"Hey, Sano, where's your girl?"
"Yeah, where's Michi?"
"Ain't she following you around no more?"
"Eh, she's a good girl..." Sanosuke was out with his friends, drinking and having a good time. "...Sh-she's stayin' at home t'night."
"Where'd y'ever find 'er? She's such a sweetheart."
"She was..." He frowned. Where did he find her? He couldn't remember. Her voice ran through his mind. Go ahead, have fun. But don't come back drunk. You'll be of no use to me if you're drunk. She'd smiled. Then he'd told her to be careful and not let any one in. He'd left her with Yoshi, met his friends and...He looked at the bottle of sake in his hands, then at the other bottles scattered around the room...Don't come back drunk...Shit! "I gotta go, guys."
"Already? C'mon, you can stay a little bit longer, can't ya?"
"She needs me. I left 'er all alone."
"She don't rule yer life, does she? She'll be fine for a while longer."
"I really gotta go. I can't keep her safe when I'm drunk." He stood up, handed the bottle to one of his friends, "Sorry guys. Maybe next time." There was some nagging felling...He was suddenly worried about her.
Michiko...Michiko...I gotta get home. Something is wrong. Very wrong. She had told him to go out...It didn't make sense. She was afraid to be alone. She didn't like it. That's why she followed him around everywhere. Michiko...Something was wrong!
He ran down the street, heart pounding. She had been so tired -so damn tired- of living in fear. Suppose she decided to take things into her own hands? No, he reasoned, she'd never be able to do that. So why the hell am I so damn afraid for her?
"What's your hurry, Sagara?"
Sanosuke stopped dead in his tracks. "Gohei..." He turned to face the large, bearded man, "What do you want?" His eyes narrowed, "You know Kenshin and I are friends. So what the hell do you want?"
"Only what's rightfully mine, Sagara."
"What are you talking about?" He looked suspiciously at the man who'd asked him to kill Kenshin, the man who'd inadvertently changed his life forever.
"You've got something of mine. Where are you hiding them?"
"You..." Sano couldn't believe it. Gohei? Gohei Hiruma was the one who'd destroyed Michiko?
"I don't care about the girl. You can have her. Keep her, the little bitch. Do what you want with her." A cruel, heartless laugh followed this statement, "She's not so sweet and innocent as she looks."
"You bastard. You fucking bastard!"
"Don't flatter me." Gohei growled, "I want my son. I want him now, do you hear me? I want him back from that girl. Or else she dies." It was nothing but dead seriousness then.
***
"Sano? Where Sano?"
"Yoshi, please go to bed."
"But-"
"Yoshi, please. You're trying my patience. Just do as I ask."
"A'ight." The boy sighed, "Night."
Michiko sat there, her face buried in her hands. I can't do this any more. I can't live like this. I just can't. It isn't fair to Yoshi. It's not his fault. And Sanosuke...I shouldn't be putting him through all this. He has come to love me and I cannot love him back. It's not right. I do not understand why he loves me. I do not understand anything any more. I can't-
"You lied to me!"
She looked up, startled. Sanosuke had burst through the door and he stood there glaring down at her. Fear washed over her. He looked extremely angry, not to mention slightly drunk. She tried to speak, but her throat constricted and her voice seemed to disappear.
"Tell me the damn truth!" He yanked her up off the floor, "Who the hell are you? Who is Yoshi and what the hell does Gohei Hiruma want with him?" His voice took on an angry, accusing tone she'd never heard before.
"Gohei..." Her dark eyes widened with fright, "No...He doesn't know I'm here, does he?"
"Why does Gohei want Yoshi?" He repeated, trying to make his voice calm as possible, "Why did he say Yoshi is his son?"
Her head bowed. "He is Gohei's son."
"Gohei's...your father?"
"No." She said miserably.
"Yoshi's not your brother. You lied about that. Did you kidnap him?"
"No! I never said he was my brother. You just assumed things and I didn't correct you."
"Why? What are you hiding from me?" He let go of her and she sank to the floor.
"I didn't want Yoshi to be in any danger. I could not allow Gohei to hurt my Yoshi -who was just an innocent baby." She did not cry. Her voice seemed to drain itself of all emotions; she became an empty, hollow shell of a person.
Something suddenly clicked in Sanosuke's mind...My Yoshi...I think he raped her...My Yoshi...When he forced me to..."No...You're not...Say he didn't..." He shook his head, "No." He turned away, "I won't believe it."
"I wish it weren't true. I wish he was my brother. But he's not." She looked up at him, at the kanji for "bad" written on the back of his jacket, "He is my son."
"How?" His voice came as a deadly whisper, "How did he do this? I don't understand."
"My family was very poor. It was me, my parents, two younger brothers and a baby sister. Father owed Gohei some sort of debt that I never understood; a debt he would never have been able to pay back. Gohei always laughed that he'd forget about the debt if my father gave me to him. I was a pretty girl, he said, and someday I'd make a pretty wife. Father refused, saying only over his dead body. Gohei took him up on that."
Sanosuke glanced at her. The look on her face was a far off one. She wasn't mentally in the room with him any more as she told the story. She had traveled back in time to when it actually happened. Her voice took on an eerie quality, that of a very tired person.
"I was about Yahiko's age. Mother sent me into town on an errand. My brother's were running after me, telling me to play with them, but I was a big girl and I had a job to do. When I came back, my home was gone. It had burned down. My family was dead. Gohei told me there was a terrible accident and they all died in the fire. He said since my father never paid him back, he'd take me instead. I always thought there was something suspicious about it. Even at age ten, it crossed my mind that he had something to do with that fire."
"That slimy..."
"He took me home with him, made me his slave. I cooked for him, cleaned for him. He never let me out. I was trapped inside all day long. The villagers thought I died in the fire too. He told me if any one ever saw me, I'd be in trouble. That's how I became a shadow." She hugged herself, pulling her knees up to her chest. "But I was only a child. I made mistakes." Her voice was muffled, "And he beat me for it. Broken bones...black eyes...bruises. I was never safe from any abuse."
"...Michiko..." Her name came out a sort of strangled whisper.
Her eyes welled up with tears at the sound of pity in his voice. "I was fourteen...He decided I was old enough and he wanted me to do more for him." She started to cry, "I begged him not to. I was scared. I cried and screamed and he hit me and hit me. Then...After the first time, I just shut myself down. I didn't feel anything any more. Shadows don't feel. I turned my heart off to everything. He kicked me and I didn't feel it. Hit me and I didn't feel it. Nothing mattered any more. There was no more hope. My life was over." A pause, "Just like it is now."
"Michiko, don't talk like that. It's never over. Come on, tell me what else happened, okay?"
"I was so scared when I realized I was going to have Yoshi. I wasn't afraid for me any more; I was afraid of what he would do to my baby. He watched me grow. Didn't touch me at all that whole time. I'd cry when I was alone, wondering what he'd do. I was still just a kid. I didn't know what I was doing. I was a scared kid." She shuddered, her body curled up in the fetal position, "I didn't have any help. It was just me. It hurt so much I thought it would die. I wasn't even fifteen when he was born. I wasn't ready to be a mother. Sometimes I think I'm still not."
Silence enveloped them. She was huddled in a lump on the floor, weeping silently. Sanosuke felt like his heart was being torn to pieces. Michiko was suffering so much. None of it was her fault and none of it was fair. He pulled her into his arms, hugging her while she cried.
"Yoshi didn't ask to be born. He didn't deserve such a rotten life. But I couldn't get away when he was so small still." She sniffled, her body trembling in his arms, "So I waited and ran when he was big enough. You know the rest." She said dully.
"Yes, I know. I understand now why you were so afraid the first time I mentioned the Battôsai. Why you said you couldn't love. Why you cried when I kissed you. I'm so sorry." He pitied her so much. He couldn't make himself understand how any on could hit her. He couldn't picture her so lifeless, trying to force herself to live. She was so caring, so innocent.
"Why are you doing this? I'm not worth it. I'm dirty. I'm spoiled. I will only make you hurt. Why do you care about me? How can you possibly love me?" she fit into his lap so perfectly, curled up like a child, her head on his chest.
"I don't know why. I just know that I do." He smoothed back her hair, "I'll keep you safe. Gohei won't ever hurt you again; I promise." He kissed her forehead, "Now here's what we're going to do. First we'll take Yoshi to Megumi. She'll be able to take care of him and Gohei won't find him there. Then we're going to go talk to Kenshin. You'll tell him what you told me. he and I will get rid of Gohei. Do you think you can do that?"
"Yes, I think so..."
"That's my girl. I'm sorry I scared you. I sort of snapped when he said Yoshi was his son."
"It's okay. I know you would never hurt me, Sagara-San."
"That's right; I wouldn't. Now come on, let's go. I'll carry Yoshi and explain it to Megumi so you don't have to."
She nodded wordlessly as he gathered the sleeping boy up in his arms. Then they set off out the door.
***
At the same time, Kenshin was pacing back and forth in the training room at the Kamiya Dojo, a thoughtful look on his face. Kaoru found him in there, feeling slightly puzzled by his somewhat unusual behavior.
"What's the matter, Kenshin?" She asked him.
"I have been thinking about Michiko." Came his distracted reply.
"She's fine. Sanosuke will make sure nothing happens to her."
"I have been thinking...Something she said the day Sano brought her here has been bothering me all this time. She said she would not trust friends of the Battôsai. But if her parents died recently, there is no way I could have killed them and she would have only been a small child during the time of the revolution. No, I do not believe the Battôsai she feared was me."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you remember, Miss Kaoru, the circumstances through which we met?"
"Of course I do. That skunk Gohei was pretending he was you to give my father a bad name." He eyes went wide as she realized what Kenshin meant, "You mean to tel me Gohei...?"
"Gohei has already proven he is capable of harming both women and innocent people. It is very possible that he is the man she is so terrified of. There are things Sano has told me that make me wonder if I am correct. She -never having met him- knew him as Zanza. When she said I wasn't Battôsai the Manslayer and I mentioned Gohei, she flinched. It was barely noticeable, but she did react to his name. Gohei is a very dangerous man. You know this to be true. If it really is him, she could be in terrible trouble; that she could."
"What are you going to do, Kenshin?"
"I am going to go talk to Sanosuke and Michiko. Perhaps she will tell us now that I have a guess at who she is running from."
"I'm coming with you."
"You're worried about her, aren't you, Kaoru?"
"Of course I am! Gohei is a terrible man! She doesn't stand a chance against him and nothing you can say will keep me from going with you."
A slight smile crossed his face. "I won't try to stop you, Miss Kaoru. I know that would be pointless. But we should go now before any more time passes."
"Right."
***
The night seemed far too dark and silent for Michiko's comfort. Gohei knew that she was with Sanosuke and that troubled her. She shrank closer to Sano, clutching his arm. He looked down at her. "What's wrong?"
"I am frightened, Sagara-San." Her dark, haunted eyes darted back and forth at every little nighttime sound. She was skittish and jumpy, clingy, scared out of her wits.
"I can see that. But it'll be okay. Even Yahiko can beat up Gohei. That man is never going to have another kid again after what Yahiko did to him."
She smiled in spite of her apprehension. "He didn't!"
"Oh, he did. Right in the groin with his elbow. 'Course I wasn't there to see it, but the kid couldn't stop laughing about it afterward."
She sidled up to him as close as she could get and he put his free arm around her. Yoshi was hugging him in his sleep, his little arms wrapped around Sano's neck.
"Hmm...Megumi's not here." No one had answered Sanosuke's knock on the door.
"Now what?" Michiko looked around. She had taken Yoshi and he still slept, cradled in her arms.
"Well, we're still going to see Kenshin. We'll just have to take Yoshi along."
"Sagara-San?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think that maybe...When this is all over...Maybe I can..." She stumbled over the words, her face flushed very pink, unable to say exactly what she wanted.
"Well, what is it that you want?"
"I want to stay here with you!" She blurted out.
He looked surprised for a moment, then smiled softly. "Of course you can do that. I want you to stay anyway."
"You mean it?"
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it, Michiko. I like you, really I do, and I'd be sad if you left."
She smiled shyly. "You'd be sad...Sanosuke?"
He stopped walking and looked down at her. She gazed up at him, her dark eyes full of all sorts of sweet sorrow. Her mournfulness, her sadness, thy were all a part of what made her beautiful. Now that she was there, even with all her pain and suffering, he couldn't imagine her being gone. "I would be lonely without you." He ran the back of his hand across her cheek, "I don't want you to go. I'll keep you safe forever."
"Forever?" She echoed softly. Her heart was pounding, her body trembled. She held Yoshi close, afraid that the whole thing was a dream and she'd wake up back in Gohei's house.
"You bet." He smiled.
"Oh Sano..." She looked down at Yoshi, asleep in her arms. Her face felt very hot and she didn't know what to say. How had she gotten so lucky? How had everything worked out so perfectly?
"That was touching."
Her head jerked up and panic washed over her. That voice...The voice that made her blood run cold. The voice that had whispered in her ear every night, telling her how she would never be free; how she would always belong to him. "No." She whispered, "No; stay away from me. Don't touch me."
"Oh, please. I don't want you. I don't care about you." Gohei laughed, "I want the boy."
"Never." She shrank back behind Sanosuke, Yoshi clutched protectively to her chest, "You'll never get my baby."
Yoshi's dark eyes blinked open. He looked up at his mother, her face contorted with fear. Then he peered around Sanosuke.
Michiko felt her small son tense up, his fingers digging into her arm. He whimpered slightly, buried his face in her shoulder. "Don't worry, Baby." She spoke into his feathery hair, "Mama won't let anything hurt you."
Gohei was still laughing. "Sagara, I didn't think you'd actually bring them to me. You're dumber than I thought."
Sanosuke pushed Michiko back behind him. "Stay out of the way. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Sanosuke...Don't!" She grabbed his arm. "He's too dangerous!"
"Look, I promised I would protect you. I'm not scared of Gohei."
"Sano...Please. Don't do this. We'll get the police. I don't want to lose you. I don't want him to kill you." Tears sprang to her eyes.
"I'll be okay. Just stay right here." He charged at Gohei, ready to unleash all of his pent up fury.
*Special thanks to Charon and Chaos for helping with this chapter! Love you, guys!*
"Yeah, where's Michi?"
"Ain't she following you around no more?"
"Eh, she's a good girl..." Sanosuke was out with his friends, drinking and having a good time. "...Sh-she's stayin' at home t'night."
"Where'd y'ever find 'er? She's such a sweetheart."
"She was..." He frowned. Where did he find her? He couldn't remember. Her voice ran through his mind. Go ahead, have fun. But don't come back drunk. You'll be of no use to me if you're drunk. She'd smiled. Then he'd told her to be careful and not let any one in. He'd left her with Yoshi, met his friends and...He looked at the bottle of sake in his hands, then at the other bottles scattered around the room...Don't come back drunk...Shit! "I gotta go, guys."
"Already? C'mon, you can stay a little bit longer, can't ya?"
"She needs me. I left 'er all alone."
"She don't rule yer life, does she? She'll be fine for a while longer."
"I really gotta go. I can't keep her safe when I'm drunk." He stood up, handed the bottle to one of his friends, "Sorry guys. Maybe next time." There was some nagging felling...He was suddenly worried about her.
Michiko...Michiko...I gotta get home. Something is wrong. Very wrong. She had told him to go out...It didn't make sense. She was afraid to be alone. She didn't like it. That's why she followed him around everywhere. Michiko...Something was wrong!
He ran down the street, heart pounding. She had been so tired -so damn tired- of living in fear. Suppose she decided to take things into her own hands? No, he reasoned, she'd never be able to do that. So why the hell am I so damn afraid for her?
"What's your hurry, Sagara?"
Sanosuke stopped dead in his tracks. "Gohei..." He turned to face the large, bearded man, "What do you want?" His eyes narrowed, "You know Kenshin and I are friends. So what the hell do you want?"
"Only what's rightfully mine, Sagara."
"What are you talking about?" He looked suspiciously at the man who'd asked him to kill Kenshin, the man who'd inadvertently changed his life forever.
"You've got something of mine. Where are you hiding them?"
"You..." Sano couldn't believe it. Gohei? Gohei Hiruma was the one who'd destroyed Michiko?
"I don't care about the girl. You can have her. Keep her, the little bitch. Do what you want with her." A cruel, heartless laugh followed this statement, "She's not so sweet and innocent as she looks."
"You bastard. You fucking bastard!"
"Don't flatter me." Gohei growled, "I want my son. I want him now, do you hear me? I want him back from that girl. Or else she dies." It was nothing but dead seriousness then.
***
"Sano? Where Sano?"
"Yoshi, please go to bed."
"But-"
"Yoshi, please. You're trying my patience. Just do as I ask."
"A'ight." The boy sighed, "Night."
Michiko sat there, her face buried in her hands. I can't do this any more. I can't live like this. I just can't. It isn't fair to Yoshi. It's not his fault. And Sanosuke...I shouldn't be putting him through all this. He has come to love me and I cannot love him back. It's not right. I do not understand why he loves me. I do not understand anything any more. I can't-
"You lied to me!"
She looked up, startled. Sanosuke had burst through the door and he stood there glaring down at her. Fear washed over her. He looked extremely angry, not to mention slightly drunk. She tried to speak, but her throat constricted and her voice seemed to disappear.
"Tell me the damn truth!" He yanked her up off the floor, "Who the hell are you? Who is Yoshi and what the hell does Gohei Hiruma want with him?" His voice took on an angry, accusing tone she'd never heard before.
"Gohei..." Her dark eyes widened with fright, "No...He doesn't know I'm here, does he?"
"Why does Gohei want Yoshi?" He repeated, trying to make his voice calm as possible, "Why did he say Yoshi is his son?"
Her head bowed. "He is Gohei's son."
"Gohei's...your father?"
"No." She said miserably.
"Yoshi's not your brother. You lied about that. Did you kidnap him?"
"No! I never said he was my brother. You just assumed things and I didn't correct you."
"Why? What are you hiding from me?" He let go of her and she sank to the floor.
"I didn't want Yoshi to be in any danger. I could not allow Gohei to hurt my Yoshi -who was just an innocent baby." She did not cry. Her voice seemed to drain itself of all emotions; she became an empty, hollow shell of a person.
Something suddenly clicked in Sanosuke's mind...My Yoshi...I think he raped her...My Yoshi...When he forced me to..."No...You're not...Say he didn't..." He shook his head, "No." He turned away, "I won't believe it."
"I wish it weren't true. I wish he was my brother. But he's not." She looked up at him, at the kanji for "bad" written on the back of his jacket, "He is my son."
"How?" His voice came as a deadly whisper, "How did he do this? I don't understand."
"My family was very poor. It was me, my parents, two younger brothers and a baby sister. Father owed Gohei some sort of debt that I never understood; a debt he would never have been able to pay back. Gohei always laughed that he'd forget about the debt if my father gave me to him. I was a pretty girl, he said, and someday I'd make a pretty wife. Father refused, saying only over his dead body. Gohei took him up on that."
Sanosuke glanced at her. The look on her face was a far off one. She wasn't mentally in the room with him any more as she told the story. She had traveled back in time to when it actually happened. Her voice took on an eerie quality, that of a very tired person.
"I was about Yahiko's age. Mother sent me into town on an errand. My brother's were running after me, telling me to play with them, but I was a big girl and I had a job to do. When I came back, my home was gone. It had burned down. My family was dead. Gohei told me there was a terrible accident and they all died in the fire. He said since my father never paid him back, he'd take me instead. I always thought there was something suspicious about it. Even at age ten, it crossed my mind that he had something to do with that fire."
"That slimy..."
"He took me home with him, made me his slave. I cooked for him, cleaned for him. He never let me out. I was trapped inside all day long. The villagers thought I died in the fire too. He told me if any one ever saw me, I'd be in trouble. That's how I became a shadow." She hugged herself, pulling her knees up to her chest. "But I was only a child. I made mistakes." Her voice was muffled, "And he beat me for it. Broken bones...black eyes...bruises. I was never safe from any abuse."
"...Michiko..." Her name came out a sort of strangled whisper.
Her eyes welled up with tears at the sound of pity in his voice. "I was fourteen...He decided I was old enough and he wanted me to do more for him." She started to cry, "I begged him not to. I was scared. I cried and screamed and he hit me and hit me. Then...After the first time, I just shut myself down. I didn't feel anything any more. Shadows don't feel. I turned my heart off to everything. He kicked me and I didn't feel it. Hit me and I didn't feel it. Nothing mattered any more. There was no more hope. My life was over." A pause, "Just like it is now."
"Michiko, don't talk like that. It's never over. Come on, tell me what else happened, okay?"
"I was so scared when I realized I was going to have Yoshi. I wasn't afraid for me any more; I was afraid of what he would do to my baby. He watched me grow. Didn't touch me at all that whole time. I'd cry when I was alone, wondering what he'd do. I was still just a kid. I didn't know what I was doing. I was a scared kid." She shuddered, her body curled up in the fetal position, "I didn't have any help. It was just me. It hurt so much I thought it would die. I wasn't even fifteen when he was born. I wasn't ready to be a mother. Sometimes I think I'm still not."
Silence enveloped them. She was huddled in a lump on the floor, weeping silently. Sanosuke felt like his heart was being torn to pieces. Michiko was suffering so much. None of it was her fault and none of it was fair. He pulled her into his arms, hugging her while she cried.
"Yoshi didn't ask to be born. He didn't deserve such a rotten life. But I couldn't get away when he was so small still." She sniffled, her body trembling in his arms, "So I waited and ran when he was big enough. You know the rest." She said dully.
"Yes, I know. I understand now why you were so afraid the first time I mentioned the Battôsai. Why you said you couldn't love. Why you cried when I kissed you. I'm so sorry." He pitied her so much. He couldn't make himself understand how any on could hit her. He couldn't picture her so lifeless, trying to force herself to live. She was so caring, so innocent.
"Why are you doing this? I'm not worth it. I'm dirty. I'm spoiled. I will only make you hurt. Why do you care about me? How can you possibly love me?" she fit into his lap so perfectly, curled up like a child, her head on his chest.
"I don't know why. I just know that I do." He smoothed back her hair, "I'll keep you safe. Gohei won't ever hurt you again; I promise." He kissed her forehead, "Now here's what we're going to do. First we'll take Yoshi to Megumi. She'll be able to take care of him and Gohei won't find him there. Then we're going to go talk to Kenshin. You'll tell him what you told me. he and I will get rid of Gohei. Do you think you can do that?"
"Yes, I think so..."
"That's my girl. I'm sorry I scared you. I sort of snapped when he said Yoshi was his son."
"It's okay. I know you would never hurt me, Sagara-San."
"That's right; I wouldn't. Now come on, let's go. I'll carry Yoshi and explain it to Megumi so you don't have to."
She nodded wordlessly as he gathered the sleeping boy up in his arms. Then they set off out the door.
***
At the same time, Kenshin was pacing back and forth in the training room at the Kamiya Dojo, a thoughtful look on his face. Kaoru found him in there, feeling slightly puzzled by his somewhat unusual behavior.
"What's the matter, Kenshin?" She asked him.
"I have been thinking about Michiko." Came his distracted reply.
"She's fine. Sanosuke will make sure nothing happens to her."
"I have been thinking...Something she said the day Sano brought her here has been bothering me all this time. She said she would not trust friends of the Battôsai. But if her parents died recently, there is no way I could have killed them and she would have only been a small child during the time of the revolution. No, I do not believe the Battôsai she feared was me."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you remember, Miss Kaoru, the circumstances through which we met?"
"Of course I do. That skunk Gohei was pretending he was you to give my father a bad name." He eyes went wide as she realized what Kenshin meant, "You mean to tel me Gohei...?"
"Gohei has already proven he is capable of harming both women and innocent people. It is very possible that he is the man she is so terrified of. There are things Sano has told me that make me wonder if I am correct. She -never having met him- knew him as Zanza. When she said I wasn't Battôsai the Manslayer and I mentioned Gohei, she flinched. It was barely noticeable, but she did react to his name. Gohei is a very dangerous man. You know this to be true. If it really is him, she could be in terrible trouble; that she could."
"What are you going to do, Kenshin?"
"I am going to go talk to Sanosuke and Michiko. Perhaps she will tell us now that I have a guess at who she is running from."
"I'm coming with you."
"You're worried about her, aren't you, Kaoru?"
"Of course I am! Gohei is a terrible man! She doesn't stand a chance against him and nothing you can say will keep me from going with you."
A slight smile crossed his face. "I won't try to stop you, Miss Kaoru. I know that would be pointless. But we should go now before any more time passes."
"Right."
***
The night seemed far too dark and silent for Michiko's comfort. Gohei knew that she was with Sanosuke and that troubled her. She shrank closer to Sano, clutching his arm. He looked down at her. "What's wrong?"
"I am frightened, Sagara-San." Her dark, haunted eyes darted back and forth at every little nighttime sound. She was skittish and jumpy, clingy, scared out of her wits.
"I can see that. But it'll be okay. Even Yahiko can beat up Gohei. That man is never going to have another kid again after what Yahiko did to him."
She smiled in spite of her apprehension. "He didn't!"
"Oh, he did. Right in the groin with his elbow. 'Course I wasn't there to see it, but the kid couldn't stop laughing about it afterward."
She sidled up to him as close as she could get and he put his free arm around her. Yoshi was hugging him in his sleep, his little arms wrapped around Sano's neck.
"Hmm...Megumi's not here." No one had answered Sanosuke's knock on the door.
"Now what?" Michiko looked around. She had taken Yoshi and he still slept, cradled in her arms.
"Well, we're still going to see Kenshin. We'll just have to take Yoshi along."
"Sagara-San?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think that maybe...When this is all over...Maybe I can..." She stumbled over the words, her face flushed very pink, unable to say exactly what she wanted.
"Well, what is it that you want?"
"I want to stay here with you!" She blurted out.
He looked surprised for a moment, then smiled softly. "Of course you can do that. I want you to stay anyway."
"You mean it?"
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it, Michiko. I like you, really I do, and I'd be sad if you left."
She smiled shyly. "You'd be sad...Sanosuke?"
He stopped walking and looked down at her. She gazed up at him, her dark eyes full of all sorts of sweet sorrow. Her mournfulness, her sadness, thy were all a part of what made her beautiful. Now that she was there, even with all her pain and suffering, he couldn't imagine her being gone. "I would be lonely without you." He ran the back of his hand across her cheek, "I don't want you to go. I'll keep you safe forever."
"Forever?" She echoed softly. Her heart was pounding, her body trembled. She held Yoshi close, afraid that the whole thing was a dream and she'd wake up back in Gohei's house.
"You bet." He smiled.
"Oh Sano..." She looked down at Yoshi, asleep in her arms. Her face felt very hot and she didn't know what to say. How had she gotten so lucky? How had everything worked out so perfectly?
"That was touching."
Her head jerked up and panic washed over her. That voice...The voice that made her blood run cold. The voice that had whispered in her ear every night, telling her how she would never be free; how she would always belong to him. "No." She whispered, "No; stay away from me. Don't touch me."
"Oh, please. I don't want you. I don't care about you." Gohei laughed, "I want the boy."
"Never." She shrank back behind Sanosuke, Yoshi clutched protectively to her chest, "You'll never get my baby."
Yoshi's dark eyes blinked open. He looked up at his mother, her face contorted with fear. Then he peered around Sanosuke.
Michiko felt her small son tense up, his fingers digging into her arm. He whimpered slightly, buried his face in her shoulder. "Don't worry, Baby." She spoke into his feathery hair, "Mama won't let anything hurt you."
Gohei was still laughing. "Sagara, I didn't think you'd actually bring them to me. You're dumber than I thought."
Sanosuke pushed Michiko back behind him. "Stay out of the way. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Sanosuke...Don't!" She grabbed his arm. "He's too dangerous!"
"Look, I promised I would protect you. I'm not scared of Gohei."
"Sano...Please. Don't do this. We'll get the police. I don't want to lose you. I don't want him to kill you." Tears sprang to her eyes.
"I'll be okay. Just stay right here." He charged at Gohei, ready to unleash all of his pent up fury.
*Special thanks to Charon and Chaos for helping with this chapter! Love you, guys!*
