A/N: I think it's about time I wrote this full (and bound to be very long) fic...something that I said that I'd do, and never got around doing it until now. Well, that's SwordSkill...late, but at least not never.^^ Anyhow, I hope the reader will enjoy this ditty I wrote...

The Dragon and the Phoenix

Chapter One:
A Man Called Sano

Dear Takani Megumi of Aizu,

We, the Doctors's Guild of Japan, have acknowledged you as one of the potential leading medical people of Japan. In order to broaden the medicinal education of our country's doctors, we invite you, along with nine other people, for a one-week doctors' convention in Shanghai, China. Many topics shall be included in this convention, such as acupuncture, Chinese herbal remedies, and the like. Enclosed in this letter are all the documents and money needed to make your stay in China as comfortable as possible. Should you decide to join us, you will find upon your arrival a local to guide you to the places you might need to go to in Shanghai.

We certainly hope you would accept our invitation. Domo arigato gozaimasu.

At your service,
the Doctors' Guild of Japan



The ship hooted its arrival on the port of Shanghai.

Shanghai was a great city where life sprang at every corner. Busy people, Chinese and foreigners, milled around across the streets, great structures dotted the streets themselves, and the noise! Rickshaw boys offered their services at the loudest way possible, vendors shouted their wares, children laughed and screamed, and the sounds of shoes quickly stepping on the pavement and the clip-clop of horse carriages were always present. The atmosphere of action permeated the air, for this was Shanghai, China's liveliest city.

As the captain began announcing the instructions on docking, Takani Megumi grabbed her handbag, feeling contagious to the exhilirating energy Shanghai produced. She knew that in China, and most especially in Shanghai, time was golden, and speed was everyone's best friend, lest you wanted to be trampled by the hordes of people that constituted China's teeming population.

It was only when she waited on the port for the shipmen to unload the baggages did she feel a bit lonely. She was surrounded by the many, many faces and the words of the Chinese, and she felt overwhelmed. As much as she had looked forward for this trip, she could not help longing for some Japanese companionship. Certainly, she had a made a few friends with the Japanese passengers on board the ship, but the friendship was only short-lived. She would probably not see them again. China was an entirely new world to her.

"Yeah, I thought I'd find you here, Megitsune," a familiar voice behind her said in straight Japanese.

Megumi's insides froze, the voice making her memory fly years and years back to the figure of a man called Sano. Different emotions filled her. It couldn't be...!

She slowly and deliberately turned around. And there he was indeed, Sagara Sanosuke. He was older, older than she could ever remember. His face was tanned, lined with hardships and experience, and hardened after fifteen years' worth of toil. She could see that life had not been kind to him, nor had luck been generous. And there was a sort of quiet resignation to him she had never seen, along with his longer hair and growing beard.

His frame was taller, more rugged, and more muscular, wearing a new yet the same-styled white jacket with the word Aku behind him. He seemed changed, yet at the same time unchanged. He still wore his bandages, his red bandanna a little tattered by now, and his trousers. Even his shoes didn't seem to have changed.

Megumi opened her mouth, her throat dry. "I hope you're not who I think you are," she finally said after blinking many times, "then my trip would have been ruined."

"Consider it ruined, I guess," replied Sano dryly, his voice deeper and more melancholic. "That's right, I'm your Shanghai contact."

"This is a joke, right?"

Sano shook his messy mop of hair. "I was living in Shanghai, I needed money really badly, and this job offer came. Believe me, I was as shocked as you are now when I saw your name on my sheet of instructions. But you can't be picky when you're poor."

"But this is a bit too coincidental!" said Megumi, trying to convice herself. "How could you have been chosen to guide particularly me in Shanghai? This must be some sort of dream." She passed a hand over her eyes and her brow in disbelief.

"I'm still here," said Sano, shrugging. "And are any of those your bags?" He looked at the luggages the port men were throwing on the deck.

When Megumi resignedly pointed her bags, Sano strode to one of the port men, said a few words in Chinese, and came back with Megumi's belongings.

"And you know Chinese too," commented Megumi. "I guess I should be flattered."

Sano shrugged again. "Hardly. Chinese is pretty similar to Japanese, and you know that our kanji was borrowed from the Chinese written language. Besides, when you live in China, where you have to talk to get yourself through almost everything, it's pretty easy to pick up the language."

"Really, O scholarly one? And I thought you thought fists were the best way to get through anything."

Sano grinned for the first time. "Yeah, that works fine too." He looked up to the sky. "I'm guessing it's about noontime. You hungry?"

"Let me guess: you are, aren't you?"

"Read my mind, fox. Got money?"

"Of course. The convention had things settled for me."

"Good, because all I have are a few yuans, and that's really all I have." Sano cracked his neck, making Megumi jump. "So what kind of restaurant would you prefer? I know some really good ones that have delicious food, and they're dirt cheap."

Megumi furrowed her brow. "I think I have enough money for a semi-posh restaurant."

"All right. Follow me please, and don't get lost. Once you stray away from me, there's no saying what kind of guy would pick you up. So stick to the handsomest one while you can." Sano gave a rakish smile, and Megumi longed to box his ears.

He led her through Shanghai's long streets carrying her baggages, and as Megumi cautiously trailed behind him, she found herself suddenly thinking about him.

It had been a long time since he had left the dojo to shake off the police who had been after him for a crime he didn't commit. A very long time indeed, and nothing significant had happened between the two. Many times she had been awake in bed in Aizu thinking how Sano fared on his journeys, wondering if his big mouth had gotten him into trouble again, or maybe he had married someone already. Megumi shuddered at the last thought. She certainly couldn't prevent Sano from marrying anyone, but she knew she would feel very relieved if he hadn't.

"Here we are, kitsune," said Sano, stopping at a teahouse with the red words Golden Carp at the gate. "Never eaten in this place before, but a lot of people said it's good." He dropped the baggages on his feet and said, "I'll wait here till you finish eating. I'll go eat lunch after we get your lodgings."

Megumi lifted her eyebrows. "You're not going to eat with me now?"

"Well, you did say semi-posh restaurant, and at the state that I'm in, I can't afford it."

Megumi hesitated then said, "I could treat you."

Sano shook his head. "Not necessary. After all, I'm just your Shanghai guide."

"But also my friend," insisted Megumi, surprisingly not only Sano but also herself. When had Sano ever pass up a chance to freeload? And when had she become this considerate? But still she said, "We may not like each other very much, but a friend is a friend."

"But-"

"Sano, go in," she ordered, and Sano obediently walked into the restaurant, feeling that he had lost another battle of wits with Megumi.

When they got themselves a table, Megumi let Sano rattle off a few main dishes to the waitress since he obviously knew a lot more about Chinese cuisine than Megumi. After he called for their pot of tea, Sano leaned towards her and said, "I got something for you for your birthday."

"Oh." Megumi wasn't sure of what to say. "I didn't know you'd remember."

Sano looked a bit uncertain from the answer, but nevertheless he fished something out of his pocket and placed it on the table. It was a small, green box with a band tied around it.

Megumi looked at it and said, "I hope it's not something that would explode on my face when I open it."

Sano rolled his eyes. "Just open it."

Megumi took the box in her hands, unwound the string, and opened it. Inside was a sealing chop to be used to stamp her name on paper. Her name was nicely carved on the smoothened side of the stone.

Chops weren't very special and one could easily buy one almost anywhere; she herself already owned two chops from Japan. But still she was touched that Sano remembered to buy her a present, despite his financially-troubled condition. "Thank you, Sano, it's very nice," she said, meaning it.

But before she could put it in her handbag, Sano grabbed the hand holding the chop. He said, "I know you think it's just another ordinary chop, and you think I must be a big buffoon in not getting you a more creative gift."

"Oh, not at all," said Megumi, trying to slip her hand away, but Sano held fast.

"But there's something special with that," he continued, looking at her. "The stone is made of good jade, see." He opened her hand and took the chop. He lifted it up to the sunlight, making the stone shine brilliantly with green light. "It's not best-quality because I can't afford that kind, but this looks just as green." He looked exceptionally proud of himself. "China is famous for its jade, and I thought this would make a nice souvenir of your trip here. And your name," here he couldn't help puffing his chest out a bit, "I carved it myself." He grinned lopsidedly. "Now you can't say that I'm just a stupid oaf."

Megumi was speechless. Sano's simplicity was very moving and seeing how he looked so pleased, she knew he had spent a lot of time carving out her chop. She looked at it, and suddenly its worth grew a thousand times greater. Sano really had changed.

"Arigato, Sanosuke," she said softly.

Sano smilingly crossed his arms and leaned back. "I learned a lot from my travels, like the more you learn new things, the more you feel that you know so few. And-" here he looked away, "how I didn't know that I'd miss...what I've left in Japan...so much, I guess."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Thankfully, it was interrupted by the Chinese girl placing their pot of tea on the table.

"So, why China, Sano?" asked Megumi as she poured herself a cup, hoping she could change the subject.

Sano looked as relieved to have the subject changed. "The cops back home don't have jurisdiction in countries other than Japan, so when I left home, I figured China would be as good as any place to start my journey across the world." Sano drank his cup. "Besides, it was close to Japan, so the ship fare was pretty decent." He poured himself another cup, and seeing that Megumi's was also empty, he moved in to pour hers too, much to her surprise. She shook her head, but Sano arched his eyebrow warningly and grinned, "Come on, give old Sano a whirl."

Megumi threw her hands up in mock surrender. "All right, fine, Mr. Shanghai, impress me with your tea-pouring skills."

Sano's grin grew wider. He took the pot full of tea and balanced its bottom on the tips of his right hand's fingers. Then he took Megumi's cup, gave it a small throw, and it settled neatly on his left forefinger. He began to slowly twirl it in rotation, then he lifted the pot balanced on his right fingers and poured it cleanly in.

Megumi's eyebrows went up. "Sure is a lot of trouble for pouring a cup of tea."

"You just have no taste for the arts," said Sano, setting the cup and the pot down. Then he checked himself and chuckled. "Boy, I've always wanted to say that."

Megumi laughed.

"So..." Sano's voice trailed, then came back. "How is Kaoru dealing with...what happened to Kenshin?"

Megumi sobered. "She's doing all right, but it seems that she had contracted what Kenshin had too."

"Oh. I see." A look of quiet sorrow lingered in Sano's face at the remembrance of when he last saw Kenshin. Then a little smile came. "They were married already, right?"

"For fifteen years. I suppose Kenshin told you about his son Kenji?"

"Yeah. I knew it was coming, but I was pretty surprised." A wicked light came to his eyes. "I wonder how Kenshin finally got his guts to propose."

"Oh, you! You yourself knew they were bound to be together."

"I know, I know. And I bet I could have convince Kenshin to name Kenji Sanosuke instead if I was there." Sano laughed, clearing the air.

"Drop dead, rooster. The world can't risk having another you," Megumi said good-naturedly. She took a piece of shrimp and put it in her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully and said nonchalantly, "So, what about you?"

"Me?" repeated Sano merrily, legs splayed out and arms crossed on his chest. "Shanghai women are very pretty, I'll give you that, but they expect you to come with a bit of status and a lot of money."

"Well, what about girls in the other parts of China? You've been there, haven't you?"

"All parts of China and six times around the world. Then I come back to Shanghai once in a while, but I'm not exactly looking for women or anything like that. What about you?"

"A doctor's life doesn't leave one with a lot of free time," answered Megumi coolly.

"Hm-mm." And that was the end of that conversation, but Megumi had a feeling that something related to it would come up again soon enough.

After lunch, which Megumi dutifully paid for, Sano brought her and her baggages to the inn she was staying.

"Well, your convention's still after noon tomorrow," said Sano, "so you've got this afternoon and tomorrow morning free." He opened his mouth and nothing came out. Then he scratched his head and said, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow afternoon then to take you to your convention."

"All right," said Megumi, hoping she looked like she was seriously making a mental note in her head.

"I'll meet you at the front of this inn."

"All right."

No one moved. Then both of them blurted out at the same time:

"Since you have nothing to do-"

"Are there places you'd recommend me to-"

Both of them stopped, uncertain of what to do. And Megumi, being the level-headed woman that she was, finally broke the silence with a practical "Are there places you'd recommend me to go?"

"Sure, there's a lot of great places in Shanghai," Sano replied with relief, a little color creeping into his cheeks. "I could show you around, if you'd like."

"Yes, I think I'd like that. It beats getting lost in a big city like Shanghai."

"All right. You look like you need rest now. About eight tomorrow morning?"

"Suits me."

"Good. For once, we agree. Ja ne, kitsune!" And Sano gave her a jaunty salute before leaving the inn.

Despite herself, Megumi returned him a small wave. Then she took her new chop from her bag and looked at it. The deep-green stone gleamed with light. She ran her fingers on the carved name, Takani Megumi.

The doctor carefully put it back in her bag.

***

Why did she have to come here?! Fifteen years apart, and although he could see the lines and wrinkles about developing on her skin, to him she had grown even more beautiful than he had remembered. But why here? Why now?

Sano threw himself on his makeshift bed and glanced up to his own lodgings with self-hatred. He lived in a small, dingy hut with a roof that fell off everyday and a wet floor that never ceased to bring him to his bottom. A pox on that leaking canal!

He thought he had finally left everything behind him, and that he was going to live his life anew. Now she came, and all he had tried to forgot for the past years were coming back to him with the speed of a furious thunderstorm.

He hated himself. He hated himself for being poor, for being a worthless gambler, one whose other job was working as a degraded coolie to the conceited, Western devils.

He hated the conversations he and Megumi had earlier, all of which were only fake, convenient pleasantries exchanged between mere acquaintances. He hated the chop he gave her because he was so poor and couldn't afford to buy anything with real value. He hated how he tried to show off with his shallow, tea-pouring tricks, tricks he learned from a drunken beggar.

He stood up and banged his head on the wall. The hut shook.

He clenched his fists in frustration.

He hated the fact that just a glance had made him start falling in love with her again.

chapter one, end

P. A/N: Nothing against Westerners for the "Western devils" bit, of course, but it just so happened that during that time period, the Chinese community wasn't whole-heartedly receptive of Westerners, especially after the Opium War.