Chapter 1:

"The Second Time Around"



The wind combed through the lengthy brown tresses of his hair, blowing it into his eyes and he angrily shook his head to brush them away. Tokyo seemed to have been put on a striking pause since he left. The trees were still standing tall, the roads were still as dusty as ever, and the grass was still filled with dry weeds that no one had ever bothered to discard. The city looked as if he had never left the place at all. It was still the same disheveled vicinity he had left behind so long ago, but it was, without a doubt: home.

Home. It was a word that had changed meanings dozens upon dozens of times during the past six years, but they had all lead straight back here. Tokyo was where he had made himself into the man he is today. He was able to leave his past behind him on the streets and create a family out of those that he cared for and cared for him. Tokyo was where he had finally been able to find himself, only to later get lost in someone else.

His evergreen cloak clung to his body as the wind continued to ravel about him as if to push him back to wherever he had come from, but he trudged on. Sanosuke could only hope that the dojo was still open and that the assistant master, the brat, and the retired Battousai the Manslayer remained residents.

The wind soon died down as he turned down the familiar road leading to the Kamiya dojo and his steady steps made soft crunching sounds beneath him as his shoes found loose gravel. The dojo was still there, its paint slightly chipping and several unrecognizable cracks in its door had become more present over the years, pure signs of the home's age.

Cautiously, Sanosuke took his right hand from where it rested in his pocket and raised it over the wooden door to knock, but it was suddenly opened before he could even tap it with his finger.

A young boy stood there, his head only reaching up to Sanosuke's thigh. He had fiery red hair which was pulled back into a high ponytail, but multiple wispy bangs flew stubbornly every which way, sticking to the temples of his forehead from the heavy exercise he had to endure that morning. His hands clasped a small wooden bokken and the boy struggled to catch his breath as he cocked his head to the side to stare at the tall man in curiosity.

"So, the little Missy got some more students then, huh?" Sanosuke said, looking down at the boy as he, in return, strained his neck up to return the new guest's gaze, "Is Kenshin Himura around?"

The boy stared at Sanosuke for a few moments with a blank look in his sapphire eyes. He stared so long, Sanosuke thought maybe he hadn't heard him and he cleared his throat to ask again.

"Does Kenshin still live here?" Sanosuke asked, furrowing his eyebrows as he did so at the thought of his best friend living anywhere else but where Sano suspected he would stay forever, "How about Kaoru Kamiya? She here or did she move out or something?"

Instantly, the boy spun around and ran towards the house, leaving Sanosuke confused, surprised, and cold standing in the doorway.

"Daddy! There's a strange man at the door asking for you!" the boy called, trailing his wooden sword behind him like a tail, "Daddy! Where are you?"

"I'm right here, Kenji," Kenshin replied, stepping out from the backyard, a white dishrag thrown over his shoulder as he went over to kneel by his son, "I was doing the dishes when I heard you yelling, that I was. Now, what's the matter?"

Kenji pointed toward the door, his finger outstretched to Sanosuke's lean form, still in the exact same position he had left him in, and Kenshin followed his son's direction and smiled up at their unexpected guest. After gently putting his son's hand back down and telling him that it was not polite to point, Kenshin said his greetings.

"Hello," Kenshin said as he approached the stranger, "I'm Kenshin Himura, that I am. Is there something you wanted to talk with me about?"

He was aged, fine lines that hadn't been there before were now becoming a more definite feature on his face. Tiny wrinkles formed at the corners of his eyes when he smiled his usual rurouni smile, the one that he did when he wanted people to think he was nothing but a mere innocent bystander or that he was just plain stupid. Sanosuke smiled down at his friend, realizing that even with time, Kenshin Himura was still exactly the same.

"I know it was a while back since I last saw you, but I wasn't expecting to run into your kid," Sanosuke answered as he placed his hand behind his head and looked from father to son, "He looks just like you, Kenshin. He's even got the Missy's eyes. She is his mom, right?"

"Sanosuke? Is that you?" Kenshin asked, tilting his head from side to side to examine the man in front of him. Checking his facial features and the familiar smirk on his face and finally finding everything fall right into the perfect description of his long lost best friend, his smile only widened. "I would have to say that I wasn't expecting to run into you either, that I wasn't. I barely recognized you with your hair down and that cloak. I believe you've already met my son, Kenji, and yes, Kaoru is his mother. She's inside right now cooking breakfast. I'm sure she'll be very surprised and happy to see you, that she will. Come on in and you can tell us about where you've been all this time over breakfast."

"That might take a long time to tell you about all the places I've been to," Sanosuke said as he obediently followed the red head and his identical son inside the dojo, his hands returning to their usual position in his pockets and he pushed aside the shoji, revealing the intoxicating aroma of soup and rice, "The Missy didn't learn to cook well by any chance, did she? I'm not really up for getting poisoned on my first day back, you know."

"You haven't changed a bit, I see," Kaoru chimed in, interrupting Sanosuke's insult to her old horrible cooking strategies and she placed her hands on her hips. Having heard every word the men had spoken since Sanosuke had first arrived at the dojo, Kaoru was in no need for a re-introduction. "You may have changed your hair, grown a little tuft on your upper lip and gotten new clothes, but you're still the same unappreciative Sanosuke Sagara I always knew."

"Well then, I appreciate you having me for breakfast then," Sanosuke replied, making a big emphasis on the word 'appreciate' and he flashed his old friend a smile, "Nice seeing you again, Kaoru."

Her stern face soon changed to a light-hearted smile as the corners of her mouth turned up and the edges of her eyes creased at his changed attitude. Still smiling, she looked to her husband, to her son, to Sanosuke, and in realizing how cold it was outside, she ushered them all into the room and sat them all down at the table as she brought out the soup and rice. Surprisingly, the rice was not burnt and the soup did not taste like seasoned water. When everyone was settled and comfortable, Kaoru took her seat next to Kenshin and started up on her meal.

"So, where have you been all this time, Sanosuke?" Kaoru asked between mouthfuls of steaming white rice and she looked over the rim of her bowl to glance at him, "You really had us all worried when you left Tokyo like that without even a word. We only got information of what happened when the police chief stopped by and told us about your wanted status with the police. Were you just hiding from them the entire time?"

After finishing his breakfast, Kenji politely excused himself from the table and grabbed his bokken before heading out the door to practice more of his daily regimen. With the young boy out of ear shot, Sanosuke was free to talk about whatever he wanted and he would be able to explain his story freely, without constraining from any of his usual foul language. Sanosuke swallowed back his food first and met both Kenshin and Kaoru's eyes before he spoke.

"I couldn't tell you guys about the whole rumor about the government official. As soon as I found out about it, I just ran. Better if I got out of the situation without involving all of you anyway," Sanosuke said, Kenji's grunts and the sound of his sword swings filling the otherwise silent room, "I got the news that I was wanted for killing the magistrate when I was with a friend of mine. He told me all about it and the next thing I knew, about a dozen cops were chasing me down. I didn't exactly have the spare time to run by the dojo and explain it all with the police riding on my ass. I had no choice but to leave without saying anything to anybody."

"Well, one would think that you would at least have the decency to write a letter or something," Kaoru chided, the stern look returning to her face as she peered at him from narrowed ocean blue eyes, "if not a letter to us, then at least to your fiancé."

Sanosuke automatically stood up from his seat to defend himself, his anger rising at Kaoru's lack of understanding his reason. She had no right to tell him what he should or should not have done, especially when it was all for what he thought was best for them, for... her.

"Hey! I didn't come back here to get lectured by you! You think I'd just write her a letter and have the police trace it back to me and have her get put in jail for keeping my whereabouts a secret?!" Sanosuke snapped, his hands clenching into fists, "I'm not gonna risk her taking the fall for something I got framed for! You're talking about decency, I'm talking about protecting her from that damn screwed up government! If I'd communicated with her in any way, she'd have been the one they'd go after with me gone! I don't wanna get shut up in a cell for something I didn't even do, let alone put it all on her! Kaoru, you don't half of what I've been through!"

Kaoru stood up from her seat as well, wild fire dancing in her eyes, practically burning out the eternal blue that made up her pupils and she pointed an accusing finger straight at his face.

"You left her, you big jerk!" Kaoru shouted, her point directing right at the center of his dark brown eyes, "Yes, it's true that I have no idea what you've been through over all these years but I know pretty damn well what you put her through! I know because I was there to see her break down and cry, I was there when she demanded to know where you where, when she said she just couldn't take it anymore! You left her three weeks before your wedding without so much as a farewell! And you dare come back now saying you were looking out for her well-being?! Well, I've got news for you, Sanosuke! If you wanted to keep her from getting hurt, you shouldn't have stomped all over her heart, leaving her to think God knows what! You have some nerve coming back here six years later, expecting her to fall back into your arms just like that! For all she knew, you were dead! For all she knew, you left without saying good-bye to her because you never wanted to marry her in the first place! Megumi waited for you for so long and not even a single word came from you! Not a letter, not a visit, nothing! You made her cry until she had no more tears left! I hope you're damn proud of yourself! You... you... selfish bastard!"

As soon as she said the last part of her speech, Kaoru's voice cracked and Sanosuke first realized the endless streams of tears that cascaded down her cheeks. Although her whole body shook with anger, her finger still remained raised accusingly at him, but it had somehow lost its threat as it quivered with the rest of her body.

Kenshin automatically stood up from where he had been sitting, observing their argument, and his concern for his wife turned him away from his friend. Kenshin cursed himself for not stopping the fight earlier and he took Kaoru into his arms, cradling her into his lap as if she were a tiny child and he smoothed his hand over her hair to try and calm her shaking nerves. Heaving a deep sigh, Kenshin continued with his soothing motions to his wife, keeping his head lowered as he spoke to Sanosuke.

"I'm sorry, Sano... She's just upset, that she is. Kaoru has been pretty tired lately and..." Kenshin paused as he looked up from Kaoru's trembling body to face his friend, but Sanosuke was nowhere to be found, "Sano? Where did he go off to this time?"

"Forget it, Kenshin. He left again without saying good-bye," Kaoru whispered, a slight wobble in her voice as her tears slowly ceased and she pressed her ear to Kenshin's chest, "It's what he's good at. Just let him go. I said what needed to be said and it's taking its toll on him. He needed to hear the truth, Kenshin... He has no idea what he put Megumi through and now he's just...!"

"That may be true, Kaoru. Sano may not know how his departure affected Miss Megumi, but you also don't know how it affected him, that you don't," Kenshin interrupted, looking down at his wife's tear-stained face and he gently wiped off the remaining watermarks with his thumb, "You both have very good points in your argument, but I'm afraid I'm leaning more towards Sano's reasoning, that I am. I bet he was in the same horrific state she was, if not, worse. I'm sure he wanted to let Miss Megumi know that he was alright and that he would be coming back someday, but you also have to look at it from his point of view, that you do. He felt he was protecting her by not associating with her, which was why it was necessary for him to keep his whereabouts a secret. He was only trying to keep Miss Megumi from getting involved with his problems, that he was."

"I guess you're right, Kenshin, you always are. But... that still doesn't change the fact that I hope he left Tokyo again," Kaoru admitted, her hands placed loosely in her lap and she kept her face averted from her husband's. Kenshin was a bit taken aback with her abrupt statement and he tilted his head to the side to get a better look at her and he gave her a quizzical expression.

"Oro? Don't you think that's a bit harsh?" Kenshin asked, not quite understanding her want of Sanosuke's absence, "I know you two just had a pretty bad argument and you are just defending Miss Megumi, but don't you think wanting to have him leave again is a bit drastic? You should try and look past the argument and try and remember what a good person he is, that you should."

"That's not why I hope he left, Kenshin," Kaoru said as she stared into the deep violet pools of her husband's eyes, the eyes that held her all in place, "I know what a good person he is, I never forgot. It's just... I just don't want him to get hurt when he finds out what's happened since he left."

"Oh..." Kenshin replied, "You're talking about Tetsu, aren't you?"

"Mm hm," Kaoru agreed with a nod, "He'll be so devastated when he finds out. You saw how he thought Megumi had just been waiting for him this whole time! It's going to hurt him so much when he finds out... I hope he just left, Kenshin, I hope he left. That way he could just never find out and his heart will be spared."

~

Sanosuke was angry. No, more than angry, he was furious. He frustratingly kicked a rock that stood in his path and it clunked against a nearby cherry blossom tree, making it shake from the hard impact and causing hundreds of soft pink petals to flutter to the floor assorted on the ground like sprinkles on a chocolate cake. It was bad enough that Kaoru had yelled at him, but what added to Sanosuke's fury, was knowing that she was right.

He did leave Megumi six years ago and it was true that he hadn't given her so much as a telegraph to let her know he was still breathing air into his lungs; he wasn't too proud about that. But he had done it all so he could protect her. That was the only thing he had been aiming for, but somehow it seemed his decision had only made matters worse. He had wanted to talk with her, or at least write, God knows he did, but he didn't want to tell her he was coming back one day only to find her locked up in bars for getting caught communicating with a wanted criminal like him when the day finally rolled around. Wanted for something he didn't even do, for something that Sanosuke had been wrongly accused of.

He didn't kill the magistrate, Hideki Kajima, he didn't kill anybody, but somehow word had gotten around that he had, and in a very strange way, Sanosuke could see pretty good reason why he would be the top suspect.

He had been angry that night too. Six years ago, half drunk and half controlled by his rage, he had walked down the opposite direction of the road he usually used to get to the clinic and he had stumbled on to the magistrate's house at about eleven o'clock at night.

He had heard about how the government assigned Hideki Kajima to try and take one of his friends, Ryo, into jail for stealing a priceless golden cup from a police officer's home and selling it at the black market for some money. It was wrong of his friend to steal, that was true, even if it was a petty theft, but his intentions for the money were all well and good.

Ryo's wife had been sick for over four months since giving birth to Ryo's child and she was unable to breast feed the baby because of her illness. Ryo needed the money to pay for the milk that the child's mother couldn't provide and if Ryo were to be thrown into jail, that would leave his wife and child to fend for themselves. Without Ryo to buy food and care for his family, they would die within a few days time.

It wasn't fair and it wasn't right and Sanosuke was going to make sure that the judge knew that, even if he had to pound it into his head that leaving Ryo's family to starve wasn't the way the government should punish him.

He had stormed into the court room like a mad man, his eyes possessing the look of Zanza as they glowered at the man in charge of the fate of one innocent family's lives and he had grabbed him roughly by the shirt. Sanosuke didn't remember what exactly he said to the man, but he knew that he had gotten through to him by the way the man pleaded for his life. Sanosuke had no intention on killing the magistrate, but he did give him a warning, a threat that would have sent Saito running with his tail between his legs. And when he finished, Sano had retreated from the court house, leaving the judge scared stiff in a tiny corner of the room, quickly signing papers to cancel any movements to take Ryo Shiranami behind bars.

Sanosuke had left, completely satisfied, not having so much as cut an inch of hair off the magistrate's head, but still fulfilling his duty of doing what was right. He had headed back to the clinic, where he always went after being out with his friends for the night and he found Megumi already in the futon, the blanket curled around her, but her eyes were wide open. She had been waiting for him, as Sano had expected she would, and he had immediately crawled into the bed with her, holding her close and inhaling the sweet scent of her hair. That was the last time he had heard her say she loved him and it was the last time he had held her in his arms.

The next morning, he had given her a swift kiss on her cheek before heading out to see Ryo at his house and tell him the good news. What awaited him on the streets were hushed whispers and accusing points from practically everyone he passed, all things that Sanosuke had simply brushed off as something that didn't need very much attention. When he reached Ryo's house, his friend was already awake and pacing about in front of his apartment with a pensive look on his face.

At seeing Sanosuke, he ran over to him and told him all about the police searching for him for murdering the magistrate the night before. Ryo had hurriedly brought him inside to talk privately, but before Sanosuke could even explain his side of the story, the door had been kicked in and about ten police had drawn their guns at their heads. They both had little time to react and that was what caused Ryo's downfall.

One idiot police officer took aim and fired, hitting Ryo in the leg and disabling him from getting away. Ryo had fallen to the floor in pain, but he had discreetly drawn his own weapon from its hidden holster in his boot while the police officers were so distracted in confronting Sanosuke who was struggling to get to his wounded friend. Before Sano could even reason his innocense, Ryo had shot down all ten officers to the ground, not killing them, but injuring them enough to cancel their job in capturing his good friend, leaving Sanosuke in disbelief in the doorway.

"Get out of here, Sano," Ryo had said, still holding on to his injured leg as he pointed his gun towards the now open doorway, "They're wounded now and unable to fight, but there'll be more. You have no choice... you need to leave Tokyo for now and come back when it's safe."

"But I gotta get you to a doctor! Come on, the fox'll be able to fix you up and then we can talk about this," Sanosuke had insisted, but Ryo had only shaken his head, "Ryo, I can't leave Tokyo! I've got people here that need me! I can't leave! Not now, not ever! It'll take years for this whole thing to blow over!"

"At the most, ten. Sano, you have to go," Ryo had said again, trying his best to stand on his one good leg, "You won't be much use to those people that need you if you're dead, now get out of here! I'll be fine, don't worry about me... Right now, the only thing you should be worrying about is yourself! You can't stay here any longer or they'll find you! Go! Go now!"

Sanosuke hadn't thought, he just ran. He didn't even have any idea where he was going, just as long as it was in the opposite direction of danger and before he knew it, there were about three dozen officers after him, some on foot and some on horse. It took a great deal of strategy and effort, but Sanosuke had been able to lose them about a mile or two down into the forest and by that time, it was already dusk and the sun was just barely touching the horizon.

He had stopped to catch his breath and take one last look at his home, the place where everything important to him dwelled, and the one place that he would not be able to set his foot on again for many years to come.

"I'm sorry, Megumi..." Sanosuke had whispered one last time before taking off again into the far off lands of his undecided destination.

Sanosuke shook his head to clear away his memories of the last day he spent in Tokyo and he looked up from his gaze on the ground to see the sign of the local doctor's clinic. Unconsciously, his feet had led him straight here, like a fish going in for a worm on a hook. But, according to Kaoru, he was the only worm in this whole situation. Sanosuke shook away that thought too. Right now, his main concern was to see the lady doctor that had haunted his every thought for the past six years. He took a deep breath before raising his hand over his head and prepared himself to knock on the door.

~

"Mina, go take a break now. It's already close to lunch time!" Megumi called to her assistant from her room in the clinic as she continued sweeping the dust from under her bed and into the silver dust pan, "It's going to be a slow day today so you might as well take a two hour break."

"Two hours for lunch? Well, aren't you being awfully generous today?" Mina said as she folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the doorframe of Megumi's room, "If anyone here needs a break, I'm thinking it's you. Like you said, it's gonna be a slow day. I'm sure you'll have some time to spend before Suzuki gets back. I doubt anyone's gonna show up here, you're probably scaring them all off with your little room sanitizing."

"The room is just dusty that's all. It could stand to use some cleaning up," Megumi replied to her friend with a smile and both women turned to the sound of someone knocking at the door, "Hm... I think we spoke too soon. Could you get that please?"

"Sure," Mina said, turning on her heel to exit the room, but she turned back to see Megumi straining with the weight of her dresser as she tried to push it across the tatami mat to the middle of the room, "You need some help moving that?"

"No, I got it, Mina," Megumi huffed as she paused to wipe the sweat from her brow when the dresser was moved into the center of her room, "Just answer the door, will you?"

"Got it," Mina answered and she strode over to the tall oak door and unlocked the three bolts before opening the door all the way to examine their first patient of the day.

Sanosuke stood there, his arm resting against the doorframe with his other hand jammed into his pants pocket. He looked at the girl with curiosity, having expecting Megumi to open the door, and he felt utterly ridiculous for striking his usual seductive pose. He stared for a moment, wondering where the foxy woman was, but he snapped out of his silence when the young woman gave him a confused look.

"Do you work here?" he asked her, hoping with all his might that the foxy doctor was still that: a doctor. He watched as the girl smiled and opened the door wider. Thinking that she was letting him inside, Sanosuke took a step forward, but instead, the girl stepped out and onto the porch with him.

"Yes, I do. I was just leaving for a lunch break," Mina replied as she headed out the door and she pointed back to the clinic's entrance, "But Miss Megumi is still inside if you need anything."

~

Megumi took a deep breath as she leaned against the heavy dresser she had just shoved away from the wall to reveal the mat underneath that was in desperate need of dusting. The area that had been covered by the dresser was shrouded with dust bunnies and lint and Megumi stuck out her tongue in disgust at the sight. She absolutely hated untidiness. Frantically, she began sweeping up the old residue on the floor.

But somewhere in the middle of all the gray build-up, she spotted something small and shiny. With a tiny frown, Megumi bent down to examine the foreign object and she pushed her hair behind her ears so that she could blow away the dust that surrounded it. When most of the dust and lint was finally off, Megumi picked it up and turned it over in her hand, brushing off the excess residue. And there in all its glory, stood her old engagement ring that Sanosuke had so long ago proposed to her with.

She took in a sharp breath at the sight, having completely forgotten all about the ring that had symbolized his promise to share his life with her and she turned it over in her hand as if she couldn't believe it was real. She had been looking all over for it years ago, but she was never able to find it. It was what she had cherished most, it was...

"Megumi!" Mina called from outside, "I'm going off to lunch now! There's someone at the door for you!"

Mina's call startled Megumi out of her loving remembrances and she vigorously wiped away the oncoming tears. 'I'm being ridiculous,' she thought as she tightened her grip around the ring, 'why would I want to cry over this again? It's been so long...'

"I'll be right there!" Megumi hollered back after a moment's pause and she heard the front door close, indicating that Mina had just left the clinic.

Megumi quickly stalked over to her dresser again, and opening up the bottom drawer, she pushed aside all her clothes. At the bottom of all her folded kimonos, was a tiny box about the size of her sandal, decorated with a few aged stones and etched flowers. In her rush to put the ring away and answer the door, Megumi opened the box up too quickly and dust went flying through the air and into her unsuspecting face. Megumi sneezed a little bit and her eyes began to water, but she placed the ring inside the box, setting it down right next to her collection of mementoes of Sanosuke Sagara.

Inside was one of his many red bandanas, torn and battered, but it had never lost its value as a treasure. There was an old worn-out fishbone that stunk to high heaven and now, the silver engagement ring.

Another thing was hidden at the bottom, wrapped in long black silk, loosely fitted so it could conceal the object's shape and Megumi involuntarily shuddered at the power it possessed. She could just imagine it, long and sleek, black and hard, she could practically feel the handle in her palm, the tiny trigger against her index finger, and she could almost smell the gunpowder. She had never used it and Megumi hoped she would never have to.

Megumi shut the box closed and quickly pushed the bottom drawer back into place, also pushing away her thoughts to the far back wall of her mind. She had already taken up too much of the patient's time with her silly emotions and she wasn't about to worry about them anymore.

'That's it, Megumi,' she thought to herself as she made her way out to the door where the patient still stood, 'no more thinking about Sanosuke and that's that!'

Determined to keep her promise, Megumi turned and faced the stranger with her most professional grin, her once waist long black hair, now cut to her shoulders, swinging behind her like a grapevine.

"Megumi?" Sanosuke asked, more in disbelief than anything else as he watched the gorgeous woman open the screen door to come face to face with him. He blinked several times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He needed reassurance that the woman in front of him was real flesh and blood and not an angel.

She looked like she hadn't aged a bit since he had last seen her and he was glad to see the familiar fire glowing in her cinnamon colored eyes, the eyes he was so easily lost in. Was it possible that she had grown even more beautiful over the years?

"Yes, that's me," Megumi replied with a bright smile, "Can I help you with something?" "Can you help me? Yeah, I imagine you can," Sanosuke said, his smile growing wider by the second, "You see, I traveled a long way over here to see you.... Fox."

Megumi frowned at the name, not quite catching what he meant by it. No one had called her such an embarrassing name since...

Sudden sirens went off in her brain and the room suddenly grew so small as she felt it being to spin around her. She stumbled backwards, reaching out for the nearby chair for support as she tilted her head down and then lifted it back up to face the man in her doorway. Shock had overtaken her and it almost hurt to think. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out, only a soft whimper, and her hand flew to cover the open gap of her lips.

A look of worry crossed over Sanosuke's face as he watched Megumi back away and stumble for the second time. With her hand covering her mouth, he hoped she wasn't about to burst into tears. He wouldn't be able to handle that and he'd probably end up bawling his eyes out too.

Instead, Megumi closed her eyes as her entire body went limp and she practically tumbled to the floor. Sanosuke barely had time to catch her, but he had her in his arms before she hit the ground. Enchanted by the woman he now held, he looked down into her sleeping face, the same one he had said good-bye to that last morning he was in Tokyo six years ago and he smiled.

Swooping her up in his arms, he carried her unconscious body over to one of the patient bedrooms and gently placed her on one of the futons. Carefully so he wouldn't wake her, he pulled a thin cover over her before going into the kitchen to bring out a large metal bowl filled with cold water and a damp washcloth.

Kneeling down by the bed's edge, Sanosuke patted the small towel over her delicate forehead and over her face, slowly remembering the natural blush of her cheeks, the smoothness of her skin, and the soft outline of her lips. And waiting, he placed the washcloth gently onto her temple and watched her as she slept.







A/N: Good? Bad? Leave a review and let me know please! Come on, don't make me beg!