What's Wrong With This Picture?
"I hate snow." Sanosuke punched the tree and spun away as it fell. "I hate snow." Another tree was brought to its knees by Sanosuke's fist. "I hate snow!" Sanosuke threw a punch at a third tree but stopped his fist a centimeter before his fist connected. The tree fell anyway, though he hadn't touched it. Sanosuke smiled despite the snow that was floating down into the clearing that he had just created. He was getting much better.
"Impressive, Sanosuke," Kaoru said from behind him.
Sanosuke turned to face her. "I didn't hear you come up."
"I'm not surprised. Between the chorus of 'I hate snow's and the splintering of wood, it was probably hard to hear anything else." Kaoru's smile lit up the gray afternoon.
"Shouldn't you be teaching classes at your dojo?" Sanosuke asked her.
"Yahiko's teaching for me this afternoon. I needed to get out."
"So you came looking for me?" Sanosuke leaned against an undamaged tree. "I'm touched."
"Why are you coming out here to train again?" Kaoru wanted to know. "I thought we agreed you would train at the my dojo."
"You came looking for me because you were worried?" Sanosuke teased. "I knew you cared!"
"Make no mistake, Sanosuke, I don't care. I'm just curious."
"You mean nosy," Sanosuke muttered.
"What's that?!"
"Nothing."
"You said something!"
"I said nothing!"
"Fine. But what are you doing out here? If you hate snow, why train in it?" Kaoru crossed her arms.
"I wanted to see how much stronger I've gotten since May," Sanosuke told her, stepping away from his tree and walking toward her. "The only way I saw to do that was to revert back to my old way of training for a day and see if it's gotten any easier."
"And has it?" Kaoru asked.
"Much easier," Sanosuke assured her.
"Are you coming back to the dojo now?"
"Yeah, that seems like a good idea. It will get us out of the damned snow."
"Why don't you like snow?" Kaoru asked as they began walking down the path back to the city. "I've always loved it. It's beautiful and makes the trees look as if they've been frosted with crystals."
"It was snowing the night that the Sekihotai was destroyed," Sanosuke told her. It didn't hurt to talk about the destruction of the Sekihotai so much anymore. In fact, it was good to have someone to talk to about it, someone who both cared and acted like they cared. Master Tetsuko had never acted like she cared to keep Sanosuke from drowning in pity. "It's a meamory that's hard to forget. Besides, snow is so cold. It forms in drifts in the streets, then when it's set for awhile it freezes to all the other damn snowflakes so you've got a solid block of snow in front of your doorstep."
"It is cold," Kaoru agreed, shivering. "But I still like the way it makes things pretty."
Sanosuke looked down at Kaoru and could see what she meant. Many large snowflakes had fallen in her hair where they hung like diamonds, catching what little light the sun managed to get to earth and glinting in rainbow colors. Her eyes were brighter though, Sanosuke noted. He also noted that she shivered again. "You're cold," he told her. It wasn't a question.
"A little. I'll be fine until we get back to the dojo," Kaoru's teeth chattered.
Sanosuke sighed and removed his surcoat. "Put this on, Missy."
"You idiot! Put your jacket back on! You don't even have a shirt on, Sanosuke!"
"No, you put it on," Sanosuke insisted. "You're cold."
"And you'll freeze!" Kaoru would not take the offered coat from his hand. "All you've got to cover your torso is those bandages! You need more than that. Put your jacket on."
"You," Sanosuke held the jacket closer to Kaoru.
"No, you!" Kaoru pushed his hand away.
An amused smile flashed over Sanosuke's face. "I'm not putting it back on, woman. Either you're going to wear it back to your home or I'm going to carry it all the way there."
"That's not funny, Sano! Put your jacket on. You'll get sick!" Kaoru slapped his hand away again as he held the coat out to her.
"I'm not putting it back on, woman. You might as well."
"Sanosuke, be sensible," Kaoru begged.
"I am being sensible. You're cold, so you should put it on. I'm not cold, so I don't need it. Put the jacket on, Kaoru," he told her.
"You have to be cold, Sanosuke," Kaoru protested.
"But I'm not. Put it on, Kaoru."
Kaoru turned away and began walking faster. Sanosuke took two quick steps to catch up with her, then wrapped his jacket around her shoulders. "Sanosuke!"
"Wear it, Missy," he told her. "I don't need it and I'm not putting it back on. If you don't wear it back to your dojo, neither of us will."
Kaoru gave in and slipped her hands through the sleeves. "If you get sick then don't come crying to me," Kaoru warned him.
"I won't," Sanosuke assured her. He looked down at her for a moment and frowned. Then he took a deep breath and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. When Kaoru didn't shrug him off, his frown evaporated the way he wished that the snow would.
"New Year's Day is coming up soon," Kaoru told him.
"I know," Sanosuke said.
"I'm going to throw a party at my school, and you're invited," Kaoru raised one of her hands and wrapper her fingers around Sanosuke's.
"I've never celebrated New Year's Day before," Sanosuke said.
"What?"
"Well I might have when I was a kid, before I ran away from home, but I don't remember," Sanosuke ammended.
"You'll have a good time at my party," Kaoru assured her friend. "New Years is a time for family, and even if you're not one of my students, you're part of the Kamiya family."
"I'm touched," Sanosuke grinned at Kaoru.
Kaoru punched Sanosuke in the side. "Don't be sarcastic you oaf! I'm trying to be nice."
"Sorry!" Sanosuke raised both hands with their palms toward Kaoru in a gesture of surrender. "I know you're being nice, I'm just not the sentimental kind of guy!"
Kaoru calmed down and sighed. "I know. I wouldn't want you to be, anyway."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sanosuke demanded.
"If you weren't arrogant, egotistical, and cool, you wouldn't be the Sanosuke who's become a member of the Kamiya family," Kaoru responded.
"Don't arrogant and egotistical mean the same thing?" Sanosuke wondered out loud. "Oh, you forgot good looking by the way."
"I didn't forget anything," Kaoru teased.
"Now who's being mean?" Sanosuke muttered, falling in step beside Kaoru again.
The two walked back to the Kamiya dojo quickly since the weather was getting colder. Kaoru tried twice to get Sanosuke to put back on his jacket, and was unsuccessful both times. It was obvious to her that Sanosuke was getting cold, but he wouldn't admit it. It was with no small amount of relief that Kaoru returned his jacket to him when they entered the dojo.
"Sano!" Yahiko shouted, darting out of the dojo, "Sanosuke, there's someone here asking for you!"
"Huh?" Sanosuke raised one eyebrow as he shrugged back on his surcoat.
"A guy came here awhile ago, before the afternoon class ended. He said he was told that he could find Sanosuke Sagara, ex-member of the Sekihotai at this school."
"What does he want? Do you know?"
"So far he's only said that he wants to see you," Yahiko's eyes were wide with excitement.
"What aren't you telling me, Yahiko?" Sanosuke wanted to know as he followed Yahiko inside.
"The man asking for you wears a black coat, cut simalar to yours. He wears the symbol for 'Bad' or 'Wicked' on his back, just like you," Yahiko opened the door to the dojo. "And he wears a red headband, just like yours."
Sanosuke started to shout 'WHAT?!' but the door to the dojo was open and his visitor was visible, though his back was to Sanosuke. The Bad symbol was sewn onto his jacket in white and he did indeed wear a Sekihotai headband. Could he be another survivor of the Sekihotai massacre? Sanosuke wondered wildly.
He walked ahead of Kaoru and Yahiko, motioning for them to stay back. Sanosuke purposely made sure his footsteps were heavy on the floorboards so his guest would know he was approaching. The man didn't turn around, however, though he had to have heard. Sanosuke considered what he could say to the man who might have been one of his former comrades. "I'm Sanosuke Sagara," he announced finally, after waiting a moment to see if the man standing before him would turn around. "I've been told you were asking for me, though I do not know if we have met before. You are. . ?"
"Sanosuke Sagara," the man mused, rather than answer. "You took the last name Sagara after all, even though I told you that name sounded too weird."
That voice.
Sanosuke nearly choked. He would have sworn that his heart had stopped beating in his chest, but he could feel the blood pulsing and burning at his temples. It couldn't be. There was no way. . .
The man turned around and Sanosuke found himself staring at a face that was familiar, but into eyes that were completely alien.
Sanosuke felt like his own eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. "C-Captain Sagara."
"I hate snow." Sanosuke punched the tree and spun away as it fell. "I hate snow." Another tree was brought to its knees by Sanosuke's fist. "I hate snow!" Sanosuke threw a punch at a third tree but stopped his fist a centimeter before his fist connected. The tree fell anyway, though he hadn't touched it. Sanosuke smiled despite the snow that was floating down into the clearing that he had just created. He was getting much better.
"Impressive, Sanosuke," Kaoru said from behind him.
Sanosuke turned to face her. "I didn't hear you come up."
"I'm not surprised. Between the chorus of 'I hate snow's and the splintering of wood, it was probably hard to hear anything else." Kaoru's smile lit up the gray afternoon.
"Shouldn't you be teaching classes at your dojo?" Sanosuke asked her.
"Yahiko's teaching for me this afternoon. I needed to get out."
"So you came looking for me?" Sanosuke leaned against an undamaged tree. "I'm touched."
"Why are you coming out here to train again?" Kaoru wanted to know. "I thought we agreed you would train at the my dojo."
"You came looking for me because you were worried?" Sanosuke teased. "I knew you cared!"
"Make no mistake, Sanosuke, I don't care. I'm just curious."
"You mean nosy," Sanosuke muttered.
"What's that?!"
"Nothing."
"You said something!"
"I said nothing!"
"Fine. But what are you doing out here? If you hate snow, why train in it?" Kaoru crossed her arms.
"I wanted to see how much stronger I've gotten since May," Sanosuke told her, stepping away from his tree and walking toward her. "The only way I saw to do that was to revert back to my old way of training for a day and see if it's gotten any easier."
"And has it?" Kaoru asked.
"Much easier," Sanosuke assured her.
"Are you coming back to the dojo now?"
"Yeah, that seems like a good idea. It will get us out of the damned snow."
"Why don't you like snow?" Kaoru asked as they began walking down the path back to the city. "I've always loved it. It's beautiful and makes the trees look as if they've been frosted with crystals."
"It was snowing the night that the Sekihotai was destroyed," Sanosuke told her. It didn't hurt to talk about the destruction of the Sekihotai so much anymore. In fact, it was good to have someone to talk to about it, someone who both cared and acted like they cared. Master Tetsuko had never acted like she cared to keep Sanosuke from drowning in pity. "It's a meamory that's hard to forget. Besides, snow is so cold. It forms in drifts in the streets, then when it's set for awhile it freezes to all the other damn snowflakes so you've got a solid block of snow in front of your doorstep."
"It is cold," Kaoru agreed, shivering. "But I still like the way it makes things pretty."
Sanosuke looked down at Kaoru and could see what she meant. Many large snowflakes had fallen in her hair where they hung like diamonds, catching what little light the sun managed to get to earth and glinting in rainbow colors. Her eyes were brighter though, Sanosuke noted. He also noted that she shivered again. "You're cold," he told her. It wasn't a question.
"A little. I'll be fine until we get back to the dojo," Kaoru's teeth chattered.
Sanosuke sighed and removed his surcoat. "Put this on, Missy."
"You idiot! Put your jacket back on! You don't even have a shirt on, Sanosuke!"
"No, you put it on," Sanosuke insisted. "You're cold."
"And you'll freeze!" Kaoru would not take the offered coat from his hand. "All you've got to cover your torso is those bandages! You need more than that. Put your jacket on."
"You," Sanosuke held the jacket closer to Kaoru.
"No, you!" Kaoru pushed his hand away.
An amused smile flashed over Sanosuke's face. "I'm not putting it back on, woman. Either you're going to wear it back to your home or I'm going to carry it all the way there."
"That's not funny, Sano! Put your jacket on. You'll get sick!" Kaoru slapped his hand away again as he held the coat out to her.
"I'm not putting it back on, woman. You might as well."
"Sanosuke, be sensible," Kaoru begged.
"I am being sensible. You're cold, so you should put it on. I'm not cold, so I don't need it. Put the jacket on, Kaoru," he told her.
"You have to be cold, Sanosuke," Kaoru protested.
"But I'm not. Put it on, Kaoru."
Kaoru turned away and began walking faster. Sanosuke took two quick steps to catch up with her, then wrapped his jacket around her shoulders. "Sanosuke!"
"Wear it, Missy," he told her. "I don't need it and I'm not putting it back on. If you don't wear it back to your dojo, neither of us will."
Kaoru gave in and slipped her hands through the sleeves. "If you get sick then don't come crying to me," Kaoru warned him.
"I won't," Sanosuke assured her. He looked down at her for a moment and frowned. Then he took a deep breath and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. When Kaoru didn't shrug him off, his frown evaporated the way he wished that the snow would.
"New Year's Day is coming up soon," Kaoru told him.
"I know," Sanosuke said.
"I'm going to throw a party at my school, and you're invited," Kaoru raised one of her hands and wrapper her fingers around Sanosuke's.
"I've never celebrated New Year's Day before," Sanosuke said.
"What?"
"Well I might have when I was a kid, before I ran away from home, but I don't remember," Sanosuke ammended.
"You'll have a good time at my party," Kaoru assured her friend. "New Years is a time for family, and even if you're not one of my students, you're part of the Kamiya family."
"I'm touched," Sanosuke grinned at Kaoru.
Kaoru punched Sanosuke in the side. "Don't be sarcastic you oaf! I'm trying to be nice."
"Sorry!" Sanosuke raised both hands with their palms toward Kaoru in a gesture of surrender. "I know you're being nice, I'm just not the sentimental kind of guy!"
Kaoru calmed down and sighed. "I know. I wouldn't want you to be, anyway."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sanosuke demanded.
"If you weren't arrogant, egotistical, and cool, you wouldn't be the Sanosuke who's become a member of the Kamiya family," Kaoru responded.
"Don't arrogant and egotistical mean the same thing?" Sanosuke wondered out loud. "Oh, you forgot good looking by the way."
"I didn't forget anything," Kaoru teased.
"Now who's being mean?" Sanosuke muttered, falling in step beside Kaoru again.
The two walked back to the Kamiya dojo quickly since the weather was getting colder. Kaoru tried twice to get Sanosuke to put back on his jacket, and was unsuccessful both times. It was obvious to her that Sanosuke was getting cold, but he wouldn't admit it. It was with no small amount of relief that Kaoru returned his jacket to him when they entered the dojo.
"Sano!" Yahiko shouted, darting out of the dojo, "Sanosuke, there's someone here asking for you!"
"Huh?" Sanosuke raised one eyebrow as he shrugged back on his surcoat.
"A guy came here awhile ago, before the afternoon class ended. He said he was told that he could find Sanosuke Sagara, ex-member of the Sekihotai at this school."
"What does he want? Do you know?"
"So far he's only said that he wants to see you," Yahiko's eyes were wide with excitement.
"What aren't you telling me, Yahiko?" Sanosuke wanted to know as he followed Yahiko inside.
"The man asking for you wears a black coat, cut simalar to yours. He wears the symbol for 'Bad' or 'Wicked' on his back, just like you," Yahiko opened the door to the dojo. "And he wears a red headband, just like yours."
Sanosuke started to shout 'WHAT?!' but the door to the dojo was open and his visitor was visible, though his back was to Sanosuke. The Bad symbol was sewn onto his jacket in white and he did indeed wear a Sekihotai headband. Could he be another survivor of the Sekihotai massacre? Sanosuke wondered wildly.
He walked ahead of Kaoru and Yahiko, motioning for them to stay back. Sanosuke purposely made sure his footsteps were heavy on the floorboards so his guest would know he was approaching. The man didn't turn around, however, though he had to have heard. Sanosuke considered what he could say to the man who might have been one of his former comrades. "I'm Sanosuke Sagara," he announced finally, after waiting a moment to see if the man standing before him would turn around. "I've been told you were asking for me, though I do not know if we have met before. You are. . ?"
"Sanosuke Sagara," the man mused, rather than answer. "You took the last name Sagara after all, even though I told you that name sounded too weird."
That voice.
Sanosuke nearly choked. He would have sworn that his heart had stopped beating in his chest, but he could feel the blood pulsing and burning at his temples. It couldn't be. There was no way. . .
The man turned around and Sanosuke found himself staring at a face that was familiar, but into eyes that were completely alien.
Sanosuke felt like his own eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. "C-Captain Sagara."