Saganno's Heart Brake

It didn't take long for Saganno to get to her secret spot. He wondered what she might want talk about. Actually he really didn't care, this was the first time they would have some alone time since she'd been back. He wanted to hear about her travels but he needed to know if the 'thing' with the enemy was true.

As he approached the cherry blossom tree, his pace began to slow down. Finally he stopped a few feet away from the tree. He stood there for a moment to stare at her. Her eyes were very sad and she appeared to be in deep thought. The utter sadness in her eyes made him really wonder what she wanted to talk about. He also wondered if he really wanted to hear what she had to say. His heart raced at the thought of what she might say. What ever it was he had a feeling he wasn't going to like it. Nonetheless, he was her friend and he would listen.

Saganno walked up to the base of the tree. She still hadn't noticed his presence. He cleared his throat. Finally she blinked and looked down at him with a small smile. He climbed the tree and sat next beside her.

Her smile broadened. "Did you finish your dream?"

Saganno's eyes widened and he started to blush, "Uumm…" He scratched the back of his head and started to laugh nervously.

"Which one of your girls were you dreaming about this time?" She giggled.

"Um…what was it you wanted to talk about?" He asked desperately trying to change the subject.

Kiriko became serious again then looked out towards the road. She sighed. "Saganno, I need to help somebody but I don't know how to go about it. I need your advice."

"Anything, Kiriko. Who do you need to help?"

She looked him into his chrome eyes. "Shio Makoto."

Saganno's eyes narrowed to slits. Just the sound of that name brought his blood to a boil. "Why on earth would you help him?" He asked in a low angry voice.

Kiriko frowned slightly; she didn't like the change in his voice. He almost sounded angry.

"Why would you want to help the son of a madman? He's probably just like his father."

"No, he's not," Kiriko said slightly agitated. She felt as if she should come to Shio's defence. "I know it sounds crazy……okay, let me try to explain first." She told Saganno the same story she told her mother and father. She hoped that he would understand.

Saganno listened quietly. He kept his eyes on the horizon for fear that Kiriko might see his true feelings for her story. When she finished it took all his strength to conceal the hurt that tore through his heart. He just had to know one thing.

"Do you…" he swallowed, "do you have feelings for him?" He already knew the answer from the way she talked about him. The words she used and how she said them sounded so loving and caring. Nonetheless, he had to hear her say it out loud.

"Well, I don't want him to hurt my father or himself. I care enough to help him."

Saganno squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fist, "You didn't answer my question." He said through grit teeth. He got his feelings under control for a moment and summoned up enough strength to look into her eyes. "Do… you… love…him?"

Saganno's silver eyes bore down into her own. She had never seen him like this. She could read his emotions like a large print book. Shio was right. She remembered their conversation;

(…"Do you think he has stronger feelings for you?"

Kiriko thought about his question for a moment. "No I don't think so. I mean….we're practically family."

Shio looked at her. "Yeah…the key word here is practically not completely. I'm guessing that he's glad he's not your brother or cousin because then it would be wrong to have feelings for you. On the other hand, he's your family in the technical sense therefore he has the freedom to be more then just your 'friend' if you wanted him to be."…)

At the time she didn't quite understand what he meant by that but now that she stared in Saganno's hurt eyes, she could see that he loved her more then just a friend. He was in love with her and that fact that she cared from somebody else was rupturing his insides. Tears started to weld up in her eyes. She was so sorry she had told him about Shio but she was sorrier that she hadn't realized his feelings until now. However, he was still her friend and she could not lie to him.

Kiriko forced her eyes away from his brutal gaze. "I-I don't know what I feel…" She whispered, "...All I know is…that I have to help him. My heart is telling me that I'm the only one that can do it. But I'm at a lost for words, that is why I need your hel-"

Saganno quickly jumped from the tree.

Kiriko gasped, "Saganno! Wait! I'm so sorry. I-"

"I can't help you, Kiriko." Then he ran back to his house.

Megumi nearly jumped out of her skin when Saganno came storming into the house then ran into his room and slammed the door shut.

"What was all that about?" She said out loud to herself since Sano and the girls went out not to long ago. Megumi didn't even know that Saganno had left the house. She walked over to his door to listen. She heard him breathing heavily and sniffing loudly. He sounded like he was crying. Megumi looked at the door and knocked softly.

"Honey, is everything all right?" She asked in her softest voice.

He sniffed loudly, "Yea mom…I'm okay."

Megumi knew this was the code for teenagers that meant they were not okay. "Are you sure? You know you can talk to me about-"

"I said I'm fine!"

She stepped away from his door. Whatever was bothering him was bad because he never spoke in that tone of voice before. Her motherly instincts were telling her to charge in the room and scold him for speaking to her like that but her heart told her to leave him alone. He'll come to me when he wants to, she thought sadly.

"Your father and sisters went out just a few minutes ago. There's some left over food in the kitchen if you're hungry. If you decide you want to talk, I'll be in the garden." She left it at that and headed outside.

Megumi was surprise to see him come out not to long after she went outside. His face was flushed and it looked like he tried his best to wipe away any traces of tears but his eyes were still glossy. Megumi went and sat on the back steps. He sat beside her. Neither one said a word. She figured that she wasn't there to speak she was there to listen. Finally Saganno spoke up.

"H-Hiko was right about another thing other than Kiriko being born Battousai." He said softly.

Megumi heard so much pain in those few words but she didn't understand what he meant. "He was right about what?"

Saganno swallowed a couple of times. She could see he was struggling to hold back his emotions. "He…he was right about her being…" He couldn't hold back anymore. Two large tears fell out of his beautiful eyes. "…about her being in love with Shio Makoto."

Now Megumi understood why he was hurting so much. She took her son into her arms and hugged him tightly. For a quick moment he tried to pull away but his mother's embrace was strong so he had no choice but to bury his head into her shoulder and cry.

She managed to keep her own tears from flowing while he silently wept. She was glad Sano and the girls weren't in the house cause he would have never came out of his room if they were and he wouldn't dare show this much emotion in front of his father. After a few heart wrenching minutes, Saganno finally was able to get himself under control.

"Did I ever tell you that I had a big crush on Kenshin?"

Saganno sat up and wiped the tears from his eyes. He frowned and shook his head.

"Oh don't worry, this was a long long time ago…It was when I first met him. He saved my life, you know. Actually him and your father saved me but it was Kenshin's words that made me really fall for him. I'm not going to lie, I was very flirty with him." Megumi giggled a little. "It drove Kaoru crazy. Everyone thought I was playing around but I really had deep feelings for him. However, when he left for Kyoto the only person he said goodbye to was Kaoru. That's when I realized were his heart lied…… When you love someone, sometimes you have to put your own feelings aside so that they can be happy. And that's what I did, I put my own feelings aside because I loved him and because he was my friend. Don't get me wrong. I cried many nights but as time went on someone else healed my heart……That was your father."

She smiled, " I love that idiot more than he'll ever know and I wouldn't change anything about him. Saganno try to understand that things sometime happen for a reason. I know it's hard to believe but they do. The fact that Kiriko loves this other guy doesn't change the fact that she's your best friend. Remember she's your friend before anything else and I imagine if the tables were turned she would be hurt terribly BUT she would respect your feelings and would still be your friend to the best of her abilities."

Saganno said nothing. He just took in everything his mother said.

She took his cheek in her hand, "Believe me. It's going to hurt for a while but try to look at the positive side."

He frowned, "What positive side?"

"Well…" She thought about it for a moment. "This guy may come and go but you'll always have Kiriko forever because friendship last forever." Megumi smiled, kiss him on the cheek and went back to tending her herbal garden.

Kiriko stayed in the tree when Saganno left. Large tears streaked her face as she thought about what she did to her best friend. She felt like such an idiot but most of all she felt like that spoiled little brat again. All that time she never noticed how much Saganno really loved her. I've been only thinking about myself. My swordsmanship. My father's secrets. My problems. I really am a selfish brat. These thoughts only made her cry harder, I have to apologize to him for everything.

Finally she wiped her tears and started to climb down the tree. When she turned around, Saganno was standing behind her.

She gasped, "Saganno……I…" She didn't know how to start her sentence so she hugged him instead. He accepted the hug and held her tightly. After a moment, she pulled away from him. "I'm s-so s-sorry. I apologize for being an idiot. I apologize for being a selfish brat. But most of all, I apologize for not being a good friend to you. You have always been there for me. I've taken you for granted and I didn't ever realize it until now. I'm so sorry. You don't have to accept my apology. I don't deserve your forgiv-"

He placed his mouth on her plump lips cutting her sentence short. Kiriko eyes were wide with shock. His kiss was firm but gentle. This was the only thing he could think of that would make her stop the self abuse and it was the only way he could show her how he felt. He slowly took his lips off of hers then smiled a little at the surprised expression on her face. Finally, he pulled her back into his arms and held her tightly. Kiriko hugged back and cried into his shoulder.

When he pulled away from her, he smiled and wiped the tears from her beautiful eyes. "Don't ever talk down about yourself that way again. You have always been a good friend to me. You have always been there for me as I have always been there for you. You are my friend and no matter what you'll always be my best friend……… I'll be honest with you……I don't like the person you chose to give your love to because no matter what you say he is unworthy of it…."

She blushed a little, "I didn't say I love him."

Saganno smiled and thought, she doesn't understand her feelings yet, "Well, anyway I'll do all I can to help you, Kiriko because I…" He trailed off, love you, he thought to himself.

She smiled and hugged him again. "Saganno, thank you …and I love you too."

His eyes widen in surprise from the response to a statement he didn't say. Saganno held her for a while because he figured he might not get a chance like it again. Then they went back into the tree.

"So, tell me what the problem is again and maybe we can come up with something together." Saganno asked then listened carefully to what she was supposed to do. From what he could make out from her story, the guy Shio still sounded like a murderer out for revenge although he did help Kiriko on several occasions. When she finished telling him her plan, Saganno became very quiet.

"So what do you think I should do? I have to stop him." Kiriko asked.

"Well…" Saganno thought about it for a moment then came up with an answer. "I think that the right words can be a stronger weapon then any sword. It's just using the right words that will make the difference between a terrible fight and a peaceful solution."

"Yes I know. I just don't know what to say."

He looked into her eyes. "The words won't come from here," he pointed to her head, "they'll come from here," then he pointed to her heart. "Kiriko I can't tell you what to say but I can tell you this, you'll know what to say when the time comes. And you won't be alone. I'll be with you and your father will be with you too. Everything will be okay."

"That's what dad said, too."

"Then you should defiantly know it's true."

Her eyes lit up at the thought. "Thank you for your help, Saganno." She hugged him again and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Well I've got to get back home my mother wants me to help her with some things." He climbed down the tree. "I'll meet you here tomorrow morning. Okay?"

Kiriko smiled but didn't answer.

"Don't worry. Just remember you're not doing this alone. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

Kiriko sat in the tree and watched him leave. Once he disappeared behind the gate, she climbed out of the tree to have a late lunch with her family.