued.
"That is initially what I believed so Misao and I went to verify. In the process we uncovered the rest of our information." Misao started looking a little excited. Yahiko couldn't tell if it was because Aoshi mentioned her name or because of the information they had uncovered.
"What did you find?" Kenshin asked Aoshi.
"The original orders were dated one week after the day you received the letter from Sagara. Apparently they know the exact content of the letter." Kaoru looked surprised.
"They're pretty sneaky aren't they? I'd like to know how they even knew about the letter!" Aoshi gave her a quiet look and then turned back to Kenshin.
"It seems they have had an operative in place assigned to keep an eye on your dojo from the time of the original order." This time everyone was surprised. Kenshin looked the most surprised of all. Yahiko stammered.
"It's been months since we got the letter." Kaoru turned to Yahiko.
"They've been spying on us for MONTHS?" Suddenly Kaoru was very angry. If any Keishichou agents had walked in the room at that moment they would have had to fear for their lives.
"There's more." Aoshi commented quietly. Kenshin had a look on concentration on his face as Yahiko and Kaoru turned back to Aoshi looking even more surprised.
"The orders originated from a Keishichou agent in Hokkaido."
"Hokkaido?" Yahiko and Kaoru asked at the same.
"I see." Kenshin said, his voice serious. Kaoru and Yahiko turned to look at him. Aoshi nodded at Kenshin, knowing that he had already figured out the next piece of information. As one the two men said the name.
"Saitoh Hajime." At the mention of Saitoh's name Yahiko and Kaoru's mouths dropped open. Misao just sat there with an uncharacteristically serious look on her face and her arms crossed in front of her chest.
"Then that means" Kenshin continued, trailing off as he put his thoughts together. Aoshi nodded at him again, realizing that Kenshin had put together another fact.
"Yes. She is the Keishichou agent that has been spying on you."
"She??" Kaoru asked. Yahiko didn't join Kaoru in the confusion the two had been sharing. A look of realization was plastered to his face.
"Fujita Tokio." Yahiko said her name in quiet shock. Aoshi and Kenshin turned and nodded at him.
"No way She was always so nice." Kaoru was in disbelief. "No way she would pretend to befriend us just so she could spy on us!"
"This all makes sense now. But there is still one thing I can't figure out." Kenshin said to Aoshi, seemingly ignoring Kaoru's outbreak. Aoshi raised an eyebrow, quietly urging Kenshin to ask his question. "What do they want with him?" Aoshi seemed to consider the question for a moment.
"We have no clue." Misao put in. Aoshi regarded her in silence for a moment while the others mulled over her comment.
"While we do not know what they want with Sagara exactly, we have come up with one idea that fits all the evidence." Aoshi continued after everyone had had a moment to think things through for themselves.
"We think they want his help with something." Misao commented after it seemed Aoshi was through. Yahiko nodded in agreement.
"Chou told us as much. He said he needed to talk to Sano and then he'd explain everything. At first I thought they just wanted to arrest him. But if you two think it's because they want his help, I'm more inclined to believe what Chou said."
"But can we really trust them?" Kaoru asked, looking at Kenshin and then at Aoshi. "What if they really are up to something bad and they just want to arrest Sanosuke?"
"Misao and I have a few leads we can check up here in Tokyo." Aoshi said as he rose to his feet.
"Right now?" Kaoru asked as Misao hopped up as well.
"Time is of the essence." Aoshi said with his usual serious look. Misao just nodded.
"You guys just got here! You sure you don't want to relax or get a bite to eat or something first?"
"No. Thank you for the offer Kaoru-san. We shall rest upon completing our objectives." Kaoru, Kenshin, and Yahiko all got to their feet. Kenshin gave Aoshi a nod.
"Alright then. Good luck."
"Hey wait a minute!" Yahiko said, punching one hand down on the other as if he had just thought of something great. "I bet Tokio-dono might have some information at her house. If you two are going to go sneaking around you might want to stop there and take a look. She'll be here to pick her son up from practice this afternoon and we can hold her here for dinner or something so you two can have time to check around."
"That could work." Misao said with a smile at Yahiko. She turned to give Aoshi a questioning look. He nodded his agreement.
"We'll go check our other leads first and then head to her house." Aoshi said.
"Great! I'll go get you her address." Yahiko bounded out of the room. Kaoru watched him go and then she turned to Kenshin.
"You sure it's alright if Aoshi and Misao take a look around Tokio-dono's house? I mean, what if she HASN'T been spying on us. It would be an invasion of privacy." Kenshin regarded her a moment and then smiled.
"I'm sure Tokio-dono has a good explanation for everything but if there is something going on it might be nice to know a little more about the situation. Besides, Aoshi and Misao are completely trustworthy and are not going to be disturbing anything." Misao smiled and nodded at Kaoru.
"Kenshin's right. We'll be real careful and Tokio-dono won't even know we were there." Yahiko came back in the room and handed Misao a little slip of paper.
"There ya go." He said with a smile. "Good luck!" Misao gave everyone a wave and then she and Aoshi quietly left the Kamiya Kasshin Dojo.
"I hope they'll be alright." Kaoru said as she, Kenshin, and Yahiko stood in thought.
"It's Aoshi and Misao. If there are two people in the world you don't have to worry about, it's them. Especially when they're together." Yahiko commented and Kenshin agreed with a nod.
"The person I'm really worried about
right now is Sano." Kenshin said. "I don't think that
Saitoh would have given orders to simply arrest him. That's not
Saitoh's style or job. But if he's been ordered by someone in
the government to arrest Sano then I believe that Saitoh will
do all in his power to make sure the job is completed. But I
truly think there is something else going on here, that I do."
"Do you think we'll be able to pull it off?" Kaoru sat down next to Kenshin on the porch. "What if we can't get Tokio-dono to stay?"
"I'm sure everything will be fine. How much longer till she'll be arriving to pick up her son?"
"About an hour." Kenshin turned in the general direction of the front gate. A small smile formed at the corners of his mouth.
"Well, I'm not sure if this is good timing, but it seems Sano's back." He got to his feet, dusting off his hakama.
"What?" Kaoru looked around and couldn't tell what her husband was talking about. "I don't see Sanosuke anywhere." A moment later they heard a carriage come to a stop out in the street. Kenshin was already halfway to the front gate. When he reached the entryway he opened the door and stood watching Sanosuke and Megumi unload her things from the carriage.
"Welcome back you two!" Sano turned and grinned at Kenshin.
"Oi Kenshin!" Kaoru rushed over to her husband's side and waved at the two of them.
"Did you two have a nice trip?" Sano and Megumi turned to each other, exchanging a private look that neither Kenshin nor Kaoru understood. Sano wiped the strange look off his face and turned back to his two friends.
"It was alright." He shrugged casually. Suddenly Kaoru blinked.
"Sanosuke? Where'd you get that shirt? I thought it fell apart?" Sano smiled broadly.
"Fox lady made it for me, isn't it great?" He held out his arms and turned around once, letting them admire it from all angles.
"Megumi did?" Kaoru turned to the lady doctor questioningly. In response, Megumi just flipped her hair over her shoulder casually.
"We can't have him running around half naked can we?" Kaoru and Kenshin smiled.
"Let me help you unload your things." Kenshin stepped forward and took one of Megumi's bags. Judging from all the luggage it was obvious that Megumi was planning on sticking around for an extended period of time.
"I got it Kenshin." Sano all but snatched the bag out of his friend's hand.
"Oro? I was just going to help."
"I can handle it." Kenshin blinked once in confusion and then he noticed something that clicked everything into perspective.
"Ok Sano." He placed a friendly hand on the tall man's shoulder as he turned to head back inside. "By the way" He spoke quietly so that neither Kaoru nor Megumi could hear him over their own conversation. "You've got a little lipstick on your cheek." Sano's eyes widened as he wiped at his face with the back of his sleeve.
"Thanks." Sano looked embarrassed. Kenshin gave him a thumbs up and then herded Megumi and Kaoru through the gate. Everyone stopped in surprise when they found Yahiko standing in the front yard in full kendo practice armor (minus the facemask).
"What are you guys DOING!?" He pointed his bokken angrily in their direction. "You gotta hide Sano and Megumi!"
"NANI?" Megumi and Sano couldn't hide their confusion. Yahiko ran over to them and grabbed Megumi by the wrist, leading her quickly toward the house.
"Oh that's right!" Kaoru looked around frantically. Kenshin put a hand on her shoulder calming her down.
"We'll take them to the spare room and have them wait in there until she and Tsuyoshi are gone."
"Ken-san what's going on?" Concern was etched on Megumi's face.
"Let's get you to one of the guest rooms, I'll explain then." Megumi turned to Sanosuke questioningly. He shrugged.
"I have no idea what they're talking about Fox." She her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Honest!"
"We just found out about it Megumi-dono. But let's wait to talk till we have a little more privacy." Kenshin entered one of the guest rooms and closed the door behind them. Sano dumped Megumi's things on the floor and then put his hands in his pockets casually.
"So what's up Kenshin? What's Yahiko yelling about?" Yahiko looked frustrated.
"You have no idea what's been going on since you left for Aizu! I could explain everything to you but I have to go back and teach my class or people will get suspicious!" He pointed his wooden sword threateningly at Sano. "Stay put, you got that?"
"I'll explain everything Yahiko. And don't worry, we'll keep them hidden." Yahiko nodded and marched out of the room.
"What's with him?"
"Do you remember Chou?"
"Yeah, that broom-head guy. What about him?" Sano blinked in confusion.
"He stopped by the day you left for Aizu. He was trying to track you down for the Keishichou. He wouldn't tell us what it was about, except that he said they needed your help with something." A look of concentration came over Sano's face.
"Aoshi and Misao got here today and they had uncovered some information too."
"Like what?" Megumi asked. She seemed overly curious.
"Apparently the order originated from Saitoh in Hokkaido." Sano's eyes widened.
"Saitoh?"
"Yes. He's been trying to track you down since we got your letter. He's had people spying on us waiting for you to get back it seems."
"Any idea what they want me for?" Sano asked. Megumi, Kenshin, and Kaoru could all tell he didn't like the way things were sounding.
"We don't know for sure but Aoshi and Misao are out checking up on things right now. They might find some more answers."
"You guys sure they're not just going to try and arrest me?" Sano gave them a questioning look. "Cause if they are, I'm not going to let them. I just got back to Japan and I didn't come here to get thrown in jail for the rest of my life or anything." His fists clenched and rose into the air threateningly. "If it comes to that I'd probably have to" Megumi reached up and rested a hand on his forearm pulling his fist down.
"It won't happen." Megumi tried to assure him. Kenshin and Kaoru both noticed a strange look on Megumi's face. She seemed openly concerned for Sano. Kaoru turned to her husband and he just smiled and nodded letting his wife know that he'd noticed it to.
"I'm sure there is a good explanation for whatever is going on Sano." Kenshin said interrupting Megumi and Sano, as they were about to stare deeply into each other's eyes. Sano's head snapped up and met Kenshin's gaze as his mind went back on track. "We just need to figure it out. Aoshi and Misao are checking around and I'm sure they'll uncover something new. We also have a small part to play." Kenshin glanced at Kaoru. Kaoru nodded and explained.
"The agent that's been watching the dojo is none other than Saitoh's wife, Tokio."
"WHAT? That harmless looking woman is a Keishichou agent?" Kaoru and Kenshin nodded.
"You need to be quiet Sanosuke." Kaoru put her finger to her lips. "Someone might be out there spying on us right now."
"So what are you going to do about Saitoh's wife?" Sanosuke continued quietly.
"Aoshi and Misao are going to go through her house when she comes over here to pick up her son. We're going to try and keep Tokio-dono here for dinner so they have more time. You two will need to stay quiet and hidden during that time." Kenshin explained.
"We can do that." Sanosuke said and turned to Megumi with a wink. "But if you want me and Fox Lady to hide we better get some food now. I'm hungry."
"You're not concerned at all are you?" Megumi turned and shot Sano a dirty look. Sano shook his head and shrugged slightly.
"Not really. I'm definitely more concerned about getting some food anyway. I might worry about all this later." The tone of his voice indicated that he probably wouldn't.
"Alright Sano. We'll bring you some food and for now you two just stay put."
"I'm still not sure why I have to hide with this idiot." Megumi commented with a sly look on her face. Sano gave her an odd look while Kenshin explained.
"It's quite possible that Tokio-dono would recognize you or realize that you were the one that Sano left to go get. If she sees you she'll realize that Sano must be back as well."
"Hmmm well I guess it should be alright." She gave Sano a look. A tiny grin crept up at one corner of his mouth.
"I guess I'LL survive SOMEHOW." He commented rudely. Megumi smacked him.
"Oh like I want to be stuck in here with you or something!" The two looked like they were about to start yelling at each other so Kenshin quickly interceded.
"You should be quite, that you should. Please try to keep it down so that no one hears you."
"I'll be good Ken-san." Megumi promised him. "But I can't make any promises for this rooster-head." She indicated Sano with her thumb.
"Hey don't worry about me Kenshin. I can be quiet." Kenshin gave him a look. "I'm serious! I really can be quiet when I need to be!"
"Ok Sano. We'll come get you two when Tokio-dono is gone." Sano nodded as Kenshin and Kaoru left the room, closing the sliding door behind them. After they were gone Sano sat cross-legged on the floor with a sigh.
"I'm bored already. What are we going to do to keep ourselves busy Fox?" The look on his face indicated that he could think of at least one thing. Megumi's fox ears made their appearance.
"I'm sure we'll come up with something." Megumi smiled slyly. Sano grinned.
------------------------
*contented sigh* Sano and Megumi worked things
out. But now what's going on? It's out of the frying pan and
into the fire! Tokio's been spying on them? What do they want
with Sano? Can they outsmart Tokio and discover the truth? Read
the next chapter and find out!