AN: Whoa. This story has just been pouring out uncontrollably. I know I
should wait to post things up, but I'm a very hasty person. Excuse the
mistakes in honorifics/non-honorifics. I tried to be consistent and
correct, but not being Japanese, it's likely that there are errors anyways.
Also I had to break up this section into two sections as it was getting kind of long. Therefore, the promised shocker comes in the next section!
---
Megumi bid the Morimotos a fond goodnight and locked the gate behind them. Tomorrow they would return to tend to any patients that wandered in, but she convinced them to leave for the evening despite all their concerns about her patient.
Or rather, about what her patient might do to her.
"Well he hasn't killed me yet, has he?" she had giggled to Sakiko Morimoto in her typical joking manner.
"Doctor," Sakiko Morimoto had looked pained, "My husband did not mean that. but you are all alone in the house now with a man."
Megumi had given them such an indignant look that they had hastily apologized and left, wishing her safe journey.
She knew the man well enough to know there was no way *that* would happen. The man was so cold that he didn't even blink at Misao's attentions. Even if he for some odd reason dared to hug, kiss or otherwise touch her, he and she knew full well that Misao would beat her and him to a pulp for even the slightest hint of impropriety. However, it did occur to her that the thought of Aoshi spending the night under the same roof with her would get Misao rather worked up. And she rather missed teasing Misao. Her eyes twinkled slightly as she thought of the words she might say and carelessly, she laughed aloud.
"Takani-san?" Aoshi came around from the side of the house. "Did I hear something?"
She covered her giggle with her hand and tried to recover her own dignity. "The Morimotos have just left, Shinormori-san. I was laughing at one of their jokes."
"Morimoto-san did not seem very comfortable, Takani-san." He gave her a shrewd glance before following her into her workroom.
"You have that effect on people, Shinomori-san," she noted dryly and motioned to the table she had set. "But I chased them out since you had business to discuss. Do you feel better?"
He took his seat and took the tea which she offered. "Yes, that bath seemed to help clear my chest."
"Drink the entire thing, please." Megumi looked at him wince slightly as he tasted the bitter concoction. "Very good," she murmured. She sat down next to him and felt his forehead. Satisfied that his fever was not raging out of control, she then handed him a plate of food. "Please eat a little and allow me to speak first."
She was amused to see him hesitate before putting the food in his mouth. "I have made up my mind to say yes to whatever you propose. From what the Morimotos had said, you had thought to find me on the road to convince me to go away with you somewhere. From the nature of your illness and what I've seen the past week, I guess that others at the Aoiya are sick as well and that is the reason you have come to me. I have already packed up additional medicines and Morimoto promised to send around the horses in the morning."
A look of surprise passed briefly over Aoshi's face telling her that she had indeed hit the mark.
She sighed. "So, how many are ill?"
"Nearly half of the compound," he said slowly. "We had called on one of the town doctors, but the doctor has become ill himself. We have been doing the best that we can, but we are low on many medicines and the knowledge of how to manage the illness."
She nodded and did some additional calculations in her head. If half the compound was ill the time he'd left, it is possible that many more had become sick since then. She would have to prepare more herbs and medications.
"Takani-san," he spoke slowly. "I would like to leave tonight."
"That would not be wise," she stood up. "You are not well enough for the night air, and the trip would make you worse. Plus, if as many people are sick as you say, including your doctor, I will need to spend a few more hours preparing additional things." She looked back at him sympathetically, "I know that it is hard to wait, but I do not want to get there in haste, only to have neglected something else needed to fight this sickness."
He nodded wearily, and put his chopsticks down. "I am finished, Takani- san. Thank you for dinner."
"Then if you'll excuse me," she took the tray of food and left him the tea, "I will work on a few things for now. If you will sleep now, tomorrow I hope you will feel up to travel."
~~
Megumi worked diligently throughout the night. She had to go into her drying room and pull several bundles of herbs she had gathered and stored for packing, brew other ingredients into a concoction that she could use immediately to relieve the coughing of the Oniwaban, and also packed other tools. If the town doctor was ill, there would be much more to tend than this coughing sickness.
Occasionally, she would pass by the room Aoshi was in and listen in on his sleeping. She checked his head, and adjusted his blankets every so often.
Dawn came too quickly and she found no time to rest, but she woke Aoshi and fed him another draught for his cough. "The coach is here."
"A coach will be too slow."
"You are still too ill to be exposed to the weather like this!" She stood her ground.
"I do not care," he told her in an equally firm voice, "my people are worse off than I am, and the hours are wasting away."
"Fine." She handed him a bundle, "You'll have to carry this for now on one of the horses, and I will have to carry another. The other equipment will have to follow on the coach and arrive later. But the first sign of you faltering, and I'm stopping."
"I will not slow you down." He looked almost furious at that very suggestion.
"Takani-san!" Morimoto's voice came from the gate.
"Yes," she muttered and went out to quickly discuss the change in plans, ignoring the obvious relief on Morimoto's face as she emerged unscathed. "That man now wants to ride on horseback all the way to Kyoto."
"He looks well enough, Takani-san," Morimoto chided her for losing her temper, "You should let him win this argument."
"I know," she sighed, "he has that much more at stake. So please, look after the house and send the remaining bundles via coach later today to the Aoiya."
Aoshi followed her to the street, where he bowed politely to Morimoto. "My thanks for your help yesterday, Morimoto-san."
Morimoto gave a nervous bow in return and unhitched the two of the horses from the coach. He handed the horse reins to the much taller man. "Megumi- san is not the best rider, so please watch out for her."
Megumi glared at Morimoto. "Just because I ride sidesaddle in a kimono does not mean I can't ride."
"In that case," Aoshi put two of the bundles on one of the horses, "she'll ride with me." He stepped up and mounted the horse and then before she could protest, pulled her up in front of him and immediately set off.
She recovered her wits quickly, and from her position waved at Morimoto, who stared after them with an open mouth. She felt the urge to then scold Aoshi for creating a scene, but when she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, she noted the grim expression on his face. 'Of course, Takani- stupid-chan,' she thought to herself, 'he has no sense of humor. What he did was to hurry things along and rightly so.'
She decided against trying to make conversation with the man as it seemed entirely pointless. Slowly, her eyes shut.
~~
Her eyes suddenly opened when the horse came to a stop. "Shinomori-san?"
"The horses need a break, as do I." He dismounted the horse and then pulled her off. His coughing then began anew.
"You need more medicine," she said as she went to the other horse and pulled out a small bottle from one of the larger bundles. "Drink a mouthful of this and keep the rest in your pocket."
He sat down slowly and did as she had instructed.
"How far are we now?"
"Less than an hour, if we ride quickly."
As she looked at his grey expression, she shook her head. "We should have taken the coach. You don't look like you can handle the ride."
"I'll be fine." He replied, although somewhat weakly.
"Never mind that," she shook her head and then went back to the horse, and rummaged through the bags. "I'll be right back."
She emerged from the bushes in a western dress still braiding her hair. "It was a present from a colleague's wife when I had traveled abroad for a meeting. I wear it when I need some more room to work." She tied her hair up, then shoved her kimono into one of the bags on the pack horse.
Then she shifted the bags from the pack horse to the other horse, before looking back at the puzzled Aoshi. "I know it looks stupid, but I think." she paused as she tested the skirt, "I can ride and support your weight."
Aoshi simply stared as she managed somehow to throw her leg over the horse. "Well?" she turned and looked back at him impatiently. "Do you want me to leave you here thinking that the world is about to end because I am not riding sidesaddle or do you want to get on?"
Too tired to argue, he pulled himself on the horse and wearily put his arms around her as she picked up speed.
"Takani-san," he muttered drowsily as the medicine slowly took effect, "slow down. You'll break both our necks."
"Don't lecture me. You're in a hurry, and I don't want anyone to see me in this plaid get-up," she replied testily, ignoring the cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. "I'll wake you when we reach Kyoto."
Also I had to break up this section into two sections as it was getting kind of long. Therefore, the promised shocker comes in the next section!
---
Megumi bid the Morimotos a fond goodnight and locked the gate behind them. Tomorrow they would return to tend to any patients that wandered in, but she convinced them to leave for the evening despite all their concerns about her patient.
Or rather, about what her patient might do to her.
"Well he hasn't killed me yet, has he?" she had giggled to Sakiko Morimoto in her typical joking manner.
"Doctor," Sakiko Morimoto had looked pained, "My husband did not mean that. but you are all alone in the house now with a man."
Megumi had given them such an indignant look that they had hastily apologized and left, wishing her safe journey.
She knew the man well enough to know there was no way *that* would happen. The man was so cold that he didn't even blink at Misao's attentions. Even if he for some odd reason dared to hug, kiss or otherwise touch her, he and she knew full well that Misao would beat her and him to a pulp for even the slightest hint of impropriety. However, it did occur to her that the thought of Aoshi spending the night under the same roof with her would get Misao rather worked up. And she rather missed teasing Misao. Her eyes twinkled slightly as she thought of the words she might say and carelessly, she laughed aloud.
"Takani-san?" Aoshi came around from the side of the house. "Did I hear something?"
She covered her giggle with her hand and tried to recover her own dignity. "The Morimotos have just left, Shinormori-san. I was laughing at one of their jokes."
"Morimoto-san did not seem very comfortable, Takani-san." He gave her a shrewd glance before following her into her workroom.
"You have that effect on people, Shinomori-san," she noted dryly and motioned to the table she had set. "But I chased them out since you had business to discuss. Do you feel better?"
He took his seat and took the tea which she offered. "Yes, that bath seemed to help clear my chest."
"Drink the entire thing, please." Megumi looked at him wince slightly as he tasted the bitter concoction. "Very good," she murmured. She sat down next to him and felt his forehead. Satisfied that his fever was not raging out of control, she then handed him a plate of food. "Please eat a little and allow me to speak first."
She was amused to see him hesitate before putting the food in his mouth. "I have made up my mind to say yes to whatever you propose. From what the Morimotos had said, you had thought to find me on the road to convince me to go away with you somewhere. From the nature of your illness and what I've seen the past week, I guess that others at the Aoiya are sick as well and that is the reason you have come to me. I have already packed up additional medicines and Morimoto promised to send around the horses in the morning."
A look of surprise passed briefly over Aoshi's face telling her that she had indeed hit the mark.
She sighed. "So, how many are ill?"
"Nearly half of the compound," he said slowly. "We had called on one of the town doctors, but the doctor has become ill himself. We have been doing the best that we can, but we are low on many medicines and the knowledge of how to manage the illness."
She nodded and did some additional calculations in her head. If half the compound was ill the time he'd left, it is possible that many more had become sick since then. She would have to prepare more herbs and medications.
"Takani-san," he spoke slowly. "I would like to leave tonight."
"That would not be wise," she stood up. "You are not well enough for the night air, and the trip would make you worse. Plus, if as many people are sick as you say, including your doctor, I will need to spend a few more hours preparing additional things." She looked back at him sympathetically, "I know that it is hard to wait, but I do not want to get there in haste, only to have neglected something else needed to fight this sickness."
He nodded wearily, and put his chopsticks down. "I am finished, Takani- san. Thank you for dinner."
"Then if you'll excuse me," she took the tray of food and left him the tea, "I will work on a few things for now. If you will sleep now, tomorrow I hope you will feel up to travel."
~~
Megumi worked diligently throughout the night. She had to go into her drying room and pull several bundles of herbs she had gathered and stored for packing, brew other ingredients into a concoction that she could use immediately to relieve the coughing of the Oniwaban, and also packed other tools. If the town doctor was ill, there would be much more to tend than this coughing sickness.
Occasionally, she would pass by the room Aoshi was in and listen in on his sleeping. She checked his head, and adjusted his blankets every so often.
Dawn came too quickly and she found no time to rest, but she woke Aoshi and fed him another draught for his cough. "The coach is here."
"A coach will be too slow."
"You are still too ill to be exposed to the weather like this!" She stood her ground.
"I do not care," he told her in an equally firm voice, "my people are worse off than I am, and the hours are wasting away."
"Fine." She handed him a bundle, "You'll have to carry this for now on one of the horses, and I will have to carry another. The other equipment will have to follow on the coach and arrive later. But the first sign of you faltering, and I'm stopping."
"I will not slow you down." He looked almost furious at that very suggestion.
"Takani-san!" Morimoto's voice came from the gate.
"Yes," she muttered and went out to quickly discuss the change in plans, ignoring the obvious relief on Morimoto's face as she emerged unscathed. "That man now wants to ride on horseback all the way to Kyoto."
"He looks well enough, Takani-san," Morimoto chided her for losing her temper, "You should let him win this argument."
"I know," she sighed, "he has that much more at stake. So please, look after the house and send the remaining bundles via coach later today to the Aoiya."
Aoshi followed her to the street, where he bowed politely to Morimoto. "My thanks for your help yesterday, Morimoto-san."
Morimoto gave a nervous bow in return and unhitched the two of the horses from the coach. He handed the horse reins to the much taller man. "Megumi- san is not the best rider, so please watch out for her."
Megumi glared at Morimoto. "Just because I ride sidesaddle in a kimono does not mean I can't ride."
"In that case," Aoshi put two of the bundles on one of the horses, "she'll ride with me." He stepped up and mounted the horse and then before she could protest, pulled her up in front of him and immediately set off.
She recovered her wits quickly, and from her position waved at Morimoto, who stared after them with an open mouth. She felt the urge to then scold Aoshi for creating a scene, but when she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, she noted the grim expression on his face. 'Of course, Takani- stupid-chan,' she thought to herself, 'he has no sense of humor. What he did was to hurry things along and rightly so.'
She decided against trying to make conversation with the man as it seemed entirely pointless. Slowly, her eyes shut.
~~
Her eyes suddenly opened when the horse came to a stop. "Shinomori-san?"
"The horses need a break, as do I." He dismounted the horse and then pulled her off. His coughing then began anew.
"You need more medicine," she said as she went to the other horse and pulled out a small bottle from one of the larger bundles. "Drink a mouthful of this and keep the rest in your pocket."
He sat down slowly and did as she had instructed.
"How far are we now?"
"Less than an hour, if we ride quickly."
As she looked at his grey expression, she shook her head. "We should have taken the coach. You don't look like you can handle the ride."
"I'll be fine." He replied, although somewhat weakly.
"Never mind that," she shook her head and then went back to the horse, and rummaged through the bags. "I'll be right back."
She emerged from the bushes in a western dress still braiding her hair. "It was a present from a colleague's wife when I had traveled abroad for a meeting. I wear it when I need some more room to work." She tied her hair up, then shoved her kimono into one of the bags on the pack horse.
Then she shifted the bags from the pack horse to the other horse, before looking back at the puzzled Aoshi. "I know it looks stupid, but I think." she paused as she tested the skirt, "I can ride and support your weight."
Aoshi simply stared as she managed somehow to throw her leg over the horse. "Well?" she turned and looked back at him impatiently. "Do you want me to leave you here thinking that the world is about to end because I am not riding sidesaddle or do you want to get on?"
Too tired to argue, he pulled himself on the horse and wearily put his arms around her as she picked up speed.
"Takani-san," he muttered drowsily as the medicine slowly took effect, "slow down. You'll break both our necks."
"Don't lecture me. You're in a hurry, and I don't want anyone to see me in this plaid get-up," she replied testily, ignoring the cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. "I'll wake you when we reach Kyoto."