A/N: I'm done! Can you believe it?! Like I'd kill Megumi (who I happen to have much more respect for since writing this)...but anyway, there's more Megumi/Aoshi interaction...a LOT more in this chappie...
Megumi clutched the tree as she tried to stand up straight. Giving up, she allowed herself the luxury of leaning back, gazing at the sky as tears streamed down her cheeks.
She was alive. Tired, trembling...but alive.
Aoshi...she thought.
She had heard him call out to her...But time had been racing against her. The room had become black with smoke, making it difficult to see. She and Yuuta had cowered onto the ground. Yuuta had noticed a wooden door beneath the Western-style bed that Fukai had been resting on. They both moved the bed aside, grabbed several necessary items and crawled through. Megumi had been surprised when she tumbled into a tunnel, spraining her ankle along the way.
Yuuta suggested they see the end, and Megumi agreed. Megumi and Yuuta had crawled in the darkness for what seemed to be for miles. The tunnel, while large enough to fit a standing person at the entrance in the shed, had grown smaller and smaller. But the night sky appeared above them, and they crawled out, the exit in a cluster of bushes and trees, far away from the house. It must have been some escape route...
"Megumi-sensei...are you all right?"
The lady doctor nodded. "Yes, Yuuta-chan. How about you?"
"I'm okay...I think..."
Silence. They quietly celebrated their survival. Although they knew that they had to get back to Aizu, both woman and child just savored the night sky's cold breeze.
A shadowy figure materialized in front of them. Megumi and Yuuta screamed simultaneously. Then Megumi pressed a hand to her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.
"Aoshi..." He looked like she felt. His clothing was torn in several places, soot streaked his neck and face. His shinobi gi was left partially open, exposing his collarbone, and from that point up, his tanned skin glowed with perspiration. She lowered her eyes. "You...You startled us..."
***
At first, it didn't register in his brain. But she was there...standing before him.
Hesitantly, he reached out, grasping her chin in his hand, tilting her head so that he could meet her gaze. Weariness, shadows of fear, and spirit combined shone in her eloquent eyes.
Incredible relief flooded through him, causing his body to tremble. Hoping to disguise the action, he dropped his hand, but his eyes never left her form, examining her from the top of her head, her once nicely pinned up hair falling in several thick strands, loosening from the fancy twist. Her ivory skin was smudged with soot and dirt. Her lips were the color of a pale rose, completely bare from their trademark red paint. And the elegant gown she had worn at the embassy was torn in several places, streaked with dirt.
Yet, in spite of her weary appearance, she looked incredible. He swallowed, confused at the emotions raging inside of him.
"You...You're alive. How...?" he asked quietly, unable to finish his sentence.
Immediately, her eyes began to fill with unshed tears, and she gave him a smile, a smile that lit up her features. "You're late." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "As for how...I'll tell you later..."
His mouth quirked up in a brief smile. Then he focused his gaze on the young boy clinging to her side. "Are you-?"
Her eyes opened. "Yuuta-chan," Megumi answered softly. "Jiro-san's grandson..."
"I see..."
"How...How is he?" she asked.
Aoshi looked at her, knowing what she was really asking. "He's fine...It...will take some time for him to heal...but he'll be all right..." He had held back. Slightly.
She lifted a hand to run a finger along an area where his gi was cut by Jiro's staff. "It looks like you had a hard time..."
"I'll be fine. We need to head back to Aizu..."
She bit her lip. "I...I sprained my ankle while trying to escape the fire...I can barely walk on it..."
Aoshi leaned back against a tree next to hers, placing him just several feet away from her. He was so exhausted, he wasn't sure he could carry her all the way to Aizu. He needed to gather his strength. "All right. We'll rest for a while...then I can take you back to the clinic. Your kidnappers are probably long gone now..."
Within a few minutes, Yuuta had started a fire and Megumi proceeded to dress Aoshi's wounds.
She let out a hissing breath as she shifted her weight as she sat next to him. Aoshi glanced at her.
"Yuuta," he instructed. "Go find as many flat wood pieces you can so we can wrap Megumi-sensei's ankle."
The young boy nodded and proceeded to count to a hundred out loud indicating his location as he walked off, torch in hand.
"Excuse me..." Megumi got to her knees and with her back to him, hitched up her skirt and yanked something off of her leg.
His eyes widened, realizing that she had strapped her medical kit to her leg. "You carry that with you all the time?"
As she settled next to him, she nodded, saying, "I never know when I might need it..." She opened the small box, revealing scissors, a small cloth, bandages, adhesive, and small vials of medicine. Setting the box on the ground, she turned to him, soaking the cloth with a bit of water from one of the water containers that Yuuta had dragged into the tunnel.
They sat in silence as Megumi cleaned his cheeks and jaw, the fire illuminating his features so she could see where cuts and bruises were forming. Once she finished with that, she instructed him to unbutton his gi so she could work on his chest and back. At first, he hesitated, but he let her do her job. It was an unusual feeling...letting someone take care of him.
He hadn't let anyone else take care of any of his injuries since...well...honestly...he had gone to the hospital at the insistence of the Oniwabanshu...just after he returned from Shishio's headquarters. But after that, she had arrived to care for all the injured so a visit to the hospital hadn't been necessary. But before then...he was eight when he had injured his leg during a training exercise. Okina had taken care of that.
Yuuta was nearing a hundred when Megumi began to apply stinging antiseptic solution and cover cuts with bandages. Within a few minutes, Yuuta returned with several bark pieces he was able to pry off the trees.
"Good work, Yuuta," Aoshi commented. "Now..." he began positioning the pieces around her ankle for the splint, "...hold them just like this while I find something to tie..." He looked around blankly until he realized his belt, which was basically made of a long strip of cloth, would provide the best tension. "Scissors."
Megumi obediently handed him her medical kit. He used the scissors to snip part of his belt off and wrapped it around her ankle.
Then Aoshi sat back against the tree, apparently waiting until he could gather his strength and walk back to Aizu.
Horse hooves once again filled his ears. The three were pleasantly surprised to see a police officer approaching.
"I saw the smoke of your fire...is everything all right?" he asked.
Aoshi saw Megumi breath a sigh of relief.
***
"Can you walk?" Aoshi asked as Megumi gripped his arm at the pathway leading towards the clinic.
The police officer had been kind enough to let her and Yuuta ride his horse to Aizu while he and Aoshi walked. Yuuta had been dropped off at Jiro's house. His parents had been told the truth, and Jiro offered an apology to Aoshi and Megumi, who told him that they would talk more later. They were too exhausted.
"I think so..." Megumi limped along with Aoshi holding her hand, his other hand at the small of her back as forms of support.
The clinic lights went on and the door opened. Kei stood in the doorway in shock. Megumi looked up to see her brother hurry down the path towards her.
Aoshi stepped back as Kei embraced her tightly.
"Megumi-chan...you're all right...you're alive..."
She blew out a breath. "I'm fine, Kei-nii, I-"
"I thought I'd never see you again..." Kei muttered.
"I'm fine," she repeated. But the joy on her face revealed that she was just as relieved to see him as he was seeing her.
Kei stepped back, examining her, noting the crude splint on her ankle. "What happened to you?"
"Ankle sprain. I'll be fine in a couple days..." She waved her hand in dismissal.
"Right. Let's get that foot elevated..." Kei then turned to Aoshi and took a step toward him, not letting go of his sister's arm. "Shinomori-san...Th...Thank you for bringing her back..."
Aoshi nodded once before saying, "You're welcome."
"I...I'd be honored if you stayed here the remainder of your visit in Aizu...until you are ready to return to Kyoto, of course," Kei added.
Aoshi glanced at Megumi, who gave him a brief smile. What was this unusual feeling? Some...Something had happened between he and Megumi during the last few days...he wasn't sure what...and he wasn't sure he wanted to speculate about it at the moment, either. All he wanted to do was rest. "Thank you..."
***
Several days later...
"I see. It's sad knowing what has become of my old friend...and yet...there's still hope for him..." Okina mused.
Aoshi set his cup of tea down. Without even having to ask, Misao refilled it, completely absorbed in their conversation. Okina and Misao had given him a warm welcome when he arrived in Kyoto not too long ago. Okina and Aoshi had met in a quiet room of the Aoiya, where they could be free to discuss the events in Aizu.
"He realized his mistake...and he knows that he can never undo what he has done, so he plans on working hard the rest of his life to support his family..." Aoshi concluded.
"It's very admirable of him to do so, wouldn't you agree?" Okina chuckled.
Aoshi smiled slightly. "Even more so for his family to accept him in spite of what has happened..." He had been in a similar situation not too long ago.
Aoshi remained quiet while Okina finished his cup of tea. Once Okina set it down, Misao filled it halfway before realizing that her kettle was empty.
"Excuse me, I'll be back with more tea and food," Misao explained, exiting the room.
"Megumi-sensei gave me a list of ingredients used for the poison's antidote," Aoshi began to speak again. "Tomorrow I intend to visit the various clinics and hospitals and provide the medicine, along with a detailed report of a patient's symptoms. I was told just before I left Aizu that the group who had kidnapped her had been taken into custody...but in case the group had formed alliances with other private parties across Japan, I asked her to give me the formula. She plans on sending the formula to her different physician friends as well."
"That's good to know. I'm glad that she was able to assist you."
"I agree." Aoshi picked up his teacup and sipped thoughtfully. "Before I left, she also told me that she plans on attending a medical conference here in Kyoto...I..." He paused briefly, before saying, "I told her that she is more than welcome to stay here during the conference."
Okina's eyebrow arched, and he glanced in the direction of the hallway. Positive that they were alone, he turned back to the young man he had once raised. With twinkling eyes, he asked, grinning, "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me about Takani Megumi?"
Something flickered in the onmitsu's eyes. Instead of commenting, he merely continued to drink his tea.
At that, Okina chuckled.
A/N: Thanks to all the readers, whether you reviewed or not, I do appreciate it. Also much thanks goes to Daiji for her enlightening emails, Girlquinn & Xiaoyu for being constant cheerleaders (tea's on you, Quinn), MemphisLong/Dan for Jiro's move list, Gracey/P.Rico/Riah for their Aoshi/Megumi fanfics (I read those before I even started E&A, thanks for the inspiration).
But wait! There's more! Yup, there's gonna be a sequel. I don't plan on ending it HERE, there's SO much more I could write. Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a saga...? Anyway, until then, check out Azaleafaye's Penitence for your Aoshi/Megumi fix, and Daiji's Only the Strong to get an idea of the kind of Aoshi we'd rant about in emails.
Okay, Quinn, I'm done. Tekken 4 roundrobin time...
Megumi clutched the tree as she tried to stand up straight. Giving up, she allowed herself the luxury of leaning back, gazing at the sky as tears streamed down her cheeks.
She was alive. Tired, trembling...but alive.
Aoshi...she thought.
She had heard him call out to her...But time had been racing against her. The room had become black with smoke, making it difficult to see. She and Yuuta had cowered onto the ground. Yuuta had noticed a wooden door beneath the Western-style bed that Fukai had been resting on. They both moved the bed aside, grabbed several necessary items and crawled through. Megumi had been surprised when she tumbled into a tunnel, spraining her ankle along the way.
Yuuta suggested they see the end, and Megumi agreed. Megumi and Yuuta had crawled in the darkness for what seemed to be for miles. The tunnel, while large enough to fit a standing person at the entrance in the shed, had grown smaller and smaller. But the night sky appeared above them, and they crawled out, the exit in a cluster of bushes and trees, far away from the house. It must have been some escape route...
"Megumi-sensei...are you all right?"
The lady doctor nodded. "Yes, Yuuta-chan. How about you?"
"I'm okay...I think..."
Silence. They quietly celebrated their survival. Although they knew that they had to get back to Aizu, both woman and child just savored the night sky's cold breeze.
A shadowy figure materialized in front of them. Megumi and Yuuta screamed simultaneously. Then Megumi pressed a hand to her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.
"Aoshi..." He looked like she felt. His clothing was torn in several places, soot streaked his neck and face. His shinobi gi was left partially open, exposing his collarbone, and from that point up, his tanned skin glowed with perspiration. She lowered her eyes. "You...You startled us..."
***
At first, it didn't register in his brain. But she was there...standing before him.
Hesitantly, he reached out, grasping her chin in his hand, tilting her head so that he could meet her gaze. Weariness, shadows of fear, and spirit combined shone in her eloquent eyes.
Incredible relief flooded through him, causing his body to tremble. Hoping to disguise the action, he dropped his hand, but his eyes never left her form, examining her from the top of her head, her once nicely pinned up hair falling in several thick strands, loosening from the fancy twist. Her ivory skin was smudged with soot and dirt. Her lips were the color of a pale rose, completely bare from their trademark red paint. And the elegant gown she had worn at the embassy was torn in several places, streaked with dirt.
Yet, in spite of her weary appearance, she looked incredible. He swallowed, confused at the emotions raging inside of him.
"You...You're alive. How...?" he asked quietly, unable to finish his sentence.
Immediately, her eyes began to fill with unshed tears, and she gave him a smile, a smile that lit up her features. "You're late." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "As for how...I'll tell you later..."
His mouth quirked up in a brief smile. Then he focused his gaze on the young boy clinging to her side. "Are you-?"
Her eyes opened. "Yuuta-chan," Megumi answered softly. "Jiro-san's grandson..."
"I see..."
"How...How is he?" she asked.
Aoshi looked at her, knowing what she was really asking. "He's fine...It...will take some time for him to heal...but he'll be all right..." He had held back. Slightly.
She lifted a hand to run a finger along an area where his gi was cut by Jiro's staff. "It looks like you had a hard time..."
"I'll be fine. We need to head back to Aizu..."
She bit her lip. "I...I sprained my ankle while trying to escape the fire...I can barely walk on it..."
Aoshi leaned back against a tree next to hers, placing him just several feet away from her. He was so exhausted, he wasn't sure he could carry her all the way to Aizu. He needed to gather his strength. "All right. We'll rest for a while...then I can take you back to the clinic. Your kidnappers are probably long gone now..."
Within a few minutes, Yuuta had started a fire and Megumi proceeded to dress Aoshi's wounds.
She let out a hissing breath as she shifted her weight as she sat next to him. Aoshi glanced at her.
"Yuuta," he instructed. "Go find as many flat wood pieces you can so we can wrap Megumi-sensei's ankle."
The young boy nodded and proceeded to count to a hundred out loud indicating his location as he walked off, torch in hand.
"Excuse me..." Megumi got to her knees and with her back to him, hitched up her skirt and yanked something off of her leg.
His eyes widened, realizing that she had strapped her medical kit to her leg. "You carry that with you all the time?"
As she settled next to him, she nodded, saying, "I never know when I might need it..." She opened the small box, revealing scissors, a small cloth, bandages, adhesive, and small vials of medicine. Setting the box on the ground, she turned to him, soaking the cloth with a bit of water from one of the water containers that Yuuta had dragged into the tunnel.
They sat in silence as Megumi cleaned his cheeks and jaw, the fire illuminating his features so she could see where cuts and bruises were forming. Once she finished with that, she instructed him to unbutton his gi so she could work on his chest and back. At first, he hesitated, but he let her do her job. It was an unusual feeling...letting someone take care of him.
He hadn't let anyone else take care of any of his injuries since...well...honestly...he had gone to the hospital at the insistence of the Oniwabanshu...just after he returned from Shishio's headquarters. But after that, she had arrived to care for all the injured so a visit to the hospital hadn't been necessary. But before then...he was eight when he had injured his leg during a training exercise. Okina had taken care of that.
Yuuta was nearing a hundred when Megumi began to apply stinging antiseptic solution and cover cuts with bandages. Within a few minutes, Yuuta returned with several bark pieces he was able to pry off the trees.
"Good work, Yuuta," Aoshi commented. "Now..." he began positioning the pieces around her ankle for the splint, "...hold them just like this while I find something to tie..." He looked around blankly until he realized his belt, which was basically made of a long strip of cloth, would provide the best tension. "Scissors."
Megumi obediently handed him her medical kit. He used the scissors to snip part of his belt off and wrapped it around her ankle.
Then Aoshi sat back against the tree, apparently waiting until he could gather his strength and walk back to Aizu.
Horse hooves once again filled his ears. The three were pleasantly surprised to see a police officer approaching.
"I saw the smoke of your fire...is everything all right?" he asked.
Aoshi saw Megumi breath a sigh of relief.
***
"Can you walk?" Aoshi asked as Megumi gripped his arm at the pathway leading towards the clinic.
The police officer had been kind enough to let her and Yuuta ride his horse to Aizu while he and Aoshi walked. Yuuta had been dropped off at Jiro's house. His parents had been told the truth, and Jiro offered an apology to Aoshi and Megumi, who told him that they would talk more later. They were too exhausted.
"I think so..." Megumi limped along with Aoshi holding her hand, his other hand at the small of her back as forms of support.
The clinic lights went on and the door opened. Kei stood in the doorway in shock. Megumi looked up to see her brother hurry down the path towards her.
Aoshi stepped back as Kei embraced her tightly.
"Megumi-chan...you're all right...you're alive..."
She blew out a breath. "I'm fine, Kei-nii, I-"
"I thought I'd never see you again..." Kei muttered.
"I'm fine," she repeated. But the joy on her face revealed that she was just as relieved to see him as he was seeing her.
Kei stepped back, examining her, noting the crude splint on her ankle. "What happened to you?"
"Ankle sprain. I'll be fine in a couple days..." She waved her hand in dismissal.
"Right. Let's get that foot elevated..." Kei then turned to Aoshi and took a step toward him, not letting go of his sister's arm. "Shinomori-san...Th...Thank you for bringing her back..."
Aoshi nodded once before saying, "You're welcome."
"I...I'd be honored if you stayed here the remainder of your visit in Aizu...until you are ready to return to Kyoto, of course," Kei added.
Aoshi glanced at Megumi, who gave him a brief smile. What was this unusual feeling? Some...Something had happened between he and Megumi during the last few days...he wasn't sure what...and he wasn't sure he wanted to speculate about it at the moment, either. All he wanted to do was rest. "Thank you..."
***
Several days later...
"I see. It's sad knowing what has become of my old friend...and yet...there's still hope for him..." Okina mused.
Aoshi set his cup of tea down. Without even having to ask, Misao refilled it, completely absorbed in their conversation. Okina and Misao had given him a warm welcome when he arrived in Kyoto not too long ago. Okina and Aoshi had met in a quiet room of the Aoiya, where they could be free to discuss the events in Aizu.
"He realized his mistake...and he knows that he can never undo what he has done, so he plans on working hard the rest of his life to support his family..." Aoshi concluded.
"It's very admirable of him to do so, wouldn't you agree?" Okina chuckled.
Aoshi smiled slightly. "Even more so for his family to accept him in spite of what has happened..." He had been in a similar situation not too long ago.
Aoshi remained quiet while Okina finished his cup of tea. Once Okina set it down, Misao filled it halfway before realizing that her kettle was empty.
"Excuse me, I'll be back with more tea and food," Misao explained, exiting the room.
"Megumi-sensei gave me a list of ingredients used for the poison's antidote," Aoshi began to speak again. "Tomorrow I intend to visit the various clinics and hospitals and provide the medicine, along with a detailed report of a patient's symptoms. I was told just before I left Aizu that the group who had kidnapped her had been taken into custody...but in case the group had formed alliances with other private parties across Japan, I asked her to give me the formula. She plans on sending the formula to her different physician friends as well."
"That's good to know. I'm glad that she was able to assist you."
"I agree." Aoshi picked up his teacup and sipped thoughtfully. "Before I left, she also told me that she plans on attending a medical conference here in Kyoto...I..." He paused briefly, before saying, "I told her that she is more than welcome to stay here during the conference."
Okina's eyebrow arched, and he glanced in the direction of the hallway. Positive that they were alone, he turned back to the young man he had once raised. With twinkling eyes, he asked, grinning, "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me about Takani Megumi?"
Something flickered in the onmitsu's eyes. Instead of commenting, he merely continued to drink his tea.
At that, Okina chuckled.
A/N: Thanks to all the readers, whether you reviewed or not, I do appreciate it. Also much thanks goes to Daiji for her enlightening emails, Girlquinn & Xiaoyu for being constant cheerleaders (tea's on you, Quinn), MemphisLong/Dan for Jiro's move list, Gracey/P.Rico/Riah for their Aoshi/Megumi fanfics (I read those before I even started E&A, thanks for the inspiration).
But wait! There's more! Yup, there's gonna be a sequel. I don't plan on ending it HERE, there's SO much more I could write. Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a saga...? Anyway, until then, check out Azaleafaye's Penitence for your Aoshi/Megumi fix, and Daiji's Only the Strong to get an idea of the kind of Aoshi we'd rant about in emails.
Okay, Quinn, I'm done. Tekken 4 roundrobin time...