Tears of Truth, a rurouni kenshin fanfic

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin and its characters are properties of Watsuki Nobuhiro, Shueisha Jump Comics, Fuji TV, Sonic Entertainment, etc. Meaning, that I do not own them, and I don't make any money off of this. This is written purely for fan entertainment and for RK fans all around the world!

Writer's note: Augh!! My writer's block is the WORST of its kind!! groans I know, I know... I haven't continued with my RK lemon-fic (or with any other fics...), but I just had to write THIS out of my mind!!

Okay, here's the deal. This is the very first time I've entered into a fanfiction contest! I have been invited, personally, to Chihaya's Fanfic Contest, and I was honoured to receive the invitation! At first, when I got the email with the invitation, I thought, "sure, why not? It could be fun!"

So, here I am! Writing a fic about Sanosuke & Megumi! Mind you, that this is my first independent one-shot fanfic about Sanosuke & Megumi, mainly focused on these two characters! (Okay, okay... there'll be a little bit Kenshin & Kaoru also... but ONLY teeny bit!! pinches her thumb and forefinger together )

Rating: PG-13 for Sanosuke's foul language and a little bit angst.

Fiction note: Somewhere after the Kyoto Arc and before the next Arc.

A Rurouni Kenshin Fanfiction

A Sanosuke & Megumi fic:
"TEARS OF TRUTH"

'There she goes again... flirting with Kenshin just to annoy both me and jou-chan. Feh.' Sanosuke frowned from his spot, watching as the lady-doctor across from him tried to flirt with the red-haired samurai next to her.

'Heh, Kenshin is in a battlefield... since he's sitting between jou-chan and kitsune-onna. Is he really that oblivious to jou-chan's feelings for him? Probably... but...' Sanosuke began to eat his beef hot-pot from his bowl before anyone could see the frown deepen on his face while he stared at Megumi, 'There's also one person who is oblivious to mine...'

"Ne, Ken-san... would you like me to feed you? Hmm?" Megumi slyly offered to assist a very embarrassed samurai who was, by now, panicking.

Kenshin sweat-dropped. "I-iya, no need to feed sessha, de gozaru yo."

"Megumi-san! Stop that this minute!!" Kaoru fumed at the cunning lady-doctor.

"And why should I? I think Kenshin loves when I take care of him! O-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!!"

"Mou!! Megumi-san!!"

Yahiko ate some of his rice before glaring at his kenjutsu teacher. "Shut up, busu!! Some of us are trying to eat here!!"

Kaoru turned her head toward Yahiko and glared fiercely at him, "What was that Yahiko-CHAN?.

"Don't call me "-chan"!!"

"Maa, maa... please everyone, calm down, calm down, de gozaru." Kenshin reached out and touched Kaoru's right hand carefully, tenderly, trying to make her look at him, which she did. Her head snapped right back at Kenshin who was staring into her deep blue eyes with his kind violet eyes.

"Kaoru-dono, please calm down..."

Sanosuke looked at Kaoru, noticing how the "little missie," as he always called her, began to blush when Kenshin took hold of her hand. Yup. She most definitely had feelings for the ex-hitokiri.

The ex-kenkaya smiled briefly when Kenshin finally noticed what he had just done and withdrew his hand quickly from Kaoru's, a pink hue spreading across the samurai's nose and cheeks. 'Kusou, they both are so fucking shy! For crying out loud, Kenshin... you're nearly thirty, and you still act like you're a teenager!'

But that wasn't all Sanosuke noticed. He could see a heartbroken look from the eyes of the lady doctor as she watched the two shy (and secretly in love) persons next to her. Heartbroken and envious. Now that the ex-gangster thought about it... ever since they, he, Kenshin, Kaoru and Yahiko, returned from Kyoto, Kenshin had, little by little, turned his attention toward the young kenjutsu instructor. But it was pretty clear for him that Megumi had feelings for the red-haired samurai as well.

Sigh.

Megumi's everlasting persuit of the rurouni was starting to tick him off. To tell the truth, Sagara Sanosuke was a little bit jealous of all the attention Kenshin was getting... especially from her.

Sanosuke let out a frustrated sigh, placing his bowl down as he picked up his tooth stick.

"Eh? Sanosuke? Daijoubu?" Kaoru asked worriedly.

"Yeah. I'm fine, jou-chan."

"Are you sure? You look... I don't know... depressed."

Sanosuke just had to smile at that. Kaoru was always so observant and caring toward her friends. "Nah. I'm feeling just peachy. All I need is a jug of sake."

"Mou, Sanosuke," Kaoru frowned in annoyance.

"Heh. Oi, Kenshin. You wanna drink some sake with me?"

"Maybe a little bit later, Sano. Sessha has to decline your offer for now, de gozaru yo. Saa, sessha thinks that it's time for us to go back to the dojo. Right, Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin smiled kindly at the young woman next to him.

Kaoru blushed slightly before answering, "Y-yeah."

The ex-gangster smirked at both of them - they did look like a couple sometimes. At that very moment, Sanosuke turned his glance at the lady doctor and noticed a slight grimace pass across her face as she watched the kenjutsu instructor and the rurouni. This was too much for him.

"Yare, yare... if you won't drink with me, Kenshin, then I will go elsewhere," Sanosuke stood up, taking a jug of sake with him, "ja ne, minna!"

"Chotto, Sanosuke!" But it was too late - he was gone already. "Mou...at least he could have stayed and taken Megumi-san to home," muttered Kaoru. "I could swear that something is bothering him..."

"You are right Kaoru-dono, de gozaru na..."

Only person who didn't look at the departing young man was the lady doctor... because her mind was elsewhere as she stared at her delicate hands on her lap...

"Che! Kusou... What a lousy and rotten day this was..." Sanosuke muttered to himself as he heading back to his home at the ruffian corner. "Lost all my money... again. I was certain that I would win today!"

But no. During his gambling, Sanosuke's mind was everywhere else but on the gambling! He couldn't stop thinking about the earlier events at the Akabeko. About her - Megumi.

Why? Why was she so interested in Kenshin? And why not him? Sure, Kenshin was a swordsman while he was, in her eyes, a ruffian but that didn't count! Or did it...?

"Or did it...?" He said out loud, thinking and gazing at the cloudy sky. "Captain Sagara... Does it matter... to her?"

Sanosuke stumbled a bit as he almost tripped over a rock, and then mumbled curses at his own carelessness. He was, after all, slightly drunk from the day's drinking.

Suddenly, a stab of pain ran through his right hand that made him twitch slightly. Then he remembered hurting his right hand during the fight at the gambling place. Couple of losers had also lost their game and wanted to release their anger on him. They properly were from somewhere else since they didn't know who he was. If they had recognized him as former fighter- for-hire Zanza, they could have been spared from injuries.

They just had to pick up a fight with him...

Sigh.

They sure had a bad timing, though...

...He was in foul mood already, and they'd made it even worse!

Something wet dropped onto his nose that made him glance at the sky again. Great. Just great. Now it was starting to rain. Wonderful. His day just happened to become even worse than before! First, at Akabeko, then the gambling place, then his injured hand and now this!

And without further delay, it started to rain - little by little at first and then... a lot. Just plain wonderful...

Again Sanosuke swore and as a growl escaped from his throat he started to walk as fast as he could. Faster but carefully since the ground was full of little ponds, and it was slippery. He knew that his home was still far away, but there was one place nearby where he could go - the clinic. Perhaps Dr. Genzai could let him in so he could wait until it stopped raining.

Megumi looked at the two little girls as they slept in the clinic's beds. Dr. Genzai was away treating a patient, but it seemed for her that his way back to clinic was going to be delayed... because it all of sudden started to rain.

Hopefully, the rain would soon ease a little so Dr. Genzai could come back and take his two granddaughters home. Meanwhile, she would look over the two girls.

Megumi smiled slightly while looking at the sleeping girls. They were like two little sisters she never had. Ever since she'd met Kenshin and the others, she had gained new friends - friends... who had become her new family.

A family that she had missed so much... since her real family was either dead or missing. Her mother, her father, and her two elder brothers.

Dead... or... missing...

A tiny teardrop escaped her right eye, and Megumi wiped it away immediately before more came. It still hurt. The... lack of knowledge of her family's well-being: dead or missing. The truth lay between those two possibilities, dead or missing.

Part of her said that her family was alive... somewhere, while the other part of her believed that they were all dead.

A loud knocking at the clinic door snapped Megumi out of her depressing thoughts and back to the present time. It was not the time for her to think about the past.

"Yes, I'm coming... hold on a minute," Megumi said calmly as she opened the shoji. She blinked once, and then twice in surprised as she saw who it was. "Sanosuke? What are you doing here?"

Sanosuke sneezed a little before answering, "Seeking for cover, of course. As yah can see with yer own eyes... it's raining out here!"

Megumi 'hmph'-ed, annoyed, "Yes, I can see that. But why aren't you at your place?"

"Che! This place was closer to me than my home, that's all! I didn't, exactly, want to get soaking wet!"

"I think you're already are soaked wet..." Megumi mumbled under her breath, amused of the image of the soaked ruffian before her. Sanosuke's white clothes were almost transparent, and they clung to his body like a second skin.

Sigh. "Come in. I will get you some dry clothes."

"Thanks," Sanosuke mumbled softly and walked inside.

Sanosuke was now wearing one of the yukatas Dr. Genzai had in his clinic in case if any of his patients needed some warm and clean clothes to wear. And it was about the right size too. Sanosuke was pretty tall.

"Thanks again, kitsune-onna," he smirked at the lady doctor.

"Hm. Honestly, tori-atama... must you always call me that?"

"Do yah have to call me with that, too?" Sanosuke retorted at her, playfully, flirting a little. "Besides, the nickname suits you..."

"So does yours." Megumi smiled slyly. Sanosuke could almost imagine her fox-ears popping out of her head.

Then Sanosuke grimaced slightly, remembering his injured hand. Megumi saw his grimace and her expression became serious.

"Sanosuke? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine... er...well, except for the injury on my right hand..."

"Mou! Let me see it!" Megumi took his hand into hers and started to exam it. "You have been fighting again, haven't you?"

"Che, it was not my fault. They attacked me first..."

"Mou, tori-atama no baka... but still you could have avoided it! Your hand hadn't even healed properly from the fight you had at Kyoto." That made her think of something for a moment, "You didn't use..."

"Nah, I didn't use my Futae no Kiwami... didn't need to," he smirked.

Megumi shook her head a little, half amused, half annoyed at his arrogant ego. "Now, I will place your bones back in their rightful places so your hand can heal properly," she said as she began to set his knuckles in their places, "And no more fighting for at least two weeks! Come back here and I will exam how it has healed after two weeks."

"Hey, hey... I got it. Yare yare... do you have anything for me to eat? I'm... a little bit hungry..." the ex-fighter-for-hire scratched his neck as if he was a little bit embarrassed.

"Really Sanosuke, your stomach is bottomless..."

She was answered with his nervous and low chuckle.

Sigh. "I think there are some rice-balls left from today... that I made for Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan..."

"How are those two little girls?"

"They are fine. They are sleeping at the moment... they were playing all day long..."

Sanosuke only nodded before Megumi left to get something for him to eat. When she was gone, he let out his breath, not even knowing that he had hold his breath for long time. This was not good. Not good at all. Here he was with her at the clinic. Alone. Well, not all alone. Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan were at the clinic also, but they were sleeping.

Sigh.

Maybe he shouldn't have come here after all. He was still little bit drunk, and his mind was a bit hazy from the sake.

Nope. This was not good at all.

"Here."

Her soft voice startled him and he turned his glance up at her. Megumi looked quizzically at him as she noticed the startled and surprised look that was written all over his face. Not to mention that his deep brown eyes were wide as he stared at her.

"Sanosuke?"

"Wha? Oh, right... thanks..." he took one of the rice-balls that she made, almost reluctantly, and took a bite of it. It was delicious, as always. Sanosuke let out a satisfied hum at the taste of it.

"Good, ne?"

"Aa. Much better than jou-chan's," Sanosuke sighed, "At least she tries..."

Megumi chuckled softly. "That's true. I still feel sorry for Ken-san... he has to eat her cooking!"

"That's true," Sanosuke mumbled somberly, almost glaring at her.

"Hmm... maybe he should live with me instead with that tomboy..."

Sanosuke almost choked onto his rice-ball.

"He would live longer if he would eat my cooking..."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Not to mention that it would be nice to take care of him...O-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!!"

He almost crushed his rice-ball. "Is that so?"

"Eh? Sanosuke... Nani...?"

He stuffed the rest of his rice-ball into his mouth before he could continue. "Do you really care about Kenshin that much...?"

"Of course I do... Why couldn't I? He's a man with manners! Unlike you!" Megumi said, teasing him a bit, not even realizing how much this really hurt him.

"Che! Kusou... is that what you think of me?"

"Think of you what?"

"The opposite of Kenshin? A man without manners!?"

"Well... no... not all the time, no... I mean that..."

"...That I'm a ruffian, right?"

"You are a ruffian..."

"Che! Oh, I see... samurai are more to your taste!"

Blink. "What do you mean by that?"

"I see... all you women are so much alike... after a samurai even in Meiji era... first jou-chan... and then you," he said, and then paused for a moment, "not that I don't mind jou-chan running after Kenshin..."

Now Megumi was more than puzzled. What was he talking about?

"I- I don't know what are you talking about! You are talking nonsense, Sanosuke!"

"Am I? Then why did you look like your were upset at Akabeko when Kenshin was looking at jou-chan with kindness and fondness? Huh? Why!?"

"I- I..."

"I'll tell you why!! You are in love with him, aren't you!?"

"No!!"

"Don't give me that kind of shit!! Because I know!! I saw how you looked at him when he and jou-chan were looking at each other!! You were envious of the attention that he gave to jou-chan!! In fact... you were always envious of the attention he is giving to jou-chan whenever you're visiting at the dojo!!"

"How, dare you!!"

"Dare what!?"

"How dare you speak something like that?! None of those are true!!"

"Don't you lie to me!! I'm not so stupid as I look!! I know what is going on around me!! I know that Kenshin does have feelings for jou-chan... and so does she for him!! And so do you!! If you dream of being with Kenshin... you have another thing coming, kitsune-sensei!! Kenshin thinks of you as his friend, and nothing else!!"

"How do you know that for sure?!" Megumi stammered weakly.

"Trust me, I know..."

Sanosuke didn't want to tell her that he and Kenshin actually had a conversation about the lady-doctor and the others after they returned to Tokyo... to their home. Sanosuke had asked him what he thought of Megumi. The red-haired samurai mused briefly before answering him that Megumi was a splendid doctor and friend to him, nothing more. The ex-gangster also asked about Kaoru - now at that question, Kenshin stammered and blushed a little, which he dismissed them quickly. But Sanosuke noticed it before Kenshin became calm again.

"...Yes indeed... I know," he mumbled softly so that she couldn't hear him.

"Well! I disagree with you on that tori-atama! Ken-san is just shy and he doesn't know how to..."

"Cut that crap already!!"

Megumi jumped, startled of Sanosuke's loud voice.

"Listen to yourself, Megumi! You're starting to speak nonsense!! Babbling about things that aren't true!! All this time, you have been living in a dream world, Megumi! A dream!! You know as well as I know that Kenshin does not return your feelings!! What you are feeling is only a lie!! A fucking lie!! You've been lying to yourself all this time... ever since we met you at my friends' place!!"

Megumi's eyes were wide and trembling from the verge of tears that were about to fall, but Sanosuke didn't saw them since he was staring at the writings on the wall before him.

"You better stop lying to yourself... stop living in a false dream and hopes that may not come true at all... and look deep inside to yourself, look deep into your heart, and what it telling to you... your true feelings!!"

SLAP!!

A sting of pain burned over his left cheek as he placed his hand over it. Sanosuke didn't exactly know which shocked him more: the slap to his face or seeing Megumi crying before him. He had only once seen Megumi crying, but back then he let her cry by herself, alone. Now, she was crying freely... because of him. Dear gods. What had he done? He didn't mean to...

"M-Megumi..."

"G-get out..."

"I- I... I shouldn't have..."

"No, you shouldn't have but you did... now, get out..."

"Hey, listen--!"

"GET OUT OF HERE!!" Megumi shoved him, harshly and hard. She barely acknowledged her own strength as she pushed Sanosuke away.

"Hey!! Wait a minute!! At least let me change into my own clothes!! I can't go in these!!"

Megumi glared at him, "Fine! Change and then leave! I don't want to see your face ever again!!" With those words said, Megumi stomped away from her, trying to control herself not to cry anymore in front of him.

Sanosuke did what he was told to; he changed into his still damp clothes and left from the clinic but not without glancing at the clinic one more time... before going back to his home... feeling sorry and depressed. He didn't mean to go so far with his words... he honestly didn't... also didn't mean to hurt her feelings.

He and his big mouth - always got him into trouble. Always saying things that he shouldn't have said. And now, he had said things that hurt Megumi's feelings. When he hurt her feelings... he also hurt his own feelings as well...

...Because she was someone special to him...

Sighing sadly, Sanosuke left from the clinic.

Meanwhile inside the clinic, Megumi went into an empty room, to let her tears fall. What Sanosuke told her was the truth... the bitter truth of the reality that surrounded her. She would never win Kenshin's heart... since his heart had been stolen by Kaoru.

It hurt. Hearing the truth hurt. The reality hurt.

And what was more...

...What Sanosuke had said about her... hurt also.

Megumi had been living in a false dream... in a dream-world made by her, which was beyond her reach.

"Mou... Kenshin... Sanosuke and Megumi have been acting strangely for two weeks now!"

"Aa, de gozaru."

"I mean they have been avoiding each other! When Sanosuke sees a glimpse of Megumi, he disappears from the sight! Do you think... something has happened between them?"

"Sessha doesn't know, de gozaru na... but whatever it is... I hope they will work things out, de gozaru yo."

Kaoru nodded, sipping her tea. "I hope so as well, Kenshin."

The water was shining and shimmering beneath the bridge he was standing on while watching at the horizon far ahead of him. Sanosuke had been gloomy all these two weeks since his and Megumi's argument - no - fight. He felt himself tired and more depressed than before. Even his heart felt heavier.

Sighing deeply, Sanosuke leaned his elbows onto the bridge's parapet, his eyes never leaving the horizon. He had to do something to make things up with the lady-doctor... but how?

By then, his gaze fell to his right hand, which was still bandaged.

Bandaged...

Sanosuke blinked once from realization and he began to smile softly. An idea was forming in his mind.

"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu, Megumi-sensei."

"Iie, it was nothing really. Just get plenty of rest to recover completely... that's all I ask of you."

"Hai. Sayounara."

"Sayounara." Megumi smiled at the old lady and when she was gone, Megumi sighed, tired. Today had been busy day for her, busy and tiring. What she needs was to rest... even for little while.

Just when she was about to take a little rest, a loud bang was heared from the other room, which caused to turn her attention at the sound. Another patient? Megumi sighed tiredly, she had better go and see what was the matter.

"Hold on a minute, I'm coming..."

"Yah better, kitsune-sensei."

Megumi gasped, startled at the voice. He was here...?

As she thought, it was Sanosuke, gnawing his fish bone between his teeth... as always. At first, she felt surprised but little by little, her surprise turned into annoyance and anger.

"What are you doing here?" She asked coldly and uncaring.

"Eh? Don't yah remember?"

"Remember what?" Megumi glared at him. 'What is he up to now?'

"This," he showed his right hand to her, "It had been two weeks already..."

'Eh? Oh, that's right... the injury... and Dr. Genzai isn't here either...' Megumi sighed. 'Why me?' "Very well... let me have a look at it."

Sanosuke reached his right hand forward her, so Megumi could exam it. During these two weeks, he hadn't been in any fight at all, which was a good thing. As she exam his hand, Megumi noticed that his hand, indeed, had healed - if only a little bit - but it still needed more time to heal completely.

"So far so good. Your hand has healed well enough for you to use it... but I still say that you shouldn't fight for a while. Perhaps... a week or so and then it'll be in condition."

"And I could fight with it, ne?"

Megumi nodded, still not looking at his face. This made Sanosuke frown. 'This is not going well...C'mon Sano, say something to her!'

"Oi, Me--"

"If there isn't anything else, then I have to ask you to leave. There are other things on my mind and I have to finish them," Megumi interrupted him before standing up and turning to leave.

"I'm sorry."

Megumi halted and waited, her back to him.

Sanosuke scratched the back of his head, looked sheepish, and there was a light hue of pink over his cheeks and nose. It was now or never.

"I'm sorry... about what happened two weeks ago. I... I didn't mean to hurt your feelings... I was... a little bit upset by the attention you were giving to Kenshin... maybe a little bit jealous."

Megumi didn't say a word, which made him feel uneasy. Saying apologizes was hard for him, especially to women. Sometimes, women were so sensitive about little things. Well, this wasn't a little thing - it was a big thing! It was about hurting Megumi's feelings. One thing what Sanosuke disliked to do was hurting woman's feelings.

"I swear, I didn't mean to upset you or hurt you in any way!"

"But you did."

Sanosuke turned his sad look at the floor. "Yeah... I did..."

The lady-doctor took a deep breath and then sighed softly. "You know something... your words back then, made me think about few things..."

Sanosuke blinked, but remained silent.

"When you talked about Ken-san... you also made me to think not only about Ken-san's feelings but also mine as well..."

The ex-kenkaya waited still.

Megumi sniffed a little. "You... you also made me to look deep inside me... inside my heart... my feelings... my true feelings."

Still waited.

"My feelings for Ken-san were more like... an affection, but not so deep... a need to be seen and feel loved. Not the actual love of which most of the married couples are talking about."

'Just like I'm feeling whenever I'm near to Megumi...' Sanosuke thought amazed that Megumi felt that way forward Kenshin.

Megumi wiped away the tear from the corner of her eye. That was funny, she thought she was past from crying already in this subject. "It still hurts..."

"Eh?"

"...The truth that you made me realize... it still hurts... to know that Ken-san has no feelings for me... not that kind of feeling he gives to Kaoru-chan..."

"...Megumi..."

The beautiful lady-doctor turned at him, smiling weakly. "Oh well, it doesn't hurt as much like it did two weeks ago. At least I have Ken-san's friendship and not to mention Kaoru-san's and others' as well. I, also, would like to apologize for slapping you two weeks ago, Sanosuke. It seems... that... I will always have friends to be with... but no one to love me..."

Megumi was startled when she felt callous fingertips brush the remaining tears away over her cheeks, which also made her look up and into Sanosuke's deep brown eyes.

"You're wrong, Megumi... there is always one who will care about you... a lot."

She blinked once and then twice, puzzled and afraid.

"If... you will let him to..."

"Sano...suke..."

"If you... will let him hold onto you and let him show his feelings for you," Sanosuke said softly, taking her into his arms, hugging her gently and closely to him - rocking and mumbling softly to her to calm her down.

New tears appeared into her cinnamon-colored eyes...

"Let me be the one... to take care of you... to love you."

...But they weren't from sorrow or loneliness.

"Sano... I... I..."

...They were something else.

"Megumi... you don't have to say it out loud... not this soon. Just, let me love you... and wait for you... until you are ready... Give us both time to build an understanding between us... for us to learn more about ourselves... and about our feelings..."

Her tears...

"...Just... hold me Sano... I need this... I need to let go of the dream world I have been living in... to face the truth and rebuild a new life..."

...Her tears...

"Aa. It's gonna be alright, Megumi... you'll see."

...Her tears...

"...Arigatou... Sano..."

...They were tears of new beginning and relief that she didn't had to face a new day alone...

...Because there was one who loves her.

OWARI

Translations:

1. jou-chan Sano's nickname for Kaoru; little missie or missy
2. kitsune-onna fox-lady / fox-woman
3. -san a polite suffix meaning Mr. Miss or Mrs.
4. iya no, that's no it; a stronger word than "iie"
5. sessha "this unworthy one"; Kenshin's rurouni "I"
6. de gozaru "to be" very polite form
7. busu hag, ugly
8. -chan a suffix meaning cute or little, a common endearment; used to address children, (close) younger friends and relatives, mainly females
9. maa, maa now, now
10. -dono an older version of -san; used mainly by Kenshin
11. hitokiri a manslayer; hmm... I think the "assassin" sounds better
12. kenkaya street fighter
13. kenjutsu the art of the sword or swordsmanship better known
14. kusou shit, goddamn it; a quite strong curse word
15. daijoubu? you ok?
16. sake a Japanese rice wine
17. mou a mild curse, or an expression of frustration or anger; drat, rats, geez, gawd
18. oi hey
19. yare yare oh well
20. ja na, minna see yah, everbody
21. chotto! wait!
22. Zanza Sanosuke's former nickname while he was a fighter-for-hire.
23. shoji a sliding screen; made of paper stretched over a thin frame of wood
24. yukata a robe-like garment worn to bed and at home; also simpler cotton kimono worn at summertime
25. tori atama rooster head
26. tori-atama no baka rooster head, you idiot/jerk
27. Futae no Kiwami Sanosuke's martial arts technique, taught to him by the monk, Anji; consists of two rapid punches with the same hand, the first of which weakens the target and the seconds breaks it completely.
28. ne? eh? right?; a very common supporting word
29. aa yeah, yup; a masculine expression
30. nani? what?
31. dojo a training place for martial arts or swordsmanship.
32. sensei teacher; doctor
33. doumo arigatou gozaimasu thank you very, very much
34. iie no
35. hai yes
36. sayounara good bye

(First draft: May 11 - 12, 2002)
(Second draft: May 13, 2002)
(Edited by Mir & beta-read by Gypsy-chan: May 2002)

Writer's note 2: (May 26, 2002) Thank you Mir, for editing this fanfic! Also thank you Gypsy-chan, for letting me know about few errors that you found from this fic! x Ah yes, the writer's block is an EVIL thing!!